Why Obasanjo Must Leave Jonathan Alone

By Dan Amor 
At the convocation ceremony of Benson Idahosa University, Benin City last weekend, former president Olusegun Obasanjo who delivered the convocation lecture was quoted as saying that Nigerians should not blame him for the failure of the immediate past President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He also was quoted as saying that the actions of Jonathan as President for six years would continue to haunt the people of the South South geo-political region for a long time to come. Obasanjo who continues to pose as a messiah despite his monumental failure for eight miserable years as a civilian dictator (1999-2007) would not brook any nimbling in castigating Jonathan even when he knows that Jonathan preformed better than him by far. This has now become his stock-in-trade since 2012 when it became obvious to him that Jonathan would not allow him to have his scuttled third term agenda through the back door. 

*Jonathan, Obasanjo

Jonathan resisted his attempt to manipulate him while acting as the Board of Trustees chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP). When he tried this gambit a few months to the 2015 presidential election, Nigerians had thought that his mission was simply to sway Jonathan's support base. But the reactions of Nigerians of varied backgrounds to Obasanjo's old tricks showed that Nigerians are no fools. The people's condemnation of Obasanjo's arrant hypocrisy was overwhelming. The first reaction came from no less a personality than the traditional ruler of Lagos, His Majesty Oba Rilwan Akiolu,  who said that Obasanjo's government was the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. The respected monarch cannot be more correct. Amidst Obasanjo's catalogue of anti-corruption verbal interventions, the question that now begs for an urgent answer is: is Obasanjo among the Saints? Yet Obasanjo is still bashing Jonathan even after the latter has lost election. Analysts now believe that Obasanjo's recent diatribe against Jonathan is just the manifestation of his bottled up anger that the Bayelsa born former President has won international acclaim over his display of the highest form of civility by conceding victory to his opponent even when the actual result was still evolving.


Now, he is poised to incriminate Jonathan while making himself look like a saint before Nigerians. But does Obasanjo possess the moral credentials to speak from a higher pedestal than Jonathan? Due largely to the lamentable short memory of homosepiens, it seems as though we have forgotten so soon about the person of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his recent past. But the poor boy from Owu Village in Ogun State was led by fortuitous and opportunistic circumstances to have a rendezvous with history and destiny. Against his will and command, Obasanjo became head of state after the assassination of his boss, General Murtala Muhammed. He was said to have been the man who launched Nigeria into the estranged comity of heavily indebted nations when he took the first ever N1 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan in 1978 when the Nigerian currency was 75 kobo to the United States dollar. It was said that more than half of this money was not accounted for by General Obasanjo while a fraction of it was left for the incoming administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in October 1979.

Can East Africa Avoid A Major Food Crisis In the Near Future?

By Isaac Mwangi

More often than not, East Africa finds itself in an unending precarious food security situation. From the evolving political and economic situation, this could soon turn into a major crisis.

All the ingredients are already present. From civil war to corruption and population displacement to climate change, man-made disasters have combined with natural factors to create ideal conditions for a major regional food crisis.

Even in the best of times, East Africa is never far removed from hunger. Poor policies that have removed support previously given to farmers, low producer prices that have discouraged farmers, rural-urban migration in search of better opportunities, the loss of productive land to cities, and a host of other factors have led to a situation where regional countries can hardly feed themselves.

These problems have been compounded by joblessness and rising insecurity. Deadly cattle rustling raids between rival communities within and between countries, made worse by the influx of small and light weapons, have made pastoralism a dangerous occupation among nomadic communities.

The conflicts that afflict the region are likely to be the most important factor behind the unfolding food insecurity. Needless to say, conflicts displace productive populations, move human and other resources from productive endeavours to the war effort, and leave whole farms untended. Existing food stocks are abandoned in haste as civilians flee or looted by marauding troops, while markets and supply chains are disrupted.

OIL SUBSIDY: To Be Or Not To Be?

By Dan Amor, Sebastine Eko & Omini Oden

Over the years, Nigeria's four decrepit refineries which were built to refine crude oil into petroleum products for local consumption and possibly for exports were left to rot just to make room for the importation of petroleum products by the governing elite and their contractors. This makes it pretty difficult for the importers or oil marketers to bring the products to the reach of the final consumers without incurring additional costs. The effect of this excess tax on the consumers in the name of landing and other costs of carriage from the ports to depots across the country is what government tries to cushion so that the products would be affordable for the common man. This extra payment government makes to the oil marketers in order to maintain an affordable price regime for the products is what is generally referred to as oil subsidy.

