Tinubu’s Injudicious Governance Template In A Heterogeneous Society

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

In his seminal offering last Sunday titled, “Whose president is Tinubu, anyway?” TheNiche columnist, Dr. Chidi Amuta, concluded in a rather cautionary note: “Tinubu’s current quandary as to his real national constituency may end in greater confusion unless he is ready to rediscover the source of his original sin and redress it. That original sin is that he has failed to rise to the lofty height of the nation. Instead, he has spent two years struggling to reduce a great nation to the limited size of his stature, vision and politics. To discover his mission, Tinubu has to rise to the magnitude of his national canvass.”

*Tinubu

It was a well-intentioned advisory, which, if heeded, will do President Tinubu a world of good and soothe frayed nerves in the country. But knowing him, it is an advisory he will treat with derision.

Buhari’s Aso Rock Rats And Matters Arising

 By Dele Sobowale

“Every government is run by liars; and nothing they say should be believed…” – I. F. Stone, 1907-1989

I was halfway through with the article intended for this week when two things happened. Former President Buhari, 1943-2025, passed on in a London Hospital; where he undoubtedly had gone to save his life.

*Buhari 

Unfortunately, the man might have realised that only Allah gives life. Without Almighty Allah’s approval, all the best doctors on Earth labour in vain. Incidentally, I almost went a few days before Buhari.

I was given extended tenure above ground by an overworked doctor in a General Hospital in Nigeria.

So much for overseas’ treatments! Garba Shehu, a former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Buhari, had launched a book titled, ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience’, in which he confessed to telling reporters a lie about the former President’s health condition.

Benue-Plateau: Tinubu’s Last Chance

 By Ochereome Nnanna

After two years as President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu has the last chance to prove himself in the Benue and Plateau theatres of the Fulani herdsmen genocidal attacks on indigenous Nigerian communities. These terrorists drawn from domestic and foreign Fulani jihadist bandit groups were named by the Global Terror Index back in 2014 as the fourth “most murderous” terror group in the world behind ISIS, Al Shabbab and Boko Haram.

*Tinubu

But here in Nigeria, they are protected, armed and facilitated in their genocidal campaigns, which the Federal Government, the military and even the undiscerning sections of the media deceptively call “farmers-herders clashes” or “farmers-herders crisis”.

Corruption And Political Party Funding In Nigeria?

 By Tonnie Iredia

With the recent decision of the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria,   the latter now presumably receive their share of the monthly federal allocation directly unlike the previous practice of such funds getting to them through their respective state governments.

Bearing in mind that most local government chairpersons in every state were greatly assisted if not handpicked into their positions, how easily achievable would the implementation of local autonomy be? 

The Metamorphosis Of Nuhu Mallam Ribadu

 By Dr Ugoji Egbujo

Born in 1960, Nuhu Ribadu, perhaps, had independence in his genes. Son of a first republic parliamentarian from Yola, Nuhu came with a good  spoon in his mouth.

*Ribadu 
After he studied law, he  joined the police,  climbing  the career ladder of a corrupt and disoriented institution. Young  Ribadu, it appeared, resisted the mind bending culture and stored a grudge for filth. But cynics saw a temperamental, conceited, attention-seeking, power-hungry, and callow fellow.  In 2003, after glimpses of promise at the department of prosecution, Nuhu arrived on the national stage. 

EFCC And Yahaya Bello’s Hide-And-Seek Game

 By Charles Okoh

The Economic and Finan­cial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may have with re­cent events, proven to those who never believed in its abilities to properly prosecute financial fraud offenders without bias, that it has outlived its usefulness. An anti-graft agency that seems only out to diligently hunt and pros­ecute small fries while bungling high-profile cases involving men and women of means certainly can­not provide the much desired check on economic and financial crimes that hold this nation hostage.

*Tinubu and Bello 

At the outset of the agency, inci­dentally under Nuhu Ribadu, who is the current National Security Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there were at least some attempts to prosecute high-pro­file cases. Even though it was ar­gued that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and succeeding presi­dents after him, have been using the agency to persecute political enemies but it was still not hopeless as it currently is.

As Tinubu Redefines Protest To Mean ‘Movement To Effect Change Of Regime By Force’

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

After quelling what, to all intents and purposes, was a peaceful protest by economically challenged Nigerians over insufferable high cost of living, President Bola Tinubu has moved quickly to consolidate his grip on power. Taking a page from the archetypical fascist playbook, he summoned a meeting of the National Council of State, NCS, on Tuesday, to pass a vote of confidence in him and the Council obliged.

*Bola Tinubu 

For those who may not know, the NCS idea, which was introduced by General Murtala Muhammed in a broadcast on July 30, 1975 after overthrowing General Yakubu Gowon, was to create an advisory body.  

