The presidency at the weekend in Abuja disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to keep Nigerians in suspense on his re-election bid was a deliberate ploy to avoid sabotage.

Making this disclosure in an interview with select State House correspondents, the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president would continue to keep his intentions close to his chest because those opposed to his re-election could exploit his declaration to sabotage the country.

According to him, the president declaring his ambition about a year to the next election would only give such saboteurs a lot of time to sabotage the country economically and politically, among others.

“You know the peculiarity of Nigeria, particularly now. If the president speaks too early, it’s a problem. There is a lot of sabotage in the country.

“You have also heard so many have said, ‘don’t run,’ because they know that if the president runs, other people would just run away because they don’t have the foggiest chance in hell of beating him. So, they want to discourage him from running.

One instance when he dropped a hint on his interest in seeking re-election in 2019 was when he paid a state visit to Kano last year. He had said: “Kano is in my pocket.”

The state voted overwhelmingly for Buhari in the 2015 elections, giving him 1.903 million of the 2.13 million valid votes cast.

Also, while on a visit to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire last year, the president said he arrived late to a meeting with the Nigerian community because he had insisted on coming with two governors, as doing so could be a vote for him in the future.

Adesina also explained the reason the president had proposed a visit to Rivers State, despite its criticism by the state governor, Nyesom Wike, who had said the state was crisis-free.

Adesina said the president’s intention was to condole with the families of victims of various killings in the state, saying a state where people were beheaded could not be devoid of crisis.

“If he (Wike) doesn’t understand, the rest of the country understands. We understand. Other Nigerians understand. Even people in Rivers State understand because on new year’s day, a minimum of 24 people were killed in Omoku.

“So, is that not a crisis? And can you count the number of people that have been beheaded in Rivers State in recent times?

“People were killed and heads cut off and the assailants went away with the heads. So, can anybody say that there is no security issue in that kind of place?

“It’s left to the governor, he’s the chief security officer. If he says there’s no security crisis in his state, good luck to him.

“But the president is visiting so that he can condole with people who lost their loved ones, 24 people minimum, were killed in Omoku.

“So, those people are the reason. Those people and the many beheaded; relations of those beheaded and their heads taken away are the reason the president is visiting the state,” he explained.

ThisDay

The natives of the FCT under the aegis of Abuja Indigenous Association (CAIA), have said they will not vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 polls if their stakeholders fail to channel their pressing problems to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the spokesman of the group, Ahmadu Yunusa Yusuf, said the natives had already lost confidence in the APC-led administration for failure to address their challenges, especially failure to give them a ministerial slot.

He said the natives would soon embark on another protest against the APC government if the stakeholders fail to take action within the shortest period of time.

The natives further expressed disappointment over what they described as lukewarm attitude of the area council chairmen towards their plight.

 “We can’t imagine that none of these council chairmen has ever gone to the media asking Mr. President to appoint an FCT indigene as minister. And we want to make it categorically clear that we will not vote APC come 2019 election,” he added.

Daily Trust

North Korea is in talks with the US and Sweden to release three Americans held in the North, reports said, as diplomatic activities gathered pace ahead of Pyongyang's planned summits with Washington and Seoul.

The release of the three Korean-Americans — all held in the North after being separately charged with unspecified "hostile acts" against the regime — is under discussion through multiple channels almost two weeks after President Donald Trump agreed to meet the North's Kim Jong Un, reports said.

While Pyongyang has yet to confirm it even made the summit offer — relayed by Seoul envoys who had met Kim in Pyongyang — the stunning announcement has triggered a race to set a credible agenda for what would be historic talks between the two leaders.

Seoul-based MBC TV station reported Sunday that Pyongyang and Washington had "practically reached" a final agreement on the release of Kim Hak-song, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Dong-chul.

"They are hammering out details over the timing of the release," it quoted an unnamed South Korean diplomatic source as saying.

The negotiation was held through the North's mission to the United Nations and the US State Department — an unofficial avenue of communication dubbed the "New York channel," the source said.

CNN said the prisoners' release was also discussed at three-day talks in Stockholm between the North's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho and Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom that ended Saturday.

