Some of the guys posting here do not have a modicum of respect for procedures. They sound like Gani Fawehinmi, who was once a champion of democracy only for him to turn round and try woefully to scatter and undermine the very democracy which he fought all his life to enthrone. Listen up; no matter how corrupt Dariye, Alamiesigha, Fayose or any other branded corrupt politician is, the due constitutional process for removing him must be followed, if and whenever it becomes necessary to so do. That is democracy, that is the rule of law. Else, we encourage anarchy and resort to self help which are anaethemic to democracy. And for God's sake, why was it so crucial to punish and persecute Dariye at the material time that OBJ chose to? Why Dariye? Why not Odili? Why not Attah? Why not Ibori? Why not Nnamani?

For all I care, Dariye, Alamiesigha, Fayose and all 'impeached and impeachabeable" governors of the OBJ era constituted themselves into stumbling blocks for the 'third-third' prject of his majesty, the presido, hence the expediency of their removal through the most horrendous methods possible. It is a shame that OBJ has lost nearly every court case his administration has ever undertaken. It speaks volumes of the cedentials and credibility of his legal advisers and even Bayo Ojo, the Attorney-General. Afe Babalola's credentials are also questionable! They have faieled to open their oga's eyes to the many innuendos that have dogged his dying regime. If truly OBJ had plans to fight corruption,let him detail his czar, Nuhu Ribadu to compile dozziers on all corrupt politicians of the moment, wait until may 29, arrest all of them upon their descent from the throne and clamp them into jail. That is the wis thing to do, instead of rsorting to unlawful impeachment and intimidation tactics.

Again, Ribadu should also prepare to arrest OBJ and charge to court for wasting our commonwealth on the fraud of the past 2 weekends called elections! The corruption of stealing the votes of 65 million Nigerians is worse than even armed robbery. All the loot of Alams, Dariye, Fayose, Odili etc put together cannot equate the size and amount of money OBJ siphoned through Maurice Iwu's INEC to conduct a sham election that is reputed to have fallen below even the worst standards imagineable!

Thank God for our judiciary. Thank God for our resilience! Thank God we are alive to see this day. Shame on Obasanjo and his PDP!

have got a brand new n95 goes 4 n130,000 give me a call 08022982697

130k is rather high. Goes for btw $450 and $800 overseas. So, why so high? I was thinking of something lower. Maybe, I need 2 wait a little more.

I need to buy Nokia N95 in Nigeria.  Please let me know if you have it (anyone) at the best price.

Edo--- Stalemated.  Oshiomole and Ogbemudia keeping vigil at INEC office to protect their interests.  Widespread rigging engineered by Anenih.  'Results" still being expected.

Lagos--- Too close to call. Fashola in the lead but PDP is trying some mago-mago.  Results  still awaited.

AC's Fashola Leads In Lagos State Oyo: Senator Abiola Ajimobi of ANPP has surged ahead of other candidates. Ondo State: Labor Party candidate, Rahman Olusegun Mimiko Ekiti State: Kayode Fayemi of Action Congress leads


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AC's Fashola Leads In Lagos State
BY Sunny Ofili
DATE : Saturday, 14 April 2007
Election Results: Lagos States; Babatunde Raji Fashola of Action Congress (AC) leads with 692, 776 votes (53%) followed by Musiliu Obanikoro of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 328, 434 votes (25%) out of a total of 1.3 million votes counted so far.


Ekiti State:
Kayode Fayemi of Action Congress leads the race followed closely by PDP’s Olusegun Adebayo Oni

Ondo State:
Labor Party candidate, Rahman Olusegun Mimiko leads incumbent governor Olusegun Agagu of PDP with a large margin

Oyo:
Senator Abiola Ajimobi of ANPP has surged ahead of other candidates.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 April 2007 )


source: http://www.thetimesofnigeria.com/

Did you vote in the just-concluded (s)election?  If you did, share your experience.  If you did not, why not?   Lets make our voices heard for if we are not prepared to stand up for what we believe in, we may all well die for what we don't believe in.

For me, I couldn't vote.  My name was not on the register.  More so, there were too many thugs and guns on showcase.

