The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) met with the British High Commissioner, Mr. Paul Arkwright, on Wednesday 2nd May, 2018 in Abuja to solicit the support and intervention of the British Government for the setting up of Truth, Peace, and Reconciliation Commission in Nigeria.

The Christian Elders are persuaded that in order to bring healing, forgiveness and reconciliation to Nigeria, there must be Truth and Reconciliation Commission that would enable all aggrieved persons/groups express their grievances and seek redress for all acts of injustice.

The NCEF also demanded the payment of compensation to individuals and groups that have been affected in the wave of Islamic insurgencies in Nigeria.

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROTEST BY NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS AGAINST GENOCIDE PERPETRATED BY ISLAMIST BOKO HARAM AND FULANI HERDSMEN AND COMPLICITY OF PRESIDENT BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION

NOTES:

1. Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) held a Press Conference on Friday 27^th April, 2018 at the National Christian Center, Abuja, to condemn and decry the mindless bloodshed, destruction of Christian places of worship, abduction of Christian school girls, destruction of Christian communities and the apparent collaboration of Security Forces and undeniable endorsement of the Buhari Administration of the genocide.
2. Leaders of Islam in Nigeria, notably NSCIA (Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs) and JNI (Jamaatu Nasril Islamic Society) are clearly not doing enough to call their followers perpetrating this genocide to order. This suggests endorsement of the killings.

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3. Therefore, CAN is calling all Christian assemblies worldwide to observe two Sundays of National Christian Protest on 29^th April, 2018 and 6^th May, 2018. Christian assemblies that are unable to organize the protest on 29^th April should do it on 6^th May, 2018. Any Congregation that wishes to observe the Protest on the two Sundays is free to do so.
4. The protest should be restricted to areas where it is safe for Christians to observe it. Believers are required to restrict the protest to their immediate vicinity.
5. Ensure display of placards and banners. In addition, arrange adequate Media coverage.
6. All participating Congregations should download the paper presented by CAN during the Press Conference and read it during the protest. The paper can be downloaded at www.canng.org or www.csmnigeria.org
7. Christians in the Diaspora are encouraged to present copy of the Press Conference to the Government of host country. In non-English speaking countries, Nigerian Christians are encouraged to translate the text of the Press Conference into the official language and present to the host Government.
8. Christians in Diaspora are requested to impress on the host Government that the Buhari Administration is deliberately fermenting war in Nigeria the consequence of which would negatively impact Africa, Europe and the United States of America.
9. Thank you for your participation. The text of the Press Conference is below.

General Secretary

CAN

DOWNLOAD PRESS CONFERENCE TEXT

TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN)

AT THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTER, ABUJA, ON FRIDAY 27^TH APRIL, 2018 AT 12.00 NOON

ISLAMIST INSURGENTS: PUSHING NIGERIA OFF THE EDGE OF THE PRECIPICE

Gentlemen of the Press,

I welcome you all to this press conference in the precious and wonderful name of Our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ. The last press conference I addressed was in January over the state of insecurity in the country where we brought to the fore, the failure of the security agencies to rise to the challenges of ending sustained killings by the Fulani herdsmen, the Boko Haram terrorists, the armed banditry, the kidnappers and the armed robbers. These criminals have been operating with impunity, leaving a strong impression that the security architecture in Nigeria has collapsed. There is also the suspicion that the entire security system of Nigeria is compromised.

Unarguably, lawlessness and impunity are reigning supreme in Nigeria, while the country is fast heading to chaos and anomie. It has never been this bad in the country that had lived relatively peacefully since independence.

The sad angle to it is that the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari is not giving majority of Nigerians an impression of being deeply touched by the turn of events. He has been acting complacent and indeed unmoved by the reign of terror that his administration has permitted since the past three years of being the President. Most
painfully, the President seems to depend on his media aides to make responses, which often times had no bite on widespread bloodletting across the federation, most especially in the Middle Belt part of the country.

Over the past few days, Fulani herdsmen, bandits, gunmen and others had mowed
down more than 300 people in cold blood only in Benue state. On 24 April 2018, 19 people including two Catholic Priests were brutally killed in Gwer Local Government area, 25 April 2018, 23 people killed in Guma Local Government, 26 April, 2018, 27 people were killed in Logo, while on 26 April, 2018 five people were killed in Guma Local government area and the figures continues to rise by the day. This is not to talk about numerous innocent citizens that were killed in states like Adamawa, Taraba, Kogi, Plateau and others in the southern region of Nigeria.