Sweden represents Washington's interests in talks with the North. It raised the issue of American detainees to "move things in the right direction," CNN quoted one source as saying.

"Any movement on the issue of these detainees would be a huge deal for the US," said the source.

Kim Dong-chul, a South Korea-born American pastor, has been detained by the North since 2015 when he was arrested for spying. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in 2016.

Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang-duk — or Tony Kim — were both working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, founded by evangelical Christians from overseas, when they were detained last year on suspicion of "hostile acts."

Reports on the detainees' possible release come amid a flurry of diplomatic activities involving Pyongyang, Seoul, Washington and its allies.

During a visit to Pyongyang by Seoul's envoys earlier this month, Kim reportedly offered to meet Trump, with the US president subsequently agreeing to talks by May although no specific time or venue has been set.

Kim also agreed to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month — the third ever between the two Koreas — according to the envoys.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said in an interview aired Sunday that Kim was "taking stock" after Trump's surprise decision to accept the invitation, but that a channel of communication had been established.

The Stockholm talks overlapped with another meeting among the top national security advisors of the US, South Korea and Japan.

US National Security Advisor HR McMaster, the South's Chung Eui-yong and Japan's Shotaro Yachi met in San Francisco over the weekend and vowed "close policy coordination" for the weeks ahead, Seoul's presidential office said.

They agreed that peace on the flashpoint Korean peninsula hinges on the success of the two planned summits, vowing "not to repeat the failure of the past," it said in an apparent reference to previous botched nuclear disarmament negotiations with the North.

Also on Sunday, a senior North Korean diplomat arrived in Finland for talks on peninsula issues with former officials and academics from the US and South Korea.

The sudden rapprochement comes months after the North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.

Kim and Trump traded colourful threats of war and personal insults, which heightened global concerns of another conflict on the peninsula once brought to ruins by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Times of India

The Zimbabwean government on Monday published a list of state funds stashed in foreign accounts. The government called such funds “Externalized Foreign Currency and Assets.”

According to a release signed by the president Emmerson Mnangagwa, there was an estimated amount of $827 million yet to be recovered.

It said companies and individuals had returned $591 million in such funds after a 90-day amnesty to bring back the money was issued by the president late last year.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is ready to process transactions where the concerned parties can show proof of declaration and/or repatriation of funds without prejudice given that the burden of proof lies with the concerned parties, the statement read.

The three broad categories of defaulters were:

• Funds externalised through non repatriation of export proceeds
• Funds externalised through payment of goods not received in Zimbabwe
• Funds externalised to foreign banks in cash or under spurious transactions.

In total, the government had expected over 1.4 trillion dollars to be surrendered. Category one per the record had over $526 million to be retrieved but a little over $289 million was received. Category two with $177 million produced $52 million whiles Category three which had $714,204,171 produced $250 dollars.

The state-run Herald newspaper in December 2017 posted a video in which the president is heard saying, “Under the new administration, we have given three months for those who had taken money out of this country to bring it back. I did not say that without knowledge, I have a list of who took money out.

“So in March (2018) when the period expires, those who would have not heeded my moratorium, I’ll name them,” he added. He also called for party and national unity and the unconditional removal of political and economic sanctions imposed by the west on his government.

Mnangagwa, 75, became leader of the southern African nation last month after the military and ruling ZANU-PF turned against Robert Mugabe. “Going forward we call for the unconditional lifting of the political and economic sanctions which have crippled our national development.

“We realise that isolation is not splendid or viable, as there is more to gain through solidarity and mutually beneficial partnerships which will help us realize our unique national interests. Government will thus pursue a robust re-engagement process to fully affirm our belonging to the family of nations,” he added.

While the European Union removed sanctions on ZANU-PF officials, members of the military and some government-owned firms in 2014, the United States has kept a travel and economic embargo on several ruling party elites.

Africanews 

The United Nations on Monday condemned Congolese security forces for killing at least 47 people, including women and children, in “unlawful and unjustified” crackdowns on protests during 2017 and early this year.

Security forces shot dead at least six people and wounded dozens others during an anti-Kabila protest organised by the Catholic church in January this year. A similar incident in December 2017 left at least seven dead.

