₦airaland Forum

Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand and many other countries are mostly doing well today, because their constitution is firmed and doesn't permit rubbish.

Once our constitution is revised and empowered; executing convicted corrupt entities becomes part of life and very much civilized.
It isn't barbaric, it is the law and the only way the future of our nation, Nigeria could be secured for all of us,and our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on.

Trust me, it is the right thing to do.

I partially agree with you, but not totally.

In addition to what you've just suggested, our constitution should also be revised in a way that would allow any newly convicted corrupt entities (after Oct '08) to be executed.

Without this addition, your suggestion would only work for sometime. Nigerians are very smart and also corrupt to the bone, in fact out society in general also embraces corruption to a certain, but scary level. Therefore, with time, they (Nigerians) would discover a new and better way (work-around) to continue with business as usual ways of life.

Let us keep it real and simple; there is absolutely no reasons to continue to fool ourselves in Nigeria; our number one problem and 90% of our problem is directly linked to corruption.
If moving forward and witnessing the birth of new Nigeria is our goal, then we must also be willing to go through some unprecedented steps to quickly attain our goal effectively.

Sorry guys, anything else will be a continuation of rubbish.

The best priceless gift from any Nigerian president to Nigeria as a nation, is to quickly revised our constitution and start dropping these thieves one at a time.
I guarantee a new Nigeria as soon as 2 or 3 convicted corrupt folks are publicly dropped.

I do not know what it is, but something tells me that my suggestion will be acknowledged very very soon!

I Conducted The Most Credible Election!
I think this is a true statement; what went down after the election is another story.

Like him or hate him, IBB still remains one of the strongest, most intelligent and most respected entities in Nigeria today.
And I'm not sure if anyone is bold enough to mess with this cat; only because he has paid his dues in full.

He's allowed to dance with the lions!

I guess, we should now wait and see who will tell East, West and South to also face what they are wallowing in

FYI: Obama did not intend to take this trip at this time, it was all the recommendation of Sen John McCain. I think he's currently sick to his stomach

If I'm dreaming, please do not wake me up!

Fantastic
Majestic
Redoubtable
Courageous
Breathtaking
Fabulous
Magnificent
Terrific
Thrilling and absolutely one of a kind.

This is what leadership is all about.
It is obvious that this man is blessed and can never never be touched or stopped.
At this point, I'm predicting that Senator John McCain himself will end up casting his vote for Obama come November '08.

Blacks in America are divided into 3 categories:

1. The Challenger aka "the fighters": They are very tough and extremely difficult to masticate.
Regardless of what the circumstance may be, this group wouldn't let go the past.
The past seems to continue to linger in their soul deeper and deeper from generation to generation. They mostly see white folks as bunch of enemies who continue to sabotage their opportunity to progress in America; they refuse to trust them and mostly view America as a hostile nation.
They're pretty much boxed in and often challenge whites folks to display proof that they are not white racist before accepting or opening up to them.
They also tend to struggle more in life and their success rate in-terms of accomplishment is low. eg: Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Sister Souljah and many more.

2. The bargainer: They are very open, very friendly and mostly very successful.
This group recognizes the past and understand the negative impact the past has brought onto their people in general; but at the same time, they are willing to move on and give peace and harmony a chance. They tend not to negatively focus on race issues except for obvious reason. On both end, they mostly view racism to be an immoral and undesirable attribute of the human psyche
They also mingle or interact very well with white folks, but at the same time never for once forget where they're from or forget the symbol of their true identities. eg: Obama, Oprah and many more.

3. The lost soul: This group pretty much lacks self esteem. When they look at the mirror, they usually do not like what they see. They see nothing intriguing about black folks or being black.
Having more white friends makes them feel better about themselves. In order to empower their whiteness relationships, they even do not mind cracking few black jokes among their white friends. They are ready to do anything to be accepted in various white societies.
They usually do not go back to their old neighbourhoods; from time to time, they also feel that they're better and greater than their black friends and families. eg OJ, C Thomas and many more.

Therefore, to me, being black in America could be great, could be challenging and could also be sad.
White folks will continue to be who they are, it is up to you to carefully study these groups and make your selection.

Nigeria is my country, but America (the land of enormous opportunities) remains the greatest country on earth, that can never, never be compared to any other country.

