Tag: Nigeria Decides

Nigeria Decides: Ohanaeze speaks on the emergence of Bola Tinubu as President-elect

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, has finally made comments on the 2023 presidential election in the country.

According to the body, Peter Obi’s presidency is not destined to happen in 2023.

Ohanaeze claimed that the success of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election a welcome development and pleasing to the heart.

This was disclosed via a statement on Sunday by the Director General, Implementation and Strategic Planning, of the group, Ambassador Tony Chiemelu Obizoba,.

The statement reads in part: “The group visualises the success of the APC flagbearer in the election contest as one that will lead to unifying Nigerians for a focused development plan that will follow. Tinubu is capable, and we have no doubt in his capacity to ensure the continuity of the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari, which are apparent, indisputably correct and will continue to stand as good legacies for generations of leaders to come.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo congratulates Peter Obi for creating an unprecedented commitment to changing the status quo with a hitherto unpopular political party, making great sweeps of votes across all regions but North West of Nigeria to finish an “unputdownable” third position.

This Igbo umbrella body will continue to remember Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, as one who, despite all odds, laboured hard to actualise a Nigerian President from the Igboland. However, God has not destined it to happen in 2023. It may happen later. God spares the life of everybody.

“It would not be out of place to also congratulate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ‘s presidential candidate, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar GCON, on his effort that ended in second position. Across the top three political parties were Igbo sons and daughters, who made the frantic effort because, as APC, PDP and LP, there are Igbo people who notably campaigned and voted.

“However, the bloc votes for Peter Obi in the South East should not be seen by anyone as anti-other Nigerians. It is more to show that the Igbo do not hate themselves, as some Nigerians say. In all, the general performances of the candidates across parties have given this group the confidence to agree that the emergence of one of them, who is Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is well deserved and we say congratulations!

“We also want to seize this opportunity to call on some elements in Lagos State, who see the vote for Labour Party’s Peter Obi as hate by Igbo people and who are, therefore, now threatening the lives of Igbo. It should not be so. From the investigations by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, the vote in Lagos was not solely an Igbo thing but a decisive voting system by a rainbow movement of people from across the tribes, who live and do business in Lagos State. It should be seen more as Nigerians across tribes exercising their franchise to freely vote to choose their leaders in a democracy as enshrined and guaranteed in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Those who are circulating videos, threatening and drumming the sounds of war over the coming governorship and House of Assembly elections of March 11, 2023, in Lagos State because of Igbo people, should stop it in the national interest of Nigeria and the collective good of the masses of the Nigerian people.

“We would not end this press statement without having to extol the grand performance of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, the General Lucky Irabor-led Nigerian Armed Forces, the IGP Usman Alkali Baba-led Nigeria Police Force and the Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi-led Department of State Service (DSS) as well as the leadership of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for their neutrality that brought whatever challenges emanating from the recent voting exercise to the barest minimum.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, therefore, calls on the President, the security forces and security/intelligence agencies to improve on the performances of the last election to make the governorship and national assembly elections of March 11 more commendable.”

March 6, 2023
Nigeria Decides: FFK reacts to Bola Tinubu’s emergence as President-Elect

Former Aviation Minister, and a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Femi Fani-Kayode, has congratulated the winner of the 2023 Presidential Election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu popularly known as Jagaban.

FFK as he is fondly called described Tinubu’s victory as historic and well-deserved.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, had announced Tinubu as the winner of last Saturday’s presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday.

Mahmood said, Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rivals and candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP who polled 6,984, 520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

Reacting, Fani-Kayode, in a tweet via his Twitter handle, wrote: “Congrats to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) for a resounding, historic & well-deserved victory after a hard-fought fight.

“We give the Lord praise and thanksgiving for what He has done. He is mighty in battle and faithful to His own. To Him alone be the glory.”

March 1, 2023
2023 elections: Abuja clergyman predicts peaceful polls

Rev. Adedoyin Adeyinka, Senior Pastor of the House of Truth Church, Abuja on Sunday admonished Nigerians to pray for the peace of the nation.

Adeyinka said the best thing to do for the country is to pray, while taking his reading from the Book of Jeremiah 29:7 which says “seek the peace of the city”.

He said a lot of believers put their hope on what men will do for them instead of what God will do, adding that God is the author and finisher of all things.

According to Adeyinka, the 2023 general elections will go well because God is involved in the peace of Nigeria.

