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Pendulum: Now That Presidential Election is Over, Life Continues

Published

5 years ago

March 2, 2019

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, let me say congratulations to both President Muhammadu Buhari and his main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for different reasons, even as Atiku claims that it was as if he has been robbed in broad daylight. For me, what we witnessed last week was one of the worst elections ever in Nigeria, in many ways. It is a big shame that the opposition was totally annihilated and obliterated in multiple attacks. What should have been a simple and straight-forward election was turned into full-scale war. It is saddening that a leader who was the greatest beneficiary of a much freer and fairer election in 2015 would not provide a level playing field for others to play, despite his much vaunted public avowal to ensure credible elections by not interfering with the electoral umpire and the security agencies.

APC and Buhari decidedly and deliberately set out to frustrate the main opponent, Atiku, using the appurtenances of power in a reckless and inconsiderate manner. It is my hope that this has not set a dangerous precedent for others to follow. The over-militarisation of a democratic process was unconstitutional and unnecessary. Maybe our insurgency and militant problems would have been long curtailed if the same might and firepower had been deployed in these problem areas. Disenfranchising voters in different parts of Nigeria in various ways from failed and ineffective card readers to intimidation and the ⁶irresponsible Inflating of voter turn-out in some areas and reducing them in other areas was undemocratic. Voiding ballots like pop-corn was farcical. The infractions were just too brazen, to say the least, although Atiku, and the PDP itself, cannot be absolved of being involved and culpable in some of these infractions.

Despite all these hocus-pocus, I’m a very practical human being. Over time, I have learnt so much about the meaning and significance of sacrifice. Disappointment and pain go together. As mere mortals, we find it hard, and sometimes impossible, to forgive those who have wronged us, remorselessly. The recent election was nothing to rejoice about, in good conscience, after the worst evil of death was visited on fellow Nigerian citizens. I sympathise with the families of these unfortunate deceased patriots and offer them my condolences. May their souls rest in peace. But no matter our agony over spilt milk, we must all clear the mess while awaiting God’s judgment. There is a saying in our culture that whosoever you can’t defeat by your own power should be handed over to God. That is my attitude to this unfortunate saga.

Nigeria has gone through great difficulty and hardship in recent times. Expectations have turned into mirage and ashes. Hope has vaporised. But there are those with mighty faith who still believe Buhari will move mountains in his second term. To them and the government, I say good luck. Nothing is impossible. For me, the government has been given a reprieve, like a condemned man on death row. The hope and expectation are that the Yoruba saying “eni a wi fun, olorun oba je ko gbo” (the person we talk to, we can only hope will listen) will be imbibed. After every election, we must take stock, learn new lessons, and settle down to keep working. I’m happy that many serious-minded Nigerians have corroborated and supported my sincere advice on the way forward. I have come a long way in political struggles in Nigeria not to know our dear country well enough.

I witnessed one of the worst Nigerian general elections in 1983. The ruling NPN party had claimed landslide and “moonslide” victories everywhere, including the most unlikely of places. My boss, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, was one of the beneficiaries having been declared the winner of the Ondo State Governorship election. A perfect gentleman, Chief Omoboriowo was extremely reluctant to follow the NPN to Golgotha, but was persuaded by desperate party members who told him “that’s how they do it…” By the time things fell apart, and the blood started flowing like a river while human beings were roasted like grilled suya, my boss had to retreat and give up the mandate that was stolen for him by his party, NPN. We all knew there was no way Omoboriowo would have defeated his erstwhile boss, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, in Ondo State at the time. Omoboriowo had been the Deputy Governor to Ajasin. I was barely 23, when I served as his Private Secretary. That was my baptism of fire.

