Tell me, who are the people carrying out the rigging? I’m pretty sure not their immediate siblings and definitely not the politicians themselves.

The story is probably a little bit inflated (iroyin okere bi o ba lekan a din Kan) Distance information can never be complete, if they don’t add more… they’ll take from it. This idea might just be a plight to divert our attention from certain issues that is brewing within the country right now [size=5pt]only God knows[/size]. But that should not cloud our judgment too much on what is at stake (our economy and how this affect it). The man at stake has certain fiduciary duties that he’s obliged to maintain, did he satisfy those fiduciary duties? Those contacts that was awarded to him, were they satisfied up to the MOU that he signed? If those contacts were not executed according to agreement, then the man should face the wrath of the law.

Why is it that most Nigerians dwell so much in elevating the riches without knowing their source of income? Why is it that we tend to support an ignorance fellow only because he/she is rich and powerful? Why do we not ask question, expose unethical practice and crucify injustice rather than voting and supporting corruption as a norm in our society.

Nigeria is probably the only country I know where one day, a man might be living on N100/day, all of a sudden…table might just flip and this same man will be driving Bentley overnight. A typical Nigerian man/woman will never ask question on how the man made his money; they’ll only ask how do we spend these money. Now whether this man is involved in some form of shady practices, arm robbery, money rituals…does not cater to their problem. How do I get my share becomes their issue. It doesn’t even matter if this mans action (His source of money) is going to impact their future negatively…they don’t care; they only care about the man putting food on the table right now.

We don’t know the source / history of his income when he contested for election; he’s rich and powerful, therefore we supported him and voted him into power. We know this man manipulated and sabotaged all of our resources, yet we supported him and exonerated him during people’s call of justice. We scream day in day out of our bad roads, shamble education system, our future is in jeopardy …hence we voted for his second term in office.

Which way Nigeria, Which way we go
How do we save ourselves from epileptic use of the corrupt money?

Until we as a nation shy away from this practice; of elevating and worshiping the rich and powerful in the way that we do right now, we will never move forward. Until we put in place specific strategy to reward hard work and punish severely injustice (and not flip flopping)…ratify freedom of information that will benefit ordinary citizen. Nigerian people will continue to see corrupt means as a norm to survive.

Planner:

chief Obafemi Awolowo is a war criminal, and probaly roasting in hell.

Can you please expand these a little so that we can all understand those criminal activities that he committed?

ayomifull:


(Dailytrust 08/08/08)

Do we honestly think Nigeria would be anywhere near being one of the 20 leading economies of the world by the year 2020? Do we honestly think with the way things are going in Nigeria there will be any positive change by the year 2020?

If Yaradua’s administration can capitalize on some of the basic foundation, laid by Obasanjo’s Administration. There is a possibility.

This is the 2nd year of Yaradua. Is the situation getting any better?

I understand most of all the military leaders have failed us and I also believe some performed better than expectation. Some of us witnessed the days of Tunde Idiagbon and Buhari, Muritala Mohammed. Most of our problem today erupts from the fact that our three form of government are not united when it comes to decision making, implementation and upholding the law. This is my perspective of things. Nigeria and Nigerians need a visionary leader (military leader)…who will impose good reform on us, implement the reform and uphold it. Create avenue to punish whoever try to make a mockery out of the system / his reform.

I’m not an advocate of coup or whatever, but I believe this form of government will instill fear in people and curb corruption.

How can we be canvassing for democracy when people (common man) are still battling with right to one square meal per day, right to good infrastructure, right to proper education, right to general freedom of living? Where as our proclaimed democratic leaders are siphoning billions for their own selfish act. Instead of modifying and elevating the country like they were voted to do, they use money meant for their country and state to build refinery, mansion, buying yatch…living flamboyantly like there is no tomorrow. I believe we need military intervention in order to elevate proper democracy. I understand most of these military leaders are useless as well; but in between, we should be able to find some that are patriotic enough to stop all these atrocities and lead us to the promise land.

The government of Mauritania was overthrown by an Army coup today.

Army officers announced a new junta was in control of the west African nation which will be led by the head of the presidential guard.

The coup took place after the president and prime minister fired the country’s top four military officials.

