₦airaland Forum

Na wa ooo. But does it mean the pension act, PFA, RSA apply not to public office holders like governors etc? Were pensioners in kwars state paid promptly at least up to aug2015 like their ex-gov Saraki. Oh God why do you allow these few set of people to continue to punish this nation? If this wickedness n impunity continue, generality of people may doubt your existence God. Oh God save this our nation, help n assist the helpless, raise helpers for this nation

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Hmmnnn! Wia is FFK or Tom Ikimi talking or stressing on internal democracy within party? By extension, all 1st term PDP governors in their states will automatically become sole candidate in their states and any 2nd term pdp governor is at liberty to also determine who will take over from him as sole candidate and no other aspirants should challenge them. Interesting! Its obvious one of the major problems confronting this nation is politicians, anything goes for as long as their continuous relevance in the scheme of sharing the national cake is guaranteed. They (politicians) continue to capitalize on religious & ethnic coloration and in all of these, the masses continue to suffer.

Dear Nairalanders,
The speech is long & lengthy but i implore u all to plz take out tym to read the whole text from beginning to the end. Plz see attached docs

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List of unresolved germane matters:
1. Where are we on prosecution of fuel subsidy scammers?

2. FarukOtedola Gate - What is the status of the case in court

3. Pension fund fraud involving one Maina?

Please feel free to expand the list so we can keep track of matters of utmost importance.

Editor: This article clearly shows the genesis of the Amaechi-Jonathan feud. Dr. Abati did not spare words for the First Lady at the time. Well, you don’t expect him to write this about his boss’ wife today do you?
Dame Patience, our president’s darling wife

The Guardian Thursday, 27th Aug 2010
Opinion – By Reuben Abati
DEMOCRACY is readily associated with freedom: the freedom to be free in many respects and increasingly in Nigeria, many of our compatriots, particularly persons in positions of privilege and authority confuse this with the right to be disagreeable. The sober truth is that democracy is about rights and responsibilities, a democratic dispensation therefore cannot be a licence for disagreeable conduct as a norm; just as the possession of power in any form does not guarantee the right to be reckless or to ignore the etiquette required of office holders. Anyone in the corridors of power, either by chance or right, or appointment, is expected to behave decorously.
Dame Patience Jonathan, as she is now referred to, our President’s wife, failed the test this week in Okrika, Rivers State. It is trite knowledge that there is a critical difference between Yenagoa and Abuja, and a world of difference between being the wife of a Deputy Governor/Governor/Vice president and being the wife of Nigeria’s No 1 citizen. When people suddenly find themselves in such latter position, prepared or unprepared, anywhere in the world, they are taken through a crash programme in finishing and poise and made to realize that being the wife of an important man comes with serious responsibilities lest they sabotage the same person that they should be supporting.
If Dame Patience went through such re-orientation, the course was incomplete. This week, we got a feedback drawn from her visit to Rivers state to launch her NGO – the Women for Change Initiative, when she ended up in Okrika, her home town. This homecoming became an egoistic show-off as she openly contradicted the state Governor, offering him unsolicited lessons on how to develop the Okrika water front and school system, in addition to pointed comments on the use of the English language. The Governor had reportedly insisted that his administration must demolish some houses which adjoin the schools in Okrika in order to create a proper learning environment. Dame Patience disagreed.
She then gave an unsolicited lecture on the land tenure system telling the Governor: “I want you to get me clear. I am from here. I know the problems of my people so I know what I am talking…” The Governor tried to explain his administration’s policy and the larger public interest. The Dame reportedly cut him short: “But what I am telling you is that you always say you must demolish; that word must you use is not good. It is by pleading. You appeal to the owners of the compound because they will not go into exile. Land is a serious issue.” Wao! “that word must..is not good.” We must all commit that to memory as we re-learn Practical English according to Patience Jonathan!
If it is in the place of the President’s wife to teach a state Governor how to run his state, it is definitely not in her place to veto a state policy (the reason the governor used the word “must”), not even her husband has such powers. It seemed as if Dame Patience Jonathan was determined to impress her kith and kin. She told them she had directed the governor not to demolish their houses. Then, she left straight for the airport obviously having overstayed her welcome and having behaved like a bad guest. She was scheduled to visit the prisons to grant amnesty to some inmates (is that really her duty or something that should be in her itinerary? ); she was also meant to commission some projects. The face-off between her and the governor put paid to all that.
On the eve of her arrival, a group which calls itself “the Okrika Political Stakeholders Forum” and “the people of Kirikese” had actually placed an advert in the papers welcoming “our amiable daughter and sister…to Rivers state and your home town Okrika.” They also brought up the issue of “the land reclamation and shore protection project at Oba Ama, Okrika being undertaken by the Rivers state government.” (Daily Sun, August 23, 2010, p. 2). Either on the strength of this advertorial or private consultations, Dame Patience must have felt compelled to be a partisan stakeholder and intercessor. She needed to put Rotimi Amaechi, the state Governor in his place and that was what did. She recommended “pleading,” – that advice is actually meant for her. A state Governor is a duly elected official; and in a Federal system, he is not answerable to the President, and nowhere is the president granted the powers of a Headmaster over state governors. In Okrika, Dame Patience behaved so impatiently and spoke to Governor Amaechi as if he is on the staff of the Presidency. It may not be her fault though. Amaechi caused it all by bringing himself to such level by undertaking to debrief Dame Patience about his administration’s programmes and activities in the misguided hope of getting cheap political endorsement. He should have asked his wife to attend to her. On the issue of land, Dame Patience should be reminded that the Land Use Act, Section 1 thereof, says the state Governor holds the land in trust for the people. Land matters in the state are beyond the ken of the wife of the President!
The wife of the President of Nigeria, or a state Governor, or a local council chairman, is not a state official. The same applies to husbands if the gender is reversed. He or she is unknown to the constitution or the governance structure. Recent history has however made it a convention to have the spouses of persons in such positions under the guise of providing support, play some ceremonial roles. This has been routinely abused. Under the Jonathan presidency, Dame Patience Jonathan even got a special allocation in the original budget for the 2010 Golden jubilee anniversary whereas she has no official, financial reporting responsibilities! The international standard is that spouses in these circumstances must not only appear but be seen to be above board like Caesar’s wife. They must not misbehave like Marie Antoinette.
When Cherie Blair, wife of former British PM, Tony Blair started buying up houses, apartments and antique furniture, the public raised questions. It didn’t matter that she was a professional in her own right, a Queen’s Counsel with a traceable source of income. There were also questions about the scope of Hillary Clinton’s influence during her husband’s Presidency: Americans wanted to be sure that it was the man they elected that was in charge, not his wife. A couple of weeks ago, the American public was up in arms against Michelle Obama and her poll rating dropped drastically after a visit to Spain where she and her daughter reportedly stayed in a $7, 000 a night hotel.
Much earlier, Nancy Reagan was also the butt of public criticism, with people asking: who is she? And this is not a female thing. In Britain, Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband, is constantly criticized for putting his foot in his mouth. He once said for example that “British women can’t cook.” He told a visiting Nigerian President, all dressed up in babariga (name withheld): “you look like you’re ready for bed.” During a state visit to China, he told British students: “if you stay much longer, you’all be slitty-eyed.” Prince Phillip’s supporters insist that he is honest, but the majority ask: how is the Queen coping with such a man who is perpetually saying something offensive? There may be persons who defend Dame Patience’s aggressive style, but some of us ask: how is the President coping?
Since Dr Jonathan assumed office, he and his wife have been practically on the road. The Dame has travelled from one state to the other, under the auspices of the Women for Change Initiative. In every state she tells the women to vote and “make sure your vote counts if you like my husband.” Is she now a partisan politician? The Jonathans must be told that Nigeria does not have a co-Presidency. We have only one president and his name is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. And by the way, what does Dame Patience Jonathan do for a living? She obviously does not have to deal with the challenges of rotation and zoning in her home, unlike the three wives of the Adamawa Governor, Murtala Nyako for whom zoning and rotation have become topical subjects or the wives of South African President Jacob Zuma – that is why she can afford to be so meddlesome!
When she misbehaves as she did in Okrika, she creates the impression that her husband is not in control of his own home. First ladies are prominent figures but their conduct is an eternal subject of public interest. In Nigeria, there was Victoria Gowon, there was also Ajoke Muhammed: dignified and restrained. There was Maryam Babangida – she was influential but no one could accuse her of verbal recklessness; Mrs Abdusalami Abubakar was a court judge, totally self-effacing, No major social party was complete without Mrs Stella Obasanjo, yet she controlled her tongue. Mrs Turai Yar’Adua was described as the power behind the throne and she proved that during the period of her husband’s illness but she was carefully reticent. At the state level, there was Remi Tinubu in Lagos state and Onari Duke in Cross River state who have both conducted themselves responsibly in and out of office. The new First Lady likes to travel, party, and talk outside the script. People are beginning to learn to read her lips in order to understand her husband. Dame Patience must not push her Goodluck.

