₦airaland Forum

[b]Those who have observed my political persuasions will know that I am an unrepentant apostle of the Jonathan administration. For all the reasons I support this government, patronage is not part of it as I am neither a civil servant nor a beneficiary of any political appointment. My support is purely based on principle and deep personal conviction.


That said, the issue I want to dwell on today is the listing of our own President in the Times magazine 100 most influential people. I have heard some people ask this question, what has Jonathan done to deserve been listed amongst the 100 most influential people in the world? To this rather vexatious question, I will point out some very outstanding, yet uncelebrated achievements that Jonathan has in my own opinion, achieved to more than warrant been listed amongst this elite group.


I will start my justification from the African continent. We all recall the last elections in Ivory coast were the incumbent president at the time Laurent Gbagbo, had lost the elections to the opposition party led by al-hassan Quattara. Gbagbo refused to concede defeat and tenaciously held on to power against popular demand. He started whipping up ethnic and religious sentiments and the country was at the brink of a civil war. Jonathan then as the head of the AU called on Gbagbo to resign and led the AU to give an ultimatum to Gbagbo, failure which the military option would be applied.
This position was a radical departure from the usual position that the AU was known to take especially as it relates to election matters. The body was used to giving tacit cover to all its members no matter the level of indiscretion. Jonathan showed leadership and averted what would have been another bloody civil war in the continent. For those that are quick to make religious allusions to every move, know ye that Gbagbo was a Christian and Quattera a Muslim. Yet, Jonathan was firm, decisive and unequivocal in his call for the peoples wish to be respected. Was this not Influence?


Again, there was another crisis in Libya where Gaddafi was killing the very people he sort to lead. There was a coordinated massacre going on in all areas where Gadaffi did not enjoy support. The transitional council came up in Libya to fight this genocide. The Nigerian government, led by President Jonathan was quick to align itself with the transitional council by recognizing it as the legitimate government in Libya. This was again another occasion when Jonathan showed regional leadership by pointing the way forward.


Away from the regional front, the home front has been rather tumultuous for the President. The critics of the President are quick to point to the Boko Haram insurgency as the reason why the president has failed. They describe the President as weak! They say the president has not acted decisively to deal with the group. They call him all sorts of unprintable name just to show the level of disaffection. To this group, I make bold to say this; it is because of the way the president has handled this crisis that we still have a country called Nigeria today. Yes, you heard me well, the way he has handled it! I will explain this position clearly for the understanding of those that so desire.


To start with, this insurgency is not a conventional warfare and it is not religious. It is entirely political! The aim is to fight a war of attrition against the government of the day by mopping up public disaffection and ultimately bring it down. Check out the victims in most cases; church worshippers, Okada riders and market people, all belonging to the defenseless and vulnerable section of the society. The group has tried to cause a north vs south divide, they failed. They have tried to use religion, they are failing. They have given ultimatum for Christians and southerners to move away from the north. This again has not yielded the desired results. They tried to capitalize on the fuel subsidy removal crisis as evidence by the threat they issued to the leadership of the NLC for calling off the protests and strikes, this again failed. Only recently, they have issued a threat to the life of the president!
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This group and their sponsors are coming from all these angles so as to make the President commit a blunder they can latch on to. They have not succeeded in tagging him a religious bigot, an ethnic jingoist or a sectional leader. Jonathan has not reacted the way they had anticipated and so confusion has set in their camp and we now hear growing calls for dialogue! Imagine what would have happened if Jonathan had played the religious card when churches were been bombed, or the sectional card when the call for southerners to move away from the north was made or even the emotional card when his life was recently threatened ( the highest case of treason). The president has been cool, calm and collected in all of these. A true demonstration of calmness in crisis is a rare leadership quality.


To those that say the president has not acted decisively enough, I asked one of such critic during a discussion as to what he felt Jonathan has not done or is not doing. His response was both funny and annoying. It showed how shallow our understanding of this crisis is. He said the President should direct the army to bomb the entire north! I reminded him of the existence of a war crimes tribunal and changed the topic immediately. The same Nigerians that condemned a former president’s actions in Odi and Zakibiam, are the same ones that are calling for the replication of such in this instance. A strong leader is not necessarily one who uses brute force to resolve all issues of conflict.


The final achievement of the President I will mention here is the recent commissioning of the almajiri schools in the north. The almajiri problem has been with us for several years and no government, even those from the north had done anything meaningful to address it. Everyone agrees that it is a problem, but nobody was coming up with a viable solution. By coming up with the almajiri school concept, the President has given the almajiris the opportunity to study the Quran in a more decent environment, learn skills and acquire formal education. What else do we want from a President? This is coming at a time when the boko haram crisis is on. The President has again demonstrated that he has no problem with the north as the detractors would want the gullible to believe. Even when the CBN governor was said to have linked the crisis to the derivation formula, the presidency did not even issue a statement in that regard. He might have called the man to caution privately, that I can not substantiate. But all we know is that, the CBN governor has not been said to make any of such comments again.


