For The First Time, US Shuns Nigeria’s Oil

The search for alternative energy by the Barack Obama administration in the United States of America (USA) has begun to take a toll on Nigeria’s crude oil export as the US for the first time failed to import a single barrel of crude oil from Nigeria.

This troubling scenario experienced in the month of July, according to industry watchers, may spell doom for the Nigerian economy.

Obama’s vigorous search for alternative energy to drive the world’s largest economy poses grave dangers for Nigeria whose economy is highly dependent on revenue from oil.

Nigeria used to be the fifth largest exporter of crude oil to the US.

However, experts said despite declining revenue, depleting foreign reserves and pressure on the exchange rate, Nigerian economy remained “robust enough to withstand the shock waves hitting the economy.”

While US crude imports rose by 569,000 barrels per day in July, imports of Nigerian crude fell to zero for the first time.

Data obtained from the US Energy Information Administration during the week showed that US imports rose to 7.623 million bpd up from 7.054 mbpd in June.

Despite being at their highest since December 2013, imports are down from 8.058 mbpd in the same month a year ago.

Imports from Nigeria fell to zero in July, down from 89,000 bpd in June, all of which had gone to the US Atlantic Coast.

Nigeria had remained remarkably upbeat despite lower-than-expected revenues, low foreign investment and a weak infrastructure base.

While President Goodluck Jonathan has rolled out a slew of robust, but seemingly disjointed plans in several sectors of the economy, his government has failed to articulate a stimulus package to deal with the current public revenue crisis and record unemployment, or to weld the plans into a coherent whole.

Reports indicated that before now, the US has reduced crude imports from Nigeria by 91 per cent, putting the country’s crude exports in disarray.

The US, which was hitherto the biggest importer of crude from Nigeria with over one million barrels per day, early this year imported an average of 100, 000 bpd till June 2014.

Data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) revealed that by the end of last year, the US dropped to the 10th highest importer of Nigeria’s crude, with 1.438 million barrels.

Specifically, Nigeria exported 1.438 million barrels of crude oil to North America by December 2013, down by 15.111 million barrels in December 2012.

Obviously, Nigeria has started witnessing the negative effect of shale oil exploration in the US and other parts of the world. Prior to July, the country’s crude oil export to North America had dropped by 91.31 per cent in one year.

North America accounted for 22.19 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export by December 2012, but it dropped to 2.23 per cent by December 2013.

According to an NNPC report, “Prior to the decline, the US was the highest buyer of Nigeria’s crude, purchasing 14.279 million barrels in December 2012, thereby accounting for 19.15 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export and 86.28 per cent of total crude export to North America. By 2013 end, the US dropped to the 10th highest importer of Nigeria’s crude.

The NNPC report stated that by December 2013, Europe was the highest importer of Nigeria’s crude, accounting for 47 per cent of Nigeria’s total export, followed by Asia and Far East, accounting for 26 per cent, while Africa accounted for 12 per cent.

The report stated that South America accounted for 10 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude export, while Oceania/Pacific and North America accounted for three per cent and two per cent respectively.

Also, India emerged the highest importer of Nigeria’s crude in December 2013, with 13.086 million barrels, followed by the Netherlands with 9.866 million barrels, and France 4.497 million barrels.

Nigeria exported 4.869 million barrels of crude to Brazil in the period under review, 4.6 million barrels to Spain and 3.895 million barrels to South Africa.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, depends largely on crude proceeds to service over 85 per cent of its budget.

The present scenario, no doubt, compels President Jonathan and his economic team to roll up their sleeves and come up with a way out for the country’s economy.

Obama Congratulates Nigeria at 54, Pledges Support Against Terrorism

United States President Barack Obama

United States President Barack Obama has sent his greetings and that of the American people to Nigerians on the 54th independence anniversary of the country.

In a letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, Obama acknowledged Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa and at the United Nations (UN) towards promoting regional peace and stability.

The letter made available by the US Embassy in Abuja read in part: “At the heart of our enduring friendship is our shared commitment to democratic values, the rule of law, and economic development.

“We look forward to strengthening our relationship and working closely in the coming year, especially in promoting good governance and combating terrorism. As Nigerians observe this special day, we wish you a more peaceful and prosperous year.”
Obama added that the US was looking forward to strengthening its relationship with Nigeria in the coming year, especially on good governance.

In addition to Obama’s congratulatory message, Senate President David Mark and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday urged Nigerians to sustain their faith in Nigeria and remain steadfast in the effort to promote peace and the unity of Nigeria no matter the challenges.

Mark, in a goodwill message to Nigerians to mark today's 54th independence anniversary, said the indivisibility of the nation was not negotiable as he recalled the nation’s chequered political history since 1960, during which Nigeria went through a 30-month fratricidal civil war, various ethno-religious conflicts, adding that the crises were surmountable.

He dismissed as untrue the perception in some quarters that Nigeria had not made progress since independence, saying: “Let us cast our minds back a little and see the number of roads, schools, universities, health institutions, telecommunications infrastructure and a host of others.

“We may not have been where we want to be but we have made appreciable progress and we can do more.  All we need to do is to strengthen our unity as one people with one mission and purpose.

“A stable democracy has offered us an opportunity to harness our abundant resources for good.

“Nigeria has passed through many challenges in the past and we came out of it. The security challenges; this Boko Haram can be defeated if we unite to fight them. I believe Boko Haram, terrorism or the insurgency is alien to us as a people. We have the capacity to defeat them and confine them to the dustbin of history.”

