Nigeria

6, December 2019

Political Islam: Nigeria transfers Sheikh Zakzaky, wife to ‘dilapidated’ jail ⁰

Nigerian authorities transfer top Shia cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, and his wife to a dilapidated prison, where many detainees have so far died due to lack of medical attention.

A High Court ordered the Department of State Services on Thursday to transfer the cleric and his wife, Zinat, to the Correctional Center, in Kaduna State, Northwest of the country.

Sheikh Zakzaky, who is in his mid-sixties, lost the sight of his left eye in a 2015 raid by security forces, that left more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons dead. His wife also sustained serious injuries during the raid.

He has been kept in custody along with his wife and a large number of his followers ever since.

Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) said on Thursday that any attempt to take the couple anywhere other than a hospital will put them in further jeopardy.

The IMN described the move as a “mischievous” attempt by the government to humiliate “our leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, and subjecting him to further hardships.”

The IMN said the facilities at the Kaduna Central Prison are dilapidated.

They said it is the same prison where some survivors of the December 2015 raid perished due to lack of medical attention.

“It can therefore never be a substitute for appropriately furnished medical facility that can take care of their urgent medical needs,” the group said in a statement.

It said that by sending them to this prison, the government had “chosen a path of dishonor and shame in charging the Sheikh and his wife for aiding and abetting alleged offences they couldn’t prove in the same court against hundreds of his supporters.”

“They refused to diligently pursue the case, but rather use one flimsy excuse or the other to delay making any progress in the case because of their knowledge that they don’t have a case against them,” the IMN added.

Earlier this year, the IMN accused the Nigerian government of having poisoned Zakzaky in jail after “large and dangerous quantities of lead and cadmium have been found in his blood.”

Back in August, the couple was transferred to India to receive medical care. Days later, however, they had to return to Nigeria after they had “lost all faith” in the prospect of receiving proper treatment there, according to the Islamic group.

“Since that return, the Sheikh and his wife have been largely held incommunicado. No contact with their legal representatives was given and only a minimal contact with doctors and even that only after the Sheikh’s wife took seriously ill in detention.” the IMN said. .

Source: Presstv

20, October 2019

Ceding of Bakassi: 13 years on, Greentree agreement unratified, unimplemented ⁰

Thirteen years after oil and natural gas-rich Bakassi Peninsula was ceded to the Republic of Cameroon, the United Nations (UN)-backed Greentree Agreement, which both countries signed on June 12, 2006, to formalise the exercise has neither been ratified nor implemented.

The development, which has left returnees and those who chose to stay back in Cameroon disconsolate, is also in clear violation of Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, which spells out how treaties could be ratified and given the force of law.

The failure to ensure that the agreement is given the force of law, has had dire implications on the Cross River state’s economy, created a protracted humanitarian crisis by compromising the wellbeing of the returnees, as well as failed to bring the matter to a logical conclusion.

The Greentree Agreement was the formal treaty, which resolved the Cameroon-Nigeria border dispute that had roots in armed clashes between both countries in Bakassi dating back to 1913, 1981, 1994, and 1996.

The dispute, which was referred to the International Court of Justice, was on October 10, 2002, resolved in favour of Cameroon. And on June 12, 2006, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Paul Biya signed the agreement, concerning the withdrawal of troops and the transfer of authority in the Peninsula.

The withdrawal of Nigerian troops was set for 60 days, and room made for a possible 30-day extension, while Nigeria was allowed to keep its civil administration and police in Bakassi for another two years.

A follow-up committee, comprising representatives from Nigeria, Cameroon, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, France, and the United Nations, was set up to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

Eleven years after the signing of the agreement, precisely on July 27, 2017, the National Assembly, in the wake of an alleged attack and killing of 97 Nigerians over failure to pay a discriminatory boat levy of N100, 000, resolved to investigate the killings, and also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urgently submit the 2006 agreement for ratification.

While deploring the executive’s failure to ensure that the agreement, which includes an outline of Cameroon’s commitment towards Nigerians who decided to remain in the Peninsula, was adhered to, the Senate called on the Federal Government to come up with a clear policy on the protection of indigenes of Bakassi in the Diaspora, including those residing in Cameroon.

It also urged the Cameroonian government to comply with the terms of the agreement.

