₦airaland Forum

midolian:
Now, all you want is to graduate, get a job for yaself and cater for ya family. But with this kinda treatment this guy is giving you, u may even die without achieving this..May God be ya guide

xpac01:
I only see python swallowing whatever... Does it mean I am having poor vision?

MosakuAW:
Did i hear OP say Abule-Egba.

Pls Ambo, just fix Ile-Epo bus/stop issue. Whenever it rains, that place is mini hell and the pedestrian bridge construsted by Fashola at the bus/stop is not needed abeg.

Caseless:
Gbam!

Orikinla:
. I am happy for Femi Adesina, aka "Kulikuli". He will be more principled and transparent than Abati.

CreekReporter:
really? i never knew

You mean you don't know what America has known?

But seriously, it's good to be diligent in whatever we are doing and you never can tell who's watching.

In this interview with SAHARA TV monitored by ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, the newly appointed Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who is also the immediate past Managing Director of The SUN and President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, speaks about his appointment

Are you excited about your appointment?

Well, it is a call to service and one should be thankful when called to serve one’s country.

With this appointment will you be switching sides that is, from scrutinising the government to defending the government?

Let me first of all examine what you said, that I will switch sides from scrutinising to defending the government. No. The scrutinising part will still be part of my duty. Before I can speak for the government, I must first scrutinise the decisions and the policies and then make an input before I can then defend. So, it is not a total switch. There must still be a lot of scrutinising because anything I am going to defend, I have got to be able to understand it, agree with it and see the rationale behind it before I can defend it. So, it is not a total switch.

So, what if you do not agree with a policy? How will you approach it?

If I don’t agree with a policy, I will first ask for an explanation and when I am given the explanation, I will make my input. But then, my input does not have to override what may be in the public interest or what is in the interest of the larger number of people. My opinion might not necessarily be the correct one. So, when such challenges come, you have to weigh it and say, is it in the larger interest of the people, is it in the interest of the country? Will it eventually result in a better standard of living for the people? That is the way to look at it. It doesn’t have to be something I must agree with all the time. I should be able to appraise the decisions that have been made and seek to understand them and then make my contribution as necessary.


There are reports that you know President Muhammadu Buhari very closely. What is your relationship with him?

I will say yes. The President is somebody that I have admired for a long time since he was a military ruler. When he was a military ruler, I was already in my third year in the university. So, I can say I knew him and his style and I liked it. I felt sorry when his government was overthrown. So, when he came back into partisan politics in 2003, it was something that was very exciting for me and since then, I have been supporting him. I am a journalist and I write a weekly column. I have been pointing Nigerians in his direction since 2003. And whenever I wrote anything in his (Buhari’s) support, he would call me on the phone and we would discuss and he would thank me. I remember in 2009 or thereabout when Prof. Tam David-West wrote a book on Buhari and it was to be presented at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. I was the master of ceremony of the occasion so we got to speak and know each other better. That was the first time I would meet him (Buhari) in person. Thereafter, he ran for President in 2011 and I still wrote in my column that I thought he was the best person to rule Nigeria and bring a change. Whenever I wrote those things, he would call me and he would thank me and we would talk.

So, eventually, in August 2013, I lost my mother and we needed to do her funeral. So, I sent Buhari an invitation card. The service was in Lagos and lo and behold, before the service started, he drove in. It was a pleasant surprise. It was a Christian service and he sat through it. Those who had said that he was a religious bigot were shocked. This was a Muslim man that came for a Christian service and attended the full service and yet they were saying he was a religious bigot. So, that act cemented our relationship because after the event, I phoned him the next day and thanked him but he said he was the one that should be grateful because he had never given me a kobo and yet I always gave him all the support. He said there were people that could pay me millions of naira for such support but I had decided to pitch my tent with somebody that could not give me anything. So, that cemented our relationship.

You know, in 2011, he said he would not contest the Presidency again but in the run up to the 2015 election, I felt he should still run and I wrote that the fact that he said in 2011 that he would not run again could not be carved in concrete and he could change his mind if he wanted and the rest, they say, is history. He changed his mind, he ran and he won. Significantly, on the night that he was declared the winner, my phone rang around midnight and one of our leaders in the media called and said, ‘Please hold on for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’. I was shocked and when he spoke to me, he said he appreciated my support throughout the campaigns and now that victory had come his way, he just wanted to say thank you. So, that was how it played out.

