A former lawmaker, Senator Olurunnimbe Mamora, has rejected his appointment as the Chairman of the Abuja Investment and Infrastructure Centre.

Mamora, who was the Deputy Director-General of the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation during the 2015 presidential election, was nominated for the job by the President.

However, it was learnt that during the inauguration of the board of the AIIC a few weeks ago, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the 2016 Ondo State governorship election, Mrs. Jumoke Ajasin-Anifowoshe, was named the chairman.

Ajasin-Anifowose, who is the daughter of the first Governor of the old Ondo State, Adekunle Ajasin, was sworn in by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Muhammad Bello.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that the ex-lawmaker rejected the appointment.

A reliable source told our correspondent that Mamora had met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and expressed his displeasure with the appointment.

The source said Mamora, a former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker and senator who represented Lagos-East senatorial district from 2003 to 2011, felt the appointment, which is the equivalent of a state parastatal, was not befitting.

He argued that people who never participated in the process that brought Buhari to power were occupying the front seats of government.

The source added that Mamora was listed to be the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority in 2016 but was edged out by some powerful people in the system.

The source added that Mamora was also nominated as an ambassador in late 2016 but his name was suddenly withdrawn for unknown reasons and was not even contacted before his name was dropped.

Attempts to speak with Mamora proved abortive as repeated calls to his phone were not responded to while a text message sent to his mobile was not replied to as of press time.

Punch 

Russians began voting in a presidential election on Sunday set to give Vladimir Putin a commanding victory that could only be blemished if large numbers do not bother taking part because the result is so predictable.

On Russia’s eastern edge, in the Pacific coast city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, polling stations opened at 2000 hrs GMT, and voting across the vast country will run until polls close at the westernmost point, the Kaliningrad region, 22 hours later.

Opinion polls give Putin, the incumbent, support of around 70 percent, or nearly 10 times the backing of his nearest challenger. Another term will take him to nearly a quarter century in power — a longevity among Kremlin leaders second only to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Many voters credit Putin, a 65-year-old former KGB spy, with standing up for Russia’s interests in a hostile world, even though the cost is confrontation with the West.Vladimir Putin: expected to win the polls in a landslide

A row with Britain over allegations the Kremlin used a nerve toxin to poison a Russian double agent in a sleepy English town — denied by Moscow — has not dented his standing.

The majority of voters see no viable alternative to Putin: he has total dominance of the political scene and the state-run television, where most people get their news, gives lavish coverage of Putin and little airtime to his rivals.

“He (Putin) is our president. We take pride in him,” said Marianna Shanina, a resident of the Crimea region. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine four years ago, earning Putin admiration from many Russians and condemnation from the West.

“We wish him victory at the election. Our whole family will vote for Putin. Putin! Good health to you, beloved president!,” Shanina said at a Putin election rally.

The first politician in years to challenge the Kremlin’s grip on power, Alexei Navalny, is barred from the race because of a corruption conviction he says was fabricated by the Kremlin.

He is calling for a boycott of the election, saying it is an undemocratic farce, and deploying supporters to collect evidence of anyone rigging the ballot to inflate turnout and support for Putin. The Kremlin and election officials say any fraud will be stamped out.

Kremlin officials privately acknowledge a worry that some of Russia’s 110 million eligible voters will not bother casting ballots because they believe Putin is a shoo-in. A low turnout would diminish his authority in his next term, which, under the constitution, has to be his last.

“There is no intrigue. I do not see any point for me in going to the election,” said Alexei Khvorostov, a resident of Krasnodar, in southern Russia.

In an address to the nation broadcast on national television on Friday, Putin said voters held the fate of the country in their hands.

“I therefore ask you to come to the polling stations on Sunday, use your right to choose a future for the great Russia that we love.”

In Khabarovsk region, on Russia’s Pacific coast, local officials delivered supplies of eggs, tinned peas, and frozen pike to polling stations. It will be sold to voters on polling day at a discount of between 10 and 30 percent compared to prices in local shops.

“By doing this we hope to attract voters to the polling stations and we think we can increase turnout,” said Nikolai Kretsu, chairman of the consumer market committee in the regional administration. “The second objective is to strengthen allegiance towards the authorities.”

