Furore over fresh constitution review by Senate
By Sylvanus Okpe
Divergent reactions have trailed moves by the Senate to review the nation’s constitution.
The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, had constituted a 56-member panel made up of seven principal officers as a steering committee for the review of the constitution, with one senator each from the 36 states and two each representing the six geopolitical zones.
He also appointed his deputy, Ovie Omo-Agege as the chairman of the steering committee. The seven principal officers are the Senate Leader, Abdullahi Yahaya; Robbert Borriffice; Sabi Abdullahi; Senate Minority Leader, Enyinaya Abaribe; Emmanuel Bwacha; Philip Aduda; and Sabi Yau.
But the only Young Progressive Party (YPP) Senator Ifeanyi Uba raised an objection to the effect that his party was not taken into account even when it is the third in the Senate after the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We have three political parties in the Senate, APC, PDP and YPP. There was no mention of my political party in the constitutional review committee and I feel it may be an oversight. You should consider my party because we are here on our own, I am here for my party caucus just like every other senator.”
But Lawan said: “Because you have come under order 43, this is for our information. The membership is not strictly based on political parties. At the beginning, I said each state would be represented by a senator each and then each geopolitical zone would have zonal representation. So it is not based on political parties but your point of order is well taken.”
Reacting to the development yesterday, a professor of International Law and Jurisprudence in the University of Lagos, Akin Oyebode said the Nigerian constitution or “Decree 24 of 1999” could be likened to a car whose body had undergone so many panel beatings. “Not only is it not autochthonous, it does not answer the needs of the age and so should be replaced by a more authentic and worthwhile fundamental law. However, it is neither the place nor function of the National Assembly, being a parliament set up to enact legislation for the peace, order and good government. The rightful body to discharge the duty of fashioning a new fundamental law is a duly convened constituent assembly, otherwise, it would amount to the tail wagging the dog,” he declared.
The Lower Niger Congress (LNC), in their own reaction, declared the action as an exercise in futility, a journey to nowhere and an affront to the constituent components of Nigeria. In a statement endorsed by its Secretary General, Mr. Tony Nnadi, the group said that “the legislative mandate/power of the National Assembly does not include constitution-making, which requires constituent powers that are vested exclusively in the people as an incident of their sovereignty.”
The LNC, a platform aggregating self-determination initiatives across the lower Niger territory to facilitate the emergence of a new constitutional order, stressed that the 1999 Constitution the lawmakers seek to review had been repudiated countrywide for being a fraud and an imposition.
“Let those who wish to research or understand this assertion look up Section 14 (2)(a) of the so-called 1999 Constitution, which states that ‘Sovereignty belongs to the people, from whom government, through this constitution, derives all its powers and authority.’
“Accordingly, any one who does not know that the National Assembly does not have the constituent powers to make or remake the constitution of Nigeria is simply ignorant on the subject, whether such a person is a senior advocate or a professor of law,” the group said.
According to the LNC, there is a countrywide push to take down the “rogue 1999 constitution” and restore the hijacked sovereignties of the constituent components of the Nigerian union.
“Those in the National Assembly who now pretend that they are the new custodians of our sovereignties simply because they were elected, should realise that they are by that pretense, aiding and abetting the treason already committed by those who first hijacked our sovereignties by imposing the fraudulent 1999 Constitution. They are by that act of abetting the original sin, committing treason against the rest of us and let it be clear to them that when things will snap for Nigeria, consequences will attach for their current role.
“Let it also be made clear that whatever the 9th Assembly does in the so-called constitution review they are initiating will go down with the 1999 Constitution when it is rejected on the streets by the constituent components of Nigeria currently choking under it.”
A Lagos lawyer, Tony Odiadi, said the review would be a palliative measure that would not deal with the fundamentals of the country’s national condition.
His words: “If you read the mood well, Nigerians have drifted to regionalism. The federal structure as currently constituted is a burden on component states. Cooperation by states on economic development, security and infrastructure within the noted regions seems clearly where the majority of Nigerians are moving.
“The seeming failure of governance at the centre with a sense of alienation by some, pervasive insecurity, economic stagnation, infrastructure gaps here and there are matters, which clearly can be addressed within collective regional mandates. Poor resource management and ownership feed into the frustration experienced in different regional enclaves currently.”
