Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has raised fears that the political posturing of President Goodluck Jonathan – using the military to delay scheduled election – might invite a military coup on the country.
“The signs are not auspicious,” Mr. Obasanjo told the Financial Times in an interview in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. “I don’t know whether a script is being played.”
“I sincerely hope that the president is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup . . . I hope we can avoid it.”
There have been concerns among opposition activists and civil society that Mr. Jonathan is excessively courting the armed forces and dragging them into politics.
National elections, earlier billed for February 14 and 28, were rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 following a “strong advisory” and a warning from the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and military chiefs that they could not guarantee security for the polls.
The opposition All Progressives Congress has accused the military of being used by the Jonathan administration to scuttle the election after it had earlier given a clear commitment to provide security for the elections just three days before making a volte-face.
Many Nigerians also expressed concern when the Nigerian Army addressed a press conference in January, saying it did not have the original certificates of Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate Mr. Jonathan’s party is battling to disqualify from running.
And just recently, a leaked audio recording suggested that Mr. Jonathan ordered the military to rig last year’s Ekiti governorship election in favour of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.In his interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Obasanjo said the military, especially the army, is in bad shape and had not been properly led.
“It’s a question of leadership — political and military,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “I think you need to ask [Mr Jonathan] how has he let [the army] go to this extent . . . Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; welfare was bad.”
There are suggestions Mr. Jonathan would prefer to hand over to the military rather than Mr. Buhari if he loses the coming presidential election, but there is so far no clear-cut evidence to suggest that, although the APC has repeatedly alleged that the president’s party is in cahoot with the military to rig the coming election.
In the interview published Tuesday, Mr. Obasanjo, a card-carrying member of the PDP, openly endorsed opposition candidate, Mr. Buhari, saying he is best for Nigeria at this time.
The APC candidate is a former military head of state, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985.
“The circumstances [Mr. Buhari] will be working under if he wins the election are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature — he knows that,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “He’s smart enough. He’s educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”
Mr. Obasanjo has repeatedly accused Mr. Jonathan of deepening corruption in Nigeria and mismanaging public funds.
Speaking about the financial crisis facing the country as a result of the crash in crude oil prices, Mr. Obasanjo sees some positives in the development.
“There’ll be less in the pot, for stealing or corruption,” the paper quoted him as saying.
Premium Times
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Alleged abuse in refugee camps for Nigerians displaced due to Boko Haram violence
Nigeria is to investigate reports of rapes, child trafficking and other abuses in camps for people fleeing from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The country's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has formed a panel to investigate the abuses.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that investigators would visit every camp for displaced people.
Approximately 3.2 million Nigerians have fled their homes to escape Boko Haram's insurgency in the northeast.
Nema's investigation is a response to a report published by Nigeria's Calabar-based International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).'Grievous' abuses
The report, written by freelance journalist Charles Dickson, alleges that hundreds of young girls have been trafficked from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Many victims were from unregistered, makeshift camps established when official camps could no longer cope, the report says.
It quotes an unnamed nurse as saying many children were brought to her hospital after being raped in the IDP camps.
It also alleges refugees are being sold as unpaid domestic workers, raped repeatedly, and in some cases burned and wounded with knives.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that the allegations were "very grievous".
Ezikial Manzo said that the report published by the ICIR was the first Nema had heard of abuses at the camps and that its panel would "do everything in their power" to investigate.
Mr Manzo said that representatives from the ICIR had been invited to join the investigators as they toured the camps. He was not able to say how many camps there are, as many have been set up unofficially to cope with the millions of refugees.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram's insurgency in the country's northeast, 1.6 million internally and 1.6 million in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
BBC Nigeria analyst Jimeh Saleh says Nema's decision to launch the investigation is significant as the allegations are extremely serious.
Many people do not report rape in Nigeria, and have little confidence in the police to investigate cases, he says.
They will be hoping that Nema's investigation will be credible, and help break the culture of silence around rape, our reporter adds.
Nema has given the investigators two weeks to compile their report.
Nigeria's upcoming general election, due to take place on 14 February, has been postponed until 28 March due to security concerns.
Government officials said the country's military would be unable to provide sufficient security for the poll due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
BBC
The country's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) has formed a panel to investigate the abuses.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that investigators would visit every camp for displaced people.
Approximately 3.2 million Nigerians have fled their homes to escape Boko Haram's insurgency in the northeast.
Nema's investigation is a response to a report published by Nigeria's Calabar-based International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).'Grievous' abuses
The report, written by freelance journalist Charles Dickson, alleges that hundreds of young girls have been trafficked from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Many victims were from unregistered, makeshift camps established when official camps could no longer cope, the report says.
It quotes an unnamed nurse as saying many children were brought to her hospital after being raped in the IDP camps.
It also alleges refugees are being sold as unpaid domestic workers, raped repeatedly, and in some cases burned and wounded with knives.
A spokesperson for Nema told the BBC that the allegations were "very grievous".
Ezikial Manzo said that the report published by the ICIR was the first Nema had heard of abuses at the camps and that its panel would "do everything in their power" to investigate.
