₦airaland Forum

Awolowo's reply to Prof Achebe in Pa Awo's own words (before his death)

Dayo Adedayo
During the 1983 elections, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was hosted to a town hall interview in Abeokuta, where in addition to other pertinent topics of the day, he spoke on his role in the civil war, the 20-pound policy, starvation as a weapon, change of currency, abandoned property etc.

Excerpt: ((Moderator: Mr. Oparadike).

CIVIL WAR

Question: Chief Awolowo, your stand on the civil war, however unpopular it may have been to the Biafran people or Ibo people, helped to shorten the war. Today, you’re being cast as the sole enemy of the Ibo people because of that stand, by among others, some of the people who as members of the federal military government at that time, were party to that decision and are today, in some cases, inheritors of power in one Nigeria which that decision of yours helped to save. How do you feel being cast in this role, and what steps are you taking to endear yourself once again to that large chunk of Nigerians who feels embittered.

Awo: As far as I know, the Ibo masses are friendly to me, towards me. In fact, whenever I visit Iboland, either Anambra or Imo, and there’s no campaigning for elections on, the Ibo people receive me warmly and affectionately. But there are some elements in Iboland who believe that they can maintain their popularity only by denigrating me, and so they keep on telling lies against me. Ojukwu is one of them. I don’t want to mention the names of the others because they are still redeemable, but Ojukwu is irredeemable so I mention his name, and my attitude to these lies is one of indifference, I must confess to you.I’ve learnt to rely completely on the providence and vindication of Almighty God in some of these things. I’ve tried to explain myself in the past, but these liars persist. Ojukwu had only recently told the same lie against me. What’s the point in correcting lies when people are determined to persist in telling lies against you, what’s the point. I know that someday the Ibos, the masses of the Ibo people will realize who their friends are, and who their real enemies are. And the day that happens woe betide those enemies. The Ibos will deal with them very roughly, very roughly.
That has happened in my life. I have a nickname now, if you see my letterhead you’ll find something on top, you’ll find a fish done on the letterhead. Some people put Lion on theirs, some people put Tiger, but mine is Fish. And Fish represents my zodiac sign, those of you who read the stars and so on in the newspapers; you’ll find out that there’s a zodiac sign known as pieces, in Latin pieces mean Fish.
So I put pieces on top, that’s my zodiac sign being born on the 6th of March,….er well, the year doesn’t matter, it’s the day that matter. And then on top of it I write Eebudola. All of you know the meaning of that. You know I don’t want to tell a long story but Awolowo school, omo Awolowo, the…… started in Urobo land, in mid-west in those days. They were ridiculing my schools, I was building schools –brick and cement, to dpc level, block to dpc level and mud thereafter. And so the big shots in the place..”ah what kind of school is this? is this Awolowo school? Useless school” and when they saw the children..”ah this Awolowo children, they can’t read and write, Awolowo children” that’s how it started, with ridicule, and it became blessing, and now they say “Awolowo children, they are good people” no more ridicule about it, that’s how it started, so the Eebu becomes honor, the abuse became honor.
And so when I look back to all my life, treasonable felony, jail, all the abuses that were heaped on me, to Coker Inquiry, all sorts, and I see what has happened to the people who led, who led all these denigration campaign, where are they today? Those that are alive are what I call Homo Mortuus- dead living, oku eniyan, that’s what they are, those that their lives have gone.
So when I look back, I come to the conclusion that all these abuses which have been heaped on me all my life for doing nothing, for doing good, they have become honor, and so Eebudola is one of my nicknames. So I’ve cultivated an attitude of indifference, I’ve done no evil to the Ibos.
During the war I saw to it that the revenue which was due to the Iboland- South Eastern states they call it, at that time..east central state, I kept it, I saved the money for them. And when they ….was librated I handed over the money to them- millions. If I’d decided to do so, I could have kept the money away from them and then when they took over I saw to it that subvention was given to them at the rate of 990,000 pounds every month. I didn’t go to the executive council to ask for support, or for approval because I knew if I went to the executive council at that time the subvention would not be approved because there were more enemies in the executive council for the Ibos than friends. And since I wasn’t going to take a percentage from what I was going to give them, and I knew I was doing what was right, I wanted the state to survive, I kept on giving the subvention - 990,000 almost a million, every month, and I did that for other states of course- South eastern state, North central state, Kwara and so on.
But I did that for the Ibos, and when the war was over, I saw to it that the ACB got three and a half million pounds to start with. This was distributed immediately and I gave another sum of money. The attitude of the experts, officials at the time of the ACB was that ACB should be closed down, and I held the view you couldn’t close the ACB down because that is the bank that gives finance to the Ibo traders, and if you close it down they’ll find it difficult to revive or to survive. So it was given. I did the same thing for the Cooperative Bank of Eastern Nigeria, to rehabilitate all these places, and I saw to it as commissioner for finance that no obstacle was placed in the way of the ministry of economic planning in planning for rehabilitation of the war affected areas.

TWENTY POUNDS POLICY
That’s what I did, and the case of the money they said was not given back to them, you know during the war all the pounds were looted, they printed Biafran currency notes, which they circulated, at the close of the war some people wanted their Biafran notes to be exchanged for them. Of course I couldn’t do that, if I did that the whole country would be bankrupt. We didn’t know about Biafran notes and we didn’t know on what basis they have printed them, so we refused the Biafran note, but I laid down the principle that all those who had savings in the banks on the eve of the declaration of the Biafran war or Biafra, will get their money back if they could satisfy us that they had the savings there, or the money there. Unfortunately, all the banks’s books had been burnt, and many of the people who had savings there didn’t have their saving books or their last statement of account, so a panel had to be set up.
I didn’t take part in setting up the panel, it was done by the Central bank and the pertinent officials of the ministry of finance, to look into the matter, and they went carefully into the matter, they took some months to do so, and then make some recommendation which I approved. Go to the archives, all I did was approve, I didn’t write anything more than that, I don’t even remember the name of any of them who took part. So I did everything in this world to assist our Ibo brothers and sisters during and after the war.
And anyone who goes back to look at my broadcast in August 1967, which dealt with post-war reconstruction would see what I said there.

STARVATION POLICY
Then, but above all, the ending of the war itself that I’m accused of, accused of starving the Ibos, I did nothing of the sort. You know, shortly after the liberation of these places, Calabar, Enugu and Port Harcort, I decided to pay a visit. There are certain things which I knew which you don’t know, which I don’t want to say here now, when I write my reminisces in the future I will do so. Some of the soldiers were not truthful with us, they didn’t tell us correct stories and so on.
I wanted to be there and see things for myself, bear in mind that Gowon himself did not go there at that time, it was after the war was over that he dorn himself up in various military dresses- Air force dress, Army dress and so on, and went to the war torn areas. But I went and some people tried to frighten me out of my goal by saying that Adekunle was my enemy and he was going to see to it that I never return from the place, so I went.
But when I went what did I see? I saw the kwashiorkor victims. If you see a kwashiorkor victim you’ll never like war to be waged. Terrible sight, in Enugu, in Port Harcourt, not many in Calabar, but mainly in Enugu and Port Harcourt. Then I enquired what happened to the food we are sending to the civilians. We were sending food through the Red cross, and CARITAS to them, but what happen was that the vehicles carrying the food were always ambushed by the soldiers. That’s what I discovered, and the food would then be taken to the soldiers to feed them, and so they were able to continue to fight. And I said that was a very dangerous policy, we didn’t intend the food for soldiers. But who will go behind the line to stop the soldiers from ambushing the vehicles that were carrying the food? And as long as soldiers were fed, the war will continue, and who’ll continue to suffer? and those who didn’t go to the place to see things as I did, you remember that all the big guns, all the soldiers in the Biafran army looked all well fed after the war, its only the mass of the people that suffered kwashiorkor.
You wont hear of a single lawyer, a single doctor, a single architect, who suffered from kwashiorkor? None of their children either, so they waylaid the foods, they ambush the vehicles and took the foods to their friends and to their collaborators and to their children and the masses were suffering. So I decided to stop sending the food there. In the process the civilians would suffer, but the soldiers will suffer most.

CHANGE OF CURRENCY
And it is on record that Ojukwu admitted that two things defeated him in this war, that’s as at the day he left Biafra. He said one, the change of currency, he said that was the first thing that defeated him, and we did that to prevent Ojukwu taking the money which his soldiers has stolen from our Central bank for sale abroad to buy arms. We discovered he looted our Central bank in Benin, he looted the one in Port Harcourt, looted the one in Calabar and he was taking the currency notes abroad to sell to earn foreign exchange to buy arms.
So I decided to change the currency, and for your benefit, it can now be told the whole world, only Gowon knew the day before, the day before the change took place. I decided, only three of us knew before then- Isong now governor of Cross River, Attah and myself. It was a closely guarded secret, if any commissioner at the time say that he knew about it, he’s only boosting his own ego. Because once you tell someone, he’ll tell another person. So we refused to tell them and we changed the currency notes. So Ojukwu said the change in currency defeated him, and starvation of his soldiers also defeated him.
These were the two things that defeated Ojukwu. And, he reminds me, when you saw Ojukwu’s picture after the war, did he look like someone who’s not well fed? But he has been taking the food which we send to civilians, and so we stopped the food

.

ABANDONED PROPERTY
And then finally, I saw to it that the houses owned by the Ibos in Lagos and on this side, were kept for them. I had an estate agent friend who told me that one of them collected half a million pounds rent which has been kept for him. All his rent were collected, but since we didn’t seize their houses, he came back and collected half a million pounds.
So that is the position. I’m a friend of the Ibos and the mass of the Ibos are my friends, but there are certain elements who want to continue to deceive the Ibos by telling lies against me, and one day, they’ll discover and then that day will be terrible for those who have been telling the lies.

