₦airaland Forum

A decent ram costs more than this and is smaller than a well fed adult.....

It is high time the UN removed us from the list of human nations. Maybe we can get together with similarly benighted people to form BON - Beasts Of No Nation! $250 per live human?!?! Yet we pretend we have a government and are part of the 21st century.

[b]Why we prefer live human beings – Suspected parts dealer
[/b]on JUNE 12, 2013 · in NEWS
9:45 pm
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By Evelyn Usman
LAGOS — Operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja have arrested three fleeing members of a syndicate who allegedly specialized in selling live humans and decomposing human parts for money rituals.
Their arrest came barely three weeks after some of their members were paraded at the Lagos State Police Command, where they confessed to have sold live human beings for N40,000, hands—N4,000 and head—N8,000.
Those recently arrested are Gazali Akewadola (60), the native doctor who allegedly offered N40,000 for a live human being, Alfa Taofeek Akinola (35) and Kazeem Sanni (25).

The suspects
To the bewilderment of all, Gazali confessed that live human beings were cheaper than buying dead human parts, saying all parts of a live human being are vital in the preparation of money ritual.
For instance, he said a life human being was bought for N40,000, “but at the end of the day, you get a lot of expensive parts from it. Aside that, it is even more potent because the efficacy of the charm or concoction prepared with live human parts cannot be compared with the ones prepared with dead parts.
“When a life human being is killed, one will get fresh blood which is used in preparing some charms. The same body will also give you hairs from private part, head and some mustache which are used for other ritual purposes. The private part is also very useful for the preparation of effective concoction. The head,flesh intestines, liver, heart, eyes, lips and tongues can be used for pepper soup which is usually very delicious than that of animal meat. I usually take the pepper soup so as to assure those who patronize us that it is not harmful. It also fortifies one spiritually.
“If you buy a full human being for N30,000 or N40,000 and pieces it, you will end up getting N100,000 or more because you will get more than 10 parts that will yield more money for you.”
Gazali who hails from Folahan, Ado-Odo in Owode Yewa Local Government Area of Ogun State, further said: “I am an Islamic teacher and a cleric. I own an Islamic school in Owode Yewa. I am also married with eight children. I am also a native doctor. I cure people of their ailments and help those who want to get rich quick, by using human parts to prepare charms and concoctions for them.
We use soft bones to cure epilepsy
“Most of the human parts I bought were sold to me by Kazeem Sanni. He used to sell dead human head between N3,000 and N8000, depending on the market price. The soft bones that can easily be grinded into powder are very cheap. It is just for N1,000. It is used to cure ailments like epilepsy.”
Asked why he did not use any of his children since he has eight of them, he said that would reduce the potency of the ritual concoction, adding that its potency depended solely on strangers being used. He said their victims were usually abducted from Lagos State and beyond, with the use of charms.
He further disclosed that aside the N40,000 paid to Sanni to get him a live human being, he gave him another N5,000 and a charm to hypnotize the male victims. But he said the plan almost failed as Sanni was almost caught. He, however, expressed regrets that despite the use of human parts to make other people rich, he ended up not only being poor but arrested along the line.
Money ritual charm changed my level
The second suspect, Alfa Taofeek, who is also an indigene of Owode Yewa in Ogun State confessed to have bought a human head from the third suspect, Kazeem, which he grinded and mixed with local gin.
According to him, “it was to enable me get rich. I am a Muslim cleric and I have been making people rich through this means but became jealous at a point and decided to get rich as well, since I was unable to get enough money from my clients.
“After drinking the concoction prepared with a human head, I got more customers and made more money. I even threw parties on a monthly basis to celebrate my new level.
“I also used part of the money to sponsor the graduation ceremony of some of my students in the Islamic school known as Alfa Taofeek Islamic School, at Owode Yewa.”
Customs officers lured me into money rituals
On his part, the third suspect, Kazeem Sanni, claimed to have opted for the money ritual business due to frustration from Customs men.
He said: “At a point, business was no longer moving because Customs men at the border were always seizing the goods, at the end of which their owners would force me to pay for them. I became frustrated even contemplated selling my father’s landed property. I decided to consult Alfa Taokeek Akinola to find out the cause of my predicament. He instructed me to get a human head in order to be rich. After that, he requested a live human being. I attempted kidnapping someone so that I can cut off his head but it was not possible. He then instructed me to exhume dead body from the graves which I did and got him three at the rate of N3,000 each.”
Their arrest, as explained by spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, was in compliance with the Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko’s directive to SARS Commander, Abba Kyari, to get the fleeing suspects, after the arrest of three members of the syndicate on May 15, 2013, with human parts.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/why-we-prefer-live-human-beings-suspected-parts-dealer/

My people keep forgetting that Biafra possesses only 3% of naija land mass but maybe 20% of the population and that this the real reason they are all over the place - not because they love other lands or are more adventurous but sheer necessity. Upshot is that Biafra needs Nigeria more than Nigeria needs Biafra. As for the Igbo / Ijaw alliance, we all know how that will end. Attached is a break down of land mass for the various regions. Things are so bad that you can fit the whole of Biafra into old Oyo, Bendel or even current Benue. BTW naija itself is already five times as densely populated as the US - half the population on 10% of the land. We should be thinking of how to bring about the United States of west Africa with nine times our current land mass and only 180% of our population to provide lebenstraum for us and not this braindead fixation with a solution that did not work 40 years ago and won't work today. My people should study these numbers and understand their import before Uwazurike causes them to make the most regrettable decision. As for relations between Biafra and rump Nigeria if a break up ever happens, I ask you to cast your gaze on the two Sudans or the two Koreas even after over 60 years.

My people keep forgetting that Biafra possesses only 3% of naija land mass but maybe 20% of the population and that this the real reason they are all over the place - not because they love other lands or are more adventurous but sheer necessity. Upshot is that Biafra needs Nigeria more than Nigeria needs Biafra. As for the Igbo / Ijaw alliance, we all know how that will end. Attached is a break down of land mass for the various regions. Things are so bad that you can fit the whole of Biafra into old Oyo, Bendel or even current Benue. BTW naija itself is already five times as densely populated as the US - half the population on 10% of the land. We should be thinking of how to bring about the United States of west Africa with nine times our current land mass and only 180% of our population to provide lebenstraum for us and not this braindead fixation with a solution that did not work 40 years ago and won't work today. My people should study these numbers and understand their import before Uwazurike causes them to make the most regrettable decision. As for relations between Biafra and rump Nigeria if a break up ever happens, I ask you to cast your gaze on the two Sudans or the two Koreas even after over 60 years.

My people keep forgetting that Biafra possesses only 3% of naija land mass but maybe 20% of the population and that this the real reason they are all over the place - not because they love other lands or are more adventurous but sheer necessity. Upshot is that Biafra needs Nigeria more than Nigeria needs Biafra. As for the Igbo / Ijaw alliance, we all know how that will end. Attached is a break down of land mass for the various regions. Things are so bad that you can fit the whole of Biafra into old Oyo, Bendel or even current Benue. BTW naija itself is already five times as densely populated as the US - half the population on 10% of the land. We should be thinking of how to bring about the United States of west Africa with nine times our current land mass and only 180% of our population to provide lebenstraum for us and not this braindead fixation with a solution that did not work 40 years ago and won't work today. My people should study these numbers and understand their import before Uwazurike causes them to make the most regrettable decision. As for relations between Biafra and rump Nigeria if a break up ever happens, I ask you to cast your gaze on the two Sudans or the two Koreas even after over 60 years.