A report U.N. Human Rights Office said that Congolese authorities used lethal force on protesters and attempted to cover up rights abuses by hiding dead bodies after protests calling for Kabila to arrange long delayed elections.

“It is particularly disturbing that security services and defence forces carry out this violence with almost full impunity,” said Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in the DRC Leila Zerrougui in the report.

Another two people were killed by security forces during church-led demonstrations against the government last month.

Kabila has denied accusations of excessive force, rejecting charges against his security forces during a press conference in January.

The opposition accuses him of pushing back the election date in order to cling to power. The polls, which were initially scheduled for November 2016, are now set to take place in December this year. But the electoral commission has since said they may not be possible until at least April 2019.

Reuters

The last batch of 108 Nigerian police officers has been withdrawn from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) after five years of service.

UNMIL said the remaining 108 Nigerian FPU officers, the last UNMIL uniformed contingent remaining in Liberia, withdrew as part of the UN mission’s termination.

The batch of 200 Nigerian peacekeepers withdrew from Liberia in February as part of the termination of the mission’s mandate, scheduled on March 30, the mission said.

“The Nigerian contingent has been deployed in Liberia since UNMIL was first established in 2003.

Nigeria has been a main contributor of military and police to UNMIL.

“The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has been a steadfast partner to Liberia for the last 15 years.

“It has supported security and security sector reform, rule of law, efforts to disarm, human rights and sustainable peace.

“The Mission will complete its mandate on 30 March 2018.

“UNMIL was established in September 2003 with 16,475 uniformed personnel to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia, following the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War”.

An official farewell ceremony was held in February in honour of the last departing 689 uniformed personnel – 404 military and 285 police personnel – who had served with the Mission.

This symbolised the end of UNMIL’s military and police operations in Liberia, more than 14 years after UNMIL was deployed in compliance with Security Council resolution 1509 (2003).

Nigeria’s Maj.-Gen. Salihu Uba is the Force Commander and Head of UNMIL’s Military component of men and women from various countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine.

Uba was Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command of the Nigerian Army before his appointment as the Force Commander for UNMIL by the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 9, 2015.

The Formed Police Unit composed of Nigerian and Chinese personnel and since 2003, 61 contingents from various countries had served in Liberia, UNMIL said.

According to Uba, the mission’s uniform component military and police have taken greater stride towards strengthening peace and security, rule of law, governance among others in Liberia.

The Force Commander stated that it was not all roses particularly for the military which had the highest fatalities of 138 personnel while the police lost 21 persons.

“We will continue to pay special tribute to them and those who contributed to peace and security in Liberia” the Major General said.

The Force Commander, on behalf of the Police Commissioner Simon Blatchly, expressed their profound appreciation to the uniformed component of UNSMIL.

“While my colleagues in uniform are writing the last pages of the peacekeeping operations here, Liberians and their Leaders have started writing the first pages of a brand new chapter in their history.”

Liberian President George Weah commended UNMIL for its longstanding support to peace and stability, saying the Liberian people will forever remain grateful to them for their bravery and service.

Weah said: “Thank you for your hard work and sacrifice you have made over the years to keep the peace and stability of our beloved mama Liberia. As you leave us now, we will forever remember you”.

NAN

Police in Nigeria’s Southeastern Abia State have reiterated that they do not know the whereabouts of pro-Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Commissioner of Police Anthony Ogbizi told the local Punch news portal that as far as they were concerned Kanu has a case before court. That he had been granted bail with three sureties, those persons according to Ogbizi were best placed to tell where Kanu was.

“Nnamdi Kanu was charged to court; he still has a case in court. He was granted bail by the court, but we heard that he jumped bail.

“The sureties, who secured the bail conditions for Nnamdi Kanu, should tell us his whereabouts,” he stressed.

An Abuja Federal High Court granted Kanu bail in April 2017 after over a year in detention on treason charges. He, however, went missing after members of his group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) clashed with the army at his family home in September 2017.

The army insists it is not holding him and the government has since secured a court order proscribing the group. Kanu failed to show up at the last hearing date for his trial. The trial judge has since ordered his lawyer to produce him at the next sitting on March 28.

