National

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari 

Many Nigerian states and cities have been thrown into total darkness as the national grid crashed for the 7th time this year. 

The national grid crashed early on Monday, September 26, 2022. 

Ikeja Electricity Plc confirmed the development in a statement and urged electricity consumers to bear with them. 

The statement reads in full, “Dear Esteemed Customer,

This is to inform you that the outage you are currently experiencing is due to the system collapse of the national grid, which occurred earlier today at 10:50hrs. This has affected the Transmission Stations within our network and resulted in the loss of power supply to our customers

Kindly bear with us as we await restoration of the grid.

Thank you for your understanding.” 

According to the records, the national grid crashed twice in July and once in August. Monday’s crash brought it to the 7th time.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has said that people from the North will vote for competence in the come 2023 general elections.

The NEF Spokesperson, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

He added that NEF would support a southerner if it is convinced that he would solve the challenges bedevilling the country over the years.

He said: “We have ideas about what the next president should look like, what is important for the next administration.

“First of all, we need to secure the country. Secondly, we need to ask basic questions about why the economy is failing and what they intend to do. Then, we want to ask what their plans are or what their thinking is about all the clamour for restructuring.

“We want to ask what their plans are for education, particularly the out-of-school children in the northern part of the country.

“What he intends to do in terms of satisfying us that he has the mental capacity, the physical capacity, the intellect, the willingness to tap into the best and the brightest brains available, sensitivity to a number of key issues that are central to our survival as a country.

“Those things are going to represent for us the basis upon which we will support a candidate.”

While reacting to the insinuation that the north will not support a southern candidate, he said, “at this stage, our options are open, we will not vote on narrow prisms like where he comes from.

“We have not said we will only support a northern candidate. What we said is we will defend the rights of the northerners to compete freely and equally with others.

“We will support a northerner if we think he’s the best. We will support a southerner if we believe that he is the best to do justice to the interest of the north as well as the other parts of the country. What is important to note here is that we are looking for the best.

“Three days ago, I attended a very important meeting in Kaduna involving five very important groups. The idea is to design a template that includes the issue of our security, economy, education, and co-existence of Nigerians and then interrogate our presidential candidates very seriously in terms of their thinking and what they plan to do.

“This time, I don’t know what the other parts of the country are doing but the North is not just going to vote for any candidate unless we are satisfied that he has done some serious thinking about what to do about this country,” he said.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Operatives of Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) have reportedly shot two people who attempted to obstruct their operations in Ringim LGA of Jigawa State.

The incident took place Saturday evening when enraged youths attempted to prevent the joint border patrol team from conducting an operation in the area.

The Jigawa State Police Spokesperson, DSP Lawan Shiisu Adam, confirmed the development to journalists in the state, adding that during the operation, many bags of foreign rice were recovered.

He added that the “village youths had gathered and attempted to stop the officers from carrying out the operation.

“As a result, the officers fired some bullets at the protesters, and two people were shot and injured,” he stated.

Consequently, the victims were taken to Gabasawa Hospital in Kano State for medical attention.

This incident comes few days after a number of shops and houses were destroyed and some residents injured in Babura Local Government as a result of a border drill carried out by custom officers which was reported to have caused gas explosion along the Niger/Nigeria border.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State said that the All Progressive Congress’s (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has offered him a senatorial slot.

Wike also stated that other politicians from other party, including the Labour Party, are requesting for his support ahead the 2023 general elections.

Tinubu and Wike reportedly met in London last month amidst the political crisis storming the opposition party these days.

However, Wike did not accept the invitation by Tinubu to dump PDP and join the ruling party, APC.

Wike was qouted to have said, “When Tinubu offered me senate slot, I didn’t go for it. If I want power or want to be in power, I would have gone ahead to take the senatorial ticket. But I said no. That is a man who believes in equity, fairness, and justice.”

He added that, “Aside from Tinubu, who is from the APC, other political parties are talking to me as well including Labour Party because they all know my worth and how I can ensure that they win the 2023 poll.

