₦airaland Forum

I just saw on Ben TV some of the members of Ekiti house in a rowdy, fighting mode. So much pushing and shoving.

Making a quick comparison: If you ingest a fake drug (medicine) you either do not get relief from your ailment because the active ingredient (ai) in the drug is absent or of low concentration; or you die if the drug is actually poison. Now talking about Dangote salt factory in which iodine (I) is said to be absent (contrary to company claims), one gets goitre (fatal lump in the throat) when you lack I. Imagine that you keep taking iodine- deficient Dangote salt for years and the level of degeneracy (speaking of I deficiency) you end up with over time. Therefore, both examples are not far-fetched. NAFDAC should prosecute/punish, appropriately, the errant company like they have done the drug fakers, so far.

The question is whether Nenadi actually expects NAFDAC to back down from performing its rightful duty on the ground of friendship. If so, who will ''beg'' for the fake drug traders whose businesses, albeit ''fake'' has been shattered by the same NAFDAC. Or are their two different sticks for the same measurement?

Nigeria: Dangote Protest's NAFDAC's Closure of Kano Factory

This Day (Lagos)

22 May 2007
Posted to the web 22 May 2007

Crusoe Osagie
Lagos

Dangote Group has stated that the shutdown of its entire Kano factory by National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control NAFDAC's northern zonal office is unfair and has set the company back.

Chief Operating Officer of Dangote Group Mr Olakunle Alake who briefed the media in Lagos yesterday about the closure of the entire six production lines of the Kano factory explained that the target product of the regulatory body in the shut down is produced from a single line.
Africa 2007

"The product, which was NAFDAC's target in the closure of our factory is the Wheat Semolina (Danvita) and NAFDAC's query is that it has not been fully fortified with vitamin A. This product is turned out from only a single line in the Kano factory and it is not fair for the entire factory, which has 6 lines to be shut down because of just one product", he said.

He explained that Dangote is Nigeria's first manufacturer to fortify sugar and salt with Vitamin A. He added that in the same vein the company has embarked on the fortification of the product in question in phases.

"The equipments for fortification of Danvita has been installed and is already producing in Apapa and Ilorin factories. Kano is the next in line for the installation of the machine," he said.

He said that the allegation that the product, Danvita,could be injurious to health was not true.

Alake said the product remained a wholesome food that had already been certified fit (with appropriate certification) by NAFDAC.

He also decried the manner the agency stormed the premises, stressing that NAFDAC and Dangote had always been in good terms. He, therefore, expressed shock

over the twist taken by the latest turn in relationship that led to the factory closure last week Thursday.

"Dangote was the first company to take up and implement the fortification in sugar and salt shortly after the Federal Government unfolded the initiative in 1999. For sugar fortification, the project took two years. It is a long process. One therefore wonders why this sudden approach to the fortification issue," he said.

While lamenting the hardship and general losses the action of the agency had caused the company and individual employees, the Dangote boss said there was no justification for the total closure of the compound that harbour six mills.

According to him, "If at all NAFDAC decided to close down the supposed offending mill, which is just one out of six, closing down five other mills within the
premises would naturally take its toll on the company and individual employee's economy".

He, therefore, appealed to the agency and the government to consider the overall impact on the economy by reopening the company.

Meanwhile, a NAFDAC investigative team has been reported to have commenced work on the Ilorin, Apapaand Calabar mills of the group, preparatory to verifying whether they had actually complied with Vitamin A fortification mode, as claimed by the company.

Nigeria: NAFDAC Threatens to Shut Down Salt Factories

This Day (Lagos)
14 May 2007
Posted to the web 14 May 2007

Onwuka Nzeshi
Abuja

National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has warned that it would shut down any salt factory in the country that failed to comply with regulations on salt iodisation and migration from packaging salt in big 25kilogramme sacks to smaller packs by December 31, 2007.

Director General, NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akunyili, who gave the warning at a news conference to commemorate the Nigerian Universal Salt Iodisation (USI) Certification Award in Abuja, said the deadline has been shifted three times since a 2004 agreement was reached between the agency and salt manufacturers.
Africa 2007

Nigeria was recently certified as Universal Salt Iodisation (USI) compliant, having achieved 98 per cent elimination of iodine deficiency. Nigeria is the first African country to get such recognition after the national Programme for the Elimination of Iodine Deficiency had been assessed in 2005 by an external team of experts.

