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Presidency’s Bayo Onanuga sends fire to Obasanjo over comment on democracy, asks ex-leader to blame himself for Nigeria’s political missteps
Chief Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has taken former president Olusegun Obasanjo to the cleaners over the ex-president’s comment faulting western style liberal democracy.
Onanuga said Obasanjo should look himself in the mirror before making comments on national issues as he Obasanjo was responsible for the current state of Nigeria’s democracy.
Speaking on Monday, the presidential aide stated that rather than pontificating, Obasanjo should know that democracy the country currently practices dates back to direct inputs by Obasanjo when he led the country’s first as military Head of State from 1976 – 1979 and as civilian President from 1999 – 2007.
“Obasanjo ought to know that he brought this thing into Nigeria. He was the one who made us adopt it in 1979. He must have seen it as expensive and unsuitable when he governed us for eight years and even wanted an extension for another four years.
“So, the way he is sounding, it is like the man is getting wiser after leaving office,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency’s response followed comments by Obasanjo where he explained that the Western style of democracy failed in Africa because it does not consider the views of the majority of the people and doesn’t take into account the continent’s history, culture and tradition.
Obasanjo, who spoke while delivering his keynote address at a high-level consultation on ‘Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy for Africa’ in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, described Western liberal democracy as “a government of a few people over all the people or population and these few people are representatives of only some of the people and not full representatives of all the people. Invariably, the majority of the people are wittingly or unwittingly kept out.”
Advocating what he described as ‘Afro democracy’ in place of Western liberal democracy, President Obasanjo said that African countries have no business in operating a system of government in which they have no hand in its “definition and design.”
According to him, “The weakness and failure of liberal democracy as it is practised stem from its history, content and context and its practice. Once you move from all the people to a representative of the people, you start to encounter troubles and problems. For those who define it as the rule of the majority, should the minority be ignored, neglected and excluded?
“In short, we have a system of government in which we have no hands to define and design and we continue with it, even when we know that it is not working for us. Those who brought it to us are now questioning the rightness of their invention, its deliverability and its relevance today without reform.
“The essence of any system of government is the welfare and well-being of the people: all the people. Here, we must interrogate the performance of democracy in the West when it originated from and with us the inheritors of what we are left with by our colonial powers.
“We are here to stop being foolish and stupid. Can we look inward and outward to see what in our country, culture, tradition, practice and living over the years that we can learn from, adopt and adapt with practices everywhere for a changed system of government that will serve our purpose better and deliver?
“We have to think out of the box and after, act with our new thinking. You are invited here to examine clinically the practice of liberal democracy, identify its shortcomings for our society and bring forth ideas and recommendations that can serve our purpose better, knowing human beings for what we are and going by our experiences and the experiences of others.”
But The Presidency, through Presidential Spokesperson Onanuga blamed President Obasanjo for a poorly copied model during his tenure as Head of State and, later, President, criticising him for not advocating a better system despite his current views saying, “If he believes in what he is saying now, he ought to be an advocate of the need to go back to the parliamentary system.
“We were practicing the parliamentary democracy the British left for us. Then, the military struck in 1966. And when we were going to return to democracy, instead of going back to what we were practicing before, parliamentary democracy, which was not expensive, it was this same Obasanjo who accepted the recommendation of the constitutional assembly at that time that recommended this American-style democracy.”
Onanuga criticised Obasanjo’s implementation of the Presidential system, saying, “Obasanjo also knew that he copied this Presidential system very wrongly. He copied the form and structure. But he didn’t copy the spirit of it.
“Something that should have been under him in 1999 to 2007, he even made attempts to modify the constitution.”
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Tinubu: My govt has created 650,000 jobs via National MSME clinics In 19 states and FCT
President Bola Tinubu on Monday disclosed that his government has created 650,000 jobs through its National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinics in 19 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Tinubu also vowed to remove all bottlenecks militating against Nigerians turning ideas and skills into successful businesses.