“But I have not accepted any of the offers presented by those parties,” Wike stated.

By Tordue Simon Targema

Secondly, there is the notion of power shift to the South which is shared even among Southern politicians that are not positively disposed to Wike. Indeed, all political stakeholders in the party are unanimous in their conviction that power should shift to the South, as President Muhammadu Buhari is completing a second term, an uninterrupted eight-years Northern presidency come 2023.

This conviction has earned what many in the South would have ordinarily termed ‘Wike’s unnecessary self-centred nagging and ranting’ some form of legitimacy, giving him strong strength to bargain on the negotiation table. Worthy of note is the fact that even though Atiku dreads this negotiation table like a house infested with leprosy, he has no option than to face it, and fillers from the discussions so far indicate that the standard bearer is not finding it funny yielding to the demands of his ego-centric demigod of a rival.

What are the Issues on the Negotiation Table By-the-Way? Fillers from the negotiation table indicate that Wike clearly wants to show Atiku that he is not a force to relegate in the opposition party that he strive hard to sustain from 2015 to date when most party big-wigs including Atiku deserted it for the APC and other political formations. From what is in the public domain so far, few things stand out from Wike’s litany demands.

First and foremost, Atiku must do just one term and return the presidency to the South by the next election season, i.e. 2027. Secondly, Ayu must resign as the National Chairman of the PDP and a new chairperson for the party should emerge from the South West to balance the power structure in the party. Thirdly, Wike will install key ministers in Atiku’s cabinet, etc.

Of course, these are not by any means, too difficult conditions to meet if the standard bearer is determined to unite his house and put forth a formidable campaign team to challenge the ruling APC and other emerging opposition parties. After all, politics is all about concessions.

Already, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar has made his intention to run for just a single term known to the general public, even as such promises hardly hold water in politics if previous experiences in the country’s political landscape are worthy to go by. This is the more reason why Wike requires a concrete commitment to that effect, not just a promissory note that would likely bounce in the bank of equity when the time to cash it is due.

The third condition too is not too difficult to meet, considering that Wike is considered a big name in the party in his zone and likely to pull substantial votes for Atiku in the South. Lest we forget that the ‘Obi-dient’ movement and Tinubu’s effect are critical factors that would collapse whatever structure Atiku has in the South but for the support of strong party pillars in the region like Wike.

Indeed, Atiku needs a formidable team in the South, and no amount of concessions in terms of political appointments will be too big to woo the right people on board, his campaign train. Perhaps, the biggest hurdle right at the moment is for Ayu to accept to resign. As at the last minute, the third-republican political juggernaut is still holding unto his mandate, solidly. In fact, with an air of confidence like one who is firmly in charge, he describes those calling for his resignation from the party’s top seat as ‘small children’ who should not be taken seriously.

Indeed, this boast followed a vote of confidence passed on him by members of the party’s National Working Committee in Abuja, recently which Wike simply dismissed as the same path that Ayu’s predecessor, Prince Uche Secondus followed in his inglorious exit from the party’s top seat. Indeed, all indications point to Ayu’s eventual resignation in no distant time. It is in line with this expectation which seems the only sure path for a likely truce that the Board of Trustees Chairman of the party, Senator Walid Jibrin resigned his position in Abuja recently as a move towards uniting the party.

At the moment, calls for Ayu’s exit have reached advanced stage as all is set for formal commencement of campaigns later in the month. In a South-West stakeholders meeting of the party at Ibadan, Governor Seyi Makinde, one of the key members of the Wike’s camp reiterated their position that Ayu must go.

Makinde described the need to reshuffle leadership positions in the party as the party’s demonstration of commitment towards restructuring which has been its mantra since 2019; although Atiku dismissed this premise and maintained that even if Ayu resigns, a northerner is constitutionally most likely to take over as the party’s henchman given the provision of the party’s constitution.

A power shift in the party, Atiku explained, is only possible in the event of a constitutional review of the party’s constitution which is not likely in the current circumstances. In the meantime, Ayu jets off to Europe on vacation.