The mathematics is simple: Use Celtel throughout the weekend! Use Celtel and MTN weekdays to call the respective networks. That way, you keep your bills down. Split th money u spend on airtime evenly between d 2 networks. Above all, keep 3 family n friends in MTN, and 5 in Celtel. If they think they are smart, lets show them we are smarter!

Corny man die, corny man bury am.

Please whats the code for adding numbers to the Celtel Friends and Family list? And please, who knows the rate applicable in the F&F?

@LePhilippe
Its clear you've not been to calabar in a long time. We have the best infrastructure here. CRUTECH had all its courses accredited by NUC, unlike other schoools, including UI and UNILAG! We have the best network of roads, than any other state capital in the south of Nigeria.

The Obudu Ranch was a good idea but is it me or are all the pictures of it bare. Doesn't this indicate that it wasn't a great success.

Whats the message here? Can you rephrase this? In case you don't have the time, I'd tell you to conduct some more study on the ranch project. It is the only tourist location in this country that remains fully booked 2 months away! I tell you, the state govt is making as much money from d ranch, as it is making from the federation accounts! That can't be referred to as a 'bare' place. Shine your eyes!

Will TINAPA turn out this way Besides the point, the airport in calabar is disastrous. Hasn't he ever been told that to promote the tourism sector the airport is the gateway to a country or city. Secondly, Calabar's Dilapidated infrastructure and out dated CBD is an insult.

Again, you haven't been to the Margaret Ekpo Airport in a very long time. It is one of the few working airports in Nigeria, with all the facilities in good condition. My idea of infrastructure are roads, electricity, water, sanitation, schools, hospitals. All of these are in the best forms possible. The roads are good (I said this earlier), electricty supply is improving (being the exclusive preserve of the FG), there has been constant potable water supply 24/7 since 2004 in every home, Calabar is the cleanest and neates state capital in Nigeria, the school system is top of the range with 2 functional high-end universities in Calabar alone, the health management system boasts of expert local and foreign doctors on call 24/7 and the hospitals are very efficient and functional with good facilities. When then lays your 'dilapidated infrastructure'?

Finally, I advice you to come to Calabar in the day, and get better informed before you end up misleading people on the forum.

Miami, the hollywood version!

@my2cents
Da, idiokke ye owo mfo! Abasi do ye nnyin.

I agree with u dat bikes provided cold comfort to pedestrians, but if u visit the authopaedic section of our hospitals, u'd b confronted with the stark reality of the dangers we face on our roads with okada. But let us note here that the temporary ban on the operation of okada will lapse on February 15. After that day, all registered okadamen would be free to ply their trade responsibly while the 'fake' headstrong ones would have no choice than to pack out of town.

There is a catch 22 to all this. Do you know that you need an identification document to prove your personality before you can register to ride okada? The agency accepts only the National ID Card or a valid driver's licence. else, no show! I support any effort that would tie a face and an address to any okada so that in the event of anybody getting molested or robbed, one can easily track and trace whoever was the okadaman. A database of okadamen is being compiled. That is the way it should be. No group of people, no matter how important they are to d economy shd ever be allowed the luxury of staying above the law, else we'd be building a banana empire.

It is common knowledge that Nigeria is the only country in the world where people wait to be thoroughly harrassed before they can take steps to protect themselves from endangering their own lives. It is very extraordinary to imagine a society where people are threatened with sanctions to protect their only heads with helmet! It is absurd, to say the least.

As for making them wear helmet, I say it is a dbl standard on the part of the government as they don't bother enforcing the use of seatbelts with respect to motorists. Does this make driving a car any less dangerous because of this? If the govt is going to make cyclists wear a helmet, then they should make motorists use a seat belt. Failure to do so should result in banning motorists as well

You are wrong on this score. Driving without seatbelts attracts severe sanctions now, anywhere in naija. The enforcement started since 2004 and a great majority of drivers in calabar wear the belt whenever they r on the road. Else, they are booked and may have to goto FRSC office to speak grammar with them. (unless the smart ones who know how to 'Egunje' quickly)

As I said earlier, Calabar looks exactly like Miami, without the okadaman on the street. I wish the fun would last forever

