The past week was eventful in the way Nigeria usually is without stories. From the affairs of the presidency, the war of personalities in Kano and the trade in blames ongoing on the subject of security in Benue, we have the following as the quotes of the week.

IBRAHIM BABANGIDA

The former head of state began the week with a statement urging President Muhammadu Buhari to refrain from contesting in the 2019 election. In essence, it was very much in tune with that written by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in January:

“In the fullness of our present realities, we need to cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari to complete his term of office on May 29th, 2019 and collectively prepare the way for new generation leaders to assume the mantle of leadership of the country”

KASSIM AFEGBUA

Since the publication of that letter, Mr Afegbua has been invited by the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS). He is now calling for attention to his security.

“The action of the Nigeria Police coupled with that of the State Security Service is at best that of a meddlesome interloper and sheer bullying, leaving serious developmental issues to chasing shadows with a view to intimidate, harass and embarrass me. Let me state at this point that my life is in danger as we speak. I have been receiving series of unknown phone calls from people threatening me and my family”

YEMI OSINBAJO

Speaking at the Security Summit organised by the National Assembly, the Vice President threw his weight behind the call for state policing in Nigeria.

“State police and other policing methods are clearly the way to go. We cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja”

JIMOH MOSHOOD

As the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, Moshood is expected to be an officer who chooses his words carefully as the Police tries to establish a real connection with the public. But that was not Mr Moshood did with this statement on live television.

“We don’t join issues with a drowning man, Governor Ortom is a drowning man”

CATHOLIC BISHOPS

President Buhari was visited by a delegation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and they did not sugarcoat words with him:

“There is no doubt that when you came into office, you had an enormous amount of the goodwill of Nigerians, since many saw you as a person of integrity who would be able to bring sanity into a system that was nearly crippled by endemic corruption. Nearly three years later, however, one has the feeling that this goodwill is being fast depleted by some glaring failures of government”.

YAHAYA BELLO

The self-appointed chief defender of the president was quick to respond, perhaps aiming a thinly veiled dig at the CBCN:

“The category of Nigerians that are angry are those who used a private jet to cart away Nigeria’s money, in dollars, out of the country to South Africa (in reference to the case of alleged money laundering involving a former president of Christian Association of Nigeria). And of course, those that have looted the country dry and normally go to the church and mosque to pay tithe are no longing doing so. Of course, this is the category of people who are angry”.

PRESIDENT BUHARI

The presidency put out a response to counter the very popular sentiment that the Buhari administration remains reluctant in tackling the farmer-herdsmen crises which continues to be fatal:

 “It is quite frankly dishonest and unfair to insinuate that I am sitting doing nothing, while these killings are going on. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have and will continue to act in line with my responsibility as President to ensure security of lives and property”.

ABDULLAHI GANDUJE

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu received a presidential mandate to be the chief mediator in the crisis between Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. But judging by the governor’s statement, it could be too late:

“We have had enough of such a vendetta, which had been raging with no end in sight. We have parted ways with Kwankwasiyya forever”.

BEN MURRAY-BRUCE

The common sense senator wants to benefit from the Benue saga by winning over Governor Ortom:

“Yesterday, I invited Governor Ortom to join the PDP and I am glad that today, he has officially confirmed that he is actively thinking about leaving the APC for the PDP. Right move Governor, right move. Light has no companionship with darkness. Benue belongs to PDP”

SNAKES IN JAMB

Auditors were at JAMB’s offices in Benue and the response of an officer on the disappearance of N36 million is quite unbelievable.

“I have been saving the money in the bank, but I found it difficult to account for it. So I started saving it in a vault in the office. But each time I open the vault, I will find nothing… I continued to press until my housemaid confessed. She said that the money disappeared “spiritually”. She said that a ‘mysterious snake’ sneaked into the house and swallowed the money in the vault”.