Sola Durodola, Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi on Security Matters and Olufemi Olarewaju, General Manager of the Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency have been caught on tape planning how they will cause violence during the June 18 governorship poll.
In two leaked audio files obtained by SaharaReporters, the duo who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress threatened to kill supporters of the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Segun Oni.

“We will do that, four days to the election, we will send all of them away, you will see film. You will see dead bodies everywhere, may God not let them use our blood for sacrifice, Taye. Do you know how many people that will be killed? The drivers are ready to kill people in Ado and Ikere,” Durodola was heard saying in one of the audios.
“On the line, they will tell you to move out if you are voting for SDP, failure to do that is death, it’s same way Kogi election was conducted that we will do it here, do you know how many people that were killed in Kogi? Other political parties were unable to come out and they thumb-printed everything themselves.
“It’s money and power that we want to use, do you know how many guns that are with us now, I’ve told Otunba to get one for me. I want to fight this battle till the end to have a higher post, anyone that do anyhow, I will kill the person.
“I have some boys that are ex-convicts, I will camp them somewhere, bring them to Ido at night. On election day, they will start shooting sporadically and everybody will run away, so we will start doing the thumb printing ourselves.”
When asked if he won’t be threatened by the number of policemen deployed for the poll, the governor’s aide on security said, “Forget, we owe the police, the commissioner that will be brought here will work for us, they will give him money, BAO will win. Segun Oni is the people’s favourite but we will destabilise the election.”
Olarewaju was also heard in another audio asking the Chief Security Officer to Governor Fayemi, Ajayi Adeyanju, on how to deal with the opposition parties and the number of weapons to be allocated to him.
Durodola was fingered alongside six others in the celebrated murder of Omolafe Aderiye which happened shortly after the 2014 governorship election in the state.
Aderiye, a political associate of the then governor-elect Ayo Fayose, was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his private motor park in the Ijigbo area of Ado-Ekiti.   
In November 2014, during the second tenure of Fayose, the seven accused persons, including Durodola, were charged for Aderiye’s murder and were not released until January 2018, after three years in prison custody.
His current appointment is seen as compensation for those years in detention.
On Saturday, one person was killed at Itaji Ekiti in the Oye Local Government Area of the state following a clash between supporters of APC and SDP.
While the APC blamed the SDP for attacking its members passing through the community, the opposition party claimed they were attacked by supporters of the ruling party.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, Adunmo Temitope Felix, the Vice-chairman of Moba Local Government Area Oni’s supporters of attacking him and his driver, Seun Hezekiah Afolayan.
He added that the hoodlums damaged his branded vehicle for the APC candidate in the election, Biodun Oyebanji.
“Segun Oni sponsored thugs to attack my BAO branded car this morning. They came heavily with different types of guns and machetes, and my driver was brutalised and severely injured. BAO victory will be free. Fair and violence-free. BAO is the next governor of Ekiti state.
“We were attacked at Ifaki roundabout in Itaji, Ekiti state. 
They rushed to the media after the attack, it was APC convoy that was attacked at Itaji by SDP supporters. We were at BAO broom road show rally. One of the victims has been taken to Isan medical centre, and the other man has been rushed to Ido medical centre. One person is dead already,” Adunmo told SaharaReporters.
But the Director of Media, Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Jackson Adebayo said APC supporters launched an unprovoked attack on SDP members.
He said, “We (the SDP) were at the palace at Itaji Ekiti where Segun Oni was meeting with obas in the local government area.
“Some people were outside the palace; suddenly, we saw about five buses loaded with transporters being used as political thugs by the APC. They started shooting sporadically. We initially thought they were shooting to scare us, people were running helter-skelter.”
SaharaReporters learnt that the aides have been arrested by the Ekiti police command but efforts to reach its spokesperson, Sunday Abutu on the phone were not successful. He did not answer the calls and did not reply to a text message sent to him.

 

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Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, has again warned political parties plotting to field Muslim-Muslim candidates as flag bearers in the 2023 general elections that they are acting contrary to the provisions of the constitution.
It had been reported earlier today that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu’s camp was mulling to field a Muslim, Senator Kashim Shettima, who is former governor of Borno State as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the party.

But reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Adegboruwa said Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution stipulates that there must be equal representation of religious beliefs in the selection of candidates.
The section stated, “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.”
Adegboruwa said, “In the face of section 10 of the Constitution, where do we garner the banal courage to propagate a Muslim-Muslim ticket in this fractured entity?
“The audacity of such barefaced heartlessness beats any imagination. What could be the rationale? Superiority of faith? Enforcement of international conspiracies? A new form of Jihad? Or is it a matter of distrust for or supposed inferiority of South-West Muslims? Or is it that the South-West Muslim is not Muslim enough or Northern Christian not Northern enough?
"It is still the same elite, who throw up these bankrupt theories to create friction where there should be none. Even if the Christian population were to be less than it is now, the liberal concept of freedom of religion and thought should weigh in to balance the power equation.
“A representative of the Muslim faith has been in the saddle since 2015, with little or no capacity to tame the monstrous incursion of the jihadists, who even descend on innocent Muslims without thought.
“And yet the statistics show that from the South-South and the South-East, there is an incontestable monopoly of faith across the land and some would have us believe that they do not matter.
“In what way do we explain to those of them in Ondo, in Ekiti, powerful, Ogun and Oyo States that they should continue to play second fiddle due to the recklessness of some power monsters who love to deploy religion as a tool for power retention. Just perish the thought altogether.”

 

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The Catholic Diocese of Pankshin, Plateau State, has disassociated itself from the action taken by one of its priests, Rev Fr. Kelas Gogwim, who prevented worshippers without Permanent Voter Cards, from observing the mass.
It was reported on Sunday that some Catholic priests enforced a policy of “No Permanent Voter Card (PVC), No Sunday Mass.”

In videos seen by SaharaReporters, some church members were not allowed to partake in the Sunday mass over their inability to display their PVCs.
Rev. Gogwim had said, “From today if you are coming for mass, carry your PVC. If you don’t have your PVC, don’t bother coming. Because there is no way you have Christians filling up the church, but only a handful of them go to vote during elections.
“So, it means ¬our population and numbers mean nothing. So, we want Christians to take their responsibilities and roles seriously. So, today, I am serious about it. As I’m standing here, if you have your PVC— begin to come in. But if you don’t have your PVC, find your way back home. You won’t attend mass here.”
Reacting in a statement on Monday, the Pankshim diocese said the action of the Reverend father did not have the approval of the Bishop, Most Rev Gobal Gokum, neither was it the policy of the diocese.
The diocese further stated that it regretted the unfortunate incident, according to a statement issued by Rev. Fr. Andrew Danjuma Dewan, the Director of Communications.
However, it encouraged worshippers to obtain their PVCs and carry out their civic responsibilities.
The statement reads, “The attention of His Lordship, Most Rev. Michael Gobal Gokum, The Catholic Bishop of Pankshin has been drawn to a video in circulation by Rev. Fr. Kelas Gogwim, in which he prevented some Catholic worshipers from attending Mass because they did not have their voter's cards with them.
“The action of this priest did not have the approval of the Bishop neither is it the policy of the diocese. Hence, the Diocese disassociates itself from this video in circulation and regrets the unfortunate incident, much as parishioners are encouraged to obtain their PVCs to exercise their civic duties.”   

