₦airaland Forum

Awake9ja: if there is any person or group to receive reward of making GEJ president its that iron woman "Dora Akunyili"

she is not from my tribe nor state but I point at truth whenever I see one.

I don't deny the fact that SNG didn't make an impact but she "Dora" get the job done.

WE even found out later that most of the SNG was into the protest for a political reasons(TUNDE BAKARE etc).

so let us give honor to whom honor is due,
some people deserves a hand shake while some deserves I big PRIZE.
A hand shake is a sign of appreciation and a Prize is a sign of REWARD.

It is well-documented that Dora Akunyili acted cynically with the knowledge available to her and other 'insiders' (Yar Adua was in a coma) to ingratiate herself with the new kid on the block i.e GEJ.

Ask yourself why GEJ, loyal to a fault towards his crew, had nothing at all for Akunyili. Explain that one. GEJ who rewarded clearly incompetent individuals for lesser efforts would have ignored a woman who helped him become President especially as she is generally deemed to be competent?

The word is that GEJ, along with virtually everyone else, was put off by her cynical opportunism and that is why he cut her off and she remains cut-off till today. In Akunyili, they all saw a political climber too quick to shout " the king is dead. long live the king".

You should face fact and accept that your Akunyili "saved GEJ" fantasy has never gained the attendant reward from the man who should be most grateful to Akunyili, i.e GEJ, because such is not what really happened. Those involved, as direct stakeholders, saw through the cynical opportunism of Akunyili and this is why she remains an untrusted pariah till today.

Had Dora truly done what you claimed, there is no way at all GEJ would have frozen her out so coldly considering many who did nothing for him and actually stood on the sideline when he was in trouble were consequently rewarded once GEJ was substantive President. Read below and note the truth as to why Akunyili, despite the "saved GEJ" action you ascribe to her, is in the cold till today with nowhere to go amongst her own colleagues.


http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/the-screening-of-dora-akunyili.html

The Screening Of Dora Akunyili
Print Email POST 30 MARCH 2010 LAST UPDATED ON 30 MARCH 2010 BY D.K. MERIJE HITS: 2500

THE SCREENING OF DORA AKUNYILI

Loyalty. This is one of the most priced commodities in Nigerian politics today. Knowing when (and how) to show and knowing when (and how) to switch political loyalty is the difference between life and death politically. Atiku’s years of loyalty to Shehu Musa Yar’Adua earned him the PDP Vice-Presidential ticket in 1999 and 2003. It was the same Anenih that justified the incarceration of OBJ under Abacha that metamorphed into OBJ’s “Mr Fix-It”. Everybody understands; showing and switching loyalty, if done right, pays politically.

So, Dora Akunyili could be forgiven for, suddenly, distancing herself from Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, politically, in the heat of the saga surrounding the President’s health. It was a deft political strategy. Even though she had been very close to the ailing President and had had no qualms in the past with toeing the government line (even against the interests of “the people”) by now championing a course that was both populist and capable of ingratiating her with the rising fortunes of the then Vice-President, she was exploiting a “win-win” situation. She would both redeem her image with the people and advance her personal status by switching political loyalties.

It worked. Even though some people were quietly disgusted by the brazen about turn, it was difficult to accuse her of being a political opportunist when she had also, simultaneously, taken the moral high ground. Moreover, as pointed out above, everyone understands that switching loyalties, when done right, is an acceptable thing in Nigerian politics.

Dora’s real problems began with the further steps she took after the story of her controversial memo had “leaked” to the public. She started running her mouth; branding other people “a cabal” and presenting herself as the only courageous and upright person in the Cabinet. It took the efforts of a lot of people to push Jonathan into the position of acting President; civil society, the media and the Senate combined to make it happen. But Dora Akunyili hugged the lime-light. It was one thing to circulate an internal memo; it was another thing to go to town with a loud speaker against the same government that was paying your salary. Her actions alienated a lot of people who were, otherwise, in agreement with her memo. She was, in effect, burning her candle from both ends; provoking her enemies and offending her friends. A groundswell of opposition quietly built to her re-nomination as a Minister.


She did not make the first list of ministerial nominees published by the media. This was despite her prominent role in pushing for Jonathan’s elevation to the status of acting President. Other prominent pro-Jonathan elements, like Senator Bala Mohammed, made the list. Dora was probably left out because of the controversy her utterances had generated and the fact that she had demonstrated how loose a canon she could be. But she has always been a polarizer; you either hate her or you love her. Proving her capacity as a political survivor, she got included in the list sent to the Senate at the last minute.

But she faced little sympathy in the Senate. There seemed to be a silent agreement to nail her; to expose her as an over-ambitious political climber who would do, and say, anything to advance her own position. The obvious arrow head for the plot would be the Senators from Yar’Adua’s own state, Katsina. Dora’s presentation, dripping with her usual self-assurance bordering on arrogance, did not help her precarious situation. She leaned slightly on the podium, beginning with the words, “I am Dora Akunyili…”, spoken with provocative force. The first Senator to be called to question her was the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Kanti Bello. He was supposed to coldly ask questions that would bring Dora’s professionalism and conduct as the Minister of Information into question- Do you think the way you handled the situation was in the nation’s best interest? Don’t you think you played a bit too much to the gallery? The Senate would have quietly looked the other way and let Dora sweat for “over-doing” things. The former Minister would have been made to eat humble pie and learn to manage her zealotry better.

But Senator Kanti Bello fumbled. He lost his objectivity and his cool. Three times the Senate President gave him an opportunity to ask a calm question that would put Dora’s professionalism squarely on the table but the Senator from Katsina let his personal feelings get in the way. He berated Dora in a way that bordered on offensive. Nigeria is a complex country, littered with dangerous fault lines. The Senator was asking his question across one of Nigeria’s most explosive fault lines; North/South. He was a muslim Northern male questioning a Christian Southern female. His provocative tone completely changed the dynamics of the screening of Dora Akunyili. Suddenly, both female and Southern senators were taking offence at the Senate Chief Whip’s manner. In a second, considerable support swung the way of Dora Akunyili. Voices began to be raised, shouting down the Chief Whip. Dora should take a bow and go! Proceedings were adjourned abruptly. Dora Akunyili took a bow and went.

It is not yet over, though. The Senate would still have to decide whether or not to confirm her nomination. There are two options. Option A- the indignation a lot of Senators felt at the way Senator Kanti Bello questioned Professor Dora Akunyili would hold and guarantee her the Senate confirmation. Option B- the offended Senators would be pacified and made to remember that, regardless of how Kanti Bello put it, the original point he was making was that Dora Akunyili may have let her personal ambition get the better of her in the handling of a national crisis; an opinion that many of them hold. If that happens, the Senate would block her confirmation. Either way, Dora is going to get a brutal education in Nigerian politics. The same one that Anambra State handed down to Professor Soludo. It takes more than being a “super star” to get this job done. For one, you have to show loyalty and when you switch loyalty, you have to do so with care.

In the end, Dora Akunyili would probably be rescued by Kanti Bello’s mistakes. But let her not be deceived by it, she would have only escaped by the skin of her teeth. Changing Nigeria is not the same thing as fighting fake drugs. To her patriotic zeal and intellectual prowess let her add the ability to take on her foes without alienating her friends. If Dora does not learn how to control her propensity to want to be the biggest star in the room, she may discover that her greatest legacy would remain the eight years she spent in NAFDAC. When she left she took her shine with her and NAFDAC was back to what it was before she got there. That is exactly the point Obama was making when he said that Nigeria needs strong institutions not strong men- or women. Super stars may play really well but if no one builds the team, nothing changes, really.

