N’ Assembly gives USA 7-day ultimatum on terror list

THE  diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the United States appear threatened over the foiled attempt by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day, even as the Nigerian Senate yesterday gave the United States authorities a seven-day ultimatum to remove Nigerians from their watch list.
In another development, in Abuja, yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, summoned the American Ambassador, Ms. Robin Sanders, to express the government’s displeasure over the terror list.
Relatedly, the House of Representatives on its part, while condemning the US action, argued that the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Federal Bureau for Investigations, FBI and other security agencies in the United States were culpable in the incident just as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Mike Aondoakaa, said Nigeria will officially demand that the United States remove it from a terrorism flight watch list.
Senate Spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, at a briefing with Senate correspondents on behalf of Senate President David Mark, yesterday, said the Senate would on resumption next Tuesday take a definite position should the American authorities refuse to rescind its decision.
‘Don’t criminalise Nigerians’
Affirming that the alleged aborted terrorist attempt by Abdulmutallab was an exception that should not be generalised, Eze affirmed that there was yet no evidence to blame the security failure on the Nigerian authorities.
Said he: “I am speaking on behalf of the Senate and on behalf of the Senate President to state categorically that we are very unhappy about the development and when we resume we are going to take this matter up seriously if America has not taken Nigeria off that list.
“We also want to advise America that it is in their own best interest to conduct this matter very well in a manner that will not result into diplomatic row between America and Nigeria because the American president had himself clearly admitted that this was a failure of the system and manpower of Americans and I don’t see where Nigeria comes in there.
“Moreover, this is just one instance of a Nigerian who it is clearly established has no link with any fundamentalist group or any interest group within Nigeria, not even with his parents. This was a boy whose disappearance was reported to security agencies, the American authorities, and all the relevant authorities and the American did nothing and for them to turn round to punish Nigerians for the sin of an isolated case like this is completely unacceptable to the Nigerian government and to the Nigerian Senate.
”We have also watched with keen interests several other breaches that have taken place since this boy’s attempt. There was an uninvited guest who went to the White House— he and his wife were found in the White House, that was not a Nigerian.
America should look inward and search their soul, there is something wrong with their system and they should not punish Nigerians who are very law-abiding and good international citizens for the failure and irresponsibility of American operatives. Nigeria will not take that.
US unfair to Nigeria’
“I think that it will be most unfair given the kind of relationship that has existed between America and Nigeria for America to jump to this kind of conclusion without even adequate consultations with the authorities in Nigeria. This is not acceptable to us and we are going to do whatever we can as a nation to prove to America that we will not take this.
“Our citizens who returned from different destinations, especially those who originated their flight from America went through hell in order to come to meet their kith and kin for the Christmas break and the harrowing experience has scared a lot of them who are even afraid to go back and some who are even afraid to originate their trips for genuine transaction in America arising from tales they got from their relations and friends, this must be stopped immediately. This is not how diplomacy is conducted.”
According to him, “We are going to engage all our diplomatic gear to ensure that we either have relationship with America or we don’t. We believe that America is a mature country, it is the model of democracy, all of us looked up to it and it has enjoyed very smooth and cordial diplomatic relationship with Nigeria. Nigeria has never been found wanting in her dealings with America.
“So, for them to embarrass this country with this kind of classification for no justification is completely unacceptable. It is not America alone that has citizens to whom the government is responsible, we also have citizens and we are responsible for them, we will not allow Nigerians to be molested wherever they go.
I think that this message should be put out clearly and when we resume, if the situation is still there, it is going to be one of the major issues that we are going to tackle and the Senate President has told me to state categorically that he is unhappy about this and being the chairman of the National Assembly, it means also on behalf of the National Assembly.”
Reps flays US’ action
Relatedly, spokesman for the House of Representatives, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, described as unwarranted and unfair, the inclusion of Nigeria on the list of countries on the United States’ terrorism hyper_alert countries.
“The earlier they de_list Nigeria on that list or rescind from the decision to put us on alert, the better for our diplomatic relations,” he warned.
Eyiboh,  however, said until the house resumed plenary next Tuesday, he would not issue an official statement on the issue.
The lawmaker who spoke to newsmen, yesterday, hours after a briefing by the Senate, added that CIA,FBI and other security agencies in the United States may also have been guilty of the terrorism act.
According to him, “CIA, FBI, security agencies in the United States are also culpable in the terrorism that they are talking about. It is possible that they have accomplices with the guys that trained that boy in Yemen .
“If not, why didn’t they condemn Yemen? Why have they spared Yemen and are now condemning Nigeria?” He added that the matter was not strictly within the purview of the National Assembly to decide whether to cut diplomatic ties with the United States but an Executive function.
Aondoakaa attacks decision
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, however, declared that the US “will rescind that decision because Nigeria is not a terrorist country and a single incident that involves a Nigerian cannot criminalise all Nigerians,” while the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo,  insisted that there was “no security issue” in the country.
He cited a  Briton, Richard Reid, the so_called “shoe bomber” convicted of trying to blow up a Paris_Miami flight in 2001.
According to the police boss, “If the American authorities could not add Britain … to the list of countries of interest, then there is no reason to include Nigeria. We may be deeply religious, but certainly we are no suicide bombers or terrorists.”
The Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili, had branded the move as discriminatory and unfair, saying the suspect, “was not influenced in Nigeria. He was not recruited or trained in Nigeria. He was not supported whatsoever in Nigeria.”
But, the  Action Congress, AC, argued that rather than sanctions, Nigeria needed the understanding and support of its international partners to stamp out religious extremism in the country.
According to the party, “a threat to peace anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere. Therefore, Nigeria’s international partners will also be assisting themselves by assisting Nigeria,” it said.
FG summons US envoy
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday, insisted that Nigeria does not deserve to be grouped among terrorist nations, saying it was unacceptable, even as it launched a process with the American Government towards de-listing the nation from that group.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, at a briefing in Abuja said  top Nigerian officials held critical discussions with the American Ambassador Robin Sanders and other top envoys on how to achieve that goal.
Notwithstanding Nigeria’s position, Maduekwe added that the government has ordered 30 full body scanners for the nation’s airport, a demonstration of the government’s non-compromising stance on terrorism..
The statement
According to him: “Listing Nigeria on second tire of countries that are indicated on the ladder of terrorism and security measures from the USA is an unacceptable New Year gift to a friendly country like Nigeria on the year of its golden jubilee celebration.
“We are not on the world terrorist list, nor have ever supported or connived with countries known for terrorist act. We have been on the list with which US has maintained excellent relationship. For the fact that these countries surround us does not place us in the terrorist list. It is unacceptable to Nigerians.
“I sensed some double standards here. What the young boy attempted to do is not different from what the suicide bomber-countries are doing and yet they are not on that list”.
The minister, however, noted that during the meeting with the US Ambassador to Nigeria, he pleaded that Nigeria should be off the list, adding that Nigeria is not against American government protecting its citizens from being harmed.
“We want the American government to look into the matter again. We are not against them for trying to protect its citizens and we will give them all the support they needed to condemn global terrorism.
“We pledged as government under the leadership of Vice_President in the absence of Mr. President to cooperate with US in all their investigations and we are keeping to that. We have stopped at nothing but to show that we are united in combating terrorism”, added Maduekwe.
He pointed out that even the state from which the young man came from is doing a soul searching on why he embarked on such mission, “it is embarrassing and unprofitable to Nigeria as a nation and undermines seriously our re-branding process.”

