Nairaland Forum

Glory be to Allah, the man has moved from darkness to light, from falsehood to truth

May Allah strenghten her faith

Guy the bible has, over the centuries, suffered so many additions, interpolations, revisions, editions as to render it almost impossible to sift the lies from the truths. Qur'an came to put the record straight. hope that answers your question

Please mind your language. what is deceptive in my post? did I misquote the report or what? In what way did your "conclusion" invalidate my post?

babyosisi:

Wikipedia is not a credible source
Anyone can edit wikipdia and put anything in it
So you don't know that?

May be you did not notice that the report quoted Guiness book of world records and the BBC. Aro those sources also edited by the public?

you are critisizing wikipeadia while you failed to provide any source (weak or strong)for the wild accusations contained in your post

bad meat: Please can some explain the symbol of the sword in islam,and what killed prophet Muhammad(pbuh)

There is nothing like sword as a symbol in Islam. What is mostly depicted as symbol of Islam nowadays is the star and crescent, and even these were of recent origin. They have no basis either in the Qur'an or Hadith which are the primary sources of Islam,
As for your second question , the holy Prophet (PBUH)left this world after suffering from fever for several days. He was over sixty years old (some say 63 years). His life history is readily available online in many islamic websites . or simply google the name "Muhammad"

@babyosisi I can see that your hatred for islam has blinded you to the truth. Wikipedia appears to be mor objective than you:


According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion by number of conversions each year: "Although the religion began in Arabia, by 2002 80% of all believers in Islam lived outside the Arab world. In the period 1990-2000, approximately 12.5 million more people converted to Islam than to Christianity".[27] Part of the book's quote can be seen online from this extract from Google Books.[27] This was again shown in the 2005, 50th anniversary edition of Guinness Book of World Records, although the number of conversions was not mentioned this time.[28]

In 1990, 935 million people were Muslims. According to the BBC, a comprehensive American study concluded in 2009 the number stood at approximately 23% of the world population with 60% of Muslims living in Asia.[29][30] The report was done by the Pew Forum Research Centre.[30] The forum also projected that in 2010 out of the total number of Muslims in the world 62.1% will live in Asia.[29]

deal with that

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_be_the_fastest-growing_religion

9jadelta: what happens to rule and regulations that guide schools and public places?

so those rules and regulations should override ones religious injunctions? Why should a muslim girl who wants to cover her modesty be forced to expose her nak.edness to the public?

what happens to freedom to practice one's religion

[b][/b]

maclatunji:

They surely aren't black. Why is the Malian so emotional?

Maclatunji, Maradi is a town in Southern Niger Republic not in Mali, the town has historical ties with Katsina emirate. In fact the king of Maradi is officially referred to as "Sarkin Katsinan Maradi".

It is a Hausa town, The reciter and his colleagues are therefore probably hausas not Malians!

@op You did not post any picture.
Nonetheless for genuine miracle pictures check the following website:
http://islamcan.com/miracles/index.shtml

My candid view is that we dont need JAMB. I mean if a candidate is required to do post ume then of what relevance is jamb? Nigeria loves duplication of duties and offices. why cant students be admitted based on their WAEC result? as far as im concerned JAMB, NECO and Post UME ARE UNNECESSARY and meaningless

I saw this on facebook

HISTORY OF FUEL PRICE INCREASES IN NIGERIA
Gowon-1973: 6k to 8.45k
Murtaja-1976: 8.45k to 9k
Obj-Oct 1,1978: 9k to 15.3k
Shagari-Apr 20,1982: 15.3k to 20k
Babangida-Mar 31, 86: 20k to 39.5k
Babangida-Apr 10, 1988: 39.5k to 42k
Babangida-Jan 1, 1989: 42k to 60k(Private Vehicles)
Babangida- Mar 6, 1991: 60k to 70k
Shonekan(82 days in power)-Nov 8, 1993: 70k to #5
Abacha- Nov 22, 1993: #5 to #3.25k(price dropped)
Abacha-Oct 2, 1994: #3.25k to #15
Abacha-Oct 4, 1994: #15 to #11(price dropped)
Abubakar-Dec 20, 1998: #11 to #25
Abubakar-Jan 6,1999: #25 to 20(price dropped)
Obj-June 1, 2000: #20 to #30
obj-June 8, 2000: #30 to #22(price drops)
Obj-Jan 1, 2002: #22 to #26
Obj-june, 2003: #26 to #42
Obj-May 29, 2004: #42 to 50
Obj-Aug 25, 2004: #50 to #65
Obj-May 27, 2007: #65 to #75
Yar' Adua-June, 2007: back to #65(price drops)
GEJ(New year present)-Jan 1, 2012: #141
GEJ(Labour strike forced him)-Jan 17, 2012: #97

FROM GOWON TO JONATHAN, BUHARI IS THE ONLY NIGERIAN LEADER THAT NEVER TOUCHED THE PRICE OF FUEL
YAR'ADUA was the only leader who did not increase, rather he reduced the pump price from #75 to #65(may his soul rest in peace)

Food for thought

Mahmud Jega

As far as I can see, it was a case of locking up the stables after the horses of high expectation have bolted. Or perhaps it was a case of sealing up the granary long after the weevils of discontent and cynicism have eaten up all the grain.
I thought as much at the weekend when President Goodluck Jonathan said in Lagos that his administration’s transformation agenda was not a magic wand that would solve all the challenges confronting the country. The major concern of his government, he said, is “to demonstrate an unfailing love for all Nigerians instead of hostility and violence.”

The president, who spoke at the dedication of the House on the Rock Church’s cathedral, said Nigeria had undergone a series of tough times, particularly during the military era, but that it was the intercessions and prayers of Christians that prevented even worse things from happening in this country. “The great task before us as a nation is to demonstrate unfailing love wherever we are and to show that underlying our faith and belief is peace and harmony, never hostility or violence,” he also said. We should excuse most of the imprecise language since the occasion was the dedication of a cathedral. Still, some people may find it curious that a leader will attribute his country’s survival entirely to prayers.