Moderator: After the question, this particular question from the interview panel we’ll move to the floor, and later we’ll go back to the interview panel for the final two questions. But before we move to the floor I call on Mr. Sonala Olumhense to ask the question

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CORRUPTION
Question (Sonala Olumhense): Chief Awolowo, I think it is fairly clear that the two major problems responsible for the failing of government in this country are inability or incompetence of officials to manage the economy and corruption. You have been reported on the campaign ground to have said that when you come to power on October, that you will not probe anybody. I haven’t heard or read of any denial of that statement. If it is actually true that you did make that statement, how is it that you plan to deal with the problem of corruption in this country? Or don’t you have any such plans?
Awolowo: The statement referred to is not new, I first made a statement like that, I believe, in 1969 during my convocation address at Ife University. I then demanded to know why the probe was confined to only the western region and parts of the eastern region. The other part of the country, there was no probe in the other part of the country. And then, they were probing civilians, but then soldiers have boldly begun to enter, to enter the area of those who should be probed. And I said, well, some trees have fallen on other trees, and they should start with ones on the top. Which means to probe soldiers, and who will dare to probe soldiers at that time? So I said they should call off the whole business.
And then a decision was taken that those who had stolen money and had died should not be probed, so it is easy for someone who wants to enrich his children to steal as much as possible, then commit suicide so that his children can live in affluence forever. It’s a far fetch illustration, but it can happen. So I said the best thing is to call off the probe. And how much have we earned in the process? How much have we got back? You remember that all the thing that Adebayo got in his own time he returned them on the eve of the 10th anniversary of independent. So there’s no point in continuing the probe, I said it at the time, and I repeated it at Ahmadu Bello University when I was delivering my second convo… address there.
So it’s nothing new, but people don’t border to read some of the things I say, but they go on criticizing me for saying this things. Anyway, I don’t want the UPN to embark on probes, first of all I believe that those who have deliberately stolen public money…we keep on saying government’s money, it’s our money, it’s your money, it’s my money. Those who have deliberately done that would dislodge them sooner or later, that’s the law of nature, it has to happen.
In the bible we are told God says “Vengeance is mine, and I will revenge” and I believe it. Then secondly, when you start probing, where do you begin now? The corruption has gone to a very high scale since the Army took over. They were to be corrective, then they became corruptive, and so on, where do you begin? And with whom? And with which part of the country? Throughout the country? You’ll need a large staff of people to do the probe, and then the probers themselves might be bribed and corrupted in the process, and so we won’t get any genuine report. And then would you also probe members of your own party in addition, because we are not perfect. There must be people who are probable even within UPN, but party pressure will make it absolutely impossible for you to probe anyone within your party.
So why start at all? And what is more, if you probe the past, it’s like going to a grave yard and exhuming the bodies and tried to see what was the cause of the death of each of the copses that you have exhumed. And when you have discovered that so and so who died 10 years ago was killed by what do you do then? Do you revive the body? You cannot revive the dead, but in the process you pollute the air, you pollute the air of the place.
Whereas, you can help the living. I’m interested in the living, and don’t forget that I’m 74 years plus now, and I don’t want to waste my years trying to see what happened in the past instead of attending to the problems of all these people in front of me, and millions who are listening to what I say. If they steal they’ll suffer, if they don’t steal, and you never can know all the truth, sometimes they say somebody take a bribe, then find out and see no bribe has been taken, and so on and so forth. As far as I am concerned, the past- that’s from 30th of September 1983 backwards sealed. But from 1st October 1983 onward, open.
There’s a saying, the past is a story told, the future will be rich in gold. And I’ve always said it that the future is like a wet clay. In the hands of a good potter it can produce very fine potteries. But the past is dead you can’t produce anything from it except acrimonies, exacerbation, hatred, and so on and so forth. So I’m not interested in the past, I’m interested in the future.
And you can correct corruption by examples more than by precepts. Many of us can say corruption is bad. Even the most corrupt person will say “corruption is not good”, but then to see what he can do by examples rather than by precepts and I intend, that’s what UPN has been doing, we intend to lead the people out of corruption into honesty and probity by example. That’s what we intend to do. But you must bear in mind; you can never stamp out corruption, you can minimize it considerably. In those days of the western region, in 8 years people will say no corruption, there might be, I didn’t know, but the important thing is that people ought to realize that there’s someone somewhere who must never hear that an act of corruption has taken place.
But when the boss himself is the chairman of the corrupt club, then there’s nothing you can do, like what happened, a simple matter, one member of the ministry of housing asked one of the officials to go and get 200 bundles of roofing sheets. Yes sir! And then he went and collected 2,200 roofing sheets. That’s a fair business, the boss wants 200 and he needs 2000. And the boss can’t pressure on him, on what ground? “You went to go and steal that….”, he’ll say “er master but you asked me to bring you 200…” that’s the trouble. So you get a lot done by example rather than by precepts, and that’s what we intend to do. The future may be rich in gold, like a wet clay in the hands of the good potter.

“Mimiko is an ingrate, he collected my money and betrayed me” – Tinubu


As the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] began its senatorial mega rally today in Ikare-Akoko area of Ondo state, the former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, today described the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko an ingrate.

According to Tinubu who is also the National Leader of ACN revealed how Mimiko received huge amount of money from him to get back his mandate from the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] at the election tribunal in 2009, but later betrayed him.

Tinubu who stated this while addressing the mammoth crowd of ACN supporters at the rally, said the judgement of God would soon come over Mimiko.

He said “Today, you have seen our candidate. You have seen someone who called himself Olusegun Mimiko. The judgment of God has come. This is a vote for the liberation of the Yoruba race. We don’t say anybody should not stay alone in the bush. This iroko will live alone in the bush. I urge you to sweep away poverty, sweep away hunger, and sweep away lack of water.

“I assisted Mimiko to retrieve his mandate in 2009. Four years ago, he came to me in tears. Mimiko came with two of my brothers, rolling on the ground. He begged us to rescue him. We don’t like Poverty Development Party [PDP]. They just stole our votes then. We said no. Yoruba will allow that. We are not betrayers. We fought the battle. Aregbesola was fighting his own. We fought in Ekiti and Edo.

“I gave Mimiko money and everything that he needed to fight the battle. We took his case overseas. The white people collected money from us. Do you think white men will do anything for free? But he is now saying that we did nothing for him. When he was afraid to come to Ondo state, we gave him a bullet-proof car. The Holy Bible says in Psalm 17 verse 13 that if you reward good with evil, evil will not depart from your house. I want you to use your votes to judge the case.”

He criticized Mimiko for kicking against the idea of the Yoruba integration, stressing that the Governor wanted to remove the people of Ondo from Afenifere.

His words “Look at how Lagos has been developed. If we come together, we can build a refinery. The refinery can produce hundreds of thousands of jobs. You must liberate yourselves”

Tinubu warned the police against partisanship, saying members of ACN in Ondo state were being arrested and detained indiscriminately.

His words: “I salute you policemen, but you should be careful. Stop being partisan; I know that some of you are good. I am from a police family and I don’t want to denigrate you. You have been arresting and detaining members of our party. Don’t force us to react. When you force us to react, it will be suicidal. When you are being paid from our consolidated account, we will not tolerate the indiscriminate arrest and detention of our members any longer. We have a peaceful rally here today. After we leave, we don’t want to hear about any negative story.”

He urged the people of the state to vote massively for the candidate of the party in the October 20 governorship election in the state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu [SAN].

According to him, there had been no development in the state in the last three years, stressing that Mimiko deserved no second term in office.

Daily Post
http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/10/02/mimiko-ingrate-collected-money-betrayed-me-tinubu/

RT. HON. DR. NNAMDI AZIKIWE TO DR. CHUBA OKADIGBO (1981):

"My boy, may you live to your full potential, ascend to a dizzy height as is possible for anyone of your political description in your era to rise. May you be acknowledged world-wide as you rise as an eagle atop trees, float among the clouds, preside over the affairs of fellow men.... as leaders of all countries pour into Nigeria to breathe into her ear.

But then, Chuba, if it is not the tradition of our people that elders are roundly insulted by young men of the world, as you have unjustly done to me, may your reign come to an abrupt and shattering close. As you look ahead, Chuba, as you see the horizon, dedicating a great marble palace that is the envy of the world, toasted by the most powerful men in the land, may the great big hand snatch it away from you. Just as you look forward to hosting the world’s most powerful leader and shaking his hands, as you begin to smell the recognition and leadership of the Igbo people, may the crown fall off your head and your political head fall off your shoulders.

None of my words will come to pass, Chuba, until you have risen to the very height of your power and glory and health, but then you will be hounded and humiliated and disgraced out of office, your credibility and your name in tatters forever...”

SPOKESMAN of the Lagos chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Joe Igbokwe has harped on the need for regional integration in South West Nigeria, saying it was far more important than the political ambition of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State.

In a statement, he traced the history of integration in Nigeria to the “early 1940s and 1950s in the days of Zik of Africa and Chief Obafemi Awolowo until the unfortunate event on the floor of the Western House in 1951.”

Urging the people of Ondo State to vote out Mimiko in next month’s governorship election and usher in Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the flag-bearer of ACN as governor, he said the state “must be returned to the great family where they belonged originally.

“Regional integration in the South West Nigeria is one of the biggest projects in Nigeria today and Ondo State cannot afford to be in isolation. Like every other good thing in Nigeria, the regional integration going on in the South West is being copied by other zones in Nigeria. Ondo State cannot afford to be left behind in this serious business, Mimiko or no Mimiko.”

He continued: “South West or Yoruba nation is too important than the ambition of one man called Segun Mimiko. South West regional integration is far more important than the ambition of one man called governor Segun Mimiko.

“Segun may be pretending to be in the Labour Party but in actions, and deeds and in body language, he is PDP. Dan Iwuanyanwu, the Chairman LP, has just received a National Honour from President Jonathan and as political historians, we in ACN understand the game very well.

