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Tag: fani-kayode

  • Fani-Kayode reveals greatest problem Nigeria will face before 2019

    Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has revealed the greatest challenge Nigeria would face in the next two years.

    Fani-Kayode in a couple of tweets on Friday night, stated that it was not the issue of who becomes president, but the question of whether the country will be restructured or not.

    He wrote: “Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Nassarawa, and other core northern state governments have just announced that they reject the idea of restructuring.

    “They say that they “do not want devolution of power” from the centre. It is time for us to pray for Nigeria.

    “The greatest challenge that Nigeria faces in the next two years is not the question of who becomes President but the question of whether the country will or will not be restructured.

    “Devolution of power and constitutional reform is the ONLY answer to our numerous problems.”

  • Court rejects Fani-Kayode’s bid to transfer money laundering trial to Abuja

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, dismissed an application by a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, seeking transfer of a money laundering case against him.

    Fani-Kayode, who was also the Chairman of Media and Publicity Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Organisation during the 2015 general election, is standing trial alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman.

    Also joined as defendants are – former National Chairman of the Association of Local Government in Nigeria ( ALGON ), Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Jointrust Dimensions Limited.

    The accused were arraigned by The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) on a 17- count charge of money laundering.

    Fani-Kayode and others allegedly laundered N4.6billion, according to the EFCC.

    The Commission alleged they committed the offences between January and March 2015.

    In counts one to seven, they were alleged to have unlawfully retained over N3.8 billion which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of proceeds of corruption.

    In counts eight to 14, the accused allegedly used over N970 million which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of corruption.

    Meanwhile, in counts 15 to 17 Fani-Kayode and one Olubode Oke, who is said to be at large, allegedly made cash payments of about N30 million, in excess of the amount allowed by law, without going through a financial institution.

    Besides, Fani-Kayode allegedly made payments to one Paste Poster Co (PPC) of No 125 Lewis Street, Lagos, in excess of amounts allowed by law.

    EFCC alleged the offences contravened the provisions of sections 15 (3) (4), 16 (2) (b), and 16 (5) of the Money laundering (prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under same.

    The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The accused were first arraigned on June 28, 2016, before Justice Muslim Hassan of the same court, but the judge withdrew from the suit on March 16, this year following an application by Fani-Kayode, citing likely bias by the judge.

    The case was thereafter, re-assigned to Justice Mohammed Aikawa and the accused were re-arraigned on the same charges.

    At the last adjourned date on June 21, defence counsel, Mr Norrisson Quakers, SAN, had prayed the court to transfer the case to its Abuja division, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.

    Quakers argued that the facts of the case showed that all the transactions carried out by the accused as Director of Media and Publicity of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, took place in Abuja.

    Besides, he had argued that the accused resides in Abuja and had another ongoing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    But EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed the application and urged the court to refuse it on the grounds that the transactions as well as cheques and receipts in furtherance of same, were done in Lagos.

    Oyedepo thereafter urged the court to dismiss the application for transfer and described it as a mere waste of the court’s time.

    At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Justice Aikawa, in his ruling, held that some of the authorities cited by defence counsel were delivered before the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which he noted had provided exceptions to the issues of venue of court.

    “In the case before me, the prosecution avers in its counter affidavit that “the sum of N30 million was paid to PW1 (Olusegun Idowu) of Paste Posters Company Ltd, who has his office in Lagos”.

    “This, in my view shows that all facts leading to the transaction were done in Lagos, and only evidence will prove otherwise.

    “In the light of all these, it is clear that the facts and circumstances of this case fall within the exceptions of the law regarding criminal trials.

    “There is no justification to warrant a transfer of this case to Abuja; the interest of justice requires that the trial of this case continues in this court.

    “This application hereby fails and is accordingly dismissed,” he ruled.

    The court also ruled on an application for objection raised by defence counsel on the last adjourned date, challenging the tendering of photocopies of payment receipts by PW1, who began giving testimony on June 7.

    Aikawa held that it was not the business of the court to concern itself with whether or not a document is original, so long as the document sought to be tendered, is duly certified.

