PapaBrowne:

@190
Don't worry nobody will insult you. We understand its a mental problem you are struggling with.
For me I would just advice you hurry up and take your meds, before the manic disorder degenerates further.
Or better still, call your doctor quickly!

now its people like this i was refering to my earlier post~

Lets even say Oshiomole's organisation of the event was not sooo tidy. soyinka and tinubu should take a cue from Mourinho and his last match against barcelona,regardless of the animosity he receive from barcelona fans and what-have-you in barcelona, he faced them with his strongest ability and eventually won, thus claiming the win as his best ever(pls its just an analogy for arguments sake so dont turn it into a football discuss).So why shouldnt our dear soyinka face the enemy on his own turf and show him what stuff you are made of.Going to Christiana Amanpour does not make our bad egg leaders realise how hated they are by the masses because they see the western media as being biased.but beig disgraced by nigerians drives home the point the more to them lunatic leaders.

Hopefully, Babangida would by now realise how disgusting his ambition is to us masses.And next time Adam should be a better MC in organising occassions and events.

P.s
Apologies to my Barca friends in the house.

With due respected to everybody who has contributed to this topic and with contrary views,i personally believe Wole Soyinka & Co did the right Thing by staying Away from the venue.The Nobel Laureate cant Be Seen on the Same stand with à murderer and Former dictator.Keyamo and Odumakin was Sent to do the Dirty Job.
Soyinka is an International statesman of repute and being Seen exchanging Jans with IBB will do à Great damage to His Reputation.
Oshiomole should have notified Soyinka,Tinubu,Fashola and others of IBB's presence.That will give Them à Better opportunity of dealing with the issue differently.
Moreso,i don't believe the rally was organised For IBB.Else the tongue-lashing IBB recieved from Keyamo and Odumakin would have been avoided.Rather it was an Opportunity for IBB to feel the Impulse of the Edo People First-Hand.
IBB should keep the billions He Stole while in Power and settle for à relaxing retirement.today's politics in far Beyond IBB's Marado-cracy.He can Never See that post again in this lifetime because Nigerians are Wiser and more focused than before.

Look i worked with oshiomole for 1 year in the government house and with this relationship i know him not to be deceitful when it comes to pulic issues. The guy has built a name for him self by fighting for the truth for nigerians so the oshiomole i know would rather die than for him to be called a criminal or a liar. IBB is just looking for a way to be credible by hanging around oshiomole. He wants the spotlight on him so he decides to go where the light is. Well thank God nigerians are now wiser than 1999, they cant deceive us again.

^^^^ Deceive yourself abeg, u nid am, lol

snowdrops:

This saga has only exposed oshiomhole for who he truely is;

A deceptive, self-serving, corrupt, two-faced drama queen.

Yeeeeeeee! FATALITY.

its now glaring that some NRLanders just read a post,without even analysing or atleast making enquiries they just reason irrationaly and post a reply like they got itchy fingers.To begin,who said the rally was organised for IBB?did you see the guest list for the event or even know the Theme for the event?Why didnt you say the other occassions IBB attended such as the one in Ogun state was for him. If you havent noticed,he has been tranversing all important occassions probably to test the waters. Why do you also think Oshoms should have informed Soyinka and co of IBB presence?Must you tell or announce all the guests you invited to a rally to all the invitees? While not completely exonorating Oshoms for inviting the evil man,lets dont just castigate Oshoms for betrayal as some "Nothing can ever please me" NRLanders do.Some analysis are so shallow and out of point that i wonder if we are on the same page.Keyamo did well for staying to use the forum to drive home the feeling of Nigerians,i thouth our nobel laureate should have done same,because if you can criticize everyday on the papers why not do so physicaly face to face.

, 'ti o ba wo solè bus stop è lo ma ti bolè/, mi o le fight fun è mi o kin sè OSHIOMOLE'/ - Dagrin(Pon pon pon)
Even Dagrin would be disappointed if this story is true. . . seeing as the guy don they fight for himself.

Abeg make the guy go fix im gapped teeth,

, for all we know, it was all a perfect scheme by Tony Anenih and his cohorts to rubbish, discredit and bring an end to the Political career of Oshiomole. I really dont see Adams in his right frame of mind conceiving such, we should look beneath the surface and not believe the obvious?