He added: “We cannot correct perceived imbalances by taking up arms against our brothers, sisters and the nation. We must therefore continue to shun individuals or groups that encourage, preach and practise division among our people. We must shun every harbinger of hate and bond together as a people of common interest and destiny. 

“As legislators we will continue to do our part to wit; provide the needed legislative framework for the executive arm of government to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people.

“Let me use this occasion to remind our fellow country men and women that as 2015 elections approach, we must not lose sight of the fact that the election should not be seen as war.  We must play the game according to the rules.”

In his own message, Ekweremadu commended Nigerians on the advent of the current democratic dispensation, urging them to continue in their determination to sustain it.

He said: “At 54, Nigeria has made progress, as the people have through absolute determination and sacrifice jointly laid the foundation for speedy national transformation by achieving an unprecedented 15 years of uninterrupted democratic streak.

“However, celebrating our independence anniversary at the threshold of the 2015 general election is also a call to duty to add to the nation’s democratic credentials and development by collectively working for a free, fair, and credible general election.”

He said the Senate would not leave any stone unturned in providing solid legal frameworks and will provide all the necessary legislative support to guarantee the success of both the 2015 general election and subsequent ones.

He also commended Jonathan’s government for its determination to end terrorism in the country as evidenced in the recent successes recorded in the war against insurgency.

On his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, urged Nigerians to work tirelessly to promote the tenets of democracy, good governance and responsible citizenry.

In a statement to mark Nigeria's Independence Day anniversary issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal appealed to the political elite to moderate their utterances and be mindful of their responsibility to the country.

He said with the elections scheduled for early 2015, all leaders must avoid acts that could heat up the polity. According to him, “What is of paramount importance now is for political office holders to approach elections with the intentions to play by the rules.”

While congratulating Nigerians on the country’s 54th independence anniversary, Tambuwal restated the commitment of the House of Representatives to uphold the ideals of a united Nigeria, which he said, shall take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Similarly, Tambuwal’s deputy, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha expressed optimism that Nigeria would rise again and claim her rightful place in the international community.

The deputy speaker, in a message by his media aide, Oke Epia, said in spite of the current challenges relating to security and development, the country would be propelled to the top, given the human and material resources abundant in the land and efforts being made by government to put things right.

He called on Nigerians to remain steadfast and resilient in the pursuit of national unity and glory, while calling on leaders at different levels to be patriotic and put the nation first in the discharge of their duties.

Ihedioha congratulated Nigerians on the occasion of the independence anniversary, saying: “Though there is much that is desired to bring our country to its place of pride, there is also much that is being done to move the country forward.”

However, a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, in his message to mark Nigeria’s 54th independence celebrations, said there was nothing to “celebrate because the nation has not flourished as it should”.

In a statement from his media office, Tinubu said: “Today, the nation staggers beneath the weight of trouble stacked upon problem multiplied by hardship. Peace and unity seem to have yielded the moment to violence and discord.

“We exist as a political unit on a map but we do not prosper as brothers and sisters in one nation, under one flag and pursuant to one accord. We have lost our road and now seem to be on the road of the lost.”

The former governor said he was proud to be a Nigerian and would not attach his life to any other nation “but genuine patriotism should not induce blindness”.

He said Nigeria is burdened by too many resolvable challenges that remain unresolved, adding: “This is not a time for fake cheers and elation at the present state of things just because the calendar has touched this day.

“We need to use this hour soberly by taking stock of the obstacles mounting before us and of the hard direction in which we seem to be heading. I fear this direction, if further taken, will lead us not home but to an appointment with failure and national destitution." 

Tinubu also lamented the current state of the nation, saying: “Under the Jonathan government, the vaunted Transformation Agenda is but an elaborate name for old-fashion pocket stuffing. They do not have a national blueprint or vision. But they do have a blueprint and vision for excessive self-enrichment.

“Their equation is simple. You work, they feast. You toil, they grow fat. You seek a decent wage; they pilfer the collective treasury to enjoy a king's ransom.”

He was of the view that national planning had been haphazard and people-unfriendly.
“For most of our 54 years and for all of the past fifteen, honest men have been given scant opportunity to lead Nigeria. We have wandered from the path of economic empowerment for our youths and the mass of our people.

“Nigeria has become adept at creating economic refugees, brain-drain migrants, decimated institutions and the building of a venal ‘Wallet Economy’ benefiting only a handful.

“As if this cynically induced poverty is not sufficient hardship, this government compounds the public burden by sowing discord with the alacrity that a wise government would plant charity and accord.

“Rather than promote religious tolerance and harmonious living, this government believes its electoral chances are enhanced by promoting ethnicism, internal divisions, religious suspicion and scapegoating,” he stated.
He described 16 years of PDP rule as a period of diminishing returns, observing that the longer the party rules, the less benefit the people derive.

“Nigeria now needs a 'common sense revolution', a revolution that calls forth a return to decency, probity, transparency of process and fairness in outcome. This is done not by subterfuge, divide and rule and turning Nigeria in a field of discord or a street of broken institutions.

“It is accomplished by honouring the principles of democratic good governance and economic justice. It is done by persuading the people they are better off as one instead of better off tearing at each other's throats,” he stated.

The APC chieftain said governance is about trust, “and this government is not even trusted by itself. That is why it does nothing except feed itself. This is not the road for a better Nigeria”.

