The US Institute of Peace had invited some governors from north-west and north-central zones to a two-day symposium on peace and security in northern Nigeria.

The event took place between April 23 and 25.

Umar Bago, governor of Niger, and Dikko Radda, governor of Katsina, were among the governors present at the event.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Lamido said the governors exposed their ignorance of the country’s constitution.

The former governor said security is solely the responsibility of the federal government because it is on the executive-legislative list.

“Their concern, commendable as it were, ended up exposing their ignorance about understanding the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the very instrument that gave them the legitimacy and authority to be governors,” he said.

“If the Governors had traveled to the US to engage on how to boost agriculture, health issues, or any other pressing local problems listed on the Concurrent List of our Constitution, this could be quite understandable!

“But to engage on issues that are on the Exclusive Legislative List, such as security, says a lot about the substance they are made of.”

Lamido said there are other issues related to security that the governors could address.

“Most urban towns in their states lack potable drinking water; refuse dumps have taken over some streets; all these have precipitous security health hazards,” he said.

“Our children attend primary schools under the trees, and where there are built classes, they take their lessons sitting on the floor, yet the security implications of this can not be discerned by their excellencies.

“Deliberate and harshly induced poverty by unplanned government policies has made citizens lose their esteem, honour and self worth by lining up and scrambling to collect palliatives from patronizing and condescending leaders, yet the insecurity of this is of no worry or concern to them.”

The former governor said there are institutions in Nigeria that can provide information to the governors on security.

“Certainly, they could have gotten more than they wanted from our resourceful institutions, such as NIPSS in Kuru Jos, ASCON in Badagry, or even NIA! These three institutions have more than enough materials, essays, and templates on the problems of security in Nigeria than the far fetched American Institute,” Lamido said.

“But I blame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the governors for this folly.”

The post Sule Lamido tackles northern governors over US security summit, says it’s a ‘wasteful journey’ appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The three-day conference, attended by governors of Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Benue, and Plateau states, was designed to address insecurity in Northern Nigeria and provide better options to mitigate the challenge.

In a statement by the Director General of the Media and Publicity, Kano Government House, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, stated that the intensive executive engagement will enable the governors of some of the troubled states to have an understanding of the dynamics of security threats, their socio-economic dimensions, and near-term opportunities to drive stability in Northern Nigeria.

The US Institute of Peace would also broaden knowledge on strengthening conflict prevention in the region, through non-violent strategies for engaging armed groups as an alternative to conflict resolution.

The strategic engagement being anchored under the tutelage of Dr. Joseph Sany, Vice President, Africa Center for the US Institute of Peace, will also focus on policy coordination and management of peace and stability in Nigeria.

The symposium, which ends on April 25, 2024, is part of the ongoing efforts of the northern governors, especially those from the Northwest, to set a regional development agenda.

The post Gov Yusuf, other Northern govs convene in USA for symposium on regional Insecurity appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

According to Lalong, who was also the Director General of Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign organisation, their push for a southern presidency was rather in order to promote the unity, peace and stability of Nigeria within the spirit of fairness, equity and justice which the late Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, stood for.

Lalong was speaking at the 9th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture on Leadership and Good Governance held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, said on Saturday

The Governor said, “When I led my colleagues – the Northern Governors – to push for power shift to the South, it was not because we wanted Asiwaju to be President. Rather, we wanted to ensure that justice and fairness prevail in our nation for unity, peace and harmony. That is what we believe our revered father of blessed memory, Sir Ahmadu Bello, would do in such circumstances. Fortunately, the party delegates chose Asiwaju who was eventually accepted by Nigerians as he was unanimously elected”.

Lalong urged all Nigerians, both in the North and across the country, to support Tinubu as he takes on the mantle of leadership.

The governor noted that, because the late Sardauna lived a life of accommodation, tolerance, justice and fairness, his legacies have endured long after his demise and continue to inspire leadership in the region and country at large. According to him, the North is an important stakeholder in the Nigerian project and its contributions towards his election cannot be over emphasized.

“The Northern region needs serious attention in various sectors ranging from security, education, infrastructure, agriculture, economic revival and restoration of law and order in various areas that have been ravaged by insecurity.

“It is heartening to note that the Northern Governors Forum, under my leadership, has done a great deal of work on bringing our people together as one people with a common destiny,” Lalong added.

Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, said it was a privilege for his state to host the very important event, which reminds the region and the nation about the values that Sardauna lived and died for.

He said, although there have been challenges in the country after the demise of Sir Ahmadu Bello, some progress has been made which can be built upon to make the Northern region and Nigeria a better place.

Speaking on the topic “2023 Elections as Panacea for Search for Quality Leadership in Nigeria,” Kenyan Law Professor and pan Africanist, Patrick Lumumba, said the late Sardauna left behind several lessons for politicians which include his selflessness and sacrifice for the general good.

He said the question of unity and cohesion in Nigeria particularly after the 2023 general elections cannot be over emphasized because Nigeria plays a very key role in the stability of Africa being a giant in all ramifications.

Lumumba stressed that the sacrifices of founding fathers like Sardauna, who paid the supreme price, should not be left to go in vain but built upon for a greater Nigeria and Africa.

President Muhammadu Buhari in a message delivered by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said it is important that Nigerians devote more attention to recruiting quality leaders who are capable of steering the nation in the right direction.

He also said the process of elections should also be looked at, and continuously improved upon to ensure that those who serve the people have their mandate and also enjoy their support.

Emir of Lafia, HRH Sidi Bage, said the lecture series is an opportunity to reflect on the dreams of Sardauna but also a way of putting critical national and regional issues on the front burner.

He thanked Governor Lalong, who as Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, worked hard to ensure that the traditional Institution is given a place in the governance of Nigeria much as it was during the time of the Sardauna.

The post Northern govs didn’t ‘necessarily’ want Tinubu to be president – Lalong appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

At a meeting in Kaduna on Monday, the governors said the effect of uncontrolled social media is devastating.

They also condemned the “subversive” actions of some #EndSARS protesters, saying some people took advantage of peaceful protest to push their “separative agenda”.

“In furtherance to its resolution to further engage with the critical stakeholders of the North, the Northern States Governors Forum held a meeting today Monday 2nd November, 2020 at the Council Chamber, Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna,” the governors said in a statement.

“After extensive deliberations the following resolutions were arrived at: appreciates the roles of Traditional rulers in containing the menace of Endsars protests in the north. Collectively agreed that traditional rulers be given formal roles in the governance architecture of the Country.

“The meeting rejects and condemns the subversive actions of the Endsars protest. The superlative agitations and other change regime actions outside the ballot Box soon take advantage of the peaceful protests to push for their seperative agenda. The meeting endorse the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of the Nation.

“The meeting took note of the devastating effect of the uncontrolled social media in spreading fake news. Therefore, calls for major control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice in Nigeria.”

The governors also asked security agencies to keep “strict watch” on the federal capital territory (FCT) to guide against “unwarranted and destructives protests” and to safeguard critical assets of the nation.

The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, ministers and leaders of the national assembly.

One week ago, Lai Mohammed, minister of information, had said social media will destroy Nigeria if it is not regulated.

Earlier on Monday, Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sport, said it is important to regulate social media.

The minister said though the federal government had the option of shutting down social media during the #EndSARS protests, it chose not to do because it is “committed to the rights of every citizen”.

Many Nigerians have kicked against the planned regulation of social media. Already, a bill on the regulation is before the national assembly and has scaled second reading at the senate.

The post Northern governors call for censorship of social media appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

He stated this at a lecture with the theme “Before the ban on the Almajiri system of education in Nigeria” organised by by the Centre for Historical Documentation and Research of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan had in an attempt to address the problems of the Almajiris in the region, spent billions for construction of more than 100 model schools purposely for the integration of the system with basic education.

However the schools are said to be rotting away and unused since they were constructed years ago.

Modibbo alleged the projects were abandoned by state governments because they wanted to be given cash to construct the schools.

According to him: “The state governors left the schools unoccupied, abandoned and vandalised because most state governments refused to even take them over, not to talk of fulfilling their own obligations contained in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the federal government.

“The state governments were not happy with the decision of the federal government to undertake the project through UBEC and the Eduction Tax Fund (ETF), as they wanted the money to be given to them so that they could nominate contractors for the project.

“That episode was the last in the history of woeful failures to address the challenge of mainstreaming the Islamic system of education thereby catering for the multitude of mainly children of the poor in the Northern region who often migrate far from their homes following their itinerant malams and surviving on charity.”

Recalling the genesis of the Almajiri phenomenon in the north, Modibbo, a professor of history, said it was an off-shoot of the quest for Islamic education from the 8th century which continued to flourish through numerous Qur’anic schools.

He said Qur’anic teachers of that time were sustained by “Zakat” and other forms of taxes, managed by the religious authority, such that by 1900, there was an estimated 250,000 pupils in 20,000 schools in the region.

He said the system witnessed a “final blow” when the colonial administration halted support to Islamic education in 1922 following the establishment of the first teacher training college in Katsina.

“Since then, there were several initiatives to address the challenges of the Islamic system of education, beginning with the 1962 special committee set up by the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, who visited Egypt, Sudan and Libya to study their models and submitted recommendations in a report, but was short-lived, denied of government funding in the turmoil of 1966-68.

“Unfortunately, we missed an opportunity to establish a system that would provide not only manpower but scholars of high standing comparable to those in other parts of the world where the system worked well. “Today they stand shoulders high in producing scholars through such systems. Ours was subverted, truncated, left to rot, to decay and bastardised.” Modibbo said.

He lamented that northern political leaders, with the exception of those eliminated in the tragic military coup of 1966, “are squarely responsible for the failure to have a fully integrated Qur’anic system of education with basic education.”

He however expressed the hope that with the comprehensive blueprint and draft plan of action, introduced by UBEC in 2017, the implementation of the Almajiri Quranic education project would succeed.

Modibbo also called for the full and strict implementation of the UBE Act, introduction of School Time Marshals and catering for welfare of the children.

He further advocated that the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), be allowed to monitor the utilisation of federal funds released to states and other agencies of government for the implementation of basic education.

The event which was chaired by Mallam Adamu Fika, Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), was attended by representatives of some of the governors.

The post Northern Govs frustrating basic education for Almajiris – Ex UBEC Boss appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

According to them, instead of informing their citizens about the true situation surrounding the President, the governors have engaged themselves in schemes and underhand deals meant to favour them to emerge as Vice President in the event that Buhari does not complete his tenure.

The organisation in a statement issued on Sunday by its National President, Alhaji Adamu Mahmuda, observed that Buhari has been left on his own since the controversy on the issues surrounding his health broke out, adding that such has exposed the governors as people who do not mean well for the region but themselves alone.

“The Northern governors who won their elections for merely identifying with Buhari have all of a sudden gone asleep not wanting to be drawn into any issue surrounding the health of the President.

“After benefiting from his campaign and support through the provision of bail outs and other handouts for them to run their states, we find it extremely uncharitable for the governors to have gone so cold when the occasion demands they should rise up and reassure citizens in their states that there is no cause for alarm and that the president is only taking a rest.

“Nobody is fooled by their ‘see no evil, hear no evil posture’ which is deliberate so as not to make them appear too supportive of the president for fear that that might make them lose out in case the president decides not to continue. But this is wicked, selfish and insensitive”, NYLF emphasised.

The group said apart from Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State who organised a prayer session for the President some months back, the rest were busy either inviting party leaders to their states so as to intensity lobby for their vice presidential bids or busy holding clandestine meetings to serve their interest.

The Arewa youths condemned a situation where while series of meetings were being held in Kaduna and other states on the issue, none of the Northern governors either individually or collectively deemed it fit to publicly douse the tension over the matter.

The group said although it is within the governors given rights to aspire for whatever positions, they should remember that most of them would not have won their elections if not for the strategy of identifying with the overwhelming influence of Buhari.

Mahmuda said for some of the governors to try to pretend the occasion does not call for their open support and ‎ agitation is an act of deception that has not gone down well with the populace.

Follow Us

”

The post Northern govs are traitors, they’ve betrayed Buhari – Arewa youths appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The Presidency’s reaction contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in Abuja, said Nyako’s letter to the northern governors “is an unmitigated leadership disaster”.

Nyako had written to the rest 18 northern state governors, accusing the Federal Government of carrying out genocide against northern states. He had alleged that President Jonathan had no exit strategy to the problem of insurgency.

The governor had argued that whereas the Federal Government ought to have declared amnesty to the insurgents, the administration had rather behaved as if all was well.

He also accused the Federal Government of being responsible for the wanton destruction of lives and properties and kidnapping of school children in the north-east.

But, while reacting, the Presidency described the call by Nyako for the withdrawal of the military from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as his open endorsement of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“The content of Nyako’s letter exposed him as lacking a sense of history as well as incapable of rising above parochial sentiments.

“The letter was extremely divisive and intentionally meant to incite one section of the country against the other. Nyako’s action is a pathetic embarrassment to the Nigerian military, from where he derives his career antecedents,” it said.

The statement said the Presidency further described as hypocritical Nyako’s remark that the Boko Haram terrorist group was a “phantom organisation” which does not exist.

It said Nyako’s invitation to the other northern governors to join him to sue the Federal Government “definitely defies common sense’’.

The Presidency requested the Adamawa Governor to publish his state’s yearly budget for the past five years to show how much was voted or spent to support the war on terror.

“This will also reveal how much he has spent to assist victims of insurgents’ activities in his state, if any. We can recall that the governor was publicly attacked recently by angry youths who accused him of failure to support victims of Boko Haram attacks on innocent citizens of the state,” it said.

The Presidency therefore urged Nigerians to ignore Gov. Nyako’s letter, saying its ignoble aim was to create disaffection among Nigerians and polarise the country along ethnic lines.

“It was also aimed at discrediting the Federal Government which has continued to work hard to fully eliminate insurgency and destroy their support base. The insurgency was meant to provide the perpetrators unrestricted opportunity to further unleash terror on innocent citizens.

“It is a situation which they intend to exploit to undermine the administration and truncate our growing democracy. This, Nigerians will surely not allow to happen,’’ it said.

The Presidency assured Nigerians of Federal Government’s continuous determination to defeat terror and restore peace to every part of northern Nigeria.

“This is critical to ensure that law-abiding Nigerians go about their socio-economic pursuit without hindrance in all parts of the country,’’ it said.

Follow Us

The post Nyako’s letter, a betrayal of trust – Presidency appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

AYF also urged the Federal Government to replicate the amnesty programme for the Niger Delta militants for Boko Haram terrorists in the north.

Gujungu spoke when the forum paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Gujungu also called for the creation of the Northern Youth Empowerment Programme, NYEP, to address unemployment of youth in the region, as according to him, the current insecurity problem in the north had crippled the region’s economy.

He said there was urgent need for various state governments to pay more attention to job creation and development as the problem at hand was more of theirs than the Federal Government.

“We are calling on our elders, particularly the northern governors, to address the issue of unemployment by reviving the agricultural sector, as well as other moribund industries. We urge our governors to forget about the Federal Government and concentrate on their mandate because this is the problem of the north, not the Federal Government.

Gujungu said their visit to the Ministry of Finance was “part of the efforts to create awareness for the establishment of NYEP for the northern youths.

“We are Nigerians, like the Niger Delta people who have their amnesty programme and a lot of people are being empowered there. There is nothing wrong if such programme is extended to the north.”

Responding, Dr Okonjo-Iweala noted the need for an in-depth discussion on the issue of development of the north, particularly as it pertains to youth empowerment and development. “We have not been able to tackle the issue the way we want, but for the first time, we are having practical results. To be able to address a problem, you have to know the size of the problem.”

Follow Us

The post Don’t rely on FG for North’s devt, Arewa youths tell northern govs appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.