Eko onibaje!

Infrastructure Bank coordinates funding for $2bn Lagos Red Line Rail project
Posted by: Our Reporter on June 8, 2013 in Featured, News 2 Comments

The Infrastructure Bank Plc is to provide funds for the proposed $2 billion dollars Lagos Red Line Rail Project. About two million passengers are expected to be transported daily from Alagbado to Marina on the completion of the project,Mr. Hakeem Olopade, the bank’s Executive Director (Projects), has announced. The Infrastructure Bank Plc is the chief promoter and financier of the rail project. Speaking at the 3rd Economic Commission of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Investment Forum in Lagos, Mr.Olopade said that the project, conceived five years ago, would be implemented by Marina Express Consortium to ease transportation in populated areas of Lagos. The Red Line and the ongoing Blue Line Rail projects would converge on a “signature bridge” to link the mainland to the Marina. The bridge is estimated to cost 200 million dollars. Olopade said that the Red Line Rail project might be extended to Ogun State in the future and described the project as part of the World Bank’s sponsored study for transport infrastructure and solution for Lagos. “The BRT, which is the Bus Rapid Transport, also came out of that study, he said, adding: “This railway project is part of the integrated mode of transportation from that study. “There would be seven metro lines and the Red Line and Blue Line are the prototypes that Lagos State has agreed to commission as a starter. “The Blue Line is already taken by the state. The Red Line is going to be a concession that would be run by the private sector.’’ He said that the Red Line Rail project would be a twotype infrastructure which would cost one billion dollars each. The executive director said that the bank, in implementing the project, would be responsible for the fixed infrastructure as well as the operation and maintenance. Olopade said that one of the core objectives of the Red Line project was to provide a world class rail system. The funds, to be coordinated by the Infrastructure Bank, will be sourced from the local and international markets. The bank executive identified skill and training as paramount to the project and said that the bank was assembling a global team to implement the project. “We also want to make sure that as we provide training and skill services, there is a clear system of transfer programme to ensure that within a short time, the rail would be run by Nigerians for Nigerians.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/infrastructure-bank-coordinates-funding-for-2bn-lagos-red-line-rail-project/

Saudi prince sues Forbes for allegedly under-reporting his fortune
Posted by: Our Reporter on June 8, 2013 in News Leave a comment

Saudi billionaire, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has sued Forbes magazine for libel in a British court, alleging its valuation of his wealth at $20 billion was short of the mark by $9.6 billion, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported yesterday.
The prince, a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder and nephew of King Abdullah, had attacked the U.S. magazine’s ranking of world billionaires as flawed and biased against Middle Eastern businesses after he was ranked number 26 in this year’s list.
An official at the High Court in London confirmed that Prince Alwaleed had filed a defamation suit against Forbes, its editor, Randall Lane, and two of its journalists on April 30. Details of the claim were not immediately available.
[b]Through his Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed owns large stakes in Citigroup, News Corp and Apple Inc, among other companies. He is also the owner or part-owner of luxury hotels, including the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris.
[/b]This year’s Forbes world billionaires’ list was published on March 4, and the following day, Kingdom Holding said the valuation process used “incorrect data” and “seemed designed to disadvantage Middle Eastern investors and institutions.”
The public spat attracted a lot of comments, but Forbes stuck by its estimate of Prince Alwaleed’s wealth and published an in-depth article in its March 25 issue entitled “Prince Alwaleed and the curious case of Kingdom Holding stock.”
The article gave details about how Forbes had arrived at the figure of $20 billion and criticized what it described as a lack of transparency by Kingdom Holding in detailing its assets.
[b]The article also described Prince Alwaleed’s marble-filled 420-room Riyadh palace, his private Boeing 747 equipped with a throne, and his 120-acre resort on the edge of the Saudi capital with five homes, five artificial lakes and a mini-Grand Canyon.
[/b]The High Court official in London said the two journalists named in the defamation claim were Kerry Dolan, the author of the article, and Francine McKenna, who was credited with additional reporting.
No date has been set for a court hearing in the case which is in its very early stages, the official said.
The law firm, Kobre & Kim, which the Guardian said was acting for Prince Alwaleed in the suit, declined to comment. New York-based Forbes could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Guardian article quoted the magazine as saying: “We’re very surprised at claims that Prince Alwaleed has decided to sue Forbes, particularly if he has done so in the United Kingdom, a jurisdiction that has nothing whatsoever to do with our recent story which raised questions about his claims about his wealth.”
Media lawyer, Jonathan Coad, of the London firm, Lewis Silkin, said London was seen as a more attractive place than New York to bring defamation suits because U.S. libel law made higher requirements of claimants.
“In the U.S, a high-profile claimant has to prove firstly that the article was untrue and secondly that the publisher knew that the article was untrue which is what we call malice. Those are two hurdles that a UK libel action does not present,” said Coad who is not involved in the Prince Alwaleed case.
Under British libel law, a claimant has only to prove that a publication was defamatory. Then the burden of proof passes to the defendant who has several possible defences, including that the publication was true.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/saudi-prince-sues-forbes-for-allegedly-under-reporting-his-fortune/

Nigeria May be Consumed by Revolution, Shettima Warns
Obviously at his wits end and frustrated with the seemingly endless orgy of violence unleashed on his state, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday warned that the nation could be consumed by a revolution, as Nigerian youths in the not-too-distant future will chase politicians out of power.
Painting a grim picture of things to come, the governor of Borno, which has been at the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, said the crisis was a mere appetizer of things to come.
Shettima made the statement yesterday while receiving a 32-member Senate Joint Committee on the Massacre in Baga, which paid him a courtesy visit before proceeding on their fact-finding mission.
The governor’s warning came just as the Nigerian Army officially confirmed that 47 persons were killed in Bama on Tuesday during the multiple attacks on the town.
The casualties comprised 21 insurgents, six policemen, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four residents made up of three children and a woman, who were burnt to death by the insurgents.
Reacting to the attack on Bama, President Goodluck Jonathan and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) strongly condemned the siege on the town by the terrorists, with the party stating that the barbaric attack was another reason for all stakeholders to work together to end the daily carnage in some parts of the north.
Also, Muslims under the auspices of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) have urged the insurgents to accept the amnesty that might be offered by the federal government and stop further bloodshed and the wanton destruction of property.
Shettima said: “Underneath the mayhem of Boko Haram, beneath the madness lies the underlying cause which is extreme poverty and destitution which have permeated all spectrums of our society.
“Only and until we address some of these issues, believe me, the future is very bleak for all of us as the current crisis is just an appetizer of things to come. Very soon the youths of this country will be chasing us away.”
The governor lampooned fellow politicians for being selfish and inconsiderate, stressing that “the most important thing in Nigeria is all about the last election and the next election, that is the only thing that is agitating our minds.
“How we can perpetuate ourselves in power. How much we can steal, how many mansions we can buy in Florida, Dubai and London, this is what agitates the minds of the elite of this country, including you and I.”
Shettima said he was confident that the senate would act as an independent and impartial arbiter, and that the committee’s report would finally erase the controversy surrounding the incident in Baga.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-may-be-consumed-by-revolution-shettima-warns/147110/

Maybe this is what you get when security units are used for harassing political opponents instead of performing surveillance and interdiction as in other climes.