About 36 years after that conflagration erupted in Nigeria, we witnessed a similar event last week. It seemed the militarisation was copied from that ungodly era. The heavily militarised Nigeria Police Force was in the centre of operations at that time and not soldiers like Buhari drafted out last week although the Police headed by the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Adewusi, was equipped with armour-tanks and military hardware to take on innocent Nigerians. What happened thereafter? Three months later, the Mallam Shehu Shagari government collapsed like a pack of cards and the cookie crumbled. Who took over power in the military putsch? The one and only Muhammadu Buhari. One of the reasons adduced for the military coup was the recklessness of the ruling party NPN, which acted similarly to what APC has now repeated, before our very eyes.

Buhari and his deputy, Major-General Babatunde Idiagbon, announced their intention to instil discipline in Nigerians and banish corruption totally. Poor Nigerians rejoiced, believing their Messiah had come to liberate them from the brigands and looters. Politicians were hurled into detention, faced military trials and received horrendous and unprecedented sentences. But recession soon set in. Essential commodities had to be rationed. Anyway, the government itself fell in 1985 and the same people who hailed the coming of Buhari were seen rejoicing.

Please, fast forward to 1993. Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola won the June 12, 1993, election, fair and square, by defeating his opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa. I left Nigeria on June 9, 1993, and was in Vienna, Austria, by June 10, 1993, to represent Chief Abiola, at the Bruno Kreisky Awards, where the gadfly, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, was a distinguished recipient. The award ceremony took place on June 11, and I departed Vienna on June 12 to London. I was in London on June 14, when I made a call to Nduka Obaigbena, an uncommon Publisher who had shown extraordinary knack for sniffing major news from a tender age. Nduka told me he’d been trying to locate me. I told him I was in London. His next statement shocked me to my bones and out of my wits: “Dele, it seems your man Abiola is going to win the election, but the military won’t hand over to him. You need to reach him urgently to talk to his friend IBB…” I thought “Nduka must be joking”. “How can someone win a Presidential election and he won’t be allowed to govern?” I soliloquised. I later discovered that Nduka passed the same message to Dr (Mrs) Doyinsola Abiola.

One thing led to another, but the effort to get Chief Abiola and President Babangida talking did not materialise. There were too many expert advisers, with all manner of suggestions. Babangida soon came up with an Interim Government, headed by Chief Ernest ‘Degunle Shonekan who lasted only three months before the Abacha coup sacked him. Abacha came on the pretence that he was going to redress the injustice by spending a short period, sack the Babangida boys in the military, and hand over to Abiola. That too was a charade, indeed, phantasmagoria!

On a personal note, I got caught up in the imbroglio. First, I was detained at Alagbon Detention centre. Whilst incarcerated, some people were busy abusing me, “what’s your own, are you Abiola’s biological son?” There were those who said my arrest was fake, that I was working for government. Such is the pain of fighting for social justice in our country. People regretfully sit in the comfort of their homes casting aspersions at those willing to make the necessary asacrifice.

Chief Abiola was arrested and detained in 1994. Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele (of blessed memory) and I were vehemently opposed to Abiola being captured by Abacha. We felt that Abiola should disappear once more and fight from abroad. But some elders opined that he needed to be in Nigeria to defend his mandate. I will never forget the night Abiola was arrested. We had gone to Chief Wahab Dosunmu’s house in Surulere to bring Chief Abiola back home. We arranged a human shield at Abiola’s home so that it would be difficult to arrest him. Abiola’s family did all they could by arranging food and drinks for his huge crowd of supporters. As Abiola’s motorcade drove into his home in Moshood Abiola Crescent, we noticed about 600 police officers perching along Toyin Street. Everywhere was bustling.

Once he entered his bedroom, Chief Abiola said I should go home to freshen up because I had been part of some crazyqq11 operations for the past 48 hours with his Personal Assistant, Fred Enoh. Ironically, the crowd dispersed after eating free food. I returned later in the night to discover that the police had cordoned off the building. I went to a business centre, telephones were not common then, to call Chief Abiola. He told me not to worry and that I should go home. “I’ve been told they are coming to arrest me at 1.00am but I don’t think Sani (Abacha) can try it o…” Those were Abiola’s last words to me on earth. As soon as Abiola got arrested, he was taken to some terrible prison in the Northern part. He was able to smuggle a letter out in which he instructed Dr Abiola to ask me to visit him. I was on my way to Gashua, via Maiduguri and Damaturu, when we heard he’d been moved from the prison to another location. The crowd around his house began to thin out. Abiola spent about four years in solitary confinement and never came back alive.

