http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/2015/02/12/nigerias-elections-a-perilous-postponement/


Crisis Group’s Africa Program assembled this Question & Answer paper following the recent postponement by six weeks of Nigeria’s general elections that were due on 14 and 28 February.

Why are the postponement, and Nigeria’s wider electoral challenges, important for Africa?

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country (est. 178 million) and largest economy (GDP over $500 billion). The growing risk of instability could have profound security, humanitarian and economic implications. Furthermore, any subversion of the country’s democratic progress could dampen democratic developments on the continent. In West Africa, particularly, Nigeria’s election was supposed to be the first of six such polls this year. The postponement is a poor example to a region already going through numerous upheavals.

What are the implications of this postponement for the elections?

The postponement gives President Goodluck Jonathan, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), six extra weeks to rally support and undermine the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former military head of state Muhammadu Buhari – and, in Nigeria, an incumbent president has enormous powers and resources to do that. But the postponement will also intensify the long-running acrimony between the two major political parties, aggravate tensions between the north (largely Muslim and pro-Buhari) and the south (largely Christian and substantially pro-Jonathan) and could provoke further violence. Moreover, as the role of the military in the postponement has raised serious questions about its political neutrality, opposition protesters may not accept the army as a credible peace enforcer if, as it seems likely, post-election violence erupts.

How and why were the elections postponed?

On 7 February, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, announced that national and state elections, originally scheduled for 14 and 28 February, had been postponed to 28 March and 11 April, respectively. This added further tension to what was already the most contentious election season since Nigeria turned from military to civilian rule in 1999, with violence rising ahead of the polls and mounting risks of violence afterwards.

In West Africa, particularly, Nigeria’s election was supposed to be the first of six such polls this year. The postponement is a poor example to a region already going through numerous upheavals.
The first call for postponement came from President Jonathan’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, in Chatham House, London, on 22 January. The call, he said, was based on his observation that INEC was yet to deliver Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to millions of voters.

This raised public objections with many questioning the NSA’s improper attempt to influence the electoral commission. Nonetheless, on 4 February, Dasuki increased the pressure for postponement by writing to INEC indicating security could not be guaranteed in fourteen local government areas in the north east where Boko Haram has been waging a brutal insurgency since 2010 (Nigeria has 774 local government areas). He strongly advised INEC Chairman Jega to reschedule the elections by six weeks, arguing that such a shift would still fall within legal provisions and that the government “hoped” to restore normalcy to the north east by then.

The next day, 5 February, at a meeting of the National Council of State (NCS), a consultative forum comprising current and past presidents and chaired by President Jonathan, military and other security chiefs told the INEC chairman that they had just launched a major, decisive offensive against Boko Haram, which would last six weeks. They said they would have no troops to provide security and logistics support for elections through those weeks. Despite this, the NCS did not endorse postponing the vote.

Following further pressure to defer election dates, on 7 February, Jega held consultations with civil society leaders and election agency officials from all over the country, but concluded that: “The commission cannot lightly wave off the advice of the nation’s security chiefs”. He therefore postponed the election by six weeks.

How credible is the claim that INEC was not yet prepared for the elections?

The commission was evidently struggling. On the PVCs, it had reported that 45.1 million out of 68.8 million registered voters (66 per cent) had collected their cards. This meant about 34 per cent had not. But the commission also said it was increasing its delivery rate ahead of the 8 February deadline for collecting the PVCs. Up until his 7 February press conference, Jega was still affirming that: “Our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14 and February 28” and that INEC was “capable of delivering even better elections” than the 2011 polls. These were widely acclaimed as successful, although over 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence.

The postponement seems to have been motivated by politics rather than security.
How credible is the military and security services’ claim that they were concentrating assets and resources on an offensive against Boko Haram and so would have no personnel to support elections?

That claim is disputable. First, election security is primarily the responsibility of the police and the civil defence corps, with the military only being required to support these agencies in accordance with the Electoral Act. On 2 February, the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, had asserted that the police was ready to tackle all security issues concerning the elections, pledging it would take “all lawful measures to ensure the safety of Nigerians at all times’’.

