President Bola Tinubu has given marching orders to security agencies to immediately recover over N577 billion disbursed to farmers as loans under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), THE WHISTLER has learnt.

The ABP was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, to create a linkage between anchor companies involved in the processing and small holder farmers (SHFs) of the required key agricultural commodities.

It was designed to provide farm inputs (in kind and cash) to SHFs to boost production of the key commodities, stabilise input supply to agro-processors and address Nigeria’s negative balance of payments on food.

Agricultural commodities covered under the Programme include cereals (Rice, Maize, wheat etc.), Cotton, Sugarcane, Soyabean, Oil palm, Cocoa and livestock among others.

According to data from the CBN, over N1.1 trillion had been disbursed as loans to states, farmers associations, individuals and companies under the programme as of March this year.

About 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities have benefitted from the programme so far.

The funds were disbursed through eligible Participating Financial Institutions(PFIs) including deposit money banks and microfinance banks.

According to the CBN guidelines, the tenor of the loans was based on the gestation period of the targeted commodities.

While many of the beneficiaries had reportedly paid back their loans, a total of about N577 billion is said to be outstanding.

A senior presidency source told THE WHISTLER that the president has given security agencies up till September 18 to recover the outstanding loan repayment.

Some banks which reportedly failed to fully disburse the loans to beneficiaries and refused to return the balance to the CBN are also targeted for the recovery effort.

Among other defaulters are states, companies, individuals and various farmers’ associations.

“I can confirm to you that the presidency has ordered security agencies to go after those who have refused to repay the loans received through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme,” said the source who added that a September 18 deadline was given for the loan recovery.

It is unclear which of the security agencies will be involved in the loan recovery effort, but there are reasons to believe the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force could be involved.

The DSS has been at the centre of the ongoing investigation of the CBN under Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the bank.

Peter Afunanya, spokesperson of the DSS, did not confirm the development but said, “It is not out of place for security agencies to be tasked with activities of this nature.”

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has denied a report that he is being considered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the replacement for the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Imram Muhammad had on June 12, claimed that presidential sources told him that Elumelu who is also the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa is being considered for the top job at the apex bank.

Muhammad had tweeted through his X handle @Imranmuhdz, “According to a Source President Tinubu is also considering Tony O. Elumelu as CBN Governor.”

But Elumelu, in a tweet seen by THE WHISTLER advised Nigerians to disregard the report.

“No, please. This is false news!” the UBA boss denied.

Elumelu’s denial of the report came a few days after he met President Tinubu in Aso Rock Vila on August 30.

Although the outcome of his discussions with Tinubu was not made public, Elumelu tweeted through his X account, “Our pursuit of nation-building must be characterised by unwavering determination, empathy, and a commitment to creating a legacy of progress, unity and hope for generations to come.”

President Tinubu on June 9, 2023, suspended the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele over what people described as a personal vendetta. He was replaced by Folashodun Shonubi to head the apex bank in an acting capacity.

But Tinubu suspended the governor on the grounds of his investigation by the Department of State Service and the presidential reforms of the monetary policy.

The DSS had in December 2023 secretly requested a court order from the Federal High Court in Abuja to arrest Emefiele over alleged “terrorism financing, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security.”

However, the DSS was denied because they failed to present sufficient evidence to justify the claims.

But Emefiele’s issues with Tinubu can be linked to his naira redesign policy which was announced late in 2022. Emefiele announced the withdrawal of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on the grounds of reducing vote buying and money in circulation. 

