Flashback: Buhari Is An Ethnic Bigot, Religious Fanatic – Bola Tinubu

CC™ Retrospective

Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, once described General Muhammadu Buhari as an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot and religious fanatic who if given the chance would ensure the disintegration of the country, according to a Wikileaks transcript of a conversation between Tinubu and the US consul-general in 2003.

Tinubu disclosed this to the United States spy posing as the consul general – in a 2003 conversation- that Buhari should not be trusted due to his bigot tendencies. He pointed to Buhari’s tribalistic nature as potentially dangerous to the unity of Nigeria. In Tinubu’s summation, he stated: ‘Buhari and his ilk are agents of destabilization who would be far worse than Obasanjo.’ The conversation was recorded by the US Consul General and wired back to Washington DC for analysis. Of which, Wikileaks got a hold of the recorded transcripts and published the conversation.

Section 6 (C) reads “Turning to the presidential contest, Tinubu disclosed that he does not like President Obasanjo because he contributed to the end of democracy in Nigeria during his tenure as a military president and is now benefiting from that history. That said, Tinubu admitted that he and his party, the Alliance for Democracy, must support Obasanjo. Southwest Nigeria is Yoruba land and the President is Yoruba. Tinubu’s party had no choice since it has not fielded a presidential candidate. Moreover, Obasanjo is the only candidate who stands a chance of blocking his rival, General Muhammadu Buhari, whose ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigeria’s national unity. Buhari and his ilk are agents of destabilization who would be far worse than Obasanjo. Tinubu and many other governors are therefore implementing a strategy to re-elect Obasanjo, partly in an effort to prevent Sharia from spreading. Tinubu predicted that the President will follow his own course, if re-elected, since he will not need as many friends the second time around.”

However, barely 11 years after, Tinubu and Buhari have forged an alliance to upstage the PDP government. The curious marriage between both men has got many tongues wagging. While some see the new Tinubu-Buhari liaison as a marriage of convenience just to undo the PDP, others expressed suspicion at the intent of Tinubu to sell Buhari to Nigerians this time round, barely one decade after he dismissed the leadership credentials of the former military dictator.

During his reign as Head of State, Buhari introduced a notorious decree to restrict press freedom, under which two journalists were jailed. He ruled with iron fist and was unable to reflate a sagging economy.

His attempts to rebalance public finances by curbing imports led to the closure of businesses and many job losses. The economy took a downturn as prices of goods rose, while living standards fell, leading to a palace coup by Gen Ibrahim Babangida on 27 August 1985.

INDEPENDENT

The Untold Truth About Money: How to Build Wealth From Nothing

CC™ VideoScope

Greed, Betrayal and the Battle for Nigeria's Oil Money | The Ken Saro-Wiwa Story

CC™ VideoScope

The saga of transactional sex on the campus of Nigerian universities

CC™ Editorial By Oludayo Tade 

Transactional sex among female undergraduates in Nigeria is a social reality. The practice has been reported on regularly in the mainstream media and explored in various research papers. 

This cross generational relationship is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, and across the world where sponsors are commonly known as “sugar daddies”.

In our study on transactional sex in Nigerian universities, my colleague and I looked at the symbiotic relationship between some female Nigerian undergraduate students and aristos – wealthy, married or unmarried men. The students have transactional sex with the aristos in exchange for financial, social or educational support.

Because a great deal of these relationships happen undercover, there are no solid figures on the number of women involved in them. But there are many reasons that these relationships happen. It’s a practice that’s driven by economic hardship, a desire to network socially, and peer influence.

To understand more about these relationships we conducted 30 interviews with female undergraduates – commonly known as “runs-girls”.

We found that the students engage in transactional sex for pleasure and money. Typically, wealthy students would be with an aristo for pleasure, while those who needed financial support did it for the money. Most of the women we spoke to viewed it as a critical survival life investment strategy and rejected the “prostitution” label.

Although these relationships could offer the students economic, emotional, and political support, their effects can also be negative. The students expose themselves to sexually transmitted infections, physical violence and academic setbacks, because the relationships can distract from their studies.

Those with sexually transmitted infections risk spreading these to their boyfriends, while also suffering economic losses seeking treatment.

