^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ This is the Video confession that shows Al-Mustapha [Abacha's goon] ordered the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on June 5 1996 by Sergeant Barnabas Jabilla Mshellia aka "Sergeant Rogers" [who is an indigene of Borno State].
fegflu: "I worked in the strike force from 1994 UNTIL today" - Sgt. Rogers. State murders: Kudirat has been solved although the culprits are free. We need to know who killed Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, Marshal Harry, Abacha, and Chief Aminisoari Dikibo.
Obasanjo and the people he copied in his diabolical letter is the problem of Nigeria. Class of 1966 who run Nigeria the way Mafia lords run their estates.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ This is the Video confession that shows Al-Mustapha [Abacha's goon] ordered the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on June 5 1996 by Sergeant Barnabas Jabilla Mshellia aka "Sergeant Rogers" [who is an indigene of Borno State].
chuksjuve: God bless you Yet they attack us for hate when in the scarily sense we are only opening their eyes to see the selfish agenda behind this Buhari gift..
^^^^^^ THIS story is false and an old story that has been debunked!
Nobody collected money from this idiot, killer and liar called Al-Mustapha. He was the leader of the hitman that tortured, blackmailed and assasinated a lot of people.
General Shehu Yar Adua and other prominent people suffered in prison during the Abacha years.
The number of people who have leveraged Abiola's June 12 struggle for personal gain are numerous. One day ALL will be told!
.
^^^^^^^ This information is TOTALLY FALSE and a recycled/old story that came out over 5 years ago!
He said those things to manipulate people/the public.
NO NADECO leader collected money from anyone... From Ndubuisi Kanu to Abraham Adesanya, to Ayo Opadokun to Bola Tinubu... Nobody collected money from Al-Mustapha.
Hamza Al-Mustapha, a Former National Security Adviser to Ex-head of state, Hamza Al-Mustapha has finally opened up on the circumstances surrounding the death of M.K.O Abiola.
In a recent Interview, Mustapha revealed that some leaders of NADECO went to Aso-rock to collect millions of dollars from the head of state barely 24 hrs after Abiola's death.
He revealed that Abiola died in Aguda House after taking a cup of tea and also attacked Femi Falana over his recent statements against him, adding that Falana knew nothing about the entire occurrence.
He claimed that he had videotapes of some NADECO leaders when they came to Aso-rock to collect money adding that he was framed over the murder of Kudirat Abiola. He said that those who testified against him in the Kudirat Abiola case were induced with money and various gifts. He revealed that Sergeant Rogers was given a house in Ilorin and received cars intermittently.
PoliticsNGR has been furnished with videos of the explosive interview.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Please readers of Nairaland should beware of this thread that has suddenly appeared on the front page of NL!
This information is TOTALLY FALSE and a recycled/old story since 2011!
He said those things to manipulate people/the public.
NO NADECO leader collected money from anyone... From Ndubuisi Kanu to Sen. Abraham Adesanya, to Chief Ayo Opadokun to Sen. Bola Tinubu, Chief Bola Ige... Non collected money from him.
Al-Mustapha should be further subjected to a Lie Detector test to prove he is a BLOODY BIG LIAR! This guy suffers from bi-polar disorder!
It is an OLD STORY THAT HAS BEEN DEBUNKED BY THOSE MENTIONED! Al-Mustapha is a liar, blackmailer and a killer!
======> Please read this 2011 newspaper article below:
As it is, a Lagos High Court has the duty of stating whether or not the pictorials of the video are real. Former Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamzat Al_Mustapha, tendered the video cassette to the Lagos High Court last Wednesday as an exhibit and it was played in the open court on Thursday morning. Al- Mustapha tendered the video as part of his defence in his trial over the murder of Mr Abiola’s wife, Kudirat. The duration of the film was about five minutes and it showed Afenifere leader, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Chief Bola Ige and other Southwest leaders leaving Aso Rock, on July 8, 1998, a day after the death of MKO Abiola in detention.
The video was watched on two television sets, the first one faced the presiding judge, Justice Mojisola Dada and the second TV set faced the audience in the courtroom. While Al Mustapha claimed that the video was evidence that Yoruba leaders were implicated in the death of Abiola, the video, which he said he had recorded by ordinary camera because he could not use the CCTV, merely showed some of the leaders, including Abraham Adesanya, Bola Ige and Ayo Opadokun leaving the state house after a meeting with the then Military head of State, Abubakar Abdulsalami.
NaijaTechGuy: Night Photography can suck sometimes because most of the mid range and low budget smartphones that are very common actually struggle to capture images in low light situations so most people just avoid taking pictures at night. I decided to outline the important steps on how to take amazing pictures at night.
1# Try To Keep The Camera Steady
There's no way you'll get that perfect image if you're shaking your hands like a tremor patient. To avoid blurred images just try to keep the camera as steady as possible. You can even go for a tripod which is the best option to take perfectly sharp shots. If you don’t have a tripod then you can try placing your phone on a wall, or any other solid surface and make use of the timer button on Camera interface.
Lit up areas like street lights are good for drawing attention in dark environments. Make sure the subject is getting enough light to draw the attention. When you combine the lighting with your LED flash it should look good. However, in some cases it may not work well.
If you want to take better images, you need to learn how to adjust settings manually - exposure , aperture etc.. The default camera app usually comes with a couple of options that'll come in handy if you know how to use it.