ISESE has come, but not gone. We salute all those – human rights activists, community leaders, affronted citizens, advocates of equity and all - but the state governors most especially - who have taken history to task and boldly formalized a level praying ground for the exploration of the infinite, the realm of intuitions which exists across pedigree, borders, class, politics, social mechanisms and cultures. The battle is not over. There are those who feel compelled to indulge their obsessions through the cooption of public symbols and educational institutions. We must never weary of instructing them, of offering them gleanings from the threshing floor of millenia old and new transformative ideas, rescue them from centuries of false historicism, baseless fears, and will to dominate and/or flaunt an inglorious past of enslavement

       This notation of “ISESE” on the calendar of faiths in any nation is a vital stage in the human incessant yearning for even a semblance of SPIRITUAL TRUTH. It enacts an impartial order, inserts a critical building block in the architecture of universal enlightenment. Hopefully such formal recognition will be read as the commencement of an era of spiritual accommodation, a lesson in humility, not a trigger for sterile contestation and renewed demonization of others among overlapping theocratic realms. The Prototype of such realms, in any case, remain forever closed to any absolute, incontestable mortal certitude. Dogma, says ISESE, however lavishly endowed, or brutally sustained, can never substitute for the Unknowable.

ISESE has always been with humanity, and will remain for all eternity. The celebration of ISESE is not defined by an annual observance only, but as a presiding awareness, a daily companion that offers its essence for humanity’s harmonized co-existence. It transcends religion, since it calls to what is innate to all sentient beings, those strange advocates of Freedom who, paradoxically, nonetheless persist in fashioning chains for themselves and for their fellow beings. ISESE liberates. It is an expression of the collective human spirit, its enveloping, compassionate accommodation of human experience, yet one that strives towards the seemingly inaccessible, intuitively felt as an elevating dimension of one’s material estate.  ISESE is a Path, not a destination, a seizure yet a pursuit of what we experience as the inner quest for ultimate illumination. ISESE does not conclude. neither does it exclude. It does not diminish, rather, it enlarges. It teaches community to embrace, explore, and adjust.  It defends the right to believe or not believe, acknowledges the limitless variety of phenomena, both what is provable and non-provable. ISESE promotes, as foundational consciousness, gratitude for, and sanctity of human life. It repudiates the supremacist claim of any structure of spirituality over another. Content with the pursuit of inner serenity, which is the climax of, and extraction from celebration, ISESE does not seek to exercise power. All true religions know that celebration is prelude to community equilibrium.

Preoccupied with the larger, imponderable questions of existence, ISESE does not thereby neglect the particularized. Thus, it concerns itself with the fate of every unit that makes up community, and is innately bound to engage in questions such as: “What is a youth, by name MUBARAK BALA doing in prison?  Recall, ISESE upholds the right to believe or not believe, thus the question is not trite, it is not academic, but is instantly catapulted from the particularized to the universal podium of Justice. How does a nation define itself, when a youth can be sentenced to waste his years of mental prowess in prison, for no crime beyond the right to believe or not believe?  ISESE speaks to individual and collective conscience. ISESE calls on those misguided forgers of human chains to respond to a plain question: why is that youth, and undoubtedly numerous others, wasting away in hidden dungeons, for crimes that the very protocols of nation definition, known as the Constitution do not recognize. ISESE asks, WHEN is Justice? And what is that ensign worth, if it fails to fulfill the primary condition of social accreditation which is – Justice!

Justice, for which another name is Equity, walks hand in hand with Tolerance. Tolerance is simply according others the right that we exercise on our own behalf. Do we need to seek far and wide to embrace the position of ISESE on the elementary virtue of Tolerance?  Not in the least. In any neighbouring household to nearly every other dwelling in this nation we shall encounter those whose Scriptures extol this very virtue. Listen to the following from the very words of the Prophet, Mohammed.

The first, from Chapter 2 Verse 256, commands:

“Let there be no compulsion In religion: “  

Permit me to repeat that, to drum it into the calcified eardrums of the incorrigible:

“Let there be no compulsion in religion”

Thus declared the Prophet Mohammed in his own person. Even further, from Chapter 10 Verses 99--100: 

“If it had been the Lord's Will, they would all have believed---All who are on earth - Wilt thou compel mankind, against their will, to believe?”

That latter part once more, an unambiguous exhortation, even though couched rhetorically:

“Wilt thou compel mankind, against their will, to believe?”

