₦airaland Forum

YORUBA LANGUAGE IS THE EASIEST NIGERIA LANGUAGE TO LEARN.

MAJORITY OF NIGERIA ARTISTES USES YORUBA LANGUAGE IN THEIR LYRICS

NOLLYWOOD MOVIES (ENGLISH ) USES YORUBA LANGUAGE SOMETIMES IN THEIR SCRIPT .....

YORUBA LANGUAGE IS ALSO SPOKEN IN EDO, DELTA......... ..

Here we have tried to gather the most
peculiar facts about Naija for the period
of 100 years.
1. Nigeria, with a 2013 estimated
population of 174,507,539 is the most
populous Black nation and the 7th most
populated nation in the entire world,
trailing after—from least to most—
Pakistan, Brazil, Indonesia, USA, India and
China (1.3bn).
2. Nigerians are 1/5th the total
population of Black Africa.
3. Nigeria, with 521 languages has the
fourth most in the world. This includes
510 living languages, two second
languages without native speakers and 9
extinct languages.
4. The Portuguese reached Nigeria in
1472. In 1880 the British began
conquering Nigeria’s south. The north was
conquered by 1903.
5. Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian Nobel
laureate. He wrote ‘Telephone
Conversation!’
6. With a net worth of $16.1bn, Nigeria’s
Aliko Dangote is the richest Black person
in the world.
7. Yoruba and their bloodlines worldwide
have the highest rate of twinning (having
twins) in the world.
8. The 2006 Census found Nigerians to be
the highest educated ethnic or racial
group in America.
9. The Northern knot, Arewa insignia has
Christian origins, investigation by
Ibraheem A. Waziri revealed. It is adapted
from the Church Celtic knot.
10. Pre-tribalism: Malam Umaru Altine, a
northern Fulani man was the first elected
Mayor of Enugu, in the east, and was even
re-elected for a second term.
11. Pre-tribalism: John Umoru, from
Etsako in today’s Edo State (Western
region) was elected for the House of
Assembly to represent Port Harcourt in
the Eastern Nigerian House of Assembly.
12. The Colonial Cantonments
Proclamation of 1914 established ‘foreign
quarters,’ ‘Sabon Gari,’ institutionalizing
the Sabon Garuruwa system of ‘foreigner’
residential segregation in Nigeria.
13. Crispin Curtis Adeniyi-Jones
(1876-1957) who the street in Ikeja,
‘Adeniyi-Jones’ was named after, was a
medical director from Sierra Leone (a
Saro). As a co-founder of NNDP, he won
one of the Lagos 3 legislative council seats
in 1923 and represented Nigerians for 15
yrs.
14. Saros was the name given to 19th and
20th century ‘Creole’ African literati
migrants from Sierra Leone.
15. Amaros was the name for repatriated
Brazilian and Cuban slaves; the ‘Aguda’
people of Lagos today. This Brazilian
community includes deportees of the
brave “Malê Revolt” in Portugal.
16. British colonization was not all ‘happy
trade,’ but involved brutal terror against
non-cooperation and stiff opposition.
Captain Lord Esme Gordon Lenox, ‘With
The West African Frontier Force,’
describes: “…we stormed down to
Amassana, which was a town supposed to
be friendly and fined them 25 goats and
20 chickens for non-assistance, then
returned to Agbeni and burned half…
October 1st was spent in continuance of
yesterdays incendiraism by burning every
town or farm we could see. I shudder to
think of how many houses we have
destroyed in these two days. On our way
back to Egbbeddi in the afternoon we
passed by Sabagreia and told our old
friend Chief Ijor that most likely we
should burn down Sabagreia the next
day…”
17. Nigeria’s population was just 16
million in 1911. It is projected to hit 444
million by 2050, surpassing the US and
becoming the 4th largest in the world.
18. The population of Lagos today is about
more than the total population of all
Eastern states combined.
19. Lagos’ population in 1872 was 60,000.
