Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Apostle Suleman is innocent, I don’t know Festus Keyamo – Stephanie Otobo opens up
In a dramatic twist, the Canada based singer, Stephanie Otobo, has come out to debunk all the claims she purportedly made against man of God, Apostle Johnson Suleman which was published by Sahara Reporters.
Otobo, in her statement, disclosed that she’s just 23-year-old and doesn’t know Festus Keyamo from anywhere. She also revealed that Apostle Suleman is innocent and that some gullible individuals were just out to make money from him trying to use her as a bait.
Before she came out with her own statement however, her father who met with the police investigators said he was never aware his daughter had any marriage introduction with any man while he also denying knowing Festus Keyamo, who her daughter purportedly hired to defend her.
Below is her statement;
“I’m still in shock on the sudden media propaganda being championed by Sahara Reporters. I have no business with Festus Keyamo. The N500m claims is such a huge sum to come about. I’m from a broken home and my separated parents can never dream of pulling just 1% of such an amount in a very long time.”
While refuting the allegations made against Apostle Johnson Suleiman by Festus Keyamo on her behalf, Stephanie Otobo also called on Nigerians of goodwill to discard the earlier media propaganda by Sahara Reporters and consider same as totally false and untrue.
“Yes, I had an encounter with some officers of the Nigeria Police few days back, but I don’t remember making any such ambiguous claims against a reputable man of God in the status of Apostle Johnson Suleiman.
Let the man of God alone please.
-Stephanie Otobo.”
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
IS WOES:Iraq hits IS commanders, Baghdadi fate unclear
The Iraqi air force has targeted a meeting of commanders from the Islamic State group that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been attending, a statement said on Monday.
It was not clear in the statement sent by the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against the jihadists in Iraq whether the world's most wanted terrorist had been hit.
An intelligence cell monitored a convoy that the statement said transported Baghdadi from the area of Raqa, the jihadists' main Syrian stronghold, across the border to the Al-Qaim area in western Iraq.
The statement said Iraqi air force F-16 jets struck a meeting of top IS commanders on February 11 but provided no additional information on Baghdadi's fate.
"The direct strike on the meeting location led to the death of 13 Daesh (IS) commanders," said the statement, which provided a list of names.
The Iraq-born Baghdadi, who proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014, was not one of those names.
The Iraqi military has reported Baghdadi killed or wounded on numerous occasions since it launched a counter-offensive to regain the territory lost to IS almost three years ago.
Iraq's military said dozens of other IS militants were also killed in other strikes in the same area as part of the operation last week.
Baghdadi's health is unknown, but the Pentagon said six weeks ago that he was still alive and leading IS as it tries to defend the remnants of its crumbling "caliphate".
In the statement issued on Monday, the Iraqi military claimed that Baghdadi had come to the border area to discuss with his commanders "the setbacks taking place in Mosul".
Mosul is Iraq's second city and the largest ever held by IS.
After a string of major losses in both Iraq and Syria, the jihadists' two main strongholds of Mosul and Raqa are both under attack from forces backed by a US-led coalition.
Iraqi forces have already retaken the eastern side of Mosul and, nearly four months into a massive offensive to recapture the city, they are now readying for an assault on the west side.
In mid-December, the United States more than doubled the bounty on the shadowy IS leader's head to $25 million.
It was not clear in the statement sent by the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against the jihadists in Iraq whether the world's most wanted terrorist had been hit.
An intelligence cell monitored a convoy that the statement said transported Baghdadi from the area of Raqa, the jihadists' main Syrian stronghold, across the border to the Al-Qaim area in western Iraq.
The statement said Iraqi air force F-16 jets struck a meeting of top IS commanders on February 11 but provided no additional information on Baghdadi's fate.
"The direct strike on the meeting location led to the death of 13 Daesh (IS) commanders," said the statement, which provided a list of names.
The Iraq-born Baghdadi, who proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014, was not one of those names.
The Iraqi military has reported Baghdadi killed or wounded on numerous occasions since it launched a counter-offensive to regain the territory lost to IS almost three years ago.
Iraq's military said dozens of other IS militants were also killed in other strikes in the same area as part of the operation last week.
Baghdadi's health is unknown, but the Pentagon said six weeks ago that he was still alive and leading IS as it tries to defend the remnants of its crumbling "caliphate".
In the statement issued on Monday, the Iraqi military claimed that Baghdadi had come to the border area to discuss with his commanders "the setbacks taking place in Mosul".
Mosul is Iraq's second city and the largest ever held by IS.
After a string of major losses in both Iraq and Syria, the jihadists' two main strongholds of Mosul and Raqa are both under attack from forces backed by a US-led coalition.
Iraqi forces have already retaken the eastern side of Mosul and, nearly four months into a massive offensive to recapture the city, they are now readying for an assault on the west side.
In mid-December, the United States more than doubled the bounty on the shadowy IS leader's head to $25 million.
*WHAT NIGERIANS SHOULD REMEMBER ABOUT FORMER US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA*:
The former president of United States, Barack Obama has really shown that he is against every nation that is
1. He refused to visit Nigeria but visited Ghana.
2. He refused to assist us with the experimental Ebola drug when we had Ebola outbreak. Nigeria had to fight alone and we won.
3. He stopped buying Nigeria's oil for years. NIGERIA went from a supplier of 10% of US beeds to Zero.
4. He refused to classify Boko Haram as a terror organization even when advised to do so till they became top powerful and bombed the UN building in Abuja. Even after UN bombing it took two more years and 25000 Nigerians murdered for OBAMA to accept Boko HARAM was a terror group.
5. He refused to sell necessary much needed weapons for Nigeria to confront Boko Haram forcing us to fly cash all over the world to buy arms. This hurt Nigeria badly.
6. He interfered in Nigeria's presidential elections and did not hide his support for a particular candidate. Now he is concerned about Russia's interferrence in US elections what rubbish
7. He played politics of division by sending his Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry to bypass the Southern Nigeria and hold secret meetings with only the 19 Northern states governors and the Sultan of Sokoto. He went further to subsequently host 13 Northern Governors in the White House in Washington DC. Only God knows why he was trying to divide Nigeria in this way.
