₦airaland Forum

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valar dohaeris

Valar morghulis

Bravo

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Not trying to exempt the wife and siblings was the icing on the cake.

HOW NIGERIANS PUSH US (POLITICIANS) INTO STEALING
- former commissioner speaks

Interview by Bola Adewara, editor E-life
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It was to be an interview on Christians in politics. But the interviewee, a former commissioner in a state, now a pastor, changed the topic. He said, "Bola, if Jesus or Mohammed were given political appointments or elected to any office in Nigeria, they would have to resign their appointments or Nigerians would push them into corruption.

"Politicians are not really corrupt before election or when appointed. But immediately they get there, from my experience, the expectations and demands our people place on them turn them to theives. People say we are corrupt but forget they made us corrupt because if we don't meet up with their expectations, we become bad people to them. I will tell you my experience, Bola."

"I was a lecturer in university of ... when the governor-elect invited me to be a commissioner. The very first challenge came from my wife: "Dear, immediately you are sworn in, my status much change o. You have to get me a big SUV. This Toyota Yaris is not befitting my status as a commissioner's wife. I have to change my wardrobe and change the schools of our children. I also need a personal assistant to be helping me in case all the commissioners wives are to meet or the governor call us or journalists want to speak with me."

I thought my wife was joking. I was not even sworn in yet, she has started buying things on credit for herself and the children, from a shop, telling them she would pay by month's end. By her calculation, I must have been sworn in then! That was the first salvo that jolted me that the appointment could land me in trouble!

"I noticed that immediately the news got out that I was to be made a commissioner, different people began to come to my house. Some, people I don't know, some of them I've not seen in ten years! Some would come from morning till evening, have breakfast, lunch, supper and refreshments between! There was no day between 10-30 people would not visit, some not going away. When I got back in the evening, they expect transport. Bola, I was not even sworn in as a commissioner yet, I was picking bills!

Now the very day I was sworn in was war! I was a lecturer who depended on salary. We have gone for some orientation at statehouse and governors office. The security details, PA, staff, etc came with their bukata and expectations. I had to speak to a friend to help me with about N7m to meet these demands or else people would see me as a fool. I was told we have to cook and merry, take Aso ebi, etc.

When my wife brought the list of people we would cater for and buy aso ebi for, I was like Jesus! Taking that N7m loan was inevitable. Remember, that money has to be paid back. That marks the beginning of compromising!

The first three weeks, I commenced a familiarisation tour of offices and parastatals under my ministry. That is another avenue for corruption. The civil servants are the biggest criminals. They teach politicians how to steal. The people there want to preserve themselves and gifts of all shades would start flowing in, depending on how rich the offices are. I was able to pay back the N7m in less than a month from gifts gotten from familiarisation tours, but was also getting deeper and deeper into new ones.

As a commissioner, you lose your privacy. I could not sleep in my house again because it became a kind of party office where multitudes report every day. As a commissioner, I got a new safer place at ... Still, some visitors would still penetrate. One day, some men came, they are from Oshogbo. They come to show me native protection from enemies. I should not rely on the oyinbo religion because that wouldn't save me. of course, I declined. I am a Christian. This is not a time to deny Christ. Bola, every body wants to eat. When they were going I know how much they got. People are jobless. They all come under one pretext or the other.

The family members have theirs. I am the first child, I have five siblings behind me. All of them placed their demands before me at a family meeting: each of them wants at least a two storey building, six flats and two vehicles, including one SUV. Meaning five SUVs, and five cars, and five six flats! A commissioner, Bola!

Going to my home town became a frightening venture because the Oba was expecting, his chiefs, my siblings children, in-laws, the area boys, the pastors in the town, Islamic clerics, etc. They all believe you are their meal ticket as long as you are a commissioner!

In the city where I served, I stopped going to church because my pastor placed all the demands of the church on my table. Anybody is sick, call commissioner. Anybody puts to bed, call commissioner. Any burial party, call commissioner. My pastor even told me to help them rebuild the church and bring all the commissioners and governor to donate money. You pastors are terrible, Bola. Do you know how much stolen government funds end up in Churches as donations and tithes? Everybody building camps with stolen banks and government money! Bola, I love Jesus, I don't like these pastors!

Anytime I got home, there are over 20 invitations cards on my table, all of them expecting me to make generous donations! If you don't give, you become an enemy to the people and they begin to bad mouth you.

Bola, I've not told you about the expectations and demands of my friends, my wife's friends, neighbours, you journalists so as not to get bad press, area boys who would be threatening you, staff, etc. It was a war! A friend came to me and said, Dr, you were a commissioner, I did not drink a bottle of Fanta from your commissionership. You are a disgrace!" and he left.

I am still trying to repair that friendship till date. How many people would you give money? See how Nigerians turn their leaders to theives? This is just 30% of my story when I was a commissioner in .... state between 1999 and 2003!

Nyesom Wike: Our governor has gone mad again

If the gods want to punish a people, they either invoke plagues on the land or deploy agents of slaughter as leaders. The gods are not happy with Rivers state, obviously, hence the affliction by Nyesom Wike. The state had a chance of averting this ruination in 2019, but it did not take it.