NAN

Donald Trump has celebrated the sacking of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe who was fired two days before his retirement date.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday sacked Mr McCabe who described the move as part of the US President’s “war on the FBI”.

The decision was made on the recommendation of FBI disciplinary officials and came just two days before Mr McCabe was set to retire after 20 years of service.  

It comes ahead of an inspector general report expected to conclude that Mr McCabe was not forthcoming with the watchdog office as it reviewed the bureau's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Though Mr McCabe had spent more than 20 years as a career FBI official, Mr Trump repeatedly condemned him over the last year as emblematic of an FBI leadership he contends is biased against his administration.

Mr Trump, who had long called for his sacking but said it was up to Mr Sessions, tweeted: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!”

"The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability," Mr Sessions said in a Friday night statement. 

In an extraordinary rebuttal released immediately after the attorney general's announcement, Mr McCabe said his credibility had been attacked as "part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally" but also the FBI and law enforcement. 

"It is part of this administration's ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the special counsel investigation, which continue to this day," he added, referring to Robert Mueller's ongoing probe into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. 

"Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the special counsel's work." 

Mr McCabe also asserted that he was being singled out because of the "role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey." 

Mr McCabe said the release of the findings against him was accelerated after he told congressional officials that he could corroborate Mr Comey's accounts of his conversations with the president. 

Mr McCabe came under particular scrutiny over an October 2016 news report that revealed differing approaches within the FBI and Justice Department over how aggressively the Clinton Foundation should be investigated. The watchdog office has concluded that Mr McCabe authorized FBI officials to speak to a Wall Street Journal reporter for that story and that he had not been forthcoming with investigators, which Mr McCabe denies.

Evening Standard

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election as the President of the Peoples Republic of China.

In a letter personally signed by him, the Nigerian leader praised his Chinese counterpart for his wisdom and vision.

“On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate you most sincerely on your re-election as the President of the Peoples Republic of China.

“Your re-election is an indication of the trust and confidence reposed in you by the people of China on your ability to bring your vision and wisdom to bear in the conduct of national and global affairs,” he said.

President Buhari also looked forward to increased cooperation between China and Nigeria on one hand and China and Africa on the other hand.

“It is my firm belief that your re-election will also bolster the existing mutually benefiting partnership between the Peoples Republic of China and Nigeria.

“I look forward to meeting Your Excellency at the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit in September 2018. I am confident that it will be a great success and good opportunity to draw up new levels of partnership between Africa and China,” President Buhari said.

Vanguard

President Muhammadu Buhari will not attend the extraordinary meeting of African Union Heads of State and Government billed to hold in Kigali, Rwanda, Wednesday. 

Reliable sources at the Presidency disclosed Saturday that Buhari’s trip had been canceled. 

The president, it was learnt,  had been scheduled to depart Nigeria for Kigali on Monday for the signing of the framework agreement for establishing the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). 

The reason for the cancelation of the President Buhari's trip is not yet known. 

The first set of his advance team is already in Kigali; while the second one, comprising protocol staff, security officers and journalists were today asked to return from Murtala International Airport, Lagos, where they were to take off. 

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu directed our correspondent to the Presidential spokesman,  Mr Femi Adesina, for enquiry. 

Mr Adesina's phone was switched off as of the time of filing this report. 

The Federal Executive Council had Wednesday approved that Nigeria sign the framework agreement for the AfCFTA. 

The council had also approved that Nigeria express her interest in hosting the secretariat of the AfCFTA. 

The decision to establish the AfCFTA was taken in 2012 by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union at their 18th Ordinary Session. 

AfCFTA is the first step in the implementation of AU Agenda 2063: the “Vision” for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.

Daily Trust

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Africa's only female head of state, offered her resignation in the "national interest," according to her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed. He added that her resignation would take effect on March 23.

Mohamed told local Radio Plus that she had decided to resign "to prevent a constitutional crisis."

"She doesn't want the country ... to suffer. In the country's best interests she has decided to leave," the lawyer said.

