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Tag: Next Level

  • Technology needed to fight ‘next level’ crime in Nigeria – Governor Ganduje

    Technology needed to fight ‘next level’ crime in Nigeria – Governor Ganduje

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State said on Wednesday that the introduction of technology in addressing the security challenges in the country was necessary if the fight is to be won.
    “Since crime has gone to the next level in Nigeria, strategy too has to go to the next level,” he said, while receiving the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, in Kano.
    The governor said it was in consideration of that reality that the state government installed CCTV in some strategic places in Kano, to secure the lives and property of people.
    “We have installed CCTV all over the metropolitan city, and now laying optic fibre to complement the satellite services.
    “We also have trackers, and at the major entrance of Kano metropolis, we built security dometories where we have a number of security agents manning the major entrances,” he said.
    The governor also said the government established Ruga project at Dansoshiya forest that share border with Katsina State.
    According to him, herdsmen have now settled there, as such it will be difficult for any bandit to make the forest his home.
    “Coming to one of the biggest forests in the country, Falgore forest, we established military training ground and it is now working,” he said.
    Earlier, IGP Baba had told the governor that he was in the state in connection with the passing out ceremony of Cadets of Nigeria Police Academy Wudil, Kano.
    He commended the state government for its effort in providing security agents with enabling environment to secure lives and property.
    He explained that it was when there was security that there would be peace, hence the need for the all stakeholders to join hands to secure the state
  • Next level is self destruction with Twitter – Dele Sobowale

    Next level is self destruction with Twitter – Dele Sobowale

    Dele Sobowale

    “The rate of change in our time is so swift; that an individual of ordinary length of life, will be called on to face novel situations which have no parallel in the past. The fixed person for the fixed duties; who in the old society, was such a God-send, will in the future be a public danger.” Alfred N Whitehead, 1861-1947.

    The rate of change before 1947, which Whitehead called “so swift” would today be regarded as standing still. He died two years after World War II ended. During that war, the earliest reports of combat would reach the developed countries three days after they took place. African countries got to know a month or so after. Even then the details were sketchy. The world’s latest conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza was brought to us as the bombs and rockets were flying– on television, on GSM sets, on the go and wherever we were.

    Whitehead in his wildest imagination could not have foreseen such eventuality. The rate of change now is simply bewildering. Nobody can keep pace with all the changes taking place globally everyday anymore. That invariably means that even the best prepared, well-educated and up-to-date leaders are frequently caught on the wrong foot with respect to certain events. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is as brilliant as anyone would expect of a head of government. He was in parliament for years before becoming PM. So, he could be presumed to be totally familiar with the majour issues confronting our world. COVID-19 almost clobbered him. He is still struggling with the consequences of BREXIT.

    “A man cannot gradually expand his mind; as he does his house.”

    Alexis De Tocqueville, 1805-1859.

    By contrast, Nigerians went back to 1985 to resurrect a leader who had demonstrated no interest in issues affecting our lives since he was forced out of office then. With his known educational qualification, on which nothing had been built, he could not rightly be expected to understand global economics and finance, environmental issues and the internet in all its ramifications. Majority of voters in 2015, and again in 2019, voted for a leader who could only be described as “the best General for another war” – not the ones we are now fighting.

    Some of those who got us into what can only be described as “Buhari trap” acted with good intentions. At least, I can vouch for late Prince Tony Momoh, from conversations with him when he was Chairman of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, that he believed strongly that Buhari was ready to govern with respect for the rule of law; that he would be a President of all Nigerians; and he would appoint Advisers and Ministers who will help to correct his deficiencies. Virtually all the members of the six legacy parties – Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP — laboured under the same collective delusion that they could create a modern leader of a democracy out of Buhari. We are all witnesses to the fact that their dream has turned to a national nightmare – which is now tending towards national self-destruction. Here is why.

    FOUR PILLARS OF BUHARI’S PERSONALITY

    “Personality is to a man what perfume is to a flower.”

    C M Schwab, 1862-1940, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ p 186.

    I first became uneasy about Buhari’s personality in 2010 when called upon to help develop the CPC Economic Blueprint for governance. Four pillars of the candidate’s character gave me serious concern. First, he is a Fulani feudalist. Second, he is a Muslim fundamentalist who might, under the right set of circumstances, join or lead a Jihad. Third, his only known career was the military. Fourth, by today’s standards among world leaders, he was badly-educated and had very little experience in democratic governance. Given my personal experience and readings while compiling the book of quotations, I asked his promoters questions in 2010-2011 and 2014-15 about all these and received the same answer. The party will curb his tendencies. At any rate he had agreed to be subjected to party supremacy. I was sceptical. It is almost impossible for an individual to change his behaviour after the age of 40. The man was 70. But, the fact that he led the CPC, the smallest party among the six gave room for optimism. In the end it was false hope.

    “Habit is stronger than reason.” Prof. Dorfmann.

    Obviously, it was easier for candidate Buhari to promise his political associates that he had embraced democracy and would respect the rule of law than for President Buhari to honour his pledge. His first forty appointments in 2015 revealed the Fulani feudalist, the pro-Muslim leader, the military leader and the slow thinker on account of education and lack of preparedness.

    Without realising it in 2015, the majority of Nigerian voters had elected a “fixed person” for duties which were no longer fixed, had become more complex in fact, and which required leaders with boundless creativity, who acquire new knowledge virtually daily and who read a lot. It was not Buhari’s fault that he was of limited quality and cannot cope with the rapid changes we now experience. The fault was ours. It was not Buhari’s fault that while all other elected leaders submitted their list of top level appointees within three or four days, it took five months before we got the list. The fault was ours. His better educated spokespersons even excused the unprecedented and odd delay by saying that “the President did not want to make a mistake”. Did we end up with better quality Ministers? Nobody in his right senses would say “Yes”.

    Four years of the empty “Change” slogan, during which we became the poverty capital of the world and added nearly 20 million more Nigerians to those living in serious deprivation should have been enough reason to send the man back to Daura. But, by then the All Progressives Congress, APC, had become a one-man party. Those who assured me that the party will curb Buhari’s tendencies were begging for appointments at Aso Rock – only to go and pledge their loyalty.

