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1995 Constitutional Conference: Abacha Almost Overthrown-Ofanogoro

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Former Minister of Information and Culture during General Sani Abacha regime, Professor Walter Ofonagoro, says the ex-military leader was almost overthrown by ‘his boys’ during consultations on the adoption of the 1995 constitutional conference report.

The Imo State-born elder statesman, said Nigeria would not have been in its current challenges if Abacha had converted the report of the conference to a constitution.

Speaking in an interview with the Tribune, Ofonagoro said the constitutional conference attracted prominent Nigerians, hence, the document churned out by it was in the best interest of the country.

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He said : “I was the chairman of the committee that organised the constitutional conference elections in conjunction with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make sure that there was full participation in the conference and ensure that the West doesn’t boycott the elections so as not to sabotage the efforts of Abacha to get the country back to the civil rule.

“So I say okay, what do we do? How do we ensure that the election takes place when a whole region is determined not to participate in it? So we had to find a solution. In that case, there is no point in going through the normal process of using the voter›s card. So I said what we are going to do is universal adult suffrage, in which on the election day, everybody that is 18 years and above, queues up behind his candidate and we then count manually. And at the end of the process nobody went to court as they all saw transparency in the process.

Oluwole Awolowo was at the conference. Even [Odumegwu] Ojukwu, who led the civil war, was there in person. Alex Ekwueme was also there. Virtually all the big wigs in the country then were at the conference and we sat down for one and a half years and drafted a constitution that would have saved Nigeria all the troubles we are going through now. But Abacha refused to sign the constitution into law after all our efforts in June, 1995.

“And from that time till 1998 that he died, Abacha did not sign the constitution. He was just seeking opinions from all kinds of people, while his own boys were at the same time planning a coup to remove him.”

Asked if that constitution had been signed, Nigeria won’t be in the current mess, Ofonagoro responded in affirmative.

Yes, if the 1995 constitutional conference reports had been signed into law, Nigeria will not be in the mess it is today. Abacha split Nigeria into six zones (three majority zones and three minority zones), not majority in numbers, but in language like the British, which has four tribes or nations. The Welsh have the Welsh language, while the English have the English language. Then, the Scots have the Scottish language, while the Irish take the Irish language. But four of them make up the United Kingdom or Great Britain. So they rule in four and rotate their leadership. So, if we are going to have a united federation, why force everybody to stay on one unit and concentrate all the powers at the centre, making one ethnic group to dominate the rest? You are simply asking for disaster; it will never work. We have done our best to produce the structures and documents. I took part in the designing of the presidency and the rest.

We have done our parts to make the Nigerian project work. But now, what we see is mass killings. Before, Nigeria used to be one of the most secured people in the world. But now, it is the opposite.

” If you look at the 1995 constitution, which Nigerians agreed to, we said for the six regions, give each of them autonomy, so as to make the federation work. Each of the regions should be allowed to control its own resources and then pool a part of the resources to the central government. And this is what everybody is hoping and ready for, ” he said.

 

 

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Prof. Gwarzo Presented With Morgan State University Distinguished Scholarship Award

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The Morgan State University in the United States has Presented Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo with a Recognition Award of Distinguished Scholarship, Leadership, and Eduprenurship 2025

The certificate of award and achievement was signed by the Executive Director of Global Partnerships Africa Professor Hakeem I. Tijjani

Gwarzo who is the President of the MAAUN Group of Universities founded Maryam Abacha American University in Niger, Nigeria, Franco-British International University Kaduna and Canadian University Abuja was also recognised as the 2025 Distinguished African Eduprenuer an uncommon endowment for Human Capacity Development.

The award coincided with his 47th birthday anniversary.

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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution providing instruction to a multiethnic, multiracial, multinational student body and offering more than 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan fulfils its mission to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment through intense community-level study and pioneering solutions.

The Office of Strategic Partners and Recruitment (Africa) of Morgan State University was created dates back to November 28th, 2017 when Morgan hosted twelve Vice Chancellors from Nigerian Universities that concluded in formalizing relationships through MOU signing with four. Subsequently, President Wilson visited Nigeria twice as a keynote Speaker that highlighted the Morgan vision for a globalized education.

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New Year: Gov. Yusuf greets Kano People Worldwide

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The Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has extended warm and heartfelt New Year greetings to the people of the state within and outside the state including those in diaspora, expressing optimism for a brighter and more prosperous year ahead.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Wednesday.

In his message, the Governor commended the resilience and patience of Kano residents in navigating the challenges of 2024 and reassured them of his unwavering commitment to delivering meaningful progress and development in 2025.

“Happy New Year to the good people of Kano State. May 2025 bring us peace, prosperity, and more unity,” the Governor said, pledging to work tirelessly to improve the lives of every citizen of the state.

He noted that his administration had made significant efforts to ensure the timely approval of the 2025 budget, describing it as a critical step toward accelerating development across the state.

With the budget now in place, the Governor expressed confidence that Kano would witness remarkable improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and agriculture in the year ahead.

The Governor outlined plans to complete ongoing road projects, expand healthcare facilities, improve the quality of education, and support farmers with tools and resources to enhance food production and reduce costs of foostuff.

He also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to empowering youth and women through skills acquisition initiatives and increased access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses.

Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf called on the people of Kano to remain united and supportive of the government’s vision for progress.

He expressed optimism that 2025 would be a transformative year, bringing better living standards and greater economic opportunities to every corner of the state.

The Governor’s message has been warmly received by many, sparking renewed hope and confidence in his administration’s plans for a more prosperous Kano in the new year and beyong.

“In 2025, the result of our declaration of state of emergency on education will continue to manufest as we allocated a lion share of 31 per cent of the year budget for education to reaffirmed our promise for reforming the sector” said Gov. Yusuf

 

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Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf Signs N719.8 Billion Fiscal Appropriation for 2025

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Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has signed a total sum of N719,755,417,663 fiscal appropriation for 2025 into law.

The total budget size is composed N262, 670,660,562.68 recurrent expenditure representing 36 per cent and N457,804,757,100.32 capital expenditure which stands at 64 per cent of the total sum.

Recall that Gov. Yusuf, on December 8, 2024 presented a proposed budget size of N549, 160,417,663 before the state assembly. The appropriation has however increased by over N170 billion.

Tagged budget of Hope, Capital Development and Economic Growth, the government places priority attention to Education, Health, and Infrastructure among other sectors in next year’s budget.

 

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