Finding clients

Aristos are usually wealthy postgraduate students, lecturers, politicians, business people and military personnel. They are people with wealth and authority.

The students looked for these clients on and off campus, using connections and referrals. They then familiarized themselves with the potential client’s routine, aiming to eventually manufacture an encounter.

There’s usually a generational gap between the “runs-girls” and the aristos. The students often refer to their clients as “uncle”, “daddy” and, more recently, “aristo”. All of these bring connotations of the person’s expected role: to take care of the student.

If the students don’t have much financial support from their families, these relationships provide them with that security. Some started as a one-off “date”, for which they got a sum of money. But longer-term relationships also developed in some instances.

In return for sex, the women were given luxury possessions, like cars and mobile phones; investments for businesses they might start; or work placements when they finish their studies.

As one female student said:

The type of connection I have with politicians, lecturers, and military men cannot be purchased with money. At times, when I have problem, all I do is to make a call, depending on the nature of challenges…

In Nigeria, about 23% of young people are unemployed. These connections, with people of influence, may be a ticket to employment. As one “runs-girl” revealed:

One of my clients who happened to be a commissioner connected my senior sister to get a job at immigration even without any much stress…

Transactional sex isn’t limited to financially strapped students. We spoke to rich female students who engaged in it for sexual fulfillment. One 24 year old student said:

I am from a rich home, my father is even a Major (in the army), and my mother a nurse, but I’m involved in campus runs because of sexual satisfaction, although nothing goes for nothing, because sex is for enjoyment. I have a guy that I help financially, and on the long run he pays me back with sex.

Challenges

In this research we identified a few challenges.

Some “runs-girls” accepted offers of unprotected sex for better pay. This put them at risk of catching sexually transmitted infections and, consequently, the cost of treatment. As one student said:

I am always scared of having naked (unprotected) sex. Most times I use (a) condom because one can never know a man that has HIV/AIDS. Although sometimes some men always want naked sex and in that case, they will have to pay triple than what is earlier bargained. Part of the money realized as a runs-girl are used in revitalizing the body, in which I go to the hospital once in a month to examine myself.

Other risks are that the women could be physically harmed. This is particularly true if the clients choose not to pay an agreed amount.

Their education could also suffer as they may choose to engage in “runs” rather than go to class.

Action needed

Getting the government or even universities to take action will prove difficult because our evidence suggests that policy makers, politicians and the business class are involved, as aristos.

Nevertheless, given the risks associated, something ought to be done.One possible solution might be to establish part-time jobs for vulnerable students, and to institute courses about running businesses so that young women can earn money independently.

In addition, institutions should put together and roll out communications campaigns that teach young people about the implications of transactional sex.

3 Risk Management Functions for Secure Cloud Governance.....

CC™ Technocrat

The method of managing risks on cloud has witnessed a big shift as the pressure on governance model to track variants of risk has become high.

While risk formats have changed in the industry, business continuity is said to be affected with the ushering in of cloud model. The pressure on cloud service providers is increasing in terms of identifying and tracking new risks emerging out of this trend, which sometimes has an adverse impact on the business. 

Sethu Seetaraman, VP/Chief Risk Officer, Mphasis, says that risk management basics do not change with cloud. However, the way in which a control is implemented and monitored is what has changed. “As far as BCP/DR is concerned, the organisation owns BCP/DR in case of Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service. Service providers will own BCP/DR in case of Software as a Service. 

You must build or take these services from the cloud service provider based on the availability risk,” avers Seetharaman. 

Why 3 functions of Risk Management are Key to Governance.....

Just as with IT governance, risk management in cloud governance must fulfill three functions argue most CISOs.

Atul Pandey, The ICT Rainmaker: GRC, GSD, PMO & BPM, mentions the three functions: a) Assessing risk b) mitigating risk, and c) measuring the success of that assessment and mitigation.

Pandey says that this is not a static scenario. Risk shifts continually, and the cloud governance model must be able to track these shifts.

Stating facts established by Thomas J. Betcher in his report on a clear analysis of risk and cloud in Cloud Computing: Key IT-Related Risks and Mitigation Strategies for Consideration by IT Security Practitioners,’ Pandey puts forth the type of risks to be managed under the cloud model. 