How did you get the appointment? Did he call you or were you interviewed?

After he had been declared winner and after he had called me on the telephone, I deliberately stayed away from him for two reasons. The first was because I knew he would be under a lot of pressure. A lot of people would be calling to congratulate him and probably seeking one thing or the other. So, I think from that night, which was March 31, I deliberately stayed away from him because I did not want to add to the pressure that would be on him and secondly, I didn’t want it to be that I was seeking a position in his government. I am a born again Christian and I want anything that happens or comes my way to be what God has ordained. I don’t push anything; I don’t lobby for anything so I kept my distance from him. But then, people around him kept talking to me and kept telling me that they believed I was the best person to be the spokesman for the incoming President. However, I did not give any commitment for two reasons. The first, as I said earlier, was that I didn’t want to lobby and secondly, I have a job that I enjoy doing: Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of one of the leading newspapers in the country, The Sun, and then I was also the President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors. Those are high calibre jobs and responsibilities. So, I wasn’t looking for a job but then people around me kept talking to me till eventually, there was some sort of interview but I would not say it was a direct interview but people singled me out to say, ‘Well, if you are invited to serve in government, will you serve?’. My conviction had always been that I would never serve in a government except one headed by Muhammadu Buhari. So, when they singled me out, I told them I didn’t think I wanted to serve in the government but since it is Muhammadu Buhari, I will consider it. But I also reminded them that I also have a job and I have to consult with my publisher (Orji Uzor Kalu) and I have to seek his blessings. Reluctantly too, my publisher gave his blessings. He told me that they would not know the sacrifice he had made by letting me go but since it is a service to the country, I have his blessings. So, I got back to them and told them yes, that I had sought my publisher’s blessing and the next I heard was the announcement that I had been appointed Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

You will be going into the job in a changing media landscape. You will grapple with the social media and the traditional media. How do you hope to navigate these two worlds?

I would rather refer to the social media as digital media because the social media is just a variant of the digital media. Nobody can do anything successfully in the media today without factoring in the digital media. The social media, the digital media and every other thing will be used together. You would have seen the role they played in the campaigns. You could feel the pulse of the electorate and could already discern the direction the election would follow by merely following the digital media, particularly the social aspect of that digital media. It played a major role in the campaigns and there is no way you are going to ignore it. The traditional media has its place because there are people who are still glued to it. But the younger generation uses the digital media so you then need to use all the avenues to reach the people.

So far, what do the media headlines regarding Buhari’s administration say to you about what you are going to be dealing with on the job?

I will tell you it is no tea party. It is going to be a hectic work but then it is going to be me working for somebody that I believe in. So, I guess I will have to throw my all into it. I am under no illusion that the job is going to be easy or a picnic. It will not be. But I will throw my all into it and as long as my principal remains who he is: straight, accountable, focused and someone who wants to effect a change in the country, I guess we will get it done. When you have a good product, the marketing is easier.

Have you spoken with previous government spokesmen like Mr. Reuben Abati and Mr. Segun Adeniyi?

I have spoken with Segun Adeniyi (the late President Umaru Yar’adua’s spokesman); I have spoken with Ima Niboro who was former President Goodluck Jonathan’s first spokesman; but I have not spoken to Reuben Abati.

What advice did they give you?

They gave me an insight into how to do the job successfully. I have spoken with Segun more than once but I have spoken with Ima Niboro just once. I will meet with Segun again and we will talk.

http://www.punchng.com/politics/i-encouraged-buhari-to-run-for-president-adesina/

Caseless:
Come back bro, space de for you .

Caseless:
Come back, bro. Leave otuoke first son to otuoke people.

Caseless:
Dont8

Jisos!! Where have u been?

After the fall of the other retailers thread, we no de too see again.

kokoA:
You should even be blocked from the internet sef because you don't have sense at all..

Caseless:
haaaaaaaaa

Where have u been, ayo?


Men, I de oo.

ayobase:
Stella is on lowkey for now......family matter.

Dont8 is much more around.

talk of d devil.....see am for up.

@Dont8, na true u talk jare.

Kolade354:
Good to see you sire..........I dont even know I would get ur Monicker Correct............Maximu Respecct!

Kolade354:
I missed the guy tho, We Cant see such Hilarious Thread again........where are ur oda goonz I mean stella and Dont8 or so

By: Raymond MORDI

THE decision to set aside party directives in electing the new principal officers of the House of Representatives on Tuesday must be a big blow for former Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate, who was narrowly defeated by the new Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

But, something in his demeanour suggests that what happened to the brilliant, hardworking and sound parliamentarian is a temporary setback and that he would bounce back in no time. In spite of the painful and controversial loss, he still congratulated the winner. He took a full page advertisement in a national daily yesterday, where he spoke on the eletion of the Speaker and rededicated himself to the service of his country.

He said, inter alia: “The contest has come and gone and God’s will has been done. I am greatly humbled and deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support from well wishers from across the country and beyond.

“I rededicate myself and I intend to continue to work hard in whatever capacity I may find myself for the progress of my constituency, state and country.”

He appears to be someone who is not motivated by inordinate ambition. Like a true democrat, he has moved on by accepting the emergence of Hon. Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. With this, he has shown that his aspiration to lead the House was purely to serve. For instance, at a point when the APC had the majority membership in the House under the former Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, he did not take the advantage to become Majority Leader, as many observers expected.

No doubt, Gbajabiamila, who was a virile and fearless opposition leader while serving as a House Minority Whip and later Minority Leader, would have made a good Speaker that would champion the APC’s reforms in the House. He has proven to all that he is gifted with leadership qualities. Little wonder, he was appointed to different committees in the House.

A cursory look at Tuesday’s drama at the National assembly suggests that the former Minority Leader was a victim of intrigues and high-wire politics within the ruling party.

Beyond the intrigues that cropped up and changed the course of events, the 53-year-old veteran of many political battles would have carried the day. The fact that he emerged as the consensus candidate of his party at a mock election conducted to avoid the kind of embarrassment that occurred on Tuesday is an indication of his popularity within the fold.

One interesting aspect of Gbajabiamila that played out on the floor of the Green Chambers of the House of Representatives on Tuesday is his discipline and commitment to the ideals of the APC, unlike the new controversial Senate President Bukola Saraki. Even in the heat of the intrigue and confusion that enveloped the House that day, he still displayed the fact that he is a loyal party man.

After Dogara emerged as Speaker, he personally reached out to Gbajabiamila to take the slot of Deputy Speaker. Dogara was said to have held a brief discussion with Gbajabiamila, with an appeal to accept nomination. The consultation took about 30 minutes; that was what delayed the proceedings after Dogara’s election. But, he declined the offer on the grounds that it was not the role that was assigned to him by the party.

Dogara’s camp still pressed on to get Gbajabiamila to change his mind. But when it became clear that the former Minority Leader would not take the offer, his camp asked Hon. Mohammed Monguno (Borno, APC), to accept the nomination. Monguno was, however, defeated by Hon. Suileman Lasun Yusuff (Osun), who had the backing of Dogara’s camp as Monguno is from the same region with the new Speaker.

Gbajabiamila was born on June 25, 1962, to a magistrate father and a pioneering female-politician mother. He followed his mother’s footsteps when he entered politics after returning from the United States. He was first elected to the House in 2003 on the platform of the defunct Action Congress (AC), which later became Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), one of the three major parties that metamorphosed into the APC. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011 and recently during the general elections. He represents the Surulere I Federal Constituency of Lagos State.

He attended the popular Igbobi College in Yaba, Lagos. Afterwards, he proceeded to King William’s College, on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom. He also attended John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois, United States and the University of Lagos (UNILAG), in Lagos, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Law.

Since he entered politics, the 53-year-old lawyer has displayed courage and fearlessness. His major legislative interests are the independence of the legislature and welfare. He has sponsored 29 bills on the floor of the House of Representatives the highest number by any legislator. Among these bills are ‘Nigerian Communications Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, 2013 to help track the usage of communication terminals by terrorists; Central Bank of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2012 to help strengthen the nation’s monetary policy; Building and Public Infrastructure Protection Bill, 2011 with the objective to enable maintenance of public buildings and infrastructure and many more. He has shown that he has no fear of controversy, having stood against former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the latter’s ‘third term’ bid.

He was the head of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee that investigated claims by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) that N140.9 billion (about one billion dollars), which was owed by Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited and Forte Oil Plc, had been paid. The call for the investigation of the reported payment was made by another lawmaker, Bimbo Daramola, who moved the motion that the House set up a panel to verify the claims by AMCON that the Femi Otedola-owned two companies had paid back the money which the government of Nigeria paid for petroleum products reportedly not delivered as agreed upon by the dictates of the government’s fuel subsidy scheme. Bimbo Daramola had suspected that the payment, if truly made, was “shrouded in secrecy.”

Over the last 12 years, Gbajabiamila’s legislative focus has covered employee rights, local content in construction, industry, vocational schools, economic stimulus, interest-free students loans and constitutional reform among others.

Besides, Gbajabiamila has shown considerable interest in the campaign to reduce the cost of governance, particularly the reduction of the salary of legislators. The House member, however, questioned the often made comparisons between the United States legislators and their Nigerian counterparts, saying that the demands on the latters’ salaries do not measure with those of the former.

Whenever Gbajabiamila speaks on the floor of parliament, his colleagues always listened. A passionate democrat and a loyal party man, his contributions on the floor of the House have not gone unnoticed. Following the leadership vacuum that was created in January 2010 by the absence of the late President Umar Yar’Adua, who travelled to Saudi Arabia for medical help under doubtful circumstances, Gbajabiamila was the first and only legislator to move a motion on the floor of the House for the invocation of the Doctrine of Necessity that eventually led to the elevation of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from Vice-President to Acting President.

In the House, the former Minority Leader held sway because of his stance against mismanagement, poor leadership and political immaturity. He has often criticised fellow politicians for their penchant for defecting from one party to another at the slightest opportunity, saying that there is need for Nigerian politicians to have and hold a set of political beliefs, ideology and philosophy. He suggested that many voters don’t have access to the information to make choices based on every individual stance, and therefore are sometimes only voting for candidates based on their party alignment. He criticised floppers with this in mind, saying the effect “cannot be anything but negative.”

In 2011, following his re-election as the ACN leader and leader of the opposition by his colleagues, Gbajabiamila revived the role of opposition in the House and maintained a tough stance against the PDP, the then ruling party. He was the face of the opposition, not just in the House but the whole National Assembly, including the Senate. On many occasions, he put his life at risk in his many attempts to hold the government of the day accountable. In this capacity, he has also instituted lawsuits against the Federal Government, most recently on appropriation without due approval from the National Assembly and the deployment of the Nigerian military during elections.

In November 2011, Gbajabiamila turned down the national award of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) conferred on him. His justification was that the abused rewarding system in Nigeria needed to be reformed first. He said the honours list usually contains names of people with questionable character. In a memo addressed to the then President Jonathan, he said he had not done enough to deserve such award.

lomaxx:
Are you really serious??

In you people's defence of this one man, you worship him like he can't be flawed even in any respect.

Topic said PMB has a trademark dressing. You, in guaranteeing defense, brought in GEJ.

As if PMB doesn't dress one way almost all the time.

Timaya however admitted that he learnt one or two things from Eedris which helped him in life.

“One major thing I learnt from him was his stage performance. He is a lion when he is on stage, he is a super performer and I give that to him. I learnt that from him. For me to have admitted that I was his back-up singer was my way of giving him due recognition because he did not see me in that light. I could have said I was never with him but because I respect him, I opened up. There is no way I am going to write my story without putting his name. He is still my boss. If I am in a show and I see him, I would prostrate for him.

Billyonaire:
Why not criticize and discontinue the use of internet and computer. Its a way of life of the Western People. Hypocrisy blinds us all.

iamrealdeji:
I love that beautiful,multi talented,intelligent TY Bello

EverestdeBliu:
Baba we ain't seeing the ChaNgE yet o

OLALEKAN ADETAYO writes on the differences that may be noticed in the outlook of the Presidential Villa with the coming on board of President Muhammadu Buhari

Two days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari stood before Nigerians and friends of the country at the Eagles Square, Abuja to take his Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as the President of the country, thereby formally taking over the mantle of leadership from former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had called the shots from the Presidential Villa, Abuja in the past five years.

The change of baton will not just be from one administration to the other or from the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration to one now controlled by the All Progressives Congress; it will also translate into many other changes in the outlook of the seat of power: the Aso Villa.