One tribe hopes to use Egbesu to retain the presidency while another is using Ombatse for governorship. BH and Ansaru bestride the ‘far’ North, MASSOB is being radicalized with treason trial, OPC rivalry is being reignited with pipeline monitoring contract, LASG is registering residents (maybe to separate ‘wheat from chaff’), Bayelsa setting up ‘investment office’ in SA and Amaechi is being dared in his own den. Yet 2015 is still two years away.


[b]NASARAWA: 55 POLICEMEN, MANY OTHERS KILLED •Gov rushes to Aso Rock, says cultists killed 20 policemen[/b]
GOVERNOR Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has raised alarm over the activities of those he referred to as cultists in his state who he said slaughtered at least 20 policemen in an ambush at Alakyo village, about 10km from Lafia, the state capital, on Tuesday.
He was at the State House, Abuja on Wednesday to confer with Vice President Namadi Sambo on the deteriorating security situation in Nasarawa State and ways to bring the menace under control following the discovery, two weeks ago, of an armed militia group.
This came as Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, who was also there to brief Sambo of Fulani herdsmen attacks on villages in his state, advocated a decisive action on armed groups which take the lives of uniformed security personnels.
Speaking to correspondents after the meeting, the Nasarawa governor expressed bitterness over the existence of the cult whose leadership he said was trying to hold the state to ransom by recruiting people, subjecting them to an oath and arming them.
He revealed that a team of policemen met their deaths when they were detailed to storm the shrine of the cult leader with the aim of arresting him but unfortunately, they fell into an ambush and were killed.
According to him, “I am here to meet with His Excellency, the Vice President to brief him about the security situation in my state. Just yesterday (Tuesday), we have a very bitter security problem that has caused the death of some security officers in the state.
“Two weeks ago, we discovered a certain militia group holding arms and carrying out cultist activities in the state. Since January, this thing has not abated and in the past two weeks, it took a total different dimension.
“They have been going for one place to another including churches and taking people from that particular ethnic group to come and take portions that are meant to empower them to do what they want to do.
“This escalated and is causing serious concern for the state. We decided to hold security meeting to find a way of solving the problem. The solution was to go to the shrine and pick on the cult leader so that the problem will be solved once and for all.
“As security operatives were approaching the shrine, unknown to them that ambush has been laid for them, these people attacked them and resulted in the death of more than 20 policemen.”
He said that the situation has become so grave that he felt it was important to come and brief the Vice President and to seek federal government’s assistance to bring it to an end.
“This is a situation that is so grave and I feel it is very important that I come to brief the Vice President about the security situation and to seek assistance so that we can handle the matter once and for all,” the governor stated.
Al-Makura also noted that the group, which he said was of “Eggon extraction and called Ombatse,” has previously been proscribed since the beginning of this year because of the activities of the members.
He added: “They go from one place to another, harbouring arms, attacking any area that has any conflict with any of their members. The group is banned and its members are those causing this problem in the state and we feel it is necessary to bring this to the notice of the Federal Government.”
The governor maintained that there has been no arrest made before Tuesday’s incident but that security agents were making arrangements to contain the situation.
“The position of this militia is unacceptable to the government. Already, we are taking appropriate steps to see that the perpetrators of this act are brought to book. That is why I have given the necessary information at the federal level so that by the time we begin to take on these perpetrators, nobody should cast aspersions on the justification,” the governor declared.
He promised that government would assist families of the victims of the attacks whether or not they were security operatives.
[b]But Nigerian Tribune gathered from Lafia, the state capital that, over 98 people were said to have been killed, 55 of them being mobile policemen, when members of the outlawed Ombatse militia group laid ambush for them on their way to the latter’s shrine at Lakyo village in Lafia East Development Area of Nasarawa State, on Tuesday evening.
Reports from the area indicated that out of 110 security operatives that went to the village with 11 Hilux vehicles, only two vehicles returned. Nine officers sustained various degrees of injury, while 11 came back unhurt. The nine other vehicles were said to have been burnt by members of the militia group. Eight members of the group were said to have been killed during the gun duel.
Informed security sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, ‘B’ Department, Operation, AC Momoh and his counterpart from the SSS who led the operation also lost their lives during the attack. It was exclusively learnt that the mission of the security men to the shrine was to capture a man who was alleged to have been forcing all Eggons by tribe to join the group in preparation for 2015 elections.[/b]
Findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that apart from the police and SSS officials, soldiers were also on the entourage. As they were approaching the village, the soldiers were said to have stayed behind with their vehicles, with a view to capturing the suspect if he wanted to evade the arrest.
The incident, according to the witness, who sought anonymity, caught the security personnel unawares, as members of the group, believed to have built water-tight security few kilometers to the shrine, suddenly opened fire on them.
“We also killed them but we lost many officers. Out of 11 Hilux vehicles, only two came back with nine injured. Although, some of our men escaped into nearby bush, we are yet to see them up till this moment, it was a pathetic situation,” a senior police source added.
As of the time of filing this report, no official figure came either from the state police command or the SSS, but the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abayomi Akeremale, while addressing newsmen in his office in Lafia, the state capital, on Wednesday, confirmed the attack, saying “I cannot give details now because we dispatched our men to the area this morning and they are still in the bush trying to rescue the injured officers and bring them back to the city.”
At Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia, the nine policemen that sustained injuries are still there and responding to treatment.
It was also gathered that 15 members of Nigerian Civil Defence Corps also died. An emergency security meeting was held at the deputy governor’s office but journalists were not briefed on the outcome of the meeting.
The CP, who addressed newsmen few minutes before the arrival of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 4, Makurdi, AIG Michael Zuokumor, lamented that “the plan of the command for today (Tuesday) is to inaugurate additional three Hilux vehicles given this command by Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Abubakar for patrolling, with a view to ridding the state of crime and criminality, but unfortunately, something else happened which we have to attend to, as a matter of urgency.”
It is recalled that Ombatse, which means the time has come, was dislodged from its base recently by the military personnel in Nasarawa local government area of the state and since then, it has been a cat and mouse game between them and security personnel.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/11440-nasarawa-55-policemen-many-others-killed-gov-rushes-to-aso-rock-says-cultists-killed-20-policemen

If Ijaw president has been unable to deliver even half what the Fulani president promised the Niger Delta with the lame excuse of not being part of the meetings, despite earlier boasts about going round the creeks to make Amnesty happen o, then one wonders exactly why Asari and others think clueless is the solution to their age old problems.