He called on Nigerians to proceed from this 54th anniversary and embark on a common sense revolution that brings about progressive change for the benefit of most country men and women, the youths and the vulnerable.

“I speak here of a Common Sense revolution that promotes the well being and improve the lot of the average person, regardless of his or her ethnic, religious or regional affiliation.

“This way, Nigeria will not only be unified in national purpose it will have recovered its better path. That will be an Independence Day we can and should celebrate. Until then, we strive to keep from falling further,” he said.

Despite the despondency expressed by Tinubu, he assured Nigerians that help is on the way, charging them to be prepared for change.

“We must rescue Nigeria from those set to cause its irreparable harm. The change I talk about is the only route to our deliverance from 16 years of the PDP locusts. Nigeria is ours to keep and its democracy is ours to save,” he said.

Senate Committee Warns INEC against Proceeding with New Polling Units

 INEC logo

The Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday warned the electoral commission against proceeding with its plan to create additional 30,027 polling units in different parts of the country, saying the commission would face the music if it insists on going ahead with the move.

While issuing the warning yesterday, the committee chairman, Senator Andy Uba, who acknowledged that the commission’s decision to create additional polling units was a good idea, emphasised that the timing was wrong.

According to him, much time is required to first educate the electorate on the transfer of some of them from one polling unit to the other before actually embarking on the exercise, adding that if INEC opts to ignore the letter sent to it by the committee asking it to halt the move, the committee would be left with no option than to pass a resolution against the commission.

INEC had last month announced its plan to decongest polling stations by creating 21,000  additional units in the North as against 8,000 units in the South. But the commission has since the announcement, come under  severe criticism mainly from southerners who accused Jega of plotting a northern agenda.

Critics of the idea described it as unjustifiable and a deliberate decision to give the North greater advantage over the South at the forthcoming polls.

But Uba dismissed the insinuation that Jega was plotting a northern agenda, insisting that the only problem with the decision was wrong timing.

“We have sent a letter to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and we expressed our reservations over the planned creation of additional polling units across the country.  What he’s doing is good but the timing is wrong. We are close to an election year and we have so many displaced people in the North-eastern part of the country. So, where will the INEC put the new polling units? Wuse II, Abuja, for instance, where they have 4,000 registered voters now, you know the inconveniences coming from there.

“With 4,000 people queuing on a line, it is not possible for you to be accredited and then start voting. Otherwise, many people will come and turn back but it is a good idea. Only the timing is wrong that is all we are saying.

“Nobody is saying what they did was wrong as some people are saying that there is ulterior motive. There is no ulterior motive in it. That is not the issue. If they continue with it, we’ll pass our resolution. It is simple and once we pass our resolution, will he go ahead, saying that he doesn’t care?

“There are consequences when you say you don’t care but I know he is a gentleman and he is a man that keeps his words. We had a meeting and sent him a letter. What people are saying that he is plotting is not our business.

“And I don’t believe that there is anything he has in mind against anybody or anything but all I am saying is that the timing is wrong because if you are in a polling unit, now they move it to another primary school somewhere, you need time to educate the people, saying I have moved your polling unit to some other place.

“But if you have to get there before they tell you that ‘your name is not here,’ the man doesn’t have time to tell you that your name is in so, so and so place. So, it needs time to educate people to let them know that ‘you are no more here. You have been moved to a different polling unit’ but it is a good idea because it will decongest these polling units. It makes things work faster. When you come in, you will get accredited and you will vote and go but when you have 4,000 voters per polling unit, that is a problem. So, we have been working together and I know we will continue to work together,” Uba said.

He also promised that amendment to 2014 Electoral Act would be concluded when Senate resumes from its two weeks of Sallah break.

INEC Issues Notice of 2015 General Elections

Prof. Attahiru  Jega

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wednesday issued notice of elections slated to take place in February 2015.

The notice as contained in the INEC guidelines is in line with section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act (as amended).

According to the timetable released to political parties, they have between October 2 and end of December, 2014, to conduct primaries to choose their candidates for the general elections. The commission also, has officially released the guidelines for the conduct of the 2015 general elections to the 25 registered political parties in the country. 

JONATHAN MARKS NIGERIA’S INDEPENDENCE AT VILLA

President Goodluck Jonathan today celebrated the country's 54th independence anniversary within the confines of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Until 2012 when terrorist attacks in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria, an elaborate independence celebration used to take place at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

The low-key event, held at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, was marked with a change of guards parade conducted by the Presidential Guards Brigade, the 177 Battalion based in Keffi.

The president later signed the independence anniversary register and released pigeons, signifying peace.

Those present at the event included former head of state General Gowon, former head of the interim national government Earnest Shonekan, former Chief of General Staff General Olodipi Diya (rtd), former Vice President Alex Ekueme, Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, service chiefs and Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

KADUNA APC SETTLES DIFFERENCES

The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday summoned state, local government and ward officials to a meeting to reconcile intra-party differences.

Mutual disagreements between party members and officials over irregularities at the previous congresses in July had continued to threaten the electoral prospects of the party.

Several protest letters were written to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja by aggrieved members seeking its intervention on some issues including results of state congress, nomination of Suleiman Hunkuyi as deputy national organizing secretary, allegation of dismissal of some local government officials and alleged unauthorized nomination of Malam Nasir el-Rufa’i as BOT member.