    FROM FULANI HERDSMEN TO TWITTER BAN – A SHORT STEP

    “I have not changed.” President Buhari, in TV interview, June 2021.

    Now, let us move fast forward; because time is not on our side. Nobody can bet a kobo that a majour conflict will not follow the current anarchy – which was predicted when APC adopted NEXT LEVEL as its campaign slogan in 2018-19. I warned Nigerians then that the “Next Level Is Pure Anarchy”. We are in it now. The Next Level might also bring self-destruction. Let me quickly explain.

    But, before that, permit me a small diversion. As soon as Buhari finished that interview, I called one of his most ardent supporters in 2015.

    “Did you hear that statement “I haven’t changed”?

    “Yes, Dele, you were right in 2015, the man can never change.”

    That is precisely the heart of the problem. The world and Nigeria have changed several times since 1985; and a coalition of desperate politicians had gone out to drag into leadership a person still firmly stuck in the last century. President Buhari had in the last six years demonstrated how we were headed for self-destruction in many ways. Read his June 12, 2021 address, packed full of absolute falsehoods (“we lifted 10 million Nigerians out of poverty” for instance); and read the latest World Bank report on poverty in Nigeria (7 million Nigerians went below the poverty line in 2020 alone). It is easy to see how far removed from reality our leader is. He now heads a government of people so blatantly wedded to spreading false news when it serves their purpose, you must wonder if the officials realise that they will leave office one day and confront the lies they are telling the public. But, that is only a diversion. The main point here is grazing routes and Buhari’s position on it; as well as what it reveals about the herdsmen menace to the rest of us non-Fulanis,

    “What I did was to ask him [Minister of Justice Malami] to go and dig the gazette of the First Republic when people were obeying laws. There were cattle routes and grazing areas….” President Buhari recently announced. With that pronouncement all the four pillars of Buhari’s profile were presented intact. His deficient grasp of history and logic was clear.

    That he was defending Fulani herdsmen’s right to unlimited access to lands in every part of Nigeria might not be so obvious to most people. But, his emphasis on Fulani tradition of animal husbandry made it very clear that as far as the Fulani President of Nigeria is concerned, his first and perhaps only priority is to force the rest of the 250+ ethnic groups to accept occupation of their ancestral lands as a condition for peace everywhere. It is now clear that the massive invasion of other parts of Nigeria, while the Federal Government turned a blind eye, was deliberate; and it was tacitly encouraged. The mass murder of people, starting with Agatu, now nationwide was also ignored because it served a hidden agenda – which has now been made known to us. But, we were told this before in 2018 when one of the President’s spokesmen announced on television that non-Fulanis had only two choices – Your land or your life.

    Southern Governors failed to respond to the threat at the time – despite my article warning that we were only postponing the battles to reclaim our land occupied by herdsmen. We can’t escape it; given a President placing all the powers of the office behind his kinsmen.

    If you want peace; prepare for war. That is the best advice to the South now.

    “Twitter ban: Nigeria loses N24.72bn in 10 days.” News Report.

    Counting the costs, direct and indirect, of measures about to be introduced is one of the cardinal principles of public finance and good governments. Any government, federal, state of local government, which fails to do its homework and calculate the economic costs of any policy has become a public danger.

    Incidentally, I totally share the FG’s concern about the social media and networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or what have you. I honestly think governments worldwide need to evolve a protocol to check the abuses now going on. I personally hardly subscribe to them.

    That said; it is absolutely anti-productive for the Nigerian government to act impulsively because Buhari had an issue with Twitter. I cannot have any issue with Twitter because I don’t use it. It was Buhari’s personal choice to use Twitter when it served his purpose. He should suffer the consequences of doing so all alone and not involve the rest of us.

    “A truth that’s told with bad intent/ Beats all the lies you can ever invent.”

    WB 1757-1827

    Meanwhile, as an Economist, my major concerns are the financial repercussions. At the rate we are going, this nonsense is going to cost us nearly N1 trillion in twelve months. For a poor nation, this is totally irresponsible. This is like cutting your own nose to spite somebody else’s face. Nigeria cannot afford to lose N1 trillion just to boost somebody’s ego. The after-thought issue raised about taxes is simply childish. Why was this not raised before now?

  • Governors Take Fools’ Ride To Next Level – Azu Ishiekwene

    Azu Ishiekwene

    If there was any doubt that governors are underworked and overpaid, this week proved it.

    This is not the old, familiar sitting governor vs godfather nasty fight. It’s a brawl mostly among serving governors of the same party and even the same region, who have no qualms airing their dirty laundry as entertainment.

    What started as a sitcom starring Benue Governor Samuel Ortom and his Bauchi counterpart Bala Mohammed in a bizarre farmer-herdsmen exchange, later zig-zagged, morphed, and swept across the country in an expanded theatre of the absurd. At least four other governors have now been engulfed in the flame.

    Ortom set the stage in a no-holds-barred video in which he called out President Muhammadu Buhari for being “soft” on herdsmen and bandits.

    He accused the leadership of the association of cattle herders, Myetti Allah, of enabling and arming criminal herdsmen with automatic weapons, while the Presidency turns a blind eye.

    As of Wednesday, the Ortom video had received 65,000 views, with a trail of vitriolic comments on both sides, long enough to strangle a herd of trespassing cattle.

    Mohammed responded that Ortom was incompetent and irresponsible. He said if the Benue governor had done his homework, he would have found that some of the Fulani herdsmen were also victims and only carried weapons to protect themselves from cattle rustlers.

    Short of accusing Ortom of intolerance, he asked the governor to find a place in his heart for persons from other parts of the country, the same way Benue people are welcome in Bauchi.

    As Mohammed was counting his teeth after his bizarre and twisted patronage of armed herdsmen, which a) ignored rampant cases of violent trespass and b) source of the automatic weapons and the legality of their use, the proverbial old woman in Ortom knew that Mohammed’s gesture was aimed at him.

    Ortom responded in kind. He accused Mohammed of incitement and warned that the Bauchi governor would be held responsible if any harm came to him. The two governors, both members of the same party and cousins in the Northern Governors’ Forum, descended into the gutter, with their aides cheering.

