There have been several lamentations by Nigerians on the cruelty of the present government. The citizens have been watching as the ruling elite oppress them with deliberately fabricated selfish opulence, while using part of their stolen wealth to massage the ego of some foolish low profiles who provide security and defend their malfeasance. What is the direction henceforth from their next move of further extraction of flesh from an already starving populace in the name of 12.5% tax? The answer is total refusal of the people to pay any tax whatsoever to government. The people have to take their destiny into their own hands. This is violence free and civil. So I recommend.

I just heard about a chilling encounter my very good friend had with these bandits just around Charity bus stop Oshodi yesterday Sunday 7/8/2022. My friend and his family were coming back from Church and the car engine over heated. He parked by the roadside and within five minutes they were surrounded by about ten of these young men. His discription of these miscreants sent chills around my body including the threat from one of them that went like this: baba I don lose my papa, I don lose my mama, I go deal with you here anyhow. Unfortunately for my friend he had only a thousand naira cash on him. However, an angel appeared in the manner of a well dressed elderly man that pleaded with the boys to allow my friend go seeing that his pockets were empty as demonstrated by him throwing out his trouser and shirt pockets. My friend also recollects passing vehicle drivers urging him to quickly get out of the scene as if he could have done so miraculously in the presence of these ransom seeking bandits. It is important to note that Lagos state government is busy holding meetings about the recent security intelligence report about impending terrorist attacks. Meanwhile there are ransom extorting bandits in all corners of the state. It is also pertinent to ask if these set of bandits are officially sponsored or permitted by the state as they operate in broad daylight without being challenged.

The Lagos state government set up a taskforce to enforce traffic laws and regulations in the state. The government also established a mobile court in line with the law that I think is yet to be tested at the supreme court. However the focus of this thread is the heinous crime being perpetrated by the members of this taskforce. Nigeria info 99.3 fm last week on hard facts with Sandra had a lot of Lagosians describing how the taskforce extorted humongous amounts like one to two hundred thousand naira to release their vehicles. There was also description of how the so called one ways are not clearly marked out and the intimidating posture of the taskforce colluding with the mobile court to haul people into prison if they don't plead guilty. Another interesting aspect is the perfectd practice of the taskforce members hiding beside some popular undesignated traffic violation prone areas to apprehend unsuspecting motorists. And the question for the state government is if this is the actual reason for setting up the taskforce? This question is reasonable because the hundreds of thousands of naira per vehicle can not be for just the men on patrol vans. Who are the behind the scenes moguls getting these billions of naira? The candid opinion here is that the bitterness and anger that may soon be witnessed in Lagos may make endsars a child's play. And I don't know what the governor is thinking about his re-election. Ambode's administration saw the end of such gangsterism that is presently being witnessed and apparently may be the major reason some people did not want him to continue. However, people may also be wiser today and seem to be interested in 2023 more. The case of Rufai Oseni just happened and a named assistant to the governor was reported to have issued his threat of how the state will deal with him. My comment on that is how low people at such position can be is simply alarming. Finally, mr governor should know that the state is sitting on the gun powder with his taskforce.

Behold to obey is better than sacrifice. And the only commandment with a blessing attached says Obey your father and your mother. That your days may be long in the promised land. No be me talk am oo. I just have to be Obidient.

We always knew where some states stolen funds are kept. What we don't understand is why EFCC appears not to know. Possibly a symptom of the fantastically corrupt.

Chameleons beginning to show up. An argument that supports the well known Nigeria attitude of putting on super glue to any seat of power. Recuse yourself means temporarily step aside to allow thorough investigation. However, it is only the guilty that is afraid not just of his shadow and also running when no one is pursuing.

Is the NJC still alive? Hopefully not with the body of benchers chairman who has a terrible corruption scandal around him.

Mr Babatunde Fashola, President Buhari's minister of works recently on Channels tv described democracy as tyranny of the majority. This sounds quite interesting and brought to mind the recent widely circulated video by the Nigeria television authority showing the Abuja vio impounding vehicles for having faded plate numbers. The VIs was gleefully announcing their power to fine vehicles with these faded plate numbers and the frsc was talking about their responsibility to change the registration numbers after six years. What surprised me most was how and why the NTA did not engage any lawyer to ascertain the legitimacy of the power Abuja vis claims to have. We also should understand the impact of the Benin court of appeal judgement that barred the vis from operating on our roads. Why is it the the VIS in Nigeria act as if the laws are not for them? Is it about government tyranny that Fashola talked about? Are they a machinery of tyranny for victimization and financial exploitation of the masses? If that is the case, one may not be surprised when they start becoming prayer points of encounters with the real bandits who have their similar operation methods. Is it also not surprising that our activists have not found this tide one worthy of challenge?