Now, if you run for election with a nebulous agenda such as President Jonathan did in 2011, you are bound to run into trouble sooner or later. If Nigerians’ expectations were raised to a level that the administration is now finding it difficult to meet, it was its own fault, at least by not reigning in its election propagandists. During the 2011 election, the Jonathan campaign office’s art department waxed poetic and erected giant billboards promising “A breath of fresh air”. Many such billboards were erected on highways; I used to drive past one on my way to work every morning. It was a brilliantly hopeful message, but it should not have been put out without a complementary program of rule to back it up. Sooner or later, reality was bound to catch up with the rhetoric. A far-sighted strategist who was thinking beyond the election period would not have authorised a message promising a breath of fresh air when the Jonathan campaign completely relied on all the old ways of acquiring and retaining power, namely the heavy use of incumbency powers, relying heavily on the PDP political machine as well as injecting a heavy dose of money donated by contractors, top corporate figures and the heads of juicy state corporations.

In Nigeria, one can get elected to a high state office entirely without a program. In my career as a reporter of Nigerian politics I have seen some leaders who got elected first and then thought of a governance program later. I know a man who was elected a state governor, who then appointed a committee to work out an agenda for him. When the committee members met with him and asked for some guidance in the task, he had none to offer. President Jonathan first spoke about having a “transformation agenda” about a month after the last election. He wasn’t the first to do so; President Umaru Yar’adua first spoke of his 7-point agenda at his first press conference after winning the 2007 election.

Okay, even if this is the accepted way of doing things in Nigeria, it is still good to work out a concrete and measurable program of governance soon after the election and to thereafter concentrate on it with the focus of a laser beam. If the leader does not have a concrete and measurable agenda, then his direction and pace will be entirely set by other people’s agenda. There is no shortage of invitations and requests that will land on the president’s desk; unless he imposes order and discipline on his own agenda, he will just be swayed this way and that like a willow tree in a gale. President Jonathan is demonstrably more active than his predecessor Yar’adua, but there is no coherent pattern to his presidential activity, most of which is to fit other people’s agenda. Courtesy calls; an ECOWAS meeting, followed by an AU meeting, a G8 invitation, a CHOGM, and so on.

The president is susceptible to such tug and pull, because his own agenda of rule is not firm. What are the concrete elements of the transformation agenda? I cannot remember ever seeing a document where the administration said it wants to transform Nigeria from this state to this one. Instead, whenever the Federal Executive Council approves a certain project, official spokesmen would claim that it is part of the transformation agenda. Such claims were made for power sector contracts and the Oronsaye committee on public service consolidation. The agenda is so nebulous that every small success recorded by any Federal Government agency, from tax collection to housing to sports, is attributed to the transformation agenda. It thus became a cheap propaganda line for ministers and agency heads wishing to ingratiate themselves with the president.

Even though President Jonathan is very visible and active, his administration is generally inefficient, for example in terms of budget preparation and implementation. Every year since 2010 it recorded very low percentage rates of budget implementation despite the controversial definition of what constitutes budget implementation. The government could not issue any white papers on the reports of high profile committees such Galtimari committee on insecurity in the North East, the Lemu panel report on post election violence, or the Oronsaye committee report of streamlining government agencies. There were rumours that a decision had been made based on Oronsaye’s report to scrap NECO, NAPEP and UTME but these were denied. No action was taken on Ribadu’s report on oil sector sleaze, and no action has been taken on the University of Abuja crisis even after a visitation panel concluded its work and the Ministry of Education said it drafted a white paper and submitted it to the presidency.

Inefficiency apart, other high-profile episodes that eroded the message of fresh air include Jonathan’s refusal to publicly declare his assets and his unfortunate use of the phrase “I don’t give a damn” to calls that he should do so. Allowing the businessman Mr. Femi Otedola to remain close to the president and a member of the circle of economic advisers despite attempting to bribe a legislative committee was the opposite the fresh air, as was the blunt refusal to deal with Ms Arunma Oteh despite her indictment by a National Assembly investigation. The pardon granted to former Bayelsa State Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha completely messed up the fresh air message. This is not to mention the case of pension task force boss Abdulrasheed Maina. The widespread belief is that the administration shielded him from Senate investigation and abetted his escape from the country. For the president to ask the Head of Service to punish Maina for absenteeism [read: fleeing] without mentioning the hundreds of billions of naira the Senate is alleging he mismanaged was a gale of putrid air mixed up with toxic corruption fumes.

On top of these is the president’s thinly veiled 2015 ambition, which has produced several anti-fresh air moves of its own. Installing Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as party chairman was one crude element of the 2015 ambition; he has ruined the party with a combination of arrogance, crude methods and the selfishness of trying to install his son as the next governor of Adamawa State. crude attempts to recapture structures of the ruling party and oust dissenters isn’t fresh air either, nor was the re-installation of old warhorse Tony Anenih as party Board of Trustees chairman, given his many toxic contributions to Nigerian politics and governance since 1993. No one ever said the transformation agenda should be a magic wand. Right now however, it does not have even the potency of a police music band conductor’s wand.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/columns/moday-columns/52628-locking-the-stables

Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss and presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2011 elections Nuhu Ribadu speaks exclusively to Weekly Trust on the Petroleum Task Force, which he headed, among other issues. Excerpts:

Weekly Trust: Given your experience, it will not be surprising for government to always want to give you a certain task to do. Given what transpired at the petroleum task force, will you make yourself available to such engagement in future?

