After withdrawing the case from a lower court, Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election, has filed a separate case at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, United States, against President Bola Tinubu.
Special Assistant on Public Communications to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu, stated this yesterday in reaction to enquiries about the dismissed suit by the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Shaibu said, “Waziri Atiku Abubakar only withdrew the case before a Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America, because he is pursuing the same matter in a higher court and he wanted to avoid an abuse of court processes. So, this is just the beginning.”
He said it was funny that Tinubu and his supporters were rejoicing over the development as if it were a Supreme Court judgement. He added that Tinubu’s academic records from primary school till university remained questionable, hence, the president’s failure to identify a single former classmate.
Shaibu stated, “In the last one week, Nigerians have been watching the ongoing ministerial screening at the senate, where nominees have been made to reveal their primary, secondary and university history. Some of the ministerial nominees were even classmates with the senators screening them.
“However, the man who nominated them has no educational history. He has no primary school, secondary school or university classmates. This is because he has no classmates. He actually fell from the sky.
“In recent years past, presidents have invited their former classmates to Aso Rock Villa. Even President Muhammadu Buhari hosted his classmates from Katsina Middle School. But who did Bola Tinubu invite to the Presidential Villa? Governors from 1999 set. This is a man whose entire life, background and credentials remain unknown and Atiku will ensure that the man is exposed.
It is expected that the person to hold the Office of the President must be above board, especially, on his life history. Unfortunately, here we have a president whose history is shrouded in secrecy and for whom it is a tough life that started in 1993.”
Shaibu maintained, “Even the year 1993, which presents the opening chapter of the recorded history of our president, is renowned for a documented indictment on narcotics trading. Now, this is 2023, Atiku is asking to open the shady history of our president and the same man is standing in the way of the truth about his past.
“That very obstruction to the innocent effort to unravel the president’s past means that the man has something to hide. It is shameful that the president’s supporters are joyful that their man is covering up his own past.
But, like the saying goes, falsehood may run for a lifetime, the truth shall overrun it in an instant. The moment of truth is here and President Tinubu has no hiding place.”
The Ulama Forum in Nigeria has urged President Bola Tinubu led Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against attempt to use military to settle political upheavals caused by the recent Palace coup in Niger Republic.
Rising from a meeting attended by its representatives from the 36 states of the country, including Abuja, the Ulama Forum advised Nigerian government, and by extension the ECOWAS, to retract from treading the undemocratic path of issuing threats or employing violence and, instead, take to the more enlightened and more informed diplomatic protocols in assisting Niger Republic to restore its democracy.
A statement issued after the meeting signed by the Convener and Secretary of the Forum, Aminu Inuwa Muhammad and Engr. Basheer Adamu Aliyu, respectively, indicated that: “The Nigerian National Assembly should wake up to its constitutional responsibility of critically looking into this issue and exercising the necessary check on the executive and prevent Nigeria from going into needless war.
Faith based organizations in the country, from across the faiths, should embark on preaching for peace in the region and maintaining the good neighborliness that has long existed between Nigeria and Niger.”
The Ulama Forum, however, called on the Muslim Ummah to, “embark on earnest prayers for Allah’s mercy in touching the hearts of our leaders so that they listen to the voice of reason and not to succumb to the influence of subterranean hands.”
The statement further stated that: “It is vitally important for the Nigerian government to consider its current formative stage and the security threats that are spread all over the nation which are stretching its resources and capabilities than to rush into an avoidable conflict with a neighbour at the behest of global politicking.
“The Forum commends the latest diplomatic initiative of sending envoys by ECOWAS to engage the military leaders of Niger in a robust and constructive dialogue. This is indeed, the right way to go and it should be explored to the maximum extent.”
However, the Forum observed that: “The Military intervention in Niger republic, like those that took place in the Sahel region before it, is sad, most unfortunate, and deserved condemnation by democratic minds and all peace loving people the world over.
Notwithstanding the preference which many people have for democracy and its principles, the choice for the route to good governance is strictly that of citizens of each country. It is the right of the people of Niger to fight for the restoration of democracy in their country, if they so wish and any attempt by anybody, anywhere, other than in Niger, will tantamount to employing undemocratic means to achieve a democratic end.
“The ultimatumn given by ECOWAS to the current leaders of Niger goes counter to democratic protocols and it encroaches on the sovereignty of the country.
“Given the general and widespread insecurity now bedeviling the Sahel, any international war of the nature that some people are mulling will not only compound the security challenges of the region but will also make governance more difficult as more and more people will be militarized while food insecurity will bite harder.
It is certain that the vast majority of people in Nigeria are not, and will not be, in support of war with an erstwhile good neighbour which always looks towards Nigeria as a senior partner.
