₦airaland Forum

The federal govt yesterday in Abuja declared next Tuesday and Wednesday as public holidays in commemoration of Eid-el-Fitri by the Islamic faithful. In a statement by the minister of interior, Mr. Abba Moro, the govt urged Muslims across the country to pray for ending peace and progress of the nation.

Genevieve u no go kill person.

What do u need it for?

Am called Eba.

I won't be surprised if it is later discovered that this man did not commit suicide. This type of suicide would have better with pistol rather than AK 47. Well, it is well

R.I.P Corporal Emmanuel Nduka.

Nigeria yesterday promised the Libyan rebels and the people of the country of her assistance, saying she would do everything possible to ensure an orderly transition to democratic rule and enforcement of rule of law in the North African country.


Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, who revealed Nigeria’s position at a press conference, said the unfolding scenario in Libya would be tabled at the African Union (AU) meeting by the country over the weekend to chart a roadmap for Libya.


“Nigeria stands ready to work with the democratic forces in Libya in this transition process,” Ashiru added.
The same angle was towed by France which promised yesterday to host a conference of countries interested in Libya next week to fashion out a roadmap for the Northern African country.


“The consistent position of Nigeria has been that we support the people of Libya and regret the suffering they have gone through” Ashiru said urging the rebels whom he described as “new leaders” to ensure magnanimity in victory, respect for human rights, peaceful and orderly transition.


According to him, the message of the rebels is very clear that they need democracy and a constitution has to be adopted to make good governance possible.


The gale of victory waxed even stronger yesterday as rebel fighters consolidated their hold on Tripoli, the Libyan capital, with the capture of the third son of Col Muammar Gaddafi, Saadi. Two of the sons had been captured earlier on Sunday night, although unconfirmed reports said one of the sons, Muhammad, escaped from house arrest.
This comes as the rebel leader and head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdul Jalil, has been notified by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of its intention to have one of the sons, Al Saif Islam, brought to The Hague for trial on crimes against humanity.


But the whereabouts of Gaddafi remained unknown last night, although sources said he might be hiding within Tripoli.
Also strategically, the rebels have seized the Tripoli TV Channel, thus shutting up the propaganda machine of the routed Gaddafi regime. More strategic locations had been secured by the rebels as at last night.


However, rebel commanders said they had taken control of about 80 per cent of the capital.
Some sources said Gaddafi was still in Tripoli, while others speculate he had escaped to neighbouring Algeria or travelled to any other African country. At Gaddafi’s residence, snipers and soldiers loyal to him kept the rebels at bay by consistent gun fight by firing from rooftops.


An increasingly desperate Gaddafi took to the airwaves, telling his supporters: “I am in Tripoli. Go out. I am with you until the end.”
But the audio broadcast was not accompanied by pictures, fuelling speculation that he had already fled the capital and was attempting to seek exile in a sympathetic country.
American President Barrack Obama has declared that the end of the Gaddafi regime has come to an inglorious end, urging him to peacefully surrender.


In the same vein, British Prime Minister David Cameron commended the courage of Libyans in tackling their issues. He noted that: “His regime is falling apart and in full retreat. Gaddafi must stop fighting, without conditions – and clearly show that he has given up any claim to control Libya.


“As for his future, that should be a decision for Chairman Jalil and the new Libyan authorities. The situation in Tripoli is clearly very fluid today and there can be no complacency.


“Our task now is to do all we can to support the will of the Libyan people, which is for an effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive Libya.”



President Obama said the situation in Libya was still fluid even though the regime of Gaddafi’s “rule is over”.
Russia and China also issued statements saying they were willing to accept what the Libyan people decided, and hinted that Gaddafi should step down. In the same vein, neighbouring Egypt has recognised the NTC as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.


British Prime Minister Cameron, who along with US and France played a central role in the air campaign over Libya, said some of the fighting in Tripoli was “extremely fierce.” He said Gaddafi “must stop fighting without conditions” and relinquish all claims to power.


Mahmud Nacua, a Libyan rebel representative in London, told reporters that the insurgents would “look under every stone” for Gaddafiso that he could be brought to trial, presumably a reference to charges by the ICC in The Hague, which issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, one of his sons, al-Islam, and his intelligence chief in June, accusing them of crimes against humanity.


