Senator wants corruption ‘legalised and liberalised’

A Nigerian senator has asked the country’s senate to legalise corruption, in spite of it being one of the major problems confronting one of Africa’s largest economies.

Senator Yele Omogunwa (APC-Ondo South) spoke during plenary on Wednesday while contributing to the upper chamber’s debate on the 2017 budget.

Noting that pass federal budgets have had little or no impacts on the Nigerian people because of pervasive corruption, the senator stated that legalising and liberalising it would be better.

A hater of women and a president from the dark ages by Femi Fani-Kayode

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” – Psalm 23.
I recited this scripture three times and waited on the Lord quietly and calmly when I heard that my wife and son had been unlawfully apprehended and detained in a bank in far away Ado Ekiti on the orders of the EFCC whilst I was in Lagos.
Somebody should tell M… Buhari to stop sending his goons to abduct other peoples wives and 8 month old infant babies and to stop trying to traumatise them, lock them up and destroy their lives simply because they are married to or fathered by opposition politicians and those he hates.
He should leave my wife Precious Chikwendu, my 8 month old son Aragorn and other members of my family alone, face me directly and be a man. Even in war the wives and children of the enemy are out of bounds.
The truth is that Buhari is nothing more than a coward and a bully and he will suffer the consequences of his actions because God will punish him.
I give thanks to the Living God, the fearless lion that is known as Governor Ayo Fayose and the good people of Ado Ekiti for saving the lives of my loved ones and protecting them from the barbaric and illegal actions and tyranny of the fascists of the EFCC.
I have nothing but contempt for these people. They are the scum of the earth and by the time this is all over they will know that I serve a mighty God.
Despite the threats, persecution, violence and intimidation that my family and I have been subjected to over the last one year my opposition to the Buhari government remains implacable and unrelenting and I refuse to be silenced.
I said that Buhari was an evil man right from the outset and that he would prove to be an incompetent and disasterous President if elected into office and I have been proved right.
If he and his security forces are not killing Shiite Muslims, marginalising Christians, silencing and intimidating critics, locking up members of the opposition, storming the homes of judges or threatening bloggers and journalists they are sponsoring Fulani militants and herdsmen to commit acts of barbarity and terror against their fellow Nigerians.
If they are not impoverishing Nigerians, decimating the economy or freezing the bank accounts of innocent men and women and their family members they are tormenting, abducting and locking up the wives, infants and babies of opposition figures.
If they are not intimidating and charging leaders of the Senate and other senior legislators to court on trumped up charges, murdering IPOB youths, butchering Niger Deltans, humiliating and cheating their own party leaders or discrediting and jailing dissenters they are denigrating women and confining them to the kitchen and bedroom.
Buhari has divided our country along ethnic, religious and regional lines as never before and he has subjected the Nigerian people to levels of starvation, deprivation, poverty and suffering that were hitherto unkown.
And it is not just southerners and Christians that are feeling the pinch and suffering the pain and affliction. Millions of northern Muslims are feeling it as well. If anyone doubts that I challenge Buhari to walk the streets of Kano today and see what happens.
One wonders how things got so bad? One wonders what engendered this terrible affliction and what attracted this deep-rooted curse of a government?
One wonders how a country of 180 million resilient, hard-working, educated, enterprising, adventurous, courageous, cheerful, charitable, forgiving, kind, God-loving, God-fearing and strong-willed people ended up with a President from the dark ages like this?
Even members of the President’s own constituency in the core north, his leading party members from all over the country, his greatest allies and erstwhile friends and now his beautiful young wife are complaining bitterly and openly. They are all wailing as loudly and as frantically as the traditional wailers of the wailing opposition.
The response of the President is to dismiss their concerns with contempt and to describe his young wife as nothing more than something akin to a kitchen maid, a glorified cook and a slavish bed wench before a shocked German audience and an utterly dumbfounded world.
His media aides and apologists tried to spin the whole thing by suggesting that he was just joking but this did not go down well with Mumu Buhari.
The very next day he told yet another group of foreign journalists that he meant every word of what he had said earlier and that as far as he was concerned “women had no place in politics” and they belonged to the “kitchen and the bedroom”.
Now the question is this? How can any sane man describe his wife as only being fit for the kitchen and the bedroom let alone the President of the largest and most densly populated black nation on earth?
What does that tell the world about us as a people? How is that supposed to make our women feel? Does the President know the damage he has done to us by that single statement which he made in distant Germany at the very heart of the European Union?
