₦airaland Forum

Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and governor of Niger State Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu yesterday said his colleagues in the 19 northern states were in support of the national dialogue proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He maintained that the north was not afraid of talking with other Nigerians at a national forum and pledged that the region would be adequately represented at the event.
Aliyu, who was the special guest of honour at the commissioning of Kaduna-based Liberty Radio station, added that the north would not go to the national conference to agitate for the disintegration of Nigeria but to contribute its quota to issues that would enhance the development of the region.
The governor stated that if Niger Republic and Chad which were rated among the poorest countries in the world recently could rise to discover oil, which is now sold in some northern states, the north would survive on its own.
“God is a just God. If oil could be discovered in Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroun, then, there is no reason why there would not be oil in Niger, Sokoto, Maiduguri and Bauchi states,” he stated. “If you go to Niger State, 80 per cent of our land mass is arable land. So, even if we decide to go back to agriculture alone, we will not only be able to feed our nation, but also have enough for export. That notwithstanding, the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation is organising a committee on behalf of northern governors to look at some of the issues that may come up for discussion. I believe each state shall set up similar committees so that we can adopt some positions that may guide our delegates.”
The governor said he was pleased with the position of Liberty Radio to strengthen democracy and ensure good governance by avoiding selfish political, economic, tribal, religious or divisive interests.
Also yesterday, a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and president of the Civil Right Congress (CRC), Malam Shehu Sani, has described the proposed national conference as a waste of time and resources, and vowed that when the APC takes over power in 2015, the report would be thrown away.
He said the confab is a calculated attempt by President Jonathan to divert the attention of Nigerians from addressing the country’s pressing needs.
In a goodwill message he delivered at the commissioning of Liberty Radio in Kaduna and at a symposium on “The future of the broadcast industry in northern Nigeria - A post-centenary outlook,” Sani averred that democracy is not a gift from the military but a product of the struggle and sacrifice of Nigerians.
He said: “In 2015, when we set up an APC government, we will throw away the report of the national dialogue because it will be of no effect; it will not add anything to the well-being of Nigerians.”
In Nasarawa State, the major ethnic groups have given an affirmative nod to the proposed national dialogue, saying it is an avenue for the federating units in the country to air their grievances and suggest “ways of defining our concept and practice of true federalism”.
The national president of Eggon Cultural Development Association, the largest ethnic group in the state, Mr Chris Mamman, applauded the initiative of the president and questioned why some Nigerians are averse to it.
He said: “We the Eggon people are supportive of the idea because it will avail all of us to understand ourselves better rather than resorting to violent avenues of settling our differences”.
A prominent politician and member of the Keffi Emirate Council, Alhaji Abubakar Gada Mohammed, Dan Galadiman Keffi, said the issue at stake is not about the divisibility or otherwise of the country but about getting to understand the basis of the union as a common entity.
The immediate past secretary to the Taraba State government and a leader of the Mambillas in Sadurna local government area, Ambassador Emmanuel Njiwa, said that his people would participate in the conference because the decision of the president to hold it is a good one.
Njiwa added that Jonathan meant well for the country, noting that the conference is about how to move Nigeria forward.
Mr Jonvita James from the Mumuye ethnic group cautioned against boycott of the dialogue. He said that he will participate fully since the conference would serve as a way of tackling Nigeria’s problems.
The chief press secretary to the acting governor, Mr Kefas Sule, said the state would send a delegate to participate in the confab.
In Adamawa State, an elder statesman and former federal permanent secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, also expressed support for the exercise, saying that it is a good opportunity for ethnic nationalities to ventilate their position on how the country should coexist even though he said efforts must be made to make it all-inclusive.
The secretary to the PDP faction loyal to Governor Murtala Nyako, Mr PP Elisha, said his faction is not comfortable with the conference because there is no assurance that the deliberations reached will be respected: “Over time, Jonathan’s administration has shown a lot of disregard for decisions reached, and in my humble opinion, he will still disrespect whatever decision reached at the conference.”
The chairman of the faction loyal to the governor, Alhaji Minjiyawa Umar Kugama, said the intention of the president might have been borne out of goodwill but questioned the genuineness of the exercise.
In a chat with the Sulbawa, Habe, and Turankawa ethnic nationalities in Sokoto State, LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the state was opposed to the confab.
They maintained that they would not participate in such pre-determined national confab. Alhaji Biliyaminu Gatawa said Nigerians would be doomed if they accept to attend Jonathan’s remote-controlled conference.
A businessman from the Gobirawa axis, Alhaji Bello Basakwacce, said that the conference would simply be a failure like most of the policies of the past and present Nigerian leaders.
Basakwacce said President Jonathan should be reminded of countries like Yugoslavia, Sudan and Congo which tried with national confab and ended up being split.
A senior official of the state government said Sokoto might not send delegates to the conference because its terms of reference had nothing to do with the legion of problems facing the country.
The Katsina State chairman of Coalition of New Nigeria (CNN), an umbrella body of opposition political parties in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Maidabino, dismissed the planned conference as a ruse, insisting that it was politically-motivated.
“This is a diversionary tactic by the president and his cabal, but we are all ready for him and he has to leave by 2015,” he said. “Nigerians should avoid this conference so that we will have one Nigeria and move forward.”
A PDP chieftain in the state, Alhaji Ali Sani, joined the fray of those critical of the conference. Sani, who is a member of the PDP elder’s committee in the state, said the conference was not healthy for the nation, insisting that if it must hold, the National Assembly should be disbanded.
The state chairman of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a socio-cultural organisation of the Fulanis, Alhaji Hassan Kuraye, said it was a welcome development and declared that the group would participate in it. “We have got to a stage that we need to sit down and discuss the challenges confronting us. As the leader of this association in Katsina State, I can tell you without mincing words that we will participate in the confab because it will provide us the opportunity to say what our grievances are.”

