₦airaland Forum

As part of the all expensive, pushing N1billion inaugural celebrations for President Jonathan’s new term in office, it is reported that a Presidential Lunch had been organized with selected youths from across the nation. The said meeting as reported was set up to create a parley between the Nigerian President and Nigerian youths. It is also reported that participants of this meeting were rewarded with handsome cash gifts, termed as “transport fare”. N50,000 for participants resident in Lagos, and N100,000 for those from outside Lagos! While the idea of a meeting between the President and youths is surely an honorable idea, yet the payment of such large funds termed as “transport fare” is not only dishonorable, it is tantamount to inducement, a calculated attempt at buying over a vibrant and outspoken youth populace, and it is an expansion of the corruption psyche that pervades Nigeria’s socio-cultural life. It is therefore condemnable on all fronts.

It is time for us in Nigeria to teach ourselves the truth which could never be compromised. What is the difference between a gift, a bribe, and an inducement? According to the legal and financial dictionaries, the definitions go thus:

GIFT: is an asset of any kind that an individual transfers to another individual while neither receiving nor expecting anything in return.

BRIBE: is a gift or promise, which is accepted as the inducement for some illegal act or omission; or of some illegal emolument, as a consideration, for preferring one person to another, in the performance of a legal act.

INDUCEMENT: is an advantage or benefit that precipitates a particular action on the part of an individual. Its synonyms are allurement or enticement.

These three statuses of giving are worthy of note and study by any Nigerian who determinedly desires to keep himself from being tainted in the sea of corruption flowing across daily transactions in Nigeria. The key words to note are that a gift is given without receiving or expecting anything in return. A bribe is also a gift, but it is given to induce the performance of some illegal act; while the last one, an inducement, which could also be called an allurement, or enticement, or incentive, is also a gift, but given with the intent of precipitating an expected action from the receiver. The lines between a gift and a bribe are clear and bold; but the lines between a gift and an inducement can most times be faint and blurry, yet a lot of times, inducements are morally wrong. It takes a potential receiver to sincerely and conscientiously weigh the intentions of the giver and determine if it could be a "wetting of ground" for some future deal. An inducement is pre-thought bribe, to make a person say something in a certain way, or keep silent over a certain matter, or to sign a certain thing, or bestow a particular favour to the giver at an oncoming date. The huge largesse distributed to participants of the President’s luncheon in the name of transport fare was a clear case of inducement in my opinion. It must be condemned, it must not be encouraged.

The call for Nigeria’s transformation is one of great sacrifice. Sacrifice of time, of talent, and sometimes of one’s resources. If every well meaning volunteer who contributes actively to the call for a new nation were to expect a financial reward in return, then we would be doomed as a people. Our lives would have no meaning, we would have surrendered our destinies for the simple pursuit of what we shall eat and gain. We would all have become Esau, selling our birthright for a plate of porridge because we are hungry. The President and his team do not need to hand out such huge cash rewards to encourage Nigerian youths to engage him in discussion. Majority of these youths belong to one volunteer group or the other and I believe several patriotic ones among them would have sacrificed more than this to attend meetings of national importance at one time or the other. At George Ashiru’s THMP, we have held meetings and conferences which were paid for by member’s contributions. At Steve Enada’s NTM, we have held meetings and prayer vigils with kerosene lamps before when our generators ran dry of fuel in the middle of the night at meetings where we deliberated on our roles in rescuing our nation. At GIC we had contributed large chunks of our earnings to execute projects which were of no direct benefit to the contributors but for independent communities. Those youths who genuinely love our nation need no such “transport fare” to attend a meeting where they would have a free and fair chance to engage Mr. President. During Obama’s campaigns, Town Hall meetings upon Town Hall meetings were called, dinners upon dinners, lunches upon lunches, most of which were fully paid for by volunteers and hosts who were not part of Obama’s campaign team, no one had to be paid such huge cash reward as transport fare! N50,000 for Lagos residents to attend a meeting within Lagos! From where to where? From Akute, Mowe, or Iju Ishaga to Victoria Island and back by private taxi, how much does it cost? I remember when Professor Pat Utomi called for such a meeting at the Nigerian Law School a few years back, we were also there, fuelled our cars by ourselves to see what the man had in his heart for our generation. This whole wasteful shenanigan embarked upon by President Goodluck Jonathan and his team is at best irresponsible and capable of further polluting an already polluted thinking system.

An advice to the youth of my generation, we all have to be very careful. Lest we become trapped in the system we are angry with and have condemned in the harshest of terms. It’s a slippery slope guys; the stifling of one’s voice begins just with a process like this. At a season when we all should condemn the extravagant cost of the President’s inauguration which is put at over N1billion, the Nigerian active cyberspace has become unusually quiet because a lot of fierce voices have been drowned in the swallowing of delicacies and “transport fare” courtesy of PDP’s evil ingenious scheming. Ori mi maje ki n j’egun m’oyan! (May I never eat thorns with pounded yam!) The Biblical Daniel had all the privilege and opportunity to feast with the king’s delicacies, but he and his friends avoided it instead. It is recorded that a different and excellent spirit was found in him. To be different in this generation of perversity and corruption, one must be able to resolutely walk away always from a portion of the king’s meat. It defiles. It renders one part of the rot. One’s intentions might be altruistic, but how can you confidently and fairly criticize, correct or point out the fallacies and evil scheming of a government from whom you have benefitted undue largesse?

Governor Fashola did not achieve his popularity amongst Lagosians because he handed out cash to anyone at anytime, but rather by his performance in reviving infrastructure in the state. The people of the state see a governor whose interest is in working for them. Yes, sometimes he might make mistakes, but on the overall, his performance stands eloquently to his credit. Rotimi Amaechi is another governor who is well spoken of; I do not think he has embarked on this kind of weak patronizing of youths to achieve his popularity amongst his people. Money does not buy ideological followership. Handing out huge cash rewards in the name of transport fare to people who attend parley meetings with the President would only result in a huge waste of scarce funds, and further corrupting our society. What we need right now is a cleansing of our society and this definitely is not the way to do it. President Goodluck Jonathan’s actions and body language do not suggest there would be a revolutionary departure from our corrupt past anytime soon. Rather, it seems the President, is poised to make matters worse as far as Nigeria’s corruption story is concerned.

Let the President and his thinkers dare call for a public interactive session with Nigerian youths in a larger space, where the President himself would be on ground to answer questions directly from disgruntled, educated but jobless, hungry and angry Nigerian youths, then you would have a feel of the real Nigerian situation. You would have a number ten times the number of those that attended the former parley, and there the true Nigerian story would be told. N100, 000 and a good meal is too small a price to bury our voices in the fight for justice and equitable distribution of resources in our nation. What we want is not N100, 000 handouts but a working Nigerian system; what we want is not just one good meal in a five star hotel but good food accessible to all at all times in our nation. I urge the entire cyberspace Nigeria not to relent on our intelligent firepower. It works, it is working. We must give our leaders no rest, no respite until justice is done, for all the oppressed and deprived people of our nation, some of whom also attended the parley, and unfortunately swallowed a portion of the king’s meat.

Eleven days after Nigeria got her political independence on October 1, 1960, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello said, as was carried by the Parrot newspaper on October 12, 1960:

"The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future." – Parrot Newspaper October 12, 1960.

