You hit the fact with a nail

Up Apc haters can die

The Injustice Done to Muslims

One thing a Nigerian hates is to hear: “Nigerians are fraudulent” or “Nigerians are drug traffickers.” Most Nigerians take offence at this unfair generalisation and stereotyping. Most Nigerians are always quick to say that it is unfair to use the activities of less than one per cent of the population to describe 170 million people. That is true.
Ironically, the same people who take offence when their nation is stereotyped do not think twice before stereotyping Muslims. To such people, there is a justification for that: Most suicide bombers are Muslims. But when you point out to them many Muslims that have never been associated with violence or religious intolerance, they tell you: “Those ones are different.” You are then left to wonder: If those ones, who are Muslims, are different, why then tar all Muslims with the same brush?
But then, many people enjoy stereotyping and taunting others that have a different culture, religion or race. It makes them feel superior.
Religion is one sure-fire means through which a person with only elementary school education can make a professor commit suicide willingly and happily. The reason is that there is no nobler act than that which is presumably done to satisfy the Almighty, thereby attracting the reward of eternal bliss to the individual.
On November 18, 1978, about 920 people were killed through a combination of murder and mass suicide, ordered by Jim Jones, an American who had broken away from the Sommerset Southside Methodist Church in Indianapolis, to found the Peoples Temple Christian Church. After ordering the killing of Congressman Leo Ryan, who had visited his church to investigate claims of abuse, Jones ordered his members to commit suicide. On the evening of November 18, in Jonestown, Jones ordered his congregation to drink a concoction of cyanide-laced, grape-flavoured drink. Parents were instructed to inject their children with the same drink.
The mass suicide and killings at Jonestown resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural, non-accidental disaster prior to the al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.
In a similar vein, on March 17, 2000, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, a breakaway religious movement from the Roman Catholic Church founded by Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere and Bee Tait in Uganda, orchestrated the mass murder of about 778 members because of revolt about the non-fulfilment of their prophecy that the world would end on January 1, 2000. Members were made to sell off or give away their possessions. When the world did not end on January I, they shifted the date to March 17, and orchestrated an explosion that killed many members. The corpses of some members were found at other sites with signs showing that they had been poisoned, stabbed or strangled before the explosion.
These examples show how religious leaders can indoctrinate and manipulate their followers to either kill others or commit suicide in the vain belief that they are executing a divine assignment.
There is no doubt that there have been many people who have engaged in terrorism or violence in the name of Islam. The most notorious of them all is Osama bin Laden. In Nigeria, such a figure is Abubakar Shekau, who took over the headship of Boko Haram after the death of the founder, Mohammed Yusuf. One would look at the blood-thirstiness of such men and ask if they are human beings at all. What is their mission? Why kill innocent citizens for a cause that people don’t understand? These and many more questions gnaw at the hearts of many non-Muslims.
But then when you look at the people who work with you or have been your friends, you discover that many of them are devout Muslims who pursue peace and love in all their dealings. Whenever there is an act of violence involving a Muslim, such peace-loving Muslims feel as sad and angry as you do, or even more, because they get condemned and cursed for being Muslims.
Before the declaration of emergency rule in Borno, Jigawa and Adamawa states, many people in the South believed that most Northerners supported the violence of the Boko Haram. It did not matter that many Northern Muslims had been killed by the extremists. Many Northern leaders were urged to vehemently condemn the activities of the sect. But it was like a Catch-22: Condemn them and get killed; keep quiet and be called a sympathiser or sponsor of the sect.
It was only when the army got an upper hand in the fight against the sect that youths of the North came out in their hundreds as “Civilian JTF” to fight against the sect. They complained that Boko Haram had killed their relatives and destroyed their communities. They mounted roadblocks and also passed information to the army regarding members of the Boko Haram. A man was even said to have invited the army to come for his Boko Haram son, and when the son was killed, the man was said to have expressed happiness that such a deviant son had been eliminated.
In retaliation, the Boko Haram members have unleashed their wrath on these youths that had risen against them. They have killed many of these youths whom they believed had made it easier for the military to smoke them out and kill them, including their leader, Shekau, whom the military announced must have died in a confrontation with the army.
It became clear that it was fear of being wiped out with one’s family that made many people in the North to keep quiet about the Boko Haram until now.
Religion is a thing of faith and belief. It comes with passion. It comes with submission. Most times you are not meant to question anything. If you ask questions, it could attract dire consequences, depending on your religion or religious leader.
In addition, most people are adherents of a particular religion because they were born into it. The percentage of people who move out of their parents’ religion is low. For example, a Christian may change from the denomination of his parents to another Christian denomination but the percentage of Christians who become Muslims or Buddhists is small, and vice versa.
If one was born to Sokoto parents, one would most likely be a Muslim. If one was born to Anambra parents, one would most likely be a Christian. If one was born to Jewish parents in Israel, one would most likely practise Judaism. Likewise, someone born to Indian parents has a high chance of being a Hindu. Nobody chose his or her parents, state or country.
Furthermore, every religion believes that it is the best: the one ordered by the Almighty. Therefore, it is futile for you to believe that you can force or cajole others to see the light and leave their religions for yours. Once in a while, someone would move to another religion, but it is impossible for all human beings to convert to one religion.
But even though the minority Muslims who have guns and bombs tend to overawe other Muslims, the peaceful majority need to also fight back, not through guns and bombs, but through a type of demarketing strategy. One key way of doing this is to mount a persistent campaign of branding the violent and extremist Muslims as enemies of Islam. The reason these people kill others and themselves is because they believe they are carrying out a divine assignment. If increasingly, they are portrayed as those working against Allah, and those who will end up in hell, it will help to make their activities less popular and attractive.
There is also a need to always identify any preacher who directly or indirectly preaches hate, and report him to the authorities. Such preachers are the ones that sow the seed of hatred in people and make them think that they have a divine duty to kill or destroy. No man is born a terrorist or a hate monger. People get indoctrinated by others.