By 2015 it will be the third largest city in
the entire world.
20. Nigeria’s north (719,000 sq. km),
occupies 80% of Nigeria’s land mass. In
size it is four times the South.
21. 1st republic Aviation Minister, Chief
Mbazulike Amaechi hid former South
African President, Nelson Mandela, for six
months in Nigeria to evade his arrest by
the apartheid regime.
22. Gangsta: In 1984 under the
disciplinary Buhari/Idiagbon government,
there was a sophisticated attempt to
kidnap and repatriate ex-civilian regime
minister of transport, Umaru Dikko from
the UK, anesthetized in a freight crate, for
the embezzlement of $1bn under the
Shagari regime.
23. Valor: Part of the ‘Forgotten Army,’
Nigerians volunteered to fight with the
allied forces among the 81st and 82nd
West African Divisions, in the Second
World War.
24. The Adubi war in 1918 was a major
uprising by 30,000 Abeokuta Ebga
warriors against the colonial government
for colonization, taxation and slave labor.
One British was killed and rail and
telegraph lines destroyed. The British
rewarded their soldiers with medals for
quelling the uprising. Awape Adediran a
Molashin/ Kingmaker was imprisoned for
his active involvement.
25. Activist Mrs. Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti
travelled widely, including to the Eastern
bloc (Hungary, USSR and China where she
met Mao Zedong). These interactions
angered Nigeria, Britain and America.
America called her a communist and
refused her a U.S. Visa.
26. Mrs. Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti,
legendary Fela’s mother, was one of the
delegates that negotiated Nigeria’s
independence in Britain.
27. According to Lord Luggard, there were
25,000 Qur’anic schools with about
250,000 pupils in the north.
28. Sardauna of Sokoto said he preferred
foreign workers to Igbo’s because he felt
Igbo’s are domineering. This was while
Nigeria existed as regions with regional
administrations.
29. Kaduna Nzeogwu killed Sardauna in
Nigeria’s first military coup.
30. In 1966, a mischievous Igbo owned
bakery allegedly made a loaf of bread with
a label that depicted Nzeogwu as the Saint
in the ‘Saint George and the Dragon’
medieval tale, killing Sardauna, the
‘dragon,’ this labeled bread provoked
deadly anti-Igbo riots.
31. Idrîs Aloma (1571-1603) King of
Kanem-Bornu went on pilgrimage and
came across firearms. He brought some
guns back, along with Turks to train his
army on how to use them.
32. Travel Visa was not required to travel
to the United Kingdom in 1975.
33. A brand new car sold for N2000 in
1975. A ticket to London was less than
N100 in 1975.
34. In 1976, 75 kobo exchanged for one
British Pound and 60 kobo for one US
dollar.
35. During the Shagari administration in
1985, N7 was exchanging for one dollar.
36. Nigeria took its first loan from the
World Bank in 1977.
37. Obasanjo’s first term and Babangida’s
regime oversaw the weakening of the
naira.
38. General Buhari and Idiagbon rejected
IMF demands that Nigeria devalue its
currency.
39. Babangida’s coup in 1985 was
invaluable to the colonialists suspected to
have been in support as it led to Nigeria
accepting SAP restrictions, loans and
crippling foreign monetary conditions.
40. Nigeria has 5 of the 10 richest pastors
in the entire world, with net worth’s
according to Forbes, from $10-150
million. They are Pastors, David Oyedepo,
E. A. Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome, Mathew
Ashimolowo and Temitope Joshua.
41. Nigeria has the 4th highest number of
poor, living under a dollar a day in the
entire world. 100 million are ‘destitute’
according to figures from the NBS
(National Bureau of Statistics).
42. Nigeria, the 3rd biggest economy in
