Buhari or Jonathan: The Time To Decide - Femi Fani Kayode

Article written by former Minister Femi Fani Kayode. Read and tell us what you think...

Major General Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as the APC flagbearer  for the 2015 Presidential election and President Goodluck Jonathan has emerged for the PDP. The battle for the soul and future of our nation now begins.  

Let us consider Buhari.  On 22nd July 2014 he told The Nation Newspaper that "our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. 

Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes''.

One may have been prepared to accept the general's words as being those of a genuinely concerned and committed patriot who simply wanted our President and his Government to do a better job and who was worried about the unfolding situation in our country if he had not consistently exposed his true colors and his obvious soft spot for Boko Haram.

Permit me to share just one example of the expression of that soft spot in this contribution. On 3rd June 2013, Thisday Newspaper led their newspaper with the following headline: ''The military offensive against Boko Haram is anti-north- General Muhammadu Buhari''.

The headline was followed by these words: ''Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has criticised the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States and the subsequent military offensive against the Boko Haram Islamic sect. Buhari, who featured on the “Guest of the Week,” a Hausa programme of the Kaduna-based Liberty Radio, yesterday said the federal government’s action was a gross injustice against the north. According to him, unlike the special treatment the federal government gave to the Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses demolished. He said he was not in support of the declaration of state of emergency in the three north-eastern states because President Goodluck Jonathan had failed from the outset in addressing the security situation in the country''.

The implications of these shameful and indefensible comments, coming from a former Head of State, are obvious and self-evident. If the truth be told Buhari's peculiar affinity with the terrorists and his fawning about their safety and welfare is as unbearable as it is nauseating.

Yet that same General Buhari who said these unacceptable things one year ago is now busy pontificating about his concerns for our nation. Many would argue that that is pretty rich coming from him given his past comments about a ruthless group of terrorists who, more than any other, merit the award for the greatest ''troublers of our nation''. Given this I regard Buhari's comments to the Nation Newspaper on the 22 July 2014 as nothing but self-serving and belated clap trap and balderdash.

Yet this clap trap and balderdash is worthy of a little attention. Of particular interest to me were the following words: ''never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now''. Really? Correct me if I am wrong but I thought that the war that President Goodluck Jonathan  had declared was against terrorism and Boko Haram and not against the Nigerian people.

Does General Buhari find it difficult to make a distinction between the jihadists and the Nigerian people? Does he see them as being one and the same? Does he actually equate members of Jama'at ahl as-sunnah li-d-da'wa wa-l-jihad with the Nigerian people? Does he regard the military offensive against Boko Haram as being an offensive against OUR people? Does he honestly believe that anytime that a Boko Haram terrorist is killed by our Armed Forces and security agencies or that his house is blown up that it is an attack on the Nigerian people or an assault on the north? Are those people that Boko Haram slaughtering, terrorising, abducting, pillaging, robbing and raping on a daily basis all over our country not the real Nigerians?

Does he honestly believe that Boko Haram is representative of the thinking of our people or even the majority of the people in the muslim north? Has this man not lost touch with reality? Does he really belong to the 21st century or is he nothing more than an old relic from the distant past who secretly craves for a return to the norms, ways and values of 6th century Saudi Arabia? Is such a man really fit to be President of our country?

Is he still insisting on having another muslim as his running mate in order to establish his strange dream of a muslim/muslim President and Vice President for our country or has he shelved that idea due to political pressure from President Olusegun Obasanjo,  public resentment and bitter outrage?

Has he beat a tactical retreat from the muslim/muslim adventure and finally opted for Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Professor Yemi Osibajo, Governor Kayode Fayemi or some other yoruba christian to be his running mate as my sources are suggesting?

I must confess that all three of these individuals are profoundly good men and are eminently qualified for the job but does this latest concession come from the heart or is it just a ruse and an attempt to appease the christian community? Is it an attempt to lure them in and make them drop their guard? Does Buhari have any respect for Christians?

Does he have any empathy with the christian community in northern Nigeria for the immense suffering, degradation, humiliation,contempt, shame, indignity, persecution and mass murder that they have been subjected to in the north for the last 54 years and particularly in the last few years?

