₦airaland Forum

DaBullIT:
I don't trust the source but i like this part


There has been a lot of chatter surrounding these so-called ‘Avengers’, and we have heard- through the grapevine- that they are simply stooges of certain powerful politicians, who are using them as a disguise to evade the long arms of the law. According to an Itsekiri Group, these militants work hand-in-hand with some past South-South Governors who support their activities in secret, and then condemn it openly. The Group claims that the former Governors are the same ones who pushed for talks with the Federal Government, with hidden conditions that criminal (financial) charges against them would be dropped

It's obvious this is an agenda , however since all their passports have been siezed, non of them is escaping from this country

People say “all politics is dirty” and “politics should always be taken with a pinch of salt.” This couldn’t be truer, as regards the politics of the Niger Delta.
As a proud indigene of the Niger Delta, I have followed closely, and with immense fascination, the recent ‘politricks’ of the region.
The Niger Delta Avengers recently agreed to go into dialogue with the Federal Government…or so we thought, until they stated otherwise. In any case, let’s proceed with the earlier report. After a seemingly unending season of pipeline bombings by (various) militant groups, they declared a willingness to talk- but not before laying down conditions for talks.
There has been a lot of chatter surrounding these so-called ‘Avengers’, and we have heard- through the grapevine- that they are simply stooges of certain powerful politicians, who are using them as a disguise to evade the long arms of the law. According to an Itsekiri Group, these militants work hand-in-hand with some past South-South Governors who support their activities in secret, and then condemn it openly. The Group claims that the former Governors are the same ones who pushed for talks with the Federal Government, with hidden conditions that criminal (financial) charges against them would be dropped. Others are of the opinion that the Avengers are indeed led by Tompolo- a man who according to recent reports, has fled to Libya. Tompolo, under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, was granted pipeline surveillance contracts, and a NIMASA security contract. He then proceeded to purchase warships and missile-launching gunboats. So, unsurprisingly, when another group- the JNDLF- threatened to launch ‘missiles’, it set off alarm bells in the minds of Niger Delta watchers who say Tompolo is the only one with such capabilities.
Overnight, the JNDLF suddenly rescinded the decision, after the ‘Avengers’ appealed to them to shelve the plan. Then not long afterwards, we heard that both camps had agreed to dialogue with the Federal Government- before the NDA denied it. Tompolo himself has disavowed the Avengers openly. But the theory goes that it is just a cover, as he (Tompolo) is really NDA, JNDLF, and even MEND- who put together the seven man negotiating team- all in one! And as the story further goes, the politicians know this, because his actions are funded and covered by them! Do I still have your attention? I hope so.
Then there is the issue of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko. There was a mild exchange of words between the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, at a Town Hall Meeting last week. On the issue of resumption of academic activities at Okerenkoko- which is one of the conditions for talks outlined by the militants- Amaechi stated that the GEJ administration had purchased the land for the University, for a staggering 13billion naira from Tompolo- the same Tompolo- and as such, there was no more money for development. Amaechi stated that he would gladly continue with the development of structures in the University, if the EFCC seized the 13billion naira back from Tompolo. Kachikwu on the other hand, was of the opinion that no matter what had happened in the past, development should be allowed to proceed; even going as far as stating that he would gladly take the project into ‘Petroleum’, if ‘Transportation’ did not want it.
There has been whispers in certain quarters that at the Security Conference which was convened to discuss the issue of the sabotage in the Niger Delta, Kachikwu had been one of those who supported the idea of protecting certain Niger Delta folks who had pending criminal charges leveled against them, so that the bombings could stop.
Ibe Kachikwu is proving to be not just a technocrat, but a very skilled tactician and shrewd (albeit cunning) politician. The man seems to have some sort of game-plan. Insiders reveal that he was critical to achieving the two-weeks ceasefire in the creeks. They say his visit to Okerenkoko and his presence at a secret meeting in Delta Government House, sent a very strong signal to the militants. Ibe and Buhari alternate the good cop/bad cop sequence so seamlessly, its quite amazing! I think the President realizes that Kachikwu is a more acceptable figure to the Niger-Deltans, than the very controversial Amaechi; so the Petroleum boss has now become his 'un-official Niger Delta Ambassador'. Now, Buhari is invoking the name of God, pleading with the militants to stop the sabotage...on the other hand, the dialogue seems to be on hold, while a re-deployment of Police Officers in the region has been ordered. Ibe is still playing peacemaker and negotiator (at least, at face value). Hmm, when dealing with Niger-Delta folks, you must learn quickly, how to be just as slippery and cunning as they are! Whatever plan they have, I hope it works out well!
Then what about the 'secret meeting' that supposedly took place between President Buhari and GEJ, in the UK? There were insinuations that secret talks were held between both men to resolve the Niger Delta crisis; but the UK Government quickly put out a statement refuting those claims. We don't know the true story!
I know it seems like a maze of conspiracy theories; but if you follow Niger Delta politics closely enough- I have tried to lately- then you know by now, that the conspiracy theories usually lead to the truth. The fact remains that some people obviously know more than they are letting on.
Now, the Avengers have supposedly disavowed involvement in any talks. But with the unending theatrics surrounding the issue of the Niger Delta, can we really believe them? Or is it safe to assume again, that the 'master puppeteer' is behind the scenes, pulling strings once more? I think they're probably still trying to figure out the Buhari/Kachikwu game-plan. There would probably be a turn-around soon.
Politics is a dirty game, and it is much dirtier in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil-rich region. Hopefully, talks will proceed. Deals will be made under the cover of darkness; and a watered-down, sugar-coated version will be presented to the public at daytime. But will anything change for the better in the life of the average Niger-Delta resident? I can only dare to hope!

