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Japheth J Omojuwa: On becoming the next Abati
Posted By Editor on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 | 9/11/2013 04:09:00 PM

Too many times young activists in Nigeria are accused of "going to be the next Abati." I have certainly been accused of this. As ludicrous as this sounds, it is worth treating because while one would always be able to treat it with the usual silence – there is no need defending yourself over a crime you have at least not committed – it is important to treat it for the sake of other young people who might likely be slowed down by these accusing fingers that are not from people who truly care about the progress of society but about people who are either self-convicted of what they'd do given the same opportunity or people who just need everyone to shut up and let injustice and evil continue to reign in the land.

Before I continue I will offer some poignant disclaimers.

I respect Dr. Reuben Abati (Presidential spokesman) as a man. I respect him for his craft and I believe that only he knows exactly why he does the things he does. This is not a blog about him or whether he is truly the villain a lot of people who use the above accusatory phrase obviously see him as. This piece is about the weight and essence of that phrase itself, as I believe it is beyond an individual, it is about us as a people and essentially about the phenomenon called Nigeria.

I am not an activist. I will defend myself with all my strength and ability against anyone who takes what is mine or which belongs to anyone whose interest I am interested in. Except where deemed unnecessary, I will go head to head, shoulder to shoulder, wahala for wahala against anyone who tries to cheat me no matter how big the person. I may ignore some other people who step on my toes because ignoring them serves my purpose better. If these make me an activist then may be I am one but outside of that, I am just another Nigerian who has a right to air his opinion about anything concerning this country. How people take these opinions depends on them not on the source. This is not a society that likes to hear people speak frankly but this is how some of us know to speak. I will treat this piece with much more attention to my conscience and sincerity than about whether you would agree with it or not.

Till the end of time, societies will always produce people who make a lot of noise not because they care about the overall interest of the society but because they care about what they can get off that society. These people understand that if you make enough noise about those stealing the nation dry, they'd have no choice but to either shut you up by getting your mouth stuffed with their loot or employ you to work for them. Either way you are doomed because there are jobs that no matter what you assume you'd do when you take them, taking them essentially means you have signed up to be a loser! You may win some power, influence and even money but you lose your essence and purpose.

Let us face it, you cannot defend any government in the world as a spokesperson and not tell at least half-truths. Whether they are outright lies or half-truths, these are betrayal of values. But these jobs have to be done anyway. You'd have to choose between your current job, staying jobless or taking a job that you've seen destroy others because you want to be seen as one of the people who have the ears of your country's president/state's governor. If there is anyone who should steer clear of a job like this, it is that man who has the cloak of being called an activist. Whether you agree you are one or not is not the question, as long as you sound like one or are seen like one, you take certain government jobs at your peril!

Questions then need to be asked. Should young people shut up and not speak up about their pains and fears with respect to how their country is run because they don't want to be accused of being "the next Abati"? Is it in the interest of our country to discourage our young people from taking a stand on what is right and just, because some who used to be like them betrayed the public trust? Should people stop writing examinations because some wrote them in the past and failed? Should we stop living because others who lived before us died? I will look to answer these questions over the next few weeks by God's grace as I delve into the phenomenon of activism amongst young people. This is admittedly going to be written based on my experience but this is not written because of me. It is because of us – people like myself. Those of us who are already guilty of a tomorrow we are yet to live simply because those who lived like us yesterday are the society's villains today. Trust me on this, I'll hold nothing back!

http://www.paradigmshiftng.com/2013/09/japheth-j-omojuwa-on-becoming-next-abati.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

Pastor Disguised To Meet His Church.

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek (pictured below) transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food - NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit n the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. "We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek." The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

'The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame. He then said, "Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?"

He then dismissed service until next week.

Being a Christian is more than something you claim. It's something you live by and share with others.

source: Hope for Nigeria

I don't know how true this story is, but the fact is i paints a true picture of the state of our world today, we all claim to be all religious, christians and muslims alike but we do not even practice what we preach.

lol...dream

MY THOUGHTS ON ASSU VS FG BATTLE
NIGERIAN STUDENTS MUST GO ON A NATIONWIDE STRIKE

I think it's high time the Nigerian students go on a purposeful nationwide strike and protest to make a demand on quality,rather than quantity that the Nigerian institutions are currently known for.