One of his media aides has already told us that he cannot read newspapers and that he can only manage to comprehend the cartoon section of any paper but even at that his latest comments go beyond the pale.
By his shameful and ignorant assertions about women in Germany Buhari has confirmed the fact that he has no respect for himself, for his people, for his continent, for his women or even for his host, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is a woman and her German people.
Not only did he say those shameful things about his wife and women but he also said it in Merkel’s presence and on German soil.
No wonder there was deep outrage in Germany and indeed throughout Europe and the civilised world and no wonder leading feminist and human rights organisations and respected members of the German community were demanding for his expulsion from that country.
It is only in Nigeria that some ignorant, sorry and hapless opportunists and hungry government apologists, freeloaders and beggars tried to play the whole thing down by claiming that the President was “just joking”.
Shameless are those who say so.
The bitter truth is as follows: Nigeria is being run by a small cabal of hardened, violent, merciless, paranoid, incompetent, relentless, cow-loving religious bigots who are also closet paedophiles, chronic misogynists and ravenous sodomites.
Such people are happy to marry nine-year old brides and to confine their wives to the kitchen and bedroom for the rest of their lives.
Such people hate criticism or opposition in any shape or form because they believe that being in power confers some degree of divinity and deification upon them.
Such people believe that to challenge their authority is to challenge God and they see themselves not as elected servants of the people but as divinely ordained representatives of God on earth.
Such people believe in crushing, destroying, humiliating, killing and jailing their perceived enemies and political adversaries for no just cause the moment they feel threatened or intimidated.
Yet the truth is as follows: no matter how many Sambo Dasukis, Nnamdi Kanus, El Zak Zakys, Olisa Metuhs, Justice Niyi Ademolas, Warimpo Dudafas, Patience Jonathans, Ayo Fayoses, Nyesome Wikes, Seriake Dicksons, Iyiola Omisores, Segun Mimikos, Robert Azibolas, Bukola Sarakis, Bola Tinubus, Ike Ekweremadus, Femi Fani-Kayodes, Goodluck Jonathans, Cletus Ibetos, Ayo Adeseuns, Precious Chikwendus, Bintu Dasukis, Patrick Akpobolokemis, Kimes or any of the thousands of others that you constantly malign, harass, falsely accuse, lock up, terrorise, intimidate, charge, traumatise, demonise, malign, misrepresent, beat, spit upon, insult or humiliate, your time is running out and you cannot escape God’s wrath and judgement.
No matter how many of their families members you seek to shame, humiliate, traumatise, pauperise, break and bring to their knees it changes nothing and it cannot slow down the ticking of the clock or stop the disaster that is coming your way.
The truth is that the fear has gone and no-one is intimidated by you, your goons, your henchmen and your security agencies any longer.
The worse you can do is to kill us all in order to remain in power and even if you do that others will rise up against you in our stead.
As the great American freedom fighter, founding father and patriot Thomas Jefferson said, “the tree of liberty is watered by the blood of patriots and tyrants”. Again as another great American patriot by the name of Patrick Henry once said “give me liberty or give me death”.
Yet the clock is ticking and your time is almost up. I pray that you repent before it is too late. I say this not out of malice or in an attempt to seek revenge but with love and compassion from the bottom of my heart.
I say it by the leading of the Holy Spirit of the Living God. If you do not repent and desist I assure you that the very pit that you are digging for others may well be your final resting place.
No man is greater than the Living God and no government can successfully and indefinately resist the will of the people. In your attempt to silence me, God will silence you.
It is just a matter of time before the good Lord strikes back and pulls you down. Why? Because your wickedness knows no bounds and because you take pleasure and delight in it.
Why? Because there is a God in Heaven who rules in the affairs of men. Why? Because you have touched the anointed of the Lord and you have troubled His beloved people.
Why? Because He is the father of the fatherless, the defender of the weak, the provider of the needy and the husband of the widow.
Why? Because the Nigerian people are praying morning, night and day that your cancerous evil and reckless insensitivity and brutality must be brought to an end.
This is a wake up call and your final warning. Desist from troubling the Nigerian people Mr. President and stop trying to destroy the lives of innocent men and women.
If you do not God will not only bring you to your knees and humiliate you to a point of ridicule and contempt but He will also sweep away your government, remove all your clothes and strip you naked before the entire world.
In your desperate attempt to silence me, the Lord of Hosts and the Ancient of Days will silence you. Thus sayest the Spirit of the Most High God and His zeal shall surely perform it.
Sooner than later He will deliver us from this evil and wicked President who hails from the Darrk Ages.
Sooner than later He will rescue us from the cruel and unrelenting claws of the Dark Angel that presides over the affairs of our land. Blessed be His name forever.

