₦airaland Forum

You guys are so unserious!

I'm not entirely for conspiracy theories, but I think these guys make some sense and their story is worthy of a second look and second thought. If indeed cameras are being installed in Abuja then we are indeed in for a raw deal.

For Those Who Have Ears to Hear

https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nigeria012-320x249.jpg By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

I won’t write about Nigeria as a journalist.  I am known in Nigeria as a national security specialist with decades of experience there.

I have close personal friends at the highest levels of government and only write these few words out of deep concern.

For those reading the news about Africa, both of you, Nigeria is under terrorist attack and preparing military operations against a group called Boko Haram, an Islamic group from the North, more accurately centered in Niger, a nation to the north, a cesspool of international intrigue.

From Veterans Today’s London correspondent, a specialist on African affairs:
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Goodluck_Nigeria-320x240.jpg
Jonathan Goodluck[/center]
The article was well written and thoroughly researched although it didn’t go far enough in identifying dealing with the greed of certain establishment figures that may directly or indirectly be involved in some of the atrocities committed by Boko Haram.
[list]
[li]1. The security of the presidency and the entire nation has been greatly compromised by the activities of certain individuals very close to the presidency.[/li]

[li]2. It is common knowledge that the president of Nigeria is not protected at all and you can get at him at any time in or out of his residence.[/li]

[li]3. The security around him is a joke to say the least, contrary to the views of certain individuals around the president.[/li]

[li]4. The issues of government by settlement which had long plagued Nigeria are the orders of the day now where certain individuals are asking for colossal sums of money from certain security consultants to provide training and security equipment to the government.[/li]

[li]5. One individual in particular has been known to collect huge sums of money from these outfits currently parading themselves as security consultants in Abuja[/li]

[li]6. The level of cover and protection given the president and his family is simply laughable and nonexistent[/li]
[/list]

Why has the country been compromised

It is widely known that certain foreign elements are providing security to the president and providing his current security details.

What a joke, you might say. These same foreign elements are the same who have sold outdated equipment to the government and are going around Abuja installing CCTV and bomb detection equipment around the capitol, technology decades old.

Huge sums of money have changed hands for second rate equipment

The government pays for a Rolls Royce car but gets a VW Beetle instead!!

Why is there so much fear and apprehension among Nigerians that the government can no longer protect its citizens?
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Boko_Haram_naijanedu.jpg
Two Nigerian Policemen Caught Bringing In Truckload of Bombs[/center]
What are the costs expended so far on security equipment and the so called security consultants?

Why have certain individuals collected bribe money to award these security contracts at over inflated figures?

Now, this is one example of several of how corruption is endemic and goes to the heart of government.

You may wonder who stands to benefit from these contracts at the expense of the security of the president, the presidency and the nation.

The answers to these questions lies within the presidency itself because of the acts of these individuals in the last few weeks.

There are no real interests to control the activities of Boko Haram because of the vested interests of certain foreign governments in collusion with their agents in the present administration and the country.

To some in government, this is another tool to control certain individuals.

Most Nigerians are cowards, anyway. Kill a few “Nigerians,” “Christians” and make it look like christ6ianity against Islam to provoke a reaction from Nigerians.

If you get no reaction, kill a few more or go after prime targets to grab headlines.

Again, you may ask yourself, who stands to gain when there are terror scares in the country?

Nigerians are highly intelligent and resourceful people and can put an immediate end to all of these happenings when their own status is on the line and their livelihood is at stake or threatened.
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/boko-haram-550x286.jpg
Boko Haram - No Shortage of Unemployed Young Men[/center]
Nigeria has not gotten to that point yet but may soon reach the point of no return.

Sources within the Intel community have confirmed that Boko Haram is getting Intel assistance from senior Nigerian intelligence officials.

To these officials, this is a means to an end.

The danger here is that a monster has been created which sooner or later may go out of control of their political masters.

Certain people are benefiting financially from the current security situation in the country, from inflated security contracts.

One such individual from within the presidency recently placed orders from a North American and Middle East country located near Tel Aviv.

What is the cost of a Nigerian life (Mr.) and how much is it worth to you sir?

[size=13pt]This is the public version of things anyway.  However, outside forces are at play, concerns “from afar” best described in a fictional context.[/size]

H. G. Wells described it best in his science fiction novel, War of the Worlds.

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter…

It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days…Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.”

Thus, fiction again becomes reality, not an enemy from space but one of terrestrial origin, unnamed but recognized by all who see the lands laid waste.
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/josgadabiyu_1.jpg
In Nigeria, Terrorism is the Rough Version[/center]
This organization, call it “globalist” if you want, began orchestrating war in Yemen a bit ago after failing to set war against Iran into motion through incidents in Bahrain and the Persian Gulf.

The “Al Qaeda franchise” in Yemen represents an “understanding” between the current government, the CIA and Mossad to create a simulated terrorist environment as “deception and cover” for a series of other activities in the region. 

There is now, nor has there ever been an organized “pan-Islamic” terrorist presence in Yemen though one has been “simulated” through misleading reports, “false flag” terror and a theatre of “counter-terrorist” activities, drone attacks and such, for no purpose other than to provide a base of operations for a global criminal enterprise.

What we are seeing now in Nigeria is part of the same strategy, one that has included attacks on a physical scale, currency manipulation and now a staged move against Africa, which will be combined with attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities of the Arab Spring, new players, new governments and new greed.

Key Nigerians ripe for bribery are making this possible.  They are aware they are bringing about the destruction of their own nation, they simply don’t care.  The attitude there is “every man for himself.” Another way of describing those currently in power, including and especially officials in counter-terrorism and security is “rats abandoning a sinking ship.”

    In all fairness, the U.S. has a similar elitist clique of politicians, special interest multi-nationals, some of whom have their own intelligence resources that rival most countries.

The terror group, Boko Haram, is real but in its current formation, it is a proxy of  outside powers who plan to Balkanize Nigeria, simply another domino to fall as have so many others.

These Folks are Looking Forward to a Lifetime Career of Fighting

As with any group seeking redress, Boko Haram has been hijacked and is now being directed from within, from without as is the Nigerian government that will be fighting it.

What is playing out, though all are ready to “go through the motions” otherwise, is far more about drugs than anything else.  The Nigerians don’t yet know this or those hands that are out would be more aggressive.

Nigeria, a great playing field, largest in Africa, is the southern flank of an operation that is much more than simply stolen oil revenue and inscrutable games about gas pipelines that never come online.

Drugs are perfection.  If you produce narcotics, you control the land, if you transit narcotics, you control the authorities, if you sell narcotics, you control the courts, the police and, of course, the government itself.

Arms and oil count, money is still worth counterfeiting, oil worth stealing but all this is so “yesterday.”

The real world struggle today is narco-driven, fought from the Kyber Pass to the Mexico-Arizona border and all lands in between.  Nigerians who think “tribal” or “ethnic” will die “regional” and “global,” perhaps by the millions.

This is all little but theatre.  The US bought a ticket to a play staged in Afghanistan and has found themselves unable to find the exit.  This one will be quieter as this is Africa, it will be black people killing black people.  Few will notice, fewer will care.  Those with a stake notice, they care, but their agenda has no room for human life.

Image if Mexico Were Made a Country with the U.S. and Canada - Would it be Realistic to Call it a County?

Nigeria is a tinderbox beyond imagination.  Decades old hatreds and fears are closer to the surface here than even in the Balkans.  This is a very dangerous game some have chosen to begin.

Were they available, and who is to say they aren’t, Nigerians would gleefully use nuclear weapons to settle domestic differences.

Nigeria, is, in itself, a construct that never should have existed.  The North is Muslim, the South is Christian, each side having nearly 100 million people and neither half is united in any way.

Nigeria is a ripe plum for those who recognize such things and recognizing such things is how predators have come to dominate world affairs.

The history after colonial occupation is one of military dictatorship and corruption at levels unimaginable.

Nigeria is Africa, the most populace country, the most oil and gas wealth, the greatest economic potential, the biggest potential market. Thus, Nigeria is a target.

A note from a friend in the region choosing to weigh in with information generally not for public consumption:

“We can take down French AQIM without any problem to be honest but Boko Haram are tribes and clans, they are offered drugs, money etc… far far from Islam but at the origin it was an Islamic party infiltrated by the English, French and financed by the “narcos” linked to the CIA, DEA etc…

… who are landing their planes full of drugs in Niger, Mali, Mauritania, north of Nigeria, Chad in the desert… around 4 billions a year transit in this region…

…then up through Morocco, Polisario, Spain and then Europe and through Tunisia, Libya-Algeria border through Italy, or Greece depending which recipient networks… Ben Ali , king of Morocco, Polisario Front, Algerian zionists are deeply involved in this dirty business, same for migrants, exactly the same people… Boko Haram in charge of Nigeria up to Libya and south of Tunisia, with Touaregs…”

[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Saif-Gaddafi1-150x150.jpg
Saif Gaddafi - Reports Are He is in Niger With Money and Terrorist Groups[/center]
For those unaware, and those who wonder why Saif Gaddafi is where he is, those who choose to be fed the superficial view of a region maps show as only empty desert, I hope this is found to be “enriching.”

For others, it is exposure I hope they find disturbing.

Those in power know I laid out their fate.  I told them when the bombings would start, what type, I was even right about the first target, exactly right.  I figured what I would do and it happened.

I figured what I would do if I were the head of a foreign intelligence agency planning to take over security operations for the government by making the new president appear vulnerable, powerless and then exploiting divisions in the country in order to start two decades of extremely profitable war.

[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/buzzards-008-320x237.jpg
Nigeria's Friends - Congregating to Help?[/center]
In the process, side can be played against side, crooked politicians can keep the decision making apparatus paralyzed and the country can be turned into a terrorist battleground, leading to the long awaited civil war while being bled dry.

I laid the whole thing out.

Two foreign governments are involved, I named them.

I told my friends that Abuja would soon look like Islamabad, cameras, check points, troops, that was the first part of the destabilization plan. This is being done as we speak.

Real nation building is not in the cards, only rape and destruction, debt and more debt.

I saw it done, more carefully, to the United States.  It isn’t the same crew, not entirely, but many of the same actors are involved.

First they began by blocking the new president from assuming real power, buying off key political and military leaders.

Then a phony terror campaign was begun, like the one the US saw with 9/11. Then “they” arrived with solutions.

At the same time, “they,” who have been working with the terror groups for years, are building an “Al Qaeda” type organization that will be able to dart across borders and carefully orchestrate a pattern of destabilization using the same contractors that are going to be paid millions to help put in place security apparatus to protect the country.

This happened in America, in a way at least. It is a plan long in motion.

Who is Going to Invest Here? - Other than Arms Dealers and Oil People?

Nigerians are ripe for civil war, angry, divided, fed up with abuse.

One minor offshoot of the decision making and policy formulation we are seeing is the utter and total destruction of Nigeria’s economic and commercial viability.

It is being erased from the maps of boardrooms across the world as a potential place of business, of development, of wealth creation, from Beijing to Zurich and places beyond.

Christian Nigeria is being set up, not just to fight a “terror group” in the North but to take on all of Islamic Africa, to draw them into a war that will bring more players, America, for one, into another endless cesspool.

Yemen was the model.  Simple tribal misunderstandings became tribal conflict and then, through careful orchestration, bushels of bribe money and false flag terrorism, which Nigeria has already been dosed with, Yemen became the stronghold of an imaginary Al Qaeda cell.

Soon Nigeria will enjoy the sight of armed UAVs, piloted from, just perhaps, Tel Aviv, theoretically there to punish terrorists.  Pakistan will explain it to you if you care to listen.

UAV attacks are how terrorists are recruited, how wars are instigated and how the disjointed and unsettled are turned into an enemy camp.  The presentations have been made and the purchase orders await only the promised “backhanders” or as we call it here, “kickbacks” to be executed.
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Drone_Firing-320x213.jpg
Drone Attacks - Guaranteed to Produce More Enemies Than They Kill - Or Money Back Guaranteed[/center]
Nigeria, I love the damned country, my friends there which include those who theoretically rule the country, if such a thing were possible. It is not.

What I did do is lay out a plan for the first hundred days that would have prevented this.

In order to accomplish this, one would have to overcome a corrupt government, meaning that one would have to assume near dictatorial powers and turn to the people, all the people, for support.

One would have to deliver on promises of electrical power, police reform, refinancing debt, so many things.

There were two choices, one was to build a nation and the other was to react and become the victim of a plot long stewing in two capitols far away.

The desire for a civil war, something so many want in Nigeria, have waited for, has allowed them, the government, the people, to become what they fear most, slaves in their own nation.

Nigeria isn’t Libya.  It has a population 15 times that of Libya.

Nigeria is Africa.  Saving Nigeria was vital to world stability, something only a select few know.

Destroying Nigeria was vital to world entropy, something only a select few know also.  Even fewer know that Nigerian security is considered an area of “clear and present danger” to the United States, or to term it differently for others, an area of “vital national interest.” 
[center]https://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Good-Luck_Obama.jpg
Nigeria is America's Key Link to Africa[/center]
Our armies enjoy joint exercises yearly, Nigeria is the lynchpin of America’s African policy for the next 25 years.

The destabilzation of Nigeria is part and parcel to the destabilization of America’s position in the world, one more thing making Nigeria attractive.

America has spent decades making enemies and Nigeria is a way of helping bury America as is Afghanistan.  Who would wish such a thing?

Get a map and figure it out.

As we speak, planeloads of bomb detection equipment is coming in from the same people who built the car bombs in the first place. War is being planned with the help of those who organized and armed the enemy.

Enough people were there who remember it all being laid out, how it would be done. Predicting this didn’t take genius, not hardly.  I had seen it all before, so many times.

The plots spoken of as against Libya are very real but Egypt and Nigeria are the primary targets, taking the place of Iran, a nation that has been more resourceful than expected.

Were it taught, which it is not, we would call it history.

Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/11/14/nigeria-targeted-for-destruction/?mid=52

[quote author=au.hanson link=topic=804199.msg9573181#msg9573181 date=1321482142]9ijaMan, I had so much hope and expectation in Nig that one day we would finally be freed from d slavery of evil leaders to purposeful visonary leadership and transformation, religion nor ethnicity not withstanding, but it seems like Nig wud never achieve these. From d luk of things u dnt need any prophesy to see d handwriting vividly written, its better I find an alternative to Nig[/quote]I still have hope in the country. Our problems I believe constitute a passing phase in our collective struggle to move the nation forward.

[quote author=au.hanson link=topic=804199.msg9572867#msg9572867 date=1321478850]We've been hoping for too long for this country but if we should fail again ds time around, I have no bizz for Nigeria anymore, cos by anology ds wud be an indication that we can't make it anymore[/quote]I will beg to disagree with you on this. A lot of Nigerians went to the polls to vote based on religion and/or ethnic group and not based on past records of achievements or capabilities of the various candidates. The leaders are not only the problems we have in the country. The followers condone their excesses and then we come back to complain. How on earth would you expect GEJ to perform miracles when he had nothing, I repeat nothing to show for his previous 12 years in government (D-Gov, Gov, VP, Acting Pre. and the President). Unfortunately, religious and ethnic bigotry got us all to where we are today. Reading through posts on NL alone you still see forum members who throw tantrums over whose ethnic or religious group is the best in the country.

The worst part is that some even blame Northerners for every single problems we have as if those in government since the late 70s have changed to date. We still have the Anenihs, the Sarakis, the Tinubus, the IBBs, Atikus, and all those thieving politicians. Interestingly they are all now replacing their aging and idea-less generation with their offspring. There has never been a government in Nigeria where all major tribes are not well represented, hence our problems are not related to our ethnic diversity but a clan of a few cabals who have been in just about every administration even before some of us were born.

Abeg don't give up on Nigeria just yet. The new and young generation should not be misled into the same cesspit which our fathers fell into. This is the 21st century where ethnicity and religion should actually help mold our characters and unify us instead of tearing us apart.

Despite the truth in his words and how sad one should be about the unfolding stacj realities of the GEJ administration. I still could not help but laugh at the folly of the inept leaders we are bestowed with.

[size=15pt]The Penkelemeesi Award For Incompetence By Ayo Turton[/size]
Posted: November 16, 2011 - 17:54
By Ayo Turton

I waited till this morning to pen this article because I wanted to give Mr. President a benefit of the doubt. I thought that by the time I will wake up this morning, heads would have started rolling, starting with the head of the office that coordinated the recently concluded National Honours Award, Mr. Ayim Pius Anyim.

That governance has become an aberration in Nigeria is no longer news, that the level of incompetence in Nigeria is a fit and proper item for the book of heroic failures is not in doubt, but we have just recorded a scary, new and improved abysmally low feat.

If our government was competent, we will not be discussing trillions of Naira in oil subsidy because we will be refining our own oil, I mean, we would not be exporting crude oil only to buy refined oil at exorbitant prices. If we were competent, we would have a functional railway system in a country of 150 million people and other means of transportation that would make road transportation more convenient and our roads last longer, if we were competent we will not be living in darkness in a country that flares about 28.6 million cubic meters of gas daily, in a country with a huge deposit of proven coal reserves, (it is noteworthy that coal is the biggest source of electricity generation in the USA, while fossil fuel otherwise known as petroleum is the biggest source of energy generally speaking, followed by coal. We have both in abundance) in a country located where the sun never ceases shining, in the hot tropical region of Africa, in a new world of solar technology, in a country bounded by a huge body of waters. Name it, we have it all.

If we were competent our leaders would not have to travel out to foreign countries for every medical treatment including stomach upset and headaches despite several billions of dollars we make in oil sales, if we were competent we would not be sending our kids to schools in Ghana spending billions of naira while our own schools are in a state of decrepitude , if we were competent, Lagos-Ibadan-Benin expressway the busiest highway in Africa that connects the biggest city that doubles as the commercial hub of the country with the other parts would not become a death trap under our watch, if we were competent, the second Niger Bridge that would connect a huge part and economically vibrant section of the country with the other parts would have been completed, if we were competent the road that leads to the number one gateway in the country, Murtala Mohammed Airport at Ikeja Lagos would not contain such huge craters, some big enough to swallow a D10 caterpillar, while we make pretences to promoting tourism, if we were competent that same airport will not remain in a state of disrepair without a single improvement since constructed 33 years ago, if we were competent, armed robbers will not reign supreme in the land, sometimes holding a whole street hostage for hours without any presence of security officers.

If we were competent we would not eat the hide and skin that we produce in abundance as “ponmo” or “show boy” or “azuanu” and then import processed leather materials from Italy. If were competent, individual citizens would not have to dig bore holes as the standard way to supply water into their houses, if we were competent we will not be blessed with such a huge body of fertile land and still be hungry, if we were competent our judiciary the last bastion of the common man against injustice will not be in such a pathetic state where justice has become cash and carry service. Yes we are already notorious for ineptitude, everywhere you look in Nigeria incompetence stares you in the face.

But just when you thought you have seen it all about gross inefficiencies at the different levels of governance in Nigeria; at the time we are still battling the unconscionable attempt to make us pay for government inefficiencies in the oil industry, then came this bombshell, we ran out of medals at the National Honours Awards ceremony, oh my gosh! what a peculiar mess! Yoruba people call it penkelemeesi. May the soul of Adegoke Adelabu, the man who that word was attributed to rest in peace.

It is enough embarrassment that the name of the present Inspector General of Police and the rest of the Security Chiefs are included in the national award, at a time their competence has been challenged by the National Assembly by summoning them to a meeting over the state of insecurity in the country, people under whose watch some ragtag religious fundamentalists have made life unbearable for us and we are yet to find a solution. It is enough disappointment that a woman who was impeached for incompetence as a State House of Assembly Speaker and all kinds of strange characters that we have nothing worthwhile to attribute to them in national development were included in the award. When you look at the names of the Governors given awards and the name of Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State who is reputed to be the best performing Governor in Nigeria as of today is missing, when credible Nigerians like Prof. Chinua Achebe rejects the award; the credibility of the award is already in tatters.

But the real national embarrassment is that Federal Government ran out of medals to give to the awardees, they did not have enough! Some will have to wait and get their own medals later. I guess they gave out more awards than the amount of medals they could afford. Are you kidding me? This reveals the abysmally low standard by which we are governed. Now that we know that there is nobody in the Office of Secretary to the Federal Government that can count up to 350, we need to sack all of them and replace them, let us replace the Secretary with Eni-Ibukun my 4 year-old son, I swear, that guy can count up to 400. This is a monumental embarrassment to every one who is known as a Nigerian.

Now I am really, really scared because I read it somewhere in the newspapers that Nigeria is toying with the idea of building Nuclear Power Plants in the country, I say hell no! We could not maintain common government buildings, airports, railways, schools, roads, water dams, even keep proper accounts of how much we export daily in crude oil and we are talking about building Nuclear Power Plants? When countries like USA and Japan are considering closing down theirs because of the danger they may constitute? It is scarier now that we know that our Secretary to the Federal Government cannot even count 1, 2, 3 …up to 350, we yell a resounding hell no! Not in my lifetime! Not until our President is ready to commit mass murder on the citizenry, they must make sure to site one in Otuoke, one in VP Namadi Sambo’s village and another one in Senate President David Mark’s town, just not in my backyard! Nuclear plants ko, Atomic flowers ni.

Ayo Turton is a US based Lawyer.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/article/penkelemeesi-award-incompetence-ayo-turton

These are the words of a typical hypocrite!

How Jonathan Got His GCFR-Reuben Abati
Posted: November 16, 2011 - 15:47

https://saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/page_images/articles/2011/reuben_abati%20.jpg?1321455093
Reuben Abati

By Rueben Abati
Whoever came up with that explanation about how President Goodluck Jonathan got his GCFR – the highest national honour in the land a few days ago must be thoroughly disingenuous. It is as follows. The setting was the last meeting of the Council of State. Someone had proposed that the President should take the GCFR title. He already has the GCON.

He reportedly demurred citing an extant law (possibly the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964) which says only a sitting President can confer the title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic or Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on another. A former Chief Justice of the Federation, Alfa Belgore then advised that his was a special case in the sense that he, Jonathan, took over from a dead President. But so did Obasanjo in 1976.

In 1983, Buhari deposed a sitting President. And so did Babangida in 1985. Abdulsalami Abubakar also succeeded a dead President. But everyone at the meeting, particularly the state Governors felt persuaded that Jonathan should take the GCFR. They then started begging the man. “Please Your Excellency”; “Please Sir, GCON is too small for you.” They begged. Oh, how they begged! Imagine all those big men begging one man to become a GCFR; and so, Dr. Jonathan, ever-so-humble, capitulated.
How could the President taking a GCFR title have created so much drama at a meeting of the Council of State? Why couldn’t such trifle wait?  All of a sudden, President Jonathan who in 30 days had clearly demonstrated that he is in charge and in power was no longer in charge. His award of a GCFR was signed by all former Heads of State, with General Gowon saying: “we signed it”. Under what authority was he and his colleagues acting? They have no such powers. And how many more actions would the President be persuaded to take due to overwhelming pressure, or expediency, but more because of his failure to obey his own moral intuition? The President is the highest authority in the Council of state and so, all that contrived histrionics notwithstanding, the truth is that President Jonathan after only 30 days in office has conferred upon himself the highest honour in the land.
The Council of State is, in a strict sense, an advisory body. It is a creation of the Third Schedule Part 1, Sections 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution. Section 6(a)(iii) defines the role of that Council in relation to the “award of national honour,” and nowhere is it stated that former Heads of state can constitute themselves into a superior authority conferring National Honours on a sitting President. Whatever General Gowon and co may have signed is therefore inappropriate, if not illegal. Arthur Schopenhauer is right: “Honour is on its objective side, other people’s opinion of what we are worth; on its subjective side, it is the respect we pay to this opinion.” (Position, 1851).This raises an inevitable moral question: should President Jonatahn award himself the highest honour in the land? The honour that he should seek is not an additional suffixation to his name but such general opinion which by the end of his tenure would advertise his deeds and achievements in office as truly deserving of honour and celebration and a place in the people’s hearts and memory. General Sani Abacha also had a GCFR. Does anyone today think that he truly deserved it? Every Inspector General of Police in recent times has had a National Honour while in office. If anyone is looking for a list of those who have damaged Nigeria in the last 50 years, the place to begin the search is the National Honours List.
This is perhaps why most Nigerians are indifferent about the National Honours system. It does not change anyone’s opinion about the character of the title-holder. It does not attract a salary or a lifetime pension. It probably allows access to the VIP lounge at the country’s airports. But anyone with a couple of thousand Nairas can also use the VIP lounge. And what manner of man or woman is that who rather than pay a token sum for an hour of comfort, waiting to catch a flight, would insist on waving a medal? Still, we should not make light of it. The concept of honour is at the heart of society. Men from time immemorial have craved it. They would kill for it, if possible, go to war, and risk all. Honour is an intangible asset; it is about prestige and self-worth. But that prestige must be seen to have been earned, to have been worked for, such that it inspires the admiration of the community. Like Akintola Williams, CBE; I.K. Dairo, MBE. Each year when the Queen’s Honours’ List is announced in Great Britain, the award is taken seriously; it is an advertisement of the British value system: merit, achievement, international diplomacy. It is not every British Prime Minister that is on the Queen’s Honours list. It is not an entitlement list reserved for anyone and everyone in public position.
Here lies an instructive difference: the Nigerian National Honours list is driven by an entitlement mentality. The day Namadi Sambo became Vice President, he was automatically decorated with a GCON, the second highest honour. As soon as Senator David Mark became Senate President, he also got one of the country’s high honours. Every year, state Governors nominate their friends, family, contractors who donated money to their political campaigns, and traditional rulers who helped to deliver the votes. A few persons of substance show up on the list, but you really have to scratch your head to figure out why certain names have been considered worthy. Because of the emphasis on entitlement and patronage, the award ceremony is ever so bland; the citations say nothing significant.
A review of the National Honours Act and system is overdue. Nigeria must be probably the only country where people are given national honours for work not done, or in anticipation of what they would achieve. National honours should be reserved for those who through hardwork and extraordinary achievement have helped to raise the Nigerian profile and its place in the world. If this be the case, the highest honours in the land should be reserved for the Wole Soyinkas, the Kayode Esos, the Chinua Achebes, the Chukwudifu Oputas, the Joystick Tigers, the Fela Kutis, the Margaret Ekpos, inventors, entrepreneurs, great promoters of the Nigerian dream, including the honest average Nigerian, but not politicians and their sponsors, not every civil servant who manages to get to a certain position, not coup plotters, not traditional rulers, not government contractors and certainly not similar rent collectors.

President Jonathan missed a good opportunity to raise the standard on the award of national honours by quickly promoting himself to the GCFR rank. This is reminiscent of the military era and the vaingloriousness of the political elite. When the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was decorated with the same GCFR on the day he assumed office, by the then outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo,  he had remarked that he would have preferred getting such high honour after his tour of duty as President. It was a useful point. Once more, President Jonathan has failed to eschew the business-as-usual syndrome. I should not be surprised if in due course, the Council of Traditional Rulers unleash all kinds of chieftaincy title offers on him, including that notorious, eponymous one in Yorubaland: OTUNBA. He would of course, demur. But the Council of chiefs from this or that community will beg him. And beg him. And of course, he will accept. The moment may also soon arrive when some Nigerians will beg the President to run for office in 2011. And they will beg and beg. And of course, he will accept. That after all, is the story of how Jonathan got his GCFR.

Reuben Abati was the Guardian newspaper editorial board chair when he wrote this last year

Source: http://saharareporters.com/article/how-jonathan-got-his-gcfr-reuben-abati

r231:
cus of the update we are still deciding whether to go ahead or not

Chief a house over their head is simply part of the problem solved. I'll give Jarus a call and hopefully make my donations through him. In any case, you guys have done a great job so far.

Kobojunkie:
The above is a prime example of the state in which many a Nigerian exist in. There is no care at all for the lives lost in all the senseless violenc. What this one seems to be saying is that since WE MADE THE MISTAKE OF ALLOWING THIS IN THE PAST, WE OUGHT TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW IT EVEN NOW THAT WE KNOW BETTER . . . . This is the sort of person who goes out to vote for "CHANGE" in Nigeria. https://images-1.findicons.com/files/icons/1045/blacyblacy/128/29.png

I laugh in igbira, !

kurus:
In 3 lifetimes of yours, you'd still be hard pressed to hold a candle to me in just one lifetime. This is my last post to you.

Nice to know you can give it but would not like to receive, ! Next time make you look face (read name) before you try to start throwing insults.

[quote author=au.hanson link=topic=804199.msg9572648#msg9572648 date=1321477046]Yes! The problem is the system not GEJ, I would only be disapponted cos I expected so much from Him, d magic to perform and transform etc. Perhabs we almost forgot that He,s not God but mere mortal.Also,perhabs His so call advisers r not doing a good work other than setting Him up; perhabs He's only being too careful not to act in error but learning from His mistakes that He should have been faster than this, Perhabs He's going to surprise us very soon, I still dnt want to believe that I voted Him in error, else, I would be very disappointed and would'nt go to d polls again in ds country,  We r all expecting Him to wake up and use all d veto power we accorded Him and transform this country, we dnt want ds excuses anymore, d power is within Him,He must use it,and use it well; else posterity will never forgive Him for disappointing us[/quote]I think it's high time you recognized your mistake and move on. There's no gainsaying that GEJ is indeed an error. If you haven't realized that by now (almost 2 full years into a GEJ led administration) then I do not know what else you may have failed to realize.
Please do not let the failure of GEJ scare you away from the polls. If we all decide to stay away from the polls how then can we ever be able to truthfully elect a God fearing, honest and firm leader who will lead our nation to the right path? Abeg don't quit on Nigeria now o!

@Gbawe,
Thanks for spanking that cry-baby and putting him in his place. As typical of Beaf he'll jump from one thread to the next once he's been silenced and often times comes back under another username to make it seems he has more dullards supporting his myopic bigoted views.

kurus:
Bigoted and myopic comments? You're a silly cad for saying that. Ain't you d goat promising to hunt down those who see Buhari for the Islamic di-ck he is? That's was 2 comments ago from you!  Don't you read what you post? Malu like u !

Haven't you just proved to us all that you really lack comprehension? I'm really sorry for those who spewed you into this world. They have indeed wasted their time, money and energy. Your case is indeed beyond redemption just like the dolt you are blindly supporting.

kurus:
The days of goodwill hunting are over. You or Buhari or SLS or other bleeping al qaeda wannabes ain't gonna get there. Let me speak simpletonese for you: GEJ rules till 2019 and ibo man till 2027. Sharia states of d north breaks off within this period.  Middle belt is with the south now. theyre tired of your vampirish ways.  No one wants d bloodsuckers again. Even jos people don tire for una. Adamawa, taraba, benue, kogi, plateau, even south kaduna don't want d vampires no more.

Deal with it

Another product of a wasted generation. I really no blame you, with the level of decay PDP brought into our education system, one should not be surprised at such bigoted and myopic comments from your likes.

I posted this on the other thread.

Thanks r231 for bringing this to my notice. Please provide a bank account (preferably GTB) into which I can make some donations.

Thanks r231 for bringing this to my notice. Please provide a bank account (preferably GTB) into which I can make some donations.

eGuerrilla:
First we informed  then subsequently assured only to learn from a newspaper published online - theWILL
Taking stock, one has got to ask why the wheels of progress turn so slowly in Nigeria?

Why is the FGN so reticent about naming and persecuting local collaborations/sponsors who they know to exist?

Why leave the task of naming unnamed sources who finger a foreign sponsor to theWILL?

Because theWILL is one of the main GEJ propaganda machines! If you search through the posts most of GEJ's cronies on NL, particularly Beaf, their source have always been the same theWILL. I'd advice you not to worry your head to much 'cos we'll have a new twist and version by next week.

Thank GOD the plea bargain has been struck out of the 9ja legal system. At least this thieving pastor will not be able to spend his jail term on a hospital bed.

BootyOnMe:
I love this man!

He is so right. Nigeria is not safe for Nigerians. . .Only visitors.

My thoughts too!

Interestingly, Nigeria is neither safe for foreigners nor Nigerians o!

cjfavour:
why will GEJ continue to embarras 9ja? begging boko haram a terrorist group with al qaede link? ppl who have shed innocent blood just because of religion. GEJ PLS STOP THIS INSULT.IF YOU ARE TIRED OF RUINING SORRY LEADING 9JA JUST STEP DOWN. TO ME THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THIS MENANCE IS SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE. IT WILL ENABLE THE NORTHERNERS TO GO and establish sharia in d whole of north.

You made some sense except for the part where you displayed utter bigotry. In anycase, I agree with you that GEJ should simply throw in the towel.

francisj:
GEJ : it not too late to lay it down and come back home

BH : i say ,come and take it !

GEJ : I promise to forgive u for all the killing and bombing so am giving u another
last chance.

BH : seem u are not ready but u can come and get it anytime u are ready !


he-he-he ,funny

You are just too funny.

Yet again another post form a GEJ apologist. When UMYA was AWOL in Saudi Arabia people like you never blamed the system. When OBJ ransacked Odi and Zaki biam no one metioned the system. When MEND was terrorizing the nation including setting off bombs in Abuja and the south-south region of the country, no one mentioned system. All of a sudden the system now becomes the culprit because it is a taboo to blame the inept dullard of a president in Aso Rock aka GEJ.

By the way you don't need up to 3 years t show Nigeria that you can set us back on the right path. Every sensible Nigerian knows what our problems are, so no need to waste precious time using candle light to search for the genesis of our woes. We don't need a leader who's all mouth and talk but no action. We need people who have high moral integrity and steely resolve to push forward the numerous solutions (which we've outlined countless of times) to move the nation forward.

Please for God's sake let's stop the BS of "it's the system"!

Reuben Abati of NL aka Beaf is trying to pull a fast one again. The BKH sponsors are not only Nigerians now but an ex-president of a country that is thousands of miles away from 9ja. These GEJ clowns no go kill person o!

danjohn:
At least he is not telling us to pray for Boko Haram members to confess.

On this one I agree totally with you.

In anycase, na another mouth service wey GEJ just dey render.

If, according to BEAF, CPC members of the Senate were the ones who raised the issues, it seems those Senators and their party are just about the only sensible ones in the Senate. Just imagine a Senate without the CPC guys!

Mr Abati of NL (aka Beaf) you goofed again on this one. What I expect the CPC guys to do next time is to move for the impeachment of that inept fisherman in Aso Rock.

It must be really terrible being Beaf o!

kurus:
In case y'all didn't get the memo, here the summary of it: never again will a bin laden wannabe like SLS, Buhari, shekarau, ribadu, et al are getting to d presidency until 2023.

Dreams only come thru on Disney channel, so you're better off advising SLS to turn to acting now, seeing all his experience wrt pseudo banking cleansing he's done with over 1 trillion naira has not changed d rot in naija banking

And when he or someone like him becomes the president, it'll do you and your likes a lot of good to simply go hang yourselves! You know why? 'Cos you'll be hunted down like rabbits!

guonno:
Achebe, chineke gozie gi maka na ineme ihe o choro na obodo Naijeria. Shameless govment, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. GEJ wants achebe 2 accept an award in a country were a president sleeps with his son's daughter to award her contracts she knows notin about?, a country where the court has not come up with the shamless unarmed robber- bankole's verdict ? Most nigerian business mogul had stolen lots of money from nija (OBJ's family case is a revelation), so y should these moguls be put on the same list with CHINUA ACHEBE? THATS LIKE ASKING ACHEBE TO SWIM IN A POOL OF WORM - TUFIAKWA!. These moguls loot funds that are meant for; health care, education, infrastructure, etc. But dont forget that when they fall sick, they treat at private or foreign hospitals. I saw a two year old baby whom had no blood because of cronic maleria. Do u blieve some nigerians cant afford N300 artesunate, suprised?, when u visit a medical center then u will understand better the sufferings nigerians are passing through. I served nigeria (NYSC) in a company where chinese expatriates are final year students in their country, shameful?, [color=#990000][/color]

Your last line in bold almost made me to breakdown in tears!

Rgp92:
why must you niggas pray instead of working

Rgp92:
https://www.eatliver.com/img/2009/3843.jpg

Thanks o Rgp92! This has always been my mantra. Nigerians are always full of prayers with no actions. We always want God to do everything for us while we sit our fat a.sses down doing nothing.

That's definitely the plan GEJ and his cronies have. Taking us baward 10 years will simply make it easier for them to rig again and return back to power for another useless 4 years, 'cos most Nigerians would have become dumber. They'll be so dumb that they'd not be able to differentiate between good and bad acts of governance.

I feel you bro.

Yet another blunder from GEJ and his boys!

Your prayers seem to have been rejected o! Johny boy is performing wonders!