₦airaland Forum

THE past week has not been a fine one for the rightwing Pentecostal Christian movement in Nigeria. And by extension, the moral burden of Nigeria’s  ruling class and all our compatriots who swear loyalty to these two sets in our nation’s firmament, also got heavier.
Almost as if coordinated, two heavy scandals fell on the laps of two of the most notable representatives of rightwing Pentecostalism that have shaken their sureties in the most profound manner, exposing the serious moral dilemma associated with the scandals of the past couple of days. Early last week the report broke that two unnamed Nigerians and an Israeli security contractor based in Abuja, were held in South Africa, for attempting to illegally import into South Africa the sum of $9. 3million in cash.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome; Ayo Oritsejafor; Enoch Adeboye; David Oyedepo and Mike Okonkwo
The said sum of money was allegedly packed in three suitcases and had been ferried into South Africa in a Bombadier Challenger 600 aircraft. It turned out that the plane in question belonged to the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. It is not only the prominent position that he occupies as the leader of Christendom in Nigeria that was brought under sharp focus as a result of the embarrassing story from South Africa, but his place as the expression of Aso Villa-at-prayer or more explicitly, the religious arm of the Jonathan presidency, added fuel to the scandal.
By Wednesday last week, a thoroughly compromised Nigerian government sloppily announced to their South African counterparts that the seized money was to procure arms on behalf of the Nigerian security services. It seemed that the South Africans were not convinced by the explanation with their authorities being quoted as saying the explanations were “flawed and riddled with discrepancies”.
Consequently, the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) of South Africa obtained a court order to freeze the money, because the illegal importation had breached the country’s laws that dealt with transfer of foreign exchange of such proportion.
The NPA further showed that Tier One Services Group, the company that the Nigerian government claimed to be procuring arms from, was neither authorized to sell nor rent military hardware. The Nigerian government’s explanation was hogwash! Tier One Services Group apparently issued an invoice to a Cyprus-based company, ESD International Group Ltd., in respect of the procurement of armaments and helicopters for delivery to Nigeria.
But South African investigators said the time the invoice was prepared and the time money was brought into their country “threw up some serious issues of intent”, according to VANGUARD newspaper of September 18, 2014.
Nigeria’s image was brought to an all-time low by the incident but people seemed more shocked by the connection of the CAN President, Pastor Oritsejafor, with the episode, no matter how tangentially, and despite his denial and the spirited defence of his position by some commentators. In a statement, signed on his behalf, by one Bayo Adewoye, it was stated that “we can confirm that he holds an interest in Eagle Air Company, the aircraft in question is not operated by Pastor Oritsejafor”. It added further that: “the aircraft has been leased to and is operated by Green Coast Produce Limited”. What is conveniently forgotten here was that when faceless members of his church donated the aircraft to him, Oritsejafor had stated that it was for the purpose of doing God’s work.
But the lease out of the plane didn’t resemble anything spiritual; pardon my ignorance of these matters, but it appeared more like the service of mammon: at least in the moment that it was caught ferrying money illegally into South Africa. And when efforts have been made to excuse the illegality, what came to mind is the level of outrage that would have been deliberately generated, if the plane had belonged to the Sultan of Sokoto, and two Northern Muslims and a Saudi citizen (for example!) had been caught ferrying such sums around the world! Those who have defended Pastor Oritsejafor, like Femi Fani-Kayode, would have ratcheted up anti-Northern and anti-Muslim hysteria, while calling for the breakup of Nigeria, as he regularly does!
And to show the level of ruling class irresponsibility, the House of Representatives could not even probe the issue, when it sat on Tuesday this week. A voice vote was enough to kill the plan to examine the scandal. The “Honourable” members preferred that Nigeria was smeared and brought to disrepute abroad, than the truth of the situation be brought out in the open. The individuals caught up in the illegality are far more important than Nigeria!
The mess is even more criminally obvious in the culpability associated with the collapse of  a building in Lagos, that belonged to Senior Pastor TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations. As I write these lines on Tuesday night, the death toll has climbed up to 115 people. South African President, Jacob Zuma, in response to the tragedy, told his grieving country that: “Not in the recent history of our country have we had this large number of our people die in one incident outside the country”.
South Africa’s SUNDAY TIMES newspaper of September 21, 2014, incredibly reported how chaos, incompetence, lies and the refusal of Pastor TB Joshua’s church and the Nigerian authorities to cooperate in the rescue attempt, all conspired to deepen the tragedy.
While TB Joshua preferred to tell the absurd story of a mystery plane which hovered over the building and the story took a more bizarre turn, with allegations of an attack by Boko Haram, the authorities in Lagos state, through the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Toyin Ayinde, had revealed that the 5-storey building had no government approval for its construction. Similarly, Ibrahim Farinloye, of NEMA, pointed out, that church officials prevented rescuers from accessing the church: “some of us were even attacked (by church members)”. The church members were also hostile to journalists and smashed at least one television camera.
Farinloye was quoted by SA’s SUNDAY TIMES as saying that rescuers lost the two or three critical hours immediately after a disaster when most lives are saved.
It was amazing that two days after the collapse and with casualties mounting, TB Joshua was telling the congregation on Sunday that: “they were trying to scare you from coming to this church. Don’t be scared, you are not the target, I am the target. I know my hour has not yet come”. As the report added, it took him 30 minutes into the televised sermon, before he mentioned the dead!
And to underline TB Joshua’s far-reaching influence, the Lagos state governor who visited the church, disappeared through a backdoor, in order to avoid the media.
Similarly, President Goodluck Jonathan, with an eye on the 2015 elections, visited TB Joshua at the weekend. It was more important to be on TB Joshua’s side than to demand justice for the 115 people who died as the tragic episode was shrouded in mumbo-jumbo, about a “mysterious plane hovering” and an alleged Boko Haram attack.
This is the sorry pass that our country has been taken today, by an alliance of obscurantism; a coterie of rightwing religious bodies and their incredibly rich pastors, primates, overseers (as we have seen in these two different but interrelated scandals) and our irresponsible and unpatriotic ruling elite!
This alliance resides at the lowest moral depth of society, because on the one hand, the rightwing nonspecialists exploit a genuine spiritual need amongst Nigerians, who are caught up in the soulless world of neoliberal capitalist uncertainty inhabited by the demons and principalities of poverty, underdevelopment, insecurities, violence and economic deprivation. On the other hand, they are in cahoots with a ruling elite whose choices have largely fostered the hopelessness that the Pentecostal denizens exploit.
They are the two sides of oppression for the Nigerian people and so need and reinforce each other constantly and therefore carry the same moral burdens. It should therefore not surprise us, if the lives lost at General Overseer, TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations, end up counting for nothing and never find justice; just as they are spiritedly sweeping under the carpet, the illegal ferrying of $9.3million in Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s plane.
These are scared cows living above the laws of the land; furthermore, they are friends of President Goodluck Jonathan and will shortly be expected to carry out important spiritual assignments, for Jonathan’s 2015 re-election project. That is why they DON’T GIVE A DAMN that lives were lost or monies were illegally exported from Nigeria!
The Scotland referendum