Africa is 160th out of 177 countries in
HDI (Human Development Index).
43. Nigeria has the highest paid legislators
in the entire world.
44. Based on amount squandered, of an
income of $81 billion per year, Nigeria is
the most corrupt nation in the world.
45. The nation with the most defrauded
people, aka ‘mugus,’ in history, is Nigeria.
Successive administrations continue to
loot a greater percentage of the nation’s
wealth, running in hundreds of billions of
dollars.
46. Nigeria in 2013 was rated the worst
country to be born based on welfare and
prosperity projection.
47. Aliko Dangote funded Presidents
Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan’s 4th
republic campaigns. Buhari rejected
funding from Dangote.
48. Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was
trained in classical Islamic science,
philosophy and theology and wrote over
100 books on society, culture, religion,
governance and politics. He could only
declare Jihad when he was made leader in
Gudu {In Islam you can only declare Jihad
if you are an official Muslim leader}.
49. The Borno Empire rejected Dan Fodio’s
colonization jihad. Al-Hajj Muhammad al-
Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî not only
militarily defended his Empire, but also
did so by religious, theological, legal and
political debates, challenging why a
Muslim Empire should colonize another.
50. Kano history has it that a great
warrior princess Magajiya Maimuna led
her cavalry from Zaria to conquer
Kumbwada.
51. Kumbwada in Kano today is ruled by
Queen Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed, who
presides over up to half a million subjects.
A throne curse which makes men sick and
die, keeps males off the throne. {Sadly,
the woman ruled Kumbwada is the least
funded chiefdom in Nigeria}.
52. Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) is Nigeria’s
leading trade partner in Africa.
53. There are several Nigerian officials in
the government of English speaking The
Gambia.
54. There is a Nigerian origin, Yoruba
chief in Accra. Chief Brimah is the only
foreign Chief with a seat in the Ghanaian
traditional council.
55. Cross River State: The Ejagham (Ekoi)
people in the Southeast are believed to
have originated the Nsibidi (Nsibiri)
writing system which later spread to the
Efik, Igbo, Ibibio, Efut, Banyang and Annag
peoples.
56. Discovered in 1928, Nigeria’s western
region hosts West Africa’s oldest
civilization; the Nok civilization which
flourished between 1000 BC and 300 BC.
{Nok sculptures recently went on display
disappointingly in Germany (not Africa).}
57. Finished in 1460 the Benin Iya or
moat is a historic world defense wonder.
Spanning 1,200 kilometers with walls as
high as 18 metres, it is the world’s largest
archeological structure.
58. Sungbo’s Eredo in Ogun state (6°49′N,
3°56′E) is a 100 mile system of up to 70
ft trenches and walls around Ijebu-Ode.
It’s Queen, Bilkisu Sungbo has been
attributed to the Biblical Queen Sheeba
(Queen Bilkis in Quran).
59. Lord Lugard estimated in 1904 that
there were 170 walled towns still in
existence in the whole of just the Kano
province of northern Nigeria. He
described Kano: ‘Commercial emporium of
the western Sudan.’ Of its wall, he said, ‘I
have never seen, nor even imagined,
anything like it in Africa.’
60. Osun: Queen Luwo, the twenty-first
Ooni (ruler) of Ile-Ife paved the streets
with quartz pebbles—and broken pottery,
in 1000AD. The architecture had
decorations that originated from Ancient
America.
61. Borno: The capital city of Kanem-
Borno, Ngazargamu, was one of the
largest cities in 1658 AD; the metropolis
housed “about quarter of a million people”
