In this interview with GODFREY GEORGE, spokesperson for the Coalition of Northern Groups, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, shares his views on the need for a referendum to determine the fate of groups seeking self-determination, among other issues
The Coalition of Northern Groups in a lawsuit before a Federal High Court in Abuja asked that the people of the South-East be allowed to secede, what are the details of this suit and what stage is it?
We need to make a slight clarification here. We never asked the court to allow the Igbo to break away. Essentially, we approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek an order for the National Assembly to suspend the constitution review and provide a framework for the conduct of a referendum to determine the fate of Biafra and other self-determination agitations and to determine what constitutes Nigeria’s territory and who populates it. The suit, filed by the CNG and its leaders, Nastura Ashir Shariff, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, Balarabe Rufa’i and Aminu Adam, joined the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the National Assembly as defendants.
What are the issues for determination?
One of the issues for determination in the substantive suit has to do with the legal obligation of the 2nd to 4th defendants/respondents to provide a framework that will pave the way for the self-determination of the south-eastern states and any other enclave that wants to go so as to leave the geographical entity called Nigeria before any further step is taken to review the constitution. We have already filed our originating summons; it contains our arguments and our points of view. In the wisdom of the court, we believe if it (court) listens to the provisions of the African Charter, particularly Article 20, which provides the right to self-determination, and Nigeria being a signatory to that charter, having ratified provisions of the charter under our laws by the National Assembly, it becomes law, also operative in Nigeria by the member states. We came by way of motion on notice; we decided it does not become ex parte, because we want all parties to respond to the motion on notice seeking injunction to restrain the National Assembly from taking further steps with respect to the issue of constitution amendment. The argument is simple; some people are saying they are not interested in the country and you are amending the constitution to create states in areas that are trying to say ‘we are not interested in the union’. So, we felt the right thing to do was to ask the National Assembly to stop the constitution amendment to address this issue in the overriding interest of the country. The issue of self-determination is not an issue of opinion; it’s the general view of the people concerned. Everyone is a stakeholder, most especially in the enclaves that are interested in self-determination and having their own country. Every adult has a right to vote on where their opinion lies because we keep having counter-arguments. Some are saying ‘we want to go’, some are saying ‘we want the presidency’ and some are saying ‘we want to stay’. The best way to get a general view on the matter is to allow people to express their right under the law.
What informed your decision as a group to institute this suit?
As bona fide citizens of Nigeria, we have the right to approach the court to seek redress or interpretation of any matter that concerns us as individuals or potentially affects the well-being of our country. Significantly, we have taken stock of events unfolding in Nigeria since 2016, noting especially the unrelenting disturbances created by certain interest groups in the South-East in the form of the agitation for a separate State of Biafra which eventually turned violent. The agitation was ignited and incessantly fanned into a raging fire by the Indigenous People of Biafra and other authors of mindless violence and separatism who see it as their duty to actualise what their fathers started in 1966, namely to bring about the realisation of a separate State of Biafra through the force of arms and terrorist tactics. As representatives of the various interest groups from northern Nigeria and in the best tradition of the cultured north, we watched and studied these events carefully, with considerable restraint and maturity to the point of condoning and accommodating several unreasonable and unacceptable actions that have been perpetrated against Nigerians collectively, northerners in particular.
From your assessment of the way Nigeria is governed, would you say the country is truly democratic?
What we are running is indeed a democratic system of government run by undemocratic people. But it is democracy, and with commitments we can make it work.
We have had the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for almost six years, how would you rate his performance?
It is a failed administration in all respects especially in the vital area of providing security for lives and property of citizens. Every other thing is secondary.
The Senate recently approved a fresh set of loans of $16bn for the Buhari regime amid rising debts and increasing poverty. What is your take on this?
It is part of what we have consistently referred to as failure of leadership if you look at it in the context of other fundamental questions that have pushed the Nigerian nation to the merging of decadence, decay, irrelevance and inconsequence. What the administration is doing is enslaving the coming generation of Nigerians in the bondage of intolerable debt. It is time to go beyond rhetoric and rise to challenge this and other inadequate, ineffective and unfocused policies of this administration.
There have been many talks on which region should produce the President come 2023. Some have said the presidency should come to the South. Do you agree with that position?
