₦airaland Forum

“These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy…walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, ‘Business as usual.’ But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.”
― Yann Martel, Life of Pi
I was a JSS 2 Student at Ijemo Titun High School, Abeokuta when I joined the ‘Career Press Club’ (CPC). Attending the induction for young members, the Co-ordinator Mr. Akinola took his time to take us through the rudiments and elements of writing and writing well. An article must have a theme, he said. A concrete theme, he echoed.
One should also never fail to call out anyone who thinks himself a writer and pens something that may be offensive or deemed offensive by the ‘gods of writing’.
Such a fellow must be called out. As it is a duty one has to account for on the Day of Judgment.
I read an article by one of Nigeria’s most outstanding youths and acclaimed ‘activist’, Mr. Japheth Omojuwa titled “Nigeria: The following class and the face of hypocrisy”. Reading the article first of all, I couldn’t pinpoint what the theme was. I had to read 4 more times to decipher the message the author was trying to pass across.
I must confess at this point that the said article lacks so much substance to warrant an in-depth rejoinder. No issues were raised in the assemblage of words disguised as a well though-out article.
However, I am here to take the writer on, on his attempt at approbating and reprobating; arguing for and against, without basically making a point. His attempt at sounding politically correct even if it means doing that at the expense of logical reason irked me and still irks me. I know he can do better.
Hence this.
The author started by trying to make his reader think the article was an unbiased critique of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration. But as Alaafin Sango said in 666B.C:
“You can fool all the people some of the time or some of the people all the time. But you cannot fool all the people all the time”.
Mr. Omojuwa’s article is a veiled attack on avowed critics of the Government whom he tagged “Wailing wailers”. He went all out to set a ‘we v them’ scenario. He accused the ‘wailing wailers’ of wanting the Government of the day to fail at all cost and that they’re still pained Goodluck Jonathan (whom he once called a PIG when he was a wailing wailer himself) lost the last elections.
He went further by subtly asking the world to not take the ‘wailing wailers’ seriously but should instead listen to people like him who are the latter-day-saints saddled by the Almighty God with the sacred responsibility of determining how and when, the form and substance the critique of a Government should take and all what not.
I must tell you fam, the article made me laugh. It is laughable.
First things first, Mr. Omojuwa should know that it is not compulsory to criticize a Government. In fact, one is allowed to worship the President and the ruling party even if they are abject failures. It is however a sin, a fundamental one if I must add to try to insult our intelligence by engaging in ‘half thought out’ criticisms.
Laughable attempts at appearing unbiased. Putting it succinctly, President Buhari can be criticized without reference being made to Mr. Jonathan, the PDP or some neon eyed god. It smacks of some kind of ‘insecurity’ and an undue knack to justify one’s BIG mistake when one has to justify the failures of the present Government on the ‘BIG’ achievement of ‘kicking’ Goodluck Jonathan out of office.
It is not very responsible, if I must say.
Mr. Omojuwa, a ‘lecturer’ at a German University made reference to some things I see on social media and never ever believed an ‘academic’ would include in an article to be read by the Intelligent, the pseudo-intelligent and the aspiring ‘intelligent’. Issues like ‘Why criticize Buhari when under Jonathan, Nigeria earned a lot of petrodollars which Jonathan frittered and ‘ate’ hurt me. These things break my very tender heart.
There is a reason there is the internet. Asides championing the cause of the ‘downtrodden’, even ‘Overlords’ should be able to conduct ample research using the various search engines. And Google comes in handy here. A simple search, done under 2 minutes will show how former Governors fought the past President on sharing the ‘Excess Crude Account’. But that is a story for another day.
It is also not very responsible when citizens who pay tax and deserve good governance are labelled ‘pained wailing wailers’ because of their political affiliations. To each his own. ‘Biri Ka Mbiri’. Motives for criticism should never be an issue as every citizen, irrespective of political leanings can call out the Government of the day.
Politely I must say as I do not expect the opposition to be as lewd and rude as the e-opposition to Goodluck Jonathan which Omojuwa himself was an arrowhead of. Opposition should be with decency and should never be malafide. But even when such intentions are malafide, whoever arrogates the power of determining such acts ultra vires his powers. No one should however be maligned for his choice of political alignments.
I believe those are the only stuff with resemblance of ‘serious issues’ in Mr. Omojuwa’s piece. Mr. President’s supporters like Japheth should stop the nose-in-the-air-i-am-better-than-you-you-know-not-what-is-good-for-you-because-you-are-not-progressives demeanour. It is nauseating, to say the least.
But I must say, hypocrisy comes in different forms. It could come in the form of a suit wearing man or a normal person pretending to belong to the elite intelligentsia. It could even come in the form of an Overlord. It is a complex world.
However, it must be said that the success or failure of the Buhari administration lies in the hands of these griots; some self-appointed, some ‘codedly-appointed’. Some appointed but hiding under the cloak of the ‘Human Rights Activist’ who mean well for Nigeria. It is imperative for these griots and Squealers to learn from the last administration.
It is never going to hurt the President when things are spelt out the way they are, to the President. Without sugar-coating of any kind. White can never be ‘Black white’. It can only be white. It is what it is. For example, I expect the ‘advocates of good governance’ to tell the President in plain terms that the Country is falling apart. That businesses are on the death row… each waiting for the hangman.
That the middle-class is being depleted and we are all being drawn down the poverty lane. That NOTHING seems to be working. These ‘advocates’ should be able to tell the President that he is failing and may remain a perpetual failure if things continue the way they are.
These advocates do not need to worry about Goodluck Jonathan, the ‘wailing wailers’ or whoever. Goodluck Jonathan has been consigned to the annals of History and he is going to be judged. And he is not going to be judged by the ‘Wailing wailers’ or the ‘Hailing Hailers’. He is going to be judged by posterity. And no one is stopping the ‘Hailing Hailers’ from elevating the President to the status of a god and worshipping him. It is what it is.
And I must say that Twitter basically protects people with writing deficiencies or let me say deficiencies in making sense in a long haul.
Perhaps, due to the 140 character limit which is the biggest promoter of ‘pseudo-intelligence’ and grand delusion of grandeur.
One may then be advised to keep the ‘substance-less’ grandstanding on Twitter for their select audience where such disguised ineptitude and lack of intellectual depth could be condoned and even hailed.
Writing is not for everybody.
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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Ayokunle Odekunle, a Lawyer, writer and brand strategist works with one of Nigeria’s Largest full service law firms. He was most Outstanding Personality at the University of Ibadan in 2011 and tweets from @oddy4real

