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Tag: Ibrahim Gambari

  • Ibrahim Gambari: The intellectual and diplomat who saw tomorrow – By Owei Lakemfa

    Ibrahim Gambari: The intellectual and diplomat who saw tomorrow – By Owei Lakemfa

    If the Nobel Peace Prize were less political, more objective and based on direct efforts to achieve peace,  Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari should have been an awardee long ago.

    One of the lows in human history was the refusal to prevent or stop the 1994 Rwanda Genocide even when humanity was in a very good position to do so.  There were international forces on ground, especially from France and Belgium.  The greatest crime of all was that the world  had   a peacekeeping force in Rwanda called the  United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, UNAMIR.   It was aware of the plans for the massacre and applied to the UN to be permitted to nip it in the bud. But permission was denied. When the genocide  began, the UNAMIR sought permission to stop it, but the Security Council did not give the needed permission.

    Gambari was one of the few courageous persons in the UN Security Council who insisted the world body must intervene. The refusal of the UN cost over 850,000 lives. In 2010, a grateful Rwanda awarded Gambari its National Honour of  ‘Umurinzi’ for fighting to stop the genocide.

    Gambari  from the 1970s, with some intellectuals across the country’s tertiary  institutions, mobilised Nigerian youths against Apartheid in South Africa.  When Nelson Mandela travelled to the UN after his 27-year incarceration, it was Gambari as the Chairman of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid  (1990-1994) who received him on behalf of humanity.  On  October 26, 2011, a grateful South Africa conferred  its highest national honour,  the Companion of the Order  of  Oliver R. Thambo, on Gambari.

    He was involved in the peace  process that led to the separation of Sudan and South Sudan and the rise of the latter as an independent state.

    One of the most brutal wars in Africa was fought in Darfur, Sudan. To bring that war to an end, the UN and the African Union jointly appointed Gambari as their Special Representative. He had the  peacekeeping Africa Union-United Nations  Hybrid Operation in Darfur, UNAMID,  force of 19,248 personnel. Gambari’s mission in Darfur was  to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian aid and assist an inclusive political process that addressed the root causes of the crises.

    Gambari became the “Mr Fix-it”  of the UN as he was tasked to resolve  tough issues around  the world. He was sent to Europe as Special Envoy to untangle the Cyprus Conflict  between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

    He was also sent to Asia  because  the UN had a strongly worded resolution telling  the Stone Age military dictatorship in  Myanmar to end its violation of fundamental human rights and,  begin a democratic transition process.  Gambari’s duty included going to that country, looking  the stone-faced Generals in the eye and telling them the resolve of the world body.

    In 2007, he was appointed the  UN Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other  Political Issues. His duties included empowering that country’s political and constitutional processes to strengthen  democracy and  rule of law, tackling  security  challenges  while respecting fundamental human rights and addressing  the issues of  refugees and the internally displaced persons.

    He  was also the UN’s Special Envoy to Zimbabwe and Head of the UN Mission to Angola from 2002-2003.

    Gambari commenced  his journey in the world of diplomacy when President Shehu Shagari appointed him the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA.

    When that government was overthrown, he was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Buhari regime.  This was where, in combining his commitment to a better world and  his intellectual prowess, he helped to formulate some outstanding foreign policies and actions that came to define Nigeria’s foreign policy on some contentious issues.

    He reached the conclusion and, persuaded the government that the solution to the Middle East crisis was the two-state solution in which the Israelis and Palestinians would live in two separate states within secured, internationally recognised borders. Nigeria then moved to recognise a Palestinian State. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation, PLO,  under Yasser Arafat, was granted diplomatic status and provided an embassy in Nigeria.

    Tragically, the Nigeria position has until now, been resisted by powerful   countries leading to continuous and avoidable  bloodbath in the region.   The latest round of that conflict which began on October 7, 2023, has taken the dimension of  a genocide.  In Gaza alone,  43,764  Palestinians, including 16,765 children,  have been  killed in the last thirteen months. In the same period, 784 Palestinians, including 167 children, were killed in the West Bank while 1,139 Israelis were killed. These are apart from the devastation and, the victims of the spill-over of the current conflict into Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.

