Clay Richie

Nigeria is a state at war. There’s no profit in continuing to deny it. There’s no point in sugarcoating the bitter, bloody fact.

Godswill Obot Akpabio(the third democratically elected governor of Akwa Ibom State), a name previously unheard until his appointment as a commissioner by Obong Victor Attah; he played the ‘right’ cards thus defeating the preferred candidate of his boss at the PDP primaries in 2006 by sheer providence,confirming what the bible says that “power belongs to God” – the rest is history.

Fellow Nigerians, please allow me to make a serious confession. I’m an incurable fatalist. I have more than enough reasons to believe in the power of Destiny. There are too many things man cannot easily explain about our cosmos. The journey of life is riddled with mysteries. And unwittingly man is nothing but a toy in the wheel of fortune. We move around and work like the proverbial jackass not knowing what God has in stock for us. At the height of our arrogance we try to play God instead of recognising the supreme Master. But those who have been touched by His grace often appreciate the significance of the limitless grace of God.

By Thisday It is astonishing the level of disdain a people can feel towards their leader. Many citizens of Ebonyi State when  interviewed will leave you with the impression  that the seat of power in the state has either been empty for almost eight years or it has been occupied by a leader who lacks the slightest of clues of what it takes to be the chief executive of a state in a country like Nigeria reeling in the need for all kinds of government interventions.

Every day we read a news broadcast about ‘transformation’ of the Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Veritably, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is investing generously in publicity of this ‘transformation agenda.’ However the daunting question is – how is any meaningful transformation of the nation’s agriculture sector possible when the farmers are an endangered species? In the news every single day dozens of our farmers in the farming belt, from Benue to Borno are massacred deliberately by Boko Haram terrorists.

Report comming in  indicates that two emirs in Borno State – Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrisa Timta and the Emir of Uba, Alhaji Ismaila Mamza were on Friday kidnapped by members of the Boko Haram.

Terrorism has no place in Islam….We must rise up as always, with one voice to condemn all acts of terrorism, condemn those terrorists wherever they are and try our best as Muslims to ensure peace reigns in our community.” — Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III

Fellow Nigerians:  I greet and felicitate with you all, today, as we mark 15 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in our beloved country.

The truth they say is a bitter pill to swallow, but who wouldn’t swallow a bitter pill if it helps you get better? The much vilified Nigerian Army recently accused the Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of underfunding them in their battle against Boko Haram, with the Minister firing back that her ministry has released N130 Billion to them in the first quarter (Q1) of the year which includes N80 billion of personnel costs and another N3.8 billion to them recently.

The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has today, May 28, 2014 filed an Appeal challenging the decision of Honourable Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja declining Jurisdiction to hear his suit essentially seeking to re-instate him as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

A member of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Bukola Saraki has strongly denied recent media reports that it has cleared the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke or the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of allegations relating to the “unaccounted revenue fraud.”

By Sahara Reporters Men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram terrorist group have shut down over 30 primary and secondary schools in Bolmo area of Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State, a reliable source in the area has said.

The statement made by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, that the military has sighted the 270 girls seized from the dormitory by Boko Haram terrorists last month, has reportedly attracted for the wrath of the Presidency.

For Nigeria and most especially Nigerians, this is a season for conspiracy theories, from the warped, nonsensical and idiotic, to the one so irreverently outlandish that it offends commonsense, though, there are some which are so intelligently crafted,

Today, we celebrate the re-birth of our nation’s democracy. On this day, fifteen years ago, the world watched as Nigeria ushered in a new era of government chosen by the people – after countless years of military dictatorships.

Suicide bombing is an act whereby an individual personally delivers explosives and detonates them with the sole aim of inflicting the greatest possible damage, killing himself in the process in order to serve the interests of the sponsoring individuals or organisations.

By Vanguard According to reports, former president Olusegun Obasanjo has met with individuals close to the Islamic militant sect, Boko Haram to negotiate the release of more than 230 kidnapped schoolgirls.

In the season that we are in, I think it is very important for political parties to x-ray their operations and honestly examine their motives to see if they are contributing to peace or to tension.  This is because people are more likely to advocate  their passions through politics than through violence, if political parties have internal democracy whereby it is possible for one to have upward mobility without being connected to the right people.

In the late 1980s, I was appointed Special Adviser to Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, then Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs. At the time, I was a Research Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). The Director-General of the Institute, Professor Gabriel Olusanya, advised me not to take the job. When I decided to take it, he gave me a bad security report. He claimed I was married to a foreigner and was too devoted to her. Therefore, I would be inclined to divulge national secrets to non-Nigerians.

The Peoples Democratic Party has asked the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to stop insulting President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sam Nda-Isaiah is someone that all of us would like to respect particularly since the publisher of Leadership newspaper has declared his intention to run for President under the banner of the All Progessives Congress (APC). But reading the article of May 26, 2014 in which he launched an unwarranted attack on the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in continuation of the campaign of certain people to pitch the military against the minister makes one very sad. It is sad because the article shows a fundamental lack of understanding of how the country’s economy works.

Anytime the likes of Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Dr Junaid Mohammed, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Lamido of Adamawa, Mr. Anthony Sani or any of the members of the Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders Forum speak on national issues, there are some things that are constant in their speeches: Arrogance, condescension, threats, etc. If the matter has to do with national resources, two critical “words” must be present in their speeches: “Sharing” and “allocation.”

President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly rejected the condition laif down by former President Olusegun Obasanjo if he must get his support to contest for president ahead of the 2015 Presidential election.

The Akwa Ibom House of Assembly on Monday passed into law, the Former Governor and Deputy Governor’s Pension Bill 2014 into law — a legislative work that will see the ex-governors of the state earn millions of naira for every of their petty needs after leaving office.

