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At about 3.00 Am on Saturday morning, 16 February, 2019, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  announced the postponement of the general elections scheduled for the same day by one week while that of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly were shifted from March 2 to March 9, 2019. 

Prof. Yakubu also stated that the postponement was due to logistic challenges the Commission was contending with. Prof. Yakubu  refused to entertain any questions from journalists after the announcement.

 Interestingly, President Muhammadu Buhari had made a national broadcast some days, before the INEC Chairman's announcement. 

Indeed, the utterances and body language of President Buhari indicates that he is not ready to relinquish power.

Sadly, most hit by the election postponement, are Nigerians  who traveled long distances to the places they registered for the elections for the sole purpose of voting for the candidates of their choice.

What becomes of the huge financial resources that have gone into the postponed elections for law enforcement and security agencies ?

Indeed, there is more to the postponement than meets the eyes.

In this interview with Poverty Line, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke says  that INEC, is to blame for its inability to  plan ahead for  problems the postponement has brought about. Excerpts :

What is your reaction to the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ?

Nigerians ought to have expected  that the postponement was imminent, if the happenings and some events bothering on safety and security were to be considered ab initio for almost six months, the allegations of the influx of illegal weapons into the country had been reported, not into the hands of security agencies, but into the hands of invisible Nigerians.Intelligence gathering ought to have exposed the sponsors of the illegal arms and the purpose they imported it. But this is not so.

One should not be surprised at the report of various killings in political campaigns, most especially the ones involving the ruling party and the main opposition party.

INEC's claim that the postponement was due to  logistic challenges, should be taken in two ways, partly, Nigerians ought to accept it, if one considers the recent burning of INEC offices in some states of the Federation. 

The allegations that foreign observers intend to interfere with the electoral process, must not be ignored, even though the statement credited to the Kaduna state Governor was overzealous. 

The allegation made against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), are equally significant, if one considers the various interventions of the United States of America in countries, such as Egypt, Libya and Iraq, to be a voyage of disastrous consequences for the affected nations.

The question now is that when are Nigerians going to be truly independent ?

The issue of the postponement of the general elections could therefore be regarded  as the usual economic waste, when one considers the logistic issue of security and economic importance, regarding the observers, party agents and INEC officials, that had left their places of origin to travel to such a far distance, with the accompanying risks. They now have to return home due to the sudden postponement.

Who is to be responsible for their remuneration and compensation ?                            

On the other hand, the postponement will certainly be to the advantage of the major political parties to consolidate their strategies and gains, most especially in the area of decampment for sale and possible onslaught to prey on  91-2 political parties which would be more of surrogates or buffer solution, to boost the chances of  each of the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the PDP at the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The blame on the part of INEC, is on its inability to proactively plan for exigency of this nature to the extent that any form of disequilibrium in the Chemistry of our political activities ought to have been addressed at the preventive levels  of solution, not to nosedive into a very costly postponement, which upon final analysis , must have resulted into a huge economic waste, pockets of waste of lives and property and the general state of frustration for all Nigerians, most especially those who are eligible to vote, into another state of apathy.

INEC and the National Orientation Agency must rise into action to disabuse the minds of Nigerians, so that they would be able to turn out en mass to perform their civic responsibilities, in electing our new leaders for the next four years for us.

Above all, we should count ourselves lucky, that we have the retired military Generals as determinant factors of the country's political destiny. They are to blame for not giving Nigerians the necessary legacy for political stability and sustainable development, making us to grope in the darkness of life, looking for a messiah.

Apart from this, we need to appreciate the fact that the ruling party and the main opposition party are not green horns when it comes to the conduct of elections, which in the annals of our history has always been fraught with  rigging.

What Nigerians should expect is not their rhetoric of politics, which we are already used to with dashed hopes, but that this election should be conclusive, free, fair and credible. The eventual winners should be people and development focused and must have zero tolerance for institutional indiscipline and corruption.

The appeal is that votes must count for the people to wholeheartedly support the cause of the government that shall eventually emerge.

At about 3.00 Am on Saturday morning, 16 February, 2019, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  announced the postponement of the general elections scheduled for the same day by one week while that of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly were shifted from March 2 to March 9, 2019. 