Now, there are important revelations about the vision of Sir Ahmadu Bello, as captured in the above, and which vision his people have executed with great effectiveness for the past 5 decades:

1. Nigeria is an estate of their great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio, and so anyone who does not descend from their forebear is a tenant. The vision is to maintain a tenancy status for all non-Dan Fodians dwelling within the geographical boundaries of Nigeria.

2. To prevent ruthlessly any change of order that wrestles power from the Dan Fodians.

3. To use and manipulate all "minorities" of the "north" as the slaves of the Dan Fodians.

4. To control the resources of tenants (non-Dan Fodians) in their estate (Nigeria).

5. To resist any form of rule over the Dan Fodians.

6. To never allow non-Dan Fodians to have control over their future.
The pursuit of the above vision and the brutal enforcement of this vision have contributed in the many crises Nigeria has faced for more than fifty years. The connivance of western powers such as Britain and the USA at different stages of our history for the sake of protecting their interest has been a recurring scenario that has just refused to go away. Now is the time to end this subjugation that has been as insidious as it has been hidden from the majority of peoples of the world, including some Nigerians.

We the peoples of the Middle Belt in particular and non Dan Fodians, in general, must rise up and resist this egregiously inhuman vision with every sense of pride and purpose. You can never be wrong in seeking to be free. Some have derisively asked the clear description of the Middle Belt peoples. Socially speaking, all non-Dan Fodians in the geographical north and central north are Middle Belt people, the oppressed people, deceptively huddled up under the “One North” of Sir Ahmadu Bello.

However, geographically, it is generally acceptable to many scholars from the region that the Middle Belt federation consists of people in the present BENUE, NASSARAWA, TARABA, ADAMAWA, PLATEAU, SOUTHERN KEBBI, KOGI, KWARA, NIGER, SOUTHERN KADUNA, FCT, SOUTHERN GOMBE, and the two minority local government areas of TAFAWA BALEWA and BOGORO in southern Bauchi State.

We the Middle Belt federation must take charge of our future. A starting point is to press for the rejection and crashing of the 1999 "constitution", which is a fraud instigated by the Dan Fodians in order to achieve the vision itemized above (1-6). It is for our children that we must fight. I have approached some lawyers to file a symbolic case on behalf of the Middle Belt people to declare our outright rejection of the 1999 "constitution" as a fraud. But it appears they are chicken-hearted. Are there any lawyers, or do you Middle Belters and our friends know any lawyers that will agree to do this? So long as nothing is done to change the vision-fortune of the Dan Fodians, so long will the Middle Belt people remain the appendage of the Dan Fodians.

ACTION POINT: Spread this information and help us project this fact of our plight before the law courts and the international community. Our focus is to compel the convocation of a sovereign national conference, where we shall all discuss whether and on what terms the various ethnic nationalities shall co-exist as one people. We reject the present subjugation with all our strength, with our entire mind, and with all our soul.

INFORMATION: There is a muted plan by the Jonathan government to make the term of elected officials in Nigeria to be a single term of 7 years BEGINNING WITH those voted into office this year, who under the extant relevant laws got only a four-year mandate of the Nigerian people. We, therefore, reject this contemplation and call on President Jonathan and his colleagues to re-direct attention to the social re-construction of Nigeria under a constitutional conference with representations from each nation within Nigeria. If we don't pile pressure for what we truly need, we shall get what we truly don't deserve—perpetual subjugation, while a few among the oppressed are bought over and manipulated just for a pot of porridge. A people that values its safety above its rights cannot for too long guarantee that safety, which is just safety at the pleasure of the jackals. Now is the time. Is there not a cause?

Leonard Karshima Shilgba is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria and President of the Nigeria Rally Movement. Leonard Shilgba is also the Coordinator of the Middle Belt Federation under the Middle Belt Coalition agenda. TEL: +234 (0) 8055024356; EMAIL: shilgba@yahoo.com

It is a usual practice by recruiting organizations to specify age requirements as part of their eligibility criteria. In most vacancies the maximum age for entry level applicants is usually pegged at 27/28 and in some ridiculous circumstances 24/25. After consulting the 1999 Constitution I discovered that this practice is unconstitutional as it is a form of discrimination.
Section 42 subsection 2 states that “No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth”. Ladies and gentlemen your date of birth and hence your age is a circumstance of birth so also is your sex and ethnicity. Employers have been getting away with this constitutional violation because nobody has challenged the practice rather people go about doctoring their ages so as to meet up with these ridiculous age requirements.

The following are the only jobs that the constitution has placed age restrictions and these jobs are mostly electoral office positions;
1) President ; must be 40 years old, section 131 subsection 2b
2) Vice president; same as that of the president, section 142 subsection 2
3) Senator; must be 35 years old, section 65 subsection 1a
4) House of representative; must be 30 years old, section 65 subsection 1b
5) Governor ; must be 35 years old, section 177 subsection 1b
6) &nbspeputy Governor; ; same as that of the Governor, section 187 subsection 2
7) Members of the house of assembly; must be 30 years old, section 106 subsection 1b

Other jobs include state commissioners and special advisers to governors (which have the same requirements as those of members of the house of assemble) and ministers and special advisers to the president of the federation (which have the same requirements as those of the House of Representatives).

Ladies and gentlemen, taking into account our erratic educational system with its numerous strikes, most students especially those in federal and state higher institutions end up graduating in their mid twenties and when you then factor in the one year NYSC and the waiting period of prospecting for jobs (which could range from months to years) you will notice that a significant number of graduates would have exceeded the maximum age limits placed by prospective employers.

Dear naija jobbers, the wind of change is blowing and we should not just sit and watch our rights been trampled upon and I think now is the time to act. In developed countries you will be prosecuted if you dare place age requirements for any job vacancy.

By the grace of God, when the new government kicks off we should bring this issue to the attention of the national assembly or on the other hand we can go to the courts using a prospective employer as a scapegoat since it is a constitutional matter.
Please members of the House your suggestions and contributions are seriously needed in this matter of great importance

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has passed a vote of no confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, saying the duo cannot bring Nigeria out of the woods.

El-Rufai also said that Jonathan’s comment on the crisis that trailed the outcome of the presidential election is irresponsible. “I believe that Goodluck Jonathan and Sambo are not anywhere near in capacity to deliver Nigeria out of the woods that Buhari/Bakare could do. I have made that statement even before I joined the team and I stand by that. But this was my basis: I believe that Buhari/Bakare was by far, the most competent ticket,” he said.

On the post-presidential election crisis, El-Rufai said: “Six days after this crisis started, the Presidency said nothing. Complete indifference. And when Jonathan chose to speak, he was raising the spectre of Biafra. That was not a responsible response, with all due respect.”

Speaking further, the former director general of the Bureau for Public Enterprise said: “The three leading presidential candidates in this election are people I know very, very well. Nuhu Ribadu is my friend and my brother and if I am to choose whom to support on the basis of friendship and brotherhood, Nuhu will be number one because he is the closest to me.

“Goodluck Jonathan, I have known since he was deputy governor. He is my friend. I visited him several times when he was governor of Bayelsa State. He has visited my house; we have had dinner several times together. I know him. But more than Nuhu Ribadu, Nigerians know him as president because he has been there for one year and they can see how he has governed the country.

“General Muhammadu Buhari was president from 1983 to 1985. I was a young guy then but he inspired many of us with the rules of discipline, probity and integrity and many of us that came into public service with the passion that we did well, were inspired by the example of Buhari-Idiagbon regime and the Murtala-Obasanjo regime before it. And in my opinion, among the three contestants, Buhari/Bakare ticket was by far, the best of the three. That is why, against all appeals to my friendship with Nuhu Ribadu, my brotherhood with him or my friendship with Goodluck Jonathan, I pitched my tent with the Buhari/Bakare ticket. I think that was the ticket that was likely to change the direction of Nigeria for the better.”

