₦airaland Forum

Congrats to all those who have gotten their visas. More wonderful testimonies coming by God's grace

Another article written by Abati on Ribadu in 2009. The same man he just heaped all manner of insults on a few days ago. Saw it on SR. Enjoy

I ran into him at the reception lobby of the Hotel Des Milles Collines in Kigali. He had just arrived and was trying to check into the hotel: Nuhu Ribadu, the erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who lost his job under rather controversial circumstances, and who is regarded as having been unfairly treated by the Yar'Adua government. I hugged him. He had lost nothing of his humility, his sense of humour and his humanity. He didn't look like a man who had just been rough-tackled by the unpredictable Nigerian state whose moral compass is subject solely to the whims and caprices of whoever is in charge, and not necessarily principles and values.

The following morning, we sat together on the same long table, and I slipped a note to him. I wanted an interview with him for The Guardian. It is about time he told his story at great length. He read my note, and picked up his pen. I noticed that he is a Southpaw, and I chuckled remembering how so many southpaws tend to find themselves in the hot corners of history. In his response, he had said "we would discuss." We were both attending a conference organised by UNECA in collaboration with UNDP to assess the efficiency and impact of anti-corruption institutions in Africa. There were anti-corruption chiefs in attendance from various African countries.

Ribadu wouldn't grant an interview, but he was ready to discuss. "I think it is better for me to remain silent now", he says. "I am using this period to reflect on what we did. You know when I took up the job in 2003, I resolved that I will try my utmost best. And walahi, I tried. I took the assignment seriously. Maybe I failed, but at least we proved that it is possible. So, I have been thinking and trying to figure out what further should have been done or could have been done differently." We were soon asked to introduce ourselves. When it was Ribadu's turn, he told the meeting: "I am Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, currently recuperating from a bloodied nose". The hall cracked into laughter. But the other anti-corruption chiefs and operatives would not laugh later when Ribadu took part in a country case studies panel.

There has been so much speculation about Ribadu's whereabouts in the Nigerian press. But the fact is that he is currently a Senior Fellow at St Antony's College in Oxford University in the United Kingdom, working with Professor Paul Collier, the leading authority on African economies and politics. St Antony's College has become the sanctuary for many progressives who get into trouble in the developing world. Ribadu stays in a residence that was recently vacated by Anwal Ibrahim, the embattled former Prime Minister of Malaysia whose only offence was that he fell out of favour with his boss, Mahathir Muhammed. "Such a nice man", Ribadu says. "he left me his plates and cutlery and kitchen utensils." One of the persons Ribadu met on arrival at St Antony's is John Githongo, the Kenyan newspaper columnist and anti-corruption campaigner who had to flee from Kenya in 2005, after he discovered that the majorly corrupt persons in the country are his own colleagues: Ministers and the big men of Kenyan society. Githongo got their confessions on tape, but they told him bluntly that they are the ones milking Kenya dry. One fateful day, Githongo packed his bags and fled to London, from where he sent a letter resigning his position as Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance in Kibaki's NARC Government. He has now returned to Kenya where he enjoys massive media and civil society support, and his book, written by Michela Wrong and titled It's Our Turn To Eat will be released in London on February 23. It will go on sale in Nairobi the same day.

Unlike Githongo, Ribadu did not run away immediately he discovered that he had fallen out of favour. He stayed and tried to fight the system. He was sidelined and sent to a course he didn't ask for in Kuru near Jos. Behind his back, they gave his job to someone else, without regard to the security of tenure. Then, they demoted him in what looked like a routine administrative exercise, but the political undertones were writ large. When he tried to resist the system, they shoved him out of the graduation hall at Kuru, and his employers, the Police sent him to Siberia: what Nigerians would call the Ogbugbuaja treatment. Ribadu got lawyers and again tried to fight back. He refused to report for duty. He refused to wear the uniform of the new rank.

One day, assassins trailed him and pumped bullets into his car. Having served in the Nigeria Police for more than two decades, he could spot a warning shot if one was fired in his direction. So, Ribadu succumbed to the logic of Bob Marley's lyrics: "He who fights and runs away, will live to fight another day." He is not likely to come anywhere Nigeria for a while. Those who do not like his face and his work have effectively driven him out of town. But he is a determined man. "What has happened to me is just a temporary setback", he concludes. "I am a fighter, I don't give up. I don't believe the people who think they have dealt with me will have the last laugh."

