Democracy Under strain: Seeking solutions for Nigeria

In Nigeria's 60 years of self-rule, her democratic journey has been chequered. From the First Republic government which took the reins from the colonial administration to the present Fourth Republic, Nigeria's attempts at democratic rule have been interrupted by a cumulative 29 years of military interregnum. The country is currently enjoying her longest unbroken spell of democratic rule since 29 May 1999.

As the world marks this year’s International Day of Democracy, with the theme ‘Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World’, and this year’s celebration coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasis should be to support human rights, the rule of law, peace and stability, which are all critical democracy development indicators.

The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, congratulates Nigerians and the Nigerian government for keeping the fire of Democracy burning in the last twenty-one years of the Fourth Republic. Although the challenges have been enormous, the collective will of Nigerians has proven stronger than the divisive forces which habitually scuttled our democratic sojourn before now.

BETWEEN ‘DIVIDERS-IN-CHIEF’ and DIVIDERS-IN-LAW

By Wole Soyinka

I am notoriously no fan of Olusegun Obasanjo, General, twice former president and co-architect with other past leaders of the crumbling edifice that is still generously called Nigeria. I have no reasons to change my stance on his record. Nonetheless, I embrace the responsibility of calling attention to any accurate reading of this nation from whatever source, as a contraption teetering on the very edge of total collapse. We are close to extinction as a viable comity of peoples, supposedly bound together under an equitable set of protocols of co-habitation, capable of producing its own means of existence, and devoid of a culture of sectarian privilege and will to dominate.

On Africa Day, May 2019, organised by the Union Bank of Africa, I similarly seized an opening to direct the attention of this government to warnings by the Otta farmer over the self-destruct turn that the nation had taken, urged the wisdom of heeding the message, even while remaining chary of the messenger. That advice appears to have fallen on deaf ears. In place of reasoned response and openness to some serious dialogue, what this nation has been obliged to endure has been insolent distractions from garrulous and coarsened functionaries, apologists and sectarian opportunists.

The nation is divided as never before, and this ripping division has taken place under the policies and conduct of none other than President Buhari – does that claim belong in the realms of speculation? Does anyone deny that it was this president who went to sleep while communities were consistently ravaged by cattle marauders, were raped and displaced in their thousands and turned into beggars all over the landscape? Was it a different president who, on being finally persuaded to visit a scene of carnage, had nothing more authoritative to offer than to advice the traumatised victims to learn to live peacefully with their violators? And what happened to the Police Chief who had defied orders from his Commander-in-Chief to relocate fully to the trouble spot – he came, saw, and bolted, leaving the ‘natives’ to their own devices. Any disciplinary action taken against ‘countryman’? Was it a spokesman for some ghost president who chortled in those early, yet controllable stages of now systematised mayhem, gleefully dismissed the mass burial of victims in Benue State as a “staged show” for international entertainment? Did the other half of the presidential megaphone system not follow up – or was it, precede? - with the wisdom that they, the brutalized citizenry, should learn to bow under the yoke and negotiate, since “only the living” can enjoy the dividends of legal rights?

To reel off any achievements of a government – genuine or fantasised, trivial or monumental – is thus to dodge the issue, to ignore the real core concerns. No government, however inept, fails to record some form of achievement – this was why it were elected, and it takes real genius to succeed in spending four years actually doing nothing. What it fails to do, or what it does wrongly, deceitfully or prejudicially is what concerns the citizenry. Across this nation, there is profound distrust, indeed abandonment of hope in this government as one that is genuinely committed to the survival of the nation as one, or indeed understands the minimal requirements for positioning it as a modern, functional space of productive occupancy. Donald Trump is not without a governance pass mark here or there – indeed, he has been touted for the Nobel Peace prize in some quarters,  backed, predictably, by the quota Nigerian columnist - yet who dares deny, outside Republican diehard circles – that the great United States of American is brutally divided, and is even unraveling  under the Trumpian phenomenon!

Back to our own yaws however: Are pensioners still considered human, deserving the rewards of labour without further labour?  Many collapse from that extended labour of recovering routine entitlements. Even routine access to that basic human requirement – food – is now under question, as farmers are chased off their farms in large numbers. Instead of timely action – urged stridently by beleaguered governors and of course by ‘professional agitators’ -- appeasement of the violent food saboteurs was the preferred route to food security – operating under fancy names like RUGA. So how do you persuade graduates and young school leavers to try their hands at farming instead of flooding urban centres looking for non-existent white-collar positions? To get killed and dismembered? And what is the score within those much-coveted urban precincts? Lop-sided appointments to crucial positions in Civil Service and parastatals!  Consider the prime economic cash cow – petroleum – exposed a few months ago as a reeking cesspit of nepotism. Who is the Minister of Petroleum under whose watch such an unprecedented contempt for geographical parity – uncontroverted till today --  became entrenched? That happens to be none other than the nation’s president - and he did make a show of astonishment at the gross disparities, promised to subject the anomaly to immediate enquiry. May one ask what action has been taken to rectify that presumably “nation-unifying” compilation?  It all casts a long, unedifying shadow backwards to those days of agitation by Tai Solarin and the mercuric engineer, Awojobi when the same Buhari took forceful charge of that ministry, promised to get to the root of the  flying charges – anyone still recall the saga of the missing millions?  He made a beeline for the home of a prominent political leader and carted away loads of files in his illegal possession. In vain the nation awaited enlightenment – Nothing!

National divisiveness? Just where does culpability lie?  Does centralist usurpation divide or bind? The answer is obvious in daily effects. We have even heard the charge laid at the feet of governors. When the constitutive units of this nation take steps to rescue themselves into the ‘unifying’ quagmire into which they have been plunged by a creaking, clearly unworkable centralised system, guess who squawk, gnash their teeth and threaten to call down thunder even where such remedies are backed by constitutional provisions! Alas, the dare of ignorance!  And after being confronted by the legitimate right of states to at least salvage their existence and protect their citizens, guess who trundles out constrictive parameters, and attempts to dictate to governors how such state prerogatives should be exercised! Come under the umbrella of a failed Inspectorate Usurper - ordered the Garbled megaphone. Just on whose authority?

