₦airaland Forum

[quote author=ndu_chucks link=topic=762013.msg9167803#msg9167803 date=1316298331]If the bolded is critical news to OBJ and government security operatives, then we are all in big trouble.[/quote]Any info is good intelligence. It is scraps of info that build the big picture.
Even the killing of Baba Fugu provides info to govt about the synergies between the 3 splinters of boko haram.

koruji:
Thank you for the bolded. When a nations policy caucus are filed with 70 year-old brains designed in the colonial era, assited by syncophant brains bred on corruption this is what you have for a nation.

A govt. that is sitting on war-head but keeps pursuing a self-serving agenda is going to take us all down with its incompetence.

We've heard similar words a million times. Its always the same screaming without even a hint of a solution, so lets take this in a practical direction and hear what practical things the govt could do to, in your own words, cut boko haram loose into the desert?

How do you propose this be done?

@Koruji

Guy, so you can't even read a post and understand it before replying it off tangent several times? You're usually a sharp guy na. Abi na di sepe from todays gbadun? Lol! Abeg give me small!
Please read what I posted again, cos your responses are not connected to it in any way.

Daft.

I don't see how Baba Fugu's death downplays Obj's visit. All those crying that it has, have only made emotional statements that are not grounded in anything solid.
If anything, the killing has told the govt much more about the group than they knew 2 days ago, it also places whatever discussions Baba Fugu had with Obj as highly useful pieces of info. In fact, if Baba Fugu was a boko haram member of any importance, then its a win-win situation for the FG.

. . .I correctly recall that he said 40% of boko harams membership is scattered in Niger and Chad. If thats not critical info, what is?

The slaying of Baba Fugu establishes beyond doubt that boko haram is not a single entity. The reason for the killing could be because they feared Baba Fugu knew too much and was talking with govt, or because they mean to send an unmistakable message that their position is non-negotiable. If its the latter, then waht can be stronger than a message written in blood? On the other hand, if they feared Baba Fugu was about to quack like a duck, then govt is much closer to the boko haram capones than they realise.

searay:
Sometimes I do wonder if this site was establish for fools, but certainly not. Why can't we think of what we can do for our country in a time like this, and stop posting trash here. If the president doestn't know what to do why can't any of the ''trash talking nairalander'' propose a solution and sent it to the presidency. The Nigeria project suppose to be our collective effort no matter who you are or what. But I'm glad Boko rams are just like mosquitoes, the can bite anybody who is available no matter how highly or 'lowly' placed they are. Watch your back as you are expressing your foolishness.

I wonder.
It is part of a deep rooted rot in society, we have been so pulverised by life's wicked blows that many of us have forgotten how to be civilised and imagine that being loud and rude cuts them out as wise and intelligent, when the opposite is the reality.
Many times one comes on NL, only to wonder in despair if our average IQ has been hurt by years of brutal repression and the brazen wickedness of past govts. Its really saddening.

[size=14pt]Nigeria: Relative of Slain Sect Leader Is Killed [/size]
Associated Press

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria—A relative of the slain leader of a radical Muslim sect in Nigeria was shot dead Saturday, only two days after taking part in peace talks led by a former president, police said.

. . .

His death also raises concerns about who controls the sect, which has reported links to two other al Qaeda-affiliated terror groups in Africa, and whether its fighters want to negotiate an end to their increasingly bloody sectarian attacks.

Boko Haram later claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to the BBC's Hausa language radio service, a reliable source of news in Nigeria's Muslim north. The claim couldn't immediately be independently verified.

A lone gunman approached Mr. Fugu near his home Saturday close to the site of Boko Haram's former main mosque in Maiduguri, a city in the far reaches of northeast Nigeria approaching the Sahara Desert.

The gunman pulled a Kalashnikov rifle from inside the folds of his traditional robes and shot Mr. Fugu to death, Borno state police commissioner Simeone Midenda said.