Probably the long years of military government has construed our psychic to see leaders as people who use only brute force in solving all crisis. We need to understand the concept of soft skills approach to conflict resolutions. We need to know that in a democracy, the use of brute force is not the only way out of crisis situation. Though there are several issues that are yet to be addressed frontally in the country, I am very optimistic about the ability of Jonathan to address these issue within the life of his administration. Let us pray, support and provide constructive criticism for this administration. We don’t have any other country aside Nigeria.

Jonathan more than deserves this award and we should celebrate him. Congratulations MR PRESIDENT!!!
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Online education is rather very convinient and offers a whole new chapter to the world of learning. I speak as a dissertation student with the university of Liverpool (online). I would rather you do online at a masters or Phd level and not for Bsc. The content is the same as a traditional degree only that you need to be self motivated to achieve your goals.

There are usually several deadlines, and failure to meet your assignment or discussion deadlines often results in a fail grade. A masters programme with Liverpool for instance, consists of 8 modules. Each module takes 8 weeks at the end of which you receive a final module grade. It is a very interactive session as you have a classroom discussion with your peers, ask questions about grey areas and get other peoples opinion on issues. You have the benefit of being in class with very experienced people.

The university places serious emphasis on proper referencing and citation and deals with the issue of plagiarism and academic dishonesty very seriously. Infact, you can be expelled if you are found wanting in this area. There is a software called turnitin which monitors your similarity index. This means you can't just go and google stuff and dumb as we do here in Nigeria. The british educational system teaches students to research and acknolwedge their sources of information.

In terms of cost, it is cheaper than going over there and it also affords you the opportunity of keeping a regular job. When choosing an online University, reputation matters alot. Liverpool for instance has a long history spanning well over 10 years in this araea. Nigeria unfortunately has not even gotten the traditional brick and morta educational system right, talkmore of the online stuff. I was even surprised when I found people living in Liverpool in my online class. Infact, research shows that alot of european students now prefer the online stuff to the traditional system and it offers them the opportunity to to other stuff.

My advice to you finally will be this, since you have never attended a university, try the traditional campus based type first. You can then explore the option of the online angle for your future degree. I wish you the best. Try visiting www.liv.ac.uk for more information.

Hello house, pls can anyone assist with the full meaning of the arabic inscription on the Naira note? I little cousine of mine asked me yesterday and for once, I just remembered that I never tot about it.


This is very urgent as this boy has a way of calling people that dont have answers to his questions OLODO! I also need the information to knw what and why the inscription is on our note.

Thanks.

1,100 buses deployed for over 150 million people??

Seriously, is this woman truly an economist



Are u trying to say the entire population of Nigeria use the public transport system? Ask a more sensible question pls and stop insulting Ngozi

I am surprised that alot of people are making comments about madonna university based on these phantom pictures posted by someone who obviously has an axe to grind with the school. To all those that have made comments on these pixs, how did you authenticate that the pictures are actually from madonna university? Which faculty, departments, hostel or area where these pixs taken from? Is it not funny that no pixs of student taking lectures, eating in cafeteria, milling around the admin building or congregating was taken? The only pixs of students shown was one taken from a long distance showing a muddy ground. How are we sure the location is in madonna? Where is the signage of the school etc,

Madonna has 3 campuses. One in Okija, Elele and Apugo in Enugu state. Which of them is this? The opening of the campus in Enugu was shown on NTA network news, was this what we saw? The NUC inspection was also televised, was this what we saw? Madonna has over the years, risen to enviable heights both structurally and otherwise. The graduate level of employment is very high and commendable vis-a-vis the posgraduate performance of the graduate at different universities around the world.

Madonna may have her issues, as with any other institution. But posting pictures that are not varifiable is sure not a sensible way of getting back at the authorities. The sad thing is that, people are busy making uninformed comments on these pictures. If most of the commentators have beign tru the four walls of a university, at least, u will knw hw student congregate in campuses, why are such congregations not shown in these pixs?

I finished  my masters in uk with the university of Liverpool and I had four other madonna students in the school. Two of them will be graduating with distinction and my humble self graduated with a merit. We had issues when we were all there, but these pixs are definately not a tru and fair reflection of madonna university. Believe what u want to believe, but I have just told u the fact. Kelly Handsome was my room mate back then in the university. Those of u who attended madonna will certainly knw who this is. 2005 set!! Enjoy my people.

I get pissed wen I hear people blaming ladies for not getting married. Will they marry themselves? The high rate of unmarried women in any country is a direct reflection of the irresponsibility and lack of commitment of the men in that country! Come to think of it, alot of men want to eat a free lunch in evry ladies resturant without any form of commitment. I knw guys in there late thirties who still see themselves as youngees.

When u are unfortunate to find urself in a country where the men do not want to commit, what do u do as a lady? The economy and other social factors play a role in this, but the most important is the mind set of the men. @ Poster, let ur mum understand that u are open to marraige if the right partner comes or was she the one that married herself to ur father?

Does any one still need a reason why the quest for a secnd term ticket should be constitutionally abolished? Only God knws the number of pregnant women, babies and other innocent human beings that have being murderd or used for rituals in a bid to secure a second term ticket.