Gurib-Fakim is accused of using a bank card provided by a non-governmental organization for personal use, including the purchasing of jewelry and luxury items worth at least 25,000 euros ($30,000). She has vowed to fight the allegations.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said earlier this month that Gurib-Fakim, 58, had agreed to step down, with a date for her departure to be determined following last Monday's ceremony marking the Indian Ocean archipelago nation's 50 years of independence.

But on Wednesday the president issued a statement lashing out at "weeks of attacks and false allegations" and said she planned to clear her name and had vowed not to resign.

The president's role is primarily ceremonial but Gurib-Fakim, who is a renowned scientist, joined the London-based Planet Earth Institute (PEI) in a supposed-attempt to try and develop scientific capacity in Africa.

In May 2016, she received a credit card to pay for travel and logistical expenses tied to her role but claims she inadvertently used it for unrelated expenses.

Gurib-Fakim maintains that she immediately realized her mistake, informed PEI of the transactions, reimbursed them for the purchases, as well as for all of her expenses related to her PEI mission.

The PEI confirmed this account, issuing a statement earlier this week saying that Gurib-Fakim "thus never received gifts, favors, wages or expenses from the PEI, nor undue benefits or advantage."

But an investigation by a local newspaper L'Express chronicled Gurib-Faksim's purchase of a notebook computer in September 2016, clothes and jewelry in October more jewels in November and luxury clothes in December.

But more than the purchases themselves public ire in Mauritius has been stoked by Gurib-Faksim's association with an Angolan billionaire named Alvaro Sobrinho, who is a founding member of the PEI, and is himself under investigation in Switzerland and Portugal on fraud charges.

Sobrinho won permission to open an investment bank in Mauritius in 2017, prompting allegations of favoritism on his behalf.

Facing pressure from the opposition, Gurib-Fakim resigned shortly afterward from her role at the PEI.

DW

Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in this interview by LEON USIGBE speaks on the speculated second term ambition of President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring that the president will determine the direction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the 2019 elections. He also speaks on the recent visits of the president to some states affected by killings in the North.

Let us put the visits in proper perspective. Nasarawa was a working visit. It was not a condolence visit. Plateau was also a working visit, not a condolence visit. So, the places where we have had condolence visits so far are Taraba, in Benue and Yobe states. Three states have been visited; five are slated for such kind of visit. So, you have Zamfara and Rivers states still outstanding in that category. So, we need to understand it properly that not all the visits so far were condolence visits. Some are working visits-Nasarawa and Plateau states. But what lesson can we learn from the condolence visits? It is that Nigerians must learn to live together. No ethnic group should wish away other ethnic groups in this country. We have to learn to live together.

We have a federation and anybody must be at home anywhere in the country, as long as they are bonafide Nigerians. That is what the president has told them in the places he visited. He will tell the governor, ‘you can stay here for a maximum of eight years. I can stay here a maximum of eight years as president, but the locals and the herdsmen will live together forever’. He said God did not make a mistake when he created 250 ethnic groups and got them to live together in a geographical entity called Nigeria. So, the lesson is we must learn to live together. But then government, according to the constitution, must guarantee the protection of lives and property and government will do its level best in that respect.

Why were some newspapers prevented from covering the president’s visit to Benue State?

The presidency had nothing to do with it. The accreditation for newspaper coverage during that visit was done locally, that is, by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor of the affected states. They were the host. So, they were the ones that can do that kind of thing. We had nothing to do with it. I saw a headline “Presidency bars…”, No no. You see, some people are already paranoid about the presidency and if they want to continue in that paranoia, we say good luck to them.

Even medical people do say “we care but God cures or God heals.” So, it is God. No matter your determination as a person, they say determination plays a part in healing but if you are determined to get healed and God says ‘no, time up’, that determination will not work. So, the first source we must credit the president’s bounce back to is God. God heard the prayers of Nigerians and even people beyond this country. You remember that in Guinea, they declared a day of fasting and praying for the president’s health. So, God heard all those prayers: He spared our president and he is fully back in terms of his health. So, we give God the glory.

Politicians are said to be ganging up against the reelection of President Buhari. That should give the president a lot of concerns. What should Nigerians expect as his reaction to all these political moves against him?

