₦airaland Forum

Olusola Fabiyi and Ihuoma Chiedozie

The Presidential Election Tribunal on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by the Congress for Progressive Change asking the panel to enter judgment in its favour.



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The petitioner has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to allow it access to the biometric materials as ordered by the court.

The CPC is challenging the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan in the April poll, while INEC and People's Democratic Party are the defendants.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Mohammed Garba said the petitioner interpreted the order of the court wrongly.

"The order that we made is just to allow the petitioner see, evaluate the materials in the premises of the commission; it was not a fiat for the petitioner to take them away," he said.

But the CPC faulted the position of the panel that the order to inspect the election materials precluded making copies of same for the purpose of reinforcing the petition of the party.

The CPC said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, that the decision of the reconstituted election panel, presided by Justice Muhammed Garba, did not come to it as a surprise.

The tribunal had earlier dismissed the application filed by the CPC, asking it to enter judgment in its favour on the refusal of the INEC to give the party unfettered access to the election materials in its custody, based on the unequivocal order of the same court on May 24, 2011.

Commenting on the ruling, the party said, "Indeed, it is a sad day in the dispensation of Justice in the land. Undoubtedly, this ruling was not unexpected because a plot of the trajectory of the demeanour of the terrestrial powers in the land, in recent times, showed the nauseous compromises in the nation's judiciary"

It said the ruling was at variance with the order of the same court on May 24.

The party added, "Undoubtedly, today's ruling has further exacerbated the feelings of anguish and angst from the citizenry occasioned by the unprecedented vitiation of the rule of Law, ably spearheaded by the top echelon of the nation's judiciary in recent times. The obviously convoluted ruling ominously left many questions unanswered." http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/7/828.html

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Former military president and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, General Ibrahim Babangida, has declared that he stands by his earlier comments that former president and Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, mismanaged the national revenue while in office.


Obasanjo


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Speaking with journalists on the eve of his 70th birthday in Minna, Niger State last month, Babangida alluded to Obasanjo’s administration as having mismanaged the revenue. But recent media reports had quoted the former military president as saying that he was misquoted by newsmen.

However, reacting in a statement issued yesterday, the media aide to General Babangida, Prince Kassim Afegbua, disclosed that his boss never recanted his allegation of squandermania that characterised the Obasanjo’s government, particularly the $16 billion allegedly wasted on power project.

The statement reads: “We have read several news reports suggesting that former president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, recanted his comments on former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR . He wishes to state very clearly and without fear of contradiction, that there is nothing like “recant” on his part.

“What General IBB stated on the 30th August, 2011 was that the media misquoted him on his earlier interview granted prior to his birthday on 17th August, 2011. The contents of the newspapers’ reports were different from the screaming headlines that were carried. That perhaps informed Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s misplaced outburst to the effect of calling General IBB a fool at 70.

“General IBB still stands by the contents of that interview where he made allusion to the squander-mania that characterized Chief Obasanjo’s government with particular reference to the $16billion reportedly wasted on a fruitless power project, as revealed by the National Assembly power probe panel. There was nothing extra-ordinary in what General IBB said to warrant Chief Obasanjo’s outburst and scathing remarks on the person of General Babangida.

“In the light of the above, he wishes to state unequivocally that the idea or notion or impression of a recant does not arise at all. His response to Chief Obasanjo’s outburst remains in force and valid, hence, it will be wrong for anyone to report that “IBB recanted” on his earlier position. He will not allow history to record it for him that he kept mum when someone reportedly called him a fool. All the issues raised in his earlier response have not been contradicted by Chief Obasanjo, save that he resorted to name-calling and abuse. He still holds the position very strongly that former President Obasanjo’s government recorded the highest revenue in the history of Nigeria from independence in 1960 till 1999 when his government came into force.

“Over N16 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government during Obasanjo’s government, out of which about N7.4trillion was spent by the Federal Government. This is aside from other non-oil income that accrued to his government within the same period. Needless to state that the government went on a spending spree, which culminated in several sharp practices and abuses particularly in the privatization exercise. The records are gradually becoming glaring for all to see, no, thanks to the National Assembly probe panel.

