₦airaland Forum

Nine-year-old Anaiah Rucker is being hailed as a hero after saving her sister from being hit by a truck last month. Anaiah told The Today Show’s Ann Curry today that she didn’t think twice before pushing her little sister out of the path of the vehicle as the pair crossed the street in Madison, Georgia to get to the school bus stop. Anaiah took the hit, instead, and lost a leg and a kidney for her bravery. “I love her more than anything,” Anaiah told Channel 2’s Tom Jones of her five-year-old-sister, Camry. Anaiah said it was raining and her sweatshirt hood was covering her eyes as she and her sister crossed the road. The girls’ mother, Andrea Taylor, witnessed her older daughter’s act of bravery from the porch of their home, where she watches the girls catch the bus each morning. “I saw the truck and I was like, ‘No,’” Taylor told Channel 2. ”I seen my daughter kinda snatch my 5-year-old back, and if it wasn’t for that, my 5-year-old would have , I don’t think she would have made it.” The driver wasn’t charged after police decided he was not at fault. Today, Anaiah told Curry that she doesn’t feel she deserves to be called a hero. She said her sister “was too young to be hit like this, and if she got hit she wouldn’t hardly be alive. She would be probably gone forever.” Anaiah might also not be alive if it weren’t for bus driver Loretta Berryman. Berryman pulled over immediately and started performing CPR on Anaiah, who wasn’t breathing. “I instructed her mom to hold her head while I gave mouth-to-mouth, chest compressions,” Berryman told NBC News. “As she took a breath, my first thing was, ‘Thank God.’” Taylor recently lost her job and her car. The community held a BBQ to raise funds for Anaiah’s medical bills and renovations needed to make her house handicap accessible. Thousands of classmates and Madison residents took to the streets to welcome Anaiah back when she got out of the hospital last week, after a month of care. You can contact United Bank in Madison to donate to a fund to help with the family’s medical bills, which is in Anaiah’s name. “Anaiah has a really, really big heart,” her mother said. Anaiah’s grandmother told the Morgan County Citizen that her first words after regaining consciousness were, “Am I going to chorus today?” She’s active in Sweet Home Baptist Church and the Boys and Girls Club in Madison.

With a heavy heart, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, announced a very ‘weighty’ decision he had to take to postpone the National Assembly election till Monday, April 4.


Though he said he was taking responsibility for the major lapse of the non arrival of Form E8 and other sensitive election materials, Nigerians are already counting the cost of the postponement of the election. From the economic standpoint, the implication of the postponement can be calculated from how it affects the voters to the candidates and to the nation, generally.


Before worrying about the candidates and the parties, the voters are a major source of concern. For the election, as early as 7am, voters had already started leaving their homes. In some places, materials did not arrive till around 11.30 and 12 noon and yet, people waited patiently for materials.


Those who were lucky to have the materials in their polling units arrive on time, waited patiently on the queues for their accreditation. In some places, voting had already started and people had had their fingers painted. Some, taking the advice of their party leaders, were waiting for the exercise to be over so that the votes would be counted in their presence. While they were still on it, the announcement came that the election had been cancelled.


Initially, nobody took it serious. Some people thought it was a rumour while others thought it was a ploy by some parties to disperse the crowd at the polling stations so as to enable them rig. Nobody took it serious. They continued the process, thinking that it was a rumour.


Unfortunately, it was not. The process had truly been stopped and it was to be repeated on Monday. The shock, annoyance, hisses and disappointment that trailed this announcement could be better imagined. People’s spirit had been dampened all over the nation. It is not yet certain what effect that would have over the psyche of the nation and the far flung consequences over subsequent elections. Right now, it is doubtful that angry and frustrated Nigerians would bother to vote on Monday anymore for a myriad of reasons.


Apart from dampened spirits, for the political parties, the postponement of the elections will cost them to spend more than they budgeted for. In some parts, some parties had mobilised their supporters and party agents, paying them to watch over their interests at the polling centres.


With the postponement, the money the parties have invested in the various activities has all gone to waste. For now, parties will have to regroup quickly, ready to mobilise supporters for Monday. Unfortunately for them, like other Nigerians, banks will not be opening on Monday and for them to get cash might be a very big problem. In short, any party’s chances of victory might be truncated for lack of cash to mobilise their members and other resources for their benefit.


For a party like Congress for Progressive Change, the disappointment is on many levels. The party says it has already concluded plans for the media presentation of its party manifesto at the City Hall in Lagos. Afterwards, there will be a roadshow vinning to a rally at Archbishop Vining playground in Ikeja. For now, the party has rescheduled its entire plans to accommodate the new election date. That, of course, means a lot in terms of logistics and planning.


For the candidates, too, who have expended their energy, resources and moral into campaigns and elections, this is a huge setback. Apart from being an anti-climax, it can also affect their chances of winning as their supporters would need to be mobilised all over again.


Not just would they need to campaign to them and persuade them not to lose faith, those among them who have spent money on inducing people to leave their houses and queue in the sun might need to repeat the exercise. Even though campaigns ceased on Thursday, there was an incredible amount of mobilisation of party members going on at various levels. Contestants tacitly rallied their supporters and to get them to do that all over again.


For the entire nation, the economic loss is almost unquantifiable. The postponement means that economic and other similar activities already scheduled for Monday, the first working day of the week, would be lost. From local flights that would be grounded to banks being closed to small scale trading that would be suspended for the purpose of accommodating the election, the loss is beyond calculation.


Worse, the implication for Nigeria goes beyond her borders. For a while, the rest of Africa and the world have been watching to see how Nigeria would fare in this election. This postponement will go a long way in saying so many things about Nigeria, most of which would not be positive.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has endorsed Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, for a second term in office following his numerous achievements, especially in the area of labour relations. The NLC National President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar made the endorsement during a courtesy visit on the Governor in Government House, Yenagoa. Omar lauded Governor Sylva for promising to provide a befitting secretariat complex and buses to the state council of the NLC.

This endorsement comes as a surprise to some observers because Labour Party ,LP is also fielding a candidate in the April gubernatorial elections .Timi Alaibe, a close ally of President Goodluck Jonathan decamped from the PDP to vie for election on the platform of LP. But labour leaders who seem to have had a longstanding romance with Sylva appear to have chosen to align with the incumbent rather than support an LP candidate.

The NLC President listed some of Governor Sylva’s achievements in the area of labour to include prompt implementation of the consolidated salary structure for civil servants, new teachers’ salary structure (TSS) and the new salary structure for judiciary workers.

Others are the immediate implementation of consolidated Health Salary Structure, the new salary scale for members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Niger Delta University (NDU) chapter, payment of arrears to workers as well as the payment of thirty thousand naira Christmas bonus to workers across.

Omar said with all of these that the governor had done, it was only proper for him to seek re-election to continue to improve the lot of workers in the state. He explained that he was in the state to express labour’s appreciation to Sylva for what the governor had been doing for labour in the state and his magnanimity in providing a bus at the recent NLC conference in Abuja.

Describing Sylva as a labour-friendly governor, the NLC President called on the governor to intervene in ensuring that President Goodluck Jonathan signs the minimum wage bill into law.

In his response, Sylva said as soon as the minimum wage Bill is signed in to Law, the state government will study it along with the labour movement in the state. As a firm believer in the importance of human resource, the governor expressed government’s commitment to the welfare of workers, pointing out that one of the legacies his administration intends to leave behind is a befitting secretariat for labour in the state.

http://newsdiaryonline.com/sylva_endorsed.htm

My flight was billed for midnight. As someone who has travelled through some airports around the world, I have my favourites. There are some that I don't mind spending hours at the waiting lounge for my next flight because I know I'll never be bored nor feel in want of anything. If I don't engage myself in reading a book, I'll surely get some newspapers or magazines to engage me and kill the idle hours.

Airports, for me, usually come with lots of spectacles and help to while away time, so much so that you could spend as much as eight hours for lay back; and when it's over, you'll feel as if you've only spent an hour! I must confess, unfortunately, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, does not feature among the list of my favourite airports. I only pass there as a matter of necessity. I know this is perhaps the same for many. On this day, I decided to leave the house around 7pm. Since I was going against the traffic, there was no need to be afraid of getting into the perennial Lagos traffic gridlock. However, if I have to drive to the airport, whoever has to drive the car back home may take five hours to get there. The best alternative was to hire a cab, which I eventually chose to do.