No one else was wounded in the attack and the gunman apparently walked away, Mr. Midenda said. The commissioner said no arrests have been made in the attack.

Mr. Fugu is a relative of the late Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf, who died in police custody following a 2009 sect riot and security crackdown that left 700 people dead. Mr. Fugu and other family members had spoken with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday in a fledgling peace effort to stop the sect's attacks.

Speaking Friday to the AP in Maiduguri, Mr. Fugu said the meeting with Mr. Obasanjo raised their "confidence by 100 percent." He added that the former president promised to brief current President Goodluck Jonathan about the talks.

Family members asked Mr. Obasanjo to have their destroyed homes rebuilt and to receive a promised court settlement of $6,600 from the government, Mr. Fugu said. They also asked that officials compensate other sect members who lost relatives in the 2009 security crackdown.

It remains unclear who is actually leading Boko Haram since Mr. Yusuf's death. Analysts and diplomats have said they believe the sect is split into at least three subgroups, each with its own loose command-and-control structure. Mr. Fugu's killing Saturday and the quick claim of responsibility by Boko Haram appears to indicate that either Mr. Yusuf's family had no direct control of the group or that they upset sect commanders by negotiating.

The killing also suggests Nigeria's government won't be able to find a political solution to end Boko Haram's violence, which has included targeted assassinations and bombings. The group's U.N. suicide bombing that wounded 116 people also shows it expanded its targets to include foreigners.

Last month, the commander for U.S. military operations in Africa told the AP that Boko Haram may be trying to coordinate attacks with al-Shabab of Somalia and north African group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The sect's members scattered after the 2009 crackdown, with some now reportedly living in neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is split largely between a Christian south and a Muslim north. Unemployment and unceasing poverty, coming despite the nation making billions a year from oil production, have increased resentment in recent years in the north. Boko Haram, which wants the strict implementation of Shariah law in the country, tapped into that unrest.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903927204576576913013021674.html

[size=14pt]Accused Nigerian bombers are junior: government official[/size]
Ibrahim Mshelizza
Reuters

8:35 a.m. EDT, September 17, 2011

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Radical Islamist sect suspects facing trial for involvement in deadly bombings, including a suicide attack on a U.N. headquarters, are junior members of the group, a government official said on Saturday.

Four suspected members of Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," face the death penalty if found guilty of carrying out the U.N. suicide car bombing last month that killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100.

They were among 19 men brought to a magistrates court in Abuja on Friday accused of carrying out separate attacks as members of the sect, which is also blamed for almost daily killings around its home base in the remote northeast.

"Those being tried are not big guys but field operatives. The leaders are the ones who plan operations for the members to execute," said Zanna Usman, spokesman for the governor of northeastern Borno state.

He said the opening of the trial cut both ways for the government. "It is good because the public can now see that no criminal is a sacred cow, especially where security to life is concerned. It is also bad because Boko Haram members may no longer consider the option of negotiation," he added.

In July, President Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee to investigate unrest in the northeast and hold a dialogue with Boko Haram but its report has never surfaced, suggesting the government is taking a tougher approach after the U.N. blast.

The attack was the first known suicide bombing in Nigeria and marked an advancement in the group's ambition and the sophistication of the explosives it uses.

AL QAEDA LINKS

Intelligence officials have said evidence suggests some Boko Haram members have trained in Niger and have connections with al Qaeda's North African wing.

The United States has become increasingly concerned about the threat posed by Boko Haram and its cooperation with al Qaeda.

The group's menace has spread beyond its origins in the dusty northeast, where Africa's most populous nation has borders with Cameroon, Niger and Chad. It took credit for a car bomb outside police headquarters in the capital in June that narrowly missed the chief of police and the U.N. strike.

"You Salisu Mohammed, Musa Mukailu, Danzumi Haruna and Abdusalami Adamu of Kano state conspired among yourselves and sent a suicide bomber in (Honda car) loaded with explosives who forcefully drove into United Nations House Abuja and detonated the explosives killing 25 persons," prosecutors told the court.

