₦airaland Forum

Laolballs:
thats an erronous message, did you have a reference number?

No reference number. That's all i got! I'm really worried. I don't want to miss this chance, if it's genuine.

I received the following email from DPR:

Dear xxxx ,
As a result of your application for the position of Elect/Elect Engineer-Experience Hire, We would like to invite you for an Apptitude Test on Thu 1st Jan, 1970, at 9:30am at .

Please Login to your account here for further instructions

Best Regards,
Department of Petroleum Resource

The date is strange and there's no venue. Help please!

In late 2013, Nigeria's then central bank governor Lamido Sanusi wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan claiming that the state oil company had failed to remit tens of billions of oil revenues it owed the state.

After the letter was leaked to Reuters and a local news site, Jonathan publicly dismissed the claim and replaced Sanusi, saying the banker had mismanaged the central bank's budget. A Senate committee later found Sanusi’s account lacked substance.

Sanusi has since become Emir of Kano, the country's second highest Islamic authority, and has smoothed over relations with the president. He declined to discuss his earlier assertions. Before he was sacked, though, the central banker submitted to Nigeria’s parliament more than 300 pages of documentation in support of his claim. Reuters has reviewed that dossier, which offers one of the most comprehensive studies of waste, mismanagement and what Sanusi called “leakages” of cash in Nigeria’s oil industry. Detailed here, the dossier includes oil contracts, confidential government letters, private presidential correspondence and legal opinions.

Sanusi’s letter and documents do not state whether he thinks the money was stolen or lost through mismanagement. Nor did he make allegations of illegal acts against any specific individuals or entities. Both corruption and bad governance are perennial problems in Africa’s most populous nation, and central issues in elections due on Feb. 14.

Nigeria’s oil industry accounts for around 95 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. If Nigeria continued to leak cash at the rate described in his letter to the president, Sanusi said at the time, the consequences for the economy would be disastrous. Specifically, the failure of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation “to remit foreign exchange to the Federation Account in a period of rising oil prices has made our management of exchange rates and price stability ... extremely difficult," he wrote. "The central bank of Nigeria is always blamed for high rates of interest,” but “given these leakages, the alternative is a devalued currency ... and financial instability."

That is exactly what has happened. As oil prices have plummeted to around $55 a barrel, half their level at the beginning of 2014, Sanusi’s successor Godwin Emefiele has devalued the naira, Nigeria’s currency, by 8 percent, and raised interest rates for the first time in more than two years.

Nigerian foreign exchange reserves are down around 20 percent on a year ago, while the balance in the country's oil savings account has fallen from $9 billion in December 2012 to $2.5 billion at the start of this year, even though oil prices were buoyant over much of that period. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters at a press conference in November that a significant portion of that money was distributed to the powerful governors of Nigeria’s 36 states instead of being saved for a rainy day.

Nigerians are rarely shocked by stories of billions going unaccounted for, or ending up with politically powerful individuals. Africa’s largest oil producer has for years consistently ranked towards the bottom of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

Sanusi handed his documents to a parliamentary inquiry set up last February to investigate the assertion in his letter that billions of dollars in oil revenue had not reached the central bank. He told the inquiry that state oil group NNPC had made $67 billion worth of oil sales in the previous 19 months. Of that, he said, between $10.8 billion and $20 billion was unaccounted for.

A spokesman for the president declined to comment on the specific contents of Sanusi’s dossier. He referred to a statement made at the time the banker was pushed out. It said the government “remains committed to ensuring integrity and accountability and discipline in every sector of the economy ... And indeed we look forward to a situation whereby Mr. Sanusi will continue to assist the legislature in their investigations.”

Those investigations include a “forensic audit” of the oil industry set up by Okonjo-Iweala. The audit was given to Jonathan on Feb. 2 and he said he would hand it on to Nigeria’s auditor general. NNPC said on Feb. 5 it had received a copy of the audit, before it was made public. The firm said the audit cleared it of wrongdoing, although it found NNPC owed the government $1.48 billion for a separate shortfall.

A spokesman for NNPC rejected Sanusi's allegations and referred Reuters to last August’s Senate inquiry. The inquiry expressed satisfaction that most of the money not remitted was withheld for legitimate reasons. But it urged the NNPC to remit $700 million that the committee said it could not account for.

Diezani Alison-Madueke, the oil minister who oversees NNPC, did not respond to a request for comment. She told the inquiry at the time that the correct sum for money not remitted was $10.8 billion, which was to pay for subsidies.

The NNPC has consistently said it did nothing wrong. The oil company said last year that Sanusi’s allegations came from his "misunderstanding" of how the oil industry works. The central bank is “a banking outfit ... how will they understand petroleum engineering issues?" then managing director Andrew Yakubu asked journalists. "They are not auditors."

Sanusi’s claims were seen by some Nigerians as part of the historic tensions between the country’s wealthy, Christian south and poorer Muslim north. Jonathan and oil minister Alison-Madueke are Christians from the oil-producing Niger Delta in the south. Sanusi is a Muslim from the country’s north, as is Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler of Nigeria who is the main presidential candidate running against Jonathan. The two regions have historically taken it in turns to hold the presidency. Since 2009, though, Jonathan has broken with this tradition.

Sanusi has said any notion there were religious or ethnic politics behind his allegations is absurd. He has declined to be interviewed since becoming the Emir of Kano.

But last April, two months after he was sacked but before he took on his new role, Sanusi told Reuters he worried that the sheer quantities of cash going missing were “unsustainable.”

“You are taking what doesn’t belong to you and transferring it to private hands,” he told Reuters. “The state is captive to vested interests.”

NO-BID CONTRACTS

Sanusi’s documents identify three key mechanisms through which Nigeria has allegedly allowed middlemen to channel oil funds away from the central bank. Among the recipients, Sanusi alleges, are government officials and high-flying society figures.

