₦airaland Forum

Armaggedon:
hahahaa Igbo group remain with Nigeria? What did you smoke?

I didn't say they should remain in Nigeria. Some of them say they aren't igbo while some said they are igbo. That is why I said referendum to determine what exactly they want to do. There are confirmed (not contested) Yoruba people in Benin Republic, Sierra Leone, likewise Hausa people in Ghana, Mali, Niger etc. You can't force people to join you if they don't want to - same applies to Nigeria.

Learn to have discussions without insulting people.

My candid opinion about this is that if people want to go, they should let them go. I do know that this renewed cause is because GEJ lost, otherwise they would have cried this loud in the last 6 years but it doesn't matter.

Can anyone here tell me exactly where the confirmed boundary of Biafra terminates, I am thinking that will only be the issue. The other Igboid groups like Ikwerres, Aniocha, Agbor/Auchi etc. can have a referendum as to whether they want to be part of Biafra or Nigeria.

If the cry for self determination has been around for this long, heck it is time to put it to bed. Nigeria has nothing to lose. The oil wells that seems to be the bone of contention has just about 10years max with the discovery of shale and most of the wells are not even in confirmed Biafraland anyway.

So let's make this happen and fast.

Amebo123:
This will force some of the money been used for business or real estate in the county

but most of the money will leave the country some west africa countries still give high interest rate


Most fixed deposit money belong to investors that don't want to do or not interested in Business.

How exactly do you plan to move the money out? You need dollars to do that. It is easier to look for other means to invest the money here by acting as a venture capitalist than moving the money out. That was the first thing the CBN did. Stiffle capital outflow.

ExInferis:
Why are Isa Yuguda, Ramalan Yero, Aliyu Babangida, Ibrahim Shema walking free?

Im a full blood northerner but this anti corruption war seems pretty lopsided to me.

You see the Northerners have this brotherhood thing. They won't write petitions only southerners do that because we are more learned. Without petition EFCC has nothing to work with because they need someone to provide evidence. El Rufai could decide to make a mess of Yero but he won't because of that brotherhood mentality. That has both negative and positive consequences.

PART 4:

Corruption often involves very sophisticated bankers and lawyers in Western financial centers. When corruption happens in Nigeria, or any other African country, it usually also happens at the same time with at least one accomplice on the other side of the world, whether in London, Geneva, or the like.

The London lawyer Bhadresh Gohil, who I wrote about in my last post, is just one of scores of international advisors who handle the sophisticated movement of money in the world, in this case the money stolen from the Nigerian people and hidden in overseas bank accounts. When you choose financial or legal advisors, choose very wisely. Your very life could depend on it. When Mr Gohil and other family and associates of Delta State governor James Ibori were arrested in London, I was asked by the British government to be a state witness in their trial. I agreed without hesitation.

Being a witness in such a case is not easy. It meant that I had to stop working for several weeks and just focus on preparation to give evidence. I knew I would be grilled in an open court by expensive defense lawyers who would try to challenge my integrity.
I was told that many potential witnesses had declined to give evidence in open court out of fear.
Not me!

I headed to England as a "Witness to Her Majesty's Government." For me personally, I went as a "witness on behalf of the people of Nigeria and Africa." It was my duty.

A witness can help ensure justice is done. Solid evidence is crucial in ensuring the truth is heard and that the rule of law is upheld. Without witness testimony, criminals can operate with impunity, one of the greatest threats to Africa’s future.
What is impunity? It basically means evil actions have no legal consequences. As a result, criminals are allowed to stay busy committing their crimes, knowing they can get away with it without punishment. A culture of impunity endangers the prospects for prosperity and security in Africa in every imaginable way.

Mr Ibori's wife, his sister, and his mistress, who each had each received money from the sale of the shares in V-Mobile (which were assets of the people of Nigeria), were also arrested in London and were sentenced to five years in prison.

My written witness statements were submitted and I prepared to appear in court to be cross-examined. The night before I was due to take the stand in an open London court as witness for the state, I was told Mr Gohil and his associates had suddenly pleaded guilty. My lawyers told me that my witness statement was too strong and Mr Gohil and his team were afraid they would get even stiffer sentences!

