₦airaland Forum

Young03:
U mean ds textbook

You are one of the problems with Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. There is no future for a country with youths who cannot read a 1000-word exposition.

Lalasticlala, seun, OAM4J, Mynd44

How A Political Analyst Expertly Predicted Nigeria's Present Quagmire Exactly 12 Months Ago

You will be shocked by his 100% 10/10 accuracy!
Many of us ignored this guy. Perhaps he saw the handwriting on the wall. Everything he predicted is now coming to pass. We need to fish out this guy an give him an award for foresight.

Before I delve into the nitty-gritty and crux of this exposition, I must categorically state that I have no overt or covert party affiliation. I have only put this piece together in my capacity as a concerned, patriotic Nigerian who will never stand by with arms crossed over his chest while a bunch of political careerists and crooked opportunists take this beloved country and its loving people for a joyride.

That being said, what manner of change can we, Nigerians, expect from the All Progressives Congress, the APC?

It is becoming clearer even to the “mentally blind” that the so-called “Progressives”, led by the twosome of the retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and former Lagos state governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are totally and pitiably incapable of effecting the change they are promising to deliver to Nigerians if elected into office.

Rather, the only change that can be realistically expected of them at this point in time is retrogressive change. Before going further, it will be sagacious to consult some of the world’s most reliable and reputable dictionaries and thesauruses to see what they have to say about the word change.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD) – the most available to, trusted and cited by Nigerians – defines change as “an act or process through which something becomes different”. In the same vein, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary – considered the gold standard by most Americans – gives a similar description, authoritatively opining that change is the “act, process, or result of changing”.

Likewise, an App-based mobile dictionary gives us the definition of change as “the process of becoming different”.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria will change under a Muhammadu Buhari presidency. Yes, the country will definitely become different under the “pure” and “stainless” GMB-led APC government, should their wishes and cravings come to pass. This, however, begs the question of how Nigeria will be different under them. What kind of change will the APC, Buhari, Tinubu and co. bring to the table if elected? Will it be progressive or retrogressive?

Going by the goings-on in the country whilst simultaneously peering into the past, it is really very easy to come at a definite conclusion. Despite the adjective progressive being affixed to their name and adopted as a party slogan, it is crystal clear to all and sundry, Nigerian or not, that the best anyone can expect of the APC is a reversive change.

A change for the worse. What manner of change can a certified military dictator, who usurped and forcibly seized power from a democratically-elected government, possibly offer?

Buhari staged a coup that sacked what was only Nigeria’s second democratic dispensation since independence – the first in 13 years. In an ironical twist of fate deserving of a Greek epic by Homer, it is the same general, albeit now refined, rebooted and baptized as the sinless “peoples general,” who is now at the mercy of the same democratic process he truncated 32 years ago in order to clamber into power once again.

What manner of change can we realistically and dispassionately expect from a thin-skinned ex-dictator who was intolerant of even the slightest of criticisms during his ultimately ill-fated military regime? This is the same Buhari who jailed anyone who was bold enough to speak up against his autocracy that lasted from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985.

Journalists, who now enjoy unprecedented and once unimaginable levels of freedom under the present Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration, were put behind bars in droves.

Opposing politicians and statesmen were also not spared. It is on record that Buhari jailed Alex Ekwueme, the Vice President of the administration he overthrew, for several years; its President, Shehu Shagari, was put under house arrest. Jim Nwobodo, a democratically elected state governor, was unceremoniously jailed for 301 years by a kangaroo court sanctioned by the general.

Others who found themselves on the wrong side of the general and ended up being jailed for their “insubordination” include two other democratically-elected governors, Sam Mbakwe and Bola Ige, as well as Bisi Akande, a fellow stalwart in the present APC, and Obafemi Awolowo, the ideological leader of the South-Westerners.

How can we expect the man to uphold and respect courts of justice and the rule of law when he had demonstrated such flagrant disregard for them?

What manner of change does the APC have to offer with a leader who probably believes that a woman’s rightful place is her husband’s house, her only duties housekeeping and child-rearing? During his dictatorship that lasted nearly 3 years, he hadn’t appointed a single woman in his Supreme Military Council.

Most recently, he has strongly indicated that women would play a minimal role in the government he envisions by asserting that he would abolish the position of the country’s first lady. He went further to declare that there is no official role for the wife of a president.

He seems to be oblivious of the fact that the wives of presidents, heads of state and government all over the world are accorded special status and assigned important roles. That is why the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is such an influential figure both within and outside her country.

His modus operandi reeks of someone who is out of touch with reality, divorced from the trends and aloof with happenings elsewhere in the world.

I could go on and on, but it would take more than a short news-length article to comprehensively thrash out the laundry list of the things that make Buhari and the APC totally incapable to deliver the promised “progressive change”.

I have absolutely nothing against the person of General Muhammadu Buhari. As a matter of fact, he’s a man I have an undiminished respect for. But I still do not believe he’s the leader that 174 million Nigerians need at the moment, especially considering the party he’s coming from, how rigid and resistant to change he has always been, and how detached from Nigerian realia he has become.

It is my wish that Nigerians would wake up from their slumber and disenchant themselves from the hypnotism, fine-sounding words and unattainably lofty promises of the APC. There is still enough time to avoid a big mistake.

Nigerians, vote wisely

https://www.naij.com/377150-chinedu-rylan-can-buhari-apc-deliver-the-change-theyve-promised.html

By Chinedu Rylan George

Stomach infrastructure has always been there. It's just the APC e-mosquitoes and serial failures made it look like a grave sin. Fashola and Tinubu used it to win elections in Lagos state and nobody complained. Now they are making it look like a big deal because Fayose and PDP whooped their silly a.s/s in Ekiti. Rubbish set of politicians.

oneofnaiji: Who is "we"?

The team

We are in need of good political writers and analysts who can write in about three articles a week. For detailed information, contact us with this email address: writerzbay1@yahoo.com
Alternatively, you can drop your email address and you will be contacted as soon as possible.

The latest crisis rocking the some political parties in the country baffles me, not because I care about whatever they do to themselves in the parties, but because of the extent to which our so-called leaders and seasoned politicians are willing to go to remain relevant. And to remain relevant in Nigeria’s political arena means to remain in politics. And remaining in active politics is not enough; remaining in leadership where you get to call the shots is the thing that matters. Once you are out of there, you’ll do everything and anything within your powers to stifle the opposition and strengthen your stranglehold on hold.



It becomes even more interesting when you are not there. You’ll be ready to do whatever it takes and be willing go the extra mile to ensure that you bulldoze yourself to that coveted position where everyone is at your mercy and everything is at your beck and call. Anything that stands in your way must be crushed. You must fight dirty to win. Rules are simply broken at will without any fear whatsoever of the repercussions because you know that at the end of the day, when the dust has settled, you’ll not be punished. You’ll go scot-free even if you don’t emerge the winner.



This is not the first time such a show of shame is happening in Nigeria and it would definitely not be the last as long as those strong hands that have held the country by the jugular and brought it to its knees remain relevant. What we see playing out before us is brazen lack of respect for the masses and interest in their plight. None of those political agitators are fighting for the interest of the masses or those that “elected” them. They are in it for their interests and that of their families. All others simply do not matter. Once you and your family are satisfied the rest can go to blazes.



What I’m saying in this piece is not something that we have not heard before. The points I have highlighted are not new to us either. This has been with us even prior to our independence from the British Empire. But it intensified immediately after crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity in the Niger Delta and it was amplified during the wave of military interregnums in the country. All hopes that it would be finally brought to an end during the 1999 handover from military to civilian rule was dashed as soon as the “new democratic” dispensation took over.



Instead of the totally new and democratic government everyone had hope for, we were given and old wine in a new wineskin; a dirty body clad in a sparkling regalia. It was not long though before the stench was everywhere. The government was merely given a facelift. The old actors were still present, protecting their interests, massaging their egos and striving to remain relevant in the polity. They were not ready to let go, to lose their interest, “honour”, power and influence.



Nigeria was sold to the elites and Nigerians, as a consequence, with it. Nigeria became the fiefdom of the masters – the “ogas at the top”. Resources of the country were shared and lavished with reckless abandon within the big family, chief of which was (and is still) petroleum. Oil companies from abroad pilled their empty tankers on our shores, looking to seize the opportunity and expand their global business empires by dubious means. Our modern day feudal lords complied and pocketed huge sums of money from the never ending deals.



Millionaires became richer, billionaires were born and billionaires became trillionaires. They kept it within the family; no outsider was allowed to partake of the loot, only a few lucky ones became part of the family by design or accident. They flew their cash in Ghana-must-go (cash-must-go) bags to foreign lands and built mansions there, leaving their motherland to rot and decay.



Of course, people were watching. Most didn’t want to be left behind. They ventured into politics to try their luck. Many succeeded, many were not so lucky. Those that succeeded played and danced to whatever tunes the “ogas” dictated. In return for the favour, they were to remain loyal to their masters. They were never to outshine their masters. Those that disobeyed paid the price in various ways.



Now, someone else has disobeyed and the “ogas” want him to pay the price. But he simply wouldn’t give up. He is hanging in there, politicking, consulting, recruiting and cutting corners. The “ogas” won’t let him be and they will do all it takes to boot him out, unless he succumbs to their whims and caprices. The situation gets messier by the day and gladiators and godfathers working behind the scenes are being fingered everyday. New twists to the plot-line are added to the already intriguing drama on a daily basis and Nigerians are still watching and talking.



Nigerians are watching and talking, debating, arguing and taking sides. 2015 is trending in Nigeria now. Everyone is talking about 2015. Everyone is waiting for the year twenty-fifteen. Some are praying for it to be tomorrow, others are wishing that it would never come. But 2015 must come; it is just over a year away. What will happen when it comes no-one knows, but there is one thing most Nigerians know about 2015 (and probably some Westerners too): Nigeria will never be the same after 2015, for better or for worse. But the outcome depends on us, not them – the “ogas at the top.” The power is in our hands, perhaps more than ever before. And now is the right time to exercise that power. We must all keep our noses to the grindstone and ensure that this opportunity does not slip from our hands – again.

culled from: http://observerreports.com/2013/09/hooliganism-nigerias-political-elite/

On Saturday, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who are the reigning champions of African football, will lock horns with the Tom Sainfiet-tutored Flames of Malawi. The match billed to take place at the UJ Esuene stadium in Calabar kicks off at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

This is not just a match between the most feared football team in the whole of Africa and a soccer nonentity from Southern Africa; it is a make or mar match which will seal Nigeria’s fate as it concerns the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Should the Super Eagles do the unthinkably unforgivable and lose the match against the Flames, there would be no Green-White-Green flags flying in stadiums across Brazil. The Nigerian anthem wouldn’t be sung and fans from the Nigeria Football Supporters’ Club would have to follow proceedings over there from the comfort (or discomfort) of their homes or settle for seats at crowded viewing centers scattered across the country.

But no-one expects them to flop against lightweights such as Malawi. Not in this competition at least. If the match ends in a draw, the Eagles would be through. The same holds true if they manage to secure a victory. But no-one expects them to “manage” to beat the Flames, however. Such countries should be brushed aside with ease and the margin of victory should not be less convincing.

Nigerians, however, have learnt from history not to expect much from the much-beloved Super Eagles which is right about the only thing that brings an Igbo man, a Hausa man and a Yoruba man together under the same roof for a good course. History has taught us veritable lessons and keeping our expectations low when it comes to the Super Eagles is one that Nigerians have learnt particularly well.

Ask the average Nigerian on the streets about what he thinks the goal margin will be in the match and he will beat his chest and gladly say that Malawi is going down by nothing less than a 3-goal margin. But deep down inside of him he knows well enough that one is not to expect Christmas in September from the Super Eagles.

Be that as it may, nothing less than an outright victory would do. Not even a draw is enough for us – the teeming Super Eagles fans all over the country and beyond. Anything short of a victory would stir up quite a storm within and outside Nigeria and raise questions about the team’s preparedness for the forthcoming soccer fiesta in Brazil which is barely 9 months away.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/nigeria-vs-brazil-might-expect-history/

Btruth: meaning.......? slowpoke.

I don't have time for people like you

doyin2011: So what's your stand, that a new auditorium should not be built to accomodate souls?

Why waste more than 10 billion naira in building a church, while millions are living in abject poverty in Nigeria and all over the world, barely able to eat in a day?

swtcharissa: .

Go and soak garri with coconut if u dnt have anytin meaningful to write,

Nice family outfit..

The one you just finished eating?

LesbianBoy: Fine girl


Whether she sabi pose or she nor sabi pose, the important thing is SHE IS YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL AND VERY RICH

And what am I supposed to do with that?

And so what?

She no sabi pose abeg

Seun, why was this thread removed from the frontpage? Are you afraid of criticisms?

Defending EPL champions, Manchester United will kick off their Barclays Premier League campaign on Saturday. They will be away to Swansea City. It will be David Moyes' first EPL match in charge of the Red Devils.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will play Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Stories leading up to the match will be available here.

The EPL is back! On Sunday, the Europa League winners, Chelsea, will tackle promoted Hull City at Stamford Bridge.

This is official thread for the match.

Stories leading up to the match will be available here.

This list is so laughable

[b]Nairaland being listed in the NSE is an illusion. How much is Nairaland worth? At most 2 million dollars. Compare this with blogs and sites like Pinterest, Mashable, the Daily Beast and forums like Yahoo and Answers.com and you will see that Nairaland is way behind and still has a long way to go.

Nairaland in its present state is in need of serious investment. I don't think that Seun is doing enough to promote it to a global brand. I think he is pretty comfortable running the site from his bedroom while others are busy writing business proposals and obtain loans for expansion.

How many unique visitors can Nairaland boast of in a month? Is it up to a million? How many members does Nairaland have? Just over 1.1 million I guess. A typical Nairalander (me inclusive) has 3 or 4 accounts alone ("if you ban me today I will open another account tomorrow syndrome". I for one have 6 accounts - 3 dormant and 3 active. When you divide the 1.1 million by four you will be getting something like 300, 000. Now subtract those that make use of their accounts once in a year and the figure falls to somewhere around 150-200k. This is in a country that has more than 40 million internet users.

You can see that the figures are not as impressive as they sound. So my advice to Seun is to buckle up. [/b]

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has performed a sensational u-turn over his future and now insists that he will remain at Anfield.

The Uruguay international had been eager to leave England, aggrieved by his treatment from the British media, but the Reds were
unwilling to let their star player leave.

Arsenal, whose participation in the Champions League appealed to Suarez, had pushed hard to sign the 26-year-old, though a bid of £42
million - which would have smashed their transfer record - was rejected.

And now the former Ajax frontman appears to have finally accepted Liverpool's no-sale stance, and says
the club's passionate fanbase has convinced him to remain on Merseyside.

He told Uruguayan newspaper El Observador: "Right now, because of all the love of the fans, I will be staying."

Despite Suarez's latest committal to Liverpool, the Uruguayan seemingly has a lot of bridges to mend with the club after he threatened legal action as he disputed a clause in his contract.

Manager Brendan Rodgers,
meanwhile, will be delighted to be able to call on Suarez next season, though has previously insisted that the striker must apologise for his
conduct.

"Initially there will be an apology to his team-mates and the club," said Rodgers. "Then a recognition that he
is ready to fight for the club.
"I know that we are not seeing the Luis Suarez I know. He has spent some days working on his own. When he comes back from Uruguay we will see how it goes further.

"We are all on the same page. He won't be going to Arsenal, that's for sure. When Luis is committed to the cause, we will welcome him back with
open arms."

Suarez, who has six games remaining of his ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, was the Premier
League's second highest scorer last term with 23 goals.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Ben Agande & Henry Umoru
Lagos — Quarrelling governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, confronted one another into the wee hours of yesterday, trading accusations of backstabbing and betrayal. They, however agreed that the problems of the party lay at the doorsteps of the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

PDP governors from the two divides of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, met for the first time under one roof in the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo as mediator.

President Goodluck Jonathan was not at the meeting, and at the commencement of the meeting, was said to be in talks with senior party officials in the residence within the villa.

Obasanjo and the governors, it was learnt, are expected to have an enlarged meeting with Jonathan subsequently, during which the issues which were being discussed in the second round of the meeting at press time yesterday, will be thrashed out as part of a final reconciliation.

There were suggestions that part of a final reconciliation would lead to Governors Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who head different factions of the NGF stepping down.

Obasanjo to lead govs’ delegation to Jonathan

At the end of what was said to be the first phase of the meeting, which ended at about 3.00 a.m. yesterday, it was agreed that President Obasanjo will lead a delegation to President Jonathan and First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, to stress the need for less meddlesomeness of the First Lady in the affairs of the states, and particularly in Rivers State.

The governors, Vanguard learnt, did not spare Obasanjo as they accused him of drifting away from the party and by such, allowing the party to drift into its present state of rudderlessness.

Governor Amaechi, who was suspended from the party was also at the meeting, Vanguard learnt. It was the first time that the governor was involved in a caucus of the party since his suspension, which followed his election as chairman of the NGF last May. Also present at the meeting was Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who was supported by the party for the NGF chairmanship but trailed Amaechi by 16 to 19 votes in the contest.

Following the end of what sources described as the first phase of the meeting early Tuesday morning, the governors resolved to take a break to continue last night during which issues articulated at the earlier meeting would be properly addressed.

Speaking hopefully on the progress towards reconciliation, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, PDP-GF, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State said the meeting had sent jitters to the opposition in the country. He spoke to State House correspondents, yesterday, afternoon when he came to brief President Jonathan.

Govs trade blames

Sources at the meeting told Vanguard that once the meeting got under way with President Obasanjo as chairman, he urged all the governors to express their feelings, and one by one, the governors charged at what they described as the drift in the party. One source said the governors charged and raised their voices at one another and also pointed at the highhandedness of the party under Tukur.

The problems in Rivers State were also brought up and the governors expressed concern at the situation where the First Lady and appointees of the president had been empowered to disorganize political harmony in the state. Obasanjo, according to one source, calmly brought the governors under control as he guided them to pour out their feelings.

Some governors at the meeting also hotly countered Amaechi and his supporters over his insistence on contesting for the NGF chair as they described it as an affront to the party. The governors were said to have likened Amaechi’s insistence on contesting to what they described as the insistence of Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal to contest for speaker of the House of Representatives despite its being zoned to another part of the country.

In raising their resentment of the party under its present leadership, some of the governors quarreled with the habit of the National Working Committee, NWC dissolving the state structures without consultation with the governors.

The governors were also said to have raised their opposition to the proposal of automatic ticket as recently mooted for the president and governors by some party elders including the Board of Trustees, BoT chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.

At the end of the meeting, Obasanjo was said to have summarized the issues affecting the party as the NGF; issues with Tukur and the alleged meddlesomeness of the First Lady.

It was thus resolved that a delegation of the governors or President Obasanjo should visit the first family to impress it on the First Lady to moderate her political involvement in the polity and focus on mobilization of women. The delegation is also expected to urge the first family to discourage the practice of political lackeys flocking to them for political patronage.

What the delegation will tell Jonathan

“The situation whereby aspirants are flocking to her (Patience Jonathan) to seek her consent and blessing is unacceptable to most of the governors and we want her to stop trying to impose lackeys as the next governors in the states,” one governor told Vanguard, yesterday.

Following Obasanjo’s summarization of the issues, the meeting was suspended to continue last night during which the issues raised would be frontally tackled.

Preparatory to last night’s meeting, six governors supportive of Amaechi met at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja where they exchanged notes before proceeding to the Villa for the continuation of the meeting.

Addressing State House correspondents after meeting with President Jonathan, yesterday, Governor Akpabio said the progress being made by the party in reconciling all aggrieved stakeholders in the party was commendable and had sent jitters down the spine of the opposition party.

He said: “All the steps being taken at the moment are steps in the right direction to ensure cohesion and bring back all the party faithful. Particularly, the body of governors will come together to work as one for the interest of Nigeria and the interest of the PDP.

“I do know that all the governors of the PDP are working towards the success of the party. I am not aware of any five aggrieved governors but one thing I can assure you is that there are jitters in the camp of the opposition with the meetings of PDP governors and the national convention that is coming up because as soon as the PDP puts its house in order, you know the result. The result is that Nigerians will follow because that is a truly national party in Nigeria. That is the only party without cleavages of ethnicity or tribalism and that is the only party without a godfather.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/pdp-govs-in-stormy-meeting-with-obasanjo/

This is serious. If your claim has been verified I suggest that the mods should send this topic to the frontpage at once.