“He will be prepared to offer further clarifications should the need arise but let it be recorded that there was nothing like recantation as previously reported,” the statement noted.


http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/7/505.html

TO an average Bayelsan, taking a walk on the streets of the state capital, Yenagoa, or any other town and community in the oil rich state, comes with a lot of risks and unexpected costly sacrifices. Organised crimes such as armed robbery or attacks on banks by hoodlums have faded away as a result of the steady patrols by the police and the activities of the special security outfit, code named "Operation Famou Tangbei".



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Notwithstanding, the recent upsurge in cult violence in the state has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of insecurity among the people, even as tension builds up against the February 2012 governorship poll.

It is quite worrisome and inexplicable that many cultist groups have thrived in the state despite the efforts of the security agencies to rid Bayelsa of criminals.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that supremacy tussle among these warring cult groups has shattered the seeming peace and tranquillity being enjoyed by the Ijaws as violent clashes during the day and night often culminate in pandemonium and loss of lives. Whenever such development occurs, residents at the scene of the clashes are made to go through horrors, with trepidation and psychological trauma of killings and maiming perpetrated by the cultists.

More worrisome is the startling discovery of cultist groups among pupils of secondary schools in the state, some of who were about three months ago, arrested by men of the Bayelsa State Police Command, during an initiation procedures on their new entrants.

Available statistics shows that no fewer than six persons had lost their lives to the mayhem between June and August 2011, just as 20 youths were arrested following the last cult clash, which occurred on 27th, August at Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.

Horrible skirmishes of about three Sundays, involving feuding cults groups would not be forgotten in a hurry by residents of Akemfa and Ekeki neighbourhoods, in Yenagoa Local Government area. On that particular day alone, three persons were shot dead around 10.30pm when rival groups engaged themselves in a fierce battle that lasted for almost an hour. Pedestrians, residents and shop owners within these areas trembled as sporadic gunshots rent the air, a chaotic development that forced some pubs located in the affected areas to hurriedly close their shops.

Commenting on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bayelsa State Police Command, ASP Eguaveon Emopkae stated that, "it is true that three persons were shot dead in some areas, but we are on top of the situation.

Continuing, he explained that "The Sunday killing was a cult related issue. It happened in Yenagoa Division. At Akemfa, one person was shot dead around 8.30am and there was also another killing around Ekeki in the night. But I can assure you that we are doing our best to make sure that the perpetrators of the dastardly acts are apprehended soonest."

No sooner than the security concern raised by the killing subsided, last week Monday, was characterised by another spilling of blood as battle between members of cult societies identified as Icelanders and Greenlanders left two persons suspected to be their members dead.

That latest violence, Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered, sparked off when adherents of the Icelanders group were attempting to carry out forceful initiation of some youths of Onopa area, Yenagoa, into their group. Subsequently, the refusal of few of them to be initiated attracted a kingpin of Greenlanders, a rival cult, thereby resulting in a gun duel, while axes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons were freely used to attack each other in a free for all.

Timely intervention of the police prevented the violence from escalating, while they also succeeded in arresting 20 persons, alleged to have participated in the clash. The police PPRO hinted that victims of the cult war and those that sustained severe injuries had been taken to Patani General Hospital, in Delta State.

Surprisingly, a lady, who supplies members of the Icelanders cult with marijuana and other concoctions such as "monkey tail" was apprehended with a "Ghana Must Go" bag stuffed with dried Indian hemp.

However, the fear being expressed in some quarters now is the vulnerability of the cultists to the monetary enticement of desperate politicians, who may have perfected plans to use them in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Already, there are allegations that some top local government officials in Bayelsa have recruited a number of cultists to cow their political opponents and also use them to perpetrate electoral violence as preparations for the much awaited gubernatorial poll gathers momentum.

A social commentator, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune under condition of anonymity, contended that "the menace of these cult groups must be halted as fast as possible by the law enforcement agencies if peace must reign in this state."

"We cannot continue to live with bated breath, owing to the inimical activities of cultists, whose attacks have constituted great threat to the peace and healthy co-existence among the people. Government should be alive to its responsibilities and do something concrete to eradicate cultism by providing job opportunities to a larger percentage of idle youths in this state. If they have something doing, that could guarantee them some means of livelihood, there will be no tendency for them to be lured into cultism. Unemployment has substantially fuelled the number of cultists in Bayelsa State and this is a fact that can be easily disputed if otherwise."

Meanwhile, gun wielding cultists, continued their attack, on Sunday night, in Yenagoa, as they gunned down another three persons, in a relaxation joint at Kpansia area, in Yenagoa Local Government.

