When the news broke that a private plane from Nigeria was seized in South Africa with brand new dollar notes of about $10m my heart palpitated and I was askance even though I was in the midst of others. My fear steamed for a few facts. I was sure that the federal government of Nigeria will do what it does best; keep mum and then later will either deny or offer some lame explanations while muddling up the waters sufficiently enough by using pawns to obliterate the facts of the matter and politicizing the issues, hereby diverting our attention away to other things.



Sad to say, I have been proved right on every count. Not only have they started their campaign of calumny, they have used a most saddening approach; they are playing the religious card. Why is the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) getting involved in a supposedly private matter of such dangerous proportion? We shall come back to the CAN later on. Suffice to say that Nigeria is in deeper troubles than we are presently prepared to admit to. Sadly, the trouble and danger inherent is potent enough and highly dangerous to our corporate existence, while collectively playing the ostrich will benefit no one eventually.



Here are the facts of the matter. On 5th September 2014, a Bombardier Challenger 600, with a Nigerian flight crew piloted by Captain Tunde Ojongbede, flew into South Africa and landed at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg. Eventually we got to understand that there were two planes and not one that flew in to South Africa.



The other plane involved, used by Swat Inc., a Hawker Siddeley 125, also with an American registration number (N497AG), landed at Lanseria Airport last month. That plane and its passengers remained in the country for two days before returning to Abuja on August 13.



When the passengers luggage were checked, officials of SA Revenue Service (Sars), found undeclared raw cash of $9.3 million on the passengers. On board one the seized aircrafts was also an Abuja-based Israeli man, Eyal Mesika, whom we were told was the only man with the combinations to open the lock on the suit cases containing the cash to be laundered or used to purchase illegal arms by the order of some unnamed persons in the Nigerian Government.



One amazing fact is that the Nigerian government has maintained a curious silence since the scandal broke on September 5th when South African law enforcement agents confiscated $9.3 million from the two private jets. If Sahara Reporters did not blow the lid on the illegality, I doubt if ordinary Nigerians would have known the kind of gang we currently parade as political and religious leaders.



South African airport security spokesman Solomon Makgale confirmed a police investigation was underway but declined to give details. The aircraft was temporarily impounded, but was allowed to return to Abuja about four days after the initial arrest of the plane because the Nigerian government reached out to its South African counterparts, ostensibly to douse the tension and keep the fact away from the public.



The arrested passengers apparently told officials they were acting on behalf of the Nigerian intelligence service, and they provided documentation confirming they had come to South Africa to buy weapons. However, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, which has to approve the import and export of any weapons as well as issue permits for such transactions, was not aware of any applications in this case. It is also not clear whether the Israeli passenger was an intelligence operative or an arms dealer.

A spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority disclosed that the country’s investigators found the Nigerian arms buyers with invoices from two South African firms called Tier One and ESD. The invoices were for armaments and a helicopter.

According to South Africa’s City Press, “In court papers, the NPA submitted evidence that Tier One is not registered with the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and is thus not authorized to enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or rental of military equipment."

The paper further revealed, “The agreement between Tier One and ESD was concluded on September 8, three days after the money was seized at Lanseria.”

We can safely conclude therefore that the arms deal was supposed to be a black market operation and therefore an illegal arm purchase. Such arms could end up anywhere either in the hands of the Niger Delta militants, political thugs and assassins, or even the dreaded Boko Haram militants...your guess is as good as mine.

After much hush hush, it finally emerged that the bombardier jet involved in the illegal money laundering and purchase of black market arms belonged to Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor the founding and Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, located in Warri, southern Nigeria, and currently the President of CAN.

A statement released by the church on behalf of Pastor Oritsejafor reads in part "On behalf of Pastor Oritsejafor, we can confirm that although he holds an interest in Eagle Air, the aircraft in question is not operated by Pastor Oritsejafor. The aircraft was leased to, and is operated by Green Coast Produce Limited since August 2.”



