cramjones:
I flew into London last night from Boston, and while on one of the London trains, I saw this!

Can May 29th come already? Why will Africa ever develop when we have such wicked, greedy and heartless leaders?

GMB hurry and be our president please.

CramJones


PS: When I served in government whatever corruption that transpired was certainly child's play compared to what has happened within the last 6 -7 years!

cramjones:
I flew into London last night from Boston, and while on one of the London trains, I saw this!

Can May 29th come already? Why will Africa ever develop when we have such wicked, greedy and heartless leaders?

GMB hurry and be our president please.

CramJones


PS: When I served in government whatever corruption that transpired was certainly child's play compared to what has happened within the last 6 -7 years!

cramjones:
I flew into London last night from Boston, and while on one of the London trains, I saw this!

Can May 29th come already? Why will Africa ever develop when we have such wicked, greedy and heartless leaders?

GMB hurry and be our president please.

CramJones


PS: When I served in government whatever corruption that transpired was certainly child's play compared to what has happened within the last 6 -7 years!

queensmith:


can you give us a reliable source for this supposed statement?

cleatoris:
One of the homes Jonathan and his family, Alison-Madueke, et al inted to pack into after fleeing from Nigeria.
They can't get too far from the long arms of the law.

cramjones:


Never come to my thread and insult people. I will get you banned if you do so. Kindly stick to the topic.

-CramJones

anonimi:


Just as pen robbers can hire lawyers like VP elect Osinbajo to stop any probe of his FRAUDULENT activities in CBN.

Not so

barcanista:
Will he probe those people? Spare me the sermon and answer the question or STFU

queensmith:


can you give us a reliable source for this supposed statement?

MrCork:
..MA PROFESSIONAL ADVISE AS A LONDONER....U PEOPLE NID TO STOP BLAMIN OTHERS FOR YOUR SLOW PROGRESS & FAILURES.

...STEP UP YOR GADEEEM SWAG LIKE I DID....AND JUSS IN CASE U ASK AGAIN..I DRIVE £28,000 (cash) RANGE ROVER SPOT!!

cramjones:


Never come to my thread and insult people. I will get you banned if you do so. Kindly stick to the topic.

-CramJones

Buhari, where did that come from?

Written by Garba Deen Mohammad,
22-06-2008

Sigh! At the last count there had been at least three powerful , damning editorial comments (THISDAY, Guardian, The Nation); and perhaps three times that number of scathing opinion articles on the statements credited to three former heads of state on the late General Sani Abacha, also a former head of state. Two weeks ago, June 8, exactly ten years since the sudden, mysterious death of Abacha, the trio of Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Abdul-Salam Abubakar, travelled from their respective bases in Kaduna and Minna to join the Abacha family in Kano for what they called the "10th year anniversary prayer" for the late head of state. For the record such period ceremonies are frowned upon in Islam and therefore have no spiritual value for the deceased.

[b]At Gidado Road, where the Abacha family residence is situated, the three former military leaders, joined by the Kano state governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau among others, duly assembled at the ten-year old grave of Abacha (another sacrilege) and offered prayers for him. That, for lack of a better word, is blunder number one. If those three truly wished to help a fallen comrade, they didn’t need to be so unnecessarily flamboyant about it. The best and purest way to help him would have been for them to remain in their houses, wake up at about 2.30 in the middle of the night, offer at least two Rak’at of prayers and then solemnly beseech God to forgive their friend. That would have been much better for them and for their friend. They know, or at least they ought to know, especially with people like Shekarau, who is supposed to be Sharia compliant among them, that Islam abhors both the ritual of honouring the grave of a perceived or real good man, and other ostentatious attitudes even by the living, less so for its deceased, whose only need is for prayers, and not gaudy political gatherings.[/b]

On the other hand, if they wished to make political capital out of their friend’s death, they could do so; after all, despicable as it is, it is an ‘acceptable’ practice in politics. Once, I was in the company of a well known politician when the news of the death of an important community leader was brought to him. This politician then looked at me, then at his hangers-on and then declared matter-of-factly: "I got to be seen at this funeral"; to which he dragged me. To this day I’m not sure if either of us would get any reward for attending that funeral. So if the trio of IBB and co wished to make a political statement, as it can very well be argued that they did, they ought not to have camouflaged it as a spiritual absolution. Now they reap neither political, nor spiritual benefits.

