Nigeria Property: 05/25/15

Monday, May 25, 2015

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Monday failed to bring the senator-elect for Ogun-East senatorial district, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, before a Federal High Court, Lagos, for extradition hearing despite a declaration by the agency that he would be produced in court.

The agency, whose operatives had laid siege to Kashamu’s residence in Lagos since Saturday, said on Sunday that it had received a formal extradition request on Kashamu from the United States government and was coming to court to secure an extradition order on Monday.

Though Kashamu’s lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), had come to court early in anticipation of the NDLEA’s declaration, the agency, however, failed to bring Kashamu to court.

Izinyon’s colleague, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, who later came to court and appeared in chambers before Justice Ibrahim Buba with a fresh application, said the NDLEA failed to produce a warrant of arrest it claimed to have secured.

Though Oluyede moved his ex parte application in chambers and did not oblige journalists any copy of it, our correspondent gathered that it was an application to restrain the NDLEA from further laying siege to Kashamu’s house.

It was learnt that Buba, however, refused to make the order but asked Oluyede to put the respondents on notice.

Oluyede, who later addressed journalists, said Buba had ordered the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and the Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, to appear in court on Tuesday to explain why they should not be jailed for contempt of court.

Oluyede, who accused Adoke and Giade of illegality, challenged them to produce the US extradition request for Kashamu.

He said Kashamu and himself were ready on Monday and had waited in vain till 12pm for the NDLEA to produce the warrant of arrest and bring it to court, following which he had to come to court himself with a fresh application.

There was no indication that NDLEA had filed any application before the court and the NDLEA’s case against Kashamu was not listed for hearing on Monday before any judge.

But the agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mitchell Ofoyeju, in a statement on Monday afternoon, said the agency could not bring Kashamu to court because he failed to turn himself over to the operatives in his house.

Ofoyeju said, “Senator-elect Buruji Kashamu has failed to appear in court from his house where he is being closely monitored by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

“The agency is working hard to ensure that he submits himself to the due process of the law. His house remained cordoned off by anti-narcotic officers pending his appearance in court.”

But Oluyede claimed that an operative of the NDLEA came to the court registry late Monday afternoon to secure a provisional warrant of arrest.

According to Oluyede, the move was a confirmation that the NDLEA had no extradition request for Kashamu from the US, adding that the move was also a confirmation of Kashamu’s alarm that the NDLEA was doing the bidding of his political enemies.

The lawyer alleged that the embattled senator-elect’s enemies planned to abduct and forcibly take him to the US.

Oluyede said he was told by the leader of the NDLEA operatives manning Kashamu’s house that they were acting under the instruction of Giade, whom he said was only given an oral instruction by Adoke to arrest Kashamu.

The lawyer, in his fresh application, is seeking an order “directing the respondents to immediately release the applicant unconditionally, within two hours of making this order, from any arrest, detention or other restraint whatsoever that the respondents might have instigated or effected upon him.”

Meanwhile, the premises of the Lagos Division of the Federal High on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, was on Monday flooded with the loyalists of Kashamu – in anticipation of his appearance in court.

The loyalists bore placards with inscriptions such as, “We want Kashamu here in Nigeria,” “Don’t steal our joy from us,” “Don’t take Kashamu away from his people.” “Kashamu is not a drug baron.” “‘US, mind your business,” “We want due process of law,” “Obj, leave Kashamu alone,” among others.

A former state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, who spoke on behalf of the peaceful protesters in court, Yemi Akinwonmi, described the move to extradite Kashamu as “a reckless display of power.”

Akinwonmi, who challenged the NDLEA to present the extradition request it claimed to have received from the US, insisted that the extradition plot against Kashamu was purely political, adding also that the NDLEA had not secured any warrant to arrest Kashamu.

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PDP could’ve ruled for 60 years, says Ogbulafor

A former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Vincent Ogbulafor, who once boasted that the party would rule for 60 years, said his prediction would have come true if the party had not made costly mistakes before the elections.
Chief-Vincent-Ogbulafor

Ogbulafor, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Umuahia, accused his party of causing President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss in the last elections and called on the members of its National Working Committee to resign.

He said, “When I was the chairman, I controlled 28 states and a majority in the National Assembly and also won additional four states for the party.

“Some of us performed better and had good ideas on how to keep the PDP in power for as long as I predicted.

“I made the prediction in clear conscience and realisation that it was achievable, given that the PDP controlled 28 states, majority in the National Assembly and local government administration.

“So, there is nothing that could have stopped PDP if we were able to control the line-up.’’

