Nigeria: war against terror renamed 'peace by force'

Following his declaration last week that his command of the Nigerian Army and strategy to deal with the Boko Haram terrorism menace will be pursued by action rather than talking, Chief of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai has renamed the code name for the war on terror from “Operation Zaman Lafiya” to “Operation Lafiya Dole” signaling his determination to attain peace by force in the North East.

General Buratai who was addressing troops at the 103 Battalion headquarters located in Konduga, Borno State, warned that he would not tolerate any act of indiscipline or cowardice from any soldier. He also exhorted Commanders to be more proactive and respond promptly to distress calls.

Soldiers speak to people standing away from houses burnt by Boko Haram Islamists at Zabarmari, a fishing and farming village near Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, on July 3, 2015. Several female suicide bombers in northeast Nigeria blew themselves up amid panicked villagers fleeing a Boko Haram attack, killing scores, the army and witnesses said on July 4. The latest carnage in series of attacks that have claimed more than 200 lives in just three days happened on Friday night in Zabarmari village, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of the jihadist group. AFP
COAS’s vision
Towards this end, the COAS informed the troops of his vision and the resolve to end the activities of Boko Haram terrorists and assured them of the Federal Government’s support, adding that all necessary equipment and facilities would be provided to actualize the defeat of the insurgency.

A statement in this regard signed by Colonel Sani Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, read; “As part of the efforts to rejig and add renewed vigour to the fight against terrorism and insurgency in the country especially in the North East, the Nigerian Army has decided to rename the Operation Zaman Lafiya” to “Operation Lafiya Dole” which mean “Peace by Force.”

“The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Major General Tukur Yusufu Buratai made this known at 103 Battalion of Nigerian Army based in Konduga, Borno State at the weekend.

“The COAS had hit the ground running shortly after taking over the command of the Army by travelling to the northeast to celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Fitr prayers with troops in the frontlines.

“During the Sallah period he visited quite a number of units and troops, interacted with them and personally assessed the operations himself.

“The COAS also used the occasions to inform the troops of his vision and the resolve to end the activities of Boko Haram terrorists.

“He also assured them of the Federal Government’s support and that all necessary equipment and facilities would be provided to actualize the defeat of the insurgency.

“He commended them for their resilience, bravery and dedication and enjoined them to take the initiative and be more proactive.

“He charged that troops should do more by pursuing and destroying Boko Haram terrorists within the bound of Rules of Engagement.

“In line with his vision, some of the identified challenges in the frontline were proactively addressed through specific directives.

“During the visit he also took meals with the troops and paid courtesy calls on the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Shehu of Borno and the Deputy Governor of Borno State during which he stated his mission and also thanked them for their support to the troops.”

Continuing, Usman said: “Based on the new thinking, the code name “Operation Lafiya Dole” which means “Peace by Force” is to send a strong and final warning signal to the terrorists that they cannot derail the wheel of peace in the north east or any part of Nigeria.

“He assured people of Yobe, entire northeast and Nigeria of the determination of the Nigerian army to successfully end the Boko Haram terrorists’ activities.

Fraudsters using COAS’s name on Facebook
Meanwhile the Army authorities have disclosed that fraudsters are using the Chief of Army Staff’s name on Facebook.

In a statement, the army said: “It has come to our knowledge that some unscrupulous and criminal elements have started using the name of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Major General T.Y. Buratai through Facebook platform requesting for friendship, extort and defraud unsuspecting members of the public.”

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) bans 6 'manpower' drugs

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has revoked marketing authorisation permits for the sale and distribution of six vitality herbal medicines for men.

The products are Rockman Capsules, manufactured by RockCare Clinic; Angel Natural Capsules by Angel Herbal Products Industry and Tinattet Be4 Be4 Capsules by Tinattet Marketing Co. Ltd.

The others are Adom Gentleman Power Capsules, manufactured by Dependable Pharmacy; Laud P Capsules by the Stephen Gyan Herbal Centre and Mars for Men, imported by Joe D.D. Ventures.