It is this sort of satanic desperation the president was aiming at eliminating when he suggested the single tenure bill. But as usual with Nigerians, he was castigated and called all sorts of names instead of looking at the matter on its merits. If we decide to conduct a survey on nairaland today, not the "Yes" or "No" type, but one that involves robust intellectual discuss, i doubt if there will be anyone against the single tenure proposal that will come up with anything meaningful.

Let us learn to always discuss issues based on merits and not just opposed because of idealogical and political differences.

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Let's speak in practical terms now. Does Islam both in Nigeria and around the world trully represent a peaceful religion? I keep wondering why the proponents and apologists of the religion keep talking about peace when all the evidence point to the contrary. I really want an unbaised assessment of Islam and it's peaceful tenets.

Another question that bugs my mind is this; is it an offence to be a Christian in Nigeria? Why are Christains always being killed in northern Nigeria at the slightest provocation? Why is the Islam practised in the s/west and Edo state not as voilent as that practiced in the north? Why do non northern muslim get killed during religious riots in the north are they not muslim enof?

Maybe this discussion will help us understand the minds of our muslim brothers better. Let's buttress our points with examples if necessary.

Regards.

@ Poster, is it goodluck that is the sitting head of the police, ss, army and other security agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of maintaining security? If you must know, Nigeria is under attack from a group of Islamic fundamentalist. Afganistan is under the same attack, has karzai resigned? Is resignation the solution to the boko haram issue? Infact, it shows how intellectually shallow you are. Try and understnd Nigeria pls,

@ Abujajabir, I never mentioned muslims in my post! Cross check ur facts. All I said was the north. And you did not bother to counter the points I raised, rather u were telling us how u wanted to join ur fellows in the slaughthering game. Truth be told, the north has caused this country more pains, embarassment and ill luck than any gain.

Everythin seems to be shrouded in religion. While other sections of the country have succeded in separating culture from religion, the north has not been able to do so. This is wat is responsible for the crass babarism we see up north. Are there no muslims in Lagos, Oyo, Edo and some other states in the south? Why are they not as volatile as the ones up north?

Once again in my original post, there was no where i mentioned muslims, dat would have been a great injustice to the peace loving muslims in the southern part of Nigeria and some ifinitesimal number in the north.

I know u will soon have blood in ur hands, don't just make the victime a minor or a pregnant woman.

One question that is begging to be asked is this; why are all the terrorist acts initiated from one section of the country? Remember when Obj came to power in 1999, Sharia was introduced to destabilize him. Now Gej is there, the issue of bombings and terrorism have come up again.


Whatever anyone thinks, this is a gang up against power loss. To intimidate, harass and unsettle the president. Piant a picture of chaos and insecurity just because of 4 years loss of power! Those who are frnds of history will know that the north has never willingly relinquish power, whether military or civilian. Obj's first coming was because Murtala was assasinated, his second coming was because Abiola died and the south west was to be compensated. Still the north did not allow for a free choice, they imposed a supposed stooge who turned around to chop off their fingers. Even though they imposed Obj on us, they still used sharia to try to unsettle him. Gej came in because Yar'dua died! If not, nothing for the south.

In all of this, discerning minds can see that politics is the only life blood the north has got and that is why they will die to have it. In all other areas where merit is used as the standard, you will never find them there. Check sports for instance, how many of them are athletes? professional footballers? swimmers? etc. It is only where government money is involved that you see these vampires. We should all rally round GEJ instead of all this constant hauling of insults at him. The north will never criticize their own, at least openly. That is one lesson the southerners have refused to learn. Babangida was accussed of soo many crimes same for Atiku, but these are glorified sons of the north. You can never hear any northerner openly insulting these men. But the loud and foul mouthed uncouth and ill mannerd southerners will not hesitate to haul insults at Obj, Gej and other southern leaders all becos of incurable inferiority complex.

Let those who know the history of leadership in this country tell me if am wrong. God help us all from these rampaging marauders,

The truth is this; this fight is all about Jonathan! They are fighting the fact that a christian southerner is now the president period! Forget anything u are told, this is the basic reason for all these bombings and senseless killings. Its just that they cannot table the resignation of Jonathan as one of their demands, thats why u hear funny reasons popping up everyday.

This latest incident happened on Friday, have you heard anything from CPC or ACN or even those that promised to make this country ungovernable if Jonathan becomes the president? But they were all shouting when Salami was legitimately suspended. Is it that the suspension of Salami was more of a national catastrophy than the lives lost in the blast? It baffles me how greedy the typical Nigerian politicians are. There is no national cause that brings them togeather, all issues are viewed from a greedy lense.

Remember when Obj took over in 1999, it was sharia, now its boko haram. Its all stage managed. A typical hausa fulani will never let go of power without a fight. They beleive they were born to rule, irrespective of competence. It's high time the rest of the country stands up in unison to say enough is enough! I just hope when the north takes over in future, the south can also reply with a more deadly insurgency that will make the exporting of even 25 liters of crude oil a day dream. They have set the ugly standard, they must feel it when it's their turn.

PASTOR BAKARE HAS LOST IT!

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the fiery Preacher of the Latter Rain Assembly has certainly lost it out this time around! I say this with a very deep sense of responsibility and available facts. I will try my best in this article to outline the reasons I arrived at this incontrovertible conclusion.