Like Githongo, Ribadu is spending his period in exile to think and write. "I am working on two books", he told me. The working title for the first book is "The Problem of Corruption in Africa: The Nigerian Experience." He explained: "You know corruption is the biggest problem we have in Africa. It is so central to the problems we have. But to fight corruption, the biggest man in government, the President or the Prime Minister must be honest about it. That is where it starts. Americans talk about Obama. We need change in Nigeria more than America does. What I discovered is that we have a challenge to give power to ordinary Nigerians, to ordinary people, to take it from the politicians. And we don't have time. Change is important." He didn't have a working title for his proposed second book. But he offered an outline of its posssible contents.

"When I look back, I realise that some of the people who liked what I did also have issues with some of the things we did. I plan to do a second book to address some of their concerns. I intend to show for example that we deliberately went after grand corruption because that is where the problem is. We interrogated the Governors, the Senate President, the Vice President. I put a Bank Director, Bulama in handcuffs. The moment we did that, the banks knew immediately that there were no sacred cows. We needed to send a strong signal that corruption will not be condoned and the cleansing process had to start from the stop. The day I took the job, I knew that it could end up like this. I knew that I could be victimised or dismissed or killed. It could have been worse. That I am alive today is by the Grace of the Almighty and I am grateful. But my position is that some people just have to make the sacrifice to save our country. I swear by the Almighty that wherever there are people who are trying to make Nigeria a better country, I will be among them. Walahi."

Another objective Ribadu intends to achieve in the second book is to comment on a number of case studies. "People go about saying that Obasanjo used me to go after his enemies, Obasanjo didn't use me, in fact may be it is the other way round. If you check, you will notice that the people we went after were actually Obasanjo's people. Alamiyeseigha was very close to the President. Odili was also very close to him. Saminu Turaki was an Obasanjo man. I deliberately did not go after the opposition. Yes, we investigated Orji Kalu. We also investigated Bola Tinubu. I know the President's people would have wanted the EFCC to go after a man like Ken Nnamani. But we needed to start with the Obasanjo people to make a point that nobody is above the law. And that was why we investigated the President himself, And we went after his daughter. I was in Kuru then, but I knew about the Iyabo case. If we want to clean up our country, then let us do it. And that was why I went after Atiku. Atiku is from the same village with me. But Nigeria is more important. It belongs to all of us, not some powerful people."

Ribadu's book is also a response to questions about due process and the rule of law. "People complain that we didn't obey the rule of law, that we violated due process and they use specific instances to criticise us. I plan to respond to all those criticisms. Take a man like former IG Tafa Balogun. I didn't like what happened myself. I was against putting him in handcuffs. But I have to be sensitive to the people who work under me. They came to me and accussed me of double standards. When I accepted the job, I was inspired by the example of Jerry Rawlings of Ghana who went after the big fish and changed his country for good. So we decided that if we could put a Bank MD in handcuffs and follow that up with an Inspector General of Police, then Nigerians would realize that we meant serious business. That was what happened. I am a human being. I make mistakes. I admit that. But I was honest about what I did. So they say we abused the rule of law? What is rule of law? The same rule of law that has now been used to recapture Nigeria?"

I told Ribadu I can't wait to read and review his books. When are they coming out? "This year. By July. We have to keep the anti-corruption campaign alive. For me personally, there is nothing left for me other than to dedicate myself to the struggle. I am not seeking to be an Obama. But people must be prepared to make the sacrifice. We need change more than America." How is he these days? "I sleep well these days", he said. "My needs are minimal. Look at this pair of slippers". I checked: an over-abused pair of slippers with worn edges and threatening holes. "I have been wearing this since 2003 and I am okay. But I must tell you I have enjoyed a lot of goodwill since I left office. I was offered jobs by many international organizations. I receive invitations to attend conferences and to write books. I came here for example from Lusaka. I am happy to know that there are people out there who have faith in human progress and integrity."

It was soon the turn of Ribadu to participate in a panel discussion focussing on country case studies. There were contributions from representatives of Nigeria's EFCC and the ICPC, but Ribadu's comments had a special accent which struck a chord among the participants. He said: "If you fight corruption, it fights back. If you go after petty corruption nothing will happen to you, But if you go after grand corruption, you'd be taking on the politicians and they have the money. And they will come after you, But you can choose to go to bed with them and you'd continue to be Chairman or Director, and you can go to conferences and enjoy tea and collect estacodes. But I made a choice, I decided to go after the big ones, even if they were the ones that put me there, I investigated President Obasanjo, I took his statement myself. I went after his daughter, a Senator, I went after Governors, I charged all of them to court. One of them offered me $500, 000 US and a house in Seychelles and an aircraft, but I rejected all of that. By the time I left EFCC, I had 275 convictions in a country that never had one on cases of grand corruption, I charged the Vice President to court - somebody from my village. I proved that it can be done.