Prof. Yakubu also stated that the postponement was due to logistic challenges the Commission was contending with. Prof. Yakubu  refused to entertain any questions from journalists after the announcement.

 Interestingly, President Muhammadu Buhari had made a national broadcast some days, before the INEC Chairman's announcement. 

Indeed, the utterances and body language of President Buhari indicates that he is not ready to relinquish power.

Sadly, most hit by the election postponement, are Nigerians  who traveled long distances to the places they registered for the elections for the sole purpose of voting for the candidates of their choice.

What becomes of the huge financial resources that have gone into the postponed elections for law enforcement and security agencies ?

Indeed, there is more to the postponement than meets the eyes.

In this interview with People, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke says  that INEC, is to blame for its inability to  plan ahead for  problems the postponement has brought about. Excerpts :

What is your reaction to the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ?

Nigerians ought to have expected  that the postponement was imminent, if the happenings and some events bothering on safety and security were to be considered ab initio for almost six months, the allegations of the influx of illegal weapons into the country had been reported, not into the hands of security agencies, but into the hands of invisible Nigerians.Intelligence gathering ought to have exposed the sponsors of the illegal arms and the purpose they imported it. But this is not so.

One should not be surprised at the report of various killings in political campaigns, most especially the ones involving the ruling party and the main opposition party.

INEC's claim that the postponement was due to  logistic challenges, should be taken in two ways, partly, Nigerians ought to accept it, if one considers the recent burning of INEC offices in some states of the Federation. 

The allegations that foreign observers intend to interfere with the electoral process, must not be ignored, even though the statement credited to the Kaduna state Governor was overzealous. 

The allegation made against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), are equally significant, if one considers the various interventions of the United States of America in countries, such as Egypt, Libya and Iraq, to be a voyage of disastrous consequences for the affected nations.

The question now is that when are Nigerians going to be truly independent ?

The issue of the postponement of the general elections could therefore be regarded  as the usual economic waste, when one considers the logistic issue of security and economic importance, regarding the observers, party agents and INEC officials, that had left their places of origin to travel to such a far distance, with the accompanying risks. They now have to return home due to the sudden postponement.

Who is to be responsible for their remuneration and compensation ?                            

On the other hand, the postponement will certainly be to the advantage of the major political parties to consolidate their strategies and gains, most especially in the area of decampment for sale and possible onslaught to prey on  91-2 political parties which would be more of surrogates or buffer solution, to boost the chances of  each of the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the PDP at the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The blame on the part of INEC, is on its inability to proactively plan for exigency of this nature to the extent that any form of disequilibrium in the Chemistry of our political activities ought to have been addressed at the preventive levels  of solution, not to nosedive into a very costly postponement, which upon final analysis , must have resulted into a huge economic waste, pockets of waste of lives and property and the general state of frustration for all Nigerians, most especially those who are eligible to vote, into another state of apathy.

INEC and the National Orientation Agency must rise into action to disabuse the minds of Nigerians, so that they would be able to turn out en mass to perform their civic responsibilities, in electing our new leaders for the next four years for us.

Above all, we should count ourselves lucky, that we have the retired military Generals as determinant factors of the country's political destiny. They are to blame for not giving Nigerians the necessary legacy for political stability and sustainable development, making us to grope in the darkness of life, looking for a messiah.

Apart from this, we need to appreciate the fact that the ruling party and the main opposition party are not green horns when it comes to the conduct of elections, which in the annals of our history has always been fraught with  rigging.

What Nigerians should expect is not their rhetoric of politics, which we are already used to with dashed hopes, but that this election should be conclusive, free, fair and credible. The eventual winners should be people and development focused and must have zero tolerance for institutional indiscipline and corruption.

The appeal is that votes must count for the people to wholeheartedly support the cause of the government that shall eventually emerged.

The Independent National Election(INEC) in Oyo state has   barred the reporter of an online investigative news platform  People (2day.emyspot.com) from  covering the Presidential, NationalAssembly and Governorship elections in the state .

  Prior to its decision, it had informed journalists in a Media Briefing it held recently, that  media organizations wishing to cover the general elections had only a day to submit a letter from their organizations and two passport photographs of their staff wishing to cover the elections within 24 hours.

Surprisingly, an INEC official in the state office, told the affected reporter that ''your application was not approved'', even though INEC never gave any instruction to media organization to submit applications.

