₦airaland Forum

My friend, Paul, told me that Dr Reuben Abati is trying to get back to his default mode – a hardcore government critic. That he has started by writing on some kind of irrelevant things. Recently, Abati has written about pop artist Davido, a dead lion, a minister’s shoes and some other things Paul felt were irrelevant. Paul told me to watch out that in 3 years Dr Abati will resume his role of a critic. A very informed critic of course. I think what Paul was trying to say was that since Dr Abati does not have the moral right to start criticizing the current government, at least for now since he just left office, he is simply buying time. Well, I have since ‘defriended’ Paul on my social media accounts for saying such things about Abati. I really love Dr Reuben Abati. LOL.

Today, I will look at one of the things Dr Abati said about his former boss that got me thinking. Thus, just as I enrolled for a PhD research programme to study President Buhari, I took up another research programme to study former President Jonathan. Please note that the purpose of this thesis is not to praise nor say things that are already well-known about Dr Jonathan. This is because a good PhD research does not discuss things that are well-known as its findings. Even if it does, it brings in another perspective.

Did you know that Dr Jonathan was a voracious reader? Great leaders are voracious readers. To be honest, I wasn’t among the people who sang Dr Jonathan’s praises while he was in office. Thus, I did not know this until Abati said it recently. Lest I forget, for those people, who honestly sang his praises while he was in office, they should be proud of themselves because they did what they believed in. For those who praised him because of what they could get from him, and have since left him, I have a word for you. Nobody likes fair weather friends, even President Buhari doesn’t like them either. Now back to the current matter. I never knew Dr Jonathan read a lot. I understand he made sure his ministers read new books regularly and discussed these books at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings. I pity those ministers who didn’t like readying. The day Mrs. Mobalaji Johnson, the class prefect, had to discuss and review one of the books they read must have been the most boring day ever at the FEC meetings for some ministers.

Of course for those minsters, days when they had to present the memo for that new contract in their ministries must have been their most pleasurable days. Dr Jonathan knew that reading maketh a man. He knew that great leaders like Obama are voracious readers, thus, he wanted to imbibe that culture in his ministers. He knew that new ideas could come from books. He really wanted to change the country. But, I am afraid I think some of his ministers didn’t read those books. Their personal assistants read those books and summarized it for them. Little wonder that some ministers disappointed Dr Jonathan. Though, the buck they say, stops at the president’s table. My model tells me Dr Jonathan would argue that if as an entrepreneur and some of your employees are bent on sabotaging your efforts, there is little you might be able to do.

Jonathan is actually a strong intellectual, in fact, an Intellectual giant. I was fooled that he was clueless and not smart. What a fool I was! Now, let me give you one example of the former president’s intellect. Can you remember during the campaigns he implied that the number of private jets at our airports were an indication that the country was doing well. Oh no, hell broke loose! Commentators started calling him names. But they were actually not in the same intellectual realm as he was. Do you know that in the US, the kind of argument that Dr Jonathan presented is what really differentiates the Republicans from the Democrats. The Republicans believe that the more billionaires you have in a country, the better the country will be. These billionaires will employ lots of people and pay some taxes which will help the country.

They don’t believe in killing the rich with excessive taxes. The Democrats, on the other hand, believe that the more taxes these rich people pay, the better the country. Thus, the more money goes round the country – wealth will be well redistributed. Some hardcore Democrats even hate rich people and might advocate for a tax system that might crumble the rich (just as some Nigerians hate the super-rich, they strongly believe they must have made their money from rent seeking and government patronages). I must admit that this fundamental difference is now blurred in modern day American politics. Dr Jonathan was a Republican at heart. He had a philosophy and an ideology. Intellectually, on this matter, he was ahead off those who called him names. He is a Doctor of Philosophy. For those looking for his certificate at his Alma Mater, stop fooling yourselves.

For those who claim that Jonathan paid his party supporters at conventions and primaries, I would like to enlighten you a bit. Do you know that it has recently been reported that Donald Trump paid actors $50 to cheer for him at his 2016 announcement (note: lots of Americans love Trump). I do not know how true this is but it is everywhere in the news. Let it be known, at this juncture, that I didn’t say Dr Jonathan paid anyone. I say this as a researcher because I don’t want to sound biased. So, since it has not been proven, I do not know if he gave anyone money. Though in my thesis I quoted people like Pastor Tunde Bakare.

Dr Jonathan is truly a man of peace. I am not going to bore you with examples of how he handed over power to Buhari. Neither am I going to tell you of how the country would have collapsed had he not handed over to President Buhari. Everything from that historic phone call is well-known. Have you noticed that former president Jonathan avoids making sensational comments? My model was able to predict that there were some sensational comments some of his kinsmen wanted him to make that would have set the country on fire, but he refused. This prediction from our research really surprised my supervisor and I. We were not expecting such results. No wonder he is setting up a foundation to promote peace.

There are some actions former President Jonathan took that he might have to explain in his memoir (especially on some well-publicized corruption allegations). There are also some people he should have long asked to leave his cabinet that he didn’t ask to leave. I am sure when our taciturn former president finally speaks everything will be clearer. Though, my results from my research tell me that if he were not looking for a second term, he would have been much stricter with some people. My model, however, could not explain why Dr Jonathan reportedly signed large import waivers for rice in his final days in office. I guess this is one of the limitations of my work and I believe the former president will clarify this when he finally speaks.