Secondly, the claim by the military chiefs directly contradicts their earlier public positions. At a 2 February meeting of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 Elections, chaired by former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar in Abuja, the chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, chief of army staff, Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah and chief of air staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun gave firm assurances that they were ready for the elections, and were already supporting INEC by airlifting election materials. It is therefore difficult to reconcile their claim that there would be no troops for election security with their assurances only a few days earlier.

...cont

http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/2015/02/12/nigerias-elections-a-perilous-postponement/

http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/2015/02/12/nigerias-elections-a-perilous-postponement/


Crisis Group’s Africa Program assembled this Question & Answer paper following the recent postponement by six weeks of Nigeria’s general elections that were due on 14 and 28 February.

Why are the postponement, and Nigeria’s wider electoral challenges, important for Africa?

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country (est. 178 million) and largest economy (GDP over $500 billion). The growing risk of instability could have profound security, humanitarian and economic implications. Furthermore, any subversion of the country’s democratic progress could dampen democratic developments on the continent. In West Africa, particularly, Nigeria’s election was supposed to be the first of six such polls this year. The postponement is a poor example to a region already going through numerous upheavals.

What are the implications of this postponement for the elections?

The postponement gives President Goodluck Jonathan, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), six extra weeks to rally support and undermine the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former military head of state Muhammadu Buhari – and, in Nigeria, an incumbent president has enormous powers and resources to do that. But the postponement will also intensify the long-running acrimony between the two major political parties, aggravate tensions between the north (largely Muslim and pro-Buhari) and the south (largely Christian and substantially pro-Jonathan) and could provoke further violence. Moreover, as the role of the military in the postponement has raised serious questions about its political neutrality, opposition protesters may not accept the army as a credible peace enforcer if, as it seems likely, post-election violence erupts.

How and why were the elections postponed?

On 7 February, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, announced that national and state elections, originally scheduled for 14 and 28 February, had been postponed to 28 March and 11 April, respectively. This added further tension to what was already the most contentious election season since Nigeria turned from military to civilian rule in 1999, with violence rising ahead of the polls and mounting risks of violence afterwards.

In West Africa, particularly, Nigeria’s election was supposed to be the first of six such polls this year. The postponement is a poor example to a region already going through numerous upheavals.
The first call for postponement came from President Jonathan’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, in Chatham House, London, on 22 January. The call, he said, was based on his observation that INEC was yet to deliver Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to millions of voters.

This raised public objections with many questioning the NSA’s improper attempt to influence the electoral commission. Nonetheless, on 4 February, Dasuki increased the pressure for postponement by writing to INEC indicating security could not be guaranteed in fourteen local government areas in the north east where Boko Haram has been waging a brutal insurgency since 2010 (Nigeria has 774 local government areas). He strongly advised INEC Chairman Jega to reschedule the elections by six weeks, arguing that such a shift would still fall within legal provisions and that the government “hoped” to restore normalcy to the north east by then.

The next day, 5 February, at a meeting of the National Council of State (NCS), a consultative forum comprising current and past presidents and chaired by President Jonathan, military and other security chiefs told the INEC chairman that they had just launched a major, decisive offensive against Boko Haram, which would last six weeks. They said they would have no troops to provide security and logistics support for elections through those weeks. Despite this, the NCS did not endorse postponing the vote.

Following further pressure to defer election dates, on 7 February, Jega held consultations with civil society leaders and election agency officials from all over the country, but concluded that: “The commission cannot lightly wave off the advice of the nation’s security chiefs”. He therefore postponed the election by six weeks.

How credible is the claim that INEC was not yet prepared for the elections?

The commission was evidently struggling. On the PVCs, it had reported that 45.1 million out of 68.8 million registered voters (66 per cent) had collected their cards. This meant about 34 per cent had not. But the commission also said it was increasing its delivery rate ahead of the 8 February deadline for collecting the PVCs. Up until his 7 February press conference, Jega was still affirming that: “Our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14 and February 28” and that INEC was “capable of delivering even better elections” than the 2011 polls. These were widely acclaimed as successful, although over 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence.