I'm not sure if they hate Black folks, but I'm 100% sure that they mostly do not respect black folks as much and they absolutely think they're better.

I personally do not care much for this group of people and I'm yet to discover one that is smarter than my folks.
Their business ethics is very poor and they're also shady in a lot of ways; even as students.

They speak no English, but get bunch of [b]A[/b]s in every single English class.

They will kiss your asss for many years as long as you have something that they want. I do not trust them, they have a lot in-common with the Indians.

The Girls are OK, but make sure they cut their nails if you plan to date them (they tend to scratch a lot during XOXOXOXO).

You will be blind and a fool to feel good about yourself just because you're not from the northern part of Nigeria and the message isn't directly connected to you.

Regardless of which part of Nigeria you come from, I'm sorry to inform you that we are all on the same boat.

I'm sure that very soon another fellow from the northern part of Nigeria will visit Ibadan to deliver the same type of message; and it would probably have the same effect.
The content of this message suits well no matter where it is delivered as long as it is being delivered in Nigeria.

Therefore, the messenger shouldn't matter as much as the content of the message itself.

Soludo should also take the rest of the summer off to travel around the country.
This message is not only to be delivered to the northerners in the country. In order for his message to be conclusive and effective, he also needs to deliver the same message in the east, south and west.

I don't care how you see it, but it is obvious that the dots are connected and absolutely from the same root. What is affecting north is also affecting south, west and east.

I predict that more of this message will be delivered all around the country. Every part of Nigeria needs it, not only the northern part.

Again, I have no beef with Soludo; he has done what is right.

No disrespect to Soludo, he's only revealing his point of view and he gets my kudos for having the balls to do so in KD; but doesn't it sound silly when a homeless man teases a jobless man for not having a job?

Again, this shouldn't be taken negatively; it is what it is. Sometime it takes an outsider to deliver a profound message. It is now up to the northerners to wake up and start cleaning up; it is never too late.

But to think about it, the symptom of poverty in the north is not much different from the one in the south or west or east. Of course, the levels may not be similar, but the dots are pretty much the same and well connected to the same root.

The same message should also be sent to Niger Delta and many other areas as well.

He needed guts to tell them what more than half of the northerners already know to be true?? lol

I'm not sure if anything is funny about this new development and certainly there is no need to offend anyone.
This childish behaviour you continue to exhibit on a regular makes folks to call you out on a daily basis.

Again, my friend, you need to grow up quick!

This is nothing but a view of point; based on what he (Soludo) knows and sees.
I do not see anything wrong with this statement.
It is now up to the northerners to stand together and positively address this situation.

Not a big deal at-all.

I personally do not care too much for Fashola.
Sometimes I feel that he mostly overreacts to things unnecessarily in order to get cheap kudos or to empower his resume for the big cake some day.
Inshort, I find it very difficult to see sincerity in his actions.

But reading this article really showed another side of this man. The article is very interesting and I am very impress with his latest action, I must admit.
I think he has effectively sent a positive message that he's not only governing Lagos for the rich folks, but also looking out for an average or poor Lagosians.

My advise for him: As he continues with his "great" job in lagos, he must also be very careful. He must remember that this is still Nigeria and not UK or USA. There are some things you must never cross as long as you're in Nigeria.
He must be very careful and always watch his back.

He definitely doesn't want to be the victim of his own trap.

Fashola returns THISDAY award

The rift between Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and THISDAY boiled over on Monday as he returned an award it conferred on him in February, with the man insisting on the need to avoid personal glory standing in the way of public interest.

THISDAY had adjudged him Governor of the Year, based on performance. It said he had, within his short time in office, significantly turned around infrastructure in the state.


But Fashola returned the award in a letter, ostensibly because of a story published in the newspaper which he interpreted to mean a ploy to force the government to violate its physical planning laws to serve the interest of an individual.


"Little did I know, on receipt of the award, that it was a Greek gift meant to tie my hands and prevent me from upholding my oath of office, to do right to all manner of people according to law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will," Fashola said in the letter, which he personally signed.


"Let me emphasise that on no condition will I depart from my binding commitment to protect the best interest of Lagos State at all times."


