Ululations of Shekau: Why Buratai cannot lose this war!, By Idris Abubakar

By Idris Abubakar 

The narrative that the rambunctious and puffy leader of the Boko Haram terrorists group, Abubakar Shekau, has been devastated to the point that he has not only become sober but is pleading for mercy would have been unimaginable in the recent past. 

Indeed when the audio tape of the Boko Haram leader was released by a major news medium, many did not believe it initially until it was confirmed by multiple sources.

Shekau, through media preps and hype has over the years  succeeded in not only terrorising the minds of people, but has succeeded in creating a myth of invincibility about himself. 

But it is true that the Boko Haram leader in a new audio, not only admitted being weakened but cried for mercy seeking protection against the firepower of the Nigerian military.

Shekau in the 1:22 seconds audio, cried that he and his men are facing difficulties  due to what he called the  devilish act and wickedness of the Nigerian military. 

He said, “We deserted Izala people to practice Your true religion; we abandoned Tijjaniyya people to practice Your true religion; we deserted the Shiites to practice Your true religion; we forsook our parents, uncles and aunties to practice Your true religion. 

“It is because of your religion that we placed knife on Your servants’ necks; but today, they are trying to change us from one thing to another. Oh Lord, have mercy upon under [the blessings] Ramadhan; Oh Lord, have mercy on under [the blessings] of Ramadhan," he said while crying profusely.

The ululations of Shekau is  not without basis.

Since March when Lt. Gen. TY Buratai moved to the theatre of war in Borno State, the fight against insurgency and terrorism took a new dimension with the Nigerian military giving the insurgents hell in each encounter.

The sustained offensive has recorded a series of successes against the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists fighting on the fringes of Lake Chad region. 

In March, Nigerian troops eliminated not less than 20 top Boko Haram commanders including one Abu Usamah, and over 100 of their fighters who were hiding in Kwalaram, Ngilewa, Sabon Tumbu, Bukarmairam, Wulgo in the Marte and Gamboru Ngala axis as well as in Gorgi, Damboa local government of  Borno State.

The troops followed up on that with the  killing of 105 insurgents in Buni Gari and captured many weapons in April and on the heels of that in May, killed 134 of ISWAP and  Boko Haram members  and  arrested 28 of their informants and overran their camps in Durfada, Allafha, Timbuktu, Bulajibi and Gonikurmi near the Sambisa forest. 

These appear too good to be true but all facts relating to the success have been fact checked and confirmed by security experts, the media and other independent bodies .

The question now is what has made it possible for these successes to be recorded within a short time and in the magnitude attained.

Hitherto, the killing of even tens of insurgents given the asymmetric nature of the fight and the lack of clear demarcation between the terrorists and civilian communities have been celebrated,  but in less than two months, over 500 of the terrorists and not less than 40 of their top commanders and informants have been  taken down bringing them to their knees and begging for mercy. 

The secret has to do with the current leadership of the military and the experience of the person leading the assault on the insurgents at the Lake Chad region.

Buratai undoubtedly is one of the best war commanders and intelligent military tactician Nigeria and indeed Africa has ever had.

Since he began leading the Multinational Joint Task Force against insurgency the pressure tilted on the terrorists.

Pathetic stories of troops fleeing from battle fields in what was known as tactical withdrawal stopped completely. 

Stories about soldiers opening fire on their commanders due to lack of trust or wives of soldiers protesting the deployment of their husbands to the battle front all stopped

Troops and their commanders who have worked directly under Buratai have described him as motivation personified.

Troops tell the story of one of his first appearances in the theatre of war after he was appointed chief of army staff. While addressing soldiers in their camps,  shots, apparently from the insurgents were heard from the nearby bushes and the COAS was said to have given an order for the troops to follow him to take down the 'irritants.'

Since confirming that the Army Chief is serious about winning the battle due to the zeal and courage he exhibits, troops no longer have cause to doubt the sincerity of their commanders and have been motivated to push harder. 

Seeing that the new helmsman is  not one that would hole himself up in a guest house partying while troops are in the battle field but one that is prepared to be in the battlefield with them, troops regained their confidence and moved with gusto. 

The Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters must noticed the change in the fighting spirit of troops and must have been asking themselves if these were the same set of troops that were scared of confronting them that many of them were said to have even deserted the army out of fear.

The fact is, Buratai, thinks, eats and drinks battles. He sees military engagement and combat as every drill that should be expected by any serious soldier no matter the rank.

Those close to him say he devotes his time to study and  planning war strategies and is meticulous and thorough in execution. 

He is said to have studied all the strategies of war heroes like Chaka Zulu, Khalid ibn Walid, Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte and others.

War experts and security analysts maintain that given the depth of knowledge and experience Buratai has acquired over the years, that it would be an insult to expect anything less from the current war against insurgency given the nature of the enemy who are mere street urchins trained by a sprinkle of rebels from Chad who serve as their commanders. 

The  Army Chief's latest innovation is said to be the strategy which involves moving reinforcement while troops are pressing hard against the insurgents which has completely overwhelmed the terrorists. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has indeed made the right choice as far as the military high command is concerned. 

But it is not over until it is over. 

Buratai and the troops  deserve the prayer and support of all Nigerians as we can see that he and his troops are on the last lap of putting a final stop to Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism.

Abubakar is a security expert and wrote this piece from Shomolu, Lagos.