War seems to be looming in Nigeria while the aggressors are none other than
misguided individuals who had been armed to provoke different communities into needless battles. Yet, President Buhari, who was popularly elected in 2015 has not seen the need and urgency to issue a presidential order on need to halt the killings and with stern instruction to heads of security operatives to bring perpetrators to book. The Dark Age that has come with the Administration of President Buhari in Nigeria is giving the Christians in this country a huge concern. The development is making us the leaders to shudder and ask, where lies the interest of the President, really. All the same, Mr President has his own interests, key of which is to seek re-election to remain in power beyond 2019 and continue with the reign of terror in Nigeria. It does not
matter how many Nigerians will end up as sacrificial lamb on that single ambition!

Therefore, with heavy heart and unquantifiable sorrow, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) welcomes you to this Press Conference. To say that we are sad and grieved would be an understatement at the blatant treachery, treason and unpatriotic actions of some of our fellow citizens. Our pains are multiple fold and we are baffled that in the 21^st Century, we could still have human beings whose worldview is locked in backward and retrogressive beliefs and culture.

On the one hand, we are in sorrow because we are daily bereaved of our members, Christians, who are serially murdered by Islamic insurgents. On the other hand, we are in shock and disbelief that citizens of this country, most of who went to school and are supposed to be civilized and rational human beings could blatantly legalize murder based on retrogressive worldview. Daily, Islamic religious extremists in Nigeria, backed by powerful and influential people in Government, with impunity, commit acts of treason that jeopardize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.

Since 2008, the terrorist group Boko Haram has been unleashing terror and death in Nigeria. Rather than abate, it was joined by Fulani herdsmen and recently, the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security units have collaborated with the insurgents all in a bid to promote one religion and one culture over all the other religions and cultures in Nigeria. We have discovered that the main roots of the insurgency in Nigeria are two factors:

1. The Doctrine of Hate taught in the various Mosques and Islamic Madrasas in northern Nigeria.
2. The supremacist ideology of the Fulani ethnic group.

These two factors are responsible for the river of blood that is flowing all over Nigeria. The Christian Association of Nigeria is compelled therefore, to call on all citizens of Nigeria as well as the international community to observe that Nigeria is on a free fall to disintegration.

A CATALOGUE OF MURDER AND DESTRUCTION

Time and space would not permit me to list chronologically the horrendous report of death and murder sponsored by the Islamists of northern Nigeria since the 1970s. However, it would be necessary to refresh our memory with some of the gory occurrences in recent times.

In the past few months, there have been Islamist insurgent attacks on Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Yobe, Borno, Nasarawa, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Ogun and Oyo States. The Islamists and their agents have extended their trail of blood and destruction to Bwari in Abuja and Ilorin in Kwara State. On Christmas Day, 2017, Christian community in Bwari, Abuja was attacked; several lives were lost while business locations of Christians were burnt down. All these were done with full security “protection” as it were, for the attackers, according to eye-witnesses report.  On New Year’s Day in 2018, Christians observing “watch-night” service in Ilorin were attacked and three Churches were burnt. Again, the Security Agents did not intervene until the attackers had finished their horrendous assignment.

This pattern suggests collusion of the Security Units with the Islamists militia operating under such names as Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, “unknown gunmen”, and “group of vandals”. On 17^th January, 2017, the Nigerian Air Force “accidentally”, in broad daylight, bombed a Christian IDP Camp and killed over 200 Christian refugees in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government in Borno State. In December 2017, an Air Force spokes person confirmed that the Nigerian Air Force sent an Alpha Jet and an EC 135 attack Helicopter to fire “warning” shots at Islamist militia attacking Christians in Numan, Adamawa, but not to kill them! The villagers were later to report that the Jet actually bombed the Christian villages resulting in the death of over 50 people, while, the Nigerian Air Force said it merely fired warning shots at the Islamist militia attacking the villagers. 

