Gambian ruler Yayah Jammeh has conceded defeat to rival Adama Barrow after the presidential polls.
Gambia’s electoral commission says opposition candidate Adama Barrow won an upset victory in the country’s presidential poll, beating longtime ruler Jammeh after 22-year reign.
The Independent Electoral Commission announced on Friday that Barrow won 263,000 votes, or 45 percent of the total, while Jammeh took 212,000 votes, about 36 percent. A third candidate, Mama Kandeh, won 17 percent.
Hillary Clinton “couldn’t stop crying” once she learned of her loss to Donald Trump on Tuesday, best-selling conservative author Ed Klein told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
“About 6:30 this morning she called an old friend,” he began on “The Steve Malzberg Show” in an interview. “She was crying, inconsolably.
“She couldn’t stop crying.
“Her friend said — her female friend from way, way, back — said that it was even hard to understand what she was saying, she was crying so hard.
“This is Hillary we’re talking about,” Klein said.
“Eventually,” he continued, “her friend said she could make out that she was blaming James Comey, the director of the FBI, for her loss — and this I don’t understand exactly — and the president of the United States for not doing enough.”
Klein said his source then asked further about President Barack Obama.
“She said: ‘Well, she felt, Hillary felt, that the president could have stopped Comey a long time ago, because that’s what [former President] Bill [Clinton] said.”
Credit: newsmax
Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Ebele Jonthan says it takes great self sacrifice to concede an election defeat.
Jonathan made the comment on his Twitter page while congratulating the 45th elected President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald Trump.
In the short message, the former President saluted the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for accepting defeat saying he knows what she did takes great sacrifice.
Dr. Jonathan had himself conceded defeat in the 2015 Presidential elections which saw the emergence of incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.
I congratulate President-elect Donald Trump. I also salute Mrs Clinton for conceding. Having done this, I know it takes great self sacrifice
— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) November 9, 2016
Bayelsa State governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, yesterday, said only former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should take the credit for conceding defeat in the 2015 presidential election.
Governor Seriake Dickson, who was reacting to the conferment of the joint award of ‘Person of the Year 2015’ on the former president by the LEADERSHIP Newspapers, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said though the award was well-deserved of the former President, the singular action put him miles apart from other leaders, within the African continent and beyond.
He also used the opportunity to call on Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to always accord Jonathan the respect and honour of a true statesman that he is, while also calling on him to always stand up and show leadership.
Governor Dickson also commended LEADERSHIP Newspaper for the honour done Dr. Jonathan and described the former President, as a distinguished statesman of inestimable quality.
The governor noted that democrats all over the world would continue to appreciate him for his exceptional display of sportsmanship in the 2015 election as an incumbent president.
Dickson believes that the action taken by Jonathan saved thousands of lives that would have been lost and kept the unity of Nigeria intact, particularly against the backdrop of predictions of the nation’s disintegration.
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http://leadership.ng/news/553563/only-jonathan-deserves-credit-for-conceding-defeat-gov-dickson
Record electoral losses and deep internal divisions are threatening both the long hold on power enjoyed by South Africa’s ruling ANC party and the political future of President Jacob Zuma.
Since 1994, the African National Congress — once led by Nelson Mandela — has comfortably swept to victory in elections, and remains the largest party in the country.
But in last month’s municipal elections, the loss of control of the capital city Pretoria, economic hub Johannesburg and port city Port Elizabeth point to the party’s new fragility.
“The ANC is being consumed by three demons — corruption, factionalism and a leadership without credibility,” Prince Mashele, analyst and co-author of “The Fall of the ANC: What Next?”, told AFP.
The party has always bred factions and divisions, but its dismal showing during the August 3 local elections has brought tensions to the surface.
On Monday, activists from rival party factions scuffled in downtown Johannesburg as anti-Zuma members threatened to occupy the party’s headquarters.
“This is certainly the first time it has come to the fore in such a widely expressed way,” said Mari Harris, an analyst and director of Ipsos pollsters in South Africa.
Despite the increasingly vocal calls for Zuma to step down, many experts caution that he retains a strong grip on the party’s power structure and draws loyalty from his extensive patronage network.