Fool and shallow minded head.
Oshiomhole has succeeded in bewitching all Edo Citizens home and abroad to believe that, everything that ever went wrong in Edo State, where the handiwork of Tony Anenih.
Shame on you all the supporter of Oshiomhole, you have just been deceived into believing on this strange fellow.
Is Tony Anenih the organiser of this IBB rally? Is Anenih in the government of Oshiomhole? Does Oshiomhole sees anything good in the person of Chief Anenih?
Blame your deceitful governor for his quest for ultimate power!
Only the blind will from henceforth believe your cry of godfatherism. You are not better than those you are accussing. Enough of this masqurade show.

i watched the rally on AIT. IBB was given the humiliation of his life when festus keyamo came on stage to address the crowd and he said IBB's presence was not needed here that his not a true democrat for annulling the the june 12 election, that nigerians shuoldnt vote for him and IBB buried his head in shame while the crowd rained abuses on him(IBB). the most embarrassing moment of it all was that IBB wasnt allowed to address the crowd like the other niger delta governors. SHAME ON IBB!

[pre][/pre]Can anyone here tell me hw better nemesis can catch up with someone even right at his nosedive than this? This is just the beginning, watch out for a lot more in his life time.

Nigerians are grossly disappointed over his uncanny political gimmicks this days! He's another maradona in the making, he has succeeded in making his first perpetration into the number sit of Edo, watch out for more of his sharp practices under the tent he has pitched with the Father Maradona himself, IBB

You ain't see anything yet in Nigeria politics. But alas!, remember Chuba Okadigbo's travail , something similar will definitely come their ways. Nigerian were foolish yesterday, but today, we are wiser than the wise ones themselves!

He is not deaf, his ears only picks the frequencies of godfathers; not tyrants like IBB.

True talk my brother.

Pity, if you were really taken by the opinion that it was not for IBB or may be you are trying to pool wool over our eyes. IBB doesn't just show up for stuff, it was for him period - great that Prof. Soyinka had good memories. Can't say that for my other fellow citizens.

Lest we forget: When the IBB presidential thing was been speculated, it was in Benin City, Edo State that IBB finally opened up and comfirmed the speculations.

Now, he has come again to Benin City, Edo State, to test his acceptance by the Nigerian people ahead of his final lauching of his campaigns.
Don't be surprised if he eventually returns to Benin City, Edo State, to commence his nation wide campaigns with Oshiomhole as VP running mate.

The professor and those who left in anger should be praised for their uprightness. it gives you hope that unlike Mr. chameleon Oshiolmole, there are still few Nigerians that are steadfast and consistent in their conviction.

Some say prof. Soyinka should have stayed and confront IBB, what exactly was Soyinka invited for? A shouting match with IBB?

If you were invited to a church prayer meeting and shortly before the event, you found out it was actually some voodoo event, would you stay and confront them because you disagree with their practise.

The point is, Oshiomole decieved Soyinka and other invitees by not telling them who were on the guests list. IBB is not some obscure Nigerian, we all know his antics.

The whole thing smells of 419 and confirms my believe that Oshiomole is just an omo-ole like his master, IBB.

Saharareporters is not balanced sometimes in reporting issues as supposed, in as much as I am not pro IBB 2011 or ever, but I know the like of Oshiomhole,

I hope somebody is not wanting to give him a bad name, if you hate Tony Anenih, you will like Oshiomhole, if you like oshiomhole, you will hate Tony Anenih.

Some people may be willing to use this to truncate Oshiomhole 2011 2nd term bid, The press is becoming corrupt than the police.

Do you think that Ordinarily, Our beloved Soyinka does not ask questions on gathering before surfacing, I know that he asked what for? who and who will be present before embarking on the trip?


However, let the press come with interview from those concerned so that we can make sense.

Pame:

i watched the rally on AIT. IBB was given the humiliation of his life when festus keyamo came on stage to address the crowd and he said IBB's presence was not needed here that his not a true democrat for annulling the the june 12 election, that nigerians shuoldnt vote for him and IBB buried his head in shame while the crowd rained abuses on him(IBB). the most embarrassing moment of it all was that IBB wasnt allowed to address the crowd like the other niger delta governors. SHAME ON IBB!

[pre][/pre]Can anyone here tell me hw better nemesis can catch up with someone even right at his nosedive than this? This is just the beginning, watch out for a lot more in his life time.

This vindicates Oshiomhole a bit, he could not have arranged an arrangee stuff for IBB without ensuring that guests that will speak are Pro IBB.

i no oshiomole is behind this and he has show the world his level of political immaturity.

