President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that his wife, Aisha, belongs in the kitchen, and should stay out of politics.
The president had earlier on his visit to Germany, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that his wife “belongs to my kitchen and my living room, and the other room.”
However, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, explained later that the President was merely being humourous, describing Buhari’s comments as “throwing banters”.
But in an interview with German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, anchor Phil Gayle asked the President to clarify his comments and Buhari replied: “I am sure you have a house. You know where your kitchen is. You know where your living room is. And I believe your wife looks after all that even if she’s working.”
The president’s comment counters the previous explanation by his media aide, Garba Shehu, who tried to play down the remarks.
Asked if that was his wife’s function, President Buhari said: “Yes, to look after me” and when asked if his wife should desist from talking about politics, the president replied “I think so.”
The president’s comments had elicited strong criticism from all quarters, with many arguing that it demeans the role of women in national development.
The President’s wife, Aisha, had in an interview with BBC, inferred that Buhari was not totally in charge of his government as there were many persons in his cabinet that he barely knows.
She also said if things continue that way, she may not support her husband should he decide to seek re-election come 2019.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday paid an unscheduled visit to a Nigerian military officer who is being treated in a hospital in Berlin, as part of the concluding activities in the 3-day official trip to Germany.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement said that the officer, Mohammed Sani-Aliyu, a Brigadier- General and the Acting Commander of the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Jos, was involved in a ghastly auto crash in the course of a duty tour in the North-East.
He was travelling alongside Yusha’u Abubakar, a Major-General and the Head of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, who unfortunately lost his life in the accident that occurred along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.
President Buhari, who was accompanied by the Governors of Borno and Imo States, Kashim Shettima and Rochas Okorocha, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno, as well as the Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs, Abdulrahman Dambazzau and Geoffrey Onyeama, congratulated the injured soldier for the progress he has made in his treatment that has lasted for six months.
The President wished him a quick recovery and an early return to his family and duties in Nigeria.
He also assured that his administration would continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of service personnel.
Doctors at the hospital recalled that the patient could barely move his head when he was brought into the hospital in a stretcher with his body torn and broken in many parts.
They however added that the officer could now move around with very little assistance.
Aliyu expressed gratitude to the President for his visit, saying his spirit had been lifted to serve Nigeria more.
Residents of Kwoi and surrounding communities in Jaba local government area of Kaduna State affected by the September 11 and 12 earth tremors got relief materials one month after the incident occurred.
Speaking with ICIR on Saturday, Ezekiel Karik, executive secretary, Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, KADSEMA, said the state government delivered about 50 bundles of corrugated roofing sheets and 150 bags of cement, five days ago to residents who suffered partial building collapse and cracks.
He said the earth tremor situation in Kwoi is not as bad as many had painted it before the world.
“The situation is far from what many had reported but we are not relenting on our efforts to work with other government agencies and experts to get to the root of the matter.
“We do not expect more than what occurred there as we are waiting for a comprehensive report from the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA”, Karik said.
He added that state government is also waiting for relief materials from the federal government.
Karik assured that the state is fully ready to handle emergency situations in the 23 local governments of the state as emergency workers are located in all the areas.
He reiterated that SEMA does not only manage disasters but work to prevent it.
Meanwhile, the Zonal Coordinator, North West, NEMA, Musa Ilallah, told ICIR in Kaduna that the Zone is still waiting for relief material from Abuja more than one month after the tremor occurred.
Ilallah attributed the delay to the Treasury Single Account, TSA, of the federal government. He assured that the people of Kwoi have not been forgotten.
The Federal Government, through its National Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA, has given retail store giants, Shoprite and Next Cash ‘N’ Carry, a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw all products that contain Genetically Modified Organisms from their shelves or face a total shutdown.
The warnings were issued to representatives of the two superstores at a briefing in Abuja on Friday.
Rufus Ebegba, Director-General, NBMA, said that the action was sequel to the loads of complaints by members of the public about the sale of GMO foods in the two stores.