#4 Turn On HDR HDR recognizes different light intensities and then tries to dynamically balance the image. In low light situations, this features competitively helps to take better shots.
#5 ISO You might have seen this in many camera apps. This can increase the sensitivity of the camera sensor or decreases to capture more or less light. Try to increase the value of the ISO to increase the amount of light and details in low light situations.
This hardware is meant to support the camera in low light conditions, however bad camera flashes can affect photo clarity. Keeping it turned off should produce better results.
#7 Set Your Shutter Speed The speed at which your camera takes the picture is really important . The more time the camera takes to capture the images the better the details captured and the light intensity will be.
#8 Use A Good Camera App
Different camera apps process images differently and also detect images in varying ways. Try to use the best camera app of your choice for night photography and it could actually help you transform your pictures to amazing ones. I recommend using ToolWiz Photos. It comes with an extensive photo editor and camera . There are tons of features to choose from
Here are a couple of images shot on ToolWiz on a phone with a 5 MP camera . I may have added some odd filters.
Add-on lights and small OTG flashes can help to increase the quality of the default camera hardware thus producing impressive results.
#10 Don’t Zoom
Most cameras tend to look a little bit grainy when zoomed in. You need to consider the capacity of your phone’s camera. Digital zoom on some smartphones is usually pretty useless and only ruins the picture. If you have to zoom, you can try to move closer to the subject.Also, if you still need to highlight a particular object in the photo, you can crop it.
#11 Make use of Filters
Your choice of filters can either improve or ruin your pictures so choose wisely.
#12 Image Editing
A good editor will definitely improve your images. You can set the contrast, exposure, blur , effects and more. Like I recommended previously. Tool Wiz Photos will give you a proper image editing experience.
Andotee: In line with its status as the game changer in telecommunications services provision in Nigeria, Globacom limited has again taken another step towards the transformation of the ICT landscape in Nigeria with the construction of a multi-billion naira optic fibre submarine cable.
[B]Glo 2,[/b] the road map for the project was unveiled at a contract-signing ceremony between the national operator, Globacom, and global telecom solutions vendors, Huawei at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday.
According to Globacom’s Regional Director, Technical, Mr Sanjib Roy
“The new submarine cable will be approximately 850 kilometres long and will be integrated to Globacom’s existing terrestrial Backbone Network to provide additional service redundancy”, especially in Abuja and other parts of the country. Glo 2 will have the capacity of 12 Terabytes per second and will provide ultra-high speed connection to oil platforms and communities to empower data coverage and support Enterprise market growth in this part of Nigeria.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Huawei Nigeria, Mr Li Beifang, said that:
“Huawei is proud to partner with Globacom to build a revolutionary submarine cable using innovative and leading technology. We believe the cable would bring a new era of digitalization to Nigerian economy”.
Glo2 complements the Glo 1 international submarine cable built by Globacom in 2010. It is the only international submarine cable in Nigeria managed end to end, from Lagos to London, by one Company and currently provides sufficient bandwidth for the West Africa sub-region.
eezor: Neteller, the e-payment provider has extended it services to the people of Nigeria. with this development, nigerians can now register and verify their neteller account without any restrictions. this is good news as we can now shop, fund and withdraw with it on any site that Neteller is listed. i have verified my account with drivers licence and have deposited into my betfair account without stress. good news for nigeria. within a month some of the restricted e-payment provider ( paypal, neteller ) are lifting their ban on Nigeria. we pray MONEYBOOKER.COM follow their footstep.
Wealthandjobs: While neutral observers have continued to wonder how this word "Lazy" got inserted into the speech of President Muhammadu Buhari,my mind raced to what Cambridge Analytica did in the 2015 election and I realized that the model was replicated! They funded the hashtag and directed it to those whose profile and history suggests a deep hatred for the president and wow!! They set the internet on fire!
Those two people that you quoted in your mention have not made any reasonable comments!
The fact is that PMB did not make any insulting comment in that video from London. I first watched it on Channel TV's Politics Today via live streaming online on Friday 20th April, 2018.
You can watch that episode online again and Seun Okinbaloye anchored that episode as usual. PMB never said that Nigerian youths are lazy. It is an irresponsible lie from mentally lazy and impulsive people!
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ You're absolutely right! The BIG lie that was told by New Telegraph newspaper on it's front page of Thursday 19th April 2018 that PMB called Nigerian youths lazy is the WORSE form of journalism out there! New Telegraph [which is also owned by Orji Uzor-Kalu in addition to the SUN] was the only paper that had the FAKE accusation on its front page on that day. It was the following day that other top papers reported the reactions on their front pages!
I waited to watch the video first before making my comments on PMB's comments and I was proved right. PMB spoke well and he was innocent. It is deeply insulting to right thinking people in Nigeria and in the Diaspora that some idiots had to lie against PMB online and offline simply because they hate him.
I have come to realise that there are some mentally LAZY people/youths in that country - Nigeria who LACK critical thinking but just move around AIMLESSLY and act like LEMMINGS!
I have some issues with PMB's relatively slow response to the herdsmen attacks on innocent people, but this particular episode has made me to emphatise with him a bit because of these bloody liars who misled thousands of Nigerians into thinking that Buhari insulted Nigerian youths. These people must be arrested and tried in court for defamation of character and inciting Nigerians repeatedly by planting FAKE NEWS report!