Nuhu Ribadu: On one side, I’m always ready to give my own contributions towards improving my own country and working for the people. I don’t know anything other than public service all my life, and I do it with all the passion, honesty and good intention. I’ve done it a couple of times, and like you rightly said, I did it not long ago with the Petroleum Revenue Task Force. It was a very difficult decision, but I took it and did it to the best of my ability, but it doesn’t seem to be appreciated.

Up till now, nothing is being done about it; no implementation, not even recognizing that these people did the work. So, with this experience, will I say that if same set of people call me to come and do, whether I will accept or not, I’m not sure. I’m discouraged; I feel somehow disappointed and possibly even let down. But my country, Nigeria; the people of Nigeria are my own people; I’m part of it. I’ll love to help; I’ll love to participate; I’ll want to always do what I’m asked to do to help our country if it is going to make a difference.
You had a problem while submitting the report of the task force, what actually happened?

From the very first day when I accepted to chair the committee, I made it very clear to everybody including our other members that we’re going to do this work for Nigeria and for Nigerians, and we must be honest. I said then that I decided that I was going to do it not because I was expecting anything from anybody.
I refused to take anything from them; from either the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or government, including even the allowance; I did not take one penny, one kobo, but I also told other members if they wanted, they could also do the same thing, because I know given the industry and what was involved, it would be very difficult for you to do an honest job if you allow yourself to benefit from that. I considered the job as that of outsiders being asked to come and look and check and tell them the truth. Therefore, we must take ourselves out of it. And there were so many good Nigerians in that committee who did unbelievably well.

But there are also others while doing the work, decided to take appointment in the same industry, the same NNPC, but I thought that was wrong and inappropriate; we kept quiet. We understood that we could still do our own work, and it would not stop or interfere with the outcome. We continued with the work up to the point when we concluded, and at the point of submission to the president, of course you saw what happened.

Part of the observations you made was that Nigeria does not even know how much crude it generates and how much it sells; is that right?

It’s right. If you go into the report, you’ll see what we have said and our recommendations. We said it openly and clearly that nobody will tell you with all the confidence that we know what we’re producing. That is a fact, because no one knows what is coming out from the ground, and if it comes out from the ground, it goes through a process; it goes through the flow station before it comes to the export terminal and the pumping stations, and different companies are doing that at different locations and places.

These wells do not have meters that will be able to measure for government to be able to know what is being taken out. The moment it is taken out, it goes through a process where it is going to be separated, where gas will be taken out; crude oil will be taken out and then water before it comes to a point where it will be stored in preparation for export.
We said let’s have meters; real time reporting. The technology is available now. All over the world, they have it; why don’t we have it here? We made that recommendation; we said that even if it means the companies that are involved in the production must be made to bear the cost of installing these meters; government must have real time reporting of what is going on. It’s not very difficult. Technology will be so much available now that you can get it so easy. You fix in all these wells, even if we have 10,000 wells, and we have a lot of them.

It is very possible for you to build a system through which you will even report immediately. That report could go to, for example, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, because the constitution says they must know what is our earnings from the resources, from selling things; constitutionally they ought to know. There is nothing wrong for the National Assembly to have information daily of what we’re producing; there is nothing wrong for the office of the president of Nigeria to know that; there is nothing wrong for the Federal Ministry of Finance to also have that daily report. This is what is happening if you go to Norway, Saudi Arabia, countries that produce ten times what you’re producing. Saudi Arabia produces over 10 million barrels of crude oil a day; we produce just 2 million, but they have insight. We say let’s have it.

We invited companies that are providing this; some of them are in Nigeria. We had a very long engagement with them in terms of explaining the technologies that are available. So many companies are here that can do it. We said let’s do it quickly. It’s not going to be too difficult and expensive.

We also said let’s know who’s buying it; NEITI and Customs should know. So, all these things can only be done properly and effectively if you have a very effective metering system. Technology will be able to solve this problem for us; so you’ll know what you’re producing.

We also spoke about the NNPC itself. It will be improper for one organization to be everything; produce, appoint people who produce; regulate; import; export; collect the money, they do A-Z. How will you expect proper accountability in such an organization? I think that is not proper. The NNPC must be restructured in a way that there will be transparency and accountability.

We also spoke about the need for us to do what other oil producing countries are doing: we said don’t appoint contractors to sell our crude oil; we’re the only big country in the world that is doing that. We now produce this crude oil. Ok, we have our own percentage out of it. Out of this percentage, we now appoint contractors where they will now take this crude oil from us to go and sell it to others. Meanwhile, the crude market is very open and direct, and everybody knows; only refineries can buy crude oil; only companies can buy crude oil. All other countries deal directly with the refineries that are buying this crude oil or the countries; why do you need an agent? What is the reason for you to appoint an agent to go and sell it on your behalf? There is a big problem here.

Today, we have appointed 42 of them just a bundle of corruption that is ongoing. You don’t need it; it’s a shame. We said no to what the LNLG is doing. They’re operating as if they’re not in Nigeria, being that they’re outside our system and they’re not accountable to anybody. We said let it not be so; come back on track. We said that there are so many countries that are not paying tax; they’re not paying royalties. We came out with the figures. One company is owing $1.5bn, and they refused to pay.

It’s all in the report. We brought almost all the areas where money is taken and then where corruption is taking place. And we said stop or do something about giving 450,000 barrels of crude oil daily for internal consumption. There is a big problem there. The NNPC is given the monopoly to do what they like with it, they will the refine what they like, and out of it, they will give other companies to do swap. There is a very unclear thing happening in that place. 450,000 barrels of crude oil is too much; it’s almost like one quarter of what is being produced daily. Our best crude goes to that. We said stop it or adopt a better process of doing it.

The way it is done today, Nigeria is losing; we’re not getting value from that. These are the things that we brought out and asked government to do something about quickly. And if you do those things, I’m telling you it will change this industry immediately, and it will not need any new law for you to implement. You don’t even have to bother yourself about any PIB law. Implement these first: openness, transparency and accountability; bring security to the sector; stop the stealing and the wastage that are taking place there and you’ll see how instantly it can change this industry. You don’t need to go and lobby any National Assembly for you to do that.