We do know – let this be stated for the umpteenth time! - that the rains did not just begin to beat us yesterday in this nation. We know when the clouds began to gather, where the deluge began and turned to severe pounding. We can pinpoint the first trickle of the torrent of appeasement, of illegal extortions and concessions. Past leaders will not be permitted to forget or gloss over own self-centred interests and nation corrosive lapses that brought us to this parlous present. But we do endure in this here and now, in the immediacy of current governance, so let no uppity flunkey attempt to divert attention from current realities, realities that now clearly pronounce this nation of once promising prospects a basket case of abject penury and insecurity, where hordes of trained minds and sturdy limbs roam the streets as beggars, as haphazard vendors of the products of other peoples, other lands!

Inequity reigns, and solutions are trivialised. Again and again voices are raised to urge the dismantling of a crude, militarised centralist contraption – repeatedly exposed in illegalities --  and substitute a more efficient governance system, decentralised, providing  broader access to opportunities. All such efforts are turned into opportunities for legislative junketing and budget padding. Legislators watch with indifference in this day of human advance, as individuals are sentenced to hang for expressing their views on the relative apprehension of religious avatars, not a squeak emerge from such lawgivers. Pedophiles and cross-border sex traffickers are honoured in the act, granted immunity on cooked-up alibis of religion. Is this nation a theocracy?  Nigeria is a suppurating slaughter slab, and it boggles the mind that supposedly wise and lettered men, sheltering under any religious mandate, would go into a solemn huddle to ‘legitimately’ augment the toll of mindless killings that now plague the land.

Presumably, the ongoing ‘national security’ persecution of Obadiah Mailafia is a sign of national unity? I invite our marionettes to read deeply into history.  Oh, excuse me, history has been banned from learning structures, so look not for history books! However, straightforward, first-hand testimonies abound, exposing structural flaws, deceits and conspiracies against this presumptive national edifice. They are perpetrated by highly placed servants of the state, some of whom have since risen to even higher national positions. I draw attention, for instance, to detailed revelations of plots against the nation, plots that resonate in the present. Such is the two-year old interview of a former ambassador to the Sudan, Bola Dada – The Punch  Newspapers.  Archives remain ever obliging. They avail us vivid material to decide whether or not a sinister script is being acted out today with copious libations from Nigerian blood.

I think, in public interest, The Punch should re-run that interview, most especially in view of recent claims by a columnist in The Nation – Femi Abbas Sept. 4 -- regarding how and by whom Nigeria  was corralled into the OIC. When you abolish History in institutions, you open the gates wide for rampaging  revisionism while the same gates are shut against a grasp, however tenuous, of why, for instance, a Mailafia becomes a target of serial interrogations and harassment,  rather than those boldly named in his revelations. Is it he who constitutes a danger to the nation, or the indicted fanatics of unlimited impunity and callous disregard for humanity? Why the ostentatious pretence of investigative zeal? The man has told you where to look. Well, look in that direction and report back to us! In the meantime however, ensure that he meets with no accident!

Still on security: any tear that is shed for the arch-bandit and multiple murderer Akwaza, known as Gana, is an obscenity.  However, tears of trepidation are falling fast and furious over the conduct of an army that eliminates a captive in cold blood, side-tracking the rationality of professional investigations and legitimate pursuit of felons and other enemies of society. The issue here is not one of the appropriateness of  a policy of Amnesty – that constitutes a larger debate in its place. The issue here – and a critical one --  is that a Wanted Man, on his way to surrender, has been killed in cold blood. I read yesterday that the Army has followed this up with a demand for the bounty earlier placed by the Benue State governor on the head of the WANTED man. However, all reports so far indicate that he was on his way to surrender? And so, is this bounty demand a joke? An end then to such gallows humour! And certainly not now, not while the nation is  freshly reeling from the latest horror of the targeting of unarmed Road Safety officials, gunned down in cold blood in their commuter bus, and the mass kidnapping of survivors.  Shall we presume that the surviving casualties of routine duty rosters are also nation-dividers if they scream out for protection and deplore a breakdown in the entire security architecture of the nation?

We must however concede one remedial initiative to this government. Perhaps it was a belated awareness that the roof of the national edifice was on fire that instigated the effort to appropriate all available water resources in the nation -- a desperate move to put out the flames with one hefty splash! Presumably, even the rains that fall on earth will belong to the Exclusive List?  We shall have to learn to gather such rain before it strikes the earth, or else queue for a licence to tap it later for domestic use. Get ready to pay stiff fines when we get rain soaked for lack of public transportation. Distractions upon distractions, but dangerous distractions! Provocative moves that deeply erode any lingering faith in the even-handed claims of governance, of respect for the rights of independent peoples that were brought together to form a nation, and the justice of equality of access to the land’s resources.  But the fault is not one-sided. Let governors also wake up to their constitutional rights and duties. There are vast areas of those rights that have been trampled upon, usurped for far too long. Forget legislative jamborees of constitution reviews – we have had our fill of them – all the files are gathering dust. It is time for Reparations! Dust up those files and head for the courts. Prepare for name-calling, just as long as such names embody - Dividers-in-law!

Only then shall we uncover who are the real Dividers-in-Chief? If individual voices rankle, then perhaps it is time to convoke a Nation Survival Conference. Let all sections and group interests place their cards on the table and starkly articulate what we all know and endure on a daily basis, and proffer solutions, debate moves towards a collective – rational and sincere -- undertaking of nation formation. The ongoing governance posture of aggressive evasion spells only one end: collective suicide.

Wole SOYINKA, Nobel Laureate, 

wrote today, September 15, from A.R.I. Idi-Aba, Abeokuta,

The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Rhetoric: My Response, by Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki

I have always restrained from joining issues in the media with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and this is based on my respect for him. However, I will not allow him to create a wrong, false and mischievous impression about the reasons for my decision to exit the All Progressives Congress (APC) and present his prejudice as facts for public consumption.