Investigations by Nigerian Tribune indicated that the cultists, who stormed the pub around 8.30pm in a car, moved swiftly to where their targets were sitting and opened fire, killing instantly the victims before escaping after confirming that they were dead.

Among their latest victims was an undergraduate of a university in one of the South- South states.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/7/604.html

Written by Leon Usigbe, Abuja
Wednesday, September 7, 2011

PRESIDENTGoodluckJonathan has received the report by the Emeka Anyaoku-led Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations which carried out a comprehensive review of Nigeria's foreign policy, declaring that a stable domestic political and economic environment was essential for a successful and robust foreign policy.



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The review was handed to the president in State House, Abuja on Tuesday for his consideration and possible adoption.

Speaking during the ceremony, Jonathan said while the 2011 general election raised the country's profile in the international arena, his administration would work hard to consolidate on the success, even as he noted that a lot of work would be done to strengthen the country's economy in the next few years.

Jonathan observed that Nigeria had sacrificed lives and resources towards restoring peace to many countries in Africa without commensurate national benefit.

He thanked the council for the work done and promised a thorough consideration of the proposals by relevant organs of government.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the council, and former secretary general of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said the proposals presented to the president were formed on the basis of extensive discussions, brainstorming sessions and inputs from very wide participation in the seminar on the Review of Nigeria's Foreign Policy.

The work of the council stemmed from a directive by the president last year May for the review of Nigeria's foreign policy after 50 years of independence.
http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/7/604.html

JANZOUR, Libya -- When the sun sets on the refugee camp for black Africans that has sprung up at the marina in this town six miles west of Tripoli, the women here brace for the worst.

The rebels who ring the camp suddenly open fire. Then they race into the camp, shouting "gabbour, gabbour" - Arabic for LovePeddler - and haul away young women, residents say.

"You should be here in the evening, when they come in firing their guns and taking people," one woman from Nigeria said Wednesday as she recounted the nightly raids on the camp. "They don't use condoms, they use whatever they can find," she said, pointing to a discarded plastic bag in a pile of trash.

As she spoke, other women standing nearby nodded in agreement.

There is no way to know how many women have been violated here, where hundreds of Africans have settled in and around the boats of a marina. No one keeps statistics in the camp, and foreign aid workers say they are prohibited from discussing the allegations on the record. International Red Cross representatives say only that they have spoken to rebel leaders about "security concerns."

But the story that women tell is part of a larger picture of abuse of black Africans in Libya that is emerging in the wake of the rebel victory, born of allegations that deposed strongman Moammar Gadhafi often hired sub-Saharan Africans to fight for him.

Hundreds of black Africans have been swept up and are being held in makeshift prisons awaiting some sort of judicial finding of whether they were mercenaries or not. Thousands more are trapped in refugee camps. They can't leave the camps, they say, for fear they'll be targeted on the streets. They do not feel safe inside the camps, either.

Human rights advocates have decried what appears to be mistreatment of black African workers, and U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz, speaking in Washington on Wednesday, admitted it's a growing problem.

"We've seen fairly credible reports that there has been some mistreatment of African migrants," Cretz told McClatchy. He said the U.S. was trying to work with rebel leaders to prevent abuse, which he blamed on young rebels who are confusing Africans who might have fought as mercenaries for Gadhafi with the hundreds of thousands of sub-Saharan Africans who were working in Libya when the rebels took over.

"We don't think it's a systematic or intentional problem on the part of the Libyan authorities," Cretz said. "It's something that's happening at levels below that, which is of considerable concern to us."

Cretz said the rebels' National Transitional Council is working with the United Nations and other international relief organizations to ease the situation.

There was little evidence of such efforts at the marina here, however. At the nearby headquarters of the revolutionary forces in the area, Mohammed Abdullah Fatouri, the head of the military council, said that he was unaware of any problems in the camp.

"Have them bring a letter," he said. "If they tell us this is happening, we will protect them."

At the camp itself, fear is pervasive. When a car bearing two armed rebels drove into the camp, men and women scattered.

It was not clear what the rebels wanted. Someone said they were looking for laborers. Perhaps emboldened by a pair of European TV camera crews, however, some of the camp's residents confronted the rebels. An older man, apparently the translator for one of the European TV crews, intervened, and after a few minutes, the militiamen got back in the car and drove off.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/07/2395392/african-women-say-rebels-violated.html#ixzz1XKRCI8Fl

DID A POST ON THIS TOPIC MUCH EARLIER. 
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-746889.0.html

Na Wa O. wat is going on?

