Memo to President-elect Buhari (1)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIx9suayZk9dizb9RvAGOXLGvuocT8S9b8YFazd-OFLEklkUwoiayIqZUj5Y2eA1ZEEaG9MoPcniBqbDtvH8aZsjvzoy4G8vZ_6jQcYkBd95g2GaOjA0lTnE2hZA6ZJGtFCACF43uLOkKs/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIx9suayZk9dizb9RvAGOXLGvuocT8S9b8YFazd-OFLEklkUwoiayIqZUj5Y2eA1ZEEaG9MoPcniBqbDtvH8aZsjvzoy4G8vZ_6jQcYkBd95g2GaOjA0lTnE2hZA6ZJGtFCACF43uLOkKs/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" /></a></div> I am certain you have not shaken off the fatigue brought to bear on you by the strenuousness of campaigns. Traversing every nook and cranny of our great country is no mean task. And for you, this is the fourth time you have done it. The first was in 2003, the second 2007, the third 2011 and the fourth 2015. I am sure in all your travels you bore one thing in mind: the eagerness to witness firsthand the sufferings of Nigerians, which had been the major propeller of your presidential aspiration. Contrary to the negative press you proved your detractors wrong by pulling through the rigours of electioneering without disap­pointment.<br /> <br /> You could recall I passed the same way in 2007 when I ran for the presidency. I knew what I saw and experienced. Nigeria indeed is a very huge country in every respect. Those who refer to it as the most populous black nation in the world are absolutely right. Nigeria is larger than many people had estimated. It is a very expansive, beauti­ful and rich country in all ramifications. Its weather is almost clement all through the year, with an excellent soil for cropping – in season and out of season. Going round the country and interacting with its peoples gave me enormous relief, and unburdened my heart of some of the prejudices I had always harboured.<br /> <br /> I know you feel exactly the way I do, though there could be some variances here and there.<br /> <br /> The results showed that I came third in that election (in terms of majority votes polled and states won). I have never regret­ted ever embarking on the adventure in the first place, because it has made me a better Nigerian, more compassionate and realistic about the sufferings of the rural people.<br /> <br /> Let me make it very clear that the reason I threw my hat into the ring for the presiden­tial race in 2007 was borne out of a burn­ing desire to right the wrongs of our nation and build a society in which every Nigerian would be free to express himself, live in any part of the country without let or hin­drance, get justice without prejudice, experi­ence equality in the distribution of national wealth and be protected.<br /> <br /> The era between 1999 and 2015 would go down in history as the most dramatic for Nigerians. It was a period characterised by mixed fortunes. Despite the efforts of subsequent administrations to address the many ills of our country not much has been achieved, except for a few giant strides made by the Goodluck Jonathan Administration.<br /> <br /> To be honest with you, many Nigerians received the news of your emergence as the presidential candidate of the All Progres­sives’ Congress (APC) with apprehension as a result of the information fed to them about you on the social media. But those of us who knew you very well knew that you were not exactly what the media painted you. I know that you are a martinet, no-nonsense general, with a stickling appetite for excellence.<br /> <br /> I have not forgotten how flexible and firm you could be. You exhibited this much when I brokered a peace meeting between you and former President Ibrahim Baban­gida and now late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in my Igbere country home during my tenure as the governor of Abia State. That meeting, which lasted two days, showed your real person. You were down-to-earth, dispassionate, articulate, and sagacious. Even when the situation be­came somewhat misty you were calm and calculated. You had your eyes fixed on the achievement of the purpose for the get-to­gether. In the end everybody was happy and satisfied.<br /> <br /> Though we have not seen too many times thereafter your personality and generosity of heart still loom large in my sub –conscious­ness. Without any equivocation, I wish to state that I had been praying silently in my heart that God would one day bring a man like you to sit in the saddle and steer the ship of state. The prayer has nothing to do with party affiliation or any primordial sen­timents. It was borne purely out of personal conviction that a man of your stature and character is who we need at this critical time.<br /> <br /> When the APC held its national conven­tion to elect its presidential standard-bearer the fight was strictly between you and Atiku Abubakar. Many of my associates in your party preferred you to other candidates and told me so. But deep in my heart I was won­dering how your choice as candidate would affect the chances of our party’s candidate Goodluck Jonathan in the elections. That was when my apprehension grew.<br /> <br /> Your style of campaign and the tacitur­nity you showed while it lasted were vintage you. I must confess that only a few other Ni­gerians could have maintained their cool in the face of mounting hate campaigns such as were staged against you. It got to a point that I started asking if at all you had a strong media team and, if at all you had one, why it was not returning fire for fire. Neverthe­less, beneath the veil, I saw the sagacity and urbaneness of a man ready to move Nigeria to another level by leading by example. All the beautiful things people have said about you would have been counterproductive if you had run your campaigns the same way the opposing camp did.<br /> <br /> If not for your diplomacy and tact, the pol­ity would have ordinarily been overheated. So, if I am asked I would say you were the first to demonstrate a sincere desire to make peace reign before, during and after the elec­tions. The Abuja accord and other peace ini­tiatives would not have produced any posi­tive results if you had not disposed yourself favourbaly to them.<br /> <br /> I watched very diligently your campaigns. You never for one day abused anybody or used foul language against anybody for that matter. Another strong point of your cam­paigns was issues you raised which bothered on the continued survival of Nigeria. You harped on security, job and wealth creation, agriculture and fight against corruption as the main thrust of your campaigns. All these must have influenced the choice that Nigeri­ans made on March 28.<br /> <br /> Now that you have been overwhelmingly elected by Nigerians as our next President the heat has now turned from President Jon­athan to you. Nigerians are impatiently wait­ing for May-29-handover-date to start expe­riencing the new life you promised them.<br /> <br /> Nonetheless, I do not think it is going to be that easy. In fact, it will be a Herculean task. You know what it means and takes to clean the Augean Stable! The decay in our social system is not a task that can be accom­plished in one day, not even a year. There is too much corruption, laxity and indiscipline among Nigerians. Probably you foresaw the huge damage corruption and indisci­pline would inflict on our national psyche when you championed the War Against In­discipline (WAI) in your first coming. The national orientation strategy worked like magic, while orderliness became the order of life in our nation. And things seemed to be working.<br /> <br /> I still believe we need something like WAI if you can reenact the magic that made it work in 1983-85. However, I still believe nothing can work in Nigeria until indisci­pline is uprooted. Even the fight against cor­ruption takes its root in discipline. A disci­plined person is orderly, humane, polished, and a stickler for excellence. So, if you could succeed in making a majority of Nigerians disciplined then you would have solved 40% of our national malaises.<br /> <br /> It is indiscipline that breeds dishonesty, garrulity, tendency to steal, deviance, and other forms of anti-social behaviours. Those more vulnerable to these ills are the youths who are easily influenced by their environ­ment. This is why there is the need to intro­duce WAI brigades and other paramilitary organizations to complement the efforts of the existing ones in the fight against immo­rality and crimes in our society. Don’t mind those that would want to discourage you from towing this path. In any case, I know how single-minded and emotional you could be when matters relating to the development, peace and stability of Nigeria are concerned. This will make it almost impossible for any­body to attempt to ill-advise you.<br /> <br /> I read where you were quoted as having denied that you promised to deal with insur­gency in two months. I give it to you: you never at any time gave a timeline on when insurgency would be defeated. All you said was that Boko Haram would be a thing of the past soon. But I have to advise you to work extra hard to achieve this goal as soon as possible. Let nobody deceive you, Nige­rians expect too much from you, because of the myth that has been built about your ability to tackle Nigeria’s socio-economic problems.<br /> <br /> In my consideration, you will become an automatic hero once you can solve the problem of security within 180 days of your presidency. Already President Jonathan’s government has started the fight in a very convincing manner. The communities re­covered by our troops in recent weeks point to the veracity of this fact. You can swiftly build on what he has put in place, applying your military background to deal with the matter more clinically and tactically.<br /> <br /> I am glad to note that you attributed one of the causes of the emergence of Boko Haram to poverty in one of your recent interviews. I agree with you totally. However, I wish to add that injustice also played a negative role in heightening the insurgency. The death of President Musa Yar’Adua and the poor han­dling of the succession to his position could have a part to play in the emergence of Boko Haram.<br /> <br /> The existence of Nigeria is predicated on the need to continually maintain equity, jus­tice and fair-play at all times. The heteroge­neous nature of Nigeria makes it suicidal to alter the tripod on which it stands. The un­official rotation of the presidency between the north and south could be said to be one of the smartest and most practicable ways of sustaining national cohesion and unity. Because of the mutual mistrust that exists among the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria there is the need to be perpetually vigilant to ward off the activities of political ideologues and mischief-makers bent on truncating our fragile democracy. To deal with the detrac­tors requires additional wisdom and acuity.<br /> <br /> I believe that you have sufficient experi­ence to deal with insurgency, no matter the coloration it may assume. I recall with nos­talgia your days as the General Officer Com­manding Third Armoured Division, Jos. It was in the heydays of the dreaded Maitasine Sect. You dealt them a cruel blow to the ex­tent that they could not regroup ever since.<br /> <br /> This brings us to the issue of corruption. As you read this memo Nigeria is haemor­rhaging as a result of corruption. Unless corruption is crushed we cannot make any headway in development. Corruption has gone deep into our social system to the point that it now threatens our nation. The recent national assembly elections exposed the rot in the system.<br /> <br /> You must have read about how INEC of­ficials colluded with moneybags and corrupt politicians to doctor the results of elections in Abia North Senatorial District. Unfortu­nately, the same sordid situation obtained in some other senatorial zones in Abia State where election results were brazenly altered with the active connivance of corrupt INEC officials. Though we have vowed to seek redress in the tribunals it would have been better not to allow the national disgrace to occur in the first place. Nigeria has come of age, such that it should be able to conduct untainted elections.<br /> <br /> I must not fail to bring to the attention of Your Excellency the disgraceful activities of security men who openly worked with some politicians and INEC officials to change the result of an election in which a clear winner had emerged. Results collated from the field showed I won the election convincingly. Why INEC substituted my name with that of somebody that lost still beats my imagi­nation.<br /> <br /> You should as a matter of urgency set up a panel to advise you on how to make elections in Nigeria less controversial and burdensome. If possible you can dust up the report of the Justice Uwais Presidential Panel on Electoral Reform. It is painful that the report of the panel, adjudged as well-ar­ticulated, should be allowed to gather dust in the file cabinet. Many other similar reports should be given the same treatment.<br /> <br /> The economy is one area some of your acerbic critics express fears. This may be due to the fact that your first coming did not address many serious economic mat­ters. Your focus then was on indiscipline and corruption. This time round the global community and Nigerians expect you to fashion out functional economic policies that will address grinding poverty, instabil­ity in exchange rates, unemployment and communicable diseases. You cannot afford not to tackle the economy and in less than three months bring down the exchange rate of the naira and boost other indices that de­termine growth.<br /> <br /> The restoration of the economy will be achieved more easily with a frontal war against corruption. Chances of rapid eco­nomic growth are possible under your ae­gis if you put round pegs in round holes. One of the identifiable problems in the past was the over-politicization of ap­pointments to various political offices, often leading to favouritism and nepotism in making choices. You require men and women with the right attitude and experi­ence to help you to reengineer our socio-economic system.<br /> <br /> I will raise other issues with you in the second part of this memo. Meanwhile, rest assured of the support of all Nigerians behind your visionary leadership. We are very optimistic that things will work out for the better, provided you stick to those promises for which majority of Nigerians gave you their votes.</div>

