jmaine:

ALL i see are people going back and forth just to defend the shallowness of their respective candidates, it clearly shows that our minds are made off no matter what . enough of this useless campaign . we all saw their worth today and only man was not found wanting which was Shekarau a silent guy with less noise but well versed in governance.

You say this yet one has to question how we view issues in Nigeria with how Shekarau , despite saying very little of substance in today's debate, is now a hero even after serving as a Governor for 8 years with many not even knowing of him till today . in a Country riddled with mediocrity , how do performers go unnoticed ? For the record , I knew of Shekarau and I know he is well-spoken but I look beyond that . I inspect the complete package most importantly to include achievement in public office .

Dimeji Bankole and Bukola Saraki are even more eloquent than Shekarau yet we would not want any of those men to be President of Nigeria !!! My point is that after 8 years at the helm in Kano , Shekarau , precisely like Yar Adua , did not transform his State enough for anyone to proclaim him an outstanding Public servant . Fashola has had 4 years . So has Chime and Ameachi . Yet Nigerians are united in concluding that those guys did well. I will agree that Shekarau was the most conventionally eloquent of the trio but aggregating their overall scores , as regards pertinent solutions suggested today, with benchmark performance in public office then I would still vote for Buhari or Ribadu. It is instructive for us to note that either Dimeji Bankole or Bukola Saraki would probably have bested the trio of Shekarau, Ribadu and Buhari today. Yet, would we make Bankole or Saraki our President on the strenght of oratory skills alone ?

This debate was about our future as a people,our economy,power,survival,corruption,etc,etc,


DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT ELOQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doyin!:

This debate was about our future as a people,our economy,power,survival,corruption,etc,etc,
DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT ELOQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed . We must praise what this debate represented i.e a further move away from mediocrity and the setting of another successful precedence that will encourage our leaders to improve their skills so that they lead Nigeria better . I praise the participants who took part. They can learn and gain more skills from how they have bravely subjected themselves to public scrutiny while others stayed away.

I was highly disapointed by ribadus answers to the moderator,he cant even make a clear specific points, This is not political.He is fit for security agency but not to head or manage the afairs of nigeria.
Acn made a very big mistake to install him as thier  candidate and  they did install him because of the name he has made as efcc chief but the bottom line is that he is not qualified.
I know we have better and more qualified men and women with wisdom and courage to lead this country to a promise land. For me we should let jonathan last till 2015 and then let him reform the constitution before the nest election.
and lead us to a better party system and more transparent electora process.
jonathan asnt here tonigth but this three folks has nothing to offer.
i am speaking from the bottom of my heart. i have been a though surporter of this ribadu before now that i firstly listen to him, pathatic

from Saharareporters:

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/kano-state-governor-ibrahim-shekarau-chosen-winner-todays-presidential-debate-nn24-tv-chan

ELOQUENCY IS NOT SUBSTANCE AND CANNOT BE SUSTITUTED 4 SUBSTANCE
Submitted by Deeman Mustafa (not verified) on March 18, 2011 - 23:16.
First of all I am highly disappointed in GEJ for not showing up.

As for the debate, Kudos to the organisers and the participants who turned up, this is a good thing as it allows us to match their responses to their action and records so as to reach sound conclusions in deciding what candidate to vote for.

It is good to know that all the candidates present today have head various positions of authority which carries responsibilities and demands results, therefore, i implore my fellow Nigerian citizens to please try and match the contestants responses to their achievements while in their various position of authority as this will give us the best gauge on which to judge them by.

BUHARI-ARMY GENERAL, MINISTER, GOVERNOR, HEAD OF STATE, CHAIRMAN PTF.

RIBADU- ASSISTANT INPECTOR GENERAL, CHAIRMAN EFCC

SHEKARAU- TEACHER, KANO STATE GOVERNOR (TILL DATE)

Buhari has we all know is not an eloquent speaker but is a very high achiever with a very good sense of responsibility and accountability. So please try not to judge him by eloquence alone, do try n understand what message he was trying to pass and match it to his achievements as a minister, governor and head of state. THIS IS A VERY CREDIBLE MAN BY ALL STANDARD