    While the exchanges between Mohammed and Ortom made headlines – which was precisely what they wanted – it’s also a reflection of how governors, used to endless supply of drama on demand, have perfected the art of milking public frustration to unleash our worst instincts.

    And they’re succeeding and diverting attention from their incompetence. Criminal herdsmen – Fulani or not – are a menace and must be rooted out not through the microphone, but by force and intelligence.

    But while we’re at it, governors must also do their jobs.

    Ortom talks a good game. Yet, anyone who wants to know what he has done six years after assuming office will have to be content with the renovation of the palace of the paramount traditional ruler, the Tor Tiv; and the wheelbarrows he distributed to empower the youth as evidence of performance.

    Beyond that, there’s not much else to show for an average N4billion which the state gets monthly from Abuja.

    He’s still owing salaries and even though teachers now work a three-day week and have to farm to make ends meet, life in Benue, for the most part, is still very hard. It’s a far cry from what Ortom promised when he first came to power on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

    Of course, Ortom can argue, justifiably, that two things have compounded his misery: the politics of George Akume, one of the state senators whom he has accused of diverting every good thing coming the state’s way from Abuja; and the sinister activities of Fulani herdsmen, which he insists have jeopardised farming. It appears that he would also have to add Mohammed to his list of distractions.

     

    But there’s no need. Mohammed has never claimed to be anything other than a permanent distraction in public service. He had a disastrous outing as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, but since politics rewards the indolent, he has managed to advance to the next level.

     

    Ortom and Mohammed are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee; as far as performance goes, it’s hard to choose one above the other whether in their current or previous lives.

    They’re not alone. The proxy war between Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, and Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu over the role of champagne in public administration tells yet another depressing story. How a discussion about Safe School Initiative on the floor of the Senate could descend into name-calling and bitter insults among proxies of the two governors is a reflection of the dangerous reach and egregious influence that governors have in our politics.

    But the story that takes the cake for travesty is the Sunday drama between Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, and former Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    Only a few months ago, both men were on the same side, united against a “common enemy”, Emeka Ihedioha, who was then governor. As soon as Uzodimma and Okorocha toppled Ihedioha and retrieved their daggers from his back, most observers knew that Ihedioha’s ouster was only the end of the beginning: Imo is not big enough to contain the ego and vanity of the two men.

    What played out on Sunday was largely a territorial war, even if it was executed in the name of saving the people from Okorocha’s matchless greed.

    For eight years in Okorocha’s Imo, the only oasis of prosperity was the Okorochas. The man helped himself to whatever he fancied. Whatever he could not take for himself, he took for his daughter. Whatever he could not take for his daughter, he took for his son-in-law. And whatever he could not take for his son-in-law, like the awe-inspiring world-class leisure park, called the Royal Palm Estate, he took brazenly for his wife. It was government of the family by the family for the family.

    Uzodimma knew of this sordid record, but politics being politics, he still went ahead to forge a marriage of convenience with Okorocha and Ifeanyi Ararume to topple Ihedioha. Now, all three conspirators, who are also members of the same party, can’t see eye-to-eye. Okorocha is on his way to exile from the APC, while Ararume remains in political limbo, fenced off from his senatorial ambition by Uzodimma’s deadly insecurity.

     

    That drama on Sunday about the sealing of Okorocha’s wife’s leafy playground, and the video of the former governor’s brief arrest by the police mean nothing beyond Uzodimma’s personal gratification. A government that is really serious about holding its predecessor to account, in the interest of the public, knows what to do and how.

     

    The next time you’ll hear about Okorocha’s wife or any of the priceless jewels the man appropriated for family and friends, is when he crosses Uzodimma’s line again. Any other sin would be forgiven, but the full price for this one is saved for another day.

    That’s the way our politicians play. That’s the way the governors roll. One day, they condemn bandits and banditry, and the next they say there’s absolutely nothing wrong inviting bandits to lunch or even paying them handsomely to keep us safe.

    We’re not fooled by this attempt to give delinquency a new name. We know these folks are members of different factions of the same party. And from the look of things, the Class of Governor Ben Ayade’s Olympotic Idiocy may well have a larger collection than was once thought.

     

    Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

     

     

  • Buhari seeks formidable team for 'next level' administration

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said that his administration requires a formidable team to deliver his Next Level mandates to Nigerians.
    The President, who will soon name his cabinet members, made the remark while receiving the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) led by its chairman, Omoniyi Akinsiju, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    The President also insisted his administration will do everything to end insecurity in the country.
    Stressing that he will make Nigeria a peaceful and prosperous nation, he promised to leave Nigeria better than he met it.
    He said: “Our government continues to grow in strength and will place a firm foundation for future generations.
    “While there will be those who are determined to drag us back to the bad old days, your visit is timely. It is a exactly a month ago that I was sworn in for a second term in office. The task ahead for the four years will require a formidable team.”
    He described the BMO as a key communication in the information management asset to his administration.
    According to him: “Your efforts have been commendable. I cannot thank you enough for your sacrifices during the first part of our journey.
    “We have just come off a rigorous campaigns during which I visit led all the 36 states of the federation campaigning, seeking the votes of Nigerians and telling them what we have done in the last four years.
    “I campaign on three simple premises not different from those of 2015. To tackle insecurity, promote economic diversification and to fight corruption. Fulfilling these three promises are fundamental to taking Nigeria to the next level.
    “I assure you that I am resolute on fulfilling these promises and will leave Nigeria a far better place than when we came.
    “It is not an easy job to sell the administration’s services, we are doing unpopular things and facing powerful individuals and taking on invested interest who are accustomed to the corrupt era. But we must do things the right way, if we promised change then we must deliver it.
    “This is regardless of whose interest is touched. There must be a manifest departure from the old order.
    “We are making significant progress and these are evident for all to see. Despite attempts by enemies to twist and bend facts, most Nigerians know the truth.
    “I acknowledged your steadfastness in telling the story of this administration’s successes. We will continue to intensify our efforts and ensure that our promises to Nigerians are kept and fulfilled.
    “One message that is dear to me which I urged you to propagate is that I am determined to end security challenges we are facing in the country and make Nigeria a peaceful and a prosperous country.
    “I employ you to continue the good work you have done with such commitment and the determination, ultimately your patriotism and love for this country can never be quantified or repaid.” he stated
    Akinsiju said: “The Organisation regularly commissions the writing and publishing of newspaper opinion articles and press statements to elucidate and amplify government programmes and clarify on socio-economic and political issues being undertaken by the administration.
    “Members have also appeared regularly on television and radio to promote and defend the administration while maintaining an active presence on the social media on daily basis, engaging on issues affecting the President and his administration.”
    He said the Buhari administration has achieved more since the return to democracy in the country with abundance of facts to prove.
    He said: ”Despite twisted narrative about clashes between farmers and pastoralists, your administration has shown the most commitment towards ending these decades-long conflicts; it has produced several strategies and plans aimed at providing a sustainable resolution.
    “We are conscious of the need to push your achievements beyond elitists boundary to the millions of silent and media underserved Nigerians at the base of the pyramid.
    “We are resolute that this must be done. We, therefore, respectfully, seek the strengthening of our organization, by a strategic reinforcement of our capacity – through the leadership of Messrs Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu and Laolu Akande.”
    Among the delegation was Tunde Thompson, who was imprisoned by the administration of the then Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, under the draconian Degree 4 of 1983.
    The journalist was the Guardian newspaper diplomatic correspondent when he was arrested by the defunct secret police, the National Security Organisation (NSO), alongside a former member of the House of Representatives, Nduka Irabor, who was then an assistant editor at the Guardian.
    Thompson was sentenced to a year in prison, for writing about the closure and retirement of some diplomatic staff.