“There are two extremes within the party — pro and anti Zuma — but in between there are other people who tolerate the president for now,” said Harris.
The party is due to choose a new leader at the end of next year, with the selected name then running as president in national elections in 2019 when Zuma cannot stand for a third term in office.
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http://guardian.ng/news/south-africas-anc-faces-deep-crisis-after-vote-defeat/
The outgoing Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Perry Calderwood, has said that Canada’s government has been working with Nigeria to defeat terrorism through various trainings for the Nigeria police, especially in investigation techniques.
“Though globally, terrorism has become common, but there must always be effort to contain its spread. Beyond this, we have been engaging in inter-communities’ dialogue to sustain peace in states like Benue”, Calderwood said during an exclusive interview.
He also pointed out that in response to the humanitarian needs in the Lake Chad Basin region, Canada recently announced a plan to provide more than $26 million for humanitarian assistance in 2016. ‘’This will help to provide food, drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and health services, treatment for acute malnutrition and support for livelihoods for vulnerable populations, including refugees, internally displaced persons and communities hosting refugees’’.
He explained that in achieving this, his country is partnering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross Action Against Hunger, among others.
On corruption, Calderwood revealed Canada has specifically told the Nigerian government: “If there are funds that have been traced to Canada, there are mechanisms in place for our government to respond to this kind of request. It’s through our Federal Police and through our Justice department and the contacts are there already.
“People feel frustrated that it takes time to retrieve funds that may have been stolen and stashed in Canada in form of real estate or something…but remember that in any country that respects rule of law, certain procedures must be followed. A government simply just doesn’t have power to seize something and return it somewhere. You have to go through the legal processes.”
He pointed out that the international community, including Canada, has worked very hard to strengthen rules and prevent illicit funds from flowing in the first place.
Credit: Thusday
Against the backdrop of recent deadly attacks carried out in some towns in Borno State by Boko Haram, the nation’s Service Chiefs have opened up to the leadership of the Senate why they have been unable to successfully prosecute the insurgency war.
They complained of lack of funds to buy equipment and also, lamented the failure of the Federal Government to release funds appropriated for the prosecution of war in the 2015 budget.
These factors were revealed to the Senate leadership and disclosed by the office of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki in a statement yesterday. The closed-door meeting between the service chiefs and top senators, which lasted for about two hours on Wednesday was presided over by the Senate President.
Saraki said several issues tailored at further empowering the security agencies to win the war against Boko Haram were discussed in a frank and open exchange between the two sides.
The military chiefs, led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, reportedly briefed the lawmakers on the various challenges faced by the military, particularly the state of their equipment which they said required serious upgrading and restocking.
“They also complained that their vote in the 2015 supplementary budget has not been released thereby hampering their ability to fund their operations. Other issues that came up for discussion were the need to continuously increase the personnel in the three branches of the military and the hindrance posed by the procurement process which they said is very slow,” Saraki stated in the statement.
“The military chiefs also canvassed the need for the review of some laws governing their operations so as to make them able to respond to emergency situations they now confront in the North-east zone as well as conform with global best practices,” he further noted.
Credit: Sun
A former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, on Tuesday faulted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian military over the December deadline for ending the Boko Haram insurgency.
President Buhari had tasked the military to end insurgency in three months, ending December 2015. The military has said it would meet the schedule.
Mr. Gowon said the military would do its best to meet the December deadline, expressing “absolute confidence” in the ability of the Nigerian armed forces to defeat Boko Haram.
He however warned that no person can confidently talk about the particular time a military operation would end.
Mr. Gowon stated this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, when he led an advocacy team on malaria and four other neglected tropical diseases, on a visited to Governor David Umahi.
“I can tell you this, nobody can really talk about when any particular operation is going to end. And as a (former) commander-in- chief, I know this.
“Yes, you can say you target a particular time, but it may finish before that time or it may go slightly beyond. To end it, that is the most important thing.
“I assure you that I have absolute confidence in our military that they are going to really deal with the situation as they are doing at the moment,” said Mr. Gowon, who was the military leader during Nigeria’s civil war between 1967 and 1970.
