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Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Race: Now That Tinubu Is Here…

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2 years ago

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n what was completely unexpected to many, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu emerged the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC from the party’s Convention without appearing to break sweat.
Congratulations to him for employing every trick in his arsenal as an old fox to corner a ticket many didn’t see coming.
Whether he is truly the kind of president Nigeria needs at this perilous time in our history will be very critically analysed in the coming months.
Until then, let’s look at things dispassionately. We now have three major candidates in HE Peter Obi of Labour Party, LP, HE Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and HE Ahmed Tinubu of APC. Believe me, I am not trying to undermine the chances of NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso and APGA’s Prof Peter Umeadi.
Just permit me to concentrate on the earlier trio based on my mindset at this very moment.
Make no mistake about it, if the Presidential election is held coming Saturday, APC will retain power. They are the ruling party and they have all government institutions in place to roll over all opposition. However, that is if President Muhammadu Buhari doesn’t throw his incumbency weight behind PDP’s Atiku, as being widely speculated.
Under a free-and-fair election, PDP will come second. This is because they’re not just the main opposition with appropriate reach, they were also the former ruling party. Their structures, though thoroughly shaken after seven severe years, are still formidable enough to push Labour Party to third place.
HE Peter Obi and LP will come third if this election is held as being speculated in this write-up. Labour Party is yet to harness the millions of supporters of the former governor of Anambra State into a discernible electoral force that can displace the two major challengers in APC and PDP.
But all these can change in eight months if…
First, let nobody kid himself that Asiwaju Tinubu is an easy meal. From the little I’ve witnessed, he’s the most organised politician alive in this country today. He can play smooth and rough, more rough than smooth any way. His propaganda machinery is second to none in Africa. He owns major media houses. Those he doesn’t own, he easily buys over once the issue is electioneering. This is how he effectively dismantled PDP while ushering in Buhari in 2015.
But Tinubu’s behind-the-scene arms are rumoured to be even far more devastating. Grapevine has it he’s a master in creating chaos, however deadly, to discredit his opponents and use his media weight to make the artificial diversion stick. Those who claim to know say that Jagaban is capable of anything while some further add this is even talking lightly.
Moreover, Tinubu enjoys the tremendous goodwill nurtured over the years by giving birth to and positioning political godsons all over important political institutions in Nigeria. They say that whenever he tells them to jump, they only respond, “how high?” The manner he cornered the APC ticket from a very complex pool attests to this.
Nonetheless, the former two-term governor of Lagos State has his party’s poor performance in office to worry about. Nigeria came to her knees in all spheres of positive development under the seven years of APC leadership. From the dollar hitting over N600 exchange rate to every community in the country being under siege of all manner of AK 47 wielding criminals, Tinubu will need to base his propaganda houses in heaven to stand any chance of pulling the wool over the eyes of Nigerians a third time. The APC, under campaign by all four visible opposition parties, will lose whatever leadership appeal(if any) they still have at the moment. Let’s see what Jagaban and his kingdom of propagandists present in the days ahead, interesting days ahead.
For the PDP, they have in Atiku another super heavy weight. For all the positives Tinubu exhales,, the former vice president is not far behind, if behind at all. Money, affluence, experience, tact…Atiku has them. He also enjoys tremendous goodwill built over the years from his influential office as a smart customs officer through the eight years he served as a very influential vice president. His own political godsons are equally all over the place. How he managed to curtail the ragging bull called Nyesom Wike to wrestle home the party’s ticket is a reminder that wine gets better with age.
However, his burden will also be his party, the PDP. They stood a very big chance when they had Obi in their fold. Nigerians know their history of impudence and looting that paved way for APC’s coming seven years ago. Majority of Nigerians don’t trust them to have truly repented. If some voting Nigerians were in doubt, the party itself cancelling zoning, which was hitherto enshrined in their modus operandi, erased such doubts. That was the biggest manner to betray trust.
As if such heavy shot on the leg was not enough the party blocked the chances of Obi, the one individual that would have erased doubts and drawn voters appeal towards the party had they been reasonable enough to grant such exemplary aspirant the party’s ticket. Such callousness threw their hitherto assured chances of regaining power out of the window. I don’t see the magic they will perform under eight months to turn around majority of Nigerians who appear to have had enough of APC and PDP.
Will Peter Obi and Labour Party capitalise on the evident rejection of the two biggest parties to coast home?

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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4 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Africa

Donors raise more than 2 billion euros for Sudan aid a year into war

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4 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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PARIS/CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) – Donors pledged more than 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion) for war-torn Sudan at a conference in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, on the first anniversary of what aid workers describe as a neglected but devastating conflict.
Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global crises including in Gaza and Ukraine.
Conflict in Sudan is threatening to expand, with fighting heating up in and around al-Fashir, a besieged aid hub and the last city in the western Darfur region not taken over by the RSF. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in the area.
“The world is busy with other countries,” Bashir Awad, a resident of Omdurman, part of the wider capital and a key battleground, told Reuters last week. “We had to help ourselves, share food with each other, and depend on God.”
In Paris, the EU pledged 350 million euros, while France and Germany, the co-sponsors, committed 110 million euros and 244 million euros respectively. The United States pledged $147 million and Britain $110 million.
Speaking at the end of the conference, which included Sudanese civilian actors, Macron emphasized the need to coordinate overlapping and so far unsuccessful international efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop foreign support for the warring parties.
“Unfortunately the amount that we mobilised today is still probably less than was mobilised by several powers since the start of the war to help one or the other side kill each other,” he said.
As regional powers compete for influence in Sudan, U.N. experts say allegations that the United Arab Emirates helped arm the RSF are credible, while sources say the army has received weapons from Iran. Both sides have rejected the reports.
The war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition, has crippled infrastructure, displaced more than 8.5 million people, and cut many off from food supplies and basic services.
“We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, 1 million people could die of hunger this year.
The United Nations is seeking $2.7 billion this year for aid inside Sudan, where 25 million people need assistance, an appeal that was just 6% funded before the Paris meeting. It is seeking another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The international aid effort faces obstacles to gaining access on the ground.
The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the RSF. Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid. Both sides have denied holding up relief.
“I hope the money raised today is translated into aid that reaches people in need,” said Abdullah Al Rabeeah, head of Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief.
On Friday, Sudan’s army-aligned foreign ministry protested that it had not been invited to the conference. “We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades,” it said in a statement.

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SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

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4 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

In an email sent to many South African users, Starlink stated that their internet access will cease on April 30 due to violation of its terms and conditions.

The email emphasized that using Starlink kits outside of designated areas, as indicated on the Starlink Availability Map, is against their terms. Consequently, users will only be able to access their Starlink account for updates after the termination.

Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites that offer high-speed internet globally. Despite its potential to revolutionize connectivity, Starlink has been unable to obtain a license to operate in South Africa from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa’s requirements mandate that any applicant must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be considered for a license. However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed.

However, Icasa clarified in a government gazette last November that using Starlink in this manner is illegal. Additionally, Starlink itself stated in the recent email to users that the ‘Mobile – Regional’ plans are meant for temporary travel and transit, not permanent use in a location. Continuous use of these plans outside the country where service was ordered will result in service restriction.

Starlink advised those interested in making its services available in their region to contact local authorities.

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