ynaija.com/ayokunle-odekunle-of-hailing-hailers-hypocrisy/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is an astute politician. He was born 21th June 1962 into the upper middle-class family of Late Chief Robert Osayande Ize-Iyamu, the highly respected Benin chief with the highly reverend title of Esogban of Benin Kingdom and Mrs. Magdalene N. Ize-Iyamu (nee Obasohan). In 1973, Pastor Osagie Andrew Ize-Iyamu completed his primary education at Ebenezer Nursery and Primary School, Benin City; he had made a landmark obtaining the best result in the common entrance in the then Midwestern region. He then went ahead to confirm his stellar status in Edo College in 1979 where he once again obtained the best result in the art class in West Africa Certificate Examination (WAEC). Buoyed by his high-profile academic performances, young Osagie’s desire was to follow the footsteps of his elder brother who traveled abroad for further studies. However, due to Osagie’s proximity to the flurry of communal politicking, done by his father, he developed keen interest in it. Pastor Osagie chose to study Political Science, and was admitted into the prestigious University of Benin, Benin City in 1980. But that was not to be. Inadvertently obeying the dictate of fate, he changed his course of study to Law the following academic session, and soon became one of the pioneering students in the faculty. He graduated with top honour in 1985/1986; he immediately proceeded to the Nigeria Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar afterward in 1987.
In 1995 Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu met God through a harrowing experience when he had an almost fatal accident that changed the course of his life forever. Unconscious for nine hours, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu suffered dislocated hips and fractured toes. God himself being the ultimate physician healed him at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi. Surprised by his miraculous deliverance on his dislocated hips returned to their original positions and overwhelmed by the divine favour and words of his wife to use this privilege to give his life to the service of God, his creator, Pastor Osagie joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), where he grew in knowledge and wisdom about God and church administration. As family members, friends and foes watched in amazement at his transformed life. Pastor Osagie within a short time was made a minister in the church. In 1998, he was made Pastor of the Upper Room Parish of the Church, located at Adesuwa Road, G.R.A., Benin City. He threw himself into the service and with encouragement and prayerful support of his wife, as well as the commitment of his fellow ministers; he was able to raise the hitherto small parish (branch) to the biggest RCCG church in Edo State. He was later appointed the Area pastor of the GRA 1 Area church overseeing three parishes with headquarters at the Upper Room parish, and became an inspiration to thousands of youth in Edo State. His work and passion later gave birth to a magnificent edifice that drew the attention of the highly reverend Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who was personally in Benin City to dedicate the church. Today, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is the District Pastor, Overseeing Zonal, Area and parishes of the RCCG in Edo State. Besides, he is in charge of the provincial regional headquarter parish in Benin City. These great strides however, did not only manifest in his faith but also in his political life.
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu sowed a seed of his political activism long ago during his university days as a vibrant member of the Student Union Congress and being highly instrumental to the election of several presidents and Executive members of the Student Union. That experience proved vital as he became one of the operational planks that saw to the election of Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion, as the then Chairman of Oredo Local Government Council, Benin City, in 1983, under the zero party system. After his sojourn into private legal practice and business, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff, Government House, Edo State, under the administration of Dr. Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion, Executive Governor of Edo State- an evidence of the virtues of loyalty and trust. As the Chief of Staff, from 1999-2003, he elevated the office to the enviable status of a melting pot of consultation, strategy and confidence building. With his leading by the Holy Spirit, he became the man to trust and do business with, the rallying point of energies and ideas. He engineered the smooth and peaceful relationship that the state enjoyed with pensioners and labour leaders, then in Edo State. As a testament to his sterling performance as a Chief of Staff, he was elevated to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG). A position of immense trust and critical nexus and strategic catalyst in the government of the state, where he proved to be reliable, dependable, trust worthy and a positive generational ambassador committed to the well-being of Edos. He showcased his sagacity in management and entrepreneurial spirit when he set up the magnificent I.O Farms Training Institute- a model farm settlement at Ugbor-Amagba communities, Benin City, Edo State. The institute has churned out hundreds of young agriculturist. The Training Institute has the triple objective of agricultural training, skill acquisitions and youth empowerment as veritable mechanism to reduce youth restiveness, organized crime and unemployment.
He has continued to contribute to the political development of the state and was awarded with the politician of the decade in Edo State. He is a politician that does not discriminate, highly de-trabalised, open to positive ideas, motivator of positive agenda for government, a respecter of elders and social values, a nexus of hope for Christians in Government and a crusader of fairness and social justice. Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s bold foot works in partisan politics and public office in Edo State has been phenomenal in scope, dept and intensity. With the resultant effect of re-designing the political landscape. He is the calm and deep-thinking political architect whose courageous designs have re-engineered the hope of Edo people for good governance and freedom from democratic tyranny. No wonder that, today, Osagie Ize-Iyamu is widely respected, acknowledged, and referred to as the “Leader” by both the elderly and the young for his uncommon courage, wisdom, integrity and commitment.
He was the National Vice Chairman, South-South Zone of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
He was the Director General of Oshiomhole’s 2nd term Campaign Organisation.
He was also the Coordinator of Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation
He was recently honoured by the Benson Idahosa University with an honorary doctorate degree in Public Administration.
He is happily married to Pastor (Dr) Idia Ize-Iyamu, a Consultant Orthodontist with the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and an Associate Professor in the University of Benin. They are blessed with four children.

