₦airaland Forum

AMINDA:
Atiku has challenged anyone who has any evidence of corruption against him to step forward. Neither yourself, Tinubu, or Obasanjo have done so. Obasanjo is only mad that Atiku stopped him from getting a third term. If Tinubu attempts the same (God forbid he wins re-election), Shettima will also oppose him. Northerners are not cowards, and they don't go through corners. When will Obasanjo write one of those famous letters he's known for to Tinubu? Where is Wole Soyinka?

You can only deceive those who don't read. Atiku is extremely corrupt. The problem is that if the government decides to go after him, it is people like you that would accuse the government of persecuting their political adversaries. We see how many of you have been accusing the government of persecuting El-Rufai, even after he confessed on national TV that he wiretapped the NSA's phone.

Please open the following link from the US Senate on their investigation into some of Atiku's corruptions: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/FOREIGNCORRUPTIONREPORTFINAL710.pdf

The top-level domain of the link I provided is .gov, implying that it is from the official US government domain. Click on the link, do Ctrl + F and type "Atiku".

Stories about Alpha Beta always trend every four years, close to elections since 2015.

israelmao:
Would you please assess the achievements and growths of these most indebted nations you compared with Nigeria as at the time they celebrated their 65th Independence Anniversary?

Nigeria is currently better than most of those countries were at 65. For context, many of them are many centuries old.

I don't understand your rationale for the question, but countries spend their way into development. If they need to take loans, they do that. The main reason for slow development in Nigeria is that we lack the infrastructure to support fast economic growth. Unfortunately, we don't have the revenue to do so.

A state in poor, developing country like Nigeria has no business saving $150 million. We need to spend on infrastructure like roads, ports, and electricity. We are way behind to be saving so much.

We should never commend anyone saving. Rather, we should commend politicians that spend money properly without stealing. The net gain for properly investing $150 million in a small state like Anambra is more than any that might be gotten from interest. It would have generational impact.

It is nothing to brag about in a developing country like Nigeria.

The fact that his supporters point to this as an achievement shows how intellectually deficient and mentally abused many Nigerians are. To them, saving such amount was good because he did not steal it.

The saved $150 million represent several wasted opportunities for improving Anambra. America is the wealthiest country in world, yet it is the most indebted. China with the second largest economy is also highly indebted. There is hardly any wealthy or advanced country in the world that is not highly indebted. The major reason is that development requires investment in infrastructure. When proper infrastructural investments are made, economies grow faster.

A state in a poor country like Nigeria saving $150 million is not a flex. Anambra didn't have the best hospitals, roads and schools in Nigeria when the money was saved. Saving such amount clearly shows that Obi lacks what it takes to take Nigeria from consumption to production. It shows him as someone who likes to play safe, and someone who can't think outside the box. He reminds me of the Biblical parable of the servant that went to hide his talent for safe keeping while his mates invested and multiplied thiers.

After thirteen years since he left office, what has become of the so called savings? A more inspiring leader would have invested the money in critical infrastructure that would turn the state around, and would have done so with high integrity and probity.

There is nothing about Obi's past that makes him more competent than other politicians in Nigeria.

The only reason I might vote for him is because he represents a tribe that has been marginalized at the national level. I also believe that an Igbo presidency could help heal some wounds we have in Nigeria. Other than that, Obi is just riding on vibes.

He talks so much about moving us from consumption to production and boosting domestic economy. Yet, he stashed million of dollars in tax havens. His personal wealth he kept in the Caribbean tax havens could employ hundreds of Nigerians if the money stayed within Nigeria.

His supporters claim Tinubu cornered Lagos. Obi tried the same in Anambra. The difference between him and Tinubu is that Tinubu "succeeded" in godfatherism but Obi "failed".

He also talks so much about saving money in Anambra. I don't view that positively as many of his supporters do. Most wealthy nations in the world have large debts. The reason is that they invest a lot in infrastructure which in turn would boost their economies. Can Obi tell the world that Anambra had the best hospitals or there were no schools with leaking roofs at the time he saved millions of dollars belonging to the state? Prosperous societies are usually not fiscally conservative as Obi has demonstrated.

In other words, Aisha is saying Obi should stop exposing himself to criticism. People should get him elected first and hold him accountable later.
I thought Obi was the best thing since sliced bread.