The United Nations has confirmed 23 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

The defendants made no pleas because the court said the case was beyond its jurisdiction and ordered that it be sent to the Federal High Court for a hearing on November 3.

Another man was charged with his part in a New Year's Eve bomb attack on an army barracks bar in Abuja, which killed at least four people.

The other defendants were accused of carrying out bomb attacks in the northern state of Bauchi or for possessing firearms, explosives and conspiring in terrorism.

Nigeria's population of more than 140 million is split roughly equally between a largely Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

Boko Haram, which wants Islamic sharia law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, does not have the support of the majority of Nigerian Muslims.

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

http://www.wnep.com/sns-rt-us-nigeria-bombtre78g17w-20110917,0,742624.story

Rafaell:
@Beaf, U ar d bigga suprise here; neva knew U 2b lik dis
@PointB, big tanx 2u 4remindin us we stil got an intrestin issu on d front burner, these guys hav suceeded in dstractin me outof a reasnable contrbution.

My sincere apologies.

Demdem has being following me around, all over the forum and calling me accursed (check his profile); I'm only human and reacted to a long period of provocation. I will not be reacting in the same way as him from now; my apologies once again for ruining the thread.

We have the usual conspiracy theorists ranting about America in ways that don't make sense. All of that without giving us the conspiracy theorists PRACTICAL solution to wiping out boko haram. Instead, all we hear about is the tiring, "they."
A few people have even introduced Libya into a boko haram matter, as if Libya is in Maiduguri or Yusuf and Buji Foi were a Libyans. Lets not keep pulling at drunken straws and offer PRACTICAL arguments that actually make sense to the boko haram problem.

Rubbish.

Boko haram is becoming a threat to other countries of the World and they are reacting with warning noises. Is that true or not? Its simple really.

^
How? I only quoted and analysed two directly contradictory statements you made.
Obj has done very well indeed.

dayokanu:
Did we vote for OBJ OR FOR ODECHUKWU RETARDEEN

When obj is the one going on peace mission and retardeen is still looking for his shoes

If a mad man is now the one performing odechukwus responsibility then it calls for concern.

Maybe Obj can assist in phocking Patience too. What a useless leader. Obj is southern xtian just like Jonathan so whats his excuse

What a waste of vote

You can call the President daft, yet you are suggesting that he should have gone personally to see boko haram? When Tony Blair negotiated with the IRA, did he go personally?
Dude, you need medicine, because dis one na very serious fever you get. Take Alagbin.

Why should anybody waste our time with seeking punishment for desecrating the national flag?
We aren't running a dictatorship, neither can anybody be coerced not to show dissent by taking their frustration out on the flag.

While I will never burn or tear the flag, I would advice those who think such a triviality is the most burning issue facing Nigerians today to straighten their thinking. Make Nigerians happy first before dreaming about protecting an inanimate object (that is what it is to those who remain unhappy with our quality of life).

The current govt has a lot of brilliant plans that will make the average citizen proud and feel they belong, lets wait until they are delivered before launching into aimless distractions.

eGuerrilla:
@Beaf
Spare us the conjecture, abeg.
Obasanjo has vested economic interests in virtually every nook and cranny including Northern Nigeria (I am talking about sizeable farms and more), so your proclamation of altruism here is pure balderdash

eGuerrilla:
Ha, but some have more to lose, nes pa?
You think BH is going after the interest of Born-to-rule merchants anytime soon?
Please do not tell me about property or cars lost by out-of-favour politicians to the mob who ran amok right after the elections in April, abeg.

Lol!

Guy, when we argue from preconceived positions, we are bound to contradict ourselves seriously as you have done above. In one post, you are saying that Ogj has too much to lose from business interests in the far North; in your very next post, you contradict the first by saying that boko haram is not going after top shots. You then drive the contradiction for by going on to state that the property and cars lost by the Northern elite during the riots were somehow inconsequential, implying that such does not count as business or financial loss.