We’re helpless on Yar’Adua says Senate

THE Senate, yesterday, said it was helpless on President Umaru Yar’Adua’s ill-health and his capability to continue in office, arguing that  the constitution does not empower it to act in such  situation.
But, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, (Action Congress, Lagos West Senatorial District), disagreed, stressing that the National Assembly is not helpless. He  added that it has power under the constitution to salvage the situation.
Senate’s spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, said this at a briefing in Abuja,  while Senator Solomon spoke to Vanguard on telephone.
The continued absence of President Yar’Adua from the country in the last 45 days was also a major agenda at the Peoples’ Democratic Party,  PDP,  governors’ meeting yesterday.
Although the Senate appreciated the concern of Nigerians on the continued absence of the President, it affirmed that it had received assurances that the President was recovering and would soon return to work.
Eze,  who spoke on behalf of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, at an emergency briefing, noted  that the 1999 Constitution did not make provisions on such a situation that Nigeria hasfound itself.
He had called the briefing to address the enlistment of Nigerians among those to be subjected to increased security screening by the United States.
The briefing later dove-tailed to Yar’Adua’s absence from the country even as Eze parried most of the questions including a question as to whether the failure of the President to give indication of his whereabouts and circumstances amounted to gross misconduct.
Eze, who claimed that the Senate had received assurances on the improving health of the President, rebuffed questions as to the authority for his claim on the President’s recovery.
Our hands are tied on Yar’ Adua —Senate
Expressing the Senate’s frustrations with the 1999 Constitution which he said limited its powers on the absence of the President, he said:
“It doesn’t give us any leeway to compel him to do that. And,  the other option which the constitution will may be give the National Assembly the  leeway will be such a contentious and rambunctious and problematic route for anybody to travel in a democracy that is so tender and so young.
“I think that you are misplacing this question because the legislature does not have a compulsive power, the legislature does not have a compulsive power. The constitution has stated from Section 141 to 145 clearly what should be done in each case and the National Assembly is maybe the port of last resort and I think that we have gotten assurances that Mr. President is doing very well and he is on his way back.
“Why don’t we give him the benefit of doubt…time has a way of healing things like this because there are things that you cannot heal by running your adrenaline and I believe that time will heal this problem. Those who have seen him have assured us that he has done a tremendous recovery and we have no reason to doubt that he has not recovered and that he is on his way back. We have no reason to doubt that.
“I think that the concern that the absence of Mr. President is generating is quite interesting and quite healthy because it shows that Nigerians are actively interested in what those who govern them do. I don’t think that anybody will take away your right to express yourself the way you are doing, expressing anxiety, especially when not too much information has been made available.
“As I said earlier, time will heal this situation and the constitution has not, and, I repeat, has not specified made a section or any pronouncement on the situation in which we are in today. There is no such section in the constitution which says the President cannot be out of his seat away somewhere or can be, the constitution is quite silent on it.
And, if we do anything outside what the constitution says we will be committing an illegality, so, I call for restraint, I call for caution, time will heal the situation.”
Saying the situation on hand necessitated a review of the 1999 Constitution, he said:
“There are a lot of things that we need to take care of in the constitution. The present constitution which we operate and we don’t have any other one until we amend it talks about the President assenting to the bill, it didn’t describe the theatre, it didn’t describe the theatre where this assignment will be undertaken, that is what the constitution says.”
Senator Solomon disagrees
According to Senator Solomon, “It is very important we identify where we are now. A situation in which the President is indisposed and there is nothing to suggest that his Vice is handed over to. It means the constitution is not being followed.
So, that means that everything that has been done so far is illegal. So, it is an issue that should be discussed.
‘’The constitution does not envisage a situation where Mr President and the VP will not be in charge. I can tell you that there must be a solution to it in the constitution. Are we saying that we should go as we are now. What Senate Ayogu Eze said  cannot be the aggregate opinion. We cannot claim to be helpless. We should actually do something about it.
There is a lot the ruling party can do. If  they are helpless should the National Assembly be helpless too? Whoever says anything now is expressing a personal opinion,‘’ he declared.

