₦airaland Forum

honeric01:
Buhari is not responsible for the offense of others, the cousin committed suicide because he was ashamed of what he did and knew he was a disappointment, but can you say the same of OBJ, GEJ, PATIENCE, ATIKU, ALARMS, ODILI, IBORI, IGBINEDION e.t.c? they even go to church/mosque to give thanksgiving that the were being persecuted for being corrupt.


We shouldn't be the one begging you for proof, you should be the one backing your lies with proofs or are they still photoshopping/building the "news" site you want to use as proof?

You are so funny!!!!
Who was Buhari's cousin working for? Who appointed him?

As chairman of PTF, he made his own cousin the sole consultant for monitoring and assessing  the value of contracts. Afriproject consortium was so corrupt that at the inception of  Abdulsalami's regime, fearful of exposure, Buhari's cousin committed suicide in his office. When the books of PTF were opened, the can of worms was so much that Haruna Adamu said he felt sickened by it. One body determined the contracts to be awarded, the payments to be made and whether the contracts had been satisfied.

http://www.dawodu.com/omokri1.htm

Damn!

If I recall, yet another member of Buhari's family was the one that shipped in 54 suitcases of raw cash through MMA at the time Buhari's govt had put a strict ban on any money leaving or entering the country, so as to catch those with stolen funds. Na wa!

frosbel:
@Beaf

I agree we need something akin to the now defunct Iraq republican guard, a well trained and highly specialised force that can counter the army in cases of threats to national security.

But I do not believe that the majority of Nigerian soldiers are Muslim. I would say half and half. However I will also have to agree that the top echelon of the army are mostly Hausa Muslim.

We need to counter this threat very quickly , because after years of research and education , I am 100% certain that these guys want to dominate US irrespective of any appeasements from the south or similar gestures of reconciliation.

Remember they have a mind set ( I lived there for 6 years ), totally different from the mindset of the south and it is this mindset that we need to change.

Honestly I am fed-up with a certain group of people dragging us back to the stone age, when all we want is progression, equality and prosperity.

GEJ should act quickly, no amount of appeasement he offers these guys will satiate their unquenchable thirst for bloodshed. He should get REAL and stop messing about.

It is the demographics of the officer echelon that matters most, because in the army obedience without questions is required; so a Christian corporal can be ordered to shoot fellow Christians and he would do it without blinking, same goes for a Muslim soldier.
Any ethnic concentration in the officer corps needs to be diluted urgently and in ways that do not cause further strife. It is the only way to shield the army from partisan politics.

Damn! Nyako got jokes!!!

[size=14pt]Nyako: Atiku still young, he should wait for 2015 – Daily Trust[/size]

As protests and condemnations continue to trail the decision of the northern PDP state governors’ resolve to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan against the northern candidate, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako has advised Atiku to work hard in 2015 to achieve his dreams.

Governor Nyako who was speaking to some journalists in his office yesterday noted that Jonathan had been good to Adamawa, hence their resolve to support him during the PDP presidential primary.

“Jonathan has been good to Adamawa, we have no quarrel with president Jonathan, he is very supportive and I have the mandate of Adamawa delegates to say on their behalf that we are going to vote Goodluck and we are not ashamed of it at all. In fact, we are proud of it’’, he said. “Next time, he (Atiku) should work harder, he is still a young man. He should go for the contest in 2015”, Nyako said.

http://nigerianbulletin.com/2011/01/25/nyako-atiku-still-young-he-should-wait-for-2015-daily-trust/

blacksta:
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.  As opposed to impartially providing information

GEJ is highly compromised and not competent enough to solve the problem -

Your so called 10,000 army will be ready when the entire jos has been massacred.

Some funny shyte there!
What is your solution? It doesn't make sense to just scream and end up saying exactly nothing. No counter-argument, no suggestion, nothing.

What do you suggest be done to correct the gross ethnic imbalance that has created partisan problems in the army? GEJ's brand new army solution is the best idea out there. It should be ready in months.

