₦airaland Forum

Thirty years ago, Fela Kuti called them "Vagabonds in Power", yesterday, a British solicitor called him (them) "A thief in government house". This is the third governor who would be caught as a thief in the UK, after Alams and Dariye. This is a huge, huge shame for Nigeria.
It is high time for all well-meaning Nigerians to demand for a total obliteration of the immunity clause from our constitutio, n, for it has only become a protection for looters to unleash brigandage on our treasury.

James Ibori, a former governor of one of Nigeria's oil-producing states, has pleaded guilty in a UK court to 10 counts of money-laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

British police accuse him of stealing $250m (£160m) over eight years.

[b]The prosecutor called him a "thief in government house".[/b]Mr Ibori, once seen as one of Nigeria's wealthiest and most influential politicians, was arrested in 2010 in Dubai and then extradited to London.

Some $35m of his alleged UK assets were frozen in 2007.

As his trial at London's Southwark Crown Court was about to begin, Mr Ibori changed his plea to guilty and admitted stealing money from Delta state and laundering it in London through a number of offshore companies.

The BBC's Chris Summers says between 20 and 30 of Mr Ibori's supporters turned up to court - some wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Free Ibori". There was not enough room for them all in the public gallery.

Prosecuting QC Sasha Wass said Mr Ibori, 53, had "tricked" his way into becoming Delta state governor, by giving a false date of birth and claiming he had no criminal record.

"He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house. As the pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta state's wealth and hand out patronage."

He is due to be sentenced on 16 April.


Mr Ibori's wife, Theresa, his sister, Christine, his mistress, Udoamaaka Okoronkwo, and his London solicitor, Bhadresh Gohil, have all been convicted of money-laundering.

Their convictions could only be reported on Monday after reporting restrictions were lifted.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had asked the UK's Metropolitan police to look into the ex-governor's financial affairs.

"The vast sums of money involved were used to fund Mr Ibori's lavish lifestyle," Detective Inspector Paul Whatmore, the officer in charge of the investigation, said.

"We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta State."

He said that the money Mr Ibori stole should have been used to pay for sanitation, power supplies and healthcare for some of the poorest people in the world.

Mr Ibori spent the stolen money on houses in London and put his children in the best private schools in the UK.

DIY theft

He also bought a fleet of armoured Land Rovers and Bentleys and was in the process of buying a $32m private jet.

Three of the money-laundering charges relate to the sale of Delta state's share in V-Mobile to Akwa Ibom state.

This raised $37m which Mr Ibori stole and laundered through his solicitor Gohil, who has been jailed for 10 years.

In 2007, a UK court froze assets allegedly belonging to him worth $35m.

His annual salary as Delta state governor was less than $25,000.

He had already left the UK when his assets were seized but he was arrested in Nigeria later that year.

The charges were dismissed but he was then re-arrested in Dubai on a British warrant.

Mr Ibori has been convicted in the UK before - in 1991 for stealing, in cahoots with his wife who worked as a cashier, from the Neasden, London, branch of the DIY shop Wickes.

He was also found guilty in 1992 for being in possession of a stolen credit card and having used it to fraudulently take out $1,590.

Under Nigeria's federal system, state governors enjoy huge powers and control budgets larger than those of many West African countries.

They have immunity from prosecution while in office.

Two other former state governors have been convicted of corruption charges in Nigeria, after fleeing the UK while free on bail.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17181056

There's good news for Nigerians with former Governor James Onanefe Ibori (the self-styled Ogidigborigbo of Africa!) admitting that he was a thief during his governorship. A small consolation for Nigerians outraged by the rampancy and scale of corruption in our space. Isn't it amazing that that Nigerian prosecutors and courts couldn't find one tiny accusation to stick to Ibori. It took UK authorities to finally corner the mercurial thief, and to force him to confess. Left to Nigerian courts, Ibori would have lived happily ever after, feted as one of the PDP's elders!

There is this wrong assumption that development can only come when you get more money from federation account. This is the logic that often drives the clamour for “more money, more money”. Every state must work towards developing its local economy with policies and programmes that will encourage the growth of industry and service. It will not happen overnight—it takes careful planning and attracting the needed investment. Every state must leverage on its area of strength. I have said it a million times—states such as Anambra and Abia can build electronics manufacturing cities without spending a kobo of their own money! It is all about using the brain.