    Another far-sighted vision championed by Gambari is the need for the complete de-colonization of the African continent. In 1984, Nigeria took the bold move to tell the Kingdom of Morocco off by recognising the independence of Western Sahara under the uncontested leadership of the POLISARIO Movement.  As it did with the PLO, Nigeria invited the POLISARIO to open its embassy in the country with full diplomatic powers and privileges.  Unfortunately, Western powers  resisted these moves, and today, 40 years later, Africa is still saddled with the colonial question  and an  avoidable  bloodshed in the continent.

    A point to be made on his tenure as Foreign Minister, 1984-85. The Buhari regime decided to abduct a fugitive, Umaru Dikko from Britain. British security services found Dikko in a crate ready to be flown to Nigeria. The crate was addressed to Foreign Minister, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.

    He later served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN under four other Heads of State: Generals Ibrahim Babangida and  Sani Abacha, Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Abdulsalam Abubakar.

    Interestingly, although Gambari  became one of the best known diplomats in contemporary times, he was an ‘accidental diplomat’. His profession is academics in which he is also a colossus and, author of a number of  books including on the UN, Africa, Nigeria, Regional Integration and the Theory and Reality in Foreign Policy Making.

    He continues to make waves. In   August 2024 ,  he was Chair of the International Conference to Eradicate Colonialism in the World.  The following month, he was at the UN General Assembly where at ‘The Summit of the Future’ he said the Security Council  must be reformed to  “reflect today’s geopolitical realities and the multi-lateral principle of inclusive  and collective action…”

    This Sunday, November 24,   2024, Professor Ibrahim Gambari turns 80. I am sure he is only waiting for the drums of celebration to be played before catching the next flight because he is not slowing down.   Wishing him more years of good health and service to humanity.

  • Ibrahim Gambari: Navigating the South Africa-Nigeria high seas – By Owei Lakemfa

    Ibrahim Gambari: Navigating the South Africa-Nigeria high seas – By Owei Lakemfa

    PROFESSOR Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, a giant in diplomatic circles on Wednesday, went down memory lane. He had been United Nations, UN, envoy to Myanmar, its Special Adviser on Africa, the Joint African Union-UN Special Representative for Darfur and former President of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

    He said, back in 1991, former Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo was the best horse in the race to become the Secretary-General of the United Nations, but his military background worked against him. Speaking on October 18, 2023, at the public presentation of the biography of the first African UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Gambari said two things stood Obasanjo out: as Military Head of State, he handed over power voluntarily to civilians, and “was head of the group that led to the process of the end of apartheid”.

    Indeed, Nigeria’s role in the war against apartheid in South Africa was so pronounced that despite being situated in West Africa, it was known as a ‘frontline state’ arraigned against the evil Apartheid system that held down Africa in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

    However, since independence, a sort of sibling rivalry has emerged between Nigeria and South Africa. It is a healthy rivalry at the economic level as both are the economic giants of the continent. But it has been toxic at another level where, faced with the challenges of existential living, mainly poor South Africans have carried out xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans, especially Nigerians. Despite this, South Africa continues to be appreciative of Nigeria’s role in the decolonisation of their country.

    For instance, Gambari had in December 2012 been awarded the Companion of OR Tambo Award, the highest South African decoration for foreign nationals. On that occasion, while receiving the award from President Jacob Zuma, he had said: “The honour is not just to me as an individual, but to Nigeria which has played a major role in the struggle against apartheid…the time has come for history and generations to come to recognise the role the country and the anti-apartheid movements played in Africa.”

    On April 26, 2023, the University of Johannesburg awarded Professor Gambari a Doctorate. He chose the occasion to navigate the high seas of Nigeria-South Africa relations not just in interviews, including with the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, but also in a lecture titled, “South Africa and Nigeria: Africa’s Indispensable Relationship”.

    In the lecture, Gambari recalled that as the last chair of the UN Special Committee against Apartheid, it was his honour to receive the legendary Nelson Mandela in New York in June 1990.