  • Buhari taking Nigerians to ‘Next Level’ of insecurity, hunger – PDP

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus on Thursday lamented that the Buhari-led government is blindly taking Nigerians to the next level of hunger, insecurity, and hopelessness.

    Secondus made the remarks at the 86th National Executive Committee of the PDP which is currently ongoing at the party’s secretariat in Wadata Abuja.

    Secondus words: “This government in all sincerity cannot take this country to their so called next level? Maybe as witnessed in the last four years, they will take us to the next level of insecurity, hunger and hopelessness.

    “The situation is precarious and it entails that all hands must be on deck to retrieve our stolen mandate and save this country. To do that, we must return to God to ask that the will of Nigerian people freely expressed on February 23, 2019 prevails.

    The Speech in full:

    ADDRESS BY THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, PDP, PRINCE UCHE SECONDUS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 86TH NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (NEC) MEETING OF THE PARTY AT PDP NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WADATA PLAZA, ABUJA,20 JUNE, 2019

    NIGERIA IN DISTRESS

    Protocols

    Preamble

    It is with great pleasure and thanksgiving to God that I welcome you leaders of our great party to this very important 86th National Executive Committee, NEC meeting. I wish to also on behalf of the members of the National Working Committee ( NWC), sincerely congratulate all of you in the executive and Legislative arms for the successful swearing in and inauguration that took place on May 29, 2019 and June 11, 2019 respectively.

    I need to happily report to you that our party performance at the gubernatorial level remains outstanding despite the immoral roles of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to ensure that the will of Nigeria people are not adequately reflected.

    I need to also inform you that our flag bearers and their lawyers are currently in the various election tribunals across the country trying to recover their stolen mandates. We are hopeful that by the grace of God and with God fearing judges and Justices, the will of the people will eventually prevail.

    NASS/CORRUPTION

    Our party also put up some showing during the inauguration of the National Assembly but the ruling APC came up with their ‘green card’ ‘vote and snap’ fraud that introduced an unprecedented dimension to the growing corruption index of this administration. My worry is the consequences this brazen corruption would have in the legislative activities of the 9th Assembly.

    Meanwhile on your behalf the party congratulated the leadership of the 8th Assembly in particular the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara for the wonderful job they did especially in resisting the executive, maintaining the independence of the legislature and sustaining the doctrine of separation of power.

    While the executive is having their wish in the 9th Assembly, PDP as the main opposition party is very uncomfortable that the level of corruption that preceded the emergence of the leadership is capable of undermining the desired robust legislative activities.

    Having ‘purchased’ the leadership of the parliament, we expect the cabals to now fully take over and dictate the show at the legislature. We have even seen the first sign of what is to come when the APC group in the Senate killed a motion to debate the June 12 speech of the imperial President.

    Only a conquered parliament with credibility challenge can shy away from discussing a major address of a President just sworn into office, but that is a sign of what is to come when choosing legislative leadership is heavily monetized by a regime that claims to be fighting corruption. The bazar that took place during the election of National Assembly leaders clearly gives a picture of the anti-corruption status and how the APC has become home for looters. Just last week Nigerians witnessed how some corruption charges involving APC chieftains were withdrawn from the EFCC and handed over to the Attorney General for final dropping .

    Permit me at this juncture dear leaders to express the disappointment of our party on the embarrassing roles of some of our party members at the National Assembly during the election of their leaders. Party loyalty demands that you stick to your party at any given situation. When personal interest clash with party interest, personal should drown into that of the party, that’s what real democrats are expected to do.

    SECURITY

    In the area of security, as you all are very much aware, the threatening security situation in the country is not abating, rather it’s getting worse by the day. Infact the hopelessness in the security situation is underlined in the recent statement of the military hierarchy early this week trying to blame the soldiers for the continued Boko haram incursions. This is after they had severally declared the Boko haram sect to be technically defeated.

    The killing of soldiers and civilians by Boko Haram terrorists in the North East and the bandits in the North West has continued unabated. Few weeks ago angry youths in Katsina, the home state of the President had to dump the bodies of 18 persons killed by the bandits in government house for the government to bury and taste the pain of burying. How else can a people whose government cannot provide basic things like security demonstrate their anger and frustrations.

    The truth remains that under the watch of President Buhari and APC, Nigeria and her citizens have been degraded and people are no longer proud of their country. Also from the South-South region the health hazards arising from pollutions, black soot in Niger Delta area has continued to wreak havoc killing the people with no clear response from the government notwithstanding that this is region that produces the wealth of the country.

    For instance, the people of Polobubo Community in Warri North local Government of Delta state after endless wait for Nigeria government have taken their pathetic case internationally to the World Health Organization WHO, for attention.

    PRESIDENT’S JUNE 12 SPEECH

    The President’s June 12 speech failed woefully to advance any pragmatic solutions to the myriads of problems facing the country a lot of which came as a result of poor governance and insensitivity from the government.

    Making a bogus promise of raising 100million people out of poverty is yet many of the wishful thinking anchored on the propaganda agenda of the administration. Nigerians cannot be excited at a speech whose content by experience would never be implemented. Why should any Nigerian be thrilled at a speech of an imperial President who has established history of impunity violation of human rights and rule of law.

    When this government came in 2015 with all the goodwill of Nigerians, it was unable to keep any of its words more so now when he is clutching a stolen mandate gotten through a militarized electoral process of harassment and cowing of the electorates.

    Rather than taking full responsibility for the lapses the Commander in Chief and the APC instead have been indulging in blame game, the latest being the President’s fingering of faceless political and religious leaders as being behind the insecurity in the country without pinpointing anyone.

    Nigerians have watched in the feeling of sadness, how this government is only effective in baseless propaganda and in questionable anti-democratic strategies aimed at muzzling up dissecting views for a full blown dictatorship to emerge. Recent closure of the African Independent Television, AIT, and the enormous corruption that preceded the election of leaders of the National Assembly clearly opened a new page in the corruption rating of this administration. Nigerians have also watched in utter disgust how the nation’s heroes who made enormous sacrifice for the unity of this country like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. T. Y. Danjuma among others are being maligned and insulted by this administration.

    NATIONAL UNITY/IMAGE

    In the area of national cohesion, since the 30 months civil war the nation’s unity has never been so tested and stretched the way it has been in the last four years in the country. This government through their parochial approach to governance has divided rather than unite the country. This unfortunate development is a consequence of the narrow and nepotic approach of the President to governance which has done grave damage to the harmonious living of Nigerians.

    All the gains of the deep rooted electoral process introduced by the PDP administration that elevated the status of this country internationally have been destroyed by a regime that has no respect for the rule of law and other tenets of democracy. Rather what you get is a democratic government that is threatening her voters, tagging them evil for not voting for them.

    Beloved party leaders, I cannot finish this address without drawing your attention to the report just released last week by some international bodies that observed our last general elections. In particular, the European Union election observation group, the American based National Democratic Institute, NDI, and International Republican Institute, IRI. The reports of the three highly respected international bodies merely confirmed the feeling of Nigerians that the election that produced President Muhammadu Buhari was marred by rampant irregularities and therefore fell below credibility standard. The report also lampooned the roles of security agencies during the election and noted that the performance of security operatives during the election fell far below the acceptable international best practice.

    From these reports therefore it’s now obvious even globally that the will of Nigerian voters freely expressed on 23 February 2019 when they came out in their numbers and voted for our candidate Atiku Abubakar was massively rigged and thwarted. This clearly is the verdict of the World who are also watching us as we proceed at the election tribunal.

    CONCLUSION

    In conclusion dear leaders of our great party, the fact of all the points I have just enumerated above which is not hidden to all eyes who have been resident in Nigeria since 2015, this government in all sincerity cannot take this country to their so called next level? Maybe as witnessed in the last four years, they will take us to the next level of insecurity, hunger and hopelessness.

    The situation is precarious and it entails that all hands must be on deck to retrieve our stolen mandate and save this country. To do that, we must return to God to ask that the will of Nigerian people freely expressed on February 23, 2019 prevails.

    Thanks for listening and God bless.

    Prince Uche Secondus

    National Chairman, PDP

  • I’ll assemble a strong team of ministers for next level agenda – Buhari

    I’ll assemble a strong team of ministers for next level agenda – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration would assemble a strong team of Nigerians and allies to implement transformative plans and proposals to reposition Nigeria’s workforce for the modern technological age.

    President Buhari said this in his speech at the June 12, 2019 National Democracy Day in Abuja on Wednesday.

    He said that toward that end, his administration would ensure significant focus, provide resources, and where necessary, reform in tertiary and technical education.

    “Over the next four years, we are committed to assembling a strong team of Nigerians, and allies, to implement our transformative plans and proposals.

    “We will see significant focus, resource and, where necessary reform, in tertiary and technical education to reposition Nigeria’s workforce for the modern technological age.

    “We will accelerate investments in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare programs, interventions and infrastructure as well as in upgrading of our medical personnel to stem the flight of our best trained people,” he said.

    On food security, he said: “Our farmers have made great strides in local production of rice, maize, cassava, poultry, fertilizer, fisheries and sesame.

    “We remain resolute in supporting private sector in emphasizing backward integration and export expansion plans.

    “Felling of trees to provide energy for domestic use is taking its toll on our rain forests, our ecology and our climate.’’

    The President also said: “We are taking steps to harness cleaner and more sustainable sources of electricity. We export over 2 million tons of cooking gas, yet we consume less than half a million tons.

    “We will work to address this issue and support rural communities with challenges of safely switching from firewood to cooking gas.

    “Dedicated agro-industrial processing zones will be developed on a PPP basis to increase farming yields, agricultural productivity and industrial output.

    “Over 2,000 kilometers of ongoing Federal road and bridge projects across the country will be completed to reduce journey times and the cost of doing business.

    “As I mentioned earlier, critical feeder roads will be built to facilitate easier transportation for people and goods from rural areas to major roads.

    “We are at advanced stages of securing investments to modernize and expand our transmission and distribution infrastructure, ensuring that electricity is available and affordable for all Nigerians.

    “Several rail, seaport and airport projects are at various stages of completion. We will open the arteries of transportation nationwide.

    “It is a fact that Nigeria has more gas reserves than it has in oil. Over the last four years, we have become a net exporter of urea, which is made from natural gas. We invite investors to develop more natural gas-based petrochemical projects.’’

    President Buhari insisted that his government would not tolerate actions by any individual or groups of individuals seeking to attack our way of life or those who seek to corruptly enrich themselves at the expense of others.

    “We will crack down on those, who incite innocent people to violence and unrest and ensure that such actions are met with the strong arm of the law,” he added.

  • How Buhari will transform Nigeria under fresh ‘Next Level’ mandate – Osinbajo

    How Buhari will transform Nigeria under fresh ‘Next Level’ mandate – Osinbajo

    The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, says Nigeria is on the path of taking its place among the comity of nations with various developmental programmes ongoing in different sectors of the country.

    Osinbajo made the assertion at the 2017/2018 50th Convocation Lecture of the University of Lagos on Monday in Lagos.

    The theme of the lecture is, “Nigeria Rising: The Path to Prosperity’’.

    According to him, the most crucial pillar of any government’s economic policy should be the improvement of human resource.

    “I suspect the topic, Nigeria Rising; the Path to Prosperity is informed by the curiosity of what people expect from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the next four years, or what “Next Level’’ really means.

    “I therefore, think that I should begin by affirming that the Buhari administration believes that Nigeria’s prosperity means a decent existence for all, ending extreme poverty, increasing productivity and ending corruption.

    “We believe in wealth creation system that is capable of taking millions out of poverty, while providing for those who cannot work.

    “Wealth creation options must include access to cheap credit. It must include job schemes for the unemployed and cash transfers to the most poor and vulnerable.

    “The administration is also working toward providing good healthcare and education that makes our workforce relevant in the knowledge economy.

    “In plotting the path to prosperity, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, we took into account the weaknesses of the Nigerian economy and the illusions that distort our real understanding of our economy.

    “First is the focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth figures without the understanding of the underlying dynamics,’’ he said.

    According to him, a total of 60 per cent of the country’s GDP figures depends on oil. The oil sector itself contributed 10 to 12 per cent, while the rest is contributed by the non-oil sector.

    Osinbajo said that between 50 and 53 per cent depended on the oil sectors.

    This, he said meant that the country’s economy rested on a tripod, with two of the three legs depending on highly volatile oil prices and production.

    “But we have to understand that high oil revenue does not equal better jobs or better human development indices.

    “For example, the period of astronomical high oil revenues was when we had high level of poverty, infant mortality and unemployment.

    “Our economy was also being run on a consumption growth model, which is only advantageous if consumption is being met by domestic production of goods and services.

    “However, our consumption was being met by import, and thus, though the GDP was going up, more people were going into poverty,’’ he said.

    According to the professor of Law, the only affluent people in the current economic dispensation were the professionals whom, he said, were able to plug into the rent seeking opportunities brought by high oil prices.

    He noted that the average citizen could not because when the oil prices fall, not only does GDP fall, but the wealth of these affluent people is wiped out.

    Osinbajo said that the place of corruption was also crucial, adding that the same oil earnings that was supposed to fund education, infrastructure and healthcare ended up in private pockets.

    He added that the combination of theft of public revenues, the consequent failure to invest in infrastructures and the largely rent seeking business class was what accounted for Nigeria’s current economic situation.

    “It is important to underscore the fact that our major problem has always been grand corruption, the direct stealing of government resources.

    “And we must not allow it to happen again because this high level corruption affects the government’s ability to provide the most basic service to our people.

    “It is clear to us that we need to devise an economic plan which will prioritise the building of infrastructure, fix our healthcare system, ensure food security, provide quality education and create jobs for our teeming youths,’’ he added.

    He noted that the current administration was on course to providing decent existence for the masses, with a view in improving infrastructure, just like it was also focusing on innovation and technology.

    According to him, plans were on by the current administration to completely democratise access to innovation.

    He noted that it was important too that government would be able to put in place, an educational system that would take care of practically every one.

    Osinbajo added: “Our home grown feeding programme for instance, feeds about 9.2 million children in 26 states across the country with plans underway to cover the remaining 10 states soon.

    “Today, we have all sorts of figures where our out-of-school children is in the range of 10 million and all of that. We understand the problem and when we talk about these children, we are talking about the primary school children and this is run by the states and the local governments..

    “Now, there is no way that the Federal Government will on its own pick up this responsibility solely because each of these states run its own private school system.

    “If we look at the figure, you will find disparity between out-of-school children in Lagos and that of Bauchi or Anambra,’’ he said.

    According to him, what government was trying to do at the National Economic Council is to look at the challenges at the various states and proffer solutions.

    He added that what this meant was that government would have to compel all the states of the federation to provide more resources for education as well as healthcare.

    “So, we have to ensure that the states provide more resources and we will back the states as much as we can with resources for education and healthcare.

    “What I see is that in the next few years, we will resolve the issues we are having with our out-of-school children.

    “Another of my greatest worry is respect to quality of education which, of course, brings me to the question of teacher training and how to get the best from our teachers.

    “That is why we are currently looking at how to revamping teachers training. How do we ensure that our teachers are not just better trained in a particular way that is relevant, especially their digital requisite skills and those skills that are relevant for their immediate future,’’ he said.

    Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, noted that the jubilee convocation would be well celebrated as the institution had recorded giant strides in the area of entrepreneurship, research and innovation.

    Ogundipe assured Nigerians that before the end of the year, the institution would record an improved ranking.

    The Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr Wale Babalakin, re-emphasised the need for only academics to find themselves in the academia.

    “We must create an environment that will attract the best scholars and nothing less, if truly we intend to take this country to the next level,’’ he said.

    The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Arthur Mbanefo, said that the topic of the lecture was apt, adding that it could not have come at a better time.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that earlier in the day, the vice-president commissioned some key projects that had already been completed by the institution.

    Among the projects were an Olympic size Swimming Pool, an Academic Publishing Centre, comprising a virtual centre of e-learning and a library, a new extension of the university’s Medical Centre and the New Engineering Lecture Theatre.

  • Travelogue: Beyond The Next Level, By Olusola Sanni

    Travelogue: Beyond The Next Level, By Olusola Sanni

    By Olusola Sanni

    It was a long haul. A road travel from Abuja to Yola isn’t what you do everyday just for the fun of it. However, it was a pleasant opportunity to see, again, the beauty of Nigeria: her landscape and the people. It is a charming substitute for the lifeless azure of air travel. As a child, I had the privilege of being very familiar with the affectionate allure of the mangrove rainforest in the South of the country and the plain savannah of the North. It was a time when railways transportation was very effective in Nigeria and I cannot recall a fun time in my growing up years better than those days when our parents will prepare us (me and my siblings) for a train travel from Ibadan to Kano.

    It was in those days when Nigeria was a beautiful country – a time when terrorism was haram in our land and it was unimaginable to entertain fears of its manifestations as we do today.

    But things are pretty much different today; and so bad that telling your loved ones that you are traveling by road from Abuja to Yola is easily interpreted as a derring-do. And, expectedly, returning the country to those days of peace and unity (the very sacrament of the nation-state) has been a major campaign issue for political office seekers since the turn of the new millennium.

    A twelve hour journey on the highway in Nigeria is another meaning of what a stressful day could be. The roads are bad as usual and the security search points after almost every five kilometer of the travel makes it all the more daunting. But then, the sights and sound of the North is a warming reward. I dare say that no other part of this country is as beautiful as the Northern landscape. The tropical grassland of the savannah hemmed by the sprawling mountains that form an interlocking pattern from the Plateau of Nigeria’s North-central all along to the plain desert of the North-East of the country and into the Republic of Cameroon is one of the exotic beauty of the planet.

    But apart from the splendour of its natural beauty, life is pretty more hard for the Northerner – perhaps more so since the past three years. Farmers till the fields; menials sift the guinea corn from its trunk; motorists and hawkers ply their trades on the highway. It is a fact check that there hasn’t been any improvement in the lifestyle of the Nigerian, nay Northerner! If anything, it is a story of next level of hardship and frustration.

    For the ordinary people in the North, not much has changed and infrastructures are broken from public schools to roads network. All through the stretch of the trip from Jos to Bauchi; Gombe to Yola there is no single presence of road construction. In fact in some portion between Bauchi and Gombe, the roads are completely broken and we had to make a detour into the desert for a thoroughfare. But what is more disheartening and scary is that safe for in the state capitals, I could not see any school in virtually all the villages that we passed through. All that you see in the villages are the sorry images of child labour. I caught some boys in the average age of 8 years old making mortar bricks somewhere around Alheri – a sleepy village bordering Bauchi and Gombe states. Instead of children being in classrooms, boys and girls of elementary school age are seen either tilling the fields with their parents or running after moving vehicles of commuters as they make frantic efforts to survive in the risky business of highway hawking and many more others begging for alms.

    Agriculture is still very much agrarian. The major crop for cultivation is the guinea corn and I could suspect this time of the year is the harvesting season of the crop. While harvesting was taking place along all the farming fields we traveled through, the middle men are busy buying off produce from the fields and transporting the produce to a common collection center from where they will be transported to the bigger city centers of Kano, Enugu, Lagos and the likes. It was fascinating to have a brief encounter with the supply chain of the food that we consume in Nigeria. It was also a moment to reflect on how the food we dish in our luxury dining rooms are planted by farmers whose children do not go to school, but are busy in the fields to plant the crops that our educated children in the city will consume. If consciously or otherwise we deny the girl child education, the society will give birth to a generation of human beings who from day one of their birth will be national security risks!

    Like every other Nigerian, the Northerner is very hard working and wants the country to work for her citizens. It needs a political leadership with a plan to build the people and infrastructure; a leadership that is ready to pay a premium to educate young people knowing full well that not getting an education is actually more expensive.

    For sure, the North has a very rich history and that much was reflected in the colourful turbarning ceremony of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria as the 7th Waziri of the Adamawa Emirate Council.

    A rich history isn’t all what the North needs; it also needs a bright future. Fortunately, the two leading candidates for the presidential election next year are both from the North and it is therefore incumbent on leaders and opinion makers in the North to support its best – one that has a clear vision for the future, one who is able to also build the broken bridge of unity amongst other geo-political zones and primordial identities in Nigeria.

    Sanni, a media practitioner wrote from Abuja following a road trip from Abuja to Yola to witness the turbaning ceremony of Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of PDP as 7th Waziri of Adamawa.

     

     

  • Agbakoba attacks Buhari, says ‘Next Level’ document empty, complete disaster

    Agbakoba attacks Buhari, says ‘Next Level’ document empty, complete disaster

    Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign manual for his 2019 re-election bid.

    Speaking on yesterday on ARISE TV, the senior lawyer referred to the document as a “complete disaster”.

    President Buhari, who is vying for a second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday unveiled his campaign document tagged ”Next Level.”

    The document covers the Buhari administration achievements in over three years and what Nigerians should expect in another four years if the 75-year-old gets another mandate in 2019.

    But Agbakoba said the document had no “conceptual overhang,” saying: “It’s a handout. It’s not a political document. It has no conceptual overhang.

    “The one for Atiku is 80 percent. It’s got the right stuff in it. It needs more work, but it’s a working document. It’s something I can live with. I see nice things there. It’s a conceptual framework that creates micro-economic stability. It’s got all the nice indices in it.

    “On evaluation, it is clear that the economic blueprint unveiled by Atiku addresses national needs than Buhari’s economic plans.”

    Agbakoba also said that the ruling party had lost the goodwill it enjoyed during the 2015 elections.

    He said: “Forget about the APC. The talk on the street is against the APC. I’ve not heard a single person saying any good thing about the APC.”

  • Buhari’s next level: From where to where?, By Godwin Etakibuebu

    Buhari’s next level: From where to where?, By Godwin Etakibuebu

    On Sunday, November 18, 2018, at the presidential Villa, President Muhammadu Buhari; in a beautifully well-attended ceremony, kick-started his presidential campaign for the 2019 general election. He [the President], in launching the campaign, presented a 17-page document, tagged “Next Level”, to Nigerians.

    Next Level, according to the President, represents “some of the ideas and priorities that will shape how we will govern and what the administration is set out to achieve if elected for a second term”. This document; Next Level, can be termed also “My Contract with Nigerians” or better still, “My Article of Faith with Nigerians”

    It is important to take judicious note that President Buhari has not only presented to Nigerians an agreement [it was not a draft but complete agreement; signed and sealed] encompassing all he would do for us should he be re-elected to run the country for the next four years, starting from May 29, 2019, but most crucial of recognition is the fact that he personally read [an act akin to taking an oath] the agreement to the people of Nigeria. I will explain the importance of this action.