Democracy thrives on multiplicity. You cannot have a democracy of one man. If it is one man, it is already autocracy; it is not democracy again. So, if you have multiple interests like that, it makes democracy to thrive. There is also what is called the right of first refusal. In a party that is cohesive, that is together, they want to hear whether the incumbent is interested before they throw the game open. So, when the president speaks, it will then determine what the party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), does.

The government has executed or is executing some landmark projects such as the railway lines and major roads. Which of these would you say gives the president the greatest joy and why?

Anything that touches the lives of the poor is what gladdens the president. Anywhere we go and he sees them [the people] come out en masse to welcome him like that, he just tells himself, “I hope I am able to touch the lives of these people.” So, anything the government now does, for instance in the agriculture sector, when we came, rice farmers were about five million. But today, they are 12 million. So, over six million rice farmers, successful ones, were made millionaires. So, those kinds of things gladden the president’s heart. Anything that touches the lives of the ordinary people and turns their situation around, that is what gladdens his heart.

Poor power supply has remained a major issue. Should Nigerians still be hopeful that the Buhari presidency will deliver on this?

It’s still an issue, but compare it to where we are coming from particularly in 2015. When this government came, there was less than 3,000 megawatts. Today, you have 7,001 megawatts, which is more than double of what we had before. And of that, we can distribute well over 5,000 megawatts. So, there is a huge difference between where we are coming from and where we are now. And the target of this administration is that, by 2019, there will be 10,000 megawatts. So, if there is over 7,000 megawatts, it shows that the 10,000 megawatts target is achievable.

What are you pinning this hope on? Are there new power projects to be implemented?

The strategy is a mix. Everything is not a single type of power; it is not just all about hydro or gas or all that. There is a mix of power sources. Very soon, I think one power project is going to be commissioned in Katsina State. I think it is wind. Then, you have solar everywhere. You have all sources. It is going to be an agglomeration of different types of power sources. And so, between now and 2019, the target of 10,000 megawatts will be achieved, by the grace of God.

Opponents of your government, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have reinvented their media machines. You must be feeling the heat now or you are simply not bothered by what they do or say?

It wouldn’t bother me a hoot. But then, this question should go to the spokesman of the APC because he is the parallel of the PDP spokesman. There is no other government or presidency that I can say is parallel to this one [my office] that I must respond to. No. But party to party, the APC spokesman should respond.

Every problem confronting every government is a media issue and, given challenges that spring on all fronts, are you not feeling overwhelmed? How do you manage the attacks directed at you? Any regrets taking this tough job?

I take them in my strides. For instance, I see a lot of what you will call attacks directed at me which are unfounded because they are not part of my brief. People don’t often understand the difference between a spokesman for the president and a spokesman for the government. I see them shouting and wailing about certain things and they say Femi Adesina, but I know that that is outside my brief. So, I just ignore it. The one that is within my remit, the one that is within my purview, I try to do it to the best of my ability and the president who is my principal, who appointed me, has not complained about my work. So, I want to believe that he is satisfied and as long as he is satisfied, it’s okay by me.

Have you ever wondered why you have remained on the job because of what people do to you? 

No. No. I came to do the job voluntarily. Yeah. For me, I don’t even call it a job. I call it an assignment which I took on voluntarily. And because I took it on voluntarily, there is nothing anybody says that will discourage me because I know why I came and as long as my principal is doing the work, I’m glad to assist him in any little way that I can.

Tribune

Professor Tunde Adeniran, a former Minister of Education, contested for the national chairmanship seat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDD) during its last national convention. However, he and some other top members, including a former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, recently dumped the party for the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Professor Adeniran spoke on his defection and other sundry issues after the inaugural meeting of SDP at Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State recently. SAM NWAOKO reports:

The new vision is to give effect to what we believe in. We believe in a sanitised political system where the rule of law prevails; where there is due regard for justice, equity and fairness in the political process. And we also believe that it is long overdue for this country to have genuine democracy. Genuine democracy can only be premised on what we regard as internal party democracy. We believe that unless and until you have that, we are going nowhere and things will just be getting worse. So, there is a clear vision of dedication to certain core values that we believe we need to actualise through the appropriate framework. That was what led to the choice of SDP. Of course, if this was not lacking where we are coming from, there wouldn’t have been any need to leave, because when certain things are happening and you have done your best to try to correct them or try to effect a change, but that is impossible. So, some of us just don’t believe in doing politics just for the fun of it. We believe in changing lives; in making sure that we transform the system and get a situation whereby the human dignity and human integrity and all that is edifying are promoted. I also believe that for those of us who believe in certain principles that we cannot compromise, that there is just no choice than to move on.