According to him, the Senate ought to know that constitutional amendment is not what Nigerians want at this point but fundamental restructuring.
“There was a sovereign conference in 2014 where all the issues holding down Nigeria as a country and her component parts were fully discussed and final position raised on each item. The Senate should raise a committee to study and develop those matters as restructuring first steps,” he advised.
But former deputy director-general, Nigerian Law School, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu (SAN), praised the initiative.He said: “It is another opportunity for positive steps towards restructuring which has no single definition or framework. The outcome of restructuring a system depends on the agreement of the citizens. That agreement can be achieved through constitutional reforms or through revolutionary changes outside the existing constitutional order. You cannot expect existing legislators to abandon their role and hand over power to non-elected persons to dictate how the state should be governed. Until such a sovereign discussion or platform is created, the only thing left for the National Assembly is to seek constitutional reforms. It is left to us the people to continue to advocate and pressure our representatives to successfully present our vision and dreams of the kind of structure we want.
“I don’t believe that we should continue the 20 years argument that the constitution was not written by the people but by the military, nay General Abdusalam. That argument is now academic. The Nigerian nation exists now on the basis of the 1999 Constitution. Other than a revolution, we cannot wish away the constitution.”
Similarly, a constitutional lawyer and author, Chief Sebastian Hon (SAN) said the review of the constitution could, in fact, amount to restructuring.
“Indeed, there can be no profound restructuring without a deep amendment of the constitution. As the grund norm, the constitution is the controlling legal instrument that basically regulates our daily lives as a geo-polity. Any meaningful restructuring, therefore, must be benchmarked by this legal instrument, otherwise, it is a non-starter,” he said. He suggested that Nigerians should sternly demand from their leaders in the National Assembly fundamental restructuring of the body polity, politically and economically.He said that such demands could come through lobbying, interpersonal contacts, town hall meetings, public advocacy and organised public meetings.
According to him, members of the National Assembly belong to senatorial districts and federal and state constituencies. “They are flesh and blood; and more importantly, have executed a social contract with their constituents. They must be made to not just listen to us, but also, through exertion of lawful pressure, to pander to our wishes. All Nigerians of good will must rise to this challenge. It is our legitimate right to do so,” he stated.
Also, Lagos-based lawyer, Stephen Azubuike said: “The constitutional framework of the country upon proper review can tackle the craving for restructuring. It depends on how you want to look at it. The current political strongholds of the nation do not appear to favour restructuring in the time being and years to come.”
Also, Chief Albert Akpomudje (SAN) reasoned that it might be an opportunity to make provision for restructuring. “I think we are not practising true federalism. I believe this is the cause of the several problems bedevilling the country. The most important is the issue of insecurity and state police, which is becoming very clear as an imperative to address the security problems,” he said.
The Secretary General of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide, said: “On the state of our economy and tension in the polity, to review the constitution is very good. But the reports of the 2014 confab and 2017 El-rufai committee on devolution of power should be looked into. Those two reports say it all, instead of merry-go-rounding. We have more than enough of what the Senate is about to do. If the political leadership is averse to looking into the two reports, then let us have a sovereign national conference.”
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo berated the National Assembly, insisting that the action was diversionary.
The group asked the leadership of the National Assembly and that of the APC to go back to the resolutions of the 2014 national conference, saying it contained over 600 resolutions that if implemented could better the lot of Nigerians.The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Chuks Ibegbu, insisted that the country did not need a fresh constitutional amendment by the Senate but the implementation of reports of the confab to move forward.
Edo 2020: Court bars PDP from conducting LGA congresses
By Sylvanus Okpe
Crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party arising from the conduct of its Ward congresses last week has taken a new swipe following an interim injunction granted by an Edo State High Court barring the party from conducting congresses.
The court sitting in Ekpoma and presided over by Justice Joy Okeaya-lnneh granted the order filed by a former member of Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Eruanga Gallant, Victor Idiakheoa and Jide Obalowoshe.
Justice Okeaya-Inneh restrained the PDP from conducting the Local government congresses scheduled to hold this Saturday across the 18 local government areas of the state.
The court order also restrained the PDP and INEC from announcing, publishing and recognising the ward congresses results earlier conducted by the party.