The real Nigerian youths are not lazy... but are creative... But there are some slow thinkers and enemies of Nigeria among them!
reportminds: Comedian and talkshow host, Gbadewonuola Olateju Oyelakin aka Teju Babyface and his wife Tobi, have welcomed a set of twins after nearly 6 years of marriage. Teju and his beautiful wife, Tobi got married in August 2012. Congrats to them!
Sharing the good nes online, Teju wrote
''Please rejoice with us! My wife Oluwatobiloba @tobibanjokooyelakin and I are the very grateful and excited parents of twin Children. It has taken almost 6years but God who neither forgets nor forsakes has given us double for our trouble. I pray that the God whom we serve will remember everyone who seeks Him & give you the desires of your heart. Mother and babies are doing Great! #Grateful #awesomeGod''.
Explorers: King Mswati III declared the name change during independence day celebrations at a packed sports stadium he said he did not want his country to be confused with Switzerland.
The king said the name 'Swaziland' had caused confusion.
'Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland,' he said.
Unlike some countries, Swaziland did not change its name when it gained independence in 1968 after being a British protectorate for more than 60 years.
King Mswati III declared the name change during independence day celebrations at a packed sports stadium in the second city of Manzini.
'I would like to announce that Swaziland will now revert to its original name,' he said, wearing red military uniform.'
African countries on getting independence reverted to their ancient names before they were colonised.
So from now on the country will be officially be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini.'
The country, which has a population of about 1.3 million people.
The name change could mean that the country's constitution is re-written, as well as changes for the Royal Swaziland Police Force, the Swaziland Defence Force and the University of Swaziland.
After independence, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, Nyasaland became Malawi, and Bechuanal and became Botswana.
^^^^^ ^^^^^ Eswatini Kingdom is easy to remember... so no confusion.
Dahomey became Benin... Gold Coast became known as Ghana.
AutoJoshNG: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday said that the State Government would immediately take over the ABAT Truck Terminal Orile-Iganmu and commence immediate repairs on the terminal as part of efforts to permanently address the perennial traffic in Apapa axis majorly caused by breakdown of operations at the ports.
Governor Ambode, who disclosed this at the 2nd Quarter 2018 Town Hall Meeting, the 11th in the Series, held at the Apapa Amusement Park, said he was seriously concerned about the hardship residents in the axis were being subjected to as a result of the activities of containerized trucks and tankers moving in and out of the ports and tank farms, hence the decision to hold the meeting in the area to find lasting solutions.
“I cannot end this address without acknowledging that in Apapa, we have a major challenge; the menace of trucks on our roads and bridges causing endless traffic and loss of business time by Lagosians. This is why we have come here today. To see for ourselves and find a solution.
“Effective today, our government will take over the ABAT Truck Terminal Orile-Iganmu and commence immediate repairs to make the park ready for effective use. In the meantime, we will appeal to the Tanker Drivers Association to conduct themselves in an orderly manner and cooperate with our Task Force to ensure smooth flow of traffic and better access to the Ports.
“We thank the people of Apapa for enduring such harsh conditions but I assure you that this situation will be a thing of the past by the end of this year,” he said.
Governor Ambode said the ABAT Truck Terminal has a capacity to accommodate at least 3000 trucks, adding that the government was already working with security agencies to see how some of the trucks parked on the Western Avenue Bridge would be moved into the park.
“Already, we have cleared the shanties and the way we are trying to run it is such that we will be able to accommodate at least 3,000 trucks in the park. In addition to that, we will work with security agencies and see how we can move the trucks into the park because right now the park can accommodate about 300 trucks but the people are not using it.
“So, if I tell you that one of the areas that I always feel very bad about is this Apapa gridlock and that is the truth and that is why I have decided that lets bring all our resources together; let’s discuss with people; let’s also talk to the experts and see what is happening there,” he said.
Drinokrane: Kiki Osinbajo is the first and one of the beautiful daughters of the Vice President (VP) of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and wife Dolapo. Other siblings include Kanyinsola and Fiyinfoluwa.
It could be recalled that Kiki’s pictures were the first to be seen among her siblings when her father was elected as the vice president of Nigeria and ever since, the beautiful young lady has become an internet sensation. After her father emerged at the vice president, the University of Lagos (Unilag) graduate Kiki Osinbajo can categorically be listed among the rich kids of Nigerian millionaires and she has never let her fans down.
The 24-year-old lady has carved a niche for herself in the fashion industry and she never forgets to slay either in a pair of jeans and top, a simple short or long gown or even in Ankara fabrics. Kiki has been termed the slayer.
However, her love for photo shoots can’t be compared to none because if she is not spending time with her cousins, her parents or with her NGOs, Kiki can be found taking pictures in the studio and attending one function to another.
Aside from just lounging in the wealth of her father, Kiki decided to build a platform for herself which is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. The young lady is the founder of Fight For Our Soldiers Nigeria, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
The foundation was developed majorly to show love to the little children who have little or no means of survival as well as women especially widows, so they can be able to feed their family.
^^^^ ^^^^ Is she really the one seen dancing in the Abuja night club ... or is it a PHOTOSHOP?
Tavian Oladapo is one of my all-time favourite music singers and producers!
Tavian Oladapo the UK-born soulful Nigerian musician moved to Nigeria at the age of 6 where he was educated. In 1984 Tavian moved to the United States where he joined a number of bands before moving back to the UK in 1985.