We’ll ensure Nigeria does not depend on oil again – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has, at the U.S.-Africa business forum, said that his administration would ensure that “Nigeria does not slip back into a lazy and dangerous dependence on the price of crude oil” again.

Buhari who expressed optimism that “Nigeria is on the rise” said that his government has set an enviably workable modalities to drive the economy out of recession and reposition the country and Africa as a destination point for every investor. Below is the full speech on Bloomberg, titled “Making ‘Africa Rising’ a Reality in Nigeria.”

Until a few years ago, Africa Rising was a dominant theme in conversations about the global economy. That enthusiasm has since cooled, so that in newsrooms and think tanks and conference panels, “Africa Rising!” has given way to a more questioning “Africa Rising?”

While some of that pessimism may be justified, we do not have the luxury of distracting ourselves with lamentations about our current circumstances. Instead of hoping for commodity prices to rise, African countries should seize the opportunities that these times present — not least here at today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum — to lay a foundation for the kind of economic growth that transforms the lives of our people.

One of our biggest challenges during the boom years was that we failed to convert the benefits of high commodity prices into more jobs and significant improvements in standards of living. Hence the great debate, during those years, about how to ensure that the growth became “inclusive.”

Now that we are face to face with the vulnerabilities somehow hidden during the years of plenty, we should turn away from the unhelpful habits of the past and chart a new course. Since I signed the 2016 budget into law in May, Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance has released more than 400 billion naira for infrastructure spending — more than the total amount spent in 2015.

In the face of dwindling oil revenues, we are turning to debt. We have begun raising a $1 billion Eurobond, our first in three years. We are also raising debt from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Chinese Ex-Im Bank and other development finance partners.

Unlike in the past, when borrowed funds were frittered away on unproductive ventures, we will ensure their investment in the revival of stalled road, rail, power and port projects, and in agricultural initiatives that will significantly boost domestic production of food. For far too long we have under-invested in infrastructure — the most critical element for creating sustainable economic growth. The net effect: an avoidably high cost of doing business in Nigeria.

But even more important than what the government is able to spend is the limitless investment potential of the private sector. This is why one of our main priorities is creating an environment in which private-sector capital can thrive. We are in particular using Public-Private Partnership models to support game-changing private-sector projects in power, refining, gas transportation and fertilizer production.

We are also putting in place measures to ensure that monies intended to revamp our infrastructure do not end up in the pockets of corrupt officials and their collaborators. Already we are investigating the theft of several billion dollars in public funds by the previous administration. We are not only bringing these corrupt officials to justice, we are also setting up systems to make it impossible for such a grievous abuse of public trust to happen again.

And of course, we are as committed to playing by the rule of law as we are to accounting for every naira and recovering them for our treasury. These were funds meant to build roads and railway lines and hospitals and schools, and to equip our military — which has for the last seven years been fighting one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world.

In that regard, we are already seeing the positive results of our anti-corruption efforts. Long starved of both materiel and morale by the corruption in the military’s upper echelons, our reinvigorated troops have now put Boko Haram permanently on the back foot. Some of the more than 2 million persons displaced by Boko Haram have started returning to their homes. Just last week, the people of Nigeria’s northeast celebrated their first incident-free Eid in years.

Our troops have rescued thousands of men, women and children trapped in areas held by Boko Haram. To meet their urgent humanitarian needs, we are working with the United Nations and other partners to provide food, medical help and shelter. We will strive to ensure that no victim is left behind, including the 219 Chibok girls who have, since their abduction in April 2014, served as a global symbol of the war against Boko Haram and a reminder of the horrors that it has inflicted on innocent Nigerians.

Even though the times are still dire, our economic recovery plan is already showing positive results. Investment’s share in gross domestic product is at its highest since 2010. Inflation is slowing; manufacturing confidence is rising. People are seeing and seizing opportunities to make money catering to the needs of Africa’s most populous country.

Finally, our Social Investment Program — the most ambitious in Nigeria’s history — will kick off this month. In its first year it will provide cash transfers to 1 million of our poorest people, hot meals to 5 million primary-school children, cheap loans to more than 1 million artisans and traders, and job opportunities in health care, agriculture and software and hardware development for half a million young people.

The journey ahead remains long and difficult. Our double-digit inflation, currency turmoil and downgraded ratings will not vanish overnight. We also know that the current recession is partly driven by the production outages in Nigeria’s Delta region, and we are confident that growth will accelerate as problems in that region are resolved.

But the real story here is not the challenges, which are all too visible, but the opportunities. We have learned the necessary lessons. We will ensure that Nigeria does not slip back into a lazy and dangerous dependence on the price of crude oil. We will continue to insist on transparency and accountability in the use of government funds. And we will build an economy that prioritizes the ease of doing business and investing, and that thrives on the entrepreneurial energy and ingenuity of our people.

To achieve these objectives, Nigeria needs robust and reliable partnerships such as we have with the United States. This is why I value the Commercial and Investment Policy Dialogue that we have just launched, and which we shall announce at today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum.

The months ahead will show not only that Nigeria is on the rise, but that this “Rising” is real and lasting — one that touches not just the statistical databases, but the lives of the people who elected us to deliver positive change.

Are the Igbo Politically Marginalised Under Buhari's Government? I think the anwser is yes

The Igbo have not grounded words in describing how marginalized the Igbo are in Buhari’s government. In addition, former Anambra State governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, believes that President Buhari, with his actions, is pushing the Igbo hard to leave Nigeria.

The UN has also added its voice to this debate: it says Nigeria is deeply divided. Apart from the economic numbers coming out from the country, foreign investors pay attention to these divisive narratives: serious foreign Pension Fund managers might not want to leave their assets in a country that looks like it’s going to fall apart anytime soon.