This is a very funny policking, I might excuse Soyinka but Tinubu and Co have no shiit to tell us, they are not any better than IBB, Imagine Bugaje saying they left because their presence would ve been tantamount to supporting IBB who is not a member of their party. . That alone shows U the kind of ppl we are dealing with. . They left not because they felt the man was not representative of democratic principles which was what the rally was all about but because they wanted to protect the interest of their party, so it wont like the AC chieftains were supporting IBB. I see nothing wrong with Oshiomole inviting the likes of IBB, the rally was not a party rally or a "us against PDP rally" like the AC have always unwisely done. One man one vote was suppose to rally every Nigerian irrespective of part or political affiliations, rigging and electoral malpractice cuts across political parties and Oshiomole thought it wise to invite everybody,the good,the bad and the Ugly, hence IBB. It would ve been a party rally if he had declined the attendance of IBB and Mark. . .Forget the stage managed walk out from the AC chieftains, what do U expect? These men knew all along how this would go, they probably used the opportunity to rub a shine on their political career and their party. . Their walk out has nothing to do with principles. As for IBB, serves him right, Karma is a bitch! keyamo is the true brave soldier in all of these, not those political homeboys and our prof who is begining to look politically stale to me. . .So much for a staged walk-out.

rhymz:

This is a very funny policking, I might excuse Soyinka but Tinubu and Co have no shiit to tell us, they are not any better than IBB, Imagine Bugaje saying they left because their presence would ve been tantamount to supporting IBB who is not a member of their party. . That alone shows U the kind of ppl we are dealing with. . They left not because they felt the man was not representative of democratic principles which was what the rally was all about but because they wanted to protect the interest of their party, so it wont like the AC chieftains were supporting IBB. I see nothing wrong with Oshiomole inviting the likes of IBB, the rally was not a party rally or a "us against PDP rally" like the AC have always unwisely done. One man one vote was suppose to rally every Nigerian irrespective of part or political affiliations, rigging and electoral malpractice cuts across political parties and Oshiomole thought it wise to invite everybody,the good,the bad and the Ugly, hence IBB. It would ve been a party rally if he had declined the attendance of IBB and Mark. . .Forget the stage managed walk out from the AC chieftains, what do U expect? These men knew all along how this would go, they probably used the opportunity to rub a shine on their political career and their party. . Their walk out has nothing to do with principles. As for IBB, serves him right, Karma is a naughty woman! keyamo is the true brave soldier in all of these, not those political homeboys and our prof who is begining to look politically stale to me. . .So much for a staged walk-out.

you cant be two side of a coin when it comes to politics.you either for or against.it is only in nigeria that you see politicians switching sides every now and then.An american politicians believes in ideology and principles,he is either a democrat or republican.
oshiomhole has been a very close friend of ibb.he once appointed kasim afeagbu,ibb's spokesman as his chief press secretary to show the level of their closeness.oshiomhole should understand the principle of politics.he ought to know that such gathering would easily be termed as craving support for ibb if the event had gone through.
i wont blame those that boycotted the program especially those that have and believe in principles of politics.
Tinubu is very close to obasanjo but he chose to stay at the opposite side when it comes to politics.bisi Akande had always been in opposition camp including the afeniferes' and co.they believe in opposition and stood by it,so seeing them in a gathering where babangida is would not mean well for what they believe in

The game has started the maradona is back but he should first tell us what happened to june 12 vote,i also remeber he failed to show up at oputa panel, for me sha they should come and use www.globalsmsportal.com for thier campaign.

The Babangida years

By Tolu Ogunlesi
April 17, 2010 10:36PM

In his first New Year Day’s speech as military president, months after deposing the Buhari-Idiagbon government in a bloodless coup enthusiastically welcomed by Nigerians, Ibrahim Babangida declared: “I wish to reaffirm that this administration does not intend to stay in power a day longer than is required to lay the necessary institutional framework to bring about a better and more stable Nigeria.” Babangida’s bonhomie (its trademark an endearing gap-toothed smile) - in stark contrast to the stern, unsmiling façade of Muhammadu Buhari, his predecessor - made it easy for him to be believed.
The distinction between the two regimes in fact ran much deeper than personality quirks. Babangida, in action, proved to be the complete antithesis of his predecessor. He threw open prison doors, setting free hundreds of 3rd republic politicians convicted and jailed by Buhari. He repealed the obnoxious Decree No. 4 of 1984 with which the Buhari regime had shackled the media. He promised to run “an open administration that is responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of all the people” - a departure from the high-handedness of the Buhari/Idiagbon era.
One of his first actions as military president was to allow Nigerians to decide, through public debates, whether to accept the $2.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan the Buhari government had been negotiating for.
After the terror of the Buhari years, Nigerians appeared to have found a statesman in military uniform.