He said the party was already on the right path with the resignation of its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih.

He said, “I feel happy about their resignation because I feel they did so in the interest of the party.

“So, I feel it is better for all the committee members to voluntarily resign if they love the party and want it to survive.’’

Ogbulafor further urged the NWC to accept responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the general elections.

He also attributed the party’s failure to the hate campaign and the failure of the PDP to include past chairmen in the campaign.

He said, “Past national chairmen were completely excluded and we were never invited to offer our ideas on how to help Jonathan.”

Ogbulafor argued that the incessant change in the leadership of the PDP which had five chairmen in six years, led to instability and contributed to the party’s defeat.

He said, “Since I left office, the PDP has changed its chairmen five times. This is a pointer that all is not well with the party.

“This is why I am calling on the NWC members to quit without compulsion to pave the way for fresh blood that will bring vibrancy and help to move the party forward.’’

Ogbulafor said that the incoming governors, who would be the financiers of the party, would also wish to inherit a new NWC.

While congratulating the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, Ogbulafor described his election as a compensation to Katsina and the North over the death of late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

He said, “I feel happy that the Presidency went to the North, particularly Katsina, the home state of the late Yar’Adua, who died in office without completing his tenure.”

Jonathan’s last crisis-ridden days

President Goodluck Jonathan will be stepping down as Nigeria’s number one citizen on May 29 – that is less than 72 hours from today. But the outgoing President will be leaving behind a country in deep economic and social crises.

Bayo Olupohunda

Not that Nigerians have had any moment of respite in the lacklustre years that Jonathan presided over the affairs of our country. If anything, however, the crises of his final days in power and his characteristic “I don’t give a damn” response have only confirmed that Nigerians did not make a mistake when they rejected his re-election bid in the 2015 presidential election.

As our country grapples with the debilitating fuel crisis, power shortage and huge debt burden, nothing else symbolises the lethargic years of Jonathan’s presidency than his response to the crisis of his last days in office. His unnerving silence as Nigerians face one of the worst moments of their lives as citizens is typical of his attitude in the six years he has been in power. Yet, his supporters have hailed him as a hero. Pray! What is heroic in a leader who leaves his people to bear the burden of his administration’s incompetence?

That the President has refused to address the lingering and asphyxiating fuel scarcity more than a month since it began demonstrates the disdain he has always harboured for Nigerians. That he has kept mute as citizens groan under the weight of the crisis is not a surprise. It fits into the character of this outgoing President to fiddle like the Roman Emperor while his “Rome” burns. Nigerians are just glad that President Jonathan will quit power in a few hours from now. It is indeed a welcome relief. Where does one start to catalogue the failures of a President who has never placed priority on the welfare of the people? For over a month that the fuel crisis has crippled the entire country, the President has not considered it necessary to address Nigerians.

What we have seen is that old tendency to abdicate his responsibilities to the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. But Okonjo-Iweala has done nothing but engage in a blame game and unnecessary confrontations. Where does the buck stop? As the economy grinds to a halt and the President continues to hire and fire even in the twilight of his administration, somebody once remarked that he did not expect the President to “give a damn now than he ever cared.” It becomes worse now he is leaving power. While I consider it callous and myopic of any leader to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of his people, I will not put it past the President to behave in a way that portrays him as insensitive. Is it with corruption, Boko Haram, or the Chibok girls’ kidnap?

One of the insensitivities of President Jonathan is his approach to corruption. The President condoned it – he even defended it. What do we call that? Truth be told, the unbridled corruption and recklessness of his administration is the reason why Nigerians are suffering today. I have recently been following the online argument by the so-called “Jonathanians” who argue that Nigerians deserve to suffer fuel scarcity because they blocked the removal of subsidy in 2012 by the President.

They are blaming #OccupyNigeria protesters. It is myopic reasoning like this that has allowed the Jonathan administration to get away with “blue murder”. They miss the point. While it is true that government cannot continue to subsidise fuel importation through subsidy scam, the scheme also became a drain pipe to siphon trillions of funds under Jonathan. Subsidy claims became riddled with unbridled corruption. Why is that for the first time, subsidy payment rose to trillions of naira under Jonathan? Why were the indicted subsidy thieves not prosecuted successively? These questions have still not been answered since 2012. The subsidy issue became a debacle because the outgoing government was not transparent in its dealings.