But, here are a few questions keen watchers have been asking. FAAN just over a year ago readjusted the laws guiding the usage of non-scheduled commercial operators. The law according to the Nigerian aviation authorities seeks to regulate and stop the abuse by private jets owners, who turn their planes over for commercial purposes illegally.



Therefore one should ask, why was Pastor Ayo private jet leased out for a supposedly commercial purpose since August 2nd 2014 according to him?



Recall also that private jet owners were not only barred from leasing their planes out for commercial purposes, they were also barred from carrying people other than their family members.



The above reasons alone are enough to indict Pastor Ayo and his co-travelers.



Now, let’s come to the issue of CAN. Pastor Ayo is first and foremost the senior Pastor and founder of a church and we all remembered his initial claims that the plane was a gift by some unnamed members of his church. If that is the case, why is the church not in the forefront of defending his latest escapade? Why drag CAN into his private church business?



I am a Christian and as such an affiliate of CAN. Pastor Ayo should be left alone to defend himself and his private business without dragging CAN alongside himself. Why has CAN become the private enterprise of one man?



CAN have existed before the advent of Pastor Oritsejafor and should be left alone to do what it was established to do. The statement supposedly released in the defense of Pastor Oritsejafor by a certain Sunny Oibe on behalf of CAN is not only reprehensible, it is asinine; it is disgraceful and it is totally unbecoming of what an organization representing the body of Christ should ever have thought of, let alone made public. It was not only acerbic and jejune, it was a classic gutter styled gobbledygook that no self respecting Christian body should ever be associated with no matter the level of "provocation".



Please don't bring the "Touch not mine anointed” crap here. For your information, severally we have been reprimanded to “touch not mine anointed” but is this the correct application of this scripture? In which context was this phrase used in the Bible? It can be found in Psalm 105:15 and repeated in 1Chronicles 16:22. That passage was written to praise the works of God when He brought out the children of Israel from Egypt and saved them from several dangers, even though they were few in number. It was never about a pastor or a church leader. It was written to praise God in taking care of a called out people. Anointed vessels are men who allow God to do his bidding through them.



Note that those people who do his bidding must be “called out” and what is the “church”? The root word for church is "Ecclesia" which simply means “the called out ones”. Therefore, that passage can also mean “touch not the church”. Do NOT be deceived. It was never written to protect or immune “penterascality” or ‘pastopreneurs’ from honest criticism. It was written as a mark or seal of God’s protection upon His chosen ones and His chosen ones are his body, His church.

Pastor Ayo will do well to resign his position as CAN President and face his calling squarely. He has done more to harm the reputation of CAN by his several actions and careless speeches. It is written in 2 Timothy 2:4, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

In 1 Peter 4: 17 it is written, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

To serve God is to serve his people. Let Pastor Ayo search himself, has he been true to the one who called him? Let God be true, let all men be liars.



Pastor Oritsejafor’s ownership of the jet has raised several questions in the past. One of which is that the plane seized by South African officials is actually registered in the US for use only as a private jet, not for commercial purposes. Another issue is does Pastor Oritsejafor owns more than one jet? In 2012, he claimed that members of his congregation presented him with the gift of a jet. However, the registration number of the jet detained by South African authorities differs from the registration details for the jet purchased by Mr. Oritsejafor’s congregants. In response to criticism of his acquisition of a private jet, the pastor had argued that he needed the jet to enable him to travel widely for events related to his ministry. The question then is whether the commercial leasing of a private jet is part of Oritsejafor’s ministry?



Nigerians are watching the unfolding dangerous drama and waiting with a baited breath. How will the Federal Government of PDP led by Goodluck Jonathan handle this case? Will they prove their detractors right that the government of Jonathan have always known, collaborated with and have been covering up sponsors of terror in Nigeria, or will President Jonathan rise to the occasion this time?



Time will tell, but remember history is being written for the future by every present action and deliberate but highly noticeable inactions.