Buchi Obichie

464 members of the Nigerian Armed Forces who have put in the mandatory 35 years of service, are to be retired next month by the Defence Headquarters, DHQ.
To this effect, and as part of preparation to re-integrate them into civil life, the retiring personnel- 449 from the Nigerian Army, two from the Nigerian Navy and 13 from the Nigerian Air Force- will be passing out tomorrow, after undergoing a training in Managerial Entrepreneurship skills at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre ,NAFRC, Oshodi, Lagos,.
Commandant of the centre, Air Vice Marshal Mike Iloenyosi, while briefing journalists on activities lined up for the graduation ceremony , explained that the training was in line with the mandate of the centre which was to equip retiring personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces with relevant trade and vocational skills that would enable them enjoy a productive and fulfilling retirement life.
According to Iloenyosi, since its inception in 1945, the centre had so far trained about 40,500 ex-servicemen.

toshmann:
Meaning what
Pls send a message ASAP to Rita Dominic
Tell am say I'm interested. Which kind marriage-is-not-for-everybody be dis?

Our country stands at a crossroad today. The forces that threaten to tear us apart seem to be stronger than whatever cohesive forces hold us together.
My mind flashes back for a moment to 1914- to the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates. Of course, I wasn’t born then…my parents weren’t even conceived…but my mind’s eye can paint a picture. The British, propelled by the interests of the Empire, brought together into one geographical entity, people with diverse views, cultures, religions, etc. And Lord Lugard’s wife gave us the name- Nigeria.

Fast forward to 1960- independence- and within Nigeria, there were 3 regions. North, East and South. But Nigeria was politically sick, and in 1967, civil war broke out.
The Northern Fulani’s, though less educated than their Southern counterparts, have always held more leadership positions in the country- as the British wanted it. The rest of the country- especially the East- has always felt marginalized.

As war was about breaking out, the Military Governor of the Eastern region, Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu declared: “the brutal and planned annihilation of officers of Eastern Nigeria origin had cast serious doubts as to whether they could ever live sincerely as members of a nation.”

There were many causes that led to the Civil War; but at the heart, was a deep division between ethnicity. And that division still exists today.

Today, though most people clamor for a restructuring of the Federation, there are no Northern, Eastern or Western regions…just 36 states. But despite the gospel of ‘togetherness’ which we are so quick to preach, the question remains: was amalgamation a good idea?
Today, the Eastern region is in an extremely volatile state. The pro-Biafrans are clamoring for a sovereign state of Biafra. In the South-South, the situation is no different- the Niger Delta militants’ also want a sovereign Niger Delta State. Moving up north, the Northerners still believe that they own the blue-print of the country. It’s stated in their words, as much as in their actions. Plus, their religious beliefs keep putting them at war with the rest of the country.

Most of us confuse a nation and a country. But to be clear, if a country is a geographical entity, a nation is the soul of that entity. A nation is born when people share not just a common history, but culture, ideals, ways of life. Nigeria is a country, but is it really a nation? When the British joined the North and South protectorates, they did not put into consideration that they were merging together people with different views of life, religious beliefs, cultures and administrative modes. No one asked the Igbo man if he wanted to be a ‘Nigerian’; or asked the Hausa man that same question. The ‘Empire’ simply did what the ‘Empire’ wanted!

We are like a fruit salad…this country Nigeria. We are not a homogeneous mix. In the salad bowl, there’s an Apple, a Banana, a Pawpaw, a Pineapple, etc. Each one is identifiable- clearly identifiable. It’s not like a pot of Stew; where you know that various ingredients were added, but they all turn out as one homogeneous liquid entity in the end. No. That’s not Nigeria. We are the Fruit Salad; and we are at a very volatile crossroads.

I often wonder if I would wake up one morning and hear the sounds of martial music on TV. A coup has taken place. Every Northerner ordered back to the North…the Easterners to the
East…the Southerners back to the South-South…the Westerners back to the land of Oduduwa.

