₦airaland Forum

Me likey! I love the swag he exudes. I like it when people push the fashion boundaries just a little bit. Good one Eja Nla!

But...erm, try buy another chain nah, that pharoah head signature has become all too boring. Get another medallion bro! I just like this dude, no homo!

knightsTempler:
Oga Ben Bruce has paid is dues, for business to last for 35 years no be moi moi thing, even people that can't manage a corner shop or barbers shop are always quick to criticising, this is a family business that has passed through the thick and thin of the economy of Nigeria, people that lived in Lagos in the 80's will know little or more about Silverbird, from Domino Supermarket, their father handed over to Ben Bruce and his siblings and he was able to expand the business and involve every members of the family, they later move to beauty pageant, I saw a 1983 document about Ben Bruce with Prof. Walter Ofonagoro when Ofonagoro was the DG of NT A when he was doing one of the beauty pageant show, u can see the zeal in Ben Bruce. There is hardly any businessman that is not owning, if you know the story Donald Trump how he was owning 99 banks in the early 90's to the middle 90's and how he bounced back. Ben Bruce produced Agbani Darego, he has been able to make people especially the youths, look at the rhythm unplugged they organise every year, he took some of our entertainers out of the street by giving them the platform to be seen and heard, see thousands of people he is employing they will feel their families, pay tax, pay school fees and they go to the market, you can see the multiplying effect to the economy. How many of our rulers do the youths sincerely respect. I call him father of entertainment in Africa. He will bounce back, this is a passing phase.

#copied.

This thread or the issue at hand is not about BMB's achievements, but about loans and AMCON intervention. He has achieved a lot with his siblings and I admire him for that. But defaulting on loan payments/servicing is never in good taste. Let AMCON do what needs to be done to recover their monies within the tenets of the law.

However, I opened the thread with so much enthusiasm with a view to learning more about the situation only to find a hogwash piece in which the poster couldnt even wait till the second or third paragraph to spew his bias.

The piece was written to spite a certain people whom the op sees as unreasonable because they hold divergent views on issues.
I wouldnt call this intervention a witch hunt. Nooooooo! Far from it. It is a normal AMCON procedure which has happened many times before even with much larger corporate entities, however if statements credited to AMCON lawyer today are anything to go by, I'd say there's some political undertones to it. He made some very unprofessional comments about the situation. Very unsavoury.

On the other hand there is no smoke without fire or so the saying goes. I think p[eople have earned the right to be suspicious of anything the present govt does as it is usually cloaked in lies and deceit with little room for fairness. Its anti--corruption war is skewed to say the least and it has shown that it would not tolerate opposition whereas it is through opposition that it got to ppwer in the first place. Anyways, that is a topic for further discussion.

If I was going to write an article about AMCON and silverbird etc like the op did, I'd do a detailed writeup with a view to educating people and gaining converts onto the side of knowledge and reason bearing in mind that some people form opinions based on limited knowledge and information. Beginning such a thread with biased sentiments has already put a deathknell to whatever points he hoped to convey.

bejeiodus:
The lawyer needs to be upbraided by his employer--Muiz Banire for casting aspersions on Ben. Ben handed his companies to AMCON without any fuss, so, why deride him for owing? A decent lawyer should not speak in that tone of voice. The overall tone of the report was subtly denigratory.

He has not spoken like a lawyer, he spoke like a politician. AMCON do your job, but don't be political about it just to please your paymasters. I have seen AMCON take over companies with statements issued but not political and seemingly personal jabs like the one above by this lawyer. Smh.

lopzy:
So for your mind now anyone that has behome a governor is blessed. I pity you seriously, you can always say I am a nobody. you have your opinion, but I am pretty sure I have lived my life in a manner that nobody whatsoever can point fingers at me as being dubiius. to me that is very important than your defintion of being blessed. mr somebody, lol.
uote author=Frankiss44 post=46874000]

And the cursed man is a governor today and very relevant in Nigeria politics.. but you and your landlord that are blessed are nobody... What an irony

If nobody has ever pointed fingers at you as being dubious, then you have never held a leadership position in your life, neither have you followed well. That is not being blessed, just complacent.