INTRO: O to ge… Oh oh oh oh We must stand for naija oo Ejaka sowopo I believe I believe Naija Eh oh
VERSE 1: Wishing on the star To take me where you are Wishing on the tree No matter how far it seems (eh oh) Everywhere I go To see the loving flow And unity to stand forth From south up to the north Eh oh eh Only when there’s love Then there will be no cause to fight Only when we fear God And everything be alright
CHORUS: One nation Great people Green white green (You are my brother in my hand) One nation Great people And Everything will be alright (Eh eh eh eh)
VERSE 2: Stand together now stand for the truth Weed out the problem Down from the root Pick up yourself now Pick up oh you youth Anybody causing problem Now make them kaput Stand together now People will fighting One love is what we are preaching Let’s upgrade our understanding And stop this nonsense political touting There’s potential repete Human capacity brekete Let’s work the work Let’s show the world Say our head dey there Let’s stand up stand up Preach something Fight for the right thing Forward ever moving for the future eh eh Eh eh Cos I believe I believe In this entity called Naija I believe I believe I believe In one love.. Eh eh (eh eh) Eh eh (eh eh) I believe eh eh One naija
CHORUS: One nation (one nation)
Great people (great people) Green white green (yeah eh eh) One nation (one nation) Great people (great people) Eh oh
VERSE 3: We should live like sister and brother Find a way to love each other One love one life one naija (eh eh) If we stand as one Won ma ja (eh eh) Unity will only make us stronger (eh eh) Don’t let them divide us any longer (eh eh) Cause there are no bad tribes Only bad people.. (People) No north and south Good versus evil Only when there’s love (I know) Will be no cause to find (I know) Only when we fear God (I know) And everything be alright (I know)
CHORUS: One nation Great people Green white green (Cause at the end of the day We are one and the same) One nation Great people And Everything be alright One nation (one nation) Great people (great people) Green white green You’re my brothers in my hand One nation Great people And everything be alright..
kennygee: Kehinde Wiley (born 1977) is a New York City-based portrait painter who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of African-Americans. The Columbus Museum of Art, which hosted an exhibition of his work in 2007, describes his work with the following: "Wiley has gained recent acclaim for his heroic portraits which address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture."
Wiley was born in Los Angeles, California. His father is Yoruba from Nigeria, and his mother is African-American. As a child, his mother supported his interest in art and enrolled him in after-school art classes. At the age of 12, he spent a short time at an art school in Russia.
Wiley did not grow up with his father, and at the age of 20 traveled to Nigeria to explore his roots and meet him. Wiley earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 and his MFA from Yale University, School of Art in 2001.
Paperwhite: The airline took a nosedive for its final extinct in 1984-85 when Buhari became HOS.Its fleet was badly depleted. Meanwhile other neighbouring African country airlines as outlined by the above fella are still vibrant.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ This is false...it was during the Babangida era not Buhari. I flew Nigeria Airways from the 1970s and I know this fact. IBB's corrupt system right to the Abacha era ruined Nigeria Airways, until 2003 when OBJ decided to liquidate the airline to replace with Virgin Nigeria.
Aircraft maintainance that were supposed to be carried out could not be done because of the devaluation of the Nigerian national currency... and the economy was not a productive economy... but depended mainly on income from the export of a low value commodity called crude oil. The crude oil too could have been refined locally for export like it happened in the Buhari/Idiagbon era, but the 4 refineries were NOT working optimally due to lack of TAM or Turn-Around-Maintenance as a result of the massive corruption of the IBB and Abacha years - "The years of the locusts."
PaulOkoye1: The thought of Nigeria had always kept me sad not only because of the failure of the Nigerian project but also because of the lacklustre attitude of those at the helm of affairs. No time could be better to address this issue than the 51st independent day anniversary of the federal republic of Nigeria. The sad story is that ninety percent of the Nigerian problem could be attributed to the failure of leadership because it is the responsibility of the leaders to transform a nation or organizations they are assigned to lead. The Nigerian malady seems to have defied every solution because of lack of visionary leaders. Worst still these over surfeited hypocrites have continued to offload the bull shit on this long suffering nation. I am not a medical doctor but I do know too well that if the clinical history of any illness is not known that illness can not be cured. Let’s take a little walk down the memory lane to understand the Nigerian epileptic condition.
As far as I can remember General Gowon told us that the problem we have as a nation is not how to make money but how to manage the available resources. At that point the hospitals were still functioning the roads were motorable salaries were still paid promptly, so there were no strike, children were going to school but there were no infrastructures; we had electricity and water only in the urban areas. Those in the rural areas had to make do with lamp and fetching water from the stream. They had to make do with pit toilets and thatch houses. At a point Gowon invited Chief Jerome Udoji to draw a development program for Nigeria. Udoji recommended among other things in what is popularly known as ‘Udoji award’ that civil servants salary should be increased. The increment of salary and payment of award led to an ostentatious life on the side of Nigerians. Because Nigeria is a consumer nation the wealth of the nation was squandered and the rest went to developed world as the paid money were spent in buying cars and finished goods that Nigeria do not produce. Udoji award logically ushered in inflation as there was so much money in circulation. That was the beginning of the economic blunder that dug the grave of the Nigerian nation.