In late 2010, Mr Gohil was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for crimes including conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to make false instruments, money laundering and proceeds of crime. The sentencing judge said to him, "You were a solicitor of the Supreme Court and holding out as a man of integrity... You have brought shame on your family, your profession and your country.”

When corrupt people like this get into trouble, they often pay some of the best lawyers in the world to help them get out of it. Taking them on successfully requires authorities equally determined and sophisticated in their approach. These authorities in turn need the cooperation of witnesses prepared to stand in court and help with the prosecution.

To be contd.

pharmagba:
Abeg write to the EFCC and stop boring us with propaganda, don't distract our president

I hope I can safely assume you went to school. Please define propaganda.

PART 3:

__ Beware the company you keep
The state government of Akwa Ibom held 15% of the equity in Econet Wireless Nigeria. This state was not one of the original investors but joined us later. After five years, the governor of the state of Akwa Ibom decided to sell its stake. It had more than doubled in value in dollar terms, which meant it had been a good investment. The state governor, an elderly gentleman called Victor Attah, sent a message through a friend that he wanted to see me in London to find out if I was interested in exercising Econet’s right to buy its shares. I agreed to meet him in London. "I want to sell the shares to build an airport before I leave office," the governor explained.
The governor was accompanied to the meeting by a British lawyer who sat quietly taking notes. His name was Bhadresh Gohil.
With a wave of his hand, the governor said, "Mr Gohil is our legal advisor here in London. I have instructed him to handle all our negotiations with you." The meeting did not last more than 30 minutes, as the governor was on his way to catch a flight to the U.S.

We agreed with Mr Gohil that we would meet with my own advisors a few days later to start the process. A few days later, I went to his office with a professional banker who advised me on such transactions. We met in the lawyer's plush London offices. He was confident and smooth-spoken as he explained how much we were expected to pay. Then he explained that our money was to go to a "Special Purpose Vehicle" (SPV) before it was transferred to Nigeria. It was a sophisticated structure and he showed me a drawing of how it would work. I wrote it all down very carefully into my notebook.

Such corporate entities as SPVs can definitely have legitimate purposes, but this one did not! As I quizzed him about why such an unusual structure was necessary, Mr Gohil changed tact and tried to entice me with an offer I could not refuse (or so he hoped): "I'm also the advisor to the governor of Delta State, Mr James Ibori, and if you agree to pay for these shares using this structure, we will offer you shares belonging to all the state governments. In total, you can have more than 30% additional shares. It will be enough to take control of the company. My clients just want out, and they are willing to give you what you have always wanted."

I listened to him, quietly taking notes in my small notebook. I did not give away anything, but inside I was very angry. From the design of the structure, I knew immediately that it was meant to siphon off money before it reached the state governments. It was clear there was a conspiracy to steal a lot of money.

Having already pocketed $13.5m, now the government officials could easily pocket probably another $100m through the sale process that they had developed with the help of Mr Gohil and other clever advisors in London! When I left the meeting I immediately contacted the mutual friend who'd set up the governor's meeting. The friend was so embarrassed as I explained the corrupt structure clearly designed to steal money from the state governments. He promised to raise the issue with Governor Victor Attah. A few days later he came back and said Governor Attah had claimed ignorance about the proposal put to me by Mr Gohil. He said he would speak to Mr Gohil and tell him it had to be done properly without the structures.

We never heard from them again. Mr Gohil simply vanished. A few months later we were told that the shares had been offered to a company from the Middle East who subsequently bought them. I was not privy to how they did it except that they had violated my right to buy the shares... That is another chapter in the saga, but not for now.

Fast-forward three years, long after the sale. Our lawyers in London called me one day and asked if I could come urgently to a meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit of the London Metropolitan Police: "You are not in any trouble, but I think you will find what they have to say very interesting!" This special unit was launched by the British to investigate corruption by foreign government officials who try to launder stolen money to the U.S. and the UK.