8. Even as we were sliding deeper into chaos and recession, and misguided Federal Government policies, President Obama said our president was doing very well. Indeed after 5 million jobs lost, 11 currency exchange rates, inflation at 19%, a contracting, shrinking economy, he said doing well? How? He must have meant doing well for him Obama not for Nigeria or Nigerians.
For the above reasons and more, I and many other Nigerians say *good riddance to bad rubbish*
Whatever he did for Americans is their business. This is the Nigerian prospective. So Obama lovers can go eat their hearts out.
I am happy Obama is gone.
1. He refused to visit Nigeria but visited Ghana.
2. He refused to assist us with the experimental Ebola drug when we had Ebola outbreak. Nigeria had to fight alone and we won.
3. He stopped buying Nigeria's oil for years. NIGERIA went from a supplier of 10% of US beeds to Zero.
4. He refused to classify Boko Haram as a terror organization even when advised to do so till they became top powerful and bombed the UN building in Abuja. Even after UN bombing it took two more years and 25000 Nigerians murdered for OBAMA to accept Boko HARAM was a terror group.
5. He refused to sell necessary much needed weapons for Nigeria to confront Boko Haram forcing us to fly cash all over the world to buy arms. This hurt Nigeria badly.
6. He interfered in Nigeria's presidential elections and did not hide his support for a particular candidate. Now he is concerned about Russia's interferrence in US elections what rubbish
7. He played politics of division by sending his Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry to bypass the Southern Nigeria and hold secret meetings with only the 19 Northern states governors and the Sultan of Sokoto. He went further to subsequently host 13 Northern Governors in the White House in Washington DC. Only God knows why he was trying to divide Nigeria in this way.
8. Even as we were sliding deeper into chaos and recession, and misguided Federal Government policies, President Obama said our president was doing very well. Indeed after 5 million jobs lost, 11 currency exchange rates, inflation at 19%, a contracting, shrinking economy, he said doing well? How? He must have meant doing well for him Obama not for Nigeria or Nigerians.
For the above reasons and more, I and many other Nigerians say *good riddance to bad rubbish*
Whatever he did for Americans is their business. This is the Nigerian prospective. So Obama lovers can go eat their hearts out.
I am happy Obama is gone.
Saturday, 11 February 2017
watch the happy sisters
This is when sisters are happy being together. There is nothing like it
but all fun and fun. There is free expression of self that you will not
see anywhere else apart from what you see in the happy family.
Thursday, 9 February 2017
http://www.zazzle.com/235658366159358871?CMPN=emc_en-us_ShareYourPromoProduct_Inky_shareBlogger-doepf
http://www.zazzle.com/235658366159358871?CMPN=emc_en-us_ShareYourPromoProduct_Inky_shareBlogger-doepf
Karate Martial art has been a very vital act of self defense for so many years to humans. Used by individuals and groups of people to protect themselves. The martial art originated from Japan and it is widely accepted all over the world.
This trending design on various merchandise will make a very lovely and awesome gift item for all karate martial art lovers.
Karate Martial art has been a very vital act of self defense for so many years to humans. Used by individuals and groups of people to protect themselves. The martial art originated from Japan and it is widely accepted all over the world.
This trending design on various merchandise will make a very lovely and awesome gift item for all karate martial art lovers.
Friday, 20 January 2017
Freedom Of Speech:Nigerian president urged to halt press harassment after journalists detained
A
group of Nigerian writers, intellectuals and media figures called on
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday to stop the persecution of
journalists, after an online publication's news staff was briefly
detained.
Nigerian
police late on Thursday arrested the editor and a reporter for the
Premium Times, the rights group Amnesty International said, in a dispute
raising concern about press freedom in Africa's biggest democracy. The
two were released later that evening without being charged.
"What
we see is a disturbing trend that suggests not just an attempt to
criminalize the important work that journalists in Nigeria do, but also a
drive to frighten and cower and stop this critical constitutionally
mandated work through the aggressive use of the state security
apparatus," said a joint letter to Buhari signed by 10 Nigerian public
figures.
The
letter called on the president to instruct security services to stop
harassing and arresting journalists and insist that police follow the
law in arresting and charging suspects "in a timely and transparent
manner".
The
Premium Times has angered the military with articles saying dozens of
soldiers were missing and the chief of staff was facing an investigation
over false asset declaration. The armed forces have accused the paper
of libel and defamation, charges the publication denied.
The
detainment of editor Dapo Olorunyomi and judicial correspondent Evelyn
Okakwu have raised concerns about freedom of the press and the power of
the military in Nigeria.
The
army said in a statement on Thursday it had begun legal action against
the Premium Times over its "failure to retract and apologize over false,
subversive and malicious publications against the person of the Chief
of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the Nigerian Army".
The
articles included stories about soldiers missing in Nigeria's northeast
after clashes with Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram.
In
a statement, the news publication said the arrest of its editor and
correspondent had been made "based on a petition" by the chief of army
staff.
"We
call on the federal government to rein in the police and assure
Nigerians that we are not living in a military dictatorship," the
statement said.
Wednesday, 4 January 2017
El-Rufai’s Blunders And The Christmas Killings In Southern Kaduna
For the people of Kaninkon Kingdom in Southern Kaduna, this was a bleak
Christmas. On Christmas Eve and on Christmas day armed Fulani herdsmen
attacked and destroyed Goska village, killing, maiming, and burning.
This attack occurred in spite of the area having been put under a
24-hour curfew by the state government, an indication of the brazenness
and sense of impunity on the part of the well-armed attackers
The attack is part of a broader genocidal war against the people of Southern Kaduna state, a war that is in its 5th year and has killed thousands of people in their homes and farms and destroyed the livelihoods of tens of thousands more. As we speak an estimated 53 villages lay in ruins, some of them occupied by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle, a forceful annexation that recalls the similarly forceful displacement in Agatu.