United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he was trying to organise a meeting by Thursday or Friday with regional actors, including the AU and the Arab League, to help smooth the transition to a new government.


He said the UN was prepared to help with any request from the Libyans, ranging from writing a new constitution to coordinating humanitarian assistance.


General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also made a phone call yesterday to Chairman Jalil and congratulated him for the victory the council had achieved.


Mohammed praised the wisdom shown by Jalil when dealing with various developments in the Libyan front. He reiterated the UAE’s help and support to Libya and its people to achieve their hopes and aspirations.


He said: “We have already deployed medical supplies close to where they are needed, and have now released them to the World Health Organisation. “In the coming days, it will be important to make sure the communications networks, the electricity, the power supplies, fuel and water are maintained or repaired where they need to be.
“The National Transitional Council has been planning for this for months and we have been helping with that work.


“Diplomatically, we have a strong mission already in Benghazi consisting of Foreign Office, military and aid specialists, and we will establish a British diplomatic presence in Tripoli as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.


“This will include stabilisation experts who have been planning for this moment with the NTC for months.
“At the UN, we will also be taking early action in the Security Council to give the new Libyan authorities the legal, diplomatic, political and financial support they need.


“We will soon be able to release the frozen assets that belong to the Libyan people. The Foreign Secretary is returning and, with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and the Development Secretary will coordinate our efforts with the NTC in the week ahead.”

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-offers-backing-to-libyan-rebels/96929/

A police officer reportedly committed suicide right inside the station, in Lagos last weekend.
Police officers at Adeniji Adele Division and the Federal Special Anti- Robbery Squad (FSARS), Adeniji Adele Annex Headquarters, Lagos, were shocked when Corporal Emmanuel Nduka (force number 394199), attached to the Division, shot himself.

Emma, as he was fondly called, was said to have killed himself with a gun assigned to him. The deceased was found lying in the pool of his own blood while the AK 47 rifle he used laid beside him.
People, who wanted to catch a glimpse of the deceased, besieged the police station and FSARS office.
One of his colleagues (name withheld) claimed that the deceased was behaving very funny, as he was very restless shortly before he killed himself.

The source claimed that he asked what the problem was from him and he disclosed that he had a financial problem.
“Emma was behaving very funny on the fateful day and I inquired what the problem was, he said nothing at first. I persuaded him to reveal the secret he disclosed that he had a financial problem. He was shaking his head continually and biting his fingers until I heard the sound of gunshot,” he alleged.
Another of his colleagues, who pleaded anonymity, condemned his action, alleging that the victim probably had a family problem at home.
The policemen attached to the Division had moved the body to Isolo General Hospital morgue while investigations into the case were ongoing.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police could not be reached on phone to confirm the story.
In another development, the police authority had demobbed 1, 000 Mobile Force Policemen (MPF) attached to MOPOL 20 and 22 Squadrons.

MOPOL 20 had about eight units demobbed. Each unit contains 63 men. Two units each were deployed to Ekiti, Kogi, Eket and Aba. Over 450 were demobbed from MOPOL 22
The authority, according to investigation, was obeying the directives of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, who ordered that only 650 policemen should remain in each squadron in the country.
Meanwhile, the police had also introduced more Inspectorate ranks. Now there would be inspector on probation to hang only one bar, after which the officer would be elevated to confirmed inspector and would hang one bar and one miniature.

The next rank is senior inspector, which will be identified with two bars while principal inspector will have two bars and one miniature. assistant chief inspector will hang three bars while deputy chief inspector will hang three bars and one miniature, while chief inspector will hang four bars.
A police source disclosed that those that would be mostly affected by the ranking system were the senior inspectors who failed their examinations to the rank of assistant superintendent of police (ASP).
A police source in Abuja disclosed if such an officer fails his examination, he would only be promoted to a senior inspector instead of ASP.
Daily Sun also learnt that such an officer would be given the second chance and if he could not pass the examination, he would pass through the ranks until he succeeds to become a chief inspector.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/aug/24/national-24-08-2011-005.html

Arsenal have agreed to sell French midfielder Samir Nasri to their Premier League rivals Manchester City, the London club said on Tuesday.