Sorry, no medical report on Yar’Adua – Aondoakaa

The Federal Government, yesterday, ruled out the possibility of producing before a Federal High Court, Abuja, a certified medical report from King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia, attesting that President Umaru Yar’Adua is  fit to continue in office.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), who made the disclosure in Abuja moments after a heated court proceedings in three separate suits asking President Yar’Adua to step down for his Vice, Dr  Goodluck Jonathan, owing to his ill-health, said the President was entitled to his private life.
‘Yar’Adua entitled to  private life’
“How can we produce such a document? It is not fair. Everybody is entitled to his privacy. If you bring such a document here, every Dick and Harry will photocopy it. He is entitled to his private life. It is not fair,” he complained to the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), while stepping out of the court room, yesterday.

Nigeria’s Power Failure, By Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai

Much has been said about the failure of leadership in Nigeria.  In fact many have extensively written articles about this subject, especially with regards to the absence of the president.  It certainly pains my heart that Nigerians who until now have had to accept mediocre and lackadaisical performance from its leadership are now being told that not only do we not deserve a government that works, we do not even deserve to have a government that is present.
When the Attorney General of the Federation can emphatically tell the country that the President can run the nation from Saudi Arabia indefinitely, then the question I ask myself is how has it become so easy to pull wool over the eyes of 150 million people?  Why have we allowed ourselves to be taken for granted for so long?
But this piece is not about the lamentable failure of current political leadership, nor is it about the pronouncements of dodgy lawyers and desperate politicians.  It is instead about the Nigerian people and the recent setback that the nation has suffered with regard to the Yar’Adua administration’s stated goals for electricity supply – indeed, a power failure.  This administration has informed the nation that Nigeria will NOT be able to meet its 6,000 MW target for electricity generation in 2009. It is now certain that this target has not been achieved, and our Vice President had the humility to apologize a few days ago.
It should be recalled that this administration, nearly 2 years ago, not only revised downwards the Obasanjo plan of 10,000MW by the end of December 2007, but promised the delivery of only 6,000 MW within 18 months, and also an additional 11,000MW by 2011 – See: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL19357020080219. Now, to put this reduced target in perspective, 6,000MW continuously generated and distributed for 150 million people, equally shared per person will only power a single 60W light bulb for about 58 minutes a day!  The rest of the nearly 23 hours will be part dark, and part without any radio, TV, refrigerator or fan working. And forget about air-conditioning!
Given the current predictable trend of Yar’Adua administration’s track record of disappointing outcomes, it only goes to say that the latter promise of 11,000 MW will not be a reality either.  To many Nigerians this does not come as a surprise, noting that just days after the Vice President promised that no Nigerian will use power generators in 2010, the Presidency itself proposed spending N542.4 million in the 2010 Federal budget to purchase and fuel its power generating plants.  This government has delivered nothing but slogans; and the expected gains of our democracy, which saw real forward progress in many areas under the previous administration, have been completely stalled and all we now have are empty promises, lofty slogans and continuous threats to citizens that dare to demand change.
Without adequate power supply Nigeria cannot achieve its potential.  To help put things in comparative perspective, Nigeria’s power demand is estimated at about 15,000 MW but only about 3,400 MW is available at peak generation – less than 23% of our electricity need is currently being supplied!  All the claims of generating “over 5,000MW” recently by the administration’s officials are of course – the usual slogans, and a false one at that!
According to the World Bank, South Africa generates 40,000 MW of electricity for a population of nearly 50 million, while Nigeria with a population of over 150 million only generates 3,400 MW at peak.
As shown above, this translates to very disappointing levels of electricity consumption per capita, thereby leaving our industries to perform at epileptic levels, goods and services to be sold at prices that automatically adjust, during power outages, to account for the expensive cost of production via generating sets and a populace that is unable to take advantage of the latest advances in technology and appliances.
All this puts a painful strain on the already difficult situation of our citizens who must in addition to paying higher prices for goods and services, also invest hard earned Naira to buy, maintain and fuel power generating sets for the their homes.
Nigeria’s power failure is a debilitating problem that must be addressed.  The envisioned growth of our economy cannot be achieved without improved electricity supplies, and there are crippling multiplier effects associated with thousands of small businesses throughout the country not having access to uninterrupted power supply to run their flour mills, printing presses, restaurants, cyber cafes and clinics.
Putting any one of these businesses out of work at any given point in time, due to power failure, has a direct impact on the growth and expansion of the business, which in turn feeds unemployment, keeps wages low and negatively impacts workers’ ability to provide financial support to their families.  No nation can achieve economic development and industrialization without adequate and regular power supply.
Nigeria has what it takes and this government must rise to its responsibilities – as very clearly echoed in a statement by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, this morning:
Nigeria is among governments that are “able but unwilling to make the changes their citizens deserve.”- Hillary Clinton – Guardian News, Thursday 12/17/2009
Nigerians must demand more from government, refuse to be intimidated by underhanded political tactics, and insist on our fundamental rights to a state with functioning utilities and infrastructure that is the bedrock of economic development.
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai was a member of the Presidential Economic Team 1999-2007, Fomer Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (1999-2003) and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (2003-2007). He chaired the Cabinet Committee on Power Supply Improvement between Jan-April 2007.

