CC™ InfoShots
Saturday
Peter Obi reacts to Buhari’s postponement of National Population Census
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| Buhari betrayed Jonathan’s Legacy |
CC™ Global News
By Gboyega Sowemimo
Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Gregory Obi, has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled for May 3-7 2023.
Buhari in a press statement signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday, officially approved the census postponement.
Mohammed revealed that Buhari gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.
According to the minister, President Buhari approved that a new date would be determined by the incoming administration.
Reacting via Twitter on Saturday, Peter Obi described Buhari’s decision as a welcome development, stressing that National Census is a critical development and nation-building tool.
Obi tweeted: “FGN’s decision to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census, scheduled for 3-7 May 2023, to a date to be determined by the incoming Administration is a propitious and welcome development. National Census is a critical development and nation-building tool”
It is imperative that the next National Population Census is done right, with a view to addressing past concerns of the exercise being manipulated to favor a certain region of the country.
Friday
Transgender female runner who beat 14,000 women at London Marathon offers to give medal back
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CC™ Global News
By Ryan Gaydos and Chantz Martin
Glenique Frank, a transgender woman who ran the London Marathon in the female category, offered to give her medal back after controversy stirred when she beat out about 14,000 women in the race.
Frank sparked criticism after she appeared in a BBC interview and gushed about becoming a grandmother. She told the New York Post that the London Marathon was the first race she was able to pick her own name and gender. Several other races she plans on running need her name and gender given on her passport, including New York City, Tokyo and Boston, among others.
Frank told the outlet she was only sorry for "upsetting" her critics.
"If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say, ‘OK, fine. No problem,'" Frank told the New York Post. "If they really think I’ve stolen the place [of a female runner], I don’t mind giving the medal back, because I’ll run again next year for charity.
"They’re angry because they’re saying that one of 14,000 women behind me could have had my place. Really? I did [the race in] 4 hours 11 minutes. There’s lots of women that beat me."
Frank said she understood she does not have a "womb" but insisted she did not compete as an elite runner and "didn’t steal any money."
Frank’s foray into the London Marathon irked two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi, who finished in sixth place in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 while representing her home country of Great Britain.
Yamauchi did not mince words when she spoke on Frank's win at the marathon over the weekend.
"Males in the [female] category is UNFAIR for females," Yamauchi wrote in a tweet.
"Nearly 14,000 actual females suffered a worse finish position [because] of him," Yamauchi wrote on Twitter.
Frank said her attention was not to try to trick anyone.
"I’ve known since I was 5 that I was in the wrong body," Frank said.
Frank said she is still planning on running marathons and planned on entering the London race next year as "other" or "male" to "just keep everybody happy."
Frank previously ran at an event in New York City while wearing a bra and a wig.
Frank, who is a British citizen, identifies as a female. After running a 17th career marathon, she excitedly spoke about using "girl power" to help get through the race.
Thursday
Nigeria Completes Gas Pipeline Without Chinese Funds
CC™ Energy News
By Charles Kennedy
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has used around $1.1 billion of its own funds so far and has completed work on 70% of a large natural gas pipeline in Nigeria even after a Chinese loan for the project failed to materialize.
Nigeria's federal government announced in July 2020 that the Bank of China and Sinosure had agreed to finance part of the costs for constructing the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline to the economic hub in the north, Kano. In the summer of 2021, reports started swirling that Chinese lenders were reluctant to increase their exposure and finance part of the gas pipeline project estimated to cost $2.8 billion.
Nigeria has started to look for alternative funding for at least US$1 billion of the pipeline's cost and has started to approach other lenders, including export-import credit institutions, sources told Reuters two years ago.
This week, NNPC Group chief executive, Mele Kyari, said on a site inspection that the AKK Gas Pipeline project was nearly 70% completed, and more than $1.1 billion has been released so far to finance the project. The pipeline is planned to run for 614 kilometers (382 miles) and is currently being financed by the NNPC.
The AKK Gas Pipeline line will flow 2 Bscf/d and will power industries and power plants and create gas-based industries, Kyari said. By the third quarter of this year, NNPC will complete the entire welding job on this line, he said while visiting a construction site along the pipeline's route.
“We have so far spent over $1.1 billion on this project from our cashflow," NNPC's Kyari said.