Need we continue to hammer on the fact that our over-reliance on oil revenue is bound to hurt us one day? Every discussion about public finance in Nigeria starts and ends with federation account. It is sickening. State commissioners for finance run to Abuja every month to collect FAAC cheques, the same way workers wait for their salaries! If oil money were to dry up today, where would the finance commissioners run to? How would the states survive? What are the governors putting in place in their states to prepare for a future without oil, a future where the oil-fuelled federation account will become more like pocket money to them?

We cannot say that we exist in a Federal Republic and then some people still think that the way to address their revenue shortfall is to eye the revenues of others. That is not Federalism. You only do that to a conquered people. You only do that to a vassal state. So Nigeria should decide do we really want to be a Federal Republic of Nigeria where we have viable states that pull their own weight o, r do we want to pretend by calling ourselves a Federal Republic while the reality is that there is nothing Federal about the Republic and we are really a Unitary Republic of Nigeria where states depend on one unitary commodity (oil) and abandon other resources (such as agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing)

NLC/TUC's case can be likened to that of Esau who sold his birthright and who later sought for it with tears to no avail.

Labour, you had your chance to etch your name and values on the canvas of the hearts of Nigerians but you bungled it, YOU HAVE FOREVER LOST YOUR RELEVANCE! Nigerians will never heed your battle cry again,

If Sanusi is giving N25m per bombed church, can we say it has opened the door for motivating people to bomb their own churches?

Love takes time. It needs a history of giving and receiving, laughing and crying, Love never promises instant gratification, only ultimate fulfillment. Love means believing in someone, in something. It supposes a willingness to struggle, to work, to suffer, and to rejoice. Satisfaction and ultimate fulfillment are by-products of dedicated love. They belong only to those who can reach beyond themselves; to whom giving is more important than receiving. Love is doing everything you can to help others build whatever dreams they have. Love involves much careful and active listening. It is doing whatever needs to be done, and saving whatever will promote the other's happiness, security, and well-being. Sometimes, love hurts. Love is on a constant journey to what others need. It must be attentive, caring, and open, both to what others say and to what others cannot say, Love says no with empathy and great compassion. Love is firm, but when needed it must be tender. When others have tried and failed, love is the hand in yours in your moments of discouragement and disappointment. Love is reliable. Love is a choice and commitment to others' true and lasting happiness. It is dedicated to growth and fulfillment. Love is not selfish. Love sometimes fails for lack of wisdom or abundance of weakness, but it forgives, knowing the intentions are good. Love does not attach conditions, Genuine love is always a free gift. Love realizes and accepts that there will be disagreements and disturbing emotions, There may be times when miles lay between, but love is a commitment. It believes and endures things. Love encourages freedom of self. Love shares positives and negatives reactions to warm and cold feelings. Love, intimate love, will never reject others. It is the first to encourage and the last to condemn. Love is a commitment to growth, happiness, and fulfillment of one another,

If Lamorde must do a lie detector test, I suggest that he starts from all our living leaders. Gen. Yakubu Gowon now prays for Nigeria, which is a very good thing. But before now, he had ruled for nine years. A number of times, he had fixed terminal dates for his administration, only to tell us that the dates “were no longer realistic,” and he got ousted in a military coup. Did he lie to us? Let the polymer tell us.

Alhaji Shehu Shagari is well and alive in Sokoto. Did the NPN government he led truly bleed the country to the point of anemia? Let’s do a polygraph test.
Muhammadu Buhari? Clean as a whistle in my estimation. But did N2.8 billion truly get missing under his watch as Petroleum Minister? Polygraph test.
Ibrahim Babangida. Where is the over 12 billion dollars Gulf War oil windfall? Polygraph test.
Ernest Shonekan? No need. His 84-days regime was even a lie in itself. Olusegun Obasanjo. Did he truly want a third term in office and lied later that he didn’t? Polygraph test.