Now, place those pronouncements side by side wih odu IKADI  from the Scriptures of Ifa, the Muse of Divination as handed down through the priests of Orunmila:

B’omode ba nsawo ogboju, bi o ba ko ogbo awo lona, kio o gba a l’oju. Bi o ba ko agba isegun, ki o je e n’iya lopolopo. Bi o ba burinburin ti o ri agba alufa nibiti o nfi ori k’ale, ki o d’oju re de ‘be. A da a f’awon alaigboran tii wipe: Ko si eniti o le mu won. Ee ti ri? Eyin ko mo pe: Ajepe aiye ko si f’omo ti o na Ogbo awo. Atelepe ko wa fun awon ti nna agba isegun. Omo ti nna agba alufa nibi ti o gbe nkirun, iku ara re lo nwa. Warawara ma ni iku idin, warawara.

Translation:  

“The brash youth encounters an ancient diviner and strikes him. He meets an old herbalist and humiliates him. He runs into a venerable moslem priest kneeling in prayer and pushes his face into the ground. Ifa divined for such inssolent ones who boasted that they were beyond correction. Is that so indeed? Don’t you know that a youth who strikes a priest of Ifa will not partake of this world for long? Premature is the death of the youth who strikes the devout imam at his devotions. Twitches and spasms mark the death of maggots. Squirming and twitching.” 

This divine odu is prescribed despite the fact that, just like its elder sibling faith, christianity, islam invaded the black world, subverted its traditions, its worldview and spiritual certitudes, often violently and contemptuously. Each aggressor rivaled the other violence for violence, contempt for contempt, enslavement for enslavement. Both of them ruthless iconoclasts, yet, what wisdom does this constantly defamed  religion – glibly maligned as idol worship -  prescribe for its own adherents? Tolerance! Tolerance, it enjoins, tolerance! You humiliate the Moslem, christian or indeed any religious cleric, warns Ifa, your fate is as the loathsome death of maggots.

ISESE insists that godhead is not so inadequate that it requires the inflicted suffering of humans, their abuse, torture, and degradation, their recurrent tribute of tithes and offerings in blood transfusion in order to make the essence of godhead manifest, neither does it decree, as a condition for admission into its manifold, the absolute, uncritical veneration of avatars and prophets on its way to ultimate enlightenment. ISESE declares that any such pronouncement or proceeding serves only to inseminate terror, not piety, and thus, remains an abomination in the very sight of godhead. ISESE preaches mutual respect, but insists on the primal sanctity of human life. ISESE turns its face against murder, such as the brutal ending of the girl student Deborah Samuel. ISESE demands justice for that martyred girl, for her family, for her community and – indisputably, the nation itself. ISESE must not rest until all the perpetrators of that hideous crime are brought to justice, including those purveyors of sectional HATE and DISCORD who applauded the deed, including those who have obstructed the cause of justice.  ALL are guilty of instigating others to emulation. Any society that thinks or acts otherwise, even by omission, has chosen the path of disintegration.

ISESE enjoins patience with those who, even while they fill themselves with pride of learning, fail to distinguish between the worship of idols on the one hand – such as some ancient practices that their own religions supplanted - and the symbolic evocation of godhead through images, music, performance and material designations, including life sustaining facets of Nature, be these rivers, mountains, earth and seasons. Most times, such ignorance is feigned. It is deliberately propagated in order to justify their claims to superiority thus promoting an agenda of subjugation, enslavement, and other forms of dehumanization, including racist theologies. This distortion then sanitizes a yet ongoing retrogressive history of the division of the world into The Chosen and – The Disposable. We must remain aware of this colossal, costly deficiency, remain hopeful however of the eventual transformation of such active vectors of historic errors, remain even tolerant of their persistent, negative sermonizing. However, we must present a stern face in defence of our own community of faiths, centred on humanistic values. ISESE preaches that humanity is absolute, not relative, that humanity is one, or not at all.  