“Today, no one ethnic group or zone will say that it is better than South West Nigeria.Is it in terms of education? Is it in terms of wealth? Is it economy? Is it religious tolerance? Is it market?”

http://247nigerianewsupdate.com/swest-integration-more-important-than-mimikos-ambition/

People wonder why Africa is underdeveloped. Whenever Africa gets a brilliant leader who isn't ready to worship the western democracies, he's cut down and replaced by a fool who will rule for decades.

They cut down lumumba in the 60s, then replaced him with Mobutu sese seko, and we can see the result. He ruled for life and till today Congo is a mess. Same with bukina faso. Sankara is cut down and campaore rules for decades as a western puppet.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvBC7tmgFFM&feature=related

Be mindful of your diction.

From one generation of excellent leadership to another: Bill Clinton bows in respect to President Obama after delivering the best advocacy of Obama policies ever. No former President has ever done this for another. This is a special historic moment. I'm glad I lived to see it.


https://www.facebook.com/AmazingStoriesAroundTheWorld

Jim Iyke has a message for all you single Naija babes! Hehe!

“The Jonathan They Don’t Know” – Reuben Abati


Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity released a long and effusive article in praise of the President.

The article which was sent to several newspapers including Guardian, took a jibe at the President's critics, especially those on

social media describing them as "the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria".

Having worked with the President for the last 14 months, he mentioned that President Jonathan is grossly misunderstood and most people criticize him out of ignorance. He also writes about the President's attitude to work, his food and much more.

***

The clear danger to public affairs commentary is that we have a lot of unintelligent people repeating silly clichés and too many intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance to thoughtless conclusions.

"THEY" in this piece refers to all the cynics, the pestle-wielding critics, the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling, twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria, who seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President Goodluck Jonathan. This army of sponsored and self-appointed anarchists is so diverse; many of them don't even know why or how they should attack the President.

The clear danger to public affairs commentary is that we have a lot of unintelligent people repeating stupid clichés and too many intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance to thoughtless conclusions. Hold on. I don't want to be misunderstood. I am not saying nobody should criticize the Nigerian President. I spent some time learning that legal maxim: "volenti non fit injuria". Public position comes with its own share of risks and exposure. But the twittering, pinging, Facebook crowd of the new age must be guided by facts.

I have spent the last 14 months working with President Jonathan. I have followed him everywhere. I can write a whole book on his Presidency so far, but you won't get to read that until much later. I have heard that some people are protesting that they will not buy the book if it gets written. Well, your choice. What I can report, for now is that he is a grossly misunderstood President. Too many people are unfair to him. They criticise him out of ignorance. They abuse him out of mischief. And the opposition doesn't make things easy at all. Can we look at a number of issues?

You say he is a clueless President. You are wrong. He is not clueless. Nobody is more committed to the Nigerian Project than President Jonathan. In spite of unforeseen challenges, which his administration has had to contend with, President Jonathan is doing his utmost best to positively transform Nigeria. Ordinary Nigerians know and appreciate this. Those parading themselves as leaders of the opposition, who claim that the President has lost the support of Nigerians, represent only themselves and their selfish interests.

President Jonathan is a clever, methodical and intelligent man, who is very adept at wrong footing all the persons who make an effort to second-guess or under-estimate him. He understands the complexity of Nigeria. He is acutely conscious of the historicity of his emergence as Nigeria's No. 1. He knows that he is here as the leader of all Nigerians. He knows that he is a representative of all common persons, particularly the children of all blue collar workers who never wore shoes or got a chance to eat three-square meals, and whose mothers and aunties could never be part of policy-making processes.

When he spoke about not wearing shoes as a child, he meant that as a metaphor for the disparities in the Nigerian system, and the urgent need to redress inequalities. But I have heard some persons responding literally that Nigerians should never vote for a man who never wore shoes. How simplistic. Attention needs to be drawn to the fact that a rooted, people-sourced President, who seeks to transform Nigeria, and who campaigns on a platform of transformation, will necessarily be opposed by those who consider themselves the children of Empire builders, those who think that their ancestors built Nigeria. Wrong.

The Ijaws, the fourth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria, have as much right to have their son as President as every other Nigerian group. But Jonathan doesn't even dwell on this. I have never heard him utter an ethnic statement. He sees himself as the President of all Nigerians. He is at home with every group. He is focused on the challenges of nation-building. He wants to transform Nigeria. He wants to unite the country. He is determined to promote the country. And he is doing so already. He knows Nigerians want regular power supply. He is working at it. That is why we have crossed 4,400 MW.

He knows Nigerians want infrastructure. That is why he is telling Bi-Courtney to fix Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or get out. That is why he is telling a particular Minister to fix the East-West road and get it fixed quickly. That is why he has directed the relevant agencies to get corrupt persons to answer for their misdeeds. That is why he is strengthening Nigeria's foreign relations. That is why he is transforming the agriculture sector, from a contract-awarding, fertilizer distribution enterprise into big business. And more... The reason President Jonathan does not go into a song and dance routine is because he knows that true rebranding of a nation is a projection of positive things that are already happening.

They say he is "tribalistic". Not true. How many Ijaws are in President Jonathan's inner circle? Very few, I can tell you. There are, of course, all kinds of persons who go about telling people that they have the President's ears and eyes. They would even tell you that they think for the President! I used to have nightmares whenever I heard that, but it no longer bothers me. I have since learnt that some Nigerians consider it fashionable to wear false garments.

The Presidency qua Presidency is staffed by key officials from all parts of the country. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is from Ebonyi State. The Chief of Staff and the Head of the President's Secretariat are both from Edo; the Protocol Liaison Officer and Principal Private Secretary are from Adamawa; the Chief Detail is from Borno; the Aide De Camp (ADC) is from Kogi; the Perm Sec, State House is from Benue; the State Chief of Protocol is from Kwara; the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity is from Ogun; the Chief Physician to the President is from Rivers. Only the Chief Security Officer, the Special Assistant, Domestic and the Special Adviser, Research and Strategy are from Bayelsa.

When he is in the office, and he gets there early every day, and works till very late, he is exposed to all categories of Nigerians. He runs a modern and open Presidency. He is on Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS, BB, and he reads. And he writes. This is not a provincial President. The intelligentsia, his immediate community, should support him to do his work.

President Jonathan was the first Nigerian leader to appoint a woman as his Chief Economic Adviser as well as the Nigerian leader who opened up the Nigerian Defence Academy to women. And he took affirmative action in political appointments to a higher level by reserving 35 per cent of all appointive positions in government for our women folk.

The facts in this regard are incontrovertible. Under President Jonathan, women occupy very strategic positions (Petroleum Resources, Education, Co-ordinating Minister/Minister of Finance, Water Resources, Minister of State, FCT, Minister of State, Defence, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs 1, Minister of State, Niger Delta, and the headship of many of the MDAs. The President's commitment to Nigeria is total. All his children school in Nigeria. Even his dress code promotes Nigeria.

They say Mr. President drinks. My friend and colleague, Etim Etim, called the other day to say that whatever may be the challenges on this job, he could affirm that I am at least enjoying. "What with all the choice drinks on every trip," he said. I told him, "No, we don't drink." He protested. He thought I was lying. He had heard that kain-kain is a staple fare on presidential flights. I told him No. We are not allowed to touch alcohol. Alcohol is not served during official duties. Yes, when there is an international function, wine is served, but nobody gets drunk around here. That will amount to an act of indiscipline. The President himself does not allow alcohol to be served at his table. But when you go to social media, they tell you something else. Lies. Lies. Lies.

I have even heard that the President spends billions on feeding. Well, I have enjoyed the privilege of eating at the President's table. What does he eat? Fish pepper soup. Cassava Bread. Slices of yam. Rice. Boiled plantain. Fruits and vegetables. He fasts when he chooses, and fasts all month during Ramadan and Lent. And because he takes his exercises and keep fit regime seriously, he eats very little. Okay, he drinks coffee. And yet there are people out there who keep claiming that there is a feast in the Villa every day. They say at every meal, the table is decorated with roasted turkey, and every delicacy under the sun. Lies. Lies. This President is not a glutton. We have a disciplined, hardworking President who enjoys his privacy, and the company of intelligent people.

Here is a man who is an epitome of loyalty and simplicity. The thing about the President's critics is that they just cannot accept that someone with his simplicity can be their President. This is the Saul Complex. Saul could not accept the fact that somebody as simple as David could be favoured by God. And just like Saul threw the spear at David out of uncontrollable jealousy, these critics are out to throw any kind of spear to see which hits the target, hence all their lies about the President.

Let me end by saying that the President is a simple man but simplicity is not naivety. If simplicity were to be naivety, then the world would not be where it is today because it is simple men like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Kwame Nkrumah, who have shaped the world that we live in by simplifying what others have complicated.


http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/latest-news/item/8310

Which Couple Is Hotter? Jonathans OR Obamas?

Oil theft: Tompolo's firm acquires 12 armoured boats worth N1.9bn


FOLLOWING the renewed fight against crude oil theft , Global West Vessels Specialist has acquired 12 brand new amoured patrol boats to further boost the firm's moves against the activities of crude oil thieves.

Speaking at the launching of the boats in Lagos, Global West Managing Director, Captain Romeo Itima, said that the boats are the best in their class.

The launch of the boats also coincided with the visit of the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport who were at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for their oversight function.

Itima stated that the deployment of these boats would definitely eliminate or reduce the percentage of the nation's crude oil to thieves who have formed a cartel.

Although, Itima was silent on the cost of the boats, he, however, stated that the first four boats namely 'NIMASA Port-Harcourt' , 'NIMASA Lagos', 'NIMASA Burutu" and ' NIMASA Warri' were still being test run as at the time of filling this report.

One of the Spaniards told Vanguard that each of the boats with all the gadgets mounted on it cost about E900,000 .00 that is about N168million.

The Spanish made vessels are also to be militarised for efficient survey of the nation's coastal and territorial waters.