*Buhari

Subsidy is therefore a government policy that would act as a palliative due to fluctuations in the international market. But what makes this policy so controversial in Nigeria is that everything about the oil & gas sector is shrouded in secrecy. Ever since the military administration of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1988, whose major intention was to vend juicy national assets to willing buyers, those companies not sold to government officials or their cronies, were allowed to rot in other to attract the sympathy of Nigerians for their privatization. The refineries, two in Port Harcourt, one in Onne near Warri and one in Kaduna, are part of those assets. Since the Babangida era, Nigerians have been living with this menace. It triggered a lot of civil unrest during which several Nigerians including university students were killed.

The Military junta under the late General Sani Abacha which inherited the crisis set up the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF) headed by the current President, Muhamadu Buhari to manage the excess charges from the pump prices of petroleum products. The fund was meant for the provision of infrastructure across the country. In 1999, when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo assumed leadership of the country as a democratically elected president, he disbanded the PTF and insisted on the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. But the move was resisted by Nigerians who thought that they had long been shortchanged by government in the oil and gas industry. 

Things To Appreciate And Emulate About The Igbo

By Abdu Abdullahi

The Saturday Sun, July 4th, 2015, featured an opinion column with the above caption. It was characterized by the writer’s reflective and expressive capacity for deep lamentation, protest, extolment and optimism about the Igbo State of affairs. A very careful reading of the piece offered me a clear and unbiased understanding of the writer’s primary aim of unveiling the true picture of the Igbo Nation in its giant strive to forge ahead within the league of federating units that have been engulfed into a prolonged crisis of confidence.

*Chinua Achebe Reads And Igbo Poem at 2011 

Achebe Colloquium at Brown University, in Rhode Island

Thus, the writer was able to impressively and emotionally fix significant areas of focus for the readers to digest with a view to constructing sound judgments on the critical issues raised as enshrined in the presentation. The writing was particularly outstanding because of its linguistic strength to communicate effectively with our original mind. Consequently, this impacted tremendously on my psychological make-up, empowering me with the expressive zeal of picking my pen to offer this contribution.

I particularly observed that the choice of the word “appreciate” in the title might have been informed by the writer’s resolve to renew and boost the collective image of the Igbo in the context of ethnic and political supremacy context. In fact, the word appreciate is readily endowed with the lexical power to assume the role of a persuasive agent.

In a way, the word appreciate possesses the driving force of engaging the mind in sober reflections on the Igbo. Mr. Clem Aguiyi’s opening paragraph was skillfully organized to deploy his message to the in-depth of our mind, fostering a strong cohesion from the beginning to the end of the writing.

To drive home his profound feelings and belief about the Igbo, he meticulously dwelt on historical, social, political and philosophical dimensions to carry the readers along the course of evidence based analysis, justification and verification. After scrutinizing the entire work, the central themes captured and refreshed my memory on the period that I really appreciated the beauty of Igbo land. My conviction about the productive attributes of the Igbo was consolidated.

The Worst Cities In The World To Work In

If you think your job is tough, and the location you live in doesn’t quite meet your expectations, then take a look at the top 10 worst cities in the world to work in and you might just think differently about your own situation! These cities are so dangerous that employees who agree to take up employment there often qualify for ‘hardship’ pay ; this is extra pay awarded to employees, just for working in a particular location!

The below list was reported by Bruce Einhorn for US online forum, Excelle and is the results of data obtained by OCR Worldwide for BusinessWeek.

Please note that the list does not include any location in the US, Canada or Western Europe, nor does it include any location that is considered a ‘war zone’ [IMAGINE THAT!!].

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE CITIES 

Bailout: Is Buhari Rewarding Profligacy?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

The recent N400 billion bailout approved for the states by President Muhammadu Buhari to offset the backlog of salary owed to civil servants would certainly bring immense relief to the affected workers and their families. It is difficult to imagine how these Nigerians were able to survive the trauma and pain of existing for several months without salaries, especially, when one considers that even when these salaries were paid regularly and as at when due, they were hardly enough to solve even the basic needs of these public servants. In some cases, we have husbands and wives as state employees, and one is sincerely scared of imagining how life has been for them and their children these past few months.