Aisha is actually advocating for the approach the Democrats used in 2020 to get a frail, incoherent Biden elected.

The fact is that the more Obi talks, the more incompetent he appears. What has carried Obi largely is vibes and not depth.

Biodun556:
https://www.youtube.com/live/rZzyO24bxws?si=GDzcUA_QxLEKIMJb

I knew it was a slip of the tongue immediately after he uttered it. He actually meant the police commissioners he worked with, although he did not appoint them.

The reason I would not grudge his enemies who have been dragging him for saying what he said and calling him a liar is because he and many of his supporters are also dishonest in how they criticize other politicians. They are the ones who convert Nigeria's external debt to naira to criticize the government on growing debt. In another breath, they would convert the minimum wage from naira back to dollars to tell a story of how little it is. They are the ones who request picture evidence whenever a success story is shared by the security forces in relation to bandits and boko haram. On the other hand, they don't ask for evidence when any negative story is shared about kidnapping or the government.

We are all playing politics. Let the trolling continue on all sides, and may the most prepared and strategic win.

Many world leaders smoke. Tinubu smoking is not a big deal.

Obama is a chain smoker. Although, he tried to scale it down during his presidency and resorted to nicotine gums at some point. He also did crack cocaine in his youth.

I don't smoke or drink alcohol but I don't judge people that do.

The lady in the X space made a salient point about Obidients whitewashing any politician, regardless of their pasts, as long as they support Obi. She gave an example of El-rufai, whom many Obidients started supporting and sympathizing with during the time Obi was a member of ADC.

Her non-support for Kwakwanso is purely based on principle. I wish we could have more people like her. She is the type that can lecture a Tinubu supporter on the moral baggage of Tinubu. The remaining 99% of Obidients, who claim to be fighting for a better Nigeria, don't have that moral high ground to do so.

I can never understand how Obidients easily forget the atrocities of El-rufai against the Southern Kaduna indigienes as a governor. This same El-rufai had several unprintable words for Obi and Igbos in the past. He is a known religious bigot and a Fulani supremacist. However, Obidients looked away and started defending him online the moment they found a common ground in ADC.

Goo0dHardDick:
If not that inec is frantically corrupt, Tinubu will come a distant 3rd in all states.

You need to leave your echo chamber. If you live around people where everyone is anti-Tinubu, you should also consider the tribe and religion of those people before you believe everyone is against him. This is the reason some of you think Tinubu lost 2023 elections. Nigeria is a plural, multiethnic, multireligious society. The sentiments in Anambra are polar opposite to the ones in Zamfara or Ogun.

The fact is that Tinubu has millions of people who genuinely believe in him. I mean people who do not directly benefit anything from him.

seunmsg:
Atiku has no structure in Kano. In 2023, he hit about 180k votes. With the current situation, he’s even worse off in the state.

Even with Kwakwanso on the top ballot in 2023, Tinubu came a very close second. In 2027, APC is extremely strong in the state while the Kwakwanso movement has been seriously depleted. A one man kwakwanso who is now playing second fiddle to an Ibo Christian is at his weakest point. Tinubu will either win Kano or lose the state marginally like 2023. Atiku will come very distant third as his party is very weak in the state.

I understand where you are coming from. However, politicians like Kwakwanso have huge egos. He will do everything within his power to make the OK ticket win Kano, including with vote buying and rigging. As for Atiku, I still believe he might do better than Tinubu in Kano. There is an anti-Tinubu pitch going strong in the North today. This is not 2023.

Overall, I still believe Tinubu will win 2027 elections. Tinubu is a street politician and he will do everything to win.

Tinubu will come first or second in almost every state in Nigeria in 2027. The SE states where Tinubu will not win, he will come a distant second. He will come first or second in the SS states. He will win all the six SW states. The only state Tinubu might not come first or second is Kano. I believe Obi will win Kano and Atiku will come second.

Tinubu coming first or second in over thirty states is a big plus for him. In some states, he will even come close second. Since we don't practice the America-styled electoral college system in Nigeria, coming second in a state is not necessarily bad. Tinubu came second in Lagos in 2023, yet his highest votes from any state came from Lagos.

I am not totally predicting a Tinubu win in 2027. But, you can interpret my earlier points whichever way you like.

POV25:
Talent and capital move in tandem...