Party Chairman Barnabas Bala Bantex said a select group of officials drawn from wards and local government met with state officials and elders to facilitate dialogues among members with a view to resolving their differences. He said for the party to field candidates and face opponents in the 2015 elections in the state, members must eschew grievances and come to the aid of one another.

Can Jonathan Reverse His Legacy of Impunity?

In the past few weeks, Nigeria’s litany of scandals require a loud and unceasing responsorial ora pro nobis. First, many people of good conscience are still wondering who among President Jonathan’s courtiers decided that #BringBackJonathan2015 should be the reward for the failure of his government to #BringBackOurGirls.President Goodluck JonathanThe Wall Street JournalSecond, the controversial Australian ‘negotiator’, Mr. Davis dropped a bombshell in his Boko Haram revelations. While many were still wondering what to make of his exposés and how seriously they should be taken, respected lawyer, Femi Falana, and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, in separate and insightful interventions cast the Australian in a serious light.  

Soyinka queried the President’s brazen high profile appearance with one of the alleged Boko Haram associates on the President’s recent trip to Chad. The Presidency acknowledged that the individual in question was under investigation. But in an embarrassing affirmation of the impunity that is fast becoming the legacy of the administration no one in the Presidency saw nothing unethical with the President’s public appearance with a political associate under investigation. 

Third is the $9.3 million botched illegal arms deal in South Africa in which the President’s associates have been indirectly connected and regarding which the federal government has since owned up. But the government’s response and management of the enfolding scandal appear to be more embarrassing than the incident itself. In one breath, the federal government argues that there is nothing illegal with the incident. In another, it blames the US for tipping off South Africa and for frustrating its desire to buy arms through legitimate channels. Yet in some quarters, South Africa is also blamed for stoking the media backlash the arms incident has caused. Fourth is the recent embarrassing collapse of the guesthouse complex of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos with significant South Africa fatalities. That situation now pressures already frayed diplomatic nerves.  

In saner places, all of these would propel the government in a crises management mode.  But here, what we have witnessed is an all time high in the political tempo of the ruling party.  Despite the Ebola crisis for which experts counseled against large-scale public gathering, the President’s party have continued to stage mega rallies in various disguises across the country. The highpoint of it is the recent adoption of the President by organs of his party as its sole candidate for the forthcoming presidential election. By so doing, the powerful governors’ caucus of the PDP appears to have foreclosed the need for presidential primaries in the ruling party. All the hitherto pretend presidential candidates in the PDP have now capitulated. But the President after being ‘humbled’ by the adoption, has ‘yet to declare interest’ in a second term mandate. Oh yes.

The significance of the decision by the PDP is important for the evolution of our political culture. Before now, many in the PDP, especially the erstwhile ‘rebel governors’, had continued to pretend that they could stop a sitting President from seeking a constitutionally sanctioned mandate renewal. Theoretically, it is necessary for a President not to take his privilege to carry his party’s electoral banner for granted. Practically, however, it is mostly in the interest of the ruling party to support the incumbent for a general election unless there is a compelling reason not to. More often than not, where a presidential incumbent is exposed to intra-party challenge, it leads to acrimony, bad blood and factionalism.

Rarely does a party fully recover from such self-induced stress that ultimately weakens its ability to face the opposition in a general election. In America where we pretend to model our presidential system, it is almost a convention that the ruling party would allow its presidential candidate a pass for a second term. That convention is even more important in a fledgling democracy and in a political culture such as ours where politics is a do-or-die affair.

The PDP certainly is not in a hurry to forget that the root of the in-fighting between former President Obasanjo and his then Vice President, Abubakar, is the latter’s aborted bid to humiliate his boss in the primaries. Under the illusion or delusion of his superior political clout and sagacity, Abubakar had intended to truncate Obasanjo’s second term interest. Some even claim that he came very close to accomplishing that before Obasanjo’s tortoise strategy paid off. An unforgiving Obasanjo was to get his pound of flesh by ensuring that Turaki’s presidential ambition never came through under the PDP.  The party has yet to recover from the crisis.

Despite the pressure by some Northern elements in the PDP to stampede Goodluck Jonathan out of the presidency, it is quite clear that in a culture of patronage politics, the incumbent wields enormous power. At some point, it looked like there was an internal revolution in PDP, and some Northern governors and members of the National Assembly in the party were determined to wrestle power from the President. But now even those associated with some presidential ambition and those on the forefront of opposing the President yesterday have come back to the ‘PDP family’ for various reasons. Those who dared to decamp are now standing on shaky political islands. One of them has since been impeached.

It is not to say that there is no need for internal democracy within the political parties. However, for a ruling party, the expediency at presidential level is not the same at the state levels in a federal order. That is why the backhand strategy and alleged nauseating deals through under which the President   secured his so called sole candidacy are worrisome. Speculations are rife that the President and his party had made concessions that compromise internal democracy in the ruling party as well as feed his administration’s continuing culture of impunity as the price at which he bought his sole candidacy. The details can only unfold in the coming months across the country. It may not yet be uhuru for the PDP.

But as Jonathan gets ready to run for the next presidential election, he should look at the ominous shadows his government continues to cast upon the country. He should sincerely consider the level of his resolve to shift the tide for the better. Where elections are fought and won on issues, as opposed to sentiments, where the opposition presents a better alternative than the incumbent, our President could not have been more vulnerable in his bid to renew his mandate. But it does seem, all things considered, that he still has a chance. It is my intrepid optimism that he could grab such a chance with an audacious resolve to turn the tide against his trademark legacy of impunity if there be a next time around.  

