₦airaland Forum

1stCitizen:
How does the governor know who is responsible for it?

Help me ask o,

Boko Jonathan

I went through Late Eneche Akogwu facebook wall, and his post on 15th October 2011 reads "It's time to go back home", on 22nd of October 2011, he posted "Wen will d old cliche 'no where like home' lose meaning?", and his last wall post reads "Oh God of heaven, I besiege thee! Give me d ability to always know what's true and to b fair to all manner of people".

RIP Eneche,

Scholes rejoins United

Paul Scholes has rejoined the playing staff at Manchester United for the remainder of the season with immediate effect, after approaching Sir Alex Ferguson to reverse his decision, made at the end of last season, to retire.

He has gone straight onto the bench for this afternoon’s FA Cup third round tie against Manchester City.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: "It’s fantastic that Paul has made this decision. It’s always sad to see great players end their careers, but especially so when they do it early.

"But he has kept himself in great shape and I always felt that he had another season in him. It’s terrific to have him back."

Paul Scholes added: "I’ve been pretty clear since I stopped playing that I miss it. I’m delighted the manager feels I can still make a contribution to the team and I’m looking forward to playing my part in trying to bring more success to this great club.”

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2012/Jan/paul-scholes-rejoins-united.aspx

Sahara Reporters una too much joo

Emeka 7.:
Take it to computer village at IKEJA d engineers dere can fix it.

Thanks

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has assured Nigerians that the mass rallies scheduled for next Monday will go on, and urged them to ignore the rumours of a ‘black market’ injunction possibly purchased by the Goodluck Jonathan government from the National Industrial Court (NIC).



“The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is not aware of any such injunction, we were not served any paper of court appearance, we were not present in court nor were we represented in any capacity,” said Acting Secretary General Owei Lakemfa, in a statement. “Also, the NLC was not served any court summons nor were we served any court order.”

He urged the Jonathan administration to listen to the people or face their justifiable wrath. He observed of the government, “They cannot make the simple analysis that the whole populace is angry and that Nigerians do not need any group to ask them to protest an evil policy that seeks to impoverish them.

He pointed out that the forces outlined in the country are simply the Nigerian People against the Jonathan Government, and is not an industrial relations one, or between an employer and an employee.

“So if the issue was taken before the National Industrial Court, then it is the wrong place to shop for a black market injunction,” he said. “To obtain an injunction from a court that has no competent jurisdiction is to try playing ping pong with the judiciary.”

He reminded everyone that the constitutional and fundamental right of Nigerians to protest cannot be annulled.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/ignore-any-black-market-injunction-nlc-advises-nigerians

3 weeks ago, my HTC wildfire screen suddenly went blank. The phone is still functioning because i can recieve calls.

Please advice on what i should do or where i can fix it in Abuja or Lagos.

Thanks!

I may be wrong though, but i think Sahara Reporters just goofed.

She said "I can't hear who it is" not that she can't hear the caller.


Example:

Caller: This is Goodluck Jonathan, can you hear me?

Reciever: No, i can't hear who it is

Analysis: I can hear the caller but i didn't get the name of the caller.

Simple as ABC,

Abeg o, i may be wrong with my stand o.

Wasteful leadership cannot make prudent investments!!!!! Q.E.D

Gbam!

MTN wishes to reassure all its subscribers, especially those in Lagos that Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) has not been shut down.

In addition, we have not received any directive from any quarter to shut down Blackberry services.

As the network of choice to over 41 million people in Nigeria, our priority is to provide stable quality telecommunication services to our customers. This will continue to be our focus for 2012.

Thank you.

http://www.facebook.com/MTNLoaded

MAIDUGURI (AFP) – A purported spokesman for Islamist group, Boko Haram, has issued an ultimatum to Christians in the country’s north and threatened to confront troops after the president declared a state of emergency in hard hit areas.

Abul Qaqa, who has spoken on behalf of the group blamed for scores of attacks in numerous times in the past, said he was giving southerners living in the north a three-day ultimatum to leave.