"We are a commercial company today. We have inter-company loans within our company now. This company can fund this project, so we do not need any support to deliver this project now."
Wednesday
Monday
Sunday
Saturday
Egyptian lawyer sues Netflix for depicting Cleopatra as Black woman
CC™ Entertainment News
By Adele James
An Egyptian lawyer has taken legal action against the popular streaming platform, Netflix. The lawyer filed a case with the Public Prosecutor calling for the closure of the platform after the release of the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Queen Cleopatra."
The film depicts the Greek historical figure as a black-skinned woman, a portrayal that has caused controversy and sparked outrage in Egypt.
The lawyer argues that the depiction is historically inaccurate and offensive to the Egyptian people.
According to Egypt Independent, Mahmoud al-Semary demanded that all legal measures be taken against those responsible for the documentary and the management of the streaming platform for its participation in “this crime.”
The complaint submitted against the streaming platform alleged that "most of what Netflix platform displays contradicts Islamic and societal values and principles, especially Egyptian ones.", Greek city times reported.
The case said that the documentary promotes Afrocentrism that is widely spread on social media, which have slogans and writings aimed at distorting and obliterating the Egyptian identity.
The complaint continued addressing Public Prosecution: "In order to preserve the Egyptian national and cultural identity among Egyptians all over the world… we ask and seek you to take the necessary legal measures against this platform."
It demanded stopping broadcasts showing all works aimed at obliterating and distorting the Egyptian identity, through films aimed at falsifying and distorting history in Egypt.
Friday
Poetry Fridays
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have ascribed unto themselves the dubious distinction of being all-knowing, and all-conquering…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their greed and avarice has overtaken their sense of humanity, fairness and compassion…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have killed their conscience and ultimately succeeded in shutting the window to their soul…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not have it in them to see ahead, and as such, they must continually look back…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are conditioned to forever sell their souls to the devil…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are devoid of even the slightest ounce of human decency and integrity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because not only are they bereft of ideas, but more importantly, they are lacking in courage and a sense of devoir…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their penchant for obfuscating diatribes…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their inherent sense of inferiority feigned by a debilitating superiority complex…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their antecedents tell you they are eternal rogues, liars and marauders…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to being not only deceitful, but also, exceedingly treacherous…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather dibble, dabble and dicker…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they would rather destroy than build…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their very being serves to be, the manifestation of an anathema…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have never known or felt the brunt of their misgivings and past misdeeds…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but prefer to see themselves as victims, even though the overwhelming evidence, is to the contrary…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather engage in the art of "Water Power" all in a bid to fulfill their hidden agenda…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever moan about their "plight", but conveniently forget, that you reap what you sow…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever revel in the art of debauchery…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their jaundiced penchant for revisionist history…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their susceptibility to calculated miscalculations…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to selective encumbrances…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than act as leaders, they see themselves as rulers…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because as Baruch Spinoza once stated, "their self-complacency has become pleasure accompanied by the idea of them as cause…"
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not know any better, but refuse to ask how to…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they know better, but prefer not to act accordingly…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have lost their way and insist on remaining in a
State of flux…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than look within, they would much rather look without…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are as clueless as to the objectivity of sense, as they are to their sense of objectivity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they spit in our faces and tell us it’s raining…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they tell us good morning although the sun has just set…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them why…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them how…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them when…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them where…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I shed our blood to make them whole…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they underestimate our resolve and determination…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do all these at their own peril…
© 2023 Boye Coker. All Rights Reserved
Thursday
T-Mobile to make major changes to its wireless plans on April 20th
CC™ Mobility Watch
By Alan Friedman
T-Mobile announced this week that it will announce its next Un-carrier move on Thursday, April 20th. The news will be released at 9 am PDT/Noon EDT. In addition, a promotional image shared by T-Mobile has the phrase "Let's Go" right in the middle which dovetails with the rumored new "Go5G" branding for T-Mobile's wireless plans.
T-Mobile is about to shake up its wireless plans according to The Mobile Report. The latter cites multiple sources who claim that the nation's second-largest wireless provider is going to rebrand its top wireless plans under the "Go5G" name. Those subscribed to the current Magenta plans (Magenta Max, Magenta) will be allowed to keep their current plans. The "Go5G" plan will be the basic plan, similar to the Magenta plan. "Go5G" Plus will match Magenta Max.
