Nigerian Eye

I will defeat Buhari hands down in the 2019 presidential election - Atiku boasts

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has boasted that he will defeat President Muhammadu Buhari hands down in the 2019 presidential election because the president is already politically weak. 
 
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He said defeating Buhari will be a cakewalk for him if the president runs against him. 
 
Atiku said Buhari has become politically weak after squandering the goodwill Nigerians accorded him during the 2015 elections. 
 
“I will definitely beat him this time. He has wasted a lot of his massive goodwill,” Atiku boasted. 
 
The former vice-president was interviewed by Dele Momodu for his column which was published Saturday in The Boss Newspaper he publishes. 
 
He said many associates of Buhari are furious, but they are silent about their disapproval of the president and are waiting for the right time to strike back. 
 
“A lot of people are disgruntled but keeping quiet and lying low,” Atiku said. “Our youths are suffering terribly and now they are being sold into slavery.” 
 
“Everyone knows my track record of inviting and attracting a good team and giving them the opportunity to work professionally. Nigerians are tired of leaders who cannot think big and work big,” he added. 
 
Atiku said he would be ready from day one should Nigerians elect him president in 2019. 
 
Atiku last week Friday dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress, citing alleged failure by the Buhari administration to improve the quality of life in the country and neglect of the youth in federal cabinet appointment. 
 
The national spokesperson for the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi, countered Atiku’s assertion, saying Buhari would handily beat the former president should he stand for re-election. 
 
“I believe that the reasons Nigerians voted for President Buhari in 2015 are still pertinent. They voted President Buhari because they needed a leader who has integrity, strong on corruption and capable of defeating Boko Haram.” 
 
“If he stands for election in 2019, we believe Nigerians would still vote for him,” Abdullahi told newsmen Saturday afternoon.

Latest-News I will defeat Buhari hands down in the 2019 presidential election - Atiku boasts

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has boasted that he will defeat President Muhammadu Buhari hands down in the 2019 presidential electio...

Presidency reacts to Atiku’s claim that Buhari was banned from entering the U.S for about 15 years

20:10 Unknown 0

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The Presidency on Saturday described as a “fictive concoction” a claim credited to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that President Muhammadu Buhari, for about 15 years, could not enter America on account of religious considerations. 
 
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The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja. 
 
Adesina said it was mind-boggling that a person of Atiku’s calibre who should know the truth was spreading the lies. 
 
He said the claim made by the former VP only existed in the realm of his imagination, as Buhari was never stopped from entering America. 
 
The presidential spokesman said if Atiku had issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw. 
 
The statement read, “Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, claims in an interview published Saturday that ‘for about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations.’ 
 
“This fictive concoction being passed off as truth is mind-boggling, coming from a former Number Two Man of Nigeria, who should know the truth. 
 
“At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world. 
 
“Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability. 
 
“The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian President by many world leaders today. 
 
“It is curious that former VP Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps. Instead of answering directly, he begged the question, saying Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years before becoming President. 
 
“We hereby make it resoundingly clear that what the former vice president said only exists in the realm of his imagination. 
 
“ If he has issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw.”

Latest-News Presidency reacts to Atiku’s claim that Buhari was banned from entering the U.S for about 15 years

The Presidency on Saturday described as a “fictive concoction” a claim credited to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that President Muh...

Manchester United win Arsenal thriller despite Paul Pogba sending off

19:50 Unknown 0

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Jesse Lingard scored twice but Paul Pogba was sent off as Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 in a breathless match at the Emirates Stadium. 
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United were ahead after only four minutes when Laurent Koscienly's crossfield pass was cut out by Antonio Valencia, who played a one-two with Pogba and beat Petr Cech. 
 
Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez saw a free kick blocked before the visitors doubled their advantage after only 11 minutes. 
 
This time, Romelu Lukaku stole the ball from Shkodran Mustafi, who wanted too much time, and played a pass to Anthony Martial, whose flick freed Lingard to finish low into the corner. 
 
Mustafi had to be substituted after picking up a knock in that incident, with Alex Iwobi coming on, and Arsenal were soon under pressure again when Lukaku found space out wide but Nacho Monreal cleared. 
 
The home side almost found a way back into the game with 20 minutes gone when, from a corner, Alexandre Lacazette saw his effort roll agonisingly wide of the post. 
 
With the half-hour approaching, Mesut Ozil dinked a free kick towards the far post where Ashley Young cleared off the line, and two minutes later Lacazette came even closer when, after De Gea had saved his first shot, his second hit keeper and then bar. 
 
Granit Xhaka picked up the pieces only for his sidefooted effort to fly fractionally wide, and with three minutes of the first half remaining Aaron Ramsey was denied by a superb Nemanja Matic block. 
 
There was still time for De Gea to make another great save before the half was over, tipping away one-handed after the ball cannoned off Lukaku following an Arsenal free kick. 
 
But less than five minutes into the second period, Arsenal had the goal their pressure deserved, Lacazette lashing in after Sanchez and Ramsey had opened up the United defence. 
 
Back came United, who were within an ace of restoring their two-goal lead when Cech made a fine save to deny Lingard, the ball looping back off a post and Arsenal breaking to fashion a chance for Iwobi that De Gea stopped. 
 
After 56 minutes Arsenal looked certain to level when Lacazette's low shot was superbly saved by De Gea and Sanchez, following up, was somehow denied by the keeper. 
 
But seven minutes later United were two clear again, Pogba played in on the right by Lingard and going past Laurent Koscielny to square for Lingard, running on, to tap home. 
 
With 67 minutes on the clock, United boss Jose Mourinho made his first change, bringing on Ander Herrera for Anthony Martial, while Arsene Wenger brought on former United forward Danny Welbeck for Granit Xhaka. 
 
After 74 minutes, his and Arsenal's hopes were boosted when Pogba was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Hector Bellerin, who had fouled Ashley Young moments earlier, ruling him out of the forthcoming Manchester derby. 
 
It prompted Mourinho to bring on Matteo Darmian for Lingard, while Wenger opted to throw a second striker into the fray, Olivier Giroud replacing Sead Kolasinac. 
 
De Gea tipped over a deflected Welbeck strike as time ticked into the final 10 minutes before Koscielny was booked for fouling Lukaku as he threatened to burst clear and Arsenal could have had a penalty for Darmian's challenge on Welbeck. 
 
But United, despite their numerical disadvantage, had done enough to again close the gap on neighbours Manchester City ahead of next weekend's derby. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Credit: ESPN 
 </div>

Latest-News Manchester United win Arsenal thriller despite Paul Pogba sending off

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I will pay workers’ salaries before 2018 – Kogi Governor

19:20 Unknown 0

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Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi says he will pay all salary arrears of civil servants cleared and the pension arrears of retirees before the end of 2017. 
 
Bello also said that he would commence prompt payment of salaries of workers in the state public service from January 2018. He made the promise on Saturday at the commemoration of the 110th birthday of the Odeyani-Anebira, Alhaji Audu Otonoku and his eight years on the throne as the Otonoku in Lokoja. 
 
 
<a name='more' id="more"></a> “As from January next year, we shall be paying all our cleared civil servants salaries as and when due. “I want to appreciate God that good days are coming to the people of Kogi,” he said. 
 
The governor traced the genesis of the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries to huge debts which he claimed his administration inherited from the immediate past administration. According to him, the corruption in the state civil service and the need to restore sanity to the service also account for the delay. Bello, represented by Mr Mumuni Okara, his Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said that the state government had done a lot to restore discipline into the service. He said that the state government had increased the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N350 million monthly to N1.2 billion. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Finance, Idris Asiru, said that the state government had discovered and eliminated from the payroll over 2,000 names of workers with fake certificates. Asiru said that the state government needed N30 billion to clear salaries and arrears of all workers that have been cleared. 
 
He said that the governor had given him directive to source for fund for the payment, assuring the workers that he would carry out the governor’s directive. Earlier, the Odeyani-Anebira commended Bello for his “giant strides in security, infrastructure development and civil service reform aimed at sanitising the service’’. The monarch also praised his title holders (Daudus) for maintaining peace and harmony among the Ebira living in Lokoja. 
 
He also lauded the executive council of Ebira Peoples Association (EPA) for its contribution toward the development of Ebiraland. Odeya-Onebira was born to the ancient family of Otonoku of Adangara clan in 1907 and was installed on Sept. 18, 2010 in Lokoja. Reeling out his achievements, Otonoku said he had been able to foster unity among Ebira residents and maintained peaceful coexistence of the Ebiras with other ethnic groups in Lokoja. 
 
He, however, called for building of a befitting palace for him and provision of vehicle befitting his status. Otonoku also called for the empowerment of Ebira women and youths to make them self-reliant. Highpoints of the occasion were the conferment of chieftaincy titles on some prominent citizens of Ebiraland and citizens of other tribes. Various groups displayed the rich cultural heritage of Ebiraland, among others. NAN

Latest-News I will pay workers’ salaries before 2018 – Kogi Governor

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi says he will pay all salary arrears of civil servants cleared and the pension arrears of retirees before the end...

Live Commentary: Arsenal vs Manchester United

17:10 Unknown 0

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Good afternoon and welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the Premier League showdown between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium. 
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The hosts come into this match off the back of three consecutive Premier League wins without conceding a goal, lifting them into the top four of the table but still 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. 
 
United, meanwhile, are eight points behind the pace-setters, but could close that gap to five with a victory against their old rivals today as City are not in action until Sunday. 
 
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below. 
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Brighton & Hove Albion 1-5 Liverpool: Klopp's side runs riot at the Amex

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Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino buried Brighton to keep Liverpool's top-four charge on track. 
The Brazilian duo, ably assisted by Mohamed Salah, tore the Seagulls to shreds in a thumping 5-1 victory. 
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Emre Can opened the scoring before Firmino added a quickfire second and then doubled his tally in the second half. 
 
Glenn Murray pulled one back from the penalty spot but Coutinho hit the fourth and then forced an own-goal from Lewis Dunk to complete the rout. 
 
Injuries and illness had forced Jurgen Klopp to play with two midfielders, Can and Georginio Wijnaldum, alongside his only fit centre-half, Dejan Lovren, in a makeshift back three. 
 
But when the Reds boss has a front three in this kind of form he could probably dispense with centre-backs altogether. 
 
Since losing heavily to Tottenham in mid-October, Klopp's side have now taken 16 points from a possible 18. 
 
It was not all plain sailing on the south coast, though. Liverpool's unfamiliar rearguard got themselves into a mess after a quarter of an hour to almost gift Brighton a shock lead. 
 
Wijnaldum's pass was intercepted and the ball was moved out to Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown on the left wing, but Murray could not convert his cross. 
 
At the other end Brighton were holding firm despite the constant probing of Salah and Coutinho. 
So manager Chris Hughton will have been hugely frustrated that they fell behind to a regulation set-piece, Can nodding in Coutinho's corner on the half hour. 
 
Just 79 seconds later they conceded again, but this time it came from a ruthless assault from the Reds' fearsome threesome. 
 
Salah led the charge before feeding Coutinho who swept a first-time cross in behind the Brighton defence for Firmino to tap in from six yards. 
 
Moments after half-time Brighton should have scored when Murray met another Brown cross but Simon Mignolet somehow kept the ball out at point-blank range. 
 
And Brighton were immediately, and brutally, exposed once more as Salah went marauding up the field, taking four home defenders with him before slipping the ball to the unmarked Firmino to hit number three. 
 
The Seagulls did get on the scoresheet when Jordan Henderson fouled Shane Duffy at a corner and Murray tucked away the penalty. 
 
They almost set up a nervy finale when substitute Jose Izquierdo wriggled into the area but Trent Alexander-Arnold's last-ditch challenge saved the Reds. 
 
Instead Coutinho secured the points when he cheekily rolled a free-kick under the wall, and then saw his shot deflected in by Dunk to complete the scoring. 
ends.</div>

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Hazard stars as Chelsea see off Newcastle at Stamford Bridge

14:35 Unknown 0

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A sparkling two-goal performance from Eden Hazard helped Chelsea come from a goal down to beat Newcastle 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and go level on points with second-placed Manchester United. 
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Newcastle made a confident start but Chelsea created the first threat after six minutes when Danny Drinkwater's cutback was scrambled away. 
 
The visitors' Mikel Merino sent a tame curling effort straight at Thibaut Courtois four minutes later amid some uncertain home defending. 
 
And Newcastle profited from more uncertainty after 12 minutes as a long ball over the top enabled Jacob Murphy to threaten and, when Courtois thwarted him, Dwight Gayle slid the ball home from close range. 
 
That woke the champions up and, after Andreas Christensen had hit a post, they were level with 21 minutes gone when Eden Hazard got onto the end of a dropping ball and sent his finish into the ground and over Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow. 
 
Shortly after the half-hour, resurgent Chelsea were in front as Victor Moses fizzed in a cross and Alvaro Morata thumped the header past Darlow. 
 
Newcastle were under increasing pressure but, with half-time looming, almost conjured an unlikely equaliser when Florian Lejeune's volley cannoned off Marcos Alonso and wide. 
 
Moses was involved again early in the second half when his low cross from the right was scrambled away from Morata, and then Hazard stumbled at the crucial moment after a fine long pass by Cesc Fabregas had been headed down by Morata. 
 
As Newcastle tried to respond, Ayoze Perez fired wide from 25 yards, but Chelsea were dominant and almost added a third with 20 minutes to go when a lovely touch from Drinkwater gave Hazard a chance he was unable to take. 
 
But the Belgium international was on the mark again when he dinked home a penalty given for Matt Ritchie's 74th-minute foul on Moses and almost completed a hat trick when Darlow denied him after another Morata assist. 
 
Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian came on for the outstanding Hazard and Fabregas as the game entered its closing stages, with Christensen making way for Gary Cahill soon afterwards as Chelsea cruised to three more points. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Credit: ESPN</div>

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Of Gaddafi, Obama, Buhari And Atiku by Reno Omokri

14:05 Unknown 0

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I commended President Muhammadu Buhari when he belatedly did what he ought to have done quickly, which is to speak up against the enslavement of Black African migrants in Libya. I did so because the President listened to the strong criticism from civil society against his tardiness in responding to the situation. However, I still need to ask a question. 
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Both the Buhari administration and the African Union condemned Germany’s 2016 terror attack that killed 12 persons within mere days (hours in the case of Nigeria). Yet, both the Nigerian Government and the African Union remained silent for weeks on the selling of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Africans as slaves in Libya. 
That being the case, have both the Nigerian Government and the African Union outlived their usefulness to their people? 
 
Such a thing as the Libyan affair should ordinarily attract swiftest rebuke. In fact, I am still puzzled that the African Union in particular is taking this issue lying low. 
 
It leads me to think that to a very large extent, we Africans are our own worst enemies. 
I remember how I campaigned for candidate Obama during the 2008 US elections, thinking that Obama as President would do a lot for the Black Race. 
 
Now, after eight years of Obama, Black people are worse off than they were before him in many respects and this is actually due to Barack Obama’s policies. 
 
When Gaddafi was in power, there was no slave trade of Black Africans in Libya. As a matter of fact, Gaddafi gave financial aid to Black African nations and almost single-handedly funded the fight against White minority rule in the then Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe) and against apartheid in South Africa (Google it. There is a YouTube video of Mandela saying so openly in America during his thank you tour after his release from prison). 
 
To be sure, Gaddafi had his own challenges too, but no one is perfect. Gaddafi did for the Black world much more than anything Obama ever did for Africa. He gave financial and military support to oppressed people. He funded scholarships and health schemes. He was not big on rhetoric, like Obama. He was big on helping you in reality. 
And then Barack Obama staged Gaddafi’s removal and now Black Africans are being sold in Libya and you think Obama is good and Gaddafi was bad? 
 
All over Africa, from Libya, to Egypt, to Nigeria, Obama intervened without caring what Africans really wanted and saddled us with incompetent regimes that are taking Africans backward. History will not be kind to Obama! 
Certainly, it was fortuitous for the African continent that Obama’s echo in the person of Hillary Clinton did not make it to the White House. I believe it would have been more of the same. 
 
And look at the incompetent government they helped come to power in Nigeria. I only wish Nigerians know how much of a role Obama played in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. 
It was actually quite hypocritical for Obama, a blatant meddler in other people’s elections, to point the finger at Russia. If at all Russia meddled in the 2016 US Presidential elections, they were only paying Obama back in his own well-deserved coins. 
 
In less than two years, the Obama-supported Nigerian government of Muhammadu Buhari has destroyed a once thriving economy that was projected to be the third fastest-growing economy in the world in 2014 by CNNMoney. 
He has wiped off 70% of the value of the Nigerian Naira. He has increased electricity, fuel and passport costs without increasing the minimum wage. 
 
But it is when it comes to his anti-democratic credentials that I cringe the most. 
President Buhari has used many dirty tricks to try and intimidate his most likely opponent. Not minding that he as President has not created jobs and has rather lost the jobs that his predecessors created, President Buhari has tried to cripple the businesses of Atiku Abubakar by coming up with flimsy excuses to breach the commercial contract entered upon between INTELS and the Nigerian Ports Authority. 
 
It does not matter to the President, obviously, that by trying to ground INTELS he is putting the jobs of many Nigerians at risk. 
 
But the most hypocritical thing that this government did is to attack Atiku’s credibility over his decision to quit the ruling All Progressives Congress. 
 
The President even permitted one of his official spokesperson to verbally insult Atiku in public after first unleashing Malam Nasir El-Rufai to take Atiku to the cleaners right there at the Presidential Villa. 
But to show that President Buhari and his surrogates are hypocrites, let’s take a quick look at the political odysseys of those criticising Atiku for leaving the APC, 
 
Muhammadu Buhari, from: 
• ANPP to 
• APP to 
• CPC to 
• APC 
 
Nasir El-Rufai, from 
• PDP to 
• CPC to 
• APC 
 
Rochas Okorocha, from 
• PDP 
• Action Alliance 
• APP to 
• ANPP to 
• APGA to 
• APC 
 
The only major politician on the national stage that has remained in one party since the return to civil rule in 1999 is Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and he has not criticised Atiku Abubakar, but rather, he has stretched out a hand of fellowship to him. 
It seems that this is the season for decamping. In fact, I have just been reliably informed that President Buhari has sent his AGF to Dubai to open discussions with Maina so the President can decamp to Pension Fund Bazaar Party. Rochas Okorocha too would soon be decamping from the APC to Statue Party, while Nasir El-Rufai may be leaving to join Serial Betrayer party of Nigeria. 
 
Reno’s Nuggets 
True story: Fish is Norway’s biggest export after oil. Norway sent stockfish as humanitarian aid to help starving Igbo people during the Biafra War. The Igbo loved the stockfish and after the war, they bought so much that Nigeria became Norway’s largest market for stockfish, earning them billions annually. Moral of the story: Be kind to people. Your kindness will eventually benefit you #RenosNuggets. 
 
QUOTE: President Buhari has used many dirty tricks to try and intimidate his most likely opponent. Not minding that he as President has not created jobs and has rather lost the jobs that his predecessors created, President Buhari has tried to cripple the businesses of Atiku Abubakar by coming up with flimsy excuses to breach the commercial contract entered upon between INTELS and the Nigerian Ports Authority. 
 </div>

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‘For About 15 Years Buhari Could Not Enter America’

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In a no holds barred interview with Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, Former Nigerian Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar disclosed that current Nigerian President was denied Visa to the United States of America for 15 yeas on religious grounds. 
<a name='more' id="more"></a> 
 
Read full article below: 
 
Fellow Nigerians, I’ve always wondered what drives or propels the man, former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. For real, I have never seen a man so fastidious about his dream and so obstinate about achieving a lifelong ambition to be the number one Nigerian Citizen. I’ve followed his trajectory with keen interest since 1993 when he took on both Chief Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe, in an epic Presidential primary, that Chief Abiola ultimately won. His formidability we were told was a result of the influence of his godfather and political colossus, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, now of blessed memory. Chief Abiola actually reached out to the General, as he was fondly called, to prevail on Atiku to pull out of the race and support him. A deal was subsequently struck, between Abiola and Yar’Adua, for Atiku to be Abiola’s running-mate. Everything looked good on paper until the powerful and influential Social Democratic Party (SDP) Governors threw spanners in the works, forcing Abiola to renege on his word. Whilst Abiola wanted Atiku, the Governors led by the irrepressible Olusegun Osoba, from Abiola’s home State of Ogun, insisted on Abiola picking Kingibe. They convinced Abiola that it was dangerous to pick Atiku who would have been more loyal and too submissive to his godfather. 
 
I have no doubt that from that moment onwards, the June 12 Presidential election was already threatened and endangered. According to insiders, the General was so miffed and enraged that he swore Abiola would not be President for dumping his godson. Efforts were made by different personages to settle the matter, but it seemed the camaraderie was over between Abiola and Yar’Adua who, once upon a time, were successful business partners at African Ocean Lines. 
 
Anyway, Atiku was kicked out of the race to fight another day. Abiola won the Presidential election eventually but was never allowed to assume power. The June 12 election fallout led to a cataclysmic eruption that consumed many of the big players, including Abiola, his wife, Alhaja Kudirat, Major-General Yar’Adua and General Sani Abacha. The boss of bosses, General Olusegun Obasanjo, escaped only by the whiskers. He was jailed but came back to be President. Ironically, the same Atiku who was not allowed to be the Vice-Presidential candidate in 1993 became the substantive Vice President in 1999, when he ran, and won, with Obasanjo. Whilst Obasanjo emerged, in a bid to assuage the betrayed and wounded Yoruba, Atiku’s choice appears to have been predicated on the sense of injustice that he had suffered as a result of being dumped by Abiola. 
 
Everything initially ran smoothly between Obasanjo and Atiku in their first term in office, from 1999 to 2003. However, the relationship collapsed when Atiku started showing interest in the number one position. I will not bore you with the rest of that fiasco, including the anecdotal humbling of Obasanjo who allegedly had to beg his deputy, Atiku, to allow him a second term. My mission was to provide some background to Atiku’s uncommon trajectory. He has pursued his dream since 1993 and has never given up. That was 24 years ago. Indeed, Atiku has been in partisan politics for 28 years but only served in government for eight years. He has criss-crossed different political parties in search of that magic wand that could give him his heart’s desire. It has been a painful journey. He’s been dissed and lampooned as a serial “decampee” famed for wandering endlessly in the wilderness of Nigerian politics. That, for many people, is a major weakness which signals integrity issues. There are other minuses weighing on him like an albatross. How does he deal with these very serious issues of perception or misperception? 
 
The opportunity came for me to engage him very critically, and very privately, yesterday afternoon in Lagos. A mutual friend had called to arrange the meeting at Atiku’s behest. I gladly accepted not only as I was anxious to bombard him with many nagging questions, but also because by some quirk of fate, the political gladiators for the number one hot seat in Nigeria seem to feel that a session with me is a sine qua non for their aspiration. I’m deeply humbled by that trust. 
 
The meeting was arranged for Lagos. Atiku had arrived on Thursday. I arrived in Lagos yesterday afternoon from Abuja where I had been the Chief Presenter of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi’s book, On a Platter of Gold, chronicling President Goodluck Jonathan’s twilight days as President. I checked into my hotel just before 12 noon and put a call through to his room.  He told me to give him a short time to freshen up and invite me over. He’s obviously been doing a lot of consultations and was working well into the early mornings. I dozed off. Suddenly, I was awoken from my slumber by banging on my door. I stood up to look through the peephole and was pleasantly surprised to see the most-talked about politician of the moment at my door. I opened the door and Atiku immediately apologised for the intrusion. He came without any aide, so we were both comfortable to talk frankly. 
 
I thanked him for the honour of actually coming to me and asked if he won’t mind me asking some tough questions. He said that was fine and I should feel free. My first shot was about his moving from Party to Party. Does this not make him look desperate and unserious? He must have answered this question a thousand times because he wasted no time in answering very calmly and confidently: 
 
“There is nothing wrong with it. Ours is a fledgling democracy of barely two decades since the end of the last military regime. What it means is that the political parties are yet to mature and are going through constant transformations and changes. That is why even President Buhari has been able to move from party to party, including ANPP, CPC and now APC. And for those who read about world history and political books like I do, they will know that Abraham Lincoln, Sir Winston Churchill and others went through so much before achieving their dreams…” 
 
He went further: “I’m not different. I know what I want for my country. I’ve served Nigeria in different capacities and I am one of the most experienced leaders around today. There is no part of Nigeria I’m not familiar with. I have friends everywhere. They know me and I know them. The benefit of being around for so long is that they have come to know me for certain principles and know that I have a rich knowledge of Nigeria and what it would take to move us to the height of greatness. They can also trust me that I’m not coming to government to steal their money. God has blessed me with business acumen. How can you run a nation if you cannot run your own business? I run my businesses to international standards. Let any of those who want to compete with me show what they have managed successfully. I’ve lifted over 45,000 families out of joblessness and poverty through my microfinance company in my State Adamawa and we’ve have empowered mostly women. The good news is these women have been very honest. Returns on our loans have been about 98 percent. They have not disappeared with the loans given then. We plan to replicate this nationwide…” 
 
I asked if he was obsessed with being President at all costs. His answer was an emphatic, No! He asked rhetorically why he should not give back some of his experience and exposure to a country that has given him so much? Why should he allow incompetent people to run down the country when God has given him the talent and wherewithal to lift up Nigeria? 
 
I told him the belief out there is that he is a corrupt man and that the stain won’t be easy to remove. His former boss, General Olusegun Obasanjo, has sold us that line, and would stop at nothing to regale the world that Atiku is a thief who nobody should vote for. Atiku’s response was very concise and assertive: “I have the highest regards for my boss. He gave me eight years to serve Nigeria under him. We had our differences but we both tried our best. But on the issue of corruption, I have challenged anyone, anywhere, who has any evidence of corruption against me to come forward. I’m sure they would have combed everywhere trying to find anything incriminating against me, but they have not found it, or they are still searching. Dele, I’m throwing that challenge again, let them bring out whatever they have on me…” 
 
I followed with a bazooka and asked him “how come you are running away from the United States of America? What offence have you committed to warrant not being able to visit, since all this time?” Atiku fired back at me: “It is the sole prerogative of America to determine who they want in their country or not. I’m not running away from America. I applied, but wasn’t issued a visa. However, they did not decline me categorically either. They’ve only said my application is going through administrative process. This is not peculiar to me. For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations. The current Indian Prime Minister, Modi, suffered the same fate for years. Today, he is being treated to red carpet treatment in America.. I fly to different parts of the world, including Europe, if America wanted me, it would be so easy for them to reach out to their allies…” 
 
We soon dovetailed to the nitty-gritty of politics. Why did he not wait to contest the primaries in APC first and see the outcome before running away? I felt this was defeatist! His response: “After Buhari won the election, he was no longer interested in the Party that made him President. Every activity stopped and not even the Party Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, could take any decision. I called Chief Oyegun a few times to tell him our Party was dying slowly but he told me he would not do anything unless he got clearance from the President. At a stage, I gathered about 18 prominent members and began to meet in the hope that we can re-energise Party activities, but some people lied to the President that I wanted to use the forum to launch my Presidential campaign. That forum became simply dead on arrival. No BOT, no NEC meetings, as stipulated in our Constitution. The Party became a one-man property. Everyone grumbles behind the President’s back but they are too timid to raise a voice against the illegalities being perpetuated. I should be bold enough to know what I want, and can do so at my age, so I decided to leave…” 
 
So, where is he going from here? He says he hasn’t formally declared for any Party, but is sure PDP is waiting to welcome him back into the Party he co-founded with others at the end of military rule. I asked if he has any guarantee of getting the PDP ticket. He told me why he should get it: “Nothing is absolutely certain in this life, but PDP needs a candidate with the brightest chance and that can only come from someone who has major experience, exposure, knowledge about running an economy, who is a Nationalist and not a sectionalist and whose brand cannot be intimidated in anyway by that of the current President. If PDP picks a weak candidate, then the Party is doomed. Some of those whose names are being touted and bandied about have not grown beyond their immediate domains.” 
 
If he gets the PDP ticket, is he confident he can beat a sitting President and Buhari for that matter? “I will definitely beat him this time. He has wasted a lot of his massive goodwill. A lot of people are disgruntled but keeping quiet and lying low. Our youths are suffering terribly and now they are being sold into slavery. Everyone knows my track record of inviting and attracting a good team and giving them the opportunity to work professionally. Nigerians are tired of leaders who cannot think big and work big. Dele, I will be ready from day one…” 
 
Is he not afraid of Buhari? “No, definitely not. Buhari is free to contest and I’m free to contest. And Nigerians will make their choice.” I could see that glow in his eyes. He sounded determined and more prepared at this time, than at any other time. 
 
Will Atiku play a joker as his last card in 2019? Time will tell.</div>

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Yuletide: NUPENG Sets Up Taskforce Against Reckless Driving

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Peeved by complaints about the excesses of some petroleum tanker drivers especially during festive seasons, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG has constituted a taskforce to check reckless driving on the nation’s highways. 
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NUPENG President, Dr Igwe Achese disclosed this in Abuja during the commissioning of the national secretariat of the Thompson Ogbodo-led Independent Marketers Branch of the union. 
 
Expressing optimism in the capacity of tanker drivers to abide by necessary safety rules, Achese said those found to have violated traffic rules and consequently endangered the lives of other commuters would be severely reprimanded to serve as a deterrent to others. 
 
“We have been able to advise our members; they have to be careful on the road. They must not drink and drive and when they are driving, they should limit their speed. We have also commissioned a taskforce to be on the road to monitor tanker drivers in the way they manage their driving attitude on the roads and we want to believe that we are going to have an accident-free yuletide”, he said. 
 
On the long-running battle with International Oil Corporations IOCs who have continued to disallow their workers from joining the labour union, Achese urged the federal government to muster the necessary political will to reverse the trend. 
 
According to him, “it is only in Nigeria that we have challenges of unionization. It is an international issue. From the ILO level Nigeria also signed a treaty that we are allowed to unionize, but the reverse is the case here. I will tell you that what is lacking is the political will. If the political will is there from the Parliament, the Executive Council and the president himself, I am sure that definitely, our desires to see that all workers in the country, whether in the oil and gas sector or any other sphere, would be unionized and would be given their rights and privileges as expected”. 
 
Speaking on the new secretariat, the NUPENG President noted that, “the labour movement has come to stay and has transformed from just talking about our salaries and wages but also impacting positively on the society. This new secretariat would create jobs for many Nigerians even as we have built a trailer park in Port Harcourt, an hotel in Kaduna and also intending to build our own gas plant”. 
 
He also accused certain unnamed forces of sponsoring those he referred to as fifth columnists in a bid to weaken the union and make it vulnerable to manipulation by state and international non-state actors. 
 
Earlier, National Chairman of the IMB of NUPENG, Comrade Thompson Ogbodo said with the commissioning of the secretariat, the union now has “a very verifiable address where we can be easily located for smooth business transactions”. 
 
“I advise our members to avoid keeping fuel in cans and taking them home. We can do as much as we can to save ourselves and avoid accidents at all costs and I will advise that those of NUPENG family that are on the wheels should take it easy because the man who goes and returns is the one that is celebrated”, Ogbodo added. 
 
He urged the union members to impress it on their directors the need to sell fuel using the right gauge rather than adjusting their metres to reap outrageous profits. 
 
The event was witnessed by other dignitaries including the Alagbara of Agbara Kingdom, Ogun state, Barr. Lukman Agunbiade, the Aguma of Gwagwalada, Abuja, Alhaji Mohammed Magaji and frontline unionist and Chairman of Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of NUPENG, Otunba Salmon Oladiti. 
 </div>

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PDP National Chairmanship: Dokpesi solicites Igbinedion, Ibori, Ize-Iyamu support

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Governor of Delta, Chief James Ibori, on Friday described Chief Raymond Dokpesi as a passionate loyalist of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying he had toiled for the party. 
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Ibori said in Oghara when he received Dokpesi, a national chairmanship aspirant of the party, that the aspirant was enjoying huge confidence of party members because of his record and commitment. 
 
He pledged to give necessary support to the aspiration and prayed that God would guide him. 
 
Earlier, Dokpesi had told the former governor that his visit was to solicit support for his aspiration, saying that Ibori was a stakeholder in the PDP. 
 
In Benin, Edo, Dokpesi visited Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who said that the aspirant was a dogged democrat and fighter for the enthronement of internal democracy and equity in the party. 
 
Similarly, a chieftain of PDP in the state, Mr Ben Edo-Osagie, described Dokpesi as a “brave man with credibility”, adding that in spite of all intimidations, he remained in the party and “gave it his all”. 
 
“Credibility and total alliance is what is needed at this stage to rebuild the PDP. This party requires re-branding, re-packaging and re-focusing to win the 2019 general elections. 
 
“I believe that Dokpesi is the foremost dynamic person to lead the PDP to victory in 2019,” Edo-Osagie said. 
 
Also receiving the aspirant, PDP candidate in the 2017 governorship election in Edo, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said Dokpesi was a party leader that the state was always proud of. 
 
He said that the man had paid his dues in any area required to be PDP’s national chairman. 
 
Ize-Iyamu assured that as a son of Edo, the party members in the state would pull resources to support Dokpesi, adding that it was wrong for anybody to insinuate that he was or would be rejected in his home. 
 
He commended the aspirant for his matured and peaceful campaigns, adding that he had brought flamboyance to the race to the chairmanship race. 
 
He appealed to all the aspirants not to be hostile in their campaigns,” 
 
Dokpesi called for the dedication of leaders and members to ensure stability in the party, saying that cohesion was needed for the party to regain power at the national level. 
 
He said he had been to the northern part of the country and the South-West for campaign, and that the enthusiasm of members for the strengthening of the party was impressive. 
 
Dokpesi urged the leaders to support his ambition, pledging that PDP’s credibility and acceptability by most Nigerians would be restored if he was elected. </div>

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Premier League side, Arsenal, has reacted to the draw of Nigeria and Argentina in the same group; reminding the Albicelestes that they were beaten by the Super Eagles in an international friendly last month in Krasnodar, Southern Russia. 
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The Gunners number seventeen Alex Iwobi netted his first brace in the colours of Nigeria in their 4-2 win over the two-time world champions on November 14, 2017. 
 
”Super Eagles take on Argentina in the FIFA World Cup on June 26, 2018. When they met in a friendly last month, #BIG17 scored twice,” tweeted Arsenal. 
 
Barring injury, it is one hundred percent confirmed that the Iwobi will become the second Arsenal player to represent the Super Eagles at biggest football festival in Russia, following in the footsteps of Nwankwo Kanu. 
 
Mohamed Elneny, Hector Bellerin, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka, Joel Campbell, Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, David Ospina and Takuma Asano are the Arsenal players in contention to play at the 2018 World Cup. 
 
Croatia and Iceland are the two remaining teams in Group D of the 2018 World Cup. 
 </div>

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Former Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Tunde Disu, says the Super Eagles should be ready to face the real Albiceleste of Argentina at the World Cup. 
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Disu gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lagos on the draws made on Friday that pit Nigeria in Group D alongside, Argentina, Croatia and Iceland. 
 
The World Cup draws held in Russia, Nigeria is in the group alongside Argentina who they had faced four times before in the World Cup in 1994, 2002, 2010 and 2014. 
 
The only time Nigeria avoided Argentina in the World Cup was in 1998 in France. 
 
It will, however, be the fifth time Nigeria will be facing the Albiceleste opposition at the grand football fiesta. 
 
According to the draws, Nigeria will play first against Croatia in the first ever senior international match, while the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, Iceland will play against Nigeria also in Group D. 
 
The Icelanders, the only newcomers, will play two-time winners Argentina in their first World Cup finals match. 
 
The Eagles last group match will be against Argentina who have turned their World Cup nemesis. 
 
On Argentina’s opposition, Disu said that though Argentina was becoming a familiar foe, yet Nigeria should not start counting their teeth with their tongues. 
 </div>

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At Last, Ailing Sadiq Daba Begins Journey Of Life To The UK

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Ailing veteran actor and broadcaster, Sadiq Daba is due to travel to the United Kingdom, on  Sunday night for further medical treatment. 
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Sadiq has been battling leukaemia and prostate cancer for some months now, but lack of funds hampered his treatment. The story, however, changed recently for the ailing actor  who is best known for  his award-winning role as Inspector Waziri in the Kunle Afolayan classic “October 1”, as colleagues, friends and fans rallied around to raise funds for him. 
 
This cheery news was confirmed to HVP, by one of those who are close to the actor. While in the UK, Sadiq  will undergo surgery at Wellington Diagnostics Hospital in the North West of London. 
 
“Sadiq leaves for the UK on Sunday night for further medical treatment. He obtained his visa today(Thursday), November 29. The team that assisted and worked effortlessly to obtain his medical visa at the British High Commission, Lagos are ace broadcaster, Soni Irabor, Chief Kenny Martins,  veteran producer and broadcaster  Mabel Akomu Oboh and human rights activist, Dr Joe  Okei-Odumakin. 
 
Speaking further, the  source said, Sadiq will be travelling in the company of his wife,  Bolaji Daba. Recall that ace broadcaster Soni Irabor, last week, disclosed on his Instagram page that enough funds had been gathered for the ailing Sadiq and is set to travel to the UK to commence treatment. 
 </div>

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NLC, others flay Senate over calls to scrap NTA, others

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The Nigeria Labour Congress, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership have slammed the Senate for demanding the scrapping or privitisation of the Nigerian Television Authority, the National Orientation Agency and two other agencies. 
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The General Secretary of NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson specifically criticised Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, who first initiated the call during the budget debate on Wednesday. 
 
Ozo-Eson said, “Those agencies are rendering services. The workers are earning their pay and we do not agree with that kind of position. If Senator Murray-Bruce is looking to clear the way to knock out potential competitors with his own medium, that is an issue for him to handle. We cannot run state affairs on such a logic.” 
 
Two civil societies – Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights – also kicked against the move, noting that the agencies should be empowered, not sold. 
 
The CACOL Director, Debo Adeniran, said if there was an arm of government where there was a duplication of functions, it was the Senate. He pointed out that the listed government agencies must be strengthened, not sold. 
 
He said, “There is no doubt that some of these agencies have not been performing optimally. We agree. It is also true that some of them have not lived up to the purpose for which they were established. But these agencies also suffer from lack of resources and inadequate personnel. There is no way they can carry out their appropriate functions. NTA, Voice of Nigeria and the National Orientation Agency are very useful agencies for our national development. They need to be empowered.” 
 
The CDHR President, Malachy Ugwummadu, also said the intention of the Senate must be probed. 
 
He added, “We must find out what the intention of the Senate is. Why don’t we reform these agencies rather than selling them off? When we look into these agencies, those people not working to capacity should be shown the way out. Why don’t we reform and bring in the needed capacity to make them world standards? 
 
“One major promise by this administration is to address the undue proliferation of government agencies, which is increasing overhead costs. 
 
“There is a way to go about privatisation, but what we have witnessed in Nigeria is the mindless selling of our national assets to the same political class who ran them down.” 
 
Another civil society group, Concerned Nigerians, also opposed the senator’s position, saying it would lead to a massive job loss. It noted that what the government-owned media needed was a partnership to make them perform better. 
 
The convener of the group, Deji Adeyanju, said too many Nigerians had lost their jobs under President Muhammadu Buhari administration, arguing that dissolving the agencies would create more problems than it was meant to solve. 
 
He said the NTA, Voice of Nigeria, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and other agencies could be productive if they had the proper management. 
 
Adeyanju said, “Bruce once ran the NTA, so he is in a better position to know. I think under this government, too many Nigerians are already out of jobs and taking more Nigerians out of jobs will spell doom for the economy. I think we should focus on how to make those agencies work. This government promised to create one million jobs annually. Where are the jobs?” 
 
But the Coordinator, Basic Rights Foundation, Augustine Okechukwu, however, called for the sale of all moribund government agencies, noting that the government could use the revenue to establish factories. 
 
He stated, “I can’t categorically say NTA and other media outlets should be dissolved, but the government should look beyond these ones to other agencies and parastatals which are not productive. We can’t say because some people would lose their jobs, we should keep them to continue collecting free money.”</div>

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Dalung, Pinnick optimistic of Eagles’ chances

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The Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung is optimistic that the Super Eagles will advance from Group D of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. 
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Dalung made the statement after the draws were made on Friday at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, where Nigeria were drawn in Group D with Argentina, Croatia and Iceland. 
 
The minister said if quality friendly games were lined up for the team, the Eagles would get beyond the quarter-finals. 
 
“I’m confident of Eagles’ qualification from Group D. It is not an easy group considering the calibre of teams we have in that group. We met Argentina earlier in a friendly match and we beat them but it won’t be that easy at the World Cup so Nigeria will need to beware of Argentina at the competition proper. 
 
“Coincidentally, Iceland and Croatia were in the same group of the European qualifying round for the World Cup, so it’s not going to be an easy group to qualify from. However, I am confident that if we prepare our team adequately, we will make a decent appearance in Russia.” 
 
Dalung also used the occasion of the World Cup draws to congratulate the President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amaju Pinnick, who celebrated his 47th birthday on the day. 
 
“I want to congratulate Pinnick on his 47th birthday and to wish him the best. So far, he has done so well for football since he took over, especially being able to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup and other landmark achievements. I wish him success in his future assignments.” 
 
Meanwhile, the NFF president has described the Eagles’ Group D fixtures as decent. 
 
“It’s a decent group. We are good with our group. With prayers and decent preparations, we will surely go through easily,” Pinnick said.</div>

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Fellow Nigerians abducted, sold us into slavery in Libya – Returnees

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In the midst of the uproar over revelations that Libyan nationals are buying and selling migrants as slaves in Libya, it has been revealed that Nigerians based in the country also sell their fellow countrymen. 
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This emerged as more Nigerians are repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an ongoing exercise that has seen 1,295 retrieved from Libya in November alone. 
 
Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya. 
 
On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country. 
 
Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya. 
 
One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother. 
 
According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000). 
 
Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages. 
 
She said, “When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie. 
 
“The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria. 
 
“But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone. 
 
“The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again.” 
 
Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April. 
 
He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians. 
 
According to him, when their Nigerian “burger” (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells. 
 
“We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife,” Anyaegbunam said. 
 
Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent. 
 
He said, “The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. 
 
“There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. 
 
“When you approach them and say, ‘Please, my brother, help me.’ They would tell you, “No brother in the jungle.” 
 
A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen. 
 
“You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.” 
 
All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation. 
 
“Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family,” he said. 
 
Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State. 
 
Officials of the state’s task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home. 
 
A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home. 
 
He said, “The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them. 
 
“After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend. 
 
They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system.” 
 
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home. 
 
Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people. 
 
She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land. 
 
“We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria,” she said. 
 
Meanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya. 
 
Hundreds of thousands more — “400,000 to 700, 000,” according to  Mahamat — remain stranded. 
 
European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. 
 
On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli. 
 
But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home. 
 
Even so, the summit’s commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed. 
 
“It is a step in the right direction,” International Organisation for Migration Europe Director,  Eugenio Ambrosi,  told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels. 
 
“It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent,” Ambrosi said. 
 
He said the summit also showed there was now “international watchdog pressure” that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be “sustained.” 
 
The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron. 
 
It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives. 
 
Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home. 
 
The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to “dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers,” he said. 
 
They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice. 
 
Libya calls for campaign against human trafficking 
 
The Libyan government has condemned the reported auction of West Africans in its capital Tripoli, noting that the criminal practice was not part of the culture of the Libyan people. 
 
It called for an international campaign against illegal migration and demanded an end to “exploitation, the suffering of the ambitious African man looking for better life in Europe and human trafficking right from the country of source.” 
 
Speaking on the alleged auction of West Africans in his country at a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Charge d’Affairs and ambassador-designate, Libyan embassy in Nigeria, Dr. Attia Alkhoder, explained that his government had ordered the relevant agency to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the incident. 
 
He said the government was concerned about illegal migration and human trafficking, adding that Libya needed technical and logistical support to control its southern border, which is the major route for illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
The diplomat criticised the media for attacking and holding his country responsible for the slaves’ auction, noting that human trafficking and the reported slaves’ auction were done by individuals and not the Libyan authorities. 
 
Alkhoder said, “Libya renews its call to put an end to exploitation, the suffering of the ambitious African man looking for better life in Europe and human trafficking. 
 
“Libya calls for an international campaign to put an end to this phenomenon by providing security and border control to end the Libyan crisis, unify its government institutions and end the transition system that contributed a lot in the weakening control of territory.” 
 
The envoy noted that solving illegal migration was a collective responsibility involving countries of origin, transit and destination. 
 
He added that Libya spent a lot of money accommodating immigrants and facilitating their voluntary return to their countries, insisting that curbing illegal migration needed serious coordination of international efforts. 
 
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has approved a seed capital of N100m and 150 hectares of land for 150 victims of human trafficking, who recently completed skills acquisition training in the state. 
 
Obaseki announced this on Friday during the graduation of the participants of the programme, which was organised by the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, the state capital. 
 
He also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to immediately liaise with the relevant authorities towards securing the land for the returnees to commence their agricultural businesses. 
 
According to the governor, the beneficiaries would be put under the supervision of the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority and the EADP. 
 
Obaseki stressed the need for coordinated efforts to end modern slavery. 
 
He stated that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, marked on December 2 annually by the United Nations, should be seen as a day for deep reflection on how to bring the illicit trade to an end. 
 
Obaseki said, “We ordinarily should not be talking about the menace of slavery given the experience we have had. But it is a reality today and we have no choice but to tackle it. 
 
“However, it is pertinent to point out the fact that modern-day slavery, in its various forms, such as forced labour, debt bondage, and human trafficking, has no place among us. To effectively abolish slave trade as we have it today, it takes a coordinated, deep-reaching, international coalition that will take into cognisance the various forms of modern-day slavery and compel perpetrators to back down.” 
 
He, however, commended the returnees, comprising 51 trained on crop production, 15 on agro-processing, 68 on livestock farming and 52 on fish farming, for participating in the programme. 
 
He also urged them to be ambassadors in the state-wide campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration. 
 
Earlier, the Programme Manager of the EADP, Mr. Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, commended the state government for initiating the training and expressed optimism that the trainees would put the skills acquired to good use.</div>

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I was Once a Transporter – Atiku

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Former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar for the first time said he started business as a transporter in 1971, while he was in the full employment of the Nigerian Customs, working at Idi-Iroko border. The former Vice President made the fresh revelation after receiving the Honourary Achiever Award, at the Africa’s Youth Entrepreneurs Conference and Award titled “A Stand With The Giants”, at InterContinental Hotel in Lagos on Thursday night. 
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Atiku dedicated his award as Honourary African Outstanding Entrepreneur to Nigerian youths, and urged the youth to have more drive towards entrepreneurship. 
 
“I came to Lagos on June 29, 1969 and after my two years training (with the Nigeria Customs Service); I was posted to the border station of Idi-Iroko. At that time, the Badagry Road had not been constructed and the only means of transportation to the rest of the West African corridor was through the Idi-Iroko border to what used to be called Dahomey and what is now known as Benin Republic. 
“On getting to Idi-Iroko, my first posting, I was not married and what I discovered was that the most promising business was transportation. Many pickup vans were transporting women traders from Ajase (Port Novo) to Lagos every morning, and every evening from Lagos back to Port Novo. 
 
“So I asked myself, how I can seize the opportunity of this moving business. I came over to Lagos and in those days SCOA were the sole distributors of Peugeot, so I went to SCOA and I signed a hire-purchase agreement and bought four of those pickups and gave them to four different drivers and every day they will bring their returns to me and at the end of the month, I will go to SCOA and pay them. 
 
“I wasn’t married, so my salary was intact and in addition I was saving from what I was getting from my transport business. So, sometime, to be an entrepreneur you must have the ingenuity to be an entrepreneur. 
 
The revelation was not contained in his 328 page biography: Atiku:The Story of Atiku Abubakar, written by the late Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo and published in 2007. The book detailed Atiku’s two year life at the border post, his chance meeting with Titi, the woman who later became his first wife and the challenges faced with smugglers bringing goods from Benin Republic. 
 
Atiku noted that the country’s education system in the early 1960s provided the Nigerian youths the opportunities to make diverse career choice. According to the former Vice President, “the educational system we operated in the First Republic provided our students then the opportunity to either go to universities or go to technical colleges or to go to crafts schools. There was never a dropout in that kind of educational system. The dullest was trained on a skill and given the capital to start a business.” 
Atiku Abubakar however regretted that “suddenly, Nigeria moved away from that to a system of education where you train only job seekers.” He pointed out that the products of this educational system don’t know how to do anything else other than to seek for jobs, adding that they cannot self-employ themselves. “So, what I am trying to say is that my Nigeria is possible and your own Nigeria is possible”, he said. 
The former Vice President urged the youth to take advantage of the rebound in railway infrastructure that was built by the last administration to start a business initiative of transportation of goods across the country and reduce the reliance on heavy duty trucks to convey those goods. 
 
He paid glowing tributes to music art youngster, Wizkid for his besting some of the greatest in the industry to clinch the Best International Act at the MOBO awards. 
 
“Wizkid’s international award is a victory for Nigeria. Art is important not only for the revenue it brings and the business around it but for the image of our country. A good image has the capacity to trigger investments. The investments will generate much needed jobs. The jobs will not only ensure the security of families but the security of our nation and engender progress and development”, he said. 
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We had to drink urine to survive – Libyan returnee laments

08:10 Unknown 0

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As the A Buraq Air’s Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport and out came 20-year-old Clement Chibuzor, along with 149 other Nigerians whose ghoulish appearances told of the horrific experiences they must have experienced in Libya. 
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Over the past two weeks, Nigerians have added their voices to the global uproar over the exposed tales of slave trade, torture and killings of migrants in Libya. 
 
Over 5,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration since the beginning of 2017. 
 
Each time a new batch of returnees arrive, they bring with them tales of horror from the transit country, where they hoped to take the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
Our source spoke with many of the returnees as they touched down on Thursday night. They told the tales of man’s inhumanity to man. 
 
Chibuzor, a Delta State indigene, was just a teenager working as a Plaster of Paris artisan when his father met a trafficker, who told him he could get his son to Europe. 
 
The young lad had worked as a POP artisan for eight months with little money in his pocket, his father told him not to worry about the money. 
 
“I never thought about going to Europe. My father was the one who brought the idea. He sold his land and raised N450,000 which he gave to my ‘burger’ (trafficker). He did not tell my mother until I was already in Libya,” Chibuzor said. 
 
The young man spent 18 months in Libya. He left the country, a hopeful man. On Thursday, he returned like a mere cargo, thankful to be back to safety. 
 
As he stepped off the plane, Chibuzor looked nothing like a 20-year-old. 
 
 
 
His hollow cheeks told of starvation while his skin told of suffering in disease-ridden cells. 
 
“After many of my co-travellers died in the desert, I was kidnapped as soon as I got to Libya. I was in prison for four months until my father sent N300,000 for my release. 
 
“In the prison, our food was a piece of bread every day. When I got out of the prison. I was on the street one day when I met a Nigerian who promised to help me. I worked in his house for some weeks until he sold me to a gang. They kept me in a cell. I was there for a very long time. I cannot count the number of people who died in the cell. 
 
“The police were raiding different places where black people were kept and I willingly surrendered to the police. That was how I got an opportunity to come back to Nigeria. 
 
“While working on the streets of Libya, if the gangs saw you, they would grab you and put you in a cell. They put you in a cell with many others where you would either be sold or made to call your people to pay for your freedom. 
 
“While I was trying to get money the to free myself from the prison, I spoke with my father two months ago. He then told me that if I had the chance, I should return home. I told him that I might die before I had the opportunity to return home because I saw people die every day.” 
 
We drank urine, fuel in desert – Kelvin, 21 
 
Many of the returnees who shared their experiences like Chibuzor, vowed never to attempt the dangerous journey again. But experts say that so far as there are few success stories amidst the deaths, some of the returnees may try again when the shock of their time in Libya wear off. 
 
Kelvin Sunday, 21, an Edo State indigene, who returned with Chibuzor, told newsmen that he was in Libya for seven months. 
 
He spent N965,000 to get to Libya after raising the money with the help of friends and his my sister. 
 
Sunday explained that a friend of his, who made it to Europe, convinced him to embark on the journey. 
 
According to him, 41 of them set out in Kano for the journey through the desert but only 10 made it to Libya. 
 
He said their fate was sealed when their vehicle developed an engine fault in the desert. 
 
Sunday said, “We were in the desert for three days without food or water. We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel. 
 
“When we got to Libya, I was working in my burger’s house. I spent two weeks there before I went to the seaside (in Tripoli) where we would cross. From Sabha to the seaside in Tripoli, I spent two weeks. On the way, some traffickers kidnapped us. They beat and loaded us into their Hilux van, but few of us jumped down and I broke my leg. I managed to escape as they were shooting. 
 
“We spent two days in the desert again after that escape. We later saw a motorist whom we begged to help us get to the seaside. 
 
“We were camped at the seaside for three months without any opportunity to cross through the seas. People trying to cross the sea told me to avoid Nigerians helping Libyans to sell people. But later our camp was raided by soldiers, who took us to prison.” 
 
He had spent four months in the cell before luck smiled on him and IOM officials effected his repatriation along with many others.

Latest-News We had to drink urine to survive – Libyan returnee laments

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REVEALED: There was a plan to kidnap Jega, just before he announced 2015 election results

08:10 Unknown 0

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Unknown to many Nigerians, there was a plot to abduct a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, in the thick of the announcement of the results of the 2015 presidential poll. 
 
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Jega was to be forced to resign or declare the election as inconclusive. 
 
Another dimension to the plot was botched plans to bomb the International Conference Centre(ICC) where the results of the poll were collated. 
 
Also, the idea of a military takeover was mooted by Jonathan’s men to scuttle the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, but the two most senior military officers at the meeting said it was too late. 
Worried by the failure to truncate Buhari’s victory, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal, Alex Badeh, was said to have sent a terse text message to a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, in which he accused the ex-IGP of treachery. 
 
But the book clarified that Jonathan was not aware of the multi-dimensional plots. 
 
These facts were contained in a book, ‘On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,’ written by a former Minister of Sports, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, who is now the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC). 
 
The book implicated some top military officers, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Sotonye Wakama (who is from Okrika like the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan), heads of security agencies and senior politicians from the South-South. 
 
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According to the book, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, was to spearhead the plot to cause chaos in ICC while others, including policemen will withdraw and allow a mob to cause the commotion which will lead to the abduction of Jega. 
 
But while Orubebe acted his script, the ex-IGP Abba chose to uphold the rule of law and instead of deploying policemen to the ICC to disrupt the collation of results, he reinforced security. 
 
 
Abba overruled a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Sotonye Wakama, who was allegedly part of the plot. 
 
The scuttling of the plot made Orubebe to carry the can alone because no one else joined him in the plot. 
 
The book reads in part: “In the early hours of Tuesday, 31st April, an urgent meeting had just been concluded in a private house in the Maitama area of the nation’s capital. At the meeting were some top military and security chiefs believed to be loyal to President Jonathan and some senior politicians from his South-South region. 
 
“The meeting had been convened to save what was turning out to be a disastrous situation for their ‘son’. Something had to be done and it had to be done quickly. The situation appeared desperate, truly, but all was not lost yet. As long as the final results had not been officially announced, there was still a chance to do something. 
 
“The first option on the table reflected the desperation of the moment. If an explosion were to go off near the International Conference Centre (lCC) where the results were being collated, this would create the situation that could allow some agents to move in and remove or burn election materials. 
 
“This option was, however, rejected. Not only was it considered extreme. It carried a high risk of unintended consequences, especially with the menace of Boko Haram running wild and loose in the country, it could also lead to loss of lives. 
 
“If the goal was to render the election inconclusive and stop the announcement of the final results, there must be some other way of achieving this. 
 
“The other way was to mobilize as many people as possible to invade the venue and disrupt the collation process. This was seen as a better option. It was low risk and had the added advantage of live television coverage to show the whole world the injustice that had happened in Nigeria and how the lNEC was part of the conspiracy. 
 
“No matter what happened, President Jonathan could not he informed of these plans. Everyone agreed that they had to save the President, even against his own will. It was a moment of blind passion. But this was not all about Jonathan. Apart from the personal benefits that had turned many of them into millionaires overnight, they saw the Jonathan presidency as the culmination of the Niger-Delta struggle that had started many years earlier and cost so much in human lives. 
 
“It was the ultimate recompense for so much bloodshed, which would, perhaps, require more blood to preserve. But they also knew that President Jonathan was no militant. To some of them, he wasn’t even ljaw enough. 
 
Therefore, if he knew what was being planned, he would no doubt stop it. The only way to get him to act ‘more presidential was to keep everything away from him till the last minute, thereby forcing his hands.’ For the plan to succeed however, the inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) had to withdraw their officers from the International Conference Centre. While they did not envisage any problem with the DSS, the same could not be said of the police. This was why the Deputy inspector General, Sotonye Wakama, was invited to the meeting instead of the Inspector-General himself. Wakama was an ljaw man from Okirika in Rivers State, just like the First Lady. He could be trusted. The same could however not he said of his boss, Suleiman Abba, from Jigawa. 
 
“About the decisions arising from the meeting he had been invited to, Abba declared in no uncertain terms that the police would not be party to such obnoxious plan. Instead of withdrawing his men, he decided to send in reinforcements. This was a major setback, but not enough to scuttle the entire plan. 
 
“Text messages had already been sent out to some key people, inviting them to join the protest at the International Conference Centre. Even though only a few had acknowledged the text messages, they believed everyone would turn up. After all, those invited also had a lot to lose with President Jonathan out of power. 
 
“Unknown to the plotters, a few of those that received the text messages planned to heed the call. Not having attended the meeting, they had little or no background information about the protest they were being invited to participate in. 
 
“Many also wondered who the brains behind the plot were. The Jonathan campaign had been fractious and disjointed and it was often difficult knowing who was doing what. 
 
“Those within the party hierarchy were particularly bitter at their perceived alienation from the presidential campaign. Therefore, they were not going to join a battle they were not considered important enough to be part of in the first place. A good number ignored the call to am because they did not want to make a spectacle of themselves live television transmitting to the whole world. And so it was that almost everyone stayed away. Except one man, Peter Godsday Orubebe.” 
 
The book also revealed the botched plans to abduct the ex-INEC chairman, Prof. Jega. 
 
It says: “The stoic calmness displayed by Jega during the stormy session soon attained the metaphorical status believed to have contributed in upending the plot hatched to truncate the electoral process, 
 
“What the INEC chairman probably did not know at the time was that part of the plan was to abduct him under the smokescreen of the confusion that would ensure the moment the police began to fire tear gas canisters into the venue. 
 
“Once abducted, he would either be forced to resign or to declare the election as inconclusive. However, with other actors not playing their part and the police not reacting as envisaged, all had gone awry within minutes.” 
 
Having failed in all fronts, some loyalists of the ex-President came up with the idea of a military takeover to prevent Buhari from becoming the President.

Latest-News REVEALED: There was a plan to kidnap Jega, just before he announced 2015 election results

Unknown to many Nigerians, there was a plot to abduct a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof. Att...

No brother in the jungle - "We were kidnapped and sold into slavery in Libya by fellow Nigerians" – Returnees

08:10 Unknown 0

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 Thousands of Nigerians have been repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an ongoing exercise that has seen 1,295 retrieved from Libya in November alone. 
 
Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya. 
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On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country. 
 
Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to newsmen that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya. 
 
One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother. 
 
According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000). 
 
Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages. 
 
She said, “When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie. 
 
“The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria. 
 
“But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone. 
 
“The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again.” 
 
Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April. 
 
He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians. 
 
According to him, when their Nigerian “burger” (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells. 
 
“We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife,” Anyaegbunam said. 
 
Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent. 
 
He said, “The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. 
 
“There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. 
 
“When you approach them and say, ‘Please, my brother, help me.’ They would tell you, “No brother in the jungle.” 
 
A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen. 
 
“You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.” 
 
All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation. 
 
“Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family,” he said. 
 
Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State. 
 
Officials of the state’s task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home. 
 
A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home. 
 
He said, “The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them. 
 
“After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend. 
 
They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system.” 
 
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home. 
 
Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people. 
 
She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land. 
 
“We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria,” she said. 
 Over 400,000 Nigerians, others still stranded in Libya –AU Commission 
 
Meanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya. 
 
Hundreds of thousands more — “400,000 to 700, 000,” according to Mahamat — remain stranded. 
 
European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. 
 
On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli. 
 
But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home. 
 
Even so, the summit’s commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed. 
 
“It is a step in the right direction,” International Organisation for Migration Europe Director, Eugenio Ambrosi, told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels. 
 
“It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent,” Ambrosi said. 
 
He said the summit also showed there was now “international watchdog pressure” that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be “sustained.” 
 
The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron. 
 
It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives. 
 
Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home. 
 
The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to “dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers,” he said. 
 
They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice. 
 
 Returnees get N100m, 150 hectares of land for farming 
 
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has approved a seed capital of N100m and 150 hectares of land for 150 victims of human trafficking, who recently completed skills acquisition training in the state. 
 
Obaseki announced this on Friday during the graduation of the participants of the programme, which was organised by the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, the state capital. 
 
He also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to immediately liaise with the relevant authorities towards securing the land for the returnees to commence their agricultural businesses. 
 
According to the governor, the beneficiaries would be put under the supervision of the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority and the EADP. 
 
Obaseki stressed the need for coordinated efforts to end modern slavery. 
 
He stated that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, marked on December 2 annually by the United Nations, should be seen as a day for deep reflection on how to bring the illicit trade to an end. 
 
Obaseki said, “We ordinarily should not be talking about the menace of slavery given the experience we have had. But it is a reality today and we have no choice but to tackle it. 
 
“However, it is pertinent to point out the fact that modern-day slavery, in its various forms, such as forced labour, debt bondage, and human trafficking, has no place among us. To effectively abolish slave trade as we have it today, it takes a coordinated, deep-reaching, international coalition that will take into cognisance the various forms of modern-day slavery and compel perpetrators to back down.” 
 
He, however, commended the returnees, comprising 51 trained on crop production, 15 on agro-processing, 68 on livestock farming and 52 on fish farming, for participating in the programme. 
 
He also urged them to be ambassadors in the state-wide campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration. 
 
Earlier, the Programme Manager of the EADP, Mr. Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, commended the state government for initiating the training and expressed optimism that the trainees would put the skills acquired to good use.