    The court accordingly, dismissed the objections, admitted the receipts in evidence and marked same as exhibits 3 and 3A respectively.

    The court then called on the prosecution to continue with the examination of his first witness.

    Meanwhile, defence counsel, Quakers, sought for an adjournment to enable him to study the exhibits and prepare his cross-examination.

    The court granted the request and adjourned the case to Sept 27 for cross-examination and continuation of trial.

  • Court dismisses Fani-Kayode’s application for case transfer

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, dismissed an application by a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-kayode, seeking transfer of a money laundering case against him.

    Fani-Kayode, in the suit, is charged alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman.

    Also joined as defendants are a former National Chairman of the Association of Local Government in Nigeria (ALGON) Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Jointrust Dimensions Ltd.

    The accused are charged by The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 17- count of alleged N4.6billion money laundering charge.

    In the charge, the accused persons were alleged to have committed the offences between January and March 2015. In counts one to seven, they were alleged to have unlawfully retained over N3.8 billion which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of stealing and corruption.

    In counts eight to 14, the accused were alleged to have unlawfully used over N970 million which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of corruption.

    Meanwhile, in counts 15 to 17 Fani-Kayode and one Olubode Oke, who is said to be at large, were alleged to have made cash payments of about N30 million, in excess of the amount allowed by law, without going through a financial institution. Besides, Fani-Kayode was alleged to have made payments to one Paste Poster Co (PPC) of No 125 Lewis St., Lagos, in excess of amounts allowed by law.

    EFCC alleged the offences contravened the provisions of sections 15 (3) (4), 16 (2) (b), and 16 (5) of the Money laundering (prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012. The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The accused were first arraigned on June 28, 2016 before Justice Muslim Hassan of the same court, but the judge withdrew from the suit on March 16, (this year) following an application by Fani-Kayode, citing likely bias by the judge.

    The case was thereafter, re-assigned to Justice Mohammed Aikawa and the accused were re-arraigned on the same charges. At the last adjourned date on June 21, defence counsel, Mr. Norrisson Quakers, SAN, had prayed the court to transfer the case to its Abuja division, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.

    Quakers argued that the facts of the case showed that all the transactions carried out by the accused as Director of Media and Publicity of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, took place in Abuja. Besides, he had argued that the accused resides in Abuja and had another ongoing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    But EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed the application and urged the court to refuse it on the grounds that the transactions as well as cheques and receipts in furtherance of same, were done in Lagos.

    Oyedepo thereafter urged the court to dismiss the application for transfer and described it as a mere waste of the court’s time. At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Justice Aikawa, in his ruling, held that some of the authorities cited by defence counsel, were delivered before the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which he noted had provided exceptions to the issues of venue of court.

    “In the case before me, the prosecution avers in its counter affidavit that “the sum of N30 million was paid to PW1 (Olusegun Idowu) of Paste Posters Company Ltd, who has his office in Lagos”. “This, in my view shows that all facts leading to the transaction was done in Lagos, and only evidence will prove otherwise. “In the light of all these, it is clear that the facts and circumstances of this case falls into the exceptions of the law regarding criminal trials.

    “There is no justification to warrant a transfer of this case to Abuja; the interest of justice requires that the trial of this case continues in this court. “This application hereby fails and is accordingly dismissed,” he ruled. The court also ruled on an application for objection raised by defence counsel on the last adjourned date, challenging the tendering of photocopies of payment receipts by PW1, who began giving testimony on June 7.

    Aikawa held that it was not the business of the court to concern itself with whether or not a document is original, so long as the document sought to be tendered, is duly certified.

    The court accordingly, dismissed the objections, admitted the receipts in evidence and marked same as exhibits 3 and 3A respectively. The court then called on prosecution to continue with the examination of his first witness. Meanwhile, defence counsel, Quakers, sought for an adjournment to enable him study the exhibits and prepare his cross examination. The court granted the request and adjourned the case to Sept 27 for cross examination and continuation of trial.

  • Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari – Fani-Kayode

    Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari – Fani-Kayode

    Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode on Sunday said that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The former minister who made the statement on his official Twitter handle while speaking on FG’s purported plan to re-arrest Kanu said ”…Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari, he is a real lion.’

