The Challange We Face

At the Nations Development Seminar in 2005 in Monrovia, Liberia, President of Congress WBN, Dr. Noel Woodroffe said that "Sharp conflicts have always indicated transformation points to the consciousness of the world and provide pivots to a new design of human action". Dr. Woodroffe was speaking against the backdrop of the historical origin of most West African nations (both indigenous existence, repatriation, colonization) which had in the past crippled their capacity to dream, to envision, to create a new future. Moving forward he added required peoples in the West African region to abandon the position that explains non-productivity and lack of responsibility for their destiny on the residual impact of their past experience and to evolve new nations. Put in very plain terms, Dr. Woodroffe was in essence saying that most nations in West African including Nigeria were defined by their past experiences rather than being pulled forward by a vision of what they want to evolve into or become. This more than any other reason explains the preponderance of conflicts not just in Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d'Voire, Burkinafaso, Liberia, Togo but also across Africa as we have witnessed in Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan to mention a few. The latest round of violence in Nigeria that followed the declaration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as winner of the April 16, 2011 Presidential Election can also be traced to this residual principle which in our case is based on colonialism. One hundred years after the British colonial government amalgamated Northern and Southern Nigeria, and 50 years after that amalgam was granted independence the response to the outcome of the April 16 election was defined by our past. We witnessed some people in some eight states in the former North resort to violence to protest the outcome of the April 16 election which had favored a candidate from the former South against another candidate who was perceived to be flying the flag of the former North. We witnessed these people lashing their venom on other Nigerians perceived to be from states in the former South especially targeting members of the National Youth Service Scheme who are supposed to be symbols of national unity. We witnessed voting patterns for both main presidential candidates that almost seem to follow the 1914 divide between North and South of Nigeria before the amalgamation, but for the role played by voters in the Middle Belt region. We witnessed presidential party primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party that were fought along the divide of the former North and South as if we were in 1914 and Lord Lugard was still the Governor-General of Nigeria, with the losers pitching tent with another candidate from the former North. Since the return to democratic rule in May 1999, we have witnessed the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party in the governance of Nigeria simply because of its recognition of a zoning arrangement that rotates political power between candidates from the former South and North. We have witnessed the Jos crises in Plateau State where generational settlers and indigenous peoples are slugging it out in what is fast becoming a full scale war as the resort to sophisticated weapons and bombs that are used in places of worships, markets, schools, villages now attest. We have witnessed the Ezalla and Ezillo crises in Ebonyi State that is a type of guerrilla warfare between settlers and indigenous people over land rights that have become political which has not spared travelers journeying through the two communities. We have witnessed where a Nigerian residing outside his or her state of origin is technically regarded as a settler but who cannot aspire to political rights and in many instances is discriminated against in obtaining education, health and other benefits such as land ownership. These are the issues that generate sharp conflicts that have over the years resulted in the loss of millions of human lives, maiming of millions of people, destruction of properties worth trillions of Naira, displacement and dislocation of millions from lives and environments they have grown accustomed to. Since the recent crises that occurred after April 16, some have again called for Nigeria to be divided as these conflicts are indicative of Nigeria being a union of strange bed fellows or better put a 'mere geographical expression', to borrow the words of one of our late sage. By division they do not tell us if that means dividing Nigeria along the lines of its 250 ethnic groups or an arrangement that leaves these ethnic groups under the control of those they claim are the major tribes in Nigeria? Sanusi Lamido, the Central Bank Governor aptly described the problem we face when in 2009 he said the following at a book launch in Lagos: “My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian. The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I cannot forgive people of my generation speaking in that language. “Let us go into this issue because there are so many myths that are being bandied around. Before colonialism, there was nothing like Northern Nigeria, Before the Sokoto Jihad, there was nothing like the Sokoto caliphate. The man from Kano regard himself as bakane. The man from Zaria was bazazzage. The man from Katsina was bakatsine. The kingdoms were at war with each other. They were Hausas, they were Muslims, they were killing each other. “The Yoruba were Ijebu, Owo, Ijesha, Akoko, Egba. When did they become one? When did the North become one? You have the Sokoto Caliphate that brought every person from Adamawa to Sokoto and said it is one kingdom. They now said it was a Muslim North. “The Colonialists came, put that together and said it is now called the Northern Nigeria. Do you know what happened? Our grand fathers were able to transform to being Northerners. We have not been able to transform to being Nigerians. The fault is ours". The challenge is how do we evolve a new nation or transform to being Nigerians