Indifferent!

Yes! They deserve it, I believe by now the arm must ve discover their weak point and ready to mend it. Also, on the part of the govt, it should see how to make Nigerian arm all time battle ready, NA, kudos.

Lesgupnigeria: The oil reserves will soon be used up.

The only solution is to embrace agriculture as a business.


The fastest growing economy such as brazil,indonesia and argentina have agriculture as their mainstay,have started producing environmental friendly fuels from some crops,export majority of their produce and is generating good foeeign exchange.

Thank God the Nigeria government is waking up and nigerians also needs to venture into agribusiness to eradicate the issue of food insecurity in the country

Do agric....Create wealth

honestly, this country needs to diversify fast

seankafor: NO U SAID NIGERIA IS THE POOREST THEN I ASKED U THE QUESTION.

I did not, someone else did, review.

alentyno: Nice piece of info

thanks

seankafor: HAV U BEEN TO IRAQ , KUWAIT.IRAN

have u been there? What is ur experience.

1 Californium-252 (Cf-252)
Arguably the most valuable natural resource on earth is the
element californium. In its most common seen form, the
isotope californium-252, the half-life is less than three years;
scientists wishing to use this element have very little time to
work with very little californium. It’s used in the medical
field as a cancer treatment, and it’s also great at starting
reaction processes for nuclear reactors. This exciting
element can also help detect subterranean resources
ranging from gold to oil. The californium used in practical
applications is manmade, but it does occur naturally in trace
amounts, thus it makes our list.