For those who expected the verdict of this thesis to be very hard on Dr Jonathan, I would like to refer you to Chapter 2 of my work, the literature review. In the literature review, I quoted Archbishop Mathew Kukah. The archbishop was quoted as saying that from his experience he has never met any Nigerian leader that set out to destroy Nigeria. The problem, therefore, is that some decisions they thought were right might turn out not to be the best decisions at some point. My research also revealed that not every Buhari’s supporter is mad at the former president. I am sure you are surprised by this finding!

In conclusion, I would like to give an advice to my amiable president, Muhammadu Buhari. My president you know I sincerely want you to succeed, if you are in doubt read my article on understanding your mindset. Please, Sir, no matter the level of provocation, people like Dr Jonathan have to be preserved. The continent needs him, Nigeria needs him. Can’t you see that the Americans have discovered him and are busy giving him awards? I am sure what they know of him now, they did not know before.

Full work on former President Jonathan can be found in my full thesis. Please, don’t ask me about the institution I conducted my research in!

Dr Nwankwo lives in Benin City

Follow us on twitter @thecableng

One of the friends of Idoma nation and a former lawmaker, Senator Mallam Mujitab, from Jigawa State has described the embattled former Senate President, Senator David Mark as the “number one politician in Idomaland, stating that any attempt by the Idomas to replace him with another person will amount to political retrogression.” He made this known in Abuja on Wednesday while speaking exclusively to DAILY POST. Senator Mujitab while speaking advised Idoma league of editors and publishers to take the message to the Idoma nation at the grassroots in order to mobilize support for Senator David Mark in the February re-run. Speaking on Senator Mark’s achievements and national recognition, Senator Mujitab said Mark has succeeded in putting Idoma nation on a national political scale and recognition, while also building bridges across Nigerian political scenes for the Idoma nation. According to him “Senator David Mark’s national political standing has put the Idoma nation on a national political recognition and standing due to his various achievements in terms of his famous steps to stabilize the National Assembly and his ability to build bridges across the various stakeholders within our national polity. “The Idoma nation has succeeded in producing somebody who has built bridges up across the nation. Mark is somebody who is even on the verge of becoming the next president. It’s not a close secret. Everybody knows this fact. Various stakeholders within the Nigerian polity know Senator Mark as somebody with credibility who has built national goodwill, somebody with national standing. “And to add, it is going to be the greatest political retrogression in this political dispensation, if Idoma as a nation makes the grave mistake to substitute Senator Mark with a small boy who people will not listen to. Quote me anywhere, it is going to be the greatest political retrogression. Speaking on how disappointing it would be to the entire nation should Mark not returned to the senate, Mujitab said it will be mockery of the Idoma nation at the state level in particular and at the federal level in general. He said,, “if now, Idoma as a nation, with all the intellectuals, with all the academicians, and with all the political experienced people would even attempt to do away with Senator Mark and bring a new person, then I think it will become a laughing stock in the Nigerian political scene. “People will laugh and say, these people, what do they need? They substituted somebody who has gathered national solidarity, national appeal, national political goodwill? Somebody who is among national discourse that people are even suggesting he could go for presidency? And now they are bringing somebody who will start from ground zero?” Senator Mallam Mujitab, skilled in political happenings, deeply lamented at what is going on in Idoma nation, noting that it is politically saddened that Idoma nation does not recognize the value of their nationally accepted number one man. He added that such thing cannot happen in his place. Comparing his own place, he said, “in my place, this type of thing will not even come up. Nobody will even contemplate on removing somebody who has built bridges, who is an asset to that nation and an asset to that community and bring somebody who will just come and learn the work at that particular time. We don’t play this type of politics in my area, to be honest.” He advised Idoma nation saying, “therefore, I think, this message must be extended to all well meaning sons and daughters of the Idoma nation. “The achievement you have recorded in politics, the standing you have at the national level now demand that you must not bring somebody that is of lesser status of David Mark. ‘’If at all, Idoma nation must change, why changing from somebody who has created history to somebody who is just a starter? “If anybody is saying let’s change Mark, then change him for somebody who is more credible, nationally accepted, who can fight for the course of Idoma nation, who can talk and people will listen to him, somebody who has made the connection here and there, somebody who can reach out. “If you lose the federal leverage, you have already lost at the state level. The only leverage Idoma nation has now is the quality of representation in terms of somebody who has become a national political figure. This is nothing but the truth!” ‘’This is a general opinion of friends of Idoma nation. It is the talk of town. The question we are asking is, who is that man that is contesting with the number one Idoma political figure?” Subscribe free to Daily Post Newsletter Subscribe Email Address

It depend on the area of operation. If its on land, the army; on water, navy; on air, airforce. If its a joint operation, then service number will be used.

VickyRotex:
Lol. I'm not Ishan.

What's the meaning of what you said?

Thought you are. It means "i greet you my sister. Shake my hand!".

It is either I do not understand economics and how exchange rates work or a vast majority of us Nigerians still don’t get how we have wrecked our country with our own curious choices. Just this morning I was listening to the radio and the lady on air went on and on about how she thought CBN governor Godwin Emefiele was incompetent and should be sacked because the naira was now exchanging at 309 or so to the USD. That view pretty much echoes the sentiments expressed by many people I know and it amazes me that there are Nigerians who actually think there is some magic POLICY that can make the naira strong in the near term. If my economics and my understanding of the way the world works are right, then that is as far from the truth as Jesus Christ is black.

The simple fact of the matter is that apart from oil that accounts for over 90% of our revenues, we really don’t have much of an economy. We hardly produce anything, we import even toothpicks, so exactly what policy is going to be implemented that will turn Nigeria into a top exporting economy in the near term? Where are our Apples, IBMs, Disneys, GMs, General Electrics, Coca Colas, Empire State buildings, Statues of Liberties, Lockheeds, Citibanks, JP Morgans, ExxonMobils, NBAs, Super Bowls etc?