But the President thinks differently. Hear the President: “If I select people whom I know quite well in my political party, whom we came all the way right from the APP, CPC and APC, and have remained together in good or bad situation, the people I have confidence in and I can trust them with any post, will that amount to anything wrong?”

Many are angry with the President’s argument. They believe that he should be the father of Nigeria, including those that didn’t vote for him, especially now that the elections are over.

But a close and objective look at the President’s political profile doesn’t suggest he really has anything against any ethnic group in Nigeria. (This is actually an evidence-based conclusion which I’m struggling to accept, considering the fact that I sympathize with the Igbo).

In 2003, the President embraced the south east – just as he embraced the south west in 2015 – by selecting Senator Chuba Okadigbo to be his running mate.  The thinking in Buhari’s camp was that his party, the ANPP, would easily get block votes from the Igbos with the hugely popular Okadigbo.

In 2007, the ANPP believing it won the 2003 elections, which many believe was a hugely flawed election, went on to play the same ethnic card by selecting Edwin Ume Ezeoke as Buhari’s running mate.

Then, many of the President’s closest allies were from the south east. For example, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) had been Buhari’s lawyer at the election tribunals (from 2003 -2007). In fact, junior lawyers working for Ahamba told reporters that their boss didn’t make money from representing Buhari. This was very unlike most senior advocates in election petitions.

Unfortunately, he left Buhari’s CPC in 2011. Ahamba would later claim that he left Buhari – a man he loves so much – because ‘opportunists have surrounded Buhari and hijacked his mind’. He even said that four men had hijacked the CPC and that Buhari was at their mercy. He also claimed that no one could dare challenge the actions of these ‘hijackers’.

At that point, not even Buhari’s widely publicized letter appealing to him to remain in the CPC could make him stay. (Maybe Ahamba could have been Nigeria’s attorney general today).

Many analysts say the same of Buhari’s government today. Perhaps, this prompted Obasanjo to say, a fortnight ago, that no individual nor group could claim that they brought Buhari to power. Many suggest, including prominent Buhari supporters like Dele Momodu, that ‘professional power hijackers’, who claim to have helped the President into office, are presently calling the shots in Abuja. And this doesn’t necessarily mean that the President is weak – the presidential system of government makes this kind of hijacking possible. This is topic for another day!

Obviously, had an Igbo, like Ahamba, been in that cabal, the story would have been different. And this is tragedy of the Nigerian state – ethnicity and tribalism is the order of the day.

Well, this didn’t start today and cannot be stopped by people of Buhari’s generation. Maybe the generation Mark Zuckerberg visited last week might be able to stop ethnic and tribal tendencies in business, civil service and politics in Nigeria, when their time comes.

But fundamentally, many lessons can be learnt here.

One, Nigeria’s politics is a winner-takes-all game. Thus, political parties and ethnic groups should form strong alliances with other ethnic groups. Perhaps, Okadigbo’s thesis, in 2003, that his running with Buhari was the only way Nigeria could have a president from the Igbo extraction, in the years to come, had some merit. But more importantly, as bonds between all ethnic groups in Nigeria get stronger in political parties, the occurrence of ethnic cabals in Aso Rock might reduce

Two, no particular ethnic group can run Nigeria successfully without the genuine support of other ethnic groups, including the minorities. Why? Take the ridiculous pronouncements by various groups that they are going to declare their own republic on the 1st of October. This, of course, is very unlikely to happen, but such news sends very negative signals to the international community and investors, as well. And this of course suffocates the ruling party, financially and politically.

The takeaway from this, is: Buhari might not really hate the Igbo, but the nature of Nigerian politics, even politics in general, is what is actually strangulating the Igbo and other ethnic groups. This ‘bitter’ experience should spur all ethnic groups to form genuine national alliances because any of them could be ostracized politically if they are not ‘involved.’

Buhari needs economic advisers. By Lekan Sote

An interesting narrative from Greek mythology says that before the heavens, skies, and earth were made, chaos, a confused shapeless mass of dead weight prevailed. The air was not transparent, the earth was not solid, and the sea was not fluid. Yet, in the belly of the chaos were the seeds of all things that were to be.

When God and Nature intervened to put an end to all the discord, the fire part, being the lightest, formed the sky, the air, not as light as fire, rose just below the sky, the earth, being the heaviest, sank, and water that always finds its level was buried below the earth.

An unidentified lesser god arranged and disposed the earth: He appointed the bays, raised hills and mountains, scooped out valleys, and distributed the fertile grounds, the woods, and the stony places. After chaos had been shoved aside, stars appeared in the sky, birds took possession of the air, beasts took over the land, and fishes occupied the rivers.

Finally, Man, the noblest of all creation, was kneaded into being with earth and water. Other creatures were on all fours and looked downward to the earth. But Man stood upright, raised his face to the heavens, and gazed at the stars. That probably explains Man’s ability for imagination and farsightedness.