The report adds that T-Mobile will also be using the "Go5G" name for its enterprise-related Business and Business Plus plans. Also expected are "Go5G" Military and "Go5G" First Responder plans.
While it isn't known what additional features the new plans might have, one source mentioned by The Mobile Report suggests that there might be more international calling options. Another possibility is that the new plans might not include taxes and fees. As for the pricing of the new plans, when T-Mobile went from its ONE branding to Magenta, prices were the same before and after the change. While that could be the case here, we will have to wait for an official announcement to know for sure.
Besides the "Go5G" plans, the sources have apparently mentioned a plan called Essentials Savings which might be a less-loaded discounted plan similar to the carrier's current Essentials plan. The report claims that there is a company-wide meeting scheduled for this coming Sunday, April 23rd which is when the new branding and plans could be announced. T-Mobile has broken big stories on Sunday before. On April 29th, 2018, a Sunday, T-Mobile announced that it was going to acquire Sprint.
T-Mobile is supposed to announce its first-quarter results on April 27th and analysts expect it to lead the industry in one of the most important industry metrics, net new postpaid phone customers. Additionally, T-Mobile dominated the latest data speed report released by Ookla for the first quarter.
PHONE ARENA
Wednesday
Tuesday
Ooni of Ife, Kenyan president meet to discuss business and peace initiatives
CC™ Global News
By Deji Komolafe
Arole Oduduwa, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has recently visited Kenyan President, His Excellency, William Ruto on a state visit to discuss his Global Peace Agenda, unification of African people and Ojaja Pan-African Business Initiatives, which is currently extending to global space.
Ooni commended Ruto for his leadership qualities in making Kenya a leading stable democracy in Africa and also expressed his confidence in the president’s capacity to deliver monumental dividends of democracy to the people of Kenya.
“Africa is the most appealing continent, with immense natural fortune and untapped human capital that are altering the global workforce, trade, and investment. I am thankful for the president’s demonstration of his commitment to push for the inclusion of traditional institutions as enablers of good governance in Africa as I unveiled the Ooni Ojaja Pan-Africa Business and Investment Initiative with a large contingent of entrepreneurs across Africa. It is clear that we must consciously expand our economic engagement with unprecedented access to markets between our two countries. Nigeria needs Kenya, and Kenya needs Nigeria. Our ambition is to develop the most ambitious ties that will propel us to sell goods and services more easily across borders while our children can pursue opportunities across Africa without barriers of immigration and unfriendly movement policies.
“The borderless African continent is an unexploited asset that is critical to unlocking the economic potential of African countries. The vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the flagships for the continent’s shared wealth and economic boom. It is a game changer that can provide a tariff-free framework that should have been in existence since 1957 when Ghana became the first African country to achieve independence from colonial rule. It is time to build the “Africa that We Want,” not as a slogan, but as an epic movement that restores Africa’s honour, pride, and reverence, from aid to trade,” he said.
Receiving His Imperial Majesty and his entourage at the Kenyan Government House in Nairobi, President Ruto lauded Ooni’s quest to ensure Africa grows in peace and unity by using his position to bridge the gap between a traditional, government institutions and the people.
Ruto said that Kenya is willing to support the Ooni’s Initiatives and strengthen partnerships due to the King’s investment in human development and business success.
“Your Majesty, I sincerely welcome you and your team on behalf of the government and good people of Kenya. We have been told of how you have consistently used your throne to work for peace and prosperity of our continent and the world at large, you are indeed a very unique Pan-African king of our time. This is what kings should be doing.
“Kenyans and Nigerians are partners in progress for the development of Africa. The two countries have enjoyed good diplomatic ties together and this visit and investment mission in Kenya will surely further strengthen the existing cordiality between our two countries.”
“Kenya is opening for big enterprises, come and set up businesses here and I can assure you and members of your Ojaja Pan-African Business Initiatives some of whom are already operating in some East African countries of the unflinching support of my government”, he said.
Monday
BREAKING: Results on INEC portal show Peter Obi, not Tinubu, won in Rivers State
CC™ Politico News
By Chinagorom Ugwu and Saviour Imukudo
The candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, won the 25 February presidential election in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, South-south Nigeria, according to results uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
Mr Obi’s haul of votes in the area implies he, and not Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the presidential election in Rivers, contrary to the declaration made by INEC.