Let me bring that closer home. There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar - even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) - fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenisation Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians.Back then we had a booming economy. We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Platueau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students. We had different car assembly plants - Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had a thriving sports industry. We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world. In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today. Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News. Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on.

Today however, no thanks to our parents (and we must call them out the way Wole Soyinka did his generation) and many of us (and we should be remembered for failing our children if we continue like this), we have destroyed everything. Today for instance Nigerian football (which comes easy to me obviously) doesn’t appeal to us, we have to fly across thousands of miles to watch ‘our’ clubs play. Every year we collectively burn billions of naira being fans of clubs that give us nothing back, but some ‘entertainment value’ - simple pleasures for which we are ready to destroy the future of our children. Well people, payback time is here. Even with our ta-she-re money we all want to wear designer clothes and carry designer bags, Armani, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton etc. We all want to drive jeeps with American specs, our children must now school overseas and acquire the necessary accents to come back home and bamboozle their ‘bush and crass’ contemporaries that they left behind. Who holidays in Nigeria anymore, is there Disneyland here? No one buys made-in-Nigeria school bags for their children, after all no Superman or Incredible Hulk or Cinderella on them. We are no longer top exporters of anything and the demise of oil means we have zilch... zero. A country of 170m fashion-conscious people has no textile industry. We take delight in showing how our made-in-Switzerland Aso Ebi is different class to everyone else’s. When we help our musicians grow and pay them millions, they repay us by immediately shipping the monies overseas to produce their “i-don-dey-different-level”music videos. It makes no difference that distinctly Zulu dancers are dancing to a Nigerian highlife song. As stars concerned they also wed and holiday overseas to impress us all. All the musicians who acknowledge their Ajegunle roots now speak in a cocktail of strange accents to symbolise how much they have blown their monies overseas.

Were we a more serious people, the highly popular Kingsway Stores of the past would probably have a thousand outlets pan Nigeria today supporting a massive agriculture industry among others, but today we have the likes of SPAR, Shoprite, dominating the retail industry while Kingsway is dead. And we Nigerians make it a special point to shop from the Oyibos who have ‘cleaner shops’, ‘better this and better that’. For our personal pleasure we don’t mind them dominating us in our own backyard and shipping proceeds overseas.

I could go on and on, but I don tire. Even as you are reading this, stop for a moment and look around you. What you see will probably explain why we are lucky it is not N1000 to the USD yet. And don’t think for a moment that it cannot get there. Just continue to wear your Armani gear and Swiss-made lace, continue to spend your money on Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barca and encourage your children to do same. (My article in This Day tomorrow is on the Nigerian champions Enyimba FC - Nigeria’s most successful club - not having a sponsor, yet Nigerian brands pay over N600m to Man United and Arsenal for sponsorship to impress us.) Ehhh, no problem, continue to tell me the NPFL is rubbish or the clubs should clean up their act if they want sponsorship, mo gbo. Don’t curtail your interest in choice wines ( we were the number one champagne consumers in the world in 2015), continue to love your American specs, cheer the education ministry for letting schools sink to pitiable levels, don’t fight them to improve our schools, don’t chide them for letting schools drop Nigerian history and embrace British, America and whatever else curricula. Carry on with your love of French wines and Chinese silk, don’t bother about Jamiu Alli when there is Roger Federer. Stock up on your Italian, American, British products which you cannot live without, including the ‘baby soft’ toilet rolls produced only in that small unique village in England - the days are long gone since you were a broke student who used wet newspapers to wipe your butt. Don’t even consider holidaying in Nigeria, it’s too dangerous - you have to fulfill your dream of being Nigeria’s Henry Ford. Don’t listen to people like me who have a wardrobe full of only cheap adire that is actually cheaper than just one of your Tom Ford blazers. Please keep dressing in fine silk made in some exotic place so you can be addressed accordingly. Finally keep letting corrupt leaders who have looted your commonwealth and shipped all the monies overseas get away because to attack them does not fit your political narrative. Let us continue with the fine life, let us all continue to work for Oyibo.

But don’t forget that there is payback time and Emefiele is not your problem. Time for us all to look in the mirror.

KENNETH EZAGA·FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2016

KENNETH EZAGA·FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2016

 

 

It is either I do not understand economics and how exchange rates work or a vast majority of us Nigerians still don’t get how we have wrecked our country with our own curious choices. Just this morning I was listening to the radio and the lady on air went on and on about how she thought CBN governor Godwin Emefiele was incompetent and should be sacked because the naira was now exchanging at 309 or so to the USD. That view pretty much echoes the sentiments expressed by many people I know and it amazes me that there are Nigerians who actually think there is some magic POLICY that can make the naira strong in the near term. If my economics and my understanding of the way the world works are right, then that is as far from the truth as Jesus Christ is black.

The simple fact of the matter is that apart from oil that accounts for over 90% of our revenues, we really don’t have much of an economy. We hardly produce anything, we import even toothpicks, so exactly what policy is going to be implemented that will turn Nigeria into a top exporting economy in the near term? Where are our Apples, IBMs, Disneys, GMs, General Electrics, Coca Colas, Empire State buildings, Statues of Liberties, Lockheeds, Citibanks, JP Morgans, ExxonMobils, NBAs, Super Bowls etc?

Let me bring that closer home. There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar - even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) - fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenisation Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians.Back then we had a booming economy. We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Platueau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students. We had different car assembly plants - Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had a thriving sports industry. We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world. In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today. Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News. Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on.