In the end, it looks like grappling for straws and moving of goalposts to trash Obj's very worthy achievement.

^
Move over for sensible people. All you do is rant with extreme bitterness as if you can change the facts on the ground. When you wake up tomorrow, the facts will still be the facts.
Bitterness cannot change a single thing.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=761801.msg9163207#msg9163207 date=1316228232]And I was supporting his mature move in one thread. oma se.

So beaf, did you say  GEJ "okayed" this visit and the N100m negotiation?[/quote]Whatever is happening obviously has govt backing. A very important correction to make is that there is no 100m negotiation, rather the 100m was awarded by a court. It is wrong to suggest that govt should be a lawbreaker.

The slaying of innocent Nigerians by boko haram is abhorrent and not to be tolerated, all who have been caught must face the death penalty for their acts; however, the cold blooded execution of boko harams leaders by the police was just as wrong and the guilty must face the death sentence as well. Boko haram or not, we are all Nigerians under the same law.

. . .For putting himself in harms way to visit the family of the slain boko haram leader. He actually asked his security detail to excuse him, putting himself in harms way while he had heart to heart talks with the family; you've got to give it to him for that, he's got balls of steel.
His effort has opened up a direct communication route to the sect, instead of the faceless "Ustaz" and other unknowns that have claimed to represent them. What this means, is that we can now answer the salient questions about boko haram; especially if it is a singular entity, and if not, what exactly they represent.

Also noteworthy about Obj's visit is the fact that he is not a Northerner, neither is he a Muslim; I am not even certain he can speak Hausa. Of our past leaders, he is the only one with any redeeming qualities. He did what the son's of the soil and so-called Northern leaders from Buhari to IBB could not do.
I used to be staunchly anti-Obj, but that has now ceased forever.

You've got swag, sir.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Olusegun_Obasanjo_DD-SC-07-14396-cropped.jpg/440px-Olusegun_Obasanjo_DD-SC-07-14396-cropped.jpg

Thanks Mukina.

VoodooDoll:
^^^ Chai,

There was also no news on Hyundai's website. A $7bn investment would be headlines on their website,

Hmm,

Here is the same news in Portuguese from Brazil. Its all over the World in all languages.

Hyundai Heavy construirá estaleiro de US$7 bi na Nigéria
quinta-feira, 15 de setembro de 2011 16:34 BRT  
Imprimir[-] Texto [+] ABUJA (Reuters) - O grupo sul-coreano Hyundai Heavy planeja construir um estaleiro de 7 bilhões de dólares em uma região petrolífera da Nigéria no próximo ano, disse o presidente da companhia nesta quinta-feira.
A maior construtora de navios do mundo disse que embora a construção do projeto possa começar em 2012, a empresa já iniciou a preparação do terreno em Bayelsa, estado natal do presidente do país, Goodluck Jonathan, no coração da região do Delta nigeriano, rica em petróleo.

"Minha companhia vai colocar 7 bilhões de dólares na Nigéria na construção do estaleiro" disse Jai-Seong Lee a repórteres na residência presidencial, em um encontro com Jonathan.

Lee disse que a primeira fase deve estar completa em 2014. O estaleiro vai fornecer serviços para companhias de petróleo que operam na maior indústria de energia da África.

O governador do Estado de Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva, disse que o governo pode não investir no projeto, mas que deu à Hyundai o terreno e pode construir uma rodovia para o estaleiro.

"Para nós, o que interessa é a geração de empregos e o pagamento de impostos a partir do início da operação do estaleiro", disse Timipre Sylva.

http://br.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idBRSPE78E0M720110915

[size=14pt]U.S., Germany ban guns, cell phones, bags, etc in embassies and consulates [/size]
Posted at 16/09/2011 02:14 AM | Updated at 16/09/2011 02:14 AM
By Simon Imobo-Tswam, Abuja

https://www.momentng.com/images/news/thumbs/474x243/U.Sconsul.jpg

THE United States (U.S.) and German diplomatic missions in Nigeria have banned the use of weapons, cell phones, sharp objects, razor blades, cameras, bottles and liquids on their premises, as a precautionary measure against any terror attack on their staff and premises.

