₦airaland Forum

Waziri and her gangstar EFCC are mad, debt is not a crime

the Messiah came and left, and you people did to him what you wanted.
Only an adulterous generation would seek for sign, but none shall be given

[size=15pt]IBB Prayer[/size]

Dear God help us recorver all our money stolen by IBB and supporters and punish them  for legitimatizing corruption in Nigeria

Its a family matter

Aluta continua

[size=15pt]Street begging banned in Plateau [/size]
Commissioner

August 23, 2009 05:17PM

Angela Miri, the Plateau State Commissioner for Education said on Sunday that Gov. Jonah Jang's administration has banned street begging in the state. Ms Miri said in an interview in Abuja, that the governor had ensured that the practice, which allowed children of school age to go about begging in the streets in the name of ‘almajiri' had been stopped. According to her, Plateau is backward in education but the current administration is addressing the problem with vigour.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5447280-147/Street_begging_banned_in_Plateau_-Commissioner.csp

[size=20pt] Legal Challenge[/size]

This seems to form the crux of Erastus Akingbola’s argument as he challenges his sack in the court. In the affidavit deposed to by Dapo Oduwole of the law firm of Chief F. O. Fagbohungbe (SAN), Akingbola noted that his purported removal from office by the CBN was premeditated.

He noted that CBN and NDIC (Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation) visited the bank several times between the months of February and July this year. But when no official report on any of these examinations was made available to the bank, he wrote the Director of Banking Supervision on August 5, 2009 to demand a copy.

He also noted in the said letter that the figures and details of non-performing accounts to be provided for, change with each different list given to the bank which were “different from the various exit interviews held with our management”.

He therefore requested for the full examination report with “details of accounts deemed non-performing for our review and response in keeping with your (CBN) normal practice”. To this letter, Akingbola claim, he got no reply.

To further show that the purported sack was premeditated, he said as was the practice with the CBN, once the liquidity ratio of any bank falls below the required minimum of 10 percent, it would notify the bank to do something to shore it up. But in this case, he said, “Intercontinental Bank Plc was never informed that its liquidity ratio had fallen below the required minimum.

“The details of the 48 per cent non-performing loans allegedly granted by Intercontinental Bank were not disclosed despite demand in this regard. The basis of the computation that the liquidity ratio of the bank is 21 per cent was not disclosed”.

The CBN, he further said, did not disclose “how they arrived at the conclusion that the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the bank was 7.41 percent and not up to, or above the prescribed 10 percent”.

Perhaps, if given the opportunity, he stated further, the bank would have been able to show that the “CAR was above 10 percent as prescribed by the CBN and not 7.41 percent as alleged”.

To prove this point, Akingbola says the balance sheet of the bank as reported in the monthly returns to the CBN, has never shown the shareholders’ funds as negative. At all relevant times, the CAR of the bank, he said, was above the limit of 10 percent as required by the CBN. “Based on the monthly returns to the CBN and the audited accounts of Intercontinental Bank as at February 2009, the CAR was consistently above 20 per cent.

“Following the examination conducted by CBN on the balances of the bank as at May 2009, Intercontinental Bank was advised that the expected provision in the books as at February 2009 should be N100 million.

“Although there was no detailed breakdown from the CBN for the computation of the CAR for the month of February 2009, the bank’s CAR when it was instructed by CBN to make provision for the said N100 billion was above the prescribed 10 percent.

“Furthermore, when the expected provision in the books of the bank was subsequently increased to N142 billion in May 2009 as recommended by CBN, the bank’s CAR was still above 10 percent”.

Akingbola also made attempts to correct the CBN claim that it had insufficient assets to fund its liabilities. According to him, there was no justifiable basis for such conclusion. He said the use of the Expanded Discount Window (EDW) of the CBN in not a sign that if is a failing bank, in any trouble or in a grave situation. “Intercontinental Bank did not use the EDW of the CBN persistently and all the arranged time plans of the repayment were diligently followed,” he pointed out.