They include:

• Policy and Organisational risks: Lock-in, loss of governance, compliance challenges, loss of business reputation, cloud service termination or failure.

• Technical Risks: Availability of service, resource exhaustion, intercepting data in transit, data transfer bottlenecks, distributed denial of service.

• Legal Risk: Subpoena and e-discovery, changes of jurisdiction, data privacy, licensing.

According to Pandey, one particularly important observation in the Betcher report relates to risk and frequency. Many traditional IT governance models are designed around IT life-cycles of around three years. 

Within these cycles, IT audit leaves a detailed trail of version and upgrade information.

With the cloud, this changes. Not only does the cycle shrink massively (change can now be measured in hours and weeks rather than in years), the actual versioning of the technology behind the service can remain completely hidden from the consumer. 

As a result, cloud governance models must be able to assess risk from this entirely new perspective.

How Continuity is affected.....

Pandey believes that continuity in itself is solicited as the USP of cloud, at least in comparison with traditional infra.

Business continuity management (BCM) is the result of critical functions and processes assuring that a system performs its mission without incidence, and that the entity responds to all acts or events in a planned, consistent manner. 

Business continuity planning is rehearsed through scenario analysis which:

• Targets new, evolving or projected risks affecting business operations.

• Simulates and evaluates the effect of disruptions in information systems support and response time delays.

• Provides the ground for experimenting on effective solutions to every type of BCM disruption entering into the scenario.

“The analysis to which reference is made is instrumental in elaborating BCM clauses in service level agreements (SLAs) with cloud computing providers,” says Pandey and adds, “Sound governance assures that business continuity studies are part of the evaluation process preceding any top management decision in adopting cloud computing; it also constitutes a factor in choosing a cloud provider.”

Reprinted/Republished with permission from: www.csoforum.in

Editorial Flashback: It's an e-mail scam, not a "Nigerian scam"....

Editor-in-Chief

Imagine my surprise when I turned to the consumer page of the Attorney General of the State of Washington to find that a whole people, in this case citizens of Nigeria, had been painted with a wide brush (see former website content below in italics). Regarding the latter, I am talking about the much talked about e-mail scams or advance fee fraud, many believe originated from that West African nation.

"E-mail Scams - Advance fee and counterfeit check/Nigerian scams: If you suffered a financial loss you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov"

To better understand this issue, it will be prudent to give a brief overview of the most populous country on the African continent, a nation that has disbursed so much good to much of humanity, with some bad mixed in (show me a perfect country or people).

Nigeria gained its independence from Britain on October 1st, 1960. Since then, the country has experienced a civil war (that lasted for three years 1967-1970 and killed 1 million of its citizens) while also enjoying a long spell of economic prosperity and boom from the 70s to the late-80s (much from oil and other natural resources she has been blessed with).

Lately, beginning in the 1990s, the country's infrastructure, image and over-all national reputation has taking a beating, mainly as a result of defective leadership laced with unbecoming greed and avarice.

The general climate of corruption (not quite different from what you would find in most countries but quite overt in Nigeria) has led to an expected societal breakdown, where law, order and common decency became an exception and not the norm.

For all of its struggles with corruption and the systematic destruction of its storied institutions and culture, much of this by its own military, with the acquiescence of the West (the latter mostly concerned with taking its resources by any means), the country has re-set itself back on course, with democratic elections in 1999 and has never looked back since.

The descent into "white collar crime" with the e-mail scams and other forms of criminal activity (by a very marginal minority) does NOT define the nature and character of Nigerians (over 200 million people), with many Nigerians contributing as physicians, scientists, technology experts and business executives in much of the world, particularly Africa, Europe and the United States (with a well established immigrant population in the Puget Sound as well).

While the e-mail/advance fee scam has generally been portrayed as a "Nigerian Scam", recent investigations by the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) (working in conjunction with the FBI and Interpol) have shown that most of these crimes (e-mail/advance fee scams) have actually been committed by citizens of other West African countries, namely Ghana, the Sierra Leone and Liberia (due to the wars and extreme poverty in the latter two).