Credit: PremiumTimes
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that military option alone will not be enough to defeat ISIS, Boko Haram and other extremist organizations.
Buhari, who spoke in New York at the Global Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIS and Violent Extremism, said the United Nations and the international community needed to do more to contain ISIS.
“We need to take military action combined with effective border security, intelligence collection and sharing, and vigorous policing action,” the president said.
However, he said that in order to put in place the critical components of an effective approach to countering ISIS and eventually defeating it, the world must address the threat from the source.
Buhari informed his audience that the world must find a way to prevent young people from turning to terror in the first place.
“The young people that turn to violent extremism do not exist in a vacuum – they are often part of communities and families and are lured into the fold of barbaric and nihilistic organizations, somehow through a misguided appeal to their worst fears, expectations and apparent frustrations…”
Read More: thisdaylive
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, yesterday urged the international community to partner with Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country.
Saraki made the call while delivering his key note address at the ongoing 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.
He noted in a statement issued by his media office that the menace of insurgency and all forms of brutality being visited on innocent citizens by terrorists across the world require international collaboration to curtail as they pose great threat to global peace and democracy.
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The outgoing British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, has said the problem of Boko Haram insurgency in North-east Nigeria is not something that can be resolved with the use of the army, the police or the security agencies only.
Speaking at a farewell interactive session with members of Kaduna chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists Correspondent Chapel in Kaduna on Monday, Mr. Pocock said: “We don’t look at the problem in the Northeast as purely a security problem. It is not something that can be resolved with the use of the army of the police or the security agencies only. It is not going to be solvable.
“There has to be three different things; the first is a properly articulated security efforts. The second is that, there has to be a different kind of politics in the Northeast, where state and Federal Government work together instead of against each other and where there is a much more common and agreed agenda about what needs to be done to correct many years of mis-governance and of poor policy in the North-east.
“The third dimension has to be a developmental and economic uplift agenda. Too many, particularly young people are not only without employment in the North-east but because of the insurgency are without any economic prospect whatsoever. No one can live without hope and indeed if the economic and the developmental aspect of these are not addressed, the opportunities for radicalisation are much greater. So, those three things have to work in tandem, the security instrument, politics and development/economic approach.”
Read More: premiumtimesng
Former director of legal services of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Abdulqadir Abubakar Gumi (retd), has said that for the Boko Haram sect to be crushed completely, the North must rise up in unison and adopt defence mechanisms peculiar and suitable to its brand of tradition.
Gumi, who is a son of the revered late Grand Khadi of Northern Nigeria, Sheik Abubakar Gumi, and brother of Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mahmud Gumi, noted that apart from the ongoing effort by the federal government, the Muslim community in the country had the obligation to complement the fight against the insurgents.
In a position paper made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, he noted that this edition of his paper on the topic is a little digression from the first edition published in this paper in February.
He said this edition, entitled ‘How To Break Boko Haram II’, was guided by democratic principles that seek “to reiterate the need for checks and balances without which projections and sharing of responsibilities may not be equitable.”
Gumi opined that beside the roles being played the executive, legislative and judiciary arms of government, the North and the Muslim community must brace up to the situation.
This, he said, is informed by the fact that “Muslims were hitherto designated as the main complainants/victims of the insurgency and, by extension, the entire Northern Nigeria which formed the battleground.”
He faulted the situation whereby the war against the insurgents was left for the federal government to contend with, saying it was “erroneous for the Northern establishments to rely fully on the government or the National Assembly for all initiatives needed to prosecute the BH (Boko Haram) insurgency.”
“They (North) should bear in mind that no federal body is structured to either project the North, faith, regional-based entity or targeted situations. The North, being directly devastated by the insurgency as ground zero, needs to design its peculiar defence mechanisms common or suitable to its heritage.
“This would fill in survival gaps or at the least improve its disposition as to compel the constituted federal structure to be alive to its responsibilities whenever its social fabrics are threatened.
“The attitude to wait for an election year before action would amount to accepting the kind of casualties and losses realized within the period for the democracy we have chosen for ourselves”.
Read More: leadership
Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, the official candidate of the APC who lost to Dogara in the leadership contest also pledged his allegiance to the new speaker of the House of Representatives.