The postponement seems to have been motivated by politics rather than security.
How credible is the military and security services’ claim that they were concentrating assets and resources on an offensive against Boko Haram and so would have no personnel to support elections?

That claim is disputable. First, election security is primarily the responsibility of the police and the civil defence corps, with the military only being required to support these agencies in accordance with the Electoral Act. On 2 February, the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, had asserted that the police was ready to tackle all security issues concerning the elections, pledging it would take “all lawful measures to ensure the safety of Nigerians at all times’’.

Secondly, the claim by the military chiefs directly contradicts their earlier public positions. At a 2 February meeting of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 Elections, chaired by former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar in Abuja, the chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, chief of army staff, Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah and chief of air staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun gave firm assurances that they were ready for the elections, and were already supporting INEC by airlifting election materials. It is therefore difficult to reconcile their claim that there would be no troops for election security with their assurances only a few days earlier.

Could the push for postponement have been politically motivated, a charge opposition leaders and other Nigerians are making against President Jonathan?

The postponement seems to have been motivated by politics rather than security. Over the previous few months, public backing for Jonathan and his ruling PDP had shrunk. This was due to alarming gains by Boko Haram in January, economic strains arising from the slide in global oil price, and his administration’s inability to show real progress in fighting corruption and improving infrastructure since 2010. At the same time, the APC has won support. It held its primaries peacefully last December, and subsequently projected its presidential candidate, Buhari, as better able to fight insecurity and corruption. In January, some opinion polls, notably by Afrobarometer, reported that the election race had become too close to call; others, including some online initiatives by Jonathan’s social media aide, Reno Omokri, showed Buhari was heading to victory. The postponement was therefore seen as an effort by Jonathan and the PDP to buy time and fight the opposition’s rising support more aggressively.

Since delaying the election gives the two parties equal time to campaign, why is it so dangerous?

This delay is problematic for two reasons. First, the rationale the government offered in pushing for the delay is unconvincing: there is no guarantee that the security situation, grim for much of the past two years, will improve dramatically in six weeks’ time. Despite the recent interventions by Chadian and Cameroonian forces, Boko Haram has proved its continued ability to disrupt. It staged assaults on Niger’s border, and seized a bus and abducted its passengers on a border town with Cameroon. The 7,500-strong Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), authorised by the African Union on 30 January, is yet to start deploying. If the security situation does not improve substantially by the end of March, there are serious concerns about what will happen next. A second election postponement would undoubtedly trigger wide-scale protests in the country.

A second problem is the manner in which the postponement was pushed through. House minority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila said: “The independence of INEC has been put to question …. Its powers to determine election dates have been usurped and the military now determines when we can have elections in this country. That is a dangerous precedent”. The decision to postpone the polls should have been the result of all stakeholder consultations and consensus rather than arm-twisting and blackmail. A notable lawyer, Femi Falana, has questioned the legality of the procedure leading to postponement, arguing that the NSA acted beyond his constitutional powers by writing to the INEC chairman directly, that only the National Security Council, of which the NSA is only one member, had the mandate to do that.

How have the political parties reacted to the postponement?

Jonathan’s PDP and fifteen other smaller parties have welcomed the change of dates. APC’s Buhari has expressed “disappointment and frustration”, but appealed for calm. However, he also warned that any further postponement will be firmly resisted. Eleven other parties, under the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties, expressed disappointment with INEC’s decision but also urged Nigerians to accept the new dates.

What has been the reaction from the public?

Public opinion is divided. Some say the postponement will enable more voters to collect their PVCs. For the majority, however, the postponement was a cynical attempt to cling to power, aggravating the president’s credibility problem, and a rude disappointment.

In recent months, many had seen the elections as an opportunity to oust corrupt and ineffective leaders and representatives. A recent survey by the Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN Foundation) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) reported about 89 per cent of voters were willing to vote. As Jega observed at his 7 February press conference: “Many people will be very angry and annoyed”.

What has been the public reaction to the military, considering its role in postponing the elections?