Justice Okeaya-Inneh held that the applicants have satisfied the guidelines for the grant of the order sought as enjoined in the landmark case of Kotoye vs CBN (1989).
The hearing of the case was adjourned to 24th of February.
Adoke ill, leaves EFCC custody for hospital
By Bukola Olasanmi
The former Nigerian Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Adoke Bello, has been moved to an Abuja hospital after his health condition worsened while in the custody of the EFCC, his lawyer said.
Other sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Thursday that Mr Adoke was moved from the custody of the anti-corruption agency to the Federal Medical Centre in the Jabi district of Abuja.
The current state of the former minister’s condition is not yet clear as he is on admission at a private wing.
“He (Adoke) was moved away from the custody of the Economic and Finacial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after his conditions deteriorated,” one source said.
“He was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre on Wednesday, where he is on admission. His aliment is not clear. Two police officers attached to the EFCC are currently with him as a guard.
”His health condition is not clear, but the doctors have been running various kinds of medical tests on him.”
When contacted, the acting spokesperson to the EFCC, Tony Orilade said he was unaware of the matter. He promised to get back to our reporter as soon as he had information on the development.
A member of Mr Adoke’s legal team, Mike Ozekhome, told this paper that Mr Adoke is on admission at the Federal Medical Centre.
Abacha’s loot was oil proceeds from Niger Delta – Edwin Clark
By Toby Prince
National leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, on Thursday, declared that the $308 million recently recovered Abacha loot were proceeds of oil and gas produced in the Niger Delta.
He, therefore, maintained that the funds should be invested in infrastructure development of the South-South zone.
Clark, who spoke in a statement he issued from London, said the Niger Delta region had been marginalised and without any fresh federal infrastructure project, urging the Federal Government to plough the Abacha loot back into the region.
“While I congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on the recovery of another Abacha loot amounting to $308 million, I, however, observe that again, the Niger Delta Region is left out in the infrastructure development of the country both in the 2020 federal budget and in the distribution of the recovered Abacha loot for development.
“I notice that the only road projects to benefit from the recent Abacha loot are the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Western Region), the Abuja–Kano Road (Northern Region) and the Second Niger Bridge (Eastern Region) which is meant for the eastern part of the country, even though it starts from Asaba in Delta State.
“This, indeed, is a demonstration of Federal Government’s repeated and deliberate neglect of the Niger Delta region, even though the Abacha loot came substantially from the region.
“It must be admitted that the revenue that accrued to the Federal Government, which was deposited in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from where Abacha looted them is the product of oil and gas revenue derived from the Niger Delta region.
“But the Federal Government, has again, deliberately abandoned the East West Road, which is the most important economic road in the country. It was started over 10 years ago, even when the collapsed part of the road has been left to the state governments of the region to fix, particularly the recent total collapse of the Benin, Edo State to Warri in Delta State sections.
“The question should then be that, is the Niger Delta not part of Nigeria? It is indeed most offensive and insulting to the people of the Region when in response to our complaints and agitations, some politicians who were never voted for reply that the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) were given to us, and yet we complain,” he stated
President Buhari departs for Addis Ababa summit today
By Bukola Olasanmi
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Friday to attend the Thirty-third (33rd) Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
President Buhari will join leaders from the 55-member countries of the African Union to participate in the Summit with the theme, “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.”
The President will attend the 29th Forum of Heads of State and Government of Participating States of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the 27th Session of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (AUDA-NEPAD). The meetings will precede the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
In Nigeria’s capacity as a member of the AU Peace and Security Council, President Buhari will participate in the High Level meeting of the Peace and Security Council on the situation in the Sahel and Libya, and High Level Ad-Hoc Committee on South Sudan.
On the margins of the Summit, the President will deliver a keynote address at a High Level Side Event on “Stop the War on Children: Dividend of Silencing the Guns.” The event is co-sponsored by the Governments of Nigeria, Uganda and Norway, and Save the Children International.
President Buhari and the Nigerian delegation will also participate in other High Level Side Events in furtherance of Nigeria’s national, regional and international goals, priorities and aspirations namely, peace and security, countering terrorism and violent extremism, economic development, asset recovery and fight against corruption.
The President will also hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the Summit.
At the end of the AU Summit on February 10, the Nigerian President will commence a State Visit to Ethiopia on February 11, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed.