Goodluck Jonathan. He signed the power rotation formula of his party as deputy governor in Bayelsa, and later came to say the presidency was never rotated. Lie? Truth? Polygraph test.
This is where Ibrahim Lamorde should start, and we’ll then take him very serious.
Consider some other posers on polygraph test as raised by my former pastor and senior friend, Rev Dr Richard Oloidi, in an electronic mail from Atlanta, USA, during the week:

“Who will operate the lie detector? The operator must first of all be free from lying, otherwise the LD can be manipulated by him. Secondly, LD is not admissible in court as evidence because it gives allowance for 8-10 percent error. Since the information obtained from LD cannot be proved ‘beyond reasonable doubt,’ it is inadmissible in court in advanced countries, and I know Nigerian courts too will have the same opinion. Thirdly, use of blood pressure related drugs can alter the result obtained from LD. Of what use is LD in a corrupt ridden nation such as ours where the operator can be bribed to manipulate the investigation process through the use of such drugs? Please tell Lamorde that the first thing is to ‘clean’ the entire system instead of buying any LD that will later become a waste pipe of siphoning funds through maintenance.” Food for thought, if you ask me.
By the way, that super Minister who told us that fuel subsidy would be removed in April 2012, only for the infernal thing to be sneaked in on January 1, what do we do to her? She must undergo polygraph test, as she said thereafter that she never promised us April. Oh, this polygraph test will show us the faces of many liars. If only it was foolproof.

SOURCE:EXCERPTS FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY FEMI ADESINA OF SUN NEWSPAPER
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/femi/2012/femi-feb-24-2012.html

Mandela 'in good spirits and well'

Johannesburg - Former South African president Nelson Mandela "is in good spirits and well" after being hospitalised on Saturday with a long-standing abdominal complaint, a report said.

"I can assure you that the former president is in good spirits and well," South African presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj told the private eNews channel.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Mandela-in-good-spirits-and-well-20120225

I hope he doesn't bow to the wishes of some nairalanders!

Very quickly, Bankoleism is a term used to describe a man that adorns himself in white attires all the time, yet engages in activities that are at best black, such as conniving with bank officials to borrow, collect, use, misuse, manage or mismanage by sharing with fellow colleagues while majority of citizenry suffer.
Bankoleism, has different phases, it all depends on what side of the divide one chooses and you will be surprised about what you see. Bankoleism is when the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police decides o pay you a social visit on the eve of your arrest, abduction or invitation to a sister organization to answer questions regarding money that has already be spent, chopped and whacked.
It also is a state in which one falls from grace to graceful grass because N10b is not just ten naira.
While the larger society listens to the Bankoles and his sweet sounding grammar, they take loans and share amongst themselves in millions and billions. In Bankoleism its either you are judged on the pages of newspapers or your running mouth could put you into trouble, it all depends on whose shoes you take, whose foot you step on,
It's funny how the tables turn, one moment, former speaker Dimeji Bankole was telling the world how EFCC was not worth a dollar and next minute, he is going to be doing WAEC questions for hours nay days in the same EFCC.
The Bankoles of these nation, its political class and people are many, they include but are not limited the Patricia Ettehs, impeached for inflated contract of N620 Million and recently forgiven and before that given a national honour, the Wabaras, of the bribe for budget fame, the Bode Georges, took billions got a slap on the wrist, a thanksgiving and back grooving as a party chief, or is it the Ibrus, convicted and serving time in elite hospitals.
Bankole should have seen it coming, but sadly with so much to steal, they never see it coming. First it was the N2.3B naira car scam, and then the N9B naira contract scam.
And to imagine that Nigerians are celebrating Tamborine or Tambuwal, the new speaker tells us we are in for a long haul, we celebrate everything, like goodluck in the face of a lacklustre lucklost society, we are plagued with all sorts, in one week, we beat Argentine and it's called match-fixing, and same week are lucky by 6minutes not to have lost to Ethiopia.
A nation that celebrates when PHCN brings electricity with shouts of 'Up Nepa' is already cheering, PDP Dealt with, Obj looses out and all those tantalizing haedlines. However the truth is that "It will cost the country at least three hundred and thirty-eight billion, six hundred and forty-five million eight hundred and forty-five thousand, five hundred and ten naira (N338,645,845,510bn) in taxpayers' money to keep the 469 members of the incoming seventh National Assembly in office for the next four years."
For a nation that imports fuel that it has in abundance, because it cannot get just two refineries to function optimally. It would spend all that money for Mark, and Tambuwal, for doing nothing, It may interest Nigerians to know that sixth senate which just ended, passed only 91 bills in a period of four years with as much as over 20 Senators not having been to the chamber since January."
In the whole Bankole saga, it remains to be seen if it will end any better than other such Nigerian movies, we are either waiting for part two, or it's to God be the glory. EFCC says they discovered Bankole was plotting other schemes to thwart his voluntary surrender, arrest or kidnap, same time, the commission says the former Speaker will remain in custody to enable him have sufficient time to answer questions on the numerous fraud allegations against him.
In all these the ordinary Nigerian just watches not knowing who to believe and exactly what is happening.
The whole Abuja is agog, well wishers and jobbers and one wonders for a group that cannot explain, how just March 30, 2010, approved for itself : Speaker, N100m, Deputy Speaker, N80m, House Leader, N60m, Dep. House Leader, N57.5m, Chief Whip, N55m, Dep. Chief Whip, N54.5m, Minority Leader, N54.5m, Minority Whip, N50m, Dep. Minority Leader, N50m and Dep. Minority Whip, N50m for expences.
At a time when Nigerians are groaning under all sorts of economic pains, when governors while stealing claim they cannot pay N18, 000.
For the Bankoles in our society the arrogance is swell, its continuous, because what can the people do, it remains to be seen how Jonathan can achieve the feat of getting back a semblance of sanity into a corrupt system. With men like Dimeji's father Chief Alani Bankole, an Egba High Chief whose only comments were, he was not worried about the arrest of his son because he was sure that at the end of the day, the embattled former speaker would not be indicted.
“I trust my son. He will not be indicted. You can quote me as saying so.” What air of certainty, who would not feel that, if my son can steal, my error, I mean take a loan of N1B only I will say same I am sure?
I will take excerpts from an essay I wrote some five years back and conclude, Corruption has and will continue to thrive because we have power concentrated in the hand of few people who are not practically accountable to the people. Nothing visible and strongly commendable has happened, we can only hope for internal system restructuring, a form of self-repair.
We are on a continuous guinea pig breeding exercise of corrupt public officials that keep thriving because of a dysfunctional budding democracy, a democracy that has continued to remain nascent at the expense of public good
Despite the entire baby crawling efforts at posturing that Jonathan will do, this government lacks the commonest transparency as those before it, and as been done in the past, with aid from some eggheads, and credit to them, we will watch as they increase the technical complexity of their so-called reforms to conceal or pave way for the further distortion of the economy.
Bankoleism will be further enshrined into the system because of an illiterate, apathetic and ignorant populace, without adequate public discernment of political choices and knowledge
Our inability to tackle the menace of Bankoleism will leave us in the present masquerade supervised corruption in health, education, Police, transport, aviation, roads, housing, etc.
Jonathan and his team, if he can, if he will, needs to answer the following question, how does a public official advertise his corrupt services, what are the methods for concealing a corrupt payment, how do corrupt partners integrate vertically? If these and many issues are addressed, there would be fewer Bankoles.
It's not about eliminating corruption, it's about rebuilding the system, and we all have a part to play. Jonathan do one thing!