This story often summons a smile to my face. About 20 years ago, we took my little cousin, Motunrayo, to a studio for a photo session. She sat in front of the camera and we started applying some make-up to her pretty face. Make-up done, lights on, camera ready, preamble finished, she innocently stood up and headed for the exit door. We laughed and informed her that she was yet to do what we actually came for – a photo shoot. The three-year-old girl probably thought we only came to glamorise her face. This, tearfully, reminds me of Nigerian politicians. They so often fail to understand that the main reason for getting political power is not the glamour of sirens and convoys. Power is not an end in itself; it is, alas, a means to an end.

While Nigerian governors were busy meeting and strategising non-stop on who should be the next chairman of the Political Billionaires’ Club, popularly known as the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), the Ruler of Dubai – a state in the United Arab Emirates – was busy unveiling plans to build three world-class hospitals and 40 new clinics to promote “medical tourism”. His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the plan was to build hospitals comparable to any medical facility anywhere in the world. They will also build five-star hotels next door to the facilities for the relatives of patients. The objective is to add another dimension to the Dubai story – trade, travel, real estate and now medical tourism. That is vision. That is leadership.

About the same time in my dearly beloved country, our multi-billionaire governors and other politicians were meeting day and night and night and day over who controls the meaningless Political Billionaires’ Club. Their disagreement was not about building world-class hospitals and world-class schools. It was not about fixing the potholes that litter our roads all over the federation. It was not about ending infant and maternal mortality. It was not about making Nigeria a land of trade and tourism. It was not about turning Nigeria to an exporter of mobile phones, like South Korea, or dairy products, like the Netherlands. The goal of political power, as far as they can see, is intrigues. Politics starts and ends with elections. Development is a distraction.



And we keep asking why Nigeria is like this.
I have been very amused – let me use the word bemused – by the NGF intrigues. If you believe what you are reading in the media, President Goodluck Jonathan, who wants a second term in 2015, is trying to stop Governor Rotimi Amaechi from getting a second term as chairman of NGF. To complete the irony, Amaechi, who is serving a second term as governor of Rivers State and also seeking a second term as NGF chairman, is against a second term for Jonathan. And so a civil war has broken out. It has now been presented to the gullible public as a fight between democrats and dictators, a battle between principled men and unprincipled men.

You believe that crap? So our politicians are now symbols of credible elections and role models of integrity? Seriously? Since when? Many Nigerians are selling and buying that line. Have we been so bewitched to forget that this fight is but a mere disagreement between soul mates? These same politicians will soon meet over bottles of expensive champagne and thereafter announce to the world that they have “resolved” their “differences” – while millions of Nigerians will continue to wallow in poverty and disease. Why do we always allow these politicians to fool us? I hereby officially announce that I, Simon Gbenga Kolawole, refuse to be hoodwinked. I have seen all this drama before. I don’t know about you.

Instead of the rest of us to gather and pelt these overfed politicians with rotten tomatoes for always placing political intrigues above good governance, we are taking sides. Can’t we all see that this NGF thing is all politics? Can’t we see that this political game is not about the progress of Nigeria? Why are we so easily excited in this country? Why do we always allow these politicians to distract our attention from the purpose of politics? How I wish all the energy being dissipated by these pot-bellied politicians was for the comfort of Nigerians! How I wish it was about how to provide safe water to the poor and jobs to the millions of youths who are hopelessly and haplessly roaming the streets! How I wish Nigerian politicians were quarrelling over how to tackle guinea worm, malaria, diabetes and kidney failures!

If these politicians devote just 10 per cent of their intrigues to making our country a better place, I bet Dubai would be like a ghetto compared to Nigeria. With all the trillions of naira that the three tiers of government have shared since 1999, we should not be here lamenting about electricity, education and health. But here we are, stuck with leaders who think only for themselves, who think that getting political power and playing high-wire politics are all that should count. Of all the troubles afflicting Nigerians today, NGF chairmanship and 2015 should be the least of our worries. But our politicians, like my innocent little cousin, like to adorn the make-up of political power and then walk away when it comes to the real reason they are in office – to turn Nigeria to a civilised country.

Now, with all the emotion and passion being exerted in the polity in the past few weeks over the NGF election, I will not be surprised if many of these politicians end up with high blood pressure and stroke by 2015. Well, I’ve got news for them. By then, Dubai will hopefully have opened one of their world-class hospitals, complete with the best equipment and the best medical personnel the world has to offer. Nigerian politicians can go there to receive treatment after the elections. With no world-class hospital in Nigeria, Dubai will eagerly welcome our leaders with open arms. After all, are these chubby-cheeked politicians and their fronts not the ones buying up the choice property in Dubai while millions of Nigerians remain homeless?

And Four Other Things…

WAGING THE WAR
It’s a shame that Nigerians have spent more time discussing the minor rift among our multi-billionaire governors, thereby relegating the more important issue of Boko Haram to the background. What we’ve been hearing in the last few days is chilling. The army authorities confirmed that some military insiders are working for the insurgents and have often tipped them off and put our soldiers’ lives at risk. There are allegations that Hezbollah, the Lebanese group, has links with Boko Haram. This raises more questions about our border control. Did you hear the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, calling on Arabs to team up with him in his war against Nigeria?

ALIYU THE JANUS
If there is one governor I have never been able to understand since I was born, it is Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. The Janus-faced governor of Niger State attended General Ibrahim Babangida’s declaration of intent to run in the 2011 presidential race. Shortly after, he was also at President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration. During the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairmanship election, Aliyu was for both Governors Rotimi Amaechi and David Jang. Then last Tuesday, he shamelessly told Jonathan that all his criticism of the president was meant to attract federal projects to Niger State. And, by the way, this man has a PhD.

ANGO MUST GO
Remember Professor Ango Abdullahi? He was Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In 1986, ABU students staged an “Ango Must Go” protest, asking for his removal over his draconian rule. The police moved in to quell the riot. Reports said dozens of students died, but Professor Abdullahi infamously said “only six students” were gunned down (none of his children was among the dead, so you could understand his use of “only”). Well, he is now the spokesman of Northern elders. That is exactly the kind of spokesmen and elders we need to transform the North. Wayyo Allah na!

DEMOCRACY AT 14
At a public function recently, a professor from the University of Ibadan bitterly lamented that Nigeria had nothing to show for democracy. He listed a million problems and two million challenges. He almost called for the military to come back. The governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who spoke shortly after him, asked the professor not to take such a dim view of things. “Prof,” Obi said, “the fact that you could say what you have just said and there is no security operative waiting outside the auditorium to arrest you is a sign of progress.” Yesterday always looks better than today. God has blessed human beings with the ability not to retain memory of pain.

