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EXCLUSIVE: “Don’t Panic, Just Be Law-Abiding,” Former Army Chief, Amb. Buratai Urges Nigerians… Says No Cause For Alarm!
EXCLUSIVE: “Don’t Panic, Just Be Law-Abiding,” Former Army Chief, Amb. Buratai Urges Nigerians… Says No Cause For Alarm!
….Says Situation In 2015 Worse Than Now… Insists President Buhari, APC Govt Has Done Much For Security, Anti-Corruption, Economy
Sahara Weekly Reports That The Dousing tension and fear in the country ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Amb Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Rtd), has called on Nigerians not to panic but remain law abiding throughout the process.
Stressing that it is normal to have such high election fever before elections across the globe, he was confident that the security agencies have put strategies in place to protect lives and property during the elections.
In an exclusive interview with Security Watch Africa (SWA), he also urged them to come en mass to exercise their electoral rights.
According to him, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party has performed well in security, anti-corruption, and the economy.
Answering questions on increasing apprehension among some Nigerians and foreigners, he said “First of all, I am an optimist and this has always helped me in the most causes. As regards the questions you asked about the coming elections, I believe Nigeria is ready for the elections to come Saturday 25th of February, 2023.
“This is another milestone we hope to cross or to achieve as a nation and also knowing my disposition in the political terrain, you know the All Progressives Congress (APC), for it to once again get the confidence of Nigerians for them to believe in the party that all hope is not lost.
“There is still hope in the party and President Muhammadu Buhari has tremendously laid a very good foundation, nobody can take that away in terms of security. In terms of even anti-corruption and the economy.
“I will talk about the security aspect, which people are still apprehensive about, yes, to some extent, they have caused. But if you look at it from other perspectives, you cannot compare 2015 and this year 2023.
“And if Nigerians did not leave the country in droves to other countries during 2015, apart from the political tension coupled with the insecurity that prevailed, even Abuja was not safe, and when you talk of Maiduguri, it is out of the question. You know, then a few places like Jos, Suleja, Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, and so forth. So, you can’t compare 2015 to now.
“Now we have threats in some areas like the South East, part of North Central as well as the North West. The North East is generally stabilized and the threats have been drastically reduced. Once in a while, you see the terrorists coming out to give threats, what they are doing is not terrorism or insurgency per se, but armed robbery or just criminal act. So the threat, I will say it’s about 90 percent removed from the North East,” he stated.
He went on “You see some of the advisories to foreign nationals are understandable, they want to keep their citizens safe. And also when you are close to elections, especially in the last two months, you will experience what I call election fever. It is usually tense.
“This is global. It happens globally. Go to South Africa towards the elections period, and you will feel the same thing. In the US, you have the same experience. And this does not call for anybody to leave his country. He may have a case because of the political killings here and there. But it is not at a scale that will warrant someone to say he will leave his country until after the elections, it’s unnecessary.
“He must remain and participate in the electoral process. It is by doing that that his safety will be guaranteed, to elect the right leaders to come into positions of authority to make things better.
“And so far, I believe that the country is prepared, the political parties are ready. It’s only those who have not gathered enough momentum in terms of followership, in terms of spread across the country that will be the ones that are not prepared and will like to cause one problem or the other to scuttle the elections.
“But I believe the security agencies are ready. We are lucky we have competent Service Chiefs and an Inspector General of Police. They’ve been quite steady and quite proactive in responding to certain threats and especially towards the elections.
“You know the Army is ready, the Armed Forces are on Operation SAFE CONDUCT. The Police, you have heard their deployment, they are mobilizing enough Policemen across the country. The INEC has released the various polling agents across the federation, and if you see even from the distribution, the number of agents per party that have been presented for deployment to various polling units, APC has over 176,000, PDP about 176,000, and all the rest are just trailing behind.
“As far as winning the elections, APC is far ahead. I believe that will be the pattern of the result at the end, by God’s grace.”
Urging Nigerians to be confident in the country, he said “You see, people have to have confidence in their country. They have to have confidence in their Armed Forces and the Police, so let them remain. Let them come out en-mass to elect their presidential, elect the members of the National Assembly, the Governors, and members of the States Houses of Assemblies.”
“You know my position, Asiwaju has mobilized well across the country and he has a very good followership and I believe, by God’s grace, come Saturday, latest Sunday morning, we will start celebrating as the results start trickling in,” he said.