With the capital, you can always get the talent.

The CEO of Dangote refinery is an Australian with top 1% experience is the midstream and upstream sector of the oil industry. Dangote used a lot of money to drag him to Nigeria.

Akir2025:
We won't Agree . Nigeria must be Inclusive ..Maitama ,Asokoro ,Banana Island ,Eko Atlantic .VGC the Cities that houses these places must be Included .

You have not idea what it means to be a dollar-billionaire. It is not measured by beautiful houses in choice places. It has a lot to do with the output of your enterprises.

I hope Nigerians who can't see beyond government's ownership of enterprises can learn something from this information.

There is a strong correlation between the economic growth of any nation and the number of billionaires it has. As the Chinese economy grows, the number of billionaires in China grows. It is the case in any economically buoyant country.

The economy of most working countries in the world are run by entrepreneurs who are able to deploy capital into various sectors of their economies. These entrepreneurs are usually big dreamers and ambitious.

Nigeria has a few like Dangote, Otedola, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Adenuga, and even Elumelu. Nigerians don't appreciate these people due to jealousy, and the uninformed belief that large scale businesses should be owned by the government. Unknown to many people, Nigeria need many of these big dreamers for us to thrive economically as a nation. We need them in large scale commercial farming, power generation, information technology, hi-tech engineering, real estate, healthcare, and so on.

One of the reasons we don't have constant power in Nigeria is because we don't have enough private sector participation in generation. We have been conditioned to think that it is only the duty of the government. I used to believe it too, until I conducted a research on power generation in most developed countries, and I realized that most are driven by the private sector. In fact, with the exception of the US, the top capitalized companies in many advanced stock exchanges in the world are utility companies.

The US is nothing without the private sector. The best universities (Ivy League + MIT , Stanford e.t.c) in the US are private. The best hospitals like Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, e.t.c are private. The largest employer of labor in the US are private companies. The electricity used in most homes are provided by the private sector.

We need to embrace the private sector more in Nigeria for the country to work better.

A classic case of a confused lady trying to decide who to go for between a rich guy with a tiny D and an "endowed" broke guy.

All the three reservations she raised are very valid, especially the first one. The reason she is sounding confused is the social standing of the guy. He is the son of a deputy governor for goodness sake.

I support Kwakwanso on this. We need to hold some of these religious charlatans accountable for their reckless speeches and actions.

Sometimes, I wish Nigeria were a nation of atheists. I know we would not have the insecurity in the North, driven largely by religious fundamentalism. Citizens would hold the government more accountable, and individuals would hold themselves accountable as well. We would live more peacefully with our family members because no one would be anxious about being bewitched. We would live more peacefully as a nation and bemore respectful of each other's rights.

Primate Ayodele is a public nuisance.

givedemwotowoto:
What would you say if some people showed you evidence of slavery happening back in the day, as their reason for having a slave today, and then says you're being ridiculous by complaining about it?

Take a moment and imagine the mindset you're using to live your daily life. The same mindset most Tinubu supporters have as people in government today. There is no meaningful development of society that can come from this mindset.

Your excuse is that previous governments did it so Nigerians should get used to it? Didn't Nigerians vote out previous governments on the promise of change from Tinubu's government? What meaningful change has occurred from what previous governments did that necessitated change of government to APC?

cc IGBOPROMISE1

I want you to know that I am not supporting vote buying. It is terrible for our democracy.

However, my point is that it has been part of us even before 1999. The Premium Times article I added in my post you quoted even claimed that votes were bought in the 1993 elections. It must never be made a partisan issue like the opposition are making it. Those people (especially the former governors and senators) in opposition have benefitted from vote buying in the past as well. They only complain when there is a higher bidder. Vote buying is not uncommon in poor developing countries like Nigeria. It used to be a thing in the US many decades ago.

I believe we all need to fight votes buying, but I can't stand the hypocrisy of the opposition on the matter.

IGBOPROMISE1:
Can you provide a link to a news report, before the ascension of APC/Buhari/Tinubu to power in 2015, that spoke of the then ruling party engaging in vote buying on election day….or their agents lecturing voters in the polling booth on how to thumbprint? Can you also provide a link to a report during the period in question showing any PDP party apparatchik receiving one or more bullion vans at their residence on election day or a day prior?