“A war between these countries will harm friendship, cause economic hardship, worsen humanitarian crisis, and leave hard-to-heal wounds on each party
“Worse of all, the putative war will render the region a theatre of war vulnerable to the exploitation of foreign interests. No, we cannot afford to fight a proxy war on behalf of resources-hungry world powers whose interests lie in our continuous subjugation.
“The leading role of ECOWAS to protect and secure the region from all foreign intrusions would be stretched beyond limits and dispose to divide and rule between the traditional lines of Anglophone and Francophone by those bent on stealing the resources of the region, by illegitimate ways and means.
Once the region is destabilized and divided upon itself, the healing process will be a long run one and fraught with vulnerabilities.”
After independence, 14 French-speaking countries signed 11 agreements with France which are as follows :
AGREEMENT n⁰1:
THE COLONIAL DEBT TO REPAY THE BENEFITS OF COLONIZATION.
That is to say that the newly independent states must reimburse the cost of the infrastructures built by France during the colonization.
We are always looking for the details of the costs, the evaluation of the benefits and the payment conditions imposed by France on African countries.
AGREEMENT N⁰ 2 :
THE AUTOMATIC CONFISCATION OF NATIONAL FINANCIAL RESERVES.
That is to say that African countries must deposit their financial reserves with the Banque de France. Thus, France has been “guarding” the financial reserves of fourteen African countries since 1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Thus, the governance of monetary policies remains asynchronous and incomplete due to the fact that it is managed directly by the French government, without any link with the financial authorities of countries such as ECOWAS or CEMAC.
Thus, due to the conditions that bind the banks of the 14 countries of the CFA economic and financial zones, they are obliged to keep 65% of their foreign exchange reserves in an operations account maintained by the French Treasury, as well as an additional 20% in order to cover “financial risks”.
In addition, the banks of the CFA zones impose a credit limit on each member country, equivalent to 20% of state revenues in the current budget year, although the BEAC or the BCEAO have higher withdrawal possibilities from the French Treasury. These withdrawals must first be the subject of the agreement of the French Treasury.
The final decision therefore rests with the French Treasury, which has itself invested the reserves of African countries on the Paris stock exchange.
In other words, 85% of African financial reserves are deposited in an operation account controlled by the French administration.
The two banks in the CFA zone are African by their names, but do not decide any of the monetary policies by themselves.
The worst thing is that the countries themselves do not even know how much of their financial reserves are due to them.
AGREEMENT n⁰3 :
THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL ON ANY RAW OR NATURAL RESOURCE DISCOVERED IN THE COUNTRY.
That is to say that France has the first right to purchase the natural resources of the land of its former colonies. It is only after France has said: “I am not interested”, that African countries are allowed to look for other partners.
AGREEMENT n⁰4 :
PRIORITY TO FRENCH INTERESTS AND COMPANIES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND PUBLIC TENDERS.
In the awarding of public contracts, French companies have priority over tenders. Even if African countries can get better value for money elsewhere.
As a result, in most of the former French colonies, all the economic levers of the countries are in the hands of French expatriates. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, French companies own and control all major public services including water, electricity, telephone, air transport, ports and major banks. It is the same in trade, construction and agriculture.
AGREEMENT n⁰5 :
EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO PROVIDE MILITARY EQUIPMENT AND TRAIN MILITARY OFFICERS OF THE COLONIES.
Thanks to a sophisticated system of scholarships, grants, and the “defense agreements” attached to the colonial pact, Africans must send their senior officers for training in France and are obliged to provide themselves with military equipment with France.
AGREEMENT n⁰6 :
THE RIGHT FOR FRANCE TO DEPLOY TROOPS AND INTERVENE MILITARILY IN THE COUNTRY TO DEFEND ITS INTERESTS.
Under the so-called “defense agreements” attached to the colonial pact, France has the right to intervene militarily in African countries, and also to permanently station troops in military bases and installations, entirely managed by the French.
AGREEMENT n⁰7 :
THE OBLIGATION TO MAKE FRENCH THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY AND THE LANGUAGE FOR EDUCATION.
An organization for the French language and the dissemination of French culture has even been created. It is called the “Francophonie” and has several satellite organizations. These organizations are affiliated to and controlled by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
AGREEMENT n⁰8 :
THE OBLIGATION TO USE THE CFA FRANC (FRANC OF THE FRENCH COLONIES IN AFRICA).*
Although this system is not shared by the European Union, the French colonies are forced to use the FCFA exclusively.
AGREEMENT n⁰9 :
THE OBLIGATION TO SEND TO FRANCE, AN ANNUAL BALANCE SHEET AND A REPORT ON THE STATE OF RESERVES. NO REPORT, NO MONEY.
That is to say that the director of the central banks of the former colonies presents the said report at the annual meetings of the Ministers of Finance on the former colonies. This report is then compiled by the Banque de France and the French Treasury.
AGREEMENT n⁰10 :
RENOUNCE ANY MILITARY ALLIANCE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES, UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY FRANCE.