Speaking, yesterday, when he led about 20 supporters of his aspiration to the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja, Gbajabiamila said they have accepted defeat.
He also overruled any legal action against the Dogara.
He said: “We have just gone through an election in the House, so we came to meet with the party regarding the election and how the party is going to remain strong and united and move forward so that we can deliver the deliverables and programmes of the party through the House.
“Go to court for what? I don’t know about the Senate. I can only speak for the House. Nothing happened in the House. We had an election. It is different from the Senate. In the Senate, people were deprived of their fundamental rights to express themselves and vote.
“We will work with the leadership of the House and the Speaker, so long as the party’s programmes are properly articulated and pursued on the floor of the House. We will work with the leader of the House. He is an APC member. He is not the Speaker of the APC. He is the speaker of the whole House.”
Asked if he was in support of the party’s position to take disciplinary action against the erring members, the former minority leader said: “That is the prerogative of the party. All I know is that in every association, there must be discipline. Whatever the party decides to do, that is for the party. It is not for me.”
Similarly, Mohammed Monguno, who ran for the office of the deputy speaker from Gbajabiamila’s camp but lost to Yusuf, also told journalists they would allow peace to reign in the interest of the nation.
He, however, regretted that some members of the party ignored APC’s decision and expressed his support for sanctions against the erring members.
“Definitely, if a party member errs, there must be sanction so that it will serve as a deterrent for others not to do same in future”, he said.
Credit: vanguardngr
President Goodluck Jonathan did not receive advice from anyone before he conceded defeat in the March 28 Presidential election, his Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, said on Tuesday.
Kuku spoke at the inauguration of a 500-seater lecture theatre donated by the Alumni Association of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, and named in honour of Jonathan.
The President of the Alumni, Dr. Mathew Ayeni, said the president was a lover of peace, saying his election was a manifestation of this assertion.
Urging other African leaders to emulate him, Ayeni said, “Jonathan is undoubtedly a hero, not only in Nigeria’s history and by Nigerian standard but by international standard; this is more reason he is being credited as a world leader by international communities.”
Read More: punchng
Boxing icon still considered a national hero but mood dampens at home after defeat in world’s most lucrative fight. Sadness and disappointment gripped Filipinos after Manny Pacquiao’s defeat in his much-anticipated fight against American Floyd Mayweather Jr. but they still considered the boxing icon a national hero.
Gymnasiums and other public venues where the 12-round fight was shown for free on Sunday lunchtime local time were quickly vacated after it was announced Pacquiao lost by a unanimous decision.
Herminio Coloma, a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III, said: “The country still holds its head high in the admirable fight of our ‘National Fist’.” He said Aquino thanked Pacquiao, who is also a congressman, for being “an inspiration to every Filipino who is struggling with life’s challenges to achieve a bright future”.
Some fans said Pacquiao should retire from boxing while others demanded a rematch. For thousands at a plaza in Marikina city, part of metropolitan Manila, the mood was dampened not just by his loss but also a sudden downpour. Filipino sports writer Rick Olivares told Al Jazeera that it was “a sad fact but we really do have to admit that Floyd Mayweather definitely did win this match”.
It’s a sad nation, the national pride has been pricked and yes, the judges did pretty much get it right,” Olivares said. “I know that (Pacquiao) doesn’t want to end his career on a sour note. As we’ve said earlier this was a legacy fight and he’s taken a few losses in his last few bouts.
“It’s kind of tarnished his reputation as one of the greatest of all time but I think he’s going to be fighting at least one more time.”
Read More: aljazeera
President Goodluck Jonathan has defended his decision to concede defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in the March 28 election, saying he was concerned about allowing his personal ambition scuttle a democratic system he helped nurtured, with the likely consequence of a “collective tragedy”.
Mr. Jonathan said Thursday that he needed to check his ambition, as the consequences of not doing so may have been dire not only for Nigeria, but Africa.
The president made the remarks during separate meetings with the new ambassadors of France, Senegal and Ethiopia. He was responding to commendations for his decision to promptly accept defeat after it became clear Mr. Buhari had won the polls.