Twice in 2018, the Benue State Government has conducted mass burials publicly. The Government of Taraba state has had to publicly denounce the Nigerian military of colluding with insurgents to attack Christians in Taraba State. The situation became so tense that Elder Statesman, General T. Y. Danjuma publicly called on Nigerians to defend themselves as it is clear the Security Unity are incapable of doing so.

As these attacks are going on, school girls in Chibok and Dapchi, both in northern Nigeria were abducted. To date, four years after the abduction of mostly Christian female students in Chibok, 113 of the girls are yet to be released. A recent news report insists that 98 out of the remaining 113 girls are dead. In Dapchi, all the girls who professed Islam as religion were brought back safely by the Islamist insurgents while 15 years old Leah Sharibu, who held on to her Christian faith, remained in captivity.

On Tuesday, 24^th April, 2018, Rev. Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, with 17 members of the Catholic Church were murdered during worship service in St. Ignatius Quasi Parish Ukpor-Mbalom, Makurdi, Benue State. Again, the security forces are unable to effect any arrest.

All these are going on under the full glare of a democratically elected President who took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of Nigeria. Section 14 (2) b of the Constitution declares: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:” It is clear that the security and welfare of the people is NOT the primary purpose of this government in power.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN NIGERIA?

We affirm that JIHAD has been launched in Nigeria by Islamists of northern Nigeria. There is an intentional and deliberate agenda to impose Islam as the only religion in Nigeria and supplant the Constitution with Sharia as the source of legislation. The promoters of Islamization want to eradicate Liberal Democracy as the National Ideology and replace it with Sharia ideology. Even though the current Administration has been strenuously denying this, its actions and inactions, confirm that this is the truth. Every denial by this Administration is nothing but display of “Taqiyya”, which is approved deception in Islam.

Abukabar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, provides undeniable insight into the Islamization Agenda when he stated as follows in 2012:

“… This war is not political. It is religious. It is between Muslims and unbelievers (arna). It will stop when Islamic religion is the determinant in governance in Nigeria or, in the alternative, when all fighters are annihilated and no one is left to continue the fight. I warn all Muslims at this juncture that any Muslim who assists an unbeliever in this war should consider himself an unbeliever and should consider himself dead.”

We equally affirm that the ongoing Jihad is the continuation of the Othman Dan Fodio Jihad which was halted in 1804 by the British Colonialists. It is clear that there is a Fulani Supremacist Ideology behind the current Islamization Agenda in Nigeria. This is confirmed by the unconstitutional appointments of mostly Fulanis by the President to head nearly all units in Security as well as in Education.

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is holding two entities responsible for the large scale murder going on in Nigeria. They are as follows:

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI

President Buhari was elected on a wave of unprecedented public approval in 2015. Unfortunately, within a few weeks of his election, he started creating the impression that he was in power to serve the interests of his Fulani ethnic group only. Discerning people were quick to note that contrary to his electoral promises, he actually meant to pursue core Islamist agenda. Almost every vital appointment in Security and Education went to Muslims from the North. He did not hide his disdain for the indigenous ethnic nationalities and, at every opportunity, showed preferential treatment to the Muslim North.

Under President Buhari, the murderous Fulani herdsmen enjoyed unprecedented protection and favoritism to the extent that the herdsmen treat Nigeria as a conquered territory. Rather than arrest and prosecute the Fulani herdsmen, security forces usually manned by Muslims from the North offer them protection as they unleash terror with impunity on the Nigerian people.

The bottom line is that President Buhari failed woefully to protect Nigerians. He willfully permitted the Fulani herdsmen to operate killing people, destroying communities wholesale, destroying farmlands and turning the entire Middle Belt into “killing fields”, all the while enjoying government protection from counter attack, arrest or prosecution.

By failing to curb the attacks of the Fulani herdsmen President Buhari has failed to uphold Section 14, (2)b in the Constitution that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:” 

Through his partial, sectional and discriminatory appointments, particularly in Security and Education, President Buhari violated Section 14, Para. 3 “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

MIYETTI ALLAH CATTLE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is supposed to be a business group much like many other businesses and professional groups in the country. However, the MACBAN differs from any other business group in that it combines bloodshed with enterprise.