    Fani-Kayode also wrote that he had learnt that soldiers and police men have been deployed to the South east in preparation for the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu Buhari and Kanu ‘I learnt that more soldiers and police have been deployed to the SE and SS to prepare for the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu.

    For the final time’ ‘I urge the FG to be restrained. You cannot fight 2 wars on 2 fronts all at once. Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari.He is a real lion.’

  • God used rats to speak to Buhari on need to resign… – Fani-Kayode

    The former minister for Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode on Wednesday, said God used the rat infestation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s office to speak to him [Buhari] on the need for him to resign his office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    The former minister also lashed out at Buhari for cancelling the Federal Executive Council meeting on today, which is the first he would have held having returned to Nigeria after a 103-day medical trip to London.

    Fani-Kayode who wrote via his tweeter handle that the president should resign, noting that the Lord has spoken through rats just like he spoke to the biblical Balam through donkey.

    Recall that the SSA to president Buhari, Mr. Garbar Shehu, yesterday said that rats entered and destroyed some valuables in the president’s office, therefore Buhari should work from his office at home.

  • The President’s morning broadcast, by Femi Fani-Kayode

    His morning address was shallow, insensitive, uninspiring and divisive and, judging from what I saw, I believe that he should resign, go home and take care of his health

    During his throughly uninspiring six minutes broadcast this morning, instead of appealing to Nigerians for patience and understanding and instead of apologising to them for the ineptitude and sheer incompetence that his government has displayed over the last two years, President Muhammadu Buhari has returned home after 105 days on his sick bed in the United Kingdom and not only insulted Nigerians, but also threatened them.

    He made no attempt to reach out to the people, to build bridges and to calm the troubled waters in what is clearly a traumatised and divided nation and instead he sought to intimidate and talk down on our people and his perceived enemies.

    The President appears to have failed to appreciate the fact that times have changed and that he cannot impose his will on others.

    He claims that his views represents the thinking of the majority of Nigerians yet he refuses to accept the idea or acknowledge the legitimacy of a national referendum.

    He is meant to be a servant leader and a democratically-elected President and not a military dictator, a Caliph or a King.

    If he wants to enhance national unity, which is of course a noble and righteous venture, and if he really wants Nigeria to remain one then he must desist from his dangerous and provocative rhetoric, he must treat all Nigerians like human beings and as equals, he must exhibit a much higher degree of sobriety and accommodation of contrary and dissenting views and he must display far more sensitivity, understanding and restraint in his interactions and discourse with the opposition and those that do not agree with him.

    Failing that and without a quick recourse to the devolution of power from the centre and the neat and timely restructuring of what is essentially a fake pseudo-federation and a functional unitary state, the agitation for emancipation will become more pronounced, the various ethnic nationalities in this country will eventually exercise their right of self-determination and our nation will eventually break.

    The fault lines are there and they are visible for all to see. We must recognise our differences, acknowledge our fears, concerns and anxieties, sooth frayed nerves, bridge the gap, make the necessary concessions and heal the wounds or we must prepare for the very worse in the not too distant future. That is the way forward and that is the only way to ensure and guarantee lasting peace and unity.

    Since the President mentioned the late and revered Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi, the former Head of State of the old Biafra and the Eze Gburugburu of the Igbo, in his morning address, let me add the following.

    If this great man were still alive today to witness what his Igbo people have been subjected to over the last two years under the Buhari administration, he would have been the first to insist on Biafra all over again.

    And the truth is that Ojukwu, Major Chukwuemeka Kaduna Nzeogwu and the great Zik of Africa, the Owelle of Onitsha, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, have collectively resurrected in a young lion from the east called Nnamdi Kanu, who he must handle with the utmost care.

    What the President is unable to grasp and fails to comprehend is this: we are not children, we are not animals and we refuse to be second class citizens.

    Simply put we would rather die as free men, standing on our feet and resisting evil, tyranny and subjugation than live as servile slaves and pliant bonded servants with bowed heads and on bended knee.