2 Rhodium
The most valuable metal in the world is not silver or gold.
It’s not even platinum. No, it’s good old rhodium. Rhodium
is prized for its industrial applications, including everything
from automobile exhaust systems (more than three-fourths
of mined rhodium goes to this purpose) to highly reflective
surfaces used to focus beams of light. And in the jewelry
industry, rhodium is used to make other metals truly shine;
white gold and platinum jewelry are often “rhodium dipped”
to provide added brilliance.

3 Ivory
Ivory is, unfortunately, pretty valuable. And the larger the
piece, the higher the value. Whereas an ounce of gold is
worth precisely one-sixteenth what a pound of gold would
fetch you, not so with ivory. Smaller pieces – say an inch
cubed – can be had for mere dollars. Once you start getting
into samples measured not in inches but in feet, you start
dealing in thousands and thousands of dollars. But if you
are in fact dealing in ivory, then you pretty much suck.

4 Phosphorous
Phosphorous may seem endlessly abundant, and indeed it
can be found in many places on earth – not to mention
within your own body. But large, concentrated deposits of
this element are limited to a few regions, and large-scale
collection of phosphorous threatens to deplete the supply
within a century. That’s bad news, as phosphorous is the
most commonly used fertilizer worldwide, and helps feed a
hell of a lot of human beings.

Planet Earth is a pretty generous place when you think about it. It’s got all this great air to breathe, fertile
soil for growing fine foodstuffs, and even nice shiny metals like gold and platinum which are fun to look at
(and occasionally kill each other over). But the planet is less generous with a few things – things we very
much like to have in our modern lives. As scarcity breeds value, these five resources are incredibly
valuable because they are decidedly less than abundant.

5 Water
And when discussing valuable natural resources, we would
be remiss if we didn’t give a nod to good old water. Not that
valuable, you say? Readily flowing behind taps everywhere
and available in convenient bottles in thousands of stores?
1.) That’s not true everywhere. 2.) Go a day or two without
water and then tell us it’s not pretty damn valuable.

Holywizard: Yes but u didnt mention condom village

go ahead, mention it.

Brent crude oil spot price is expected to fall from an
average of $112 per barrel in 2012 to annual averages of
$108 per barrel in 2013 and $101 per barrel in 2014,
according to report released by US-based Energy
Information Administration (EIA) last week.
The price shift reflects the increasing supply of liquid
fuels from non-OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) countries, it stated.
However, OPEC nations continue to overshadow the
world in terms of reserves, holding more than 80 per
cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, according to
current estimates. The bulk of OPEC oil reserves – 66 per
cent – are in the Middle East.
OPEC’s proven oil reserves currently stand at 1,199.71
billion barrels.
Here are the top countries with the biggest proven oil
reserves, as reported by EIA.

1. VENEZUELA
Proven oil reserves in 2013 (billion barrels): 297.6
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
2,489.2
Venezuela surpassed Saudi Arabia last year to become
the holder of the largest oil reserves in the world.
However, annual oil production of the OPEC supplier is
considerably less than the Kingdom.

2. SAUDI ARABIA
Proven oil reserves (billion barrels): 267.91
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
11,545.7
Saudi Arabia has almost one-fifth of the world’s proven
oil reserves and ranks as the largest producer and
exporter of oil in the world.

3. CANADA
Proven oil reserves: 173.105
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
3,854.4
Canada’s oil sands are a significant contributor to the
recent growth in the world’s liquid fuel supply and
comprise the vast majority of the country’s proven oil
reserves.

4. IRAN
Proven oil reserves: 154.58
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
3,538.4
International sanctions have drastically impacted Iran’s
energy sector – the country’s oil production fell
dramatically in 2012, from over 35 million barrels per
day in 2011 to just over 3.5 million bpd in 2012.

5. IRAQ
Proven oil reserves: 141.35
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
2,986.6
Despite having large proven oil reserves, increases in oil
production have fallen behind ambitious targets because
of infrastructure constraints and political disputes, says
EIA.

6. KUWAIT
Proven oil reserves: 104
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
2,796.8
Kuwait boasts the second largest oil reserves in the GCC,
behind Saudi Arabia and is also among the world’s top
10 largest exporters of total oil products.

7. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Proven oil reserves: 97.8
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
3,213.2
Enhanced oil recovery techniques continue to underpin
strong crude oil production totals and are an important
strategy for extending the life of the country’s aging oil
fields, states EIA.

