[Foreign News]: Ukraine preparing ‘invasion’ of Transnistria, says Russia

                   Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured vehicle as they drive on a road between Izium and Lyman in Ukraine, Tuesday Oct. 4, 2022.

Russia on Thursday claimed Ukraine was ramping up efforts to invade Transnistria, Moldova’s Moscow-backed separatist region, and pledged a “response”.The Russian defence ministry’s statement was released on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

Since the launch of the full-scale assault against Ukraine a year ago, the Kremlin has been accused of raising tensions in Transnistria to destabilise Ukraine and Moldova.

“The Kyiv regime has stepped up preparations for the invasion of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic,” the statement said.

The defence ministry claimed the “invasion” would be launched “in response to an alleged offensive by Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria”.

The Russian defence ministry claimed that Ukrainian troops were massing at the border with Moldova’s breakaway region.

“The implementation of the planned provocation by the Ukrainian authorities poses a direct threat to the Russian peacekeeping contingent legally deployed in Transnistria,” Moscow said.

“Russia’s armed forces will respond to the impending provocation of the Ukrainian side in an adequate manner,” the statement added.

The Russian defence ministry claimed that Ukrainian troops were massing at the border with Moldova’s breakaway region.

“The implementation of the planned provocation by the Ukrainian authorities poses a direct threat to the Russian peacekeeping contingent legally deployed in Transnistria,” Moscow said.

“Russia’s armed forces will respond to the impending provocation of the Ukrainian side in an adequate manner,” the statement added.

[Polls]: Be peaceful, President of the United States of America Joe Biden urges Nigerians

 

The United States President, Joe Biden, on Thursday, told Nigerians to be patient and peaceful while election officers count their votes on election day.

In a statement by the United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria, Biden commended political parties and presidential candidates for signing the peace accord ahead of the Saturday, February 25, elections.

Biden encouraged voters to come out on election day to exercise their fundamental freedom and make their voices heard.

The statement quoted the US President as saying, “I commend yesterday’s peace accord in Nigeria, signed by the political parties and candidates running in Nigeria’s presidential election on February 25.

“By signing this pledge, the parties and candidates have committed to accept the results of the election, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and to support a peaceful transition of power.

“Elections are a fundamental part of a functioning democracy, and all Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future — freely and fairly.  While the United States does not support any single candidate or party, we strongly support a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria.

“On election day, I encourage all Nigerians — no matter their religion, region, or ethnicity —to exercise this fundamental freedom and make their voices heard — including young voters, many of whom may be heading to the ballot box for the first time.

“The United States stands with the Nigerian people as they chart a path toward a more democratic, prosperous, and secure future.  I appreciate President Buhari’s firm commitment that the will of the people will be respected.

“And in the coming days, I encourage voters to remain peaceful and patient as their ballots are tallied, and urge the political parties and candidates to live up to their pledge.” 

Meanwhile, the United States, on Thursday, donated $25m to support Nigeria in conducting free, fair and credible election.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, made this known during a round-table chat with journalists in Abuja.

Leonard commended Nigeria for upholding a peaceful, and consistent democracy, adding that the US had worked with the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the forthcoming election.

She stressed “So, we have long been involved in democracy and governance through programmes in Nigeria and probably we are spending about 25 million dollars with particular reference to this election.

“We are doing many things. First of all, we are sponsoring and independent observation mission with some very high-powered delegation, US veterans, they are independent of us but we have played a role in facilitating.

“We have worked with INEC itself, on sort of the technical aspects, for example, we trained some 1,800 technical workers on how to trouble shoot the BVAS and those people in their turns have trained hundreds of thousands of other people.

“So that come election day, if there is any trouble with the technology, people will be around to know how to fix it.

“I think we have had a well-rounded interaction regarding this election and again we are really looking forward to see the peaceful elections.”

She said every Nigerian has the responsibility of ensuring a peaceful process, urging leaders to take their commitments seriously.

NIGERIA DECIDES: New President, Old Problems

We need a President who can address the country’s problems, writes Joshua J. Omojuwa

Nigerians have a therapeutic relationship with elections. We generally believe that elections – especially the presidential ones – offer the dawn of change. It’d be interesting to explore our obsession with the presidency, considering the more consequential effects of the National Assembly, state assemblies, governors and the local government executives and legislature. We will get a new president as President Muhammadu Buhari is finally eased off a job that he obsessively sought for over a decade, got it and made it look like it was forced on him. The man said he has done his best, for the sake of Nigeria, we’d need a president who can do more than their best, we’d need one who would address some of our wicked problems and design the measures to advance our progress against them.

Whilst issues like insecurity and poverty cannot be addressed with an ‘either or’ decision, the fuel subsidy question is more direct. You either do away with it or retain it. I know the government has played around the middle line for years but there is now an apparent consensus to let go. The main point of difference has been how to moderate the effects of that decision on the lives of Nigerians. You cannot feed a population a cheap meal for over two generations then suddenly decide you are done with it. That would cause chaos. Often with government, it is not as much about the introduction of the change that causes the chaos, it is the change management system put in place to introduce the change, the naira re-colouring is a case in point.

No matter how deep the consensus on the removal of fuel subsidy, if you for instance decide to hand it over like a New Year gift to Nigerians without warning, it’d be like breaking a dam. You could get overwhelmed by the outcomes. If you design a solid change management system for the removal without an apparent change in the choices and lifestyle of the ruling class, again, you would have messed up that change. You cannot be having a conversation about increasing the already misaligned salaries and allowances of political appointees and lawmakers and in the same breath say on account of limited government revenue, you are looking to remove subsidy. That is a situation set up for discontent.