Jonathan Should Learn From History, Forget 2nd Term, Cardinal Okojie Warns Again

Former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, has again advised President Goodluck Jonathan to forget about a second term in office because he does not deserve it.

Speaking with SaharaReporters late yesterday from Nigeria, the retired cardinal, a founding member and former leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), recalled a conversation he had with Mr. Jonathan while he was still deputy. According to him, when the president asked him for prayers, he had insisted that Mr. Jonathan should first specify his prayer intentions. He said the president seemed at first shocked, but reluctantly revealed that he intended to run for office again.

Disclosing that the encounter happened in the presence of four other people, Cardinal Okojie said he told Jonathan that he could win but would not govern peacefully.SEE ALSOJonathan Does Not Deserve A Second Term – Okogie94 Comments2 Days Ago

The cardinal, who was known for his fiery outspokenness against both abusive and corrupt military dictatorships as well as corrupt elected officials, stated that Mr. Jonathan was surrounded by sycophants who keep misleading him. Describing the recent formal adoption of Mr. Jonathan as the sole candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as dangerous, the prelate urged the president to look at Nigeria’s history and see what has happened to sole party candidates in the past. 

Turning his attention to CAN, Cardinal Okojie said the religious organization had become bastardized. He accused the group’s former leader, Reverend Sunday Mbang, of turning CAN it into an appendage of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Even so, he added that whatever Mbang did pales into insignificance compared with what Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, CAN’s current leader, has done with the organization.

Cardinal Olubunmi OkogieAsked if he was troubled by recent attacks on him by some hirelings of President Jonathan and Oritsejafor, Cardinal Okojie dismissed them. He added that, having been to the frontline during the Nigerian civil war as a chaplain, verbal attacks did not bother him in the least. 

l-Rufai Defeats SSS & AGF; Court Declares Restriction Of Movement During Election Unconstitutional

The Federal High Court today ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to apologise to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and to pay him N2 million in damages for unlawfully detaining him last November during the Anambra gubernatorial election.

The court also pronounced that neither the SSS nor the Attorney-General of the Federation, who was joined in the suit, had any legal authority to restrict El-Rufai’sright of movement as enshrined in Section 34 of the constitution, a ruling that has massive implications for future elections in the country.

The events took place on 15 and 16 November 2013, when SSS officials detained and harassed the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory at the Finotel, Awka.

Nasir El-RufaiOutraged at that treatment, El-Rufai sought legal redress, with the SSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation listed as respondents in the suit.

Delivering judgment in Awka today, Justice Ibrahim Bature Gafai held that the SSS had no statutory powers under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or under any Nigerian law to have detained El Rufai without showing cause to a court of competent jurisdiction. The court therefore ordered the SSS to publish an apology in two national dailies for the unlawful and unconstitutional violation of his liberty.

The court also declared that the detention of El-Rufaiwithout charge violated the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association guaranteed under Section 40 of the Constitution, as amended, as well as Articles 10(1) and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is accordingly unconstitutional and illegal.

The court also granted other concessions sought by El Rufai, including:

i. A DECLARATION that the detention of the Applicant, Mallam Nasir El-rufai, OFR, without charge, at the premises of Finotel Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, between the 15th day of November, 2013 and 16th day of November, 2013, by agents of the 1st Respondent, (SSS) or officers, servants, privies of the Respondents and/or of the Federal Government of Nigeria, constitute a gross violation of the Applicant right to personal liberty and freedom of movement respectively guaranteed under sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Articles 6 and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is therefore unconstitutional and illegal.

ii. A DECLARATION that the unlawful deprivation of the Applicant, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, OFR, from granting/continued granting of interview with an AIT Correspondence, Mr. Obiorah Iloh and other mass media representatives within the premises of FinotelHotel, Akwa, Anambra State, at about 2pm of 16th day of November, 2013 by agents of the 1st Respondent, (SSS) or officers, servants, privies of the Respondents and/or of the Federal Government of Nigeria, constitute a gross violation of the Applicant’s freedom of expression guaranteed under section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Article 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is accordingly unlawful unconstitutional and illegal.

iii. A DECLARATION that the detention of the Applicant at the premises of Finotel Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, without charge, on the 15th day of November, 2013 to the 16th day of November, 2013, by agents of the 1st Respondent, (SSS) or officers, servants, agents, privies of the Respondents and/or of the Federal Government of Nigeria with a view to denying the Applicant, Deputy National Secretary and Member/Secretary Electoral Committee, of All Progressives Congress Anambra Governorship Election, 2013, freedom to associates with fellow members of the said All Progressives Congress, at Akwa, Anambra State, is a violation of the Applicant’s Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association guaranteed under section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Articles 10(1) and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is accordingly unconstitutional and illegal.

iiii. A DECLARATION that the restriction and prevention of the Applicant from moving out of his room in Finotel Hotel wherein he lodged at Awka in Anambra State to monitor the 16th November, 2013 Anambra State Gubernatorial Election by the Agents of the Respondents, Officers, Servants, Agents or Privies constitutes a gross violation of the Applicant’s constitutional right of freedom of movement as enshrined in section 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).