Unfortunately lesser god Epimetheus who allots abilities and talents exhausted all the courage, strength, swiftness, sagacity, wings and claws for birds, paws for cats, shells for the tortoise, and other gifts to the lower animals, but left none for Man.

So, Minerva, god of wisdom, came from heaven with the gift of fire to quicken the intellect of Man. Thus, Man could subdue other creatures, and make his dwelling place comparatively independent of the climates. He also invented the art to coin money for his trade and commerce.

When the folly of Phaeton, the son of Apollo, caused intense heat to scorch the earth that supplied fertility, herbage for cattle, fruits for men, and the olive oil for holy occasions, the earth cried in despair, and with fear that all may return to the forsaken chaos.

The shambles that has become of the Nigerian economy is like the chaos before creation. The National Bureau of Statistics that announced that more than 4.58 million Nigerians lost their jobs in the last one year, also declared Nigeria’s economy, after a negative growth or deceleration for two consecutive quarters, is in recession.

There is a need for an exit plan for Nigeria from these dire straits. In the words of Niran Malaolu, a former Ogun State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, “The earlier we start (re)building this nation, the better for us.” President Muhammadu Buhari’s comfort pitch, “I can assure you that Nigeria will be great again,” is like a dry humour. The respective fiscal and monetarist policies of Finance Minister Kemi Adesoun and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele don’t quite cut the economic ice.

One is even at a loss as to how the insensitive Ministry of Communications and Technology seeks to impose a nine per cent tax on phone calls, text messages, internet access, and (albeit luxury) pay TV, when consumers on Main Street are losing their purchasing power to a depreciating naira, increase in lending rate, and debilitating inflation.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who wonders, “Who is advising the government?” also declares that “You can’t be in recession because a sector that is 15 per cent of the GDP has declined. What happened to agriculture, trade, service, and health?”

This is another way of saying that President Buhari urgently needs a Committee of Economic Advisers to provide him with objective economic analysis and advice. They will interrogate the macro and micro aspects of the economy, and think up plans to rejig the comatose real sector that is understandably in default of supplying essential commodities, providing jobs, and paying tax.

Mr. President’s circle of personal acquaintances may not provide all the competencies that Nigeria needs at this time. He should search for men with the ability to cast a detached and holistic outlook at the economy, tell if the emperor is wearing no clothes, and construct an appropriate economic conceptual framework.

To be sure, Section 18 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution provides for a National Economic Council of Governors of the CBN and each of the 36 states, with the Vice President as Chairman. The NEC has “power to advise the President concerning the economic affairs, and in particular on measures necessary for the coordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various Governments of the Federation.”

This unwieldy organ composed of widely dispersed chief executives who are extremely busy with their daily grinds cannot meet and plan on a daily basis. And apart from the CBN Governor, the other members are politicians, whose nature it is to squabble over turf and interest. At best, NEC will issue only bland communiqués, and serve as a clearing house for the coordination of national economic policies.

Those who argue that despite its lack or dearth of requisite personnel, NEC retains the responsibility to “advise the President concerning the economic affairs” just successfully admitted the obvious flaw of this constitutional contraption.

They may be correct to argue that attempt to expand membership of NEC to include experts and professionals may lead to a constitutional logjam. However, the President should not invite any constitutional ire if he administratively sets up an independent team of economic advisers, even if the Vice President is the Chairman.

The half-way house economic committee of Ministers Udoma Udo-Udoma, Kemi Adeosun, Okechukwu Enelemah, Audu Ogbeh, Lai Mohammed and the CBN Governor that has the Vice President as Chairman, misses the point. These highly intelligent individuals, as line managers, are too busy running their agencies and can hardly afford the time needed to reflect as members of an Economic Team that normally function as staff managers.

By the way, government cannot take the fullest advantage of the capacities of Bismack Rewane, Bode Agusto, Dr. Ayo Teriba, and Profs Akpan Ekpo and Badayi Sani in just four hours of a snap review of the effects of the new foreign exchange regime on the economy, and preview of the Medium Term Economic Framework for 2017-2019. If they didn’t tell the Vice President that much, they were just being polite.

This Council of Economic Advisers should include economists, investment experts, scientists and technologists, sociologists, historians, philosophers, sundry other professionals, and industry players, who are conversant with best practices in their fields.

Those who are scared stiff should rest assured that whereas the economic “think tank” may be domiciled within the Presidency, its members will not usurp the job of the Federal Executive Council or any other agency with constitutional responsibility to manage the economy. But their up-to-date data, insight, and counsel should be an essential input to government decision making.

What seems to be wrong with the idea of getting an economic think tank for Nigeria is in the claim by someone that “We have to understand that the attitude of the Presidency (read the cabal around the President) is to consider the management of the economy as a government responsibility. “ As the French would say, Je m’excuse!

@lekansote1

Economy: Melaye urges Buhari to sack Adeosun, Emefiele, Udoma

A member of the Senate representing Kogi-West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, on Sunday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take drastic measures on the ailing economic, including the immediate removal of the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma; and the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

In a statement in Abuja, Melaye said the President must shake up his cabinet, and accused some members of cabinet as lacking the capacity to deliver on the mandates of their ministries and agencies.