and had 660 well planned, wide and
unbending streets.
62. In 1246 AD the Kanemi of Borno
created a sensation in Tunisia when he
sent a gift of a giraffe to Al-Mustapha,
king of Tunis.
63. Sokoto: Two-story buildings with
constructions glazed with tsoluwa, (laterite
gravel), 10 mile circumference city walls,
some as high as 20 feet, is how 16th
century Surame, a Sokoto metropolis
created by empire ruler, Muhammadu
Kanta Sarkin Kebbi, was. UNESCO
describes Surame as “one of the wonders
of human history, creativity and
ingenuity.”
64. Kano: In 1851, this city, one of the
largest in Africa, made 10 million sandal
pairs and 5 million hides for export.
65. Kebbi: Nigeria’s Sorko Sea lords of
Kebbi state, made ships (Kanta) which
were used for far away expeditions,
including the 1311 AD, 2000 ship, famous
voyage of Songhai Empire’s Mansa
Abubakari II to the America’s, decades
before Columbus.
66. Yobe: The oldest discovered boat in
Africa, and 3rd oldest on the world, the
8500 yr old Dufuna canoe was discovered
by a Fulani herdsman in 1987 in Dufuna
village, Fune LGA.
67. Ondo: Confusing evolution scientists,
the 13,000 yr old Iwo-Eleru cave skull,
the oldest human fossil remains found in
West Africa, has ‘ancient’ (140,000 yr old
Laetoli) features, yet lived in more
modern times.
68. Benin Kingdom: The high quality and
highly sophisticated bronze work of the
Benin Kingdom dating as far back as the
13th century is a world wonder. Great
works in iron, wood, ivory, and terra
cotta products also highlight the empire’s
history.
69. Benin Kingdom: Lourenco Pinto,
captain of a ship that carried missionaries
to Warri in 1619, described Benin
kingdom, ‘Great Benin where the king
resides is larger than Lisbon, all the
streets run straight and as far as the eyes
can see….’
70. Akwa Ibom: King Jaja of Opobo (1821–
1891) founded Opobo city-state in 1867
and shipped palm oil to Britain
independently of British middle men.
71. Ancient Greeks appear to have
Nigerian roots as supported by the Benin
Haplogroup or Haplogroup 19. According
to Jide Uwechia, ‘The Benin Haplotype
(which originates from Nigeria, West
Africa) accounts for HbS associated
chromosomes in Sicily Northern Greece.’
72. Ilorin’s Oba Afonja utilized Fulani
warriors to help rebel against the Oyo
Empire. The warriors after defeating Oyo
took over Ilorin and Sheikh Alimi, their
leader became the first Emir.
73. Much of north Nigeria was part of the
Songhai Empire. Muhammad Kanta
annexed Kebbi and other states between
1512 and 1517.
74. The Obasanjo military regime
converted Nigeria from a Parliamentary
system to a Presidential system of
government.
75. Much of traditional pre-colonial
Nigeria operated a parliamentary form of
government. The council of elders could
make or impeach the King.
76. General Johnson Thomas Umurakwe
Aguiyi-Ironsi on 24 May 1966, with
Decree No. 34, dissolved Nigeria’s regions,
creating provinces. He unified Regional
Public Services under a single
Commission. Riots were provoked in Kano
and mutiny in Abeokuta; eventually there
was a coup.
77. In 1967 Gowon split the four regions
into 12 states.
78. Gowon’s Decree No. 8 of 1967 after
the Aburi conference restored Nigeria as a
confederacy.
79. Late President Murtala Muhammed’s
dad, Pam Azatus Iyok was from Dogon-
Gaba, near Vom in Plateau state, Nigeria’s
Middle Belt. Pam became a Muslim and
married Ramat from Kano. Murtala
Muhammed’s wife, Hafsat Ajoke was a
Yoruba lady.
80. Ex- President Yakubu Gowon from Jos
state (Middle Belt) is a Christian. General
Obasanjo was his Army chief who helped
him defeat the Biafra attempted secession
from 1967-1970.
81. Nigeria has been ruled for 30 years by
