Former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd) has explained why he refused to align any political party in Nigeria.

Gowon, 90, announced on Wednesday, November 27, in Abuja while receiving the League of Northern Democrats (LND), which former Kano State governor Senator Ibrahim Shekarau leads.

The elder statesman emphasised his patriotism for Nigeria, citing his military background as a driving force for his commitment to serving the country.

“I’ve always believed in taking the best from all ideologies, be it socialism, capitalism, or others, and applying them for the greater good.

“During my time in government, we valued diverse perspectives, but decisions were always made in the interest of the people and the nation.”

The former Head of State argued that the North had to make sacrifices to alleviate fears of one region’s dominance, especially considering its size and population. He stated that the idea emerged from prolonged consultations with political leaders, chiefs, and diverse groups.

At the time, he stated widespread concern in the South about the North’s dominance, which nearly led to calls for independence from all regions—west, east, and even the North.

“If we had allowed it, what would we call ourselves today? We might have ended up with separate nations—Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or otherwise. I hesitate to say more, as I might risk offending someone here.”

Gowon expressed sadness at the current challenges facing the North, such as the rise of groups like the Lukurawa from Mali, claiming that their activities have further exacerbated the region’s woes.

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Gen. Gowon led Nigeria as a military commander for nine years, from 1966 to 1975, before being deposed by a military junta.

Doyin Okupe, ex-Director-General of the Labour Party’s presidential campaign, has openly critiqued the 2023 presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, for his lack of solid policy documentation in support of his “consumption-to-production” campaign slogan.

Meanwhile, Okupe praised Present Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, stating that Tinubu’s policy framework trumped those of his rivals in the 2023 electoral race.

“Tinubu has a better policy document than any of his two rivals during the 2023 presidential election.”

Okupe noted that Tinubu is meticulously executing the “Renewed Hope Agenda,” which entails settling overwhelming debts to stabilise the economic landscape.

Despite being political rivals, Okupe recognised Tinubu’s superior policy document in the 2023 presidential race, according to a report by NAN.

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, also received criticism from Okupe.

He reasoned that Atiku’s strategies heavily depended on theoretical loan arrangements, which were unrealistic given Nigeria’s economic circumstances at the time; international institutions were hesitant to offer loans.

“All we were saying was that we wanted to take Nigeria from consumption to production; good rhetoric, but it was not grounded either in policy development or principle application,” he added

Regarding Peter Obi’s campaign, Okupe commented that the Labour Party lacked a policy document guiding its vision, stating, “We wanted to take Nigeria from consumption to production; good rhetoric, but it was not grounded either in policy development or principle application.”

Tinubu’s economic reform efforts, particularly in handling foreign exchange issues and tax reforms, were applauded by Okupe, stating it matched his campaign promises.

He added that Tinubu’s focus on systematic, actionable solutions was commendable, notwithstanding their political differences.

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In conclusion, Okupe spotlighted Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” as a solid tactic in addressing Nigeria’s current issues, suggesting that it could potentially propel the nation to greater heights.

Social media critic VeryDarkMan calls EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede incompetent.

In a recent turn of events, social media critic Martins Ortse, famously known as VeryDarkMan, publicly criticised Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). VeryDarkMan lambasted the Chairman, calling him “incompetent.”

VeryDarkMan expressed his disapproval of Olukoyede due to his inability to apprehend the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, despite having declared him wanted since April.

The EFCC has accused Bello of alleged money laundering to the tune of N80.2 billion during his tenure as governor.

Despite being on the EFCC’s wanted list, Bello willingly presented himself to the anti-graft agency but was surprisingly released. This, VeryDarkMan pointed out, is an indication of Olukoyede’s incompetence.

VeryDarkMan made his discontent known through an Instagram post where he referred to Olukoyede as “a symbol of incompetence and mediocrity.” He asked why the EFCC had managed to prosecute more than 100 other individuals, with their combined alleged theft not even amounting to N120 million, yet they failed to handle Bello’s case.

VeryDarkMan went ahead and criticised the operations of the EFCC, accusing them of focusing on arresting young men while overlooking the major fraudsters.

This, he suggested, is a reason for the agency’s existence to be questioned.

Read His full statement below.

“Ola Olukoyede is a symbol of incompetence, mediocrity and I call him a clown.

“Why did I call him a clown? On April 18 he posted that Yahaya Bello is wanted by the EFCC. On the same day he posted that ‘N80.2bn money laundering, Bello’s absence stalls arraignment’.

“Since April EFCC posted that Yahaya Bello was wanted, it has been story upon story. Within all these, EFCC has been able to arraign over 100 people. The money from all these people is not up to N120 million unlike Bello.

“@officialefcc the clowns of all agencies tell your Chairman he is a big clown. The only grace you have is the fact that the youths are always carried away.

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“Your office shouldn’t be existing again, arresting young boys everyday and neglecting the real fraudsters.”