The result for Obio/Akpor council area, as declared by INEC, portrayed Mr Tinubu as scoring 80, 239 votes, with Mr Obi garnering 3,829 votes.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 368 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party got 161 votes, this newspaper had reported.
Mr Tinubu was later declared winner of the election. Atiku came second while Mr Obi came third.
But PREMIUM TIMES’ review of the results from various polling units of the 17 wards in Obio/Akpor LGA as uploaded on IReV revealed a sharp contrast with the result declared by INEC.
Given that Mr Tinubu was declared winner in Obio/Akpor, this newspaper’s review focused on the results of the votes scored by the APC and LP in the area
By our tally, the APC got 17, 158 votes while the LP amassed 73,311 votes.
Obio/Akpor Local Government Area has 1,211 polling units across its 17 wards.
PREMIUM TIMES could only review results from 1,116 polling units uploaded on the IReV as of 16 March, representing about 94.13 percent of the results from the council area.
However, results from some polling units were either blurred or improperly snapped and therefore illegible.
Results from about 95 polling units, representing about 5.87 per cent, were yet to be uploaded within the period under review.
There were no results in some polling units either because the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System malfunctioned or people did not come out to cast their votes, as observed at Ake Hostel UNIPORT Polling Unit in Choba Ward.
This newspaper computed the available and readable results from the 1,116 polling units uploaded so far on the IReV within the period of the review.
In some polling units in Obio/Akpor, PREMIUM TIMES found that some results were altered in favour of the APC, with the original scores mutilated.
The result from Rumuorluoji Open Space II polling unit in Oro-Igwe Ward, for instance, showed that the APC originally scored 17 but the number, ‘2’ was added to the figure to read ‘217.’
For the LP, 227 was recorded, but the number ‘2’ was erased and altered to read ‘027.’
At the column meant for recording the scores in words, there were evidence of adjustments to suit the changed figures.
In Rumuokoro Ward, it was noticed that in 34 polling units, results earlier written for the LP were erased and the figures swapped with that of the APC.
PREMIUM TIMES, nevertheless, tallied the figures as published by INEC, despite the obvious evidence of adjustments and mutilations. In other words, the figures were tallied as they appeared on result sheets, even when there was evidence that such figures were tampered with.
In some cases, the results for the National Assembly elections were uploaded in some polling units instead of the presidential election results.
A result from the Civic Centre Hall Polling Unit in Rumuigbo Ward, for instance, showed that a result from the House of Representatives election was uploaded in place of that of the presidential election.
PREMIUM TIMES also tallied results from Degema Local Government Area uploaded on the IReV, and the findings confirmed Mr Tinubu won in the council area, although the score was slightly lower than the one announced by INEC.
However, this newspaper could not tally the results from some polling units in the council area because they were illegible or not yet uploaded within the period under review.
Mr Obi was leading Mr Tinubu with over 23,000 votes by the time INEC announced the presidential election results in 21 of the 23 local government areas in the state.
The LP candidate polled 169,414 votes at the time, while Mr Tinubu scored 148,979 votes.
Mr Obi’s largest votes at the time came from Port Harcourt City Local Government Area where he scored 62,451 votes, while Atiku scored 7,203 votes, followed by Mr Tinubu, who scored 5,562 votes. Kwankwaso scored 301.
Results were still being expected then from two remaining local government areas – Obio/Akpor, where the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, hails from, and Degema.
With the results from Obio/Akpor coming in, and with INEC announcing that Mr Tinubu scored 80, 239 votes against Mr Obi’s 3,829 votes, the APC candidate was now in the lead and was eventually declared the winner of the presidential election in Rivers State.
Atiku scored 368 votes in Obio/Akpor, while Mr Kwankwaso scored 161 votes.
In Degema Local Government Area, Mr Tinubu scored 2,375 votes, while Mr Obi scored 2,212 votes. Atiku scored 3,108 votes, while Mr Kwankwaso scored 44 votes.
Mr Tinubu polled 231,591 votes in Rivers State as against Mr Obi’s 175,071 votes, according to INEC.
Atiku scored 88,468, while Mr Kwankwaso clinched 1,322 votes.
The collation officer for the presidential election in Rivers had adjourned the collation of results at some point over alleged threat to his life by some supporters of a political party.
There were reports of attacks and suppression of voters in the state.