Hot in here

As expected, I got to the airport well ahead of time. I had over three hours to kill, even after undergoing all the check-in procedures. Then my worries started; what do I do with these hours? The terminal building where the check-in was done is not a place to while away time. It was overcrowded and stiffly hot. The authorities of this airport must believe that passengers and their relatives as well as workers, touts, mendicants and others who must transact their businesses, legal or illegal, in this building do not need air conditioners. This must be the hottest and most inhospitable terminal building in the world. And to think that airline staff and other allied workers who work in this unbearably hot oven called terminal building are always in suit and tie, beats my imagination. There must be something strong in them that make them not to feel the heat. By the time I finished checking in, I was sweating like a Christmas goat, as the popular jingo goes.

I looked at my wristwatch and decided that there was no way I could spend the next few hours there. I decided to take refuge in one of the bookshops in the terminal. It was a well deserved refuge, although the bookshop was small and there was quite a crowd there. I guessed some of the others in there must have been escaping the sweltering heat of the terminal, as I was. I browsed through many of the books on display and a couple of magazines, all in an effort to while away some time.

There is a great lesson I have learnt in life. It is when you want time to move fast that it'll decide to slow down or even stop completely. After spending what I thought should have been over forty five minutes browsing through books I was sure I wasn't going to buy, I checked the time and discovered that I'd barely spent fifteen minutes. Others had trooped in to the bookshop and you could barely get a room to swing an arm. It was becoming too cramped. I decided to leave.

Outside the bookshop I was assailed by the scorching heat. It was like leaving a deep freezer into the hottest part of a furnace. My glasses immediately became misted and I could no longer see. I brought out my handkerchief to clear my lenses. That done, I decided it was time to go in and do the security checks, hoping that the waiting lounge inside would give me some respite from the sizzling heat.

"Wetin you get?"

The immigration and security officials were friendly and professional. This time there was no one asking "Oga, wetin you get for us?" This was gladdening, at least for a change. When it was my turn to be cleared, I pulled off my shoes, belts, and other metallic things that could trigger any alarm system. I effortlessly passed the test and went to pick up my things. After putting on my shoes and belt I sauntered away from the security area. Just then a Customs official called my attention. I moved over to her. "How much do you have on you, sir?" She asked courteously.

I seized on her courtesy to throw a joke at her. "I have just N20." "Oga, wetin you wan take N20 do where you dey go?" "That's why I have just that. I am being met at the airport. So I don't need any foreign currency." She laughed and waved me away. I pulled my bag and was going away when another official in a dark grey uniform walked up to me. "Can I see your passport?" He stretched out his hand. I handed over the document to him. "Where are you going?" He asked. "I'm off to Berlin, Germany," I replied.

He leaved through the passport and looked me straight in the eye.

"Why are you travelling to Germany?" "For an international conference." "Conference on what?" He asked.

By this time, I was getting a bit angry and was irritated at his questions. However, since I was on time for my flight and was not under any threat of missing it, I decided not to hurry him up. Also, I know that any attempt to make him hurry up could make him suspect that I had something to hide. I decided to play along. I've read about travellers who argued with airport or security officials and ended up being detained. I wasn't ready for that.

"Well, I'm going to attend a media conference." "What do you do?" He asked me.

"I'm a journalist." "Which paper do you work for?" As if all journalists must work for only newspapers. I told him. With some incredulous countenance, he shook his head and flipped through my passport once again.

"I can see you've been to Thailand and India before, what did you go to do there?" I wanted to tell him I wasn't aware there was any ban on Nigerians visiting any country. However, I simply told him I went there on official assignments too."Follow me," he said.

I did as directed. He headed towards a room where I met fellow ‘suspects'. I later gathered that that was where suspected drug couriers are tested. We were directed to remove our belts. Thank God, I wasn't wearing one of my favourite over-sized trousers.

Mules don't wear horns

The first thing that crossed my mind was why does this guy think I looked like a mule or drug courier? But then, I told myself mules don't wear horns, they look as respectable as they come. One after the other all the ‘suspects' were asked to climb on a machine which x-rayed us and moved from one end of the room to the other. At the end of the ride, I was given a clean bill of health and my passport was returned to me.

It was the first time in all my trips anywhere in the world to be subjected to such test or suspicion, and I wondered why the guy chose me for the test. Was it because I've been to Asian countries notorious for drugs? I may never know.

As I stepped out of the examination room, I was assailed by the hot air again. I walked to the boarding gate sweating. I must have spent another hour waiting before we boarded. And as the boarding announcement was made, I heaved a sigh of relief. Stepping on to the gangway, a gale of fresh cool air from inside the aircraft overwhelmed me and drove away the sweltering heat.

In the belly of the commodious aircraft, I crashed into my seat and thanked God I've been able to survive the heat. Why has the management of the airport failed to do something about the hot terminal? That was the thought that preoccupied my mind throughout the flight until I fell asleep.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Travel/5686610-146/story.csp

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has rejected Monday as the new date for the National Assembly election, which was postponed today (Saturday) due to the late arrival of the result collation sheet.

In a statement issued in Ilorin on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also described the bungling of the National Assembly poll as a national calamity and an avoidable embarrassment, which will further expose Nigeria to ridicule in the comity of nations.

It suggested that the National Assembly election should be held on Saturday, April 9th, while the Presidential election can be postponed to the middle of the upper week, and the Governorship/State Assembly election can still be held on April 16th.

''We reject this unilateral decision by INEC to fix the postponed National Assembly election for Monday. The new date does not give us enough time to re-mobilize our agents and put in place the necessary logistics.The only day between Saturday and Monday is Sunday, when banks do not open. Where does he expect us to get the funds to mobilize our agents for Monday's election? Only the PDP can quickly mobilise such funds. So that date cannot stand, unless Jega is working against the opposition.

''Also, the delay in the arrival and distribution of the result sheet is not the only thing that was wrong with the election today (Saturday). There are many lapses on the part of INEC which cannot be rectified between now and Monday.

For example, a voter at a polling booth in Lagos (Aboyade Cole/Manuwa polling booth) said the Labour Party was not on the ballot that was used there. This is an invitation to post-electoral litigation.

''In Kwara, the number of ballot papers supplied was largely inadequate, meaning that many voters would have been disenfranchised if the election had not been postponed. In several states, registered voters could not find their names on the register. In fact, at polling booth 004 in Amuwo Odofin in Lagos, less than 50 of the 720 who registered there found their names. It is therefore necessary for INEC to rectify these problems!'' ACN said.

The party said Prof. Jega should take the reports from his field officials to know the exact problems with today's election, with a view to rectifying them, instead of rushing to fix a new, unrealistic date for the postponed election.

It also advised the INEC Chairman to look inwards in identifying the reason for the bungling of the National Assembly poll, reminding him of ACN's consistent warning that his integrity alone will not translate to credible polls, and that the commission still harbours the rump of Maurice Iwu's mafia that ensured no election was successful during his (Iwu's) tenure.

ACN said while it appreciates Prof. Jega's candour in admitting INEC's shortcoming and took responsibility for it, that does not mitigate the fact that Nigerians have been embarrassed and their enthusiasm dampened by the commission's mis-step.

''For instance, if the materials were supposed to have arrived on Thursday and they did not arrive, as Jega said, shouldn't INEC have saved Nigerians this huge embarrassment and wastage of scarce resources by postponing the poll, instead of cancelling it after it has started? '' the party queried.

Meanwhile the Lagos state Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola said the decision by INEC to suspend the elections has inflicted very huge disappointment on Nigerians who had hoped that the country was been steered on the right electoral path.

“ I want to first make this most important appeal that we should keep the peace, no matter how disappointed we are, we must restrain ourselves, remain law abiding and all the security agencies are implored to continue to remain vigilant and at full alert I think we want to also examine in details, what the root causes of this, but clearly, there is a system failure here and the level of preparedness of this election has been called into question.

Fashola who described the decision of INEC to hold the elections on Monday as hasty added ,” For INEC to suggest that this elections would hold on Monday, if they couldn’t get it right for this long, why should they be rushing into Monday. I think they should meet with all the political parties and I don’t see why they can’t take the opportunity now to take one week to plan and merge the next elections for Saturday with this one.

“ I think this is a better time to check their controls and all their systems to ensure that we do not have another setback by Saturday. I think the decision for Monday is rather hasty because I listened to Professor Jega saying that people haven’t voted, I have voted, so therefore, ballot papers are out. I voted at about 12:20pm at my polling unit.

