TheNewsGuru

Author: Godwin Etakibuebu

  • The drum of crisis and violence is sounding louder in Nigeria – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The drum of crisis and violence is sounding louder in Nigeria – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Last week I captured my usual Sunday broadcast as The Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker. And the caption of what I am presenting today is not too much different – The drum of crisis and violence is sounding louder. Are the two captions not similar enough?

    Yes, they are. In fact, both would run, through whatever tunnel of interpretation, to one confluence point of decoding. 

    The point of final analysis may not be too different from what Lokoja; the Capital City of Kogi State, in North Central geopolitical Zone of Nigeria, stands for. Lokoja is that beautiful city where both the River Niger and the River Benue met. Isn’t that being why it is called a Confluence point?

    So, there is a looming darkness over the Nigerian atmospheric space. It is actually dark enough for all to see. It is not like anything not physically visible and real. Except for those who might be pretending. Or those human catalysts that pulled the darkness out of the pit of hell into covering the Nigerian territorial space. And these – that brought/or bringing the darkness over Nigeria, are powerful and strong. They are Principalities and Powers. They are Rulers of Darkness in High Places at the Special Realm of Control. 

    They know what Power meant. They speak to Powers at all the time. In fact, they have paid the prices for Power acquisitions from the Kingdom of Darkness. These people are the same people we sometimes dine and fraternise with. We can, sometimes; and almost all the time, vouch for their integrity.

    We do so because they are the outstanding benevolent of our Society. We call them the “kind and good men/women God sent to us”.  Their shoulders are always available for us to lean upon. Don’t they wipe away tears, at most times, from our eyes?

    We run to them for help whenever we are under life pressure. They present themselves as our burden bearer. Yet we don’t know them. And all of us cannot decode the ironic code of knowing them. And that is . . .

    These people are the same; as part of the Powers, they hold over those of us [who are ordinary mortals] would have others recruited for another trajectory differently. They need this different voyage to accomplish their acquired route of total conquest. Again, they are triumphantly diabolic in this assignment. Just as they are in all their other penetrations. 

    In the face of this assignment, what the Political Principalities and Powers of Darkness in Nigeria do is simply to recruit a few individuals; across the country’s ethnicity, tribes, cultures and religion. Having been fully assured of the recruitment, the next stage they move into is purchase of Drums. Drums painted of different bright colours and place the painted drums in the hands of the recruited performers. 

    The political demonic gods of the land would now turn the drummers loose on the people – who are their brothers and sisters, with only one instruction. Go out there and keep the drums talking as we dictate it to you. 

    Once this is accomplished, and unknown to the recruits – the drummers, mostly with their glittering drums of many colours, a siege is of terrorism would have been unleashed on Nigerians. Blame these hypnotised drummers less, please. And for a one or two reasons.

    In the first place the glittering colour and decorations of different currencies of the drums put in their hands could transfer many mortals from the land of reality to a community of Eldorado. How many of them – the drummers, would know that it was coat of many colours that put Joseph, son of Isaac, in the Bible, into greater trouble?  

    This very long preamble – you will be right to say so, brings logic to what last week’s caption [The Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker] and today’s [The drum of crisis and violence is sounding louder] have in common.

    Metaphors of the 2023 general election is approaching faster with sound of crisis/violence on one hand and almost total darkness in the other hand. 

    Yes, Nigerians are happy with INEC’s preparation for the elections in terms of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System [BVAS] and other technological equipment for the election. That should be always seen as good news. 

    But in the other hand, let us take a cursory look at the languages and body showmanship of the politicians and subject same to full interpretation as it relates to fair, free and credible election. There is surely visible void in the horizon. And this should worry us much.

    For example, let us look at disclosures and revelations being made against each other amongst two of the four leading political parties – speaking of the APC and PDP, and their flagbearers; Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.

    What the whole international community is hearing from Nigeria within the last two weeks is nothing but total embarrassment to the Nigerian Nation. It is either APC telling PDP that its flagbearer is a big scammer/fraudster of international dimension that should rot away in prison or the PDP is telling the APC that its flagbearer is the heaviest hard-drug kingpin the world ever produced.

    And both political parties have gone to the courts for the authentication of each other allegation against the other. Isn’t shameful that these are the type of people contending for Nigeria’s presidency in a country with over Two Hundred Million people?

    Let us say, just for the purpose of this Peculiar Mess; in the language of the late Ibadan politician – Adegoke Adelabu [which Ibadan people turned to pekelemesi] that it is only APC and PDP that are contending the election, how will Nigeria and its over 200 million people be feeling now?

    It would have been a dilemma of producing one of the two alleged criminals as president. Or, are we so sure that one of them shall not even emerge, the way things are now moving? If it so happens, which of the two shall we be referring to as the deep red sea and which will be the devil?

    This is on the one hand. Yet, there are many other things to look at. 

    The long awaited elections is few days away from us, yet there are thousands of problems the Nigerian government has created, and still creating. Each of the problems is darkening the Nigerian sky more.

    The Federal Government and the Nigerian President; who is the defacto Minister of Petroleum Resources for the country, have defrauded the citizenry in all areas of petroleum product to the extent that all Nigerians are now morbid and moribund. We have become are a pitiable revelation in the study of morbid anatomy.

    What about the truth concerning the Naira redesign and distribution? All that we now know is of Nigerians languishing in abject squalor, while the same political class that have betrayed us is accusing each other over things that shall never benefit us – the down-trodden citizens.

    We have mounting debts – going up to 77 trillion; as we have been told, awaiting the unborn generations for payment.

    It has now become a situation where all Nigerians are resulting into allying their thought with that great Author – Sidney Sheldon, in that famous book – If Tomorrow Comes. Must it be so?

    Isn’t it true that the words of our own cherished Chinua Achebe – Things fall apart; the Center cannot hold, has become fulfilled in today’s Nigeria?

    This is the time that The Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker while The drum of crisis and violence is sounding louder. May God help us. 

    The Guru adjourns!

     

    Godwin Etakibuebu

    Contact:

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  • The Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    I was never. 

    I have not been. 

    And, for sure, l shall never be. 

    A prophet of doom. 

    I have always lived my life, physically and spiritually, very positively about everything. 

    My dearly beloved country inclusive.

    The caption of this piece: the Nigerian political atmosphere is becoming darker, might be suggesting something negative. Or so it looks like. Yes, it is like that, and there is no way one wants to explain it, the truth is that the Nigerian political cloud is not too clear for objectivity’s reading. 

    The political oracle; if there is any identifiable one, might even not be able to be more forthcoming with the darkened political weather in Nigeria currently. If it looks that much for any oracle to interpret, then you will be willing to forgive this writer. He is nothing but a mere Political Technocrat. And for every individual, there is always limit of endeavours.

    Let us take some cursory interpretation of a few things happening around us. We just have to be very positive in doing so. Or, succinctly put, let us be exclusively objective, though the word ‘objective’ itself is ‘subjectively’ in detailed diagnosis. But we can, for the purposes of this discussion, chose to be conspiratorial, of the few things we should be looking at. 

    Which is the best way to start than to begin with the quality of the campaign ushering in the 2023 General Elections. How qualitatively cogent and eruditely attractive are the issues being canvassed by the personae dramatis in the narrative route to the general elections? Are the campaigns any issue related or based?