*President Buhari and some governors  

One hopes that as this money is released, the story we would hear from all the states is that these hapless Nigerians have been paid ALL the arrears of salary owed them to enable them see the extent they would go to sort out their horribly battered existence – lives that have been heartlessly messed up by the gross irresponsibility and unspeakable callousness that now constitute the enduring character of governance in this part of the world.

Considering that we have just emerged from an election in which many state governors were squandering money as if all they did to get loads of it was just to walk to their backyards and pluck them from some trees that generously grew them, Nigerians deserve to know the exact reasons why these governors were unable to pay salaries.

In a place like Osun State , for instance, state workers were heartlessly owed salaries for about seven months. The state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, who recently won a second term in a bitterly contested (and obviously unimaginably expensive) election and who also may have equally contributed his own quota to achieve the “change” that now exists in Aso Rock must be compelled to tell Nigerians how his state achieved such an unimaginable descent.

America: In Lust We Trust

Banji Ojewale

This article is a dirge for the soul of the United States of America. It died on June 26, 2015 when the US Supreme Court, covertly and overtly, prompted by President Barack Obama, legalised same-sex marriage. The judges’ slim 5-4 verdict severed the country from the hallowed grounds of the conjugal institution established by God, Creator of Heaven and Earth along with all their inhabitants.

His inviolable decree on marriage says it must be between two consenting opposite sexes, not among like gender. His law has worked for His plan for the perpetuation of the human race. In other words, the marital relationship involving the male and his opposite number gives life, supports life, sustains life and satisfies life. Its breach on the other hand, brings death, breeds destruction and begets disaster and sexual bedlam. How would same-sex reproduce life, if its promoters, votaries and practitioners were to have their way? It is death for those taking that road.

Their way threatens mankind with extinction since the reach isn’t for procreation but for bestial and unproductive pleasure. Obama and the US are proving to be successors of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, luring millions to their graves with effete gay music. The American leader joined several others in rhapsodic celebration to hail the Court’s ruling. He topped it by interrupting a live TV programme as he phoned a gay fellow who was on set, felicitating with him on the occasion of the judicial decision.

Coupled with how he has always heckled African nations to embrace the ideology of the LGBT throng or be deprived the US aid, this macabre dance of Obama has made some discerning observers to wonder if the American leader and his ilk are not closet gay persons.

Remove Those Terrorist From Anambra!

(Pix: nigerianwatch)

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

No matter how it is looked at, the decision to transfer the nearly 50 Boko Haram convicts and/or detainees from the North East to a small, poorly secured prison in Ekwulobia community in Anambra State is one excellent example of how a very bad policy can be so badly executed. Although the Federal prison authorities reserve the right to send prisoners to any of their jail houses across the country, it would appear that in this particular case, they chose to egregiously abuse that right. And by so doing, they created a very grievous image problem for the Muhammadu Buhari regime and injected avoidable fear and panic in a community where people had lived their lives in relative peace.

Those behind this clearly obnoxious decision to relocate those terrorists to Anambra were quick to betray their confusion, and, perhaps, unwholesome intentions when it was reported that businessmen and women in Anambra State had closed their shops and offices and poured into the streets to protest the planned move. An official of the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) promptly dismissed the story as untrue. Even a spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, immediately released a statement urging Nigerians to consider the story as unfounded. If it was such a well-meaning policy, why were these fellows and the organizations they represent eager to confuse Nigerians and shield them from the truth?

Well, the truth as we know it today is that the “rumour” has turned out to be true and as you read this now, the terrorists have been effectively planted in Ekwulobia prisons.  Now, the standard practice globally is to keep in Maximum Security Prisons such unrepentant, dare-devil terrorists who derive undue animation from taking their own lives in suicide missions in order to eliminate hapless “infidels.” And the prison in Ekwulobia is not a Maximum Security Prison. So, what exactly informed and justified the choice of Ekwulobia prison, an already unduly over-stretched facility meant for 85 inmates but which at present is housing 185 inmates – more than double of its capacity – as the best place to keep those terrorists? When one also imagines the distance covered to bring these terrorists to Anambra State, one is tempted to give second thought to the view already circulating that some sinister motives may have inspired the decision.