    All Mr. President’s sinister and inappropriate talk about “red lines” and his insidious threats of bloodshed and blood flow cannot change that and neither is anyone intimidated. Such talk is reckless, dangerous, irresponsible and inappropriate.

    Worse of all other than saying that every Nigerian has the right to live in any part of the country, which in itself is undoubtedly a welcome and gratifying assertion, he refused to order the arrest or threaten to cage and bring to justice those that gave the Igbo people a chilling quit notice and that have promised to unleash genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder on them if they refused to abide by it and leave the north by October 1st.

    This strange omission and instructive refusal by Mr. President is unacceptable and it feeds into the narrative that there may well be some kind of frightful hidden agenda unfolding.

    It was also a missed opportunity to allay the legitimate fears and genuine concerns of many Igbos and southerners that live in the north.

    I sincerely hope that history does not repeat itself in this regard.

    Finally the President expressed his concerns about the social media.

    The truth is that the internet has always been the nightmare of tyrants and dictators all over the world ever since it came into existence.

    This is because it is designed to ensure the free flow of information and to expose their excesses and atrocities.

    Now that our President has acknowledged his disdain and hate for this medium we will increase our efforts to make life more difficult for his government through it.

    We will keep them on their toes and hold them to account by utilising the social and traditional media all the more. What he wishes to hide shall be made manifest and known to all.

    His morning address was shallow, insensitive, uninspiring and divisive and, judging from what I saw, I believe that he should resign, go home and take care of his health.

    That would be the best thing that he could do for Nigeria and that would be the best way to enhance national cohesion and unity.

  • PDP will chase Buhari, Osinbajo out of office in 2019 – FFK

    Former aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has vowed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP will remove President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo from office come 2019 general elections.

    Fani-Kayode who made the disclosure while featuring on Channels TV’s Politics Today, said the PDP has put its house together and will manage its success well to ensure it takes over power from the Buhari-led government.

    When asked by the TV host, Seun Okinbaloye, if the PDP has got the moral integrity to appeal to Nigerians, Fani-Kayode said the morality question is more deserving for the APC-led government.

    He added, “The Nigerian people have moved past the lies and propaganda of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and with what is happening in the country in the last two years, I think those in APC has more question of morality to answer.

    “We did a lot in 16 years and we have nothing to be ashamed of, one quarter of APC today is made up of former members of the PDP and they also formed the integral part of the previous sixteen years led by PDP”

    “We are moving towards victory, throw the question of morality, decency to the ruling government, Nigerians are tired of mass murder, carnage under them, PDP will ensure Nigerians are united and can breathe again” He said.

    Speaking on some of the mild crisis rocking PDP, Fani-Kayode said such is not peculiar to PDP, stressing that every political party have one or two issues they are facing.

    “PDP is a big family and of course we can’t do without such.

    “Everyone knows what APC tried to do with our party through its agent who were planted in our midst to hijack our party structure, if we could have survived one and half years of the ruthless onslaught of APC, we will march to victory come 2019.

    “We are fully back on course, we have our party together and it is only left for us to manage our success and ensure we inflict what Donald Trump called, fire and fury on the APC in 2019.

     

  • You need help, ask TB Joshua for counselling – Fani-Kayode tells Osinbajo

    You need help, ask TB Joshua for counselling – Fani-Kayode tells Osinbajo

    Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has lambasted Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, stressing that he has gone astray as a Christian while urging him to seek a secret audience with Prophet TB Joshua or other great men of God to retrace his step.

    “Ask for a secret audience with either Bishop David Oyedepo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Prophet T.B. Joshua, Dr. Daniel Olukoya, Apostle Suleman, Bishop Danson, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Bishop B.O. Ezekiel or any of the other great men of God in our nation who will undoubtedly have the courage and the conviction to tell you what the Lord is saying and the bitter truth.” Says the former aviation minister.

    Fani-Kayode made the remarks in an open letter he addressed to Osinbajo as a reaction to a statement credited to the Acting President, in which he described those demanding for the restructuring of Nigeria as people who wanted appointments.