And if that was a blunder, what followed afterward, by way of their speeches, was a disaster. According to the Daily Trust of Monday, June 9, Buhari was quoted as saying: "All the allegations leveled against the personality of the late General Sani Abacha will remain allegations…" It is true that Buhari did not say, from this statement, that Abacha was a saint, but that was clearly and heavily implied. In any case his ‘loud’ silence over the way the media have chosen to interpret his remark says it all. IBB on his part was reported to have said, in the same publication cited above, ‘that the allegations leveled against the former head of state are "unfounded and baseless". General Abubakar more or less echoed his two predecessors.

Since the remarks were reported many people have wondered what triggered both this strange ceremony that is unwelcomed in Islam and what political objective the trio had hoped to achieved by their unusual and indeed unpopular utterances. Apart from this, one obvious question that comes to mind is this: if Abacha did not steal Nigeria’s money, where the hell did all the billions of dollars his family are sitting on come from? At the last count, the family and some of his cronies had returned about a billion dollars, which is said to represent only a small percentage of what they actually control. What business were they engaged in, before and after their father became head of state that they were able to accumulate so much money in so short a period of time? And what about those who were closely associated with Abacha, either as friends or close aides; all of whom came out of his regime reeking of staggering amount of wealth? Above all how did Buhari allow his reputation, which he had spent a lifetime nurturing to be so cheaply endangered? Does he realize the incalculable damage he’s done to his political fortunes by getting involved in such self-destructive unnecessary mess?

There are two possible explanations, either of which, or a combination of both, is likely. The first has to do with the history of the so-called Abacha loot, as told to me by an insider, a participant and a beneficiary, seven years ago in far away United States of America. About seven years ago, while on a working trip to the U.S., this writer ran into one of the most prominent figures in the Abacha clan. It was in the thick of the persecution of the Abacha family by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and this particular Abacha man was in self-exile in the US. Having made his acquaintance in Nigeria long before Abacha’s death, I sought him out in the States and asked him the true story of the Abacha money, and why he himself was in exile. This was what he told me.

[b]That sometime in 1996/7, when it became obvious to all at home and abroad that Abacha was set on holding unto power through an election in which he would succeed himself, the West, led by US and Britain deiced to impose very stringent economic and political sanctions on the country. In anticipation of that sanction which was designed to turn Nigeria into what Zimbabwe has now become, Abacha gathered his kitchen cabinet and think tank group and challenged them to fashion a way out.

After heavy deliberations, the group decided to look up to Libya for solutions. In 1996 Libya had then spent nearly two decades under excruciating sanctions which it had borne bravely but barely. According to my source, the Libyan leader Col. Muamar Gaddaf gave them his recipe for surviving western sanctions. He advised Abacha to transfer huge amounts of resources to trusted individuals within his political group. Since sanctions are imposed on government institutions, they do not affect individuals. These enriched individuals can then engage in economic activities with corresponding individuals and corporate organizations in other countries, including those from even the countries that have imposed those sanctions.[/b]

Thus this was how Abacha’s children, namely Mohammed, Abba, and some of his ministers and other top aides came to be in control of so much money. Then suddenly Abacha died, and those ‘anti-sanction’ slush funds became the de facto inheritance of Abacha’s erstwhile trustees. I was inclined to believe my friend, not least because his story made sense to me. How else could Apartheid South Africa, Libya, Burma, North Korea and a few other hapless countries that had run afoul of the West have been able to survive western sanctions? And just as important was the fact that such sharp practice actually tallies with the cynical attitude of the West, which pronounces sanctions in the day and business as usual by night, in order to save their multinationals.

If this line of reasoning had anything to do with why the trio made their infamous assessment of Abacha, then either age is finally catching up with them, or else we should ask them, as did Ibrahim Dangabas, a fellow satirical columnist with this newspaper: "Did they go to school, or does corruption have a different meaning in the army?" By whatever name it is called, corruption is corruption. Whatever his motive, Abacha had no right whatsoever to hand over to his children and cronies monies belonging to millions of people without any kind of security or collateral in the name of some dubious scheme for surviving sanctions. Thanks to him and his clique, now the country stands the risk of loosing all that money for good; not even their fellow Kano people stand to benefit from any of it, as the Abacha family are said to be extremely mean when it comes to social responsibilities.