The three mechanisms are: contracts awarded non-competitively to two companies that did not supply services but sub-contracted the work; a kerosene subsidy that doesn’t help the people it is meant to; and a series of complex, opaque "swap deals" that might be short-changing the state.

Sanusi’s concerns around the first of these mechanisms centre on the 2011 sale by Royal Dutch Shell of its interests in five oil fields. The blocks were majority-owned by NNPC. The government, keen to end the domination of the oil industry by foreign oil majors, had been encouraging Shell and others to sell to local firms.

Shell sold its interest in the fields to companies in Poland and Britain. But the new owners did not get the same rights Shell had. To promote local control, the NNPC gave the right to operate the fields to its own subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

Without soliciting bids, the NPDC signed "strategic partnership agreements" worth around $6.6 billion with two other local firms to manage them.

One firm, Seven Energy, signed for three fields; another, Atlantic Energy, for two.

Seven Energy was co-founded in 2004 by Kola Aluko, an oil trader and Christian southerner. Aluko also co-owned Atlantic with another southerner, former oil trader Jide Omokore. Atlantic was incorporated the day before it signed the deals.

Geneva-based Aluko is a high-profile member of Nigeria's elite. He owns a fleet of supercars, including a Ferrari 458 GT2 that he races with Swiss team Kessel Racing. He also owns a $50 million yacht, according to Forbes magazine, and divides his time between a $40 million home in Los Angeles, an $8.6 million duplex on Fifth Avenue in New York, and homes in Abuja and Geneva. A colleague describes him as a "work hard, play harder kind of guy. He’s extravagant. That’s just his style.”

Aluko, whose stake in Seven is now minimal, did not respond to emailed questions.

Omokore has also become rich from oil and gas. Forbes has estimated annual revenue at another of his companies, Energy Resources Group, at $400 million. His jet-setting lifestyle is a regular feature in the local press. Omokore could not be reached for comment.

Reuters has reviewed the contracts the firms signed with NPDC. They give Seven Energy 10 percent of profits in the three oil blocks it operates, while Atlantic gets 30 percent of profits in its two blocks. The contracts also show that, unlike Shell, neither firm pays royalties, profit tax or duties to the state.

Both companies quickly sub-contracted production work to other operators, according to Sanusi's submission to parliament and several market sources. The companies did not disclose terms of these contracts.

Atlantic does not publish accounts, but Seven’s 2013 annual report shows its deal with NPDC helped its revenue more than triple to $345 million.

In May 2013, Nigeria’s parliament threatened to investigate the NPDC contracts because they were not issued through competitive tender. But the NNPC argued no tender was needed because the contracts involved no sale of equity in the oil fields; the probe did not go ahead.

Sanusi did not accuse Seven and Atlantic of any illegalities, but he did question why the NPDC chose those companies. His report said the deals’ only purpose seemed to be “acquiring assets belonging to the federation (state) and transferring the income to private hands."

Asked about this, NNPC referred to the Senate report, which found that no-bid partnership agreements are not new. It also said that "it may be good policy to encourage indigenous players by giving them greater participation," but called for such deals "to be conducted in a transparent and competitive manner."

Seven did not comment. It says on its website its agreement with NPDC pre-dated the Jonathan administration and included an allowance for taxes. The company says it has invested more than $500 million, more than doubled production from its three blocks, and paid $48.8 million in taxes in 2013. Atlantic did not comment.

KEROSENE SUBSIDIES

The second mechanism Sanusi’s report identifies as problematic is a decades-old state subsidy provided to retailers of kerosene, the fuel most Nigerians use for cooking.

Nigeria lacks the refining capacity to make kerosene, so imports it instead. The government then sells the kerosene to retailers at a cheaper price than the import price. This subsidy is meant to make kerosene affordable for the poor. In reality, though, retailers have long hiked prices so consumers pay much more than official levels.

In June 2009, Jonathan’s predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua, ordered a halt to the scheme on the grounds that it was not working. But the subsidies carried on regardless. The NNPC told parliament last February that it still deducts billions of dollars a year from its earnings to cover it.

In his report, Sanusi called the kerosene subsidy a "racket" that lines the pockets of private kerosene retailers and NNPC staff. The report estimated the cost of the subsidy at $100 million a month. It said kerosene retailers – there are hundreds of them around the country – routinely charged customers much higher prices than the government pays to import the fuel.

Sanusi’s report included an analysis of kerosene prices across Nigeria’s 36 states over two years. It found that the government buys kerosene at 150 naira per litre from importers and then sells it to retailers at just 40 naira per litre. Sanusi’s analysis found consumers pay an average of 170-200 naira per litre, and sometimes as much as 270 naira.

“The margin of 300 percent to 500 percent over purchase price is economic rent, which never got to the man on the street,” Sanusi wrote.

NNPC said in a statement last year that it can't force retailers to sell kerosene at the subsidised price.

SWAP DEALS

The third mechanism Sanusi identified involves other types of refined petroleum products, such as gasoline. Like kerosene, these are also imported. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer but it depends on imports for 80 percent of its fuel needs because its refining capacity is tiny.

To pay for the imported products, Nigeria barters its crude oil. Sanusi’s dossier focuses on these barter exchanges, which are known as "swap deals." The idea is that importers who bring in refined fuel worth a given amount receive an “equivalent value” in crude oil.

How that equivalent value is determined is unclear. Sanusi said he was uncertain how much, if anything, is lost in these deals. But he expressed concern at the sheer value of oil that changes hands and the lack of oversight. His report estimated that between 2010 and 2011, traders involved in swap deals effectively bartered 200,000 barrels of crude a day – worth nearly $20 million at average crude prices over the period - for a loosely determined equivalent value in refined products. It is impossible to tell, he said, if all the refined products were delivered, let alone if the terms were fair.