A lot of people with half a brain here. So freaking what if they knelt down to save their jobs? So freaking what if they are not trying to lose their means of livelihood in these perilious times? So freaking what if he had to capture it on camera, afterall he faces an accusation that he needs to clear the air over? When the first pictures came out, these same people still said there was no evidence of begging, now there is and you scream blue murder!

Any Niherian bank would still do same, don't blame zenith. Ekiti money can do a whole lot for it in these times. If he pulls the money now, the same belligerent folks here would still lament over massive job cuts. Y'all need to grow up.
If the same bank was begging Tinubu (your most beloved) you all will be here chanting 'Jagaban of africa', see him seated like a boss man!' So many unreasonable twats on NL.

kenonze:
Hmmmm.

Anything Ijaw youth is synonymous with violence.

There are always different fashions.

Both PDP and APC fashions are all killers.

I guess you meant factions.

DaBullIT:
I warned you

Warned me about what? Collect chair siddon make I see road. The trap is not working. I won't insult you so you can report to any mod. Spill whatever poppycock you gotta spill and get it over and done with. Mtcheewww!

Daplux4:
There are sentiment in ur view, if buhari prosecute all corrupt leaders including obasanjo, tinubu, babangida, atiku etc their will be no problem, one side justice is totaly unaceptable.

Bros, read my comment again to better understand my POV.

arresa:
You people of course have all manner of qualifications to describe arrests and prosecution lawbreakers like the government is witch hunting or fighting this and that when in fact it's law and order, accountability and the government upholding the rule of law and abiding by the oath they swore to defend and uphold the laws of Nigeria.


This is why I keep hoping and praying that some people get their ipob and biafra country and live lawlessly the way you want and love..

Half of the protests you see on NL here would not arise if the so--called fight against corruption were wholistic. There are corrupt personell in his cabinet with indictments. Charity begins at the home. Accountability is not an exclusive preserve to be demanded of a certain category of people who happen to be known govt. Critics. I feel no pity nor sympathy for most Nigerian politicians. They get what they sow, however what is very glaring is the lopsidedness in this present govt.'s operations and practices. But then again, everything happens for some higher purpose to be fulfilled.

monex:
there are two interesting opinions;

first [/b]and really pathetic - as you said - those who claim witch hunt for a pure business transaction. You owe banks. I pay on your behalf on condition that if you can't pay me, I recover my money as equity. One reason for this is the over-zealousness of the Amcon staff who make it seem like they would close down the place rather than take over or sell out.

[b]second - those who put him in the category of criminal and corrupt and who is receiving his due punishment. these ones dont understand that there is nothing criminal about owing and failing to pay back. it is purely civil.

My brother! You just said it all. This stuff happens all the time. I know many blue chip companies that AMCON has taken over a few times in recent years and it is not in the public domain. It is a civil matter. There is almost no big company in Nigeria today that transacts business solely on its financial muscle. They all borrow and most of them default. Not saying it is right, but it isn't criminal.

sukkot:
11 billion ? dats like 30 million pounds. so a bank can give one man this amount of loan ? issoraiiiiiii

Not one man, but a business conglomerate. Besides, that cant be the principal. The principal would be much much lower but you know...compound interest would be at play here and the longer the loan stays unserviced, that amount can take a leap of faith to N15billion in little time.

oyb:
Compound interest is a biatch. I wonder what the original principal was. Sad. Does this mean cinemas can't make it in Nigeria?

Real biatch! I wouldnt be surprised if the principal was under N5 billion. Even with outrageous tickets for movies, pop corn etc. Anyways, Domino's pizza to the rescue. I guess some prices would be reviewed upwards. The amount they charge for common pizza enh can buy you 2-3 pizzas in the US.

wowmenow:
Ben Bruce it's well we know is witch hunting
They handed over your business to tinubu boy muiz banire

This is a business transaction, though business politics abound too but silverbird is not the first company AMCON has taken over. It happens regularly. When they have restructured the company for profit and recouped their monies, they'll handover back to mgt. Unless the business operations is not profitable, then they can liquidate the assets. N11 billion is not beans.
I think its just a coincidence that BMB happens to be a critic of this govt.