The three sureties who signed his bail bond were: Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, a Jewish High Chief Priest, Immanuu-El Shalom and a Chartered Accountant, Tochukwu Uchendu.

Kanu is leading a secession movement pushing for the independent state of Biafra. The earlier push for a separate republic of Biafra was championed by Chief Ojukwu nearly 50 years ago.

The declaration of independence sparked a civil war which left more than a million people dead. President Buhari has previously said the unity of Nigeria was non-negotiable.

Africanews 

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently revealed that about 90 million Nigerians have no access to electricity. The minister, who was represented by the Acting Director in the ministry, Faruk Yabo, at the annual international conference of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy, Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, lamented that despite abundant sources of energy in Africa, such as natural gas, crude oil, coal and renewable energy, half of about 1.5 billion people, who lack electricity in the world live in Africa. 

We commend the minister for publicly acknowledging the power supply challenge and urge him to find solutions to the problem. Good enough, the minister has underscored the fact that for the government to ensure electricity supply to all Nigerians, the focus should be on developing renewable energy along with conventional power plants.

Fashola also disclosed that some of the federal government’s strategy to improve electricity supply include implementation of off-grid renewable energy solutions such as rural mini-grids, stand alone home solutions, Independent Power Projects (IPPs) for federal universities, teaching hospitals and large-scale solar PV projects.

Some of the energy projects expected to be completed and commissioned this year, the minister said, include the 10MW Katsina wind farm, 30MW Gurara Hydropower, I29MW Dadin Kowa Hydropower, 40MW Kashimbila Hydropower, 700MW Zungeru Hydropower and 14 Solar Independent Power Projects (IPPs). Government must ensure that these projects are completed and commissioned as promised.

Besides, we enjoin the government to emulate other African countries that have overcome the energy supply problem such as South Africa and Ghana. We say this because it would be useful to profit from their experiences. Since power supply remains a veritable gateway to rapid industrialisation and economic development for any country, the government must quickly tackle the energy supply deficit.

At the inception of the present political dispensation in 1999, the nation had a generating capacity of 2,000MW. Despite injecting over $16 billion into the beleaguered power sector since 1999, the situation has not significantly improved. At present, Nigeria generates about 7,000 MW. This is far below the expectations of Nigerians. It is estimated that Nigeria should generate about 40,000 MW to ensure stable power supply. For this dream to be realised, it is projected that $2 billion must be invested in the power sector annually for ten years.  Sadly, the nation’s annual budgetary allocation to power sector is so small that it will be difficult to achieve stable power supply so soon. 

The nation’s power supply deficit is apparently obvious in the textile industries where stable power supply is critical. The nation’s textile industries that used to be mass employers of labour could no longer do so due to poor power supply and unfavourable business climate.

The situation has led to closure of most of our textile industries, loss of jobs and influx of foreign textile materials into the country.

The government should consider entering into strategic partnerships with relevant foreign partners to solve the problem in the power sector. Let the government tap from hydro, thermal, solar, wind and coal sources of energy to address the electricity supply gap. This approach, we believe, is the best way to tackle the nation’s power challenge.

Sun

Your Excellency, Ambassador George Adesola Oguntade, CFR, CON,

Permit me to quickly congratulate you on your recent appointment as the Nigeria High Commissioner to the Courts of St. James in London by President Muhammadu Buhari.
We saw the colourful photographs of the 'royal' reception given to you and wife at the Buckingham Palace, all the way from Nigeria High Commission at Northumberland Avenue in central London to meet Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, probably for the first time in your life.

I am writing this open letter to you because I know there are many 'faceless' government agents on social media and they would surely draw your attention to this open letter, and also some Nigerians in Scotland may also alert you of this letter.

If I had sent this letter through the High Commission in London, you're not likely to receive it due to the Nigerian factor of bureaucracy. That's another topic for another day.

This is an open letter and the whole world must surely read my views. As simple as ABC.

I recently saw a poster on social media announcing your scheduled visit to Scotland on Saturday, March 24th, 2018, being organised by Nigerian Community Scotland(NCS).

