₦airaland Forum

Where's her bra?

THE COMING GENERATION SCARES ME...REAL HARD! While we have been busy talking about Nigeria of today, I wonder if we have spared a thought about how this country will be in the next TWENTY-FIVE years. On October 1, 1979, when Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari was sworn-in as president, Goodluck Jonathan was just a 22 year-old undergrad of University of Port- Harcourt. Shagari was 54 years old. Ayo Fayose was 19 years old. Bukola Saraki was 17. Yemi Osinbajo was 22. The generation of the likes of Shagari, Richard Akinjide, Adisa Akinloye, Sabo Barkin Zuwo, Ifeanyi Nwobodo, Ume Ezeoke, Akin Omoboriowo, Olusola Saraki, Sunday Awoniyi, Garba Nadama, Awal Ibrahim and so on has gone for good! Some of us in our 40s and 50s, when in school, either in the university or secondary school, had lofty dreams, both personal and societal. We were always motivated by nationalists and inventors who had impacted positively on the cause of humanity. We were voracious readers of novels and other books. Nelkon for our Ordinary Level Physics, Lambert for Chemistry, B.O ADELEKE and Goh Cheng Leong for our Geography, Phebean Ogundipe for Practical English and others like that. We were always flaunting our knowledge of current affairs. Inter-school quiz competition was the in- thing. Fast forward 35 years on and you are shocked and disturbed. Have you ever spoken to or engaged a 20 year-old boy? Ask him what motivates him and he is likely to mention music, hip hop to be precise. He has hundreds of downloaded songs on his phone. He can sing all of them off hand. He know all the singles of 9ice, Neato C, Timaya, Davido, Whiz Kid off hand. But he does not know anything about history of nationalism in the country. Ideas about good society, responsible family and good conduct do not motivate him. He just wants to make money because his friend who does yahoo is rich and rides a good car, an SUV! The things that interest him are things that do not add value. He has google but never uses it for advancement of knowledge but to download porn and other inanities. Yet, in TWENTY years time, they are the ones that will be contesting to become governors, senators, Reps members and even president. They belong to a generation that does not care about morality. They belong to a generation that is motivated only by money and its acquisition. By 2035 to 2040, they will be our senators, Reps, governors and so on. I wonder if we have ever spared a thought how this country will look like under them. I told a man recently and these are my words: IF A GUY WHO IS IN LAGOS COULD USE FALSE PRETENCE TO OBTAIN $20,000 FROM SOMEONE IN UNITED STATES, WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF SUCH A GUY BECOMES A STATE GOVERNOR AND IS IN CHARGE OF AN ALLOCATION HE DOES NOT EVEN HAVE TO OBTAIN UNDER FALSE PRETENCE? WHICH HIS STATE IS STATUTORILY ENTITLED TO. I am worried, deeply worried. Are you? ......... If you are and I am, it means we must intensify our efforts on the field of the Great Commission. The Bible says that the harvest is plenteous but the labourers are few. May God strengthen us as individuals to rise to the occasion of safe-guarding the future of this great nation - Nigeria.

Text of the paper presented by the National Publicity Secretary of APC at the NBA Conference

'The Role of Political Parties In Sustaining The Gains Of The 2015
General Elections: The APC Perspective''

Being the text of the paper presented by the National Publicity Secretary
of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the 55th
Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in Abuja
on Monday, Aug. 24th, 2015

PROTOCOL

Preamble: Political Parties
Before going into the main topic of this presentation, let me say a
thing or two about political parties, which are at the core of the
presentation.

Political parties are very important, because they are the cornerstone
of representative democracy, hence they need to be well organized and
managed if they are to ensure the success of democratic governance.

In recognition of its important role, the National Democratic
Institute in the US describes political parties thus, and I quote:
''Political parties are a central feature of any democracy. They are
the vehicles by which citizens come together freely to campaign for
public office, express their interests and needs, and define their
aspirations for their society. While there are parties without
democracy, there can be no democracy without political parties.''