The reaction has been largely negative. On 7 February, even before the postponement was announced, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a network of about 70 civil society organisations, called on all military and police chiefs to resign, saying that they had failed in “their constitutional responsibility to secure lives and property at all times including during the elections”. On 9 February, another coalition of eighteen civil society organisations condemned the service chiefs “for arm-twisting INEC’’ and for abdication of national responsibility. Speaking on the coalition’s behalf, the chairman of the Transitional Monitoring Group (TMG), Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said it was “a clear indication of the abyss to which the military had descended”.

House of Representatives spokesman, Zakari Mohammed, has warned that using the “military for political reasons” could have serious consequences. Furthermore, if the military chiefs are eventually found to have been complicit in any fraudulent attempt to keep Jonathan in office, they could be inviting a revolt from their own officers.

The next six weeks are laden with difficult struggles to protect Nigeria’s hard-won democracy.
What is likely to happen between now and the expiration of the six weeks?

Jonathan and the PDP are likely to do everything to regain the initiative. First, they will press on with law suits already in court, seeking to disqualify Buhari over questions of his birth certificate and educational qualifications. Second, they could oust Jega (by sending him on terminal leave), replace him with a more pliable successor, then push for more time to enable the new election commission chair to settle down before holding any elections. Third, they may push to stop INEC from using the new electronic PVC-card readers, intended to deter election-day fraud. The government’s argument could be that INEC has not tested the card reader in any previous local election and should not use the presidential and National Assembly polls to do so; but the real objective could be to eliminate the card readers in order to make vote-rigging easier. Fourthly, as several cases about the elections and candidates may still be pending in courts by 28 March, PDP agents or sympathisers may seek court injunctions to stop the elections until all such cases are resolved. The next six weeks are laden with difficult struggles to protect Nigeria’s hard-won democracy.

http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/2015/02/12/nigerias-elections-a-perilous-postponement/

There is one reason and one reason only why Kerry came on this impromptu visit:

The US obviously had intelligence that plans to postpone the election were being seriously considered. Obama considered the information credible enough to send Kerry here with a personal message for GEJ

ever wonder why no one knew of this visit 24 hours ago?
ever wonder why Kerry had to catch up with GEJ in Lagos, instead of waiting for him to get back to Abuja?

By making this personal visit, the US has nipped the postponement plan in the bud


Click on the link for SECSTATE's press release after the meeting

Excerpts: See the comments in bold font and see if you can read the hidden message there

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good afternoon, everybody. I am really delighted be here in Nigeria. And I was just admiring the extraordinary view and this wonderful location. I’m particularly pleased to be here at this particular moment, just a few weeks before one of the most important elections that this country has held. And this will be the largest democratic election on the continent. Given the stakes, it’s absolutely critical that these elections be conducted peacefully, that they are credible, transparent, accountable, so that the people of Nigeria can have faith and the world can have faith in the government that flows from it.

So I came here today to deliver a very simple message, and I met with both major candidates in order to underscore that the international community is paying very close attention to this election and that the international community is deeply committed to working with Nigerians going forward with the hopes that they will have an election that is free of violence and capable of instilling confidence in the future.

I was at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this weekend where I delivered a speech about the need for a long-term, comprehensive global effort to combat violent extremism, and to address the underlying causes before that extremism takes root. The unfortunate truth is that Nigerians know as well as anyone how desperately that kind of effort is needed. Day after day, the group that calls itself Boko Haram continues to kill scores of innocent civilians and attack villages and military installations in places like Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states. The United States condemns these attacks which have escalated in recent weeks. And we extend our deepest condolences to the thousands of families that have been impacted, and we deeply regret the toll that this violence has taken on the Nigerian people. We will absolutely continue to support the Nigerian military in its fight against Boko Haram. And as I said in Davos, all of us must work together to advance a strategy that will not only stop groups like Boko Haram, Daesh, and al-Qaida, but that will address the environment from which these groups emerge.

We were very happy to see the Government of Niger host a regional security ministerial meeting last week to discuss how to better coordinate counterterrorism efforts. This is exactly the kind of thing that I suggested is necessary in the comments that I made a couple of days ago. It is very important that the world cooperate more in helping countries where they want to and where they don’t the full capacity to be able to step up and take on lawless terrorist entities.

