₦airaland Forum

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday that the vision of his administration to revamp the capability of Nigeria’s automobile sector to export locally manufactured cars is near realisation.

Jonathan stated this at the 2014 Democracy Day celebration held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Jonathan, who inspected locally assembled Nissan Saloon cars, Pick-Up Van and SUV at the venue of the programme, said the administration had proved doubting Thomas wrong.

The president explained that when he made the disclosure in 2013 that made-in-Nigeria cars would be rolled out in the country in April and that Nigeria would soon be exporting cars, he was lampooned on the pages of newspapers.

He commended Nissan Group for keying into the new automotive policy of the federal government and urged other multinational auto companies to take a cue from Nissan.

The President also used the occasion to present his administration’s third anniversary report of the transformation agenda.

The report gave the accounts of the administration’s stewardship in every sector of the economy in the last one year.

The event was attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Maryam Aloma Mukhtar, Ministers and members of Diomatic Corps.

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme and former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Oladipo Diya also attended the event. (NAN)

lmm4real:
when is Inosu Motors doing the need full

Pavore9:
Somali government is using same for the Al-Shaabab.

kokoA:
APC never wanted him. He used force to get the ticket.

BeazyBee:
France bombed the The shit out of Syria yesterday which I
totally understand, but look at the innocent lives that were
lost..
My hearts breaking looking at these graphic images, is
everyone happy Now!! This makes me sick to my stomach!
Innocent little children paying the price for Isis.. everyone's
so quick to say let's bomb those motherfuckers, but does
anyone even sit back for a second and think of the
aftermath

madridguy:
THEY ARE FREEDOM FIGHTER ACCORDING TO OBAMA.

ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State — with every new media report, it seems that the vocabulary of terrorism changes.
In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and hundreds wounded, a number of world leaders have begun referring to the Islamic State as "Daesh".

"It is an act of war that was waged by a terrorist army, a jihadist army, by Daesh, against France," French President François Hollande said shortly after the attacks. Secretary of State John Kerry also used the term during a meeting in Vienna. "The United States, I want to emphasize, welcomes support in the fight against Daesh," he said. During a speech at the G20 summit in Turkey, U.S. President Barack Obama said it too. "Turkey has been a strong partner with the United States and other members of the coalition in going after the activities of ISIL, or Daesh, both in Syria and Iraq."

The terms ISIS, (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), ISIL (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and the Islamic State all have roots in the same origin. Daesh, however, seems opaque and out of place. The reason more and more world leaders are climbing on the Daesh wagon, however, may simply be because the Islamic State doesn't like it.

Daesh is technically an acronym for the Islamic State's proper Arabic name, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, and was used by ISIS members for a period of time. The word Daesh is now forbidden within the territory controlled by the Islamic State: If you say it, you run the risk of having your tongue cut. The term fell out of favor among the militants after a rebranding by the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in July. Part of the reason is because in Arabic the word "Daesh" can be taken as a play on words to mean something along the lines of "a bigot who imposes his view on others" or "to trample down and crush," the Boston Globe reported.

With propaganda being essential to the ISIS strategy of recruiting foreign fighters, it comes as no surprise that the group has moved to expunge all the negative associations inherent in Daesh.

Propaganda also plays into another reason why leaders are beginning to forswear terms like ISIS and Islamic State. By talking about the group using its own terms, those fighting it convey a de facto sense of legitimacy on the Islamic State's aims. The Islamic State, of course, is not actually a state, but rather of collection of terrorists operating from seized territory in Mesopotamia. No "Islamic State" in that territory has ever been recognized by any government as representing any actual country. World leaders repeatedly calling it a "state" potentially play into ISIS's hands.

Daesh. Use it — annoy a terrorist.

jmoore:
I doubt the figures.

costandi:
*See The grin on the dullards face in amazement at the sophisticated gadget he beholds*

Players: Hello Sir
Daura Dullard: Hello my boys, make sure u defeat maradona, pele and west Germany in this tournament.
Players: Sir, its Mali we are up against
Daura dullard: Nansens u fifo should av told me u were playing africa championship, and I was thinking it was world cup.

*Hangs Up*

lawrenceunaa:
India

Timi Frank APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary:
Timi Frank, the deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC is like a gadfly no one can do anything about. He had in the recent past called for the removal of the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and even contradicted party positions as announced by his immediate boss, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

It is no surprise that the party is quaking at the thought of Frank stepping in as Acting National Publicity Secretary. In this interview he speaks on his temperament among other issues in the party. Excerpts:

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

Would you say that the crisis that engulfed the National Assembly would show that your party cannot manage success?

If you remember how Gov. Tambuwal emerged Speaker in 2011, there were crises. Tambuwal wasn’t the choice of the party as at that time but eventually you know democracy is changing the way whereby the people’s opinion has to count at all times, at all levels, including the party level.

I don’t think it is an issue of whether we can’t sustain victory or not. Yes, we are all human beings, we have our own differences, our own pains as human beings, individual issues but that doesn’t mean we are not ready or prepared to sustain victory. We have already sustained victory and we are going to retain it and I can tell you that it is just an immediate challenge.

We have started looking at how we will reconcile all the loopholes and definitely the issue of victory will be stable in a matter of time.

You once called for the resignation of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as national chairman and flayed your party spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Has that been laid to rest and do you see yourself working with them amicably like it used to be?

Yes definitely. I will work with them. They are my bosses. Anybody that knows Timi Frank knows I am an upright man, I don’t know how to pretend in politics, I always speak my mind.

Where I have been oppressed or the people have been oppressed. At that time there were one or two things that I felt on my own personal opinion at that time that weren’t going right. So, I took a decision out of anger at that time.

I can tell you at the national level we are doing very well. We have a very good working relationship with our national chairman. I believe he knows what is right at the moment and he is trying to do what is right to please all members of the party and so on and that was why you could see during the last NEC meeting we had to come together to pass vote of confidence on our chairman. So, I can tell you that we are stable today.

What actually transpired then?

Well, it was politics.

What actually was the bone of contention?

Well, just like I said everyone has their interest whether you like it or not. I have my interest.

Father in politics

Every national officer, everybody including the president has their interest.

The impression out there is that you are more of Atiku’s man than a loyal party man?

Well, I will maintain my position whether anybody likes it or not; Atiku is like my father, my political mentor, my leader. If anybody thinks it is wrong for me to adopt any father in politics or a leader who I believe in or a mentor whom I have chosen to have, then that is the person’s personal opinion. I am a politician. I am a young man in politics. It is my right to have a godfather. It is my right to have a leader. That is the only way you can grow.

Are you saying that you are also fighting for him to become the BoT chairman?

Well, if that time comes, my position will be taken. When that time comes I believe I am going to take the best decision that the party will be happy with and Nigerians will be happy with.

We want the best person to take over leadership as BoT chairman. I am a national officer as at today.

Your Principal, Lai Mohammed has been cleared for a ministerial appointment. Will you now step in to take his position?

I won’t say much on that right now. When that time comes … because my boss is still the publicity secretary of my party until he has been sworn in as a minister of the Federal republic of Nigeria then I will tell you clearly that the position is not vacant. It is stated clearly even in our party constitution that once the substantive officer is not there, the deputy automatically takes over.

So, I don’t know if the party will go against that and against its own constitution. When that time comes if the party goes against what they are meant to do right, Nigeria will be watching the party. I am not desperate in becoming the publicity secretary of the party.

If God says I am going to be, then no man can stop me. It is not something that I am going to lobby to say that I want to be. Already, I am the deputy national publicity secretary of the party which I am comfortable with and if by the grace of God, my boss is no more there, automatically without lobbying, without begging anybody, I fall into the position of acting national publicity secretary of the party.

I don’t know how they are going to do that because it is a constitutional issue because Nigerians will be watching them, people within the party will be watching them. Whatever they do at that point in time…you can do it to me today but tomorrow could be your turn. So that is my position on that.

How do you view your party’s chances in Bayelsa given Governor Oshiomhole’s observations on the emergence of your candidate, Timipire Sylva?

I am using this opportunity to apologize to Adams Oshiomhole. Baylesans in nature are not like that. We are responsible and credible people. Whatever Adams must have seen during that process I am using this opportunity to say I am sorry to him as a national officer of the party.

There are so many persons in Baylesa who are aggrieved just like Timi (Alaibe), so many. But some of them don’t have the opportunity to speak out and are scared which is very dangerous in politics.

I can tell you clearly, maybe the arrogance of Sylvia I don’t know, he hasn’t reached out since after the primaries to people like me and not just to me to so many credible Baylesans who took part in the primaries. As I speak some aspirants are still aggrieved within the party. If I tell you there are no issues in Baylesa I am trying to pretend and until these issues are resolved under this short period of time, then I am sorry to say I don’t see my party winning in Baylesa. We can’t win Baylesa when we are fighting ourselves. We can’t win Baylesa when we are afraid to speak. There are issues in Baylesa.

What are these issues?

Whether we like it or not there is nothing APC can do than to either manage his person at this point in time but I also see he is not helping issues. I expected him to lobby people. I expected him to make peace. I expected him to talk to the party. I expected him to beg the people because he needs the people the people don’t need him. I don’t need Timpre Sylvia as a person.

I have to speak for myself and I will say it clearly; I don’t need Sylvia as a person but at this point in time he needs me. He needs my support. He needs my vote. So, he should be the one that should be able to talk to some of us.

National officer

He needs to talk to Baylesans. Everyone’s vote is important except he believes that because we are at the centre, we are going to use the centre to rig elections for him so he doesn’t need Baylesans.

What really is your grievance with him?

(Cuts in) Let me tell you my own grievances with Timpre Sylva today. I will use this opportunity to speak out. Firstly I am a national officer of this party whether by low ranking or by high ranking however anybody wants to see it, I am a national officer. So in my state today if anybody wants to contest for election as a national officer I should be contacted. I should be talking with you whether you like it or not, whether you like my face or not you should be able to reach out.

As I speak he doesn’t consult anybody when he wants to take decisions. Recently, when I made an open letter to the president rejecting even the ministerial nominee and I will still tell you whether he becomes minister or not I will continue to kick against his ministerial nomination.

Smooyis:
It is just a few hours now for the expiration of deadline for the BVN registration. I have registered for mine, but my sister who resides overseas is yet to register and will be coming home in a month's time. Having saved some money towards her visit in her FirstBank account and yet to be registered, I feel so much worried as the deadline closes by.

The question on my mind has been, what will happen to millions of accounts that are yet to be registered before the deadline, and what hope do such account holders have thereafter. Let's share our knowledge on this.

PStylish:
There was no Nigeria Police Force in the 1930s/40s.
All we had was community/colonial police.

moderation2020:
Obasanjo is acting like a wounded lion or a dangerous reptile who has determined to strip his supporters naked in the public. Ironically in his home front he is not in good terms with some elders.
Obasanjo was fond of calling people, 'Omo Ale, (bastard), 'Oloriburuku', Idiot, Stupid, 'Agba'ya' , it's been rumored that Obasanjo's father was an Igbo. His number one nemesis, the former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, stated that
"nobody should use the ex-president's failings as a yardstick to appraise the competence of Yoruba leaders, because Obasanjo is not a Yoruba man in the first place."
One of the Nigerian Dailies, The Nation, Sunday, June 10, 2008 on its front page titled "Spot the Difference", and stated: "The personality in picture A is not former President Olusegun Obasanjo who is in picture B. But what do both personalities have in common?"

The Nation further explained the man in picture A, was an Igbo who lived in the Abeokuta area in the 1930s, about the time Obasanjo was born. According to The Nation, the police officer later became a monarch on a prominent South-Eastern throne. Before then, however, he had interacted fruitfully with the local community and had a brief affair with an Owu lady, before his final exit from the South-West. The Nation left the whole world to its readers' imaginations.

On June 11, 2008, on the Abuja-based Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah anchored a column title, Olusegun Igbochukwu Obasanjo, referencing the pictures from The Nation stated

"The editors of The Nation didn't want to say much, and they have left us to our imagination, but it won't be from me that you will hear that Obasanjo's father was Igwe Onyejekwe, a top ranking police officer who became the Igwe of Onitsha in his lifetime. …during his controversial reign, the throne was in contention between him and Igwe Okosi II, just as it is today between Igwe Achebe and Igwe Odukwe. Igwe Onyejekwe, Obasanjo's daddy, died after the civil war and, like his son, was said to be very cantankerous and quarrelsome."

Mogidi:
Am offering a monkey to any one able to correctly predict the country also.