Let’s be clear: the crisis predates the administration of Governor Nasir el-Rufai, so he cannot be accused of causing it or of being behind it as some people are insinuating. However, his utterances and actions in the past and the present have exacerbated the problem and emboldened the attackers. An ill-tempered man given to incendiary, inciting, and divisive outbursts, El-Rufai has made several egregious errors in dealing with the crisis. Some of these errors are errors of approach, thinking, and mentality. The errors have inspired actions that have wittingly or unwittingly transformed what was a low-level series of massacres into a full-blown genocide.
To understand some of the Governor’s current failures in dealing with the killings, you have to understand his past utterances, his incendiary character, his insensitivity, and his inability to moderate his thinking and resultant public expressions, all of which offer clues about why he has no credibility or political capital to solve the problem and why he is widely perceived as part of the problem, not its solution. Let’s consider the governor’s many problems in this regard.
El-Rufai is widely regarded as a Fulani supremacist, and with good reason. On July 12, 2012, he tweeted the following: “We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.” The governor’s response to the killings in Southern Kaduna has been eerily consistent with this mindset. In a recent chat with newsmen in Kaduna, the governor made three statements that substantiate this Fulani supremacist statement from four years ago.
First, he said when he became governor, he traced the attackers to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger and sent a message to them that one of their own, a Fulani like them, was now governor. This statement displays a spectacularly parochial mentality. A governor of a Nigerian state was basically making appeals based on ethnic kinship and brotherhood to a group of foreign killers of people in his own Nigerian state! In other words, he was appeasing his murderous foreign kinsmen at the expense of indigenes of his state who are not his ethnic kinsmen but whose safety and interests he swore to defend. The governor shocking statement indicates that ethnic solidarity trumped his constitutional obligations to protect Southern Kaduna citizens from the external threats of foreign Fulani herdsmen.
Second, the governor told the journalists that the crisis began in the aftermath of the 2011 presidential elections when foreign Fulani herdsmen passing through Southern Kaduna were attacked with some of them killed and their cattle stolen. The governor claimed that the ongoing genocidal killings are revenge for the 2011 attacks.
It was irresponsible for the governor to make this statement without providing a shred of evidence other than that this is what the foreign Fulani attackers told his emissaries who traced them to various neighboring countries. What the governor was doing was legitimizing the herdsmen’s genocidal campaign by giving it the cover of revenge. He was lending gubernatorial authority and credibility to the claims of foreign invaders that they are revenging the killing of their kinsmen on Nigerian soil! Shocking as it is, however, the governor’s current explanation is consistent with the tweet I quoted because he is still espousing and promoting what he, as a Fulani man, believes to be the Fulani ethos of revenge. El-Rufai was also doing classic victim blaming, blaming the victims for provoking the killers and bringing calamity upon themselves.
Then, of course, there is the fact that even if the claim of revenge were legitimate, one would be compelled to ask how much Southern Kaduna blood would need to be spilled to pay for the herdsmen and cattle allegedly killed in 2011. How long is this Fulani revenge spree supposed to last? Ten years? Twenty? Is this Fulani blood debt that El-Rufai speaks of eternal? This genocide has been going on for five years already. By the way, who or what gave foreigners the permission to freely violate Nigeria’s borders and penetrate deep into the Nigerian hinterland with their cattle and destroy farmlands in the process? Should any claim by people who have illegally breached our borders and destroyed the farmlands of Nigerian citizens be taken seriously let alone privileged above the suffering of citizens?
Third, El-Rufai stated that he had paid off the attackers as a way to stop them from continuing the killings. This is, of course, an explosive confession. He admitted to paying foreigners who illegally breached Nigeria’s borders to attack citizens of his state. This begs the question of why, in spite of the payments, the attacks have continued and have become more intense. It also advertises the governor’s poor judgment. He rewarded those who confessed to killing citizens of his state, instead of working with the federal government to hold them accountable or to stop them from further breaching our borders to kill citizens.
It is safe to say the governor’s poor judgment is anchored on ethnic solidarity with the foreign killers. Furthermore, to the extent that El-Rufai used state funds to pay the so-called compensation to the foreign killer herdsmen, the beleaguered people of Southern Kaduna, partakers in the state’s patrimony, were in fact being forced to pay their killers to stop killing them! It is not out of place to speculate that the killers may have used the governor’s payments to acquire more sophisticated weapons, which may explain why the scope, intensity, and sophistication of the killings have increased in recent months.
These confessed blunders are consistent with the governor’s character and past utterances. In an interview before he became governor, el-Rufai was asked about the killing of some Southern Nigerian youth corpers in the 2011 post-election violence in Kaduna. He objected vehemently to the premise of the question. He wondered why the press was obsessed with a few youth corp members who were killed by hoodlums and asked why there was no concern for “our people” who were killed in Southern Kaduna. By “our people” he meant Hausa-Fulani people. This interview was quite revealing, for it showed that he thinks of victimhood in strictly ethno-religious terms.
Today, as he gropes confusingly to get a handle on the killings, the governor is blaming nameless people he accuses of trying to “divide the people” along religious and ethnic lines. Such rhetoric from him is laughably hypocritical, for no one has contributed to the atmosphere of ethno-religious division in Kaduna State than El-Rufai. In his quest for power, he pandered shamelessly to ethno-religious loyalties, much to the consternation of those who regarded him as being above such sentiments. Having seemingly written off Southern Kaduna, a PDP stronghold, el-Rufai engaged in the most blatantly ethno-religiously divisive campaign in the state’s history, projecting himself as a champion of Fulani and Hausa-Fulani interest. He became a proud provincial man as his controversial tweets indicate, even though those who know him personally say the man is urbane and cosmopolitan.
El-Rufai is now captive to his own political posturing and long-held supremacist tendencies. His approach to the killings has continued to bear out his tendency for stoking unnecessary drama, for ethno-religious insensitivity, and for personalizing public issues. He sees the Southern Kaduna people as blame-worthy and the Fulani herdsmen killers as deserving of appeasement. A few weeks ago, as though to further humiliate the people of Southern Kaduna in their distress, the governor fancifully launched what he called “apology billboards.” The billboards were erected across the local governments of Southern Kaduna. In other words, El-Rufai’s solution to the killings is to force the people of Southern Kaduna, the victims, to apologize to their killers. It was a humiliating political subjugation of a people already under genocidal siege. The Southern Kaduna people were paying for billboards that apologized to their killers instead of the other way round. And this was haughtily done without consulting with the Southern Kaduna people.