Government is poor and can no longer afford the fuel subsidy? You must show that by making apparent sacrifices. If the people see reduced convoys, reduced salaries and allowances and other unnecessary privileges of public service, they will find it quicker and easier to not just believe, but to know that government is indeed poor. With the fuel subsidy, it is swim or sink really for Nigeria. But expecting the masses to believe, let alone know that, when there is no apparent change in the lifestyle and choices of their leaders is to expect too much. I hope enough has been made of this point for those who would be responsible for the decisions to do the right thing.

On insecurity, Nigeria currently has a design that ensures the current insecurity challenges – as bad as they already are – will be nowhere near those of the future. That is quite easy to deduce; there are more people in the potential pool of tomorrow’s crimes. These out of school children will not suddenly grow into responsible adults in the society.

The same way you can largely predict that a well-educated and skilled population of children and young people will largely grow into a group of responsible adults, you can make an inverted deduction for a population of children abandoned to the dangers and vagaries of the streets and the gripping hold of illiteracy and the attendant anger at those who left them to rot – all of us, even if you feel you had no hand in it. We’d all be at their mercy. Or you think those children are not aware of how they ended up without luck on the street? This challenge is an issue for individual states, but it can be led by the central government because it is a matter of emergency. You either address it now or pay for the more costly multi-dimensional outcomes tomorrow.

The nature of power, especially the power that comes with being president, is to start out looking to fix every problem. That was the pit of delusion that sucked many governments into their journey of ignominy. It may feel counter-intuitive to the trappings of the office but the very first thing to note as an administration is that you are incapable of fixing all the problems. That clarity will lead to the point where you start to appreciate what then it is you can address within the time-frame permitted by your mandate, not forgetting the pressure of seeking re-election less than three years into that mandate.

New administrations often come with their alliterative or sweet-sounding agenda. If they committed to them, Nigeria would be in a much better place today. Nigeria’s old problems remain because from one administration to the other, they scratch the surface of most of the country’s challenges without getting to the root of any. That is why, 62 years on, our problems are yet to evolve from the same ones we were handed at Independence. You could even say things got worse.

Every country has its challenges, but the fundamental difference between a country making progress and one that appears to be roving around the comfort of stagnation – assuming oscillation to be progress – is that whilst the countries making progress address their old challenges and then end up with new but relatively better challenges, the country making oscillatory movements continues to pretend to solve its old problems without really solving them. This is why the same problems MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa campaigned on in 1993 are the same ones our candidates in 2023 are promising to address. What could be more tragic?

 Omojuwa is Chief Strategist, Alpha Reach and Author, Digital Wealth Book

[News]: The Bishop Emeritus Predicts who will become Nigeria Next President

ABOUT THE BISHOP EMERITUS:

The Bishop Emeritus is the online Bishop. The Bishop without Borders. The Bishop of all Churches, The Controversial Bishop who Emphasizes on facts rather than TRUTH on the basis that the truth we know has failed us.

The Bishop Emeritus retired from active church evangelism with a different view on Religious Belief about God who sees Religion as Conspiracy used for indoctrination and slavery of the mind.

The Bishop Emeritus is convinced that science is God while Religion is Ignorance that Science Rules the world He is convinced that Religion has evolved into Science and that God has Left Religion to Science a long time ago. 

 

NIGERIA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION EXPO by The Bishop Emeritus.

In this video https://fb.watch/iCVHW_6VnA/ The Bishop Emeritus Emphasize on the Reality of realizing a Nigeria of our Dream. And why Nigerians should vote for a credible candidate !

Watch till the end and don't forget to drop a comment on your opinion. See you all in the comment section.

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Barrack Obama delivers a message to the Nigerian people highlighting the opportunity that the upcoming elections present for all Nigerians

 

With the continent's most populous nation, Nigeria heading for presidential elections coming up this Saturday, let's take a look at this #ThrowBack video of the former President of the United States Barack Obama released by White House in 2015.

Message to the people of Nigeria. "Nigeria is a great nation and you can be proud of the progress you have made. Together you have won your independence, emerged from military rule and strengthened democratic institutions," remarked President Obama during the opening of his message.

The Nigerian general elections, the country’s seventh elections since the end of military rule in 1999, will enable voters to elect the President and members to the Senate and to the House of Representatives. Then originally scheduled for February 14th, 2015, the country’s quadrennial elections was postponed by six weeks to March 28th, 2015. According to news reports, the delay was due to the Nigerian government's attempts to reclaim large parts of the north-eastern region of the country from the extremist Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram. "A brutal terrorist group that kills innocent men, women and children must be stopped. Hundreds of kidnapped children deserve to be returned to their families. Nigerians who have been forced to flee deserve to return their homes. Boko Haram wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have built," said President Obama in his message.

The run-up to elections have been contentious and marked by violent outbreaks within parts of the country. "For elections to be credible; they must be free, fair and peaceful. All Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear," said the Former President.

The message by the Former President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama is indeed still relevant to Nigerians as he highlights the opportunity that the upcoming elections present for all Nigerians to stand together in rejecting violence and extremism and instead show their support for a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous future.

 

This was delivered to Nigerians 8years but yet still valid as Nigeria is about to decide who will become our next President in the coming election which will take place on the 25th of February, 2023.

Watch the video and share your thoughts about the President’s message.