Mr. Adeniyi Bakare is the owner and founder of Happy People
Magazine, a magazine that deals with lifestyle of the youth. While in
the university, he was told that he could not achieve his dreams of
owning his own magazine but still strives to achieve success. In this
interview with Naij.com, Mr. Adeniyi tells his story explicitly.
Tell us more about yourself?
My name is Bakare Adeniyi. I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo state. I schooled in Ibadan as well. I attended Morning star primary school, Ikolaban secondary school and I attended Covenant University then moved to Bowen University. I only spent one year in Covenant before I left to Bowen
Why did you leave?
I had an uncle there who asked us to leave when they started changing so many rules like you had to be a member of their church to attend the school and things like that so he advised he was leaving so my elder brother and I should leave.
How many kids are you?
We are four children. I am the second. Three boys and a girl.
So what did you study in the University?
I studied Information Technology in Covenant University and Computer Science in Bowen University.
Are you married?
Yes I am with two beautiful girls.
When did you get married?
I got married in 2013.
So how did you end up in media?
Actually, when I was in covenant, I was just a regular student going to classes. We used to have this class called Entrepreneurial and development studies. The current VC used to be the lecturer and i was motivated when she asked us, “What do you want to be in the next five years?” and I wrote that I will love to work for a media house. Then she asked me, “What do you want to do tomorrow that will take you there and that made me think. When I got home, I told my mom that I wanted to start a magazine. I always see things from a different view and people tell me that a lot. So that’s my magazine ‘Happy People’ started.
When did you have your first magazine published?
I had my first magazine published in 2004
Has it been consistent since 2004?
It stopped at a point, because there were distractions. I was doing it out of passion by going to get the news, editing, then publish. At a point, People were giving me advice on how to take it to a greater level. But my main distraction was when I had to work for Youth Dynamix, YDX. I had to stop a lot of things. I was also organizing awards for private universities so that took my time also. I used to organize private university awards with Soundcity which were in 2008 and 2009. Some of the schools were Igbinedion, Bowen, Babcock, Leadcity etc. It was everywhere in the papers.
Did your family support you?
When I started the magazine, only my mom supported me. My father and my brother didn’t believe in the magazine. It was really difficult because I didn’t have anything to show for it. I didn’t even have a laptop to design the graphics for the magazine, so it made it difficult for people to believe in. I did the first edition with my mom’s help which prompted my brother to come on board.
As a student, how did you feel when your first two edition of your magazine didn’t work out?
I really didn’t bother myself about money. I remember praying to God to just publish one and I did. My mom gave me some money for it which I had already promised that I would pay back as soon as I publish. It didn’t go that way at all. At that time, within the period of one year, you might sell only three a day which was not productive. The money comes in bits.
So how do you get revenue?
From adverts which starts from N200,000. That’s my main value. The magazine is free and not sold at any cost so most artistes want to put themselves out there because they know it will reach the masses. Most of the time, I reduce drastically for upcoming because I like to help them knowing how difficult it will be to be on top.
So what has kept you going all this while?
Money does not drive me as a person. When I want to do things, I do them out of my passion. My dad called me a failure but the truth is, I failed a lot of times. Whenever I failed, I just laugh and move on. I have mastered the act of failure so I know when failure is coming. So that drive has driven so many of my projects that ended up a huge success. When I was in Bowen, there was a popular magazine then among students but when we started, they stopped because they were in competition with me.
The first and second edition was really bad so it braced me for the third issue. The third issue was amazing because I put my all into that. I slept in the printing press to make sure there were no errors. So it came out really well. I am on the 14th edition.
When my team saw me holding the magazine, they didn’t know it was our magazine because of how good it looked. We sold 100 pieces in one day. When Tunde Dynamix came to Bowen and saw that edition, he loved it and even put it in his editorial. Tunde Dynamix owns one of the most popular University magazines called Dynamix.
After a while, Jimmy Jatt called me to do business together and we did the Campus jump off. So now I have mastered my movements and I know when and how to do them.
I have also had a fair share of disappointments. I have worked for people without getting anything. There was this 9ice concert a couple of people and I invested four million. When it was time for the show, 9ice was nowhere to be found although he eventually performed and he didn’t do it intentionally. We were in Ibadan for two days and someone called him to perform in Osogbo. He didn’t know that his event was broadcasted live when people saw him at the event instead of being in Ibadan so they were seeing him in Osogbo. The show flopped. We sued him but we didn’t go through with it at the end of the day. We made only 250,000 naira out of 6 million naira.
