₦airaland Forum

She is bloody coward and a money-for-hand Yoruba 'octagenarian'. Ekitis are losers and will remain so for life. PDP hurray!

UPDATED AT 15.30 GMT

NDLEA arraigns drug baron Thursday
After several months of surveillance, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a suspected drug kingpin wanted by the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL). The suspect, Mr. Goodluck Omah, 43, a Nigerian of Rivers State origin will appear before Justice Tijani Abubakar of the Federal High Court Lagos on Thursday to press for his bail application. The suspect according to the NDLEA, is believed to have masterminded several cases of cocaine seizures packed industrially in cans made in Switzerland, France, Turkey, Belgium and Netherlands. From his Lagos residence, Omah is alleged to be coordinating the activities of drug couriers that smuggle drugs from Cameroun, Benin and Congo to Europe. Chairman/Chief Executive of the anti-drug agency Ahmadu Giade described the arrest of the suspect as a watershed in the nation's narcotic control. Giade commended the officers that handled the operation for their courage and sincerity. He also thanked the international collaborators for partnering with the agency. Omah, who is married to a Congolese woman with two children, is known in international circles as Africa man, Goodman or Chairman. He is also known as Johnson Igwenna. According to Giade, "After several months of painstaking surveillance, Omah was apprehended in his Lagos residence by NDLEA operatives . While conducting search on his house and premises, 5.5 kilogrammes of substance that tested positive for cocaine concealed in black polythene bag was found in his wardrobe." Also recovered from his house was $74,800 in cash and three posh cars

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/breaking_news/article01

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Journey To The North
By Reuben Abati

THE farthest that many Southern Nigerians have travelled in Northern Nigeria is Abuja, between the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and their destination within the city; as soon as whatever may have taken them to the Federal Capital Territory is ended, they rush back to the airport to catch the next available flight. I am just as guilty as every one else. The last time I went to Kaduna until I visited again, recently was about 20 years ago. Zaria even much earlier and then sometime in the 90s, I visited Professor Kyari Tijani's village in Borno state, outside Maiduguri, close to Lake Chad. .Jos is probably the most popular city in the North and many of us go there because it is a major centre for conferences and workshops, and like Kano and Kaduna, it has an airport. But to all intents and purposes, many Southerners particularly members of the middle class do not quite know the North that they comment upon ever so eloquently, and I guess the same can be said for the Northern middle class and its attitudes towards the South.

The civil war, age-long prejudices and in contemporary times, religious intolerance and violence are all conspiring to turn parts of the country into forbidden zones. Southerners who had lived and worked in the North are leaving in droves out of fear of religious persecution. Few parents still want their children to be posted for NYSC primary assignment in any part of the country where their lives may be in danger. Increasingly, we are nurturing a generation of Nigerians who do not know their country.

There are Nigerians who can draw the map of London, France, Dubai, Singapore, China, the Eastern Coast of the United States and parts of Canada with their mouths, but who do not know where Calabar is in Nigeria not to talk of Vom. History has become an optional course in the school curriculum and gone are those days when young Nigerian children were asked to draw the railway lines of Nigeria or a map of Nigeria's food and cash crops, and mineral resources and their respective locations. I took the opportunity recently to begin to discover Nigeria anew. Travelling in the North proved to be a great experience. Some of my prejudices were confirmed, some old biases were displaced, and I got a chance to ask new questions, and see new realities.

On one occasion, my host and guide was Ishaq Modibbo Kawu. I had accompanied him to a village called Tula, some distance off the road between Gombe and Yola, after Kaltungo. A sleepy, modest community, it contains only a few mud houses, sitting atop a hill. There is a prison there which was built in 1932. Outside the prison gate, the warders and some policemen played a game of draught. Under a tree, some prisoners were busy fixing a motorcycle. Our arrival caused some stir as the mobile police guards suddenly sprang to their feet. But they soon relaxed seeing that we meant no harm. I tried to imagine what Tula village would have looked like in 1932. Behind the Southern wall of the prison is a very deep gorge. During the treasonable felony trial involving Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the First Republic, the old sage was to have been held in this prison. Whoever suggested this was really determined to break Awo's will. But till today, Awo's name is part of the mythology of the prison in Tula. Eventually, Awo was incarcerated in Lekki and the Calabar prison, taking him to a remote prison in Northern Nigeria would have made certain things too obvious at the time.

