Pandora Papers reporting from across Africa

CC™ Investigative

Sean McGoey, Will Fitzgibbon & Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo - Contributors

In ICIJ’s largest-ever collaboration on the continent, African journalists investigated offshore dealings linked to prominent political figures, mining deals, business tycoons and more. 

Journalists from across Africa have published stories based on a trove of nearly 12 million secret documents exposing a shadowy offshore financial system that allows the wealthy and powerful to enrich themselves, often at the public’s expense.

Those documents, which come from a group of 14 offshore services providers with offices from Samoa to South Dakota, are the foundation of the Pandora Papers, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and a global network of reporting partners.

The Pandora Papers is ICIJ’s biggest collaboration ever, with more than 600 journalists from 117 countries participating. It is also one of the largest collaborations of African journalists in history, with 53 reporters from the continent contributing stories on the offshore activities of powerful figures in their countries.

Several of those journalists were partnering with ICIJ for the first time, like Makanday Media Centre, a nonprofit newsroom established in Zambia in 2016. They reported on a once-powerful politician who opened a company in Dubai and made big-ticket purchases at Louis Vuitton and a helicopter travel service.

The stories have sparked inquiries by governments around the world into the figures reported on as part of the Pandora Papers. In Nigeria, the government still has an open investigation, based on the reporting done by ICIJ media partner Premium Times on figures like Peter Obi, a former governor who admitted to not disclosing his offshore assets while in office.

Here are some Pandora Papers highlights from ICIJ’s African partners.

According to results of our investigation, Mr. Peter Obi is alleged to have serially violated the law by failing to declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies and assets he tucked away in secrecy havens.

The ex-governor of Anambra State in Southeastern Nigeria, is widely regarded in Nigeria as an advocate of good governance, openness, and transparency.

In addition to speeches on his governance records and statistics-laden prescriptions for Nigeria’s development, he likes to talk about how hugely successful he became in business before diving into politics.

In speeches and in printed literature, Mr Obi is never shy, reeling out his numerous business affiliations and accomplishments. On his website, for example, the former governor said he “was chairman of Next International Nigeria Ltd, then chairman and director of Guardian Express Mortgage Bank Ltd, Guardian Express Bank Plc, Future View Securities Ltd, Paymaster Nigeria Ltd, Chams Nigeria Ltd, Data Corp Ltd and Card Centre Ltd.”

On that same platform, the former governor also described himself as the youngest board chairperson ever appointed by Fidelity Bank Plc, a 34-year old Nigerian lender listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

But beyond the facade of priggish speeches and appearances, an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES did show that Mr Obi was not entirely transparent in his affairs as he would like Nigerians to believe.

The investigation was part of the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project.

The project saw 600 journalists from 150 news organizations around the world poring through a trove of 11.9 million confidential files, contextualizing information, tracking down sources and analyzing public records and other documents.

The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons and criminals, seeking to conceal their financial dealings.

The two-year collaboration has so far revealed the financial secrets of not less than 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 public officials in more than 91 countries and territories.

Mr Obi is one of the individuals whose hidden business activities was thrown open by the project. Indeed, he has a number of secret business dealings and relationships that he has for years kept to his chest. These are businesses he clandestinely set up and operated overseas, including in notorious tax and secrecy havens in ways that breached Nigerian laws.

The former governor admitted that he did not declare these companies and the funds and properties they hold in his asset declaration filings with the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Nigerian government agency that deals with the issues of corruption, conflict of interest, and abuse of office by public servants.

Mr. Obi said he was unaware that the law expected him to declare assets or companies he jointly owns with his family members or anyone else.

The Pandora Papers, the biggest cross-border collaboration of journalists in history, is an investigation into a vast amount of previously hidden offshore companies, exposing secret assets, covert deals and hidden fortunes of the super-rich – among them more than 130 billionaires – and the powerful, including more 30 world leaders and hundreds of former and serving public officials across the world.

The confidential documents also feature a global cast of fugitives, convicts, celebrities, football stars and others, including judges, tax officials, spy chiefs and mayors.

The leaked records came from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients like Mr Obi, who seek to shroud their financial activities, often suspicious, in secrecy.