How would you describe the just concluded elections?
Well, election is a multi-step process: you register, you get accredited, you vote, the votes are counted and results are announced. I will be the first to admit that the registration has improved greatly and in my view, the biometric register that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been able to come up with, is one of the most reliable that we have had in our history.

Secondly, I think the voting process at the polling unit level has improved dramatically. It has largely been peaceful in most parts of Nigeria; there have been lower instances of ballot stuffing than before. So, to that extent, there has been improvement to that level. But beyond that, nothing has changed because the systematic falsification of results begins immediately the results and the results sheets leave the polling units and we are going to produce evidence of that as we go through the tribunal process.

There is massive thumb-printing of ballot papers and attempt to bring them into the system all through the country. In some parts of the country, for the presidential election, there was really no election. Results were just written and announced like it has been in the past. So, while one would admit that certain steps in the election process have improved, on the whole, the outcome has not improved. Falsification of results is still the order of the day and most of what you have seen announced as results of the election, have no connection with the actual number of votes cast by the citizens of this country.

Are you saying there is no much difference between the 2007 and 2011 elections?

There are some differences in the sense that the registration has improved. We don’t have names like Mike Tyson in the register now. The election process itself has improved, in the sense that people queue, get accredited and register. These are the only improvements and I would say that is the only difference but beyond that, nothing has changed. The improvement, if any, has been marginal.

There is the allegation that the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, connived with President Goodluck Jonathan to rig the elections. Is it true?

I would not go as far as that because I believe that Attahiru Jega is a decent man and I believe he tried his best to have credible elections. And within the factors in his control, the registration he did was decent. He organized the elections and have people line up and do it peacefully. I think he tried his best. Resident Electoral Commissioners and some governors failed him, but on the whole, he tried.

I would not go as far as saying that he went into the election willfully to lead to the result that we have. But I think there were some things that were a way above him. I think he could have done better in some areas. For instance, if results were brought to you and they don’t add up, I would not say go and reconcile. I would cancel the result and say do it again. But that is my opinion and I am not under the same pressure or have the same information that he has. So, I would not go as far as condemning Attahiru Jega entirely. I would say that he got some things right, but many things went wrong and I hope that now that he has time to do a review and see where he has been deceived by those working with him, he will take corrective steps because ultimately, the only way we can have real elections in this country, that reflects the legitimacy of the people, is when the results at the polling units go directly to Attahiru Jega, for him to announce the results of the election without any human intervention in-between. This is what he has to work on, but I don’t think he went into this election with any willful desire to be dishonest.

What are those corrective steps and what do you intend to achieve with the tribunal?

The corrective steps are very simple, in my view. You have to eliminate human agency between the time and point that people vote at the polling unit level and results are announced to the ultimate announcement of the results. Today, with the technologies that exist, it should be possible that as soon as we finish voting, results are announced. I see no reason with the technologies that we have now, communication technologies and encrypting technologies, that these results cannot be sent directly to a central computer in INEC that will tabulate the results automatically and as soon as all the results are out, announce the winner without any human being intervening in-between. What we have seen in this election is that as soon as you take the result sheets to a collation centre, a zero is added or the results are changed, or the results sheet is torn and a new one done and party agents’ signatures forged. So, you have to remove that human intervention. Unless you remove it, we will never have clean elections in the country because those that are in authority will try to alter the results to their benefit. Those are the corrective steps and the technologies exist to do that. It is up to Jega to figure out how to do it in a cost effective and transparent manner.

[b]The main reason I think that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), our party, decided to go to the tribunal is to deepen and broaden our democracy because as long as people in power feel that they can cheat in elections and get away with it, governance in Nigeria will never improve. Unless people know that in the next four years if they don’t work for the people they can be voted out, we will continue to have bad governance. This is why we are going to the tribunal. We want to know how many votes were actually cast for each candidate in this election, who won the election and if no one won, let the judges decide. We will get the ballots examined to remove all those that were thumb-printed overnight by government officials and other people and stuffed in ballot boxes and declared for one candidate or another. If at the end of the day, these false results are eliminated and we have the proper results of the election, I think it will go a long way in sending a message to all election riggers that they will only have a few days to enjoy the fruit of their rigging.[/b]

Secondly, the biometric voters register will reveal the names and faces of all those that have participated in rigging elections because if you are a registered voter and you thumb-print, the biometric voters register will show your face, your name and everything. And our hope is that, that will give Jega that foundation to prosecute all those that engaged in multiple voting and multiple registrations and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, whatever the judges decide will determine whether democracy is broadened and deepened in this country and election riggers are punished and the real results of the election will be known to every Nigerian and when the real results are known, the winner can be congratulated by the loser and there will be no argument. But right now, we have argument because there is evidence available to us that there was thumb-printing of ballot papers in virtually every election. Not just the presidential election but virtually every election that has taken place and most of the results that were announced. As we speak, the ballot papers are being thumb-printed to match those results. So, we want the technology to be applied; we want the evidence to be presented, so that we can know how many people voted for Jonathan, how many people voted for Buhari, how many people voted for Ribadu truly as well as every other candidate in every election that we are challenging. We hope that at the end of the day, that will take Nigeria’s democracy forward.

Specifically, where do you situate the blame?

I think the blame lies fairly and squarely on INEC because it is their job to conduct clean elections. If they were not ready and they did not have the infrastructure in place and the capability in place to ensure that this rigging doesn’t happen, it is their fault.

Secondly, how did the incumbent governors and the team from the president’s campaign team got ballot papers?
They couldn’t have got them from any other person but INEC. But they did get ballot papers, they have thumb-printed them and they have been declared winners. So, the blame falls largely on INEC because INEC is independent and they could do whatever they want and some of them succumbed to pressure of authority and got ballot papers to the ruling party in every election to rig. The primary blame is on INEC but the secondary blame is on the government of the day because it used the security agencies and other coercive instruments of state to create a militarize situation to rig elections. In my state, up till today, we have a curfew.

Would you say the international community was misled?

The international community was deceived. It was 419 because what they saw was Nigerians lining up and voting and they thought that was the end of the election. They cannot understand that any public official will alter the results because in their country, that is perjury. That is a big offence. It is perjury and it is obstruction of justice and you go to long prison terms if you do that. But they don’t know that in Nigeria, no one has been convicted, in recent time, for those kinds of offences and that people do it with impunity. The international community was hoodwinked but by God’s grace, by the time the tribunal process is over and the real results are shown and technologies apply to show how many times some people voted, I think the international community will come to the understanding of what happened.

Do you think the president would try to pervert the cause of justice?

I don’t want to judge him or presume that he will pervert the cause of justice. We will have to wait and see but Nigerians should not just wait and allow anyone to pervert the cause of justice. We should be vigilant; we should bring out all the facts and we should ensure that justice is done. No one, no one however powerful, should be allowed to pervert the cause of justice and I hope no one tries.

Some Nigerians have blamed General Muhammadu Buhari for the crisis that trailed the outcome of the presidential election, while Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and Asari Dokubo, have even called for his arrest. Should the blame be on General Buhari? Should he be arrested?