I am Ayobami Oyalowo and you can follow me on twitter @Ayourb


Lo

Even if an associate of Jonathan is mistakenly caught in a secret video with Shekau, his co-conspirators will come up with excuses.

The arrested passengers apparently told officials they were acting on behalf of the Nigerian intelligence service, and they provided documentation confirming they had come to South Africa to buy weapons. However, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, which has to approve the import and export of any weapons as well as issue permits for such transactions, was not aware of any applications in this case. It is also not clear whether the Israeli passenger was an intelligence operative or an arms dealer.

A spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority disclosed that the country’s investigators found the Nigerian arms buyers with invoices from two South African firms called Tier One and ESD. The invoices were for armaments and a helicopter.

According to South Africa’s City Press, “In court papers, the NPA submitted evidence that Tier One is not registered with the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and is thus not authorized to enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or rental of military equipment."

Therefore one should ask, why was Pastor Ayo private jet leased out for a supposedly commercial purpose since August 2nd 2014 according to him?



Recall also that private jet owners were not only barred from leasing their planes out for commercial purposes, they were also barred from carrying people other than their family members.



The above reasons alone are enough to indict Pastor Ayo and his co-travelers.

I hope the SA Government follow the case to the latter.

Private Jets Used To Smuggle Cash, Fugitives – FG
https://www.nairaland.com/1288425/private-jets-used-smuggle-cash

Now the smugglers have been caught in South Africa, the FG is now doing all the can to defend the illegality.

Its high time every Nigerians stood up to check this administration irrespective of political affiliation or tribe... Let's stand by truth!! We all own Nigeria!

He is a rogue.
I weep for those who worship at these churches and mosques.
Self enslavement




Some good quotes


Minoo Southgate, 1984, Negative Images of Blacks in Some Medieval Iranian Writings

Arabs called African Blacks (typically East Africans) the 'Zanj'. Most Arab writers who spoke disparagingly of black Africans had never traveled to subSaharan Africa. Many of their tales were based on hearsay. In the Arab world, as in Europe, there was also a necessity to justify the enslavement of black Africans by portraying them as subhuman.

At least part of the negative fiction was fabricated by black Africans themselves. Coastal East Africans such as the Swahili formed the trade link between Arabs from Asia and the African interior. To defend their trading zone, they told fantastic stories of the dangers of the interior. Asian merchants were thus discouraged from venturing into the interior and making direct trade links with the wealthy kingdoms there. Thus the Swahili preserved their trade monopoly and prospered.

Although the Arab writers featured below described blacks in demeaning language, Ibn Battuta, the most well-traveled man in pre-modern times, wrote of sub-Saharan Africans in a vastly different light. Of all medieval travel writers, he was the only one who actually traveled to both East Africa and West Africa. Ibn Battuta was a native of Morocco, culturally Arab and ethnically Berber.

In the following table, the observations of Ibn Battuta and other Arab writers are laid out side by side. These are not meant to be direct comparisons as Ibn Battuta was writing of specific black African cultures, while most of the other writers were writing of the generic Zanj:

Other Arab/Indian/Iranian writers Ibn Battuta
"Of the neighbors of the Bujja, Maqdisi had heard that "there is no marriage among them; the child does not know his father, and they eat people -- but God knows best. As for the Zanj, they are people of black color, flat noses, kinky hair, and little understanding or intelligence."

Maqdisi (fl. 966 AD), _Kitab al-Bad'_, vol.4
"We ... traveled by sea to the city of Kulwa [Kilwa in East Africa]...Most of its people are Zunuj, extremely black...The city of Kulwa is amongst the most beautiful of cities and most elegantly built... Their uppermost virtue is religion and righteousness and they are Shafi'i in rite."

Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1331

"The geographer al-Idrisi ascribes 'lack of knowledge and defective minds' to the black peoples. Their ignorance, he says, is notorious; men of learning and distinction are almost unknown among them, and their kings only acquire what they know about government and justice from the instruction of learned visitors from farther north."

