YAShuaib

Category: Features

  • Women’s Day: Air Marshal Abubakar and the Women of War

    Women’s Day: Air Marshal Abubakar and the Women of War

    Women’s Day: Air Marshal Abubakar and the Women of War
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Neither clients of plastic surgery nor make-up, their natural beauty delights the eye in their smartly dressed military wear… Though innocent looking, pure and enticing, they remain feminine, while their line of duty is the traditional masculine career of fearless and courageous souls. They are the Nigerian Women of War in the Nigerian Airforce (NAF).

    This writeup is a tribute to mark the International Women’s Day by examining the roles our women are playing in national security.

    NAF Women of War and Engineers fixing a fighter jet
    NAF Women of War and Engineers fixing a fighter jet

    I have met some of them on the field and they were the topic of discussion at a recent interaction with the twentieth Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, when he disclosed that the trained female air combatants, known as Women of War, are engaged in active military operations, fighting Boko Haram terrorists in North-East, combating armed bandits in North-West, and other criminal elements in other parts of Nigeria.

    Since his appointment as CAS on July 13, 2015, Air Marshal Abubakar has engaged in the massive recruitment of officers, airmen and airwomen, with heavy investment in capacity building, training and retraining of personnel.

    The female warriors, like their male counterparts, are not only trained locally but some of them attended the best military academies in the world. Apart from those who have returned from training and are currently active in the frontlines, one of the warriors is currently undergoing intensive training in the United States of America to become a female fighter pilot, while another is in South Africa training to become a helicopter gunship pilot.

    NAF Well-Armed Women of War
    NAF Well-Armed Women of War

    The trained female personnel, like their male counterparts, have neutralised insurgents during airstrike missions, provided close air support, air interdiction, in-theatre liaison flights, casualty evacuation, as well as logistics re-supply of ammunition, water, food, and medicine. In a nutshell, they have provided tactical support for the ground troops.

    Some of the female air officers fly sophisticated fighter planes and control operation rooms used in gathering intelligence, carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) activities. Apart from the pilots, a number of the women of war are also experienced ammunition loadmasters, aircraft maintenance engineers, aerospace engineers, armament specialists, squad leaders, combatants, military policewomen, and air traffic controllers, among other specialisations.

    The Women of War evolved mostly from the massive recruitment and training exercises conducted in the last three years under Air Marshal Abubakar, resulting in the engagement of 7,522 young airmen/airwomen, 400 young graduate-officers, and 95 winged pilots in the Nigerian Air Force.

    NAF Women of War Preparing Arms and Ammunition for military Operation
    NAF Women of War Preparing Arms and Ammunition for a military mission

    In addition to making the NAF a gender-sensitive service that encourages its personnel to explore their potentials without inhibition in the armed forces, Air Marshal Abubakar ensured that senior officers on managerial levels are trained in other fields of relevance beyond their core fields of specialisation. For instance, when he appointed AVM Adesanya and later Air Commodore Daramola as spokespersons of the force, he ensured that the officers attended specialised and advanced practical communication programmes organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and the African Public Relations Association (APRA), among other capacity-building institutions to become members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) as required by law. Therefore, their practical PR skills, acquired through advanced training rather than academic theories, have helped the officers to reposition the service and boost its reputation to the public admiration.

    NAF Women of War Preparing an aircraft for operation
    NAF Women of War Preparing an aircraft for an operation

    To ensure the trained and recruited personnel are engaged in relevant fields, the service has recorded remarkable achievements in the acquisition of new platforms and establishment of new operational offices across the country. The NFA’s structure has been expanded through the establishment of a Special Operations Command in Bauchi, a Ground Training Command in Enugu, and the establishment of new Regiment Groups in Gembu, Taraba State; Ipetu Ijesha, Osun State; Owerri, Imo State, and Agatu, Benue State. New Units have equally been established in Plateau, Katsina, Gombe, Zamfara State, and Nasarawa States.

    It is to the credit of the CAS that NAF fleets of aircraft have recorded unprecedented growth with the purchase of 16 brand new aircrafts, the reactivation of 13 previously grounded aircrafts, the release of funds for the purchase of 12 Super Tucano aircrafts from America and five attack/utility helicopters from Italy. The NAF currently has in its arsenals Alpha Jets, Super Mushshak aircrafts, Mi-35M helicopters, gunships, Bell 412 helicopters, Tsaigunmi UAV, among others.

    Air Marshal Abubakar and the writer an interaction on military operation
    Air Marshal Abubakar and the writer and a journalist during an interaction on military operations

    Meanwhile, apart from improving the welfare of personnel through the provision of befitting accommodation and a conducive environment, the service has expanded its Post-Service Housing Programme to address the shelter needs of officers and airmen/airwomen as they prepare for retirement.

    Nigerians in host communities are also beneficiaries of the magnanimity of the Nigerian Airforce, which just completed another new 60-bed NAF Reference Hospital in the North-East and upgraded equipment at its various medical centres, while also constructing new secondary schools and adding blocks of classrooms and hostel accommodations in existing NAF schools across the country.

    It was therefore not surprising that the NAF in the last three-and-a-half years under the Air Chief Sadique Abubakar has conducted medical outreaches that treated 479,921 patients as at December 2018. The NAF’s school feeding programme for over 1,000 school children has, more so, greatly contributed to the number of pupils who have returned to school in the area.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
    www.YAShuaib.com

  • Memo to Sambo Dasuki on Alex Badeh by YAShuaib

    Memo to Sambo Dasuki on Alex Badeh by YAShuaib

    Memo to Sambo Dasuki on Alex Badeh by YAShuaib

    Dear Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd.),

    As you spend your third year in illegal detention since December 2015, I am using this memo to intimate you about the brutal assassination of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Alex Badeh by gunmen along the Keffi-Abuja Highway. He was expected to open his defence next month January 16, 2019 in the trial of alleged criminal breach of trust.

    You will recall your chance meeting with Badeh at the Federal High Court when you appeared to testify in Olisah Metuh’s case before Justice Okon Abang. You may also recall my exchange with the late Badeh, when I challenged him for not talking to the press about his achievements while in office. He retorted about how a section of the media had quoted him out of context and misrepresented the content of his valedictory speech, pertaining to his stewardship as Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, in 2015.

    You may further vividly recall his statement on using the opportunity of his defence in court to provide facts, figures and material evidence on the military acquisitions, sophisticated training of troops and the success of counter-insurgency operations, as carried out during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    We sympathized with him when he bitterly lamented that his family was being humiliated and persecuted, while his assets had been confiscated, bank accounts frozen, pilot flying license blacklisted, pension blocked, and how he was being criminalized through the deliberate malicious campaign of the current government, despite his meritorious service to the nation.

    Unfortunately, many Nigerians are not aware that, Badeh, a son of a peasant farmer, was commissioned a pilot in 1979 and had flown many Head of States, including former UN scribe, Kofi Annan, Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, after comprehensive checks on his competence and integrity by intelligence service agents.

    As Chief of Air Staff, Badeh initiated the programme on Optimising Local Engineering (OLE) to focus on developing indigenous Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and other weapon systems for his fatherland. And, his initiatives had resulted in the first locally produced drone in Nigeria under AMEBO project, known as GULMA, which allowed the Air Force to survey and carry out attacks against criminal elements and terrorists remotely, without putting the lives of pilots at risk. He also initiated and completed the NAF hangar in Yola Airport and other infrastructure, while paying keen attention to improving staff welfare. In fact, he ensured all personnel who had kids in the Air Force primary and secondary schools got free tuitions.

    As the CDS, Badeh completed the Armed Forces DNA Laboratory and constructed the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) extension complex fitted with a sophisticated joint operations room. He also established the Armed Forces Radio Broadcasting Station and Defence Space Agency (now known as the Defence Space Administration (DSA), apart from commissioning several gun boats in the Niger Delta region.

    On counter-insurgency campaigns, he was one of the arrow-heads in the formation and adequate funding of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), when our neighbours were reluctant in fighting the scourge of Boko Haram. He was also instrumental in strategies of saving the lives of our pilots and preventing the crash of fighter aircrafts in the North-East, due to inexperienced pilots engaged in guerrilla warfare.

    In fact, in collaboration with your office as NSA, Badeh devised the strategies of deploying the services of highly skilled and experienced foreign technical advisers who some refer to as ‘professional mercenaries’ to help with air operations, while Nigerian troops complete the ground operations in eliminating Boko Haram terrorists.

    Before the handover to President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2015, there was incontrovertible evidence of several towns that had been liberated from Boko Haram terrorists, including Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, and Gwoza. Also, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim, among others.

    The late CDS Badeh was billed to open his defence on January 16, 2019 before Justice Abang, but the unfortunate swiftness of untimely death could not make this a reality. We are aware that he intended to use the occasion to list the concrete achievements of the previous administration in military acquisitions, the training of staffs, and how some top classified operations were undertaken in the national and security interests.

    I am very sure the late Alex Badeh would have used the opportunity of his defence to expose the hypocrisy of the AVM Jon Ode-led Presidential Arms Panel, whose members were involved in the illegal extortion of officers under probe. It was the Department of State Security Services (DSS) that painstakingly and courageously raided the residence of a member of the same probe panel, where illegal firearms, exotic automobiles, foreign and local currencies were recovered.

    Before the Jon-ode probe panel was abruptly disbanded by the government, it only succeeded in shamelessly exposing the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to public ridicule by portraying former Air Force chiefs (Umar Dikko, Badeh, Amosu etc) as being the most corrupt on the basis of frivolous and baseless allegations. In fact, AVM Alkali Mamu, who was prematurely retired on the basis of similar baseless indictments by the panel, has been vindicated by a court, with his innocence affirmed. The composition of that probe panel only served the narrow, mean and self-serving agenda of vested interests, which sought to rubbish the integrity of military and intelligence services by their assignment.

    Not minding the fact that some appointments were not merited, President Buhari can be applauded for some of his foresight on sensitive assignments that require adequate intelligence gathering.. For instance, the appointment of Army Chief Gen. Tukuru Buratai, the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Monguno and anti-corruption boss, Ibrahim Magu, all from Borno State, can be considered as desirable in engaging the required intelligence people, in a State that is war-stricken by acts of terrorism. Even, though the terrorists are still operating in that axis despite these deliberate appointments, some searchlight should be beamed on the recent setback whereby several troops were ambushed and eliminated in that region.

    I should not end this memo without appreciating the opportunity you gave me after I was prematurely retired from public service over my article against nepotism, when Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Finance Minister. As the National Security Adviser, you appointed me to render services to this country as a crisis communication consultant to security agencies. Undoubtedly, the professional interventions have fetched our organisation, PRNigeria continental and global PR awards and recognition on crisis management despite lack of patronages from the current system. I will forever remain grateful for that opportunity.

    Meanwhile, it may interest you to note that a short while back, an industrial court ordered my reinstatement into the service and the payment of my remuneration for the last five years while I was on malicious retirement. Surprisingly, I also recently discovered that the Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who I had initially thought was against my reinstatement, was actually the one who instructed the Ministry on several occasions since last year to obey the order of the court on my reinstatement.

    I pray the larger administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would emulate Mr. Lai Mohammed in instructing your release from detention, since at least six courts of competent jurisdiction have given the orders, even though the judges have not been courageous enough to enforce their judgements.

    If President Buhari could not consider your relationship with him before you joined the Jonathan administration, he should consider the situation you met on the ground when you were appointed NSA in June 2012 and what it had become by the time you left the office in July 2015 when terrorists could not disrupt the national election.

    I also wish you Happy Birthday, the third in illegal detention. And a Happy New Year in advance.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]

  • Lawal Daura: An Encounter with Intelligence Chief- YAShuaib

    Lawal Daura: An Encounter with Intelligence Chief- YAShuaib

    Lawal Daura: An Encounter with Intelligence Chief
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    It was 24 hours after the official release of my book, “An Encounter with the Spymaster” in July 2017 that I received an invitation from a top retired Airforce officer for a meeting with the then Director General of Department of State Service (DSS), Lawal Daura.

    Before the invitation, a Presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu had publicly attacked the book in a press statement which he described as “an attempt to rewrite the history of the War on Terror Campaign.”

    Though I was not sceptical or apprehensive about the scheduled meeting that day, I nevertheless told the retired military officer that I wouldn’t be able to attend because I was on a casual dress of Jeans and T-Shirt instead of my usual traditional attire for public outings and visitations.

    The Officer countered that my dress did not matter. I, therefore joined the team comprising top retired officers from the Nigerian Airforce, Navy, Army, intelligence Services and a strategic officer. Present at the meeting were top DSS directors with the Director-General himself.

    Meanwhile, that visit to the DSS Headquarters afforded me the second opportunity of a face-face encounter with Lawal Daura. I had previously met him at Heathrow Airport, London on the night of May 14, 2017, probably after he might have met President Muhammadu Buhari who was then on Medical Vacation in Britain.

    Though one could have misgivings on some of his official roles, Daura naturally wears infectious smiles, decked with disarming contour of glowing white beards. The aura projected him as a harmless and innocent person who cannot hurt a fly. I walked up to him and surprisingly, he responded calmly and briefly to my penetrating questions about his office, especially on his refusal to appoint a spokesperson for his agency and other contentious issues. With reassurance, he gave what he called genuine reasons for the excuses and excesses.

    That visit to his office, afforded him the opportunity to inform us about major accomplishments and some misgivings about his office. Ever-smiling, Daura was eloquent, smart and intelligent in response to some of the issues we discussed.

    Daura who was sacked a few days after his 65th birthday, was born in Daura, Katsina State and started his career in the State Security Service in 1982 and rose to the rank of Director. He was once a spokesperson of the agency and Deputy Director Presidential Communication, Command and Control Centre at the Abuja. He also served as the State Director of Security Service at various times in Kano, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, Osun and Imo States.

    It’s not unlikely that some of his achievements may have been overshadowed by the many controversies trailing his tenure as the Director General of the agency. He was particularly responsible for the release of many hostages from the Boko Haram gulag. In fact, the release of UNIMAID lecturers, including a group of oil explorers and policewomen that were held captive for more than half a year could be attributed to his efforts. His agency played prominent roles in the alleged exchange of Boko Haram Commanders with many Chibok and Dapchi Girls. The agency was also directly involved in the arrest of major kidnap kingpins and top ritualists and provided intelligence to other services for such arrests nationwide.

    He was also responsible for the arrest of a member of the controversial AVM John Ode Presidential Arm Probe Panel for alleged extortion on behalf of other members and for money laundering and illegal possession of firearms. The suspect, retired Air Commodore Mohammed Umar was nevertheless illegally detained for five months by DSS before he was released after a threat by Justice Dimgba.

    There was also the glaring inter-agency rivalry among security agencies which triggered the DSS to submit two damning ‘security report’ on EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Magu to the Senate, warning lawmakers not to confirm his colleague’s appointment. Lawal Daura only reported directly to President Muhammadu Buhari and no one else.

    It is an undeniable fact that in the three years of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the DSS under Lawal Daura has succeeded in some of its statutory mandates but unfortunately, it is notorious in defying the constitution by disobeying court orders and detaining citizens arbitrarily.

    While it sounds childish the claim by political elements that the recent siege on NASS was a conspiracy between Lawal Daura and Senate President Bukola Saraki, the question on the lips of many and begging for an answer is: could the Kwara man be more influential and sophisticated than the Number One man from Katsina?

    Could the same Senate President influence the flagrant disregard of court orders by DSS in the illegal detentions of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and a leader of the Shiite movement, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky since 2015?

    Could Saraki have engineered the October 2016 dead-in-the-night invasion of homes of senior judges across the country by the DSS with the arrest of seven judges, including two of the Supreme Court who were later discharged except one that died during the trial?

    Who could have also influenced the violation of a court order and forcible ejection of Former DG DSS, Kayode Are from an Ikoyi property in December 2015?

    Have we forgotten in a hurry how in November 2017, the EFCC secured an order to arrest Ita Ekpeyong, a former DG DSS and this action was scuttled due to the activities of DSS under Lawal Daura and the roles he played in the saga involving Ayo Oke, the erstwhile DG of NIA?

    Could another opposition element to President Buhari also used DSS to clampdown and arrest several lawmakers of Ekiti State House of Assembly in March 2016 and the invasion of the National Assembly and stealing of the Mace of the Senate of the Federal Republic by thugs suspected to have been procured by an APC Senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, from Delta State in April 2018?

    On whose directive was the unconstitutional attempt to remove Governor Samuel Ortom in Benue State in July 2018 when DSS and the police provided security for eight lawmakers to take over the House of Assembly of 30 members? What about the incident in 2015 when DSS operatives raided the Government House Uyo, Akwa Ibom State purportedly in search of arms, ammunition and a huge stash of United States dollars, and which till date, no charges have been filed three years after? Whose footprints were those?

    Were journalists spared the fangs of the white-bearded man? Was it the opposition that ordered Daura’s DSS to detain Jones Abiri, a journalist from Bayelsa State from July 2016 to July 2018 without being charged to court? Were the ‘wailers’ also responsible for the detention of Tony Ezimakor, a journalist with Daily Independent who was threatened to disclose his sources of information?

    By the way, who could have influenced the naked display of nepotism where 51 candidates from Katsina were recruited into DSS as against 44 successful candidates from the entire South-East of five states in 2016?

    Could Lawal Daura have attained and achieved some of the feats, the pros and cons without the knowledge of the Commander-in-Chief since he only took orders from one person? Or should we agree with the political permutations that his positive deeds are attributed to President Buhari while his negative actions were influenced by the ‘Sarakis’ of this world and other opposition elements?

    Your Guess is as good as mine.

    Yushau Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]

  • Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders- YAShuaib

    Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders- YAShuaib

    Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders
    Dear Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    I write this in respect to your Ministry’s apparent disobedience to a straightforward court order for my reinstatement and payment of remuneration after the illegal letter of retirement I received in 2013.

    As you may be aware, Justice David Isele of the National Industrial Court, NIC, had on November 22, 2017, ruled and ordered the immediate reinstatement and the payment after I was forcefully retired over an opinion article I wrote on former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in March 2013.

    The court had declared that the letter retiring me from service has no force of law and is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever being in flagrant violation of the civil service rules.

    Meanwhile, I am equally too aware of the fact that the Federal Ministry of Information which you supervise as the Minister had in March this year reported to have rejected the judgement. In its appeal, the Ministry urged the Court to set aside the judgement of NIC and to dismiss the suit. Joined as a defendant is the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) which had signified its readiness to obey the order and recall me back into the service.

    While your Ministry has neither complied with the court order nor responded to the series of letters from my lawyers over the legal issues, I least expect that as the Minister of Information, a lawyer by qualification and a former spokesperson of the then opposition party who was publicly defending my right to freedom of expression would now sit on a fair judgement on the same issue since last year.

    You may recall that when you were the spokesperson of the then opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), you issued an official statement in the noon of Sunday, May 5, 2013 extoling my courage for the constructive criticisms in my writings as you berated the administration of Goodluck Jonathan for harassing and penalizing me over the same issue.

    In your statement where you also condemned Jonathan’s regime for attacking Rotimi Amaechi and Oby Ezekwesili, you wrote thus: “The fate that befell NEMA spokesman Yushau Shuaib for daring to criticize the lopsided appointments in parastatals under the Ministry of Finance, are glaring actions of an administration (Goodluck Jonathan) that is bent on stifling Freedom of Expression.

    “These anti-democratic measures will worsen as the 2015 elections approach. Therefore, all lovers of democracy must join us in speaking out against the Jonathan Administration’s descent into despotism.

    “This is the only way to prevent a President’s desperation for power from torpedoing our country’s democracy. After all, a critical benchmark of a democratic society is the existence of a vibrant, free and independent media that will give the citizenry a platform to freely and vigorously debate current issues”.

    Though I am quite surprised that you now keep mum after a judgement that favoured your advocacy in the past. I refused to believe that as the then spokesperson of the opposition party you were merely pretending or lying when you were defending my right to freedom of expression in 2013. I now wonder if you are aware, as the Minister, of the notice of appeal from your Ministry rejecting the entire judgement of a competent court for my reinstatement and compensations.

    Like I had stated previously, I don’t believe you could be lying with your public support for the freedom of expression in 2013 by tolerating the unfathomable decision of your Ministry on the same issue in 2018.

    Honourable Minister sir, I urge you to be wary of fraudulent antics of petty civil servants who could mislead you. It may interest you to note that in a deliberate effort to nail me at all cost after my article on Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in 2013, the directors in the Ministry of Information ignored my various initiatives and efforts in promoting the image of the government while in the service. I had issued countless press releases and articles as well as received awards and commendations even from government agencies in 20 years’ career in the service.

    The directors met and insisted on my dismissal over the same article ignoring my written defence. They even made a mockery of the Automatic Employment the government offered me as a recipient of Presidential National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award for meritorious service in 1994.

    In page 6 of the minutes of their meeting of June 11, 2013, the Directors of the Ministry indicated their disdain for merit and demonstrated their jealousy when they stated that “the officer (Yushau Shuaib) came into the service by accident and it was advisable that he should go the same way.”

    It was after I was forcefully retired that I sued the government for the unlawful retirement over the opinion article. In my statement of defence before the Court, I stated that I was not given fair hearing by the ministry and that the Public Service Rule 030421 gave me the right to write an article. The section states that “Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to prevent an officer from publishing in his own name, by writing, speech or broadcast matters relating to a subject of general interest which does not contain a critic of any officer.”

    I also cited Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution which states that “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

    Since you, as the Minister of Information, have refused to respond to the court judgement and series of letters from my solicitors since last year, I have no other alternative than to instruct my lawyer to take an immediate and appropriate legal action against you.
    Yushau Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com, Wuye District, Abuja

  • Abuse of Office: Memo to VP Yemi Osinbajo – YAShuaib

    Abuse of Office: Memo to VP Yemi Osinbajo – YAShuaib

    Abuse of Office: Memo to VP Yemi Osinbajo
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Your Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,
    You have, no doubt, a reputation to protect against agencies under your supervisions that are engaged in unethical practices and gross misconduct including corruption, nepotism and victimizations of civil servants while dropping your name in their misdemeanour.

    As a respected Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), a distinguished professor in law, you are admired for your humility, simplicity, charisma and accomplishments in life.

    I write this memo to draw your attention as the Chairman Governing Board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) and that Governing Council of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), by virtue of your office, as the Vice President of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Let’s me first draw your attention to a recent worrisome development when a Niger Delta lady, Bolouere Opukiri was sacked from Presidential Amnesty Office for allegedly criticizing you. It was claimed that she had described you ‘a novice’ in the social media for travelling out of the country at a time President Muhammadu Buhari was receiving medical treatment in London and tension was flaring between the executive and the legislature when you were Acting President. The dismissal of South-South lady was triggered after a subtle query was issued by one of your aides to her boss (Link: https://goo.gl/UkX3kV).

    Your Excellency, as you are aware, a widow from North-Eastern Nigeria and a chartered Accountant of repute, Mrs. Maryam Danna Mohammed was also wrongfully sacked as the General Manager Audit of NDPHC after she exposed some irregularities in the agency (Link: https://goo.gl/H1UKht).

    Described as an anti-corruption crusader and whistle-blower, Danna’s case was reviewed by the Attorney General of Federation, Abubakar Malami who recommended her reinstatement (Link: https://goo.gl/oPWFso). The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria also passed a resolution for her immediate reinstatement after a public hearing (Link: https://goo.gl/ZWyAed). Surprisingly, neither the legal advice from the number one Law Officer of the Federation, nor the resolution of the Federal Legislators were honored or obeyed as your Office that supervises NDPHC is yet to reinstate the innocent Northern woman.

    Your Excellency sir, more disturbing are the scandalous activities taking place in NEMA, another agency under your supervision. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Disaster Management spent months at public hearing in unravelling some sickening corrupt practices under the current Director General of NEMA, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja (Link: https://goo.gl/yriC5p).

    Some of the allegations against the NEMA boss included but not limited to the following: Payment of N400 million Demurrage for N414mn Chinese Donated Rice; diversion of over N15 billion fund approved for food intervention in North East, Flood Intervention in 16 States and relief for Libya returnees (Link: https://goo.gl/d5wwC7) .

    In less than a year of his tenure Maihaja has grounded major operational tools of NEMA including Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU), Emergency Response Vehicles, Air Ambulance and the Helicopters.

    It may interest Your Excellency, to note that when Goodluck Jonathan and Namadi Sambo were Vice Presidents and Chairmen of NEMA’s Councils at different times, their names were never mischievously dropped for ulterior motives because the agency’s bosses then AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida (Rtd) and Mohammed Sani-Sidi took responsibilities for daily activities and media enquiries. Those periods, NEMA organised capacity building programmes for emergency workers; trained volunteers, attended swiftly to victims of disasters, provided timely relief materials to distressed people; undertook regular assessments of disaster scenes, acquired and utilized modern tools for emergency response including Mobile ambulances and Multipurpose Emergence Response Vans among others. The morale and enthusiasm of staff were never dampened but high with motivational incentives.

    Unfortunately, in less than one year of the appointment of the current NEMA’s boss, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja none of the recent past glories is functioning optimally. Your Excellency sir, your swift intervention last year curtailed the indefinite strike when you compelled Maihaja to negotiate with NEMA workers at a meeting held with officials of the Ministry of Labour. Most of the agreements reached at the meeting are yet to be implemented. For the first time in the history of NEMA, the staffs of the emergency agency are currently on a nationwide strike as you read this (Link: https://goo.gl/XiuymP).

    Like the case of Maryam Danna of NDPHC, when some Account Officers raised eyebrow on the unethical practices in NEMA, rather than become sober and change his attitudes, Maihaja recommended and suspended top management officers of the agency and redeployed Account Staffs to other Departments and Zones. In fact, it is a case of a hunter being hunted as the same NEMA boss relentlessly sent names of directors and other officers of NEMA to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and prosecution on baseless allegations (Link: https://goo.gl/Kv1Ex6).

    Concerned about the arbitrary and illegal suspension of innocent and competent NEMA officers who have spent over 10 years in the service, the House Committee on Emergency Management of the National Assembly passed a resolution for their immediate reinstatement. Your Excellency, Mr Vice President, the suspended NEMA directors and officers are yet to be recalled and reinstated (Link: https://goo.gl/3nNF2V).

    Your Excellency Sir, the panful irony in these sad developments, especially for some of us that could read between the line is that your name and office is constantly being mentioned in this unfathomable arbitrariness and dirty politics. The unfair dismissal of Bolouere Opukiri Boro from Presidential Amnesty office, the wrongful termination of the appointment of Mrs Maryam Danna from NDPHC and the unlawful suspension of NEMA directors from office among others were all linked to your exalted office which can rubbish your reputation as a legal luminary who knows the law of due process.

    Your Excellency, may I strongly suggest to you, as a man of God and lawyer, to assign an independent panel to review and scrutinize some of those cases to realise terrible mistakes made in the name of your office. If these mistakes are not corrected, I am sorry to say that your name may go out in history as the Vice President who chairs boards of agencies that victimise and destroy the career of innocent and competent public officers through illegal and arbitrary means by his political appointees in deliberate effort to cover up their mess.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]
    Abuja

  • Sowore of Sahara Reporters for President? YAShuaib

    Sowore of Sahara Reporters for President? YAShuaib

    Sowore of SaharaReporter for President?
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    I received a strange call one night from a foreign telephone number requesting a confirmation over distributions of relief materials at a residence of a top politician. The caller said he had pictures to buttress the incident.

    As the spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), I confirmed the story but insisted that the beneficiaries of the relief items were internally displaced persons (IDPs) and poor Nigerians at a residence of a community leader.

    Since the story could be wrongly interpreted over the genuine humanitarian efforts, I appealed to the caller to consider the plight of the beneficiaries rather than the person whose facility was used for the distribution. He magnanimously dropped the story.

    The caller was the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore who now wants to throw his hat into the ring of presidency come 2019.

    During my dilemma with Dr, Ngozi Onkonjo-Iweala, before I was forced out of the public service in 2013, Sowore was out in full force in my defence through regular coverage of my plights and strong editorials in SaharaReporters. When I crossed over to the other side as the Media Consultant to Nigeria’s security apparatuses, we balanced our relationship, and in fact, Sowore has been one of the great pillars of support in managing security reports.

    It was during my engagement with the security system that I discovered that Sowore has credible informants from virtually every sensitive unit of government. The system as at that time tolerated some of his excesses and never threatened his businesses. Most influential media personalities including reporters were closely monitored for their safety and protection. Meanwhile, on few occasions, the system interfered ‘intelligently’ with his platforms to prove its technical capability. In fact, his media outfit and few others were used as guinea-pigs to test-run latest acquired intelligence facilities against stubborn online and social media. Surprisingly, Sowore would never make noise about those secret interferences, even though I personally intervened when his platforms, in few instances were compromised.

    The system was aware that Sowore has large volumes of sensitive and sometimes classified information on virtually every who-is-who in security and political circles. He has been very considerate in managing the information in his disposal especially on privacy and national security.

    While he doesn’t spare top political and security top shots for wrongdoings, he is always careful in not attacking the institutions and innocent operators within the structures.

    I could mention several instances where Sowore had protected the reputation of Nigeria’s security from public ridicule and embarrassment. His occasional private warnings and technical advice on issues towards safeguarding national security were heeded while his medium too deliberately self-censored information leakages that could be injurious to Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

    The renowned Defence Spokesperson, General Chris Olukolade (Rtd), could testify to some of the amazing support from Sahara Reporters that he once told me “This Sowore of Sahara Reporters is an interesting enigma in every sense.”

    Because I was involved, he has turned down invitations and snubbed the receptions from many top public functionaries because of his radical disposition. He neither visited public offices nor sought help from public officers at least as at May 2015. Surprisingly, he never made noise about the calibre of personalities that he rejected their hands of fellowship. He is also choosy and reluctant to accept legitimate business patronages and advert placements from politicians, public officers and suspicious businessmen.

    My relationship with him was never rosy. We have the occasional cat-and-mouse game since I am neither an activist nor a full-term journalist that could damn the consequence of contentious media reports. I am a public relations person that believe some information are not publishable for stability, especially on privacy and national security. PR as a profession, unlike citizen journalism, has ethical standards and regulations. Our mutual friends, especially Musikilu Mojeed of Premium Times, do intervene occasionally when we (this writer and Sowore) engaged in hot exchanges of words privately on burning issues.

    I am aware that he has damning dossiers on many top public officers, he has been conscious of releasing information that could compromise national security. In fact, till date, some system officials seek his intervention on self-censorship and other strategic support.

    In my interaction with Sowore, one could see his sincerity and passion for a better Nigeria where there will be economic stability, political progress and social harmony where the rich and the powerful cannot intimidate and harass the poor and the weak. He means what he says even though he is too radical and naughty in his views.

    Sahara Reporters online media does not attack the poor and the weak. The medium merely exposes the powerful and the rich for their dirty antics and deals. It uses its influence to hold public officers accountable through investigative reports and editorial contents. His true friends remain the like minds in activism, the oppressed masses and the voiceless.

    On a personal note, I am highly indebted to Sowore of Sahara Reporters for being part of the few individuals who stood by us when it really mattered and ensured he gave us a platform free of charge for PR stuffs. I will definitely donate to his campaign funding since he never accepted a kobo for the services he has so far rendered to us.

    Meanwhile, I won’t know if I can vote for a very blunt and an extremely radical activist as Nigeria’s President at this very critical time even though Sowore has demonstrated fine PR skills in his exchange of words with Communication Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu recently.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]

  • Is he the Same TY Danjuma of the North? – YAShuaib

    Is he the Same TY Danjuma of the North? – YAShuaib

    Is he the Same TY Danjuma of the North?
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Is it true that General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, popularly known as TY from the North has dropped a bombshell that Nigerian military and police are complicit in killings across Nigeria, especially in the North and he therefore asked citizens to defend themselves or they would all die?

    Was he not the person former Military President Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) declared as the embodiment of the virtues of the Sardauna of Sokoto when he said: “Over 50 years after the demise of Sir Ahmadu Bello; TY Danjuma has virtually picked up the (gauntlet?) from where the Sardauna had left it?”

    Was he not the person described by his primary school teacher Dr Adamu Fika, that: “Even at tender age in school, Danjuma had demonstrated leadership qualities of seriousness, sense of responsibility, humility and his abiding respect for elders?”

    Was he not Captain Yakubu Danjuma, a young officer in the Nigerian Army who took part in the Counter-Coup of 1966 by taking daring and decisive actions against the killers of Northern Political leaders including Sir Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and other military officers (mostly Hausa/Fulani Muslims) after the aborted coup?

    Was he not the lieutenant colonel during the civil war, who led his troop to capture Enugu and free Jaja Nwachukwu from Biafra detention? Was he not the gallant commander which President Buhari proudly admitted fighting under him (Danjuma) in the 1st and 3rd Divisions by hailing his courageous leadership qualities during the Civil War for a united Nigeria?

    Could he be the same Brigadier TY Danjuma, the most influential member of the Murtala/Obasanjo regime who played prominent role in aborting Dimka coup, and lobbied the selection of a reluctant Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo to take over after the death of Murtala? Was he not the officer that single-handedly nominated the automatic promotion of Lt. Col Shehu Yar’Adua to the rank of Brigadier for appointment as the second in command to the Head of State?

    Was it not Air Vice Marshal John Yisa Doko, the only lone voice against the Danjuma’s imposition of an unwilling candidate (Obasanjo) on the country? Didn’t President Buhari, in December 2017, testified that at the time when Danjuma could have been head of state following the assassination of General Murtala in 1976, he sacrificed for the country?

    By arranging and engineering the promotion of Lt. Col. Shehu Musa Yar’adua to the rank of brigadier, above himself, what was Danjuma’s reason for the selflessness?

    Was he not the same General Danjuma, after retirement, that President IBB, invited him to apply for an oil licence, only for General Sani Abacha to award him the lucrative oil blocks?

    Was he the same Danjuma that is highly revered by Northern leaders who always graciously attend occasions in his honour? Why for instance did General IBB, Sultan Saad Abubakar of Sokoto, Vice President Namadi Sambo, House of Rep Speaker Tambuwal, Prof. Jerry Gana among other dignitaries attend a special award ceremony in his honour in Zaria in 2013?

    By the way, was it not the same Danjuma who was bestowed with the top chieftaincy titles by Northern traditional rulers including his turbaning by Emir of Zaria Alhaji Shehu Idris as Jarmai Zazzau on June 22, 2013 and also his turbanning by the Gora of Donga, Dr Danjuma Stephen Banyunga, as the Gam Gbaro Donga on November 6, 2013 among other such great titles?

    Was he not one of the very few retired military officers to be well recognised and honoured by universities in Northern Nigeria when he was awarded LLD honoris causa by Bayero University Kano on March 25, 2011 and D.Sc. honoris causa by Ahmadu Bello University on March 2, 2013 for his generosity and commitments to nation building?

    I still wonder if he is not the same Danjuma, one of the very few largest individual donors to education and humanitarian causes in Northern Nigeria? Was he not the same donor of N2.3billion at ABU fund-raising for expansion projects and donor of a massive Faculty of Computer Engineering building in BUK before donating $10 million in July 21, 2014 for the rehabilitation of North-East states ravaged by Boko Haram in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, excluding his home-state Taraba?

    Was it not because of his passion and philanthropy in addressing the plight of downtrodden and displaced people that President Buhari appointed Danjuma to head the government’s Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI)?

    Was he not the founder of TY Danjuma Foundation, a body committed to enhancing the quality of life of Nigerians by supporting initiatives that improve access to health and educational opportunities?

    By the way, when PRNigeria on March 1, 2018 leaked a report that TY held over three hours secret meeting with former President Babangida in Minna on general insecurity in the country, was Danjuma kind enough to brief the Commander-in-Chief (Buhari) on the security concerns since they share mutual respect and understanding?

    Was he not Danjuma during his JarmaiZazzau Coronation few years ago warned Northern leaders thus: “This is the time for elders to be circumspect and temperate in their utterances; it is not in our character as northerners to talk too much. We need to think more, pray more, plan more, work harder, relate better, and talk less. Battles are better fought and won through wisdom and strategy than through inflammable pronouncements and political tantrums?”

    Then if these are the same TY Danjuma that issued the recent controversial statement, especially on the crises in the North, I can say that the North as a region and Northerners as a people have lost their souls to dirty politics of religiosity and ethnicity when other regions have forged ahead.

    It is only in the North that a Muslim will kill a Muslim unjustly and justifies the action on the Shia-Sunni divide; while a Christian will attack another Christian over dichotomy on mode of worship of different denominations. It is also a fact that some are referred to as Core Northerners while others are Minority Northerners as if some are slaves to serve the masters.

    How can Danjuma who was described by President Buhari as soldiers’ soldier, who sacrificed for Nigeria through his fearlessness, philanthropic gesture and effort in promoting peace in the society, now join sectional leaders in what some commentators describe as ‘toxic hate speech?’

    We must rethink on how to put not only the troubled North but Nigeria on the path of political progress and economic development. The dirty political bickering and unhealthy rivalries by those who lack knowledge of history can only lead us to political woes. We should therefore be tolerant and work towards national unity and cohesion.

    Yushau A. Shuaib,
    Publisher, PRNigeria and Author of “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
    www.YAShuaib.com

  • Still on Murderous Fulani Kidnappers- By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Still on Murderous Fulani Kidnappers- By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Still on Murderous Fulani Kidnappers
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    “Terrorists Now Disguise as Fulani Herdsmen” – President Goodluck Jonathan June 2014

    The above quote was the news headline after a speech by former President Goodluck Jonathan at an international conference on Fulani Herdsmen in Kaduna in June 2014 before they now become major kidnap kingpins.

    I must admit from the onset that I would deliberately avoid discussing other bewildering developments, especially in Northern Nigeria. I won’t delve into the appointment of a retired operative of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar from Katsina who is now the Director General of the foreign secret service when a retired Director Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura also from Katsina was also appointed and currently the boss of the internal intelligence agency.

    Why should I even talk of odd appointments of ghost political office holders when sometimes ago, a widow and a chartered accountant from Borno State, Mrs Maryam Danna Mohammed was unlawfully and arbitrarily removed from her position as General Manager Audit of NDPHC without any justification. The media, including Foreign Hausa Service radio stations which we learnt President Muhammadu Buhari listen to, expressed their misgivings over the plight of the innocent woman who was victimised for being a whistle-blower in the organisation. Not even a memo from Justice Minister Abubakar Malami recommending her reinstatement and campaigns by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), were enough to assuage the high and mighty on all the entreaties on the plight of the incorruptible woman.

    I will also deliberately avoid discussing the mass burial we have witnessed in Northern Nigeria, when the country is not in a state of war. From the Massacres in Zaria of Shiite members to families of Farmers in Benue, Families of Herdsmen in Taraba and Plateau genocide among others.

    It is, therefore wrong for anyone to claim that some of the incidents are motivated by religion, ethnicity, tribalism and elitism when we are living witnesses to the fact that Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky of Islamic Movement of Nigeria and Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser are both Muslims and Northerners, who have been in detention for more than two years against all conventional laws and court orders.

    Back to the issue of Fulani Kidnappers. In the last one year, at least, the Police Spokesperson, Moshood JImoh has pushed out several press releases on the arrest of “vicious, murderous, deadly, dangerous kidnappers” where he provided the names and pictures of the suspects. The spokesperson is magnanimous in allowing journalists to interrogate the suspected kidnappers. Apart from the list mostly bearing Northern names, I won’t say Islamic, they are mostly Fulani men from their confession and accents.

    The arrested Fulani criminals in their chilling and graphic confessions admitted to raping, killing and even drinking the blood of some of their victims, sometimes after collecting the ransoms.

    My concerns as a Northern Muslim is how come Fulani people have now taken over the job of kidnapping which prior to the arrival of President Buhari’s administration was common with militants in the Niger Delta and occasionally armed robbers in the South-East and South-West? What influenced the Fulanis to take into this kidnapping profession? What happened to their business of husbandry/pastoral? What motivates them into killing some of their victims after collecting ransom? Where did they acquire the intimidating skill of handling sophisticated weapons? How do they get the supply of the weapons? What intoxicates them into raping their victims including pregnant women? How can all these be addressed by the people and the government?

    The answers to some of the questions above can be found at the event addressed by President Goodluck Jonathan in Kaduna in June 2014. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Sambo Dasuki (Dasukigate?), funded and organized the International Conference on Security and Development Challenges of Pastoralism in West and Central Africa, with the theme ‘The Role of Pastoralists in Preventing Insurgency and Conflicts for Sustainable Development.’ The conference which was attended by Fulani herdsmen and policymakers from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, identified the key challenges facing herdsmen and other stakeholders, and their consequences on national security. It also encouraged synergy among stakeholders to tackle the menace of terrorism, insurgency, cattle rustling, communal clashes and other threats to national security.

    As the Special Guest of Honour at the Conference, President Jonathan said terrorists and criminal elements masquerade as Fulani herdsmen in order to inflict maximum damage on the peace, stability and security of the country. Represented by his deputy Namadi Sambo, Jonathan argued that insurgents were hiding under the umbrella of herdsmen to exploit the conflict between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria to propagate their activities.

    Also speaking at the event, Sambo Dasuki as the NSA urged government at all levels, traditional rulers, mass media and other relevant institutions to work together in finding solutions to violence saying, “peaceful coexistence requires compromises.”

    In his remarks, the then Speaker of the House of Representative Aminu Tambuwal commended ONSA for organising the conference and urged stakeholders to collectively find a solution to the crises which if not properly handled, could degenerate into very serious security situations in the country.

    The then Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said Fulani herdsmen were facing a lot of pressure with the increase in population and desertification, adding that the increase in criminality had made livestock production a risky business. He called for regional solutions to the menace of rustling because most of the cattle raiders have the affinity with others in neighbouring countries that often ignore international boundaries.

    A leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ahmadu Suleiman said the frequency of livestock theft was increasing. He claimed that thieves attack herders with weapons and often inflict heavy casualties on herders’ camps.

    Recommendations from the conference, which was well attended by traditional rulers, service chiefs, political leaders and the diplomatic community, were forwarded to federal and state governments for action. One of the major recommendations was on the need for security agencies to be proactive in recognizing and addressing security challenges involving Fulani herdsmen and farmers to avoid the manipulation and hijacking of the situation by violent actors which could further exacerbate and worsen the conflicts. The implementation of that report could go a long way in addressing some of the challenges Nigeria faces now.

    Yushau A. Shuaib, Author of An Encounter with the Spymaster
    [email protected]

    Home

  • Two Years of Unlawful Detention: A Memo to Sambo Dasuki

    Two Years of Unlawful Detention: A Memo to Sambo Dasuki

    Two Years of Unlawful Detention: A Memo to Sambo Dasuki

    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    Dear Sambo Dasuki,

    It’s exactly two years ago, in the morning of December 1, 2015, when we chatted on the phone over the security operatives that had invaded your Asokoro residence and later whisked you away as the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA). I was then in Maiduguri on an assignment.

    Since that day, you have remained in detention even after being granted bails by at least four separate High Court Judges. They are, Justice Adetokunbo Ademola and Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court, as well as Justice Hussein Baba- Yusuf and Justice Peter Affen of the FCT High Courts. They had considered the merit of your applications and granted you the bails. The ECOWAS Court of Justice too had ordered for your immediate release with compensation of N15 million for the unlawful and illegal detentions without legal warrant or court orders.

    From all the court proceedings so far, none of the allegations against you is treasonable, while the allegations of misappropriation of funds can only be proven in the court on whether the expenditures went through the due process of official authorisations. The charge of illegal possession of firearms, by the discovery of weapons in your residence, less than 24 hours after you left office and at a time you had military and security bodyguards, is, to say the least, laughable, and can only be interpreted as witch-hunting.

    While you have never stated your side of the stories in court or anywhere else since your arrest and detention two years ago, there have been so many accusations and complete falsehood through media trials. Some baseless documents were leaked without attaching originating memos and approving authorities among others. It is pathetically appalling that your image has been tarnished through sponsored and misguided media trials. It is unfortunate that many Nigerian are not aware of your antecedents when you had proven yourself as a man of integrity during your tenure as ADC to President Ibrahim Babangida as well as Managing Director Nigeria Security, Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC). In both offices, you left honourably and on principles to protect your reputation.

    While your traducers would rather taint your image by making references to the alleged misappropriation of funds during your tenure as NSA, they tirelessly worked to suppress the apparent success stories of the war-against-terrorism campaign during your tenure. They don’t want Nigerians to know that during your tenure as NSA to President Goodluck Jonathan, the brave Nigerian troops, successfully liberated and recovered over two dozens big towns from Boko Haram. Those towns included; Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim among others.

    Though some may be forgetful to realise that during your tenure as NSA, Nigeria spearheaded the formation of Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) where you sought the cooperation of reluctant neighbouring countries to join in the fight against terrorism. The taskforce has been sustained just as other initiatives and legacies you introduced and left behind in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

    While I won’t like to talk about your past relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, especially on 1983 Coup and others which I published in previous articles and my recent book “An Encounter with the Spymaster,” the toxic speculation and misleading information that you arrested Buhari in 1985 remain unabated. Even while you have denied the allegation, with principal actors including, retired Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu publicly admitting their involvement, the rumour is sustained for ulterior motives.

    I cannot end this short memo without expressing my most profound appreciation for rescuing me from humiliation after I was unjustly retired by the government you served when the then Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had reported me to the Presidency for punishment over my harmless opinion article in 2013.

    Not only did you attempt to bring me back into the public service which I politely rejected, you nevertheless accepted my condition to serve as a Consultant on Crisis Management to the same government.

    Though we recruited a large number of young Nigerian graduates in ensuring the success of the campaigns, presently the workforce has reduced drastically due to lack of patronages from the system. We have nevertheless continued to sustain the services on pro bono basis, especially for the military, security, intelligence and response agencies.

    Meanwhile, the good news today is that Justice David Isele of National Industrial Court has ordered my reinstatement into the public service and payment of all my salaries, allowances with interest in prevailing bank rate within 30 days. I am awaiting the Federal Government’s obedience to that court order.

    While I still nurse the fear that you may spend another year in the unlawful detention as New Year 2018 is around the corner, I must commend your courage and doggedness during our recent chat in the court. You have said for the umpteenth time that you have no ill-feelings against your ‘good friends’ who are currently on the other side and other ‘people’ who cannot do anything in your case. You said: “In every Challenge, every temptation and every situation one finds himself, there are lessons to be learnt and to be thankful to Almighty Allah.”

    May your days in court offer you with the opportunity you have craved for, to clear your name from malicious allegations and to enable you to provide concrete evidence of your stewardship as the National Security Adviser who ensured efficient inter-agency collaboration for national stability and national security.

    As you remain in detention in the last two years against all legal procedures, even when you lost your father, Sultan Dasuki, I pray you stay fortified believing that God’s time is the best.
    Yours Sincerely,

    Yushau Shuaib
    Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
    [email protected]

  • Between Jong-Un of Korea and Bin-Salman of Arabia- YAShuaib

    Between Jong-Un of Korea and Bin-Salman of Arabia- YAShuaib

    Between Jong-un of Korea and Bin-Salman of Arabia
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    In quick contrast to their respective jurisdictions, they are maverick and young with enormous political powers to determine the fate of their nations and their neighbours. Kim Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of North -Korea and Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), the Defence Minister and Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia are below the age of 40 with hereditary powers from their fathers who influenced their current positions as world most powerful young leaders.

    While Jong-Un took over the reign of the leadership of North-Korea after the death of his father, Mohammed Bin Salman, popularly known as MBS was appointed Defence Minister and Crown Prince by his Father King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

    The two young leaders are not pursuing known political ideology or religious beliefs in their campaigns to preserve their powers. They nevertheless have various things in common.

    Since he took over leadership of North-Korea after the demise of his father, Jong-Un has not only threatened to attack his immediate neighbours, especially South-Korea, his regime test-fired Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching western parts of the US and also fired missiles over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The provocative actions led to a surge in tensions with the Donald Trump-led administration and an intensified UN sanctions regime.

    On the other hand, Crown Prince Salman has escalated the age-long sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shi’ite by showing disdain for Iran and its influence in the region. Salman is alleged to have masterminded Saudi Arabia’s escalation of Yemeni War against the Houthi rebel group, viewed in Riyadh as a proxy for Iran. The war has claimed more than 13,500 lives. He also led a coalition of Gulf monarchies in cutting off economic and diplomatic relations with Qatar, another Arab country on an allegation that Doha was supporting “extremism” in the region. Qatar has vehemently denied the allegations.

    While Jong-Un is a hardened critic of American leaders and their foreign policies, Prince MBS is not only a darling of Americans but coordinated the hosting of American leaders in the Islamic holy country.

    In one of the harshest criticisms of American leaders, Jong Un described Donald Trump as a ‘dotard’ which in the Korean word translates for “old lunatic or fool,” when he said, “The reckless remarks by a dotard like Trump can never frighten us or put a stop to our advance.”

    In an immediate response to the verbal attack on his person, President Trump in a sarcastic putdown through his twitter described the North-Korean leader as “short and fat.” He said: “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’”

    Meanwhile, apart from being hosted by Saudi Kingdom after his inauguration as American President, Donald Trump was the first and probably the only world leader to have publicly hailed the Bin Salman’s arrest and detention of top Saudi royal princes, cabinet ministers, some of the kingdom’s most powerful and wealthiest businessmen including Al-Waleed bin Talal who are currently inmates of Riyadh Ritz Carlton luxurious Hotel. In praising the crackdown, President Trump tweeted thus: “I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing. Some of those they are harshly treating have been ‘milking’ their country for years.”

    While Jong-Un’s regime has China as its main supporters and backers, strangely enough, the current Saudi Leadership are looking beyond the United States of America as its main allies by looking towards the Jewish State of Israel for security and intelligence sharing.

    China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and arguably has the most leverage on Kim Jong-un’s regime. Apart from supporting Jong-un, China has consistently opposed harsh international sanctions on North Korea to avoid regime collapse that could trigger a massive influx of refugee from Pyongyang.

    Recent reports indicate that Saudi Arabia and Israel are de facto allies in the struggle against Iran’s rising influence in the region. There was a report by the Israel Broadcasting Corporation claiming that a member of the Saudi royal family visited Israel during a secret trip, despite his country’s refusal to recognize the Jewish state. Also in an interview with UK-based Saudi newspaper Elaph, the Israel’s Chief of Staff, General Gadi Eisenkot, said that Israel was ready to exchange intelligence with the Saudis in order to confront Iran. He said: “There are shared interests and as far as the Iranian axis is concerned we are in full accord with the Saudis.”

    The two young leaders deploy exceptionally aggressive approaches in dealing with perceived oppositions within and outside their respective territories. Kim Jong Un is more brutal in his high handedness. In December 2013, he ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-Thaek over an allegation of treachery. He is also widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-Nam in Malaysia in February 2017.

    Though Bin Salman has never been associated with ordering an execution or assassination of opposition elements. Meanwhile, a day after the purge in Saudia Arabia, a helicopter crashed mysteriously in the Kingdom killing a high-ranking prince Mansour bin Murquin, the deputy governor of Asir province and seven other people. Prince Mansour is the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former director-general of the Saudi Intelligence Agency and a one-time crown prince of the kingdom who was replaced by Bin Salman.

    While there are common grounds in making comparisons between Jong-Un of Korea and Bin Salman of Arabia from their styles of governance, their audacity in taking unpopular, fearless and radical decisions have created palpable tensions and anxiety in their respective sub-regions.

    While there have been existing fears in the Korean Axis for over a decade due to the occasional eccentric demeanours of North-Korean Leaders, the Arabian axis seems to be in a more perplexing anxiety with recent actions of Saudi leadership.

    With the two young leaders display their excessive power by suppressing internal dissents and provocatively confronting external pressures, the international community must watch out and caution them from plunging their volatile regions and by extension the world into needless conflicts.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]
    Abuja

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