The officers asked me to explain everything I knew about the sale of V-Mobile shares to Celtel (later Zain).
I explained the history of the entire transaction and the shareholders disputes that had led to our departure. After awhile, they asked me to focus on specific events, and, in particular, my meetings in London with the governor of Akwa Ibom, and also the meetings with Mr Gohil. It became clear to me that they had a lot of information! "What can you tell us about this structure, using a Special Purpose Vehicle?"
I explained my understanding of it. Later on, I gave them my diary in which I had recorded the details of my meeting that day with Mr Gohil.
Below my drawing of the structure, I had written in bold letters:

"This is corrupt!!!"

Not long after my meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit, Mr Gohil was arrested together with one of his partners and several others. I later learned that when the Middle Eastern company bought the shares, some of the proceeds had been diverted using the Gohil structure. Some of the money was sent to a bank in London. This large amount of money was enough to alert the British authorities that money was being laundered through their banking system.

Their investigations led them to Gohil and his associates. They raided his offices and found stashes of documents, including details of the structures. Now they were looking for witnesses to help prosecute them for corruption and money laundering.

The British authorities tried without success to get other parties, including the governor of Akwa Ibom, to come out and clear their names but they refused. Officials of President Umaru Musa Yar'Aduah's government successfully thwarted all extradition requests.

I was asked to be a witness in the trial of those who had been arrested in London. I willingly accepted. Next I will tell you about my role as a 'Witness to the Crown" on behalf of the people of Nigeria whose money had been stolen. It would be the first time that someone big went to jail (in a foreign country) for stealing money from Africans.

To be continued . . .

PART 2:

___As citizens, we have a duty to speak out to stop the rot
Nigeria has an agency known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After we had to leave the country, a few noble people at the company tipped off not only me but the EFCC about the payment of the bribes, which had by this time risen from $9m to $13,5m. I had never actually heard about this agency myself until I got a call from the Nigerian Embassy in South Africa to say they wanted to come and see me to interview me as a witness.

A team of very senior EFCC officers came to see us in South Africa. They were solid and professional in their enquiry. It was clear they wanted to do something about it. However, when these officers returned home to Nigeria, they got into very serious trouble. Their investigations into the irregular payments had been brought to the attention of James Ibori (Governor of Delta State)…
Soon thereafter, the most senior officer leading the investigation was demoted and sent to a remote part of the country as an ordinary policeman!

Agencies like EFCC in Nigeria sometimes have brave and gallant law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, as I observed, they’re often let down by their political bosses, and sometimes even by the courts. This can change if activism from the citizenry emerges to support their work. We should not only support official efforts to stop corruption but also help these agencies and organisations in their investigations. If you have relevant information about illegal activities, passing it on could make all the difference between impunity and imprisonment.

In my letter to the US Justice Department, I detailed the full history of the demands for a bribe. I had dates, times, records. I then reminded them that since the big international operator had a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, they were duty-bound to launch an enquiry. Why did I go to them?The United States government has a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The United Kingdom has a similar one called the British Anti-Bribery Act. Whatever you do, make sure you never fall foul of those laws because, if they ever use them to come after you, you’re a "gonner" my friends.

A few weeks later, US officials wrote back advising me that an enquiry had been launched. They contacted the big international company seeking answers to my allegations. My contacts at the company called to tell me, "All hell has broken loose at the company." The parent company of the South African-based multinational sent external auditors and lawyers from London to Nigeria. They immediately dismissed all the senior executives sent to Nigeria to run the company, and they left in a hurry!

Although they fled the scene of the crime and returned to their country -- after admitting even to both the US Justice Department and the EFCC that the money had been paid out – the stolen funds were never returned to the Nigerian people, even to this day.
Meanwhile, the departure of the other mobile operator did not mean we could return to Nigeria. The shareholders found another operator, this time from the Middle East.