There are some areas, of course, you may need to change the laws, but it is not difficult; it is not controversial. Even the National Assembly will not have any issue with these areas. The National Assembly will be so prepared and happy to pass any law that will improve transparency and accountability in the industry. I have no doubt about it.
But will that be the end of the road for the report? Is there no way government can be compelled to implement it?
Well, to be honest I don’t know. It is their own government; it is the president’s government. They’re the ones who appointed this committee, and they said they wanted to improve the industry and the revenue of our country through the task force. They have taken it themselves and they’re sitting on it. I don’t know what anybody can do. The only thing is that Nigerians will continue to talk about it and ask and not to allow it to just die down or be forgotten.
You know here in our country, someone told me at that time, that look, it’s a matter of two weeks, that Nigerians will move to another issue and everybody will forget about it; that’s why I feel pained. I felt really sad that it is the truth.

However, I will first appeal to Mr. President and respectfully ask him to please implement this report; it is good for him; it is good for government; it is good for the country; it’s good for Nigeria. I will also speak to Nigerians directly and tell each and every one of us, please let’s not be quiet; it’s our own country. Let’s continue to talk, and maybe through that, change will come and hopefully including of course implementation of such report.
Many of the convictions you secured as EFCC boss have been upturned, how do you feel?

It’s very painful, but it’s not even about my own personal disappointment, it’s actually about Nigeria, and those things were done with the best interest of the country. Honestly, it was a very difficult work. We suffered and even made enemies, some paid dearly for them. Take for example the James Ibori matter, by the time we took on James and brought him to justice, he was in Kaduna prison. When I was asked to leave the EFCC to go to the NIPSS, and while I was in NIPSS, they released him, of course, they killed the case literally and turned it upside down.

For us to take Ibori to court, we went through difficult process, and for you as an individual, as a Nigerian, right there and then, in front of everybody, you’ll be kicked out of the office and then such a person will be set free. You know it is a very painful thing. I looked at it as I’ve done my own bit; I’ve done my own part, and I moved on.
Luckily for us, justice will always prevail, and whatever evil tried it will never defeat justice. There’s no way the bad thing will win ultimately. We had a strong case; we had good evidence in the case of Ibori. We even took the money that he gave us bribe as evidence before the court, but the powers-that-be destroyed the case and set him free. But where is he today? Anyway, those are things that I wouldn’t want to talk about; it’ll look as if it’s very personal.
So many things were reversed and lives were toyed with in the name of rule of law and doing things properly and correctly and casting aspersions wrongly and falsely, claiming that things were not done properly and correctly. Meanwhile, not a single case anybody ever brought against either me or the EFCC at that time to any court in Nigeria that we did anything wrong, not even one, but they successfully destroyed the work that we did and almost reversed most of the things.

Alameyesigha’s case was also a very difficult case to go through such a powerful, strong individual. He was a governor; we did a very difficult work to bring him to justice. We got a conviction two years, and we recovered billions from him. Right now, there are property all over the world that are yet to even be claimed; there are outstanding cases all over, but have not yet been concluded.

You talked about challenges in prosecuting the cases, what were these challenges?
They were many. Part of it was we were so misunderstood. People were wrongly accusing you of things that were sad and unbelievable. Those whom you attempted to bring to justice waged a huge campaign against you and falsely. As a human being, it’s very painful. Whenever I hear that somebody is telling me that we did selective thing, it’s very painful; where is the selective? Bring me one individual that we selected and this is the reason why we selected him, and I will respond to that man.

http://weeklytrust.com.ng/index.php/top-stories/12346-oil-sector-probe-reportnigerians-shouldn-t-keep-quiet-ribadu

will the law apply to the first lady?

This story should teach us a thing or two on patience and Immaan
Please read on:

This story was recounted by Prof. Khalid Al-Jubeir, a consultant cardiovascular surgeon, during one of his lectures:

Once I operated on a two and a half year old child. It was on a Tuesday, and by Wednesday the child was in good health. On Thursday at 11:15 am – and I’ll never forget the time because of the shock I experienced – one of the nurses informed me that the heart and breathing of the child had stopped. I hurried to the child and performed cardiac massage for 45 minutes and during that entire time the heart would not work.
Then, Almighty Allah decreed for the heart to resume function and we thanked Him for that. I went to inform the child’s family about his condition. As you know, it is very difficult to inform the patient’s family about his condition when it’s bad. This is one of the most difficult situations a doctor is subjected to but it is also necessary. So I looked for the child’s father whom I couldn’t find. Then I found his mother. I told her that the child’s cardiac arrest was due to bleeding in his throat; we don’t know the cause of this bleeding and fear that his brain is dead. But how do you think she responded? Did she cry? Did she blame me? No, nothing of the sort. Instead, she said “Alhamdulillah” (All Praise is due to Allah) and went her way.

After 10 days, the child started moving. We thanked Allah again and were happy that his brain condition was reasonable. After 12 days, the heart stopped again because of the same bleeding. We performed another cardiac massage for 45 minutes but this time his heart didn’t respond. I told his mother that there was no hope. So she said: “Alhamdulillah. O Allah, if there is good in his recovery, then cure him, O my Lord.”

With the grace of Allah, his heart started functioning again. He suffered six similar cardiac arrests till a trachea specialist was able to stop the bleeding and the heart started working properly. Now, three and a half months had passed and the child was recovering but could not move. Then just as he started moving, he was afflicted with a very large and strange abscess in his head, the likes of which I had never seen. I informed his mother of the serious development. She said “Alhamdulillah” and left me.