Governor Wike, who is a member of the PDP, led other PDP governors to rebel against the national leadership of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku, following disagreement over which of the north or the south should produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
The Rivers governor had contested and lost in the PDP presidential primary.
He then supported the APC candidate, Mr Tinubu in the presidential election, saying since Mr Buhari is from the north, the next president of Nigeria, for the sake of fairness, should come from the south.
Mr Obi, like Mr Tinubu, is from the south of Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES
Sunday
THE GHOST OF JUNE 12: A REFERENTIAL TO "7 FATAL DELUSIONS AMONG SOUTHERNERS"
CC™ ViewPoint
"A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." - Saul Bellow
The way we democratize deliberate ignorance in the southern district of a failing Nigeria (i.e., the Southern part of what I call f-Nigeria) is beyond pale. The current agitation for the Oduduwa Republic is mused in the wrong footings. The agitators for the emancipation of the Oduduwa republic are Oduduwa patriots. But the method being used by them to liberate the intellectually resourceful geolocated region within a troubled Nigeria is wrong.
Some of the southern stakeholders are fully packaged in fool's paradise. They are languishing in a faded country that can be a bright light compass for other African countries. But Nigeria is now a dark compass for a beleaguered Africa and a seeming pariah continent. A sad commentary and development in our moments of history. Southern Nigeria has always been a contextual entity within Nigerian geopolitics.
Realistically, if you are a clear-sighted Southerner and you want to face facts and not be in the cocoons of delusional people, please, go and read the exposé titled: SEVEN FATAL DELUSIONS AMONG SOUTHERNERS authored by Mr. Moses Oludele Idowu. The article, dated June 5, 2021, is a brilliant exposition for thoughtful minds in Yorubaland and beyond. The writer couldn't have exposed our delusional state of being better in his masterpiece. I had similar intent to pen down the delusional unseriousness of some Southerners, but Mr. Moses Oludele Idowu did justice to the structure and substance of the article. The Southerners are now caught in the cobwebs of a failing state called Nigeria.
Sadly, we are fighting a 'crude' and a "just war" to save ourselves from ourselves and the barbaric and heinous exploits of the Fulani herdsmen and the Nigerian state. We are fighting for a just course with once-upon-a-time (dis)honest warriors and traitors. From time immemorial, Our progenitors ignorantly sold a formidable race to invaders and brutish British with the bad taste of history. We got our independence without a thorough negotiation of severance or disunity from the constituency of fraudulent masters.
Different people with different mores, cultures, religions, and ways of life were jam-packed for the administrative convenience of the colonial rulers. While their reigning periods were being dismantled at independence, the imperialists left us in false unity for future perils. The chicken of our forefathers who sold our generations to perfidy has come home to roost. Our current generation is reaping the sour milk of our forefathers' quiescent thoughts and deliberate ignorance.
Today, the conglomeration of Nigeria is a bitter union or entrapped marriage. Southerners are the worst enemies of themselves. Some Southerners cannot be counted on. It seems a generational curse that needs to be broken. The Northerners are very united at perpetrating evils and destruction against their perceived enemies. They suffer from the born-to-rule syndrome. Born-to-rule syndrome is a generational curse that the north must break. The Easterners are good at being used as an administrative convenience by the Nigerian rulers. Easterners have never been fully united for a common purpose and achievable course. It is a generational curse that needs to be permanently halted. Who will be the first to break the collective curses and unending condemnations plaguing each geopolitical zone in "a mere geographical expression" called Nigeria is a daunting task.
Meanwhile, we all remember how the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo's political efforts were thwarted by the six- unwise men in the Southwest(i.e., the Yorubas). Late Chief MKO Abiola and Late Chief Akintola were used against Awo's ideals and ideas that would have transformed the Southern and entire Nigeria for good. Southerners were used to impede Awo's laudable agendas for Nigeria. We remember how the man in Minna used some six unwise notable men in the Southwest to annul the June 12, 1993, presidential election. The debunk of history will reveal their names at the appropriate time. June 12 is the most peaceful and freest presidential election in the history of a contrived and troubled Nigeria. June 12, the late MKO Abiola's victory was invalidated using southerners to hatch the eggs of southern conspiracy.