Maduekwe summons U.S. envoy over anti-Nigeria measures

- Senate issues ultimatum, AC urges caution

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- Army chief underlines Abuja's global peace roles

THE new security measures by the U.S. targeted at Nigerians is an unacceptable new year gift to a friendly country like Nigeria on its jubilee anniversary year."
Foreign Affairs Minister Chief Ojo Maduekwe stated this yesterday while conveying, to the United States (U.S.), the official reaction of the Federal Government to the inclusion of Nigeria on the list of countries with high security risk, following the Christmas day attempted bombing of an American airplane by 23-year old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdumutallab.
The minister, who also summoned the American ambassador, Robin Renee Sanders, to his office yesterday over the matter, said Nigeria was already moving in the direction of civility by setting in motion, a machinery for the improvement of security infrastructure in the nation's international airports.
The development came as the Senate issued a seven-day ultimatum to Washington to withdraw the measure that will compel full body search of Nigerians at airports.
Maduekwe also used yesterday's briefing to dispel reports that N2.7 billion was spent by the ministry on foreign trips saying much of the funds went into the payment of the country's statutory dues in her membership of global organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and for international seminars and workshops among others. He however pledged to submit the ministry's spending to greater prudence.
Sanders was not allowed to field questions from journalists yesterday. Maduekwe however maintained that the meeting explored the best options for both countries following the U.S. classification. He also disclosed that having also telephoned the U.S. State Department on Nigeria's concern over the terror list, ambassador Sanders pledged to pass on Nigeria's concerns to Washington "and get back to us in a couple of days."
As part of the improvement of the security infrastructure in the nation's airports, Nigeria has immediately ordered for 10 body scanners in addition to the four already provided by the U.S. government. He said: "Two are about to arrive. Eight are on their way into the country and there would be 20 others that would arrive in no distant time.. We did not hold on to some na�ve cry of sovereignty to reject the support we are getting from the U.S. in this regard. They were originally meant for suspected drug peddlers but its capacity can be stretched to detect terrorists. We have resorted to the usual diplomatic channel in handling the matter and I call for calm on all sides just as dignified responses best serve our interests in this difficult times. We are doing soul searching and have already pleaded to cooperate with the U.S. on the investigations currently going on in the matter."
Stating categorically that the selective treatment of Nigerians over Abdulmutallab's failed bomb bid was unacceptable to Nigeria, Maduekwe noted: "Putting Nigeria on that list is counterproductive. It will seriously undermine our re-branding challenge. Every system including ours would continue to improve itself. Even President Barack Obama has spoken of systemic failure. But we will come out of this stronger. There is nothing happening now that can deter Nigeria from its manifest destiny.
"This new twist would jeopardize the progress made so far in our bilateral relations. When Secretary of State Hilary Clinton came here, she made a strong commitment towards the start of the U.S.-Nigeria bi-national commission. So many things are going on in terms of capacity building and support between Nigeria and the U.S.. So, in this classification, I sense double standards since the shoe bomber's (the Briton, Richard Colvin Reid) action did not lead to a blacklist of his country when he was caught in the act similar to our own case... It is unfair to put us in the same category with those fighting the U.S. when we have been enhancing the U.S. security... there are far more Britons and Indonesians that are anti-American than Nigeria. And we say, it is in Nigeria's strategic interests to be positively engaged with the world's biggest economy. There are so many things being done that are best done quietly. A lot of things in diplomacy are not what people can see except for the outcome..."
On the possible existence of al-Qaeda elements in Nigeria to propel a culmination of events sparking the enlisting of Nigeria in the high-risk terror category, the minister said: "The impunity of religious extremists, condemnable as they are has nothing to do with anti-American movement or even al-Qaeda. Nigeria has not compromised its security. We acted in these and the loads of eruptions are not, frankly speaking really based on any religious causes. Nigerians are life-affirming people... It was a question of some unemployed youth being recruited by some powerful people and unscrupulous politicians in the name of religion."
The Senate warned U.S. government to withdraw its listing of Nigeria among countries whose citizens would be subjected to full body search or face the possibility of engaging Abuja's diplomatic machinery in full gear.
The ultimatum lasts until next Tuesday when the Senate sits, according to its spokesman, Ayogu Eze.
If the American government fails to heed the Senate, the Upper House will go into a closed session and initiate measures.
Also, the Senate admitted that it was constrained in dealing with the matter of the absentce of President Yar'Adua.
A visibly angry Eze yesterday at a press conference in Abuja said: "I am sure that you have been observing the trend in the media and we are referring to the issue of America listing Nigeria as one of the 14 countries to be placed under watch. I am speaking on behalf of the Senate and on behalf of the Senate president to state categorically that we are very unhappy about the development and when we resume, we are going to take this matter up seriously, if America has not taken Nigeria off that list.
"We also want to advise America that it is in their own best interest to conduct this matter very well in a manner that will not result into diplomatic row between America and Nigeria because the American president had himself clearly admitted that this was a failure of the system and manpower of Americans and I don't see where Nigeria comes in there.
