The Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has berated Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State for his attack on governors within the southern region.
Akeredolu described the attack on Southern governors by his Kaduna State counterpart as devious and a hysteric ploy to externalise banditry.
El-Rufai had mocked the southern governors over their position to pass the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
Akeredolu in a statement issued by his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, said anyone making such a statement made by the Kaduna State Governor should be classified as “unenviable ilk masquerading as leaders.”
He added that El-Rufai statement was capable of encouraging anarchy under the guise “of resentment of a Law by affected stakeholders”.
While emphasizing that the Anti-open Grazing Law has come to stay in the state, Akeredolu maintained that those without evil plots have nothing to be worried about.
The statement partly read “From all indications, Governor Nasir el-Rufai, if he was properly quoted and his views not misrepresented, is struggling hard to export banditry to the South under an expressed opinion that is laced with mischief.
“Perhaps, it is apt to state clearly that the likes of Governor El-Rufai are already in a hysteric ‘mode’ of escalating and indeed, externalising banditry, especially as the military onslaught against criminal elements and other terror variants suffices in the North.”
The Taliban has sought to join world leaders in addressing the United Nations General Assembly.
The 76th session of the assembly is currently ongoing in New York.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu will address the UN on Thursday.
As part of its effort to seek international recognition, The Taliban, which took control Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, nominated its ambassador to speak at the UN.
According to UN spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, received a communique on September 15 from the currently accredited Afghan ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, with the list of Afghanistan’s delegation for the assembly’s 76th annual session.
Five days later, Guterres received another communication with the letterhead “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” signed by “Ameer Khan Muttaqi” as “Minister of Foreign Affairs,” requesting participation in the UN gathering of world leaders.
In this new bulletin, the Taliban claimed that Isaczai last represented Afghanistan when former President Ashraf Ghani, who fled on August 15, 2021, was in power.
In light of these developments, the Taliban said they are nominating Mohammad Suhail Shaheen as the new permanent UN representative.
However, it is not yet known if the UN credentials committee will legitimise the request.
An official from the panel told the Associated Press under strict condition of anonymity that the UN committee “would take some time to deliberate”, suggesting the Taliban’s envoy would not be able to speak at the General Assembly at this session at least during the high-level leaders’ week.
Senior officials of the US state department said they were aware of the Taliban’s request, but could not predict how the panel might rule.
The committee’s members are the United States, Russia, China, Bahama, Bhutan, Chile, Namibia, Sierra Leone, and Sweden.
The recent coup d’état in the Republic of Guinea and the attempted coup in Sudan have continued to draw attention of the diplomatic community, trade unions, international organisations, among others.
Col. Mamady Doubouya, Head of Guinean Special Forces (GSF), on Sept, 5, overthrew President Alpha Conde and detained him.
Also from Sudan, authorities reported a failed attempt to overthrow the country’s transitional government, blaming “military officers and civilians” from the former government of deposed President Omar al-Bashir.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok described the attempted coup, which took place early Tuesday, as “an extension of previous attempts” to overthrow the transitional government
Those who spoke on the coups, noted that since the “Togolese military coup d’état” of Jan. 13, 1963,’’ overthrow of democratically elected governments had become a trend across other parts of the continent.
That Togolese coup, led by Gen. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, that overthrew Sylvanus Olympio, was the first in Africa.
Since the first coup that occurred in Togo, 38 forcefully overthrow of legitimately elected government had been carried out across 38 countries, out of 54 countries in the continent.
The countries include: Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, DR Congo, Mali, Malawi, Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan, Eritrea, Republic of Benin, Central African Republic, Libya, Comoros, Chad and Egypt.
Some who spoke said that coups in general pose setbacks to democratic growth.
They noted that unless the trend is reversed, coups would continue to create platform for disregard of fundamental rights of citizens.
They also urged the African Union and ECOWAS to wade in and ensure coup becomes thing of the past in the African continent.
Mr Abdulmalik Ahmed, the Consul-General of Nigeria Mission in Johannesburg, South Africa, condemned military coups in Africa, saying it is fast becoming trend that must be stopped.
Ahmed said: “It is a sad day for the people of Guinea and a setback for democracy in West Africa and Africa in general.
“Democracy in itself should not be viewed as an end in itself, but a means towards development and popular participation in governance and decision making.
“It is a setback for our sub-region.”