The 2023 general elections will commence in Nigeria on Feb. 25 to elect the President, Vice President, and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

February 19, 2023
Whoever wins as president, Nigeria is set to be better – By Evaristus Bassey

By Evaristus Bassey

I may have my political preferences but I am not disillusioned to think that things cannot go sideways, as we are in Nigeria where everything is possible especially that which is impossible. Democracy is a game of numbers, and it is possible that despite all the facts that have emerged concerning the candidates of the PDP and the APC, Nigerians would take solace in their different religious and regional perspectives.

Take the ordinary northern Muslim for instance. He has been brought up to look up to his leaders and to follow their bidding; sometimes he is told he could vote for “those who stand up to pee,” and sometimes he is asked not to.

And now we have two core northern Muslims as principal contenders, in the persons of their Excellencies Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso and a “half” Muslim in the person of Tinubu. It will take a lot of enlightenment, and short of a miracle for them to abandon their own to vote an “infidel.” I have also discovered that it is not just the north that listens to its political leaders.

Down south, money can talk through the leaders and people listen. The winner-takes-it-all modus operandi of our democracy makes it such that people fight tooth and nail for their political party to win elections so they could pick even the crumbs that fall from the table.

Many people depend on political appointments and micro contracts that they can access because they are party members; under such circumstances issues such as the national interest become keep-in-view items that are put permanently aside.

I have therefore decided that while I will promote and vote for my candidate, I will do my best to be unbothered with the outcome, because I know that no matter who wins among the four major candidates, Nigeria will not remain as worse off than it has already been under Buhari as president and Ben Ayade as Cross River State governor. I will now try to give a positive evaluation of each candidate.

If Peter Obi wins, it will manifest that the youths have truly woken up and have taken back their country. Such a singular act will increase faith in God as the unseen hand in many battles and in our democracy. Many people will believe that votes really matter, public officials will be driven to be more proactive and accountable, as they realize that they could be voted out if they perform below expectation.

Many youths will become deeply patriotic and willing to sacrifice for the common good. Fiscal responsibility will be entrenched at the federal level, as Peter Obi already has a culture of prudent management of resources. Nigeria as a nation will be admired by the international community and our respect in the African region will increase exponentially.

Money politics will have proven to be a dead horse. The north will experience greater development and yet will become more vocal and critical because they would have freed up their civic space against a non- Muslim head of state.

If Tinubu wins, he will appoint competent persons from all regions and religious backgrounds to man sensitive portfolios. Even if we become the butt of jokes among other African nations, Nigeria’s economy will improve and the polarization that currently exists within the federation, with the fulanization of political, security and economic offices, will have a balance.

Social media will be quite active with the expectedly numerous gaffes Tinubu will make as president, although more attempts at squeezing the civic space will be made but this will be balanced by a sense of purpose in government, even if Area Boyism will be on the rise. Bandits will be dealt with decisively and security improve generally in Nigeria.

If Atiku Abubakar wins, even though a lot of state resources will be ploughed into securing his very large family and rewarding friends, he will bring good hands into governance as well. He will perhaps be the best person to embark on restructuring, since a southern candidate might meet with stiff resistance, as the national assembly, which is a very important tool in this scheme, is skewed in favour of the north.

It is left to be seen whether the north will willingly let go of the stranglehold it has on the nation. A case in point is the completely watered-down Petroleum Industry Act. Even if so, the best bet would probably be to do so when one of their own is at the helm of affairs, as any other person attempting restructuring would be termed anti-north.

But a Nigerian president wields enormous influence, and with the right buttons pressed, any of the presidents can do something about restructuring even if it begins as something incremental. One of my parishioners claimed to have had a vision that Atiku won, and that insecurity ended. I believe too that no incoming president will allow the insecurity to fester the way it has under President Buhari.

The forthcoming elections indeed are the most unpredictable since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. With Obasanjo as president we always knew who would win, as the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) was glaringly dependent on the whims of the powers that be.

Rigging was commonplace, although you rigged where your party had a stronghold, and since PDP was strong in most parts of the country, the rigging was all over the place.

The attempt by General Buhari to use his newly registered Congress for Peoples Change (CPC) to secure the presidency was very daring but quite unsuccessful because it was limited to the northern part of the country.

Yet this obvious failure didn’t obfuscate the entitlement mindset that led to the killing of many National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in cold blood. PDP was the only truly national party at the time and so it was going to win anyway.