I used to be a dedicated fan of the Pastor because of his teachings and fearless pronouncements. In fact, my Dad and I used to look forward to his preaching on Channels Television Station every Sunday evening. Though an Ultra Puritanical Catholic and a Knight, my Dad found reasons to listen to his preaching. He would either wake me up to come or I wake him up once the preaching began. I stated this to indicate the fact that I was once a great fan of the fiery Pastor.


During the SNG ( Save Nigeria Group) days I was glad he was at the fore front. I saw him as the John the Baptist of our time, who was chastising Herod for taking his brother’s wife. I saw him as the conscience of the nation who wanted the National Assembly to obey the constitution and its dictates. I saw him as a righteous man who could not stand evil and the desecration of the constitution in any form by any group. I celebrated him and also prayed for him.

This perception had long changed since the 2011 elections,  and the subsequent utterances of the Pastor. Two recent comments made by the Pastor that relates to Holy Scripture come to bear. It is alleged that the Pastor said that “no son of a bastard can lead the Yoruba race and who ever relies on a bastard to lead him was doomed” and recently, while prophesying that a dictator is coming to fix Nigeria, he was alleged to have  also said that ‘’what is about to happen in the country cannot be prayed or wished away because prayers cannot change prophecy’’. I make bold to say to the Pastor that he had gotten it all wrong with these two assertions. The Holy Scripture is clear and I will crave his indulgence to allow me educate him on the position of the scripture on these two sayings.

Firstly, on the issue of “a bastard leading a people”, I want the Pastor to recall the story of Jephthah in the Old Testament (Judges 11 vs 1-32) . Jephthah was a son of a prostitute who was forced to leave home by his brothers when the father died. He was denied his inheritance because he was perceived to be a bastard ( Tunde Bakare would have done same). But when Israel came under immense attack from the Ammonites, it was this same Jephthah that the Lord empowered to deliver his people - Israelites. His brothers that drove him away now sought  after him, begging and pleading with him to come and deliver them. That was a bastard, who led the almighty Israel into victory. Do we still need to believe the pastor that says a bastard cannot lead a people? Let me remind him of the fact that; God writes on crooked lines. He does not choose the “qualified” but “qualifies the chosen”. He can bless and curse at the same time.

No mortal man, including Pastor Bakare can interfere with the exclusive preserve of God, which is to choose whom to bless and in what quantity He will bless. Moses was a Stammerer and Aaron was an Orator, but Moses was chosen ahead of Aaron. David was a shepherd boy and Gideon was not only from the weakest clan in Manasseh, but was also the least important member of his family (Judges 6 vs 15). Yet God chose him to lead Israel out of bondage. The Pastor should be a greater authority on the mysteries of God’s ways. But alas! Politics has blinded and deluded our once objective Pastor. He now reads and probably doesn’t understand the scripture.

The second and the most blasphemous of all is his opinion that prayers cannot change prophesy. When I read this, I shuddered in disbelief, as even a Sunday school pupil knows that God’s mercy is beyond human comprehension. I will again assume the role of a teacher in educating the pastor on the teachings of the Bible as regards this issue. In the Old Testament ( 2Kings 20 vs 1-6) God sent Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz to go and tell King Hezekiah that he would die. As soon as Hezekiah heard this prophesy, he turned to the wall and wept. He prayed and begged God to reconsider His stance. Before Isaiah left the palace, God told him to return to the king and tell him that he would no longer die. Instead, 15 additional  years had been added to his life. Is this not a classical example of a prophesy that was changed through prayer and supplication?

The Bible is replete with stories of how God changed His mind about Israel each time  they repented and turned from their evil ways. The Pastor in his assertion did not place any pre-conditions. Instead, he stated categorically and emphatically that; ‘’what is about to happen in the country cannot be prayed or wished away because prayers cannot change prophecy’’. This again is so sad and disappointing. The Pastor, since after the general elections (where his party was perceived to have lost out) has dedicated time in mis-quoting the scripture. He spends preaching time trying to either justify electoral violence or talk about the elections. He tries as much as he can to comb the scripture for any little part he can use to achieve a political objective. When he is not doing any of these, he is preaching politics instead of winning souls for God.

Listening to him preach these days makes me sad, as I still remember when he was not yet shackled will this political chains. The pastor is now in bondage and it is the congregation that I pity the most. They constitute his direct constituency and instead of nourishing their souls on Sunday, they are bedeviled with political discussions and empty political prophesies. I doubt if the church members even voted for him in the last election.

If Pastor Bakare had said to the General or his Political Boss that I am glad you consider me worthy for this position of a Vice President, but I will rather remain in the Pulpit and the Civil Society, to constructively criticize and nourish souls. If you allow me, I can recommend a few good men whom you can choose from, as I don’t think combining active politics and winning souls can be effectively combined. Moreover, I have not been involved in active politics and so, I don’t have a political followership to bring to the table. But I will support via other means. This being done, I am sure and convinced he would have been a hero today, even after his political party had lost out in the Presidential elections. He would also have done justice to members of his congregation who belong to other political parties. He would have still have had admirers all over the world including my humble self and my 70 years old father. He would have remained a conscience to the nation and a voice to reckon with. But today, anything he says is viewed from the political prism and rightly so.