Ribadu is the only one among the contestants whom i can say had to achieve all he did against all odds because this was done under the same set of clowns we are try to kick out today but the man refused to compromise his believes that Nigerians should be rid of corrupt people. It is very discouraging when people complain about him having a go at Buhari during the debate but this is part of what the debates are meant for in the first place (please try watching some clip of the American election debates), we don’t expect him to tell us what we want to hear but the truth. Also some are pointing out that he was loud but i see it as a show of concern for our sinking dear nation. Ribadu by my standard is very qualified and has the energy and drive for the job (PRESIDENT)

Mr SHEKARAU, I have had the privilege of watching him several time on tv (as cool and calm as ever).
I am surprised by the fact that some people are saying that they are seeing and hearing him for the 1st time but yet reaching a conclusion that he is the best man for the job. DONT FORGET that he is the present Kano state governor and has been for 8yrs (is the state anything to write home about). Let me inform you in case you don’t know or remind you in case you have forgotten. this is the same man who rode to power on the popularity of Buhari in his state. The same man who was asked what happened to the state resources after his 1st term and whose response was quote " it was is for public enlighten and awareness", unbelievable, four years for awareness), Yoruba people do say that "when one spends twenty years preparing for madness, imagine how long that madness is going to last for". Have anybody cared to find look into the fact that Mr Shekarau help short-changed the same people he was meant to lead and protect by allowing the giant pharmaceutical company Pfizer to get away with the murder of numerous kano children by using them as guinea pigs for a polio vaccine, the company actually paid a token which cant be categorically said cannot be properly accounted for by the Shekarau led government. All these evident but to mention a few, what is the socio-economic state of Kano today, sure it not worth the asking or has anyone botthered to ask his about the destruction of peoples hard earned properties in the name of SHARIA. Dont be deceived by his calm non-smiling nature, there is more to it than meet the eyes. Shakarau my standard is the least qualified for the job because of lack of achievement in office, shikena. A word is enough for the wise. ELOQUENCY IS NOT SUBSTANCE AND CANNOT BE SUSTITUTED 4 SUBSTANCE.
SO PEOPLE PLEASE DO YOUR HOME WORK ON THESE CANDIDATES.

But I am actually happy that this debate has taken place, now we can put the lights on people like Mr Shekarau and turn up the heat, Let's see if he can stand it. Wish him all the best though.

As for GEJ. Got nothing against you, but we cant afford to gamble on POVERTY DEVELOPMENT PARTY (PDP) for another 4 years. 12 years is no child's play, you know?.

Just watched the debate. Shekauru was really good. I think he is well learned and didn't even speak with much accent. But Buhari was quite strong and cautious. He knows his stuff though,

^^^   good write up to convince those who did not watch the debate  . .  but it doesn't change the fact that Ribadu only sound contribution was about the power sector which he outclassed others hands down, other than that he was just plain ordinary and overly agitated . . . what do you mean by eloquence ? some one who had an excellent medium of communication and had a clear and precise answers to question or some someone with a good mode of communication with absolutely no message passed. if the former is to be used as a good yard stick then Shekarau was the most impressive of all by far except with his comment about the Jos security situation.

What is the essence of a debate if you  fail to convince people of your grasp of the problem on ground, a mark Shekarau addressed well . maybe there shouldn't have been a debate since most people minds were already made up . The recent Gubernatorial debate in Lagos where Fashola showed adequate grasp of what needs to be done and what you refer to as being eloquent was adjudged to win and also the preferred choice to be voted for. So why is the presidential own different ? is it because Shekzy is quite unpopular other than the usual trio .

This goes to Doyin  . . . Post the whole transcript of the debate, let the issues be addressed and stop playing cheap, by just highlighting the few hopeful points the obvious losers made .

Again stop running in circles , they came on air and they disappointed their electorates by failing to live up to their hype except Shekzy . .

and BTW, who the hell are voting GEJ for tactfully evading an annihilation in public glare.

HOnestly I wont vote for GEJ if I were to vote.
He is a disappointment. At this stage, he expects Nigerians to vote blindly? He must be joking!!!!

Doyin!:

This debate was about our future as a people,our economy,power,survival,corruption,etc,etc,


DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT ELOQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where were you since man!
Waiting ages for someone to raise this point.
Its was never about eloquence. Neither can we judge them on this performance
If i remember obama vs mccain had a total of 3 debates 
GEJ on the other hand is neither eloquent nor does he know anything about anything

And by the way i can see from the polls above that his absence impressed 18 re.tards!!

LOL!

We had another very low quality display by men who wish to be president out of desperation only. They revealed their shocking lack of ideological grounding in all issues. Disgraceful.

Lets wait for the traditional BON debate that GEJ will attend, he is the only grounded aspirant.

^^^^

shameless pdp

Beaf:

LOL!

We had another very low quality display by men who wish to be president out of desperation only. They revealed their shocking lack of ideological grounding in all issues. Disgraceful.

Lets wait for the traditional BON debate that GEJ will attend, he is the only grounded aspirant.

You are very very and in the word of Buhari, feri, feri,peri stupiddd.

What do you take us for, mumus?

F[b]u[/b]ck You Beaf

Beaf:

LOL!

We had another very low quality display by men who wish to be president out of desperation only. They revealed their shocking lack of ideological grounding in all issues. Disgraceful.

Lets wait for the traditional BON debate that GEJ will attend, he is the only grounded aspirant.

[size=14pt]HABA BEAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/size]

we are talking issues here and some daft kokomansion ushers are coming to run their empty mouths to advocate for a dull witted coward

gej has disgraced himself in front of nigeria's intellegentsia

several people in my office watched the debate, and they all came back shaking their heads at the absence of the 'dr'

buhari and ribadu are not eloquent, but they still had the guts to come forth.

After careful review of this debate; I am afraid to say that outta over 160 million people in Nigeria, We can only provide these fools that r running for the highest post in Nigeria. The future of Nigeria is dicey. These fools has NADA to offer. May God save Naija!! SMH

Beaf, I'm losing respect.

We asked for a debate and we needed one and we got it.

But shameful my president did not show up but he had time to have an interview with D-Banj. With all honesty I most vote now and I encourage everyone to. Vote out those who think its there God given right to lead us. But dont have the decency on a fair ground to tell us their plan and defend it. This is the biggest insult Mr President(thank God not for long) can give to his citizens.

Buhari we know is totatly against corruption and we believe he would stamp it out. But then what after that, ? I guess that where he freezes. And that to me screams for a big disaster. If we needed a president for 3months to a year I guess he would be the MAN. But this is minimum 4 years.

Ribadu very excited fellow. Seems to know his onions about electricity. On the night what he seemed to have on offer was the fact that he is young. And a child of independence. How do solve the Niger delta issues? Would to discuss and plan(basically no plans yet he doesnt know). He was brilliant at highligting the problems of nigeria, we all know our problems but we need solutions.

Malam IBRAHIM SHEKARAU honestly did not know much about this fellow before the night. How much less think of voting the guy. Without a shadow of doubt was the best on the night. Offered real solutions. And being able to manage Kano state that their has been no crisis for 8 years as governor is impresive to say the least. Especially understanding what Kano was before him and knowing that it was a very volatile state. He has an Igbo man, yoruba man, ijaw man working for him in his state. Kano state!!!!!! You would have thought there is nothing wrong with indigenes having all the key positions in the state. But no this a man with understanding. His closing speech closed it for me.

Nairalanders if we use our heads I strong believe Malam IBRAHIM SHEKARAU is our President. This is a man who can represent on us on the international front with you feeling ashamed. A man with a plan and solutions. Vote wisely whatever you do, do not do not vote Jonathan he does not respect you and does not care what you think.

That's my 2 pence

Beaf:

LOL!

We had another very low quality display by men who wish to be president out of desperation only. They revealed their shocking lack of ideological grounding in all issues. Disgraceful.

Lets wait for the traditional BON debate that GEJ will attend, he is the only grounded aspirant.

In other words,
Without expo - low quality
With expo - high quality
Solo Debate - high quality
Debate amongst several candidates - low quality
Traditional - with questions leaked to the person BON report to - high quality
Welcome, Beaf, the defender of the man with Phd in Solo Debate, Chickening out and Vanishing Arts

PDP just proved they dont need your vote to rule the country. Jonathan didnt show up cus he dosent have anything to say and he cant defend himself. He has been assured by the people around him that come may, he will be the president of nigeria, they would rig him in so why bother showing up to debate. Bear in mind, this same people are the reason nigeria is not progressing, they make money when nigeria is in chaos and disarray.
Albert einstein summed it up. ITS ONLY A FOOL THAT DOES THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULT
Vote sombody else in power, GEJ has the same people that OBJ had around him when he was spending billions in the power sector with no result, same people in minister of works with no road built or repaired. Why would someone expect a different result with GEJ.
Ask urself "what is different between GEJ crew and cronies and OBJ crew and cronies". Nothing.  
Isnt it interesting that GEJ is only talking about building this and building that without talking about how he would fight corruption. With corruption, the money would just dissapear and nothing changes. U have to fight corruption. You fight corruption and everything else falls in line.
but remenber like ribadu said when he was in EFCC. "When u fight corruption, Corruption fights back".  Do u think that GEJ can fight corruption think about that for a sec.

Vote for buhari or ribadu or shekaru or anybody else but pls vote PDP out of power

From President Chickening Out Fb page
Michael Enudi
Our president will prefer an interview from D'banj rather than talk issues with his fellow contestants. See how we derail.


TemiTope Lasisi
Michael, I tire o, And he has even disabled our ability to write on his fb wall, I thot it was "by the people, for the people, to the people", Nawa for this kind democracy o, God dey sha,

Ndu Daniel
Mr president pls tell nigerians why you did not attend the NN2 debate?

It would take all of 4yrs to clean up PDP's mess. He can do it!

You are wrong!!! BON is not a parastatal of Goverment as you claim,you need to get your fact right before misleading people.BON is an unmbrella body for all Private and public broadcasting outfit in Nigeria which includes AIT,Ray power,Silverbird,NTA,Galaxy,Cool FM,DBN etc

Ozin:

You are wrong!!! BON is not a parastatal of Goverment as you claim,you need to get your fact right before misleading people.BON is an unmbrella body for all Private and public broadcasting outfit in Nigeria which includes AIT,Ray power,Silverbird,NTA,Galaxy,Cool FM,DBN etc

Even BON DOES NOT hold the right, or claim to hold sole right to Presidential Debates in Nigeria . . . . . NO ONE GROUP CAN CLAIM OR PRETEND to hold that right. So for a PRESIDENT to pretend a group like that exists is bad enough. Any group out there RIGHTLY registered and licensed ought to be given an EQUAL chance at hosting a presidential debate. NO ONE GROUP should be set above the others BY THE PRESIDENT.

So, Jonathan's reason makes as much sense as rice crispies to pandas. Yes, BON, like any other private organization out there, even universities, has a right to choose to organize a presidential debate. However, the president's excuse is an insult to organizations and their right to equal consideration by their own government.

Ozin:

You are wrong!!! BON is not a parastatal of Goverment as you claim,you need to get your fact right before misleading people.BON is an unmbrella body for all Private and public broadcasting outfit in Nigeria which includes AIT,Ray power,Silverbird,NTA,Galaxy,Cool FM,DBN etc

Kobojunkie:

Even BON DOES NOT hold the right, or claim to hold sole right to Presidential Debates in Nigeria . . . . . NO ONE GROUP CAN CLAIM OR PRETEND to hold that right. So for a PRESIDENT to pretend a group like that exists is bad enough. Any group out there RIGHTLY registered and licensed ought to be given an EQUAL chance at hosting a presidential debate. NO ONE GROUP should be set above the others BY THE PRESIDENT.

So, Jonathan's reason makes as much sense as rice crispies to pandas.

Please you guys should stop wasting your time and energy on Johnny Boy. He is my brother and I know him too well. He was watching last night debate with his tail in-between his legs. He now regrets ever agreeing to come to d BON debate.

I have the feeling the 3 musketeers would likely boycott him henceforth. In fact my Man will fall flat (to Shekarau's firebrand, Ribadu's passion and Buhari's determination) if the debate goes on as planned.

We are in Aso Rock now planning how to quence all the furore this debate thing is generating on our facebook and among the "koko-youths"

4 years ago, channels TV organised a debate amongst the Governorship candidates in Lagos state
It has done so this year for Lagos candidates and I think, in Delta and Abia states
Fashola along with some other candidates in Lagos attended another debate organised by a church in Lagos!
You should be able to debate and answer questions put to you by the electorates

Jonathan says he believes in transformation and ran away to facebook to churn out homilies
suddenly when there is a threat of a debate with direct question with immediate answer required, he now wants a "traditional" debate

Ribadu sounds naive in his responses.
Most of his answers are so simplistic that it is worrying.
Buhari has never been eleoquent so i am not surprised but at least he has realistic plans.