Leading to 2015, it had to take majorly the alliance of AC, CPC, and a breakaway part of PDP to create a formidable platform to dislodge the PDP from power. However, the introduction of technology into the electoral system may have done more to create a level playing field. Thus INEC began to have some credibility.

As it stands now in 2023, among the strong four, only NNPP does not seem to have the national spread needed to win the presidential elections.

The Electoral Act 2022, which has more reliance on technology seems to have taken the wind out of the sails of the ruling party. Unlike 2019 when Buhari used his incumbency principally to win, if the Electoral Act 2022 is implemented without manipulations, any of the other candidates apart from Kwankwaso can win.

For Peter Obi, the army of discontented youths spread all over the nation and who form part of the suffering masses, form the main structures. The oppressed Christian populations of the north who sometimes constitute more than 50% of the population in some northern states, will also form the bulwark along with the enlightened populations in North-Central, South-South, South-West and South-East, irrespective of party affiliation. Most PDP members in the south who genuinely feel the president should come from the south this time, will also vote for Peter Obi.

Tinubu’s hope is based on an alliance between the Southwest and the Northwest as well as the Northeast, having been a buffer of strength for the North through Buhari. APC since 2015 has done its best to be a national party and they have all the institutions of coercion under their control, as well as the powerful northern APC governors who will want to be relevant politically beyond 2023, since a win for any other party will leave them at the sidelines. But recent developments seem to suggest that APC’s opponents are APC.

On the other hand, Atiku has majority of the Muslim population in the north behind him, even if they are members of the APC. He also has PDP members all over the country who feel they have a stake in the party. The turn out at his rally on 13th of February in Calabar was amazing, and if all those people I saw would vote for him, then even Obi will have a hard time in Cross River State, except that, speaking with some of them, they told me they were there for the gubernatorial candidate. Atiku also has the entire Fulani establishment behind him, a powerful cabal that may care less for national interest than its ethnic hegemony.

So between Peter Obi, Bola Tinubi and Atiku Abubakar, anyone can win, and Nigeria will be on an upward trajectory, even though a Peter Obi win would make that progress geometric, because the entire universe will conspire to lift Nigeria to the heights.

The writer is a Catholic Priest

February 18, 2023
Election: Only those endorsed by God will win – Cleric

The Senior Pastor of Help from Above Healing and Deliverance Ministry Worldwide, Godwin Ude, says only candidates endorsed by God will win in the forthcoming general elections.

Ude, who made this known on Saturday while speaking in Abuja, said that none of the candidates aspiring for any of the elective offices at various levels of government should boast of his or her ability to contest and win the elections without God’s grace.

According to him, irrespective of power, position and money, leadership only comes from God who knows the hearts of men.

“The only people that will succeed in their political pursuits are those that God has given grace to and are backed by Him.

“Irrespective of the money you have, irrespective of the name you have, you must lean on God and let him drive your ambition.

“If God is not there in your political vehicle, the vehicle will crash, ” he said.

According to the cleric, only God knows who is going to be the President, Governor, Senator and others.

“But it is well with all the citizenry and anyone that God brought is God’s candidate and automatically our candidate, ” he said.

Ude cautioned other spiritual and religious leaders, pastors and imams not to endorse any candidate based on sentiments and beliefs, but to pray to God for the right leaders to emerge at all levels of government.

He said that man could not choose a leader for himself based on human criterion except with the grace of God.

The pastor said that there were some seats that required experienced individuals to occupy and Gods grace was needed for such positions.

“You don’t choose who is going to govern you God chooses the person; the right prayer for us to pray is that God should give us a leader who can lead us.

A person “who can wipe away our tears and God knows and he looks at the heart and knows the right leader.

“So, as a child of God and as a pastor, the prayer we are praying everyday in our Church is that God should give us a leader, ” he said.

He said that no candidate should boast of his or her own ability to effect change in Nigeria otherwise such a person would derail in due course.

He urged Nigerians to prepare to vote in Feb. 25 polls based on the conviction of the Holy Spirit rather than on candidates status or on the strenght of the political party.

He said that God was not behind those who would buy votes, sell votes or shed blood to win elections.

“Let the Holy spirit lead you and that is the truth of the matter, those that are waiting to collect money so they can go and vote, they have killed their tomorrow.

“God is not behind those that would buy votes or shed blood, He is not in such race of those who would wait for money to vote.

“As wise citizens, if you really want God to fight for you, don’t collect money, vote according to your conscience, vote rightly and clear your conscience.