v. A DECLARATION that the restriction and prevention of the Applicant from moving out of his room in Finotel Hotel wherein he lodged at Awka in Anambra State to observe congregation prayers (salat) on the 16th November, 2013 by the Agents of the Respondents, Officers, Servants, Agents or Privies constitutes a gross violation of the Applicant’s constitutional right of freedom of Religion as enshrined in section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).
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vi. A DECLARATION that the Respondents have no powers under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) or under any Nigerian Law to either impose a general restriction on movement or restrict the Applicant’s constitutional right of freedom of movement as enshrined in Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) on account of the Anambra State Gubernatorial election that took place on the 16th day of November, 2013 or any other election.

vii. A DECLARATION that the 1st Respondent has no statutory powers under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) or under any Nigerian Law to detain the Applicant without showing cause to a Court of competent jurisdiction.

viii. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves or by their officers, agents, servants, privies, or otherwise howsoever from further detaining or in any other manner infringing on the fundamental rights of the Applicant.

ix. AN ORDER for the award of compensation/damages to the Applicant, in the sum of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira only) for the unlawful and unconstitutional detention/violation of his right to personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of association and expression.

x. AN ORDER directing the Respondents to publish apologies to the Applicant in two (2) National Dailies, for the unlawful and unconstitutional detention/violation of his right to personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of association and expression guaranteed under the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and Articles 6, 9(2), 10(1), 11 and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Where Are The Faith Healers In Africa? By Leo Igwe

As the governments of West Africa struggle to contain the spread of the Ebola virus, I am wondering where all the men and women of God who claim they can heal the sick and who conduct faith healing sessions in countries across the region are.

Where are all the continent’s miracle workers now that people desperately need healing; where are the anointed men and women of God now governments urgently need to contain the spread of Ebola? Where are all the pastors and preachers who have built their religious and business empires marketing miracle cure claims to gullible, ignorant desperate folks in cities and villages across Africa over the years? Have their miracle stocks suddenly gone dry? Or don’t they have any miracle package that is compatible with Ebola? What are our faith healers doing now? Can’t they singly or jointly take the spiritual battle against Ebola to affected communities and demonstrate to the world that their God is truly a miracle God?

Leo IgweCarissa Snedeker-Wikimedia commonsWhere are the T B Joshuas, David Oyedepos, Enoch Adeboyes, Kumuyis of this world and other anointed men and women who claim to be in direct communication with god in matters concerning healing? Why can’t T B Joshua travel down to Sierra Leone or Liberia and cast this ‘demon’ of Ebola into the Ocean once and for all? Why can’t the Nigerian government allow Ebola patients to come to the Synagogue in Lagos so that they can receive their healing from the quaking anointed hands of Prophet T B Joshua or be delivered by the most revered  Enoch Adeboye and David Oyedepo? 

Where is Archbishop Nicolas Duncan Williams of Action Chapel in Accra? Have his prophetic and faith healing powers suddenly expired?  I mean this is the time for ministration. This is the time to spread God’s anointing and use it to counter the spread of Ebola. Where are the faith healers? I ask once again. The government and people Guinea, Sierra Leone need you now, urgently. The people of the world need your help. Do not retreat. Do not make excuses now the ‘Kingdom of God’ is suffering violence due to Ebola disease. This is the time of reckoning. This is the time to hold you to account for the faith healing claims you have made over the years.  Yes, this is the defining moment.

A disease that requires you to put your healing powers to test is here.  Where are Africans who believe in miracles and in divine healing and who flaunt this belief as a mark of piety and godliness? Belief is not enough. Faith in miracles, like sincerity, is subject to test. This is the testing time. Will you stand up now and be counted? A disease that requires you to put your belief to test is here. Please kindly step forward? Liberia beckons on you. Sierra Leone beckons on you. Guinea awaits you. What is the need entertaining belief in miracles only to suddenly suspend it when an occasion that demands you to put such a belief to the test arises? Ebola beckons on faith healers and miracle believers. This is your chance to convince and convert skeptics. 

Where are all the Christian, Muslim, Traditionalist spiritualists who claim they have powers to cure diseases? Where are African diviners who claim to know the mind of God? Is there any faith healer in the foxhole of Ebola in West Africa?

I mean where are the god men and women? What are they doing now? Ebola is here threatening and charging to destroy economies and decimate population of countries. Please come forward and put your healing powers to the test and help countries in West Africa save lives and save money. 

This challenge has become necessary if Africa must move forward and if the ongoing deception and exploitation by fake(faith) healers will end. There is no evidence for faith healing at all. Africans spend fortune on faith healing schemes. This challenge has become necessary if African people and their governments must improve the health care system and be able to provide effective responses to outbreak of diseases like the Ebola. Africans need to maximize their limited resources and stop investing and wasting money in useless cure schemes. Africans need to channel their funds into promoting evidence based health care system. 

But this may not happen for now due to pervasive faith healing program in the region.

For too long, many people have often declared that they were called by God and given supernatural powers to heal diseases. They set up churches and shrines. Sometimes they operate from their homes. These self-acclaimed emissaries of a miracle working God organize faith clinics and healing sessions and charge exorbitant fees. Many Africans go to these faith doctors for ‘treatment’.

Today we have are several testimonies of people who claim they received their healing from these faith clinicians- pastors, priests, bishops, Alfas, Mallams, marabouts, one local spiritualist or diviner or the other? And these testimonies are often used to support ‘non evidence based medicine’ and discourage evidence based medical thinking and programs. This trend has had negative effects on the public health care system in the region.