Nasri has been omitted from the Arsenal squad travelling to Italy for Wednesday's Champions league playoff second leg against Udinese.

"Arsenal can confirm that they have agreed terms for Samir Nasri to move to Manchester City," Arsenal said in a statement on their website, adding that Nasri was on his way to Manchester for a medical on Tuesday afternoon.

Nasri is set to become the second key Arsenal player to leave the club this month after Barcelona signed captain Cesc Fabregas for a reported fee of around 40 million euros.

City had already laid out around 50 million pounds in this month's transfer window on Argentina forward Sergio Aguero, French left-back Gael Clichy -- also bought from Arsenal -- and Montenegro defender Stefan Savic.

Since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in August 2008, City have spent an unprecedented amount for British football on buying top players.

In 2009, they bought Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Emmanuel Adebayor. During the August 2010 transfer window their outlay was around 130 million on players such as Yaya Toure, David Silva and Mario Balotelli.

Under Roberto Mancini, who took over as manager in late 2009, City finished third in the Premier League last season, one place above Arsenal. City also won the FA Cup, their first major trophy in 35 years.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is under increasing pressure from fans to buy a big-name player to replace Fabregas and Nasri, and to end the club's six-year trophy drought.

Arsenal lead Udinese 1-0 after the first leg of their Champions League playoff. City qualified directly for the group stages of the competition.

I'm on my way.

Make the man no settle all the issues wey dey I'm country first. Rubbish

The end is so near.

Reno Omigho Omokri A.K.A beaf, na here u dey?

I think GEJ shoe is oversized

They shd share his body parts to each family in that country

Rubbish

Commander n chief

What else do u expect from our puppet C-In-C

One thing is sure, those babies have fathers.

Hmmmmn

0000dert1111

I am compelled to agree that the man is better than most of our leaders

Thank God for the man o.

VUVUZELA10:
Is blackberry status symbol? What will you say of Nokia E7 communicator? Blackberry sets are for the boys and girls. The real men and women use telephone set one will comfortably called machine. Please, please BB has no status to symbolise.

BB dominate nigeria market for now. I even heard is the best selling commodity in Nigeria market now, but i feel the end is near.

Abagworo:
I think NJC is the bad guy here.Even God himelf is against Katsina Alu.Let us watch and see because God really exists.

Even if NJC is the bad guy, why shd our president be a puppet?

GEJ the clown. If Nollywood decide to write a movie on GEJ, it will not sell cos his life and actions are not interesting at all. Its a pity

[quote author=tpia@ link=topic=741347.msg8977523#msg8977523 date=1313991047]the fact is i doubt you can dislodge a ruler who's been there for 40+ years, without it getting bloody.

always easier if there's been a revolving door ie "democracy" all along.

imagine a leader in nigeria being forcibly removed after 40 years of holding on to power.

na bloodbath be that, on an unprecedented level.

the country will split into thousands of little pieces.[/quote]We shall see.

A one-time deputy director with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Osuji Jean-Charles, was reportedly sighted on Wednesday at the Minna Hiltop mansion of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, where he had gone to felicitate with the former head of state on his 70th birthday.

Mr Osuji arrived at the mansion in the company of some friends, visibly troubled. Four days earlier, Mr Osuji admitted collecting bribe sums before a senate ad hoc committee investigating the privatisation and commercialisation activities of the BPE, where he was until May 22, 2001, the deputy director in charge of advisory services. He was the first man in our country's history to appear willingly before a parliamentary committee to confess that he took huge bribes while carrying out his official duties. He is also, perhaps, the first man ever to press for reinstatement to his old job after admitting that he was fired for corruption.

Mr Osuji was dismissed from the Bureau of Public Enterprise in June 2001 on the advice of the National Council on Privatisation, (NCP), for collecting bribe from Mike Adenuga.

"The money had to do with National Oil, now Conoil," Mr Osuji confessed before the senate investigative committee. "The percentage of National Oil being sold then was for ₦7.4 billion. Dr Adenuga came to me and said if he paid N7.4 billion, he was going to give us five percent. He also said that if he bought Unipetrol, which was going then at N3.4 billion, he was going to give us 10 percent."