The CNG has, after due consultation with stakeholders, leaders and elders categorically aligned completely with the position taken by the Northern Elders Forum as expressed by Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and that of the Northern States Governors’ Forum that zoning of elective positions is unconstitutional, undemocratic and must be jettisoned. We find the renewed desperation by the South to threaten the northern people’s right to franchise as a deliberate attempt to bastardise democracy, cause greater instability in the guise of contentious undemocratic power shift arrangement. This is unacceptable. Although some northern governors and a bankrupt section of the region’s elite may be disposed to endorsing power shift to the South, the CNG and a vast majority of the cultured North collectively fault such calls.
You said in a recent report that the North would reject any aged, weak candidate as it had learnt its lessons. Do you think Nigerians are about to get their first youth president after a long time?
That certainly is what we hope to see and it is what we are fervently working for. It is time the class of elite that has monopolised the available activities in the country since independence was retired to make room for fresh, productive, dynamic participation.
Do you think Nigeria needs a third force or the two major political parties might remain at the forefront for long?
This too may not be necessary if the new force will in the end be taken over by the same set of unfocused and self-serving political actors who think power is an end in itself. What is required is a complete paradigm shift.
The Federal Government said it was considering an out-of-court solution to the issue of Value Added Tax. Do you think this is a welcome development?
The VAT controversy, as far as we are concerned, is unnecessary and diversionary in the first place. But at the moment, it would be subjudice for us to further comment on it since it is pending in court. However, a country that is neck deep in debt should reasonably be thinking of better ways of economic recovery and wealth sharing than engage in fights over interpretation of which organ should control VAT.
Many have referred to the Buhari regime as a northern regime, especially since he approved the rehabilitation of 14 roads in the North as against seven in the entire South in 2022. What is your take on this?
This cannot be correct. Everyone knows that Buhari was not the candidate for the North in 2015. He was packaged by southern political forces right from the APC contraption to his victory at the primaries. When he was presented by the South as the only alternative to Jonathan, the North, which was groaning under the burden of Boko Haram’s bombs and bullets at that time, was left with no option. We all can testify that the North has been the major casualty of the policies of Buhari’s administration while the South is the major beneficiary. As far as the North is concerned, Buhari was not the candidate for the North but an arrangement made by the South to suit certain interests.
The Buhari regime has also seen the appointment of northerners into critical national positions, don’t you think this may be the reason why the rest of the country feels this way about the regime’s perceived bias for the region?
This cannot be a yardstick for judging a people’s development or prosperity. If that is the case with all the propaganda about the lopsidedness in Buhari’s appointments into key security positions, why is the North facing the severest security situation than all the other regions? Being a northerner in office does not translate to preference in terms of service delivery. For all the North cares, these positions could as well be occupied by any other person from anywhere but the North.
There have been issues of herders-farmers’ crisis especially in the South-East and South-West and this has made some southern lawmakers to promulgate anti-open grazing laws. What do you think about these laws?
There may not be anything wrong with the laws, including this one. The problem is the motivating force and enforcement. So long as in the implementation of the anti-open grazing law, the southern enforcers would recognise the marked difference between cattle herding as a profession and crimes committed in the name of that profession, there would not be any need for quarrel. But it will not be acceptable to profile an entire ethnic group irrespective of whether its members are part of a crime or not. The fact is that not all Fulani are herders and not all herders are Fulani.
What is the position of your group on the resistance by some southern chieftains to include Bauchi, Ogun and Lagos states where oil was recently discovered to in NDDC member states?
This too is part of the reasons why we are pushing for a referendum to determine the possibility of an enduring, united Nigeria. If for more than 60 years, we cannot see opportunities and problems from the prism of one Nigeria, the union is certainly ripe for renegotiation no matter what others think about it.
PUNCH
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This is how smart the ant is. An astonishing finding has emerged from the world of science: ants, in preparation for winter, cleverly break down the grains and seeds they gather into halves before storing them in their nests.
This ingenious strategy prevents the seeds from sprouting, even under ideal germination conditions like rain. However, what truly amazed scientists was the discovery that ants split coriander seeds into four parts, not just two.
Further investigation revealed why: while a coriander seed can still sprout when halved, it loses this ability when quartered. This raises a fascinating question: how do these minuscule creatures possess such intricate knowledge? This is how smart the ant is.
It’s a humbling reminder that despite human advancements, there’s still so much to learn from the natural world around us.
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Special dogs fight in Israel’s war in Gaza. The IDF’s four-legged fighting force that’s being deployed in some of Gaza’s most dangerous territory to hunt down Hamas – has already suffered fatalities fighting terrorists
Israel has one of the most sophisticated armies in the world, with an arsenal of modern weapons, thousands of armed vehicles and hundreds of thousands of highly trained soldiers.
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But among the most valued units in its ranks is a four-legged fighting force which has already helped to eliminate Hamas terrorists, and is being deployed as part of the Israeli Defence Forces’ intense ground offensive in Gaza.
The dogs, who are part of the Oketz unit, each have specific jobs, with some trained to sniff out explosives, some to locate hidden threats and tunnel entrances, and others to track down and maul terrorists.
The highly-trained Belgian Malinois have been utilised by Israel’s army for years – and now their skills are being deployed on the streets of Gaza and in Hama’s subterranean tunnels.
As the IDF continues to forge a path through the heart of Gaza City in their operation to root out Hamas, MailOnline takes a look at the crack canine division which stands out as one of the most versatile and feared units on the battlefield.
October 7
As Hamas terrorists launched their surprise invasion of southern Israel on October 7, some military dog handlers only realised they were under attack when they were awoken by air raid sirens.
As news came through that Hamas had infiltrated the country, the unit scrambled dogs and handlers who were still in training to the south, where kibbutzim were under heavy bombardment and being stormed by Hamas fighters.
Tragically, one brave dog was killed by Hamas as he saved the lives of several commandoes, alerting them to the terrorists’ hiding place on October 7.
Nero, one of the Oketz dogs which had joined Naval Commando 13 to hunt down Hamas infiltrators, was killed while tracking down the terrorists.
‘A dog who was with one of our men went in to comb a house,’ a commander, known only as Lieutenant Colonel A, told Israel Hayom.
‘He revealed the location of two terrorists, took a burst of gunfire from them, and was killed.
‘That’s how the men in the force realized that there were terrorists in the house, and human lives were saved.
‘The troops fired at the terrorists and brought in engineering machinery that brought the house down on them.
‘Lots of commanders from Naval Commando 13 contacted me and told me that the dog had saved their lives.’
Like their human comrades, any dog in the unit killed in the line of duty is entitled to a full military funeral.
In another case, Oketz forces joined up with the Duvdevan commando unit to scour open territory in the Be’ersheva area.
It managed to locate a terrorist just a few dozen metres ahead of its unit who had set up an ambush for the force in a grove of bushes.
The dog bit the terrorist, the commander said, allowing the Duvdevan force to arrest him.
Following the arrest, he added, it turned out that he was a terrorist from Hamas’s underground system, and in his interrogation, he gave very important information for the continuation of the fighting.’
Tunnel fighting
A 300-mile-long network of tunnels sprawls beneath Gaza, forming an entire subterranean world that is so vast it has been described as Hamas’s ‘metro system’.
Concealed beneath hospitals, mosques, schools and homes, the network offers cover to Hamas soldiers and their cache of rockets.
Thought to be heavily booby-trapped, the concrete-enforced passages are narrow and complex in some areas, making them one of the most deadly terrains for soldiers to enter.
In some areas, troops are unable to stand up or see in front of themselves in the dark lairs.
This means that dogs – which are guided by their noses and agile enough to quickly navigate complicated networks – are a useful weapon.
A bodycam attached to the animal follows it through the dimly lit passages as it hunts down its prey.
The animal locates a man dressed as a Hamas terrorist, who it attacks and neutralises as the enemy target screams in terror, showing how useful the animals can be in supporting their human counterparts in Gaza.
Origins of Oketz
The name ‘Oketz,’ meaning ‘Sting’ in Hebrew, aptly describes the unit’s swift and decisive actions, using highly-trained dogs to locate, track down and clear Hamas’ clandestine tunnel network, rounding up weapons caches and bomb-making facilities in the process.
Established in 1974 on the Sirkin Base in central Israel close to the West Bank, the unit has evolved into a critical component of the IDF, contributing to counter-terrorism, search and rescue, and various specialised missions over the years.