Any democracy needs strong and sustainable political parties with the
capacity to represent citizens and provide policy choices that
demonstrate their ability to govern for the public good. Therefore,
without parties, modern representative democracy is unworkable.

In representative democracies, political parties that win elections
participate directly in governing a nation.

Even parties that lose still play an important role by keeping the
government of the day on its toes, serving as the voice of their
members and supporters and for others who might not agree with some of
the policies and activities of the elected government.

The realization of the above goaded the founders of the various legacy
parties that dissolved into the All Progressives Congress (APC) to
come together to form the party.

Because of their deep understanding of the fact that only a strong and
well-managed political party can serve as a platform for the
realization of their quest to win power at the centre, my party's
founding fathers built a party with a formidable structure which, less
than two years after it was formed, achieved the unprecedented feat of
becoming the first opposition party to unseat a ruling party in our
country, Nigeria.

As you are aware, APC marked only its second anniversary on July 31st,
the date in 2013 that the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) registered the party, even though it was officially founded on
Feb. 6th of the same year.

Today, two years plus a few weeks after the APC came into being, we
are here as the ruling party!

Gains

Now to the gains of the last general elections.

Arguably the biggest gain of the last election was the generally
successful organization of the elections and the fact that the results
were largely acceptable to most Nigerians.

Despite the pre-election fears of rigging and violence, and the
unprecedentedly-vicious electioneering campaign, the elections were
widely adjudged to be free, fair, credible and mostly violence-free.
This made it easier not just for politicians but for ordinary
Nigerians to accept the outcome.

Many have attributed the success of the polls to the use of
technology, especially the card reader and the biometric voter's card.
I concur, even though much work still need to be done to ensure the
smooth functioning of the card readers. The problems encountered in
some areas over the use of the card readers are not insurmountable,
and I believe INEC has factored this into its preparations for the two
governorship elections that are due this year, first in Kogi State on
Saturday, November 21, and then in Bayelsa State on Saturday, December
5th.

Another big gain from the last elections is the actualization of what
is called People Power. In other words, that in a representative
democracy like the one we are practising here, the ultimate power
resides in the people. The last elections provided the opportunity for
Nigerians to prove right the saying by French novelist Victor Hugo,
that ''When a people are determined for change, no army can stop
them.'' Now, the Nigerian people have taken possession of their own
fortunes and can punish any government with the power of their votes.
This will put governments at all level on their toes and eventually
become a catalyst for good governance.

The elections have also shown that when a party is well established
and organized, it can become a movement that will galvanize the entire
nation. In other words, while political parties are platforms for
achieving certain goals, including winning elections, the polls
themselves are won and lost by the people, both within and outside the
parties.

During the last elections, Nigerians simply took charge and took
possession of the campaign and even policed the election. Nowhere was
this more noticeable than in the New Media, or the Social Media if you
like.

Also, the elections have shown to what extent a candidate with a high
integrity and credibility quotient can mobilize a whole nation.
Without mincing words, only a man like Buhari could have inspired the
kind of cult followership that was witnessed during the electioneering
campaign for the last elections. The support cut across religion,
ethnicity and regional considerations.

As emotive as religion could be, a multi-religious nation like ours
becomes united when they see a leader with credibility, irrespective
of his religion. The lesson from this is that if more and more people
of integrity populate the political space, we will have less and less
problems first in our choice of those who lead us and secondly we will
get a bounce in the area of good governance. There is no doubt that
the effect of this will be felt in future elections.

Equally important is the choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as the running
mate to general Buhari. The choice of the running mate to Buhari pushed
our party to the limit, because that choice needed to address the religious
concerns that were raised before the elections, as well as meet the
geo-political considerations that emerged with the choice of Buhari. Impressive
as the resume of Prof. Osinbajo is, his choice would not have complemented
that of Buhari if it had not responded to the religious and regional
concerns that
were raised at the time.

Of course, it is not just an issue of who was picked as the party's
flag-bearer but
also how such a person was picked. Herein lies the importance of
internal democracy in the
party and the transparency of the choice of the candidates.