“It was clear to us that these transactions ... were not properly structured, monitored and audited,” he wrote.

Sanusi wrote in his report that mismanagement and “leakages” of cash in the industry cost Nigeria billions of dollars a year.

Since the price of oil has fallen by around half since the start of 2014, such losses are even more significant. As it approaches elections, Nigeria faces plummeting oil revenues and a lack of buffers to shield the economy. Construction projects are on hold and the government is struggling to pay its sizeable workforce.

Multiple scandals in the oil sector since Jonathan took power have boosted the popularity of his rival, former military leader Muhammadu Buhari. Remembered by some for deposing a civilian government in a 1983 coup and trampling on civil liberties, the sandal-wearing general often promises to "free Nigeria from corruption."

Jonathan, too, says he will “clean up” Nigeria. By using technology and strengthening institutions, “I will solve the problem of corruption in this country,” he told a crowd in Ibadan in January.

(Bloomberg) -- As if the collapse in crude prices, forthcoming elections and an Islamist insurgency weren’t enough, investors in Nigeria have another matter to worry about: deciding whether the new central banker is his own man.

Godwin Emefiele, appointed in June after President Goodluck Jonathan suspended predecessor Lamido Sanusi almost a year ago, has focused on stemming currency declines that could damage the government of Africa’s biggest oil producer and economy ahead of Feb. 14 elections. Emefiele is “putting off painful and inevitable adjustments” in the exchange rate until after the vote, Bank of America Corp. economists Oyin Anubi and Turker Hamzaoglu in London wrote in a Jan. 21 report.

“It’s only natural to think there’s less independence at the central bank,” Kevin Daly, a fund manager overseeing $13 billion of developing-market debt at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, said by phone from London on Jan. 27. “He replaced arguably the most effective and outspoken central bank governor that we’ve seen in African emerging markets for some time.”

Daly said he hasn’t held government bonds in naira since about October, partly because of concern he might not be able to easily sell assets in the currency.

Emefiele, 53, said that politics doesn’t affect any of his decisions.

“The central bank remains a very independent institution, just like it was under my predecessor,” he said by phone from Abuja on Thursday. “We have never been influenced by any political consideration. No politician talks to us to try and influence us.”
JPMorgan Warning

Still, the naira has become a campaign issue, with opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari’s team pointing to the weakening purchasing power of the currency under Jonathan. While oil producers with falling exchange rates from Russia to Malaysia have avoided imposing currency controls, Emefiele’s measures cut daily trading of the naira to less than a tenth of previous levels last month, according to Standard Chartered Plc.

The restrictions prompted JPMorgan Chase & Co. to warn Jan. 16 that it may remove Nigeria from bond indexes tracked by more than $200 billion of funds. Foreign holdings of domestic debt have fallen by half since 2013, according to Standard Chartered.

“It’s difficult for policy makers to ignore that political backdrop,” Ayodele Salami, who oversees about $200 million of Nigerian equities as chief investment officer of Duet Asset Management, said by phone from London on Feb. 4.

Investor caution has helped drive yields on local government bonds to 15.4 percent, the highest since August 2012 and steepest among 31 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg. The stock market is posting the world’s worst losses this year.
Jonathan’s Showdown

The naira weakened 0.7 percent to 193.82 per dollar as of 2:07 p.m. in Lagos, a record low on a closing basis, to increase losses over the past six months to 17 percent, the most among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The exchange rate could still tumble to 255, prices on 12-month forward contracts show.

Jonathan, 57, a Christian from the south, faces Buhari, a 72-year-old northern Muslim and former military ruler, in Nigeria’s tightest election since army rule ended in 1999.

Tensions are rising with the Islamist militants Boko Haram declaring a caliphate in northeastern Nigeria that’s the size of Belgium. The group killed more than 4,700 people last year, double the number of deaths during 2013, according to Bath, U.K.-based risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

Jonathan ousted Sanusi last February, accusing him of “financial recklessness and misconduct.” Now the Emir of Kano, Nigeria’s second-most important Islamic ruler, Sanusi had called on Jonathan to investigate billions of dollars of oil revenue he said were unaccounted for.
Speculative Demand

Emefiele took over in June, days before crude prices began their 50 percent plunge. Oil provides about 90 percent of Nigerian export earnings and 70 percent of government revenue.

The central bank spent $5 billion defending the exchange rate in the last three months of 2014, reducing reserves to a three-year low of $34 billion, while devaluing the midpoint of the official exchange rate to 168 per dollar from 155 and raising the benchmark borrowing cost to a record 13 percent.

Trading restrictions introduced in December were needed to cut “spurious or speculative demand” for dollars, Emefiele said in an interview last month. “Any investor that wants to go out is able to do so freely, without any hindrance.”

While Sanusi cut the the amount of foreign currency banks can hold without assigned buyers to 1 percent of shareholders’ funds from 5 percent, Emefiele set the amount at zero on Dec. 17, before allowing a 0.1 percent so-called net open position on Jan. 13.
Trading Crushed

The effect was to reduce daily trading to less than $30 million from $300 million to $500 million and foreign holdings of government bonds in naira to 14 percent of the total from as much as 27 percent in 2013, according to Samir Gadio, Standard Chartered’s head of African strategy.

By contrast, Sanusi liberalized Nigeria’s markets by lifting a requirement for foreign investors to hold local-currency debt for at least one year. That resulted in JPMorgan adding the nation’s bonds to its GBI-EM local-currency indexes in 2012. Foreigners increased their holdings of the securities almost fivefold in the next year, according to Bank of America.