    Will all of us in Nigeria, even across the frontiers of this country, be falling into a major camp of conspiracy by saying that the political permutation, as we see it today, are not far from issues based? 

    What we have in our hands; at each point of campaign discussions, across all the major political parties, is nothing but abusive languages on each other. They; the campaigns, are nothing but campaign of calumny. They are looking so much like campaign of gangsters.

    Coming with the first day of the campaign, even before the campaigns started properly, revelations about criminality lifestyles of the upper-class runners of the politicians have been made public – one against the other.

    It is so bad that hitherto securely protected criminal lifestyles of the front runners of the two major political parties – APC and PDP, are now common knowledge to babies that are just born. It is even an obvious fact, as a friend of mine in the United State of America put it to me while discussing the issue a few days ago that “unborn Nigerian children shall know all Nigerian big thieves before they are born, because they [the unborn children] are now hearing the narration from their mothers’ womb”. 

    Can any person, in all sincerity, say that the Nigerian political atmosphere is not becoming darker on this issue?

    The departing president of Nigeria; Muhammadu Buhari, is another “bend corner of the road” in the plaintive narration into our future. More critically on Buhari’s narration is the difficulty of finding a way of fixing his “bend corner”.

    Here is a President that will go to sleep whenever the country he is elected to governor is on fire. He would sleep so deeply that most of us would be thinking that he has travelled to a place no ordinary mortal can reach. That would be the time that the wife – Hajia Aisha, will not even be available to help Nigerians in crossing over to the “ozer” room to call him.

    Take for example, the case of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] – Godwin Emefiele, who has been accused of “sponsoring terrorism financing and great economic crimes against Nigeria”, by the Directorate of State Security [DSS]. In fact, the DSS embarked on arresting Godwin Emefiele but for the judiciary that stopped the operation more for its illegality. 

    Where is President Muhammadu Buhari in this melodrama? This is not the first time he is displaying this character. It is his way of doing things – albeit strangely, unofficially, and oddly too. Here is a man that would appoint ministers and the ministers he so appointed would torpedo the Nigerian ship, Buhari would not say a word, in either queuing, disciplining or sacking the minister taking Nigeria to hell. He will opt to go for a very deep sleep at such times, and always.

    Take a look at this comparison of event below, as it happened in 1977 and how the same event is playing out in 2023 – 46 years after. This will also help us to know more about the man; Muhammadu Buhari.

    In 1977, a Colonel Muhammadu Buhari was the Nigerian Minister [then called Federal Commissioner] for Petroleum Resources, and today; 2023, a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army, and now President Muhammadu Buhari, is the Nigerian Minister for Petroleum Resources [in fact, he has been since 2015]. Why this comparison?

    On June 7, 1977; 46 years ago, a front story headline on the Daily Times, quoted Colonel Buhari as assuring Nigerians, on the crisis of fuel in the country then, and this is what the Newspaper quoted him as saying: “FUEL CRISES MAY BE OVER NEXT YEAR”, with a subheading rider that says: “we rely on foreign firms for figures”.

    What has changed since 1977, when he made this statement, as then Minister for Petroleum Resources and today – from 2015 till date [2023], when he is also the Minister for Petroleum Resources?

    Or don’t we – Nigerians, know how much President Buhari hates corruption, with his advocacy that Nigeria must kill corruption before corruption kills the country? 

    Yet don’t we know, in the other hand, how much our dearly cherished anti-corruption Czar President now presides over one of the most organised and syndicated corrupt government this country ever seen?

    And do you want to say that this is not translating to a darker political atmosphere over Nigeria?

    If there is any Nigerian that would say that the political atmosphere over Nigeria is not becoming darker, such Nigerian must either be a very sick person – suffering from “concentrated dementia” or be part of the instrumentality that helps in darkening the political cloud; a cloud that is pushing Nigeria faster to a precipice.

    Or in a position where we may be having front political parties’ contenders for this February 25th, presidential election being fully qualified for total disqualification, for reasons of their alleged nefarious acts of the past, that someone will say that the political atmosphere over Nigeria is not becoming darker?

    Of course, there are many other topical issues that identify the depth of how deep corruption  has sank Nigeria into. For example, the argument of whether the Federal Government increases fuel pump price or not would remain neither here nor there. Facts remained solidly proven that the Federal Government of Nigeria and its Agencies in the Petroleum Sector continue to defraud Nigerians on daily basis in many ways.

    Facts on ground, based on most recent finding show that while the syndicated Cabal presiding over the finished product [PMS] rakes N200.9 billion monthly from our connective commonwealth, those crook officials presiding over the Nigerian Crude Oil sector gather for themselves nothing less than $US70,000,000 daily.

    The issue therefore couldn’t have been the increase from N165 to N185 or otherwise. That begs the predicament of the Nigerian citizens. The issue is whether there shall be hope for Nigerians for a qualitative leadership after going through the rituals of 2023 general elections?

    Because the issue and the challenge are that of leadership!

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

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    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; from 0930 – 1100 hours @ Lagos Talks 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • Wike and his friends: The limit and destructive element of human vengeance – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Wike and his friends: The limit and destructive element of human vengeance – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Nyesom Wike; Executive Governor of the oil-rich Rivers State – in South-South region of Nigeria, obviously is the leader of what some might term as the five rebellion governors of the People Democratic Party [PDP], though they are known more as the G-5 Governors.

    This G-5 Governors is slightly different from the one they called Integrity Group, though both Groups are in the PDP. There is need to place the two groups outstandingly different, and it is by so doing that we may be able to present the narration vividly, for assimilated understanding. 

    While the former [G-5] is made up of Governors Nyesom Wike [Rivers State], Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State) and Okezie Ikpeazu [Abia State], the Integrity Group consists of these five governors and other top hierarchy members of the Party [PDP]. 

    These other members of the Party would include people like Chief Olabode George, Professor Jerry Gana, Air Vice Marshal Jonah Jang and scores of others scattered around the country but said to have been united on one purpose – Equity, Fair-play, Inclusivity and Justice.

    Of course, it was as a fallout of two events. The first being the aftermath of the PDP Presidential Primary of May 28, 2022, at the MKO Abiola Stadium, in Abuja – a Primary Atiku Abubakar won, with alleged intrigue of compromised conspiracy. The second runner-up at that exercise; Governor Wike made a point of violating the Party’ rule of conduct against the Governor of Sokoto State – Aminu Tambuwa, without so much heating the water up. 

    But the chicken did not come home to roost until the Presidential flagbearer [Atiku Abubakar] turned around to pick his running mate for the battle ahead. Unexpectedly, at some quarters, but specially expected at other camps of evaluations, Atiku picked the Governor of Delta State – Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

    This was where the bubble blows up. And Governor Nyesom Wike’s calls to rebellion echo out. Of course, he had rays of ally amongst his compatriot of serving governors. He was able to gather four others [already named above] to himself. We all are not ignorant of what the cruise of the calls are. Ipso facto, let us move fast to the exodus of the narration, having identified the genesis. 

    We are not giving judgement on who did the right thing and who did the wrong thing. At least, not for now.