Email: simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com

1. According to Mr President He stated that "they" ask him not to talk? Who are these "they" who asked him not to talk? Is it because they have realized he doesnot have the charisma or he is not articulate enough to marshal d achievements under his leadership?
2. Some might opine that the SGF (Pius) & CME (Ngozi) did that on his behalf. The question is were they the ones elected by nigerians and why must they be the ones to do the talking when the elected president is around? or Was it a case of attending to some other "important" matters
3. Mr president claimed he used 1hr to present his scorecard at his 1yr in office but spend less than 15mins to present a 200page documents after 2yrs in office with a promise that if "they" allow him to present next year he will spend like 3hours to present. Who exactly is in charge of the presidency, Mr President or the people he kept on referring to as "they"
4. Score card presented in hard copy document distributed to only invitees (remember attendance was strictly by invitation) with no online access given (at least nothing of such was mentioned then & up till now), was he actually voted for by his selected audience?
5.How does he intend to disseminate these "achievements" contained in the document to other nigerians (which to the best of my knowledge are in majority) who can neither read nor write when Mr President found it difficult to talk to them when they were are glued to their TVs & radios to listen to the person they voted for as President? We hope come 2015, Mr President will not bother to address the masses (if "they" ask him not to), Mr president will either send them document they can't read or ask SGF or CME to talk on his behalf
6. Mr President was talking about "marking scheme". I think he who sets an exam is responsible for developing marking scheme based on established syllabus for the exam. During campaign & electioneering, Mr President didnot ask the masses to set the syllabus for his government, rather he set or developed the syllabus he "intended" to run with which were mirage of promises made at different campaign fora in virtually all the states of the federation by Mr president himself & not any of his aides working for him now. We asked Mr president to please tell all nigerians the Key performance Indicators (KPIs) for all the projects he promised to execute? To average nigerian, the indicators are nothing but physical completion & presence of these numerous projects, their accessibility, their affordability & their relevance to immediate needs of nigerians!
7.How can we be talking about agricultural transformation when this transformation is only paper agric? What practical experience does the minister of agric have in proper farming? Does he have any farming company incorporated in nigeria or outside nigeria to show his antecedents in agricultural transformation? when in fact most of the transformation meetings are held in airconditioned hotel halls in abuja or state capitals when the real farmers are in the sun in the thick bush or forest
8. We laid too much emphasis on airport "renovation", what percentage of nigerians are actually affected or benefited from the renovations when compared to the percentage making use of roads on a daily basis? Priority are given only to Roads in areas frequently used by the VIPs. e.g. road leading to abuja airport was given so much attention when the roads immediately after the adjourning road to the airport ( geri junction - gwagwalada - lokoja) are done half harzardly.
9.Appointment of Prof Jega is seen as the only electoral reforms achievement. What happen to institutional reforms? So, if Jega leaves today, we are back to status quo? 3yrs after voter registration still no voter's card!
10. How well has this administration faired in other essential areas like health, education, trade & investment. We kept on hearing FDI - foreign Direct Investment worth millions of dollars that we can't feel?
11. We would have expected Mr President to give nigerians summary of where he started from, where he is at 2 and where he intend to be at year 4

In conclusion there4, we dare Mr President to boldly tell all nigerians specific things he intend to accomplish at the end of this 4year term without which no nigerian should vote for him if he dare presents himself for re-election come 2015, Rememneber goals are suppose to be specific, measurable, achievable, Realistic, verifiable, Timely which in the case is 2015. For instance, categorical statement like hold mr president accountable for nothing less than say 10,000 megawatts of electricity by mid 2015, building specific number of new health facilities, specific actions & deliverables on agric, refineries, employment, cost of adminsitration among others.

Thank you

It must be frustrating for President Goodluck Jonathan and his staunch supporters that in spite of his achievements, he continues to receive a barrage of knocks from Nigerians, especially in the media.

There are people whose opinion on Jonathan’s scorecard should not be trusted: Those who hate everything about him passionately and those who love everything about him passionately. To the haters, he is clueless, spineless, visionless, and “shoeless”: nothing good can ever come from him. Therefore, anyone who ever says anything positive about Jonathan is an enemy who must have been paid to say so, or is simply a victim of tribalism or religious cronyism. To his passionate admirers and supporters, Jonathan is the best president Nigeria has ever seen or had, and without him, Nigeria will sink into the abyss. Therefore, anyone who criticises him is a bad loser or a critic with links to Boko Haram. So, one can never get the true picture about Jonathan from these two groups of people because, just like those who suffer jaundice, everything looks yellow to them.

But there are those who neither hate Jonathan nor love him: those who praise him when he does something good and criticise him when he does something bad. To a large extent, you can get some balanced and fair judgment of the President’s performance from them.

There are some facts that Jonathan’s haters try very hard to subdue, and they succeed to a large extent. Jonathan has achieved some good results in some sectors of the economy, but these achievements seem to be suppressed or treated as unimportant. He has done well in the aviation sector. The makeover that the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, has wrought in the airports — which used to be dilapidated — is soul-lifting. And all the airports were renovated at the same time to the surprise of many people, after decades of neglect.

In road construction, the Minister of Works, Mike Onolomemen, has achieved some results. Roads that were abandoned for decades have received some attention. The Benin-Sagamu Expressway is one major one. I drove through that road this last Easter and Christmas holidays and felt some relief. In the last few years, travellers used to spend nights on that road. The state of that road was so bad that when the current Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, visited it as the Minister of Transport in 2007, she famously shed tears after seeing the depth of dilapidation that had befallen the Ore part of that road. Surprisingly, that road remained in a deplorable shape until last year when some serious attention was paid to it. In spite of the work done, however, many parts of it, especially in Ogun and Ondo states, are still dotted with potholes, but the road is no longer in a terrible state. It is comforting to know that work is still ongoing on the road.

In the transport sector, that the railway system has been revived, even though the trains are still not modern, is something to cheer about. It was another part of our national life that was allowed to rot and die because of neglect. It is hoped that modern coaches can be introduced as quickly as possible. More importantly, it is hoped that the rail line will soon connect the eastern part of Nigeria to the western part, an omission which the colonial masters made because it did not serve their interest of transporting things from the hinterland to the sea. The colonialists were not concerned about connecting Nigerian cities. Sadly, even after the British left in 1960, Nigerian rulers have not seen the importance of linking the East to the West. Rather, anyone who wants to travel from Lagos to the South-East by rail will have to travel to the North first before linking the East-bound rail. A very ridiculous arrangement indeed!

In agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, is also transforming that sector. From sanitising the fertiliser distribution to boosting agricultural produce and export, it has never been this good in that industry since the First Republic when the groundnut pyramids as well as the cocoa and oil palm plantations disappeared from Nigeria because petroleum was discovered and exploited in commercial quantities.

In the power sector, there were signs that some improvement had been achieved in electricity supply last year. Some blackmailing led to the resignation last year of the minister of power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, who was the brain behind that improvement. Regrettably, that improvement seems to have been reversed in the last few months, with electricity supply returning to its unflattering state. This is a key area President Jonathan must tackle urgently.

But to Jonathan’s haters, NOTHING is happening in this administration. The news of these improvements is downplayed in the media. Interestingly, the state-owned media houses — the Nigerian Television Authority and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria — where these improvements are regularly showcased are snubbed by many of those who believe that Jonathan is not doing anything, because the two media houses are seen as government mouth-pieces given that they are government-owned and had a bad past of praise-singing, especially during military dictatorships. Many people now believe that the news from these two stations about the Federal Government is never unbiased and therefore cannot be trusted.

Why should a President who has achieved some visible milestones always be dismissed as long on promises and short on performance? There are some reasons for this.

First is that Jonathan is not a charismatic leader neither is he blessed with the gift of the gab. He does not have the capacity to fire up his compatriots with words. This is not a terrible minus, for one can still be hugely popular as a leader without being charismatic or an orator.