In fact, up until a few years ago there was no road to this village and the people had no electricity. A former Military administrator of Bauchi state (when Tula was in Bauchi state, now it is in Gombe state, which was created in 1996) had told the villagers to leave the mountains and try to settle down close to the main road because he had no intention of constructing a road to a remote community. The people refused to move. Governor Muhammadu Goje, first civilian Governor of Gombe state has now constructed a road to Tula. Tula from the rather poor Gombe-Yola road, (former Vice President Atiku could not fix the road leading to his own state in eight years!) takes all of 15 minutes. It used to be a three-hour journey!

On the way from Abuja to Tula and back, I was struck afresh by the immense size of Nigeria, the beauty of the landscape and the country's bio-diversity. From Abuja we got to Nasarawa state, a state that is often overlooked partly because of its proximity to Abuja. Along the way, I saw ordinary Nigerians by the roadside going about their daily businesses. Ultimately, all Nigerians are the same. We soon arrived in Jos, the city where politics, religion and ethnicity are so delicately intermingled. It was now difficult to see the bold evidence of the violence that attended the council election in Jos North local Government, save for the burnt churches and houses that litter a section of the city. But the politics of it is still problematic, I had been in Jos twice since the last crisis, and although the people pretend that all is well, the rape of the innocence of a city once known for its cosmopolitanism is the most painful part of it all.

When a city's soul is injured, the people bear the pains. Governor Jonah Jang seems to be the target of Fulani and Muslim anger. Joshua Dariye, former Governor of the state who had been pushed out of the Peoples Democratic Party is now being welcomed back to the party. The PDP seems determined to create a strong competition for Governor Jang. But while PDP leaders are busy politicking and personalizing the situation in Jos, not much thought is being given to the challenge of lasting peace. The PDP at the centre should be more concerned about this rather than setting one politician against the other in Plateau state.

Jos to Bauchi took another two hours. By now, I was beginning to complain about the hot and dry weather, and the long distance we were traveling, made less stressful though by the continuous munching of anything that a mouth could accommodate: groundnut, suya etc, I drew much pleasure from the changing landscape as we drove into the heart of the savannah. There was one village on the Bauchi road, where the rocks are arranged in a curious formation, as if a large boulder sitting on other boulders would tip over onto the main road or onto the house below. Grazing cattle, donkeys, goats, and vast open land. Southern Nigeria is heavily urbanized, with sprawling population density. You can hardly travel in the South without coming upon settlements and people, but up North, except in the cities, the countryside spectacle is one of vast open fields with occasional small settlements by the road side. "Where are the people?", I had asked.

"The people in this part of the country", I was told "are nomads. They don't stay in one place."

I could see the cattle of course.

"The cattle you see are very important to the Fulani. I inherited cattle too."

We got to Bauchi. It looked so dirty. Some of the public buildings begged for a fresh coat of paint. The state Governor, Isa Yuguda is obviously distracted. He has recorded one big achievement which the people of Bauchi state would not forget in a while though: He married the President's daughter. And he has defected from the ANPP, the party that brought him to power, to his father-in-law's ruling PDP. Aggrieved members of the state House of Assembly went to the Government House to return the Sports Utility Vans they were given by his administration. We needed to buy fuel in Bauchi so we stopped at a fuel station where there was a long queue. Such queues are common in the North. Modibbo went and talked to the station manager and we were allowed to jump the queue.

"Here in the North, if you explain that you are traveling and you need help, people will readily oblige you. Nobody will protest that you are jumping the queue." I noted that such a practice does not quite exist in the South. In the first place, nobody would believe you if you claim that you are a traveler. Someone is likely to tell you to shut up because "we are all travelers". An army of almajiris soon showed up, wielding plastic bowls and begging for alms, as they closed in on the car.

"Don't worry, they are not violent. They just want money." Moddibo soon engaged them in a discussion. They are students of a Quranic School, they claimed. So he asked them to recite something in Arabic and if they did so successfully, he would give them a prize. They just kept giggling.

"You see, the Malams are just exploiting these young children. They are not teaching them anything." After advising them to go to school, and grow up properly he still gave them money. An elderly woman also came around insisting we must buy fura and milk. We bought her entire stock of milk, with the instruction that she should go to a mosque and distribute it. "You think she will do it?", I queried. ""She will, I spoke to her in Fulfude. I believe she will do it".