The Plot To Unseat Sen. Ike Ekweremadu

*Ekweremadu

By Dan Amor
We must get the record straight. As Senator Ken Nnamani, the last President of the Fifth Senate and one of the finest legislative minds in the country has asserted, the floor of any chamber of the Nigerian bi-camera legislature is not a party secretariat. So, those calling for the resignation of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President are enemies of our democracy.

President Muhammadu Buhari was recently quoted as saying that the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Deputy Senate President was unacceptable to him and his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). "I cannot work with enemies of my party— Buhari,” so goes the headline, whatever that means. This position of the President was followed by the alleged invitation of Ekweremadu by the police to be quizzed over the alleged doctoring of the Senate Rules to facilitate his election as Deputy Senate President. It is like the fable of the owl crying in the night and the child dying the following morning.

The reported invasion of the hallowed chamber of the Senate by the police ostensibly to question the Clerk is outrageous, to say the least and must be condemned by all Nigerians who fought the military to a standstill to bring about the current democratic dispensation in 1999.

Buhari’s Change Mission (2) And Hidden Caliphate Agenda

*Buhari, Sultan of Sokoto, Osinbajo,Tambuwal 

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By Chinweizu

sundoor999@gmail.com

04July15

Copyright © Chinweizu, 2015

“North replies Asari: We subdued Yorubas & conquered the Ijaws; We will do it again”,-- Usman Faruk, (August 2012)  Faruk was the military governor of North-West State during the Yakubu Gowon regime.

[See Chinweizu, Caliphate Colonialism: The Taproot of the Trouble with Nigeria (2013), Lagos: Clear Coast Communications, 2015, p. 49] The publishers may be contacted through cityvoiceng@yahoo.com; and +2348026440272.

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Since Buhari was elected President, non-Caliphate pundits have been publicly offering suggestions on the changes he should make. These are changes the pundits think can fix Nigeria’s well-known problems: Corruption, the bloated and costly government structures, the lavish emoluments of legislators, and the like. Fooled by Buhari’s “Change” mantra, they imagine that what concerns them, fixing Nigeria in the interest of ordinary Nigerians, is also of interest to Buhari.

Unfortunately, most Nigerians have no clue about Buhari’s Caliphate mission to inflict permanent Caliphate Colonialism on Nigerians. They have no inkling about the sort of change Buhari has come to inflict. They delude themselves that he has come to address such well known afflictions as corruption, Boko Haram, electricity and petroleum products shortages that Nigerians have been clamoring for ages for a government to solve, and that Buhari highlighted in his deliberately deceptive Inaugural Address. But from a detailed understanding of Nigerian history and the major interests that drive it, it is clear that, though posing as coming to solve the problems most Nigerians have in mind, Buhari has actually come to inflict a deadly Caliphate hidden agenda on Nigerians. He has come to wage a political war on Nigerians—a blitzkrieg whose objective is to ensure that the Caliphate Colonialism, under which most Nigerians have languished and suffered since 1960, becomes permanent, and is insulated from any challenge by its Nigerian victims.

All warfare is based on deception. So, only political mumus—of which, alas, Nigeria is chockfull—will be surprised that Buhari’s campaign promises, Inaugural address, etc. are full of deception. [See: “Discourse on Our Mumu”, Part I of “2015—Between Liberation and Slavery” http://ugowrite.blogspot.com/2015/02/discourse-on-our-mumu-part-i.html , and “2015 Presidential Election Issues”, Part II of “2015—Between Liberation and Slavery” http://ugowrite.blogspot.com/2015/02/2015-presidential-election-issues-3.html ]

But the fog of deception and disinformation can be seen through and his real agenda exposed if one is aware of the Caliphate’s interests and stated objectives.

His agenda, as I diagnose it, includes the following main items: (1) Wage a Genocide-for-oil blitzkrieg on the S-S where Nigeria’s oil is located, and appropriate their oil for the Caliphate’s North; (2) Subdue the Yorubas, prevent any recurrence of the Yoruba political rebellion that followed the Caliphate’s annulment of Abiola’s June 12 election, and then make all of Yorubaland a footstool of the Caliphate, like they made Ilorin, two centuries ago, using Afonja; (3) Destroy any possibility of real democracy and True Federalism in Nigeria by making sacrosanct the fraudulent 1999 Constitution that gives the Caliphate hegemony over Nigeria under that fake-democracy constitution.  (4) Impose Shariya on every part of Nigeria. (5) Effect a Final solution, by genocide, to what they perceive as their Igbo problem.

