Nigeria: Oritsejafor Calls for Buhari's Arrest Over Boko Haram Comments

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has accused former military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, of being the brain behind Boko Haram.

Oritsejafor, reacting to the "divisive and inflammatory" statement credited to Buhari, the national leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), called on the federal government to arrest him immediately.

Buhari, while featuring on a programme of a Kaduna-based radio station, Liberty Radio, had questioned the "special treatment" given to Niger Delta militants by the federal government while the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses destroyed by government.

Buhari was quoted to have said: "They (the Niger Delta militants) were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished. They are different issues. What brought this? It is injustice".

However, Oritsejafor criticised Buhari's comments and accused him of fanning the embers of disunity.

He said: "This kind of fundamentalism is the driving force behind his failure in each election in the country. Nigerians have been quite appreciative of the bold steps taken by President Goodluck Jonathan to rid the north of Nigeria's enemies. This can only mean that the retired General is a fanatic. He is, therefore, the prime leader of this religious and blood-thirsty sect called Boko Haram, a movement that is based on a warped interpretation of a strict adherence to force people of other religions into Islam.

"I cannot wish away the outburst of harshly critical statements, especially as some of them are directly related to the defence of the Boko Haram sect whose members have continued to kill, maim Christians and burn churches. I feel the pain inflicted on Christians living in the north. It is too deep for us in CAN to ignore any unsavoury statement that tends to portray innocent Christians who have been killed by the sect members as the aggressors.

"It is shocking that at a time well-meaning Nigerians are praying for the success of our soldiers, Buhari, rather than reflect the mood of the nation in his statements and conduct, is indulging in careless statements without regards for victims of the sect's violence who are mostly Christians.

"I have, several times, been vindicated that Boko Haram is not inspired by pecuniary motives, the latest of which is the statement by Robert Fowler, the released former United Nations' envoy to Niger Republic who said in a BBC programme, "Hard Talk", aired on Tuesday, 4th of June, 2013, that his captors never talked of poverty but Islamisation of Africa."

According to him, people like Buhari who inflame religious and ethnic passions should be arrested and grilled by security agents.

"This is why I call for the arrest of Buhari now. Buhari is a big security risk to Nigeria's corporate existence.

"It is laughable that Buhari, an ex-Head of State, a General in the Nigerian Army, who has served this country in different capacities, would support Islamists who are confronting those in his constituency that are fighting to keep the nation from dismemberment.

"For Buhari who has led a brigade of troops in 1982 to repel invading Chadian troops from the same north-eastern borders of Nigeria, the first major foreign invasion, to oppose a state of emergency when some parts of Borno and Yobe States had been occupied by terrorists and the Nigerian flag replaced with theirs, speaks volume.

"The retired General's sad commentary has not portrayed him as a national leader. As a retired General, he should have known that fights against terrorists are not mere child's play. They are much more difficult than conventional war, which he fought in 1982. If Buhari is a national leader, he should have been more concerned about the killings of innocent ones by the sect members and the success of the troops and not that of terrorists as he has been doing," the CAN president added.

He said given his status as a national leader, Buhari ought to have come up with constructive criticism and proffer alternative solutions in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency instead of making comments that are divisive.

Nigeria: Soldiers Find Rifles, Bomb-Making Items in Kaduna Politician's House

 6 MARCH 2013

Kaduna — Men of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday evening found assault rifles, ammunition and bomb making items in a raid on the house of a Kaduna politician, Honorable Hussaini Dei Dei located along Sabon Birni Road, Kawo New Extension in Kaduna metropolis.

Addressing a press conference, the Commander, 1 Division Internal Security Force, Brigadier General Tagbo Ude said following intelligence report, a raid was carried out at about 5.30pm at a resident just behind the Dalet Barracks which houses the headquarters of 1 Division.

According to him, "Six AK 47 assault rifles and some ammunition and bomb making devices were found following raid by Nigerian troops on the home of a serving politician, Hussain Dei Dei near Dalet barrack in Kawo area of Kaduna city."