8. RUSSIA
Proven oil reserves: 80
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
10,397
Russia, which also holds the world’s largest natural gas
reserves and the second-largest coal reserves, is the
second biggest oil supplier in the world after Saudi
Arabia.

9. LIBYA
Proven oil reserves: 48.01
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day): 1,483
The holder of Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, Libya
saw a disruption in oil production in 2011 due to conflict,
but the country has recovered, and subsequently, has
begun to increase supplies.

10. NIGERIA
Proven oil reserves: 37.2
Total oil supply in 2012 (thousand barrels per day):
2,524.1
Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources are the mainstay of the
country’s economy, but EIA states that development of
the sector is often constrained by instability in the Niger
Delta.

There are so many weird things in the world – some are
natural, whereas others are man-made. I am sharing the top ten unusual
restaurants in the world that spread weirdness around .


1. Magic Restroom Cafe: First toilet-themed restaurant
in America
The Magic Restroom Cafe is a California-based first toilet-
themed restaurant in America. There are toilet chairs to
sit, and food is served in various toilet-styled plates and
bowls. Even the menu is inspired by our bodily functions.
Some of the items on the a-la-carte include Constipation
(noodles with soybean paste), Black poop (chocolate
sundae), Golden poop rice (consisting of chicken wings),
etc. Imagine eating poop for dinner! It is an extremely
loathsome idea. The guests are strictly told to use the real
toilets to answer the call of nature. If you can resist the
feeling of nausea, you may visit this place once for the
experience.


2. New Lucky Restaurant: Do you mind a cup of tea with the
dead?
This is the most-weird restaurant with tables laid beside
the dead. The New Lucky restaurant in Ahmedabad, India
is built in the center of an old Muslim cemetery. The
restaurant serves milk tea with soft rolls. The waiters
have become so accustomed to move in-between the
graves and many people don’t care about the graves.
They just come to enjoy the tea. The feeling of being
watched by the dead is so eerie that you just can’t even
normally breathe. I wonder how people easily move in
the restaurant to enjoy the tea.


3. Hospitalis: A hospital-themed restaurant in Latvia
A hospital is a scary place for many. If you want to shed
your fear of visiting a hospital, then you must visit the
Hospitalis restaurant in Riga, Latvia. You can see long-
legged waitresses wearing nurse’s uniforms moving about
and serving guests at this hospital-themed restaurant.
These so-called nurses treat the guests as patients and
take good care of them. They also sing songs and play
music. The waiters clad in the attire of surgeons prepare
exotic drinks in the bar. The food is served in flasks and
operating-room’s dishes, while it is eaten with surgical
utensils. Interestingly, syringes are used for seasoning.
Would you like to get pampered by beautiful nurses?


4. Disaster Cafe: Enjoy a meal with a 7.8 earthquake
The moment an earthquake comes, people run for their
lives, but not at the Diasater Cafe in Spain. The Cafe
serves food in a terribly shaky atmosphere. Many people
visit this cafe to experience a simulated 7.8 earthquake.
Just take care to maintain your balance during the quake
else you may spill your drinks.

5. Guo Li Zhuang: First restaurant to serve penile parts
in China
The name Guo Li Zhuang translates to ‘strength within the
pot’. This restaurant in China specializes in serving food
made from the penile parts of animals such as horse,
snake, dog, donkey, deer, etc. The food is prepared with
secret medicinal recipes of the Guo family. The names of
the food items are also interesting- Look for the Treasure
in the Desert Sand, Dragon in the Flame of Desire, etc.
The young crowd of under 15 years of age is not allowed
in the restaurant as the kind of food served here may
leave an impact on their hormones.


6.Kayabukiya Tavern: Get served by monkey waiters
Monkeys are famous for bringing mischief. However, the
Kayabukiya Tavern restaurant in Japan has employed two
monkeys – named Yat-Chan and Fuku-Chan, as helpers.
According to the owners, when they were busy serving
their guests, the monkeys (pets) observed them, and
started imitating their owners. This is how they turned
into their helpers. They serve drinks and bring towels
after the meals. They also bring the bill and give change
in return. The monkeys wear a uniform while serving the
guests. You can give them boiled soy beans as a tip. As
the monkeys are allowed to work just two hours a day,
thus if you want to be served by them, you need to do
plan before arriving.