The President made this known via his verified X handle, @officialABAT and explained that a tailor should not need millions of naira to buy industrial machinery before she can grow her business while a food processor should not have to build a factory before producing at scale.
This, he stated, informed why the Federal Government, “under our Renewed Hope administration, is investing in shared MSME hubs through our National MSME Clinics, giving entrepreneurs access to modern equipment, reliable power and production facilities without carrying the full cost alone.”
According to Tinubu: “Today, 21 shared facilities across 19 states and the FCT are supporting businesses and an estimated 650,000 jobs. ReadPolitical News
“Nigerians do not lack ideas, skill or ambition. Too often, they lack access to the tools and infrastructure needed to turn them into successful businesses.
“Our job is to remove those barriers.
“When small businesses can produce more, at lower cost, they become more competitive. They grow. They employ more people. They create income and opportunity for Nigerian families.
“Giving Nigerian enterprise the tools to succeed is how we build prosperity from the ground up. That is the Nigeria we are building.”
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Experts raise alarm on Shawarma, Cancer, Kidney Disease
Health professionals have warned that regular consumption of shawarma containing high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, seasoning and processed meat may contribute to hypertension, obesity, diabetes and kidney disease.
Excessive salt can raise blood pressure and put additional strain on the kidneys, while high-calorie sauces may contribute to weight gain.
Nutrition experts advised Nigerians to eat shawarma in moderation, use less mayonnaise and other sauces, choose lean grilled meat and add more vegetables. Consumers were also urged to check vendors’ cleanliness and avoid food prepared where ingredients are exposed to flies, dust or poor handling.
A recent report by experts also warned that frequent consumption of Shawarma may increase the risk of other food-borne infections and long-term health problems.
The report contains documented cases of people who suffered vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and weakness after eating shawarma, with some requiring hospital treatment.
According to the report, poor hygiene could allow bacteria and other contaminants into shawarma, causing illnesses including cholera, dysentery, typhoid and salmonellosis.
It also raised concerns about mayonnaise and creamy sauces kept without proper refrigeration and warned that poor storage could encourage bacterial growth and increase the risk of food poisoning.
A study cited in the report found bacterial contamination in ready-to-eat shawarma sold on the streets
Experts also raised concerns about processed meat such as sausage, noting that the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans.
News
Phone communication exposes married woman in the case of Abuja resident who died in a hotel
The mystery surrounding the death of a man whose body was found by the roadside in Abuja has taken a new turn, with police tracing the case through his missing mobile phone to a married woman who allegedly spent time with him at a hotel.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Sanusi, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja, saying investigators arrested Rukayat Muhammed after tracing the deceased’s final communications.
The man was found dead on August 26 along the Kubwa Expressway, near Katampe under the bridge, after his family had earlier reported him missing.
According to the police, the case initially raised suspicion of a possible “one chance” incident. Investigators, however, established that the dead man was the missing person after identifying his remains.
Sanusi said the deceased’s mobile phone was missing and had been switched off. Police investigators subsequently traced his last known communication, leading them to Rukayat, a resident of Garki Area 2.
Investigators reportedly discovered that Rukayat, who is married, was allegedly in a romantic relationship with the deceased. The police said she had saved his contact under the name “Safiyat.”
The CP said the pair had lodged at Good Samaritan Guest House on 2nd Avenue, Gwarinpa, where the man later died.
Sanusi said Rukayat allegedly discovered that the man was no longer breathing but failed to alert the police or hotel management. Instead, she allegedly took his phone and left the hotel.
The case took another turn when hotel management later discovered the man’s body inside the room after attempts to contact the occupants failed.
Rather than reporting the discovery, two hotel staff members, Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus, allegedly removed the body from the room and transported it to the Kubwa Expressway, where they dumped it under the Katampe bridge.
The police said the action was apparently intended to distance the hotel and its management from the death.
Sanusi said detectives were still working to establish exactly how the man died and determine the individual roles of those connected to the incident.
He warned that anyone found to have participated in the death, concealment or abandonment of the body would face prosecution.
The commissioner said the investigation remains ongoing.
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