“Sanusi had high credibility in the international markets and both the nature of his exit and the context resulted in an increase in Nigerian risk premium, which has remained,” Jim O’Neill, the former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who now works as a Bloomberg View columnist, said in e-mailed comments from London on Jan. 28.
Negative Watch

JPMorgan, placing Nigeria on “index watch negative,” said the drop in currency and bond trading “challenges the ability of foreign investors to replicate the benchmark.” The New York-based lender will make a decision within five months. Craig Macdonald, a spokesman for JPMorgan in London, declined to comment.

The central bank’s decision to boost the net-open position limit to 0.5 percent of funds on Jan. 22, shortly after JPMorgan’s warning, increased daily trading volumes to about $250 million to $300 million, Emefiele said on Thursday.

“We are confident we will remain in the index based on the decision,” Emefiele said. “The main issue was liquidity and we are convinced that liquidity has come up to the level they desire.”

For the market to “unfreeze,” the exchange rate probably needs to weaken to 220 per dollar, Antoon de Klerk, who helps oversee $18 billion of emerging market debt at Investec Asset Management Plc, said by phone from London Feb. 2.

Nutase:
Political work of fiction.

Religion is fiction while the Nigerian version of Christianity is a theater of absurdity. Nigerian christianity is a debauchery of master demons versus slave demons.

Yea, i agree that hell is not real. It's meant to deceive the weak so that the greedy and hideous men like we have in nigeria calling themselves MOGs could take control of their lives and suck them off of their vital energies as vampires do. these MOGs have done enough evil for us to create a hell on earth for them. I look forward to the days a strong and powerful man will govern this country and put our corrupt MOGs in prison.

In the west and other developed countries churches are established as charitable organizations, hence their finances are monitored because the citizens whole-heartedly donate to the course of the charitable organization. Because of this reason no church founder, member has the sole right to the church's finances and other properties. Nigeria being a loose country without strong financial system and anti money laundering laws pastors can easily divert church's monies to their own. This they do with impunity knowing that the Nigerian public is massively ignorant. I read about this matter from a reputable source some two years ago. I heard it was a petition from some members of the UK branch who suspected some suspicious transactions in the organization's financial books. Judgment day is approaching for Nigerian MOGs. Members will be both disappointed and disgraced.

olmde:
True, the story is still unconfirmed buh the fact that your first reaction was you are waiting to see the haters and people what haven't lefr their states... It says a lot.

The story is true. I read about the investigation about two years ago on BBC news website. It's very true.

asalimpo:
Some of these mogs. They are bottomless pits of greed.
Yet God will still b using them despite their hideousness.

I don't just understand God at times. His tender mercies.
One thing, i do know - men's sins shall find them out (mog/or not).

Point of correction. Who told you God is using them. If know how hideous your pastors are you'll never enter their churches let alone call them MOGs. Don't let power deceive you my dear. Power is a common thing once you know the secret. Go and read Isaiah 58m and the whole Micah and Malachi then you would Know who is a child of God. These guys worship satan. Free Money like they get from establishing churches is a demonic venture. Free money is same as corruption. Your pastors are corrupt and hence agent of satan.

larrymoore:
Church money isn't government' money, why govt intervention.

Guess you are fool like your counterparts that give their monies to churches. Church money is pastor's money. Mugu christians

You could cut the smell of evil in the atmosphere with a sharp knife. There were two endless lines of people from every continent, country, city, town and village standing before the throne of judgement. Angel Gongoria was the presiding Judge. As for me (Mene, Mene, Tekel, Urphasin) i was the scribe taking note of the proceedings and I'm one of the special angels whose names change to suit the times. Of the two lines, one was dedicated to pastors and ministers of the gospel while the other was made up of ordinary christians, church workers, sympathizers and devout members. The air was chilly, dark and eerie. I noticed two contrasting countenances. The pastors and the church overseers wore an "I don't care" kinda looks while the fear written over the faces of the ordinary members was palpable. Maybe they knew exactly why they were there because Angel Gabriel was responsible for sentencing sinners, hypocrites,deceivers, etc to the lake of fire. Hell guarding angels have been instructed earlier to increase the heat by hundred fold. Of the ministers, 80% of them were from Nigeria, 10% from the rest of Africa and 10% from the rest of the world. One by one they were asked if they knew why they were being punished. They all answered in unison as if they had properly rehearsed it while they were on earth. They all said they were being punished because they deceived the masses that worshiped in their churches and temples. They confessed that they stole from their members and also tell them lies that God had called them ministers and the people listened to them without questioning their motives. All the notable men of god and the lesser ones from Nigeria were all there. Then drama ensued when it was time to judge the churchgoers and members who once called themselves "born-again" christians, they wanted to run but they could not because of The Infinite Energy and The Power of The Element that held them bound. They wailed, cried and beg "Oh God our Father we never knew we were being lied to. We had hoped to serve you and worshiped you. Oh, have mercy Angel Gabriel." Their cries fell in deaf ears because, as the Holy Angel put it, "Every man is endowed with intelligence and consciousness to seek and found the right path. There's no excuse why you could not found wisdom all your days on earth. Only the lazy minded allow others to think for them, and for that reason your lives shall be destroyed as they're of no value to the eternal goal of The Almighty". "Get behind me ye impotent and adulterous generation. The earth burned because of you and now you shall not be sent back to re-procreate because your seeds are poisonous but your counterparts that found wisdom with or without religion shall continue to evolve through the process of re-incarnation. There's no more re-incarnation for your kinds oh slothful and sinful generation." Islamist terrorist were also cast into the same lake of fire being occupied by ministers and churchgoers. The terrorists and Islamists looked disappointed when they were told that the promise of virgins after dying as a jihadist actually mean hell. It was just a figure of speech and only fools could not decipher the meaning. After the process had concluded The Gate was slam shut and sealed forever. THE END AS IT WAS FROM THE BEGINNING. TURN YE, TURN YE TO KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, AND UNDERSTANDING. SHOW EQUITY, JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS AND YE SHALL NOT BE DAMNED.

