₦airaland Forum

Are 234Next.com crazy or has Aunty Dora gone the way of the dodos?
I put my money on 234Next.com editors being crazy.

By Musikilu Mojeed
November 8, 2010 12:19AM

The Nigerian government will investigate allegations of fraudulent claims levelled against Nigerian United States-based scientist, Philip Emeagwali, the Minister of Information and Communication, Dora Akunyili, has said.

NEXT had in a report on Sunday quoted some leading American scientists as describing Mr. Emeagwali’s claim that he was a father of the Internet as misleading.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Mrs. Akunyili said the allegations against Mr Emeagwali were weighty and disturbing and would have to be thoroughly investigated.

Mr. Emeagwali is among Nigerians that Mrs. Akunyili showcased to the world in the government’s effort to improve the country’s image.

The Nigeria Postal Service, which is directly under the minister’s supervision, has also put the embattled scientist on the Nigerian stamp.

“The allegations are unbelievable, but we cannot jump to conclusion,” the minister said. “Our government is a responsible one and so, we cannot disregard what has been published. We will pierce information together and if necessary, we will invite him to say his own side of the story. He is our son. When they tell you your child is a thief, you can’t just jump up and start celebrating. You will have to find out and establish the truth.”

Mrs. Akunyili said the government cannot afford to make mistakes on such a sensitive issue and would therefore take its time to do a thorough investigation.

She said once the investigation is completed, the government will issue a final statement, and then decide whether to remove him from the Nigerian stamp.

She did not say how long the investigation would last, saying it was not a decision she could unilaterally take.

Erroneous celebration

Meanwhile, a graduate student of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Adekunle Yusuf, on Sunday apologized for erroneously celebrating Mr. Emeagwali at an event in his university four days ago.

In a telephone interview with NEXT, Mr. Yusuf said at a “Taste of Nigeria” event, organized by the university to celebrate the culture and people of Nigeria, Nigerian students showcased Mr. Emeagwali alongside the likes of Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe as their country’s great human exports dazzling the world.

He said he became sad after reading the report of Mr. Emeagwali’s fraudulent claims in NEXT.

“We didn’t know he was just deceiving the world. I’m really depressed that he was among those we celebrated,” said Mr. Yusuf, a Senior Writer with TELL and Ford Foundation scholar at Wisconsin.

In 1989, Mr. Emeagwali won the $1,000 Gordon Bell Prize, which is awarded each year to recognise outstanding achievement in high-performance computing.

His award was for an application of the CM-2 massively parallel computer for oil reservoir modelling. Following the feat, Mr. Emeagwali proceeded to claim, for several years, that he was a father of the Internet; that he improved upon Isaac Newton’s laws of motion; that he owned the world’s first personal website; that American computer giant, Apple, uses the microprocessor technology he pioneered in its Power Mac G4 model, among many other claims.

But leading American and Nigerian scientists have faulted the claim, saying Mr. Emeagwali made no contribution to the evolution of the Internet as he had over the years made the world to believe.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5639794-146/government_to_investigate_emeagwali__.csp

EzeUche0:
Thank you for reminding your brethren about Bola Ige.
That man was from Zaria I believe. And the man spoke not only Yoruba, but Hausa & Igbo as well.
Too bad he had to die from the "do or die" politics of Southwest Nigeria.

Bola Ige was from Esa Oke , and to burst your bubble, was the hire to the Awolowo legacy in the SW. OBJ and his cohorts coopted him and got him killed.

chyz:
awolowos failure came to him and his people.with the millions of igbo money he stole its a shame how that gay still left his beloved home land to be more impoverished than the Igbo's land.

Absolute bunkum - I have to ROTFL for this one

Whether good or bad you people refuse to focus on yourself, everything is about other people.

Zik was "so" great in your eyes that rats dominate his masoleum before your very eyes, while you are all here proclaiming his greatness with word of mouth.