He said the agency decided to carry out a survey of likely GMO products “and we have been able to have some collections, some materials that we call GMO suspects.”
“We call them GMO suspects because we have not been able to ascertain their status,” he said.
Egbega explained: “Why we have invited the superstores basically is for them to understand that some of their products need to be properly ascertained before they are brought in, especially the imported ones that may contain genetically modified materials, so that they will not run afoul of the law.
“There is a law in place. We will not want any segment of the society out of ignorance to act in manners that will infringe on the law.
“The Biosafety Management Act empowers the NBMA to regulate the activities of modern biotechnology and the use of genetically modified organisms.”
The NBMA DG, while urging the retail outfits to ensure that all GMO products on their shelves were duly registered by the agency by obtaining permits, maintained that the agency will not hesitate to shut down any of the stores found selling unregistered GMO products in the country.
“If they have any GMO food in their stores, they should withdraw them from their shelves within seven days,” Egbega said
“We have taken samples, which we are analysing. This information is not peculiar to only the superstores.
“We are not threatening anybody, we are just telling you the consequences of dealing in GMO products if found in these stores. Within the next seven days, we believe you will withdraw from your shelves all foods that are derived from genetically modified organisms.”
On Tuesday, October 4, the Lagos State government appointed a convicted credit card fraudster and fugitive to head its Safety Commission.
If approved by the House of Assembly, Hakeem Dickson, a former Internal Auditor at the now defunct Nigeria Airways, will resume as the Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission despite fleeing from a 24-month jail term in the U.S.
“For 20 years, Defendant successfully evaded all United States government efforts to locate and arrest him,” Judge Dickinson Debevoise stated in his judgment made public by Sahara Reporters.
“He has not served the 24 months sentence lawfully imposed upon him in June 1992.”
PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the Lagos State government through Steve Ayorinde, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, to know if the administration was aware of Mr. Dickson’s antecedents before his appointment. Repeated phone calls were not answered and a text message sent since last week was yet to be replied to.
Efforts were made to reach Mr. Dickson but he did not respond to phone calls. A visit to the address listed for his company -1 Mayor Hakeem Olaogun Dickson Drive, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 – showed that only Hakeem Dickson Road exists in the area, and there’s no building on Number One Hakeem Dickson Road.
“Even us, we have been looking for this Number One since we came here,” a business owner at Number Two Hakeem Dickson Road said.
The building just before Number Three on the street is a residential home. A domestic servant in the compound told PREMIUM TIMES their address is Number Two Hakeem Dickson Road.
Guilty Of Fraud
On June 14, 1991, Mr. Dickson, also a U.S. citizen, was arrested on a complaint of bank and credit card fraud.
Four months later, he pleaded guilty to Count One of a four-count indictment which charged that from August 29, 1990, to September 10, 1990, he “knowingly and willfully executed and attempted to execute” a scheme to defraud a federally insured institution in violation of U.S. laws.
On June 25, 1992, Mr. Dickson was sentenced to 24-month jail term, to be followed by a term of supervised release of three years.
He was also ordered to repay $14,400.
The judge fixed August 3, 1992 for his voluntary surrender, despite opposition from the U.S. government, the plaintiff in the suit.
“The government had urged at sentencing that Defendant be remanded forthwith or at least surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than the following Monday, June 29, 1992,” the judge said.
“The court noted that while on bail Defendant returned on three occasions after being given permission to leave the country.
“The Court also took account of Defendant’s wish to spend more time with his one-year-old son, who suffered severe medical problems. Thus the August 3, 1992, surrender date.”
But on August 3, 1992, Mr. Dickson was nowhere to be found in the U.S., forcing the judge to revoke his bail and issue a warrant for his arrest.
Twenty years later, on January 27, 2012, Mr. Dickson, filed a motion seeking to adjust his sentence of 24 months incarceration in the U.S. by claiming that he had already served 17 months on the same sentence in a Lagos prison.