Already, the Spaniards who came with the boats to Nigeria have also concluded plans to train some Nigerians on the effective and efficient manning of the boats. Vanguard, however, gathered that most of the boys being trained to man the boats were former foot soldiers of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).

Each of the boats has an engine capacity of 1,200 horse power and can go 50 nautical miles into the sea and has a sitting capacity of about 12 passengers.

Itima disclosed that a total of 27 boats are to be acquired at the end of the entire project, adding that government will not only get more revenue from the sale of crude oil but it would add value to the economy.

Vanguard, however, gathered that the purchase of the boats were funded through a bank facility from a maritime friendly bank in Nigeria. The purchase of the boats is the part of the N16billion maritime security contract awarded to former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Alia tompolo) by the federal government.

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/aug/16/309.html

Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a. Tompolo, a former militant has risen to become a strong ally of the federal government, and a billionaire businessman

Only three years ago, he was a fugitive. In May 2009, Brigadier-General Sarkin Yaki Bello, commander of the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, in Niger Delta, had declared Government Ekpemupolo the most wanted man in Nigeria. Bello had fingered Ekpemupolo, or Tompolo, as he is widely known, and his band of militants in the Gbaramutu creeks of the Niger Delta as executing the killing of 11 soldiers – one officer and 10 junior men. It was just one of the many instances of the militants’ atrocities.

Tompolo: Very influential ex-militant.

The militants had been running riot in the Niger Delta, perpetrating illegitimate bunkering, operating illegal refineries, vandalising oil pipelines, engaging in kidnapping and doing piracy. And Tompolo was in the thick of it as one of the leaders. The JTF was intent on doing him in. Bello’s men stormed the Okerenkoko, operations headquarters of Tompolo, desperately searching for him. They were successful all right, but not in nabbing Tompolo. What they found were numerous rifles, machine guns, Uzzi guns, Army mistin carriers, dynamite and gun boats. In the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo, ruthless, invincible and taciturn, was and is indeed, a government all of his own.

Today, Tompolo is not only a free man, he is a darling of the very federal government that only three years ago, considered him an arch enemy deserving of extermination. Despite his violent past and little education, he is one of the most influential Nigerians today. There is no doubt that he is very close to President Goodluck Jonathan. To cement the romance, government has invested the Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, GWVSL, a firm widely believed to be owned by Tompolo, with a contract worth $103.4 million (over N15 billion) to supply 20 vessels for the use of the nation’s military authorities to secure the waterways. Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, had last year sent a memo titled, “Award of Contract for the Strategic Concessioning Partnership with NIMASA to Provide Platforms for Tracking Ships and Cargoes, Enforce Regulatory Compliance and Surveillance Of The Entire Nigerian Maritime Domain,” to President Goodluck Jonathan.

In considering the memo, President Goodluck Jonathan and Akpobolokemi chose GWVSL as the preferred company for the 10-year concession agreement. The concession is renewable for two terms of five years each. Jonathan, in a memo dated 9 November 2011, with reference number PRES/99/MT/61, approved Akpobolokemi’s memo, which the Federal Executive Council rubber-stamped on 5 January 2012. According to Akpobolokemi, GWVSL “will provide platforms for effective policing of Nigeria’s maritime domain and ensure compliance with international maritime conventions on vessels and ships voyaging the country’s waters”. NIMASA maintains that the concessionaire would help the federal government to enforce the sabotage law and collect levies on its behalf. NIMASA’s projection shows that about N124bn is expected to be generated in revenue to the federal government by GWVSL. Akpobolokemi underlines the public-private partnership with Tompolo’s company as necessary because the federal government could not bear the cost of the project.

Jonathan has sent the new memo to the National Assembly, urging it to discountenance an earlier one submitted by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua’s memo sought to create a coastal guard, comprising all security agencies, to man the country’s maritime domain.

Although the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar had striven to explain there were no underhand dealings to the maritime contract, critics still read ethnic jingoism into it. President Jonathan, Akpobolokemi and Tompolo all hail from the Niger Delta, whose people have for many years been expressing infuriation that they are being oppressed despite the fact that the geographical area produces the oil that enriches Nigeria. Umar told journalists that contrary to speculations that the GWVSL, by the contract, would be usurping the functions of the Nigerian Navy, the company would only be providing platforms, security boats, equipment and expertise to assist in securing Nigeria’s waterways and thereby leverage on revenue generation. The company’s hands will not bear arms.

More importantly, it is GWVSL, and not government, Umar disclosed, that would be providing the entire $103.4mn fund for the exercise and it would be recouping its investment from surpassing NIMASA’s annual revenue collection profile. “Under the NIMASA Act, it is empowered to take charge of administration and the safety of our waters. And under the same Act, NIMASA has been empowered to carry out its functions, duties and responsibilities either by itself or through any institution of government or in partnership with any agency of government or through or in partnership with any natural person or limited liability company like the Global West Limited which has now entered into a partnership with NIMASA,” Umar clarified in justifying the contract.

But the critics, mostly northern leaders, accused the President of secretly pursuing an ethnic agenda and wondered why what they called a sensitive contract that borders on national security should be handed to a private company. They also wondered if the concessionaire would keep the huge accruals even if it met its target in one month of its operation. The disenchanted leaders cited the abrupt deployment of former Minister of Transport, Yusuf Suleiman to the Ministry of Sports for once querying Akpobolokemi over the Tompolo issue. Suleiman was believed to be furious with Akpobolokemi for allegedly paying N49mn weekly to Tompolo’s company to secure the waterways. But Akpobolokemi justified the payment, claiming that it was payment for five vessels hired from Tompolo’s company by the agency. The power play between Suleiman and Akpobolokemi assumed an ethnic dimension as some Niger Delta elders waded in in support of the NIMASA boss. Suleiman eventually lost his job as Transport Minister.

Sources told TheNEWS that Akpobolokemi was Tompolo’s candidate for the NIMASA job. Jonathan, it was gathered, preferred to remove the minister from his position than risk infuriating Tompolo, a man the president is very happy to have on his side.

Immediately Suleiman queried Akpobolokemi and sent a clear signal to him that he could be fired, Tompolo called Suleiman asking him to show mercy to the NIMASA boss. But Jonathan moved fast by redeploying Suleiman from the Transport Ministry to Sports.

The GWSVL contract is regarded in many quarters as merely formalising a job Tompolo has been informally performing for NIMASA for many months; and has been feeding quite fatter on. For the 43-year-old creek-wise roughneck, it has been a long, tortous road to stupendous wealth and the billionaire club. Frail of figure but so stout of courage, Tompolo balances whatever deficit he suffers in educational accomplishments with suicidal but calculatingly rewarding proclivities. Born to a royal house in Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government, Delta State, little Government attended Okepopo Primary School, Warri and later, Warri Comprehensive College, leaving in 1993.

The increasingly combative restiveness of Niger Delta youths against what they perceived exploitation by the federal government cut Tompolo’s future out for him. In 1997, he began his quasi-military career as an Ijaw soldier during the bloody crisis between the Ijaw and the Itsekiri over then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha’s relocation of a local government headquarters from the Ijaw area to Itsekiri’s. Once disclosing what prompted him into militancy, Tompolo explained he and others like Paul, Dennis, Ketson, Kingsley Otuaro, Oboko Bello, Dan and George Timinimi were furious that what they firmly believed was their land was being taken over by their Itsekiri neighbours. He narrated that in the 1980s, there was a time the Itsekiri people wanted to collect rent from those living in Okerenkoko, a town that is today an Ijaw community in Gbaramatu kingdom. “The Itsekiri people say they are the owners of Gbaramatu kingdom as a whole. From what I was told, we (Ijaw) are the original owners of the land in question, and our Itsekiri brothers came to meet us there,” he asserted.

Tompolo recalled that he was always accompanying his father’s elder brother, the late Papa Gbamido Ekpemupolo as he went from one court to another, in Benin, Warri or Abuja, over cases between the Ijaw in Gbaramatu and the Itsekiri. “So when we realised that if we didn’t stand firm we would be forced to pay rent to our neighbour, we decided to take our lives in our hands and fight out the battle. That is where the battle between us and our Itsekiri brothers started,” he stated. The face-off was compounded by the relocation of the headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Area from Ogbe-Ijoh to Ogidigben, an Itsekiri community.

The war threw up Tompolo as a ruthless and brave soldier and a good manager of forces. After the war, threats to his life and his own ambition of playing in the bigger league compelled him to move to Oporoza within the Gbaramutu kingdom. There, two developments emerged to lend Tompolo excuses for his militancy and its underlying goal of mercantilism. Violent agitations against the oil multinational, Shell, had been growing since Abacha deployed soldiers against the Ogonis and other Niger Delta elements protesting against oil spillages, general environmental degradation and non-development of the oil-producing areas. The coup de grace was government’s hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni and environmentalist.

Tompolo arrived the Niger Delta agitation cauldron at the right time, after Abacha’s death, and keyed in efficiently into the scattering of unorganised armed groups disrupting the multinational companies’ oil prospecting and producing operations, especially Shell’s. He was particularly alleged to be a pointman in the attacks against Shell, accusing it of environmental despoilation and exploitation. Helpless against the militants’ guerilla attacks – and kidnapping of its officials, to boot – Shell quickly got the message. Tompolo’s operations turned into a protection racket, with Shell shelling payments to the young, ruthless militant and his associates to assure, at least, some measure of smooth operations.

Second, on the return to democracy, the wont of Nigeria’s political leaders to apply violence on opponents and need for private protection demanded the services of tough, fearless goons. In the Niger Delta, many of the politicians turned to the militants who already boasted heavy weapons and understood the terrain. When state governors came into power, they only boosted the artillery firepower of the militants on whom they splashed money to acquire more arms. Thus, the Niger Delta, populated by fierce, gun-toting youth, became a hotbed of both violent attacks on oil companies and oil installations, as well as violent political thuggery. In 2003, Tompolo led the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities, FNDIC, in an uprising that shut down about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production, targeting mostly Chevron’s installations.