Government of confusion

Legal scholars and experts hurled verbal missiles around a round table convened to brainstorm on winning the war against corruption at the University of Lagos on Thursday.
The round table, organised by the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, tagged “Winning the War Against Corruption” was also an opportunity to launch the book ‘Legal Perspectives to Corruption, Money Laundering, and Assets Recovery in Nigeria.’
The occasion began with the keynote speech ‘Rule of Law and Treatment of Politically Exposed Persons in Corruption Cases’ delivered by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Mr. Falana, who was represented by Wahab Shittu, advocated the creation of special courts to handle corruption cases.
The verbal battle began after controversial scholar, Femi Aribisala, took to the podium to discuss Mr. Falana’s speech.
“There is no fight against corruption in Nigeria. And if there’s no fight against corruption, you can’t even talk about war,” Mr. Aribisala began.
And then he launched into a 10 minute speech that attacked the global definition of corruption by Oby Ezekwesili, a former World Bank vice president who had earlier defined corruption as “the abuse of public space for private gains”, the prescription of special courts by Mr. Falana; and current administration’s effort against corruption.
“Corruption cannot be narrowly defined the way Dr. Ezekwesili defined it, only relating to public institutions. We are corrupt in Nigeria. The plumber, the tailor, the whole society is corrupt,” said Mr. Aribisala.
“And we have not yet taken a decision, we have not yet gotten to a point where we are fed up. I mean, she (Mrs. Ezekwesili) had given an example of Hong Kong where people became fed up and said enough is enough. We have not reached that situation yet, I don’t know why not, but we certainly have not.
“The 2015 election was not an anti-corruption election. We did not have any political party that presented an anti-corruption mandate to us. The party that won the election was just a makeover of the PDP, I mean the PDP people moved from the PDP to the APC. If they were corrupt when they were in PDP, they became clean when they were in APC.
“So there is no mandate against corruption. If President Buhari was determined to fight against corruption, my feeling is that he gave up after losing election three times.
“Because the fourth time, he formed an alliance with people who he despised before. And they were not necessarily people who had a track record of being (sic) anti-corruption. So today, I don’t know who is anti-corruption.”
Mr. Aribisala said the current fight against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari government is merely a fight against the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
“We have to make up our minds if we really want to deal with the question of corruption. If we want to deal with the question of corruption, Nigerians themselves must insist on it and we have to deal with it at the institutional level,” he said.
“The institutional fight against corruption that has taken place to the extent that it has, took place under PDP. The institutional structures, even the ones that the present government is relying on, are PDP structures. Whether it is EFCC, ICPC, TSA, all these came under PDP.
“In ten months of Buhari’s government, there has been no institutional structure that has been laid against corruption. We have simple had media circuses accusing people of corruption.
“You cannot fight corruption with corruption. And corruption is more than just the stealing of money. If you disobey the rule of law, you have corrupted the system. If you create an avenue where you have a big margin between the official foreign exchange rate and the parallel market rate, there’s gonna be corruption. If you have children of the rich getting into the CBN on nepotistic grounds, the corruption is still with you.
“If you have a budget that is padded left right and centre, and after this was revealed you passed it and say only a small amount changed in it, and we do not know what is in the new budget, you can’t say you are against corruption. There is no transparency in any of these things.”
Mr. Aribisala further stated that the current anti-corruption effort lacks a clear focus.
“Because the last 16 years was not just PDP government,” he said.
“The legacy parties of the APC were also in power. In fact when the PDP was ostensibly dealing with corruption, it addressed people in its own party. We are not having that now.
“And that’s why I can’t trust Falana’s prescription that we are going to establish special courts. I don’t trust this government to establish those courts. They will simply establish courts to decimate the opposition.
“People like Orubebe will be arrested, and they will file cases against him and several months later they will drop the charges against him. And they will have pronounced him guilty in the newspapers on charges that will later on be dropped. That is not a fight against corruption.”
Mr. Aribisala’s speech received a thunderous ovation from the guests, mostly students, a situation which irked Itse Sagay, a professor of Law and the chairman of the occasion.
“We are not here to make students clap,” a visibly angry Mr. Sagay, who serves as the chairman of a Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-courruption.
“We are here on a very serious business. And students, don’t behave like American electorates who are ignorant. Donald Trump. The appreciation of unserious people shows ignorance. How can someone come here and say there’s no war against corruption and there is clapping? ”
Mr. Sagay said the APC had a manifesto that spelt out its strategies to combat corruption, and admonished Mr. Aribisala to stop making statements devoid of facts.
“Obasanjo created ICPC, EFCC, they are doing well we don’t need to create new institutions. You do not win a war by just creating multiplicity of institutions everywhere, that’s irresponsible. We will work with the institutions that we have.
“You don’t dilute the meaning of corruption to a point that it is meaningless. This is a very serious discussion and I want us to be serious about it. If you are anti-government, please go and campaign against government and let your party win in 2019.
“This is not a venue for PDP campaign. Most inappropriate comment. We are here on serious business. Let’s maintain that seriousness,” he said.
With Mr. Aribisala appearing unperturbed by Mr. Sagay’s stern remarks, Mrs. Ezekwesili pleaded for another chance at the podium, ostensibly to further drive the case against Mr. Aribisala’s argument.
“The systemic nature of corruption as a cancer against a system of governance is demonstrated in the fact that the activity of corruption begins to happen at their different levels,” Mrs. Ezekwesili began.
“So for example, I wasn’t surprised that some of you were clapping. The reason you were clapping is that you are a page in your own level of corruption.
“There are many whose exam malpractice is the basis upon which they have come to school. So when you are talking about the need to wage a war against corruption, they are completely disconnected from it. There is a complete dissonance from it.”
Mrs. Ezekwesili urged the students to desist from applauding populist statements.
“You need to be driven by the evidence of the damage and the destruction that corruption is doing to you, at the unit level. If you think you are doing well now, you will do exceedingly better if corruption is effectively tackled in this society,” she said.
“There is no comedy session going on here. We are talking about something that can be destructive. You should be holding the gun to fight against corruption. The gun has to be intellectual, so I need you to intelligently process everything that is said.”

