Clay Richie

As a voracious reader of too many orthodox and unorthodox books/materials with an impressive record of previous trips to at least four out of the five or so continents around the globe, yours faithfully can state without a shadow of doubt that Nigeria is a very peculiar place where the unusual are usualized and the abnormal normalized seamlessly.

My phone beeps, as usual, the notification bar flashes a few new WhatsApp messages from friends, family, colleagues and other contacts. In those few seconds, I gleaned from one of the messages, the following words: “I don Pass!”

The latest genocidal hunt down of minority Muslims of the shia classification makes you wonder if Nigeria is earth's window to Hell. First Let Me Tell You About Our President Buhari is a coward. Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari is nothing but a coward. Only a coward sends the army to shoot and kill unarmed protesting and rioting youth.

Anthony Anenih, the political leader, chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party who has died aged 85, was one of the most important figures in the story of Nigeria’s return to civilian rule, and a founding father and a major influence in the party that ruled the country for an unbroken stretch of 16 years. I knew him and was privileged to know him, even more closely, when I assumed office as President Goodluck Jonathan’s official spokesperson and media/publicity adviser.

The Professor Usman Yusuf saga is obviously sapping the energy and the health of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of which he is the executive secretary. It all started last year when a group called United Youth Alliance Against Corruption (UYAAC) sent a petition dated April 21, 2017, to the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole. In that petition garnished with supporting documents, the group accused Yusuf of fraud, abuse of office and nepotism. The supervising minister thought, as is the practice in government, that the accused person should be suspended to create room for a fair investigation by the EFCC. The recommendation for his suspension received the nod of Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was then acting as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari was at that time receiving medical attention in the United Kingdom.

"Without justice, what else is the State but a great band of robbers"~~St Augustine The reaction of Nigerians to Saturday's shooting of yet to be ascertained number of members of Shiite Islamic sect at Zuba bridge, Abuja, by the Nigerian army has conclusively exposed the fact that reasonable number of Nigerians have very low sense of Civic consciousness in addition to knowing absolutely nothing on how security forces ought to operate and relate with civilians in a civilized society.

Senator Bukkar Abba Ibrahim, a three-term governor of Yobe – in two dispensations –and the senator representing Yobe East, has warned the APC not to expect victory in the North East as it did in 2015. This warning from Ibrahim, whose wife, Khadijah, is the current Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, shows the palpable fear across the APC establishment as the 2019 election draws near.

My dear compatriots, let me start by saying that contesting in the primaries for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) was an experience of a lifetime for me and I must add this: I am grateful to Almighty God for making me a Nigerian!

Nation-building is hard, but it need not be as difficult as we make it in Nigeria. Nation-building is also intentional. It doesn’t happen by accident. The real test is in the leadership and the actions that create a real spirit of nationhood, and the willingness of every stakeholder to build a united, stable and cohesive nation. Fifty-eight years after independence, we are confronted today with the imperative of defining a future for Nigeria that escapes our country’s past.

As a professional journalist and a regular columnist, one of the things I fear the most on the job is boxing myself into a corner. My philosophy of life is that no one is completely good or completely bad. I find it hard to look at something and say there is nothing good in it or that it is absolutely flawless. I find it impossible to take someone’s idea and describe it as totally perfect or totally useless. Even a broken clock, we are told, is correct at least twice a day. If those analogue hands stopped at 4:36, at least there would be 4:36am and 4:36pm every day. I would rather avoid boxing myself into a corner by saying the clock is wrong every minute of the day.

Major-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (Retd) is eminently qualified to contest the presidential election in 2019. The controversy over the qualification of Gen Buhari to contest the 2019 presidential election is needless.

Classical historians are quick to point to the heartbeat of politics when spins are thrown up for political discourse. It is a settled fact, politics is organic with biological growth pattern – stunted, normal or stagnant. The dimensions in Nigeria which has grown into the Twitter space, is making fair political appraisal somewhat skewed depending on what feeds into timelines.

Predictably, the immanence of the 2019 general election is meeting Igbo in a serious quandary. The seriousness of that quandary is typified in the kind of inchoate double-speak and obfuscation that has hit Ohaneze; the self-styled foremost Igbo socio-cultural organization. Just recently, Ohaneze thundered that Ndigbo does not need the presidency of Nigeria but restructuring! It is good if that statement best captures the interests of the race and its restiveness since it found out it made a fatal blunder in 2015. Sure, if the generality of Ndigbo feel that they don’t need the presidency either now or forever, good for them and they should live with that decision. If they feel they need restructuring, that is equally good and they are free to go about it the best way they feel.