He said Adeosun, Udoma and Emefiele should be axed for the economy to be effectively rebooted to deliver on the change agenda of the present administration.

Melaye said, “At the moment, it must be crystal clear to all discerning minds that the President’s widely-acclaimed magical body language has lost its presumed aura and efficacy. His no-nonsense demeanor is equally neither instilling fear nor commanding respect and loyalty from among his cabinet members.

“It is therefore obvious that the time for barking is over; now is the time to bite and boot out all those who have demonstrated, in the past several months, a crass lack of capacity to effectively carry out the functions of their office.”

The All Progressives Congress senator, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, also condemned Buhari’s economic team led by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, saying that “their decisions will not be and has never been respected by the economic managers and the bureaucracy in Nigeria.”

Melaye urged the President to, instead, constitute an ‘Emergency Ad Hoc Economic Team’ made up of all former ministers of finance, ex-ministers of budget and national planning, ex-CBN governors as well as members drawn from the academia with “deep knowledge of developmental economics to drive the economic revival programme.”

He said, “The President must immediately transit from mere rhetoric to drastic but positive action to save the economy and Nigeria from total collapse. The hunger in the land is real, pervasive, widespread and debilitating for the poor masses.

“As I walk the streets of my constituency these days, I constantly harbour a foreboding that I could be stoned by my angry constituents for the failure of Mr. President to fulfill his campaign promises and expectations to Nigerians.

“Nigeria is tottering on a dangerous precipice, sliding perilously to a certain catastrophe if the current economic malaise is not halted immediately.”

I am impressed by your simplicity – Buhari tells Zuckerberg

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday commended the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of social networking website, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, for sharing his wealth of knowledge with Nigerian youths, and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while granting audience to Zuckerberg at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari said the various meetings held with Nigerian youths since his arrival in the country were most timely as the country was already exploring opportunities to spur development through entrepreneurship.
He said, “Nigeria has always been identified as a country with great potential for growth, especially with our youthful population, but now we are moving beyond the potential to reality.
“I am impressed by your simplicity in sharing your knowledge and wealth with those with less income.”
The President noted that the simplicity and magnanimity of the entrepreneur, who is among the world’s richest men, had also challenged the culture of lavish wealth display and impulsive spending that had become peculiar to Nigerians.
“In our culture, we are not used to seeing successful people appear like you. We are not used to seeing successful people jogging and sweating on the streets.
“We are more used to seeing successful people in air-conditioned places. We are happy you are well-off and simple enough to always share,” he said.
In his remarks, Zuckerberg said he was impressed by the interest, energy and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by young Nigerians in all the ICT camps that he had visited.
“I was highly impressed by the talent of the youths in the Co-creation Hub in Yaba. I was blown away by their talent and the level of energy that I saw,’’ he said.
Zuckerberg added that he is in the country to promote the penetration of “fast and cheap” internet connectivity, Express-wifi, that would help people create online businesses and reduce poverty.

Open Letter To President Buhari By Cardinal Anthony Okogie

Nigerians hunger, not only for food, but also for good leadership, for peace, security, and justice. 

Dear Mr. President,

Last year, when you assumed office, the chant of “Change,” your campaign slogan, ushered you into the Presidential Villa.  Today, cries of “hunger” could be heard across the length and breadth of our vast country.  

Nigerians hunger, not only for food, but also for good leadership, for peace, security, and justice.  This letter is to appeal to you to do something fast, and, if you are already doing something, to redouble your effort. 

May it not be written on the pages of history that Nigerians die of starvation under your watch.   As President, you are the chief servant of the nation.  I, therefore, urge you to live up to the huge expectation of millions of Nigerians.  A stitch in time saves nine. 

This is the second year of your administration.  

You and your party promised to lead the masses to the Promised Land.   It is not an easy task to lead.  But by campaigning for this office, you offered to take the enormous task of leadership upon yourself. Nigerians are waiting for you to fulfill the promises you made during the campaign.  

They voted you into office because of those promises. The introduction of town hall meetings is a commendable idea.  But in practice, you, not just your ministers, must converse with Nigerians.  You are the President. You must be accountable to them.  The buck stops on your desk.  

Even if your administration has no magic wand at least give some words of encouragement.  On this same score, please instruct your ministers, and insist that they be sincere and polite at those town meetings.  Their sophistry will neither serve you nor Nigerians. 

Mr. President, if you want to leave a credible legacy come 2019, in all sincerity, please retool your administration.  Change is desirable.  But it must be a change for the better.  Let this change be real.  Change is not real when old things that we ought to discard refuse to pass away.  

You will need to take a critical look at your cabinet, at the policies and programs of your administration, and at those who help you to formulate and execute them.  You will need to take a critical look at the manner of appointments you have been making.  