Even Kuku agrees with her: Unfulfilled promises to N/Delta people causing ripples —Kuku
IT emerged on Tuesday that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua made a number of promises to the Niger Delta people to secure amnesty from the region’s militants.
It has also been revealed that government’s failure to fulfil most of the promises is at the roots of the brewing tension in the Niger Delta region.
Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta, who also doubles as Chairman of the Amnesty committee, Hon Kingsley Kuku, who made the revelation in Abuja also said that then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the incumbent President was shut out of major meetings that led to the procurement of the Amnesty.
Kuku said that government’s failure to fulfill the promises years after Yar’Adua’s death are creating fresh tensions in the region.
He stated that President Goodluck Jonathan, as vice president never attended critical meetings which he puts at 85 percent of the meetings held in respect of amnesty.
Kuku said although he could not tell whether Jonathan was on other assignments throughout the discussions on amnesty at the time or was not just invited, further stated that the people of the region were worried that the then vice president and their foremost representative in the government was not privy to most of the meetings on the cardinal pacts and agreements on amnesty.
Kuku stated that he had decided to speak out a bit and expose some of the happenings during the Yar’Adua era as, according to him, “the time was becoming so extraordinary.”
The presidential aide maintained that the Niger Delta people have not seen the implementation of the total package and noted that 99 percent of the entire package was yet to be implemented, apart from the programme of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.
He said, “The new towns project that were agreed upon between the leaders of the agitation and Yar’Adua-led government at a time which did not bring in the then VP, the current president, has not commenced; we have not seen new towns, we have not seen, as Niger Delta people, those new towns.”
He listed other unfulfilled promises that are currently fanning fresh embers of discord in the region as r[b]egeneration of the region’s environment, offering of opportunities to ex-militant leaders into the oil and gas industry as well as offering of economic lifeline to them[/b].
Others, according to him include construction of a coastal line from Lagos to Calabar, the cardinal agreement of commencement, establishment of three higher institutions in the region by the Federal Government and completion of the East West Road as well as provision of houses, cars and other incentives to the ex militant leaders.
He said allowing the president to get re-elected so as to complete the projects informed his call for the president to be voted for again in 2015.
He said, “Immediate effort by the Federal Government and as part of the agreement to compel government’s commitment and good faith in the agreement was that houses were going to be provided for them (militant leaders), mobility was going to be provided for them, most especially economic lifeline so they don’t return to the creeks and continue their agitation for an excuse of government’s breach of commitment.”

soulfood: what did i miss? isnt she one? what do you call swaying to the beat half naked on tv?

Ladies like that are likely to feel any other boundaries they cross are still better than the ones their 'loving' parents tried to push them over so they can transgress and still feel like saints. The sins of the parents....

It looks like a lot of the replies are coming from people whose parents pushed into the same or even worse things or why are they all so comfortable with such abysmal parenting standard and blaming the victim for calling her mum and all other parents engaged in the same evil out? I have been involved with at least three women who were victims of the same thing and I know how the lives of those ladies were derailed even with the greatest goodwill from the men in their lives. Such parents from hell should not only be called out but should be publicly paraded and jailed among the opposite sex so they can get a taste of what they pushed their kids into. If such parents felt things were so bad they had a choice of sacrificing themselves by going into prostitution or other crime themselves instead of pushing kids they brought into this dark world.

No body force you to stop o. How you wan survive virgin hair? How the guys and your grandma dey take survive virgin hair? Na people who dey pity una I go blame. Pls relax your hair, borrow or steal to buy human hair, wear six inch heels, bleach your skin and do every other thing to assure yourself of a miserable old age or early death. I dey right behind you with moral support. Keep waiting for God to save you from self affliction because na Him send you message.

smothly: Researches here and there!!!! Abegii joor.
How can common relaxer paves way for uterine fibroid or rather how can early menstrual period paves way for uterine fibroid,should we stop retouching hair and die of headache from virgin hair.
Its only God that knows the genesis of any ailments whatsoever,and he will continue to save and protect us all.

Bold move with great environmental benefits. Taking 20,000 smoke belching diesel cars off our roads at one fell swoop will sure make an impact. Making it possible for others to convert their engines and obtain CNG through his outlets makes even greater impact. Yes he will make money both from savings in his own operations and sales and services to other haulers but for once I can’t see a socio-economic downside to this Dangote move. Wish the IOCs had gone beyond demo vehicles and at least rolled out CNG/LPG for their own operational vehicles in the last decade plus of playing with these tech. About 10% of vehicles on Ghana’s roads have run on LPG for years now.

NGC Signs 20-year Gas Supply Contract to Boost Industrialisation

The Nigeria Gas Company Limited (NGC) has signed a 20 year gas sales and purchase agreement with Borkir International Company limited, a member of the Dangote Group of Companies, to boost industrialisation in the country.
The Managing Director, NGC, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, explained that the aim of the partnership was to make gas available to industries and other sectors of the economy, noting that Nigeria is endowed with natural gas but does not put it to effective utilisation.
Mohammed, during the MoU signing ceremony on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as automotive fuel, said it is charged with the development of an efficient gas industry to fully serve Nigeria's energy and industrial feedstock needs through an integrated gas pipeline network and also to export natural gas and its derivatives to the West African region.
He said the CNG initiative would serve as an alternative vehicle fuel, which has a great future in Nigeria, especially in view of the need to export more crude oil or refined products for additional foreign revenue.
“We have signed a 20-year contract and we have the obligation to fulfill it. We hope this is not the end of such agreement. This partnership is not only to guarantee gas supply but it is equally going downstream to give guarantee to the vehicle users,” he added.
“We are here today to propagate CNG as a vehicular fuel where I am looking at it from the macro perspective with Nigeria being a heavy gas producer but the usage of gas is the issue. We believe in partnership that would develop our natural resources and add value to our economy,” he said.
According to him, the use of CNG would displace liquid fuels and also reduce the over dependence of importation Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and diesel in the nation.
“We have natural gas that can displace all of this and one of the ways is to invite every entrepreneur to partner with us because we cannot do it alone we have experts all over. we are launching this era of CNG to start with trucks and I am sure by the end of the day, we would be talking of many other things to come but the whole aim is for us to this at the upstream,” he added.
He said the Federal Government must do everything it can to ensure that gas is sourced and harnessed locally saying that the country can no longer continue to import gas.
“This is a commodity that we have here and can be translated into an economic commodity that can compel our industry to help them reduce the cost of production and transportation cost for our industries,” he said.
“We will continue to support initiatives that will develop our gas and we will not only support but make sure it is available to make investors enjoy returns on their investment,” he stressed.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, Borkir International, Mr. Sanni Dangote, said the initiative would help many transport businesses save up to 25 to 30 per cent in their fuel cost, stressing that the company has invested over N1billion in the project.
“Before the end of the year we plan to invest another $20 million, which is about N3 billion, because our target is to convert 20,000 vehicles nationwide to use CNG. We are planning about 8 stations where two is on ground and in the next four to five months; we would have the remaining six. We are to invest about a N100 million in the next few years to build stations to cover most of the major highways and cities in Nigeria,” he added.
He said to demonstrate the economic viability of CNG as automotive fuels, it would start with a minimum of 5,000 trucks in the first phase which it would later increase it to a minimum of 20,000 in the next two years.
“Currently, we have got two stations where we have started the installations and we are also working on another six to make a total of eight. We are not going to stop here because we are looking at having more stations in the years to come.
“With this kind of partnership, many transport owners and vehicle owners that are into transport business will experience a new look in terms of the cost of fuel and also we expect that they would save up to at least 25 to 30 per cent in their fuel cost.
“This venture is something we started some few months ago with the idea of trying the best to contribute into the energy sector by looking at the transportation sector and seeing how we can bring about cheaper energy for the environment and also make it a viable business for us and the stakeholders,” he noted.
“The challenges of this project will be the perception of the people to see whether the project is economically viable for them and to convert their vehicles into CNG and everybody knows that gas is cleaner when compared to petrol.
“As a result of this, we have set up a conversion centre opened in Ikeja last month and we are going to establish in other parts of the country where anyone that wants to convert vehicle into use of CNG will definitely have the opportunity to come our centres,” he stressed.
He pointed out that the company also has a one-year warranty of the product to give customers the opportunity to walk into its conversion centres in case of product defaults.
“We believe this initiative has come to stay because CNG is the best option for energy compared to petrol. We are here today to sign the contract for 20 years with NGC to provide this gas in a compressed nature form to end users and the industries,” he added