The recent brutish actions of Wike in Rivers really knock me into wondering whether the governor superintends over a parallel country. Wike has taken deeper gulps from the chalice of malice, absolutism and despotism. He is now running wild and untamed.

In April, the governor ordered the arrest of two Caverton pilots for allegedly violating the lockdown measures in the state.

After their arrest, the pilots were arraigned at a magistrate’s court and remanded in prison until May.

But Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, torpedoed this arbitrary action, saying aviation matters are strictly on the exclusive list of the federal government.

Caverton protested against the remand of its pilots, and said the federal aviation authorities granted it the permission to fly into Rivers state.

And at a press briefing organised by the presidential task force on COVID-19, Sirika corroborated the position of the logistics company, accusing the security agents who arrested the pilots on the governor’s order of “displaying ignorance”.

Wike has carried on as a law unto himself in Rivers. He is the judge, the jury and the executioner in the state. On Thursday, he made a proclamation in his accustomed cadence like an emperor of Persia – to auction cars seized during the lockdown in Rivers.

He said: “The defaulters will be tried by the Mobile Courts and I have told the Attorney General, all the impounded vehicles must be auctioned. By tomorrow, the Honourable Attorney General would have advertised those vehicles and we will auction them.’’

On Saturday, bulldozers riding on the dispatch of Wike moved into hotels, which reportedly violated the lockdown measures, mowing them down. How addled can a man be by brute power?

Really, it is depressing seeing how some Nigerians cheer the governor on in his inebriation. We have become so habituated to abuse and tyranny that we bless our violators and curse our liberators. What is happening in Rivers state violates every sense of decency, normality and rationality. It is a farrago.

As a matter of fact, it is more telling that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which releases windy and vacuous press statements now and then, accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of tyranny, does not think it fit to call its transgressing members who are governors to order.

Nigerians witnessed how Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River and a member of the PDP, harassed, hounded and incarcerated Agba Jalingo for criticising his government. They are also seeing how the administration of Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom is punishing Kufre Carter, a journalist, for criticising a commissioner in the state.

On Saturday, Mary Akpan, mother of the detained journalist, was denied access to see her son by the DSS in the state. The distressed mother said her ‘’son did not commit any crime. Even families of armed robbers are permitted to see their son in a cell and see how he is doing’’.

Painting her picture of despondence keenly, mama said she does not ‘’have money, he gives me the small money I use to eat because I retired since 2016 and the governor refused to give me my gratuity, I'm being fed by my son’’. Her son has spent more than 14 days in detention without any charge. This is not how to govern a people.

One thing is clear; the only irritation of the PDP with the Buhari administration is lack of access to power. The PDP should desist from issuing hypocritical statements and purge itself of the same vermin in the APC.

The party has no moral ground to attack the ills of another like it. The PDP must call its governors to order now.

*Fredrick Nwabufo*

Liliantalks:
Lunch

I'm salivating

Liliantalks:
Lunch

I'm salivating

the guy is good....

more..

more

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min was named one of the top five recruits in his unit as he finished three weeks of compulsory military training in South Korea on Friday.
South Korea’s marine corps posted pictures of Son wielding an M-16 assault rifle and saluting on their Facebook page as he completed his stint at a boot camp.
All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for nearly two years, making up the bulk of Seoul’s 600,000-strong forces — who face off against North Korea’s army of 1.3 million.
But Son — the top Asian goalscorer in Premier League history, and the Asian Football Confederation’s reigning international player of the year — was in the South Korean team that earned an exemption by winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
The Spurs star broke down in tears of joy after the 2-1 extra-time win over Japan, which meant he could fulfil his obligations with just three weeks’ basic training and around 500 hours of community service.
In April he reported to a marines camp on the island of Jeju for the basic training, which involved lengthy hikes, as well as tear-gas training and rifle practice. He was judged among the five best recruits out of 157 on his course, a spokesperson for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps told AFP. “Son did exceptionally well in all areas of training, including military ethics and security education,” he added. Likes poured in for the Facebook pictures, with fans posting messages of congratulation. “He indeed is world-class. I’m a die-hard Son Heung-min fan,” wrote one South Korean marine veteran. The Premier League has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus and no date has yet been set for a resumption.

now on this .

Richiez , olawalebabs, Fynestboi

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the
opening of five COVID-19 Donor Accounts in five
commercial banks in the country.
Director of Information, Office of the Accountant
General of the Federation, Henshaw Ogubike,
made this known in a statement sent to
POLITICS NIGERIA on Tuesday.
Ogubike said the banks include Access Bank,
First Bank Guarantee Trust Bank, UBA and
Zenith Bank due to an arrangement with the
federal government’s Treasury Single Account
(TSA).
He said the arrangement covers all public funds
allocated and dedicated to the fight against
COVID-19, including the Fiscal Stimulus Package
and all donations by corporate bodies and
individuals.
It also covers donations under the Private Sector
Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) Fund
domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Ogubike said all the donations into the
commercial bank accounts will be moved into
the Federal Government’s Sub-Recurrent
Account with the CBN.
He noted that sanction will be given for a failure
to move all balance within 24-hours as it will be
a violation of the Presidential policy on TSA.
“The TSA Sub-Account in commercial banks are
to be used for the purposes of receiving
COVID-19 donations only. On no account shall
any other fund of Federal Government Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDA) be deposited
into the accounts or any other account in
commercial banks. All other government
accounts are to be maintained at the CBN in line
with the Presidential directive on TSA, the TSA
Guidelines and related extant Circulars.
“And all accounts with commercial banks are to
be linked with the TSA at CBN to provide a
single consolidated view of aggregate
government cash balances. This will provide a
single window for real time access to details of
receipts and payments across all commercial
bank accounts. In the absence of a ready tool to
accomplish this requirement, the current CBN
Payment gateway may be deployed,” the
statement read.