A brief announcement read over state television said the new “state council” will be led by presidential guard chief general Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. It gave no other details.

President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was being held by rebel soldiers at the presidential palace in Nouakchott, according to a presidential spokesman. Soldiers also detained Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waqef.

State radio and television went off air and witnesses said soldiers were deployed throughout the capital.

The African Union condemned the coup and demanded a return to constitutional government. "The African Union , condemns the coup d'Etat and demands the restoration of constitutional legality," said a statement issued at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The European Commission condemned the coup and demanded that Mr Abdallahi be restored to power. "The European Commission is very concerned by the situation in Mauritania, which puts into question the remarkable democratic progress in this country," it said in a statement.

EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said it could "put into question our policy of cooperation with Mauritania." The EU executive had allocated some €156 million of aid for 2008-2013.

Straddling the western edge of the Sahara desert, Arab-dominated Mauritania, with a population of 3.4 million, has seen more than 10 coups or attempted coups since independence from France in 1960. It became Africa’s
newest oil producer after reserves were discovered in 2006.

Mr Abdallahi’s civilian government took control from a military junta, which seized power in a 2005 coup and stepped down after 2007 elections. The president had been under pressure for weeks from politicians who accused him of corruption.

The 2005 coup, which saw colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall seize power bloodlessly and declare himself president, was widely popular, for many Mauritanians had grown tired of the 21-year rule of former dictator Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants have been active in the country, launching sporadic attacks on the military and other targets. Mauritania blamed the 2007 Christmas Eve murders of four French tourists on an Islamic terrorist group.
The attacks prompted French organisers to cancelled this year’s Dakar Rally.


Is this what we need in Nigeria for us to move in a better direction?

If we’re to experience coup in Nigeria today, which of the experience military leaders will you root for to lead the coup with guarantee of better returns? A leader capable of repeating the saga that happened in Ghana during “Rulings” regime.

Embrace hard work.

The man is already a hero in my book regardless of the outcome of this situation.

Isn’t that what they want in the first place? I guess the case that contest Waziri’s nomination as EFCC chairman is still in court. The only way to fully throw the case out is if they can provide evidence that oppose / flaws Ribadu’s right to occupy the position in the first place. The idea is to frustrate the man’s life so that he will have no option but to quit and for the case in court to sort itself out automatically.

I think the man should continue with the fight. Based on their argument, they saying if we give high school kid double promotion based on his past performance (proven academics) …and this kid shows he’s capable of excelling brilliantly in his/her new position. Now, because this kid’s ability to perform threatening those elders he met in class. Does that mean we should demote him because of that? I think this is a fight that is worth fighting for, why chicken out. The man said in one of his speech, he’ll die fighting corruption. Well, here is his chance to prove he’s not all words.

WOW!!!!!

Why do we need to change the name of our country? What difference is that going make? Changing the name attached to a specific country without changing the moral of the people solves nothing. How can we change our image if we’re still going to be producing the same product? Before you know it, the new name is going to go sour and be as bad as the old one. What Nigeria need right now currently is reorientation; in terms of attitudes, ideas, morals e.t.c

SMC:

@ Airegin,

Is that you Dupe?

Who is Dupe?

It’s not the same post over and over, we all agree that Corruption is a general problem that needs different approach and strategy. Some people suggested death penalty, and they gave their reason to justify the purpose and why it will work.

We all believe that infrastructure (Irrigation, Telecom, IT, Postal Services, Water, Dams and Canals, Waste water,) is still a big bane in our dear country. We have a lot of oversight in this sector. A lot of these infrastructure deficiencies are not visible to our government or to many. This is a thread where we can collectively share our experience and highlight some of the problems and provide pointers/solution on how to fix these problems.

Some of us believe Lagos state Government is not doing enough or maximizing their potential in terms of human resources and capital allocated to it. Here is the thread where we can collectively point out some of those lapses; offer our form of recommendation in order to correct those lapses. Identify problems that many people don’t know about either in Lagos or anywhere within the country and device a plan to combat or reduce the problem. State your reasoning for, and how you think your solution will work.

bilymuse:

contact the Nigeria embassy in your place of abode.

Besides contacting Nigeria Embassy, where else can you go in Nigeria to access this funds?