Buratai has quarantined Boko Haram terrorists, sponsors now on self isolation, says Security expert, Dogo Luqman

 By Dansu Peter 

A security expert,  Mr. Dogo Lukman, has applauded  the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai and Nigerian troops over the recent onslaught against Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.

He said what Buratai and the troops have done to the terrorist groups is akin to placing them on quarantine while sending their sponsors on exile.

Our correspondent reports that Buratai has been coordinating military activities in the theatre of war since March at the Lake Chad region in the bid to making sure that the activities of the groups are brought to a final end has posted impressive results on the battlefield giving hope that the defeat of the terrorists is close by.

Lukman, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, said after processing relevant information emanating from the Lake Chad region, there is every indication that the terrorists have finally been subdued, cornered a a cordoned off while their  sponsors have gone into hiding.

His words: "These elements that used to torment the peace of the entire country have been quarantined by the heat coming from the troops and are now self isolating themselves in caves."

The security expert who gave analyses of the information coming from the theaters of war said in March 27, 2020,  Nigerian troops eliminated not less than 20 top Boko Haram commanders including one Abu Usamah, and over 100 of their fighters who were hiding  in Kwalaram, Ngilewa, Sabon Tumbu, Bukarmairam, Wulgo in the Marte and Gamboru Ngala axis as well as in Gorgi, Damboa local government of  Borno State.

He said in April, Nigerian troops also killed 105 insurgents in Buni Gari and captured many weapons including five AK-47 rifles, three GPMG and one Duska anti-aircraft gun.

He said in May,  78 members of ISWAP and 56  Boko Haram members were killed and 28 of their informants  were arrested. 

The security expert said though the Nigerian military declared that the army killed over 300 insurgents in the recent combat operations, there are indications that over 500 of the terrorists have been killed within the period. 

Luqman said this is evident from the overrunning of insurgents’ camps in Durfada, Allafha, Timbuktu, Bulajibi and Gonikurmi and in and  around Sambisa  Forest where many of the terrorists were killed .

"These operations happening in the deep fortresses were hardly reported but the casualty rate on the part of the insurgents was quite high.

The troops normally pull put of such places to plan ahead hence tend to underestimate the level of damage but the insurgents have been given a bloody nose this time that they cannot tell what exactly hit them," he said.

The security expert said the recent audio message released by Abubakar Shekau in which he confessed that his men are under “trial” and going through rough times is a confirmation in security cycle that they have been overwhelmed.

Said Luqman: "This is a man that in all his messages used to talk about killing or abducting innocent and unarmed citizens, but this time he is saying they are passing through a trial and is encouraging them not to lose hope.

He said Nigerian troops have gone beyond technically defeating the terrorists to nearly bringing them down to their knees.

"This is because they can no longer operate as they wish and are only scampering from one point to another in utter confusion," he added. 

The security expert commended the current battle strategy of the military which he said involves moving reinforcement while troops are pressing hard against the insurgents.

This he said is commendable and has boosted the confidence of troops while overwhelming the terrorists.

Luqman called on the authorities to send more troops to the battlefield in order for the military to maintain presence in the operational locations they overrun and to avoid a situation where the Boko Haram elements regroup.

He said though the troops have done much, there is the need to take proactive and innovative steps that would confound the insurgents and accelerate their final defeat adding that concentration should not be on their fighting troops alone but efforts must be made to counter them in intelligence gathering.

"No doubt much has been achieved but the little effort remaining requires a harder push and superior strategy," he stated.

Babajide Otitoju: Why the silence whenever Nigeria is winning? By Lanre Oteniya

By Lanre Oteniya 

Photo source 
Opinion Nigeria 

When Chadian forces led by their president, Idris Derby Itno, launched an operation which resulted in the death of over 1000 ISWAP terrorists, media analyst, Babajide Otitoju was among those who were upbeat  drumming it into the ears of everyone what a 'great feat' the Chadians had recorded by that action. 

Otitoju while analysing the development in one of the 'Journalists Round Table' programme, spoke of Derby as a war hero who he said had done 90 percent of the work that needed to uproot ISWAP and Boko Haram for good on the surface of the earth. 

One would be forgiven to assume from the way Otitoju sounded, that he knew the exact number of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists that are remaining for him to conclude that Derby Itno had done 90 percent of the work required.

Other fair minded observers of the war against insurgency in the Lake Chad region had pointed out to Otitoju even then, that his claims cannot be factual as Nigerian troops have done far more than what he was ascribing to the Chadians.

A particular commentator had  stated that given the magnitude of the problem, the challenge on the Nigerian soil, given its asymmetric nature was far more than what could be handled in a single operation but was optimistic that given the leadership of the Nigerian army, the terrorists would be defeated.

He encouraged Otitoju and others who prefer to take the glory of the war against insurgency to other lands while mocking Nigerian troops, to however be prepared to be fair enough to give due credit to the Nigerian military like they were doing to the Chadians when this happens. 

Not long after that, the prediction came to pass as the Nigerian Armed Forces stepped up its game when the chief of army staff, Lt. Gen.TY Buratai moved to the theaters of operation to lead the assault on the insurgents.

Within the the first week of his relocation, Nigerian troops launched an attack on Boko Haram fortresses and killed no less than a hundred of them in what has become the precursor to the pressure the military would mount on the terrorists. 