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Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria have protested to the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, over poor welfare packages which  they claimed have hindered their jobs.
The apex court has been receiving N110 billion yearly since 2018 despite the increase in its size and responsibilities.

It was learnt that its annual budget was not always regularly cash-backed leading to non-provision of essential services for the Justices.
According to TheNigeriaLawyer, a source at the apex court said the problems, which were beyond the CJN, included delay in cash backing the budget of the apex court.
The main issues put forward by the justices in their letter through a welfare committee were; non-replacement of poor vehicles; accommodation problem; lack of drugs at the Supreme Court clinic; epileptic electricity supply to the Supreme Court; increase in electricity tariff; no increase in the allowances for diesel; lack of internet services to residences and chambers.
Others are; internal problems including non-signing of amended Rules of Court for almost three years; sudden stoppage of two to three foreign workshops and training per annum for Justices; and no provision of qualified legal assistants.
According to the source, “On the 24th day of March, 2022, the welfare committee submitted a report to request for review of electricity allowance because of the increase in electricity tariff nationwide.
“The welfare Committee also submitted our request for diesel allowance, because of the epileptic electricity supply, the astronomical hike in the price of diesel and the fact that Justices require electricity to work at home.
“Recently, the Chief Registrar served Justices with an internal memo, that electricity would be supplied to the Court between the hours of 8am and 4pm daily, for lack of diesel.
“The implication of this memo is that the Justices must finish their work and close before 4pm. With all due respect, this is the peak of the degeneration of the Court; it is the height of decadence, and clear evidence of the absence of probity and moral rectitude.
“This act alone portends imminent danger to the survival of this Court and the Judiciary as an institution, which is gradually drifting to extinction. The Judiciary is an arm of Government.
“The Supreme Court of Nigeria, just like the Presidential Villa and the National Assembly, is the seat of the Judiciary as an arm of Government. The implication of the memo is that this arm of Government is potentially shut down. May God never allow that day.
“The Committee also requested for the restoration of our monthly Internet allowance, because we require uninterrupted Internet service in order to have access to materials online to write our judgments.
“With regard to Justice’s vehicles, several are due for replacement, while the new Justices have not received their full complement of vehicles to date. Moreover, some of the vehicles supplied to the Justices are either refurbished or substandard," the source added.
It was further revealed that the tension at the apex court has been lingering since March 23, and the CJN has formed a Welfare Committee to that effect.
On March 24, the committee submitted a list of demands by the Supreme Court Justices to the CJN.
Meanwhile, being concerned by the friction between the CJN and the Justices, the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad has intervened and appealed to the executive arm to address the challenges facing the Supreme Court Justices and the Nigerian Judiciary Arm.

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The All Progressives Congress Yobe North Senatorial District candidate in the 2023 general elections, Bashir Sheriff Machina, has said he will not step down for anyone because he won the election after being qualified for it.
Machina said this in an interview with Daily Trust, while referring to Senator Ahmad Lawan, the current Senate Presdient, who lost the just concluded presidential primary election, and is trying to get back into the senate.

The Yobe candidate, Machina, said he won the senatorial ticket of the party on a clean slate and could not relinquish it to Lawan.
SaharaReporters reported on Monday that Lawan is on the verge of suffering two losses within a week as the winner of the Yobe North APC senatorial primary, Machina, refused to step down for him.
In an interview, Machina said, “As far as I’m concerned, I contested for the Yobe North senatorial ticket and I won the election. I was confirmed elected because there were other contestants but I was the one that was qualified. I happened to be unopposed.
“I am still the candidate; I have not withdrawn and I will not withdraw for anybody.  I am being approached by some persons but I will not withdraw, Insha Allah.”
Also confirming Machina’s resolve, one of his loyalists, Hussaini Mohammed Isa, said that there are a lot of pressure on his boss to hand over the Senatorial ticket to Senator Lawan.
Isa described it as unfair, for some leaders of the party to mount such pressure on Machina to relinquish a victory he worked hard for.
Meanwhile, Saleh Mohammed and other supporters of Senator Lawan insisted that the senate president was the best performing senator the zone ever had, and therefore, they preferred that he continued to represent the senatorial district.

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The Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State command, has invited popular afrobeat singer, Damini Ogulu, alias Burna Boy, for interrogation over the alleged shooting of fun-seekers by police escorts assigned to him.
Vanguard reports that police sources confirmed that detectives had also been assigned to unravel the singer’s location and bring him for interrogation.

Although Burna Boy is believed to have travelled out of the country immediately after the incident, the police said he is expected to honour the invitation.
“Already, five police escorts attached to the singer have since been arrested and are being detained at the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja," the source added.
Similarly, another source revealed that the escorts involved in the incident didn’t notify the police about the incident. According to the source, it was eyewitnesses that reported the shooting incident to the police.
This also came on the heels of the revelation, yesterday that the five police escorts were assigned to him from the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
SaharaReporters had reported that five policemen attached to the Nigerian singer were detained by the Lagos police command for attempted murder after they shot two fun-seekers.
The victims were identified as Irebami Lawrence and Tolu.
The shooting incident reportedly occurred at Club Cubana on Victoria Island, Lagos, on Wednesday.
It was learnt that Burna Boy was laughing while the incident occurred and immediately left for Spain.

 

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Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has called on a former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, to join the AAC in order to enjoy electoral victory.
Obi is the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, after he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party shortly before the party’s presidential primary.

Sowore, during the Democracy Day live broadcast, said Obi could not clinch the number one position if he remained under the Labour Party which had no structure.
According to Sowore, during the 2019 elections, the AAC secured 33,000 votes in the presidential election while the Labour Party had just 5,000 votes.
The activist further queried Obi if when he was governor of Anambra State, he built standard hospitals and schools.
He also asked if Obi ensured the construction of quality roads in the state.
Sowore explained that he was not inviting Obi over to the AAC for religious or sensational politics but for liberation of the Nigerian masses from bad and corrupt leadership that had enslaved the people over the years.
He stated, “Labour Party has become an orphanage for politicians that are homeless, it didn't take long when our man ran there when he became homeless.
”The Labour Party should not have in its company, someone who managed 13 months of workers’ strike in Anambra State. The reason Obi left PDP was because they outplayed him with transactional politicking.
“Where is the structure of the Labour Party? In 2019, the Labour Party presidential candidate got 5,000 votes. I got 33,000 votes. If you look at it, a structure that delivered 33,000 votes is better than the other that delivered 5,000 votes.
”The Labour Party and Peter Obi should come and join us. We will stand up for you, you said you were governor of Anambra State, when you were governor, did you build any school, university, hospital? Did you build any school that your children could attend? Did you build any hospital in that state that you can go for treatment if you fall sick? Did you do any quality road? We are not here to do religious politics; I'm here for the liberation of the Nigerian people.”

