The security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating rapidly and ordinary Nigerians are living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
Nowhere seems to be safe. Farms, markets, schools, homes, mosques, churches, and urban areas are all affected.
Terrorists are spreading their areas of operation beyond the Northeast, into far flung areas as far as Niger State in the North-Central. That is merely hours from our Federal Capital.
Now is the time for decisive leadership and I call on the Federal Government to consider recalling all ex-servicemen and women, who are willing to return to service, and take the fight to the insurgents, until they are rolled back and defeated.
As a former vice chairman of the National Security Council, I am aware that Nigeria has a sizeable population of military veterans, who are alive, and were trained locally and internationally,
and it serves no purpose to allow these valuable national assets lie fallow when there is an existential threat to our nation.
Call them up. Immediately. Mobilise them to the field. The time has come for us to put in all our effort and stamp out this menace from our nation.
The men and women of Nigeria’s armed forces, whether serving or retired, who restored peace to Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and São Tomé and Príncipe can, and should be used to do the same in the motherland.
But they need arms and ammunition. It is incumbent on the federal government to develop a more efficient means of sourcing for weapons and delivering them to the troops at the battlefront.
A situation where terrorists and criminals are better armed than our troops on the battlefront is intolerable.
We need to urgently improve the conditions of service of the men and women of our armed forces. And not just the government.
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, working in concert with primary mortgage institutions, ought to offer the men and women of our armed forces special concessionary mortgage loans so they can own homes.
The private sector should also be encouraged to offer discounted services to them in appreciation of their services.
There is no sacrifice greater than to lay down your life for the motherland.
When our military is properly rewarded, they will fight more valiantly and gallantly.
A nation that rewards courage is one that avoids outrage.
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The celebration of World Press Freedom Day suggests a twin notion of an independent media and freedom of expression, which is enshrined as a fundamental human right. These two notions have been acknowledged to be indispensable in the working of democracy. #PressFreedom
A democracy without press freedom is like having fanciful machinery without an energy source to power it.
And just as our experience in Nigeria, especially in the past few years has shown, democracy becomes an immobile concept when press freedom and freedom of expression are trampled upon.
Over the past two days, I saw how Iniubong Umoren united Nigerians in a way that was admirable, yet, tragic. This is heart-rending.
I call on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to do all within their powers to ensure that justice prevails for her family and all Nigerians. They made great efforts to #FindHinnyHumoren.
May God grant her family and friends the fortitude to bear the loss of such a young Nigerian who only sought an honest living.
World’s Highest Unemployment Rate: Time To Help This Government Help Nigeria.
I have never felt so bad at being proven right, as I am by the report from Bloomberg Business on Saturday, March 27, 2021 that Nigeria is to emerge as the nation with the highest unemployment rate on Earth, at just over 33%.
We warned about this, but repeated warnings by myself and other patriots were scorned. And now this.
Dr (Mrs) @NOIweala is a woman I know very well, because we worked at close quarters between 2003 and 2007, when she served in our administration in various capacities, most notably as Finance Minister.
It is not hyperbole when I say that no one could be more qualified for the job of Director General of the World Trade Organisation than her, and I congratulate her for her success at being the first female and African DG of the WTO.
She is an apostle of free trade and an astute manager of people and resources, and the world will be a much more prosperous place by her elevation to this enviable height.
The number one challenge facing Nigeria is youth unemployment. In fact, it is not a challenge, it is an emergency. It affects our economy and is exacerbating insecurity in the nation.
What Nigeria needs now, perhaps more than ever, are jobs and an opening up of our economy, especially after yesterday’s report by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that foreign capital inflow into Nigeria is at a four year low,
having plummeted from $23.9 billion in 2019 to just $9.68 billion in 2020.
Already, the nation suffered severe economic losses from the border closure and the effects of the #COVID19 pandemic.
As @POTUS, @JoeBiden begins his tenure as the 46th President of the United States of America, I am confident that this new era will mark America's regeneration and her reaffirmation as the beacon of democracy to the world.
As I congratulate President Biden and @VP, @KamalaHarris , I urge them and their administration to strengthen US-Nigeria ties, and help our beloved nation’s war on terror by providing every type of support required to win our war against the insurgency we face.
I also look forward to the removal of every travel restriction on Nigerian citizens, in keeping with the good relations that has existed between our two nations...