What's he done now?
This week, the Saraki campaign began to send emails and text messages to registered voters, reintroducing him as a presidential candidate.
I’m listening…
Saraki 2019 has two slogans: “Let’s Grow Nigeria” and “Follow Person Wey Sabi Road”, two high-key critiques of the Buhari administration’s poor economic performance and difficulty in attracting technocrats. Since defecting from APC, Saraki has defiantly reaffirmed that he will keep his position in the Senate until his term was up and even bagged an endorsement from Ibrahim Babangida.
So what's next?
Saraki has an uphill road ahead of him. He's competing for PDP’s presidential nomination against former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
But what does this mean for Saraki?
For one, he has more to lose from a failed presidential bid than many other candidates. Plus, his position as Senate President depends on PDP maintaining their majority. Since he defected to the PDP, relations between Saraki and major APC party figures have been strained. If he fails, and PDP falls short of reaffirming its majority, he could not only lose his seat but may also be subject to continued investigation.
What's happening?
Recently, the ICC seemed to be addressing its criticisms by moving to investigate potential war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan. The investigation provoked an excoriating critique from US National Security Adviser, John Bolton. Bolton described the Court as an attack on US sovereignty. His comments should come as no surprise—Trump administration officials have generally pushed back against globalism and continue to insist that America lies outside the bounds of international law.
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Still?Boko Haram remains a deadly menace in North-East Nigeria. For several months, human rights groups have been reporting that residents are being forced back into unsafe towns in order to register to vote. This week witnessed an attack on the town Guzamala that witnesses claim killed dozens; the government had previously declared it safe.
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Higher. Yesterday, South Africa legalized the private use of cannabis becoming the third country in Africa, after Lesotho and Zimbabwe, to do so. Just a few days before, former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, urged West African governments to decriminalize drug use, arguing that "Prison does not reform".