More dirt around Bauchi. I had been in Kaduna about two weeks earlier, Kaduna is a much better city, with well-tarred roads. Gombe, Abuja and Jos are also clean. From Abuja to Tula, any time we came upon the country home of any important man, my attention was drawn to this. I saw mostly modest houses. Apparently the Hausa/Fulani and other Northerners do not build mansions in their villages. Even their modest bungalows or detached houses are built either by the roadside or among the people: those mud houses with thatched roofs and no windows.

"I think the Governors of Northern states must come together and begin to advise the local people to start building their houses differently. Building a house without windows or with very tiny windows in this hot weather is precisely what is responsible for the spread of meningitis in the North"

"It will be difficult. Those houses are built that way because the average Northerner wants his privacy. Besides, the windows are small in order to keep the winds out."

"They can't keep building this type of huts in 2009. Haven't they heard of President Yar'Adua's Vision 2020?"

"Most of those big men in Abuja, they are from houses like this, so don't bother yourself."

I then said something about so much land being available and how if a Southerner were to build in many of the Northern villages, he could take a whole acre and turn it into pieces of avant-garde architecture.

I wanted to ease myself on the way to Gombe from Tula when I was told that the particular town I had chosen for this normal routine is full of snakes, and a particularly deadly snake that kills in minutes. I immediately suspended the task. We passed through Farida Waziri's husband's village, and then Kaltungo, the village that produced Helon Habila,, the award-winning writer.

Arik Air had been advertising that it would soon commence flights to Gombe. Gombe International Airport was along our route so we went there out of curiousity. Built by the Muhammadu Goje administration, it is a product of vision and leadership. In at least three other states of the federation, the Governors have turned the building of an airport into such a huge enterprise. Goje has proved that it is indeed possible for a state government to build an airport.

The Gombe airport is a simple and functional airport, even the lounges are modest. It should further open up the North East. Arik Air is to run it and make returns to government. This airline seems to be getting all the big opportunities in the aviation industry. It reciprocates by running an efficient operation, although its ticketing officers are the most discourteous I have seen. They actually treat and talk to customers as if they are doing them a favour. However, the Gombe state government should not allow Arik to exercise a monopoly right over the Gombe International Airport. Other interested airlines should be allowed to make use of the facility.

We went round Gombe: a city that is opening up and modernizing with great speed. The roads are well-tarred, and there are street lights, there is even a big Olympic-size stadium being built by the Chinese who had earlier constructed a water dam for the state on the banks of the Gombe River. I later told a friend: "You know the belief in the South is that the elite in the North do nothing for their people, that they just sit down at the end of the month to share money that is meant for development purposes."

"That is the same impression we also have in the North about Governors in the South. We think they are thieves and that they talk too much, and do too little for their people", came the retort.

It was getting late and some friends at the Gombe State University had promised to accompany us to a nightclub later in the evening. So we went to see them. What I met at the university is a very beautiful campus, probably the most beautiful state university in Nigeria today, with green parks, orchards, gardens, and look-alike buildings. It reminded me of the University of Ife of old. Established in 2005, and with a students' population of a little over 1, 000, this university holds a lot of promise. All the students live on campus and school fees per semester is only N15, 000 (!) We ran into many Ibo and Yoruba students; hopefully with time, this university will help to promote education in that part of the North,

The Punch
Friday, April 24, 2009 Printer Friendly Version

Applause, as Tinubu inaugurates building in Fajuyi's honour

By Akin Oyedele, Ado-Ekiti

Politicians and supporters of the Action Congress on Thursday used the opportunity of the inauguration of the building donated to the family of the late Governor of the old Western State, Lt. Col Adekunle Fajuyi, to pay glowing tributes to the late hero.



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They also used the opportunity of the gathering to rally support for the party's candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

The one-storey building, built by a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, specifically for Fajuyi's widow, Eunice, is tucked in a quiet corner, off Okesa Road, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

The new building, which stands out as the only modern structure within the vicinity has a hall, a duplex and a mini museum where the relics of the late Fajuyi would be kept for posterity.

Speakers at the occasion said that Fayemi represented everything that the late Fajuyi stood for, which they said was part of the reason why the Ekiti people should ensure his emergence on Saturday.

Born on June 26, 1926 in Ado-Ekiti, Fajuyi, the first military governor of the defunct Western Region, was assassinated along with the then Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, on July 29, 1966, in Ibadan during a military coup.