In his motion, Mr. Dickson claimed that a series of events after his sentencing, preceded by violent clashes between Muslims and Christians in Lagos, forced him to disobey the August 3 surrender date.
“During these clashes, two of Defendant’s sisters were killed and the family home was burned to the ground,” the judge quoted Mr. Dickson as claiming, in his judgment dated May 12, 2012.
“Following his sentencing Defendant returned to Lagos to bury his sisters, assess the damage to his father’s house and to take his mother for treatment.
“When Defendant arrived in Lagos, he was arrested at the airport and was told that since he was convicted in the United States he would also serve time in Nigeria. He was retained in custody until December 10, 1993, a total of 17 months.”
Following his claim of release from Kirikiri Prison in 1993, Mr. Dickson immersed himself in public office, contesting and winning an election as Chairman of Surulere Local Government between 1998 and 2004.
He later served as Special Adviser to then Minister of Works, Oluseye Ogunseye, for four years, before being appointed Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Mr. Dickson also served as a committee chairman of All Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) for the drafting of laws, regulations and punishments for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.
He is currently the CEO of Citiwide Construction and Transport Nigeria Limited which specializes in the construction of roads and buildings.
“Considering the nature of Defendant’s criminal activities in the United States, these are remarkable posts for Defendant to have held,” Judge Debevoise noted.
“Defendant now owns a factory which manufactures concrete blocks, paving stones and kerbs, employing 20 people.
“It is on the basis of these facts that Defendant seeks to credit the 17 months he served in Nigeria against the 24 months sentence imposed in the United States on June 25, 1992.
“Although Defendant’s request has a certain common sense appeal, he has found no basis for it in the law.”
The judge said Mr. Dickson made no request for leave before departing the U.S. in 1992, adding that the American government informed the court in September of that year that the convict had failed to surrender as ordered, and attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.
“The Court entered an Order revoking Defendant’s bail and issuing a warrant for his arrest,” said Mr. Debevoise.
“For the next 20 years Defendant successfully evaded all government efforts to locate and arrest him.
“The newly filed January 27, 2012 motion purports to fill the void. Defendant spent 17 months of the period in prison because of his United States conviction, and then went on to lead a successful political and business life.”
Section 18 of the US Constitution 3585(b) under which Mr. Dickson seeks credit for the 17 months he spent in prison in Nigeria, provides:
‘Credit for prior custody. A defendant shall be given credit toward the service of a term of imprisonment for any time he has spent in official detention prior to the date the sentence commences –
‘(1) as a result of the offense for which the sentence was imposed; or
‘(2) as a result of any other charge for which the defendant was arrested after the commission of the offense for which the sentence was imposed; that has not been credited against another sentence.’
“There is a serious question whether Defendant comes within the plain meaning of this provision,” the judge said.
“It is doubtful whether the 17 months imprisonment was ‘a result of the [scheme to defraud a federally insured institution] for which the [June 25, 1992] sentence was imposed’ or ‘as a result of any other charge for which [Defendant] was arrested after the commission of the offense for which the [June 25, 1992 sentence] was imposed.’”
The judge further noted that the authority to grant Mr. Dickson’s requests rests solely with the Attorney General, acting through the Bureau of Prisons.
“For 20 years, Defendant successfully evaded all United States government efforts to locate and arrest him,” Mr. Debevoise said.
“He has not served the 24 months sentence lawfully imposed upon him in June 1992. The law forbids granting the relief he seeks, and the equities of the situation point to no other outcome.
“The motion will be denied. The court will file an order consistent with the foregoing.”
Following the barrels of criticism and condemnation that greeted the comments of president Muhammadu Buhari that his wife, Aisha, belongs to his kitchen, the presidency has clarified that Buhari was merely “throwing a banter.”
Responding to his wife’s comments during an interview with the BBC, which suggests that Buhari was not fully in charge of his government, the President said: “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
The comment was made during a joint press conference with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and immediately, the social and conventional media went agog with clips of the president’s remarks.
But Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, took to his social media handles to defend his principal, saying Buhari was only joking
“My friends, can’t a leader get a sense (of) humour anymore? Mr. President laughed before that statement was made,” Shehu twitted.
“He was obviously throwing a banter.
“Mr. President respects the place of women in our society. He believes in the abilities of women,” he insisted.
The presidential spokesman added that “Politics sometimes should be spiced with humour.”
“Those of us around him know there is never a dull moment with him.
“One of Nigeria’s most sensitive office today is headed by a woman, Mrs. (Kemi) Adeosun. This is an evidence of the confidence he reposes on women,” he said.
His explanations however seem to have done very little to water down the criticisms that continue to pour in from every quarter with regards to the president’s comments.
Not a few Political analysts, social commentators, gender equality advocates, some media outlets and civil society groups, are of the opinion that the president’s remarks were ‘sexist’ and ‘misogynistic’.
Kayode Ogundamisi, a social commentator and activist and a core Buhari supporter said the president’s views were not compatible with modern ideals and is unacceptable, even as a joke.
He said such comments was “not the kind of joke that the President of any country should be engaged in.”
“The president should know that the world has indeed moved on and that women play a very key role in our society,” he said.
Ogundamisi even demanded an apology from the president for his comments, which he said constituted an embarrassment to Nigeria.
Even Political opponents also grabbed the opportunity to score a few political points.
Ben Murray-Bruce, a Senator and businessman from Bayelsa state, posted a picture of himself and his wife on his social media account and wrote: “This is my beloved wife Evelyn. She belongs by my side because beside (not behind) great men are even greater women!”
Also, former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, posted a picture and wrote: “This is me kissing my wife. She belongs by my side. I enter the kitchen to cook for her. She has added value to me!”
From all indications, It is certain that the controversy whipped up – first by the First lady’s harsh criticism of her husband, and then Buhari’s response – will not die down in a hurry, even as Nigeria continues to grapple with economic and security challenges.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has applauded the release of 21 of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, following more than two years of captivity.
A statement by the UN said the UN boss remains deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of the remaining schoolgirls and other victims of abduction by Boko Haram, who are still in captivity.
“The UN Sec. Gen. urges the international community to continue supporting the government of Nigeria in its efforts to secure their release, rehabilitation and reintegration,” the statement read.
Ban Ki-moon also called for “increased efforts to ensure additional humanitarian access in the Northeast of Nigeria, and reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations in this regard.”
He assured that “the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, in his capacity as High Representative for Nigeria, continues to engage with the Nigerian authorities and international partners on this matter.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has laughed off the comments attributed to his wife, Aisha, during an interview with the British Broadcast Corporation, BBC, saying that “she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
The wife of the president had implied in the interview that the President was not totally in charge of the government, saying that “The president does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years.”
Asked whether she would support the President for a second term bid, she replied: “He is yet to tell me but I have decided, as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again.”
Reacting to the comments during a joint press briefing with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the Associated Press, AP, reported that Buhari laughed it off and said: “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”
Buhari also said that he has much more political experience than his wife, “so I claim superior knowledge over her and the rest of the opposition, because in the end I have succeeded.
“It’s not easy to satisfy the whole Nigerian opposition parties or to participate in the government,” he added.
The comments by the Wife of the president have generated a lot of debate since the interview was aired.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has approved a Special Secondary Market Intervention Retail Sales, SMIS, for airlines operating in the country to enable them to access foreign exchange.
This was made known in a statement by James Odaudu, Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs in the Ministry of Transportation, on Friday in Abuja.
Odaudu explained that the intervention was a result of the meeting between CBN and the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on behalf of the airlines.
He said the intervention was an important one-off exercise dedicated to the clearance of the backlog of matured foreign exchange obligations.