DaBullIT:
53 people and 11 more seem to agree with me

You are just as irrelevant as your comment, but next time don't insult me , mercy won't flow forever

Blah blah blah! Where is the insult? I don't chase after likes some some of your ilk do. Truth hurts bro! You are allowed to lick your wounds.

DaBullIT:
Seun needs the immediate purge of these hateful returdds on nairaland , despite everything that's being said and done , some people are still talking trash , apparently , most of them just visited , passed through school. but education did not go through them , this is a serious case of identity theft , and Aisha Buhari is the target ,

I mean for some tribes it is complimentary to share your husband's middle name and last name, But i do not think that's the fulani way

This same tribe , when or if the lady wants, she would rather keep her own surname as her middle name and take husband's last name


But this case Aisha M Buhari Buhari's name with an "A" i do not think fulanis do that at all

Does anyone know the meaning of warrant in debt ?? It means the Aisha Buhari being prosecuted owes someone in USA some money

Does any wailer know the meaning of Garnishment ?? Wage garnishment, the most common type of garnishment, is the process of deducting money from an employee's monetary compensation (including salary), sometimes as a result of a court order. Wage garnishments continue until the entire debt is paid or arrangements are made to pay off the debt. So if we follow wailer's Logics , President Buhari's wife is still recieving wages or salary from US government as at 2016 , These same set of people who said Aisha has never been outside the country ??

Following wailer's sense again, Aisha Buhari was in USA in 2014/2015 to appeal a case on her own behalf ??

You people should get a life abeg , and i mean it , if i were the mods anyone who says rubbish about the president or his wife despite all these proofs of blackmail from fayose's end will be banned and their email released to DSS as enemies of state

Shallow thinking. Then you wouldnt be here by now typing bollocks on NL.

Something is amiss in this whole saga. Not holding forth for anyone, just want answers. I can sense some cover up but not sure from who yet. In all, I think an innocent woman's name is being tarnished. Time will tell if there's another third Aisha.

dammytosh:
That is a lie they lied to you.

Halliburton case has been opened.

Wayy before Buhari came in, EFCC already stated that AIsha Buhari in that case is not related to Buhari.

Check Reno Omokri's tweet this morning, he confirmed same.

All of a sudden Reno Omokri's words have turned to law for you! Ok, so you lots accept his words when it suits your cause and at other times he's a wailer. Haha! You have mentiomed his name on this thread like a gazillion times. Smh! Reno! You dey see them? LOL.

tylerbraid:
Passport got missing earlier in the year & she's free to roam abt america? Even to hire a lawyer in another mans country without passport? Why people sabi talk trash like this? Its either she's trying to gain attention from the presidency or bribed by some people to say shit

Passp[ort got missing in January and she applied for another one at the Nigerian embassy in DC same month as asserted by Nuhu Ribadu.

TonyeBarcanista:
Mr. Ribadu’s agency has asked American authorities to arrest Ms. Buhari. That has not happened, but the Justice Department has an interest in her. Last summer, she testified before a grand jury investigating Mr. Jefferson, the congressman, who is suspected of soliciting bribes from American companies seeking business in Nigeria.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/business/yourmoney/29lobby.html?pagewanted=all&referer=


Pls try get your fact right before making claims...

Ok. Another source says she stayed away. Now, reffering to the link you posted, Aisha Buhari was reffered to as a middle aged woman as at 2007, but the passport details released by the FG shows 1975 as her birthday which would make her around 41 by August this year and 32 as at 2007 which is very far from middle age(45-55).

I will ask her to break up with me all over again.

TonyeBarcanista:
United States Prosecutors have long concluded on the prosecution and convicted Jefferson. The said Aisha was made to testify against Jefferson during the trials.