Other items banned include glass objects, bags, cases of all kinds, umbrellas, powders, radio sets, recorders and personal digital assistants.

This happened in the wake of the suicide terror attack on the United Nations building in Abuja nearly three weeks ago.

The Boko Haram sect, which claimed responsibility for the attack, listed some foreign missions, including the U.S. and German embassies, as some of its targets.

Both the U.S. and German missions in Nigeria have embassies in Abuja and consulates in Lagos.

While the U.S. Embassy is located at Plot 1075, Diplomatic Drive, Abuja, the consulate is at 2, Walter Carrington Crescent (formerly Eleke Crescent), Victoria Island, Lagos.

The German Embassy is located at 9, Lake Maracaibo Close, with an annex on 3,323, Barada Close, (both off Amazon Street) in the upscale Maitama, Abuja, and its Lagos consulate is at 15, Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island.

A statement on the U.S. Embassy’s website yesterday placing the ban read in part, ‘The following items are not permitted on the premises of the United States Consulate: Weapons of any kind or size, sharp metal or glass objects, razor blades, liquids, bottles, powdery substances, umbrellas and electronic or battery operated equipment (including cell phones, radios, tape recorders, cameras, personal digital assistants, computers).

‘If you have any of these items, you will not be permitted to use the drop box facility.’

The Embassy of Germany’s website had this information: ‘Dear visitors to the Embassy Abuja; Please note that due to security concerns visitors of the Embassy, Abuja, will no longer be allowed to bring any bags or cases or cell phones into the Embassy.

‘Please leave your personal belongings either in your car or with our security guards.

‘We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding!’

‘Due to the Nigerian holiday Id el-Kabir, the Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Monday, November 7, 2011,’ it added.


http://www.panapress.com/Ex-Nigerian-President-seeks-to-initiate-talks-between-govt,-Boko-Haram--15-795115-32-lang2-index.html

Demdem:
Nah, u dont know them. abi u wan Lie again like u are noted for 
I only pray for them unlike u Accursed that Cursed yours rigorously.
I cant claim i feel your pain because i dont.
_{By the way, i expect u to be flying those your nasty pictures around by now, wasup??} 

Its all on your family, bruv. Every time you say accursed, you create sorrow for your loved ones; your father, your mother, your children and their children; its a multiplier effect. You're building a castle of woe.

[quote author=haka_nai link=topic=761024.msg9157811#msg9157811 date=1316162992]Heavy drama surely but, the kind where he insults people who may resist his attempts to address the issue properly.He targets the BH leaders family simply because for me it will buy him the ears of the members through such kind gesture to the next of kins.It will go a long way if the attacks are revenge for BH leaders.
We regard family and everyone has a soft spot for family in most cases.In short this move is the rarest of all.Since it happened how many top shots reached out to the families?It is a good move for the greater peace.forget the issue of not talking to terrorist.How about having the likes of boyloaf of BH spring up and challenge the others to dialogue and surrender.Ideology you say.Then this would touch though to reach spot of ideology.Cause even the hardest ideological humans bow to some kinda of family.
Politically he is relevant and controls a significant force in the Northern elite or atleast could get there attention when he wants.That is if it goes political.The old military boyz are a clique and continue to be.Such that espirit de corp would do well to get to areas GEJ would simply scratch the surface.[/quote]I don't see anything special in Obj's visit to the family of Baba Fugu. Instead, it is notable that he did not go to Yusufs people.
I agree with you that there are areas where Obj would be a useful talisman, he has been around longer than most, from the civil war to being head of state and then, President. Thats not beans, he's been there through thick and thin. There ain't nothing that dude doesn't know about Nigeria and no political trick he cannot see from a mile away.