Gradually, Tompolo’s fame as a vicious war general but a principled and maganimous leader to his forces spread through the creeks. He had moved back to Okerenkoko to establish Camp 5 as his headquarters. Camp 5 was originally a private property called “Abuja” in the neighbourhood from where he and his colleagues started the struggle. And gradually, the money began to flow in – from the various rackets of political and corporate protection, to illegal bunkering. He was effectively leader of the Delta State end of the Niger Delta militants’ battle against oppression. As Convener of the Ijaw Youth Leadership Forum, IYLF, the umbrella body of all Ijaw young militants, Tompolo was, and is said to still be, providing mentorship and logistic support for all members. Across Delta State, he contributed to strengthening other militant groups. One example was Mujahid Dokubo Asari’s Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, to which Tompolo not only provided field fighters but also supplied the necessary arms and ammunition that ensured Asari’s successful commencement of his military campaign against oil installations.

Tompolo’s intervention also helped to check the rampaging influence of Ateke Tom’s Icelander Group, which was on the verge of overrunning Buguma, Asari’s hometown in Rivers State. As admitted by Asari himself: “Tompolo decided on his own volition to give me 50 AK47s which I used to launch the first series of attacks on the stronghold of the Icelanders. All my attacks were successful.”

Tompolo’s profile and stature soared in 2006 when he gathered his fellow group leaders from across the Niger Delta at Camp 5 to accord their struggle a definite name and platform. Besides, the new platform was meant to be immediately used to press for the release of Asari and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former Bayelsa State governor, both of who were incarcerated by the federal government. So it was at Camp 5, Tompolo’s headquarters, that the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, was formed. MEND was, however, not formed as an umbrella organisation of all the militant groups but as an organ to issue unified, rather than discordant, statements for them. So if any of the groups attacked any oil installation or kidnapped any figure, it was MEND that would admit responsibility for the act.

Tompolo had maintained in a rare interview that it is not an issue in dispute that he was the founder of MEND. “I did not go to school, so anything concerning paper work, there are people who handle it. I am not the only person; there are others. If you are doing something, you have to put heads together with others because the idea is to cut across our nine states. That was how MEND was formed and that was the reason the last time that all the ex-militant leaders went to Abuja. In the presence of everybody, I told them that I am the owner of MEND. It was formed in Camp 5. I said it in the presence of everybody and nobody can contest it with me,” he declared. Names Tompolo was referring to as the intellectual minds behind his operations then included Oboko Bello, who studied Mathematics up to the doctoral level and Henry Okah, who was appointed in Camp 5 as the propangadist for MEND though he was not in the country. Okah has since been arrested in South Africa for gun-running and the 1 0ctober 2011 (Independence Day) bombing in Abuja.

Tompolo boasted that, apart from Dokubo-Asari and Ateke Tom, every other militant general had his tutelage at Camp 5. “Henry Okah was one of us. That is the truth and he is somebody that if not for greed and his trying to say that I want to be all and all, he is one person that all of us respect. He is one of us,” he said. Based in South Africa, Okah was the brains behind the e-mail and text messages to media establishments on MEND’s activities.

MEND announced its first signature statement with the abduction of nine foreign staff – three Americans, two Egyptians, two Thais, one Briton and one Filipino – of Wilbros, an American oilfield services company based in Panama but with a major office and company executives in Houston. Its Nigerian operational base is Choba, Port Harcourt. Wilbros has since been acquired by Nigerians; it is widely believed that former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, now serving term in an English jail is behind the acquisition. MEND, which claimed to be fighting for a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth, claimed responsibility for the Saturday 17 February 2006 abduction. There followed a series of raids which consequently cut Nigeria’s crude oil exports drastically and negatively impacted on the economy.

Until the JTF fell out with Tompolo’s militant group, he was the Task Force’s favoured boy. The JTF was always turning to him for information and assistance to nail pirates and kidnappers, and as one unconfirmed source said, his magnanimity was always rubbing off in some forms on the men and officers of the Force. In July 2004, Tompolo was said to have assisted the JTF, then under the command of Brig-General Elias Zamani to capture John Togo, a notorious sea pirate and his gang that included Perembowe Ebinimie, Felis Dissi and Peter Dolobowei. The JTF and the Delta State government were also said to be employing Tompolo’s structures to provide security for the troubled waterways in the state. The source alleged that Tompolo was earning as much as N100mn every month to maintain peace, on behalf of government, on the waterways.

By 2009, Tompolo had amassed so much influence in Niger Delta affairs that even powerful figures in the zone looked up to him for economic and political empowerment. Reliable Niger Delta sources affirmed that his influence sustained his kinsman, Chief Wellington Okrika as Executive Chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, for so long. Tompolo was also said to have virtually single-handedly enthroned Godwin Bebenimibo, a retired Superintendent of Police, as Gbaran III Agadagba, the traditional ruler of the Gbaramatu kingdom.

So when in June 2009, the President Yar’Adua administration embarked on implementing its Amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants, it could not but court Tompolo as the arrowhead of the programme. The federal government could not afford not to patronise him; his acceptance of the amnesty programme largely influenced other militant leaders to embrace peace. His embrace of the peace overtures largely crumbled MEND, the structure that wrought havoc and nearly crippled the economy of the nation. Newspaper reports painted how Tompolo received a hero’s attention on the day he led more than 1,500 militants to surrender their weapons in Oporoza village. Received by then Minister of Defence, retired General Godwin Abbe and cheered on by hundreds of people wearing vests with the inscription Tompolo Is Our Hero, the militant surrendered a large cache of arms that included general purpose machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, explosives and countless numbers of various ammunition.

Tompolo was reported to have shed tears at the occasion while remembering close friends, associates and relatives who had died while the militants were waging what he called a fight to free the people of the Niger Delta from bondage. He promised that since the militants have embraced amnesty, the issue of MEND and the reason to shed blood was over. The warlord insisted that anybody using MEND for any liberation cause for the Niger Delta would be doing so for his personal interest. He, however, warned that if the federal government reneges on its promises to develop the Niger Delta, militants in the area would have no choice but to go back to taking up arms.

Tompolo always cites Isaac Adaka Boro, the late Ijaw militant who was killed during the Nigerian civil war, as his hero and the main inspirational figure for his daring struggle against the federal government. He strongly believes in the Egbesu deity, the god that many Ijaw worship, and sees it as directing his survival so far. He explained that the deity helped him to achieve his aims and objectives, since he was pursuing what he insisted was “a genuine struggle”.

Now a High Chief in his Gbaramatu kingdom, Tompolo’s frail physique belies the daring spirit within. At his Camp 5 headquarters, he determines the rules of engagement. On one occasion in 2007, when Jonathan, then Vice-President, visited the camp for talks with Tompolo, his convoy and guards were strictly denied entry into the camp. Only Jonathan was said to have been allowed in. Throughout the struggle, Tompolo gave the JTF the fiercest, combative resistance. But away from the struggle, he is described as so unassuming; even till now that he is a billionaire, he relates freely with his Ijaw kinsmen and the larger Niger Delta people. He constantly denies he was, and is, involved in illegal bunkering. “My name became associated with oil business when I was in Camp 5. When people were doing illegal business in my area (front of Camp 5), I had people with me and would ask them to go and ask these people to give them some money so that we could feed with it. But I would never do it myself,” he said. “Everybody knows that I am not a bunkerer and that is the more reason why I am surviving up till date,” he once told a national daily.

Talking about illegality, Tompolo, typical of him, has not been heard to say a word on the raging GWVSL contract that some critics have been lampooning. So what is illegal about it? Nothing, absolutely nothing, insisted Akpobolokemi. The NIMASA Director-General queried: “If it is Tompolo that the contract was awarded to, is he not a citizen of Nigeria? Is he an ex-convict? Is he not more than 18 years old to own a company? We have hundreds of vessels which in the past 10 years and up till this moment, including patrol boats supplied by private individuals to oil multinational companies, that are working in conjunction with the Nigeria Navy. Has there been any complaint anywhere? Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and Agip, among other international oil companies, and the Nigerian Navy, up till this moment, engage people, including those who are grumbling now, to supply them patrol boats. Who has raised any dust? If anybody has a reason to partner with us and we feel he is qualified, who are we not to give him jobs?”

Akpobolokemi said many people kicking against the contract are afraid they would be exposed. “The illegal activities they are conducting in the maritime domain are all going to be exposed, including illegal bunkering, illegal ship-to-ship transfer and mystery discharges that are not authorised. These are things people are afraid of.” He explained that the contract was not awarded to Tompolo as an individual, but to GWVSA, in which the NIMASA boss admitted the ex-militant has interest, but which, he said, had been verified to have the capability to render the required service. “The contract awarded to GWVSA is a fair deal to Nigerians,” he maintained.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/08/14/tompolo-the-billionaire-militant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PmNewsNigeria+%28PM+News+Nigeria%29&utm_content=FaceBook

I thought they say 'A beggar has no choice' Thank God it's a peaceful protest anyway.

Dwindling clout of PDP generals

The manner in which the People's Democratic Party lost the governorship election in Edo State and the local government elections in Ogun State, brings to the fore, the effete influence of the once powerful chieftains of the party, writes

It was not just that the candidate of the People's Democratic Party, Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd), lost the Edo State governorship election to his Action Congress of Nigeria counterpart, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the margin of the defeat spoke volumes of the current political might of the PDP and some of its chieftains, within the state and outside.

The election was one that PDP did its best not to lose. It was the first election under the leadership of its National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur. It was an opportunity for the party to reclaim the only state in President Goodluck Jonathan's South-South geopolitical zone that is not governed by it. It was also the chance of one of the party's strong forces, Chief Tony Anenih, to re-establish himself as the godfather of Edo politics.