1. State one specific problem that you think is plaguing your environment.

2.What are/is the impact of this problem on the society

3.Provide the solution on how the government / private companies/ individuals can tackle this problem. Please, state the pros and cons of your solution.

4.If the problem needs funding, how can they (government) source the money without interfering with budget or for individual, how can they raise funding to tackle the problem?

I believe the Indians and the Chinese agreed to this term during the last Oil block allocation. How come nothing has been done till today? How come we’ve never heard of them putting a feasibility study together talk less of Process Design package / Detail engineering design package? We all know they only want one thing, that’s our resources. They’re ready to say one thing or the other just to keep their crude oil supply uninterrupted. We all know they’ll never build anything in Nigeria, not refinery or ethylene plant. Let’s not fool ourselves.

@ Poster
Lovely post
I am so happy to have across this. I'll cherish it for a long time

@ jydewalker

Sorry about your loss.

We all speak of revolution which I do believe is exactly what the country need to move forward. How many of us are actually ready to take part in the revolution?

Mr. Beninman…if I may ask you; are you living in the country currently and are you ready to lay down your life for what you speak off.

BlackMamba:

The solution is easy but selfless and may be dangerous. You can sacrifice your personal dreams and start the struggle for change even if it is at the village level. You don't have to be a millionaire to do this. Surely, the consequences can be dire or even death but that's the price we must pay for posterity. Do something today if you really care or just shut up. Is it in you?

I understand your plight my brother. By contributing on forums like this can only bring one thing which is awareness. Let’s talk about it; you never know who will be moved by your constructive response; so therefore we all don’t have to shut up if we’re not doing something today. Only united can we free…only with courage can we liberated our people from Hugo Chavez.

This is from -

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2008072815414546

Nigeria‘s image seemed to have improved with former President Olusegun Obasanjo‘s claim to fight corruption during his administration. Do you think with all the revelations now, the country‘s image outside would not have worsened?
The corruption drive that started during the era of former President Olusegun Obasanjo gained some momentum. It showed that we were ready to expose to the world, some of our corrupt practices. We can call that washing our dirty linen in the open. But this is something that is necessary in order to be able to minimise corruption in our country. At least, that is good for our image. On the negative side, what is important is this: It is not the probe as such; but whether those who are found to have committed what I will call crime against poor Nigerians by taking out contracts, collecting money and not doing anything; that is what I call crime against poor Nigerians and therefore, they should be like crimes against humanity. Because it is a very serious problem, it is a very serious issue. If they are not punished, that is very bad. Secondly too, not only should they be punished, but they should have all their assets forfeited and I want to see a situation in which like the election tribunal, that will judge their cases within three months and there should be a situation in which once it has been proven from the probe and the National Assembly members have visited the sites (contracts) and there is nothing on those sites, then it is assumed that those people are guilty. So it is left for them now to prove to the world that they are not guilty, and if they cannot, all their assets should be seized and they should send them to jail for forty years, minimum. That is what the world is looking for now. If they can do that, I am assuring you that our image will skyrocket. We do not even need to publicise ourselves on CNN. But at the very moment, we are not the envy of any investor that comes to Nigeria. Any investor that comes to the country is investing in corruption, which is the way I can describe the present situation.

What was the involvement of TI in Obasanjo‘s battle against corruption?

To a certain extent, it is not the business of TI to help Nigeria to fight against corruption. There are 51 nations that are members of TI; it has no capacity to stop corruption in any of those countries. It is our own responsibility as TI in Nigeria because we understand the conditions better. The issue is that it is not only TI, it has to be the will of Nigerians to take the matter up, accountants, judges- must have the will to be able to do what they are expected to do. Just like the case of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, the press will not allow us to rest, every single day it was Ribadu, Ribadu. How did the gentleman get N40-60m to buy house in Abuja? And the man said his father-in-law got a loan from the bank for him. So if he were caught in that kind of situation, what about his subordinates, and right now Mrs. Farida Waziri got there and she is saying, I am not going to probe him, it is all because they are policemen and women. As long as we continue to have policemen and women investigating corruption in our country, then we are wasting our time.

What is Nigeria‘s rating in TI at the moment?