Bernard Lewis, 1990, Race and Slavery in the Middle East.

"Another of [the Malli blacks'] good qualities is their concern for learning the sublime Qur'an by heart. They make fetters for their children when they appear on their part to be falling short in their learning of it by heart, and they are not taken off them till they do learn by heart."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"Like the crow among mankind are the Zanj for they are the worst of men and the most vicious of creatures in character and temperament."

Jahiz, _Kitab al-Hayawan_, vol. 2
"Among [the Malli blacks'] good qualities is the small amount of injustice amongst them, for of all people they are the furthest from it..."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"[inhabitants of sub-Saharan African countries] are people distant from the standards of humanity" "Their nature is that of wild animals...."

Persian geography _Hudud al-`alam_, 982 AD
"For [the people of Takadda in West Africa] ease of life and ample conditions are supreme; they vie with one another in the number of slaves and servants they have - as likewise do the people of Malli and Iwalatan. They do not sell educated woman-slaves, except very rarely and at a great price."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"We know that the Zanj (blacks) are the least intelligent and the least discerning of mankind, and the least capable of understanding the consequences of actions."

Jahiz (d. 868 AD), _Kitab al-Bukhala'
"[The people of Mombasa in East Africa] are a religious people, trustworthy and righteous. Their mosques are made of wood, expertly built."

Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1331

"They [the Shu`ubiyya] maintain that eloquence is prized by all people at all times -- even the Zanj, despite their dimness, their boundless stupidity, their obtuseness, their crude perceptions and their evil dispositions, make long speeches."

Jahiz, Al-Bayan wa`l-tabyin, vol. 3
"I met the qadi of Malli... he is a black, has been on a pilgrimage, and is a noble person with good qualities of character... I met the interpreter Dugha, a noble black and a leader of theirs... They performed their duty towards me [as a guest] most perfectly; may God bless and reward them for their good deeds!"

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"Galen says that merriment dominates the black man because of his defective brain, whence also the weakness of his intelligence."

Mas`udi (d. 956 AD), Muruj al-dhahab_
"Another of the good habits among [the people of Malli] is the way they meticulously observe the times of the prayers and attendance at them, so also it is with regard to their congregational services and the beating of their children to instill these things in them."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"As regards southern countries, all their inhabitants are black on account of the heat of their climate... Most of them go naked... In all their lands and provinces, gold is found.... They are people distant from the standards of humanity."

Hudud al-`Alam_, Persian geography, 982 AD
"[The sultan of Malli] holds sessions during the days associated with the 2 festivals...The men-at-arms come with wonderful weaponry, quivers of silver and gold, swords covered with gold, their sheaths of the same, spears of silver and gold and wands of crystal.. On [the women] are fine clothes and on their heads they have bands of silver and gold apples as pendants... then come...young men who... have a wonderful gracefulness and lightness...they juggle with swords beautifully."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"The Zanj are so uncivilized that they have no notion of a natural death. If a man dies a natural death, they think he was poisoned. Every death is suspicious with them, if a man has not been killed by a weapon."

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, _India_, 1030 AD
"... there is also the prevalence of peace in their country, the traveler is not afraid in it nor is he who lives there in fear of the thief or the robber by violence...there are no thieves in their country"

Ibn Battuta, 14th century, writing about Mali

About the Zanj: "Their nature is that of wild animals. They are extremely black." About the Sudan: "Among themselves there are people who steal each other's children and sell them to the merchants when the latter arrive."

Hudud al-`Alam_, 982 AD
"[The sultan of Kilwa, East Africa] ... was Father of Gifts because of his many gifts and deeds of generosity... This sultan is a very humble man. He sits with the poor people and eats with them... The gratitude of the people to the sultan increased at the evidence of his humility and graciousness."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"If (all types of men) are taken, from the first, and one placed after another, like the Negro from Zanzibar, in the Southern-most countries, the Negro does not differ from an animal in anything except the fact that his hands have been lifted from the earth,--in no other peculiarity or property,--except for what God wished. Many have seen that the ape is more capable of being trained than the Negro, and more intelligent."