Tinubu says nothing we have not stated here robustly. It is insane to think 5 legislator will try, this brazenly, to depose over 20 others when they know that such an action will never be allowed to stand in a Nation functioning normally and which must be seen before the world to do the right things unless they act because they know they have the support of the highest authority in the land. Simple as that. GEJ can deny issues all he wants. It will not be the first time he is behind negative things only to play innocent.

@Abagworo. Nice thread.

@Post.

I see the usual unrepentant 'Ostrich' ethnic jingoist are here with their ethnocentric reasoning that makes no sense to the rest of the world. It is always that the SW and the North "hate GEJ" never about looking at th utterly reprehensible actions of GEJ that has made him unpopular worldwide. Is David Cameron Yoruba? Is Obama Hausa/Fulani? What of the Ghanaian Prof who wrote the article below? Is he married to a Hausa woman with a Yoruba woman as second wife?

http://saharareporters.com/article/nigerians-are-battered-souls-broken-spirits-professor-ayittey

Mr Ayittey had also lambasted GEJ for “impatiently” indicating that he would not declare his assets.
He had ended his criticism with a call on Nigerians to rid themselves of GEJ as soon as possible.
But these criticisms did not go down well with some Nigerians, who took to twitter to criticise the Prof and urged him to focus on Ghana’s own problems.



However, In a calm and measured response, Prof Ayittey called on Nigerians to look beyond tribe and religion in analysing socio-policio-economic issues.

He said his criticism of GEJ aimed at helping the Nigeria identify its flaws, and exposing the Nigerian people to new or alternative perspectives.

The Economist underscored the need for Nigerians to be amenable to criticisms and new ideas, adding that outsiders were sometimes in a better position to offer criticism or advice.

If anything, the part in bold above, from an excerpt of the original article, speak to the ethnic jingoist here who run around saying others "hate" GEJ without realising that they are the ones who support him blindly and and are , because of ethnocentric bias, unable to discern his very dangerous actions and inactions the entire world, at least reasonable folks, see clearly and acknowledge as dangerous for Nigeria. This is why GEJ is disdained universally while his support base today consist of clannishly myopic elements who will blame everything and everyone rather than take an honest look at the very flawed, very corrupt and very inept character they worship like a messiah.

Guys check out the thread below and what it reveals. Can any reasonable person , due to GEJ's action, not see why our President is universally despised . Just take a look objectively even if not into politics and make up your mind whether those saying only the SW and the North "hate" GEJ are not repellent bigots. They will not turn up on the thread below to discuss the reprehensible and insane action of their messiah. When such is then criticised they will say "Hausa/Fulani and Yorubas hate GEJ" without realising they are the only ones displaying ugly bias and open prejudice:


https://www.nairaland.com/1359430/rising-oil-theft-why-tompolo#16810634

ochukoccna: ^^^^^
@ gbawe,
What about the image of a nation been sullied further?
Do they ever give thought to that?
A nation that is already gasping for survival
Your scenario is like a woman whose been violated by miscreants and reaches out to the police for help only for the police to round up the miscreants and for them all to revisit the nightmarish process upon her over and over regardless of her cries and anguish
I doubt if Nigeria can survive this Ijaw one chance onslaught till 2015

No they do not. After all, we know GEJ does not "give a damn". Certainly, 100% beyond doubt, Nigeria will be in a very bad shape by the time GEJ is done. The gates of hell GEJ has opened deliberately will be very difficult to close because Nigeria is now in a "damned if you do damned if you don't" situation thanks to GEJ's fraudulent antics.

I will explain. As I understand it, the protection contracts to Tompolo et al is up for renewals. Oil theft has risen massively currently in what many analysts believe is the milatant warlords way of subtly threatening the FG to renew their contract or face the current level of theft as a daily occurrence if their deal is not renewed.

Renew their contract and it is 'business as usual' with Nigeria continue to bleed billions of dollars. Terminate their contracts and the militants will certainly ferment trouble for Nigeria because of the easy money they are making and refuse to be weaned of. This is the situation GEJ has put Nigeria in. It is like the fuel subsidy scam. Are we not still using marketers today when Otedola, a member of GEJ's own economic team, has suggested Nigeria deals directly with foreign refineries to stop subsidy scam on the spot?

What manner of "transformation" rejects doing the right thing and instead maintain practices that ensure Nigeria is literally being bled dry everywhere? All Nigeria is known for today is corruption and skyrocketing ownership of private jet which show the gulf , abetted by corrupt enrichment, is widening between the mega rich and the rest of Nigerians.

The part of the article reproduced below shows a reasonable person, beyond the shadow of a doubt, what GEJ is. This is why his colleagues worldwide, who are fully aware of what is going on, thoroughly despise our President. Such a crude level of anti-nation conduct would disturb even the most casual of world leaders.

Today, the erstwhile villain called Tompolo, has transformed to a loyal ally of the same government that wanted him dead. He is now a valued patriot. In fact, they have long become business partners, with both parties providing complimentary services to boot.
Sometime in 2011, the Federal government awarded a pipeline surveillance contract worth $103.4m (about N15 billion) to Tompolo’s company—Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL). It was essentially to protect the nation’s water ways so the theft of crude which was going on at the time would be curbed.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), a government agency, awarded the contract packaged like a concessionaire agreement with the private sector. It practically ceded the security and protection of the nation’s maritime to an individual, thus making the Nigerian Navy (NN) somewhat irrelevant in the business of securing our territorial waters. Beside Tompolo, other militant leaders like Asari Dokubo, Dagogo, Egberi Papa, got N2billion contract to also secure the oil pipelines in Bayelsa and Rivers States. N580m contract was awarded Boyloaf’s (another militant)’s company.

But two years down the line, the volume of oil theft is unprecedented and unimaginable. All the oil companies are wailing. Even the federal government is perplexed, wringing its hands in near helplessness. From Shell to Chevron, down to Agip, Total, etc, it is the same story: brazen and unbridled theft of crude. Indeed, many of the oil companies have had several shut-ins because of the oil theft. Once, it used to be done cautiously. Not anymore. Production and sales has dropped to somewhere around 1.3m bpd now, down from 2.7m bpd. The manner of the theft now is such that seems to ask: “Yes, I am stealing, what can you do?” It is more than ever before, an organized cartel.
The arising national loss is humongous.

The wisdom in giving fish to the rat to keep is so there would be no guessing who ate the fish, if and when it is tampered with. The attendant verbiage is that it must be the rat who ate the fish kept in its custody.
So in this case, Tompolo and co were given the lucrative contract of securing the pipelines, and everyday, not only are raw crude being stolen by armed local and foreign crooks, even pipelines are being vandalized across the country. The present drop in electricity generation in the country has been blamed on disrupted gas pipelines which have disrupted supplies to gas stations. So there is no gas to power the gas stations. And everybody is in darkness. On every front, the nation is losing egregiously. Yet, the nation pays some people for the same job of protecting and securing the pipelines.
You get a picture of how badly the nation’s economy has been bled from all its pores, on account of the oil theft, when you listen to the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She said the nation was losing about 300,000 barrels of crude per day which translates to the loss of $1 billion in revenue per month. So on the average, the nation loses $12 billion per annum to oil thieves, yet, it pays billions of Naira for the protection of the same vandalised pipelines. Little wonder we have a plethora of private jets in the country. It does not make sense!

@OP.