[size=14pt]Ex-Nigerian President seeks to initiate talks between govt, Boko Haram[/size]

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Former Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo may be seeking to initiate peace talks between the federal government and the Islamic sect Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for the spate of bombings in the country in recent times, the private Nation newspaper reported Friday.

The paper said Obasanjo met with the family of the slain leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, Thursday in the northern city of Maiduguri, the base of the violent sect.

It is believed that the meeting, which lasted for one-and-a-half hours behind closed doors, was largely exploratory and aimed at initiating formal talks between the government and the sect.

The paper quoted an unnamed source as saying Obasanjo told Yusuf's family members: "This is a personal initiative. I urge you to forgive and forget the past. I plead with you to give me the chance to mediate between the family and the government."

The brother-in-law of the slain Boko Haram leader, Babakura Fuggu,, reportedly said: "Since 2009, this is the first time any high-profile figure has commiserated with the family. We are happy with this visit.''

The Nation quoted a top government source as saying: "The government is ready for talks with Boko Haram, like it did in the Niger Delta. The ex-President has decided to avail the government of his experience in peace-keeping operations. He believes dialogue could save the nation from bomb explosions. You should expect more follow-up talks with the Boko Haram sect. After all, after returning from the battle front, we go back to the peace table."

Among the sect's grievances is the summary execution of Yusuf, who was captured alive by soldiers and handed over to the police, who executed him.
-0- PANA SEG 16Sept2011

16 september 2011 08:27:08

http://www.panapress.com/Ex-Nigerian-President-seeks-to-initiate-talks-between-govt,-Boko-Haram--15-795115-32-lang2-index.html

Everyone assumes he went on behalf of govt. We'll get to know in the near future.

Boko Haram: Court Summons Prison Controller Over Missing Suspects
Fri, 16/09/2011

, A Maiduguri high court yesterday summoned the comptroller of prison in Borno State, Usman Maina Kaina, over the disappearance of some suspected Boko Haram sect members from prison custody.

The court heard that the suspects were evacuated with a truck from the maximum prison in Maiduguri by military men to an unknown destination.
The missing sect members, who are 24 in number, were among 76 suspects currently facing trial at the court since September 2009 when they were arrested after the 2009 uprising.

Our correspondent gathered that men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) were said to have re-arrested some of the suspects who had earlier been granted bail by the court and taken to unknown destination.

Two of the Boko Haram suspects, Umaru Hamisu and Ibrahim Adamu Ali, were said to have died in prison custody last year and their names had been struck out from the charge sheet.

At the continuation of hearing in the case yesterday, fewer than 30 of the suspects who are currently on bail appeared before the court.
A counsel to the accused persons, Barrister Damo Ayuba, told the court that one of his clients, Bashir Mohammed, who had earlier been granted bail, had been re-arrested by men of the JTF and taken to unknown destination, saying that all efforts to trace them had been futile.

The presiding judge, Justice Wakil Alkali Gana, lamented the situation and said nobody had the right to take away persons facing trial.
The judge ordered that the prison comptroller should appear before it at an adjourned date, November 19, 2011, to explain the whereabouts of the suspects in the custody of the prison.

http://www.panapress.com/Ex-Nigerian-President-seeks-to-initiate-talks-between-govt,-Boko-Haram--15-795115-32-lang2-index.html

Demdem:
Nah, they are all intact and doing great things. i dint curse them. Actually, u Accursed should be the one to take note of your side u know.
With your own mouth you cursed your entire race (both living and dead). PELE

They look intact, but your own mouth has mowed them down.
Your own mouth has heaped ashes and sorrow on them and your eyes will be the the witness.

From "Toronto" certificate to drugs. Its really sad.