The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between Nigeria and Ethiopia and reinforcing cooperation in key areas of mutual interest between the two countries.
Before returning to Abuja, President Buhari will also interact with the Nigerian Community in Ethiopia.
The President will be accompanied by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State; Senator Adamu Mohammed Bulkachuwa, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Hon. Yusuf Baba, Chairman House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Others are: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Minister of Defence, Major-Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (Rtd); Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; and Princess Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Nigeria.
Also on the President’s entourage are, the National Security Adviser, Major-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd), and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
President Buhari is expected back in Abuja on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
RE: Boko Haram: Memo to President Buhari on Service Chiefs
By Dr Abubakar Muhammad Sani
I read the open letter written by Mr. Yushau A. Shuaib titled: Boko Haram: Memo to President Buhari on Service Chiefs which was widely circulated on the internet. If the open letter was written by some other person who I didn’t know, I would not have given it any attention. I know the writer and the open letter mentioned the names of the President as well as the Chief of Army Staff. He was accurate in capturing the dates of birth and commission of all the Service Chiefs as well as the relevant sections of military law guiding the appointments and tenures of the Service Chiefs. I also understand the fact that he might have relatives, friends and associates in the military who wrongly thought that their elevation to higher ranks has been blocked because the current service Chiefs have stayed for more than four years. There is likely a hidden personal interest behind the open letter even though the writer tried hard and smartly to hide behind national security vis-a-vis the Boko Haram insurgency bedeviling some parts of Borno state.
Let me make it categorically clear that I respect the rights of the writer of this open letter to make known to the presidency his opinion because our extant laws consider the right to freedom of expression as sacrosanct. Secondly, I do not have the liberty or wherewithal to direct my thoughts to the writer as a person. Nevertheless, I totally disagree with the assertion he made in the open letter especially where he wrote that the Service Chiefs have underperformed simply because some people in the European Parliament and the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon and few others have raised concerns about the recent hit and run attacks made by the misguided miscreants who out of share ignorance called themselves Islamic jihadists. I am extremely saddened by the fact that the writer who ought to know better failed to acknowledge and appreciate the numerous successes the Military, especially the Army have achieved since the assumption of the current Service Chiefs; instead he went ahead to talk about, “the steady reversal in the fortunes of our troops in the hands of terrorist.” I don’t need to reiterate the number of local government areas reclaimed under the control of Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Until the emergence of these Service Chiefs, commerce and communal life in Maiduguri and Damaturu was in total comatose. The Maiduguri Monday Market became a dangerous place to go because of the regular detonations of explosive devices which usually set the inhabitants in confusion as a result of the frightening sounds from the IED explosions. There was no GSM network and the terrorists reigned and ruled over powerless civilians with a spectacular kind of tyranny. It was common as of then to hear of soldiers throwing their weapons and running away into Cameroon and Chad for safety because those in commands failed to provide the required leadership and equipment needed to engage the enemy of the state.
This went so bad until soldiers attacked an innocent officer (General Officer Commanding) at the 7 Div. I know of a serving General who was posted to Gwoza by those at the helm of leadership at that time so that he could get overpowered by the enemy and be killed. His offence was that, being from the South-South, he dealt with militants like Ateke Tom who was closely related to the former First Lady and the Army top hierarchy.
Troops welfare was neglected because nobody really cared about the northeast. I can say this without the fear of any contradiction that until the emergence of the present Service Chiefs, no Service Chief visited the northeast and stayed for more than five hours not to talk of sleeping in the region. They go there, restrict their movement to Maiduguri and Jere LGA. I must tell you, things got so bad that the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki advised President Jonathan Goodluck to hire mercenaries from South Africa and Ukraine to help Nigeria fight the war because the once courageous Nigerian Army could no longer confront the insurgents. This happened at a time the federal government budgeted huge sums of money to the defense sector.
This money was diverted and misused. Boko Haram held sway in Buniyadi,Bunigari,Gujba and its environs in Yobe state at that time. They slaughtered 56 innocent school boys at the Federal Government College, Buniyadi and then went ahead to kidnap nearly 300 school girls in a region where the education of the girl-child is very poor. There was a time the village and residence of the then Chief of Defense Staff was ransacked by the insurgents and nothing was done.
