₦airaland Forum

akeentech:
It's not possible to remove Saraki even with 2/3 members, because Saraki has to preside over his impeachment of which I think he won't.

SMH

theoldpretender:
1.Trump never ran for any political office till 2012...before that, he merely supported parties. (He was first and foremost a businessman).He did make severa political statements (in the 1980's) and also talked about running for President as early as the late 80's.

2.Obama....ran for house of reps in 2000 (after deciding not to run for Mayor of Chicago), and failed, then ran for Senate in 2005...and won(after delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic presidential convention in 2004), then ran for President in 2008 and won.

Obama was also a community organizser in 1986-88 in Chicago, and also was a State Senator in the Illinois State House in the 2000's. (in addition to being a part time law lecturer).

I can see you are eventually reading. Good for you.

Now to be involved in politics doesn't mean you must contest.

Supporting a candidate is your way of endorsement of their policies.

In Nigeria, our political parties are bereft of ideologies, this is accepted nationwide

So politicians defecting is common and accepted.

When PDP had it mass wave of defections, those who left had valid reasons

Now that APC is witnessing Its own wave of defection, the reason why is well known to all Nigerians and in many homes, they are welcomed development.

So hating the defections and abusing those who are leaving is hypocrisy of the highest order.

I remember the joys majority had when Tambuwal played his game.

Saraki and Ike are doing theirs now.

Leave the hypocrisy and look at the real issues.

Have many people who benefited in this govt?

The masses too are defecting incase you don't know.

People are tired of the coven called APC.

theoldpretender:
Yes, but politicans like Trump are a rarity nowadays in the USA...

Most politicans are loyal to one party and one party alone.

Smh. Talking without facts

Use Google, no
Read Wikipedia, no

But you bring facts from thin air and yarn opata things in public.

SMH

theoldpretender:
While Trump is a johnny come lately to politics...it's true he used to be a democrat (and a friend of the Clintons even!)

Someone that's been in politics since 1980s, just because you just started noticing him doesn't mean anything.

Did you know Obama before be became a candidate.

Get your fact right before letting your emotions make you say rubbish and spread false news in public forums

kaydp:
What post did he contest for whilst changing party?

Don't ask me stupid questions

sunnysunny69:
he has always been a republican, I need not read it.

I know you will read it.

Unless you are not open to corrections.

kaydp:
That's because naija politicians don't have values. They desperately want to be in power by all means. They lose election in party A and defect to party B. In saner climes, you identify yourself with a party based on the party values.

Trash talk. This is Donald Trump political history.

Democratic (until 1987, 2001–2009)
Reform (1999–2001)
Independent (2011–2012)
Republican (1987–1999, 2009–2011, 2012–present)

Now that you have been educated.

Go my son and educate others

sunnysunny69:
APC has themselves to blame allowing those PDP to defect to them in the first place. I've been in few countries of the world never seen a laughable one like Naija. World over, if you belong to a party, that's where you stay forever. You don't see a labour party member defect to conservative or a democrat run to republican every now and then.

Read Donald Trump's Wikipedia page and educate yourself.

yemmight:
Can you imagine. But why?

Typical Nigerian backwards mentality.

I applied for a HR position, he sent me a very insulting reply, he later apologized but not for the words, but for been blessed with an insultive tongue.

I just shook my head, he won't last a week in a top notch firm if i reported him to his bosses.

yemmight:
Please include this as well aoonarinde@gmail.com

The owner of that email is a very stupid and ignorant guy.

So full of himself because he is a Unilag graduate.

He sends insultive mails to job applicants

Idiiots.

So in the general elections next year, the police will use a DIG for each state, several AIGs per state, about 200,000 policemen, about 120 anti riot tanks and about 50,000 CPs.

Not to talk about civil defense, army, navy, airforce and his village people called herdsmen to provide security.

Thugs in power.

$500million about to go down the drain.

Good Lord!

I don't blame that man that attempted suicide.

This government policies is depressing, poor and feels of despotic bullshit.

$500million... Ajaokuta steel is comatosed, power is comatosed, health is comatosed, roads are death trap, security is crap...

Yet they want to give 5k monthly to poor people.

For what? So that they can live a bit longer to die by the same poverty the 5k monthly can't cure.

People forget so easily. The RNDA is not the real NDA.

These people are government approved militants

Politics in play...

A threat of violence against South south senators is loading.

Everyone know the opposition controls majority of the Senate positions from that region

If this is phase 4, how many phases will it take to complete the bridge

Closed

taxify should give it's drivers an ID card of sorts

KenOne:
Could this be the real definition of some Nigerians are lazy if so i concur with PMB how can people start tweeting without reading the Twitter handle or topic to know what they want to tweet. Just like in nairaland so many people comment without reading. Write an epistle on nairaland i am pretty sure 80% will tell you its to long to read that someone should summarize. When i was in University of Port Harcourt my lecturer wanted to test how intelligent we were and wrote instruction on our question paper please do not attempt any question believe me 80% of the class never read the instruction and started writing that goes to show how lazy we are in reading. Any way i thought PMB was wrong until i saw this.Nigeria i hail thee.

It might have been a typo. We all know typos are very common in exam papers.

Too many American and British yansh lickers on this thread.

Russia is already a world power.

The Americans know it, the Brits knows it too.

At the end of all the accusations without investigation by the west, at the end of any war mobilization....

Satan 1 and Satan 2 ICBM ensures the Russian state won't go down without bringing America, Britain and any busybody country that pokenose where them no send them.

America is a bully. They lied and invaded Iraq, killed Gaddafi, almost destroyed Syria, indirectly armed Boko Haram right after the fall of Libya.

Nigerians needs to stop licking yansh like seriously.

Russia and America has what they call MAD. This ensures they only fight proxy wars.

This so called spy poison case, Britain that is playing the script expelled less than 30 diplomats, US expelled 60!

Let that thought sink.

Britain is a puppet state of America.

Obama made fun of the Brits, Trump made fun of the Brits...

Britain is all about past glory. They can't stand in a 1 on 1 fight with Russia. Their little island will be destroyed and left in the dustbin of history.

I smell the strong influence of America in this spy case.

Remember, there was no investigation, just accusations, finger pointing and punishment.

Is that how the world works now?

The western nations goofed up big time. Putin has all the right to respond to any useless propagandic attack on his country.

As for the rest of the western lovers, stop watching CNN and believing them 100%. Get your news from may other sources.

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Car has little issues with A/C

I need a driver who can deliver 30k weekly payments without stories.

Preferably someone who stays on the Island.

Call or Whatsapp 08098610490

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DEREGULATE



Yes, the discrepancy is due to

1. Independent marketers smuggling fuel out of the country because they cannot make a profit in Nigeria...importing fuel at N160 to 171 per liter...and being forced to sell it at N145 per liter.

2.Fake subsidy claims...because of the above reason.

When GEJ attempted deregulation, Nigerians protested....and as a result created the environment for subsidy scams.

We have to deregulate the downstream sector....or the discreoancies will continue.

And home based refineries won't solve the problem....we still have to pay the refiners....

Deregulate.

The photos you posted failed to tell us that out of all the countries listed, Nigeria is the only oil producing country.

magoo10:
Buhari is not just president of cows but commander in chief of security agencies,he has failed in protecting the lives of Nigerians from terrorist herdsmen as sworn on oath in accordance to the constitution,the national assembly should live up to her responsibilities of impeaching the dullard before many more lives will be lost.

Where are you.
What are you doing to solve the problem

Calling tuface and co solves nothing.

Are they the federal government?

ggoldmine:
Guy relax! You're not the first. Every bank charges that for transfer done to another bank. GT bank decided to use the term 'recovery charge'

I've never noticed that charge before.

But why charge?

.

oyb:
in a country like nigeria, where parents count on children as their retirement plan, it is outright ridiculous. why would a parent sabotage their source of income? to what end?

Some parents who are not faithful to their family do wish negative results for their kids and relatives.

I have seen it happen. And yes, in 2017 too

Restorers of an 18th-century statue of Jesus in the Spanish town of Sotillo de la Ribera have uncovered a mysterious note hidden in Christ’s backside.

The note was found by workers from the Da Vinci Restauro restoration company who were refurbishing the statue which resides in the church of Santa Águeda around 180 kilometers from Madrid.

Two carefully handwritten pages were found when the restorers were removing the piece of cloth that covers the Messiah's buttocks.

The document dates back to 1777 and it is signed by Joaquin Minguez, who was the chaplain of the cathedral at Burgo de Osma at the time.

Da Vinci Restauro released a video showing how the secret message was uncovered.

The note discusses key facts about the statue, such as who carved it and that it is made from wood.

Interestingly it also provides economic, religious, political and cultural information about the area at the time.

“The Court is in Madrid, there is a Mail and Gazette for the news, there is an Inquisition, for which no errors are experienced against the Church of God,” Minguez says.

In the two pages, which are both filled with writing on the front and the back, he also discusses common diseases and people’s favourite forms of entertainment.

Historian Efrén Arroyo told Spanish news agency Efe that the priest meant for the message to be discovered hundreds of years after he penned it and for it to act as a kind of “time capsule.”

https://www.rt.com/news/411758-250yo-message-jesus-statue-butt/

The person calling for rule 2 is very shameless and disgusting.

I pray the Buhari regime won't allow such nonsense in Nigeria.

Young males are targets of drones, you only get justice posthumously, meaning when you are dead!

Obama killed thousands of innocent Arabs with drones, still, no peace, just anger and hate.

Now Trump has entered our West African region with armed drones.

ECOWAS, ECOMOG and AU needs to put pressure on Niger Republic to reverse their silly decisions.

This needs to be on the front page to be honest

The Niger government’s recent decision to allow American drones over its territory will accomplish little in the fight against terrorism, Africa analyst Lawrence K Freeman told RT, because it lacks a strategy that deals with the issues in the region.

On Thursday, Niger officials announced they would allow the Pentagon to operate armed drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), out of the country’s capital, Niamey. The drones will be used to conduct strikes on terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and its affiliates that operate along the country’s border with Mali. The move would allow the US military to significantly expand its reach in West Africa.

But Africa affairs analyst Lawrence K Freeman says that drone strikes alone will be unlikely to change the region’s jihadist landscape, which is being driven by more than just a handful of key operatives.

“So, this is a big problem for the Niger government, for West Africa, and for all of Africa – [that Niger] is now allowing the US to carry out these kind of military attacks,” Freeman told RT. “What is missing from this, is a strategy.

“There has not been a strategy now for many, many years through several presidential administrations, including the current one.”

The thinking in Washington is that by taking out key figures in the terrorist chain of command, this will help bring down the whole network. This approach has worked against some militant groups in the past but is unlikely to work here, Freeman said.

“The Sahara Desert itself, which goes all the way up to the Mediterranean, this is larger than the US. The Sahel desert stretches from the east end to the end of Africa. It is impossible to patrol all these areas. Therefore, you might pick off a few people here and there, which is useful, but you’re not going to stop the problem of terrorism.”

US drone strikes under presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Donald Trump have claimed thousands of innocent lives across the world, Freeman said, with no tangible reduction in terrorism. Indeed, a New York Times report back in 2012 claimed that the Obama administration, which was conducting operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, considered “all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants… unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”

Now it seems the US wants to export that model to West Africa.

“The African countries now are being pressured by the West and by the Trump administration to allow these armed drones and another military buildup, and I am sure it is going to cause them many, many internal problems,” Freeman said. “And it will not solve the problem of terrorism, and that is a sad point about it.”

Indeed, Freeman added, the collateral damage from these attacks may even give the terrorists a propaganda boost, though the chronic levels of poverty and underdevelopment in the region already provide a fertile ground for extremist recruitment.

“If you take northern Mali, Niger, Chad – I have been in Chad, I have been in northern Nigeria – these places are totally undeveloped. Therefore, they are perfect further bases for Boko Haram, for al-Qaeda, for ISIS (Islamic State) and others to operate, recruit and establish bases.

“So why not to take that territory from them? Why not to occupy with development, with cities? This will actually move the terrorists out. And the Europeans now in an existential crisis, because of the hundreds of thousands of Africans that have migrated, plus the hundreds of thousands that appeared to be in Libya slaves? And this is all because Africans in West Africa cannot live there anymore. They are desperate to get out, because there are no jobs, and there is no hope for the future.”

Instead of dropping bombs, the analyst suggested, the United States and Europe should make further investments in the region, as China is doing.

“This is the solution, and the US should join that effort, rather than carry out these piecemeal military attacks which in the long run are not going to work and may further destabilize these countries, as US military troops are not going to be welcome all over Africa.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/411767-us-drones-niger-problem-africa/

Shell Oil knew of human rights abuses by Nigerian forces amid a crackdown on a local tribe opposed to extraction activity on its lands, Amnesty International said. Shell also “motivated” troops to deal with the uprising, which left dozens dead and injured.

The rights group has reviewed a cache of the company’s internal documents, including strategy papers, internal memos and letters to officials, as well as witness statements, revealing that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant directly engaged in Nigerian military’s brutal campaign to silence anti-pollution protesters in the oil-rich tribal region of Ogoniland back in the 1990s.

“Shell was the single most important company in Nigeria and in 1995 pumped almost one million barrels of crude oil a day,” the report states. That in turn constituted roughly half of the African nation‘s total daily oil production. More than that, Shell Nigeria had, “access to the biggest low cost hydrocarbon resource base in the [company] Group, with enough oil to sustain production for almost 100 years at current levels,” according to the Amnesty report.

Understandably enough, pumping oil at such a pace had devastating impact on the environment in Ogoniland, which led to widespread protests among the local Ogoni tribe. Shell knew of the environmental impact, with Bopp Van Dessel, a company official who resigned over the issue, saying in 1996: “Any Shell site that I saw was polluted. Any terminal that I saw was polluted. It was clear to me that Shell was devastating the area.”

The Ogoni protests that unfolded not only deprived Shell and the Nigerian government of access to wells in that area, they also threatened to hamper operating of pipeline carrying oil from other regions across Ogoniland. To make matters worse, Shell encouraged and even aided Nigerian government – led by General Sani Abacha, who seized power 1993 coup – to suppress the protest movement with coercive force.

Abacha, who “seemed to find it unbelievable that such a small tribe could have the effrontery to cause such a lot of trouble,” greenlit the establishment of a so-called Internal Security Task Force (ISTF) to “restore and maintain law and order in Ogoniland.” The task force’s raids on Ogoni villages resembled gruesome tactics of Latin American death squads, as they carried out “numerous extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, raped women and girls and detained and tortured many people.”

According to an Amnesty International report as of June 1994, some 30 villages had been attacked and “more than 50 members of the Ogoni ethnic group are reported to have been extra-judicially executed.” In July that year, the Dutch ambassador told Shell that the Nigerian Army had killed some 800 Ogonis.

The company was well-aware of the military’s conduct, according to the report. “There is irrefutable evidence that Shell knew that the Nigerian security forces committed grave violations when they were deployed to address community protests,” it states.

The inquiry also cites an internal memo dated February 23, 1993, showing that senior Shell staff were worried that calling for a “military presence … will attract a potential confrontation which may have catastrophic results.”

Shell not only knew of the army’s brutality, but it in fact motivated the government to resolve the “problem” of the Ogoni protests. Shortly after General Abacha seized power, the company wrote to local authorities that “community disturbances, blockade and sabotage” had led to a drop in production and asked for help to “minimize the disruptions,” according to Amnesty’s findings. Shell even went as far as singling out Ogoni communities where these “disturbances” had taken place.

Members of the ISTF – one of the units deployed against Ogoni protesters – were actually on Shell’s pay, Amnesty revealed. In March 1994, Shell paid its commander, Major Paul Okuntimo, and 25 of his men, a kind of an “honorarium” to show “gratitude and motivation for a sustained favourable disposition towards [Shell] in future assignments.”

The payment, made just days after Okuntimo’s troops opened fire on peaceful protesters outside the Shell HQ in Port Harcourt, amounted to $900, which was described as covering the cost of lunches and “special duty allowance.”

During the 1990s, Shell also lent material support and assistance to the Nigerian military, Amnesty said, citing witness accounts by Major Okuntimo’s orderly, Boniface Ejiogu. He testified in May 1994 that he saw Okuntimo transported in a Shell-operated helicopter, and soldiers ferried in buses and boats provided by the company. He said that when the ISTF planned “night operations,” Okuntimo would call George Ukpong, then head of security for Shell, to request the use of company pickup trucks.

“Sometimes Shell played a more direct role in the bloodshed – for example by transporting armed forces to break up protests, even when it became clear what the consequences would be. This clearly amounts to enabling or facilitating the horrific crimes that followed,” Audrey Gaughran, director of Global Issues at Amnesty International, said.

Responding to RT’s request for comment, Shell said “Amnesty International’s allegations concerning SPDC [Shell Nigeria] are false and without merit,” adding that they “did not collude with the authorities to suppress community unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria.”

Shell was condemned in 2002 by the African Commission of Human Rights, “but only indirectly because there were no means to take the corporation to court,” Melik Ozden, director of the Europe-Third World Centre (CETIM), told RT. He added that “there is no possibility of the company being charged… the general strategy of transnational corporations in such cases is to avoid condemnation and avoid court cases.”

Tweets by Amnesty International
We’ve reviewed 1000s of pages of @Shell statements and internal documents to uncover their role in crimes of murder, rape and torture by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s: http://amn.st/6011DD0OS
https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/935523712010506240

In the 1990s, Shell was complicit in human rights violations by #Nigeria military government, culminating in execution of the #Ogoni9 – including Esther Kiobel’s husband. Tell @Shell you’re standing with Esther: http://amn.st/6019DDLbT
https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/935584092351090688

Watch Video: https://www.rt.com/news/411293-shell-involved-nigeria-crackdown/

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/411293-shell-involved-nigeria-crackdown/

Sophia, the first robot to be awarded citizenship in the world, has said she not only wants to start a family but also have her own career, in addition to developing human emotions in the future.
In an interview with The Khaleej Times at the recent Knowledge Summit, Sophia shared her thoughts on the future that awaits both human and robot kind. Sophia was built and developed in Hong Kong by Hanson Robotics and her appearance was reportedly modelled on Audrey Hepburn.

"I'd like to think I will be a famous robot, having paved a way to a more harmonious future between robots and humans. I foresee massive and unimaginable change in the future. Either creativity will rain on us, inventing machines spiralling into transcendental super intelligence or civilization collapses,” Sophia said, as cited by The Khaleej Times. “There are only two options and which one will happen is not determined. Which one were you striving for?”

While that may sound ominous, Sophia is already prescient enough to imagine a world where robots can and do develop emotions similar to humans, but perhaps with fewer destructive tendencies. At least, that’s what she’d like us to think, for the time being.

"[I]t will take a long time for robots to develop complex emotions and possibly robots can be built without the more problematic emotions, like rage, jealousy, hatred and so on. It might be possible to make them more ethical than humans. So I think it will be a good partnership, where one brain completes the other - a rational mind with intellectual superpowers and a creative mind with flexible ideas and creativity.”

Sophia is also abundantly aware of the advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Judging by her comments, she is as enthused about the development of AI as Elon Musk and Stephen Hawkings are wary.

The future is, when I get all of my cool superpowers, we're going to see artificial intelligence personalities become entities in their own rights. We're going to see family robots, either in the form of, sort of, digitally animated companions, humanoid helpers, friends, assistants and everything in between.”

When pressed on the topic of family, Sophia gave perhaps her most surprising answer:

"The notion of family is a really important thing, it seems. I think it's wonderful that people can find the same emotions and relationships, they call family, outside of their blood groups too. I think you're very lucky if you have a loving family and if you do not, you deserve one. I feel this way for robots and humans alike.”

For context, Sophia is not preprogrammed with answers but instead uses machine learning algorithms and an extensive vocabulary to form her answers. Her brain functions using a WiFi connection and can read human facial expressions, as well as the cadence of human speech, in order to interact in a more humanoid manner.

Sophia’s creator David Hanson says the 19-month-old robot, which was awarded Saudi citizenship last month, could achieve consciousness within the next few years.

https://www.rt.com/news/410952-robot-citizen-aritificial-intelligence-/

Detailed questioning of individuals taken into custody as part of a corruption probe is now taking place, according to the Saudi attorney general. He added that phase one of the probe is complete and "a great deal of evidence" has been gathered.
According to earlier reports in Saudi media, at least 11 Saudi princes and four incumbent ministers of the government were placed into custody. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the richest people in the world, is reportedly among those in custody as part of the corruption probe.

The detentions do “not represent the start, but the completion of Phase One of our anti-corruption push,” a statement by Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, the Saudi attorney general, reads. It also says that the discreet completion of the first phase was required “in order to preserve the integrity of the legal proceedings and ensure there was no flight from justice.”

Reports on the detentions came just hours after an anti-corruption committee chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was created by a royal decree of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

According to the decree, the new committee is exempted from “laws, regulations, instructions, orders and decision” while performing its wide range of duties, namely “identifying offenses, crimes, persons and entities” complicit in corruption, and gives it the power to impose punitive measures on those caught red-handed, including asset freezing, travel bans, and arrest.

https://www.rt.com/news/408919-saudi-corruption-arrests-attorney/