The interesting spin to the preceding information is that America's next door neighbor, Canada, has become a notorious breeding ground as well for a large proportion of these e-mail and other transactional scams. Witness the Canadian "lottery winner" e-mails as well as the offer to send you a "cashiers check" when you try to sell your car on Craigslist.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a body recently set up by Nigeria's democratically elected government, has also been very aggressive in pursuing the perpetrators of ALL financial crimes, within the Nigerian state.

While it is true that the Nigerian government "needs to do more" to ensure that this menace is curtailed (at least within its borders), one can say that the US government also needs to do more, by advising its citizens not to reply to e-mail solicitations to receive money from "relatives", they never had in Nigeria or anywhere else in the first place.

The advance fee fraud and e-mail scam developed a life of its own by the default of enablement. The greed and avarice in the United States (particularly on Wall Street) is there for all to see, but I am yet to see any Attorney General websites or newspapers refer to those as "American scam" or even worse still, label the scam on Wall Street with an ethnic delineation.

I am grateful to the deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Washington AG at the time for heeding my call and that of other well-meaning and hardworking Nigerians to remove the "Nigerian" label on this disgraceful activity.

One would hope that the likes of Sean Robinson (Staff Writer at the Tacoma News Tribune) might also learn something and understand that much like the criminals on Wall Street and those on the corners of the worst neighborhoods of Tacoma and indeed America who murder (serial killers et al), rape, pillage, molest and commit countless heinous crimes, are not branded with an American or other ethnic-American brush, it would be fool-hardy to do the same to others.

Quota system: Why is Nigeria still breastfeeding the North?

President Buhari has been accused of ethnic bias

CC™ Viewpoint - By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo

Nigeria: Imagine two students in the same secondary school in Kaduna. They are 18. They are filled with youthful patriotism. They sit for admission exams into the NDA. They both want to read Mechanical Engineering. Efosa scores 280. Musa scores 180. Efosa's celebrations are cut short. He is not invited for an interview. Musa who scored 180 is hopping around. He has been invited for an interview. Musa is admitted. Efosa and Musa are Nigerians but from different states. Efosa with his 280 repeats the NDA exams the following year. He takes another 2 years to achieve a score of 300 and is finally admitted. Musa and Efosa become military officers. Musa who scored 180 when Efosa scored 280 is Efosa's boss. Musa remains Efosa's boss for the entire military career.

Musa would be happy. Efosa would carry a grudge against the country in his heart. Musa would be celebrated someday. He would be called Nigeria's finest. Efosa might get his chance. But with the grudge in his heart, he might not reach the top. Someday it would seep out and it could be Musa that would retire him.

Emir Sanusi is right, quota system should have an expiry date. But I think our quota system has already expired.

The North is full of smart people. It only needs to treat education with the same seriousness with which it attends to elections. If the North had come to education with the same keenness with which it approached population and census over the years, it would have been more educationally advanced than the South.

Quota system doesn't do the image of the North any good. Quota system creates the impression that the north is mentally handicapped. The North must understand that quota system ridicules it. The sort of mockery fit for a young adult who has refused to let go of feeding bottles.

Quota system distorts the system. It confers on its beneficiaries advantages meant for the handicapped. When persons who have two legs take advantages meant for wheelchair users they ought to feel some shame. 60 years after independence, the quota system we practice today is disgraceful.

The sections that benefit from it must feel the weight of its shame. It's possible they have never really addressed their minds to its ugly implications. The quota is simply an admission of inferiority. It simply says some groups lack the capacity to compete with others. That should be a humiliating position to adopt. So why are the beneficiaries marching around oblivious of its shame?

Quota system like other affirmative actions is righteous if they serve moral purposes. Whites in the United States denied blacks education and denied them participation in society. When slavery and racism were abolished, those chronic injustices meant blacks had been left far behind others. Since blacks couldn't compete but had to be included, blacks were allowed to get into Ivy League universities with lower scores. That was an adjustment made to accommodate their handicap. It was done to correct a gap created by injustice.

Quota system in Nigeria of today would be pardonable if it served to uplift women. Women and girls have been subjugated for ages. Girls in the far North have been excluded from education by retrogressive cultures. Quota system for northern girls only could be excusable to some extent. But a quota system used to service the ambitions of able-bodied but indolent men must be properly characterized as corruption-a reward for laziness.

Our statesmen who instituted the quota system must have intended a short-term measure to improve the participation of certain groups in national education and perhaps policymaking. They couldn't have anticipated a situation where political leaders in the North would abandon education and not be confronted with the consequences of their waywardness. Laziness should not be rewarded. The abysmal school enrollment figures in the North must reflect on the bigger stage.

Imagine a situation where admissions into the Nigerian Defense Academy were carried out only by merit. No one would be expected to disclose his state of origin. The best students would be chosen the way we choose players for the Super Eagles. We would have an officer corps chosen solely on merit. It could become lopsided. There could be grumblings about its lopsidedness. But no one would complain he had been cheated. States who abandon education would face the consequences of allowing rent-seeking manipulative politicians lead them.

When the nation was at infancy, sections like children had to be appeased with candies. Those who showed retardation had to be propped. But 60 years after independence, 60 years after all sections have had a chance to improve their educational system, 60 years after those who were thought weak have held the steering wheel, no section deserves this national babysitting.

When a system is used to improve political inclusion, it is good. When a system is used to perpetuate mediocrity and reward indolence it is evil. The quota system cannot continue to be used to help the very group that has dominated political leadership in the country.

Katsina has had two presidents. Katsina had a deputy military head of state. Niger state has had two heads of state. Katsina and Niger have been in the thick of things of national politics for ages. Yet, Katsina and Niger, are still deemed so educationally backwards that their indigenes cannot be allowed to compete with indigenes of Edo state.

Take a state like Borno. The National Security Adviser, the Chief of Army Staff, the president's Chief of Staff, the EFCC chairman are all from Borno State. Borno occupies more positions than any other State in the security architecture of this third world country. Why should Borno State indigenes be allowed to get into the military and security services with lower scores than people from Delta State?

I looked at the list of students for the National Common Entrance Examinations from just a couple of years ago; Zamfara literally didn't participate. If that list is reliable then almost everyone who applied from Zamfara would gain admission because the number that applied from Zamfara is less than the number that applied from every small school in Lagos.

Yet, tomorrow, from amongst that small number of largely unqualified Zamfara students that would be admitted, the federal character would step in and catapult them to the highest positions in the land. If we practiced such a decadent system in our football or athletics we would be about the worst sporting nation in the world. So why do we practice it in politics, 60 years after trying to weave a nation?

I have read the arguments that say politics is not football. They mean exclusion would cause discontent and instability. But nothing causes discontent and instability more than injustice. When we shout 'One Nigeria,' we must mean it. True 'One Nigeria" is a Nigeria where all citizens are equal; where neither state of origin, religion nor ethnicity confers any advantages or disadvantages.

The North is full of smart people. Polices that cast it in negative light must stop. The abolition of the quota system is long overdue.

Northern and Southern Governors have banned open grazing in Nigeria

CC™ ViewPoint

By Femi Falana

At the virtual meeting of Northern Governors Forum held on February 9, 2021, the members unanimously resolved to ban open grazing. According to the communique issued at the end of the meeting, it was stated that the Forum noted with concern “the growing wave of insecurity in the country particularly as it relates to the circulation of unverified video clips on social media portraying violent attacks on persons in some parts of the country. Therefore, the forum called on political leaders to segregate between criminality and social groups in their domains with a view to treating criminals as   criminals.

The forum reiterated   the   condemnation of   every form of criminality whether from herders, hunters, or farmers occupying forest reserves illegally. It also noted with concern the tension generated by the eviction order issued to herdsmen in some parts of the country. And it  expressed concern that this is heating the already fragile security atmosphere with threats of reprisals which the Northern governors are working assiduously to contain.”

The forum also noted with concern that “the current system of herding conducted mainly through open grazing is no longer sustainable in view of growing urbanization and population of the country.”

Consequently, the forum resolved to aggressively sensitize herdsmen on the need to adopt new methods of herding by ranching or other acceptable modern methods.” The forum appealed to the Federal Government “to support states with grants to directly undertake pilot projects of modern livestock production that will serve as springboard and evidence for breaking resistance to the full implementation of new methods of livestock production (and) resolved to engage elders and youths in a robust discussion with a view to dousing the tensed security environment in the North and called on all the citizens of the north to continue to live in peace with all Nigerians irrespective of their origins and backgrounds.”

The forum stressed the urgent need for the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, to meet and discuss the issue holistically with a view to resolving all areas of misunderstanding and conflicts arising from these threats and suspicion for the sake of national unity.

In response to the call of the NGF for an urgent meeting, the Nigeria Governors Forum held a virtual meeting on February 11, 2021. At the meeting the 36 state governors agreed by consensus to end nomadic cattle rearing in the country in order to end the incessant violent clashes between farmers and herders. In the communique of the governors it was categorically stated as follows: “Following an update from governors on the various initiatives taken by state governments to address the rising insecurity in the country due to the   activities of herdsmen, members reached a consensus on the need for the country to transition into modern systems of animal husbandry that will replace open, night and underage   grazing in the country.”

It was further stated in the Communique that: “State   governments are encouraged to put in place systems to accelerate the grazing initiative of the National Livestock Transformation  Plan, NLTP and ranching in the country.” However, the Forum urged state governments to respect “the right of abode of all Nigerians and strongly condemns criminality and the ethnic profiling of crime in the country in an effort to frame the widespread banditry and the herders /farmers crisis.”

At its own meeting held at Asaba, Delta State on May 11, 2021,   the Southern Governors Forum reiterated the decision of the Nigeria Governors Forum to ban open grazing in the country. Curiously, Professor Usman Yusuf has condemned the decision of the Southern Governors Forum on the ban. Even though he did not condemn the decisions of the Northern Governors Forum and the Nigeria Governors Forum, Professor Usman has argued that the decision of the Southern Governors Forum could not be justified under the Land Use Act. Such divide-and-rule tactics are designed to further polarise the masses of our people.

In any case, the decision of all the   governors to ban open grazing is in line with section 1 of the Land Use Act which has vested the entire land in every state in the governors on behalf of the people. Accordingly, any person or corporate body that wishes to use land in any state is required to apply for a certificate of occupancy issued by the governor.

In the same vein, the power to approve the physical planning of the land in every state is the exclusive responsibility of state governments.  Furthermore,   forest reserves owned by state governments are equally regulated by laws enacted by the Houses of Assembly. Under such laws it is stipulated that it is a criminal offence to occupy any part of such reserve without authorization of the state government.

By the combined effect of the Land Use Act, Regional Planning laws and Forest Laws applicable in all the states of the federation. Thus,   pursuant to such laws the Federal Government has directed state governments to take charge of all the forests in all states. It is, therefore, grossly misleading to argue that herders have unquestionable power to graze their cattle on any land without the authorization of the appropriate authorities.

As I had repeatedly maintained, the worsening insecurity in the country, including the violent clashes between herders and farmers, can only be seriously addressed if policy makers are prepared to abandon primitive ideas and embrace scientific solutions. As far back as 2016, the Buhari administration had adopted ranching in place of open grazing on farmlands without the authorization of the owners. Unfortunately, due to pressure from some selfish interest groups the Federal Government abandoned the policy of ranching.

However,   the increasing wave of insecurity in recent times has compelled the Federal Government and all the state governments to make ranching as the cornerstone of the National   Livestock   Transformation   Plan. From the information at our disposal, not fewer  than 24 state governments have applied for the special grant earmarked for the establishment of ranches by the Federal Government.

No doubt, every citizen is entitled to the fundamental right to freedom of movement and right to own and acquire land in any part of Nigeria by virtue of sections 41 and   43 of the Nigerian Constitution, respectively. To that extent, herders, like other citizens, are at liberty to acquire land for cattle business under the Land Use Act. But it is grossly misleading on the part of Professor Usman to say that governors are required to secure the permission of herders before banning the dangerous practice of open, night and underage grazing.

Those who are encouraging herders to reject modern animal husbandry are advised to learn from Botswana, South Africa,   Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia that have effectively adopted ranching to end clashes between herders and farmers. In those countries, farmers live in the ranches with family members, including their children and wards who attend schools in the neighbourhood.

*Femi Falana, SAN, is Interim Chair, Alliance on Surviving COVID – 19 and Beyond, ASCAB.

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 is expecting of Nigeria 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.

Muhammadu Buhari: A political paradox and the making of a dictatorial democracy

CC™ VideoScope