.

(CNN) — A security guard at a Family Dollar store
in Flint, Michigan, was shot and killed after
telling a customer to wear a state-mandated
face mask, police said.
Calvin Munerlyn, 43, died at a local hospital after
he was shot in the head Friday, said Michigan
State Police Lt. David Kaiser.
The shooter and a second suspect remain at
large, Kaiser told CNN on Monday.
Witnesses at the store told police that Munerlyn
got into a verbal altercation with a woman
because she was not wearing a mask, said
Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton.
Surveillance video confirms the incident, Leyton
said.
Under an executive order from Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer, all retail employees and
customers have to wear a mask.
Footage also shows that immediately after the
altercation, the woman left in an SUV. But about
20 minutes later, the SUV returned.
Two men entered the store and one of them
yelled at Munerlyn about disrespecting his wife,
Leyton said. The other man then shot the
security guard.
“This is senseless. Over a mask. Over a mask?”
Munerlyn’s cousin, Tina James, told CNN affiliate
WJRT . “This is not the way to do things right
now. We need to come together.”
Family Dollar did not respond to a request for
comment.





https://ksltv.com/436750/security-guard-shot-killed-after-telling-customer-to-put-on-face-mask/

76-Lagos

37-Katsina

32-Jigawa

23-Kano

19-FCT

18-Borno

10-Edo

9-Bauchi

6-Adamawa

5-Oyo

5-Ogun

1-Ekiti

1-Osun

1-Benue

1-Niger

1-Zamfara

2802 confirmed cases of # COVID19 in Nigeria

Discharged: 417

Deaths: 93

Nine cases previously announced as discharged
cases were reported in error.

Therefore, there are 417 discharged cases in
total.

One case reported in Nasarawa was a repeat
test.
The state has 11 confirmed cases in total.

Coronavirus: Scientists conclude people cannot
be infected twice.



Scientists in South Korea say coronavirus
patients cannot relapse.

A number of reported cases of coronavirus
patients relapsing after overcoming the disease
were actually due to testing failures, South
Korean scientists say.

Researchers at the South Korean centre for
disease control and prevention (CDC) now say it
is impossible for the COVID-19 virus to reactivate
in human bodies.

There have been more than 10,000 confirmed
coronavirus cases in South Korea, with 245
deaths - a 2.3% fatality rate, which is lower than
the 3.4% average as stated by the World Health
Organisation.

A total of 277 patients in the country were
believed to have fallen ill for a second time, as
had patients in China and Japan.
This prompted concerns that the virus could be
mutating so quickly that people were not
necessarily immune to catching it again.

However, genetic analyses of the virus have not
found any substantial changes which would
effectively disguise it from the immune system.


https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-scientists-conclude-people-cannot-be-infected-twice-11981721

4-2-3-1
1. De gea. 2. Walker. 3. Chiwell. 4. Ndidi. 5. Van Dirk. 6. Laporte. 7. Mane. 8. Mount. 9. Kane. 10. Debruyne. 11. Sterling.

Substitutions. 1. Ederson. 2. Maguire. 3. Mendy. 4. Neves. 5. Silva. 6. Salah. 7. Aguero.

This is just for fun.
Let's name our perceived first eleven EPL football stars currently plying their trade in England.



mine is in the comments!

Donald Trump claims he has seen
evidence the novel coronavirus
originated in a Wuhan laboratory -
but has declined to give specifics.
Speaking at a White House news
conference, the US president said
China either could not stop the
spread of the virus, or let it
spread.
Mr Trump said he feels confident
the virus came from the Wuhan
Institute of Virology, adding that
US authorities were "looking at it
very, very strongly".
Medical workers take swabs in
Wuhan, China
"We're going to see where it is -
we're going to see where it comes
from," he said. "There's a lot of
theories."
"China might even tell us," he
added.
Asked by a reporter whether he
had seen "anything that gives you
a high degree of confidence" the
institute was the origin of the
virus, he responded: "Yes I have."
And asked a few minutes later
what gave him such confidence, he
said: "I can't tell you that. I'm not
allowed to tell you that."

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-trump-says-covid-19-virus-came-from-wuhan-lab-but-he-wont-reveal-evidence-11981445

jeph19:
Thanks... I'm actually looking for books on good parenting and being a good dad... Any recommendations?

this is the only one I have

xcabczyxabczzzz:
Scamming get level, you can still be scam dude.

bring it on