Tough times that lasted
By 1985, Nigeria’s foreign debt had ballooned to $18 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 1980 (it would rise beyond $30 billion by the end of the 80s), and external reserves had dwindled to less than $2 billion. Oil prices had been in freefall for 3 years running, and in January 1986 they finally fell to less than $20 per barrel, a record low since the start of the decade.
To his credit Babangida made all the right noises about revamping the economy. In his Independence Day 1985 speech, barely two months old in office, he declared “a state of economic emergency for the next 15 months.” That speech went on to lay down a comprehensive plan for “economic reconstruction”.
This plan included a moratorium on new foreign debt, promotion of agriculture and industrial development, restriction of importation to “essential commodities”, financial sector reform and privatisation.

Populist leanings
IBB was a master of the populist move - ambitious government programs targeted at tackling poverty, and empowering rural dwellers. His government churned out program after program, in a bid to actualize his promises to run an inclusive, people-facing government. In 1986, Babangida launched the Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER).
In 1987, the Directorate of Food and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI) was launched to promote agriculture and transform Nigeria’s rural landscape by providing modern infrastructure. Other Babangida creations include the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Peoples Bank of Nigeria (PBN), National Board for Community Banks (NBCB), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), National Planning Commission (NPC), and the Urban Development Bank.
No other Nigerian government presided over such substantial expansion of government bureaucracy as the Babangida administration. In time, the fiscal prudence that Babangida espoused vanished: billions of naira were sunk into an endless transition programme, and in the early ‘90s, 12 billion dollars worth of windfall crude oil revenue (courtesy of the rise in the oil prices due to the Gulf War) could not be accounted for.
Mr. Babangida also came to perfect the art of dispensing patronage through political appointments (mostly targeted at leading members of the opposition) and a far-from-transparent allocation of lucrative oil blocks.

“A man whose words mean nothing”
Mr. Babangida’s contradictions eventually overwhelmed his reputation so that when, in May 1993, the activist and lawyer Gani Fawehinmi described him as “a man whose words mean nothing to him”, evidence of this littered his eight years in power.
Only months after vowing to run a “government by consultation with the people”, Mr. Babangida in 1986 surreptitiously - and unilaterally - took Nigeria, an avowed secular state, into full membership of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), a body which describes itself as “the collective voice of the Muslim world.”
Mr. Babangida lamented the “large role played by the public sector in economic activity with hardly any concrete results to justify such a role.”Ironically, over the course of the next five years, he would go ahead to supervise an unprecedented expansion of government. And despite his deference to the wish of Nigerians to reject the IMF loan, Mr. Babangida went ahead to implement some of the Fund’s most drastic requirements - a devaluation of the naira, and removal of subsidies, chief of which were the petroleum subsidies.
Mr. Babangida promised Nigerians that the “belt-tightening” was sorely needed: the painful injection that would usher in vibrant economic health; the mandatory dark lining before a cloud of prosperity. Those reforms, which he christened “Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)”, came into effect in 1986, with a far-from-pleasant impact on Nigerians. Purchasing powers dwindled, inflation rose, and the obliteration of the middle class began. In 1989, SAP riots rocked the country, as Nigerians had finally had enough of economic reforms which silver lining they waited in vain for.

Greatest failings
Mr. Babangida’s greatest failings were however in two key areas: his human rights record, and his political transition programme. In December 1985, a group of soldiers, which included his close friend, Mamman Vatsa, were arrested on allegations of plotting to topple the 4-month old Babangida government. After Vatsa was convicted and sentenced to death, Mr. Babangida assured a delegation of distinguished writers (Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and J.P. Clark), which had come pleading for mercy, that he was “determined to do everything in my power to save (Vatsa).”
Hours later, Vatsa and the other alleged plotters were executed.
As opposition to Mr. Babangida’s rule grew, so did his intolerance for dissent, so that he routinely shut down or proscribed media houses; and harassed journalists, civil society and labour groups using the instruments of state (the State Security Service, Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Police).
In 1986, five students of the Ahmadu Bello University were murdered when mobile policemen invaded the campus to quell anti-IMF protests. He also promulgated a series of draconian decrees targeted at quelling all opposition, and on occasion did not hesitate to deport foreign critics (University lecturer Patrick Wilmot and journalist William Keeling).
In October 1986, frontline journalist Dele Giwa was murdered by a letter bomb in Lagos. Preliminary police investigations stated that senior officers of Mr. Babangida’s intelligence services, who had hounded Giwa in his final days, had questions to answer regarding Giwa’s death. The mystery of the Giwa assassination remains unsolved till date.