In many political circles, the talk is of a “third force”. Can we say that we now have the third force, viz-a-viz the strength of the two main political parties in the country, PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC)?

Of course, it is evolving. You can call SDP the third force of the coalition of progressives and all that. Whatever name you call it, it has become a force to be reckoned with and it will soon become the force to beat. I think, in due course, it would become the first force actually because people are yearning for change. People believe that SDP is a viable platform to really get to the Promised Land for Nigeria. There is so much that has gone wrong in the past. People that are coming together, particularly, young people, the youth, believe that this is the appropriate vehicle for them. We also believe that by the time some of the various groups that are anxious to be part of this evolving coalition now come in, it would be a very formidable force. That is why we believe that, indeed, SDP is the force that everybody is waiting for and has been talking about.

What are the areas of priority where you think Nigeria needs to effect change?

First of all, when you have a party process that has internal party democracy, we will work to ensure that, indeed, this is not tampered with. That is the irreducible minimum because you cannot put something on nothing. If the party system is not what it should be there is no way such a party can produce a good government. And good governance is one of the goals we intend to achieve. We believe that the party which has endorsed quite a number of things to pursue will be able to deliver for Nigerians what they have been yearning for; like the progressive programmes and agenda that are people-oriented. This means an agenda that will be able to transform and change some of the prevailing negativities in our society. There are certain programmes that are already having strength being canvassed for the people. And we will be promising what we can deliver.

For instance, when you talk about education, when you talk about restructuring and when you talk about health, you also must talk about agriculture so that we don’t have a hungry people anymore, where people are suffering in the midst of plenty. These also include the area of education. It is just not enough to have it as part of the objective principles of state policy, but we have to make it actionable. We have to make it compulsory for people to have access to education, to make it free and compulsory, at least, up to the secondary school level. Healthcare delivery is another area and so on. We also believe that the existing structure is so defective that it really cannot lead to the actualiasation of the potentials that are in Nigerians. Unless and, of course, until we change that to make people want to live in harmony, peace and unity, we will still be having some problems.

When you restructure, you restructure to encourage people to compete among themselves, to be the best of whatever they could be within a united Nigeria. That was what used to be; there was competition among the regions; there was competition among some states in the past. But right now, everybody is in the straight-jacket thing. That is why we have strikes upon strikes everyday because of the unified system that we are operating. Whereas, if you have a federal system that was truly restructured, what happens for instance in State A will not be happening in State B. The two states will be having different programmes and policies and the unionised system of government that we now have will not be so.

Now that SDP has been brought to Ekiti and the party has taken off, are we expecting the party to use the state as its launch pad as a governorship election takes place there soon?

Yes, certainly. It is the litmus test and we hope, by the grace of God, that we will use it effectively as a launching pad. By the grace of God, when we win in Ekiti, we will go ahead and win in Osun State and finally at the national level.

What are those things in place to help SDP to achieve these objectives as the party isn’t coming as early as some people might have wanted?

Yes. But it takes time for people of diverse backgrounds to really come together. But when they are united by a common purpose, a common goal to promote progressivism, to make life easier for people and to promote an ideology that will be people-oriented, then that has solved almost half of the problem. This is because when there is unity of purpose and you have on ground human resources-people who would make it happen-and among them, there is a clear idea, there is no confusion at all as to where they want to go, what they want to do and how they want to achieve it. All that you now require is effective networking to ensure that, at the end of the day, we direct our energies in one particular direction.

How much of that networking has been done now?

A lot has been done. What you see today is a concrete reality of some of the networking that had been done. We want to build on it so that we carry it to the local government and the ward levels.

In a layman’s language, should we expect some of the governorship aspirants in Ekiti to join SDP?