No one is saying there wasn’t blatant rigging or the overbearing presence of the state in electioneering during the period in question. What we’re saying is that the spectre of vote buying (whether with naira, loaves of bread, indomie, garri or odourless fufu) became a feature of our elections in Nigeria no thanks to the APC and its two owners Buhari and Tinubu! Keen observers may have noticed the gradual improvement in the conduct and transparency of elections in Nigeria….especially during the GEJ years, but everything began to go downhill from the period APC started organising elections in the country!



You can’t take over from a previous party/gov’t while touting your saintly credentials then end up not only reverting all the gains made in the effort to conduct transparent, free and fair elections in the country, but also making things much worse than they had ever been in the past (1999-2015)!

The fact is that most of you that are vocal on social media don't understand Nigerian politics very deeply. You are too young to understand. If you believe votes buying started in 2015, then I can tell that you are very ignorant and you need to calm down where others are discussing politics.

I "benefitted" directly from votes buying in 2003(23 years ago). How old were you then?

Anyway, you asked for credible links showing votes buying started before 2015. Here are some:

1. Reuters, 2007: https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/nigerian-elections-not-credible-eu-observers-idUSL23238515/
2. UN report , 2005: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/552132/files/E_CN.4_Sub.2_2005_18-EN.pdf
3. EISA report 2007: https://www.eisa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2007-journal-of-african-elections-v6n2-vote-buying-nigeria-assessment-2007-general-elections-eisa.pdf
4. Premium Times, 2019: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/325718-nigerias-freest-election-witnessed-vote-buying-worth-n120m-to-n1bn-group.html?tztc=1

truthera:
APC vote vendors? I've said it here on several occasions that 2027 election is gone as nothing will change. Nigerians youths have lost it.... The few sane people left in the contraption who still value their future and self-respect must demand for referendum towards dissolution or regional autonomy to stand a chance of surviving and enjoying good governance in the near future.... As it stands, it is glaring now that there is nothing left, the contraption is finished.....

In 2023, they blamed BVAS and the INEC server. When they saw that both worked in Ekiti, and APC won in a landslide, they shifted gear and started blaming vote buying.

The fact is that you can never get that perfect election you are looking for. Vote buying has been part of us before some of the vocal ones online were born. It is one of the disadvantages of democracy and voting in a society with high poverty rate. Deal with it.

The opposition is always looking for what to blame for their electoral failures. You think the Obi and Kwakwanso have never benefitted from vote buying before, especially in their gubernatorial campaigns?

givedemwotowoto:

"APC for life. 15,000 Naira per vote, don't whine me."

-A young woman who voted APC in Ekiti governorship election yesterday celebrates that she sold her vote to APC vote vendors. pic.twitter.com/oMK9sZz7hX

— OurFaveOnlineDoc 🇬🇧 🇳🇬 (@OurFavOnlineDoc) June 21, 2026

Let's not pretend that vote buying started today. The opposition are desperately using every unpalatable thing we grew up to know about Nigeria to tarnish the current APC government.

I saw votes being bought for the first time in 2003 governorship election in my state. It was a strong contest between the PDP and AD candidates then. Cash were openly used to buy voters. In fact, I was given money then too by one of those party agents, though I didn't vote. In the last election in Anambra and other non-APC states, votes were bought too.

The funny thing is that, in most cases, both the party in power and the opposition induce voters or buy votes. The party that loses out is usually the one that screams blue murder on social media. I also believe that the most popular candidate wins at the end of the day.

While vote buying is condemnable, it is dishonest to make it a partisan issue. We can fight many ills in our society if we confront them in a nonpartisan manner. I think vote buying is one of them.

AMINDA:
Why are you dwelling in the past where votes were written out of thin air? We had more votes registered then than we currently have today, and that's an anomaly. BVAS cleaned up the system, but INEC under Tinubu's regime is fast taking us back to the dark days by neglecting BVAS in the electoral process.

You are very correct. I wrote a similar comment before reading yours. Elections held between 1999 and 2011 were totally unreliable.

jmoore:
Despite Obasanjo beating Olu Falae in 1999 presidential election, it's interesting to know that Olu Falae got 979,997 votes in southeast.
24 years later in 2023, Peter Obi got about 849,000 votes in the Southwest.