“ SO I think it’s also important for INEC to remain calm and focused and get the fullest information about what caused this failure but I want to also advice Lagosians But I think that INEC should meet with the parties now, Monday am also told that it’s possible that students are writing WAEC exams, so we don’t want to disrupt their exams again because of the clear failures that have been exhibited here, there is so many possibilities and I urge people to collate their experiences.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate for the Lagos west senatorial district, Senator Ganiyu Solomon told newsmen in Lagos that he has a feeling of disappointment over the postponement.

“ Disappointment in various areas .We are disappointed after what we have been told about adequate preparation we still ended up at where we are. What came up this morning is nothing but lack of adequate preparation. Can you imagine in several places materials, officials did not report as we speak, even after cancelling they are still calling us that they are still expecting material.

“ As at 1.00pm materials were not there is not issues of some of the materials not available there were not enough vehicles to convey INEC officials to polling units and even the register they came up with we have list of polling units were the register that has just about 20 percent of the names of registered voters so when he Jega said it was because register were not available a few minutes ago , I like you to understand that it goes beyond that.

Harping on his ordeal before the suspension, he said “ I am a candidate and my name in the place where I have registered since I turned 18 years now suddenly my name was not there. In a list of about 500 plus voters registered and they came with 153 names as registered voters. So I don’t know what he is going to do between now and Monday to effect those anomalies. He has just given one reason but it goes beyond the one reason”

The former Governor of Lagos state Asiwaju Bola Tinubu blamed the failure of INEC on the National Assembly which he accused of frustrating the commission by not approving their requirements on time for the election, saying it was better to go back to the draw board to strategize on how to conduct a credible election rather than allowing INEC to go on with the fraudulent elections that was marred by irregularities from the outset.

Tinubu called for the immediate resignation of the INEC chairman and president Goodluck Jonathan said Nigerians have lost confidence in their electoral process.

Their views were not different from that of the ordinary Lagosians yearning for a change and fair representation through the power of their votes .

These are indeed trying times for Yusuf Suleiman, Honourable Minister of Transport (HMOT) as sordid details of his past as a public servant, regarding his secret accounts have come to the open. Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, Part 1 Section 3 states that “The President, Vice -President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministers of the Government of the Federation and Commissioners of the Governments of the States, members of the National Assembly and of the Houses of Assembly of the States, and such other public officers or persons as the National Assembly may by law prescribe shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria”.

Also, Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, and Tribunal Act, Chapter 56 LNS 1990 gave the Bureau the mandate to establish and maintain a high standard of public morality in the conduct of Government Business to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standard of public morality and accountability. More so, Section 3, part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution has provided an enabling legal environment for the Bureau to receive declarations by public officers under paragraph 11 of part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.

Going by the premise above, it is almost certain that Suleiman may have contravened the constitution as he has embarked financial transactions that contravenes the law.His sins are numerous:

His domiciliary account with UBA

From the months of May to November 2010, Suleiman lodged the sum of $1.9million in his domiciliary dollar account number 03540131001727 in United Bank of Africa, UBA. Similarly in the same bank, he lodged another sum of N519million in account number 00120020018111.

Dirty deals at NIMASA

We learnt HMOT single-handedly gave approval to several mid-stream discharge in the sector against the law that established NIMASA, due to his alleged partisan-relationship with Intels Nigeria Plc., a leading oil and gas company in Nigeria.

Breach of Presidential directive

Investigation by our correspondent revealed how presidential approval was not given to Intels to collect various levies on behalf of the Nigeria Ports Authourity, NPA,but Suleiman overturned the presidential directive after he became a Minister.

Sources in the maritime agency alleged that since Suleiman became HMOT, the maritime industry has witnessed retrogression, because most of his flight tickets for foreign trips were purchased by one Akeem, his personal assistant who liase with Intel’s management for funds.

Controversial exit from Nigeria Maritime Authority, NMA

His controversial exit from the defunct Nigeria Maritime Authority, NMA, as Director, Administration & Personnel was hidden to avert attack from the press. It was alleged that he imposed pressure on the chief executive officer for 'kick-backs', which led to why maritime laws like Procurement Act, Fiscal Responsibility Act were suppressed then. It was when the information reached the board of the maritime agency, that a panel was set up, which eventually found him allegedly guilty of incompetence and financial malpractices.

Faulted by Audit Report of NMA

It is an open secret that the finding of Akin Omoriodion & Co, a private audit firm contracted by Suleiman, an ally, re-christened ‘government audit report’ in NMA exposed the excesses of the agency board under the direct supervision of HMOT by circumventing due process in its operation through splitting, over-pricing and awarding contracts worth billions of naira beyond their approval threshold. The report accused the Board of awarding contracts in local currency worth $1.863million between January to June 2010, with traces of fraud in refunds, cash advances and supplies. Unfortunately, this minister commissioned the project and claimed “NIMASA awarded 451 contracts during the period at a total cost of N5.4billion”.

Division in NIMASA

Also, we learnt how capital project for 2009 already advertised in the agency were delayed due to the 2009 NIMASA budget passed by the National Assembly that halted the award of the said contract. For proficiency, same budget was released to a new management under Temisan Omatseye, a maritime technocrat barely a week after their appointment. The management continued the process relying on the adverts for pre-qulification. Appriopriation for the implementation of the capital projects was received by the new team in October last year. For the first time, their Internal Generated Revenue, IGR, increased from $12million per month to $18.5million, which translated to reducing the staff renumeration to 20 percent, thereby allowing a ratio of 45 percent for recurrent and capital expenditure.

Presidential fiat for IMO seat

Recent report confirmed how President Goodluck Jonathan ordered HMOT and Foreign Affairs to support the candidature of Mrs. Monica Mbanefo to be the next scribe of the International Maritime Organisation, IMO. The memo, our correspondent learnt was sent earlier through the office of Suleiman that all cost to be incurred for the campaign will be borne by NIMASA board. Right after Mr. President’s approval, both Ministers swung into action and such instructions were verbally communicated to all 169 member countries of the IMO, the UN, OIC, AU, D8 and other bodies.

Further investigation showed that Williams Azuh, Nigeria Alternative Permamnent Pepresentative to IMO could not carry out his responsibility to give material and financial support to Mbanefo due lack of money. This eventually led to a formal request and approval of £300,000 from NIMASA main account in Barclays Bank as directed by the agency’s board based on Mr. President’s earlier order. Only the sum of £26,666 was taken out of the lump sum paid directly to the housing-agents for an office, used as campaign secretariat, while the balance of £270,000 was still intact in the bank.

The EFCC Angle and NIMASA Board Conspiracy

There were fears in the maritime agency that Omatseye was on the path of history as the first Director General of the agency who surged the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund from $11million to over $80million and released Primary Lending Institution for onward disbursement to Nigerians. Some aggrieved board members wrote a petition against him to HMOT for a probe, without waiting for the outcome of the panel set up by the government to dispassionately and thoroughly look into the case. This same board member summoned an emergency meeting and had Omatseye ‘suspended’ contrary to Section 11, sub-section 4, NIMASA Act of 2007.

Position of Federal Ministry of Transport

When we sent an electronic mail to Federal Ministry of Transport for a reaction through enquiry@fmt.gov.ng, we got a reply which reads: “Thank you for contacting us. We have received your feedback, and if necessary, we shall contact you as soon as we review it. Best Regards,
Federal Ministry of Transport, Nigeria”. Further calls made to 07098822952(the ministry’s hotline) did not go through at press time.

Reaction of Code of Conduct Bureau

All attempts made to speak with an information officer at Code of Conduct Bureau through their public phone line on 07035475303 on the asset declaration of HMOT failed as an answering machine kept saying “Your call cannot be completed as the call subscriber is switched off”.

Presidency's plan to Sack him

Sources in the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, said the presidency was troubled by the scandalous attrocities of Suleiman and as at the time of going to press, security operatives have been ordered by the presidency to collate all the 'crimes' committed by HMOT against the laws of the land.

http://newsdiaryonline.com/scandal_minister.htm

In spite of INEC guideline that party members and their loyalists should cease all campaigns 24 hours before Election Day, supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Owan East and West Local Government Areas of Edo State, were on Saturday clad in offensive red and yellow arm bands respectively.

These supporters had a field day brandishing these arm bands before soldiers and other security agents who accorded them easy passage, as they moved from one place and another unleashing violence and mayhem on the people. Even members of the Neighbourhood Watch, employed by the LGs and those who were having their meals in the local food restaurants were not spared in this show of shame. It was only the timely postponement of the election by INEC that saved what could have resulted to an open brawl between these PDP supporters, said to be acting at the behest of the party’s senatorial candidate in Edo North, Yisa Braimoh and loyalists of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Angry at what he interpreted as a design by the PDP to deliberately cause confusion and frighten voters from the polling units, Hon Pally Iriase, an ACN House of Representatives candidate in Owan Federal Constituency, said this rabid display of intimidation of the peaceful and law abiding people was not acceptable.

A former Secretary to Edo State Government, (SSG), Iriase who decried this brazen harassment of people in Owan in the face of tacit consent by the security forces, said this attempt at intimidation and muzzling of voters must stop if the country is to witness a free and fair election. It would be recalled that a member of the ACN in Owan East LGA, Hon Andrew Osigwe cheated death by the whiskers on Wednesday night, when his SUV was sprayed with bullets by thugs suspected to be loyal to the PDP senatorial candidate, Senator, Yisa Braimoh.

Osigwe, a former councillor who was on his way to Afuze from Ihievbe, both in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, to the police headquarters at about 9pm to lodge complaints about the massing of hundreds of thugs in the Ihievbe home of Braimoh, was said to have been accosted by the armed thugs who barricaded the road around Ivbiogwuonu junction.

As he slowed down to avoid the barricades, his Nissan Pathfinder SUV 2005 model with registration number AG 94 AFZ, was engulfed in a volley of bullets, heavily shattering the passenger side of the vehicle. According to him, “As I slowed down to avoid the barricades, then they opened fire and shattered the right (passenger) side. The vehicle was heavily shattered. It’s a miracle how I survived the incident. If you see the car, you’ll not believe somebody that drove that vehicle survived. I’m yet to recover from the shock”.

A former loyalist of Senator Braimoh, Osigwe, also a prominent youth leader in Owan East Local Government Area, traced his present predicament to his last month’s decision to quit the PDP for the ACN due to broken promises. This he said was because the PDP did not offer his people any hope for the future. “I also felt that the Comrade Governor was doing a very good job in the state and needed to be supported so I opted for change”, he said.

Osigwe who earlier sent a petition to the AIG Zone 5, the state director of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Commissioner of Police on plan to eliminate him on March 23, has already reported the incident to the state police headquarters in Benin City. The state ACN chairman, Hon Thomas Okosun who received the news of the attack on Osigwe with awe and trepidation, said this incident was a vindication of the party’s earlier warning that the PDP was deliberately muzzling his members with the hope of whittling the party’s capacity in the forth coming election.

While saying that the party will not lower its guards in the face of this brazen affront, Okosun, a former speaker of the State House of assembly called on the police to immediately fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly crime.



http://newsdiaryonline.com/arm_band.htm

Hall of shame](1) General Sani Abacha of Nigeria

(2) Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe

(3) Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire

(4) General Moammar Gadaffi of Libya

(5) Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo

(6) Mengistu Hailemariam of Ethiopia

(7) Siad Barre of Somalia

( Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast

(9) Macias Nguema of Equatorial Guinea

(10) Charles Taylor of Liberia

(11) Arap Moi of Kenya

(12) Jafer Numeri of Sudan

(13) Jean Bedel Bokassa of Central African Republic

(14) Laurent-Desire Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo

* They ran some of the most corrupt, vicious, avaricious, and capricious dictatorships in the annals of African leadership.

http://www.africaundisguised.com/newsportal/shame

1) Nwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania

(2) Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana

(3) Anwar Sadat of Egypt

(4) Nelson Mandela of South Africa

(5) Obafemi Awolowo of Nigeria

(6) Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya

(7) Desmond Tutu of South Africa

( Tai Solarin of Nigeria

(9) Kofi Annan of Ghana

(10) Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria

(11) Ft. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana

(12) Wole Soyinka of Nigeria

(13) Gani Fawehinmi of Nigeria

(14) Colonel Abubakar Umar of Nigeria

(15) Captain Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso

* They led the people, used their influence, and risked everything to advance African and human causes.http://www.africaundisguised.com/newsportal/fame
i also think Nnamdi Azikiwe, Anthony Enahoro, Murtala Muhammed,Ken Sarowiwa should be added to this list

The abominable assassination of the paramount ruler of Nsit in Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Edidem Robert Obot, might not be as a result of internal political wranglings in the area after all.

A seven-man gang, which claimed responsibility for the murder, said the death of the monarch was as a result of a failed kidnap attempt on him that fateful afternoon Sunday, January 31, 2011.

The traditional ruler was shot dead in his palace while two members of the gang arrested by the State Security Service (SSS), in connection with the murder, claimed they decided to kill the septuagenarian royal father when he resisted his kidnap.

“We killed him because he refused to follow us,” said Nsikak Emmanuel, a 32-year old ex-convict, who admitted trailing the royal father up to the point of disrupting one of the meetings he presided over, till the deceased paid the needed attention to him. “I went and told him that I was from the Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio; that we want to pay homage and endorse him as the Oku Ibom of Ibibio. He then gave me an appointment for that Sunday.”

After securing the appointment, Nsikak said he invited his gang members, who stormed the palace to kidnap the royal father, but he resisted their evil move, opting to die, instead. The suspect, paraded alongside his accomplice, Mathew, who he met in jail, said he had been involved in at least, one kidnapping, particularly, the one involving a woman from Etinan. He said he made N200,000 from the Etinan deal, but denied knowing where the victim was kept after she was kidnapped.

“I only showed them the woman and they kidnapped her. I don’t know where they kept her,” he said. He also denied taking part in the shooting which resulted in the monarch’s death, claiming he was waiting outside while the operation was going on inside the palace. “I felt bad when I heard that the man died. We didn’t want to kill but to kidnap him in order to make some money from him. It was Michael, Ukeme and two others who went inside. So, they will know who actually shot the man.”

But his accomplice, who claimed to have attended Akwa Ibom State College of Petroleum Technology, confessed that Nsikak was actually inside the palace when the monarch was shot dead. He said it was he who actually informed him of the deal, which made him rush down from Calabar, Cross River State, where he had been residing, transacting his palm oil business. “He (Nsikak) was the one who drove one of the cars that we used. It belonged to him. That was the first time I knew him.”

The State Director of State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Toma Minti, confronted him with the fact that two of them met in prison, where Nsikak spent about five years for attempted murder, while he (Matthew) was serving a two-year jail term for cultism. Matthew admitted that they became friends in prison saying; “I knew him in prison when I was sentenced to two years imprisonment for malicious damage. By then, I was a member of a mafia cult group. But now, I’m not doing that again.”

He said they were either sponsored by politicians or those who are opposed to the Ibom stool, which the deceased was to occupy after coronation before his murder. Minti alleged that, the gang was involved in more than 90 percent of all the kidnap cases in the state, including those of the husband of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, the Proprietor and Rector of Heritage College, Eket, among others.

“Since the paramount ruler was assassinated, we have not been sleeping. The seven-man gang had been terrorizing the state for a long time. Five of them are at large; but we are still trailing them.”
Minti lamented the lack of co-operation from members of the public in the fight against crime in the state, saying people only called him on phone to congratulate him, after Michael was arrested, whereas they knew him as a notorious criminal in their community, but failed to inform the security agencies.

“The reason most of the suspects have not been convicted is because sometimes, the victims refused to come out and identify them. Those who showed up earlier declined to appear in court later, after they received death threats from members of the gang. “People are no longer convicted because the judiciary appears handicapped. We have advised them to resort to accelerated hearing on such cases. We hope they would see reasons for that.”

The royal father was killed in his palace, after he returned from church – Living Faith Church, Uyo, where he was said to have presided over the burial preparations of one of the church’s pastors, David Idunoluwa, who was equally shot dead by suspected kidnappers.

The royal father’s assassination, first of its kind in the state, sparked off spiral reactions especially, as he had two days earlier, protested to the state police commissioner, over acts of disloyalty by some members of his traditional council, arising from the PDP senatorial primaries in Akwa Ibom North (Uyo) Senatorial district.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2011/mar/17/crimewatch-03-17-2011-002.htm

Second Republic politician, activist, legal practitioner and former presidential candidate, Mr. Tunji Braithwaite, has said that his dearest desire is to see the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ousted from power by losing in the elections. Braithwaite, who in the hey-days of the military rule suffered several intimidations and arrests as consequence of his activism and defence of renowned Afro-beat king Fela Anikulapo-Kuti also expressed doubts about the elections.

How do you see the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan?
I have no reaction against it or for it. That is an internal matter of their party.

Are you prepared to form a coalition against the PDP?
Well, that is if this election holds. I have my doubts about the election holding. But if it holds I believe it would be a good thing for this country if an evil party like the PDP is ousted from power.

Why the doubts about the possibility of the lection holding?
Oh yes, it is because everything points to chaos. There are certain preliminaries and fundamental national issues that are not attended to. And until such issues are addressed, issues like wholesale corruption and voter apathy need to be addressed. Even if the elections hold at all, they would be inconclusive and would lead to chaos and this time round chaos would not be good for the peace and progress of this country.

Can you expatiate on what you mean by wholesale corruption?
Haven’t you seen much corruption in this country? Do you have consistent electricity? This country is one of the few where importers of generators make so much money. In this country we import a lot of generators even in public and private sectors. A huge chunk of our budget goes to generators and that is very bad. Any size of generator finds its way here and this is as a result of corruption. This is a country that cannot generate its own electricity and have good roads. What we have as roads are death traps. Even those in Abuja are bad. A country like that is wallowing in corruption. Have we ever had a credible election in this country? Look at the tribunal cases on elections. How many of the PDP victories were pronounced by the courts to be stolen mandates? And that is the same party we are talking about. So, it is a waste of my time to continue to list the wholesale corruption prevalent in this country.

What makes you think that elections would be chaotic?
If you look at what has been going on, even before the primaries, if you look at the way they have been killing themselves before the actual elections take place, obviously, it portends a chaotic situation. It is a matter of regret as Obasanjo said some years ago that elections for them is a matter of life and death. And it is obvious that in this election too, they would kill themselves and that is why I said earlier that I do not believe the elections would hold. If it holds at all, it could be inconclusive. I pray and wish that there would be an interim government rather than this continuation of corruption through fraudulent elections. From their previous experience, the people would not take any imposition this time around. I am sure of that.

Do you still foresee an alliance of the opposition parties?
It is a desirable thing. But I foresee a revolution that would bring about the end of the corrupt and bad government.

Is there possibility that some candidates may step down for one candidate before the election?
Unfortunately, I do not see a quintessential political leader being thrown up by a coalition of the opposition parties. This is due to many reasons. You see, in order to deliver good governance and advance the cause of progress and happiness for the people the leadership must have an identifiable, distinct ideology and a programme of action, But because of the way the parties are formed today in this country, none of them has been able to come out with an ideological compass that will take this country out of the present backwardness under this leadership. We remember that when we formed NAP, one of our most important programmes of action was that we were going to tackle corruption, which we metaphorically described as wiping off mosquitoes and rats.

We came up with a liberalist and socialist ideology by which we would promote development using the youths, the farmers and peasants or working in partnership with the intelligentsia, Nigerian engineers, and scientists, to be able to transform the economy. Nigerian economy is a mono economy based only on export of oil. Though huge resources are made from oil, but they are frittered into unproductive ventures and corruption. And so, you find that the youths of this country are unemployed and able-bodied men and women are hawking in the streets. The government is not addressing the problem of the education sector. Which of these political parties really understand the basis of transforming a county from being underdeveloped to develop within a certain length of time? This is because of the way parties are formed and because of the damage done by the military administrations of people like Obasanjo and Babangida. You find the imprints of these fellows still very visible in the politics of this country. You cannot get development until a break of this status quo is brought about by a revolution that we need very much and I know that until that takes place, we are not going anywhere.

What about the balancing in selection of running mates?
This question is so pedestrian and so typical of politics of opportunism. I am not interested in that. I am not interested in it.

Do you see any possibility of PDP losing the elections?
I want the PDP to be kicked out of power. The continuation of PDP in the governance of this country is bad for us. PDP is synonymous to bad governance, corruption irresponsibility and self aggrandizement.

Is ethnic identity still a major issue in the nation’s politics?
I honestly do not think so. I think the younger generations are not bothered about ethnicity and that is good and that is why I am confident that there will be a revolution. I don’t think ethnicity is all that important in the minds of the younger generation.

Can the problems of Nigeria ever be fixed?
Not until there is a major revolution in this country. Until then, I will say no. In fact, if we forcefully hold elections, it will only result in catastrophic crises that would affect the corporate entity of the country. But God forbid. And that is why there must be a revolution.

How will this revolution come?
It is coming. It is already at the door, knocking. In fact, the people have had enough. They are not interested in going out to vote. They want to change the government of this country. Revolution will come. Look, it is already spreading. Look at Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya and other Arab nations and the entire Middle East. I have heard journalists asking how the revolution will come, but it is already on. Can’t you see? Already, people are protesting and demonstrating in the north, in the south, in the east and the west. You would see what happens when elections are conducted in the usual manner. Revolutions are not planned on the pages of the newspapers, nor are they discussed. I am sure there will be a revolution.

Do you still hold to the ethos of the eradication of the mosquitoes and rats as you enunciated earlier?
Oh yes. It is still a major, fundamental programme of NAP. Of course, that is not the only thing that we proposed. We also proposed to cede power, to dissolve power to the zones for rapid transformation of the zones. Presently, we have about six zones and we could increase the zones to about 10. You have the dynamic young generation having their talents freed through liberal programmes to build their own fortunes and we would have less importation of the junks that are shipped into this country in large quantities. Nigerians will produce things, sell and export what they produce to other countries. The energies of the youths and the intelligentsia will be unbundled for development in every zone of this country. We do not believe in the centralization of power. Too much power is concentrated in the centre. Who controls the centre? Corrupt elements, unimaginative people, who get to these places not by popular elections but by manipulations. So, we believe that those programmes are the best that could transform this country.

You haven’t taken part in elections since 2003. Why?
Well, because I have come to the conclusion since the elections of 2003 that the elections of this country are far from being democratic. They don’t conduct elections. Already, as I can tell you, they have the list of those who have been anointed for various offices. People’s votes do not count in Nigeria. The international communities that pay lip service to democratic principles in this country are doing so for their selfish reasons. They would do business with anybody that emerge through manipulations. I speak authoritatively on this point that elections in Nigeria are far from being democratic.

They are selections and we cannot continue like that. In any case, we would not even be getting to that stage because they are very dishonourable and fraudulent. As I said earlier, the outcome of these tribunal cases bear that out. So, I have come to the realization that, not me alone by the way, that proper foundation for democracy must first of all be laid before you to talk of credible elections. Such proper foundation must deal with corruption.

Concerning corruption in the land, what is your assessment of the EFCC?
The EFCC, especially under this present leadership, in my judgment, is doing its best. But they are seriously hampered and obstructed by interferences of people with vested interests. Sometimes, the judiciary is not helpful in the fight against corruption. That should sound odd and it is odd. For instance, you read of some ridiculous sentences of convicted people. Where in the world would you ever see that somebody who had stolen large sums of money and had built a vast estate from proceeds of corruption get away with sentences of six months? Where in the world do you get that? It is a joke. So, you see, EFCC will arrest somebody with fanfare and that would be the end of what you would hear about the matter. There are so many obstacles to true national integrity. There is no national integrity as far as Nigeria is concerned, especially at the governing level.

You are experienced in legal practice. Why have you not earned the SAN title?
I don’t see it as a big deal. But I can tell you that about three years ago, some members of the Bar Association felt strongly about the way the title of SAN are awarded. And they formed an association for the abolition of this title. It was led by a veteran, sound and committed lawyer, Tunji Gomez. I gave them tremendous support in their published reasons for seeking the abolition of the SAN. They stated quite clearly that the manner of its conferment is not only abused but also un-republican. In other words, it is an acronym but more importantly, it robs other energetic, dynamic, sound lawyers unjustly of their chance to advance.
They noted that the award of SAN in Nigeria denies so many good and proficient lawyers a level playing field, especially in Nigeria where there is widespread illiteracy and the fact that Nigerians love titles and want them by hook or crook. So, I have no doubts that the members of the legal profession would bring about the abolition of this anachronistic and useless title of SAN.

this aint a post oops y am i even commenting nonsense

we heard the rumours and it has now manifested,the united kingdom authorities raised objections to the stance of the federal government in frustrating his extradition and the next thing we know is ibori is voting in Oghara by monday God have mercy]

A former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori was, Saturday morning set free from detention by a court in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.


Mr Ibori, who is facing a deportation request from the London Metropolitan Police for trial in the United Kingdom to face corruption charges, was freed on health grounds. The health of the former governor is said to have deteriorated while in detention and he is said to be suffering from high blood pressure.


A senior government official confirmed the release of Mr Ibori. He however stated that the decision was purely that of the Dubai justice official. The official, who expressed shock at the news, however said the judgement of the Dubai court ‘does not have anything to do with the charges Ibori is facing here.'


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak, also said he did not believe Mr Ibori will return to Nigeria from Dubai. There has, however, been wild celebration in Oghara and parts of Delta State, where freedom parties are being arranged in honour of the former governor.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5687024-146/dubai_court_frees_james_ibori.csp

there ia an element of truth in every rumor we heard id but now it has become a reality let the elections begin i dey laff in urhobo

Since this Commission started work in July 2010, I have repeatedly promised Nigerians that in carrying out our duties we shall always be sincere and truthful with Nigerians. I have always said that this INEC will be upfront with Nigerians, telling you exactly how things are – sharing both our successes and difficulties with you.

This is one such occasion. Indeed, it is an emergency. As you know the National Assembly (House of Representatives and Senate) elections are supposed to be taking place as I speak. You would also have noticed that things have not proceeded smoothly as expected with the elections. The reason for this is the unanticipated emergency we have experienced with late arrival of result sheets in many parts of the country. The result sheets are central to the elections and their integrity. Accordingly, in many places, our officials have not reported at the polling units, making it now difficult to implement the Modified Open Ballot Procedure that we have adopted. Not only do we have to enter the results in the sheets, the number of accredited voters is also to be entered in the result sheet. While we could have proceeded with the elections in a few States of the country, where all the materials are available, such as Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Delta, Zamfara and Enugu, among others, in order to maintain the integrity of the elections and retain effective overall control of the process, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to postpone the National Assembly elections to Monday, April 4, 2011.

I appeal to all Nigerians for their understanding in this difficult situation. We as a Commission appreciate the profound sacrifice that you have all made not just in turning out today, but also throughout this election season. We are greatly encouraged by you and our appeal is that you remain steadfast in this last lap of this electoral process in the interest of all Nigerians and in the cause of democracy.

The Commission will immediately be contacting all political parties, as major stakeholders to explain the situation. I appeal for their support in explaining the situation to their members and supporters.

May I also appeal to all other stakeholders, particularly national and international observers and our development partners for continued understanding. I realize that they have committed enormous resources to this process, especially in deploying observers in the field. However, we think that what is worth doing is worth doing well.

Finally, while we deeply regret this situation and apologise to Nigerians for the hardship this may have created, I would like to reiterate that we are fully committed to conducting free, fair and credible elections for Nigerians. The decision the Commission has taken is weighty; but it is also a very important step in further ensuring the credibility of the elections.



Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR,
Honourable Chairman

Dame Patience Jonathan is the wife of the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan. According to reports she obtained the National Certificate of Education (NCE) in Mathematics/Biology in 1989 from the Rivers State College of Education and a Bachelor of Education in Biology and Psychology from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Despite these lofty academic attainments, many Nigerians are deeply worried about the First Lady’s command of the English language. According to DEM of the Nigerian Village Square, regarding the First Lady’s English language challenge, “It is grammar, tenses, wrong word choices and word misapplication. As a graduate of anything (except perhaps Sudanese studies), that's a terrible indictment.” The platoon of concerned Nigerians who are seriously disturbed with the grammar delivery of the First Lady, are actually constructive critics who mean well for Nigeria and specifically the First Lady. Thank God, the First lady’s problem can be fixed. Now, the President should find the right experts to help fix the problem.

Many of the errors attributed to the First Lady are actually exaggerations and or falsifications contrived by fun seeking folks. Many have suggested that the First Lady stop speaking in public, until she sufficiently steps up her game in the grammar department. Oh well, I disagree with that viewpoint. A woman who speaks better English than 70 percent of Nigerians should not restrain herself from speaking in public. Truth be told, the percentage of the First Lady’s real and actual faux pax in the English grammar department, should be in the region of 7% of what mischievous folks treacherously attribute to her. Again, we must distinguish native dialect corrupted pronunciation in contradistinction to actual grammatical indiscretion. Now, we are talking about Nigeria’s First Lady in an election year and in an election, wherein her husband is the incumbent candidate. A careful observation will reveal that that her constituency understands her. She communicates effectively with the rural and inner township Nigerian women. Nigerian women appreciate her courage, confidence and leadership prowess. They have accepted her as their role model. She has effectively connected with our sisters, mothers and wives back in Nigeria's creeks and hinterlands. In fact to the oppressed, disadvantaged, indigent, under-privileged and un-influential rural Nigerian woman, First lady Dame Patience Jonathan is a political and social phenomenon. Thus, not too good or bad grammar has not been able to diminish the relevance of the First Lady’s presence and activities in the lives of the downtrodden and forgotten Nigerian woman.

A very close observation of Dame Patience Jonathan’s public outings and political cum social relationship with the everyday Nigerian womenfolk would reveal a very pertinent observation. The First lady has forged a special emotional bond with the poor and down trodden Nigerian woman. We have had several First ladies in the past. This very First lady is the rural, uneducated and half educated woman’s first lady. Yes, the First lady has a Bachelor’s degree in Education. Somehow she has managed to keep her “masses English”. While the Nigerian elite have serious reservations with her “management” of the English language, her audience all over the country, which usually comprises of the rural, downtrodden and unconnected market women and peasant female farmers, see her and accept her as their own very first lady. What the elite find troubling about her, is what endears her to the real Nigerian woman.

In the past, the occupants of Aso Rock have always managed to present a First lady that exhibits a glaring disconnect with the average long suffering Nigerian peasant woman. Well, not this first lady. Dame Patience Jonathan is an embodiment of courage, self confidence and leadership audacity. Think about it, the every day Nigerian peasant and downtrodden woman that she speaks their English, constitute about 70 percent of the Nigerian women folk. The elite and very well educated constitute the minority in Nigeria. Thus for a woman who is married to a politician and an incumbent contestant, she is in the perfect company with the majority of the Nigerian womenfolk.

Dame Patience Jonathan has some qualities that resonate with the real Nigerian woman. For too long, the Nigerian woman has been relegated, forgotten and oppressed. She has been made to feel that women are inferior to men. Over 95 percent of Nigeria’s elected, selected and appointed political officers are men. When a woman delivers a baby girl, it is with subdued disappointment that the baby is received. It is almost a sad, shameful and unforgivable act, to be born a baby girl in virtually every Nigerian community. Nigerian women have been cultured by the social b.a.s.t.a.r.d.i.z.a.t.i.o.n , congenitally inherent in the cultures of every Nigerian community to live with self esteem quandary, human dignity quagmire and societal acceptance predicament. Enter Dame Patience Jonathan exuding the confidence, courage, bravado and audacity that were the exclusive preserve of the men in authority. The fact that she is resident in Aso Rock and her dear husband is the executive President of Nigeria should ordinarily create a wall between the Dame and the rural, illiterate and poor Nigerian woman. Well, not this Patience. This Patience is the Dame. Oh well, all that was needed to thaw the hitherto frosty relationship between Nigeria’s First Ladies and the real Nigerian oppressed, forgotten, poor and downtrodden peasant women, was just to hear the Dame speak. When the Dame mounts the rostrum and suddenly the rural, inner township and oppressed poor women begin to hear her talk to them in their own very “farm and Market place English”. Then it hit them very hard in a way they can never forget that this First lady is their own First lady. This First lady is the quintessential Nigerian woman’s representative in Aso Rock, Nigeria’s highest seat of power.

There is something about the Dame’s confidence, courage and audacious courage that had endeared her to the downtrodden Nigerian female constituency. She exemplifies what they dream to be. The Dame is living the dream of the poor, oppressed and forgotten Nigerian woman. She speaks their English. Though she acquired a university degree, she has remained rooted to her rural roots. This strong attachment to her roots and environmental foundation is easily manifested when she begins to express herself to her audience. The rural, uneducated and half educated Nigerian woman cannot believe that one of their own is now Nigeria’s Queen. Suddenly Dame-mania has resurrected in the poor, un-influential, oppressed and abused Nigerian woman, a fresh belief in herself, her abilities, capabilities, potentials and hopes. The Dame has become the unofficial representative of the Nigerian woman in the government. Yes, she is not officially in the government; however, she is just in the government anyway. Remind one of the Bumble Bee. According to the laws of aero-dynamics a Bumble should not be able to fly. However, because the Bumble is blind, the Bee just flies anyway. Dame Patience Jonathan is evidently not aware that she is not a part of the government. Her huge army of rural and inner township female followers, see her as their role model and representative in the Jonathan administration. Trust your dear sister, the Dame. She is effectively in the government anyway and representing her constituency.

Yes, Dame Patience Jonathan has now successfully metamorphosed into a political godmother. In fact she has become the quintessential poster girl of the notion of Mafia godfather as popularized by the Mario Puzo fictional creation 'The Godfather', based on real life Sicilian mafia life style, of Italian crime families and the daily activities of the family head known as the Capo di Tutti Capi - Boss of all Bosses. Dame Patience Jonathan derived this clout, aura and political status as a result of her political activities vis a vis the Nigerian women folk and regarding her political activities in pursuit of her husband’s electioneering campaign activities. If we are to have a proper understanding of the godmother Dame Patience Jonathan mystery, we must first attempt to unravel and understand the phenomenon called political godfather. Political godfathers are the top level political stalwarts and financial pillars, the masses can identify with, when they figure, that the government(s) of the day is not communicating with them, politically, economically and socially. While the majority of the Nigerian downtrodden and impoverished women see the regular Goodluck Jonathan administration as too remote and too bureaucratic, they see the Dame as their “the biblical Esther or Hadassah” in Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and indeed in the Nigerian Federal Government. While the regular government folks and indeed, previous First Ladies, speak the economic, political and social language of the elites, Dame Patience Jonathan has emerged as the consolation of the very day Nigerian oppressed, downtrodden, impoverished and forgotten woman. Thus, where the masses deemed the regular governments as having failed woefully to create an enabling environment, whereby the masses could thrive and prosper. The political godfather is looked upon to provide some measure of individual long term and short term relief(s). This is the theory and the story that serves as the intellectual predicate for Dame Patience Jonathan’s distribution of rice in Abuja, and the distribution of huge sums of money to female political aspirants in the 2011 general elections. Thus the Dame Patience Jonathan has emerged as the poor and peasant woman’s friend in government. She has emerged and positioned herself as the point woman in Aso Rock that the PDP female leaders, rank and file female party members and the huge army of female Nigerian voters can identify with. She has become the poor and disadvantaged female party members and female voters, representative in government or so they believe. The perspective of this writer is not to debate the propriety, moral and ethical justification that predicates the First Lady’s mass distribution activities. The perspective of this writer is merely to establish that the First Lady has reconfigured the political firmament and has now established herself as a political godmother.

The following reports reproduced from the online editions of some Nigerian newspapers helps to substantiate the fact that the First Lady has since become a part of the Nigerian Federal Government or has established an alternative government of sorts; which would effectively make her a political godmother.

On Friday, 22nd October 2010, the Daily Trust, a Nigerian newspaper, in a report by Safiya E. Dantiye, reported on it’s online edition: “Few days to October 1, the day Nigeria celebrated its 50th independence anniversary, the First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, distributed close to two million bags of rice at the International Conference Centre, Abuja as one of the activities to mark the event……. if the government wants to give food to people, it should target the real indigent ones in their communities and institutions that cater for them, like orphanages, widows, lepers’ in colonies and so on………But to the chagrin of Nigerians, the wives of senators and members of House of Representatives were among the beneficiaries of the rice, given on what basis, we don’t know, but certainly not because their husbands are poor. In fact, somebody seriously asked whether she gave it as sadaka (alms)………….If only the money for the rice was used to buy desks, chairs, books, uniforms for primary and secondary schools, provide drugs for hospitals and so on. Besides, if food is going to be given as gift to Nigerians, it will be an irony to give it to Abuja residents, who are thought to be wealthy by people from other parts of the country. The type of job you are doing in Abuja notwithstanding, even if you are a shoe shiner or mai ruwa, since you are in Abuja, the nation’s seat of power, with the National Assembly of jumbo salary…….Thereafter, if there is any occasion that is going to be celebrated, it should be done in a grand manner, worthy of Nigeria’s status as the ‘giant’ of Africa, and one of the leading countries in the world in oil production, a country that supports other African countries, like the big brother it is. It should not be done with food portioned out to people as if they were in a war torn country, or one under the scourge of famine. Nigerians deserve some dignity.” I guess there is no need for me to expatiate on the above quoted news report. The report is self explanatory.

On Friday 25th, March 2011, the Punch Newspaper, a Nigerian newspaper, in a report by Ihuoma Chiedozie, reported on it’s online edition, captioned: Patience Jonathan supports 809 female candidates with funds; the news media reported: “Wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan, has given out monetary donations to a total of 809 female candidates from the various political parties who made the Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list for the 2011 general elections. She donated the money when she hosted the female politicians at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on Wednesday night. The gift was meant to assist the women to prosecute their electoral campaigns. Although the amount given to each of the women was not disclosed, a source in the Presidency said that none of them got more than N1m, in line with constitutional requirements. Also, the source explained that the female politicians received different sums according to the offices they seek to occupy. Individually, they picked their cheques after identifying themselves, before leaving the event. The gifts, which Jonathan presented through the platform of her Women for Change Initiative, was received by five female governorship aspirants, 88 senatorial candidates, 218 aspirants to the Federal House of Representatives and 493 candidates for state houses of assembly elections. Speaking at the event, the wife of the President expressed joy that more women were vying for public offices. She said, “I am pleased to see that compared to years before now, many women have taken the bold step to contest, this is as a result of our campaign on the Women for Change and Development.” Now the above is sufficiently self explanatory. The focus of this article is not to constitute this writer into a self appointed investigator seeking to unravel the source of the funds Dame Patience Jonathan is spending nyanfun nyanfun. The focus of this article is to draw attention to the fact that our dear First Lady has exploded and for every intent and every purpose, has effectively metamorphosed into a political godmother.

It will not be tantamount to drawing the elastic band too far, by stating that the Dame is candidate Goodluck Jonathan’s greatest, best and most effective political battle axe. Her ability to communicate very effectively with the forgotten and over-looked Nigerian rural and inner township impoverished women cannot be financially quantified. Her political godmother positioning vis a vis, the incumbent president’s electioneering project could prove very fruitful. Accept it or reject it, Dame Patience Jonathan has become Nigeria’s latest political sensation. Yes, the Dame is Nigeria’s latest political phenomenon.

Written by ANTHONY OKOSUN ( TONYOSUN@YAHOO.CO.UK)
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/anthony-okosun/dame-patience-jonathan-an-original-nigerian-political-godmother.html

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory,(FCT), Bala Mohammed, may have engaged an unregistered transport company, Shaaxni Nigeria Limited , as concessionaire, to provide transport services in the territory, with a bank guarantee to the tune of N1 BillionThe minister , Senate President, David Mark, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu have substantial interests in Shaaxni, top sources at the FCT revealed to Pointblanknews.com. Former aide, and crony to the deputy senate president, Jonathan Ivoke Achara, heads the transport secretariat, while Mark’s daughter, Blessing Onuh who is head of the social development unit, keeps an eye on daddy’s interest in the FCTA.

The duo also has interests in Print Field Limited Limited, City Cab Limited, and Abuja Cooperative transport Services. These companies are all concessionaires for the FCT.

Shaaxni, which has 50 buses at N19 million per unit on ground, is one of the four companies contracted to provide transport services in the FCT under a new 5-year agreement effective March 31, 2011.

The FCT administration, as part of the deal, hurriedly signed in December 2010, will provide bank guarantees, land, import waiver, infrastructure, etc.

Similar agreement was signed in 2005, by former minister, Nasir El- Rufai with three companies: Sonic- Global Resources, Nationwide Transport Company and the Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company (AUMTCO) (owned by the FCT administration), with the same promise of infrastructure, enabling environment, land but without a bank guarantee .

Pointblanknews checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), in Abuja revealed that the name of Shaaxni that hit the FCT jackpot, was not registered. Further checks showed that request for the business name, Shaaxni Nigeria Limited by another group, different from the new FCT concessionaire, was given approval on March 11, 2011 and reserved for 60 days, till (9/5/2011), with the serial number 3674208, and approved by Samuel Iyapo, an official of CAC.

Sources also hinted that there was no tender process in selecting the concessionaires except some advertisement placements in the newspapers which were designed to create the impression due process was followed.

It was learnt that when the FCT minister realized some of the legitimate concessionaires, may have gotten wind of the bogus agreement with Shaaxni , and was about to take legal action, he mandated some of his officials, last week, to go to the CAC and quickly make Shaaxni a legitimate entity. The delegation was led by the deputy director, mass transit, Engr Wilson Nwogu, accompanied by staff of the legal services departmentBut when the FCT officials got to the CAC they realized the name Shaaxni had already been taken and reserved. In desperation they switched from Shaaxni Nigeria Limited to Shaaxni Auto Limited, but to their chagrin, that also had been taken. So, as at the time of writing this report , the Shaaxni that signed the agreement with the FCT, remains statutorily an illegitimate business entity.

An official of the ministry who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the matter, however argued that “newspaper advertisements were placed calling for tenders. It was bided for and those companies won the bidding. The companies that won had papers from the Corporate Affairs Commission”.

Sonic- Global Resources Nigeria Limited, one of the former concessionaires, had also approached a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, seeking an order restraining the FCTA authorities from engaging new concessionaires on the ground that the FCTAdefaulted in the concession agreement reached with it.

http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os4796.html

The police in Nasarawa State say the disagreement between the ruling PDP and the main opposition CPC which have led to series of violent attacks in Keffi is a brotherly quarrel, and needs not be overblown.
Keffi has witnessed rising violence more than any other part of the state, including Lafia, the capital, but there have been no arrest in any of the incidents. The police commissioner, Emmanuel Obiako, said yesterday that the issues were “minor’, and needed tact in handling so that they do not explode into major issues. “When two brothers quarrel, you don’t make arrests. You provide a direction so that they don’t collide again,” he said.

He confirmed the recent violent demonstration which left six official vehicles damaged, and part of the campaign office of Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma was destroyed on Thursday. The demonstration ended up in accusations and counter accusations between the ruling party and the main opposition CPC in what has put a cloud of doubt over the message of the demonstrators.

Youths poured into the streets of Keffi at about 10am of that day and barricaded major roads, chanting anti-Doma slogans as they marched to his campaign office along Old Akwanga Road where they destroyed a part. The violent youths also smashed some official vehicles including those of the police/military patrol outfit. No one was injured, just as no arrest was made.

The state Commissioner for Housing, Environment and Urban Development, Mohammed Yamusa Chindo blamed the incident on the CPC, naming the opposition party’s senatorial candidate, retired Major General Abdullahi Aboki and former minister, Mohammed Hassan Lawal, when he spoke with Weekly Trust.

“We were holding a meeting at the campaign office. I was also there at the meeting. It was General Aboki and Hassan Lawal’s boys that came and attacked us. They destroyed the office and smashed vehicles, security operatives did not do anything. I went to the DPO and the SSS, and nothing happened. Security agencies are protecting the CPC against us. How can CPC attack us and nothing happens?” the commissioner queried.

But in a reaction, the CPC senatorial candidate, General Aboki, denied knowledge of the youths who carried out the attack. He pleaded for time to go round Keffi for inquiries, and returned two hours later with the following comment. “I went close to the campaign office and I did not see any damage on it. If anybody carried out any attack on anybody, my humble self and Hassan Lawal know nothing about them. I came in from Abuja where I am residing, today, and I know that Hassan Lawal has not been in Keffi for more than a week. He has been with General Buhari. Whatever transpired today, I am sure, it must be part of the schemes of the PDP. Since my coming into politics, Abdullahi (his PDP opponent and former governor Abdullahi Adamu) has sworn he will fight me to finish. I accepted the fight if it is a fair game. There is nothing I have not done to talk to Abdullahi, we have been childhood friends. I can’t be anti-Abdullahi. But he has refused to accept me.

“You know we started late in the CPC. But today, Keffi and the neighbouring towns are 80 per cent CPC because people are daily defecting to join us. So we have gained grounds more than the PDP. Since then, Abdullahi and Yamusa have been sponsoring thugs to attack our supporters.

“They came with thugs from Kaduna and sent them round to machete our supporters. We have pictures to show this and we made formal and written reports to the police, SSS and the army. Abdullahi even vowed the other day that he would do anything, and I am told the Emir was not happy with him. Two days ago, his Kaduna thugs attacked our supporters and even destroyed my billboards in town. Yesterday, some Fulani people came and reported to me that they were macheted by his supporters because they defected to the CPC. We have also reported that to security agencies with pictures.

“We know their plan. They are only trying to seek a state of emergency in Keffi so that elections will not take place here. They are trying to implicate me and Hassan so that we will be picked by security. If anybody attacked them, why did they not report to security agencies? They don’t want the election to hold. We have been calling on our people not to be provoked into counter attack. Let us have the elections and enter office. That is all we want,” he added.

The state police commissioner, Emmanuel Adiako, told Weekly Trust that the trouble died down minutes after it started. He said no arrest was made and that nobody reported any attack or any case to them.

THE Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, inagurated the construction of the proposed six-lane Uselu-Ugbowo-Lagos road expansion project, in defiance to a statement credited to the Minister of State for Works, Dr Chris Ogiemwonyi, that the project be put on hold, until the Federal Government approves the specification.

Oshiomhole, who performed the inauguration ceremony, on Thursday, said “the project will serve to deflood Benin City, reduce loss of lives and man hours and bring down cost of transportation for commuters on the route.”

The governor said additional one lane was to be added on both sides of the road to the existing two lanes on each side, complete with two-metre-wide sidewalk, drainage and street lights.

He added that “this is the road, which project was assumed to have been stopped by the Federal Government, according to the Minister of State for Works Chris Ogiemwonyi.

“Also the lies by the factional PDP chairman that contractors have stopped working are debunked as work is going on and new jobs are being contracted.”

Oshiomhole added that the contract would extend through to the popular Five Junction in the Benin metropolis, which would be reconstructed with a standard roundabout, to solve the problem of perennial traffic jam in the area.

amen

;Dwhat the hell is all this noise from this PDP apologist when El dee came out and said the Goodluck campaign stole their concept where were you guys you all ran for cover,he even issued a statement and none of you could defend Goodluck and now this bluelabs that aint got nothing on Buhari are ranting and you are all dancing and posting like kokolets

What a mess. What is Beaf's defence 4 Jona? He has been quiet on this thread. Oops i 4got this aint about Buhari.

Even the devil has a right to his own opinion. Whoever is tired of nairaland should get the bleep out. Where on mother earth is there true democracy. Jarus carry go jor. Nuff luv n respect ur enemiz don fail

@BABE! You must have read my mind. In a nutshell you wrapped up this thread. I have never and will cheat on my significant other no matter what but if she does then i will walk away. Reason I had a babe who cheated on me 3 months into the relationship,i forgave her and moved on. Two years later about 4 months to our introduction. She was at it again because i was not in town. Confronted her and called off the relationship. 6 months later she got married and the marriage packed up a year later and the thing now wants me to take her back

A commendable,analytical,decisive,indepth and official my best post of the year. Even without the names,we know who to tag with the characters. Well done and i duff my hat for you

@ Gbawe and Blacksta thanks and well done for your responsible and reasonable comments and response. Bomb blasts are take note predorminant to PDP states from statistics. The opposing political parties are responsible for independence day bomb blast,the emergency landing of helipcopter conveying daniel n bankole,the port harcourt stampede,boko haram crisis,verbal assults,jos mayhem and kidnappings to mention but a few,if we are to tow the line of this thread

Useless post full of arrant nonsense and lies. PDP are now saints shey,all the bombings,killings,kidnappings,poor development will soon be heaped on ACN. They ACN and PDP are after their own pockets but when in a dilemma,you choose the lesser evil

Call the police

You want to cry then watch 1. After the promise hmmm its a classic,a man with 5 boys lost his wife and the kids were taken away and all the stress he had to go through to get them back. 2. A walk to remember hmm i shiver 3. My first love(nigerian tony umez n genevive)

Before nko USA have always been liars,bleep those satellite pictures(though i have my reservations about INEC figures) was it not the same satellite pictures that showed bunkers and laboratory for weapons of mass destruction in iraq and we all know how it ended