These and other reasons informed the marshalling of the PDP's hierarchy, including the President and Vice-president Namadi Sambo, to campaign for Airhiavbere in the state in order to garner overwhelming votes.

However, all the efforts earned just 144,235 votes for the PDP candidate, as against Oshiomhole's 477,478 votes. Anenih, who many expected to pull a good result for his party, lost his own ward, an occurrence which was virtually impossible some years ago.

Anenih's influence in Nigerian politics dates back to 1993 and featured prominently in the events leading to the 1999 general election, where he had played a major role in the emergence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the PDP candidate against former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and others.

He also played a prominent role in Obasanjo's cabinet as Minister of Works, and was known for his alleged influence on the appointments or sacking of party executives, presidential aides and even fellow ministers.

Anenih was also reportedly instrumental to Obasanjo's re-election for a second term and was said to have been a top campaigner for the botched third term attempt. He was also reportedly deeply involved in the emergence of late Umaru Yar'Adua as well as Jonathan, as presidents.

Since 1999, he has been one of PDP's most valuable 'generals'. However, the decline of his clout did not start this year.

Just as was the case of some other PDP strongmen, Anenih's influence in his home state, Edo, was decimated when he fell out with Obasanjo.

During the 2007 governorship primary of the PDP in the state, Obasanjo supported and ensured the emergence of Prof. Oserhiemen Osunbor as the party's candidate against Senator Odion Ugbesia, who was Anenih's choice.

The former strongman of Edo politics allegedly worked against Osunbor, who was declared winner of the election, but was later removed by an election tribunal and replaced by Oshiomhole. This further shoved Anenih out of the scheme of things in the state.

Just like Anenih, another PDP bigwig whose influence in his state was dealt a terrible blow when he fell out with Obasanjo is former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

The manner in which he was floored by Jonathan at the PDP primaries leading to the April 2011 presidential election raised questions about his political clout.

Atiku had been at the centre of Adamawa politics years before he emerged governor-elect in 1999 and was then picked as Obasanjo's running mate. The decision to pair him with Obasanjo was due to his percieved influence in the North, having formed the People's Democratic Movement alongside his political mentor, late Shehu Yar'Adua, a group that collaborated with some other top politicians to form the PDP.

Atiku's problem with Obasanjo eventually led to his exit from the PDP to form the Action Congress. He later returned to the party.

Similarly, in some South-West states where the PDP did not fare well in the 2011 general elections, many of its generals have lost relevance due to the firm grip of the ACN.

The crises in the PDP chapters in these states have not made matters better.

For Bode George, who was the deputy national chairman and a powerful leader of the party in the South-West before he was jailed by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court for abuse of office as chairman of Nigerian Port Authority, it is now a struggle to regain influence in the party in the South-West.

Even Obasanjo is not left out from the plague of diminishing influence.

Largely due to the feud between him and former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, the PDP in the state has been plunged into protracted crisis.

As a result, Obasanjo's anointed candidates, including his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, were thoroughly pummelled at the polls in 2011, indicating that the former president, who lost his ward, was no longer in command of Ogun politics.

Similarly, in the recent local government elections, PDP lost to the ACN in all the 19 local councils where elections were held. Obasanjo again lost his ward.

Having resigned as the chairman of the party's Board of Trustees, analysts say not much is expected from Obasanjo, in terms influencing PDP's fortunes in elections.

In the South-East, the story seems the same. The likes of Ekwueme, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chief Arthur Nzeribe, and Jim Nwobodo, have suffered considerable loss of clout.

Although he has not been known for directly sponsoring candidates and influencing the outcome of elections in his home state, Anambra, Ekwueme, is one of the founding fathers of the PDP and a member of the of the party's BoT.

However, with the All Progressive Grand Alliance beating Ekwueme's PDP to the governorship seat in Anambra, two consecutive times, it is believed that whatever clout he had in the state, has been eroded.

It became obvious that another South-East member of the PDP BoT, Iwuanyanwu, had significantly lost his influence in his home state, Imo, when Rochas Okorocha was elected as governor last year on the platform of the APGA.

The wild jubilation that greeted Okorocha's victory at the poll, signified a new political era in the state, in which the likes of Iwuanyanwu seem to have little or no control over.

Another Imo PDP bigwig, Nzeribe, whose political influence loomed large, going beyond the state to affect national politics, has been in oblivion, after he lost his bid to return to the Senate. His clout has waned to the extent that he had no say in the last state House of Assembly election.

In the same vein, some years ago, Chris Uba needed no introduction, especially after he was allegedly linked to the kidnapping of an incumbent governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, who is now a senator.

In his heyday, Uba, a PDP chieftain, would have secured the governor's seat for the PDP as well as all the state House of Assembly seats but that has become history.

Before the Edo election, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Lai Mohammed, had predicted that judging from current political trends, the PDP may fizzle out before the next general elections.

With the first generation of PDP generals, losing relevance and retiring without known successors, that possibility may not be farfetched.

Commenting on the trend, a political scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Abuja, Prof. Dauda Saleh, said the reason why many PDP bigwigs were gradually losing relevance was because voters had became wiser.

"Nigerian voters are becoming more conscious of their rights. The Edo election is a typical example to show that Nigerians are now voting for performance. As long as this trend continues, the PDP would continue to lose out unless they do something about it.

"In this political era, no matter how powerful you were before, if you don't perform, voters will kick you out during election. As it is, godfatherism is becoming a thing of the past in Nigerian politics," he said.

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, insisted that PDP generals were not losing clout.

"I totally disagree with you. What happened in Edo State was an isolated case and the state chapter of the party has laid its complaints. But instead of highlighting who has lost power and who has not, we should be focused on what happened in that election. President Jonathan gave a level playing field for the people to choose their leader.

"See what happened in the Ogun local government elections, where the ACN was in charge. There were cases of ballot box snatching and all sorts of atrocities. It means that
only PDP can be trusted with power. That freedom of choice which the PDP gave Edo people is the real dividend of democracy," Metuh said.

http://www.punchng.com/politics/dwindling-clout-of-pdp-generals/

PERMANENT SECRETARY,MINISTRY OF EDUCATION,BAYELSA STATE OF NIGERIA, FIRST LADY OF NIGERIA.

Revealed!
Dangote Supported Oshiomhole's Re Election With N900m!

Information filtering just revealed one of the major backers of the successful re election bid of Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole.

The individual is business giant- Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Informants claimed the Chairman of Dangote group supported the relected state helmsman with all of N900m for the just concluded exercise.

Insiders revealed one of the nation's most influential and wealthy Nigerians perfected the act very quietly.

The money was reportedly made available ' a couple of weeks' to the saturday July 14 2012 election date.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is known more as a financial contributor to activities of the People's Democratic Party.

Governor Oshiomhole is a chieftain of rival party- Action Congress of Nigeria.

It is not clear whether the man reputed to be the nation's biggest employer of labour contributed heavily to the campaign fund of the former labour leader's main rival and defeated PDP's flag bearer, Charles Arhiavbere or not.

Mr Esan Sunday, the media person for Alhaji Dangote did not respond to enquiry on the development.


http://societynowng.com/Dangote-Supported-Oshiomhole-Re-Election-With-N900m

D'banj Puts Auto Lounge Boss, Larry Onuegbu In Police Detention!
...Over fraudulent sale of Naeto C's Porsche Cayenne wedding gift.

Barely days after he suffered public humiliation by been thrown out of the Abuja arm of Auto Lounge- the all night place of leisure owned by money man, Larry Onuegbo- it's pay back time for celebrated musician widely known as Dbanj ( Dapo Oyebanjo).

And fortunately for him- sources claim, he is prosecuting a case that has 'merit'

The singer that is surfing on the wave of international recognition just ensured the continuous detention of the man that assaulted him- club owner, Larry Onuegbu.

Unlike Dbanj that was reportedly ordered out of Auto Lounge at Larry's whim- the club owner has a criminal case to answer for.

He reportedly collected money under false


pretences. And defrauded client millions of naira.

Sources claimed the allegation against him is that, he sold the 2009 edition of choice car, Porsche Cayenne as a 2012 edition.

He reportedly perfected this by buying a 'used car' and refurbished it with guarantees to his client that- it is the 2012 Edition.

The purchase was the wedding gift Dbanj presented to fellow musician Naeto C ( Naeto Chike) on behalf of a wealthy fan and supporter that wished to remain anonymous during the latter's wedding reception.

Sources claimed a clinical examination of the gift- and visits to Porsche mart to confirm the veracity of the seller's assertion revealed the deceptive marketing strategy employed by Larry to sell the car.

It was further confirmed that a director at financial institution, Zenith Bank actually acquired the car brand new- and used it for a while before Onuegbu bought it off him.

The development presented a perfect opportunity for Dbanj to pay the club owner back- especially because the buyer wishes to maintain his anonymosity in the unfolding scenerio.

He handed the matter to the musician to handle.

The police were invited into the case- and Larry Onuegbu arrested and thrown into detention for criminal conduct.

He is still languishing in detention at press time- in the name of investigating the case.


http://societynowng.com/Dbanj-Puts-Auto-Lounge-Boss-Larry-Onuegbu-In-Police-Detention

VIDEO: Pastor Tunde Bakare’s Church Sermon After SSS’ Invitation

Footage of Pastor Bakare’s Sermon after his invitation by the State Security Service on his fiery sermons, asking him to tune down.
Pastor Bakare in this sermon says he’ll rather tone up.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mov3uI4ijqs&feature=player_embedded#!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAMqVkR94O4&feature=player_embedded#!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAMqVkR94O4&feature=player_embedded#!