According to an NCP panel reports obtained by NEXT, the bribe Mr Osuji admitted taking was not his first. The genesis of Mr Osuji's dismissal, according to the reports, lies in an earlier allegation of bribery at the initiation of the bid for National Oil.

In that case, Mr Osuij was accused of soliciting and accepting $5,000 from First Atlantic Limited, to influence his advisory services on the evaluation of their Expression of Interest in National Oil and Chemical Company (NOLCHEM).

A history of bribe taking

"An officer of First Atlantic named Mr Charles Osuji as the person he gave the money," a November 2003 memo authored by Abdulrazaq Oniyangi, the organisation's general counsel at the time, said. "The vice president, chairman of the National Council on Privatisation wanted Mr Osuji fired but because there was no proof and the allegation was unsubstantiated, the DG made a case against terminating his appointment to avoid sacking staff indiscriminately."

Mr Osuji also denied the allegation and no charges were pressed.

In the bid for National Oil, Mr Adenuga offered the highest price for the National Oil and Chemical Company (NOLCHEM) and the BPE under Nasir El-Rufai's leadership recommended his as the winning bid.

Shortly after the privatisation, Mr. Osuji received more money - in bank draft - as gratification from Mr Adenuga. According to Mr Oniyangi's memo, Mr Osuji attempted to present the money to Mr El-Rufai as an appreciation from Mr Adenuga for emerging winner of the National Oil bid.

"Mr Osuji was warned and instructed to return the money to Mr Adenuga," Mr. Oniyangi said in his memo.

Mr Osuji was asked to return the money which he said was held on call in a Zenith Bank account but he could not show proof that the money was returned one month later. He was subsequently sacked.

While admitting taking the bribe, Mr Osuji told the senate he had committed the crime on behalf of his then boss, Mr El-Rufai. He added that he failed to transmit the bribe sums to his boss and that led to his sack.

"I did not give the bribe to El-Rufai because Adenuga was paying small small," he confessed pleading that the senate intervene to return him to the bureau.

Mr El-Rufai, however, quickly denied his claims through a media statement by his media consultant, Muyiwa Adekeye.

"Osuji came to inform El-Rufai that he had been asked by Adenuga to give him N25 million and $100,000 as ‘a gift' in gratitude for selling NOLCHEM to him," Mr Adekeye said. "He rejected the bribe and ensured Osuji was punished for collecting it. That was the proper thing to do, and it was done."

Besides collecting bribes, Mr Osuji has also lied to the National Assembly in the past. In 2003, two years after his dismissal, he petitioned the House of Representatives Public Petition Committee protesting his "unjust dismissal" from the BPE.

In the petition, he claimed he had no connection with Mr Adenuga and that he also had no involvement in the transaction that led to the sale of National Oil.

"My only involvement was that I introduced Mr Adenuga to Mr El-Rufai in the BPE," Mr Osuji told the House of Reps Committee, under oath in 2003.

Weak anti-corruption system

Mr Osuji's admittance of bribery exposes the weakness of the Nigerian anti-corruption system. According to Mr El-Rufai, after Mr Osuji was dismissed, the late Bola Ige, then Attorney General, and Joseph Sanusi, then Governor of the Central Bank, made the case for his prosecution under the ICPC Act but the case was abandoned.

"The file must still be in the Federal Ministry of Justice," he said.

In 2010, Transparency International rated Nigeria 134th on the global corruption index, with a corruption index of 2.4, alongside countries like Zimbabwe and Honduras. Nigeria was rated only a point ahead of Pakistan and two ahead of Haiti.

Since admitting the crime, none of the nation's anti-corruption agencies or the police have made any move to charge him for the crime.

Officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission said their hands were tied by the Act establishing the commission.

Folu Olamiti, spokesperson of the commission said that they could only move to prosecute Mr Osuji if someone petitioned him before the chairman of the commission.

"We are waiting for the senate committee to finish their investigation and publish their report," Mr. Olamiti said. "We can't pick someone who is answering questions at the senate."