The statement also revealed that two men, two women and five children were arrested during the operation.

Apart from six AK 47 assault rifles the military listed the following items were recovered:

- One light Machine Gun.

-One teargas Launcher.

-Twenty Seven Loaded and Seventeen empty AK 47 magazines.

-One FN Rifle Magazine.

-Five Sub-Machine Gun Magazines.

- Four Pistols Magazines.

-One loaded Light-Machine Gun Magazine.

-Two Hundred and Seventy Five (275) rounds of 7.62 mm (NATO Ammunition).

-Seven Hundred and Sixty Five (765) Rounds of 7.62 mm Special Ammunition.

-Fifty Eight (58) Rounds of 9mm Ammunition.

-One Hundred and Twenty Five pieces of Detonator-33.

-Two Reels of Detonating Cords.

-Nine Small Cans of Prepared IED.

-One paint Can of Prepared IED.

-Nine pieces of 9-Volt Batteries.

Nigeria

'Bold' Bill Opens Debate on Oil Industry

Ever since Nigeria's first oil find at Olobiri in 1956, the question of who should benefit and pay for the costs and … see more »

Nigeria: A Bold Bill for Change Opens Up the Debate On Nigeria's Oil Industry

ANALYSIS

Photo: Vanguard

Petroleum Industry Bill.

Ever since Nigeria's first oil find at Olobiri in 1956, the question of who should benefit and pay for the costs and consequences of oil production has been a contentious issue; often with little consensus amongst the key players - namely the Nigerian government, the oil companies, and the various communities affected - on who spilled what, where and when. Dealing with such a hornets' nest of interests has often seemed insurmountable, yet a bill before Nigeria's assembly and president seeks to change the situation.

Senator Dr. Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, and currently the Chairman of the Senate committee for the environment, has tabled a bill aimed at strengthening the regulatory and institutional power of NOSDRA (National Oil Detection and Response Agency) - one of the agencies responsible for cleaning up oil spills in the country. His proposed bill and the contentious issue of who is responsible for cleaning up oil spills in the Niger Delta was the subject of a meeting held by the Royal African Society on Tuesday, 26th February at the offices of the law firm TLT. The panel included presentations by Senator Dr. Bukola Saraki; Barnaby Briggs, Strategic Relations Manager for Shell International; Nike Olafimihan, Head of Legal at Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), and Joseph Croft, Executive Director of the Stakeholder Democracy Network, a UK based charity with offices in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Senator Dr. Bukola Saraki argues that the lack of attention to oil spills in the Delta is part of the wider sense of impunity pervading the Nigerian polity, admitting that there has been a lack of political will to ensure that profit making from oil is balanced with appropriate care for the environment and the livelihood of Delta communities. He concedes that Shell and other oil companies are acting within existing but inadequate legislation. Saraki wants to make NOSDRA a stronger agency, and increase the current minimum penalty for oil spills in Nigeria to reflect international standards, citing the billions of dollars BP has paid for the Deep Water Horizon explosion in the United States as an example.

Shell, the international oil company, which has become a lightning rod for bad corporate behaviour in Nigeria, says the picture is more complicated. 70% of the oil spills, according to Barnaby Briggs, are caused by oil bunkering and illegal tapping of the pipelines. Joseph Croft, from Stakeholder Democracy Network, gives short shrift to the idea that oil companies can do little about oil bunkering; it is a major problem, he says, but the oil companies don't switch off the pipes even when there is clear evidence of oil being siphoned illegally, and in some instances, sustained substantial damage being done to pipelines.

For its part, Shell says its operations in the Niger Delta, run by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) are in partnership with the Nigerian government, which receives 95% of its profits; Shell's operating structure in Nigeria raises the question of whether oil companies are less circumspect in their operations in the delta because they have less control, or because of a culture of impunity in the country.