Gowon left and Murtala came in. We spent the better part of our time, money and resources to liberate South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and the rest of the South African nations then under colonial rule. Our reward as a nation for these magnanimous achievements under the diplomatic soldiering of Joseph Garba is the victimization of Nigerians in these countries today. Nelson Mandela presented the motion for the suspension of Nigeria from commonwealth. They consequences were that we lost subventions and scholarships that accrued from common wealth nations. The common wealth is a composition of 57 countries. For the first time in history Nigeria did not participate in the nation’s cup tournament and miss world contest because those contest were held in South Africa and Mandela then declared that he cannon guarantee the security of Nigerians. Worst still Mandela recognized Abiola as the president elect of Nigeria during the independent celebration in South Africa and that induced Abiola to declare himself the president of Nigeria when he returned back and the consequences is now history. Nobody is insinuating that we should not help our neighbours but the resources wasted for the liberation of these nations were enough to develop Nigeria and make it a better place for all. Murtala initiated the Ajaokuta steal factory and it was destined to cost 2.5 billion dollars then. Until when Babangida appointed professor Ezekwe the technology minister we did not know that we were building a steal factory without flat sheet department. It was like building a steal factory without steal, Ezekwe discovered this colossal error but then the factory had reached a point of no return. Nigerian had already wasted so much money in the project. Murtala also initiated the Abuja project. The regime of Murtala was brought to an unfortunate end by Dimka through the help of the colonial masters.
Murtala left and Mathew Aremu Obasanjo entered. Obasanjo invited general commander O. P. Fingesi to come and spearhead the greatest naira jamboree in mankind. The called it FESTAC. We built the FESTAC village in one month and the world were invited to partake in the sharing of Nigerian cake. At that point it was already clear that Nigeria was suffering from squander mania. As that was not enough Obasanjo embarked on the indigenization decree to liberate far away South Africa, Nigeria sent away all the foreign companies and Barclays bank became first and what have you. From that faithful day till date no Nigerian can travel anywhere without a visa. Obasanjo chased away all the foreign investors from Nigeria only to squander our money to go and beg them to come back. The pain was that these measures were not taken for the Nigerian interest but to give South Africa independent. Nigeria the pride of African nation became a leper harbinger. No responsible leadership will mortgage the destiny of the people he was appointed to lead for another nation. Obasanjo partly spearheaded the burial of the Nigerian nation.
Obasanjo left and the civilian came in. Then the mad rush to Abuja. When Murtala drew the development plan of Abuja it was to take 25yrs but Shagari decided to take us there in 2yrs and 6mths. No known nation had ever built a national capital in 10yrs talk less of 2.6 yrs. Alhaji Tahir was anointed to head the naira distribution. There was so much corruption that the military intervened. Zik said he can not congratulate Shagari neither did Awolowo because he rigged them out. So when the military came back they were welcomed.
Shagari left and Buhari entered the scene. The money Shagari left for building of Abuja was converted by Buhari for the importation of 46 jaguar jet fighters from Russia then USSR. Even a nation in the midst of war does not import 46 jet fighters in a day. Then we witnessed the war against indiscipline. Nigerians were ordered not to urinate outside without the provision of public toilet. We witnessed the diplomatic suitcases and Onalope Soleye the dean department of sociology was appointed to manage our economy as the finance minister. When I look back to those days I wonder what a sociologist is doing in the finance ministry. The government was short lived.
Buhari left and Babangida took over. At that point the economy had reached the Golgotha. Nigeria had no more money to spend. The economy was completely decayed. Babangida brought in Dr. Idika Kalu from the World Bank to tell us the hard truth. Dr. Chu Okongwu managed the national planning. That was the first time we had competent hands to manage the economy. We realized that not only petroleum product but even naira was subsidised. A Volkswagen Beatle was sold then at 1,500 naira while a Peugeot 504 sold at 7000 naira. The Nigerian economy witnessed the first and second tier foreign exchange market. The naira was allowed to find its level and foreign exchange market. At a point naira was worth less than a toilet paper. Nigerians were made to face the austerity measure. The market was liberalized in trying to correct the errors of the past especially the one committed by Obasanjo. Then we had the oil wind fall but Babangida had initiated the political agenda with the help of Professor S. J. Cookey a fine political scientist. Everything worked fine until the presidential election. We still remember the option A4. Due to pressures from the failed election Babangida had to leave the scene but he left a descent political institution. Dr Jerry Gana through MANSER had already sensitized Nigerians.
Babangida left and Shonekan entered. All the political institutions were at place but Shonekan lacked the will and might to consolidate on the political agenda of the previous administration. Abacha entered the arena because of the clamour by Nigerian for a saviour. His mercantile policy angered the west and Nigeria was boycotted. Nigerians witnessed the one million match. Abacha was the only qualified Nigerian to lead, he therefore have to transform from a military head to democratic president. Again the resources of the nation was wasted for a transformation agenda. Nigeria once again transformed into a pariah nation. Every Nigerian turned a sycophant. Ekwueme and the G34 came in to save the country. The regime of Abacha was brought to a tragic end in a yet uncleared circumstance. Abubarkar stayed for time enough to usher in the second coming of Obasanjo.