Awolowo's achievements are tangible and celebrated throughout Yorubaland. By the amount of time you people spend on him, even years after his death, he is a great man in your eyes too. Otherwise, I don't see how you could attribute most of your failures to this one man!

chyz:
awolowo was a pure bytch and died like a rat.did more than zik in what world?. LOL

Each day this story gets weirder.

Now they are suggesting that the arms were headed for Gambia. This reminds one of how two previously seized arms were also said to be headed for Gambia.

Gambia is neither big nor rich or at war with anybody to be constantly importing these arms:"The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, with a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. [size=14pt]Total GDP in 2009 was only $739 million[/size]".

Someone within Nigeria is using this scheme either to accumulate arms or to route arms to buyers.

More riddles trail seized Apapa arms import
| Print | E-mail
Sunday, 07 November 2010

AS the nation awaits the resolution of the riddles surrounding the illegal importation of a large cache of arms including rockets through Apapa Ports, Lagos,  last July, more damming and frightening details continue to ooze out from security sources about the arms import.

The investigating teams, for example, are still baffled about the mystery surrounding the loading port of the deadly cargoes. Whereas there had been various attempts to link the 13 containers of arms to Iran, Hamas fighters in Gaza, etc, insiders insisted that investigations so far have confirmed that before the cargo arrived Apapa Ports, it had gone through trans-shipment in Greece, Spain and India. There is no certainty yet about the original loading sea port.

Although,  the 13 containers (alongside 70 others) consigned to one Mr. Ali Abbas Usman Jega of 6B Nouakchott Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja, arrived Apapa Ports on July 15, 2010 on board the vessel, MV CMA CGM Everest through doctored manifest and without Form M, it was the unsuccessful attempt to convert the containers to  diplomatic cargo and trans ship or re-export same to State House, Gambia that raised the suspicion of the State Security Service  (SSS)  which raised a red flag to the Customs Area Comptroller, Apapa Ports.

Sources confirmed that when the  doctored manifest details were electronically imputed into the Customs Asycuda System, it showed that not only did the cargoes not have Form M, there was also no Risk Assessment Report (RAR), a clear violation of the cargo  clearance process in Nigeria. Although an alert concerning the cargoes was raised, neither the importer nor the agent came forth to make any declaration. And if there is no declaration (laying of claim), the Customs could only keep a watch on the containers pending the expiration of the 90 days permitted by law before being put on the un-cleared Cargo  List.

But suspicions were heightened when in August, a Customs licensed company, first attempted to re-export the containers to Banjul, The Gambia  - a request that was rejected because only a shipping company could make such application to the Customs. Then in September, a shipping company, submitted a purported manifest amendment to change the consignee to Kanilai Farms, State House, Banjul, The Gambia. This would have facilitated a seamless re-shipment as a diplomatic cargo, except that there was no formal notification from the Gambian High Commission.

Two, there was no Form CCI, a mandatory document for diplomatic shipment.

So far, the two export officers of the Customs Service, who may have been involved in the re-shipment efforts, have since been with the SSS for interrogation.

More worrisome to the investigators is the allegation that the Iranian suspect in the illegal arms saga has been domiciled in a notable first generation top rate hotel in Abuja for three months to the knowledge of the security agencies.

There is also the lamentation that had the ports service providers who got the multi-million naira contracts  to install fixed scanners at Nigerian ports since January 1, 2006 worked to contract terms, the Customs service would have been able to detect the content of the 13 cargoes, whether anyone made a claim to ownership or not since July, 2010.

The nation woke up on Tuesday October 26, 2010 to a frightening story of an illegal importation of 13 containers of arms through Apapa Ports since  July 15, 2010. Upon joint examination by the Customs and all the security agencies at the Ports on October 26, 2010, the containers were discovered to have concealed within marble slabs ammunition of various calibers including 7.65mm light ammunition with cartridges, 60mm, 80mm and 120mm mortar, rockets with firing pins and grenades.

I knew it. The palms of our officials are always hitching for bribes. Highly placed individuals are probably interfering with national security issues. Not a serious nation at all.

That the Iranian Ambassador could say these things and is not on his way to Tehran show us how bad things are in Nigeria.