At least Mallam Buhari is willing to declare his assets which Pastor Joe has refused to do. He was formerly without sandals now only Baba God knows the size of his fortunes. Who's more honest among the pairs?

He happened to become a billionaire because he succeeded in messing with your heads and you gave him all your monies. I salute him for being able to pull the wool over your blind eyes for this long. Nothing bad in being a billionaire but that has to be reasonably earned. In countries where citizens rights are protected, your papa and other papas will not be has rich, or some of them might even have been put behind bars for converting "charity" monies to their own personal wealth but Nigeria being a land crawling with nincompoops and ass kissers, they are able to flaunt their embellished charisma and smelly egos and convince you to keep giving them your hard earned monies. May the Almighty open your eyes you eternal fools!

Imagine you have a girl friend of at least two years. You have been together for that long but whenever you want to share some intimate moments with her you have to go through the process you went through before she agreed to be your sweetheart in the first place. You have to tell her all the sweet stories all over again and do everything possible to have her consent. Not that you are stupid or something but that's who she is. she has short memory span. She behave this way because the "love doctor" said she's suffering from dementia(not real dementia but "love dementia". She has memory loss. What pains lover-boy has to go through all the time. Nevertheless, I salute his courage. The bitter truth is that many Nigerians are like this sweet girl but with a faulty memory. For about six years GEJ has been president of this country we have gone from bad to worse. The situation is only getting worse. We voted for him because "he had a humble beginning" but this man has proved not to be a humble man. He has surrounded himself with thieves. GEJ has never had the courage to punish any offender within his cabinet. From the subsidy scandal to NNPC massive corruption to ineffectiveness in the top cadre of our military, mr president is clueless. He keeps preaching about good behavior and how he will make Nigeria better if re-elected. Under his watch our foreign reserve and the excess crude account have been depleted with only spurious explanations and defense offered by minister of finance and chairman of the economy, madam Okonjo. Oil was consistently at above $100 per barrel since he became president. What do we have to show for it? How much is still the pump price of PMS since the price of crude oil started the free fall? In countries where the citizens have memories and foresight, a man like GEJ would not spend more than two years in office. We say we are educated but simple decisions like exercising your electoral or civil right is so difficult for us to do. We can't even engage in civil disobedience against corrupt leaders, be they politicians or men of God. We sheepishly swallow every rubbish that's thrown at us. I have never seen a more docile people like us. We are all asleep, and we may die in our sleep if we fail to wake up now.

Oga Buhari will prove to be a better crumb if given the chance. We have to make do with what we have now. Every well thinking Nigerian now wished they never voted for GEJ. Beside our economic woes and teething corruption which now knows no boundary, you would have wished you were not a Nigerian if you had happened be among the refugees now displaced in the north east. GEJ has no desire to fight gboko haram. Our rickety military can still deal a fatal blow to those miscreants but GEJ is not showing enough willingness. This is the reason why America, the rest of the west and those that initially showed enthusiasm to help us find the chibok girls withdrew from the project all together. They saw the lack of seriousness in Abuja. it pains me that we Nigerians often times allow our emotions and petty sentiments to dictate our thoughts. We need this change to keep Nigeria alive and then we can start thinking of young and better refined leaders. I assure you that another year with GEJ as president will further plunge our dear country into darkness. The guy is confused and his ministers and supporters seem to lack the will power too to help stair the ship out of the storm.

chymystique:
Yeah u are right. We deserve a better leader and its not Buhari.. Dunoo why Nigerians ve decided to settle for crumbs offered by the APC..

Oga Buhari will prove to be a better crumb if given the chance. We have to make do with what we have now. Every well thinking Nigerian now wished they never voted for GEJ. Beside our economic woes and teething corruption which now knows no boundary, you would have wished you were not a Nigerian if you had happened be among the refugees now displaced in the north east. GEJ has no desire to fight gboko haram. Our rickety military can still deal a fatal blow to those miscreants but GEJ is not showing enough willingness.

What values do our noisy religions (christianity and islam) bequeath on their followers? Christians talk as if they are not members of this Nigerian society where values, principles and purpose have been trampled under foot. Values stem from people's education (formal and informal), exposure (immediate surrounding) and experience, and traditions(if any). What values do Nigerian Men of God give their followers? Who are our role models? Putting this whole religion visa vi value thing in context, we are living in a period where we as a society have no values. Members only show "loyalty" to their pastors. We lie to ourselves, cheat on each other, take short cuts, pray and wait for manners to fall from heaven where working hard a little extra would suffice. A society where respected Men of God openly anoint and support corrupt politicians. They even dine with them in their "holy" temples and in secret places and you are telling me of values. They convert your tithes and offerings and other voluntary donations into their own personal wealth. We think just because we "confess Jesus Christ is Lord" is all it takes. Even your bible said you should "not take glory in another man's work", you have to show your own work in order to have a genuine claim. Christianity would not come up for much criticism if you're whisked into the skies the moment you just say from your "heart" 'I believe in christ'. We blame every evil on "the last day" except our own damned selves. We fail to beam the torchlight on ourselves. We need to do deep soul searching and atone for our complicity and complacency. This is gross insanity. Let's keep all these inferiority complex we call spirituality aside and face the truth as it is: this society is on the brink of collapse and we are all responsible for it. Hold your men of God by their ears, drag them to the public square and begin asking them to give account for all the money you give them. Let them tell you whether God had actually spoken to them or they are just taking advantage of your ignorance. Ask them the role they play in the desecration of the hallow chambers of our national government. Go on hunger strikes and boycott fellowships until they tell you everything they know and how they are sending you gradually to hell instead of the much drummed about heaven and eternal bliss. You cannot talk of heaven when you cannot have it first here on earth (obviously, that principle is difficult for weak minds to grasp). Charity begins at home. Man has to first create heaven on earth and then when he dies he continues in heaven uninhibited. If when you die you left behind a hell, a disjointed family, wayward children, scandalous priests, disorganized society you simply meet another hell. The cycle continues. The biggest hurdle to our collective spiritual growth is how ignorant the so-called spiritually-minded folks are of spiritual laws. The best way to decipher spiritual laws is to understand natural laws. You'd be surprised that they are mirror images of one another. Biological principles replicate themselves. I'd have like to make references to work done by Deepak Chopra and other eminent scientists, religious practitioners and spiritual scientists but, I am afraid, an average Nigerian does not have the head for the work of science and opinions from other fields. An average nigerian christian thinks his bible is all he needs. How sad! All that Nigerian children and youths know as they grow up is Nollywood movies, artistes and the latest dancing moves. They can recite many artistes songs off hand, perhaps some bible and qu'ran passages, but they know little about the importance of education, honesty, loyalty to friends, camaraderie, hardwork as against taking shortcuts, critical thinking, etc. All we think about is just how to "make it" anyhow with total disregard to reasonableness and principles. We keep hiding behind our pulpits and bibles in denial of how lowly minded, evil and desperate we have become. I wish you good luck defending your bible and religion. Other world societies would transcend while the black society would remain hell bound.