    Speaking specifically on some of Nigeria’s contributions to the liberation struggle, Gambari told his audience: “After the 1976 Soweto Uprising in South Africa, Nigeria established the Southern African Relief Fund, SARF, to provide scholarships and other assistance to South African students and refugees; the Nigerian High Commission in Botswana issued hundreds of Nigerian passports to South Africans who had fled the country; and Nigerian civil servants contributed portions of their salaries to the anti-apartheid movement in a scheme known as the ‘Mandela Tax’. By the time apartheid had come to an end, Nigeria had spent an estimated $17 billion in support of liberation struggles in Southern Africa.”

    His thesis is that in the post-apartheid era, both countries which account for about 60 per cent of the economies in their respective sub-regions, are the engines of economic integration and development both in those regions and Africa, and are therefore, engaged in an indispensable relationship. This relationship, he submitted, “is vital to peacekeeping and peace building efforts, regional integration, and socio-economic development in Africa”

    Gambari contrasted the highs and lows of both countries in the early 1990s: while South Africa emerged from the tragedy of Apartheid and was being led by a moral force like Mandela, Nigeria was in the quagmire of military dictatorship. He recalled that shortly after attending Mandela’s Presidential inauguration in Pretoria in May 1994, he wrote that: “…The glory of the new South Africa contrasts sharply with the present state of my own country, Nigeria, the most populous Black nation of such proud people. We, who have championed the cause of the oppressed majority in South Africa, with such great credibility and eventual success, now find ourselves in a state of domestic despondency and international scorn.”

    He traced the fault lines between both countries to the tension between President Mandela and General Sani Abacha in 1995/1996 – following the hanging of the writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other environmentalists. He also referred to the struggles from 2005 when both sought permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

    Another cause of tension, he pointed out, were the sporadic xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa since 2008.

    Gambari said the spat spilled over in 2012 “when 125 Nigerian travellers were barred from entering South Africa due reportedly to fake health certificates, and, in retaliation, Nigeria barred 78 South African travellers from entering Nigeria, resulting in a formal South African apology.”

    The eminent scholar added that: “The presence of South African corporate giants like MTN, DSTV, Stanbic, and Shoprite has also caused tensions among Nigerians, some of whom accused South Africa of pursuing one-sided mercantilist trade policies.”

    The former UN ambassador said the coincidence of Obasanjo becoming the elected Nigerian President in May 1999, and the emergence, two weeks later of Thabo Mbeki, a former ANC Representative to Nigeria during Apartheid, as South African President, “provided an opportunity for a strategic partnership between the two African powers.”

    He said both leaders, by 2001, elaborated a new socio-economic blueprint for the continent called the ‘New Partnership for Africa’s Development’ and by 2002, led in transforming the OAU into the AU. They also championed the African Peer Review Mechanism by 2003 as “an instrument to advance socio-economic development and democratic governance in Africa”, and led to the forgiveness of Africa’s then $290 billion external debt.

    Gambari noted that in the post-Mbeki/Obasanjo era, both countries clashed over French/UN troops and NATO military interventions in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya, while in 2012, Nigeria unsuccessfully opposed South African Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s candidature for the AU Commission chair.

    Other points of renewed tension Gambari pointed out were the clash at the AU Summit in January–February 2013 over recognition of the government in Guinea-Bissau, and the 2014 seizure of $9 million cash Nigeria allegedly smuggled into South Africa to buy arms needed to fight terrorism.

    Gambari’s basic observation is that whenever Nigeria and South Africa co-operated, significant progress is made in addressing African challenges, and blocking external efforts to “divide and rule” Africa. His conclusion, therefore, is that: “The indispensable bilateral relationship between Africa’s two regional giants remains potentially the most important strategic partnership on the continent.”

  • President Buhari reacts to birthday wishes

    President Buhari reacts to birthday wishes

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday expressed appreciation for the many cards and well-wishes he received for his 80th birthday.

    He said, however, in a jocular manner, that his wish for a quiet day had been denied by the staff, adding that: “I fixed the return journey from America on the day to avoid the celebration.”