It would be interesting to see how President GEJ handles this issue. In another country, the way the President handles this kind of thing would define his presidency not to talk of prospects for reelection.

mikeansy:
I weep for Nigeria

The Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria has been insulting Nigeria since this issue started

first he said arms come into Nigeria all the time and when they are siezed all soughts of routes or destinations are mentioned. He also took a dig at the fact that in the past arms siezed in Nigeria have gone missing after the arms were claimed to have been meant for other African countries so according to him the mentioning of Iran on this occassion as the source of the weapons follows a tradition of unreliable info from Nigerian Government.

Its really unfortunate and Nigeria clearly is not a serious Nation

There is no suggestion here for war with anybody.

What is needed is to show our seriousness. Diplomacy never yields fruit when the other side has nothing to loose from stone-walling. The Iranian embassy may be sacrosant (although I doubt Iran would allow any Nigerian to hide out in our embassy in Tehran for the same incident), we can show them we mean business by cordoning off the entire area - so they are unable to conduct any type of business until they release those two to us - we simply need to know what they know right away. Delay may be deadly.

Didn't Nigeria make South Africa act on Okah promptly, with threats we were told? There are very urgent questions that these people need to answer. The Nigerian government needs to assure citizens that Nigeria is not a ball to be kicked around by any riff-raff nation of this world!

lightwall:
It is good to face Iran diplomatically, seek advice/support of some developed world leaders, and be ready for a real war before launching any attack.

When they keep doing small things to your country and you don't deal with it promptly, like a responsible nation, then they will plan bigger things:

1. al qaeda offered to help Nigerian muslims after the boko haram incident. Although a number of Nigeria muslim leaders rejected the idea, our government could not be bodered to react.
2. then we had the AbdulMuttalab incident - yet our so-called leaders ignored anti-terrorism laws that were designed to combat terrorism.
3. Iran now makes bold to bring sophisticated arms near our borders, and our reaction is "high level consultation".

The story behind this incident is more than meets the eye. I don't believe these arms were destined for Gaza. Iran has a history of training radical mullahs and equiping them. While Iran may be mainly Shite and al qaeda mainly Sunni, their targets and objectives often coincide, and in fact almost the same around the world. Are they attempting to get these arms to boko haram, the jos fighters or some other elements that may be preparing for war within Nigeria?

This is a very dangerous situation, but as with most things our government is taking it in its stride. The Abuja bomb is disappearing into the maze of corrupt politics, and this incident may disappear the same way.

At the least, these arms should be evacuated to a maximum security Nigerian military installation where neither Iran nor any of its owners will ever lay eyes on it ever again. Those people in the embassy also need to come out right now.

I just don't understand a country that likes to portray itself as a regional power and major player on the world scene, but does not project itself as anything remotely close!

jpworld:
Maybe Mr Osama is planning to relocate to Naija.

@rhymz
You are being self-contradictory here, to say the least. On the one hand you are saying that the SW is opposed to IBB because of June 12 & Abiola, then you say it is not based on democratic values. IBB demonstrated his total lack of democratic values by his actions over June 12 - it is not about Abiola per se, it was about his truncation of democracy.

rhymz:
I also do not want IBB anywhere close to leadership, however, I still think the political elite of the SW region are more interested in a vendatta against IBB than oppose him on the basis of democratic values. And that is where a lot of Nigerians differ with the SWesterners, to them, it is pay back time not neccessarily on the basis of democracy but they want to avenge Abiola and June 12, which to me is not my problem at this stage. . . anyway, IBB is just wasting time and money, no right thinking Nigerian will vote for the rogue knowing his antecedent past. .