“We find it pertinent to state that soldiers will only kill innocent Muslims in the local government areas where the state of emergency was declared,” he told journalists in a phone conference late Sunday.

“We would confront them squarely to protect our brothers.”

Speaking in the Hausa language common throughout the north, Qaqa said “we also wish to call on our fellow Muslims to come back to the north because we have evidence that they would be attacked.

“We are also giving a three-day ultimatum to the southerners living in the northern part of Nigeria to move away.”

Boko Haram is believed to include different factions with varying aims, its structure remains unclear and other people have claimed to speak on its behalf.

Nigeria’s 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

Muslims have been victims of Boko Haram attacks, but a wave of Christmas day bombings particularly targeting churches set off fears of retaliation from Christians.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of four states hard hit by violence blamed on Boko Haram.

The declaration came in response to scores of attacks attributed to Boko Haram, particularly the bombings on Christmas that killed 49 people, most of them in a gruesome blast at a Catholic church as services were ending.

Qaqa also criticised Jonathan over his visit to a Catholic church outside Abuja on Saturday. The church was the site of the bloodiest Christmas day attack, with an explosion killing 44 people there as services were ending.

“The President had never visited any of the theatres were Muslims were massacred,” he said, naming areas where scores of Muslims were killed in post-election riots in April.

While Boko Haram has been carrying out increasingly deadly attacks for months, including an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja that left 25 dead, the Christmas violence sparked intense fear and outrage.

It also led to warnings from Christian leaders that they would defend themselves if such attacks continued, raising deep concern.

While declaring the state of emergency in Africa’s largest oil producer, Jonathan acknowledged that the attacks “have threatened our collective security and shaken the foundations of our corporate existence as a nation.”

It was declared in parts of the states of Borno, where Boko Haram has traditionally had its base, Niger, Plateau and Yobe.

In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, residents reported increased patrols on Monday. Soldiers had been entering homes in search of weapons and bombs, they said.

After the searches, soldiers told residents to report any unusual behaviour or abandoned vehicles which may contain planted bombs.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/boko-haram-spokesman-threatens-christians-troops/

, and Jona Wept

Positive - Prof. Chinua Achebe

Negative - GEJ/Boko Haram

The Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, on Thursday revealed that suspected members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, arrested so far were mere "foot soldiers."



The IG said security agencies lacked evidence to apprehend the leaders of the sect.

"So far we have arrested hundreds of them but that is not the issue, these people, to my mind, are just the foot soldiers and we need to get strong evidence through the cooperation of members of the public so that we will be able to get to the leaders, masters and organisers of these people," Ringim told journalists at the end of an emergency meeting President Goodluck Jonathan held with service chiefs on Thursday.

He said the President summoned the service chiefs to review the state of insecurity in the country vis-à-vis the spate of bombings on Christmas day.

In attendance at the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ola Ibrahim; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar; Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim; and the Director-General, State Security Service, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong.

Others at the meeting were the National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi (rtd.); and the Minister of Police Affairs, Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retd.).

At the end of the meeting, Petinrin told State House correspondents that the President had taken "some drastic decisions" that would be communicated to the public later. He declined further comments.

Azazi refused to talk to journalists, saying he spoke to them only on Monday.

But the IG said because terrorism was a new phenomenon in the country, security agencies were all on their feet to face the situation squarely, adding that a lot of achievements had since been recorded without the knowledge of the public.

He stressed the need for all Nigerians to join security agencies in the fight against what he called the "cankerworm" in order to apprehend the real mastermind.

Ringim urged Nigerians, especially Christians, to discountenance the information going round that more attacks would be carried out on New Year’s Eve, saying the Nigeria Police was up to the task.

He said, "I assure you we are doing our possible best. We are prepared more than ever before and I want to assure you that if we had not done what we did in Yobe, if we had not done what we did in Kaduna, indeed if the Nigerian Police Force had not done what we did in Kano, the recovery of the primed-up suicide bombing vehicles, the story would have been a different one.