The lesson in all of this is that; the clergy should try as much as possible not to be drawn into partisan politics. They should remember that the congregation is made up of diverse individuals who come for the sole purpose of soul nourishment. Their political leanings notwithstanding, the church should accommodate all. When the chief shepherd toes a particular political ideology or follows a political party, it is expected that all obedient sheep will follow the voice of the master.  All that acts in the contrary will either be openly segregated or tacitly sidelined. Men of God should remain as so and be the voice of the voiceless and the moral and spiritual barometer of the Society. I can’t Imagine Cardinal Okogie or Pastor Enoch Adeboye going around canvassing for votes! The Pastor can still do a bit of damage control by re-focusing his preaching to dwell on more spiritual things and less political things. As a ‘’believer’’ he should take solace in the fact that all things work together for good for those who love God. After all, it is not compulsory that he must win an election into a political office.

PASTOR BAKARE HAS LOST IT!

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the fiery Preacher of the Latter Rain Assembly has certainly lost it out this time around! I say this with a very deep sense of responsibility and available facts. I will try my best in this article to outline the reasons I arrived at this incontrovertible conclusion.

I used to be a dedicated fan of the Pastor because of his teachings and fearless pronouncements. In fact, my Dad and I used to look forward to his preaching on Channels Television Station every Sunday evening. Though an Ultra Puritanical Catholic and a Knight, my Dad found reasons to listen to his preaching. He would either wake me up to come or I wake him up once the preaching began. I stated this to indicate the fact that I was once a great fan of the fiery Pastor.

During the SNG ( Save Nigeria Group) days I was glad he was at the fore front. I saw him as the John the Baptist of our time, who was chastising Herod for taking his brother’s wife. I saw him as the conscience of the nation who wanted the National Assembly to obey the constitution and its dictates. I saw him as a righteous man who could not stand evil and the desecration of the constitution in any form by any group. I celebrated him and also prayed for him.

This perception had long changed since the 2011 elections,  and the subsequent utterances of the Pastor. Two recent comments made by the Pastor that relates to Holy Scripture come to bear. It is alleged that the Pastor said that “no son of a bastard can lead the Yoruba race and who ever relies on a bastard to lead him was doomed” and recently, while prophesying that a dictator is coming to fix Nigeria, he was alleged to have  also said that ‘’what is about to happen in the country cannot be prayed or wished away because prayers cannot change prophecy’’. I make bold to say to the Pastor that he had gotten it all wrong with these two assertions. The Holy Scripture is clear and I will crave his indulgence to allow me educate him on the position of the scripture on these two sayings.

Firstly, on the issue of “a bastard leading a people”, I want the Pastor to recall the story of Jephthah in the Old Testament (Judges 11 vs 1-32) . Jephthah was a son of a LovePeddler who was forced to leave home by his brothers when the father died. He was denied his inheritance because he was perceived to be a bastard ( Tunde Bakare would have done same). But when Israel came under immense attack from the Ammonites, it was this same Jephthah that the Lord empowered to deliver his people - Israelites. His brothers that drove him away now sought  after him, begging and pleading with him to come and deliver them. That was a bastard, who led the almighty Israel into victory. Do we still need to believe the pastor that says a bastard cannot lead a people? Let me remind him of the fact that; God writes on crooked lines. He does not choose the “qualified” but “qualifies the chosen”. He can bless and curse at the same time. No mortal man, including Pastor Bakare can interfere with the exclusive preserve of God, which is to choose whom to bless and in what quantity He will bless. Moses was a Stammerer and Aaron was an Orator, but Moses was chosen ahead of Aaron. David was a shepherd boy and Gideon was not only from the weakest clan in Manasseh, but was also the least important member of his family (Judges 6 vs 15). Yet God chose him to lead Israel out of bondage. The Pastor should be a greater authority on the mysteries of God’s ways. But alas! Politics has blinded and deluded our once objective Pastor. He now reads and probably doesn’t understand the scripture.
The second and the most blasphemous of all is his opinion that prayers cannot change prophesy. When I read this, I shuddered in disbelief, as even a Sunday school pupil knows that God’s mercy is beyond human comprehension. I will again assume the role of a teacher in educating the pastor on the teachings of the Bible as regards this issue. In the Old Testament ( 2Kings 20 vs 1-6) God sent Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz to go and tell King Hezekiah that he would die. As soon as Hezekiah heard this prophesy, he turned to the wall and wept. He prayed and begged God to reconsider His stance. Before Isaiah left the palace, God told him to return to the king and tell him that he would no longer die. Instead, 15 additional  years had been added to his life. Is this not a classical example of a prophesy that was changed through prayer and supplication? The Bible is replete with stories of how God changed His mind about Israel each time  they repented and turned from their evil ways. The Pastor in his assertion did not place any pre-conditions. Instead, he stated categorically and emphatically that; ‘’what is about to happen in the country cannot be prayed or wished away because prayers cannot change prophecy’’. This again is so sad and disappointing. The Pastor, since after the general elections (where his party was perceived to have lost out) has dedicated time in mis-quoting the scripture. He spends preaching time trying to either justify electoral violence or talk about the elections. He tries as much as he can to comb the scripture for any little part he can use to achieve a political objective. When he is not doing any of these, he is preaching politics instead of winning souls for God.