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ngc-signs-20-year-gas-supply-contract-to-boost-industrialisation/143842/

Robbing Chief Afe Babalola Blind

I was at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) on Easter Friday and slept in its guest house that night. I went with my family solely to see the good work I had heard so much about. Not the mere fact of setting up a private university, of which there are almost 100 at present with some ecclesiastical individuals owning two and planning to establish even more, but setting up a university with a very significant emphasis on providing quality education and subsidizing the acquisition of same by those too poor to pay for it. This last part is a quality that has been sorely lacking even in the quasi ecclesiastic institutions set up by our popular ‘men of God’ even when most of the funding for such establishments came from the poor.

Chief Afe Babalola is a person I would instinctively rather reprobate than approbate especially since he thrust himself rather violently into my consciousness with the Galaxy Backbone deal where he was accused of collecting about $3m merely to register yet another government interventionist twinkle in Obasanjo’s eye. The enterprise was conceived as a provider of bulk network services for government agencies nationwide. Somehow the Nigerian Federal Executive Council had convinced itself that, despite the experience of NITEL and similar parastatals, government provided internet services was the most efficient way to leapfrog provision of government services into the 21st century. Considering Obasanjo, the president at that time and Chief Babalola’s very good friend, had confessed on being released from prison that he had no idea what the internet was, one could understand how a cabinet of similarly benighted fellows could dig yet another drain pipe for our resources. This essay is however not about the ways we are misgoverned but about the good and great thing Chief Babalola is trying to do in Ado Ekiti and how well the project is going.

I am familiar with the naija conception that looters of the national patrimony, actually anyone who seems to have any amount of spare cash to invest in social or economic infrastructure, should be separated from their loot in discharge of one’s patriotic duty. One gets this impression when we find sometimes quite noble socio economic projects overwhelmed by a comprehensive looting frenzy with 99% of the project managers and employees seeming to be of the same rapacious mindset without caring a hoot about the sustainability of the project or the damage done to the psyche of the fellow who chose to reinvest hard won or cleverly stolen funds in the community. The abubutan mentality comes to the fore as the enterprise is treated as a beached whale from which each can carve enough to satiate his hunger without killing it or exhausting the Godsend. Of course, with hundreds of emergency butchers hard at work, we are soon left with whale skeleton, innards and a thoroughly messed up beach.

The butchers have been hard at work at ABUAD and the mess they have created almost brings tears to the eyes. Once you get beyond the gates the waste and theft of Chief Babalola’s billions becomes obvious. Yes, the roads are tarred but the adjective ‘well’ is inapplicable. You find tar on maybe 80% of the width of the road with sidewalks missing (on a college campus!) and drains a much delayed afterthought several years after the school commenced. And the buildings. I spent four years at the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University and like to think Chief Babalola must have been partly inspired by Ife’s ambitious architecture. The structures are massive alright but are a nasty shock to the eyes. For a citizen looking for something to celebrate they were massively deflationary. Not one straight wall, not one level surface. Not one structure finished to levels you and I or, for that matter, the functionaries and project managers of ABUAD would consider acceptable for our homes yet that was what was delivered for Chief Babalola’s billions. That was what his dream had been translated into.

We took two rooms in the guest house and were horrified at the finishing of the rooms, the bathrooms and the fittings themselves. Knowing our ways well we knew the structures which were never properly built or fitted and which were already falling apart would have been procured for top dollar. My wife and I were reduced to acknowledging that Chief Babalola is quite old but we didn’t recall anything about his being childless. Surely his kids couldn’t have stood by while their patrimony was thrown away on what is shaping up as a quixotic venture for, if things are this bad this early in the game and with the visionary still alive and funding, then one can only expect near immediate collapse the minute death snatches him away.

What lessons to learn? It is great to be blessed with billions never mind through what means. It is even greater to do a Bill Gates and choose to return most of that fortune to the community. In investing for the common good it is best to learn from Warren Buffett and hands things to competent hands. Buffett acknowledged that his competence is in making billions but not in giving them away. He realized that his friend Gates had over the years acquired the competence to do the latter and happily entrusted the bulk of his billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for ‘onward transmission’ to the needy. That is a man who knows his limitations.

Chief Babalola must acknowledge his age and professional background and rescue his dream by calling in professionals who can yet save the day. I would suggest he outsources the ongoing construction of structures and administration of the college to an international university consultancy that can deliver on his dream of a 21st century university. He will save himself a lot of heartache and a load of money by doing this. First though he should bring in forensic investigators and determine who has stolen what from him. People should be behind bars for what they have turned this particular vision into even if they claim he came about the bulk of his fortune by less than holy means. He might also consider bringing in structural engineers to test the structural integrity of every building on the campus. It would a sad testament to his philanthropy if a hostel were to collapse and take along with it hundreds of young people he was trying to give a better shot at life. When I see multi storey institutional structures with nary a straight line I can’t help having a queasy feeling in my stomach. This is Nigeria and nothing is sacred anymore.

Abraham Idowu

Since I posted the piece above I have had several phone conversations with two representatives of ABUAD who took exception to the conclusions in my last paragraph. They stated that ABUAD authorities had themselves noticed the shabby finishing of the structures which they traced to a subset of workmen. They stated too that the underlying structures themselves are solid and sound being the products of qualified structural etc engineers. I was told that steps have been put in place to ensure the finishing of the buildings in future reflect the underlying excellence of the structures.