http://www.punchng.com/opinion/the-injustice-done-to-muslims/

By Femi Aribisala
HIP, hip, hip; Hooray!
Lagos is now going to be a megacity. Under the able leadership of Governor Babatunde Fashola, the apostle of good governance, Lagos is undergoing a major makeover. The Atlantic Ocean will be banished, to be replaced by Eko Atlantic; a shimmering new 3.5- mile island built literally on the water behind a “great wall of Lagos.” Greenery has suddenly appeared in Lagos, displacing the concrete jungle. There are now parks with manicured lawns. There are now tree-lined roads. Pot-holes are now being tarred. Sidewalks are now provided for pedestrians.
*Eko o ni baje
In the middle of this transformation, a new immigration department has been opened in Lagos. “Illegal aliens” are being expelled and are shipped back to their homelands in the dead of night. New visitors may have to obtain visas to come here.
All this makes it imperative to determine who exactly is the Lagosian? Who is entitled to enjoy the new amenities that Governor Fashola and his team of dedicated public-servants are bringing to Lagos? Accordingly, a battle royal has emerged for the rightful ownership of Lagos. Some are insisting Lagos is no man’s land.
Others are discovering Lagos as their fatherland. But there is no question that the government has already determined the precise identity of the true Lagosian.
As far as the Lagos State Government is concerned, the true Lagosian is not the Yoruba man or the Igbo man. Neither is he the Hausa man or the Fulani man. The true Lagosian is the rich man. The poor have been served quit notice. They are no longer wanted in Lagos. Fashola’s resounding slogan is “Eko o ni baje,” which means Lagos will not go to the dogs. The poor are considered the dogs of Lagos. In that troublesome capacity, they can have no place in Lagos, if Lagos is to become the megacity of Governor Fashola’s lofty dreams!
*Action Governor: For some strange reason, Lagos has tended to have better Governors than most states of the federation. But if you were to ask me who is the best among all the Governors of Lagos, I would answer you without hesitation. In my opinion, it is Governor Babatunde Fashola. Fashola is a man with a vision. He is a man with a purpose. He is a man clearly able to translate ideas into weapons. He has transformed and is transforming Lagos right before our very eyes.
But I have a nagging suspicion that the reason why I am so readily persuaded by Fashola’s virtues might not be unconnected with the fact that I am not a poor man. The poor themselves may have a very different point of view. They are probably likely to insist that the best governor in the history of Lagos is Lateef Kayode Jakande; alias “Baba Kekere.”
I am not a poor man by Nigerian standards. Therefore, I do not presume to speak for the poor. But then, increasingly, I am beginning to wonder who exactly speaks for them in Lagos. One thing is certain, Fashola speaks primarily for the rich; and this is not good enough. In the Lagos of today, the poor have no voice. Fashola’s laudable policies are too one-sided. They are tailor-made for the rich: and are grossly disadvantageous to the poor.
*Relocating the poor: I don’t have to be poor to know that the poor are increasingly unwelcome in Lagos. The genius of Fashola is to relocate them to the outskirts of the city. If they are non-indigenes, they are relocated back to their homesteads. The systematic ridding of Lagos of the poor is a longstanding process. The poor were shipped out of Maroko. It has been replaced by Oniru where apartments go for an average of 2.5 million naira a year.
Slums in Mushin, Oluwole and Makoko have been demolished. The residents were evicted from their homes, with no talk of rehabilitation. Markets in Tejuoso, Yaba and Oshodi have been demolished and rebuilt. The new stalls are beyond the pocket of the earlier poor occupants. Everywhere in Lagos, the poor are becoming persona non grata.
In places like Ojota, Makoko, and Ijora-Badia East, the poor residents have been evicted from their homes. In some cases, they were given only 72 hours notice to leave. In Makoko/Iwaya, the government’s quit notice described them “environmental nuisances” that “undermined the megacity status” of Lagos. It stated that their menial existence was detrimental to the government’s determination to beautify the Lagos waterfront.
*Eko Atlantic: As the poor are being squeezed out, so is more leg-room being created for the rich. The Eko Atlantic project is the epitome of this. It involves dredging 140 million tons of sand from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean to subdue the sea and create nine million square kilometers of prime real estate, protected by an eight metre-high wall, vaunted to last 1000 years. When completed, the project will boast residential areas, offices, shops, and leisure facilities for 250,000 people, with another 150,000 commuting to work. To have a foothold in this brave new world, you will need a cool 300,000 naira for just one square metre of land.
