I Pulled-off This Dirty Uniform And Fled – Soldier Speaks

While speaking in an exclusive interview with TheCable, one of the soldiers who escaped the deadly attack on the military formation in Metele in Borno state, narrated how he escaped.

Meanwhile the operative of the Nigerian Army who spoke off the record, said more than 100 of his colleagues fled the attack, and accused the military authorities of lying to the public about the insurgency in the north-east, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to act.
He said: “Most of our people dropped their arms and pulled off this dirty uniform… the bodies of our troops littered everywhere but we watched the news and heard army headquarters saying troops repelled the attack.
“The army chief and other generals only sit in Abuja and lie to Nigerians whereas soldiers are being killed on daily basis. We lack manpower but nobody is telling the president the truth.
 However, an officer among the troop attacked at Metele told a foreign News platform, Reuters, that “the insurgents took us unawares. We lost about 100 soldiers. It is a huge loss.”
The former military boss blamed the brutal attack on information leakage and said: “the military needs to look at information that leads to intelligence.”
You cannot afford to allow your information to leak. A lot of information is leaking, it is the information you turn into intelligence,” Wahab said.
Wahab also advised the Nigerian Government to provide the troops with efficient equipments and motivate troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast.
“We need to reassess. Is the equipment okay? Are the troops motivated? If the will to fight is not there, it behoves disaster because you must continuously motivate them.” Wahab said.
“Whether you like it or not, a lot of issues are involved. And it is not the only military because there is no military solution to this. You need to also look at the political issue, the economic and sociological perspectives,” he added.
He, therefore, affirmed that attention should be diverted from men rather the women should be enlightened to talk their kids out of joining the terrorist group.

Women should be involved to limit terrorism in Nigeria – former Army Chief

A former Chief of Army Administration, Major-General Garba Wahab (retired), has stated that women have a major role to play in ending insurgency in Nigeria.
“Is the strategy being used working? are we getting more women in the Northeast especially in Borno to get involved because we need to look at basics of life in that area,” Wahab said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday
“If we get in the mothers it is possible for them to talk to their kids that look you can’t afford to join these organisations,” he added.
This is coming after reports in the country revealed the killing of at least 44 soldiers of the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, Borno State on November 18.
 However, an officer among the troop attacked at Metele told a foreign News platform, Reuters, that “the insurgents took us unawares. We lost about 100 soldiers. It is a huge loss.”
The former military boss blamed the brutal attack on information leakage and said: “the military needs to look at information that leads to intelligence.”
You cannot afford to allow your information to leak. A lot of information is leaking, it is the information you turn into intelligence,” Wahab said.
Wahab also advised the Nigerian Government to provide the troops with efficient equipments and motivate troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast.
“We need to reassess. Is the equipment okay? Are the troops motivated? If the will to fight is not there, it behoves disaster because you must continuously motivate them.” Wahab said.
“Whether you like it or not, a lot of issues are involved. And it is not the only military because there is no military solution to this. You need to also look at the political issue, the economic and sociological perspectives,” he added.
He, therefore, affirmed that attention should be diverted from men rather the women should be enlightened to talk their kids out of joining the terrorist group.

Source: The Guardian

Buhari Mourns Renowned Poet, Oke

Ikeogu Oke

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his grief over the passing of one of Nigeria’s renowned poet and winner of the 2017 NLNG-sponsored Nigerian Prize for Literature, Ikeogu Oke.

President Buhari, in a message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, extends heartfelt condolences to the Oke family and the literary and creative community on the painful demise of the award-winning poet.

The president affirmed that as an author, journalist and poet, Oke exuded vibrancy, intelligence and innovation in his works as a social commentator, constantly in search of plausible answers and solutions to contemporary issues bedevilling his society.

Through his poetry, the president believes that Oke enriched Nigeria’s literary genre and his legacy will live on in his works, which he was incredibly proud of and committed to, as he wrote in his epic Epitaph: ‘‘Here lies a man who loved virtue and art, And gave to both his fortunes and his heart…’’

The president encourages all Nigerians, the literary community and lovers of art to honour Oke’s memory by imbibing the didactic message of his works.

He prays God to console all who mourn the departed poet and grant the soul of the departed eternal rest.

Source: This Day

2019: We Support neither Buhari nor Atiku, Says Britain

The British Government has clarified that it will maintain neutrality as Nigerians go to the polls in 2019 to elect a new president.

This is as international agencies in conjunction with local civil society organisations told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fashion out ways in which Peoples Living with Disabilities (PWDs) will easily participate in the electoral system in 2019.

 The agencies, which include British High Commission and Australian High Commission in Nigeria, British Department for International Development (DFID) and Foundation For Justice and Social Development (FOJSOD), stated that excluding the people living with disabilities from the electoral system is not in consonance with the global best practices.

Speaking at a one-day dialogue tagged: ‘Enhancing Electoral Participation of PWDs in 2019 General Election’, the Political Adviser to the country’s Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr Wale Adebajo, said the British government neither supports President Buhari nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other candidate in the election.