"It is the most difficult work to do. To confront it will require people who make sacrifice like Mandela, like the people who fought for independence in our various countries. It requires people who have courage, people who do not think that they want to enjoy. If you want to enjoy, it is not the kind of work you can do. I have no regrets. It requires a strong will to make sacrifice. You have to make a fundamental decision. It can even mean you lose your life. They will try to compromise you, They will try to blackmail you. I survived an assassination attempt. I have bullets in my car. I intend to keep that car for life. I have no regrets. You have the media. You have to carry them along, be open, be accountable. I have never given a penny to anybody in the media, But there is no newspaper in Nigeria that has not made me Man of the Year, even though I charged some publishers to court and even threatened to close down newspapers. Which shows that people are good. If they see that you mean well, they will support you. I am out now, but Nigeria has changed. You need international co-operation. You also need to build capacity.

"We built a Financial Intelligence Unit, you have to be in control of Financial intelligence in your country. because money is at the root of all forms of corruption. If you track the money, you can stop the corruption. Be on the side of your own people. Don't be on the side of the leaders. A President will go, but the country will be there, Those who are in control, it is only temporary. History will judge you and you will never regret."

Source: http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/i-saw-ribadu-in-rwanda

http://saharareporters.com/article/abati-2009-i-saw-ribadu-rwanda-reuben-abati

ogugua88: Well, whoever says there's no justification for abortion isn't an empathetic human being. Under no circumstances should a molested woman or a woman suffering complications, such as ectopic pregnancy, be forced to deliver. That's more inhumane than the abortion itself.

The young Indian woman that died in Ireland comes to mind. She should have had an abortion but was denied under Irish law. Doctors told her no because "This is a Catholic country". She suffered in agony for hours before losing the baby. Then, she died some days later thanks to blood poisoning. Where's the humanity in that?

On point. The Ireland case is a really sad one

He said he's not contesting for Presidency. He didn't say anything about VICE- Presidency

Amaechi as VP will do better for the common man in the south south than GEJ has done & will do as President. It's no rocket science, Amaechi has his shortcomings, but me thinks & believes he's more intelligent than GEJ & a better administrator by far.

South south, if you want the presidency in 2015, no problem. But please give us good materials. The one at the top no be correct market abeg.

carr96: some reasons are justified?
I bet if u commit murder, some reasons would be justified?
I bet if someone rap.es, some reasons would be justified?
I bet all those dumb leaders looting, some reasons would be justified?

Sorry ma'am but there's NO JUSTIFICATIOn for abortion!

Don't be so hard. Molestation & potential danger to mother's health are wonderful justifications for abortion.

ogugua88: That's not exactly true. If a fetus has everything a human being has, then it should be able to survive and thrive on its own. There's a reason why abortions are legal until late-term (varying on the state or country). Late-term abortions are illegal because fetuses have a higher chance at surviving.

Revealing gruesome details doesn't solve anything either. If you're anti-abortion, then you should be anti-what-leads-to-abortion, and that's unwanted pregnancies via molestation, unsafe sex, or failed contraception. If you think gruesome details will work, then you should take a look at what's happening in the United States. It's a disgusting argument and reduces women's rights. As a woman, that's not the kind of situation in which I'd like to find myself. I'd like to make a decision because it was my call and not because someone swayed me.
For those whom will be swayed, they will either carry a child they're not ready to have, carry a child and luckily grow a stable family, or mental issues will burden the mother, which could lead to miscarriage, aka spontaneous abortion.

I hope in the midst of all this that one considers the mother. I know in certain arguments in the US, it's as if the mother isn't considered at all. I don't find a developing embryo or fetus more important than its mother. A healthy mother, in terms of physical, emotional, and mental health, is the best host for a developing being. Too many times do women who aren't healthy or prepared give birth, and they can't provide for their children. To me, that's unfair fate for that born child. I know there's no such thing as an ideal situation, but I think we should be striving towards babies being born in ideal environments. Eradicating abortions does little to enhance that in my opinion.

Ogugua,
edit: Seen! Thanks .

@Topic, no energy for epistles but summary.
To me,
Abortion - may not necessarily be outlawed. Should be strongly discouraged. NOT ENCOURAGED IN ANY FORM. Should be recommended as an option in case of molestation. May be enforced sef (lol) in cases where the mother's health is in danger.

Meanwhile, yes, other factors that cause early premarital/unprotected sex = unwanted pregnancies should be discussed but since we all generally adopt a grossly hypocritical view of those matters, its pointless. We can then in our characteristic hypocritic manner & deliberate failure to address root causes of the reasons why we are such a highly s''e''x''u.al genration, tell the companies producing condoms & postinor II to increase their advertising budget.