BossTtdiamonds:
Neither religion nor science can move a society forward. It is what people do with them that matters. For every atrocity performed in the name of religion, we could give an atrocity performed in the name of science.
Don't be too quick to give up on God. Many scientists are switching their allegiance from evolution to creation because of recent discoveries and the fact that creation has the answer, science does not.
There are absolutes and to not believe so demonstrates a total lack of values. No wonder some persons cannot make the right choice, they have no values from which to base that choice. Moving forward, what does this mean? Moving forward into the abyss or moving forward to a greater Glory.
Religion can't cause man to regress. If man appears to be regressing, it's probably because he never really moved forward in the first place

What values do our noisy religions (christianity and islam) bequeath on their followers? You speak as if you are not a member of this Nigerian society where values, principles and purpose have been trampled under foot. Values stem from people's education (formal and informal), exposure (immediate surrounding) and experience. What values do Nigerian Men of God give their followers? Who are our role models? Putting this whole religion visa vi value thing in context, we are living in a period where we as a society have no values. Members only show "loyalty" to their pastors. We lie to ourselves, cheat on each other, take short cuts, pray and wait for manners to fall from heaven where working hard a little extra would suffice. A society where respected Men of God openly anoint and support corrupt politicians. They even dine with them in their "holy" temples and in secret places and you are telling me of values. They convert your tithes and offerings and other voluntary donations into their own personal wealth. We think just because we "confess Jesus Christ is Lord" is all it takes. Even your bible said you should "not take glory in another man's work", you have to show your own work in order to have a genuine claim. Christianity would not come up for much criticism if you're whisked into the skies the moment you just say from your "heart" 'I believe in christ'. We blame every evil on "the last day" except our own damned selves. We fail to beam the torchlight on ourselves. We need to do deep soul searching and atone for our complicity and complacency. This is gross insanity. Let's keep all these inferiority complex we call spirituality aside and face the truth as it is: this society is on the brink of collapse and we are all responsible for it. Hold your men of God by their ears, drag them to the public square and begin asking them to give account for all the money you give them. Let them tell you whether God had actually spoken to them or they are just taking advantage of your ignorance. Ask them the role they play in the desecration of the hallow chambers of our national government. Go on hunger strikes and boycott fellowships until they tell you everything they know and how they are sending you gradually to hell instead of the much drummed about heaven and eternal bliss. You cannot talk of heaven when you cannot have it first here on earth (obviously, that principle is difficult for weak minds to grasp). Charity begins at home. Man has to first create heaven on earth and then when he dies he continues in heaven uninhibited. If when you die you left behind a hell, a disjointed family, wayward children, scandalous priests, disorganized society you simply meet another hell. The cycle continues. The biggest hurdle to our collective spiritual growth is how ignorant the so-called spiritually-minded folks are of spiritual laws. The best way to decipher spiritual laws is to understand natural laws. You'd be surprised that they are mirror images of one another. Biological principles replicate themselves. I'd have like to make references to work done by Deepak Chopra and other eminent scientists, religious practitioners and spiritual scientists but, I am afraid, an average Nigerian does not have the head for the work of science and opinions from other fields. An average nigerian christian thinks his bible is all he needs. How sad!

Maamin:
First things first..learn to differentiate between insult and description of what you are.

Now what we demanded for is simple..this your so called original but fake Egyptian religion Christianity copied from where is it? ..at least we have the Bible. And stop dancing around in circle

@ the last bold, Can I also call that an insult? ..by the way am not religious

You are guilty of what you accuse us 'real fact and evidence'

(yawn) --- mo fe lo sun

Maamin:
@ the bold quote is taking out of context.

What fruits do we have to show collectively? What the society does in whole dwarfs a single man's efforts in his closet. Of course, many of such individual efforts is needed to change the society so that the fruits will become conspicuous instead of just being the testimonies of just a handful. My grouse with religion, especially in African society, is that it has succeeded in keeping the African in perpetual slavery. It's difficult for a person whose head is steeped in religion to understand this but our manner of religion is the reason why we are where we are. The black race stopped evolving since we sheepishly accepted the religion our European and Arab "brethren" forced on us. We where given religion without education. The problem is that we immediately jettisoned our own civilization and education and embraced religion because we where told it would cure us of plagues, sicknesses, diseases, poverty and afflictions. We hated our own color. It was another slavery more powerful than it's predecessor. A mind that is not enslaved is free even if the body be in slave and torture but a man with an enslaved mind is a slave even if his body is unrestrained.

Maamin:
Were you saying something?

block head

BossTtdiamonds:
When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you." Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him?

Religion, being what it is, cannot lead man to God. If anything, the mainstream religions have only succeeded in taking man's quest of higher knowledge backwards. Religion is full of politics and so many men of small minds. This constant bickering about doctrines and correctness will only succeed in widening the partition between us and the knowledge of the Almighty. What is written is far less important than what men do about the written and the unwritten. For man to evolve correctly he needs to be looking forward but religion is designed to keep us in the past, and people that never get pass their past can never move forward. Religion will not open the heavens to man. Fundamentalism and Jihadism are enemies of spiritual progress. Knowledge cannot thrive where religion rules the lives of men and women. Only very few amongst men are truly free and without the freedom to be what you are created to be transcending the limitations of the present ego dominated world would remain a mere dream and only talks on pulpits. I only see posing and bragging about how spiritual and godly we are but in reality all these posing and bragging are empty. Believers are only believers in words but in practice there's really no true believer; just junkies and religiously lost souls.

Maamin:
They think they are wise...infact an intelligent person wont disregard the existence of a creator(God). Only The laws of uncertainty is a big stumbling block for them

@BossTtdiamonds dont go that far jare! That dude does not understand biogenesis.

The only thing that matters is our own existence. If we can prove our own existence and know all that we need to know, then we will know all things. We can't know things that require resolution greater than the most powerful microscopes to observe their presence until we become the microscopes. Religions and folks should stop arguing about God and deities and focus on knowing more about ourselves and the world we live in. This planet does not exist in vacuum. I have a strong believe that if we all come to know all that we need to know about ourselves and the world and act accordingly (changing our attitudes to reflect principles and natural laws), we would come to know all gods, be it God, angels and all that we are yet to know. In a forest full trees as big as the oaks, the irokos and all powerful tree species, how can a miniature shrub claim to know everything about the taller trees? The shrubs have to shut the f**k up and grow up till they can boast the height of the tiniest oak in the forest. We talk about God yet we are destroying the earth, we are living lives of desperation, greed, anger, crimes, and all forms of vices. We have to first grow up and become pure like the deities we talk about or we want to know about. If not all these will just remain as unproven knowledge and our emotions will continue to undermine our positive intentions.

Maamin:
Dont sweat it bro, christianity is not a religion

If u have the slightest knowledge of the real world u will believe in the supernatural and spiritual..the bible says:

Romans.1:20
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Hebrew 11:3
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Now that is faith for u

Why do we have to go to the bible or qu'ran to read up passages to support our claims all the time? Why can't we point to things in our lives as evidences to support the written text? What does that say about the claims in the word? something that's supposed to transform our lives, yet we have to be quoting texts and passages every time we are cornered. The same word states that "by their fruits you know them", where are the fruits? We are good at talking but in deeds we are like lame ducks. Truth alone can't stand until we are able to practice it. Keep your bible and start doing. Keep your qu'ran and start doing. Start living folks!

Maamin:
Remember that for something to be copied from somewhere there got to be original, in other words if you cant provide us with original then you need to zip it ..@bolded

Your myopic sense of reasoning cant be regarded as the well and thoroughly educated and liberated mind.

If you were into real natural science then you should know that there is God

First thing first, learn to communicate instead of using insulting words. That's not considered a good education. Well, originality is not the same thing as it being true. All lies have origins. The original liar knows he lied but to those of us who don't have the facts will take it as truth until we are able to find empirical evidence to either disprove the "original" lie or otherwise. So, to be original does not say anything about it's veracity. The Egyptian religion that christianity copied heavily from is considered original by most historians and also evidence from ancient texts and archaeology support its authenticity, at least to the people of that era. The question is not whether there's God or not. Nobody will complain about religions or even question their authenticity if they have the right effect on the society. So many promises but little to show for it. In most religious texts, you read about the fact that the most important law is the law of love and that all believers should ensure they promote justice, equity and harmony in their society. These things are only spoken about, often with gravitas, but in practice nobody pays heed to them. Most christians, take for instance, only attend churches because of the promised blessings and the hope of heaven. People don't go to church because they really want to learn how to change and become good human beings. If it were so, the nigerian society would not be this rotten. So, you "serve God" out of fear of hell and not because you want to obey the simple law of love. Your pastors and overseers, seeing this weakness seek to take advantage of you and they through subtleties and subliminal messages make you surrender all your monies. You give them your energies, your sweat, and some even their bodies and souls. What has the society benefited from our supposed knowledge of God? Have you succeeded in making others richer and you in turn become depraved and desperate and disconsolate or the society is better because we are moslems or christians? This present society cannot move forward if we continue to act with impunity and fail to question all our intentions. One odd thing i see in us religious people is the inability to think properly. Your reply is suggestive of that fact.

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lrguru:
I have never been to any before, but the BIBLE said so, and the BIBLE is GOD'S Word, which is the TRUTH

the bible is not God's word. It was written by men like you and me. The bible is full of many stupid and evil things it claims God did on behalf of the Jewish people. God killed women, children and young people for the sake of Israel. The God of the bible supported slavery. David after the heart of God after all those atrocities? That one na God? The bible can't stand a rigorous test. Jesus never existed. There are more evidences denying his existence than otherwise. The apostles were not real. Christianity was started by King Philip and expounded by Alexander, they call the great. He wasn't really great because he was a mass murderer. He started wars where there was peace and prosperity. The guy destroyed ancient Egyptian civilization and religion. The then Egypt was prosperous, "democratic" and has a thriving religion that bonded the people together in peace and unity. They destroyed both the religion and the civilization and copy from it what is now called Christianity and Islam in turn copy from the holy bible and added it's own atrocities and other "good" stuffs. All plagiarized! They all have similar origin, although Mohammed existed, so they say. That is the only truth in the Qur'an, the rest is falsehood.