We immediately turned him over to the surgical unit that deals with the brain and nervous system and they took over his treatment. Three weeks later, the boy recovered from this abscess but was still not moving. Two weeks pass and he suffered from a strange blood poisoning and his temperature reached 41.2°C (106°F). I again informed his mother of the serious development and she said with patience and certainty: “Alhamdulillah. O Allah, if there is good in his recovery, then cure him.”

After seeing this boy and his mother at Bed No 5, I went to see another child at Bed No 6. I found that child’s mother crying and screaming, “Doctor! Doctor! Do something! The boy’s temperature reached 37.6°C (99.68°F)! He’s going to die! He’s going to die!” I said with surprise, “Look at the mother of that child in Bed 5. Her child’s fever is over 41°C (106°F), yet she is patient and praises Allah.” But she replied: “That woman isn’t conscious and has no senses”. At that point, I remembered the great Hadith of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wa Sallam): “Blessed are the strangers.” Just two words… but indeed two words that shake a nation! In 23 years of hospital service, I have never seen the likes of this patient sister.

We continued to care for him. Six and a half months later the boy finally came out of the recovery unit – not talking, not seeing, not hearing, not moving, not smiling, and with an open chest in which you can see his beating heart. The mother changed the dressing regularly and remained patient and hopeful. Do you know what happened after that? Before I inform you, what do you think are the prospects of a child who has passed through all these dangers, agonies, and diseases? And what do you expect this patient mother to do whose child is at the brink of the grave and who cannot do anything except supplicate and beseech Almighty Allah? Do you know what happened two and a half months later? The boy got completely cured by the mercy of Allah and as a reward for this pious mother. He now races his mother with his feet as if nothing happened and he became as sound and healthy as he was before.

The story doesn’t end here. This is not what moved me and brought tears to my eyes. What filled my eyes with tears was what followed:
One and a half years after the child had left hospital, one of my colleagues from the Operations Unit informed me that a man, his wife and two children wanted to see me. I asked who they were and he replied that he didn’t know them. So I went to see them, and I found the parents of the same child whom I operated upon. He was now five years old and like a flower in good health – as if nothing ever happened to him. With them also was a four-month old newborn. I welcomed them kindly and then jokingly asked the father whether the newborn was the 13th or 14th child. He looked at me with an astonishing smile as if he pitied me. He then said, “This is the second child, and the child upon whom you operated is our first born. He was bestowed upon us after 17 years of infertility. And after being granted that child, he was afflicted with all the conditions that you had seen.”
At hearing this, I couldn’t control myself and my eyes filled with tears. I then involuntarily grabbed the man by the arm, and pulling him to my room, asked him about his wife: “Who is this wife of yours who after 17 years of infertility has this much patience with all the serious conditions that afflicted her first born? Her heart cannot be barren! It must be fertile with Imaan!’

Do you know what he said to me? Listen carefully my dear brothers and sisters. He said, “I was married to this woman for 19 years and in all for all those years she has never missed the night prayers except due to an authorized excuse. I have never witnessed her backbiting, gossiping, or lying. Whenever I leave home or return, she opens the door, supplicates for me, and receives me hospitably. And in everything she does, she demonstrates the utmost love, care, courtesy, and compassion.” The man completed by saying, “Indeed, doctor, because of all the noble manners and affection with which she treats me, I’m shy to lift up my eyes and look at her.”
So I said to him: “And the likes of her truly deserve that from you.”

http://weeklytrust.com.ng/index.php/al-bint-s-diary/12064-the-husband-who-was-too-shy-to-look-at-his-wife

im sorry this was meant for islam for muslims section but was mistakenly posted here. It has been posted on the muslim section

In the 1950s a Fulani cattle dealer leaves Sokoto for Enugu, wins the backing of Nnamdi Azikiwe, joins mainstream Enugu politics, and eventually becomes the first Mayor of the Coal City. Travelling through four Nigerian cities, and cross checking the tiny but significant details of a rare story, Weekly Trust explores the life and legacy of Enugu’s first Mayor.