In the same vein, Mr Chukwuemeka Nnaji, the President of Nigerian Union of Traders Associations in Ghana (NUTAG), said that coup is unacceptable, because its outcome affect trade negatively.
He, therefore, appealed to the African Union and ECOWAS to intervene in the matter to restore sustainable democracy, not just in Guinea, but in the continent.
According to him: “Coup in any country of Africa is unacceptable and therefore should be condemned with a very strong force.
“So, I add my voice to call on the international community to intervene in the matter as soon as possible, to stop more casualties in Guinea.
“We do not want a repeat of Liberia, Sierra Leone or the Ivory Coast outcome of internal conflict in West Africa.
“I call on the leadership of ECOWAS, especially Nana Akufo Addo, the Chairman of ECOWAS Heads of State to intervene immediately.”
Also Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, threw his weight behind the calls to end coups, saying that such menace have no place in the 21st century governance.
Osinbajo, who spoke when he represented President Muhammadu Buhari at a virtual Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS member-states, stressed the need for the regional body to take proactive steps to prevent coups in the sub-region and the continent at large.
“There should be new measures to prevent coups, what happened in Guinea is a brazen disregard for the provisions of ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance, which clearly states that every ascension to power must be through a free, fair and transparent election.
“The unconstitutional seizure of power in any shape or form is simply unacceptable, especially with four coups within the last few months is dangerous trend indeed.
“We are sliding back to the infamous 60s’, our zero-tolerance for coups is important, but clearly insufficient. Are there further steps that we can take to prevent coups d’état?”
In line with this, ECOWAS had in a communiqué issued after a virtual meeting of the organisation to discuss the political developments in Guinea, suspended the membership of Guinea and called for the immediate restoration of civil rule in the country.
The regional bloc demanded immediate restoration of civilian rule in Guinea, adding that the “defence and security forces should maintain a constitutional posture,” while reaffirming its strong opposition to any political change by unconstitutional means and condemned, in the strongest terms, specifically the coup in Guinea.
“The authority expresses deep concern over the political developments in the Republic of Guinea following the coup d’état of Sept. 5, 2021 and their consequences for regional peace and stability,” the communiqué said.
ECOWAS, however, promised to send its mission, led by Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Botchwey with representatives from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and the ECOWAS Commission to achieve its target.
All who spoke on the resurgence of coups in Africa, agreed that there is urgent need to check the trend.
They also said that the UN, AU and the Commonwealth have great roles to play to check unconstitutional ascension to power in the African continent.
“Demagogues attack their critics in harsh and provocation terms- as enemies, as subversives, and even as terrorists.” (HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE: WHAT HISTORY REVEALS ABOUT OUR FUTURE BY STEVEN LEVITSKY & DANIEL ZIBLATT).
“We are all animal but all animals are not equal.” This typical saying was one of the earliest things I had to read from some novels during my school days in the Secondary school of the 1980’s. However, when I began to read about the modern day politics in Nigeria and began working and even had a stint in a federal government’s funded agency:- the National Human Rights Commission, I came face to face with the reality that perhaps that saying that all animals are not equal was actually a depiction of who a Nigerian is. For a fact, Nigeria is inherently and fundamentally dysfunctional and distorted because the people who govern the Country have ideologically willed that Nigeria should never work as a constitutional democracy. Those who control the different layers of political governance especially at the highest echelons of the federal administration have built the mindset that all Nigerians must never be treated equally. This is why when the then military dictator General Sani Abacha wanted to write the constitution preparatory to the exit of the military out of governance, he loaded the committee with Northerners who actually implanted a lot of provisions that are meant to destroy the principle of equity and equality. For instance, the 1999 constitution which was written by selected persons who were commissioned by General Abacha, decidedly gave Kano State the highest number of House of Representatives members. The Kano parliamentarians to the Federal House of Representatives are more in number than those of the entire five Igbo States put together even when the population of Igbo speaking people is not less than 60 million. It would seem the drafters of that distorted Constitution in application at the moment, used the criterion of land mass to allocate membership to the National Assembly’s lower legislature.