That is precisely why President Obama has announced that next month in Washington we will host an international summit on combatting violent extremism around the world. It will be held at the WH and at the State Department, it will be at the ministerial, and we hope to bring people together who have been engaged in these fights against the Boko Harams and other entities so we can share best practices, so that we could hear from people about what they need and what they think is necessary in order to be able to summon an even stronger global response.

The fact is that one of the best ways to fight back against Boko Haram and similar groups is by protecting the peaceful, credible, and transparent elections that are essential to any thriving democracy, and certainly, essential to the largest democracy in Africa. It’s imperative that these elections happen on time as scheduled, and that they are an improvement over past elections, and they need to set a new standard for this democracy. That means that Nigerians have to not only reject violence but they have to actually promote peace.

I met with President Jonathan earlier today and separately with General Buhari, and I was encouraged to hear once again from both men that this is exactly what they intend to do to try to press for an election that can be held with the credibility the people of Nigeria want and deserve. As President Jonathan said in his New Year’s message, none of our political ambitions is worth the blood of any of our countrymen, women, and children. And as General Buhari recently tweeted, electoral violence is unacceptable, and every Nigerian life is sacred. Both candidates have also signed on to the so-called Abuja Accord, which commits them to running exclusively issue-based campaigns, refraining from violence before and during and after election day, and speaking out against any violence that does emerge.

These are commitments that we need to see from everyone and they are commitments that need to be kept. Many people are stepping up. For example, Chairman Jega and the thousands of independent national election commission employees are taking concrete steps in order to guarantee that this election is successful. We also urge all of Nigeria’s governors to call for peaceful democratic engagement among their residents, and we ask all parties and all candidates to do the same.

And I would say to everybody that no matter what the outcome, if you have a question, if you have a doubt, if there is someplace where issues may have arisen, it is absolutely vital that whatever differences may exist be resolved through legitimate channels, through the legal channels, which are fundamental to the democratic process. And I urge all of Nigeria’s candidates to do what is best for their country no matter the outcome on election day.

I want to emphasize that for the United States, Nigeria is an increasingly important strategic partner. Nigeria has a critical role to play in the security and prosperity of this continent and beyond. We are committed to helping the electoral process succeed, and last week we sent an electoral security advisor in order to support INEC’s efforts to advise on security concerns and to help develop a risk mapping tool to prepare for any violence that might emerge.

So let me be clear: Anyone who participates in, plans, or calls for widespread or systematic violence against the civilian population must be held accountable, including by ineligibility for an American visa. Violence has no place in democratic elections, and I can guarantee you that the perpetrators of such violence would not be welcome in the United States of America. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and one of the world’s largest democracies. It is blessed with some of the planet’s most valuable and abundant natural resources. Conducting accountable, credible, peaceful elections will help put the Nigerian people on a path to prosperity and regional leadership that is needed in order to address a wide range of challenges in this part of the world, including, obviously, violent extremism.

With this election, Nigeria has an opportunity to put an indelible stamp on the kind of future that Africa wants to see and most importantly that Nigeria wants and deserves. I want to reiterate what President Obama recently said, that he, I, and the American people stand with you as Nigeria’s great democratic exercise unfolds. And we stand ready to work with the Government of Nigeria, the Nigerian people, and whomever they elect next month continue – to continue building on the important partnership that we share.


http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/01/236287.htm#.VMVzHdna9vQ.twitter

PHfinest:


Extremely far from the truth:
See for yourself:

http://www.punchng.com/advertise-with-us/print-advert-rates/

Alibaba is correct. The rate you want to look at is towards the bottom of that rate sheet. Wrap around is 27.5m, front page is 15.8m, excluding VAT.

At least 20 of up to 80 people taken hostage by Boko Haram militants in Cameroon at the weekend are reported to be free.

Cameroon's defence ministry said the hostages were freed "as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria".

Many of those kidnapped in the cross-border raid were said to be children.

It was one of the biggest abductions by Boko Haram outside Nigeria and raised fears that it is expanding its attacks.