USA Police for reasons best known to them deliberately refused to prosecute impostor Aisha and also refused to extradite her despite the request of Nuhu Ribadu led EFCC.


Please, stop asking me about Haliburton characters, my position is to prove that the said impostor Aisha that claimed to be daughter of PMB is not the wife of PMB.

Anyone can claim anything, its the smart move. There's deniability. What makes ylu think the first lady cannot claim to be the daughter of PMB? Is she not young enough? However, your statement about Aisha testifying is incorrect. Kachikwu OFFERRED to testify and imdeed testified, but Aisha STAYED AWAY FROM THE PROBE AND FROM USA EVER SINCE. So how can someone that stayed away from the USA since 2006 still be living in same USA till date and even report her stolen passport in January this year?. If the presidency wants to end the comtroversy, let them produce records pf any trip[ to US by Aisha after 2006.

TonyeBarcanista:
The Police had investigated the scandal, the report is yet to be implemented.


That however has no effect on Mrs Buhari as her own case has to do with an identity fraud.

Can Mrs Aisha of Haliburton that claimed to be Buhari daughter still double as the wife?

Beside, EFCC ex bosses Ribadu and Larmode that were part of the investigation as Chairman and Director of Operations respectively long ago confirmed that she is a fraud

I thought you should know better. If the police is yet to implement the report, how come Jefferson is in jail? Or are you talking about Nigerian police? If so, why hasnt the US police arrested the said Aisha Buhari for her involvement since she resides there and is active in her community?

Forget about the efcc bosses, they are speaking like p[aid goons. If they set traps for her as they claimed, how come they refused to pick Atiku and co?.

TonyeBarcanista:
Having taking my time to critically analyze the issue of legality on the freezing of the personal account of PDP and Ekiti state governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, I believe that it won't be out of place to air my opinion.

Before I proceed, I want to make it clear that my opinion on this issue is devoid of prejudice whatsoever nor influence by partisan bias. In other words, my opinion on this is strictly objective without fear or favor to any group or persons.

IS EFCC EMPOWERED TO FREEZE ACCOUNT UNDER INVESTIGATION?
I believe we should look at Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act 2004 that specifically deals with it.

According to the Section,

“the Chairman of the Commission or any officer authorized by him may, if satisfied that the money in the account of a person is made through the commission of an offence under this Act or any enactment specified under Section 6(2) (a)-(f) of this Act, apply to the Court ex-parte for power to issue or instruct a bank examiner or such other appropriate authority to freeze the account.”

The provision clearly state that the Chairman of the Commission (EFCC) may apply to court for such order before it can freeze such account.

With this, it is safe to establish that the EFCC by law is empowered to freeze any bank account or financial asset under investigation after securing a valid court order.

CAN A GOVERNOR BE INVESTIGATED/HAS ACCOUNT FROZEN?
I believe that the Justices of the Supreme Court have ruled that while Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (amended) grants governors and their deputies immunity from arrest, and criminal and civil prosecution, it doesn't grant them immunity from being investigated.

Going by Section 34(1) that empowers the Commission to freeze any account that may have connection with fraud during investigation and upon obtaining order from the court, and with the ruling of the apex court that investigation was not captured in immunity enjoyed by President, the Vice President, Governors, and Deputies, it is my humble opinion that their is no illegality in the freezing of a Governor's account provided such is backed by a valid court order.

DID EFCC ACT IN ILLEGALITY IN FREEZING GOV FAYOSE ACCOUNT?
Going by the analysis above, I believe that the freezing of governor Fayose account could only be illegal if done without obtaining court order as prescribed by the relevant section of EFCC Act 2004.

Governor Fayose should consider the option of going to court to reverse the action of the EFCC if he is convinced that the action amount to illegality and infringement on his right and privileges. I don't think wailing in the media can have any effect.