Most of these countries only have military alliances with their ex-colonizers simply because France forbade them any other military alliance.
AGREEMENT n⁰11 :
THE OBLIGATION TO ALLY WITH FRANCE IN THE EVENT OF WAR OR A GLOBAL CRISIS.
More than a million African soldiers fought for the defeat of Nazism and fascism during the Second World War. Now that France is militarily linked to the European Union, NATO and the United States, Africa will de facto be committed to the side of France in the event of the 3rd World War.
Dear fellow Africans, eleven (11) agreements are still in force between France and the 14 countries of the CFA zone, and no French media or their so-called African specialists will ever talk about these sinister agreements that have been imposed on the African countries of the CFA zone.
Dear compatriots, that is why we do not stop denouncing this colonization which has now been practiced since 1960, by interposed persons, that is to say by leaders of their choices whom they support and whom they protect by imposing dictatorship on them in front of their own peoples.
What interests us today among these eleven agreements is the tenth (n⁰ 10) which says that the 14 countries of the CFA zone through the agreement, are not authorized to have a military alliance with other countries and are also not authorized to buy military equipment in another European country without the authorization of France,
that is why Mali has been blocked until today. But the situation has been unblocked, Mali can now freely cooperate with all the countries of the planet without asking France for permission.
DEAR COMPATRIOTS, IN VIEW OF ALL THESE MORAL, PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCAMS, THE NEW AFRICAN GENERATION MUST DO ITS PART TO RESTORE THE NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR CONTINENT IN ORDER TO LEAVE A WORTHY LEGACY TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally ruled out military action to resolve the political crisis in Niger Republic.
Recall that ECOWAS, which is chaired by Tinubu had last weekend issued a seven-day ultimatum to the junta government in Niger to revise back to constitutional government or risk the full wrath of the regional body, including the use of military force.
This was followed by a meeting of defence chiefs of ECOWAS in Abuja in preparation for the enforcement of no flight zone imposed on Niger and other military action, even as the coup leaders expressed readiness to defend the country from any external attack.
However, in a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale – Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Thursday, said Tinubu has dispatched an envoy to Niamey, and urged robust dialogue to end the face-off.
The statement read, “The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has dispatched a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
“The action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.
The military junta in Niger Republic has cut off ties with Nigeria after the efforts of Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to resolve the ongoing impasse failed.
ECOWAS had issued a seven-day ultimatum for the reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum to avoid possible clash with the junta.
The delegation led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) only met with representatives of the junta.
Subsequently, Niger severed ties with Nigeria, Togo, France, its coloniser, and the United States.
The functions of the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of the Republic of Niger” to France, Nigeria, Togo and the United States are terminated,” Radio France International quoted one of the putschists to have said on national television.
On July 26, Niger’s ousted leader, Bazoum was detained by members of the Presidential Guard, and that evening, the military announced that it had seized power.
Two days after toppling the government of Bazoum, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself the head of a transitional government.
Meanwhile, the US has thrown its weight behind the ECOWAS led by the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu to reinstate Bazoum.
In a statement by the White House on on Thursday, US President, Joe Biden called for the immediate release of Bazoum.
The American leader said the release is essential for defending fundamental democratic values, and standing up for constitutional order, justice, and the right of peaceful assembly, which are foundation to the partnership between Niger and the US.
I call for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy.
“The United States stands with the people of Niger to honor our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support for civilian-led governance,” he said in the statement.
Amid fears of growing conflict, some European countries have evacuated their nationals from Niger.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday, elected former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, as the National Chairman of the party.
The party’s NEC also elected former Senate spokesman, Ajibola Basiru, as National Secretary.
The two party officials were elected today at the 12th NEC meeting of the party held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
The Russian Federation has advised the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against military intervention in the Niger Republic in response to the coup.
The ECOWAS on Sunday, resolved to use all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in Niger, including the use of force, if its demands are not met in a week’s time.
Responding in a joint statement on Monday, Mali and Burkina Faso, West African countries suspended from ECOWAS on account of military coups, backed the actions of the Nigerien military.
The countries warned against any further interventions that would “jeopardise the spirit of Pan-Africanism” and threatened a withdrawal from the regional bloc.
The countries also said any military intervention against Niger would force them to also adopt “self-defence measures” in support of the “brotherly” armed forces and the people of Niger.
Addressing the situation on Wednesday, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson of the Russian foreign ministry, said the use of force by the ECOWAS would be unhelpful.
Zakharova said the threat of military intervention in Niger will not contribute to a settlement, adding that Moscow considers it essential to “prevent a new degradation” of the situation in the West African country.
“We think that the threat of the use of force against a sovereign state will not help to defuse tensions and resolve the situation in the country,” the spokesperson told reporters.
The Russian government official recommended “urgent national dialogue” as the way forward in restoring democracy to the unstable Western African country that has experienced five coups.