It is true that commonsense dictates that you appoint men and women you can trust.  But if most of the people you trust are from one section of the country and practice the same religion, then you and all of us are living in insecurity. The Nigerian economy has never been in a state as terrible as this. 

You as President are like the pilot of an aircraft flying in turbulence.  Turbulent times bring the best or the worst out of a pilot.  We can no longer blame the turbulence on past administrations.  You know quite well that some of the officials of your administration served in previous dispensations. 

Blame for what we have been experiencing is, in fact, bipartisan in character.  The entire political class needs to come together, irrespective of party differences, to acknowledge its collective guilt and to seek ways of saving the sinking ship that our country has become.  

This cannot be done if some officials of your administration demonize and alienate members of the opposition.  If a large portion of the blame for the present situation is to be laid on the doorsteps of the entire political class, the search for a solution must involve everyone.  

That is why no one should be alienated. All hands must be on deck. This is the time to revitalize moribund industries, reinvigorate our agriculture, make our country tourist and investor friendly, and enable our young men and women to find fulfillment by contributing to the common good.  

None of these lofty goals can be achieved without good education.  On this particular issue, recent appointments you have made in the education sector raise a question: have you really appointed the best? Still, on education, it is important that our universities be allowed to use their own criteria to admit students.  

It is a gross violation of the principles of federalism and academic freedom for the federal government to insist that only a federal parastatal can decide on who gains admission into our universities. It is the role of the university senate, not of government bureaucrats, to decide on who gets admitted and who is awarded a certificate. 

Mr. President, your desire to wage a war on corruption is just and noble. But a just war must be waged with just means.  Those who have stolen the wealth of this country have broken the laws of our country.  They must be treated according to the law and not outside the law, and the outcome of the judicial process must be respected by the government.  

Even accused persons have rights.  Where those rights are violated, we risk a descent to anarchy. It is our candid opinion that corruption is not found in only one party.  No political party in Nigeria has a monopoly of looters.  That is why we need an EFCC that is thoroughly independent of the presidency, and an Attorney General without party affiliation working in partnership with various independent accounting institutes.  

This will ensure that we come up with an objective list of those who plundered our treasury. Mr. President, pardon me if I sound like a gratuitous counselor.  I owe you the truth and nothing but the truth. In my life as a public figure and a religious leader, I have offered my counsel, for whatever its worth, to quite a number of Presidents in this country.  

I do this because I desire that you succeed.  For the success of the leader is the success of the citizens. If there is no solution to Nigeria’s problem, there may be endless war. You strike one town, you gain it, and you come again to regain it. Remember that you cannot put a crown on your head. 

It is the people who put it on you. Otherwise one day, you will get tired of it. Please listen to the legitimate cries of your fellow citizens. 

Cardinal Anthony Okogie, the emeritus Archbishop of Lagos, writes from Lagos.

$40bn have been spent on Niger Delta in 12 years without result – Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has disclosed that more than $40 billion had been dolled out to the Niger Delta region in the past 12 years through various intervention agencies, regretting however, that there was nothing on ground to justify such amount.

Kachikwu, who spoke yesterday at a meeting held at PTI Conference Centre in Warri, Delta State involving prominent leaders from the coastal states, said the $40 billion came mainly from oil companies, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, 13% derivation and other intervention funds.

While noting that the state of infrastructure is disappointing despite the huge effort to alleviate the infrastructural deficit in the Niger Delta, he called for an audit of money so far expended in the region to know what exactly went wrong to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

According to him, “I’ve been to the creeks myself and discovered that there was no meaningful development of the riverine communities as expected by the federal government despite the huge amount disbursed to the region.

“I think we need an audit because it will not be wise to have agitation of this kind in circle after each agitation will come back again to demand for the same thing when intervention funds had made no impact on the lives of the ordinary people.”

The minister also used the forum to assure leaders of the zone that President Muhammadu Buhari was not thinking of using the military to resolve the crisis in the region.

Instead, he maintained that the President was desirous of using dialogue to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The minister urged leaders in the region to prevail on their youths to allow peace to reign, noting that no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of violence.

He told the Niger Delta leaders that the federal government was committed to the development of the region, promising to come out soon with short and long term plans in that direction.

ASUU berates FG over poor funding of varsities

Ibadan Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has raised the alarm over funding of universities in the country.
The union called on President Muhammadu Buhari to save the universities by paying the outstanding N550bn NEEDS assessment intervention fund.
The fund was last paid in 2013 during the Goodluck Jonathan adminisration, while that for 2014 (N220bn), 2015 (N220bn) and 2016 (N110bn) have not been paid.
It said government attitude to funding education is killing the industry and making it difficult for it to be globally competitive and causing massive brain drain.
ASUU wondered why out of the capital budget allocated to education in the 2016 budget, 38 per cent went to Federal Government secondary schools, while only five per cent, three per cent and eight per cent were allocated to Federal Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Universities respectively.