When I hear the Hausa man say “no infidel (by that, they mean non-Muslim) should be allowed to rule Nigeria, and I hear the militants say “this oil belongs to us (by that, they mean, we, the indigenes of the Niger Delta)”; I fear for this entity called Nigeria. Was amalgamation a mistake? Is this a nation, or a geographical entity made up of people forced to live together as one, against their will? What will happen tomorrow? Might this be our last night as the entity called Nigeria? Will we wake up to a more deadly Civil War? Things are falling apart, and the center seems like it cannot hold. Do we still go on with one Nigeria?

By Buchi Obichie

http://news.obiaks.com/opinion/160618021128/GO-ON-WITH-ONE-NIGERIA-.html

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Thursday, directed the investigation of three members of the House for an alleged sex scandal.

The speaker came under pressure from many lawmakers, who felt that the matter could tarnish the image of the National Assembly if it was not attended to.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas explained that the leadership of the House decided to investigate the alleged sex scandal following a formal complaint made by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle.

Namdas said, “We are in receipt of a letter from the US Ambassador, alleging misconduct by some members of the National Assembly, who attended training in the United States of America.

“The leadership of the House has commenced its own part of the investigation. When it is concluded, we will brief Nigerians further on this issue.”

Namdas, however, declined questions on how the investigation would be conducted.

“When we say we will conduct an investigation, we will conduct it and there will be a report,” Namdas stated.

The investigation order came as the US formally cancelled its visas for the three lawmakers, an indication that they had been barred from future trips to the United States.

The 3 accused Reps – Mr. Mohammed Garba-Gololo (Bauchi State); Mr. Terse Gbillah (Benue State), and Mr. Samuel Ikon (Cross River State) – allegedly committed the act during a recent trip to the US to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on Good Governance organised by the US Government.

The three legislators were members of a team of 10 lawmakers nominated to attend the leadership programme, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, between April 7 and 13 this year.

Entwistle, in his June 9 letter to Dogara, stated, “It is with regret that I must bring to your attention the following situation.

“Ten members of the Nigerian National Assembly recently travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance.

“We received troubling allegations regarding the behaviour of three members of the delegation to the US Government’s flagship professional exchange programme.

“The US Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel, where the representatives stayed, alleging that the representatives engaged in the following behaviour:

“Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex. While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative Gololo.

“Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested that hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes.”

Finding showed that the lawmakers dismissed the allegation as “baseless and untrue” when Dogara first sought their explanations.

However, the Speaker came under pressure from members, who insisted on a thorough investigation, considering the fact that the Ambassador committed it to writing.

Some of the other Reps. who participated in the programme were Chairman, House Committee on the Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Rita Orji; Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Gaza Jonathan; Mrs. Ayo Omidiran; Mr. Danburam Abubakar; and Mr. Nkole Ndukwe.

It was gathered that the 3 accused had been informed about their visa cancellations in writing, by the US embassy.

In response, one of the lawmakers, Gbillah, wrote Entwistle on Thursday, accusing the US of not giving the three members fair hearing.

Gbillah also expressed surprise in his letter that within hours of bringing the matter to the attention of the House, the US Government had gone ahead to cancel the visas of the lawmakers.

He threatened to immediately institute legal actions against the US Government, the Ambassador and the Marriot Hotel Brand, among others for damages.

Part of Gbillah’s letter, which was dated June 16, read, “Without conclusive evidence of any sort or contact with any of the accused individuals, the US State Department and US Embassy in Nigeria have less than six days after your letter to the Speaker, gone ahead to revoke the US visas of the accused individuals based on hearsay from the employees of the hotel in Cleveland.

“Affected individuals received correspondence from the US Embassy on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, indicating the denial of their US visas and requesting that they bring their passports with the current US visa to the Embassy.”

The letter was copied to Dogara, the US Secretary of State, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs, and the President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International.

On his part, Ikon claimed that the allegation levelled against him was not only untrue but also a case of mistaken identity.

He stated, “My attention has been drawn to the publication, alleging an act of impropriety against me by the US Mission in Nigeria.

“I wish to state unequivocally that this is false and definitely not me.

“This, to me, is a case of mistaken identity and I have already instituted measures both legally and diplomatically to clear my name and the institution I represent.

A sitting British MP, Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, has died after she was shot and stabbed in a “horrific” assault in her constituency.

Cox was left bleeding on the ground after the attack in West Yorkshire. A 52-year-old man was arrested by Police.

Mrs Cox is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a string of politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups.

Speaking after the incident occurred, Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn said the country would be “in shock at the horrific murder”, describing the MP as a “much loved colleague”.

He added: “Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve.

“In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died.

“But for now all our thoughts are with Jo’s husband Brendan and their two young children. They will grow up without their mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved and what she stood for.”

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen will write privately to the murdered MP's husband, Mr. Cox

Uduak2019:
What's Buchi Obichie? The writer of this useless article is a yoruba imposter.