By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City
“I don’t know if the Federal Government is broke, but I know there is a serious financial crisis and it is unprecedented in the history of this country. That, for the first time since 1999, allocations can no longer come as and when due to states is shocking.”
With these words, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State painted a gloomy picture of the nation’s financial situation. He added: “I have been involved in trying to understand what the reasons are and I have not seen anything yet. Two years ago, it was about the kind of money we were spending on subsidy. In no time, following series of probes and enquiries by the National Assembly and by the Presidency, they have since discovered the kind of money they stole as regards subsidy, all the people that conspired with them and I believe the EFCC is dealing with that. But just as we are dealing with that, now we begin to hear about the theft of our crude oil such that what is accruing to the Federation Account is not enough to meet budgetary provision.”
Oshiomhole spoke in an interview just as the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAN), on Friday, reconvened to share a total statutory revenue of N1.196 trillion among the three tiers of government for August and September.
The money in the account has been a contentious issue between the federal and state governments for several weeks, with the state governments unable to get their share in full. See Oshiomhole’s full interview here

lygn19: LoL...d north is beginning to show how useless they re, so the reason u ppl re respecting d ppl of Niger delta is because of there oil...hmmmmmm''' I wonda what wud happen when d north starts drilling its own oil...no wonder they call u ppl PARASITES.

lygn19: LoL...is it today we started loosing our investments to Nigeria''' d southeast doesn't want Nigeria to break yet u ppl fought a war to keep them in Nigeria,a bloody 3years war,,, lol'''d day d north wud say they re leaving Nigeria, we d Igbo's wud help them fight any Ediot that tries to resist them...lol

tomakint: Sorry to burst your bubble, I can tell you authoritatively that with this Conference and its aftermath, Northern Region (especially the Hausa/Fulani core North) dominance in our polity will be history! *Northern region is fallin down, fallin down, fallin down. Northern region is fallin down, my dear mallam* get used to it no

papparatzzi2013: You are a joker.

You think is like other times. You think middle belt is north again.

We are going for Balkanization of the country or at least, strong regionalization. Let everybody answer his fathers name going forward. If you like pull out if the conference, we don't care.

Kwankwaso's attitude is an affront and condescending. He should do his worst after the conference. His worst cant be worse than boko haram again.Set of spoilt brats.

My advice to other ethnic group. Us, they should pulling there people away from north. Let them go on the path of Somalia and Afghanistan that they have chosen.

How on earth will someone be entering university with 99 has jamb score and someone in another region with 250scores will still be begging God.

If GEJ backs down, then I will know he is a toothless bulldog.

Desola: What does this 'jagaban' I read everywhere mean?

Is it a Yoruba word?

Now, there is no doubt about the historic importance of the 1914 amalgamation in Nigeria’s history. It was the first time that the British colonial administration in Nigeria tried to bring the culturally diverse people of Nigeria together under one central colonial administration. Without the amalgamation Nigeria would not have developed or emerged as one country. Instead, we would now have two, or possibly three, different countries. But the manner in which these celebrations take place is equally important. The question is why should we, as a nation be seen to be celebrating the 1914 so-called ‘amalgamation’ of Nigeria by the British colonial power? The Federal Government argues that Nigeria is not a historical accident and, having existed for nearly 100 years as a country, merits celebration. It is important that we get Nigeria’s colonial history right. If we do, it will be obvious to us that we should not be celebrating such a dubious event in our colonial history, as the ‘amalgamation’ was the direct product of British imperialism in West Africa.
To suggest, or argue, as the federal authorities did, that Nigeria is not a historical accident, but a pre-ordained entity is a distortion of Nigeria’s history. Nothing can be further from the truth. This claim should not go unchallenged, or else we will be creating a false and terrible legacy. Before British colonialism in Nigeria, several kingdoms such as the Oyo Empire, the Fulani Emirates, and the Benin Kingdom already existed in Nigeria, and might have evolved over time as nation states. It was British imperialism that eventually destroyed these empires. Before its independence from British colonial rule in 1960, Nigeria did not exist even as a distinct state, recognised by other foreign states. It was only recognised as a mere British colony, a British dependency that, for all practical purposes, did not have any state identity at all. It was simply part of British West Africa, the Southern part of which was for a while governed by British colonial representatives from the old Gold Coast. Its acquisition by Britain as a colonial territory was actually accidental. It was the direct consequence of Anglo-French rivalry for trade and free markets in Africa.
Britain was not really looking at the time for new colonies, or territories in West Africa, but for trade and free markets. In 1861, the British acquired Lagos as a colony after gun boat diplomacy (state terrorism). But in 1865, the report of a parliamentary select committee of the British House of Commons had advised against any further acquisition of colonial territory in West Africa. The old Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Sierra Leone had already been acquired as British colonies. This report was accepted by the British government and dampened imperialist impulses for a while. But by 1885, the informal sway exercised by British merchants in the delta area, which led to Jaja of Opobo being exiled from the delta area by the British Consul, had been formalised at the 1885 Berlin Congress that simply divided Africa as spheres of influence of Britain, and the other European powers in Africa.
The Africans were neither present at the Berlin Congress nor even consulted about the manner their territories were divided among the European powers. It was a shameful episode in the history of human civilisation, of which even the European colonisers cannot really be proud. It was just as bad as its precursor, the slave trade. Northern Nigeria was simply handed over as the Niger Coast Protectorate to the Royal Niger Company, a British chartered trading company operating in Nigeria, in much the same way as large parts of British India were handed over to the British East India Company. In 1885, the British had proclaimed a Southern Protectorate in Southern Nigeria after the conclusion of fraudulent and unequal treaties with the Obas there. In 1900, the two protectorates of Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria, as well as the colony of Lagos, were separate entities. As at that point, there were three separate British dependencies in the territory that was later named as Nigeria, by Flora Shaw, the wife of Lord Lugard, and colonial editor of the London Times, with extensive connections in Whitehall.
Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard was to play a key role in Nigeria’s subsequent colonial history. He had originally being brought to Northern Nigeria in 1895 from Uganda for military campaigns by George Goldie of the chartered Royal Niger Company and was the man who conquered Northern Nigeria militarily. Sokoto, the seat of the caliphate, was the last Northern territory conquered by the British in 1903. His military campaign in Northern Nigeria included his famous march to Borgu and the race to Nikki which formed the basis of British claims to Northern Nigeria. It was as a result of his successful military campaign in the North that on January 1, 1900, he was appointed the first British High Commissioner for Northern Nigeria, after the administration of the area by the Royal Niger Company had been brought to an end and a British protectorate formally established there. This was some 15 years after a separate and distinct British protectorate had been established in Southern Nigeria.
Even then, Britain had no definite plans for the future of its new colony. There was no real debate in the British House of Commons about what to do with its new colony as there was no real enthusiasm among leading British politicians for acquiring new colonies. The emphasis in the British colonial office was on keeping to the barest minimum the cost of administering this vast territory. There was little long range planning in Britain for the future of its new colony. In the event, Nigeria was at first left and ruled in three distinct parts, later reduced to two units, Northern and Southern Nigeria, and in 1912 placed under Sir (later Lord) Lugard as its first British Governor General of colonial Nigeria.
•To be continued

As Nigeria marks 53rd independence anniversary, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has condemned the plan by the Federal Government to celebrate the Centenary of the amalgamation in 1914 of the disparate ethnic groups by a British colonialist, describing it as a distortion of history.
Fashola, who spoke to newsmen shortly after the Independence parade at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria today said the birth of the nation dated back to 1 October, 1960 and not in 1914.
[b]“For me, Nigeria was born as an independent sovereign nation on the first of October 1960. perhaps, she was conceived in 1914, but as we race towards this, it is important not to distort history, I would seek better understanding, better explanation by those who are behind the centenary celebration because if we rolled out the drums three years ago to celebrate 50 years of Nigeria’s nationhood, Independence that we fought for, people went to jail for, what is then this centenary suddenly about because I don’t remember as a child ever coming out at amalgamation day and suddenly, how did we get to 100?
“Did we do 99, did we do 50, did we do 60? So there is something wrong here. I don’t know, but I will like clarifications. A generation is coming behind us, they need to be clear about the history of our country and as I said, maybe conception of Nigeria took place in 1914, but it is the birthday, the date of birth of a child that we celebrate and I think that birthday is October first 1960,” he stated.
[/b]
Speaking during the parade, the governor appealed for peace across the nation, saying that he believed that the nation was too blessed to resolve its differences with threats of violence and in some cases actual violence.
Fashola added that he believed that compromise was critical and that all reached for it in order to make more meaning out of the situation.
“The circumstances might be different at the moment but I would like to end with words spoken by a great statesman, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in 1967, at another time when our country was at a crossroads: ‘Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy.”
“I adopt those evergreen words as my own today and urge all those involved in any form of conflict or disagreement to pursue peaceful solutions,” he stated.
The governor said the nation had gone through its fair share of adversity but that what was important was that through it all, “we are still standing and still standing as one. Despite the various challenges that we are still facing, I remain inspired by the fact that Nigerians continue to repose their faith in this country.”
The governor commended the spirit of resilience that had propelled Nigerians to always forge ahead in the face of all odds, adding that in the past year since this event was last held, the state government had made a lot of progress in the state.
He said his administration had been thinking of and working on implementing multiple solutions that would build Lagos State into the Mega City of our dreams, saying this had culminated in the ongoing residents registration exercise.
Fashola urged Lagosians to participate and register massively as it would enable government prepare adequately for the populace, saying that “I often say that you cannot manage what you cannot measure and that is why we are carrying out this exercise; so that we can better manage our resources, better provide services, infrastructure and solutions; and make better plans and implement better policies that will take care of the needs of the people.”
“I believe that this is important if we are to deal with the problems of the present and build a great future. For example, we cannot solve the problem of inadequate water, insufficient power, overcrowded classrooms, and so on by continuously estimating the size of the need. While estimates are helpful, they must be informed and predicated on reason. This is what makes estimates different from wild guesses.
“We are a 21st Century Government, we are a Government of methods, we are aware of the power of data and we are determined to use reliably collected data to solve day to day problems because the Nigerian dream inspires us,” he stated.

jackbauerspower: Only a phool makes threats against the President's Life under his actual Facebook Account.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1336047_Scr000030_jpgda4c532b03415cc20cf8f75311bddc1e

coolestboy: A pessimist sees everything bad in good situations, while an optimist sees everything good in bad conditions.
I believe in my country NIGERIA.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.

President Goodluck Jonathan has announced the setting up of an Advisory Committee to establish modalities for a national conference aimed at resolving issues that currently cause friction in the polity.
In his Independence day broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan said that the committee which will have Dr. Femi Okurounmu as its Chairperson and Dr. Akilu Indabawa as its Secretary, is expected to complete its assignment within one month.
“Our Administration has taken cognizance of suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country.
“When there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.
“In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference.
“The committee will also design a framework and come up with recommendations as to the form, structure and mechanism of the process.
“The full membership of the committee will be announced shortly. I expect its report to be ready in one month, following which the nation will be briefed on the nomenclature, structure and modalities of the dialogue,” President Jonathan said in the broadcast. ......

an evil spirit spoke through Jim Iyke that he’s the one behind his stubbornness and that he prevented the actor from getting married all these years.

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi yesterday accused Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu of fabricating lies to justify his nefarious actions.
The police commissioner declared that he would always abort gatherings without police permit.
Mbu described the 13,000 newly-recruited teachers, who were at the Liberation Stadium on Wednesday to collect their posting letters, but were chased out with teargas by policemen, as “touts and miscreants” hired by Amaechi to protest against President Goodluck Jonathan.
The police commissioner, at a news conference yesterday, claimed that he acted on a security report that the people at the stadium were hired to disrupt the peace in the state.
Mbu alleged that the new teachers employed by the Amaechi administration were specifically recruited to embark on a protest against President Jonathan, insisting that they were 18,000 youths and not 13,000 teachers.
The police chief also displayed some of the mutilated placards he claimed to have recovered from the teachers, with the following inscriptions: “It is time for the North”, “Amaechi for VP”, “North for President” and “Amaechi for Vice-President 2015”.
He said: “The truth is that the government of the state (Rivers) is trying to keep the police perpetually at work by distracting us. Those ‘newly-employed teachers’ were hired youths.
“They were hired to carry placards and protest against the President of the country. I am here to show you the placards. They were called to go there. In all, they did not invite the police. Nobody invited the police.
“My informants called me that they were not called to be given letters, but were given cardboards to protest against President Jonathan. They tore these things (placards) into pieces. We put them together. As a Commissioner of Police, whose ears are on the ground, I will always abort such gatherings.”
Amaechi, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, said: “On Wednesday, policemen, on Mbu’s orders, chased out 13,000 newly-recruited teachers, who gathered at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, to collect their posting letters.
“The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to allegations of gross impropriety levelled against it by the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu, to the effect that 13,000 newly-employed teachers were hired touts and miscreants, engaged to embark on protest in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
“In a media briefing addressed by the Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, he displayed placards allegedly carried by the 13,000 teachers, whom he described as miscreants.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Rivers State Government does not have to bandy words with the state police command, whose stock-in-trade is to fabricate lies at every instance, to justify its nefarious actions.
“Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu and indeed the state police command are known to be pathological liars. The case of Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, the Dean of the Anglican Church, whom they claimed to have secured his release from his abductors, is a ready example (Kattey denied that police rescued him).
“Mr Mbu is a bad taste and we urge Rivers people not to be distracted by his many deafening lies.
“For the records, the 13,000 teachers converged on the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt, to collect their letters of posting to their various duty posts. This fact can be verified by any objective mind.”
The Deputy Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee, described the prevention and dispersing of teachers as a display of totalitarianism.
According to him, the Rivers PDP led by Felix Obuah has been holding rallies without obtaining permits from the police.
He noted that Obuah’s rallies were against the regulations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and also capable of breaching the peace, considering the volatile situation in the state.
Kwanee also called on well-meaning Nigerians to rise up and condemn the ugly development, stressing that Rivers state was sliding into anarchy and the nation to precipice, adding: “It is Governor Amaechi today. Who will it be tomorrow?”

Adejoro74: See. Two Igbo women do what Adefuye, a Yoruba man, is too incompetent to do.

Anyone remembers how the former US Ambassador, Brig Rotimi, also mismanaged the US embassy?

Lemme guess: Adefuye was busy hating on Ojo Maduekwe (for obvious reasons) and forget to do his job preparing logistics for his employer's outing

By SaharaReporters, New York
The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed, has listed the seizure of 2,708 commercial motorcycles, popularly called “okada,” as one of his achievements over the last eight months.
Mr. Mohammed disclosed that the motorcycles were seized between January and August this year. According to him, with this latest figure, the FCT has now increased the number of commercial motorcycles deposited at the Abuja Auto Pound to 12,024.
Mr. Mohammed made the disclosures during the FCT’s bi-weekly briefing session in Gwarimpa I District, Abuja on Monday. The minister credited the “achievement” of seizing motorcycles to the wonderful collaboration between the FCT administration and the security agencies. He stated that this collaboration has made it possible to enforce and sustain the ban on the activities of the commercial motorcyclists in the Federal Capital City.
Mr. Mohammed, a former senator, however warned that motorcyclists’ persistent activities in the Durumi, Garki and Asokoro districts remain of concern to his administration.
The FCT briefing, which was chaired by Mr. Mohammed, was also attended by other officials, including Permanent Secretary John Obinna Chukwu and the executive secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Adamu Ismaila

ichidodo: Enough of this cheap blackmail, we are not afraid of another Civil War, give us our SNC.