Mr Obi has two children- a daughter, Gabriella Nwamaka Frances Obi, and a son, Gregory Peter Oseloka Obi. Sometime in 2010, more than four years after he became governor, the politician developed an appetite to set up his first discreet company in the British Virgin Island. He named the company Gabriella Investments Limited, after his daughter

To set up what has now become a convoluted business structure, Mr Obi first approached Acces International, a secrecy enabler in Monaco, France, to help him incorporate an offshore entity in one of the world’s most notorious tax havens noted for providing conduits for wealthy and privileged corrupt political elites to hide stolen cash to avoid the attention of tax authorities.

Tax havens are politically and economically stable offshore jurisdictions or countries with extensive laws and systems that provide little or no tax obligations, but enable high secrecy and privacy protection for foreign individuals and businesses.

Mr Obi also paid Acces International to provide nominee directors for the company. Nominee directors are residents of tax havens paid to sit on boards of companies to hide the identities of real owners of offshore firms.

So, after accepting a brief from the then governor or his representatives, Acces International officials headed to the British Virgin Island, a notorious tax haven, where it contracted a local registered agent – Aleman Cordero Galindo & Lee Trust (BVI) Limited (Alcogal) — to set up Gabriella Investments Limited for Mr Obi.

The 36-year old Alcogal is a Panamanian law firm that went on to open overseas subsidiaries offering company formation and registered agent services in BVI, Seychelles, Belize, and Bahamas, and the preparation of corporate documentation in relation to the companies formed. It also provides trust services through its subsidiary trust companies in Panama, BVI, and Belize.

After extensive documentation, Gabriella Investment Limited was born on November 17, 2010, with registration number 1615538. Two figureheads – Antony Janse Van Vuuren and Lance Lawson — were appointed its first directors while ultimate control resided with Mr Obi.

On the same day the company was incorporated, the nominee directors met and issued 50,000 shares of Gabriella Investment in favour of Hill International Holding Corporation, a shell International Business Company operating under the laws of Belize, another tax haven. The director of the company is Mr Van Vuuren, also one of the directors of Gabriella Investment.

It is unclear what businesses Mr Obi transacted with the entities but in some communications, they were sometimes referred to as investment vehicles. Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES the offshore entity is the holding company for most of his assets and that the business structure he adapted was to enable him to avoid excessive taxation.

“I am sure you too will not like to pay inheritance tax if you can avoid it,” he told the reporters who interviewed him.

The Memorandum of Incorporation of Gabriella Investment said it was set up to carry on or undertake any business or activity, including trading of any commodities or goods, to do any act or enter into any transactions.

Mr Obi has since rearranged his offshore businesses. First, he renamed Gabriella Investment. Beginning February 10, 2017, the company became known as PMGG Investments Limited in what is a combination of the first letters of the first names of Mr Obi’s nuclear family. P for Peter (ex-governor), M for Margaret (the ex-governor’s wife), G for Gabriella (the ex-governor’s daughter) and G for Gregory (the ex-governor’s son).

Mr Obi has also now created a trust known as The Gabriella Settlement, an entity also registered in the BVI. According to Fidelity Investments, a trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. Experts believe that trusts are traditionally used for minimising taxes even though they can offer other estate plan benefits as well.

By the current structuring of Mr Obi’s wealth and offshore businesses, The Gabriella Settlement, which appears to hold all or a majority of his assets, is the sole shareholder of PMGG Investments.

In turn, a New Zealander entity, Granite Trust Company Limited is the sole trustee of The Gabriella Settlement. Sam Access International, the Monaco-based secrecy enabler Mr Obi first hired in 2010 to set up his offshore structure, was until August 23, 2019, the sole shareholder of Granite Trust.

Antony Janse Van Vuuren, who has acted as a consistent and perpetual director for almost all of Mr Obi-related offshore entities popped up again, making the filing that brought in another Monaco-based company, Rhone Acces Sam as the sole shareholder of Granite Trust. However, Rhone Trust and Fiduciary S.A., a Swiss entity, is the ultimate holding company for Granite Trust.

A central and recurring figure in former Governor Obi’s network of offshore companies and on whom the politician appears to place immense trust is Antony Janse Van Vuuren, a 70-year old South African based in the principality of Monaco in France. Experts in Illicit Financial Flows consider Monaco a tax haven because of its generous tax laws and policies.