Does he regard christians as being human beings? Does he accept the fact that Boko Haram are nothing but beasts? Does he recognise the fact that no-one has the right to take the life of another human being in the name of religion? Does he know that compulsion has no place in any civilised religion and that each human being has the right to exercise his or her free will to determine which religious faith he or she wishes to espouse?

Does Buhari understand the meaning of the words ''secular state'' or the concept of the secularity of the state? Can he possibly accept the virtues and comprehend the wisdom of such an equitable and reasonable constitutional arrangement which guarantees the rights of all faiths and which does not allow one faith to laud it over another anywhere in our country?

Does he recognise the fact that Nigeria is in actual fact a secular state in which the rights and dignity of the members of every faith, including the christian faith, are guaranteed by the constitution? Does he accept the fact that in this day and age it is a heinous crime against humanity and particularly the girl-child and that it is a complete violation of the laws of our land for little girls of the age of 5, 6, 9 13 and even up to 16 to be married off and subjected to rape in the name of religion and marriage?

Does the General support paedophiles, sexual predators, sociopaths, sadistic perverts and the criminally-insane like the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau who are sexually attracted to innocent and defenceless little girls and who believe that they can be ''sold in the market'' and ''forced into marriage and slavery?'' Does he honestly believe that Boko Haram are human beings? Does this man that wants to be President of our country not recognise a heartless and callous beast when he sees one?

Does the wanton and relentless shedding of rivers of innocent blood, including the blood of children, not move his heart? Does the open abduction of almost 300 little girls, each of whom is young enough to be his grandaughter, from the sanctity of their school dormitory in the dead of the night not evoke pity in him and not stir him to rage?

Does he have any compassion and does he feel no pain for the suffering of the victims of Boko Haram? Does he know that Boko Haram has killed as many muslims as they have christians in their insane attempt to establish an islamic fundamentalist state in our country?

Is his inability to make a distinction between Boko Haram and the Nigerian people informed by the fact that he is a closet Haramite whose stated desire is to ''spread sharia throughout the whole of the country'' as he said in 2001? Does Buhari still believe that ''muslims should only vote for muslims’’  or  ‘’for  those that will protect their interest'' as he said in 2001?

Does he still believe that ''christians should not worry when muslims chop off their own arms and hands in the name of sharia because it is none of their business'' as he said in 2001? Does he still believe that Boko Haram members should be forgiven, granted amnesty, pampered, sent abroad to learn and given monthly allowances ‘’like the Niger Delta militants’’ as he suggested in 2013?

Does he still believe that , if he is not elected as President in 2015, ''the dog and the baboon shall both be soaked in blood''?

The questions are legion. Given his views about Boko Haram does General Muhammadu Buhari have the moral right to condemn anyone, least of all the President and the Federal Government, for the challenges that we are facing in this country?

Never before have I seen a former Nigerian Head of State openly express sympathy and covertly support a murderous and bestial terrorist organisation that has killed well over 30,000 innocent Nigerians in cold blood, that has abducted and raped our little girls and that has slit the throats and drained the blood of our young boys.

Never before have I seen a former Nigerian Head of State openly defend a bunch of cowardly, uncouth and barbaric jihadists that have bombed and burnt alive the weak, the vulnerable and the elderly in our country and that have slaughtered our soldiers, policemen and intelligence agents at will and with such callousness and glee.

Never before have I seen a former Nigerian Head of State openly canvass restraint and mercy for a bunch of bloodthirsty, cold-blooded mass murderers and criminals that have turned our country into a pariah nation, that has made the north the home of the most callous, ruthless, hateful, vile and evil terrorist organisation in the world and that has transformed our nation into a horrendous haven for ruthless islamic fundamentalists and bloodthirsty islamist militias.

If the truth must be told the only thing that is worse than Boko Haram are those in the Nigerian political class that secretly support and covertly assist them. A Buhari Presidency would be a disaster for our country, a danger to the Christian community and clear evidence of the final victory and triumph of Boko Haram and the jihadists over the Nigerian state. It would also represent the end of Nigeria as one nation.