"Moreover, this is just one instance of a Nigerian who, it is clearly established that it has no link with any fundamentalist group or any interest group within Nigeria, not even with his parents. This was a boy whose disappearance was reported to security agencies, the America authorities, and all the relevant authorities and the Americans did nothing and for them to turn round to punish Nigerians for the sin of an isolated case like this is completely acceptable to the Nigerian government and to the Nigerian Senate.
"We have also watched with keen interests several other breaches that have taken place since this boy's attempt. There was an uninvited guest who went to the White House. He and his wife were found in the White House. That was not a Nigerian. America should look inward and search their soul. There is something wrong with their system and they should not punish Nigerians who are very law abiding and good international citizens for the failure and irresponsibility of American operatives. Nigeria will not take that.
"It will be most unfair given the kind of relationship that has existed between America and Nigeria for America to jump to this kind of conclusion without even adequate consultations with the authorities in Nigeria. This is not acceptable to us and we are going to do whatever we can as a nation to prove to America that we will not take this.
"Our citizens who returned from different destinations, especially those who originated their flight from America, went through hell in order to come to meet their kith and kin for the Christmas break and the harrowing experience has scared a lot of them. They are even afraid to go back, and some others are even afraid to originate their trips for genuine transaction in America arising from tales they 've gotten from their relations and friends. This must be stopped immediately. This is not how diplomacy is conducted.
"We are going to engage all our diplomatic gears to ensure that we either have relationship with America or we don't. We believe that America is a mature country. It is the model of democracy all of us looked up to it and it has enjoyed very smooth and cordial diplomatic relationship with Nigeria. Nigeria has never been found wanting in her dealings with America. So, for them to embarrass this country with this kind of classification for no justification is completely unacceptable.
"It is not America alone that has citizens to whom the government is responsible. We also have citizens and we are responsible for them, we will not allow Nigerians to be molested wherever they go. I think that this message should be put out clearly that when we resume, if the situation is still there, it is going to be one of the major issues that we are going to tackle and the Senate President has told me to state categorically that he is unhappy about this and being the chairman of the National Assembly, it means also on behalf of the National Assembly."
AC said, however, that the Nigerian government itself must do its bit in making the country unattractive for global terrorism sponsors, who are seeking to recruit willing folks to swell their ranks.
It continued: ``If Nigeria is emerging as a recruiting ground for terrorists, it is because over the years, the government has not taken up the gauntlet of putting an end to the incessant religious crisis perpetrated by religious bigots and extremists- starting from the Maitatsine riots in the 1980s to Boko Haram and Kala Kato in 2009.
"Needless to say that the main reason the government has failed to stop the incessant sectarian violence is because most of those in power helped to create the monster of religious extremists in the north - just like the militants and in kidnappers in the south - for the purpose of rigging elections.
"Also, most of those who are recruited for these riots or violence are from the army of the unemployed or unemployables - all victims of the widespread and worsening bad governance in the land.
"Therefore, international partners of Nigeria must prod the government of the day to do more in stemming religious violence, and in ensuring violence-free as well as free and fair elections - a pre-requisite for enthronement of good governance. Once this happens, the ranks of those available for recruitment into extremist groups, from where they can then export their nefarious activities, will be depleted.
``A threat to peace anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere, as has been vividly brought home by the involvement of one misguided Nigerian, who tried to bomb a passenger plane in the U.S. on Christmas Day. Therefore, Nigeria's international partners will also be assisting themselves by assisting Nigeria.''
The party admitted, though, that the case of the 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the failed U.S. plane bombing plot, is different.
It added: ``This is young man from a good home, who had a world class education and never lacked anything. He may not fit into the profile of those extremists we described above. But the truth is that those religious extremists in our midst remain a clear and present danger to themselves, to Nigerians and to the global community. The global community must support Nigeria to rout them out, not turn Nigerians to pariahs because of them,'' it said.
Besides, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau yesterday described Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up Flight 253 US-bound aircraft as a misadventure that should not erase Nigeria's contribution to maintaining world peace.
Dambazau said while receiving the new President of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Abdullahi Mohammed, that "the positive contributions of Nigeria to world peace should not be overshadowed by the attempted terrorist attack."
Nigeria is the fourth contributor to Peace Support Operations (PSOs) in the world.
Dambazzau explained that the need to professionalize the department of Army Public Relations was to maintain military-civil relations and to speak the language that would make the civilians more comfortable.
Mohammed, who was elected NIPR President last month in Yenegoa, Beyelsa State, while thanking the Army for its support and for efforts to professionalise the Department of Army Public Relations, called on world leaders, particularly the American government, not to forget Nigeria's contribution to global peace. He added that the organisation was going to work with the Federal Government to improve Nigeria's image which is increasingly facing challenges from the international community.