Abagworo:
Why I'm I giving you sleepless nights?That poll proved otherwise so it is not a good reference.I don't want to start with you because I have proven you a clown time without number.So just go siddon for gutter and eat the crumbs off GEJ's table.

Dude, my post wasn't meant to make you hangry na! Why you de vex?
Is is because I gave ndu_chucks a babe that you are showing your hanger and jealousy? If that is the case, I found you a special one (what are friends for?); she was made specially for tribalists, you see. She even look like hidiot!

Enjoy!

https://www.webguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ugly-girl.jpg

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

[quote author=ndu_chucks link=topic=592030.msg7598060#msg7598060 date=1295943113]Abagworo's assertion is quite right. You people are the confused ones because of the lack of depth and your getting bogged down by semantics.

To you people, tribalism is the same as bigotry and being recalcitrant when the issue of other tribes comes into play at any level. You also believe that tribalists are inherently anti-other tribes. You are mistaking people who are protecting the interest of their "tribes" as bigots. This is wrong.

It is obvious that people like Ibime cannot be classified as a bigots. Ibime, like every Nigerian, will verbally protect the interest of his ethnic group and probably that of his wife's ethnic group (assuming he is married and to someone from a different ethnic group). Does that make him a tribalist? I think not.

The "tribalists" on this forum using the definition of you peons, will never say anything positive about ethnic groups other than his, is unable to criticise any leader from his ethnic group, vigorously attack anyone who offers criticisms of leaders from his/region (never mind that it is constructive), and suffers from inferiority complex.

Abagworo is right.

Now, if people like Beaf are classified as detribalized, then one would be blatantly wrong, to say the least. Beaf wadooo. [/quote]Poor you!
Abagworo is your replica. He was voted as one of NL's top "tribalists," a devastating event he seems not to have been able to recover from.
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-549104.224.html

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

It makes this thread and your views seem very comical. But in the meantime, I have found you a girlfriend as a reward for your rubbish post:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Idrislady2.jpg

www.nairaland.com/attachments/180447_ROTFLMAO_gif3d0c775232c7f27cf80592785b9635b6

Now that Zimbabwe's economy has been growing strongly for 3 years now, the country has suddenly dropped from the news. Na wa for imperialists!
Zim said an emphatic no to oppression and the country is now doing quite well, thank you.

"No" is a word most Africans would do well to learn. We can only develop by being ourselves.

dayokanu:
We should stop being too thin skinned.

EVen in the bible they referred to Isreal as the 12 TRIBES of Israel.

Does that mean they were inferior too? Never for once did I hear the Ethnic group of Judah rather it was the tribe of Judah

When did the bible become a universal measure for the meaning of English words?
If we need the etymology of a word, we research it, not look in the bible. English wasn't invented in Isreal, neither is the bible an authority in the language.

Should we also open the Torah and the Quran?

Onlytruth:
Posted by: Beaf
So how did it end up in African lexicon? Abi somebody de call us monkey indirectly.
hehehe! 

Exactly! Oyibo no get tribe.
. . .And we proudly help them call us monkeys.

The OP is a silly clown that can't seem to tell left from right. What does "de-tribalised" mean? Is it "de-monkeyed?"

The word "tribe" originally meant a pack of monkey's.
Nuff said.

[quote author=master-e link=topic=580226.msg7594985#msg7594985 date=1295896795]@Beaf

Thanks for the encouragement so far and i hope i will not be asking for too much o!
I am having problem getting Visual Studio and SQL Server, but what i have now is all in pieces, Visual Basic 2008, Visual C# 2008 and the rest and MS Access.

Will these be ok for my development work?

One more thing Sir, sometimes the mind need to be given some kind of target else it may take thing too light and get lazy, if you are to give me a time frame, what will your suggestion be. I mean how many months shud set for myself to amount to something tangible?[/quote]MS Access of very limited use to you, both as a commercial tool and for your experience; it is meant to be used as a stand alone tool and has its own macro's and flavour of VB.
You should get SQL Server 2008 Express, its free and has most of the functionality you will neeed. Almost every code help on SQL and .NET is about SQL Server (you'll also find a few Oracle and MySql). Knowledge of SQL Server will help your CV in large ways.