In March, during an operation that was carried out in Gorgi, Damboa local government of  Borno state more than 100 Boko Haram insurgents were killed and one of their top commanders was also liquidated. 

Not stopping at that, In April, Nigerian troops also killed 105 insurgents in confrontation at a town called Buni Gari with remnants of Boko Haram and ISWA that attempted to infiltrate the village. 

Nigerian troops also captured  five AK-47 rifles, three GPMG, one Duska anti-aircraft gun, one PKT gun, two handheld radio, while one terrorists’ gun truck was destroyed and several ammunition and ammunition links, two hand grenades, two magazines with ammunition and assorted hard drugs were also captured in that operation. 

Not done with that, Nigerian troops in their renewed vigour on the first day of this month, launched the Operation Kantana Jimlan, where 78 members of ISWAP and 56  Boko Haram members were killed.

Nigerian troops also arrested 28 informants of the groups and recovered lots of ammunition from them.

In that operation on the Timbuktu Triangle and another artillery engagement in Buk,  Damboa LG of Borno State, Nigerian troops killed134 number of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.

Between March when Buratai relocated to the theater of operation and now, Nigerian troops have killed no less 490 of the terrorists

What is more; owing to the heat from the Nigerian troops, Boko Haram leader, Abu Shekau gave an indication that he was considering turning himself in in an act of surrender.

But with all the feat recorded against the insurgents by Nigerian troops, our vibrant and observant analyste have gone silent.

The tap from which they showered encomiuoms on troops of other countries seem to have run dry.

Otitoju was nowhere to be found when he was needed most. He has become like the misguided football hooligan who hails teams of other countries but goes silent when that of his country is doing wonders. 

But perhaps noticing this bias in reportage foreign media agencies have been upbeat on reporting the gallantry of the Nigerian troops.

A French journal on African intelligence had even gone beyond reporting what the troops have achieved to revealing the level of preparation for the task ahead. 

It reported that the Nigerian Army is engaged in negotiations to purchase Chinese rotary wing AVIC AV500 drone to be able to carry out ISR missions  at medium altitude, carry out strikes and stay airborne for nine hours while at it.

This will definitely accelerate the almost completed liquidation of the terrorists. 

All these efforts are however lost on Otitoju an his ilk who seem to be upbeat only when Nigerian troops encounter defeat or some foreign countries record distant and uncoordinated break in the war.

The truth is, Nigerian  troops have even before now been doing very well in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.

Nigeria has been the leader on many counter insurgency operations across the continent including the multinational joint task force currently fighting in the Lake Chad region. 

For more than four years since the coming of the current administration, the terrorists have not found it easy operating on Nigerian soil as they  have been under heat from Nigerian troops.

Due to the heat, they run to take cover in neighbouring African countries like Niger, Chad and Cameroun 

Nigeria has been able to up the game and degraded the terrorists and have been able to penetrate the base of the insurgents at Sambisa Forest, took out a great number of them and destroyed their armoury and established a base at Camp Zero.

Nigerian troops have also retaken captured military bases in  Bama, Monguno and Gwoza as well as recapture territories captured by the terrorists including the 20 local government that came under the authority of the terrorists. 

They have also put a stop to the activities of the terrorists in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna and Abuja, confining them to few communities along the Lake Chad.

Nigerian troops have put the terrorists in disarray and have made it impossible for them tto launch attacks on communities.

Given all these record of achievements, one would wonder how an objective analyst would fail to commend Nigerian armed forces for its efforts if  there's no deliberate agenda to undermine Nigeria. 

At this point there's the need to caution Otitoju in the words of Samuel Adams, the American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the founding Fathers of the United States, who said there are people who can be termed as  void of all regards for their country. 

Otitoju should be cautioned  not to allow himself drift into that category because the philosopher has only harsh words for those kinds of people. 

He said:"There is seldom an Instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections."

Otitoju and his ilk, who derive pleasure in laughing at and insulting the military when the terrorists attack Nigerian troops but will be silent when the military takes the lead need to have a rethink. 

Oteniya, a freelance broadcast journalist wrote this piece from Lagos.

Covid-19 and Opportunity Cost of Survival..., By Posu Joseph

By Posu Joseph 

As at the time this article was pencilled , the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria stood at 4,151.

Of this total, 745 were discharged representing just 18 % while 128 deaths were recorded accounting for 3%.

Lagos State, the epicenter of the disease in Nigeria, accounted for 1764 of the total cases registered, representing 42 %. This is massive given that Lagos State is just a state in the whole of the 36 states of the Federation, including the Capital Territory, Abuja.

By the end of year 2019, no one, in his or her wildest contemplation, imagination and clairvoyance, could have ever predicted that by the first quarter of 2020, the world would have been enveloped by a global pandemic. It is a novel virus that seems to have changed the world order. It's a terrible situation.

 It was reported that in United States of America,  by March 8, 22 deaths were recorded. Going forward, by April 8, 17,600 deaths were recorded. This means that within a month, there was an increase of 79,900 % in death report. If this is a shock to you, then hear this.  As at when this report was written, the death rate in US stood at 78,600 and by implication, it means that within just two months, the percentage increase in death rate in US was 357,172 %. This astronomical surge is an affront to our common humanity.  Nothing could be more bizarre !