    Addressing Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff; Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other personal staff who gathered at the residence “to make the President’s birthday an occasion to remember,” Buhari said:

    ”A birthday is no more than just another day in the office.”

    In a fitting tribute on behalf of the personal staff, Gambari read aloud the card signed by them which states thus:

    “On behalf of the entire staff of the personal staff and my own self, we say ‘Happy Birthday’ to a worthy leader, father of the nation and our own father.

    “Your Excellency was a star at the recently-concluded American-African Leaders Summit- recognition by your own peers and the leader of the international community.

    “We are proud of Your Excellency and grateful for the opportunity to serve Your Excellency with respect and abiding loyalty.”

    President Buhari waded across the room, reading one card after the other and thereafter ordered everyone back to office: “Back to Work,” he said, as he led the way to his office building.

    The president participated in meetings and other duties throughout the working hours in the office.

  • 63% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor – Buhari

    63% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari says about 63 per cent of people in Nigeria are multidimensionally poor.

    Buhari said this at the inauguration of the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey Report on Thursday in Abuja.

    The report was released organised by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    Represented by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, the president said multidimensional poverty was higher in the rural areas compared to the urban areas.

    “This multidimensional way of understanding poverty has been helpful in highlighting beyond monetary/income-based poverty measurements, the stark realities of poverty in each state and across the 109 Senatorial districts.

    According to the report, the incidence of monetary poverty is lower than the incidence of multidimensional poverty across most states where 40.1 per cent of people are poor.

    This is according to the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line.

    “However, 63 per cent are multidimensionally poor according to the 2022 MPI report.

    “Furthermore, the Report shows that multidimensional poverty is higher in the rural areas, where 72 per cent of people are poor, compared to 42 per cent of people in urban areas.

    He said that according to the report, two thirds that is 67.5 per cent of children aged between 0 to 17 are poor and 51 per cent of all poor people are children.

    Buhari restated his commitment to eradicating extreme poverty in Nigeria evident through the official establishment of the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) in 2016.

    “The Federal Executive Council also just approved an Executive Bill to be sent to the National Assembly on the legal framework for the National Social Investment Programme.

    ”Hence, we have been intentional with our plan to lift 100 million people out of poverty within 10 years, in line with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)and the Africa Agenda 2063.

    “We are happy that the MPI will serve as both a measurement and policy tool to monitor our progress at achieving these goals. ”

    The president urged governors, policymakers, academics, private sector, the media, and the public, to engage with the results of the survey and find ways of utilising the findings to support the development in their respective areas.

    “Together, we can work to eradicate extreme poverty in Nigeria, ensuring that we leave no one behind.”

    Prince Semiu Adeniran, the Statistician-General of the Federation, said the MPI was one of the largest surveys to be undertaken by the NBS with a sample size of 56,610 households across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    “Unlike the Global MPI which uses three dimensions (Health, Education and Living Standards), we added a fourth dimension, Work and Shocks in the 2022 MPI Survey.

    ”This fourth dimension as well as other added variables such as food security, water reliability, underemployment, security shocks and school lag, were all added to reflect the current realities and priorities in Nigeria.

    “The Survey also has a linked Child MPI. This Child MPI extends the Nigeria MPI to include appropriate indicators for children under five, by adding a fifth dimension of child survival and development.

    “This additional dimension contains eight vital aspects of early childhood development in physical and cognitive domains, including severe undernutrition, immunisation, intellectually stimulating activities, and preschool.

    “While it does not offer individual-level data, it uncovers additional children who according to the extra dimension should qualify as multidimensionally poor.

    Adeniran said the NBS computed and used both the monetary and multidimensional measures of poverty.

    He said the monetary measurement of poverty which usually records a lower rate, makes use of consumption expenditure as a means of determining the level of poverty.

    The MPI approach uses deprivations in basic amenities as a means of determining the level of poverty.

    “Both measures, however, are needed to present a more holistic picture of poverty, and better inform policies intended to address the needs and deprivations faced by poor populations.