I have been consistent in my complaints to all leaders of the APC, including Tinubu, that a situation where the National Assembly is not constructively engaged or carried along in key policy decisions, particularly those that will eventually require legislative approval, is not in the best interest of the nation. No genuine leader of the legislature will be comfortable that the Presidency will simply write a terse letter to the National Assembly on key issues which the federal legislature is expected to later deliberate upon and give its approval. The Buhari administration consistently treats the legislature with contempt and acts as if the lawmaking body should be an appendage of the Executive. To me, this is unacceptable.

In the same way, I find it very objectionable that many stakeholders who worked strenuously to get the administration into office have now been excluded in the government and not consulted on key decisions as necessary and expected. In fact, some of them are treated as pariahs. A party that ignores justice, equity and inclusion as basic pre-conditions for peace, unity and stability cannot sustain its membership and leadership.

Let me redirect the attention of the former Governor of Lagos State to the aspect of my July 31, 2018, statement announcing my exit from APC in which I emphasized that the decision "has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist".

In that statement, I further noted that those APC elements "have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion. The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere".

Tinubu himself will recall that during the various meetings he had with me at the time he was pursuing reconciliation within the APC, I raised all the above issues. I can also vividly recall that he himself always expressed his displeasure with the style of the government and also mentioned that he had equally suffered disrespect from the same government which we all worked to put in office. I also made the point that whatever travails I have gone through in the last three years belong to the past and will not shape my decisions now and in the future.

However, during those meetings, the point of disagreement between Tinubu and I is that while I expressed my worries that there is nothing on ground to assure me that the administrative style and attitude would change in the next four years in a manner that will enable us to deliver the positive changes we promised to our people, he (Tinubu) expressed a strong opinion that he would rather 'support a Buhari on the hospital stretcher' to get a second term because in 2023, power will shift to the South-west. This viewpoint of Tinubu’s was not only expressed to me but to several of my colleagues. So much for acting in national interest.

It is clear that while my own decision is based on protecting the collective national interest, Tinubu will rather live with the identified inadequacies of the government for the sake of fulfilling and preserving his presidential ambition in 2023. This new position of Tinubu has only demonstrated inconsistency — particularly when one reviews his antecedents over the years.

Again, let me reiterate my position that my uncertain and complex relationship with Tinubu has been continually defined by the event of 2014 when myself and other leaders of the APC opposed the Muslim-Muslim ticket arrangement about to be foisted on the APC for the 2015 polls. It should be noted that he has not forgotten the fact that I took the bull by the horns and told him that in the interest of the country, he should accept the need for the party to present a balanced ticket for the 2015 General Elections in terms of religion and geo-political zones. Since that time he has been very active; plotting at every point to undermine me, both within and outside the National Assembly.

It is a surprise to me that Asiwaju Tinubu is still peddling the falsehood about the fact that my defection is about automatic ticket and sharing of resources. Members of the public will recall that when the issue of my decision to quit APC came to the fore and many APC leaders were holding meetings with me, a newspaper owned by the same Tinubu published a false report about the promise of automatic tickets, oil blocks and other benefits. I immediately rebutted their claims and categorically stated that I never discussed any such personal and pecuniary benefits with anybody. My challenge that anybody who has contrary facts should come forward with them still remains open.

It should be known that Democracy is a system that allows people to freely make their choices. It is my choice that I have decided to join others to present a viable alternative platform for Nigerians in the coming elections. Tinubu and leaders of the APC had better respect this decision or lawfully deal with it. As for me, Allah gives power to whom He wishes. Human beings can only aspire and strive to fulfill their aspirations.

Signed:

Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
President of the Senate

THE IGBOS AND THEIR UNHEALED PERSECUTION COMPLEX - Austin Emaduku

In a recent article titled “IGBO-HATERS, THE AREWA ULTIMATUM AND OUR NATION ” Ruben Abati, former Presidential spokesperson said in the opening sentence: “Fifty years after the civil war ended, Igbos do not yet feel a sense of belonging, acceptance or safety in the federation called Nigeria.” Dr Abati went on in the article to build on this statement as the reason for the Igbo agitation. As is with everything written by erudite Abati, the piece was written in the highest delectable prose. He gave several instances, some of which sounded far fetched to give credence to this opening statement of his article.

Austin Emaduku

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

(For Omoyele Sowore, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, Bayo Omisore, Moses Ochonu, Dapo Rotifa, Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo, Yommi Oni, Yomi Okusanya Scott, Jesse Bay, Peter Oshun, Obinna Aligwekwe, Olutoyin Adeyinka Eweje, Ayo Turton, Inibehe Effiong, Gimba Kakanda, Abdul Mahmud, and so many valiant warriors in your shoes within and without Fatherland.)
I was fourteen years-old and in Form Four when I first encountered the Greek philosopher, Plato. No, I did not encounter him in the classrooms of Titcombe College, Egbe. I encountered him through Baba Adesanmi’s disciplinary regime: a hybrid of Roman Catholic, African-traditional, and Spartan colonial disciplinary methods.

@SaharaReporters: What manner of journalism?

By Adewale Adeoye            
There are different types of journalists. We have conservative – they report press releases of government officials and corporate organisations. They attend press conferences and even assist the authorities to shape their often-wobbling logic on state affairs.

President sacks aviation agencies’ heads, appoints Akinkuotu, others

Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sacked the heads of four aviation agencies and promptly appointed their replacements.

The agencies affected include the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, and the Accident Investigation Bureau.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Sabiu Zakari, on behalf of the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, stated that Buhari approved the appointment of Capt. Fola Akinkuotu as the Managing Director of NAMA.
“Capt. Akinkuotu is a seasoned transport pilot, flight and aircraft maintenance engineer, airline chief executive and a trained aviation industry regulator,” the ministry said in the statement.
Akinkuotu, until his appointment, was the Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest and second largest commercial carrier.