They sold this new operator the control of the company even though Econet Wireless Nigeria had the "right of first refusal" over any sale. They simply ignored that provision in our agreement. This was illegal, both according to our shareholders agreement and Nigerian Company Law. It was left for us to take up the fight in another forum, the Nigerian courts.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=918346768239819&id=496453373762496&substory_index=0
To be continued…

This story is about the monumental corruption the happened in the hey days of GSM in Nigeria. This story has been floating around the internet for a few days now but none of our media deem it fit to publish considering the names mentioned. A quick background before I post the original story:

Strive Masiyiwa for those who don't know is the Chairman of Econet Wireless - a Zimbabwean and one of the richest men in Africa. He is a staunch Christian and one of the very few African businessmen who do business the right way and invests largely in African countries. ECONET Wireless for those who don't know, was the first GSM network in Nigeria and the first GSM call in Nigeria was made by Mr Strive Masiyiwa himself. For most Nigerians who has been around since the beginning of the GSM revolution, ECONET Wireless changed to, Vodacom then to V-Mobile, afterwards CELTEL to Zain and finally Bharti-Airtel.

Here is the backstory by Strive Masiyiwa (PART 1 OF 4):

It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part 7) Nigeria 1
___Sometimes the price can be very high in the fight against corruption.
I had the privilege of making Nigeria’s first GSM phone call back in 2001 when I called the regulator to say, “We’re live!” Who would’ve believed then that Nigeria today would have more than 167 million mobile phones?!

It all started out as a very exciting new chapter for enterprise in Africa. Shortly after President Obasanjo was elected, the new government announced an incredibly transparent international auction process for three national mobile phone licenses.
To participate in the bid, you not only had to raise money, but there had to be a member of the bidding consortium who was an experienced GSM operator. Econet Wireless met the requirements because of its experience in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Our Nigerian partners, which included state governments, local banks and high net worth individuals, were financial investors. The largest shareholder had only 10%. That was the written agreement.

I managed to assemble a consortium of 22 investors to put up the money needed to bid. Our shareholders were all Nigerian, mostly institutional investors including leading banks and two state governments, Lagos State and Delta State. The license cost us $285m and was the most expensive license ever issued in Africa at the time. This was 2001.

We considered the investment not only about putting together a network, but also about building a nation. We knew it had the potential to transform Nigeria’s entire business and social architecture.Most of our investors had between 1-10% shareholding. Econet Wireless Nigeria had only 5% of the shares, but that was fine because it was 5% ownership of a very big pie.

As the "technical partner and operator," Econet was the company with the expertise to build and operate such a business. Our financial investors recognised this, and also allowed us to receive 3% of the turnover as our fees. This was standard practice in the industry. We were one of the winning bidders and they gave us just six months to set up business and get our network operating. We were under a lot of pressure but our network was live two days before the others! Customers were pouring in. We were number one in the market with an estimated 57% market share.

Then came the fateful day when I was told that our company must pay a total of $9m in bribes to senior politicians (in state government) who had facilitated the raising of the money to pay for the license. I refused to authorise the illegal payments. Meeting after meeting was held to try to get me to agree, but I would not. The money would not be paid as long as Econet was the operator and I had signing authority.
James Ibori, the Governor of Delta State, was demanding $4,5m be paid to him in his personal capacity. He was one of the most powerful men in the country and had a reputation for violence. When he heard that I was refusing to approve payment he issued an ultimatum:
___"Pay or I will chase you and your people out of the country." I refused.

The shareholders met and voted Econet Wireless Nigeria out of management. They cancelled our management contract. James Ibori and his colleagues personally attended the meeting to remove us. After the meeting one of them (a prominent local businessman even today) came up to me and said: "Unfortunately for you, God does not have a vote." I had to withdraw all my staff and their families: 200 people in all. We left Nigeria.

Most of our people had to be retrenched. The loss of the contract almost drove us to bankruptcy as a group. They invited a big international operator to replace us as technical partner and operator. They changed the name of the company from Econet to V-Mobile.
Within days of their arrival, the managers of the new operator signed off the payments demanded as bribes. Then what happened?
A few noble Nigerians had both the integrity and courage to carefully collect all the documentation on the movement of the money, and pass it all on to me.

___There’s a saying worth remembering in uncovering the trail of destruction that is corruption: “Follow the money”…
I bided my time... then I wrote a letter to the United States Department of Justice!
It was 2003.