The arguments supporting abortion can also apply to a few months old or lets even say few weeks old baby to a large extent. Let's hope that women won't start asking for permission, no, legal backing to be able to shoot their few months old babies in the head so that their peace of mind is assured. We also hope that grown up kids of senile partially brain damaged ooooold parents won't be requesting that they be granted rights to see their folks off to their graves prematurely since afterall,at that stage, they are more or less entirely dependent on them for survival.

This is my summary. I hope it isn't so vague, tho i can readily draw up a long winded & maybe unnecessary (as far as this forum/thread is concerned) essay to support my points especially the last one which i believe may be challenged most ideologically.

But suffice to say that let us ask ourselves, if the foetus could talk, would 'it' want to be aborted? Let us remember that scientists keep coming up with evidence that shows babies are not as dum.b as we think they are in the womb. & they are still researching.

Policewoman: Agreed, Sanusi helped d lady to get d job which is not peculiar to SLS; people do assist acquaintances in getting jobs they qualify for. I do not see any problem with this so far d lady in question is ably qualified for the job.
From d text messages quoted by SR, there is no phrase suggestive of illicit love affairs between the duo. Readers are not kids; we know those phrases that will characterize illicit love affairs in this case.

I thought SR would go extra miles to validate d veracity of those text messages purportedly sent by SLS as reported by Premium Times. If SR can not confirm those illicit messages by the Telecommunication carriers; then I say unequivocally; that this is nothing but defamation of character of a hardworking public servant.
The fact that SLS would not dignify this report with a response should not imply he is unable to shake off the sex scandal.

Haaa...finally, someone with some sense. Has anyone told us why we are to believe for certain that those text messages are real?


[quote author=Ogar.monday]Didnt Sanusi vote for Jang in the NGF elections? Gej should be careful!...,[/quote]LWKMD!!!!! No o, he voted for Amaechi

Havn't seen enough to prove Sanusi guilty even in the court of public opinion.

Sanusi, please respond.

Renaissance professionals + PDP sponsored "Operation Crush all Potential APC faces" still dey ontop this man case.lol

I think it has gotten to that stage where Sanusi MUST come out and defend himself. Failure to do this at this point will seriously lead even his staunch admirers to think he's indeed guilty. But really, this isn't more evidence per se as i havn't seen any sharp contrast against the documents provided and the CBN defence. According to these documents, technically, Sanusi still DID NOT unilaterally hire this woman like the CBN has said.

jjcbuthot: If not for the fanatics who can't pay school fees, dying in hospitals/homes with no hope, etc but will still not want to hear anybody saying anything against their religious leaders, I would have advocated for GMB to file a libel suit against Oritsejofor.

Actually, Oritsejeafor/PDP is expecting him to do just that, like he did against Abati, so that they can shout ''religious bigot'' again.

Just read it on El Rufai's facebook page. Very long but full of stuff. A fitting reply to the Buhari critics.

It says a lot about Nigerians that this man contested a Presidential election in this country against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and lost. It shouldn't surprise anyone that we are where we are today.


All because of some silly sentiments.

Great thread. Even though I had nothing to contribute towards solving the problem, I'm happy it's been sorted.

OP, I must really commend you o, you tried. Many other people would have simply dumped the car in the hands of the first mechanic to fix the problem especially since the office will be paying. But you took your time to seek advice & conduct research yourself which is what I tell car owners. How can you be driving a car, & when it develops a fault, you leave it fully in the hands of the 'mechanic' without taking time to look into the problem personally, in this digital age? The result is many clean otherwise sound vehicles abandoned at mechanic workshops after one little problem was worsened by the mechanic who now turns round to blame the car manufacturers for his incompetence.

You try bros. Sultaan, Ikenna, more power to una elbow.

Interior - Definitely a hit.

Exterior - Looks like a hit. Will wait to see it live.

Overall, the car looks great, it just has to look great coz the competition is increasing & becoming stiffer. Yeah, its the corolla & it will always win but the winning margin may have started reducing. Corolla does't have to worry much about Civic now, but they need to start watching HyundaiKia closely with the Elantra & Cerato. Even Ford's 'head' sef appears to be 'there' with the new Focus.

Now where is Inspired.........

crackhaus: I just had to stop reading halfway to look at the comments so I can decode the summary of it all. Here's my idea, how about we just follow our hearts and guts when choosing a life patner, yes?

Our ''hearts and guts'' will not always be right....& are very capable of leading us to trouble masked with good looks and sweet words. Our head (brain) needs to be brought on board as well.

God(prayer) plays a huge role too.

booqee: i hate it when i see all these "10 ways to.....", "35reasons why.....", "100facts to show he's cheatin......" blah blah blah...dem boku for romance section die! Mtcheww.