Aiyekooto, but truth be told, some of us who supported Buhari's political (in)competency suffered from political amnesia, thinking Buhari will assuage the southerners to bring the much-needed change. We were deadly wrong. Buhari's orientation is tailored towards Western self-containment and preservation. With all evidentiary facts, it's obvious that Buhari loves Hausa-Fulanis first before Buhari loves other tribes in Nigeria.
What Mr. Moses Oludele Idowu, the author of the referential article, espoused are our delusional expectations that the Western world will come to African aid when African Africans roast or eat Africans. The Southerners' delusional fixation can also be juxtaposed with the delusional expectation that Buhari will leverage Southerners' interests for the sake of Southerners. Like Western countries against Africa, Buhari's tribalized persona and ethnicized administration will never leverage anything at the expense of the Hausa-Fulani's interests and oligarchy. Buhari is an unconcerned, stealthy, and unapologetic bigot. We hyped Buhari's integrity at the expense of our patriotism and blurry political eyes. Buhari's silence, ineffectual, and tired hands at handling and tackling the insecurity in Nigeria is one of the worst things to have happened to Nigeria. It is high time he woke up from his slumbering demeanor.
Nigeria is jinxed. Buhari, the perceived providential child, has morphed into a circumstantial child racing backward to align with the immediate past. The situation in Nigeria is imminently precarious pre and post-Buhari. After Buhari, what next? The delusional coexistence and utopian Nigeria now and after Buhari is obviously null and mirage. If I have siblings or family members living in Nigeria's Northern and Eastern parts, I will unequivocally ask them to begin sauntering back to base. Nigeria is an illusion, and our delusional unity is a question of time. Nigeria is at the point of inflection to deflect into the chasm of time. Unfortunately, our state of disequilibrium in Nigeria is a slippery slope to the unknown.
With no equivocation, all the 7 bullet points highlighted by the brilliant author, Mr. Moses Oludele Idowu, cannot be overlooked or overemphasized. This is the auspicious period we must begin to unite in the Oduduwa enclaves to liberate ourselves from a forced marriage of convenience. Nigeria as we know it is delicately sitting on k-legged tripod stands that may not stand the test of time. Mr. Moses Oludele Idowu's well-researched article, expectedly, may not be widely read by the Aiyékòóto?´ and apathetic Southerners who may not see themselves as the most delusional, confused and well-learned region in our false geopolitical conundrum called Nigeria. Until we appease the ghost of June 12 through the true national conversation, Southwestern Nigeria will continue to pour needless libations at the void entrance of a house of lamentations.
Saturday
From Jibril To Pablo: The Jagabanization Of Democracy As Nigeria Moves Closer To Tyranny
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| David Hundeyin |
CC™ Viewpoint
By Boyejo A. Coker - Editor-in-Chief
In my preceding piece, I alluded to the fact that, it actually does not matter what aisle of the political spectrum you belong to, the problem with Nigeria is not one of ethnicity or a lack of resources, both human and natural to propel that great nation to its deserved lofty heights, Nigeria's problem remains the same - the rudderless, improvident and imprudent band of usurpers and brigands, masquerading as leaders since the inception of the 4th Republic in May, 1999.
For those who thought 2023 was going to be different, I must ask what they were smoking to have thought it possible for one to put old wine in a new bottle and expect a different taste. In what parallel or alternate universe would that have been possible giving the antecedents of Nigeria’s crass political class and the generality of its people? When you have Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi as the standard bearers of the three main Parties, was anything actually going to be different?
Most people conveniently forget that Peter Obi launched a third force as a form of ‘grievance’ against the PDP. Obi felt he was never going to win the nomination ticket to be the presidential candidate of the PDP. Obi was in fact the first protagonist of the spirit of Emilokan, or in his case, Awalokan, as he felt it was the turn of the Southeast to produce the next President of Nigeria. Peter Obi is not new to the political arena in Nigeria. He is in fact an integral part of the establishment and while many laud his purported achievements when he was the Chief Executive of Anambra State, one remains puzzled as to exactly what his signature accomplishments were, besides being a supposed egalitarian steward of the coffers of Anambra State, as governor.
For the record, Obi was Atiku Abubakar's running mate in 2019 under the auspices of the PDP, the Party that had held sway over Nigerian politics for 16 years from 1999 to 2015. He and Atiku lost the election to the then incumbent (and outgoing president) Muhammadu Buhari.