    ”This report, therefore, provides an updated estimate on the population of people who are multidimensionally poor in addition to being in monetary poverty, ” he said.

    The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, in his remarks, said one key takeaway from the report was that poverty was a nationwide problem in Nigeria and its nature differed from state to state.

    “Therefore, intervention should be tailored to the deprivation profile of each state which will make our intervention and support more efficient, ” he said.

    Schmale said another priority area for the EU was education, and it was the union’s priority to support the government of Nigeria to ensure learning for all children, especially the poor.

    The survey was a collaborative effort between the NBS, the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

  • Buhari will leave legacies of credible elections – Gambari

    Buhari will leave legacies of credible elections – Gambari

    The Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, says President Muhammadu Buhari will be remembered for leaving a legacy of free and fair elections as well as massive investments in infrastructure across the country.

    A statement issued by Patience Tilley-Gyado, Assistant Director, Information, State House, Abuja, on Sunday, said Gambari stated this when members of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI) visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The chief of staff, who lauded the president for his respect for the constitutional term limit, said Buhari had laid a solid foundation for youth empowerment across the country, and will be remembered for his commitment to free and fair elections in this country.

    ”He has said it many times that Nigerians must be respected, their votes must count and he is committed to leaving by the time the administration comes to an end on May 29, 2023.”

    According to him, President Buhari has led by example on probity and accountability in governance, stressing that the nation will also remember him for that.

    ”When people talk about the legacies President Buhari is leaving behind, it is important to mention the infrastructure legacy – the 2nd Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Abuja-Kano expressway, the network of roads and railways across the country, the ports and the power sector.

    ”It is important to emphasize power, because without it and infrastructure the full stature of a nation cannot be realized.”

    On the president’s commitment to youth development, Gambari noted that ”the recently signed Startup Act 2022 has the youth as major beneficiary, as it recognizes the creativity of youths and seeks to empower them as productive entrepreneurs.”

    He described the projected contribution of the Act to the national economy as tremendous, citing successes recorded in Morocco, Tunisia and India.

    On Nigeria’s quest for the expansion of the 15-member Security Council, Gambari said Nigeria could not be ignored in international affairs, considering its contributions to international peacekeeping and economic potential.

    According to him, with Nigeria projected to be the third most populated nation in the world after India and China by 2050, the country deserves a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

    Gambari, who has served as Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Permanent Representative to the UN in New York and first Under Secretary-General and Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General on Africa (1999-2005), told the young people on excursion to the State House:

    ”I think you are fortunate to be born a Nigerian. By the year 2050, according to UN statistics, Nigeria will be the third most populous country in the world after India and China.

    ”A country that is the third most populated in the world must remain united, strong and prosperous and cannot be ignored in international affairs.

    ”If you are the third most populous country in the world, then the campaign for a permanent seat in the United National Security Council is one that we will find enormous support because you cannot ignore its people and potentials.”

    Gambari commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Founder of LMI, Femi Gbajabiamilla, for making an impact in the lives of young people through training and mentoring the next generation of legislators and ethical public sector leaders.

    He urged the LMI fellows to maintain close contacts with each other, remain focused and united in order to overcome the challenges facing the nation.

    ”People refer to you as leaders of tomorrow. I think it is a misnomer. You are already leaders of today because Nigeria depends on what you do and the part you have taken.

    ”You are Fellows-in-Training that are already leaders of today because you have been selected from over millions of other possibilities, shows that you are already making a mark.

    ”Do not be intimidated by titles like ‘Chief of Staff, because we all started from somewhere’,” Gambari told the LMI programme fellows, recounting his humble beginnings from a ‘village primary school in Ilorin, Kwara.

    While welcoming the Fellows-in-Training to State House, the Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, engaged them on the history, role and priorities of State House in providing top notch services to the President and Vice President towards the effective discharge of their responsibilities to Nigeria.

    The permanent secretary also explained the functions of the Principal Officers to the President and the Vice President.

    Umar expressed the willingness of the top management of State House to support the process of building a new generation of public sector leaders.