Let me start by asking, why did the violence happen? It is very easy to be simplistic about this or be emotional about this. This violence did not take place 10 days before the election. It took place a few days after the election and what was it? It was a reaction to what many people saw as patent falsification of results and cheating and it was not the first time it was happening in Nigeria’s history. In 1964, we had elections that led to crisis in the West. A state of emergency was declared.

In 1983, we had elections in which the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) tried to steal the elections in Ondo State and there was violence; there were killings. Nobody came out and called for the arrest of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In 1993, the elections were annulled and there was crisis; there were killings in the South-West. Nobody said it was a religious crisis or called for the arrest of anyone. So, I don’t understand all these funny people going round, saying Buhari should be arrested. I don’t know whether they have read history or understand what they are saying.

In what way is Buhari responsible for this? Is the government not responsible for the security of life and property? Don’t they read security report? Don’t they know that if they are a competent government flawed elections could lead to crisis? What did they do to pre-empt it? What did they do? They did nothing to pre-empt this and when the crisis started, they were late in responding to it. Everyone was calling on General Buhari to intervene. Does General Buhari control the police? Does he control the army? Why were they asking him to intervene? They were asking him to intervene because he is the only person with the moral authority to call this thing to an end. They have lost moral authority; they have no control of coercive instruments of power because they were behind the whole crisis. They created it.

This crisis started Monday morning. By afternoon, General Buhari flew from Daura to Abuja, spoke to Aljazeera, spoke to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service and any other medium he could find, to appeal to everyone to calm down, that this is not the way to resolve political disagreement. He did his best. Why is he being blamed? And this Oritsejafor and Asari Dokubo that are calling for the arrest of General Buhari, are they drunk? Do they understand what they are doing? Arrest him for what? For what? I don’t understand people that make these statements, whether they have any idea of how to govern a country because when you are governing a country, the first order of business is peace and order. And they make such careless statements, which do not help anyone.

It was also reported that the party justified the killings. Are you toeing the same line?

No, no, no, no, no. The party justified the killings in what way? The National legal adviser of the party issued a statement, explaining that this is the position of the party and this is why we are going to the tribunal. One newspaper, out of all the newspapers in Nigeria, out of all the communication media in Nigeria, came up with this headline ‘CPC justifies killings,’ and the following day, the Presidency issued a statement along the same line. Clearly, you can see that the Presidency and this newspaper are working in cohort to create a false impression. If CPC justified killings in that statement, every other newspaper in Nigeria would get it. Why didn’t they have the same headline? When did the national legal adviser say CPC justified the killings? And in what circumstances can any reasonable person justify the killing of another? What circumstances? We are a responsible people, a reasonable people. We believe in the progress of this country. How can anyone justify the killing of another?

How do you see the reaction of the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) towards the killings?

Complete indifference because six days after this crisis started, the Presidency said nothing. And when Jonathan chose to speak, he was raising the spectre of Biafra. That was not a responsible response, with all due respect. So, there is complete indifference. There is a feeling that ok, northerners are killing themselves, it is ok. But these people are Nigerians and they are entitled to respect and the preservation of their life and property. And that is the primary duty of the government, which it has failed to do in my opinion.

Was the crisis fairly reported in the media?

I think the reporting by the media is pathetic. I am sorry. The reporting has been one sided, lacked depth and what the media were doing, was actually contributing more to the crisis because by pushing the agenda that someone else is responsible for protection of life and property other than the sitting government of the country, I think they were encouraging crisis in itself because that is what they tried to do by pushing the agenda that the CPC is to blame, rather than saying the government failed to be pre-emptive, failed to be responsive to this crisis and I think it is contributing to the problems of the country.

There seems to be a conspiracy of some sort not to report everything that has happened in this crisis. For instance, in my state, Kaduna, hundreds of people were killed. Most of them that were killed were killed because they were suspected to be CPC supporters. These killings took place on both sides and I am not justifying anything. I am not saying it is right. I don’t agree to anyone killing another under any circumstances without the due process of law. But the whole focus of the media was on the death of 10 youth corps members. They even forgot that before the elections started, youth corps members were killed in Suleja, Niger State. They were bombed. They died. Nobody is talking about them. The focus is just on 10 youth corpers in Bauchi, to the exclusion of every one else.

Now, human life is sacred and no human life is better than another or more deserving of attention than another. In my state, hundreds of people were killed; no paper reported it except one. What is going on? Should not all the facts come out so that we learn from this and ensure that it is not repeated? But the spin it has got is to blame someone else rather than solve the problem. And I have deep problems with that.

Why do you think the media reported half of the crisis?

I don’t know. You should ask the media. The story going round is that some have been paid not to report certain things. We have just shown you a video where hundreds of people were put in mass graves and pictures of CPC office and Mosque and so on being burnt down. That is one side of the story. I am not saying that you should report only that side, but the media should report every side. Churches were burnt. Mosques were also burnt and innocent people were killed that were CPC supporters, that were PDP supporters. Why did it happen? What should we do to ensure that no Nigerian ever get killed in this kind of situation because it has happened too often? As I said, it happened in 1964, 1983, 1993 and it has happened again. What needs to be studied is the fundamental problem that led to this. And we should address it. But to slant stories so that you blame someone else to reach a pre-determined conclusion, I think it is irresponsible journalism.

Did you foresee that kind of situation before the election?

Look, any reasonable, thoughtful individual, living in Nigeria, knows that if the elections were not free and fair, there would be protest because the mood of the country was such that no one was ready to accept anything other than clean elections. And the mood of the country can be read from the bi-elections in Ekiti, Anambra and Delta. We can all see that the foundation was being laid that if elections were not generally free, fair and credible, there would be crisis of some sort. What shape or form that crisis will take, only God knows. But it is up to the government in power, to perceive this as others have perceived, to take pre-emptive steps and ensure that it doesn’t happen by first having clean elections and if the elections are not clean, taking the pre-emptive steps necessary to ensure that there is no violence. Let the protest, if there is going to be, be peaceful. But they did none of the above. They did none. They just sat back.

[b]But why did it degenerate to sectarian crisis?[/b

]I don’t know at what point it degenerated because when it started, it was certainly not sectarian. Our suspicion, in Kaduna State at least, the information we got was that one of the PDP leaders said look, if you don’t muddy the waters, they will get all of us. So, some people were sponsored to go and burn a church and that gave it the sectarian coloration needed and in a place like Kaduna State, where religion and ethnic tensions have always been quite moderate to high, this was likely to happen because if you look at the pattern of this violence, you will see clearly.
Some people are saying sectarian. The Sultan of Sokoto’s palace was surrounded. Is he a Christian? Is the Emir of Kano a Christian? Is the Emir of Zauzau a Christian? Traditional rulers, respected at some point in our history, had their houses surrounded and youths were demanding to get at them. These people were not Christians. So, when did it become sectarian? It is not ethnic because these people are not Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw or whatever.

Ghali Na’Abba’s house in Kano was burnt. Is he a Christian or is he from Anambra State? This crisis started because people that are disempowered, felt that they have been cheated and in a spontaneous way, reacted by targeting people that they thought were responsible for their condition. This was how it started and of course, things went out of control. Nobody can justify violence or that reaction but it has happened?

How do you see the constitution of the 22-man panel by President Goodluck Jonathan to look into the crisis?