"l assure members of the public that the Nigeria Police Force and indeed all other security agencies are now ready more than ever before to face these challenges.

"The arrest of these terrorists has been going on for a long time. Many of them have been arrested and many of them are in detention. They are in the process of being prosecuted."

Ringim said members of Boko Haram were not attacking only Christians.

He said they had been attacking everyone that came their way, including members of the armed forces, policemen and members of other security agencies that include Muslims and Christians.

Members of Boko Haram on Sunday attacked some churches in Niger, Yobe and Plateau states, killing many and injuring many others.

In the attack on St. Theresa’s Church, Mandalla, Niger State, at least 35 parishioners of the church were killed including the entire members of three families who had attended Christmas mass.

http://www.punchng.com/index.php/news/item/9347-boko-haram-we-have-arrested-only-foot-soldiers-says-ig

The Arewa Renaissance Group on Thursday in Kaduna asked the Christian Association of Nigeria to exercise restraint in reacting to the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madallah, Niger State.



TARG argued that the outbursts of the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on the incident could aggravate the current state of insecurity in the country.

Oritsejafor had reportedly told President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday that Christians would defend themselves since the Federal Government could no longer guarantee their security.

But the group in a statement by its National Coordinator, Prof. Ibrahim Malumfashi, stressed that, "the Madalla attack has been variously condemned by all and sundry, including the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Jama’tu Nasir Islam and prominent Islamic clerics and Christian clergymen."

Malumfashi therefore condemned the Christmas Day bombings in Madalla and Jos, describing the two incidents as "barbaric and has no place in a civilised society, more so for a group which claims to be killing in the name of Islam, a religion of peace."

The TARG boss noted that the perpetrators of the bombings "wanted to severe the fragile unity that now exists between Muslims and Christians in the country and particularly in the north."

He added, "Owing to the activities of these fringe groups like Boko Haram and the machinations of politicians, the relationship between Muslims and Christians in the north is at best one of mutual suspicion.

"On a day that Christians were to be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, by a group which purports to be Islamic, was deliberate attempt at provocation and souring an already tenuous relationship."

The group advised the media and public commentators to refrain from interpreting the Christmas Day incidents as an attack on Christians by a Muslim group.

http://www.punchng.com/index.php/news/item/9364-northern-group-faults-oritsejafor

I present to you, the MOST DECENT CORPER, 2011!

13 year old Nancy Maduka is alive today because she refused to go to church on Christmas day. She pleaded with her parents to allow her skip church to enable her fix her hair. When it became evident that she was not ready to go with them, her mother, in annoyance, left her with some money and directed her to put finishing touches to all the food items bought for the Christmas celebration.

Her mother Jennifer Maduka, her father Francis Maduka, and two older sisters left for church. A few hours later, they were all killed in a bomb blast at St Theresa Catholic church, Suleja.

It never occurred to any of the members of the family that their encounter that morning would be their last.

No premonition that death was lurking around, not even during the mass. Not even the directive by the Parish Priest, Reverend Father Isaac Achi, that all parishioners should wait and part-take in a Christmas gift from “Baby Jesus” after the mass was strong enough to stop the family from leaving.

Far away from the church, Nancy was set to have her hair-do when a loud sound rented the air. Like a wild harmattan fire, the news of the bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church went round the entire Madalla. Suddenly, Nancy remembered that her parents and sisters were in the church. Like the speed of the light, Nancy dashed to the church and within a twinkle of an eye, her life changed; she became an orphan, because her parents and two sisters were roasted in their car by the explosion that ensued from the bomb blast.

Nancy said: “I was not with them this morning, I had to go and do my hair this morning because I was in church throughout yesterday, preparing for the Christmas. So, I was unable to make it to the mass, despite the pressure mounted by my father to dress up and go for the early morning mass.