Memo to President-elect Buhari (1)

I am certain you have not shaken off the fatigue brought to bear on you by the strenuousness of campaigns. Traversing every nook and cran...

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Abians, watch out! Evil on the prowl

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBCqV8BBFpMQuwB58Kh4jYxGP4Q6lhhQONVIzp6bq7dBjDJIgfbhgbuV1po57Wk8k9Inxnl2MfnHH312VXuhtfEPnoZ2X6VbJ8-gHkT0RSH0xBddge-VOuFRbZhUqlTKjttKTOPETkc_S/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBCqV8BBFpMQuwB58Kh4jYxGP4Q6lhhQONVIzp6bq7dBjDJIgfbhgbuV1po57Wk8k9Inxnl2MfnHH312VXuhtfEPnoZ2X6VbJ8-gHkT0RSH0xBddge-VOuFRbZhUqlTKjttKTOPETkc_S/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" /></a></div> There is no question any longer that our dear state, Abia, is under spell, cast upon it by the evil forces en­gineered by Governor T.A. Orji. I have written in this column numerous times about the need for our people to open their eyes to the evil machinations of T.A. Orji. The more I expose his un­derhand, wicked and callous machina­tions the more atrocities he commits. As you read this piece the governor with his evil gang has concluded plans on how to thwart the will of the people on April 11 – during the Governorship/House of As­sembly elections. The activities of this man make him a very dangerous evil, prowling every nook and cranny of our state, seeking whom to devour.<br /> <br /> To state that Abia State is underdeveloped is to put it mildly. The most appropriate words to capture the helpless state of things in the state are “incalculable tragedy”. The eight-year tenure of the man is an unmiti­gated disaster. And the only thing that can appease our people is to ensure that he or anybody sponsored by him does not win any election in the state. What justification, for goodness sake, does T.A. Orji have to seek another political position or sponsor anybody for that matter to such position(s) after the pain and agony he shamelessly inflicted on our people?<br /> <br /> The just-held Presidential/National As­sembly election has exposed his evil plots and inherent desire to destroy the founda­tion of democracy in Abia State. Ask any­body that witnessed the elections, they were peaceful, orderly; and the people turned out enmasse to vote, because they wanted change desperately. Painfully, in the end, the will of the people was subverted in Abia State. What transpired at INEC local govern­ment election collation centres in Abia State was shameful and disgraceful. Take for in­stance, Abia Central Senatorial Zone where the governor contested as a PDP candidate. He lost all round, including in his ward at Ugba na Nkata, Umuahia-Ibeku. Results from the polling booths showed that he lost in Umuahia North and South, Isiala Ngwa North and South and Osisioma Local Gov­ernment Councils that make up the senato­rial district. So from where did he garner the 65,000 plus votes that were credited to him?<br /> <br /> Reports we gathered from our agents in the various polling booths show that the peo­ple overwhelmingly rejected the governor. Imagine this: his own people (Ibeku) openly campaigned against him, urging voters not to cast their votes for him. Even the non-indi­genes, whom he has spited on a number of occasions, mobilized against his candidacy. In fact, the opposition was massive and po­tent. It got to a point that his foot-soldiers started sharing money openly to voters to sway them. All these gimmicks did not even­tually work as the people stuck to their gun and voted massively against him.<br /> <br /> Immediately after voting on Saturday the whole state was agog with jubilation when news of his disgrace in his ward filtered into the rural areas. In churches across the state the following day – Sunday – the story of his likely loss was the major topic being discussed as people gathered in groups after service.<br /> <br /> One could feel the people’s anger against a man that had brought untold hardship on them in the past 8 years. It was palpable. And so, when news of his declaration as the even­tual winner of the election by the state INEC spread the people became agitated, pained and melancholic. Immediately my phone started ringing endlessly as people called to confirm the story they heard.<br /> <br /> From my interaction with the callers it was easy to perceive their disappointment and aghast. One particular man told me he would kill himself if T.A. Orji should win. If the young man carried out his threat then Abia State is in real trouble.<br /> <br /> Among those that voted against the gover­nor were youths, traders, artisans, traditional rulers, men and women, the aged, and even the sick and disabled. It was a mass move­ment against the aspiration of the governor.<br /> <br /> We started to hear rumour about the des­peration of the governor to alter the results as early as Sunday morning. According to my sources, the governor sent many of his aides and other top government functionar­ies to ‘see’ what could be done to change the will of the people. Initially I dismissed it with a wave of the hand since INEC had assured us that nobody would be able to rig the elec­tions. When the rumour became too strong to ignore I set machinery in motion to unravel the truth.<br /> <br /> Let me state it categorically that the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Abia State is a woman of integrity. She resisted all the overtures made to her to compromise. It was when they found her impregnable that they resorted to the local government coun­cils, where some of them were bought over. It was at the Osisioma Centre that the dam­age was done.<br /> <br /> Now to my own Senatorial Zone, where the situation was made worse by the overt ac­quiescence of persons that collaborated with some INEC officials to steal my mandate. Those that witnessed the elections knew I won overwhelmingly. I campaigned vigor­ously and my people were delighted that I of­fered to serve them in the senate. They came out in large numbers as early as 6 am flaunt­ing their PVCs.<br /> <br /> The results from the polling booths showed without any modicum of doubt that I won the election. How the results changed at the Local Government collation centres in Bende, Isuochi, Isuikwuato, Ohafia and Arochukwu beat my imagination. I was told by my agents that figures were manipulated and allotted to the PDP candidate in a brazen manner. For me, that was atrocious and inex­cusable. I beat my closest rival convincingly. How could any sane person turn round to say that I lost?<br /> <br /> It was all part of the governor’s ploy to hu­miliate me. But he can never intimidate me since I have not done anything against him to warrant that.<br /> <br /> What I know deep in my heart is that T.A. Orji has vowed to destroy me and anybody related to me. He has since stopped doing his official duties as governor. All he does these days is exploring avenues of smearing my integrity and harassing people related to me.<br /> <br /> One thing I can assure him is that every evil he plans against me will fall on his head. Let him learn useful lessons from the lives of fallen despots who plotted other people’s destruction but got themselves destroyed in­stead. The good people of Abia State have suffered like no other. Despite their suffer­ings they have continued to persevere, hop­ing that someday soon God would liberate them from the evil clutches of T.A. Orji.