Another crooked career is drawing to and end.
Tinubu meets Ibori. Lol!

www.nairaland.com/attachments/139268_BolaTinubuHeroinforfeiture_jpgb084d334c74cec7150ee9588a3aed2fc

[size=14pt]Man in The News: Bola Tinubu: Expansionist agenda in trouble? [/size]
Friday, 16 September 2011

Senator Bola tinubu
Following the summons of the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Bola Tinubu, by the Code of Conduct Bureau on several allegations, Regional Editor (News), Olawale Rasheed, writes on the rippling effects of the case, submitting that Tinubu’s sudden rise may, indeed, have reached its peak.

Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a politician ensnared in his politics of opportunism. These are days he would never pray to come. In a few days time, he will be in the dock for allegedly breaching the code of conduct laws of the land. He is accused of maintaining foreign accounts as governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2003, in defiance of the nation’s laws. The senator‘s empire is convulsing. He is cornered by his sordid past and his expansionist agenda is “slowly but surely” grinding to a halt.

The national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is a politician of multiple controversies, a former senator with horrid baggage from the past, an activist with hanging questions, a former governor with many unresolved issues of personal integrity. As a politician, he commands an array of combatants who he sees as mere pawns in his chess board. Indeed, at the launch of a book on his former Attorne-General, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Tinubu described the Senior Advocate as one of the “weapons” in his personal, “political armoury.”

Tinubu desperately wants to be Yoruba leader, but sadly for him, he lacks the personal integrity, openness and democratic credentials of Obafemi Awolowo; the humility and piety of Adekunle Ajasin, the selfless patriotism of Abraham Adesanya; the erudition and intellectualism of Bola Ige. At another level, Bola Tinubu is not an M.K.O Abiola of unrivalled philanthropy and definitely not Olusegun Obasanjo of many raw landmarks.

The former senator is a man of shrouded beginning, an accountant with challenges of veracity, a self-made businessman-politician in the Italian mode, and a man with uncanning capacity to play the ‘Samuel’ in a world of ambitions. His admirers worship his questioned rise from nowhere; his adversaries loath the taints and dirts on his ladder of successes.

In his world of untamed and unregulated ambitions, he even got one of his key rivals a term in jail while he, like a super human Italian mafia boss, walked the street unencumbered. Notwithstanding his negative baggage, he overthrew political thrones, daring any one to confront him. In a zone of proud, upright citizens and statesmen, Tinubu built a machine, oiled by an extensive overlay of patronage, enforcement and punishment system which drives an undisguised expansionist agenda to ultimately capture national political power.

While in a sly manner dramatically appropriating the toga of progressivism, he silenced many, ‘empowered’ many into his fold and created a culture of impunity around his ruling clique. His wife is a distinguished senator of the Republic and his son-in-law is a member of the House of Representatives.

The senator and his men have become so confident that they are now launching into other zones, angling to occupy Lord Lugard House in Lokoja and take Ilorin from the established political order. Earlier attempts in the East of the Niger were disastrous for Tinubu and his cabal. He had a bloodied nose in Akwa Ibom, other South-South and South-East states and a decapitating show in the core North. The expansionist agenda is gasping for breath, as the boss himself now faces a personal battle of integrity.

A cunning and insistent schemer, the former governor, in his bid for a widening political empire at times, sees no wrong in eating with the devil and the angel at the same time. He claimed to have supported the Jonathan/Sambo ticket at the last minute in the last election, but soon deployed his legislative troops to rubbish the Jonathan Presidency in the contest for House of Representatives Speakership. Supposed smart politics played at the extreme by Bola Tinubu has double sharp edges, with the script writer capable of being a victim.

At the zenith of his power, his past constantly appears in his present, his local and international baggages hunt his trail, and buried matters are washed up by subsisting currents. Questions not asked in the past are popping up. The judicial advantage is dismantled and succession politics is beginning to grow dirty and messier within his own very political machine.