[size=14pt]Ajumogobia said: "We are still in high-level consultations with the Iranian Government over the alleged complicity of one of their nationals in the arms importation. --- A security source said: The Iranian government is seeking a soft-landing for its citizen who was behind the importation.[/size]

Do they understand that this may not be the first time, and therefore imperative to quickly unravel any previous events and prevent others? 
Or that these arms may be meant for someone within the country, and not the impossible round trip to Gaza being speculated?
Does anybody think that Iran would allow anyone to hide in any embassy in Tehran for this kind of offence? If you backpack near the Iranian border you are in deep trouble.
What if this hiding out allows enough time for other devilish plans on Nigeria to be completed?
We need to get those bastards out of the embassy, yesterday.

President GEJ must show leadership here.
Recall the Nigerian Ambassador and send the Iranian Ambassador packing in 24 hours if these people are not released to Nigeria's security agencies.

Sob Sob   Sob   It doesn't look like this country wants to be a real nation afterall!

APPREHENSION seems to have heightened over the abandoning of 13 containers allegedly loaded with arms at the Apapa Port, a week after the discovery of the deadly cargoes
Instead of moving the containers into a military cantonment for security reasons, as earlier gathered, they were still lying at the AP Moller Terminal at Apapa Port
Over 50 joint security operatives from Customs, Army, State Security Service and Mobile Police (MOPOL), have been keeping vigil at the site since last Saturday.
Security experts, who spoke with The Guardian on conditions of anonymity raised concerns that it was not proper for such sophisticated weapons to be left in such an open place, under whatever circumstance, for as long as a week. 
They attributed their displeasure to the possibility of an attack on the cargo, a prediction that if it comes true, could lead to disaster. 
Besides, the experts also argued that the high degree of heat from the sun and or any other unforeseen factors could trigger accidental explosion near the port.     
It was learnt that there was an attempt on Wednesday by the government to relocate the cargo to either Abuja or Ibadan, pending the conclusion of investigation into the importation.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28296:anxiety-over-non-relocation-of-arms-containers&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

More than a week after the illegal importation of arms in 13 containers, the Iranian Embassy in Nigeria has denied the Federal Government access to one of the suspects hiding in the embassy.

The development has stalled investigation into the illegal importation of the arms and ammunition.

But the government said it has initiated high-level consultations to avoid a diplomatic row over the issue.

According to findings, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote the embassy on Monday for details on the illegal importation of the arms and the need to release the Iranian suspect holed up in the embassy in Abuja.

But the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), who responded to The Nation’s enquiries last night, said the government was yet to have access to the suspect, who is considered crucial to the investigation of the illegal importation.

He, however, added that high-level consultations were still going on between Nigeria and Iran .

Ajumogobia said: "We are still in high-level consultations with the Iranian Government over the alleged complicity of one of their nationals in the arms importation.

"They have assured us of their full cooperation in the ongoing investigation into the matter by security agencies.

"They are, however, yet to give access to their embassy for the purpose of obtaining a statement from the person identified by investigators as connected with the importation."

Another top government source, however, added: ‘The Federal Government is being careful in handling the matter to avoid any diplomatic impasse.

"We are exploring all diplomatic means to resolve the issue. A diplomatic conflict with Iran could trigger religious crises.

"Based on information from security agencies, we have written a formal letter to the Iranian Ambassador on Monday to obtain comprehensive details on the containers; how the ship was loaded; its record of movement and how it skipped security screening at the port.

"We also wanted to know whether the Iranian Government has carried out preliminary investigations in Tehran over the shipment.

"We thought it would be better for the two nations to exchange information since the fight against terrorism is a global thing."

The SSS had last Tuesday intercepted the 13 containers at the APM Terminal in Apapa Port , Lagos .

The Bill of Lading indicated that the ship brought in some building materials.

But upon thorough examinations, some arms and ammunition, including rockets, mortals, guns and other small arms, were discovered.

Attempts to get to the roots of the importation by Nigerian security agencies had been stalled by the Iranian Embassy.

A security source said: "The Iranian government is seeking a soft-landing for its citizen who was behind the importation.

"I think they wanted some understanding for covert investigation."

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/18123.html

You have to agree that Fashola's people handle their political operations very well.

Plus he is performing relatively well.

Aloy+Emeka:
hehehhe, BabaPussie appears from nowhere anytime Fashola's name is mentioned. All because of N50K/month.

