AIG

Okay, I think we are being utterly unfair to Bashir Ahmad here. I’m not his friend in any sense, but as an insider, I should know enough to make this clarification: 1. Bashir was not an accounting officer of any MDA as a presidential aide, and that means he was not in charge of any public funds he could have tampered with. So, any claim about corrupt enrichment has to be situated within that context. 2. Not all presidential aides are paid by the government, and I’m not suggesting Bashir was one of them, but to dispel the narrative that all are paid by the government. Many are paid by donors, and they are usually well paid in such roles. No, I will not single them out for security reasons. So, the naira salary scale yardstick does not apply to all. 3. If, after over four years out of government, Bashir could not make good use of his social networks to build a revenue-generating enterprise or raise capital, then there would have to be something fundamentally wrong with him. There is nothing wrong with raising money through one’s social networks. 4. Bashir was a media practitioner before government, and his role gave him the visibility to build his brand and platform. I think he could sincerely survive on this in today’s world of public relations and promotion. I believe a lot of people and organizations would patronise him on account of his platforms and the influence they carry. 5. As a former government official, the assumption must be that he built a vast network he could rally around to mobilise funds for this initiative, which I believe is essential in the kind of community being targeted. We would be having a different discussion if Bashir had occupied an office where he was tasked with managing public funds. But the closest he ever was to government money was his salary, travel allowances, and, at worst, gifts. So, every suspicion of financial impropriety fails in the absence of evidence. 6. I am not defending his financial dealings here in any absolute sense, because I do not know him that closely. The point is that he is not the type of government official with direct access to public funds, but it is also unfair to dismiss the possibility of his social network coming through for him, or that he is making use of his time after government to make money.

Abused zoo bear still circles in imaginary cage seven years after being freed... 😢🐻

When you refuse to distance yourself and report every extremist operating within your religion or tribe or household, it will give birth to this, Peace loving Christians and Muslims will now turn against each other. SHAME ON NIGERIA AND EVERYBODY THAT HAS A HAND IN TERRORISM.