ASUU further tasked the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to attend to issues of Earned Academic allowances, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU/FGN agreements, staff salaries, academic pension, TSA and university autonomy and budgetary allocation to education raised at their previous meetings before the university system is plunged into industrial crisis.
ASUU in a statement jointly signed by the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Ade Adejumo and Chairman UI Chapter, Dr. Deji Omole respectively, and made available to journalists, said Federal Government must inject funds into education for Nigerian universities to be globally competitive.
According to them, government cannot expect any miracle from its grossly under-funded universities to compete with their adequately funded and highly motivated academics around the globe.

According to ASUU, it is sad that the present government has further reduced budgetary allocation to education to worsen the sector from 11 per cent in 2013, 12 per cent in 2014, 11 per cent in 2015 to eight per cent in the 2016 budget.
They further lashed out at government officials for always shedding crocodile tears at university convocation where they decried low ranking of Nigerian universities while they take their children to study abroad.
ASUU also carpeted the present administration for fractional, irregular, non-payment of salaries and other personnel emoluments, adding that the union will resist any further attempt to erode university autonomy.
While noting that no country can develop beyond her educational institutions, ASUU cautioned the Federal Government against taking the union for granted.

It warned that while it is fully aware of the present socio-economic situations, government must continue to attend to critical sectors of the economy and find home grown models to rescue it from the present doldrums.

Buhari wants Islamic bank funds to rebuild North-East

The Federal Government on Monday called on the Islamic Development Bank to assist in implementing some of its intervention programmes in the North-East that had been badly hit by the activities of insurgents.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who stated this while receiving the President of the IDB Group, Dr. Ali Madani, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, stressed that the government would deepen its partnership with the bank to fund critical projects in the infrastructure sector.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President commended the bank for supporting several developmental projects across the country.

Buhari acknowledged that the bank had funded several people-oriented projects in Osun, Kaduna, Jigawa, Niger, Katsina, Kano and Ebonyi states, demonstrating its “soft spot and robust support’’ for Nigeria.

‘‘We can’t thank you enough for the height you have achieved for the bank in 41 years. Now that you are about to retire, we thank you for the quality leadership which the world has recognised,’’ the President said.

Buhari also thanked the IDB Group and other countries for extending their assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East.

The President assured the visiting IDB chief that Nigeria, a major financier of the bank, would meet all its obligations to the development institution within the shortest time possible.

The President highlighted efforts of the current administration at diversifying the economy with emphasis on agriculture and  expressed strong optimism that Nigeria would achieve self-sufficiency in rice and sugar, and export both commodities in the next three years.

In his remarks, Madani congratulated  Buhari on the positive outcomes of the war against corruption and terrorism.

He said the bank was ready to mobilise resources from Arab fund for developmental initiatives of the Nigerian government and the private sector, particularly agriculture.

Similarly, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, while speaking during the inauguration of the IDB country office in Abuja, said since the administration of President Buhari was working hard to rebuild the region, there was a need for the IDB to assist in the critical infrastructure and capacity-building programmes.

Queen Elizabeth, Buhari, 20 govs to attend Ooni’s coronation

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II

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Her Majesty the Queen of England, Elizabeth Alexandra; President Muhammadu Buhari; Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); and governors from at least 20 states, ministers and other dignitaries are expected to attend the coronation of the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II.

The Chairman, Media Committee of the coronation, Mr. Biyi Odunlade, said this at a press conference that started a series of activities lined up for the coronation scheduled to hold on December 7.

Odunlade, however, explained that the queen might be represented at the ceremony. He added that guests from many nations of the world had been invited for the ceremony.

The Ooni also said he was ready to fast-track the development of Ife with a series of policies, which he said, would make the Yoruba people proud anywhere they found themselves.

The monarch, who was represented at the press conference by his elder brother, Prince Adegboyega Ogunwusi, said he would do everything possible to address the problem of youth unemployment in the town.

Ogunwusi, who donated 50 transformers to some communities in Ife before he emerged as the new Ooni, said he would donate additional 50 transformers within the next 30 days to boost electricity supply in the ancient town.

He noted that this gesture would make small scale businesses in the town to thrive because power problem would have been reduced.

He said, “Let me acquaint you with what I have done in less than 70 days. I have given out over 20 electricity transformers worth about N250m.

“I donated 50 transformers when I was a prince. I will buy another 50 transformers within the next 30 days to further enhance electricity distribution. With this, small scale businesses of welders, tailors and others will naturally witness improvement.

“Providentially, I know the core investor and the Chairman, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, personally and very well. I have engaged him and his team to make this a reality and work has commenced in earnest. We will witness this transformation by the very special grace of God.”

“To revamp the stadium, I have already opened discussion with the Osun State Government on this. I will set up a football academy and we will have 16 clubs in Ife.”

The new monarch also promised to establish a football academy.

While the press conference was going on, the new Ooni and other guests were at an inter-religious service held at Enuwa Square.

One of the religious leaders, who spoke at the service, Apostle Joshua Fagbule, urged the people of Ife to rally round Ogunwusi in order for him to bring about meaningful development to the town.

 
Source: PUNCH.