How Nigerian Banks Rip off Customers


A banking hall with customers on a queue A banking hall with customers on a queue

In a bid to meet revenue projections, some Nigerian banks allegedly fleece their customers by deducting illegal charges and fees from their accounts

As a young graduate of Computer Science, Emmanuel Anaba was filled with ambition and dreams of how to be independent. Left to cater for himself at 19, he hoped for the best and prepared for the worst even as he squats with five of his friends in a room along Ekenna Avenue, Aba, Abia State. Though, after a stint as a mobile phone repairer, the 25-year-old secured a job in a computer-assembling firm in Aba. But elated as he was, Anaba understood early that his future lies solely on the sacrifices he could make at the early stage of his life; thus he chose to avoid some pleasures and save about 70 per cent of his income in one of the first generation banks. Such culture was supposed to guarantee him a self-contained apartment in Aba.



However, the poor orphan has drifted away from his goal, no thanks to his banker. The bank dashed his hope of securing an accommodation last April when it sent a text message to notify him that the sum of N20,000 has been deducted from his savings account for an insurance scheme the financial institution claimed he subscribed to earlier. “I was stunned to receive such alert because I never subscribed to any insurance scheme with any firm. Is it not someone that has money in abundance that would consider subscribing to insurance?” he inquired. Three months after, all efforts to have the illegal deduction reversed have not yielded any success. After several visits to his Aba/Owerri Road branch of the bank, the front desk officer told him, “We are sorry for the inconvenience, they are working on the reversal from our head office in Lagos. Please bear with us; it will soon be rectified.”



Anaba is not alone. Many bank customers across the country complain of illegal deductions by their banks on a regular basis. While some are able to get the illegal deductions reversed after registering their complaints, many others are not so lucky. Akinwole Omole, a depositor with a new generation bank, belongs to the former category as he was lucky to get an illegal deduction from his account reversed within six days. The bank had sent a short message service, SMS, alert notifying him of a N10,000 withdrawal from the automated teller machine, ATM, of another bank in Ikotun, Lagos, which he never made. According to him, he stormed his Ikeja, Lagos Plaza branch of the bank immediately and reported the illegal deduction to the branch manager who promised the deduction would be reversed within a week. “I intentionally restricted myself from making any withdrawal from the account for about six months because I needed to use the money to meet a particular need later in the year”, he said. Though his account has been credited, Omole is not convinced it was a mistake. “Whoever did that must have noticed that there was no transaction on the account for six months and thought the owner had died,” he said, adding that but for the SMS alert, he would not have known about the deduction.



Like Omole, Joy Eni was also a victim of illegal deduction. Eni had withdrawn some cash from an ATM at the Ogba-Ijaiye, Lagos branch of her bank, an old generation bank only to discover that the machine dispensed only half of the cash requested. “I punched N20,000 on the keypad and the machine dispensed new currency immediately. I also received an alert that indicated I had withdrawn N20,000 from that branch. I left for my office thinking everything was in order. But when I counted the money, I found that I had been shortchanged by N10,000.,” she said. The next day, she requested for the intervention of the branch manager via a letter narrating her ordeal. Her letter was not even acknowledged. Eni had to post another letter on the complaint section of the bank’s website but there was no response. She did not relent until the illegal deduction was eventually reversed, almost one month after. “If I had not taken those steps, I would have been shortchanged. Imagine the number of people who would have been shortchanged by these machines without them knowing since most people are under the illusion that ATMs don’t make mistakes so they usually don’t count money withdrawn from them”, she said.



Some bank customers allegedly receive notifications on ATM charges even when the purported transactions never took place. “Last June, I received an alert notifying me that the sum of N100 was deducted from my account as ATM fee and I have not even picked the ATM card from the bank since I opened the account in May 2012,” Modupe Lawal, another customer recalled. Kehinde Ajayeoba, managing director, Shalom Scan and X-ray Centre, complained that her company’s statement of account is often riddled with phantom charges. She recalled that at a time, her business account with a popular bank was surcharged for maintenance and management fees, and when she inquired, the customer service personnel of the bank had no explanation to offer. Titi Ogundele, another customer of a new generation bank, revealed that her bank deducts $60 every time her daughter based in Canada credits her account. Ogundele who described the act as throat cutting, alleged that “the bank charges several fees excluding commission paid by my daughter, withdrawal charges and account handling fees. Things have changed drastically because it was not like this few years back,” she lamented.



In order to meet revenue projections, some banks allegedly rip-off their customers, debiting their accounts with varied and indefinable charges and interests that basically ridicule the industry ethics. Some banks have been known to distort commission on turnover, COT, on a weekly or monthly interval. By so doing, the account holder is befuddled by the accounting process while the banks stash away tonnes of naira of customers’ cash. Statements of transactions between some customers and their banks reveal that most of the banks collect from their clients’ accounts, excess charges on COT, loans and facilities, bank drafts, returned cheques, collection and debit correction, as well as ATM transactions, among others. Some customers say they receive many SMS alerts for a single ATM transaction thus having a lot of money deducted from their airtime. Unfortunately many of the bank charges are not communicated to customers.



Financial experts have faulted the deduction of COT on certain bank services, stressing that COT on withdrawals is chargeable only on valid withdrawals. In other words, returned cheque debits, bank-generated charges and loan liquidation are transactions that should not attract COT. Industry experts are also of the view that reversals or mistakes made by the banks should not attract charges, alleging that some banks impose charges on mistakes committed by them on depositors. Ori Adeyemo, a forensic accountant, agrees with the claims of these customers, alleging that another prominent bank overcharged one of his clients to the tune of N64 million on a loan facility a few years back. According to him, the case and 400 others with other banks have been at the federal high court, Lagos, since January 2012.



According to Adeyemo, “Many banks manipulate the interest rates on facilities granted their customers. For instance, a customer will agree on 18 per cent per annum interest with a bank, but because the bank knows that most customers do not know how interest rates are computed, the bank will go behind and merge 45 per cent. They cash in on their customers’ ignorance. The banks believe the customers would not challenge them.” Knowing that the average bank customer does not scrutinise details of his or her account, Adeyemo said, “The common parlance in the banking sector today goes like ‘Hit the man first, if he complains, you refund.”



Giving insight into the activities of the banks, Akintunde Maberu, a financial analyst, said banks engage in several unorthodox practices to increase their profitability. For instance, he said each bank has a software that manages the accounts of customers and by the time they have one per cent management fee automatically deducted from all accounts, some of which have not been operated by their owners for a long time, they are likely to come up with a lot of money, which forms parts of the profits they declare periodically.



Peter Adebayo, a financial analyst and an accountant, explained that the provision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, guideline is that any charge, which is outside what is listed in the apex bank’s guide, is illegal, unless it is authorised by the customer, adding that banks are required to negotiate charges and interest rates with depositors. But most banks do not follow the guidelines in their dealings with their customers, a situation, which Ajayeoba said “could be a direct consequence of the pressure on bank managers to deliver curious profits to the head offices at the end of each month.”



However, Adebayo believes that the high incidence of fraudulent deductions and manipulations of customers’ accounts can be avoided if the management of the banks are committed to the task and with the use of appropriate technology. He explains that data analysis technology enables auditors and fraud examiners to analyse an organisation’s business data to gain insight into how well internal controls operate and also identify transactions that indicate fraudulent activity or the heightened risk of fraud. “It provides an effective way to be more proactive in the fight against fraud because the organisation can detect indicators of fraudulent activity much sooner and stop it before it becomes material and creates financial damage,” he said.



The CBN appears set to tackle the problem. In a recent circular to all banks, discount houses and other financial institutions, the apex bank noted an increase in the number of complaints from customers of financial institutions, especially deposit money banks. “The complaints range from allegation of excess charges, unauthorised deductions, excess commission-on-turnover, other frivolous charges, frauds, etc,” the CBN said, adding that “this situation is a clear indication of customer dissatisfaction with the quality of services offered by and the absence of proper redress mechanism within the financial institutions.”



The CBN is currently reviewing the guide to bank charges, which has been in use since 2004. “The review is intended to align the tariff regime in the banking industry with present economic realities and offer a platform for standard application of charges on different types of banking products and services,” says the apex bank. When the new guide comes on stream, it would stipulate the information banks are required to disclose to all customers prior to the consummation of every credit transaction. For Nigerians to fully embrace the banking culture and for banks to retain the loyalty and respect of their customers, industry stakeholders say the need for CBN to protect bank customers and enhance their financial literacy is imperative.


Tell Magazine

babestella: How can they destroy petroleum products worth 100M naira, who are the3y trying to deceive?. The last time I checked, 1,000 drums of products is about 1,000 by 400 litres, which is 400,000 litres of product about 12 tankers of product. This is just enough to destroy a whole city for Christ sake. So where and how did they destroy it without burning down the city. whatever happened to global warming and environmental pollution as a result of destroying 400,000 litre of petroleum products. Common people we are not stupid na. Common sense is not common ooooo.

These our government people think we are dumb, but they are dumber to think of telling us that crappy information. It is all a lie and an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians.

This reminds me of the adage from my part of the world, which says and I quote, "If you tell me there is fire burning on water, I will tell you to show me the ashes"
When NDLEA destroys fake drugs they do it for all to see. So what stops the navy from showing a bit of transparency too, ohh! I forgot we're been ruled by Pickin deceive Papa (PDP) party.
As the sayings goes 'Tell that to the marines'

She has always been a ham in front of the camera, and Lady Gaga took to her website yesterday to post some provocative images for her Little Monsters.

The “Edge of Glory” songstress shared a photo of herself naked in an armchair taken last winter, along with the caption, “Resting after BARNEY’S GAGA WORKSHOP OPENING IN NY.”

And just in case folks thought she was bottomless, Gaga noted that she was wearing a nude thong. “IT’S MY UNDERWEAR!!” she exclaimed.

Additionally, the platinum blonde pop star uploaded pictures from a recent Chateau Marmont sleepover with Lindsay Lohan and photographer Ellen von Unwerth.

The dress-up-themed photos were evidence of the good time had by all. Gaga added the caption, “I love to stay up late and take pictures of beautiful celebrities.”

Lady Gaga should should grow-up leave and such childish behaviour of hers to less talented people who need to be in the news all the time. She's an incredibly talented singer/songwriter, that should be enough!

