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Buhari has destroyed Nigeria’s economy – APGA scribe
The Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Comrade Jerry Obasi, on Tuesday pronounced Nigeria’s economy “clinically dead”, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to urgently seek the help of economic surgeons.
Obasi, who was the APGA’s deputy governorship candidate in the last general election in Ebonyi State, accused the President of junketing around the world whereas his house was on fire.
Speaking in an interview with DAILY POST in Enugu, the APGA chieftain urged the government to convoke an economic summit in order to save the country from descending further into the abyss.
He spoke thus: “What is going on this country is quite unfortunate; I have been on the queue for two days to get fuel, in Nigeria, the fourth oil producing country in the entire world, whereas in non-oil producing countries, there are no queues.
“In fact, I supported Buhari in this election, I had to go against my family and party to support Buhari in that election, because of the state of affairs under Jonathan, considering the fact that Enugu-Onitsha Express Road was impassable for six years, and we had a President; also Enugu-Port Harcourt Road was not done, all the roads in the South-East and South-South were not done for the six years, I was using these small indices because Igbos are traders, so they need these roads; I got disappointed and I said I was not going to vote for Jonathan, he disappointed my people, six years would have been enough. To me it was crass failure, even when it is believed today by Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora that Buhari has failed, his failure can’t make Jonathan to have succeeded.
“The truth remains that the economy is in a very bad shape, the economy has been battered, it has been given a technical knock-out, the type that Tyson used to give to his opponents in his time, the economy has gone extinct, and just like the statement made by Lai Mohammed that the economy has overtaken the government, though he has come back to retract that, but he has made a confessional statement, because tomorrow he will still tell Nigerians that he said it; the economy to me, has been destroyed, you cannot bring a clerk in a micro finance bank in the UK to come and superintend over Nigeria’s economy, it is not going to take us anywhere. Nigeria needs an economist in the mold of Okonjo Iweala, an economist in the stature of Oby Ezekwesili, in the stature of Soludo, in the stature of Kaku Idika Kaku. These appointments of Buhari that are more political and sentimentally minded will take us to the abyss. The government is already collapsing on him, and I will advise once again for him to convoke an economic summit, because Nigerian and her economy is in comatose, it is in an intensive care unit of economic hospital that also needs intensive care by economic surgeons, but if we go the way we are going, I see dark days ahead, I see terrible days ahead.
“Are we to talk about the N5,000 promise, we are not talking about the fuel they said will be sold an N40, even at 180, you cannot but fuel anywhere, if you go to Malawi, South-Africa, Ghana, you cannot see queue, so it is unfortunate, the president should wake up, he should reduce his level of travelling, you don’t visit economies that are stable whereas at home, the economy is dying on your lapse, let us come out of these sentiments, the APC should understand now that it is the ruling government, may be they forgot that they are ruling, still sounding like the opposition. Buhari’s appointments are summersault appointments; you see a professor working under a first degree holder, let us look inside, management of the country is different from a religious body, it is different from a tribal organization, it is different from the opposition mentality, it is so far so bad, all of us can see it, we can’t but food. The country has become too hot for all of us.”
Also speaking on the controversial Anambra Central Senatorial election, Obasi had this to say: “The Anambra scenario is a very remarkable one, it is also a pitiable one, there has been a cardinal rule in the way elections are conducted in Nigeria; there has never been a day window was created for a strange person to participate in a rerun that he never participated in the first election, it has never happened in the history of election in Nigeria; so, why now? Why in Anambra State? Why in Anambra Central? Why will a lower court circumvent the decision of superior court? Peter Obi who went to court did not participate in that election; by the time that election was held, Peter Obi was just about one month in the PDP, among all the actors that participated in the PDP primary, Obi was not one of them. So, even if the court want to come against its own process, or its own leanings, the only one that is not supposed to be in that election is Peter Obi; he is not supposed to be part of that election because he was not part of that process ab-initio, he was part of the primary of either of Emeakayi group or Oguebego group, so from where did the Federal High Court derive the power to give such frivolous judgement?