But the biggest negative of President Jonathan is that he is his own worst image maker. Regularly, he makes comments or takes action that his detractors use to good advantage. He fails regularly to take advantage of golden opportunities; he fails to turn negative situations to his advantage. At a time the Boko Haram would bomb a location and Nigerians are grieving, the President would tell a shaken nation that terrorism is a global thing; therefore, it is Nigeria’s turn to be saddled with terrorism. At a time the rot in the police college is aired on TV and Nigerians are shocked and ashamed of the living conditions of their police officers, the President would make a surprise visit to the college, but rather than take advantage of the situation to boost his popularity, he would say that the airing of the video of the rot in the police college was the handiwork of those who did not wish his administration well.

Another point that works against the President is that he always seems too eager not to hurt his party men and friends, even to the detriment of his administration. The President is usually too careful not to step on any big toe, or even any toe for that matter. Whatever his achievements, the popular belief is that President Jonathan is not serious with the fight against corruption. And with the depth of corruption in Nigeria, it is believed that any leader that treats corruption with levity cannot turn Nigeria around.

And that leads to the next point which is his lack of showmanship. When there is flooding in a state, and the state governor is shown in the papers and on national TV wading through the flood with some of his top aides, it is pure showmanship meant for the cameras. When a governor stops by the roadside to hug a physically disadvantaged person or carry a child about during a tour, it is pure showmanship. When a governor rejects a chieftaincy title from a traditional ruler, or goes into a classroom to teach, or stays by the gate of the state secretariat to check those who are late, or arrests a traffic offender, or decides to participate in a marathon, it is pure showmanship. But these otherwise minor things make a leader popular.

Surprisingly, Jonathan does not do these little things. For a man who is not blessed with oratory, one would have thought that he would naturally have chosen to talk less and use showmanship more to his advantage.

However, the danger in all this is that the words and action of the President seem to suggest that he has given up on the possibility of Nigerians liking him. He seems to believe that it is normal for the masses not to like their President until after he has left office. This is dangerous because it will make him not to bother winning the people to his side.

In 2010 and early 2011, almost every Nigerian wanted his name or his child’s name to be “Goodluck” because of President Jonathan. Today, the story is different. However, many of those who criticise President Jonathan do not do so because of hatred, but because of a feeling of disappointment and frustration. Jonathan can become popular again with the masses and earn their regular commendation. Concrete achievements will help in that regard, but the big factor will be his ability to stop using the current unsuccessful means and adopt a new one.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER (OPINION PAGE) OF APRIL 16, 2013 BY AZUKA ONWUKA (AZUKA.BRAND@AUGUSTCONSULTING.BIZ)

Former U.S. President George W. Bush apologized for the Iraq War today, saying the conflict was "his biggest mistake."

In a statement released to a Texas newspaper, the 66-year-old Bush said he meant well when he sent America to war but asked the American people to forgive what in retrospect was "a clear example of poor judgement."

The admission comes on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, which began in 2003 and ended in 2011 with more than 36,000 American casualties and estimates of more than 100,000 civilian deaths.

"After the events of September the 11th, I focused all my energy on protecting America from the next attack," the statement reads. "Regrettably in our zeal to defend America, my administration exaggerated threats which - although real - did not constitute a clear and present danger to the United States.

"After my presidency I have come to the belief that the Iraq War, although well intentioned, was unnecessary and too costly to justify. I deeply apologize to the American people and to our soldiers and veterans in particular for engaging them in such a conflict.

"I may have made a mistake - but I think all Americans know that I pride myself on being able to admit my failures."

Shock and Awe
Bush also used his statement to address some of the lingering controversies surrounding the war, and showed remarkable honesty and contrition.

"In the run up to the war," he continued, "my administration made claims that turned out not to be factual. Personally, I truly believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. But when we couldn't find the evidence, we fabricated it.

"It was wrong to misoverexaggerate the nature of the threat. And although men like Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith were the most directly involved, ultimately I was the man at the top and I accept full responsibility.

"Additionally, once we went to war we should have gone in with a detailed plan. I thought it was more important to topple Saddam Hussein quickly than to prepare for the post-occupation. Clearly I was wrong, and I am sorry.

"The entire war was the biggest mistake of my life. I have asked my God for his forgiveness, and now I ask the American people. I hope history records that I was a good person, just trying to do the right thing."

In response to Bush's statement, former Vice President Dick Cheney gave an interview to NewsMax in which he labeled Bush's apology "childish" and defended his actions during the war.

"I still believe that the world is a better place without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein," Cheney said. "It's a shame this cowardly deadender no longer agrees and has joined the Cindy Sheehan wing of the Republican Party."

http://dailycurrant.com/2013/03/20/george-bush-apologizes-iraq-war/


See life? Innocent souls wasted, If he is 4given by victims still alive, what happen to d dead souls

Johannesburg - Nigerian Henry Okah was jailed for 24 years by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

"Effectively, the accused [Okah] is therefore sentenced to 24 years imprisonment," Judge Neels Claassen said as he handed down sentence.

On 21 January, Okah was found guilty on 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing, and detonating an explosive device.

Car bombs

The charges related to two car bombs in Abuja, Nigeria, in which 12 people were killed and 36 injured on 1 October 2010, the anniversary of the country's independence.

The second bombing took place in Warri on 15 March 2010 at a post amnesty dialogue meeting. One person was killed and 11 seriously injured.

In both bombings, two car bombs went off minutes apart in both places. The cars were parked in close proximity to each other.

Claassen sentenced Okah to 12 years imprisonment for each of the bombings and 13 years for the threats made to the South African government after his arrest in October 2010.

The 13 years would run concurrently with the 24 years.

In January, during judgment Claassen said the State had proved Okah's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and his failure to testify meant the evidence against him remained uncontested.

Okah has denied any involvement, claiming the charges against him were politically motivated.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/independence-day-bombing-henry-okah-jailed-24-years-news24

For enlightenment sake on this subject matter, please read the extract below or check the link that follows:

So much conspiracy theory.

Oil acreage ownership in Nigeria does not have ethnic colouration. What’s more important, sustaining production from oil and gas assets, whether or not awarded by the state, is determined by how much of a businessman you are. When Jibril Aminu handed out oil prospecting blocks, in the first comprehensive effort “to encourage indigenous participation” in 1991, he gave blocks to companies owned by Folawiyo, Abiola, Adenuga, Udoji, Ibru, Igbinedion,(all Southerners) as much as he gave to enterprises set up by people like Saleh Jumbo and Mai Deribe. Between 1991 and 1993, we suddenly had over 25 companies, that were Nigerian E&P companies and they took themselves so seriously that they set up an association they christened “Nigerian Association of Indigenous Petroleum Exploration Companies”. But what did these people do with the acreages? They were mostly clueless about how to progress things. Out of that class of awardees, only Mike Adenuga created what you could really call an E&P company. He is the only one producing oil today, from his own block.

It’s bad enough that Nigerian indigenous private acreage holders don’t produce, as a collective, up to 150,000 barrels per day, or 7% of the national daily production, so why are we fighting ourselves?

And I am less keen on how much you’re getting as rent from the asset you are holding, than the capacity you are building as manager of a Nigerian oil company who is awarded the asset, in trust for the rest of us.

I am for an ongoing, earnest debate on the National Question. But false information misleads all of us into false conclusions, which reduce the complexity of the solutions we ought to be proffering.

The author cites a number of hydrocarbon acreages belonging to Northern elites, but ignores the fact that holding an acreage is one thing; getting value out of it is another.

That so many people believe the poorly researched article, and so instantly forward it that it becomes one of the most travelled essays on the National Question, is testimony to poor knowledge of how the oil industry works.

The first field the author mentions is Obe field, which, he rightly claims, is held by Cavendish Petroleum, a company set up by Alhaji Mai Deribe. Alabo- George lied by saying that the Obe field, the main hydrocarbon pool in OML 110, contains 500 million barrels of oil reserves.

The Obe field does not have a proven 20 million barrels. I am not sure it has 10 million barrels. It is not producing as I write. The Obe field has not produced for five years, since 2007, when Trafigura, the last technical partner engaged by Cavendish, walked out.