This is not 419 but 914.

Flash! Nigerian President Jonathan arrives london for David Camerons 'International Confrence on Somalia' GEJ also scheduled meet with 'selected Nigerians and Nigerian Diaspora organisations in the UK' location? Undisclosed. 'strictly by invitation' is the word coming out of Nigerian High Commision in London.

NLC/TUC's case is liken to that of Esau who sold his birthright and who later sought for it with tears to no avail.

Labour, you had your chance to etch your name and values on the canvas of the hearts of Nigerians but you bungled it, YOU HAVE FOREVER LOST YOUR RELEVANCE! Nigerians will never heed your battle cry again,

I commend Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos state for closing down seven churches for noise pollution. I hope he extends it to non-compliant mosques too. Furthermore, the governments of Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states should do something about the traffic nightmares caused by the prosperity pentecostal empires on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. As far as I am concerned, faith that is blind to social and civic responsibility is sin. Faith that is inconsiderate of "thy neighbor" is wicked. Christ had/has no nuisance value. That should be His most important example to His followers in Nigeria.

Last Sunday in church, everybody was praying as usual. Telling God his or her own problem.

On one end was a young girl. She was very agitated. Shouting and praying that God should help her with two thousand naira. That's all she needed.

At the same time, one desperate looking man at the back of the church was quietly asking God to help him with with fifty million naira.
,
The young girl was getting louder and more persistent with her request. Shouting, jumping and begging that God should please help her with two thousnd naira.

The desperate man at the back now went to her and asked "ah ah, na only you God go hear? Girl what's your problem now?"

The girl replied that she needed the thousand naira badly.

The man hissed loudly, took two thousand naira from his pocket and said "I beg, take this and be quiet so that God can concentrate!!!"