The very transparent and open manner in which candidate Buhari emerged as the
presidential candidate of our party, the APC, was a major factor in
our eventual victory
in the March 28th presidential election, as well as the local and
international acclaim that
greeted the choice. Had the process that led to his emergence not been
open and transparent,
as it was, there is no way the APC would have enjoyed the kind of
widespread support it
enjoyed within and outside the party in the run-up to the elections.

Then of course the manifesto of a political party, and the ability of
the opposition to correctly dissect the weaknesses of a party in power
can go a long way in determining how the electorate will vote.

The manifesto of my party, especially concerning the key areas of the
economy, especially the spiralling unemployment, as well as
insecurity, the fight against corruption and the welfare of the
people, directly address the deficits from the failings of the past
governments as well as the immediate problems besetting the populace,
hence they appeal to the electorate.

The gain here is that in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society
like ours, political parties will realize, more and more, that they
should not appeal to regional, ethnic or religious sentiments. Rather,
they should be pan-Nigeria while also designing a platform that will
appeal t o the citizenry. If these lessons had been learnt much
earlier, the PDP as a party would not have been in power for 16 years.
Even with its self-description as the biggest political party in
Africa, an opposition party that transcends region, religion and
ethnicity and one that parades a purposeful manifesto could have won
power at the centre much earlier.

There is also the gain that will result from the realization that in a
multi-party democracy, It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's
the size of the fight in the dog, according to American author and
humorist Mark Twain

With the humongous resources available to the PDP, and the enormous
power of patronage and coercion at the disposal of the PDP-led Federal
Government, it would have been easy to give the last elections to the
PDP

During the electioneering campaign, the PDP outgunned the APC on many
flanks: The then ruling party outspent the opposition in the area of
advertisements, whether in the print or electronic media. According to
a report credited to Compliance and Content Monitoring Limited, out of
the 3.23 billion Naira that was spent on political campaign
advertisement during the last electioneering campaign, the PDP spent
2.5 billion Naira or 77 per cent of the total, compared to 728 million
or 23 per cent by the APC.

The PDP also hired the best of columnists and talking heads that
popped up ubiquitously at many radio and television stations, in
addition to floating all sorts of organizations that campaigned for
it, even before the official takeoff of the campaign. Despite being
outgunned on all flanks, however, the opposition remained focused and
kept strictly to its script, refusing to allow the PDP to set agenda
for it.

The lesson here is that no amount of money or sweet-mouthed salesmen
can sell a bad product. A government in power swims or sinks with its
performance. This will have a salutary effect on the electioneering
campaigns for future elections

Then of course, the last elections showed that campaigns should be
about issues. Smear campaigns can and do backfire, especially when it
is so crass and targeted at an innocent and upright personality.
Despite the ugliness of the last electioneering campaign, as far as
mudslinging is concerned, there is a big gain from what happened
during the last campaign, especially because of the eventual outcome:
In future, political parties will stick more to issues than dwell on
smear campaigns. Political Parties will spend more time selling
themselves to the electorate than worrying about why the other party
should not be voted for.

Yet another major gain from the last election is that the power of the
media, of the youth and of the various Civil Society Organizations
(CSOs) would be harnessed more by political parties in future
electioneering campaigns. From the experience of my party, these
groups are indispensable to the success of any election. Youths simply
hijacked and owned our campaign on the Social Media, and the effect
was devastating on the then ruling party. Also, the CSOs, especially
those that are working to ensure free, fair and credible elections,
came together under the Election Situation Room to monitor
developments before, during and after the elections. They became very
effective in keeping INEC and even the political parties in check.

Finally, the international community proved that it was a key ally in
the holding of successful polls. But for the role played by the United
States and other Western countries during the last general elections,
the outcome might have been different. The role played especially by
the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the British Secretary of
State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs remains fresh in the minds
of Nigerians.