It is all a crude scam like the fuel subsidy saga. On one hand, enrich the militants legitimately with formal protection contracts while the militants in turn, because they are now in charge and with legality behind them, supervise the oil bunkering that is massively enriching they and their political benefactors/godfathers.

GEJ is so transparently crude, it is unreal and an embarrassment Nigeria has such a President in this day and age. This is why he is highly disdained by his contemporaries worldwide. They see what is going on and cannot believe how brazen a colleague can be in displaying sheer greed and corruption through the deliberate promotion of anarchy everywhere. The man loves his militants and wants them in charge of the ND by all means. 'Good' luck to him .

berem: It pays to be a militant, doesn't it?

Well, it certainly pays under GEJ. Get millions of dollars legitimately for "protection contract" and get many, many more millions supervision the theft of oil you are meant to be gaurding. What could be better and easier than the perfect scam of 'eating' from the FG and the black market with no hassle at all?

One day, like the subsidy scam, GEJ will turn around to play victim and tell us "Nigeria will collapse" if oil theft is not checked never mind that he is the one in charge of oil theft via his senseless action of handing over oil pipeline protection to militant warlords. Anyhoo, na so we see am.

jmaine: Guess i missed this match. Hopefully the boys will get fit and mentally spiced up ASAP for the challenges ahead . .

They played well. some of the youngsters were impressive with Gnabry the pick of the lot and looking likely to be the one drafted in to the first team fully this year. I was watching out for Giroud because with this frustrating Hiquian/Suarez malaky I at least want Giroud improved with a full preseason behind him because it is on a tour like this the coaches can work on deficiencies and try different players/formation so the team can gel better.

I can tell you that his two goals were top drawer. Especially the second where he recieved the ball with his back to goal and spun intelligently to displace his marker and strike an unstoppable drive to the top corner of the post. I still think we need to get a class forward who would convert at least one out of every two chances in tight games. I am not sure Giroud can be that but he certainly looked impressive today with two goals and an assist.

The Higuain business is just annoying. If bobo wants to stay in Madrid, as latest news suggests, he should let us know so Arsenal can look elsewehere. Really hopeful we can get that Kondogbia lad. Very promising player. To watch any game, whether preaseason, Champions league or premieship/La liga/serie A/Bundesliga et al go to www.eplsite.com and download/activate any drivers. Been using it for a year and it has been safe to use so far and the range of games covered will usually includ the one you want to watch. Get latest Arsenal news , including transfer movements/targets, on the blog collator: http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Premier+League/Arsenal/All+Sources

ceejayluv: pls don't bring in regional sentiments here. every logical and right thinking person would condemn such act....

True but Nairaland host a lot of clannish elements who make it clear GEJ can do no wrong.

bloggernaija: Oshiomole dey on that long tin o ?
Him Neva hear of transformation agenda .
Oil don trnsform into money,disappear into fresh air.
"Everybody say fresh air " (fela style).
Yeah yeah.

This is more or less what is happening literally i.e money disappearing. yet not into "fresh air" but into pockets friendly towards "fresh air".

Many said it that awarding protection contracts to militant, when Nigeria had a functional Navy and could even create a specialist force if needed, was a senselessly crude action that could only be a precursor to scamming Nigeria and siphoning the wealth of the Nation into private pockets. How can militants be given such important duties?

Is it not shocking how far back GEJ has taken Nigeria? In GEJ's kingdom, you can be a mentally warped and amoral warlord yesterday who killed coldly. Yet today you are fit to receive a multi billion dollar contract protecting the wealth of a nation Where is it done? Sheer madness !!!

In civilised nations Morality, that is seen and demonstrated over a long time, would be of utmost important for such a serious duty!!! This is why it should have been the Navy, or a specialist force created out of it, that should be solely considered for this because the Navy (at least more than the militants) will host men who are professional, well-trained and loyal to their duty.

Now we are all seeing the results validating those logical voices who questioned how everyone, Senate et al, could sit back and let GEJ get away with an insane decision that was always going to end badly. How can a nation be full of so may political suicide bombers i.e those who watch while damaging actions are taken against Nigeria? I guess they all don't care since they figure they will always be rich enough to buy security, electricity, health treatment abroad et al. "Fresh air" indeed.

Anyone watching the Arsenal preseason tour? Currently watching Arsenal v Indonesia dream team. 6 nil to Arsenal. Giroud with two finely taken goals. Podolski and Walcott on score sheet too.

pokur: Heck,who wrote that tripe PDP calls manifesto?.They should ask for a refund if someone got paid to come up with such stite

Abi OOOO. Why draw attention to such a garbage document , only fit to be hidden away in the darkest corner, by saying comically that anyone would want to copy it? This PDP sef. Disgraceful Party that says it is "the biggest Party in Africa" whereas the reality is that the entire world only sees the most confused and unintelligently inept Party in Africa.

Jakumo: [size=14pt]Divorce that illiterate and pathologically greedy fat phuck, Johnny B. Goode. You can do a WHOLE lot better than staying hitched to that low-life ho. Your kids are grown, and chances are they will be delighted to see the back of that horrid monkey-asz person claiming to be their mother. Get yourself a nice young toned university coed with firm yet jiggly jugs to caress, who will light your fire, and remind you of what HOT poon-tang is supposed to be like.

Cut her loose, Johnny B. Goode. Cut her loose, and let her sink into well-deserved obscurity. There is but one life to live, so don't waste it running after that mad cow and trying to damage-control her every blunder.[/size]

This Jakumo dude is a character walahi. Jakumo, what you ask for is simply not possible. Patience wears the trousers and GEJ will indulge her to kingdom come and to the detriment of 160 million people if need be. You forget he even demanded that Nigerians pay for his wife's N2 billion first ladies "mission house" extravagance. So forget "cutting her loose". Not an option at all for GEJ.

jmaine: There is a battle of wits between them, with accusation and counter accusation flying from both camps since the merger on the drawing board.

This manisfesto shot by the PDP is just among the various missile the PDP seeks to haul even though it is weak.

Okay. Point taken if you meant "rofo rofo" to be about the ongoing one-upmanship battle and not the manifesto issue specifically. That puts everything else in perspective. I just had to speak because I did not take you to be as cretinous as the poster you quoted who is of the disposition to simply present what PDP Party leaders have said without even minimally inspecting the two manifestos and making an educated and informed contribution of his own instead of clannishly parroting the entirely false utterances of others.

His "shamelessly copy from the competition" utterance, delivered out of clannish ignorance, has to be voted the most stupid submission on Nairaland for 2013 because nothing can beat it considering that the manifesto of the PDP as delivered here is not one even Somalia , failed as it is, can aspire to copy

By the way, the two manifestos are not at all similar. Nowhere near. In fact what the PDP present as manifesto is an utter embarrassment and a study in the delivery of vague and not-too-clever rhetoric.

berem: Laughing hard and reading PDP's Manifesto! Is this a joke or what? Am still searching for one single PDP achievement in the trash i just read. Very very weird!!

I am laughing too. Simply incoherent and unthinking waffle delivered in haste so some can get on with the main business of looting. This is what these PDP charlatans will end up doing with their own petty and false utterances they blindly 'Parrot'. I.e they will go on to help put the PDP under the microscope to the extent the entire world, if that is not known already, will realise this is a Party that is about nothing other than the crude sharing of Nigeria's wealth as the Americans noted a while back.

http://stephendieseruvwe.com/2012/03/11/pdp-is-not-a-political-party-but-a-fractious-and-opportunistic-coalition-of-interests-lisa-piascik/

PDP IS NOT A POLITICAL PARTY, BUT A FRACTIOUS AND OPPORTUNISTIC COALITION OF INTERESTS – LISA PIASCIK
MARCH 11, 2012

tags: Corruption, PDP, People's Democratic Party

The United States does not consider the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party a political party, a US diplomatic cable leaked to the whistle blowing site, Wikileaks, and made exclusively available to NEXT has shown.