We expect that because everybody now knows that this is the party to beat; that this is where progress would be made for them and this is where justice will prevail. They know this is where a level-playing ground will be provided for everybody so that, at the end of the day, whoever wins will know that they have been fairly treated; that there has been fairness, there has been justice, equity and, of course, that it is a system that throws up the very best.

You said you are a member of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Are we expecting more people from the coalition to join you in SDP, especially Nigerians like His Chief Obasanjo?

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a statesman. He is an elder statesman. We do not expect him to be involved in partisan politics. But we expect him to continue to be interested in salvaging the country. And in that regards, it is expected that the effort of those who are committed to rescue the country would be reinforced by his moral weight. He is the father of all, but then those who believe in his philosophy of rescuing the nation, of ensuring that things are done in a better way, that there is justice, that there is progress and that there is peace would certainly have his moral backing. But we shouldn’t expect him to be partisan in his approach.

Tribune

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has effected a minor adjustment in its timetable for the 2018 May/June Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

In the timetable for the 2018 May/June examination, the Chemistry paper was scheduled for 2pm to 5pm on Friday, April 20. Muslim Friday prayers usually hold between 1:30 pm to 3pm.

But Muslim stakeholders, notably the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), accused WAEC of insensitivity and described the timetable as an “injustice” against Muslims.

The president of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola, was quoted in a statement as saying that the development further showed that Muslims had become “endangered species.”

“When there is no justice, there can never be peace and everyone is clamouring for peace,” he said said.

According to him, WAEC had fixed examinations during Jummat sessions for some years and Muslim leaders discussed with the council in 2016 and 2017.

“Until something starts happening, until the Muslims start disrupting WAEC examination, until Muslims start tearing WAEC examination materials, that is when government will start paying attention.

He accused WAEC of deliberately provoking Muslims “it has continued to show itself as a consistent anti-Muslim institution.”

But WAEC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, reacting to the development told the Saturday Tribune that the board had adjusted the timetable to accommodate the Muslims’ interests.

“The Council, being a responsible and responsive organisation, has made a slight adjustment on the timetable.

“The papers originally slated for Friday, April 20, 2018 will now be taken on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at the same times as stated on the timetable; while those slated for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 will now be taken on Friday, April 20, 2018 at the same time as stated on the timetable.”

Tribune

Former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 presidential election despite criticisms in some quarters against his administration. Among other issues in this interview with WILLY EYA, he also examines why insecurity persists in the country.

Ahead of next year’s general elections, what are your feelings especially with regards to all manner of political activities including alliances, realignments, defections and even the creation of a third force in the country?

The election would come and go; government is a continuum. Our democracy is maturing. Many people are registering and there is a tendency to regionalise our politics with the parties telling their members to go and register. But all of them are doing the correct thing in trying to grow our democracy. However, when the time of decision comes, that is the time you would know that emotion guides our actions more than religion. What I am saying is that those Christians who are preaching against certain candidates because they belong to another religion and those Muslims who are preaching against certain candidates because they belong to another religion, would be shocked what would happen. But when like Mbadiwe said, “come comes to become”, people would move to the areas of their beliefs. In the East for instance especially Onitsha, many of them are Catholics and so on and so forth but when Zik was there, they put up a candidate against him and appealed to the sentiment of Christians but Zik still defeated them. At certain critical time, emotions take over.

Our religion is that of peace but our elections are just like war on their own. So, when it is time to vote, people go to war and then go to their areas of upbringing. Many of them who are Christians and Muslims are not really mature to imbibe the values of Christianity and Islam. So, it shows that politics is maturing and people would move in the direction of what is there on the ground. And as I have told you, Nigerians would be shocked because there is more on the ground than lots of people think. Hunger for instance is on the ground but the fact is that people would discover, and they are already discovering that the only language that hunger understands is food. We either buy food or we grow it. We do not have money to buy food but we are growing it. Everywhere, food is being grown all over the country and Nigerians would more appreciate made in Nigeria goods than foreign goods. So, the change that was promised is taking place and it would be reflected in the voting pattern and not the sentiment of dividing Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines. That would not work.

But ahead of the election, you must admit that the major challenge facing the administration is the spate of violence and killings in various parts of the country. Are you not worried that your party, the APC is going to that election with that problem still lingering?