Well, legal opinions have been given to the effect that the president has no power under the constitution to establish such a panel. The judgment of the Supreme Court in Fawehinmi vs Babangida also establishes that without any doubt. So, there is a legal issue involved, whether the panel is duly constituted under the law because the president may not have the powers under the constitution and the law to do so. That is one. There is a legality question. And then, the panel has a credibility question because the same day that the president inaugurated the panel, his special adviser on media, issued a statement that the CPC was responsible for the violence. So, if the presidency that convened that panel has already decided that the CPC was guilty, what do you think the panel will come up with? It is not likely to come up with anything different because their convener has already said that someone is guilty. So, they have a credibility problem too. I am not saying they will necessarily come up with that conclusion but I am saying to Sheik Ahmed Lemu that his panel has a credibility problem, created by the same person that convened them. These are the two issues.

What is the way out?

The way out is to follow the law and to allow state governors to establish panels in their states to investigate the violence within their territory and the panel should consist of credible people, non-partisan people that are respected, to go into the root of this crisis so that once and for all, we address this culture in which the slightest thing leads to people killing each other. Neighbours killing each other! It is not right. It is wrong and we must put a stop to it, whether it is happening in Jos or Kaduna or anywhere else. We must put a stop to it and the only way to put a stop to it is to go to the root of the crisis, find those that were responsible and deal with them according to the law.

How do you see the five million naira gift to the bereaved?

No amount of money is enough to compensate for the loss of a human life. No amount of money. And I think rather than engage in populist hide-out, there is a need for a comprehensive policy to compensate victims of this kind of violence. Many people have been killed in Jos. What about them? 5, 000; 10, 000; 100,000! I think there should be a policy to deal with this kind of senseless deaths of every Nigerian. I have no opinion about how much money that is reasonable. I think if you get experts, they can debate that and come up with a figure that should be paid to every family that lost a relation from this crisis and all those that lost their property should be adequately compensated by the government and then we put in place, a system that will ensure that it is not repeated. Unless the government feels the pinch, actually pays the price of this violence, it will continue to repeat itself. So, I want us to go beyond five million for youth corps members and have a thoughtful and comprehensive policy to compensate innocent victims of violence, innocent victims of arson and destruction of property. We need that in the country and if necessary, we need legislation backing it. We need a comprehensive solution and not selective, populist ad hoc interventions. They would not work. They would not solve the problem.

How would you assess the president and his victory at the polls?

We don’t think he has won. That is why we are in the tribunal and we hope that the tribunal process, as I said, will not only deepen and broaden our democracy, but will determine who the winner is. If he is declared winner, other leaders of the CPC and I, will be happy to congratulate him. He has ruled Nigeria for one year. I think I leave every Nigerian to judge what the next four years are likely to be.

People always respect your opinion (he laughs). So, what is your take on President Goodluck Jonathan?

Look, I have already made my statement and I have made my choice. The three leading presidential candidates in this election are people I know very, very well. Nuhu Ribadu is my friend and my brother and if I am to choose whom to support on the basis of friendship and brotherhood, Nuhu will be number one because he is the closest to me. Goodluck Jonathan, I have known since he was deputy governor. He is my friend. I visited him several times when he was governor of Bayelsa; he has visited my house, and we have had dinner several times together. I know him. But more than Nuhu Ribadu, Nigerians know him as president because he has been there for one year and they can see how he has governed the country.
General Muhammdu Buhari was head of state from 1983 to 1985. I was a young guy then but he inspired many of us with the rules of discipline, probity and integrity and many of us that came into public service with the passion that we did well, were inspired by the example of Buhari-Idiagbon regime and the Murtala-Obasanjo regime before it. And in my opinion, among the three contestants, Buhari/Bakare ticket was by far, the best of the three. That is why against all appeals to my friendship with Nuhu Ribadu, my brotherhood with him or my friendship with Goodluck Jonathan, I pitched my tent with the Buhari/Bakare ticket. I think that was the ticket that was likely to change the direction of Nigeria for the better.

Was that why you left the PDP?

No. I left PDP long before. I left the PDP when our attempts at reforms failed. And the shape of the PDP of today is not in anything near the PDP that I was a member of when I joined in 1999. And I left! After the reforms failed, I said there is no hope in the party and I left. I did not join the CPC until a little later. But this was my basis: I believe that Buhari/Bakare was by far, the most competent ticket and I believe that Goodluck Jonathan and Sambo are not anywhere near in capacity to deliver Nigeria out of the woods that Buhari/Bakare could do. I have made that statement even before I joined the team and I stand by that. But I don’t want to judge anyone. And if Jonathan is our bona fide president, we will congratulate him and pray for him if the tribunal declares him the winner, we will pray for him to succeed because his success is the success of every Nigerian. But I don’t want to judge him in advance. I want people to look at the last one year and project where the next one year will be if he remains president.

SOURCE:http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/21/national-21-05-2011-01.html

For plotting to deviously scuttle the May 29 2011 inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan, by causing pandemonium across the country. Senior members of the opposition party, CPC, including Gen. Buhari and Tunde Bakare, may be summoned for questioning.
According to security reports obtained by huhuonline.com, leaders with allegiance to CPC had met in Kaduna, on May 6th 2011, where they unfolded the plan to scuttle the President’s inauguration at Eagle Square, on May 29 2011.

Huhuonline.com learnt that at the parley in Kaduna, the group had sought to set off a conflict between their supporters and security agents so as to portray that Nigeria was engulfed in insecurity.

According to the security reports, the group had planned to instigate riots in Kaduna, Bauchi, Plateau, Borno and Kano, hoping that such action would precipitate reprisals from some Southern states such that the security agencies would fully engaged.

Huhuonline.com understands that the group had intended to penetrate extremist religious groups to get them on board in the plot to undercut security and attract international attention.

Huhuonline.com learned the group had considered circulating some false but sensitive information about the government through some foreign media outfits to cause disaffection. To which end, some northerners working with the central government, particularly, Vice President Sambo, and the Principal secretary to the president, were to be labeled anti- people and marked for attacks.

Excerpts from the security report shows the group had deliberated on circulating seditious messages. To which end the group had planned to circulate pictures of President Jonathan kneeling down before Pastor Enoch ADEBOYE, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Lagos. The picture, was to be circulated as evidence of religious bigotry by the leader.

In addition, the group planned to engage the services of some sympathetic media houses, with hope of recruiting the youth in rural areas, to act as foot soldiers.

It was also gathered that some civil servants top in the hierarchy would be reached to sabotage projects of the administration and ensure that the government would not make any progress.

They had also planned a sustained campaign of calumny against the government, via social media, such as face book, and twitter. Text messages were to be utilized to show that the post-election violence was a sign of antagonism between Christians and Muslims.”


The group, huhuonline.com learnt planned to clandestinely cause violence in institutions of higher learning which would eventually take ethno-religious dimensions.

However, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, concurred with our finding, that there was plot to arrest its members, but denied any involvement in the plot to disrupt the president`s inauguration. According to a statement issued by Rotimi Fashakin, National Publicity Secretary of CPC, the planned arrest of its senior members was designed by the PDP to disenfranchise the CPC.

Mr. Rotimi Fashakin adjudged, “the ostensible reason would be to forestall a planned disruption of the inauguration ceremony on May 29, 2011 on the pretext of a spurious security report; but the real reason for the arrests is to scuttle the planned use of forensic evidence to buttress our petition of the massive manipulations of the April 16, 2011 presidential elections”.

Hear him:


“The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, wishes to bring to the attention of Nigerians and the International community of a devious plan by the PDP-led Federal Government to arrest and clamp in indefinite detention, notable leaders of our great party”.