Ileke-IdI:
ahaha, still thinking wrong dear. but ko si wahala lol

Ok - if that is what you call "thinking wrong" I guess I'll just have to refuse to "think right"

Don't tell Oyinlola about good roads and infrastructure. In addition, the money was set aside in the 2010 budget, but the man is just launching the program in November!

mens dept:
Would have been a good idea if security, good roads and infrastructure, along with sanity among professors, those who pay their salary, and student attitudes in general, would have been better than how they all are today

Yes, I am optimistic, but the man has not done much - spent his entire 4 years fighting to have his mandate validated.

On the mystery of the lie - remember when you said "you thought wrong". Well, I just saw tantalizing proof

Ileke-IdI:
ROTFL That's what I was thinking too.
But I always try to be optimistic with stuff like this. But oh well.
Lol what did I lie about?

@Ileke-Idi
I wish. No, I pray that the man is really serious, but he would be leaving in a few months.

I just hope he is not just setting aside money for his senatorial campaign.

BTW, you lied 

Ileke-IdI:
Are our eyes beginning to open now?
Goodluck o. But nawa @ the cost

Your complete lack of a sense of fairness and justice is infuriating.

While we are at it. Since land also belongs to God like oil, MEND or whoever has the wherewithal should should take over large sections of the north so they could make use of God's photosynthetic technology, water, sun and nutrients for Agriculture. Right?

krendo:
Which is why I say we can not confuse compensation as ownership
Oil belongs to no one. Oil belongs to Nigeria
Nigeria has a large and commercial deposit of uranium which is in my area. It belongs to the country as well and not to some fool not willing to work hard to find food for themselves rather they take up arms against the state to reap where they did not sow.
Lazy fools. go and look for work and stop terrorizing the rest of us.

egift:
- It will amount to equity.
- Nigeria will be transformed for good (igboman and being a genius goes hand in hand.)
- Supporting Ndigbo means you see us as fellow citizens too.
And many more all for good.

You need to come down from your high horse about that second statement, but agree with the need for equity. Who carried the mace to his village at the begining of our recent democratic rule? - Chuba Okadigbo. Let's give the Igbo man the presidency so that all this noise about Igbo "superiority" can be laid to it's deserved grave.

Nigeria's progress will only be achieved when a large proportion of our 150 million strong populace join their hands in building it, but a strong, visionary and people-oriented leader is a must. I hope we can find him/her among the Igbo, but not if you keep riding the high horse.

jason12345:
am sorry, but igbos are now claiming t be together with the ss. therefore, i think nigeria might not allow an igbo man to be president. i will still campaign for ndigbo 2015. we need an igbo president. but the question is why do ndigbo not produce a candidate now

Be careful what you ask for. Do we really need an Igbo president? We need an Igbo president the same way we need an Hausa, Yoruba, Nupe, Ijesa, Ekiti, etc president. We don't!

What we need is a true leader, whatever his language affiliations. I would agree that given realities it would be naturally be the turn of an Igbo president, but as someone said when IBB replaced Ebitu Ukiwe with Aikhomu: "When we said we want a representative of our village, we are not talking about the village idiot"

I hope the Igbo will pick up the gauntlet and show the rest that when they get the chance they will not send us the village idiot - he would simply be another in parade of non-meritorious leadership Nigeria has been blessed   with for 50 years.

Our army may be strong - within our sphere of influence, but if I were in a position to influence it I would not be thinking West Africa class, but world class. In that sense they are not as good as could be, yet they remain the best of all security agencies. However, we all know that a large section of our army represents an extension of the political class, affected by the same level of corruption as the rest of the system.

NPF is of course grossly inadequate, but when you fire them all I ask you what happens to their military-like training? It is easy to say retired them to civilian life - well they are not going to take it lying down, and you can expect a huge surge in armed robbery and other crimes.

And the new force? You will ban any former NPF from applying? Are you going to fill the new force with angel from cloud 7? As long as they are going to be Nigerians, you would simply have the NPF back (even if no former NPF member was allowed in) under another name. Do you know the logistics of putting together an entirely new force?