Meanwhile, several questions bug the curious mind as follows: is this trip a tactical move to pave the way for peaceful transition in absentia? Is Ayu working on his transition notes to hand over to a new party chairman upon return from vacation in line with the demands of Wike’s camp?

Is His Excellency Atiku Abubakar willing to sacrifice Ayu and broker a truce with Wike, or he is ready to call off Wike’s bluff and dare the consequences? By-the-way, does he has adequate time right at the moment to fully contemplate his options before formal commencement of campaigns later in the month?

The composition of the campaign team with Wike’s camp relegated to the background is a pointer to this line of thought. But if previous experience is anything to go by, then His Excellency Atiku Abubakar is threading on a treacherous ground.

Recall the revolution in the PDP that led to the emergence of the new-PDP which eventually joined forces with the APC in 2014, thereby forming a formidable opposition party that sent the PDP to the debris in 2015 general elections. Apparently, this history is about to repeat itself with the Wike’s puzzle. Coincidently, Just like2015, the current travail of the party starts from Rivers State.

One is, thus, curious to pose: is history repeating itself in the PDP camp? Can the Wike factor cost Atiku the price that former President Goodluck Jonathan paid in 2015 for ignoring Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi? Wike’s puzzle is certainly a hard one for Atiku to crack, and until he is able to crack it successfully, it remains a clog in the wheel of what seems his final shot at Nigeria’s top job.

How best he cracks this puzzle and steers the party to victory remains to be seen, as other political movements are restlessly cashing into the crack in the party to consolidate their holds on the South-South zone which, hitherto, was PDP’s stronghold.

Tordue Simon Targema writes from the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Taraba State University, Jalingo. Email: torduesimon@gmail.com

By Uzair Adam Imam

At least 20 surrendered Boko Haram fighters have died as a result of cholera outbreak that stormed Borno State.

A source told journalists in Borno that health workers with the support of Non-Governmental Organisations and the World Health Organisation are trying to control the fatalities.

He said, “At least 20 Boko Haram surrenders have died as a result of cholera outbreak in Hajj and four others died in Bama camp. 

“Also, three reportedly died in the Muna Garage IDP camp. Nearly 1,000 cases have been reported so far, and hundreds are currently receiving treatments in various health centres,” he added.

However, in what appeared to have contradicted the earlier statement, a top ministry of health staff, said the figures were incorrect.

The staff who pleaded for anonymity told journalists that only 11 repentant Boko Haram insurgents and three others in the Muna Garage IDP camp were killed by cholera, not 20 people.

He stated that, “the ministry and its partners are on top of the situation.”

The Daily Reality gathered there are about 12,000 Boko Haram fighters that have laid down their arms and surrendered to the troops of the Nigerian Army in Borno State.

By Tordue Simon Targema

The Rivers State Governor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike’s puzzle is proving extremely difficult to crack by the presidential flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Like the proverbial lizard on the edge of the water jar, Wike has proven to be Atiku’s biggest dilemma in his current presidential bid. The options before him are weighty: to ignore Wike and put up with the consequences given the latter’s influence in the leading opposition party and seaming control over the party’s structure especially in the South-South geopolitical zone; or give in to his weighty concessions as an act of either compromise or cowardice and subjugation to the whims and ego of an emerging emperor in the party’s fold.

These are certainly weighty options, serious enough to cost an ambitious aspirant- desirous of occupying Nigeria’s topmost seat as a crowning moment of his age-long political career- his precious sleep.

As events in the aftermath of the party’s presidential primaries continue to unfold, Wike has emerged the most sought-after political bride in Nigeria. Just last month, he was entangled in a series of meetings in London with the three topmost aspirants- Bola Ahmad Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and his arch political rival, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who is at the centre of the whole palaver.

The meetings were graced by household names in Nigeria’s political arena such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, incumbent governors and several other political stakeholders. Prior to these marathon meetings in London, his Port-Harcourt residence had suddenly turned to a venue of political pilgrimage by Nigerian presidential hopefuls and their emissaries.