"The ostensible reason would be to forestall a planned disruption of the inauguration ceremony on May 29, 2011on the pretext of a spurious security report; but the real reason for the arrests is to scuttle the planned use of forensic evidence to buttress our petition of the massive manipulations of the April 16, 2011 presidential elections”.


“As a prelude to this sinister plot, a report had been leaked to a section of the Nigerian media that is in cahoots with the PDP-led Federal Government in using subterfuge to hoodwink unsuspecting Nigerians”.

“Meanwhile, we are not unaware of the cash handouts to the band of renegades (formerly of CPC) that made the infamous press statement, denouncing the decision of the Party’s National leadership to file its petition against the conduct and results of the Presidential elections”.

“We hereby use this medium to appeal to our loyal party faithfuls and admirers, across the Nation’s geo-political divides and abroad, to remain calm in the midst of the ceaseless tribulation from the ruling PDP”.

“Our petition at the elections tribunal shall be pursued with resoluteness and undiminished fervency.God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

http://huhuonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3004%3Acpc-leaders-faces-arrest-over-plot-to-derail-nigerias-democracy&catid=103%3Amore-news

Which GOOD religion would abuse the sanctity of marriage by encouraging members to marry many wives and hope to be awarded several virgins by God Almighty if you suicide bombed to kill as many men as possible?!!!

The INSATIABLE need for extra marital sex advocated by the Leader and Manufacturer of the religion (Mohammed) is the reason for porn material in Bin Laden's hide out. He used them himself or the children did. If the children did, the OBL lacked parental control of his own children from before teen / teen / and after.

In Africa, some Muslems store beer / Guiness in their kettles used for ablution. You would be deceived to think that the Muslims does not drink alcohol

T9ksy:
If memory serves me right, i thought Yar adua disclosed his personal fortunes at the begining of his tenure? He certainly wasn't a poor man by any means.

Moreover, can't really place my hand on the figure now but he seems to have made close to 100m Naira in his 8years as gov. of Katsina state. This was attributed to income generated from his various private businesses.

ASSET DECLARATION OF UMAR MUSA YAR’AADUA




Compiled from various media reports









ITEM


AMOUNT (Naira)


SUBTOTAL

(Naira)


















A


Cash in Nigerian Banks:












Bank PHB, Nagogo Road, Katsina branch


26,602,681.01










Bank PHB, Apapa Lagos Branch


12,000,264.21










Bank PHB, Head Office,Kaduna


4,999,947.22










UB Plc (formerly Intercity), Imani Branch, Abuja (loan & debit)


26,817,362.19










UB Plc, Imani Branch, Abuja (loan & debit)


61,975,907.58










Subtotal



132,396,162.21





















B


Cash in Hand

(derived from savings, campaign and post campaign contributions)





7,500,000

To say the least this news item is irresponsible journalism and an attempt to rewrite history.After becoming President in 2007,Umar Yar Adua publicly declared his assets estimated at close to a billion naira.It baffles me when journalists who are first class graduates in the school of browm envelope attempts to pull the wool over our faces.

http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20070630100705zg/sections/essays/saturday-essay-that-one-billion-naira-public-declaration-of-assets-by-umar-musa-yar-adua/
















C


Details of property in Nigeria





527,000,000









105,000,000










Multi-storey building in Abuja (land granted to him in 1998)


212,000,000










Duplex, in Malali, Kaduna (gift from late brother Shehu)


120,000,000










7-Bedroom duplex in Kaduna (built in 1987)


90,000,000










Subtotal


527,000,000





















D


Undeveloped Plots

Asokoro New Layout (granted in 1998)





50,000,000


















E


Farms





25,000,000







Farm in Ruwan Godiya, Katsina (acquired in 1982)


10,000,000










Farm in Ajiwa, Katsina (acquired in 1993)


15,000,000













25,000,000





















F


Vehicles












Honda Accord AC 151 ABC


350,000










Mercedes Benz


6,500,000










29 new (campaign) vehicles


174,700,000










Subtotal


181,550,000





















G


Household Furniture





3,000,000


















H


Details of Spouse’s Properties












3 local houses (acquired 1998)


1,500,000










1 twin bungalow (acquired in 2002)


15,000,000










3 vacant plots (acquired in 2003)


2,500,000










Subtotal


19,000,000





















I















Habib Nigeria Bank PLC shares (acquired in 1998)


2,000,000 units










Intercity Bank Plc shares


100,000 units










Muradi Hotels Ltd. Shares


100,000 units





















J


GRAND TOTAL ASSETS (minus worth of shares)























K


LIABILITIES

[Unity Bank Plc, Imani Estate Branch, Maitama, Abuja]





88,793,269.77
































L


TOTAL NET WORTH





856,652,892.44

GEJ has carried over the blood sacrifice to UGANDA,the local police shot and killed an innocent person because GEJ was stoned by the crowd.Now, let someone accuse CPC/BUHARI of killing the coppers.We now understand that some spirits need blood as reward.

Nuhu Ribadu, the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has quietly relocated to Afghanistan to assume duties as a member of the Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee in that country.

Ribadu was appointed to the position by the United Nation's Department for International Development (DFID) in Afghanistan, in December 2010.

The former EFCC boss started work in Kabul last week. His schedule will take him between the cities of Kabul and Kandahar on a regular basis.

Text of Team Ribadu's Press statement:

The Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, today begins a three-week country governance audit of Afghanistan as part of a six-man international monitoring team set up by the United Nations under the “Afghanistan Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee.”

Mr. Ribadu left Nigeria for Afghanistan last Tuesday, May 3; joined five other team members in Dubai; and traveled into Kabul at the weekend where they are expected to fine-tune the strategy of curbing corruption in the troubled country.

The committee’s duties, according to briefing papers from the Department of Foreign International Development, DFID, and the United Nations Development Programme office, include a review of the social, political, economic and cultural conditions giving life to corruption in the country, which they tag “drivers of corruption,” and a sustainable proposal on how to curb the crime and moral ill that has ravaged the image and international standing of the conflict ridden country.

Aside from offering best “approach and principles” of fighting corruption, on a legal basis”, the monitoring team, according to its mandate, is also expected to propose ways of ensuring that international aid and development financing to Afghanistan meets with the country’s “national priorities.”

Afghanistan (ranked 176th) is the third most corrupt country, with a CPI (corruption perception index) of 1.4 according to Transparency International, with only Somalia (178) and Myanmar (176) ranked worst. Nigeria is ranked 134 with a CPI of 2.4 among the 178 countries ranked

Members of the committee who were appointed late last year commenced work on April 21 with a teleconference on the task at hand and how to achieve their mission.

The monitoring and evaluation is expected to help the Afghanistan government in its fight against corruption and also guide the international community on how best to relate with the country.

Though the committee is expected to complete its work in two years, media aide to Mallam Ribadu, Ibrahim Modibbo, said that the task will not affect Mr. Ribadu’s national priorities and his continued commitment to the growth and development of Nigeria.

“It is Mr. Ribadu contribution to the global fight against corruption that has gotten him this recognition. This will however not deter him from playing his roles as a responsible citizen and political leader in our country.”