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Reuben Abati
Reuben Abati

Yesterday, Nigeria declared a public holiday, and marked the 29th anniversary of June 12, 1993, the day Nigerians trooped out en masse to elect Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, a South Westerner, a Yoruba man, as President of Nigeria. On that day, Nigerians discounted primordial sentiments and ignored the centrifugal forces at the heart of the Nigerian question. For the first time since the first legislative election was held in Nigeria under the Clifford Constitution in 1922, the usual divisive factors of religion, geography and ethnicity, did not matter. Abiola was a Yoruba man. He won convincingly in more than the two-thirds of the states required by the Constitution. He even beat his main opponent, Bashir Tofa, of the then National Republican Convention (NRC) not just in the pre-election debate and campaigns, with his wit, humour, knowledge, stature and charisma, he went ahead to trounce Tofa in his own ward and state in Kano. It is instructive that Bashir Tofa has remained a footnote in Nigerian history since then. He was no match for Abiola and has not even been able to match him in death.

 

Abiola did something unusual. He presented before Nigerians, a Muslim-Muslim ticket. His running mate was Baba Gana Kingibe, another Muslim, a Northerner. Nigerians didn’t bother about that. They wanted change. They wanted progress. They sought freedom from the shackles of military tyranny. Abiola preached a message of hope. Since the January 1966 coup led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, truncating the liberation from colonial rule, Nigeria found itself in the grips of corrosive, corrupt, and obnoxious military rule. There was a brief spell of civilian rule between 1979 and 1983, but the military seized power again, at a time when strong-man, military rulership was the mode in most African countries. In the 1990s, a wave of democratization eventually took hold in the global arena and Nigeria feeding on this, under General Ibrahim Babangida, launched a political transition programme that became an exercise in trickery and deception.

 

This also was the season of glasnost and perestroika, a big unraveling and the end of the Cold War and the beginning of transformations across the globe. Nigeria got caught in that cauldron of change. MKO Abiola, as events happened, won the election. But he was denied victory on June 24, 1993, with the annulment of the election. General Ibrahim Babangida, IBB as he is also known, was the head of the military junta that committed this perfidy, this subversion of the people’s will, and although he has claimed that he was not alone and that his hands were tied, the event of June 12, 1993, an election won by a man he considered his friend, will remain a day in infamy as a symbol of betrayal, insincerity and political suicide of the first rank. It must be remembered that Abiola’s victory would have marked a second liberation for Nigerians, liberation from the shackles of military tyranny, even if now in retrospect, nobody can say definitively how that denied Presidency would have turned out. It was all a matter of justice, democracy and the people’s sovereignty. It is therefore poetic justice that June 12 has remained a major signpost in Nigerian history. It is also remarkable that President Muhammadu Buhari is the one who decided to move Democracy Day from May 29, the traditional day for handing over of batons in the nation’s calendar, every four years, to June 12, to remind all Nigerians of the significance of that date. This will form a major substance of Buhari’s legacy, at the level of simple commonsense, if not any heavy substance.   

Reuben Abati

What endures is the symbolism and martyrdom of MKO Abiola, and what Buhari has done is to take that phenomenon to an appropriate location in national memory in a country where it is ever so convenient to forget. For the benefit of those who may have forgotten, Nigeria became a pariah nation. The international community turned against Nigeria. Civil society groups rose against the Nigerian government. The green passport became a source of embarrassment in all parts of the world. It was a difficult season to be a Nigerian. The media, the church, and progressives of all hues took to the streets and stood at the barricades to demand an end to military rule and the restoration of Abiola’s mandate. IBB, now known as the Maradona, stepped aside. An interim government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan, better described by the Yoruba phrase “fidihe” government took over, but that government lasted only 83 days. It was eventually booted out by the dark-goggled General Sani Abacha, who imposed a reign of terror on the country. Journalists were murdered. Where the husbands could not be found, their wives and new babies – Dapo Olorunyomi’s new born baby for example, were targeted by “the wereys” that had taken over Nigeria. MKO Abiola stood firm. He had the support of committed democrats and progressives from every part of Nigeria. He led the struggle with courage and resolve at great personal risk.  On July 11, 1994, he made the Epetedo Declaration.

 

It was a statement of defiance, bravery and heroism. He eventually paid for that with his life. What Buhari has done in this part of Nigerian history by declaring June 12 - Democracy Day, is to deal a mortal blow to the revisionist attempt to reduce June 12 to a Yoruba struggle. It was not. It was a pan-Nigerian attempt to save Nigeria.  The beneficiaries of the martyrdom and the heroism of others have not necessarily been the right persons. Joe Igbokwe has written an instructive book in this regard titled “Heroes of Democracy.” There is also June 12: The Struggle for Power in Nigeria by Abraham Oshoko. Other books of interest would be those by direct participants in the saga including The Struggle for June 12 by Frank Kokori; The Tale of June 12 by Omo Omoruyi, Clapping with One Hand: June 12 and The Crisis of A Nation by Olawale Oshun;  and Humphrey Nwosu’s Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election and its Annulment. Nwosu was the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) that conducted the 1993 elections. The June 12 crisis destroyed his career in the public arena.    

 

June 12, 1993, this year is being commemorated at an auspicious moment. The Party primaries have been concluded. Presidential standard bearers have emerged. It is no longer the season of military rule – Nigerians have since said “Never Again” to that but old anxieties have not disappeared. In 2014/2015, Nigerians thought they wanted change. They asked for it. The only change they got was the change of personalities, and the worsening of the Nigerian condition. Eight years later, nobody can boast that the Buhari administration has been able to change anything or inspire hope. Rather, Nigerians are looking back to the past in anger. Many even thought former President Goodluck Jonathan should return to rescue the country that he handed over to the exceptionally clueless gang that took over from him. That has not happened, and I hope all the noisemakers who thought that was even possible in the first place would be humble enough to think twice. Where then, are we, as a country?

 

We are preparing for the 2023 general elections. We have 17 or 18 Presidential candidates. INEC, the electoral umpire has set a deadline of June 17 for the uploading of  names and affidavits on the INEC Nomination Portal. The INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood has announced the relevant conditions and guidelines. As of the time of this writing, only the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has announced its Presidential running mate; by this time next week, all running mates at the Presidential level would have been announced. Given the nature, structure and circumstances of Nigerian politics, the 2023 process has already been reduced to a two-horse race, between the PDP and the APC. Some commentators argue that attention should be paid to the Peter Obi phenomenon. Quite rightly so. He was a two-time Governor in Anambra State under the platform of APGA. He later switched to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2019, he was chosen as running mate to Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. In 2023, he declared interest to run on his own on the platform of the PDP. He has since gone to the Labour Party (LP) where his major challengers have turned out to be his own Igbo kinsmen, Callistus Okafor and co, at a time when Ndigbo, having been denied a top spot placement in the PDP and APC needed a platform of their own to project the idea of an Igbo Presidency.