As the governor blames others, including Niger Delta militants (!), he has not stopped to acknowledge that his past and present utterances and gestures have created an atmosphere of distrust between him and the people of Southern Kaduna and between the ethnic and religious groups of the state. He needs to look inward and take responsibility for stoking ethno-religious distrust and for emboldening the killers or at least giving them the impression that a sympathetic member of their ethno-religious group is in power, and that this kinsman is willing to legitimize their murderous cause and even pay them appeasement money. No wonder the people of Southern Kaduna attacked him on his visit there last week. They were tired of the governor’s condescending attitude, his empty preachments, and his efforts to humiliate them while rewarding their tormentors.
Helpless in the face of his inability to contain the rising current of ethno-religious division in the state, the governor has belatedly run to President Buhari to deploy more troops to Southern Kaduna communities. This is the same army, by the way, that on July 20 2014, El-Rufai tweeted the following about: “Genocidal Jonathanian army kills once again.” On that occasion, El-Rufai was condemning the killing of some Shiite members by soldiers. He was obviously pandering and opportunistically exploiting the Shiite’s sectarian angst because today he is the biggest persecutor of the Shiite in Nigeria. Moreover, he has partnered with the same army he described as genocidal to wage his war against the Shiite minority.
The proverbial chickens are coming home to roost for El-Rufai. His past utterances, his prior political posturing, his divisive, incendiary, and insensitive ethno-religious pandering and comments are coming back to haunt him. He has no one but himself to blame. He has little sympathy, having arrogantly and selfishly alienated foes and friends alike.
El-Rufai’s current travail offers a poignant lesson, which is that those seeking political positions should moderate their supremacist ideologies, temper their arrogance, and stop pandering to or riding the wave of popular but fleeting primordial anger.
The attack is part of a broader genocidal war against the people of Southern Kaduna state, a war that is in its 5th year and has killed thousands of people in their homes and farms and destroyed the livelihoods of tens of thousands more. As we speak an estimated 53 villages lay in ruins, some of them occupied by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle, a forceful annexation that recalls the similarly forceful displacement in Agatu.
Let’s be clear: the crisis predates the administration of Governor Nasir el-Rufai, so he cannot be accused of causing it or of being behind it as some people are insinuating. However, his utterances and actions in the past and the present have exacerbated the problem and emboldened the attackers. An ill-tempered man given to incendiary, inciting, and divisive outbursts, El-Rufai has made several egregious errors in dealing with the crisis. Some of these errors are errors of approach, thinking, and mentality. The errors have inspired actions that have wittingly or unwittingly transformed what was a low-level series of massacres into a full-blown genocide.
To understand some of the Governor’s current failures in dealing with the killings, you have to understand his past utterances, his incendiary character, his insensitivity, and his inability to moderate his thinking and resultant public expressions, all of which offer clues about why he has no credibility or political capital to solve the problem and why he is widely perceived as part of the problem, not its solution. Let’s consider the governor’s many problems in this regard.
El-Rufai is widely regarded as a Fulani supremacist, and with good reason. On July 12, 2012, he tweeted the following: “We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.” The governor’s response to the killings in Southern Kaduna has been eerily consistent with this mindset. In a recent chat with newsmen in Kaduna, the governor made three statements that substantiate this Fulani supremacist statement from four years ago.
First, he said when he became governor, he traced the attackers to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger and sent a message to them that one of their own, a Fulani like them, was now governor. This statement displays a spectacularly parochial mentality. A governor of a Nigerian state was basically making appeals based on ethnic kinship and brotherhood to a group of foreign killers of people in his own Nigerian state! In other words, he was appeasing his murderous foreign kinsmen at the expense of indigenes of his state who are not his ethnic kinsmen but whose safety and interests he swore to defend. The governor shocking statement indicates that ethnic solidarity trumped his constitutional obligations to protect Southern Kaduna citizens from the external threats of foreign Fulani herdsmen.
Second, the governor told the journalists that the crisis began in the aftermath of the 2011 presidential elections when foreign Fulani herdsmen passing through Southern Kaduna were attacked with some of them killed and their cattle stolen. The governor claimed that the ongoing genocidal killings are revenge for the 2011 attacks.
It was irresponsible for the governor to make this statement without providing a shred of evidence other than that this is what the foreign Fulani attackers told his emissaries who traced them to various neighboring countries. What the governor was doing was legitimizing the herdsmen’s genocidal campaign by giving it the cover of revenge. He was lending gubernatorial authority and credibility to the claims of foreign invaders that they are revenging the killing of their kinsmen on Nigerian soil! Shocking as it is, however, the governor’s current explanation is consistent with the tweet I quoted because he is still espousing and promoting what he, as a Fulani man, believes to be the Fulani ethos of revenge. El-Rufai was also doing classic victim blaming, blaming the victims for provoking the killers and bringing calamity upon themselves.
Then, of course, there is the fact that even if the claim of revenge were legitimate, one would be compelled to ask how much Southern Kaduna blood would need to be spilled to pay for the herdsmen and cattle allegedly killed in 2011. How long is this Fulani revenge spree supposed to last? Ten years? Twenty? Is this Fulani blood debt that El-Rufai speaks of eternal? This genocide has been going on for five years already. By the way, who or what gave foreigners the permission to freely violate Nigeria’s borders and penetrate deep into the Nigerian hinterland with their cattle and destroy farmlands in the process? Should any claim by people who have illegally breached our borders and destroyed the farmlands of Nigerian citizens be taken seriously let alone privileged above the suffering of citizens?
Third, El-Rufai stated that he had paid off the attackers as a way to stop them from continuing the killings. This is, of course, an explosive confession. He admitted to paying foreigners who illegally breached Nigeria’s borders to attack citizens of his state. This begs the question of why, in spite of the payments, the attacks have continued and have become more intense. It also advertises the governor’s poor judgment. He rewarded those who confessed to killing citizens of his state, instead of working with the federal government to hold them accountable or to stop them from further breaching our borders to kill citizens.