Obasanjo spent more money in the changing of the leadership of the national assembly than any other government in the history of mankind. That administration could be easily remembered for the Ghana must go bags at the national assembly. The remaining of the national resources was wasted to generate electricity. How can one take Obasanjo serous for his promise to give Nigeria steady light when his minister for mines and power was a lawyer Bola Ige. Obasanjo made light the priority of his government without really wanting to give us light. The sorry tale of the senate committee explains this fact. The better part of his government was spent outside Nigeria or better still inside aircraft junketing to attract foreign investors, the same investors he sent out of Nigeria. At a point Obasanjo spent 236 days out of 365 days in a year outside the country he was meant to lead. The only good thing in Obasanjo’s second coming was Okonjo Iweala and she cancelled our huge debt. Thanks God almighty that his third term agenda did not work.
Until Captain Billy Eko Jean was caught at the JFK airport the most lucrative rout of Nigerian airways we did not know that he was a Ghanaian. Until the deportation of Shugaba during the presidential election by Shagari we did not know that he was from Niger republic. Until the deportation of Patrick Wilmot to Jamaica he was a darling at Ahmadu Bello University. Until the maitasine massacre at Kano nobody told us that their leader Mohammed was from Cameroun. Until the crashing of the Faulkner 28 aircraft at Enugu airport we did not know that the captain was a Ghanaian. At a point it was rumoured that Ibrahim Comatose the former IG was a Ghanaian. Despite these episodes our government have not considered it wise to draw a comprehensive list of Nigerians.
How can any responsible leader draw a program for a country that he does not know how many they are? There is neither registration of birth nor death. Nigeria is the only country where a human being will die and decay along the road. It takes nothing to install one computer in every local government to start gradual record keeping of Nigerians and stop the gigantic census project that is organized at intervals without result. The people that die in road accident every day are more than the people that die of illness every month. We spend more money for HIV campaign every year than in the maintaining of Nigerian roads. We have no light, no portable water, no roads, no security yet we pretend that investors will come to invest in Nigeria. Investors are not looking for chaotic situations, they are looking for stable government, open market economy, conducive social and economic conditions and basic amenities to invest. Until we have these things in place the wild goose chase after investor will never materialise. Just yesterday Goodluck said that we have 25,000 Nigerian doctors in United States alone. I wonder if Goodluck is so naïve to understand that if these doctors have accepted to live in foreign land under the harsh realities, the thought of investor coming to Nigerian is an illusion. My fear then is that Olusegun Aganga the investment minister does not understand these simple principles of international trade probably because he was trained as an accountant. The blatant truth is that we have lost the train and at 51 the Nigerian project is as best a failed one. The succeeding generation are the worst losers as they are going to inherit this chattered nation. Though they have no blame but they have no choice. Nothing is being done to leave a bequeathing legacy for the succeeding generation and the mere thought that they will inherit this disaster is traumatic. Tragically nobody has a choice in the decision of where he will be born. We are all victims of the circumstances of our birth.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Great post! It brings back memories for me flying onboard my first Nigeria Airways aircraft in the 1970s through to the 1990s. From the Fokker-27, DC-10, Airbus A-310... and more!
Captain John Billy-Eko is late now, but he was one of the iconic Nigeria Airways pilots who flew the Boeing 747. He flew the only operational Nigeria Airways Boeing 747 to Newyork in 1987 and got arrested for smuggling hard drugs at the JFK Airport.
Captain J. Billy-Eko was originally a Ghanaian. The media was abuzz in 1987 with stories about him and his picture of his car that was parked at the MMIA car park was published on the front page of some major newspapers.
Captain Billy-Eko was one of the best Boeing 747 pilots on earth.
"Skypower Puts You First" ~Slogan as of 1979
"Nigeria Airways... We'll Take You There...!"
Below are two pictures of Nigeria Airways Airbus A-310 and Boeing 747.
The Airbus A-310 is one of 4 that Nigeria took delivery of in December 1985 after being ordered for in 1981.
Africaman: Hi Konquest, I have come across these claims before. The same claims were made about the Hausas, the Igbos e.t.c. I believe some anti-African elements were trying to undermine indigenous, pre-colonial African identities, so that our modern identities rest on the Euro-colonial African states. In such a situation, we can only have Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, but no Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ashanti, Kikuyu, Zulu...
Sadly, some modern day African intellectuals are part of the plot to demolish pre-colonial African identities.
ciao
^^^^^ ^^^^^ @Africaman
Thanks for your illuminating response. All the best!
Markfemi2: Rauf himself is a covert jihadist the idiot cannot just do much cause he confess cause its the same christains that he meets for funds eg adeboye paid a chunk of Osun's debts
^^^^^ ^^^^^ @Markfemi2
There is no need for the insult on Gov. Rauf my friend. Gov. Abdulrauf Aregbesola has non-Muslim family members from the same Aregbesola family who are Christians. So he is NOT a covert jihadist like you have claimed. He said so himself... that is his Christian family members who attend Redemed Church!
I'm NOT a muslim, but I also do not like it when people start getting PARANOID over Yoruba muslims. Islam came to Iwo from Mali over 500 years ago and the first mosque in Yorubaland was built there! Remember that Islam was called "esin Imale" ... religion of Mali among the Yoruba people. Muslims are in the majority [more than 50%] among the Yoruba from my research in Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Kwara Yoruba who own 12 of the 16 LGAs in Kwara State.
Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi Yoruba have more non-muslims from adherent of Ifa, Christians, Eckankar, Grail Message, Buddhists, Bahai faith, etc.