Charge d’ affaires of the US embassy in Nigeria, Lisa Piascik, in a dispatch dated October 19, 2007, informed Washington that despite its labelling as a political party, the PDP did not meet “the common western understanding” of a political party.

According to Ms. Piascik, the PDP “lacks key ingredients most political parties share”.

After taking a swipe at the party’s mission statement, the American diplomat proceeded to deliver what is probably the most scathing analysis yet of the PDP.

[size=14pt]“The PDP remains an agglomeration of interest groups formed around persons of prominence and power which are loosely tied together by a desire to remain in office and maintain access to the “national cake” or resources of the state”, Ms. Piascik declared.
[/size]
“The PDP remains a highly fractious and opportunistic coalition of interests. True opposition, in the form of a powerful group with access to the pillars of power, comes from within the PDP – not from without as would be expected in a democratic party structure.”

She added that the party, which claims to be the biggest political platform in Africa, has no “ideological consensus” whatsoever and had remained divided from the start.

In a comment attached to the cable, the American diplomat said, “The PDP remains a highly fractious and opportunistic coalition of interests. True opposition, in the form of a powerful group with access to the pillars of power, comes from within the PDP – not from without as would be expected in a democratic party structure.”

jmaine: Gbawe, i kindly suggest you seek the meaning of the slang "Rofo Rofo" and withdraw your needless personal attack.

Using me as a proxy to Attack PointB doesn't make sense cos all i did was laugh at the pit fighting with respect to both parties.

Again Gbawe, check the meaning of "Rofo Rofo" . . .

I know what "Rofo rofo" means but my point is that you can only ascribe such to this situation because you do not see the facts of the issue. "Rofo rofo" is a two-way street and the APC are not engaged in back and forth with the PDP over manifesto. They have delivered their manifesto for the public to inspect.

Is it the PDP that went ahead to lie that a manifesto better than its own is a copy of what it has delivered. I don't see any "rofo rofo" and only note a Party lacking in substance trying to decieve the public with lies. You can take an advice for you to be about fact , as you used to be and as the best posters here continue to typify, to be a "proxy attack" against others if you wish. My bad and I simply won't offer such again.

Nonetheless, can you give a simple yes or no to the PDP's allegation that the APC manifesto is a copy of their own since both are now available on this thread?

jmaine: Rofo Rofo things

Stop this nonsense Jmaine. You used to be about intelligence even if you were partisan. Do you think I did not see that submission? I did not respond merely because it is the typical ignorant and unthinking 'parrot repetition' of the clannish elements who, because they cannot be bothered to read and educate themselves, swallow and blindly repeat the lies they are fed .

The PDP is full of immoral politicians and, naturally, immoral followers back such. This is why it is immoral followers who regurgitate the immoral lies told by their immoral leaders without so much as opening one link, in this information age, to verify anything. You and others should read what is written below from the PDP official website.

Now tell the entire forum with a simple yes or no, and please don't run away or give waffling and indirect response, whether the APC manifesto I highlight is a "copy" of the PDP manifesto reproduced below as fraudulent PDP elements assert. Other than the submission related to "true federalism, which is an issue every Party has talked of for eternity, show the forum how the APC manifesto is a copy of the PDP. Others are irredeemable and not much is expected of them because it is accepted they will operate with lies to support their affiliations but you should not be about that. Just a friendly word of advise because the old you who was about using fact to support his utterance is the one distinguished from the many functional illiterates here who operate with lies, half-truth and outright ignorance. To be partisan is not the problem because man will always be partisan. To be willing to embrace lies and deception is the issue. That was something I did not associate with you.

If anything, neutral observers can see that what is written below is non-specific and gratuitous waffle not at all comparable to the manifesto of the APC that is clearly unambiguous, informative and far easier to analyse as a 'forecasting tool' for the electorate.

http://www.peoplesdemocraticparty.net/

OUR MANIFESTO’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We of the Peoples Democratic party of Nigeria,

Conscious Of;

Our historic mission to build a modern democratic state founded on Justice, Equity and Fair play.

Realizing the need to;

i. Make fundamental break with past mistakes in order to realize the optimum potentials of the Country;ii.

iii. Build a qualitatively better society based on the principles of democracy, human rights and social justice under the rule of law;

Committed to;

i. Restructuring Nigeria in the spirit of true federalism and responsible tiers of government, so as to achieve a just and equitable society;

ii. Resolving such fundamental issues as proper devolution of powers between the three tiers of government;

Covenant as follows:

1. The Indivisibility of the Nigerian Polity

i. We affirm our belief in the unity of Nigeria under the Federal System of Government. We shall, therefore, continuously promote political tolerance, accommodation and compromise, religious harmony, as well as inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic accommodation and co-operation.

ii. The Party shall also promote geo-political balancing as a fundamental principle of power sharing in the country, in line with the principle of federal character.

iii. The Party shall uphold the principle of power rotation in our polity at all levels.

2. Supremacy of The Constitution

We affirm our belief in the supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the sovereignty of the Nigerian nation and its people. We hereby affirm our commitment to strict observance and enforcement of the provisions. As a political party, we shall conform to the spirit and the letter of the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party.

3. Independence Of The Judiciary and Operation Of The Rule Of Law

We affirm our belief in the supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the sovereignty of the Nigerian nation and its people. We hereby affirm our commitment to strict observance and enforcement of the provisions. As a political party, we shall conform to the spirit and the letter of the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party.

4. Sanctithy of Human Dignity

We affirm belief in respect of fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and International Protocols and Conventions. We are against all forms of discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, place of origin, or ethnicity, race, beliefs, etc. The PDP will strive to protect the rights of vulnerable groups in society, including women, children, senior citizens, pyhsically challenged and minorities.

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

We shall remain strongly committed to:

i. Democracy and good governance;

ii. Freedom, human rights and human dignity;

iii. Justice, equity, popular participation, inclusiveness and the rule of law;

iv. Integrity, transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs;

v. Sustainable development through the creation of an enabling environment for private sector led economic development.

DIRECTION OF POLICY AND MEASURES

1. Political Objective

The political objective of the Peoples Democratic Party is to:

i. Seek political power for the purpose of pretecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria and promoting the security, safety, welfare, and well-being of all Nigerians.

ii. Promote and establish political stability in Nigeria and foster national unity and integration while safeguarding our culture and our values;

iii. Provide good governance that ensures probity and participatory democracy;

iv. Guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens and persons resident in Nigeria.

v. Promote and nurture democratic ideals and traditions on a sustainable basis;

vi. Provide the political environment that is conducive to economic growth and national development through private initiative and free enterprise;

vii. Offer equal opportunities to hold the highest political, military, bureaucratic and judicial offices in the country to all citizens, and protect, defend and safeguard the interests of all including minorities.