“At about 7:30a.m., I went to do my hair and where I went to do my hair, I heard some people talking about a bomb blast at St. Theresa, so I went to check because my parents and sisters went for the mass this morning. As I was about entering the church and was making enquiry, I saw somebody lying on the ground dead. I know my dad’s car; everybody in the car was dead. The first person I identified was one of my sisters; she was dried up by the fire from the explosion. I saw my parents in the front seat, and they were all burnt in the car. I lost all, my parents, my sisters. I lost all. I was crying, because I can see a bleak future ahead of me. Where do I go from where I am? I was not only confused; I initially felt all hope was lost. The only thing I recalled was that some people came and dragged me away from my father’s burnt car,” Nancy stated

Now living with the parish sisters, Nancy was a pity sight on Sunday. She looked ahead to a bleak future, but still has hope.

“I don’t know why this happens, but since this is the way the good Lord wants it, let it be. All I know is that all hope is not lost. I strongly believe this is not the end of the world for me. I know God has a plan for me to have speared my life,” she said


http://lindaikeji..com/2011/12/nancy-maduka-alive-because-she-refused.html

Citizen reporters affiliated with Saharareporters have reported another bomb explosion in the Hausa quarters in Sapele, Delta state. The explosion happened at  an Arabic school along Urhobo Road. The explosion was similar to the one that ripped through a Mosque in the township on December 10.

There are unconfirmed reports of 3 injuries.
Saharareporters will continue to provide details as they become available.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/another-explosion-reported-sapele-delta-state

Dear Mr. President: We should say Merry Christmas but we are not your goverment, we are not in the business of deception. After almost ten hours of gathering your thoughts to speak on the bomb blasts that rocked the nation yesterday, you still fell short of your own very low standards.

What did you intend to say when you said Bomb Blasts are a burden we must live with? Why do you bother to budget over a trillion for security if we must live the burden of insecurity? How come you are still a president? We do not blame you, we blame our older ones who were stupid enough to think that where you come from and your religion was all you needed to be a competent president.

They are crying now. We all cried yesterday on the darkest Christmas day of our short lives.

While we cried and left Christmas postponed for another year, we watched as you danced your life away like there was no tomorrow. Is it true that all you care about is the fact that you are the president so whatever can happen should happen. Last night we prayed for you. We prayed that the white men should be able to make common sense so that we can budget for it and then you will have it in abundance. As it is, it is obvious sir that you are grossly lacking in common sense.

If you weren’t, you would never come out to tell a mourning nation that it should get ready to live with the burden of destruction and insecurity. That was utterly insensitive and even the dumbest of our mates, fellow Nigerian children would never descend that low to an unprecedented level of cluelessness.

We understand this is not a sane country, if this was a sane country, your ilk will not be in a job. Your security chiefs, yourself and your cabinet would have been throwing resignation letters left right and centre. But then, here is a place where people are satisfied with just being in positions, that they are clueless about what to do in such positions does not matter.

Mr. President, Boko Haram defeated you in 2011. What plans are you making for 2012? Do you realise they have since improved while your security tactics remain stop and search? Do you realise they are far more coordinated than ever before? Have you thought of engaging more intelligence in curbing this menace instead of just mere brute? Yes, you have issues with concentrating for long, why not budget for a concentrator? That way you are conditioned to at least focus on being the president of Nigeria instead of our national chief chef? You are wondering where that came from? It came from cassava bread sir. You chose the menu for 2012 but we hope you realise that Boko Haram certainly has a menu.

Please Mr. President, they will look to attack again in the New Year, do what you have never done before, get your security chiefs to prevent that by all means. Contrary to your assertion, we are not prepared to live with the burden of bomb blasts. Get yourself to work and stop excusing your inability to deal with Boko Haram on the premise that they are a necessity. What is that? If you cannot lead and be a president, help yourself and resign. Please take your vice-president along. You are a twin set of incompetence.

