EXCLUSIVE: Use Fulani herdsmen, hunters to fight Boko Haram, Joda, Ribadu, others advise Buhari

As Nigeria grapples with the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the North-Eastern part of the country, the option of recruiting and paying “attractive amount of money” to Fulani herdsmen to tackle the insurgents has been recommended to the Federal Government.

The recommendation is contained in a bulky report titled: “Towards a New Dawn in Nigeria post 2015.” It is a compendium of papers, suggestions, analyses, and reports presented by, scholars and policy practitioners assembled by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr. Obasanjo assembled the think-tank of experts, as special committees of the Centre for Human Security of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, to provide actionable and “innovative” policy recommendations for President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle myriad of challenges – particularly those of security, economy, education, and infrastructure – facing Nigeria.

The recommendation of recruiting Fulani herdsmen to confront Boko Haram insurgents was made by a team led by Ahmed Joda and consisted of Nuhu Ribadu, Steve Orosanye, Tunji Olagunju, George Obiozor, Yusufu Pam, and Peter Okebukola.

Mr. Joda was also head of the transition committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari before his inauguration while most of the others held various positions during the Obasanjo presidency with Mr. Ribadu being the internationally acclaimed pioneer chairman of Nigeria’s major anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC].

Noting the socio-economic conditions which provide easy recruits for Boko Haram, the team stated that, “a Boko Haram recruit is offered a juicy pay in a milieu where joblessness pervades”.

Five Steps

In its recommendation, the team made a five-point proposition, covering finance, recruitment, accountability, reward, as well as schedule and propaganda.

It asked the Defence Ministry to determine the battle fronts where the herdsmen would be needed and the specific number and duration of service to ensure accountability of the process. This, according to the report, will involve working in collaboration with civilian Joint Task Force.

According to the report, the second step would involve the Presidency and the National Assembly. After the Defence Ministry and Civilian JTF must have concluded issues of finance, personnel, and logistics, the presidency should present the case to the National Assembly for urgent approval of funds needed.

Subsequently, a joint team of defence officials, civilian JTF and heads of Fulani herdsmen would be commissioned to recruit and pay the volunteers with accurate records kept.

The fourth proposal involves saddling the Federal Ministry of Information, National Orientation Agency, as well as public and private media houses with war propaganda.

They are to embark on “intensive broadcast ofJINGLES to the general public and use propaganda to cause panic in the ranks of the insurgents.”

Similarly, the team proposed that agencies of the federal and state governments, vigilante groups, telecommunication companies and non-governmental organisations should dissipate efforts towards massive enlightenment about how the insurgents, not government troops, are killing people andTHE SUCCESS stories of government’s efforts. The enlightenment should also include committing religious leaders like the Sultan of Sokoto and other Islamic scholars to condemn terrorism and “preach true tenets of Islam”.

In its last proposition on the use of Fulani herdsmen to confront Boko Haram, the team proposed that the National Intelligence Agency, StateSECURITY Service and the media are to provide “random monitoring of the Fulani herdsmen especially during pay period to ensure they are getting their agreed payments”.

Use hunters too

In another recommendation off conventional military deployment, the think-tank also asked the federal government to adopt the “Mubi Model” of supporting,REWARDING, and arming hunters to fight Boko Haram.

The Mubi model refers to the incident in November 2014 when a group of hunters and local vigilante mobilised andSUCCESSFULLY liberated Mubi and other towns in Adamawa State hitherto occupied by the Boko Haram sect.

The think-tank therefore urged the federal government and governments of the insurgency-ravaged North-Eastern states to “review the vigilante strategy and support volunteer hunters with generous welfare, military training and light weapons” and provide “corruption free reward system to the vigilantes that is sustainable andCOMPETITIVE to Boko Haram financial offers.”

The committee’s recommendation of using herdsmen and hunters to fight Boko Haram is to supplement the efforts of the Nigerian military.

It urged the consolidation of the military campaign, as well as motivation and provision of adequate equipment for the military to be able to defeat the insurgents whose actions have caused the death of about 20,000 people, mostly in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states since 2009

Source of premiumtimesng

Sow seeks to be the first African immigrant to serve on City council

When Ibrahima Sow came to Columbus from Africa in 1998 with his mother, he was only 8 years old.  Now, he could become a Councilman in just a few months.

But Sow, who was a consigliere to former Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder, got his work cut out for him trying to unseat Columbus city council incumbents, all Democrats.

He knows that.  He also knows that he is going to make huge history on multiple fronts if elected.  What’s more important to the African immigrant from Senegal though, is not the history he will make if elected but the difference he hopes to make in the lives of many residents of the city he said are not currently well represented by City Hall.

“There’s a huge population in the city of Columbus that does not have proper advocates, proper representation at the City Hall.  That would be one thing to bring to the table,” Sow told Onumba.com, in a wide-ranging interview, recently.  “We are going to bring City Hall to those that need it and make City Hall work for the people that pay for it.”

Sow, 24, is endorsed by the Republican Party.  A recent graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Political Science and International Relations, he is one of a bevy of Republican candidates running for city council, hoping to halt the years of partisan monopoly of the city council by Democrats.  Currently, and it has been that way for years, there is no Republican on the council.

Sow, of course knows it is going to be an uphill battle dismantling the Democratic hegemony of the council, but he is counting on the force of his message, not politics, to catapult him to victory this November.  He expressed the view that local politics is all about ideas that work for the people and not about the partisan ideologies that polarize them.

Asked how he plans to fit in on a council loaded with Democrats, Sow replied, “That’s never been an issue for me.  When it comes to making politics work for people, how they live their daily lives, politics does not matter, it’s all about policy, it’s all about the person with the best idea that’s feasible and sustainable, that meets the needs of the people.”

Sow, whose family owns a small business on the east side, vows to be a tireless champion for small business owners, immigrants and college graduates if elected to the council.  He expressed the view that these and other groups “have put a lot into the city but don’t get a lot back.”

Asked what he would do to improve the depressing and bedraggled police – African-American community relations, Sow said that a big part of the remedy is to jettison the bane of “segregation” in our cities.  While Columbus has been free of the kind of violence that recently engulfed Baltimore and Fergusson caused by police brutality, Sow expressed the view that Columbus is bedeviled by the “circumstances and the environment” capable of stoking similar cacophonies and riots, and he blames it in part on economic segregation bifurcating our major cities.

His words, “Segregation is illegal now but the realities of it and the construction of it is still around.” Sow is also urging that cops be trained to have the kind of “understanding, compassion and competency” needed to be effective and able to “approach the people that pay their check with dignity.”

Sow noted that police officers are expected to be experts at what they do, reminding them “you have a job, you have a badge, you have a gun, and that automatically makes you different from anyone else.”

He hopes to join the city council to pursue a trifecta of major priorities:  “access to resources, neighborhood safety and the need to inspire young people to do more for their community.”

Sow, who is Muslim, intensely decried the violent brand of Islam that has come to define the faith for some people.  He expressed profound regret that groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda and others have “hijacked” the true Islamic faith.  He is calling on true ambassadors of the faith to help bombard the airwaves with the true dovish teachings of Islam to eclipse and overwhelm the violent Theravada of hate being spewed by these groups which Sow said actually represent a very small minority of the entire Muslim population.

If elected, Sow will be the youngest person ever to serve on the Columbus city council.  He will also be the first African immigrant and the first Muslim to serve on the council.

As for Sow’s hope of winning a seat on the council, he replied, “I am faithful, I am praying, we have a lot of support behind us, we are making a lot of strides, so we will see.”

Sow’s website is:   http://www.votesow2015.com/

President should serve all - Bah

Opposition NRP leader, Hamat Bah, at the weekend said it was the responsibility of a sitting president to serve his people equally and fairly at all times.

The NRP leader said this while pleading with President Jammeh not to punish the people of Lower Saloum and Niamina Dankunku over their choice of having opposition as their representatives.

He told journalists: “We want to remind the President that he collects taxes from every part of The Gambia and part of those taxes is what keeps him in office and the taxes collected in Lower Saloum and Niamina Dankunku are part of that. President Jammeh said he will not work with people who do not believe in his government's development agenda. We felt that it is important that after the by-elections in Lower Saloum, having heard the speech of President Jammeh, we set the record straight. 

“President Jammeh, being the president of the republic, is the supreme custodian of the Constitution by virtue of his status as the first citizen of the land. It is only important to remind the President when he makes certain pronouncements that run contrary to the provisions of this Constitution. The highest office of the land is the Office of the President and he should therefore be the first person to safeguard and obey the provisions of this Constitution.

“The President said on national television that he acknowledged the fact that people have a right to vote for the party of their choice but he would not corporate with elected National Assembly members of both Niamina Dankunku and Lower Saloum. And he said that if you don't vote for him, he would not take development to your constituency. 

“The President has responsibilities sanctioned by the Constitution. If you go by the Constitution, you will understand that the President has gone against so many provisions by making that statement. He violated Section 25(e) of the Constitution which talks about the freedom of the people to belong to any party of their choice. He also violated Section 26(a) which talks about the free will of the people to choose their representative in any elected office in the country. 

“Therefore these two constituencies who have chosen their representatives from the NRP should not be punished for their decision. He also violated Section 26 (c) which talks about affording equality to all people with regard to public services in the country. He also violated Section 33 (4) which speaks against discrimination in all regards to citizens of the country. He also violated Section 215 (c) which talks about balanced developments in all parts of The Gambia. And there are many other provisions that have talked about the balanced and fair treatment of citizens.” 

The NRP leader also defended their victory in Lower Saloumn saying it was not as a result of the “claim that the APRC chose a wrong candidate” but the popularity of their party.

Source of standard news gambia

The National Youth Parliament's much-vaunted civic engagement programme is entering its second phase, said the speaker of NYP, Samba Bah.

The programme is designed to create an informed, energised, and educated Gambian populace, focusing on civic engagement in legislature and popularising the 2002 Local Government Act. 

“I am very happy that we are entering the second phase of our project, the Civic Engagement in legislature and popularisation of the Local Government Act,” said Mr Bah in an interview with the Youth Parliament radio programme on Capital FM.

He added: “Our aim is to empower Gambians with relevant information that will help them effectively and efficiently take part in the decision-making of how our country is run. We have five radio programmes in all the regions of the country, where we create a platform for our elected representatives – National Assembly Members and councillors – to come and have a direct conversation with their people. We are of the belief that through this we can strengthen the transparency and accountability machine of our country.”

Speaker Samba Bah revealed that the NYP will be signalling the second phase of the project with the training of 75 of its members at the President International Award (PIA) centre in Bakau, from 13th – 15 August, 2015.

He explained: “We are coming up with the second training programme for our members in the space of eight months. At the start of the project, over 40 of them had their capacities enhanced. This time we want to widen the pool of members by going further with 75 members. 

“Training is something that we put a high premium on because in order to effectively help our members do their works, they have to be trained on causes they will be advocating for. And, as a parliament, our focus is broad. We deal with environmental issues, governance, health, economic, safety and security, among others.”

Commenting on his impression of the project so far, Samba Bah, who very recently toured the length and breadth of the country to assess the progress being made by affiliated youth parliamentary bodies in the country, said: 'I am very impressed with what our people are doing. We are having constructive dialogue with people who represent us, which is welcomed. But, of course, like any project that is rolled out to help people, we are faced with challenges. Not least among them is having elected representatives to come to the radio programmes when called upon. The radio programmes are there to help them convey their messages, and explain to the people the decisions they have taken. So nothing to be fearful of! It is heartened to see that many are seeing it this way now.' 

Thanking the US Embassy in the country for sponsoring the project at the tune of over 1.5 Million dalasis, he said: 'I have to profoundly thank the US Embassy for sponsoring this important project. There support has shown the true partnership that can be struck at a national level. What they have demonstrated is that if you support young people, give them the tools that are needed to build a country, our country will realise its full potential.  Africa is on the move, but it is only through inclusive participation, as President Barrack Obama highlighted in his speech to African leaders in Ethiopia,  that African can consolidate the gains made, and spread the opportunities for all.”