    Mr Dapo Oyewole, Director LMI, who represented the Speaker, commended the Chief of Staff and the Permanent Secretary for hosting the LMI Fellows-in-Training.

    ”By opening the doors of State House and allowing the Fellows-in-Training to come in on the last day of their intensive training, opens a massive door of possibilities and opportunities to them,” he said.

  • Again, Buhari urges ASUU to call off strike

    Again, Buhari urges ASUU to call off strike

    President Muhammadu Buhari has again appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off the ongoing strike.

    Buhari made the call on Friday in Maiduguri at the maiden Special Convocation Ceremony and conferment of Honourary Degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Maiduguri on Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi, Chairman, Oriental Energy Resources Ltd.

    The president was represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari.

    “Its more appropriate that we say something about this ASUU strike because we are celebrating Alhaji Indimi who is celebrated hugely for advancement of quality education not only in this country.

    “In this regard, I want to convey President Muhammadu Buhari call for ASUU to call off thier strike and return to classroom”.

    The president said negotiations had gone far, and for ASUU to continue the strike under such condition was counter productive.

    Accorcing to him, such prolong interruption of education is undermining the nation’s development of human capital.

    The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba said the maiden special convocation was to give honour to Indimi for his contribution to educational development at home and abroad.

    He urged the Federal Government, ASUU and other unions in the university to resolve the lingering strike to save the education sector.

    Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo lauded the peaceful atmosphere in Maiduguri, adding that, “what I saw is contrary to the picture being painted outside”.

    Obasanjo lauded the effort of Borno government and other stakeholders for the relative peace in the state and urged them to sustain the tempo.

    He congratulated Indimi for the honour bestowed on him, describing him as “a self made man as shown by his struggled to greatness in life”.

    For his part, Indimi expressed gratitude to God for the honour done to him and reiterated commitment to selfless service to humanity.

    Prof. Saliba James, who read the citation of the celebrant, said that Indimi had distinguished himself in promoting educational development within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

    “Indimi has been providing remarkable help to the vulnerable and downtrodden people in the society irrespective of where they come from.

    “He has supported many indigent students in Borno, his home state and even in far away states like Akwa Ibom.

    “It is on record that Alhaji (Dr.) Indimi has provided vital education infrastructure in International University of Africa
    (IUA), Sudan; in far away Lynn University, Florida, USA, and of course not forgetting to mention this multi-billion Naira magnificent edifice where we are right now seated and holding this Special Convocation today in this University.

    “I believe that his best is yet to come”, James said.

  • Four feared dead as Fashola, Buhari’s CoS, Ngige’s convoy crash in Delta

    Four feared dead as Fashola, Buhari’s CoS, Ngige’s convoy crash in Delta

    Four persons are feared dead as the convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; and his counterpart in Labour and Employment, Christ Ngige, crashed during the inspection of a bridge in Asaba, Delta State.

    It was gathered that the accident occurred on Tuesday evening. The driver was said to have lost control of the vehicle conveying security operatives and crashed into a deep pit.

    An eyewitness, John Okorie, said the incident happened when the vehicle conveying the victims was negotiating the bend leading to the construction site of the Second Niger Bridge at the Asaba.

    It was gathered that the police vehicle was speeding to meet up with the ministers’ vehicles when it veered off the road and crashed.

    A Delta Line driver that witnessed the accident explained that “the incident was very fatal. The policeman driver was speeding and while negotiating the bend because of the speed could not control the vehicle. They crashed into a deep pit. I was at the back of the convoy, driving slowly.

    “With the help of other people, we rescued four of them but they were badly injured. They were shouting as the vehicle fell on them.”

    However, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, DSP Bright Edafe, said he was yet to receive the accident report as of the time of filing this report.

    “I have not received the accident report, I will get back to you,” he stated

  • SIRA holds 2021 Annual Public lecture on Saturday

    SIRA holds 2021 Annual Public lecture on Saturday

    The Society for International Relations Awareness (SIRA), a leading International Relations Think Tank in Africa will hold its 2021 Annual Public Lecture on Saturday, 21 August 2021, in Abuja FCT.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the event, supported by the Fredrich Erbert Stiftung, (FES) Nigeria is titled “Continuity and Change in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy under President Muhammadu Buhari”.