A second explanation is that perhaps the three former military leaders felt stung and indicted by some of the comments of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, made during his recent media outing which has generally been adjudged to be a big success by his critics, and therefore felt compelled to respond in kind. To the question of probing former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Yar’adua had responded by saying that as far as he was concerned, Obasanjo had tried his best; that he (Obasanjo) inherited a country that was on the verge of collapse and he deserved credit for rescuing it. Effectively Yar’adua had put paid to any possibility of probing his mentor—and tormentor.

Whether we like it or not what Yar’adua said about Nigeria’s problem and about Obasanjo doing his best is substantially correct. The daunting problem of corruption, the intractable problem of the power, health and education sectors, the decayed infrastructure and many more did not start in1999; those problems took over 30 years to retrogress to their present level and it would be unrealistic to expect solution in just eight years . If Yar’adua should add the enormous political, social and even moral problems that are bound to accompany any probe of Obasanjo, to the great responsibility of trying to solve the problems he inherited he would end up distracted, if not crushed. I believe the past leaders also read between the lines the implied threat and the heavy sarcasm, from the President that as probes go, Obasanjo is not, and should not be the only one to be targeted.

For those of us in the Northern part of the country, we do have even a greater need for demanding that our past leaders be probed more than the rest of the country. And believe me; we have far less grouse with Obasanjo than we have with IBB, Abacha and Abdul-Salam. We should demand to know, for instance, exactly what Obasanjo has done to the North that our own leaders had not done worse during their own tenure. The greatest act of injustice you can ever inflict on a man is to keep him in ignorance. While they ruled Nigeria for most of its 48-year political history, northern leaders of various shapes and sizes have watched sheepishly while the public school system in the region fell apart faster and more appallingly than that of other parts of the country. The result is that the North now has the highest illiteracy rate and poverty incidence in the country. Surprisingly, it is the same northern leadership that still looks at Obasanjo and say, nauseatingly that "HE IS THE WORSE THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE North". And this is the same man who on two different occasions and against all expectations, actively supported and personally handed over power to the same North!

It is painful to admit, but this our so-called leaders certainly have a very low opinion about our ability to sort out the grain from the chaff; to understand where we are coming from, where we are and where we might end up if we continue to swallow up every garbage they feed us. (To be continued)

obynaDmob:



..no one gives a f*** about u Bruh! Blacks and their unnecessary call for attention. Mr swagoo

Khd95:
[center][/center]Op na lier oooo

he said he flew from london-boston nd he went ahead nd say'while on d train'



ogbeni shey london trains dy fly ni







I tink d CEO of nairaland should introduce E-flogging 2 plank Op like dis one

jmoore:

SkyBlue1:


I don't expect him to spend his whole energy fighting corruption but expect a pro development agenda as well, that is why you have ministers. Besides, it would shock you what setting the right tone can achieve. He has not even gotten into power yet but he is already fighting corruption. People are fleeing the country and NNPC and others are refunding money. Why? Because he has set the tone. When you think there would be no consequences for your action, things carry on the way they have for the past 5 years - Jonathan was very much pro corruption, that was the tone HE set.

mensdept:
Its shameful because the inferior minded Africans can never learn. All the loot they stole from their people, they are giving it right back to those who even gave them their identity as "Nigerians" and have looted them time and time again.

Too bad for Ni.ggas

jmoore:

Khd95:
[center][/center]Op na lier oooo

he said he flew from london-boston nd he went ahead nd say'while on d train'



ogbeni shey london trains dy fly ni






I tink d CEO of nairaland should introduce E-flogging 2 plank Op like dis one

DollyParton1:

Another olodo.

cleatoris:
One of the homes Jonathan and his family, Alison-Madueke, et al inted to pack into after fleeing from Nigeria.
They can't get too far from the long arms of the law.

cramjones:
I flew into London last night from Boston, and while on one of the London trains, I saw this!

Can May 29th come already? Why will Africa ever develop when we have such wicked, greedy and heartless leaders?

GMB hurry and be our president please.

CramJones


PS: When I served in government whatever corruption that transpired was certainly child's play compared to what has happened within the last 6 -7 years!

MrCork:



...correction..I have mioney..you don't...My point?..you are a church rat...which is exaccctly why you will need to stepppup yor swaaag (Word of wisdom).

...and please Come back and talk to moi if u have upto £1 Million pound in yor savings account.. (no oofeinse)

ISpiksDaTroof:
You are not in Boston, you coc*ksucker! And you never worked in Govt. Go get a life.

"London trains"? Why couldn't you just say "Tube" like anyone who has spent even a second in London knows to call it?