<br /> <br /> Which one will I recount and leave the other when we look at the evils of this man called T.A. Orji. He pulled down the sources of livelihood of many innocent Abians for no justifiable reason. Thousands of traders whose shops were destroyed at the Umuahia Main Market and Timber Industrial Market are today living in poverty and penury. He destroyed their stalls and did not have the humanity to offer them replacements. Rather the few stalls the government built in the out­skirts of the City of Umuahia were allotted to his aides and other well-placed persons who in turn resold them at exorbitant prices to some of the hapless traders. Unfortunately, there is no week that passes two or more of these traders do not die out of frustration. What kind of man would do these evils to his own people?<br /> <br /> Three years ago, the governor woke up from his slumber and ordered the sacking of thousands of workers called non-indigenes. Many of these workers were born and bred in Abia State and have contributed meaning­fully to its development over the years. What was their sin? Their parents did not come from Abia State. How could the governor do such an unconscionable and abominable thing in a Nigeria of the 21st Century? But he did it and nobody else could call him to order.<br /> <br /> I have said on a number of occasions too that I have never seen a man as treacherous, wicked and vindictive as T.A. Orji. I use this medium to reiterate this position. What man would bite the finger that fed with so much venom and contempt? The office of governor is one of the most important political offices any bona fide Nigerian can aspire to. Many people had died with their dream of becom­ing one yet to no avail. But here is T.A. Orji becoming governor while in person with­out spending a dime. The only way he has deemed it fit to say thank you is to declare ‘war’ against me. He thought by antagoniz­ing me and estranging himself from me he would be able to control the resources of Abia State all to himself.<br /> <br /> But he got it all wrong. He needn’t an­tagonize me to achieve all that, because I am quite a different person. He can attest to it by himself that I have never bothered him for anything since he was sworn in as governor. To tell you how wicked the man is he set up a panel to probe the purchase of printing ma­chines for the Abia State Printing and Pub­lishing Company (Publishers of the Ambas­sador Newspaper). The underlying reason for the setting up of the panel was to find out if the resources of government were used in establishing the Sun newspapers. Curiously, up till date, the panel could not establish any­thing against anybody. In fact, the panel is comatose.<br /> <br /> Now look at these: serving workers in the state are being owed several months of sala­ries. Even pensioners are not left out. They are being owed 10 months arrears of pension. And there is no hope that they would be paid any time soon. In the midst of all these the governor has preoccupied himself with pur­chasing more and more properties within and outside the state.<br /> <br /> Where does he think he is going with all the wealth he has been amassing? Though he uses part of it to perpetrate evils across the state, it will not ultimately take him to any­where good. He has forgotten so easily that life is transitory. How old is he now and how much longer will he live to enjoy his loot? Nonetheless, the cries of the people he sup­presses on a daily basis have continued to beckon to heaven to intervene.<br /> <br /> The evils the man is planning in the days ahead are monumental. For instance, he has concluded plans with his son to rig the forth­coming governorship election in the state. They are sewing fake army and police uni­forms and hiring thugs – all in an effort to intimidate voters and manipulate the election of April 11. But I wish to assure him that his plans will fall through. The scenario we had last Saturday will be quite different from what is to obtain on April 11.<br /> <br /> Let me warn the governor not to take his luck too far on April 11. The people are to­tally disenchanted with his performance and have vowed to vote him and his stooges out. Any attempt to subvert the will of the people will be stoutly resisted. INEC, in particular its local government staff, should resist the temptation of allowing themselves to be used as tools to cause confusion in our state.<br /> <br /> The change mantra in Abia State is occa­sioned by the unconscionable manner Chief Orji has piloted the affairs of the state. He has led the state and its people like his per­sonal estate. He does not have any respect for anybody, least those he sees as his enemies. There is nothing on ground in the state to justify the nearly N1trillion he has collected from the Federation Account and other sun­dry sources. This governor has not done any single mega project in any of the rural parts of the state. A few Legacy Projects he did are concentrated in the state capital, leaving the rural areas heavily and mindlessly underde­veloped.<br /> <br /> There is no state in Nigeria that is not bet­ter than Abia State in infrastructural develop­ment. The roads in Umuahia were built by the administrations of Dee Sam Mbakwe and me. None other has been built by the present administration.<br /> <br /> I must not fail to call on INEC and the se­curity agencies to investigate what transpired in the state during the Senatorial election. They need to investigate all the results and I am sure what they will find out will make them shudder.<br /> <br /> T.A Orji, out of his unquenchable appe­tite to cheat, made nonsense of all the ar­rangements INEC put in place to make the elections free, fair and credible. Couldn’t he have allowed the will of the people to pre­vail as his counterpart in Niger State, Bau­chi, Kebbi and other states of the federation did? Must he rig before he could be elected? All that he cared about was for the names of all his candidates to be written as having won. No more, no less. It does not bother him if the state catches fire so long as he becomes Senator. Senator without integrity, one may say.<br /> <br /> I wish to let the governor know that all the results he manipulated to make INEC declare the wrong persons as winners of a keenly contested election will be reversed soon. We cannot fold our arms and watch him destroy our beloved state.<br /> <br /> The will of the people surpasses our per­sonal, parochial interests. We shall all die some day, but Abia State will remain. For what shall we be remembered when earth’s journey ends? Is it as looters or builders of the economy?<br /> <br /> I plead our people to remain calm and watchful. They should not be lethargic in this struggle or lose hope as the days of reckoning are almost here. When that day comes, the like of T.A. Orji and his co-treasury-looters will weep and gnash their teeth.<br /> <br /> As for my stolen mandate, I will do ev­erything within my powers and the limits of law to recover it.<br /> <br /> Congratulations<br /> <br /> President-elect Buhari<br /> <br /> I wish to most sincerely congratulate Gen­eral Muhammadu Buhari on his election as the next President of Nigeria. It was an elec­tion keenly won and lost.<br /> <br /> I also salute the statesmanship and civility of President Goodluck Jonathan for conced­ing defeat without promptly.<br /> <br /> Working together we can move Nigeria forward.</div>