Apart from that, he claimed, the use of the EDW by the bank “was not unreasonable when compared to the use of same facility by other banks. The other banks deemed “strong” or “healthy” by the CBN made recourse to the use of the EDW more than Intercontinental Bank”.
The grounds of Akingbola’s protest are not very far from those of Cecilia Ibru, the embattled former chief executive of Oceanic Bank. She also complained of not being given a fair hearing in the entire process that led to her sack from office.As the legal fireworks commenced this week, Nigerians would be able to know who acted well in the entire process at the end of the day.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/08/22/credibility-question-over-sanusi%e2%80%99s-actions/

yes , it seems Sanusi has the legal right , provided certain procedure are followed.

[size=15pt]Position of the law[/size]

Even at that, some bankers who spoke to Financial Vanguard last week on condition of anonymity said the sack should have been the last resort. They say the CBN should have first applied withholding action instead of the outright sack of the bank chiefs. The argument of the bankers is found in Section 35 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act as amended.

The Section states as follows: “(d) where, after an examination under section 32 of this Act or otherwise howsoever, the Bank (CBN) is satisfied that the bank is in a grave situation as regards the matter referred to in section 32(1) of this Act, the Governor may by order in writing exercise any one or more of the powers specified in subsection (2) of this section.

Subsection 2 states, “The Governor may by order in writing under subsection (1) of this section
(a) prohibit the bank from extending any further credit facility for such period as may be set out in the order, and make the prohibition subject to such exceptions, and impose such conditions in relation to the exceptions as   may be set out in the order, and from time to time, by further order similarly made, extend the aforesaid period~

(b) require the bank to take any steps or any action or to do or not to do any act or thing whatsoever, in relation to the bank or its business or its directors or officers which the Bank may consider necessary and which is  set out in the order, within such time as may be stipulated therein~
It is when all these fail to stabilize the bank that the governor can go ahead in subsection (2)(c)(d) to remove any officer found culpable or any director of the bank and proceed to appoint any person to advise the bank in relation to the proper conduct of its business.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/08/22/credibility-question-over-sanusi%e2%80%99s-actions/

But Chief Akintola carpeted the CBN and the EFCC.
Hear him: “I am not saying what I want to say because I represent one of the affected persons but I must say that the operation of the Nigerian security agencies and the CBN leaves much to be desired.

“For EFCC, they tend to operate more on the pages of newspapers than getting involved in forensic investigation. It is more of motion without movement

“Their counterparts abroad investigate alleged criminals for years without those being investigated knowing. But the reverse is the case here.

“Instead of investigating crimes, they would have done all the prosecution on the pages of newspapers.

“They are not a serious body. If you are talking about arresting, must you talk that on the pages of newspapers.

“But all they do here is to blow off steam. Ten months before arrest, they are already shouting of what they intend to do. And those to be arrested will try to cover their tracks or flee.

“And when those arrested are eventually taken to court, nothing will come out.

“Another thing is that if you arrest, you charge the accused to court within 24 hours

“I read in the papers that they got an order from a magistrate court to remand those in their nets indefinitely to finish with their investigation. I don’t know the magistrate that will grant such order.

“Besides, they are saying they are going to prosecute debtors of the banks involved as if it is a crime to borrow money from the bank.

“Why must you criminalise those who borrowed monies from the bank. ‘My fear is that very soon, they will have many lawsuits in their hands.

“For instance, they did not get the consent of the shareholders of the banks before they are doing what they are doing. This is against sections 33 and 35 of BOFA.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/08/24/cbn-mute-over-ibrus-suit-lawyers-caution-cbn-efcc/

Sanusi is the man, brave and courageous
In a single sweep , he has bastardized the legacy of Saludo, whose reform can said to be a window dressing, that is falling apart.

Our husband has gone mad! help!

simply because Yaradua did not give him any post, like a fulani that has drunk too much burukutu, he calling on the army to overthrow govt.

by the time those gambari sss officers dealt with him in the cell , he would come back to his senses

Nobody has anything against Adeboye, is just another typical Nigeria
He has no respect for the rule of law and controls redeem church like a private company

you all are wasting your time
professor Saludo is a criminal and a typical Nigeria

the answer is that your so called super brilliant Saludo has failed. He was unable to properly supervised the banks, under his jurisdiction. Most of the bank's audited statements were doctored, they broke all proper accounting rules under the watchful eyes of Saludo.

The bank merger and consolidation were nothing but a window dressing to solve a fundamental and systemic failure in the banking sector. The stock market was a mess, and Okereke and the gangs were busy manipulating figures , like a ponzi scheme , everything has come crashing.