To be continued…

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=917244491683380&id=496453373762496&substory_index=0

The question then is "What do they need N120bn for?" What do they spend the remainder of their budget on?

HouseOfWine:
Good, then don't report to camp at all,

Some NFF members were even at your Moms burial, relay via them to Oliseh U can't make it

Y come with Ur distorted mentality as a captain, late and want to infect us

Some guys have lost more than him yet they still report to camp early , is it because they didn't publicize their matter to the media through IG, FB or twitter..


As of now self eagles dey lose 2-O, if Vincent had played would it be 0-0, abeg no man is bigger than a Nation

If Oliseh decides to strip him off the captaincy,it is his choice but the manner he did it is vengeful. I have been promoted ahead of my superiors before but my boss was kind enough to explain to them why I was being promoted not being arrogant and saying it is her company and she can do whatever she likes.

free2ryhme:
Give us the nature and list the achievements that makes him a legend?

Wow! I stated an obvious one did you just decide to ignore it? Freddie Lundberg is an Arsenal legend so also is Robert Pires, were they the best players in the world? Vincent Enyeama is a Nigerian footballing legend whether you agree or not.

free2ryhme:
Y shld I quote yor position when Eyeama has done well. Let's live it at that. The legend thing I repeat is a bit out of place

What constitutes legendary status? Achievements! The guy has achieved what no other Nigerian player has ever done. He is the most capped player Nigeria has ever had. Aside from honours he garnered while achieving that. This confers on him the legendary status.

HouseOfWine:
...

All these things she stated is normal with most footballers

Infact most footballers love the game so much they play through so many challenges either it be financial, physical, mental or psychological

They are used to their work it almost like its part of their living

I don't approve the way Oliseh communicated to our Captain


But still Our Captain should be the first to camp not last despite any challenges unless if its traffic or transport problem

Don't come to camp one day later and say my mom died... I don't support that active, that's indiscipline especially from a captain

Vincent I Mostly noticed you against England in my common room against England in my Sec Sch days, U have done good untimely

But still Oliseh isn't your country, Nigeria is

U fall our hand with your pride.. Yes Pride

Good luck & Fare well,

I will still watch Lille because 1st and forever you are a Nigerian

I'm pretty sure you won't report to camp at all of it were you. The dude just buried his MOTHER for Christ sake. I would be so shaken because of the love I have for my mom that I won't even show up.

I swear some nairalanders failed English comprehension throughout primary and secondary school. They don't understand what they read before they comment. Thank God for Macmillan o.

Cadamlk:
This is a serious case oo.Nigeria politicians cannot be trusted,some women too cannot be trusted as regards the paternity of a child.Then who do we believe here?Both parties should keep their selfishness aside,check themselves and come up with the truth.They should stop making life meserable for the young guy.

He wasn't a politician 23years ago. He was in the University.

Really can't tell if i can marry one, but I dated one and was going to marry her, but guess her reaction to every issue we have - "I'm not interested in the relationship again" or "Let's take a break". She did this like 3 times and I told her that the next time she does, it will be the real last time.

She did and I kept to my words. She begged all she could but my mind was made up. Wisdom told me that she will do the same thing when we get married.

Seun needs to do something about this tribal bashing and not allow it to fester any longer. The end result won't be good for us all including him.
PS: I am not from the SE, but I would that we condemn individuals rather than a whole tribe.

Bros, remove your tithe and give her the remaining. You can then ask her to give you upkeep for the month. That would not only show you appreciate all she's done but also reiterate the fact that all you have is hers.

redgem:
Fellow Nairalander's please I need urgent help...who know of any human right activist in port harcourt? My dad is being abusive and threatens to kill my mum and I. He is being really violent and I fear he will fulfil his threat soon.... He has severally try to strangle my mum... Please, help its a matter of life and death.