Things got so bad until all the elites of Borno and Yobe relocated to Abuja and those who were poor found safety in the various over congested IDP camps in Maiduguri and Jere (Borno) and Malkohi (Adamawa). Then came President Buhari in 2015 and as God ordained it, the country saw the elevation of the then Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, Major General T.Y Buratai as the 20th Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army. He was elevated to the prestigious rank of Lieutenant General and given his charge by his Commander in Chief: “relocate to the northeast and deal with Boko Haram insurgents”. General Buratai obeyed and went straight to Damaturu where he spent the Sallah holiday with troops and perfected his plans to reclaim all the parts of the northeast that were under the influence and /or control of Boko Haram insurgents. He identified a crop of dedicated officers and commanders like Generals Lamidi Adeosun, Leo Irabor, Okon Etim, Abubakar Tarfa, UI Mohammed, S. Adebayo, SU Usman and a host of others who helped him in implementing his strategy of reclaiming the northeast and defeating the insurgents. Within months, the Army in collaboration with the Airforce and Navy reclaimed Bama, Dikwa, Ngamboru,Michika, Madagali and eventually took control of Camp Zairo at the Sambisa. Abubakar Shekau was rattled with fear and the Army was about to capture him but some of his informants helped him to escape into hiding. The whole world at that time sang the praises of the Nigerian Army but especially that of General Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff. The Brazilian Army took special interest in the leadership and generalship of General Buratai and they invited him over to Brazil to receive the highest Medal of Honor ever given to a foreign national by the Brazilian Army.
Also, the people of Damasak,Munguno, Bama and Konduga relocated back o their homes and peace was restored to the northeast. Adamawa became so peaceful that some people even forgot that there was anything called Boko Haram as night life characterized by partying returned. The military, especially the Army, achieved all these with meagre budget simply because the Army leadership was transparent and made sure that resources were judiciously utilized. The troops were revitalized and reinvigorated because the sight of General Buratai visiting them in the trenches, eating, drinking and even fighting the enemy together with them boosted their morale. Suddenly, the situation in Libya became so deteriorated that different warlords took control of the large arsenal of weapons stockpiled by the late Gaddafi and began to fight each other for the control of Libya. These warlords found a ready market in the promoters of the Boko Haram insurgency to sell their weapons to get money to pay their soldiers. The insurgents who were wounded and nursing their wounds got reinvigorated with the inflow of these new weapons. They used resources given to them in exchange for the release of the GGSS Chibok school girls and also resources from some foreign government who want to see Nigeria in pieces.
When ISIS heard about what was going on, they stepped in and decided to support the insurgents with logistics and money but they made it clear that they are going to work with Abumusab al Barnawi and not Shekau. This led to the formation of another faction amongst the hitherto united terrorists. It is rather unfortunate that both the Police and the DSS suddenly became rather weak in intelligence gathering and sharing. Gradually they became so redundant that the insurgents began to see them as less hostile and harmless. They were spared from attacks. The insurgents concentrated their attacks on the Army. They want to reclaim the lost territories and if possible establish a Caliphate with Maiduguri as their headquarters but the Army refused to allow that to happen. It is easy for the insurgents to attack people in parts of Borno because of the following reasons:
1. Some locales collaborate with them as informants
2. Some bad politicians and businessmen support them with logistics and supplies
3. The insurgents don’t have any rules of engagement so they can attack any place regardless of whether children and women are there or not
4. Some foreign government are supporting them. It is alleged that
Turkey as well as France is sympathetic to them
5. The Army doesn’t have a functional aviation unit to attack them with superior fire-power from the air
6. The area of operation in the northeast is very large and there are no enough boots to cover everywhere, and lastly,
7. Failure of the Police and the DSS to apprehend any top ranking financier or sponsor of the group
Despite the above challenges, the military is still on top of the situation. According to world acclaimed scholar on terrorism, Philip H. Gordon who is a Senior Fellow of U.S. Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, “Victory in the war on terror will not mean the end of terrorism, the end of tyranny, or the end of evil, utopian goals that have all been articulated at one time or another. Terrorism, after all (to say nothing of tyranny and evil), has been around for a long time and will never go away entirely. From the Zealots in the first century and to the Red Brigades, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Irish Republican Army, the Tamil Tigers, and others in more recent times. Terrorism has been a tactic used by the weak in an effort to produce political change. Like violent crime, deadly disease, and other scourges. It can be reduced and contained. But it cannot be totally eliminated.”