While the NPF needs major reformation, the real problem is our larger unworkable, and corrupt system of doing things either by omission and commission.

tensor777:
Again you have got it wrong I said the[b] Nigeria Police Force [/b] is incompetent. I said nothing about other security forces who in my opinion are fairly competent and professional.
However there should be no question of even thinking of putting the existing NPF personnel in the national guard. They simply need to be flushed out and retired to ordinary civilian life.

The point is that you cure leprosy and then worry about ringworm, not the other way round - not only do you waste your resources, you would not get any relief whatsoever. Besides the cure for leprosy would likely get rid of ringworm as well, but not the other way round.

If you are still wondering it is kind of "not putting the cart before the horse", only a stronger perspective.

What needs to be cured with the Nigerian security apparatus are not the organizations themselves per se, but the system within which they exist - a National Guard is going to exist within that same system and be consumed by it. That is what happened to IBB/Abacha National Guard - they became personal armies with immense cruelty. Imagine Yar'adua had a National Guard - many people that spoke up during his unheard-of disappearance would have gone to their maker before their time.

Ikengawo:
whats wrong with curing ringworm if you have leporsy?
will curing the ringworm make the leporsy worst? if you can go from 2 ailments to 1 is that a bad thing?
you people don't understand geopolitics, but you have a self esteem driven need to feel intelligent so you try to discuss politics and it's a hot mess.
look at this sentence
90% of this was jargon
you just wanted to say a bunch of words and sound 'smart' and end up saying absolutely nothing.
anyways.
you people don't know what a national guard is
A National Guard is not a private army. it won't 'go away' when jonathan goes, and it won't be replaced.
we already have a national guard, our Army serves as our national guard, but this initiative sets to make a seperate national guard that will free up the army and do the job better cause it will specialize in being excellent in 1 area instead of being mediocre in several areas like our army.

@tensor777
Come again - your own delusion? I think you are crazy!

The first part of your point is exactly the same as mine - the Nigerian security forces don't work, but you think the way to solve the problem is to phase one out and create another. Answer me a couple of questions.

When you phase out the police do you plan to fire all of them? If so, what happens to their military-like training? If no, does that mean you are simply going to change the name of the Nigerian police? You need to think through what you are suggesting before putting in place superficial waste of time and resources non-solutions.

BTW next time you call me names, my hand will show up through your computer monitor to deliver you a big slap. Be afraid, be very afraid

tensor777:
That is ultimately your own delusion. However there is a fundamental flaw with the Nigerian Police Force in that they simply lack professional competence to tackle crime and disorder in the country. This issue needs to be adressed directly by phasing them out and creating new security organs that would be able to meet extant national security threats decisively and professionally.
However, I don't know why for sure this kind of topic should attract the interest of those with retrogressive, reactionary political convictions. Maybe because strengthening national security would work against their backward centrifugal ideas.

Evil Brain:
He said that he annulled June 12 because he was concerned about "the security of the country" i.e. that MKO's government would have been overthrown by the military and that the coup would have been "very bloody"
Not a good excuse of course, but better than nothing.

It is not better than nothing - IBB's half-truths are worse than sticking to one lie. He has given us so many reasons in the past, including this one.
Let's even say this excuse is the truth - which it is not, what does it tell you about IBB. I will list a couple:

1. IBB is a coward - Was he not the head of the army?
2. Given how long it took him to take the transition to that point wasn't he supposed to have reformed the military to recognize & secure civil authority?
3. How was leaving the government to Abacha different from MKO being overthrown?
4. Let's say IBB wins the election of 2011 (God forbid) & given our general level of insecurity would be right for GEJ to annul his election?
5. IBB is neither smart nor wise - most of his decisions, most of them copied and dressed up as his ideas with fallacious smooth talk, ultimately turn out to do more harm than good
6. IBB is coward - Did I say that already?
7. IBB is a coward - Just to be sure you understand!