Am getting here rather late. Its been long since I was disconnected from Nairaland due to the lack of OKada to take me here. Having said that, I'd like to tell all NLders that the 'temporary' ban on Okada from the whistle-clean town of Calabar is the best thing to have happened. These guys (okadas) never wanted to behave well. It all started in 2005, when the state govt. issued an order to all motorcycle riders, directing them to get protective helmets from the open market for them and for their passengers. The appeals ran on radio for several months, yet no single Okadaman wore even a saucer or any semblance of an helmet, let alone their passengers. It is a well-known fact that all chinese-made motorbikes (Cargo, Qlink, etc) which are the predorminant in Calabar, nay Nigeria all come with Helmets attached as part of the package yet, nobody wears them.

Back to Calabar, the govt. then tried to compel them by using the FRSC guys to enforce the order yet, no one complied. The FRSC even went on air time and again to educate everybody about the need to wear protective helmets, yet no one cared. It was at this crossroads that the govt decided to set up the motorcycle transport regulating agency which is now charged with the responsibility of getting the 'faceless' okadamen to get their acts together. The agency then tried to organize the okadamen, and goaded them to get together and form a front. They complied and set up their own group with which d agency, and by extension, the state government was negotiating. They agreed in early 2006 to let govt provide two uniform helmets, one uniform reflective numbered jacket and registration for them at a fee of N13,800. The Okadamen complaint that they were buying daily 'tickets' from the LGA's, which amounted to N14,600 p/a and that they were manhandled by area boys engaged by d LGA's to sell the tickets. It was at this point that the gov. imposed a complete ban on the sale of tickets to okada in June 2006, as part of the agreement reached. The okada on their part promised to pay the N13,800 starting from June 2006, while enforceent was to commence Oct. 1, 2006. As the deadline approached, okada association approached d gov and sought for more time, to enable them comply. The gov. (Donald Duke) personally presided over the very last negotiation in october 2006. It was there that d final agreement was reached to shift enforcement to Jan. 2, 2007. The complain that 13.8k was difficult to cough out at once was acknowledged by Duke, hence the directive that the money b paid in 3 installments.

D-day came Jan 2, 2007 and the police was called up to enforce the order. Few days later, the okadamen (or their proxies) went and torched the Atakpa Police Station Staff Quarters with petrol, completely razing all the houses and the properties of the occupants to ashes! I was in Conoil Filling Station, Murtala Mohammed Highway whn the town was held on its jugular for several hours by these hoodlums. All the okadamen in the viccinity where I was joined their colleagues in celebrating the arson. I rememember cautioning one of them that he shd brace up for a last fight with govt over the condemnable act coz I knew tht the govt would surely weild the big stick. On that day, d gov was in Abuja or the council of states meeting on Census Results. He returned the next day and announced a 30-day ban on okada operation. He also ordered the police and security agencies to bring all the might of the state to bear on any defaulter. I was stunned the next morning, when I stepped out to find that several hundreds of okadamen had flauted the order and dared the very police they faught only 2 days back. They are now cooling their heels in the police stations. Some I am told, have died of exhaustion and suffocation in the overcrowded cells in the police stations and Calabar prison. Hundreds of Thousands of motorbikes litter police stations in the town. The fight has been furious, and the okadamen have been seriously worsted!

From all these, we the ordinary people living in Calabar feel the okadamen were misguided into taking the laws into their hands and therefore, shd be made to pay fully for it. We are suffering the effcts though, but the town is saner without okadas, than when we had them running everywhere.

For those who think that the absence of Okadamen would trigger more robbery and insecurity, I dare say they are wrong! The town has witnessed unprecedented peace now, more than any other time in the entire history of Calabar. The thieves were always running with motorbikes. Now that no one can ride a bike in town unchecked, the thieves have had no option than to relocate to Akwa Ibom where 'anything goes'.

Finally, I must add that Okada business is a killer kind of business. I was an okadaman in PH between jan and dec 2000 and if anything, I can authoritatively tell whoever cares to listen that Okada poses a grave danger to our collective survival. They must be made to wear crash helmets and take simple measures to protect themselves and indeed, the public from harm's way. We are solidly behind Duke in this fight.