“Democracy has to be nurtured to grow. Strong democratic institutions are the backbone and future of our democracy. They must be protected and nurtured. As for me, as a matter of principle, it is always the nation first,” Mr. Jonathan said.
“You need to have a nation before you can have an ambition. It should always be the nation first. You don’t have to scuttle national progress for personal ambition.
“Since I assumed duty, I have been involved in quelling political crisis in some African countries and I know what they passed through and what some are still going through. If you scuttle a system for personal ambition, it becomes a collective tragedy,’’ President Jonathan declared.
Mr. Jonathan urged world leaders and international institutions to give their fullest possible support to the incoming administration of Buhari.
He also called on all Nigerians to do their utmost best to help the incoming president succeed in leading the country to greater heights of accomplishment.
The president appealed for patience, understanding and cooperation, which, he said, Mr. Buhari will need to move the country forward to greater, peace, security and progress.
Speaking with the new French ambassador, Denis Guaer, President Jonathan urged France to extend the support and assistance it gave to his administration to Mr. Buhari’s government.
“President Francois Hollande was our guest in Nigeria during the celebration of Nigeria’s centenary. He has been very supportive of the country in the fight against terrorism. I expect that the same warmth and goodwill will be extended to the incoming government. I expect that France will continue to work with the new administration, especially on issues of terrorism.
“The United Nations has been supportive as well. Our troops, supported by regional forces, have done very well in fighting the terrorists in recent times. What we need now is support to help our people get back their lives,’’ he said.
The ambassadors commended President Jonathan for setting a record of humility, patriotism and courage in safeguarding the democratic process in Nigeria and Africa.
“Nigeria is not only an economic power in the world today, but also a great democratic example. And it is all by your effort, Mr. President. The last elections and your response was truly a great achievement and you will always be remembered for it,” the French ambassador told the President.
Mr. Guaer, the new Ambassador of Senegal, Baboucar Sambe, and the new Ambassador of Ethiopia, Samia Zekaria Gutu, who were at the Presidential Villa to present their letters of credence to President Jonathan, also assured him that they will do their best to strengthen relations between Nigeria and their countries during their tenure.
Credit: premiumtimesng
A candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Edo State House of Assembly slumped and collapsed on hearing of his defeat in last Saturday’s election. The candidate was rushed to a private hospital where he was revived.
He was later transferred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for further treatment. The hospitalized candidate had contested for Edo South constituency seat but lost to the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Read More: Vanguard
The losing candidate in the Adamawa State governorship poll, Nuhu Ribadu, has appreciated his supporters for backing him during the election period.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate lost to Umar Jibrilla Bindow of the All Progressives Congress. “I came into this race knowing fully well that political contests are two-way traffics – one either wins or loses. As a man of faith, I was also aware that leadership responsibility is a product of God’s annointment,” Ribadu said.
He said in the course of the elections, he had seen genuine support and encouragement from the people of Adamawa State. Several individuals from Adamawa and beyond contributed generously to keep the campaign going and many others devoted their time, energy and intellect to see to the success of this project, Ribadu added. “I sincerely appreciate this belief in my person and my ambition,” Ribadu said.
He also appreciated the support he received from President Goodluck Jonathan and the party leaders in the state. “The support I got from my party’s leadership and individual members from President Goodluck Jonathan down to the party agents in our polling units was overwhelming and gratifying.”
He also hailed the party leader in the state, Bala James Ngilari, and the state party chairman, Joel Madaki.
Ribadu welcomed the result and congratulated the winner. “I pray that at the end of it all the state will witness the needed progress and development it so much desires,” he concluded.
Still trying to recover from the defeat suffered by his party in the Presidential and National Assembly elections last week, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, has admitted that the party was humbled by the loss.
The defeat notwithstanding, Muazu, who is fondly nicknamed ‘the Game Changer’ by his party faithful, has assured Nigerians that the PDP will be reformed to meet the expectations of its members and Nigerians.
According to the chairman, the ruling party has learnt lessons from its defeat and will never again let Nigerians down when it bounces back to power. The chairman’s position was contained in a series of tweets he posted on his twitter handle #AM, and @Muazuaa
In one of the posts, Muazu said, “We are humbled by the 28th of March decision of many Nigerians and promise never again let you down. We will reform our party. “We have learnt some very useful lessons with the March 28th elections and we want to assure Nigerians you will see a new PDP.