Did Buhari Release N804.7 Billion Bailout To States From Empty Treasury? - PDP

Press Statement

‘Bailout Fund Savings By Our Governments’ – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) notes the release of over N804 Billion from the nation’s coffers as bailout to states and local governments across the country.

The party said it believes that the sum will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the Nigerians workers in various states of the federation, most of whom have been without their wages for some months.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement on Tuesday said the party however “notes that a significant amount of the bailout came from savings accumulated in the Excess Crude Account handed over to the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC)’s administration by the past PDP-led administration.

Four Frauds That Are Fatal For The 1999 Constitution

Or Why The 1999 Constitution Must Be Jettisoned

By Chinweizu

Copyright © 2013, by Chinweizu

sundoor999@gmail.com

*Chinweizu

These fatal frauds are 4: the “We the people” fraud; the “federation” fraud; the “Fighting corruption” masquerade/fraud; and The “Socially responsible State” masquerade/ Fraud. Let’s examine them.

1.      The “We the people” Fraud.

On the 23^rd of May, 2007, the Movement for a New Nigeria (MNN) launched a legal attack on the 1999 Constitution by filing Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/367/07 in the Federal High Court, Abuja and, in 2009, Suit No. FHC/L/CS/558/09 before the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, seeking the termination of the operation of the 1999 Constitution on the ground that it is a forgery and a fraud in that it was made via Decree by one ‘Gen. Abudusalami Abubakar’ who lied in the preamble that ‘We the people of Nigeria….’ made and enacted it.  

The Plaintiffs in the Suits included Chief Anthony Enahoro, Dim Chukwemeka Ojukwu, Chief C. C. Onoh, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prince Bankole-Oki (SAN), Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and Fred Ageyegbe Esq. The case, I understand, is still languishing in court, a victim of endless adjournments.

2.      The “Federation” fraud

Its federalism is a fraud because:

(a)   It falsely parades Nigeria as a federation whereas Nigeria ceased to be a federation in 1966, with the abrogation by the military of the 1963 federal constitution.

(b)   With the demobilization of the earlier federating units, its present states, the alleged federating units, have no constitutions of their own;

(c)    It lacks fiscal federalism: its behemoth Central Govt. (falsely called “Federal Govt.”) takes for itself a lion’s share of the country’s resources and gives crumbs to the 36 states and the 774 Local Governments; they are thus not economically self-reliant entities but subsist on allocations from the Central Government; they are, consequently, mere dependents and  administrative agents of the Central Government—contrary to federalism; 

3.      The “Fighting corruption” masquerade/ fraud

The 1999 Constitution is the Godfather of corruption, through the immunity clause (308. (1), which protects, and thereby implicitly invites, looting by the highest officials who have brazenly set the terrible example that the rest of society have emulated. However, it ostentatiously declares in Section 15. (5) that “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”, thus giving the false impression that it is for fighting corruption. But it then surreptitiously annuls Section 15.(5) by its ouster clause (See fraud #4, discussed next)  It is a fraud for the Godfather of corruption to give the impression that it is against corruption, and the fraud is compounded when it empowers the State to fight corruption but then surreptitiously discourages it from doing so. That’s double duplicity/double perfidy!

   4.      The “Socially responsible State” masquerade/ Fraud

It surreptitiously relieves the Nigerian State of the customary and fundamental responsibility of a state for the welfare and security of the people it rules: This is done by technically annulling the obligations clearly and ostentatiously stated in its own “Chapter II: Fundamental Objectives and directive Principles of State Policy”. Chapter II is surreptitiously ousted in Chapter I, by section 6. (6)(c) thus:

(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section -

 (c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution;

Who Is Nigeria’s Conscience?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Nigerians are very good at crowning false heroes. Just open a Nigerian newspaper you can find near you and see how many people that are recklessly described on its pages as “credible” politicians, “honest and selfless” Nigerians, or worse, the “conscience of the nation.” You would be shocked to see the number of people that carelessly allow themselves to be associated with such superb, ennobling qualities even when they are fully aware that by their personal conducts, it might even appear as a generous compliment to dress them up in the very opposites of those terms.