Obi was also named in the Pandora Papers controversy. The result of the Pandora Papers leaks, the Premium Times reported on Obi's involvement in offshore companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and Barbados. This was before he held any political office in Nigeria. Further reporting showed that in 2010 as well, Obi had Access International help him set up and manage Gabriella Investments Limited, a company in the British Virgin Islands named after Obi's daughter.
One of the directors was also the director of a Belize-based shell company that was issued 50,000 shares in Gabriella Investments. In 2017, Obi reorganized the company under the name PMGG Investments Limited and created a trust named The Gabriella Settlement which became the sole shareholder in PMGG Investments Limited. Obi was not holding any political position at this time.
The Premium Times report claimed that Obi had broken several laws due to his business dealings. The report claimed that firstly, Obi remained as director of Next International (UK) Limited while serving as Governor of Anambra State, which is in direct violation of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Obi described that claim as misleading and wrong in an interview with Arise News stating that he resigned from all companies before taking the office of Governor of Anambra State. Secondly, it claimed that Obi's non-declaration of his offshore companies broke the Nigerian Constitution's provision that requires public officers to declare all their properties, assets, and liabilities.
For the record, no criminal case has ever been filed against Obi.
To his credit, Obi's Labor Party (LP) galvanized a movement that threatened the very foundation of Nigeria's entrenched political establishment. He selected a charismatic running mate of Northern extraction, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, a Nigerian economist and politician who served as Senator for Kaduna North from 2011 to 2012 and member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007.
The 'Obidient Movement', as it was aptly named, re-invigorated the youth of Nigeria and energized a political base that had been marginalized, oppressed and suppressed for far too long by the Kleptocrats who had run roughshod over the Nigerian populace for far too long. For the first time in the history of Nigerian politics, the entrenched political establishment had to reckon with a veritable third force, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu's All Progressives Congress (APC) ruling Party as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Atiku Abubakar, were left reeling in the face of a formidable display of organizational discipline and focused messaging by the Obi-Datti led LP.
While the Obi-Datti led LP sought to project a unity of purpose coupled with disciplined messaging, Tinubu's APC took the often travelled path of ethno-religious bigotry by presenting a Muslim-Muslim ticket with Tinubu's running-mate Kashim Shettima having a well-documented history of being in bed with the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, while the Atiku-led PDP again put forth someone with a well-documented record of not only losing major elections dating back to the early 1990s, but also being one of the most corrupt individuals in the history of Nigerian politics.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria's supervisory electoral body promised a free, fair and transparent election with a veritable voter authentication mechanism, as well as real time upload and transmission of election results. At the end of the day, the 2023 elections were at best a sham with widespread issues of voter suppression through intimidation and in some cases, murder, including the blatant altering/falsification of results to favor the ruling APC.
Even more damming is that Tinubu’s own organization, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which was formed on 15 May 1994 by a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats to challenge the then military junta of the sadistic dictator, Sani Abacha, challenged the transparency and legitimacy of the just concluded 2023 general elections.
Worse still is that barely a month after the elections, the Islamist terrorist groups have once again resumed their blood-letting, perhaps in recognition of the fact that the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu and his second-in-command, Kashim Shettima, will subtly acquiesce to their ethnic and religious killings, as the two (Tinubu and Shettima) are known sympathizers and benefactors of Boko Haram and its sister band of killers.
If President Buhari's goal was to leave a legacy beholden of the true tenets of democracy, he failed woefully, which is not surprising when one considers the rudderless leadership, he has subjected the country to over the last 8 years.
The legitimacy of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, if he is sworn-in will always be a viable conversation piece. He will be the first person chosen to lead Nigeria to get less than 50% of the votes. There are also doubts as to the veracity of his educational qualifications, as to date, his purported degree from Chicago State University in the United States of America, remains unsubstantiated.
Furthermore, there are serious legal questions surrounding his forfeiture of close to $500,000 to the United States government in 1993 for his involvement in drug trafficking. The latter, as well as the specter of the fact that he may have presented fraudulent educational credentials may be enough to cast a shadow over his fitness for that exalted office.
There is a palpable air of illegitimacy hanging over Tinubu's hollow victory, and regardless of what the Supreme Court rules in response to the petitions filed by both the LP and the PDP, near irremediable damage has been done to the collective psyche of Nigerians, as well as the nation's nascent democratic institutions.
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