FG Says It Has Started Payment Of Promised 5,000 Naira

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari says it has now started the payment of 5,000 Naira monthly stipends to the poorest and the most vulnerable in Nigeria.
It says the payments are being made through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP).
The amount was part of campaign promises the administration made to Nigerians before they were elected.
A statement by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said that under the CCT, one million Nigerians would receive 5,000 Naira monthly payments, as a form of social safety net for the poorest and most vulnerable as budgeted for in the 2016 Budget.

Gambian authorities shut two radio stations amid post-election crisis

Gambian security forces closed down two private radio stations based near the capital, Banjul, the main journalists' union said on Monday, amid an escalating political crisis caused by President Yahya Jammeh's refusal to accept his election defeat.

Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to opposition rival Adama Barrow but then called for fresh elections, drawing condemnation from local opponents and foreign powers.

MTN pays N80bn of N330bn fine — FG

 

The Federal Government says MTN had paid N80 billion of the N330 billion fine imposed on it for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards.

Speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja, the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, said that the company paid the sum for the first year.

It will be recalled that MTN was initially fined 5.2 billion dollars (N1.04 trillion) for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards but was later reduced to N330 billion.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR, CHOICES BEFORE THE NEW GENERATION – BEING THE CONVOCATION SPEEECH DELIVERED BY BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN ON THE 25TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2016

FREEDOM FROM FEAR, CHOICES BEFORE THE NEW GENERATION – BEING THE CONVOCATION SPEEECH DELIVERED BY BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN ON THE 25TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2016

Great UNIBEN.

This is the greeting amongst students on the campus of the University, and it has endured after graduation and stayed with the alumni; decades after graduation.

May this greeting endure also for all of you who graduate today, and may you fulfil your destiny of greatness as products of a great institution and citadel of learning.

That this university is great is beyond argument now.

The evidence of this abounds in the human capital supply she has produced for Nigeria in fulfilment of the objectives of founding fathers.

It is a rich store of personnel, not only in quantity, but defining in quality.

In all spheres of Nigeria’s developmental endeavour, there is a representative of great UNIBEN, not only in a participatory role, but also in a leadership role that is setting worthy and commendable examples.

The boys and girls of yesterday have become the men and women who define the developmental character of our nation and they are waiting for you all to join them to play your role.

Therefore, I intend to start my interaction with you today by telling a story.

Many years ago, sometime in 1983, in a Philosophy classroom, a lecturer was telling his students about the theory of evolution, based on the Big Bang and atomic perspective of our evolution.

He charged them not to believe things that were not demonstrable by evidence.

He taught them about cause and effect relationships of man’s existence and that everything was ultimately traceable to Matter – something that can be seen.

The students it appeared seemed to enjoy this explanation of life and their own existence; the problem was that it debunked their understanding of faith, religion and God.

They had grown up believing, as Christians and Muslims, that there is God. But they could not see him. How were they going to resolve this matter of ‘Matter’ and science on one hand, God on the other hand.

This lecturer professed no faith, and did not believe in God, or so the students thought, until one fateful morning when one of the students sighted the lecturer walking out of church after a Sunday morning service.

Bewildered, confused feeling misled or deceived by a teacher who told him not to believe where they did not see or could not prove, (and this in the student’s mind extended to God) and to see the purveyor of that view walking out of church, with Bible in hand, was the biggest betrayal that was not going to pass unchallenged.

The student walked up to his teacher, quickly conveyed his courtesies of “Good morning sir” and the following conversation ensued:

“What are you doing there sir? You came to church?”

“Yes,” answered the teacher. “I worship here every Sunday.”

“You believe in God?”

“Yes I do.”

“Why have you been deceiving us?”

“How have I been deceiving you?”

“You taught us to believe that God does not exist since we cannot prove it,” the student said.

“No. I did not. I believe in God,” the teacher replied.

“My faith is different from my job. Your school is training you to become lawyers.

“They have employed me to develop your minds to question and challenge things. To seek knowledge, never to be easily satisfied.

“To think, and to challenge the existing order, to drive change and never to settle for the path well-travelled.

“To dare and to dream, to seek new ways of doing the same thing, because as lawyers, people’s fates will be defined by choices you make.

“Their lives will sometimes depend on your abilities, as will their businesses or their marriages. That is my job.

“Whether you believe in God or not is not my business. That is your personal choice.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is as best as I can recall this event.

The school where this event happened is where we gather today. The great University of Benin.

The faculty that offered the course in Philosophy is the Faculty of Law.

The lecturer was either Greek or Cypriot. His name was Theodoropolous. I was the student in question.

That encounter shaped my life in many ways; and even if I say so, I am the better for it having gone through it.

If I had to choose a university again, it would be University of Benin.

​
It is that experience I had that I feel bound to share with you today as you leave the University.

If I successfully connect with only one of you, I believe the effort will have been worthwhile.

That is why I have titled my intervention: “FREEDOM FROM FEAR, CHOICES BEFORE THE NEW GENERATION”, in the hope that I will challenge you to take control of what happens to you and what happens around you.

I say this because there seems to be an increasing manifestation of our collective surrender of our individual choices and free will to divine intervention and the possibility of endless miracles.

We are now in the realm and reality of constant expectations of miracles and divine intervention.

Superstitions have taken over reason and logic.

When we pass examinations, win football matches, conduct successful elections, or achieve any feat, we seem all too frightened and unsure of ourselves to take credit for even the most modest of successes attributable to our efforts.

The first thing you hear is God did it.

For the avoidance of doubt, I believe in God, and only He can question my faith.

But I also believe He gave us a lot of free will.

Regrettably, we have surrendered our capacities and abilities in a frightful way to FEAR, that we have become victims of some confidence tricksters who deceive, disentitle and prey on our fears and frailties in ‘gods’ name.

Every man and woman of substance now has a Pastor, Imam, Spiritualist or even a witchdoctor or Dibia who is responsible for telling them what to do, when to do it, in a way that diminishes his abilities and surrenders his talents and free will to divine intervention or spiritual consultation.