The past is now today; yesterday can no longer be forgotten; and yesterday and today will determine tomorrow. As the former governor prepares his defence, this may be the beginning of the unravelling of an empire built on questioned patronage. As put by one of his arch-rivals, Adedeji Doherty, this development may be the beginning of more investigations into a 12 year reign of the Bourdillon cabal. The jitters, the fears, are mounting, even as the slow wheel of justice appears to be moving, getting set to open up the pandora box of Lagos public finance and governance.

Boastful Tinubu has, however, declared his readiness to face the impending trial and clear himself of all the allegations and charges, an interesting declaration from a man whose opponents say does not even bear his real names. The coming trial, to such persons, should be used by the former governor to shed light on others issues such as the controversy trailing his birth, education, work history, the revenue collection issue in Lagos State and other related sundry issues. The nation is excited to be part of a no-holds-barred “truth commission” to be played out in the next few weeks.

Whatever comes out of the trial, the reality is that the Tinubu machine can never be the same again. The unfolding stories of betrayals and backstabbing are increasingly beyond the capacity of the leader to curtail. The resort to self-help by caucus members is generating a free-for-all and remote controlling of Alausa on the 2015 power game is proving difficult. Fashola at Alausa is resisting meddling in Lagos affairs by Tinubu’s Khalifa; Rauf Aregbesola from Osogbo; very ominously, the man in Agodi Government House, Ibadan and his colleague in Abeokuta , Ogun State are proving very independent-minded.

Will this man dodge this arrival of justice? Can he marshal containing tactics and strategies to hold the crumbling empire together? Only time will answer these questions. But for now, the hen has come home to roost.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/28303-man-in-the-news-bola-tinubu-expansionist-agenda-in-trouble

Demdem:
Sharapppp dere Accursed. Na u call ursef such and i am helping u to propagate it joyfully. What exactly is my offence here? U de craze?

Just remember your family; daddy, mummy and the lil pikins and their future pikins.
You will be shocked at how your mouth is a bulldozer in their lives.

doctokwus:
$7b shipyard in bayelsÀ? I av my suspicions

Why? Maybe you don't realise how much Bayelsa gives this country. I wonder what place you think is better for Hyundai to build their oil servicing shipyard.

The way I look at it is, if Obj was on a govt mission, then we are about to see some heavy drama's. On the other hand, if he went of his own accord (a near impossibility), then he has walked into really deep waters, call it suicide.

ideylaff:
FBI clearance,  sorry,   I know we open our mouth to Yankee anyhow,,, but wetin concern FBI clearance to talk to a Nigerian Citizen, within Nigeria,  LOL, we seem to be getting carried away now,  FBI Clearance in Nigeria,

My take is for OBJ to be talking to the Boko Haram leader,  means they know where the terror is coming from, and all these while they kept quiet,  But now that they think this war might hit them
personally, they have now decided to talk,  

OR They are in the know and want to tell GEJ that we are in control, so he has made this move,
Either way it smells of a cabal in operation and in the know, Now OBJ has a one up on GEJ , no matter how much GEJ is bn convinced that OBJ has diminishing powers within PDP

Please 4get the FBI side I begiii, its embarassing mehn

So what has d Governor of the state bn doing since, drinking with the boko haram boys, or saying, u watch they will come and beg us,  ARREST ALL OF THEM JOH,

one sect in a country of 150 milion,  na wah oooo
@ beaf so u are the person who posted this FBI clearance,  thing,  na wah ooo u really don fall for awa hand ooo FBI Clearance in Nigeria,

I wonder why you had to post the same thing over and over?
Anyway, about FBI clearance; dude, do you think that our mopol or whatever are capable of investigating boko haram? Thats if the N20 takers are not boko haram themselves. Bera swallow your pride and be practical.
The investigation into the UN bombing is a 100% FBI matter. Our boys are only playing errand roles in an investigation that has been ringfenced from them after repeated failures (even with the good intentions of people like Azazi).

Anything boko haram goes through the FBI. Laugh if you like, but anyone laughing would really be laughing at themselves. Our police force is already a laughing stock anyway, its just left for us the citizens to join the party.