    In the Nigerian politics display, there is not straight line of morality as there is no ideological camp of practitioners. What is acceptable to one Political Party on this side of the line is conveniently acceptable to any other Political Party at the other side of the divide.

    On the revengers mission, trenches have been dug since then. And of course, each of the personae dramatis have adequately dogged in.

    Permit me to quote my thought on the battle when it started. And yours sincerely penned this down on September 22, 2022. Read my thought below, please.

    In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan refused 5 PDP Governors’ request of letting Bamanga Tukur; then National Chairman of the Party – PDP, go. This led to the failure of the Party @ the 2015 General election. One of those that led the breakaway N-PDP was Atiku Abubakar.

    And this is 2022; months to 2023 General elections, that beautiful woman of substance in destiny matters; known as KARMA, is quickly here again with the same PDP. And she comes with ready-made 5 Governors of the Party, now confronting Atiku Abubakar; the presidential candidate of the Party in 2023 General elections, to either throw away the Party’s National Chairman; Iyorchia Ayu, or say goodbye to 2023 electoral presidential victory.

    As it was with Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, so it is with Atiku Abubakar in 2022.

    It is Madam KARMA that is visiting.

    The Guru shall return!

    And many agreed with me then. As many are still agreeing with me now. Let us fast-forward the transition because of time and space for this exercise.

    Governor Nyesom Wike’s warning of yesterday, saying that “the window of reconciliation in the PDP is closing”, can only be news for the “Hippopotamus from the sea of the rivers”, because that has been a vital known fact for most Nigerians, even before now.

    Unfortunately, though, there are evidence now that all members of the G5 lacked the courage and integrity to metamorphosed into becoming anything near Integrity class of a people.

    Did they not promise that they would name the Presidential candidate of other political parties their followers would be voting for on January 5, 2023, when Governor Seyi Makinde would be launching his gubernatorial campaign in Ibadan? What did Nigerians hear from those cowards at the launching – the date they promised? 

    Mum, we confirmed. And what did that imply?

    I ran into Chief Olabode George at the Bent Cross Shopping Mall in London, on Saturday, December 31, 2023, where we exchanged good wishes as we shook hands, there was one thing l observed from his looks, which told me that things were not too good with the meeting they had in London the previous day. 

    And that observation cautioned me not to discuss the presidential candidate that they agreed to be backing as expected for the governors’ announcement in Ibadan on January 5, 2023. But the very sad dead-end they arrived in that their jamboree, galvanising round the world about their resolve, in London, is now more publicly in the domain of most Nigerians.

    While Wike and Makinde were said to have agreed to openly work for Tinubu, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu reportedly agreed to work silently for the former Lagos State governor to avoid the wrath of the supporters of the Labour Party (LP), who have the capacity to frustrate their political ambitions in the South-East. Ortom, on the other hand, opted to work for Obi. 

    But none has made any public pronouncement. Even Ortom, in his press statement supporting Obi, acknowledged that as a member of the PDP, he would not lead Obi’s campaign. 

    Could this be a great lesson for Nigerian politicians, whom, at most times live like God, in all but one thing only – nefarious activities? 

    There is an Urhobo words of wisdom that cautions about the foolishness of any human being living like God. 

    It says that Ohworakpo cha sia dio Oghene bidibede re! 

     

    Godwin Etakibuebu

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

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    Facebook Page: Veteran Column

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    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; from 0930 – 1100 hours @ Lagos Talks 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • How Buhari illegally spent N23.7trn in 7yrs without NASS’s knowledge – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    How Buhari illegally spent N23.7trn in 7yrs without NASS’s knowledge – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The Senate on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, rejected President Buhari’s request for approval of N23.7 trillion CBN loans. But how did his government accumulate that much in seven years?

    The Central Bank of Nigeria’s advances to the federal government rose 2900 per cent in the last seven years to N23.8 trillion, an unprecedented rise that violated the law, stoked inflation and worsened the country’s debt burden.

    Central banks sometimes help governments to fund budget deficits, but such loans, called Ways and Means Advances, are tightly controlled as they can fuel inflation and distort monetary policy.

    In May 2015 when the Buhari administration came to office, the CBN’s loans to the federal government stood at N789.7 billion cumulatively. Since then, the government has drawn central bank loans each year at an unprecedented level.

    Between January and October this year [2022] alone, the government drew N5.6 trillion. By comparison, between December 2012 (the earliest date the CBN has released data for) and May 2015, a period of two and half years, ways and means advances rose by N654.9 billion.

    As his administration winds down, President Muhammadu Buhari tried on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, to obtain a delayed approval for the loan that had already been spent, causing an uproar in the Senate. Lawmakers rejected the request and accused the president of violating the constitution. They also demanded details of how the money was spent.

    How CBN loans to Buhari govt climbed 2900% in seven years in violation of law

    The CBN Act says the CBN may grant temporary advances to the federal government in respect of temporary deficit of budget revenue at such rate as the bank may determine. It however warns that the total amount of such advances outstanding “shall not at any time exceed five (5) percent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.”

    In addition, it stipulates that, “All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.”

    Analysts say all requirements of that legislation have been breached by the CBN under Godwin Emefiele and Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed.

    If the regulation had been followed, the ways and means to the government for the entire 2022 should not exceed N219 billion (5 per cent of the government’s revenue in 2021).

    Yearly Advances

    The bank’s loan as of December 2015 stood at N856 billion; it rose to N2.2 trillion in December 2016 and reached N3.3 trillion in December 2017.

    By December 2018, the figure rose to N5.4 trillion and reached N8.7 trillion in December 2019. The amount was N13.1 trillion by December 2020 and N17.4 trillion by December 2021. It is now N23.8 trillion.

    In October, the government said it was converting the CBN loans to bonds with a maturity of 40 years and an interest rate of nine per cent, effectively transferring the bill to the next generation.

    Analysts say drawing so much from the CBN has opened the economy to severe risks. “Specifically, the Debt to GDP now surpasses the 30 per cent benchmark the DMO and Minister of Finance always quote,” Kalu Aja, a finance expert, said of the advances.

    “This is a contingent liability to the federal government; it narrows the ability to do more deficit financing and essentially guarantees taxes must rise to cover the deficit.”

    He said injecting so much money into the economy has made Nigeria’s inflation worse.

    “On the monetary side, one wonders the strategy of the CBN, they have monetized the deficit by excessive printing of the naira which will continue to cause inflation. Their response to fight inflation has primarily been to raise the monetary policy rate,” he said.

    “A high MPR means SME cannot profitably borrow. Thus, we see a clear linkage between excessive printing on behalf of the CBN and higher interest rates.”

    Nigeria’s inflation reached 21.47 per cent in November 2022, rising for the 10th consecutive month. In response, the central bank raised the benchmark lending rate to 16.5 per cent.

    ‘Piggy Bank’

    The International Monetary Fund in November warned that the CBN’s continued financing of the country’s deficit through ways and means will complicate the effort to contain inflation.

    In November 2021, the World Bank also listed the sizeable “fiscal deficit financing” by the CBN as one of the factors undermining the business environment, compounding underlying constraints on domestic revenue mobilization, foreign investment, human capital development, and the delivery of public services.