Encomiums were showered on Fajuyi by dignitaries that assembled for the inauguration, including former governors: Chief Adeniyi Adebayo (Ekiti); Mr. Bamidele Olumilua (old Ondo); and Chief Olusegun Osoba (Ogun).

In his speech, Tinubu eulogised Fajuyi as "a proud scion of Ado-Ekiti, a quintessential Nigerian and a study in undiluted heroism and bravery."

He said that the sole vision of the departed was to salvage the country after the first set of rulers in the First Republic torpedoed the ship of the state in a bid to impose themselves on the electorate.

Tinubu recall how the late Fajuyi suspended work on a house he was building at the point he was appointed as the military governor in order not to be accused of using public fund for the purpose.

He said that Fajuyi was wary of possible accusation that he was an impostor not in any way better than the demo politicians and their allies the military had just overthrown.

Tinubu said that the house Fajuyi never completed necessitated his gesture, which he said was a humble appreciation of people of goodwill whose lifestyle Fajuyi exemplified.

Recalling the circumstance of his death, Tinubu said that Fajuyi was hosting his boss, the Head of State, who had just concluded a meeting with traditional rulers in Ibadan when the coup planners ambushed them.

Tinubu said, "The house that was not completed necessitated this occasion - the commissioning of this building. A humble appreciation of people of goodwill to the fine gestures and examples was Adekunle Fajuyi's short life.

"For the family, especially the widow that had endured the privation of homelessness these past decades, I say congratulations ma! Truly, the brave spirit of your late husband is alive in you.

"When the soldiers staged a coup, Fajuyi had the clear choice: a cowardly life in which case he would surrender his guest to the murderous soldiers and live to mouth excuses.

"Or a heroic death in which he would plead with the soldiers to spare both host and guest, failing in which he would defend his guest with all the dire consequences.

"To the glory of Nigeria, Yorubaland and the Fajuyi family, the great son of Nigeria chose the dire option and paid the supreme sacrifice."

Also paying glowing tribute to the departed, the ex-governor of the state, Adebayo recalled how Fajuyi's life had become a subject of moral lesson to them by his own father, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd).

When he was the governor, the younger Adebayo said that he was pained that his invitation to a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to come to Ekiti for a remembrance programme for Fajuyi was treated with levity.

Despite his spirited attempt to make Obasanjo see reasons why he should come down personally to honour Fajuyi, he said that the ex-President insisted that he had more pressing matters to attend to elsewhere.

Adebayo said, "That was in 2001 when Afenifere came up with the idea of immortalising Fajuyi. We told Obasanjo that we will be honouring a distinguished Yoruba man with the programme that he should find time to come personally.

"He said he was busy that he would not come. Initially he said he was going to send the then Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), but when I reminded him about the way Fajuyi died, he changed his mind.

"Later he said he was going to send a minister. At the end of the day, he sent a Muslim, who refused to remove his cap inside the church when the officiating minister directed so.

"That is the type of person Obasanjo sent to honour the number one hero of Yoruba. That tells you the type of Yoruba leaders we have."

Osoba said, "I'm greatly impressed and happy that we have a Fajuyi today. A true Yoruba leader; not a bastard Yoruba that will impugn on our character and sell us to the Hausa and Igbo."

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/apr/24/403.html

Dey dey push una, una still dey wax strong, dey multiply everywhere. Who God don bless, no nama can unbless jare. Carry go!

Ibo kweeenu!

Fishout those behind crises in the North, Northern Muslims in South-South/South East urge FG
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

In a display of patriotism never seen before in this country, Northern Nigerians living in the South-South and South East geopolitical zones came together previous Saturday to discuss the rampant crises that have always taken the lives of millions of Nigerians, calling on the Federal Government to fish out those behind the recent crises in Jos and Bauchi and punish them severely so as to serve as a deterrent to others.


Yar’Adua
Photo: Sun News Publishing


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The event which was attended by the various Hausa Communities in both geopolitical zones, attracted the who is who among the Hausa Communities in the two zones. Meeting under the aegis of Northern Traditional Council (NTC) South-South and South East Zones, the groups represented by their Sarkis resolved to tell their brethren that enough is enough of the crises in that part of the country.

