The leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, has advised Igbo leaders not to antagonise the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The IPOB leader breached the bail conditions granted him by Justice Binta Nyako before whom he was standing trial in 2017. He was, however, rearrested in Kenya in June 2021 and brought back to Nigeria to continue his trial. Since his extradition, Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS). The Federal Government on Monday, January 17, filed a fresh 15-count terrorism charge against him, thereby increasing the counts in the initial charge bordering on treasonable felony from seven to 15. The 15-count amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/ CR/383/2015 was signed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) M. B. Abubakar. But in an exclusive chat with TheNiche, Adebanjo said Kanu committed no crime and cautioned Ndigbo against alienating him. “I have told Igbo leaders, do not antagonise IPOB,” he said. Though Adebanjo said he has never met Kanu, he is of the opinion that the embattled IPOB leader will be Igbo saviour. “I have never met Nnamdi Kanu but I say, don’t antagonise him because he will be your (Igbo) saviour.” Giving the reason for his assertion, Adebanjo, who was a protégé of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, said, “But for Nnamdi Kanu, but for Sunday Igboho, restructuring won’t be in the front burner of discussions in the country today. “Both of them brought the issue to the front burner.” The 93-year-old Yoruba leader regreted that just when the issue of restructuring was gathering momentum, a bait of who will be the President was thrown to the Igbo and an otherwise proud, intelligent people with all their education are allowing those he said have only primary school education to dribble them. Adebanjo said Ndigbo don’t know the asset they have in IPOB. “If IPOB can mobilise the people and say don’t go out, and in spite of the position of the governors, no one goes out, that is significant.” Adebanjo, who insisted that the issue of mobilisation was important because he does not trust the Fulani, said he is giving the same advice to the Yoruba. “I don’t trust any Fulani man. And as I told Governor Akeredolu, it is alright for you to pass a resolution, but before that, rally your people, no restructuring, no election. “Go and mobilise. That is where your weapon lies. Don’t fight them with violence because the Fulani are all over the country. “They are in your village and my village. And all of them are armed. They will run over you. “But we have one weapon with which we can defeat them hands down, and that is civil disobedience. “If we don’t take part in this election, let Buhari go on. Some say that is a difficult thing, but I am happy they are saying it is difficult, not that it is impossible. “If you cannot fight a difficult battle, then go and submit yourself to slavery.” Adebanjo said it was wrong for Igbo leaders to beg President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu. “When they did that, I said, ‘oh, my God’. I was ashamed. And to imagine that Mbazulike Amechi led that delegation. “Amechi was in the trenches with us when we were fighting against the colonialists. He was leading the NCNC youth group. We were in the Action Group. “Now, Ndigbo went to beg Buhari, a Fulani reactionary, to release your people. What have your people done’’.

  A former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said this is the time for the North to support the presidential ambition of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Shettima, who was one of the three governors of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) that collapsed into the APC at the time of the merger with other political parties ahead of the 2015 general elections, insisted that it is a payback time for Tinubu, who did a lot in actualising the long-time ambition of President Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Buhari and Tinubu are believed to be the two most important men whose agreement to form the APC, in 2013, and subsequent collaboration led to the Buhari presidency. The APC was formed following the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), ANPP, a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP). Shettima said Tinubu had supported President Buhari through thick and thin, and one good turn always deserves another. He said that before supporting Buhari, the former Lagos State governor shelved his ambition and supported two presidential aspirants from the North – former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, at different times although he had all it took to also vie for the presidency. “Buhari is immensely popular in the North. He has a cult-like followership of nearly 15 million people. But that never took him to the presidency until we had a handshake across the Niger with the West. Wrongly, he was assumed to be a northern’ hegemonist’, a provincial politician, even a religious bigot by some of our compatriots in the southern part of the country. It was the South-West political machine that repackaged and resold the Buhari brand to Nigerians in 2015. “It is pertinent to mention that when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was harassed, brutalised and chased out of the PDP, even some of our northern brothers were treating him as a pariah. It was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that provided him with a sanctuary and platform to contest the 2007 presidential election. “Again, four years later, he provided the same platform to another harassed northerner, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to contest for the presidency under the ACN. “Without the block support of the South-West, it would have been difficult for President Buhari to emerge as the candidate of the APC. Tinubu worked for Buhari in 2015 and in 2019. This is why some of us find it utterly disgusting when some of the folks who vigorously worked against Buhari’s ambition in 2014 have done some political somersaults and are now members of what I called Buharist Church of Latter Day Saints, hectoring down on us and liberally dropping the president’s name,” he said. On whether there was a pact between Buhari and Tinubu before he supported the president’s ambition, Shettima, who has openly declared support for the Jagaban Borgu, said, “In my view, Asiwaju is sophisticated enough to understand that no one can rely on a futuristic political pact, four or eight years ahead. Even a week can be a long time in politics. No one can predict what could happen between now and 2023, let alone predict it as at 2015. In politics you can only guarantee something that is within your immediate reach.”