2. Governance

The party shall be committed to:

i. The principle of participatory democracy that lays emphasis on the welfare of our people:

ii. The principles of social justice and the equality of opportunities for all Citizens;

iii. The promotion and defense of the Nigerian Federal System of government;

iv. The principles of accountability and transparency in order to restore confidence in the institutions of government, discipline and leadership by example as basis for public lifeand personal integrity as an important moral value in the conduct of public affairs;

v. Fostering the spirit of oneness among our people by treating all Nigerians fairly and equitably, regardless of their social, political or economic status; and

vi. The preservation of Nigeria as a multi-religious state whilst guaranteeing freedom of religion and good conscience.

3. Economy

At the root of Nigeria’s political and social problems is poverty and low access to economic opportunities. The improvement in the well-being of Nigerians is the ultimate objective of the PDP’s economic policy, and make accessible to every Nigerian the basic needs of life. The focus would be to create a market-based economy driven by small and medium scale businesses and regulated by a reformed public sector.

At the very foundation of the above objective of the party is the pursuit of a strong, virile and diversified economy built to stm rural urban migration through investment in modern agricultural methods. PDP’s economic policy is centered on people and seeks to realize the Millennium Development Goals while aiming to:

i. Develop a middle class driven by small business owners, professional class with access to credit.

ii. Create easy access to transferable property rights in urban and rural areas.

iii. Protect the weak and poor through initiatives that is designed to integrate them in the economy.

iv. Improve investment in physical and social infrastructure.

The PDP aims, altogether, at establishing the leading economy in Africa and one of the 20 leading and largest economies in the World by 2020; an economy that experiences rapid and sustained growth of not less than 10% per annum.

4. The Judiciary And The Administration Of Justice

The Party shall:

i. At all times uphold and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

ii. Uphold the principles of separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution;

iii. Uphold the Independence of the Judiciary;

iv. Ensure the security of lives and property of all Nigerians.

ilugunboy: Sorry Gbawe..not all Nigerians "talk and defend" the GEJ-PEJ madness presently going on in Nigeria.

I agree with you and I did not mean "all Nigerians" even if it sounds like that. I meant that it is Nigerians themselves, as the downtrodden, who defend what should not be defended.

Youngtekkey: All of u saying this is a propanganda must be out of ur minds am in yenogua now and anybody in yenogua can do to confirm it it is true as i saw it with ma own eyes .....i was very amazed wen i saw it ONLY GOD CAN DELIVER NIGERIA IN THE HAND OF THIS SELFISH AND CORRUPT Woman

Thank you. This , in an information age with globally networked and connected citizens, is all we need to make this Country better i.e stakeholder involvement and testimony. You cannot be a stakeholder, involved and on the ground, yet expect change without supporting that to happen with your own eye-witness testimony and input.

googlepikin: i think there is beef about sahara reporter and Goodluck and Patience Jonathan. as the first-lady of Nigeria are you saying she should be guild by boy scout? with all dis political killings here and there.im not a fan of the presidency. is sahara reporters waiting to hear shes been shot so that they will have news to sell. i now hate dis sahara reporter. tax payers ko tax payer ni.

Do you people read anything at all? What manner of functional illiteracy is Nigeria now cursed with? Can you not read that it is her guest house being guarded i.e business interest? Does she/can she live in the guest house? A guest house under renovation for that matter? It is clear, with the way Nigerians talk and defend what is outright wrong, many deserve the merciless misrule vested on them by semi-illiterate 'throwbacks' in an age where all Nations are trying to compete via putting their meritorious best hands forward. If what is written below is true, given that it is hard to believe otherwise considering the character of the first lady, then all sensible Nigerians should only have one way to view such abuse of power.

"By contrast, soldiers paid by Nigerian taxpayers are deployed to keep round-the-clock guard at Magels Resort, a commercial guest house owned by Mrs. Jonathan. The guest house has been shut down for several years and is undergoing extensive renovation that began about six weeks ago. In addition to the presence of armed soldiers, a brand new armed personnel carrier is also permanently stationed at the premises of the First Lady’s guest house."

ilugunboy: I enjoy listening and reading from this simple man...factual and always on point.

I pray that he ends up with higher political calling.

Same here and I agree with your conclusion. It would be good if Nigeria gained more simple, straightforward and decent leaders, at the highest level, who have the interest of the ordinary man at heart.

Oshiomhole is a politician who is currently active and can thus not say what we all know and can say freely. I.e same way fuel marketers license was handed to crooked cronies (by GEJ and Allison-Madueke) who then went on to perpetrate the monumental subsidy scam, that has seriously messed up Nigeria fiscally, is how GEJ deliberately gave protection contracts to militants to facilitate the monumental theft of Nigeria's oil we are seeing today.

We are seeing crazy decisions that makes no sense to even a 3 year old, and have indeed backfired horribly, because the agenda was always one related to massive enrichment of certain 'interest groups' to put them in a position where they are hideously flush with the cash they can then use to control everything and everyone for their own benefit. Crude formula but one delivered with "don't give a damn" gusto.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/oshiomhole-massive-oil-theft-inexcusable/153275/

Oshiomhole: Massive Oil Theft Inexcusable

14 Jul 2013
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Governor Adams Oshiomhole


By Olusegun Adeniyi
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the Federal Government stands the risk of losing its integrity before the public if it fails to deal decisively with the massive theft of crude oil in the Niger Delta that now threatens the nation’s economy.

Oshiomhole decried a situation where the security agencies have seemed incapable of containing the ugly development. He said he told Vice President Namadi Sambo and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the last Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting in Abuja that the current situation was simply unacceptable.

Speaking in a chat with THISDAY, the governor said the Federal Government had stated last December that the nation had about $10 billion in the Excess Crude Account, only to be informed it had been drawn down to less than $5 billion at the last meeting of the National Economic Council.

Oshiomhole said: “When I sought for explanation, we were told the account was drawn down to augment the budget. Since the federal budget benchmark for crude is 79 dollar per barrel and oil has not sold below $100 this year, I could not understand that kind of arithmetic and then we were told it’s because we are losing about 400,000 barrels of crude per day to thieves. Now, these criminal elements, do they come with buckets or how come we are unable to apprehend them with all our security agencies?”

The governor said what he considered baffling was that at the height of militancy in the Niger Delta, before the declaration of the amnesty programme, which helped to bring down criminality, the nation never witnessed this kind of situation


“No nation should live with this kind of situation, that we would surrender our national assets to thieves? I hope those of us who call ourselves leaders in this nation will find solution to this problem before we lose integrity in the eyes of the public because I find the situation quite baffling that our Navy would simply be lamenting this sort of monumental criminality that is defying solution,” he said.

The heightened attacks on pipelines coincided with the ongoing negotiation between the federal government team and some of the ex-militants for the renewal of the pipeline surveillance contracts amidst pressure from other militants to be accommodated in the deal.

The cost of the expired pipeline contract is put at N5.6 billion. It was awarded by the government to the ex-militants to check oil theft in the once volatile region.

A report by Wall Street Journal last year said Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo got $9 million yearly to pay his 4,000 former foot soldiers to protect the pipelines, while Ebikabowei “Boyloaf” Victor Ben and Ateke Tom got $3.8 million a year apiece to have their men guard the pipelines.

Another ex-militant leader-Government ‘Tompolo’ Ekpmupolo had a $22.9 million a year contract to do the same job.
According to sources, the NNPC evaluation of the performance of the ex-militant leaders showed a poor rating with Tompolo rated highest as “using the contract as directed to protect the pipelines in the Delta.”

Oil production at the peak of militants’ activities in the Niger Delta was at 1.3 million barrels per day while output increased progressively up to 2.7 million barrels per day after the amnesty programme and the award of pipelines surveillance contracts.