Yar'Adua's health improves, seek passage of terrorism bill, says aide

- Nigerian doctors in U.S. raise posers over President's ailment The good news yesterday was that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's health condition has improved and he was in such a frame of mind as to attend to matters of state.
The information came from his Chief Economic Adviser Tanimu Yakubu who disclosed that as a matter of fact, he had been regularly discussing with the President on telephone just as some other key government officials.
In a short statement to The Guardian yesterday, Tanimu expressed Yar'Adua's readiness to return to attend to matters of state especially on the anti-terrorism bill currently with the National Assembly.
Tanimu's words: "President Yar'Adua this evening (last night) spoke to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole.
"I also spoke with the president this evening after he had spoken to these leaders who have continuously held the forte for him. In my discussion with him, he directed me to get the Attorney-General to intensify lobby for the passage of the anti-terrorism bill by the National Assembly which the president forwarded to the Senate and the Federal House of Reps early October. He said that he would like it to be the first bill he assents to on his return to Nigeria."
He added: "Mr. President's health condition has substantially improved. In the last week, I have spoken to him on telephone countless number of times. Our conversations every time we spoke lasted more than five minutes. Mr. President also told me that he spoke to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan two times in the last five days."
And as far as United States (U.S.) medical board-certified cardiologists are concerned, acute pericaditis, the ailment which Yar'Adua is officially said to be suffering from, does not normally require treatment for a long period of time for which the President has been away.
Yar'Adua has now been away from office on medical grounds for more than 40 days, fuelling speculations on his medical conditions and creating a political vacuum in governance with its attendant fallouts at home and abroad.
Dr. Oluyemi Badero and Dr. Ola Akinboboye, New York- based award-winning cardiologists and American board-certified doctors, both agreed that the treatment of the ailment should take no more than a few days, and certainly not more than five days in all.
Cardiology is the medical specialty that deals with heart conditions, where pericaditis develops.
Badero and Akinboboye, in their early 50s and late 40s, were trained at Nigerian universities at Ife and Ibadan, but have become forces to be reckoned with in U.S. medical circles. They both run very flourishing private practices in New York City, a rather competitive medical market.
Speaking in an interview, Akinboboye, who is a nuclear cardiologist, explained that the Federal Government had been "deliberately vague" on the nature of President Yar'Adua's ailment because "simple acute pericaditis treatment does not take too long in most people."
Adding that the treatment could be handled in a "few days," Akinboboye, who is among the list of top New York doctors and is also a professor of medicine at the New York State University, said that the President's handlers might have just held back pertinent information about his medical condition.
Speaking in a similar vein, Badero, a cardiologist who has won praise from the U.S. Congress for his professional worth, also said: "If no surgical procedure is needed, the usual hospital stay is less than five days, with medication."
Akinboboye actually listed three possible instances and treatment at least one of which Yar'Adua might have in deed encountered.
He said in some cases, Motrin, a pain medicine could help. But according to him, where there is fluid around the heart so big as to restrict the functioning of the heart, which he called tamponade pericaditis, a more serious treatment is called for. This condition, he said, could cause inflammation and the medical team would have to drain the fluid through a tube passed through a hole made to the area.
A third and most serious instance, he added, would be if the heart had become encased by a solid, cement-like foreign object, that would be constrictive pericaditis and would certainly require an "open heart surgery."
According to Badero in his own analysis, pericaditis is an inflammation of the outer covering of the heart, known as the pericardium, adding that "the commonest causes are viral infection, complication of heart attack, collagen vascular diseases like lupus, and uremia (excess toxic body waste products) from chronic kidney disease."
He said: "Given Yar'Adua's history, it would seem his most likely cause is chronic kidney disease. The usual symptoms are dull, constant chest pains, worse on deep breathing and if there is development of fluid around the heart because of the inflammation of the lining, there can be low blood pressure, shortness of breath, dizziness, and swelling of the neck, abdomen and legs."
According to him, the treatment consists mainly of treating the underlying cause together with the use of anti-inflammatory drugs ( ibuprofen, indomethacin or in severe cases, steroidal drugs like prednisone).
In Yar'Adua's case, the cardiologist said: "Dialysis will remove the toxic wastes and the fluid build-up around the heart if any. In rare cases , he may require pericardiocentesis, a minor surgical procedure, to remove the fluid directly from around the heart."

‘Nigeria becoming irrelevant in the world’

By Ambassador Princeton Lyman
It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.
And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I  say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And,  I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be  doing Nigeria and Nigerians  no favour by stressing Nigeria’s strategic importance.
I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects  would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria’s importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria’s opinion of its own invulnerability.
Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of  the  most fundamental   challenges  they  have,many of which we have talked about: disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate  democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are  strategically impor-tant.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.
Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria’s importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.
One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…
We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity  and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.
What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?
And the answer is “Not really”.
And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.
And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.
So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer,  or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?
How influencial is Nigeria?
And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.
Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?
The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?
Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria— lack of  infrastruc-ture and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed.  Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and  exports and lives off the oil, which does not make  it a significant economic entity.
Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically impor-tant?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.
He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, “You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not  our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”
Nigeria-America relationship
The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that  Ghana  symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.
And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, “what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?”
No he would not, so he did not go.
And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?
So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria’s most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.
That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about  what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.
It takes an enormous amount of commitment.  You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.
South Korean example
I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person’s amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world.  I remember the economist in my mission saying, it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15  to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.
That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korean and turn her economy around.
It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don’t need saints. It needs leaders who say, “You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.”
Princeton Lyman is a former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria and former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs.

Terror: Nigeria needs assistance not sanctions, says AC

The Action Congress, AC, has reacted to the inclusion of Nigeria on the US terror screening list, saying Nigeria needs the understanding and support of its international partners in rooting out religious extremists in its midst, instead of being slammed with sanctions.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Nigerians themselves are victims of these religious extremists, who have engaged in killing, raping and maiming of thousands of innocent people over the years.

Ngierians are law abiding

“Nigerians, most of whom are law abiding and decent citizens, are now facing a double jeopardy – first from the misguided but few religious extremists among them and now from the US and other members of the international community seemingly intent on punishing all Nigerians for the sin of a few,’’ it added.

AC said, however, that the Nigerian government itself must do its bit in making the country unattractive for global terrorism sponsors, who are seeking to recruit willing folks to swell their ranks.

“If Nigeria is emerging as a recruiting ground for terrorists, it is because over the years, the government has not taken up the gauntlet of putting an end to the incessant religious crisis perpetrated by religious bigots and extremists- starting from the Maitatsine riots in the 1980s to Boko Haram and Kala Kato in 2009.

Blames religious extremism on political leaders

“Needless to say that the main reason the government has failed to stop the incessant sectarian violence is because most of those in power helped to create the monster of religious extremists in the north – just like the militants and in kidnappers in the south – for the purpose of rigging elections.

“Also, most of those who are recruited for these riots or violence are from the army of the unemployed or unemployables – all victims of the widespread and worsening bad governance in the land.

“Therefore, international partners of Nigeria must prod the government of the day to do more in stemming religious violence, and in ensuring violence-free as well as free and fair elections – a pre-requisite for enthronement of good governance. Once this happens, the ranks of those available for recruitment into extremist groups, from where they can then export their nefarious activities, will be depleted.

“A threat to peace anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere, as has been vividly brought home by the involvement of one misguided Nigerian, who tried to bomb a passenger plane in the US on Christmas Day. Therefore, Nigeria’s international partners will also be assisting themselves by assisting Nigeria,’’ AC said.

The party admitted, though, that the case of the 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the failed US plane bombing plot, is different.