 

There are about five Igbos as standard bearers in the 2023 process:  Dumebi Kachikwu (Delta Igbo- ADC)..Peter Umeadi (APGA), Peter Obi (Labour Party), Okwudili Nwa-Anyadike (NRM) and Dan Iwuanyanwu (ZLP) but Ndigbo is not talking about their own. They are talking about a meeting to decide who to choose between Atiku (PDP) and Bola Tinubu (APC). Peter Obi is clearly the frontrunner among the Igbos on the list. He enjoys massive support among young people of Nigeria, particularly from the South. They call him Obi-Bangladesh, Obi-China because of the transformative ideas that he espouses. But he is at best, probably a man ahead of his time. Social media does not win elections. On the practical field of play, Peter Obi does not have Atiku’s or Tinubu’s kind of money in an election that is already a cash and carry affair. On that list of standard bearers, there is also Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), a man who is defined by Kano politics and his own politics of personality. Kwankwaso’s best bet is Kano, not Nigeria.

 

There is also Lateef Kola Abiola, the first son of Bashorun MKO Abiola, as flagbearer of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). My suspicion is that LKA is just showing face, but his effort is noteworthy: The son who wants to redeem his father’s legacy! Omoyele Sowore (AAC) wants to take Nigeria back to the people who truly own it, but the established rent-collectors, “the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent, those that seek to keep the country divided permanently..., the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian calendar back by their words and deeds” will not allow him. They did not allow Awolowo. They did not allow Abiola. They will certainly not allow Obi, Sowore or anyone who sounds like they want change.     

 

This is why the two prominent figures we are left with are Atiku and Tinubu. The duo offers us, same of the same. They have both been promising change, progress and development. They are both not in a position to change anything. They won’t. Nigeria is in a difficult place, confronted with the equivalent of a Hobson’s choice. It is also perhaps why the major argument today is the choice of a running mate for Atiku and Tinubu. Ordinarily, a Vice President occupies “an awkward office” as US Vice President Walter Mondale once argued. Thomas Marshall, Woodrow Wilson’s Vice President for eight years said “The only business of the Vice President is to ring the White House every morning and ask - what is the state of the health of the President?” The Vice President of Nigeria does not even have as much power as the VP in the United States who has a voting slot in the event of a tie in Congress. Nigeria’s VP is a creation of Section 141 of the 1999 Constitution. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Federation, also, the National Security Council, Chairman of the National Economic Council, and a number of parastatals including the National Boundary Commission. His real and relative power however depends upon the duties delegated to him by the President who within the purview of Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution is a monarch, regardless of Section 141 of the Constitution. The value of the Vice President is provided for strictly with regard to the obvious purposes of ethnic and geographical balance, federal character, inclusion and willy-nilly, as a spare tyre in the event of the President’s travel on holiday, death, permanent incapacity, removal from office, or resignation as defined in Sections 143 – 146 of the Constitution.  

        

This matter is so important that after the conclusion of the party primaries on Thursday, June 9, 2022, the main task is now the announcement of running mates by the Presidential candidates. Everything is tied to this ahead of the June 17 deadline that has been announced by INEC. The focus is on the two main candidates: Atiku and Tinubu. For Atiku, the task is probably easier. His choice is limited to a Southern running mate of Christian extraction. He cannot choose a Muslim. He cannot choose a Northerner. To do so would be suicidal. In the last week, his choice has also been narrowed down to two names: Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State and runner-up to Atiku in the PDP presidential primary, and Ifeanyi Okowa, former Senator and Governor of Delta State. Both are Christians. Of the two, Wike is Atiku’s best bet. He may come across as brash and intemperate, unlike the more urbane Okowa, but Atiku does not need an “ice cream seller” or “a tomato seller” who cannot win massive votes. Wike has built for himself a broad network of influence across Nigeria that can help the PDP. He has strong administrative experience: Chief of Staff, Minister of State and two-term Governor, and enough financial war-chest that can shock even Elon Musk. Okowa has issues even in his own home state. He has very little name recognition. Atiku can choose Wike and tame him to learn how to be sober.

 

Tinubu has a bigger challenge. He wants to win. He and Atiku are on the last mile with their ambitions. It is now or never for them. Whereas it would be easy for Atiku to narrow down his choice for a VP, for Tinubu, it is a different ball game. We understand he is better off with a Muslim from the North, preferably from the North East. There are good and bad Muslims. If Tinubu must pick a Muslim running mate, as has been argued, his best choice is Kashim Shettima, former Governor of Borno State.       

 

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Bruce Fein

The International Criminal Court has notified the United States counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Bruce Fein, that the suit he filed against the Nigerian government is “substantiated by probable cause.”
Fein gave the update on Monday on his Twitter handle about the suit he filed against the Nigerian government, including Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja; and Justice John Tosho, the Chief Judge of the FHC before the ICC.

Bruce Fein
The US lawyer, @BruceFeinEsq, said he had obtained a notice from Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, the (ICC) Prosecutor, which said his complaints “are substantiated by probable cause.”
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Fein filed a criminal complaint against three legal authority for conspiring with President Muhammadu Buhari and Kenya President, Uhuru Kenyatta, “to commit crimes against humanity” vis-à-vis his client’s re-arrest in the East African country in 2021 and subsequent transfer to Nigeria, through extraordinary rendition.

June 10, I received notice from the Chief Prosecutor (CP)of the ICC that my genocide-crimes against humanity complaints against AG Malami, Judge Nyako, and CJ Tosho are substantiated by probable cause. Further CP investigation after 3-judge vetting. Justice cannot be outfoxed.

— Bruce Fein (@BruceFeinEsq) June 13, 2022
The tweet read, “June 10, I received notice from the Chief Prosecutor (CP) of the ICC that my genocide-crimes against humanity complaints against AG Malami, Judge Nyako, and CJ Tosho are substantiated by probable cause. Further CP investigation after 3-judge vetting. Justice cannot be outfoxed,”

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There is virtually nothing that one has not heard from politicians and their foot soldiers in recent times, in relation to the 2023 general elections that will usher in a new President after President Muhammadu Buhari completes his tenure. To them, June 12 has become some kind of carte blanche or a magic wand to advance banal sentiments to suit their crooked fancies. These enemies of progress, will stop at nothing to entrench their sinister agenda to divide Nigeria, based upon their own selfish politics of convenience. The nation is almost at war, with virtually every region enmeshed in one form of crisis or another, yet they see nothing wrong in digging further into the trenches of division. 
On June 12 1993, Nigerians from all walks of life voted for Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe on the platform of the Social Democratic Party, in search of national unity and cohesion, but the military, representing certain sectional interests proceeded to annul that historic mandate, throwing Nigeria into national crisis from which we have not fully recovered even as of today. The same military would then seize the affairs of Nigeria on behalf of this same interest from 1993 to 1998, destroying virtually every fabric of our national existence and in that process imposing upon us a fraudulent document labelled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. Having consolidated their hold on power for so long, the Constitution became a document for holding Nigeria down, entrenching a unitary system of government whereby all items of value and national importance are centralized, deploying very dubious criteria such as population and land mass to deny the people of their natural resources.