Christians (25 years if Azikiwe is
excluded).
82. Mujahid Asari Dokubo, the leader of
the southern Movement for Emancipation
of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the most
vocal enemy of the north, is a Muslim.
83. Nigeria is not roughly divided between
a Muslim north and a Christian South. The
far north, east and far south do have
concentrations, but the rest of the nation
defies such demarcations.
84. In the Southwest, Osun, Lagos, Ondo
and Oyo have a higher population of
Muslims than Christians according to
counts. Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau in
the north have Christian majorities.
85. According to the Senate joint
committee, Nigeria’s chief terrorist leader,
Abubakar Shekau is not a Nigerian; he
hails from Niger republic. {Shekau is
believed by security services to be
deceased.}
86. According to current demographics,
after Hausa-Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%),
Igbo (18%) and Ijaw (10%) comes Kanuri
(4%) and then Ibibio (3.5%) and Tiv
(2.5%).
87. Not really a northern caucus, but it
was late M. K. O. Abiola that orchestrated
and sponsored the Buhari /Idiagbon coup
and then again the Babangida coup
overthrow of Buhari. –Shagari memoir,
“Beckoned to Serve;” Babangida, “Karl
Maier – Midnight in Nigeria.” (Max Siollun)
88. The leading caucus is basically a
childhood friendship: President Obasanjo
was childhood friends with President
Babangida, President Abacha and
Commander Danjuma.
89. President Babangida was childhood
friends with President Abdulsalam.
90. President Obasanjo graduated
Abdulsalam who later became President
and went on to hand over power to
democratically arranged President
Obasanjo.
91. Under the Presidential system,
Nigerians have had 7 years total Northern
rule and 11+ years Southern rule.
92. Total civilian rule, Parliamentary and
Presidential, Nigeria has had 12 years
Northern and 11+ years Southern rule.
93. 6 coups is the highest number of any
nation in Africa. Nigeria along with Sierra
Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda and Mauritania
are the nations with 6 coups.
94. The Biafra war included a ‘Mid West
invasion.’ The Midwest was either a battle
field or in Biafra’s sights—Dr. Nowamagbe
A. Omoigui relays.
95. The Biafra 12th battalion headed by Lt
Col Victor Adebukunola Banjo captured
Benin and set out to capture Ibadan and
Lagos.
96. The Biafra 13th battalion, led by
Ivenso entered Kwara, now Kogi and
captured Okene, Atanai and Iloshi.
97. Cameroon was an administrative part
of Nigeria in 1945, hence the NCNC party
(National Council of Nigeria and the
Cameroons). Towards independence the
UN mandated British held former German
territory, south Cameroon opted to join
French Cameroon and not Nigeria.
98. J.C. Vaughn, Ernest Ikoli, H.O. Davies,
Obafemi Awolowo and Samuel Akinsanya
founded the Nigerian Youth Movement
(NYM) in 1934 to promote national unity
particularly between Yoruba and Igbo.
99. Azikiwe left Nigerian Youth Movement
(NYM) because he claimed the
organization had been seized by Yoruba’s
and it discriminated against Igbo’s
including himself.
100. Oyo defeats Ashanti: In 1764 the
Ashanti army marched on Dahomey, Togo.
At Atakpamé, the Ashanti army was
ambushed and sacked by Dahomean
infantry and female elite soldiers allied
with forces from the Oyo Empire. Ashanti
King Kusi Obodum was destooled after the
defeat.
This compilation was created as a
historical snapshot of peculiar events, for
our benefit and that of Nigeria’s younger
generations.
Nigeria is a great country with its unique
history and people! Remembering it will
help us to shape a better path to the
prosperous future.
Source: The Paradigm