“The structure of government has been re-organised. There will now be three organs of government at the federal level namely: The Supreme Military Council, The National Council of State, and the Federal Executive Council,” he said.

Yahaya Bello: EFCC Deserves Public Support

 By Tonnie Iredia

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ICPC were established some two decades ago by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The motivation was to set up strategic platforms to deal decisively with the evils of corruption which were generally accepted by all to be at the apex of the nation’s collective malaise.

*Bello performing in Lokoja when he was in power 

Nigerians were also aware that their country had been labelled as fantastically corrupt by the international community. This seems to explain the decision of each successive President to make strong statements to end corruption either during his electioneering campaigns or even after having been elected. At a point, the poetic declaration was: ‘if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.’ Put differently, corruption is the most notorious bane of Nigeria’s development.

Killings On The Plateau: The Shame Of A Nation

 By Etim Etim

The brutal killings of over 160 Nigerians in three local councils in Plateau State on Christmas eve and Christmas Day by terrorists have once again illustrated the failure of the Nigerian State to protect its citizens. Over 20 villages across Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs were attacked in what has become a pattern of a failed or a fast-failing state. 

I am sad, pained and aggrieved by the flagrant failure of the security agencies to thwart the terrorists’ plots or arrest them after their heinous crimes. Many Nigerians, including a retired general who had once served as the Commander of Operation Safe Heaven on the Plateau, Gen. Henry Ayoola, believe that there are elements in the security agencies that collude with the terrorists and are complicit in these killings.

Buhari ‘Bankrupted’ Nigeria, But Who ‘Made’ Him President?

 By Olu Fasan

Last week, I wrote about the lack of accountability in Nigerian politics. I submitted that most Nigerians are unquestioning about their leaders, and uncritically accept whatever they’re told. Nothing proves this better than the self-serving narrative that Bola Tinubu’s government pushes about what it inherited from the Buhari administration, and the sympathy some Nigerians profess for Tinubu.

*Tinubu and Buhari 

Recently, Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, said the Muhammadu Buhari government bankrupted Nigeria. “We have inherited a very difficult country, a bankrupt country,” he said. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State later said: “Tinubu inherited an administration that was almost comatose.” Tinubu himself set the tone earlier in a speech titled “After Darkness Comes the Glorious Dawn”, saying: “We are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.” Unmistakably, the Buhari administration he succeeds is “the darkness”. 

Why Buhari Must Be Put On Trial!

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

As President Bola Tinubu pretends to be providing leadership for our beleaguered country, one question remains unanswered: what to do with former President Muhammadu Buhari. In the eight years that Buhari, a putschist and former military head of state, held sway as civilian president, he destroyed the country, literally.

*Buhari 

In recent times, those who knew he was a disaster in Aso Rock but dubiously claimed that he was the best thing to happen to Nigeria are beginning to sing like a canary. 

Nigeria: Is There A Reason To Be Hopeful?

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Is Nigeria making progress? Is there any reason to be optimistic about the future? These are the questions that continue to concentrate my mind as the country and its leadership continue to fumble. Ordinarily, I am a very optimistic person with a positive outlook on life. I would rather look at a half of a glass of water and see it as half-full than half-empty. But wishing Nigeria the best or being hopeful that things will get better does not necessarily translate to reality. The vehicle that transports hope to the destination of reality is positive action.

*Tinubu 

Esther Boyd, the Editorial Director for State of Formation, an offshoot of the Journal of Interreligious Studies, JIRS, in a 2016 article, “Hope is an Action,” wrote: “Hope as an action means pushing boundaries, dismantling barriers, and taking steps – however small they may be – one by one, towards the better that we’re hoping for. To hope for something means to strive towards it, to build it if it doesn’t already exist, and to keep moving forward.” But hope, as Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher and cultural critic, once noted could be “the worst of all evils, for it prolongs the torments of man”.

Did Nuhu Ribadu Benefit From Dasukigate?

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

*Ribadu

Is it true that the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, also received N100m from the fabled "Dasukigate" to finance his gubernatorial ambition in Adamawa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as alleged recently by his successor, Mrs. Farida Waziri? If it is true, why has he not been publicly named and shamed like other Nigerians who have been so treated? Could it be that he secretly returned his own share of the loot as we are told some people did?

Or he was simply protected by his protege, Ibrahim Magu, the embattled acting chairman of the commission? Or could it be that his joining ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) is a sort of plea bargain so that his crime will be swept under the carpet using the party's axiomatic broom? If on the other hand nothing like that happened, why has the loquacious Ribadu suddenly lost his voice?

Or could it be he neither heard nor read about Waziri's allegation? Isn't Nigeria itself a huge fraud with fraudsters making the most noise in the so-called war against corruption? Any wonder why we remain where we are as a country.