As the Jonathan administration trudges to its end, the entire country is on a lockdown. Since his loss at the election, one has noticed the absence of leadership. The country seems to be on auto-pilot. Well, some have argued that it has been for six years. Every aspect of governance has been put on hold expect for the last minute hiring and firing which are being done for obvious reasons. I have also heard insinuations that the incoming government is being set up for failure. I still will not put the allegations past this administration.

Only recently Nigerians were told that Nigeria owes a debt of $60bn! What exactly the money was used for nobody knows. It has become glaring that the profligate Jonathan administration has been borrowing money to service the insatiable appetite of the ruling elite. Now they cannot tell Nigerians that they used the debt to pay for infrastructure, or power or education, health care, etc. because there is nothing on the ground to show for their years in power. Infrastructural projects remain uncompleted; many road networks across the country are still a in bad state. Medical trips abroad have increased; public education is still in a bad shape, and the power situation has worsened. What then does the country owe so much money within a short time? The only explanation is corruption. Yet, Okono-Iweala keeps defending the indefensible.

In the twilight of Jonathan’s era, power generation has dropped to all time low. Civil servants are owed a backlog of salaries. With the current situation, our country seems to be back to ground zero and we may need just to rebuild from the scratch. Not that we have ever left the drawing board but the hopes and aspirations at the inception of Jonathan administration have long been dashed. We are worse off today than this President met us in 2011. He is leaving Nigeria high and dry and Nigerians angry, frustrated and disillusioned. Jonathan is leaving a country in the throes of severe economic and social crises – a country groaning under debilitating local and foreign debts. Now the entire country must pay for his profligacy. Like Ola Rotimi, the famous playwright, wrote in his Greek adaptation of Oedipus Rex, The Gods Are Not to Blame, “We have left our pots unwashed and our food now burns.” As Jonathan quits power, Nigerians say goodbye but they will never forget the tragic lessons of his presidency.

Follow me on twitter: @bayoolupohunda

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A few thoughts about the murder of Mozgovoi - Saker

I will be honest with you: the murder of Mozgovoi hit me like a punch in the stomach, just as had happened with Buzina my first thought upon hearing the news was “Oh God – not him!”.

I did not always agree with everything these two man said, but they were dear to my heart for their immense, truly shining, honesty and courage. At a time when the world is full of lukewarm, unprincipled, cynical “leaders”, Buzina and Mozgovoi truly did shine by their absolute honesty.

Even though I am in a state of total disgust and anger, I want to share a few simple thoughts with you:

1) While it is pretty darn obvious who killed Buzina, it is too early to establish who killed Mozgovoi. Those “armchair generals” who are already pointing the finger at this or that person or group are only making things worse and, objectively, doing Kiev’s bidding.

2) An attack like the one which happened today is not something organized in 24 hours. So those who are linking this murder with this or that recent event are by definition wrong.

3) It is all well and dandy to blame Kiev yet again, but even if the regime in Kiev (or Uncle Sam himself) did order this murder, then the authorities in Lugansk are at the very least guilty of criminal negligence.

4) I have a very hard time imagining that the otherwise hapless Ukronazi freaks in Kiev would have the means to regularly kill Novorussian commanders deep inside the LNR. As for Blackwater/Academi or CIA assassins, this is even less likely.

5) I personally find the hypothesis that this murder was ordered by Putin absolutely ridiculous. Likewise, I find that Surkov ordered such a murder “behind Putin’s back” equally preposterous. So I am certain that this was not a “Kremlin ordered hit”.

So, not Kiev and not Moscow – but then who?

This is an extremely dangerous and divisive question which must be asked, but asked very carefully and only on the basis of facts.

The logical place to go look for answers is Lugansk and around those interest groups associated with that Republic. Still, at this point in time I would not confuse legitimate questions and accusations.I have to be honest here and admit that I am generally rather unimpressed with the LNR authorities and I personally doubt that they will come up with some real answers. I hope that I will be proven wrong, but I am not holding my breath. I will say that if the LNR authorities are unable or unwilling to clean house, then somebody else will have to do that.

At a time when crucial negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of an apparently inevitable Ukronazi attack the Kremlin simply cannot afford to have Lugansk taken over by the rot of local political intrigues and assassinations.

Right now, I am too sad, disgusted and angry to add anything else.

The Saker

PS: apparently, the trolls are out in full force again, repeating the “The Kremlin did it!!” idiocy like a mantra. Whether we are dealing with paid Pentagon employees, low-IQ “hurray patriots” or simply garden variety idiots matters little: their hysterics only make things worse for Novorussia. I have better things to do than to argue with them, and if they get out of control I would recommend that the mods start re-directing their nonsense were it belongs: the trash bin.