I don’t know what discipline Mr Alabo-George belongs to, but this point I am about to make is well known to every junior petroleum geologist with three year experience in the crummiest E&P company: If a field holds 500 million barrels of oil, proven, in shallow water Nigeria, it won’t lie fallow. Investors would rush it. In countries where you don’t have the complications that the NNPC brings to the table here, fields that haven’t proven much more than 500 million barrels are “rushed” through to development. Ghana’s Jubilee field didn’t prove a billion barrels before the country’s authorities approved a field development plan. Apart from Nigeria, Angola, Libya, Algeria, Ghana (now, since 2008) and perhaps Equatorial Guinea, no African country has a billion barrels in proven reserves. 500 million barrels is half of that. Mr Alabo-George says that Obe has the capacity to produce about 120,000 barrels of crude oil daily from its OBE 4 and OBE 5 wells. What sort of numeracy is this? Or is he dreaming these figures? How can a field with less than twenty million barrels “have the capacity” to produce 120,000 barrels per day?. What’s capacity?

Alabo George’s second example of a wealthy northerner swimming in oil money is Mohammed Indimi, “a Fulani and close friend of General Ibrahim Babangida”. He says “Oriental Energy Resources Limited runs three oil blocks: OML 115, the Okwok field and the Ebok field. OML 115 and Okwok are OML PSC, while Ebok is an OML JV. All of them good yielding offshore oil blocks”.

T he author just doesn’t care to verify his claims. True, Indimi’s Oriental Resources holds the three assets. OML 115 is not producing as I write. No one has certified that there’s a producible field in the acreage. Ebok is being produced, on Oriental Resources’ behalf, by Afren, a UK listed company. Last year, the field delivered an average of 8,000 barrels of Oil per Day (BOPD), according to Afren’s website. You can google it. Okwok, as I write, is still in development. Translation: it has produced nary a drop of oil.

Aminu Dantata’s Express Petroleum holds the Oil Mining Lease 108, with technical partners Shebah Petroleum, which bought out Conoco, the original technical partners. Fine. The Ukpokiti field, the main asset on the acreage, produced for quite a while; and should have made the Dantatas quite rich, over a period of more than seven years. The field died out at some point and is being revived as I write.

“NorthEast Petroleum is owned by another Fulani businessman from the North East, Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Jambo”, Alabo-George testifies. “The license was awarded to him by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida”. Another truth: North East Petroleum has NEVER produced a single drop of oil since that award in the early 90s. There, simply, hasn’t been a discovery worth the while for operator TOTAL.

I agree that Theophilus Danjuma , also a Northerner, is entitled to contest for the award of the man who made the most fortune, at a sitting, on an oil acreage in Nigeria. Alabo-George’s article, in his rush to conclusions, even understates the significance, by claiming that Danjuma’s company, South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO), made $1Billion from the deal. The truth is that China National Overseas Offshore Company(CNOOC ), signed a definitive agreement with SAPETRO to acquire a 45% working interest in OML 130 for $2.268 billion cash. I don’t know how much the broker of the deal took, but I am yet to confirm if the Nigerian government earned any withholding tax from that transaction. In spite of what he has earned “upfront”, Danjuma’s SAPETRO gets 25,600Barrels of Oil per day for its 15% of OML 130 from the Akpo field, which is delivering 175,000BOPD.

But if you complain about Northerner Danjuma, what about the Alakijas, a Yoruba couple whose company, Famfa Oil, is “entitled”, every day, to 25,000 BOPD from Chevron operated Agbami Field, located in deepwater OML 127? These two companies are two of the four largest producing Nigerian companies today. The other two are Adenuga’s Conoil (25,000BOPD) and Seplat Petroleum (37,000BOPD, operated, 16,000BOPD, equity). Only one of those four companies is Northern owned. And it is outright falsehood that “ 80 per cent of crude oil and gas produced by indigenous companies is controlled by the North-East”.

But, as I said again: which technical and managerial capacity are we building on the back of the rent collected from these leases? It’s the real job.

The last example I’d touch, before the concluding commentary, for space purposes, is the case of Rilwan Lukman, who Alabo-Gorge cites as having controlling shares in Afren, the UK listed company. Lukman was there on the ground floor of the construction of Afren, around 2004, no doubt, but the key founders of Afren are Ethelbert Cooper, the Liberian businessman and Osman Shahenshah, who is the current Chief Executive.

What people like Lukman and Egbert Imomoh, the other Nigerian on the company’s board in the founding days, did, is the kind of thing I urge Nigerians in their positions to do. Use your knowledge to access and create value, not to grab and destroy value. Cooper and Shanenshah knew that Lukman (then out of office both from OPEC and as Nigerian special adviser), and Imomoh (then recently retired as Deputy Managing Director Of Shell Nigeria) knew the Nigerian oil industry deeply and could access oil and gas fields that were lying fallow. Shanenshah, coming from a financial services background, knew how to raise funds: the most important thing in oilfield exploration and development. Indeed the first piece of news by which most people knew of the existence of Afren was that the IMF had agreed to give a 5 million dollar loan to this company, which was only just about starting. It pays to have Lukman on your board. Yet, in spite of Lukman’s influence in the Nigerian polity, Afren had never accessed Nigerian acreages via government awards. Afren, cash in hand, running a technically proficient company, approaches Nigerian indigenous owners of assets like Ndimi’s Oriental Resources, Amni and several marginal field holders, and signs agreements with them to be technical partners. After Afren has recovered its investment via cost oil, Afren and the company continue to share the proceeds from the field 50:50 for the life of the field. Afren uses Nigerian technical capacity to a large degree and it trains a lot of people. But it can do more.

Afren has never benefitted from a bid round or a government-sanctioned discretionary awards, so why would anyone link Lukman’s involvement in Afren in a list that has a number of Northerners supposedly benefitting from government largesse? That is part of the trouble I have with Alabo-George’s essay.

I wouldn’t compare Lukman’s relationship with Afren to the benefits that Atiku Abubakar derives from being a part owner of Intels, the logistics company which takes advantage of the free trade zone in Onne, near Port Harcourt.

This particular example helps us to locate “the Nigerian tendency”, beyond “the Northern tendency”, in this discussion. Because, really, we are just all the same.

A foreign company comes to Nigeria to set up for business. Because of the difficulties we invent as barriers to entry, this company requires the services of some big Nigerian men, preferably those who have worked for government, for access. What Atiku Abubakar has done with Intels has parallels in other sectors of the economy and is comparable with what Yoruba chieftains, Ijaw leaders, Igbo High Chiefs, Idoma overlords, etc, etc, have done with many other companies operating here. That’s how people became key shareholders of companies like Julius Berger. As I write, the key sentiment underlining the complaints against the tolling on the Lekki Expressway is that “most of the money will go to Tinubu’s pocket”. That’s the word on the street.

Brokerage is not a bad thing on its own, but what we need to stress is a level playing field, rule of law, security of tenor and equity and fairness as much as possible, for all.

If I really want to be mischievous, I’d focus on the recent deal in which Shell and Agip have had to pay in excess of one billion dollars to Dan Etete, an Ijaw, for stakes in Oil Prospecting Lease OPL 245. And I would ask “Is that necessarily right”? Should the president, an Ijaw man, have waded in to ask Shell and Agip to move the deal forward? But that’s a story for another day.

In my book, people from everywhere have taken advantage of the unstructured way we have dispensed with oil and gas acreages. Naming names about which Northerner got what size of the pie is less useful than a focus on how government is insisting on open and transparent bidding, but more importantly, on Nigerian technical know how and management. You can’t hand over an acreage and walk away. You have to monitor what the holder is doing. How he is ensuring employment? If we can’t, with all the treasure, build five private E&P companies that have the internal competencies that Shell has and can go out and buy and operate assets the way that UBA and GTB and Ecobank venture into Ghana and The Gambia, then we have wasted all of the 56 years we have spent since the hoorah at Oloibiri.

http://www.ynaija.com/opinion-the-north-does-not-control-nigerias-oil-blocks/

There are lots of lessons to learn from super eagles victory over their ivorian counterparts. And the pry one being with right attitude, determination, discipline & focus, we can overcome the most problems facing us as a Nation. The truth is many Nigerians (myself inclusive) never believed the Super Eagles will be victorious basing our conclusions on their performances in the group matches. The same way an average nigerian believes there is no hope for the betterment of nigeria given the kind of leadership that we have. If the likes of Fashola, who was little known before he became Governor can transform Lagos, then there is plenty of hope for us.