Photos: Nicki Minaj gets completely naked in her 2015 calendar

Nicki Minaj's 2015 calendar will make a lot of young men happy next year. They are raunchy, sexy and slutty. See the naked pic after the cut...

Photo credit: MediaTakeOut

More photos from Karen Igho's traditional wedding

Karen Igho got married in Jos yesterday Saturday December 13th. The guy's name is Yaroslav Rakos and he came to Nigeria for the wedding with his mum. I hear the couple are expecting their first child together. Congrats Karen. See more photos after the cut...

Fuel scarcity looms as oil workers threaten strike action from tomorrow

It appears another episode of petroleum scarcity is about to hit Nigerians as members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association [PENGASSAN] and their counterparts in the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers [NUPENG], are set to begin a nationwide strike starting from tomorrow Monday December 15th.

According to Premium Times, the oil workers are heading for a strike action due to unresolved labor issues with the federal government, underfunding of the Petroleum Training Institute in Delta state as well as the yet to be passed Petroleum Industry Bill PIB.

"We (the oil workers) have sufficient reasons, based on information available to us, to believe that the law makers are not prepared to pass the law, even as the state of the country’s petroleum industry has continued to deteriorate as a result of the absence of a regulatory and legal framework for the industry,” an official of the petroleum workers body said.

The oil workers are said to also be aggrieved over the decision of the management of Total Nigeria to sack the PENGASSAN zonal Secretary in Port Harcourt as well as the lack of promotion for workers of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF).

'I'm afraid of divorce'- Genevieve Nnaji on why she's taking her time

Actress Genevieve Nnaji, says one of the reasons she's yet to settle down is because she wants to get it right, as she's afraid of divorce...

"If I get married, I really want to stay married and staying married is not an easy thing. It means you are completely in tune with your partner. It means you have found your soul mate because you will have to be able to stand a lot of disappointments that would definitely come but then again you have to learn to forgive,” she said. (Vanguard)

Sunday morning hotness! Actress princess Shyngle

Ghanaian actress princess Shyngle has an unbelievable body. How do you get a waist like that though?

Photo: Gov. Fayose and former Gov. Fayemi shake hands in public

This is an epic photo really because the current governor of Ekiti state Ayo Fayose & his predecessor Kayode Fayemi have been accusing each other of misappropriation of state government funds and other accusations. But when the two men met at the 60th birthday service of another former Ekiti state governor, Segun Oni, they surprised everyone by not only shaking hands but also exchanging pleasantries while their wives look on.
It’s easy to trash people when they are not around you…but when you come face to face with them, it’s a different story. (photo credit: Punch). See another pic after the cut…

The two men far left

See Photos: Robbers shoot lady in the mouth Lady for resisting rape

In tears, her elder sister, Caroline Anande, a widow with seven children narrated her younger sister’s close shave with death to Abuja Metro.

According to the Sun,Geri could not talk to us, but could only write down responses relating to the incident, because her tongue was almost cut off, her mouth terribly wounded by bullets robbers shot at her mouth. She could not turn her head either because the bullet hit part of her neck. 

She lay helplessly in bed with sanitary tissues stuffed into the mouth to suck up saliva that drips uncontrollably from there. She indicated that they had lived in the same area of Abuja for over five years. Geri’s trouble further burdens her elder sister whose late husband was buried just three months ago.

“My heart is heavy, I am heartbroken looking at my sister lying in pains, she was supporting me immensely with the little income since my husband died.  We had been managing to cope with our lean resources until armed robbers surfaced to wipe sleep away from our eyes.”

This poor widow explained that Geri, always leaves home at 4:30am for work, though she left at 5am that morning, because of the daily traffic on the Nyanya-Mararaba express But she couldn’t get to Abuja-Keffi expressway to board a bus that will convey her to town that day.