It is no longer news that ASUU has been on strike for quit some while to demand the implementation of the agreement they had with the federal govt in 2009, a demand which include the 26% budgetary allocation to be channeled to the education sector for quality improvements in our institutions, but the FG seems not ready to listen to the agitation of ASUU, thinking they will get tired along the line when students mount pressure on them to resume work.

Let me state here that, the Nigerian student must support ASUU to continue this strike, but not just that, NANS and the entire student bodies in Nigeria must declare their own strike and embark on a nationwide protest in demand for the full implantation of the FG agreement with ASUU which include the 26% budgetary allocation to the education sector.
The Nigerian students must proceed to shut down private institutions were children of those in government find comfort while the generality of Nigerians suffers and lack quality education.

Until FG implement the agreement with ASUU and 26% budget to education sector, let all students enjoy their strike while it last.

lol....add yours jor

enjoy the joke while it last

lol.....

GEJ HAS SUDDENLY BECAME A COMEDIAN (BASKET MOUTH)

I think it is high time we stop refering to president goodluck jonathan as a president, we should rather put him in the category of his fellow comedians like basket mouth, i go die,klint da drunk or AY.

I read the Spokesman of Mr President, Ruben Abati said, president Goodluck Jonathan was joking when he said he will not contest 2015 election.

No wonder every thing in Nigeria has became a joke since his emergence as president.

Like play like play, when they say GEJ they drink ogogoro, he will comeout and say no, i no drink ogogoro , na toilet i dey and everyone will laugh.

I didn't know Nigeria's president is SUCH a comedian, probabaly, they will organize a show very soon and ask us to come watch the presidnt crack wonderful jokes again.

let me list out some of the president most interesting jokes

1. i will not contest 2015 election (2011) says jonathan-----Rueben Abati replied, it is a joke
2. I am the most insulted president in the world says Jonathan- na lie, you are a joker
3. GEJ will be the most loved president in Nigeria- make una laugh, he his joking
4. GEj they fight corruption- na joke oooo
5. I didn't pardon criminal says Jonathan- it is a joke
6. 16 is greater than 19 in NGF---- ha ha ha
7. 5 is greater than 27 in Rivers....... lol
8. GEJ will come back in 2015....na joke ooo
9. GEj is working------- it's a joke
10.Am not the worst president in Nigeria--it's a joke oo
11. There is transformation in Nigeria- it is in your dream joke
12. add yours

GEJ IS INDEED A COMEDIAN
Nigeria Must Change

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Read the post again

many are thinking the same

It seems a hopeless person is defending the failed president who made him hopeless..

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VALENTINO, many pro-gej did like you did

the hopeless young man defending the failed president..I have no shoe must go come 2015

"New PDP" will not compromise on principles of equity, fairness - Saraki

Date: 2013-09-08

Former Kwara state governor and one of the leaders of the breakaway “New PDP”,Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki representing Kwara central in current Senate chamber insisted Sunday that the group would not compromise on the principle of ‘fairness and equity’ in the affairs of the party in the bid to settle the ongoing logjam in the ruling party.

Saraki who made this position known while fielding questions from newsmen in Ilorin also expressed deep concern over withdrawal of his security aides by the Inspector General of Police saying that it would endanger his life and that Federal Government should be held responsible in the event that anything happened to him, even as he expressed his resolve to seek redress in the law court.

The senator who said he was in Ilorin to brief his followers on development within the party dismissed claims by any group to the leadership of the party in the state, pointing out that it will be impossible for any politician to use ‘the tactics of 1999′ to handle the political strategy of 2013.

According to him,”My assurance to all my people since I came for this series of meeting with the various levels of leadership is that negotiations are still going on but we won’t compromise some fundamentals; we won’t compromise on fairness and equity. And what the people are telling me is that they are with me wherever we go.

“Politics is all about people, how many people are with you not a matter of nomenclature or press statements. You can see all the members of the house of assembly, the CWC of the party, the executive of local governments etc are here with me”.

“The politics of 2013 is different from that of 1999. What could be done then cannot be done now. Now you have to fight for the confidence of the people.”

On the withdrawal of security personnel attached to the former governor,his media aide Mr Bamikole Omishore pointed out in a statement made available to journalists that the development is a breach of the law and can only be linked with the crisis within the PDP.

Text of the statement reads: “Yesterday, the Inspector General of police directed the immediate withdrawal of security personnel detailed to the former Governor of Kwara State and current Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bukola Saraki.

” The security personnel withdrawn are from the Senator’s residences in Abuja and Ilorin. The inspector, who carried out the exercise, when confronted, disclosed that it was an order from above.