Rochas show us the way becos we are behind u.

This lopsided problem was perpetuated in the years of military dictatorship that saw Northerners occupying the executive offices of federal parasitical.

It was further perpetuated under the Government of Obansanjo that saw Yorubas enjoying over-representation in the Federal Offices.

I hope GEJ passes an act of parliament to ensure over representation of particular groups and under representation of others is a thing of the past. 

Local solution to local problems with the right banking and regulations in place is all we need.

@ OAM4J, Sorry about dat. https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-753390.64.html

From Marcel Mbamalu (Lagos) and Ann Godwin (Port Harcourt)

Okonjo-Iweala craves fair sharing of facilities


World Bank tasks Africa on local investment

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FROM the World Bank has come admonition that African countries should encourage local investment as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) alone will not deliver the required growth.

Vice President of the global bank for African Region, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili gave the advice in Lagos yesterday at a forum on the role of the media in Africa's development.

She spoke as Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, called for fair sharing of facilities among the federating units of Nigeria.

Ezekwesili who stressed the need for Africa to build enough resilience for engendering and sustaining a new phase of economic growth, noted that agriculture and agro-based businesses are critical to growth of national economies on the continent.

According to her, " Foreign Direct Investment alone could not accelerate growth and so there is need for African governments, including Nigeria to work towards encouraging entrepreneurship and local investments."

Ezekwesili expressed regret that although 70 per cent of rural Africa engages in farming activities, governments do not encourage competitiveness of the smallholder farmer as a key to economic growth.

She said: "The quality of the growth in Africa has not enabled it to spread to a larger part of the citizens. Therefore, to achieve that, you need to diversify the sources of growth. Zambia mirrors the story of places like Nigeria and the DRC where there is predominance of an enclave type economy coming out of commodities. What this means is that there is a limited range of people that benefit in the economic growth in those societies.

"How do you change the dialogue, in terms of the core priorities of the state in being the facilitator of economic growth? About 70 per cent of rural Africa is engaged in farming. Now, what is the productivity of that sector? That is going to matter. There is need for inclusive growth. The competitiveness of the smallholder farmer in Africa is a key issue. Agriculture is the biggest private sector on the continent, yet it is one sector that has suffered great neglect. We, at the World Bank, have, in the last three years, prioritised our agriculture engagement. We tripled our investment in agriculture in the last three years."

The forum was organised ahead of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund scheduled for September 23, 2011 in Washington DC. The four-hour dialogue with media executives was part of efforts to implement the World Bank's strategy for Africa that was adopted in March this year.

Okonjo-Iweala's call for fair share of facilities was made yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State during the launching of the second mandate of the Federal Character Commission.

The minister emphasised that equitable distribution of positions and appointments would have little impact on the living conditions of the people if there is imbalance in the distribution of socio-economic infrastructure across the country.

"The only way to achieve the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration especially in the areas of providing jobs and creation of wealth remains an equitable distribution of facilities in the federating unit".

While reiterating her stand to contribute to the repositioning of the economy, the Minister said it was based on the above condition, expressing support for the Federal Character Commission in its pursuit to ensure equity, fairness and justice.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/6/2.html

Simon Utebor

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi on Monday said the pattern of recruitment into the federal ministries, departments and agencies since the establishment of the Federal Character Commission had been lopsided.


Amaechi

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Represented by his deputy, Mr. Tele Ikuru, the governor stated this at a national retreat on 'Transformation of Nigeria: Role of Federal Character Commission, the Second Mandate,' in Port Harcourt.

Amaechi stated, "But I am sadly aware that 15 years of the establishment and operations of the commission, the pattern of recruitment into most federal ministries, departments and agencies has continued to perpetuate lopsidedness rather than reduce it.

"As a result, only very few states hover within the ideal and targeted category of adequate representation (2.5 per cent - 3 per cent) while one set of majority keeps waxing strong in the club of over-representation.

"The larger set (including Rivers) forms the under-represented group in the aggregation of the MDAs."

He maintained that Federal Character Principle was both a panacea for eradicating inherited imbalances and a recipe for institutionalising equitable participation in national affairs.