“My sister testified after regaining consciousness on a written note, how a masked armed robber snatched her phone and handbag. Thereafter, commanded her to undress, she pleaded with them, they were two men the unmasked man was behind backing them while the operation was going on. But, they shouted at her to undress amid her pleas explaining that she was menstruating. But these evil agents insisted on raping her

In the struggle, she screamed loud in fear for help, and that angered the armed man wearing mask that shot a bullet into her mouth and vanished, leaving her unconscious and bleeding.

It was an okada rider residing within their vicinity that called to inform the sister of the incident.

“In fact, I was devastated seeing her helpless on the ground. Sincerely I thought she was already dead with the quantity of blood on the ground and on her body from heavy bleeding. I remain thankful to God and my neighbours who assisted to take her to the Nyanya General hospital where received initial treatment to revive her before she was referred to the Maitama General Hospital where they told us that her was affected by the shot and her tongue almost chopped off.

At the time of visit, she still had stitches on her tongue and teeth and as a result cold neither eat nor talk.After spending 10 days at the hospital, she was discharged and referred to National Hospital or Zaria for further medical attention.

Geri’s sister is grateful to God and everyone that has shown them love in the incident, their neighbours and especially Ahmed Musa, presenter of the Brekete Family radio programme that aired story of Geri’s encounter.

“The Brekete Family supported us with N100,000 which he paid to the hospital himself to ensure my sister’s urgent treatment. We have been going to the Gwagwalada General Hospital for medical treatment. Though, I am facing the challenges of feeding and transportation, because my sister until this unfortunate incident was the bread winner of my family. I am a widow with seven children without any source of livelihood. And she is still living with bullet inside her body. The hospital said a surgery to remove the pellets would only be possible after the wound in her mouth healed. We believe God for her healing and the possibility of financial provision for the surgery.”

During our visit, Geri managed to scribble on paper a call to people to assist her in prayers and make monetary provision to enable her pick the medical bills and undergo the surgery to remove the bullets lodged in her body.

“I need assistance relieve my sister’s burden, she is unemployed and not engaged in any form of trade, because of financial incapacity to cater for her seven children, who are also not attending school. I call for help from anybody that cares to see me through this predicament.”

Also speaking Mrs. Abubakar Ahmed, a staff of NIPOST who lives in the same area explained the level of insecurity in their community and how bitter he feels about Geri’s condition.

“In fact, it is a tradition for us to leave this community as early as 4:30am to our places of work in the city because of the terrible traffic on the Nyanya-Mararaba road.

We have local security outfits that guard the area at night till 5am leaving us to our fate for the day. The need to leave very early for work is what mainly exposes us to security risks on the way and that is because we need to leave that early to escape the traffic jam on the way.”

 Another resident Adak Sabo, a road safety marshal also spoke with Abuja Metro the insecurity challenges and traffic problem.

“In fact, the traffic problem exposes us to risk of riding on bike on the expressway in the morning to get to our places of work on time. Geri’s incident has become a restraint on me not leave that early again.”

Teacher, Pupils flee as undergraduate buries 25 raw eggs in school premises

Teachers and pupils of LEA Primary School, Nabor, a village close to Angwa Rukuba, Jos, Plateau State, are now living in fear following the arrest of a university grad­uate, Sheriff Charles, who was alleged to have buried at least 25 raw eggs around the school premises.

Already, many pupils and even some teachers have deserted the school. The alleged culprit, Charles, who resides in the village with his parents and other siblings was said to have gone to the school after closing hours on Monday, No­vember 24, 2014 to bury the eggs between two blocks of classrooms. As he claimed, the intent was for him to receive favour from God and man.

As Sunday Sun learnt, Charles has remained unemployed long after completing the mandatory one year service, thus prompting his recourse to what has now been interpreted by people in the neigh­bourhood as diabolic self-help that expectedly sparked off apprehen­sion in the village. The head of the school, Mrs. Deborah Solomon, said the pupils are now scared to come to school.

Her words:

 “We the teachers are even scared because we do not know his motive. He buried the eggs where the children normally go to play. We do not know wheth­er it could be a threat to the lives of the pupils or it would have effect on their wellbeing. Up till now if I say I am happy, it is not true. I am truly worried. To encourage the children to come to school, some of us brave the odds and come to school. Since the incident, we do gather the few pupils who still come to school to pray for our safety. I have been encouraging them to believe in the living God and not the type of god people like Sheriff believe in. I do tell them that our God would not al­low evil things to happen to us. So they should not be afraid.”