The point is that we have just moved on to the stage. We are making effort, we are exposing all the cases of corruption and this had never happened before and if we want to move up that stage, we should be seen to be punishing all those who have been found to be wanting by the court. Secondly there are so many numbers of people who have stolen money and are sitting down in the Senate. Even from the leadership of the Senate to members of the House of Assembly who are alleged to have gone to Port Harcourt to collect N200m, the hunters are now being hunted. The issue is very straight forward, punish those who have been found wanting. All those former governors and the rest of them who are running around the place and they are giving them back their passport, and now we have a very serious situation today in the country. Most of those governors who have stolen public money are establishing newspapers, buying big shares in television houses, they want to control the media, and that is dangerous. If they do that, journalists cannot do their job because they will be looking down their back, if not they would not get paid. In any case, how many journalists get paid? So, if you look at all these things, the average policeman collects N20, and you see that the Inspector-Generals, one after the other, they are so corrupt. One of them was even buying the official quarters of his position. So, you see, it is the system that is so rotten. We are talking about ‘2020‘, how can you talk about building a skyscraper when you have not put in the foundation. It will collapse. Therefore, what the President should do is to declare a state of emergency against corruption, not on power. Electricity is not a big deal; it is just the supply of electricity. Lagos State wanted to do it, it was the Federal Government that stopped them. If not, everybody would have been having electricity in Lagos. Power is not our problem, what our problem is, is corruption. Until Yar‘Adua does that, we would know that he is a very serious person. After all, who is supplying water to all the states? Are they not supplying their own water? So let electricity, just like water, be handled by individual states.

Who would you blame for some of the amazing discoveries over contracts awards in the various institutions?

The whole thing is that; let us assume that the system is so bad that even if they put you there, it is like putting honey on the tip of your tongue. Would you swallow it or spit it out? So in most cases, they will swallow the honey. When ministers, permanent secretaries get there, they meet our contract system that is bad. What we need to do is this; no ministry should be allowed to award contracts. We should have government procurement agency. During the time of the British, there used to be what they called the ‘crown agent.‘ The tasks were given to them (crown agent) and they in turn will order what you want for you; from pencil to paper to everything that you want in your ministry. That was the only contract point of the government. That allows us now to be able to monitor that particular agency where contracts emanate. But where you have all the ministries in the world that are doing contracts, then you have a problem. That is why we have this very bad system, and of course the ministers, permanent secretaries and civil servants would like that kind of system to remain. One of the areas where we are having corruption cases in Nigeria and why it is very fundamental is that, one, the derivation system that we use in sharing money, is corrupting itself. How would the mobilisation and allocation commission that is distributing salary for everybody, when they do not mobilise any revenue. It is very bad. People should be paid according to what they can generate in their local government in their states. Not somebody sitting down in Abuja, and telling people what to be paid in remote areas of this country. We do not need all those ministries that we have at the federal level. What are the states there for? They should reduce the number of ministries (federal) to twelve, let the states do their job, as well as the local governments. That is why we have three tiers of government. In Nigeria, it is only one tier that seems to be working; the others are just spending money.

In all of this, where do you put Obasanjo?

Right from the beginning, I knew that Obasanjo was a hypocrite. I never accepted that, one, Obasanjo could fight corruption, because of his character and he has not disappointed me at all, from the investigations that are going on now. Two, it is stupid for anyone to think that politicians can fight corruption. Political system all over the world is corrupt. It is the people, and the people must work with the mass media so that there would be constant investigative journalism in the press and the judiciary. And then, we must have lawyers and accountants with conscience. Our lawyers and accountants do not have any conscience; they follow money.

Of what use would the ongoing probes be to the country?

These probes are very useful. There have been rumours and the probes are now there to confirm the rumour. Therefore what is EFCC waiting for, what is the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission waiting for? Once people have written petition to EFCC and ICPC, these probes would now make them to act because many people had written petition before about their governors, local government chairmen, contractors, ministers and so on. There are some that are still being kept under the carpet, there are rumours about the one of fertilizers in the agriculture ministry, we have not heard anything about that. The former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, is running around the whole world. There are some other governors who are sitting down in the village, while others are being arrested. So this is the issue. But the media would not bring this out, because they are their friends or if a journalist goes ahead to do the story, the editor may not publish them. Look at the way journalists are doing their election, they are not different from the politicians. It is because everyone wants to be the president of the Guild of Editors.