On the protests that followed the scarcity of naira notes resulting from the Government’s Naira Redesign policy, he said that it was normal to have backlash following the introduction of such policy.
But he explained that the policy was well-intended to address certain issues in the Nigerian economy.
Specifically, he said, the policy was also aimed at addressing the issue of corruption, which was one of the cardinal policies of the administration.
Stressing that some highly placed individuals are sabotaging the policy, he expressed confidence that things will normalize as many people are now getting used to online transactions.
Noting that the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will understand that the policy was well-intended and not targeted at any individual or party, he said, there is still a need for enlightenment to make people properly understand the policy.
“Cash or no cash, as I said before, Tinubu will win,” he stated confidently.
Speaking on Nigerians who may likely take to the streets when they are not happy with the outcome of the elections, he urged them to remember that the security agencies have already given enough warnings for everyone to stay away from violence.
He said that those who take the law into their hands will have themselves to blame.
“Politics is not just you coming out and assuming that you will be given positions on a platter of gold, you must work for it.
“What is required is for us to build bridges and ensure that we reach out, we trust each other, we also make sure that we build confidence amongst ourselves. Ourselves, I’m referring to all the political parties. Because they are the ones that influence things. Now, they have large followers.
“It is time for all the political leaders to talk to their followers to remain calm irrespective of the elections’ outcome. And I also believe the security agencies are on the ground to tackle any violence,” he said.
Pointing out that youths should be seriously warned since they always fall prey to politicians at this time to do havoc.
He added, “They must watch themselves and eschew violence because, in the end, they will be the losers because their future is at stake.”
Expressing gladness with the large crowd that turned up for the APC rally in Borno State, he said “This is a clear sign of the victory of President Buhari over insecurity in the country.”
He recalled that there was great insecurity in the country when President Buhari came on board and the President promised that he was going to subdue Boko Haram.
“And he has achieved that. It is clear evidence that President Buhari has brought security to the country,” he stated.
Stressing that some highly placed individuals are sabotaging the policy, he expressed confidence that things will normalize as many people are now getting used to online transactions.
Noting that the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will understand that the policy was well-intended and not targeted at any individual or party, he said, there is still a need for enlightenment to make people properly understand the policy.
“Cash or no cash, as I said before, Tinubu will win,” he stated confidently.
Speaking on Nigerians who may likely take to the streets when they are not happy with the outcome of the elections, he urged them to remember that the security agencies have already given enough warnings for everyone to stay away from violence.
He said that those who take the law into their hands will have themselves to blame.
“Politics is not just you coming out and assuming that you will be given positions on a platter of gold, you must work for it.
“What is required is for us to build bridges and ensure that we reach out, we trust each other, we also make sure that we build confidence amongst ourselves. Ourselves, I’m referring to all the political parties. Because they are the ones that influence things. Now, they have large followers.
“It is time for all the political leaders to talk to their followers to remain calm irrespective of the elections’ outcome. And I also believe the security agencies are on the ground to tackle any violence,” he said.
Pointing out that youths should be seriously warned since they always fall prey to politicians at this time to do havoc.
He added, “They must watch themselves and eschew violence because, in the end, they will be the losers because their future is at stake.”
Expressing gladness with the large crowd that turned up for the APC rally in Borno State, he said “This is a clear sign of the victory of President Buhari over insecurity in the country.”
He recalled that there was great insecurity in the country when President Buhari came on board and the President promised that he was going to subdue Boko Haram.
“And he has achieved that. It is clear evidence that President Buhari has brought security to the country,” he stated.
The Borno residents’ trooping out, he said, showed the love they have for President Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu, and the Vice Presidential candidate, Shettima.
He also expressed optimism that the huge turnout for the rally will be translated into huge votes for APC on Saturday.
The Borno residents’ trooping out, he said, showed the love they have for President Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu and the Vice Presidential candidate, Shettima.
He also expressed optimism that the route’s huge turnout for the rally will be translated into huge votes for APC on Saturday.
Asked what measures should be taken now to ensure that the terrorists he defeated using kinetic and non-kinetic approaches do not rear up their heads again, Amb. Buratai urged governments at all levels to play their parts in the rehabilitation process.
Efforts, he said, should be geared towards resettling those that have been involved in the fighting and those that have suffered losses or the victims of terrorism.
“Once that is done, peace will reign and the wounds insurgency created would be healed,” he added.
To address the issue well, he also canvassed for deliberate planning to ensure every sector of society functions well.