Though Charles insisted that the eggs were not to harm anybody but meant for his own good, Solomon said the teachers do not believe him.

“When we asked him to drink one of the eggs if they are not harm­ful, he refused to do so. If they have nothing to do with anybody he could have buried them in his house and if not his house, by the stream behind the school where people rarely visit or by the hills behind the school but not in the school prem­ises. I do not know why he chose this school. There are other private schools around here but he chose to come here. Is it because it is mainly patronized by the poor?”

Giving insight on how Charles was discovered, Solomon said she had already gone home on the fate­ful day, but a pupil of the school recalled seeing Charles with a poly­thene bag in school. He dug a hole in the ground and put something in it. The pupil ran into the village to alert some people including one of their teachers living close by. 

By then the villagers had al­ready caught Charles, who was being dragged to the house of the Mai Angwa of Gwom Nabor, Mr. Sani Aware. The crowd was just too large that it was not possible for her to even see the man initially.

Comrade Marta, who is the state treasurer of the the Plateau State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, said the mob was ready to lynch the man. Some were even throwing stones and other objects at him. But on getting to Mai Angwa he took the suspect in and prevent­ed them from killing him. The peo­ple were very angry because they said the man could as well have planted a bomb in the school prem­ises without them knowing, given what is happening in some parts of the country now.

Having taken effective custody of Charles, the Mai Angwa used the security number circulated publicly to invite the police and promptly handed Charles over to them.

Continuing the tale, Ibrahim said: 

“He was taken to the school where he dug out 21 eggs in one of the holes. We did not see the second hole until the following day when one of our teachers was checking around. After putting the eggs in the holes, he had used dry grass to cover them up. Actually the teach­er had used her foot to remove the dry grass when one egg popped out. Three other eggs were discovered in that hole. This is why everyone is afraid. If we had not discovered the other hole, nobody would know it was there. Now we do not know whether there are other eggs buried in other spots yet to be discovered. This is why everyone is afraid.

“When the man was questioned even while being taken to Mai Angwa, he wanted to confess but his mother who came to the scene did not allow him to talk. She was busy shielding him. Even when the villagers were throwing objects at him, she was using her body to parry them. At a point, her wrapper loosened from her waist without her knowing. When Charles was fi­nally taken into the custody of Mai Angwa, he confessed that he did it to gain favour from man and from God because he was unemployed.

He said he got the idea from one of his friends during his NYSC days, who told him, “If things are not going well for you in life, you can go and bury eggs in a school and immediately things will change for you.”

Since Charles completed his service, he had not got a job and everywhere he went, he met brick walls. Then he remembered what his friend said and wanted to exper­iment it. When he was asked why he chose the school, Charles said it was because it was closer to where he borrowed the digger and the shovel. 

From information gathered, he had asked his younger brother to collect the instruments for him from a nearby house. To conceal his motive from his younger broth­er, he sent the innocent boy to buy him suya (roasted meat) at Angwa Rukuba, believing that he would have finished what he intended before the boy would come back. When the brother came back, he saw him in the midst of the crowd that was trying to lynch him. Broth­erly affection gave him courage and strength as he tried to rescue him, not knowing what wrong he had done.

From every indication, the vil­lagers are telling Charles to tell his story to the birds because they do not believe one word of what he said. Their doubt stems from past experience that members of his family are alleged to be notorious for committing such diabolic acts even before they moved to Nabor because of the crisis that rocked the state capital. 

While Charles was be­ing led away despite the strenuous efforts of his mother and brother to free him, a woman came to the scene and asked the villagers why they allowed the family to live there. She said they were known for such diabolic acts while in An­gwa Rogo from where they moved to Nabor. This explained why his mother tried to protect him instead of scolding him for getting involved in such an action.

Following this development, the villagers have served a quit notice on the family to leave the village.