Many people are disappearing and are being murdered in a crazed quest for human parts because some who have been entrapped in fear and superstition, believe that you can make money through ritual sacrifice.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Human parts are tissues, bones, muscles and all that, and they have no place in the materials used to manufacture money.

There is nothing Divine in money making. It is entrepreneurship, production and hard work.

The teaching of science as espoused by Theodoropolous tells me that money is a product of man and not a product of God.

It is manufactured in a place called a Mint, by a process of printing, using special paper, ink, engravement and embossment, to make it difficult to fake or counterfeit.

When we play a football match and get to half-time, which is a few precious minutes to quickly refresh, renew and re-plan in the dressing room, we instead gather to pray, on the field, in a huddle that the whole world is still trying to fathom.

We waste the precious time that is allotted for tactical review, and return to the second half, singing and praying, “He is a miracle working God” in search of divine intervention.

The truth is that we have done well when we prepare and done badly when we do not.

Sometimes of course, working hard does not always bring the expected results but it is better than not working hard.

Yes, God is a miracle worker. I believe, but he is not an unjust God who rewards those who make no effort at the expense of those who do.

I once listened to a sermon broadcast on Television, asking people who are indebted to step forward for prayers that will make their debts disappear.

It frightens me. It does not make sense to me.

Debts are accounting, matters of credits and deficits. They do not vanish.

It is people who live in FEAR who fall prey to such teachings and become victims of misery from poor choices.

I urge you to free your minds from such fears.

There are many teachings about freedoms.

Freedom from want, Freedom of Associations, Freedom of speech, freedom of choice (including the choice of leadership by voting at elections) and many others.

But the least expressed freedom, is the freedom from FEAR, which in my view is the most important.

A mind taken over by fear cannot express free will and will therefore not fully optimize or benefit from the other freedoms.

For example, we have seen that elections are conducted in other parts on the basis of polls, campaigns, analysis of human behaviour rather than any occultic or sacrificial offering.

Candidates who wish to win elections must persuade people to agree to their messages and promises, and seek to change the minds of those who are unpersuaded, by understanding what they want and taking steps to address them.

Those who may not be initial converts can change their minds, as we have seen in our own President who finally won after 3 (THREE) unsuccessful attempts.

For those who do not know, let me share with you some of the things that President Buhari did to win the last election.

A poll was conducted across Nigeria and administered to 20,000 Nigerians as a sample, with each person answering 60 (sixty) questions administered face to face.

That meant that the poll had to analyse 1,200,000 (ONE MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND) responses on what Nigerians wanted in the 2015 election.

The top 3 (THREE) were security, corruption and economy, which was to form the core of candidate Buhari’s campaign message that produced President Buhari. This is how to win elections.

Polls are of course not fool proof. They can be manipulated or misinterpreted by those who analyse data. They can also be misunderstood . – Hillary leading but had over 60% Trust deficit.

Let me tell you another story related to me. This is the story of the ram.

A friend related to me how his mother had a bad dream concerning his well-being.

The dream was related to the mother’s Imam.

His response was that there had to be a sacrifice.

I interrupted by asking if the sacrifice involved buying a ram and he said yes.

Seeking to know how I knew. My response was that Ileya (the Muslim festival of Eid-El-Kabir) of Ram sacrifice was 3 (THREE) weeks away and (at the time) any trickster who could not afford one would find foul or fair means to get a ram even though Islam does not make it a matter of compulsion.

Whilst I am not passing any judgement on the Imam and any other man of God, because I cannot question their faith, the coincidence was just too uncanny. Yet I agree I may be wrong.

However, I do not see how sacrifices are solutions to dreams.

Dreams are scientific events occurring as a result of the Rapid Eye Movement during sleep at a stage when our brains are most active.

Let me reiterate again that I have no quarrel with faith. What I seek to advocate is the lack of FEAR, and the resort to faith out of conviction rather than as a result of FEAR.

Fear takes choices away, and choices can and must be the product of conviction.

If we pursue our choices with as much conviction as we pursue our faith, we will certainly be a more prosperous society.

Let us remember, that at least the two dominant faiths are not original to us. They are inherited. The propagators of the faith have made them personal affairs and not public ones.

I have attended meetings in the West and in the Middle East and not on one occasion have these meetings been started or ended with prayers.

Meetings represent public undertakings and places of work and productive undertakings to deliver prosperity.

When those people have worked hard for the week, they go on Fridays and Sundays to their places of worship and their homes to offer prayers, for God to bless and prosper the work of their hands.

Sadly, back home, the head of Governments, heads of ministries, and businesses, devote early mornings at work to prayers with their staff while productive man hours tick away, they do the same at home and on weekends, we  socialise.

In effect we spend a lot of time praying and socializing.

How can this lead us to prosperity? If this is not faith influenced by fear, I do not know what it is.

If you visit many construction sites where the Chinese are employed as contractors, you will find that they work on Sundays, but we who have unemployment challenges, do not often work on Sunday.

We have invested a worrisome amount of money in building places of worship compared to what we have in building factories, businesses and schools.

This is worrisome compared to the investments I see in businesses and schools that outstrip investment in places of worship in the West and Middle East.

Recently, while driving along a road of not more than 5 (FIVE) kilometres in a Nigerian city, a colleague and I took an unplanned census of building types and this is what we counted:

a) 1 laundry outfit for washing and dry cleaning clothes (Job place)

b) 3 clinics for healthcare (Job place)

c) 2 petrol filling stations (Job place)

d) 1 bank branch (Job place)

e) 4 shopping outlets (Job place)

f) 1 eatery (Job place)

g) 10 religious houses (Worship place)

As you go around your states and neighbourhoods, I urge you to do a similar count and tell your neighbour what you see.

Again I reiterate, I do not criticise worship, but I am challenging you to think through the choices you will make.

We will not pray our way out of recession, we will plan, and produce our way back to prosperity and out of recession and you are the freshest, youngest and most energetic workforce we will have to work with.