According to KPMG Multi Family Office, the principality of roughly 30,000 inhabitants does not charge wealth tax, property tax, investment income tax, and capital gains tax. It also does not tax dividends and directors’ fees and unless they are French nationals, resident individuals are not subject to personal income tax while inheritance tax is zero per cent for spouses and direct beneficiaries. It is unclear if it was this mouth-watering tax regime that attracted Mr Obi to Monaco.

What is however clear is that, in 2010, four years after he became governor, the politician or his representatives hired Monaco-based Acces International, where Mr Van Vuuren has been partner and director for 25 years, to help him create a secret and intricate scheme for managing his assets. Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that British Lloyds Bank’s advice informed his offshore structure decision.

From Monaco in France to Tortola in the BVI, to Wellington in New Zealand, and to Geneva in Switzerland, Mr Van Vuuren has travelled around the world running business errands for Mr Obi and taking major decisions on his behalf.

While Mr Obi stays comfortably behind the curtain, the South African has remained the face of the ex-governor’s companies and the assets they hold. For the past decade, he is the politician’s number one business arranger in the offshore world as well as the custodian of the politician’s business-related documents and correspondences.

Mr Van Vuuren, a veteran nominee director for possibly tens or hundreds of shell companies, attended the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Business Management. He also obtained an MBA from Durham University in 1977.

A 1991 leaked incorporation document reveals a certain Peter Obi and two other individuals – Donatus Ogbogu and Uche Okagbue – to have incorporated Beauchamp Investments Limited in Barbados.

The firm was incorporated as an international business company on August 20, 1991, with registration number 7305. The setting up of the company was handled at the time by a certain Peter L. Chase. What businesses the company does and what assets it holds remain unclear. Mr Obi denied knowledge of the firm as well as of Messrs Ogbogu and Okagbue. He said the individual who incorporated Beauchamp was possibly another businessman who happened to bear a similar name as him.

However, Next International (UK) Limited, another of the former governor’s overseas companies, was incorporated on May 16, 1996, in London. Mr Obi and his wife, Margaret, were listed as directors while Next International (Nigeria) Limited (with 999 ordinary shares) and Mr Obi (with one ordinary share) were listed as shareholders.

The exact businesses the company undertook in its 25-year history remained unclear, although, on March 8, 2001, the firm reported taking a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank Plc for a property on 53 Clyde Road, Croydon.

In Nigeria, a person is statutorily obligated to withdraw from engaging in or directing a private business, except if it is farming, upon becoming a public officer, Section Six (6) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act stipulates.

However, our investigation, based on records obtained from the UK Companies House shows that Mr Obi continued to be a director of Next International (UK) Limited for 14 months after becoming the governor of Anambra State, thereby breaking Nigeria’s law. The politician resigned from the company on May 16, 2008, 14 months after he assumed duties as Anambra governor. He took office on March 17, 2006.

Mr Obi did not dispute the records PREMIUM TIMES cited but he claimed he “resigned immediately” by handing his wife his resignation letter. He suggested that his company might have failed to effect the changes on time or the UK Companies House did not immediately document his exit. But the UK companies registry said Mr Obi indeed resigned on May 16, 2008, and that it received his notice of resignation for electronic filing on June 16, 2008.

Nigerian public officers are required to declare “immediately after taking office and thereafter all” their properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his (or her) unmarried children under the age of eighteen years,” Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution stipulates (Section 11, Part of the Fifth Schedule).

PREMIUM TIMES investigation also found that Mr Obi breached this constitutional provision on assets declaration. We can authoritatively report that Mr Obi did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies he tucked away in offshore secrecy havens.

Mr Obi caused to be created for him a structure of secrecy that had previously, until the Pandora Papers investigation, meant he could continue to hold foreign assets in a way that breaches Nigeria’s law without the knowledge of authorities in the country. In an extra layer of secrecy, Mr Obi used paid nominees as directors, while he remains the ultimate beneficial owner, making it nearly impossible to discover his interests in those companies but we obtained rare incorporation documents proving his link.

Otherwise, Mr Obi could have forever hoped to continue to hold the assets, that he did not declare when he had a statutory obligation to do so as a governor, without any authority or the public calling him to account.