Fashola on Chibok Girls

I will give to the President a very honest and brutal advice that I have continued to offer to him; I have done this consistently even by telephone or by letters and I will continue to offer that advice. On national security, I don’t have the briefing that the President gets and that is why I have always said that the easiest thing to do is to criticise. Do you have the facts that are at his disposal? Because it is only then that we can have a very serious disagreement. “As far as sincerity about Chibok girls is concerned, honestly, let me just say that the problem that Chibok symbolises has assumed a dimension that is ordinarily outside the authority and control of government. It is now a matter of insurgency and therefore, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Armed Forces have only one Commander-in-Chief and that is Mr. President. The bulk stops at his desk on this matter and it cannot be an easy decision. “The most I am willing to say I can’t measure sincerity, I know it is a tall call now. The Chibok parents are grieving and want their children back. There are many options on the table, but I don’t also think they are expecting body bags of their children, it is a difficult place to be. “But of course I have always said, issues of this nature may want to provoke a debate about the methods. I am not your Commander-in-Chief, if you want more clarity, you know where to go.”

How Lam Prevented Second Civil War in Nigeria

By KEHINDE OLAOSEBIKAN Alhaji Lam Onaolapo Adesina, Oyo State Governor from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2003, passed onto glory peacefully on Sunday, November 11,2012, after over 73 years of a very successful sojourn on earth. Alhaji Lam rose to the pinnacle of all his callings in life. He got to the zenith of his career as a teacher. As a social crusader, he got state recognition and was tagged ‘prisoner of war’; and politically, he did not only realize his ambition of becoming the governor of his state, he achieved the extra-ordinary by installing a governor, not while in power but eight years after he had left office. Since Sunday, torrents of tributes have been pouring in from various quarters, all extolling the virtues of Alhaji Lam Adesina . He has been described in many superlative words, establishing the fact that Alhaji Lam was a great man. But how great really was the husband of the benign Alhaja Sarat Adeola Adesina? As his Chief Press Secretary while he served as the Governor of Oyo State, I will transmit a story of how the former governor tamed a former Military Head of State and prevented what could have led to the Nigerian second civil war. It was on October 13, 2000, when words went round that General Muhammadu Buhari was leading the Arewa team to the governor’s office to confront the state over alleged killing of Fulani herdsmen in Saki, Oke Ogun area of the state. General Buhari did actually telephone the governor that he was leading a team to his office. In less than 30 minutes after the General informed the governor of his visit, we noticed that the entire secretariat was already filled with lorry loads of our brothers from the North. This created some tension but we kept our calm. At about 2pm, General Buhari arrived in a long convoy at the Governor’s office in company with the former Governor of Lagos State, General Buba Marwa, Alhaji Aliko Muhammed, Alhaji Abdulrazak , Alhaji Hassan and some others. They all wore long faces. In fact, the anger and venom in them was very palpable as all pleasantries extended to them were largely shunned. “This is trouble”, was the expression on the faces of all of us in the Governor’s office. Shortly afterwards, the Director of State Security Service (SSS) and Commissioner of Police arrived. But their presence did not change anything particular on the fears that had gripped majority of us. The two security chiefs did not come with troops; they came almost alone. The meeting was called to order after Alhaji Lam serenely walked into the Executive Chambers in his well-embroidered multi-colour lace. Introductions over, General Buhari spoke of his mission to the governor’s office. Emitting fire, the General accused the governor and the government of Oyo State of complicity in the killings of over 68 Fulani people in Oke Ogun area and perversion of justice. His words: “Your Excellency, our arrival here is to discuss with you and your government our displeasure about the incident of clashes between two peoples… the Fulani herdsmen and merchants are today being harassed, attacked and killed like in any war in Saki. In May, 2000, 68 bodies of Fulani herdsmen were recovered and buried under the supervision and