Abians, watch out! Evil on the prowl

There is no question any longer that our dear state, Abia, is under spell, cast upon it by the evil forces en­gineered by Governor T.A....

Read more »

At last, the long-awaited hour has come!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwBeeddj97K3LXgETO2P90yoHj3hjXQdqKUmGEi9cdDH1yqC8QzaVKMQ2aRJkL0OiT4CkR_Ila-6iD3tYqUHWA1m0HXnY_cAISyKAtMHFFnM64YzBKCqAM8RmPEPZCPn9CWx7F4OudlTG/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwBeeddj97K3LXgETO2P90yoHj3hjXQdqKUmGEi9cdDH1yqC8QzaVKMQ2aRJkL0OiT4CkR_Ila-6iD3tYqUHWA1m0HXnY_cAISyKAtMHFFnM64YzBKCqAM8RmPEPZCPn9CWx7F4OudlTG/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> Today about 57 million Nigerians, representing about 82.5 per cent of registered voters with the new Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), will troop out to choose a president who will preside over their affairs for another four years. All is set to ensure that this exercise runs smoothly.<br /> <br /> Despite the major postponement of the elections and the brickbats and innuendoes that had characterised electioneering to­day’s elections are expected to go down as the most tense and critical. The reason is simple: Nigerians and, indeed, the global community have had their attention fix­ated on these elections because of Nige­ria’s strategic importance in world affairs. It is believed that Nigeria – as the largest economy in Africa – should get it right in these elections if democracy in Africa must thrive. The thinking also is that if any­thing untoward should happen to Nigeria it would have far-reaching repercussions on other countries – not only in Africa, but the world at large.<br /> <br /> For this singular reason, the elections have attracted more than a cursory interest from the entire world. The United States, in particular, is in the forefront of the mobili­zation to ensure that the elections go well. In fact, the United Nations and its agencies have continued to offer all forms of assis­tance, including sending its personnel, to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the organization of the elections.<br /> <br /> Interestingly, security, which was at the centre of the postponement of the elections from February 14 to March 28, has now reasonably been addressed, paving the way for elections to hold even in the hotspot of the current insurgency – northeast geopo­litical zone.<br /> <br /> With the establishment of some sem­blance of security in the zone, the elections can now go ahead despite the initial skep­ticisms and opposition. Those opposed to the staging of the elections on February 14 were quite right, because the extra time has afforded INEC the opportunity to put its house in order. It also eliminated the bad blood that would have arisen if the elec­tions had been allowed to go on as planned.<br /> <br /> It is therefore very absurd to hear some people refer to the shift in date as a political ploy to favour some persons and a particu­lar political party. How mean could some people be? Must they sow seeds of discord before they can find solace in their hearts? Why must Nigerian politicians supplant the truth to gain cheap political points? There was no way, considering the precarious state of insecurity in the northeast zone, the elections would have held on February 14. Doing so would have amounted to sheer suicide.<br /> <br /> Again, the forces of destruction, waiting in the wings, would have capitalized on the situation to foment trouble and truncate our fledgling democracy. So, it was the proper thing to do when the security chiefs sum­moned courage to ask for the shift.<br /> <br /> It is also gratifying to note that the shift allowed the military fighting insurgency in the north east the opportunity to restock their armoury and take the fight to the in­surgents. Contrary to the initial inertia that greeted the operations in the areas under emergency rule, there has been a renewed vigour among the soldiers and other secu­rity forces to prove their mettle. The past three weeks have seen the military gaining more grounds and recovering some towns and communities earlier lost to the Boko Haram sect.<br /> <br /> The consequence of the present develop­ments, in terms of security in the northeast zone, is a safer environment for voters to discharge their constitutional duty of vot­ing and be voted for. This is why I expect the elections in the zone to be unique. Al­ready there are speculations that despite the insurgency residents came out in large numbers to register. The Internally Dis­placed Persons (IDPs) are not left out in the frenzy to vote.<br /> <br /> Across the country, those that have just attained eighteen years and slightly above are gearing up to make an impact. Because they are voting for the first time, there is some enthusiasm on their part to vote and contribute to the advancement of democ­racy in Nigeria. The high concentration of persons in these age brackets makes them a very important factor in this election.<br /> <br /> Even the youths generally, have always been known to make meaningful impacts on any election. This is why politicians have been courting them. I am quite sure that they will wield the same influence in today’s elections. From my own assess­ment they hold the ace in the elections. I arrived at this position having deeply con­sidered the role the more elderly voters had played in elections. It is not controvertible that many of those who grace the television screens and speak big grammar are not the real voters. The real voters are the youth and the rural poor. The rich and mighty lock themselves up in the comfort of their luxurious homes for fear of violence and, even, death. But the youth, ever beaming with energy and vitality, take the bull by the horns to come out and vote.<br /> <br /> It is for this reason that I have always supported any programmes that will in­spire the youth and save them from un­necessary dangers and afflictions. The Nigerian youth have shown a rare sense of dignity and courage, especially in the face of endless adversity. And I am confident they will demonstrate these valiant and pa­triotic qualities in today’s election.<br /> <br /> For those that hole themselves up in their rooms until elections are over, I admonish them to shake off their lethargy and come out and vote. Voting in today’s election is the greatest service any Nigerian of voting age can do to our nation. It will amount to a tragedy of epic proportion if anybody opts not to come out and vote. Imagine what would happen if everybody refused to come out and vote. Who will make things happen then?<br /> <br /> No matter on which side of the divide any of us may choose to be, what is para­mount at this time is to move Nigeria for­ward. The interest of Nigeria supersedes our selfish, parochial interests. We have reached a very critical stage in our national life – a point of no return – when all hands should be on the plough to save Nigeria from the doomsday prophecies of some people.<br /> <br /> The days of politicking, casting asper­sions on one another, placing salacious and rapacious television and radio advertise­ments are over. What we have on our hands is a very sensitive national assignment of electing the President, Senators and mem­bers of the House of Representatives. I see this assignment as a noble cause that demands the active participation of every Nigerian of voting age.<br /> <br /> For the political class, I call specially on them to guide their loins and work for peace and tranquility. We must shun vio­lence in any form by ensuring that we play the game according to the rules. The rules of the game have already been outlined by INEC. It is our duty to educate our support­ers on the need to embrace peace, and vote according to the dictates of our conscience. We must desist from fanning the embers of hate, and constantly bear in mind that we have no other country except Nigeria. If we vote in accordance with the rules and guidelines then we are working in tandem with the vision of our forbears who sacri­ficed everything to make Nigeria the envy of the global world.<br /> <br /> It will be a big shame if we, politicians and voters alike, allowed our narrow politi­cal interests to jeopardise the growth and development of Nigeria. The violent dis­position of some politicians has continued to threaten the peace and stability of this great nation. I wish to advise those politi­cians that have perfected the act of rigging in today’s election to perish the idea, be­cause it will amount to an exercise in futil­ity to attempt to do so. Nigeria has reached a stage in her life that rigging and similar ills should no longer be condoned. INEC has worked rigorously and painstakingly to organize today’s elections to meet in­ternational standards. We should not allow greed and desperation to taint it.<br /> <br /> It is our duty as Nigerians to enlighten one another on what should be done to en­sure hitch-free elections today. From what I was able to glean from INEC’s publicity materials accreditation of voters will com­mence as early as 8 am and last till 1 pm, after which actual voting will follow. Ac­creditation will be done with the help of the card readers, which have been deployed across the country. Each polling unit will have two card readers in case of malfunc­tioning of one. There are also extra batter­ies to back them up. Each voter is expected to present his permanent voter’s card for verification. If the card passes the authen­ticity test (which also requires the voter to place his thumb on the card reader) then the voter’s name is checked in the voters’ register. If his or her name is found in the register, he or she is then cleared to vote.<br /> <br /> At 1 pm (after the close of accreditation) each cleared voter is issued three ballot pa­pers to cast his vote. One ballot is for the President, the second one is for the Sena­tor and the third is for the House of Rep­resentatives. After thumb-printing each of the three ballot papers the voter now turns them into the 3 ballot boxes – one at a time for each of the three positions being voted for. There will be an assistant electoral of­ficer at each polling booth whose duty it is to guide the voter, especially the not-too-literate, on which ballot box to place each of the ballot papers. This will be done in the full glare of the other voters.<br /> <br /> I have heard the arguments about wheth­er it is proper for a voter to cast his vote and wait for the ballots to be counted. I wonder why anybody should kick against this. It is not only proper to vote and wait for your vote to be counted it is the surest way to do away with any doubts and suspicion. I will never advise any voter to cast his vote and go home. You should cast your vote and ensure your vote counts in this election. Let nobody intimidate you to do otherwise. What probably the security agents should be concerned about is the security of each of the polling units and the voters. They should also not forget that the presence of voters is an added security.<br /> <br /> What about the use of soldiers on the day of election? I have nothing against that. What I am vehemently against is the use of any security man or woman to intimidate voters or do things that run contrary to the laws guiding the elections. I was a victim of soldiers’ intimidation during the 2011 National Assembly elections, when the en­trance to my country home was barricaded with armoured cars by solders. I have im­plicit confidence in the current leadership of the army. I am convinced they would not repeat such a disgraceful act.<br /> <br /> It will be totally unacceptable to Nigeri­ans should anybody use the security forces in such a way as to confer an undue advan­tage on him. The security agents should be given the latitude to discharge their duties without let or hindrance. Abia State pres­ents a very curious case maybe because of the notoriety it enjoys currently. This is one state INEC and security agents should watch very closely. I am aware that some politicians in the state have shown morbid desperation in recent times, which poses a threat to the peace and security of voters in today’s election. But there is nothing to worry about as adequate measures have been taken to forestall any disruption of the elections or intimidation of any voter.<br /> <br /> The Nigerian voters have a duty to vote wisely and courageously. It is needless end­lessly complaining about bad leadership. This is an opportunity to vote out anybody that has not performed. For those that have performed it is morally obligatory that we vote for them to continue the good works they are doing.<br /> <br /> The recent tour of my Senatorial Zone has opened my eyes to the rot in the sys­tem and the urgent need to work to redress it. There are boundless opportunities in the zone, but nothing has been done of recent to develop the zone. I saw some able-bod­ied youth and men whiling away their time playing draft, snooker and other forms of games when they should be busy working. I find this intolerable. We must harness the rich potentialities of the zone and its people and integrate them into the global economy for the betterment of our nation and state.<br /> <br /> The much we did as a government some eight years ago is all they have been living on. There is hope for better days ahead if they would do the needful to turn their fate around.<br /> <br /> On the part of INEC, I urge it to stick to its gun and not change the post in the middle of the match. They must conduct the elections in accordance with the ar­rangements it had put in place. There is no doubt that it is under intense pressure by politicians and other subterranean forces bent on manipulating the system for their self-aggrandizement. They must not give in to their threats and offer of filthy lucre. The interest of Nigeria surpasses the inter­ests of a few disgruntled elements.<br /> <br /> The outcome of these elections will make or mar our nation. It will also give credence or not to the doomsday prophe­cies that the days of Nigeria as a united nation are numbered. Nobody else can de­termine the fate of Nigeria other than Nige­rians themselves.<br /> <br /> This is why we have to conduct our­selves decorously and avoid any act ca­pable of breaching the peace and stability of our nation.<br /> <br /> I thank God for the gift of one another and the grace to continue to exist as one, indivisible nation in spite of our manifest differences.</div>