This letter has been written with kind words, not because we are in the mood to be nice to you but because we are children and respect is a value we want to live with but our lack of it sometimes is a burden you must live with as long as you force us to live with your Boko Haram burden.

We wrote you a letter on subsidy yesterday but we figured it would be better to send this before you get our other letter. As long as your cluelessness reigns supreme in this country, we will always remind you of our angst and stake in this nation. It is not by force to live in Aso Rock. So if you must, do the right things, say the right things and learn to get the basic things right.

The Bomb Blasts darkened our Christmas but your response dampened our mood even further. This is not the way to lead a people. If you need help, we will nominate one of us to offer you words of wisdom for free. As it is, you look overwhelmed by the mere job of providing security for Nigeria let alone the other duties you swore to carry out for Nigeria.

Action point: Sack yourself sir, and take Arc. Namadi Sambo along. It is a good place to start.

Signed:
Association of Conscious Nigerian Children (ACNC)

http://saharareporters.com/article/angry-nigerian-children-write-jonathan-over-blasts

NSNA:
[size=20pt]I think the Nigerian government should now create a HOTLINE
where people can snitch on terrorists and get rewarded N50,000[/size]

"Hotline ko hotline ni", If the President's phone line was mes.sing up during the Presidential Media Chat, tell me if the hotline will work.
What will be the response time? What are the assurances that the person who did the tip-off will be safe afterwards, and many more.

We need to fix the mared system, and we must do that very fast.

More photos of the bombing

Just saw this on a friends wall

A neighbour of mine is unconcious and her 4 children are gone, what a day!!!

St. Therasa's Catholic Church Madalla is located on Suleja - Madalla road opposite Grail Information Centre Madalla.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/christmas-day-bomb-blast-rocks-catholic-church-suleja


A friend just confirmed the news

Being text of a speech delivered by Pastor ‘Tunde Bakare, Serving Overseer of The Latter Rain Assembly, at the church auditorium on Sunday, the 18th day of December, 2011

Fellow citizens of a potentially great country being daily dehumanised by leaders who hate us, I am here this morning in the normal course of duty, the duty of a shepherd, as stipulated in the book of Jeremiah the Prophet:

3. But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:3 & 4, NKJV)

God’s desire for His flock is fruitfulness and increase, but such flock require a different kind of ‘feed’ that will guarantee that they are not afraid, dismayed, or lacking anything. This special feed is “knowledge and understanding” as stated in Jeremiah 3:15

And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

My objective in this presentation is to confute the confusion created by a government that is hell-bent on the removal of oil subsidy without due regard for the feelings/sufferings of a people being pushed to the wall.

Let me start this presentation from a definitive standpoint and move on to other issues that will bring light and illumination to this manufactured foggy issue. To subsidise is to sell a product below cost of production. Up until this time, neither the federal government nor the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has told us the cost of producing a litre of oil in our Warri, Port Harcourt or Kaduna refineries, so the nation is not in a position to take an informed stand on whether or not oil is being subsidized.

However, according to statistics from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) and National Bureau of Statistics, getting petrol to Nigerian ports costs N117.74 per litre. And because of deliberated gross inefficiency at the Nigerian ports, an additional cost of N6.25 per litre is incurred. The petrol is usually stored at the ports. It is not transferred directly from the ships to the trucks and so the ports charge N3.00 for storage and an administrative cost of N15.00. Other costs include a bridging fund of N3.95 and then the dealers add their margin of N1.75 per litre. The transporters add their own margin of N2.70, while filling stations add a margin of N4.60. So the cost of fuel at petrol stations comes to N138.19 per litre, or approximately N140.00 per litre. And because it is sold for N65 per litre, the federal government pays the shortfall of N75.00 or thereabout on every litre of petrol. This extra N75.00 called subsidy, is what the government says will bankrupt the nation if it is not stopped forthwith.