Apparently, Wike’s grudge seem like one massaging his personal ego after suffering a resounding defeat in a keenly contested jostle for the main opposition party’s flag. This explains why he has not hidden his rift with the party’s National Chairman, Senator Iorchia Ayu.

A day after the primary election, when Wike was busy nursing the agonizing wounds of the defeat, Ayu was caught on camera- flanked by His Excellency Atiku Abubakar- showering praises on Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State as the “hero of the convention”. Of course, Tambuwal’s abrupt withdrawal at the last minute in support of Atiku was, no doubt, influential to the latter’s victory; a move that Wike interpreted as a well-orchestrated conspiracy, laced with ethno-regional bigotry to edge him out of the race and scuttle his ambition of occupying the country’s top seat.

From that moment, he made his instant decision- and publicly so- that Ayu must go as the preeminent condition for peace to reign in the party. However, subsequent developments have further deepened the crisis in the party and made it messier for the party in general, and Atiku Abubakar in particular, to handle.

For instance, having lost the flag, one would have expected that as the first runner up, Atiku would compensate Wike with the vice presidential slot to run a joint ticket, or at least, give him the benefit to nominate a protégée to run as a move towards reconciliation.

Incidentally, having won the ticket from the North, the vice presidential slot automatically was expected to come from the South, and as the leading figure of the party in the region, all eyes were on Wike for the vice presidential slot. Atiku’s snubbing of Wike for the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa is clearly understood by many political analysts.

Everyone would prefer a calm, cooperative and more introverted vice to a lousy, boisterous, loquacious, egoistic and power-drunk demigod who is so full of himself and intoxicated with self-invested powers and a sense of relevance that defies all principles of logic. Yes, this is my personal opinion about the person of Governor Wike, but I am sure many would share the same opinion about him, and it is likely the foremost reason why His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar snubbed him without a second thought to the damning consequences to his campaign.

Yes, Wike would have been a difficult candidate to sell especially in the Northern region where his controversial position on states control of the Value Added Tax (VAT) that Rivers State has the lion share, restructuring and other controversial national issues lurking the Nigerian federation leave him with more enemies than friends.

Yet, others dislike him for being excessively assertive and domineering, dictatorial in his approach to handling complicated political situations and crude in his dealings with delicate political matters without minding hurting sensitivities and stepping on toes. All these understandably culminated into Atiku’s eventual preference of Okowa, who is more subtle- if one is careful of using diplomatic- in his political approach as a co-flag bearer.

But having made his choice- barring all consequences, the effects are right here with him, and have, at the moment, overwhelmed the leading opposition party. How best His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and his party navigate the challenges confronting it and form a formidable all-inclusive campaign team remains to be seen, as efforts to woo Wike and his allies back to the fold have always hit brick walls.

Already, the presidential campaign team is set with Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State- Wike’s neighbour- as the Chairman and Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State as the Director General. Key members of the Wike’s camp such as governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Wike himself are sandwiched in the list as members, with the exception of Makinde who is named the Vice Chairman (South).

The big question to ask at this point is: will these governors throw their weight behind the campaign as they should, given the prevailing state of affairs? Perhaps, some historical illusions would be in order to put things into perspective. One is tempted to infer that the complications that confront the PDP at the moment are capable of repeating the ugly 2015 nightmare.

Yes, Wike is a force to reckon with. It is to his credit that he sustained the PDP in states where it was nose-diving to oblivion. His macho in odd-hour elections such as Edo, Osun and Anambra among a host of other states confer on him, the prestige in the party that is second to none among his fellow governors. It is no wonder that they rally around him in his moment of great travails.

To be continued

Tordue Simon Targema writes from the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Taraba State University, Jalingo. Email: torduesimon@gmail.com

By Aisar Fagge & Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Following days of torrential downpour, floods have submerged many Jigawa communities and have killed scores and rendered many homeless in the Northwestern State.