The removal/impeachment of Peter Obi as governor of Anambra State has been nullified by an Awka High Court. Does anyone have more details? Lets share it please!

The tallying and counting of the so-called votes is ongoing on TV. Very sickening to my hearing apparatus. It goes thus: Yaradua, Yaradua, Yaradua, Aliyu Gusau, Yaradua, Marwa, Yaradua, Yaradua, Yaradua, Rochas Okorocha, Yaradua, Yaradua, Jerry Gana, Yaradua, Ebitu Ukiwe, Yaradua, Yaradua, Yaradua, etc. It is a charade of the first order. I believe that God is alive and well and watching over us. He can turn this seeming imposition into a blessing of monumental proportion.

OBJ and his lackeys have ammended the PDP constitution so that only OBJ would be fit to be the Board of Trustees chairman as long as he lives, and the BOT shall be the final clearing house for govt policies. Nice and easy like mathematics. But OBJ and his henchmen have forgotten that Ekweme and Lar did the same permutation and calculation when they went to prison to bring OBJ on to contest and coast home to victory. After he grabbed power, he turned against them, took over the parties structures, etc. The rest, as they say, is history today.

Lets give Yaradua the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, he seems the lesser evil amongst the pack of northern masquaraders who pushed their posters on our sensibilities these past few months. He is a little calmer and more human than the likes of Marwa, Odili, Atiku, etc. And PDP being a political party, couldn't have afforded to give the present ticket to anybody from the southern part of Nigeria given that the opposition parties have already decided to field people of the northern extaction for the contest. PDP would have been in a quandry in the main elections especially given the apparent emergence of Atiku and possibly, IBB in another platform. Yaradua therefore became the trump card available in the PDP to checkmate these realities. That is politics for you. Sometimes, things happen and go the way no one originally thought. I have confidence that if Duke is the running mate to Yaradua, they would still perform far better than OBJ, IBB or Marwa. Yaradua doesnt look to me like a saddist that OBJ is. More so, Duke would avail the govt his wealth of ideas. And since Yaradua is terminally ill, he would steal more modestly knowing that his days are numbered, and that would translate to better governance and growth for we, the ordinary people of this great republic.

I am confident that God has started looking at Nigeria. Surely, tomorrow would be better than today. Lets keep hope alive.

I have a passion for good things. I bought my little cool BMw 320i 1993 model (6 cylinder) in 2004 and as I write this, I can't even imagine a better buy. Before then, all my friends were vehemently opposed to the idea of a BM. I, being a Canaan City crooner, felt that only the best is good enough. I must tell you, I enjoy every dime spent on that piece of solid metal. For me, my wife, my children, my cat, my friends and even foes, I'd recommend a BM any day. Mine has traversed the entire length and bredth of Naija, and is still rugged and rearing to go. The little money u spend wud be on changing the oils and the general maintenance. Every piece of equipment is like any other. The better you take care of it, the longer it would last for you. The most I have ever changed in that horse has been the Cambers, bushings and the regular oil servicings. It has never failed to start at the first ignition. It has never left me starnded on the road. It has never failed to function maximally. It consumes fuel averagely in the region of 1 litre per 10 kilos within town, and less on the long haul.

I may agree that the parts are more expensive but my brother, they are cheaper on the long run, since they seldon break down.

BMW is the ultimate driving experience. No doubts about that.

@ Falciparum

Call 08069327897

@ Nilla

Idioke! Thanks thanks thanks.

@ Ndipe

Ami ndihe eyen efik, ndi eyen Akwa Abasi Ibom, edi nnam utom nyung ndung ke efik, mmonyung mma uforo emi akade iso mmi k'obio atakpa ikot effiom. lol

@ toshman

I will do just that. I've started gathering the pictures of the defining moments. Thanks.