It is tagged as a TOWN HALL MEETING. To the best of my knowledge, no planned protest to disrupt this event because for now, Nigerians in Scotland undoubtedly regard you as a father and an elderly friend unless otherwise stated.

This is not the first time that officials of the Nigeria High Commission from London shall be visiting Scotland to discuss ideas and listen to views of Nigerians living in Scotland and your visit cannot be the last.

Your Excellency Sir, I can comfortably tell you that such past visits had no positive impact for Nigerians living in Scotland. Many people regarded the whole exercise as a jamboree.None of our recommendations is implemented to date. Same old story after speaking plenty grammar!

Nigerians in the United Kingdom are tired of listening to 'sweet' nothing, propaganda, official lies and rhetorics of government officials whose main work is to attend to the welfare of Nigerians living (legally or illegally!) in the United Kingdom but these well-paid officials always treat fellow Nigerians with utter disdain and disregard for human dignity. I am not here to open a can of worms.

Your Excellency Sir, I won't tell you about the unprofessional attitude of some of the staff working at the Nigerian High Commission in London when Nigerians are desperately in need of passports or visas. You may need to re-train many of them to treat fellow Nigerians with respect and dignity.
I am sure you're not going to tell us all the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari in Glasgow because Nigerians in the diaspora are always in touch with Nigerians living in Nigeria for regular updates. The whole world is now a global village. Nothing is hidden anymore.

Your Excellency Sir, permit me to make a passionate request and if you're able to achieve this project during your tenure as our ambassador, it would engrave your name in gold in many hearts.
The largest percentage of Nigerians in Scotland are living and working in Scotland.

What's the cost of having a consular office in Glasgow to attend to the passport/visa applications of Nigerians in Scotland?
Nigerians(living in Scotland) don't need to be travelling to London to apply for Nigerian passport and visa(for Nigerian-British passport holders).

We have been demanding for a consulate in Scotland for over 10 years without any positive solution.
Do we need to engage in 'fasting and prayer' for the Almighty God to touch the heart of Nigerian government before this miracle of establishing a consular office in Glasgow can happen during our lifetime?

Your Excellency Sir, don't come up with usual excuse that Nigeria is broke and can no longer finance another consulate in Glasgow because London is roughly 10 hours drive from Glasgow and about 6 hours by train and less than 2 hours by air. Enough of such gibberish stories!

Can I really count on you to establish a Consular Office in Glasgow as urgent as possible?
Former acting High Commissioner, when asked the same question once, replied in an undiplomatic manner. Permit me to paraphrase his immortal words:"Can you compare the cost and stress of travelling to London and Nigeria when applying for a Nigerian passport? It is still cheaper to travel to London to apply for your passport and visa instead of travelling to Nigeria?"

From my own personal experience, Nigerian government officials don't always listen to all the suggestions and recommendations of Nigerians in the diaspora.

Nobody is ready to waste time and energy to meet any Nigerian government official in the diaspora to discuss same old topics back and forth without any meaningful and visible progress.

Many Nigerians need to work under this unfriendly cold weather and pay their bills! That's the bitter truth.

Maybe your own approach(as a retired judge!) is going to be different and as the English maxim says, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." We shall be watching you, Sir.

As a retired judge of the federal republic of Nigeria, you must be very familiar with this Latin catchphrase often attributed to Aristotle:"Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas" translating to "Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend."

Your Excellency Sir, if you're truly our father in the United Kingdom and our loyal friend, you must take the welfare of all Nigerians in the United Kingdom as a serious matter.

For now, on behalf of Nigerians living in the United Kingdom, I wish to call you as an AKOREDE and I hope we won't change that unique sobriquet into another unprintable name.

In conclusion, I warmly welcome you and your entourage to the iconic city of Glasgow in Scotland and all the views to be discussed shall stay permanently in your heart for full implementation.

As they enter through your right ear, never to escape through the left ear, 
such views must constantly prick your conscience as the Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Thank you for reading my long open letter. I hope to meet you 'face-to-face' one day.

Your Revolutionary Compatriot,

Comrade Dare Lasisi.
Former Commonwealth Secretariat Media Intern.
Social media activist, Writer, and Blogger.