Nike Olafimihan, Head of Legal for SPDC, describes Senator Saraki's proposed bill as flawed, saying it was unconstitutional and would add more confusion to an already ineffective regulatory framework. NOSDRA, Oafimihan says, is one of several competing laws and agencies tasked with regulating oil spills in Nigeria, including National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency [NESREA], along with NOSDRA, under the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with its regulator the Department of Petroleum Resources [DPR], and the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC].

Joseph Croft argues that this confusion of regulatory bodies should be resolved by the creation of a super agency, perhaps by strengthening NOSDRA as an entity that both responds to oil spills and regulates the industry to prevent them in the first place. Whether Senator Saraki's bill will achieve this is not clear, though it has passed a first and second reading in both houses of assembly.

SPDC Legal Counsel, Nike Olafimihan, wants to see better regulation of oil spills but not through the creation of punitive measures, which may also conflict with existing legislation. Olafimihan says SPDC already incurs great costs as a result of oil spills, both reputational as well as financial. In many instances, the agencies already created don't have the resources to enforce or implement their mandate - she cites the case of a recent oil spill which her company and NOSDRA had to deal with by hiring equipment from Ghana, a relative newcomer to the oil industry. For his part, Senator Saraki says NOSDRA is too close to the oil companies and lacks independence, sharing an account of his visits to some spill sites, and the revelation that the only way for him to visit many of the spillage sites was to be taken their by Shell representatives.

Senator Saraki maintains his bill is motivated by a damascene conversion from being the governor of a farming state, Kwara, with little appreciation of the gravity of oil spills in the Delta, to witnessing the problem first hand as chair of the senate committee on environment. Nevertheless, whilst Senator Saraki's Bill has re-opened the debate on oil and its effects on the Niger Delta, whether the Nigerian government and the oil industry have the political will to reach a concensus and change the status quo remains to be seen.

What to do when you’re falling for a friend

1 Dec 2012 romeo1010

It might happen on a number of occasions that you might find yourself falling in love with a friend. A relationship that started as one of friendship may soon convert into an inexplicable attachment, and you might consider yourself falling for that person. The more time you spend with each other, the stronger your bond might get, and you might experience a strange attachment forming between you both. Hence, a relationship which started with the innocence of friendship may convert into a relationship of love. It is fairly common that at one point of time in a friendship, one person may fall for the other. This leads to a number of complications though. It may either be that things go perfectly smoothly and conclude in a relationship that will keep both partners happy. In the other case, it might be such that the entire friendship may fall apart. Hence, one needs to be careful in such situations because these are extremely delicate matters.

When two people first become friends, and then fall in love, it is the stepping stone for a perfect relationship. This relationship would last really long and the bond would be very strong because it has the foundation of a friendship. When you’re best friends, you share secrets with each other that you might not share with your partner. Hence, when you progress from friendship to love, the awkwardness between you both is eliminated and you both understand each other perfectly. Also, the very fact that you both fell for each other also leads to the conclusion that you both have a very good rapport and understanding with each other. But in some cases, things do get complicated. We enlist a few things to do when you find yourself falling for your friend.

1. Give it time – Wait a few days to just recheck whether it is love or infatuation. If after a few days, you feel the same way about her, then you’re in love.
2. Drop a few hints – When you’re done with the first step, then the next step is to test what she thinks of you. Drop in a few casual hints that’ll get her thinking along the same lines. Flirt with her casually. Then notice her response, if she blushes or if it lifts her mood, then you have a chance. If she’s very casual and does not notice it, then she hasn’t quite thought of you that way.
3. Decide – This is an important part. You will have to analyze and decide. You must know what’s at stake in this stage. You might perhaps loose the friend forever if you decide to approach her that way. Even if you don’t, she might never be the same again for you. Hence, you must be careful and take a calculated risk. If you consider your friendship more important than the relationship, then you must perhaps abstain from doing it. This is the complicated bit, and the decision that will be taken by you will alter according to the peculiar facts of every case.