Sanusi Lamido should be commended, he was brave and took the bull by the horn.

[size=15pt]Insiders routinely manipulate share prices on exchange
[/size]
By Wale Fatade

August 21, 2009 06:39AMT
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Between January 2007 and March 2008, shares of African Petroleum rocketed skywards, rising by an atmospheric 627 percent. The broader market, by comparison, rose only 198 percent.

Then a funny thing happened: the Nigerian Stock Exchange placed the stock on technical suspension for the next 10 months, making it nearly impossible for investors to cash in on the gains.

The lofty price of AP shares was good for the insiders, most of whom were allotted large tranches by the issuing houses. It was especially good for Mr. Femi Otedola, the business mogul whose perceived wealth got him on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires for the first time this year.

But more importantly, the insiders holding millions of AP shares were able to maintain the illusion of bouyancy and prevent banks from calling in their margin loans. It was only after the market had lost over 75 percent of its value in the past 11 months that these loans turned tragically sour.

Share manipulation is rampant on the stock exchange presided over for the past seven years by Ndidi Okereke-Onyiuke, a quarter-century veteran of the exchange.

The shady practices, including insider trading, deliberate concealment of trading information from the public, and outright fraud, have become so pervasive that most foreign investors have fled the exchange in disgust.

More spectacularly, the margin loans granted by our banks and secured against these artificially pumped up share prices is one major trigger for the banking crisis, which has forced the Central Bank to dismiss five bank chief executives and pump hundreds of billions of naira into the distressed banks.

Many leading stock brokers and other members of the stock exchange, including Mrs. Okereke-Onyiuke, have been exposed as the country's worst debtors whose non-performing loans have brought the banking system to its knees. Those toxic loans had been guaranteed by shares that are now nearly worthless.

"Most of the exchange members had borrowed heavily, and they manipulate share prices to prevent a margin call," said one banking veteran who has watched these games from a slight distance. "In Nigeria, because most stock exchange council members are trying to protect their loans, they have always resorted to these technical suspensions. It is a racket."

Our reporters spoke to several long term stock brokers and other insiders in compiling this story. None were willing to speak for the record in order to protect their business relationships.

Repeated efforts, including a written request and several visits, to speak to Mrs. Okereke-Onyiuke proved fruitless. She is now under pressure to step aside from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

"It was for the SEC to say that this nonsense must stop," said another financial industry insider. "Obviously, up until now, they have not done so."

A feeding frenzy

Few stock listings exemplified the pervasive racketeering on the stock exchange as the AP public offer. When the "technical suspension" was finally lifted last November, the share price began deflating rapidly. It now trades at around N53, a drop of more than 80 percent.

The technical suspension aroused the curiosity of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market. The committee said earlier this year that maintaining the technical suspension gave AP undue advantage as its capacity to borrow money was influenced by its market capitalization. It buttressed this with a comparative analysis of two companies in the petroleum sub-sector.

During the period that

It was also AP whose shares were manipulated by Nova Finance and Securities, acting supposedly under the instruction of Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group who was recently elected president of the Exchange Council.

This was a fallout of the bitter fight between two former friends, Mr. Dangote, and Mr. Otedola. An investigation by the SEC found no proof that Mr. Dangote was directly involved in the shares manipulation, though it found that Nova used "manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances in its transactions on AP shares." Nova reportedly crossed the shares of AP 30 times in eight days, resulting in 160,000 shareholders of AP losing over ₦240 billion. The brokerage was suspended from the exchange for a year and its chief barred for five years.

Pressure on SEC

The SEC is now scrambling to to put its house in order. It recently got rid of its pliant director general, Musa Al-Faki, and is reorganising its leadership ranks. Its new muscular posture was reflected after the meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, at which it withdrew the power from Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike to place stocks on suspension without first obtaining clearance from the SEC.

"SEC as an institution has serious systemic problem for responsible oversight," a knowledgeable SEC analyst told NEXT in Abuja last week.

The rapid deflation of the market panicked the insiders earlier this year, and they began to look for government bailout. The NSE council sent a delegation to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to ask for a bail out for the exchange in January this year.

Mr. Jonathan offered to pass the request to the President's economic team which subsequently selected a subcommittee to examine the issue.