Killings are activities that the government did not envisage but the killings are a challenge to everybody. So, everybody should be blamed for the killings. Communication resolves everything. How much communication is there? And if there are no instruments of communicating, we must establish them rather than buying the weapons of war. But let me tell you and I am saying it with all sense of responsibility. Many people are playing politics with the killings. They are initiating a particular pattern of belief, which would undermine the credibility of their group in future. We had the Biafran war in 1967 -1970 and the South East held Nigeria to a standstill before it ended. So, nobody could undermine the Nigerian/Biafran war. Now, the issue of militancy confronted this country and reduced our oil production to less than one million barrels per day. Nobody can undermine the works the militants did in the Niger Delta. The National Democratic Coalition(NADECO) confronted Nigeria peacefully after the annulment of the 1993 election and in spite of what you may think, there was no coup in Nigeria that was resisted that ever succeeded.

The 1993 annulment of the election of MKO Abiola was resisted through the activities of NADECO and so on and so forth, and that was how the compromises of 1999 brought in former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the South West zone of the country. From what I said now, you cannot undermine the Niger Delta, you cannot undermine the Igbo and you cannot undermine the Yoruba. And when the problem of the Fulani caliphate was there, they discovered that they could not undermine the Kanuri and the Tivs. But do you know what we are doing now because of politics? Anything that happens now, we say it is the Fulani herdsmen whereas it is since the collapse of the Libyan army and the problem in Mali that caused the free flow of weapons into Nigeria especially the activities of Boko Haram. And instead of looking at the challenges confronting Nigeria, we are saying that it is the herdsmen that are doing it. Cattle rustlers also seize the cattle and kill the herdsmen which is another issue confronting Nigeria but we in Nigeria because of politics always say killings are by the Fulani herdsmen. Do you know that what Othman Dan Fodio could not achieve when he was quoted as having said that he would dip the Quoran in the sea is being achieved through stupid politicking by saying that everything that happens in Nigeria is by the Fulani herdsmen? Anywhere you go to, people would say we cannot go to farm because of the Fulani herdsmen. This is when as a matter of fact, the Fulani herdsmen are in more danger than any other Nigerian.

Do we talk of Igbo armed robbers? Do we talk of Yoruba 419ers and so on? We talk of all these as crimes and we should be talking of the killings as also a crime. But because of politics, we are going into areas to make our children believe that the fear of Fulani herdsmen is the beginning of wisdom. So, what Othman Dan Fodio could not achieve when he was alive in Nigeria, we are achieving it through communication and making our own children afraid of the Fulani. Remember that the Fulani are in the minority in this country. Can you see the way we are moving in the way of deforestation and who would pay for it; our children. We must have the right communication. So, I want to say that criminals do the killings and we must all come together to fight it.

The events of this period are similar to those of 2015. Ahead of the last general elections, there were all manner of killings, the climax of which was the abduction of the Chibok girls; now ahead of 2019, the same scenario is playing out with the most recent being the abduction of 110 schoolgirls from Dapchi town. How do you feel about this development?

I am worried over the situation but do not think that it is because the election is coming next year. The Boko Haram sect is fighting a war and they are not fighting a war because there is an election. They are fighting the war because they believe in what they are doing. They are ‘haram’. In other words, they are discouraging people from going to school. So, if Boko Haram abducts people like they did recently in Dapchi, they could not go to school. It is an area that people do not want to go to school and with what happened, you further discourage them from going to school. They are achieving the mission they have set out to do. So, they are not looking for election but do not forget that since they have been degraded, they would look for soft targets and where the military is weak to carry out their activities. If they go to the market, they are not there to kidnap anybody but to kill people. They have their members who are suicide bombers.

The perception they have is what no Igbo man or Yoruba man would have. They say if you kill yourself, you are going to paradise. Tell me any Southerner whether Yoruba, Igbo, Edo, Urhobo and so on that would kill himself in order to go to paradise. Nobody would do that. But over there, you are told that if you kill someone for a good cause, you are going to paradise. And that is not even in the Quoran.  When I was in a Quoranic school in Auchi, I was told that if you kill a Christian, you have not committed an offence. I grew up to discover that it was a lie. It is not there anywhere in the Quoran. But then, the Prophet Muhammed said that there would be 73 sects in Islam and only one would be correct. Only one that abides by the provision of the Quoran is correct.