(UK):The Minister for Transport made a policy statement today that the Government will provide tax incentives for people that purchase ELECTRIC and HYBRID cars, She reckons that as the price of PMS increases yearly, there was a need to move the demand from that area to the more accessible, cheaper, and cleaner energy alternatives, Hmmmm, a government that is proactive and not reactionary will always win the argument and the future,

During the fuel subsidy debate, The Federal Cabinet and some supporters of fuel subsidy removal claimed that price of PMS will 'fall' like the telephone tariffs, I disputed the claim like some few individuals who faulted the argument about the similarities purported by the proponents of the subsidy removal, Now, Minister for Finance,Petroleum Resources etc went to Zurich last week to meet with I, nternational community and there the Minister in charge of the Economy opened her statement with the same line of argument ", tariffs of telecom have fallen drastically since the deregulation. As soon as we deregulate petroleum market fully, investments will flow in and PRICES WILL FALL, " As soon as she finished her statement, a foreign Journalist from the Economist tore the argument as ", not intelligent, " He posits that the petroleum economy is far a pole apart from the telecom market, Immediately, the Minister changed her argument that she didn't say the price of PMS will 'fall' after deregulation but the product will be ", regularly available, " The journalist then quoted her statement, She and her team looked stupid, I then began to imagine, why didn't our Press over the months of this 'STUPID ARGUMENT' raised what this Foreign Journalist raised, I believe Nigeria can do better, We need to hold these people responsible and that is the only reason we constantly view their policy thrust forensically so that situation like this embarrassing comment would not happen,

Where are the students from OAU and UNILAG when this lady from a state university won all these awards?EX-students from OAU and UNILAG on nairaland are always quick to say they produce the best graduates!

Whe are the students from OAU and UNILAG when this lady from a state university won all these awards.

Q 1.In which battle did Napoleon die?
*his last battle

Q2.Where was the declaration of independence signed?
*at the bottom of the page

Q3.River Ravi flows from which state?
*liquid

Q4.What is the main reason for divorce?
*marriage

Q5.What is the main reason for failure?
*exam

Q6.What can you never eat for breakfast?
*lunch & dinner

Q7.What looks like half an apple?
*the other half

Q8.If you throw a red stone into a blue sea,what will it become?
*it will simply become wet

Q9.How can a man go eight days without sleeping?
*No problem,he sleeps at night

Q10.How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
*you will never find an elephant with one hand

Q11.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand,what would you have?
*very large hands

Q12.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall,how long would it take four men to build it
*no time at all,the wall is already built

Q13.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
*anyway you want,concrete floors are very hard to crack

After reading this,the examiner fainted!

bin gbagbo:
^^^

shut up!!! when i am talking!!! do you know who i am??[b][/b]

Who cares who you are?Rantings of a deluded megalomaniac

bin gbagbo:
^^^

GUY, your girlfriend kick the bucket or what??

Why are you stalking me?

if you are playing Arsenal in a final,don't panic;their second name is trophyless!

If PHCN promise 24/7 light no believe,go buy candle!

If 2face advertise contraceptives, no buy,na fake.

If Dame Jonathan sell Brighter Grammar,No buy Na fake,

If Akala sells bleaching cream, buy, na Original

If 2face sell pikin, buy, e no go feel am, e get plenty,

If Chelsea see an open net chance, don't panic, it is Torres.

If dem announce new coach and him name be Wenger reject it becos na name of laboratory technician wey dey do experiment

Tosinville:
You're not ready for a date with this arrant trash lol, lets try physic love.

Too bad,humour is alien to you.

In U.S.A,the lie detector in 30 minutes caught 20 thieves;UK, in 30 minutes it caught 500 thieves;Spain, in 20 minutes it caught 25 thieves;Ghana, in 10 minutes it caught 6,000 thieves; Uganda in 7mins it caught 20,000 thieves, Nigeria, in 5 minutes the machine was stolen.

A tree is d ideal place !!! Tree looks like umbrella which is PDP logo=d ruling party in Naija.So tree covers all of dem & it represents an improvised PDP logo naa !! Dats how corruption=bane of Naija has turned d country in2,so so sad & pathetic !

The front page of two national newspapers today (Guardian & Punch of 15th Feb 2012) carried the unthinkable: pictures of lawyers collecting their call to bar certificates under trees ! Over 2 decades ago I received mine in the cosy V.I Main Lecture theatre when the D-G Mr Ibironke called my full names and Kayode Esho JSC as he then was presented me my certificate. Has our country descended into such a filthy pit?

SOURCE:Facebook page of highly respected football analyst,Godwin Dudu-Orumen