Erastus Akingbola, former chief executive of Intercontinental Bank and Cecilia Ibru, former chief executive of Oceanic Bank, led the delegation. As it turned out, these two banks have the highest margin loan exposure among the five whose chief executives were sacked last week.

The delegation made its case but officials would not budge. "They huffed and puffed and made a fool of themselves because their case was so ridiculous," said a source present at the meeting.

Just in case government agreed to bail out the market, Mrs. Okereke-Onyiuke was prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. "She offered to select five stockbrokers to handle the transactions for the government," an official said.

Additional reporting by Bassey Udo and Daniel Osunkoya

http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Finance/5446859-147/Insiders_routinely_manipulate_share_prices_on.csp

It seems she and her brother Saludo were just opportunist, taking advantage of the system

[size=15pt]Stockbrokers to Okereke: It’s time to go[/size]

By Daniel Osunkoya and Stanley Oronsaye

August 21, 2009 12:35PMT
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Stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange have expressed concern over the ability of Ndi Okereke-Onyuike, the Director General of the exchange, to continue after she was named as one of the large debtors by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the non-performing loans debacle.

All the stockbrokers who spoke to NEXT refused to be identified for fear of possible sanction, condemned Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike's leadership of the exchange.

A CBN advertorial on Tuesday, listed Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, a company chaired by Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike, as owing Intercontinental Bank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc over N41 billion.

A chief executive officer of a stock broking firm who spoke to NEXT under the condition of anonymity said, "Although we have been warned not to grant any press interview on the stock exchange leadership related issues, but I can say the truth off record. Let me be frank with you, Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike misled investors to buy into Transcorp, knowing fully well that the company was going nowhere." .

Politics killed Transcorp

Another broker, argued that Transcorp operations became politicised, saying, "Politics killed Transcorp. They believed that because (Olusegun) Obasanjo had interest in the company as a President, other governments will follow." He, however noted, "Really, Transcorp business plan and vision was good. That was why they were able to raise about N22 billion from the offer and able to get loans from the banks. But the hidden plan for those funds was not known to investors." The broker added, "She has done a lot of good in the market in the past, but she has also used her position to scatter all she has done. Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike should be prosecuted. She should not be allowed to go free. We really need her to resign."

Another stockbroker also pleading anonymity said, "Stockbrokers have no choice than to support her because we've been ordered not to speak to you guys (journalists) so that we don't say anything against madam." He admitted that there are suspicions that Transcorp's shares might have been manipulated to keep it at the current price, to protect the board and management's interests.

To support the suspicion, the brokers noted that Transcorp has not presented any financial result to the stock exchange since it became listed in the market against its standing policy, which could lead to the technical suspension on the trading of the shares.

Besides, the broker further noted, Transcorp's listing on the exchange did not follow due process, saying, "Transcorp should have been de-listed by now if the NSE upholds its rule. The company's share price has remained on 50 kobo nominal value for over a year."

The seven-day ultimatum

The Securities and Exchange Commission, on Wednesday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike to clear herself from any involvement in the non-performing loans scandal.

But stockbrokers pointed out that the commission has no power to remove her if she failed to comply as requested of her. "There is nothing anybody can do about her position because the stock exchange is not a public liability company; it's still a private liability company." According to them, the commission can sanction her only if it is a public company and listed on the floor.

According to the brokers, it is only the board of directors of the NSE that can remove her as the director general. "And if the board fails to remove her from that position then we all have to wait for her to resign by 2010, as she has said." However, Lanre Oloyi, spokesman for the securities commission said the regulator has the power to call the stock exchange director general to order. According to him, section 13 of the Investment and Securities Act 1999, empowers the commission to regulate all capital market operators.

"The commission has the responsibility to protect the integrity of the market. The issues involved here are about the integrity of the market," he said.

Section 13, sub-section B of the Investment Act empowers the commission to register and regulate securities exchanges, capital trade points, futures, options and derivatives exchanges, commodity exchanges and any other recognised investment exchange.

http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Finance/5446916-147/story.csp

At the event under reference, then CBN Governor Professor Charles Soludo, seeing Nigerian banks and bankers taking all the top awards was so excited, he reportedly remarked: "recent developments in the global financial system have not affected African banks adversely and no African bank has either collapsed or suffered as a result of the crisis." This according to Soludo "underlies the resilience of African banks," adding that "the awards to the banks confirm their stability." (ThisDay, October 16, 2008, pp. 1 and . He is further quoted as having said: "What the rest of the world is now trying to do as the bailout option was what Nigeria did about four years ago, through pro-active initiative, the result of which we are celebrating today." Less than a year later, we are awaken to the reality that the banks are not so stable after all in Nigeria. The celebration is over!