Aside from not having SQL Server, your toolbox is pretty adequate for your development work.

For target times. . . It would depend on three things, a) your current understanding, b) how hot you are, c) your degree of determination.
I always find that option b) has a way of pushing determined people to strive to higher heights - everyone wants to be hot and everyone has the tools to prove it. How hard can you drive yourself? The answer to that question will determine the level of success you will attain, so visualise your goal and start the journey.

I would take a month to work flat out on nothing but object oriented stuff, to the extent that when I'm changing my car tyres, I'm thinking of the whole car in code! . . .If you are a chess player, you will understand this state of mind very well!!
Set aside another two months to play with design patterns, employing them in your code and getting a really close feel for how guru's visualise problems and structure their code to solve them. Make sure to start with the simplest, and don't be tempted to look at design patterns before you are thoroughly comfortable with object oriented programming and its concepts.
After three months of concentrated effort, you should be ready to take on event driven programming. You should need about a month to conquer that.

Dude, in four short months, you can truely escape rookie status and challenge "cut and nailers" who have been coding for donkey years. You can reach a very advanced level in a year, it depends on your drive; but, you seem to have the right doses, so go for it.

[quote author=jay_getta link=topic=585949.msg7596891#msg7596891 date=1295919001]@HubReality: You make me laugh! GEJ is "clean"? Ok, tell me, that $13.5million dollar wahala hanging over his wife's head nko?[/quote]GEJ is clean. Stop spreading false rumours.

frosbel:
They should stop sending Hausa soldiers to Jos.

The Hausa soldiers we now know are behind the killing.

The army is one of the last areas remaining to be tackled in the cabals power arsenal.
It will require some pretty stepping, time and deft action to defeat the military; but it will be done. The ethnically lopsided army is the last stronghold left to the cabal in Nigeria's power jigsaw.

Villagers openly clashing with the army is an alarming and shocking development that cannot bode well.
Unfortunately, there is no magic wand fix to its ethnic makeup, but govt is building a brand new 10,000 man force comprising airforce, police, SSS and army that will be led by an airforce officer who will be directly answerable to the President; https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-575501.0.html. When that force is ready, there will be no need to ever have regular army troops in Jos and we'll be able to say bye bye to the crisis; until then, the option is containment.

What sort of atmosphere is driving the youth to such thoughtless "get rich by any means" schemes?
Her brother was taking care of her for goodness sake.

I believe govt needs to reach out even more to the younger generation with specific schemes and policies to create opportunity and hope.

[size=14pt]Girl arrested for attempting to kidnap brother[/size]
News Jan 25, 2011 By Austin Ogwuda

A girl has been arrested in Asaba, Delta State, for attempting to kidnap her elder brother, who has been sponsoring her in the university. She was not arrested alone, all the five members of the gang contracted by the girl to carry out the operation were also rounded up by the police.

According to the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Charles Muka, who confirmed the arrest to our reporter, yesterday, “all the arrested persons are being interrogated. The girl, a student in one of the universities (names withheld) conspired with five others to kidnap the elder brother.

They made the first attempt last Thursday and took away the brother at gun point by the Bonsac area, Asaba, but unfortunately for them, as they were going, their vehicle was involed in an accident on the highway and this enabled the victim to escape.

“But they did not stop. Today (yesterday), they came again at 7.30 am with a view of kidnapping him again but the gateman raised an alarm which attracted the neighbours, who assisted in arresting one of the kidnappers.

“And with the arrest of one of them, the others were picked up including the girl friend to the sister (mastermind) of the victim, while we recovered cut to size guns from their hideout.”

Muka also said that nine persons had been arrested in connection with he killing of the Obiaruku Divisional Police Officer, Mr. William Agbogoroma who was ambushed and killed on Sunday.