Yeah, they are usually crappy but sometimes, a few do make sense.....like this one.

On Point. Its not everytime you see articles with this sort of title in which the contents make a whole lot of sense.

Special focus on points 2,5,6,7 and the closing which i just have to quote again.

The fact is no one looks 25 forever. Ultimately, we love the person we marry for more than their appearance. When we get to know someone we love and admire, we’ll love them for their inner beauty and overall essence.
Once we find someone, we consciously or subconsciously want so badly for it all to work that we decide not to question or see what is clearly in front of our eyes: they were rude to the waiter, speaks ill of others, is rude to you, etc. We don’t stop to ask, “What does all of this mean about their character?”
Never separate someone from their family, background, education, belief system, etc. Asking clear questions can clarify this. Ask questions like, “What does it mean to have a simple lifestyle?” “What are your expectations of marriage?” “How would you help around the house?” Compare your definition with theirs.
Be flexible. Be open-minded!
Giving in a happy marriage should not be confused with martyrdom. It should be about taking pleasure and seeing the other person as happy because of your connection with them.
Morality and spirituality are the qualities that truly define someone in addition to beauty, money, and health. The morally upright and spiritual person will stand by your side during adversity and hardship. If someone isn’t God-conscienceous and doesn’t take themselves into account with God then why should you expect them to fulfill their rights owed to you? The ideal partner is someone who considers giving a gain and not causing a loss. Having a mutual and shared spiritual relationship will foster a successful marriage. Furthermore, a successful marriage is one that keeps the laws of family purity which require a certain degree of self-control and self-discipline, as well as the belief that the physical side of the relationship includes the spiritual and emotional side as well. Finding commonality and balance between the spiritual and emotional aspects of a relationship is a strong key to a healthy and thriving marriage.

Familiar with the past projects but didn't know TeHN was this organized.
Impressive. Mission/Commitment/Sense of purpose? check. Organisation? check.

Kudos.

Tochinn: . A CAPITAL AND CASTRATED FOOL CALLING HIS AND OUR PRESIDENT NAMES. Sori 4 ur life

Ordinarily, i don't call the President names often. But he's making it very hard for me to keep from insulting him as he continually insults Nigerians almost every day as if its compulsory for him to do so. The latest which is the midterm report was nothing short of an insult to all Nigerians. Last week, it was open recognition of a rigged in NGF Chairman. Pension & subsidy thieves are still not in jail. Lemme not continue.

However as to your insults directed at my person, I'll just ignore. Since you may have gotten some satisfaction typing that, lemme not spoil it for you.

PapaBrowne: I can't remember the last time I paid tax. More like oil money of which is drilled from some people's backyard!

Yeah well, some people do pay tax tho. I agree its mostly oil money indeed tho, oil money that is not been judiciously used to take care of even those people whose ''backyards'' the oil is being drilled from

Akpan107: however, Buhari can never be Nigerian President again. The fact is, GEJ must complete his second term and all hands must be on deck to help him actualised it so that the tranformation agenda of the President should continue... Nigeria must not be left in the hands of any ''radical minded'' person(s).

One of the lost (or paid) ones i see. You have every right not to vote in Buhari, but voting GEJ to continue the imaginary on paper 'transformation' agenda does not show signs of wisdom in my book. Exactly what he has transformed, Nigerians are waiting to know. Have you no sense of history? When exactly in Nigeria's history have things ever been this bad? Insecurity everywhere. Poor getting poorer, unemployment skyrocketing. Tomorrow, another set of corpers willl join the labour market. They have finished school & service. What is out here for them? YOUWIN right? SURE-P right? Nonsense.

Obviously the same people who printed & pasted the Buhari APC posters are the same people who printed & pasted the Lamido/Amaechi posters few days ago. They are also the same people behind the Sanusi adultery tales and the daily lies & propaganda fed to Nigerians via places like Nairaland. Their ogas at the top are also the same people who went to summon reluctant Jang to challenge Amaechi at the NGF. They lost the election but claimed an illegal victory which the overall mumu at the top has endorsed.

They are also the same group of people who intend to massively rig in Ebele in 2015.

Same group of people. Heavily funded with a mission to cause chaos in the political sphere and attempt to fool Nigerians again into thinking their Oga is the best thing to happen to Nigeria since sliced bread & should be given the ticket in 2015.

All with tax payers money.

Nonsense. I only hope more Nigerians will use a little more of their brains & snap out of the trance PDP/Goodluck team keep trying to put us in.

tomakint: Ok let me agree with you, if GEJ leaves come 2015, who do you have in mind as a better replacement?