An interminable journey
A maddeningly convoluted transition programme, whose terminal date soon became a mirage - first 1990, then 1992, and then 1993 - is one of the most significant things Babangida will be remembered for.
Early on in his administration, Mr. Babangida inaugurated a “Political Bureau” to “kick off, as it were, the national debate on a viable future political ethos and structure for our dear country.”
The political bureau was soon followed by a Constituent Assembly, which in 1989 fashioned a new constitution for the country.
Also, in 1989, he created, by presidential fiat, two political parties, the Social Democratic Party and the National Republican Convention. Then in 1991, he released a controversial list of prominent politicians whom he said were banned from participating in the transition programme.
In October 1992, he cancelled the results of the parties’ presidential primaries, causing new primaries to be held in March 1993. And then in June 1993 he annulled the results of the presidential elections, presumed to have been won by billionaire businessman MKO Abiola.

This was the final straw.
By this time, Nigerians had finally had enough of his shenanigans, and violent protests forced him to “step aside” on August 27, 1993,“My colleagues and I are determined to change the course of history,” Mr. Babangida told Nigerians in his maiden speech as Head of State, on August 27, 1985.
By the time he reluctantly relinquished power exactly eight years later, he had achieved that goal, far more successfully than he, or anyone else, could ever have imagined.

Source: Next

Common now, I can understand Soyinka and others staying away but not Tinubu and his friends in AC.

I want anyone to please tell me if Tinubu would not accept Vice-President position from IBB, Buhari, even Yaradua in his state. Don't forget that Tinubu formed alliance with Atiku until he needed Yaradua to tell EFCC to back off.

As long as IBB, Ibori and Tinubu have unlimited funds, Nigeria will never get off its but. Mark my word.

You are not saying those who found themselves in the same space as IBB wanted to be there to lambast him. You got it wrong. They felt the same way as Prof. Soyinka felt - one option was to leave as he did, the other was to impromptu speak up, which they did. Both valid reactions to IBB's presence, when you don't have foreknowledge of his presence. Both those who spoke up and those who left have made their stand known, Oshimole is the one we are wondering about.

Deep down I know Oshimole doesn't want to be associated with IBB, but when you take favors from the machiavelian prince himself he is going to make you pay back. I hope that Oshimole would have the courage to say that's enough payment for IBB's favors. Otherwise, if he allows himself to continue being associated with him, his days are numbered as a respected politician.

Pame:

i watched the rally on AIT. IBB was given the humiliation of his life when festus keyamo came on stage to address the crowd and he said IBB's presence was not needed here that his not a true democrat for annulling the the june 12 election, that nigerians shuoldnt vote for him and IBB buried his head in shame while the crowd rained abuses on him(IBB). the most embarrassing moment of it all was that IBB wasnt allowed to address the crowd like the other niger delta governors. SHAME ON IBB!

[pre][/pre]Can anyone here tell me hw better nemesis can catch up with someone even right at his nosedive than this? This is just the beginning, watch out for a lot more in his life time.

IBB no send anybody.
His confidence stems from the culture of corruption in naija.

Untill INEC is transparent and peoples' votes actually count, then i can dismiss
that evil man.
Untill then, ANYTHING can happen; no be naija?

Its a very big shame. In Naija we dont have men of honor. As for someone like IBB he should have gone into exile, but over here he has the boldness to run for an election and to add insults to injury he says the youths can't rule the country,

If truely Adams Oshiomole was involved, then its a very big shame.

This is a call to @Seun and @the Moderators.I am suggesting that a form of filter be put in place here to first check intended posts.
I was reading through the comments and on getting to @Marvix,I find it difficult to make sense of his article,not much about his opinion as in the way he wrote it out.Thank God @Texazzpete observe the same lax and commented.
As I understand, there is no limit on the word count and one is not paying per page(unless you are posting from your mobile phone terminal!?).And let us remember that this forum is not just for Nigerians but for friends of Nigeria a.k.a the World.
So let's strive to make our comments and post as legible and credible as possible.Too much input of one's self-made lexicon will only put off the audience and readers and ultimately the wisdom behind the article will be lost.
I rest my case,Thanks.
Oh ok, as per the rally, Oshiomole,IBB and the boycotts, one thing is evident, a "saint/mass saviour' today may be turn gradually to the villain of tomorrow in the Nigerian polity.So we just have to open our eyes the more and sift out every "good person" that has gone bad and rotten in the next electoral engagements.

Benin people, I trust you, They don't take any nonsense. That good for Ibb. That is the beginning,move to order state for more shame

and disgrace.

Oshoimole is a disgrace!!

That very good that is the beginning for shame and disgrace, Now move to another State for more.