protection from a team of Mobile Police from Oyo State Command. “ That some arrests were made by the State Police Command in the massacre with their immediate release without court trial was said to be ordered by Oyo State authorities and they were so released to their amazements. Then, consequently, the mass release of the arrested suspects gave the clear impression that the authority was backing and protecting them to continue the unjust and illegal killings of Fulani herdsmen…” According to the General, they wanted immediate stoppage of the killings, justice and compensation for the mass killing of the Fulani. As weighty and indicting the General’s allegations were against the governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina remained unperturbed as he only fired back with his own well- coordinated arsenal in form of robust explanations and engagements. Alahji Adesina identified all the points raised by the General and simply asked the heads of the organizations directly involved to respond to the allegations. First to speak was the Commissioner of Police who debunked all the claims made by the General. Instead of the allegation by the General that the natives killed the Fulani, the Police commissioner said pointedly that the opposite was the case. “ The killings of the natives by the Fulani were duly reported to the police and of course, we could not make arrests because as soon as they kill, they migrate to other areas. Who are you going to arrest? So that is the problem”. On the contrary, on the killings of the Fulani which he said, was as result of “piled up anger”, the commissioner disclosed that arrests had been made and the suspects still in police custody. Next was the Director of Security Service who equally tore all of General Buhari’s claims to shreds. “The natives don’t have problem with the Fulani who are residents but those who come in. They don’t care for anybody. They just go ahead and when they graze farms, whoever cares to challenge them runs into trouble. You said 68 people were killed, and people driven away. I am not saying there were no killings but it cannot be more than five. The petition was on the harsh side; there was nothing like that.” Not done yet, Governor Adesina called in his Deputy, Barrister Iyiola Oladokun; and his SSG, Chief Michael Koleoso, both from Oke Ogun and the Chairman of the local government of one of the affected areas, Mr Ademola Alalade. They stated the true position of things in the area, corroborating the submissions of the security chiefs. At this point, all the tension and apprehensions evaporated. Trust Lam any day! He must rub it in. He spoke for about 20 minutes and the Generals were at the edges of their seats for the entire period. They were like chickens that have just been thoroughly beaten by the rain. Lam Adesina said: “ Before I thank you for this visit, you have come to tell me something, I also want to tell you something and that is to make an appeal. General Buhari is a former Head of State, Brigadier Marwa governed Lagos for some time and with credibility…. So, you are national leaders of this country. Even though by accident of birth, you are from the North, so you can be born anywhere, may be next time when I am coming to the world I will be born in the North or the South South. My appeal will be that effort must be made to unite this country and that will be to the best interest of all Nigerians. I am appealing to the Arewa Consultative Forum under which auspices our distinguished Nigerians are here. In recent times, they have been sending wrong signals to a number of us who believe in the unity and peace of Nigeria. You have been too critical of the efforts of the federal government. I am saying this because Nigeria at this point cannot afford to break and the words you northern leaders utter are very weighty. In the South here, we normally analyze them critically.” On all the allegations, Alhaji Lam Adesina said: “From what they have written in the petition, this government is completely blameless because we don’t interfere either with the judiciary or with the police functions. I always converse peaceful co-existence, living in Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole. We are all Nigerians and that is what we have been preaching all along and we shall continue to be Nigerians , no matter the present or immediate problems which will be solved by the grace of Allah. I want to say also that we really have to appeal to our people, the itinerant Bororo people that they should be less aggressive. It is not good, it is not right; coming from somewhere, then, you just pass through farm lands cultivated may be with the person’s life savings and then overnight, everything is gone. That is not right, even Allah does not approve of that. We even wonder when they talk about this people carrying dangerous weapons . I ask, do they really believe in Allah? When you just take life like that and go away! Are we not forbidden not to take human life? So, I think General Buhari, General Marwa, you have to educate them…. “It is my pleasure to inform you that at the Presidential Lodge, we have made some arrangements for refreshments so that before you go, we can refresh together.” General Buhari and his team did not wait for any refreshments. ADIEU! GREAT LAM! •Agba Akin Kehinde Olaosebikan was Chief Press Secretary to Alhaji Lam Adesina (1999 – 2003).