Fellow Nigerians, I don’t know about you but I’m truly worried that our dear beloved country may have fallen into the hands of those who do not see unity and nation-building as a priority. Before I go on, let me tell a true life story. In 2014, I was on a bus ride with the current Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and a few others. We were on our way to view a suitable office for the Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign office in Abuja. As always, discussions dovetailed from one topic to another. The one I will never forget was when the then Governor of Rivers State, Amaechi, suddenly turned to me and asked my opinion on whether Buhari should drop the title ‘General’ from his name. Amaechi did not say what was behind that thought, but I suspected that many people felt it could be an albatross being a sad reminder of his days as a military dictator. Some young folks in the bus had apparently suggested this to the Governor as brand consultants but I respond...

Elections are around the corner again. Politicians and political parties are scheming on how to take over power or how to retain power in places where they are in charge, and therefore political shenanigans, propaganda, lies, outright falsehoods and even hate speeches are all on the increase at this time.

Aisha Buhari’s Adc And Lawal Daura: For The Bush Meat To Not Make The Hunter Prey It didn’t make sense that Lawal Daura was acting without the knowledge of the Presidency when his operatives shut down the National Assembly on the 7th of August 2018.

As the senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, failed to get the re-nomination ticket of the All Progressives Congress last week, not a few looked for blood in the hands of Governor Nasir El-Rufai. His pitchfork is never far from him.

By now, the more discerning Nigerian should have realised that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government is not interested in creating the enabling environment for conducting even a semblance of free and fair elections. Instead, it is just interested in getting its way by hook or by crook. It is not interested in deepening the democratic space it inherited, rather it craves to constrict it. It has no respect for the rule of law and civil liberties, instead it prioritises national interest (subject to its own interpretation) over and above the rule of law. It is going about all these in a relentlessly ruthless and desperate manner. Its behaviour poses a growing risk and danger to the practice and sustenance of democracy in this country.

There are many versions of what actually triggered the melee that slipped into the Kasuwan Magani weekly market in Kajuru Local Government of Kaduna State last Thursday. But one fact is constant in all the narratives: By the time the mayhem that looked like a scene from a horror movie ended, no fewer than 55 persons were brutally hacked down. And by the next day, the violence had spread to other communities, including Kaduna metropolis, forcing Governor Nasir el-Rufai to declare a 24-hour curfew that practically put the state capital and environs on total lockdown.

Muhammadu Buhari ran for election as president of Nigeria in 2003, 2007 and 2011. He failed woefully on all three occasions. He failed because he did not have the attributes that Nigerians wanted in a president. Many, I including, felt he was too sectional. His stint as military head-of-state between 1984 and 1985 was eloquent testimony of this.

The title of this essay is elicited by the fact that the predilection of the All Progressive Congress, APC about the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar seems to be whether he has a valid visiting visa to the USA.

1. It is worrisome that ‘fighting corruption’ is a misnomer in Nigeria context. Fighting corruption Is not by words of mouth but rather through well articulated conscious efforts with formal well defined templates as obtainable in countries like Morocco, Pakistan, Vietnam, Iran, North Korea or even China where Nigeria has gone a-borrowing.

Those tempted to view corruption only in materialist terms, overlooking the abstract subversion of norms and values, will perhaps be forced to have a rethink by simply following the farcical drama currently unfolding at the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Electoral bodies have the responsibility of conducting elections to enable citizens’ exercise their franchise to elect their leaders.

It is most exhilarating that as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries ended, the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, chose Peter Obi as his running mate. That choice has been characterized as a masterstroke by some political pundits because Peter Obi brings so much on board. He has already distinguished himself as a leader. In addition, his success in business, demonstrated administrative prowess and understanding of the economy compliments and supplements Atiku’s abilities and skills. He is an outstanding vice presidential material.

In the run up to the 2019 elections it increasingly appears as if the two main contenders the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) are different sides of the same coin. The almost daily carpet-crossing and backstabbing is bewildering and there is really no discussion of any policy framework which the political “decampees” agree or disagree with. It appears to be all about personal interests and have nothing to do with principles or policies.

Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), must be having a good laugh wherever he is. If he is just finishing a meal, he can afford to pick his teeth and belch from the deepest part of his biological system, and even turn up his nose as he asks for a glass of water. He can also look around and thank Karma for being kind to him, as he gulps down the water and reflects on the circumstances of the APC since he was shunted aside and Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State and former labour leader, supplanted him.

Nnamdi Kanu always strikes while the iron is hot. His reappearance after more than one year has dominated discussions online and offline, generating anxiety in some quarters and ecstasy in others. Some political candidates are already trembling, for the great crowd puller could make the difference between success and failure at least in the south-east. I guess even Peter Obi, almost certain to become Nigeria’s next vice president, has been on edge.