The militant Islamist group has seized control of towns and villages in north-east Nigeria and has begun threatening neighbouring countries.

Chad, which also borders Nigeria, has recently sent soldiers to help Cameroon tackle the militants.

On Friday, Ghana's President John Mahama said African leaders would discuss plans this week to "deal permanently" with Boko Haram, and suggested a multinational force may be considered.

Niger and Cameroon have criticised Nigeria for failing to do more to stop Boko Haram's attacks.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30882991

To GEJ: Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin.....

Army HQ should focus on equipping troops on the ground. This is not the time to be discussing certificates

Atigba:
We will release money soon

'we are coming up with a plan to release the money soon'

fixed

Nigerians are Truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, the killer point is that GEJ has let us down massively.
Those of us who fought both online and by financial contribution to ensure that he was not pushed aside when Yar Adua passed on, have looked on in amazement as he has gone on to surpass all corruption records in his blind desire for power at any cost.

His 'stealing is not corruption' speech will go down in history as one of the most unfortunate remarks to be made by a leader of any country, not just Nigeria.

His biggest redeeming factor has been the inclusion of NOI in his cabinet, and most of the so called progress we see is down to her.

I feel sad that all we have to look forward to is GMB, however it is a massive indictment of GEJ that he cannot hope to win, despite the power of incumbency.

Gone for consultations, as usual...

You can definitely learn to fix any thing in your car as long as you have the desire to learn. There is more than enough info on the internet to help you with that.

If you are thinking of a restoration project, then try to beat the price down as much as possible. 200k seems a bit high for a car you are going to take apart

Make sure you have a place to store/ work on the car. Try not to leave it exposed to the elements.

Do not leave it in a mechanics workshop!

Make a list of all the things wrong with the car. I would say that in Nigeria bodywork welding/ spraying is cheaper /easier than sourcing genuine parts

As far as value is concerned, the value can only go up. If your car is in good condition, you can make money by hiring it out for period films etc,

Best of luck!

I see you've bought a Haynes Manual, you've got every thing you need regarding mechanical info right there

erico2k2:

BAD

EXTREMELY BAD

Start your car and drive off immediately.

The practice stems from the days when cars used carburettor. When the car was first started up from cold, the engine needed an oxygen rich fuel mix to get the plugs firing efficiently. Then you had the 'choke' lever in your car. People used to leave the engine to warm up for the same reason.

if your car has fuel injectors, no need to rev up in morning.

Even worse by the way, to rev up just before switching off the engine.

Just found this thread

This happened to friend on mine many years ago.

He knocked down a 7 year old child who jumped out in front of him. (Around Lekki - Maroko slum was still exeisting then)

He immediately Stopped, picked up the child and put her in the car.

Then he asked for any good samaritans from the large crowd that had gathered to accompany him to the nearest hospital.

Two strangers stepped forward and he took them and the child to Lagos general hospital. The child was rushed into the operating theatre immediately, but Unfortunately despite the best efforts of the surgeons, she died of her injuries a few hours later.

My friend was by her side throughout as well as the two strangers.

Later some relatives of the child rushed to the hospital. When they heard all my friend had done for the child, plus the statements from the witnesses, the family of the child exonerated him from any blame in the death of the child. He was asked to bear the funeral costs though.rsrs

A few years ago it was my turn - a very drunk man ran into the road and I could not avoid hitting him, my windscreen was smashed in the collision. Remembering my friends experience, I quickly stopped, even though I thought the guy was dead, got my passenger to help get him into my car and rushed him to the nearest hospital. The guy was out cold, but he came to his senses on the way to the hospital. He was so drunk that he was fighting with the medical team that were trying to stitch his wounds! In the end he had 10 stitches to his head. When I went to check on him the next morning he had discharged himself. Cost me 50K in hospital bills though and I never saw him again.

Running away from the scene only inflames the situation. If people see you doing something proactive, they are more concerned with saving lives of the victims and will do every thing to help you if they see that you are trying to rectify the situation.