ISESE urges further that we even extend a hand in generous fellowship to those who choose to emulate the ways of their marauding ancestors, who sing praises of their spiritual and cultural enslavers. Through example, we may bring them gently into the manifold of this family of faiths that boast of never having launched a war or laid humanity to waste in order to enthrone a monopoly of faith. ISESE is not, has never been at war with any other commonwealth of beliefs – it is content to leave its doors open to the curious, the intrigued, and even the hostile. ISESE does not dictate, it does not maim or kill. We can only commiserate with those who confuse true religions with sinister cults that have sprung, ironically, from schisms within their own doctrinal certitudes. Cults, let us continue to instruct, are the malignant outgrowths of spiritual malformations. Symbols, such as religious statues are deployed to focus the mind on the ineffable. The genuine Path seekers must remain unwavering, and patiently await their detractors’ day of illumination. The Paths that lead to wisdom will survive them all, and continue to beckon to others as seekers after Truth, dedicated to the creation of the elevated community of man, woman and child.

These constitute mere glimpses, albeit basic, into the heart of ISESE, and its abiding articles of faith. Because its precepts are humanistic and universal, ISESE can never be diminished. It is here for all eternity.

[During the Session]

[Cross Section of Guest]

A former Governor of Ekiti State Ayodele Fayose has warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against expelling Nyesom Wike.

Wike, a chieftain of the PDP, worked against the party in the 2023 presidential election and has since been appointed as a member of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.

Despite the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister’s alleged anti-party activities, Fayose is warning the PDP against going after the former Rivers State governor.

“Some people say fight Wike, expel Wike, sack Wike. I think they do that at their own peril. You see, the first thing in your family even when you have extreme situations, or indifferences, is not to drive away your wife or husband. Wike is a force in the PDP and beyond PDP, a force you cannot ignore,” he said on Channels Television’s Hard Copy, a prerecorded show that airs Friday nights.

“Ignore Wike, sack Wike, or fight Wike at your own peril. He is a man of capacity,” he said.

According to him, the PDP needs to unite members and work to restore the party which came second in this year’s presidential election.

Fayose reiterated the need for the southern part of Nigeria to produce the president, saying it could have been unfair for the northern region to have done so. In spite of his stance against the PDP which featured Atiku Abubakar – from the northern region – as its candidate for the poll, the former governor does not want to leave the main opposition party.

“The moment I am not in the PDP, I would never join another political,” he said. “And I would never be a member of the APC – not whether they are good or bad.”

He also debunked reports of him resigning from the PDP.

Away from politics, Fayose spoke about the recent wave of coups in Africa, attributing it to a sit-tight syndrome.

Even though The PDP chieftain hates military incursion into politics, he is “very happy” with developments in Gabon after soldiers seized power in the oil-rich Central African nation.

“In a country where one man is spending 30, 40 years, they must boot him out of the place,” he maintained.

President Bola Tinubu has recalled Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Ishola.

Ishola was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021.

However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maltama Tuggar, in a letter dated August 31, 2023, stated that the decision signalled the end of Ishola’s tenure as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the United Kingdom.

“By this communication, you are now expected to commence the process of winding down your affairs, and take formal leave of your host government within sixty days and to return to Nigeria by 31st October, 2023 at the latest,” the document read said.

“I seize this opportunity to express Mr President’s appreciation for the service you have rendered in your capacity as Nigeria’s Ambassador and Principal Representative in United Kingdom.

“While looking forward to welcoming you in Abuja on your return, please allow me to join Mr President in thanking Your Excellency for your exemplary leadership and service to Nigeria. I wish you God’s continued guidance in your future endeavours.”

Kano State Gov, Abba Yusuf, has approved the appointment of 57 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and 44 social media aides who will work as reporters at the various ministries and agencies.

In a statement on Friday, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sanusi Tofa, said all appointments take effect immediately, and the appointees are directed to collect their letters of appointment from the office of Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

He said the SSAs will help execute the policies, programmes and projects of the state government, while the social media aides will provide access to information on policies, programmes and activities of the Yusuf administration.

Tofa listed the SSAs and their portfolios to include: Anas Abba Dala, Senior Special Assistant, Political Awareness; Ali Muhammad Bichi, Senior Special Assistant, Religious Affairs; Alhajiji Nagoda, Senior Special Assistant, Information; Babban Alhaji Sagagi, Senior Special Assistant, Broadcast Media II; Ibrahim Muazzam Sanata, Senior Special Assistant, Public Affairs II.