You are the new batteries to power the engine of growth of our country.

Your choices must be clear, free from fear, not reckless but driven by analytical thought, questioning and probing and ultimately determined by convictions.

In order to test the consequences of choices based on faith influenced by fear, I advise you to look at the world map and 2 (TWO) Island nations who are situated on the Northern Hemisphere.

I will not tell you their names. You find that out. But I will tell you they are close to each other. One believes in God and works hard. The other one is the home of voodoo and spends all time practising this.

If you follow their history, the first one is prosperous and the second one seems to have made a permanent contract with poverty.

This can be changed if and when they make the right choices.

While still on this matter, let me speak about traditional medicine as distinct from divination.

Traditional medicine, from herbs, roots, and other endowments
of nature have their place of pre-eminence in the assurance of our wellbeing and good health.

I cannot say the same thing about divination and sacrifices.

We must choose to work our iron ore to produce steel and build skyscrapers, machines and tools like others do instead of worshipping the god of Iron.

We must use engineering to manage and control flooding and erosion.

We must probe the treasures of our forests and depths of our oceans as bastions of possibilities that we must manage and dominate instead of worshipping the god of the sea.

If we continue to fear the sea, oceans and waters we will perpetuate the practice of sacrifice, instead of undertaking the enterprise of understanding; and dominating them for energy and transport.

We must approach our rock formations as treasure troves of building materials like marble, tiles and granite rather than treat them as totems of salvation that require animal sacrifice.

We should stop deifying the moon and stratosphere beyond the visibility of our eyes out of fear.

Instead we should develop the courage and resolve to send men and women to land a space craft there.

I fully understand that some of you who have been raised in an environment dominated by your fear, may have been adversely affected by it.

But let me assure you that freedom from fear is not the same as courage. Instead while fear is an emotion, freedom from it is the ability to overcome it by refusing to surrender to it.

It comes from developing an ability to question things, to challenge the existing order and create a new order.

It has been done before. It requires us to know our choices and beliefs and dispense with culture that is not dynamic.

That is why twins survive today. We stopped killing them and turned our backs against a Philistinic practice that was masquerading as a culture.

If you surrender to fear, people less educated, less intelligent and less qualified than you will take over your minds, your homes and your decision making powers.

Many of such people are confidence tricksters who will prosper at your expense by preying on your fear.

Therefore, let me say to you that while your education may not be perfect, while there may be challenges, there is room to improve on it, because your education does not end here.

Indeed, your education has just started.

What you have learnt in the controlled environment of university classrooms will be subject to the test of real life situations.

How you improve and educate yourself depends on how you use your minds.

For example, do you simply repeat and reaffirm what you hear people to say simply because they are highly placed and supposedly intelligent?

Do you verify it yourself before repeating it to others ?

Do you ever ask yourself if those people could be wrong? Yes, they can be. We are all flawed.

Do you ask yourself whether those you quote without question even read as much as you do?

Do you think in terms of these words:- “Impossible”, “Improbable,” “Unlikely” ?

If you do, please stop it. They are symbols and signposts of fear.

Almost everything that was once thought impossible, improbable, unlikely has happened.

Men and women now fly thousands of Kilometres in the sky. They eat, sleep, even now shower on the Airbus A380, an engineering feat delivered by engineers of Airbus and Boeing who started out life like you, as young graduates like you.

There are now driverless cars, and men have landed on the moon and have communicated back to Earth on missions driven by freedom from fear, sheer dedication, hard work and an indomitable spirit that refused to surrender to divination, but persevered against the odds of failure before success was achieved.

But these men and women who have freed their minds from fear are not done. They are pushing to send men to Mars - The Red Planet, they are looking for cures for cancer, alzheimer’s and other diseases.

This will be the work of science, research and engineering driven by freedom from fear, not by prayer, or sacrifice of fetish to some inanimate deity.

How do you free your mind from impossibility, improbability, and unlikelihoods?

The answer is simple. Remember always, that those words are negatives. Replace them with positive thoughts and actions.

This is what frees your mind from fear and helps you to choose, to see solutions and to look for opportunities, instead of dwelling on and surrendering to problems.

If you see unmanaged refuse as a problem, you may not think of recycling and re-use and the economic opportunities that have multiple benefits, including the ultimate removal of the refuse.

If you dwell on traffic gridlock as a problem, you are unlikely to focus on developing intelligent traffic management solutions like traffic lights or a radio station to manage it and create opportunities for yourself and others.

If you focus on crime and its burden, you may lose the opportunity to focus on crime management strategies like more policemen, crime detection methods, employment and training of judges.

Indeed, as they say, if you see every problem as a nail, the only solution you might evolve is a hammer.

So, please look for the positive angle of a difficult situation, because there will be one, if you look hard enough.

I urge you to free your mind from fear, reach for the skies, choose by conviction and not by fear; trust in your abilities and God given talent, take responsibility, work hard and pray if you believe.

Yes, Sango is the god of lightning and thunder, but all the sacrifices made to Sango has not generated 1 (ONE) kilowatt of electric power.

Electricity is produced by using nature’s gifts , such as gas, water, solar and wind, harnessing their capacity through turbines made from steel to serve our energy needs, not by making animal sacrifices.

I will conclude by urging you to look for the book titled “Start Up Nation” by Dan Senor and Saul Singer , it would provoke your thinking as it did mine.

I am done.

Congratulations on your graduation. May the wind be behind your sails as you set forth in the journey of life.

May you fulfil your true promise, and may you be free from fear so that you can make good choices in your contribution to our national development.

Thank you for listening.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

“NIGERIA YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW:GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY” - By Olusegun Obasanjo

“NIGERIA YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW:GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY”





Lecture by

His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo

At the First Akintola Williams Annual Lecture

Lagos, November 23, 2016

Protocol

When my sister, ’Toyin Olakunri, phoned to alert me about this Lecture, the telephone connection was poor and I could hardly hear her but I got the name of Mr. Akintola Williams which has always struck reverence and awe in me.