Nigeria never fails to shock. This power to shock in a positive sense is embodied in the life and career of Umoru Altine, scion of the Sokoto Caliphate, who, on a record two occasions, became the Mayor of Enugu, which lies deep in Nigeria’s South-East. He was the first ever Mayor of Enugu. Agu Gab Agu, one time Chairman, Enugu North Local Government invited the Umoru Altine family to Enugu in 2004 in his capacity as Chair of the local government. This was simply to celebrate the achievement of their late father. He tells Weekly Trust ‘Our history before that time did not reflect his towering achievement in terms of Nigerian unity. I was going to name a public institution after him, but time did not allow for that. ‘He says that a street was named after the late Mayor somewhere in the Coal Camp area of Enugu during the First Republic. Here is a political story, which also doubles as a Love epic, a war story, a tale of benevolent mentors, and a travel narrative as well.
How an individual rose to great political heights, after engaging in the north-south cattle trade, is a golden thread which is very alive in this narrative. It is also a story about a future Nigerian state which can come into being if the living prayerfully carry this volition deep in their spirits, and also act to bring it about. The events at the heart of this story occurred some 67 years ago, but they act as living mirrors, presenting delightful, magnetic images of a Nigeria of a future time. A son of the far north travels to the very heart of the South-East, he leaves his comfort zone and does very well in the East, rising to the position of Mayor in a new world and culture.
Documents obtained at the National Archives Enugu by Weekly Trust indicate Umoru Altine’s name listed among those who won elections in Enugu in 1954.This is seen in a press release on the Enugu Urban District Council Elections. His address is given as 39 Carter Street, Ogui, and the letter is dated 29 March and signed by the Town Clerk. Another document is a special announcement made 26 March 1954 by the Programme Announcer, Nigerian Broadcasting Service, Enugu, Umoru Altine is shown as having contested against D.T Inyang, scoring 117 votes to the latter’s 53. Another letter dated 26 March 1956 with the heading Enugu Municipal Election, informs Umoru Altine that he has been returned unopposed in elections for Ward 25. His address is given as 1&3 Hassan Lane, Uwani Enugu.
(he joined the army and worked with the railways) and politics (one account says he first contested an election in Tambuwal, Sokoto state), and he carved a niche for himself in these respects. He was handsome, was always well dressed, and people were magnetically drawn to him. In Enugu, he wore the Babban Riga, as well as a Turban. On other occasions he wore suits as the event demanded. A noble, free and simple spirit is in evidence here. This Prince smoked, loved Nsala soup with fresh fish, a popular meal of the Enugu Igbo, so says his wife, had a high sense of personal hygiene and had a good command of English. He never fell ill, so says Ma’Inna Altine, his Sokoto based daughter. He was fluent in Fulfulde and, to cap it all, he married an Igbo Lady.
According to Esther Altine when Weekly Trust interviewed her at Government House, Awka where she is SA (Lodge) ‘Reverend Okenwa from Obosi actually trained him, gave him basic training and education. I don’t know where they met, whether this was in the north or here in the east. I think he had his secondary education with the Reverend in the north. ‘One account says Umoru Altine worked at the railways at Zaria, joined the Army at a point, and ended up in Enugu, first as a major factor in the cattle trade where he also became quite popular, and he later emerged as Mayor of that city after winning the election. Hajiya Hafsat Altine, one of his wives, who lives in Kaduna, says that she is aware that her husband worked in the railways in Zaria at a point, and also at the Gaskiya Corporation. But she knows nothing about his being in the army at any time.
‘Market Women supported him’
Mu’azu Maiyaki, a politician in Kaduna, also comments on the rise of Altine in Enugu. His words ‘Umoru Altine became Mayor of Enugu in the 50s, at the beginning of the real political evolution of the city. He began his career up North, and he actually contested an election on a different platform, not the NPC, in the north. The platform was an opposition party, not really NEPU, and he contested and lost the election around the year 1952 in Tambuwal constituency. It was after this that he left for Enugu’. The INEC headquarters, Abuja, does not have records on the Tambuwal elections of 1952 referred to here, Weekly Trust discovered. Mu’azu Maiyaki shows how Umoru Altine and Nnamdi Azikiwe drew close to each other in Enugu politics. According to him, ‘There was a kind of alliance between NEPU of those days and the NCNC, and Zik embraced him, just as he picked many others. Zik had a notion of Nigeria at that time, and he wanted to build a structure whereby all Nigerians, were to feel at home in any part of Nigeria. Umoru became an Enugu based man, and he found himself in the struggle of the early 50s, whereby he made many contributions in trying to reorganize the Enugu chapter of the NCNC. During the two elections which he contested in Enugu, he garnered a lot of support, particularly from the women associations of Enugu then. He identified with the aspirations of the women elements of the Ogbete market, such as the allocation of shops, which, he said, must be fairly allocated, and he fought for that. It was under that kind of struggle that he contested the first election. In the subsequent election which was in 1957, there were about 13 or 12 wards, out of which Umoru Altine won eleven. It was really a landslide victory. Also there was what used to be known as the Stranger elements of the NCNC of those days. He contested under the platform of the NCNC with the stranger elements.’ He speaks of Umoru Altine’s place in Enugu politics ‘The emergence of Umoru Altine was commendable, in the sense that he was not born there, but was able to adapt to the system, and got accepted into the mainstream of Enugu politics. That is something we should emulate.’ He comments on the possibility of Nigeria repeating Altine’s achievement in Enugu. His words ‘What happened in Enugu is possible today. But we really need to remove the suspicion, the mistrust and forge confidence among the populace. If the leaders can really start this, nothing is impossible.’
‘He was in the army’
Ibrahim Tambuwal, a retired civil servant, based in Sokoto, also speaks further on Umoru Altine. According to him ‘He joined the army at Kano, then he was taken to Lagos with a group of soldiers for training. After the period of training they were then taken to Enugu. After his military service, he remained in Enugu. When the time to leave came, he left the army and became a politician’. However, Ibrahim Tambuwal does not recall ever hearing that Umoru Altine contested an election in Tambuwal Constituency. His words ‘An election in Tambuwal? I never heard of it. He never told me because I knew him very well.’ Esther Altine, the late Mayor’s wife, does not recall her husband referring to a career in the army at any point. Hajiya Hafsat Altine also has no memory of her husband referring to a stint in the army. However, Bala Altine, one of the many children of the late Mayor and a civil servant in Kaduna, tells Weekly Trust that his elder brother Abubakar Altine, who is now late, was in the army at a point.
‘I doubt if it can happen today’
Saeed Altine, who is now a businessman in Abuja, wants to write a book on the life and career of his late father. But he is not sure that what happened to his father in Enugu of the 50s can recur in Nigeria today. His words, “I doubt if it would happen now. If you look at the situation carefully, it’s as if Nigeria has been divided.’ ‘He adds that his father went to Enugu firstly, as a cattle dealer, and stresses that his participation in politics came in later. Dauda Altine, another son of Umoru Altine, who lives and works in Sokoto, shares the views expressed by Saeed above. According to him ‘I don’t think it’s possible today. All these politicians today do not reflect trust and friendliness, unlike the generation of the 50s. They simply want to accumulate money for themselves and their families.’
Mohammed Tafida, of the Department of Political Science Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, explains why it is difficult for Nigeria to simulate the events in Enugu of the 50s ‘It is like a dream, and this is because of the preponderance of the phenomenon we call corruption. This is being driven by the trinities, that is greed, fear and ignorance.’ Dr. Hudu Abdullahi of the Political Science Department says that the country is progressing towards disunity in almost every respect. He does not foresee any positive change in the country over the next 50 years.
‘He was great’
Bala Altine tells Weekly Trust the little that he knows about his father’s early days. His words ‘He was born in Sifawa, in Bodinga local government area of the state. He went to an Islamic school, and later on was exposed to western education right there in Sokoto’. He also adds that his father worked for a while at the railways at Zaria. This was before he moved over to Enugu where his political career flowered. Ma ‘Inna Altine, daughter from her father’s marriage to Esther, speaks very fondly of her father. She adds that she was her father’s favourite child. Her words ‘When you see things happening in Nigeria these days, you just get confused. If a Fulani man, who speaks less Hausa than Fulani, will go to a place which is different from his, to go and mix with the people freely, and marry from that community, and then contest for elections twice in that community, you know he is really a great man. We are sorry to see what is happening in Nigeria now.’
Very few references
There are only few references to Umoru Altine in the available literature. Some of the references just stretch to a mere twenty words. Some less. All of a sudden after making the round of libraries at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, help came in the form of a brief text authored by the late Bala Usman and Alkassum Abba. In The Misrepresentation of Nigeria (2005) commenting on Altine’s rise in Enugu, he writes ‘What happened in Enugu, which led to a Fulani cattle-dealer, Alhaji Umoru Altine, elected as the first Mayor of Enugu in 1956, on the NCNC ticket, and winning again in 1958 against Zik and the NCNC, is revealing about how fallacious the monolithic Igbo view of Eastern Regional politics is’. (p.50). Bala Usman goes on to write ‘In 1956, Alhaji Umaru Altine, was opposed by the Udi-Nsukka-Agwu United Front, the UNAUF, but he won, heavily supported by the non-indigenous Igbo, who constituted over 50% of the population of Enugu’.
Umoru Altine was the Mayor of Enugu, and his wife Esther, was thus the Mayoress of the coal city. Once the ‘Duke and Duchess,’ as Esther described the couple, came to Enugu on a visit from the United Kingdom. Until the moment of going to the press, it was not possible to find out the actual names of the Duke and Duchess, and the exact year of the visit. However, it was Umoru Altine and his young wife who was just 19 when he married her, who received the August guests at the Enugu airport .In spite of the many years interval between that moment and the present, his wife still has fond memories of the glorious occasion. Her words ‘That was great. The Duke and Duchess visited Enugu for the first time. As young as I was, I was able to shake her hand after my husband had done so. It was great indeed.’ It was a memorable day, witnesses say. The Atilogwu dancers leapt into the air as though defying gravity. The flutes made sweet sounds as the drums began to yield a stunning melody. The two visitors from Britain held hands and beamed into the Enugu sunshine, as the gathered crowd clapped and clapped again when they noticed the smile.
To be continued
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http://weeklytrust.com.ng/index.php/new-news/12004-sokoto-prince-who-became-enugu-mayor