‘A really hungry person does not twice walk past food offered as sacrifice to the gods’ – Old African Proverb ‘Economy is not important or unimportant, it simply IS’ - Andrej Chudožilov (Prague-based Modern Day Philosopher)

Election cycles are now coming with distinct buzzwords. 2015 poll was all about Sai Baba. 2011 was for Fresh Breath. And since Abubakar Atiku picked PDP’s presidential ticket, Atikulated has been loading. Catchy phrases sell everywhere. In 2011, Herman Cain, seeking the Republican ticket for White House, became an overnight sensation with his 999 Plan, in an election cycle he had, not even an outside chance. With black Barack on the Democrats’ bill, there was no chance in a billion, two black candidates would mount the two major platforms. However, early-day Republican polling had him in the lead because his buzzword caught plenty fancy, before he gradually fizzled out with his idealism.

I spent the better part of last Tuesday, October 16, focusing on developments in Ekiti State. It was the day of John Kayode Fayemi’s return to office as Governor of Ekiti State and his inauguration for a second-term, after an interregnum of four years, 2014-2018 during which former Governor Ayo Fayose reigned. It was also on that day that Fayemi’s immediate predecessor reported to the Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to submit himself for interrogation and investigation. For the people of Ekiti state, no other day could have been more melodramatic. I watched the Ekiti inauguration on television, beginning from the point where the new Governor, Kayode Fayemi arrived and he was taken round the stadium in an open van to acknowledge cheers from the people. Fayemi had a unique style of greeting the people, throwing his hands in the air with some kind of bird-like movement. I really couldn’t figure out if he was waving or dancing. I was amused. I tho...

With gratitude to God for a life well spent — and I mean every word of it — I mourn the passing of Air Vice Marshall George Ayo Osho (rtd), one of Nigeria’s first two presidential pilots, the first Nigerian Air Force (NAF) pilot to clock 6,000 flying hours, former acting governor of Lagos state — and definitely one of the best human beings that ever lived. Since creation, God has made billions of souls, but AVM Osho must be in the league of the most caring, the most humble, the most contented and the most selfless of them all. If it was possible for any mortal to be perfect, he would be my top nominee.

Before the 2003 presidential elections, former president Olusegun Obasanjo who was seeking reelection was humbled by his then vice, Atiku Abubakar. Atiku was then a demigod and Obasanjo had to bow before him for blessing. There were clear indications that Obasanjo would have been proportionately defeated if he did not recognize Atiku as his then master-vice. I do not really want to dabble into the internal rancor that existed between the two. It suffices to say that both remained enemies throughout their eight years as the number one and two citizens of Nigeria. But I know that Obasanjo brought Atiku to deputize him despite the fact that Atiku was already a victorious governor of Adamawa state in 1999. The simple reason was to give way to Boni Haruna to govern the state.

In the race to the presidency in 2019, it is a settled political assumption that presidential power should remain in the north for another term of four years. On May 29, next year, President Muhammadu Buhari would have completed his first term in office; and, the February 16 presidential election would have determined whether or not he would be vested with a second term mandate.

Fellow Nigerians, if you are not yet on any social media platform, or you are one of those still doubting the efficacy of the new revolution in town, you are certainly on a long thing, to borrow one of those popular slangs of today’s youths. I often smile when I see myopic people who dismiss the social media phenomenon as nothing but a fad that is not as influential as many of us try to put it. Truth is, you can only ignore this twenty-first century wonder at your own peril. I know some politicians deluding themselves that the masses are not on social media and my response is they know not what they are saying. The penetration level of social media has certainly quadrupled since the General Elections of 2015. And it has continued to gallivant geometrically upward since then. News has become so instant such that woe betide any media organisation that has not embraced it, or upgraded its operations, to catch up with this most modern of trends.

Posers would continue to be raised on what Nigeria has benefitted from the privatisation of its power sector. Privatisation was aimed at confronting various problems obstructing the sector’s development. These include limited access to power, poor generation and usage of power capacity, contradictory roles and responsibilities between government and holding companies, among others. Consequently, reflections on how to make the power sector to thrive would continue to dominate the public discourse. The question on the lips of concerned Nigerians is whether the electricity problem is self-inflicted, economic-induced or a jinx.

Kano is a city-state up north just like Lagos, Enugu, Kaduna, Ekiti etc. A cosmopolitan city just like Lagos in the south-west the city-state is reputed to be the economic nerve-centre of the north. In the south-east you have Onitsha in Anambra state. Densely-populated like Lagos Kano is rich in her cultural and academic heritage. It hosts the famous prestigious Bayero University. The late Nigerian crude and rude dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha hailed from Kano. Kano has had great Governors and Emirs. The late handsome Abubakar Rimi was one of the best Governors the state had ever produced. But the state had equally had the misfortune of having had as Governor one executive 'imbecile', the late Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo for whom the mineral resources of the state meant "fanta, coke and sprite"!