One of such changes that will be obvious in the seat of power will be the manner in which residents and members of staff go out and profess their faith.

During the Jonathan administration, the Aso Villa Chapel was a beehive of activities. That was because the former president, who was the political head of the chapel, is a Christian. The chapel, which was built by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is located between the Office of the First Lady and the President’s official residence inside the Villa.

While Jonathan’s tenure lasted, political jobbers and favour-seekers always besieged the place of worship either to get his attention or that of his influential wife, Patience.

Many government officials also adopted the chapel as their church. The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Ayo; and the Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Mr. Jide Adeniji were members of the Chapel Management Committee. A member of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, was also a prominent member of the chapel.
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The story will change with the coming on board of Buhari who is a Muslim. There is anxiety that the population of the chapel will drastically reduce. Jonathan himself made an allusion to this during the last presidential breakfast prayer held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Villa.

He said, “I expected a very low turnout because in most cases, when government is winding down, people reduce. You will notice that even in the chapel, the number of people that will be coming will become less and less. But when I came in, I noticed that this whole hall was filled up. So, I have to sincerely thank all of you.”

Although Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also a pastor, is expected to ensure that the chapel is not closed down, many observers believe that there is a limit to which he can go in ensuring the survival of the chapel under a President who is a Muslim, especially when the worship centre is closer to the President’s residence than his.

On the other hand, worshippers in the mosques within the seat of power will naturally increase under this dispensation. There are three mosques in the Aso Villa. While two are located inside two of the car parks in the villa, the last one is directly behind the President’s office.

Shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Buhari the winner of the March 28 presidential election, the population of those who pray inside the mosque behind the President’s office surged. This is in expectation that Buhari will be joining them to pray inside the mosque.

“When late President Umaru Yar’Adua was still alive and in charge, we worshipped together inside the mosque behind his office. After prayers, he would remain seated on the praying mat to listen to some of us.

“We are envisaging that President Buhari’s case will not be different. Therefore, we shall be meeting at the mosque,” a member of staff of the Presidential Villa, who spoke under the condition of anonymity told our correspondent.

One of the mosques may, however, suffer the same fate that is feared to be awaiting the chapel. This is the mosque located inside the Akinola Aguda House, the official residence of the Vice-President.

When former Vice-President Namadi Sambo was still in charge, visitors to his residence at any hour of prayer were welcomed by calls to prayer blaring from the loudspeakers mounted outside the mosque.

This is expected to change since the new occupant of the residence is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Even if he has a few Muslim domestic workers, observers say they may not carry out their prayers in a manner that will be seen to be disturbing their principal.

Another worker told our correspondent that the unwritten dress code in the Villa will change with the arrival of Buhari at the saddle. He said, “You will observe that when Jonathan was in power, being an Ijaw man, many aides and workers here were wearing the Ijaw traditional dresses. You will be seeing more of Hausa dressing and maybe a bit of Yoruba attire too,” she said.

Another thing that will change, according to staff in the administrative department, is the nature of visitors. Being the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, a large percentage of those visiting Jonathan were PDP chieftains or those sympathetic to the cause of the party. But with the turn of events now, most visitors will be APC members and their sympathisers.

The likes of former Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Aliyu Wamakko and Rabiu Kwankwaso, as well as Governor Abdufatah Ahmed who stopped visiting the villa after defecting from the PDP to the APC, will now be visiting since their new party has produced the President.

Also under ex-president Jonathan, meetings of two organs of the PDP: the Board of Trustees and the National Caucus were always held inside the banquet hall. This will definitely stop since the APC had thwarted the opposition party’s quest to continue in power.

There is also an expectation that the National Economic Council, which became divided under Sambo because of the leadership crisis that led to the factionalisation of the Nigerian Governors Forum, will now be meeting more regularly. The council, chaired by the Vice-President, has all state governors as members.

Under Jonathan, most governors who would be absent without representation at the NEC or Council of State meetings were APC governors. The tide will likely change.

In all, government is said to be a continuum, so many are expecting that apart from the few changes that will naturally come with a new government formed by a new party other than the party of the immediate past government, the new administration will not embark on a wild goose chase by changing policies that will favour the common man on the streets just for the purpose of “change.”