Fashola's Media Assistant, Hakeem Bello, explained that his boss returned the award on principle, especially when THISDAY appears to be infringing on the rights of Lagosians.

for more: http://odili.net/news/source/2008/jul/22/705.html

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

More pictures: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Barack-Obama-Sen-Barack-Obama-Amman2C-Jordan/ss/events/pl/020807obama/s:/ap/20080722/ap_on_el_pr/obama_s_travels/im:/080722/481/adf41436c9e24c4caae40fdb60e8b379/;_ylt=Aln2.rfLpvHkjR8Hmxh3KNZh24cA#photoViewer=/080722/ids_photos_wl/r3241109190.jpg

ethnic cleansing my foot. Botmang is in the dock for stealing, is that ethnic cleansing? Alao-Akala despite the documented contract inflation he did in Oyo state is still governor, how come he isn't being 'cleansed'? You people will find the most asinine of excuses to allow corrupt people get away.

Nigerians do not know what they want.
This is why politicians continue to take us for a long ride without any hesitation; they understand our brainsick mentality.

Another clown in action!

Why did this man wait for almost 15 months to open his mouth?

How politicians bought 2007 polls - Iwu

CHAIRMAN of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, has disclosed that most of the current public office holders bought their way into power during the 2007 general election.

Iwu said INEC warned the nation before the elections that some politicians were going to buy victory and, indeed, that there were forces that were bent on derailing the transition programme, but that the warnings were ignored.

The election tribunal across the countries have nullified the elections of many governors while the Appeal Court had ordered re-runs in about four states so far.

Professor Iwu said this in the United States at a Nigerian Democratic Development stakeholders symposium held in Atlanta.

The symposium was hosted by Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Alliance of Nigerian Organisations in Georgia (ANOG) and All Nigerian American Congress (ANAC).

He disclosed further that some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some members of the opposition did not want the 2007 elections to be held, but that INEC was determined to conduct them.

Iwu said, “The elections were bought even before the elections took place,” just as he lamented that the influence of money had eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian electoral system, thus handing victory to the highest bidders.

He added that some politicians in Nigeria had made money the overriding issue, adding that Nigerians abroad were used in furthering the interests of such politicians. He said the problem of violence in elections should be addressed.

Speaking further, the INEC boss said civilian and military conspirators had been undermining Nigeria’s democracy for 47 years.

Nigeria, according to him, was one of the few nations that had been able to successfully transit from the military or strong dictatorship to democratic system. He said some Nigerians had benefited from the awkward political situation in the country.

“It is only natural that those who have been the masters or beneficiaries of the old order will refuse change, especially the change that will no longer guarantee the self-serving opportunities they have been enjoying for long at the expense of the larger populace,” he said.

He told the audience that the solution to the endemic problem of election in Nigeria was in the ability of the Federal Government to change the mindset of Nigerians and their attitude to democracy.

The government, according to him, must begin to initiate moves aimed at de-emphasising money in politics.

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/jul/22/602.html

@Big B1,

I will be back to address the emptiness of your post. Just like Obama, you have suceeded in saying a lot, without saying anything.

Oh, ooh, aah, I am so scared!

Lack of foreign policy experience the republican party has been falsely and aggressively using for the past few months is now starting to backfire. Things seem to be falling apart one by one and I'm sure that this is just the beginning, the republican party will soon be on their knees; in fact, I predict that John McCain himself will end up voting for Obama come November.

Please, check out "GLOBAMA" experience:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS222US222&q=obama+middle+east+trip+youtube&btnG=Search

FYI: The governors are determined to continuously implicate OBJ in illegal activities during their trials; therefore, preserve your energy for better things and do not expect much.

It is what it is; OBJ's named being mentioned during any of these trials is the same as a blind alley.

Trust me, OBJ wasn't stupid when he went out of his way to aggressively force Yar'Adua to become his successor and pick Goodluck as the VP.
1. Yar'Adua as a Northerner can be trusted and deceiving others is not part of his character.

2. Goodluck on the other hand is more or less a powerless entity; he can certainly be controlled with less effort.

So, let us stop fooling ourselves, nothing fruitful will come out of most of these cases.

But at least it is very courageous to actually go after these cronies; my respect goes to Waziri for doing all the things Ribadu didn't have balls to do.

I see bunch of cabalistic symbols engraved in this article and it is clear to me that it's main purpose is to brainwash the weak-minded folks by indirectly disbasing all the things that make Obama unique and a major threat to the republican party.
The well written shady article represents exactly the way they prefer voters to think. It is clear that republicans have ran out of materials and at this point they have nothing else to lose; so, I could understand why their atrocious state of mind continues to be apparent to the clever ones.

