Headlines
Peter Obi: My Government Will Be Responsive, Responsible over Insecurity
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday, said he would deal decisively with the issue of insecurity ravaging the country if voted into power as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Fielding questions on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Monday, Obi said he would not reveal the step-by-step strategy he would use in tackling insecurity should he become the President in 2023.
He, however, said he would sack non-performing service chiefs during his tenure as President.
Asked about how he would respond to the type of security alert raised by the United States on possible terror attacks in Nigeria, Obi said, “Rufai, even with a gun on my head, I can’t give you details of what I’m going to do with the issue of insecurity. But I’m going to be commander in chief, I will deal with it decisively. I can’t tell you how I’m going to deal with it because if I tell you, it won’t work.
“My first responsibility in this country is to secure lives and property. It is a critical thing because unless you do it, nobody will invest. The farmers can’t go back, so there is no food production, there is nothing that can happen without food production.
“Not even America…all the time they were going to Baghdad, they just said, they will attack massively, decisively, they never gave us how they were going to do it that night. How can I tell you? I will be in charge, I will be commander in chief and with security, we will be responsive and responsible. That means, whatever happened we will deal with it decisively and someone will have to be responsible for it. If you are not doing it, you are out. We are not going to wait.”
The Punch
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