At last, the long-awaited hour has come!

Today about 57 million Nigerians, representing about 82.5 per cent of registered voters with the new Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), will...

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SEEING ABIA’S AGONY, PAIN, RUINS, I WEPT

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> I must confess straight away that I was not emotionally prepared for what I ex­perienced last Saturday as our convoy went through major streets in Umua­hia en route Igbere my hometown – from the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. It was nothing planned – just a routine visit to Igbere. But alighting at the Owerri Air­port and seeing the mammoth crowd that had assembled to receive me changed the whole configuration of a, hitherto, quiet visit home.<br /> <br /> As our convoy approached the Abia Tower (gateway into the city) the atmosphere was charged as traders and other onlookers trooped towards the convoy singing, dancing and hailing. It was a scene better seen than imagined.<br /> <br /> One thing was, however, noticeable: in their faces was written agony, anger, frustration, despondency and dimmed hope. The situation got out of hand when we approached the famous Okpara Square – as more people joined – turning the whole thing into a carnival of sort.<br /> <br /> I was riding in a Hummer bus – which has been the tradition since I was governor – but I could no longer stay embedded in the bus. So, I had to stand by the door of the bus to acknowledge cheers from my people. They were singing and dancing and jubilating. Some of them – very old and wearied by poverty and neglect in the hands of Governor T.A. Orji’s insensitive government – still found strength to join the crowd in jubilation.<br /> <br /> They openly expressed frustration with the current administration in the state and cried out for redemption. To drive home the level of frustration some people in the jubilant crowd handed over pieces of paper itemising their woes and sufferings under the regime of Governor Orji. The notes were hurriedly scribbled. One of the notes read: “Please Sir, save us from the hand of Emperor T.A. Orji.”<br /> <br /> Because of the sentiments and outflow of emotions from the surging crowd the convoy was forced to make a detour into major streets in the city where people had already lined up to catch a glimpse of me. There was a particular woman – she should be about 80 years of age – who was among the crowd. She struggled just like every other person to touch me. I was moved to tears as I asked the convoy to break so that I could touch her too. She told me something that tore my heart. She said and I quote her verbatim (she spoke in Igbo but I have paraphrased it in English): “All I wish to tell you, my son, is try and redeem this state from the wicked hands of the evil people. I was shocked.” It was at this point that I broke down. I could no longer control my emotions, which were running riot.<br /> <br /> What the old woman said captured the mood in the state: despair and disillusionment.<br /> <br /> The story continues: by the time we got to Isi Gate (the centre of the city that once housed the Umuahia Main Market) the crowd had tripled, making it difficult to control them. We were able to manage the crowds, because they were peaceful and orderly. All of them kept shouting: Liberate us! Liberate us!<br /> <br /> By the time we left Umuahia to continue our journey to Igbere – my hometown – word reached us that more crowds were building up at designated points along the major road leading to Igbere. Driving through Uzuakoli to Akara was something else. The crowd was dancing and jubilating. In short at Akara (a prominent junction on the Umuahia-Arochukwu Road) our convoy was forced to a stop, with the crowd urging me to walk instead of driving to the palace of their traditional ruler for a courtesy call. I had to come down from the bus and we all trekked to the palace of the traditional ruler, His Royal Majesty Eze Ozo Ukandu, where we were warmly received.<br /> <br /> Other traditional rulers were not left out of the jubilation. They turned out in large numbers to receive us. Needless stating that the crowd waiting at my country home was something out of this world.<br /> <br /> I have given this brief account to underscore the pain and agony that pervade every nook and cranny of Abia State. I have been imagining what would have happened if this scenario had played out in Aba. I know it would have been almost impossible to control the Aba crowd. The situation of life in Aba is grave. In fact, Aba has been turned upside down by the insensitivity of the government of Governor Orji. I wept when a television station in Lagos was showing pictures of decayed infrastructure in the city last week. I saw human beings and vehicles struggling for right of way on mountains of refuse and water-logged roads. It was a very gory sight.<br /> <br /> I wish to ask Governor Orji why he has allowed a beautiful state I handed over to him in 2007 turn into a jungle? The whole place looks like there had never been a government since the state was created. If he had a modicum of conscience he should not have allowed the state (Aba in particular) to be in its present sorry state. Where did all the revenue that had accrued to our state – running into close to a trillion naira – gone to? Even the internally generated revenue of which Aba is a major contributor could not even be deployed in the development of the state! I am shell-shocked.<br /> <br /> Governor Orji has shown by his actions and inactions since he assumed office that he was not mentally and morally equipped to become governor. Why then did he create the impression and pretended that he was ready to work for our people when inside him he had a different agenda? I find his attitude offensive, irrational, wicked, and a betrayal. I have understood now why he opted to fight me for offering him advice to work for our people. He had always wanted to distance himself from everybody that worked for his victory as governor so that he could do as he wished.<br /> <br /> Up till date, he has not told the world what I did to him to warrant all the antagonisms and vituperations he pours on my person on a daily basis. He estranges himself from anybody who has anything to do with me – all in a futile effort to cover his dirty tracks. This is one man who detests the truth and is ready to fight whoever that promotes it.<br /> <br /> Since I returned to Abia State last week to galvanize support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan I have been inundated with all kinds of stories and complaints from victims of Governor Orji’s misrule. It has reached a level that the people no longer care about what happens to them – whether they are killed or left to live. All along they had lived in fear, not sure what would happen to them if they spoke up. There were also different accounts from the victims of how they were arrested and detained for airing their views on issues concerning the way the state is governed. According to them the governor and his son have thugs that go round popular joints in the state with the aim of harassing and intimidating innocent citizens, especially those seemingly opposed to the governor or his son.<br /> <br /> Those whose shops were demolished at the Umuahia Main Market and Timber Industrial Market without compensation three years ago have also visited me asking for resettlement. Their stories are heartrending. Now read what one of them told me: I am 82 years old. I owned one sawmill at the Umuahia Industrial Market. I retired a few years ago, handed over the mill to my son, and relocated to the village. That shop is the only source of livelihood for me and my son and our families. We woke up one morning to hear that the government had demolished the market against all entreaties to allow us some time to find an alternative accommodation. Painfully, we did not retrieve a single pin from the shop. As I speak to you government has not said a word to us. Now they have turned the former Timber Market into a private estate of the governor and his son.<br /> <br /> There were worse cases than the preceding one. But what I was able to gather from all the tales of woe that had been told me since my return is: our people are suffering and need a redeemer.<br /> <br /> In fact, my house in Igbere has turned into a Mecca of sort since last Saturday, with thousands of people streaming in and out.<br /> <br /> I have also traversed the entire Abia North Senatorial Zone (my own zone) since I returned and what I saw made me shed tears. Our people are dying in silence. There is nothing on ground in the zone to show the presence of government. There are no roads, no potable water, no medical facilities, and no electricity. The people live under unbearable conditions, yet they have a government that superintends over their affairs. As impoverished as the people are the government and its agents still collect taxes and rates from them.<br /> <br /> I could not believe my eyes as we waded through the bad roads. No single new road had been built in the zone by the administration of Governor Orji since 2007. The only available roads were those we managed to construct or rehabilitate between 1999 -2007. Now they need to be properly maintained.<br /> <br /> One is compelled to ask what then has Governor Orji done since he came into power? His attention is focused on a few legacy projects he is executing and through which he has siphoned billions of naira. Why has he failed to embark on people-oriented projects that would add value to our people’s lives, instead of wasting scarce resources on white elephants?<br /> <br /> For the 8 years he has been in the saddle he has spent 80% of it chasing shadows and fighting perceived enemies. Who told Governor Orji I am his enemy? I could not have been his enemy, because nothing in my character has portrayed that. How could I have been his enemy when I made enormous sacrifices to make him governor? Without God, our people and me there was no way T.A. Orji would have become governor.<br /> <br /> The only grouse I had ever had about the governor was that I asked him to stop beating about the bush and work for our people. He took offence at my advice and drew the battle line. If there is any other thing let him then make it known to whole the world. I have kept making this assertion because I have wondered endlessly what could be behind his animosity towards me. He pays out huge sums of money to media hirelings to attack my character.<br /> <br /> I have come back to personally lead President Jonathan’s reelection campaigns. Left to the lacklustre government of Chief Orji nothing concrete can come out of it. I know in his usual inanity he would be banking on cutting corners to win election. The era for that has passed. The only thing that can win election for anybody today is hard work, honesty and record of achievements. Regrettably, Governor Orji has none to showcase. How then does he hope to deliver himself, let alone President Jonathan?<br /> <br /> There are thousands of people who had made up their minds not to vote for Jonathan before now because of the excesses of Governor Orji. After persuading them and reassuring them that things would change very soon their anger was appeased.<br /> <br /> The governor lives on propaganda. He goes to Abuja to gossip whereas back home he is not worth anything in terms of character and performance. Nobody in his right senses in Abia State today would tell you the governor has performed. Those who sing his praise are his acolytes and hatchet men. No more, no less!<br /> <br /> One identified problem of the governor is his unmatchable greed and acquisitive tendency. He wants to acquire the entire Abia State as his personal estate. He has bought, in the midst of grinding poverty of his people, almost every available space in Umuahia with his filthy lucre. What a shame!<br /> <br /> Governor Orji knows deep inside him that he has lost favour with the people. They are waiting for March 28 to vote him out. If he likes let him apply all kinds of brute force, spend all the money in this world, and threaten fire and brimstone, he will still lose.<br /> <br /> The frustration, agony and pain of our people are palpable and can be felt anywhere one goes. The people have compared our two administrations and returned a vote of no confidence in Chief Orji’s government. They recall with fond memories my days as governor – when everything worked. We did not have as much financial resources as the present government, but we managed the little with had to bring succour and hope to our people. We worked for the people, we empowered them and we motivated them. Our government began with the people and ended with the people. We did not allow anything to come between us and the welfare of the people.<br /> <br /> It gives me immense joy, therefore, that, at last, we have been vindicated. All the plots of the governor to turn the people against me have failed flat. Instead of antagonism what we receive from the people are accolades and encomiums – all to his chagrin.<br /> <br /> I am motivated by the people’s show of love and solidarity since I returned to the state last Saturday. It has been electrifying. I wish to reassure them of my continued support and determination to work for their good. As long as I have breath in me I will never cease defending them against the forces of darkness and exploitation.<br /> <br /> Let me, however, urge them to guard their loins and let us work collectively and vigilantly for our emancipation. Abians can only be liberated if they got their PVCs and used the same to vote for the candidates of their choice and defend their votes. As believers in the rule of law and constitutionality, I advise them to remain law-abiding and shun violence.<br /> <br /> Let me quickly remind the governor of the two challenges I threw to him, which he is yet to respond to. The first is for us to secure the services of the best audit firms in the world to audit our two administrations to determine which of them had stolen Abia people’s money. And the second is for me and him to walk throughout the streets of Aba to see who will be stoned and pelted with sachet water.<br /> <br /> I expect him to accept these challenges as soon as possible or hide his face in shame forever.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsXftd1M1M8xynsl0sZul6GV4A3KtsxREdWxAd_XtWkIlYU9umhdiOXNhqzxCU39xPpyKX8-7Mc4EuUFuVIvpZ6yTox9NToKQIUKoTzg3BRbLBvn1HDKaCanvE0CUts2YnLGuSCvBEAb0/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsXftd1M1M8xynsl0sZul6GV4A3KtsxREdWxAd_XtWkIlYU9umhdiOXNhqzxCU39xPpyKX8-7Mc4EuUFuVIvpZ6yTox9NToKQIUKoTzg3BRbLBvn1HDKaCanvE0CUts2YnLGuSCvBEAb0/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

SEEING ABIA’S AGONY, PAIN, RUINS, I WEPT

I must confess straight away that I was not emotionally prepared for what I ex­perienced last Saturday as our convoy went through major str...

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Orji’s legacy projects: Cover for fraud