www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/201077-sagay-ezekwesili-aribisala-clash-roundtable-corruption-war.html

Mama Isanlu told me the story of Pa Alainikanse ton f'ari fun aja. So idle was Pa Alainikanse that he spent much of his life shaving the head of his dog. The neighbours got used to the fact that Pa Alainikanse's blades and clippers were meant exclusively for the head of his dog.
Then came the day when lice, dandruff and other scalp problems reminded Pa Alainikanse that he needed a haircut badly. Alas, all his blades and clippers had been blunted by years of use on his dog's head. So, he screamed and appealed desperately to his neighbours, begging them to lend him blades and clippers because he needed a haircut.
The neighbours did yinmu and moju. Nobody believed him. Nobody trusted him. See Pa Alainikanse o, they said. Who does not know that he wants to use our blades and clippers to shave his dog's head? He thinks we are mumu like him? Shior!
Pa Alainikanse paid the price of iranu.
In Washington DC, President Buhari is paying the price of iranu.
For one year, he has operated an aletilapa Presidency, listening to nobody and playing Gulliver all over the world because he has eleven jets he had promised to reduce during campaign.
On the positive side, many of those trips have been humiliating and embarrassing for Nigeria - beneath the status and dignity of the Nigerian presidency.
On the negative side, many of those trips have been totally useless - like the useless gallivanting of his predecessors.
That trip to a diary farm in Kenya is beneath the dignity of the Vice President's office. It should have been undertaken by the Permanent Secretary and some Directors in the Ministry of Agriculture. Yet, the Nigerian President put one leg after another leg and went to Nairobi.
That trip to Equatorial Guinea? I am still trying to tell what the heck it was about beyond the preoccupation of Baba Alainikanse with shaving his dog's head in the folktale.
Now he is in Washington DC - on the only trip that he should perhaps have undertaken out of Nigeria since his election and he is being criticized and hit by 180 million people who have become too used to his useless foreign trips undertaken to shave the head of a dog.
Even the most sophisticated critics are asking: what is he doing in a nuclear summit?
Well, he is doing everything that is relevant. This summit is not about nuclear powers. President Obama convened it to address the perennial danger of loose nuclear material - a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union - getting into the hands of terrorists.
If you are the leader of any of the countries that is helpless in fighting terrorism, this summit is for you. How do we prevent Al Qaeda, ISIS, Al Shabab, and Boko Haram from gaining access to nuclear material and allied dirty bombs?
Combating nuclear proliferation and the spread of fissile material: this is what this Washington summit is about in the main. It is not about states with nuclear capability. If it was about that, Nigeria would have no business there. It is about weak and underdeveloped states, ravaged by terrorism, that are vulnerable to loose fissile material.
Imagine Boko Haram getting fissile material. Even with their conventional weapons, you have only defeated them technically in two administrations after your soldiers did technical maneuvers.
If you are defeating them only technically when they have conventional weapons, how are you going to defeat them when they get fissile material? Professionally?
That is why Buhari is in DC. This, for me, is the first non-useless trip of his entire Presidency.
Of course, the ineffectual buffoons in his media team have been unable to sell this straightforward narrative. They are too busy reprimanding Nigerians for complaining about fuel scarcity and darkness to know how to provide a logical basis for their Oga's only worthwhile foreign trip.
But what do I know? Nigeria being Nigeria, President Buhari is perfectly capable of returning from this DC trip and heading out the next day to attend the birthday of the President of Djibouti.
When you have 11 planes, your ways are not like the ways of those queuing for fuel in Lagos and Abuja.
Your reasoning is different from theirs..

Omojuwa is an hypocrite

For the very first time, I chose to neglect the inflation that has caught across all section of the economy and dived the profligacy lane. In the light of expensive and at the same epileptic data service, I chose to open Omojuwa’s article not because of any presumed exceptional stand but wanted to see how a “self-acclaimed righteous activist” will do justice to his selected topic “Nigeria: The Following Class and the Face of Hypocrisy”.

I was not disappointed at all as I was expecting another series of Cinderella stories in the first two paragraphs and that was what I got. Don’t let me toll such lane as the bulkiness of my rejoinder doesn’t add to its point.

That Omojuwa chose to remind us again of how terrible the previous administration was is becoming too much as an excuse for this lackadaisical and “I don’t care” approach embraced by the Buhari led administration. It is definitely too early for “APC Activist” like Omojuwa to forget how Dr Kayode Fayemi in his rejoinder to Prof Soludo’s “Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election” made it glaring that the APC government “to be” was ready for the worst case scenario and gave a being like me more reasons to give out my precious one vote to the APC family but if he (Omojuwa) has, let me also remind him the way he reminded us of how terrible PDP and GEJ was even when its ten months of change without a budget.

“APC does not promise Eldorado. Neither our candidate nor our manifesto has made such promise. Our programs are based on the critical awareness of the difficult task ahead, while holding out a ray of hope to our people. The promises that we make reflect our innermost belief that the people must be at the centre of development. Especially, we believe that any economic growth that leaves the majority of the people behind, and does not protect the weakest and the vulnerable among us, is merely delusional. – Dr Kayode Fayemi”

If this has changed, what Nigerians deserve is an apology and not a weekly fairy tale of how PDP was a monumental failure, I guess we all were aware of the terrible state we were under PDP and that was why we voted them out, why put such tune on repeat?

For an APC “Overload” like Omojuwa to deviate from being an APC “achievements” or “to be-achievements” propagator to assume a position of a “reminder”, designated to keeping us informed with stale stories of how the previous government was a disaster is another disaster on its own. If activist like Omojuwa who was excessively arrogant in his criticism of the previous government is now stylishly campaigning for a soft criticism approach for this government, then you are left to admit the fact that “hypocrisy has no enemy”. You likened a president to a “pig”, saw nothing wrong in El Rufai’s inane assertion of “must be killed list” but today you have put on a garment concocted with excess “moral value” and now sees criticism similar to yours back then as unnecessary and obnoxious, hmmmm, a redefined “hypocrisy”?

You said they are wailing wailers, they are irrational beings but truth be told, your assertion about them as being “Irrational” was also from an irrational angle selfly seen as “rational”. By the way, if you think they are wailing, they actually are, but a “wailing” built on two obvious foundations:

The relegation of GEJ to Otuoke

The unarguable appalling reality of the day ( remember you used occurrences similar to what we are experiencing as campaign tools )

I actually expected a righteous activist like you to neglect the formal reason and embrace the latter reason but you chose to widely sell your well-endowed skills in divisionism. If the best line you could put up for a national daily publication is “those are irrational haters of Nigeria and everyone who supported Muhammadu Buhari to become President”, I see nothing but another anti-national identity move by you, you might not know but it is, difference in political party or tenets should never be seen as hatred or anything of the like either for the country or hatred among the citizenry. Even if a section of the populace sees difference in political party or tenets as reasons to propagate hatred, joining them to transact such automatically makes you one of them, any qualification (adjective) you give them is directly applicable to you also.

Dragging a Senator’s personal business into mud for political correctness is the least I expected from a self-acclaimed righteous activist like you, I never believed you will dive so low to the extent of de-marketing someone’s business to increase word counts in your semi rational piece. The only reason for failing to mention how this same senator you are making reference to has tried his best to employ Nigerians might be as a result of an unexpected amnesia and nothing other than that. You were too sharp at mentioning the limitations of his enterprise but was vice versa to remember this same man has thousands of Nigerians on his pay list, what is that? By the way, being silent for 16 years should not be the reason(s) to neglect criticism coming from such person, take the “Sense” from the “Nonsense”, get the message and neglect the moral justification of the “Messenger” and if you can’t do this? You are also guilty of divisionism. The last time I checked, we are all Nigerians and we all have right to criticize even if the basis for criticism is vendetta. Let’s preach unity and not hatred!!!

Shomoye Abiodun can be contacted on Twitter via @MrShomoye

http://www.signalng.com/rejoinder-omojuwa-nigeria-following-class-face-hypocrisy-abiodun-shomoye/

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has chal­lenged his predecessor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, to a public debate on the logic, financial cost and social value of the monorail project along Azikiwe Road in Port Harcourt.
Amaechi had recently criticised Wike for not completing the controversial project.
But, in its response, the state government said it would meet Amaechi for a debate on any platform, concerning projects abandoned by the previous government.
In a press statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Austin Tam-George, government challenged Amaechi to come prepared with full explanations on other inflated contracts and unexecuted projects.
Dr. Tam-George also asked Amaechi to give reasons for pulling down a standard, well-equipped teaching hospital complete with doctors’ quarters along Hospital Road in Port Harcourt leaving weeds to grow wildly in the space were the hospital once stood.

https://www.today.ng/news/national/100094/wike-challenges-amaechi-to-public-debate-on-monorail-project

am waiting because I know the blaming blamer, will soon blame GEJ for this

Organised labour in Oyo State has issued a 7-day ultimatum to Oyo State Government to settle over five months arrears of salaries owed workers.
The ultimatum was issued on Tuesday in Ibadan by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC).
Mr Waheed Olojede, the State NLC Chairman, who spoke at a news conference, said that the 7-day ultimatum would commence on Wednesday, March 30 and elapse on Thursday, April 7.
He said that the unions had considered the prevailing condition of workers and pensioners with five months unpaid salaries and the failure of government to accede to previous requests.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government and the unions had in 2015 signed a memorandum of understanding on how the salaries would be paid.
Olojede said that the unions had written to the state government requesting for a meeting, which he claimed the government failed to accept.
Olojede said that the situation had reduced workers to state of poverty, adding that their productivity, diligence and absolute commitment would be hinged on how the workers were treated.
New Discovery! Natural Solution That Puts An End To Men's Weak Erection Problem
“If government fails to meet the leadership of the labour movement in the state, we may not be able to guarantee continued industrial peace beyond the stipulated time,” he said. (NAN)

dailypost.ng/2016/03/30/oyo-workers-issue-7-day-ultimatum-over-five-months-unpaid-salaries/?utm_source=nnd&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=nnd

APC has no base in South South, they will also lose Edo. it's a Fact

nice one, the Oshoko himself.

Mikehell:
Why Ekiti allocation cum small like diz?

BROS ITS THEIR BUDGET OOO, NOT ALLOCATION

TANTUMERGO007:
oshiomhole is a thief

NA PRISON THAT ONE GO END LAST LAST

comos:
Federal monthly allocation after deduction of borrowed money by Aregbesola = N6m.

Osun now part of tinubu estate,

one wonder how they got there.

YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT OSUN STARTS WITH LETTER O, EVEN ONIGBESE NA O START AM

The Full List of the budgets of Nigeria states
for the year 2016 are stated below
1. Abia State – 96.7 billion

2. Adamawa State – 100.89 billion

3. Akwa Ibom State – 426 billion

4. Anambra State – 101.4 billion

5. Bauchi State – 102 billion

6. Bayelsa State – 150.6billion

7. Benue State – 133.4 billion

8. Borno State – 155 billion

9. Cross River State – 350 billion

10. Delta State – 266 billion

11. Ebonyi State – 101.1 billion

12. Edo State – 111.5 billion

13. Ekiti State – 67 billion

14. Enugu State – 85.1 billion

15. Gombe State – 76.5 billion

16. Imo State – 141.2 billion

17. Jigawa State – 137.2 billion

18. Kaduna State – 171.7 billion

19. Kano State – 275 billion

20. Katsina State – 110 billion

21. Kebbi State – 107 billion

22. Kogi State – 75 billion

23. Kwara State – 116.2 billion

24. Lagos State – 662.5 billion

25. Nasarawa State – 77.9 billion

26. Niger State – 74.7 billion

27. Ogun state – 200 billion

28. Ondo State – 118.9 billion

29. Osun state – 150.7 billion

30. Oyo State – 165.5 billion

31. Plateau State – 154 billion

32. Rivers State – 370 billion

33. Sokoto State – 112.5 billion

34. Taraba State – 68.8 billion

35. Yobe State – 80.6 billion

36. Zamfara State – 92.8 billion

STATES WITH HIGHEST BUDGET

Lagos state – 662.5 billion
Akwa Ibom state – 426 billion
Rivers state – 370 billion
Cross River state 350 billion
Kano state – 275 billion
Delta state – 266 billion
STATES WITH LOWEST BUDGET
Ekiti state – 67 billion least
Taraba state – 68.8 billion
Niger state – 74.7 billion
Kogi state – 75 billion
Nasarawa state – 77.9 billion
Yobe state – 80.6 billion

Raphael Ehigiator

OK

Foreign airlines are reportedly planning to sack about two thousand Nigerian workers, owing to their inability to transfer money to their home countries to meet operational costs because of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy on forex and fund transfer.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) revealed on Sunday, that the foreign airlines have decided to take their frustrations on Nigerian workers.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, Acting General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye said the plan urged the Federal Government to promptly wade in into the potential crisis and prevent mass job loss.
“The reason being adduced for this danger is that their earnings in the past year is under lock with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN , as they are unable to transfer these earnings to their respective home countries to meet operational costs in accordance with international rules.”
“Following concerns raised recently by leaders of these workers and other stakeholders and in appreciation of the good intent of the government’s fiscal policy, we humbly make this clarion call for your (Minister) intervention to grant foreign airlines concession to repatriate their proceeds to their home countries.”
“We hasten to place on the front burner an emerging threat confronting over 2, 000 private sector aviation workers in Nigeria which requires your intervention to forestall imminent loss of jobs of these number of workers,” said Abioye.