Read More: vanguardngr
The singular act of President Goodluck Jonathan after the presidential elections on Saturday has elevated him to the status of a statesman, not only in Nigeria, but Africa where such action is a rarity.
A decade later, he became Chairman of the National Legislative Assembly, and would eventually lead the SYL itself two years afterwards. By the time Somalia gained its independence in 1960, Daar had attained widespread prominence as a nationalist figure.
In short order, he was elected the country’s first President, a position he would assume from 1960 to 1967. Fellow SYL member Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf would serve as the first President of the Somali National Assembly on 1 July 1960.
In the 1967 presidential election, Daar was defeated by Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, his former Prime Minister. His term as president ended on June 10, 1967. Daar accepted the loss graciously, making history as the first head of state in Africa to peacefully hand over power to a democratically elected successor.
2. KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA (ZAMBIA): Kenneth Kaunda served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissatisfied with Nkumbula’s leadership of the African National Congress, he broke away and founded the Zambian African National Congress, later becoming the head of the United National Independence Party.
He was the first President of the independent Zambia. From 1968, all political parties except UNIP were banned. At the same time, Kaunda oversaw the acquisition of majority stakes in key foreign-owned companies.
The oil crisis of 1973 and a slump in export revenues put Zambia in a state of economic crisis. International pressure forced Kaunda to change the rules that had kept him in power.
This actually led to a Multi-party elections in 1991, in which Frederick Chiluba, the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy won. Kuanda being the leader of Zambia since independence could have rigged or might have not taken the outcome of the election. Kaunda surprised the world by stepping down for Frederick Chiluba in 1991.
3. RUPIAH BWEZANI BANDA (ZAMBIA): Rupiah Banda is a Zambian politician who was President of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. During the Presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, Banda held important diplomatic posts and was active in politics as a member of the United National Independence Party(UNIP).
Years later, he was appointed as Vice-Presidentby President Levy Mwanawasa in October 2006, following the latter’s re-election. He took over Mwanawasa’s presidential responsibilities after Mwanawasa suffered a stroke in June 2008, and following Mwanawasa’s death in August 2008, he became acting President. As the candidate of the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy(MMD), he narrowly won the October 2008 presidential election, according to official results.
Opposition leader Michael Sata defeated Banda in the September 2011 presidential election, and Sata accordingly succeeded Banda as President on 23 September 2011. In his concession speech, outgoing President Banda noted that, the people of Zambia had spoken through the democratic process and there was the need to obey it.“The time now is for maturity, for composure and for compassion. To the victors, I say this: you have the right to celebrate but do so with a magnanimous heart. Enjoy the hour but remember that a term of government is for years. He stated.
4. ABDOULAYE WADE (SENEGAL): In July 2008, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment increasing the length of the presidential term to seven years, as it was prior to the adoption of the 2001 constitution.
This extension would not apply to Wade’s 2007–2012 term, but Minister of Justice Madické Niangstressed on this occasion that Wade could potentially run for re-election in 2012 if he was still healthy. On January 27, 2012, Abdoulaye Wade was officially approved by the Constitutional Council to run for a highly controversial third and last term.
Following this declaration, enraged mobs engaged in violent protests throughout the city. After the first round vote, Abdoulaye Wade acknowledged on 27 February 2012 that he had failed to win a majority in the election and would have to face a run-off.
He subsequently lost the second round of voting, held on 25 March 2012, to the opposition candidate Macky Sall; Sall had received the backing of all of the candidates who were defeated in the first round, and he defeated Wade by a wide margin. Wade conceded defeat and Sall succeeded Wade as President on 2 April 2012.
5.GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN (NIGERIA): Before he entered politics in 1998, he worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer. He contested for Nigerian 2015 presidential election which he lost to former dictator, General Muhammadu Buhari.
He conceded defeat in a competitive election and became the first sitting Nigerian president to do so. Prior to his role as President, he served as Governor of Bayelsa State from 2005 to 2007 and as Vice-President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010.