One year ago, the refrain by cynics and genuinely concerned Nigerians was-wherewithal the viable candidates to potentially challenge President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2019 general elections. Then after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) inexplicably shot itself in the foot with the expropriation of the party chairmanship from the South-west zone, thereby undermining its national spread, the refrain grew more cynical and disappointed and became where is the party that is sufficiently viable to give Buhari and APC a run for its money. And subsequently the refrain became-the opposition is disunited and incapable of working together and was thereby deemed, to this extent, a non-starter in a match up with the incumbent president. Further down the road, to the refrain of the projected obstacle race was added the prediction that the PDP cannot hold a successful presidential primary and that the fallout from the attendant crisis will cri...

There are several lessons to learn from the political feud between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his erstwhile deputy, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that lasted almost one and a half decades and on which so many people built their own political careers. One, it is the height of folly for anybody, most especially journalists, to inherit the enemies of politicians because they can always meet again and reconcile. Two, it is dangerous to speak in absolute terms or put down in print damaging things about another person in moments of anger or political disagreements. Three, and perhaps most important, Nigerians cannot afford to base their judgement on the basis of what politicians say about one another because when the music changes, those character assessments too will change because they are fickle and not always based on facts or principles.

Eleven years ago, Dr. Pat Utomi was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). His passion for idea-driven politics was the subject of this column on February 28, 2007. Among other things he called for attention to be given to all candidates and their respective platforms in the course of electioneering.

No matter how much they deny it, President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp is jittery with the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They’ve throw everything but the kitchen sink at him since it became clear that he is Buhari’s main opponent come next year. I stopped counting the press releases, interviews and articles written by the top echelon of APC in trying to demonise Atiku.

It’s no longer news that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is the certified flag-bearer for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming gubernatorial election in Lagos State. And to further assuage thoughts on any irreconcilable differences that could be exploited by the opposition party, the incumbent governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who was Sanwo-Olu’s main rival in the primary election that resulted in Sanwo-Olu’s emergence, has pledged his support for Sanwo-Olu’s success in the coming election.

The most significant election since independence in 1960 will take place in February next year which is approximately four months away. The year 2019 presidential election particularly is significant for a number of reasons and extenuating circumstances.

For a few days now, South East leaders, especially leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in that region, have taken flak from some Igbo for allegedly “opposing” the choice of Peter Obi as Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. The impression out there is that they don’t want Obi as vice presidential candidate.

I have said this before and I’d say it again: The major and foremost reason that is likely going to cause Mr. President to lose in the coming presidential election is the breed of people he has chosen to surround himself with. It is either they are not telling him the truth or Mr. President is not interested in listening to the truth. Those who surrounded Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan made him lose the last presidential election. We told him, but he wouldn’t listen. If he is opportune to serve again, I know he would do it differently.

In response to an article written some years ago by Okey Ndibe, Lagbaja the Afrobeat sensation, whose real name is Bisade Ologunde, defines and explains Mumu as “(a) The mumu people they “lead” are no different from their mumu “leaders” in character. “(b) The mumu people are gullible, superstitious and naive.” “(c) There are no consequences for criminal acts if you belong to the right group.” “(d) These mumus never demand accountability from their 'leaders.” “(e) The mumus expect their rulers to loot or would otherwise consider them foolish.” Mumu is a Yoruba word meaning a fool, a buffoon, a person susceptible to scams and other forms of trickery.

About this period, four years ago to be precise I had gone to visit a notable politician and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. Politics was very much in the air then as is the case now, and my host was neck-deep in it all. He was a major grassroots politician and a man of experience who brought into party politics so much enthusiasm and elan. I observed him at very close quarters and it was right to conclude that he was one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s unwavering supporters. Publicly, he gave the impression that he had held down his state, and even a substantial part of his region for both the party and the President.

With the events of the last few weeks, there is no doubt that this would be Abubakar Atiku’s best shot at an office he has not hidden his desire for. The former vice president’s campaign would surely be reinvigorated with the goodwill he has been getting from a broad spectrum of Nigerians.

Nobody is rattled by Executive Order 6 or President Buhari’s directive that it be implemented “in full force”. The order, which bans 50 Nigerians suspected to be corrupt from travelling abroad or selling their assets until their cases are determined in the courts, seems as weak as the government making a noise about it.

Shortly after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar became the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on October 6, party members and other stakeholders began to recommend running mates for him and a short list began to feature on the front pages of Nigerian newspapers. Some of the names that were mentioned included former Governor Peter Obi, former CEO/Managing Director, Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) - Mustapha Chike-Obi, former Minister of Agriculture and AfDB President - Akin Adesina, former Minister of Finance and Supervising Minister of the Economy - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former CBN Governor -Charles Soludo, and Deputy Senate President - Ike Ekweremadu.