With Dan Onwukwe ( 08023022170 dan_onwukwe@yahoo.com )

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Soon after Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s election as Governor of Imo State, I congratulated him through a newspaper article part of which read as follows: “Ndi Imo have given Rochas a pedestal no politician in Igboland has achieved in recent times and that is mass passion.



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What will Rochas make of it? The choice is his.”

Truth be told, the mass of Imo people and even some persons outside Imo had very high expectations from Rochas. In just three months of his Governorship however, the euphoria in the state is waning. That is to be expected after every election and not just in Nigeria as the reality of governance dawns. However, comments are coming too quick on the performance and direction of the Rochas’ government in just under 100 days.

The Igbo people are not too difficult to govern if you are able to show them you mean well. I will cite two examples – Zik and Mbakwe. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe came into Nigerian politics with about the best educational attainment among his peers and also with the most exposed world view anyone at the time could boast of. Zik made at least two fundamental contributions to the Igbo race. The first was psychological: he brought a sense of “We can do it. We are excellent.

We have confidence in ourselves and who we are.” The second was in education. Zik whose core philosophy was show the light so the people can find the way, did show the way and we rose to the occasion. He stimulated a generation of men following his example to seek the golden fleece. Following the inspiration of Zik, even rather impoverished Igbo communities built their own schools. Communities became challenged. By 1950, and especially in the 1960s, the difference in the educational levels of the peoples on the coast of Nigeria (who had earlier fraternity with the white man’s education) and those in the Igbo hinterland had been considerably bridged. This was just in twenty years or so. And what Zik really did was to provide a conceptual framework and the inspiration that fed the ‘I-can-do’ spirit.

Dee Sam Mbakwe remains the best post –civil war leader of the Igbo in terms of his commitment, sincerity of purpose and tangible achievements. I put him after Zik. After one year of Chief Achike Udenwa administration I had to do a study of the Mbakwe government, published as THE GLORIOUS MBAKWE ERA in 2002, with the hope that people could learn and take corrections. Governance is for the common good and not a parochial enterprise. A government seeking to succeed must do at least four things which are visible in Mbakwe’s government. These are: first, identify what needs the people have, pursue those needs of the people sincerely, take all the components of the state as to be served and not a section of the state. In other words, be even – handed, and fourthly, if the Governor sees an area or direction he wants to take the people, which the people are not yet conscious of, he must make efforts to convince them to go ahead. In effect, the governor must lead and not rule.

Recently, we honoured Mbakwe’s secretary of Government Professor Enoch Anyanwu with a symposium at the multipurpose hall. At that event, I said: In four glorious years, as stated in my book, THE GLORIOUS MBAKWE ERA, a government conceived, built (and in most cases people actually started using), the Imo State University with two functional campuses at Etiti and Aba and another three planned for Awomama, Uvuru and Umuahia, Concorde Hotel Owerri, Resin and Paint Mbaise, Imo Modern Poultry Avutu, Paper Packaging Owerre-Ebiri, Integrated Aluminium Products Naze, Sachs Hercules Naze, Floor Tiles Nsu, Abadaba Lake Resort, Enyimba Hotels Aba, Aluminium Extrusion Inyishi, Golden Guinea Breweries modernization and expansion Umuahia, Metallurgical Complex Aba, Metallurgical Complex Umuahia, Golden Chicken Ogwe, three Power stations at Amaraku, Izombe and Mbalano, Waste Recycling Plant Ofeme, among others. There were also several roads creatively identified and built, urban renewal programs, regional water schemes, etc. These are only a few of what that government achieved in a few sectors, and in just four years.

What is clear from the Mbakwe era is the originality of the programmes. It is clear that serious thinking went into what that government did. Based on the situation at the time, priorities were set and pursued with commitment and there were linkages between each of these activities.

What we learn from the above is that it is possible to be better than we have been. Zik gave us education, but he never really built schools for us nor offered each of us scholarships. He showed us the light and we found the way. Mbakwe gave us electricity, with Imo State having perhaps the most rural electricity access in Nigeria, but Mbakwe never brought poles and transformers to over 90% of our villages. He showed us the light and we found the way. The commonest projects of communal launch in the 1980s and up to the 90s in Imo state was electricity related. Zik and Mbakwe tapped into our Igbo self-help communal characteristics. It is the search of what next and how next, and the crises of direction in Imo state, that has given rise to the situation in which most of our communal development activities are now limited to the churches, rebuilding churches or anything the priests ask us to do.

Government has never and will never do everything for the Igbo. What we need are leaders, and not rulers.

The challenge for Rochas is to interpret his era and challenge us his people who showered so much passion and are therefore legitimately entitled to much expectation from him. He ought to understand and tap into our strengths, weaknesses and needs. We have the opportunity to build on our areas of strengths.

Imo state has suffered much financial and manpower outflow in the last years, contributing to the collapse of the agricultural, industrial, construction and other sectors. Many of our rich people have reduced the rate at which they even visit home or build houses in the villages for fear of crime. That also has reduced rural and urban employment and income. Deficit financial flow into Imo State has to be reversed as a matter of priority. We basically need to bring money into Imo state and the money is in the Imo and Igbo Diaspora, in and outside Nigeria.

When I see the United Kingdom and how they reformed their education sector to obtain serious funds flow into the education systems and economy, when I see the state of Israel and how they have packaged religious tourism and pilgrimage and how much it brings into Israel, when I see the English premiership and its transformation compared to the Italian and Spanish leagues that were the rave some years ago. When I see what United Arab Emirates has done with Dubai as tourism and shopping hub and what they are doing now with Abu Dhabi as intellectual, and education hub, I see possibilities of what a people committed and enlightened can do.

When I look across the Niger and see the vision of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and the Asaba Airport and the engagement of the Business group in Onitsha and Nnewi, I see what a government focused can achieve. When we have created the pre-conditions for a thriving tourism sector adapted to contemporary Imo and Nigeria, even without exceptional natural endowments, we can learn from the French and their Eifel Tower in Paris or the Chinese and their Great Wall and recent human creations as the Water Cube and the Bird Nest. But not an imaginary tourism industry that offers only obscure hotels and immorality as some people will like to see Owerri, which cannot be the point of commencement to drive economic and transformation, as Cross River state ought be learning with the embarrassment Tinapa may have become.

Imo can become the education centre of Nigeria. Rochas can engage the churches in this regard, being the most alive institutions in Imo state. He can borrow from Osun state and her model of University. He can use the Mbakwe model in electricity to pipe water into every Imo village in the next four year. History beckons at Governor Rochas Okorocha. He has excited passion among our people and what he does with it will define his own fame or infamy. I’d rather all my Governors were leaders and live in fame. The challenge before Rochas calls for clear headed thinking and having a holistic picture of what he wants to do, when and how to do them.

Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba Lectures at Imo State University, Owerri.


http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/6/514.html

^^ lol, My point exactly. 

[size=18pt]Good move. PDP should not be the only route to Igbo 2015 Presidential goal. Who wants a Northern President in this day and age?[/size]

Mods, let us have this falsehood in the tribal section. https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/board-20.0.html

[b[size=18pt]]I have now recieved confirmation dat this story is falsehood. Very shameful that Nigerian Journalist publish lies to get high rating. As for you bigot jubilating at the prospects of Igbo joining ur vampire group termed boko haram can now keep dream. Igbo's in general next time should have a little mor faith in themselves and know wat they can do and wat they can't. [/size] [/b]

^^Another Hausa(Master) loving Yoruba(Servant). So Wat??

^^lollz BOKO HARAM DID NOT ALL ESCAPE NIGERIA PRISON WITH OUT HELP ON SOME LEVEL BY AUTHORITY IN THE MILITARAY THAT ARE PREDOMINANTLY NORTHERNERS.

Warri Boy, no dey carry last. o

Our correspondent

A United States Government cable released by Wikileaks has exposed a deal that helped terrorism suspects of Northern origin to escape trial and prison after arrest.



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The cable with reference id: #08ABUJA538 was sent to the US State Department by a former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Robin Rene Sanders, on March 20, 2008.

The cable reveals that the State Security Service and the Northern traditional system reached an understanding for the secretive release and non-trial of terrorism suspects from the region. The deal provided that terrorism suspects from the region would be released to a carefully selected group of traditional rulers and Imams shortly after their arrest.

Our correspondent reports that nearly all of the terrorism suspects arrested in the North belong to the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Sanders wrote that that the deal was part of a SSS program called "Perception Management," which aimed to reform terrorism suspects and promote the notion that religious extremists in the region had no foreign affiliations. Among other conditions, terrorism suspects who benefitted from the programme agreed to submit to routine monitoring by the SSS, report regularly to the SSS and abandon extremism.