Today however, no thanks to our parents (and we must call them out the way Wole Soyinka did his generation) and many of us (and we should be remembered for failing our children if we continue like this), we have destroyed everything. Today for instance Nigerian football (which comes easy to me obviously) doesn’t appeal to us, we have to fly across thousands of miles to watch ‘our’ clubs play. Every year we collectively burn billions of naira being fans of clubs that give us nothing back, but some ‘entertainment value’ - simple pleasures for which we are ready to destroy the future of our children. Well people, payback time is here. Even with our ta-she-re money we all want to wear designer clothes and carry designer bags, Armani, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton etc. We all want to drive jeeps with American specs, our children must now school overseas and acquire the necessary accents to come back home and bamboozle their ‘bush and crass’ contemporaries that they left behind. Who holidays in Nigeria anymore, is there Disneyland here? No one buys made-in-Nigeria school bags for their children, after all no Superman or Incredible Hulk or Cinderella on them. We are no longer top exporters of anything and the demise of oil means we have zilch... zero. A country of 170m fashion-conscious people has no textile industry. We take delight in showing how our made-in-Switzerland Aso Ebi is different class to everyone else’s. When we help our musicians grow and pay them millions, they repay us by immediately shipping the monies overseas to produce their “i-don-dey-different-level”music videos. It makes no difference that distinctly Zulu dancers are dancing to a Nigerian highlife song. As stars concerned they also wed and holiday overseas to impress us all. All the musicians who acknowledge their Ajegunle roots now speak in a cocktail of strange accents to symbolise how much they have blown their monies overseas.

Were we a more serious people, the highly popular Kingsway Stores of the past would probably have a thousand outlets pan Nigeria today supporting a massive agriculture industry among others, but today we have the likes of SPAR, Shoprite, dominating the retail industry while Kingsway is dead. And we Nigerians make it a special point to shop from the Oyibos who have ‘cleaner shops’, ‘better this and better that’. For our personal pleasure we don’t mind them dominating us in our own backyard and shipping proceeds overseas.

I could go on and on, but I don tire. Even as you are reading this, stop for a moment and look around you. What you see will probably explain why we are lucky it is not N1000 to the USD yet. And don’t think for a moment that it cannot get there. Just continue to wear your Armani gear and Swiss-made lace, continue to spend your money on Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barca and encourage your children to do same. (My article in This Day tomorrow is on the Nigerian champions Enyimba FC - Nigeria’s most successful club - not having a sponsor, yet Nigerian brands pay over N600m to Man United and Arsenal for sponsorship to impress us.) Ehhh, no problem, continue to tell me the NPFL is rubbish or the clubs should clean up their act if they want sponsorship, mo gbo. Don’t curtail your interest in choice wines ( we were the number one champagne consumers in the world in 2015), continue to love your American specs, cheer the education ministry for letting schools sink to pitiable levels, don’t fight them to improve our schools, don’t chide them for letting schools drop Nigerian history and embrace British, America and whatever else curricula. Carry on with your love of French wines and Chinese silk, don’t bother about Jamiu Alli when there is Roger Federer. Stock up on your Italian, American, British products which you cannot live without, including the ‘baby soft’ toilet rolls produced only in that small unique village in England - the days are long gone since you were a broke student who used wet newspapers to wipe your butt. Don’t even consider holidaying in Nigeria, it’s too dangerous - you have to fulfill your dream of being Nigeria’s Henry Ford. Don’t listen to people like me who have a wardrobe full of only cheap adire that is actually cheaper than just one of your Tom Ford blazers. Please keep dressing in fine silk made in some exotic place so you can be addressed accordingly. Finally keep letting corrupt leaders who have looted your commonwealth and shipped all the monies overseas get away because to attack them does not fit your political narrative. Let us continue with the fine life, let us all continue to work for Oyibo.

But don’t forget that there is payback time and Emefiele is not your problem. Time for us all to look in the mirror.

KENNETH EZAGA·FRIDAY, 15 JANUARY 2016

VickyRotex:
We ose
We Ose
We elolo ni re daghe
We isahan ni retu jodea
We ilolo nimeze
Era no tuo oha tuamea
Bikwe whonle ni a rere o
Medigwe me roe abba
We Ose

Girl are you Ishan?
Me tuee obhio, sobor!

Op are you sure about those allocations? We were told Fashola's ministry of power, housing and works had the highest allocation followed by Amaechi's transport. Why has their allocations been reduced significantly?

Una don come again! A promise you will later deny. Bloody hypocrites!

Seun:
We did. Home page posts are usually edited lightly. We improve the title, add better sources and pictures, etc.

Shoo! That means you guys can do anything with any post! Is this legal? One should be careful what he posts or how he comments on issues on Nairaland. Your words can be twisted.

authenticjimmy:
Can someone help... I culd nt find UniAbuja in d list.

UniAbuja is in 61

Great Unimaid! Inspite of Boko Haram! Imagine where University of Maiduguri would have been if there were no insurgency there. I am a proud alumni. Made in Unimaid. When peace returns we shall climb to the zenith!

Elose11:
Source: https://twitter.com/EiENigeria



Source: https://twitter.com/EiENigeria

Mod please investigate who tampered with my post. The post was edited by someone. The heading of my post wasn't this. Though the message is the same. I am surprised that my nairaland account can be hacked and my post edited. Can someone please tell me how this is possible?