Philosopher-theologian Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-74), _Tasawwurat_
[Mogadishu (in East Africa)] is a town endless in its size... Its people are powerful merchants. In it are manufactured the cloths named after it which have no rival, and are transported as far as Egypt and elsewhere.
Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1331

"Therefore, the Negro nation are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because [Negroes] have little [that is essentially] human and have attributes that are quite similar to those of dumb animals, as we have stated."

Ibn Khaldun, _Muqaddimah_, 14th century AD
"Then I reached [a West African town]. This town had as its governor an excellent man, a pilgrim called Farba Sulaiman, well known for his bravery and tenacity...An Arab slave girl of his from Damascus came in to us. She was an Arab and spoke to me in Arabic."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

Note that in this case, a black man owned an Arab slave

"A man of discernment said: The people of Iraq ... do not come out with something between blonde, buff and blanched coloring, such as the infants dropped from the wombs of the women of the Slavs and others of similar light complexion; nor are they overdone in the womb until they are burned, so that the child comes out something between black, murky, malodorous, stinking, and crinkly-haired, with uneven limbs, deficient minds, and depraved passions, such as the Zanj, the Somali, and other blacks who resemble them. The Iraqis are neither half-baked dough nor burned crust but between the two."

Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani, _Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan_, 903 AD
"Another of [the Malli blacks'] good qualities is their concern for learning the sublime Qur'an by heart...One day I passed a handsome youth from them dressed in fine clothes and on his feet was a heavy chain. I said to the man who was with me, 'What has this youth done -- has he killed someone?' The youth heard my remark and laughed. It was told me, 'He has been chained so that he will learn the Qu'ran by heart.'"

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"beyond [known peoples of black West Africa] to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only humans who are closer to dumb animals than to rational beings. They live in thickets and caves, and eat herbs and unprepared grain. They frequently eat each other. They cannot be considered human beings."

Ibn Khaldun, _Muqaddimah_
"There came to sultan Mansa Sulaiman (of the Mali empire) a group of these blacks who eat human beings accompanied by one of their amirs... They cover themselves in silk mantles... The sultan was gracious to them...They...came to the sultan to return thanks."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"[Blacks] are ugly and misshapen, because they live in a hot country."

Ibn Qutayba (828-89 A.D.)
"[the people of Iwalatan in West Africa] were generous to me and entertained me...and as for their women -- they are extremely beautiful and are more important than the men"

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

"The Zanj are slight-witted (_kam 'aql_), and God, most high, has created them stupid, ignorant, and foul (_palid_)."

anonymous, Iskandarnamah, 1343 AD
"[The sultan of Kilwa, East Africa] ... was Father of Gifts because of his many gifts and deeds of generosity... This sultan is a very humble man. He sits with the poor people and eats with them... The gratitude of the people to the sultan increased at the evidence of his humility and graciousness."

Ibn Battuta, 14th century

Messages In This Thread

racist arab quotes (views: 2225)
Sopdet -- 8/20/2002, 6:56 am
Re: racist arab quotes (views: 21)
Ardy -- 8/20/2002, 9:11 pm

What I foresee happening here is "silence" - NOBODY can argue sensibly against the write-up above as its plain

You CANNOT lease out a private jet for commercial purposes!

The claim you yourself made indicts you as you it was that said it was required for your ministry which was so busy that you couldn't use commercial airlines! After saying such, you now turned it into a commercial airline

Bringing CAN into this was truly idiotic - wetin concern CAN? The jet doesn't belong to CAN and trying to turn this into Christian vs Muslim is just so pathetic and unchristian-like

Silence! But God is watching and cannot be mocked - all of them will reap what they are sowing

Jonathanians destroying a gr8 Nation tnks to greed.