Ghaddafi Changes Gear, Wants Nigeria Divided along Ethnic Lines

After being pummelled for suggesting the division of Nigeria into two, Libyan leader Muammer Ghaddafi has made yet another puzzling proposal: that the country be balkanized along ethnic lines to ensure its survival.
His latest suggestion is coming amidst strained relations between the two countries after he publicly declared that the creation of a Muslim North and Christian South would be the best solution to the crises experienced in the country.


His comments were described by many including public officials as incendiary. But revising his statement, he noted that breaking Nigeria into only two nations might not be enough.


“In fact, Nigeria’s problems cannot be resolved by dividing the country into two states, Christian and Muslim,” Ghaddafi was quoted as saying by the official Jana news agency.
“The model that best fits Nigeria, which comprises many ethnic groups, is Yugoslavia, which was divided into six countries, including Kosovo whose independence has not been unanimously recognized,” he stated.
Like the former Yugoslavia, Nigeria comprises “other populations who want independence” without religious considerations, he said.


In what may reveal a lack of depth about the country, he went ahead to describe the Igbos and Yorubas while placing them in the wrong geographical locations.
Ghaddafi cited “the Yoruba people in the East and South who demand independence, the Ibo people in the West and South” as well as the Ijaws.
Angry reactions trailed his earlier call this month for the partition of Nigeria into two. Senate President David Mark referred to him as a “mad man”, while the foreign ministry rushed to recall Nigeria’s ambassador to Libya.
The ministry described his statements as “irresponsible utterances” which had made a mockery of his calls for African integration and unity.


The Libyan leader’s comments had “diminished his status and credibility”, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ozo Nwobu, who also expressed “very serious concern”. The statement also accused him of “theatrics and grandstanding at every auspicious occasion”.
In his earlier proposal, he said Nigeria should follow the partition model of Pakistan and India – two countries dominated by Muslims and Hindus.


According to him, the partition should comprise a Christian homeland in the South with Lagos as its capital and a Muslim homeland in the North with Abuja as its principal city.
Ghaddafi’s earlier comments came after several hundreds of people were killed early March in sectarian violence in Plateau State.
THISDAYONLINE

PDP loses out on new cabinet

DESPITE frantic moves by the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, to beat Acting President Goodluck Jonathan into political line over the composition of the new Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF, the party appears to be losing out as its input to the expected cabinet was still very scanty, at press time.

Investigations revealed that the last visit by PDP National Chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, to Aso Rock, Thursday, was to discuss with Jonathan on the need for the new EXCOF to have PDP outlook, a position which the governors are also canvassing. Jonathan’s men were, however, said to have rejected the idea, saying that it was not workable in view of the short time left for the administration.

As a pointer to this, Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State, yesterday, rose from a consultative parley with Jonathan with a submission that the Acting President was looking for core professionals and technocrats in the composition of a new EXCOF.

This came as the list of nominees, observed to be seriously lacking in PDP representation, was sent to the relevant security outfits by Jonathan with a directive to commence immediate screening before forwarding same to the National Assembly for confirmation possibly by Thursday.

Vanguard learnt that the list made up of some of the former ministers from the dissolved cabinet, may have pitched Acting President Goodluck Jonathan against the PDP.

According to a Presidency source, names of about 10 former cabinet members are in the list being screened by the State Security Service, SSS, which include Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Prof. Dora Akunyili, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke, Elder Godswill Orubebe among others. A one-time minister, Alhaji Adamu Waziri from Yobe State was also mentioned as one of those being screened.

It was gathered that some former ministers whose names were not yet listed were mounting intensive pressure on Jonathan’s men to get them on board; but this time, through the use of some party bigwigs.

While one of the affected ministers (names withheld) confirmed to Vanguard that he has just been screened for a possible ministerial slot, another former minister on PDP ticket said “nobody has called me,” noting that in a similar exercise carried out by Yar’Adua, it was well coordinated, as “one of us was calling us one after another for the screening.”

Fielding questions from State House Correspondents, Governor Ohakim said though he was not in Aso Rock to submit list of possible ministerial nominees, “I am a governor of a state and I have the right to submit my ministerial list.”

He stated, however, that “the Acting President is pragmatic, forward looking, and knows what to do,” noting that “he (Jonathan) knows the country has been trekking and we need to run fast.”