It is a simple and common political protocol to always:
Stick to what is working for you.
Know what you’re good at - and stick to it
Stick to what makes you better than your opponent.

Qualities of a great leader:
Being able to effectively unite people.
Being able to inspire/ motivate people.
Being able to effectively communicate your message.
Being able to connect directly to your followers.
Being able to build a solid organizational structure.

It is absolutely clear to all that Senator John McCain has nothing to stick to, because nothing seems to be sticking to him.
It is also apparent to all that Senator John McCain can't even motivate himself, therefore motivating others is out of the question.
And finally, in order to connect to people, one must be able to communicate his or her message purely and effectively. The last time I checked, Senator McCain couldn't even read few simple lines to the crowd; making it uncomfortable and very difficult for these poor supporters to figure out when to and when not to release a round of a plause.

Obama is a very bright man, who is also extremely careful with his actions. I'm sure he knows the consequence of this move (speaking at the Brandenburg Gate), therefore, if he wants to make this move, let him go for it. The folks that spoke at the same gate in the past (did not) do not have 2 heads.
You do not need 100 years of experience to make great things happen; it is all in our mind. Don't ever allow haters (pigs) to create or cook-up unnecessary obstacles to stop you from making big things happen your own way.

It's all about the "Change we can believe in"
Forget the old ways, forget the past and let's focus on today and tomorrow.

@Nigeria 1: please, slow down before you hurt yourself.

First, I'm not sure if the link or pictures of IBB mansion you've posted is correct. Don't be lazy, you can do much better.

Second, could you please identify one single Nigerian public official that isn't corrupt?

And finally, if moving Nigeria forward is our goal, then we must be sensible enough to give our complete support to EFCC. It shouldn't be about Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo. It should be about discovering an effective strategy to bring back this Giant of Africa.
Waziri has taken over not even 3 months as yet and we've already started to witness progress and professionalism at its best. We need to simmer down, quit being too judgmental and allow this incredible lady to perform her duties.

One thing is for sure; we wouldn't have witnessed this new development if Ribadu was still the chairman of EFCC.
The past is past; let us focus on the present and future.

This is the only way!