Also appointed as SSA are Ismail Murtala Zawa’i, Senior Special Assistant Media Awareness; Shamsu Aliyu Samanja, Senior Special Assistant, Publicity II; Fahad Balarabe Adaji, Senior Special Assistant, ICT Maintenance (Hardware); Abdullahi Ibrahim, Senior Special Assistant, Digital Media; Hassan Sani Tukur, Senior Special Assistant, New Media I.

Also appointed are: Hadiza Aminu, Senior Special Assistant, New Media II; Hon. Nasiru Isa Dikko,(Jarma) Senior Special Assistant, Non-governmental Organisations(NGOs); Ali Hamisu Indabawa, Senior Special Assistant I Photography; Nafi’u Dankura Adamu, Senior Special Assistant, Protocol (Abuja); Abdurrashid Muhammad Panda, Senior Special Assistant, Kwankwasiyya Media Groups.

Nasiru Hassan Yan Awaki, Senior Special Assistant, Works; Abubakar Muhammad Inuwa, Senior Special Assistant, Reformatory Schools; Ibrahim Ma’aji Sumaila, Senior Special Assistant, Students Matters; Abdullahi Ghali Basaf, Senior Special Assistant, Information II; Bashari A. Yaro, Senior Special Assistant, Local Government Affairs.

Habibu Ya’u Kwankwaso, Senior Special Assistant, KSSMB; Yusuf Abdullahi Yanoko, Senior Special Assistant, Teacher Training and Development; Saminu Balago Yakasai, Senior Special Assistant, Askarawan Kwankwasiyya; Abdussalam Muhammad Sani, Senior Special Assistant, Domestic Affairs (Deputy Governor); Bala Abubakar, Senior Special Assistant, Security (Abuja).

Ishaq Abdul, Senior Special Assistant, Online Technology; Tijjani Kaura Goje, Senior Special Assistant, Lagos Liason Office; Balarabe Isa Abdullahi, Senior Special Assistant, Kaduna Liason Office; Mansur Ali Galadanchi, Senior Special Assistant, Automobile; Mustapha Ibrahim Chigari, Senior Special Assistant, Tourism.

Sani Rabi’u Muhammad (Rio), Senior Special Assistant, Butchers and Abbatoir; Ibrahim Abdu Hanga, Senior Special Assistant Printing II; Musbahu Shado, Senior Special Assistant, Abubakar Rimi Market; Abdullahi Sabo Abubakar, Senior Special Assistant, KARMA; Zainab Ibrahim D. Senior Special Assistant, Primary Education.

Dahiru Arrow Dakata, Senior Special Assistant, Environmental Sanitation; Jamilu Yamadawa, Senior Special Assistant, Youth and Sports; Yassir Abdullahi Jobe, Senior Special Assistant II ICT; Mubarak Muhammad Usman, Senior Special Assistant III, Information; Bashir Usman Gama, Senior Special Assistant II, Mobilization.

Mahmoud Abbas Sunusi, Senior Special Assistant, Chieftaincy Affairs; Adamu Maitama, Senior Special Assistant, Entrepreneurship; Rabi Hotoro, Senior Special Assistant, Women Affairs; Arc. Ahmad Ishaq, Senior Special Assistant, Urban Beautification; Arc. Abba Garba Yaro, Senior Special Assistant, KNUPDA.

Idris Tela Dandalama, Senior Special Assistant, Grazing Areas; Isa Rabi’u Wise, Senior Special Assistant II, Markets; Sharu Na Malam Dandago, Senior Special Assistant II, Religious Affairs; Rabiu Salisu Babba Dala, Senior Special Assistant, Agriculture; Aminu Sulaiman Gaya, Senior Special Assistant, Water Resources; Hassana Abubakar, Senior Special Assistant, National Assembly Matters.

Hajiya Mariya Sani Karaye, Senior Special Assistant II, Women Mobilisation; Hajiya Sa’adatu Salisu Yusha’u, Senior Special Assistant, Women Mobilisation (Kano South); Dr. Harisu Tsanyawa, Senior Special Assistant, Primary Healthcare; Sani Isa Romi, Senior Special Assistant, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Consumables; Inuwa Salisu Sharada, (KOSSAP), Senior Special Assistant, Marshalls II; Khalil Isa Dokadawa (Amana Luxury), Senior Special Assistant II, Transportation.

The statement added that: “All appointments take effect immediately as the appointees are directed to collect their letters of appointment from the office of Secretary to the Kano State Government(SSG).”

The 44 social media activists and the ministries the Kano governor has deployed to them are as follows: Abba Zizu, Senior Special Reporter, Agriculture; Isma’il Alkassim, Special Reporter, Agriculture; Musa Garba (Jikan Oga), Senior Special Reporter, Budget and Planning; Bilal Musa Bakin Ruwa, Special Reporter, Budget and Planning; Auwal Dan-Ayagi, Senior Special Reporter, Commerce and Industry; Usman Abubakar Haske, Special Reporter, Commerce and Industry.

Auwalu Yau Yusuf, Senior Special Reporter, Culture and Tourism; Kamal I.G Kawaji, Special Reporter, Culture and Tourism; Comrd Hayatu Tanimu, Senior Special Reporter, Education; Usman Ibrahim, Special Reporter, Education; Mahmud Ali Yakasai, Senior Special Reporter, Environment; Rahma Abdullahi, Special Reporter, Environment

Sani Umar, Senior Special Reporter, Finance; Abdulrahman Gama, Special Reporter, Finance; Aliyu Kwankwason Dorayi, Senior Special Reporter , Health; Zainab Muhammad, Special Reporter, Health; Nuhu Dambazau, Senior Special Reporter, Higher Education; Zainab Musa Aujara, Special Reporter, Higher Education; Yakubu Umar, Senior Special Reporter, Information; Ibrahim Yusha’u, Special Reporter, Information.

Amir Abdullahi Kima, Senior Special Reporter, Justice; Mahmud Mahmud Dala, Special Reporter, Justice; Mustapha R. Mahmud, Senior Special Reporter, Land and Physical Planning; Nanu Kankarofi, Special Reporter, Land and Physical Planning; Khatimu Kul-Kul, Senior Special Reporter, Local Government; Aisha Auwal, Special Reporter, Local Government; Kamal Yakasai, Senior Special Reporter, Project Monitoring

Ibrahim M. Alliya, Special Reporter, Project Monitoring; Sunusi Ma’azu, Senior Special Reporter, Religious Affairs; Bashir Aliyu, Special Reporter, Religious Affairs; Shafa’atu Ahmad (Londonbe), Senior Special Reporter, Rural Development; Kabiru Nadabo Mai Rice, Special Reporter, Rural Development; Jameelat Meemi Koki, Senior Special Reporter, Special Duties; Muhammad Wasilu Kawo, Special Reporter, Special Duties

Nasiru Kassim Fulatan, Senior Special Reporter, Science and Technology; Kamila Muhammad Siba, Special Reporter, Science and Technology; Ibrahim Rabi’u, Senior Special Reporter, Transportation; Yasir Ibrahim (Monday), Special Reporter, Transportation; Auwalu Sani Rogo, Senior Special Reporter, Water Resources.

Abu Sufyan Doguwa, Special Reporter, Water Resources; Fauziyya Isyaku, Senior Special Reporter, Women Affairs; Nabeel Sunusi, Special Reporter, Women Affairs; Gambo Galadanci, Senior Special Reporter, Works and Housing; Khamis B. Ayagi, Special Reporter, Works and Housing.

City FM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 12:00pm

Guest: Amb. Olusegun Akinsanya. (MNI)
Former Nigerian Ambassador to Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Topic: Niger-Gabon and the future of democracy in Africa

Date: 2nd September, 2023
                         
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92877141732?pwd=VEJWb29OL2VVekZUTHRpdWYxK0xxZz09

Meeting ID: 928 7714 1732
Passcode: 600206

Just as the Economic Community of West African States is about to send a military task force to Niger in a bid to uproot coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani and his cronies and return the country back to its elected ruler, another coup d’état erupts in Gabon. This brings to eight the number of coups in Africa in the past three years.