It is safe to say the governor’s poor judgment is anchored on ethnic solidarity with the foreign killers. Furthermore, to the extent that El-Rufai used state funds to pay the so-called compensation to the foreign killer herdsmen, the beleaguered people of Southern Kaduna, partakers in the state’s patrimony, were in fact being forced to pay their killers to stop killing them! It is not out of place to speculate that the killers may have used the governor’s payments to acquire more sophisticated weapons, which may explain why the scope, intensity, and sophistication of the killings have increased in recent months.
These confessed blunders are consistent with the governor’s character and past utterances. In an interview before he became governor, el-Rufai was asked about the killing of some Southern Nigerian youth corpers in the 2011 post-election violence in Kaduna. He objected vehemently to the premise of the question. He wondered why the press was obsessed with a few youth corp members who were killed by hoodlums and asked why there was no concern for “our people” who were killed in Southern Kaduna. By “our people” he meant Hausa-Fulani people. This interview was quite revealing, for it showed that he thinks of victimhood in strictly ethno-religious terms.
Today, as he gropes confusingly to get a handle on the killings, the governor is blaming nameless people he accuses of trying to “divide the people” along religious and ethnic lines. Such rhetoric from him is laughably hypocritical, for no one has contributed to the atmosphere of ethno-religious division in Kaduna State than El-Rufai. In his quest for power, he pandered shamelessly to ethno-religious loyalties, much to the consternation of those who regarded him as being above such sentiments. Having seemingly written off Southern Kaduna, a PDP stronghold, el-Rufai engaged in the most blatantly ethno-religiously divisive campaign in the state’s history, projecting himself as a champion of Fulani and Hausa-Fulani interest. He became a proud provincial man as his controversial tweets indicate, even though those who know him personally say the man is urbane and cosmopolitan.
El-Rufai is now captive to his own political posturing and long-held supremacist tendencies. His approach to the killings has continued to bear out his tendency for stoking unnecessary drama, for ethno-religious insensitivity, and for personalizing public issues. He sees the Southern Kaduna people as blame-worthy and the Fulani herdsmen killers as deserving of appeasement. A few weeks ago, as though to further humiliate the people of Southern Kaduna in their distress, the governor fancifully launched what he called “apology billboards.” The billboards were erected across the local governments of Southern Kaduna. In other words, El-Rufai’s solution to the killings is to force the people of Southern Kaduna, the victims, to apologize to their killers. It was a humiliating political subjugation of a people already under genocidal siege. The Southern Kaduna people were paying for billboards that apologized to their killers instead of the other way round. And this was haughtily done without consulting with the Southern Kaduna people.
As the governor blames others, including Niger Delta militants (!), he has not stopped to acknowledge that his past and present utterances and gestures have created an atmosphere of distrust between him and the people of Southern Kaduna and between the ethnic and religious groups of the state. He needs to look inward and take responsibility for stoking ethno-religious distrust and for emboldening the killers or at least giving them the impression that a sympathetic member of their ethno-religious group is in power, and that this kinsman is willing to legitimize their murderous cause and even pay them appeasement money. No wonder the people of Southern Kaduna attacked him on his visit there last week. They were tired of the governor’s condescending attitude, his empty preachments, and his efforts to humiliate them while rewarding their tormentors.
Helpless in the face of his inability to contain the rising current of ethno-religious division in the state, the governor has belatedly run to President Buhari to deploy more troops to Southern Kaduna communities. This is the same army, by the way, that on July 20 2014, El-Rufai tweeted the following about: “Genocidal Jonathanian army kills once again.” On that occasion, El-Rufai was condemning the killing of some Shiite members by soldiers. He was obviously pandering and opportunistically exploiting the Shiite’s sectarian angst because today he is the biggest persecutor of the Shiite in Nigeria. Moreover, he has partnered with the same army he described as genocidal to wage his war against the Shiite minority.
The proverbial chickens are coming home to roost for El-Rufai. His past utterances, his prior political posturing, his divisive, incendiary, and insensitive ethno-religious pandering and comments are coming back to haunt him. He has no one but himself to blame. He has little sympathy, having arrogantly and selfishly alienated foes and friends alike.
El-Rufai’s current travail offers a poignant lesson, which is that those seeking political positions should moderate their supremacist ideologies, temper their arrogance, and stop pandering to or riding the wave of popular but fleeting primordial anger.
SOUTHERN KADUNA KILLINGS : WHO IS SAYING THE TRUTH HERE..
The Federal Government, yesterday, launched a bitter but indirect rebuke on the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, as well as the Catholic Church over comments by both bodies regarding the wave of ethno-religious crisis in the Southern part of Kaduna State. In a strongly-worded statement, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, said: “True religious leaders do not fan the embers of hate, but ensure that communities live in peace and harmony.”
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the senate would commence investigation into the latest killings in southern Kaduna State. But CAN, Kaduna State branch, yesterday, reacted angrily to the suggestion by Danbazau that Christian leaders in Kaduna State were fanning the embers of hate and religious intolerance by insisting that the killings going on in Southern Kaduna was religious in nature. Kaduna CAN said to the Minister: “Shut up if you have nothing to say.” Similarly, Rev. Musa Asake, the General Secretary of National CAN, in a telephone interview, said it would be an unfortunate thing for a Minister like Dambazau to say that the Christian leadership in the country was fanning the embers of hatred. He said CAN did not exaggerate the killings as being accused. “We have to say things (the way they are) when they are not going well. We are not fanning embers of hate as the minister suggested. How can somebody be talking like that? We do not exaggerate or say negative things like some people.” Dambazau in a statement by his Press Secretary, Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, yesterday, was reacting to statements credited to the national leadership of CAN and the Catholic Church in Southern Kaduna, accusing Islamist herdsmen of trying to wipe out the Christian-dominated and largely agrarian communities in the area. The Dambazau statement The statement said: “The Minister of the Interior, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), has called on all well-meaning Nigerians not to allow themselves to be dragged into religious conflicts. He observed that this has become necessary following insinuations that the criminal violence in Southern Kaduna has some religious interpretation. “He said there are people who are always looking for ways to further create division along religious or ethnic fault lines for their selfish interest, with the aim of creating instability in our internal security. Accordingly, the Minister posited that true religious leaders do not fan the embers of hate, but ensure that communities live in peace and harmony. In this connection, he maintained that economic growth and development will remain a mirage for Nigeria, with over 500 ethnic groups and multiple religions, unless we resolve to live amicably as a people with common destiny.