In his response, Mr Obi ridiculously suggested that those offshore companies and assets are jointly owned with his family members and that he was not under obligation to declare companies jointly owned. “I don’t declare what is owned with others,” Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES. “If my family owns something I won’t declare it. I didn’t declare anything I jointly owed with anyone.”

This is contrary to the position of the Constitution, which specifies the declaration of all assets, whether jointly or partly owned, PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters told Mr Obi. He said he was not aware of that provision of the law.

Nevertheless, leaked records show Mr Obi is the sole ultimate beneficial owner of the offshore companies. So he did not even jointly own it with anyone.

In that case, Mr Obi has violated Nigeria’s Code of Conduct law and, if authorities decide to act appropriately, he could be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, a special court that tries public officers for any contravention of the Code of Conduct for Nigerian public officers as spelt out in the Fifth Schedule of the Nigerian constitution.

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) were established to enforce “a high standard of morality in the conduct of government business, and to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.”

The former governor could be charged with failing to declare his offshore holdings and their associated assets and operating foreign accounts while being a public officer.

The Nigerian constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act forbid a public officer from maintaining or operating a bank account outside Nigeria. However, as a governor, Mr. Obi continued to operate and maintain foreign accounts, including with Lloyds TSB.

Mr. Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that he received the advice to create an offshore structure from Lloyds TSB, which then introduced him to intermediaries who helped him to set up com where he continued to operate a foreign account as a governor.

The offences violate sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

Asked if he is concerned that Nigerians would be disappointed at him following our finding of his opaque and lawless dealings as a governor, Mr Obi said he was more concerned about his U.K. and U.S. schools alumni network, his business and foreign creditors. He insisted that he served well as Anambra governor and Nigerians already have their opinions about him.

The former governor could be charged for failing to declare the company and its associated assets and perhaps operating foreign accounts while being a public officer.

Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES that he received the advice to create an offshore structure from Lloyds where he continued to operate a foreign account as a governor.

The offences violate sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

In June 2017, the federal government launched the Voluntary Assets and Income Disclosure Scheme (VAIDS), an initiative seeking voluntary disclosure of previously undeclared assets and income with a view to paying all outstanding liabilities. The VAIDS offered a nine-month window and incentives that included immunity from prosecution for tax evasion and undeclared assets, which would have benefited people like Mr Obi.

A key objective of the VAIDS was curbing illicit financial flows and tax evasion, which commonly feature the use of offshore holdings to shift taxes from where they are earned to havens where little or no taxes are paid.

The government in 2017 said defaulting individuals and corporate bodies who failed to take advantage of the VAIDS would be subject to criminal prosecution.

A number of Nigerian public officials with previously undeclared assets tucked away overseas participated in the VAIDS and got clearance certificates. Mr. Obi shunned the scheme and continued with his opaque business dealings in breach of the law.

CREDITS:PREMIUM TIMES, INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS (ICIJ)

Atiku Abubakar: The Architect of Stealth Corruption

CC™ VideoSpective

Turkey's Erdogan signals further nuclear projects with Russia

CC™ World Watch

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey is planning to expand its nuclear cooperation with Russia to build more power plants, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

The signal of deepening ties with Russia is likely to raise concerns among Western allies, who have been worried by Ankara’s closeness to Moscow as the war in Ukraine rages.

Rosatom, a Russian state corporation, is close to completing the Akkuyu nuclear power station on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Its four reactors are expected to generate around 10% of Turkey’s electricity when it comes online.

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is of great importance in Russia-Turkey relations. We are now in the final stages,” Erdogan said as he sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin following a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.

He added that, with Russia, Turkey “will take steps together to open some new power plants, along with the opening of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.” His remarks were reported by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

Erdogan also described relations between the two countries as being “at a much more advanced level today than in any previous period.”

Putin, meanwhile, referred to Turkey as “one of our privileged partners.”

Turkey is dependent on energy imports, with around 70% of its energy needs being met by foreign sources.

Turkey’s Russian imports were valued at $42.37 billion last year, according to United Nations international trade figures. Energy accounted for $29.8 billion.