He said “All government agencies must be responsive and functional to perform their statutory roles. If we go back to the basics, things will improve.”
Speaking on the alleged international conspiracy against peace in Nigeria and the Reuters recent report, he said “The report by Reuters is unfortunate and I’m happy prominent stakeholders have denied it.”
He also picked holes in the lawmakers in the US canvassing against Nigeria getting platforms based on Reuters fake reports without coming to Nigeria to investigate it.
Noting that this report was not the first time, he said Amnesty International did similar things under the administration of former US President Barrack Obama.
He said the Nigerian government should respond appropriately by saying the report was out of context
Ajadi Rejects Pay Rise For President, Others, Says Proposal Insensitive To Nigerians Suffer
A South West Chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP) has said that he rejects the reported plan by the Federal Government to raise the salaries of political office holders, including the President, Vice-President, Ministers and others, saying such move is insensitive to the current plights of Nigerians due to the present economic challenges.
Ajadi said many Nigerians are groaning under unprecedented hardship due to the harsh economy, saying what is expected of the political office holders is to make sacrifices.
It could be recalled that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, (RMAFC) has hinted at plans to review the salaries of political office holders in Nigeria, describing current earnings as inadequate, unrealistic, and outdated in the face of rising responsibilities and economic challenges.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu presently earns N1.5m monthly, while ministers receive less than N1m, figures that have remained unchanged since 2008.
According to Shehu, “You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5m a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke.
“You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President. That is just not right. Or you pay him [the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right”.
However, Ajadi in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, said at a time when reforms demand sacrifice, this proposal smacks of greed, tone-deafness and moral bankruptcy.
Ajadi said a progressive government in moments of economic crisis like Nigeria is currently going through will reduce the cost of governance rather than inflate it.
According to him, it is insensitive to increase political office holders’ salaries while workers have been struggling for a living wage without appropriate response from the governments.
“The proposed increase in salaries of the President, Vice and other political office holders at this time of economic hardship will amount to insensitivity to the plights of ordinary Nigerians
“The current Workers’ minimum wages is not enough to provide the means of livelihood for any worker. The inflation is biting harder on Nigerians. Contrary to the poor conditions of Nigerians, political office holders are flashing their riches, and displaying their wealth openly with utter disregard to the conditions of ordinary citizens. To now increase the salaries of these political office holders will not augur well for our country.
“In countries where the economy is bad, what obtained is for the political office holders to reduce their earnings as a sacrifice. It is with this that they will have the moral right to preach to ordinary citizens to make.sacrifice.
“In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet reduced their pay by 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the 2008 financial crisis, Ireland slashed ministerial and parliamentary salaries by as much as 30%.
“In the midst of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis, ministers and the Members of Parliament took salaries cuts in solidarity with citizens.
“True leaders tight their belts first before asking citizens to bear the burden of reform. For Nigeria’s political class to even consider “jumbo salaries” at a time of rising inflation, subsidy removal, unemployment and worsening poverty is unconscionable.
“RMAFC must immediately drop this self-serving scheme.What the nation requires today is fiscal discipline, leadership by sacrifice, not political overlords fattening themselves while citizens starve”.
Fubara Behind Campaign of Calumny Against Tinubu Over Rivers Emergency Rule – CJD
The Coalition for Justice and Democracy (CJD) has accused the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, of orchestrating a campaign of calumny against President Bola Tinubu as revenge for the declaration of emergency rule in the state.
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday and signed by its president, Comrade Raymond Aighona, the coalition alleged that Fubara was also behind the circulation of a document on social media which falsely accused the Sole Administrator of Rivers, Ibok-Eket Ibas, of mismanaging half a trillion naira and inflating contracts under the guise of funding President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The group dismissed the allegations as “baseless blackmail”, insisting that the sole administrator had acted strictly within the limits of the emergency powers granted him and under the constant oversight of committees set up by both chambers of the National Assembly to monitor Rivers during the emergency rule.
“Siminalayi Fubara has chosen the path of bitterness and deceit. He has not forgiven President Tinubu for saving Rivers State from total political anarchy through the declaration of emergency rule. Now, in an act of reckless vengeance, he is sponsoring falsehoods, pushing forged documents, and trying to smear the reputation of the President and the sole administrator. These antics will not succeed,” Aighona declared.
The CJD said it had carried out its own checks and found no evidence to support the claims of financial recklessness being circulated online against Ibas.
