Nigeria needs restructuring
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EBATES about the future of Nigeria tend to easily descend to narrowed meaninglessness over the expectations of a few individuals. When the divisiveness that has been part of the country in the past few years is added, Nigeria, in an unsustainable manner being proposed for various forms of restructuring, to accommodate the demands of those who appropriate the
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country. FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo, with his letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, has opened another round of arguments about how to run Nigeria better. His admission to participation in making Buhari
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president, and dissatisfaction with Buhari’s performance tended to personalise the issues. OBASANJO, in his lengthy letter wrote that, “The poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor
economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed (if not outright encouragement of it), lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – is very much with us today.”
WHERE Obasanjo misses the point, always, is the supposition that he is Nigeria’s messiah. His references to other former leaders of Nigeria reeks of that redeemer complex and a certainty that if he was not at the centre of tings, they would
racle Contd on page 24
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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2018
ISSN: 2545-5869
Today
VOL.3 No. 6 N200
Power brokers dump Buhari Father kills daughter in septic tank From NATH OMAME, Port Harcourt
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MEN OF POWER: Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, Abdulsalami
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IBB’s letter exerts more pressure on President Danjuma, Abdulsalami in tacit support APC’s restructuring report distances party from President
By FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU
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he recent controversial letter written by former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) to President Muhammadu Buhari asking him not to contest the 2019 presidential election for a second term in office, may have confirmed fears that the nation’s power-broking triumvirate—Obasanjo, IBB and Abdulsalami Abubakar— may have finally ditched President Buhari, fearing his return to power for a second term could have deleterious effects on every effort, past and present, made towards achieving a united, democratically progressive country. In a letter whose authorship was initially denied by the IBB camp but later confirmed to be an authentic missive, Babangida told Buhari that time has come for the country to deliberately transfer power to the
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younger generation. “In 2019 and beyond, we should come to a national consensus that we need new breed leadership with requisite capacity to manage our diversities and jump-start a process of launching the country on the super highway of technology-driven leadership in line with the dynamics of modern governance,” the former military President’s statement, signed by his spokesman, Alhaji Kassim Afegbua, read in part. “It is short of saying enough of this analogue system. Let’s give way for digital leadership orientation with all the trappings of consultative, construc-
he father of a 19-year old girl, Chiburuoma Boms, found dead in a septic tank in the Elekahia area of Port Harcourt, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHLGA), has confessed that he asked other members of family to dump her in the septic tank while she was still alive. Spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, said the stepmother and stepsister of the victim who were arrested earlier by the Police have also confessed to participating in the killing of the young lady. “The father of the victim has confessed to masterminding the killing of the 19 year girl. He said she was still alive when he directed that she should be dragged into the septic tank where she later died,” Omoni told reporters in Port Harcourt. Omoni added: “ The father earlier escaped but was later arrested following useful information given to the Police by members of the public. The stepmother and stepsister arrested on the day she died have also Contd on page 2
Wike rejects Okorocha’s amnesty for Don Waney’s colleagues By VICTOR NZE
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eacting to the reported amnesty granted to the henchmen of killed cultist, Don Wanney, by the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha following the surrender of arms by the criminal gang, the Rivers State chief executive, Nyesom Wike has declared that the pardon does not apply to his territory. Wike said the amnesty granted by Okorocha to cultists who killed 23 persons in Omoku will have no impact in Rivers State
• N20m bounty still stands A statement issued by the governor and signed by his Special Assistant to the Rivers State governor, Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, quoted the Wike as making the declaration at a bills-signing ceremony in Government House, Port Harcourt, Tuesday. Wike further assured that the wanted cultists who are kingpins of the Don Wanney gang would be brought to justice.
The Rivers State chief executive who also declared that the N20million placed on their heads still stands, stressed that the security agencies would be empowered to bring the criminals to account for their crimes. He said that the action of Governor Rochas Okorocha is a proof of the intelligence available to the Rivers State government that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Contd on page 2
Herdsmen as national bully - Ahamba