As President Buhari said during his recent visit to the US, ''Nigeria
will remain ever grateful to President Obama and the United States for
making Nigeria to consolidate its gains on a democratic system. The
visit of the Secretary of State, when he visited Nigeria to see the
President and the whole government of Nigeria, see the Chairman of
Independent National Electoral Commission for Nigeria, and saw the
operation was very clear and a positive trend that saw us through for
this credible election we had.''

Sustaining The Gains

The task of sustaining the gains of the last general elections have
been made easy by the realization that Nigerians have taken their
destiny in their own hands, and that absolute power resides in the
people. In the aftermath of the elections, therefore, parties must
ensure that there is no disconnect between them and the people. There
must also be constant interaction between the government and the
people.

That is why my party, the APC, organized an induction course for its
members in the National Assembly, so they - as representatives of the
people - can have symbiotic relations between their party, that is
between the party and the legislature; between the legislature and the
executive, and between the party and the executive.

Constant rapport between lawmakers and their party will ensure that
they key into the party's agenda. We have given every one of our
members in the national assembly a copy of our manifesto, so they will
see what laws need to be passed to ensure the implementation of the
manifesto. We encourage regular meetings between our members in the
legislature and the executive, and between the party and the executive

Also, despite the doctrine of the separation of power, the
relationship between the legislature and the executive should not be
adversorial but complementary. After all, both have the party as their
father, so to say.

Then there is the National Conference for the party as well as its
members in the legislature and in the executive to deliberate on how
far the party is meeting its electoral promises.

It is also important that, through the instrumentality of the party,
the government continues to engage the critical sectors - Youths,
NGOs, Women, people living with disability, the organized private
sector, organized labour and other groups.

The party must ensure that the government meets regularly with these
critical sectors, and that there is a two-way communication between
the government and these sectors.

My party has also set up a mechanism for assessing, continuously,
government's performance and tracking whether or not the government is
meeting its electoral promises. An Advisory team to the Chairman of
the party, made up of technocrats, will track how the government is
faring and also make suggestions to the chairman in this regard.

The party must also not lose sight and forget those critical elements
that brought it to power (Social Media, Youths, Women and other
sectors) and must continue to engage them as it did during the
election time.

The party must continue to keep the people informed on what the
government is doing. It won't be a bad idea for the party to issue
regular bulletins in this regard.

There must be synergy between the party on one hand, as well as the
executive and the legislature on the other hand. This is because once
the elections are over, it is up to the executive and the legislature
to actualize the party's manifesto. This is why my party can't afford
to be indifferent to what is happening in the executive and the
legislature.

The party should help the executive to ensure that only
competent people serve in government, so that the essence of
governance - the welfare and security of the citizens - can be
achieved.

Finally, but not less important, is the issue of internal democracy in the
party and the transparency of the choice of its candidates. Having realized
the kind of bounce we received from the transparent primaries that were
conducted in Lagos to pick our presidential candidate, it is incumbent on
us to sustain this very key issue of internal democracy within the party, and
the transparency in the selection of candidates for the various elective posts.

If these outlined steps are implemented to the letter, the gains of
the 2015 general elections will no doubt be sustained.

And now, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for list

He who's know the value of education must emulate his people to have such right. Kudos to O.B.O, I know that Nigeria will be great one day.

Even If PMB Walks On Water, The PDP Shall Retort: He Can't Swim!

The APC Youth League monitored a Channels Television Programme (Face Off: Is President Buhari's US trip fruitless?) aired on the 29th of July; 2015 where the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and a former Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation in Ogun State, Segun Sowunmi engaged each other.

The APC National Publicity Secretary brilliantly marshalled out points and drew attention to the good things happening in the country since PMB and APC ascended to power, as well as the significance of the US trip. The APC spokesman mentioned amongst others, the unprecedented nature of the US visit coming barely two months into the President's tenure, President Obama's lauding comments, the unique opportunity of addressing 5 cabinet Secretaries of the USA, the commitment to assist Nigeria on dealing with her security challenges, the assistance to help trace and return looted funds and assistance with the war against corruption, the re-dedication to enhance economic ties between both countries, the transparency with the NLNG funds, tremendous improvement in the power sector, coming to life of moribund refineries, and several other indicators of positive change.