“Dambazau said criminals, who perpetrate violence against innocent, law-abiding citizens, do not discriminate along religious and ethnic lines, citing examples of how communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Taraba, Enugu, Lagos and Niger were victimized by those violent criminals. He noted that a criminal should be treated as such, whether he is involved in armed robbery, drug trafficking, homicide or cattle rustling, and that people should avoid honouring criminals with religious or ethnic attachment. “He advised opinion and religious leaders to refrain from giving the crisis between herdsmen and sedentary farmers in Southern Kaduna a religious connotation, rather attention should be focused on the real enemies of our Society, who illegally acquire weapons to terrorize Christian and Muslim communities alike.” Kaduna CAN reacts Reacting to Dambazau’s comment, Secretary of CAN, Kaduna State Chapter, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, said it was better that Danbazau kept quiet since he appeared not to be interested in solving the problem, insisting that the violence was religious in nature. He said: “The statement attributed to Danbazau came to us with the least of surprise because of his antecedence on matters like this. If Danbazau has no interest in solving our security problems, he should shut up, just like President Muhammadu Buhari has kept mute also. “Why should Danbazzau not wait for the much talked about investigation into the massacre and bring out a conclusion that may rubbish our claim? What do you call continuous killings and destruction of Christian communities with gunmen chanting Islamic slogans all the time? In areas where there are Muslims, such as Godogodo, Akwa, Golkofa, Gada Biyu, in Jema’a LGA, the homes of Muslims and the Muslim residents there were not touched. But not a Christian home or church is standing in the other areas. What do you call that? “In Chaiwai, Chiefdom, Kauru, LGA, where five villages were sacked and 45 people killed in November, the survivors said the gunmen were chanting Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. They shot and killed pigs in the villages, also stole goats and grains and burnt the churches and houses there. “We have visited some of these places and the evidence is on ground. ECWA Church addressed a press conference in Kaduna, last October or was it November, and said that all their churches in affected towns and villages had been burnt. “The Catholic Church knows its casualties, so do Anglican, Baptist Church and the rest. The statement of Danbazzau is either to cover his shame for his refusal to stop Jihadist herdsmen or he is out to intimidate CAN not to reveal to the world the atrocity that herdsmen are doing at cleansing Christian communities in Southern Kaduna “As the Minister of Interior, has he ever taken a trip to Southern Kaduna to see things for himself? The first time he would be making a statement is to cast Christian leaders in bad light instead of saying comforting words to us. Violence in Southern Kaduna religious— CAN “CAN in Kaduna insists that the violence in Southern Kaduna is religious. Islamists want to destroy Christianity in Southern Kaduna and occupy the land. And right now, they are occupying 16 villages in Southern Kaduna with their cattle and families after terrorising out the Christian natives. Let him come and see with his own eyes if CAN is lying. “We are still waiting for the same reaction of the Federal Government in Zamfara and Katsina just a day or two after gunmen killed several people there. We are happy they got the killers and have secured these states. “Since April, last year, we have been shouting hoarse and pleading. All we get from the Inspector General of Police and now the Minister of Interior is that we have no right to describe the killings in its true form, while the two just sit and watch on.” Senate to investigate S’ Kaduna killings, says Saraki Meanwhile, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the senate would commence investigation into the latest killings in southern Kaduna State. Saraki made the announcement in a statement by his Special Assistant on New Media, Mr Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja, yesterday. According to Saraki, the Senate will on resumption from recess on January 10, make the issue a priority. Omishore said the senate president made the disclosure while responding to a tweet posted by one Chimeze Ukoha on the Kaduna killings. The statement quoted Ukoha as saying that “About 800 Christians were massacred in Southern Kaduna and nobody is talking about that, very bad.” It quotes Saraki as responding that “once the senate resumes, this issue will be addressed to get a clearer picture of what the real situation is and find a lasting solution. “Every Nigerian life matters and the senate will work to ensure that rule of law is always upheld as prescribed by the Nigerian Constitution.” The statement explained that Saraki was already in touch with senators from Kaduna State and that he was constantly getting updates on developments. Army approves Brigade Command in troubled area Meanwhile, worried by the recurring crisis in the southern part of Kaduna State, especially the ongoing crisis where several lives have been lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed, the authorities of the Nigerian Army have approved the establishment of a brigade command in the troubled area. Also, the Army authorities have directed that Camp Zero, headquarters of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists which recently fell to its gallant troops be used as the Nigerian Army Small Arms Competition in 2017. The development came as the Army said it has not only deployed troops to Southern Kaduna but has also taken full control of the crisis zone. Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Usman, who disclosed this yesterday, at a media briefing, in Abuja, assured that full normalcy would soon be restored. “I want to inform you that the Nigerian Army is fully deployed to the southern part of Kaduna State with directive to restore law and order and we might go beyond that. “The Nigerian Army is fully on ground in the southern part of Kaduna State. It is our hope and prayer that the problem that requires this will be nipped in the bud. “The Nigerian Army has made provision for military establishment in that part and any moment from now, we are going to have it.” Speaking on the Sambisa Forest proposed arms training, he said: “The Chief of Army Staff has directed that next Nigerian Army Small Arms Competition, NASAC 2017, would be conducted at Sambisa Forest. Already, efforts are on by the Nigerian Army engineers to open more routes and construct bridges into the once Boko Haram haven to facilitate easy access to the forest.” Usman said the briefing was part of the Nigerian Army “ interaction to review our last year training and operational activities which led to the final fall of Boko Haram terrorists headquarters in Camp Zairo and subsequent subsequent presidential commendation on achieving that noble feat.” The Army spokesman, who recalled that the Nigerian Army last year conducted many training activities at all levels in addition to other training exercise conducted by the various Nigerian Army training institutions across the country, said the development led to its successes in cattle rustling, recovery of arms and ammunition as well as arrest of perpetrators of violence in various parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the senate would commence investigation into the latest killings in southern Kaduna State. But CAN, Kaduna State branch, yesterday, reacted angrily to the suggestion by Danbazau that Christian leaders in Kaduna State were fanning the embers of hate and religious intolerance by insisting that the killings going on in Southern Kaduna was religious in nature. Kaduna CAN said to the Minister: “Shut up if you have nothing to say.” Similarly, Rev. Musa Asake, the General Secretary of National CAN, in a telephone interview, said it would be an unfortunate thing for a Minister like Dambazau to say that the Christian leadership in the country was fanning the embers of hatred. He said CAN did not exaggerate the killings as being accused. “We have to say things (the way they are) when they are not going well. We are not fanning embers of hate as the minister suggested. How can somebody be talking like that? We do not exaggerate or say negative things like some people.” Dambazau in a statement by his Press Secretary, Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, yesterday, was reacting to statements credited to the national leadership of CAN and the Catholic Church in Southern Kaduna, accusing Islamist herdsmen of trying to wipe out the Christian-dominated and largely agrarian communities in the area. The Dambazau statement The statement said: “The Minister of the Interior, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), has called on all well-meaning Nigerians not to allow themselves to be dragged into religious conflicts. He observed that this has become necessary following insinuations that the criminal violence in Southern Kaduna has some religious interpretation. “He said there are people who are always looking for ways to further create division along religious or ethnic fault lines for their selfish interest, with the aim of creating instability in our internal security. Accordingly, the Minister posited that true religious leaders do not fan the embers of hate, but ensure that communities live in peace and harmony. In this connection, he maintained that economic growth and development will remain a mirage for Nigeria, with over 500 ethnic groups and multiple religions, unless we resolve to live amicably as a people with common destiny.