The cable says the SSS programme was "aimed at de-radicalising and reforming Muslims, who have espoused or otherwise participated in extremist-cum-terrorist activities. Under this plan, individuals are released from police or SSS custody and entrusted to "sureties," most of whom are imams or respected traditional leaders in the North.

"In late January, the Sultan of Sokoto (Nigeria's preeminent traditional ruler and communal leader of Nigeria's 70 million Muslims) told PolOff (political officer) (that) the Sultanate in concert with the 13 emirates of the North is "quietly" working to leverage influence on the region's Islamic leadership to combat rising extremism and radicalisation of Muslim youth.

"A member of the Sultan's inner circle told PolOff the SSS Director (General) reportedly gave the Sultan his assurance that the SSS would not legally pursue the suspects if the North agreed to take custody of them and "reform their ways."

The cable says that in some cases suspects were released despite been caught with explosives, arms and ammunition, or linked to the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It says 12 suspects arrested and detained by the SSS in October 2007 for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks were released at different times in January and February 2008. Another US government cable says some of the suspects were later implicated in bombings and attacks claimed by Boko Haram.

The cable says despite what an SSS agent described to an American official as "overwhelming" and "undeniable" evidence, at least one suspect arraigned in court was cleverly left off by the SSS who did not provide evidence that could nail him.

The SSS, according to the former US ambassador, claimed the suspect's release was facilitated because his health had failed. But Sanders countered that the suspect "did not appear to PolOff in ill health, but rather in good spirits and fully coherent." The cable claims that the SSS went to a great length to ensure that terrorism suspects from the North did not end up in jail. Some of the desperate actions taken by the SSS included persuading Imams to take the suspects under their wings.

The cable says, "The PolOff (political officer) spoke January 21, and again March 16, with Kaduna- and Kano-based imams, who had been contacted by the SSS and entreated to serve as "sureties" for the 12 individuals noted above."

However, Sanders noted that while the SSS pushed on with the plan, some of the imams "contended that the so-called de-radicalisation efforts of the SSS were not only ill-conceived, but also ineffective, counter-productive, and unimpressive."

The cable claimed that Nigerian leaders and the Northern establishment in particular didn't want terrorism to be associated with the country or the region.

"The release of the 12 individuals suspected of AQIM links and to planning terrorist attacks in Nigeria may be connected to overtures made by the SSS to northern traditional and Islamic leaders. While several imams have been reticent to concede that extremism (or terrorism) may obtain in the North, several others have told PolOff that they (and not the Government of Nigeria) are far more capable of dealing with extremism, contending that the matter must be dealt with internally, given local sensitivities and customs.

"In addition, the Sultan's many public statements, remarking that al-Qaeda and terrorists do not exist in the North, may concern the North's desire to protect its image. In any case, the Sultan has no special access to information to determine if terrorists indeed have inflitrated the country or not, or whether individuals are being actively recruited for terrorist activities. All the while, it remains important to note that while terrorism represents a salient issue for the USG, neither the GON nor the Islamic leaders we have talked with necessarily give it as much prominence as we would like or expect."

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/6/841.html

I HAVE SEARCHED ALL THE NEWS NETWORK AND FOUND NOTHING OF SUCH BEING REPORTED, RATHER ALL OTHER ARTICLES READ "Bomb factory discovered in Abuja, six people arrested".

[quote author=South-East link=topic=753390.msg9093152#msg9093152 date=1315328791][size=15pt]Article was written by, Oluokun Ayorinde, a Yoruba.[/size] So standard Yoruba journalistic anti-Igbo propaganda. Yorubas were the first terrorists in Nigeria. They hijacked a plane filled with fellow Nigerians a few years ago. Then recently a Yoruba bombed Lagos trying to kill a pastor whom he claimed owed him money.[/quote][size=18pt]THAT JOURNALIST SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH THE BOKO HAREM ELITE PAID HIM FOR THIS DIVERSION ARTICLE.[/size]

[size=18pt]Same papers dat claimed Ojukwu was Dead. I dey laugh ooo. Standard Yoruba Journalism and BOKO HARAM Elite Diversion Strategy. Nice one guys!! [/size] 

Nothing money can't buy as far as our military dictators are concerned.