Although the recognition was in 2005, the coveted prize was only presented in April 2007 at an international forum on Micronutrient Deficiency held in Turkey.

Akunyili recalled that for three decades, Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) constituted a major threat to the health of Nigerians and Total Goitre Rate (TGR), prevalence was as high as 67 per cent as at 1988 and in 1990 during which an estimated 40 million Nigerians were afflicted by goitre.

She said the certification was not a licence to become complacent, but a wake up call to ensure strict compliance to achieve a hundred per cent salt iodisation, through elimination of the remaining two per cent believed to reside with local salt producers and some unscrupulous industrial salt manufacturers who are yet to fully comply with all the regulations, including packaging.

"We are beginning to feel ashamed each time we report to the international community that deadlines can be shifted for up to three times in Nigeria. It shows unseriousness, and I believe this shifting of deadline is making the industries relax, because they now believe that the deadline can always be shifted. We will not shift this deadline anymore. If it means closing down most of the salt producing factories, we will do it, so that we do not continue ridiculing the country with the story of deadline after deadline," she said.

UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mr Ayalew Abai, applauded the development and stated that with 98per cent of the households having access to adequately iodized salt and 100per cent iodized salt being produced at factory level, Nigeria has achieved a remarkable feat.

Ethical and business Fraud! Nenadi Begs Akunyili For Dangote on factory closure


http://www.thenewsng.com/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=16468

It is no longer news that the no-nonsense helmsman of the National Agency for Drug, Food, Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has ordered the closure of Kano Flour Mills belonging to the Dangote Group, over non fortification of Danvita with vitamin A despite the fact that the bag for its packaging carries the eye logo and a big ‘A’ sign, an inscription indicating that it is fortified, an act, which Akunyili described as fraudulent and deceptive as well as a serious sabotage to public health.

What, however, is news is that some of the friends of the billionaire businessman have been appealing to the ‘Madam’ to temper justice with mercy.

City Players can revealed that one of them is Nenadi Usman, the erstwhile Finance minister.

Nenadi, we gathered, is close to both Dangote and Akunyili and sources close to the NAFDAC boss said she has been making frantic moves on the matter.

India worried over number of Nigerians in jail
5/6/2007


The high number of Nigerians [/b]at the sprawling Tihar Jail - 17 per cent of over 450 foreign inmates - is giving headaches to police and prison authorities who point to their increasing role in drug peddling.

According to prison officials, a total of 75 Nigerian nationals, including a female, are housed in the jail primarily on charges of drug abuse and peddling. While 65 of them are under trial, 10 have been convicted.

"They (Nigerians) are mainly brought here in connection with drug trafficking but some of them are also booked for cheating and fraud," Tihar spokesman Sunil Gupta told IANS.

The role of Nigerian drug peddlers came to the spotlight after Delhi Police arrested two of them - [b]Abdul Lateef Ashola and Egbedokun James Taiwo - last year for allegedly supplying drugs to a party attended by Rahul Mahajan, the son of late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan. Rahul was also arrested, but released on bail.

According to data available with the city police, 11 Nigerians were caught in 2006 as compared to just five in 2005. This year the police have arrested seven Nigerians so far - all on drug charges.

These arrests come even as Nigerian nationals in India often complain that they are harassed and picked up by police for no reason.

Delhi Police sleuths and jail authorities on the other hand say interrogating Nigerian prisoners is difficult.

"Don’t talk about Nigerian drug peddlers with me, they are a nuisance. [/b]No police official wants to interrogate them," a senior Delhi Police official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"It is very difficult to extract information from them and their links in the drug trade. These peddlers mislead the investigators with vague information."

T[b]he official said the interrogation of woman drug peddlers is even more challenging. "They strip and start screaming, putting our officials on the back foot. We can’t do much in such a situation.

"It’s a general notion among policemen that these peddlers suffer from AIDS and during interrogation, they threaten to bite constables and transmit the disease," the official explained.