Since the beginning of this year, oil theft and pipeline vandalism have risen with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) recently shutting down the Imo River trunk line in its eastern operation and reducing production by 25,000 barrels daily.
Several crude theft points were found on the facility.

Oshiomhole also spoke on the Sovereign Wealth Fund and frantic preparations for the 2015 election in some quarters.
On SWF, which funding modality the governors and Federal Government have sharply disagreed over, Oshiomhole queried the method adopted by the federal government.

“We all know it is good to save but there are questions as to when do we save, what do we save for, where do we save and how do we save? These are some of the questions they are refusing to answer because it’s simplistic to say there is only one way to save.”

Arguing further, the governor said: “My position has always been that we should reason together but the federal government does not want a debate, they just want some so-called experts to come and lecture us. Now, let us look at it this way: If as a family man living in a rented apartment, you come up with N100 million. Some may say the best way to save that money is to put it in a bank but others may argue, ‘why don’t we use it to build a property, which would generate more income and attract better value in future?

“Looking at it that way within the context of a country, does it not make sense to use such money to fix our infrastructure, build and equip standard hospitals, good schools and so on? For me, those are better investments in the future than keeping the money in a bank when you are not even sure of the value it would attract tomorrow.

“In any case, what is the sense of saving N100 million at home and borrowing N110 million abroad? We cannot continue to deceive our people. So my challenge has always been that these so-called experts of ours should come to the threshing floor so we can debate these issues with some common sense.”

The governor also spoke about the 2015 general elections and what he described as the increasing desperation of some principal actors, arguing that it bodes ill for the country.

Concluding segment.

What are you doing to address power in line with making the state a commercial hub?

How far can I go, what power do I have? We were the first to pioneer independent power project in Nigeria. We broke rules to do it as a commissioner working with Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu). I don’t work on where I can’t get immediate results. Power supply will not be an issue if the Federal Government takes gas pipeline issue as important as it takes roads. These are the posers we should give to the FG. We are flaring gas that should have been channelled to states.

But you can build small hydro plants for your state…

I am doing that. I will commission them soon.

What are the prospects of the APC? Who are the possible candidates?

APC is a mission to redeem Nigeria, a platform for sacrifice. Asiwaju has said that we are ready to make the sacrifice that will salvage Nigeria. It is not about personality but about the future of Nigeria. We cannot say who the candidates will be because the party has not picked anyone yet. The PDP has the majority in the governors’ forum for instance, because people had to decide where they wanted to go. The question the media needs to ask Governor Jonah Jang is, ‘Is 16 greater than 19?’ We knew what the result was. What happened shows you what will happen in 2015. In APC, for the first time, you have the best of the North coming together with the best of the South and that is what has been lacking in Nigerian politics.

Continued .....

Why is it that the governors of the South-West are just carrying along with whatever is done at the centre despite laying claim to federalism in line with Awolowo’s philosophy?

We have been in court since I assumed office on Sovereign Wealth and nothing has happened. The same affects the point you have raised. But it is not true that we are not doing anything on it. If you say we are not pushing federalism enough, tell us how to do it. My aggressive push has earned me accusation. In 100 days in office, I rebranded the state with an informal name. I said the name of our state is State of Osun. They said I wanted to secede, but they could not show us how the constitution had been infringed upon. Then they started shouting again that I was promoting jihad, have discontinued with state security apparatus and that I was a jihadist. On federalism, I should get a medal.

How can Nigerians have confidence in governors who could not organise Nigeria Governors’ Forum election?

If I slap you now and this place is in chaos, do you blame the management of the company for the action? That was what happened, some people deliberately wanted to discredit an organised process. Let’s call the spade what it is. We all know what happened but we are timid to say it. You cannot use a deliberate smear to castigate all governors. We all know the interest of who was behind what happened. If we are not courageous enough to apportion blame let’s be quiet. I rest my case.

You once said that the Yoruba should trace the meaning of that word, have you been able to find the meaning?

You know the meaning of Aregbesola but Yoruba is a foreign name imposed on us by the Lander brothers. The only name without meaning in Yoruba is that name we call ourselves – Yoruba. I am neither a sociologist nor an historian. Let our historians help us. Yorubas in the Diaspora don’t call themselves by that name. We are a people with a huge air of freedom that is why every ethnic group has a unique name. We are a people with a strong identity.

More .....

Why Cubans and not Nigerians?

The technology is developed there. It is as simple as that. They have the technology for mass elimination of mosquitoes and its lava through aerial fumigation.

But you should have worked towards acquiring that technology…

We don’t have that luxury of time. The tenure of a governor is four years.

I hope it works especially stopping the mosquitoes from flying into Osun from Ondo State…

If we periodically fumigate, the number of mosquitoes will reduce drastically. You will still have the effect of places where that is not done, but that is why I talk about regional integration. The same applies to the issue of crime control and security, it will eliminate opportunistic attacks and it will cost less when we do it together. But as long as there is no consensus, those of us who value human life and its quality will not wait.

Your allocation from the federation account is N3.06bn; N3bn goes into salaries, wages and pension, among other expenses, and you are building an airport. I think Osun doesn’t need an airport seeing the paltry income.

That is to you, not to me and luckily I am the governor. I’m not just building airport I am also building three roads. It is important to address this issue for clarity. The airports in Britain are many and the distance between them don’t justify their existence. We are building the economy of Osun – the commercial hub of Nigeria.

Can you mention any airport in the UK that is being run by government?

The problem is that our economy is not privately-run. We must understand that. Everything depends on government. If we fail to understand it, we will be mired. N4trn is the entire amount that about 160 million Nigerians are looking up to. That means N30, 000 per person. What can such amount of money do? That is why Osun wants its active adults to be able to earn their sustenance and that is a challenge to government in our kind of economy. An airport is important in Osun because of the hopeless conditions of our roads, which are unattractive to investors. It is an incentive to investors in terms of saving time. Besides, Osun is the cradle of 33 million Yoruba people in the world. The Ooni of Ife said 100 million but I don’t want to go into that. I have been to virtually everywhere they are in the Diaspora to see them. They value opportunity and that is why if you can bottle the sand of Ife and take it to Brazil, you would be mobbed. Don’t ask me why it is so. It’s just their attachment, just as I am attached to visiting Mecca every year. With 200,000 foreign visitors to Osun in a year, spending $1,000 (N161, ooo) will amortise the N4bn investment in the airport in four years. That comes to $200m (N32.2bn) and this will also bring more employment. You didn’t query what I am spending on the roads because that to you is development. That is why we said at the beginning that we will run an unusual government. I met a proposal of N9bn for the airport but was able to get N4bn proposal based on consultation with the Air force. This should be a problem because the first airstrip in West Africa was in Osun because it is the highest plateau. We are funding it in a flexible manner. I have changed the character of contracting in Nigeria and I wish other states follow me. What I do is to issue promissory notes to my contractors, they take it to any financial institution that will take it from them and I pay within my small budget over a period – two, three or four years, depending on the agreement. I am getting results.

[size=14pt]I met an Internally Generated Revenue of N200m but it is now more than N1bn. The airport is a cargo airport and if my programme on agriculture succeeds, I can send my goods to anywhere in the world. It is beyond flippant and ego boosting, we want to transform our people from the miserable condition we met them.[/size]

Continued .......

There is this crave among governors to either buy private jets or register one in the name of a private airline or go on chartered flights. It has been speculated that Osun also got beaten by that bug despite the fact that it is considered to be poor. How true is it that the state bought a helicopter? If true, why?