So my advice will be - stop, but don't just stand there, try and get the injured to a hospital as quickly as possible. A life or lives may be saved - including your own

He was not the first Nigerian on GOT

Nonso Anozie - remember him in Season 1 as Xaro Xhoan Daxos

Chibok schoolgirls 'not freed in Nigeria'


Nigeria's military has retracted its statement that some of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok town in April by Islamist militants had been freed.

Army spokesman Brig Gen Chris Olukolade told the BBC there were girls in military custody, but not those from Chibok as originally thought.

More than 200 girls were seized by Boko Haram fighters from a boarding school in the north-eastern Borno state.

It caused worldwide outrage and sparked a social media campaign.

Protests were organised under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, calling on the authorities to do more to free the girls, who had gone to the school in Chibok from surrounding areas to take their final year exams.

Shortly after the abduction, Boko Haram released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.

In recent days there have been unconfirmed reports that the Nigerian government has been negotiating a deal with Boko Haram to exchange the abducted girls for imprisoned Islamist fighters.

Boko Haram's name translates as "Western education is forbidden", and it has carried out several attacks on schools and colleges, seeing them as a symbol of Western culture.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29335637

Statement retracted by DHQ

[img][/img]

Hi please send code
Team is tuff gong gang

A current article on this topic:

read the comments too

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/24/simulating-time-travel-with-photons/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full&cps=gravity

BBC radio 4 devoted their 'Today' morning show to this topic with special emphasis on Lagos, Nigeria

They will air another in-depth programme on Nigeria on Wednesday 8th January at 9am GMT
[url] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25548060[/url]

After The BRICS Are The MINTs, But Can You Make Any Money From Them?

The former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill will forever be associated with the term BRIC, which he coined as an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China (now commonly bracketed with South Africa to make BRICS). The term caught on and has been common parlance for a decade now. And now O’Neill, though no longer with Goldman, has a new one: the MINT countries.

Mint? This term refers to Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey, and O’Neill’s premise is that these will be the next economic powerhouses. They are bound by a few key themes: young populations, useful geographical placement, and (Turkey excepted) by being commodity producers.

Personally I have mixed feelings about the MINTs, and also think that any use of this idea as an investment theme ought to take into account just what’s happened to the BRICS in recent years. But we’ll come back to tha

First, the good news. Mexico and Nigeria have some of the best prospects in all emerging markets. Nigeria, in particular, is thought to be in an economic sweet spot and has gathered increasing attention from world investors over the last year. It is about to undergo a GDP re-basing – a reassessment of the country’s GDP – and when that happens, it may well prove to be the biggest economy in Africa, bigger even than South Africa. Reniassance Capital, for example, estimates that Nigeria’s economy was worth $405 billion in 2013, compared to $355 billion for South Africa. On top of that, Renaissance points out, it will become 20% of the MSCI frontier index, is undergoing a period of reform with some considerable ability in the public sector (notably the finance minister and central bank governor), and even without reform has grown by 7% a year since 2000. There are considerable challenges, from corruption to theft of natural resources, but Nigeria is a high-population market of growing wealth and opportunity.

Mexico, too, is increasingly the Latin American market that investors like most. It is increasingly common for investors to say they like Mexico “because it isn’t Brazil”, and although that remark is naturally a bit flippant, there is some truth in it: whereas Brazilian companies have tended to be sluggish and mired in state policy, Mexico’s benefit from market-friendly reforms and a sense of national momentum under President Enrique Pena Nieto, expected to attract steady increases in foreign investment.

The thing about Indonesia and Turkey, though, is that they are both the market darlings of about two years ago. Back then, Indonesia was much the most adored market in Asia by both debt and equity investors: a country that had made the successful transition from military dictatorship to democracy, and which had elected a stable and admired government; a very strong domestic demand story which insulated it from the global financial crisis; a young demographic; and plentiful supplies of coal at a time when China’s need for fuel had never been greater. But several things have since gone wrong. The fiscal picture has been damaged by twin deficits, the currency has fallen, concerns have grown about foreign outflows from the country, there is an election coming in which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cannot stand again, commodity prices have fallen, and there has been disappointing progress in infrastructure development.