The origins of Oketz can be traced back to the tumultuous period of the early 1970s when Israel faced a wave of terrorist attacks.
In response to the evolving security challenges, Oketz was officially formed with just 11 soldiers.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the unit operated in utmost secrecy, participating in numerous covert missions. It wasn’t until 1988, following a successful operation in Lebanon, that Oketz was revealed to the public.
The unit now operates across all regions of Israel, adapting to diverse terrains and scenarios, with mission objectives that include counter-terrorism, search and rescue, as well as specific tasks like locating weapons and detecting explosives.
Selection process and intense training
Joining Oketz is a voluntary choice for soldiers, and the selection process is rigorous.
To qualify for Oketz, soldiers – both men and women – must first draft into specific infantry units where they may be considered for selection.
Women aspiring to join Oketz do so through the co-ed Caracal Battalion, undergoing joint tryouts with male counterparts.
The IDF handpicks the best candidates through rigorous tryouts, with successful soldiers being subjected to an additional gruelling four-day selection process.
These tryouts serve as a crucible, identifying the most capable men and women who go on to form exceptional teams within Oketz.
Once selected, each soldier is paired with their own service dog, and together they undergo specialised training to develop specific skills as determined by their commanding officers, whether it be attack, search and rescue, or explosive detection.
A distinctive feature of the Oketz Unit is the deep connection between the soldier and their assigned dog.
This relationship is cultivated from the early stages of training, and soldiers spend significant time bonding with their canine partners.
However, soldiers drafted into Oketz have to ensure that they are able to emotionally separate themselves from their four-legged partners when necessary.
Raised and trained by the unit from pups, only the toughest canine recruits make it through to become specialised fighting dogs.
‘The initial training develops the dogs’ instincts, discipline and aggressiveness so they won’t baulk in fear,’ an anonymous trainer told the Jerusalem Post.
‘Only the best are selected at this stage. A dog that’s too apathetic, too sensitive to food or tends to chase cats, doesn’t reach the unit. It must be brave and have exceptional attributes.
‘Its instincts are developed through biting games with rags or other objects, playing ball and lots of walks.’
Each dog’s job depends on the individual skills of each animal, he said.
‘Explosives detection dogs must be extremely disciplined and quiet; search and rescue canines need a highly developed sense of smell; and attack dogs require strength and fearlessness.’
As a journalist who joined the Oketz unit for exercises in 2018 observed: ‘Dogs can be a man’s best friend – and they can be a terrorist’s worst enemy.’
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3 times bigger than Hummer H1: Inside Dubai Sheikh’s giant Hummer “X3” with well-furnished room, toilet and kitchen.
Do you know that this giant Hummer is both drivable and a house? Come inside and see.
Off-Road History Museum is a private collection of Rainbow Sheikh in UAE with more than 350 vehicles.
Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan, popularly known as the Rainbow Sheikh, owns one of the strangest and biggest custom car collections in the world, including a massive custom truck dubbed Hummer H1 “X3.”
Standing at 21.6 feet tall, 46 feet long and 19 feet wide, the drivable H1 “X3” is three times the size of a regular Hummer H1. The 2-story Hummer took over one and half years to build and and it features several amenities inside as seen in a video shared by Supercarblondie.
In the footage shared (start from 4.10 minutes mark), Supercarblondie takes us through a journey inside the well-furnished interior equipped with five-star hotel style lounge room, a bathroom with a sink and a kitchen.
On the outside, each of the truck’s over 7-feet tall tyre cost $25,000 and each of its massive doors took months to make. Beneath the X3 is a stairs which allows access to the interior.
Powering this vehicle are four diesel engines provided by the military, which developes 1,000-horsepower and allows a top-speed of around 32 kilometers per hour (about 20 mph).
The Hummer H1 “X3” along with an equally big ‘Bigfoot RAM 2500 are currently on display at the Off-Road History Museum, a private collection of Rainbow Sheikh in UAE with more than 350 vehicles.
Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family with a net worth of approximately $20 billion, is one of the richest people in the United Arab Emirates. He reportedly has four separate car museums in the UAE. He owns over 3,000 vehicles that are kept in a giant pyramid in the middle of the desert.
Having gone on a trip through this giant, you can thus now see why this giant Hummer is both drivable and a home.
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