Headline

Will Buhari Remain Aloof As War Looms?

Published

5 years ago

February 26, 2021

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Many of the appellations with which immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan was described prior to the 2015 Presidential Elections included ‘kindergarten president, clueless, misfit, absentee president among others. His detractors believed then that he was not fit to be president, and so a lot of aspersions was cast on him, leading to his losing credibility, and eventually losing the presidential election.

Then enter President Muhammadu Buhari, a man touted as the messiah Jonathan could never be; a man who will fix a horribly damaged Nigeria by Jonathan and his co-travellers; a man who will build four refineries within the first four years of his administration; a man who will bring naira at par with the dollar as against the N168 to one dollar which Jonathan’s incompetent administration took it to; a man who will pay monthly stipend to the aged and unemployed; a man who will completely eradicate corruption and graft; the man who will obliterate insurgency occasioned by the menace of the dreaded Boko Haram, and of course the man who will reunite Nigerians and eliminated the feathering ambers of ethnicism, tribalism an nepotism.

Buhari was the magician with the golden wand, whose antecedents as a former Head of the State (January, 1984 – August 1985), were certain to make him rescue Nigeria from the quagmire of maladministration. He was so talented, endowed and of course detribalised, or so the elites believed. And of course made fellow toe their lines. Today, Buhari is the president today, and not a few agreed that things have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold (apologies to respected writer, Chinua Achebe, and by extension to William Butler, who first used the expression in His poem The Second Coming), and the irony of it all is that the president has remained aloof, watching the different tribes and creed of the nation going for one another’s jocular, beating very loud the drums of war.

The drama that escalated the ethnic divide started very early in the administration of President Buhari, even as the President’s executive appointments were lopsided, creating rooms majorly for officer of northern extracts as against their southern counterparts. The Igbo, from the South East were the worse hit. The region was ‘marginalised’, paving the way for the rising of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose penchant for the restoration of the Biafran nation grew bolder. He began his campaign for the restoration of Biafra, kicking off from where his kinsman, Ralph Uwazuruike, stopped. Kanu’s method was verbose, crude and without caution, and so drew the irk of Buhari, who had already categorised the region as the 5% of his administration; a people he cared very about. His primary concern was on the 97% that voted for him.

Nnamdi Kanu’s approach earned him an arrest and incarceration. He was however, granted bail in 2017 with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, standing surety for him. He mysteriously escaped from the country in September of 2018 when the Nigerian army, in a brutal operation, code named Operation Python Dance, invaded his home. Reports had it that some people were killed in the operation. He was to resurfaced in Israel about a year later. Ever since Kanu has remained a thorn in the flesh of the Buhari administration, singing war songs since his proposed referendum to decide the fate of Nigeria has constantly been bluffed.

With Kanu’s agitation on the side, the South West governors, sensing the inability of the Buhari’s government to protect the region of Fulani herdsmen made their incursion unhindered into the region, killing and maiming at will. It took the killing of Pa Reuben Fasoranti’s daughter, Mrs olufunke Olakunri, for the region to rally round and formed its own paramilitary outfit, Amotekun. The outfit was programmed to patrol the forest of the region and provide the needed security for their people. But the killings, maiming and intimidation persisted. The state governors appeared helpless, and so entered Sunday Adeyemi, popularly known as Igboho.

On January 15, 2021, he issued a one week ultimatum for the criminal elements among the Fulani herdsmen to quit Igangan, in Oyo state. He wasn’t bluffing. He returned exactly one week after and sacked the Fulani settlement, and sent the Seriki Fulani packing. Igboho reportedly insisted that the Seriki, a popular herder, must leave the town, saying so many people fingered him to be behind the insecurity in the area. He accused the Fulani community in the area of masterminding abductions, killings, and other criminal activities in the area. In its version of the report, Daily Trust states that though Igboho did not fight the Fulani residents in Oyo state as speculated on social media, he insisted they must leave the state and the entire Yorubaland, if kidnapping continues.

However, the Oyo governor, Seyi Mkinde and human rights activist, Femi Falana as well as the Presidency faulted the move. But Falana agreed that it is the abdication of the duty of the government that had made the Sunday Igbohos to be relevant in the society.

“That is why private citizens give quit notices to people from other parts of the country. It is not the right way to fight this problem. We need to have ranches, in Oyo State in particular. The largest abattoir in West Africa is located in Oyo State but the state government has not allowed the abattoir to function for the past nine years. Is that how to run a country?

“The scientific way of solving this problem has been abandoned. So, why would a Sunday Igboho not take over the government of that state? That is what is going on,” he added.

Falana stated that there were genuine fears and facts on ground that the lives and properties in that state and in many states of the country were not safe, saying that the government must remove the basis of this quit notice by ensuring that lives and property of every person in Nigeria in safe.

From Zamfara to Niger to Plateau to Enugu to Katsina and Bauchi, among the other states, the story has remained the same. Untold animosity among the ethnic nationalities. The level of suspicion among one another has become turbo-charged, and accusations and counter accusations have become the other of the day. On one hand is the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom against the Bauchi State, Mohammed Bala, who alluded support for the use of AK-47 by herdsmen. There is the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and his South west colleagues against the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and recently, the Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu against the Senator representing Kogi West, Smart Adeyemi. The country seems to be in a state of topsy turvy. And in all these, where is the chief executive? The Nigeria nation steadily heads to the precipice. Many analyst has said that it is presently sitting on a keg on gunpowder, and explosion is just a matter of time.

In the East, Nnamdi Kanu has floated a well kitted security outfit, named Eastern Security Network (ESN). Their mandate is to patrol the Eastern forest towards flushing out criminal elements therein while in the North the activities of the bandits, cattle rustlers and herdsmen continue to make life miserable for the residents. The name of the terrorists changes as fits the narrator.

But while an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi is pampering bandits, who have hitherto abducted citizens running into hundreds among them students, in the presence of security operatives, the the said security operatives are in Orlu, conducting massive strikes against the ESN operatives, killing and rounding up many of them according to reports. Consequently, Nnamdi Kanu has issued the Nigerian military a 40-days ultimatum to vacate Orlu, and the East generally. Is it war looming again?

Additionally, a mild pandemonium was witnessed along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday when a joint team of policemen and the Department of State Services allegedly attempted to arrest Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.

According to a statement signed by a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Igboho was on his way to meet with 93-year-old Afenifere Chieftain, Ayo Adebanjo, when the incident occurred.

The statement read in part, “I just spoke to my brother Sunday Igboho. He told me there was a violent attempt to arrest him this afternoon by a joint team of soldiers, DSS operatives and policemen numbering about 40 on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway whilst he was on his way to see Baba Ayo Adebanjo in Lagos.

“I condemn this attempt to ambush and abduct him. It is not only reckless but also very dangerous. If the security agencies want to see him all they need to do is to invite him to their office. I am not aware of any crime that he has committed and I urge restraint on all sides.

“Let me also send a warning to the Federal Government that Sunday Igboho is a hero to millions of Yoruba and either killing him or detaining him unlawfully would be the biggest mistake they could make. Building bridges, dialogue and the pursuit of peace is better than intimidation, threats, violence and war. A word is enough for the wise.”

The DSS has however, denied any attempt to arrest Ugboho.

The enmity that has engulfed the north and south is better imagined, and stakeholders have said that even at that, Buhari continues to play the ethnic and nepotic cards. All his appointments have been unapologetically north. The appointment of Abdullahi Bawa as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is just the icing on the cake.

Testimonies of many people who survived the bandits, especially the recently released travellers, point towards the fact that the terrorists are equipped for full scale war by the sophistication of the weapons they bear.

On Friday, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, said it was the people who planned for Jonathan to leave office that are sponsoring bandits.

He said, “During the 2015 elections they brought in thousands of foreigners into this country, armed them because it was a case of if Goodluck Jonathan doesn’t surrender, there will be war. They were ready for civil war; they were not ready for peace.

“Of course, Jonathan handed over to them and then they turned their backs on the hoodlums and the hoodlums said ‘look, you brought us here and we are still here’.”

He frowned at a situation where the people are not equally treated, saying it was not acceptable.

“…but I think the people in government have to be objective and treat us equally. Someone says one thing and they go after him. Others say worse things and they are treated with kid gloves,” he said.

Nigeria rejected Jonathan in 2015 with the sincere hope of encountering a positive change through Mr Integrity, Buhari, but the hope has turned to despondency as by the way things are now, it is either a round table or violent split that will make the necessary amends.

The world therefore, watches, hoping Mr President will stagger out of his splendid aloofness, and take charge, except of course he is in love of what is happening presently. Time will tell!

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.