Then there’s Turkey. In November, the IMF put out a report on Turkey saying that it “can only sustain high growth at the expense of growing external imbalances.” It called for a mighty 250 basis point rate hike in the key policy rate, one of the most aggressive IMF reports in memory. Turkey’s inflation rate is close to 8%, and it also faces deficit problems and a weakening currency. There are some who think there is a meltdown coming in Turkey, and while not everyone takes that view, it’s worth quoting Renaissance again on the relative merits of these MINT economies: “We like Nigeria for the first quarter of 2014. We’re not at all sure about Turkey.”

One point O’Neill makes about these countries is their location: Indonesia as the heart of southeast Asia, Mexico benefiting from proximity to the USA, Turkey with its combination of eastern and western attributes, and Nigeria as the most bouyant illustration of a rising African continent. It’s true that these locations do have a likely positive impact on trade.

But beyond all of this is the broader point of whether being the next BRICs is a good thing anyway. O’Neill, of course, is painting an economic picture that will take shape over decades and generations; his observations should be seen in that very long-term light. But for ordinary investors, perhaps hoping to invest in the stock markets of these countries, it is worth noting that BRIC equities have lagged the developed world for several years now and are very likely to do so again in 2014 (see my most recent article on the outlook for BRICs). All four BRICs face considerable economic challenges of one kind or another, and even when they’re growing fast, that does not necessarily equate to good growth in stock markets. The picture may be worse still in the debt markets, with emerging market debt considered to be particularly vulnerable to tapering in the US.

O’Neill coins catchy phrases and the long-term ramifications of his ideas are illuminating and important. But for the ordinary investor trying to earn a good return, it’s well worth forgetting the acronym and instead looking at individual countries on their merits, because right now, they are varied.




http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswright/2014/01/06/after-the-brics-the-mints-catchy-acronym-but-can-you-make-any-money-from-it/

oscar the actor, that was good enough for #BestDiveInAMatch at the Oscars

I'm assuming your caravan is a V6 engine, if so, each of the plugs should have its own individual coil, all 6 housed together in a rectangular coil pack, like the one ebelow

bit curious as you refer to 2 coils in your post

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Nothing special said, apart from the fact that GEJ is not to blame for anything....

Off topic, I would like to congratulate the posters on this thread for ignoring the usual tribal trolls that usually destroy meaningful threads.

OP, you've got some free legal advice here. You need to move fast to beat the deadline

dustydee:
....
My personal opinion: I think IBTC pensions is the best of the lot. Stopped contributing about 7 years ago and my about 80k contributions (Worked in a private firm for 6 months) is now worth about 150k

Just wondering.. 80k at 2006 prices vs 150k at 2013 prices. Are you really better off, given the rate of inflation?

interestingly, I just got off the phone with my 75yr old mum.

I asked her if she saw the GEJ interview.

1st comment from her was that all this man keeps saying is that 'it happens everywhere'.

2nd comment was that it looks like he keeps looking towards his handles off camera who are telling him what to say

3rd comment was that it's good she can now see how dull and clueless he really is, as she voted for him the last time round but vows not to make that mistake this time, very unimpressed

Leopantro: this trick is as old as I can remember. they usually start it towards the end of the year, especially on that part of the road. also avoid driving over tyres, nylon bags or oranges along that road.

As old as time itself.

Fell for that that trick along western avenue Surulere in 1985. First and last time!

I used to see guys trying it on all the time on the Sagamu/Benin expressway in the 90's

One has got be alert at all times

Pastor Kun: 1964 morris minor restored by www.pristineautomobiles.com.ng and being used in Lagos today

Brilliant! I remember these were all over Ibadan as taxis in '71.
The amazing thing was that when I next visited Ibadan in '73 they had mostly disappeared to be replaced by the Datsun 120Y

KOMBE: My dad handed over his 504GR 1984 model to me and the ride is still doing very well. Some of the parts are a bit difficult to get but I love this ride any time t. A very simple engine.

I had the privilege of driving 4 models of those at different times back in the day: the L, the GL the GR and the SR

If I found one now I would buy and keep it.