“Every action of the Sole Administrator is monitored by oversight committees from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. His expenditures are scrutinised and subjected to due process. For anyone to claim that he single-handedly pulled out half a trillion naira from the coffers of Rivers State is not only laughable but deliberately mischievous,” the group added.
According to the CJD, the social media document, which alleged that inflated contracts were being used to bankroll the President’s 2027 campaign, bore “all the fingerprints of Fubara’s political desperation”.
“This is nothing but a forged narrative manufactured by those who lost relevance under the emergency rule. Fubara is the unseen hand behind these malicious reports. He hopes to poison the minds of Rivers people against President Tinubu and to discredit Ibas, whose steady leadership has restored calm and order to the state,” Aighona said.
The group further warned that such “propaganda politics” could inflame tensions and destabilise Rivers if not exposed for what it truly is.
“What Fubara is doing is reckless and dangerous. Rather than take responsibility for the failures of his short-lived administration, he is weaponising lies, sowing distrust, and dragging the President’s name into his personal vendetta. This is not only unfair to President Tinubu but also a betrayal of Rivers people who are finally enjoying stability after months of turmoil,” the statement continued.
The CJD praised Ibas for what it described as “disciplined and transparent stewardship” since his appointment as Sole Administrator.
“Ibas has not gone beyond his authority. He has been meticulous in carrying out his duties and has kept faith with the mandate to stabilise Rivers State. He deserves commendation, not blackmail. Anyone suggesting otherwise is only doing the bidding of embittered politicians like Fubara,” Aighona said.
The group called on security agencies to investigate the origin of the circulating document and to expose those behind the “malicious forgery”.
It also urged the Nigerian public to treat such reports with contempt, stressing that the claims were designed to smear the President and destabilise Rivers.
“There is no half-trillion naira missing from Rivers’ coffers. There are no inflated contracts funding the President’s re-election. These are lies from the pit of desperation. The real story is that Fubara, who has been constitutionally sidelined under emergency rule, is fighting back with propaganda. He must be called out,” the CJD stated.
The coalition reaffirmed its support for the emergency measures in Rivers, insisting that the intervention had prevented total collapse and restored a measure of peace and governance to the state.
“President Tinubu acted to save Rivers, not to exploit it. Ibas has executed that mandate with dignity. The blackmail campaign being funded by Fubara cannot erase these truths. Nigerians should see through his desperation and reject his propaganda,” Aighona advised.
Beyond Optics: Setting the Record Straight on Nigeria’s TICAD Booth
I feel compelled to clarify misconceptions around Nigeria’s so-called “unmanned booth” at TICAD, which has unfortunately become the subject of misleading commentary.
First, the space in question is not a national pavilion. It is a designated spillover area—typically used by delegates without access to the main auditorium to follow proceedings, hold side meetings, or work quietly. Countries may choose to convert such spaces into national showcases, but it is not compulsory. Any Nigerian delegate can use the space at any time. Several other countries also had similar spaces today that were quiet or lightly used. It is neither unusual nor a sign of disengagement.
Now, to the real issue: Nigeria is not in Japan for optics. Visibility is not the only metric. Value is.
While some chase appearances, Nigerian officials are working deliberately and with focus:
HM Pate is finalising a landmark health sector agreement with Japanese partners.
HM Power is advancing a major energy partnership.
BOI and BOA are deep in investment negotiations.
HM Foreign Affairs is leading ministerial-level engagements and aligning national plans.
Mr. President is meeting Japanese investors, Nigerian diaspora business leaders, development partners, and fellow heads of government.
The work is being done—quietly, strategically, and with impact.
So what purpose is served by amplifying an incomplete visual to imply national failure? Even if unintended, this kind of knee-jerk commentary can undermine progress and reinforce misrepresentation. Visibility should not be confused with value; applause is not the same as achievement.
Koko of the Matter: Nigeria’s space was not “unmanned” in the sense implied. We are under no obligation to adopt the performative routines of others. In diplomacy, presence is not always performance—and substance will always outweigh spectacle.
In line with TICAD’s structure, Nigeria’s space will see more active use on Day 2 and Day 3, which focus on Economy and Society, functioning as an open national stand accessible to all delegates.
Let us focus on outcomes, not optics—in the best interest of our country.
~ Otega #TheTiger Ogra
@NigeriaGov @NGRPresident @NigeriaMFA
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