Stocks slip on Wall Street under pressure from higher oil prices and rising bond yields

CC™ News Watch

Stocks closed broadly lower Tuesday as another round of U.S. military strikes on Iran sent oil prices higher, stoking worries about stubbornly high inflation. A bond market sell-off deepened, putting more pressure on stocks.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1%. The major indexes have lost ground three days in a row.

The weak start to September follows a shaky but mostly positive month for Wall Street. Every major index notched monthly gains in August. The same worries continue to hang over Wall Street, though, including anxiety over rising prices, government debt, and the impact of global conflicts on the U.S. and the global economy.

Technology stocks were among the heaviest weights on the market. Nvidia fell 1.5%, Amazon dropped 1.9% and Advanced Micro Devices gave up 2.4%. Their big market values tend to give them more influence over the broader market’s direction and their growth amid the artificial-intelligence boom has been heavily reliant on borrowing, which becomes more expensive as interest rates rise.

Much of the continued pressure being felt by Wall Street is coming from an ongoing sell-off in U.S. government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which tends to impact mortgage rates, rose to 4.79% from 4.75% late Monday. It was as low as 4.20% at the beginning of 2026.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve moves on interest rates, rose to 4.39% from 4.34% late Monday. That’s up significantly from about 3.50% at the beginning of 2026.

Bond yields, which have an inverse relationship to prices, rise as bond prices fall. Rising yields signal that investors are demanding a higher return from Treasurys because they are becoming riskier. Growing government debt is highlighting that risk.

The U.S. debt surpassed $40 trillion two weeks ago, a shocking milestone as defense costs and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending. The bond sell-off is global, with other nations facing the same economic pressures.

Higher yields on bonds signal higher borrowing costs on mortgages and a wide range of other loans. Higher borrowing costs tend to weigh down investments, including stocks, while making it more difficult for businesses to expand.

Oil prices have been behind much of the pressure on inflation, bond yields and the broader stock market. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 4.6% to settle at $94.65. U.S. oil climbed 5.2% to settle at $90.22 per barrel — the first time it closed above $90 in more than a month.

Energy costs remain high and volatile amid the ongoing U.S. war with Iran, which has essentially shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is typically shipped.

Higher oil prices have pushed up costs for everything from gasoline to shipped goods, fueling inflation that has been squeezing households and businesses.

Higher inflation has also been a problem for the Federal Reserve. The rate of inflation is well above 3%, and Wall Street expects the Fed to raise interest rates before the year is over in order to try to bring inflation down to its 2% target. Investors are betting on a 66% chance that the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate at its upcoming September meeting, according to CME FedWatch.

The Fed will get more updates on inflation ahead of the meeting. Meanwhile, it is getting updates on the jobs market this week. On Tuesday, the government reported that U.S. job openings rose slightly in July. A broader monthly report for August will be released on Friday.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 54.67 points to 7,631.47. The Dow dropped 419.02 points to 52,766.88, and the Nasdaq fell 271.11 points to close at 26,099.77.

Markets in Europe fell and markets in Asia ended mixed.

AP Business Writers, Elaine Kurtenbach, Michelle Chapman and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

‘Stop trying to act tough’: Carney fires back at Trump as US-Canada trade fight escalates

CC™ Global Watch

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Trump administration Tuesday to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” as he pushed back against a fresh wave of attacks from Washington.

Carney said U.S.-Canada trade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations, but he also accused the United States of pursuing terms that he said could leave Canadian industries “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney said. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

His comments came during a fresh barrage from Washington since trade talks collapsed Aug. 21. Trump has moved to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and taunted Canada on social media, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada could not go “tit for tat” with an economy 13 times larger.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also mocked the Canadian military online, posting an image Monday of two female cadets at a British Columbia training center with the words “this is real” and a Canadian flag. Carney called the post “beneath their office.” The Pentagon stood by it Tuesday, saying, “The X post speaks for itself.”

Carney said the U.S. approach in the talks would have left Canadian industries effectively as subsidiaries of American companies or imposed terms under which they would be “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“We’re not going to — of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” Carney said.

The Canadian prime minister said Washington sought an “uncompetitive” deal for key industries, including autos, while pushing changes affecting French-language and cultural protections. He said any of those issues was enough to block an agreement.