CHESSBOARD: I said it seem every Yoruba man is living on Fela's vegetable. Awo that stole money from the SEners/SSners and use it give his primitive ppl free education, he is the first corrupt finance minister.

WHAT ARE U PASSING ACROSS?
ALL UR FAMILY N U ARE HAVING BENEFIT OF AWOLOWO LEGACY TILL NOW... *FREE EDUCATION *
BABY FACTORY TRIBE

EVERY CITIZEN IN NIGERIA IS HAVING THE BENEFIT OF AWOLOWO LEGACY.
ONE OF HIS LEGACY IS "FREE EDUCATION ".....

CAN ANYONE TELL ME MANDELA LEGACIES?

HE SHOULD LET'S KNOW
WHO WILL WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2015?
WILL APC TAKE OVER OR PDP WILL CONTINUE TO RULE THIS COUNTRY?
WILL PATIENCE JONATHAN DIE?
WILL JONATHAN CONTEST IN 2015 ELECTION?

IT'S NOT TRUE...
THAT'S NOT THE REASON WHY IBB ANNUL JUNE 12.....
AL MUSTAPHA DIVULGED THE SECRET WHEN HE WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON BY GEJ....
AL MUSTAPHA, IBB, SAMUEL DOE (LIBERIA ) KUDIRAT ABIOLA
ARE THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CANCELLATION OF JUNE 12..........
IT'S SAMUEL DOE MONEY(LOOTED MONEY FROM LIBERIA ) THAT HE (SAMUEL DOE ) KEPT WITH IBB CAUSED THE CANCELLATION OF JUNE 12 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

TUNDE LEMO IS THE RIGHT MAN..
SERVING AS DEPUTY
GOVERNOR FOR SOME YEARS....
HE HAS GOTTEN THE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO MAKE NIGERIA ECONOMY TO BE STABLE

deletrue: Did you go through this thread with utmost good faith? If so, you need, with extreme urgency, in checking your brain region. Why? You are the most clueless individual. Would you be happy having that empty old man who wants every leader who served after him to continue to obey him irrespective of how inglorious what he (Obasanjo) wants?
Kindly reason properly at some moments. Obasanjo is a great loss to all Nigerians having favoured by God so far but prefers to remain childish. Just tell me, going by his status in life. his likes in this country considering his records. Also tell me how Nigerians have benefited from this man, again, considering his status?

SHUT UP!!!

WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE PHONE U ARE USING...
OBJ IS MASTERMIND BEHIND OF THE IMPORTATION OF PHONES(TELECOMMUNICATION)

jhidey08: it's nt too late na, go and strip all d awards he collected off him. U think sey hiphop na gospel music? Hip hop isn't all abt d lyrics, bt hw it is being presented and hw pple accepts it. If u're nt satisfied, go_and_die or organize ur own award and giv 2 wizkid and iceprince. Enemy of progress.

U ARE NOT IN UR RIGHT SENSES...
OLAMIDE SONGS ARE OFF POINT... HE FOCUSED TOO MUCH ON RHYMES.. HIS LYRICS IS SHALLOW....
DUROSOKE NA WASH, THE VIDEO CONCEPT IS NOTHING TO DEBATE ON....

HAS OLAMIDE BANGED ANY INTERNATIONAL AWARD?......

WIZKID,PSQUARE, ICE PRINCE, DBANJ ARE THE ARTISTES REPRESENTING NIGERIA GLOBALLY IN TERMS OF MUSIC...
IS OLAMIDE BETTER THAN VECTOR. LET ALONE OF MI, ICE PRINCE

WIZKID SHOULD BE THE ARTISTE OF THE YEAR.. THIS GUY IS INTERNATIONAL ARTISTE....
PSQUARE DESERVES SOMETHING
ICE PRINCE ALSO(THIS GUY WON BET AWARD THIS YEAR )

OLAMIDE DOESN'T DESERVE ANYTHING AT ALL... THE LYRICS IN DUROSOKE IS NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT....

akereconfi: Please guy stop showing how low your IQ is. The Almustapha guy is challenging OBJ to a public debate. If OBJ is sure of the snipers and all the allegations he made, let him go and battle Al mustapha openly and let us judge who is who.

AL MUSTAPHA IS NOT IN THE RIGHT POSITION TO CHALLENGE OBJ FOR A DEBATE..
A CRIMINAL BRAGING ON TOP NOTHING....
OBJ DIDN'T MENTION HIS NAME IN THE LETTER WRITTEN TO GOATLUCK, OBJ ONLY ALLUDED....
OBJ IS ON POINT ABOUT THE SNIPERS...
ANSWER THIS QUESTION
WHY DID GOATLUCK GRANT AL MUSTAPHA PREROGATIVE MERCY? ...

basty: NL is the worst forum where idiots that can afford internet services contribute to issues that are educating and logical without reasoning. The tribal and political connotions people are used to discussing on NL has made the site a less interesting. I wonder why people.cannot reason beyond their.noses. if we are in a.sane country, Al-mustapha should.have been hanged by now, let those idiots that see any good in what he did during.Abacha's regime share in the evils.he committed. May Jonathan's family witness such in Jesus name.