Adebajo said the National Disability Bill that is awaiting presidential assent will help in resolving some of the issues bedevilling the group in the country.

He applauded INEC for including PWDs in its strategic plan for the 2017-2021 elections, saying the British Government and the United States Department for International Development (USAID) were favourably disposed to the action.

“When we pointed out in the Ondo governorship election the need to make the PWDs more inclusive in our elections, INEC responded positively to our response by establishing desk officers in INEC offices to take care of the PWDs. This to us was a signal of INEC’s commitment to improving access to electoral system.

“We want to clear the air that the British government is not supporting any candidate in the election. We are neutral when it comes to election in Nigeria,” he said.

Source: This Day

Presidency under fire for silence over soldiers’ death

President Buhari

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is being criticised for his silence over the killing of several soldiers in a recent attack in Metele, Borno state.
Reports in the country said terrorists on Sunday overran a Nigerian Army battalion, 157 Task Force Battalion, in the village to kill at least 44 troops.
However, an officer among the troops attacked at Metele told Reuters: “The insurgents took us unawares. We lost about 100 soldiers. It is a huge loss.”
“They killed some of us who went to evacuate the bodies of the killed soldiers,” said the officer who requested anonymity.
The attack is among the highest since Buhari came to power in 2015 and it increase the pressure on him ahead of the election in February 2019, not least because he has claimed victory over the nine-year insurgency.

Although the Senate after four days, on Thursday, shut its legislative activities to honour the fallen soldiers, neither the president nor the Nigerian Army has reacted to the loss.
The silence of the Buhari and the Nigerian Army has drawn widespread condemnation on the social media.
“Buhari’s govt was quick to react to Jonathan’s book, silent on the soldiers killed by Boko Haram… Fact is: Buhari and his men are more interested in retaining power than protecting Nigerians,” tweeted Lere Olayinka, Ayodele Fayose’s spokesperson.
A political strategist, Walter Christopher, also called the president a “shame” for his silence.
“Over 100 soldiers killed in just one week and our President and his men are acting as if nothing happened?… may God restore sanity to our land,” said Peter Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti state immidiate past governor.
Amaechi Nwokolo, a security analyst at the Roman Institute of Security Studies in Abuja, told AFP: “The whole thing (the insurgency) has been politicised.
While the country awaits the President’s reaction to the killing, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, in a video posted on his Twitter handle commiserated with the families of the slain soldiers.
 More than 27,000 people have been killed in nine years of fighting while 1.8 million others are still homeless, as aid agencies tackle the humanitarian fall-out from the conflict.

Source: The Guardian

Islamic State offshoot kills 100 in Nigeria – security sources

The course of Nigeria's war against Islamist militants has turned against the government with reports that as many as 100 soldiers have been killed by an Islamic State offshoot since Sunday, Lucy Fielder reports.
As many as a hundred Nigerian soldiers have been killed in the northeast of the country since Sunday, November 18 with the finger of blame pointed at an Islamic State offshoot.
That information comes from five security sources, all speaking on a condition of anonymity.

Nigeria's northeast is a restive region where the government is battling Islamist militants including Islamic State West Africa and Boko Haram.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who faces an election battle in February, has repeatedly claimed to have won the war against the extremist insurgents.
That was refuted by an attack on Sunday in Metele, in Borno State.
On Thursday, the Nigerian Senate suspended its session in honour of the 44 soldiers they said had died.
Four of the anonymous security sources said around 100 had died in the Metele incident alone while the fifth said that 96 had died in Metele but also in other attacks.
Military spokesmen did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

 Source:The Guardian 

APC vs PDP: Senator Ndume predicts winner in battle between Buhari, Atiku

Sen. Ali Ndume

Sen. Ali Ndume has said that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku
Ndume, Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, made the statement at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
He said the All Progressives Congress(APC)) was not perturbed by Atiku’s emergence, adding that he was not a threat to the party in any way.
Abubakar, will be a walk-over for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general elections.
 
Sen. Ali Ndume has said that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, will be a walk-over for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general elections.

Ndume, Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, made the statement at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
He said the All Progressives Congress(APC)) was not perturbed by Atiku’s emergence, adding that he was not a threat to the party in any way.

