bawomolo:

Hey people need something to hope for. Churches provide that hope.

It's both a good and bad thing. They feel great on sundays and go back to a stagnant life the rest of the week.

Which is what Karl Marx was trying to say in his oft-qoted phrase "Religion is the opium of the people". The simple explanation for this is what Naijaking1 is trying to explain away as Sociology 101 which means most religious people are the poor, down-trodden masses hence you find churches in their backyard.
Karl Marx believes that religion’s purpose is to create illusory fantasies for the poor. Because of the socio-economic realities faced by the poor, finding true happiness in this life remain a mirage, a tall dream. The poor then find comfort in religion and the sugar coated Reverend and Pastors convince them that this is OK because they will find true happiness in the next life.
For those people who are in financial distress, religion provides solace and succour, in the same way drugs rich in opium provides relief to pain-sufferers.

There is a growing concern about the alarming rate at which Churches are taking over company warehouses in Nigeria. Is it a good or bad omen? There are two sides to this equation. At one side is the economy which is losing the GDP from the company and its laid-off work force and on the other side of the continuum is the Church, which is reaping the gain. Has this dislocation in the economy benefitted/helped the country? Has the country really profited from this spiritual gain?
Let’s hear your argument.

Aspirations to political office should not be by heredity. Tokunbo Awolowo learns this much from Lagos SDP caucus during the failed third republic.

Banning adverts for congratulatory messages is a good move to shore up Gov. Fashola's popularity. But who says he really needs the adverts from the scychophants? His people-oriented policies have endeared him to the Lagos electorates and majority are solidly behind him as a result of his good policies. However I see the ban as a double edge sword; Fashola's friend in the media houses will be affected and short-changed. The revenues that will accrue to them from the adverts will not flow to them. But who cares? They should look develop other-strategies to generate more revenues.

You guys have wasted valuable time that could have been used for productive purposes arguing on the pros and cons of an unimportant matter that add no value to our national development. It is nothing but a social malaise. Get over it guys.

*jona:

Noting that there are evident abuses of the title, the group reiterated the believe of Ndigbo in the title, stating that it was wrong to believe that there is proliferation in the title in the state, saying the title of Eze Udo (the

peace makers) at local government level should not be misunderstood as proliferation of Eze Ndigbo title.[/b]

Nigerians will never cease to amaze intelligent people all over the world. We quibble over infantile uninteresting things. At a time of pressing national issues begging for solutions - these clowns are heads over heels fighting for a cheap chieftaincy title which is of little or no consequence to anybody. These EWUs are not interested in how to tackle corruption, or seek solutions for our perennial electoral fraud and rigging of politicians.
Issues like these are not the pastime of serious-minded people. Nigerians are the country’s own enemies.

Aloy.Emeka:

You guys didn't understand his prophecy. The media misinterpreted what he said.

What was his prophesy about? What did TB says will happen to OBJ. I think if you call yourself a man of God with divine gift in prophesies (as they all proclaim themselves to be), your predictions should be articulate, succinct and straight to the point. It serves you no credit to leave room for guesswork or misinterpretation only for you to turn around and say "Oh that was not what I meant or I was misquoted” as you are trying to rationalize for him.

Click on this link:

http://vvi.onstreammedia.com/cgi-bin/visearch?user=pbs-newshour&template=play220asf_noprefs_ws.html&query=nuhu&squery= ClipID:5 VideoAsset:pbsnh042409&inputField=undefined&ccstart=1531872&ccend=2150991&videoID=pbsnh042409

Character is like a smoke, no matter how much you cover it, it will find its escape route. You can pretend and hid your character from people, but just like a smoke, it will reveal itself. Yar’adua thinks he can get away with lying. Maybe we can pardon him because he was getting ready to go back to his remote village in Katsina before OBJ beckoned to him to make a detour to Aso Rock. He doesn’t appreciate that a leader does not just open his mouth and talk; that as honorable people, the words of leaders are their bonds and that lying is not part of the leader’s antics/character.
He went to White House and lied through his teeth to George Bush promising all sorts of reforms that he knew he has no political clout to execute. He promised electoral reforms but implemented electoral brigandage. He promised to institute zero tolerance on corruption but he is dinning and winning with the most corrupt elements in the country. His attorney general is the most corrupt attorney general in the world. People have been telling him since August 2007 when he was barely three months in office that the attorney general is morally bankrupt and a misfit for the office, but he never listen. Today the whole world knows Andoakaa as the most corrupt man in his administration and continues to wax stronger in office.
He promised seven point agenda as his administration's road map to sustainable economic development in the country. He has not executed any of the agenda after two years in office. You can go on and on to expose the man's impotence when it comes to good governance.
Why then would a US President waste his time talking to a liar? A president that has no integrity and is duplicitous is unworthy of association with the US President.

This is not the first time that Nigeria Govt. will be behaving like Father Christmas to Sao Tome. I remembered that OBJ gave the country a loan during his second term. But what we should be interested in is whether that loan was repaid? I doubt it if the reporter who wrote the article was aware of this. Knowing the capacity of the average Nigerian civil servants for corrupt enrichment, the loan might not have been repaid or the repayment might have been diverted to private accounts abroad.

I will say a person of no religious affliations who has no bias or prejudice or discrimation towards any religion should hold that position.

desgiezd:

How could this country ever move forward with rogues posing as our leaders? They would eat their bribes and leave the rest of the country in a lurch while the Christians among them will keep on professing the name of Jesus Christ and the Muslims among them will keep on shouting the name of Mohammed. What a deceitful bunch!!

The answer is simple. We have to make sure we voted for the president that we are convinced will deliver the country from the firm grip of this PDP rogue regime. We have to make sure we do not vote on the basis of sentiments or religious hypocrisy. We must vote on the strength of character, morality, intelligence and what the candidates have to offer. Above all, we have to protect our votes to ensure that they are not stolen and no candidate is rigged into office that he/she was not voted for.

The AGF himself is corruption personified. If he is asking for information about the bribe takers, it is only to enable him cut a deal with them for his own share of the loot. He has aided and abetted all forms of corruption since becoming AGF in 2007. If anybody think Andoakaa is fighting on the side of Nigerians, the person is merely deceiving himself. The man is as corrupt as they come.
This is what the venerable Gani Fawehinmi had to say about him in 2007, and he has not proved him wrong. (SEE ATTACHMENT) Enjoy!

@ Ziddy

By the time our crude oil reserve bottoms out, Nigeria will have ceased to exist on the World map. There will be insufficient revenue for the parasites in the Presidency and National Assembly to share among themselves, which will result in full scale war by the Niger Delta for control of the meagre resources from their backyard.

The story which appeared in the Vanguard edition of February 17, 2009 can be found here:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902171060.html


Where was the Senate when approval was given by the FG for the $120 million loan? This is not the right time to questions the need for the loan. It is no use crying over spilled milk. These questions should have been posed before the loan was approved and draw-down commenced.
It is disheartening that the FG would even contemplate taking new loans bearing in mind the difficulties which the country passed through in the process of servicing the previously accumulated loans before the G7 agreed to grant us debt relief and/or forgiveness in 2006.
Wouldn't it be nice for the leadership of the Nigerian State to allow the benefit of debt relief to trickle down to the masses before taking on new loans? Nigerians have derived no benefits from previous loans - It is no coincidence that our infrastructures are outdated, the road network is bad, school buildings are dilapidated, there is no pipe-borne water, and the energy sector is virtually non-existent - all the foreign loans taken to improve these sectors have virtually ended up in the private accounts of the politicians. It is high time that we got rid of these gluttons who continue to plunder the riches of the country.

I think rather than asking if anyone would prefer to be a Nigerian or a citizen of the United States of Africa, we should be asking ourselves if the continent is ripe for the type of Union that has held the European nations and the United States of America together. The time for preference is not now; it is yet to come. The necessary foundation on which to build a firm United States of Africa structure has not been built?
What structures are we talking about? -
1. Economic integration of all countries is necessary
2. A common market must be established
3. Abolishment or reduction of tariffs and quota systems among all countries is a sine-qua-non for the formation of the Union
4. A good network of road and rail transportation system that will traverse the length and breadth of the continent.

When we have achieved these feats, we will move to the next phase such as:
1. Adoption of a common currency
2. Adoption of a common citizenship and constitution
3. Mobility of labor and capital

And numerous other social hurdles to cross such as cultural barriers, language and other problems from our colonial heritage.

@ df2006, these are tall orders for African countries to fulfill. I am not saying they are insurmountable but they are herculean tasks that must be overcome.

@ comfort, What are you implying? Are you saying Abia people are cannibals?

You need to give the background story so people will know who, and how, dangerous the guy is.

What else can I say? Sowore has taken Keyamo to the cleaners and whatever reputation/integrity that is left with him has been shattered completely.

That money is the root of all evil is indeed a truthful saying. Look at how a once promising career is falling like a pack of cards! I do not think Keyamo bargained for this - his reply was more of buck passing, chasing shadows instead of addressing the substance of Sowore's e-mail. Sowore's reply was more mature, credible and straight to the point.

The matter is back at the court of public opinion for arbitration. I for one, as an unbiased arbiter, think very highly of Sowore as more trustworthy than Keyamo in this matter especially with the avalanche of information presented by him.

Just last month, one of the permanent secretaries in the ministry of education, Dr Goke Adegoroye, painted a gory picture of the decay that is the hallmark of the Nigerian University System in a speech purportedly written and presented on behalf of Yar’adua at the convocation ceremony of OAU, Ife.

He mentioned many of the corrupt malpractices prevalent in the ivory towers of education in the country, the consequences of which have eroded the quality of university education in recent times. These include cases of sex or bribe for grades, lecturers indulging in absenteeism, interferences in promotional cases and many more vices.

Although Mr. Servant Leader denied that he did not approve of the speech which cast the lecturers and the educational system in bad light, nobody is fooled (except the Servant Leader) because the level of decadence in the tertiary institutions is an open secret.

With that background about the quality of education in Nigeria, would anyone blame the Multinationals if they go after graduates produced outside Nigeria? In today’s economic world characterized by globalization, human capital is the most potent source of a company’s competitive advantage. How can a company strategically operate in business arenas dominated by sharks in the traditional Red Ocean territory – a euphemism for the bloody competition prevalent in industries where many companies are fighting for a congested market place? Do they have the technical know-how to carve out a Blue Ocean territory which their company alone will keep to themselves without having to contend with any rival?

While there are some good graduates produced by the system, the overwhelming majority will not be able to deliver on the strategic mission and vision of Multinationals; hence nobody can falter their preference for graduates produced outside the shore of Nigeria. If you are a human resources guy, will you go for half-baked graduates as part of your professional recruitment for your company? That will surely sound like a death-kernel for your company and your career as well.

Keyamo has just confirmed the saying by the Yorubas' that "t'enu baje oju a ti", translated literally that if the mouth eats, then the eye will be ashamed.  It does not necessarily mean something unlawful as his taking brief from EFCC is lawful by all means. However, for survival reasons, a person will be tempted to ignore and overlook whatever bad things his employers are doing to keep his employment intact. And that is the crux of the matter with Keyamo.  How can he be justified after taking millions from from EFCC to go after his benefactors to wit - Farida and Andoakaa? It is not just thinkable.
Whatever Keyamo has done and is currently doing as an activist is to help further his ego and popularity and in so doing, has been smiling to the bank.
He has not done himself any good by trying to rubbish the reputation of Sowore in the mud.  We are not gullible, and we know better.  This young guy- Sowore has given a lot of Nigerians a platform to express their opinions and anger at the corrupt Nigeria government.  He is a hero to many.

[/quote][quote author=oyb link=topic=214867.msg3310576#msg3310576 date=1231275477]
ultimately, i think the only real way to sanitize nigeria is to pull a jerry rawling and kill all the corrupt pricks. failing that, an idiagbon type president. . .

I agree with you 100% on this.  But unfortunately, we have missed the opportunity, the chance to rid our country of the greed and avarice that have permeated the entire social fabric of the country has been lost.  The wise have said it loud and clear that opportunity once lost, can never be regained. Idiagbon is dead, cout d'etat is no longer fashionable and sanitizing the country and freeing it from the gridlock of corruption remains a tall order.
Ribadu has been shoved aside, humiliated and disgraced.  Other than writing on pages of Newspapers, no formal complaint by way of PROTEST took place to register dissatisfaction with the way the administration handled the matter.

@Oyb
I think you missed the point.  It's like you are placing the cart before the horse, which will put the horse in an awkward situation.  You can't bring the idea of whistle blowing in this discourse when you know that without the enabling Act, as in legislation, duly enshrined in the constitution, the whistle blower is doomed to perdition.  Even when the protection is offered to the whistle blower in the constitution do you think corrupt officers like the Minister of Injustice, Mike Andoakaa, who has made no pretense whatsoever to shield corrupt ex-governors from prosecution, would offer that protection especially when his patrons are involved? I do not think so.
Moreover, a person would be interested in a whistle blowing action when all the social infrastructures i.e. Courts, a fuctioning legislature that is up to its tasks in the real sense of the word, a vibrant press that will shy away from accepting brown envelopes, are in place as in the developed world. Not so in obodo Nigeria.
Also, if you must be aware, the whistle blowing action in the US is a creation of law to wit, the Civil Rights Law of the 60's. So anyone blowing the lid is guaranteed protection by the Act, as was done to the accountant who esposed Ken Lay & Co of Enron.
Are you saying that the legislature has enacted similar act in Nigeria? Do you think the present crop of leaders of NASS and the servant leader in Aso Rock have the stomach to pass this legilation? I doubt it much.  Not in a country where the president forced the staff of the presidency to sign a oath of secrecy and the NASS topbrass too are contemplating same action for their staff.

When Dimka struck on Feb 13, 1976 OBJ ran away to Queen Drive, Ikoyi and hid himself in the mansion of late Chief S.B. Bakare, the saloro of Ijeshaland. He was there working the phone until he got assurance from T.Y. Danjuma that the rebellion had been put down before he left his hideout to attend to the matter of State as the Chief of Staff, Supreme HQ.
You guys have forgotten other Ecomog commanders like Generals Joshua Dongoyaro, Adetunji Olurin and Ishaya Bakut in your treatise so far.

This is journalism per excellence. If you are still one of the doubtful thomases out there, click on this link to see all land papers referred to by the SaharaReporters. http://www.saharareporters.com/Waziri_Land_Grab.php

Years ago when I was working for one of the first generation banks, an inspector of the bank (a.k.a. internal auditor) dubbed one of the officers of the bank as impotent. Most of the workers were astonished that the inspector could actually refer to the officer as such because their understanding of that word is synonymous with not being able to perform sexual activities. In contrast, the word "impotent" was actually meant to convey the officer's powerlessness, weakness, ineffectiveness, helplessness and incapacity to act and exercise the power and authority given to him by virtue of the office he was occupying.

Apropos, it will be appropriate and not out of place to refer to the servant leader as completely impotent. I do not blame Andoakaa for all his excesses, but the servant leader is to be blamed for allowing himself to be used by this corrupt and duplicity AGF. By playing the blind and deaf pretending that he does not hear nor see any of the evils/atrocities that this Minister of "Injustice" has been perpetrating since his inception as the attorney general and minister of justice of the Federation calls into question his level of sincerity, integrity, honesty and trustworthiness as President of the country.

To say that AGF Andoakaa is the worst of all AGFs ever produced in this country is grossly an understatement. AGFs, the world over, notwithstanding that they serve at the pleasure of the President, C-in-C of the country, once they took the oath of office, their loyalty switch to the people, by way of protecting the constitution and ensuring that the rule of law is upheld at all cost. In contradistinction, what has Andoakaa been doing? He has been involved in so many anti-people activities, using his office to shield the corrupt ex-governors from prosecution and punishing the poor and lowly people. What is most annoying is his "in your face" approach he has been going about these issues. People of honor and integrity have complained loud and clear but our servant leader continues to pretend that all is well.

I am under no illusion that this country can make any progress under this sick president. Not with the present crop of heartless politicians.
Read this letter written by the venerable Gani Fawehinmi on the corruptible AGF way back in September 2007. It was a masterpiece. http://www.saharareporters.com/ganifawehimi.php

The media indirectly contribute to this culture of end-of-year prediction by giving the soothsayers unsolicited publicity. If they don't report the charade we will not know about it. QED

texazzpete:

I see no reason why this alert is viewed with suspicion. Even in the US, regular alerts are issued when threats are sensed. A quick look at the furore that followed the revelation that the CIA and FBi could possibly have prevented 9/11 if they had focused less on internal squabbling and more on co-operation. so now, each threat is taken seriously.

And when was the last terror alert issued? If you have forgotten, the last one was issue just before the last presidential elections and was nothing more than a political tool/weapon at the hands of the White House to instill a regime of fear into the sub-conscious of the citizens. This was used to advantage during the last presidential and 2004 congressional elections. 

Elections have since come and gone and there is little need for such alerts now in the US. It might gain prominence again when the battle for White House and Congress begins next year.  For now, their importance has been greatly diminished.  It therefore serves to look outside the shores of America especially where such sentiments will be bought by religiously volatile people hook, line and sinker.  Little wonder since the last presidential election, none of the so-called alerts have been issued because they have outlived their importance.

texazzpete:

As for those hailing the rise of Chinese interest in Africa, i pity them for their short-sightedness. All too soon we forget the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese in Africa and Nigeria. At least we can predict the Americans, the Chinese are essentially a terrible group of people. lest y'all forget, the Chinese are the sole party responsible for the UN's inaction over the Darfur issue. Due to the fact that they've signed lucrative deals with the Sudanese Government, they frequently veto any bill that's aimed at sanctioning the Sudanese Govermnment.

I do not support the Chinese Govt for their failure to rain in on Khartoum to stop the carnage in Darfur and stop the human right abuses going on there.   But a precedent has been set by the US doing samething to shield Israel from UN sanction on grounds of human right abuses many times without number.

@dejgan
I am honored by your compliments and the level of your humility. We all learn from each other because nobody has the monopoly of knowledge. Your contributions to the forum are equally informative and valuable. Thanks man.

Afam:

Which elendureports? The same one that claimed that they got confirmation from the hospital that Yar'adua was dead? Abeg, wey my tom and jerry make I watch better thing.

Thunder does not strike at the same spot twice. Credibility is the name of the game of their profession. If they failed to get Yaradua's story right the other time, their credibility has already suffered. This time around, they would do more homework to doublecheck the accuracy, reliability and credibility of the stuff they are dishing out to the public.

dejgan:

Abeem, one can always be corected but with adequate facts. Nigerians need to be enlightened on issues like this and that is the reason for the posted message. Please give us info as per the previous appointments of the new finance minister who was the deputy-governor of central bank. I agree many of these bank MDs and directors have so much in shares. Give us facts and details of his previous stuffs in the banking industry. Your comments are appreciated. thanks!

Here is the biodata of the Minister, FMF for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
1. Planning Officer, Kano State Ministry of Economic Planning (1974 - ­1976),
2. Lecturer, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, (1976 - 1981),
3. Controller, Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) (now Bank of Industry) (1981 - ­1985),
4. Director of Budget/Special Economic Adviser (while on leave of absence from NIDB) (1981 - 1983),
5. General Manager, Corporate Banking, NAL Merchant Bank Plc (1985 - 1998),
6. Director-General, Technical Commiitee on Privatisation & Commercialisation (TCPC), now Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) (1989 - 1991).
7. Executive Director, United Bank of Africa Plc and later Union Bank of Nigeria Plc between 1992 and 1994
8. Managing Director & Chief Executive, NAL Merchant Bank Plc October, 1994 - June 1999
9. Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from June, 1999 - July 2007. While in the CBN, he was in charge of financial sector surveillance from June, 1999 to December, 2003 and in charge of operations from January 2004 until his appointment as the Hon. Minister of Finance.
10. Honorable Minister, Federal Minister of Finance, July 2007 to present.

What an intimidating and impressive resume.

Dr. Usman has attended many international conferences and missions and served on the boards of several public and private sector companies. He has also earned several honours, including President, Nigerian Economic Society (NES) (1986 - 1987), Fellow, NES (June, 1995) and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

McKren:

So shameful to see people celebrate the misguided politics that has always put a cog in the wheel of progress, and that is why Nigeria is in the sorry state that it is today.

If American leaders played politics with the future of their country you would not have found it attractive to go and reside there.

What gives you the impression that I was celebrating the misfortune of this great man. Did anything in my write up support this? Somebody suggested that the decision to appoint Soludo's former deputy as Minister of Finance was a bad one and I tried in my write up to rationalize why that action was taken. It does not mean that that theory is the gospel truth neither was it true that I was happy at the turn of events for Soludo? Far be it from that.
Food for thought: If you are happy at someone's misfortune, remember destruction awaits you at your own doorstep.

Now back at the last line of the punch you threw at me about how American leaders plays their politics. I live in America by the grace of God, but home is home, no matter what. Having lived here for more than a decade now, I am, by virtue of my stay here, able to appreciate that politicians are the same the world over. To assume that American leaders do not play politics like our Babariga politicians is perhaps a mistaken assumption. What makes the political game different is no more than the fact that politicians here are accountable to the people who elected them into office. Naija politicians are not. Also, the social infrastructures that serves as checks and balances here are virtually non-existent in our country.

Today the US Attorney General was forced to resign from office. Why did he resign? Who forced him to resign? Do the research. This is a classic example of political games played by politicians and the checks and balances that are built into the system to forestall abuses.