No friction with Jonathan

Ohakim said: “My mind tells me he will look for key professionals; those who can run with the ball, and give them responsibilities of driving activities of this country because we can’t wait forever. I know who he is and he has what it takes. In the next few days you will be happy with what is coming out from the exercise.”

He maintained that governors of the 36 states were not at daggers-drawn with Jonathan, insisting that “there can be no friction between the governors and the president. The President is to govern the country while the governors govern the states.
The governor noted that he came to “confer with the acting president on the issue of security in the state and luckily the acting president has given some approval. The government has agreed to tackle the issue of security, gangsterism and kidnapping.
“The government is disturbed by the social menace of kidnapping, but nobody can overwhelm government. Now that they are unable to use crude oil to finance their gangs they now decided that millionaires in Igboland must be taken hostage to finance their activities. We are waiting to see how illegalities will outweigh legalities.”

Anenih, Ogbemudia, Akhigbe in fresh war over ministerial nominee

As the race for who picks the Ministerial slot in the Edo State rages, four names have been submitted to the Presidency for consideration by different political camps in the state.

Vanguard was reliably informed that the names of the immediate past Minister of Defence, General Godwin Abbe (rtd), former Special Adviser to the President, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, former Secretary to the State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the Mr. Isaiah Osifo, the immediate past Chief of Staff to the State Government have been forwarded to the Presidency.

Vanguard learnt that the battle to push the appointment of these nominees was between the former Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, two time Governor of old Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, former Governor of the state, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and the former Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe.

It was gathered that Anenih was backing the return of General Abbe but Vanguard learnt that Ihonvbere may be his second joker if any thing goes wrong with the nomination of Abbe.
Ihonvbere, it was learnt, may also get the support of his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Vanguard further gathered that former Governor Igbinedion was backing the nomination of his former SSG, Pastor Ize-Iyamu. The duo of Ogbemudia and Akhigbe are backing Osifo.

VANGUARD NEWS

Akunyili, Umar, Jega for INEC chair

THE Presidency is considering six names as likely replacement for Professor Maurice Iwu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Vanguard can authoritatively reveal.

According to sources in the Presidency, names being considered as likely replacement for Iwu include Prof. Attahiru Jega, a former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, rtd.Major-General Ishola Williams, president of Transparency Nigeria, Prof Dora Akunyili, immediate past Information and Communications Minister, Col. Abubakar Umar, former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and former Nigeria Bar Association, NBA president.

Presidency sources said that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was bent on leaving a legacy in Nigeria’s political history, and as such regards the civil society a veritable ally that would credibly contribute towards realizing his ambition.

Jega would be remembered for the pivotal role he played in forcing the government of General Ibrahim Babangida to improve the welfare of university teachers and properly recognize their role in nation building. Williams’name is synonymous with abhorence for corruption, hence he stands out as probably the only Army General who is not associated with questionable wealth.

Ibrahim is Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, a non-governmental organization in Abuja, and is no less known than the others for his Civil Society activities.

Agbakoba is regarded generally as an icon in human rights activities, having founded and run the foremost civil society group, the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO. When the military had the nation in its stranglehold, Agbakoba stood out, deploying his knowledge of law in the fight against arbitrariness of the military. During that era, the CLO was the unofficial mouthpiece of the citizenry.

Three of the names were members of the President Umaru Yar’Adua 22-member Electoral Reform Panel, which in keeping with Yar’Adua’s seven-point agenda was inaugurated to review the electoral system to ensure that subsequent elections are credible to meet international standards. The panel had submitted its report to Yar’ Adua before the President took ill.

Vanguard can authoritatively reveal that the short-listing of the names, followed last week’s rejection of one of the key recommendations of the Uwais Committee, that the National Judicial Council, NJC, should be responsible for the selection of the chairman of INEC, to insulate the occupier of the position from undue political and partisan influence.

The Senate Committee on Constitution Review, had presented a revised constitution on the Senate floor last Thursday, rejecting the appointment of INEC chairman by the NJC.

The Senate’s review committee, headed by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, however, recommended that INEC and the National Assembly should be fully autonomous hence placing them on the first-line charge of the consolidated revenue fund.

The Senate report, however, indicated that INEC’s chairman and members of the board of the commission “shall not be members of any political party.”

Other recommendations of the Senate committee include that all election-related cases must be disposed of within 60 days of the date of filing such cases.

According to the committee, in the case of annulled elections, the eventual winner must have fresh tenure to start from the date of swearing-in, as the tenure of four years for executives at the federal and state level, was left intact.