As a mortal I lack x-ray vision and cannot see beyond the veneer I was appalled by. I however would find it illogical that Chief Afe would sabotage his own greatest legacy. I am thus persuaded by the assurances I have received from ABUAD’s representatives that their structures are sound and will stand the test of time. More importantly I am persuaded that with their continuing effort and the constructive engagement of the rest of us Chief Afe will ultimately gift us a ‘21st Century’ university that will serve as a model to other ‘money bags’ in Africa with some being challenged enough to go for a ‘purer’ educational intervention that would harness the millions of potential Einsteins that Africa loses to illiteracy and malnutrition annually. Since my high school days in the 70s, Thomas Gray’s Elegy In A Country Churchyard has haunted me. With today’s much diminished educational sector I am virtually living through a waking nightmare as I daily witness talent and ability wasted by man’s inhumanity to man.

One form of intervention that I think is sorely needed is high schools and universities which will be set up as 100% charities that will corral the very best of our indigent youth into intellectual incubators which will produce in the not too distant future Africa’s science and technology Nobels and entrepreneurs. If we say that is not sustainable then I say we can have incubator schools 50% of whose students would be gifted but indigent and the rest fee payers whose sponsors appreciate the value of being in the same intellectual hothouses as Africa’s best. I personally would do almost anything to get my kids into such schools where iron will sharpen iron 24/7.

The point I am making above is that educating Africa’s ‘great unwashed’ is my passion and in pursuing that passion I shall ignore those who adhere to Prof Bolaji Akinyemi’s recently publicized thesis that there are no licit billionaires in Nigeria. I shall focus on and, where possible, celebrate the good that is being done and that is being attempted in this sector that is generally bereft of the tender mercies of Nigerian billionaires.

Posted on NVS three years ago. Still stand by it since not much has changed: SLS for Aso Rock ably supported by BRF and Amaechi. Thank God APC will be a more robust platform than the choices available back then.

The Dream Team

Having seen the rest how about taking a look at the best? In critiquing the various ‘progressive’ and retrogressive candidates that have thrown their hats into the ring of Nigeria’s 2011 presidential combat I have consistently been asked what options I would advocate if I see so little good in all that have declared so far. Some interlocutors have insinuated that I am one of those who can only see what is wrong with ideas on the table while being unable to propose viable alternatives. Others have hinted that maybe our nation that is aborning lacks the stuff of greatness so we should be content with any old (or young) blowhards and rascals that deign to insult us with their candidacy.

Just this week we read about the retired Army General who insists on planting himself in our national consciousness on the basis of a decades old deal between him, another perennial candidate who has already had a nine year stab at mismanaging the nation and the late unlamented goggled one. We learnt that the deal was that presidential stints would be ‘zoned’ among the trio till death parts them from Nigeria. Some older versions of the story said the partners in crime actually reprised Macbeth and Banquo’s encounter with the three witches and even as Macbeth was driven to regicide they have been driven since then with only one yet to sate his boundless ambition. To ice the cake this two time ‘intelligence’ chief told us he is also protecting the honour of his niece who his rival’s daughter cuckolded. On such weighty considerations he threw his hat into the presidential ring!

Another lout tells us that since he once crippled the economy, with the naira’s exchange rate signposting his good work, and also institutionalised corruption while wiping out the middle class; he should be allowed to do it again and swears on his dead wife’s grave that he will spend only one term this time. Last time he swore on the Koran the nation was brought very close to the grave.

An upstart and a knave tells us his years as ‘anti corruption’ czar, when he only managed to jail a few enemies of his principal in addition to some expendable fellows, is all he needs to win our hearts and votes for the big job. He has since promised us, in a verbatim interview posted on Sahara Reporters, ‘free and fair’ education! But he tells us he is young and the change we need.

Sundry other jokers like the purveyor of the rag (banned in my home) that showcases the houses that corruption built and the ceremonies that graft paid for have insisted that when those that trouble naija are being counted they must not be left out. In all it has been quite a motley crowd not excepting the incumbent who has somehow convinced himself and those who say he is the solution that Nigeria can solve its myriad of problems and make up for the last, wasted 50 years without purging himself of corruption and tackling the phenomenon frontally in the polity.

While any of these last eleven candidates might keep the oil flowing from the Delta or keep the soldiers in the barracks they unfortunately cannot get my juices flowing or cause me to make the trip to the polling booth. I refuse to be part of the eternal and infernal charade that has kept us backsliding and marching on the spot for five decades. If we cannot get saints to run our nation can we at least get competent rogues the way most other countries do most of the time? And Nigeria is filled with both zealous and competent even if saints are few and far between. Awolowo was recognised as one such posthumously but God is merciful and we today have at least three individuals on the national stage who have shown the good stuff they are made of and are even of the right generation. Enter, stage left: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Raji Babatunde Fasola.

My dream team that will not only get me voting but will actually have me dancing in the street and putting my money where my mouth is would be SLS as Presidential candidate, CRA as running mate with BRF backing up the duo as prospective Attorney General. Before I am crucified by partisans I hasten to explain my sequence. I presume of course that the overall quality of the team cannot be contested by anyone who has observed our nation in the last three years.

In my view the root, and one and only, cause of our national malaise is corruption. Corruption that has become so endemic that we effortlessly top global corruption indexes year after year while patriots and foreign friends alike despair the nation will ever escape its deathly grasp. If corruption were tackled power, roads, education, health and all else will almost effortlessly fall in place because the problem with all those sectors has not been the lack of funding or plans but the matter of course comprehensive looting of every dime voted to make things better at every level of government.

It follows logically then that to turn this nation around, to rouse Nigeria from terminal decline, we must quickly and totally extirpate corruption. Obviously this cannot be done without scaring sanity and morality back into those that bestride the public space. The only way to do that and undo the habituation of a half century of accommodating corruption is stringing up at the least several hundreds of the worst offenders. Several thousand of the next worst lot should be tossed into Kirikiri maximum security prison which should be preserved in its current insalubrious state even when all other prisons get their much delayed makeover in the New Nigeria. All significant offenders should lose every last kobo stolen from our sweat and natural blessings. And that is why SLS is the one fit to top this bill. Only he has had the cojones in recent times to insist that egregious crooks should be lined up at the Bar beach and shot. He has been condemned by those I consider fellow travelers of the looters for being so unbankerlike in his statements but our nation is overdue some plain speaking and plain dealing. In addition to his will to confront corruption without giving any quarter he has also shown himself quite a broadly focused economic manager with the various interventionist policies and funds he has established for reindustrialisation, agriculture, power sector etc. If all CBN governors before him had shown such moral rectitude alongside intervening well beyond the ordinarily rarefied air of the banking halls our fate wouldn’t have been near as sorry as it has become. Definitely SLS for president.

CRA was dealt a challenging hand in Rivers State right from his stolen party nomination to the state of the polity when he eventually, via audacious judicial petitioning, secured power. To have brought peace to Rivers already scores him very high. To have gone further by bringing Rivers out of the infrastructural and financial pit his predecessor dumped it in took unusual leadership savvy. To have gone further yet by caging the ‘irrepressible’ chop-I-chop interests in the state absolutely sets him apart and makes him an ideal alternate to SLS. Veeps are after all not just deputies but potentially and frequently alternates to their principals. If a person doesn’t deserve the presidency then he doesn’t deserve the veepeeship either.