To everyone,
You are invited to Calabar. The talk about HIV cannot scare you away unless you have evil intentions. HIV is present and prevalent in every society. In Nigeria, we have a dearth of statistical agencies that can truly conduct researches and come out with reliable figures. All the fuse on the media about HIV is propaganda, designed to corner foreign aid from unsuspecting donors to the countless NGO's in naija. HIV is becoming the fastest growing industry in Nigeria, second only to Churches. To keep the wheels of the funs turning, these so-called HIV NGO's manufacture alll sorts of statistics and publish same so that the world would think that a lot of money is needed to fight HIV. If you ask me, I would tell you that the HIV prevalence reports are not worth the paper and ink with which they are written. You read for instance that a state such as Benue is on top of the list today, 3 months after you read again that they have dropped to the 6th position, then suddenly, another state has overtaken. This can't be true. Distribution of illnesses and diseases cannot be as dynamic as they are telling us.

This is my opinion though, but I think am not far from the truth!

@ nilla
Are u in calabar? Hello to all cally guys and gals on board. If you are right now in Calabar, get in touch with moi. We are forming the Donald Duke solidarity group. Moreso, we (I and a group of other nairalanders) shouldn't b left of the fast-approaching xmas festivities. The town is wearing a new look. All construction works in town are to b completed before the 2007 carnival.

If you are resident here or would like to b part of the big show, please lift up your hands and be counted.

Things go wrong in our society and we clap.  Isn't it shmaeful?   Can someone tell me why Dariye's jumping of bail has become more grievous a crime than OBJ's looting of our treasury to build Otta Farms and Bells Group  of Schools? Why have we not seen maybe, 10 senators and 16 house of reps members getting up to impeach him?  Its very odd that in the 21st century, with our brains still intact, anyone of us would applaud the show of shame going on in Anambra, Ekiti, Oyo and Plateau States.  Constitutional democracy means the rule of law!  No matter the weight of the crimes committed by the 'impeached' govs on these states, it amounts to insanity to use less than majority members of a house to impeach these guys.  It makes a mockery of our so-called democracy.  Have we ever imagined what would happen in Nigeria if a faction of the national assembly meets some day to pass a resolution that OBJ has been impeached?  Without the constitutional 2/3 majority?  The answer is simple.  Anarchy!

For Odeku, I must admit that it is now that I can clearly fix his level of reasoning.  No wonder, he supports a criminal like IBB.  Can he explain to us where the $12 billion gulf oild windfall of the 90's is?  Is stealing of oil money by the President not 'impeachable'?  I hereby move a motion that General Ibrahim Babangida, together with his group of oil-money stealers, parcel bomb senders, innocent nigerian students' killers, free election annullers, etc (in the bad sense though) be impeached and are hereby impeached from Nigeria till further notice.  They  are hereby ordered to be sent to the hottest part of Hell where they would burn to oblivion.  Can someone second the motion so that we take the votes?

Whats makes a strong man? His face? Or looks? Or ability to suck innocent blood like IBB? What on earth is your yardstick for measuring strength? Who told you IBB is 'focused'? If he is tht strong, why did he run away the last time? Why did he step aside? Why? Why didn't he stay on and take the heat, after annulling June 12? Did he show any strength in that?

For whatever you refer to as fire and desire and determination, I presume you have not followed the antecedents of Donald Duke. If you did, you would not shamelessly say that you prefer IBB to Duke! It is a big shame to my generation for anybody to still stand in the open and support an idiot of IBB's mould. You refer to Duke as a 'toothless boy scout'? Must you be a blood sucker, so that you can be seen as a 'toothfull man eater'? Come on guys, Wole Soyinka once said that a tiger does not need to prove its tigretude. A president doesn't need to look as haggard, rough, old, mannerless and bushy as IBB or OBJ before we can vote for him; or before he makes a good president. If Henry and Big B1 belong to this generation then am sorry for all of us.

But, Nigeria would be great again; we shall definitely rise above the level of IBB & co. No amaount of grandstanding by a million faceless IBB supporters would stand in the way of 230 million nigerians. Duke is the guy we can rely on.

@ Cabali
Is there anything u know, which we don't?  Please reveal o!

@ Hayo

Who go talk say im mama soup no sweet?  You better go tell Celtel (or whatever is their $h*t name) that they have already lost a big chunk of their dedicated and loyal customers due to their sluggishness, to competition.  Take it or leave it, if they don't wake up quickly from their long-drawn sleep, they would wake up to find themselves in the same bed as Mtel.  Everybody I knew, who was on Vmobile, is now on MTN.  My entire family was 100% Vmobile, now we are 101% MTN.  They came to Nigeria, making all sorts of noise, promising to crash tariffs and build networks even in my mother's soup pot.  They sent jitters down the spins of Glo and MTN.  They reacted by crashing their tariffs, believing wrongly that Celtel was a bulldog.  Today, we know better.  Am sure, even MTN and Glo must have started regretting why they overrated the capability of Celtel.   No one should decieve us.  Celtel is a toothless bulldog.  More barks; no bite!  To hell with them.

@ Streetcyph

Your fears about minority and south-west are genuine.  I however feel that at this point in our nations's history, we don't really need to see ourselves in the narrow prism of artificial boundaries.  The different divides of north, south, east and west are peopled by human beings like you and I.  There is never a point in our political history in which any segment of our population met to decide on who to vote for or support.  rather, different people have different reasons for supporting different candidates.  In 1992, MKO Abiola (A MUSLIM) paired up with Baba Gana Kingibe (ANOTHER MUSLIM) to fly the tickets of the then SDP.  They won overwhelmingly in all the zones of the country. They even won in Kano, ehere Tofa (NRC candidate) came from! When quality candidates are presented to the voting public, artificial parochial divisions fade into nothingness.  In every corner of Nigeria right now, Donald Duke is preferred to all other contenders, even when we are aware, he is from the minority.

Also, there is a fact you must know.  Donald Duke is from the minority part of Cross River State.  The Efiks are found in just 5 LGA's out of 18 in CRS and Don is Efik.  In 1999, no one gave him a chance against the more popular, more exposed, more well-known Kanu Agabi who was tipped to become the next gov of CRS.  Don arrived from nowhere and clinched the seat.  It proved even the most liberal bookmaker wrong as everybody had concluded that Agabi is the next governor.  The rest as they say, is history.

A good product sells, no matter where the seller is located.  For now, I see Donald Duke as the next big thing in Nigeria.  Mark my words!

IBB is a thief; a murderer; a robber.  Lets not dissipate our energies on an IBB candidacy.  If PDP tries it, they would have hot wild fire to contend with.  A million and one Big B1's would never pull the power to bring IBB back on stage.  We all forced him to 'step aside', and if he thinks we are dead, then he is dead wrong.  He will meet his waterloo.  We leave it at that for now, and watch out.

I have always admired Pat Utomi.  He is a fine gentleman, but can someone please point to his best achievement in leadership apart from hosting the Patito's Gang?  Leaders must first pass through the crucible of real politik at any level before they aspire for the top job.  History has never produced a good president who started out as a green-horn.  Pat should first aspire to lead his home state - Edo - so that he can taste the real workings of constitutional democracy before getting himself into the race for the top job.  We need to guage his achievements in political position, and compare it with others.  Since he has never held any elective political position before, it is very hard to convice a lot of people that he would be capable of handling the exalted office of President.  Let him start from somewhere.  Same goes for Chris Okotie.

Finally on Donald Duke, I must confess that my heart bleeds, each time my fellow compatroits continue to allow sentiments over-cloud their sense of judgement.  Some forum members have tended to tar the image of Donald Duke with the brush of tribalism.  I strongly beg to disagree.  I am a living proof of the guys detribalized nature.  I (from Akwa Ibom) am in charge of the IT unit of a Cross River State government owned parastatal.  I recall that Larry Esin, (also indigene of Akwa Ibom) was the chief executive officer of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau for many years.  These are just few examples of what Donald Duke stands for.  He likes excellence.  He gets the best hands to do the job, irrespective of tribe, religion, etc.   Jeta Amata, who produced Amazing Grace is not an indigene of Cross River State, eventhough the project was wholly sponsored by the state govt.  Obudu Ranch Resort is not managed by Cross Riverians.  I can go on and on and on to name instances where Donald Duke has bended over backwards to bring the best hands around the globe, to get jobs done.