According to the Special Adviser on Media/Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade, Mr. Christian Ita, “the Greentree Agreement has been observed more in breach. Indeed, we don’t know any part of that agreement regarding the welfare of the affected people and the state that has been upheld or carried out. It is a very sad commentary.”

He said the state government has been saddled with the task of continually sending food and medicals to the returnees. “But we can’t do it alone as we have constraints with funds. More so, the state is also grappling with refugees from Southern Cameroon, who fled the Ambazonian clashes. There are approximately 50, 000 of them in the state. Cross River state needs help,” he added.

On the mouthwatering N3tr suit against the Federal Government, for the loss of the peninsula, which the state government said it was instituted two years ago, Ita said, “we are still getting the counsel of our lawyers, looking at the possibility of a non-sovereign state bringing an action at the International Court of Justice. However, we remain firm in our conviction that the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula was illegal. Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) clearly spells out how treaties can be ratified and given the force of law. What was done with Bakassi contravened not only the provisions of section 12 of the Constitution, but it was also at variance with all known norms regulating issues of this nature.”

Asked why the returnees were still living as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in schools despite all what the Obasanjo administration promised them, he said: “I do not know why, but the reality is that the displaced people of Bakassi are still in temporary accommodation, which is a primary school in Akpabuyo Local Council. Their condition is dire, with only the state reaching out to them at intervals. However, the Ben Ayade-led administration has just completed the construction of social housing for these displaced people. The housing estate will soon be unveiled and commissioned.”

Ita added that the fact that the state belongs to the minority bloc might have also contributed to the poor treatment meted to its people.

He said: “A number of reasons have been advanced for this treatment, including the fact that maybe because we are a minority. We wish that just a fraction of the help being extended to Boko Haram IDPs in the Northeast, by both the Federal Government and international humanitarian organisations, could be given to the Bakassi returnees. It is said that while everything is being done to ameliorate the sufferings of IDPs in the Northeast, the people of Bakassi appear to have been abandoned by the rest of the world.”

As of 2017, the Federal Government claimed it had paid about N38b to Cross River State as special allocation to the state (over a period of 11 years), as compensation for the loss of Bakassi, and by extension the 76 oil wells. But the CPS said: “I am not in a position to know how the said money was expended since you’re talking about money that was spread over 11 years. Suffice it to say that the Supreme Court had directed the Federal Government to help cushion the effect of the loss of the territory and the attendant loss of oil wells in the state. So, the money was more like a stabilisation fund given the disruption it caused to the economy of the state.

“I must emphasis here that it is even saddening that we are talking about N38b paid over 11 years. When you do the mathematics, this money amounts to nothing. This is what some states in the region get in a month as revenue allocation from the Federal Government. Cross River State is supposed to be compensated in perpetuity.

“As I mentioned earlier, the state government has just completed a social housing project for them. The project has been completed, and the commissioning will take place soon. Importantly also, the state government is constructing a deep seaport in Bakassi. This project is symbolic, as well as economic. Symbolic in the sense that by situating the project in Bakassi, the state government is sending a message to the people that, ‘the world may have abandoned you, Nigeria may have forgotten you, but we are one with you.

“Economically, this project will create thousands of employment opportunities for people. Indeed, in a recent interaction with the media, the displaced persons were categorical that the realisation of the project will wipe away their tears occasioned by years of neglect. With a proposed depth of about 20 meters, and sitting on approximately 36, 000 hectares of land, the port will be the deepest and largest in Africa. It will also be the first agro seaport in sub-Saharan Africa. The economic spin off for the locals, the state and Nigeria as a whole is unimaginable. So, this project will empower people economically.”

Source: The Guardian, Nigeria

20, September 2019

Nigerian elected president of United Nations General Assembly ⁰

Every year in September, all 193 members of the United Nations meet at the General Assembly at the organisation’s headquarters in New York.

The General Assembly is one of the six main organs of the UN, where several international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations, such as development, peace and security, international law are discussed.

This year’s assembly which starts on September 17, has climate change, universal health coverage and the politics of sustainable development, on the agenda.

There will also be meetings on financing for development, elimination of nuclear weapons and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ghana will occupy the first seat in the Hall for this year’s session, including in the main committees, followed by all the other countries, in English alphabetical order.