Total victory over insurgency can only come after successful dialogue and negotiation which can lead to perpetual peace. Removal of the present Service Chiefs will not in any way improve the situation in the northeast or I should say, Borno state because the northeast is stable; except Borno state. The President is wise enough to know that the Service Chiefs especially the Chief of Army Staff has a perfect understanding of the terrain and it is doubtful if anyone can do better than what he has done so far. He has led from the fore-front at the risk of his life and has made judicious use of the little resources given to the Nigerian Army to prosecute the war. I say little because when we take into cognizance what the United States spend in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, we will realize that what we give our military here is very paltry. And yet the kind of results we see here far outweighs that of the American military or NATO. In fact, it was reported that the UN forces that were recently sent to Mali to quell the fighting that is going on between the Fulbe and the Dogon received a sum of $1 billion but the condition of Mali is in a sorry state. Here in Nigeria, our military is prosecuting one of the most dangerous wars in the world without any external help and yet some of us fail to appreciate this. Now, to the issue of whether the President should sack the Service Chiefs or not. I don’t think it is my duty to advice the President to retain all or any of the Service Chiefs since I am not his National Security Advisor and he didn’t consult with me before he appointed them. In fact, the President knows the reason he thinks retaining the Service Chiefs is in the best interest of Nigeria because he is privy to sensitive information that we don’t have.
Furthermore, it is his prerogative to retain them, give them more time or sack them. This is his own discretion. Even the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Defense can only advice but at the end, the President will use his discretion to do what he thinks is right. At the moment, President Buhari believes that retaining the Service Chiefs is the best thing to do for the country. As for those who are saying that retaining the present Service Chiefs will deny other officers elevation and promotion in the military, I say this is a lie because about 300 officers got promoted in the military late last year.
Any officer who is diligent and hardworking will surely get his or her promotion whenever it is due. The fact that President Buhari has retained the Service Chiefs for additional two years is not something new and no part of the Armed Forces of Nigeria Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) or the Constitution of the Federal of Nigeria was violated. Numerous officers who distinguished themselves in their careers have stayed for far longer periods than Nigerian Army Chiefs. For example, John William Vessey, Jr. (born June 29, 1922) served the US military for 46 years. He served as the tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from June 18, 1982 to September 30, 1985. When he retired at the age of 63, Vessey was the longest serving active duty member in the United States Army. Another General known as Winfield Scot served the US for 53 years. He served under 14 US Presidents, from Jefferson to Lincoln. He fought in every major American conflict including the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican–American War, the Second Seminole War, and the American Civil War. He retired from active duty in 1861 as the first commander of Union forces during the Civil War. Then there is Admiral Hyman G. Rickover who served for 63 years. He served in a flag rank for nearly 30 years (1953 to 1982), ending his career as a four-star admiral. His total of 63 years of active duty service made Rickover the longest-serving naval officer and the longest serving member of the U.S armed forces in history.
What I understand is that the fundamental nature of war which according to Clausewitz and others includes fear, uncertainty and pandemonium, has not changed but our war on insurgency is evolving because of new technology and the international dimension it has.Compelling and pressurizing the President to change his Service Chiefs is not the best way out for us as a country if we consider the fact these Service Chiefs have done excellently well. This country was in disarray when they took over in 2015 but they have been able to provide leadership to their troops to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria. I should like to say that opinion leaders and especially journalists should be careful with their words and think deeply about whatever they want to write before they write. Instead of using our various platforms to write about things we don’t really understand, we should rally the locales to take collective ownership of this fight against insurgency by collaborating with the military instead of collaborating with the insurgents. We should hold our political and community leaders accountable. We should find ways to strengthen the Civilian Joint Task Force which at the moment is suffering from corruption and nepotism.
As for the Service Chiefs, all I can say is that Nigerians are praying for you all to succeed. When it is time for you to go, the President will relieve you of your duties. Until then, keep on doing the good work. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
PRONECO passes vote of confidence in Buhari
Some respected Nigerian elders, under the auspices of Pro-Nigeria Elders Council (PRONECO) have passed a vote of confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari, urging the nation to support the Inspector General of Police and Service Chiefs to abate insurrection.