Listening to him preach these days makes me sad, as I still remember when he was not yet shackled will this political chains. The pastor is now in bondage and it is the congregation that I pity the most. They constitute his direct constituency and instead of nourishing their souls on Sunday, they are bedeviled with political discussions and empty political prophesies. I doubt if the church members even voted for him in the last election. If Pastor Bakare had said to the General or his Political Boss that I am glad you consider me worthy for this position of a Vice President, but I will rather remain in the Pulpit and the Civil Society, to constructively criticize and nourish souls. If you allow me, I can recommend a few good men whom you can choose from, as I don’t think combining active politics and winning souls can be effectively combined. Moreover, I have not been involved in active politics and so, I don’t have a political followership to bring to the table. But I will support via other means. This being done, I am sure and convinced he would have been a hero today, even after his political party had lost out in the Presidential elections. He would also have done justice to members of his congregation who belong to other political parties. He would have still have had admirers all over the world including my humble self and my 70 years old father. He would have remained a conscience to the nation and a voice to reckon with. But today, anything he says is viewed from the political prism and rightly so.

The lesson in all of this is that; the clergy should try as much as possible not to be drawn into partisan politics. They should remember that the congregation is made up of diverse individuals who come for the sole purpose of soul nourishment. Their political leanings notwithstanding, the church should accommodate all. When the chief shepherd toes a particular political ideology or follows a political party, it is expected that all obedient sheep will follow the voice of the master.  All that acts in the contrary will either be openly segregated or tacitly sidelined. Men of God should remain as so and be the voice of the voiceless and the moral and spiritual barometer of the Society. I can’t Imagine Cardinal Okogie or Pastor Enoch Adeboye going around canvassing for votes! The Pastor can still do a bit of damage control by re-focusing his preaching to dwell on more spiritual things and less political things. As a ‘’believer’’ he should take solace in the fact that all things work together for good for those who love God. After all, it is not compulsory that he must win an election into a political office.

This forum is sure made up of some peeps who are hell bent on trivializing every issue no matter how important. For the records, Major General Sarkin Yaki was the first commander of the JTF in the Niger Delta. Nobody raised the issue of ethnicity then. Now because a group of useless and Godforsaken elders have come togeather to make unsubstantiated allegations, we are all falling in line with the north as usual. Did anyone ever hear a group by that name before now? How are we sure these so called ''elders'' are not the patrons of the BOKO HARAM group? It is high time we face the truth and say it as it is. The north has been pampared for too long! We always try to differ to them in all aspects of our national life. The constitution says there will not be a state religion, we allowed them to have sharia, spend billions every year transporting people for hajj, cancel any program they feel offends their religion even if the rest of the country does not feel so, tolerate their killing spree each time they feel like, burn churches at will, allow them to marry little girls who end up VVF patients and we still use state funds to treat the patients, make educationally less develop state a parmanent feature in our educational system all becuae of the north! I can go on and on. But a time comes in the life of a nation, when enough is enough, and I think that time in now. Whatever anyone thinks, the bitterness of GEJ as president cannot be divorced from the activities of these vampires. Some people have vowed before now to make this country ungovernable if power does not return to the north or are we all suffering from collective amnesia that we have forgotten soo soon? Let everone sit and introspect, the north has been and will continue to be the problem of this country untill something drastic is done.

Nobody is calling for a break up because of oil. It is because of the senseless killings that go on year after year in northern Nigeria. I bet you, if the north can keeo voilence aside, we we all leave as one. Voilence, religious extremism and illiteracy is the bane of the north. A trypical haus man is honest, but thats where it ends. As soon as religion is involved, you will see the beast in that honest man. People are more likely to die as a result of religious voilence in the north than from the combined scourge of malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and ebola virus. Its soo sad and painful. They smoke, but they dont want another to drink! Why not do ur own let us do our own? must u force us to be like u? Prof i support u 150%.

u only need to look at countries that adopted moderate islam and see how progressive they have become. Look at UAE, KUWAIT, INDONESIA, MOROCCO AND EVEN SAUDI ARABIA. You dont see all these madness. In contrast, look at afghanistan, northern nigeria, iraq, yemen, syria etc. What benefit has sharia given northern nigeria over the rest of us? If sharia were soo good, everyone would have embraced it. Gov Fashola, is a muslim and he did not need sharia in Lagos to bring about development. But these soo called sharia governors, what have they done? They still, commit unspeakable acts of debauchery and then go back to their states and begin to sing sharia. I feel pained when they encourage almajiri and they send their own children to uk and US. they get islamic teachers to teach their children at home, but force others to become almajiris. This is the time for a referendum. Lets all decide how we want to live or even if we want to live togeather.o be by force abeg! Islam in northern Nigeria is soo barbaric. Someone was talking about the killings in the south and how it is watered down and the north, how we escalate theirs. Let me remind him that, there are social crimes and religious crimes. Social crime is what we experience in the south, why waht we have in the north id religious extremism. No grounds for comparism at all,

