Nigeria won’t break, even if Jonathan loses 2015, says Mohammed

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North
ABUJA—Second Republic federal lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday dispelled fears that Nigeria would break if President Goodluck Jonathan was not allowed a second term in office in 2015.
Mohammed pointed out that the country had gone beyond the stage of disintegrating on account of the electoral fortune of one man.
The political commentator made the claim in reaction to the assertion by former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, that Nigeria would break up if President Goodluck Jonathan was not allowed  a second term in office.

President Goodluck Jonathan wave to the crowd shortly after the conferment of se -lo-lia (Star of the Nation) on him during the courtesy visit to the king for the burial of the first Lady’s mother , Madam fynface Oba in Okireka , River state …yesterday

The former governor had said in an interview with Vanguard that the issue of Nigeria’s continued existence and second term for Jonathan were inseparable and that any attempt by any group under any guise to deny Jonathan of his second term could lead to unintended consequences.
One of the consequences, according to Ezeife, is that aggrieved Niger Delta militants would blow up oil facilities and threaten the future existence of the country.
But Mohammed while responding to the issue on the phone from Kano, described Ezeife as the wrong person to issue such a threat at a time when the country was already boiling because of careless actions and utterances of loose politicians in the country.
Mohammed, who was apparently irked by the assertion by the former governor, accused him of stoking avoidable fire so as to win the sympathy of President Jonathan for political patronage, which he had been denied since leaving office many years ago.
The northern political commentator noted that it was out of place for a former governor, who is regarded as an elder to forget where he was coming from and dance naked in the open just for cheap popularity and political patronage.
Mohammed said:  “It is unfortunate that Ezeife, who witness the Biafran war orchestrated by his kinsmen, which claimed over one million of Igbo people, should be beating the drums of war today.
“It is, therefore, clear to all that the man has lost touch with reality and is merely playing to the gallery for selfish motives.
“People like Ezeife are perpetual political opportunists in the Nigerian political arena and should be ignored especially when they fan the embers of ethnicity and war in time of peace such as we have in Nigeria.
“My candid advice to Nigerians is that they should ignore him because he does not have a good sense of history and does not speak for anyone in Nigeria.”
Mohammed also dismissed the claim that Niger Delta militants would blow up oil facilities and divide the country if Jonathan lost the next election, saying that with a credible administration in place, terrorists would not have a place in the scheme of things.
“Contrary to Ezeife’s postulation, Niger Delta militants or any terrorist group cannot be a threat to a government that emerges through credible, free and fair election in Nigeria,” Mohammed said.
Ezeife had warned:   “Everybody can make noise but if those who are making noise should think deeply, they would realize that the continued existence of Nigeria as one country is anchored on Jonathan’s continuation in office come 2015.”
On what would happen if President Jonathan contested the election and lost, he said: “We would be faced with the same problem.
“The Niger Delta boys would blow up all the oil pipelines and then a part of the country could say they are no longer interested in Nigeria; they could say Nigeria legally expired when the nation marked its centenary and that they are now on their own.
“This is not what I want, but I am afraid it could happen if we foolishly think of only our short term interest, instead of thinking of long term implications.

Read More »