Whilst doing my utmost to support Abiola during his incarceration, one day, I myself had to flee as, on July 22, 1995, my wife told me that I had to run for my dear life. I have told the story of my escape to London via Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana several times. I spent three years in harsh and difficult years in exile but did not relent in the struggle to see democracy return to Nigeria. Despite my significant suffering, some people were busy saying I ran away, bla, bla, bla. The lesson I learnt was that Nigerians are generally not ready to make any sacrifice for democracy, and those who are willing would always be discouraged by negative comments and abuse. My thesis is that this is why we have not been able to sustain any struggle.

Most Nigerian politicians cannot survive in opposition. When tomorrow comes, Atiku Abubakar, will see many grumblers saying they can’t die because of him. At the beginning of the Abacha government, a meeting was held in Abiola’s house. Abiola and loyalists were shocked, when politician after politician, started giving reasons, and excuses, why Abiola should let them join the Abacha Government. Chief Abiola had given me names of those who have decided to join the new government, prior to the meeting and so he was not disappointed when they did confirm they were leaving him. Nigeria is a very complicated society where most lives depend on government patronage. Chief Abiola used to say, “you can’t blame a hungry man for looking for food”.

I have witnessed enough of Nigeria’s trajectory and the future is still very bleak for opposition because elections in our country are usually a matter of winner-takes-all. The Jonathan concession now seems an aberration. It was partly for this reason that I enjoined Atiku to accept his lot and congratulate President Buhari. It is my view that Atiku would have demanded the same had he won. What would he have done if Buhari refused and tried to cling on to power? A sitting President has the power and might to do as he pleases. Atiku must demonstrate that he is the Statesman that some of us believe he is by being gracious. The other reason is the fact that no successful litigation has ever been achieved by any defeated Presidential candidate in Nigeria. The rigours and demands of an election petition make it practically impossible for such success.

The panacea for peace is for members of the Peace Council and other well-meaning Nigerians to do everything possible to bring Buhari and Atiku together, face to face. I accept that Atiku is not in the same position as Abiola because he has no mandate and therefore should not be making demands of the government. However, the example of Kenya should be adopted. While it is not possible within our Constitution to attempt the Kibaki/Odinga hybrid, as President and Prime Minister, it should be possible for Buhari to show uncommon magnanimity by tolerating and accommodating Atiku in some mutually acceptable manner. Buhari and Atiku can jointly appear in an interdenominational day of prayers and seek to unite our divided country.They should say the right things to affirm that the country is greater than both of them. No Nigerian henceforth should be oppressed or victimised on account of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity or gender. Nigerians should be treated as citizens of one indivisible country created by God.

No price is too heavy for peace.

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Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: Prioritize Existing Unfinished Projects, Peter Obi Tells FG

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has advised the federal government to prioritize existing unfinished projects spread across the country instead of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

Obi, in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, stated that the project was a misplaced priority given the numerous unfinished roads throughout the country.

The former governor of Anambra State mentioned that the budget allocated to the Ministry of Works is insufficient for significant progress on the country’s various unfinished roads, much less their completion.

Obi therefore, advised that the government prioritize the existing infrastructural projects in the country before embarking on any new and colossal projects like the Lagos-Calabar super highway project.

“The Federal Ministry of Works 2024 capital budget of N892,461,262,656.00, additional funding from multilateral loan projects of N94,828,535,243.00, alongside other expected contributions from sources like the China-Exim Bank and the World Bank, will not be enough for serious work on all the critical roads, some of which I enumerated above, let alone their completion.

So, why embark on another huge project that will not be completed in the next 20 or 30 years?

