Politics
Big business, politics behind B’Haram – Atiku *Even in Sambisa, terrorists can’t hide successfully
“Everything is there. Politics is there, business is there, security, everything. Of course, the solution is leadership, strong leadership to deal with all these interest groups within the military and outside the military.”
This was the response of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as he weighed in on the persistent menace of Boko Haram in the North East, saying he was puzzled that the group had not been rooted out till now, especially with the reasons being given for the failure.
The former Vice President of Nigeria, stressed that unless he would discover other reasons, what he got from the security agencies fighting the menace was not enough, being conversant with the entire area as an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), because there was virtually nowhere for the terrorists could successfully hide in the entire area.
Atiku, who spoke on The People’s Townhall, a political platform organised by Channels Television, while taking questions on the how he would deal with the current high-rate insecurity in the country, including agitations by separatist groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He said: “I served in Borno state and as a customs officer, I was patrolling the entire north-east. So, I am very conversant with the vegetation and with the border areas. I still cannot find a place in the Borno area where anybody can hide and cannot be seen.
“I honestly cannot understand the Boko Haram phenomenon. Where is the place to hide? To the extent that they said there’s a place called Sambisa. I’ve been there. I didn’t see a forest. It’s just shrubs here and there.
“We have deployed the Nigerian military, which used to be one of the best in the world, in a number of international arenas, and they have excelled. And here we are deploying the Nigerian Army with all its might, and we just couldn’t eliminate Boko Haram. I am puzzled. Maybe when I get there, I will understand.”
While urging the South East to reach out to other parts of the country for solution to their political crisis in the area, which he reasoned was at the root of the IPOB agitation, Atiku said: “The IPOB issue, as far as I am concerned, is a fight for the realisation of Biafra. Is it possible for Biafra to be realised today? How will it be achieved? Is it by negotiations or do we need another civil war, which we can’t afford?
“So, I believe we will negotiate with the agitators from the South East as far as the issue of IPOB is concerned. We believe that what they need is more autonomy as far as their sovereignty is concerned and that’s why we propose the restructuring of the country, which will mean devolution of more powers to the federating units.
“After all, there was Eastern Nigeria in the First Republic and they developed at their own pace and with their own resources, so I see no reason why a middle of the road solution should not solve the agitations.”
The former VP, who described himself as widely travelled, while stressing further on his mechanism for solving the seemingly hydra-headed security problems Nigeria has been experiencing for more than a decade now, said he would adopt the security architecture of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of throwing a security cordon on the polity, without physical harassment of the people.
Hear him: “I have been to several parts of the world. One of the security architectures that I admire is the UAE security architecture. It is primarily based on monitoring. You don’t see policeman in uniform in UAE; you don’t see soldiers. But eventually everybody’s being monitored on a daily basis and particularly if you’re a visitor.
“From the moment you step into the country and go out, you are being watched. That is the deployment of technology as far as security is concerned. We have to look at the current security structure. How do we reform it to ensure that we give people the most secure environment wherever they may be?”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
For Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s 14th leader, and the third President since 1999, the road is now clear, should he be interested to make a comeback to reclaim the office he lost to the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
This is on the strength of a decision by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which hours ago, threw out a suit challenging the eligibility of the former President to make a go at the nation’s number one job, including that of 2027.
Peter Lifu, on Tuesday, held that JohnMary Jideobi, the plaintiff, who pursued the case of stopping the ex-President, lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having not suffered any loss from Jonathan’s perceived intention to vie in next year’s poll.
(AGF).
Lifu not only dismissed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, where Jideobi had prayed the court for an order restraining Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, but slammed him with a N20 million fine to be paid in favour of the ex-president, and N1million fine against in favour of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Against the backdrop of Jideobi’s argument was that Jonathan, having completed the tenure of the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later served a full term after the 2011 elections, he had exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms in office, Lifu described it as a waste of time.
He also dismissed the plea that the court should restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate in the 2027 elections or any future presidential poll, insisting that the matter had earlier been litigated upon with a judicial pronouncement made on it.
Referring to the decision of a Federal High Court, Yenagoa which had previously dealt with a similar matter and the concurrence of the Court of Appeal, affirming Jonathan’s eligibility, Lifu, who earlier refused to recuse himself from the matter, said he was bound by both, dismissed the latest attempt as “an abuse of court process.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, virtually poured cold water on the burning issue of Goodluck Jonathan, for Nigerian President making a bid for the office he lost in 2915 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi, who is also making another bid for the same office for the second time, told reporters on Tuesday, shortly getting a letter of clearance from the Nigerian Democratic Congress though he was not aware that the former President was contesting, he was in no position to obstruct the move as political choices were the rights of individuals to make.
Against the revelation by Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of Nemadi Sambo, Jonathan’s Vice President and currently in charge of the presidential screening of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi told the reporters at the NDC National Secretariat in Abuja: “Actually, I’m not aware of that. But democracy is about people offering themselves for service and being voted for.
“I’m not in any way going around looking for who and who is contesting. I’m concentrating on how to build a better Nigeria.”
But he was quick to marshal out his plans for the country, declaring that under his presidency, Nigerians would be freed from daily lamentations coming from the parlous situation the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Tinubu had plunged the country.
Hear him: “This I will do by first uniting the country because it’s not a united country. We have to govern the country by the Constitution of Nigeria, which stipulates federal character and inclusivity. The country must be united. The country must be secure.
“We want to see mothers no longer fear when their children go to school or work. We also want a country where we can travel all over Nigeria without fear. So many Nigerians today go to bed not knowing where the next meal will come from tomorrow. That must change.
“We must live in a country where people do not turn public assets and public wealth into private assets. So we must fight corruption to a standstill and make it work for everybody. Politicians are preoccupied with the next election when Nigerians are dying. That must stop.”
He also took time to explain the reason for the two-hour stretch of drilling during the screening. Saying: “This is democracy in action because NDC chooses to do things properly. So when we say this is going to be screening, it has to be done right.
“Nigerians want to know whether you meet the stipulated constitutional qualification and provide relevant documents to back them.
“This is the way to know whether everything you have said or declared is the truth and if you can answer questions posed about your commitment to building a united, secure and prosperous Nigeria. That’s why the screening took over two hours.”
Regarding his status as a sole candidate, Obi, who was accompanied by Victor Umeh, a long time ally and Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, said: “I don’t know who else has bought. So until the party says I’m the only one who expressed interest, that’s it.”
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