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Kwara 2023: “Senate Requires Thinking Caps, Not Money Wallets” – Bolaji Abdullahi
The Kwara Central PDP Senatorial Candidate, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi has said that Senate thrives on big ideas, critical thinking, and not a deep pocket.
Abdullahi made this statement, in a response to the APC Senatorial Candidate, Saliu Mustapha, who recently said he was no longer in need of ideas.
Abdullahi in an open letter on Monday said he was perplexed that Mustapha would say he has passed the level of ideas, adding that such impression was pedestrian, embarrassing and cynical. He noted that the primary job of a legislator is all about canvassing ideas to solve the problems that confront the people.
He said some of the two issues that are likely to be at the top of the next legislative agenda, including restructuring and the continuous ASUU Strike, would certainly require everyone involved to reach for their thinking caps rather than their money wallets.
“More specifically, conversation about restructuring is also going to be a major negotiation and bargaining platform for the different peoples of this country. What this means is that what happens to Kwara State, and to Kwara Central from the restructuring debate will depend on the capacity of those representing us at the National Assembly. This is why we must ensure that those who are going to speak for us have a clear understanding of our historical affinities and the kind of alignments and realignments that will best serve the interest of our people today and into the future.
“I will take one more issue, the issue of ASUU strike. You would agree with me that this should be a source of embarrassment to anyone in government today. And our children cry out to us to find a permanent solution that will bring this disgraceful occurrence to an end. So, what do we do? As aspiring representative of our people in the Senate, our people should want to know what ideas we have for solving this seemingly intractable problem. We certainly cannot throw money at it and make it disappear, can we?
“The position that you and I seek requires critical thinking and big ideas more than anything else. The issues that would be brought before us as senators would require us to think creatively and take decisions based on hard evidence. And it will not always be pretty. Senators don’t contribute money to solve problems; they contribute ideas instead. Unfortunately, it is this same ‘ideas’ that you have proudly relegated and announced that you no longer have a need for.
Abdullahi said contrary to Mustapha’s beliefs, most problems in life cannot be solved by throwing money around. It is ideas that move and rule the world, adding that the entire human civilization advances and is sustained by constant production of ideas.
“From what you said in your video, you appear to think that charity is a development strategy or that philanthropy can take the place of well-thought-out government policies. This is quite unfortunate, and I regret to say that one would expect a broader perspective than this from someone contesting to be a local government councilor, not to talk of someone aspiring for the highest legislative institution of the biggest black nation on earth. My dear Turaki, no country ever develops through the generosity of individuals, and no country will ever do. Charity has its place in every society.
“As a community of believers, charity is enjoined on all of us; in fact, it is a key cornerstone of our religion. People in our position have a duty to help the less privileged among us. That is a duty, for which we should expect no reward whatsoever, because it is our only way of saying ‘thank you’, to the Almighty Allah who in his mercy has chosen to bless us more than the people around us. Unfortunately, it is the same acts of charity that you now convert to a credential, on the basis of which you want people to vote for you.
“We all do it. Within what the Almighty Allah blessed me with, I have also paid school fees of countless children that I never met and that I would probably never meet. I have paid hospital bills, paid for surgical operations, bought wheel chairs, sank boreholes, repair roads, supported orphans, rebuilt classrooms, fix people’s houses, bought working tools for artisans, and gave people money who just wanted to eat. I do this all the time, whether in government or out of it, and regardless of party or politics. And I pray to Allah to enable me to continue to help. Up till her death, my late mother prayed for me that I would be a tree under whose shade people can seek comfort. This why you will never hear me bandy these things around for political benefits, despite immense pressure to do otherwise by associates.
“I know many people who also do the same, who never aspire to any political offices: lawyers who have built hospitals, civil servants who build houses for people, ordinary businessmen who do acts of charity on a daily basis without making a song and dance of it. Therefore, philanthropy cannot be a qualification for leadership.
“The problems that confront our people cannot be solved by isolated acts of charity, no matter how well-intentioned. Priding ourselves as alaanu mekunu may make us feel good with ourselves, but the right thing to do is to commit to reducing the number of mekunu that depends on our mercy. We are not God. And we must never give the impression to our people that largesse from people like you or me can bail them out of their condition. Our youths who are unemployed don’t want to beg their way out of poverty. They want a job so that they can also live a life of dignity and fulfilment. This is the generational burden that people like us must carry, if we truly aspire for leadership.” Abdullahi said.
A military aircraft has crashed during an airshow at a base outside Athens, Greece, killing the two pilots onboard.
The incident occurred on Saturday during the annual “Athens Flying Week” airshow, according to the Greek news agency ANA.
