₦airaland Forum

Nigeria the largest economy in Africa , the largest concentration
of Black people on earth is on the march again looking for its
President. In less than two months from now Nigerians will go to
the polls to elect a President of its choice . It is also a time to
decide whether Nigeria will remain one as a nation or a fulfilment
of the American prophecy that the country might break up by
2015 . I pray that the country will not break up and I pray the
country remains more united , stronger and prosperous . But there
are issues that must be tackled for a successful and violence
free election in the country .
Let me first of all leave no one in doubt as to where I stand on
the forthcoming Presidential election in the country . I am not a
card carrying member of any political party but I wish that
President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan and the Peoples
Democratic Party [ PDP ] win the election in the interest of peace,
progress , unity of Nigeria and anything that will truncate that
dream will never get my support.
Agreed President Jonathan is not a perfect human being , no man
is perfect after all , only God is perfect. Agreed also that politics
is struggle for power but I don’ t agree that we have to tell lies
and deceive the people because we want to take power from the
incumbent . Let us for the purpose of this discussion reduce the
struggle for the Presidency of Nigeria to Goodluck Jonathan and
General Muhammadu Buhari compare both of them and allow
Nigerians to make a choice in the interest of one Nigeria and
future of their children and generations yet unborn .
Let me remind President Jonathan what gave him the Presidency
in 2011 and see whether he can still use that factor to claim the
Presidency this time around . First the Presidency in the first
place was made possible by God , first and foremost , because if
President Umaru Yar ’ Adua had not died he wouldn ’ t have smelt
that position .
Secondly , he won the Presidency because of the poor campaign
strategies of the North . The North believed that they owned
Nigeria , have the population and that only they can determine
who becomes the President of the country , no other group
matters. In fact one Sheikh Gumi once said that over his dead
body will a Christian win the Presidency of Nigeria . So people
voted for Jonathan to prove them wrong .
Thirdly , Nigerians wanted to fight a cabal that have sworn to
keep Nigeria in their pocket for ever, Nigerians voted to liberate
itself from this cabal . Nigeria voted for fresh breath .
But the question is , has anything changed since then ? The
answer is no . The truth is that those who voted for Jonathan in
2011 have nothing to show for it five years after . Roads in the
South East and South South are still the worst in the country ,
even the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling PDP Olisa
Metuh was quoted to have said sometime in November that
Federal Roads in the South East are still the worst in the
country . Even though we have a Christian as the President more
Christians have been killed in the country than ever before in the
history of the country with no punishment meted out to the
murderers and no compensation for Christians for the loss of
their lives and properties . Has President Jonathan been able to
fight the cabal ? The answer is no . In fact, they have become
more vicious and deadly and even more powerful . President
Jonathan has not told Nigerians why nobody was punished for
the post - election violence of 2011, where over 800 innocent
Nigerians including youth corps members were killed . President
Jonathan has not told Nigerians why he sacked Professor Barth
Nnaji , his former Minister of Power , in whose tenure , for the first
time in Nigeria , we noticed some improvement in power stability
for over a month before he was sacked by the cabal that were
not comfortable with power stability in the country . The
President has not told Nigerians why Abba Moro is still in his
cabinet . Abba Moro , Nigeria ’ s minister of Internal Affairs was
busy fighting the former Comptroller- General of Immigration Mrs
Roseline Uzoma over some appointment of Igbo immigration
officers . That little distraction was what the marauders from
Libya and Mali needed and they entered the country with
sophisticated weapons and mercenaries from Gadafi’ s Libya ,
which are now being utilized by Boko Haram. If Nigeria is a
serious country the Minister should have been sacked by now ,
but he has a powerful cabal behind him that may help generate
vote for Jonathan .
The President should know that the sentiments used to give him
the position in 2011 may not work for him this time around .
But despite all these , is General Muhammadu Buhari a credible
alternative ? My answer is no . How I wish the PDP had brought
out a better candidate to replace Jonathan . I have nothing
against Northern President and how I wish the North or APC
provided a better alternative . But unfortunately I will still pray
that Goodluck Jonathan wins the Presidency than allow
Muhammadu Buhari win . Those who are managing Buhari have
not convinced me why Buhari is a better alternative to lead the
country . The only marketing strategy the media marketers are
using to sell Buhari to Nigerians is that he will fight corruption
and that he is the only Nigerian that is not corrupt . I am aware
that when Buhari was a Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and
Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation [ NNPC ] the
sum of $ 2. 8 billion was missing from the NNPC account. In fact,
a former Nigeria Television Authority [ NTA ] reporter Theodora
Ifudu was sacked for reporting the story . As a former Military
Head of State General Buhari changed Nigeria ’ s currency and
stopped the importation of naira into the country for change . His
Personal Assistant at that time came in with 53 suit cases with
orders from above that he should not be searched . The officer in
charge of Nigeria Customs at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in
Lagos then was Atiku Abubakar who insisted on searching the
suitcases and discovered huge sums of money inside , Atiku was
subsequently sacked from the customs. As a military Head of
state , General Buhari ’ s government arrested some politicians in
the country and sent them to prison. He left the then President
Alhaji Shehu Shagari a northerner and muslim untouched while
he went ahead to arrest and jail the Vice President Alex Ekweme
a southerner and Christian . We have certainly seen some
development in the country in the last five years of Jonathan ’ s
administration . We have seen roads being built and
rehabilitated , seen remodelling of the airports , railways working
again, seaports working against, we ’ ve seen more investments
in power sector , petroleum sector , telecommunication sector ,
education sector , health , politics , etc .
The big question is , what does Nigeria need now ? Nigerians are
not interested in what the government does for the country , what
Nigerians need now is what has individuals benefited from the
country and this is what will decide the fate of Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan in the next presidential election . The advice I will give
to Jonathan is that he should continue the projects being
executed across the country , he should as a matter of urgency
do something to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians . He
should bring out all the money in the foreign reserve , $ 40 billion
or thereabouts . There is no point keeping the money for Nigeria
that might not exist after the 2015 elections . Declare free
education at all levels , declare free health for all , bring down the
price of fuel in the country to about twenty naira per litre, settle
traditional rulers and opinion leaders , religious leaders , civil
society groups , the media, the military, everybody .
Take care of people in the National Assembly buy them over ,
take care of all the governors , buy them over . In politics there is
no permanent friend what is permanent is interest . Find out from
the governors like Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who were your
friends why they are suddenly against you . At the last media
parley in Benin the previous week Governor Oshiomhole was
asked why he will not support a South South President like
himself and he said a brother who failed to act like a brother
should be treated like an enemy . He said President Jonathan a
President from the South South refused to give him money from
ecological funds to take care of his people , but the President
only gave ecological funds to Northern governors . Why will the
President not give Oshiomhole what he wants ? Jonathan needs
Oshiomhole to deliver Edo vote more than he needs Tony Anenih .
These are issues the President must tackle and not rely on the
luck of 2011 .
The biggest problem facing the president’ s re - election bid is the
issue of Boko Haram. I was a child still growing up in 1984
during the apartheid regime when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said
we should use juju to defeat apartheid. Just recently during the
inauguration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in office , leader of
APC Bola Ahmed Tinubu was reported to have told the people to
use juju to defend their votes . I know the Yorubas believe so
much in juju, how juju has helped him so far in politics today I do
not know but I know Bola Tinubu is the most beautiful bride in
today’ s politics . I think we should consider using juju to bring
back the missing Chibok girls and even end Boko Haram . I know
the Ijaws also have an idol called Egbesu shrine , please consult
him or her if he is not on leave.
On the election proper the President should be serious to win the
election or withdraw from the race . He should not allow the
post - election killings take place again. From every indication ,
there will be crisis before , during and after the election so he
should prepare for it . Statements coming out from the
opposition party leaders is not encouraging . General Buhari has
talked of Monkey and Baboon soaking in blood, Bola Tinubu has
talked of Use of juju, Rotimi Amaechi has talked of orange
revolution. Amaechi has said if the 2015 election is rigged the
APC will take to the streets and form an alternative government .
The President should not rely on the security agencies alone to
enforce law and order , we are dealing with opposition that is
desperate for power . He should be thinking of mobilizing the
OPC , Bakassi Boys, Niger Delta Ex - Militants and even hunters to
save the country .
I want to remind the media that they have a responsibility to
save the country . In the second Republic Chief Obafemi Awlowo
was the leader of opposition in the country . He did not see
anything good in Shagari ’ s government as he opposed and
criticized every move made by the government then . When the
Buhari and his gang struck in 1983 they used some of the
attacks made by Chief Obafemi Awolowo as reasons for the
coup . Then one week after the coup the military went to
Awolowo ’ s house in Apapa , Lagos ransacked everywhere beat
up his personal staff and family members . The next morning
Awolowo not only condemned Buhari ’ s coup but added that the
worst democracy was better than the best military regime . A
word is enough for the wise .
• Egunyanga , a public affairs analyst , is a true believer in one
Nigeria .

san316:
what happened three years ago, you are bringing it up for political reasons. well shall, this kind of stories can keep coming as long as we dont fix our electoral system of rigging.

You can share it all you can, but you are just deceiving urselves

if you feel its not important bringing it up again, may it happen to you.

I have been watching the political brouhaha from afar off and what we have is just politics of hate and name calling. We hardly hear anybody speak constructively or convincingly about their candidate or against the incumbent. What baffle me is that the young among us, as the future of this great nation can't address issues without name calling like Buhari "Boko Haram" Jonathan "Jonathan" and many more not worthy of print.
As much as democracy is all about freedom of speech, it does not in any way give anybody the right to say anything just because you have access to the internet. Lets take a cue from Americans and other civilised counties.
If I am campaigning for Buhari, that does not give me the right to call Jonathan unprintable names same also goes to Jonathan campaigners.
If the necessary CHANGE we crave for must come, then it is of necessity that we CHANGE our mentality. Neither the FRESH AIR nor the CHANGE we desire as citizens of this nation can be achieved if all hands are not on desk.
The beauty of democracy is healthy criticism and also logical reasoning. Sometimes elections are not won on merit or money, but on logical and constructive argument. How do I sell my candidate both to the North, South, East and West, how do I make my candidate popular so as to get a reasonable vote from that region.
Young folks, Buhari and Jonathan can not and will not change your life if you don't bring the desired change yourself, you must first bring the fresh air before any government bring it to you.
In conclusion, I wish to see a nation where young men and women discussing politics without using abusive words, where we sell our candidate bearing at the back of our mind that we must have to respect the other candidate and trying as much as we can to respect people's opinion and choice.

The Buhari I know CAN NEVER give his daughter to an Igbo man. Why all these lies and why will he not come out and denial the rumor.... I thought he was different.

ibedun:
Is he Igbo?

No, he is Kanuri

Akinwunmi Ambode (born June 14, 1963) is an
accountant, an administrator and a public finance
management expert. He is the Chief Executive Officer of
Brandsmiths Consulting Limited – a firm that specializes in
public sector finance management. Ambode was formerly
the Accountant-General of Lagos State, Nigeria, and held
many sensitive financial positions in the Lagos State
government in a 27-year career in the Lagos State Civil
Service. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Member of the
Nigerian Institute of Management. He is the founder of La
Roche Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization
focused on developing the next generation of leaders. He
is married to Bolanle Patience Ambode (nee Odukomaiya)
and they are blessed with children.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Akinwunmi was born on June 14, 1963 at the Epe General
Hospital, Epe, Lagos, as the sixth of ten children. His late
father, Festus Akinwale Ambode was a teacher while his
mother, Christianah Oluleye Ambode (nee Oresanya) was
an entrepreneur who ran a thriving sewing business in
her prime. In 1967, when Akin was still four years old, his
father moved to the mainland part of Lagos with the
family and continued his teaching career until his death
in 1981. Akinwunmi Ambode began his education at St.
Jude’s Primary School, Ebutte Meta, Lagos, Nigeria in
1969. In 1974, while still in Primary 5, he sat for the
National Common Entrance Examinations and was
admitted to Federal Government College, Warri in the
same year.
Ambode spent 7 years in Warri, where he completed his
Ordinary and Advanced Levels and had the distinction of
achieving the second best result in all of West Africa in
the Higher School Certificate Examinations in 1981. He
was on the school’s Hockey and Cricket teams and was
part of the then Bendel State Cricket team while still a
student.
Ambode proceeded to University of Lagos where he
studied Accounting, graduating at the age of 21 in 1984.
He completed his mandatory[National Youth Service Corps
year serving with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sokoto,
Sokoto State, where he started his relationship with the
Public Service.
CIVIL SERVICE CAREER
After his NYSC year, Ambode commenced his career at the
Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA) as
Accountant Grade II. He enrolled for Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) exams and at the
same time was awarded a Federal Government
Scholarship to pursue a Masters Degree in Accounting at
the University of Lagos. By the time he was 24, Ambode
had qualified as a Chartered Accountant and had
completed his Masters Degree programme in Accounting,
specializing in Financial Management.
His career was fast-tracked and in 1988, Akinwunmi
Ambode was appointed the Assistant Treasurer, Badagry
Local Government. In 1991, he was posted to Shomolu
Local Government as Auditor. He was later deployed to
Alimosho Local Government as Council Treasurer. Ambode
was posted back to Shomolu as Council Treasurer and
later on to Mushin Local Government as Council
Treasurer. He criss-crossed many Local Government
Councils in different roles in a 10-year period and got a
first-hand experience of the direct impact of governance
on the citizenry.
In 1998, Ambode was awarded the US Fulbright
Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship
program, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA. His
Fellowship Year was spent studying Public Leadership
with emphasis on Finance and Accounting. During this
programme Ambode had professional internships at The
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Cabinet Office of
Administration and Finance (Governor’s Office), City of
Boston Treasury Office as well as with the World Bank
and IMF.
On his return from the programme, Ambode became
acting AuditorGeneral for Local Government. This position
was confirmed by the State House of Assembly in 2001.
In January 2005, Ambode was redeployed to mainstream
public service as the permanent secretary of the Ministry
of Finance. By February 2006, Ambode was given the
added responsibility ofaccountant general for Lagos State,
in charge of all the financial activities of the state and
directly responsible for over 1400 accountants in the state
service. Under his watch, the State Treasury Office (STO)
revolutionized the way Lagos State finances were raised,
budgeted, managed and planned. In his six years as the
Lagos State accountant general, the state's financial
performance improved visibly with the budget performing
at a remarkable average of 85% annually. Ambode
believes that "public financial management is about
ensuring that public money is well spent and it is made to
stretch as far as possible. It provides leaders and public-
sector managers with information to make decisions and
to know if they are using resources effectively.
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Ambode is a very active member of the Federal
Government College, Warri Old Students Association
(FEGOCOWOSA) and is credited with revitalizing the
Lagos branch of the Association. Ambode was a two-time
chairman of the Lagos State Branch, and, until recently,
was the National President of the Association, a position
he held for three years. In those three years, he executed
key projects in the school in conjunction with the alumni
network to improve the educational and living standards
of the students.
THE PUBLIC FINANCE CONSULTANT
After 27 years in the civil service, Ambode voluntarily
retired in August 2012. He founded Brandsmiths
Consulting Limited to provide Public Finance and
Management Consulting services to government at all
levels, its parastatals and agencies. Brandsmiths, in
collaboration withPrice Waterhouse Coopers, has trained
government accountants and finance personnel to prepare
them for the cut-over to the International Public Sector
Accounting System (IPSAS) which is to become effective in
2015.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
His belief in mentoring and passion for passing on
leadership skills gave birth to La Roche Leadership
Foundation , which he founded in 2012. This is a non-
profit organization that has a mandate to develop the
educational and leadership skills of young Nigerians, to
inculcate in them leadership values as a way of grooming
future leaders in all spheres of life. La Roche is presently
spearheading an initiative, ‘The Flags Project’, to install
Nigerian and Lagos State flags in all government owned
schools in Lagos State. The Foundation has also donated
tools to technical colleges to support training of artisans.

egift:
Majority of Obama's campaign funds came from online donation (I personally made donations severally). Once the nominations is concluded, there will be a massive fundraising drive. Buhari's Administration will be a Mass-Movement, step aside - Change is here to stay.

You can lie..... show us the proof that you contributed to Obama fund raising campaign or I don't believe....

Politics is a game, and until we are able to play to the rules of the game we can not win. If you don't support the opinion of the post why not give us your candid opinion(s) on why we should discard the post and believe yours, but until then hold your peace.

Princecalm:
Gush,the medical team really tried,don't think i most people can withstand the sight alone.

The sight alone frightens me.

How did he survive this? The medical staff at a Polish Emergency
ward were surprised when 40 year old Kamil Podwinski calmly
walked into their medical centre with a 15inch piece of wood
stuck right through his head.
According to New York Post, Mr Podwinski was renovating his
home in Konin Poland when the freak accident happened. He
reportedly told the nurses he was working when he slipped and fell
face first onto a sharp piece of wood. The wood entered his face
just below his eye socket and came out through the back of his
neck. And he survived. He actually took himself to the hospital.
At the hospital, the staff had to call the fire service department
because they'd never dealt with something like that before and
were scared they might cause more injury trying to remove the
piece of wood out of the man. The fire service arrived the hospital
and helped the medical team remove the wood without causing
further damage.
The incident has since been described as a miracle as the man
who was calm through out the ordeal, didn't suffer serious injuries
and is recovering in the hospital.

barcanista:
Some people are half educated. Firstly, Nigeria is not at War, we only battle terrorism.
Why are Jonathanians afraid of 2015?
It is end of the Road for PDP, They Should get used to the fact that APC Government Headed by General Buhari is coming to take charge in 2015.

**MODIFIED**

Anyway, let me use this opportunity to enlighten our esteemed Readers.

1. General Muhammadu Buhari Crushed Maittetsine Insurgency within 16 Months in the 80s
2. Maitatsine resurfaced again in 1985 when General Babangida was in Power and was again crushed within weeks by the IBB Government
3. President Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Regime crushed islamic fundamentalist uprising within weeks during their tenure
4. President Musa Yar Adua crushed Boko Haram and their leader arrested in 2009, within weeks. They scampered away

What is Jonathan's excuse?

Must it be Buhari? why not Fashola, Rochas or someone else?
The case of Maitesine and BH are two different case. Go and revisit history.

My Q13G with code 43*********** shows only local TV since 5 days now. please is this peculiar to me alone as no one is complaining about this on this forum.

English - C6
Maths - C4
Physics - C4
Chemistry - C6
Biology - C5
F-Maths - C4
Igbo Language - F9
Geography - A1

Baba God Noni......

Please my fellow nairalanders, I am in love with Opel Zafira, but I want to know how reliable this car is, the parts and its fuel efficiency.

Missmossy: He is a better leader than Jonathan anyway.

But nothing compared to facial look to Jonathan.

Cybergenius: His name was Obansanj*... Hmm thats all

He ruled Nigeria as a Military Dictator and a Civilian President...

Kanwulia: Surprise - Surprise!!!!!
Lerrus guess what part of Nigeria?
Give me BOKO HARAM any time!

be careful what you wish for @kanwulia

Who would have thought someone can invest
in baby factory business.A man would have
the patience to wait for teenage girls to get
pregnant, wait for 9months for them to
deliver and then trade their babies.Not
surprised he is Ibo anyway. The Police
Command again has uncovered another baby-
making factory in Egbu, near Owerri the State
capital, arresting the proprietor, one Dr.
James Ezuma who runs a Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO), and a clinic. 16 girls
were
rescued in the process.
The girls were kept in two rooms in the
building that houses his NGO, with no
windows while repulsive odour oozed out
from their rooms.
The girls, aged 14-19 were encouraged to get
pregnant and take home the sum of N100,000
at delivery, on the condition that they would
abandon their babies who would be
eventually used for purposes ranging from
child trafficking to rituals.
The commissioner of Police has warned the
general public to endeavour to keep an eye on
their girls so that they would not fall prey to
such miscreants like Dr. Ezuma, who does not
mean well for the society.
One of the girls who spoke amidst tears said,
her boyfriend rejected
the pregnancy and was directed here by her
aunt. She said though she was given
N100,000 after delivery, on the promise that
they would train her baby, but she never
knew her baby would be sold to unknown
persons even without her consent.
Also speaking, another victim, 18 year old
Blessing A. who came from Lagos, told
journalists that she became stranded when
she got pregnant, but was directed to the
place with the promise that her child would
be taken care of.
The suspect while speaking to journalists
insisted that he was not into child trafficking,
and that the child was given out for adoption
on the consent of the mother.
Other items recovered from the suspect
include, a gun and 10 exotic cars of different
models.

Buhari will only get to Aso Rock and play a hate game there and that is to me what will distroy his government. if am to make a choice I did go for a neutral person like David Mark.

I am in support of what this lad did. sometimes if not always, we have to show these people (whitemen) that the days of slavery and discrimination is over and they should get used to it. if you are not in support of what he did today maybe in the future you will be glad he did what he did. if Arsenal want him, they should hire him and give him a contract if not they should forget him, is not easy though to resist a club like arsenal, but am proud of the lad. somebody has to stand up to these people and tell them to their faces that we can't be treated as brainless folks.

onye guy: Am happy for you dear sister, wish good health in JESUS name Amen

may God perfect your health and everything that concerns you.

Thanks for sharing your views with me, I just bought a london used HTC Sensation today, what a phone to have, its just like a baby to me. Can't seem to have enough of it since I bought it 3hrs ago. Infact, I didn't miss my bb at all!

butta: Go for htc especially sensation u won't regret it.

I think you have a point, I saw this sensation 1c and I think I fell in love with the phone

I have a blackberry phone but am contemplating dispossing it for an android either an HTC or Samsung Galaxzy S2 but am confused. I think I still love bb but I don't do Blackberry Messenger a lot. Please can somebody give me a candid advice on which one to stick to and reason.

I need Honda Accord 1998 or 1999 Model for sale, if you have any in good condition please post the pictures or contact me on 08033688640.
My price range is 450-500.

OC: That's when a ball passes through your legs.
FELELE: That's the light ball