ynaija.com/2000-foreign-airlines-forex-sack/

year ago today Muhammadu Buhari was elected president of Nigeria, sparking street celebrations and jubilation from many of his countrymen. They saw in the tough-talking former general a leader capable of steering Africa’s most populous nation towards its much-vaunted potential.
More on this topic
Former Nigerian defence chief denies £10m fraud charges
Buhari, though a military dictator from 1983-85, enjoyed a reputation for integrity, incorruptibility and doggedness. So when he vowed to wage war on Nigeria’s mind-boggling corruption, many believed him. His military experience and no-nonsense demeanour lent credibility to his pledge to “crush” Boko Haram, the homegrown jihadi insurgent group that controlled significant chunks of Nigerian territory at the time of his election and was responsible for thousands of deaths.
Many Nigerians also believed Buhari would revive the country’s economy, which was reeling from the effects of a slump in the price of oil, Nigeria’s major export. A year later, does all the optimism surrounding Buhari’s victory seem justified?
Buhari can claim some success regarding Boko Haram. Nigeria’s military has been progressively pushing the jihadis from territories they once controlled, forcing them on the defensive. However, he has by no means “crushed” Boko Haram, which still maintains the capability to launch attacks on soft targets such as this month’s suicide bombing in a mosque , which killed 22 people. Women and children are still regularly being abducted by the group. The war against Boko Haram is therefore far from over, but Buhari deserves a B- for significantly weakening them in his time as commander-in-chief.
His anti-corruption efforts have led to the trial of Nigeria’s former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki , who denies having diverted over $2bn that was earmarked for fighting Boko Haram during the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Several prominent figures have been linked to the case and face prosecution. Numerous investigations into other financial scandals have been opened. Buhari has also taken steps to clean house at the state-run oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a nest of corruption. Nigeria’s auditor general recently revealed that $16bn of oil revenue went missing in 2014 alone.
Buhari inherited an economy battered by weak oil prices, but his policies have made a bad situation worse
But for all the hoopla, Buhari’s anti-graft war has yet to yield any convictions. In fact, there is growing fear that with the help of clever lawyers, poorly prepared prosecution cases and potentially buyable judges, the culprits might ultimately go free or receive light prison sentences.
Additionally, critics accuse Buhari of being selective in fighting corruption, saying he targets politicians linked to the former government, while giving a pass to senior figures from his own party, the APC, which rarely has clean hands. This criticism is valid and underscores just how deep the rot is in Nigerian politics. Where practically everyone is, or has, been on the take, the prosecution of some and not others can always be viewed as a political witchhunt .
A recent scandal further diminished Buhari’s anti-graft credentials. The Nigerian president signed off a national budget loaded with dozens of questionable expenditures and some blatantly inflated figures. After a public outcry, Buhari admitted the incident was “embarrassing” and vowed to punish the officials who “padded” the budget , claiming ignorance of the controversial expenditures.
This suggests he is either not on top of things, or is willing to turn a blind eye to these problems in his own administration. Either way, it reflects poorly on his leadership. The Nigerian president thus gets an overall C for his anti-corruption efforts so far.
Buhari’s economic record is also wanting. It is true he inherited an economy battered by weak oil prices, but his policies have made a bad situation worse. He has been overly statist and interventionist, reacting to downward pressures on Nigeria’s currency, the naira, by imposing draconian foreign currency controls. His government has also banned the importation of dozens of items, from frozen chicken to ballpoint pens. This was supposed to encourage domestic production but the result so far has been soaring food prices, companies laying off workers as they suffer shortages of raw materials, rising inflation and GDP growth slowing to 2.1% .
Growing unemployment is particularly dangerous in a country that is
experiencing a population boom and is projected to have over 206 million people by 2020, with 63% of the population under the age of 24. Buhari’s dogged character – a selling point in his presidential campaign - is now proving an impediment regarding the economy as he stubbornly refuses to adjust his policies to reality. Nigeria’s president gets an F for his economic performance so far.
Buhari still remains popular with many Nigerians, but his approval rating has dropped from 77% last August to 57% this February, reflecting the growing economic frustration. I was one of those who celebrated Buhari’s election last year. I still believe he is a genuine patriot who has the best of intentions for Nigeria. But good intentions don’t guarantee good policy.
Unfortunately, it is all too easy for Nigerian presidents to get disconnected from reality as they are usually surrounded by careerist sycophants who tell them their every idea is a stroke of pure genius. It seems increasingly clear that Buhari doesn’t have any clever answers to Nigeria’s current economic problems and it would thus be wise of him to seek advice from those who might have alternative solutions.
The wellbeing of Nigerians must be Buhari’s priority, not the satisfaction of his ideological instincts. He must be open-minded and act fast to kick-start the Nigerian economy. If not, the same crowds who celebrated his victory last year will cheer his loss at the next presidential elections in 2019 – me included.

linkis.com/www.theguardian.com/lsFae

I support him, he has really brought life to the party, as everything seems to be going well now.