This throws the spanner in the works and will force the ECOWAS military command to re-think its strategy: you can’t fight two countries at once.

African leaders haven’t changed over the years: they are still inefficient, corrupt and couldn’t less about the countries they are sworn to guide and protect, may practice nepotism, whilst ruling in the most non-democratic way known to man. 

Since Africa has embraced ‘democracy’ (- our ‘democracy’ is different to the Democracy they practice in the West!) the only way the average poor person on the street can effect a change in government is to cast their vote in the next elections, when ever that might be. But when their votes are compromised (- stolen, bought or not-registered-as-being-cast) they are stuck with a leader who may not have their best interests at heart. Rigging an election, to win, anywhere, in Africa is probably the easiest thing to do if you have the means and power.

So, what can you do?

Nothing! With all the loopholes ‘democracy’ affords, a politician can remain in power, getting up to all sorts, indefinitely, with the electorate powerless to stop them or remove them from office.

This is where the military coup plotters come in: they see the suffering of the people and the corruption of government and decide to step in. In doing so they break their oath of allegiance to the ruling civilian President and if it goes wrong they become guilty of committing treason and face severe consequences.

This is the 21st century and I, along with many others, believe coups are something that have been consigned to the past: never again should a soldier, with a gun, be allowed to seize power and rule by force. We elect our leaders now.

But this is a grey area: if a soldier overthrows a corrupt ‘democratically-elected’ government and installs an interim government, is this right or wrong?

It’ll be ‘Right’ if the junta quickly establishes an interim government with a view of returning back power to a Democratically-elected government with in an agreed time frame. On the other hand, it becomes ‘Wrong’ if the junta decides to stay on indefinitely.

And this is why I call it a grey area: should we endorse coup-plotters who sack corrupt governments or not? Mugabe, of late of Zimbabwe, was removed from power, by the military, when he became too old and erratic to run the country. They subsequently handed over to a civilian government as soon as the change was made.

Now back to the proposed ECOWAS military intervention in Niger. Military planners will now have to go back to the drawing board to plan the nearly-simultaneous invasion of two sovereign nations (- Niger and Gabon), you can’t invade one country without the other! Since the powers that be have shot their mouths off threatening to invade Niger they’ll have to do the same to Gabon. Considering the fact that they  have the personnel, equipment and resources (- which they don’t) it’ll be a logistical and planning nightmare : something even Russia or America would never consider. How do you fight two wars against two separate countries at the same time?

Isn’t it time to listen to the voice of people for once? The people of Niger and Gabon seem to be happy to have been liberated from their tyrannical elected leaders, welcoming the change and dancing in the street.Perhaps ECOWAS, and the rest of the international community, should adopt-a-wait-and-see attitude before going all gung-ho, guns blazing on a military expedition that will mostly end in disaster. ECOMOG, the military intervention wing of ECOWAS, has not really had a successful run in its 30-year existence: its intervention has not prevented civil wars and its participation, sometimes, has always been questionable.

A round table discussion between coup leaders and international observers will present to the world their intentions and how they plan to restore the peoples mandate of free and fair elections to elect leaders who are not above the law.

If we are going to practice democracy the African way there should be provision to remove inept and corrupt leaders the African way.

So, there is no need to wage needless wars.

Novak Djokovic fought back from two sets down to overcome compatriot Laslo Djere and reach the fourth round of the US Open during a late-night spectacular on Friday.

The two Serbian foes went toe-to-toe at the Arthur Ashe Stadium for three hours and 45 minutes, and Djokovic eventually completed a terrific turnaround to prevail 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3.

Djere got off to a dream start against the 23-time Grand Slam winner with a break in the opening game of the match, and an off-colour Djokovic had no answer after losing his serve in the seventh game of the second set.

However, following a "pep talk" in the mirror, Djokovic came out a different beast in the third set, winning five games on the bounce via a double break before Djere also lost his serve in the first game of the fourth set.