Mr Manzo said that representatives from the ICIR had been invited to join the investigators as they toured the camps. He was not able to say how many camps there are, as many have been set up unofficially to cope with the millions of refugees.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram's insurgency in the country's northeast, 1.6 million internally and 1.6 million in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
BBC Nigeria analyst Jimeh Saleh says Nema's decision to launch the investigation is significant as the allegations are extremely serious.
Many people do not report rape in Nigeria, and have little confidence in the police to investigate cases, he says.
They will be hoping that Nema's investigation will be credible, and help break the culture of silence around rape, our reporter adds.
Nema has given the investigators two weeks to compile their report.
Nigeria's upcoming general election, due to take place on 14 February, has been postponed until 28 March due to security concerns.
Government officials said the country's military would be unable to provide sufficient security for the poll due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
BBC
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Video - Thousands of Nigerians flee Nigeria
Boko Haram crisis has been directly affecting Cameroon as well. The number of Nigerian refugees in the country has quadrupled. We take you to a camp in Maroua in the north of the country.
Boko Haram kidnap 20 in cameroon
Suspected militants from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have hijacked a bus in northern Cameroon, abducting at least 20 people, residents say.
Militants reportedly seized a bus carrying market-goers and drove it toward the border with Nigeria.
Some reports put the total number kidnapped in Cameroon as high as 30.
Boko Haram has escalated its attacks outside Nigeria in recent weeks, targeting neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.
The insurgency has forced a postponement of Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary elections from 14 February to 28 March.
The bus was seized near the border area of Koza and driven towards the Nigerian border 18km (11 miles) away, a resident told the Associated Press news agency.Prison attacked
In an apparently related incident, several Boko Haram fighters were killed and around 10 Cameroonian soldiers injured as the militants attacked Kerawa, a local journalist told the BBC.
A separate group of fighters reportedly attacked the nearby town of Kolofata, looting food and livestock.
The attacks in Cameroon follow a series of assaults on the border towns of Bosso and Diffa in Niger.
Boko Haram militants targeted a prison in Diffa on Monday but were repelled by soldiers from Niger and Chad.
Diffa was also targeted by a car bomb which exploded near a market, news agencies reported, citing residents and military sources. A local journalist in Diffa told AFP he counted one dead and 15 injured.
Niger's parliament is due to vote on Monday on contributing 700 troops to a regional force battling to regain territory from Boko Haram ahead of Nigeria's rescheduled elections.
Abbo Moro, Nigeria's interior minister, told the BBC he believes the fight against the militant group will be successful enough for the elections to go ahead.
Elections for state governors and assemblies slated for 28 February have also been moved to 11 April.
BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says many observers in the country see the delay as a political move aimed at helping the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
Uncertainty over the election is also having economic repercussions, our reporter says, with Nigeria's currency the naira falling to a record low on Monday.
The Boko Haram insurgency has caused more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
On Saturday, Nigeria and the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin agreed to establish a force of 8,700 troops, police and civilians to fight the group.
BBC
Militants reportedly seized a bus carrying market-goers and drove it toward the border with Nigeria.
Some reports put the total number kidnapped in Cameroon as high as 30.
Boko Haram has escalated its attacks outside Nigeria in recent weeks, targeting neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.
The insurgency has forced a postponement of Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary elections from 14 February to 28 March.
The bus was seized near the border area of Koza and driven towards the Nigerian border 18km (11 miles) away, a resident told the Associated Press news agency.Prison attacked
In an apparently related incident, several Boko Haram fighters were killed and around 10 Cameroonian soldiers injured as the militants attacked Kerawa, a local journalist told the BBC.
A separate group of fighters reportedly attacked the nearby town of Kolofata, looting food and livestock.
The attacks in Cameroon follow a series of assaults on the border towns of Bosso and Diffa in Niger.
Boko Haram militants targeted a prison in Diffa on Monday but were repelled by soldiers from Niger and Chad.
Diffa was also targeted by a car bomb which exploded near a market, news agencies reported, citing residents and military sources. A local journalist in Diffa told AFP he counted one dead and 15 injured.
Niger's parliament is due to vote on Monday on contributing 700 troops to a regional force battling to regain territory from Boko Haram ahead of Nigeria's rescheduled elections.
Abbo Moro, Nigeria's interior minister, told the BBC he believes the fight against the militant group will be successful enough for the elections to go ahead.
Elections for state governors and assemblies slated for 28 February have also been moved to 11 April.
BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says many observers in the country see the delay as a political move aimed at helping the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
Uncertainty over the election is also having economic repercussions, our reporter says, with Nigeria's currency the naira falling to a record low on Monday.
The Boko Haram insurgency has caused more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
On Saturday, Nigeria and the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin agreed to establish a force of 8,700 troops, police and civilians to fight the group.
BBC
Monday, February 9, 2015
Video - Al Jazeera talks with Nigeria Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari
Nigeria's main opposition leader shares his views on the postponed vote, Boko Haram, and challenges facing his country.
Related stories: Video - Presidential candidate General Buhari promises to tackle Boko Haram and corruption
Nigeria presidential elections postponed for six weeks due to Boko Haram
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