Nigerian elected president

Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, was this week elected president of the 74th General Assembly.

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres commended the Nigerian scholar and diplomat for prioritising peace and security, poverty eradication, zero hunger, quality education, climate action and inclusion, all of which the UN chief called “central to the sustainable development agenda”.

‘‘He also brings valuable insights into some of the pressing peace and security, human rights and sustainable development challenges facing this body, from the spread of violent extremism to the threat of the global climate crisis,’‘ Guterres said.

‘‘I also applaud your emphasis on human rights and gender parity,’‘ he added.

In his inaugural address as General Assembly President, Prof. Muhammad-Bande said he would “collaborate and coordinate” with the Security Council, and the Secretariat “to ensure that greater attention is paid to prevention rather than reaction to full blown conflict.”

‘‘I will also advocate for effective early detection and warning systems, as well as mediation, negotiation and peaceful settlement of ongoing conflicts,’‘ he promised.

‘‘The recent emergencies in the Bahamas, Mozambique, and the Sahel region, among others, reminds us of the urgency of strengthening global action to tackle climate change,’‘ he argued.

Source: Africa News

17, September 2019

Why Buhari should intervene in ongoing genocide in Southern Cameroon ⁰

President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government have been told not to stay aloof and watch the alleged ongoing genocide in the English speaking part of Cameron. Already about 35,000 people from Southern Cameroon are said to be taking refuge in Cross River State which shares boundary with Cameroon. This is as a Community leader from Southern Cameroun who lives in the United States, Edwin Ngang, said that the political elite from the Southern Cameroun have been cowed by the government of the country.

A group of people under the aegis of Nigerian Ambazonian Sovereignty Recognition Society, NASORES, explained that Cameron had been encroaching on the Nigerian territory in Boki axis of Cross River State after taking over Bakassi Peninsula. National Director of NOSORES, Hon. Cletus Obun said that timely intervention of President Buhari would be of tremendous relieve to Nigeria that is sorrounded by Franco-phone countries.

Obun, who was a former member of Cross River State House of Assembly representing Boki State Constituency said, “The targeted aim of shrinking the Nigerian territory is too painful and must not be allowed. “We will not stand aloof and watch people who are much in our image be maltreated, dehumnised and annihilated.” He called on the Federal Government “to campaign for the permanent solution to the problems of the indigenous minority English- speaking peoples of Cameroun by calling for an exclusive referendum on the choices of restoring their independence as Ambazonians or staying as Camerounians.

“To campaign for an “international peace-keeping force” to enforce NASORES’ call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the Cameroun armed forces and the Amba fighters. “To plead that the Federal Government of Nigeria return to playing its natural role of peace making through conflict preemption and prevention not only in the Gulf of Guinea region; where its own immediate security is being threatened but in the rest of Africa by invoking the principle of territoriality. “To encourage Nigeria that now braced by this sacred jurisprudence of the principle of territoriality that is acknowledged Byau constitutive charter article 4(b), and by “the threat to peace” clause in United Nations charter article 51 and by its global commitment in the 2005 UN “responsibility to protect” (r2p), a unilateral intervention by the federal government will be the right thing to do since it will stop the ongoing war and its accompanying targeted genocide of the English-speaking peoples of Cameroun.”

He recalled with dismay the judgment that ceded Bakassi to Cameroon, adding,”we considered the known and surreptitious politics surrounding the so-called World Court judgment on Bakassi Peninsular and the consequent Green Tree Agreement. Neither Nigeria nor the people of Ambazonia find solace in this.” Continuing, he said, “I am sure that you are aware of the socio-political and economic storm raging over Southern Cameroun. Peaceful demonstrations demanding for a free and independent State have been met by repressive reprisals.

“Now, the government of President Paul Biya in Northern Cameroun has, in the bid to asphyxiate the bourgeoning demand for the Republic of Ambazonia, a part successor to the “Federal United Cameroon Republics, resorted to mass arrest, annihilation of perceived champions of the struggle, pogroms in small enclaves, graduated to full scale genocide since 2017 against the patient, oppressed and deprived people of Ambazonia. “To the uninformed, this blood-strewn canvass for sovereignty appears distant, faint and inconsequential. But to any Nigerian patriot and for anyone with inbuilt sensors to see beyond today, the conflict in South Cameroun should naturally grip attention, arrest focus and prick conscience. “It is even more pragmatic for Nigeria and Nigerians to look not only with a sense of human sympathy at the trails of the Ambazonian people but must search again with filial-feeling drawing on the sense of nostalgia, as to how things were, before we arrived at the current separateness occasioned by pencils drawn over cardboard sheets by the colonial authorities and the regrettable misfortune that was the February 11, 1961 so-called referendum.

“The time has come to call on the international community to discard the blanket of silence woven over Southern Cameroun while the region is on a wild loop of fire. It is time to speak up and let the various treaties, convention and accords binding on the member-countries of the United Nations begin to take their cause. “And we count that Nigerian authorities take this great and honourable leap not just as the giant of Africa but a direct beneficiary of a peaceful and quickest resolution of the conflict.

“This could be seen in the refugee burden that Nigerian is bearing and the peace initiatives she will be forced into, if the Ambazonia war independence flies to heights unimagined. We recall what Nigeria lost in men and material to the conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo now in Burkina Faso, and elsewhere in the world “Historically, the people being beaten, maimed and killed by the government of Cameroun were once affiliates of Nigeria. These were citizens of the British-administered Cameroun. They had representatives at the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly and parliamentarians from there were among the best you could anywhere in the world at that time.

“Through the manipulation of an uninformed elite and the lukewarm attitude of some Nigerian leaders at that time, this key territory was allowed to slip off the radar of Nigeria. By a small margin, the British-administered Cameroun voted to merge with other parts of Cameroun. “That political marriage has not worked. The north has been and continues to constitute a wobbling cog in the progressive ambition of Southern Cameroun. What the departure of British-administered simply meant that Nigeria was stripped of any neighbor with a cultural and linguistic similarity.

“You are aware that our nation is surrounded by Francophone nations, who sometimes even conspire against issues of security and trans-global diplomacy. While Ambazonia can no longer be a full part of Nigeria as it was in the past, the possibility having a closer ally in aspects of economy, diplomacy, cultural ties and reliable proximity to one looking after the other, is too titillating to be ignored. “Any effort in the direction goes to fulfill the dreams of nationalists like Chief Obafemi Awolowo who saw a possibility in Nigeria flaunting her strength across West Africa not only in the way she settles conflicts but also in extension of her economic and cultural propensities to her immediate neighbours. Let me say the formation of Nigerian- Ambazonian Sovereignty Recognition Society, is preceded by the creation of a similar organization through what has now been internationally dubbed the Calabar Declaration.

“The “Ambazonian Liberation Movement” (ALIM) of Nigeria is a brainchild of the indigenous people of Nigeria of the Bakassi extraction and who continue to draw sympathy from a large spectrum across the Nigerian society. It is needless to stress how, Nigerians who hassled, chassed and pushed out of the ancestral homes following the ill-fated judgment which ceded wholesome Nigerian territory to Cameroun. “Many of our kindred are in refugee camps, other are roofless, in squalor and with no sense of dignifying living because the government of Cameroun regards and treats them as adversaries or intruders. ” This is a major determinant in our decision to take up the gauntlet and plead with our countrymen and women to see the war in Southern Cameroun as ours to win through Diplomacy of Necessity while discarding the lies fueled through the tunnels of deceit, cover-up and crass intimidation.”

Also briefing Edwin Ngang said: ”It is terrible and so sad that these wounds have resurfaced, but I fear it was always going to be thus with the exclusion of the English-speaking minority from the affairs of state. ”The only practical solution, from a distance, is a political settlement with either a United Nations or African Union peace-keeping contingent being placed on the ground to enable an immediate cessation of violence, ensuring a humanitarian protective intervention and a cooling- off period to create the conditions to allow an equitable settlement to be hammered out. “Building on lessons learned, autonomy but not separation in a close-knit federation is the formula for lasting peace and should be embraced as a solution. ”We have to admit the real and/or perceived denial of justice to a people is what creates radicals from moderates. This is because is its denial HOPE at the same time bringing hopelessness- all of these the breeding ground of extremism. “Another instance of hesitation that ended up as denial of justice to Ambazonians in Viscount waverley’s floor speech is when he invoked the sanctity and primacy of the rule of the law.”

www.vanguardngr.com

31, July 2019

UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson appoints 39 Year-Old Nigerian Olukemi Olufunto as Minister ⁰

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has appointed Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch, aged 39, as Children and Families Minister, as part of his government reshuffle. Badenoch is a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Saffron Walden.

She was born in Wimbledon, London to Nigerian parents. Her childhood was spent in Lagos and the United States. She moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 16. She has been the MP for Saffron Walden since 2017 after replacing Nadhim Zawahi.

She once told MPs in Parliament about her own experiences of poverty and how she used to do her homework by candlelight.

A software and IT engineer, Badenoch studied systems engineering at Sussex University and also has a law degree. She has worked in the banking sector for Coutts and RBS and is a mother of two.

Tweeting about her appointment, Badenoch @KemiBadenoch posted on 29 July: “Thank you for all good wishes and kind messages of support received. I also look forward to working not just with @Conservatives colleagues but cross-party and grateful for the warm welcome from @TracyBrabin and @Steve ReedMP who no doubt will be keeping me on my toes!”

The minister’s responsibilities include early years policy, including inspection and regulation. Her portfolio includes delivery of 30 hours free childcare offer, special educational needs including high needs funding, safeguarding in schools and disadvantaged pupils – including pupil premium and pupil premium plus.

In her 2017 maiden speech as MP, the daughter of a GP and a physiology professor, described the vote for Brexit as “the greatest ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom”.

Source: ViewpointNigeria

8, June 2019

Nigeria’s Game of Thrones: Buhari intervenes in Kano governor – Emir feud ⁰

Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari on Friday was reported to have moved to intervene in a power tussle between the political and traditional authorities in the north central Kano State.

Tensions had been high in Kano over a move by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to oust the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II after a fallout deemed to be political in nature.

The Daily Nigerian portal cited an inside source at the presidency as confirming the news. Other portals have since reported same.

“You know the president hardly interferes in matters of states. But on this issue, the president had to just interfere. The president is not happy with the governor for taking the unpopular decision of balkanizing the emirate and making moves to dethrone the emir.

“The president therefore summoned Ganduje on Thursday and directed the Director-General of the DSS to call for emergency meeting with governors of the North West.

“The governors are led by the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who first met and briefed the president on the matter on Thursday,” the source is quoted to have said.

Buhari’s intervention comes on the final day the Kano State government had given to the emir to respond to a query of financial misappropriation and to explain why he should not be suspended.

Reports say the fallout between the two men was due to perceived support of the emir for the main opposition candidate in this years gubernatorial elections which Ganduje won after a supplementary vote to secure his final term in office.

The Emir, a former Central Bank governor, has had his powers split after Ganduje split the Kano Emirates – which dates back to centuries – into five. He appointed four extra emirs with the same powers as Sanusi.

Source: Africa News

31, May 2019

Nigerians shocked by speech-less start to Buhari’s second term ⁰

Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari surprised many when he did not deliver a speech at his inauguration on Wednesday.

The 76-year-old former military leader faces a long list of challenges, including combating a sluggish economy, high unemployment and a decade-old Islamic insurgency.

Buhari will need to create jobs if he is to turn around the country’s fortunes over the next four years. Nearly a quarter of the workforce is unemployed and most of its 190 million people live on less than $2 a day.

“Our expectation is that Mr President will now focus more on the issue of security, employment and agriculture because these are the core areas,” said Basil Ejidike, who chairs the APC in southern Anambra state.

Reactions to inauguration

Some social media users were critical of the absence of a speech. Software developer Tosin Olugbenga called it was a “missed opportunity”.

“It is an opportunity for the president to speak to Nigerians and give further assurance of his commitment to a better Nigeria,” he said in a tweet.

A nation in trance

Buhari now has a second chance to turn campaign promises into policies aimed at stimulating economic growth.

Nigeria’s economy grew by 1.93% last year, its fastest pace since the recession. Growth of 2.1% is forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for this year, though that would be among the slowest rates in Africa.

Tackling insecurity across much of the country is already a priority. The military is fighting jihadist group Boko Haram and an offshoot linked to Islamic State in the northeast, while contending with communal violence over grazing land in central states.

A separate surge of bandit attacks and other violence in the northwest has forced 20,000 to flee to neighbouring Niger since April, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

REUTERS

27, February 2019

Nigeria: Buhari wins re-election in presidential vote ⁰

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term at the helm of Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer, the electoral commission chairman said on Wednesday, following an election marred by delays, logistical glitches and violence.

He defeated his main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president. Buhari secured 56 percent of votes, compared with 41 percent for Atiku, a candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Buhari faces a daunting to-do list, including reviving an economy still struggling to recover from a 2016 recession and quelling a decade-old Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people in the northeast, many of them civilians.

Addressing supporters at the campaign headquarters of his All Progressive Congress (APC) party in the capital Abuja, he promised increased efforts to tackle these issues.

“The new administration will intensify its efforts in security, restructuring the economy and fighting corruption,” he said.

The president won by 3.9 million votes, having garnered 15.2 million to Atiku’s 11.3 million. The election turnout was 35.6 percent, the electoral commission said, which compared with 44 percent in the 2015 presidential election.

Buhari: From military leader to elected president

“Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner,” Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told election officials and reporters in the early hours of Wednesday.

A message on Buhari’s Twitter feed late on Tuesday showed him smiling and surrounded by applauding staff at his campaign office.

“I met the very hardworking members of our team, many of them young people, and was briefed on the performance of our party so far in the Presidential Elections. I am very proud of what has been accomplished,” he said on Twitter.

Buhari’s supporters gathered at the party’s headquarters to celebrate, many of them holding flags and dancing.

“As a youth of Nigeria I believe this is the way forward for this country and for my generation and that is why we choose to bring him back for the second time,” said Juwarat Abubakar, a Buhari supporter. Osita Chidoka, a representative of the PDP and its defeated candidate Atiku, repeated the party’s stance that it does not accept the election result.

“We will explore all options including the belief that the legal process in Nigeria is one of the ways to resolve issues,” he said. Buhari’s party has said the opposition was trying to discredit the returns from Saturday’s election.

The accusations have ratcheted up tensions in a country whose six decades of independence have been marked by long periods of military rule, coups and secessionist wars.

Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations appealed to all parties to await the official results, expected later this week, before filing complaints.

The candidate with the most votes nationwide is declared the winner as long as they have at least one-quarter of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital, Abuja. Otherwise there is a second-round run-off. Buhari secured enough votes to meet both requirements.

Marred by violence

Buhari, 76, took office in 2015 and sought a second term with pledges to fight corruption and overhaul Nigeria’s creaking road and rail network.

Atiku, 72, had said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025, privatise the state oil company and expand the role of the private sector.

Voting took place after a week-long delay which the election commission said was due to its inability to get ballots and results sheets to all parts of the country.

The event – Africa’s largest democratic exercise – was also marred by violence with at least 47 people killed since Saturday, according to the Situation Room, a monitoring organisation linking various civil society groups.

Some deaths resulted from clashes between groups allied to the leading parties and the police over the theft of ballot boxes and allegations of vote fraud. Police have not yet provided official casualty figures.

More than 260 people have been killed since the start of the election campaign in October. The toll so far is lower than in earlier elections, but the worst violence occurred previously only after results were announced.

(REUTERS)

25, February 2019

Nigeria: Polls close with reports of dozens killed in election violence ⁰

As many as 39 people have died in election-related violence in Nigeria, as the country awaits the results of this weekend’s voting in what is forecast to be its tightest poll since the end of military rule in 1999

Current President Muhummadu Buhari, 76, a former military ruler is seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform.

He faces off againstbusinessman Atiku Abubakar, 72, a former vice president who has promised to expand the role of the private sector.

The election was held on Saturday, but violence and problems with electronic voting machines meant voting continued in a small number of places before polls closed on Sunday.

The ballot was initially due to take place last week, but was postponed just hours before it was due to begin, with the authorities citing logistics.

The President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari attends a news conference.

PIncumbent President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria’s 73 million eligible voters chose from a pool of more than 70 presidential candidates, although only those from the two main parties — Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar — are seen as having a chance.

The President last year publicly denied social media claims he died and was replaced by a Sudanese clone, and also courted international controversy in the past by suggesting his wife “belongs in the kitchen”.

The Situation Room — which represents more than 70 civil society groups — gave Sunday’s figure of 39 deaths, citing data from Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence.

In one incident, seven people were killed in a shootout between Nigerian army troops and a gang.PMahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),said an electoral official had been shot dead by unknown people.

The president’s office declined to comment, while the opposition candidate Mr Abubakar condemned the violence in a statement.

“No politician’s ambition is worth the blood of any innocent Nigerian,” he said.

The number of deaths reported by Sunday was below the final death tolls in previous elections in Africa’s most populous country, but in the past most unrest has taken place after results were announced.

P Nigerian election observers watch votes being counted

What’s at stake?

A credible and relatively calm poll would open a new chapter in the chequered political history of Nigeria, where nearly six decades of independence have been tarnished by military coups, endemic corruption and secessionist movements.

“From Tuesday onwards we should have a substantial number of results,” said Festus Okoye, an election commission official.

The contest between Mr Buhari and Mr Abubakar, commonly called “Atiku”, hinges on revamping an economy struggling to recover from its first recession in 25 years, which it slipped into in 2016 and emerged from in 2017.

P Electoral officials compile voting results

Nearly a quarter of the workforce is unemployed, while the cost of living has also risen rapidly.

Mr Buhari has focused his campaign on rooting out corruption, but critics say there have not been any significant convictions in his first term.

Mr Abubakar has said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025.

Reuters

23, February 2019

Security under the spotlight as Nigerians vote in presidential election ⁰

An attack in northeastern Nigeria by suspected Islamist militants just hours before polls were set to open in Nigeria’s presidential election Saturday underscored the challenges confronting Africa’s most populous nation.

Nigerians began voting for a new president Saturday after a week-long delay that has raised political tempers, sparked conspiracy claims and stoked fears of violence, including terrorist attacks and post-electoral unrest.

Just hours before polls were set to open, suspected Islamist attacked a northeastern Nigerian town, forcing residents to flee.

“We have fled, along with our wives and children and hundreds of others,” Ibrahim Gobi, who lives in the town of Geidam in Yobe state, told Reuters by telephone. “We are right now running and hiding in the bushes.”

Around the same time a Reuters witness said blasts were heard in Maiduguri, the capital of the neighbouring state of Borno.

Northeast Nigeria has been hit by the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency with attacks in recent months carried out by offshoot Islamic State in West Africa Province.

Crowded presidential race

Some 120,000 polling stations were due to open across the country, from megacity Lagos and the oil hub Port Harcourt in the south, to ancient Kano in the north and the country’s rural heartlands.

The 2019 presidential campaign has been a crowded one, with 70 challengers running against incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, including the main opposition party candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The election, due to be held a week ago, was postponed around five hours before polling stations were set to open and there are concerns that the delay may hurt turnout. The electoral commission blamed logistical factors for the delay and denied political pressure was behind the decision.

Presidential elections in 2011 and 2015 were also delayed over logistics and security concerns but Buhari on Friday urged Nigerians “to go out and vote”, promising that there would be adequate security for the ballot.

Economy tops campaign agenda

The biggest challenge facing Nigeria’s next leader is revamping an economy struggling to recover from its first recession in 25 years, which it slipped into in 2016 as crude prices crashed and militants attacked energy facilities in the Niger Delta. Crude sales make up 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

“Instability is a rising concern but a weak economy is being felt in all sectors and country-wide so we believe it will be the preeminent voter concern,” Benedict Craven, analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told AFP.

Buhari’s critics say his much-touted focus on rooting out corruption may be offset by his handling of the economy. Despite the president’s campaign against graft, there have not been any significant convictions in his first term.

Nearly a quarter of the workforce is unemployed, much higher than when Buhari, a former military ruler who was later elected president, took over in 2015. The cost of living has also risen rapidly, with inflation of 11.37 percent in January – just short of a seven-month high reached the previous month.

Buhari is the flagbearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while Atiku spearheads the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Both candidates have promised to address Nigeria’s economic problems. The pair are both Muslims from the north of the country.

The south has favoured the PDP in the past, while the north is Buhari’s stronghold. The number of eligible voters stands at 72.8 million people. To be declared winner, the candidate with the most votes must have at least one quarter of the vote in two thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital. Otherwise there is a runoff.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)