If you have followed me so far, it will be clear to you that the federal government is not subsidising the cost of production of refined oil in our nation. What the government is subsidising is the alternative cost of importation. This shows clearly that our leaders have allowed their laziness to envelope the entire nation so that we have corporately become a lazy nation according to the biblical definition. In Proverbs 12:24, the Bible states that

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

Simply put, due to laziness and lack of diligence, our leaders cannot refine enough crude oil for our consumption.

Furthermore, in addition to its exploration activities, NNPC was given powers and operational interests by enabling legislation in refining petrochemicals, transporting products and marketing. Between 1978 and 1989, NNPC constructed refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt and took over the 35,000-barell Shell refinery established in Port Harcourt in 1965 and expanded it to become a two-tier refinery.

Today, the four refineries in Nigeria currently operate at 21% capacity providing 93,450 litres daily, while, on average, Nigerians use 294,000 litres of fuel per day which means that an additional 200,550 litres is imported to meet the domestic need. If you multiply that figure of 200,550 litres by the N75.00 absurdity called subsidy, Nigeria spends N15 million daily to pay for our leadership failure and pathological laziness.

The federal government has been dangling the carrot of what enormous savings they stand to make and then invest in infrastructural development, mass food production, education, health services and minimum wage. These half truths and easy answers are weapons of mass deception as the government cannot save the entirety of the sum being touted for the simple reason that 40% of total fuel consumption is by the government itself.

Fellow citizens of Nigeria, by removing the subsidy – if we ever allow this to take place – Nigerians will be made to pay for the ineptitude of their leaders and the kleptomania of government functionaries. Like other nations, some less endowed, we have the opportunity to set up our own refineries, refine our products, sell and export refined products, and make money. Instead of doing that, both NNPC and the government “explore sleaze, refine roguery and market sharp practices.” They cannot complain that they import at a high price. It is their idiotic choice and Nigerians should not be made scapegoats for their poor choices.

I have other reasons why Nigerians at home and abroad, young and old, must stand against the removal of this absurdity called subsidy, so that the government can be compelled to look inward and stop fleecing the poor people of this nation.

Successive governments have failed to explain why the refineries have remained incapacitated despite humongous investments over the years on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM);
At present, the four (4) refineries in Nigeria operate at 21% of their total capacity and produce 93,450 litres per day. We have not been told the cost per litre as earlier mentioned and the reason is not farfetched – the disparity between local cost of production and cost of importation will glaringly show the cost of our leaders’ negligence and incompetence. To show the lack of foresight and unpardonable haemorrhaging of our national economy, if the refineries are made to run at only 66% capacity, they would produce more than the 294,000 litres needed domestically everyday;
Nigeria under irresponsible leadership prides itself as the sixth (6th) largest producer of oil while wearing the shameful badge of being one of the highest importers of petroleum products, paying as much as N1.3 trillion to sacred fat cats that are untouchable because of compromises at the highest level of government in our nation. Whereas nations more or less endowed as we are, like Libya and Venezuela, refine their own crude oil. Venezuela does not even export a drop of crude. Why does our country continue to export crude oil to countries that then refine and sell it back to us at higher prices?
Why does NNPC leave its own storage facilities unused and proceed to incur additional costs from leasing third party storage facilities? The DPK tanks with a storage capacity of 18,000 cubic metres at the PPMC depots within the Mosimi area have not been used for three years, though they are in good condition. The cost of leasing third party facilities is passed to the government and entered as subsidy in the books. The owners of these third party facilities are not faceless people, they are part of the cartel siphoning the resources of our nation. They cannot do it without the collaboration of those in the corridors of power;
The federal government of Nigeria does not tell the whole truth each time it trumpets and blows its propaganda machinery that the present N65.00 per litre we pay for petrol is the lowest in the world. Put side by side with the cost per litre of petrol in other oil producing nations, ours is one of the highest:

Iran sells for N58.40 per litre
Kuwait: N30.66 per litre
Qatar: N32.12 per litre
Saudi Arabia: N17.52 per litre
United Arab Emirates: N54.02 per litre
Libya: N15.95 per litre

This oil subsidy saga to me is the proverbial handwriting on the wall and this government has taken the toga of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, to further concretise the suffering of our people in the midst of plenty. Rehoboam thought he could continue the profligacy of his father, but the people that were pushed to the wall kicked back because they could not comprehend why their nation had everything but the citizens paradoxically lacked everything.