Court Of Appeal Restores Eyitayo Jegede As PDP Candidate In Ondo Guber Election

The Court of Appeal in Abuja today ejected controversial businessman Jimoh Ibrahim as the legitimate Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Ondo State gubernatorial election scheduled for this weekend.

Justice Ibrahim Salauwa, leading other judges, ruled in favor of Eyitayo Jegede, widely known to be the handpicked candidate of Governor Segun Mimiko, by nullifying the party primary which produced Mr. Ibrahim.
The ruling came after a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, yesterday ordered the Court of Appeal to deliver its arrested ruling from last
Friday
.

RED CARD, GREEN CARD – Notes Towards The Management Of Hysteria By Wole Soyinka

I shall begin on a morbid note. One of the horror stories that emerged from the Daesh (Isis) controlled parts of Iraq was the gruesome tale of the mother who had a daughter affected by wanderlust, even in that endangered zone. One day, when she looked for her to attend to some home chores, she found that she had gone missing yet again. As she searched, she shouted in frustration:  ”As Allah is my witness, I’ll kill that girl when I catch up with her”. A neighbor overheard and reported her to the Hisbah. The mother was summoned by the mullahs who ordered her to put the child to death, since she had sworn by Allah. She refused, so they took the child by the legs and smashed her head against a wall. End of story. True or false? It certainly was published as true testimony. 

‘Tackling infrastructure decay in N’ Delta will stem agitations’

The President of the National Association of Seadogs, Mr. Arthur Boje, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to tackle infrastructure deficit in the Niger Delta region to stem the rising wave of insurgency by militants.

Boje, who spoke in an interview on Friday, said agitators would have no reason to be rebellious if basic infrastructure were made available.
He also said the ongoing anti-corruption crusade would help cleanse the ‘dented’ image of the country in the developed world.

According to Boje, instead of granting amnesty, the focus should be on developing infrastructure in the region as the idea of pardoning militant groups has encouraged the emergence of new agitators.

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE COMMISSIONING CEREMONY OF 500 HOUSING UNITS AT KALAMBAINA HOUSING ESTATE, SOKOTO ON SATURDAY, 5TH NOVEMBER, 2016

It is my delight and honour to be with you this morning to commission the 500 Kalambaina Housing Units constructed for the good people of Sokoto State. We thank Allah (SWT) for guiding us and for giving the State Government under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR (Mutawallen Sokoto) the vision to address issues of good governance with passion and love for the citizenry.

Completion of projects started by the previous administration of H.E Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, is a demonstration of humility and a fulfilment of our promises to our people. I salute the efforts of Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri and all those assisting him in promoting democracy and good governance.  

This ceremony is quite historic not only because it is the first of its kind to be held in Sokoto the Seat of the Caliphate by the present administration but also for the fact that it is taking place while we are in a festive mood – celebrating the 10th Anniversary of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III.

Looking at the galaxy of the personalities that came for the Anniversary, as well as people who trooped in from all parts of the country and beyond for this happy event, it is clear to all that our traditional institutions are playing critical roles in the overall development of our fatherland.

Let me seize this opportunity offered by this moment to once more congratulate His Eminence, the Sultan for the invaluable contributions he is making in the development of the Nigerian polity. The Sultan has consistently proved himself worthy of his ancestors. He has continuously worked to promote peace and unity in the country. He has remained a leader, treading the path of his revered ancestors in building bridges of understanding amongst diverse ethnic and religious groups in the country.

It is our prayer that Allah (SWT) will continue to bless the Sultan, extend his reign and enrich us with more leaders of his exemplary standing.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the 10th Anniversary of His Eminence, the Sultan and events of its kind are not simply held for merriment but to provide opportunity for sober reflections. I am speaking in the context of the challenges which our dear nation needs to address through exemplary, disciplined and committed leadership in order to accomplish our aspirations for a strong and virile polity that will be a source of pride to present and future generations.

It is an indisputable fact that in the 60s, 70s and even in the early part of the 80s, Nigeria was reputed for its peaceful coexistence between the different ethnic and religious groups; the culture of discipline and patriotism was also highly safeguarded. Commitment to national development by all key players in governance was also visible.

However, the situation as we all know, has unfortunately changed. Events associated with the anniversary and importantly the relevance of value of the Caliphate system must be base for progressive and self-reliant nation where, every citizen, irrespective of creed or tribal affiliation is given opportunity for self-actualisation.

In this regard, the Sultan and our highly esteemed Royal Fathers, our traditional institutions and indeed all patriotic citizens of this country have to continue to work for peace, religious harmony and sustainable development of our country.

Every Government has the sacred responsibility of addressing the welfare of the governed in all possible ways. Provision of shelter to the teeming populace is in this context a priority for a purposeful leadership.

It is interesting to note that in fulfillment of his pledges to the good people of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is making all possible sacrifices worthy of a leader. It is also pleasing to note that the 500 Housing Units being commissioned today are equipped with basic amenities required for a decent life. It is hoped that beneficiaries will make good use of the facilities to ensure the accomplishment of the lofty objectives for which the huge expenditures were incurred in making the houses available.

Looking forward, despite the enormity of the challenges facing us we are optimistic that by the grace of God our nation is destined to achieve greatness.  Today economic recession is affecting our economy. But we are resolved to overcome challenges, fight corruption and ensure good governance for the benefit of our citizens. Our administration is poised to bring positive changes to all Nigerians.

Finally, I thank the good people of Sokoto State most profoundly for the warm reception accorded us and for the enormous support that has been extended to the present administration. May Allah (SWT) make these houses a source of blessing to the beneficiaries. May He also continue to guide, bless and protect us in all our endeavours.

I thank you all and God bless our country.

WANTED: A NEW GENERATION OF MORTGAGE BANKING PROFESSIONALS IN NIGERIA

The West African nation of Nigeria has an acute shortage of Mortgage Banking Professionals. The recapitalization of the Industry a few years ago further worsened the dearth of skilled professionals. To give readers some perspective, I ask that you visit the website (for those institutions that have) of “leading” mortgage banks and check out their executive management, and even board of directors………then make your decision. 