We should not look for cobwebs in Donald Dukes's bedroom just because we stereotypically want to give him a bad name.  The guy is not an angel, he has his flaws like most humans do, but I insist that he is the best choice that we have in the pack of all the people angling to succeed uncle Sege.  He deserves our support and encouragement.

CelTel is an embarrassment to all the pundits who routed for them from the start.  My first love was Econet, then Vodacom, then Vmobile until it became Celtel. Since 2001, I've kept faith with these dudes but I have been completely let down by their present posturing.  They have finally forced me to willy-nilly abandon my beloved Econet line for MTN because of the insensitivity of the management of Celtel to the feelings of the nigerian market.  Initially, I was spending an average of 15k to run my celtel line per month!  Now, I am down to about 6k a month on MTN, and I even call more and longer than what I used to, on Celtel.  This gives me an average net-saving of 9k a month!  Wth my 3 family and friends numbers on tne MTN XtraConnect package, I feel great and happy.  Celtel would need to do the extra-ordinary, to get me back on their network.  This makes me sad, bt I must first take care of my pocket before I care about CelTel.

Thank God Pat Utomi has moved over to Action Congress. He was the next alternative on the line. Now,he has settled the matter himself. In Africa, opposition parties do not win elections and never will. Duke is the only puritan, left in PDP. I just pray the necessary is done by the monsters in the PDP by nominating Duke for the job. If he wins the nominations come december 12, then he is our next President. QED.

Europeans settled in the part of Calabar, where Duke originates from. And since they were living and mixing freely with the people, their culture was assimilated and integrated with the efik culture hence such names as Fenton, Whyte, Duke, Fuller, Fosbery, etc are very common especially in the southern part of Calabar. Donald's family is the famous Duke family of Calabar. His father was once the controller of Customs Service. Donald Duk'e full name is Donald Etim Duke. His middle name (which is his father's name) is Damian (which is his father's christian batptismal name.

Chinani, over to you!

If you must criticize, offer an alternative viewpoint.  Armchair criticism cannot mean anything unless the critic offers an alternative viewpoint.  If Tinapa is a pipedream, at least it is a dream!  We have 36 governors in Nigeria, and only one could dream.That to me, is a big plus! Factor this in, with the very meagre resources at the disposal of this 'dreamer', you would know that it takes an extraordinary man to achieve what Duke has already achieved, for his state.  After all, he could have as well behaved like Attah, Odilli or Igbinedion, pocket the money and just walk away.  A leader has dreams, thinks up the dream, tasks his brains and projects into the future.

The arguement that Duke's Tinapa will be completed in 40 years is a mere attestation to the fact that he doesn't live only for today.  No one has accused him of using Tinapa as a front to siphon money, like Fayose did with his poultry.  The magnitude of work going on at the sight attests to the fact that the whole world believes in the viability of the project.  The awe and rapture that one is suspended into, by just looking at the picture of the sight is enough inspiration to us.  Duke has inspired confidence in the minds of the Nigerian youth.  We now know that we can do it, given the right kind of leadership.

@ Otokx
You cannot reap returns on investment that is still in its conception stage.  Nobody ever promised that Tinapa would yield returns within weeks.  You cannot as well use the 'political' construction 'giants' that we find in Nigeria today (such as Hapel) to construct the massive structure that Tinapa is.  So, I wonder what grain, the logic of your 'returns-on-investment' arguement has.  In the same vein, the famous Metropolitan Hotel that was owned by the state gov. was sold to a foreign private hotellier who is busy presently, reconstructing the place from scratch so that it is upgraded to a 5-star hotel.  Mind you, there is no true 5-star hotel in Nigeria.  You can investigate and see.  A 5-star hotel has nothing to do with the mere size of the estate or edifice.  %-star represents service; super-service, and it is not available even in Transcorp Hilton.  I bet you.

Finally, I repeat my point that EFCC gave Donald Duke and Gov. Yar'adua clean bills of health as governors who have not soiled their hands in the people's treasury respectively, of all the 36 govs.  It was in the newspapers and on TV.