Credit: africanleadership
Like many displaced persons taking refuge in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, Hassan is not convinced that the military is being entirely truthful about its claims.
“I know fighting has been taking place but I don’t want to believe we’ve heard the last of it,” he said. “Boko Haram has a strong base in Gwoza, and it wouldn’t be easy dislodging them. They have large camps, thousands of fighters, heavy weapons and their headquarters there. The war in Gwoza wouldn’t be child’s play.”
Hassan isn’t the only one skeptical about the supposed victory.
An unnamed soldier told a local news website that fighting was still going on, even as the Nigeria Defense Headquarters announced Gwoza’s recapture from Boko Haram on Twitter.
The soldier was quoted as saying: “The announcement was made because my bosses are trying to please Mr. President, who announced that the town would be liberated by today.”
On Wednesday, as he received international election monitoring groups, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said the military command had assured him that Gwoza would be liberated on Friday.
Nigeria’s presidential election is currently ongoing.
Jonathan is being challenged by Muhammadu Buhari, a former military general who is vying to become the first candidate to beat an incumbent in Nigeria’s history. Buhari has argued that Jonathan didn’t put enough effort into fighting the Boko Haram insurgency earlier. For his part, Jonathan has said he is determined to beat the militants. Polls have the two men in a dead heat.
The military says that Boko Haram insurgents have now been driven from virtually all the territory they’ve previously held, a claim that supports Jonathan’s assertion that Boko Haram is on the run.
Nigerian military spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said it wasn’t clear if the abducted schoolgirls were in the seized town.
“A massive cordon and search has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody,” he said on Friday.
The capture of Gwoza is a major milestone for the Nigerian army and surely deals a huge blow to Boko Haram.
Gwoza’s location made it an ideal base for the insurgents—the nearby Mandara Mountains offered protection and the jihadists could flee into Cameroon with ease. There is a complex system of caves and tunnels nearby, some of which burrow hundreds of meters into the mountainside. Many believe that Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, may have been hiding in those caves.
When Gwoza was captured by the jihadists last August, thousands of residents were left trapped and terrified on the mountain slopes with no food. To make matters worse, the military fled, leaving the militants to help themselves to the local armory.
But on Friday, the military said troops leveled the operational headquarters of Boko Haram and seized several arms and ammunition from them, forcing many insurgents to flee.
Eyewitnesses say that after the military assault, militants could be seen heading over the mountain by torchlight.
Though the recent success of multinational forces over Boko Haram brings huge relief to Nigeria’s troubled northeastern region, some are worried the gains might not be sustained.
Chad’s President Idriss Deby, who has been fiercely critical of Nigeria’s response, said the Nigerian military had been uncooperative.
He told French magazine Le Point that Chadian troops have had to retake towns twice from Boko Haram because Nigeria’s forces had failed to secure them. “The Chadian army is fighting alone in its part of the Nigerian interior and that is a problem. We have had to retake certain towns twice,” Deby was quoted as saying.
“We are forced to abandon them and Boko Haram returns, and we have to go back. That has a human and material cost.”
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President Goodluck Jonathan remains confident he will win a second term despite growing popularity of his main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari.
With elections less than two weeks away, Mr. Jonathan told the BBC in an interview that he has nothing to worry about, as his ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, remains the strongest party in Nigeria despite Mr. Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, APC’s widespread support.
“I will surely win it… My party is still the strongest party,” the president said.
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A 14 year old escapee spoke to Al-Jazeera and confessed to the inhumane treatment meted out to captives and the total disregard for human lives in the camps of the terrorists.
He said, “The biggest loss by Boko Haram I witnessed was in Gamboru in the hands of the military; the leader was so furious that he shot and killed two commanders right before us. The most frightening battle was the attack on Baga, when the town was attacked. Initially, it was difficult to break through…”
Credit: YouTube/ AlJazeera
Shekau vowed in a new video released on Monday that the group would defeat a regional force fighting the extremists in Nigeria’s far northeast, Niger and Cameroon.
Troops from Nigeria have been backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and Niger in recent weeks because of increased concerns about Boko Haram’s threat to regional security.
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