“Dambazau said criminals, who perpetrate violence against innocent, law-abiding citizens, do not discriminate along religious and ethnic lines, citing examples of how communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Taraba, Enugu, Lagos and Niger were victimized by those violent criminals. He noted that a criminal should be treated as such, whether he is involved in armed robbery, drug trafficking, homicide or cattle rustling, and that people should avoid honouring criminals with religious or ethnic attachment. “He advised opinion and religious leaders to refrain from giving the crisis between herdsmen and sedentary farmers in Southern Kaduna a religious connotation, rather attention should be focused on the real enemies of our Society, who illegally acquire weapons to terrorize Christian and Muslim communities alike.” Kaduna CAN reacts Reacting to Dambazau’s comment, Secretary of CAN, Kaduna State Chapter, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, said it was better that Danbazau kept quiet since he appeared not to be interested in solving the problem, insisting that the violence was religious in nature. He said: “The statement attributed to Danbazau came to us with the least of surprise because of his antecedence on matters like this. If Danbazau has no interest in solving our security problems, he should shut up, just like President Muhammadu Buhari has kept mute also. “Why should Danbazzau not wait for the much talked about investigation into the massacre and bring out a conclusion that may rubbish our claim? What do you call continuous killings and destruction of Christian communities with gunmen chanting Islamic slogans all the time? In areas where there are Muslims, such as Godogodo, Akwa, Golkofa, Gada Biyu, in Jema’a LGA, the homes of Muslims and the Muslim residents there were not touched. But not a Christian home or church is standing in the other areas. What do you call that? “In Chaiwai, Chiefdom, Kauru, LGA, where five villages were sacked and 45 people killed in November, the survivors said the gunmen were chanting Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. They shot and killed pigs in the villages, also stole goats and grains and burnt the churches and houses there. “We have visited some of these places and the evidence is on ground. ECWA Church addressed a press conference in Kaduna, last October or was it November, and said that all their churches in affected towns and villages had been burnt. “The Catholic Church knows its casualties, so do Anglican, Baptist Church and the rest. The statement of Danbazzau is either to cover his shame for his refusal to stop Jihadist herdsmen or he is out to intimidate CAN not to reveal to the world the atrocity that herdsmen are doing at cleansing Christian communities in Southern Kaduna “As the Minister of Interior, has he ever taken a trip to Southern Kaduna to see things for himself? The first time he would be making a statement is to cast Christian leaders in bad light instead of saying comforting words to us. Violence in Southern Kaduna religious— CAN “CAN in Kaduna insists that the violence in Southern Kaduna is religious. Islamists want to destroy Christianity in Southern Kaduna and occupy the land. And right now, they are occupying 16 villages in Southern Kaduna with their cattle and families after terrorising out the Christian natives. Let him come and see with his own eyes if CAN is lying. “We are still waiting for the same reaction of the Federal Government in Zamfara and Katsina just a day or two after gunmen killed several people there. We are happy they got the killers and have secured these states. “Since April, last year, we have been shouting hoarse and pleading. All we get from the Inspector General of Police and now the Minister of Interior is that we have no right to describe the killings in its true form, while the two just sit and watch on.” Senate to investigate S’ Kaduna killings, says Saraki Meanwhile, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the senate would commence investigation into the latest killings in southern Kaduna State. Saraki made the announcement in a statement by his Special Assistant on New Media, Mr Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja, yesterday. According to Saraki, the Senate will on resumption from recess on January 10, make the issue a priority. Omishore said the senate president made the disclosure while responding to a tweet posted by one Chimeze Ukoha on the Kaduna killings. The statement quoted Ukoha as saying that “About 800 Christians were massacred in Southern Kaduna and nobody is talking about that, very bad.” It quotes Saraki as responding that “once the senate resumes, this issue will be addressed to get a clearer picture of what the real situation is and find a lasting solution. “Every Nigerian life matters and the senate will work to ensure that rule of law is always upheld as prescribed by the Nigerian Constitution.” The statement explained that Saraki was already in touch with senators from Kaduna State and that he was constantly getting updates on developments. Army approves Brigade Command in troubled area Meanwhile, worried by the recurring crisis in the southern part of Kaduna State, especially the ongoing crisis where several lives have been lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed, the authorities of the Nigerian Army have approved the establishment of a brigade command in the troubled area. Also, the Army authorities have directed that Camp Zero, headquarters of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists which recently fell to its gallant troops be used as the Nigerian Army Small Arms Competition in 2017. The development came as the Army said it has not only deployed troops to Southern Kaduna but has also taken full control of the crisis zone. Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Usman, who disclosed this yesterday, at a media briefing, in Abuja, assured that full normalcy would soon be restored. “I want to inform you that the Nigerian Army is fully deployed to the southern part of Kaduna State with directive to restore law and order and we might go beyond that. “The Nigerian Army is fully on ground in the southern part of Kaduna State. It is our hope and prayer that the problem that requires this will be nipped in the bud. “The Nigerian Army has made provision for military establishment in that part and any moment from now, we are going to have it.” Speaking on the Sambisa Forest proposed arms training, he said: “The Chief of Army Staff has directed that next Nigerian Army Small Arms Competition, NASAC 2017, would be conducted at Sambisa Forest. Already, efforts are on by the Nigerian Army engineers to open more routes and construct bridges into the once Boko Haram haven to facilitate easy access to the forest.” Usman said the briefing was part of the Nigerian Army “ interaction to review our last year training and operational activities which led to the final fall of Boko Haram terrorists headquarters in Camp Zairo and subsequent subsequent presidential commendation on achieving that noble feat.” The Army spokesman, who recalled that the Nigerian Army last year conducted many training activities at all levels in addition to other training exercise conducted by the various Nigerian Army training institutions across the country, said the development led to its successes in cattle rustling, recovery of arms and ammunition as well as arrest of perpetrators of violence in various parts of the country.