What has gone wrong is a question

[size=15pt]Awards and Nigeria's troubled banks[/size]
By Reuben Abati

The biggest casualty in the on-going crisis in the banks is the confidence that the ordinary man holds in the bank of his or her choice, but the integrity questions, which are being raised would require answers and explanations even from players outside the banking industry. It is a fact that the affected five banks enjoyed not just wide patronage but also the endorsement of the media, rating agencies and even the same Central Bank of Nigeria which passed the books and occasionally organized awards where it decorated the banks and commended them for efficient performance. Beyond the figures, and the trading of accusations in the last 48 hours, perhaps a close look needs to be taken, as part of a learning curve, at the place of awards and endorsements in the rating of institutions in the financial sector.

How? A bank with a shelf-load of local and international awards necessarily inspires confidence with the unwary customer made to believe that the awards carry much weight, and that they are clear evidence of the strength and dependability of the affected institution. But to then wake up overnight to be told that the same institution is shaky, and that its superstar managers are unreliable, can result in such psychological turmoil among customers and investors, the extent of which can be measured in the present instance in due course. The integrity of the awarding institution is, needless to state, also called into question. In a country where awards, like chieftaincy titles, have both social and cultural significance, this point may well be apposite.

In an attempt to double-check this line of inquiry, I had attempted a random review of some of the awards and commendations that some of the affected banks received in the last two years. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 Oceanic Bank was named the Bank of the Year in Nigeria by the Banker Magazine, a special publication of the Financial Times of London. Now, the Banker Magazine has been in the business of monitoring global financial intelligence since 1926. It is said to be "internationally recognised and acclaimed".

Last year, EMEA Finance, a UK based financial intelligence magazine also named Oceanic the best bank in Nigeria. Other achievements advertised by Oceanic Bank include being the 5th bank in Africa and 310th in the world in terms of Tier 1 Capital. Oceanic is also a recipient of CBN awards, and of an AA rating by both Agusto and Co and Global Credit Rating (South Africa). Intercontinental Bank as at July 2008 also claimed that it was among the world's top 500 banks and the second fastest growing bank in the world. Other awards include the Pearl Award for Sectoral Leadership in Banking and the best performing bank in the Nigerian Stock Market as at 2006. Also in the Intercontinental Bank resume is a Fitch Rating of B+.

According to Fitch, Intercontinental Bank is a "Low risk financial institution". This was in October 2008. The African Banker Magazine further named Intercontinental, The African Bank of the Year 2008, and as recently as October 2008, it became the Financial Brand of the Year 2008 according to the World Bank/IMF/ Renaissance Group awards. The managers of the bank boasted about becoming the number one bank in Nigeria and among the top 100 in the world by the year 2010! Similarly, Union Bank paraded a Fitch Ratings classification of A+ and F1 with the remark that this was for the bank's "strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments." The same Banker Magazine that seemed to feature in nearly every Nigerian bank's award list gave Union Bank an international rating of 502. Finbank may not parade many awards. Africa Report magazine which in June 2009 examined bad habits and stock market bubble in Nigeria's financial sector rated Afribank, "satisfactory." A month earlier, the senior management of Afribank visited the Edo state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. The comrade-Governor was so impressed with whatever he must have been told by Sebastian Adigwe and his team, that he spoke as follows: "key issue in banking is trust. Confidence is enhanced if you know the people behind an institution and can vouch for their character, I have confidence in Afribank's Board."

A most convenient cynical response is to dismiss both local and international endorsements of Nigerian banks even as recently as October 2008 and June 2009, as "arranged", or "organised " or based on "narrow criteria." But the evidence suggests that these events were taken as serious business within the industry and that the achievement sent reassuring signals to the shareholders and customers of the affected institutions. For example, The African Banker Awards 2008 was administered by a distinguished panel of judges; the nominees included banks from Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.