    In the past, during the prelude race/campaign to 2015 general elections, many promises of what the All Progressives Congress would do when voted into power were dished out to Nigerians. And these were all kinds of promises, from the imaginable to the unimaginable.

    Some of them [the promises] spoke of how electricity would be available 24/7 within 6 months of coming into governance, wiping away of insecurity and insurgence from the North/East in less than a year of ascending the throne. Muhammadu Buhari; as a presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress then, even added a dimension which mocked the understanding of international money market’s rules and regulation, when he promised “making the Nigerian Naira becoming equal to the American Dollar”.

    Oh, there were numerous promises from the APC and its flag bearer then but the one l cannot forget in hurry was made by Muhammadu Buhari himself when the Director General of his Campaign Organisation, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, led him to the popular Charlton House on Charlton Road, South East of London on February 27, 2015, to discuss his thought about Nigeria. One thing he did that day which was spectacular was presentation of a statement containing promises to Nigerians if he were to be voted in as the next President. He tagged that statement as “My Contract with Nigerians”.

    Unfortunately, both Muhammadu Buhari’s personal promises and that of the All Progressives Congress did not come into manifestation after being sworn-in as President. Nigerians, of course, would not remain quiet in face of failed promises. So, they started reminding both the President and his political party to bring promises to fruition.

    It was at the point of the great expectation in fulfillment of promises that Nigerians were told that they did not hear well enough. Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President would always castigate the people, telling them that Buhari promised them nothing. At a point, he [Garba Shehu] even told Nigerians that they [Nigerians] must not input onto Buhari “promises made by others” [probably referring to the APC].

    It is for this “interpretation” of Garba Shehu that Nigerians kept their peace, more so when they have been reminded that they had problem with their hearing systems. They have leant, within the past three and half years, to trod along, accepting whatever comes their ways as they cannot hold President Buhari vicariously liable for any failed promise because “he did not give any promise to them”.

    It is on the face of the analysis given above that we should welcome this presentation of a 17-page document to the people as a road map to the NEXT LEVEL by President Muhammadu Buhari. He did not only present it, he personally read it before the court of the people. It does not matter either the people that gathered in the Presidential Villa on Sunday represented only members of his Political Party or not.

    At least, he read something out from a book to the people about what should be expected of him and his APC in the next four years if Nigerians would be generous enough voting him back to power. A thousand Garba Shehu would not be able to say in the future [that is if the man and his political party are returned to continue in government] that “he did not give us any promise”. This is the good news of this exercise.

    Now, let us take a critical look at the NEXT LEVEL, where Buhari intends taking us to in the next four years. I did not read geography but for those who are dependent on compass or binocular for their journeys, the first thing they marked out is the “present level”. It is called the “point of takeoff” at other climes. The wisdom of marking the “present level point” before mapping out the “next level” is for “incubation of derailment” in the journey. It is for the essentials of this technicality that Pilots/Captains or Pilots/Master Mariners prepare and master their navigational chart at the operational rooms [or situation rooms] before embarking on flights or sails.

    A navigator can only take a successful operational ‘bearing’ with whatever navigational equipment he/she has from the “zero point of takeoff”. It is for this reason that many may be feeling reluctant to “embark on the journey to the next level” when they did not actually understand what the present level really is.

    Which level are we now, most Nigerians may want to ask. Is it the present level of insecurity? Is it the level where life has become meaningless? Is it the level where the culture of giving a befitting burial to our departed souls by slaughtering cows, as it were in the past, has exchanged for slaughtering human beings for any dead cow?

    Is it the level where nepotism; the worst type of corruption, has taken over in every fabrics of governance, mostly and exclusively at the federal level?

    Is it the level where it is most convenient by the Federal Government to send 40,000 policemen [with other security personnel] to supervise election in just one State; like the case in Osun, when it is most difficult for the same government to send 5,000 policemen to Benue State to stop herdsmen Jihadists from wiping out innocent Nigerians?

    Is it the level where corruption is being pursued with annihilative vigour in some areas [so we are led to believe] whereas in other areas, people like Abdulrasheed Maina; a man tagged by the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan as the worst Pension thief in Nigeria history, dismissed from the Civil Service by the government of the day, but brought back into the same Civil Service on promotion by Buhari-led Federal Government, without remorse?

    Is it the level where the Federal Government is feeding one man, tagged as criminal by the same government with 3.5 million Naira every month [Federal Government’s Lai Mohammed told us so]; translating into N116, 666.667 per day [feeding only one man] when the same government cannot pay N50, 000 minimum [monthly] wages to worker? Is it the level where the Federal Government budget millions of Naira for cutleries for the Presidential Villa annually as if there is an identifiable place those [cutleries] for the previous year are dumped?

    Mr President, there are many Nigerians out there that want to know the level you planted them for now before you should be talking of taking them to the next level. And you owe it a copious responsibility to show them the level you are with them for now, before you can exercise the presidential right of taking them to the next level.

    You came to power with solid promises on three fronts, namely:

    1. Security.

    2. Employment.

    3. Anti-Corruption.

    Have you delivered on these three fronts? Are there not more workers in the labour market under your administration than they were under the previous government? Can you sincerely say, Sir, with Allah’s conscience, that there is security in Nigeria today as it was before you were sworn-in as President on May 29, 2015? Are you sincerely fighting the war of corruption across all frontiers without exhibiting favouritism here and there, bearing in mind the case of Abdulrasheed Maina and scores of others around you?

    My conclusion is that if the Nigerian people are not too enthusiastic in wanting to know where President Muhammadu Buhari NEXT LEVEL would be, it is more the fault of the President who has failed woefully in convincing the masses that massively voted him into power in 2015, the sincerity of purpose in this journey. If they are not sure of today, they should not be blamed for lack of faith on the NEXT LEVEL.

    The people might be saying that once bitten twice shy.

    Godwin Etakibuebu; a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

    godwin@thenewsguru.ng

    Twitter: @godwin_buebu

    Mobile: +234-906-887-0014