For your own education and salvation (hopefully):
http://www.islamreligion.com/

Checking in and other facilitation activities were yesterday night paralysed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos as a result of intermittent power cuts, which forced international airlines travelling to different parts in the world to suspend activities.

The power outages also hampered the safety of passengers and security measures at the airport, in addition to causing delays in the departure time of flights.

Eyewitnesses told THISDAY that the power cuts were experienced three times, with the last outage lasting for about an hour.

Some of the eyewitnesses also said the passengers who had gone through security screening to the airside had to wait at the boarding gates until electricity was restored, while those in queues waiting to be checked in had to wait too, thus delaying flights.

A traveller said there was always panic any time there was an outage as the passengers who had more than one bag struggled to hold on to them.
“Since I came to the terminal, there have been power outages three times. The first time, it affected the whole airport but when power returned, only a part of the airport was lit.

“They have taken the electricity for the third time and as I speak to you, they have not restored it to all the parts of the airport. The E gate is in darkness so we are all waiting at the boarding gate,” the passenger said.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Yakubu Dati, said the outage which was caused by epileptic power supply from the dedicated lines at Egbin and Ejigbo power stations, was caused by the thunderstorm that occurred last night.

He explained that when there was a power outage from one of the dedicated lines, FAAN switched over to the back-up line, which took a few minutes before electricity was restored to the airport.
He added that the terminal has a standby generator but did not explain why it was not switched on.

“The regional manager of the airport told me that each outage did not last more than two minutes. We are doing all that we can to restore power. I believe that it was the rainstorm that caused the outage,” Dati said.

Source: Thisday Newspaper, 05 March, 2013

Andro Blaze: Interesting.......

But I have a question, based on the Islamic view on creation. Is Hauwa deemed to have been created from Adamu ; and if it does agree with the Judaic version, what surname then would she have borne according to the majority Islamic opinion on here (that women belong to there fathers and not husbands) ?

my own question for you is which surname did Adam (AS) himself bear?

This man's story is a challenge to us'born muslims'. We should each ask ourselves how many non muslims have we converted to islam?

Why blame Islam for what the man chose to do? If the man is a bad parent how is that the fault of islam. Should we blame christianity for the action of the french woman who delivered her five year old daughter to a paedophile to be moslested in the story below:

woman from eastern France has admitted delivering her 5-year-old daughter to be sexually abused by a 38-year-old paedophile she met on an internet forum.



The incident came to light at the weekend after the woman, from Nancy, took her daughter to the doctor. The girl, who was bleeding profusely, was admitted to hospital in the city. Doctors said the injuries were the worst they had seen on a child of that age, according to local paper le Républicain Lorrain.



The mother initially told police that the girl's injuries were caused when she fell during a zoo visit on Friday. When told that the girl's injuries did not match this story, the mother changed her account, saying that her daughter had been Molested at a motorway rest stop.



After further questioning the mother admitted that she had delivered her daughter to a man she had met in an online chartroom. She confessed having numerous explicit chats with him, after which she agreed to deliver her daughter to the man's home in Talange, near Metz. The girl was delivered to her alleged attacker in the early afternoon and was collected by her mother at 11pm.