Although Russia has condemned the coup in Niger, the Wagner Group, a private mercenary group in the European country, has hailed the military takeover.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader, and his fighters have played a significant role in many African states, to the dismay of the West, and most recently arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) ahead of a constitutional referendum.
On Tuesday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, accused Russia of being behind the coup in Niger.
Podolyak said it is a standard Russian tactic to divert attention and expand the conflict, adding that Prigozhin’s approval of the military takeover is proof of Russia’s involvement.
When Dr. Vwaere was being inducted as a Nigerian doctor after her six-year sojourn at Babcock University last year, she had high hopes and expectations.
She had hopes for a flourishing medical career.
Expectations to use her newly learned medical skills to benefit the community and society at large.
Training a child at a Babcock medical college is quite expensive and does not come cheap.
3.5 million per annum for school fees alone during her time; it is now 6.5 million per annum, but her parents did it because they wanted to give the best to their daughter and then to avoid the anyhowness in the Nigerian university eco system.
Post-induction, Dr. Vwaere got a place to do her internship at General Hospital (Odan, Lagos Island), a facility owned by the Lagos State Government.
Before Dr. Vwaere joined the General Hospital as a student doctor, it was noticed by the resident doctors and staff of the hospital that the only elevator at the hospital had been in bad shape since 2018 and then there was no running water in the hospital.
But because of Nigeria’s anyhowness, one big madam, or Oga, siphoned or embezzled the money meant to replace the elevator while patchy work was done at the elevator to serve as a temporary respite, endangering people’s lives in the process and turning deaf ears to the genuine complaints by resident doctors at the hospital.
The elevator was so bad that it stopped at intervals, and you had to manually use your hand to close it in order to continue your journey.
The carelessness, wickedness, and anyhowness culture we have here have finally ended the journey and the dreams of Dr. Vwaere.
Just like the rest of us, Dr. Vwaere woke up today with bright hopes for the month of August.
She was upbeat for one reason: her housemanship at General Hospital (Odan, Lagos Island) was finally coming to an end.
She had less than two weeks to round up
She went to work excited that she has less than 2 weeks to complete her housemanship.
And this afternoon, a dispatch rider who brought the food she ordered online called her on the phone to let her know that he was around.
Since she was free, she elected to go and pick the food herself from the ground flour where the dispatch rider was, and on her way to meet the dispatch rider,
She entered the faulty elevator.
And then disaster struck.
The elevator fell from the 10th floor, where she was, to the ground with a loud thud that shook the foundation of the hospital.
Even the dispatch rider who was waiting at the entrance of the elevator thought that Armageddon was here when he heard the noise, so the man ran for his dear life.
It took one hour before Dr. Vwaere was rescued from the debris of what was once the elevator.
She was still alive, though badly injured, and was bleeding when she was brought out and rushed to the emergency section of the hospital.
And from multiple accounts of those who witnessed the surreal drama
Dr. Vwaere was crying that she did not want to die; even while stuck in the elevator for hours, she was crying for help.
“I don’t want to die; help me,” she cried nonstop.
She cried that she wanted to live and not die, but her desire to live was truncated by Nigeria’s anyhowness, which snuffed the life out of her.
Again, Nigeria’s anyhowness kicked in and deprived her of this chance to live.
She was taken to the emergency section of the hospital, but after another delay because there was no blood,
That was how Dr. Vwaere gave up the ghost.
The young lady died just like that.
Corruption kills, and this is another part of corruption we don’t discuss well enough.
We just lost Dr. Vwaere because of that hydra-headed monster and Nigeria’s culture of anyhowness.
I am visibly upset as I’m writing this.
This is not right.
We can’t continue like this.
We can’t continue living like this, like animals.
For how long will we continue to tolerate losing our best and brightest to this culture of mediocrity?
Nigeria keeps devouring its youth.
Nigeria failed Dr. Vwaere; may her innocent blood spilled for no reason haunt and punish those criminals who embezzled the money meant for a new elevator.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi has clarified that his phone was not stolen during his attendance at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Thursday.
A video of Obi seemingly complaining to his associates about his missing phone inside the court room of Court of Appeal sitting as PEPC went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday.
Obi attended the PEPC alongside Nigeria’s award winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie.
But Valentine Obienyem, spokesman for Obi in a statement clarified that the phone was not stolen.
Rather, he said one of the aides of the presidential candidate took the phone for safekeeping after Obi dropped the phone to exchange pleasantries.
He said “Yesterday, the news of the loss of Mr. Peter Obi’s phone went viral. The spontaneous outpouring of solidarity was yet again a demonstration of the love of the people for him.
“May I happily inform you that it was not a case of theft. He left the phones on his table to exchange pleasantries with some people in court, whereupon, for safety sake, one of his aides picked the phones.