I hope BRF’s partisans have managed to come this far with me despite their disappointment. Fasola actually had an easier row to hoe than either of the other two but his performance hasn’t been as stellar as it could have been. While CRA had to recover from the deficits of his predecessor and outmaneuver those who would prefer that state money be shared, BRF’s tenure was preceded by eight years that weren’t an entire loss so he did not have to build Lagos from scratch yet his vision and his delivery haven’t quite been as inspiring as Amaechi. He has allowed entrenched interests to hold him hostage. While SLS has had to swim among banking sharks from even before he was appointed (we hear someone devoted billions to stop his appointment from happening) and has had to save investors from their own greed and stupidity with hardly one percent agreeing with his diagnosis of the financial crisis much less his deployed cures, BRF quickly won a devoted fan club within and beyond our national borders. Such popularity should have enabled him to be bolder in vision and action but that hasn’t been the case. However he remains a quite competent SAN who has shown competence in public affairs and passable commitment to the common weal so he should fit in very well as the Attorney General, arrow head of the do or die battle against corruption in our land.

And that is my dream team. No, I don’t expect this team or anything remotely like it to ever come to power in my dear nation but I can dream. In the meantime please don’t wake me from my dream with the noisome pestilence that passes for a campaign to transform Nigeria. This month we woke up to find we now have a trillionaire in our midst. He made his money from exclusive import licenses, duty waivers and the power of the cartels he formed in cement and other essentials. With his benchmark set I warn my compatriots that the next set of thieves voted into power shall not be content to steal just billions but will all now aim to join our ‘number 1 industrialist’ at the pinnacle of wealth. Since our spavined economy doesn’t generate so much money we can expect anyone they can lay hands on to be sold into slavery to raise sufficient funds. I kid you not. Wish us all luck in Babylon.

Below is a 'comprehensive' list of tithe references in the bible. If you read the full chapter in each case and the whole of Malachi, since it is the cornerstone of the tithing 'gospel' and conveniently short at only three chapters, you should get a well grounded view of the whole tithe scam. Even if we concede for the sake of argument that we are under the law despite the perfect sacrifice of Christ then we must look at the letter and spirit of the law as declared clearly in Deuteronomy, Nehemiah etc and those books do not tell me to give all the tithe to the Levite / priest but state that the group is only one of several stakeholders and a conditional one at that. They had no portion in the land which was the principal store of wealth in those days and thus depended on the generosity of those they served. Today we know those who pursue tithes the most also own the most jets and hardly qualify as 'having no stake among you'.

As for Malachi and the treasure house, I note that the other place the treasure house is mentioned in relation to tithes is in Nehemiah where the Levite within the cities are told to pay a tithe of the tithe they collect to the treasure house which is in the temple in Jerusalem. When we take this in consonance with the bulk of Malachi which is a 'tirade' against the priestly class generally we can see that the injunction to bring the tithe into the treasure house wasn't meant for you and I, who should share our tithes to multiple stakeholders, but to the Levite who should pay his own tithe to the treasure house. I am saying that the fellows on the pulpits are actually using an indictment of themselves to indict you and I! What sweet irony. If you fell for it that is your reward for not reading your bible pali to pali even while you have devoured a dozen 'books' published by your pastor.

Leviticus 27:30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.

Leviticus 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Numbers 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
Deuteronomy 12:17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:
Deuteronomy 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deuteronomy 14:23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
Deuteronomy 14:28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
2Chronicles 31:5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
2Chronicles 31:6 And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps.
Nehemiah 10:38 And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
Nehemiah 13:12 Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Deuteronomy 26:12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
Genesis 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Leviticus 27:31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
Numbers 18:24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Numbers 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
Numbers 18:28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel ; and ye shall give thereof the LORD's heave offering to Aaron the priest.
Deuteronomy 12:6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
Deuteronomy 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
Deuteronomy 26:12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
2Chronicles 31:12 And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.
Nehemiah 10:37 And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
Nehemiah 10:38 And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
Nehemiah 12:44 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.
Nehemiah 13:5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.
Amos 4:4 Come to Bethel , and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Hebrews 7:5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
Hebrews 7:6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Hebrews 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
Hebrews 7:9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

NB Plc trains its new guys for one year and they get paid N5m for that year. They are accommodated etc all that while. An inlaw just resumed this month. Wetin be Dangote own problem? Na only him get ambition for this country? Bill Gates made several staff billionaires and dollar millionaires when Microsoft went public years back. Na so genuine bigmen dey do. Even MKO created many millionaires in this country and their testimonies are still there. Make Dangote go siddon for one side joor. No wonder Bill Gates dey come eradicate polio from him Kano door mouth while him dey do Ijebu all over the place.

Ariel Sharon Brain Scan Shows Signs of Consciousness
By Katie Moisse | ABC News – 13 hrs ago

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a vegetative state since a 2006 stroke, might be able to hear and understand, a brain imaging test revealed.

The two-hour test by a team of Israeli and American scientists used functional MRI to gauge Sharon's response to tactile stimulation, photos of his family and the voice of his son.

Functional MRI - or fMRI - measures blood flow as a surrogate for brain activity. And according to a statement from Sharon's medical team, the 84-year-old had "significant brain activity" during the test.

"Information from the external world is being transferred to the appropriate parts of Mr. Sharon's brain," team member Martin Monti, assistant professor of cognitive psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles said in a statement. "However, the evidence does not as clearly indicate whether Mr. Sharon is consciously perceiving this information."

Sharon was put in deep sedation, also known as a medically-induced coma, after suffering a massive stroke Jan. 4, 2006. Although he appears to be awake at times, Sharon never seemed to regain consciousness. A ventilator breathes air into his lungs and a tube delivers essential nutrients to his stomach.

The new brain imaging test used a new "state-of-the-art" MRI machine jointly owned by the Soroka Medical Center in Israel's Beersheba and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

"It is important that these new techniques be available in Israel for the large number of patients considered to be in a vegetative state," said Alon Friedman, head of the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "Knowing what sensory channels are intact in these patients is crucial for the family and the treating team to stimulate and interact with them."

The ability to detect consciousness among patients in a vegetative state is controversial. A January 2013 study published in The Lancet challenged earlier findings on the use of electroencephalography to assess awareness, concluding that brain activity seen in vegetative patients could be the result of random chance.

But Sharon's youngest son, Gilad Sharon, has long insisted his father could hear, telling the New York Times in 2011, "When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to… I am sure he hears me."

Gilad Sharon said he or a member of his family has visited the former prime minister every day since the stroke, describing in his 2011 book, "Sharon: The Life of a Leader" a dream he had before the devastating stroke.