He added that the Nigerians are usually well aware of the law - "if we use harsh methods to interrogate them, they are quick to complain to a magistrate about torture".

Said Deputy Commissioner of Police A.S. Cheema: "Nigerians involved in the drug trade are professionals. Some of them have been at it for decades and have been apprehended by police across the world.

"They naturally know how to deal with cops and their methods of questioning."

Jail authorities also feel the heat, as the Nigerians are known to stay close to each other and don’t mix with other inmates.

"It’s very difficult to manage them. Firstly, the other inmates are afraid to go near them, as they are well built and intimidating. Communication could be the second possible reason," Deputy Inspector General (Prison) C.R. Garg said.

"We segregate them and generally don’t allow them to form unions in their cells. Even members of the underworld prefer to maintain a safe distance from Nigerians," Garg told IANS.

Bangladeshi and Nepali inmates - at 104 and 115 respectively - are the two other groups dominant among the nationals of 29 other countries lodged in Tihar. While the Bangladeshis have mostly been caught on terrorism and theft charges, the Nepali inmates have mostly been booked for murders and thefts.

The number of foreign nationals held under various charges in Tihar is as follows:

Nepal (115), Bangladesh (104), Pakistan (81), Nigeria (75), Afghanistan (11), Britain (five), Zambia (four), France, Israel, Iran and Sri Lanka (three each), Canada, Germany, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Uganda (two each), and Hong Kong, Tibet/China, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand and the US (one each).

Obasanjo angry with Yar’Adua over Kingibe 3/6/2007

By Joseph Ogunsemi

The cordial relationship between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the incumbent, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, may soon become sour if feelers from Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, are anything to go by.
Sources close to the Villa said that Obasanjo was not happy with President Yar’Adua over the appointment of Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

When Kingibe, former Chairman of the defunct Social Demcoratic Party (SDP) and running mate to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election was named the new SGF, Obasanjo was said to have been taken aback having not been involved in the decision.
A visibly angry Obasanjo who was instrumental to the emergence of Yar’Adua, former governor of Katsina State, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard bearer was said to have asked the National Chairman of the party to summon an emergency meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to deliberate on Kingibe’s matter and other key appointments.

According to The Nation’s source, Ali, whose wife’s house in Abuja was demolished by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) shortly before Obasanjo left office, politely declined the instruction, saying that only Yar’Adua, the current PDP leader could call for such a meeting.

Ali’s response, The Nation gathered, rattled Obasanjo, who terminated the discussion abruptly.

It is however not clear if President Yar’Adua has been able to pacify Obasanjo over the issue.

Sources said Yar’Adua was being "careful" not to incur the wrath of Obasanjo so soon, and has therefore been cautious in the choice of principal officers of the National Assembly for which the ex-president has shown keen interest.

Obasanjo is said to be supporting Senator David Mark, a retired army general from Benue State for the Senate President. Mark’s choice has however been opposed by most legislators.

Some Senators have vowed to reject the imposition of officers on them going by the experience in the last dispensation when such officers were tied to the aprons of their benefactors.

Outgoing Senate President Ken Nnamani advised the in-coming Senators to reject Obasanjo’s hand-picked leadership and elect leaders of their choice.

"It will not serve any useful purpose to impose a Senate President against the wishes of majority of the Senators," Nnamani stated.

The new SGF, Kingibe, while taking over from his predecessor, Chief Ufot Ekaette stated that the eight years of Obasanjo’s reforms were gone, saying, "we’re now in the era of restoration, Yar’Adua’s administration would be different from Obasanjo’s."

Kingibe said that Yar’Adua’s government would focus on policies and programmes that would address the needs of the people.

"It would be wrong for people to expect uniformity of system with Obasanjo’s administration. Our system must definitely differ from Obasanjo’s.

"We shall consolidate the gains of the past years and build new structures to achieve the objectives of vision 2020," Kingibe maintained.

[color=#880000]Moderator Asks, "What Is Your Source?"[/color]

McKren:
You have no clue what is going on.

I know what you mean. But that does not negate the fact that he is Igbo-speaking.

Okiro is from Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni LGA (ONELGA) of Rivers state, where Peter Odili former Rivers Gov is from. They are Igbo-speaking people. So no shaking.

One out of a million.

fstranger:
Anyways we still got a NOBEL PRIZE and Igbos ain't got nothing.

dapsycool:
My brother in Germany, those yorubas in prison,are you sure they are not igbos who stole a yoruba man's international passport,lol, because they can be funny people, be sincere you guys like business pass schooling? Thats why you have more igbos in places like Hong Kong and Europe where you do your electronics and spare parts jobs respectively, but the Yoruba's are more in Uk and Usa schooling,maybe thats why we aint dominating UME, we've stepped up,or would you say more igbos study in USA/UK than yorubas,that would be a big lie

Ok. I thank you for admitting that Igbo lead in education within Nigeria. That one is settled, as Yoruba's have since lost their glory and their youths are mainly agberos and area boys (omo oniles) at motor parks. Talking about forgery, at 27 years old, I know an Igbo from a Yoruba. I thought you should know that VISA forging is actually the exclusive of the Yoruba. When I was processing my VISA at the German embassy, you find hundreds of Yoruba touts hanging around those embassies. Isn' Oluwole a Yoruba name?Even if you forge another tribe's name, by their face and speech we know who is who in Nigeria. You are right that there are more Yoruba in London than Igbo. But many of them are thieves, druggers and 419ners, like some of their Igbo compatriots. Go to Peckham (I travelled to that place recently), it has been turned to Oshodi and Ajegunle by your people. Are you so ignorant that you do not know that many Nigerians actually study in Norway, Germany, Holland and Belgium amongst other EU countries where fees are cheaper than in the UK and where many MSc programmes are conducted in English? In the US, the Igbo dominate by far. Ask any of your friends who live there, and they will tell you. I read from the paper yesterday where the US embassy in Nigeria revealed that there are 10,000 Nigerians studying in the UK. They however did not specify their states of origin. But I have no doubt that most of these people will be Igbo and Yoruba.

You keep talking about spare parts in such derogatory manner. Is not it better to be a spare parts seller than an area boy?

Lol, Yorubas are the most educated Nigerians? Where is your data/statistics? Before yes, now NO.

Visit JAMB website and get the shock of your life. Igbos are leading.
http://www.jambng.com/adm_ume.php
http://www.jambng.com/adm_pce.php


Where I am studying in Germany, there were five Nigerians with me, Three Yoruba, two Igbo (plus myself, making three) and one Edo. At the moment, only myself and the Edo are left. Others are in prison for drugs. So drug (and other offences) is a Yoruba, Igbo and Edo business in Germany. I live in Germany, so I know what I am talking about.

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s first two steps on the day of his inauguration may as well suggest that he will be his own man, rather than the protÈgÈ of his predecessor as widely suspected.

He ordered Inspector General of Police (IG) Sunday Ehindero, to proceed on retirement and to hand over to the most senior deputy inspector general of police (DIG), who would fight crime head on.

Then he directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to put on hold the sale of Egbin power station to KEPCO Nigeria for a token $280 million.

That has, straight away, headed off the strike threatened by electricity workerswhich would have plunged the entire country into a power blackout.

Yar’Adua, represented by Energy Minister, Edmond Daukoru, at a meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, told the BPE, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) to hold their fire for a peaceful resolution of the grievances.

He has set up a Special Committee on Energy with representatives of Labour.

SSAEAC President, Godwin Ifeanacho, reiterated after the meeting that "the sale of Egbin Power Station to KEPCO by the BPE was a calculated attempt by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to sell the only viable power generation station that has a capacity of 1320 mega watt (mw) … for a token $280 million to his cronies in the name of privatisation.

"It is sad that Egbin … that was overhauled a few weeks ago with $70 million by the … government for maintenance and repair services of two faulty units was sold by the same former Head of State to KEPCO Nigeria Limited.

"Workers in the electricity sector will not fold their arms and allow the havoc Obasanjo made in Nigeria Telecommunications Company (NITEL) to happen to the energy sector. We have resolved to fight on until there is sanity in the sector."

NUE General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, added that "with the resolutions made at the meeting between the Labour leaders and the … government, the purported sale of the only viable power station … would be reversed.

"The 21 days we gave to the management of the PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) and the government to end on May 30, 2007 has been put on hold".

He said workers have been directed to carry out their normal duties as the new government committee would examine all Labour issues in the sector as soon as possible.

Orji was shown on NTA today swearing in the new gov. So peddler of false rumour shame on you and your so-called BBC news

I-man:
@topic

Are you also saying Yar Adua will become a tribal demagogue?

You hit the target man. Was Awo ever a national leader or a tribal one? If Yaradua becomes an Awo, then non-hausa/fulani Nigerians are in trouble.

Crisis is looming within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fold, particularly in the North West over ministerial nominee list.

Leadership Sunday investigations revealed that most of the people shortlisted for ministerial appointments in some states in the North-West are septuagenarians.

Already, the younger generation of politicians in the zone are protesting the alleged list prepared by party leaders for submission to the president-elect, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Those against the submission of the list to the president-elect claim that youths and the young but upward mobile politicians in the zone were responsible for PDP’s outstanding performance in the zone.

In addition, they said cabinet members should not be older or too old to be fathers to the president-elect.

It was gathered that a retired senior military officer from Zamfara State had allegedly submitted names of Mallam Yahayah Abdulkareem – a former deputy governor, the state’s party chairman and Alhaji M.Z Anka. The trio are believed to be over 70 years old.

The argument in Zamfara over the weekend was that the old men have always lost elections to the younger generation. Governor Ahmed Sani, a member of the younger generation had defeated them thrice at general elections.

Leadership Sunday gathered that a leading light among the younger generation of politicians, Colonel Mande Muhammad, was suspended from the party in what a source described as a way of scheming the younger generation out of the ministerial race.

Another younger element, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda, 48 years old was not included in the list compiled for submission to the president-elect.

In Sokoto State, Alhaji Ahmed Gusau the political adviser to PDP chairman was said to be the youngest of the three nominees. He is believed to be in his late 60s.

Others include Ambassador Ladan Sani who was commissioner in 1979 during the late Kangiwa administration and Senator Ila Gada, a director of budget in 1979.

"The younger generation are not happy with what the old politicians are doing. We were responsible for the party’s success in Sokoto and lost in Zamfara because we did not have good candidates," one party faithful who sought anonymity told leadership Sunday.

It is amazing that while the north seems to be getting more and more united everyday, the same cannot be said of the south. For instance, Oyo, Edo, Anambra and other key southern states are in the throes of political mayhem (or at least potentially, for some). Whereas it is reported that Yaradua is now hobnobbing with IBB and it is clear that soon the case of Atiku and Buhari against Yaradua will fizzle out, in the spirit of Islam and northern Nigeria, southerners are busy fighting for crumbs and litigating against one another. How many northern govs- elect have been taken to the electoral tribunal? Is the south doomed because of their selfishness, greed and disunity?

If I followed the foregoing well, what was sold to Dangote et al was the 51% Federal govt stake in the refinery. This means that some other body/bodies hold 49% stake. Now, how about the federal government selling her 51% share to a broad spectrum of Nigerians, including the staff of the refinery? That way, the wealth is spread amongst many and the workers knowing that the investment belongs to them partly, will take their jobs seriously. The above suggestion is tenable especially if the other 49% stake is not owned by foreigners.

EFCC: See profile of the most wanted Nigerian criminals here:

http://www.efccnigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=78&Itemid=79

Nigerian leaders row over occult 

Mr Abubakar said the president's mind was "full of the cobwebs of juju"
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused his estranged deputy of wishing him dead and consulting Islamic holy men on the date of his demise.
Mr Obasanjo said the vice president had told a former minister: "Don't worry, the president will be dead soon."

VP Atiku Abubakar denied the charges, saying Mr Obasanjo's mind was full of "the cobwebs of juju or occult".

The pair fell out when Mr Abubakar opposed the president's efforts to stay in office for a third term.

  I am not afraid of such stupidity.

Olusegun Obasanjo

Mr Abubakar ran in last month's presidential elections as an opposition candidate, despite spirited efforts by Mr Obasanjo to stop him.

According to official results Mr Abubakar lost to the governing party's Umar Yar'Adua, who succeeds Mr Obasanjo as president next week.

'I will be president'

Speaking about the feud between him and his deputy on national television, Mr Obasanjo said Mr Abubakar had told a minister that he had been consulting a marabout (holy man).


President Obasanjo is standing down after two terms

The president said Mr Abubakar told the minister: "So the same marabout has told me that I will be President when this man (Obasanjo) dies and had given me a month that he will die, you better prepare."

Mr Obasanjo said the alleged comments showed his rival's "bankruptcy of ideas, bankruptcy of knowledge and lack of knowledge in God and the affairs of God on the lives of human beings".

He added: "If I will live for another 20 years, it is in the hands of God. I am not afraid of such stupidity. Of course, I know that you can be poisoned but if God wants to save you, you will be saved."

Mr Abubakar fell out with Mr Obasanjo after he publicly opposed attempts to change the constitution to give the president a third term.

'Smokescreen'

The vice-president who stands down next week with Mr Obasanjo dismissed the president's accusations as "bizarre and ludicrous".

"Unlike Obasanjo who uses Christianity as a smokescreen while engaged in occultism and diabolical acts, I am a devout Muslim who has always striven to live in accordance with the teachings of Islam," Mr Atiku fired back in a statement.

"The next occupant of the State House (presidential villa) will need to spiritually cleanse the presidential lodge to make it habitable for normal people.

"I don't believe in resorting to marabout and have never wished the president dead. Rather, it is the president who has been hell-bent on eliminating me politically and physically.

"By making public accusations of fetish acts against me, the president has exposed his own mindset as one that is covered in the cobwebs of juju or occult.

"It is on record that the president had never in the past denied his association with deadly secret societies."

El-Rufai: If I talk, there ’ ll be revolt

SIMON IMOBO TSWAM, Abuja


The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mallam Nasir el Rufai at the weekend said he was tired and needed rest, even as he explained why he refused to open up when he appeared before the Senate on demolition of markets, satellite settlements and corner shops in the FCT.

Following widespread complaints that trailed the demolition in Abuja , the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly last year invited the FCT minister to appear before it to explain the demolitions.

But speaking in Abuja, Friday, el Rufai disclosed that if he had opened up on the details of land deals on the senate floor, particularly on the ownership of corner shops, he could have triggered a revolution in the country.

In what an Igbo member-elect for the House of Representatives anonymously termed "a night of disclosures", El Rufai also revealed that while officially 68 per cent of all plots in Abuja were allocated to people in the 19 Northern states, in terms of actual ownership, the Igbos owned 73 per cent.

The FCt minister also revealed why Obasanjo, then military head of state, appointed a Yoruba man, Chief Ajose Adeogun as the First FCT minister.

Mallam Rufai, who was guest speaker at a solidarity dinner hosted by Peoples Democratic party (PDP) national scribe, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, for newly elected members of the National Assembly of south eastern origin, also lauded "the Igbo entrepreneurial spirit" in the success of Abuja as a modern capital city.

His words: "When I assumed duties as FCT minister, the president gave me the mandate of restoring the Abuja master plan and putting an end to the parasitic business of land racketeering. At that time, the easiest business in Abuja was to get land or shops officially and then sub-let these to others, especially Igbo traders, at very high rates.

"And everybody you know was involved. When the senate invited me, I held my peace. At that time, I did not want it published, but it can be published now. If I opened up on some of the people behind the rackets, the revelations could have triggered a revolution in Nigeria .

"Everybody you know had a corner shop, and I means just about everybody. The only person who did not have a corner shop was president Obasanjo, but even in his case, his wife had one."

On the land rackets that engendered a disparity of 68 per cent official allocation and 73 per cent actual ownership, El Rufai he had to stop it as one of the first steps towards restoring bringing down the cost of real estate and ameliorating the sufferings of genuine developers.

Said he: "on coming on board, I discovered that 68 per cent of all plots were allocated to people in the 19 Northern states. But in terms of actual ownership, 73 per cent of the land was owned by south easterners, with Ebonyi lagging behind and Anambra being the most aggressive.

"Since most staff in the Abuja public services were from the North, most of these shops or lands were allocated to them. What I did was to revoke and re-allocate through due process. I cleared the backlog of land applications and sold shops to legal occupants, overwhelmingly Igbo traders for N50 years".

Throwing light on what informed Gen. Obasanjo’s choice of a Yoruba man as the first FCT minister, El Rufai explained that Obasanjo did it to allay the fears of the Yoruba’s that the relocation of the federal capital from Lagos was in bad faith.

He countered the perception that the FCT demolitions were targeted at Igbos, saying if the exercise affected Igbos more it was simply because Igbos dominated the trading business.

His words: "We are not against Igbos; everything we did was with the best intentions. If we hurt people, on behalf of my 18000 staff, I do apologise. But given the same chance and circumstances, I’ll do it again and then apologise."

"What we did, we did it in national interest. Today, Abuja ranks among Calabar, Ilorin and Makurdi as the four cleanest cities in Nigeria . But this had a price. We sacked or retired 4000 of our staff for involvement in unholy land deals, we removed 800 corner shops to build to build neighbourhood shopping centres amongst other measures.

He added: "in doing this, we have proved that certain impossibilities are possible. People thought it was impossible to demolish the house of a general or senator or minister or the national chairman of a party, but we demolished them all.

"The PDP chairman, (Ali), is still upset with me; he even abused me this afternoon – Ojo (Maduekwe) was there. But we have proved that here, we do what we say; we have shown that in Abuja , there is law, and we keep it. Today, we have removed parasitism in Abuja , cleared all backlogs of land applications and kept faith with our mandate".

Dispelling rumours that he was lobbying for re-appointment, Rufai declared: "I am looking forward to going home. In the last three years, I have not rested because I did not want to fail. I want to go and rest."

Last year in Germany, an Ethiopian was beaten to a state of coma by racists elements. Now he has lost his senses and is paralysed. Let Ethiopians continue their way. But it is a waste of time as oyibos still see them as ''black''.

El-Rufai, speaking on the FCT’s restructuring and his affection for the Igbo people said when he came in as a minister he discovered that 68 per cent of land allocation was made to the Northerners, while in terms of ownership they were owned by the Igbo.

More clarification form the Nation newspaper

''He pointed out that such dominance explains why the Igbos appear to have been the worst victims of the demolition exercise in the territory.
For instance, he said “68 percent of the land allocations in the FCT belongs to the 19 northern states, but in actual land ownership, 73 percent belongs to the Igbos with the most aggressive in land ownership belonging to the indigenes of Anambra state, while Ebonyi lags behind.”


That sounds ambigious. It seems then that the hausa states sold their 68 % allocation to the Igbo.

Igbo Leaders Reject PDP, Opt For Opposition

By Maxwell Oditta Asst Politics Editor, Lagos

15th May

Igbo leaders have scoffed at the post of deputy Senate president zoned to the South East by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They described it as an office that exists only in name and accused the party of subordinating the Igbo to other ethnic nationalities.

Governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Ikechi Emenike, fired off on Monday that the Igbo, by the arrangement, would continue to retrogress in the PDP.

"If you see a situation where the South West, after producing the President, rather than take a leap back, they want to produce the Senate president. If you look at the hierarchy, you have the President, the vice president, the Senate president, the House speaker, the deputy Senate president – the fifth of the elective positions.

"The Igbo are number three and have stepped back to number five. The Yoruba are number one. They are coming to number four. Naturally, you would have expected that those who are number one should be number five. But they are number four ahead of the Igbo again. This is not good," Emenike, a defector from the PDP, agitated.

A member of the National Political Reforms Conference, Zik Chuka Obi, re-echoed the views, saying it would be unfortunate if the Igbo are not given the speakership.

His lament: "Now that the North West has taken the post of President and the South South the vice president, what do we get? From the reports so far, it looks as though the Igbo are not likely to get the Senate presidency again."

A deputy governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Imo, Cliff Ogbede, said PDP leaders are not thinking the right way.

A Presidential candidate of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP), Maxi Okwu, added that the South East is short changed in the PDP because there is no Igbo man or woman of clout where it matters.

"The PDP is the dominant party, whether by hook or crook," he reasoned. "An Igbo man is not there in the dominant caucus of the PDP. The only person who has some mega strength is Andy Uba. We are not even in the mainstream of the leaders of the three arms of government. The PDP has no place for Ndigbo. The Igbo made a mistake in not realising that they have no place in the PDP. Some of us realised it earlier and we said so."

Ralph Okey Nwosu, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said it is not surprising that the PDP undermines Igbo interest, since it has neither Igbo vote nor Igbo sympathy.

His words: "Ndigbo are so disgusted with the PDP that it cannot win a councillorship seat in a free and fair election. If there is any election in the South East, we will have a bloc vote. But no elections took place.

"The people who were not allowed to vote know who they would have voted for. Whenever we have a true election in Nigeria, we will reject the PDP completely."

To Ohanaeze President, Dozie Ikedie, PDP leaders toy with the fortunes of the Igbo and this is why Ndigbo will not recognise the government of Umar Yar’Adua unless the leaders of the party treat the Igbo justly.

"It is clear that the Igbo have been manipulated out of the position. It is not the end of the world. But quite clearly, we are not comfortable with the PDP because of the way they have treated Ndigbo.

"If the PDP wants to have a rethink and treat Ndigbo fairly, we will give them a chance," Ikedife stressed, objecting to any activism that could lead to bloodshed in the zone.

Ohanaeze will not recognise the new government, as the group is now being re-invented from ‘the establishment tool’ it was in the past, Nwosu added.

He criticised the World Igbo Congress (WIC) for allowing itself to be "polluted" by the PDP.

"We have a new leadership in the person of Ikedife. They are re-inventing the Ohaneze, the South East, the Igbo man and the Nigerian nation profoundly.

"The World Igbo Congress is, meanwhile, misdirected. The same pollution of the PDP has also infiltrated them, and they are now a bit misdirected. Some Igbos in the diaspora are trying to do something to reposition the World Igbo Congress. For now, it is misdirected."

But it is not only Ohanaeze that needs re-inventing, Obi pointed out – the same applies to Aka Ikenga, the other pan-Igbo group he argued, even though a governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Imo, George Opara, is not persuaded.

"Ohanaeze is just a pan-Igbo organisation. I cannot think of any move they have made that put the Igbo nation in an enviable pedestal at any time. I am yet to see Ikedife’s reformation plans to say that Ohanaeze could witness any re-invention of any form," Opara stated.

Although a full-blooded Igbo, I will be very, very glad if the PDP and Yaradua will torture us politically (no postions at all for the Igbo now) so that in the next election, the Igbo will be more united and fight for their rights as a group. The individualism in our politics is just suffocating.

seun001:
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IN MY OPINION THE IGBOS ARE THE MOST TRIBALISTIC IN THIS NATION,CANT RECOUNT THE AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCES I WENT THRU IN THE NYSC CAMP BUT I CAME TO THAT CONCLUSION WHEN I WENT FOR MY NYSC.DONT GET ME WRONG COS I HAVE IGBO FRIENDS AND I TELL THEM THIS WHENEVER IT CROPS UP IN OUR GISTS AND THEY MAKE A FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO CHANGE MY OPINION.

BUT THEN THE IGBO PREFER TO BUY AND SELL THAN TO WAIT FOR OIL TO BE CONVERTED INTO PMS AND THE LIKES.EVERYBODY IS TRIBALISTIC IN THIS COUNTRY WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT THIS IS A FACTOR WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

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If you say the Igbo prefer to buy and sell, it means you do not know the Igbo, inspite of serving in Igboland. Aba and Nnewi are manufacturing towns, where all sorts of small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises thrive. You should know this if you served in Igboland. And talking about tribalism per tribe will be like ''beauty in the eyes of the beholder''. I worked in Ibadan for three years and my eyes saw red-hot pepper with discrimination because I am not one of their own. I had to resign on account of the unmanagable situation, where juju, easily used to gain undue advantage, was flying right left and centre