I think he needs to be reminded that it is now an imprisonable offence to beat his wife. Thanks to the bill signed by the past President a few days ago. So he can be arrested and put in prison. Get someone to chip that in, the fear of prison might curb his temper.

pak:
@OP, although the method is deprecated and no longer advised by desigm professionals but if you're out of time and patience, just use tables. A one row table with multiple columns and zero cell margin. Make the background image the table bg and set cell borders to relect the design. Alternatively, you can make it two rows, the upper for the images, the lower for the text. Just play around with it and you'll be done in like 10 to 20 mins

Don't ever use tables especially with menus, modern browsers will mess up your site especially mobile browsers. The trend is to develop for mobile first, so this is a really bad idea.

Wow! You actually used your mind to think this up? God have mercy!

slap1:
APC could be behind this fuel crisis so Buhari would come and be the messiah after 'ending' it.

oneeast:
Suicide

But Kashimu is not the only drug runner around? This is vindictiveness on the part of APC.

There are other prominent drug dealers there, they should be extradited all at once!

Last I checked today is 23rd of May it is not 29th yet. PDP still rule this country. How is this APC?

fatdon2:
She looks like toolz younger sister, But too fat. She should hit the gym asap.

Another person that has been fooled by playing with Barbie. We are Africans, we do not have issues with meat on our body. Heck just about 30years ago, skinny people used to go for fattening before they can get married but watching too much of Hollywood movies have redefined beauty for us.

sinaj:
I noticed her in Shuga

she iz xo grown nd phat

But we are Africans and our grand parents didn't have issues with having the kind of body this girl has. Since the oyinbo started selling us Barbie, they have defined for us that to be beautiful you must look skinny. Na wa o.

I weep for my generation for falling for this deliberate attempt to let you think the office of the Presidency earns this little. The basic salary is the only part of the salary that is taxable. You need to focus on the allowances. That I can tell you will run into millions of dollars. You actually think the House of Assembly members will earn more than the President? You better wake up from that dream. They all earn too much and we should be looking for a way to cut their allowances period.

Layonle:
y r u so so lyk dz_didn't u see/hear d tape whr d Oba made d utterance himsef_cum off it_choose whoeva pleases u buh b truthful n stop hating

Sister, what the Oba said is not justifiable. It is wrong on all levels, but it was a reaction to what JK said about elevating the Eze Ndigbo to same status as him and Ifeanyi Uba's statement about Lagos being no man's land. How do you think that would make the typical Yoruba man especially Lagosians feel? He didn't need to say those things.

I am not hating, I actually do LIKE him I just hate the tribal politics he played. And my friends that had the intention of voting against the hegemony of Tinubu in Lagos changed their minds because for them it was better than having the Igbo man telling him that he calls the shot in Lagos. I am not a bigot but that statement is infuriating. Plus he necessarily won't be a better candidate considering those who will appoint his commissioners.

Chosen1984:
ROBBERY!ROBBERY!TINUBU ,FASHOLA DAY LIGHT ROBBERY! THEY ARE ONLY POSTPONING THE DOOMS DAY!
PURE SUBSTITUTION OF RESULTS IN LAGOS

Cry me a River!

saintandsinnerz:
What I really don't get is why the Yorubas hated this man so much? Is he not a Yoruba man? Why the hate on him? Somebody just said it is because he seeked the support of Igbos and non indigenes in the election. Well if that is true, then the hatred the yorubas have for the Igbos is beyond this earth. If you take a look at all the comments in this thread, it is littered with yorubas abusing the Igbos for no just cause. When the Igbos respond they will say igbos this, igbos that. All I can see is people filled with hate and rabid gelousy. Just because jimi agbaje is seeking the support of other tribes, they now transfer d hatred they have for other tribes to him. They preferred to be to the apron strings of bola tinubu forever. While d man becomes more richer from "tithes" he receives from his stooges (fashola and maybe now Ambode) you lot continue to persih in poverty and hate. You guys should continue with your hate filled lives and see where it gets u

So many of my Yoruba friends would have voted for him until he played tribal politics. That backfired big time. He was the architect of his own failure. He should have kept to the goodwill he enjoys. Now he has lost and has tarnished his image amongst his teeming Yoruba fans. There was absolutely no reason to play the ethnic card, he would have won. He ostracised his Yoruba supporters himself by his utterances and disregard for the feelings of the typical Lagosian and Yorubas generally.