    His letter partly reads “Are you not provoking the Living God? Did the respected General Overseer of your Church, the Redeemed Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adegboye (a profoundly good man who is undoubtedly one of God’s end-time generals) not teach you that a heavy price will be paid by those who join forces with the Amalekites to hurt, wound, crush and destroy the children of light and the sons and daughters of promise?

    “What is your fear and what is the source of your cowardice? Can light overcome darkness? Did David not survive the wilderness? Did he not survive the brutal onslaught of Saul, the rebellion of his own son Absalom and the vicious attacks of the Philistines?

    “Did he not defeat and destroy Goliath and redeem the honor of the children of Israel and the Living God? Is that God dead to you now?

    “Whose report do you believe? Do you believe the report of the Lord or the report of man?
    He who created the eyes and the ears, can He no longer see and hear? Is the arm of the Lord too short to defend and deliver?

    “Is there anything too big or too difficult for our GOD? Is He that created the universe and who chose to make the earth His footstool so weak that He cannot honor His word and deliver His people?

    “The truth is that if you fail to do the right thing and you turn your back on Him and His purpose, He will spew you out and find another that will effect His purpose and will in our country. We are not in by our hands but in His.

    “Mordecai told Esther this over three thousand years ago and I am telling you the same thing today.

    “If you need to be reminded about the veracity and efficacy of the Holy scriptures when it comes to the truisms and structures of leadership and governance and you are reluctant to hear them from your spiritual father because you are ashamed of the fact that you have gone astray then please do the following.

    “Ask for a secret audience with either Bishop David Oyedepo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Prophet T.B. Joshua, Dr. Daniel Olukoya, Apostle Suleman, Bishop Danson, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Bishop B.O. Ezekiel or any of the other great men of God in our nation who will undoubtedly have the courage and the conviction to tell you what the Lord is saying and the bitter truth.

    “You need help and you need it fast. The politicians cannot help you now and neither can your new-found friends on the corridors of power you’re beleaguered, divided and dying party the APC. Only the Living God can help you.

    “It is so bad that you did and said nothing when your fellow Redeemed Pastor (who happened to be a woman) was slaughtered right under your nose in Abuja recently. You did not even attend her burial.

    “Instead of doing the right thing and soothing frayed nerves you are encouraging division in our nation and you are consolidating and perpetuating a ruthless and heartless quasi-apartheid system of government which has no basis in decency, rationality, justice or fairness.

    “It is a cruel and barbaric system which sees a few as the master race and the rest as slaves. Given all this how can you possibly live with yourself and how can you hold your head up high?

    “You join common slaves and ride on horseback whilst you condemn and confine the princes of the realm and the sons and daughters of the highest God to walk around barefooted.

    “This is not only sacrilege but it is indeed a great evil under the sun. May God forgive you and may He deliver you before it is too late.

    “All those that said that we should have faith in the APC and the Acting President should carefully meditate on and consider his words and categorisation of those who believe in restructuring and self-determination.

    “He says that they are just looking for an appointment. Permit me to ask the following questions.

    “Is it the leaders of the south, Afenifere, Ohaeneze and the Niger Delta that are looking for appointments? Or is it the leaders of the Middle Belt?

    “Is it Baba Fasoranti, Baba Ayo Adebanjo, General Alani Akinrinade, Chief Amos Akingba, Bishop Gbonigi, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi or Chief Olu Falae?

    “Is it Chief John Nwodo, Governor Victor Ezeife or Chief Arthur Nwankwo? Is it Chief E.K. Clark, Chief Solomon Asemota SAN or Chief Albert Horsefall?

    “Is it General TY Danjuma, General Dogonyaro or General Zamani Lekwot? Is it Atiku Abubakar who was the Vice President that you are today 18 years ago?

    “Is it the respected Baba Bisi Akande who has been calling for us to go back to the 1963 regional structure and form of government? Is it General Ibrahim Babangida who was Head of State 32 years ago?

    “What appointment can you or Buhari possibly offer any of them at their age and with their wealth of knowledge and experience? Why should you measure these distinguished and respected people, most of whom are old enough to he your father, by your own sordid standards?

    “The other day you stood at a public function and clapped heartily when our father and leader President Olusegun Obasanjo said that the way to stop the Biafran agitation was to offer the Igbo people a slice of cake?