Maamin:
That they are before him is not enough evidence to categorically base ur queries on Jesus, besides how comes these so called 8 people are not copying one another too?..hun

They all copied. Even the ancient Egyptian religion that Christianity copied heavily from is also a lie. Man always has this inkling that there has to be a God, powers, ghosts or something. The quest for power over fellow humans, fear and all sorts of avarice, and also for some good reasons too led our ancestors to take what they do no understand as sacred and holy. Clever writers, performers, poets, monarchies and other authorities created gods, angels and deities giving them story lines that have come to sound plausible and miraculous to people that will read about them later. They are simply myths that the unscientific mind fail to question and accepted as truth. Lies repeated over many years often become truth. The only way to know the truth is to subject them to rigorous test. This requires well and thoroughly educated and liberated minds.

Kentox:
End time tins... Be careful with your faith!

the only end time is that christians and moslems that only know religion without knowledge of the real world they live in will die in ignorance and their souls will remain disturbed and lost until they through pains and struggle get to know the simple truth that has remain elusive to them in this life.

ayo84:
no one is picking on him.... i wont be proud of someone if his story was merely copied from over 8 ppl before him ... it wud make it look like a pattern.. and guess what .. all similar deities were picked on ..

Even our sane minds, if well educated, should reveal all the flaws of the bible, and other holy texts. Look at the large gulf that separate practices from beliefs and doctrines. Look at how our egos take the place of common sense. No christian has achieved "righteousness" let alone even can do good consistently enough except for selfish reasons yet you hear preachers sing songs of how righteous a christian should/can be. Compare the level of morality between, a country like, say Japan and America, for example. I dare not say Nigeria because even the devil may be considered more morally pure than a Nigerian Man of God, or members. Now, you look, people don't talk about mercy, love and forgiveness once their egos are involved. Even animals without a visible sense of consciousness of a deity are more good-minded than us. Monkeys love themselves. How much do humans love themselves? We do not need to trace these obtrusive religions to ancient times before we can discern their falsehood. Common sense already can decipher the truth.

I am a christian, or properly put, i used to be a devout christian of the pentecostal sect. I was a fundamentalist christian of the deeper life breed but over the years my adult mind has seen, observed, studied, experienced and learned a lot that has shaped my current opinion on christianity and religion. From the nigerian context, the premise that christianity is a holy religion or "the religion of God" is false. Islam is not better but my focus is on christianity. It's no longer news that corruption is a culture in nigeria. What surprise me is the manner MOGs exonerate themselves from this cankerworm called corruption. They point accusing fingers at politicians. The fact of the matter is that corruption was introduced into the modern nigerian society by the christian religion through its various sects. They collect all sorts of monies from their members in the guise of evangelism or sowing seeds and other marketing jargons they coin whenever "the holy ghost" speaks to them. Nobody account for these collections. The CEO, overseer, founder or whoever is in charge overrules everybody else as the sole seer or messenger who has the authentic calling. He presides over all the church's accounts and, in principle owns the church and it's affiliates. You can't question the MOG. He heard the word and gives the word "as is". He and his fellow pastors and workers "prepare" the soul of the members for heaven. The funny part is why these people busily prepare for heaven, as they are made to believe, they hardly prepare to live and maximize the life they presently have. It's this message of escaping hell at all cost that's the real winner for these fraudulent MOGs. They first make you to hate your present existence by making you believe that you and your folks are all sinners and therefore deserve to die and condemned to eternal damnation. This is the greatest injustice man has ever done to man. This first take away your self-esteem, security, hope and render you powerless. The damage cannot be measured by the ordinary man because he cannot see beyond his immediate reactionary self. Once you are depraved of your self esteem, hope and security you become amenable to deception because you are now stricken with fear and you need immediate salvation from this your woeful self, only made so because you allowed yourself to be deceived. All major religions have these powerful psychological weapon with which they use to proselyte new comers. The history of the genesis of major religions, chief of which are islam and christianty, where started mainly as weapons to control the masses. It was a tool meant primarily to enslave and dominate. A cursory look at the bible will reveal it's support for slavery, murders and all forms of political intrigues as long as the primary benefactor is the supposedly "chosen" people of God. How has a supposedly supreme being reduced to such trivials, acrimony, blood-letting, petty politics and all forms of "holy" evils? Coming back to the times we live in, taking nigeria as a case study, the christian body is more corrupt than the nigerian polity. Churches have no right, in a civilized society, to collect money from church members. In the event that donations are made, the money must be well accounted for and expended appropriately for the benefit of all or the intended lawful beneficiary. Pastors launder money because Nigeria has weak financial laws. This is the main reason why our MOGs cannot hold politicians responsible for the corruption that has destroyed the structure of our collective civilization. Christianity in nigeria has also wreaked havoc on our people's psyche. We have become beggers and weaklings. We prefer shortcuts to hardwork. We are afraid to think because we don't know how. We have become so shallow and gullible because our minds are not developed. Christians speak about things they do not know. We speak of heavenly bliss, holiness, righteousness, Abraham's blessings but we know nothing about natural laws and principles, yet we are part and parcel of nature. All you see is sicknesses, diseases, poverty, lies, impunity, corruption, ignorance, etc. We keep pointing to the heavens while the earth keeps beckoning on us to for once look down hard enough, perhaps, the solution lies right here or right in your head. My people will not heed until destruction comes right at them.