From Rivers State came the Chairman South-South/South East NTC and Seriki Hausawa Rivers State, Alhaji Isa Madaki (JP), and from Abia State, came the Vice Chairman of the NTC and Seriki Hausawa , Abia State, Seriki Alhaji Yaro Danladi, there was also the Seriki Hausawa Sapele, Seriki amongst so many others including the host, leader of the Hausa Community , Asaba One significant thing about it is that the youths were not left out and also presented their own speech in which they called for peace from their brothers . The event was a peculiar one . The people talked to the people in the language they could understand. And that was it as they retired to the Mosque after their deliberations.

They condemned in very strong terms the recent religious crises in the Northern part of the country and called on their brethren in the Northern part of the country to have a change of attitude and desist from fomenting trouble. They also called on them to emulate the peaceful way of life of their hosts in the South South/South East zones of the country .

The Northern Muslims under the aegis of South South-South East Northern Traditional Council alongside Arewa Community in South East and South-South at a meeting yesterday in Asaba, Delta State capital while condemning the recent crises in Jos and Bauchi , all in the Northern part of the country, called on the Federal Government to fish out those behind the crises in the Northern part of the country.

“We , members of Northern Traditional Council of South-South and South East ared delighted to meet to in order to express our concern over the religious crisis that happened in the Northern part of the country in the recent time. We condemn such act, we are calling on our Northern brothers and sisters in the North to live peacefully and united with other non Northerners that are living in the North to move this country forward.”

In a speech by the group signed by the Sarki Hausawa Community in Onitsha , and Secreatary, South-South and South East Northern Traditional Council, lhaji Ilyasu Yushau , it said , we are not happy to hear that are crises in the Northern part of this country, We the Northern community in South-South , South East are living peacefully with the indigenes here .

According to the group, due to the crises that happened in the North, the Northern community business activities in the South-South and South East have been seriouisly affected , they therefore appealed that such crisis would not happen again in the future . called by such crises .

In their own separate speech ,members of the Arewa Community in South East and South-South in their Supportive speech, also condemned the recent crises in Plateau and Bauchi States . “We condemn it in all ramifications , be it religious or political, we totally condemn it . Nigeria is our home, Nigeria is our country. We have no other country than Nigeria . God created us the way we are . We must live in peace and respect one another .

We believe that no religion preaches violence and we also believe that no political party preaches violence . We call on those fomenting trouble to desist from it in whatever form. In a speech by the group read and signed by the Youth leader, Arewa Community, South-South/South East , Alhaji Auwalu Tukur, it said we the members of the Arewa Community are at peace with our host communities . We also call on others to emulate and live in peace with one another . We say no to violence, no to crisis , no to wanton destruction of properties and loss of lives . We want peace and progress . Let’s move our great country forward. Nigeria is greater than any individual interest.”

Speaking to Daily Sun , the Sarki Hausawa Community in Abia State, and Vice Chairman Northern Traditional Council, South-South / South East zones, Sarki Alhaji Yaro Danladi who said he has lived for about 42 years in Umuahia , Abia State where he was born and even got married to an Igbo lady, stressed the need for peace and called on all and sundry to give peace a chance .”We in Abia State , are living in peace and we are very grateful to the State government , the security agencies, traditional rulers and all citizens of the State who have always helped us in times of crises in the North, making sure that we live harmoniously here.

He therefore called on the Abia State government and other States throughout the country to continue what they are doing to make sure that peace reigns in the country.

The various groups while expressing gratitude to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua , all the State governors including members of the National Assembly, and the Sultan of Sokoto , Alhaji Said Abubakar 111 and all the Northern leaders, appealed to the Federal Government to try all it can to fish out those behind the crises in the Northern part of the country.


http://odili.net/news/source/2009/apr/14/501.html

Listen carefully to the girls fighting in the chicken shop brawl: they are no doubt Yoruba

The accent of the man, Usman, whose wife pokes las though he was a slowpoke, sounds Yoruba too

Ijawman:
Because they are smarter than you and your tribe. Just like the jews are smarter than arabs

bilymuse:
Ijawman wroteIts not about smartness, A sizeable number of them they are deceitful , dishonest and criminal. If the Nigeria state were to be funtioning properly, lots of them will be in prison.

So if they are put in prison, where will you put the over 75% of Yoruba leaders who have been shown to be thieves and looters in? Prison times3? Not to talk of the northern leaders who brought corruption into the Nigerian society?

Did anyone listen to the accent of the fighting babes as well as that of the man who was bursted by his wife? Both sound clearly Yoruba. Those people?