    “Does that make sense to you? Is this whole thing about cake and appointments as far as people like you are concerned?

    “Why do you seen to take pleasure in denigrating those that do not believe in a nation that has all the powers of government concentrated at the center and that has dashed the hopes and dreams of millions?

    “Nigeria was meant to be a federation and not a unitary state with a federal facade! Have you forgotten that today simply because you are Vice President to Buhari?

    “Does Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the man that brought you into politics and that single-handedly made you Vice President, agree with you on this? Does he also believe that everyone that believes in restructuring is just looking for an appointment?

    “If so that would be very curious because he once believed in it and we used to discuss it extensively when we were closer. I am sure that at some point he would have lectured you on its merits and rudiments.

    “Honestly, you have lost it completely. You have betrayed your people and jettisoned their cause. You have ignored their call for justice and equity and you have turned a deaf ear to their cry for deliverance.

    “Some will call you a shameless coward but I will not go that far out of respect for your office. I am however constrained to say that I have lost the great respect that I once had for you.

    “Like the biblical Demas, you have turned your back on your primary calling and you have gone the other way.

    “You have been seduced and overwhelmed by a Demastic anointing. You have fallen in love with the awesome power of governance at the Villa and all the worldly things.

    “In short, you are a self-serving modern-day Afonja who will eventually be consumed by those who he has joined forces with to destroy his own people and the children of the Living God. Thus sayest the Lord.

    “My regards to your family Your Excellency and kindly convey my warmest greetings and special felicitations to your brother “Jebi” who I am very fond of and was very friendly with whilst at London University in the early 1980’s. Shalom.

  • NNAMDI KANU: The rise of Biafra and the coming of Oduduwa – Fani-Kayode

    Permit me to begin this weeks contribution with a brief aside. My dear friend Major Hamza Al Mustapha was reported to have said the following a few days ago:

    “Those who strive to keep Nigeria one find themselves as enemies of a certain category of Nigerians. I don’t see those who hate to see Nigeria as one as a group but a clique that exploits the country, a clique that mismanages the future, a clique that invests in disintegration, a clique that invests in misinformation and creating division among Nigerians, a clique that promotes hatred, a clique that distorts our history, so that when Nigerians are divided and can no longer think together, they can make gains and continue to steal from Nigeria’s Commonwealth. But the moment you realize what they are doing and resolve to fight them, they will stop at nothing to destroy
    you. Any call to divide Nigeria is unacceptable”.

    One wonders whether these were the thoughts of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha when he was the Chief Security Officer to General Sani Abacha and when Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, the courageous and outspoken wife of Chief MKO Abiola the winner of the June 12th 1993 presidential election, was brutally murdered in cold blood by agents of the government that he served so diligently and with such ruthless precision.

    One wonders whether she was murdered alongside many other gallant sons and daughters of the south west by the Abacha regime in the name of maintaining the national cohesion and unity that he claims to love so much. I will grant my brother Hamza the opportunity to answer this question before going any further but for now I will just say the following.

    I rather think that it is the clique of those that kill with impunity, that suppresses dissent, that demonises their perceived enemies, that believe that the rest of us are slaves and that believe that they were born to rule that present the greatest threat to peace and national unity in this country.

    If they want peace and unity they must humble themselves and beg God and the Nigerian people for forgiveness for 103 years of cruelty, ruthless domination, arrogance, genocide and impunity.

    They must get off their high horse, purge themselves of their notorious insolence and insufferable contempt and they must stop the historical distortions, the insults, the killings and the threats.

    Whether Mustapha likes it or not the days when anyone will invoke the spirit of national unity and one Nigeria just to perpetuate injustice, bondage, slavery, subjugation, mass murder, genocide, ethnic and religious cleansing and core northern domination are long over.

    All the insults and threats in the world cannot change that. I await his response.

    Permit me to continue this contribution by stating loudly and clearly that those that have told Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB to steer clear of Lagos and Yorubaland and that have said that he must not go there for any rallies are talking bunkum.