The late DPO was said to be responding to a distress call when he was ambushed and gunned down by bandits.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/girl-arrested-for-attempting-to-kidnap-brother/

[size=14pt]Benin-Lagos road to be completed December – Minister[/size]
News Jan 25, 2011 By SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN—FOLLOWING the incessant kidnapping of officials of the Reynolds Construction Company, RCC, handling the Benin-Lagos Express Road, the Federal Government has deployed soldiers with a view to protecting the officials.

Meanwhile, the management of the RCC is asking the Federal Government to pay the company the sum of N5.6billion, being part of the money owed the company for some of the jobs already, executed.

It will recalled that two staff of the company, IIan Digauher and Shayhe Heebe, were abducted October, 2010, by suspected kidnappers, as a result of which the management of the company suspended operations on the dilapidated road.

However, Vanguard, observed the presence of over 30 soldiers guiding the expatriate staff of the company, when the Minister of State for Works, Dr Chris Ogienmwonyi, went on an on-the-spot assessment of ongoing work on the road.

Dr Ogienmwonyi, who commended the Ministry of Defence for releasing the soldiers for work to continue on the road, expressed the concern of President Goodluck Jonathan in ensuring that the road was completed. He assured that from the information available to the Ministry, the job will be completed by December this year.

While urging the officials of the company to take one team to Benin so as to commence work on the dilapidated part of the road from the Benin axis, he said, “we are so glad that the issue that caused RCC to move out of site has now been fully addressed and as you can see around us here now, the extra security that had been provided. We must thank the Defense Minister and at the same time, Mr. President for allowing all of us to work together.”

We now have enough security and they (RCC) have assured me that they have enough security.
“From what we have now, I feel happy with the scope of work and I understand they are now even working on weekends. All we ask is let there be peace in this area and then by December, we are sure they will deliver” he stated.

Commenting on the refund of N5.6billion being requested by the Company to enable them accelerate the job, Dr Ogienmwonyi asserted that “It is obvious we need some funding and that is the essence of my trip. We will look at it and write the report. Mr. President is very concerned about the welfare of the people that is why today on a Sunday I am doing this road inspection. You can see that the state of the road between Ore_Ofosu and Kilometre 76 to 96 is in a bad state.

“We will make sure that before the rains starts, we will get the contractor back to work, get enough funds and to give the Nigeria people a smooth ride between Ore and Ofosu, that is the guarantee of the Ministry of Works and we will get it done expeditiously” he stated.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/benin-lagos-road-to-be-completed-december-minister/

sr:
hm, @beaf seriously, u r the chief b1g0t of nairaland

Avoid words whose meaning you don't know and keep to talking about onions.
Wisdom.

From the responses on this thread, most so called "born agains" are just educated almajiri's.

Bakare warned members of the church, who failed to produce their voter’s card in the church, that they risked being thrown out of the church auditorium.

“I have registered and so are many other people. If you show up in this church after the registration and you cannot produce your card, you will not be allowed to stay in this (church) auditorium; you can stay in the extension,” said the cleric, who said it would be very difficult to vote twice in the coming elections.

This is very serious. So those who forget to bring their bibles would be fine, but if you dare fail to bring your voters card, you will join the demons outside the church! Na wa o!

[quote author=master-e link=topic=580226.msg7591606#msg7591606 date=1295861956]@Beaf

If i shud seek your advice as a professional or at least one that know more me. Since i am just starting out, what shud i concentrate myself on mastering?

What level of skill would u advice me to acquire[/quote]Follow the order below at your own pace for a few months.

1. Get a indepth understanding into how object oriented programming works, it will give you a very solid starting base.
2. Learn all you can about abstract classes, structs, interfaces etc, its very easy stuff to grasp.
3. Once thats in place, study design patterns and get to understand them and the thinking behind them. After you have studied a few design patterns, you would need to get events driven design under your belt as well.

Once you have all these things, you can grasp any concept, understand any piece of code and begin to be able to visualise systems at an enterprise level.
They are all very easy to learn. but you will be surprised at how far up the coding champ ladder they will carry you. Most people ignore them and end up as cut and nail coders who don't quite understand what they are doing.