“Don’t let N10,000 or N20,000 buy you over from the presence of God, when God leads you, He will also direct you on who to vote for ” he said.

Ude said no one should assume the position of God by endorsing any candidate.

“God already has His own candidate who would emerge as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

February 18, 2023
Nigerians Decide 1 – By Francis Ewherido

The title is just what it is; come next Saturday, the people of Nigeria will go to the polls to vote for their next president, vice president, senators and members of the House of Representatives. My political affiliations notwithstanding, this is marriage and family column. I am not here to campaign for anybody; I can do that in other channels. I am here to talk to Nigerian voters. As I wrote some time ago, the stakes are high so there should be no sitting on the fence. I am not an undecided voter. I have those I want to vote for, so should you. I have clear expectations from candidates I want to vote for next week and you too should have. All Nigerians of voting age have a role to play in deciding who should be our next president.

We all know what our major problems are: insecurity, unemployment, endemic and widespread corruption, unsatisfactory management of the economy, injustice, inequality, cronyism, epileptic electricity, nepotism, inadequate infrastructure, underutilisation of our enormous human and material resources amongst many others. These problems did not start today; they have been there prior to 1999 when the fourth republic started, but they must be solved because they are solvable and we do not need rocket science to solve them. Which of the presidential candidates has the courage, physical and mental capacity to solve our problems? That should be our candidate.

Right now, there are stories that gold, lithium and other precious minerals are being mined by state governments and private individuals illegally. If it is true, does your preferred candidate have the courage to stop this nonsense and injustice? As a Niger Deltan, it is very annoying that the proceeds from oil are being shared nationally, but proceeds from other mineral resources are localised. It is totally unacceptable.

Can your choice of presidential candidate lead by example? In the Niger Delta, if we want to know whether or not a fish is getting bad, we go to the head to check the gills, not the tail. Our new president must lead by example.

There is no perfect politician, just as there is no anus without sh*t. But the countries making strides are run by fallible human beings, not angels. We need a visionary and transformational president with the over 200m Nigerians his focal point. It is possible. We also need institutions that can keep all citizens, including our president, in check.

We know all the presidential candidates have personal ambition to emerge president of Nigeria. That is their PERSONAL ambition to which they are entitled. But achieving their PERSONAL ambition should not be the priority of the electorate. Our priority is to vote for the man best suited to solve our problems. If that coincides with the personal ambition of your candidate and so be it, but our priority is to vote right person for the top job. Luckily, virtually all the top candidates have held top government positions, so we have their track records and conduct in public office to guide us in our choice. Use that knowledge as a guide.

What about his vice presidential candidate? We lost a sitting president before in this country and his vice president was promptly sworn in as president. That gives you an idea of the importance of the vice presidential candidates. Is the vice presidential candidate of your choice capable of being president, running a complex and diversified country like ours? In my opinion, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo did a great job as acting president when President Muhammadu Buhari was indisposed. Can the vice president of the presidential candidate of your choice run the country smoothly in the absence of his principal?

The Vice president presides over the important councils and handles important assignments delegated to him by his principal. Does he have the needed knowledge and capacity to handle these assignments? Does he have the patriotism to work for national interest and common good rather than self-aggrandisement? We need a sound and vibrant vice president. Osinbajo might have his shortcomings, but he is a delight to watch at the national and international stage. He is prodigiously intelligent and knowledgeable, witty and self-assured. We should not settle for less.

Now to the national assembly elections. I had the privilege of being close to my late brother, Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido. He was a top notch senator, so I have an idea of what a good senator should look like. The job of law making requires a lot of intellectual rigour and widespread knowledge, so the candidate you want to elect to be your senator should have wide spread knowledge and be well educated (not just paper qualifications from compromised institutions). His command of spoken English should be good enough to grab attention. The business of the senate is conducted in English, not Pidgin English or any local language, please note. If you elect the wrong candidate, he will spend four years in the senate like a ship at night: unnoticed. A mute senator does his constituents no good, in particular, and Nigeria, in general.

Beyond law making, a senator should be able to attract projects to his senatorial district. That is an added responsibility our peculiar democracy places on senators. Do not come back and give your constituents excuses. Every senatorial district should take time to choose its senator to represent them from 2023 to 2027. We need to have a vibrant senate that will make good laws to right some of the wrongs currently bedevilling Nigeria, perform oversight functions over the executive properly and help to entrench the principle of checks and balances. The new senate also needs to entrench principles of rule of law and separation of powers. A rubber stamp senate does our democracy no good. Being a senator is a great privilege in Nigeria, but it comes with concomitant responsibilities.

The other election next Saturday is to elect members to represent various constituencies in the green chambers. The members of the House of Representative perform the same basic functions as the senators, so what I said above apples to them, but they are closer to the people, so the electorate must be careful in choosing who they elect or re-elect. Let me advise the electorate to be more concerned with common interest than personal interest. I see some people who are against some candidates and the main reason is stomach infrastructure. Stomach infrastructure has become part of our politics. You ignore it at your own peril. But let me appeal to the electorate that they should focus more on common interest than stomach infrastructure. Stomach infrastructure is temporary; common good is more enduring.

In conclusion, continue to campaign and canvass for votes for your candidates. That is very legit, but do not try to subvert the will of the majority. If you do, anything you see is your business. That is if you are alive to see it. The eyes of Nigerians are red. Only a transparent, free and fair election can lead to peace. Any form of subversion can set the country ablaze. Do not join enemies of Nigeria to destroy this great nation. INEC, please give us a free and fair election. Let the will of majority of Nigerians prevail.

February 18, 2023
Nigeria Decides: Delta receives materials for Feb. 25 election

The Delta office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the Feb. 25, presidential and National Assembly election.

Rev.Monday Udoh-Tom, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) said this when he addressed representatives of political parties at the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Asaba on Thursday.

”We are here to inspect the sensitive and non-sensitive materials from our headquarters in Abuja for the presidential and National Assembly elections on Feb. 25.

”We are also here to ascertain if the materials on ground matches with what we have in our check list as well as allow representatives of the various political parties to inspect the materials and they have done that.

”We already have the materials for the presidential and the senatorial election, but we observed that the ones for House or Representative are not available. We will notify our headquarters about that,” he said.

The REC urged political parties to sensitise the electorate on the need to come out and cast their vote during the elections.

Udoh-Tom also urged them to ensure that they work toward violence free election.

Also, the State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Emeka Bidokwu confirmed that the materials were intact.

”All the political parties are represented here and we have seen the materials.

”We have the materials for the presidential and that of the senatorial election, but that of house of representative are not available for now. But INEC has promised us that before the end of the week, they will be available,” he said.

In his remarks, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ari Ali assured of adequate security before, during and after the elections.

The Commissioner represented by ASP Sa’ad Ibrahim said the police was ready for the elections.

”We assure the general public that the police is very much ready for a peaceful and credible election come Feb. 25 and March 11.”

February 17, 2023
Looking back, facing forward as Nigeria decides – By Azu Ishiekwene

It’s hard to imagine that it’s nearly eight years since. This time in 2015, I was over the moon with the prospects of a general election that was certain to end the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, which had lost its way.

Folks were so excited at the prospects of change that in the South-West, a Yoruba version of “February” the month of the general election, was improvised: “Fe-Buhari”; meaning, “Love Buhari”, thus investing him with the aura of Cupid, the Greek god of erotic love. That’s how over the moon we were. Not without a reason.

Boko Haram’s violent extremism was at its worst. Life on the streets, schools, and home was insecure. Corruption was rife and audacious. Jonathan claimed he was doing his best, but wherever you went, it felt different.

His government had obviously been captured by forces beyond him. A sad fact that he publicly admitted more than once, but which did not acquit him. A president is elected to solve problems, not make excuses.

When the wind finally got out of his sails, Jonathan invoked the consolation of failing leaders: the benevolence of history. History, he said, would remember him kindly.

On the eve of another presidential election nearly eight years after those forlorn words, it does seem history may, after all, be kind to Jonathan the man famously called Nigeria’s most “incompetent and clueless” president. In a twist of fate, his successor, Muhammadu Buhari, thought to be the most capable to nail Jonathan’s political coffin, may well be the one who writes him into sainthood.

As Nigerians go to the ballot on Saturday, February 25 to elect a new president, not a few voters think that the worst mistake would be to let Buhari happen again.

Not that he is on the ballot. He has exhausted his eight-year constitutionally permitted tenure of two terms. But as his broken promises on security, poverty alleviation and corruption stalk voters to the 176,606 polling centres across the country, the last thing they want is to cast a vote that repeats the error of 2015.