I have said many times APC cannot win Edo state, the best they can do is to make noise, I only wish that the election is free and fair. PDP. POWER

Ahmeduana:
WOW! I LIKE IT, AM JUST IMAGINE HOW THAT MIDGET OF A GOVERNOR WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN THE DEPUTY WAS RAINING HOT SLAP (a.k.a igbati oloyi) ON HIM, BE LIKE e dakun e gba mi ooo, o ti fe pa mi, USELESS FULANI GOVERNOR THAT THINK THEY OWNS NIGERIA NOT KNOWING THAT THE REST OF THE COUNTRY ARE JUST KEEPING THEIR PEACE, AND NOW IS GETTING TO THE TIPPING POINT...WHAT A BETTER WAY OF RESETTING THE BRAIN OF A OVER ZEALOUS GOVERNOR BRAIN TO A DEFAULT OR FACTORY SETTINGS.

bros you bad o

fayose my man, one man battalion. Oshokomole 1. the nightmare of apc

Same way the Boko Haram was used to sabotage Jonathan's Government.

I remembered when Jonathan complained about how vandals destroyed government installations, but APC instead was busy playing politics with everything instead of joining hands with the then government to proffer long term solution. Karma is dancing shakitibobo with APC government

temitemi1:
Barca u are a genus, let them(bloggers) sell u to the world! We will take d nessecarry action wn d time comes

seconded but the bloggers should always commend barca

temitemi1:
Barca u are a genus, let them(bloggers) sell u to the world! We will take d nessecarry action wn d time comes

you are right

Rilwayne001:
shut up there! PDP is dead and has been buried.. Now go back to your shell..

Dead party don't win elections. River, Bayelsa comes to mind

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would soon be unbundled and restructured to enhance its capacity for electoral management and to deepen the nations’ democracy.
The Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI) Professor Abubakar Momoh said this Thursday in Abuja at the stakeholders’ meeting and policy brief on “Election Violence and Mitigation Tool (EVMT)” organised by the Cleen Foundation, UKAID and TEI.
He also said that chairman of the commission Professor Mahmood Yakubu would not spare any staff indicted for electoral malpractices in the just concluded Rivers State re-run or other elections.
“INEC is already overburdened and many believe that there is need for its restructuring. The commission is working on the unbundling process looking at the Electoral Act to make its finding and recommendations to the National Assembly,” Momoh said.
He said that the much clamored for special court to fast-track prosecution of electoral offences is also being worked at by INEC saying it is difficult for the commission to prosecute electoral cases in courts due to the sheer numbers of the cases, those involved and the financial resources need for the prosecutions.
He said electoral violence is not restricted to Election Day alone as it can happen at any of the stages of electoral cycle and for different reasons.
Acting Executive Director of the Cleen Foundation Benson Olugbuo, said the EVMT policy brief was meant to streamline and harmonize existing instruments or policies on mitigating electoral violence.
He said the theme of the meeting: “Intervention for Preventing and Mitigating Electoral Violence in Nigeria: Issues and Policy Recommendations” was to be discussed on its usage to predict the risk of violence in the electoral process and evolve adequate policy and advocacy to prevent and control such violence.

www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/-inec-to-be-unbundled-soon/139354.html

ProfessorPeter:
El rufai will be first APC governor in the north that will be voted out of office come 2019. Within ten months in office, he has offended Gbagyi, almajiri, CAN, senator Sani, shite etc with his anti policies.

well said bro

Addressing the angry workers under the scorching sun, factional President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba said both leaders of NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, had met and resolved that the governor must among others, within the next seven days pay the workers their 11 months’ salary arrears, or a nationwide industrial action would be declared. This man is soooo wicked.

*Threatens nationwide strike if….

By Luka Binniyat

KADUNA—ORGANISED labour, yesterday, crippled government activities Kaduna State as civil servants at the state and local government levels abandoned their duty posts to attend a rally organized by labour to protest perceived anti-workers policies of Governor Nasir El-Rufai-led All Progressives Congress, APC, government.

This came as labour threatened a nationwide industrial action should the governor fail to rescind his alleged anti-workers’ policies in the next seven days.

Aggrieved workers, who thronged the secretariat of the Kaduna State branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, from all parts of the state, with several placards bearing various inscriptions, chanted anti-El-Rufai’s songs and called the governor unprintable names, regretting voting for him.

Though armed policemen waited in trucks outside the secretariat, men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, frisked anyone going through the gates for weapons, the rally was peaceful.

Addressing the angry workers under the scorching sun, factional President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba said both leaders of NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, had met and resolved that the governor must among others, within the next seven days pay the workers their 11 months’ salary arrears, or a nationwide industrial action would be declared.

Other decisions by NLC and TUC included that “All workers of Kaduna State should fill the verification form and indicate whether to join labour or opt out. But, you should make a copy of that form and keep it with your union officials for the records. We believe that the governor wants to rig the process and announce that most workers had indicated that they don’t want to join any trade union. With that, he can abrogate unionism here and deal with you badly. So, keep a copy with your union officials. In the next seven days, if El-Rufai does not pay workers their sixth to ninth months’ salary arrears, pay compensation to the victims of his verification exercises, the following will happen – We are going to mobilise all workers in the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and other trade unions outside the public service to stop work for a day in solidarity with Kaduna State workers.

“If the governor refuses to heed to these demands, we are going to move to Kaduna – All workers from 36 states of the Nigeria and from their LGAs. We are going to occupy Kaduna with our colleagues, market man and women, artisans and artistes, Bank Workers, Construction workers, drivers’ unions and everyone that is sympathetic to organise labour.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/labour-shuts-kaduna-anti-labour-policies/