Below are some of the lessons:
#1 - With right attitude, discipline & determination, we can collectively surmount all our numerous challenges
#2 - Even a non-working clock will be correct at least twice in a day, so, its not over until its ova
#3 - Try new things, the same way some of the homebased players were given the opportunity to prove their worth
#4 - Make necessary & genuine sacrifices, same way the likes of Joseph Yobo (though he is the team's captain) Ahmed Musa, Ike Uche (nigeria highest goal scorer during qualifiers) were benched.
#5 - Hard work still pays

May God help our Nation to overcome our challenges
HOPE2015

Salam alaykum. I found this topic interesting and i'm compelled to make little contributions. Let us not be confused. There is no sin in a woman using her husband name and cannot be interpreted as meaning the wife was born by the husband. It only means she is the wife of the named husband particularly when the word "Mrs" is attached. If the hadith or quran verses quoted are to be adhere to to the latter then women should use exact fathers' names & not even the father's family name or surname because by direct interpretation, the family name is not the father's exact name.

I think the confusion here is largely due to differences in culture interpretation from arabian to english & other cultures like that of nigeria. The arabs will call a name & use word ibn (male) or bint(female)and attach it to father's name e.g. Hassan ibn Alli meaning Hassan the son of Alli. In English such person will be addressed as Master or Mr Hassan Alli. Where a female is involved, it is Miss Hassanat Alli when she is single but after marriage (say to Mr Umar) it becomes Mrs Hassanat Umar. While the first name with Miss meant Hassanat the daughter of Alli the 2nd name with Mrs meant Hassanat the wife of Umar

Even in the Holy Quran, there are two or more instances where some women like the wives of Firhaoun & Lut were mentioned with their husband's name. (Ashiyah the wife of Firhaoun)

So, i think there is nothing bad in calling women by their husbands' names. Wa lahu aalam

Salaam alaykum

Crude oil export procedure in the country is facing one of the greatest scandals in recent times. A document obtained by LEADERSHIP shows how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) allegedly exported crude oil worth $1.6 billion dollars with forged Export Clearance Permit.

The discovery of the document is causing so much unease in the NNPC and the Ministry of Trade and Investment, the issuer of Export Clearance Permits. The minister, Dr Olusegun Aganga, has written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, promising to investigate the source of the letter and brief the president accordingly.

In the letter entitled “Investigation Into The Discovery Of A Forged Crude Oil And Gas Export Clearance Permit NO: CO/28/VOL.VIII/09, Purportedly Issued By The Federal Ministry Of Trade and Investment To NNPC For Shipment Of 24 Million Barrels Of Crude Oil And Gas In The Third Quarter ( July To September) 2012”, Aganga wrote: “May I humbly inform Mr. President that on Thursday, 4th October 2012, my Office was alerted of the existence of an Export Clearance Permit No. CO/28/VOL III/09 purportedly issued by my office to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the export of crude oil and gas from Nigeria for the period covering the 1st July 2012 to the 30th September 2012.

“ On a closer examination, it was discovered that one of the permits was not, in fact, issued by my office and may have been forged as it did not bear the security features that we had built into the original permit forms to prevent such forgeries. Had these security features not been in place it would have been difficult to detect the forgery. (See Annexures I [Authentic] & II [Forged]).”

The minister explained, “On October 8, 2012, the matter was officially reported to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation to determine the identity of the fraudster(s), identify the fraud indicators and how the opportunity presented itself.

“Mr. President is invited to note that the measures introduced in the past 14 months by my Ministry has strengthened the regulatory environment in the oil and gas sector and most importantly on the procedures for the issuance of the export clearance permit as the discovery of the forged export clearance permit has attested to. May I humbly aver that I will personally brief Your Excellency on events regarding the investigation as they unfold. Please, accept the assurances of my highest regards and esteem.”

The discovery of the document is coming at a time those conversant with developments in the nation’s crude oil business contest the quantity the NNPC claims it exports.

Earlier this month the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, queried the accuracy of the country’s crude oil production, which currently stands at 2.7 million barrels per day, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The CBN boss made the observations while defending the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) forwarded to the House on September 20 by President Goodluck Jonathan, preparatory to the transmission of the 2013 Appropriation Bill.

Sanusi, who appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Finance, Legislative Budget and Research, National Planning and Aid, Loans and Debt Management, reiterated the apex bank’s commitment to stability of the economy, and stressed the need to strengthen the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

He explained that oil was a commodity with price volatility and that the best way to save the budget was to increase output and block leakages, especially through oil bunkering and “bombing illegal refineries in the Niger Delta”.

However, when contacted, acting group general manger, group public affairs division, NNPC, Fidel Pepple said, “We are not aware of the document; it is absolutely a forged document and it did not emanate from us. ”

When asked if the alleged forgers of the permit may have exported the said quantity of crude oil with such document, Pepple said it is “absolutely impossible”, citing what he called “the checks and balance mechanism in place” to detect such transaction.

But a thorough examination of the Export Clearance Permit shows data found in genuine permits with the following information: Serial No-Q33006030; Name of Exporter, NNPC; Dept. of Petroleum Resources Reference No. DPR/DS/CTO/28/VOL.V111/09, Product Description, Bonny Light Crude; Quantity 24,000,000 Barrels; FOB Value Estimate in US Dollars $1,680,000,000; Product full description and grade Bonny Light Crude, amongst other information. It has the signature of the trade and investment minister, Olusegun Aganga, and the seal of the ministry. The only feature the document does not have is an enlarged Nigerian coat of arms buried in the permit.

But according to the guidelines issued by the Commodities and Products Inspectorate Department of the Trade and Investment ministry, companies qualified to obtain the export permit from the ministry includes the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), international oil companies, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Ltd., indigenous oil producing companies, major oil and marketing companies, independent petroleum marketing Companies(IPMAN or DAPPMA companies) with current DPR licence for receptacles/storage facilities (i.e. jetties/depots).

A source in the Commodities and Products Directorate in the Trade and Investment ministry admitted that he was aware of the alleged fake permit, but insisted he had no idea where it came from as it was not issued by them.

The source further said that the permit issued in the period had lower crude oil quantity than in the said fake permit.

LEADERSHIP checks at the Nigeria Customs Service revealed that the signature of the authorising official and stamp were forged, as the document was never at the NCS registry on July 2, 2012, as the stamp on the document showed.

What is puzzling however is why the forger chose the NNPC as his company name and not any of the other companies that are also qualified to export crude oil as listed above.

“And why is the supposed fake document receiving the measure of attention which has necessitated a letter to the presidency?” a source who would not want his name mentioned queried.

He added that nothing was impossible in Nigeria as government officials were notorious for ignoring due process.

source - http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/38151/2012/10/23/aganga_writes_jonathan_over_missing_16bn_oil_money.html

10years In Office For Nigerian Banks' MDs/CEOs: Why Is Access Bank An Exemption?


The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sometimes in 2010 or so, issued a circular that the MDs/CEOs of Nigerian Banks shall no longer spend more than 10 years in office as part of the efforts to sanitize the prevailing abuses in the banking sector,. One year after this circular, a number of banks namely Zenith, UBA and Skye Banks lost their MDs/CEOs to this policy.

It is however surprising to note that the current MD/CEO of Access Bank has spent more than the 10 years stipulated by the CBN policy. Is it that he is immune from the policy? Worrisome is the fact that, no single media in Nigeria has even raised the issue! Is it a case of oversight or deliberate attempt to look elsewhere? Well, maybe it is a case of all animals are equal but some are more equal than the others after all, he appears to be GEJ’s boy!