The negative impact is such that when there is a serious outbreak of diseases, the peddlers of supernatural cures disappear into the thin air leaving their so-called flock in a lurch without any effective faith healing intervention. Just imagine that ridiculous gesture from T B Joshua to Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. He sent them tons of holy water.  Did the holy water stop the spread of Ebola? No. 

So when there is an outbreak of epidemic, many people begin to panic. They are confused as to which measures to adopt to prevent the spread of the disease. Sometimes they shun evidence based measures and instructions due to the confusion that has been created in their minds by faith healers and other peddlers of paranormal cures. Today African governments are asking for help from the international community in order to fight the spread of Ebola disease. Are they asking western countries to send them their faith healers or tons of olive oil? No. Are they asking eastern countries to send them Sheikhs, Mullahs or Rabbis, sacred Arabian sand, incense and perfume to combat this deadly virus? No. African countries are appealing for evidence based medical supplies, tested drugs and competent medical personnel, not prayer, incantation or divination. 
Meanwhile, after the disease is contained, our faith healers will reemerge on the scene with their faith healing practices. They will begin once again to market their holy water, olive oil, holy handkerchief, and other faith healing wares. They will begin to perform signs and wonders once again.

 It will be back to the religious business as usual. While, the government goes back to dogmatic and ‘faithfull’ sleep till another major outbreak of disease. 

I mean this is totally unacceptable and must stop. Meanwhile, the medical assistance which African governments are demanding from Eastern and Western countries are programs and facilities which they are capable of putting in place in their different countries if only they could give enough priority to evidence based medical thinking and research, and stop hankering after miracle and faith healing schemes which fail them when diseases like a Ebola strike. 

l-Rufai Defeats SSS & AGF; Court Declares Restriction Of Movement During Election Unconstitutional

Delivering judgment in Awka today, Justice Ibrahim Bature Gafai held that the SSS had no statutory powers under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or under any Nigerian law to have detained El Rufai without showing cause to a court of competent jurisdiction. The court therefore ordered the SSS to publish an apology in two national dailies for the unlawful and unconstitutional violation of his liberty.

We Will Overcome Boko Haram Insurgency

President Goodluck Jonathan


*judgement awaits troublers of Nigeria, says CAN President
*Boko Haram sponsors, financiers will be exposed

Jaiyola Andrew and Paul Obi 

President Goodluck Jonathan Sunday  assured  that Nigeria will surely overcome the challenges of Boko Haram insurgency in the nearest future.

Jonathan spoke at the 54th Independence Anniversary Interdenominational Church Service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.
He observed that the current challenges faced by Nigeria can be surmounted if Nigerians are united.

"I appeal to all of us Nigerians to be united; if we are united there is nothing we cannot do. Take the case of Ebola for example, When Sawyer brought Ebola to Nigeria, it was in Lagos that this incident happened.  "In terms of politics, Lagos is in opposition.  From Lagos, Ebola moved to River State, Rivers is also an opposition state.

Because all of us Nigerians fought Ebola;  irrespective of political affiliation, irrespective of religion,  irrespective of ethnicity, we were able to defeat Ebola," Jonathan told the congregation.

$9.3m Arms Deal: Christian Group Disagrees with Cardinal Okogie

 Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor

A group, Christians United Against Boko Haram (CUABH), yesterday disagreed with the former and emeritus Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, over his comments on the current President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, stating that there was need to apply caution on the saga.

The group called on Okogie “to be mindful of his words and avoid being used by enemies of the Body of Christ.”

Okogie took a swipe at Oritsejafor while commenting on the $9.3 million arms deal in South Africa,  accusing him of establishing a university and romancing with politicians, thereby derailing from the basic tenets and principles of CAN and the leadership qualities expected from the Christian leadership.

The Executive Secretary of CUABH, Mr. Olusola Oyedokun, in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja entitled:”Okogie: Those who live in glass houses,” said the cardinal’s attack on the integrity of the current CAN president was unbecoming of a man of his personality.

He warned that “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at the undeserving.”

Oyedokun, who is believed to be a son of the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and member of the Board of Trustees  (BoT) of PDP, Shuaib Oyedokun, expressed disappointment that Okogie could compare his tenure to that of Oritsejafor.

He said: “As CAN President under whom a secular Nigeria was taken to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference,”  Okogie ought to have refrained from  attacking “the integrity of Oritsejafor whose name invokes apprehension in those who wish to entrench one religion over the others in Nigeria.

“We are surprised at Okogie for criticising Oritsejafor for opening a university and wonders whether Cardinal Okogie considers education as Haram. To recall that if opening universities was wrong, then the Catholic Church has participated in the wrong doing by being behind Madonna University. It is double standards for Cardinal Okogie to close his eyes to Madonna University and attack the pastor’s university.”

Oyedokun urged Cardinal Okogie not to act on rumour and innuendo with regards the $9.3 million that was to be used by the Office of the National Security Adviser to buy arms.

Nigeria Ranks 37th in 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance

The 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), released on Monday, shows that Nigeria ranks 37th out of 52 African countries.

This appears an improvement from the 2013 ranking where the country took 41st position, but the Director of the IIAG at Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Elizabeth McGrath, told N F in a telephone interview that the score was insignificant, because Nigeria deteriorated further in two of the four major categories of the index.

The four categories composed of safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development are further divided into 14 subsections with 94 indicators.

According to McGrath, “Since 2009, Nigeria rank hasn’t changed much, it remains the same. Nigeria has over the past five years registered slight improvement in overall governance. It now ranks 37 after 52 countries we cover.