A cursory look at this scandalous precedent in the Bible and the attendant consequence that ensued will show to the wise and discerning the end-product of taking the people you are meant to serve for granted.

The abundance the land of Israel experienced in the days of Solomon can be likened to the period of our oil boom when one of our military leaders exclaimed that Nigeria’s problem is not money, but how to spend it.
Let’s check the Scriptures for indicators of King Solomon’s stupendous wealth:

a. 1 Kings 10:14-29 (especially vs. 27)

[b]14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

15 besides that from the travelling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

17 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

22 For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

B. King Solomon’s daily provision – 1 Kings 4:20-28

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.

21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal,

23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him.

25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

27 And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply.

28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

C. The splendour of King Solomon’s cabinet – 2 Chronicles 9:1-8

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.

3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

6 However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard.

7 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.

Let’s compare the life of the king and his officers in the palace and government with the life of the citizens in the streets of Jerusalem where silver was as common as stones.

1 Kings 12:1-16 (especially vs. 4)

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),

3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist!

11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.”

13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him;

14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!”

15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:[/b]

“What share have we in David?

We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

To your tents, O Israel!

Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So Israel departed to their tents.

The response of King Rehoboam is not different from that of President Jonathan who recently told us that rather than lightening the burdensome service of our people, he is ready for mass revolt. And, by the grace of God, mass revolt is what he will get. What brought him to power is powerful enough to flush him out of power. The power brokers pushing him to talk tough will back off and sell out when they are face-to-face with the rage of the poor and the resentment of those excluded, deprived, and robbed. Nothing calls for the barking of a leader at the people, except he has, in the words of King Solomon, become a wicked ruler over poor people whose demeanour is likened to a roaring lion and a charging bear (Proverbs 28:15).

In closing, let me give a cautionary word to those who think they can continue afflicting the people at whose expense they maintain past and present profligacy. I am talking about those at the different tiers of government who impose unnecessary tax burdens on poor people. Those who don’t learn from history either repeat the blunders of the past or they become history themselves. King Rehoboam assumed that it was business as usual, so he sent his revenue collector Adoniram to impose punitive taxes on economically deprived people. They responded to him with stones and he died – 1 Kings 12:8 –

Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.

Let those relying on their ill-equipped, underpaid, and underfed police officers and political thugs remember the words of President J.F. Kennedy:

A society that cannot help the many who are poor, cannot save the few that are rich.

Until this government downsizes, cuts down on its profligacy, and leads by example in modesty and moderation, the poor people of this country will not subsidise the excesses of the oil sector fat cats and the immorality of the self-centred and indulgent lifestyles of those in government. No leader can survive for long in power without peace. And let no one dream of peace without justice and equity.

The words of President Dwight Eisenhower are very apt and I finally close with them:

Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.

May the soul of oil subsidy and those who desire to inflict us with further injury rest in perfect peace. Amen and Amen.

http://babatundebakare.com/site/?p=296

my own don enter voicemail o,

My oga is just not predictable, 2 years ago na Rice, Oil and 13th Month, last year na dinner for Sheraton and 13th Month, this year no dinner, no rice and worst of all no 13th month, yet business was good throughout the year.

ASUU is not only fighting for the retirement age of the lecturers. They are also fighting for increased funding of the Universities and their allowances.

Strike or no strike, these lecturers will still be paid their salaries,

"when two elephants fight, the grass suffers"

The students and their parents are at the receiving end,

Just saw this news scroll on AIT

"Breaking News: Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) commences total strike by Midnight Sunday 4th December, 2011"

ESUT Main Gate

pics