The committee had further recommended that elections to the office of President shall be held on a date not earlier than 210 days and 80 days before expiration of the term of the last holder of that office.

The committee also recommended that all political parties must have their head offices in Abuja and each must always submit detailed annual statement and analysis of its sources of funds and other assets, together with a similar statement of expenditure in such form as the commission may require.
VANGUARDNEWS

England's David Beckham 'to miss World Cup with injury'

David Beckham's dream of playing in a fourth World Cup looks over after he tore an Achilles tendon in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo on Sunday.

Beckham was unchallenged when he suffered the injury and hobbled off in pain before being stretchered away.

The 34-year-old was hoping to be part of England's World Cup squad in June, but instead will fly to Finland on Monday for specialist surgery.

"A rupture of the Achilles tendon is suspected," said an AC Milan statement.

Beckham, who is in his second loan stint with Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, will now almost certainly not be fit for the World Cup in South Africa which starts on 11 June.

Consultant sports physician Dr Tom Crisp told BBC Radio 5 live: "It's remotely possible he may be running in three months. The chances of him being fit to play for England are non-existent."

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said that the Englishman will be out for "probably five or six months".

"I saw him and he was suffering. In the dressing room, I took him in my arms and told him that if he wanted, he will be with us next year," said Galliani.

AC Milan coach Leonardo said: "Beckham's injury makes us feel terrible. He understood immediately that he had torn his Achilles tendon.

"He is an extraordinary guy and today's game proves it yet again. I cannot enjoy this evening considering this serious injury."

606: DEBATE
Saw Milan's game, Beckham was substituted and it did not look good. Out of World Cup for sure

PerPoet

AC Milan team-mate Ignazio Abate said the England star was inconsolable.

"He's not doing well. He was in tears in the dressing room, he wasn't saying a lot. This has affected us all," said Abate.

Former Manchester United star Beckham, England's most capped outfield player with 115 appearances, was bidding to become the first England player to feature in four successive World Cup finals. He shares the record of three with Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton.

England coach Fabio Capello spoke with Beckham on Sunday evening to offer his commiserations, according to the Press Association.
England captain David Beckham

Archive - Beckham sinks Ecuador in 2006 World Cup

And with Tottenham's Aaron Lennon still suffering from a groin problem, Capello may now turn to both Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips to cover the right side of midfield, with James Milner, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing and Adam Johnson also in the reckoning.

Former England defender Martin Keown told BBC Radio 5 live: "Capello's not stupid, he knew there was a role for Beckham within the squad and this is a massive blow.

"He's going to be out for six months, he needs to now look at rescuing his career and what's left of it.

"He'll be extremely upset, without doubt. I think tonight is a very sad day for the Beckham family."

Beckham's loan spells at AC Milan were a deliberate attempt to convince Capello of his worth in an England squad, but he was an unused substitute in the recent friendly win over Egypt and was quoted in several Sunday papers as saying he feared for his place.

"Am I banking on going to the World Cup? No, not at all," he is reported to have said.

"I am not guaranteed to go to South Africa. I have to work hard and hopefully win my place.

"There are a good few months left and plenty of games to play, but hopefully I can carry on playing well and get in the squad."

Sunday's injury is the latest in a string of heartbreaking World Cup moments for Beckham.

His sending off against Argentina in the quarter-finals was widely blamed for costing England their chance in France in 1998.

Four years later he was not fully fit after suffering a broken metatarsal in his foot in the build-up as England went out to 10-man Brazil in the quarter-finals in Japan and South Korea.

In 2006, Beckham went off injured just after half-time in the quarter-final against Portugal which England went on to lose on penalties.

Beckham tearfully announced he was resigning the captaincy afterwards.
BBC News

Court sacks Dangote as NSE boss

The Federal High Court in Lagos, has nullified the election of Alhaji Aliko Dangote as President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Dangote, business mogul and chairman of the Dangote Group was elected as the president of NSE in August last year. But in a reaction after the verdict was handed down, his counsel said he will appeal against the ruling.

Trial judge in the matter, Justice Lambo Akanbi, ruling on an application by some shareholders of African Petroleum Plc, who had sought to set aside Dangote’s election as NSE president, on the ground that the said election was held in clear disregard of an order of court, after reviewing the facts of the matte, said, “it is the case of the applicants that this court in the enrolled order of April 8. 2009 granted an interim order, when it ordered parties to maintain the status quo, pending the hearing and determination of both the interlocutory application and the preliminary objection.