Kudos to Donald Duke too. He cordinated this, dreamt the idea and them assembled the right mix of hands, irrespective of tribe, colour, state of origin, creed and religion to do the right job. Surely, we need this kind of spirit to lift this country from the woods.

Thanks Jeta, for turning your 'madness' to progress!

I've watched it and truly, it is the B.O.M.B.!

UPDATE - DONALD DUKE CEREMONY NOW HOLDS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER, ABUJA TODAY AT 10.00 AM

The planned declaration of Mr. Donald Duke for the Presidency now holds at the International Conference Centre, Abuja today, at 10.00 am and not the Eagle Square as was previously posted.  The official campaign website (under construction) is www.donaldduke4president.org

For those who are looking for mud to rake on DD's head, I wish them goodluck.  They must however remember that it takes a very good and focused leader to stay in power for 8 years and yet, return incorruptible.  At least, EFCC has said so.  If anyone else can boast of a record like this in Nigeria, let that person please stand up and be counted.  Surely, we have none other.

@ Odeku
Please when u come to Cross River, just stop by and I'll show you round.  I promise all NLders that I'll embark on a photoshoot of the city as it is tomorrow, and post d pics online here on NL.  The very few cynics like Seun would definitely bow!  It seems as if Donald Duke has a kind of magic wand that he uses to get things done; and done properly too.  The Cross River State Broadcasting Corporation is the only state owned media house in Nigeria, that broadcasts 24/7.  The TV and radio services have been upgraded with world-class facilities which enable the stations remain on air 24 hours!  Every household in Calabar, is connected to public water supply; irrespective of whether the landlord/occupants apply for the service or not.  What d government, through the water board does is very simple viz: Pipes are laid from the nearest reticulation line into every home.  A meter is then installed and locked up.  The owner or landlord would then be at liberty, at his convenience, to apply to the water board which would in turn attach just a length of pipe to the line and pronto, there is water in the house.  This way, the hassle of digging up and cutting the road each time water is to b extended to individual houses vanish!

Still on water, it may interest NLders to know that bills for water in Calabar are paid based on consumption only.  Consumers even have the choice to select from pre-paid (pay-as-you-go) OR post-paid packages respectively.  My house uses a prepayment meter system.  We buy the recaharge from the Banks, and load just like the GSM phone.  The uninterrupted water would only run dry, if we run out of credit!   This is no fairytale.  Come to Calabar and experience it!  My investigation shows that only the country Turkey, and Cross River State have these prepayment water services running.  The scheme is so successful that the Federal govt has literally turned the CRS Water Board into a model for all other water corporations in Nigeria to copy.  They come in droves everyday, to see how this 'magic' works.

I'm incurably addicted to the leadership of this coooool guy. I swear!

@ s-lag-1
Tinapa is funded by several 'stakeholders'. The govt of Rivers and Bayelsa States have already invested billions of Naira in it. (this much was mentioned in the Presidential Stakeholders Meeting on the Devt of the Coastal States last week)  Also,  consortium of Banks - UBA, FBN PLC etc - also contribute significantly.  There are foreign partners too.  The shares of TINAPA were were floated in the stock exchange.  This raked in a lot of cash @ N1000 per share.  There are foreign coys also investing.  
Anf of course, the CRS govt has invested too.

Uncle Sege, after being impressed by the vision, has taken up the extension of the national grid to the site. He also approved the siting of a major substation of the PHCN in Odukpani which would feed Tinapa and indeed, Calabar when completed.  The project site is presently bustling with activities.  Tinapa also has its own IPP under contruction.  The construction of a mono-rail to link the Margaret Ekpo Airport to Tinapa is just about to commence.  It was delayed by compensation, environmental impact, cultural and other concerns that needed to be sorted out.

For now, work in the site is moving on smoothly.  It was scheduled to be completed this xmas, but we hear that the commissioning has been shifted to March 2007.  I visit Tinapa at least once every 2 weeks coz its so breathtaking and expansive.  Each time I am at that place, I find hope; hope that my country can at least, have something to cheer about; hope that we still have sane men in the midst of all these madness.

@ Odeku
Every language, creed, tribe and tongue is great, rich and good. No one is superior to another. We are all products of the same good and kind God.