One ugly thing about the virus is that it is extremely contagious, making it the most contagious disease of the Century. This won't be the first time the world would experience such. In 1343, October precisely, Death Plague hit the world and claimed millions of souls. It occured in Italy but the virus was traceable to China. In 1918 as well, Spanish Flu shook the world, claiming millions of lives.

In each case, attention was paid to survival than anything. Mosques, churches, businesses were closed down. People self-isolated and those who couldn't, were quarantined. 

The same is what the world is experiencing now. To curtail the spread of the virus in Nigeria, the authorities declared a lockdown in the address made by President Buhari on the 29th of March for two weeks at the first instance and further extended it. This was for the concerned states - Lagos, Ogun and Abuja.

This brought untold hardship to the people as the authorities couldn't provide enough pallatives to  cushion the effects of the lockdown.

Lagos State, the epicenter of the disease and the commercial nerve of the country, became desolate, destitute and the economy became atrophic. 

The Nigerian economy is largely characterized by informal sector with many depending on daily earnings for survival and since the authorities couldn't make palliatives available, they preferred to die of the virus than of hunger. 

The whole situation presented a dilemma. The age-long puzzle of " Chicken and Eggs " reared its ugly head here. Whichone should be considered now : Opening the economy but face the risk of the spread or total lockdown but watch the economy become more atrophic ?

This inverse relationship between the economy and the survival brought a tough position to the authorities. Afraid of uprising, the government decided to ease the lockdown gradually by opening up the economy a bit but using persuasive means to implore the people to comply with the related instructions that would curtail the spread. 

The proponents of economy opening - up argued that the virus should be managed the way other viral infections have been managed as it has come to stay. To them, Lassa, Chicken - Pox, Measles, Cholera etc all threatened humanity at their time but they are with us now and being managed. However, these people have not taken into consideration two things : the rate of contagiousness of the COVID-19 disease and its novel nature. The evolution and the pathology of the disease are still under findings and that makes the whole scenario difficult and bleak.

Now, opening the economy is not the problem. However, the most important aspect of any economy is the human capital. A sick people can definitely not run an economy. That's why labour is the most important factor of production because it has to do with the physical and mental contributions needed to manage the other factors of production. When labour is sick, the whole economy would be shut down.

Opportunity cost of taking a firm decision here is so required. Opportunity cost is an economic term. It is similar to saying for any decision taken, you must have forgo other decision or decisions given the limited resources. For example, suppose you had just a cake. It's either you eat the cake or you have it. You can't simply do the two. If you eat the cake, you would sacrifice having it. Reversely, if you want to have the case, then you must sacrifice it with being hungry. It's now left to you to take a decision given what you desire most.

What do we desire at this time ? Is it to stay alive or not  ? To stay alive, open

Is Tinubu another Awolowo?, By Oke Umurhohwo

By Oke Umurhohwo  

For some people, it is a tough question. For others, it is an insult to even think of both men in the same sentence. But given the prevailing circumstances, it will not be too hard to understand why that question is coming at this point. Even though Bola Ahmed Tinubu is nowhere near comparison with late Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo, however, there is one thing that seems to bring about questions on whether the former Lagos state governor is another Awolowo.

So, it seems like a simple question with an even simpler answer, but taking a closer look, you'll find it more complex. If you're a close observer of the Nigerian political space and power structures, those two names would not be strange to you as they have featured prominently in the history of Nigeria, right from independence.

Chief Awolowo was one of the founding fathers of Nigeria, and as Premier of Western Nigeria, brought about unimaginable developments in the region that earned him cult-like followership to date. As for Tinubu, he was a former governor of Lagos state, who went from surviving a major onslaught that swept his colleagues on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD) to building a political empire that has the Southwest region in a firm grip.

This has nothing to do about their politics and governance milestone, but about the quest to rule Nigeria. If you're a good student of history, one thing you'll hardly miss about Chief Awolowo was his strong desire to be president of Nigeria. But he could not achieve that dream, not because he was incapable, but for some high-wire politics that is almost repeating itself.

Awolowo and Tinubu share a race and follows an almost similar political trajectory, which gained them incredible stakes in power configuration. Though many are quick to push back any rhetoric that attempt to mention Tinubu in the same breath as Awolowo, it would be so unfair to ignore his progress over the years.

Tinubu apparently wants to model himself after Awolowo as the rallying point for Yoruba's political interests, and possibly, someone that would dare the odds and take the top seat in the country. This isn't hard to decipher especially if you pay close attention to the politics of Tinubu, who have shown a remarkable understanding of the public's mood, and how to manipulate foes and friends to reach for power.

Like Awolowo, Tinubu will most certainly, come out openly to pursue his longtime dream of getting the presidency. Forget the denial or pretense, Tinubu has his eyes set on the presidency and would make his intention known when he believes the time is right. But as a realist, I'm careful not to let the impression of history be lost on me, but instead, pay more attention to the lessons it taught us. What does that mean? A lot, but only if people can be objective. 

In a recent chat with a friend, the 2023 presidential election came up and in between, he introduced Tinubu into our discussion and tried to debate his likely chance to the coveted presidential seat. For several minutes, I was silent. Surprised at my posture, he tried to know why I've chosen not to make any contribution.

When I broke my silence, I simply asked him if he had ever heard about Awolowo and his quest to rule Nigeria. Probably, finding what to say, I showed him a WhatsApp broadcast that tried to bring back the past and its bearing on the present. In the broadcast, the author adduced that Awolowo was deceived by the former military ruler, Yakubu Gowon when he said: "Immediately after the war is over, you will be the head of Federal Government of Nigeria as elected president."