I think what has got me this far is that I have failed several times and I have mastered that act.
I remember when I made my first one million; I just went home and called some painters to paint the whole house. When he came back he was shocked and started praying for me. But my mom has always been supportive. There was a time she had to sell her car to raise money for me.
I don’t smile with artistes as I happen to know many of them but I keep it strictly professional.
Do you write your articles?
I don’t. I have reporters because I want my magazine to be co-created. I want the contents to come from the consumers so I just look for people who have write-ups that appeal to my type of audience. So I will rather talk to them to work with me and that works for me. For every edition, I put my own opinion on the feedback page. That way, I can air my own views.
So how do you describe your magazine?
It’s a youth lifestyle magazine. It’s everything that has to do with the youth that we try to portray.
So how did you feel when you made your first million doing what you like to do best?
I went to the bank with my brother Sincerely, I was indifferent. Before I had the one million, I had done a couple of big deals so it was not really a big deal anymore. I just called my friend to have a drink to celebrate.
How often do you publish?
Quarterly in a year.
Is your magazine your full time job?
No its not.
Has it been a challenge as the CEO of Happy People?
Yes it is. The environment and getting the news is difficult. When you call an artiste, they procastinate and end up leaving you hanging. Any big magazine sees you as a completion. At the same time, I thank God for those challenges as well. It makes me step up. The printing process is equally difficult because sometimes we get scammed. Financial support was also a challenge. Brands need to believe in the future and not the present.
What are your future plans for the magazine?
I intend to build an empire like a big media house that supports the youths and their interests and ideas.
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/revealed-how-jonathans-security-chiefs-bungled-war-against-boko-haram/#sthash.qXY0g7it.dpuf
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
- See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/saraki-on-the-run-cries-out-from-his-hiding/#sthash.BzewMtz0.dpuf
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
- See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/saraki-on-the-run-cries-out-from-his-hiding/#sthash.BzewMtz0.dpuf
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
- See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/saraki-on-the-run-cries-out-from-his-hiding/#sthash.BzewMtz0.dpuf
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
- See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/09/19/saraki-on-the-run-cries-out-from-his-hiding/#sthash.BzewMtz0.dpuf
Tell us more about yourself?
My name is Bakare Adeniyi. I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo state. I schooled in Ibadan as well. I attended Morning star primary school, Ikolaban secondary school and I attended Covenant University then moved to Bowen University. I only spent one year in Covenant before I left to Bowen
Why did you leave?
I had an uncle there who asked us to leave when they started changing so many rules like you had to be a member of their church to attend the school and things like that so he advised he was leaving so my elder brother and I should leave.
How many kids are you?
We are four children. I am the second. Three boys and a girl.
So what did you study in the University?
I studied Information Technology in Covenant University and Computer Science in Bowen University.
Are you married?
Yes I am with two beautiful girls.
When did you get married?
I got married in 2013.
So how did you end up in media?
Actually, when I was in covenant, I was just a regular student going to classes. We used to have this class called Entrepreneurial and development studies. The current VC used to be the lecturer and i was motivated when she asked us, “What do you want to be in the next five years?” and I wrote that I will love to work for a media house. Then she asked me, “What do you want to do tomorrow that will take you there and that made me think. When I got home, I told my mom that I wanted to start a magazine. I always see things from a different view and people tell me that a lot. So that’s my magazine ‘Happy People’ started.
When did you have your first magazine published?
I had my first magazine published in 2004
Has it been consistent since 2004?
It stopped at a point, because there were distractions. I was doing it out of passion by going to get the news, editing, then publish. At a point, People were giving me advice on how to take it to a greater level. But my main distraction was when I had to work for Youth Dynamix, YDX. I had to stop a lot of things. I was also organizing awards for private universities so that took my time also. I used to organize private university awards with Soundcity which were in 2008 and 2009. Some of the schools were Igbinedion, Bowen, Babcock, Leadcity etc. It was everywhere in the papers.
Did your family support you?
When I started the magazine, only my mom supported me. My father and my brother didn’t believe in the magazine. It was really difficult because I didn’t have anything to show for it. I didn’t even have a laptop to design the graphics for the magazine, so it made it difficult for people to believe in. I did the first edition with my mom’s help which prompted my brother to come on board.