“To do so will only exacerbate the problem of abandoned, uncompleted projects that are not contributing to economic growth and overall development.

“Therefore, while acknowledging the potential benefits of coastal superhighway infrastructure, I urge prioritization of our existing uncompleted projects. We must allocate resources towards repairing and completing existing infrastructure.

“In any development formula, the primary focus should be on completing and rehabilitating existing infrastructure rather than embarking on colossal new projects that may never reach completion within the next 30 years,” Obi said.

Back in March, the Federal Government began constructing the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, designed to extend through 9 states with two spurs leading to the Northern States.

Recall that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, had earlier described the project as a fraud.

“Umahi had announced that Hitech would fully fund the project, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then said that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit,” Atiku said.

Headline

2027 Presidential Race: Opposition Parties Under Attack

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

While it is still a whole three years before the next general election in 2027, The Boss has learnt that opposition parties in the countries are being muffled to pave the way for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to return to, and retain power.

From the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the Labour Party (LP), and down to the New Nigerian Peoples Paty (NNPP), crises have engulfed the rank and files, in what a source told this paper was the attempt and making of the ruling party, APC, to decimate, destabilize and make redundant the machineries of the opposition parties.

It is believed that by 2027, the apparatuses holding together the various opposition parties would have weakened irredeemably to the extent the country would seemingly nosedive into the inglorious one party state that every civil right advocate and democrats abhor.

It is alleged that all the crises in all the opposition parties are being engineered by the President Bola Tinubu-led ruling APC, with the hope of getting the fibres of their system weakened, thereby luring the members of the crisis-ridden parties into the APC.

Slightly one year after the last presidential election, the two major opposition platforms, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, have separately been embroiled in a crisis of confidence which has diminished their capacity to provide viable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The crises in both opposition parties got to a head. The Labour Party led by its national chairman Julius Abure held its much-opposed national convention which was boycotted by its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi; its only governor, Alex Otti of Abia State; federal and state lawmakers elected on its platform, and the organised Labour.

In the Labour Labour, members have been embroiled in endless battle of supremacy with a faction led by Mr. Apapa steadily contesting the leadership of Julius Abure.

Consequently, the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, reverence as a leader in the fold, noting that whatever the party faces presently, that Nigeria’s problems are far bigger than the crises in his party.

The LP has been embroiled in crises — ranging from allegations of misappropriation of funds, and leadership tussle, to calls for the resignation of the party’s national chairman.

TheCable reported that “On March 27, the LP conducted a national convention in Anambra state where Julius Abure was re-elected as its national chairman.

Obi did not attend the convention, fuelling speculations that he may be mulling over ditching the LP for another platform.

Speaking during an appearance on HaveYourSay247, an interactive online session hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo over the weekend, Obi said he is confident that the crises rocking the LP will soon be resolved amicably.

“Whatever is happening in the Labour Party is so minute compared to what is happening in the country,” Obi said.

“So, for me, it is something we will resolve amicably, and it is not anything to worry about. Let us worry about the country.

“Let us worry about how the average Nigerian would be able to have a means of livelihood to be able to eat, that should be our worry.”

Obi said he has no interest in being the party’s leader but only to make sure things are done properly.

“I don’t see what I do in politics as being the leader of any place or not. My position is that just like I always say, I am not desperate to be president of Nigeria, I am desperate to see Nigeria work because I know it can work,” he added.

“We have a more desperate situation. Parties are just a means to be able to contest elections. What is important is that being a leader of a party does not reduce the price of food.

In the PDP, the shenanigans of former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has practically kept the party in constant crisis with many observers concluding that the now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is working for the APC, and is just a mole in the PDP. Wike has denied the allegation, however,

But news filtered in last week as that the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NEC meeting on Thursday was not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

While political stakeholders concluded that the outcome of the Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan; every page of what finally transpired at the meeting pointed to the fact.

The much touted removal of the party chairman, who is believed to be a crony of the Abuja minister, Damagum, retained his seat, with his executives.

“It is very clear to everyone that a lot of money politics is being played to cajole many loyal members of the party, forcing them into frustration, and eventually it of the party. The option afterwards, will be the APC. This, will for all intent and purpose actualize the intended one party state as an APC agenda.

The Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso-led NNPP is not faring better either. The only governor under their ticket, Abba Kabir Yusuf, just had the confidence of their party on him withdrawn. He was fighting for his political life until suddenly it was announced the the APC in Kano has collapsed its structure into the NNPP.

“This is just another APC strategy to actualize their hidden intentions. Time will reveal the very sinister agenda they harboring,” an analyst said.

Much as 2027 is still three years away, but intrigues are in play to render Nigeria a one party state, and perpetuate the APC in power. The three other opposition parties are basically under attack to bring to pass this unpopular agenda.

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Akwa Ibom Government, Governor Umo Eno Receive Top Honors at the 10th Wonders of the World Expo in Lagos

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Admin

The Akwa Ibom State Government and Governor Pastor Umo Eno were recognized with Travellers Awards at the 10th Wonders of the World Expo in Lagos for their sustained enhancement of infrastructure, support for local talent, and dedication to investment in the tourism sector. The ceremony took place at the National Museum in Onikan, Lagos.

While Akwa Ibom won the Most Active Tourism State of the Year, Governor Eno was adjudged the most Tourism-Friendly Governor of the Year at the event that had Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Lola Ade John in attendance.

According to Amb. Ikechi Uko, Founder/Publisher of ATQ Magazine, the organizers of the event which is in its tenth edition, Akwa Ibom State won the top prize “in recognition of its valiant and resourceful efforts to drive and sustain domestic tourism by promoting the industry.

‘In 2023, Akwa Ibom was one of the states that hosted World Tourism Day (WTD ) events. The state also organized the famous Christmas Unplugged, which featured music, food, and cultures from all 31 LGAs as well as ensured friendly policies.”

While hoping that the Travellers Awards would spur Akwa Ibom to do more to dominate the domestic tourism industry, the organizers hoped that the state would gradually evolve into one of Nigeria’s top international tourism destinations.

That was not all, the state Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh was also recognized as one of the Top 100 Tourism Personalities in Nigeria for demonstrating exceptional leadership and innovation in the travel and tourism industry, while other Akwa Ibom indigenes and entity were also celebrated: Mrs. Ime Udo, Honorary Special Adviser to the Governor( Tourism) won Tourism Promoter of the Year, Favour Udo won Tourism Photographer of the Year, Loretta Effiong and Prince Uduak Sunday (Qua Tours) were listed among the Tourism Personalities of the Year and Ibom Air won Airline of the Year International.

In his remarks, Sir Charles Udoh, who represented the Governor at the event, thanked the organizers for the awards and noted that Akwa Ibom is certainly enjoying the golden era when it comes to tourism development. He stated that Governor Umo Eno is very keen on making Akwa Ibom a leading tourism destination with his programmes and policies.

He revealed that with the new Victor Attah International Airport nearing completion, the purchase of a ferry for the Oron-Calabar route, new developments along its coastline and the restoration work that will be done at all its major tourism sites, Akwa Ibom is well on the way to becoming the number one destination for all domestic and foreign tourists.

In her speech, Tourism Minister, Mrs. Ade John hailed the organizers for hosting the Expo, where practitioners were lectured by top experts while also rewarding those who have excelled in the past year.

She affirmed that her ministry is open to partnership with public and private sector operators, adding that tourism development can only be successful through collaborative efforts.

The event, which attracted leading and budding tourism professionals, also featured interactive and entertainment sessions.

Apart from Sir Charles Udoh and Mrs. Ime Udo, the Akwa Ibom State delegation, also included: Mr. Michael Effiong James, Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor, Mrs. Eme Bassey, Special Assistant to Governor (Lagos Liaison) and Akparawa John Offiong, Deputy Director ( Culture) Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

More photos below: