Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 29th November 2018

Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 29th November 2018

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 29/11/18

target=_blank>Police Arraign Deji Adeyanju For Making ‘Criminal’ Facebook Posts

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arraigned Deji Adeyanju, the Convener of Concerned Nigerians, for “criminal defamatory and derogatory conduct against constituent authority and breach of law and order pasted by Deji Adeyanju on his Facebook page”, among other offences.
Adeyanju, alongside two others, was arrested earlier on Wednesday by the Police while leading a protest tagged ‘Police Are Not Politicians, Save Our Democracy’ in Abuja.

target=_blank>Ex-Militants Storm Delta Government House To Protest ‘Shady Award Of OML 30 Surveillance Contract’

Hundreds of Niger Delta ex-millitants of phases one to three of the Federal Government amnesty programme marched to the Government House in Asaba, the Delta State capital, to protest the “hijacking of the pipeline surveillance contract for the Trans-Forcados Pipeline”.
It took the combined efforts of various security agencies to calm down the protesters who blocked the Anwai road leading to the gate of the Government House on Wednesday.
The aggrieved youth called on Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State, to “intervene to avoid crisis in the state as a result of the re-awarding of the surveillance contracts to people who are not familiar with the terrain”.
Speaking with journalists, Lord Tennyson, leader of the group, claimed that about 1,000 angry youth and ex-agitators from the 111 communities of Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri and Isoko ethnic nationalities, who are hosts to the OML 30 facilities, had earlier come to Asaba to make complaints, but stated that nothing had been done.
Addressing the youth, Okowa called on those trying to foment crisis in the state using the oil surveillance contract as a ploy, to desist as such could cause economic challenges.
“This protest is happening on the day we are holding our security council meeting and the security agencies are here. The agencies have been working hard with the support of our people and our youth to keep the Trans Forcados line safe and we thank God that because of the safety of that pipeline, the oil production of this nation has increased,” he said.
“I want to advise that whosoever is plotting against the people — those who are benefiting and through the process of surveillance contracts are being empowered — should allow Delta State remain peaceful, because, in peace, we will be able to produce and export more crude oil and in that export, the nation and the state gains.
“It is our hope that nobody, especially as the oil prices are going down, should take any action that will foil the quantity of oil that we are currently producing.”
He advised the youth to remain peaceful as his administration would take necessary actions to address their grievances.
He continued: “We have held series of meetings with stakeholders and we have long agreed on the fact that it is best to secure our pipelines when we are in charge by ourselves; you cannot come and watch over someone else’s backyard. The people who own the place know best how to protect their property and if since June 2017 that the Trans Forcados line has been open, it has been functional and our oil production and export has continued to increase and there has been no complaint, I will find it very disturbing if a new contract is being awarded not to talk about awarding the said contract under a higher cost.
“That will definitely not be responsible and I believe that Mr. President will not accept this. I am very confident that he will not support such a cause and I do not believe that the Nigerian nation realises that as at today we still heavily depend on the proceeds from oil and if our oil production has improved to the level that we have some level of comfort as a nation and as a state, I do not think that an action that will lead to the disruption of our oil production and export is something that will be welcome.
“Our nation is doing well and anything that is being done that will cause the reversal of the progress that we are making in terms of oil production will be an economic sabotage and I believe that any action being taken now to re-award the surveillance job to a new company that will come to displace the locals will be economic sabotage.
“I do not think that is what we will support as a state. So, we are asking you to please be patient. Since you have decided to follow the due process to protest peacefully. We thank and appreciate you for the information that you have passed to us. We will act as quickly as possible to ensure that there will be no disruption to the progress that we are making thus far.”

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E2%80%99s-been-very-difficult-me-says-tekno target=_blank>It’s Been Very Difficult For Me, Says Tekno

Nigerian singer, Augustine Miles Kelechi, popularly known as Tekno, has stated that he is facing difficulty.
He stated this on Wednesday via a post on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Tekno’s management team led by Ubi Franklin had called on Nigerians and the fans of the singer to pray for him as his vocal box had been damaged due to his failing health.

target=_blank>If Not For Our Efforts, Terrorist Attacks Would Have Been Worse, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says but for the efforts of the present administration in the past three years, terrorist attacks would have been worse.
He stated this at the palace of Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, on Wednesday when he visited Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
He expressed his administration’s determination to do everything to secure the country, and commiserated with all Nigerians who lost loved ones following recent setbacks in the fight against terrorists.
The President’s remarks were contained in a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity).
His words: “We have to remind ourselves where we were and where we are now and what happened in between. The people of Borno State know what we did in the last three years. The situation would have been worse.”
He also promised to do more to address unemployment in the area.
In his remarks, the Shehu of Borno, who spoke on behalf of the State’s Council of Chiefs, thanked the President for bringing peace to the state, and asked for intensive security patrols across the territories to save people from attacks on farms.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Buhari attended the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference where he declared that the war against terrorism is “a must win’’.
In his address at the conference, Buhari said: “It is a must win war. I want to encourage our troops not to be distracted by speculations but remain focused and committed to the task of eliminating Boko Haram from the surface of the earth.
“I want to reassure you that as your Commander-in-Chief, I will do everything within my power to continue empowering you by providing all the necessary equipment, force multipliers and enablers required for you to prevail on the field.
“I also want you to be aware that I am currently looking into measures to improve your entitlements and welfare generally. The officers and men who are fighting against the curse of terrorism in the North East deserve all the attention our country’s leadership can give them.
“As President of the country, I am determined to ensure that every citizen feels safe and secure in all parts of the country. To achieve this, the security agencies must rise to the challenge and curb threats to security in our country.”
Addressing officers of the Nigerian Army at the Maimalari Barracks, headquarters of Operation Lafiya-Dole, he said: “I have come to pay homage to the gallant soldiers lost by the nation and to console the injured ones in recent terrorist attacks. I urge you to remain focused and win the war”.
Buhari also commended Nigerian Army’s commitment to upholding democracy and urged them to remain committed to their profession.
“As we approach the 2019 General Elections, I want to urge all members of the Armed Forces to live up to their responsibilities and remain non-partisan. In addition, you must all remain vigilant throughout the electioneering period and alongside other security agencies, prevent every form of violence that could disrupt the process in line with your Rules of Engagement,” he said.
In his statement at the conference, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai spoke on the achievements of the military in recent years, noting that the army remains neutral and non-partisan and will carry out their constitutional duty of safeguarding the nation’s democracy.

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target=_blank>Senate Probes $500m Loan ‘Obtained By Yahaya Bello Without Approval’

The Senate has directed the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt to look into the loan of $500million allegedly obtained by Yahaya Bello, Governor of Kogi State, without approval.
The point of order was raised by Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, during the plenary on Wednesday.
Citing Orders 42 and 52, Melaye claimed that the Kogi State Government signed a loan of $500million without the approval of the National Assembly or the Kogi State House of Assembly.
Speaking on the loan, Atai Aidoko, the senator representing Kogi East, said: “This is unacceptable. This state is in so much debt. There is no law that allows a Governor to withdraw $500million without approval from the Senate.
“The state has not been paying salaries; where is all this money going? Let us do the needful and put these loans to an end.”
In his comments on the matter, Senate President Bukola Saraki stated: “There are comments and allegations that we must first decide. We must refer it to the Committee on Local Debt and we are supposed to set up an Ad-hoc Committee and give them a maximum of 48 hours to report back on whether this loan has been taken, the process to which these loans have been taken and that such actions should be suspended until we establish it them. Let us allow our Committee to establish the status of the point you raised.”
The Senate resolved to refer the point of order to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt to report back within 48 hours, or a maximum of five days.

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target=_blank>Why Nigeria Will NOT Defeat Boko Haram In 20 Years By ‘Mayowa Tijani

This is a personal journey: Before I left for the United Kingdom in September 2017, I promised myself that my master degree was not going to be just another one. I said to myself that this one will be one that equips me to help Nigeria in her walk and work towards development.
In my written goal for the programme, I wrote that this degree will equip me to help Nigeria “as the country inches her way out of the claws of Boko Haram, an extremist group in the northeast,” by “working with development partners from across the world, who are focused on redeveloping the northeast region in the fastest possible time”.
As a brief background, I have worked on a few journalistic projects dealing with insurgency in the northeast, with the last being about the attack on civilian refugee camps in Rann, the northmost town in Nigeria, where over 126 people were killed. On arrival at the University of Sussex, the world’s best school for development studies, ahead of Harvard and Oxford, I was keenly looking for module choices that could help me address the problems I saw first hand in the northeast.
After learning about hands-on media tools, critical perspectives to development and social change, and other media-related issues, I wanted to learn more about insurgencies and how the mind of a terrorist works.
I enrolled with the School of Global Studies to take a course in irregular warfare, and learn more about the mind of an insurgent. I did not bargain for what I got. Long story cut short, I studied all irregular warfares in the 20th and 21st century. From my experience as a journalist, who has reported the war in the northeast, and my study of irregular warfares across the world, I wrote what I consider a fascinating paper on how Nigeria can defeat Boko Haram. The paper will be made available when published.
The rest of this column this week will share a few insights from the paper, and why I think we cannot defeat Boko Haram in the next 20 years if we continue on this path.
WHAT IS NIGERIA’S COUNTERINSURGENCY STRATEGY?
Have you ever asked yourself what Nigeria’s counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy is? In my interactions with soldiers, government officials, victims, and aid workers involved in the Boko Haram war, there is a simple retort: “that information should be classified”. Bloody civilians are not privy to such information.
No insurgency in the history of the 20th and 21st century has ever been won this way. Not one.
Broad COIN strategies are known, and are prosecuted with the support of the citizens. The fine details are what the military keeps as classified. To win any irregular warfare, you need “the population” on your side. The population in this sense are those people, whom the government has a responsibility to protect and whom Boko Haram uses as a weapon against the state. They are the victims of the war.
From my understanding of the war, Nigeria’s broad COIN is to outkill Boko Haram. This is simplistic use of brute force. Military spendings from 2011 to 2015 shows that Nigeria spent $16.382 billion on defence, but made little progress against Boko Haram. In fact, when military spendings were plotted against number of Boko Haram inflicted death, I found that the more we spent, the more deaths we recorded. The more we spent, the more Boko Haram progressed.
Boko Haram knows that we want to outkill them, so they use classic irregular warfare tactics to outmaneuver the military and lead the ill-equipped Nigerian forces into numerous ambushments.
Boko Haram’s ideology may not be too clear, or may be seen as “a mishmash of opportunism” as Cameron Duodu suggest, but we cannot deny the fact that there is an ideology. And you can’t kill an ideology with simple military force; for every terrorist killed, more fuel is added to the insurgent’s ideology tank for revenge. Or how do you kill the terrorism that looks down the barrel of your gun and sees paradise?
Until we have a strategy that includes force and counter-ideology, we would continue to lose money, arms, gallant soldiers, and the war itself.
FEW LESSONS FROM OTHER WARS
Of all the irregular warfares in the two centuries under review, the closest to the Boko Haram war, in my opinion, is the Malayan War of 1948 to 1960. This same war has been adjudged by many scholars and military experts as the classic counterinsurgency success for the British government, and a template, by which many other counterinsurgencies are executed or/and judged.
This war lasted 12 years! In the first two years, the British army was doing exactly what the Nigerian army has been doing with Boko Haram in the past nine years — exerting military force, and attempting to outkill insurgents.
Like Boko Haram, the Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA) had a better understanding of the geography and extreme temperatures, and used it as a complimentary weapon against the army; they had the sympathy of the population; and the necessary disappearance and operational agility.
MRLA avoided open battle but preferred ambushes, and fled along known jungle trails whenever engaged. This made it extremely difficult for the British forces to ascertain whether the enemy had been eliminated or simply melted away to return at a later date.
Same case as Boko Haram: A soldier who was raised in southern Nigeria is sent to Kagoro, Kala Balge, or Sambisa to fight insurgents who were raised in the region. Insurgents who know every nook and cranny of these forests, they use the terrain — which is the soldier’s blind spot — as a weapon. They lay an ambush, and kill soldiers for fun.
During the Malayan war, security forces conducted sweeps, destroying residences from which insurgents were perceived to have received some sort of support, and due to distrust, the British army often shot innocent civilians they found running away — so is the case with the Nigerian army. This made the people more sympathetic to the insurgents and made intel gathering next to impossible.
After two years of defeat, Field Marshal Montgomery wrote in 1951, a clear plan of action and a fit-for-purpose man to execute the plan was needed for victory in the Malayan war: “We must have a plan. Secondly, we must have a man. When we have a plan and a man, we shall succeed: not otherwise”.
By 1952, the Brits yielded to Montgomery and hatched a civil-military plan, led by General Gerald Templer, and prosecuted the plan for the next eight years, leading to the end of the insurgents.
After losing in our early years, Nigeria in 2014 also hatched a plan; the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST), which was updated in 2016. Are you hearing this for the first time? I thought so too.
NACTEST as a COIN plan is ambiguous; has no designated lead ministry or agency, has no clear-cut coordination plan. The strategy as a whole is domiciled under the office of the national security adviser (NSA), who has no statutory role, rather than just advising the president. He does not have the power to fully implement the strategy as Templer did with British COIN in Malaya. The NSA has simply asked all ministries to open counterterrorism desks. Desks!
Time and chance will not permit me to discuss the French and American COIN in details, but there are immense lessons, highlighting the fact that Nigeria cannot defeat Boko Haram this way. To defeat a rag-tag fighting force like Boko Haram or ISWAP, we need to go back to 1994 and listen to UNDP: “The battle of peace has to be fought on two fronts. The first is the security front where victory spells out freedom from fear. The second is the economic and social front where victory means freedom from want”.
Nigeria needs civil-military operations that ensure we win the sympathy of the population, an understanding of the fighting terrain, economic liberty for those who are potential Boko Haram recruits, and then some sheer military force. This cannot be achieved in a hurry, the earlier, the better.
For more explanation of the British, French and American counterinsurgency plans as it relates to Nigeria, reach ‘Mayowa on Twitter @OluwamayowaTJ

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target=_blank>Ezekwesili Picks National Chairman Of Her Party As Running Mate

Ganiyu Galadima has been named the running mate of Oby Ezekwesili, presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).
This was announced during a meeting of the party held at Kwara Hotel in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Wednesday.
Ganiyu Galadima is the National Chairman of the ACPN.
He was also the ACPN presidential candidate during the 2015 general election.

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target=_blank>With Funmi Alakija’s Support, Destiny Trust’s Helping Hands ‘Cuddle’ Hundreds Of Homeless Children

Through a Medical Outreach tagged ‘Hands of Care’, the Destiny Trust, under a partnership with health intervention initiative, Dr. Funmi Alakija Foundation, has provided free healthcare to 218 homeless children at a slum on the Elegushi beachfront, Lekki, Lagos.
One thousand packs of personal hygiene materials were also distributed to hundreds of homeless children and families that turned up at the temporary Point of Care set up in the area on Saturday, November 24, 2018.
The initiative was supported by Wellahealth, a health technology solutions company; Doctoora Health, a short-term healthcare facility provider; and Sanitary Aid NG, non-profit providing free sanitary materials to disadvantaged young people.
“The Hands of Care outreach is an intervention to promote the health of homeless children who can hardly access healthcare services,” said Abimbola Ojenike, The Destiny Trust Co-founder. “The wellbeing of these children is at the heart of our work of educating, empowering and caring for them. We believe that no child should be held back in life by the scourge of disease.”

While highlighting the urgency for a broad-based approach to address the healthcare challenges of the urban poor children, Ojenike added: “Short-term health interventions only bring a respite to those who desperately and immediately need healthcare and help us to understand the problem more, so that we have the right information for planning for the underserved people.
“Homeless children who live in squalor on the streets and slums would require a more integrated and sustained intervention. This should include addressing the challenges of homelessness and empowering poor households to take care of the children. In the short term, we are expanding the capacity of our in-centre care programmes for homeless children and lending our voice to the development of inclusive communities where the children of the urban poor can live, thrive and participate in the social and economic system of their country.”

The Destiny Trust provides care, education and empowerment to homeless children and young people in disadvantaged groups. Rehabilitated street children are provided shelter, daily feeding, education and equipped with skills in computer programming and other vocational fields.
The Trust also operates community-based education and care interventions for homeless children who cannot be accommodated under its in-centre care programmes.

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target=_blank>BREAKING: Buhari Visits Wounded Soldiers In Maiduguri

President Muhammadu Buhari has visited wounded soldiers in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The President visited the soldiers on Wednesday after attending the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference where he declared the event open.

ICIR Launches The Biggest Collaborative Project By Nigerian Newsrooms

Panel Discussion at #CrossCheckNigeria

Ahead of the 2019 general election, a coalition of news organisations in Nigeria is collaborating to combat misinformation, fake news and other information disorders that might have a negative impact on the polls.
The goal of the collaborative verification project is to help improve the quality of information available to the voting public, debunk misinformation and fake news and sanitise the media space in the run up to the elections.
The verification project will allow several newsrooms in Nigeria to work together to investigate claims and rumour circulating fast in the social media and debunk them before they go viral or do harm.
The reporting will be powered by a group of about 15 newsrooms across the country drawn from print, electronic and online media, through a central portal and then amplified by the project partners via their own channels and publications, ensuring more Nigerians gain access to accurate information.
The verification project is powered by First Draft, a UK organisation working at combatting misinformation across the globe. First Draft has developed a reliable technology to aid a rapid and amplified response to false, misleading and confusing information.
Over 46 journalists trained
A two–day bootcamp was organised for about 46 journalists, ICT and social media staff from 15 participating newsrooms, to learn about the new verification technology and how to work in a coalition.
Participating journalists will investigate claims on election–related issues and then work together to author reports that will help the Nigerian public have a better understanding of what is trustworthy or unreliable.
Building on experience in Brazil to crowdsource tips from the public about misinformation circulating on WhatsApp
The project will benefit from collective learning gained by First Draft and its partners on the Comprova project in Brazil: the first journalism collaboration to use the WhatsApp Business API for managing communications. Comprova collected almost 70,000 audience tips through WhatsApp.
As with Comprova, WhatsApp has provided advanced access to CrossCheck Nigeria, allowing multiple journalists to manage tips coming in from the public and respond faster.
It’s the biggest collaborative project by Nigerian newsrooms
About 15 media houses are involved in this collaborative effort. These include The Guardian, Punch, Daily Trust, The Sun, Tribune, Thisday and The Nation.
Others are Channels Television, Freedom Radio,Sahara Reporters, Premium Times, The Cable, The ICIR and News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
The coalition also includes AFP (Agence France-Presse).
The Mass Communication Department of the University of Lagos is joining as a research partner in the collective effort and will help test interventions and conduct computational research for the project.
Dayo Aiyetan, the Executive Director of International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, an independent, non-profit news agency, whose organisation will coordinate the project, expressed concern about how politicians weaponise information either to deceive the public or injure the reputation of opponents.
He said that as recent local elections have shown in the country, “the social media, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, have become avenues for politician to spread misinformation, rumour, falsehood and fake news”, adding that the media bears responsibility to verify information being churned out on social media to ensure that they are true.
“Journalists need to learn the skills to verify and fact check such misinformation and debunk them before they mislead people or cause harm,” he stated.
Aiyetan said no newsroom in Nigeria could singlehandedly confront the daily circulation of fake news with significant effect, which made the collaboration among several media houses necessary.
First Draft’s Managing Director Jenni Sargent said that “CrossCheck projects are designed to help the public to understand not only what to trust, but also why.”
“Followers of the CrossCheck Nigeria project will be shown the fact-checking and verification steps behind each report, and will also see the logos of all partner newsrooms that have taken part in each investigation. This transparency is essential to maintaining trust and credibility in this age of misinformation. We are delighted to be supporting such dedicated and talented journalists in Nigeria who are not afraid to show their work to each other or their audiences,” she added.
In addition, a number of select bloggers will be invited to join the traditional newsrooms as re-publishing partners. Participants in the coalition will benefit from continuous training and the opportunity to share knowledge, tips and expertise with each other across newsrooms.
“We really want this project to be driven and owned by Nigerian journalists as you know your audiences and political context far better,” said Phoebe Arnold, the International Projects Co-ordinator at First Draft.