Carney said Washington also sought limits on Canada’s future trade deals. “Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals,” he said.

He said there had been “mutually beneficial” elements of a deal before the talks broke down.

Carney was also buoyed by Monday's Liberal sweep of three special elections, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Quebec, where the Conservatives fell to third place.

The victories brought the Liberals to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons and reinforced Carney’s position as he confronts Trump over trade and Canadian sovereignty.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said Trump’s annexation threats carry particular weight in Quebec. “Quebecers have the most to lose in an apocalyptic scenario where the U.S. absorbs Canada, and the status of the French language disappears,” he said.

U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal, and Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on nearly $20 billion in U.S. goods are scheduled to take effect Sept. 8, with duties ranging from 15% to 50%.

Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st U.S. state.

Iran discovers 7.5 tln cubic feet of gas in south: minister

CC™ Global News

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Sunday the country has discovered more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet (21.24 billion cubic meters) of gas reserves in a field in the southern Fars province.

Nearly 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas can be extracted from the field, considering a recovery factor of about 72 to 73 percent, Paknejad said in an interview with state-run IRIB TV.

"The newly-discovered resources add tens of billions of dollars to the intrinsic value of the country's wealth," he said, adding the field also contains a significant amount of gas condensate reserves.

Iran holds nearly 34 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves, according to data by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. After Russia, the country has the second-largest gas reserves in the world. 

The two enemies of the people are 'criminals' and 'government'

CC™ ViewPoint

By Professor Femi Ajayi

"Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot and religious fanatic who if given the chance would ensure the disintegration of the country. His ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigeria's national unity.".....Ahmed Bola Tinubu - 2003

Albert Einstein cautions that "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."

In Theodore Roosevelt words, "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him in so far as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else."

Since 2016, General Muhammadu Buhari has been ASSURING Nigerians for better life; secured environment by terminating the atrocities of Boko Haram; gainful employment; positive economic growth; and a united Nigeria regardless citizens ethnic or religious affiliations.

Embarrassingly, it has been a rough road for an average Nigerian since 2016. In less than two years to his second term, Buhari keeps assuring Nigerians to end poverty, economic disasters, appropriate modern inappropriate, leaky environment in the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen, among other assurances.

Buhari claimed that "Nigerians are unfair to me". Justifying that his administration has been doing well, in tackling insecurity across Nigeria. More so, training, and equipping security operatives. He denies sparing bandits and other terrorists in fighting insecurity in Nigeria.

Buhari pre-recorded unacceptable interview of June 2021, on Arise TV, is not a substitute to speak to Nigerians in this critical time. Nevertheless, his reference to Igbos as a "dot within Nigeria" is unpresidential, failing to realize that the Earth is also a dot within the galaxy. Each dot in a Society makes the whole.

Buhari affirms the words of Thomas Jefferson that the "two enemies of the people are Criminals {Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen} and Government, {Buhari Administration}, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

However, the re-examination of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution is urgently critical.

We recognize the historical fact that in any society where injustice becomes a rule or law, civil disobedience or resistance becomes a duty, or an obligation. Buhari is feebly refusing to realize that Nigeria security challenges encourage the agitations for separation across Nigeria: the Oduduwa Country in South-West; Biafra in South-East; Ibom Republic within Akwa Ibom Coalition, Middle Belt in North Central; and Self-Determination in the Northern Minorities.

According to Buhari, "Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the field for 30months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand."

Hence, it is shocking for his statement dealing with those agitating for separation in the language they understand. Violence or War?

Prof. Wole Soyinka remarked, "Regrettably, the President threatens, and in a context that conveniently brackets opposition to governance with any blood thirsting enemies of state, we must call attention to the precedent language of such a national leader under even more provocative, nation disintegrative circumstances."

Buhari has been quiet on the attacks and killings in Benue State especially, or any other Northern States, regrettably, he is very quick to evoke memories of the civil war whenever the South-East is involved.

Prof. Wole Soyinka continues "…When Benue was first massively brought under siege, with the massacre of innocent citizens, the destruction of farms, mass displacement followed by alien occupation, Buhari's language, both as utterance and as what is known as 'body language', was of a totally different temper. It was diffident, conciliatory, even apologetic. The evocation of the civil war, where millions of civilians perished, is an unworthy emotive ploy that has run its course".