“NSE resisted this claim and submitted that the application for an interim order was refused by the court. From the extract of the proceedings quoted earlier in this ruling, I find nowhere therein where the court refused an application for an interim order. Rather, the court made it abundantly clear that the oral application of counsel for the applicants for an order to maintain status quo was granted”, the court said.

Condemning the conduct of NSE and Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, the court said: “The conduct of all officials of the NSE and SEC, who organised and/or participated in the purported election of Dangote is reprehensible and highly condemnable. They perhaps look at the court and think that it can only bark but cannot bite. This court will make them see that our teeth are not only sharp, they can be poisonous when they choose to bite. The court will not allow them to treat the court orders as useless by refusing to obey them, lest anarchy may set in.”

The court also noted that: “The government should also look inward for a way to sanction, domestically, any government functionaries found in disobedience of court’s order. This is the only way the “big boys” and those claiming to be close to power and who are laws unto themselves can be checkmated so that the genuine desire of the present administration to enthrone true and genuine democracy can be attained.

“The integrity of the court is at stake here in this application. There is a direct affront on the authority of the court. The court must therefore rise to make the lawless elements in the 13th and 14th defendants see how sharper it is than a serpent tooth to have disobedient and lawless executives in government establishments.
“I will bite them with my sharp teeth by sustaining the application of learned counsel for the applicants with the following order: An order is hereby made nullifying, vacating and setting aside all steps taken by NSE in purporting to elect Dangote as the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange”, the court held.

The court further said, “like every judicial official, I feel troubled and tremble each time I see any Chief Executive of a government agency or establishment and their minions spurn and treat the order of court with levity, leaving the impression that since the courts have neither the police nor guns nor the army to enforce whatever orders they make, they should treat such orders with impunity. I see the act of the officials and executive, who operate NSE and SEC as a subtle strive and exploration by devious and dubious way to circumvent and render nugatory, the true intention of the order of the court to maintain status quo.”
Sun News

Why Jos is different?

WHILE a debate on the latest round of killings in the Jos area raged, someone asked: Can a person be a settler in his own country? Can a Nigerian citizen be a settler in any part of Nigeria? The answer, clearly, is yes.

The Constitution at Chapters III and IV wrote down all the beautiful things in favour of Nigerian citizenship and his fundamental human rights, but that is only on paper. In reality, being an indigene matters more than citizen when it comes to your rights to enjoy certain privileges at the local, state and federal levels.

My own studied understanding of factors responsible for the Jos periodic killings is that it has nothing to do with the denial of anyone’s right of citizenship. After all, other ethnic groups such as the Igbo and Yoruba have lived in Jos since the town was founded by the British colonialists and yet not a single incident has pitched them against the owners of the land and other indigenes of Plateau State. The reason why the case of the Hausa/Fulani is different is the perception by the landowners that the Hausa/Fulani are pursuing an expansionist agenda.

Their thinking is that what could not be achieved through the Fulani jihads that established the Sokoto Caliphate is now being forcefully pursued with the help of highly connected people in the federal establishment. The indigenes now say that they would never allow the Hausa/Fulani to have the kind of hold they demand over Jos.

Unfortunately, the bitterness arising from this unhealthy relationship between the so-called indigenes and settlers has turned very ugly indeed, as the villages outside Jos have become pet targets of cowardly invaders, who slaughter women and children like chicken and melt away. The Jos crisis has now turned into a vicious war of attrition, guerrilla action and terrorism. Due to the new turn it has taken, I am under no illusion that we have heard the last of invasions and massacres. It is unfortunate, but there it is.

The Hausa/Fulani cultural group is a very important part of the Nigerian society. Without them, Nigeria, as we know it, is incomplete. Every group has its positive and negative sides. One of the positive sides of the Hausa/Fulani is that there are certain goods and services they provide wherever they are found but which cannot be gotten from any other Nigerian cultural group.

They exclusively supply the nation with foodstuff, such as groundnuts, onions, peppers, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, they are the only group that supply the nation with animal products in commercial quantities. The government of the former Eastern Region recognised their importance and decided to allocate special grazing zones for their cattle which were called garki, especially in major railway towns.