I get sick when i see people comparing Boko Haram with MEND. In the case of MEND, the people in the region were exploited, marginalized and abandoned. Their waters were polluted, the land degraded and the people left to their ill fate. In the midst of plenty there was lack, poverty and disease. The people rose against such traetment and the rest as they say is now history. It is pertinent to note that, MEND never attcked a religious body or institution. They were fighting TJF and blowing up pipe lines. It was never a religious confrontation, even though the leaders that were responsible for the years of neglect were from the north. MEND never killed local government chairmen, blew up beer parlour joints or burn mosques. But Boko Haram, has unleashed voilence on all Christians , southerners and government institution. What are they asking for? that we should close down all our universities? tear our degree certificates? change to sharia? all become muslims or what? There is no basis for dialogue here.
The north had always been in power, so u cannot say they were marginalized. They all have sharia in the muslim dominated 12 northern states, is that not enough? The country is always trying to bow to muslim demands simply because of voilence. Now theyhave resulted to bombings just because GEJ is the president. Those asking for dialogue, if Boko Haram ask us to all become muslims, tear our certificates and all go to afghanistan to fight the infidels, will we be ready to meet such demands? You just dont dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Prof is right lets have a referendum just like south sudan, so that those who want to live like beasts can continue to live as they want to. My pity is to the christain minority in the north, they will either be slaughthered over night or turned to slaves. Enough should be enough! The muslims in the south, are they also not muslims? Why is the northern islam soo different?

Does anyone need to ask where the problems of this country are coming from again? why is there never a christian terror group? I think is high time xtians also begin to learn suicide bombing and various acts of massive terrorism to counter these animals in human flesh. Nothing good ever comes from the ''northern'' muslim world except how to cause pains and sorrow. Is this what a peaceful religion is all about. My question is this, why are they not blaming God for creating diverse people? why are they killing people for having their own belief?

The muslims are always the ones been tolerated. Each time u hear statements like; its a sensitive issue, it may cause riots/crisis, it is the muslims that people are trying to placate. I think the world has had enof of these babarians. Lets end it once and for all. Give them their planet and let us all live in peace. The west has given us programs, education, worl cup, olympics, champions league, golf, motor sports, technology to mention but a few. Apart from the constant calls for sharia and islamic fundamentalism, what has the worl benefitted from the muslim world and Nigerian northern muslims in particular. I am ashamed to be writing all of these, but dats the basic truth. Its time we tell ourselves the truth.

My apologies to all southern muslims and other liberal muslims. My grouse is with those animals in northern Nigeria.

I came acros this quote which is contained in the hand over notes Lord Luggard wrote to his colleague, Walter H Lang on the 25th of September 1918. The quote reads interalai:

''The Hausa-Fulani has no ideals, no ambitions save such as sensual in character. He is a fatalist, spendthrift and a gambler. He is gravely immoral and is seriously diseased that he is a menace to any community to which he seeks to attach himself"

Was Luggard right? Is this the reason why there have been crisis every where the Hausa-fulani has tried to attach themselves like jos and co? What is the way forward?

Critical views are welcomed.

If Bakare had said: Buhari thank you soo much for the confidence reposed in me, but I think i will love to continue my  reformation from the pulpit, he would have been a hero. But the lure of worldliness will not allow the ''man of god'' utter such blasphamous words. I hope he really has something meaninful to say whenever he decides to open his God forsaken mouth.

At the CPC rally in sokoto, Yinka Odumakin promised to visit Libya, Egypt and Tunisia all at once on Nigeria if the supporters of CPC did not have their way. Now we see the manifestation of all those ungaurded comments. The hausa translation of defend ur votes is what we have just witnessed. I believe the CPC and Buhari should be held responsible for all the lives that have been lost. I regret to sound like this, but Buhari will never find peace, neither in this life or in the life to come. The souls of all those who died are waiting to prevent him from entering ''aljana'' and enjoying the illusionary seven virgins. Infact, he will die untimely of massive stroke and heart failure. MURDERER.

Though a member of this forum, I often refrain from making posts because of the shallow nature of most of the posts we all make on this forum. Someone will start an intellectually challenging post and before you say GEJ, some people will turn it into an abusive thread. We love rumours, bring him down syndrome and anything that in our own perception seems to be right. I thought there was a saying like ''hearing from the horses mouth"? GEJ has told us why he did not attend the NN24 debate and some of us are still holding on to the baised and malicious stories the opposition cooked up to embarass the president.

Granted, everyone reserves the right to choose, but please, let us respect the office of the president of Nigeria. Not mainly because of GEJ, but because the office is exalted. I can imagine some getting expo for questions that sometime require follow up, lengthy explanations e.t.c, The debate has succeded in putting a lie to the malicious assault on the president's intellectual fecundity. He was in his humble self and the high point of the debate was telling us what his presidency will stand for. UNITY! Some of us may never know, this battle is not for jonathan, it is for the respect and complete integration of all minorities in this country. If ''they'' had succeded in bullying the president out of this contest, there would have been an unwritten understanding that; NO MINORITY CAN RULE IN NIGERIA! Thank God they did not succeed. God bless us all!!