Is this silence or delay not an outright attempt to avert the course of justice? No body seems to be talking again! What is the outcome of Police investigation? Thought the house said they stand for justice, why are they not following this case to logical conclusion? Where are the various human rights group? Perhaps, it was an internal crisis among the "politikal elites" & dey hav decided to settle internally while the masses continue to suffer unabated. I am more than convinced that if this case is painstakenly pursued, it will be an eye opener to the ills among the so called political elites!!!

It is not enof for Jagaba to say he did not collect the money! Lawan was reported to have written a memo to him wherein he stated the money was "attached" (Though wonder how such money would have been attached to the memo) and the memo was said to have been acknowledged. Did he (Jagaba) or any body working for him at any time received & acknowledged the purported memo from Lawan? If Yes, then he can't claim ignorance of the money but if No, the implication is that Lawan is more than jus a crook. He committed a crime (bribe collection) and he made several attempts to cover up the crime.(1st - denial of receipt of any money, 2nd self confession to have collected the money to nail the bribe giver..3rd, circulated various purpoted memos issued by him (Lawan) notifying the house and some security agencies of bribe inducement) when in fact they are nothing but camouflag. Now Jagaba is not only denying receiving the bribe money but by implication he is also denying receiving & acknowledging any purpoted memo from lawan. By a layman interpretation, Dishonorable Lawan committed one crime of bribe taking and had committed several crimes to cover up the first crime from forgery to falsification to manipulation & distortion of facts. I just wonder why the nigerian police are still saying there is no enough evidence to try him(Lawan)! While we are not loosing focus of the bigger picture, we are also saying Lawan & Co should also be tried for their own crimes.

President Goodluck Jonathan is a colourful and charismatic President
May 15, 2012, 10:51





There is the wrong perception that President Goodluck Jonathan is colourless, clueless and slow to act on issues of national importance. The people who hold that opinion are simply wrong, they are insincere, they are mischievous and if you find out very well, you will find that the people are those who describe themselves as the opposition. This is not the impression of the ordinary Nigerians. People who are pushing this perception as you called it are persons who lost out in the last elections and who believe that they hold an abiding grudge against President Jonathan for beating them at the poll. I think that people must be able to separate partisanship from national interest. Even when they are politicians and they belong to the opposition they have a duty; they have a responsibility to place the national interest above their own personal interest. The Presidency belongs to all Nigerians. Once the election is over and someone has won that election and he is already president, he is president of all Nigerians and President Jonathan sees himself as the president of all Nigerians. He welcomes criticisms, no doubt about that and you will recall that he has always defended the right to free speech. This is a president who signed the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) into law and has done everything to encourage people to take advantage of that law.

One thing that we have observed is that in the name of the opposition, people resort to name calling, they resort to labelling. Now, that is not a constructive way to respond to a sitting president. The objective of those persons is not to promote the truth or to really oppose the administration in a constructive manner but to malign the integrity of the President and that is why these persons are wrong and Nigerians need to be told that at bottom of these criticisms is absolute mischief and partisanship.
Now they say the president is not colourful, or how did you put it? if you look at the president, you cannot say that he is colourless person, this is a man who is charismatic, this is a man who has the common touch, this is a man who whenever he travels either at home or abroad he is a target of good will and affection. In fact, he is even regarded in many places as a fashion icon. With the kind of statement he makes with his unique dressing, that is not a colourless man. And he is a man also that the media like to put in their cover all the time both at home and abroad. It is not just because he occupies that office. It is because of the magnetism of his personality. This is a man who has an interesting story to tell, who is a symbol of hope for many young Nigerians. This is a man who represents the ultimate Nigerian dream that any individual at all can come from nothing to something; that greatness is not the preserve of a particular group of Nigerians; that every Nigerian child can aspire to get to the top. President Jonathan himself represents a very interesting story. There is a lot of colour and dynamism to his personality.

You said that the president is slow to act. Well, you see that perception I think is conditioned by the fact that a lot of Nigerians still have the military hangover even when they found themselves under democratic rule for a number of years. There is this military mind set in the minds of Nigerians. They want a president who will be behaving like he is wearing jack boot. A president that will trample upon the rights of Nigerians, a president who will not consult before who acts; an impulsive president who wields power as if is a whip. President Jonathan has made it very clear and he has consistently reminded Nigerians that yes, Nigerians wants good governance but this is also a democracy and under a democratic dispensation there are certain values and it was in this context that he made that his famous speech that he is not a goliath, that he is not a military officer who will trample on the rights of persons. It is in the nature of democracy that you have to build consensus that you have to be deliberate in whatever you do and what we have in President Jonathan is a man who is contemplative and who is also productive. It is a question of style and he cannot be accused of slowness. There have been occasions of course where he has had to take very prompt actions but within the bounds of reason.

I hear people say the president should wield the big stick. Nigerians don’t like somebody that is considerate. Nigerians want somebody who can punch them in the face. Nigerians want somebody who can abuse them. Well, they have a president who is a human being and who is very humane and I think that he deserves praise for that not all these derogatory adjectives that the opposition throw up.

The president is interested in infrastructure provision and all that, I recall that the president actually campaigned with the provision of basic infrastructure, growing the economy, and creating more job opportunities.
Take the power sector in terms of infrastructure. You will recall that during the campaign period, a lot of Nigerians were saying that if President Jonathan can just solve the problem of power supply, they will be happy. He himself appreciates the sense of urgency of that demand and he has said it again and again that you cannot have real development unless you are able to use the regular power supply to jump start the economy by creating activity, by strengthening the industrial sector. It is on record that since 1999, it is the Jonathan administration that has been able to move the level of power supply to 4,000 plus megawatts range. In January, Nigeria achieved about 4,400 megawatts, and that is about the highest since 1999 and a lot of Nigerians were jubilating. But then, there was problem with two power plants and that dropped to 2,000 plus. People were already beginning to enjoy improvement in power supply, people who had started praising government, again began to complain and that complaint is understandable because the main challenge required is one of sustainable power supply. The problem has since been corrected but even when there is improvement, Nigerians, because of that initial discomfort that they have experienced after some period of success, will continue to complain, but government is determined to achieve the objective of this power supply.

Yes, there are challenges. One of the challenges is the challenge of gas supply and action is to taken on that. The goal of the administration is to privatise the entire power sector and a lot of work is going on in that regard. Then, the other major challenge the government has to do with the challenge of what is called way leave in many of the states whereby there are community issues.

Another thing of course that the Jonathan administration has been doing is providing a robust support for the private sector because President Jonathan is convinced that it is when you have an enabling environment for the private sector that you will be able to create jobs.

Again, you will recall that one of the first things he did when he came in was a review of the foreign policy of Nigeria. There was a conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where all the stakeholders came together and the emphasis was that the foreign policy process must be investment-driven and President Jonathan has been consistent on this call. And if you ask the Minister of Trade and Investment, trillions of investments have been attracted to this same economy within the last one year.

But the opposition does not give us credit for that. The opposition look for little things to play up and then say that is the job of the opposition. Well, the job of the opposition should not be to heat up the polity. The job of the opposition should be to respond to the administration when they think they want to on the basis of fact and truth.

In the last few weeks, the various ministers have been on television on a programme that has been organised ahead of the May 29 Democracy Day anniversary and if you have been following that, each minister has been going there to give an account and this is again one of the good thing about democracy, that people must give account and the Jonathan administration has been holding himself accountable and the Minister of Works has provided an outline on many of the projects on roads. Nigerians complain about roads.

There are many road projects that are ongoing that may not have been completed. They may not have been completed yet, but they are ongoing and in due course, Nigerians will see that the efforts they are seeing on those roads are meaningful efforts and very soon, those roads will be completed.

