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The All Progressives Congress has described the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, Joseph Mbu, as a lawless and barbaric policeman, who should urgently be cautioned by his boss before he starts another around of his trade-mark nihilism in his new posting.

In a statement in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Mbus actions since he was posted to Lagos had neither dignified the police as an institution nor portrayed him as a well-trained law enforcement agent.

It said the temperament, comportment, utterances and actions of Mbu, as a very senior police officer, were capable of inciting mass killings, violence and anarchy.

APC added, Since his posting to the Zone 2 Command, this contumacious policeman has exhibited an egregious act of lawlessness by barging through the Lekki Toll Plaza without paying toll and then ordering the arrest of policemen and workers at the Plaza. Is it not an irony that a man, who is trained to enforce the law, is the same, who is breaking the law?

But that action, as bad as it was, pales into insignificance when compared to his most recent statement in which he was basically inciting the police against the citizenry and encouraging the killing of civilians. It is sheer irresponsibility for a senior policeman to say that for every policeman, who is killed during the election, he will kill 20 civilians.

Lest we are misunderstood, our party will never condone the killing of police personnel or of any law enforcement agent for whatever reason, just as we will not condone the killing of any innocent Nigerian. If a senior police officer does not know how to convey to his officers and men that they should protect themselves while also avoiding extra-judicial killing of any citizen, then the funds spent in training him have been wasted.

The party said such language as fire-for-fire , If one of my men is killed, I shall kill twenty of them or you have the power to stop the Governor is inappropriate, inciting and barbaric, especially under a democratic dispensation, and most unbecoming of a senior law enforcement agent.

APC said Mbu should be held solely responsible for any violence or killing of innocent citizens before, during and after the elections in the area under his command.

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Mbus order to policemen to kill barbaric, lawless APC

February 15, 2015 by John Alechenu, Chukwudi Akasike, Success Nwogu, Etim Ekpimah, Samuel Awoyinfa and Adelani Adepegba 10 Comments

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Following what the All Progressives Congress described as the growing threat to the lives of its leaders, some of the partys chieftains have resorted to making private security arrangements.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Friday that part of these arrangements included engaging private security guards (some of which allegedly carry arms) as well as beefing up security in and around their homes and offices.

Some of the party members volunteered this information on the condition of anonymity.

One of them explained that the chieftains were forced to make backup plans because it was becoming clear that the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government would withdraw the services of regular security men as the elections approach.

He said, We cannot pretend we dont know what the PDP is up to. There is more to the deliberate harassment of our leaders by security agencies within the last one week.

First, it was Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Rochas Okorocha; then our Presidential Campaign Director of Media, Mr. Garba Shehu. Only God knows who will be next.

It was in this same country during election period that Chief Harry Marshal and Bola Ige were killed. Only a careless person will rely solely on government security men who can be withdrawn at any time.

In Rivers State, the state chapter of the APC said its members were relying on natural human instincts to protect party leaders from assassination plots.

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APC resorts to private security guards

Chukwuemeka Ezeife

Third Republic Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, tells TOBI AWORINDE that former President Olusegun Obasanjos endorsement of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), may not be worth its salt

What do you think of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who helped found the Peoples Democratic Party, endorsing the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)?

Unusual and unconventional things keep happening in Nigeria. I dont know whether the solidarity of the military is so strong that it compels people to do such things. Is there a military caucus made up of a different breed of Nigerians such that an officer must support another officer? I hear that Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.) is also supporting Buhari, to my greatest surprise. The military caucus, perhaps, is the strongest one in the (political) system. An endorsement by Gen. Obasanjo can be a kiss of death for any political figure. I dont know how much is left of Obasanjos credibility to endorse somebody and if it can have a positive effect.

But Obasanjo also endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. Are you saying the President didnt profit from that vote of confidence?

You are right, Obasanjo brought out Jonathan and endorsed him in 2011, even when he (Jonathan) was contesting against Buhari. So, what has changed? Or is there another caucus of the North and northern supporters? What happened to (Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru) Jega is also happening to other northerners. But some Hausa/Fulani Muslims have taken a decision to return power to themselvesthe born-to-rule peopleand everyone seems to be endorsing Buhari for that reason. The ways of Obasanjo are sometimes inscrutable, but I pray that, for him and for all of us, the will of God will happen. Jonathan is a tool in the hands of God, chosen to do Gods purpose for Nigeria. If he has finished that purpose, he will leave. But if he has not finished Gods purpose, he will be there and no man born by a woman can remove him.

Is it normal for an elder statesman of such prominence to go against his partys mandate and endorse a member of the opposition?

A former head of state is a human being and has human rights. I dont think anything is wrong with that. But if you are in a party and you endorse another partys candidate, it means you are indulging in anti-party activities. In honour, he should therefore resign from the PDP.

Are you, therefore, in support of the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayoses proposition that the party suspend the ex-President over inter-party activities?