"In that dream I was with my father in the hospital. He was lying in bed, surrounded by medical staff, and they had all either given up or lost hope and were about to leave, and my father didn't say a thing, but he stared at me with this look, with those green-gray eyes of his, and I knew I would never give up, and that I simply would not leave him," he wrote. "This was a dream I had when my father was healthy and strong and the scenario was completely divorced from reality. I did not tell a soul about the dream at the time, but now I shared it with them and my fear that it was happening now and that I would never be able to forgive myself if we did not fight to the end."

http://news.yahoo.com/ariel-sharon-brain-scan-shows-signs-consciousness-171041598--abc-news-health.html

NIGERIAN WONDER: N27bn pension thief gets N750,000 fine
January 29, 2013 by Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja 36 Comments
Pension thief

Pension thief

Surprise pervaded a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on Monday when a director of the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yusuf, was handed down only a two-year jail sentence for conniving with others to defraud the office and pensioners of N27.2bn.

Yusuf admitted to stealing N2bn of the money.

But he would not spend the two years in jail as Justice Abubakar Talba gave him an option of fine in the sum of N750,000 for the three offences he pleaded guilty to.

Each of the three offences attracts a two-year jail term.

The sentences run cuncurrently.

Yusuf, who by his sentence becomes the first to be jailed in the ongoing trial of persons involved in the N38.8bn Police pension scam, will however forfeit 32 houses in the FCT and Gombe as well as N325m which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said were proceeds from the crime.

Many in the courtroom openly expressed their amazement with Talba’s judgment.

The exchanges among the gathering, which included lawyers, journalists, relatives of all the accused persons and observers, were loud enough for the court clerk to call everybody to order.

The lenient nature of the sentence was underscored by the reaction of Yusuf’s lawyer, Maiyaki Bala, who said his client was ready to pay the fine immediately after the sentencing.

With EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), noticeably close to tears, Bala told journalists that they intended to take up the option of fine immediately.

There were indications that Yusuf, who appeared calm and confident in a light green kaftan with a matching green cap, made the payment before leaving the premises of the court, located in Gudu.

Although his bank accounts were reportedly frozen by the order of the court, it seemed he was still able to raise money – perhaps through friends and relatives – as it was gathered that he was issued with a Revenue Collector’s Receipt before he left the court premises.

The convict, who had been on bail before he was sentenced, was driven away in his personal car.

Before Talba read the judgment, the embattled director had made a U-turn on his earlier not guilty plea by admitting that he committed three offences.

Yusuf specifically pleaded guilty to counts 18, 19 and 20, where he was alleged to have connived with the other suspects –Essai Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Veronica Ulonma, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang and Christian Madubuike – to convert the sums of N24.2bn, N1.3bn and N1.7bn, belonging to the office to their personal use.

Yusuf’s sentencing came after he pleaded guilty to betraying trust and fraudulently converting N2bn of police pension funds to private use. The trial continues for the other accused.

He admitted to the 19th and 20th offences relating specifically to him, each involving betrayal of trust and the conversion of N1bn apiece. The maximum penalty for the offence is two years.

Attang and Madubuike were added in an amended 20-count.

Attang is still in service as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Communications. He was a director in the PPO between 2007 and 2008.

The trial of the other accused persons was adjourned till February 26, 2013.

Their action is punishable under section 309 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.

Yusuf’s guilty plea had apparently taken the courtroom by surprise, but immediately after, Jacobs asked the court to convict and sentence him.

He also made an application for the forfeiture of 13 houses and the N325m.

“We urge you to take into account these properties and the money, so that the court can make an order that the proceeds from the sales of the properties should go back to the Police Pension Office for the payment of the entitlements of legitimate pensioners,” Jacobs said.

Bala, also moved immediately by pleading for a lenient sentence.

He said that his client had shown remorse for the offences.

Bala said, “By pleading guilty, the convict has shown respect to this court and has saved the precious time of the court.

“The court will also find out that he is a first time offender without any previous record of conviction; furthermore, he is the head of a family of four, a wife and three children, two of who are university students while one is a primary school pupil.

“These people depend on him for their survival and wellbeing, including the payment of school fees.

“It is also pertinent to note that he has a chronic heart condition which has aggravated to a serious case of high blood pressure, a condition that requires frequent medical attention.

“His aged parents are still alive and due to old age, have attendant medical complications which require regular medical attention and both depend on him to deal with these.”

Bala added that Yusuf was a community leader with a number of students depending on him for scholarship.

He noted that the students would lose the opportunity if justice was not tempered with mercy.

The counsel added that should the court grant the application for forfeiture of his client’s assets, the EFCC would take everything from him (Yusuf) .

He urged the court to exercise its discretionary powers granted it under section 309 of the Penal Code in favour of the convict and give him an option of fine.

Bala argued that doing so would encourage the other accused persons to admit their guilt, where it exists.

Pronouncing sentence on the convict, Talba said he had taken favourable note of the fact that Yusuf was a first time offender, and had also opted on his own volition to plead guilty, thereby saving the time of the court.

But he stressed that the court also had a duty to the country, which had suffered from corruption.

He held that section 309 of the Penal Code, under which the accused persons were charged, stipulates a two-year prison term with an option of fine or both.

Consequently, he sentenced Yusuf to two years’ imprisonment for each of the three counts or a fine of N250, 000.

Among the properties are two units of a three-bedroom semi detached bungalows at R2, A and B, Sunny Homes, Dakwo District, Abuja; two units of three bedroom semi bungalow- detached at M24, A and B, Sunny homes, Dakwo District Abuja; four units of a 3bedroom semi- detached bungalows, in Abuja; eight units of an Estate of two-bedroom flats, at Gombe, GRA; one unit Semi-detached Duplex at house 21, 4th Avenue, Gwarinpa, Abuja; four units of a two bedroom semi – detached duplex at Bricks City, Kubwa Road, Abuja and one unit of Semi- Detached Duplex, at 14B Democracy Crescent, Gaduwa, Abuja.

A displeased Jacobs protested the option of fine given to the convict, noting that it mocked the anti-corruption campaign of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

In a statement later on Monday, the EFCC condemned the judgment.

The commission said it would study the judgment and respond appropriately.

Parts of the statement signed by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwajaren, reads, “The EFCC has expressed reservation about the ruling of an FCT High Court, Abuja which handed a six-year-jail term with the option of N750, 000 fine to John Yakubu Yusufu, one of the persons standing trial in the N32.8bn Police Pension scam.

“Justice Mohammed Talba convicted and sentenced Yusufu to two years’ imprisonment with the option of N250, 000 fine on three of an amended 20-count.

“The commission is of the view that the option of fine runs contrary to the understanding between the prosecution and the defence wherein the convict consented to a custodial sentence with the forfeiture of all assets and money that are proceeds of the crime.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/nigerian-wonder-n27bn-pension-thief-gets-n750000-fine/

Burn, Baby, Burn!

No putting out this flame. This present house shall burn to the ground.

The next knocked engine.

Who says we need a cabotage initiative?

The wages of (naija's collective) sin....

If you can't distill kaikai...

Burning Man!

A nice way to WET the farmland. No wonder we are a food exporting nation

Can you see the look on this fellow's face? Can you see what his government and country men have reduced him to?

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/01/nigerias-illegal-oil-refineries/100439/

Pictures of Naija's illegal oil refineries and the devastation they cause to man and environment even in the President's very own backyard. Can this happen in any other country? Iraq, despite three wars and internecine conflict since then, never descended to this level.