“You know, his party, the ACN, controls six states and Mr. Ribadu will do all he can to ensure that the governors of those six states bring the dividends of democracy to their people in order to let Nigerians know that the ACN is the best party to rule the country” he added.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/ribadu-moves-kabul-afghanistan-fight-corruption

I thought many Nigerians especially, the ones that supports Gej not Pdp, claimed that the presidential elections were free, fair and even credible. It is the best elections Nigeria has ever witnessed after June 12. So, why are the same set of people especially from the wisest ones from south south and south east claiming that Pdp is rigging them out of their prefered candidates.( i dey laugh o, i dey dance o, even i go drink beer o). . . What a joke of the highest order. Half Truth is never and can never be "The Truth". . . Imagine the supposed wisest people of Nigerians claiming we only voted for candidate not party. . . Is Gej going to work with angels and not Pdp members? lol, lol, lol, He who laugh last, laugh best. . . i dey laugh o, i dey dance o, even i go drink beer o. . .

Exponental:
Na 2day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These guys shld see from wat happened in Lagos dat pple voted for Jonathan not PDP!!!!
Anyway, Lawyers go chop na!!!!!!!

They Voted for Gej not Pdp because Gej will work with Angels and Spirits as Advisers, ministers, Senators, House of Reps members, Governors, Commissioners, etcetera. What a very "lucky" Joke.

Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has for the second time in one week challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest him if he could.

Buhari’s daring statement came even as leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, called for his arrest and prosecution over the riots that claimed lives and property in the North.
Dokubo said: “People like Buhari should not be allowed to be moving freely after that carnage. They should be brought to book to show they are not above the law. The President must assert his power and arrest the man. Nothing will happen. I repeat, nothing will happen.”

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, made a similar call fror Buhari’s arrest last Sunday.
Speaking through his spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Buhari said after all the killings and bombings the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for, it took the intervention of a Nobel Laureate to negotiate for them before the President of Nigeria.

“Now, a man for which no crime has been established against, they want him arrested. So, for the last time again, we dare them. Let them go and arrest him,” Odumakin said. He further said that Dokubo-Asari’s call was not surprising as it confirmed the plan for secession of the Ijaw nation.“When there was bomb blast in Abuja on October 1, 2010, MEND claimed responsibility, but the Commander-in-Chief absolved MEND and said he knows those who carried out the bombing. Till date he has not told the nation who those bombers are. Now a man who has condemned violence, who has condemned the killings and went on air to condemn the unfortunate incidents, they are calling for his arrest.

“Nigeria should be aware that there is a small group in this country today that is bent on breaking up this country and they want to use the office of the President of Nigeria, which they have captured by hook or crook, and their antics should be noticed by the Nigerian people.” Responding to the violence that trailed the presidential election, former Deputy Senate President in the botched Third Republic, Albert Legogie, said Nigerian leaders should be held responsible instead of individuals.

According to Legogie, those involved in the violence were mainly street urchins, adding that the violence was unnecessary since it was the best thing that happened to Nigeria since the June 12 presidential election.“I am of the opinion that the violence that followed the presidential election was unnecessary and uncalled for in the sense that the election was reasonably credible, transparent, free and fair. I think it is probably the best we have had in the country since the presidential election of 1992. So, when people started fighting and killing themselves over it, I felt very disappointed.
“I think Nigerians should learn to accommodate themselves; accommodate other people’s religion, other people’s differences and we should learn to live together as members of one big family.

“If you go back again, you find that we still have to hold our leaders responsible for the violence, in the sense that most of these people who sped into the streets and started maiming and killing people are urchins. People that have no homes, people that have no jobs.“They are street urchins. If we had created jobs for these people, if we had created welfare facility for these people, if we had accommodated them in our system, they would not have gone the way they went.

“I listened to a friend who told me that most of them would say oh, look at this one, he is very well-fed, he must look like a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) man. Anybody that was well-fed was a PDP man and they descended on the person.
“So, one of the challenges the President should face right now is to create massive job opportunity for the large number of youths roaming the streets of this country. We can no longer defend it and unless we do it now, we are heading for a major disaster. The killings were just a warning,” the Edo State-born Legogie said.



http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/01/national-01-05-2011-001.htm

The presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest him if he can.
Buhari spoke against the backdrop of the call by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, that the CPC candidate be arrested over the recent post-election violence in some Northern states.

Oritsejafor, while addressing newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of General Buhari and all identified cohorts before they plunge the nation into another civil war. Speaking through his spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, Buhari said Oritsejafor’s comment, calling for his arrest, was reckless and bound to heat up the polity.

Odumakin said: “General Buhari is in Daura. So, let Jonathan go and arrest him. One of his contractors has asked him to arrest Buhari. He is in Daura now. So, let him go and arrest him.”(Odumakin)[/b]He said men like Oritsejafor were supposed to make statements that would calm frayed nerves, “but unfortunately, it can’t be hidden that the CAN leadership under Oritsejafor had become an extension of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it is unfortunate that he is partisan to this extreme.
“It is unfortunate and it is a shame and it is a betrayal of his calling to be dragging the entire body of Christ into partisan politics,” Buhari said.

[b]Buhari noted that it was not a hidden fact that Oritsejafor has always been a friend of Aso Rock and if you have watched his activities since he became CAN president, his activities have been more at Aso Rock and the government houses across the country rather than within the body of Christ. While urging Nigerians to ignore Oritsejafor, Buhari said his statement is not different from that of the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Haliru Bello, adding that Oritsejafor should be ignored like any other PDP chieftain.
He also said his comment on Oritsejafor had nothing to do with the body of Christ, saying we are separating Oritsejafor, his person from the body of Christ.

“We have no issue with the body of Christ in Nigeria, but the PDP contractors like him who have taken over the leadership of that respected organization, are using the body of Christ to further their personal interest and not the interests of the body of Christ in Nigeria.

“And it will be good for him to read what his Bible says about the false accuser of the brethren. That is the role he is playing now; false accuser of the brethren because what he is doing is making false accusation and seeking the persecution of Buhari based on political contract and not on any fact.” He added: “Men like Oritsejafor are profiting from the rot in Nigeria today and since he became the president of CAN, there is no one word he has spoken against corruption in Nigeria.

“He has never issued a word against the rot in Nigeria and it is now that the lickers of Nigeria have regained their control with open electoral robbery, that he is now coming out to ask for the persecution of the victory of electoral robbery. “This clearly shows that people like him are part of the rot in Nigeria and they want to sustain this unjust system which they are benefitting from at the expense of the people they claim to serve.

“And more importantly, there is no evidence to give, leaking General Buhari with any political violence. He has condemned it, he has berated the rioters and on two occasions (2003,2007) when he was rigged out of elections, he went to court for 54 months. That is not the attitude of a man, who believes in violence and Ayo Oritsejafor has never condemned the rape of democracy in Nigeria. He has never condemned the stealing of votes. So, his selective sense of justice baffles all because this selective integrity is bundling.”

While saying that the CAN president should be asked if that was his Easter message to the nation, Buhari said he hoped Oritsejafor would provide the chain on his neck to hang him when he is arrested. Commenting on Oritsejafor’s demand in a telephone interview with Daily Sun, immediate past President of the CAN, Archbishop John Onaiyekan, said Oritsejafor did not consult him on the statement.
“The only thing I can say is that he did not consult me on that. He did not consult me on that statement. I don’t really know why he said it. So, you should ask him.

“What I do believe, though, is that if the President said he has set up a judicial commission of enquiry, then, I imagine anyone who has any information that will be useful for the commission to present them, hoping that this time, they are serious. “As you know, we have had so many of such commissions, which have come out with nothing. Nigerians have no confidence in those commissions anymore.