“We are all Nigerians and we are all stakeholders in this business, are we now saying that a court can now come up with a ruling that will bring the electoral law into public odium? so, I feel so miffed, I feel so shocked, I feel so confused, it gives me sleepless night, each time I remember the happenings in Anambra State, the court is now father Christmas. But let us watch and see if the court will destroy the electoral law.
“If there is anybody who is not supposed to seek participation in that election, it is Peter Obi; are we now saying that the electoral act has been destroyed in such a way that the PDP will now be allowed to conduct a fresh primary; it is not even Ekwunife or Ani Okonkwo, they are the two persons in that drama; Obi is not a product of any of the primaries; so, from where will court derive such power to include Obi as a candidate in that election, INEC should remain firm in its functions, let us improve our democracy, let there not be special persons, let their not be sacred cows, let there be no special involvements of personalities; if there is any party that has the opportunity of joining in that election, it is the APC, because Ngige is not dead, he is alive.
“So the issue of Obi is out of it, it is a huge joke. Even though I respect Obi as the former BoT chairman of my party, APGA, as the former leader of my great party and as one of the leaders of thought of Ndigbo, having been a former governor, but we can’t truncate the electoral process just to please one person; but I’m also a little bit disturbed because the way Buhari suffered rigging and election maneuvering in the past, he is not supposed to superintend over election manipulation.
“Obi’s issue in this case is stillborn, it is dead on arrival, I’m not advocating that APGA should go into this election unchallenged, but it should be lawful; we don’t feel extraordinarily challenged, but the right thing should be done; we don’t lose sleep, APGA is highly fortified to run for that election in Anambra State, the governor is doing pretty well and considering the business of the day in the Senate, which is legislation, Umeh will be a better lawmaker than Obi; we are not extra-ordinarily challenged by Obi’s involvement, all we are saying is that he came too late, nobody jumps into the pitch to play when the referee has ended the match. It is late, Obi should wait for 2019, but on the issue of Anambra rerun, Obi is way out of it.
“All these are happening because the powers that be have seen that if the right thing is done, Umeh will win that rerun. I want to recall that in the first election, Umeh scored 83,000 votes, the beneficiary of the outcome of that ill-fated election, Ekwunife, did not score above our candidate, Umeh, with any wild margin, even with all the manipulation; the APC candidate, Ngige, came a distant third with about 23,000 votes; I have difficulty that our 16-year-old baby called democracy, we are still breast feeding it, it is unfortunate, it is shameful that we are still nursing a 16-year-old baby, our democracy is no longer nascent, a 16-year-old child is already preparing to go to the university, some legends, like Michael Jackson, entered Guinness Book of records at the age of 11, but we are here still breast feeding a 16-year-old child, called our democracy.
“Giving the election in Anambra State, we smell a rat; but it is unfortunate that those who benefited from the democracy are trying to truncate it. The Army will be laughing at us now because they have watched us for 16 years and we have done so badly. Look at the way we are mismanaging the entire democratic process, it is unfortunate, we are watching and we are waiting, but the fact remains that we have to be very cautions.
Source: Daily Post
TINUBU IS THE WISEST MAN EARTH -PROPHET IKURU.
by Collins Nkwocha
Nigerian prophet, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos magnetized everyone’s attention when he referred to the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the wisest man on earth regarding the appointment of Daniel Bwala as special Adviser on policy communications.
Speaking to reporters today in Lagos,
Prophet Ikuru applauded the president for choosing him and enunciated that he’s capable of delivering effectively and marketing the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president and urged Nigerians to stop the criticism because of what he said in the past “I’m personally happy with his appointment and I urge Nigerians to forget about the past, forget about what he must have said about the president some years ago which people are now disseminating on the social and taunting him a betrayal that lacks integrity, Nigerians should forget his past because he’s the best choice”.
Prophet Ikuru insisted that Bwala saw the sincerity and genuity of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda and he decided to partake in it “even if he criticized the president, it was in the past, he saw the sincerity in the Renewed Hope Agenda and decided to join in nation building ,the president is ready to unite everyone in order to build Nigeria,that’s why someone like Wike is in his government,Bwala has what it’s required to be successful under Mr.president, as a wise man, the president saw it and decided to harness it ”
Finally, he praised Tinubu and referred to him as a great leader who is ready to involve everyone in his government, he maintained that his wisdom is magnanimous ,Baba is truly the wisest man on earth.