Gay-Marriage Law: US frighten to sanction Nigeria

BY OKEY NDIRIBE, Sam Eyoboka & Victoria Ojeme
Abuja—Leading western countries piled pressure on the Federal government, yesterday, following President Goodluck Jonathan’s signing of the Same-Sex Prohibition Act 2014. The latest country is the United States of America, whose Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle threatened that  the United States will scale down its support for HIV/AIDS and anti-malaria programmes in response to the Federal Government’s position on the gay rights issue.
Member countries of the European Union and Canada have expressed their objection to the law but United States Ambassador to Nigeria said he was worried about “the implications of the anti-same sex marriage law which seems to restrict the fundamental rights of a section of the Nigerian population.”
This came as a former Nigerian Ambassador to US, Dahiru Suleiman, yesterday, described homosexuality and lesbianism as “animalistic and degrading to humanity.”
Also yesterday Christians in the northern part of Nigeria under the aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 northern states an Abuja,  hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for signing into law the anti-gay bill, urging him to ignore criticisms from Western nations, saying all religions in the country are united in their condemnation of same-sex marriage.
In a reaction to the recent move of government to outlaw homosexuality from this country, the Public Relations Officer of Northern CAN, Elder Sunday Oibe told Vanguard that Christians from the North and their counterparts in other religions have unanimously expressed gratitude to the president and the National Assembly for passing the Anti-Same Sex Marriage despite opposition from Europe and the US.
Speaking to news men in Abuja, yesterday, the American envoy said his interpretation of the new law was that “it could negatively affect the nation’s fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic”. Although the US envoy denied that his country plans to impose sanctions on Nigeria, he said:  “We and other donors are looking at the issue of funding for HIV/AIDS. As you know, we put millions of dollars in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Although I am not a lawyer, I read the bill and it seems to me that it may put some restrictions on what we can do to help fight HIV/AIDS in this country. These are the issues we are looking at as we consider the law.”
The signing of the Same sex Prohibition Act by President Jonathan on January 7, 2014 has provoked negative reactions from member countries of EU, Canada and now the United States all of whom have alleged that the law is a violation of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians with same sex orientation.
Ambassador Entwistle said  he was aware that “the issue of same-sex marriage was very controversial all over the world, including within  the United States where 17 states out of 50 had endorsed it, but others still reject its legality”. According to him, “the issue that we see and I am speaking as a friend of Nigeria is that as I read the bill, it looks to me that it puts significant restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and expression; in my opinion which applies especially in advanced democracies, once government begins to say something in these areas, freedom no longer applies. It seems to me that this is a very worrisome precedent.”
Anti-gay diplomacy
A lecturer at Covenant University, Professor Kayode Soremekun said: “What is happening demonstrates the low level that the US treats its relation with Nigeria”.
He said every Nigerian should feel insulted that the US is threatening to stop assisting us on areas where we have the resources and human capacity to contend.
Said Professor Soremekun, “even when the West had their misgivings about Russia’s anti-gay law, they have not gone threatening them with sanctions and punitive action. We are not reckoned with in the international arena where we are getting assistance for HIV/AIDS, Malaria treatment drugs, polio virus crusade among other mundane issues”.
He continued: ”Nigeria is still a conservative society and the anti-gay law has united the ruling class and Nigerians outside government at this level of our national development. The US and its EU partners should be discussing serious issues; the leadership showed pro-activeness in trying to save the society from getting exposed to practices that are antithetical to our culture.
“We should be focussing on the items on the Bi-National Commission between both countries, but these threats show that we are nonentity in global arena. When the US is discussing with Iran on nuclear issues, they are threatening us on mundane issues”.
According to  Soremekun, “we should be able to make the US and its EU allies realise that they cannot go to China to dictate their laws. China is still a communist country and they are falling over them selves to go to China and do business. We should make them realise what General Abacha did when he opened the door  to China and Asian countries in the 1990s.”
Propaganda war
Vanguard learnt that the US is committing “substantial” resources to fund the emergence of gay clubs and advocacy groups across Nigeria.
The Canadian Government had cancelled a planned state visit by President Jonathan which had been scheduled for next month. The Canadian government’s action which came within a week after the bill was signed into law is widely believed to be that country’s reaction to the President’s action of assenting to the bill which has so far enjoyed popular support in the country.
Homosexualism, lesbianism animalistic.
However, former Ambassador Suleiman, yesterday, described homosexuality and lesbianism as animalistic acts, degrading to humanity. Suleiman served as Nigerian envoy in several countries, including Pakistan, Brazil, Angola, United States of America, Ivory Coast, Poland, Australia and Sudan, among others.
Reacting to US threat of sanctions against Nigeria over the anti-gay law, Suleiman stressed the need for Nigerian leaders not to be dependent on foreign assistance for governance.
He said: “Homosexuality and lesbianism are offences against God; if  any body wants to do it, he should do so secretly. It is not only animalistic but  diminishes mankind.”
“If it is the money the US gives to us, let them keep the money. Nigeria is rich enough to take care of her people unlike other countries.”

Read More »