As for language, I would advise you take the C# and C++/CLI route, VB.NET is a dead end language. You will find that learning C based languages like C# will open doors to C++, Java, PHP, JavaScript etc; the C# route gives you an easier route to expand your language portfolio.

Good luck!

What is the World coming to? When did gentlemen lose their taste that they would open their wallets to give money to a thing that looks like this?
HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!! HOLY GHOST FIRE!!!

https://www.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Idrislady2.jpg

blacksta:
The only person deceived is yourself abi you think it is coincidence that these robot's follow you like fly on shi t every time you start a post or vice versa

I am Jarus as well, seeing that he posted here. I'm chuckling as I post this.

wesley80:
^^^ Believe it or not, witches exist and such feats are possible.

I and a full hostel of students witnessed something incredible that lasted all night, what is called seeing wonders with our kro kro eyes, so I know such things are possible.
What raised my hackles was her claim that dogs barking brought her crashing down after travelling by air all the way from Obubra in Cross River state to 4 Iwajuwa Street in Lagos.

blacksta:
Association of Mass Murderers and Thieves

Beaf and his multiple id's all for GEJ propaganda - If you like create 1000 ids - that one na your business

Nisman , Johndoe, Ma j blige - U all write alike

Funny post.

Crash landed witch indeed!
She is someone with mental problems or on drugs. She simply climbed to the roof of the 3 storey building as part of her fantasy.

Sometimes it is best to keep quiet about certain things. This is one of those things, but I guess Ribadu will find out after his words become a storm.

SNG was always about lobbying for political positions, forget about altruism. I only feel pain for their thousands of followers who didn't curtain on to their antics early enough. Its sad the way the bosses are going.

[size=14pt]Jonathan in talks with Atiku[/size]
Headlines Jan 24, 2011 By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

LAGOS—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has initiated talks with Atiku Abubakar, his main rival for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential ticket and offered him a role in his presidential campaign ahead of the presidential election next April.

Vanguard learnt that the erstwhile Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Anthony Anenih, is mediating the talks between both sides.

The talks are, however, yet to reach a definitive agreement as both parties were reportedly skirting around demands and offers tendered to enable a concrete reconciliation after the most cantankerous presidential primaries in the 12 year-old PDP.
Presidential minders were hopeful, yesterday, that complete reconciliation would further boost the prospects of the President especially in the Northwest where he trailed Atiku in some States.


PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has initiated talks with Atiku Abubakar
Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State and PDP chieftain, Alhaji Mukthar Shagari, said, yesterday, that ongoing religious and ethnic tainted text messages circulating among Northerners to dissuade them from voting for President Jonathan would come to no avail.

He told Vanguard in a telephone interview that the President’s good works in reviving the textile industry, dredging the River Niger and the presidential initiative to put Almajiris in schools would boost the President’s prospects.

Following his resounding victory at penultimate Thursday’s presidential primaries, President Jonathan in his acceptance speech had offered a hand of fellowship to Atiku who he congratulated for putting up a serious campaign.

Dialogue with Atiku

Sources disclosed, weekend, that the President had followed his words with action by initiating dialogue with Atiku. Associates of Atiku were notably reluctant to talk about the ongoing talks.

Atiku’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, claimed ignorance of the talks when contacted.

Vanguard learnt that Anenih was primed to mediate in the talks on account of his closeness to both men. Though Anenih was central to the President’s victory in the presidential primaries in Abuja; he is also generally known to have been a close political associate of Atiku running back to the Third Republic when they were both close confidants of the late Gen. Musa Yar‘Adua.

Anenih and Atiku reportedly also share common feeling against President Olusegun Obasanjo who they both served and subsequently fell out with.

A senior presidential aide told Vanguard yesterday: “The President is reaching out to them, we are talking to every one of them, and you can see that General Babangida has congratulated the President, we are talking to them.”