We need to first answer some salient questions. What was the need for that intervention? The first is security considerations. We are into an arrangement on the helicopter idea but it is with the highest sense of responsibility to our people. The interest we want to promote led us into it even though we are no longer using it for the purpose it was meant because of disappointments in some quarters. Osun is not too big but the travel time from the capital, where the elite security operatives are and other locations in the state takes a minimum of between one and half to two and half hours. Talk of Ora, Ife Odan, Ifetedo, Ikire, Owena and so on. Should there be an emergency, we should be able to support, rescue and intervene immediately. We won’t shout this on the house top but we had earlier invested in an alert system in respect to any threat to our people anywhere in the state. We thought that a helicopter would complement the rescue efforts by removing the impediment that the roads constitute when there is an emergency. But it is unfortunate that we met a brick wall, we have abandoned it. We would appreciate if the Federal Government could release the sort code for our use and safety of our people. Anybody could be in an emergency. We have the numbers to call on the ambulances. It is unfortunate that we have limited ourselves by the poverty we have around us. We must take a leap to be free. Awolowo used helicopter to campaign in the 50s.

But it was with his money…

Were Awolowo to be alive today, he will be on the side of efficiency. As for Aregbesola, it won’t be an issue, but I’m saying that efficiency requires that you use whatever it requires to bring out the best in you. If I were to choose between commuting on this road (Lagos-Ibadan Expressway) for at times seven to eight hours and using a helicopter, I will choose the latter. If there is a need for it and I have the helicopter to use, I will use it. Between 25 to 30 minutes I will arrive here and return to Osun to attend to other state issues. The cost of time lost is more that the cost of the helicopter in reality. Nobody owns helicopter for flamboyant use. The demand for helicopter usage on commercial basis is significant. So, if the state invests in it, it will recoup its money. Honestly speaking, I do not see any frivolity in owning a helicopter. Two months ago, we lost 14 people in an accident despite the fact that there was an ambulance point close to the scene of the accident. This happened because nobody had the presence of mind to get help. Those people could have been rescued with an alert system in place that will get information to the ambulance point or the helicopter. My response is this, let’s not allow poverty to overwhelm us, let’s raise the bar in public interest.

[b]If we had limited ourselves, we won’t be doing one-tenth of what we are doing today. Even with the scarce resources, we are pushing through because we are bold, courageous and uncompromising. When we came in, we had to borrow N1bn to pay staff salary. This was when the total salary of the workers was less than N2bn. Today, by simply re-engineering the economy of the state, I signed N3bn wage bill for June up from N2.6bn. How, you may ask? We don’t spend our excess crude allocation. We warehouse it since it is not regular. It has turned out good, we use it to pay staff salary so we can pay workers on the 25th of every month. Even the state allocation comes two weeks or more in arrears, so you can’t plan salaries with it. A government must use what it has to get what his people need without making excuses based on poverty.

For instance, we want to eradicate malaria in Osun State. We inherited 500,000 incidences of malaria, but through aggressive sanitation efforts we have reduced it to 200,000 according to the national agency. But we actually want to eradicate it., It is possible. That is why we are now pursuing a programme with the Cubans to regularly fumigate the environment.[/b]

Aregbesola giving his thoughts on several issues in an interview. Despite the title, Aregbesola clears the air on a range of issues interestingly.

APC, answer to Nigeria’s problems — Aregbesola

JULY 14, 2013 BY BOSEDE OLUSOLA-OBASA 24 COMMENTS

https://media.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Governor-of-Osun-State-Mr.-Rauf-Aregbesola.jpg
Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola

The Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, during his courtesy visit to the Punch Place, addressed several issues, including governance, the controversial Nigeria Governors’ Forum election and the All Progressives Congress. BOSEDE OLUSOLA-OBASA was there.

Do you have a blueprint that has direct bearing with the needs of the people, since you claim to follow Obafemi Awolowo’s steps?

I have always been like this, but it is unfortunate that when you are still at the periphery there won’t be so much attention on you compared to when you are in the centre. It is interesting how I built myself to where I am. I’ve been in the foretaste of political affairs in Lagos State since 1993. Only close watchers, who were part of the process, knew that I was there until I came to the open in 1999. I was critical to the 1999 expression but many did not know. From 1999 to 2007, close watchers could see that I was not an ordinary person there. That is about that; but what defined everything from the day I caught my political consciousness is that human beings must be at the focus of all efforts in any society. Whenever I see or sense any effort that will not benefit man, I criticise it. I am pro-people in every sense; I don’t like attempts to suppress or manipulate man.

As for our blueprint, it is in public domain. If there are governors that came into service with clear outline of programmes, policies and objectives, I’m one of them. We completed the blueprint of our government in 2005. It was published same year. When you get a copy, you can do an assessment to see if we are indeed keeping faith with our programmes. The blueprint could be classified into six action points. We realised that the greatest challenge of our people was poverty. So, our first assignment was to banish poverty, unemployment and hunger. Others are education, healthy living and communal harmony. These are the things that our state needs to get back to the root of development. On Awolowo, I must say that I patterned my programmes after his ‘People’s Republic.’ What I did before going into politics was to ensure I could recite the content. I regurgitated it whenever I needed to make reference to it. I do that in my own words. ‘People’s Republic’ is my manifesto. I have tried to adapt it to the current realities and it remains our driving force in governance.

Will some of your programmes be sustainable when another government comes into power?

Our programmes are sustainable. If they looked unsustainable initially, they become more sustainable as we go on. I will reel out some of them. When we assumed office, Osun was one of the states grappling with poverty and unemployment. After one year in office, Osun has the least unemployment index in Nigeria – three per cent. You may not like our approach and query it but it has multifaceted results. Crime rate is very low in the state today. Poverty rate is low. I quote a report published in The PUNCH last September that Niger State had the lowest poverty index while it said Osun came second. On the other hand, the report said Osun had the least unemployment ahead of Niger. This, the report said, put Osun State as the best model of governance. I think the publication quoted the National Bureau of Statistics. We said in our plan that 100 days into our administration, we will engage 20,000 unemployed youths – whether with Senior Secondary Certificate, National Diploma, Higher National Diploma or degree. We advertised and asked interested people to apply. We got over 250,000 applications. That means we only employed eight per cent of the total applicants, but it doused some social tension of years of unemployment and hopelessness.

When we came in, there was no budget provision for that. So, we had to look for money to run it until we got a budget for it. I’m happy with what we have done and how the society has received it. We intend legislating on it to make it an enduring legacy. Even if we don’t legislate on it; no government can reverse it. It is impossible, it has become a pattern. When the World Bank heard of the programme, it came to study it and some weeks ago it allocated to Nigeria $300m (N48.4bn) out of which Osun was given $18m (N2.9bn) to do a nationwide youth empowerment scheme in line with the state’s initiative. Even if you were afraid of our capability to sustain it, consider the fact that the World Bank has endorsed and adopted it.

Before our time, public primary and secondary schools had lost their relevance. No human being with any form of decency wanted their children there, particularly primary schools. How did we come to that conclusion?

I was born and bred in Ikare, which was remote and far from civilisation, but then, the schools were the centre of education. They had the best buildings, it made attending school attractive and popular. As we moved away from colonial rule, symbols of government sent their children to such schools but that is no longer the case. We realised that the formative stage of life was critical, so we thought of getting the children protein-rich nutrition through the school system. We checked our budget and recruited the best hands to do this. It is also providing opportunities for farmers, who are being patronised for this project. As of today, we feed 254,000 pupils every school day. Twice a week, they have chicken, once they eat eggs, meaning that at least 254,000 eggs are supplied every week. Because the state does not have the capacity to supply so much now, we get from Kwara State and Oyo, among others.