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xJc0yw4AsmoJ5BJMMILTVmPJz8y28c4BG9oh8k1GtEZORlvuyy0X6PO-eucpQLLWbLJeRu0DJnugiEMxh4TbTRFK2HUJe_NsEzItXDXlC3s3681S_6tj5Ax-Ezn0BMd1mIRctPVNiuPk/s1600/OUK+leadership.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xJc0yw4AsmoJ5BJMMILTVmPJz8y28c4BG9oh8k1GtEZORlvuyy0X6PO-eucpQLLWbLJeRu0DJnugiEMxh4TbTRFK2HUJe_NsEzItXDXlC3s3681S_6tj5Ax-Ezn0BMd1mIRctPVNiuPk/s1600/OUK+leadership.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> When the paired word ‘Legacy Projects’ cropped up in the political lexicon of Abia State a few years ago, many people thought it was conceived by Governor T.A. Orji for the genuine development of the state. However, little did they realize at the time that it was an ingenious scheme designed by Governor Orji to pull wool over their eyes! And that was what it exactly turned to be – a drainpipe, a calculated design to deceive the people.<br /> <br /> But my instinct told me instantly, when I heard about the ‘Legacy Projects’ that the idea behind it was not wholly genuine. I knew the governor very well, and knew he had something up his sleeves. And so, I kept my ears to the ground, with eyes wide open, to know what tricks the governor was going to play next on the gullible and helpless people of God’s Own State.<br /> <br /> The reason for my alertness was occasioned by the desperation exhibited by the governor as soon as he mounted the saddle of leadership in the state, particularly since he did not take kindly to the innocuous advice I offered him to sit up and perform according to the expectations of the people who elected him. You could recall that before the introduction of the legacy projects the governor had secured loans running into hundreds of millions of naira from banks without any projects on ground to justify the huge borrowings.<br /> <br /> So, information started filtering out from the banks that the governor was borrowing huge amounts without any veritable repayment plan. Alarmed by the reports I opted to conduct a private investigation. The outcome was positive.<br /> <br /> I approached the governor with the information, but surprisingly he denied it. And instead of making amends and taking steps to ameliorate the situation he took to the trenches, declaring a total war against me and anybody connected to me in any way.<br /> <br /> Surprisingly, he has sustained the onslaught against me for the simple reason that he sees me as the only obstacle to his looting agenda in Abia State. I have written about my relationship with him and how I sacrificed everything to make him governor. As such, I would not want to bore you with the story again.<br /> <br /> But one thing is certain: Governor Orji has done a great disservice to our people. He has made promises he has not bothered to keep. The Legacy Projects were never a part of his original plan for the development of Abia State. As I indicated from the onset the scheme was put together as an emergency measure to hide the thieving plot of the governor and offer justification for the billions of naira looted by him, his family and their cronies.<br /> <br /> It has never been in doubt that the first four years of the governor was used by him to chase shadow – fighting imaginary enemies and perfecting his plot to pillage the resources of our state.<br /> <br /> The plot came to the fore when he chose to jump ship and pitch tent with PDP. He had reasoned that his malfeasant activities would better be protected in the party. However, unknown to him the searchlight will still catch him wherever he runs to.<br /> <br /> Because of the wasted first four years of his tenure the governor conceived the legacy projects to cover his tracks and justify the huge borrowings from the banks and the allocations from the federation account – a substantial part of which is diverted monthly to other self-centred purposes. I have challenged the governor on a number of occasions in this column to justify the huge allocations the state has received from Abuja since 2007 when he assumed office as governor – running into hundreds of billions of naira.  Up till the time of writing this piece, he is yet to respond to that challenge.<br /> <br /> The state of things in Abia State gets worse by the day. Workers are not paid. Those paid are not paid regularly. Pensioners have not been paid in the past 10 months. The same is the case with primary and secondary school teachers – many of whom drop dead like chickens for lack of salaries.<br /> <br /> Now wait for this: there is no single project, including the Legacy Projects, worth up to N1billion in the entire Abia State. I challenge the governor to publish the financial involvement of each of the projects, especially those in the Legacy Projects tranche.<br /> <br /> The fraud that the legacy projects became manifest when the government of Abia State, with the express consent of the governor, invited some media bloggers, select journalists and social media commentators to the state to see ‘things ‘for themselves. In the governor’s estimation, the visit would enable the government to buy its way into the hearts of the media team and, by so doing, influence their reports. Unfortunately, that plot boomeranged as many of those that made the team to the state wrote exactly what they saw. From their reports it was clear that the so-called legacy projects were a ruse – a well-orchestrated scheme to milk the state dry.<br /> <br /> I have personally read some of these reports and still have them in my library. One of the reports openly challenged the governor to tell the whole world what each of the legacy projects costs. The same challenge I had posed to the governor on a number of occasions, to no avail.<br /> <br /> In fact, it was a thug-of-war between the media team and the governor’s aides who accompanied them on the verification tour as the aides were reluctant to answer questions posed to them with regard to the costs of the ‘legacy projects’. Embarrassingly, each time the question was asked it was rebuffed and the team curiously referred to the governor for appropriate answers. If the legacy projects were not designed to defraud the state why then are their costs a hidden matter? Why has the state government not found it worthwhile to publish the list of the projects and what they cost Abia State taxpayers?<br /> <br /> There are more questions than answers. Let us continue. Why has the government of Abia State refused every request to give the costs of the projects if indeed its hands are clean? The worst part is that the governor has been very evasive on the matter. In all of the publications by his administration on its performance none contains any information about the costs of the legacy projects.<br /> <br /> But from what I have been able to glean all the legacy projects put together are not worth over N5 billion.<br /> <br /> The concentration of all the legacy projects in Umuahia – the state capital – and ancestral home of the governor – makes the whole thing look tardy and suspicious. Almost 60 per cent of the legacy projects were renovated structures. For instance, one of the structures in the new state secretariat complex was actually an existing structure that was reroofed and repainted. It is even on record that our own administration did some renovation in the same complex when some of its pillars were found to be collapsing.<br /> <br /> What of the Amachara General Hospital – another Legacy Project? The hospital has been there since the creation of the state. Even our administration (1999-2000) carried out some renovation works on the hospital. What the present administration did, in the name of legacy projects, was to carry out some renovations and get the whole place repainted, and its signboard mounted. There is nothing wonderful about it. I regret to state here that the things one sees outsider do not portray what is inside. What one finds inside is a totally different story all together.<br /> <br /> The Mecure Specialist Diagnostic Centre in Umuahia, which the government of Governor Orji flaunts as a legacy project once housed the Alaoma Hospital – a private hospital owned by Dr. Anagha Ezeikpe, which he sold to the state government. The structures in the complex were simply repainted and their roofs replaced. The same situation obtains at the State’s Customary Court of Appeal located in Umuahia. The entire complex was renovated, reroofed and repainted. There is no single new structure on the premises. The first renovation works on the premises were executed by our administration (1999-2000). What the outgoing government in Umuahia did was to renovate it further to look as if it were a new project to hoodwink unsuspecting members of the public.<br /> <br /> What about the Commissioners’ Quarters? Who in Abia State does not know that the project was executed by our administration (1999-2007)? Shamelessly, the governor contracted a firm to repaint the whole structures and place a signboard as if the project was done by his government. What a fraud!<br /> <br /> From available records, it is clear that the government of Chief Orji is laying claims to the 1000-units Ehimiri Housing Estate. How on earth could the governor be so unabashed as to lay claims to a project he did not even start let alone complete? Our government (1999-2007) constructed the Ehimiri Housing Estate, completed and allocated it to the beneficiaries – many of whom are civil servants. Imagine what would have happened if we had not had the wisdom to start and complete the housing estate considering the perennial shortage of decent accommodation in the state? I was travelling to Uyo some time ago and saw a huge signboard with the governor’s photograph adorning the entrance to the estate.<br /> <br /> To be fair to the governor there are a few projects he started under the legacy projects scheme, which, for I know, do not have any relevance to the pressing needs of the people. In fact, they are not people-oriented projects, but were started to serve as conduit-pipes to fritter away the state’s financial resources. Some of these projects are the new International Conference Centre, Mega Events Centre, Obani Main Market (which replaced the demolished Umuahia Central Market), the new industrial market, and the new Government House. Out of the five projects only the Obani and Industrial Markets had been partially completed. The other two are less than 30% completed. It is important to state here that the Obani Market situated on the outskirts of the state capital has not served any useful purpose to traders since it was commissioned about two years ago. They see it as a curse rather blessing.<br /> <br /> It is a pity watching traders stay from morning till night without any serious patronage as nobody would risk doing a 10-kilometer journey everyday to go and shop when one can easily access smaller markets in the city and  its environs or better still patronize the Onu-Imo Market in Imo State, which is closer.<br /> <br /> Obani market was hurriedly built and this made it lack some basic amenities such as water, toilets, and health centre, etc which should have made life a bit comfortable for the traders. There are provisions for these amenities, quite all right, but up till the time of writing this report their absence has caused the traders untold hardships. What sense did it make to Governor Orji to build a market that does not serve any useful purpose for the people of our state?<br /> <br /> The mega events centre, which is under construction, is not a priority project. What purpose will such a utopian project serve the people who daily groan under the weight of excess taxation; unpaid salaries and pensions, and dearth of basic infrastructure such as roads, pipe borne water, decent accommodation. Now when completed, can an average Abian who is impoverished by the eight years of waste under Governor Orji afford the luxury of such a high-class event centre?<br /> <br /> Experience has shown that such projects do not thrive in poverty-stricken places like Abia State. When we were in office as governor we offered many Abians opportunities to develop themselves cognitively and materially. In fact, no administration before or after us has made life as worth-living as we had done. We took government to the doorsteps of every Abian and made every resident – indigene or non-indigene – feel at home. Security was provided all year-round with salaries of workers paid as due. Ask anybody in Abia State who lived in the state from 1999 to 2007 to compare and contrast our two governments. He will tell you the difference is clear. Even the governor himself can acknowledge this fact if he can be truthful to himself.<br /> <br /> It was because of the tempo of development and the enviable strides we made that skewed the tide in favour of Chief Orji to succeed me. We had reasoned that as an insider he would be able to sustain our collective vision and work with increased vigour to develop our state. But the reverse turned out to be the case.<br /> <br /> I find it offensive and the height of insensitivity that Governor Orji would dump a well-designed manifesto of 2007 to chase shadow. The script he is acting was written without my knowledge or the knowledge of any member of our team. His own script is self-centred, insensitive, purposeless and without clear-cut vision. As indicated earlier it was designed to hoodwink the people and bring fortunes to the T.A. Orji Dynasty.<br /> <br /> His desperation to install a puppet, go to the Senate, and his son, the state House of Assembly, is all part of the grand design to perpetuate the dynasty. When I was governor I was accused of ‘mamatocracy’ (even when this allegation was untrue). But what will the governor who made his son the de facto governor and his wife one of the henchmen of his administration? We can call this one, ‘familiocracy’.<br /> <br /> The long and short of it is that all the arm-twisting tactics, media blitzkrieg, antagonism and hatred by the governor are all part of a grand design to cover his tracks and shield himself from possible prosecution over the fraud that the so-called Legacy Projects have been.But time will expose his evil deeds and bring him to justice.</div>

Orji’s legacy projects: Cover for fraud

When the paired word ‘Legacy Projects’ cropped up in the political lexicon of Abia State a few years ago, many people thought it was conc...

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Gov. Orji riding the tiger’s back

