Gowon: We are better off with Igbos

Nigeria’s wartime leader, Gen Yakubu Gowon, says “Nigeria is better off with Igbos.” He spoke while delivering an oration at the burial service for Chief (Mrs.) Chinyere Asika, wife of the former Sole Administrator of East Central State; just as the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, described the deceased as a woman who exemplified the virtue of patience, charity and humility. The service took place  at the All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State.

Gowon’s declaration was borne out of a deep appreciation of the commitment and sacrifice of the deceased and her husband, Ajie Ukpabi Asika, to the survival of Nigeria as one entity. The former Head of State recalled that when he proposed the post of Sole Administrator of East Central State, Asika told me, “I prefer to do this for the good of Igbo people.”

He went on: “I was struggling to get an administrator for the newly created East Central State when the name of the late Ukpabi Asika came up. He was then a lecturer at Ibadan. When we met, I did  not know which one of us was younger. But he exuded strength of character and understanding, and wanted to start work immediately. I cautioned him to think about it. I told him, `you must consult your brothers, and your wife to know if you would accept’. I came away convinced that this was the man I needed.

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We don’t need foreign aid – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari believes Nigeria does not need foreign aid if the world powers can help her plug all the loopholes that had been used by government officials to steal her assets.

A Presidency official on Buhari’s four-day visit to the United States (US), which ended on Wednesday, quoted the President, yesterday, as telling US officials that Nigeria has the resources to stand on her feet, and that the world powers should help her.

In the meantime, Nigeria is to draw down investments and cash worth $13.6 billion following negotiations and understanding reached by Buhari with the American government during the visit, Sunday Vanguard learnt, yesterday.

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President Muhammadu Buhari believes Nigeria does not need foreign aid if the world powers can help her plug all the loopholes that had been used by government officials to steal her assets.
A Presidency official on Buhari’s four-day visit to the United States (US), which ended on Wednesday, quoted the President, yesterday, as telling US officials that Nigeria has the resources to stand on her feet, and that the world powers should help her.
In the meantime, Nigeria is to draw down investments and cash worth $13.6 billion following negotiations and understanding reached by Buhari with the American government during the visit, Sunday Vanguard learnt, yesterday.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Secreatry of state, John Kerry in Washington DC on July 21st 2015

The President met with US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, among many other top functionaries, during the visit.
“Buhari did not go to the US with a begging bowl. We don’t need foreign aid, he told everyone, so long as the world powers can help us plug all the loopholes that had been used to steal our assets,” Mallam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Publicity, disclosed to Sunday Vanguard.
Whereas the President said, during the visit, that about $150 billion is stolen annually from Nigeria and many other African countries, the Presidency official said, ”Americans hold the view that between $10 billion and $20 billion dollars is lost annually through the crude oil sector alone.”
He quoted his boss as saying: ”There is no organisation or government (across the world) that can give us (Nigeria) $5 billion. If we plug our loopholes and recover stolen money stashed abroad, Nigeria will do well by herself.”
A breakdown of the $13.6 billion earmarked for Nigeria, courtesy of the Buhari US visit, shows that $5 billion is coming for investments in the power sector, another $5 billion is to fund investments in the agricultural sector, $1.5 billion is from the Bill Gates Foundation while $2.1 billion is being provided by the World Bank.
Of particular interest is the discovery that the huge sums being brought for investments into the country, according to the Presidency official, attract no counterpart funding.
Similarly, in its efforts to assist Nigeria eradicate polio, the Bill Gates Foundation, which is revving its support with additional $1.2 billion, is extending its areas of coverage to four more states – Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno and Yobe.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President described Buhari’s outing in the U.S as a monumental success.
According to him, no Nigerian leader ever achieved that kind of success in one visit.
Shehu said: ” From our point of view, no past President of this country has ever netted these for Nigeria from a single U.S. trip. Overall, it is a resounding success.
“The clamour for President Buhari was astounding. He was gone after by every member of the United States establishment. He met Secretary of State John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden and the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
“I am not sure there was any past Nigerian President who met as many a number of Secretaries of U.S. Departments as Buhari did and, in all of these meetings, the personal integrity of President Buhari came through.”
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President Barrack Obama dances to Kenyan music: Photos

Interesting moment as President Obama learnt and danced to Kenyan music at the state banquet organized in his honor by the Kenyan government yesterday July 25th. He was joined at the dance floor by President Kenyatta and his wife as well as his half sister, Auma Obama. More photos after the cut...

Must Read! The phones no longer ring By Reuben Abati

A very thoughtful and nteresting article by former President Jonathan's spokesman, Reuben Abati. Read below...first published on Sunday Vanguard

As spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, my phones rang endlessly and became more than personal navigators within the social space. They defined my entire life; dusk to dawn, all year-round. The phones buzzed non-stop, my email was permanently active; my twitter account received tons of messages per second.

The worst moments were those days when there was a Boko Haram attack virtually every Sunday.

Government Ekpemupolo Tompolo's meeting with MEND's members truncated as soldiers seal off meeting venue

The proposed MEND meeting which was scheduled to hold yesterday morning did not hold as soldiers reportedly sealed off the Ijaw House, venue of the proposed meeting on the orders of the state governor, Dickson Seriake. Sources at the governors office say Seriake had sent a letter to MEND members proposing to meet with them at a later date to discuss their grievances. The group, through its spokesperson, Eric Omare, released a statement condemning the soldiers invasion of Ijaw House. Read the statement after the cut...

Bluckbuster! Senator Patrick Leahy: With Friends Like This - By FFK

Article by former Nigerian minister, Femi Fani-Kayode..

The United States government helped Boko Haram immensly by refusing to classify them as a terrorist organisation until 2014 and by refusing to sell us arms to fight them. Worst still, they imposed an international arms embargo on us so that we could not buy arms from anyone else in the international community. When asked why they are doing this to us they tell us that it is because of the Leahy Act which prohibits them from selling arms to governments that violate the human rights of their own citizens.