The aide who spoke of the President’s effort to unite the party behind him after the primaries which he contested against the joint forces of Babangida, Atiku, erstwhile National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau and Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, added: “The President is desirous of going into the election as a united team and he believes that it was an internal contest of just the PDP and that is why you would see that the Campaign Organisation for the main presidential election has not taken shape.”

The meetings were equally confirmed by a senior associate of Atiku who responded, briefly that “yes we are talking, but nothing serious has come out.”

Vanguard learnt that President Jonathan besides offering Atiku a central role in leading his presidential campaign equally offered him four ministerial nominations in a post-May 29 cabinet should the President win the election. Both sides it was learnt are, however, yet to agree on the slots. It is expected that the two camps would come to an agreement as the talks still shrouded in secrecy take a definite turn.

Text messages
Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari has flayed religious and ethnic tinted text message campaigns against President Jonathan in the Northwest as not representative of the majority of the people of the zone who he said would vote for the President in the forthcoming presidential election.

Shagari in an interview cited the revival of textile companies in the North, the President’s initiative against the Almajiri syndrome and dredging of the River Niger as among other issues affecting the North that have endeared true Northerners to the President.
Noting the President’s sweeping victory at the Presidential primaries of the PDP, he said the country was now well past the controversy of zoning which he said had been firmly resolved at the national convention.

He noted: “We believe that the people of the North (are not the) few tiny minority who have been sending around text messages and sponsoring sermons and so on to say that, ‘he is a Christian you cant vote for him,’ that is a very tiny and small minority.

“What I can tell you is that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the election in Sokoto State, PDP will win elections in Sokoto State and President Goodluck Jonathan will be voted for by Northerners. It has happened in this country before. When the PDP fielded President Obasanjo some people said he is a Christian don’t vote for him but Northerners didn’t listen to them. When he also came for second term some people also came out and said no, no, don’t vote for him, but they didn’t listen to that, but they still voted for him.”

Revival of collapsed textile industries
Citing the actions of the President that would endear him to Northern voters, he said: “Those textile industries completely collapsed and that affected the production of cotton in the North which in turn brought about economic depression on those who depend on cotton farming for livelihood. This President has decided to address that issue and today, the largest textile industry in West Africa is working courtesy of the programme brought about by this President.

“Now, one of the most important issues that is bothering the North is the dredging of the River Niger and the first phase of that has been completed by Mr. President. One of the biggest problems we have in the North is the issue of Almajiris, young little boys who should be in schools but are not in schools. Now, Mr. President has come out with a programme of constructing Almajiri schools where these little boys will be taken and they will be trained and given similar education just like any other child in this country so that we will clear all of them from the streets.

“This is a problem that has bedeviled the North and I believe every northerner will be happy that at least somebody has now found a solution to the problem. I think he is constructing over 100 schools of that nature. I was a witness to the one that is being constructed in Jigawa State. These are some of the real issues.

“So, I believe that with President Goodluck Jonathan, it will be better for this country, particularly the northern part of this country. But you have to understand that it is party politics and in party politics, the other parties will put doubt on you and say we will do this and that.

But that is normal in politics and we welcome that, it makes us to work harder, it makes us to prepare better and it also makes us to feel the thorns in the field, the feelings of Nigerians so that whatever we do in the future will be in the interest of this nation.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/jonathan-in-talks-with-atiku/

[size=14pt]Jonathan, others to be honoured in US•For deepening democracy[/size]
Written by Leon Usigbe, Abuja
Monday, 24 January 2011

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is among four African leaders who are to be honoured in Chicago Illinois in the United States of America for their contributions to the deepening of democracy in their countries.

The others are Liberian President Helen Johnson-Sirleaf, President Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, Gabonese leader; Ali Bongo and President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo.

The award which is being organised by the League of African- American Media Professionals in the United States is be conferred on the leaders as part of efforts to promote democracy and its institutions on the continent.

It is the first of such awards by the media professionals who target leaders that have consciously enhanced the democratic process and culture in their countries while in office.

The five leaders’ selection was based on a preliminary report submitted by a committee set up by the League to conduct a survey of worthy leaders on the continent.

According to a statement signed by Tim Spiff on behalf of the league, the initial report from the survey carried out over a period of time reflected the growing influence of these leaders in entrenching the democratic cultures in their respective countries while in office which is key in enhancing global peace.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/16551--jonathan-others-to-be-honoured-in-usfor-deepening-democracy

[size=14pt]Tinubu, building a sand castle?[/size]
People & Politics Jan 24, 2011 By Ochereome Nnanna

WHILE I was still on vacation, an anonymous source sent an interesting text message to me. It reads: “Tinubu’s democracy in action! His wife, Remi Tinubu, picks the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial ticket of Lagos Central. His daughter, Sade Tinubu, picks the ticket for Lagos State Assembly, Agege Constituency and Tinubu’s son in-law Oyetunde Ojo, House of Reps! Lola Akande, Remi’s elder sister, House of Assembly. Lagosians must resist this impostor and self-acclaimed custodian of democracy…”

Just about a week ago, a Lagos-based newspaper, The Premier, carried a screaming headline: “Tinubu Colonises Lagos”. That came in the wake of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN’s) primaries in the state, after which many interest groups complained bitterly that the wishes of the delegates were largely sidelined while candidates preferred by the leadership of the party “imposed”.

Candidates were also made to fill, sign and submit withdrawal forms. This means that even when a candidate had been given a ticket, he can still be withdrawn by the party’s leadership sending in his withdrawal form to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The National Chairman of the Party, Chief Bisi Akande has already defended the party’s strong grip on its members, arguing that any member that is uncomfortable with the rules of the ACN should move along elsewhere.

The ACN is widely expected to return the South West to the era of block or group political behaviour in 2011 after an eight-year stint under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Having taken over in four states (Lagos, Edo, Ekiti and Osun) it has its eyes on Ogun and Oyo states which are currently under the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

For the first time since we reclaimed democratic rule, we are beginning to see the emergence of a party (ACN) that believes in tight control of its internal affairs. We see in the party the gradual restoration of party supremacy. The ACN looks very much like a party that will soon become ideologically distinct from the rest. Unless this happens, there will be little that will bind members to the party except, perhaps, strong leadership and the ability of the party to provide an effective platform for winning of elections.

We may soon be provided with the choice to make between a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (which appears to be dropping godfatherism and imposition in preference for internal democracies) and a tightly controlled, ideologically-based ACN. While the PDP is modelling itself as a party where members can come and go and return; an umbrella for all, the ACN and perhaps, the nascent Congress for Democratic Change (CPC) being nurtured by General Muhammadu Buhari, could gradually return to the pre-war party culture of strong internal control of party processes and membership behaviour.

In the PDP-type “open-house” party system, there are no permanent, visible single leaders. Obasanjo’s attempt to make himself “life leader” collapsed soon after he left office. Whoever heard of the single person who controls the affairs of the Democratic Party or Republican Party in the US? Anyone can belong to either of them by simply walking in. But they are differentiated by their ideologies, where the conservative Republicans incline towards strong state institutions, traditions and big business, while the more permissive Democrats lean more towards welfarism and social reforms.

It may be a Herculean task building a political party with strong controls at this juncture of our history. Tinubu appears to be setting up a cult of excessive godfatherism. It might work only in the near term while the ACN is on the upward swing. It may not survive for long outside Lagos. I do not see how Tinubu will be able to cage Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State as he did Governor Babatunde Fashola in Lagos. I also don’t see how he can unduly dictate to any governor the party might produce in the East or North of the country.

Any such attempt might simply result in the migration of such governors to the nearest open house, most likely the PDP. Unless Tinubu and his advisers evolve a means of building a strong party without compromising the right of members to play effective roles in the emergence of candidates (internal democracy) he might merely be building a sand castle that is soon blown down by incendiary discontent. If the outcome of the ACN’s primaries in Lagos is anything to go by, then, I am afraid that the ACN might be in for turbulent times ahead.

Tinubu should be reminded of the old warning by Sun Tzu: “Power without control is nothing”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/tinubu-building-a-sand-castle/