I don't know the intention behind this thread. But, the comparison is unfair. The 1999 - 2011 elections are the most corruptly done in Nigeria. Election results were mostly written. As compromised as the last elections might be, they are still miles ahead of those conducted between 1999 - 2011. This is the reason you don't see those massive numbers like before. During that time, the voter turnout was usually well above 90%, which is unrealistic, even in advanced democracies like America, Canada, Germany, e.t.c.

The figures Falae or Obasanjo got in 1999 are totally unreliable. If you insist on doing the comparison, then, it will be scientifically fair and sound to compare the percentages those figures represent in their respective election cycles.

TUANKU:
The Ibo man/woman is a very dedicated person in anything they are engaged in, their level of commitment and hard work is amazing. Yes a few scums among them sadly channel this energy to criminal ventures but it takes nothing away from the fact.
Some of the best Nigerian professionals in SIEM related fields both home and abroad are Ibo.
At University of East London we had one Ibo guy in Electrical engineering who was a ex student of UNN, dude was so good he became an assistant to his department head by year 2.

Why not just congratulate her and move on? You don't need to use this great news as an opportunity to propagate tribalism.

There are Nigerians doing well in every area of life abroad. They come from all backgrounds.

I am fortunate to know many of them here in the US, and I can confidently tell you that their distribution is not as skewed towards a tribe as you try to make it seem. I have had a non-Nigerian in-law of mine, who graduated from Harvard, tell me that most of the Nigerians he met there were Yoruba.

Trust me, there are many Nigerians doing great things abroad, regardless of their tribes. One of the most outstanding Nigerians I met during my graduate studies in the US is a Fulani guy from Katsina. He is currently doing great things in Silicon Valley.

So much pettiness from the so-called Emir. I would have appreciated it if he was more vocal in the criticism of the bandits.

The silence of these Fulani Emirs in the face of the recent attacks by bandits is striking.

Ironfaceman:
Super Eagles Players And Coaching Crew Rush To Meet Ronaldo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubu-xEAaQdQ

I didn't see any rush in the video. I only saw players and officials extending post-match courtesies and greetings to themselves.

givedemwotowoto:
APC and their associates are all over trying to link Obi, meanwhile none of the people who were asked to pay N10 million has mentioned Obi's name

How does this concern APC? You need to seek help before it's too late.

Kenneth Okonkwo can never be trusted. His friends should be careful of him. The way he switch from being a passionate defender of Obi to his most virulent critic needs to be studied at Cambridge.

The fact that he shared private chats to the public just to defend himself and get out of the trouble his uncouth mouth put him is baffling.

I have no respect for people like that. Atiku should be careful around him.

This Kenneth na mumu. Where is Obi's name written on the receipt? That last time I checked, Obi was not the founder nor the owner of NDC. I hope Obi presses on with the suit.

While Obi is not my top choice for 2027, I detest mouths-for-hire like Okonkwo. I can remember how he was passionately defending Obi in the wake of 2023 election, only for him to make a U-turn a year after. His U-turn is sharp, extreme, and disrespectful. If Atiku, whom he currently surrogates for, is wise, he would not trust him. I know politics is mostly about personal interest, but the players should at least show some class and decorum.

Tenses:
You can not bastardize the naira with terrible policies and expect not to be judged by the same naira you made useless.

The true story of tinubu borrowing spree lies on the naira.

The best way to counter this perceived "LIES" is to strengthen the naira and watch how these lies fade away.

But until then.

Nah dollars you dey use buy one bushel of rice for Abakaliki ricemill?

A strong local currency is overrated. It does not necessarily make a citizen poor or the economy bad. The naira today has more value than the South Korean won, yet South Korea is one of the richest in the world. The currency of Indonesia, the country Obi likes to talk about as a standard is significantly weaker than naira. In fact 1USD = 18,000 Indonesian Rupiah. The Japanese yen is signifcantly weaker than the South African rand, yet Japan is far more wealthier than South Africa.

There is nothing really bad with devaluation. Rather, it is much needed for a country like Nigeria. We are just experiencing the initial shock of devaluation. The economy and people's wages will adjust properly to the relatively new naira in the coming months or years.

This Kenneth na mumu. Where is Obi's name written on the receipt? That last time I checked, Obi was not the founder nor the owner of NDC. I hope Obi presses on with the suit.