“This is a young man from a good home, who had a world class education and never lacked anything. He may not fit into the profile of those extremists we described above. But the truth is that those religious extremists in our midst remain a clear and present danger to themselves, to Nigerians and to the global community. The global community must support Nigeria to root them out, not turn Nigerians to pariahs because of them,’’ it said.

Afe Babalola Wants Nigeria to Cut Ties with US

Eminent lawyer , Chief Afe Babalola wants Nigeria to review its diplomatic relations with the United States of America. Reacting to the listing of Nigeria on the terror watch list by Washington  after the arrest of Farouk Abdulumutallab for allegedly trying to bomb a plane in America,  Babalola described as ‘unjust and disturbing’ the classification of Nigeria as a  country of dangerous people on account of one isolated incident.

”It is unfair and disturbing to use one single case against Nigeria. Citizens of other countries, including Americans and Britons, have been  arrested for grievous offences around the world, and only such individuals have been held  accountable.
 “One recalls the case of a British citizen executed recently in China for smuggling into that country a large consignment of cocaine. China did not blacklist Britain.

“It is more disturbing because the alleged offender has not been found guilty in the face of the law,” Babalola argued.
Meanwhile, Babalola has blamed the  poor quality of education in Nigeria for the emergence of deviant youths like Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year old arrested in America for alleged terrorism.

Addressing pioneer students of the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti,at a welcome dinner party Monday night, the former Pro-chancellor of the university of Lagos  said profiling “Nigerians as a dangerous people because of one person is wrong and unacceptable but the truth remains that Nigerian universities have failed in the past two decades in their duty of educating our youths properly”

The septuagenarian, who has built the most comprehensive private university in the country,  said he was determined to reverse the ugly trend by investing enormous resources in the university built onabout 130 hectares of land.

Fuel Crisis: DPR Now Faces Public Hostility

The unending fuel crisis in the country may have assumed a frightening dimension as officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) sent out to filling stations across the country to ensure compliance with N65 per litre pump price now face hostility from motorists and street urchins popularly called “Area Boys”.

Investigations revealed that DPR officials are facing increasing challenges because some motorists don’t mind buying above the official price any longer in order to avoid the long queues at filling stations that sell at normal price.
Also, some street urchins are buying in jerry cans above the N65 per litre only to sell at exorbitant prices at the black market.

This development seems to have confirmed exclusive report that the fuel crisis is getting out of hand as DPR appears to be losing its war against profiteering and black market operators.

A DPR official said efforts by the agency to enforce compliance with N65 per litre in some filling stations were met with stiff resistance by members of the public who viewed the action of the officials as disrupting normal sales and causing avoidable long queues.

Reporters who has been monitoring the fuel situation observed that long queues are experienced only in filling stations that sell at official price and this has forced motorists to be less enthusiastic about the normal price.

This lends credence to the official position that the fuel scarcity is artificial, though some also argue that the scarcity is deliberately being inflicted on Nigerians to force deregulation down their throats.

Those who argue that the scarcity is all about deregulation, according to sources, fear the aim is to weaken the resolve of opponents of deregulation to fight against the policy and accept any prevailing market price.

“There is the possibility that they are using the scarcity to prepare grounds for deregulation. They know that at a point, Nigerians will get tired of long queues and all the stories about scarcity and all that, and will therefore accept any price. Instead of waiting for a whole day to buy at official price, many people now go for ‘whatever price per litre” they can get,” an industry source said.

Though the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, stated in Lagos last Monday that the scarcity was not caused by speculation over deregulation, his refusal to disclose the take-off date of the policy caused further apprehension among stakeholders and general panic in the system.

THISDAY reported that the current fuel scarcity in the country might worsen this week as filling stations grapple with dwindling product supply occasioned by the inability of the 15 marketers that handle fuel importation to fully activate the import licences issued to them and shortfall in supply from the Pipelines and Products’ Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

But the situation is getting compounded as DPR appears to be losing out on its war against profiteering and black market operators.

Though DPR had sanctioned 55 filling stations across the country for allegedly selling above the official price, some major marketers and all independent marketers in Lagos sell between N90 and N110 per litre without any sign of DPR intervention.
Only major marketers whose retail outlets are located at high-brow areas of Ikoyi, Ikeja and Victoria Island of Lagos were selling fuel at official pump price of N65 per litre as at yesterday.

Independent marketers in these highbrow areas, who receive products from third parties at exorbitant costs, have suspended operations over fear of being forced to sell at official prices.

Yar’Adua Spoke with Jonathan, Mark, Bankole, Says Yakubu

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday called key government officials, including Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, on phone and spoke with them on key national issues, his Chief Economic Adviser, Mallam Tanimu Yakubu, informed reporters last night.Of paramount importance to him now, according to Yakubu, is the passage of the anti-terrorism bill which Yar’Adua forwarded to the National Assembly in October 2009.

The importance of the bill now is obviously highlighted by the recent alleged attempt by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, to bomb an American airliner.
This incident has led to the blacklisting of Nigeria by the US authorities as a “country of interest” in its global war against terrorism.

“In my discussion with him,” Yakubu told reporters, “he directed me to get the Attorney-General to intensify lobby for the passage of the anti-terrorism bill by the National Assembly which the President forwarded to the Senate and the Federal House of Representatives early October. He said that he would like it to be the first bill he assents to on his return to Nigeria .”

Yakubu was not specific on the date the President would return, but he was obviously excited to inform the newspaper that the President’s health has improved considerably since he left Nigeria on November 23, 2009, to attend to his health in Saudi Arabia .
“The President's health condition has substantially improved. In the last week, I have spoken to him on telephone countless number of times. Our conversations every time lasted more than five minutes. Mr. President also told me that he spoke to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan twice in the last five days,” he said.