Photo taken last week at the PDP NEC meeting.

must_a_far:
The effects of zamfara governors looting instead of performing is felt elsewhere because people would move out of zamfara to other states where things are a bit better thereby helping stretch that states resources past its limits and making it seem like said state isnt doing anything.

Good counter logic. However, some states (Lagos and Abia) have had to move beggars (who may have moved to those places due to the corruption of their leaders which brought about increased poverty) back to their states, mainly northern states. My point is that states can handle their criminals, while we all meet at the national level and tackle the scourge there.

See Yoruba almajiri here

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-149827.0.html

There is a gamut of almajiris in Yorubaland too. I think the east and niger delta fair far much better.

Those are billymuse's brothers. He is an almajiri too.

Ndubuisi Kanu
Emeka Anyaoku
Okonjo Iweala
Gani
Soyinka
Chinua Achebe
Ekwueme
Akunyili

Somebody should put their fotos here.

NOWORRIES:
QUOTE FROM IJAWMAN
However, I think we should focus on the national looters and leave state governors alone. The national looters are those whose activities actually affect all Nigerians, while state govs are limited to their states


WHAT PLANET ARE FROM

HOW ON EARTH CAN YOUR SEPERATE STATE LOOTERS FROM NATIONAL LOOTERS
. A STATE IS MADE UP OF NIGERIAS MUPPET

The effect of corruption by Zamfara state governor is far fetched, or even outrightly inconsequential, to a man in Ekiti. In contrast, the looting of our treasury by the minister of aviation (national) affects all Nigerians, since everyone uses the airport. Get my logic, slowpoke.

Sky-walker:
So what happens to the tribe or tribes with no corrupt political leaders ?

They also win. We then have to rank them. First, second, third, etc.

That is underestimated. Should be something like 85%

Sky-walker:
Na wa ooo. Cant believe that just came out from a Nigerian

Why? I am happy that only one Ijaw is corrupt, so far. That's no mean feat in a country like Nigeria

bilymuse:
Igbo traders seems to have this dubious and mysterious behaviours. When you let out a shop to the first Igbo trader in a market, one after another Igbo traders start taking over other shops, over time they would drive all other tribal groups leaving igbo traders the dominant force in the market. This strange pattern had been repeated all over the country. From the Atlantic shore in Lagos to the Sahara in Kano, the Igbo mafia hold sway.

Why?

Are the Igbos the only people who knows how to trade?

Because they are smarter than you and your tribe. Just like the jews are smarter than arabs

tpia:
Yaradua has straight hair?

He permed it with kunu oil

must_a_far:
and the tribalist in you just had to put in ur unwanted half a cent. no wonder Nigeria's fight against all its cancers is harder than budgeted.

When I say the truth you call me a tribalist. So what will you call me if I were lying?

It looks like the red cap chief (I forgot his name now) is the real president, while the real president looks like a haggard servant.

Why is this man hanging on to power when clearly he looks ghostly? Does he want to die in power like Abacha?

Yoruba people na real ogbonge oles. Of all the faces of the bad eggs, more than 60% are Yoruba. Only one Ijaw. So we win.

However, I think we should focus on the national looters and leave state governors alone. The national looters are those whose activities actually affect all Nigerians, while state govs are limited to their states

VASWANI BROTHERS: EFCC summons ex-Customs boss - Yar’Adua to receive report on Indian businessmen today - Commission may confiscate their properties to offset N3bn duties
Lanre Adewole, Abuja
Monday, March 30, 2009
FORMER Comptroller-General of Customs, Buba Gyang, has been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over the Vaswani brothers case. The Vaswani brothers were accused by the EFCC of defrauding the Federal Government to the tune of N3billion


Two comptrollers of customs, Hanatu Suleiman and Johnson Olufemi-Taylor were arrested last week over alleged complicity in a N3 billion customs duties scam, involving the Vaswani brothers. A source in the commission told the Nigerian Tribune that the Vaswani brothers had duty waivers from the Federal Government till October 2008. But the rice they imported in November last year was also given the waiver.



The source said the two comptrollers of customs that were arrested told the commission that the waiver was given on the orders of Gyang.



Gyang is expected to explain why the waiver was given to the Vaswani brothers after the one given them by the Federal Government expired in October.



Suleiman and Taylor were arrested in Lagos last week and were moved to Abuja where they are being detained and interrogated.