The 32nd seed did immediately break back, but his late efforts were fruitless against a fired-up Djokovic, who strung together a magnificent eight-game winning streak before Djere restored some parity with a hold to love

By that point, however, Djokovic was already a break up in the decider, and a 58th unforced error of the night from Djere on match point saw Djokovic progress to the fourth round, where he meets Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.

Djokovic's triumph marked the eighth time in his career that he has recovered from a two-set deficit to win a top-level match, but Iga Swiatek's route to the last 16 was much more straightforward.

The defending women's champion is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows this year and made light work of her meeting with Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan, winning 6-0 6-1 in just 49 minutes.

Registering a second bagel in three matches, Swiatek won each of the first nine games before Juvan belatedly got on the board, which would be nothing more than a minor consolation for the world number 145, who hit a paltry two winners compared to Swiatek's 21.

Swiatek can now look ahead to a meeting with former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, who came back from a set down to beat the USA's Bernarda Pera 4-6 6-3 6-3, while Caroline Wozniacki's fairytale homecoming continued with a 4-6 6-3 6-1 win over Jennifer Brady.

Wozniacki's reward is a glamour tie with sixth seed Coco Gauff, who recovered from a slow start to dump Elise Mertens out 3-6 6-3 6-0, but Elena Rybakina's run came to a premature end.

The former Wimbledon winner was made to pay for 56 unforced errors in a 3-6 7-6[6] 4-6 loss to Sorana Cirstea, who will meet 15th seed Belinda Bencic in her first-ever US Open fourth-round match.

Elsewhere, 10th seed Karolina Muchova saw off Taylor Townsend 7-6[0] 6-3 to set up a clash with Wang Xinyu, who posted a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to reach a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time in her career.

Home favourites Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul also prolonged their runs on home soil, beating Jakub Mensik, Adrian Mannarino, Aslan Karatsev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina respectively.

[Sportsmole]

David Ferrer admitted that he yearns to see Nadal pairing up with two-time major winner Alcaraz in Davis Cup Finals if Spain manage to reach that stage.

When Rafael Nadal had made the emotional statement on 2024 likely to be his final year on tour, moments after he withdrew from the French Open earlier this May, the Spaniard had shared a few of his plans and desires. The 37-year-old, who a month later underwent a hip surgery owing to an injury that kept him on the sidelines since his early Australian Open exit in January, had set his return date as November this year following which Carlos Alcaraz made a blockbuster offer to the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

 

On Saturday, less than three months from Nadal's desired date of return, compatriot and former tennis player, David Ferrer, who is also the captain of the Span Davis Cup team, addressed the topic while also teasing Alcaraz's offer.

Speaking to Marca, Ferrer said: "I don't see far away" and hence doesn't rule out the possibility of Nadal's return. "I wish he could be with us,” said the former tennis player from Jávea, “I don't see it as a utopia.”

Ferrer also admitted that he yearns to see Nadal pairing up with two-time major winner Alcaraz in Davis Cup Finals if Spain manage to reach that stage.

"I can't say much more, but I hope he can be with us in November, now he has taken a vacation and is doing his things," he said. "My dream is to join Rafa and Carlos in the Davis Cup team."

Following a sensational win in the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz, in conversation with El Partidazo de Cope, had revealed that he is dreams to play doubles with Nadal in Olympics where the tennis events will be held at Roland Garros, where the legend has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams.

"It would be a dream to live the experience of playing doubles with your idol," Alcaraz had said. "Let's see how he's doing and how he's going, you know, in this year. Hopefully, he's going great but for me, it could be a dream to play doubles with him."

Alcaraz has never before teamed up with Nadal for any tennis event in his career, although the two have faced each other on the ATP tour with the latter winning two of the three matches before the 20-year-old stunned him at 2022 Madrid Open quarters. The two also share a great bond with Alcaraz revealing last month how a message from Nadal moments before Wimbledon final inspired him to beat Djokovic in the five-set thriller.

[hindustantimes]