ON THE CONTROVERSIAL HALIBURTON AISHA BUHARI:
Having done my independent investigation, I came to conclusion that the said Aisha Buhari is an impostor and not related to the Wife of the President. These are my reasons;

1. The said Miss Aisha Buhari claimed to be the daughter of General Muhammadu Buhari and not the Wife of General Muhammadu Buhari.

However, Buhari in 2006 had denied having any daughter with such name. According to him;

“I don’t have any relationship with that Aisha Buhari,” Mr. Buhari said. “I don’t have any daughter called Aisha Buhari living outside this country. She is not my daughter.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/business/yourmoney/29lobby.html?pagewanted=all&referer=

2. The said Aisha of Haliburton was said to be in her middle age as at 2006, while Mrs Buhari is 47years of age as at now.

3. The Haliburton Aisha was said to have testified in the Haliburton case in the USA in 2006, there is no record that Mrs Buhari ever appeared in USA court to give any testimony.

4. Former EFCC Chairman and PDP Chieftain Mallam Nuhu Ribadu that handled the case had confirmed that the fraudulent Aisha is not the daughter of Mr President and has no relationship with him.

5. A Google search on the image of haliburton Aisha reveals no semblance with Mrs Aisha Buhari.


I believe that Mrs Aisha Buhari was a victim of identity fraud, and it won't be appropriate to further subject her to more victimisation/emotional trauma even though her party supporters would have done worse if former first lady and my kinswoman Dame Patience Jonathan was the subject.





May God Bless Us All and Bless Nigeria

One quick question @Tonyebarcanista

If the Aisha Buhari is a different one and resides in the US as claimed by Ribadu, and US claims to have handed all that is needed to prosecute those involved to EFCC and she was indicted, how come US has'nt arrested the said Aisha Buhari and jailed her? How come EFCC hasnt applied for extradition of the said impostor?

Why hasnt EFCC gone after Otunba Fasawe (OBJ's close ally), or Atiku or Kachikwu's brother and all those mentioned in the scandal?

B throughout. 1-10 is B.

For those choosing A as the answer for no.10,an historian is correct. B.

Some of these actually promote cannibalism

Hmmmmnnn

RZArecta:
nothing yet on that last album o though I didn't really try to look for anything since I was disappointed with that one copy strategy. Still trying to complete my Czarface albums though you obviously have a larger library than me

I just have a manageable hip hop library, trying not to get stuck in the past but nowadays hip hoppers are making it easy for me. Same flows/lyrics/styles. Its all about their freestyle game now, little content and wit, absence of character.

Union secondary school Enugu. (Awkunanaw Boys) First stanza in parts.

Let us with one accord, acclaim
Uniom secondary school our hope and pride
...
...
And forever with one voice proclaim!
Nisi!
Dominus!
Frustra!!!

Truefederalism:
Errmmm, I will try hard to not see your comment as prompted by resentment or somewhat misunderstanding of the text. Do not blame me. It's written all over it. You tried not to, but you based your analysis almost on Ojukwu.

I loved your take on the Yoruba stand, that is, within the army, and their justified withdrawal from an imminent face-off with the Northern faction. That is understandably justified, but only in a situation where the Yoruba does not see the East as capable of productive alliance.
This goes a long way to explain the origins of our travails in the south today.
Ojukwu assured Ogundipe of the East's support, and even midwest. What else did I miss?

The issue here was not cowardice per say, it was trust. The issue was not numbers, it was a problem of who to enter into alliance with, the gun or the truth?


You cannot fiegn ignorance on the reason why Ojukwu clamored for a titular Commander-in-chief (which we ended up adopting as a nation) in place of Supreme Commander, the reasons were clear, he was gunning for a 'military democracy' as someone put it, or true federalism as we know it today, and having a SUPREME COMMANDER defeats all its intents and purposes.

He was the leader of the east and had gone there as a representative of the east. Let us not twist facts to make a person look bad. He was doing the bidding of the East; a people whose civilian and military population had just faced pogrom and mutiny in a very wierd manner.

No easterner at that time, and till this moment, trusts and regards the federal government, and at that time, the military.