NPA Fraud: EFCC Launches Manhunt for Bode George


Indications emerged at the weekend that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under its new chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri may have launched an intense manhunt for former Board Chairman, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, over alleged N84billion financial improprieties perpetrated during his period as chairman of the parastatal.
THISDAY learnt last night that George’s case is inclusive of the many such high profile cases the commission is presently working on. Majority of such cases, THISDAY gathered were those left midway by the former administration at the commission.
A source who spoke to THISDAY under the condition of anonymity explained that the new leadership at EFCC has resolved to disappoint cynics who never believed in the competence of its chairman to successfully lead the “brand new EFCC”, adding that “the only way she can do this is to pursue those high profile cases that the former administration refused to prosecute”.
Specifically, the case of NPA which is said to be embarrassing the commission because of its handling by the former administration has been slated for review. “Not just the NPA case, every such case has been propped up for thorough investigation and there is no going back”.
However, following a tip-off, THISDAY gleaned that George has since left the country and has refused to come home to confront the allegations against him. Although, he was said to have sneaked in and out of the country recently, George is said never to have stayed out of the country this long except during the reign of former maximum ruler, late Gen. Sani Abacha.
When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi who was not going to go into details of the commission’s plans on its latest onslaught confirmed plans by the commission to open up cases classified as high profile of which he said NPA may not be unlikely. He said the commission is presently working on such cases, but details, he did not have.
“We have a lot of high profile cases we are presently working on and his (George’s) own is not unlikely to be one of them”, he said urging the media to patiently await the commission’s next outing.
Twice, committees were set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to investigate alleged fraud at NPA between 2001 and 2003 when George was the Board chairman. Both committees reportedly nailed the George-led NPA Board over what was described as mindless looting of the NPA.
In 2003, a committee was constituted by the president. The committee was headed by Mr. Mustapha Bukar from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation. His report indicted the George-led Board and Management of the NPA for large scale fraud.
But George was quick to dismissing the report as a “smear campaign”. Although he did not offer explanation to the committee’s emphasis that “rather than follow the normal channel of assigning responsibilities in the authority, the board, management, politicians and even the contractors resorted to using all kinds of ways to process contract proposals, thereby short-circuiting existing regulations and procedures.”
The Bukar’s report was however believed to have instigated The NEWS Magazine story on the scam at NPA. The NEWS edition of April 18, 2005, had given an account of how the board and management of NPA between 2001 and 2003, embarked on irresponsible spending, through fraud-ridden contracts, to bleed the authority of billions of naira and millions of dollars, pounds sterling and euros. But George has since taken The NEWS Magazine to court for alleged character assassination over its reportage of the alleged scam. The case is yet to be dispensed with.
It was against the backdrop of the noise generated by The NEWS report that the former president asked Ribadu to do a thorough job of investigating the NPA fraud scandal. Ribadu was assisted by You.J. Shuwa of the Federal Ministry of Transport; M.A. Bello from the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government; J.O. Omotosho, representing the Ministry of Finance; Buba Gamawa, who works with the Head of the Federal Civil Service and Y.A. Olaleye of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit. Mrs. G.O. Ezekika of the Federal Ministry of Transport was the committee’s secretary.
The committee was mandated to conduct “an in-depth investigation on all contracts awarded by the NPA from 2001 to 2003, and examine all outstanding bills from its creditors; ascertain whether or not such contracts were awarded in accordance with extant government rules and regulations governing the award of contracts; and identify the culprits and apportion blame as applicable.”
While submitting its committee’s report to the president on Tuesday, February 21, 2006, Ribadu, was said to have established that “the board and management of NPA, during the period under review, are responsible for the flagrant violation of the extant government rules and regulations on award of contracts,” thus confirming the board and management’s “financial recklessness, disregard for Due Process guidelines, gross and massive inflation of contract prices and excessive contract splitting”.
The Ribadu report further noted that “the NPA is regarded as one of the parastatals where irregularities and malpractices have become deeply entrenched”. It also said among several discoveries that the NPA is plagued with massive corruption and inefficiency, especially in the award of contracts.

http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link="http://www.thisdayonline.com"

If such protest happened to the extent of changing the venue then the British police is part of it.

I agree

I haven't heard about any protest going on at Bode George's house
I haven't heard about any protest going on at Kalu's house
I haven't heard about any protest going on at at Lucky Igb's house
I haven't heard about any protest going on at Ibori's house
I haven't heard about any protest going on at Ota farm
I haven't heard about any protest going on at Odili's house
I haven't heard about any protest going on at Tinubu's house and many many more!



Nigerians continue to target the wrong fellow.

protesting about Yar'adua my foot - Ibori and co breeze into London regularly (at least before his passport was confiscated) buying up properties and the rest, still no protest goes on there.

Exactly!

Nigerians in Nigeria should also do their part. They know where these folks (corrupt politicians) live. They shouldn't allow them to smell peace.
Create a time-table for each and every Nigerian corrupt politician; visit their houses in large groups and let them know how you feel. If this could be done for 2 years straight, I guarantee you that corruption will not go away, but it will reduce by at least 20 %.
This is another strategy for ordinary Nigerians (that claim that they have no power to do anything to fight corruption) to come together as one and fight these thieves.

Question:
We all talk trash about Yar'Adua being slow and passive, but how do you describe Nigerians (ourselves) that have laid down on the floor, faced down and being raped over and over by politicians for many years?

Answer:
Worst than slow and passive.

I do not see any big deal in this new development. It happens all the time, in fact my kudos go to the the Nigerian protesters for having the courage to display their dissatisfaction towards the situation in the Niger Delta. It is a great thing to be able to freely express ourselves.
Again, it isn't a bad thing to go on Strike or to protest; I see these two actions as an effective tool to communicate.

I'm sure that Yar'Adua now knows that something must be done quickly to resolve this Niger Delta mess. This situation is now becoming too old; we must find an effective solution.
The unique action of the protesters would also send a message to the Nigerian leaders in general that Nigerian all over the world are watching.

Please, keep in mind that I'm not blaming Yar'Adua for anything.  
Niger Delta mess should have been resolved 8 years ago.

Question:
How come these same protesters haven't gone to one of  Iboris's houses in London to also display their dissatisfaction?
They can also visit various houses of these politicians (Alams, Lucky Igb, Kalu and many many more) in Nigeria as well.