We buy 3,000 whole chickens ever week, which are being supplied by farmers in the state. Already, poultry is a popular venture in Osun. People are laughing to the bank. We slaughter 35 cows every week for the children. We also serve fish but I don’t have the statistics. What I know is that that has revived an ailing fishery project in the state. The fish is catfish — Obokun, our children now eat Obokun. We also learnt from nutrition experts that cocoyam has more nutrition that yam tuber, so we have also added it to their menu. I doubt how any administration, no matter how uncaring it is, will stop these programmes. Another area to address is the state’s revenue.

I’m opposed to envelope economy. And that is one of the reasons I am very vocal on regional integration. We must join hands to campaign for the restructuring of the architecture of governance which consumes so much of the nation’s wealth as against the actual needs of the people. If all governments could do half of what Osun is doing, the spate of crime and violence will drastically reduce. I look at sustainability from that point of view; it is to make people happy. I do say that the main assignment of any responsible government is the development of human capacity for self sustenance and good life. That explains the philosophy behind our people-oriented programmes and we are not ready to change.

Armored Personnel Carrier Deployed To Guard Mrs. Jonathan’s Guest House In Bayelsa
Posted: July 14, 2013 - 06:10


https://saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/news-page-images-480-wide/page_images/news/2013/Margels_guesthouse_yenegoa.jpg
APC and soldiers guarding Mrs. Jonathan's private business premises

By SaharaReporters, New York
A few days after the Goodluck Jonathan administration withdrew operatives of the Joint Task Force assigned to protect Government House in Rivers State, SaharaReporters has learnt that the president’s wife, Patience Jonathan, is using soldiers to guard her private guest house in Yenogoa, the capital of Bayelsa State.

Earlier this week, the Presidency ordered the withdrawal of JTF operatives guarding the official residence of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as a political feud between the governor, on the one hand, and President Jonathan and his wife, on the other, intensified. There was chaos in the chambers of the Rivers State legislature as four state law makers tied to the president and First Lady attempted, but failed, to impeach the speaker. In the aftermath of a bloody confrontation, the Jonathan administration pulled Mr. Amaechi’s security apparatus, which is controlled by the Federal Government.

By contrast, soldiers paid by Nigerian taxpayers are deployed to keep round-the-clock guard at Magels Resort, a commercial guest house owned by Mrs. Jonathan. The guest house has been shut down for several years and is undergoing extensive renovation that began about six weeks ago. In addition to the presence of armed soldiers, a brand new armed personnel carrier is also permanently stationed at the premises of the First Lady’s guest house.

Apart from the guest house, Mrs. Jonathan also owns a five-star hotel in the Okaka area of Yenagoa. The hotel, which construction was recently completed, is also heavily guarded by operatives of the JTF.

Mrs. Jonathan, who is notorious for greed and corruption, has acquired extensive landed properties in both Rivers and Bayelsa states. Her desire to control the politics of her home state of Rivers State is a big element in a simmering political crisis that turned bloody this week. Law makers loyal to Mrs. Jonathan stormed the state legislature with a contingent of thugs in a daring attempt to hijack the leadership of the legislative body.

Outraged by the absurd turn of events, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka called on President Jonathan to restrain his wife’s meddlesomeness in the affairs of Rivers State.

Mrs. Jonathan bankrolled the lavish wedding ceremony of one of the four lawmakers who spearheaded the chaos in the state assembly.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/armored-personnel-carrier-deployed-guard-mrs-jonathan%E2%80%99s-guest-house-bayelsa

iykofias: D remaining 15% wil b d politicians

No. They would be clannish elements who would rather cut their nose to spite their face. We even have many of them on this board. Did you not see them blindly backing GEJ to remove fuel subsidy because "we won't join any protest as we can afford fuel at any price" and "we are not complaining like others"?

@Topic.

Any surprise the statistical input of Nigerians themselves now provides a damning and definitive indictment things have worsened under GEJ? A President who, before the entire world, rejects many advice that would enable Nigeria to drastically reduce graft and malfeasance can be viewed to be nothing other than an enable of corruption. This is why world leaders savage him daily and can barely hide their disdain for our President. His handlers and worshippers can tell all the lies they want and spin as they wish but Nigerians themselves have spoken and their damning indictment is that corruption has worsened under GEJ. They now meet more corruption in their daily lives than was the case in the past. No way to spin that but these people who have no conscience will surely try as we saw Omokri doing.

solomon111: lagos accounts for 12% and not 25%,though we get your point.

You must be confused or lying. I know which I believe given your darkly anti-SW character here that sees you foaming at the mouth bitterly over every single positive news about the region.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/ibm-offers-tech-solution-to-lagos-traffic/

Further confirming this point of view, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos state commissioner for works and infrastructure said the state’s “blueprint for transforming our struggling infrastructure into a modern ecosystem driven by data intelligence and efficient resource management has been further authenticated by these set of recommendations from IBM.”

Lagos is West Africa’s leading commercial hub with the region’s largest air and seaports. The city generates 25% of national gross domestic product and its citizens account for 12% of Nigeria’s population.

“Lagos will continue to be a significant element of Africa’s economic success story, said Taiwo Otiti, IBM’s Country General Manager for West Africa. “An intelligent, interconnected logistics and transportation management system is a crucial must-have for any modern city, and this engagement with IBM’s Executive Service Corps team will further enhance the state’s ability to deploy technology-driven solutions in a timely and strategic manner.”

nuclearboy: With the federal house of reps now handling the state's legislative functions, it seems Amaechi has again risen above attempts to push him out!

I wonder how Bipi and whoever beat the drums to his dance now feel, realising that except the FHR rescinds its decision, Amaechi is untouchable until 2015!

Shame on whoever the drummers are

Personally, I don't think they will stop there. These people have been guaranteed by their Oga at the top, who is officially more officially powerful than Amaechi, that "nothing dey happen". It will be harder for them to get away with it because the eyes of the world is now on them with everyone strongly suspicious of the President.

Yet, I don't expect the scheming to stop since I believe Patience is a very vindictive individual who will not want to let this go and will not simply defer to the fact that legal options for removing Amaechi are dwindling. She will insist that "there must be something that can be done". We will see.

[quote author=ndu_chucks]You are the ignorant one in this matter. The IRS you referenced above cannot spend a penny more than what Congress has appropriated to the agency. Additionally, the Federal government cannot willy nilly deep into the funds collected by the IRS, the way that GEJ and fellow thieves do. olodo[/quote]Very ignorant chap indeed. It is clear what Aliyu is talking about. What Aliyu said before talking about "too much money", for those up to date with the agitation of all State governors, is the key. If State face the burden of financing health, education, water supply et al for all Nigerians, why on earth is the FG getting 52% of allocation with 36 States picking up 26% while over 700 local government make do with 20%? Which of us live, exist and carry on our business in a place called "federal government"? Is it not States we all live in I.e Kaduna, Enugu, Zamfara, Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Abia et al?

He therefore called for a reduction of the funds and powers available to the Federal Government because it(Federal Government) had no business in the provision of health, water, agriculture and education.

“There is too much money at the centre for the Federal Government to spend and that is why they are creating problems for the states, “ Aliyu advised.