AMEN!!!

[quote author=one.east1]Obasanjor should be tied to a tree and be shot..[/quote]NA UR PAPA GO TIE N SHOT HIM..

WHY IS IT THAT GOATLUCK IS GRANTING PARDON TO CRIMINALS? ALAMEISEIGHA, AL MUSTAPHA, BODE GEORGE......

akereconfi: You are so lame in thinking. Is this all you can get from the message. You should be answering 1.00 GP

THAT'S WHAT THE MESSAGE IS CONVEYING....

WHY DID GOATLUCK RELEASE AL MUSTAPHA?

OBJ IS ON POINT ABOUT THE SNIPERS..
OPONU NI EE

ON WHICH PLATFORM WILL THE DEBATE TAKE PLACE?
WHO WILL MODERATE THE DEBATE?

OBJ IS RIGHT ABOUT THE SNIPERS....
WHY DID GEJ RELEASE AL MUSTAPHA?
GEJ + AL MUSTAPHA + ASARI DOKUBO = POLITICAL(POLITICIANS) ASSASSIN....

The Saudi Arabian plane that ran into some construction equipment at the Nnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport on Wednesday, December 04, 2013 and blocked the major runway for over 20 hours was carrying bullet proof cars.It had been exclusively reported by a national daily that the Saudi cargoplane was carrying 15 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) made in Russia, which compounded its immediate evacuation from the runway.Reacting to this report, the Embassyof Saudi Arabia agreed that the plane originated from Saudi Arabia and was carrying bullet-proof cars made in South Africa.In a letter, dated December 20 to LEADERSHIP, the Saudi Embassy confirmed that the Boeing 747 plane marked K 74798"was chartered by Saudi Arabia Airline, carrying bullet-proof cars and its final destination is Murtala Muhammad Airport, Lagos, Nigeria."The detailed description of the content of the plane is as follows: a set of bullet-proof cars weighing 58 tonnes. Another set of five bullet-proof cars weighing 42 tonnes."The goods were a portion of a supply contract for 10 bullet-proof cars to a government agency in Nigeria, which were to be conveyed from Sharjah (UAE) via Abuja, through Fast Forward Cargo US UAC, to Defence Industries of Nigeria (DICON), 45 Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, through the company's contact person: Mr Nwajpudu Livinston/CCC. The goodswere manufactured in South Africa."The Saudis wanted the impression that the cargo plane was carrying weapons be corrected since the goods aboard the plane "were neither those considered as dangerous nor prohibited."The Nigerian aviation and military authorities had kept mum over the contents of the Saudi cargo plane despite reports of security hardware aboard it.
SOURCE: naij.com

El-Rufai Mocks ‘Praying’ President Jonathan On Twitter And Receives An Instant Reply.

El-rufai has started anotherattack on the president on his failures in the office.He posted this on twitter and Presidential aide Reno Omokri already replied…

MORE fact emerged yesterday on the visit of All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday.Obasanjo, who wrote a critical letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, was said to have insisted that he stood by the issues he raised in his letter.He said he wrote the letter in the larger interest of the survival of Nigeria and its democracy, contraryto the notion that he was self-seeking, The Nation learnt.The letter contained many allegations, including that Jonathan was training snipers. The former President, according to sources, said he was ready to prove the allegations.Obasanjo reportedly opened up to some top leaders of the APC at a closed-door session in Abeokuta.It was gathered that although the ex-President had warmly received all members of the entourage, he bared his mind to select few on the state of the nation.A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “After the initial obeisance, banters, and the purpose of the APC mission, the ex-President had audience with a group of six or seven leaders.“He told the them that he believed in what he wrote and he had no regrets for doing so. He said he wasnot ‘self-seeking’ in writing President Jonathan.“The ex-President also told the team that ‘if it is necessary, I will provide evidence on some of the issues. I have my facts.’Another source said the ex-President’s body language was a “bit stronger on his point on snipers but he did not go into details”.Responding to a question, the source added: “Obasanjo restated his faith in a united and indivisible Nigeria. He also pleaded with APC leaders to remain committed to oneNigeria, irrespective of the political situation in the country.”The source quoted Obasanjo as saying: “I did not write the letter to curry favour or seek undue attention but at my age, I should talk when things are going wrong. I am not on a self-seeking mission.”The source said Obasanjo declared that he would not leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).On the mission of APC leaders, a third source said a National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu captured it in his interview with reporters that they were not out to woo Obasanjo.“In fact, the APC leaders told Obasanjo that having consulted with past leaders on the state of thenation; they also owed him a duty to brief him on why they are after a change of leadership in 2015.”