“We do not know whether it was their native doctor that gave him the eggs to bury in the school. They could be members of a cult and could pose danger to even the whole village. So they must leave,” said a villager.

Meanwhile Charles has been charged to court. The school au­thority said it has been bearing the cost of prosecuting him alone even though it has involved the local government council in the matter.

Charles was charged to court on grounds of constituting public nui­sance and using criminal charm. 

Read Nadia Buhari’s Lovely Message to Majid Michel

Actor Majid Michel’s mother was buried yesterday, and co-actor Nadia Buhari was present at the funeral. Read her lovely message to her friend and colleague:

Today was really hard, but I want u to know that mummy is always with u. She’s the whisper of the leaves as u walk down the street, the smell of certain foods u remember, flowers u pick and the fragrance of life itself. She’s the cool hand on ur brow when ur not feeling well, the sound in the rain that lulls u to sleep, the colours of the rainbow, and a Christmas morning. Mummy lives inside ur laughter, she’s the place u came from, ur first home and the map u’ll follow with every step u take. Nothing on earth can separate u two..Not time, not space and not even death.#R.I.PAuntyPaulina#ForeverInOurHearts”

Lovely uh???

Fayose Would Beg Me Soon – Obasanjo

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state, had on Friday, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti condemned Thursday’s visit of five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to former President Obasanjo, saying “visiting Obasanjo to plead with him to rescind his decision not to participate in the party’s activities was capable of encouraging other members of the party to openly disrespect the office of President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria as being done by Obasanjo.”

Governor Fayose also called for “immediate suspension of the former president from the PDP for anti-party activities,” and contended that “a man who has refused to respect the office of the President of Nigeria that he once occupied does not also deserve respect from anyone.”
Obasanjo, however disclosed through one of his associate, asking Nigerians not to take Fayose serious as he would soon write another letter of apology to the former president, like he did on 26th June, 2012.
And the letter obtained by Saturday Tribune, reads below:

“Dear Baba,
“There is no denying the fact that my relationship with you has gone sour as a result of my action and inaction which have definitely caused you embarrassment in public and this has marred our very good father-son relationship in the past.
“I take responsibility for my over reaction and disrespect to your person which is most regretted, I am indeed sorry.
“I pray that God will give you the grace to let go of the past knowing fully well that I am human and therefore not infallible especially considering the circumstances surrounding my removal from office.
“To further buttress my willingness to seek peace with you, I could recall that I had made several efforts to this effect by consulting your close allies in the persons of Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), Chief Omilani and Pastor Oyedepo amongst others.
“Lastly, kindly disregard all insinuations or political blackmailing suggestive of my doing or saying anything contradicting my present disposition as contained in this letter.
“My reconciliation with your goodself may not go down well with some of my political opponents, but you remain the father of all.
“My wife sends her love and greetings.
“With high regards.
Signed
Ayo Fayose.

Obasanjo’s reply dated July 18, 2012
“Dear Ayo,

“I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated June 26, 2012 pleading with me to forgive you, as you put it, for your action and inaction which have caused me embarrassment in the public.
“As for the embarrassment and personal insult to me, forgiveness is divine and I will not withhold forgiveness since I believe that God will not withhold forgiveness for my inadequacies.
“However, for me, the personal aspect can be handled by me but the party aspect has to be handled at the local, state and national levels of the Party.
“I wish you all the best and God’s blessing.”
Signed
Olusegun Obasanjo.

Heheh!!! Maybe Fayose is now a man of his own now or what do you say???

Kim Kardashian to Travel to Saudi Arabia To Spend a Night with a Saudi Prince???

Some people just get paid for existing, and TV reality star, Kim Kardashian is one of those. According to MTO, a wealthy Saudi Prince is willing to splash as much as ONE MILLION Dollars just so spends one night with her.

As MTO puts it:

Well we’re told that in January, Kim Kardashian is scheduled to make an appereance in Saudi Arabia – her first time in the country ever.

Recall, when a Saudi prince told Kim on Instagram, he’d give her a million dollars, if he would spend a night with her – It might just also be coincidence that Kim would be visiting the country shortly after the proposal or what do you think???