There are some Nigerians who believe that the president is not tough on corruption and this encourages public servants to continue to loot the public treasury. Those who hold that opinion should not forget that this administration is just less than one year. In a matter of weeks, it will be one year. One of the areas where this administration has been very strong and has been very consistent has been in the fight against corruption. Again, this is one area where President Jonathan is not being given due credit.

You know that one of the things the president did was to change the leadership of the EFCC to strengthen it because you will recall that we had gotten to a point where people were saying ‘oh, the EFCC had become toothless, the EFCC was not prosecuting cases, the EFCC was not doing enough.’ The gentleman who has even been in charge of operations was put in charge. One of the first things he did was to start cleaning up the EFCC itself and there were revelations about how certain persons within the EFCC needed to be sanctioned. I have not heard too many people saying that is a good thing. Even the guardian of the estate is guarding himself.

Two, the whole furore over the deregulation of the downstream sector (of the petroleum industry); when the president addressed the nation, one of the lines there is that the reason government was taking interest in this fuel subsidy issue was to check corruption, that the key target was to check corruption in the economy and to make the downstream sector of the petroleum economy more transparent.

In 2010, as acting president, the same President Jonathan had ordered a probe into the accounts of the NNPC. Many of these revelations that are arising out of the House of Representatives probe, ithe impetus came from the efforts made by the Jonathan administration, by President Jonathan as acting President and as President. Nobody is giving credit for that.

But we have a hyperactive and hypersensitive and hypertensive opposition that is very quick to put the blame in the wrong location.

The position of the President with regards to the campaign for 2015 is very clear in this regard and you recall that at the PDP national convention and also at the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP, the 59th NEC meeting, the President made it clear that his ministers and members should focus on governance. He even threatened at the NEC meeting of the PDP that if any minister is found to be more interested in the politics of 2015, that minister will be better of excusing him because right now, at this moment, he considers the politics of 2015 as it is being played as a distraction. He has not even spent one year in office. It is, therefore, premature to begin to talk of 2015.

• Dr Reuben Abati is SA Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan


© Copyright 2012 nigeriafirst.org

INVASION OF AIR NIGERIA OFFICE BY FIRS
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) stormed Air Nigeria office on Monday, 18 June 2012, with mobile policemen armed with guns to demand for past taxes allegedly owed during the period when Mr. Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic was running Virgin Nigeria, now Air Nigeria. These taxes have been in dispute and needed to be reconciled and agreed upon.
The FIRS is however not patient with such reconciliations but resorted to a military approach in a civilian era.
Air Nigeria is not indebted to the government on current taxes since the acquisition of the airline by Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR. We therefore consider the FIRS action as uncivilized and condemnable.
We are at a loss as to what the FIRS has been doing for the past 8 years without collecting the taxes from previous management of the airline. We assure the general public that Air Nigeria cannot be intimidated by this crude approach and will not be ready to give bribe to any person no matter how highly placed. We will brief the general public as the issue progresses.
It should be noted that since the commencement of international operations on the Lagos - London route, Air Nigeria has become the object of an orchestrated attacks that show clearly that this is a case of the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau. In following the external influence, local staff of the airline went on strike in May for May salary which the management has resolved amicably.
As the airline was coming out of that, the news of it being grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) infiltrated town. Again, as the airline was coming out of this with a clean bill of health, barely two days after, the airline is yet invaded in a military manner. We suspect that one other line of action will be coming in the coming week to further attempt to damage us in the public eye; but we assure the instigator of such uncivilized approach that Air Nigeria will not compromise its corporate values and development strategy.
SIGNED
Samuel Ogbogoro
Media Relations Manager

Jus wondering hw we came about all these slogans?

STATE SLOGAN JUS THINKING OUT LOUD!
ABIA GOD'S OWN STATE OR DEVIL'S OWN STATE
ABUJA CENTRE OF UNITY OR CENTRE OF DISUNITY
ADAMAWA LAND OF BEAUTY, SUNSHINE & HOSPITALITY HMMNNN?? SMH!
AKWA IBOM PROMISED LAND YET "MOSES & HIS PEOPLE" ARE STILL NOT FREE FRM PHARAOH
ANAMBRA HOME FOR ALL/LIGHT OF THE NATION ANYTHING GOES!!!!!!!
BAUCHI PEARL OF TOURISM GUESS ITS PEARL OF TERRORISM
BAYELSA GLORY OF ALL LANDS LANDS OF ALL DUMBS/RETIRED THUGS. U need to see faces of members of the state Assembly when the motion for Speaker's impeachment was moved on 04.06.12
BENUE THE NIGERIA'S FOOD BASKET YET HER PEOPLE ARE FULL OF HUNGERS
BORNO HOME OF PEACE ? PEACE INDEED! HOME OF BOKO
CROSS RIVER THE NATION'S PARADISE IF DATS AN EXAMPLE OF PARADISE, I WONDER IF ANYBDY GO WAN ENTER
DELTA THE BIG HEART THE BIG/GERMANE LOOTERS EXTRA ORDINARY
EBONYI SALT OF THE NATION TOO MUCH OF SALT CAN BE DIABETICS OOO!
EDO THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION NO WONDER PDP WANTS THE STAE AT ALL COST TO AVOID HEART ATTACK!
EKITI FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE YET THE TEACHERS IN THE STATE ARE FIGHTING HARD TO RESIST ANY ATTEMPT FOR ASSESSMENT TEST
ENUGU COAL CITY STATE YET THE STATE CAN'T USE WHAT THEY HAV (COAL)TO GET WAT THEY NEED BADLY (POWER)
GOMBE JEWEL IN THE SAVANNAH THUGS IN THE JUNGLE!
IMO THE EASTERN HEARTLAND WAT A LOCALISED SLOGAN! GUESS DAT IS H/QRT OF THE EAST
JIGAWA THE NEW WORLD NEW WORLD WITH NO INVENTION, WORLD OF IGNORAMUS
KADUNA CENTRE OF EDUCATION CENTRE OF BOKO
KANO CENTRE OF COMMERCE YET COMPANIES ARE WINDING UP GEOMETRICALLY
KATSINA HOME OF HOSPITALITY HOSPITALITY OR HOSTILITY
KEBBI LAND OF EQUITY BUT SUM ARE MORE ENTITLED TO EQUITY THAN THE OTHER
KOGI THE INFLUENCE STATE THE INFLUENCE STATE OF BOKO BOMBS
KWARA THE PLACE OF HARMONY PLACE OF SARAKIS
LAGOS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE EXCELLENT IN ALL TYPES OF MADNESS
NASARAWA NIGERIA'S HOME OF SOLID MINERALS YET THE GDP IS NEXT TO ZERO??
NIGER THE POWER STATE WITH IBB, ABDUSALAM & INCUMBET CHIEF SERVANT OF D STATE, D STATE IS A CONCENTRATION OF POWER
OGUN GATEWAY STATE GATEWAY TO CONFUSION/ RADICALISM-OBJ, FAWEHINMI, RANSOME KUTI, TAI SOLARIN
ONDO SUNSHINE STATE AS IF SUN NO DEY SHINE FOR OTHER STATES
OSUN STATE OF THE LIVING SPRING PLUS INKLUDING THE NON-LIVING LIVING SPRING
OYO PACE SETTER PACE SETTER IN AMALA POLITIKS COURTESY ADEDIBU REINCARNATED IN AKALA
PLATEAU HOME OF PEACE & TOURISM WE KNO BETA, HOME OF WAR & GENOCIDE
RIVERS TREASURE BASE WE HOPE THESE TREASURES WILL BE EXPLORED SOONEST
SOKOTO SEAT OF THE CALIPHATE CALIPHACY OF CONSPIRACY
TARABA NATURE'S GIFT TO THE NATION OR ONE OF NASS DELIQUENT STATE GIFTS
YOBE THE YOUNG SHALL GROW I DOUBT IF THE STAtE HAD GROWN AT ALL IN HER 21YRS OF CREATION
ZAMFARA HOME OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR HOME OF POLITICAL SHARIA PRODUCTS