At the award ceremony in Washington DC, United States, the chief Economist of the World Bank, Africa Region, Shantayanna Devajaran reportedly said: "2008 African Banker Awards give Africans and its investment allies opportunity to acknowledge the contributions African banks have made to African development over the years and to hopefully inspire even greater performance and investment in the years ahead." Such award ceremonies always saw many bank chiefs leaving town and traveling abroad with a retinue of well-wishers. Even CBN directors were not left out of the shuttle.

At the event under reference, then CBN Governor Professor Charles Soludo, seeing Nigerian banks and bankers taking all the top awards was so excited, he reportedly remarked: "recent developments in the global financial system have not affected African banks adversely and no African bank has either collapsed or suffered as a result of the crisis." This according to Soludo "underlies the resilience of African banks," adding that "the awards to the banks confirm their stability." (ThisDay, October 16, 2008, pp. 1 and . He is further quoted as having said: "What the rest of the world is now trying to do as the bailout option was what Nigeria did about four years ago, through pro-active initiative, the result of which we are celebrating today." Less than a year later, we are awaken to the reality that the banks are not so stable after all in Nigeria. The celebration is over!

What has gone wrong is a question that has not yet been fully communicated and since the initial disclosures, the CBN has not taken enough charge of the situation and it must do so in a transparent manner so it does not end up raising questions about the integrity of its procedures. Engaging in a shouting match with alleged debtors and aggrieved bankers could result in the kind of politicking that could derail what is clearly a desirable house-cleaning exercise. But the larger integrity questions must now be thrown in the direction of the panel of judges in charge of the so-called CBN awards, the Banker magazine awards, the African Banker Awards, and all those awards organized by local media organizations. It is ironic seeing the same media houses reporting the current debacle and rephrasing their headlines to suit the occasion. The web that has been spun points in the direction of a multi-faceted conspiracy against the shareholder and customer as well as high-level compromise.

One caveat though: award committees may have relied only on financial statements, doctored carefully and designed to impress both the international audience and the regulators, and this stealthily becomes the basis for assessment. But even if outsiders were fooled, how about CBN directors who also took tables at the special dinners where those awards were presented? Didn't they know the truth? Or the truth did not matter since those trips came with fat estacodes? Subsequently, they watched as the same awards were used to win public confidence and brand equity.

Some of the award-giving institutions and the rating agencies were almost always described as financial intelligence organizations. Their ability to look beyond the offered statements and ratios, provide correct forecasts and consider unstated qualitative factors is now suspect. One of the initial lessons that should be learnt in all of this is that those awards which formed the substance of pages of advertorials and self-congratulation cocktails may not be so true after all. Depositors and shareholders must now learn that what the banks, stock market managers, external auditors, and all those rating agencies say can no longer be taken too seriously. The golden rule, despite the CBN's current assurances, is a caveat emptor: let the buyer beware.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=210809&ptitle=Awards and Nigeria's troubled banks

eina

If you come out from the cesspit and jungle of Nigeria to seek refuge in another jungle called biafra, do you have a bit knowledge of what kind of wild animals and the level of danger you might encounter in the new jungle?

the truth is bitter
those fools and slowpoke with the title of Masob better listen to the voice of wisdom, which eina represent

Ikpe mara eziokwu na aka azu diya

"Inform Umaru that while he slept the sleep of the blind and the deaf, his smugness buried the bonds of brotherhood and interred our national fabric in the hell holes of hatred. Tell him our liberties are blinded and bonded to the banks of a brooding bay. Everywhere is darkness, hunger, unemployment and mass nibbling by the mice in the Master Cabin".

[size=15pt]Industrialist declares 104 textile companies dead [/size]

Ayodamola Owoseye with agency report


August 14, 2009 06:36AMT
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Over 104 textile companies in Nigeria have closed shop due to the combined factors of an unfriendly manufacturing environment and the high incidence of smuggling and importation.

Adesanmi Adeduro, managing director of Banquaires Facilities Intl Ltd., disclosed this in Lagos, while announcing an upcoming conference for the textile industry, scheduled to hold between September 1 and 4, 2009 in Lagos.

"About 104 out of the 140 textile companies in the country have stopped producing, with over 200,000 workers losing their jobs. Most of the retrenched workers are now commercial motorcycle riders," he said.


State of the industry

Commenting on the state of the textile industry, Mr. Adeduro said, "Smuggling has been a major challenge to the local industry; over ₦4 trillion worth of textiles materials are smuggled into the country yearly. Another challenge facing the industry is the pace of the government on implementing the bailout funds for reviving the textile industry."

"In the 1980s, Nigeria had over 140 textile companies, but can hardly boost of 40 now. The few that are left are producing at less than 10 percent of their installed capacity utilisation. The influx of textiles and fabrics into the country is a result of government's failure to implement its political will on banned textiles and monitor our porous borders. This will continue to impact negatively on the textile industry if not checked," he added.


Policy on textiles

Bernard Nwadialor, the Comptroller General of Customs, while addressing industry operators in Abuja last month, said all hands must be on deck in checking the smuggling of textile into the country if the sector must survive.

The federal government promised a ₦70 billion fund to bail the industry out, but the fund has been enmeshed in controversies, and was not even included in the 2009 budget.


The conference

Mr. Adeduro explained that the conference will assess the various problems facing the industry, through a series of lectures.

He said the lectures would focus on issues relating to management, infrastructure, particularly power and government policies that can help the industry grow.

He therefore urged the government to establish a regulatory framework and harmonise taxes to enable the industry grow. "The government should patronise local manufacturers and ensure that the relevant security agencies perform their duties," he said.

Partial list of troubled textile companies


Aba Textile Mills Plc

Afprint Nigeria Plc

Asaba Textile Mills Plc

Bholsons & Company (Nigeria) Ltd

Enpee Industries Plc

Excelsior Garment Factory Ltd

GDM Textiles Manufacturing Ltd

Haffar Industrial Co Ltd

Horizon Fibres (Nig) plc

Jaybee Industries Nigeria Ltd

Kaduna Textiles Ltd

Lucky Fibres (Nig) plc

Millet Nigeria Ltd

Nichemtex Industries Ltd

Nigeria Textiles Manufacturers Association

Nigerian Textiles Mills Plc

Nitol Textiles Manufacturing Co NIG Ltd

Nortex Nigeria Ltd

Northern Nigeria Textile Mills Ltd

Novelty Industrial Co Ltd

President Clothing Co Ltd

Prestige Industries Ltd

Rola Stores Ltd Nigeria

Specomill Textiles Ltd

Stretch Fibres (Nig) plc

Sunflag Knitting Mills Nigeria Ltd

Textiles Manufacturers Association ( Nigeria)

United Nigeria Textiles Ltd {UNT}

United Nigerian Textiles Plc

Universal Textile Industries Ltd

http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Business/5443648-146/story.csp

lets see

[size=15pt]Boko Haram Militants Plan To Attack Lagos, Ibadan - They Can’t Try It -Police[/size]
Kunle Oderemi, Lagos - 15.08.2009

WITH the country still sulking over the recent mayhem it unleashed on some northern states, the militant Islamic group, Boko Haram, has said that it was spreading its strikes to the South this month by bombing key cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and others. It categorically said it was going to strike in Lagos, which it described as an evil city, in a way that it would shake the country’s commercial hub to its foundation.

In an electronic mail to Saturday Tribune, dated August 9, 2009, the group said the bloodbath witnessed last month marked its declaration of “jihad” in the entire country. The organisation warned that it was set to make the country ungovernable by unleashing terror on other cities in the South-South, especially Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. “We promise the West and Southern Nigeria , a horrible pastime. We shall focus on these areas which are the devil’s empire and have been the ones encouraging and sponsoring Western civilisation into the shores of Nigeria,” the organisation stated.

Hundreds of people and property were destroyed during the conflict which broke out in Maiduguri, Borno State and later spread to Bauchi, Yobe and Kano states. One Mallam Sanni Umaru, who claimed to be the acting leader of the organisation, signed the letter. The founder, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf, 39, died in a controversial circumstance. Contrary to general belief, the militant group said it was not anti-Western education, accusing those it described as infidels as portraying its members as such. It said it would not stop the violence until the so-called evil cities in the country were turned into ashes.