But Awolowo was not alone with such experience as the author of the broadcast suggested, citing other examples including that of Tinubu. Though, some may try to play down the message but doing that will only show their naivety and poor understanding of historical trajectory. As memory fades, events of the past can easily repeat itself, and by that, we would have the past, right in the present.

The miscalculation, which could prove fatal, that Tinubu can ever make, is to believe anyone owes him a debt that would be repaid. Every man, no matter how strong he is, lies to himself about something. Thinking that 2023 would be about compensation would be a lie that the experience with Awolowo can easily break.

As 2023 draws closer, pundits set their gaze to see where the pendulum will swing. Taking cues from history and maneuvering, nothing is really sure at this moment, but one thing which almost everyone is keen to find out is whether Tinubu will be another Awolowo or if he will be able to pull the biggest surprise of Nigeria's democratic history. Time will tell.

Written by Oke Umurhohwo, a Political Analyst and Strategist. He tweets via @OkeStalyf and can be reached via oke.umu@gmail.com

Enemy of the state, By Femi Adesina

By FEMI ADESINA

 

You have possibly watched the 1998 action-thriller film with the above title, starring Will Smith. It was the box office hit story about a group of people plotting to kill an American Congressman, and the tape of the plot was discovered.

Well, an Enemy of the State struck in Nigeria on Monday, but this time, it was no fiction. It was real life act of sabotage from somebody who does not wish his own country well at all, and who derived a sinister kind of pleasure from undermining the system.

President Muhammadu Buhari was to broadcast to the country by 8 p.m, to give an update on the battle against COVID-19, and what becomes of the lockdown that had lasted four weeks, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun States. Kano was also a point of heavy interest, with the strange deaths ravaging the state. Was it COVID-19 or not?

As the country waited for the President with great expectations, a purported copy of the broadcast began to circulate on social media from about 4 p.m. Whodunnit?

I took a look at the circulating document, and within one minute, I knew that it was a rogue copy. What immediately gave it away was the paragraphing. It was completely different from the one I had been part of producing, and which had been recorded for broadcast by the President.

Another tell-tale to the dubiousness of the document was the date it gave. It said the lockdown in the affected states and the FCT would be eased from May 2, while the authentic copy bore May 4. There were some other discrepancies. Paragraphs that had been excised from the final copy were still intact, and the document was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, which you would rarely find in a presidential broadcast, which would have passed through a number of select and trusted hands.

I made a few phone calls to those of us involved with the script, right from origination, which was from outside the Presidency, to final editing, which I did, and the conclusion was easy to reach. Somebody had spirited out the original draft, which had gone through many stages of fine-tuning in terms of content and language, and thinking that it was a world exclusive in terms of artifice and underhand action, he fed it into the social media.

Who would do such a thing, except an Enemy of the State, someone who wants to ridicule the government, cause utmost confusion in the polity, and smirk his lips in malevolent pleasure, as the government, and possibly the media handlers of the President were flagellated, and taken to the cleaners.

Yoruba people talk of ‘ba ase je.’ Somebody who spoils the feast. Everybody is rejoicing and making merry, and he comes to pollute their joy. He could bring extremely bad news that sends everyone scurrying home, or looking for cover. He could even urinate in the big pot of soup in the full glare of the merrymakers. Or he could pour sand in the big pot of rice on the fire. Ba ase je (spoiler of the feast) can strike in many ways. That was the same thing the Enemy of the State did.

Igbo people speak of the proverbial lizard that ruined his own mother’s funeral. That was what the hidden hostile hand did. But he forgot that in these days of technology, almost everything leaves a trail. Before the end of that evening, computer evidences had narrowed down the suspect, and he was already answering for his evil action.

There is the house mouse called ‘oofon ‘ in Yoruba. And there is a delicious soup made from beans called ‘gbegiri.’ Yes, do you remember the popular amala and gbegiri politics as championed by Lamidi Adedibu in Oyo State in those days? That’s the soup I’m talking about. What happens when the house mouse urinates inside the bowl of gbegiri soup? Lassa fever! 

That’s why we have the Yoruba saying; oofon to si gbegiri, ki eleko ko eko e dani. Translating this into English makes it lose some originality, but let me try. The house mouse has urinated in the pot of gbegiri soup, let all merrymakers find their ways home. That was what the evil mind attempted to do by leaking the presidential broadcast hours before it came. But he fired blank, having laid hands on a wrong copy.

However, if that person had got the final, authentic copy, that is the same way he would have leaked it. To what end, to what purpose? Sinister. Sneaky. Hateful.

Some people hate their own country, and ironically would be the first to complain that things were not going well. Every act of the government (any government) they would undermine. If they can stick a knife into the soft underbelly of government in any way, they do it with relish, and would be the first to grumble that things were not going right. Enemies of the State.

If the person that leaked the unedited draft of the broadcast had access to more sensitive national documents, he would do the same thing. If he cottons on information that could sell Nigeria to the enemy, he would gladly do it. Thou art in the midst of foes, watch and pray.

I am surprised that a large number of people, including newspaper houses, fell for the gambit. They took their information from the wrong source, and ended up publishing falsehood. That was what the Enemy of the State wanted. Cause maximum confusion. And he succeeded to some extent.