Let me tell you something: we dont have parties. After the presidential elections, we will work to build two parties in Nigeria. The two-party system has been demonstrated to be what Nigeria needs; what works for and integrates Nigeria, crushing religiosity and tribalism. We have one of the parties already surfacingthe Social Democratic Party. We will define the ideology of the SDP properly and the people who want to be on the other side will define their ideology. That way, we would give Nigeria a two-party system. After the presidential elections, even with Jonathan as president, the PDP may have to go. Look at how they cause all kinds of problems for themselves. One is not sure where a member of the PDP is heading. You can see that the President is a member of the PDP. But some people say even the PDP chairman is not with the party. The PDP may eventually leave the scene, even with the President in office.

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Obasanjos support for Buhari, kiss of death Ezeife

A few weeks ago they were dead even, but a new Forum Research poll has the federal Liberals now leading the Conservatives by a healthy seven point margin.

The public opinion survey found the Liberals have 39 per cent support, compared to 32 per cent for Prime Minister Stephen Harpers Conservatives.

The Opposition NDP are at 17 per cent.

A Forum poll two weeks ago had Conservatives and Liberals at 35 and 34 per cent respectively a tie when the polls margin of error is factored in and the NDP at 20 per cent support.

Forum president Lorne Bozinoff attributed the Tories drop in fortunes in the latest poll to two events former foreign affairs minister John Bairds sudden departure from cabinet last week, and MP Eve Adams decision to cross the floor from the Conservatives to Justin Trudeaus Liberals this week.

It is clear Mr. Harper has had a very bad week, starting with the loss of John Baird, a genuinely popular minister in a government not blessed with many popular ministers, Bozinoff said in a statement.

In addition, while Eve Adams defection, which happened in the middle of our field period, can be seen as much a boon to the Conservatives as the Liberals, she is yet another partisan leaving the government with an election imminent, Bozinoff added.

Based on the new seat distribution in Parliament, which grows to 338 for the federal election this fall, the poll results would have the Liberals capturing a 24-seat majority of 194 seats, compared to 112 for the Conservatives and 30 for the NDP.

The poll two weeks ago translated into a slim minority for the Conservatives 145 seats to 125 for the Liberals and 61 for the NDP, factoring in the new seat distribution.

The latest Forum poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday with a sample size of 1,018 randomly selected Canadian voters, who participated in an interactive voice response telephone survey.

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Federal Liberals lead Conservatives comfortably in new poll

Lauren Giordano/The Atlantic

A unified theory of why political satire is biased toward, and talk radio is biased against, liberals in America.

S

oon after Jon Stewart arrived at The Daily Show in 1999, the world around him began to change. First, George W. Bush moved into the White House. Then came 9/11, and YouTube, and the advent of viral videos. Over the years, Stewart and his cohort mastered the very difficult task of sorting through all the news quickly and turning it around into biting, relevant satire that worked both for television and the Internet.

Now, as Stewart prepares to leave the show, the brand of comedy he helped invent is stronger than ever. Stephen Colbert is getting ready to bring his deadpan smirk to The Late Show. Bill Maher is continuing to provoke pundits and politicians with his blunt punch lines. John Olivers Last Week Tonight is about to celebrate the end of a wildly popular first year. Stewart has yet to announce his post-Daily Show plans, but even if he retires, the genre seems more than capable of carrying on without him.

Stewart, Colbert, Maher, Oliver and co. belong to a type of late-night satire thats typically characterized as liberal, skewering Republicans (and, less frequently, Democrats) for absurd statements or pompousness or flagrant hypocrisy. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Funny Or Die, and The Onion, while not partisan organs, all clearly have a left-of-center orientation, wrote Jonathan Chait in The New Republic in 2011.This categorization, though, begs the question of why the form has no equal on the other side of the ideological spectrum. Some self-identified conservative comics argue that the biased liberal media hasnt given them a chance to thrive. Others point out that Obama is a more difficult target than his Republican predecessor: He was the first African-American president, which meant comedians have had to tip-toe around anything with racial connotations, and his restrained personality has made him difficult to parody.

But six years in, Obamas party has been thoroughly trounced in the midterms and publicly excoriated by right-wing politicians, yet theres a dearth of conservative satirists taking aim, even though the niche-targeted structure of cable media today should make it relatively easy for them to find an audience. After all, it would have been difficult for Stewart or Colbert to find an audience during the era when three broadcast stations competed for the entire country and couldn't afford to alienate too many viewers. But cable TV news programs need only find a niche viewership. Why then, hasnt a conservative Daily Show found its own place on Fox?

So if liberals are such vulnerable targets for humor, why do relatively few conservative comedians seem to be taking aim at them?

O

ne explanation is simply that proportionately fewer people with broadly conservative sensibilities choose to become comedians. Just as liberals dominate academia, journalism, and other writing professions, there are nearly three times as many liberal- as conservative-minded people in the creative arts according to a recent study. Alison Dagnes, a professor of political science at Shippensburg University, argues that the same personality traits that shape political preferences also guide the choice of professions. These tendencies just get more pronounced in the case of comedy, which usually requires years of irregular income, late hours, and travel, as well as a certain tolerance for crudeness and heckling.

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Waiting for the Conservative Jon Stewart