Abdusalami: Solution should be the goal

As someone who was privileged to survive the civil war and saw our country return to democracy, I am troubled by the challenges currently confronting our country. “Never in history has our country been subjected to this kind of bloodletting and disrespect for the sanctity of human lives. There had been cruel murder and slaughtering of children as well as women, who are innocent. “The events of recent killings have clearly shown that no one is safe, no place is safe and no time is safe. The security problem in the country is very severe and needed all of us to search for solution. We must dispassionately understand the problems, so that we can work at the roots to proffer solution. “We must therefore cooperate and all hands must be on deck to find solution to the crisis. We should not be looking for victory, solution should be the goal.” Government at all levels, the people at the crisis zone, security personnel and all aggrieved parties must dialogue and listen to one another for the sake of the future of the country We must honestly look at the real issues involved and take immediate actions. It must be accepted that dialogue is still a veritable tool under this circumstance,

It is about Buhari

September 6, 2013 Got to finally read a newspaper article supposedly written by Muhammadu Buhari, 'It is about Nigeria, not Buhari', and I have to say it is disappointing for its lack of depth and directional analysis regarding the many challenges that beset this country, and the question that keeps nudging me is this, what exactly does Buhari want to do with Nigeria should he have a second opportunity in leading this nation, and like millions of other Nigerians, I am yet to get any concrete responses. Posterity will judge the All Progressives Congress should it be unable to take advantage of the massive implosions and crises currently bedeviling the People's Democratic Party, but write ups such as that supposedly penned by Muhammadu Buhari paint the picture of a child who is deluded into thinking he can step into the father's shoes and assume his father's responsibilities and duties simply because the man is indisposed or facing a crises. It is misleading of Muhammadu Buhari to say we should look at the performances of the All Progressives Congress Governors in the 11 states under its control and use that as a basis of what to expect APC would do should it be given the mandate to lead the government at the center, for the simple fact that the nascent APC as yet is still an amalgam of strange bedfellows. Further, the performances referred to are more a reflection of the dynamic personalities of a few of these governors, as Borno and Yobe States are presently hotbeds of religious fundamentalism and insecurity, Zamfara State is known more for lead poisoning affecting thousands of its population, also these are early days yet in Nasarawa and Imo States, while in the South West States, only Babatunde Fashola in Lagos State can be called a true performing governor. It is also not enough for Muhammadu Buhari to accuse the Nigerian press of not steering debates to the policies and programs of the All Progressives Congress but rather dwelling on personalities and the struggle that will take place to produce his party's presidential candidate, the question is what exactly are the policies and programs of the APC? What efforts beyond the hurling of insults, abuses and declarations of burying, uprooting and decimating PDP at the polls, and pointing out every personal fault, weakness, transgression, mistake, error, misstatement of Mr. President and his wife, as key officials of the APC are currently engaged in, is the party making to promote its own programs and policies? This talk about Muhammadu Buhari having a sense of duty hence his involvement in Nigeria's political process, casts him in the mold of a savior desirous of rescuing Nigeria from the doldrums and having a magic wand that can be waved to solve the myriad problems of this country, but this again is misleading as is Buhari's claim that he fought in the Civil War to keep Nigeria united. The Nigerian Civil war was fought and won to maintain a certain political structure and to keep the resources of the country accessible to sectional interests, and these structural distortions and aberrations are the reasons why Nigeria is the way it is today, so without addressing these structural defects is the supposed rescue effort of Mr. Buhari not going to be a reinforcement and consolidation of the same sectional interests he fought for during the Civil War? What does Muhammadu Buhari intend to do on disputed 2006 National Census figures, does he attach any significance to the need for an accurate head count or is he in support of the status quo that arbitrarily allocates population figures to sections of the country simply to enable them collect more revenue from the Federation Account and get ghost votes from ghost voters to ensure electoral victories at the polls? Does Muhammadu Buhari support the systematic discrimination against the South East that sees fewer States and local governments in that geopolitical zone, resulting in lesser allocation from the Federation Account and slower development for Nigerians residing in that part of Nigeria, or will he support the addressing of the structural imbalances against the South East through the creation of an additional state at the very least? Will Muhammadu Buhari support the retention of the Federal Character Policy which has being the most important factor militating against the evolution of a national citizenship, and that has also been the driving force behind the growing conflicts between settlers and indigenes across Nigeria, or will he pursue its dismantling so that residency in any part of Nigeria becomes the only basis for accessing political, educational and social rights in Nigeria? What is Muhammadu Buhari's position on the 594 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Governmet, that currently consume 73% of its annual budget, or does he have plans to implement the Steven Orosanye Committee report that calls for a drastic reduction in the number of MDAs and civil servants, thus freeing up more public funds for capital projects but in turn incurring the wrath of the Nigeria Labor Congress and the Trade Union Congress? What is the position of Muhammadu Buhari on the privatization of the 15 assets of PHCN in the power sector which has just been concluded, with 10 power (NIPP) generating assets of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company also slated for privatization, or does Buhari believe that these assets should remain public property, meaning that like he canceled the metro line project in 1983 incurring massive fines for the FG, he will also cancel the entire privatization program with catastrophic and monstrous consequences? Muhammadu Buhari has to date not expressed any views on the Petroleum Industry Bill currently pending in the National Assembly, is he saying that he wants the current fiscal regime maintained as contended by the International Oil Companies, or does he back the plans of FG to reform the sector and take regulatory and monopoly powers from NNPC which will now be an Exploration and Production entity, deregulate the downstream petroleum sector and encourage more private sector participation and local content in the oil sector? Does Muhamadu Buhari still believe that FG should continue to pump hundreds of millions of US Dollars to maintain, own and operate the refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, which will be a clear endorsement of continued regulation and subsidy of petroleum product prices, thus meaning that he will be prepared to scuttle the $9bn DANGOTE Refinery to be built in Olokola, Ondo State which is expected to produce 20m metric tons of petroleum products daily, and which will generate 10,000 new jobs directly and tens of thousands of other jobs indirectly? Again, Muhammadu Buhari has been silent on the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is intended to institutionalize the Excess Crude Account thus providing for compulsory savings of a percentage of crude oil revenues for future generations of Nigerians and an investable fund that will be used to shore up the value of the Naira and fund infrastructure development, does he support some of the governors who are opposed to SWF? Since his folly of equating the Boko Haram insurgency with the Niger Delta militancy, Muhammadu Buhari has been silent on the atrocities being committed daily by Boko Haram terrorists against civilian populations especially children in schools, or is he planning on granting these terrorists amnesty and make huge financial settlements for their fighters while overlooking the fact that Boko Haram has so far slaughtered over 4000 Nigerians, how does he intend to resolve this tragedy? Likewise, Muhammadu Buhari was erringly silent during the recent public outrage against the endorsement by the Senate of provisions in the 1999 Constitution that seemingly endorse girl-child marriage, so what exactly is his position on the education of girls and the age at which they can be lawfully wed in Nigeria, or is Buhari also in support of the position of Ahmed Yerima and others who practice marriage to girls who are 9 years and above? There are over 10m unschooled children in Nigeria, with over 95% of these produced by the Almajiri system, the products of whom have been moved by previous inciting statements made by Muhammadu Buhari to engage in election violence in April 2011 that resulted in over 1000 deaths, injuries to thousands others and destruction of property in many states in the North, but surely that cannot be responsible for why Buhari has up to date not spoken out against the Almajiri system or does he intend to reform the system and continue with the building of model schools for these children? Does Muhammadu Buhari see the value in preserving the value of the Naira as pursued by the current Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido Sanusi, and the Jonathan administration, or is he going to reintroduce the Stone Age import licensing regime, ban the access to foreign exchange, and ban the importation of goods and services that are seen as foreign exchange drainers? How does Muhammadu Buhari intend to diversify the Nigerian economy that is 95% reliant on oil and gas for foreign exchange earnings and constitute 85% of total revenue receipts, what is his economic blueprint for Nigeria and reviving the manufacturing sector, is he opposed to the boom taking place in the banking and finance sector, how does he intend to address the massive unemployment crises? I could go on and on, but Muhammadu Buhari with his analog style of speaking and writing which seems only to appeal mostly to those who shout, ‘Sai Buhari’, who to date has not shown proof of his computer literacy, has not made public an email address to facilitate communication with tens of millions of Nigerians (asking for Face Book or Twitter accounts will be asking too much), needs to do more to enhance his candidacy in 2015, so as to dispel doubts that he has become a dinosaur in a digital age.

Gumi's Letter to Buhari Analyzed

Leadership 1. Buhari's weakness is not in his past impeccable record of accountability of public wealth and the fight against corruption and indiscipline. 2. Buhari's weakness is in his inability to control men compounded further by his strict and obsessive rejection of corruption. 3. So if Buhari's policy of governance is obsessibly centered on sealing tight the use of money, he will have great problem with men. 4. An Arab poet said: “A fool cannot be the leader of his people but the true leader of the people must feign foolishness”. 5. It’s convenient for Buhari's ardent supporters to quote copiously from the annals of history his great achievements but when his failures and weaknesses are pointed out they say that was in the past. 6. In the past, because of Buhari's clean records and straightforwardness he was lured by men who want only the vanities Dunya to uproot a young democracy on the caprices of fighting corruption. 7. So when Buhari was naively used by men to derail one, that is the greatest disservice he committed to the nation the ills of which we are yet to recover from. 8. Buhari was led to uproot a duly elected leader and incarcerate him for close to two years knowing fully well that he has no charge of even the corruption that was labeled against him. 9. Buhari was a leader and he should bear all the responsibility of derailing the peace and stability of governance in this country as a consequence of that putsch. 10. Buhari's weakness in control of men became evident when the very people that used him to revolt against a constituted authority came back to uproot him from the seat of power. His own kinsmen. Without a gun cocked in Buhari's defence. 11. Men used Buhari's innocence before to get power and dump him. 12. Please be sensible today. Some other men still want to use Buhari to get power and surely they will dump him again. 13. Buhari does not share the same philosophy at all with these men who want to use him again 14. My brother in Islam, please listen to the words of wisdom. And don’t follow the whims of the riffraff. 15, Before they used Buhari the first time to disrupt the second republic, my father advised him against it. 16. Today I am also advising Buhari against contesting in the 2015 presidential election because he will be used to ignite the nation -a dream well orchestered several years ago- and also be used by bad people as a ladder to grab regional and local powers. 17. And yet Buhari is not suitable for leadership. Peace & Security 1. Peace and stability are the most important part of governance that no price is to high for them. 2. What Nigeria needs utmost now is peace and stability. This can only be achieved when the religious ethnic and regional divide is tamed. 3. And you can only tame the religious, ethnic and religious divide with - People without much precedence. - People without much following. - People that are constructive and have the ability to control men. 4. Nigeria now needs peace and stability first. Then we talk of good governance later even though it’s the source of the predicament we are facing. 5. What we need as a priority is peace and stability. Sayings 1. The Prophet -peace be upon him- told one of the most honest and truthful of his companions, Abu Zar Algafary: “Oh Abu Zar, I truly love for you what I love for myself. I indeed see that you are weak so never accept to lead even two people and never accept safekeeping of the orphans wealth.” 2. An honest and candid advice from the prophet that is still valid today for any leader whose weakness borders on leadership qualities. 3. Arab poet said: “A fool cannot be the leader of his people but the true leader of the people must feign foolishness" 4. A believer is not stung from the same hole twice. 5. I’ll give you a similitude to buttress my point of priority. A person seriously injured and fractured from a road traffic accident when brought to the emergency room, the first priority of the doctors is to secure an intravenous line. Meaning get a drip set working into his veins to protect his vital organs like the heart and kidneys from the effects of shock and loss of blood. The fractures, even though serious and the source of the blood loss, may take days and weeks before they are even attended to beside the superficial dressings. Corruption 1. Corruption is no doubt an evil but there is a more monstrous evil than corruption. That is turmoil and insecurity. 2. Today the corruption you were deceived to fight against has reached unimaginable level coupled with the worst state of insecurity and peace in the nation. 3. Even though as I explained later, Buhari's obsession and philosophy of fighting corruption is not the priority of Nigeria today. 4. Thus men are also controlled by money. Religion 1. Buhari may need to understand that Islam being a pragmatic religion allows the use of Zakkat and public wealth as an instrument to pacify and lure influential people for the sake of righteousness, peace and stability. In modern governance today it translate to security vote. 2. The present government has already charged the situation and played the religious divide to its advantage. It’s in circulation now, a SW pastor calling on Christians and the church to vote Jonathan as their only Saviour. This religious card will be used to cover his deficiency in governance. 3. Buhari should understand too, that many, if not most of his supporters, are also looking up to him to protect them from the onslaught on their religion and region. This also the Christian will never believe the otherwise. 4. Therefore the stage is set for religious confrontation which is the least the nation needs. Insecurity 1. The lack of peace, stability and security is the major predicament of this nation since independence. 2. So when you were naively used by men to derail one, that is the greatest disservice you committed to the nation the ills of which we are yet to recover from. 3. There was just recently an attempt on your life like many of us. 4. All this because you the honest people that are given the privilege of strengthening the Armed forces left it to meddle in politics. 4. We thus lost everything. Neither the power nor the security. 5. On the other hand if Jonathan comes back. BH will be real not the political one we see. The turmoil will engulf the whole country not only the north. 6. That is why I also call on PDP to present some other candidates. Political 1. From my view, if APC can support as an example Ameachi or Okorocha/Kwankwaso or El-Rufai or Tambuwwal ticket and the PDP will have Akpabio/Muazu or Ribadu or Shekaru, the next four years will. – insha Allah – witness stability both in the north and south. 2. And the electoral body will get the necessary infrastructure that subsequently the next election will be free and fair and the true reflection of Nigerians. 3. If you may ask, why can’t this same peace be achieved with you and another Christian running mate? 4. Buhari has antagonist, and they are many and also as ardent as his supporters. 5. Buhari's supporters have the biggest proportion of the underprivileged of the society which is the petrol that can be easily ignited by the slightest spark. 6. The spark will be when Buhari is declared the loser. 7. And Buhari knows he can very well lose if the Christians follow their church -and why not in this era of mediocrity. Advise 1. I know I have access to you privately but this is meant for others to learn also. 2. An honest and candid advice from the prophet that is still valid today for any leader whose weakness borders on leadership qualities. 3. If Sardauna today is alive in your situation he will never contest for the presidential seat because of his deep understanding of what the nation needs. He will step down for a more acceptable younger person. 4. It’s on record that Sardauna even at the age of under 60 said he was not going to contest again, preparing his only house in Rabah for retirement. 5. My brother in Islam, please listen to the words of wisdom. And don’t follow the whims of the riffraff. 6. Before they used Buhari the first time to disrupt the second republic, my father advised him against it. 7. Today I am also advising Buhari against contesting in the 2015 presidential election because he will be used to ignite the nation -a dream well orchestered several years ago- 8. Buhari will also be used by bad people as a ladder to grab regional and local powers. 9. I rest my case here. 10. May Allah guide Buhari and protect him from the evil men and the jinn. Amin.

Phillip Asiodu: We Lost Lagos Metroline to Our Stupidity As A Nation

I was somewhere when you got stuck in traffic for hours and you bemoaned the lack of foresight on the Lagos Metroline project. You know something about the project; can you give us an insight into it? That was a terrible thing. It shows the irresponsibility and lack of memory of some of those who had taken decisions on some things since the destruction of what we had. You know in 1964, Konisberger led a United Nations team to survey Lagos and directions of growth and make recommendations. And that Konisberger report recommended that Lagos should build a mono rail from Ikeja to Ebute-Ero. It could see the way Lagos was growing and the need for mass urban transit. That was in 1964. That same report recommended a regional approach to the supply of water damming Ogun River, just like New York is supplied from Upper Hudson River. That was to supply Ogun State and Lagos. Unfortunately, when the civilians came Jakande didn’t like the idea. That’s that. We had already in the vote 1964 to 1965 money to start central sewage around Tinubu Square and to be expanded. It was abandoned. At that time, we thought we should not have government offices scattered around. We got through council in 1964 what we called planned construction of government offices. We were going to practically acquire, Holist Street, Oke Suna Street, and all the streets down to Race Course. Anyway, all these were part of the concept. Now, let’s go back to the Metroline project. With the coup de’tat of 1966, that put paid to that. By 1967 states were created. Even before the Konisberger report, there was a report from a group that came from Canada. They made recommendation on inter city transport. Lagos is like Venice. Go to Venice, there are a hundred lanes, water transportations, there should be a hundred ferries going between Ikoyi Victoria Island and where you have Lagos State University, LASU, in Ojoo. Under the colonial government we used to go to Apapa by water. We have not exploited all that. On the Metroline issue, nothing happened. We were retired in 1975 after the coup. I went into private life. Later, we resuscitated the project. There is no way you can carry everybody — workers, passengers within a short time on road where a city is more than two million. You want to put everybody in taxis? It’s not possible. We were able to persuade the government. At that time, Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua was the Minister for Transport to make it that one, in principle; every city above two million should have mass transit. Two, arising from that we would identify 14 cities that were about two million or already two million; with of course Lagos. For Lagos, we agreed that they should go and design for construction a mass transit line immediately. We selected RTP of France. The fantastic thing they have in Paris is coordinating the buses with the subways etc linking one another. It’s fantastic. They had also worked in San Francisco, USA. They were appointed and we all agreed. Their credentials were very good. We went from Lagos to Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna, Jos, Kano, Markurdi, Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Warri and Abuja, which was projected to be the capital. RTP decided on designing Lagos. Then the military government said they were going to hand-over in 1979. They bought the idea. Of course, they wanted to plan a Transport Commission but that they would leave it to the civilians. But in the meantime, the French RTP had done preliminary studies and handed over. Jakande came. Some people went to him and sold the idea of light municipal mass transit or something. So, he had to fall back to the RTP decisions. And we were lucky, we secured $450 million loan at six percent fixed interest rate for 25 years. One month later, it was impossible to get such loan because of change of policy. But there we were lucky that for 25 years we would have had this at give-away. And economic studies have already shown that charging the prices people were already paying, we didn’t need subsidy. The country would benefit. They looked at Abidjan and Cairo. Abidjan wasn’t quite ready. So, Cairo. They started designing Lagos and Cairo the same time. Then people"(Buhari/Idiagbon)" did coup against Shagari and decided to cancel the project of which we had already paid 15 percent per $60 million. Work had started in Yaba. They then took us to court and they found us guilty naturally and fined us $60 million. I am sure that’s part of what we settled finally in the Paris Club debt. It must have become $3 billion dollars and not one kilometer was constructed. You can see the stupidity and how we waste money. But these same characters — then, we had not gone back to civilian rule — were very happy in 1990 to be honoured guests in Cairo at the commissioning of Cairo Mass Transit which has made all the difference to Cairo! We are not ashamed. They all went there. Maybe they did not know what they were doing. How can a country lose time, lose treasure? And they have brilliant Nigerians manning places abroad. Then as a country we make ourselves objects of ridicule.