There is a way we release information from the media office of the President. And the media knows it. If a presidential speech was to be given ahead, there would be an embargo on it for a particular time. The circulating copy bore no embargo, yet they fell for it. And got embarrassed by publishing inaccurate information. Serves them right, do you say? The final copy was released by 8.06 p.m, good enough time for a newspaper to still produce and get early to market for the next day.

The social media is being used for every purpose: good and bad. It is the bastion of fake news, hate news, concoctions and all sorts of conjurations. Will the users and consumers be more discerning? It is said that the person that stole a keg of palm oil from the rafter is not the only thief. The person that collected the keg from him is also a rogue. Those who began to share an obvious leak, rebroadcasting it, are also not guiltless. Be quick to hear, and slow to speak.

It was amusing to me to hear armchair critics blaming the media office of the President for the leakage. Ignorance. Why pontificate about what you don’t know? They were on radio and television stations the next morning, magisterially shooting breeze. 

It was Dr Reuben Abati, immediate past media adviser to a President who gave some proper perspectives on how a presidential broadcast is originated and produced, and how it was improbable that the leakage came from the Presidency. The lesson? Seek information, get your facts right, before arriving at a conclusion, lest you look foolish and uninformed.

Some people are not interested in the well- being of their own country. Sad, very sad. Such would sell their mothers, and their country for thirty pieces of silver. Thou art in the midst of foes, watch and pray.

Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari

Undressing The Auchi Fake Masquerade Called Aisha Yesufu By Ruth Ochogwu

By Ruth Ochogwu

The proclivity of some Nigerians to abuse noble concepts is alarming and appalling. Elsewhere, activism is a dignified enterprise and those who engage in it are translucently selfless, cerebral, purposeful and focused. But the concept of activism has been terribly bruised and abused in Nigeria.

It is common to hear about branded versions of activism in Nigeria. The categories are many and varied. Often, one hears of “emergency activists,” “hired activists,” “street activists" and lots more. And because of the extremely unstructured pattern of life in the country, it is difficult to even differentiate activists from critics. Anyone who has a personal grudge or is disgruntled with government for selfish reasons wears the badge of “rights activist” and begins to prance about making hallucinatory noise.  

Genuine activists crusade popular causes, which are unambiguously beneficial to the people. The actions tilt to pro-masses agenda.  They do not personalize the struggle or hide under the veil of activism to champion self-centered interests in disguise. But Nigeria is unfortunate to have many of such fake and pseudo activists.  

The co-convener, #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group, and self-styled and accidental rights activist, Aisha Yesufu holds the latest flag of those who defame and traduce activism in Nigeria. Her conscription into BBOG under the pretext of campaigning for the release of abducted Chibok schoolgirls was to find a convenient platform to promote a personal agenda.

Aisha Yesufu has goofed terribly and the frustration is making her endlessly restless. She erroneously thought she had struck gold by her membership of BBOG group, which she could manipulate to ascend to power. But President Muhammadu Buhari did not meet her expectations. The President disappointed her.  

The consequence is Aisha Yesufu’s nurtured and bubbling pathological hatred for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, his appointees and all who serve in the government at different capacities. She posits herself as the author of knowledge in Nigeria and so, faults everything done by government, but has no worthwhile clue on a better alternative.  

She spreads criticisms on the present government like Coronavirus. And some gullible people erroneously term her watery and fluid criticisms as activism.  Aisha Yesufu wakes up everyday, looking for even the most irrelevant issues or insignificant matters to parrot. She parrots on everything under the sun, even on issues she is barren of knowledge.  And listening to her most times, it gives the impression that her upbringing was poor.

Aisha Yesufu feigns the posture of pro-masses activist. But her greatest burden is identifying the distinction between activism and criticism. But it is not controvertible that Aisha is a messenger of falsehood and her only motivation is the masked pursuit of a personal agenda, evident in acting the script of external forces against her country. She is a curse upon herself and nation.  Her grudge against Nigeria is that she suffered a deprived childhood and perceives the whole of society as her greatest enemy.  She is out to extract vengeance by force.

She is out on a revenge mission, but lacks the wisdom to prosecute it decently. She only manifests in perpetually faulting everything done by the leaders of Nigeria. Aisha Yesufu has mastered the antics of blackmailing and arm-twisting the government for patronage in appointment or other ways to compensate for her deprived childhood. It is a faulty approach.

She hypocritically feigns fighting for the poor or projects herself as the voice of the voiceless. But it is outright falsehood. The undeniable truth is that Aisha Yesufu is a reprobate and fake personality. A pseudo activist, her hypocrisy and capitalist quest clothed with the garments of a do-gooder are polluting any vestige of personality in her very fast and disgracefully.   

President Buhari’s government happens to be a victim of her unrestrained anger and frustration. So, she seeks every day to lower the esteem of the President and his administration in the eyes of Nigerians, but anchored on very feeble arguments and criticisms.

She hates PMB to a fault and therefore blind to reason. Her permutations using the plank of the BBOG forum was to strategically position herself to be noticed and consequently sneak her way into the administration of Buhari as Minister or head of a federal agency. But she was ignored and its spurred indignation. The fallout is that she finds it difficult to forgive the administration for failing to name her a minister in the same manner, Mrs.  Oby Ezekwesili is also mad at Mr. President. 

