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Why was Arewa Excluded from ‘Shameful’ Comparison of Miyetti Allah with Afenifere, Ohanaeze – Bakare
Serving Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday, described as shameful the Presidency’s attempt to put herders’ group, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria, on the same social status as the Yoruba and Igbo socio-cultural bodies, Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, respectively.
Bakare made his position known in a sermon in the church in Ogba, Lagos State.
He said it was more shameful for the Presidency to exclude the North’s socio-cultural organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, from its illogical comparison.
Speaking on “The sign of Jonah, the prophet,” the cleric led the congregation to pray that Nigeria would vomit “bandits, killers, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, killer herdsmen and looters” to round off his sermon.
He stated, “It is shameful for anyone to compare Miyetti Allah with Afenifere. Such person cannot be in his right senses to think that Miyetti Allah and Afenifere and Ohanaeze are the same.
“How can a group that has been rated as the fourth most deadly group in the world by the United Nations, a group of terrorists, be the same as Afenifere?
“How can a group that kills people, rapes women, destroys houses be on the same scale as Afenifere? Do Afenifere members carry weapons?”
Bakare argued that the exclusion of the ACF from the comparison by the Presidency was deliberate, in order to put the northern group on a higher scale above Yoruba and the Igbo groups.
He added, “And to show the true colour of the person doing the comparison, he left out the ACF from his comparison as if that one is above everybody else.
“If you have to put Afenifere and Ohanaeze on the same scale as Miyetti Allah, why did you exclude the ACF? Is it not to tell everyone that the ACF is superior to other groups in the country?”
The cleric submitted that bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, killer herdsmen and looters had become the commander-in-chief of the nation, owing to their overwhelming presence and the inability of the relevant authorities to stop their activities.
Bakare said, “It is evident that the bandits; criminals, killing people every day; those kidnapping people over the place; and cattle rustlers and killer herdsmen terrorising the people are in charge in this country; they are the commander-in-chief.
“Nobody seems to know what to do anymore; the terrorists are in charge. They have even extended their regime to these areas. They now kidnap lecturers; doctors are no longer safe.
“The whole nation is under the control of terrorists. But in the name of the Lord, Nigeria shall be delivered. I shall witness the deliverance and greatness of Nigeria.”
The Punch
Headlines
Mbappe Cleared of Rape Allegation
The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.
This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.
The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.
Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision
His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.
Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.
“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”
The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.
Headlines
I Don’t Do PR for Nigeria, I Stand by What I Said, Kemi Badenoch Replies VP Shettima
The leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has lashed back at Vice President Kashim Shettima over the latter’s reaction to her comments about Nigeria.
Badenoch was born in the UK in 1980 to Nigerian Yoruba parents.
Badenoch, who attained age 16 in Nigeria before departing the country for the UK where she was elected Conservative Party’s leader, described Nigeria as a nation brimming with thieving politicians and insecurity.
However, Shettima, while speaking at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, December 9, 2024, accused Badenoch of “denigrating her country of origin” with her remarks.
The vice-president listed influential people whose families had migrated to other countries, commending former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “brilliant young man who never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”
Reacting on Wednesday, Badenoch lashed back at Shettima, saying she doesn’t do “PR for Nigeria”.
Her spokesperson, as the Tory leader, according to UK Express, said: “Kemi is not interested in doing Nigeria’s PR; she is the Leader of the Opposition in the UK.
“She tells the truth; she tells it like it is; she isn’t going to couch her words. She stands by what she said.”
Headlines
Yuletide: Reduce Petrol Price to N300 Per Litre, Bode George Urges Tinubu
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has urged President Bola Tinubu to reduce the price of petrol to N300 per litre, noting that it would enable Nigerians to celebrate the festive season.
He also said the party will overcome its current challenges before the 2027 elections, noting that the ambition of an individual should not be higher than the party’s interest.
Speaking on the need for a reduction in petrol price at a press conference in Lagos, the PDP leader said the reduction should commence immediately.
George said: “What am I suggesting is that by the 15th or the middle of this month, President Tinubu, if he really believes that these Nigerians voted him into power, it is time to give back to them.
“There are two months in any calendar year that are very important months. Whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, an atheist, or a traditionalist, it is common and it is all over the world. The months of December and January are the most important months.
“From the middle of December, at least to the end of January, the cost of petrol should be reduced to N300 per litre. The government can absorb the losses.
“With this, you will be sending a lot of messages of happiness across the tribes and homes. Everybody in Nigeria will be happy because it will positively impact this period of the year.
“It is a challenge and he can do it. If Madam First Lady could donate N1 billion to a university, she could also donate into the coffers to bear this cost. What’s wrong? So that everybody will be able to sleep well with N300 per litre across the board.
“So by the end of January, in the meantime, the prayers, the happiness, the impact of that will drive people up. And the Almighty God will answer our prayers. We need this in this December and January to put a smile on the faces of people.
“Who is the Minister of Petroleum? So he has a singular effort and if he really looks at these cuts in fuel price across all political parties, all human beings, all Nigerians, he will see the joy in them because the cost of items will crash.”
He said there is no organization anywhere in the world that is not riddled with crisis.
He said this at an interactive session in Lagos.
“I call our party (PDP) the Iroko because the party didn’t emerge from anywhere. It is entrenched in our constitution. Section 7 (3c), of the PDP constitution states that there will be and there must be and there shall be zoning and rotation of party positions and elective offices.
“Everything that had been in the South must go to the North. Everything that is in the North must come to the South. So that was what drove some of us because this is justice, equity, and fairness.
“That’s what made some of us say, I will join politics. We were the first to be elected in 1999. The first were appointed the managers.
“They handed over to us these procedures and these doctrines, so suddenly human manipulation came because someone wants to be president.
“So your ambition is now higher than the corporate ambition of everybody. Who the hell are you? And because it’s been going from generation to generation, I’m happy I’m still alive. We can talk about it.
“What they handed over to us, we are telling them, this is what they handed over that made the party to be stable. We will tell ourselves some serious old truths. We messed up ourselves with the manipulation. It started with Ayu,” the party chieftain added.