Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, called on the old generation of Nigerians to give way for the younger generation to build a prosperous nation. According to him, rather than compete, the old generation should collaborate with younger people and provide them with the requisite knowledge and experience to transform the country. Obasanjo stated these in his capacity as Chairman while speaking virtually at the 2022 annual lecture of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation with the theme, ‘Beyond Boko Haram: Addressing insurgency, banditry and kidnapping across Nigeria’. During the event, the guest speaker and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, suggested a national response to stem the tide of insecurity in Nigeria. Also, the Chief Executive Officer, MMF, Aisha Mohammed-Oyebode, said the organisation was committed to improving the socio-economic development of Africa in line with the dreams of her father and late Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed. She said the MMF, through its programmes, “has made notable impacts in the lives of people, especially the marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable, in addition to contributing to promoting good governance and empowerment in line with its vision and mission.” Obasanjo, in a veiled reference to the old generation of politicians jostling for the Presidency in 2023, was responding to the lecture by Fayemi that he was in primary school when the late Murtala Mohammed directed the affairs of the country. The former President said, “We need to have an intergenerational collaboration. Fayemi said he was in primary school when Murtala and Obasanjo were there. So, if people of the Murtala/Obasanjo era are competing with you as governor, then, something is wrong. “The Murtala/Obasanjo group should be stepping aside. Whatever experience and knowledge we have, we should be able to give it to you and you should be able to give it to those coming after you, so that whatever you have, you are passing it down to those who are coming behind and not to start competing with you, but to make you have access to what will make Nigeria better.” Obasanjo blamed insecurity in the country on access to weapons after the Nigerian civil war. He stated that beyond the crisis caused by the controversial Sharia law, unemployment was also contributing to insurgency in the country. The former President also said that his fear about Boko Haram had materialised with the group’s links to international terrorists organisations. Obasanjo said, “The insecurity in the country was caused by the ease of access to weapons after the civil war, and since then, we have been unable to address the issue; it keeps getting worse. “In 2011 when Boko Haram was just showing its ugly head, I went to Maiduguri to try and find out a little bit more about Boko Haram and to also find out what their objective was, apart from being interested in Sharia. They also complained that their followers had no jobs and stated their efforts to get something legitimate to help their members. endorse Kogi gov for presidency Declare for Presidency now, group tells Atiku “In the process, the government started chasing them and gunning them down. “What I feared at that time seems to have been happening. At that time, Boko Haram had not many external connections; the ones they had were Nigerians who had resources abroad, who were helping them. My fear then was whether we would be able to keep them away from Al-Qaeda and other international terrorist organisations. “We seem not to have been able to do that which has made the situation worse.” He advised that more attention should be paid to out-of -school children in the country as they constituted more threat to the country in the future. Obasanjo said, “The Nigerian population today is about 215 million and 15 million children are not in school; it doesn’t matter how we deal with insecurity, either by stick or carrot approach. Those children are the potential Boko Haram 10 years from now. “If we don’t do anything about those children, we are already nurturing the Boko Haram of tomorrow. We need to look back and reinvent. When you look at some of the things we are doing, then you wonder why we are not succeeding. This is because we are doing the same thing all the time. “Things that we did the last time that didn’t pay us are the same we are repeating. The idea of treating symptoms rather than the disease will not get us anywhere. “The disease of Boko Haram and banditry are those things that people expect; they want a good life; they want to get a job; they want education; and they must be given for as long as they are denied these, they will be right to make a demand on society, which it must give to them willingly or unwillingly.” Fayemi called for a national response to tame insecurity in the country. He said, “The leadership in most affected states in the North-East, especially Borno, has been up to the task in terms of its response to forging a new compact between state and society. Yet, it is clear that what is required is a comprehensive national response and not an isolated state strategy. “I believe this must also include a whole country sensitisation programme that understands and subliminally internalises the problem as one that will consume all if not addressed and not a challenge that is exclusively Borno or Kanuri-centric.”

  Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, yesterday, met with leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, challenging them to work hard to ensure the party wins the Ngor-Okpala constituency by-election slated for Saturday. It was also an opportunity for the governor to admonish the party executive in the state to keep its doors open for all who wish to join the APC. Addressing the party leaders at the state headquarters on Okigwe Road, Owerri, the governor reminded them that what the APC needs most is quality leadership, which he said he is already providing and will continue to provide through his government programmes and policies. He urged the leadership to market the party in Ngor-Okpala with activities and achievements already recorded by his administration. He said the achievements are a yardstick that would make the party attractive to the electorate in the area and give other states in the South East cause to join the APC. Uzodimma, who informed the leaders that his ambition is to leave APC stronger and bigger than he met it, urged them to support him. The governor thanked the State Working Committee for putting the meeting together, saying it was important to him for two reasons: to reiterate his earlier promise to return APC back to the people and give the leadership autonomy to manage the party; and to stress the importance of Ngor-Okpala constituency Assembly by-election. He said: “There is no small election in politics, these days, hence all members should be concerned and involved so that the party can win. It is imperative for the leadership to share responsibilities towards mobilising and stimulating Ngor-Okpala APC members to prepare for the Saturday, February 26 election.” Uzodimma took time to educate the members on the current election process, saying: “All members must be committed from voting point to collation centres without relaxing and must avoid, after election, unnecessary blame game because what the party needs is nothing but a win from hard work.” Key leaders, who graced the meeting, include: Deputy Governor, Prof. Placid Njoku; former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim; Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Amara Iwuanyanwu; Secretary to the Government of Imo State, Cosmas Iwu; Chief of Staff, Nnamdi Anyaehie; former APC State Chairman and Malcolm Nlemigbo, among others.

  Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina has revealed that the president will sign the Electoral amendment bill in a matter of hours. Adesina made the this known while speaking as a guest on a television program this morning. He was quoted saying; “He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days. “It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks,” he said. Adesina said the reason why it seems like the bill is taking long for the president to sign is because he is trying to avoid mistakes.

  Ahead of the 2023 general elections, former President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday allayed fears of Nigeria’s disintegration, saying the country will still remain. He stated this during the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s Council of the WISE strategic retreat and planning workshop which held in Lagos. “When elections are coming, there is always this fear that the country will implode. But you see that the country has remained stable,” he said. “When I was in office, (during) the 2015 elections, some people were sending words out of the country, but nothing happened at the end of the day. So 2023 will come and go and this country will remain.” The former Nigerian President also expressed confidence in ECOWAS ability to solve the numerous challenges confronting the sub-region. There has been series of coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso and some other West African countries leading to sanctions from the regional bloc as well as the African Union. But Jonathan, who chairs the forum, reiterated the commission’s determination to restore peace in the troubled countries. “The tasks ahead of us may seem dauting given the current challenges in our sub-region but it is not insurmountable. I implore all of us to give the assignment her best shot. “We will be seen to have done justice to this assignment if we succeed in catalysing processes towards institutionalizing systems that will deepen democracy, people-oriented governance and sustainable growths in our sub-region.” This is the first-ever non-state structure that forms part of the council’s peace and security architecture with Jonathan expressing confidence that the region can surmount its challenges.