It claimed to have presence across the country and be affiliated to Al-Qaeda, which threw the entire world into mourning by bombing the United States Trade Centre more than a decade ago. When contacted on the matter, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Yemi Ajayi, said it was not possible for the sect to attack those cities. He also stated that the police had not heard of any threat by the sect to carry out any attack, advising the people not to exercise any fear.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/15082009/news/news2.html

"When slow-motion Umaru drags himself up from his snooze, tell him that the corruption war, if selectively pursued by his predecessor, has been completely abandoned. Tell him that for daring to reject a mountain of dollars 15 million high, one of the champions of our times has been chased out of the police, and run out of the country. Shame on them who slight all semblance of simple sense".

i wonder how come IBB and others still have the limbs complete

because they are street wise and sharia smart
sharia is for the poor and uneducated

for the past years he was sleeping, Madam Turai has negotiated with the highest bidders and sold his daughters away to polygamy

[size=17pt]Unmasking Nigeria's ruling elite
By Salisu Suleiman [/size]


August 11, 2009 11:03AMT

It is common for commentators of all sorts to blame the ills of our nation on the ‘ruling elite'. The question then is; who are these ruling elite, and what do they have in common? Indeed, what makes them part of the ruling elite?

Typically, one would include the political class, top businessmen, traditional rulers and others in the higher echelons of society in this class. But in noting the ruling elite of Nigeria today, the influence of the military is obvious. Indeed, if you are looking for now and future members of this class, look towards the military.

In the course of interacting with officers of the military recently, I was surprised at their sophistication and exposure. I had expected crude, loud and uncouth soldiers, but I met highly educated officers. Many of them had post-graduate degrees in esoteric fields. Quite a few had doctorate degrees. Most of them were well traveled.

To pursue this thesis a little further, I looked at the ‘movers and shakers' of Nigeria today. President Yar'adua is a product of the military. The two other civilians to have led Nigeria in the last 30 years - Shagari and Shonekan, were also products of the military. It seemed that if the military could not directly hold office, they installed civilians as stooges to protect their interests.

Even in the current dispensation, apart from Yar'adua, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was ‘made' overnight by former president Obasanjo. The President of the Senate is a former military man. And though he did not serve in the Nigerian military, Speaker Bankole had British military training. Similarly, quite a number of our ex and serving governors from 1999 had military or quasi-military backgrounds.

The national security adviser to the President was a soldier, as was the current minister of defense. Governors Aliero and Dakingari were former customs officers: Murtala Nyako was an admiral, Oyinlola was a soldier and ‘oga Alams' was in the air force. Atiku Abubakar was a customs man. Ambassador Marwa was a soldier as was Ahmadu Ali. Tony Anenih was a policeman. Several members of the Senate and the House of Representatives were once in the military or police - Tanko Ayuba, Nuhu Aliyu, John Shagaya, Tunde Akogun, etc.

In business, there is also a preponderance of former military men on the boards of the biggest corporate entities in Nigeria. Generals T.Y. Danjuma, Magoro and Wushishi are typical examples. The story is similar in traditional institutions. The Sultan of Sokoto, the emirs of Gwandu and Zuru, Etsu Nupe and the emir of Kano (he was once a law enforcement officer). Even the recently installed Bong Gwom Jos, Buba Gyang was a customs officer. Diette Spiff also had military background, as do many others that wield power and influence in Nigeria today.

The crux of this piece is this: though the military claim to have relinquished power to democratically elected leaders in Nigeria, the fact is that they have remained firmly in control. They may not hold the horns of the political cow any longer, but they sure are milking it. In every key office in Nigeria today, you are likely to find a serving or ex military person. On the chairs and boards of major companies are former soldiers. On the thrones of powerful institutions are retired military officers.

It was said that the world domination that Japan failed to achieve militarily, it achieved by economic means. In the same way, the continued domination of Nigeria that the military could not sustain with their guns, they have succeeded in executing, sublimely, through the subtle pseudo-democracy they have installed in Nigeria. This has given them control of the key indices of political and economic power in the country.

Is it any wonder, therefore, that against all expectations, against all sense of decency and fair-play, the military (as typified by Obasanjo), went against the will of the Nigerian people to install a weakling as president? While Yar'adua is battling (and failing) to hold the horns, the ruling elite (mostly former military men and their cronies) continued to milk the cow.

Now that I think back to the polished, well-groomed, educated and well-traveled officers of the military I interacted with, I saw how easy it was to glean among them future political office holders, boardroom warriors, traditional rulers and other members of the so-called ruling elite. By just looking at serving officers of today, you are unmasking the ruling elite of tomorrow.


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