As a fall out of GEJ's victory in the PDP primaries, hate propaganda akin to that against the jews by the nazi government has been spreading across northern Nigeria. One of the text messages sent to elombah.com reads: the gay northern governors who voted for Goodluck Jonathan have xtian titles and prayed God to punish them. read: Allah ya tsinema(curse) Reverend Murtalla Nyako, Bishop Shehu Shema, Pastor Sule Lamido, Apostle Aliyu Akwe Doma, Deacon Isa Yuguda and Primate Idris Ibrahim. They are the enemies of the North and Islam. VOTE FOR BUHARI! Pls forward same to others.

This is a rather disturbing development considering the level of illetracy and voilence that has pervaded the north over the years, despite their holding on to power for 38 years with nothing concrete to show except for the army of almajiri youths, poverty and disease. The text messages also excluded most of the xtian dominated northen states like benue, pleatue, taraba, gombe and co. Restating the fact that those states are only considered northern for political reasons. Lets join hands to pray for a UNITED NIGERIA AFTER THE 2011 POLLS.

I get sick in the stomach when I see people analyzing politics in Nigeria so ignorantly. It becomes pathetic when this ignorance is manifested by youths who are supposedly the leaders of tomorrow. I knw most of you on this forum are not GEJ fans, but give it to him this is the first election he ever stood as a candidate, see the result. I thought u guys said the governors will abandone him once they get their tickets? Wht happened at the end? Instead of some northern slaves to see that their is no monolithic north again, they are harping on the fact that Atiku won in just 5 sharia states! Gej won in Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Bauch, Gombe,Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa, Pleateau, Kwara, Kogi and Kaduna. The last I checked, all these states were still part of northern states.
Now allegiance have shifted to Buhari, all becos of the hate u peeps have for Gej. BuT AS THE SAYING GOES, WHO GOD HAS BLESSED NO MAN CAN CURSE.

It has become the modus operandi of the ACN to make loud unsubstantiated allegations just to draw attention.Mr lieying moh'd the publicity secretary loves attention and so, whenever he seems to be too quiet, he comes up with one alarm just to remind us of his presence in the political space. Am sick and tired of this wolf cry when there is no wolf around. Atiku must have picked that up during his short stint with AC. Let them for once provide incontrovertible evidence to back their cliams and stop disturbing the political space with alarms that will never sound. THE WHOLE NUHU RIBADU EPISODE IS JUST A FACADE BY TINUBU TO ENSURE THAT EVEN IF RIBADU EVER GETS BACK TO THE ANTI-CORRUPTION BODY, HE WILL LACK THE MORAL STRENGTH TO PESECUTE HIM. TINUBU IS AS CORRUPT AND FOUL AS THE TYPICAL NIGERIA POLITICIANS. RUMOURS ARE ALREADY MAKING THE ROUND ABOUT HOW SOME OF THE JUDGEMENTS WERE OBTAINED. TIME WILL TELL. NIGERIA WILL CERTAINLY OUTLIVE HER LOOTERS.

[b][/b] THE EASIEST WAY TO EXPLAIN ISLAM TO ANYONE IS TO DEFINE VOILENCE! WHERE EVER MUSLIMS ARE IN THE WORLD, THERE IS HARDLY PEACE. AND YET THEY KEEP TRYING SOO HARD TO CALL THE RELIGION A PEACEFUL RELIGION. ALL MUSLIMS SHOULD HIDE THEIR FACES IN SHAME. NIGERIANS KNOW ISLAM/MUSLIMS ESPECIALLY THOSE UP NORTH FOR VOILENCE THAN FOR ANY OTHER REASON. KILLERS, ASSASINS, TERRORIST, THIEVES, I REMEBER SOME DUDE POSTING A THREAD AT ONE TIME ASKING WHY MUSLIMS WERE HATED. I HOPE THIS PROVIDES A GREAT ANSWER TO THAT UR QUESTION. YOU PEOPLE ARE TO ANAMALISTIC TO LIVE IN SANE SOCIETIES. I WONDER THE NUMBER OF BOMB BLASTS THAT WILL GO OFF DURING THE WORLD CUP IN ABU DHABI. FIFA HAS MADE THE WORST MISTAKE. ALL WESTERN NATIONS SHOULD BOYCOTT THE WORLD CUP AND LET ONLY MUSLIMS AND THEIR ALLIES PARTICIPATE.

let it be clearly spelt out, islam in northern nigeria thrives on voilence! this is a fact that no sane mind can dispute. every year, more people lose their lives from religious voilence in the north than from natural causes. we are tired and sick of hearing things like peace meeting and all. the muslims dont know anything about peace. no religious voilence has ever started as a result of christian provocation, its always the muslims. what do they really want? even if everybody decides to become a muslim, there will still be issues. in edo state for example, auchi is predominantly muslim, there is no religious crises. lagos and ibadan have a large muslim population, no trouble. why is the north different? some idiots will say it's illiteracy, is it my fault that pple there are not educated? an almajiri that does not knw wat it means to go to school will be quick to drive a knive into a graduate. am soo tired of this people, i wish i have some magical powers to wipe them out. nigeria will be more peaceful without this fanatics. now we know those behind all the arms coming from iran and syria. may the soul of the departed rest in peace. amen.