The Fulani herdsmen are clearly associated with MACBAN and the officials of MACBAN are noted to make very inciting statements before and after the Fulani herdsmen attack vulnerable communities. In the recent attacks on Benue State, the President of Benue Branch of Miyetti Allah, Garus Gololo said they attacked the communities because 1,000 of their cows were stolen. Even if it was true that cows were stolen, who constituted Miyetti Allah into law enforcement agency, judge and jury to commit wholesale murder?

In another account, Miyetti Allah called a Press Conference in which it stated it would not abide with the anti-open grazing law of Benue State Government. The Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Government, Terve Akase believes that the attacks on Benue State on 1^st and 2^nd January, 2018 were in reaction to the grazing law enacted by the Benue State Government.

Miyetti Allah has openly rejected anti-open grazing bills in Taraba, Plateau and Benue States. In May 2017, the National President of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo and the National Secretary Engineer Saleh Alhassan openly declared at a Press Conference that the introduction of anti-open grazing bill in some states is a recipe for anarchy. Are we now to conclude that a business group has supremacy over State Governments?

In view of the foregoing, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on behalf of all Christians in Nigeria who collectively constitute well above 50% of the population of this country, resolves as follows:

1. In very strong terms, CAN condemn the inability of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration to curb and stop the murderous activities of Islamic insurgents in the country. Christian Association of Nigeria calls on the President of Nigeria to immediately take steps to permanently dismantle both Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.
2. CAN also condemns in equally strong terms the violation of the Federal Character Principle in appointments in Security and Education by the Buhari Administration and calls on the National Assembly to fulfill its mandate by reversing the appointments made by President Buhari. The supremacy of the Constitution must be upheld by the National Assembly.
3. All Christian assemblies in and outside Nigerian shall observe two Sundays of Christian Mourning and Protest on Sunday 29^th April, 2018 and Sunday 6^th May, 2018. All Christian Assemblies are required to protest round their neighborhood about the killings of Christians and also demand the immediate release of Leah Sharibu and the remaining girls from Chibok still in captivity.
4. Nigerian Christian assemblies, particularly all those in Diaspora are requested to obtain a copy of this Press Release and read it publicly on Sunday 29^th April, 2018 and on Sunday 6^th May, 2018 at all locations worldwide. All Churches are encouraged to ensure adequate media coverage.
5. The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association should be banned for promoting terror and bloodshed in the country. In addition, the officials of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association should be arrested and prosecuted for murder. By their public statements, they have confirmed that they are directly responsible for the murderous activities of the Fulani herdsmen.
6. Every Nigerian of voting age should ensure he/she is registered and obtain the Permanent Voters Card in readiness for the 2019 Election. Nigerians must vote into power a Political Party that will promote Democracy which translates to Justice, Equity, and Fairness for all.
7. CAN support the call of the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) for the setting up of Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Restructuring the nation as platforms to provide healing for the country and rebuilding trust and confidence.

God bless Nigeria.

Rev. Musa Asake, PhD.

General Secretary

Christian Association of Nigeria

Friday 27^th April, 2018

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(Protest within your Church Vicinity)

With the killing again of Catholic Faithfuls receiving Mass in a village near Makurdi yesterday (24th April, 2018) and the continuous act of bloodshed, CAN calls on all Christian Churches nationwide to stage peaceful protest within their church vicinity to say "NO" to bloodshed in Nigeria on Sunday, April 29, 2018.

Government should be called upon to perform its constitutional responsibility of protecting citizens now. No excuse should be given for this wicked act again and perpetrators must be brought to book now.

Similarly, the peaceful protest must demand for the release of Leah Sharibu, the captive of faith and the remaining Chibok girls. All people in captivity must be released without delay.

REV DR. D. C. DATIRI

President, Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

What has been the impact of the Islamic insurgency on COCIN?

The impact is unquantifiable. The destruction is unbelievable. In Borno state for instance, COCIN has lost an entire RCC. An RCC is a Regional Church Council that has a number of zones and its Local Council has lots of congregations under it. So, if you are thinking of congregations, we used to have scores of congregations that have been completely displaced and many of the members have been killed.

In terms of infrastructure, Christian properties worth billions of Naira have been destroyed.