How do you situate the National Assembly in all these cases of corruption, especially with their attitude to the Freedom of Information bill?

I know people are making a big issue about this FOI bill. There is no doubt that it is very important, but as long as you continue to push the National Assembly, they would say there is a hidden agenda, and therefore they would continue to resist it. Now, the Senate may want to prove that it supports, but they know that as long as the House of Representatives does not pass it, it would not have any value, even if the President is ready to sign it. It is like the Yoruba saying that there are many ways of killing a chicken; either by putting the knife on its neck or in other places.


This is interesting.

Delivering Nigeria out of its total outcry has to be a collective, leaving it to the government will not do it at all. The Awareness has to be there…people (everybody) have to understand and accept that there is something wrong with our dear country, then together as a country we can figure out how to elevate our economy. Until we realize what the problem is as a team…then we can move on to the next stage. We can then create certain policy that will combat/reduce/eliminate our so called barriers; where nobody will be above the law, people will be held accountable for their specific actions. People shall be patriotic enough not to get caught up in any form of corruption and also be bold enough to report any form of injustice that might plaque our surroundings. We shall speak as one (Nigerian) and not as tribes.

Everybody keeps saying, it’s going to take a lot of work…and I’m pretty sure we all know that. But where do we start? How do we start?

Which way Nigeria, Which way we go.

beninman:

Corruption in Nigeria, what can we do to stop it, right? Harsh punishment is the key to stopping the corruptions in our country Nigeria

Fine guilty of corruption in the court face up to 40 years in Prison or Death penalty will be the only way top stop it because just asking Nigerians to stop will not work.

DEATH PENALTY will be the only key and any one found guilty must be killed like the way we use to kill Armed Rubbers (Anini, Osunbor, Iyamu and the rest) in Benin back in the days. Public execution will be better.

How to stop Nigeria corruption:
1. Impose a death penalty
2. Public execution to those guilty of corruption
3. Kill those guilty immediately without delay

I cannot agree with you more.

But come to think of it, Corruption can be defined as
1. lack of integrity or honesty
2. impairment of virtue and moral principles
3. destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty
4. use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
5. inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); "he was held on charges of corruption and racketeering

According to your lordship, you’re saying anybody found guilty of using position of trust for dishonest gain should be executed. If you’re found guilty of bribing police with N20 at any junction…that means you and the police should be hang immediately with no delay. If you’re found guilty paying more for petrol at the black market…that’s encouraging corruption, therefore two of you should be hang.

My brother you harsh o. That means 99.9999% of Nigerians will be executed now.

Nigeria is worth living if and only if you have the means of surviving. A lot of people left Nigeria in search of green pastures, just because our stupid leaders has pretty much bastardize everything, they have denied common man basic education, simple infrastructures. If our economy is better, why do we need to go another mans country and be flipping burgers, working in nursing homes (taking care of old people), or engaging in all these menial jobs? Why do we need to go to another country and pay taxes there rather than here in my country? Why stay in Nigeria when you have mouth to feed, and you yourself (a graduate) don’t have a single Job. If you believe living the country will enhance and guarantee better future for you and your kids, then why not. We all believe and pray that the mistakes, pain and suffering that we went through in life should only pass through us. This (pain & sufferings) by no means should not extend to our siblings. I’m in total support of living the country in search of green pastures, an avenue to better ourselves so that in return we can also contribute quota to the system.

We can start by placing high emphasis on training our upcoming youths on how to deduce bitterly from right and wrong, life a corrupt free life. By standing straight our self and setting perfect example, menthol all these kids by showing them the negative side of corruption. I’m of the opinion that right now, corruption is in our blood stream; 95% of foreigners you meet will tell you every Nigerians are fraudulent people. We need to change this habit by setting a different tone as an individual, build a different legacy as an hard working individual who does not earn his/her living through extortion of others…the image people perceive through an individual might and will make a difference.

1. IBB
2. SAM EGWU
3. IBORI
4. ATIKU
5. TINUBU
6. OBJ
7. ANNEHIH
8. BODE GEORGE
9. LUCKY IGBINEDON
10. THE SARAKI’S