News
Presidency fumes, tackles Obasanjo over democracy comment
The Presidency, on Monday, blamed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the current state of Nigeria’s democracy.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, noted that the democracy the country currently practises dates back to direct inputs by Obasanjo when he led the country’s first as military Head of State from 1976 – 1979 and as civilian President from 1999 – 2007.
“Obasanjo ought to know that he brought this thing into Nigeria. He was the one who made us adopt it in 1979. He must have seen it as expensive and unsuitable when he governed us for eight years and even wanted an extension for another four years.
“So, the way he is sounding, it is like the man is getting wiser after leaving office,” Onanuga said, reacting to Obasanjo’s post-presidential stance.
The Presidency’s response followed comments made by Obasanjo at the high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at Green Resort Legacy, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
Obasanjo had criticised Western democracy, suggesting it had not delivered good governance and development in Africa.
He called for a reexamination and moderation of democracy to better suit African nations, citing the Western model’s disregard for African history and complexities.
Obasanjo proposed an “Afro democracy” tailored to the continent’s unique needs.
The ex-president said the snag with the liberal democracy was that it was not home-grown and did not take into account African history and multicultural complexities, among other peculiarities.
Picking holes in the Western liberal democracy, Obasanjo described it as a “government of a few people over all the people or population and these few people are representatives of only some of the people and not fully representatives of all the people. Invariably, the majority of the people are wittingly or unwittingly kept out.”
According to him, African countries have no business operating a system of government in which they have no hands in its “definition and design.”
Obasanjo said, “The weakness and failure of liberal democracy as it is practised stem from its history, content and context and practice. Once you move from all the people to a representative of the people, you start to encounter troubles and problems.
“For those who define it as the rule of the majority, should the minority be ignored, neglected and excluded? In short, we have a system of government in which we have no hands to define and design and we continue with it even when we know that it is not working for us.
Those who brought it to us are now questioning the rightness of their invention, its deliverability and its relevance today without reform. The essence of any system of government is the welfare and well-being of the people, all the people.”
He argued that Nigerians must “interrogate the performance of democracy in the West where it originated from and with us the inheritors of what we are left with by our colonial powers.”
But the Presidency blamed the former leader for a poorly copied model during his tenure as Head of State and, later, President.
It criticised Obasanjo for not advocating a better system despite his current views saying, “If he believes in what he is saying now, he ought to be an advocate of the need to go back to the parliamentary system.”
Onanuga added, “We were practicing the parliamentary democracy the British left for us. Then, the military struck in 1966. And when we were going to return to democracy, instead of going back to what we were practicing before, parliamentary democracy, which was not expensive, it was this same Obasanjo who accepted the recommendation of the constitutional assembly at that time that recommended this American-style democracy.”
The Presidency criticised Obasanjo’s implementation of the presidential system, saying, “Obasanjo also knew that he copied this presidential system very wrongly. He copied the form and structure. But he didn’t copy the spirit of it.”
“Something that should have been under him in 1999 to 2007, he even made attempts to modify the constitution,” Onanuga remarked.
Amid renewed violence in Plateau and Benue states that has claimed over 100 lives in recent weeks, Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to visit Plateau State today (Monday) as part of federal efforts to stem the tide of attacks and foster lasting peace.
The visit comes days after gunmen launched deadly attacks on Bokkos and Bassa communities in Plateau, attracting public outrage and deepening calls for urgent government intervention.
Confirming the Vice President’s visit, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, disclosed during a tour of affected communities in Bassa on Saturday that Shettima’s visit was directed by President Bola Tinubu himself.
“Mr. President is deeply concerned about these killings. That is why the National Security Adviser was here last week, and now the Vice President is coming to engage stakeholders directly,” Yilwatda stated.
During his visit, Shettima is expected to convene a high-level stakeholders’ meeting aimed at enhancing security coordination and strengthening local peace initiatives.
The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, who also visited the communities with top military commanders, including Maj. Gen. Folusho Oyinlola, assured residents of the Federal Government’s commitment to justice and security.
“We are investigating seriously. We are on the trail of the perpetrators and, by God’s grace, they will be brought to justice,” Badaru said.
“Support programmes for victims, especially widows, have also been launched, and more help will come to ease their pain,” he added.
Meanwhile, a former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), has once again called on Nigerians to rise and defend themselves.
Speaking at a public function in his hometown, Takum, Taraba State, Danjuma reiterated a warning he gave five years ago, arguing that relying solely on government security forces is no longer realistic.
“The warning I gave years ago remains valid. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves before these bandits overrun the entire country,” he said.
Danjuma expressed sorrow over the ongoing killings in Benue and Plateau states, describing them as evidence of the government’s failure to secure the lives and property of its citizens.
“We must be proactive. We cannot continue to watch helplessly while our people are massacred. Enough is enough,” he stressed.
Also, the Plateau Youth Council, Northern Zone, condemned the attacks as deliberate and genocidal, rather than communal clashes as claimed by federal officials.
Addressing journalists in Jos, PYC Northern Coordinator, Samson Chiroma, said, “These are not random clashes. These are systematic attempts to displace our people, coinciding with the beginning of the wet farming season.
This is genocide, plain and simple.”Chiroma accused Fulani militias of carrying out the attacks and faulted the Federal Government’s response as inadequate and detached from reality.
“If the authorities are serious about stopping these killings, they must start by arresting those making inciting statements. Otherwise, it will appear that some people are above the law,” he said.
He called for urgent reinforcement of Operation Rainbow, the state’s local security outfit, through recruitment and retooling to better protect vulnerable communities.
News
Girl, 14, killed by lion in Kenya
The alarm was raised by another teenager and KWS rangers followed tracks to the nearby Mbagathi River, where they found the primary school girl’s remains.
- Lion/ Getty Images
A 14-year-old girl has been killed by a lion on the outskirts of Nairobi, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
The child was snatched from a residential compound on a ranch next to Nairobi National Park, according to the conservation agency.
The alarm was raised by another teenager and KWS rangers followed tracks to the nearby Mbagathi River, where they found the primary school girl’s remains.
The lion has not been found but KWS said it had set a trap and deployed search teams to look for the animal.
(BBC)
A four-storey building has collapsed in Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos, with occupants trapped, and some feared dead.
Panic gripped residents when the uncompleted building suddenly collapsed on Saturday.
The building houses the popular Equal Right Restaurant.
The incident happened at about 11a.m., today.
As of press time, men of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, who had been contacted have arrived at the scene.
See photos below:
Killings: Shettima visits Plateau today, Danjuma calls for self-defence
Girl, 14, killed by lion in Kenya
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