In Borno state, we had three Regional Church Councils. The RCC in Gwoza was completely destroyed. The other two are still operating minimally because of the number of congregations that they have in Maiduguri. Unfortunately, the other congregations outside Maiduguri metropolis have been destroyed by Boko Haram.

In Bauchi state, the Tafawa Balewa Area has been under constant attacks. Even after the elections, the congregations there were attacked also. It is only the grace of God that is sustaining the brethren there.

Coming to Plateau state, communities outside Jos are being attacked almost on a daily basis. I cannot tell you how many Regional Church Councils have been decimated in these attacks. All these are communities not far from Jos. The Muslims kill Christians and destroy their properties. The media report is usually that these communities have been attacked by unknown gunmen or by Fulani herdsmen. The underlying motive is to destroy the church.

Even in Nasarawa State, we have lost no less than five congregations. When you ask who is responsible for the destruction, security officers will claim they are unknown gunmen or Fulani herdsmen. Yet, is most instances, they come dressed in military uniform. Where did the Muslim insurgents obtain the military uniform that they wear when going to destroy churches?

In Yobe, we have lost scores of churches and many of the members of our congregations have been killed.

Last week, one of our pastors was killed in Barkin Kogi. Another pastor was killed  in Wase, in Plateau state while we just heard this week that one of our pastors in Gwoza had been killed by the Muslims.

 The target of all these Islamic attacks is the church. The goal is to destroy the church so that Islam can take over.

What are the implications of these attacks on the Nigerian Church in general?

You see, COCIN is the predominant denomination here on the Plateau as well as in some parts of Bauchi state. COCIN forms probably 70% to 80% of Christians on the Plateau. So, if they succeed in destroying COCIN, they would have succeeded in eradicating a sizeable portion of the church on the Plateau. Since their goal is to wipe out Christianity in Plateau state, in their bid to overrun Nigeria with Islam, eliminating COCIN on the Plateau is tantamount to overrunning Nigeria with Islam. Plateau state is a big hurdle for the Islamists in their quest and overcoming COCIN on the Plateau is a sure sign that they have conquered Christianity in Nigeria.

So, they concentrate their forces on eradicating Christianity on the Plateau. It is only by the grace of God that we are surviving. We keep asking God for strength, wisdom, and courage. But, I must tell you, it is heartbreaking. At times I receive phone calls in the middle of the night from our members asking for help and in the background, I hear the sound of gunshots. It is tragic.

What do you suggest should be the remedy? What should the Church do?

The remedy is for the church to be united. The Nigerian church must speak with one voice and let the world know that Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen are orchestrated attacks on the church. All the Christians in Nigeria must see these attacks as intentionally designed destruction against the body of Christ in Nigeria. The unity of the church will go a long way in solving the problem.

In the midst of these attacks, compromise is still noticed amongst ministers of the gospel, even in the affected areas. What is the cause of this?

This is a serious problem in the church. As the devil is working through Boko Haram and the other insurgents from outside to destroy the church, we also notice that unsanctified ministers of the gospel also weaken the church from within.

Our approach has been to emphasize consecration and holiness for our pastors.

We have identified the problem that you mentioned and we are working very hard to make sure that in COCIN, such compromise amongst the ministers of the gospel is eliminated. Of course, you will understand that in this matter, I can only speak for COCIN.

What message would you like to convey to other Christians, particularly in the South?

I have mentioned unity of the church. The Nigerian church must unite to confront this evil agenda to eradicate Christianity in the country. Added to this is the need for intensive prayers and intercession, particularly for the Christians in the North.

One important area in which we appeal for the support of Christians nationwide is meeting the needs of the victims of these attacks. In most instances, those who survive are often impoverished. Every means of livelihood is intentionally destroyed by these rampaging forces. Their homes are burnt to the ground, their properties are burnt, their food is destroyed and even their farmland is destroyed. The Fulani herdsmen intentionally go to the farms and destroy the food crops. The aim is to impoverish the people, destroy their economy so that they can dominate and control them.

There is a great need for material and financial support for the brethren undergoing these persecutions. They need clothes, foods, medical treatment and so on.

Is there a political reason for this?

This is one area where many Nigerian Christians are deceived, thinking that Islam separates politics from religion. For the Muslim, there is no separation between politics, religion, commerce, and whatever other area you might mention. So, when a Muslim attacks the church, he has no political or economic barrier.