*Chinua Achebe

Over the years, these words and phrases have been so callously and horribly subjected to the worst kinds of abuses in Nigeria with hardly anyone making any attempt to intervene and seek their redemption. I won’t in the least, therefore, be surprised to wake up tomorrow and hear that decent people in this country have begun to protest and resist any attempt to associate them with such grossly debased terms.

As a people sharing the same country with an ever-growing tribe of shameless, exceptional experts on the egregious art of effective and perpetual devaluation all that ought to inspire awe and noble feelings, it should not come to us as a shock any day to be assaulted by the news that some Nigerians felt grievously insulted that their dogs were, for instance, nominated for “National Honours.” Even the poor dog may bark all day to register its dismay! But do we need to wait for this to happen before we quickly rouse ourselves from our long-lasting moral slumber and hurriedly stop this overly revolting annual charade of “honouring” people whose only contribution to their fatherland may just be their ecstatic participation in the mindless looting of its resources and effective supervision of its wholesale devastation.

EECON Global Launches Top More Ginger Ale Health Drink

Unveiling Top More Health Drink









As part of the effort to dispel the fear Nigerians entertain about consuming beverages, EECON Global Services Limited, a major player in the food and beverage sector in Nigeria, has introduced a wellness product called Top More Ginger Ale drink into the Nigerian market.

Top More Ginger Ale is made purely from natural herbal supplements including ginseng and ginger extract which assist in the overall stimulation and anti inflammatory effects of human body functions. Ginseng and ginger are also known to protect the heart and arteries, relief stress and help to control weight and blood sugar in the body.

South Sudan: No Sanctions Without A Strategy

NEW STATEMENT FROM CRISIS GROUP

*(pix: bet)
As South Sudan’s civil war continues unabated and multiple peace processes and initiatives create little tangible progress, members of the UN Security Council are seeking to adopt sanctions against six generals, three each from the government and the opposition sides. This would in effect punish past wrongdoing and risk compromising ongoing peace efforts. It would also undermine the renewed impetus for a coordinated international approach to peacemaking in South Sudan. That process remains under the auspices of the regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has recently been augmented by a wider grouping, known as “IGAD-PLUS”. Imposing sanctions on these generals at this time would also turn individuals and communities in South Sudan who currently favour a peace agreement against the international community. The Security Council should hold off on this sanctions package and reframe its South Sudan sanctions strategy.

The Central Sahel: A Perfect Sandstorm

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The huge, sparsely populated, impoverished Sahel is affected by growing numbers of jihadi extremists and illicit activities, including arms, drugs and human trafficking, estimated to generate $3.8 billion annually. Borders are porous, government reach limited. Populations and unemployment are soaring. Within this perfect storm of actual and potential instability, criminal networks increasingly overrun Central Sahel – the Fezzan in Libya’s south, Niger and the Lake Chad Basin. State authority is weak in relatively stable Niger. To the south, the radical Islamist, primarily Nigerian, Boko Haram insurgency is responsible for thousands of civilian deaths and more than a million displaced. Western and regional counter-terrorism efforts are insufficient, but neither have more integrated approaches proposed by the EU and UN borne fruit. Without holistic, sustained action against entrenched criminal networks, misrule and underdevelopment, instability is likely to spread and exacerbate radicalisation and migration.

APC Is Deceiving Buhari By Parading Voodoo Achievements – PDP

Text Of Press Conference By The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, On Wednesday, July 1, 2015 At The PDP National Secretariat Abuja

*Metuh

As you are aware, today marks exactly thirty-two days of the inauguration of a new administration under the APC, which was elected into power over three months ago on the basis of their numerous promises to the Nigerian people.

Even though this government has continued to plead for patience, we are worried that indications from President Muhammadu Buhari and his party do not inspire desired confidence in the citizenry that they are adequately equipped and ready to chart a direction for the enormous challenges of governance.

In the last one month, instead of a journey to change as they claim, all we have witnessed are avoidable tension, wrangling within the ruling party, disruption of legislative activities in our National Assembly, painful economic stagnation, pronouncement of voodoo achievements and overall uncertainty in the polity all due to the apparent inability of our respected President to provide leadership.

*Buhari

We have a President and a party that have since thirty–two days been unable to decide on rudimentary appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff to the President, ministers and his demand for 15 Special Advisers as approved by the PDP controlled Seventh Assembly since June 5, 2015.