By Luka Binniyat,
Omeiza Ajayi, Joseph Erunke, Caleb Ayansina
The Federal Government, yesterday, launched a bitter but indirect rebuke
on the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, as well as the Catholic
Church over comments by both bodies regarding the wave of
ethno-religious crisis in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
In a strongly-worded statement, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman
Dambazau, said: “True religious leaders do not fan the embers of hate,
but ensure that communities live in peace and harmony.”
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/southern-kaduna-killings-fg-can-catholic-church-war-words/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/southern-kaduna-killings-fg-can-catholic-church-war-words/
Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Protestors attack Ahmadi mosque in Pakistan on prophet Mohammad's birthday
Thousands of protestors stormed a mosque belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect in Pakistan's Punjab province on Monday, firing at worshipers and wounding several before police dispersed the attackers, police and an Ahmadi spokesman said.
A procession of around two thousand Sunni Muslims marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Mohammad entered the Ahmadi mosque despite resistance by police, hurling stones and bricks and firing weapons.
The Ahmadi minority holds that a prophet followed the Prophet Mohammed, who founded Islam. But that view runs counter to the Muslim religion's central belief that Mohammad was the last of God's messengers.
In 1974, a Pakistani law declared Ahmadis non-Muslims and in 1984, a new law made it possible to jail Ahmadis for "posing as a Muslim" or "offending a Muslim's feelings".
"Police tried its best to stop the attackers but failed because of slim deployment," Malik Nawaz, the police officer in charge of the Choa Saiden Shah area where the attack took place told Reuters.
"Later, high officials reached the spot with more troops and chased out the occupants."
He said police would register a case against the attackers after receiving a formal complaint from the Ahmadi community.
A spokesman for the Ahmadi sect said the mosque was built by the community in 1860 and has been in use since then.
The attackers likely attacked the mosque because they suspected the worshippers were breaking the law by commemorating the birthday of the prophet Mohammad.
"Today a mob attacked the worship place, threw stones and shot gunfire. Police could not stop them because of weak deployment," Saleemuddin, the Ahmadi community's Pakistan spokesman, told Reuters.
The attack comes just a week after Pakistan renamed a university center for physicist Abdus Salam, its first Nobel laureate, after more than 30 years of all but disowning his achievements, as a member of the Ahmadi minority sect.
Salam, the first Muslim to win the prize for science, is buried in the Pakistani town of Rabwah, a major center for Ahmadis, where his gravestone was defaced by local authorities who removed the word "Muslim" from an inscription that called him "the first Muslim Nobel laureate".
Ahmadis have repeatedly been targeted with violence by militant protesters and been taken to court on blasphemy charges.
A procession of around two thousand Sunni Muslims marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Mohammad entered the Ahmadi mosque despite resistance by police, hurling stones and bricks and firing weapons.
The Ahmadi minority holds that a prophet followed the Prophet Mohammed, who founded Islam. But that view runs counter to the Muslim religion's central belief that Mohammad was the last of God's messengers.
In 1974, a Pakistani law declared Ahmadis non-Muslims and in 1984, a new law made it possible to jail Ahmadis for "posing as a Muslim" or "offending a Muslim's feelings".
"Police tried its best to stop the attackers but failed because of slim deployment," Malik Nawaz, the police officer in charge of the Choa Saiden Shah area where the attack took place told Reuters.
"Later, high officials reached the spot with more troops and chased out the occupants."
He said police would register a case against the attackers after receiving a formal complaint from the Ahmadi community.
A spokesman for the Ahmadi sect said the mosque was built by the community in 1860 and has been in use since then.
The attackers likely attacked the mosque because they suspected the worshippers were breaking the law by commemorating the birthday of the prophet Mohammad.
"Today a mob attacked the worship place, threw stones and shot gunfire. Police could not stop them because of weak deployment," Saleemuddin, the Ahmadi community's Pakistan spokesman, told Reuters.
The attack comes just a week after Pakistan renamed a university center for physicist Abdus Salam, its first Nobel laureate, after more than 30 years of all but disowning his achievements, as a member of the Ahmadi minority sect.
Salam, the first Muslim to win the prize for science, is buried in the Pakistani town of Rabwah, a major center for Ahmadis, where his gravestone was defaced by local authorities who removed the word "Muslim" from an inscription that called him "the first Muslim Nobel laureate".
Ahmadis have repeatedly been targeted with violence by militant protesters and been taken to court on blasphemy charges.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)