During the agitation for independence in the fifties, some ethnic nationalities had voiced their concerns about the dominant ethnic groups and their propensity to perpetuate power, using population and other variables to dominate others. These majority ethnic groups are largely a parasitic lot upon the nation, with little or no resources to account for their hold on power save to use it to amass primitive wealth to the detriment of national development. In a way no one but them could explain, they succeeded in pushing one of their own, General Olusegun Obasanjo to take over power in 1999, to continue their hegemonic agenda of dominance, through their fraudulent electoral process by which they joggle and manipulate figures to suit their fancies. Having combined the allure of military and civilian rulership and being the first to partake of the dictatorship codified in the fraudulent 1999 Constitution, Obasanjo was to plot his stay in power beyond the eight years granted to him. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar rallied round the National Assembly to defeat the third term agenda, forcing Obasanjo to hand over power to Alhaji Umar Yar’adua, to continue the dominance of the majority ethnic groups.
By stroke of luck only, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was to assume power in circumstances that they did not prepare for, with the golden opportunity of dismantling the status quo but he chickened out and became an instrument of perpetuation of the corrupt elite instead. As expected, they would not allow him the opportunity of his second term in office, propounding all manner of arguments, chief amongst which was the need for power rotation, since Obasanjo already exhausted the maximum eight year tenure purportedly on behalf of the South. The power monsters, in a bizarre show of greed and intolerance, even yielded their own political platform to the opposition in 2015, in order to actualize their craze for power shift. Notwithstanding that General Muhammadu Buhari was a lone ranger, with no coherent agenda for national development, economic revival or even their much trumpeted unity, they did all that was possible to perpetuate him in office, even at the risk of their own lives and failing health. It was purely a politics of convenience, so long as there was somebody in power on their behalf.
The corrupt elite have no interest of the people at heart, they have no plan for the improvement of the lives of the masses of our people beyond perpetuating poverty, misery and total dependence upon them. Nothing will change. So it is that after eight years of this corrupt administration, this inept and totally bankrupt contraption, it is convenient for them to canvass merit, in order to jettison the concept of power rotation. They even claim most unashamedly that religion does not exist in Nigeria any longer, as if the war by Boko Haram and ISWAP is to entrench ecclesiastical rule. They make desperate reference to the Muslim-Muslim ticket of Abiola/Kingibe, in a country where it has become so dangerous to even reveal your baptismal name, where attending a church service to worship freely has become a nightmare. We hear these things in hushed tones, of conspiracies to Islamize Nigeria, of meetings held across continents with specific agenda to impose religion and keep others in bondage. That any leading member of the All Progressive Congress will openly and shamelessly propound such an idea smacks of the greatest hypocrisy for a party that boasts of a Manifesto of secularity.
This corrupt elite, found nothing wrong in electing the Chairman of the opposition party from the same region as their presidential aspirant, just so as to capture power and continue the regime of primitive accumulation of ill-gotten wealth at the expense of the nation. Just sit down and count the rate of defections from the ruling party to the opposition, since the emergence of their grandmaster. And how they did everything possible to install their leader in the ruling party, as their presidential aspirant, so that head or tail, the people will be the loser. The concept of June 12 has no bearing with the chicanery, the clannish and prebendal chess game that power opportunists are currently toying with. June 12 represents justice, equity, fairness, national cohesion and above all, power to the people. The Muslim-Muslim ticket of Abiola/Kingibe of 1993 was far much better than any Christian-Christian ticket that either APC or PDP may spin out now. This system has become so rotten and balkanized that it cannot produce anything better than what we have now, except to keep recycling their spent forces over and over again.
In the face of section 10 of the Constitution, where do we garner the banal courage to propagate a Muslim-Muslim ticket in this fractured entity? The audacity of such barefaced heartlessness beats any imagination. What could be the rationale? Superiority of faith? Enforcement of international conspiracies? A new form of Jihad? Or is it a matter of distrust for or supposed inferiority of South West Muslims? It is still the same elite, who throw up these bankrupt theories to create friction where there should be none. Even if the Christian population were to be less than it is now, the liberal concept of freedom of religion and thought should weigh in to balance the power equation. A representative of the Muslim faith has been in the saddle since 2015, with little or no capacity to tame the monstrous incursion of the jihadists, who even descend on innocent Muslims without thought. And yet the statistics show that from the South-South to the South-East, there is an incontestable monopoly of faith across the land and some would have us believe that they do not matter. In what way do we explain to those of them in Ondo, in Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States that they should continue to play second fiddle due to the recklessness of some power monsters who love to deploy religion as a tool for power retention. Just perish the thought altogether.
Without mincing words, the consequence of section 14 (3) of the Constitution is towards the actualization of equilibrium in power sharing, within the zones and within the religions. It is now beyond any debate that the majority ethnic groups must put their acts together in managing the tendencious scenarios playing out regarding the 2023 general elections. By whatever means they may spin it, should the outcome of the present conspiracies and shenanigans result in power residing in the Northern part of Nigeria to be held by a Muslim President, then the seed of discord and disintegration would have been sown permanently. We brood no caution to state this and to state it loudly. Politicians must be prepared to face the consequences of their craftiness, one way or the other. You cannot fool the people all the time and expect to go scot free, it just would not happen. If the power brokers, power mongers and god fathers in the political space will not put their acts together to respect the existence of others, then there is no reason to keep chorusing unity in an entity that is anything but united. And for God’s sake this has nothing to do with the supposed political sagacity of any region over another; no. It goes beyond that. There must first be a nation in which some smart alecs will play the game of manipulation to foist a Muslim Northerner in power after General Muhammadu Buhari to create a recipe for disintegration and permanent crisis. It will be a declaration of war, to put it mildly. It should be composed into hymns and songs to be sung in the creeks of the Niger-Delta, in markets in Ariara, in gatherings in Warri and the arid regions in Ilaje, as by then, they no longer exist in the nation called Nigeria. So, let the politicians go ahead to ring the bell for war and decimation, let them continue to play their games of power, believing that they are the smartest crooks in town. The saying remains immutable as ever that those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.
Nobody should delude himself that this will be business as usual, no. So, if they like, let them give the PDP Vee-Pee slot to another person from Adamawa and the APC slot to a politician from Lagos Island. Everybody will answer his father’s name at the appropriate time. We have been taken for granted for too long. EndSARS came and it was buried, the PVC revolution came, people were beaten and tear gassed and in all the primary elections, it has been a game of money and imposition, as if we have no stake in this project called Nigeria again. There is absolutely nothing in Tinubu and Atiku tickets to compare them with June 12. We cannot be so deceived or insulted. Enough is enough. 

Opinion AddThis :  Original Author :  Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa Disable advertisements : 

A former Federal Lawmaker and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has lambasted the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, saying he is not mentally and physically fit to lead Nigeria.
Melaye speaking on an interview on Channels TV on Monday evening said the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, “was playing football three to four days ago” while challenging Tinubu to go and do same to prove if he was healthy as claimed.

