Labour Party's Alex Otti sworn in as Abia State’s Governor

The Labour Party produced it's first governor in Abia State as Alex Otti and Ikechukwu Emetu were sworn in as Governor and Deputy Governor, respectfully.

The event which witnessed a tremendous crowd of supporters, friends and party officials had in attendance virtually all former leaders of the party across the party lines. 

National chairman of the Labour Party, Bar. Julius Abure led a strong delegation of party leaders to the occasion. They include National Women Leader, Dudu Manuga, National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, National Youth Leader, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu, National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, and a host of other National Executive Committee members. Former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and his wife were among the numerous guests that graced the occasion. 

At exactly 12:20 pm, the governor, Alex Otti took an oath of office officiated by the acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Lilian Agbai. He pledged to defend the constitution and promised to be governor for all Abians and to do justice to all. He also pledged to work for the benefit of all Abians.

Peter Obi’s Address to Nigerians on the Eve of the Consumption of a Civilian-Led Coup By Mohammadu Buhari, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Yakubu Mahmood, APC and Other Nigerian Political Elites

“For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments. We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.

Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.

The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason,

I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.

We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.

Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there,

we should remember that this will not last forever.

I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.

I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.

I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.

We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.

I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.

These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria.

It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.

In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.

This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. -PO

Tinubu's Inauguration : Peter Obi's words for Obidents, I'm going to be facing all shorts of allegations in the coming months ( VIDEO)

 

This is Peter Obi last words today as he spoke to all Obident about 100,000 people across all social media apps. *Do not in any way fill dammed we are in a long Journey but it's Possible*

THE INAUGURATION OF MAY 29TH, PUTTING IT IN PROPER CONTEXT

Few  opinions I have read captured my opinion on this prevailing issue of the international community especially the US position on this issue of stolen mandate and the coming inauguration. 

Two opinions from two former American officials capture the American idiosyncrasy and attitude in matters like this. One was the remarka of the former Secretary of states James Baker when he was reminded that one of the leaders they were dealing with was an evil and repressive dictator. The then Secretary of state retorted and said: Yea! He's a son of the bitch, but he's our son of the bitch. 

The second is the so called political attaché to the US embassy in Nigeria in the early 90s - I've forgotten his name. Reacting to the issue of annulment of the June 12th elections and the emergence of of Gen. Abacha, in his official residence as he was being sent forth at the end of his tour of duty, he said: I do not know what else they will do to the Nigerian people before thy will rise up.

So many misread what the United states has said or done regarding the issue of the illegal declaration of Tinubu as the president elect and the on going preparation for his inauguration on May 29th 2023. 

What so many seem not to understand is that, as long as there's no official sanctions against Nigeria or the leadership as we speak,  the American official and basic diplomatic formalities towards Nigeria will continue to flourish regardless of what may be the true realities as witnessed in this past presidential elections that INEC declared Tinubu the winner. 

The truth is that the US and other nations intelligence community perhaps have deeper knowldge of what transpired in the last elections in Nigeria. They knew it was a sham. More like a charade and state capture. They will express their disgust privately but must follow the official position of their policy until when such compelling reasons will cause them to alter such pre existing standing policy - we have not seen such compelling reasons from those their mandate was stolen through what's essentially a civilian coup.

They clearly understand that what happened in Nigeria is simply unprecedented. Like a good Judge who will never, regardless of how he feels about the circumstances of your case will never suddenly become your solicitor or advocate in that case before him or her. The Judge will remain focused as a judge, but can only pray and wishing that who ever you hire as a lawyer can raise such issues and the legal precedents and authority he could stand on to unleash opinion and judgement that will now truly convey how he or she as the judge had actually felt about the matter before his or honorable court. This has not happened in this case.

In this situation before us, it is on what the Nigerian people started here, the level of opposition and rejection of this open heist and state capture by the Lebanese global criminals like Gilbert Chagoury, the man standing behind Tinubu and his cohorts attempt to hijack Nigeria and deliver to them while Nigerians are either dwelling in ambivalence or are simply scheming around to be invited to the dinner table, even if only to pick the crumbs from under the table. This is what's playing out as it is today.

It is on the level of our rejection of this which will reach a considerable critical mass before the global official position will shift and as a good Judge, it is only then that we shall hear their true opinion and judgement on all that has transpired. 

So it is Nigerians that will make the case for the situation  Nigerians find themselves today. But it seems that even the educated are having such unreasonable expectations of others. It is like expecting from others what you are not willing to give to yourself and that aint going to happen. Nigerians must carry their own cross for liberation and freedom, and there's no better time as  PMB the last member of the axis of evil that have held Nigeria on a chokehold is facing the inevitable sunset on his career and life.

As a matter of fact, the US authorities in what appears as straddling their position, they've been doing alot of balancing act in this situation.  While some official reports condemned the process and the out come of the  elections, even as far as proposing a Visa ban on the arrow heads of election malpractices that produced the same leader they congratulated- more like a contradiction but in reality a deliberate strategy of reserving the right to play either way it goes. Afterall the US authorities are reputable to make deals with devils to remain relevant and protect their strategic interest as the case may be.

 The Biden Administration through Antony Blankin engaged the INEC declared winner Tinubu in a phone conversation and they also proceeded to put together what in my opinion as well, one of the lowest level of American official for the inauguration of President of the most populous black nation on earth as well as African economic giant and a net supplier of global energy. The caliber of the team sent by the Biden administration is the clearest indication of their very low opinion of the incoming administration - if you know you know.

Infact, if all things are equal,  this will be considered a slap in the face of this Country. But trust the desperate APC team. They have like the proverbial ant that went around boasting that the gift of yams it received from the grand parents are as huge as its legs. But then as it turned out the ant's legs are nothing to write home about. 

C.O.M

Labour Party: Lamidi Apapa's missing cap

Festus Adedayo

Turbulent anger of Obidients landed on Lamidi Apapa last week. By the time their anger petered out, Apapa had lost his cap to a God-knows-who. Esu Elegbara, the trickster deity of the Yoruba people, it will seem, lives in caps. Though most of the exploits of Esu exist in myths, Yoruba constructed a pantheon of beliefs that implicate the Esu as divisive and full of tricks. One of such, sauced in mythology, was translated into a very sobering track by ace Yoruba Awurebe musician, Alhaji Dauda Akanmu Adeeyo, popularly known as Dauda Epo Akara. Famous for his anecdotal offerings affixed to virtually all his songs, Adeeyo got this sobriquet, for which he was more known by than his actual name, while he was a pupil in primary school. His uniforms were always soaked in bean cake oil called Epo Akara.

The Ibadan maestro entitled the track under reference Itan Ore Meji – the tale of two friends – in a parent album he called My Mother. Like Epo Akara, in 1987, Donald Cosentino, a lecturer in the Folklore and Mythology Programme of the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote an article for The Journal of American Folklore which he entitled Who Is That Fellow in the Many-Colored Cap? Transformations of Eshu in Old and New World Mythologies (Vol. 100, No. 397. Jul. - Sep., 1987). In it, he also situated the Esu as author of dissent, “an exponent of ceaseless rearrangements” and a dissembler. Esu, said Cosentino, is a counterpart to Ifa, who the Yoruba see as the Lord of Divination and through whom sacrifices and propitiations are made to God for peace in the world.

Epo Akara and Cosentino’s narratives are not dissimilar. The two of them began this folklore thus: There existed two friends who were so fond of each other and inseparable. They were objects of discussions by the whole village. In fact, sang Epo Akara, won ki ja, won kii ta – they never had a word of disagreement since they began their friendship from their infancy. So, one day, Esu swore to cause irreparable discord between them. The object he cast for that dissention was a cap. So the Esu sowed a multicolored cap, something in the mould of Dolly Parton’s coat of many colours. The colours, says Cosentino, have been “variously described as red and white; red, white and blue; or red, white, green, and black.”

Epo Akara, however, put the colours of the cap as white and black. So the Esu transformed himself into an irresistibly dressed, handsome young man in dainty Aso Oke and Sanyan cap. As the two friends sat in a foyer chattering, Esu walked between them and in the words of Cosentino, “put his pipe at the nape of his neck and hung his staff over his back.” As Esu walked past the two friends, in the rendering of the Awurebe musician, the first friend called the attention of his pal to the cap, which he said was black. Once he had money, the friend remarked, it would be his delight to buy it – bi mo ri’ru e, ma ra’kan, Balarabi, Wali Muhanmonda. The friend fired back, insisting that the cap was white and insulted the other friend by asking if he was blind – ab’oju re o ri’ran? Then, a very deadly brawl ensued between the duo as they came to blows.

While Epo Akara insisted that, having achieved his dissembling aim, Esu transformed himself into who he was and settled the quarrel, Consentino argued that the tiff came to a halt when the disputants were brought to court. In court, the scholar said, Esu confessed to his trick, boasting that "sowing dissension is my great delight." In the rendering of the Folklore and Mythology scholar, Esu then fled. As he fled, Esu lit fire along the way, mixing up all the possessions of fleeing townsfolk. He also tested and exposed friendships along the way, thereby creating and destroying wealth. He then laughed at the ignorance of the people about his innate destructive nature.

Nigeria’s Labour Party, (LP) it will seem, is where Esu Elegbara has made his temporary home now. Last week, the party’s internal tiff reached a cancerous level at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja. In the glare of the whole world, the timely intervention of police officers prevented miffed supporters of Peter Obi from skewering the flesh of the party’s Acting National Chairman, Apapa. Apapa and Julius Abure, hitherto suspended national chairman of the party, were embroiled in a leadership tussle. This led to blood-baiting hounds, suspected to be sympathetic to the Abure faction of the party, pouncing on Apapa. The wolves had prevented Apapa from addressing the press and shoved him dangerously off television cameras. In the process, one of them took off Apapa’s cap. He later took possession of it.

Speaking at a press conference after the attack, the 73-year old Apapa rained curses on the person who removed his cap. He had said: "My cap is here as you can see it. It was not burnt, and the boy who removed my cap will suffer it in his life. I saw him, he's a young chap. He'll never grow old by God's grace. He deserves it, you know why? I didn't use cutlass on him."

Were Apapa’s curses of Janus colour and texture as that of Adedara Arunralojaoba, Ijesaland’s – domiciled in Osun State – most evocative musician who sang Adamo music during his lifetime? Janus, you know, is the Egyptian binary god with two faces.  Some installments away, I narrated this Adamo musician’s encounter with another musician, Ayinla Omowura, in Ilesa in the 1970s. Omowura’s drums began to get torn in subsequence as he set out to sing at a live gig where he and Adedara had been invited. In the words of Arunralojaoba, on arriving the bandstand to take over the evening belt of entertainment of invited audience, Omowura had been drunk to stupor with his assumed musical superiority. Speaking to Dele Adeyanju, a renowned broadcaster, in an interview, the Adamo musician had attributed the torn drums to God fighting his battle for him and not any traditional African spiritual attack. Adedara was known to have at one time been a member of the Ogboni fraternity. So, were the torn drums God’s own way of fighting for Adedara against his adversary, or the scenario was a product of metaphysical invocation?

The removal of Apapa’s cap reminds me of the same violence and indignity suffered by Chief Bola Ige, ex-governor of old Oyo State, in the hands of sponsored miscreants like those hooligans in the LP. It was at the height of the intra-party sabre-rattling of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). At a ceremony held on Saturday December 15, 2001 where Olusegun Obasanjo’s late wife, Stella, was conferred with a chieftaincy title by the Ooni of Ife, wolves suspected to be in the herd of Iyiola Omisore, erstwhile Deputy Governor of Osun State, pounced on Ige in similar cavalier but blood-baiting manner Apapa was to witness almost 22 years after. They seized the cap of the man, known as Arole Awolowo – Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s heir – caps which, unlike Apapa’s, he was never to set eyes upon again.

Five days before this, an attempt to impeach Omisore was held at the Osun State House of Assembly. Odunayo Olagbaju, believed to be one of Omisore’s Rottweilers, was at the forefront of the disruption of the impeachment proceedings. Allegations were rife that Olagbaju was also the coordinator of the violent seizure of Ige’s cap. Four days after the attack on Ige, Olagbaju was mysteriously assassinated in Ile-Ife. Exactly four days after Olagbaju’s assassination, Ige was also taken out in what appeared like cult-like revenge killings. Today, Omisore is Southwest progressives’ highest-ranking national official, representing the Yorubaland which venerated Ige as an avatar.

Beyond their ethno-cultural implications as significant aspect of dressing and fashion, caps also have mythic qualities among the Yoruba especially. Aside caps’ aesthetic and symbolic elaboration of the body, they are also seen as weapon in the hands of Esu. The cap perhaps gained that relevance due to the renowned place that the head has in African epistemology. The head receives special aesthetic attention as a result of its spiritual and biological importance. Among the Yoruba, the head, called Ori, is a site of spiritual intuition and destiny. It is as well a harbinger of a man’s reflective spark of human consciousness. It is an Orisa, or god, of its own and is not only venerated but worshipped. To acquire a balanced character – iwa-pele – the Yoruba believe that the individual, working in tandem with this Orisa, can achieve this desirable personality. When he does, the individual then receives an alignment with his Ori, the divine self. People whose destinies are skewed are advised to worship their Ori whose variant among the Igbo is chi. So, when a cap, the decorative ornament of the head, is rudely removed as was done to Ige and Apapa, Yoruba see it as bad omen, symbolizing a rude yank-off of the human person.

Immediately after the seizure of Ige’s cap, some knowledgeable elders in sorcery and witchcraft opined that there existed causality between the cap’s removal and his eventual killing. For a people who use metaphysics as human agency to explain what the common eyes cannot penetrate, when Ige eventually died, the narrative of the connect between the removed cap and his death took front burner. So, in the seizure of Apapa’s cap, was Esu Elegbara on the usual roller-coaster of his famous trickster prowess, or does the act just symbolize a fatality to either Apapa, the Labour Party or the boy who bit the bullet by removing the cap?

The chief accusation against Apapa is that he is the Esu Elegbara in the Labour Party who this destructive god lent his heart for a fee. As Epo Akara and Cosentino narrated in their works, could Apapa be the modern or Nigeria’s political party version of the trickster deity, who is sowing dissention in the party? Ask those who are ranged against him to explain why, they will tell you that Apapa has received humongous bribe from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to act as the Judas within the party. On an Arise television interview last week, Apapa asked those who leveled such allegations to provide evidence. Again, in his insular trickery, I saw Esu Elegbara laughing rambunctiously. Do those who give bribes leave traces? Should those who also leveled such allegation against this old man sincerely do this without providing evidence? Are they themselves the Esu, being on the payroll of Abure, to ensure that Apapa is fought to a standstill?

Precedent is however on the side of those who accuse Apapa of acting the script of the APC. Nigerian politics is so enmeshed in indignity and amorality that virtually all those who engage in it possess scarred souls like the devil’s. They even tell you that politics and morality are in perpetual enmity. If you observe, the highest fusillade of attacks, both judicial and verbal, from the APC to any party, is towards the Labour Party. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its commissars receive scant attention of that party. It must believe that that party is already mortally wounded. APC, peopled by a commune of scavengers, vultures and deadly hit-men, will logically rent an Apapa for a dissembling assignment. It is because the If I must hanker a guess, it must be because the LP poses the greatest social threat to the legitimacy that APC needs, not necessarily during the current judicial process but after it. Thus, employing an Esu Elegbara within the fold of the LP for this dirty job is a politically wise decision for a party whose men, in the name of politics, will kill their mother and rope their father for the murder without batting an eyelid.

Esu Elegbara seems to be on the trail of the Labour Party and is not relenting yet. At the tail end of last week, until the clarification given by the court, the Federal High Court in Kano was reported to have declared the votes polled by the Abia State governor-elect, Alex Otti, Labour Party’s only state governor in the last general election, as wasted. It however reportedly refrained from nullifying the certificate of return issued by INEC to the governor-elect. A newspaper later on published the clarification of the court, stating that it denied annulling the election of the governor-elect.

If you think it is only in LP that Esu Elegbara wrecks its havocs, you are mistaken. In the PDP, he began his life-sworn disruption and destruction, as they say, as a pre-election cancer. By the time Atiku Abubakar and his party realized that Esu was in cahoots with the party, Elegbara had destroyed all the cells within the body of the party, finally and permanently retiring the Adamawa-born politician from his serial quest for the Nigerian presidency.

Elegbara, it will seem, is on his way to the APC as we speak. From reports, the party is on its way to a political liaison with Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso, New Nigerian People’s Party (NPP’s) presidential candidate. President-elect, Bola Tinubu, was reported to have met the NPP boss for political talks in Paris last Monday. There is the need for enough senators to complete the circus of a pliable National Assembly. I imagine the mind of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Kano State governor, at the moment. The Nigerian politician, in pursuing his persuasion that politics and morality are not friends, devised what is labeled a “no permanent friends, no permanent foes” lexicographic feature of politics. But, must politicians be indistinguishable from serial adulterers? Esu Elegbara must be somewhere now, devising his next trickery. Will he wear Ganduje like an apparel?

TINUBU'S PRESIDENCY: WIKE AND WHAT SOUTH EAST APC LEADERS SHOULDN'T WAIT TO BE TOLD

By Sam Onwuemeodo

I have chosen to begin with  Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Governor. And for obvious reasons.  

The previous week, the President-elect,  Senator Bola Tinubu was in Portharcourt,   Rivers State. He was there on the invitation of  Wike. He was invited  to commission projects. And he did.

 ln  doing that,  he was quoted to have said that,  he owed Wike  nothing.  And some people  began to celebrate that. Some people  believed that. They took Tinubu's comment to the bank. They went home with it. And l hasten  to say this.

 lf  there's one Nigerian Tinubu owes a lot, that's Wike.  Nyesom Wike.  Aside keeping his Party, PDP, and it's candidate,  Atiku Abubakar on their toes all through,  he delivered Rivers State to Tinubu and his APC.  I am talking about the INEC declared  results for Rivers . INEC's own results.  

Wike,  a pdp governor,  ensured that  APC or Tinubu  was declared winner  in his State. ln Wike's Rivers, Tinubu got 231, 591 votes. His own party,  PDP,  got 88, 468 votes and the Labour Party,  175, 071 votes. lf there's  one man who has a lot of claims to make in Tinubu's presidency,  that man is Wike. There is nothing he wants in BAT's government that he would not  get. Don't believe me.  But mark my words.  He destroyed PDP for Tinubu to navigate. So, paying Wike's Rivers,  the money spent on federal projects in the State would be one of the easiest things Tinubu would do as President. 

Unlike Wike , those who should be worried about the direction  Tinubu's  presidency will be going are the leaders of the APC in the South East. Already,  Tinubu's body language isn't encouraging.  I am not writing that they should believe me , but letting them know the fate that awaits them in BAT's Presidency. Like l said,  they should not wait to be told that Tinubu and his Presidency won't  have anything tangible  in store for them.

For Tinubu,  his Presidency  and his close associates , all the leaders of APC in the South East are OBIDIENTS. This is the mindset of Tinubu and his own emerging  cabal. lt's written all over them. And there seems to be  nothing anybody can do to help the situation. 

The only prayer point left for APC leaders in the South East is that , the election of Tinubu should be annulled or be  nullified by the Tribunal. But  if the Tribunal confirms or authenticates his election,  then, there is every reason to worry by APC leaders in the South East. Some of them, going to the Defence House and taking photographs with him, won't change anything. 

Tinubu didn't hide his disdain for the  South East. He began early enough to show that.  He first settled for a fellow Muslim as Vice- Presidential candidate, believing that Heaven wouldn't fall. And he was right. Heaven didn't fall. And he  did it,  knowing that the South East could be adjudged  the " soul" of Christianity in Nigeria. l am painting a picture. But see the major issues.

 At a time,  the discussion or the  debate in the APC was that, the South should produce  the Presidential candidate of the Party  and by extension , Muhammadu Buhari's successor,  Ahmed Lawan came on board with a bang. And who were in the forefront of the Lawan's project?. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodinma. And they were overtly  serious about it. They bought Lawan's nomination forms and displayed them for all and sundry to see, on the screens of  national televisions.  l do not know who drafted each other into the Lawan venture. Whether Kalu drafted the lmo Governor or vice versa. 

lf there was a major threat to Tinubu's aspiration for the Presidential ticket of the APC,  it was that Ahmed  Lawan's entry. That man's case.  And our own people were the pilots. The architects. On the TV screens, the  Yobe State Governor,  Mala Buni,  Lawan's own governor was behind. At the back of Kalu and governor Uzodinma. l am still painting a picture. They didn't support Tinubu. They didn't support Rochas Okorocha or Ogbonnaya Onu or Emeka Nwajiuba or David Umahi. But Lawan from the North. Continue reading my lips correctly. 

Then,  the Concensus issue. Lawan was announced the consensus Presidential  candidate of the party by the Abdullahi Adamu led NWC . lf that had worked out  as planned,  Tinubu's ambition would have been submerged or destroyed at that point. His group fought back. l want you to grab something here. Something "ominous". Something not palatable  at all. Something "imirimious". Do you understand?

Then,  the Presidential  primary proper. The South East delegates voted for Lawan, from all indications.  And not Tinubu. Not Okorocha. Not Nwajiuba. Not Onu or Umahi. They went for the Yobe man, Lawan. After Yobe, you get Borno State. l had been there. That was in 2004. l had gone   for the Turbanning of Emir of Damaturu,  Alhaji Shehu Hashimi 11 lbn Umar El-kanemi. The rest became history. 

Ahmed  Lawan for presidency project was the biggest threat  Tinubu's ambition had, before the INEC conducted election. Buhari's cabal also led Nwajiuba  to go to  court , asking that Tinubu should be disqualified and announce him APC candidate. Buhari's deceitful cabal. 

For the February 25, 2023 Presidential election, the leaders of APC in the South East were helpless. Nigerians,  including the South East people,  opted or settled for Peter Obi of the Labour Party. But Tinubu and his  already existing  cabal won't look at it from  that perspective.  They seem to have made up their minds. For them, APC leaders in the zone were all Obidients or  "lPOB".

 ln Anambra, for instance,  APC ( Tinubu), had 5, 111 votes. PDP (Atiku), 9,036 votes. Labour party ( Obi), 584, 621 votes.  ln Ebonyi, APC, 42, 402 votes.  PDP,  13, 503 votes. Labour party, 259, 738 votes. ln Enugu State,  APC, 4, 772 votes.  PDP,  15, 749 votes. Labour Party, 428,640 votes.  ln Abia, APC,  8, 914, PDP,  22, 676 and Labour Party,  327, 095. ln lmo , APC,  66, 406 votes,  PDP,  30, 234 votes and the Labour party,  360, 495 votes. Don't forget. These're Mahmood Yakubu's INEC  declared results. 

Looking  at these figures, one would be forced to agree or believe that the issue is not what anybody thinks should be Tinubu's right actions,  but what will be the case with regard to South East APC leaders in Tinubu's presidency. 

That is the problem with Orji Uzor Kalu and Osita lzunaso's aspirations for the position of  Senate president. Otherwise,  having denied the South East the position of President most patriotic Nigerians had believed should be their turn , and having also denied them  the office of Vice president, the most appropriate thing to do now is to concede the office of  Senate  president to them. But for the reasons l had earlier mentioned,  that has become a tall dream. They would never live to see that happen.

They have gone to South South. Akwa lbom State in Particular. And their choice is Godswill Akpabio. At the primary,  he withdrew for Tinubu. ln the election,  APC had 160, 620 votes.  More than what Tinubu got in the whole of South East. That's the politics behind their choice of Akpabio. They won't tell you this. 

For the South East and APC leaders in the zone in Particular, they should not expect much from Tinubu and his Presidency. No great expectations. Like I had intoned , the politics has begun.  And only those with foresight or " four-sights" would understand better . Would be able to read the handwriting on the wall and interpret it.  MENE,  MENE,  TEKEL,  URPHARSIN. 

There is already a gang up. While the lmo Governor was at "war" with Joe Ajaero of the Nigeria Labour Congress,  NLC, in lmo , the kano State Governor of APC extraction, Alhaji  Ganduje, was rolling out red carpets in kano for the same Ajaero. The same period. And he  gave him the Chieftaincy Title of Sarkin Yakin, meaning,  Workers' warrior. 

Even when Tinubu might  not remember some of these incidents,  those who have his ears would always remind  him of all these. And there is no  difference between him and Buhari in terms of being easy prey in the hands of wicked cabal. Even,  Tinubu's  own cabal  may be worst than Buhari's own cabal.  The signs are everywhere.  l hope you're reading  between the lines. There is " fire in the Soweto". 

This whole thing is also a wake-up call for Governor Uzodinma,  especially in his bid for second tenure . Yes, APC governor.  The  worst opposition to his second term  bid may not come from within,  but from  "without". Outside.  Don't say l told you. Do not quote me. Do not quote Sam. Onwuemeodo. Caveat emptor.  Disclaimer.  l am only guessing. lmagining things.  Which can't be located or situated.  . On your "marks". Ready....go!!!. The expected heat may be imported. External heat. Perhaps,  from the barbeach or zuma rock. Do you understand? 

The Lagos State Government had, on Wednesday, May 10, 2023,   arraigned Eze Ndigbo in Ajao Estate Lagos, Fredrick Nwajagu, on terrorism charges.  And he has been remanded in prison custody. The man was quoted to have said that, if the attacks on the lgbos and their properties in Lagos continue,  he might invite IPOB. That was a conditional statement. He didn't invite IPOB.  But he's  already in prison. And  those who attacked,  killed and maimed lgbos during the elections in Lagos  walked away free and still walking freely . l am still painting a picture. What to expect from BAT's Presidency. 

The Chief of Army Staff , Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya on Friday ,  May 5,  2023, had had reason or reasons to threaten to crack down on  potential threats to Tinubu's inauguration on May 29.

ln doing that,  Gen. Yahaya warned the  "lndigenous People of Biafra , IPOB,  Eastern Security Network, ESN  and other fringe groups not to test the will of the military ". He specifically mentioned IPOB and ESN and described similar groups in other parts of the country as " fringe groups". Are you following?. What to expect. 

Even when  l have never read where IPOB had threatened to frustrate or prevent the inauguration of Tinubu as President on May 29. The man singled out IPOB and ESN, and  left other related groups in other parts of the country. 

That's the nature of the on-going blackmail against the South East and the people of the area. There is nothing to show or believe that Tinubu's presidency would be different from that of " Bubu", with regard to the fate of the South East. 

With the prevailing circumstances and  for Tinubu's presidency,  APC leaders in the South East or the South East people in general,   are all Obidients. Or,  IPOB. Depending on which of the words they would prefer to use at any given time. That's their mindset. That's their belief. Nobody should wait to be told all these. 

Orji Uzor Kalu had thought that,  talking against Obi's Presidential bid  or the corporate aspiration of the South East people to produce the President of the Country this time, would make them to bring him in or take him into confidence or forget his role in the Lawan for President venture.  But he has seen that, that's not the case. They are also  holding him in contempt. He has seen that the sound of bitter kola in the mouth does not reflect the taste. At all. At all, at all.

The only consolation is that,  if the South East people survived Buhari's eight years of negligence and gross disregard,  they would also survive Tinubu and whatever he comes up with. Necessity has always  remained the mother of invention. The earlier this situation is understood,  the better. 

Nevertheless,  we shall continue to clap for Jesus. And there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Press Release: Oyo LP Chairman consistent attacks; a show of shame

Akinwale

Our attention has been called to yet another vituperation by the Oyo State Labour Party Chairman, Sodiq Atayese on a Splash FM programme tagged “Gbagede Oselu” on Thursday.

It is becoming rather embarrassing that Mr. Sodiq Atayese has turned bitterness into a hobby and has neglected his primary duty as the chairman of a party in the state facing numerous self-inflicted issues.

Before the election, Mr. Sodiq Atayese consistently attacked the personality of Hon. Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale the Gubernatorial Candidate of his party, in a bid to soil his reputation. He anchored all sorts of organized and informal propaganda and varieties of blackmail against the person of Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale and to cap it, he resolved to the dubious and anti-party collapse of the Labour Party structure in the state for the incumbent with whom he seeks favor.

One would expect that after the election, Mr. Sodiq will have a sober reflection and bury his head in shame for the woeful performance of the party in the election at all levels. Unfortunately,   this has not been the case probably because he hasn’t been considered for his seek favour by his “paymaster” only God knows.

His remarks about the person of Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale are not new, Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale's competency is one of the reasons why Mr. Sodiq Atayese became so embittered because he couldn’t find the “Yes sir” attributes in him despite Akinwale’s humility and respect for everyone in the party.

We are using this medium to advise Mr. Sodiq Atayese to face his business of fixing the mess he has dragged the party into instead of his continuous embarrassing media tour to shamelessly nag and present excuses for his shameless anti-party actions in the last elections. The same man nagging about incompetency was blown away by Akinwale’s submissions at the BBC gubernatorial debate where he uttered the remark “I am proud of you.”

Mr. Atayese claimed that Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale is not competent enough, should we say that all candidates in the party are not competent enough for their respective positions and that was why the Chairman sold the party out?

In 2019, Mr. Atayese was the Labour Party Guber and he refused to step down for the incumbent Governor despite being the accountant to Seyi Makinde’s company. Mr Atayese should remember that there are consequences for each action, and whatever a man sows he shall reap.

Hon. Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale has moved on and has continued to make his impact felt on matters that concern the state just recently his intervention in the proposed Chieftaincy amendment bill has generated serious actions and scrutiny of the process.

The Labour Party Gubernatorial Candidate in the last election is a man with focus and does not get swayed away by petty talks. However, it is necessary to call the chameleon Chairman to order which necessitated this response.

Hon. Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale remains committed to the growth and betterment of Oyo State and every citizen therein and he is focused on making meaningful contributions and impacts to take the State to an enviable height.

*E-signed:*

*Samuel Abodunrin*

*_Press Secretary to Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale, Oyo State LP Guber 2023_*

May 12, 2023.

Comrade Lamidi Apapa is the Labour Party chair says FCT High Court

Ignore the fake news by Apapa group, Abure still national chairman says Obiora Ifoh

Apapa

An Abuja High Court has authenticated and confirmed the recognition of Lamidi Apapa as Labour Party National chairman today.

The court in a fresh ruling this afternoon, recognized Lamidi Apapa as the acting national chairman of the party pending any other court order.

In his reaction, Lamidi Apapa appreciated the court and issued a stern warning to any other person parading himself as the chairman of the party.

He also ordered Peter Obi’s lawyers to report to him in 48 hours in order to be briefed about the ongoing election tribunal.

Barrister Julius Abure and other three members of the national working committee of the Labour Party were previously restricted from parading themselves as the officials of the Labour Party on series of criminal allegations and corruption.

Meanwhile, aside the unsubstantiated propaganda, Apapa leadership has said times without number that it has nothing against Peter Obi and Labour Party mandate recovery litigation ongoing at the election petition tribunal.

Congratulations to Pa Lamidi Apapa on his big win at the court. 

However, Abure Faction has in a statement debunked the above position of the court as not true and fake.

Read the statement: 

*Dear Esteemed Stakeholders,*

Ignore the fake news by Apapa group, Abure still national chairman.

The FCT State High Court  under his Lordship, Justice Hamza Muazu today said he will go ahead to hear the motion by the group loyal to the suspended Deputy National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa against some of our leaders including the National Chairman, Julius Abure and three others.

In his Lordship ruling, he said that he will go ahead to hear the substantive matter. As to this, the matter was adjourned to Friday, May 19 for the start of the case proper and for further deliberations.

Today's sitting is not for judgement as no judgement was given by the court as Apapa's group is peddling in their usual way of misinforming Nigerians.

Meanwhile, Barrister Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of the Party pending the final determination of the matter.

Signed: 

Obiora Ifoh

Ag. National Publicity Secretary

OPINION : AGAINST THE ALREADY VIRAL MISLEADING, MISCONSTRUE REPORT BY SOCIAL MEDIA GLADIATORS ON THE REPORTED WRITE-UP OF THE PARTY NATIONAL PUBLICITY SECRETARY MR. ABAYOMI ARABANBI

It has come to our knowledge that some mischievous Buccaneers had started misleading the good people of Nigeria, on the stand of the Party, in respect to people asking for the NO SWEARING IN ON 29th May 2023 and this is another angel to get their selfish agenda in creating enmity between the Presidential Candidate of the Party and Members of the Public against the Leadership of Alhaji Lamidi Apapa on the report of the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, to portrait that our Party is divided with factions and also to create the impression that the NWC of the party is working for APC and against the mandate of the party in the Presidential Tribunal. where their objective is to crevasse a good image our principal Alhaji Lamidi Apapa Interim National Chairman, Labour Party, and that of Mr. Abayomi Arabanbi the National Publicity Secretary, Labour Party, this is another unguided caption to push the narration that the NWC of the Party is divided and there is a crack in the party leadership. 

Reading holistically to the write-up of the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, as a Party who is established on the fundamentals of the Rule of Law, and its leadership is law-abiding citizens of the country it is good we educate members of the public the need to understand why SOME persons who are not members of the party are clamoring for NO SWEARING IN on the 29th May 2023. This is alien to the Constitution of FRN as quoted by the Party Publicity Secretary and also Section 135 (2) which states the Tenure of a President. 

We shouldn't beat the drum of war or disunity in the country  when we have a beautiful case to win at the Tribunal. We can't consecrate ourselves as a true democrat if we give room for anything that will bring about the fall of Democracy in the country we are all students of history. (The body of our Democracy Heros, unionist, activists, and comrades that fight for this democracy will turn in their graves.)

The majority of the caption going viral is not how it is narrated in the write-up and deep thinkers will not join in the call for NO SWEARING -IN on May 29th, 2023. We need to sustain democracy with every power we have as citizens, If the Presidential Tribunal and the Supreme Court favor our Political Partyand grant our prayers surely we will get by Gods grace, the APC will surely hand over power and proper Swearing In will be done after the judgment. 

Even if they don't want to swear in the President-elect on the 29th of May 2023, which will give room for an automatic Interim leadership of the country to  Senate President or Speaker of House of Rep. or Interim Govt which will be constituted by APC not L.P or PDP, and this might open doors for Military intervention. This will only worsen the country's democratic development. 

As a Party with discipline and also in court to get the mandates with the Presidential Candidate of our great Party, we urge members of the Labour Party to stay clear of hell-bent people clamoring for the truncation and clamping down of democracy in the country. 

This doesn't mean the Party Leadership is working with APC (this is baseless and pointless by these noisemakers who are not Labour Party members). Our Party Leadership is working to sanitize the party of degraded, derailed, obsessive, and acrimonious members who hide under the party to execute their selfish agenda. Labor party believes in United Nigeria and will not encourage division and clampdown in the country's hardware democracy. 

Alhaji Apapa Lamidi and the majority of the NWC had devoted their lives to the Party and they have been seen worthy of leading the Party on the premise of the Party Constitution. Hence, as Labour Party members who believe in the party constitution and leadership of Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, there is a need for us to follow the trend and accept the changes in the party whic are in accordance to Article 7, Article 14 Section 3 Subsection B (v) and Article 15 Subsection 2 (b) of the Labour Party Constitution.

Labour Party ✊✊✊

Forward Ever ✊✊✊

Labour Party ✊✊✊

Papa! Mama! Pikin ✊✊✊

Comrade Anthony Chukwum

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Oyo State LP Chair Tunji Sadiq, 4 Others suspended says Secretary Gabriel Ogunlana

The secretary of the Oyo State chapter of the Labour Party Comrade Gabriel Ogunlana has confirmed the suspension of the state chairman Tunji Sadiq Atayese and four others in a statement today.

Previously Sadiq Atayese has been suspended by the Comrade Apapa led court and INEC recognized national working committee of the Labour Party for attending Julius Abure's illegal Asaba NEC meeting.

According to Ogunlana: Tunji Sadiq claimed to have called meeting of SEC on May 6th, 2023 whereas Tunji Sadiq had been suspended by the acting National Chairman in a communique issued on 3rd May, 2023 at a NEC meeting held in Bauchi state.

Tunji Sadiq Atayese

It should be noted that majority of the Labour Party chairmen have involved in atrocities, missmanagement and fraudas even more than Julius Abure.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW!!!

 *IMPORTANT NOTICE*

My attention has been drawn to a content of a message written in a third-rate grammar purporting that Gabriel Ogunlana has been suspended from the office of the Secretary. I want to unequivocally inform well-meaning members of the Labour Party, conscientious stakeholders and the public that the purported suspension is a rudely calculated ruse, void abnitio and journey without destination.

Tunji Sadiq claimed to have called meeting of SEC on May 6th, 2023 whereas Tunji Sadiq had been suspended by the acting National Chairman in a communique issued on 3rd May, 2023 at a NEC meeting held in Bauchi state 

Tunji Sadiq was among the corrupt state Chairmen who attended illegal NEC meeting convened by suspended national chairman (Julius Abure) on the same date.

In order to affirm the suspension order of the INEC recognized national chairman (comrade Apapa Lamidi), I pronounced Tunji Sadiq suspended on 6th May, 2023.

Other officers I suspended along with Tunji Sadiq include, Biodun Adeyeye (D. Chairman), Kudirat Apanpa (PRO), Ajibade Adeyemi (Finsec), Sola Ayodele (D. Chairman)

They're suspended because of their involvement in anti-party activities, gross misconduct and related offences.

Party members should desist from patronizing these officers until further notice.

Gabriel Ogunlana

LP State Secretary

THE REAL REASON TUNJI SADIQ (OYO STATE LP CHAIRMAN) IS PRO- JULIUS ABURE AND ANTI-PA LAMIDE APAPA

Tunji Sadiq Atayese

The Labour Party built on the collective resolve of the working masses would have transcended the mantra of the third force to the main force if a founding champion and a Labour Movement veteran like comrade Lamidi Apapa had been in charge of her national affairs years before now.

It’s unfortunate that a self-styled personality like Barrister Julius Abure whose only mission is to destroy the common interest for personal gain was championing people’s agenda at a critical time of the 2023 general elections. It was a similitude of Joseph Sterlin’s championing of a purported revolution which had been betrayed from the outset.

Tunji Sadiq like some other corrupt state chairmen were the instruments upon which Julius Abure could exploit every means for personal aggrandizement. The perjury, forgery, alteration and all other criminal charges levied against Julius Abure would not be complete if some corrupt state chairmen were not joined in the suit because Julius Abure couldn’t have succeeded without the conspiracy of some state chairmen.

In Oyo state, for instance, Atayese Tunji Sadiq is a typical example of a famished Jackal who’s offered a monumental chance to manage ranches. Everyone knows that such a person would definitely devour the affairs he’s overseeing. The unholy marriage between Atayese Tunji Sadiq and Julius Abure are a mirror of coalition of plundering interest between two cunning personalities. 

The same totalitarian approach to leadership being deployed by Julius Abure agrees with Sadiq’s. Members of the Labour Party, stakeholders and wary Nigerians couldn’t have been oblivious of dictatorial dismissal of some entire state executive structure by Julius Abure which was a sheer contravention of the provisions of the Labour Party constitution. This is the reason an illegal ‘firer’ is being fired. He is being haunted by his dubious past.

On the respective meetings convened by the two fashions of the Labour Party last Wednesday 3rd May, 2023, Tunji Sadiq cunningly neglected comrade Apapa Lamidi’s Bauchi meeting to attend Abure’s meeting in Abuja. He only sent delegations to Bauchi to spy on comrade Apapa’s fashion of proceedings. Baba Apapa who was supposed to get the full backing of Tunji Sadiq did not hesitate to suspend all the state chairmen who attended Abure’s jankara meeting.

The public should be aware that Tunji Sadiq will be loyal to Abure because the money meant for the presidential elections as provided to the party by Obi did not pass through the party’s account. Sum of fifty million naira was sent to the private account of Tunji Sadiq but he only declared seventeen million (17,000,000) naira for the party. To date, Tunji Sadiq is yet to pay majority of presidential election polling unit agents.

Tunji Sadiq only declared fifty million naira (N50,000,000) out of huge amount of money that Engr. Seyi Makinde released for the Labour Party during gubernatorial elections. The template he used to share less than 20m to some state working committee members and party stakeholdersand.  How he neglected the local government chairmen will soon be published. Tunji Sadiq only appeased greedy national chairman (Julius Abure) out of the remaining money and he pocketed the rest.

Like Juius Abure, suspended Tunji Sadiq will soon face legal tussle and he will be made to face the consequences of his nefarious activities.

I’ll go all the way to get back my mandate – Peter Obi

The Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi has reiterated that he will explore all ways to ensure that he reclaim his alleged stolen mandate.

Obi stated this while speaking during a Labour Party stakeholders’ meeting in Awka.

The former Anambra state governor vowed to explore all legal options in ensuring he reclaims his mandate.

Recall that Obi came third in the February 25th presidential election.

The Labour Party presidential candidate was defeated by the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Since the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Obi had insisted he won the election, as headed to court to contest the outcome of the poll.

In a tweet via his verified Twitter about the meeting, Obi stated, “Earlier, I interacted with the Anambra State Labour Party Stakeholders in Awka. The meeting was quite animated and constructive. Part of our discussions centred on the way forward for the party.

“I reassured them of my readiness to go all the way, explore every available legal option to ensure that we get our mandate back. I appreciated all their support so far, as I assured them of mine. PO,” he added.

Source: Vanguard News

COMMUNIQUE: Afenifere calls on judiciary to ensure that all petitions of the Presidential election be timeously and justly resolved before the end of the Buhari administration

 *BEING THE COMMUNIQUE AT THE END OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING OF THE AFENIFERE HELD AT THE RESIDENCE OF OUR LEADER CHIEF AYO ADEBANJO AT ISANYA OGBO OGUN STATE ON TUESDAY 25TH APRIL 2023.*

1. 000 PREAMBLE.

Afenifere held its Regular monthly General Meeting today, the 25th day of April 2023, at the residence of our Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo at Isanya Ogbo, Ogun State, which Meeting had in attendance delegates from the member states and presided over by our Leader aforesaid; and after exhaustive deliberations on the state of the Nigerian Federation, Observed and Resolved as follow:

1.0 ON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 

Afenifere reiterates our position that the emergence of a President of Southern and specifically South Eastern origin will guarantee equity, fairness and peaceful corporate existence of the Nigerian federation and for which we continue to support the victory of Peter Obi of the Labour Party in the 25th February Presidential election and all his endeavours in its realisation.

2.0 THE JUDICIARY AND THE 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

 Afenifere strongly calls on the judiciary to ensure that all petitions in respect of the Presidential election be timeously and justly resolved before the end of the tenure of the Buhari administration as the only way the confidence of Nigerians in its intervention may be earned. Precedents in this regard have been laid even by less endowed countries in Africa. 

3.0 BUHARI’S MESSAGE OF FORGIVENESS TO NIGERIANS. 

3.1 Afenifere considers the request of President Buhari for pardon “by those he might have hurt along the line of his services to the country” as rather short in statesmanship which demands that such apologies be extended to all Nigerians who have been traumatised especially by the pervasive insecurity and marooned in economic quagmire which in the last 8 years have rendered life most uninspiring, nasty, brutish and short. 

3.2 That it is rather shameful and painful that the President would celebrate, as achievement, the purported containment of insecurity in Abuja where the sovereignty of the nation has been wantonly challenged by terrorists routinely routing the Presidential convoy, Correctional Centres attacked and emptied and some Local Governments in neighbouring Niger State in effective occupation by Boko Haram.

3.2 Afenifere further notes the President’s lamentations of his serial loss of elections until “God sent technology to my rescue through the introduction of the PVC” . It is rather more lamentable that the manifest desires of Buhari to improve on the efficacy of the technological processes, inherited from Jonathan, by assenting the 2022 Electoral Act with the BVAS and IREV components, were thwarted by the INEC and security agencies under his watch, while high level officers of his government were befuddled by partisan considerations to justify relapse to primitivity. 

4.0 THE 2023 NATIONAL CENSUS.

4.1 Afenifere bemoans the unthinkable insistence of the Buhari administration in conducting the 2023 National Census in spite of the objective realities which make such an important national exercise most inauspicious in timing and impossible in credible implementation.

4.2 Afenifere recalls that in a paper it presented at the National Consultative Forum on the 2023 Census held at the Banquet Hall, State House Abuja on the 11th August 2022, it reiterated the imperative of census in national development noting that the application and misuse of Census data had been our bane as a country where we lie to ourselves and the world about our number indulging in laughable projections sometimes based on assumed and fixed percentage of population growth across different parts notwithstanding glaring variables.

4.3 It is in the light of the importance of credible exercise that, in the August 2022 Conference, we strongly advised against the conduct of the Census which, among other reasons, we said could not possibly hold in the same year of a General election. 4.4 Other well meaning personalities and institutions including the UNFPA Resident Representative in Nigeria who at another Conference in PortHarcourt on the 26th-29th March 2023 and most recently the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Calabar which all have raised concerns on the possibility of reasonable and genuine participation in an acceptable headcount in the current mood of the nation.

4.5 That Afenifere is particularly bemused that Government expects participation in headcount by citizens still incensed and distraught by the trauma of violence and brigandage of the elections or by those in IDP camps within their country in whose ancestral homes terrorists in occupation will now be counted as new indigenes.

4.6 That all factors considered, including its inability to supervise a transparent electoral process, a lesser headcount exercise, the integrity deficiency of this administration is abysmally compounded in conducting census which partisan disputes in Nigeria is often at the level of communities, states and ethnic nationalities having been politicised overtime.

4.7 Afenifere decries the most insensitive deployment of over 800 bilion Naira on this wasteful exercise as scandalous and an economic offence.

4.8. Afenifere conclusively says there is no compelling reason why the census must be held by the expiring Buhari administration and calls for all steps and preparations in that regards to be stopped FORTHWITH.

Issued and signed at Isanya Ogbo, Ogun State this 25th day of April 2023.

Chief Ayo Adebanjo 

Leader

Chief Sola Ebiseni 

Secretary General.

REJOINDER: LP Did Not Write To Withdraw Obi's Case in Tribunal

 *REJOINDER 26/04/23: As LP Did Not Write To Withdraw Obi's Case in Tribunal & Contrary to Obiora Ifoh's 08033024036 Peddling of Online Fake News About Alh. Lamidi Bashiru Apapa, the Acting National Chairman of Labour Party (LP)*

Watch You-Tube on Why FCT High Court Restrained Julius Abure as National Chairman : https://youtu.be/bQID8YNqL_U

Apapa

1: The attention of the Labour Party National Working Committee, NWC under the leadership of Alhaji Lamidi Bashiru Apapa has been drawn to an online Fake News making the rounds captioned: "LP Tells Tribunal To Disregard Apapa’s Letter Seeking Withdrawal Of Obi’s Cases Against Tinubu https://firstclassgists.com/lp-tells-tribunal-to-disregard-apapas-lette"

2: For the avoidance of doubt, OBIORA IFOH with the phone number: 08033024036 is an IMPOSTER IMPERSONATING as the Acting National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party (LP) & claiming to be appointed in the illegal, null and voided National Executive Council, NEC meeting of 18th April, 2023 in Asaba Delta State which amounted to CONTEMPT OF THE FCT COURT ORDER of 4th April, 2023 & 17th April, 2023 and organized by Julius Abure.

3: That Julius Abure who convened that illegal gathering had no legitimacy in Labour Party (LP) due to the FCT High Court Restraining Order imposed on him and three others: 

(I): Umar Farouk Ibrahim National Secretary, (Ii): Ojukwu Clement National Organizing Secretary and 

(iii): Mrs Oluchi Okpara National Treasurer from Parading themselves as National Officers of Labour Party over criminality.

4: That the FCT High Court restraining order was predicated on the Nigeria Police FCID Investigation & Forensic Audit Report that  indicted Abure and three others for: FORGERY, PERJURY AND CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY with financial malfeasance to the sum of over four hundred million naira (N400,000,000.00)

5: That the Labour Party LP National Working Committee, NWC has notified the Inspector General of Police, IGP & the Director General, Department of State Security Service DG-DSSS about the impostor OBIORA IFOH online Fake News making the rounds about how he is impersonating the office of the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party (LP) 

6: That Obiora Ifoh is deploying the Labour Party (LP) website:

labourparty.com.ng/danger-alert-s and other social media handles to orchestrate fake News against the Acting National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Lamidi Bashiru Apapa and other National Working Committee, NWC members.

Labour Party !

Forward Ever !!

Backward Never !!!

Primaries Conducted By Erstwhile Chairman, Julius Abure In Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi States Are Illegal, Null, Void – Labour Party

The party in a statement titled, “Perspectives of the Labour Party (LP) 15th and 16th April, 2023 Imo State Gubernatorial Primary Election” and signed its National Youth Leader, Comrade Eragbe Anslem, said that Abure had no business conducting the party’s primary elections as his actions amounted to contempt of court order.

The Labour Party (LP) has said that the governorship primary elections conducted in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states by its suspended National Chairman, Julius Abure are illegal, null and void.

The party in a statement titled, “Perspectives of the Labour Party (LP) 15th and 16th April, 2023 Imo State Gubernatorial Primary Election” and signed its National Youth Leader, Comrade Eragbe Anslem, said that Abure had no business conducting the party’s primary elections as his actions amounted to contempt of court order.

According to the Labour Party, Abure and other members of the party suspended by the Federal High Court had no business conducting the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on April 18, 2023 in Asaba, Delta State capital and gubernatorial primaries.

In the release obtained by SaharaReporters, the party stated that “Mr Julius Abure had no business conducting Labour Party (LP) primary elections in: Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States in the first instance, as their illegal actions of conducting gubernatorial Primaries in those states amounted to contempt of court order.”

It noted that “The FCT High Court orders in line with the Nigeria Police Investigation and Forensic Audit Report indicted Julius Abure and three others: Umar Farouk Ibrahim, National Secretary; Ojukwu Clement, National Organising Secretary and Mrs Oluchi Okpara, National Treasurer for: forgery, perjury and criminal conspiracy with financial malfeasance to the sum of over N400,000,000.

“The falsification of the FCT High Court documents (perjury) in addition to the forgery of the Ebonyi State Gubernatorial Candidate details, caused the FCT High Court to issue a Restraining Order on Abure and others on April 4, 2023; and further restrained Abure and others on April 17, 2023 and April 20, 2023 respectively from parading themselves as National Officers of the Labour Party (LP).

“Be it known to all men that Abure and others had no business conducting the Labour Party LP National Executive Council, NEC meeting on April 18, 2023 in Asaba, Delta State and Gubernatorial Primaries in: Bayelsa, Imo & Kogi States.

“As such, their actions are: illegal, null and void to the extent of their inconsistency that also amounted to contempt of court orders.”

Labour Party !

Forward Ever !!

Backward Never !!!

God be our helper!

NIGERIAN ARMY OR NIGERIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY?

by Moses Oludele Idowu

*FOREWORD*

Few days ago, the leaders of the Southern Kaduna Peoples expressed their anger at the the double standard maintained by the military under the Buhari Administration. That several deadly attacks from Fulani militia against their people go on without arrest or prosecution from the military, but whenever a cow is lost in the Fulani community, the military will immediately invade their place to arrest and harass their people. Several hundreds of of Southern Kaduna people have been killed in this area and till today no arrest has been made. It is the victims who are arrested whenever a cow is lost and beaten. What an army!

Gov. Ortom has corroborated this in his own Benue State where he accused the Buhari Administration and the security agents of injustice. 

Recently, the whole nation was shocked when a former militant, Tompolo, alerted us that for 9 years our crude has been stolen through illegal connection running into billions of dollars. In a nation that has a "Nigerian" Army including Navy and Air Force?

These are just two recent cases which confirm the truth in this essay.

  

This essay has been written since October 2021 and I am not changing anything. Read and judge for yourself.

  In this essay the author argues that what we have is a Nigerian Army, but what we need is a Nigerian People's Army

 Happy reading.

  MOI

  Saturday 22 April, 2023.

There is one thing about a lie: you can repeat it a thousand times and it would still not be the truth. And there is one quality about the truth: the whole world can deny it and rubbish it as long as they wish and it would not cease from being the truth. I think it was Winston Churchill who once said that no matter how long you ply the wrong road it won't become the right one. And I think it was also Martin Luther who said that you don't have to defend the truth, you only need to declare it; truth will defend itself and will survive any lie.

 

Against this backdrop I want to explode one of the popular lies and myths that undergirds this nation. It is important because I won't be a honest man as a servant of God and also an intellectual if I didn't. The fact that no one has said it really matters little. We cannot build a foundation of nationhood on quicksand.

 In this, as in all my articles I welcome exchanges. In point of fact I challenge all Nigerians from the military, the universities, seminaries, research institutes to take me up and challenge me on this. I am happy that most of our generals are still alive, Olusegun Obasanjo, Theophilus Danjuma, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Oladipo Diya, etc. Since what I am saying this morning particularly concerns them I challenge them to take me up in debate or impeach my thesis or my proposition. It is allowed.

THE THESIS

There is a general, widespread, - yet mistaken impression - that there is Nigerian Army, that we have a Nigerian Army, among the common run of Nigerians and the nation. It is my proposition this morning that we do not. If by Nigerian Army we mean a Nigerian People's Army, if by Nigerian Army we mean - and rightly so - an army devoted solely and practically to the lives, welfare, security, sustenance of Nigerian Peoples of whatever ethnic background; if by Nigerian Army we mean an army that is subordinated to the will, choices and desires of Nigerian Peoples, if by Nigerian Army we mean an army that sees Nigerians as lords and masters and superiors not slaves, servants, minions or poor civilians the same way the Chinese People's Army sees the Chinese as superiors, the same way the Israeli Defense Force sees a Jew as the reason for its existence, the same way the United States Army sees the average American as its employer - sorry we do not have a Nigerian Army in that sense.

I challenge anyone even among the generals for a debate on this. No, we do not have a Nigerian Army if by Nigerian Army we mean a Nigerian People's Army. There is a difference between Nigerian Army and a Nigerian People's Army. Happy and fortunate is the nation and people who know the difference.

 

Yes we have a body statutorily called Nigerian Army, an outgrowth of British Colonial West African Frontier Force with Nigerians of various ethnic groups as members and with various sectors like Navy, Air Force, Infantry etc. I do not deny this. What I deny is that this Army is a Nigerian People's Army - both by its actions,  antecedents, behavioral practices, culture, actions etc.

It is my purpose in the following investigation to  show and establish this thesis.

CASE STUDIES AND CONTRASTS

1. On July 3 - 4, 1976 hundreds of Israeli commandoes from the Israeli Defence Force ( the official name of Israeli Army) in four military planes and Hercules stormed Entebbe Airport, Uganda and in an operation that was rare even in military history rescued Jewish hostages and took them to safety, killing several of Idi Amin's soldiers and losing only 1 officer in the process. 

 

Now this is not the real issue in itself. What most people do not know is that some of those people Israeli solders took that risk for were not even citizens of Israel, but they were Jews. And as Jews the IDF is committed to their rescue and defence because it is an ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCE, an army committed to the defense of Jews and Israeli people not just territory.

2. In 1981 Israeli commandoes again flew hundreds of kilometers and stormed Tunis to exterminate one notorious terrorist, Abu Nidal ( Abu Jihad) of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine for the death of 11 Jewish athletes during the Munich Olympics in 1972. IDF considers it its duty and an obligation to avenge the blood of any Jewish soul anywhere no matter how long.

3. In 2020 American marines backed by drones and logistics stormed the Northeastern part of Nigeria to rescue one American missionary and his son and in the process killing all the Fulani captors without losing a single soldier. Imagine the distance from their base to here and yet they did it to save one American soul who was not resident in America.

CONTRASTS

I will cite just some cases in recent memory.

1. In 2014 more than  250 female students were abducted from Chibok, Borno State and till today a large percentage of them are still in captivity. I want everyone of us to think how long it will take and with what facilities, the number of buses to transport 276 girls, teenagers within an unleveled terrain and difficult topography. Yet our army has no clue, insight or logistics to stop this, arrest the captors or release the captives.

2. About two years ago police detectives from the Inspector General of Police went to Taraba State to arrest a wanted kingpin of kidnappers named Wadume. Despite the fact they were carrying Identification Tags as policemen on duty and the suspect was in handcuffs and they declared that they were on official duty soldiers of Nigerian Army still shot them and released the criminal in handcuffs. This is not the worry. Today those soldiers are still in service and had not been charged or tried.

3. Some months ago a video trended on social media that was ominous. Fresh female recruits of the Armed Forces made a video where they expressed their minds about their new jobs. And what did they say? They were warning how they would deal with civilians, flog anyone who crossed their paths, and other threatenings with clear forebodings. This is their wish and desires and intentions of joining the Army... The Israeli soldier is thinking of how to free his/ her citizens, the American soldier, Chinese soldier are planning of how to secure the lives of their civilians.. But, wait, the Nigerian soldier is thinking of how to deal with civilians, how to establish the hegemony of the army and a uniform over the very people who paid the tax that made his/ her uniform possible!

We have a big problem on our hands. The Army needs a complete retraining and reorientation. I shall come to this before concluding this essay.

SPECIFIC ISSUES

1. ANNULMENT OF JUNE 12, 1993 ELECTION

In the morning of Saturday June 12, 1993 Nigerians trooped out in their numbers and went to vote for one of the candidates of the two military-allowed parties. By the next day it was clear where the pendulum was swinging. M.K.O Abiola was going to win. Even in the North, he won. Even in most army barracks, he won  the election.

Then a group of army officers in the upper echelon decided that they did not want a candidate who had already won a free and fair election. The short and long story, the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) headed by Ibrahim Babangida with contemptuous cynicism and aristocratic arrogance annulled the result of the election, a move that stunned the whole world. 

Now this is the issue. The Nigerian Armed Forces and their officers arrogated to themselves the power to annul the will of Nigerian Peoples. A coterie of a few officers, soldiers of fortune, attempted to write off and erase by a stroke of pen the collective aspirations and desires of Nigerian peoples expressed through the ballot. An army that would do that cannot be called a Nigerian Army or Nigerian People's Army because a Nigerian People's Army won't erase the will of Nigerian People's. That was the best evidence to establish my thesis.

 I ask you to reflect and think: which army in the world would do this to their own peoples? Would IDF do that to Jews in Israel? Would the United States Army countermand the will of Americans? You saw when Donald Trump wanted to use the army for his purpose to override the will of Americans in the last elections and the response of the Commander.

Now this is not the point alone. What happened thereafter? Someone would argue that it was not Nigerian Army that did it, but the leaders, the generals. That argument made matters worse, it even defeat the point it was meant to serve. If it was the officers or generals alone who annulled the election what was the position of their subordinates? On whose side were they? Their generals or the Nigerian peoples?

The sad thing is the Army represented by its common run of soldiers and officers stood by their generals to uphold the annulment, and against the Nigerian peoples. Instead of rejecting the treacherous decisions of their superiors, the junior officers came out to shoot demonstrators and protestors fighting for the truth and calling for the deannulment. Except for one or two officers who resigned or retired on grounds of conscience and principles, nothing happened. Things went on. Later, the same Army imposed one of its worst and most corruptive generals as leader and backed him with force and vigour while keeping the authentic winner elected by the people in chains.

Either there is no nation called Nigeria or it is a banana republic or there is no Nigerian Army. A Nigerian Army is supposed to stand by a Nigerian people, all things been equal. The past is a proof that is not so.

I state all these openly and I ask anyone to disprove me if these facts are not so. I am writing this now when all the dramatis personae are still living and when most of these generals are still alive. Tomorrow it will become history so if what I say here is not true let them speak and challenge it.

2. ANYTHING GOES

"We became an army of anything goes..."

        - Gen. Salihu Ibrahim

Don't try Ebira people, they can be very stubborn and bold. That was demonstrated at the passing out of General Salihu Ibrahim, then Chief of Army Staff under Sani Abacha. At his passing out or retirement, he gave a speech which should pass into the archive as a monument for truth- telling. That day, this Ebira man shocked his colleagues by telling them he is in fact happy to leave the army because the Nigerian Army has become, in his words, "an army of anything goes.."

Then he began to itemize the flaws. Soldiers preferring political appointments rather than military postings that would help their professional and career development. Our army had seen money, they have tasted power and no one was willing to remain in barracks commanding soldiers when you could be commanding millions. It got so bad under Babangida that generals would be courting and showing respect for junior officers because the junior officers, as governors and military administrators, had the power to make rich which a GOC does not have!

3. CORRUPTION IN THE ARMY

The late Chief Obafemi Awolowo tactically made allusion to wanton corruption in the army even as early as his day as a civil servant. He was  the Finance Minister during the Nigerian Civil War. He said that throughout the Civil War no military sector or command returned any money to the Federal purse from salaries sent to them. Then he asked, does it mean no Nigerian soldier died in the war? If they did what happened to their salaries? Why were they not returned to the covers of Federal Government? Corruption in the army is deep and grounded. Has anyone ever audited Ministry of Defence's accounts?

Jonathan took $1Billion to buy arms for our soldiers to fight Boko Haram few months to elections. What happened to the arms or the money?

Buhari has taken the same amount twice to buy arms for the same army. Yet the new Army boss said he did not find any arms before the National Assembly!

WE ARE IN TROUBLE 

There used to be a Defence Industry Corporation that manufactured weapons. What happened to it? It now manufactures furniture and upholstery. If you think it is funny I am not joking. Now why was it grounded? A Senator has supplied the answer in the newspaper of this morning. Producing weapons in Nigeria does not afford opportunity for our generals to steal as it would have been when weapons have to be imported with dollars earmarked. Today, all our former generals are billionaires and multi-billionaires. Obasanjo, Babangida, Danjuma, Abdulsalami Abubakar, David Mark etc. Even Mr Integrity cannot be extricated from the Group. So the big question is: If these men were all their lifetime in the Army and never did any other work, where did they get their stupendous wealth from?

General Sharon of Israel, one of the most remarkable soldiers of modern time still had to go back to the farm after retirement. Colin Powell and Sharkspov relied on pensions and royalties from their biographies after an unblemished career and after distinguishing themselves in the battlefield of the Gulf. So where did our own generals get their money, their millions and billions? I challenge them to tell the world.

The late Chief Falegan told of how, under Abacha, soldiers would come to CBN with trailers to pack minted money. ( Source: Obadaih Mailafia Column)

So where is the loyalty then when the leading voices of an institution do not even believe in probity and due process? Abacha loots are still been returned to Nigeria as we speak and this was a general in the army. You need to worry about an institution that has produced such a man and helped him to rise to the very apogee of its leadership. You need to worry about an institution that has produced and helped an Obasanjo with his arrogance and contempt for the people to rise to the top; a Babangidda with his deceit and maradonic tactics and corruption to reach the top and an Abacha with his greed and thievery to make it to the top; that has allowed Muhammadu Buhari with his nepotism, ethnic irredentism and religious bigotry to make it to the very top...!

Whether you see it or not whether you say so or not an institution that has allowed these men to prosper as to curse a whole nation with their wiles and leaven cannot be upright or innocent. Whether you hate me or not I must tell you that is the truth. That is what Salihu Ibrahim was trying to say to Nigeria but we are not a perceptive people. Corruption seem to mean very little to the Army, Nigerian Army and its leadership.

4. SMUGGLING

Under Goodluck Jonathan Government, we were loosing 450,000 barrels per day to thieves and smugglers on land and high sea. At the same time, we were also paying militants, under that archetypal waster, millions to protect the pipelines and prevent thieves from stealing the nation's crude. Now the question is this: A barrel of crude oil is not a pin or cocaine that people hide in private parts. How could this large amount of materials and assets be lost in a nation where there is an Army, Navy and Airforce on land and sea? What is their work? Everywhere in the Niger Delta, especially in Rivers State, you see military checkpoints, yet these humongous sums and materials are smuggled out of the country in a nation that has an Army and Customs in what ECONOMIST of London calls "industry-scale robbery".

NEUTRALITY AND IMPARTIALITY

At the Convocation of the Taraba State University, Theophilus Danjuma, a general and former Army Chief declared to his stunned audience that if they wished to survive they should make their personal arrangements for self- defence because the Army is no longer neutral. If you rely on the Army, declared the Chief, "you will die one by one!" Recent events now show convincingly that Danjuma was right on target. T.Y. Danjuma is not a frivolous person; if he warns about a matter, be sure he has his facts. In 1980's, he warned that the next war will be a Religious War when he observed the way the same Muslim fundamentalists were burning churches and wreaking havocs in the North. Are we not getting closer now to that danger under Buhari?

Danjuma is right and he has now been proved right.

1. Recently, some soldiers of the Nigerian Army accompanied some Fulani sub-nationals to communities in Ogun State to deal with the natives and even the traditional rulers because they asked the Fulanis to leave after violating the ethical code of good behavior. This incident was recorded on video and reported by Sahara Reporters, an online news medium. Why should it be the business of the Nigerian Army to take side on civil matters? Is it the Nigerian Army or the Army of the Fulanis?

2. Recently, a South-East governor expressed deep reservations and helplessness publicly. He phoned the Commander of the Army Division in the state to tell him of the information reaching him that Fulani militants were massing to commit atrocities in the state. But the Army officer told him that he could not take orders from him. He should talk to the President and Commander-in-Chief. He then phoned the President and was put on hold for hours without being able to reach him until the Fulanis had committed their atrocities. To his greatest surprise, the same Army officer, who claimed he could not mobilize without orders from Abuja, was now mobilizing as soon as the Fulani militants finished, not to arrest them, but to stop the people from retaliating. This is from the mouth of the governor himself! Is that a neutral army? Can we call that a Nigerian Army or the Nigerian People's Army?

3. Selective Enforcement of Law 

Soldiers have been known to confiscate weapons from people in Benue State, Southern Kaduna while the people who daily maim them have their own weapons. Their arrows, knives, swords were taken from them while the murderers who wreak havoc keep their own. What kind of Army does that in the world? Can that be truly called a Nigerian Army?

4. The Killing of "Gana", the Militant

A Benue militant warlord who was going to surrender in response to the Amnesty of the State Government declared by Governor Ortom and jointly approved by the Security Council of the state, which includes the military, was still waylaid by soldiers and killed between Gboko and Makurdi.

Sometimes, the soldiers of Nigerian Army behave as if they are above the law; as if they are the law. Yet leaders of Myetti Allah Association that threatens an entire state, a federating unit, is left untouched and unmolested. Would Gana have been killed that way if he were a Fulani?

Our army is not neutral, and if it is not neutral with all ethnic nationalities, then it cannot be a Nigerian Army, a Nigerian People's Army. There is no way.

A foreign journalist years ago expressed his shock after interviewing several residents of Southern Kaduna. They all told him why they no longer trust the Army.

 In one town there were soldiers guarding the place ( or perhaps guarding the people from retaliating?). The soldiers told the people to hide somewhere from the rampaging herdsmen who were coming. To their shock and surprise, when the militants came they went no where and attacked no other place save the very place soldiers told them to hide. The coincidence was too confounding.

NIGERIAN ARMY OR NIGERIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY?

Nigeria is a federation of several ethnic nationalities and disparate groups. What we need and the best for us is a Nigerian People's Army, an Army that is not only drawn from among different ethnic groups, but that is also subordinated to the whims, feelings, sensitivity of the different peoples of the federating units. That is not what we have now. 

To be honest to the fact, we do not have a Nigerian Army in the sense of being a Nigerian People's Army. I will be very blunt here. What we have and have had is a Danjuma Army, Murtala Army, Babangida Army, Abacha Army, Buhari Army... but not a Nigerian Army or a Nigerian People's Army.

   

Once you understand this, then nothing about the actions of the Army will shock you, nothing in their history, their coups and counter - coups, Civil War etc will shock you. Failing to understand this,, however, you will miss the big picture.

This is why the Army can annul an election, rig elections, engage in corruption etc. The Army can be good and bad depending on who is presently calling the shot. If a good man is there, then the Army follows him and is good, and if a bad man is there, then it becomes bad. A Fulani man is presently in charge, so the Army too serves the purpose of the Fulani. When a ruthless thief like Abacha was in charge, then the Army too was ruthless. As its leader goes, so goes the Nigerian Army! This is what Gen. Salihu Ibrahim meant by an "An Army of anything goes"

Like the Legionnaires of the old Roman Empire, that was more loyal to their Generals than to Rome, the Nigerian Army is more like that in the light of the several cases I have mentioned here and several I still could have mentioned. This is one of the causes of the defeat of Roman Army before the Gothic Army of King Alaric at the Battle of 410 A.D and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire.

   "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana.

People are asking for restructuring for Nigeria to move forward. They want a new Constitution etc. The number one thing to restructure if Nigeria will move forward is the institution called the "Nigerian Army". Until this is done, no other restructuring will work or be allowed to work.

More than 90% of the problems this nation has today have their origins in the military or in its personnel, both directly and indirectly. The "Sharia" Constitution that is the root of most tensions was given to us by the Military!

Muhammadu Buhari, our current nemesis, was a product of the Military. Olusegun Obasanjo, who imposed Yar'Adua on us and Goodluck Jonathan to fight us after we refused to accede to his Third Term Agenda, is a product of the Military. Babangida, who annulled an election, the freest election conducted by a black community and his fellow colleagues who aided him, were all from this institution.

  

What of Abacha? So the biggest trouble we have is the Military. Abdulsalami Abubakar was only the saddle of national leadership for about a year, and what did he do to our External Reserves? Read the Kolade Report? Read the Okigbo Report and what happened to our Gulf Oil windfall, ($12.8Billion)?

The civilian politicians have now taken this template and fashioned it to another level.

So begin the restructuring with the military. In essence, we have been ruled by the Military, except the régime of Tafawa Balewa.

Shehu Shagari was installed by the Military and favored by the Military. Days to the election, we had been told that "the best candidate need not win the election" as if the Military had a crystal ball as to know how the people would vote. The rigging and manipulation characterizing that election to ensure that NPN won are well known especially in the North. The announcement of Shagari as winner even when he did not technically meet the requirements of the law instead of proceeding to Electoral College as provided by law had the imprimatur of the Military, and Danjuma, in one of his interviews in the 1980's, admitted this much. They wanted Shagari and Shagari "won".

 

Abiola wasn't favoured by the Nigerian Military, and he didn't get there even when he won! Both Yar'Adua and Jonathan were picked by Obasanjo so they were still chosen by the grace of the Military. Obasanjo and Buhari are Army generals, meaning they are still in the reserve list of the Military.

What does this sum to? Only Tafawa Balewa has ruled Nigeria as a civilian without any input or help from the Military or as a Military personage. Even he too and his party were helped by the Colonial Army. Shonekan was there as an interlude by the favour of the Military.

So this is the source of the trouble. Let the restructuring begin from here for it to work. Else we shall continue to have Federal Republic of Nigerian Army ( apologies to Chris Alli).

IN CONCLUSION

I believe every nation has its prophet, a person chosen by God whose life, circumstances and message encapsulate the best and easier way for that nation to reach the top. Happy is that nation that recognizes her own prophet.

For America, it was Jonathan Edwards; for Britain it was John Wesley; for Germany, it was Martin Luther... What if France had accepted John Calvin? It would have been spared the horror of a pogrom and a bloody Revolution!

Nigeria too had a prophet, a man sent to her by God, but few realized it. His name is Joseph Ayo Babalola. Why am I saying this? It is this.

In one of his visions, he said he saw a woman carrying a baby at her back upside down, the legs pointing upwards toward her head and the head of the baby pointing downward. He was amazed and stared at the lady. Then he heard the Voice of God telling him to move near and pay attention. He saw as this child began to kick her mother with her legs, kicking her head. The lady then entered real trouble and confusion. He was watching and the terrible child carried upside down kicked her mother to death. Then the vision was taken away from him.

Afraid and troubled, he began to pray what the meaning could be. In his own interpretation, the woman is the Church and the child is Modernism.

And that is also correct.

However, a revelation or a message of God always have parallels and multidimensional meanings and layers of meanings. Of recent, I began to think about this vision again as it relates to Nigeria. In my own interpretation, that woman could be Nigeria and the child carried upside down that is kicking his mother until it enters into confusion could mean the the Nigerian Army, in the light of this exposition..

More than 90% of the problems we have today has their roots in the Nigerian Army, their personnel, officers and men. Even the Civil War was essentially caused by their officers' failure to resolve their disputes. Some of the biggest rogues we have heard in public office have been from this vital institution of state.

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This is not to deny or ignore their professional accomplishments, contributions, some very altruistic services to this nation and even the world; and this is not to say that all soldiers are bad or corrupt. No, but it is now clear that the Army we have today, with all the facts as stated in this essay, is still a far cry from a People's Army.

At the end of this Crisis or Conflict we should all attempt to restructure the Army and make it a truly Nigerian People's Army that cannot be hijacked by anyone or for any purposes other than Nigerian. A Nigerian Army as we now know it is not the same as Nigerian People's Army. What we need is a Nigerian People's Army, an Army that is fair, balanced unbiased, impartial and absolutely neutral and detribalized. An Army that cannot be corrupted or compromised.

 I am not sure that is what we now have now! Let the debate begin.

© Moses Oludele Idowu

08028472423; [email protected]

May 15, 2021

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