“It should be noted that the withdrawn security men are legal rights as prescribed by virtue of Kwara State Pension Law of 2010, Third Schedule, Section 2 (3) paragraph H. The Security details attached to Senator Saraki are therefore formally processed, approved and dispatched to his residences not out of favour or luxury demands”.

“In view of this new development, it is evidently clear to us that this cannot be unconnected with the recent political activities going on in the country. No doubt, recent events in the nation have been taking strange and tragic dimensions but we have to look beyond our individual interests and let the weight of making Nigeria great dominate our minds as leaders and citizens as Nigeria is bigger than an individual.

“In view of the above position of the law, the Nigerian police have contravened the law and disregarded same. We view this action as an act of harassment and intimidation to the person of Senator Saraki and we shall not hesitate to seek legal redress against this arbitrary decision.

“We wish to state that the recent move by the Nigerian police authorities will definitely endanger the life of Senator Bukola Saraki. We hereby call on good citizens of Nigeria to hold the Federal Government responsible for any eventuality considering the fact that there are illegal arms going round the country without being properly checked.

“Finally, Senator Saraki wishes to re affirm his commitment and readiness to uphold the virtue of democracy, good governance, rule of law, equity and justice even in the face of this present intimidation and harassment as those are part of the sacrifices we must all make for a better Nigeria we will all be proud of.”

http://ilorin.info/fullnews.php?id=5747

Saraki to sue police over withdrawal of police security

Date: 2013-09-08

Former Kwara state governor, Bukola Saraki, said Sunday he will seek legal redress after his police protection was removed allegedly on the instructions of the presidency.

Mr. Saraki’s details were withdrawn on Saturday ahead of his appearance before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which is investigating his role in the collapse of Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria.

The former governor, now a senator, is one of the backers of the new faction of the Peoples Democratic Party. The chairman of the new faction, Abubakar Baraje, is his close ally.

The withdrawal of the seven police details is seen as part of the crackdown by the federal government against the brains behind the “new” PDP.

Mr. Saraki told PREMIUM TIMES his was entitled to the large police staff as a former governor as a Kwara state law provides for “how former governors should be treated”.

He vowed to file a case to have the police “do the right thing”.

“We will seek legal redress to make sure the police do not break the law, to make sure they stick to the law,” he said by phone Sunday.

In an earlier statement released by his office, Mr. Saraki said he had been exposed to danger by the decision.

“In view of this new development, it is evidently clear to us that this cannot be unconnected with the recent political activities going on in the country. No doubt, recent events in the nation have been taking strange and tragic dimensions but we have to look beyond our individual interests and let the weight of making Nigeria great dominate our minds as leaders and citizens as Nigeria is bigger than an individual,” he said in the statement.

“We wish to state that the recent move by the Nigerian police authorities will definitely endanger the life of Senator Bukola Saraki. We hereby call on good citizens of Nigeria to hold the Federal Government responsible for any eventuality considering the fact that there are illegal arms going round the country without being properly checked.”

http://ilorin.info/fullnews.php?id=5743

WHY JONATHAN WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT IN 2015


I regret coming from Bayelsa State says Emmanuel, not because Bayelsa is bad as a state, but because the man (Goodluck Jonathan) who gives Nigerians so much pain and an unprecedented failure is from Bayelsa.

It is no longer news that Nigerians are already waiting to cast their vote against President Jonathan in 2015 even in Bayelsa state where the president came from, i.e. if he eventually stand as a candidate at the poll.

I can tell you authoritatively, any party that field Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 will lose woefully, as President Jonathan will be first person in the history of Nigeria to loose with such magnitude of votes despite being a sitting president irrespective of the rigging.
This explains the reason why the ruling people democratic party (PDP) are currently working to ensure Jonathan never contests the 2015 election under their party, as a Goodluck candidature means a bad luck for the party.

You can only rig where you are popular, but as for Goodluck Jonathan, he his only popular within the militants in Niger Delta region and Nigeria don’t want to share the militant votes with him.

If you think I am mistaken, how come only militants speak for Goodluck Jonathan’s return in 2015? Have you seen any sane and reasonable person advocate for the return of Jonathan? Never. Only the militants living in the creek of the Niger delta like Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Edwin Clark and co that have been collecting oil contracts from the federal Government since the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan as president.

Of course, they must try to protect their juicy contracts by issuing threat to anyone who tries to prevent them for further enjoying the dividends of their contracts, but trust them; they know what they are doing. As soon as another person promises them a more juicy contracts, all their threats becomes an act in our dear Nollywood movie.