Odaudu said the resolution by the apex bank to intervene in the Inter-Bank foreign exchange market through forward settlement was expected to engender market confidence.
According to him, it will also ensure access to Forex by the airlines to settle their obligations and sustain the integrity of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange market.
“The import of this peculiar exercise is that the CBN will not apply the relevant provisions under clause 2.4.3 (i) of its Revised Guidelines for the Operation of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market.
“It provides that ‘all SMIS bids shall be submitted to the CBN through the FXPDs.’
“Consequently, CBN shall receive bids from all the authorised dealers.
“The CBN will also not apply the relevant provisions that ‘Spot Forex sold to any particular end-user shall not exceed one per cent of the overall available funds on offer at each SMIS session.’
“According to the CBN, whereas the bids are on Spot Forex basis as the Authorised Dealers’ accounts with the CBN will be debited in full for the naira equivalent of the dollar bid amount.
“The CBN will settle the bids through forward settlements of two months,’’ Odaudu said.
He said that customers that were not willing to accept the settlement terms had been advised not to participate in this Special SMIS- Retail.
Odaudu quoted Sirika as describing the special intervention by CBN as a “great relief’’ for airline operators in the country.
He said the operators had complained bitterly over their inability to access the required Foreign Exchange to settle the backlog of their obligations which had adversely affected their operations.
Sirika said the aviation sector was critical to the nation’s economy, adding that CBN had taken the right decision that would strengthen existing airlines and inspire confidence in aspiring operators.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, recalls that airline operators at a recent meeting with the minister complained of a lack of access to Forex.
The airlines said that many airlines were not operating profitably.
Sirika, at the meeting promised, to take up the issues with the authorities of the apex bank and seek for intervention on their behalf.
Also to benefit from the intervention is raw materials and machineries for manufacturing companies and agricultural chemicals.
A survey carried out by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, under the Northern Nigeria Women, Peace and Security Programme, has revealed that the response level of law enforcement agencies at local and state levels to gender-specific forms of violence is ineffective and unsatisfactory.
Baseline Report of the survey, which was funded by the European Union, was launched in Abuja on Thursday with a total of 90 partners and stakeholders in attendance, including the UN Women; United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, the European Union, Economic Community of West Africa States, ECOWAS, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, among others.
The Baseline Survey was conducted in Adamawa, Gombe and Plateau States to generate findings on the nature and level of women’s participation in peace building and conflict management processes in the target states, as well as the level of access girls and women affected by violence have to reporting mechanisms and protection services.
Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam, a professor and leader of the research team presented a summary of the Baseline Survey Report, highlighting some of the findings.
She stated that women are conspicuously marginalized from the top hierarchy of decision-making structures, adding, however, that they are active in intra-family peace building and conflict management.
Para-Mallam explained that “cultural and religious factors limit women from being engaged in formal peace negotiations. At state level, women have low decision-making powers, particularly in elective posts which are as follows: Gombe (0%), Adamawa (6.3%) and Plateau (9.2%).’’
Earlier in her welcome address at the launch of the report, the UN Women Programme Manager, Women, Peace and Security, Njeri Karuru, said the aim of the survey was “to understand at what level women are engaged in peace and security structures in target states of Northern Nigeria.”
She said that it was worrying that women are hardly engaged in peace-building, but expressed optimism that the report will “provide relevant information for policy and strategic programmatic interventions on peace and security by stakeholders at all levels.”
“We also look towards strengthening partnerships with those who are working on peace and security issues,’’ she said.
The event also featured an interactive session where participants shared experiences and discussed the need for security agencies, especially the Police, to protect women suffering from Gender-Based Violence.
Special commendation was reserved for the women vigilante groups in Adamawa State who work to provide security for their communities.
There were also presentations from UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.
Copies of the report were distributed to all participants at the event and it is expected to provide relevant information for policy and strategic programmatic interventions in peace building efforts, and to create awareness of the gaps in women’s engagement in peace and security in Northern Nigeria.