If the army couldnt live in one barrack as they agreed and we do, what then is the function of a supreme commander who does not command loyalty from the general troops? Or was the army in the east considered inconsequential?

Ojukwu made it clear there, it was not about Gowon. He insisted on the right approach and due process within the army alright, but it was not about Gowon.
He was looking into the future when some people were looking at their ranks, and he turned out to be a prophet.

I wouldnt want to go into the issue of Igbo Coup or not.

But know this, as at the time of this meeting Aguiyi was still officially missing and any sensible person, not a tribalist or some kind of bigot, should have held Gowon in acting capacity, even as he was wrongly "picked".
That was what Ojukwu did.

You refered to the coup in your analysis, and how it favored the Igbo and how Ojukwu kept quiet, but you forgot that all through that meeting Ojukwu did not go back into the mistakes of that Ironsi regime. None in attendance did. Most of those present were proposing solutions to the current crises and not how it came about. Ojukwu was one of them.

He had this to say at a later date,

"It is said that the 1966 coup that failed was strictly an Igbo coup, but then the irony of history is that it was the late General Aguiyi Ironsi, an Igbo who single-handedly dismantled the coup in Lagos, while my humble self, another Igbo-man rendered it immobile in the north.” ~Ojukwu
http://obindigbo.com.ng/2016/01/10-unforgettable-quotes-of-late-biafran-leader-odumegwu-ojukwu/

You talked about Igbos carrying out the first coup, do you also know who caused the coup, the western house and the wild wild west?
Bro, lets just calm down and discuss the prevailing matter.


By the way, there is this thing I tell my Igbo friends.

I am of the opinion that the East does not know how to be tribalistic (maybe this is the result of practicing democracy throughout the prehistoric periods and precolonial era, and up until now).

Go through Nigerian history and see for yourself. Look at the antecedents of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Aguiyi Ironsi, Ojukwu, and Goodluck Jonathan, they all behaved like it was their sole right to be nationalists, like it was their particualar prerogative to care for the entity called Nigeria, even ahead of their kin.
Where people preached tribalism they shouted nationalistic values, and that trend continues even today.

I think that is the problem of this country, it is either we all come out together and practice full tribalism or we all join hands and become true nationalists, all of us. There must be balance.

God bless you for a wonderful analysis. I keep telling people that the Igbo man os a learner when it comes to being tribalistic. He is always nationalistic in his approach. Seeing everywhere as home hence his willingness to travel everywhere and settle as home. From Zik, to Aguiyi Ironsi to Ojukwu to GEJ the same nationailistic outlook to issues even when all around them exhibit tribal tendencies. All they desire is peaceful coexistence. They loathe any form of lording over them as they are the only true custodians of democracy in the country owing from centuries of democratic self rule and that is why God fatherism doesnt thrive nor last in Igboland.

Is there a way I can buy you a couple of beers for your analysis above? You wrote like a sage. I should start following you if you dont mind.

RZArecta:
i thought no said date is Masta Killah, uncontrolled substance is still my best rap album. You're right about their skills and the Rza is a legend

Yeah. You are correct. My bad, my mix up. INS's album is 'Resident Patient'. Like I said earlier it was a wu day for me that day. I slammed a lot;' wu--collectives, killarmy, killa bees et al. I'm not so updated these days, what's going on with the gambinos? Any new works you got? That last wu album that was dropped and only one copy made and sold to some rich dude, any leaks on that? You gotta marvel at RZA's strategy.

RZArecta:
Wu tang forever my brother though Inspectah Deck is my main man in the group

Iron flag (Chrome wheels, One of these days)

Oh boy! Rebel INS. I also played his no said date album today. In fact it was a wu day for me. Uncontrolled substance is definitely one of the most underrated wu albums. They don't make cats like that no more. Wu--tang is a movement. Mad styles and skills. The abbot has really tried for the group.

RZArecta:
you can buy ladder for the story na

Wu fan obviously going by your moniker. Just Slammed me some iron flag this afternoon. Word up bro?