Regardless, Buhari administration would be labelled as the promoter of religious and ethnic division in Nigeria. Any opportunity could be seized by Buhari to launch an attack on areas that seem not to be in support of his administration.

In Soyinka's words, "…the nation is already at war, and of a far more potentially devastating dimension than it has ever known. Every single occupant of this nation space called Nigeria has been declared potential casualty, children being pushed to the very battlefront, without a semblance of protective cover. We need no breast-beating about past wars. The world has moved on, so have nations,"

History shows that using the military and violent to solve the National problem leads to national fractionalization, lawlessness, and inevitable dissolution.

As Buhari war-drum gets louder, Nigerians should be cautious of the war dangers knowing fully well that the 'Military don't start war, politicians do;'

Betrand Russel warns that "War does not determine who is right, but who is left."

Herbert Hoover cautions that "Older men declare war, but it is the youth that must fight and die."

While Herodotus painfully reminds us that "In Peace, sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons."

Whilst Bellic says, "War is when young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other."

The intelligence report that broke Buhari's silence could had been echoed by the Chairman of the Oyo State Security Network, aka Amotekun, Gen. Kunle Togun (retd), in May 2021 advised the residents of Southwestern States, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States to be security alert of the eminent attack from the foreign Fulani Herdsmen from Futa Jallon, Mali, Bourkina Faso, Chad, Niger Republic, who have been residing in the forests.

The President should deal with the sources of the insecurity in Nigeria in the language they understand, however, not on the innocent citizens.

Regrettably, the Boko Haram and the Fulani Herders, have intensified their killings, kidnappings for significant ransom as a way of indirect Government sponsorship. Ironically, as of June 2021, Boko Haram expanded to Niger State, closing to Abuja, while Fulani Herdsmen invaded Cross Rivers State.

Unfortunately, Buhari administration refused to establish the way of ending Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen atrocities against citizens facing hunger, poverty, insecurity, and poor infrastructure.

In the face of security challenges in Nigeria. There is a popular saying that if your neighbor is swallowing bad insects, the disquieting noise of wheezing would prevent peaceful night sleep. The Islamic State group and its rivals in al-Qaeda have taken a strategic decision to make Africa their new priority after suffering setbacks in the Middle East, meanwhile Nigeria is very vulnerable in the faces of Both Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen.

Africa's semi-arid Sahel region has been hit by an insurgency, since militants captured large parts of northern Mali in 2012 and 2013, and it is spreading fast to Nigeria. If chaos, violent extremism, and insecurity become the norm in Sahel nations like Mali, then we are likely to see a new geographic base from which jihadists can plot attacks around the world, especially its neighboring countries, like Nigeria. Whereas this part of Africa, the Sahel, is the transit route for huge numbers of migrants making their way northward to Europe or its neighboring countries to escape from their own countries. It is also a major transit route for illegal drugs, weapons, and jihadists. Nigeria vulnerability is inevitable.

Nigeria-Niger Republic proposed rail system could facilitate the Terrorist infiltration into Nigeria.

Could what Tinubu said about Buhari in 2003 be true about him, before they became 'partners in crime against humanity', ten years later, in 2014, that "Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot and religious fanatic who if given the chance would ensure the disintegration of the country. His ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigeria's national unity."

So also, Nigerians were pre-warned by Prof. Stanley Nwabia on June 26, 2018, that "If Buhari wins a second term, Fulani Herdsmen will spread deep into Southern Nigeria using Oyo State as launch pad. Remember Buhari and his Fulani brothers had already 'marked' Oyo State in the early 2000s during Lam Adesina's era."

Buhari should be cognizant of his oath of office, if that means anything to him positively protecting Nigeria Citizens focusing on security issues in Nigeria, diverting Nigerians from agitations for separation. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari should realize that it is time for a peaceful action and dialogue, not war and destruction.

Most Nigerians, with their lifestyles, prefer unity in peace than war. Dialogue is what patriotic Nigerians, Nigerian admirers and the international communities expect of the Nigerian President, to resolve the present national crises, and not military action.

We close with a message from Muhammadu Buhari that "I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody."

Nigerians want Justice, Peace, Equity and Fairness, PEACE not WAR.