The aircraft, identified as an F-4 Phantom, had reportedly just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.
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The crash happened in front of thousands of visitors attending the airshow and was followed by an explosion.
The two pilots aboard the aircraft died in the crash, while the circumstances that led to the aircraft losing altitude remained unclear.
A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.
Following the incident, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site.
Authorities are expected to investigate the crash to determine what caused the military aircraft to lose altitude shortly after take-off.
See video below
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to constitute an independent team of experts to investigate ₦33.75 billion reportedly paid to 3.29 million vulnerable Nigerian households under the Federal Government’s cash-transfer programme.
Atiku made the declaration in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following an audit report that raised questions over whether the funds actually reached the intended beneficiaries.
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According to Atiku, the figures expose serious concerns about the government’s intervention programme, noting that ₦33.75 billion divided among 3.29 million households amounts to approximately ₦10,258 per household.
He criticised the Bola Tinubu administration for removing the fuel subsidy and increasing taxes, tariffs, transportation and electricity costs, while the intervention meant to cushion the impact of those policies was now facing serious accountability questions.
“This is beyond a bookkeeping scandal. The intervention is insultingly small, yet even that small amount cannot be cleanly accounted for,” Atiku said.
He also questioned the varying figures released by the government regarding the number of households that benefited from its intervention programme.
Atiku noted that the administration had claimed that more than ₦600 billion had been disbursed to over 10 million households, after Nigerians were earlier told that about 15 million households were beneficiaries.
“It now appears that the Tinubu administration cannot give Nigerians a coherent account of how many households actually benefited from its intervention programme, while significant portions of the expenditure have failed to withstand independent audit scrutiny,” he said.
The former vice president said the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, was reportedly questioning ₦33.75 billion allegedly paid to 3.29 million beneficiaries.
He added that the audit also raised questions over ₦36.74 billion in payments reportedly made without pre-payment audit and another ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were not produced.
Atiku commended Chira for what he described as putting his constitutional responsibility above political convenience.
“That is what institutions are supposed to do — protect the public purse, not the political comfort of those in power,” he said.
Explaining his decision to launch an independent probe, Atiku said Nigerians could not reasonably be expected to trust the same government whose expenditure was under scrutiny to investigate itself.
“My team will constitute an independent group of financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to interrogate the available records surrounding these cash-transfer payments,” he said.
He said the team would examine beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records, audit queries and other inconsistencies surrounding the payments.
Atiku also said the investigation would establish whether the beneficiaries actually received the funds and determine whether access to relevant records had been obstructed.
“If Remita processed these transactions, the relevant records should be available for scrutiny. If beneficiaries received the money, there should be evidence. If access to records was obstructed, Nigerians deserve to know by whom and why,” he said.
He demanded that the government publish a verifiable payment trail if the beneficiaries were genuine, while insisting that funds should be recovered if they did not reach the intended recipients.
Atiku further called for prosecution of any official found to have diverted, misapplied or misappropriated funds meant for vulnerable Nigerians.
He argued that Nigerians needed more than repeated palliative announcements, saying the government should pursue economic policies capable of improving purchasing power and reducing the daily cost of transportation, food and energy.
“Our intervention will follow production. It will support domestic refining, increase local supply, reduce the cost of energy and ensure that the benefit reaches Nigerians through lower prices,” he said.
Atiku maintained that Nigerians who had already endured higher fuel prices, food costs, electricity bills, transportation fares and taxes should not also lose funds appropriated in their names.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s lobbyist, Karl Von Batten, has deleted a social media post in which he announced that United States President Donald Trump had appointed him as a commissioner to a White House presidential commission.
The post was published on the verified X account of Von Batten’s firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., where checks now show that the post is no longer available.
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Von Batten’s firm had earlier announced that Trump appointed its managing partner as a commissioner, attracting attention in Nigeria because of Von Batten’s political activities and his links to Atiku.
However, Sunday Dare, one of President Bola Tinubu’s media aides, subsequently downplayed the significance of the appointment.
Dare said the appointment was to the Commission on Presidential Scholars, an education panel administered by the United States Department of Education.
According to the presidential aide, the commission has no responsibility for American foreign policy, national security, diplomacy or relations with Nigeria.
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The clarification came amid attention surrounding Von Batten, a Washington-based lobbyist and managing partner of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C.
The firm was hired by Atiku to strengthen his reputational standing in the United States.
Von Batten has also been actively pushing for the release of US law-enforcement records concerning alleged links between President Tinubu and drug trafficking.
The development has now taken a fresh turn following the deletion of the social media post announcing the reported Trump commission appointment.
The reason for the deletion has not been stated publicly in the information available.
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