Source: https://twitter.com/EiENigeria

#BBOGReengagesPMB: @MBuhari was visibly angry. He spoke in English & Hausa. Stormed out of the hall. No pictures or time spent with parents.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYropOrWwAA1N8R.jpg

#BBOGReengagesPMB: @obyezeks charges us to be 'hopeful'. The NSA has taken up the responsibility to communicate.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYsDy_zWEAAD-nx.jpg

#BBOGReengagesPMB: The mood & tone of the July 8th meeting was much warmer than today's meeting. @MBuhari was cold.
#BringBackOurGirls

Esther, a parent, said "no matter what conditions our daughters are in; we want them like that!"
#BBOGReengagesPMB
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYsGXj4WEAA7v34.jpg

#BBOGReengagesPMB: @obyezeks takes each element of the #Abuja core values to re-emphasize why the movement must stay strong & focused.

Mr @MBuhari missed a golden opportunity to connect 'emotionally' with the #ChibokParents.
#BBOGReengagesPMB
The demand continues...

".@MBuhari doesn't understand the magnitude of #ChibokParents & community members SELF-FUNDING their trip to Abuja." - @BukkyShonibare

.@BBOG_Nigeria's #FOI request for the report of the fact-finding committee on the #Chibok abduction & the insurgency has been declined.

Source: https://twitter.com/EiENigeria

I have been following the so called Dasukigate and I am amazed how easy it is for a government to use the media to deceive and distract the ignorant masses. History has shown that propaganda remains the biggest tool of any government that intends to enslave a people. Unfortunately, even the current opposition has been quite incompetent in putting the records straight.

For the records, there is nothing like a $2.1B arms money. It was a propaganda masterstroke well concocted by the DSS
and EFCC to distract everyone from the incompetence of the
Buhari administration. That is why former president Goodluck Jonathan has come out twice now to put the
records straight that he never approved any $2.1B arms money. But it seems the ignorant masses still dont get it.

So where did the "$2.1B arms money" headline originate from?

$2.1B was the monies that was allocated to the office of the NSA throughout Dasuki's tenure as NSA. These monies come under SECURITY VOTE. It was not money allocated to the
purchase of weapons as the DSS and the EFCC have claimed.
That is why they cant take Dasuki to court. They will lose woefully. Security vote is not money allocated for arms
purchase. Of the whole monies that make up the $2.1B, only the $300 million from the returned Abacha loot was actually recommended for the purchase of arms. That is why in
court, the charges brought against Dasuki was in that range.

But they are likely going to lose in court for that because weapons were actually purchased. Whether they are worth $300 million is what the EFCC will have to prove in court. But
from the way they have been refusing to follow the court process, one is safe to assume that they dont trust their own
case against Dasuki.

But why did they go with the headlines of "$2.1 Billion arms purchase money" when they knew it was not the case?
Because the whole anti corruption fight was only a propaganda stunt from the beginning. It was a well crafted
stunt to distract the masses and persecute any dissenting voice so Buhari can fully consolidate power. Does that mean I think many of the politicians mentioned in the scandal are
clean? By no means! Nigerian politicians are corrupt without
a doubt including the presidency and everyone in the ruling APC party. The president's campaign itself was sponsored from corruption. The Amaechi corruption scandals are well
documented with very strong evidence.
If Dasuki has stolen any funds, he should be prosecuted accordingly, but the media propaganda and charade has gotto stop. Media trial is injustice in itself.

I find it really deceitful when I see lines like "what will you tell the Nigerian
soldiers that did not have weapons to fight and were killed because Dasuki shared the arms money". That is nothing but propaganda and trying to appeal to sentiments to push a
narrative. If that were the case, what has the same military been using to fight BH in the last 8 months since Buhari has not bought any new weapons?

What weapons did the army use
to push back BH prior to the 2015 elections? Did they push BH back with their bare hands too? Even Lie
Mohammed claims BH has been defeated. With which weapons did the army defeat BH? With their bare hands?
It is important we put all these straight so we dont fall for cheap propaganda by a government that has completely
lost its way. The same government that claims they are fighting corruption came out with a terrible corruption laden budget where they intended to connect cables from the President's residence to the drivers residence with N300 million. In fact, the budget of yams was so laden with corruption that they had to shamelessly withdraw it.

The world has changed. If the current government thinks

they will continue to rule with propaganda, they should think
again because they will be exposed again and again. Thank God for social media and the Internet!

Edwin Dico Okugbo

Whereas our dear president, Gen Mohammadu Buhari announced to us that one of Nigeria's maximum ruler, late Gen Sani Abacha was not corrupt, his foreign affairs minister announced to us recently that the Buhari regime will presurise the government of Switzerland into returning $300m of Abacha's loot to Nigeria. We were also earlier told that the Buhari's govt was going to probe how Jonathan's govt spent the previously returned Abacha loot.
So my dear president, are we on the same page in respect of your 'saint' Abacha? Who is lying? You or your minister? Or your govt is as usual deceiving the masses.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is maintaining a comfortable lead in
the just-concluded supplementary election in the Southern Ijaw LGA and 101
units in Bayelsa state, despite the low turnout of voters recorded in some
communities.

The collated results from various polling units and wards across the state
made available to journalists showed that the PDP is widening its existing
lead of over 33,000 votes.

Despite the reported hitches, the PDP swept the polls in units and wards
in Amassoma, Otuan, Ogbia, Nembe Ogbolomabiri, Ekpetiama and some other
communities as made available by the INEC officials at the various polling
units.

The PDP, as at the time of filing this report polled 7,234 votes while APC
is having 1,948 votes.

Decentralization of election materials policy adopted by the Independent
National Election Commission, (INEC) assisted in the early arrival of
materials in some communities, even though there were reported cases of
hijacking of election materials and violence in some areas.

Voters, as reliably informed, were resolute in their determination to put
the governorship election behind them which was declared inconclusive by
INEC on December, 5 and 6, 2015.

To ensure the success of the poll, the Nigeria Police Force deployed 5,000
officers to the various polling units across the state.

Political thugs suspected to be working for the leading opposition party
were not deterred by the presence of the security operatives, as they
unleashed terror on Ekeremor, Famgbe and Nembe communities.

The election could not hold in Ekeremor town, as over five people
including two policemen were reportedly killed and several injured
likewise in Nembe and Famgbe communities.

In Nembe community, members of the PDP were attacked by the suspected
thugs working for the APC and aided by security personnel. As at the time
of filing this report, the injured PDP members are receiving treatment at
an undisclosed hospital.

Also, the election materials meant for Lobia, 1, 2, 3 and Peremabiri were
hijacked by militants wielding AK 47 and other dangerous weapons.

Also, a building belonging to a PDP chieftain, Chief James Jephtah, a.k.a.
Octopus was touched by the APC thugs, while some people have fled the
community.

On Friday, the Governor’s lodge in Ekeremor was vandalized, while the
former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Boyelayefa
Debekeme and three other PDP chieftains were attacked with machetes by
thugs working for the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken
lokpobiri.

Also, the immediate younger brother of the state Deputy Governor,
Beinmopre Jonah was attacked at his residence in Ekeki, yenagoa local
government,

This development has led to the cancellation calls by the Peoples
Democratic Party in Nembe and some communities in southern Ijaw local
government.

slyng:
Op .... U ve just been issue a PhD in LIEcolology

From which university? NDU? I laugh in Izon! This information is very true and from a credible INEC official. This evil, I bet you, will not stand.

Reports just coming in revealed that senior officials of the Independent National Electoral (INEC) have been compromised by the Presidency.

They were said to have received a call from the Presidential Villa, Abuja directing them to return the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva as winner in the Bayelsa governorship election.

A source said, "President Buhari must be told that this evil cannot stand. Democracy is currently on trial in  Bayelsa State. The future is bleak for Nigeria's democracy. It is real irony that President Buhari that was afforded a level playing at the national elections cannot guarantee free, fair and impartial environment for all parties.

"The Federal Government's neutrality in Bayelsa election is highly questionable. The APC candidate, Timipre Sylva, is the natural and preferred choice of the Villa and INEC has been told to do the needful."

A senior INEC official (name withheld) who said he cannot be party to the injustice, has advised Bayelsans to go on their knees and cry to God to intervene.

"As it is, only God can fight for the people of  Bayelsa State. The reality remains that injustice is only temporary as truth and the ballot will always win above bullets and intimidation from the Villa", he stated.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sympathised with President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over their inability to accept, with equanimity, constructive criticisms of their administration.

 

In a statement on Saturday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said it was unfortunate that the APC and its leaders, who gleefully and unjustifiably poured invectives on former President Goodluck Jonathan in the guise of playing the role of an opposition party, would now not want to condone criticisms.

 

“Unlike the APC that denigrated the office and person of former President Jonathan by wrongly depicting him as ‘clueless and incompetent’, the PDP remains the most decent, mature and constructive opposition party in our democracy and we have evidenced great respect for the person and exalted office of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

“During the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, while in the saddle as interim Deputy National Secretary of the APC, in a post on his twitter page, described President Jonathan as ‘lazy, docile, incompetent, clueless, hopeless and useless leader.’  Other APC leaders made raining abuses on Jonathan a past time.

 

“The PDP is a very responsible opposition party; our leaders are mature; and we have demonstrated so in our critique of the President’s responses during the maiden Presidential Media Chat. We have reviewed President Buhari’s performance and concluded that it was uninspiring

 

“The entire world listened to President Buhari during the chat and went away with different impressions.  We did and came up with the theme of our initial reaction that portrayed him very appropriately as a tyrant.  And for purpose of clarity, a tyrant is a ruler who has complete power over a country and who uses the power in a cruel and unfair way, which was why we recommended the suspension of the operation of the constitution so he can rule for the next four years as a maximum ruler.

 

“In its reaction, his party National Chairman, John Oyegun magisterially and dictatorially warned that ‘we (APC) may not condone such anymore.’  Our position in the PDP is that we are in trouble as a nation.  All we hear from the APC regarding our freedom is ‘we won’t tolerate’, ‘we won’t condone.’  Are these words used by democrats or tyrants?

 

“So, the PDP too is being warned and coerced on what to say as opposition party.  The PDP must be commended for the civil, responsible, mature, issue-based opposition it has played.  The nation knows how the APC rained insults on former President Jonathan and that the PDP, during that time, never used words like ‘it would not condone…’

 

“Some have even criticised the PDP style of opposition as being too civil considering the tyranny we are facing.  That is why Chief John Oyegun could term a dictionary word-‘tyrant’- as insulting. Nigerians do not need the PDP or anyone else to make them decide if President Buhari’s APC government fits the definition of a tyrant.

 

“The real trait of the President was unraveled during the media chat.  He has repeatedly shown his scorn for the Legislature, an independent arm of government while sanctioning security agencies’ disrespect for court orders and the impunity of continuous incarceration of people who have been granted bails by the courts.

 

“Also from his responses, the President has even pronounced a guilty verdict on Col Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu ofRadio Biafra even before the hearings by the courts. Sadly, even the international community has noted this brazen scorn and disdain for the independence of the judiciary.

 

“Furthermore, how do we describe a President who openly denigrated an entire race as he did in the media chat when he suggested that the Igbos were insatiable with the appointments his government has so far given to them? Indeed, the timing and the tenor of the President’s comment, given the security and political situation in the land, remain worrisome, especially at a time a nerve-soothing statement from the father of the nation could have reassured the agitators of the need for peace and unity in the nation.

 

“Besides, it is sad and embarrassing that President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade has now been reduced to a war between the APC and the PDP as declared by the Office of his spokespersons.  Since they have confirmed that this is what the anti-corruption crusade is all about, the APC is obviously seeking to destroy the PDP so that it can push through Buhari’s second tenure in 2019 without opposition from the PDP.

 

“This has also confirmed our concern that this is the reason the Federal Government is persecuting, and not prosecuting, Col. Sambo Dasuki.  The APC and its leaders fear that Dasuki, given his vast political and security network, may be harbouring a presidential ambition, more so that the PDP has zoned its presidential ticket to the north.

 

“The PDP is conversant with the sinister plan by the APC-led Federal Government to completely decimate our party by raking up all manner of allegations of corruption against the Goodluck Jonathan administration and leaders of the PDP with a view to taking them to court on orchestrated charges.

 

“Finally we are aware that President Buhari has directed security agencies to be more vicious in dealing with our members and has continued to subtly coerce the Judiciary to convict those being charged to court.  But what gives us joy is that President Buhari is not God and we will not worship him.

 

Signed:

 

Chief Olisa Metuh

I will only believe it if it's from Sahara reporters or the Punch, or the Nations news platform. The rest are GEJ/ PDP apologists.

psucc:
Yes that may be true but Buratai taking over. when there is a constitutionally elected VP amounts to military takeover and we will not accept such illegality.

Man forget constitution. State governors hadly allow their deputies act on their behalf when they are away. With Buhari, anything is legal, including handing over to Buratai.

Psalm18:
You need help

Yes ooh! I do need help. Can you confirm it?

How true is the rumour making the round in Abuja that president Buhari has informed the national assembly leadership that he will be proceeding on 6 months leave. Vice president Osinbajo will not be the acting president while he is away. But General Buratai.
Can somebody please confirm this?

APC = two faced Janus!

asEdeyHOT:
All the sources provided for this article are fake PDP blogs.

The only recognizable source is the one from Tribune and they have taken it down after realizing it is bogus

Itse Sagay will only give this interview to reputable news outlets

Shame on PDP and wailers. They tried to deceive Nigerians with the fake 200 dead soldiers weeks ago, since the, not one widow or family members have asked for the whereabouts of their husband or loved ones

Another PDP sponsored fake news to fight the war against corruption

My man you lied! I just read the whole interview on Tribuneonline. Stop behaving like an ostrich.

Much interested!

Shoring up his academic records niii!

On Saturday, December 12, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari shocked the Nigeria’s academic community when he went to Kaduna State University, KASU and received an honorary doctorate degree (Honoris Causa) barely seven months after his inauguration. On the surface of it, one would be tempted to ask: is the president being honoured for his records of yesteryears or is he being honoured for his performance in the last seven month? If it is for his past records, the natural question is why now and why by KASU? That university existed for over a decade, why didn’t they honour Muhammadu Buhari last year or five years ago? If the honour is as a result of his present assignment, what has he done this far to earn him a honoris causa? Isn’t it a case of moral corruption for a serving president, who has a lot of favours to dish out, accept to receive an undeserved honorary doctorate degree from a state university whose vice chancellor was, in the last six months, queried by the Visitor to the University about three times?


Is it the case that, after the KASU formula, that the president will not attend the convocation ceremony of any university unless that university include the president as one its recipients of honorary doctorate degree. How not, since over a dozen universities have held their convocation ceremonies since the coming of PMB to office and he attended none, it is therefore safe to assume that his failure to attend was because they have not honoured him with a degree. These include the University of Ibadan, University of Benin, Obafemi Awolowo University, Federal University Owerri, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, etc. And none of them received the respect of the presence of the president. Now that KASU has shown the way, any university that wants the president to attend its convocation should simply include the president in the list of the recipients of its honoris causa. They are sure to have the president coming in person to be decorated.


The question is where is the shock? The president action is shocking for three reasons. First, his receiving an honorary doctorate degree, from any Nigerian University, while holding and elected public office is immoral, illegal and a crass violation of the existing regulation guiding the award of honoris causa in Nigeria’s University System. Section 2.0 subsection (a) of the famous Keffi Declaration which was enacted on the 24th September, 2012 by the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) stated that:


“AVCNU member-universities hereby make it a policy not to honour with honorary degree anybody holding political office (elected or appointed) while such officers are still in service.”

President Buhari violated this rule and the president is an honourable man, apology to Shakespeare in his histo-drama book, Julius Caeser.

In 2012, worried by the spate of irregularities and the erosion of academic culture and university tradition especially in the indiscriminate award of honorary degrees in the university system, the vice chancellors of Nigeria’s federal, state and private universities met at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi and resolved, collectively, that the age-long best practices of university culture be restored and maintained. It was the case that politicians, public office holders and all manner of money-bags and favour-flaunters will be conniving with governing councils, vice chancellors or visitors to state universities all in the bid to cajole or hoodwink the university into awarding an undeserving honorary degree. It was so rampant that the credibility of any honoris causa by any Nigerian university was suspect. The Nigeria’s academic community was relieved when the Keffi Declaration on “Sustaining Academic Tradition in Nigerian Universities, Including Guidelines for the Award of Honorary Degrees” was made. It was even more refreshing seeing that all the federal universities, all the state universities and all the private universities at that time have signed the declaration.


But the action of President Buhari of accepting honoris causa, in complete violation of the Keffi Declaration, has done one of the greatest damages to the university system since the enactment of the declaration in 2012. The president has just killed the Keffi Declaration and therefore open the floodgate of irregularities and moral corruption in the award of honorary degrees. Will the president refuse to accept another honoris causas from other universities? No. All the remaining 140 universities will now line up with their ceremonial academic robes ready to decorate the president with honorary degrees. It will be a moral dilemma for the president to refuse to accept after receiving one from a sister-university. And not only that, the president cannot stop his cabinet members, other public officer holders, and including civil servants from haggling-and-bargaining to ‘buy’ honorary degrees and even stand on the same podium with the president to be decorated. The era of immoral impunity in the award of honoris causa has effectively returned. And it was declared open by the action of Mr President.


Second, and even more disturbing is the fact that Kaduna State University is not competent to award honorary doctorate degree to anybody. Information available on the National Universities Commission website indicates that there are only 22 out of 40 state universities with approval to run masters and PhD programs. KASU is not one them. How can you have an honorary doctorate graduands when you don’t have the regular program with regular students pursuing doctorate studies? More so, the Keffi Declaration, section 2.0 subsection (e) stated explicitly that:


“A university shall not award honorary degrees if it has not graduated any PhD or has no postgraduate school or program”

Because the president is an honourable man, I dare say that his idea of change is about changing the rule, it will be safe to say that he received a 419 degree that is not recognised by the NUC, a government institution under his watch.


The question is how many people graduated with PhDs at the 12th December convocation when President Buhari was decorated by KASU? Have KASU ever graduate a PhD since its establishment? When did they get the approval from the NUC to commence the PhD program? How could KASU award what it does not have? Why should NUC keep mute at this illegality and gross abuse of regulation? If the information they published in their website is correct, why should they allow KASU to award illegal honorary degree even to the resident of the Federation? It is amazing how politicians are always at the forefront of rubbishing our academic traditions and values.


It is very clear that the Visitor to KASU who is the Governor of Kaduna State is at the forefront of this manipulative scheme to rubbish the university system and smear the good name of the president of the country. Or why did he dissolved the governing council of the university simply because they allegedly drew his attention to the illegality and immorality of awarding honoris causa to a serving elected public officer? And the VC who was appointed by Governor Yakowa was rattled to his nerves with an array of queries to get him to accept political interference in the running of the university. How else, given the fact that section 2.0 subsection (c) of the Keffi Declaration states, in parts, that:


“…the award of honorary degree shall not be tied to wealth consideration or political alignment…”

Who will doubt that after sacking the governing council and sufficiently intimidating the vice chancellor of the university, the APC governor as the visitor to the university, is not bullying his way into forcing the university to award illegal degrees to an APC President and a business mogul exclusively for political and material reasons?


My third reason is even more scary. Is the Minister of Education so incompetent as not to draw the attention of the President to all these violations? Why wouldn’t the minister of education draw the attention of the president to the Keffi Declaration? And to the NUC guidelines on approved universities with graduate courses? Or better still shouldn’t the honourable minister make the moral common sense argument of not accepting a gift from an institution under ones superintendence? Or is it the case that the president, who ruled the country for over three months without ministers, is still living with that hang-over and is taking decisions without consulting the relevant ministers? If the minister of education is kept in the dark on the KASU honoris causa brouhaha, then our country is in trouble. It means the president will be relying on informal and unofficial (most of the time, misleading) suggestions to run the country. If the minister is in the picture and his opinion sought by the president and he misled the president into going to accept and illegal honorary degree, then some punitive action must be meted on the minister. If on the other hand, the minister was consulted and he advised the president against accepting the illegal degree and his advice was jettisoned by the president, then something is fundamental wrong – it means there is a crisis of confidence between the president and his ministers. And the earlier that crisis is resolved the better for our country.

It is important to note that PDP, in spite of its numerous ills had adhered to the Keffi Declaration. Former president Goodluck Jonathan, to his credit – (oh God, remembering PDP and Jonathan again) withstood all the pressures and declined many of such offers.


For me, President Muhammadu Buhari can still save the Keffi Declaration, save himself from further embarrassment and save the university system in this regard by doing two things: one, cause his handlers to issue a public statement returning the illegal and undeserved honorary degree back to the awarding university and stating his commitment to respect and protect the Keffi declaration; two, investigate and punish any persons that have hands in misleading him into this embarrassing misstep. Fighting corruption is not just about stolen wealth. It is about respect for regulations. It is about staying on the moral high-grounds. Over to you “Sai Mai Gaskiya.”



Dr. Mohammed Jibo Imran

Santa Clara County


City of San Jose, CA

Thank God you now know!

In a bizarre twist, the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, On Tuesday announced that he never knew the railways as a means of transport efficiently existed in Nigeria. The minister who stated this when he and other officials of the ministry toured the facilities of the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) in Lagos, added that the government would concentrate on building standard gauge railway lines that would befit Nigeria status as a developing economy as well as compliment it. Amaechi said: “In fact, I think we have a problem; most people don’t believe that the railway transport is functioning in Nigeria. I didn’t even know, until I started this tour, I never knew that the railway was functioning, it was even from his (MD’s) speech that I learnt that there are some coaches or services that go to Kano or Port Harcourt or elsewhere.” According to him, “The federal government will concentrate on standard gauge of the railways, because it is critical that Nigeria becomes one of the countries founded on standard gauge. The only time I had seen railways (trains) or the coaches was one or two days in Lagos, and I thought it started from the beginning of Lagos to the end of Lagos
Thisdaylive.com 16/12/2015