The former lawmaker, who recently lost another senatorial election, said, “For us in the PDP, we have asked Atiku to put together his acceptance speech because he’s the next president of federal republic of Nigeria; Bola Tinubu with his inordinate ambition, capricious manifestation and reaction formation is no match. Bola Tinubu is a baby weight compared to Atiku Abubakar.
“In all ramifications, politically, mentally, physically, medically, socially and even religiously, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar’s political popularity are not on the same page, how can Tinubu be bigger than Atiku?
“In terms of political experience, you cannot say Bola Tinubu and Atiku on the same page, Atiku in 1992 stepped down for MKO Abiola, Abubakar by the virtue of being the Vice President of this country has a political edge in terms of experience.
“It is not possible that a sound, intellectually and physically fit Atiku be compared with Tinubu. Atiku was playing football three to four days ago; ask the candidate of APC to go and do same thing. You have to be mentally and physically fit to be president of Nigeria.
“You have the flag bearer of the APC who cannot even lift a flag.” 
He further stated that no sane Nigeria would vote for the APC.
Speaking on the Buhari-led administration which he described as a failure, Melaye urged the president to take Nigerians back to 2014.
“We are in a situation that's near to surrendering to God Almighty alone and we have a government without governance; we are in a democracy where the president has lost control, where the president from his expression and narrative has shown that he’s incapacitated; the security situation is not in any way showing any drive towards ameliorating the situation.
“We have never had leadership failure like this ever; not even in Sudan or Liberia do they have this quantum of leadership failure and it is at all levels. The APC has failed Nigerians; they have invited chaos, banditry, kidnapping; we are just in a sorry state as a nation,” he added.

  Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, new York Disable advertisements : 

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has expressed displeasure over the low turnout of voters for the registration exercise in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The association's spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, stated this in Kano State while speaking with newsmen.

He said the CNG observed that there had been poor participation in the ongoing voters’ registration in the Northern part of the country, compared to other regions.
The Northern group alleged that the low turnout of eligible people may be related to the huge disappointment of northerners in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The CNG stressed that the result of the party primaries, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had further made a larger percentage of northerners to be indifferent who would emerge winner in the 2023 election with the “monetisation” of the process.
Hence, CNG urged northerners not to be dissuaded by the current happenings in the country but to register and obtain their Permanent Voters’ Cards because that was the only way to elect leadership that would address their issues.
“The northern electorate must choose candidates who have credibility, competence, and capacity and with the antecedent of expressly identifying with their problems around security, the economy and education,” the CNG spokesman said. 
The group asked for a thorough investigation into whether election funding in recent primary elections by parties followed the prescribed protocols in the Electoral Act.

  Elections News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, new York Disable advertisements : 

The National Peace Committee has stated that all governorship candidates for the Saturday June 18, governorship election in Ekiti State are expected to sign a peace accord on Wednesday, 72 hours to the election.
This was stated in a release by the Chairman of the Committee and former Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar.

The committee also urged the electorates in Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria to come out to vote, noting that high turnout of voters at the governorship election would deepen democracy in the state and the country and offer a glimmer of hope and window of opportunity to assess how the 2023 general elections would span out.
Abubakar explained that voters who sacrificed to elect who would be in control of the helm of affairs for the next four years were the true custodians of democracy and had embraced the best form of government for Nigeria.
He also advised the youths to discard vote-buying for the interest of national security and stability.
He emphasised that the future of Nigeria should remain their common priority towards making themselves ambassadors of peace for the continuous build-up of the country’s democracy.
Last Sunday, six governorship candidates in the race to succeed Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State came face-to-face in a debate about their plans and policies if elected into office.
The Ekiti governorship election holds on July 18 and 16 candidates would be on the ballot.
The candidates who participated in last Sunday’s debate were: Oluwole Oluyede of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Kemi Elebute Halle of the Action Democratic Party (ADP); Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Olabisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); former Governor Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Ranti Ajayi from the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

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The camps of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar have narrowed down on two persons for consideration as running mates.
Credible sources told Daily Trust that the Tinubu’s camp has narrowed down on Senator Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State and Atiku’s backers are concluding talks on Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa for the position of the vice president.

Barring any last minute-changes, Shettima and Okowa would be unveiled as the running mates of the two principal contenders for the 2023 presidency.
Since the conclusion of the primaries of the two political parties, attention has since shifted to the selection of running mates of the two leading political parties in the country.
Analysts say the choice of the running mates will determine the victory or otherwise of the two candidates in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed June 17, as the deadline for the submission of candidates for the presidential positions.
Multiple sources confirmed that Tinubu had pencilled down Shettima, who played a critical role in his campaign as his running mate, bringing on a muslim-muslim ticket on Nigerians, which the Christian Association of Nigeria had warned against.
Another source in the presidency said Shettima enjoys the full support of all the three APC governors in the North East geopolitical zone even as he has been supporting programmes and policies of President Muhammadu Buhari by attributing the success he recorded in Borno to the support of the president.
“Buhari is not averse to the candidature of Shettima,” he said.
Similarly, Atiku, the candidate of the PDP is set to nominate Governor Okowa for the position of vice president.
A committee constituted to assist Atiku in searching for a suitable running mate, chaired by General Aliyu Gusau, a former National Security Adviser (NSA), has submitted its report.
The Gusau-committee, according to sources, has recommended Okowa as well as two others – Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel for consideration.
The source, however, said the former vice president is more comfortable with the Delta State governor given the role he played during the party’s presidential primary.
“Okowa mobilised resources for us during the primary. He is the preferred contender, even though others are making case for Wike and Udom,” he said.
The report of another committee constituted to search for a suitable running mate is expected to be ready today.
The committee, comprising governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT), was constituted to carry forward the assignment given to the Gusau’s committee. 

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The Nigerian government has issued new guidelines for the operations of social media multinationals in the country including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other platforms. 
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) late on Monday issued the new regulations for the interactive platforms in Nigeria.

A statement signed by NITDA spokesperson, Hadiza Umar, said the new code was designed to protect the “fundamental human rights of Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in the country as well as define guidelines for interacting on the digital ecosystem.”
The code requires Internet platforms to “register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and appoint a designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities.”
It also requires that they comply with all regulatory demands and comply with all applicable tax obligations on its operations under Nigerian law. 
On content moderation, NITDA said Internet platforms must “provide a comprehensive compliance mechanism to avoid publication of prohibited contents and unethical behaviour on their platform.”
They must also “provide information to authorities on harmful accounts, suspected botnets, troll groups, and other coordinated disinformation networks and deleting any information that violates Nigerian law within an agreed time.”
NITDA said the new rules were “developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as well as input from Interactive Computer Service Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Tik Tok amongst others.
“Other relevant stakeholders with peculiar knowledge in this area were consulted such as Civil Society Organisations and expert groups. The results of these consultations were duly incorporated into the Draft Code of Practice.”
The draft Code of Practice notes that Internet platforms must promptly obey court orders directing it to provide “information under its domain or any assistance to any authorised government.”
It is not yet clear how the new rules will be implemented.
Nigeria suspended Twitter in June 2021 for several months after the social media network deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Buhari administration has sought to pass more stringent laws regulating Internet platforms, especially social media networks.

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has sent queries to universities that failed to comply with its decision to remain on strike while negotiations with the federal government continue.
ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.