All the products were found to have been adulterated with Vardenafil, a synthetic pharmaceutical ingredient used in the formulation of prescription-only medicine for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Vardenafil is closely related in function to Viagra.

Ironically, checks by the Daily Graphic indicates that some of the banned sex ‘drugs’ have FDA certification.

But some players in the herbal preparation industry question the move by the FDA saying that unless the certification was fake the FDA had to answer some questions.

Notice

The FDA has subsequently served notice to the above-mentioned companies to immediately halt all advertisement of the products and cooperate with the authority to recall those already on the market.

A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, Mr Hudu Mogtari, and issued by the authority in Accra yesterday said the use of Vardenafil might have serious health implications such as cerebro-vascular hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) which could lead to stroke.

“It could even cause heart attack, palpitation and serious cardiovascular events, including sudden cardiac death,” it said.

Explaining further, Mr Mogtari said the adulteration of the products could also lead to sustained erection and the resultant factor could be impotence.

“Kidney failure, problems with sight and hearing can also not be ruled out,” he said.

He cautioned the public against the continued patronage of the herbal medicines.
Market recall

Mr Mogtari said the authority had put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the producers, distributors and marketers did not sell the products on the blind side of the FDA.

He also hinted of possible sanctions against the manufacturers and distributors of the six products.

The FDA was also appealing to the public to provide information on persons dealing in the products, as well as others which could endanger public health and safety, he added.

BDCs are 'heroes' of petroleum pricing - ACEP

The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has lauded the Bulk Oil Distributing Companies (BDCs) for publishing the fuel price indicators.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, the Executive Director at ACEP, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam described the BDCs as “heroes” of the petroleum pricing regime.

“I think that the heroes of this deregulation are the BDCs because of their ability or decision to publish the XPI [Ex-refinery price index] and I think that we should acknowledge that because without it we cannot be able to do our analysis,” he said.

Government at the beginning of June deregulated the pricing of petroleum products.

But some stakeholders have criticized the move saying it could breed cartels.

However, the publication of the price indicators by the BDCs showed that the recent reduction in fuel prices by the OMCs should have been 25%.

Dr Adam further urged the BDCs to continually publish the price indicators to ensure that Ghanaians are not cheated.

“I will like to urge them not to give up, they should continue to publish that statement as a public duty to us, so that we can continue to monitor the prices and to be sure that the OMCs are passing on to us the reductions the BDCs are giving to the OMCs.”

ACEP had earlier threatened to sue the OMCs and the BDCs for exploiting consumers through price manipulations.

This, according to them, is because there are problems with the computation of the ex-pump prices announced by the OMCs.

NPP should learn to forgive and forget NDC guru says

Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ekumfi, George Kuntu Blankson has admonished the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to learn how to forgive each other.

Mr Blankson is of the view that when executives of the party continue to involve themselves in ‘unnecessary’ internal wrangling, it will only hinder their chances of a good showing in the 2016 general elections.

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“NPP is in opposition and will continue to be in opposition because they are just not ready to learn and forget about the past, and when that happens, they can never move ahead,” he stated.

NPP has been rocked in recent times by a series of internal fights, leading to a call, in some quarters, for the resignation or firing of the National Chairman and General Secretary.

Chairman Paul Afoko and General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong have been accused of being the cause of the problems in the party and do not deserve to still be in such sensitive positions.

The latest to add his voice to the calling is a founder member of the party, George Ayisi Boateng.

He has advised the Presidential Candidate of the NPP not to fully trust the two executives because they have not demonstrated sufficient commitment to helping the party win power in 2016.

But Mr. Kuntu Blankson on Adom FM on Tuesday opined that such utterances from a leading member does not augur well for the party, and could lead to further divisions in the party.

"In every country, there is the need for opposition and governing party and so if the NPP continue like this, there wouldn’t be any competition and so they should learn how to forgive and forget.

“The two executives have been elected by delegates and so there is no way they can leave their post unless they are voted out and so it would be better for them to forget about the past and move ahead if they really want power” he asserted.