News
Northern Elders want Buhari to resign immediately over killings across the country
Apparently piqued by the raging killings across the country, especially in the north as human beings die everyday like chickens, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately tender his resignation letter.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, made the call on Tuesday.
“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari does not appear to have answers to the challenges of security to which we are exposed. We cannot continue to live and die under the dictates of killers, kidnappers, rapists and sundry criminal groups that have deprived us of our rights to live in peace and security.
“Our constitution has provisions for leaders to voluntarily step down if they are challenged by personal reasons or they prove incapable of leading.
“It is now time for President Buhari to seriously consider that option, since his leadership has proved spectacularly incapable of providing security over Nigerians. Our Forum is aware of the weight of this advice, and it is also aware that we cannot continue to live under these conditions until 2023 when President Buhari’s term ends,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He said the forum made the recommendation with the highest sense of responsibility, and expressed hope there are enough Nigerians who enjoy the confidence of President Buhari to advise him to consider resigning.
He lamented that killings and assaults on communities have now become daily features of lives of all Nigerians, as traveling anywhere is now risky, and the option of staying put does not make anyone safer.
He said, “Killers and other criminals appear to have sensed a paralyzing vacuum at the highest levels of leadership, and they grow more confident and acquire more competence in subverting the State and our security.
“Nigerians have shed enough tears and blood without appropriate response from those with responsibilities to protect us.”
He advised politicians aspiring to lead the nation to weigh their capacities and commitments and challenges of leadership very carefully.
The northern elder’s spokesperson said that leading Nigeria out of its current state and placing it firmly on the path of rediscovery is not an all-comers affair and that Nigerians will exercise greater levels of discretion in deciding who they can trust in future.
“There are also groups who deepen the concerns of Nigerians over the possibility of a safe and free campaigning and conduct of the 2023 elections. Comments which threaten those parochial political demands must be met, rather than negotiated or processed through the democratic process threaten all Nigerians and hint at a wider space for violence in the run-up to the elections, and after it.
“These comments are unbecoming of elders, and they detract from the genuine and difficult search for good leaders who will be totally committed to one nation with very serious challenges.
“Our Forum re-commits to engagements and dialogue with all politicians and groups to seek the lowering of tensions and stresses which represent threats to our democratic process. The Forum condoles families who have lost members, and prays with those whose members are kidnapped that they will be re-united without further delay.” (Daily Trust)
Former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Professor Tom Adaba, has passed away at the age of 84.
According to reports, he died peacefully on Saturday in Abuja.
Chief Adinoyi Joe Anivasa, Secretary of the Egbira Elders Forum, confirmed the news, stating, “I feel sad to inform you that our elder and leader, Prof. Tom A. Adaba, has answered the call of nature this morning. Further details about his burial arrangements will be communicated later.”
Born on July 2, 1941, Prof. Adaba made significant contributions to Nigeria’s broadcasting industry. Between 1988 and 1992, he became the first Nigerian to serve as President of the African Council for Communication Education.
Despite calls for suspension from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Nigeria Police Force, the Osun State local government election proceeded as scheduled on Saturday.
Governor Ademola Adeleke voted in Ede North Local Government Area, describing the process as peaceful and urging residents to exercise their franchise.
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, cited a Court of Appeal ruling allegedly reinstating sacked local government chairmen, while the police warned of potential security threats.
However, the Osun State government insisted on holding the election, emphasizing its commitment to obeying a court directive. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) boycotted the polls.
Voting took place under tight security, with minimal commercial activity observed in Osogbo, the state capital.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Information, Jonathan Vatsa, has indicated that Firmer President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence at the public presentation of former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, The Journey of Service, held in Abuja on Thursday was not surprising.
Speaking to journalists in Minna on Saturday, Vatsa suggested that Buhari’s no-show was a result of unresolved bitterness over the 1985 coup, in which Babangida overthrew him and subsequently detained him.
According to Vatsa, Buhari may still harbor resentment, especially over being denied the chance to bid his late mother farewell while in detention.
“It Would Have Been the 9th Wonder of the World If Buhari Had Attended”
Vatsa claimed that Buhari’s absence was expected, given the deep-seated history between the two former leaders.
“The memory of the ‘mother of all betrayals’ has not left him. It would have been the ninth wonder of the world if Buhari had attended that book launch,” he said.
The APC chieftain also linked Buhari’s perceived neglect of Niger State during his eight-year presidency to his history with Babangida.
“The whole world knows that Niger State was made a scapegoat by Buhari because of IBB. For eight years, he did not pay any serious official visit to the state, and not a single federal project was executed here. The Baro Port project was abandoned, and federal roads across the state were left in disrepair,” Vatsa alleged.
He claimed that despite the overwhelming votes Buhari received from Niger State in 2015 and 2019, the state was sidelined due to the personal history between the former presidents.
“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Niger State paid for the sin of one man,” he lamented.
When asked for his opinion on the contents of IBB’s autobiography, Vatsa said he would reserve his comments until he has read and digested the book fully.
“There are certain things I expected to see in the book. Once I am done reading, I will invite you all for my comments,” he stated.
The book launch attracted several high-profile attendees, including President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, and Yakubu Gowon, as well as former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Other dignitaries included former Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo, former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Koroma, and ex-vice presidents Atiku Abubakar, Yemi Osinbajo, and Namadi Sambo, alongside traditional rulers and state governors.
Buhari’s absence, however, remained a major talking point, reinforcing speculations that the 1985 coup remains a sore point in Nigeria’s political history.
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