The irony in Nigeria is that people who obviously pursue personal agenda and vendetta posture as pro-masses crusaders to attract public sympathy. Aisha Yesufu’s case is more shameful because she is unconscionable, uses crude tactics and lacks tact in playing the game.  

Therefore, even if Mr. President coughs, she criticizes the  manner of coughing. Where it pains more is that she mouths on issues, it is apparent that she is less knowledgeable and speaks like a demented soul.

For instance, when President Buhari addressed the nation in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Nigeria and announced certain measures to curb the spread of the virus, Aisha Yesufu was in the news saying that she is not pleased with the advice given by the President. She created the impression of someone who is an expert in pandemic management; whilst she has no idea. Is Aisha advocating that President Buhari administer Nigeria based solely on the template defined by her?

And when the Hate Speech Bill was introduced in the Senate, Aisha Yesufu pushed it back to President Buhari. She failed to recognize that the executive and legislature are separate arms of government and so, Mr. President cannot interfare  with the conduct of their affairs.

In any case, in her excitement to be noticed or to blackmail the Presidency, Aisha Yesufu rushed to brand President Buhari as the number one hate speech purveyor, ludicrously citing the President’s description of Nigerian youths as lazy as constituting hate speech. What wisdom equates the utterance “laziness” to hate speech?  

And if it is not the display of barefaced insanity, what rationale should compel someone to question the decision of Mr. President directing the CBN to  stop issuing forex for the importation of food? Nigeria has achieved a significant level of food sufficiency and has no reason to keep enriching foreign nations through food importation.

But in Aisha Yesufu’s wisdom, hence forex is banned on food importation, it must also apply  on importation of petroleum products. In juxtaposition, can a normal person claim Nigeria has achieved self-sufficiency on refining of crude oil to service its domestic consumption?  

Not long ago, Aisha Yesufu almost had a fisticuff with the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi over the fake claims that the latter and passengers escaped kidnap by hoodlums at the Rigasa train station. She was not present at the scene of the incident; relied on secondary sources of information, but vouched for the concocted information as if she experienced it herself. It is the extent desperation has drenched Aisha Yesufu into a fake news monger for the simple reason of ridiculing the administration.   

It is easy to see the over-bloated ego in Aisha. It has become a serious burden to the management of her image and reputation. Fooling the people has become her habit  and she is finding it difficult to discard. What she has failed to realize is that Nigerians now know that behind the veil-wearing woman is a notorious and lavish liar, an opportunist and a woman whose insatiable quest for money cannot be quantified.

But Aisha nailed herself.  Her suspicious handling of the proceeds of the BBOG campaigns is reason the Buhari administration has maintained a safe distance from her and quarantined her from public funds. She hardly resists the temptation of money and those who know her perfectly claims she is a pilferer of naira not minding the source. 

So, the reality of her neglect has injected an endemic hatred into her against President Buhari and all that relates to him. Its only the President that she sees in her dreams. If she is not criticizing the military in the morning, she is criticizing Mrs. Buhari the next morning or the president’s ministers.

No one should be fooled by Aisha Yesufu’s antics. Her criticisms are not for altruistic reasons. Charity begins at home, but Aisha has never ever spoken about her downtrodden and impoverished people of Auchi in Edo state.

Worse still, she has extended her hate for Nigeria and Nigerians by enlisting into the Boko Haram terrorist group as both a cyberspace terrorist and a tormentor of innocent Nigerians that support the administration’s battle against terrorism.  She is unaware that Nigerians already knows her person. Her fake garments and hypocrisy are now open secrets.

Ochogwu is a concerned citizen and wrote this piece from Wuye, Abuja.

Pantami: Understanding The Shining Star And His Detractors, By David Onmeje

By David Onmeje 

It is a truism that opposition and robust criticisms suckle democratic wheels and allow governance flourish on beneficial templates. The problem in Nigeria is that a number of critics are more confused than the views they reel out in criticisms. Sometimes, they even reel out criticisms which burp with warped opinions, obviously pointing to the shadows of hirelings.

The National Communications Commission (NCC) Complex at Mbora was recently commissioned with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance. It was a great accomplishment and a successful ceremony by all gradations.

But thereafter, a critic, apparently on a hatchet job, staged out with vituperations of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa  Ali Pantami.  Apparently, he had personal or instigated issues with the Honourable Minister, but unfortunately presented them in an award-winning trophy of flawed style and lost senses from the first word to the last with his flawed ink. Candidly, he impressed himself, but no one else.     

The critic, Emmanuel Johnmar was loud in condemnations of the Minister; labelled him a liar, corrupt, incompetent and a neophyte in managing Nigeria’s Telecommunications industry. Scrutinizing the contents of his criticisms, there was the confounding problem of establishing his real intent. He got himself confused more than the public he staged out to elucidate.

Was Johnmar attempting to praise Mr. President or berate him for appointing an incompetent person like Dr.  Pantami to superintend on Nigeria’s communication’s industry and digital economy?  At a point, the critic sounded like someone weeping for President Buhari for having a “disaster” like Pantami in his government. But could the critic be more catholic than the Pope?

What befuddled most was the critic’s parameters of what his intelligence could deliver to him as yardsticks of excellence or commendable performance on a job or public office. It was laughable that the critic’s notion of splendor in the case of NCC, one of the many agencies under the supervision of Dr. Pantami was that there is “no credibility in employment, promotions and awards of contracts.” Is this his idea of perfection in a public office? How could a normal person degenerate this poorly in reasoning?