“It is interesting because this overall governance slight improvement marks different trend at the category level.  So we’ve seen that safety and rule of law has deteriorated in Nigeria by 6.6 score point. Human development has deteriorated slightly by 0.3 point. But for the counter balance, we have seen an improvement in sustainable economic opportunities at 3.8 and even bigger improvement in participation and human rights at 6.4”

In this year’s ranking Nigeria scored lower than the African average (51.5) and ranked 37th (out of 52) overall. Also, the country scored lower than the regional average for West Africa (52.2), ranking 12th (out of 15) in the region.

Mauritius repeated the feat it achieved last year topping the list as the best country in Africa with 81.7 score in the overall governance with Cape Verde, Botswana and South Africa in the second, third and fourth positions respectively.

In West Africa, Ghana and Senegal made it to the top ten scoring 68.2 and 64.3 to be ranked 7th and 9th positions respectively.

Benin Republic ranked 18th, Burkina Faso 21st, Gambia 23rd, Sierra Leone 25th, Mali 28th, Niger 29th, Liberia 31st, Togo 36th, Mauritania 39th, Cote d'Ivoire 40th, Guinea 42nd and Guinea Bissau 48th.

Somalia has appeared at position 52 to close the list of countries on the African continent.

A social commentator and livelihood right activist, Eze Onyekpere in a telephone conversation with N F said the latest IIAG is a true affirmation of Nigeria’s governance status in Africa.

“Nigeria never ranks well. It’s is not a surprise if Nigeria doesn’t rank well. The competitive index we have had so far has shown we are not making progress. If you look at UNDP and others, the story has been the same. So this it is an affirmation,” he said.

However, Nigeria received a relatively high rank in public management sub-category as 18th country out of 52, but achieved a low rank becoming 44 out of 52 in the main category of safety and rule of law.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is an analysis by Mo Ibrahim Foundation aimed at improving the level of governance of African countries. The annual index provides a framework for citizens hold governments accountable, while helping governments to focus attention on creating prosperous nations by ensuring better delivery of goods and services, and favourable policy outcomes, across every country on the continent.

McGrath said: “It is an annual index which is calculated each year by Mo Ibrahim foundation suing data from 35 different organisations. So what we do is bring together data of 130 variables and we create essentially overall governance score for every single African country.  And that overall governance score is the average for the main category of governance found by the foundation. They are safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, Sustainable economic opportunities and Human development.

“What we found for the 2014 index is that is there is overall improvement in governance on the continent. But we have highlighted some shift on the overall governance level and governments everywhere on the continent need to remain vigilant with regards to performance.

“What we have done is looking at African governments’ performance over the past 10 years and we have seen the main drivers of the overall positive trend of gain.”

She added: “So when we looked at 2009 and 2013, progress has been driven jointly by participation in human rights and human development.

“Interestingly, the main driver of gain from 2005 and 2009 has been sustainable economic opportunities. So in the last five years, improvement in sustainable economic opportunities on the continent has dropped slightly.”

Explaining how to look at the index, McGrath said the index should be looked at as a cumulative data over five years with attention paid to the 2014 index.

“Every year we refine the structure of the index slightly. So we improve the indicators that we use and for us to do this, we have to refresh all of the data back to 2000.  So any comparison or rank with scores of ranks of any country should be done on 2014 index.

“Interestingly, the main driver of gain from 2005 and 2009 has been sustainable economic opportunity. So in the last five years, improvement in sustainable economic opportunities on the continent has dropped slightly.

“What is interesting about the trend in sustainable economic opportunities is that in contrast to an improvement of 3.4 score point between 2005 and 2009, the largest in any category in that five year period, sustainable economic opportunity has registered the opposite trend in the last five years with the deterioration of 0.2 score point.

“This reversal trend is shown in two of the four sub-categories. It is in public management and business environment. Also there has been slow pace of improvement on the continent in infrastructure and the rural sector,” she said.

She told N.F that countries in the bottom up ranking registered the largest improvements over the last five years, saying “Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Niger have changed course from having the negative trajectory to becoming the biggest governance improvements on the continent and this progress is driven largely by participation in human rights.

“To counter that, we have also seen historic strong performance from countries such as Mauritius, Cape Verde, Seychelles, South Africa, and Botswana who are top five in the index but have shown deteriorations in at least one category over the past five years, even though they have improved in overall governance. This speaks to the fact that everyone has to remain vigilant. All countries should consider that governance requires ongoing commitment and improvement in governance even if you are at the top of the ranking.

“What is important is for everyone on the continent to remember that even though there are positive overall governance trend on the continent and in countries like Nigeria, there is need to slow down and look at the data, because it marks a mix message. Some areas of governance are improving and others are deteriorating and the government especially should be using the index to identify where they need to be improving and where resources need to be allocated.   The foundation very much advocates a balance approach to governance. Each of the four categories in the index should be equally focused on for balanced governance overall.”

Mo Ibrahim wrote in a forward to the report that “the 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) reveals discrepancies in governance performance between countries and within the four conceptual categories. More than ever, these discrepancies call for an Afro-realist approach, which tempers historical Afro-pessimism and current Afro-optimism. Anyone who wants a true grasp of African realities must reject the ‘one-size-fits-all’ attitude which reduces the continent geographically or governance conceptually, in favour of a more granular approach.”

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance published on Monday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, was established by the Sudanese philanthropist, Mo Ibrahim in 2006 to chart Africa's development progress.