₦airaland Forum

I am not supporting greed, but whenever I contributed to any threat, it is because I am convinced that I can make an intelligent contribution and not simply swim along the tide of popular opinion. Concerning the topic of discussion, I am not sure if most of the folks making comments on this thread actually know how Oceanic Bank came into existence. Prior to going public, Oceanic Bank was 100% the exclusive property of the Ibru family. If anything, it is the corrupt system that permitted an individual or a family to own 100% stake in an enterprise of great monumental importance to the economy and the society that is to blame.

How Israelis See Obama
BY AMJAD ATALLAH, DANIEL LEVY | DECEMBER 11, 2009

Perhaps a U.S. president's approval rating among Israeli citizens is somewhat trivial. After all, Barack Obama's re-election will be decided in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, not in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Netanya. Nevertheless, the notion persists that a U.S. president's approval rating in Israel can significantly affect his ability to conclude a comprehensive peace agreement. That is why Obama's alleged rock-bottom 4 percent approval rating among Israelis -- a result within the margin of error -- has become cause for concern.
More,  In fact, however, the number is a red herring. Our own survey results suggest that the stalemate in the peace agreement has little to do with Israeli perceptions of Obama -- which are far more favorable than one might think -- but is actually more deeply linked to Israeli complacency and comfort with the status quo.
The 4 percent figure , now a ubiquitous marker of Obama's failure in the Middle East, originally came from a Jerusalem Post survey this summer. But it wasn't an approval rating. The survey question asked whether Israelis believed Obama was "more pro-Israel," rather than "more pro-Palestinian" or neutral. The Western media have adopted this statistic (as in this recent New York Times editorial) often to argue that the president doesn't have the Israeli support necessary to bolster his efforts in the peace process.

Culled from foreignpolicy.com. Read the rest article from here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/12/11/how_israel_sees_obama?page=0,0

Those asking for source of the decline in Obama's popularity/ratings among the Jews, check this out:

http://www.israelforum.com/blog_article.php?aid=2473239

The guy known as texazzpete is an Israeli apologist. If you want to confirm this, go back and read most of his post when the discussion centered on Israel.

For a number of years, passengers at Schiphol flying to the United
States have been subjected to intense grilling by security personnel
linked to an Israeli firm.

TRUE [/B]

US bound passengers at Schiphol are asked a number of personal questions, including where
they have stayed either in the Netherlands or in their country of origin

[b]TRUE

Airport security in Amsterdam is contracted to an Israeli controlled company

NOT SURE, BUT HIGHLY PROBABLE

with, not only the most sophisticated technologies, but, in fact, the company that had developed the concept of security profiling.

TRUE

I have had a stop-over in Amsterdam from Nigeria to US and picked up a connecting flight from Schiphol airport and I can confirm that I was grilled by the security personnel, even with US passport.

oyb:
with the picture of abdulmutllab fiasco, they lost any credibility they may have had.

have they issued an apolpgy ?

i hope y'all realise it could just as well have been the picture of any of us they released to the world as a terrorist.

What credibility? Since when has publishing pictures as part of information dissemination become a taboo! You are entitled to your opinion but have you forgotten so soon that Umaru Mutallab deliberately drew the attention of the world to himself by his singular and unpopular act to kill innocent peoples? It is our collective responsibility to expose dangerous elements in our society if we must make progress as a nation. Attitude like yours foster criminality. I don't think Umaru Mutallab deserves to have his identity hidden from anyone.  He made himself the cynosure of all eyes for his devilish act. Are you saying the world will not get his picture one way or the other? You may argue that posting Umar picture offended your sensibilities but that argument sounds puerile.

I think you guys are just peddling rumors, unfounded rumors. First, we now know, if we were not aware before her death, that Maryam was betrothed to IBB in 1969. Second and I know for a fact, that those two songs composed by Bongos Ikwe, were released in the late seventies.

As far as I am concerned, I think Sahara Reporters are doing a marvelous job with their fearless brand of journalism. Driven by a burning fire of patriotism, SR seeks to expose corruption and graft with a view to reducing their incidence and influence in our body politic. They also provides a platform for commentators to express their views on the issues of interest and the ills plaguing the country, and by so doing, they are sensitizing Nigerians to give those corrupt leaders a piece of their mind, which I am sure they read. If anyone thinks they don't read articles poster on SR website, the person is mistaken. For proof, read this:

Yesterday, our efforts to speak with Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, degenerated into a fight as she lashed out at Saharareporters for placing a supposedly uncomplimentary photo of her on our website.  She told our reporter that she thought after she wrote a rejoinder regarding the NTA  8.2 billion scam, she had a “deal” with us.

http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4688:2009-12-31-21-44-48&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18
If anybody feels SR is bad, don't just say they are bad. Give reasons why you feel they are bad.

Born Maryam Okogwu to Hajiya Asabe Halima Mohammed from the present Niger State and Mr. Leonard Nwanonye Okogwu from Asaba in Delta State, her schooling was in Kaduna, Queen Amina College, and the Federal Training Centre, both in Kaduna. She also studied Secretarial Studies at LaSalle University Chicago, USA.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/28/adieu-nigerias-first-lady/

Did you guys listen to the argument of China? Why rush to judgment based on the account of the British alone? There is a law in China which prescribes death penalty for drug pushers. Why must they change their law because a British subject was involved? They never changed it for their own citizens who ran foul of the law. The British will never allow meddlesomeness in their internal affairs from any country but they are doing same thing to China. That is double standard.
BBC reporters tasked the spokesman of the British Foreign office if their stand on this matter was not based on the role China played in the botched Climate conference in Copenhangen which failed to produce the desired result. The spokeman denied it but it is believed that the denouncement and vilification of China on this matter using abuse of human rights as a subterfuge played a role in this matter. Everybody is aware that China is strict when it comes to enforcement of its laws. The man was not of unsound mind when he took 4,030 g of heroine to China but when he was caught, he, his people and Britain were asking for leniency and pleaded the man has mental illness. The Chinese said the heroine he smuggled into their country is capable of destoying the lives of about 26,800 people. Corrupt people are subject to execution in China when caught in the act: that is why the level of corruption is very low in China.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Akmal-Shaikh-Executed-In-China-As-Britons-Death-Sentence-Approved-By-Supreme-Court/Article/200912415509509?lpos=World_News_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15509509_Akmal_Shaikh_Executed_In_China_As_Britons_Death_Sentence_Approved_By_Supreme_Court

It is very sad but it is a true reflection of the level of corruption and the lack of values, ethics and moral rectitude which has permeated the entire fabric of the nation. The point I am making is that almost all folks, with the exception of a minority, will do the same, given the same opportunity and power as Cecilia Ibru once wielded. If you disprove, look at this roll-call of professions in Nigeria, find where you belong, and tell the world that the profession or vocation is not tainted by one form of corruption or the other:
Civil servants, bankers, teachers, custom officers, postal workers, smugglers, immigration officers, SSS, police rank and file, journalists (brown envelope pushers), stock exchange dealers, bureau de change operators, micro finance lenders, EFCC operatives, judges (i.e. Awokulehin & Co), justices, INEC (chairman, resident commissioners and ground workers) political god-fathers, local government chairmen, local government councilors, senators, representatives in both national and state assemblies, senate president, speakers (the states and NASS), lawyers, soldiers and army officers, gas station attendants, mechanics, bus conductors and drivers, lecturers, VCs, pastors, alfas, president, ministers, politicians, governors, commissioners, presidential advisers, students, kidnappers, armed robbers, NNPC staff, market men and women whether at Oshodi or Alaba or whatever, chemists, drug barons, drug pushers, drug manufacturers (especially my pikin manufacturers), credit card fraudsters, ATM fraudsters, pure water dealers, and many others.

Corruption is evil. It is responsible for our battered image as a country internationally. We all must look into the mirror and change our ways. It is not sufficient to castigate one person. It is collective guilt.

For the students out there, help is available online for some of your educational problems. Check it out, you will not be dissapointed.
Happy new year 2010.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Salam,
Bro Salman Khan, a former hedge fund analyst turned online tutor, has produced more than 1,000 YouTube videos ranging from basic multiplication of fractions to polynomial approximation of functions.
Spread the words around.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy#p/c/9ECA8AEB409B3E4F/0/GtaoP0skPWc

ICPC was established by the ICPC Act of 2000. Read the Act here: http://www.icpc.gov.ng/act.php. You can also access the commission's web page from the same URL.

I think OBJ's intention in setting up the ICPC and EFCC was suspect. He wasn't really interested in reigning in on sleaze and corrupt malpractices which explains why the two agencies, especially ICPC, have performed woefully in the discharge of their statutory obligations. He more or less used the institutions, especially EFCC as instruments of vengeance and selective prosecution of his perceived enemies within his political family (to keep them in check when they question his authority) to the total exclusion of corrupt people in other parties. My submission is subject to debate but that is how I feel about OBJ and his so called battle about corruption.

The VP presently resides in Akinola Aguda house which was renovated in 2007 along with the senate president's (at a cost of 400 million naira) and the speaker's house (earmarked for 628 million naira) which eventually led to the sack of Patricia Eteh as Speaker.
In living up to its tradition as the haven or the nest of sleaze and corrupt malpractices, the Federal Government has decided to build new residences for the speaker, the senate president in addition to the one being planned for the VP. According to the Punch newspapers, when Adamu Ailero was asked why new residences are being proposed for these three, he said that "the existing residences for NASS top functionaries in Apo Village can no longer shield them from the general public." Incredible!
The wastage is not limited to the construction of new residences for the top NASS people. The useless Federal Government through the Minister of Finance, Muktar, is proposing to buy four new jets for the Presidential Air Fleet at a cost of 31.5 billion ($210 million) at this period of economic downturn when there is paucity of funds for critical development projects.
Why not these allocations be diverted to the construction of a first-class hospital which will serve all Nigerians? If the leaders can afford to go abroad for medical treatment at the slightest sign of headache, what about the rest of the population who have no access to steal money like them? Why must the resources of all be expended on only a few? Why? Why? Why? The annoying thing is the NASS who is expected to act as a check on the excesses of the executive is not alive to its responsibility. If anything, they are accessory and partners in looting the treasury and would only rubber stamp the budget without questioning the rationale of the projects.
Nigeria is blessed with leaders who have no modicum of shame and sense of guilt. Must we allow their thieving rendezvous to continue unchecked? I don’t think so. Therefore, the time to checkmate their excesses is now. Delay may be injurious to our corporate existence as a nation.

Inspiring account of a former christian minister who reverted to Islam


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYMKQKSV0bY&feature=related

This is not good for Nigeria's image in the comity of nations: A nation being bandied about as unserious, without direction and purposeful leadership. But does the corrupt politicians really give a hoot? 

Read the story here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126058305365988411.html

Read the story here:
http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2231:17-pro-ladoja-politicians-die-in-ghastly-auto-crash&catid=41:latest-news&Itemid=26

MUZBO:
Let them stop visiting him. Some of these Govs may inject poisons into his drips and turn him into a vegetable for selfish reasons.

In advanced countries, CCTV and security cameras are installed at strategic places including hospitals to monitor events and keep watch over people with criminal motives. So let them continue to visit Mr. Yaradua, they can't inject him with poison.

The ad is nothing but a promo for IDENTITY GUARD, one of the sprawling businesses that seek to protect/safeguard people from identity theft especially from e-commerce transactions. The reason why Lagos, Nigeria was brought into the picture was because Nigeria is a hotbed and has gained international notoriety for internet fraud. The label the western world has given to Nigeria as a nest for internet fraudsters fit into the advert tag line or if you like, the catch-phrase to draw people's attention to its campaign. In this ad, IDENTITY GUARD is simply saying 'come do business with us - we are offering a service, to wit, an assurance that your identity as a shopper online is protected if you partner with us for a fee’. The fee is usually a monthly fixed charge.

IDENTITY GUARD is using the ad to solicit for business, telling patrons to go on shopping spree on the Web without fear that their private information/identity (i.e. credit card information and social security numbers) will be stolen by some bums and scammers in Lagos, Nigeria.  With the advent of Internet and e-Commerce, identity theft has constituted an impediment to the realization of the full potential of Cyberspace as the greatest market known to mankind. Identity theft is a great problem in the US, and many people's credit history (and lives) has been destroyed as a result. Simply put, IDENTITY GUARD is using the ad to position themselves as a formidable player in the identity theft protection industry after market leader like LIFELOCK Identity Theft Protection.

In this information age, all we need is access to the Internet, a Computer and few minutes of our time to spare to do some research to get the information we are looking for. Somebody suggested you eat fruit and vegetables; the vegetable he is recommending is not served in many Nigerian restaurants. It is not what we know it to be in Nigeria. Check out this webpage for help: http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm

This is a lecture by Brother Shuaib Webb who was invited from California to our Islamic community in Lansing MI, to speak to Muslim American Youths (MAS). Brother Shuaib sojourn in life is an example of when there is a will there is a way. Brother Shuaib is a white American who was formerly a DJ before embracing Islam. He trained and become versatile in Islamic jurisprudence in Middle East. He is very fluent in Arabic language and is blessed by Allah with good command of English and Arabic languages.
As they say the mind is a terrible thing to waste. Please watch the videos with an open mind and enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSLzwDGgHgs

@ Abuzola,  The video was meant for brothers and sisters to watch and use for dawah. "I" in the caption of the title of the thread is not referencing me but someone else. JazakallahuAkhir.
I have more videos to share which I will be posting shortly.

Watch this video with an open mind


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjKGlNVmnqc&feature=player_embedded

It is people like Atiku who bankrupted Spring Bank. And the man is not smart at all for thinking that people will believe the story he concocted.

Recognise,

The caption of your story is misleading - and I think it was deliberate to draw people to the thread. It is surely good news and a giant step towards tolerance and peaceful co-existence. But don't believe it is done for free, because this is America and as they say in America, there is no free lunch. The use of the hall will be compensated for in cash.

Finally the chicken is coming home to roost for the pastors, and as they say, nemesis will catch up with them. It is good news that people are gradually seeing the pastors for what they are - "frauds" - preying on the intelligence of people and using religion as bait to hoodwink their congregations.

KunleOshob:
As i said earlier your source quoted out of context and since youhave graciously conceded to us making an example of just one of the 33 scriptural manipulations by your source i would do justice to it. Firstly i would reproduce the verses here so everybody can make informed judgements
Luke 2:21:
21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived
Galatians 5:2-4:
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.

It is quite clear form the above passage what paul was saying, and that is that contrary to the jewish law it is not compulsary for christians to be circumcised to be right with God. He never said it was wrong for one to be circumcised. I know you guys would jump at any opportunity to quote the bible out of context but I must mention it is poor scholarship and it smirks of deceitfulness to take that approach. You should learn to be more honest in your submissions and not just regurgitate what an ill informed muslim pastor with ulterior motives posted on the internet without you actually verifying it whether it is true or not.

KunleOshob,
You sounded more refined and convincing than some bum who is not schooled in the ethics of engaging people of divergent opinion.  But just that you may know, I was only interested in knowing why there were irregularities in the messages conveyed by both arrow heads of Chistianity, Jesus and Paul, not to disparage your religion because I wouldn't like you to insult my religion, since you were always in the forefront fending off attacks on your religion. Also know that the man who pointed out the inconsistencies was a never a Muslim. His name is a Femi Aribisala, a pastor. I am doing research on the Church he attends. Meanwhile, he has another bombshell: David did not kill goliath! Check it out in Next - What say you?
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5451614-146/David_did_not_kill_Goliath_.csp

What else can I say! This government keep on stepping on banana peels all the time, and anytime it attempt to stand up straight, it falls back to the ground.  The government was conceived in fraud; the head of government assumed office through fraud; he surrounded himself will like-minded fraudulent and unscrupulous people - Ibori, Andoakaa, Waziri, Mangal (the chief smuggler who doled out billions to Turai for her pet Cancer project), and now Dikko - the list is endless.  Nigerians, we need to take back out country from these Northern ne'er-do wells. The time is now!

The US News Magazine is the most creditable source for ranking US colleges.  I knew this much during my business scholl days at Michigan State. Here is the link: http://www.usnews.com/sections/rankings

Ekiti is not a viable State. It is presently owing the State workers their salary for last month yet the governor is planning on building an Airport. How will the project the financed?

Davidylan
I can't be exchanging vituperations with a bum.