Buhari solved a few old problems, of course. Boko Haram is in significant retreat. More supplies and equipment are reaching soldiers at the frontlines. Also, greater attempts have been made to provide infrastructure, stimulate agriculture and restructure the super-opaque oil and gas industry.

But new problems have replaced old ones. The most debilitating being the calamitous absence of Buhari. Never a man to interfere with his subordinates once he has appointed them, in his last days in office, things have gotten worse. He is present only in name, going from delegation of authority to spectatorship and from spectatorship to surrender. Abdication next? The cat is away and the mice party was never so boisterous.

If voters remember Jonathan as the president who always seemed too confused to get a grip on his government and too besieged to even recognise that he was in charge, they will remember Buhari as the president who loved his office so passionately, he forgot why he was voted in the first place.

In Buhari’s eight years in office, nothing summarises his unfortunate isolation and aloofness from the common misery like the current crisis over the redesign of three of the country’s eight bank notes. Not many argue with the merit of the redesign or the powers of the Central Bank to carry it out, when necessary.

There is reasonable suspicion that massive cash may be fueling corruption, and especially kidnapping and banditry – the new Boko Haram franchise. Although there have been cases of kidnappers and robbers dragging their victims to ATMs to extort cash, withdrawal limits and fear of exposure reduce the amounts of money that can be extorted.

Apart from that, the Central Bank can hardly ensure stable monetary policy if the country is floating on cash.

Also, politicians who may have stockpiled for distribution during the forthcoming elections are bound to find the current redesign and restrictions quite uncomfortable.

Yet, like every currency, this whole redesign business has two sides. Whatever the benefits in ease, convenience or philosophy, it has so far been implemented with a callousness that makes the ransoms demanded by kidnappers and bandits look like freewill offering. State governors called the supply crisis “currency confiscation.” It’s a grab, actually; a vengeful grab that makes India’s catastrophic example seven years ago, look like a child’s play.

According to Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), mopped up N2 trillion in old notes, but printed new notes of only N300 billion; that is, N1000 new notes for every N7000 old ones.

And yet in a country with a commercial bank ratio of one branch to 100,000 adults according to IMF 2021 data, the CBN expects that within an immutable period of three months, Nigerians should adjust to the incredible depletion in bank notes and make up the rest from their digital wallets, or perhaps use tissue paper?

As of this week, a commercial bank with over 120 branches and 150 ATMs nationwide, for example, was allocated about N30 million new currency for the day. At the N20,000 withdrawal limit, that supply may not serve more than 10 customers or maybe slightly more per branch, for that day. That is the recipe for the chaos that has made bank tellers targets of violent attacks by angry customers.

A statement by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Saturday after futile attempts to get Buhari to weigh in or even comply with the interim order of the Supreme Court, said the CBN’s data does not support the premise of the redesign, never mind the mad haste to implement it.

“According to the CBN,” the statement said, “the currency in circulation increased from N1.4 trillion in 2015 to N3.23 trillion in October 2022. The bank appears not to have taken into consideration the increase in the country’s nominal GDP over this period, the doubling of consumer prices, rising population, and the impact of the humongous Ways and Means advances to the federal government over this period.”

And over this period, the governors might have added, the same central banker, Godwin Emefiele, has also been governor of the Central Bank.

To be fair, when the governor announced the policy last October, he said the bank would not release more than 20 percent of the bank notes retrieved. But he didn’t say the bank will not print even notes not affected by the redesign to meet the shortfall.

It’s not Emefiele’s fault that his okra tree has grown taller than the farmer. It’s Buhari’s style to let his appointees run amok. Sometimes, it produces geniuses like Works Minister, Babatunde Fashola or mavericks like Communications and Digital Economy Minister, Isa Pantami. But more often than not, it produces monsters that threaten the system.

Was that not why voters nailed Jonathan lock, stock and barrel, to the electoral cross eight years ago after only one term? Why should voters who rescued Buhari from despair after four failed attempts at the presidency and, after accepting his promise of repentance and change, gave him two terms of eight years, be rewarded with preventable hardship?

Sure, Nigeria needs to stamp out distributive politics; but it’s not Buhari’s job or that of the Central Bank to fight vote-buying. The police, the election management body, the parties and other law enforcement agencies are mandated to do that.

It’s regrettable that a president elected to make life at least bearable is rewarding the country with rations of basic things even at peace time: petrol, electricity – and even their own savings – while citizens line up outside the presidential villa watching TV footages of pointless meetings. If all of this is about our long-term salvation, at this rate, we’ll all be dead in the long run?