However, what Lagos desperately needs is not a “Manhattan island” that will cater primarily for the rich.
Massive low cost housing
What Lagos needs is massive low-cost housing to accommodate millions of slum-dwellers. The state government itself acknowledges that Lagos has a housing shortage in excess of five million. By its own estimates, it needs an annual growth of at least 200,000 houses to keep up with the population growth. In spite of this, it touts a six billion-dollar white-elephant project that ignores this urgent need of the poor masses in favour of one that caters to the rich few.
*Ban of Okadas: I hate okadas. They are a menace on the streets. Even the sidewalks are not safe from them. Okada riders are a law unto themselves. They obey no traffic rules. They imperil their clients by taking dangerous risks. The mortuaries and hospitals are filled with those who have lost life and limb because of their recklessness. But I will be the first to admit that one of the reasons I am able to hate okadas with so much passion is because I have a car. I don’t have to take okadas and have never ever taken them.
Governor Fashola also has a car. So it does not surprise me that, like me, he is also fed up with the menace of okadas in Lagos. Therefore, recently an edict was passed banning them in most areas of Lagos. The government refused to provide alternative means of transportation for those who don’t have cars before banning the okadas. This oversight translates into contempt for the poor. I don’t have to be poor to recognise that it has been disastrous.
Since the banning of the okadas, I have repented of my earlier hatred of okadas. No matter that I wind up my tinted windows; the better to enjoy the air-conditioning in my car, I cannot remain oblivious to the mass of humanity in Lagos now constrained to walk for miles or stand for hours at bus-stops, waiting in readiness for the battle ahead when it will become necessary to fight for the few spaces available in the few buses when they finally, finally, arrive.
Let’s face it; with the okadas gone, the poor in Lagos don’t get home until midnight and then they have to set out for work by 5 a.m.; and that is if they have a job. I asked a lady in my neighbourhood supermarket how much she makes as a cashier. She told me N20,000 a month. I don’t know how anybody can survive in Fashola’s Lagos with such a salary, especially since over 50 per cent of that goes for transportation alone.
*Paying tolls: The new departure in Fashola’s Lagos is that people now have to pay for driving on tarred roads. If you are one of the poor residents of Ajah, Badore, Elegushi, Ajiran, Sangotedo, Abijo, Ibeju, and other communities in Eti-osa, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki local government areas, you will now have to pay tolls for leaving your house to head for the Lagos mainland and pay again for going back home. On the Lekki expressway, no less than three tolls are envisaged for just a 50- kilometre stretch of road.
The Lagos State Government is only interested in exploiting the poor in this area, and there are literally millions living there. There is little or no government infrastructure there. There is no general hospital, and no low-income housing scheme. No sporting or recreational facility. No public transportation system. No public water works: just the payment of tolls. The original idea was to develop a coastal road as an alternative route to the tolled road, but this has not been done.
*No petty-trading: So how can the poor make ends meet in Lagos? With okada gone, and excluding outright crime, one option is petty-trading Lagos-style.
Street trading
This entails turning the streets into one big supermarket, and training for the 2016 Olympics by running after cars in order to sell something as menial as groundnuts. But even here, you are likely to be confronted by the long arm of the law. Street-trading is frowned at in Lagos. The “Kick Against Indiscipline” brigade will seize your goods if they get hold of you.
The Arab Spring outburst in Tunisia started because the goods of a poor street-trader, Mohamed Bouaziz, were confiscated by the police. That act brought the man to the end of his rope. He bought a jerry-can of petrol and set himself on fire. Those sympathetic to his plight took to the streets, and the upshot of this was the overthrow of the government.
Lagos, Nigeria may not be Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Nevertheless, Governor Fashola has a legacy to protect. Rather than this new policy of banishing the poor to Siberia, Fashola should sit down and fashion comprehensive policies that take into consideration their acute suffering in Lagos. If he does not, his disregard of the poor will soon overshadow his remarkable achievements in Lagos State.

Multiple award winning singer, D'Banj, is now the leader of the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 with his hit video, "Don't Tell Me Nonsense."
D'Banj displaced Chidinma's "E Mi Ni Baller", video from the number one spot to number two after the latter stayed two weeks as number one.
Popular Tattoo-faced DJ Sose will join VJ Ehis in the studio this week to go through the charts as well as carefully analyse some of the biggest names rocking the Nigeria music scene.
Olamide and Skuki have both jumped two places, with the former's "Duro Soke" moving to number 6 and "Voom Va" at number 7.
Timaya also moves to number 5 after two weeks stuck at number 6 with "Ekoloma Demba", while DJ Xclusive moves up one place to number 4 with "No Time".
Dammy Krane and Dr Sid have made it to the charts this week with Dammy Krane's"Xteristics" making an appearance at number 9 and "Talented" by Dr Sid coming in at number 10 while former number one's- P-Square, Flavour - have dropped out of the chart.
The complete MTV chart for 13 September - 19 September 2013 is given below:
1. D'Banj - Don't Tell Me Nonsense
2. Chidinma - E Mi Ni Baller
3. Burna Boy - Run My Race
4. DJ Xclusive - No Time
5. Timaya - Ekoloma Demba
6. Olamide - Duro Soke
7. Skuki - Voom Va
8. Wande Coal - The Kick
9. Dammy Krane - Xteristics
10.Dr Sid - Talented

Abuja – Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has launched the revised version of the Nigeria Payment System (NPS) Vision 2020 Strategy Document.
Sanusi, who launched the document during an International Conference on Payment System in Abuja on Monday, said that the document would ensure effective electronic payment system in the country.
He said the revised document resulted from identified deficiencies in the existing market infrastructure.
According to him, an outline document would be published by the bank indicating interim steps to achieve long term objectives.
He said that the apex bank would strengthen the scheme governance structure to reflect greater responsibility of scheme management covering all aspect of risks, business management and operational resilience.
The governor said that the apex would ensure that each scheme management board carried out an annual self assessment.
“An independent review should be undertaken every four years with the target to make the results public by end of 2017.
“Open formal engagement channels with Continuous Link Settlement (C LS) as a first step towards Naira becoming a CLS settlement currency.’’
On challenges facing e-payment system in the country, Sanusi named deficit in infrastructure like power and communication, among others.
He listed others to include slow adoption of e-payment due to prevailing cash culture and traders’ apathy to point of sales terminals due to transaction fees.
The CBN governor said there was the need to provide mobile technology for financial services, especially in the rural area.
He said that the draft National Payment System Bill, undergoing approval, would address legal barriers to electronic payment system.
According to him, the on-going implementation of biometrics solution as part of the requirements for opening of accounts would be expected to address the challenges of unique identifier in Nigeria.
He said that adoption of end to end electronic payments by ministries, departments and agencies for the payment of allowances to employees, pensioners and social beneficiaries would also boost card payment in Nigeria.
Mrs Olubola Johnson, the Minister for Communication Technology, said that the ministry was working to ensure the establishment of infrastructure in some areas apart from the major cities.
She said efforts were being made to make effective use of the post offices located in almost all the local governments in the country to boost network for effective e-payment system.
Johnson assured that the ministry would continue to partner with the apex bank to achieve results.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the CBN gave awards to public and private sector operators who were outstanding in the use of e-payment system. (NAN)