That aside, the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015, has brought into focus the notoriety of nepotism and tribalism. This current administration has lowered the bar and has so made political governance to appear like the village meeting of the Fulani ethnicity. Muhammadu Buhari sleeps and wakes up thinking about cows and nothing else. He has undermined National security by failing to stop murderous gangs of Fulani people from invading Nigeria from Niger and Chad, killing, maiming and destroying lives and property of largely Christian farmers. With over 6,000 farmers murdered in cold blood by Fulani armed herdsmen but not one of these mass killers are in prison. Muhammadu Buhari has a minister of Justice Abubakar Malami who confessed to my group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA that he has no case file on the killings by armed Fulani herdsmen and so is not ready to prosecute them for the genocides committed in many parts of Nigeria with Benue State having the largest chunk of the casualties. The current President decidedly loaded the strategic portfolios and political positions including the defence sector with his people the Moslem North of Fulani/Hausa. But the area in which the saying that all animals are not equal is in the workings of the Federal agency that provides reliefs for victims of disasters known as National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which is headed by a Moslem Northerners and controlled by the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management headed also by a Fulani woman. In the distribution of relief materials, NEMA has become very notorious for diverting Ninety percent of the relief materials to the North East. Disasters affecting other parts of Nigeria are usually not treated the same way as the man made disaster of terrorists attacks of the North East of Nigeria. Benue State is one place that terrorists made up largely of armed Fulani herders have made the most devastating negative impacts. However, NEMA is hardly noticed in the different internally displaced persons camps in Benue State. This systemic and systematic exclusion is not just a moral crime but constitutes a crime against humanity and President Muhammadu Burai’s attention should be called to it so a fundamental redress is made. By the way, the majority of the IDPs are farmers whose farms and housing assets were blown up by the rampaging armed Fulani militia who are above the law in the thinking of the current Federal government that is dangerously pro-Fulani. To drive home this point, perhaps the Benue State governor saw no other way to express his angst but to use the analogy of how the problems of IDPs incapacitates him from fully playing his husband bed time role to his beautiful wife.
Governor Samuel Ortom recently bemoaned the perennial displacement of residents across Benue, saying the plight of people living in camps for the internally displaced has been giving him erectile dysfunction. At a public function near the capital Makurdi, Mr Ortom said President Muhammadu Buhari and special duties minister George Akume have failed to support him in his fight against killer herdsmen, working against the interest of Benue people instead. Mr Ortom said there was “no way as a leader” would he feel comfortable knowing that thousands of his people have been displaced from their villages by killer herdsmen who were on a conquest to take lands from indigenous Benue settlers. “Even when I am on top of my wife and I remember the people who are in IDP camps…” Mr Ortom said with a pause for camera effect. A male voice in the audience then helped him to conclude his sentence, saying “It goes flat,” to which the governor then responded with a smile. Mr Ortom has been locked in fierce political confrontation with Mr Buhari and his appointees following his decision to implement a ban on open grazing of cattle by herders of Mr Buhari’s ethnic Fulani stock. The president has insisted that he would not support a ban on open grazing and tried to force states to bow to the federal government on the appropriation solution to the crisis, which has left thousands killed and untold damage caused to assets and livelihoods since Mr Buhari assumed office in 2015. The president has faced criticism for pushing the interest of herdsmen while showing little sympathy to victims of their brutality, including from members of his ruling APC. He has vigorously denied the claims and said his administration has implemented a series of security, administrative and financial solutions to mitigate the crisis.
On another level we read correctly that the Benue State Government has again called on the Federal Government to return the millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes to avert recruitment of vulnerable inmates by terrorist groups. Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Emmanuel Shior, raised the fears recently, while briefing newsmen in Makurdi, during the distribution of food items to eight IDP camps in the state. Shior maintained that the humanitarian crisis caused by marauding herders to communities in the state was colossal and devastating while expressing disgust that the Federal Government had not extended its gesture in the North East to Benue. He alleged that some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were rather playing politics with the issue. “The IDPs have been with us for the past three years and there is a need to return them to their communities. But some people, for parochial reasons, are accusing Governor Samuel Ortom of masterminding the killings, which is not true. We don’t play politics with lives. “A group of APC members is the ones peddling this false news. They are using this gimmick to cover their failures at the national level. They are acting on the premise that Ortom is PDP and they are APC. But the governor is responsive and cannot afford to forcefully return IDPs to their ancestral homes without adequate security,” he said. The humanitarian crisis in the camps, Shior added, is a big burden on the state, which reportedly spends hundreds of millions of naira monthly to