Suleiman and Olufemi — Taylor are in charge of the Apapa Wharf. Commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi confirmed the arrests.

Sources close to the commission revealed to the Nigerian Tribune that a report on the activities of the Vaswani brothers will be presented to President Umaru Yar’Adua today.



It was gathered that the EFCC is considering confiscating the properties of the Vaswani brothers to offset the N3 billion custom duties.



The EFCC, it was learnt, has already obtained a court order to arrest and detain the Vaswanis throughout the month of April.



Commission’s chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, while declaring the Vaswani brothers wanted last week, vowed that all those connected with the alleged fraud would be dealt with.



She fingered top customs officers in the matter, while revealing that about five persons had been arrested.



The arrest of the comptrollers, according to a source, was the commencement of what could turn out to be a full blown probe of the agency.



Farida had accused the Vaswani brothers of defrauding the Nigerian government to the tune of N3 billion, adding that public officers, particularly custom officers, who aided them in perpetrating the alleged economic sabotage, would face the music.



According to her, “the actual brothers are based in Europe. They are two. They are out to destroy the economy of this country. They believe they can have their way because it is believed that Nigeria is a corrupt country.



“Whosoever is involved would be dealt with decisively. The Vaswani brothers are wanted by the commission. We have about five others in custody in connection with this. We got to know through intelligence gathering.”



She added that “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is investigating Stallion Group of Companies and the Vaswani brothers, who are the owners of the company. The Vaswani brothers have been engaging in activities that are inimical to the economy.



“Recently, they defrauded the Federal Government of Nigeria of the sum of N3 billion through their business outfits. The fraud was through underpayment of customs duties while importing rice into the country.


The company, the Stallion Group, has been doing business in Nigeria and the scope of their business involved commodities and sales of automobiles. In 2003 the commission investigated the company and this led to the deportation of the Vaswani brothers by the Federal Government.



“However, their companies were allowed to carry on business in Nigeria. In 2007, they were allowed back into Nigeria after several appeals. However, recent investigations show clearly that they have continuously and consistently perfected the art of underpayment of custom duties due to the Federal Government.”

Two Nigerian Men Indicted in Houston Texas

A US federal grand jury indicted Ibraheem Adegoke Buraimoh, a citizen of
Nigeria, and Ibraheem Adeneye, a naturalized U.S. Citizen and Houston
resident, for conspiring to commit marriage fraud, according to a U.S.
Attorney's Office release. The prosecution of these two men began with the
filing of a criminal complaint that alleged that agents of the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement began an investigation earlier this year into the
possibility that an alien was attempting to arrange a fraudulent marriage
with an American citizen in order to obtain a favorable change of
immigration status from Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adeneye, a
naturalized U.S. Citizen originally from Nigeria, allegedly acted as a
broker to arrange a fraudulent marriage between Buraimoh and an undercover
ICE agent posing as a U.S. Citizen willing to enter into the fraudulent
marriage with Buraimoh.



In January, meetings were held with and phone calls were made by the agent
with Adeneye and Buraimoh, during which the arrangement of the fraudulent
marriage allegedly was discussed, including a total of $3,500 to be paid in
installments to the agent (“wife”) for her role in the conspiracy and to
Adeneye for arranging the marriage. In addition, the process for obtaining a
change in immigration status as a result of the “marriage” allegedly was
discussed. On Feb. 2, according to the complaint, after ICE took steps to
notify the Harris County Clerk's Office of the impending fraudulent marriage
the agent and Buraimoh were married in a state court in downtown Houston by
a judge. Thereafter, Buraimoh allegedly made a partial payment to the agent
for going through with the marriage. Both men were arrested Feb. 17. If
convicted of conspiring to commit marriage fraud, Adeneye and Buraimoh face
a maximum of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Buraimoh has been
ordered held in federal custody without bond pending trial. Adeneye has been
ordered released on bond.

No Yoruba can rule Nigeria in the foreseeable future. They have had their turn. The North has till 2015 after which it omes to the South South or the Ibos . Any thing short of that is calling for war and division. This time, the south south will not betray the Ibos again. Obasanjo ruled for 8 year and wrought nothing but corruption and hypocrisy.

Any census which says Kano is more populated than Lagos is already a farce. Any census which does not show how many Ijaw, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Edo, Tiv, etc, there are in Nigeria is a farce. Therefore, the last census was a complete farce.