    The 2021 edition of the SIRA’s public lecture will hold at the Tafawa Balewa Building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central Business District, Abuja, starting at 11 am.

    The Public Lecture will be delivered by H.E. Prof. Ibrahim A. Gambari, CFR, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to a statement by Oseloka Obaze, Chairperson, SIRA Public Affairs Committee, it is envisaged that the lecture would among other issues, interrogate how Nigeria’s challenging domestic environment is impacting on the conduct of her international relations.

    The Public Lecture, which is expected to attract members of the Diplomatic Corps in Nigeria, Members of Nigeria’s attentive public, international relations experts and students and the Media, will be chaired by H.E. Ambassador Joe Keshi, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Other invited and confirmed high-level participants are H.E. Dr. Geoffrey Onycama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is the Special Guest of Honour and H.E. Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Distinguished Guest of Honour, and the presenter of SIRA’s 2021 Book, titled, “Multilateralism in the Contemporary World.”

    Discussants at the event are: Rear Admiral Anthony Isa, former Commandant of the National Defence College, and Julie G. Sanda, Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, National Defence College, Abuja.

    TNG reports SIRA plans to live stream the public lecture across media platforms.

  • CCTV footage of how burglars entered Buhari’s CoS’s Aso Rock home released [WATCH]

    CCTV footage of how burglars entered Buhari’s CoS’s Aso Rock home released [WATCH]

    The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of how burglars entered the Aso Rock home of Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari has been released.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Professor Gambari’s home located in Aso Rock, where the Presidential Villa is also located was on Monday attacked by daredevil burglars.

    The home of the Administrative Officer of the State House, Abubakar Maikano was also targeted by the suspected armed robbers.

    Confirming the report in a couple of tweets Monday evening, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba, said there was indeed an unsuccessful attempt to burgle Gambari’s house, which is located within the Villa area, a short distance away from the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the attempted attack on Gambari’s residence happened 3 am on Monday.

    According to Shehu; “The Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has confirmed that there “was a foolish attempt” to burgle his residence at 3:00am this morning but it turned out to be unsuccessful.

    “Professor Gambari, whose house is on a street next to the Villa has assured that there is nothing to worry about from the incident”.

    Watch video of the incident below:

    https://twitter.com/tngreports/status/1392097866261438469?s=19

  • Lai Mohammed reveals outcome of meeting with South-East leaders

    Lai Mohammed reveals outcome of meeting with South-East leaders

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has described as “extremely fruitful“ the meeting which a presidential team had with leaders and stakeholders of the South-East.

    “The meeting of the presidential delegation with South-East leaders was very useful,” Mohammed said on Sunday in Enugu.

    The delegation, led by Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, met for more than eight hours in Enugu with selected South-East leaders.

    Mohammed said that it was quite instructive that all the groups which took part in the meeting believed in the unity and oneness of the country, pointing out that they clearly spelt out this in their presentations.

    “We listened clearly and carefully to all the positions and demands and we are going back to report directly to President Buhari,’’ the minister told NAN.

    He noted that the Federal Government had been spreading development and infrastructure to all parts of the country, simultaneously and equitably.

    “We want the South-East people to be confident that the Federal Government is spreading development and infrastructure to all parts of the country equitably and will never marginalise any zone in the ongoing development and infrastructure agenda.

    “This is what I want to assure Nigerians living in the South-East,’’ Mohammed noted.

    According to the minister, when the team gets back to Abuja it will see what can be done immediately concerning some of the positions and demands made by the South-East leaders.

    The presidential delegation met with South-East governors, statesmen, elders, religious and traditional leaders, as well as market women and youth leaders.

    Apart from the Mohammed and Gambari, other members of the presidential delegation were the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammad Adamu; the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama.

    The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr Uchenna Ogah, the Minister of State for Education, Dr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and the Minister of State for Environment Sharon Ikeazor.