The underlying factor is that the Muslims in northern Nigeria believe that they are born to rule and dominate every other person in Nigeria. To them, everything is the same — religion, politics, commerce, and so on. So, if you do not practise the religion that they believe in, then you imply that you are not under their control and they will fight that.

The only thing that will save the church is for us to be united. If the Nigerian church can unite, they will stop these Islamic attacks.

Finally, sir, do you have a word for the Nigerian Christians?

I think that the biggest problem Nigerian Christians have is that for many of us, we lack genuine Christian conviction. For many Nigerian Christians, their faith is superficial, it is only on the surface. We need to develop deep faith and the way we can easily do that is to pay attention to Biblical discipleship.

If we cultivate genuine Christian conviction, our problems will melt away.

BY THE SUN NEWSPAPER ON MAY 2, 2015

Frontline nationalist, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai is not exactly comfortable with the dynamics of the just con­cluded general elections. The elder statesman, in his characteristic bluntness, laments on the role of religion and ethnicity in the defeat of President Goodluck Jona­than. He is deeply worried that the fallout of the 2015 presidential election might result in negative consequences for the unity of Nige­ria. In this interview with DESMOND MG­BOH in Kano, he also spoke on the expecta­tions of Nigerians from the in-coming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari and the place of President Jonathan in the nation’s history books. Excerpts:

In less than a month from now, Nigerians will usher in a new government. As an elder states­man, what is your advice to the incoming admin­istration?

As everybody knows, the main agenda of the new admin­istration is to fight corruption, to deal with the security sit­uation, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency, rescue the Chibok girls and deal with unemployment. These are the priority areas in terms of their policy objectives. It is, there­fore, the expectation of every Nigerian that these three issues would be the main areas of their attention. I think that after taking over power, these areas would be the yardstick by which the people would pass judgment on them. I think that after the first six months or thereabouts, Nigerians would be in a position to judge whether the new administration would be in a position to fulfill the promises they made to the public or not.

In the face of the dwindling global economy and the fall in Nigeria’s oil revenue, do you see the new administra­tion realising the promises it made during electioneering?

Well, I can see the problems posed by the fall in the national wealth. But I think somebody raised this same ques­tion to one of the leading figures of the APC and the answer he got was that the money they are going to save from fighting corruption in the system would be enough for them to kickstart their programmes. He said that they would reduce spending; they would reduce waste; that this waste would be divert­ed to the implementation of their pro­grammes.

But considering that some of the people associated with the incoming government are them­selves accused of corruption or have corruption charges hanging on them, how much faith should we commit in their pledges to fight and stand against corrup­tion?

Certainly, I can tell you that there are many people who are skeptical about the ability of the new government to tackle the problems of corruption in this country, precisely because of the num­ber of individuals that are instrumental in the bringing about of the new admin­istration into place who themselves are super rich without any justification. The worry of Nigerians is that, how is the administration going to handle the cases of such personalities?

Again, the electoral promises of the new party apparently sound­ed so lofty. It appears to disre­gard the current recession that is sweeping across the globe. Do you share the same fears?

Everybody familiar with the global political economy would have the feel­ing that the global economic situation today is not ideal for any government to embark on costly projects. But I be­lieve that they must have done their homework before coming out with their promises. I believe that they must have done their homework.

Despite the efforts of President Jonathan to seek the friendship of the core North by extending a reasonable size of projects to them, he was hated, hunted and turned down by these same peo­ple during the presidential elec­tion. What exactly happened?

Well, the people (core North) have been incited against Jonathan a long time ago. Even the educated ones were not fair in relating to his achievements in the region. They had made up their minds that Jonathan is anti-North. And whatever he has done, he remained an­ti-North. The fact that he sited nine of 12 new universities in the North in order to assist in bridging the educational gap that exists between the North and the rest of the country did not matter. The fact that he introduced the Almajiri schools which would reduce the number of young peo­ple who go about doing nothing but beg­ging also never counted to them.

