Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 25th December 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 25/12/20
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What Happened To Akufo-Addo? By Azu Ishiekwene
Azu Ishiekwene
If we could cast a vote in the December 8 presidential election in Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo, would have won re-election by miles. Nigerians love him to bits. He talks a good game.
In the first two years or more of his presidency, I remember a number of videos shared with me on the Akufo-Addo promise. On a tour of the US, he met with the conference of US governors and awed with his presentation. On another occasion, he wowed French President Emmanuel Macron with his speech on “Ghana Beyond Aid”.
That speech, which has chalked over three and a half million views on YouTube, spoke the minds of many self-respecting Africans. The continent’s leaders have so degraded themselves with their begging bowls, that they have become unwanted guests in many European capitals. We would give them away, if we could.
But Akufo-Addo was different. It was refreshing to hear an African leader tell a major European leader, face-to-face, that Ghana – and indeed the continent – was no longer peddling the begging bowl.
The continent wanted fair trading terms, that’s all. Akufo-Addo did not take his seat until he refreshed Macron about how the injustices of 18th century European history laid the foundation for some of today’s problems. Yet, he ended on the note that Africa must take responsibility for its own future.
Azu Ishiekwene
He made a few more stirring speeches – at the UN – and wherever he went thereafter, bearing the torch of what seemed, quite frankly, to be a new overdue renaissance of Africa, a place where the Mo Ibrahim leadership prize has languished for three years now for lack of a worthy recipient.
In a way, Akufo-Addo became the president Nigeria never had. But we coveted him for more than his stirring speeches on the global stage. We also thought he wasn’t doing too badly at home. At no time did we seem more certain of his performance than during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus this year.
While some Nigerians were still sharing wicked jokes about whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari could pronounce the word well into the outbreak, Ghana seemed to be on the front foot. There were reports that Ghana was not only leading the continent in testing and tracing, it was also using drones to deliver test results in hospitals in remote areas! It was testing, per capita, more than any other country on the continent, followed by South Africa.
This was at a time when Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina was still brewing his herbal tonic, when Tanzanian President John Magufuli was insisting that coronavirus was a spiritual problem, the Sierra Leonean president’s wife was rebranding COVID-19 materials aspolitical party handouts, and when the Nigerian president was being accused of dispensing COVID-19 relief materials in small bread nylon bags.
The only president who came close to Akufo-Addo was perhaps Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Yet, even he was a distant second.
In a year when congenital incompetence compounded by catastrophic mismanagement of the COVID19 pandemiccost President Donald Trump his second term, you would think that Akufo-Addo’s advertised exceptional handling of the virus in Ghana would override any earlier transgressions. We thought so.
But from the result of the election, Ghanaians think differently. The man won by the skin of his teeth. Not just because winning a second term is a tough call even in the best of circumstances, but perhaps because Ghanaian voters seemed determined to punish the hubris carefully buried under the veneer of Akufo-Addo’s good public relations in much of the last four years.
He was lucky to get off with his pants on.
The result of the presidential election on December 8 showed that Akufo-Addo won with 6.7million votes compared with John Mahama’s 6.2million votes, a difference of about 500,000.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flipped 36 seats, drawing level with Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) and as you read this the opposition insists that the government and the Electoral Commission rigged the final result.
What did Ghanaian voters see in Akufo-Addo that outsiders missed almost completely in the last four years? Why was it that the incumbent could easily have lost the election, in spite of his status as a nearly patron saint of African leaders?
Some Ghanaian friends have been talking – and they have been talking vehemently. At least ten mortal sins have been listed against Akufo-Addo, from the Ghana banking sector crisis to nepotism and the conduct of party constituency executives and from the cost of party primaries to the so-called Galamsey affair and the Agyapadeal.
Of these charges, three stand out, which politicians in Ghana and elsewhere might do well to pay attention to.
The first is NPP’s narrow elitism. While the NDC focused on bread-and-butter issues and campaigned in language most ordinary people could understand, the incumbent’s party was on a high horse. It used elite platforms, wasting time money and resources on arm-chair voters.
Trump has taught the world that politics responds to the language of ordinary folks – the marginalised, the displaced, the powerless, the embittered and angry. The opposition tapped into that lava and did so with a vehemence that left the ruling party doubting even in areas where it had achieved modest successes.
Second, Akufo-Addo positioned himself as the clean guy, the man whose government had come to deliver Ghana from the multiple scandals of the Mahama years – scandals which even Jerry Rawlings confessed, even before his death, had become an embarrassment for him as a founding father of the party.
It was good campaign tactic for Akufo-Addo four years ago, but after four years, he appears to have been caught in his own trap. And the opposition he once accused of being corrupt is making heavy weather of it, topping the charge of malfeasance with nepotism.
One year ago, the opposition published a list 51 appointees in Akufo-Addo’s government that they said were relatives of the President. Though, it was largely a dubious list, the similarity in names hardly allowed any distinction between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
The resignation of the country’s Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, days before the presidential election didn’t do Akufo-Addo any favours. In a bitter, lengthy letter, the Special Prosecutor accused the President of interfering with his job. In specific reference to the Agyapa Royalties corruption saga, Amidu accused the President of trying to protect the Minister of Finance, allegedly involved in a gold deal bribery case with a South African company because the minister is his cousin.
He claimed that his office was underfunded and that he had not been paid a Cedi since taking office two years ago, saying he hoped they would at least pay his deputy, now that he was “out of the way.”
Garbage doesn’t get any messier. Even though Akufo-Addo survived it, he’ll still have to deal with it in his second term.
I think the near-fatal blow, which is the third point, was the banking sector crisis between 2017 and last year. About nine banks of the 28 private banks in Ghana had almost been brought to their knees by poor corporate governance. These were banks where large swathes of the poor and low-income earners had their savings. Although Akufo-Addo was not responsible for the laxity that nearly brought the system crashing down, he was perceived as being “too soft” on those found to that brought on the crisis.
“To date”, my Ghanaian friend lamented on Wednesday, “many of them are still walking the streets free, and even castigating the government for blocking their private accounts!”
The opposition’s story was that the government condoned the errant fat cats because top officials of the government had been paid off.
Akufo-Addo has another four years to repair the damage. If he struggled in the last four years when he had the parliamentary majority to make bold and lasting changes, you guess is as good as mine what his fate would be with a hung parliament.
But that’s the way it is: he has his job cut out for him.
Ishiekwene is the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview
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Woman Who Allegedly Killed Own Children Over Husband’s Second Marriage Pleads Not Guilty
Hauwa Habibu, a 26-year-old woman, who was arrested and arraigned before a magistrate court in Kano for allegedly hacking her two children to death has pleaded not guilty.
The police had in October arrested Hauwa, a health worker, for killing her two biological children: Irfan Ibrahim, six-year-old and Zuhura Ibrahim, three-year-old, in protest at her husband’s decision to marry a second wife.
She was also said to have wounded one Aisha Sadiq, her nephew.
The uncle of the deceased children, Sadiq Haruna Aminu, said Hauwa had been living with envy and jealousy since his brother married another wife, leading her to kill her own children.
At the resumed sitting on Wednesday, December 23, after her denial, counsel for Hauwa, Huwaila Ibrahim, asked the court to send her to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. The prayer was not objected by the prosecutor, Laminu Soron Dinki.
The presiding magistrate, Hauwa Lawan Minjibir, upheld Ibrahim’s request by sending the accused person to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. He then adjourned the matter to January 5, 2021.
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Three-member Gang Rape, Kill Woman In Edo
The Edo Police Command has arrested three persons, Destiny Osa, Etim Zion and Samuel Jeremiah in connection with the murder of a yet-to-be-identified female trader in the Orhiomwon Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the three suspects accosted the woman who was on her way to the market, dispossessed her of the sum N30,000 before dragging her into a nearby bush, where they took turns to rape her and left her with life threatening injuries.
The woman was said to have died as a result of the injuries she sustained during the attack and assault.
One of the suspects, Osa, was apprehended by the local vigilance group and handed over to officers of the Ugo Police Division who in turn handed him over to the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit of the Edo State Police Command for discreet investigations.
The body of the woman has since been deposited in an undisclosed mortuary for autopsy and further investigation.
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E2%80%93-nigerians-react-death-corps-member-killed NYSC Scheme Killing Many Graduates, Scrap It – Nigerians React To Death Of Corps Member Killed By Kidnappers
Some Nigerians have urged the government to scrap the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, saying it has outlived its usefulness.
This followed the killing of a corps member, Bomoi Yusuf, by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Tuesday.
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Corps Member Returning From Orientation Camp Killed By Gunmen On Lokoja-Abuja Expressway, Others Abducted
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Yusuf and 16 other corps members were attacked along Jere-Abuja Expressway after leaving Ede NYSC Orientation Camp in Osun State.
Quite a number of Nigerians on Twitter who condemned the attack on the corps members said the NYSC scheme had deviated from the objectives for which it was established.
They described the scheme as the fastest way for graduates to meet their ‘untimely death’.
For instance, someone whose Twitter handle is @JMaigamu, wrote: “The NYSC scheme needs to be completely suspended until when the security situation in Nigeria improves. Fresh graduates should just be issued an exemption certificate to use instead.”
The NYSC scheme needs to be completely suspended until when the security situation in Nigeria improves. Fresh graduates should just be issued an exemption certificate to use instead. mdash; J.T. Maigamu 🇳🇬 (@JMaigamu) December 24, 2020
@ONikhua said, “No, it does not (have any relevance), especially in the last decade. The only thing that has been known to bring Nigerians together, irrespective of ethnicity and/or religion is when the national football team is playing and that too is also being threatened.
“The violence after the 2011 elections nailed the coffin of the NYSC. Southerners didn’t want to go north because of the sporadic, mindless violence that may occur at any time for no just cause, and I’m not talking about the current banditry/herdsman/Boko Haram issues. Some northerners feel the south is too liberal for their taste.”
“How many innocent graduates will die before Buhari and co scrap this moribund scheme?” @Abayomi034 asked.
Can you lots scrap this scheme. Every year it’s one sad news or the other attached to this scheme. And yes, one person dying is a huge deal, contrary to what you are trying to make it sound. That’s someone’s child for goodness sake. mdash; Spear Strong (@GertrudeUmeh) December 24, 2020
@Greg234237246, who advised that the NYSC authority should suspend the scheme till the security situation in the country improved, added, “We can’t continue to lose our young and vibrant youths to bandits and kidnappers; a word is enough for the wise.”
@YarKafanchan wrote: “Nigeria not cancelling NYSC or changing the format in the face of growing insecurity thereby risking the lives of millions of youths is yet another sign of how callous and wicked this country is.”
“Why are corps members still being posted to the North-East and North-West regions? Those areas have too many ungoverned spaces and are high security risks. The NYSC should have a safety framework/guideline/protocol,” @iSERVE2050 said.
Another Twitter user, @Agbor70, said, “I keep saying NYSC should be abolished or people should be made to serve in their various states of origin or better still, in the states where they had their university education. Many poor souls have lost their lives travelling up and down for service.”
“Isn’t it time we scrap this programme?” @TheyvidA asked. “The amount of people that have been killed because they went for NYSC is mind boggling. It has lost its purpose.”
In the same vein, @seundann said: “If you are from the South and they post you to the North. You better don’t go. Just forfeit the rubbish. After all, many who are in the Senate forged NYSC certificates. Nigeria is not worth dying for, the crop of leaders we have are major criminals. Please stay alive until it’s better.”
@ThePeoplesParl1 also wrote, “You (see) why I’ve always advocated that this useless programme should be scrapped and replaced with a skill training (programme) that will make our graduates useful to themselves. With the current security situation in this country, why are you risking the lives of our graduates?”
@ambalindus said, “Now your suffering continues (NYSC) should be scrapped. Why is it difficult for Nigeria to embrace change? We’ve had NYSC for God knows when; the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, why not scrap it?”
“This programme should be scrapped… it’s causing more harm than good or better still; everyone should serve in his/her state after all, one Nigeria is obviously a scam,” @erikuzee said.
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E2%80%93-sagay Impeachment Of Buhari Over Insecurity Will Amount To Abuse Of Power – Sagay
Prof Itse Sagay (
As calls for the removal of President Muhammadu Buhari grew with worsening insecurity and following the recent abduction of Kankara schoolboys, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay has said it will amount to an abuse of impeachment power to impeach Buhari because of insecurity.
Sagay disclosed this to SaharaReporters on Thursday, while reacting to recent calls for Buhari’s impeachment across the country.
Prof Itse Sagay
He also criticised the opposition party, People Democratic Party, for calling for the impeachment of the president.
“Calling for the impeachment of Buhari based on insecurity is an abuse of impeachment power. There is nothing wrong in criticising him so he can do more. But I don’t think there’s anything he has not done that warrants calling for his impeachment,” Sagay said.
“What do you expect from the PDP? Their chairman was dancing in Abuja because innocent children were kidnapped. The PDP doesn’t care about the country. The PDP is not an organization. Impeachment is not what we use against a responsible man.
“We don’t use impeachment because of security issues, it has to be something that affects the character, commitment, honesty and integrity of the person in power, not just because of unfortunate happenings under the person’s watch.”
When asked about the kind of offence that could justify the commencement of impeachment proceedings against the president, Sagay said, “I can’t tell you what he would do to warrant his impeachment, so you won’t be going out to promote his impeachment.”
In the same manner, the senator representing Kaduna South, Danjuma La’ah, insinuated that members of the Senate would have nothing to do with any move to impeach the president.
“I think the impeachment call comes from a House of Representatives’ member. It is different from what we discuss in the Senate. Am I a Rep (House of Representatives’ member? You can’t ask me what concerns the Reps. We in the Senate haven’t called for the impeachment of the president. We in the Senate have a focused thinking. We talk like elders,” La’ah stated.
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BREAKING: Boko Haram Invades Adamawa Town
Boko Haram terrorists are currently in Garkida town in the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
A desperate resident of the town who managed to escape to the bush told SaharaReporters that the “town had been invaded”.
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There was however no official confirmation of the attack from authorities as at the time of filing this report.
Boko Haram has a history of causing violence in Adamawa State.
On April 29, 2019, Boko Haram fighters killed 21 people when they stormed Kuda village in Adamawa, setting houses on fire.
Militants in four trucks flanked by gunmen on motorbikes went into the village, shooting indiscriminately as they moved.
Many people were feared killed Monday, April 6, 2020 when Boko Haram insurgents attacked Kirchinga in the Madagali Local Government Area of the state, looting shops and destroying houses.
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Former PDP Spokesman, Metuh Released From Kuje Prison
A former spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, has been released from prison.
SaharaReporters gathered that Metuh regained freedom on Thursday after months of incarceration.
He walked out of Kuje Correctional Centre after the completion of his release formalities around 5pm.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on December 16 nullified a Federal High Court judgement that convicted and sentenced Metuh to seven years imprisonment for money laundering.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices, held that the judgement trial Justice Okon Abang delivered against the former PDP spokesman on February 25, was tainted with bias.
The appellate court held that the trial Judge made disparaging remarks in the judgement that betrayed his premeditated mindset against the defendant whom he accused of writing various petitions against him.
In its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, the appellate court said it was convinced that Metuh and his firm, Destra Investment Limited, which was the 2nd defendant, were denied fair hearing by the trial court.
It held that allowing the trial court’s verdict against the defendants to stand would set a dangerous precedent, stressing that in criminal cases, justice must not only be done but should manifestly be seen to have been done.
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Be Security Conscious While Celebrating Christmas, CAN Tells Christians
CAN President
The Christian Association of Nigeria has urged Christians to be at alert and security conscious during this year’s Christmas celebration.
In a statement on Thursday, CAN President, Samson Ayokunle, said Christians should also observe the COVID-19 protocols in places of worship or in any public gathering for the general good.
CAN President
He said, “As we rejoice and celebrate, let us be security conscious and observe the COVID-19 protocols in our places of worship or in any public gathering for our general good.”
The president also said situations surrounding the Christmas celebration for 2020 in the country were similar to the events that heralded the birth of Jesus.
He therefore prayed for an end to the menace of insecurity largely caused by terrorists, killer herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers in the country.
It reads, “Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. Bethlehem’s manger became the link that binds the lost world to a loving God. From the manger came the Saviour who did not only teach us a new way of life, but brought us into a new relationship with our God.
“Christmas means God is interested in the affairs of people, that God loves us so much that He willingly gave us His only begotten Son in order for us to become His children. To us, as Christians, the joy of Christmas is not limited to His birth. It is built even more on the triumph of His death and resurrection- that gave meaning to His birth. The mysterious spirit of generosity which possesses us at Christmas is the afterglow of Calvary.
“The fact of the cross illuminates Christmas Day and hallows it. Christmas is also a season to advocate peace in the world that is full of wars, strife, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robberies and other criminality. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He came to give us peace. To preach good tidings unto the meek; to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to give to us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that we might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
“It is painful that many people are mourning due to the demise of their loved ones as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, kidnappings and other criminality. Remember that Jesus was also born during the darkest time in Israel’s history. Israel was under the tyrannical rule of the Romans. Yet the Angel announced the birth of Jesus as the glad tidings to the world. So, I urge those who are mourning to rejoice in hope that they too are still alive. I pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit for all those who lost their loved ones for one reason or the other. May the birth of the Saviour mark the end of coronavirus and every evil in our land. May it herald a new season of prosperity, full recovery and great joy in the name of Jesus.
“May the Lord help our governments to rise up competently and stop the menace of insecurity occasioned by the terrorists, killer herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers in Jesus’ name. Year 2020 will be the last year of COVID-19 globally in Jesus’ Name.”
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Gunmen Attack Benue Council Chairman, Kill Three Policemen, Two Others
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Gunmen on Thursday attacked the residence of Alfred Avalumun Atera, Chairman of the Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, killing three policemen and two civilians.
Benue Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident.
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She, however, said Atera was not hurt in the incident.
Reacting, Governor Samuel Ortom described the incident as an assassination attempt on the council boss.
In a statement by Terver Akase, his spokesman, Ortom asked security operatives to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The statement read, “Governor Ortom commiserates with families of those who lost their lives during the attack on Atera’s house and states that their killers will not escape justice.”
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Military, Customs Officers, Others Involved In Special Operation Groan Over Unpaid Seven Months’ Salary
Security operatives involved in the Exercise Swift Response along Nigerian borders are currently groaning over unpaid salaries of seven months, and unpaid hotel bills of over four months.
The Exercise Swift Response, being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, was launched in August 2019 when Nigerian borders were closed by President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly against smuggling and for national security.
However, it was gathered that the Exercise Swift Response would end its operation on the 30th of December 2020, and this has been a huge concern for all security officers as they have yet to receive salaries for a long time.
The security officers include those of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, Immigration Service, Customs Service, and others.
While lamenting over the situation, one of the officers told SaharaReporters that they had yet to receive their salaries for the past seven months and also had unpaid hotel bills of over four months.
They said despite the fact that their allowances were not being paid, the NSA kept introducing new security measures to be implemented routinely.
A Superintendent of Customs, Salisu Adam, who spoke with SaharaReporters said they were under surveillance by hoteliers in the border communities so that we would not run away without paying their hotel bills which has not been paid for over four months.
He said, “Currently they owe us seven months’ allowance and we are afraid that when the operation ends on the 30th of December 2020, they might likely not pay us again. Also, we are currently under surveillance by owners of hotels in the border communities so that we don’t go with their hotel bills which have not been paid for over four months.
“The fact is that we are all seriously grumbling and bitter about the situation in which we have all found ourselves. So far, they have kept telling us that the office of the NSA has yet to release funds for payment while some of our sources say the National Security Adviser has released funds to all security agencies involved.
“We want the higher authority to be aware of our plight and come to our rescue. The joint operations include Customs, Military, Police, DSS, and Immigrations and they owe us allowance for seven months.”
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