According to him, the records are there for Nigerians to judge.
“Next election is a walk-over with Atiku.
“WAtiku was our Vice President for eight years and he was one of the most powerful vice presidents we ever had and we know what he did.
“He was under former President Obasanjo and in his book “Under My Watch”, he voluntarily described who the Presidential candidate is.
“We all know where we were and where we are now. Had it been they are presenting a new person, someone that Nigerians do not know, that may have been a threat but with Atiku, no way.
“Let us analyse it. North West is where the president comes from and we are banking on our highest votes there and if you go to any part of the North West, you will realise that his popularity is unprecedented.
“Then if you go to North East, Buhari is a moral obligation,” he said.
He expressed disappointment that Atiku, in spite of coming from the North East, there was no record of him sending relief materials to people displaced by Boko Haram.
“We have to vote for him (Buhari) because we know where we were with the government of PDP in my state, including my local government, my town and even my house were taken over by Boko Haram.
“It was the government of President Muhammadu Buhari that salvaged the situation and now my people are back to our local government.
“Those that are trying to take over from him or compete with him were there before.
“Atiku was the vice president and one of the richest Nigerians ever, but I cannot remember Atiku taking even a bag of rice to our people that are suffering in Borno and he wants to be our president.
“For me, this election is between Nigerians and the Nigerian corrupt.
“Atiku’s background is known. All the show of money from him, Saraki and others is what they got from politics, people’s money,” he said.
On fears that election campaign might be marred by violence, Ndume said APC would not be part of such.
He added that President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the National Chairman of the party, had admonished party faithful to shun violence, name calling but to focus on issues.
“Yesterday (Sunday) when the `Next Level’ was launched by our presidential candidate and the president of the country, he specifically said we should go on with the campaign decently.
“That means no name calling, no insult, but concentrate on issues and during our convention, our chairman clearly stated that our campaign is going to be different.
“This is the first time APC government is campaigning for the second tenure so we want to campaign on issues and ideas.
“We do not want to campaign on personalities and we do not want to be involved in name calling as PDP is desperately trying to do.
“We will not join issues with them. They can only fight themselves,” he said.e were anxious when PDP was to organise their primaries but when Atiku emerged, we were glad for so many reasons.

Saraki will be buried politically

Adams Oshiomhole

 POLITICS – Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says Senate President Bukola Saraki will be “buried politically” by February 2019.

Base on report, he said this in reaction to the APC’s victory in the bye-election conducted on Saturday in Kwara, the senate president’s home state.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja, the APC chairman said: “They went on to say that Oshiomhole should vacate office, that I have no moral right to morality.
“Now in his own case, the people of Kwara wouldn’t give him the honour of resigning. They are going to politically bury him come February next year and he has seen the first warning signal.
“They dug the first one-metre grave, then come February next year, senator Saraki will be retired by the great people of Kwara state whom he has mismanaged their political and economic life over the years.”
 He mocked Saraki for being unable to help his party win the bye-election despite being the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Here is a native doctor who busy going to another state but unable to heal is own people in his own state. That defeat in Kwara is more outstanding,” Oshiomhole said.
The former Edo governor said since the inception of the national working committee of the APC which he heads, the party has not lost any major election.
He said: “We reviewed the recent elections and we are proud to be able to say that since the new national working committee was elected on the 24th of June 2018, since I came on board along with my brothers and sisters of NWC, we are proud that we have not lost any major election.
“We have done rerun election in Katsina and we have won twice. We did another one Saturday and we won again. We had a rerun in Bauchi for senate, we won.
“But even more outstanding for me and APC is the humiliating defeat that Senator Bukola Saraki suffered in the hands of Kwara people who are determined to dismantle his failed attempt to install his own variants of a political culture in which he is the only constant decimal.”

‘Saraki Must Go!’ NOW – Adams Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole

Latest report as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole has said Senate President Bukola’s Saraki’s continued stay in office is unacceptable to the party.

Meanwhile the APC national chairman also said it would be strange if the ruling party is experiencing “graveyard peace,” against the backdrop of recent events in APC.
Oshiomhole said these when he appeared on Arise Television, yesterday and added that the APC is prone to controversies because it is a large party.
 Last week, the party chairman was detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) and grilled for nine hours after some governors alleged that he received bribes during the party’s primary elections across the country.

In his reaction, Oshiomhole said although the aggrieved members were allowed to grumble but the party has moved on and has put in place internal procedures for reconciliation.
“We have finished our primaries and we have submitted names to INEC and there are internal procedures for reconciliation and we are working on them.
“We are a large governing party and it will only be strange if we are having graveyard peace. People are allowed to grumble and grumbling is allowed. We should move on and find solutions.”
Asked whether the party still has plans to remove Saraki, he replied: “I think it’s about morality.
“We just had an election in the US. The democrats won more members in the congress. Without much ado, the leadership of the House changed. This question didn’t have to arise. Saraki belongs to a minority party; as it stands, today, in the senate.
“The truth about democracy is that it’s a game of numbers. It’s unacceptable that minority provides leadership over majority.”

EFCC Has Become A Department In APC – Governor Cried Out

Gov Samuel Ortom

 Report have it that Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday, alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had become a department in the APC.

Ortom who defected from APC to PDP in July, said this during the swearing-in ceremony for nine new commissioners who replaced those sacked in August. According to governor Ortom, the anti-graft agency is now doing only the bidding of its paymasters, the APC government.
Ortom said he would not succumb to any intimidation by the EFCC.
 “Despite intimidation from the EFCC that has become a department in APC, we are not going to be intimidated. In the past few months, civil servants working with me are being troubled for no just cause. Once you decamp from APC, EFCC comes after you. Fighting corruption should not be selective.” he said

He said the EFCC had been on the heels of members of a committee for the burial of the late Tor Tiv following the sum of N120 million used for “the burial and settling of the deceased family.”
The governor said:
”if we do anything wrong we are ready to face the law. But we will not succumb to intimidation.”