ASUU had been on strike for about four months to press home its demands.
The striking lecturers’ demands include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, Earned Academic Allowances, use of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.
Meanwhile, since the union embarked on strike, few of its members have pulled out of the ongoing strike to resume their academic activities.
According to Osodeke, “We will punish those who have pulled out from our ongoing strike the appropriate way. We will ensure to query them and we will follow it up the appropriate way. We have even queried some of them in accordance with the union.”
Osodeke also noted that since the last Tripartite Plus meeting called by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, on the ongoing industrial action over a month ago, there had been no other meeting.
He said that there was nothing concrete that came out of the last meeting that was held at the Aso Rock Villa.
“We have not been called for any other meeting since that time and the government did not offer us anything, they just ask us to be meeting with the committee; that was all.”
He also said that the union would be meeting with the government within the week.

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The Nigeria Police Force, Kaduna command, has confirmed that bandits struck on the Abuja-Kaduna Road on Monday but it was able to foil the kidnap attempt by the attackers.
The police said its Operation Puff Adder detectives and those of the Nigerian Army Operation Thunder Strike foiled the abduction along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway on Monday.

The police said its operatives killed one of the bandits, while an AK-47 rifle and nine bandits’ operational motorcycles were recovered during the operation.
The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Muhammed Jalige, noted that the incident happened on Monday at about 3am.
He asserted that the bandits were intercepted in the area, leading to an exchange of gunfire.
Jalige said, “On Monday, 13th June, at about 3am, the combined team of Police Operation Puff Adder and that of the Nigerian Army Operation Thunder Strike, while on routine patrol along Kaduna-Abuja Highway at Sabon Sara had an encounter with armed bandits’ who were on their nefarious mission along the busy highway.
“The marauding bandits were intercepted at the above mentioned point where exchange of fire ensued as a result of which the forces succeeded in truncating the bandits’ mission forcing them to retreat into the forest as one bandit was neutralised.
“Upon the search of the general area, an AK47 rifle and nine bandits’ operational motorcycles were recovered while the high spirited operatives are not resting on their oars in ensuring the safety of motorists and other legitimate road users.”
"The Commissioner of Police, Yekini Ayoku, was highly elated with the commitment and gallantry exhibited by the combined team and assured them that their sacrifices towards ensuring public safety will not go unrewarded," Jalige noted.
 

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Governor David Umahi has declared that the people of Ebonyi State will not vote for Labour Party nor its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

Umahi said instead of voting for Peter Obi's Labour Party, the people would rather vote for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

The governor, who spoke after the State Executive Council meeting at the new Government House, however, threatened that he would sack political appointees whose local government areas record poor registration of voters.

SaharaReporters had reported that the governor who contested the presidential ticket of the ruling APC and lost to former Lagos State Governor, Tinubu, scored only 38 votes believed to have come from Ebonyi State delegates.

Umahi had accused political leaders and South-East delegates of selling out their votes.

He also accused the president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo of not being sincere to the touted South-East presidency project, which he said was just, fair and desirable for peace in the country.

Umahi, who had vowed that his state would never join Biafra, noted that the only bargaining power was to ensure that Ebonyi people had their Permanent Voter Cards ready for the forthcoming general elections.

He said, "Ebonyi State can never support Labour Party and if anybody questions the rationale behind that, let him ask the person whether they supported the Igbo Presidential ambition during the APC Primaries."

He added that his major focus now was the “Ebonyi agenda” and he had no business with Ohanaeze.

The governor also appointed a new Head of Service, Dr. Rita Mary Okoro, and five new Commissioners to fill the vacant positions created in the cabinet as a result of the resignations by those seeking elective positions in the 2023 general elections.

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It isn’t life that matters but the courage you put into life, neither is it the size that matters but the exemplary leadership traits displayed at all times. This is the story of Omoyele Sowore, a born activist, a social crusader and a great fighter for justice, equality and fairness for all. 

My encounter with Sowore started in the June of 1993, as I flew to Lagos to cover the elections for Reuters News Agency.

The annulment of June 12 election made my path and that of this young lad to cross as he took the frontline and led from the front like great leaders in history. Part of his unprecedented feats was him singlehandedly holding the police and some hoodlums spellbound from hijacking the burial activities of MKO Abiola when he died in the Nigerian government’s detention on July 7 1998.

Hell was let loose upon the street of Lagos the evening the Nigerian Government announced to the bewilderedness of Nigerians that MKO Abiola passed on. This continued till the next day, with pockets of riots at every nook and cranny of the state. I was on my way to MKO Abiola’s house to await his body that the Government under General (Abubakar) Abdulsalami was sending to his house for burial according to Muslim injunction, when all of a sudden I met a mammoth crowd of students and hoodlums by Palm Groove bus stop in Lagos on their way to Abiola’s house, chanting various war songs in a situation that looked like the 1963 million-man march of Martin Luther King Jnr in America. I stopped as a photojournalist to take some shots and report the situation when the hoodlums attacked me and were going to confiscate my camera. It took the intervention of this young lad who was the one leading the students of the University of Lagos to Abiola’s house to stop the attack on me. But what baffled me most on that day was the hoodlums who despite not being part of the students of the university obeyed him and followed his commands then.

This singular act made me respect the young lad who happened to be Yele Sowore again. It goes to show that it is not the size or the height that matters but the God-given ability to command respect and be the leader of men.

Another intriguing scenario was at MKO Abiola’s house when policemen wanted to force their way to MKO’s street to confront the peaceful students who had come to mourn and pay their last respect to the late winner of the June 12 election. The young lad Sowore swung into action again and went straight to the police vehicle and stopped them from entering the street. Many of us at the scene had to stylishly move back when the police threatened to shoot Sowore, a threat that had no effect on the young man as he yelled back at the police “shoot me” before the Abiola’s family members came to talk to the police to obey Sowore and leave the scene, which they immediately did.

“Where did you get your boldness and determination from” a question I was forced to ask him when I later met with him.

“As long as you’re genuine in your actions and stand in defending your people at all times with everything you own, then rest assured their spirit will keep protecting you,” Sowore said. 

Opinion AddThis :  Original Author :  Niyi Babade Disable advertisements : 

Austin Aneke

Ok, let’s get busier. The primaries, especially the presidential primaries are now over, and party tickets have been purchased, allocated and/or consensually assigned. Some aspirants are now candidates.

We are now at the stage of ensuring that PVCs (Permanent Voter Card) are secured. Your PVC is the gun, your vote is the bullet. You need both to fully exercise your franchise. It is trite to say that if you don’t have PVC you will not be able to vote come 2023. Folks living in Nigeria who don’t have PVCs still have the chance to be registered for one, unlike folks living abroad. Yes, folks residing abroad are still not allowed to vote.

Austin Aneke

Diaspora voting is still outlawed in Nigeria, thanks to overzealous national lawmakers who are still calculating and recalculating- who would benefit more from it- Jews or Gentiles, North or South, Moslems or Christians. Diasporans shall remain disfranchised until these corrupt politicians complete their crooked thought process, and maybe eventually agree to amend the constitution.  

   

Let’s discuss the sources and origins of disfranchisement.