U.S. Courtroom Shock: Funke Ashekun, Husband Collapse as MFM Wins
Had FFK Faced Mehdi Hassan, Nigeria Would Have Spoken With Fire
By Mohammed Bello Doka
In politics, timing is everything. In diplomacy, character is everything. And in moments of national importance, leadership must be entrusted to individuals who possess not only experience but courage, intellect and an unshakable commitment to the nation they represent.
It is for this reason that the appointment of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as Nigeria’s Ambassador to a foreign nation stands out as one of the most consequential diplomatic decisions in recent years.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, better known in the South as “FFK” and in the North as “Sadauki”, is one of the most brilliant, experienced, accomplished, vocal, respected, educated, profound, intellectual, patriotic, disciplined, well-read, historically literate, versatile, forceful, persuasive, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, charming, eloquent, courageous and resilient men in Nigerian politics and he has paid his dues and proved his worth over the last 35 years in politics and political discourse.
In each role he has played he has excelled and succeeded even when he was in opposition.
His friends value him as a great and loyal defender and his traducers and political adversaries fear and respect him because when he goes to war he is utterly relentless, takes no prisoners and literally spits fire.
How I wish it was him that was interviewed by Mehdi Hassan of Al Jazeera and not the young and inexperienced Daniel Bwala because he would have not only humbled Hassan but also done Nigeria proud.
He played Bwala’s present role in the Presidential Villa 23 years ago as President Olusegun Obasanjo’s spokesman and not only brought the then President’s domestic enemies to their knees but also had a series of very hot exchanges with foreign Government officials like America’s Under-Secreatary of State for Africa Jendaye Fraser and the White House over the Charles Taylor issue and Liberia.
Tinubu decision to appoint him as an Ambassador for our nation was a wise one because he will fight for and protect the interests of Nigeria and the Nigerian community whetever he goes and will never sell his soul or bow to foreign imperialist interests.
His appointment is not about just rewarding loyalty for the key role he played in Tinubu’s presidentiel campaign organisation as Director of New Media and Special Operations in 2023 and the staunch support he has given the President over the last three years but also about putting a square peg in a square hole.
If you want to put Nigeria first Sadauki is the one to do it.
If he runs the Nigerian Mission in the country that he is sent to in the same way he ran the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Aviation when he was Minister to each of them one after the other twenty years ago he will do very well and both our nation and whichever nation he is posted to itself will benefit from his efforts.
History teaches that diplomacy is most effective when nations deploy individuals who possess both intellect and courage.
As the American statesman Henry Kissinger once noted, “Diplomacy is the art of restraining power.”
To do so successfully requires deep historical awareness and strategic clarity—qualities that have long defined Fani-Kayode’s political career.
Sending a politically seasoned voice like FFK to any nation that is a key partner to Nigeria signals that Bola Ahmed Tinubu intends to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic posture with confidence.
Throughout more than three decades in the political arena, Fani-Kayode has remained one of the most resilient and outspoken figures in Nigerian public life despite numerous challenges which would have broken and destroyed lesser men.
Regardless of all that was thrown at him he continues to pull through and come out victorious which is why many refer to him as the “Akanda Eledumare” and the “Ayanfe Oluwa” which mean “the strange one of God” and “the beloved of the Lord”.
There appears to be a divine dimension to his life that makes him unstoppable and irrepressible even though his enemies are legion.
One wonders what sets him apart and makes him so different.
There is no doubt that his education played a part in it and this set him apart from most.
He never went to school in Nigeria but was educated from the age of eight in England starting off at Holmewood House School in Kent, one of the UK’s best and most famous Preparatory schools, after which he attended the famous Harrow School just outside London which is, together with Eton College, an institution that is the exclusive preserve of high society in the UK, one of the two best private schools in that country where only the ruling elite, the rich, the well-to-do, the famous and only a tiny proportion of those in British high society can afford or even qualify to attend.
No less than eight British Prime Ministers, including the great Sir Winston Churchill, and countless British cabinet ministers attended Harrow and so did many leaders, diplomats and top politicians from many foreign countries.