Not surprisingly, the response by the PDP man on the programme was completely in tune with the general PDP claim that all such improvements especially with regards the improved state of power and refineries are due to the works of the PDP government as neither the APC nor President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to make any investments of monies or human resources in those sectors to lead any one to claim that the improvements owe credit to the APC Government.

This kind of thinking is as unfortunate as it is totally ignorant. It is akin to a football coach sacked over poor performance but ridiculously comes out to claim that the team's eventual good performance in the aftermath of his sack were due to his managerial skills and not those of the new coach who has caused the turn around!

Nigerians are well aware that, what has been lacking since the PDP came to power in 1999 has been: thoroughness in the implementation of policies and programmes of government even after funding is provided; what has been lacking is the sort of leadership that holds government agencies accountable and ensure that there is transparency in how they are ran. It has not been investments that we have lacked in most sectors. It has been that, the abuse of such investments have had the protection of those who should ensure that things are done right. The siphoning of budgeted funds and neglect of projects and programmes are prominent features of the PDP Government.

It is therefore, nonsensical that the PDP would crave credit over developments that result from leadership that insists and instils the habit of doing things right. It is indeed, telling that, without committing more monies, and by just blocking loopholes and ushering in a sense of change, the APC Government is able to manage the bureaucracy in such way as to deliver the goods early. It is a clear indication that a lot more could have been achieved from the investments already made but for the habitual mismanagement by the PDP Government.

We, at the APC Youth League continue to support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as it demonstrates commitment to bettering the living conditions of Nigerians. We are eager to see this change continue to manifest in very profound ways for the good of Nigerians whose march last march, must not be in vain.

Long live the APC Youth League
Long live PMB and the APC
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Signed:
Raymond Bemseer Magen
National Director, Media & Publicity
APC Youth League

[color=#000099][/color]ADMISSION! ADMISSION!! ADMISSION!!!
This is to inform any JAMBITE (Jamb
student who
made OOU a CHOICE or NOT) that scores
ABOVE-180, should come and purchase
POSTUTME
FORM as its available for sale.
CLOSURE OF SALE -: 24th July, 2015
EXAM DATE -: To be given when you fill
your forms
online.
EXAM TYPE and VENUE -: Computer Base
Test (CBT)
at the ICT centre, Permanent Site, also
known as 'PS',
Ago-Iwoye Ogun state

APC deserve apology from former President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The All Progressives Congress has called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to apologise to Nigerians for the kind of “bad governance and leadership” it administered on the country during the six years he spent in office.
The party also called on the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party to eat the humble pie and apologise to the people for the way it mismanaged the country for the 16 years it ruled the country, saying their apologies would be the most honourable thing to do.
The Ondo APC Publicity Secretary, Omo’ba Adesanya, noted that instead of making excuses, the PDP should be remorseful and apologetic for plunging the country into the mess it found itself.
The statement partly read, “Jonathan and PDP brought this country into disrepute, domestic and international odium, economic crisis, insecurity, unemployment, unprecedented corruption, abuse of state apparatus, infrastructural decadence, poverty, and many other issues.
“But instead of being remorseful and apologetic, the party, through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, has been making defenceless excuses and arguments, saying President Muhammadu Buhari is slow, that APC is not prepared for governance or that we are not keeping to our promises.
“This is laughable because Nigerians are already in sync with the current administration. The President should be commended for his dogged approach to blocking all leakages and apprehending looters”.
Mr. Adesanya added that the process of rescuing the country from the level the PDP government left it might take time and that there would be need for patience.
It added, “You cannot hit the ground running without carefully observing and removing the entire banana peels littering the ground to avoid a dangerous crash. We advise Metuh and his party to be patient. In a matter of time, after all that is being planned by this government has mature and the results start coming out, Nigerians will be able to know who has come to serve them and who has taken them for a ride for 16 years”.