Several hands are more capable than GEJ. I deliberately won't mention any names. That's why I'm praying for the opposition to come up with a much more competent, honest and formidable candidate. As it is now tho, almost all the other people who may jostle for d presidency are more capable than GEJ. As much as i dislike Atiku and will never ever vote for him, i still believe he'll do better than GEJ. This man is just not it. Tho I'm not justifying the actions of the Yar Adua 'cabal' who refused to give GEJ presidential powers, to some extent, i now understand their action. Nigeria can do a lot better than having Goodluck as President. His past as Governor is nothing to write home about, his present has shown nothing spectacular. To make things worse, he has sorrounded himself with a crew made up of mostly the wrong crowd.He's not fit for the office bro. He's not.

Why has insecurity become a normal thing in Nigeria now? When did it get this bad?? Kidnappers and robbers are having a field day in the South (E,W, S), Boko boys are having fun in the north (tho I agree JTF+Nig Army are spoiling the show for the boko boys but also appear to be creating their own show), Fulani + berom are also ravishing themselves in the middle belt.


But GEJ presented his so called mid term report card & sane minds were wondering if the President & Ministers have been making reference to another country. Tribalistic and myopic minds are saying the President is on point, yet some of them are here openly acknowledging the normalcy of insecurity in the SOUTH (not the north now o).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the root causes of the insecurity in Nigeria are poverty and unemployment. These days robbery gangs are up to 50, 100!!!! Wtf!

But the elite, especially those close to power (not only Uncle Dangote $20bn Africa record breaker) are getting richer, the ministers' pockets are getting fatter, the Presidency meanwhile is also chanelling its energies towards 2015 politics. Pension thieves, subsidy thieves are still walking free. Corrupt ministers are still in their posts.


Igbo, yoruba, hausa, lets face it, we've never had it this terrible in Nigeria. Even when corruption, poverty and the rest were present, we didn't have them up to this magnitude and SECURITY of lives in almost all parts of the country was still guaranteed to some extent. Unemployment was never ever this bad. Our parents & even some relatively younger uncles & aunts got job offers while writing their final semester exams. In this same Nigeria!

Abeg, let's not deceive ourselves. GEJ must GO in 2015. If you vote for him, know what you are voting for. Further continuation of the status quo. I dare the GEJ campaign team to come up with a slogan like ''continuity of fresh air''. They'll still come up and make promises or propose continuity of the bare faced lies they presented a few days ago.

May the opposition present a far far far better and capable candidate.

GEJ must go in 2015.

blackchief: Good policy.But what happens if i issue two or three different cheque of 150,000 each to the same person on the same day?

yeah i want to know what will happen too coz I believe this is exactly what some Nigerians will do in an attempt to by-pass this rule in order to handle 'raw' cash. But I think the amount of cash that will be made available to the 3rd party won't exceed that 150k.........per day

Worwor: huh!! 10k?? *unfollows*

Please when you see a modem as fast as this for a cheaper price, let us know.lol.

@post, very good deal. Enjoying mine already

From a huge fan of Kara.

clint77ng: instead the military takes over, Satan and destruction will take over ur life..

If my wish is borne out of nothing but having the best interests of my country at heart and wiping off of the political lootocracy actors so some form of order can be restored, then that satan & destruction know whose life to take over....if they havn't taken over already as evidenced by your post which appears bereft of common sense.

When i say military govt, i know the kind of military govt i have in mind & just what I wish they would do.

May Murtala Muhammad & Tunde Idiagbon continue to rest in peace & may God continue to grant Muhammadu Buhari & Jerry Rawlings of Ghana good health.

Efikman: FIXED.

Even with your fixing, thank God you acknowledged that Jona's days in aso rock are numbered.....before or by 2015. Lol.

What GEJ's spin doctors and the Akpabio led rogue Governors have not been able to explain is that since they didn't believe in an election for NGF Chairman, they WHY DID THEY PARTICIPATE IN IT?? Where there forced at gun point to vote?? Now that the election results didnt favour them, they suddenly do not believe in the process and remember that they had chosen a so called consesus old man Jang to lead them.

& what kind of President recognizes a factional leader of his Governors forum except he doesn't know what he is doing or the factionalisation was engineered by him (actually by his smarter minions since we doubt very much he has the brains to do that).

Its President GEJ.

For the umpteenth time, I'm seriously relishing the prospect of a millitary takeover.

*...Like they did in Chinua Achebe's ''A Man of the People'' which I just finished reading & which though written in 1966, aptly captures the rot going on in the Nigerian Political scene till today*

This country needs to either grow up on its own or be forced to grow up.

Afam4evaIsASlut: Even though I am doing my darndest to convince myself that I am not replying a Billy-Goat that has somehow been trained by scientists how to talk, I will refrain from insulting you and pretend that I am discussing with a human being.