The paper said investigators have not yet established the mother's reasons for agreeing to deliver her daughter.



A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abusing the girl and has been questioned by police.

http://www.nairaland.com/1015056/french-mother-arranged-daughter-molested

http://www.thelocal.fr/page/view/mother-i-arranged-for-my-daughter-to-be-Molested
(Quote) (Report) (Like)

Committee headed by a Director in the Police Affairs Ministry? I thought the Director is supposed to be one of the accused persons.

@onetrack You didnt say anything about the maiize with Allah's name on it

Joblaze4u: As far as it's kaduna state we can't allow a d gov. & and deputy 2 b muslims

Why not. Sincerely, i think the majority muslims in kaduna are just being timid or over sensitive. Look at it this way: Of the three senatorial zones in Kaduna state two are muslim dominated while the third is christian dominated. Yet the Deputy Governors post is always allocated to Kaduna South. Compare this with Edo State with almost the same ratio: 2 to 1 sentoriial zone, only this time the majority are christians, Yet Muslims in Edo have never produced either the Governor Deputy Governor.

A muslim muslim Ticket can easily win in Kaduna just like a christian-christian Ticket has been winning in Edo State

Former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was one of hundreds of sympathisers that commiserated with the family of late former governor Patrick Yakowa yesterday, describing him as an honest, humble and true leader who promoted peace and development throughout his life.

Gen. Buhari, who had concluded arrangements for his 70th birthday celebration today, ordered that they be put on hold in honour of the late governor.

The elder statesman extolled the virtues of the late governor, saying that in spite of the diverse challenges confronting the state, Yakowa was still able to unite and promote peaceful coexistence amongst the people.

He advised public officers to emulate the late governor’s virtues which he displayed by promoting peace, unity and development.
Buhari, who was at the Kaduna Government House to express his heart-felt sympathies, described late Yakowa as a highly detribalised Nigerian.

“I came to condole with the immediate family, the people of Kaduna State and the people Nigeria for this great loss,” he said.

“Yakowa was a great technocrat, a true leader who understands politics and was a very conscientious leader. He was in charge of a mini-Nigeria, and he was hardworking, and relate well with all the people of Kaduna State.”

http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/42748/2012/12/17/buhari_postpones_birthday_lecture.html

The new residence being built for the Vice President will now gulp a total of N16 billion because “additional scope” is introduced in the project, the Federal Capital Development Authority told senators yesterday.
In addition to the N7.1 billion approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2009 for design and construction of the VP’s new official residence, some N9 billion more is required to complete the project, FCDA executive secretary Adamu Ismail said.

Ismail was answering questions from members of the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory when they visited the site of the project in the Three Arms Zone of Abuja.

He said the additional N9 billion was needed to build a banquet hall, protocol guest house, two other guest houses and civil infrastructure, as well as to purchase furniture and install security gadgets.

Ismail said the new scope of the project was being introduced in the residence because of the personality of the nation’s number two citizen.

“This is not the only scope of the project. The first scope we have is N7 billion and that is what we are executing now. My first point of duty was this project when I assumed office because the project was about being stalled then. I realised there is an additional scope to be done on the project because of the personality of Mr Vice President,” he said.

Ismail said the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had vetted the request for the additional N9 billion and approved over N6 billion which would not be enough to undertake “other adjustments to be done for the project”.

“We wrote to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for consideration. They sent it back to us with their observations, and it was vetted and it came back to over N6 billion. But in the course of this project, there are some other adjustments needed to be done. We will provide the details to you and when you see the details, you will either or not appreciate what we are doing,” he said.

Chairman of the Senate FCT committee Smart Adeyemi said the security facilities and other items for which additional N9 billion is sought ought to have been reflected in the project from the outset.

Adeyemi, who described the money being requested as huge, inexplicable and indefensible, said the National Assembly would not approve additional kobo.

He said it was time the government stopped wasting money.

“Our own interest is the end product of the project. Now, you’re asking for another N9 billion. Even if this place has a capacity of 1,000 people, to us, additional N9 billion is inexplicable,” he said.

“We are not going to appropriate additional funds for this project, I can assure you of that. The National Assembly will not approve additional kobo for this project. Asking for additional N9 billion for the banquet hall and its security facilities is indefensible. We should not waste money.

“We appreciate the fact that we must cater for the well-being of the vice president and his safety, but to ask us to appropriate additional N9 billion in a nation where many Nigerians cannot afford three square meals is indefensible and we won’t allow that.”

Adeyemi added: “In the executive, you don’t see what we see. You see the figures, while we see the people. Now, you are asking us to approve the contract sum of N16 billion for the building of the Vice President’s residence alone. Our position is that this money is huge and indefensible. We’ve to look at budgeting in relation to the needs of the people. You also talked about furniture as being included in your new request for N9 billion. Is the furniture going to be bought from heaven?”

Also speaking, the vice chairman of the committee, Senator Domingo Obende, asked that the details of the N9 billion being sought be submitted to the committee.

“We have our own consultants whom we will ask to look at those details. Even if the Due Process Office accepts it, we won’t accept it,” he said.

The contract is being handled by Julius Berger construction company. Its engineer Mr Peter Kambouris, who conducted the committee round the site of the project, said it could not be completed within the 20-month period originally specified because of withheld payments.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/lead-stories/182873-vps-new-home-to-gulp-n16bn-fcda

hardbody:

Two major lies arising out of ignorance:

1. Jesus did not die in December, neither was he born in December
2. I dont even finish my December salary during the period, and yes, i travel heavy, spend, make merry and return to base in the second week of January to start a new year. Reason before you start typing, next time, that is.

Abeg help me tell them. For those who still beleive Jesus was born on Deceber 25, my question for you is how come you dont know the year he was born but you you know the day and month! they will shout 25th December but if u ask them of the year they will start long grammar. Just google "the pagan origin of christmas" and see the result!