At first they bombed the Churches. We blamed the Muslims for it. For some, they blamed no one, but yet remained criminally quiet about it. Perhaps for some it felt alright. Then they went after the Imams. Because we had blamed the Muslims for it, we were surprised when they went after the Imams. But some of us just refused to notice.

I have always known it will eventually come to this. The military last week accused finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of starving them of funds badly needed to discharge their duties.

Femi Aribisala’s piece, referenced in the title of this rejoinder, is very interesting, but missing several pieces. The writer failed to identify what the conspiracy truly is, and who the conspirators are.

The presidency has issued a scathing rebuke of the All Progressives Congress, APC, describing its spokesperson as “rude and silly” after the opposition party accused President Goodluck Jonathan of abdicating his responsibilities and running a corrupt government.

By The Punch More than 400 football fans cheated death in the Saturday night bomb blast that rocked Bauchi road area of Jos. Three people were confirmed dead on the spot in the blast with the fourth body discovered early Sunday morning, raising the death toll to four

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday attended a special church service to commemorate the 2014 Democracy Day celebration at the National Christian Centre.

These are trying times indeed. Trying and sad times. It wouldn’t be the first time Nigeria came to such crossroads by her citizens (other than those who at such points were feeding off the malaise) in a state of abject despondency, wishing they had another country.

Respectfully Sir, professor, daddy and teacher of nations. With dictionary in hand, I read and re-read your “And Now, The Ecumenical City Of Jos?” treatise as I do all your pieces, trying to digest and appreciate its total message as best I could. I cannot say I succeeded in achieving that at the end of my last read so I plead your indulgence for whatever I may have misinterpreted.

It is a Taboo and indeed a sacrilege to dance around with broom in open in most of the ancient towns and communities in Yoruba land.

Fellow Nigerians, let me confess that I’m a great fan of Thai restaurants and whenever I’m opportuned to visit one of so many in London, I enjoy myself. The Thai cuisine is awesomely refreshing. I’m also a lover of Thai massage and wherever I come across their energetic therapists, I indulge myself. Those girls are incredibly dexterous; they tip-toe on your backbones like cats, and with uncommon tenderness make you fall into slumber and snore away sonorously as they chase out all the stress in your tendons.

Hundreds of protesters on Thursday marched to the Presidential Villa where they raised 10 questions/demands which they said they want President Goodluck Jonathan to address in connection with the over 250 girls kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14.

The Nigerian Army has denied report by a US based online medium that there was a second mutiny in Maimalari Barracks. In a statement released to that effect by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information; he noted that the story was concocted by the online media.

In all my playful attempts to pan the gimmicks of former presidential aide and Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in social media, I was advised to redirect my interest to more profitable contributions to public discourse. A politically isolated man, clearly incapable of protecting the electoral deposit of any serious people or party, he seems permanently engaged in seeking whatever might pull him even a little bit out of isolation and attract the attention of both the people and the Establishment.

One of the busiest governor in Nigeria at the moment, Kashim Shettima of Borno, has come under fierce attack and criticism over the abduction of over 200 school girls in chibok under his watch. He’s had several knocks from the apex government for allowing the school to conduct WAEC despite the students’ vulnerability to activities of the deadly and radical

The last-minute efforts by President Goodluck Jonathan to elicit the support of former president Olusegun Obasanjo ahead of the race suffered another set-back as the former leader insisted that President Jonathan should stay out of the presidential contest.

By Punch The United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Sarah Sewall, has said that corruption is hindering Nigeria’s efforts at ending   insurgency in the North-East.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National leader, APC, has described as political mischief the attempt to miss-construe his statement concerning the Oba’s in Yoruba.

Over the past few weeks, President Goodluck Jonathan and his supporters have been boasting of the president’s ability to attract international attention to fight the Boko Haram sect.

Just few days after we published a Daily Trust report that the  Boko Haram sect has opened new frontiers in Bauchi and Jigawa state, recruiting members with the aim of extending its operations and wrecking havoc on the people, the Nigeria army has moved in to tackle the insurgents in Bauchi.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday urged those who have been protesting the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, to henceforth direct their protest to the Boko Haram terrorists and not the government.

Things are definitely not well within the rank and file of the Nigerian army. Barely two weeks after soldiers at the Maimalari Barracks staged a mutiny against the then General Officer Commader, Major GenerL Ahmed Mohammed with shots fired at him, the soldiers have again staged another mutiny against the newly appointed GOC, General M.Y. Ibrahim, Sahara Reporters is reporting.

Located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and established in 1938, the Garamba National Park was in 1980 designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. But what most people across the globe easily remember about the park is the 2008 US-supported “Operation Lightning Thunder”, an unsuccessful attempt by the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) to capture or kill Mr. Joseph Kony, the Ugandan rebel leader who could easily be described as the number one terrorist in Africa. Dubbed by the media as the “Garamba Offensive”, the

Nigeria’s Special Forces from the Army’s 7th Division have sighted and narrowed the search for the more than 250 abducted Chibok schoolgirls to three camps operated by the extremist Boko Haram sect north of Kukawa at the western corridors of the Lake Chad, senior military and administration officials have said.

Former Abia State governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu yesterday said it was unfair for politicians to castigate the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that the APC’s critique of government’s policies and programmes is healthy for democracy because they offer alternative idea.

For the umpteenth time, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has linked the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), with terrorism.

I think my resignation was the only way to avoid bloodshed, as I couldn’t stand the idea of bloodshed, casualties. Eduard Shevardnadze