The council of elders made this known in a communique issued at the end of a one-day consultative meeting in Abuja on Thursday on the state of security in the country.
Co-signed by National Convener, Chief Simon Shango, National Chairman, Alhaji Ari Gwasko, National Secretary Honourable Sam Ode and Chief Mrs Helen Bendega, Women leader, PRONECO said its findings were made after an intensive review and deliberation on “politically-induced insecurities in parts of Nigeria and heat in the polity”.
Having reviewed the resurgence of Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists, banditry and other security threats confronting the nation, the group resolved that President Buhari has soared higher above the evil forces amassed on the peace and stability of the nation.
It reckoned that the president has taken the country forward in all ramifications despite artificial incitements of public resentments.
PRONECO is particularly pleased with the president’s insistence on the Service Chiefs, holding firm and refusing to succumb to pressure.
The council of elders, however, called on Nigerians to show solidity with the nation’s security heads, as only with this can the recent security challenges be subdued.
Read full communique below:
The Pro-Nigeria Elders Council) with members drawn from the 36 states of the federation, converged in Abuja today for an all-inclusive stakeholders meeting to brainstorm. We engaged in intensive deliberations as compelled by the prevailing resurgence of politically-induced insecurities in parts of Nigeria and heat in the polity intent on destabilizing the country.
Members endorsed a number of resolutions’ pursuant to matters of national security concerns and the efforts of President Muhammadu in curbing these nascent trends in Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists and armed bandits renewed carnages on Nigeria: PRONECO resolved as follows:
Firstly, the Pro-Nigeria Elders Council (PRONECO) salutes the patience, understanding and courage of every Nigerian despite the deliberate and barefaced politically-instigated resurgence of insecurities in some areas in the country.
We have perceived it as an agenda hatched, crafted, manipulated and mindlessly executed by disgruntled elements in the system or anti-state actors to provoke Nigerians, engender unfounded lack of public confidence in the Nigerian military and spark distrust in the political leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and the proven hard working Service and Security Chiefs.
PRONECO reviewed the resurgence of Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists and their internal collaborators’. But we came to the inevitable conclusion that despite the orchestrated actions and its seeming effects on the general security situation in the country, President Buhari has still soared higher and still triumphing against the evil forces amassed on the peace and stability of Nigeria by these evil internal and foreign forces. The artificial restlessness induced by actions of armed mercenaries would soon be tamed maximally based on Mr. President’s revaluation of the problem and actions being taken to massively arrest perpetrators and their agents to face the wrath of the law.
By whatever yardstick of assessment, we have no modicum of doubt that Mr. President has defiantly taken the country forward in all ramifications. The artificial incitements of public resentments against this progressive administration should never constitute a distraction in achieving set targets.
We also salute d the resilient leadership of President Buhari which has earned him an unbreakable trust from Nigerians and the globe. This is attested by viral international and local news reports. The meeting wholeheartedly and passionately lends its full support to the various authorities which have acknowledged Mr. President’s relentless efforts and the dogged stand of his administration against plots to return the country to the dark days of unmitigated bloodbath.
The meeting also salutes the choice of Mr. President’s appointees manning the security architecture of the country. We resolved that the Security Chiefs have not only refused to shirk in the face of all difficulties, sabotage of their gallant efforts, but have continued to determinedly tackle even renewed atrocities of insurgencies and insurrections with renewed zeal and vigor.
Therefore, we resolved that all our serving security chiefs have performed exceeding marvelous individually and collectively in the light of subsisting encumbrances’ and deserves not only to be encouraged, but maintained on their positions to sustain the winning streaks against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist and armed bandits up again to torment the country.
We perceive the calls by the National Assembly (NASS) and some other questionable characters for the sack of the Service and Security Chiefs as exposure of their veiled conspiracy or manifestation of their insidious plans to finally sink Nigeria in internecine clashes of bloodletting. The meeting therefore resolved that Nigerians owe themselves the moral obligation to discountenanced such campaigns as cajoling Mr. President to sack Security Chiefs smacks of mischief and greasing the evil nest of these unpatriotic elements.
It is condemnable and unacceptable because the efforts of current Security Chiefs are worthy of commendation anywhere in the world. Consequently, the meeting wholeheartedly commends their efforts, as we urge Mr. President never to harken to such satanic calls for their sack, as it will create a lacuna and embolden armed enemies to freely feast on Nigeria.