He also confirmed reports circulating last night that the President had spoken with Senate President David Mark and House Speaker Dimeji Bankole on the phone.

“I also spoke to the President this evening after he had spoken to these leaders who have continuously held the forte for him,” Yakubu added.
Meanwhile, the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday met in Abuja to discuss national issues, specifically the health of the President amidst pressure by human rights activists and lawyers that the true health status of the President should be made public and his position declared vacant.

The governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, told reporters at the end of the meeting early this morning that the governors were very satisfied with reports on the health of the President and would stand by the application of the constitution in all circumstances.
The governors will meet with the Vice-President this morning at the Presidential Villa to discuss the outcome of their meeting. 

Why US Blacklisted Nigeria

Nigeria’s weakening diplomatic ties with the United States may have largely contributed to the blacklisting of the country along with others long suspected of habouring potential terrorists.

Angry reactions have continued to trail the decision of US to place Nigeria on the list of “countries of interest” in its fight against terrorism, with the National Assembly yesterday rejecting the US classification in the wake of the failed terrorist attack on an American airliner by a Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab.

Investigations revealed that the relationship between the two countries has been weakened in the last three years – a development that is said to have made it “very easy” for the US to blacklist Nigeria.
The situation is further compounded by the lack of high-level diplomatic contact between Aso Rock and the White House after the failed suicide-bombing incident.

Todd Moss, vice president and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Bush administration, highlighted this fact in a widely circulated article entitled "Where in the World is the Nigerian President?" posted on the web yesterday.

He wrote: "Amid all the media frenzy around the Nigerian underwear bomber and how America should have stopped him before he tried to blow up a passenger plane on Christmas Day, a critical piece to the counter-terrorism puzzle seems to have been missed:  where in the world is the Nigerian President? Normally, after such a horrific incident, President Obama would be on the phone with his counterpart, discussing what went wrong and agreeing on ways to work better in the future to prevent such attacks.  But this couldn’t happen because Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua left his country for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia on November 23rd and hasn’t been seen or heard from since."

He further wrote: "The failed terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Flight 253 highlights that Nigeria’s power void is dangerous for the U.S. as well.  The foundation of a counter-terrorism strategy is to build cooperative partnerships with friendly nations.  This means sharing information and helping to build security capacity in places like Yemen, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. But we cannot have a partnership if there is no one on the other end of the line."

To compound matters, Nigeria currently does not have a substantive ambassador to the US.
The manner of recall of the former Ambassador to the country, Brigadier-General Oluwole Rotimi (rtd), who made an ethnically offensive statement, was considered to be highly untidy.

His proposed replacement, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, was rejected on grounds that his son allegedly gang-raped three women in the US city of Baltimore.

Adeniran had already been screened and confirmed by the Senate before his credentials were thrown out.
That rejection was unprecedented in the country’s diplomatic history and might have further thawed relations with the US.
The new ambassador-designate, Professor Ade Adefuye, is yet to be screened by the Nigerian Senate.

A source in the diplomatic community, who spoke under condition of anonymity, stated that “the inclusion of Nigeria in the list of unfriendly countries is a climax or crescendo. It’s been cumulative. It may not have happened if we had very good relations”.
It was gathered that the Presidency as an institution has not engaged with the White House “as much as necessary”.

President Yar’Adua has been absent from all United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York except in 2007 when he addressed the Assembly for the first time. Nigeria was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ojo Maduekwe in subsequent meetings.

On the day AbdulMutallab allegedly embarked on the suicide mission that would have claimed the lives of some 300 people, Nigeria was not in a position to embark on a high-level diplomatic engagement with the US because Yar’Adua was in Saudi Arabia for medical reasons and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan had not been officially empowered to act as President.
Yar’Adua has been out of the country for more than a month because of ill health.

“President Barrack Obama could not have been discussing with Nigeria’s security adviser or Mike Aondoakaa (the Attorney-General),” the source added. “He had nobody to discuss with.”
Also, Nigeria lacks a strong lobbying group in the US, which sources say, might have been useful immediately after AbdulMutallab was arrested.

“The lobbying group would have swung into action immediately AbdulMutallab was arrested to sensitise the American authorities,” the source said.
During the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Goodworks International, an American lobbying firm, was hired for Nigeria. But the contract was discontinued when Yar’Adua came into power.

reports gathered that another company, Patton Boggs, was secured to do the same job. However, it is not certain if the group is active.
Another source argued that if Nigeria had a substantive Head of Mission or Ambassador in the US, he would have sought audience with State Department officials such as the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to intervene on Nigeria’s behalf.
“International relations is a matter of positive engagement. Any damage done could have been averted by active engagement. Simply put, we have not been positively engaging the US,” said the source.

Last Monday, the US included Nigeria in a list of “countries of interest” whose citizens would face thorough screening before entering the country. Other nations on that list are Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria, Pakistan, Libya and Somalia.

There are yet others such as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria that are regarded as “state sponsors of terrorism”.
Nigerians would now be subjected to pat-downs, scans, restriction on the use of electronic equipment such as iPods, laptops etc and restricted movement one hour to landing.AbdulMutallab is currently awaiting trial in the US.

Meanwhile, the Senate and House of Representatives have unanimously rejected the latest move by the US.
Chairman of the Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, said at a press briefing in Abuja that the Upper House was unhappy about the classification and would take up the matter when it resumes.

The House acknowledged the right of the US or any other country to set out measures it considers fit to protect its citizenry and sovereignty but faulted the timing and circumstances leading to Nigeria’s inclusion on the terror list.
Also yesterday, Maduekwe said the US move is “unacceptable and unprofitable”. He made the statement after a closed-door meeting with the US Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders.