nairavsdollars: Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture in this interview with select journalists in Lagos spoke on why the Federal Government made public alleged names of looters and why politicians in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were not included in the lists. TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI brings the excerpts:
Was it panic that caused you to release the list of alleged looters?
We were challenged to do so. Don’t forget that on their own, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that they apologised to Nigerians for the way they ran Nigeria aground and we said, yes apology is accepted, but please return the funds. I think one of them challenged us to name those who had stolen money.
I think gradually it is becoming fashionable when you remind PDP that they brought us to this sorry path, they will say stop talking about what we did, please continue with your own. But we cannot move. It is important that Nigerians remember how we got here and the same people who have made no atonement say that they want to come back to power in 2019.
So, it is important for us to remind them. Let me tell you, this government is not in any panic mood. We are so proud of our achievements that in less than three years I can stand up and say this is what we have achieved in the area of security; this is what we have achieved in the economy, in the area of ease of doing business. There is no area we have not made our mark. We lifted Nigeria from number 165 in the ease of doing business to 145. It is not a mean feat! And we exited recession at a time when the price of crude was low; we were in recession when we implemented the diversification of the economy. It is on record that despite all these challenges we have not retrenched one person. So, why should we be afraid? Why should we panic? I don’t see any reason why we should panic; I think it is the imagination of people that the government is panicky. No!
Do you intend releasing the list of alleged looters in the APC too?
There is a difference between allegations and established cases. All the cases I have mentioned (alleged PDP looters) are already in court. You see, how many times have people written that Lai Mohammed has billions of dollars? But these are allegations that are just ridiculous. I can assure you that if there is any allegation against any member of this government, this government will investigate it.
Nigerians are saying that there is no difference between PDP and APC because those people who left PDP for APC are being protected?
That is what you are saying! It would be unfair to say that everybody that joined APC from PDP is a looter, it would be unfair. I am saying that whether you are of ACN stock or PDP stock or CPC stock and you are found to be corrupt, you will be investigated.
Are you not overreaching yourself by pronouncing them guilty while they are still in court?
They have said name the looters and we said these people took money.
But don’t you think the courts may decide otherwise?
That is the business of the court. I am saying that on the 24th of February, Secondus took N100 million in cash. The then National Financial Secretary took N700 million. These are facts! They said name, and I said these are the people that were reported to have stolen money. So, what is prejudicial about it? Let them go and solve their matters in court, but if you challenge us to name names, we will name names!
You cite your achievement of taking this country out of recession, but by the time the PDP handed over, this country was not in recession. What do you think?
Recession is when a country’s GDP slows in two consecutive quarters consecutively. It is a technical term.
But this happened under your government. Isn’t it?
Yes, no doubt. But for a recession to happen you look at what preceded those two quarters. Number one, we came in May 2015 by which time the major revenue for the country, petroleum had dropped in price by almost 50percent. We came in and met virtually no savings at all. What we inherited was $23 billion; we came at a time when at least 20 states could not pay salaries. We came in at a time when infrastructure was almost zero.
The vice-president gave an example that in 2015, the ministries of transport, power, works and housing combined had less than N100 billion released for that year. Whereas the year we came in, we had N565 billion invested in the same sectors.
It is a measure of the rightness of our approach that if you want to boost the economy, you must diversify the economy. So, we went into agriculture, went into mining, went into services and what actually brought us out of recession was agriculture, mining and the rest. That we were able to come out of recession and continue to consolidate means that our Economic and Growth Plan is working.
But the projects the president is commissioning were projects done by the states?
You see when the president visits a state, he visits to reconnect with the people of the state, but of course the governors of the states would want to have the opportunity to have the president commission their projects. They are not doing it just because they want to humour or honour Mr. President. They do it also because they want the attention of Mr. President in certain areas. This morning ( Friday) I was with Mr. President at the Eko Atlantic City. It was an extremely successful visit because Mr. President saw the enormity of the work going on at the Eko Atlantic City and the state government knows that you need this rapport with the federal government in order to achieve a lot.
On Thursday, I was with the president to commission the Ikeja Bus Terminal and the governor revealed there that Mr. President approved a waiver of customs duties payable for about 400 buses that are coming. This is because the president saw how that terminal is going to impact on the city. You can imagine what that waiver means to the Lagos State Government. So, when Mr. President comes to commission projects in the states, it is not because the federal government has no project of its own to commission.
How will you score the president on a score of 1 to 100 on how the administration has been able to achieve its campaign promises?
It is not for me to score him; it is for me to reel out what we have achieved. It is for the pubic to now say this is one percent, this is two percent, and this is three percent. Honestly, I can say without fear of equivocation that the government has done pretty well in the broad areas of economy, security and fighting corruption and the various social intervention.
I can start with the economy for instance, and I will tell you that with less than half of the revenue available to the previous government, we have been able to start a revolution in infrastructure by devoting N1.3 trillion to capital projects ranging from roads to railways to water ways to agriculture. In the area of roads, we took a N100 billion Sukuk loan and with that loan we are undertaking 25 roads spread across the six geopolitical zones.
Today, there is no area of government where you do not feel the impact of government on roads. Railways, the Lagos -Ibadan standard gauge will become operational I think at the end of 2018 or next year, meanwhile, the Calabar – Lagos has been awarded also. In the area of agriculture which is one area I think we have done very well, we have been able to create more rice farmers all over the country. From 5 million farmers, we have today about 11 million rice farmers. For you to see the rightness of our approach, so far, less than N100 billion has been invested in the anchor borrowers’ programme and we have this result.
Meanwhile, the federal government has paid more than N1.2 trillion as bailout. I can imagine if just 10percent of that were to have been invested in agriculture, probably today we would be talking of self-sufficiency not only in rice but probably in cassava and probably in wheat.
Our Anchor Borrowers’ programme has proven to be a success. In the area of the economy, you have heard me say that we inherited $23 billion in reserves; today we have $46 billion in foreign reserves. On ease of doing business we have moved from 165 to 145, in mining the activities in local mining have created thousands of jobs for people mining limestone and the rest.
In the area of the economy whether in terms of figures about employment or in terms of social infrastructure, we have done what no government has done. I don’t know of any government in Nigeria that has either fed 7.5 million pupils in one day. To many people it is not important, but can you imagine if you are feeding 7 million pupils and if it costs you just N70 to feed each pupil, it means in a day you are creating an economy of N490million across the value chain of cooks, vendors and farmers. And this has led to an increase of school enrolment. All these have been done under three years and I think we are going to embark on a road show to inspect roads that are being done in virtually every state of the federation.
We have been able to bring back many jobs by renewing these contracts and many of these contracts that this government is doing are contracts that were signed in 2007, 2009, and 2012. We have hardly awarded any new contract.
In the area of power, we inherited 2,900 MWs of power; today we are generating more than 7,000 MW of power. Of course we are unable to transmit all the power because of the state of the transmission line, and don’t forget that even that power had been largely privatised even before we came in and we had been able to give support. We guaranteed N702 billion revolving loan that if you produce, we pay and that is why you have seen this exponential increase in power supply. So, I do not see any area where we cannot say we have not made progress.
TheKingIsHere: It hit the news yesterday as the Oluwo of Iwoland in Osun state, Oba Adbulrasheed Akanbi no longer wants to be addressed as Oba but as Emir of Iwo land.
To buttress his statement he has released a picture of himself dressed up as an Emir (a northern traditional title) while sitting on the throne.
Here is the link were he denounced the title of Oba and accepted to be called Emir
concupiscent: "Heaven please are people still this naive? People die everyday for christ sake.
People should stop buying into this Oba charade.
Since his curse(s) are so potent how about laying some on Boko Haram or the herdsmen preventing people from going to farm in the very state he rules over
He should not forget that he once thrived this human trafficking "business" when he was Nigeria ambassador to Italy.
So we should also be expecting news of his demise
whether you lick the oil or dem rub am for your mouth, last last oil dey your mouth"
-concupiscent
How dare you child of a slave accuse the great OBA of BENIN KINGDOM of being involved in human trafficking. May his curse fall upon you and yours.
Th OBA has done nothing but bring sanity to EDO state. Tell your president to get rid of Boko Haram, the OBA has done his bit in his domain tell your king to do same if you have one. Ewobi nor zuo!!!
CastedDude: A woman has been arrested following a reported case of extreme violence against her grandchild. According to reports, the little girl's hands were placed in a gas stove by her grandmother until her hands got badly burnt because the hungry girl ate Indomie noodles against her grandmother's wish. The sad incident happened some days ago in Benin city, Edo state.
A well meaning Nigerian who witnessed the incident reported the case to the Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs and the Ministry has stepped in, arrested the grand mother and have taken the child to UBTH for prompt medical care and attention.
AutoJoshNG: You’re about to embark on a journey.. like heading to your home town in December... and you have to pick one of the SUVs below bearing in mind that you want a vehicle that will handle the terrible roads in Nigeria, have adequate cabin space and still enable you arrive in grand style. Which of these 3 SUVs will you set out in?
You may also want to consider factors like..
- Luxury and comfort - Infotainment capabilities. The journey shouldn’t be a boring one for you and your passengers - Durability and Reliability. Which of them will make you not feel bothered about the road as well as reaching your destination without mechanical issues. - Fuel consumption and other factors could be considered as well.
Having these factors in mind, you are now to make a choice.
khalhokage: Facebook user Henry Ikenna Ugwu posted a the horrifying tale of what almost befell an innocent woman.
True Story: How I Saved a Girl from Jungle Justice in Onitsha
Last Saturday, I was traveling to Imo state. I stopped over at Onitsha, picked a bike to Upper Iweka to drop at another park where I would board another bus. As I was paying the bike man, I sighted a dark rough-looking man drag a girl by her blouse. The force was so much that, instantly, the girl’s blouse was torn.
The man went ahead to push her down and started dragging her along the floor. Because I had been rounded by passenger hustlers, I had to pay for my ticket ASAP considering that the bus was about leaving. But they didn’t have change.
They were running around for change when I looked again and saw that the girl had been stripped to her pants, battered and still being dragged on the floor. By this time, it wasn’t the man alone; a crowd of men (emphasis on MEN) had joined him. They surrounded her. I could hardly see her as the men were shouting, “O zuru ori” (“She stole”). I was confused. I have never witnessed jungle justice like this in my life.
The men who had gathered were all hefty, rugged-looking, thick-voiced – you know the regular Upper Iweka agberos. The girl kept screaming yet her voice was completely swallowed up by the men. People were filming already with their phones, and screaming “Kpo ya oku” (“Set her ablaze”).
Concerned, I asked a woman seated close to me to go there and save the girl. Maybe they’d respect her as an elder. She replied, “Look at this one. It seems you’re new here. Leave them. She stole. Let them kill her.” A man in the bus chipped in: “That was how one girl entered my aunty’s shade, said she was on her period and she needed to wear pad, only for her to enter my aunty’s shade and steal all her money. If no be say I dey inside bus now I for join hand beat am.”
So, we would just fold our hands and watch someone burn to death? But I couldn’t. I looked at a guy in the front seat – he was about my age. He smiled and winked at me (maybe it was his own way of saying, “That was the right thing you said”) and proceeded to tell another man recording the incident to stop; he asked the man if he would be recording if it was his sister there. That statement alone impressed me. I was relieved I wasn’t alone. I told him to come down from the bus. When he did, I appealed to him to help me save the girl. He nodded and asked how we would do that.
I pointed at a pure water seller. “Buy four,” I said. He did. “Now when I get into that crowd splash the water.” He said Okay. No objection.
I pressed into the crowd and he splashed the water. Reacting to that, the crowd dispersed a little. I could see the girl and the man who had accused her. I went straight to the man and held him by his belt, asking him what the girl stole. At first, my intention was to convince the crowd that whatever she stole was not enough to kill her. And because stealing is a sin, killing her is another sin. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I wanted to solicit for pardon. For her to be handed over to the police. But I was shivering within me yet I was able to scream over and over, “Wetin she steal?!”.