On The Marble  

*Farida Waziri 

“It is his lust for power, inordinate ambition and desperation for political relevance that continue to push him to dine and wine, and even enjoy the wealth of those he had labelled as corrupt in yesteryears. He can’t hold me responsible for his double face, lack of principle and complex contradictions in his character.

“There is also the need to remind Nuhu Ribadu that before he succumbs to another logorrhoea, he should avail himself a copy of the investigative report on recovered asset during his tenure as EFCC chairman and use the opportunity of the next naming ceremony or birthday party he is invited to, to explain to Nigerians what happened to billions of funds and asset recovered from suspects under him, with no records or documentation.

“He should be grateful to me that I cleaned his mess by creating an Asset Forfeiture Unit to put the records straight and do things rightly.” – Farida Waziri

Nigeria At An Anti-Corruption Rally

By Dan Amor

For most dispassionate observers of the Nigerian political scene, the only thing which has destroyed the fabric of this country even more than any conventional war, is corruption. This hydra-headed monster has become Nigeria's middle name. Aside from the untoward image this menace has wrought on the country and the insult and embarrassment it has caused innocent Nigerians abroad, it has inflicted irreparable damage to the basic foundations that held the country together. Corruption has stunted our economic growth, our social and physical infrastructure, our technological and industrial advancement and has decapitated our institutions, which is why our over 40 research institutes are no longer functional because they are headless. 

(pix: AFP)

Even our academic and military establishments and other security agencies cannot in all sincerity be exonerated from the deadly effects of unbridled corruption. The determination of President Muhammadu Buhari to combat corruption and to go after suspects irrespective of their ethnic or political leanings should enlist the sympathy of all well-meaning Nigerians. It is the more reason why even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which controlled the central government and a greater number of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, until May 29, 2015, recently endorsed the corruption war.

As Nigerians we certainly do not need any soothsayer to tell us that ours is a corrupt country. We see corruption live everyday. We see Mr. Corruption stalk the streets, the roads and the highways across the country. We see Mr. Corruption bid us goodbye at the airports and welcome us back into the country. We Nigerians greet Mr. Corruption at the seaports and border posts as we clear our cargoes into the country. We shake the juicy hands of Mr. Corruption as we savour the winning of a lucrative contract. Truly, Nigeria, which in 1996 was ranked by Transparency International as the second most corrupt country in the world, achieved the utmost when in 1997, it was voted the most corrupt country on the face of the earth. Ever since, the country has had the misfortune of being grouped among the five most corrupt countries in the world. There can never be any stigma as heinous as this in the comity of nations across the world.

Since the current democratic political experiment started in May 1999, all successive governments have had to place anti-corruption war as part of their programmes of action, popularly known as manifestos or agendas. Yet, all had paid lip service to the fight against corruption except the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which is showing signs of its determination to tackle the monster head on. As can be deduced from the body language and actions of the President himself, Nigerians are now confident that this battle will commence with the resoluteness it deserves. Successive administrations, in spite of their much vaunted hoopla over corruption war, were ironically refuting the claims of the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) that Nigeria was stinking with the evil stench of corruption.

EFCC Is Nigeria’s Most Corrupt Institution – Prof Nwabueze

*Says Agency’s Lawyers Promote Graft

By Daniel Kanu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency set up to eradicate the cankerworm of corruption in Nigeria, has been described as the most corrupt institution in Nigeria today, a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted.

Making this assertion in an exclusive interview with The Niche is Professor Ben Nwabueze, Nigeria’s foremost constitutional lawyer and anti-corruption crusader who has called for a social and ethical revolution as the only way to eradicate the malaise.

Nwabueze said President Muhammadu Buhari’s belief that he will win the war against graft with all the probes undertaken by the EFCC will remain a mirage because according to him, “The EFCC is one of the most corrupt institutions in this country.”

The erudite lawyer said those who believe, like Buhari, that the EFCC is the solution to the problem of graft in Nigeria should first find out what happened to all the money recovered from looters or realized from sale of their assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

Told that many Nigerians may not agree with his assertion, Nwabueze countered: “What happened to all the money EFCC claimed to have recovered through plea bargain? You said many people won’t agree with me? Why has Buhari sacked Ibrahim Lamorde, the former EFCC chairman? Have you looked at the report on the sale of assets of former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun, and former Governor of Bayelsa State Diepreye Alamieyesegha, forfeited to the Nigerian state?

Corruption War In Nigeria: A Vote For President Buhari

By Dan Amor 

For most dispassionate observers of the Nigerian political scene, the only thing which has destroyed the fabric of this country even more than any conventional war, is corruption. This hydra-headed monster has become Nigeria's middle name. Aside from the untoward image this menace has wrought on the country and the insult and embarrassment it has caused innocent Nigerians abroad, it has inflicted irreparable damage to the basic foundations that held the country together.