7.Heart Attack Grill: Get spoiled, gain calories at this
hospital-themed restaurant
If you are a real foodie, then you would feel blessed by
visiting the Heart Attack Grill in Dallas, TX, that
encourages life-threatening fast food. Cholesterol-rich
food accompanied with cigarettes and beer is served by
waitresses dressed up in sexually provocative nurse’s
uniforms. The nurses tie tags showing orders on the
wrists of the guests while the doctors recommend burgers
– Single, Double, Triple, Quadruple Bypass. The Butter
shake served at the Heart Attack Grill is claimed to have
the world’s highest butterfat content. The guests who eat
the biggest burger on the menu are helped by the nurses
to reach their car in a wheelchair. We all love ourselves,
thus we understand the importance of staying on a
healthy diet. Sometimes, it is fine to treat yourself with
food that may cause a heart attack!


8.Ed Debevic’s: Saucy waiters, Delicious burgers
If you have a craze for impertinence, then you would like
the Ed Debevic restaurant in US where saucy waiters
make sarky remarks instead of thanking or greeting
visitors. This retro-styled restaurant has the feel of the
1950s. The musical numbers seem interrupting, yet they
entertain guests. The menu consists of milkshakes,
burgers, wine, desserts, and a lot more. The waitresses
also dance in flashy costumes. Are you ready to
experience a different hue of madness?


9.Lambert’s Cafe: Munch on thrown rolls and have a
hearty laugh
If you are good at catching things, then you would enjoy
the catch game at Lambert’s Cafe in US. This restaurant
has its own tradition of serving guests by throwing breads
at them. Guests can eat as many as they can catch.
Lambert’s Cafe takes pride in its chain of three
restaurants located in Sikeston, Foley, and Ozark for its
exclusive services. They even offer some free dishes
including beans, potatoes, etc.

10.Hobbit House Restaurant: Featuring the smallest
waiters in the world
Established in 1973, the Hobbit House is a restaurant
dedicated to “ Lord of the Rings.” This house is an idea of
Jim Turner, a former college professor. The inner walls of
the restaurant exhibit scenes from Tolkien’s books. There
is an extensive collection of beer at the bar in the Hobbit
House. Nobody cares for the menu as the world’s
smallest waiters are the centre of attraction. You would
love this place if you too are a fan of the “ Lord of the
Rings.”


Those of you who have already visited any of these
restaurants, please share your reviews in comments. We
would like to know your experiences.

When will this country be great?
When will all Nigerians be patriotic?
People are suffering!
Yet, leaders are myopic.

Rest In Peace Pac

1-5, I deserve an award.

PetroDolla3: Dummies, what name do you give to a country of kidnappers, ritualists, pr0stitutes,419ners, scammers and spammers, terrorists, militants, armed robbers, book haram, friggin eediots rule? A country where nothing works?

nothing works? Yet best and biggest economy in Africa, ve a rethink.

iterator25: At least we're associated with English .. the opposite of Ghana is coal, vice versa

no! Synonym of ghana is coal, like the sun shines on them only day and nit

san316: SPEAKING POLITICALLY: that would be great. If Europe is destroyed, Africa will advance closer to them in development. We'll be providing aids for them which will give us lots of advantage. SPEAKING LOGICALLY: Putin is just ranting. Russia cannot do it. Trying to start a world war will only lead to a completion of their annihilation which started during ww2. SPEAKING AS A LIBERALIST: a more amicable medium must be adopted to avoid any form of war. The world has not fully recovered from the agony of ww2. The UN must do something about this threat. SPEAKING AS A NIGERIAN: that's their problem. We have many issues to deal with already-BH, NUPENG & PENGASSAN strike, OrishaJETfor, 2015. Etc

this is humor

Nigerians Are immune to power failure, no bi today, darkness is not an issue

ProphetUdeme: saw it earlier in ur former threads how u undermine ur Creator Jesus. Even ur quran confirms that before Abraham came, Jesus already existed in the beginning with God

u lied to Jesus, he never created me, he was created himself, I refuse to worship him.

To say God has a son
To say he is a man
To say he died and rose
.............All na Uderstatement of the most High.

It is a pity, died while helping humanity.

In my dream, I Saw scotland going separate way, With new leaders.

May God help the military in their campaign to end this evils.

Colourless as water

Jesus was nothing more than a man, who has full attributes of man just like u.

Truth be told

Money and death

This person must 30yrs plus