All the man said was: “Somebody stole something in main market and she is the person”. The woman who was in the bus with me had already appeared. She asked the man, “And you didn’t catch the person in Main Market?” That was how sense entered their heads. The crowd started asking the girl what she stole. She made it clear that she didn’t steal anything, that she was buying something and felt a sharp push, and the next thing she was there on the floor. That she hasn’t been to Main Market. Suddenly, the Accuser pushed through the crowd and started running.
Apparently, he wasn’t alone in whatever he was planning. A keke pulled up, he jumped in and drove off. Later, someone would say that this was a new style of kidnapping. Apparently, they had wanted to drag the girl into the keke and drive off with her in the guise of taking her to the police station. Obviously, they lost control.
The women started raining curses on the Accuser as they helped the teary girl with clothes. Some men took it upon themselves to find him and beat him up. The bus conductor handed me my change and asked me to get in the bus. On our way out I took this pic below, a cluster of people apologizing to the girl.
I am sharing this story because I want us all, especially young people, to stand up against jungle justice anywhere. Add your voice and help rescue the situation instead of standing there, recording with your phone or complaining about it. You can start by sharing this so others can find courage too. # SayNoToJungleJustice
PS: Women need to wake up in this country and know that they have as much power as the men. Knowing how much women have suffered in the hands of patriarchy in this country and around the world, how can you see a crowd of men surrounding a woman and you just wave it off and continue with what you’re doing?
Automobile makers usually try to find the best way to build a car, but Mazda had the unenviable task of finding the best way to destroy over 4,703 brand new cars.
It all started in 2006 when a ship carrying 4,703 brand new cars consisting of 2804 Mazda 3s, 1329 CX-7s, 295 MX-5s, 214 RX-8s, 56 Mazda 5s, and 5 Mazda speed 6s worth $103m nearly sank in the Pacific.
The freighter, the Cougar Ace, spent weeks on the high seas, leaning at approximately 60 degrees, but was eventually righted in an operation that cost the life of one of the team members.
Having saved the cars, Mazda was now faced with the dilemma of what to do with them. Turning down options to donate, or in some cases even sell the cars to fire extrication trainers, auto repair schools, or even Hollywood for stunts.
They were worried about getting sued someday if, to say, an air-bag failed to fire properly due to overexposure to salty sea air.
Mazda was also worried that scammers might find a way to sell the cars abroad, to Countries like Nigeria, as new. That happened to thousands of so-called hurricane "Katrina cars" salvaged from New Orleans' flooding years ago.
Initially Mazda said that only 68 cars had been damaged in the crash, either by slipping their moorings or rolling into other vehicles, but it was eventually decided that all 4,700 vehicles needed to be crushed.
Mazda carefully render each part inoperable, cutting all four wheels in half, shred the cars, and recycle the steel, probably into new cars. They created a purpose-built machine to detonate all six airbags at once.
After that, one by one, the Mazdas were loaded into an Overbuilt portable crusher,where the cars are crushed.
Mazda said :We certainly didn’t save any money crushing,”. “What we saved was our reputation.”
Joelsblog: Nollywood movie has gone wrong as Actors fight on set, I have forgotten the name this actor to be sincere biko... Lalasticlala just watch the video and tell me watch you think
agbotikuyo: Kano is a state with a high number of electorates and is also a state that influences the NW. mostly any candidate that is popular in Kano is also popular in other NW states.
As 2019 approaches, there is a battle for the heart of Kano between former governor Kwankwaso and his former ex turned governor, Gaduje. This has cause a lot of bad blood and even a physical fight between supporter.
This video puts some insight on the relationship between the parties involved.
Politics › Re: BREAKING | APC Disowns Philip Obin, Blacklists @apcnigeria Twitter Handle by Born2Breed(f): 6:25pm On Apr 06, 2018