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.0769em; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Strange things happen in Abia State where Chief Theodore Orji strides like the Lord of the Manor and carries himself with such haughtiness as if the state belongs to him and his family. He has refused to turn a new leaf despite all entreaties for him to do so. He prefers beating about the bush to accepting the wise counsels of concerned persons who have repeatedly drawn his attention to the perilous path he is treading. He sees nothing wrong in his reckless actions and utterances but prefers to pander to praise-singing and cult-worship.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Truth to him is like a bitter pill, which must be avoided at all costs. His best friends are those who massage his ego and sing his praise to high heavens; but those who criticize or advise him wisely have been demonized and left in the lurch.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Because he loves praise-singing he has surrounded himself with many praise-sing­ers. Many of his so-called advisers instead of wasting their time and talents offering him useful advice on how to develop the state, which he will never accept in good faith, they have chosen to buy airtime in the state-owned broadcast station to sing his praise from morning till night every blessed day. You hardly hear any quality news from the station. All one hears on a daily basis, per second per second, is “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ochendo Global </em>did this, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ochendo Glob­al </em>did that’, without anything on ground to show for it. It is like a circus display: the more you look the less you see – <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">abraca­dabra</em>.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> There is no single day you open a news­paper in Nigeria without finding a disheart­ening story about Abia State. It is needless recounting some of the purulent and gory tales oozing out of our ill-fated state, be­cause the list is endless. But one undeni­able fact is that Abia State is steadily on the march to perdition. The only saving grace is that the so-called obnoxious <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ochendo </em>era will end soon. It is just a matter of two months before the people sing the real lib­eration song.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> When I witness what is happening in Abia State and the decrepit level it has sunk in the past 8 years my heart is mel­ancholic. The level of corruption the state has witnessed under Governor Orji is mindboggling and indescribably embar­rassing. Imagine a state that has earned an average of N5 billion monthly, excluding internally-generated revenue, since 2007, without anything tangible to show for it! The state is run like the private property of the governor and his family. They call the shots and decide who gets what. Does this translate to true democracy?</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The people of Abia State constantly live in fear: nobody dares to speak out or he will face the music in the hands of the governor’s ruthless thugs or those of his ‘mighty’ son – seen everywhere he goes as the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">de facto </em>governor. If anybody dis­putes this position let him now tell me why the governor, despite his abysmal perfor­mance, should have the effrontery to offer himself up for Senate and his son, House of Assembly. They should have completed the circle by offering his wife the seat to the Umuahia/Ikwuano Federal Constitu­ency. What a shame!</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The selfishness of Governor Orji and his ambition are pathologically vaulting. Everything he thinks about is himself and his family. While the state is the goose that lays the golden eggs, the people are his footstools. And there is no end in sight to his insensitivity and misadministration.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I receive hundreds of text messages every week from some of our agonized people back home in Abia State, complain­ing about the draconian and uncaring ad­ministration of the governor. They ask for solution, they cry for redemption. One of the text messages actually provoked me to write this piece. The writer complained about how her shop at the former Umua­hia Main Market was demolished without the government offering her a lifeline. Ac­cording to her, she has spent all her savings since the market was relocated to Obani, outskirts of Umuahia, because she was not allotted a shop in the new market. There are thousands of others like this woman whose shops were demolished, and up till today have not been given any replace­ment.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> It is very sad that the stalls in the new market were shared out to the governor’s cronies, hangers-on, family members, po­litical associates and friends, who in turn resold them at exorbitant prices. This is why many of the displaced traders could not secure a space in the new market.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Another tragedy is that traders relocat­ed to the new market and who were able to secure new shops idle away every day for lack of patronage. Many of them have closed shop and now stay at home, instead of spending the little money at their dis­posal transporting themselves to the new market, which is about 10 kilometers away.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Some of the texts also drew attention to the lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity, roads, etc across the state. In­terestingly, a sizeable number of the texts came from the City of Aba, which is in a state of total collapse. When I was gov­ernor of the state from 1999 to 2007, our administration ensured that the city was well-catered to. We rehabilitated almost all the bad roads in the city and provided other amenities that made life pleasurable for the people. We were able to rebuild Aba de­spite our lean resources, because of its stra­tegic importance as the economic livewire of the state.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I find it inexplicable that Governor Orji could allow Aba to degenerate to its pres­ent pitiful state, when his administration collects huge revenue from there in form of taxes. This is the height of wickedness!</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Residents of Aba are very bitter and frustrated with the governor. They have al­ways wanted a way to vent their anger for a very long time. So, what happened last Friday at the burial of our beloved Bishop Valentine Ezeonyia, where the governor was thoroughly embarrassed by the people of the city, was unfortunate and generally avoidable!</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Probably, the governor underestimated the capacity of the people to react the way they did. He personally courted the wrath of the people and now is seeking a scape­goat in another person. To clone my phone number and purport a message to have been written by me apologizing to the gov­ernor over the incident of last Friday was a show of shame by the governor and his cohorts. Why should anybody clone my phone number to serve his self-centred agenda?</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The cause of the rift between me and the governor was that I advised him to gear up and work for the people. I had told him pointblank in 2008 – after 12 months in of­fice as governor – that the people were not happy with his performance. I also advised him to stop taking loans indiscriminately from banks as that would be detrimental to his administration on the long run. Instead of taking my advice in good faith and mak­ing amends he opted to antagonize me.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Thereafter, he nicknamed himself ‘<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ochendo Global</em>’ and started reveling in debauchery. His acolytes and band of praise-singers sweet-talk him and this makes his head swell. His sense of reason­ing, having been beclouded by vainglory, leaves him power-drunk and drenched with myopia. His actions in turn become anti-people and irrational. This is the lot of the man in the saddle in Abia State.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> It is on record that since we went our separate ways I have taken the back seat and allowed him to run the show as he so desires. But one thing I have vowed not to do is to see evil and not speak up against it. So long I have breath in me I will continue to condemn evil in whatever ramification it rears its ugly head.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Our elders and other stakeholders have unfortunately lost their manhood. They prefer to gallivant with the governor for the crumbs from his table. Some of them are captains of industry, retired military men, and intellectuals who should ordinarily show exemplary leadership to the young ones. The misadministration of Abia State under the watch of the governor has been bolstered by the tacit support he gets from these shameless people. Today Abia State is a Pariah State, despised by many.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> There is nothing anywhere in the state to show the true presence of government. What greet a first-time visitor to the state are mountainous heaps of refuse, dilapi­dated roads, and poverty written in the faces of the people. There is no state capi­tal in Nigeria, except Umuahia, that does not wear a new look. When the attention of the governor is drawn to the develop­mental strides made by neighbouring states such as Akwa Ibom State he cites dispar­ity in federal allocation collectible by the two states as a reason. Nobody compares Abia State to Akwa Ibom, but at least there should be signs of government presence in Abia State based on what it has collected so far from Abuja.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Conservatively, Abia State has received close to a trillion naira from the federation account and internally-generated revenue since 2007. Despite this huge sum received the state is still very poor and backward. The only evidence of development was the accomplishments recorded by the admin­istrations of Sam Mbakwe and Orji Kalu. Where then has all the money gone?</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Business Mogul Arthur Eze visited Abia State on the invitation of the governor re­cently and left a very sad man. What he said about the poor state of infrastructure in the state is in the public domain. Unfor­tunately, in spite of the berating by Dr. Eze the governor has carried on as usual. And this makes him a very incorrigible person. What on earth would cause a governor to continue in his evil ways when he has the opportunity to repent? If somebody had told me in 1999 that Chief Theodore Orji was going to behave in the manner he does at present I would not have believed him.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I trusted him with the destiny of Abia State by supporting him to become gover­nor, not knowing that the mien he exhib­ited throughout the period he served as my chief of staff was fake and pretentious. You the reader may not appreciate what I am saying until you have encountered this sly man. He laughs with you but deep in his heart he harbours evil.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> For Governor Orji, misrule, corrup­tion and greed are the same thing and ten pence. He cannot spot any difference among them. For if he could spot the dif­ference then he would know that they are evils and should be avoided. There is no person in Abia State who has not tasted the bitter pill served by the governor and his family. From the poor to the mighty, the powerful to the weak, it is the same tales of woes.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The people cry daily for redemption. They pray ceaseless that the burden placed upon them by the misdeeds of the governor be taken away by God without further de­lay. Anger and frustration have enveloped our people. They have sworn never to have any dealings with the governor or his fam­ily again. Even among the kinsmen of the governor the story is the same. They also want change. They allege that their son has forsaken them and has not done anything to better their lot since he assumed the of­fice of governor.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The anti-Theodore Orji sentiments have been on geometric rise, particularly after the controversial PDP primaries in which he foisted himself and his son on the party as their senatorial and House of Assem­bly candidates respectively. It is not an exaggeration to state that from what is on ground there is no way the governor could win any election anywhere in Abia State again. The people, whom he has taken for a ride, are ready to pay him back in his own coin.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I challenge anybody in doubt to under­take a tour of Abia State to feel the pulse of the people. A few persons who profit from the governor’s purposeless leadership may run ring round him, prodding him to go on with his recklessness and insensitivity – but that will not avert the judgement of the people that is about to befall him. I know he still recalls what I always told him while serving as my chief of staff – that evil has an expiry date. Whatever anyone does in life – good or bad, right or wrong – has a reward.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> For Governor Orji he has wasted all the goodwill he had, including the opportunity to worm him back into the masses’ hearts. The only worry I have is the liabilities he is going to leave behind as he races out of Government House Umuahia come May 29. I am aware that the level of indebted­ness of his government to the banks, differ­ent categories of workers, pensioners, and contractors is frightening. This was exactly what our administration avoided as we pre­pared to leave office in 2007. We ensured that we left no debts – local or foreign – so that the incoming administration would not be bogged down by carry-over liabilities.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3OlYzDXLJgljwS-Pjqtd6pYNaWm2_UcuW5GxHcIp7XblByxxKL9zAIzseHKaK4LbGkGLHYKCR0nzlp71k0PmXsri6zGN3cRXvRXvPWbzO7Qn4MwnUkMcp_WaBsVzGXdYBqN0nNHJ0ee_/s1600/Ouk+leadership.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3OlYzDXLJgljwS-Pjqtd6pYNaWm2_UcuW5GxHcIp7XblByxxKL9zAIzseHKaK4LbGkGLHYKCR0nzlp71k0PmXsri6zGN3cRXvRXvPWbzO7Qn4MwnUkMcp_WaBsVzGXdYBqN0nNHJ0ee_/s1600/Ouk+leadership.png" width="320" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br /></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Lest we forget: I threw a challenge to Governor Orji last year for us to seek the services of the best audit firm in the world to audit the accounts of our governments to see who among us has misappropriated and plundered the financial resources of our beloved state. I even offered to de­fray the cost of the audit whenever it takes place. Sadly, six months after the challenge he is yet to respond to it. The simple de­duction to make from his deliberate silence is that he has something to hide. Otherwise he would have accepted the challenge long ago.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25.9979991912842px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> In conclusion, I wish to state that I have nothing personal against Governor Orji, even though he has disappointed me and the good people of Abia State who believed in me and voted him into power while in prison. I have only drawn attention to the realities that await him, in case he has for­gotten that after thunder comes calm. He should come down from his high horse and seek the face of God and reconcile himself with Him and the people before it becomes too late.</div> </div>

Gov. Orji riding the tiger’s back

Strange things happen in Abia State where Chief Theodore Orji strides like the Lord of the Manor and carries himself with such haughtiness...