SOURCE:thenationonlineng.net

The Federal Government incurred “illegal” expenditure totaling N4.17tn between 2004 and 2012, a report by the House of Representatives has shown.The document was prepared as an interim report by the House Committee on Public Accounts as part of ongoing investigations into the operations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.The expenditure was incurred in what the committee termed “abuse” of the Service Wide Vote.The vote is provided annually in the nation’s budget to take care of emergencies and “contingencies” that crop up in the course of the year for which a budgetary provision is not made.The findings of the committee, which is headed by Mr. Adeola Olamilekan, matched earlier queries the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation raised on the abuse of the vote.Part of the report, whichThe PUNCHobtained in Abuja on Sunday, reads, “Contrary to the foregoing (using the vote for emergencies), after its examinationof the Auditor-General’s reports onthe accounts of MDAs, the committee discovered indiscriminate use of the vote in funding government projects and programmes that should otherwisehave been provided for in the annual budget, as such expenditure were never contingentin nature.”The report indicated that the N4.17tn was N2.27tn higher than the N1.8tn the National Assembly approved as service wide vote for the period under review.This implies that, while the legislature appropriated N1.8tn as service vote, the government spentN4.17tn, incurring extra-budgetary spending of N2.2tn in the process.A part of the report reads, “In terms of figures, successive governments have, from 2004 to 2012, spent a whopping N4.17tn as against the N1.8tn approved by theNational Assembly as SWV component of budgets of those years.“This translates to N2.2tn extra-budgetary spending or 220 per cent of the SWV budget of the years covered by this report.”The report added that the only “real emergency spending” from the vote that could be justified was the funding of military operations against militancy in the Niger Deltaand the Boko Haram insurgency.According to the report, the two security challenges(Niger Delta militancy and Boko Haram insurgency) gulped N144.4bn between 2009 and 2012.The committee clarified that the N144.4bn excluded regular budgetary provisions for these sub-heads.It also stated that other expenditure captured in the report were done in breach of the aim of the SWV.For example, the report said N1.2bn was spent on the overseas trips of government officials to seek medical attention.Former Liberian President, Mr. Charles Taylor’s upkeep while he sojourned in Nigeria between 2004and 2005, gulped N250m.The report added, “Most of the expenditure to which the SWV releases were deployed were routine in nature and did not qualify for emergency funding.“They included expenditure on overseas medical trips for selectedpublic servants and individuals; upkeep of former Liberian President, Charles Taylor; payments to individuals and corporate bodies as judgment debts against the federal government, etc.”The committee noticed a pattern ofincrease in releases from the SWV from 2007 to 2012, with 2010 to 2012 recording the highest spending of N1.7tn.“The period 2007 to 2012 witnessedastronomical increases in SWV releases to the MDAs.“Releases to MDAs during the period amounted to N3.5tn; releases in 2012 and 2010 topped the list with N900.6bn and N864.2bn respectively.“It is evident that releases to the MDAs from the SWV during the period ranged from 65.88 per cent to 344.4 per cent of recurrent allocations to the affected MDAs.”One of the key recommendations of the committee to the House was that the N2.2tn extra-budgetary spending during the period “should be investigated and those found culpable should be sanctioned.”It also called for the scrapping of the vote if it could not be managed in such as way as to plug the loopholes in the management of the vote.