In fact, somebody this morning, as we were discussing Jonathan, insisted that Jonathan was only busy sacking North­erners from federal establishments. But when I looked at the number of ministers and northerners in key positions, I real­ised that this very influential individual, who should know better, had made up his mind not to be objective about the issue. He was not prepared to listen to anybody. So, some people had made up their minds. The fact remains that there was this high level conspiracy against Jonathan, such that whatever he does, it would have been very difficult to con­vince people to abandon their already concluded opinion about him.

For instance, I was made to understand that a number of the members of the tra­ditional institution and influential clerics and university people, they all ganged up to spread one form of propaganda or the other against him (Jonathan). And this propaganda has already gone down deep into the minds of the people. The Friday before the presidential election, virtually all the imams in the North made a simple appeal to their congregations that when they go out the following day to cast their votes, they should make sure that they did not cast their votes in favor of an infidel. Just in one or two words, the campaign was finished. So, the follow­ing day everybody was charged to go and vote against an infidel. Who was that in­fidel? Jonathan. Even the Friday after the election, I attended a mosque where the imam was offering thanksgiving prayers to God for getting rid of an infidel.

Still, on this topic, what about the PDP members who also failed to rise up to defend their own and their party?

That is not my problem today. My prob­lem is that we in the far North have acted out the script of Gideon Orkar. We have opted out of the mainstream of Nigerian politics and I am waiting for the time to come when we would realise the conse­quences of our action.

When you say that you people have acted out the script of Gideon Orkar, what exactly do you mean?

Let me put it this way. This country is a country which is equally divided between Christians and Muslims. Where a Muslim would not vote for somebody because he is a Christian, then there is a problem. It may not appear immediately but there is a long time predicament that would one day appear because when someday it is the turn of a Christian to vote for a Mus­lim, surely this thing happening today would boomerang.

So, you foresee a future where the country would naturally be torn between Christians and Mus­lims…?

(cuts in) This is my fear. It is not only a divide between Christians and Muslims, but also a divide between the North and the South, and that would not augur well for the political future of this country.

There is this funny outcome that has played out so far. Some PDP leaders who declined to cam­paign for Jonathan have been losing their states or losing their strongholds like what we have seen in Kano, Jigawa and a num­ber of the North West States. What is your take?

Well, the bandwagon effect was so monumental that little campaign here and there would not make much differ­ence. The campaign against Jonathan has gone far before most people understood that it was beyond the capacity of a few individuals to change the direction of the mind of the people. I hope you under­stand.

But some of the members of his political group played games with him?

Yes, there is this feeling that quite a number of PDP members and leaders here did not work hard enough for Jona­than. But what they did not understand is that in politics, if you ask your supporters to vote for your opponent for whatever reason; when they go to vote for your opponent, if you are not careful, they are gone forever. And this is what happened to all of them.

Looking at the future, do you think the PDP would survive this defeat and return to a position of reckoning in the country again?

Well, you are in Nigeria, when the lo­cal government elections took place in 1999. At that time, APP and PDP were neck to neck. And the moment, the mil­itary government decided to back the PDP to win the local government elec­tions, people from APP started to troop out of the party into the PDP. And this is what happened. At the end, when the state elections took place, APP was only able to get nine governors in addition to the six governors of the AD. This is about the same scenario that is repeating itself. So, it depends on those who are going to run the affairs of the PDP from now till 2019. What would be their strategy? The tendency in Nigeria is that if you are in government and people are not getting what they wanted from you, then tomor­row they would start conspiring against you. Let us wait and see how the new administration would be able to meet the aspirations of the generality of Nigerians. That would dictate the survival or resur­gence of the PDP in the future.

It is speculated that Chief Oluse­gun Obasanjo is already lobbying to nominate some ministers into the Buhari administration. Is Bu­hari politically safe working with people like Obasanjo?

If people report that Obasanjo is having his eyes on some particular ministries, I will not be surprised. Because this is ex­actly why he quarreled with the late Yar Adua. It is also the reason he quarreled with President Jonathan. By his own mantra, he would like to dictate to who­ever emerges as the president through his own facilitation. And he would like to see that whatever he wanted is what is done. The moment you fail to do what he wants, then he would start a fight with you. I would like to believe the specula­tion that Obasanjo has already earmarked some ministerial positions that he would want to be reserved for his nominees. If that is true and his candidates were not picked; then that would surely be the be­ginning of his quarrel with General Bu­hari.

What is the place of President Jonathan in history? Where do you think he would find himself at the end of all this?

From the point of view of his service to the nation, I think that one remarkable thing is that even though he was defeat­ed by the smallest margin in the history of presidential elections in Nigeria, he accepted the defeat and he did not go to court. In other cases of presidential election results, the margin was in the re­gion of 10 million and yet people went to court to challenge the outcome. In this case, the margin was just 2.5 million and he accepted defeat. He will go down in history as the president, who accepted defeat as a result of which so many lives were saved in this country, and in fact, a president who saved the nation. Because, if he had not accepted defeat at the time he did, and people had started killing one another, by now we will not be having this interview in my house, today.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=117430

FP: Vijay Kumar, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

You are one of the rare individuals running for office in America who is actually making the issue of Islamic Jihad a significant part of your campaign. Tell us your view of Islamic Jihad and the background you have to make you see it the way you do.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The multi-dimensional, yet integral foundation of language of Conflict and Resolution are biological, social, cultural, psychological, philosophical; in the bid to meet our Basic Human Needs, plus the efforts to influence either for good or evil and goodwill and selfishness. It is evident and worrisome that we as a nation are confronted with wide range of conflicts and resolution challenges. We may not be fighting a physical enemy, but there is certainly a war on. This keynote would therefore revolve around our reason for gathering this morning, which is to flag off the LAN Conference on Language, Literature, Governance and Conflict Resolution. Conflict is an unavoidably integral part of communal existence. Its unfolding is certain but its resolution could be amicable. Conflicts generally unfold, but may I state that majorly, basic use of choice of language and choice of words, to a very large extent could actually douse the embers of its fire.

Concerned Citizen

Below are forty-one promises contained in the APC Manifesto as published by the party prior to the Presidential election.

The promises below are extracted from the two official documents released by APC as their Manifesto titled ‘Securing Nigeria’s Future’ and ‘Roadmap to a New Nigeria’, all published by the APC and signed by the then Presidential aspirant, now President Muhammadu Buhari. Please note that some of the promises that do not require funds to be implemented are even yet to even be initiated.

The following prayer is to be done in understanding and in the Spirit for at about thirty minutes or for as long as the Lord keeps the burden of prayer in your heart.

We are to pray that every single jihadist sent into various parts of Nigeria to lie in wait for a war against the Church will be arrested in their whole numbers for judgement by fire and for conversion to faith in Christ for those who repent in Jesus Name.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The multi-dimensional, yet integral foundation of language of Conflict and Resolution are biological, social, cultural, psychological, philosophical; in the bid to meet our Basic Human Needs, plus the efforts to influence either for good or evil and goodwill and selfishness. It is evident and worrisome that we as a nation are confronted with wide range of conflicts and resolution challenges. We may not be fighting a physical enemy, but there is certainly a war on. This keynote would therefore revolve around our reason for gathering this morning, which is to flag off the LAN Conference on Language, Literature, Governance and Conflict Resolution. Conflict is an unavoidably integral part of communal existence. Its unfolding is certain but its resolution could be amicable. Conflicts generally unfold, but may I state that majorly, basic use of choice of language and choice of words, to a very large extent could actually douse the embers of its fire.

The word “Nigeria” was first defined in 1902 and, in 1905 Lady Lugard first used the word “Middle-Belt” to describe the autonomous groups existing in the defunct Northern Nigeria as “A formidable pagan strength along the course of the two rivers (Niger and Benue) … the pagan Middle-Belt stretching from 8 degrees north latitudes to the coast, was practically unknown to the early Hausa race.” Besides, there were other different ethnic nationalities that inhabited the area, which is today called Nigeria. We make bold to say that there was, therefore, no Nigeria before 1900. 

Speech by Chief Obafemi Awolowo made to the Western leaders of thought, in Ibadan, 1 May 1967. (quoted in "Crisis and Conflict in Nigeria (Volume 1), January 1966-July 1971" by A. H. M. Kirk-Greene. )

The aim of a leader should be the welfare of the people whom he leads. I have used 'welfare' to denote the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the people. With this aim fixed unflinchingly and unchangeably before my eyes, I consider it my duty to Yoruba people in particular and to Nigerians in general, to place four imperatives before you this morning.