The meeting noted that what Nigeria is currently experiencing is not the normal Boko Haram or farmers/herder’s crisis, but a politically -instigated crises across the country with foreign backed conspirators to make the country fail and discolour the famed integrity and strong leadership character of President Buhari.
It is no longer news that hired agents of destabilization are hovering all over Nigeria to cause possible unabated violence, nourish the break-up agenda of Nigeria masked under various opposition platforms have been on the prowl. They are working day and night to see that the change agenda of Mr. President does see the light of day or this democratic Government crumbles like previous administrations’ in the country merely to puncture President Buhari’s acclaimed sanctity to leadership excellence.
The meeting observed and unequivocally affirms that it has also come to the knowledge of this gathering of these wisemen that there are multi-layered deliberate campaigns of calumny are being sponsored by some highly placed individuals in the country. Such are backed by some renegade members of the ruling APC in order to destabilize the nation because they are personally aggrieved for falling out of favour/patronage with the present government.
The meeting called on the politicians and other disgruntled elements who are still nursing the wounds of defeat and rejection by the Nigerian masses, in the 2019 general elections; and have resorted to kick-start very early political activities ahead of 2023 should be mindful of the distractions it has implanted in the polity by the method they have employed. We see it as part of ploys, exacerbating insecurities in parts of the country backed by foreign interference and the glaring agenda to destroy Nigeria.
The PRONECO strongly frowns at the partisan attempts to demean and rubbish the campaigns’ against corruption in Nigeria by the opposition in Nigeria, who have contracted internal and foreign organizations to discredit the anti-corruption campaigns’ by all means, as reflected in the fake and dishonest recent Transparency International’s (TI) on rating and ranking of Nigeria, which untruthfully proclaimed an imagined Nigeria’s slide backwards on corruption index.
It is evident everywhere that Mr. President’s anti-corruption campaigns have drastically reduced acts of sleaze, embezzlements and mindless looting of public resources throughout the country, especially in Ministries’, Departments Agencies (MDAs). And the stiff resistance to the anti-corruption wars by the same retrogressive elements or proxies who benefits from such corrupt acts to frustrate public transparency and accountability is noted.
However, there is incontestable and empirical evidence that the Presidency is resolute and determined to outsmart the sabs constituting the cogs in the wheel of progress. And so, we rejected the recent report by TI; declared it condemnable and hollow in its totality as it bears no semblance of truth with the realities on the ground.
The meeting immensely appreciated Mr. President for standing by Nigerians since the year 2015 to get the country rid of both corruption and terrorism. These are the twine most destructive, endemic and pervasive national malaises that have tethered the progress of the country to retrogressive pillars.
The meetings therefore vehemently warned those behind the new plots of destabilizing the country using religious, political or ethnic killings as a bait to put a halt to it. Their failure to desist from such unpatriotic and evil acts against the country will incur the wrath of Nigerians generally against them.
PRONECO was extremely shocked at the disclosures from credible information on the frightening volume of amassed arms and doling out of monies acquired through illicit means to fund violence, by engaging vulnerable youths to indulge in objectionable acts of attacks, killings and arson in different parts of the country.
Nigerians must know that it is our responsibility individually and collectively to team up with security agents in our respective domains to frustrate and put a halt to these acts of evil men determined to blight their future. Like Peter McWilliams once said, Nigerian youths must; “Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it’s a small price to pay for living a dream.”
May the Almighty God continue to bless Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria; Service and Security Chiefs and Nigerian troops.
Yari denies arrest, says he was invited by Police
By Toby Prince
Former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has denied being arrested and detained by the police in Abuja.
In a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Mayowa Oluwabiyi, the governor said reports about his detention on social media were false.
Mr Oluwabiyi said Yari simply honoured an invitation by the police.
“But obviously, the author of the fake news and their sponsors tried to twist the mere invitation to arrest, drill and other unpalatable words to undermine the former governor,” the statement said.
“Indeed, the authors further alleged that the former governor was brought to the Force headquarters and vigorously drilled over his reported utterances he made a few days back during a meeting held in his home village of Talata-Mafara in Zamfara State.
“His Excellency Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari as a law-abiding citizen and a former governor has never and will never breach the law of the land.”