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2015 presidency: Nigerians should believe in Jonathan

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">With the steady gains the Nigerian military has made in the fight against insurgency in the north-East geopolitical zone coupled with the massive commissioning of projects by Mr. President, especially in the past three weeks, Nigerians are no longer in doubt they have a capable president in Goodluck Jonathan.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I recall that former President Ibrahim Babangida reechoed this position when President Jonathan paid him a courtesy visit at his Minna residence as part of his nation-wide electioneering campaign. Babangida was blunt and straight to the point when he said that ‘Nigeria is safe under President Goodluck Jonathan.’</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">For me, I have never for once doubted the capability of the President leading this country having critically studied his performance in the past 6 years. Forget the demonization by the opposition, and the campaigns of calumny mounted against him by other subterranean forces, President Jonathan has been anointed by God to right the wrongs of this country and place it on a steady path of growth and development.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">There are many good things some people do not know about this President. I must confess that initially I never believed in his ability to successfully lead a complex and heterogeneous nation as Nigeria, because of some misplaced perceptions. I had seen him as too weak and soft to drive a nation of over 200 ethnic blocks. I had expected somebody with iron fists to beat our obdurate people into line.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">But later events have since proved me wrong. In fact, I was too quick to judge him – also for obvious reasons. The most critical at the time was the security situation in the country, which was assuming an embarrassing proportion. I remember the frightening situation then in the Southeast, to which kidnappers and other criminal elements had laid siege. They had a field day terrorizing and killing innocent people. When the President stepped in the situation was brought under control. The presence of the military in strategic towns and cities in the zone has helped tremendously in restoring law and order.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Then enter the northeast zone. Boko Haram and their sponsors set out on a dangerous mission to destabilize the country. The dreaded sect was taking over towns and cities with ease. It got to a point when Nigerians started asking if at all they had a military. Faced with this dispirited development the President stood firm and carried on with the mien of a combatant general. Despite all the media criticisms he maintained his cool and kept assuring the nation that the government was on top of the situation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Nigerians were visibly and ostensibly tired of this refrain from the President each time there was an attack by the sect. They wanted action. They cried out for it. But nothing seemed to be working. State of emergency was declared and renewed on a few occasions – all in an effort to find a way round the problem to no avail.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">One thing many critics of the president did not take into consideration was the complex nature of the operations by the military to flush out the insurgents. The northeast geopolitical zone is a very wide and difficult terrain. It is also accessible to some of the most difficult neighbours – Chad, Niger and Cameroun. Curiously, Chad and Niger had been under constant threats of terrorists and different kinds of militias for as long as I can remember. So, with the eruption of insurgency in the northeast it was easy for criminal elements to gain access into Nigeria, using many of the porous borders around the region.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Again, Nigerians should consider that before the ascendancy of President Jonathan to power Nigeria had never witnessed terrorism in any form. Therefore, it could be safe to conclude that our security agencies were not mentally and materially ready for the war. That was why it took some time to prepare it sufficiently for the onslaught against the sect.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I was alarmed when some persons chose to describe President Jonathan as clueless. Clueless? That was a harsh word to use on a man who has spent all the days of his presidency so far working to make Nigeria great.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">It was simple to understand why the President was described as clueless by some disgruntled elements: he restrained the military from using too much force on Boko Haram terrorists which would have resulted in massive loss of civilian lives. As a passionate and compassionate leader the President chose to protect his people instead of allowing many of them to die for him to gain some cheap publicity. For a power-hungry leader the latter option would have been more appealing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I would want Nigerians to take some time out, in the quietude of their rooms, to think about Nigeria and the effort this President has made to keep it one and united. The emergence of Jonathan at this time of our national life was not by accident. God brought him, aware of the delicate nature of our unity, to take Nigeria to the next stage of development. I doubt if any other President could have had the sanity of mind and the patience to direct the affairs of the nation as Jonathan had done. You know it is easy to destroy than to build. Let me ask: would there have been a nation to lead if the President had confronted the challenges of the nation with such brutality as some people had anticipated?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">For close watchers of global events it is germane on every Nigerian to consider the way other nations had handled their own crises. Rwanda, Somalia, Congo Democratic Republic (CDR), Sudan, etc are embroiled in internecine wars for not properly handling their differences. Nigeria’s situation would have been worse if a man like Jonathan had not been in the saddle.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I am sure those that predicted the dismemberment of Nigeria had thought it was going to toe the infamous path of these crisis-ridden countries. However, they underestimated the strength of Jonathan and had thought he would have easily succumbed to pressure and led Nigeria into crisis.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Unfortunately, what critics saw as cluelessness was actually tact and diplomacy. While critics were busy abusing the President and calling him all kinds of derogatory names, he was busy re-equipping and retraining the military on how to deal with terrorism. Now his perseverance has started yielding the desired dividends. The evidence is all over the place.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Look at what is happening in the northeast axis of the country, where terrorists had held sway. What do you see? Terrorists scampering for safety with some of them even drowning? I had wished this did not happen when I joined my voices with those of other well-meaning Nigerians to appeal to Boko Haram to lay down their arms and embrace peace. I foresaw what is happening today about three years ago when I offered to broker peace between the government and Boko Haram.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I had always believed in President Jonathan’s ability to deal with Boko Haram. So I am not surprised at the present gains by the military over the sect. What I did not, however, anticipate was the swiftness of the operations. Is it not amazing that in less than one week almost all the territories hitherto under the control of the sect had been recovered by the military. Even in one of the communities normal activities had resumed, with the markets swinging back to life.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">For critics of Jonathan, the shift in the dates of the elections was a ploy by his government to buy time. Which time? I dismissed this insinuation in this column two weeks ago. Jonathan does not need to buy any time to win the forthcoming elections. His performance will make it possible. Later events have since proved that INEC was not fully ready for the elections. If the elections had gone ahead as planned, probably, what happened in 2011, when the elections were aborted mid way, would have recurred.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Because of the tact and managerial ability of the President this calamity was averted. Imagine what embarrassment it would have caused the nation if the elections had gone on and ended in disaster. Who would have been blamed? Definitely not INEC as many would make us believe. The blame would have been levied on the President. Aware of the enormity of the task on his shoulders the president did the needful.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">I must single out the Service Chiefs for commendation. Their wisdom and courage in advising for a shift in the dates of the election has saved the nation from destabilization. It has also shown the military as an apolitical and professional organization with its focus on the stability of the nation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Interestingly, INEC is already leveraging on the postponement as more PVCs are being distributed and other materials needed for credible, smooth and peaceful elections produced. Nobody needs further assurances to believe that the new dates for the elections are realistic, going by the progress made so far.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Those who accuse the president of not fighting corruption enough should bear in mind that he has the capacity to fight corruption. Corruption is like insecurity. They are cankers that do no nation any good. Without necessarily defending the President, it is common knowledge that corruption did not get to its present magnitude overnight. It took many years for it to mutate and spread. What we have in Nigeria today is institutional corruption, and to destroy it requires the cooperation and support of every Nigerian. My take on the matter is that President Jonathan will fight corruption with the same commitment he has dealt with insecurity. I know very well that he is planning a huge offensive against corruption. It is just a matter of time.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Let me quickly add that President Jonathan’s style of fighting corruption will differ significantly with the way a man with military background would. Don’t forget we are under a civilian dispensation, where protection of fundamental rights of every citizen is guaranteed by the Constitution. Therefore, there is a limit to the quantum of force to be applied in the enforcement of the laws that punish corrupt practices.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">In my reasoning, the best way to fight corruption is through reorientation and cutting off all the roots that give it life. How can this be achieved? We need to create more jobs, provide more amenities to make life worth living, boost agriculture to provide more food, bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, and reduce poverty to the barest level. It is inequality that pervades every sphere of our national life that makes corruption flourish. And the way President Jonathan is going about the task of eradicating corruption it will become a thing of the past sooner than expected.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Having said that it is important to state at this juncture that the critics of President Jonathan are yet to tell us what difference replacing him with another person would make on the lives on Nigerians. All they keep chanting is change. Change to achieve what? They have not told us. I have read the economic blueprints of the opposition political parties and none of them could match the transformation agenda of President Jonathan. Any unbiased assessment of the agenda shows that it has the capacity to turnaround the life of the nation positively. Already its implementation so far has given hope that the twin-problem of power and employment will soon be addressed.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">Nobody will disagree that youth unemployment coupled with unavailability of steady power has contributed adversely to the growth of the Nigerian economy. So, if the two problems could be addressed then we are on the road to economic boom that will lead to more jobs for the youth and lesser crimes.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">What President Jonathan has achieved in 6 years will take a new government another 10 years to accomplish. Lack of sufficient time to midwife and nurture a programme to fruition has been identified as one of the problems working against the development of the nation. With another four years (which is like a short hour in the night) the President will be able to complete ongoing projects started by his administration. It is always better for somebody who initiated a project to complete it according to specifications.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">One thing going for the president is that he is a silent achiever. I was perplexed when I saw him in Olorunsogo, Ogun State last week commissioning a new power project. I was wondering when the project was started and already completed. That is the hallmark of responsible leadership. I believe President Jonathan has many more surprises for Nigerians only if they can trust him and re-elect him.</span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTBOnaSAPv-jAT3KmIs7SFnzMei2z9hR-5W248v2m7klcGi4NqKzVFsch6JIPocSgIZQoWlsswUNiCRtEYkIBYu2fVshvz9IZcoti72k8rguNUKpdXOT8Y-A3rdhOmp0fPeLo-tr_DDqN/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTBOnaSAPv-jAT3KmIs7SFnzMei2z9hR-5W248v2m7klcGi4NqKzVFsch6JIPocSgIZQoWlsswUNiCRtEYkIBYu2fVshvz9IZcoti72k8rguNUKpdXOT8Y-A3rdhOmp0fPeLo-tr_DDqN/s1600/kalu-series.jpg" /></a></div> <br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">He has demonstrated a determination to build a new Nigeria in which everybody will enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution; hunger and penury chased away, crimes and other forms of criminality reduced drastically; life more pleasurable; and peace and tranquility reign.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a4149; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0766000747681px; line-height: 27.9972457885742px;">It will not serve the nation any useful purpose to change a winning horse midstream. What we need now is to allow President Jonathan to consolidate on the achievements of his administration and steer the ship of state to a safe berth come 2019.</span></div>

2015 presidency: Nigerians should believe in Jonathan

With the steady gains the Nigerian military has made in the fight against insurgency in the north-East geopolitical zone coupled with the m...

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