Their negative side includes, among others, their method of settlement in areas outside their immediate native zones. The Hausa/Fulani zango settlement patterns do not encourage integration. Perhaps to maintain their cultural purity, they cluster away from the local population rather than identify with their hosts since they do not intend to return to their home of origin. You cannot isolate yourself, maintain your cultural purity and lay claim to territory in foreign land and expect peace.

Examples abound where Nigerians successfully settled in other parts and became indigenes over time. In Lagos Island for example, Nupe, Bini, and other Yoruba people came and settled some centuries ago among the natives. Till today, Lagos families of Nupe origins are called Tapa. Oshodi is a Bini name. Yaba is not a Yoruba word. It is Nupe. They have acquired the rights to contest elections and obtain cultural privileges at the court of the Oba of Lagos, just like other Eko people. These groups acclimatised and acculturated.

In the East, the first Lord Mayor of Enugu, the capital of defunct Eastern Region, was Malam Umaru Altine, who hailed from Sokoto. He and his other kinsmen settled in Enugu in the 1940s. They joined the Zikist Movement and the NCNC, the predominant political party in Eastern Nigeria and identified with other young men in all that they did towards the end of colonial rule. Altine was one of those jailed, along with Mbazulike Amechi, after the coal mine shootings, when they led civil disobedience campaigns.

And when the Enugu Mayoralty was formed, the NCNC sponsored Altine for the top post and he won the election. Some Hausa/Fulani who were also part of the movement became councillors in Enugu. According to Chief Amaechi in a recent interview with me, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, was so impressed with Altine’s elevation so far away from home that, in a fit of reciprocity, he appointed the leader of the Kano chapter of the Igbo State Union as a member of Northern Region House of Chiefs.

If you go about your objectives in the right and pleasant way there is no limit to your possibilities. Our Hausa/Fulani brothers should consider changing their self-isolation style and seek to integrate with their host communities if they want to peacefully integrate and belong.

They should also consider opening up their native cities for settlers to integrate and belong if they wish. That is how other Nigerians live when they settle outside their cultural niches. If this had been done in Jos there would be no problem with the natives, just as there is none between the natives and other groups. After all, the Hausa/Fulani are natural neighbours of the Plateau people and their ties with the latter should be even closer than those who travelled thousands of kilometres to settle in Jos.

Nobody likes to be invaded. Nobody takes expansionism with delight. Minority groups, such as the owners of Jos, are usually very touchy about expansionist tendencies by majority groups such as the Hausa/Fulani.
There is no violent means of achieving co-ownership of Jos!
Vanguard News

CBN suspends deadline for old N50, N10 and N5 notes

CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has suspended the March 31 deadline for acceptance of old N50, N10 and N5 paper notes as legal tenders.

Last year, CBN introduced new N5, N10 and N50 polymer banknotes into circulation and gave a deadline of six months ending March 31, 2010, after which the old paper notes would cease to be accepted as legal tender. But more than a month to the expiration of the deadline, Nigerians, especially traders and transporters, began to reject the notes as legal tender.

A top CBN official who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the apex bank was aware of the concerns about the old notes and has decided to extend the deadline indefinitely. This means the old N50, N10 and N5 notes will continue to be accepted as legal tender until they are all withdrawn from the system.

President Umaru Yar’Adua, as part of the last Independence Anniversary on October 1, 2009, launched the new N5, N10 and N50 polymer notes as legal tender in the country.

Speaking at the launch, the Governor of the Central CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urged Nigerians to embrace the new currencies as well as strive to keep the naira clean. He also urged Nigerians to check the abuse to which the currency has been subjected to over the years.

Sanusi who said the campaign to keep the naira clean will further be enhanced by the introduction of the new polymers notes, said that banks “have established exchange windows to enable the public exchange the new polymer notes with their genuine old ‘paper’ bank notes, which cease to be a legal tender from March 2010.”

Highlighting advantages of the polymer notes on the paper notes, Sansui stressed that the polymer notes were made of water-proof materials resistant to easy tear and dirt.

The CBN had in 1973 introduced notes for 50 kobo, N1, N5, N10 and N20. The 50 kobo was issued last in 1989. In 1991, the N50 notes were issued, followed by N100 in 1999, N200 in 2000, N500 in 2001 and N1000 on October 12, 2005.

On February 28, 2007, new versions of the N5 to N50 banknotes were introduced. Originally, the N10, N20 and N50 were planned to be in polymer banknotes, but only the N20 was made of polymer until October 1, 2009.

Vanguardnews