As a student, how did you feel when your first two edition of your magazine didn’t work out?
I really didn’t bother myself about money. I remember praying to God to just publish one and I did. My mom gave me some money for it which I had already promised that I would pay back as soon as I publish. It didn’t go that way at all. At that time, within the period of one year, you might sell only three a day which was not productive. The money comes in bits.
So how do you get revenue?
From adverts which starts from N200,000. That’s my main value. The magazine is free and not sold at any cost so most artistes want to put themselves out there because they know it will reach the masses. Most of the time, I reduce drastically for upcoming because I like to help them knowing how difficult it will be to be on top.
So what has kept you going all this while?
Money does not drive me as a person. When I want to do things, I do them out of my passion. My dad called me a failure but the truth is, I failed a lot of times. Whenever I failed, I just laugh and move on. I have mastered the act of failure so I know when failure is coming. So that drive has driven so many of my projects that ended up a huge success. When I was in Bowen, there was a popular magazine then among students but when we started, they stopped because they were in competition with me.
The first and second edition was really bad so it braced me for the third issue. The third issue was amazing because I put my all into that. I slept in the printing press to make sure there were no errors. So it came out really well. I am on the 14th edition.
When my team saw me holding the magazine, they didn’t know it was our magazine because of how good it looked. We sold 100 pieces in one day. When Tunde Dynamix came to Bowen and saw that edition, he loved it and even put it in his editorial. Tunde Dynamix owns one of the most popular University magazines called Dynamix.
After a while, Jimmy Jatt called me to do business together and we did the Campus jump off. So now I have mastered my movements and I know when and how to do them.
I have also had a fair share of disappointments. I have worked for people without getting anything. There was this 9ice concert a couple of people and I invested four million. When it was time for the show, 9ice was nowhere to be found although he eventually performed and he didn’t do it intentionally. We were in Ibadan for two days and someone called him to perform in Osogbo. He didn’t know that his event was broadcasted live when people saw him at the event instead of being in Ibadan so they were seeing him in Osogbo. The show flopped. We sued him but we didn’t go through with it at the end of the day. We made only 250,000 naira out of 6 million naira.
I think what has got me this far is that I have failed several times and I have mastered that act.
I remember when I made my first one million; I just went home and called some painters to paint the whole house. When he came back he was shocked and started praying for me. But my mom has always been supportive. There was a time she had to sell her car to raise money for me.
I don’t smile with artistes as I happen to know many of them but I keep it strictly professional.
Do you write your articles?
I don’t. I have reporters because I want my magazine to be co-created. I want the contents to come from the consumers so I just look for people who have write-ups that appeal to my type of audience. So I will rather talk to them to work with me and that works for me. For every edition, I put my own opinion on the feedback page. That way, I can air my own views.
So how do you describe your magazine?
It’s a youth lifestyle magazine. It’s everything that has to do with the youth that we try to portray.
So how did you feel when you made your first million doing what you like to do best?
I went to the bank with my brother Sincerely, I was indifferent. Before I had the one million, I had done a couple of big deals so it was not really a big deal anymore. I just called my friend to have a drink to celebrate.
How often do you publish?
Quarterly in a year.
Is your magazine your full time job?
No its not.
Has it been a challenge as the CEO of Happy People?
Yes it is. The environment and getting the news is difficult. When you call an artiste, they procastinate and end up leaving you hanging. Any big magazine sees you as a completion. At the same time, I thank God for those challenges as well. It makes me step up. The printing process is equally difficult because sometimes we get scammed. Financial support was also a challenge. Brands need to believe in the future and not the present.
What are your future plans for the magazine?
I intend to build an empire like a big media house that supports the youths and their interests and ideas.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
REVEALED!! How Jonathan’s Security Chiefs Bungled War Against Boko Haram
But for the deliberate sabotage and short-stemmed tactics employed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s security aides in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, the situation would have long been quelled, LEADERSHIP Weekend can now reveal authoritatively.
Since the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari and the subsequent appointment of a new national security adviser, Mohammed Monguno, as well as the new service chiefs led by Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (chief of defence staff), the war has taken its toll on the sect, with the service chiefs promising to end the war by the end of December, this year.
A security source who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend on condition of anonymity, however explained that the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the then service chiefs, were allegedly more concerned with funds requisitions and purchases of military hardware than tactical management of the war. Our source further said that the former president was always availed several doctored intelligence reports, aimed mostly at getting approval for more funds intended to fight Boko Haram, whereas the huge sums never got fully devoted towards prosecuting the war.