procure food and other needs. According to the SEMA boss, based on the governor’s directive, the activities of the agency would continue to be transparent. The Guardian gathered that food items distributed to the various camps included bags of rice, beans as well as noodles. On why Tse-Yandev camp has no SEMA staff managing it, Shior said, even as the camp was being managed by volunteer groups, SEMA was intervening from time to time. At the camp, there are many weary faces – from the aged to distressed mothers; all worrying about what to eat with their families and how to educate their children, a situation that gets tougher with each passing day. Feeding is a major challenge for the IDPs. Due to the large population at the camp, the government’s food supplies are never enough. To supplement this, some of the IDPs resort to cooking almost-spoiled or perishing food items sourced from dealers in the local market. “For the issue of food, the government is trying,” says Camp Manager Comfort Alugah. “But the government cannot satisfy everybody.” Mrs Alugah attributes the challenge to the population at the camp which she put at 43,344. In terms of health care, the Mbawa IDP camp has a maternal and child health clinic operated by Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF). The clinic has been providing care for the babies delivered in the camp and their mothers, with assistance from the Benue State Ministry of Health, ensuring safe delivery after months of antenatal services. The HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA is indeed happy withthe Benue State governor and his administration for carrying the matter of the neglect of the IDPS on his head and heart. We call on the NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY to respect the constitutional principles of equity and equality of opportunity and rights and deliver qualitative and quantitative relief materials to the thousands of Benue IDPS or we will challenge their criminal abandonment of the Benue IDPs at the Benue State High Court so we expose this systemic and systematic crimes against BENUE IDPS. Enough is enough!
*EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs@www. theingerianinsidernews.com, www.huriwanigeria.com.
The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has stated that it is difficult to execute the Anti-Open Grazing laws which his counterparts in the Southern part of Nigeria have passed to curb insecurity in the region.
He, then, cautioned them not to deploy much energy on the laws, adding that it would take time for it to materialise.
Speaking during a visit to the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, El-Rufai revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has backed his state with N7.5 billion out of the N10 billion required to build a ranch.
He also disclosed that since there are over 14 grazing reserves in Kaduna State, he would be glad if the Nigerian Government can support his state with N140 billion to develop the grazing reserves.
According to El-Rufai, it is needless for the Southern states’ governors to politicise grazing rights and pass laws they know cannot be implemented.
Speaking on the anti-open grazing laws, he noted, “The northern state governors forum has already taken a position that open grazing is not a sustainable way of livestock production. And we must move towards ranching.
“But moving towards ranching cannot be done overnight. We have to have a plan, we have to have resources and we have to implement it sensibly. It is not a matter of populist legislation or saying tomorrow this or that. It is not a solution.
“We have taken a position as northern state governors and we are implementing that.
“And in my state, for instance, we are developing a huge ranch to centralise the herders. And that is the solution, a long time. But can it be done overnight? No.
“This project we are doing will cost us about N10 billion. The CBN is supporting us with about N7.5 billion. And it will take about two years to do. We will be settling about 1,500 Fulani herder families.
“And I hope that they will see that there are alternative ways of producing livestock instead of running up and down with cattle going to people’s farms to cause all kinds of problems. We want to solve the problem.
“What is unhelpful is to politicise the situation and pass legislation that you know that you cannot implement. So, we have taken a position and we are working round the clock to implement that position.
“And these herders emanate from the north and we are going to centralise them. We cannot do it overnight. We need billions of naira. This is just one ranch that is causing 10 billion. I have 14 grazing reserves in Kaduna State and I will like to convert them into ranching. Do I have 14 times 10 billion naira? I don’t have.
“If the Federal Government will give me N140 billion, I will convert the other 13 into ranches and make sure that nobody comes out with a cow or sheep in Kaduna State because I will have enough ranches to take care of everybody. That is the solution. You can legislate but let us wait and see. And I wish them the best of luck.”
Orphanages operating in Kaduna state have been asked to pay an exorbitant sum of N130,000 for ‘registration’ or have their facilities shutdown by the state government.
An orphanage operator in Kaduna who craved anonymity to avoid persecution told Middle Belt Times that the state government even gave them deadline which they must all pay the money.
“They gave us one week to pay the money, they said it is for registration and certificate.
“We are only offering charity services to the society and humanity, where do they expect us to raise such a huge sum from? We are not revenue generating organisations.”He said.
The orphanages claimed they have been duly registered with the corporate affairs commission, the body saddled with the responsibility of registering business and NGOs in the country.
Another orphanage operator who also craved anonymity, confirmed the development to MBT. He said the development has forced many of them to go and borrow money to pay to avoid being shutdown by the government.