 

Nigeria is an extremely corrupt and dysfunctional country, historically and currently led by unconscionable devote kleptocrats and bigoted tribalists. These attributes, reinforced by unbridled injustice, unfairness and dishonesty, constitute the push factors that mentally and physically propel a good chunk of her citizens out of the country, for perceived and real greener tuffs abroad.

 

These significant border crossers are generally known as people in the diaspora. Let’s put their initial torturous life in context. The average Nigerian immigrant battles three major initial obstacles in their host countries. First, the uncomfortable and very bad image of Nigeria abroad; second, the cultural shock of trying to fit into a sane and rule-led clime; and third, the immigration adjustments needed to facilitate legitimate economic exploits. These are the three shocks that greet their attempt at pastures new.

 

As they transcend these hurdles and begin to earn some sort of living, they begin to realise that they now have two countries and cultures to patronise i.e., comparatively dysfunctional Nigeria they escaped from, and their new hosts. The average Nigerian diasporan is interested in activities at home, and still wants to be valued and recognised at their origin. It is not an ego thing; it is a cultural thing, especially among southern Nigerians. Most times this sensibility doubles their level of input in their host countries for a richer output, to serve their interests in two countries. Put in another way, the average Nigerian living abroad wants to maintain his/her Nigerian citizenship and identity and all the accompaniments, including voting rights.

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the Nigerian National Assembly rejected any changes to the constitution that would have made it possible for citizens living abroad to vote. The outrageous vote (29 for, and 92 against) reinforced the continued disenfranchisement of millions of Nigerian citizens living abroad. This represents the hugest formal denial of the right to vote of citizens of any country in the world. It also represents a brutal deployment of injustice and unfairness against Nigerians living across borders, by corrupt politicians who created the structures and factors that forced the citizens out in the first place.

 

Nigerians in the diaspora remit billions of dollars to their unfriendly home turf, yearly. They remitted about $17.2 billion and $17.6 billion in 2020 and 2021 respectively and continue to be enticed with Diaspora funds and bank accounts that target their juicy wallets. Continuous diaspora remittances (even during COVID-19), diaspora funds and the likes, without diaspora voting rights, represent the worst form of citizenship abuse and contempt which unsurprisingly mirrors traits of dysfunctionality and injustice back home.

 

Nevertheless, some analysts have argued that it is not about economic power and remittances, but about meeting obligations of citizenship that should accord the right to vote. They argue that Nigerians living abroad are not living up to their citizenship obligations, so cannot be accorded voting rights. There is also a proposition that it would be difficult if not impossible for INEC to institute and arrange diaspora voting in foreign countries.

 

Let’s have an overview of these arguments. What are the factors that determine citizenship? What are the obligations of citizenship? Is it true that INEC would find it difficult if not impossible to institute diaspora voting arrangements?

 

First and for the avoidance of doubt, most Nigerians living abroad are still legally Nigerians. They are still Nigerian citizens by either birth, registration, descent, marriage, or naturalization. Their status has not changed and will not change simply because they live outside Nigeria. These are guaranteed under Chapters II and III of the Nigerian constitution. Even if these diasporans have assumed dual citizenship they are still protected under s. 28, Chapter II of the 1999 constitution as amended.

 

Having established that crossing the Nigerian border, even permanently does not erase citizenship, let's advance the conversation to the realm of citizenship obligations and its relevance to voting rights. Some analysts have argued that because diasporans are still Nigerian citizens they automatically have the right to vote and be voted for, and that disenfranchising them because of their physical location is illegal, morally reprehensible, and a breach of their fundamental rights.  

 

Most Nigerians living abroad still submit to Nigeria’s political order/constitution, remain ambassadors of their country, protect and care for their Nigerian siblings and children, and promote Nigerian battered image abroad. (Image extensively damaged by corrupt home politicians who are hell-bent on denying them voting rights). These are the nature of obligations expected of Nigerian citizens in the constitution. The duties as listed also point to “positive and useful contributions to the advancement, progress, wellbeing of the community”.

Nigerians in diaspora not only sustain their families abroad, but they also sustain a lot of Nigerian families back home via their powerful remittances. The truth is that if that is the only measure of the meeting of obligations, then those abroad have excelled better. But it is not the only measure. The truth is that no set of citizens (living at home or abroad) have the capacity to fulfil all the duties of Nigerian citizenship as listed in S.24 of Chapter II of the 1999 constitution. Nigerians in the diaspora have the capacity to adequately meet some of the duties, while those at home have a greater chance to fulfil others. It is therefore an unconscionable breach of fate to disenfranchise Nigerians living abroad simply because they are conceived as unable to meet some of these duties.

Some commentators have also considered voting in elections as both a citizenship right and an obligation under the Nigerian constitution. It is therefore illogical to argue that Nigerians living abroad do not perform their citizenship obligations or duties; so are not entitled to vote, when in fact, voting is one of those obligations of citizenship. Nigerians living abroad are performing a substantial aspect of expected citizenship obligations and want to perform their voting duties too. It is the regime back home that is a hindrance by not putting the right legal framework in place for that to happen.

 

The regime at home and its corrupt assembly are trying to eat its cake and still have it.

They have also re-enforced their lying position by arguing that it would be logistically difficult if not impossible for INEC to register and/collate diaspora votes. This is a blatant lie, and INEC does not even agree with this. The regime is currently registering, documenting and collating BVN, and NIN of Nigerians living abroad, and officially charge them between $40 to $50 for each of the exercises. The BVN or NIN registrations involve more complicated technological logistics than any framework for voting, and most countries abroad (where diasporans reside) are far more advanced, better organised and structured to facilitate any voter registration exercise. At least there would not be power cuts, broadband or network issues. Furthermore, their postal systems are highly developed, so the PVCs could easily be posted to all registrants, rather than the lousy ongoing system in Nigeria where registrants are expected to come back to pick up their PVCs.

 

The world has become a close-knit interactive village facilitated by digital technology and the internet. Nigerians in diaspora represent Nigeria’s exploited, politically abused, expropriated and roundly cheated non-voting bloc. Enfranchisement of the diaspora population will help to build political confidence among Nigerians abroad. Ghana and South Africa fully achieved this in 2006 and 2014 respectively.

 

INEC is not the problem, the national assembly, made up of selfish and dishonest politicians, is. INEC had since 2011 agreed to diaspora voting, but the national assembly has, and had scuttled all legislative attempts to make it real.

 

The lack of political will amongst the legislators to amend the necessary laws, to give legal backing to diaspora voting, stems from their inconclusive and ethnic calculations as to the ethnic alignment of potential diaspora voters/votes. Note that “lack of political will” means unwillingness to act. They are still checking, calculating and recalculating which section of Nigeria would benefit more from diaspora voting. Are diaspora votes possibly going to favour mostly Southern Judea/Christian bloc, or mostly Northern Moslem bloc? Who will be advantaged by diaspora votes, the East, West or North? These are the calculations that still impede diaspora voting. The highly nepotistic current regime has not helped matters.

Unfortunately, diasporans will continue to be disenfranchised until these unwholesome calculations are resolved one way or the other.

Opinion AddThis :  Original Author :  Austin Aneke Disable advertisements :