In addition, I read a threat report on the social media some days ago, were some militants in the Niger delta region were threatening secession should Goodluck Jonathan not come back in 2015, but I categorized such threat as a bear parlour threat. What can a militant not say when he his high on ogogoro?

The threat issued by the militants and its source, like the many others before it actually confirms my earlier position that Goodluck Jonathan is only popular among the militants. No wonder, the militants said in their threat message that they will create their own country where Goodluck Jonathan will become their president and commander in chief. But I wonder, which country did they want to create again, the militancy is a country of its own, and the creek they leave is their abode, with Goodluck Jonathan as the commander in chief of the militants. This is not a new thing; because as it stands, we know Jonathan is a double president, the president of Nigeria and the commander in chief of the militants.

Nobody in Nigeria want to be associate with failure, hence, nobody want to associate with the symbol of failure which Jonathan represents in his leadership of Nigeria except the militants who have themselves lost hope in life.

Take it or leave it, no sane Nigerian will ask Jonathan to come back in 2015, no sane Nigerian will ever support him and no sane Nigerian cares weather he contests or not, what every Nigerian cares about at this moment is to get rid of Jonathan .
Generally, If Jonathan excretes without cleaning up from the toilet, he will accuse the opposition for taking the tissue, if he eats without drinking water, he will accuse the opposition for making water unavailable, if he his cited in the militants creek, he will blame the opposition for not creating road to the airport and if he fails to honour the government agreement with ASUU after 4 years of patience, he will accuse ASUU for going on strike.

It is worth to note that, Nigerians don't know who to vote for in 2015 yet, but they very certain and convinced of who not to vote for, and that is Goodluck Jonathan.

What i keep wondering about is, how did Nigerians come to dislike this man who once sang a chorus of i have no shoe to them some years ago within this very short period? Right before my eyes, over 95% of the hard-core Jonathan supporters I know prior to his election in 2011 had suddenly turned to be the most hard-core anti-Jonathan, even beyond people like me who knew from the beginning that this Otuoke man will be a major disaster.

However, Despite Jonathan’s massive and unprecedented failure which is self-evident and glaring beyond any sane and reasonable doubts, we still have some bad eggs, which prefer to hold unto falsehood and failure in the name of loyalty to one's tribe, ethnic group or religion. They try to justify every failure, though it is unjustifiable.

My question is, why has virtually everyone in the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria understands that president Goodluck Jonathan is the worst thing that could ever happen to any country, except the few Niger delta Militants and some few other individuals that are either benefiting directly from the government or are blinded by ethnicity and religion?
Are these few pro Jonathan’s blind? Can’t they see that Jonathan represents a permanent poverty, permanent unemployment, permanent insecurity, permanent backwardness and as it was said, a permanent cluelessness for Nigeria?
I don't want to believe they are blind to his massive unparalleled and unequal failure in the history of Nigeria, they just decided to follow the blind man until he falls into the pit.
This is a president that gave Nigerians irrespective of their tribe, religion or locations more pain, more death, more hardship, more violation, more corruption, more lawlessness, more embarrassment, more disappointments, more cluelessness, more failure, more shame and most especially, more hopelessness.
I know that to President Goodluck Jonathan and the Niger Delta militants, the 2015 election is a do or die affairs and a matter of life and death, but let me inform them, if they want to die, let them do it gentle, Nigerians will never return this failure called Jonathan in 2015. If they want to live, let us live together in peace, but if they want to die, they will do it alone.
Let them continue to issue war threats and threaten to secede if they like, Nigeria shall get rid of their failure called Jonathan and we shall remain united in peace and unity.
Some months ago while having a chat online, A friend of mine who happens to be from Bayelsa state said to me, i regret coming from Bayelsa State, not because Bayelsa is bad as a state, but because the man (Goodluck Jonathan) who give Nigerians so much pain and an unprecedented failure is from Bayelsa.
I feel the pain of this gentleman because he spoke the mind of many young intelligent Bayelsans who understand the consequences of this bad precedent. Every reasonable Ijaw person should be concerned, because Jonathan is gradually destroying the future of the Ijaw by displaying the character of a betrayer and showing that the best the Ijaw can provide as a Nigerian leader is a disaster of the first order.
ENOUGH OF THIS CLUELESSNESS, NIGERIA MUST CHANGE.

Good morning this morning.

Lartee, read the post again.

Lol