After finishing at Harrow he attended some of the top universities in the world, including London University (SOAS) and Cambridge University (Pembroke College) where he did so well.
As a matter of fact his great grandfather, Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode, attended Furrough Bay College which at that time was part of Durham University and graduated with an MA (Hons.) in Theology in 1893. His grandfather Justice Adedapo Kayode attended Cambridge University (Selwyn College) where he studied law and graduated in 1922. His father Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode attended Cambridge University (Downing College) where he studied law and graduated in 1943. Sadauki himself graduated in law at Cambridge University (Pembroke College) in 1984 whilst his daughter Folake Fani-Kayode graduated from Durham University in 2009.
No African family has an uninterrupted streak of 116 years of Oxbridge-level university graduates except for the Fani-Kayode’s which is something that both his family and every patriotic Nigerian should be proud of.
It therefore makes perfect sense that a man from such a distinguished pedigree and intimidating lineage and that has such an extraordinary intellectual heritage should represent Nigeria on the international stage.
There is also his role in the debate on Gaza which made him a hero in the eyes of millions of people in the Global South both amongst Christians and Muslims.
He spoke out consistently about what he described as the genocide being committed against the Palestinians and he was prepared to put his life and career on the line for this cause even though most Nigerian leaders and politicians refused to say what he was saying publicly out of fear of the Zionist lobby and the Jewish state.
His sense of patriotism is unquestionable and nothing reflects this better than his series of essays written against Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Opposition Conservative Party and his write up against one Ben Llewelyn-Jones, who at that time was the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, when the former consistently sought to insult and denigrate Nigeria and the Nigerian people and the latter attempted to interfere in our internal affairs by making statements in support of Peter Obi and his Obidients in the 2023 presidential elections.
Sadauki successfully put them both in their place and when American Senator Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump, Congressman Tim Riley and other American politicians began to peddle the false narrative and fake gospel of Christian genocide and persecution in Nigeria Sadauki, a devout Christian himself, rose to the challenge and more than any other Nigerian wrote about the issue in a series of essays pointing out the fact that as many Muslims were being killed as Christians by the terrorists in our country and that Christians were not being persecuted by our Government and are in fact faring better when it comes to positions in the security apparatus and governance under Tinubu than they did in the previous administration.
He also spoke out boldly against President Trump and his administration when they accused the Government of South Africa of indulging in genocide against the white minority population in their country and pointed out the fact that South Africa, like Brazil, was a shining example of a successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation that was treating its white minority population with the greatest respect. Few Africans said a word to defend South Africa at the time even though they knew that Trump was wrong but Sadauki did so without thinking twice.
He is clearly a strong Pan-Africanist and a believer in the importance of the African Union, African solidarity, the BRICS coalition and the Global South alliance comprising of China, Russia, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other emerging world powers.
This is commendable and it reflects his courage and disdain for those that display ignorance, disdain and contempt for our nation and people and that seek to denigrate and misrepresent us.
Sadauki is not the type that bows and quivers before Westerners like so many other Nigerian leaders and politicians but rather takes pride in his Nigerian culture, race, heritage and identity and is prepared to defend us and speak for us no matter whose ox is gored and who is involved.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Nigeria requires diplomats capable not only of negotiation but also of defending national interests with conviction.
If the energy, eloquence and intellectual fire that have defined Fani-Kayode’s political life accompany him to the country to which he has been posted, his tenure may well become one of the most consequential chapters in Nigeria’s modern diplomatic engagements.
I wish him well and I thank God that he is back in the saddle of public office after so many years.
What more could any of us ask of this great and noble son of Nigeria?
This is undoubtedly the quality of personnel and leaders that we need on the international stage.
I hope and pray that in his endeavours and during the course of his work he meets with Mehdi Hassan in a debate and prove to him and the rest of the world that Nigeria still has men that can not only match them but that can also remove their trousers in any verbal encounter. Bwala put us to shame but FFK can redeem us before the eyes of the world.
(Mohammed Bello Doka, the author of this essay, is the publisher of Abuja Network News and can be reached via [email protected])
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