The two educated Nigerians of Yoruba descent who were extradicted to the USA for being members of Al-Qaeda are indigenes of Lagos and Ogun States ... NOT Osun State.
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale... the 2 British-Nigerians who have never even been to Nigeria and who are now in jail in the UK for being members of Jihadist movements in the UK are originally from Ijebu in Ogun State and from Christian families living in the UK!
Yorubas who are Muslims have a right to celebrate their faith but within the civilised standards. But if there is any attempt to impose a religion on the entire Yorubaland from any source... it will be resisted... but it will never happen.
Did you know that there was an Islamic political party in the Western Region that contested for elections and won some seats?
yahyus: “Emir of Yorubaland”: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Term “Emir”
By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
The Oluwo of Iwoland in Osun State, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, said on March 31 that he should henceforth be addressed as "Emir of Iwoland" (he later declared himself “Emir of Yorubaland” before saying he only meant that Hausa people could call him that if they wanted). This provoked a gratuitous cyber fight between Yorubas and Hausa Muslims. The Oba was derided by Yoruba people as taking on a “Hausa title,” and Hausa people became the target of derision. This, of course, ignited strong reactions from Hausa people.
This intervention is merely linguistic; it is not intended to justify the Oba’s choice of “Emir” as his title. I personally think that the Oba is either being deliberately provocative or is literally out of his mind. When I watched a video of him insulting a whole host of people and wildly gesticulating in ways that, in my opinion, demeaned his status as the king of a people, I thought he needed more help than attacks.
Having said that, his use of the term “emir” to refer to himself isn’t nearly the linguistic sacrilege his critics think it is. Here is why:
1."Emir" is NOT a Hausa word. It's actually an English word by way of the Arabic "amir," which simply means ruler or leader or commander. So, in a literal linguistic sense, every Oba, Obi, Sarki, Suno, Tor, Ochi, Olu, etc. is an "emir."
As I pointed out in my June 15, 2014 column titled, “A Pragmatic Analysis of ‘Emir,’ ‘Sarki,’ ‘Oba’ and ‘Chief’ in Nigerian English,” the word “emir” didn’t come directly into English from Arabic. It was first domesticated in French as “émir" before it was loaned to the English language in 1593. (As the reader can see, the English rendering of the world is unaltered from French, except for the dropping of the grave accent on the letter “e.”) So “emir” has been an English word for more than 400 years, that is, at least 200 years before the Usman Dan Fodio jihad and about the time Islam became widespread in Hausaland, Yorubaland and elsewhere in Nigeria.
Another prominent, widely used derivative of “amir” in English is “admiral.” It is derived from the Arabic "amir-ul-bahr,” which translates as “commander of the sea.” (Amir ul or amir al translates roughly as “commander of”). So if you think “emir” is a Hausa word, what do you think of “admiral” since it shares the same lexical origins are “emir”? Like “emir,” admiral was also first domesticated in French as “amiral” and came to English as “admiral” around the early 1200s.
It should be admitted, though, that although “emir” is an English word with lexical roots in Arabic, it’s often associated with Muslim rulers, and evokes connotations of Hausa-Fulani Muslim overlordship in Nigeria. I think that’s the basis for the resistance against the title among Yoruba nationalists. The successors to the prophet of Islam (called khalifa or “Caliphs” in Islamic literature) were often called “amir-ul- muminin,” which roughly translates as commander of the faithful (i.e., Muslim faithful).
(Interestingly, Hausa people don’t call the most prominent traditional ruler in the Muslim north the "Sultan of Sokoto"; they call him “Sarkin Musulumi,” which translates as leader of Muslims—obviously a domestication of “amir-ul-muminin”; it’s also more natural for Hausa speakers to say “daular Usmaniyya” than to say “Sokoto Caliphate”).
2. Hausa people call their traditional rulers "Sarki," not "Emir." (Ironically, "Seriki," the Yoruba domestication of Sarki, is a common Yoruba personal name, and even appears in titles like "seriki adinni of Yorubaland," which means the leader of religion/Islam in Yorubaland). So both the Oba and his critics are wrong in thinking that “emir” is a Hausa title. The ethnic binaries Yoruba nationalists erect to call attention to the absurdity of his change of royal title would have been justified if he had addressed himself as the “Sarki of Iwoland” or the “Sarki of Yorubaland.”
3. It is unnatural for Hausa people to call their traditional rulers "emir"—or even the original Arabic "amir"—when they speak Hausa. It was British colonialists who introduced the words "emir" and "sultan" to northern Nigerian royal lexical repertoire, but the words haven't even been domesticated in the Hausa language, showing that the people aren't quite enthused about them. Saying “emir” or “sultan” while speaking Hausa is generally understood as code-mixing, that is, interspersing a conversation with foreign words.
4. Similarly, in their quotidian conversational encounters, Ilorin people call their "emir" Oba, even though the "Oba" traces ancestral descent from Fulani people. The market near the emir of Ilorin's palace is called "oja oba," which means "market of the oba" in Yoruba.
The following was my recounting of the sociolinguistic complexity of the term “emir” in Ilorin in my June 15, 2014 column:
“That is why Yoruba nationalists who want to ‘reclaim’ Ilorin resent the labeling of the traditional ruler of the town as ‘Emir of Ilorin.’ Every so often, Yoruba cultural nationalists spearhead the advocacy for the appointment of an ‘Oba of Ilorin.’