YOU DO NOT OUTSOURCE YOUR INTERNAL SECURITY TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT COULD TURN HOSTILE AT ANY MOMENT!

You want the Israelis to help you monitor your citizens emails just because you do not want to be criticized?! Wooow..... You think the Israelis will stop at just the emails of ordinary citizens? They will monitor all Govt chatter too and where does that leave you? They will know all your trade secrets, your foreign policies and defense strategies. They will be privy to the conversations of your leading businessmen and whatever will not benefit their country they will shut it down in a heartbeat through clandestine moves; its like youre whispering your secrets in the ears of the enemy---- And, yes, anything non-Nigerian is your potential enemy, clown.

How easy do you think it will be to destabilize your country for their own benefit if they feel like? What stops them from pitting politicians against each other based on info theyve gleamed from their emails then plunging your country into chaos? You really think a foreign country will work in your best interest?

Naija man, stop being myopic and think on your own. Stand on your own two feet and stop letting the unbridled hatred in you caused by your intolerance of another's tribe and religion be the reason why your nation will end up in a bloody civil war.


P.S: The U.S Govt does not actively monitor its citizens emails without probable cause. That'll be a violation of my right to privacy. We got something called the First Amendment here and thats a very sacred right even Obama dare not violate.

i wonder why blind support for an inept leadership cannot open people's eyes to this.

Sincere 9gerian: Thank God no one was seriously hurt. However, this sort of reports, though it came when an accident happened, reminds us that good things are happening all over the country. The trains are moving people and goods on a daily basis. People are spending less on transport, courtesy the trains. Yes, the govt can and should do more

Abeg, dont tell us that one. Those trains plying that route have been moving since or even before OBJ was in power. It wasnt courtesy of GEJ & besides its not something to brag about. By the way, since you've turned this to a political matter, do you mind telling us why we have defective tracks that have probably not been inspected/maintained by the NRC in ages?

Other countries like India there (that has since left Nigeria behind in advancement even tho we have the potential to be greater than them) are celebrating 10 years of the metro system (air conditioned electric trains plus underground stations) in Delhi +adjoining towns & you are celebrating Lagos to Kano molue rail system in a country with oil money that pays its President, law makers, ministers and their numerous hangers on stupendous amounts in salary. You sir, should be ashamed that you see this ancient so called rail system as something this nation should be proud of.

playmode: [size=15pt][b]1. What records Please list the projects he has flagged off and how many he has completed.No seriously please list them because i am am ignorant of such information and will like to be enlightened.

2.This is not an excuse,i never liked the previous administrations either.If i was president i would not build a 700MW Dam when i have more than enough money to build a bigger dam.In civilized countries ,they plan infrastructure based on population growth and needs.They don't look back and refuse to build infrastructure because the previous Government did not.My point is that we can EASILY afford bigger power plant and we seriously need them so the patriotic thing to do is to commit at least 70% of our annual income to building power plants.

President Zuma is barely educated yet he is building six power plants ,two of which will be generating at least 4000MW in South Africa for a population of 50 million people with $37 billion while our Ph.D holding president is building 700MW plants for a population of 160 million which growing rapidly.Do you not see something wrong there It is like trying to fix a tyre leak with chewing gum instead of fixing properly at a "vulcanizer".

Here are some questions i want you to answer truthfully:

How many Hospitals has he built in Lagos ,Abuja and Port harcourt?

How many old hospitals has he upgraded and re equipped with modern equipment?

Why does he and his wife travel overseas to get treatment while the president of South Africa gets treatment in a South African hospital?

How many roads has he built and completed?

How many old roads has he upgraded completely?

How many Airports out of the 30+ he promised to build has he completed?

What notable infrastructure has he built in Lagos,Port Harcourt and Abuja since becoming President?

How many low cost housing has he built for Nigerians?

Why did he contract a foreign company to spy on Nigerians?

Why did he add a bogus $21 million to the isreali spy contract?

What has he actually done to the benefit of the average Nigerian?

Why did he pardon a corrupt politician?

Why is he supporting Jang who lost the NGF elections?

Why is he so corrupt and worse than all his predecessor?

What has he done with the minimum of $150 billion dollars Nigeria has earned since he became President?

What did he do with the $35 billion Obasanjo left in our foreign reserves,the money just disappeared,where did it go to?

Are Nigerians better off than they were 3 years? If your answer is yes please tell us how they are better off?

Do we have stable electricity or total black out?

How many of his election promises has he fulfilled?

Has he fixed Nitel and do we have land lines?

How many drainage systems has he fixed?