When asked whether any letter or circular was issued to them in that regard, they said no letter was given instead they were called to a meeting organized by the Kaduna state Ministry of Human services and social development.
When contacted via WhatsApp message to comment on the development, the Kaduna state Commissioner for Human services and social development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba responded thus;
“Good morning, if you want me to grant interview pls meet me in the office. Thank you.” She said
The socio-cultural group, Okun Development Association (ODA), has condemned the attack on worshippers at a church in Kabba-Bunu local government area.
He said the fear of this and similar occurrences in different parts of Okun land made ODA appeal to the Kogi government to reconsider its open-door policy to herdsmen.
Gunmen invaded ECWA Goodnews Church, Okedayo, in Kabba on Sunday, killed one person, injured three, and abducted two worshipers.
ODA national secretary Ben Abereoran on Tuesday in Lokoja decried, in a statement, the needless attack on innocent people who gathered to worship their God in line with their religious tenets.
He noted that the church attack was among the numerous insecurity issues bedevilling communities in Okun land.
“The attack and the attendant loss of life are barbaric, unfortunate and extremely very sad,” stated Mr Abereoran.
“Those who disguised as ordinary people going about for their survival, Okun land. They had and still harbour evil intentions. Today, we all know better,” Mr Abereoran noted. “Also, the jailbreak at the Federal Minimum Correctional Centre, Kabba, and the kidnappings in Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Mopa Amuro, Oworo land, Yagba East and Yagba West local government areas, are alien to our land.”
ODA called for improved security in the areas to prevent further attacks.
“We, the ODA, do not want to believe that the security agencies lack the ability and capacity to decisively deal with this situation,” the ODA statement added. “This is why we once again appeal to our political leadership across the board, for the sake of millions of young, innocent children and the overall long-term interest of Nigeria, to demonstrate the political will and put this menace to rest once and for all,” he said.
Four persons have been reported dead and two others missing when a passenger bus plunged into River Niger in Koton Karfe area of Kogi.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lokoja.
It stated that a Toyota Hiace bus with 15 passengers on board plunged into the river late Tuesday night.
Mr Solomon Agure, the state Sector Commander of the FRSC, who confirmed this said the bus with registration number Plateau – JJN 73 XA, took off from Ijora Seven Up under bridge in Lagos and was heading to Kano.
According to Agure, four people including a woman died in the accident while seven others were critically injured.
He said that the corps engaged the services of eight divers to rescue victims and recovered four dead bodies.
Agure explained that two female passengers were still missing, saying that all efforts to trace their bodies proved abortive.
He, however, explained that two passengers escaped unhurt.
The sector commander said that the injured victims and the dead were taken to the General Hospital, Koton Karfe, and the bus recovered and taken to FRSC office also in Koton Karfe.
Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Sylvester Alabi
A suspect, Sanusi Lauwali, arrested by the Police in Bauchi State for alleged kidnapping and armed robbery, has disclosed that he killed five people during religious crises in Jos, Plateau State.
The suspect spoke while being paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, Sylvester Alabi, at the state command headquarters.
He said that anytime there was a religious crisis in Plateau State, his boss would give them guns to kill Christians.
Although the 27-year old said he could not state exactly the number of persons he had killed, he added that they could not be less than five persons.
He said, “I cannot remember how many people I have killed, they are not up to 10, but I think they are at least five people.
“I killed these people during religious crises in Plateau State. These are the people I shot and killed.”
Asked where he gets the gun he uses to kill, he said: “It is our boss that gives us the guns.”
He added,”I live in Tunga village outside Jos, but anytime there is a crisis, he will send us to the place to go and kill Christians.
“I ran away and went back to my hometown in Ningi (Local Government Area), for about one year now.
“It was when I went back that they informed security agents who arrested me; although I know I am guilty of what they are accusing me of.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Bauchi, Bauchi State, Sylvester Alabi, told journalists that Lauwali alias ‘no delay’ of Gudale village Ningi LGA Bauchi state, was a suspected serial kidnapper and armed robber.
He said that the suspect was arrested on 12th September, 2021 around 5pm, through intelligence.
Alabi said, “His gang members include one Ali, one Bammi and welcome (real name not yet known).
“He confirmed to have benefited the sum of N250,000 as his share from the proceeds of crime they collected from their kidnapped victim at Dabar Tsintsiya village.”
The police commissioner said that investigation was being expanded to nail down the fleeing accomplices.