OGUN RESCHEDULES UNIFIED PROMOTION EXAMINATION FOR PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Following the declaration of the Federal Government that Monday, 20th July, 2015, is a public holiday, the third term 2014/2015 Unified Examination for Public Primary Schools in Ogun State earlier scheduled to commence on the day will now hold between Tuesday 21st and Friday 24th July, 2015 from 9.00 am daily in all public schools across the State.
A release by the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Hon. (Chief) Mufutau Akande Ajibola indicated that all Executive Secretaries in the 20 Local Government of the State had been invited to the Board’s Office on Thursday 16th July, 2015 for the collection of examination materials for onward distribution to head teachers in their respective Local Government Areas.
The release added that four Monitoring Teams comprising of Board members and officials had been raised alongside a committee from each of the twenty (20) Local Government Areas to supervise the examination.
The release also urged all stakeholders to ensure strict adherence to the examination time table and ensure success of the examination.

PRESS RELEASE
RE-Tinubu behind plot to remove Ekweremadu by Ohanaeze Ndigbbo youth wing.
 
Our attention has been drawn to a defamatory press statement released by the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo accusing All Progressive Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of plotting to remove Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate president.

We have watched with total displeasure how individuals within and outside our party castigating our dear esteem leader with reckless abandonment without a response from us. We therefore take exception to this statement credited to the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

We are all aware that PDP ruled this nation from 1999-2015 and not for once did an opposition party member elected as Senate President or Deputy Senate President, PDP wouldn’t  have allowed it in the first place. Until the election in 2015 that brought in APC to power, the arrangement in APC was to zone the Senate Presidency to the South East but majority of Igbo decided to vote for PDP and as such missed the golden opportunity of an igbo Senator on the platform of APC to become the Senate President.

All progressive congress youth league hereby states that the call for Ekweremadu's removal is not just a call by an individual in APC but a collective call by our party. We are aware that the 7th senate standing rule states that for a presiding officer to emerge, he must score 2/3 votes as at 4th of June, only for the rules to be changed between 5th-8th Of June, 2015 to 1/3 votes and this was used for the election or selection on the 9th of June in the national assembly. These unacceptable amendments lead to Ekweremadu being fraudulently elected as Deputy Senate President. It is obvious, that Ekweremadu came through the back door and surely through the back door, he must leave.

We wish to put the record straight that our esteem Asiwaju and other party leaders in APC are not anti igbo. We acknowledged the votes that came from the igbo nation because they help in putting the present Government in power. We can never and will never be the enemies of the Ndigbo. Let us all thread with caution about our statements not to further heat up the polity.
We are also aware that Mr. President said at the last APC NEC meeting that personal interest should be pocketed and party directives should be obeyed by all loyal APC members. Hence, the party directive must be followed and which include the removal of senator Ekweremadu. This is simply non negotiable.
 
They say In politics, there are no permanent friend nor permanent enemy but permanent interest and as such we are of the firm believe that a time will come when it will be the turn of ndigbo to present a Presidential Candidate and will need the help of the Man and other party leaders in APC that they are trying hard to bring down. If Ohaneze Ndigbo wants a leadership in APC senate, then they know which party to vote for in 2019.
 
We therefore urge the so called youth group and any other group to refrain from casting aspersion on the person and personality of Asiwaju Tinubu or other APC leaders. APC youth league Lagos state cordinate reaffirm our earlier stand that senator Ekeremadu must do the needful by stepping aside as the deputy senate president immediately before he is humbled.

Thank you

Hon Smith Olusegun
PRO
APC YOUTH LEAGUE, LAGOS STATE CORDINATE

Aba with high place of land pollution. The pix is real, expecially Aba South and North zone. The new government need to work on the environmetal services of the state. Aba the most dirty place in Nigeria. Seen, tested and confirmed. Reporting from Obingwa.

Nice writeup

Congrat

What we need is transformation not classic cars.

First one is ready for work while the second one is ceremonial worker.

Look good for the day