Assassination' riddle of star Labour MP's father: Businessman killed in mysterious car crash after refusing to pay bribes in Nigerian election, family friends claim


The father of a Labour frontbencher who is tipped as a future party leader died in a mysterious car crash that friends fear was a political assassination.

Bennett Umunna, whose son Chuka is Labour’s business spokesman and MP for Streatham, was killed in Nigeria shortly after standing for state governor.

Although Mr Umunna – a wealthy London businessman who was a director of Crystal Palace football club – was tipped to win the post, his supporters claim he lost the vote after refusing to pay bribes during the campaign.
Now close friend Ron Noades, who was chairman of Crystal Palace at the time, has spoken for the first time about his belief that the car crash 20 years ago was no accident.

‘We always thought he was killed by someone, because he did things on the night of his death that he never did in Nigeria,’ he said.

‘He was travelling at night and, secondly, he got into a car with a driver who was not his regular. We always thought he was killed by someone who may have seen him as a threat.’

Mr Noades, 75, who lives in Purley, South London, also claimed that Mr Umunna had withdrawn a large sum of money from his bank account shortly before his death. Although Chuka Umunna, 33, has spoken of his father’s death in the past, he has remained vague about the details.

In a recent interview, he said: ‘There was a lot of speculation in Nigeria. He was a well-known figure. I don’t really want to go into it, but things in Nigeria don’t operate like here.

‘It’s not like you’re going to get an official post mortem or a proper police investigation.’

Bennett Umunna, who became a successful businessman after arriving in Britain as a penniless immigrant in the Sixties, died after his car apparently crashed into a truck carrying logs on April 1, 1992.

Weeks earlier, Mr Umunna, 51, had stood to become governor of Anambra, about 270 miles south of the Nigerian capital Abuja.

He regularly travelled back to the country as the head of a thriving import-export firm doing business between Europe and West Africa. Mr Noades’s wife Novello, 54, also a close friend of the Umunna family, said: ‘From all the facts I heard at the time, I think Bennett was assassinated.

‘He was involved in the politics of the country. From what I heard, his car crashed into a vehicle that was carrying logs. That’s how he died. I don’t know whether the driver died as well.

‘I remember that day, when I found out about Ben’s death. We moved to our new house, and then I received a call from Ron.

‘He told me Ben had died in Nigeria. I remember crying all day in the bathroom. I was devastated.’

Mr Umunna’s death was registered on the British Consular and High Commission deaths abroad database.
Rising star: Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said the death of his father is a private matter

Rising star: Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said the death of his father is a private matter

A British death certificate states he was living in the city of Enugu in the neighbouring Enugu state, and died on the Onitsha-Owerri highway in Anambra state.

The document does not give his cause of death, but says a local death certificate was presented as ‘evidence of death’.

In Nigeria, the accident was widely covered in the media and it is believed some minutes of silence were observed in Enugu.

Mr Umunna, who is said to have been a tribal chief known as Ben Osi Umunna, was a well-known and popular businessman in the country, as well as the chairman of a Nigerian football club.

On one internet forum, he is described by a contributor as ‘the business mogul who came back from England and changed the face of Enugu in the late Eighties and also became the chairman of Rangers International.

‘He provided a lot of jobs and he became an instant hit. He helped [charitable cases, including] a group of widows, who were on his payroll until he died in a ghastly motor accident about ’90 or ’91.’

Mr Umunna travelled to England by boat in the mid-Sixties, arriving at Liverpool, to improve his prospects and made his way to London after a stranger gave him money for the train fare.

He performed a number of menial jobs, including cleaning cars, before building up his business. He became a director of Crystal Palace in the late Eighties after investing £50,000 in the club.

He married Patricia Milmo, a solicitor, in 1976, and the couple had two children – Chuka and his sister Chinwe, 31, who is also known as Chi Chi.

A spokesman for Chuka Umunna said: ‘Chuka’s father died more than 20 years ago in very tragic circumstances.

As Chuka has made it clear previously, the circumstances surrounding his father’s death are a private matter and not something he comments on, painful and upsetting as they are to Chuka and his family.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180339/Assassination-riddle-star-Labour-MPs-father-killed-mysterious-car-crash-refusing-pay-bribes-Nigerian-election-family-friends-claim.html

• Moves to stop Jonathan’s second term • 17 first term govs oppose single tenure

The Northern governors have effectively launched the campaign to have the Presidency back in the North in 2015 with their weekend rejection of the proposed seven-year single tenure.

Eighteen of the 19 Northern Governors at their last meeting in Abuja confirmed, with their decision, they are not on the same page with their Southern counterparts on the proposed single term.

Sources close to the meeting told The Nation on Sunday that the action of the Northern governors underscores the general feeling in the North that power has to return to that part of the country in the next election.

It is also a clear message to those it may concern that the Governors are not prepared to sacrifice their political future by supporting President Goodluck Jonathan in any way at the expiration of his current term in May 2015.

One source said: “The decision is an integral part of the 2015 agenda of the North to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from running for second or third term.

“Since most of them betrayed the North in 2011, they think it will be politically suicidal for them to take such a risk again. Of the 19 governors, 11 will complete their second term in 2015. Those returning to the society are out to correct the alleged mistake of last year.

“The anger in the North against these governors could compound the insecurity in the region if they commit another blunder.

“I think some of them also have either presidential ambition or are secretly involved in the ongoing political realignment in the country which is being fostered by both the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).”

Governors who are not returning to office in 2015 are those of Benue, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Niger, Kebbi and Adamawa.

Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), and Isa Yuguda (Bauchi) are believed to be nursing presidential ambition.

Another source said the governors are being careful because the body language of the President seems to suggest that he might go for a second term or use the constitution review to extend his tenure beyond 2015.

He added: “The North does not want to take anything for granted in 2015 to by voting straight to stop Jonathan from going for either second or third term or tenure elongation

“The governors also believe that if they allow the proposal to sail through, the President can take advantage of it to have retroactive effect on his tenure in the face of opposition to a fresh term in office.

“Some friends and loyalists of the President are already discussing covertly with different groups in the six geopolitical zones on 2015.”

Investigation confirmed a division in the Governors Forum in the last few months on the single tenure proposal.

A third source added: “When the issue was raised some months ago at the NGF session, there was a split with 19 governors in favour and 17 against. Since then, the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Rotimi Amaechi has not put it in the agenda.

“Most governors running their first term in office are opposed to the proposal. No matter the position of the presidency, their State Houses of Assembly will reject it.

“Even among the initial 19 governors in favour of the single tenure, some of them are having a rethink.

“I think the seven-year single presidency will be a hard-sell because of the suspected secret agenda behind it.”

Section 9(1), (2), and (3) of the 1999 Constitution is explicit on the procedure for its amendment.

It says:”The National Assembly may, subject to the provisions of this section, alter any of the provisions of this Constitution.

“An Act of the National Assembly for the alteration of this Constitution, not being an Act to which Section 8 of this Constitution ,applies, shall not be passed in either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of that House and approved by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states.

“An Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of altering the provisions of this section, Section 8 or Chapter IV of this Constitution shall not be passed by either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is approved by the votes of not less than four-fifths majority of all the members of each House and also approved by the resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states.”

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/55595-2015-north-bids-for-power-shift.html

Nigerian Politicians Are Insane, They Kill Dreams – Richard Branson

International businessman with billions of dollars to his name, Richard Branson, has lambasted the crop of leaders we have in Nigeria for their high level greed which, according to him, is killing big brands wishing to do business with the government of the country, for the growth of Nigeria's economy.

Below is the revelations by Mr. Branson on his experience in Nigeria...

The chairman of Virgin Atlantic said: "...we have virgin's ill-fated footsteps by setting up a new airline in Africa in conjunction with Nigerian government...the details of the doomed attempts to crack the Nigerian market in the 2000s is better imagined...we put ...together a very good airline-the first airline in West Africa that was ever IOSA/IATA operational safety audit accredited but unfortunately it got tied down to the politics of the country...we led the airlines for 11 years...

"We fought daily battle against government agents who wanted to daily make fortune from us, politicians who saw the government 49% as a meal to seek for all kinds of favour...watchdogs (regulatory body) that didn't know what to do and persistently asking for bribes at any point...Nigeria people are generally nice but the politicians are very insane...that may be irony because the people make up the politicians...

"But those politicians are selfish...we did make N3billion for the federal government of Nigeria during the joint venture...realising that the government didn't bring nothing to the table/partnership except dubious debts by the previous carrier, Nigeria Airways...The joint venture should have been the biggest African carrier by now if the partnership was allowed to grow, but the politicians KILLED it...Nigeria is a country we SHALL NEVER consider to doing business again..''

http://www.olufamous.com/2012/07/nigerian-politicians-are-insane-they.html#more

WOW! magazine has published the wedding photos of star actress, Uche Jombo-Rodriguez in its latest issue. The actress gave WOW! magazine exclusive rights to her wedding pictures. She got married to her husband, Kenney Rodriguez in Puerto Rico on May 16, 2012. The latest issue of WOW! magazine is currently on sale. The latest issue of WOW magazine is a wedding themed issue, and it contains details of the wedding, as well as a lavish photo spread.

The Return Of Dakore Akande (Nee Egbuson) In 'Journey To Self'

Popular actress, Dakore Akande (nee Egbuson) is set to make a return to the movies, with a role in a new movie titled Journey To Self. The movie is being directed by Tope Oshin Ogun (Tinsel), and it also features Kalu Ikeagwu, Nse Ikpe Etim, Ashionye Ugboh-Racah, Femi Jacobs, Toyin Sido, and Catherine Edoho.

Following her marriage in January 2011 to Olumide Akande, it had been speculated that Dakore would quit acting. However, with her appearance in Journey To Self, it appears she is not quite ready to call it quits with acting.


http://nollywoodmindspace.com/2012/07/24/dakore-returns-in-journey-to-self/