"Moreover, Our Act says we can only act if someone petitions us," he added.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is also waiting on the report of the senate committee before launching any proceedings.

"There is a senate ad hoc committee working on it now," Femi Baba Femi, EFCC spokesperson said. "We cannot just jump into it just because we heard something someone said."

Similar probes in the senate, however, ended in dead ends.

Official corruption

In addition to Mr Osuiji's conduct at the BPE, there are other several revelations of bribery and corruption. In the bid for National Oil only, both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, also lobbied the then DG in an attempt to influence the bidding process.

Mr El-Rufai admitted that as the bids were being evaluated, Mr Obasanjo informed him that Shell's management had come to him complaining that the BPE had frustrated their bid for NOLCHEM.

"Thabo Mbeki, then South African President, had also called Obasanjo to press Engen's case," Mr. El-Rufai said. "As the bid process unfolded, Vice President Abubakar Atiku also told me that a former president and a notable traditional ruler had asked him to intervene for Mike Adenuga's Consolidated Oil."

Promoting African traditional religion, culture and heritage was the focus at the 2011 congress of registered traditionalist groups and associations in Lagos held on Thursday, August 11, at the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, Ikeja.

Assistant director of the council, Segun Sotunde, disclosed that the aim of the event is to encourage people’s involvement in promoting and reviving “our cultural heritage.” He explained that the annual meeting was an “interactive session where people could bare their minds on cultural programmes, activities, and initiatives.”

He added that, “traditional religious worshippers, those who have faith in traditional religion, stakeholders generally, those interested in the promotion of arts and culture, are the people expected to be part of this programme.”

Groomed with herbs

Echoing Sotunde, director of the Art council, Shina Elegbede, noted that the event was an opportunity to promote traditional religion and discuss issues related to it.

“We are gathered here this morning to show that we do not have only Christians and Muslims in this country, but to show that people who practise the religion of our forefathers still exist and are many.”

Elegbede underscored the importance of traditional medicine by noting that people were groomed with ‘ewe’ (herbs) and ‘agbo’ (infusions) before the advent of modern medicine.

Traditional medicine, he insisted, was passed down by our forefathers who found it helpful. The director also tried to clear the air on the confusion between ‘onisegun’ (traditional healer) and ‘babalawo. A traditional ruler is a specialist in healing people with herbs, while the ‘babalawo’ does much more than that.

“When you say babalawo, when you have a problem and you want to consult people who are at the realms. They consult Ifa oracle and tell you what the problem is, the type of ritual to put together and use for sacrifice. On the other hand, traditional healers treat you if you have malaria, typhoid and small pox. At times, these people know what to do before the crisis of smallpox and chickenpox enters the community, they consult Ifa and do the rituals.”

One God

Elegbede also decried the tendency of some to disparage traditional medicine. He said traditionalists deserve respect, like people of other religions. “We must all join hands together to move this country forward. As they pray in the church, they also pray in the mosque, babalawo too does his own thing because, ask anybody, they will tell you that there is only one God.”

Bunmi Omoseyindemi, chair, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board and guest lecturer at the event, examined the relationship between religion and traditional medicine.

“There is cultural confusion that has been brought upon our people and our people are mixing the two together,” noted Omoseyindemi.

“They are interwoven but essentially the one people are pushing is traditional religion, finding a way to make sure that we utilise our traditional medicine, generally for the betterment of our people. We have to tell the people that they should not be culturally confused, they must accept what their forefathers have been doing.”

Omoseyindemi lamented the relegation of culture and tradition to the background in Nigerian society.

“You see the Chinese practising their culture, other people from other parts of the world are proud of their culture. Indians are proud of their culture, the Germans are also proud of their culture, the British are proud of their culture but because we have been colonised and have inferiority complex, we start ignoring what we have and we are trying to tell others that our forefathers did not know what they were doing,”

Reiterating the importance of culture, Omoseyindemi advised that people should learn to appreciate their cultural heritage. “We should be able to accept our culture. Anybody without a culture and history is a dead person.”

The medical doctor and traditionalist suggested that a perfect way to imbibe Nigerian culture is to “look into the past” and learn the practices of our forefathers.