    In 2017, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Doyin Salami, criticised the CBN’s “massive injections of cash” into the economy, accusing the bank of serving as a “piggy bank” for the government, against its own rules.

    He said the CBN’s claims on the federal government at the time were “twentyfold higher” than what the law permits.

    In December 2016, a former governor of CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, raised concern over the violation of the CBN Act concerning the financing of the government’s deficit.

    “The CBN-FGN relationship is no longer independent. In fact, one could argue their relationship has become unhealthy. CBN claims that the FGN now tops N4.7 trillion – equal to almost 50 percent of the FGN’s total domestic debts. This is a clear violation of the Central Bank Act of 2007 (Section 38.2) which caps advances to the FGN at 5 percent of last year’s revenues. The overdrafts alone are equal to more than 10 times that prescribed limit and are growing every month,” The Cable quoted Lamida Salusi as saying.

    In August 2022, Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the bank, also criticised the CBN’s actions.

    “In the current scenario, the leadership of the Bank evidently does not believe in the concept of central bank independence in its operations. Rather, the Bank asks, “how high?” once the Presidency says “jump”. It sees itself as a quasi-fiscal agent, using its ability to print money, for the government of the day,” he said.

    “If the CBN is busy printing money for the government through illegal Ways and Means lending, and then pretends to be fighting inflation by belated raises of the Monetary Policy Rate and what one commentator aptly termed a “dubious” cash reserve ratio policy on commercial banks, how can we fight inflation successfully?” he wrote in an opinion piece. 

    Source: Premium Times of January 2, 2023 

    Godwin Etakibuebu

     

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

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    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; from 0930 – 1100 hours @ Lagos Talks 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • Countdown on Buhari and his fraudulent budgets – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Countdown on Buhari and his fraudulent budgets – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Counting down from today, Monday, December 9, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari has just, and only, 140 days to tell Nigerians goodbye – ceteris paribus. That will be May – the Fifth Month of the Year of our Lord Jesus Christ; 2023, and it shall be the 29th day of that month that President Buhari shall be handing over to his successor at the Eagle Square, in the City of Abuja – again, “all other things remaining equal”. 

    He shall thereafter, by the grace of God, be joining the league of Ex or Former Presidents. And out there, waiting to receive him shall be Four of his original and traditional constituent members – Generals Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar, plus one other; that the four mentioned above would have referred to, at one time or other as “a bloody civilian” – Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan. 

    The man – President Muhammadu Buhari, told Nigerians very recently that he was in hurry to leave the Aso Rock Villa for Daura; his hometown in Katsina State. But more importantly, according to him, he would not be missing anything in Abuja that would compel him of coming back to the Capital City of Nigeria in hurry. 

    I think that may likely be good news to Nigerians, because if the truth must be told, his departure from the presidency and Abuja; to a very large extent, shall remain one good riddance to bad rubbish. Nigerians shall not be missing him as President of Nigeria, for many reasons.

    One, the man Buhari, is old enough to deserve a continuous resting off his labours for Nigeria. On this alone even, Nigerians never expected him to return to Abuja for any contribution to the Think-Thank Rolling Machine of solving the country’s problems.

    Two, Nigerians’ brought Muhammadu Buhari to judgment and found him wanting in most things – most things across the line of all his promises, from 2015, till date. Some even are giving greater thought to his days when he evaded Nigerian gloriously serene democratic home and dismantled all beautiful structures of that Home – speaking of the time he came in through the vehicle of coup-de-tat, form December 31, 1983, to August 27, 1985. 

    Three, his monetary policy, mostly as reflected in his Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN]’s operation remains one big and major disaster even as this piece is be written. His CBN policy has been seen as bad model for dud mediocrity, absurdity and deadly, by monetary institutions all over the world. For a long time to come, Buhari’s monetary policy’s prosecution remains a model in mockery. And you don’t have to blame those that mocked us, because every decent Nigerian don’t understand where Godwin Emefiele; the Governor of CBN, imports his ideas of running Nigeria from

    Let us consider one more reason why most Nigerians shall never be missing Buhari, amongst many others, before drawing the curtain on today’s exercise. And please, let us take this as number Four.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, from the beginning of his [second coming] administration [2015] to the end [2023], packaged, presented and operated the most corrupt Budget in the annals of Nigeria’s history. All through his 8 years tenure the man never pretended, not even once; in the matter of budgeting, of being anti-corruption personality despite of the picture he painted for himself in the past.

    Muhammadu Buhari, instead, showed to Nigerians a mind that thrived in the prosecution of corruption – using the Budget as a template for this exercise, thereby leaving him as a very poor case study in fighting battles against corruption. Let us dwell on this on the Budgetary matter, from 2015 to 2023, a little more.

    The Nigerian national Budget Buhari operated from May 29, 2015, when he took mantle of democratic leadership was an inheritance from President Goodluck Jonathan. And of course, that budget would have come with its flaws, though nothing was mentioned of it. And the silence about that inherited budget, in my candid opinion, would have emanated from the fact that Buhari did not appoint cabinet – Ministers, until 6 months after he was sworn-in as President.

    However, Buhari put together his own Budget for Nigeria in 2016, and that budget came with some notorious fallouts. And President Buhari pretended that padding of that of that budget rattled him some much, he complained about it in Saudi Arabia when he was addressing the Nigerian community in that country during his state visit there. Listen to what he said:

    “The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military head of state and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund. Never had I heard the words ‘budget padding,’” Buhari reportedly said during his official visit to Saudi Arabia. “Our minister of budget and national planning did a great job with his team. The minister …was working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it. What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing.”

    Despite the threat, Buhari did not bring anyone out for punishment in 2016, nor has there been any record of punishment melted out to any of his appointees [Ministers and members of the Civil Service] from that year [2016] till date. 

    In 2019, the president wrote to the Nigerian National Assembly, warning the latter to desist from the habit of colluding with the MDA of inflating budgets – a habit that continues as this piece is being written. Buhari knows that the National Assembly turned deaf ears to his letter, probably for the reason; that the latter understands the game that both – the Executive and the National Assembly, have a conspiratorial agreement to dupe Nigerians yearly on this Budget matter. 

    Still on the disaster of fraudulent budget under discussion, the legacy of Muhammadu Buhari remains solely one identifiably confirmed fact: a Budget of Padding [from the Executive] and Inserting [form the Legislature – National Assembly], and this occurred every year; from 2016 till 2023. 

    Let us take a very keen note and observation of the last Budget Muhammadu Buhari presented to the National Assembly, which has been passed by the latter and signed into Law by the former. We cannot resist crying for Nigeria after keen observation.

    President Buhari’s Ministers were the first in accusing each other, publicly, of Budget Padding, at the National Assembly. This was when the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development [Sadiya Umar Farouq] accused the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning [Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed] of padding her ministry’s budget to the tune of over 262 billion Naira. 

    Then, after the first exposure, many padding were later exposed by the National Assembly until the Minister of Finance publicly – with unacceptable explanations though, admitted to padding the 2023 budget to the tune of N1.7 trillion. With such deadly revelation, nothing has been heard from our “Holy” President.

    This admission did not ruffle Buhari into defending himself as Anti-Corruption Czar. He waited until the National Assembly Inserted its own version of a little over One Trillion Naira, without the whole House sitting as a Committee in crosschecking the Appropriation Committee’s work before sending it to the President for assertion. And our President signed it into Law.

    What and how are Nigerians to conclude other than to say that Muhammadu Buhari started with Padded Budget in 2016 and ended with Padded Budget in 2023. May his name be blessed in the specialization of padding and always inserting of Budgets. And can this be called corruption? Only posterity, at the documentation of the Buhari’s era, can say. 

    This is one of those issues coming under discussion tomorrow morning, under the segment of The Guru, at Lagos Talks 91.3 FM, as from 0930 hours. 

    Won’t you rather join the discussion tomorrow, at your chosen Golden Radio of choice, through phone call-in and other media platforms? Those unbeatable spices: Historical Perspective, Periscope and Knowledge Dropbox are equally waiting for you.

     

    Godwin Etakibuebu [The Guru].

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  • Wike plus Atiku: Equals PDP’s waterloo – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Wike plus Atiku: Equals PDP’s waterloo – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Let us set a befitting background for today’s essay as such will help us to understand the subject hereunder captured.

    I must however confirm my biased respect for the French Army General; Napoleon Bonaparte, more for his commanding military policy of “bring the bad news to me at once while the good news can wait”. And according to him, “it is the bad news that teaches me if what l am doing is right or wrong in battles, and it is only through it that l know how to reorganize my war strategies”.

    A little more about the man – Napoleon Bonaparte and that disastrous battle he lost at that very small village called Waterloo in Belgium.

    The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815, between Napoleon’s French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. This battle concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, and ended French attempts to dominate Europe. It also destroyed Napoleon’s imperial power forever.

    The battle of waterloo was a devastating event for the armies involved as well as the community itself. The combined number of men killed or wounded reached nearly 50,000, with close to 25,000 casualties on the French side and approximately 23,000 for the Allied army.

    We can see that there was a very highly devastative casualty from both sides; a thing that would have been avoided if precaution was taken.

    But precaution was never taken then; as it remains in most cases till date, it merely proved to be a blunder-trend that defines how human being cookie crumbles, even from the beginning of human history on earth.

    It is probably for that reason that our own dearly cherished Cicero – the late Chief James Ajibola Idowu Ige, told us about the difficulty of people learning from history, which made him to conclude that “inability of people to learn from history is the reason why history keep repeating itself”.

    Unfortunately, our beloved great lawyer; a man that was delightedly eloquent, both in Latin and the English languages’ inability to learn from history, made him climbing the Tiger’s back and, unfortunately, ended up in the Tiger’s stomach.

    We are not embarking on that historical voyage today, so we must return to the narration of almost likely battle of Waterloo which this acrimony between Wike and Atiku may result to.

    A presidential political Primary of the People Democratic Party [PDP] took place at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja a few months ago. Most of the contenders deviated from bargaining with the Nigerian Naira at the event. They staked the Delegates with US Dollars instead of the Nigerian legal currency – Naira.

    The Delegates fell for the trap. And who won’t go down for such temptation in the market place where Delegates became cash and carry products?  Dollarization of election was thus massively introduced into the Nigerian political lexicon. The All Progressive Congress [APC] followed same pattern, though in a much larger scale, a few months after the PDP introduced the Dollarization concept.

    The Dollar game might not necessarily be the factor that promoted Atiku Abubakar over and above Nyeson Wike at the end of the day because what Dollar could not complete, sentiment of religion and tribe completed – to wit: in favour of Atiku Abubakar. For that reason, Wike left the scene a bruised candidate.

    That “first among equals” of an infamous stone that hit Wike became something smallish compared to the water of opprobrium poured on him when the vice-presidential running mate of the Party was picked, as Wike, who was meritoriously invited to face the Selection Panel, performed creditably [three times – as we were told] over and above his contemporaries, but was dumped for Delta State Governor candidature. It was at this point that “yawa gas” as Warri people would say.

    Ego-bruised Nyesom Wike withdrew to his cocoon to strategized, while Atiku Abubakar kept the tempo of his dance of victory momentously growing. Every other thing since then has become history well-known to the Nigerian people.

    One thing for sure that the Nigerian people know too well about the man Nwike – l called him the “Hippopotamus from the Sea”, is that he is always fearless, audacious and dangerously ravaging in all his political pursuits. He lives a life of an open book. He says what he wants to do in advance. And he does what he had said he would.

    But above all, he remains a Party man, and in this case – fully-blooded-PDP-man-totally. He remained just one of the very few that stood for the PDP throughout the country when the Party almost went into extinction.

    In the other hand, Atiku  Abubakar; the former Vice President, has proved to be a fair-weather political man. He could come and go with connective failure or victory. Within the past few years, this big man from Adamawa has floated from the PDP; a Party which he co-founded in 1998, three times and each time he saw pepper at his new “golden land” he returned without qualms and good conscience.

    On the principle of continuous political loyalty, the two men stand millions of miles apart. Let us leave that much for now.

    Now the battle between the two – Atiku and Wike, which for sure, if not resolved fast by the leadership of the Party [minus Senator Iyorchia Ayu – the National Chairman of the Party], has the capacity of tearing the Party into pieces.

    And the stone throwing by Senator Iyorchia Ayu, when he referred to Wike; and possibly Chief Olabode George – a very senior ranking member of the PDP Board of Trustee, “as children that were never born when we formed the Party”, is most likely to take the Party down to abyss of no return.

    And of course, Wike has replied Ayu adequately, telling him that “since they want to lose the election, we will help them”.

    It means therefore that the present “macabre dance of death” some personae dramatis leaders of the PDP [led by Nyesom Wike and Iyorchia Ayu] are embarking upon is almost becoming one-too-much.

    Enough is enough because the Centre cannot hold more than this, and God forbid bad thing, if the Accord Concordia; in the words of the late Dr Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, fabric snaps, Nigeria could blow up. And if that happens, all of us will be in one terrible mess.

    Let me provide a direct and more succinct political answer to those that might want to ask me the question of why am I crying more than the bereaved or why am I taking Panadol for someone else’s headache.

    Yes, l am not a politician. I have no membership Card of any Political Party. I am contented doing what is my God-given assignment, which is being and remaining a Political Technocrat. But because I am involved – being the caption of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu’s book, the collapse of Nigeria will almost remain a permanent disaster to all of us. I am “crying more than the bereaved” because I am a Nigerian who surely must be a victim of this country goes under.

    Nigeria is currently overstressed already – courtesy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s clueless administration; any little push by any of these Political Dealers parading themselves as Political Leaders, the country [Nigeria] would go over the cliff, straight into the bottomless pit.

    God forbid such from happening. That is why l am always prepared to cry more than the bereaved and willing to swallow as many Panadols for our connective headache because l remain a fantastically one patriotic Nigerian.

    This C-o-u-r-t adjourns!

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

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  • Between Nigeria and Niger Republic: Where does Buhari’s interest lie? – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Between Nigeria and Niger Republic: Where does Buhari’s interest lie? – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Evidence on the place, time and jurisdiction of birth of Muhammadu Buhari – either as a Major General or President, are well documented enough that ambiguity is never accommodated. He attained the rank of Major General of the Nigerian Army before retiring. And he was, and is, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

    These are the incontrovertible facts of the gentleman and officer – Muhammadu Bubari. Even when the level of his Certificate became so controversial and search for it became a serious challenge to all those in his camp, the search was limited only to Nigeria’s landscape.

    It was never extended to Niger Republic in spite of the fact of the Country’s proximity to Nigeria – the neighbourhood boundary extends from Sokoto in the North-West to Maiduguri, in North-East. This secures the evidence that my President – Muhammadu Buhari, is a Nigerian over and over.

    Yet, there are happenings over the past few years to put a wedge of suspicion on the actual nationality of Buhari; in-between Nigeria and Niger.

    The more we look at the evidences of nationality’s loyalty, available to Nigerians, about Buhari’s actions, the more one would want to query and interrogate the fact of him being a Nigerian. Maybe, we should access one or two of these happening in order to put our navigational chart on focus.

    At the end of our interrogation and whatever fact or facts we may be coming out with; without giving judgement ahead, Buhari must be seen as a Nigeria – through and through.

    Since his emergence as the President of Nigeria in 2015, Buhari has overwhelmingly opened Nigeria’s financial vault into providing strategic infrastructural development to the Niger Republic, despite Nigeria’s poor financial standing.

    The projects executed in the last seven years include a $2billion standard gauge railway project the Nigerian government is constructing from Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic, a project President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off in February, 2021.

    The project, which was awarded to a Portuguese Construction Company, Mota-Engil, involved the construction of 284 kilometres standard-gauge line with 12 stations from Kano in northern Nigeria to Maradi in landlocked Niger Republic.

    The project was funded through an external loan of $4.054b, approved by the National Assembly, in 2018. It remains one of those loans we might not be able to pay in the next 50 years.

    The Nigerian leader had informed the National Assembly, in the letter, dated August 24, 2021, that the projects to be executed in the six geopolitical zones of the country, including Kano to Maridin, listed in the 2018-2021 Federal Government Borrowing Plan, would be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, French Development Agency, EXIM Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development, Credit Suisse Group and Standard Chattered/China Export and Credit in the total sum of $4,054,476,863 and €710m (839m) and grant components of $125m.

    And we must not forget in hurry what the Nigerian Minister of Transport then; Rotimi Amaechi, told Nigerians at a time that he had to go to Niger Republic personally to beg the government to allow the construction of the rail line into their country. Did he say so? Yes, he said it, and with the approval of President Buhari.

    Then another project followed successively.

    In July 2018, Nigeria and Niger Republic agreed to collaborate to construct an oil pipeline and refinery.

    They agreed that while the proposed refinery will be located in Katsina State, Northern Nigeria, crude supply will be through the pipeline from Niger Republic’s oilfields in the Ténéré desert.

    The MoU for the two projects, which are expected to cost about $2billion, was signed by the two countries’ energy ministers and witnessed by Buhari and his counterpart from the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou.

    In November 2020, the Nigerian government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, headed by President Buhari himself, signed a $2b refinery project to import fuel from Niger Republic, a country that only joined the league of oil-producing countries in 2012. That is Buhari’s way of growing Nigerian economy!

    The Ministry of Petroleum Resources in justifying the MoU stated that the Soraz Refinery in Zinder, Niger Republic has an installed capacity to produce 20,000 barrels per day while the country’s domestic requirement was just 5000 barrels per day, thereby resulting in a surplus of 15,000 barrels per day.

    Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; who was more or less a spare tyre in the Nigerian-Buhari’s vehicle said: “Nigerians should be proud that we are doing that to encourage sub-regional trade because we have been talking about sub-regional trade for a long time, and this is how it should be between neighbouring countries. Niger should import from us what we have, and we should import from Niger what they have. Let us encourage intra-regional trade, and this is one good example of trading within West Africa.”

    There are too many over-generosity of Muhammadu Buhari to the country called Niger Republic that time may not permit to mention all, exempt just to add the latest, which looks like a few days ago.

    President Buhari, just last Wednesday, was reported to have directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Zainab Ahmed, to release the sum of N1.14billion for the purchase of 10 Land Cruiser Jeeps, to the government of Niger Republic.

    These 10 luxurious cars – take note that they are not security operational vehicles, came at the cost of One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira apiece. And they were never imported from Innoson Motors of Nigeria, but instead, the contract to import the vehicles from Japan was given to  Kaura Motors Nig. Ltd to supply the vehicle under the direct procurement method, in line with section 10 A and B of the Public Procurement Act 2007, because of the urgency of the matter. Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited is an incorporated auto dealers based in Kaduna State and was registered on the 19th of August, 1985, with Registration Number 75140.

    The vehicles, it was gathered, would “assist the country [Niger Republic] in the transportation and movement of VIPs, high-ranking officials, top government functionaries and visitors scheduled for official visit to Niger at this time of its nascent democracy, with all its attendant consequences on their collective and individual security and safety of lives and property.”

    Permit me to point out that there was a time, about four years ago, when President Muhammadu Buhari nominated a Nigerien [not Nigerian citizen] citizen for ambassadorial appointment in Nigeria and same was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate.

    I will recommend that Nigerians should tamper justice with mercy on our beloved president on this Niger Republic issue because if the truth must be told; Muhammadu Buhari has so many Cousins – not the type of Mafioso Cousins, but BLOODLY related Cousins in that country.

    Or how will you explain a situation when two Governors, from two different regions of Niger Republic, crossed the Nigerien/Nigerian border into Kano State in 2019, to campaign with, and for, a bigger Cousin – Muhammadu Buhari, during the General Campaign of that year. Or didn’t you see that?

     

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

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  • President Buhari, terrorism and Nigeria’s real bad news – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    President Buhari, terrorism and Nigeria’s real bad news – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s first appearance on the Nigerian Political radar was in the night of Sunday, December 31, 1983 – his confirmation as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, by his colleagues that gathered at the Bonny Camp Military Base in Victoria Island, actually took place at the wee hour [about 0200 hours of that night], thereby authenticating his date of arrival to Power January 1, 1984.

    He came and appointed Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon as his Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters – that made Tunde Idiagbon second in command to him in that Military Junta. This appointment was instructive but I am afraid that too many Nigerians did not study to understand the implication of that appointment.

    One, General Tunde Idiagbon; of blessed memory, was not only from Northern Nigeria – same as General Muhammadu Buhari, but the formal was actually from Daura Town; the same town that Muhammadu Buhari comes from. Tuned Idiagbon, of course, was a practicing and devoted Muslim – same as Muhammadu Buhari.

    Unfortunately, his [Buhari] tenure, which he kept strictly to his heart because he never told Nigerians when he would go back to the Barrack or hand over democratically political power back to civilians, was dismantled by another Military officer. The Army officer that caused him that havoc was Major General Ibrahim Bademosi Babangida – a Maradona sort of an officer and a perpetual Coupist for that matter.

    Major General Muhammadu Buhari licked his wounds – that was after spending almost two years in detention; a place the Military would better call “protective custody”, he went home to Daura for a rest first, before starting the course of meditating over how his cookie crumbled.

    It must have been the time of reminiscence that the retired General and former Head of State came to the sad conclusion that his mission and purpose of making incursion into the Nigerian political space during that first journey was not accomplished. That must have decided him to return back to the Nigerian people through the only route available – a route which he unfortunately once destroyed:  Democratic Route.

    And he returned.

    First time; on his return journey, according to the Jagaban of Borgu in Niger State; Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, “oja nune” – meaning he fell down. Ditto the second and third times. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu even told them in Abeokuta that “the man cried bitterly on television” –which was true of course.

    But there is something good in tenacity and perseverance. Buhari kept “coming”, which eventually paid off for him, as the Nigeria people decided at the end to vote for him – more on the technical shrewdness of Bola Tinubu’s intricate political maneuvering than Buhari’s personal acceptability.

    Whichever way, he became a democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He returned back to Nigerians in 2019, for revalidation of the mandate given to him in 2015, and this was quickly authenticated.

    This should be enough as preamble or historical perspective for this exercise – meaning we should be moving to the topic of the day, to wit: PRESIDENT BUHARI, TERRORISM AND NIGERIA’S REAL BAD NEWS.

    This topic is anchored on the three promises which President Buhari and the political platform [APC] that brought him to Power made to Nigerians before being voted for in 2015, albeit Corruption, Insecurity and Economy. Today we shall be taking the discussion on the background of Insecurity exclusively. Let us go.

    As of the time Muhammadu Buhari was sworn-in as President on May 29, 2015, the insurgency we knew in Nigerian was only the Boko Haram issue, and this was limited to the North-East exclusively. But from that year – 2015, to when President Buhari came for revalidation of mandate in 2019, insurgency had added another monster called Fulani herdsmen to its folder. This addition came under the umbrella of Miyetti Allah, and they came fully in the character of terrorists. Permit me to say something here before moving the narration further for purpose of clarity.

    Nigerians have always lived peacefully with the Fulani tribe and their cattle for centuries without much ado. But the definition given to these our brothers, after Buhari’s second coming, was terrifying, to the extent that the Global Terrorism Index classified the Fulani Militant [which the Fulani Herders transformed to] as the Fourth Deadliest Terrorist Group in the whole world

    The Fulani Herdsmen moved from the North-East to the North-West, North-Central and now totally covering the whole country. They came with full capacity of unleashing all manners of atrocities – including kidnapping, maiming and killing, without any challenge from any constituted authority in Nigeria; not even the federal government.

    Worst even, was the unwillingness of the Buhari-led federal government to categorize this people as Terrorist, but instead, remained delighted calling them bandits, unknown gunmen, kidnappers and what have you.

    It was only when Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja Federal High Court gave that audacious judgement, on November 26, 2021, pronouncing them Terrorists that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice “managed” to proscribe them in a belated Gazette.

    Now, as we discuss this topic, the Terrorists; which the Nigerian Government preferred calling Bandits, have brought the whole country totally under submission. The Nigerian Federal Governments, which constitutionally has the exclusive control of security, either refused to protect Nigerians or lacked the power to do so. What Nigerians see on daily basis; which is very abysmal, is a government that is romancing with the terrorists back-to-back, and publicly too.

    In view of the government’s inability to confront the terrorists, the latter have established audacious authority of control across the land, with terrible consequences for Nigeria and Nigerians.

    For example, on March 28, 2022, the terrorist attacked a train, that left Abuja, heading to Kaduna, at Katari town in Kaduna State, killed a few of the passengers before taking greater number of the remaining passengers into captivity. Isn’t this a horror story of how a group of terrorists have subdued Nigeria?

    The federal government, again, either by default or design, could not do anything about the train situation. The only thing that is obvious on this terrifying and gruesome train’s attack remains the fact that the terrorist have so far collected, close to a Billion Naira as ransom for those passengers taken into captivity. More are still there with them in captivity.

    Let us not forget that two days before the train’s attack, the terrorist had invaded the Kaduna International Airport and attacked a plane. They were in full control in that operation as well.

    Then, the same terrorists elongated their audacious character by attacking the Kuje Prison; now called Correctional Centre, on July 12, 2022, despite the fact that intelligence report on the attack was properly documented and presented to the Authority in advance. On that operation the terrorists freed all their commanders; 64 of them, being held at the Prison.

    Having accomplished all these successes, the Terrorists sent another terrifying message to Nigerians, saying they are now ready, if Government fails to meet their demands on the remaining passengers of the Abuja/Kaduna Train, to kidnap President Muhammadu Buhari and the incumbent Governor of Kaduna State – Malam Nasir El Rufai.

    The Terrorists even told the whole world where they would be taking both President Buhari and Governor Nasir El Rufai to, after kidnapping them. We will bring them here, indicating the forest where they are operating from in Zamfara State.  What a tragedy of audacity?

    This is where the Nigerian’s Doomsday story starts from. And what is the doomsday story here?

    More than 6 days after the Nigerian Terrorists announced their plans for the kidnap of the President and the Governor, Muhammadu Buhari did not even know that they were coming to kidnap him. It is the other man scheduled for kidnapping by the Terrorist – Nasir El Rufai that told us that President Buhari did not know.

    Isn’t this – the fact that our President wouldn’t know that he is next to be kidnapped, not a greater calamity for Nigeria and Nigerians?

    N:B

    We are concluding this exercise next week, by the grace of God.

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

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    • You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 – 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].
  • The eagle shall not be landing for 2023 general elections but thugs, almajiri and aliens – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The eagle shall not be landing for 2023 general elections but thugs, almajiri and aliens – By Godwin Etakibuebu

    The eagle is landing or the eagle has landed has always been a remarkable exclamation for expectation of something good that happened or about to happen. If the Nigerian political clime had been progressively enhancing, since the beginning of this Republic – the Fourth, 2023 general election would have been radiating a tremendous hope.

    But unfortunately, and very woefully unfortunate for that matter, the past 23 years – let’s just make it up to 24 years, and that is taking it into 2023, things have fallen apart for the Nigerian political development. It is not to say that there were no events of remarkable value within the route of the past 23 years of this journey. To say and stink to that might not be interrogatorily narrative enough. And posterity will hold us accountable for tragedy of wrongful acquisition of historical documentation.

    Whatever gains that might have been noticed here and there, along the line of this journey so far – talking of the movement, starting from 1999, when Olusegun Obasanjo; a Four-Star Military General and one time Military Head of State in Nigeria, would not be uprightly documented because of defaults; standing out like thorns, along the length of this journey’s path.

    However, that is not to say that there are no good historical landmark achievable records to the credit of the journey so far. While Olusegun Obasanjo tried elongation of tenure – what most Nigerians called “Third Term Agenda”, though the Ebora Owu – Olusegun Obasanjo – would quickly deny it at any given time, the incumbent democratically elected President – Muhammadu Buhari, so far till date, has not attempted embarking on such perfidiously degenerate act. 

    He has not spoken in favour of it, even when a few demonic citizens spoke of it. Neither has the reading of his body language indicated anything of such misadventures.

    Again, unlike Olusegun Obasanjo who dictated and nominated his successor, and even followed it up by running the campaign exercise over and above his nominated and anointed candidate [successor], Muhammadu Buhari; for whatever double-talking prowess he has acquired, he kept distance from what he earlier said, or about to say, or even what he sent a proxy to say on his behalf – which he absolutely denied, he kept himself clean. 

    For example, in spite of some double talks of the President, at different times; like saying: “I have a preferred candidate”, to what he told his APC Governors that “in the principle of RECIPROCITY, allow me to pick a Successor that will take over from me”, to another statement, when he told selected members of his political party that “let delegates chose the candidate in the primary”, and to the final statement – the very one that broke the camel’s back that “I have no anointed candidate”, the man did not degenerate. 

    These are melodious lyrics that one cannot throw away when chronology of events are to be taken. This should be the controlling reason why 2023 general elections need to be appreciated with loud ovation in advance. But can we really say that the Eldorado of the Nigerian democratic development has really come full circle enough to cause some dancing steps from now. 

    I am afraid that there is no cogent hope for the celebration of 2023 general election without being surrounded with sufficient air of melancholy. And l will articulate my reason of arriving this route which is not lifting the soul or the spirit. Come with me please.

    We have not been too fortunate with good governments in this country right from the day we yanked our independence from the British. We have seen ourselves along the line of continuous decline with successive governments. And this is a statement of fact, not necessarily for everyone to agree with me, since we are not robots.

    While on the evaluation of this trajectory; and this is in my personal opinion, the present government happens to be the icing of the cake in bad governance. The All Progressive Congress-led government must have scored distinction in all papers of corrupted governance and this is well known to all Nigerians – even to those that died and are laid restless in their graves.   

    And when, during the just concluded Primaries of all the political parties, mostly as displayed by the two biggest parties – the APC and the PDP hope for better democratically developed elections for the future vanished totally. 

    For the first time in the annals of political electioneering in the history of this country, there came to be established, at the highest level, DOLLARISATION of political contestation in Nigeria, as delegates; across the Political Parties, were dancing away with enough Dollars that could have been enough to budget for the country in the past when sanity ruled the waves.

    In view of this demon of DOLLARISATION, what will the general election of 2023; shall be presenting to us can therefore not be the landing of an Eagle in any format. What shall be landing instead; in the place of a Peaceful Eagle, would be three dangerous Entities or Tribes of Thugs, Almajiri and Aliens. 

    And these three entities shall be rising and arriving from all parts of Nigeria with one purpose of mission – to wit: to wage a frightening war against success of democratic ethos’ continuity in Nigeria. 

    And this can never be good news for the feature of this country – which historian might be referring to [aftermath] as a country that was.

    Will President Muhammadu Buhari stop this anticipated catastrophe from happening? It is only him, his kinsmen and his Cabal that can supply the answer. Nigerians are waiting by the sideline hopefully or hopelessly. 

    This Court adjourns – C-O-U-R-T.

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

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    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only. 

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 – 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].

  • As the gods of the land direct APC today, can it be true that Buhari has no candidate?

    As the gods of the land direct APC today, can it be true that Buhari has no candidate?

    Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, popularly known as Ola Rotimi; one of Nigeria’s leading playwrights and theatre directors – a man called “complete man of the theatre” [an actor, director, choreographer and designer] wrote the book; The gods are not to blame in 1971.

    I am not too sure if Ola Rotimi previewed the Nigeria of today; with specific attention to the APC’s torturous-packaged Primaries – or so it is looking like, when he wrote his award winning book. But, a good writer; just like a good singer would do in the production of good music, writes for lifetime. 

    As such, Ola Rotimi’s book – the gods are not to blame, becomes very handy in the events that are taking place in Abuja today – at the camp of the APC; where a candidate, out of the 22 aspirants, to bear the Party’s flag in the 2023 presidential general election would emerged.

    The confusion that has turned the APC Camp, for the selection of the candidate, to the soap opera show tagged “Fuji House of Commotion” was a video film script written by the leader of the Party [APC]; Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Nigerian President and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces. 

    His written script for this exercise is split into 4 parts. Let us look and the 4 parts briefly and the intensity of how they are playing out.

    • I have a preferred candidate
    • The principle of reciprocity
    • Governors, consult within yourselves and pick a consensus candidate
    • I have no anointed candidate.

    Let us identify each of this 4 parts of the script with evidences as such would make this work easier and simple.

    [1]

    About 3 months, or thereabout, ago, President Buhari, in an interview; one of three interviews he ever granted to any Nigerian Media outfit [because it is not his character to do so] the man admitted to the Channel Television that he had a preferred candidate in the incoming election. 

    Seun Akinbaloye; a very astute and excitingly enterprising Journalist, with the Channel Television did not missed on that revelation from the President. He asked a follow-up question on the President’s answer: “Would you tell us the name of this your preferred candidate?”

    The President did not waste time in answering, by saying, “no, I cannot tell you his name because if l do, they will kill him”.

    [2]

    Then, days to the Primary, President Buhari brought all the governors of the APC together to lecture them on how they should cooperate with him in allowing him to pick the candidate of his choice to succeed him – he called it the principle of RECIPROCITY.

    The President reminded his guests – the governors, softly that the practice in the States, ditto the Local Governments, is for the outgoing Governors or Chairmen to hand-pick their successors. He concluded affirmatively, that the governors, in the principle of reciprocity should allow him to pick his successor – fait accompli. 

    [3]

    A few days after the doctrine of reciprocity, the same President Buhari, in introducing Part 3 of his script, invited the governors again, and some members of the National Working Committee, together in the Aso Rock Villa where he dropped his perfectly packaged bomb. He did not waste time with words as he told them to consult within themselves and produce a consensus candidate in the primary – straightforward of purpose and speech derailed hopelessly.

    [4]

    Last instruction from President Buhari to the APC governors and the leadership of his Party, in less than 48 hours to the exercise was as shocking as ever expected from any Fulani tactician. Let delegates chose the Candidate because l have no anointed candidate – end of film show.

    And when the National Chairman of the Party; a man imposed on the Party a few months ago by President Buhari, and a man who came to the office with larger baggage of confusion than ever expected, added his branch of abnormal tonic to the whole confusion, the hostility that erupted between him, the governors and members of the National Working Committee became heavier than the scenario between Russia and Ukraine – confusion’s aluta continua.    

    In conclusion, there are not too many Nigerians that would believe in President Buhari that he has no preferred and anointed candidate. But why the President would want to be economical with the truth shall remain an exercise The Guru is not willing to embark upon today – he who fights and run away will live to fight another day.

    And the confusion, so it is looking, might just be President Buhari’s anointed way of doing his thing in his own way in blending the two different opposites to a meeting point – an astute political animal unveiling.

    In any case and whatever is the result of today’s APC race in Abuja, Muhammadu Buhari is not to blame. Neither should any one of us attempt blaming the gods of the land. 

    The lesson of this abracadabra game of political titans, as playing out between Buhari and his cronies, is the fact that there shall always be a melting point in every political manipulations and permutations – the game of deceit remains the killing point of the trajetory.

    Are we still flowing on the same page? 

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

    Contact:

    Website: www.godwintheguru.com

    You Tube Channel: Godwin The  Guru

    Twitter: @godwin_buebu

    Facebook: Godwin Etakibuebu

    Facebook Page: Veteran Column

    Telegram: @friendsoftheguru

    WhatsApp: @friendsoftheguru

    Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only. 

    You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 – 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].