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Hear Hear!!!! Good post!

playmode: [b]Well Said,i do not understand why we can not build a mega dam at the base of river Niger like the Chinese's three Georges Dam.It cost the chinese $26 billion and produce 22500MW. The river it is built on is the same size at the river Niger.I do understand what PointB is saying about the single point of failure but the three georges dams has 32 turbines.There is no way more than 2 turbine can break down at a time.South African Government which earns less than our Government is spending $37 billion dollars on more than six new power plants and here our dumb President pussyfooting around the problem.

Until we have an action leader who just does things without delay and fanfare ,we are never going to be meeting the demand of electricity. Remember that our population is growing so by the time this 700MW Dam is completed another two million people would have been added to our population.Power genereation should national emergency not not some after thought around election time. How can we succeed with un intelligent leader like that of odenathan? Over $100 billion a year from oil revenue but we refuse to build big power plants. We refuse to stop being dumb Niggers. Enugu has coal but we can't build coal plants.We even can't build oil refineries which cost a mere $5 billion to build ,yet we squander $100 billion yearly.Any one who support odenathan is dumb and that is putting midly. My housemaid will Nigeria better than this buffoon of a president[/b]

can't fault this at all.

There's a new one presently that has proven to be quite reliable and efficient. & from what I've seen, their products are at par with or even cheaper than other sources. You may try them out as well. Its www.kara.com.ng

Babyosisi & her hatred for anything islam. Can't imagine how so much hate for anything can exist in one person...even though you have multiple handles, its still d same fingers that type & post with them. Goodluck sha


@Topic, the ATTITUDE of the nl mods can make or mar the popularity & membership of this forum. I hope Seun is aware of this. Nairaland is a business & each and every member is a customer. As a business owner/ manager appointed by the owner, there are ways you attend to good and bad customers. This is not a classroom. Even a teenager deserves some form of respect.

Arrogant and disrespectful moderators will make nairaland more unpopular by far than insults and tribalism. I do not think mods need to always shove their ban powers into the faces of members (both erring and law abiding) all the time like a teacher who keeps swinging his cane over the whole class. It will only incite further rebellion which will in turn make the mods work harder and ban more, and will eventually make the rest (even d law abiding ones) get disillusioned with the forum. That you ban 1000 people a day doesn't make u an effective mod. A more effective mod will rather try to ensure that not up to 1000 people commit a banable offence in the first place and you dont get that by threatening bans all the time or even going to the extent of saying to a banned member that if it were you, you would have even banned that person for much longer than that! I read that from a mod & i was like, what sort of arrogant and power intoxicated fellow is this?

I think the first thing a good mod should be concerned with is trying to form a good rapport & camaraderie with the members of that board, across seeming divides. Don't go all out to flex ur muscle & show who's boss. Be flexible to a certain extent but be rigid when need be. You can't please everyone & ideally u shouldnt try to, but as a MODERATOR, oh, you really have to try to communicate very well especially with opposing sides of e-warring parties. There's a reason your title is MODERATOR and not 'Board Head or Board Commander' (tho i kno some mods would relish that nomenclature change...that's if they havnt even suggested it to Seun before sef).

We all know moderating is not easy, but like i've said, some mods make their jobs more difficult. If you know you are not a diplomatic person by nature, you dont have time, you cannot address people without displaying arrogance continually, or you know you tend to misbehave once u have a little power in ur hands, then i don't think you have any business being a mod here. Even if you are offered the post, kindly decline. However it appears some people go all out to lobby for the mod jobs just so they can dish out their ban powers at will in the name of ''cleaning up the section'' forgetting that most people here are adults and not kids.

The same way some people feel important being the first to comment on a thread these days (did i hear someone say the kids have invaded Nl as the FTC thing never used to be popular before) is apparently the same way some people get high & have some increased self worth when appointed mods. If you know you are like that by nature, no problem, just don't ruin a good forum. That's all. There have been mods before you and there'll be more after you.

Kudos to all the very good mods in the forum, both past & present; & to the ones with issues, abeg shape up or kindly tell Seun to look for your replacement.

Lol. Its very terrible if its your first time flying (especially int'l flights when d plane is descending from higher altitudes), but subsequent flights it gets better I think. I was also surprised the first time that while my ears were threatening to pop out & i was practically deaf, some people were obviously not in any discomfort! Chewing gum works to some extent. My last flight back into d country on wednesday, i had gum already in my pocket. As the pilot announced ''we'll begin our descent in the next few minutes''..., mehn, i comot gum straight n started chewing seriously.lol. Gave a fellow passenger some sef.. Felt some discomfort still, but not so much. But as at yesterdy, almost 48hrs after landing, i was till having occasional 'popping' sounds in my ears tho my hearing has been back to normal after landing. I think the thing has to do with pressure, the high altitude blablabla sha.