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Soyinka: Nigeria on the edge, Buhari must take urgent action

Published

4 years ago

June 15, 2021

Faults President on locating grazing routes

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says Nigeria is on the “edge”, and asked President Muhammadu Buhari to move beyond mere talk, and take urgent action to set the country on the right path.
He said the President should stop exuding false confidence and speak like a leader ready to take action concerning the country’s challenges.
Last week, Buhari spoke, in two recorded interviews and a national broadcast, on challenges facing the country, stating that his administration was committed to ensuring growth and improved security.
Soyinka on Arise Television programme on Monday said the problems of the country could be addressed with the right actions by the leaders.
He said, “First of all, he should start talking to people like a leader — and a leader who is awake to the realities of the situation. Then, let us see actions being taken.
“I’m tired of hearing things like ‘you will see differences in a few weeks’ time’. We are tired of that. He’s got to put his cards on the table and take people into confidence.
“He’s got to stop exuding a false confidence, because that kind of confidence is totally false. It is not based on realities, and we’ve got to see an acceleration of actions to retrieve this nation from the very edge.
“It is no longer a problem of the people,; it is a problem of leadership, because the people have shown themselves ready to act, to save their own community.”
Soyinka also said the national assembly and the 36 state governors were not doing enough, considering their constitutional responsibilities.
He said, “Members of NASS are not doing enough. If you study the constitution very carefully, you will realise that they have certain powers which they haven’t touched
“There are certain areas they can compel this government to act the way it should, and that applies especially to governors — the governors themselves are too timid.”
He warned Nigerians to stop spreading fake news, stressing that it is a way of distorting constructive narratives that could help the people.
Soyinka said, “I appeal to people to stop putting words in my mouth. If you think you can pressure me to speak by stealing my identity and putting words in my mouth on social media, you are wasting your time. Not only that, you are acting in a distorting way.
“At this sensitive time, I must warn Nigerians to stop playing around with such serious issues, otherwise they are going to lose the kind of support they have from people like me.”

Soyinka also faulted Buhari on his plan to locate old grazing routes across the country, saying hs comments were “disturbing” and indicated that his administration has not gone beyond narrow-mindedness.
He said: “There is at least 50 per cent of a nation, at least their representatives, saying that within the constitution, within this democratic dispensation, we’re saying on behalf of our people: ‘we do not want open grazing anymore.’
“And then, somebody sits in Aso Rock and says to them: ‘I’m instructing my Attorney-General to dig up some kind of colonial law, which arbitrated between farmers and herders, so I’m instructing him to dig up that old, mangy documents so that I can recover, on behalf of a certain private business, the old routes; which means that he’s not listening to what the people are saying and what the governors who represented them are saying.
“He’s saying: ‘I’m going to restore those routes’ by referring to some colonial arrangement. When I listen to a thing like that, I really despair.
“It was a very instructive interview, not that there was anything new in it, but I was just hoping that this government had transcended that kind of partisan thinking. It was very instructive.
“That was a leader, who incidentally, I must congratulate him on one thing: he seemed to have recovered his verve – he was energetic, he was articulate; he seemed to think about what he was saying. It was a different kind of Buhari but also a rather disturbing kind of Buhari.
“This was the language of a leader who felt he was on a roll, while the nation is on a roller-coaster, and that’s even putting it mildly because the nation is on a nose-dive.”

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Time to reset our country, says Mahama on inauguration as Ghana’s President

Published

3 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Time to reset our country, says Mahama on inauguration as Ghana’s President

John Mahama has taken the oath of office as Ghana’s new president in a ceremony attended by world leaders.

He said in his inaugural address that he was prepared for the job, adding that the time had come to reset the country.

He was sworn in at Black Star Square in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, on Tuesday.

The new President took over from Nana Akufo-Ado who succeeded him in 2017. Before Mahama’s swearing-in, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang was inaugurated as the country’s first female vice president.
The Chief Justice of Ghana Gertrude Torkornoo administered the oath of office at the event.

“Today should mark the opportunity to reset our country,” the 66-year-old new President said.

Wearing the West African country’s national dress, Mahama spoke to a jubilant crowd decked in the green, red, black, and white hues of his National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.

Some of those present are Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traore, Kenyan President William Ruto, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon’s Brice Oligui Nguema.

Others are Presidents Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Mamadi Doumbouya of Guinea as well as former leaders.

News

Reactions as Mahama calls Tinubu ‘president of Ghana’ during inaugural speech

Published

3 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Reactions as Mahama calls Tinubu ‘president of Ghana’ during inaugural speech

President of Ghana, John Mahama, on Tuesday made a slip calling President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria Ghana’s president.

This happened while the new Ghana’s President was giving his inauguration speech.

“Your excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Ghana,” Mahama said while acknowledging dignitaries at the event.

This immediately sparked huge reactions on social media including users of the X platform.

For instance, Albert Forson

@kwameforson14, wrote:

“John Mahama announces his co president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Ghana.

“He’ll be ruling hand in hand with him.”

Another commentator, Shady Bunny🇬🇭🐇🔰@BYKAdanko, stated, “Mahama just called Tinubu president of the Federal Republic of Ghana….we’re doomed.”

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has reaffirmed Nigeria’s strong support for Ghana’s newly inaugurated President, John Dramani Mahama.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Accra on 7th January 2025, Tinubu conveyed his solidarity and expressed his commitment to strengthening the relationship between the two neighbouring nations.

Addressing the gathering, President Tinubu shared a heartfelt message of brotherhood with President Mahama.

“My dear brother, I am here to walk with you. You know you can count on my support at any given time you call on me. We are your brothers and sisters. We shall always be there for you,” Tinubu said.

News

Two fake EFCC officers demand $1m bribe from ex-NPA MD

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Two fake EFCC officers demand $1m bribe from ex-NPA MD

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has exposed two impostors claiming to be officers of the anti-graft agency demanding $1 million bribe from a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko.

The pair were said to have asked for the money in order to secure a “soft landing” for the ex-NPA MD in a non-existent investigation.

Spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement and revealed names of the two members of the syndicate as Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim.

He said the suspects had been arrested and were recently arraigned before Justice Jude Onwuebuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

The commission noted that similar criminal elements were still at large and urged members of the public to report such individuals.

“The commission also wishes to alert the public to the sinister activities of impersonators and blackmailers using the name of its executive chairman to extort money from high-profile suspects being investigated by the EFCC,” the statement read.

Oyewale emphasised that the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukayode, is a man of integrity who could not be influenced by monetary offers.

“Olukoyede remains a man of integrity who cannot be swayed by monetary influences. The public is enjoined to report such disreputable elements to the commission.”

The anti-graft agency also said it was investigating “a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff (member) of the EFCC against a sectional head.”

Meanwhile, the agency said it dismissed 27 of its officers last year for misconduct and fraudulent activities.

He said the dismissal was based on recommendations from the EFCC Staff Disciplinary Committee and ratified by the EFCC chairman

“In its quest to enforce integrity and rid its fold of fraudulent elements, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission dismissed 27 officers from its workforce in 2024,” Oyewale said.

“Their dismissal, following the recommendation of the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC, was ratified by the Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.”

The statement quoted the EFCC chairman as reaffirming the commission’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption.

He also said all allegations against EFCC staff members would be thoroughly investigated.