N’KOREA NUCLEAR THREAT: US, JAPAN STEP UP DEFENCE COOPERATION

N’KOREA NUCLEAR THREAT: US, JAPAN STEP UP DEFENCE COOPERATION

As tensions in East Asia remain high over North Korea’s nuclear threat, the United States and Japan have both stepped up defence cooperation as the two allies move to strengthen their partnership.

“For this threat of North Korea, at this meeting we agreed to increase the pressure and to strengthen the alliance capability,” Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said after talks with senior U.S. officials in Washington.

There are fears by both US and Japan that the nuclear activities of North Korea has been on the increase after President Kim Jong Un threatened to strike the U.S. territory of Guam but later halted the action.

Only yesterday (Thursday) President Donald Trump described North Korea’s decision to delay any military action against the U.S. territory of Guam as a “very wise and well reasoned decision”.

North Korea said it is holding fire on Guam but is watching the action of the US before deciding to hit the American territory with missiles.

Kim says his army has finalised plans to launch four missiles into the waters near the US Pacific territory of Guam, but are waiting for his order to strike.

 

AFENIFERE, OHANAEZE INSIST ON RESTRUCTURING BEFORE 2019 POLLS TO AVOID BREAKUP

AFENIFERE, OHANAEZE INSIST ON RESTRUCTURING BEFORE 2019 POLLS TO AVOID BREAKUP

The demand for the restructuring of the country has continued to mount despite opposition in some quarters over the demand.

This was as prominent Nigerians both representatives of Afenifere and Ohanaeze on Thursday converged in Lagos, insisting that Nigeria must be restructured before the coming 2019 general election, in order to prevent the country from ceasing to exist.

This position was made at a colloquium sponsored by one of the country’s leading social groups, Island Club with the theme “Restructuring: Challenges, implications and the Way forward.” Many other prominent Nigerians who spoke at the event maintained that only restructuring will proffer solution to the nationality problem currently facing the country.

Some of the eminent Nigerians at the gathering include former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd); Afenifere Chieftains, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Yinka Odumakin; immediate past governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and former Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku.

There were also former deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, who represented President-General of Ohaneze, Dr. John Nwodo; Niger Delta activist, AnnKio Briggs; and notable historian and writer, Prof. Adebanji Akintoye, who was lead discussant.

The speakers were responding to the lead paper presented by Prof. Akintoye.

Akintoye had said in his paper presentation, “Virtually my audience today are highly respected citizens of our country, and have probably said or written some things about the reason the Nigerian federation, as it is today, needs to be restructured urgently.

“Our country is not one nation. It is a country of very many nations, some of which rank among the largest in the world. The accumulated wisdom of the human race has established that a country that is made up in this way, the best structure is a federation and not the unitary system that it has tacitly operated.

“Another reason we need to restructure the Nigerian federation is what we may call the need for productivity. Productivity demands that in a healthy federation, each federating unit shall control its God-given resources for the good of the people.”

In his response Afenifere leader, Adebanjo said, “Nigeria is running a unitary system of government; you cannot run Nigeria as a military system of government considering the ethnic groups. We have passed that stage. Don’t let anybody tell you lies, the word restructuring is not a strange or new word. All we are fighting for today dated back to 1954.”

He further said, “Nigeria is running a unitary system of government; you cannot run Nigeria as a unitary system of government considering the ethnic groups. We have passed that stage. Let us restructure now, without it, there would be no Nigeria. It must be now, not in 2019.”

While Mimiko and Maku also emphasized on the need to restructure Nigeria, Ann-Kio Briggs, a Niger Delta activist, described Nigeria as a fast-moving train without brake.

Briggs said, “We are still going on that train handed over to us by the British and we will soon crash. In order not to crash, we need to restructure. All regions must come together and agree on restructuring and everybody must say what restructuring means to them, and we must agree on restructuring before 2019 election.”

This is coming just as the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, allegedly asked Nigerians during an event in Minna, Niger State, early in the week to forget restructuring demand and instead begin canvassing for the devolution of economy.

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AGAIN, SARAKI, DOGARA VISIT BUHARI IN LONDON

AGAIN, SARAKI, DOGARA VISIT BUHARI IN LONDON

Ailing President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday received Senate President Bukola Saraki and the House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara in London.

The visit of the two leaders of the National Assembly was made known in a tweet posted on the twitter account of the Presidency on Thursday.

The tweet read, “President @MBuhari today received Senate President @bukolasaraki and Speaker, House of Representatives @YakubDogara in Abuja House, London.”

Saraki and Dogara’s visit is coming just after the former spokesman of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati, in a recent article decried the recent flood of visits to Buhari by some political leaders and the president’s aides.

In the article entitled, “Buhari’s reunion with his media team” Abati had said, “it is ridiculous and insensitive that government officials are now visiting the President in medical exile, with some of them posing for photo-ops with their children.

“Our President should not be turned into a tourist attraction and the Abuja House in London should not become a museum.”

Today makes it 102 days since Buhari returned to London for a follow-up treatment. He was quoted recently as saying that he would not be returning to Nigeria until he is asked to do so by his London doctors.

Buhari had earlier spent 49 days in London for an ailment that is yet to be made public.

Read also: |Afenifere, Ohanaeze insist on restructuring before 2019 polls to avoid breakup|