    Apart from the fact that millions of Igbos that reside in Lagos and many other parts of the south-west would welcome him with open arms and thunderous jubilation, millions of Yoruba youth would also rejoice at his coming simply because they have been inspired and stirred by his sheer courage and dedication.

    To the Yoruba nationalists and believers in the right of self-determination Kanu is a hero and they not only admire him but they also revere him.

    This is especially so given the fact that he has long since withdrawn and renounced many of the misconceptions and views that he once espoused and expressed about the Yoruba and their leaders before his incarceration.

    Had this not been the case this writer would not and could not possibly have had as much respect and affection for him as I do.

    As a matter of fact since his release he has not only stood by the Yoruba nation publicly but has also spoken up for a number of Yoruba leaders who are suffering persecution from the Federal Government and who have been issued with life-threatening and physical threats from the Arewa Youth.

    Yours truly is one of those that both IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu has stood by and spoken up for consistently and I consider it to not only be an honor but also a gesture that I shall never forget and that I shall always endeavour to reciprocate.

    Without any fear of contradiction, I can boldly say that this courageous young man has nothing but respect and affection for the Yoruba nation today.

    He has renounced all his past comments about our people both privately and publicly and he will do so again in a big way when he comes to Lagos.

    We spent a lot of time together in Kuje prison and we learnt a lot from each other whilst there. We are fighting the same cause against the same enemy.

    Those that believe that he and IPOB have no friends amongst the Yoruba are misguided and misinformed. They have lost touch with reality and they are living in the past.

    The truth is that IPOB has friends amongst both the elders and the youths in the south-west and, most importantly, millions of Yoruba sons and daughters share their vision of and belief in the right to exercise their God-given right of self-determination.

    They crave for and believe in the establishment of Oduduwa Republic in much the same way and for the same reasons that Nnamdi and members of his IPOB crave for and believe in Biafra.

    The bridge of commonality of purpose between the south west and the south east has been rebuilt and re-established and none shall ever break or burn it again. Whether anyone likes it or not, in this struggle, we are one.

    I would also add this. Those in igboland and indeed throughout the south that have openly opposed, insulted and sought to chastise those gallant men and women that support the idea of restructuring our country or that consistently resist and denigrate the concept of establishing the sovereign state of Biafra are mischievous and disingenuous.

    They are nothing but gutless traitors, blacklegs and turncoats that have no sense or knowledge of history and that have been contracted by the powers that be to shatter the dreams and aspirations of millions of young Igbos from within.

    Worst still they are simply voicing the views and sentiments of the internal colonialists and our collective slavemasters.

    These turncoats and traitors have fed fat on Nigeria and have consistently cornered the market of all that is due to the Igbo from the Federal Government for themselves over the last thirty years.

    Such beneficiaries of a skewered, inequitable and unwholesome system who have no empathy for the suffering and humiliation of their own people and who cannot feel their pain forget that, with God, all things are possible.

    If one million Igbo youths were slaughtered in the north or in the streets of the east by northern mobs or our security forces respectively these people would not voice a single word of protest but would instead try to defend and rationalise it.

    This brings me to the meat of this essay. The Arewa Youths that demanded that the Igbo must leave the north by October 1st and that has now given the Federal Government an ultimatum to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in the next 10 days are stoking a fire that may end up consuming Nigeria.

    They must be gagged, put in chains and spanked hard!

    Nnamdi Kanu is a hero and his call for independence for the Igbo is legitimate and lawful. Any attempt to arrest him will have consequences.

    For those that still do not believe that the Biafra phenomenon and message is here to stay and that are still guided by the erroneous notion that “all is well” in Nigeria I share the following.

    Dr. John Dan Fulani, a cerebral and well-respected activist, human rights crusader, intellectual and academic from Southern Kaduna with a large following, has said that if Biafra is established the people of Southern Kaduna will leave Nigeria and go with them.

    This unprecedented assertion and declaration has caused panic, consternation and alarm in many core northern conservative circles.

    Again Professor Jerry Gana, a respected former Minister from Niger state and a reasonable, well-known and well-liked leader that has been deeply involved in politics and entrenched in the corridors of power for the last 32 years has said that if Nigeria were ever to break up the people of the Middle Belt would leave the north and go with the people of the south.

