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Obi can’t control ‘Obidients’ — respect yourself first, Datti Baba-Ahmed tells Soyinka

Published

3 weeks ago

May 25, 2024

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Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, has taken umbrage at the remarks of Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate.

Baba-Ahmed said Soyinka’s comments on Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the LP in the last poll, should be dismissed as a distraction.

In an interview with Noble Eyisi, Soyinka said Obi should not vie for the presidency in 2027 because he is “unfit” to lead Nigeria.

Soyinka had accused Obi of encouraging the online vitriol often lobbed by his supporters — who are called ‘Obidients’.

But in an interview on Arise Television, Baba-Ahmed said the Nobel laureate should rather respect himself instead of waiting for Obi to control the actions of his supporters.

The former senator said Obi would not join issues with Soyinka, adding that “intellect does not give one a right to insult anybody”.

“The learned elder statesman is scared in advance about what good Peter Obi would bring to Nigeria. He’s scared that the end is looking very likely for his principal, for bad governance,” Baba-Ahmed said.

READ 2023: Atiku, Tinubu, Kwankwaso dismiss poll result, say Peter Obi social media president

“What Soyinka is doing now is an attempted distraction.

“Nobel laureates all over the world are loved and cherished by their people, not just their nationals but globally. I have never heard where Nobel laureates are insulted in the way that Wole Soyinka is.

“There is no way Peter Obi, with all the issues in front of him and my humble self, can control Obidients.

“Peter Obi entered a canoe without a life jacket and he paid for it. It is not the work of Peter Obi to control the Obidients, it is the responsibility of Wole Soyinka to maintain his respect and dignity.

“In the presence of all these politics, decent Nigerians should continue to offer respect to others.

“All he is trying to do is an attempted distraction which Peter Obi and I have excused ourselves from. We will not react to that Nobel laureate.

“What is Wole Soyinka at a time when the Nigerian armed forces are killing Nigerians by mistake? At a time when our currency is hopelessly depreciating and so many other issues.”

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In 2023, Soyinka accused Baba-Ahmed of “fascistic language” and “threatening the judiciary” after the LP vice-presidential candidate said Bola Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn in as president.

Baba-Ahmed had maintained that the APC candidate did not “meet requirements of the law”.

Related Topics:Datti Baba-Ahmed OBI Obidients Soyinka

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Tinubu govt tackling economic crisis, Presidency replies New York Times

Published

7 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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The Presidency has reacted to a report published in the New York Times criticising the Nigerian economy as facing the worst trajectory in a generation.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, responded on Sunday to the report by Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal.

According to the Presidency, the feature story, titled ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation’ and published on June 11, reflected the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments have reported on African countries for decades.

Onanuga stated that due to the ‘misleading’ slant of the report, the government needed to clear up some misconceptions conveyed by the reporters regarding the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which took office at the end of May 2023.

He noted that the report painted a dire picture of some Nigerians’ experiences amid the inflationary spiral of the last year and unfairly blamed it all on the new administration’s policies.

He argued that the report, based on several interviews, is at best jaundiced, portraying all gloom and doom without mentioning the positive aspects of the economy or the amelioration policies being implemented by the central and state governments.

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Onanuga emphasized that Tinubu did not create the economic problems Nigeria faces today but inherited them.

“As a respected economist in our country once put it, Tinubu inherited a dead economy.

“The economy was bleeding and needed quick surgery to avoid being plunged into the abyss, as happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela,” he noted.

He explained that this context led to the policy direction taken by the government in May/June 2023, including the abrogation of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the multiple exchange rates.

Onanuga highlighted that Nigeria had maintained a fuel subsidy regime for decades, which consumed $84.39 billion between 2005 and 2022 from the public treasury, in a country with significant infrastructural deficits and a high need for better social services.

He also alleged that the state oil firm, NNPCL, had accumulated trillions of Naira in debts due to unsustainable subsidy payments.

He noted that when Tinubu took office, no provision was made for fuel subsidy payments in the national budget beyond June 2023.

READ Hunger, insecurity don’t know religion, tribe, Obi tells Gombe voters

“The budget itself had a striking feature: it planned to spend 97 per cent of revenue servicing debt, with little left for recurrent or capital expenditure. The previous government had resorted to massive borrowing to cover such costs.”

Onanuga further explained that like oil, the exchange rate was also subsidized by the government, with an estimated $1.5 billion spent monthly by the CBN to defend the currency against the unquenchable demand for the dollar.

“This low rate led to arbitrage and failures to fulfil remittance obligations to airlines and other foreign businesses, drying up foreign direct investment and investments in the oil sector.

“To address these issues, Tinubu rolled back the subsidy regime and floated the naira on his first day”, Onanuga said.

Despite initial challenges, Onanuga noted that some stability is being restored, with the exchange rate now below N1500 to the dollar and prospects for further appreciation.

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He cited a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in Q1, as opposed to a deficit of N1.4 trillion in Q4 of 2023, and renewed interest from portfolio investors as indicators of improving economic confidence. Loans from the World Bank, AfDB, and Afreximbank are also contributing to Nigeria’s renewed bankability.

Onanuga highlighted efforts to control inflation, especially food inflation, through increased agricultural production and state-led initiatives to sell food at lower prices.

“The Tinubu administration has invested heavily in dry-season farming and provided incentives to farmers.”

He concluded by comparing Nigeria’s economic challenges with those faced by the USA and Europe, emphasizing that the Tinubu administration is working hard to overcome these difficulties.

“Our country faced economic difficulties in the past, an experience captured in folk songs. Just like we overcame then, we shall overcome our present difficulties very soon.”

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No EndSARS protester in detention, police reply Shehu Sani

Published

9 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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The Nigeria Police Force says none of the protesters arrested during the October 2020 demonstration against police brutality and extrajudicial killings is still in detention.

Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi made this known in a statement on Sunday.

The police described as untrue, claims by Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District, that some of the youths detained for the #EndSARS protest are still in custody.

In 2020, some Nigerian youths took to the streets to protest against police brutality and the situation in the country. But in the wake of the protest, some police stations, formations, and officers were damaged across the country, leading to some arrests.

While some of the arrested protesters were released, others are believed to being held up in various police stations.

At special dinner Organised to mark Democracy Day held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on June 12, 2024, Sani had said those who took part in the protest should also be considered champions of democracy.

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The former lawmaker had asked President Bola Tinubu to pardon those incarcerate over the #EndSARS protest in 2020.

However, the police said the matter had been concluded, “lessons have been learnt. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on”.

“The Nigeria Police affirms that no individual is being unlawfully detained by the Nigeria Police Force or any other security agency in Nigeria due to the EndSARS protes,” the statement partly read.

“All arrested individuals have been processed according to the law, and none remain unlawfully detained. In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu pardoned approximately 100 suspects arrested by the Police during the protest.

“For emphasis, no one anywhere in Nigeria is under Police detention or being wrongly persecuted for participating in the EndSARS protest. The issues surrounding the protest have been debated, researched, and documented, and lessons have been learnt. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on.

READ Peter Obi: Fuel subsidy is organised crime

“We urge the public to disregard this claim and remain assured of our commitment to upholding justice, the rule of law, and human rights.”

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PHOTOS: Sanusi leads traditional Sallah Durbar

Published

12 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, held the traditional Sallah durbar on Sunday.

Following the Eid prayer and sermon at the Kofar Mata Jumu’at mosque as a result of flooding at the usual Eid ground, the Emir embarked on the durbar, riding a horse through Wambai, Zage, Yan Damadan, Shahuci, and back to the palace.

Unlike previous years, this time the Emir was the only one on horseback, with district heads either on foot or in vehicles.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other cabinet members also attended the Eid prayer.

Security was notably tight, with the Army, Police, Civil Defense, and other operatives positioned to ensure safety throughout the event.

Despite the Police command’s ban on Sallah durbar activities, as reiterated in a recent joint security meeting, the event proceeded under the Governor’s watch.

In contrast, the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, observed his Eid prayer at the Nassarawa mini palace and had announced the cancellation of durbar activities during the Eid-el-Kabir festivities.

READ I’m better than Atiku, Obi on economy – Tinubu

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