*Buhari 

Corruption has stunted our economic growth, our social and physical infrastructure, our technological and industrial advancement and has decapitated our institutions, which is why our over 40 research institutes are no longer functional because they are headless. Even our academic and military establishments and other security agencies cannot in all sincerity be exonerated from the deadly effects of unbridled corruption. The determination of President Muhammadu Buhari to combat corruption and to go after suspects irrespective of their ethnic or political leanings should enlist the sympathy of all well-meaning Nigerians. It is the more reason why even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which controlled the central government and a greater number of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, recently endorsed the corruption war.

As Nigerians we certainly do not need any soothsayer to tell us that ours is a corrupt country. We see corruption live everyday. We see Mr. Corruption stalk the streets, the roads and the highways across the country. We see Mr. Corruption bid us goodbye at the airports and welcome us back into the country. We Nigerians greet Mr. Corruption at the seaports and border posts as we clear our cargoes into the country. We shake the juicy hands of Mr. Corruption as we savour the winning of a lucrative contract. Truly, Nigeria, which in 1996 was ranked by Transparency International as the second most corrupt country in the world, achieved the utmost when in 1997 it was voted the most corrupt country on the face of the earth. Ever since, the country has had the misfortune of being grouped among the five most corrupt countries in the world. There can never be any stigma as heinous as this in the comity of nations across the world.

Since the current democratic political experiment started in May 1999, all successive governments have had to place anti-corruption war as part of their programmes of action, popularly known as manifestos or agendas. Yet, all had paid lip service to the fight against corruption except the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which is showing signs of its determination to tackle the monster head on. As can be deduced from the body language and actions of the president himself, Nigerians are now confident that this battle will commence with the resoluteness it deserves. Successive administrations, in spite of their much vaunted hoopla over corruption war, were ironically refuting the claims of the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) that Nigeria was stinking with the evil stench of corruption.

Nuhu Ribadu's Transmutation

By Ikechukwu Amaechi 

There is no politically discerning Nigerian who has not heard the news. Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman of anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the presidential candidate of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011, has defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the leading opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC), because he wants to govern Adamawa, his home state.  

Nuhu Ribadu 

 A legitimate ambition no doubt. But to titivate same in the garb of public good is arrant nonsense. But that is quintessential Ribadu. He thinks Nigerians are ever gullible.   The office became vacant after Governor Murtala Nyako was impeached on July 15 by the House of Assembly upon adoption of the report of the seven-member panel that investigated allegations of gross misconduct against him.  

Ribadu has the inalienable right to belong to any political party and to pursue whatever political aspiration that appeals to his ego.   But has no right to insult Nigerians in his pursuit. But that was exactly what he did when he claimed that his defection from the APC to the PDP was in pursuit of a good cause and not out of selfish interest.  

Tom Ikimi’s Lengthy Chronicle Of Falsehoods

By Bola Tinubu 

I ordinarily would not have responded to Tom Ikimi’s lengthy chronicle of falsehoods, cheap blackmail and abuse. My only reason for this response is that I know Tom Ikimi’s style. He subscribes to the view that no matter how unbelievable a lie may sound if you brazenly assert it and repeat it often enough you may persuade many that it is in fact true.  I have seen Ikimi perpetrate this deviousness in his years in public life. 

*Tinubu

1. Regarding Ikimi’s bid for the Chairmanship of the Party. It was clear to practically everyone who had the interest of the party at heart that we simply could not have a man of Tom Ikimi’s antecedents as Chair of the party. As chairman of the NRC, one of the only two political parties in the country under the military transition programme, Tom Ikimi not only connived with the then military regime to annul the elections, terminate the democratic process and sell off his party. 

He became Abacha’s foreign minister, convincing the world that heinous state murders like the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa were just acts! If Ikimi were the Chair of APC the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break. No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. 

Nuhu Ribadu: Why I Left APC

My good friends,

I know how difficult it may be for you to come to terms with my defection to another party. But I must assure you that it's a carefully considered decision for which I do not wish to hurt anyone's feeling. I'll not embark on a needless animosity with my good friends, irrespective of political, religious, regional and ethnic affiliations.

Let me quickly make it known that I did not issue a statement disparaging APC and its members, including Governors Amaechi, Kwankwaso... These were clearly fabricated, expected backlash, by mischievous characters interested in misleading the public and drawing a picture of non-existent feuds between me and my good friends.

Obasanjo Lied Against Me, Says Farida Waziri

...Threatens To Expose Him

My attention has been drawn to a number of allegations made against me by Chief Obasanjo. One of such was the alleged involvement of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, in my appointment. While I hold the office of a Head of State, either serving or retired, in the highest esteem, I will like to put on record for the umpteenth time that this is totally unfounded, blatant lie and arrant falsehood.