    Again the Solomon Asemota SAN and T.Y. Danjuma-led Christian Elders Forum has warned the Federal Government and the Nigerian people about what they have described as a subtle and dangerous application of “stealth jihad” by the Federal Government in our country and what they see as an attempt to islamise Nigeria.

    Again a well-organised and credible Yoruba group called the Yoruba Liberation Command (YOLICOM) has said that it was “too late for restructuring” and that they want Oduduwa Republic to be established. They also threw their weight behind the establishment of Biafra.

    This is the sad and sorry impasse that the ailing President Muhammadu Buhari and his cult of ecstatic cheerleaders and super worshippers have taken Nigeria in just two years.

    Whilst the dangerous ethnic, religious and regional divisions in our country are getting wider by the day His Royal Highness is busy holding court in London and desperately trying to prove to the world that he is not dead, that he is much better and that he can rule our nation from a distant foreign land indefinitely. What a country! What a people!

    The truth is that the President and the Presidency is not meant to be a tourist attraction, a museum of old fossils or a mausoleum of decaying bodies to be viewed by curious dignitaries in a distant foreign land.

    Despite the pretty group pictures with a handful of selected governors I believe that it is an act of cruelty to expect this poor and obviously very sick man to lead a nation of 180 million.

    In spite of my views about his glaring incompetence and his many atrocities, weaknesses, eccentricities and shortcomings I believe that even he deserves far better than that.

    My counsel, which is borne out of compassion and nothing else, still remains that he resigns and that he goes home and rests before he suffers yet another replapse and returns to nether nether land!

    The truth is that the only thing that competes with our never-ending film show of “do you have a President or do you not have a President” in Nigeria today is the much-awaited and newly released ‘season 7’ of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” which I watch religiously and which I enjoy enormously.

    That is what the serious business of governance has been reduced to in Nigeria. Is it any wonder that CNN’s Fareed Zakaria mocked us about our absentee President before hundreds of millions of viewers from all over the world just the other day?

    The truth is that we deserve even worse. May God judge those that have brought us this unquantifiable and unbearable calamity and national shame.

    Meanwhile I urge the wise and the discerning to pause and consider the following.

    Those that dismiss the widening divisions and agitations in our country with disdain and contempt and that underestimate the resolve of those that are behind them are not only naive but they also do so at their own peril.

    It is only a matter of time before something gives. I say this because national cohesion and unity can only be established, entrenched and sustained by the accommodation and toleration of dissenting views, the constant expression of love and the regular and consistent application of leadership by consensus.

    It cannot be sustained by brutality, murder, injustice, lies, supression, persecution, tyranny, manipulation, deceit, propaganda and coercion.

    You cannot hold a people down by the usage of threats, the shedding of blood and the force of arms forever.

    Even slaves rise up in bloody rebellion and resist tyranny when the time is right, when the wind of liberation blows and when the freedom bell tolls.

    The south west, the south south and the south east yearn for that liberty and freedom and the Middle Belt craves for it.

    The only thing that they are waiting for is the emergence of a set of bold, clear-thinking, inspirational and focused leaders that have the courage, the tenacity of purpose, the unrelenting fortitude and the purity of spirit to lead the struggle and to take them out of the bondage of Egypt and into the Promise land.

    The bottom line is as follows: I would rather live and die as a free man in the independent Oduduwa Republic than continue to live and die as a slave in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Buhari should resign, go home and rest – Fani-Kayode

    Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Thursday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign.

    The former Minister gave the call while sharing the latest photograph of Buhari which surfaced online after meeting with six governors yesterday in London.

    Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in a series of tweets via his social media said the presidency was not meant for tourist attraction of a ”mausoleum of decaying bodies.”

    He wrote: “The President/Presidency is not meant to be a tourist attraction, a museum of old fossils or a mausoleum of decaying bodies to be viewed by curious dignitaries in a distant foreign land.

    “It is an act of cruelty to expect this poor man to lead a nation of 180 million. Let him resign, go home and rest!”