  THE National leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has disclosed that he told the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), he wanted to step into his shoes and not on his toes . Tinubu said this on Saturday while speaking at the palace of the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, in Abeokuta when he paid the monarch a visit to seek his royal blessings on his presidential ambition . Tinubu had during his visit to Buhari at the Aso Villa in January declared his ambition to succeed Buhari in 2023. The former governor of Lagos State, who arrived at the palace of the Alake at 4.35pm, went straight into a private meeting with the monarch. He had earlier paid a similar visit to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, at his Ijebu-Ode palace. Addressing the monarch, Tinubu said he decided to express his intention to Buhari following calls from his supporters and friends to run for President. Tinubu said he did not want his ambition to create bad blood between him and Buhari, saying he did not want to offend the president by “pulling the carpet from his feet”. He said, “I told the President I want to replace you and I don’t want to offend you. I told the President that I want to step into his shoes, but not step on his toes. “I told him as the number one citizen, I should start my presidential bid by informing you first, and he (Buhari) told me to inform the whole world, and I have done that.” Tinubu said he had served as a Senator at a young age, as a governor and he was actively involved in Nigeria’s return to civil rule, but his aim is to become the President of Nigeria. He said, “I call this visit a courtesy call. I contested with the support of the people for the Senate and I won at the youngest age ever. I have been governor; I clocked 50 on the seat of governor. “I have done crusades to return Nigeria to democracy rule, before I started hearing the voices of the people that I should contest for President. I have thought about it deeply, but I cannot think about it alone. “The people said this time around, I should run for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I told them that we have elected someone there and I don’t want to pull the carpet from his feet.” Explaining the reason for his visit, Tinubu said, “I want to seek the permission of the kabiyesi, I want to seek his blessings and his prayers and seek the blessings of other chiefs. “I’m here to tell you (Alake) that I want your prayers and I want to inform you that I want to become the President.” Fielding questions from journalists after the meeting, Tinubu urged Nigerians not to despair. He said, “My message to all Nigerians is that there will always be difficult times, there will be times for joy. “We are navigating Nigeria, it is a very difficult period, we will survive it, we will be happy, we will hold onto the hope that Nigeria will be united, prosperous and be sufficient. That is my message to the people, we will make Nigerians happy.” In his remarks, the Alake lauded the politician for the visit and prayed for the success of his presidential ambition. The monarch expressed optimism that if Tinubu becomes the President, Nigeria would be better for it.

  The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said he will announce a new Olubadan of Ibadanland on Monday as all the crisis rocking the stool has settled. He spoke at the farewell for the late Olubadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, held at the Liberty Stadium, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. He acknowledged receiving a letter from the Olubadan-in-Council on their choice for the new Olubadan. In his remark, the President General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigene (CCII), Yemisi Adeaga, described the late monarch as a humble personality who transformed the town with his wide experience. Speaking on behalf of the Adetunji family, a son of the late monarch, Abdul Raheem Adetunji, said his father touched many lives while alive, adding that the family was not mourning but celebrating a fulfilled life of their father. He however thanked the governor for keeping his promise by giving the late monarch a befitting burial, promising the support of the family towards the development of the state.