Sadly, that’s the critic’s idea of excellence of a government agency or ministry and not service delivery to the public. It provided clear insights to discerning minds that disgruntled staff of NCC and their shadowy accomplices in the Ministry have contracted him to run down the Minister at all cost.

These are same critics who abuse President Buhari’s principle and philosophy that government is continuity. Nigeria’s landscape is dotted with billions upon billions of uncompleted projects. And public funds have been sunk into them, but every successive government abandon such projects. But President Buhari introduced a new approach to governance by completing these abandoned projects, yet the critics are still fuming and mouthing all manner of insanities in condemnations.

When Buhari completes projects abandoned by his predecessors, the critics claim he is devoid of wisdom to initiate and complete his own projects. If he overlooks them and apply his principle, in the greater interest of Nigerians, the same critics still complain. One is compelled to think whether Buhari’s predecessors brought out the money for such projects from their family patrimony.   

The crux of Johnmar’s criticisms on President Buhari, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) NCC, Prof. Garba Danbatta is that the incumbent administration never appreciated the NCC Complex building they commissioned as started by previous administrations in Nigeria.  What is the heck here?

The same senior officials Johnmar sought desperately and provocatively to disparage have traversed a long trajectory in public leadership. President Buhari’s public leadership antecedents are open secrets. Whilst Prof. Danbatta has an established niche as a famed academic in his field of specialization, who by virtue of public service, works under Minister Pantami. And both are crack brains in the Information and communication (ICT) industry in Nigeria.

Dr. Pantami particularly has come a long way in the ICT industry home and abroad. He established his fame years back,  right from the point he was the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) at the outset of the President Buhari’s administration.  

Buhari wanted to indoctrinate Nigeria into e-governance and he had to look for an ICT expert. He found an Information Communication Technology (ICT) specialist and Internet Technology (IT) czar, Dr. Isa Pantami, a Fellow of British Computer Society (FBCS).  His briefs from the Presidency was to spearhead reformations and innovations that would restructure and reposition NITDA as a vibrant agency of the federal government that will drive the Buhari administration’s dream of e-governance for Nigeria.

And Dr. Pantami marshalled out a work-plan and a template, which accomplished this mandate within the shortest possible time through an action frame-work he christened, as, “The Strategic Roadmap To Transform the Nigerian IT Sector,” document. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy elevated the Nigeria’s regulation of the IT industry and left relics such as e-governance in MDAs; enhanced cybersecurity; digital inclusion; platforms for private sector capacity building by IT stakeholders, development of local content and its promotion. 

Nigeria as a nation benefited a lot from his initiatives in NITDA. Through e-governance, ghost workers from the federal civil service numbering over 34, 000 were fished out and government saved billions of taxpayers’ money to invest in other sectors. JAMB now conducts Computer Based Tests (CBTs) and several other federal government MDAs are seamlessly harnessing the treasures of Dr. Pantami’s  IT knowledge in different sectors of governance.

It is the reliability and impact of Dr. Pantami’s performance in NITDA that ASUU is hesitating enrolment into IPPIS and advancing all manner of excuses. Its therefore, uncharitable for any critic to descend his contracted ink or axe on such a rare gift to Nigeria in the IT or ICT sector. Pantami’s elevation to the position of Minister streams from his preceding excellent performance as NITDA boss. President Buhari knows Pantami  has the knack for the job and willing to do it to the fullest to salvage Nigeria. Whatever Johnmar wrote adequately expressed itself in frustration.  

Nonetheless, as Minister, Dr. Pantami has taken full control of Nigeria’s Telecoms industry and IT world; he was first to decry to Telecoms operators that they are over-billing Nigerians on data. He was frank that once Nigerians purchase data, it should not expire. He is working towards implementing the pay -as- you-go package for all GSM operators in the country.  He is perfecting plans to compel Telecoms to charge Nigerians less for the services they offer.  

It is very unconscionable for a self-styled critic to brand Dr. Pantami  and those who work under him with such baseless allegations. These are allegations even the so-called critic has not dropped any hint about their veracity. It’s not  all about anyone sleeping to wake up and some demons quarantining his senses to scribble rubbish. The critic imagined and wrote frivolous allegations against Dr. Pantami because Nigeria is in a democratic government and freedom of expression is permitted. It smacks of the abuse of the same liberty of freedom of expression.

Minister Pantami remains one of the best leadership personalities in the new team of President Buhari  and a vital cog in the #NextLevel blueprint. And it is definite that detractors such as Johnmar would maliciously come after him. President Buhari selects his team carefully.

So, those trying to crucify Pantami’s efforts are both local and international enemies of Nigeria who do not want the progress of the country and have conscripted critics to act at their behest. The Minister’s stewardship is stainless and  

he is poised to add more value to the development of Nigeria in the ICT and IT sector. Let the angels of darkness allow the star to shine on Africa.

Dr. Pantami has demonstrated  himself as a dynamite in ideas, which are beneficially explosive. The critics should take an honourable bow out of his leadership space. Nothing written against Pantami has any modicum of conviction. It is  the simple and plain truth. Johnmar is however appreciated for exercising his freedom of expression in a democracy.  

Onmeje is Group Managing Director of TheNigerian News Group and wrote this piece from London.