The Quoran has dos and donts which says that you do this, you go to paradise and you do that, you go to hell. I am not aware of any book that says it so clearly where you go to when you sin. So people now take the road they want to take and when a scholar moves in the direction of using religion as a weapon, then you get what we have in Nigeria today. So, we have to really communicate in the direction of peace and not war. Someone wins an election, takes over and governs and someone loses election and gets prepared to contest again. That is what happens in Britain, America and others. Election should not be a do-or-die thing.

Let me tell you; is it because we are talking about Chibok and Dapchi now. Do you know that the whole of Nigeria is porous? How many areas do we have? The borders are thousands of kilometers porous. Do you know that around 1980 or so, people of Chad came and invaded Maiduguri and I think that President Muhammadu Buhari was the GOC that time. So, these people have been coming but do not forget that Nigeria is at war with Boko Haram. Therefore the whole world of insurgents –ISIS, Tuaregs, al-Qaeda and so on are there fighting. Perhaps, if we look deep enough, we may discover that all these people we call Fulani herdsmen are insurgents who have infiltrated Nigeria. So, the nation is fighting more than the Boko Haram sect. We are currently fighting the whole world of insurgents and that is what Nigerians should be thinking about. It is a war that Nigeria must fight and whatever government that we have, the insurgents are there to undermine security. Nigeria is 60 per cent rural and in the rural areas, how many security officials do we have there? So, we have a lot of problems on our hands and we must unite to address these problems.

What is your take on the proposed reordering of elections by the National Assembly?

They are the lawmakers and they can do it but that means that what they are doing is in their selfish interests. If they want to reorder elections, the proper thing to do is to have presidential elections, National Assembly elections, state Assembly elections and gubernatorial elections. In other words, it has to be four and not three. You can put National Assembly and state Assembly election and the presidential and gubernatorial elections together. It has to be two and not three. If you want it to be three, then there is selfishness there. Another is that people think that we have had this kind of election that we are asking for before. In 1979, we had other elections before the presidential poll. In 1999, we had other elections before the presidential poll too. But all others that followed, it was always the presidential before others. And do not forget that it was the period of handing over from the military to civilians, so they conducted elections in the rural areas before that of the presidential. There was no occasion where we had other elections before the presidential poll during civilian rule. So, what they are trying to do is to reintroduce what the military did when they were handing over to the civilian. So, if you analyse it carefully, you would see that what the NASS is doing is more of self-interests.

But one thing that they do not really know is that they even stand more danger because a sitting president is in a position to do damage to those who want to contest elections and the governors also are in a position to do damage to all those who want to go to the National Assembly or state Assembly. The reordering of the elections would give them the opportunity to do more damage to them if they so wish. So, there is not much they think they would do. Why not let us have what we have been having. With improvement in technology, the ideal thing is that all the elections should be held the same day.

Do you think that the National Assembly is targeting President Buhari by coming up with such a bill?

What do you think are Buhari’s chances in the coming election and what do you make of the emerging third force ahead of 2019?

Everybody has a chance but the fact is that you should not forget that the APC is not an alliance of parties. It was a political association that applied for registration and got registered. We had a lot of people that had structures that came into the APC. So, if you want to know how these people would perform, look at what they are taking to the SDP. If they have nothing they are bringing to the SDP, then they would not go anywhere. But do not forget that they just started. We can assess them on the basis of what they are bringing to the party. But it is very difficult for anybody who does not have a structure to win elections in Nigeria. You may have name but you must also have structures. So, those who are going into the SDP now, are they governors, are they former governors, are they Senators or former Senators, have they been involved in any election and they won and do they have structures? So these are the things people consider. Many can move anywhere but I can assure you that the two major parties are the APC and the PDP. And if the SDP comes, they would be there for the PDP because the PDP with due respect has been reduced to a regional party. I cannot see any party that is ready and on ground to defeat the APC. And I cannot see President Buhari losing the 2019 election.

Sun