Requires some hard work

Miracles are rare and truly happen. We remain Obidient.

I had cause on June 21, 2021 to write about motorcycle ban in Nigeria in an article here on Nairaland titled does Nigeria want to end kidnapping. Since the federal government has gotten to that position at this time, it is pertinent to put a few more words as a way forward. The period of ban should be of vigorous enforcement and the security agencies should take down anyone seen riding a motorcycle. The second phase should be a ban on importation of any motorcycle that can run beyond 50 km/h. However, I want to recommend that this present announcement by the federal government should be followed up by a specific date of enforcement with a view to allowing reasonable time for people adjustment. I'm of the firm belief that the okada ban will return labour to farms with chances of reinvigorating agro based industries.

It was an interesting sight at the local Government Development Area office off Shasha Akowonjo road in Alimosho area of Lagos. A certain honourable had a banner announcing his birthday and hundreds of women queued up in the event hall. The curious thing is that most of these women who looked poor were showing a card and registering on a paper before a man seated at a small desk. It would have been more interesting though a bit dangerous to get closer to that hall to find out what was really going down. However, we know APC is in control of all the LGAs in Lagos and the party is in a current desperation for the 2023 presidential election. Can they be setting up the needed structure for 2023? Is EFCC beaming searchlights at these places?

A nice gentle man was on Arise tv on Friday 15th July 2022 about 10pm to discuss a suspected baby trafficking ring in Yenogoa Bayelsa state. He was described as the NAPTIP director of investigations. There was also a suspected couple earlier shown with their own side of the story. The suspected mother narrated how she had her babies at FMC Yenogoa and showed documents. The lady apparently well educated was also emotional and tearful. The surprising thing for me was the NAPTIP director's reluctance with answering questions but demagoguely asserting that no one can stop the agency from doing it's work. He also jeered at the woman for crying on TV informing her that her crying can not stop NAPTIP from carrying on with the investigation. Reviewing the event I could see why the lady was already traumatized going by the huff and puff of the director and the persistent use of the language 'boots on the ground'. I had expected a director of investigations in such an agency to be an embodiment of psychology and good public relations. What I saw was a complete opposite of that. I saw a very proud and unapproachable person with more perfect than nature attitude. This type of person not quite different from a lot of Nigeria government officials allow power to rule them and certainly are prone to impunity. I am not in any way concluding that the suspected traffickers are innocent. However, due process is the name of the game when any law is being tested and my sincere advice to NAPTIP on this matter is not to take any further steps that may ridicule the agency as the suspects have instituted a case at a Bayelsa court. The director should learn that his powers are not unlimited. The agency may have a legal department to so advise.

Nigeria's national anthem says the "labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain". We understand that some citizens don't believe in this line of the anthem. It's clearly stated not just in their pronouncements but also their actions. Whoever pleases can undertake a study of the personal and business lives of such individuals to buttress the above assertion. However, it becomes demeaning and insulting when such a believer wants to achieve the top job of presiding over the affairs of the country. Or has this been the case? Is it why Nigeria is fantastically corrupt? Is that why the green and white passport attracts suspicious attention at airports all over the globe? Do the leaders of Nigeria really believe in labours of the heroes past shall not be in vain? Why do we now see police men on all roads chasing young men as yahoo boys and there are thugs welding clubs, machetes and spiked woods on same roads extorting and harassing vehicles and same police become blind. Is it in line with labourers labouring till they die? And I must add the baboons chopping till they die? This life is supposed to have a balance somehow somewhere. I am confidently with the response that love is certainly above hate. Gainful labour is certainly beyond doing drugs and fraudulent businesses.

ChoCho54:
Abacha is not corrupt according to buhari. That was the day I knew Nigeria was in deep shit if buhari ever made it to aso rock.

Show me your friends...

I sincerely wish and hope that the Obidients
with a useful Baba must remain calm in the face of all provocations as we remain consistent that gutter fights are only for the pigs.

Mr Garuba Shehu while answering questions from Seun Akinbaloye of Channels tv said that Nigerians have forgotten that before 2015, Boko Haram was in control of territory the size of Belgium in Nigeria. According to the president's spokesman, the terrorists had their flag and tax system in place. But today the situation is different. I don't know if Mr Garuba Shehu is correct or not. What I know is that APC secured landslide victories in all those territories that he said were under the Boko Haram occupation in the 2015 elections. This actually, was the follow up question I expected from Akinbaloye.

Nigerians may not forget in a hurry the now infamous Ojota anti subsidy rally where some of the presently suspected most corrupt citizens with active participation of the Lagos ruling elite, civil society and labour used all manner of language to describe the sitting president. That was mouth diarrhoea. The same charlatans bombarded all social and main news media with all sorts of propaganda targeted at weakening and sabotaging government security and activities in 2014 and 2015 and we the gullible Nigerians fell for it. The slogan then for some of us became "Anything but Jonathan". That was mouth diarrhoea. When the main protagonist was asked questions about his now infamous declaration that monkeys and baboons will soak in their blood, we defended the statement as freedom of speech. That was mouth diarrhoea. Little did we know that by 2022 it may not be just for the baboons and monkeys alone. The entire animal kingdom may be soaked. When the same merchants of violence promised to run a parallel government if they were defeated in the 2015 election, we saw it as opposition and democracy at work. But that was actually mouth diarrhoea. The 2022 political experience of Nigerians may really not be different as Boko Haram, Bandits, and Unknown gunmen have definitely set up parallel governments in different parts of the country. These instances, few though, should suffice for the Obidients just as written in the good book of proverbs 12:14 that A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. I see this as a natural principle of life. Therefore, I recommend strongly that the Obidients must remove passion while expressing their facts, avoid descending to the gutters because we are not pigs, dedicate all activities on the right path even if we are going to "waste our votes" and fail because nature has the greatest all time reward in excess of whatever human rewards promised. May I end with this paraphrase: who is man that he can predict and boast of tomorrow?

I read the explanations of his Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo on his recent gifts of tricycle to youths and his personal riding in Abeokuta to call attention to the business fact that youths can start small. I have always respected the ex president as the only Nigerian leader that manifested clear cut economic policies and development in recent times. However, I think baba may not have looked closely at other perspectives of his recent Keke gifts and riding. In a city like Lagos today Keke riders are fast becoming nuisance and menace just like the okada riders. 2. The riders are beginning to experience high labour turnover most likely because supply may be getting higher than demand. This turnover is usually preceded by confrontations for myriad of reasons between owners and riders. 3. Additional Keke on Lagos roads may be an inducement to the food inflation currently experienced in the country as labour is wrongly placed. I believe that the way forward for Nigerians presently is deployment of more human and technological resources towards agriculture. This should target provision of water resources and roads to agriculture zones. Efforts should be intensified on efficient farming and harvest preservation techniques. This is not to lose sight of the need to reduce the waste in the form of salaries and allowances to political office holders which acts as the fulcrum for corruption and motivation for the get rich quick syndrome in the country. I vote for part time legislative duties and abrogation of medical tourism, presidential jets and such squandering activities of government officials. It is pertinent to mention that that official corruption are what lead to provision of okada and Keke as empowerment programmes for youth thereby depriving sectors like clothes designing, plumbing, motor mechanics, tillers, farmers etc of the much needed labour supply. And this like earlier mentioned has shot up inflation to the present degree. I pray that my loved ex president take another look at this method of youth empowerment.

We were shocked at the announcement by INEC officials at the Ikotun, Lagos registration unit of the closure to voter registration exercise today 30/06/2022. The official hinted of a possible extension of registration after the sallah break. We don't understand if this is in line with the interim order of a high court against stopping the registration exercise and the promise of the INEC chairman after the youths mobilisation party in Abuja on extending the exercise. We also wonder if the break would not have been a very good opportunity for government and corporate workers to be registered. Is this how INEC intends to really do this job effectively and efficiently?

shegz24:


No body misinterpreted anything.

Scene one : My investment of Anambra money in the company is now worth $100m

Scene two: I NEVER said the investment is worth $100m

Scene two is clearly a lie.
Stop twisting logic just because you want to defend Obi.

Okay sir. Your point is clear. However I know Peter Obi is neither a fool nor a dumb person. $20m dollars of possibly 2007 is certainly worth about #100,000,000 today in Nigeria. He never said $20m. And why was that video that snappy? Why don't we play the follow up questions?

This evening on channels tv, Brigadier general Buba Marwa was a delight to watch as he explained the encounter of his government with the menace of area boys in Lagos state. The former military administrator said that their initial action was to arrest, prosecute and imprison culprits. They later realized the complication of drug abuse in the menace and put in place counseling and rehabilitation center as solution. According to the General, this strategy cut down area boy menace by about 80%. This drastically dropped crime rate in the state and to that I can attest to having been a resident of Lagos since that period. The wonder and question now is how Lagos state has gotten to the point where the same formerly eradicated miscreants have risen to the point of being the lords of the state.

shegz24:


Then he shouldnt have said he never said it but instead mentioned the change in currency value.

The worst part is that ,He went further to blame "one youth"

J

My understanding of his statement is same as what I stated above. There is nothing wrong with that assertion and the misinterpretation by some people is just unfortunate.

Any literate person should convert $20m of 2008 to 2022 value please. If we bought a litre of petrol for #45 as at then and today petrol is at #165/litre. Does it not mean that #45 of 2008 is about #165 of 2022. Simple economics.

Indigens must take back their property.

This is simply a developing thought that we think need to be shared among a larger audience. It is not in doubt that one of the debilitating factors against Nigeria's electoral process and especially voting is violence. It is usually a wonder that crimes that should have been treated as for what they truly are, are swept under the smooth connotation of electrical violence with no sanctions. Recently, some of us shared this thought and think that the major reason for this malady is the political interests and reward expectations from serving police and military officers. A simple observation can indicate the quick and smooth movement of retiring police and military officers to political parties. This suggests strongly that those individuals had already identified with such political parties prior to retirement. This thought leaves one wondering if such serving police and military officers can in all good conscience be impartial on election duties. We agreed that most of such officers will be partial and therefore suggest a ten year ban from politics for any retiring police and military officer. I hope this becomes a topic for robust discussion and possible action.

Mr Fani Kayode just appeared on channels tv to promote the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for 2023 presidency. When asked about his membership of the PDP administration of OBJ, he said that he is very proud of that government. Does this mean that Fani Kayode is not conversant with the song of his current master that PDP wasted sixteen years of Nigeria's wealth? Or is Mr Fani Kayode sleep walking?

For some level of sanity to return to Nigeria, three things must be done:1. All forests must be taken over by the indigenous people;2. Ban on all motorcycles; 3. Ban on open grazing.

Nigerians have worried so much about the marauding bandits in the north who have unleashed mayhem on any vicinity of their interest. The situation in which the Unknown gunmen have put the south eastern part is beginning to cause sleepless nights. Both situations ugly as they are arose from the sloppiness of the federation, citizens and law enforcement agents. These were situations that could have been nipped in the bud. They have been allowed to grow into late cancer stages. Another group of bandits that will likely develop to stage 4 cancer are the ones that you see on almost all state and federal roads at any time of the day and night armed with spiked woods, knives, clubs, daggers, and reportedly guns attacking trucks. They are two types. Some are for all sorts of illegitimate levies claiming the authority of local, state and federal government. The Lagos example can be found around the Berger bridge at Ojodu Berger. The second group of bandits are found around all roundabouts and major streets in Lagos. Examples abound at iyana Ipaja, mosalachi, Iba, Okokomaiko, Ojo volks etc. The nightmare of truckdrivers is for your vehicle to develop any type of fault on the road especially in Ogun state where these bandits work hand in hand with their traffic agency called TRACE. Infact these miscreants even pursue, harrass, intimidate and forcefully stop trucks to bargain for ransom and if the driver refuse, TRACE is invited and the truck driver accused of traffic violation. Nigerians may not have awakened to these groups probably because they are facing the trucks presently and they seem to have the protection of some security operatives and government functionaries. That may as well been how the country embraced both Boko Haram and UGM. A stitch in time they say saves ... Below is a broken down truck and the above painted scenario.

I want to amend the opinion of the learned silk from Tambuwal on trial to the fraudulent contraption of Nigeria being on trial.

I have been engaging in some readings lately. One book I have read repeatedly is MY TRANSITION HOURS. Let me share some of the words in the Epilogue of this book by GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN. "For the 16 years that the PDP governed Nigeria, from 1999 to 2015, we instituted purposeful governance and set the stage for meaningful and sustainable development in our country. Beginning from the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, we stabilized the polity, steered it away from further military incursions and established relevant institutions to set the pace for significant and impactful development." He stated further that " I fought insurgency, the worst security challenge in the history of the nation except the civil war. Even with that, we professionally managed and grew our economy to become the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of over $500 billion." The next statement said "That was the economy we handed over to the Buhari administration." The nail is further driven in by the following statements " I recall that the opposition and their sympathisers and campaigners, local and international, with their malicious propaganda, tore our economy to shreds, threatened our stability and existence as a nation and intimidated our citizens, all in the bid to take over power." He continued" The narrative of inheriting empty treasury is a blatant lie. Also, the excuse of the collapse of world crude oil prices does not hold water. This is because the Fourth Republic took off in 1999 with crude oil selling for less than $20 per barrel and GDP growth rate at 0.58%, according to National Bureau of Statistics figures. Yet the economy maintained a steady growth from that year, peaking at 15.33% in 2002 when the average crude oil price was about $25." So I ask again, is this the Jonathan that is being touted to belong to APC and even obtained the presidential candidate form?