Before his retirement in September, 2013, our source revealed that the current NSA, Mungono, then the Chief of Defence Intelligence had approached the former president and in a report, detailed how the Boko Haram war could be brought to an end without necessarily spending the billions of dollars that were regularly applied for and released under the guise of fighting Boko Haram. This move allegedly did not go well with the then service chiefs and that ultimate led to Mungono’s retirement.
“When Mungono approached the then President Jonathan, the president referred him to the then NSA who did not find Mungono’s boldness funny. “It was at that juncture that they set out to discredit Mungono as one who knew too much about the Boko Haram and hence had to be tossed off as he was painted to be in touch with the insurgents,” our source said.
The source which said the deliberate neglect of the Nigerian Army during the Jonathan administration was never his making, but actually as a result of his manipulation by the security aides who took advantage of the president’s purely civilian background to mess him up, said it was only few months to the election that it dawned on the former president that the Boko Haram war could cost him his re-election and thus the regalvanizing seen a few weeks to the election and the subsequent call by the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki for the postponement of the elections.
“There was no motivation for the soldiers and military fighting the war then as was seen in the picking and capture of towns by the Boko Haram at will, while our soldiers began acts of mutiny which was largely borne out of frustrations as they were being killed by the sect randomly while the aides pre-occupied themselves with funds requisitions which never got to see the light of day as it concerned concerted efforts at fighting Boko Haram.
“As a matter of fact, once one of the service chiefs under Jonathan had requested for funds assistance from both the Borno State government as well as from the federal government at the same time to buy vehicles. The Borno government quickly assisted with about 100 Hilux vehicles and further made available extra N40 million for branding of the vehicles to the service chief.
“Weeks later same service chief took funds for the purchase of same vehicles from the federal government and simply made do with what the Borno government had provided and diverted the newly approved fund,” the source stated.
It would be recalled that on his appointment, former Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Barde (rtd), had promised to wipe away the Boko Haram sect within three months only for him to make a volte-face afterwards. On being relieved of his duty, the former Defence Chief had blamed poor funding, training and logistics for the military’s failure to prosecute the war against Boko Haram during his era. Billions of dollars went down in prosecuting the war.
In the last five years, a whooping N4trillion was alleged to have been spent by the government.
In 2014 alone, it was alleged that a total of about N968bn was spent on the insurgency war. Former President Jonathan later came back for a loan of $1bn which is about N177bn and added to N968bn in just one year. That is over a trillion naira. “ At the end of the day, our soldiers are being sent to the war front having no weapon to fight “, said lagos lawyer, Femi Falana.
However, in 2013, when N348.9billion was budgeted for the military, a big chunk of that money was allegedly diverted to other areas rather than the one it was budgeted for. All these and the previous ones since the beginning of serious insurgency by Boko Haram, or even other budget predating the commencement of insurgency in Nigeria, have been questioned with suspicion by a cross section of Nigerians.
The suspicion has not been helped by the fact that most senior military officers in Nigeria have left the service as millionaires and billionaires, fueling the allegations that money meant for defence, over the years, have ended up in other places.
This probably explains why the Department of State Security has started a discreet probe of military contracts and arms deals. The probe is said to include arms procurement in the past few years.
Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition were gotten for the country, even posting pictures, the present government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.
Of particular interest to the ongoing discreet investigation by the DSS is on the $1billion approved for the Jonathan administration by the senate. The ongoing investigation is said to particularly zero in on finding out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.
Bearing all these in mind, Nigerians will anxiously await the outcome of the investigation.
Saraki On The Run, Cries Out From His Hiding
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
Saraki On The Run, Cries Out From His Hiding
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
Saraki On The Run, Cries Out From His Hiding
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
Saraki On The Run, Cries Out From His Hiding
Senate President Bukola Saraki has gone into hiding immediate after the Code of Conduct tribal ordered his arrest for his utter disregard for the Tribunal. Speaking from his safe haven, he has described the call for his arrest by the Tribunal on Friday as an abuse of rule of law.
“The Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. The tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.
“We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents. And seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.
“We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.”
Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He claimed that Saraki’s absence from the tribunal was based on a legal advice from his counsel that the tribunal would respect the decision of the Federal High Court.
Unfortunately for Saraki, both the court and the tribunal are of equal standing.
No comments:
Post a Comment