Interestingly, in a news report on Thursday, by 12 noon , in the Oyo  state owned Broadcasting Corportation(BCOS), the  television station's reporter, reported that INEC in the state received   about 600 applications from media organizations, but only had media kits for 251 journalists. 251 reporters to cover elections in Oyo state alone ?

Sadly, in past elections,the state office of INEC had given accreditation to individuals who do not have any business in journalism, to cover the elections, for purposes that were at variance with  the conduct of free, fair  and credible elections.

The  Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)funded by the United States has blamed the abnormally high temperatures and late rains for the imminent food crisis in southern Mozambique and parts of the centre of the country.

According to FEWS NET Report the agricultural season began forty days late, with just 53 per cent of planned planting in the south taking place in December.

 167,000 people benefitted from humanitrain aid in January,this resultedm in several= commmunities in the southern province of Gaza  getting out of the crisis category, whilthe Report stated that  the assistance was insufficient to change the crisis classification in other southern and central semi-arid areas.''

It also brought to the fore the plight of of people living in the central provinces of Zambezia, Sofala, and Manica where tropical cyclone Desmond caused flooding on 21 January just as the Report maitained that "the storm caused localized flooding, damaged infrastructure, and affected over 1,300 hectares of crops".

''In addition, about 6,000 people were displaced from some peri-urban areas of Beira and Dondo cities in Sofala and in parts of Chinde district in Zambezia. Mozambique's relief agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC), has created transit centres to provide shelter, food, and water and sanitation.''

''Much of southern Mozambique (in particular, the interior of Gaza and Inhambane provinces) is naturally semi-arid. However, this year the weather pattern has been disrupted by the El Nino phenomenon. El Nino is an anomalous warming of the surface waters in parts of the Pacific, which has a major impact on weather patterns worldwide. In southern Africa, it frequently results in severe droughts, '' the report concluded.

The proper upbringing of children is essential if parents and guardians hope to groom the youth to provide credible leadership in future.

This assertion was made by the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke  on Saturday, in an address he delivered at the opening ceremony of the Ishrat  2019 and Kiddies sports in Ibadan, Nigeria.
''Infant mortality and maternal mortality rate must reduce, adequate funding and scripture compliant religious exercise must be sought, while Government, Society and Parents must uphold the culture of observing the seven codes of child rearing-Value, Protection, Safety, Respect, Inclusion, Hearing or giving attetnion as well as giving freedom to manage the growth of children from infancy to adolesence. This is to produce virile and versatile youth that will be capable of offering service, direction and sacrifice in leadership for good governance''.

''It will make children to know and uphold their rights and would avail them the opportunity to relate even theoretical lessons in school, to real life situations as expected of funcitonal education and good citizenry. Government, the Media, Parents, Institutions of learning, Professional bodies, Security agencies, Sports Administrators and Voluntary organizations must adopt and adapt it as a culture to be able  to bring out the best out of children for future credible leadership and good governance for sustainable development'', Prof. Olagoke stated.

Western Cape Member of Education Council in South Africa,Debbie Schaffer has  called on parents and guardians to assist in the safeguarding of facilities and property in Schools in the region.

 ​​An appeal has been made by three junior high schools in the Gyabankrom Circuit of Abura-Asebu- Kwamankese District in the Central Region of Cape Coast Ghana  for  financial assistance for school infrastructure upgrade.

The school which include,  Afrangua D/A Basic School, Mpeseduadze Bob Beadle JHS and Betsingua D/A Basic School  lack  toilets, potable water, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) centre in addition to the  school buildings which are  in a deplorable state.Mr Joseph Appiah, the head teacher of Mpeseduadze Bob Beadle JHS, lamented that  some RLG laptop computers donated to the schools about 10 years ago to enhance teaching and learning of ICT were faulty and had not been repaired for the past three years.

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya has been ranked as the most dynamic city in Africa.

The ranking  was done by JLL's City Momentum Index, which also ranked it as the only city outside Aisa pacific,  that is among the top 20 most dynamic cities in the world.

The Momentum index also stated that Nairobi has been projected to have one of the fastest-growing populations in the world over the next five years.

 Nairobi  has an heavy presence of Chinese investors, who among other Investors from Asia have invested heavily on infrastructure