If Buhari doesn’t care because unlike Jonathan, he won’t be on the ballot this time, and therefore he couldn’t be bothered what happens next and perhaps even who succeeds him, shouldn’t he at least care how he will be remembered?

It’s amazing how in eight years things have come full circle from Fe-Buhari to Le-Buhari (‘chase Buhari’ in Yoruba; and in Igbo, a mocking variant, ‘see Buhari’). Even Jonathan’s fantasy of redemption couldn’t have scripted this ending.

Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

February 17, 2023
2023 Elections: Six things to know before election day
Nigeria’s Presidential contest set for February by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has arguably been described as the World’s most important election, after 24 years of unbroken democracy.

The country faces multifaceted challenges including corruption, high rate of unemployment, insecurity and inflation and many view the election as an opportunity to change the trajectory of the country, which will have a ripple effect on the continent.

President of the National Endowment for Democracy Damon Wilson, noted that currently the fifth largest democracy in the world and the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is on the path to becoming the second largest democracy in the world.

“What happens here matters; it first of all matters to Nigerians but it can have a real impact on the pathway to the development of democracy in West Africa, across Africa and frankly around the world,” Wilson said during a recent television interview.

Nigerians have shown increased interest in the forthcoming elections. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said 12,298,944 new voters successfully completed their registrations during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and more than 93.5 million of Nigeria’s 216 million population would be eligible to participate as voters during the election.

As the collection of Permanent Voter’s Cards is set to end by 29 January, here are six things you should know before election day:
1. Voters have the right to access the polling station between 8am – 2pm for accreditation on election day.
2. Voters are entitled to receive information on the voting procedures from poll officials.
3. Voting is expected to be done in secret.
4. Voters will have a responsibility to obey all lawful instructions from the INEC and Security Officials on election duty.
5. Voters can choose to either leave the polling unit after voting or wait in an orderly and peaceful manner for votes to be counted and results announced.
6. National Youth Corps Members (NYSC) with disabilities will serve as Presiding Officers during the election.
January 24, 2023
Female candidate vows to win 2023 presidential election

Princess Chichi Ojei, presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) for the 2023 elections has expressed confidence in winning the February presidential election.

Ojei said this on Friday in Abuja, in a New Year statement tagged 2023: A glorious future beckons for Nigerians.

The Presidential hopeful said being the only female candidate in the race, she stood a better chance of winning.

”With the increased demographics of Nigerian women and youths, I stand better chance of winning the people’s mandates against other candidates.

“As we approach one of the most historic general elections in the annals of Nigerian politics, it is no secret that the demographics of Nigerian women and youths have increased tremendously.

“I am appealing to all Nigerians who are eligible voters, to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards, especially women and youths, to vote the Allied People’s Movement.

“I am the only female and one of the youngest contestants running for the office of president in the 2023 Nigeria general elections and a vote for me, is a vote for our future.

According to her, the forthcoming general elections is another opportunity for Nigerians to fight for the nation’s true independence.

She said that when Nigerians voted rightly and wisely, the freedom to exercise their rights as enshrined in the constitution and the freedom of speech, association, movement, equity and justice would be achieved.

“We want a Nigeria that enforces the rule of law, we cannot be slaves in our own country.

“We can also not be seen as preys or victims of circumstances in our country; pains, tears and sorrow must not be the norm or order of day.

“Abnormalities must never be normal, we want what is right, not what is wrong and we need our indifferences to become our strength.

“And I represent a fresh agenda committed to providing innovative, transformative and responsive leadership, hope for Nigerians, unity, improved economic condition and good governance,” she said.

The presidential candidate said that she knew the implications of broken promises by past leaders and could be held accountable for her promises when elected.

According to her, she will keep to her promises when voted into power, but would pro-actively be involved in good governance.

“I will create an enabling environment for economic prosperity, political stability, national cohesion and socio-religious harmony.

“I am driven by the passion to restore Nigeria to the path of glory.

“Nigerian people have suffered too much neglect in human rights, social welfare, social development, infrastructure, education, health and wealth creation.

“And I sincerely seek to foster national unity, irrespective of political affiliation, ideology, gender, tribe and religion, in building the Nigeria of our dream where peace, progress and justice shall reign,” she said.

She also urged stakeholders in the electoral process to respect the wishes and mandates of the people before, during and after the election.

January 6, 2023