 

I have been very critical of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in recent times, to the extent that I wrote an unsolicited memorandum to “Powers that be”, recommending a new Management for the moribund institution. I shared this on my page some weeks back. I would like to put it on record that the current executive management lacks the vision and skills to turn FMBN around. In my opinion, for FMBN to succeed, the management team will need to be complemented by executives who have credibility in both the capital markets and with regulators. They also need to have a very sound understanding of the entire mortgage banking environment. Mortgage banking stands at a turning point. Institutions that recognize the industry’s new dynamics can transform this challenge into an opportunity. Those that don’t recognize that the world has changed will likely be left behind.

At a recent Housing fair in Abuja, the CEO of a Mortgage Bank said “the challenges facing the industry is unique and should be handled with local content……….he got a lot of applaud for this……..It was at this moment that I came to the conclusion that the future of the industry, with the current players, is very very blink……In my hotel room, I wept and mourned the death of the industry. 

 

Housing Finance Institutions operating in Nigeria need a different class of executives – those who have the experience and sophistication to work productively with regulators. Equally as important, the next generation of mortgage banking executives will need substantially more capital markets and regulatory experience. Mortgage banking executive teams will also be required to build robust risk management infrastructure and strengthen their commitment to best practices, which is almost nonexistent today, as evidenced with the high percentage of non perfuming loans, unauthorized advances and insider loans. For the avoidance of doubt, there is a high correlation between bank failure and lending to insiders.

I can say authoritatively that Hundreds of Millions of naira are loaned on cozy and potentially illegal terms to mortgage bank directors and their top lending executives. Scores of millions more have gone out the door in speculative real-estate loans, including tens of million-naira loans to questionable foreign amateur home builders recruited by the bank executives. It is on record that Mortgage Banks in Nigeria keep granting construction and development loans “Associated” Developers and business partner even after regulators’ repeated warnings to set limits on total loans for land acquisition, development and construction.

I should also point out that loans made to insiders does not single-handedly sink a bank, but these loans reflect a corporate culture obsessed with growth at any cost………Furthermore, Bank officers and directors are allowed to borrow money from the institution they oversee — so long as they follow the rules and don’t gain at the bank’s expense by abusing their power. The mortgage banking industry, as a career path, is grossly misunderstood, even by the broader financial services community. The mortgage banking problems over the past few years have created an impression of excessive risk from a professional development perspective. Consequently, executives with the necessary institutional and regulatory expertise not only have other choices in sectors with which they are more familiar, but also need to be better informed about this sector as a promising career path.

In addition to a CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, the following three “C’s” are very critical for a Mortgage Bank to be successful in Nigeria:

• CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER: charged with instilling a company-wide compliance culture through employee training and education. The chief compliance officer will work closely with the general counsel to minimize regulatory risk. A key responsibility of the position is ensuring that employees adhere to appropriate processes and procedures to keep business activities in compliance with regulatory requirements each day.
• CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: A CFO today needs to do more than accounting and tax work. This individual will act as a senior member of the executive team with the credibility to attract institutional investment and provide transparency in financial reporting and financial management. Access to the capital markets and deep experience with clients, regulators and investors is needed as the industry moves to a new normal.
• CHIEF RISK OFFICER: The CRO provides enterprise-wide visibility and assessment of risk usually inclusive of operational, enterprise and financial elements. By measuring risk across all aspects of the firm, better, more comprehensive decisions can be made by the CEO, board and other leaders. That will improve the allocation of precious resources and bring clarity to risk/returns of various options. A CRO is also an important member of strategy team for the reasons mentioned above.

Where does the Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria stand in all of this? I will save this for another day. However, MBAN must as a matter of utmost urgency identify, recruit, build, train and retain talents. The mortgage banking industry needs to move quickly to develop a new generation of leaders. Subjective evidence from my personal experience suggests that mortgage banks face an uphill battle in finding the right talent. Moreover, the repeated nature of the mortgage business will continually challenge boards and executives to invest in the next generation of talent when they inevitably face short-term cost pressure due to changes in the housing market or economy……..

Finally, Sonnie Ayere remains the prime candidate for the CEO position in Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

-Kunle Faleti

 

Buhari's row with wife signals frustration over Nigerian inertia

A row between the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife has brought cracks in the ruling party right into the open, as frustration grows over government inertia in trying to drag the country out of its first recession in 25 years.
Aisha Buhari publicly criticized her husband's record in office, saying she might not support him if he seeks re-election in 2019 unless he shakes up his administration, which she said had been hijacked by a "few people".
The president tried to laugh off the rebuke from his wife of 27 years, saying "she belongs in the kitchen" - but without addressing the substance of her remarks, made last week in an interview with the BBC.

I made $15million in 15 years through gifts and savings – Patience Jonathan

The wife of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has revealed how she was able to accumulate as much as $15million over 15 years in accounts the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has linked to her.

In a suit filed by Union of Niger Delta Youth Organisation for Equity, Justice and Good Governance on behalf of Mrs Dame Jonathan with suit number FHC/L/CS/1349/2016 before a Federal High Court in Lagos, alleging “campaign of calumny by SERAP against her, the group through the court papers explained how the former first lady accumulated the said sum.

“The funds in question were legitimate gifts from her friends and well-wishers over the last 15 years which she had been saving in order to utilize to upgrade family businesses and concerns which had been somewhat dormant by reason of the long period of her husband service as a public officer in Nigeria.

I was nominated as VP by ‘somebody somewhere’ – Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday night cleverly avoided to be dragged into the raging controversy over who nominated him to be President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 presidential election. 

Although he confirmed that “somebody somewhere” must nominate one before occupying a position, Osinbajo refrained from disclosing who nominated him. 

Controversy broke out recently when the author of Buhari’s biography, “Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria”, Prof. John Paden, claimed in the book that the President chose Osinbajo as his running mate despite the alleged opposition of a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.