“When I was a reporter for the Weekly Trust in 2000 I was assigned to cover a controversy over the calls for an ‘Oba of Ilorin.’ In the course of my investigation, I spoke with people from all classes of the Ilorin society.
“One thing that struck me throughout my stay in Ilorin for the story was that everybody in the town, including members of the ruling family, called their traditional ruler ‘Oba’ when they spoke in Yoruba. ‘Emir’ sounded strange, even forced. Like Hausa people up north, the Ilorin people don’t relate well to the word ‘emir’ unless they are putting on airs or speaking in English.
“A particularly insightful encounter for me was an interview I had with an old, uneducated man who identified himself as a descendant of Afonja, the Yoruba founder of Ilorin who lost power to the progenitor of the current ruling family. I asked him if he wanted an ‘Oba of Ilorin.’ He was genuinely befuddled. His response, in Yoruba, was: ‘What are you talking about? We already have an Oba.’ Using the categories that have been popularized by the Nigerian news media, I said, ‘No, you don’t have an Oba; you have an emir.’ His comeback threw me off. He didn’t know what an emir was. ‘Kilo je be? [what is that?],’ he said.
“That was when it dawned on me that ‘emir’ is an English word that only western-educated northerners use to refer to their traditional rulers when they speak in English. Just like Hausa speakers call their traditional rulers ‘sarki,’ Ilorin people call theirs ‘oba.’ Every Ilorin person calls the emir’s palace ‘ile Oba’ (which literally translates as ‘the Oba’s house’). The biggest market in Ilorin, which is close to the emir’s palace, is called Oja Oba,’ which translates as 'the market of the Oba.'
“So ‘emir’ is rarely used in Ilorin—as in other northern Muslim places—outside official communication and in English-medium conversations. A more appropriate question for the old man should have been “do you want an Oba who is Yoruba rather than this Oba whose ancestors are Fulani?” I actually did rephrase my question like that after realizing that the old man couldn’t relate to the term ‘emir.’”
5. The roots of Islam in Iwo go back to several centuries. The town had sharia courts and was the center of Islamic scholarship several decades before many northern Muslim communities. Perhaps it is the basis for the Oba’s decision to bear the title “emir.” The colonialists who imposed the term “emir” on northern Muslim traditional rulers could have called Muslims obas in Yorubaland "emir" if they wanted to, and it would have stuck.
Consider this: The very name “Yoruba” isn't native to the Yoruba people, as I've written in several columns; it's a colonial imposition, which Ajayi Crowder helped to popularize. The colonialists actually toyed with the name "Nago" (the name of a Yoruba subgroup in Benin Republic) but later chose “Yoruba,” which is the corruption of Yoruba, the Songhai exonym for people in the old Oyo Empire.
Even the Oduduwa myth of origin that Yoruba people cherish about themselves came about as a colonial project to foster a sense of oneness among members of the cognate but nonetheless disparate language groups that now fancy themselves as Yoruba. (The colonialists wanted to reduce Nigeria's ethnic and linguistic complexity to just three ethnic groups, which was unsuccessful. They also promoted the Bayyagida myth and several other myths of origin in Nigeria. I know this will be hard to accept, but it's true).
Anyone who chose your very collective name and fostered a collective identity where none existed before could have done anything. The colonialists (although it's the Portuguese) called Eko "Lagos," and that's what we still call it today. The colonialists decided that Yoruba people in parts of what is now Kwara and Kogi would be northerners, and that's what they are today. So don't discount the power of colonialists to shape identities. Had they chosen to call obas emirs, that's what they would have been.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Very interesting summations from Farooq Kperogi. Thanks to @yahyus for posting this perspective.
The Yoruba name..."Eko" is still used officially to describe "Lagos Island" and "Lagos State" [Ipinle Eko]. So Eko and Lagos are used interchangeably. Eko originally refers to Lagos Island... and the term Lagosian is used to describe ONLY those who come from Lagos Island and not anybody outside Lagos Island.
I'm looking to move to the Island in short order. My single biggest worry is the high risk of flooding on the Island. We know the rains will be here very soon, and I really don't want to experience the flooding that many experienced this year on the Island.
Which leads me to my question: Where are the least flood prone areas on the Island? More specifically, anywhere between Lekki and LBS? -looks like the farther away from LBS the estates and areas are, the less planned/maintained (or maybe someone can educate me?). I'm also open to other suggestions if you have them.
All other things being equal -good security, drainage, roads, gated communities, and planned estates- I'd appreciate your recommendations. Please understand that I'm not particularly worried about rent and living costs per se. Just don't want to deal with a flooded apartment and/or street (okay, maybe the occasional flooded street. Definitely not a flooded home).
The farther away I can be from flood prone areas, the better really.
I'm hoping that this thread would not only benefit me, but also prove to be beneficial to other people who are thinking about doing the same.
Mods... Lalasticlala mynd44 lawyer... please epp me (make I no go become cautionary tale o) . Na beg i dey beg o. Please help a brother. Thanks.
^^^^ ^^^^ Nice topic and thread... Only the paranoid survive!
Politics › Re: Al-Mustapha: "How Abiola Was Killed, NADECO Leaders Took Money" (VIDEO) by Konquest: 11:14am On Jun 11, 2018