Jigawa State is at the epicenter of climate crisis in the country owing to incessant rainfall in the state. This has caused dams and rivers to break their banks and destroy bridges, roads hospitals and several homes.

Over 100 people have been reported to have died as a result of the flood and thousands of people have been displaced. Farms and lifestocks are also not safe from the overwhelming effect of the flood.

Auyo, Hadeija , Ringim, Dutse, Gwaram, and Birnin Kudu Local Government Areas of the state are the most devasted by the flood.

The State Emergency Management, SEMA, through its Head, Sani Ya’u has disclosed that the government is doing everything to mitigate the effects of the flood on the affected communities.

However, the response to the humanitarian crisis by the government and civil society organizations have been said to be abysmal.

Mal. Naziru Chobal who spoke to The Daily Reality from Hadejia said only few villages are above water level and the government is doing very little in addressing the menacing flood. He also said governments of neighbouring states like Kano and Katsina have not taken any step to help salvage the situation.

“There was adhan [prayer calling] at 12: 00 am [which signifies emergency situation] and people in hundreds came out to block the embankment that broke. It’s scary. I was in the water carrying sand bags and the water level was up to the waist. I was scared because I don’t know how to swim.”

“The water level is high that you can’t cross any bridge, you’re not sure if there’s one. Especially Kafin Hausa to Auyo, Hadejia – Gamayin,” he said.

Commenting on the extent of the damage in Auyo, Naziru added, “In Auyo, their hospital, police station, INEC office are all flooded.”

The people displaced by the flood in Auyo and Hadejia are seeking shelter in a primary schools as the government is yet to commence evacuation of the victims. The villagers spend most of their time making sand bags to create embarkment to stop the water from entering the towns.

Of the things the flooded people needed the most according to Naziru are: sand, working tools, food, clothes, medicine, volunteers, etc.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has described the ruling against the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by the Industrial Court as black ‘market judgement’.

NANS said the ruling betrayed equity because the Federal Government, at the first place, ought not to drag the academic union before the court.

The court Wednesday has ordered ASUU to suspend its ongoing strike immediately, saying the strike was a breach of the Section 18(1)(2) of the Trade Disputes Act, which prohibits their action.

The students’ union disclosed this in a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Yisa Temitope, who described the ruling as a “black market judgment.”

The statement read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to a news of a court judgment mandating the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call of its 7 month strike. As an association, we feel disturbed to read the news of the judgment because we believe that it betrays equity.

“Ordinarily, the Federal Government is not meant to have dragged ASUU to court. But, the fact that they had to drag ASUU to court is a signal that this government cannot handle crisis. And, we want to state categorically that the court cannot force members of ASUU back to lecture theatres.

“And, as it stands today, with that court judgment, we maintain that the court has not resolved the problem and we reject the judgment in strong terms.

“The court could have said that the Federal Government should go and pay rather than say that lecturers who are on strike should go back to classrooms. We were expecting the court to have understood that lecturers are on contract of personal service hence, they cannot be compelled to render a service they don’t want to render.

“The only remedy to this strike action is for the Federal Government to accede to the demands of ASUU which the government willingly entered into with them and properly fund education.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, has rescheduled several flights as students stormed the airport to protest against the incessant strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The angry students threatened to shut down the airport if the conflict between the Federal Government and ASUU had not been resolved.

Our reporters gathered that the students were members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and had blocked the international airport as early as 07:00 am.

The decision of the protesting students was said to have caused gridlock on both ends of the airport, thereby leaving several passengers stranded.

However, they later moved to a domestic airport, causing traffic jams in the airport and Mobolaji Bank Anthony road leading to the local airport.

the protesting students were joined by a former Students Union Government President of the University of Lagos and Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore.

Many students have blamed both the federal government and ASUU over the ongoing dispute, which they said has ruined the dream of many promising Nigerian students.

ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022, making it over seven months now. However, the federal government has reportedly dragged the union before the court to end its strike that lingers.