“Well, as for the statement of CAN president, I am afraid. You should ask the CAN president. I am sure he is in a position to defend whatever he has said. All I am saying is that I was not consulted on the statement. I have nothing to say,” the Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja said.

http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/apr/26/national-26-04-2011-001.htm

I just dey laugh oh! He who dines with the devil must be prepared to pay the price. ACN looked the other way when PDP was rigging the presidential election. Now that PDP wants to use the same tactic for the governorship election they are crying.I pray that PDP takes lagos from them, that would be the ultimate price they can pay

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has warned the PDP that any attempt to rig elections in Lagos or any part of the South West in the oncoming governorship election will truncate the present democracy. It therefore warns the PDP to cease from setting the country on fire through the type of massive rigging it has perfected and which has presently set the country on fire.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party says it is aware of subterranean moves by the PDP to rig the governorship election, not just in Lagos or the South West but the entire country but warns that such move would be counterproductive as the aftermaths of such a dastardly act will set the country on fire. It warns the PDP to start learning how to play by the rules instead of thinking it will be allowed to continue stealing the mandates of the people for selfish purposes.

“In the aftermath of the post electoral violence that had hit most parts of the North as a result of alleged manipulations of the presidential election in the South East and South South, it would be fool hardy for the PDP to think Nigerians will allow it to continue manipulating elections in the country. We want to let the PDP know that objective and serious thinking Nigerians know that the root cause of the problems we are experiencing in Nigeria including the recent post-election violence that hit the North are traceable to the attitude of the PDP, which sees elections as not a fair game that could be won through the votes of the people but a manipulable game that could be subjected to all manners of fraud.

“Once again, we are inundated with facts of planned rigging and manipulation of the coming governorship election in the South West, when the nation is yet to live down the ugly scepters of the presidential election. Perhaps, the PDP thinks that Nigerians are not aware of the root causes of the election turmoil that hit the North, which is PDP’s refusal to play by the legal rules of the game. We want to let them know that rigging the election in the South West and other parts of Nigeria will certainly help us address this malignant disease that has afflicted the PDP since it berthed in Nigeria to propagate election rigging, treasury raiding, impunity, kidnapping, bombing, killing, etc. we want to let the PDP know that Nigerians are alive and awake and any attempt to trifle with their interests will be met with such stiff resistance that no will certainly work towards the end of this hugely manipulated democracy. We want the PDP to remember Operation Wetie and the June 12 struggle and know that Nigerians are not as docile as they would want to believe.

“Lagos ACN wants to charge Prof, Jega and his INEC to sit up and address the many allegations of rigging, with which the PDP has rendered his carefully worked out electoral plan a huge joke. If he wants to gloss over these mounting and obvious cases of electoral malfeasance, we wish him the best of luck but he needs to know that the present elections are hugely manipulated especially at the collation centers and he must do something about it to prevent the implosion of the country. We want Jega to rein his Electoral Officers, especially in Lagos and the entire South West against being used to set the country on fire. We want to warn any electoral officer that plans to come to the South West to rig election to try something else as he or she would live to regret it.

“We want to alert all out members and supporters in Lagos, the South West and the entire country to be vigilant and monitor every action from polling booths to all the collation centers till the announcement of the final results. We want to charge them to insist on preventing rigging and ensure they thwart any effort by the unscrupulous elements in the PDP to rig the coming election. We want to warn that whoever attempts to rig the coming governorship election in Lagos, South West and the entire country will live to regret such dastardly action.”



Joe Igbokwe.

Publicity Secretary,

Lagos ACN.

 The uneducated, unemployed and uncivilized youths in the north have been killing and wrecking havoc before this election! And they will continue after the election in years to come. Before cpc, there has been violence and murder,.after cpc, it will continue
Until a permanent solution is found!
Those people look for any excuse to kill,Buhari's loss is just another one for them.
He didn’t ask nobody to kill. . .
The other time, a picture of Mohammed was used in a cartoon in Denmark and people in the northern Nigeria started their havoc.Was that the fault of cpc?
Before the civil war, when ibos were slaughtered like chickens,was that cpc also?
The crisis inJjos that has refused to end,is it also cpc?
The boko haram in borno was caused by the lamest and dumbest of reasons! "WESTERN EDUCATION IS A SIN" I mean isn’t that enough to show that these peeps are set of not-so-smart people who have been neglected, uncared for, uneducated, uncivilized.You need to live in the north, and study how they reason!
Blame Buhari and Bakare for this andyou are a coward! I wonder who you will blame for the next crisis in the north, when there is no cpc to push the blame on.
Our govt has failed us, a govt that can"t find lasting solution to the ever recurring nothern mayhem

Another bomb explosion rocked the city of Kaduna at about 7:45pm this evening in what many analysts termed as the continuation of the post election violence happening in Northern Nigeria.

SOURCE:CHANNELS NEWS AT 10PM

[quote author=EzeUche__ link=topic=652519.msg8183495#msg8183495 date=1303500180]Kobojunkie, I believe religion has no place in politics.

As a preacher he should know that.

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36)

I am disappointed a supposed "man of God" would enter politics.[/quote]I'd love to respond to your theological misnomer over "intention to make his kingdom of this world unlike His master Jesus Christ".

That is so much a mistake interpreting the scriptures thus. You seem to assume that stepping u, p to pursue an elective post whose tenure is only four years is "making his kingdom of this world" simply because it is the Presidency of a nation. What an erroneous belief! If a born again christian becomes the President of a Bank, has he made his kingdom of this world? If a born again christian is chosen to head ICAN, CIPM or any other organization like that, has he made his kingdom of this world? If a born again christian becomes the MD of Globacom, MTN, WAMCO, has he made his kingdom of this world? If not, how does a four year political term for servant leadership makes a christian make his kingdom of this world?

The scripture talks about a state of mind! Those who invest their spirits and souls and all their existence in whatever they have, or possess, here on earth and live as if there is no hereafter which is far more important. Hence we have ordinary shop owners who have made their kingdom of this world (won ti wa ile aye mo aya), we have taxi drivers, Pastors of churches, politicians, civil service workers, even choirmasters who have made their kingdom of this world by their attitude to the little office they hold or money they possess. They behave as if there is no tomorrow and as if the whole whole world ends at their feet because of the little advantage they have. Those are the ones who have made their kingdom of this world. It has nothing to do about being in politics, or serving in a political post, which is a time bound servant position at its quintessential best!

Allow me to explain that the presidential victory of April 16th was a victory for yourself and not necessarily for the PDP, which you are a part and parcel of. This should reveal without any equivocation that the elections were not driven by issues, but sentiments about personalities, religion and ethnicity. It is my opinion that as a nation we should grow our democracy to achieve a situation whereby persons win elections on the basis of merit and actual performance not sentiments, and certainly not with the aid of financial inducements, blackmail and violence.

I will not bore you with all the expectations Nigerians (the ones who voted for you, anyway) have-I believe you know all of these and intend to meet all of them.

Nevertheless, I intend to remind you of all the myriad of promises you made during your political campaign throughout the country. In my generosity, I have listed some of them for you here.



1. You Prmoised to rule for only one term (reference http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12339017)

As a man of your words or rather as you want to make us believe, PLEASE stick to this plan and pledge.

I sincerly hope we will not have political jobbers, groups like Youths Earnestly Ask for Jona, Dbanj, Lagbaja, Sunny Ade all singing for your second term bid? I sincerly hope also, you will not come out and openly deny you didnt make such promise or statements as you did about the zoning saga.



2. You promised a consitutional role for Traditional Rulers!!! I am short of words but Nigerians are waiting



3. On March 17th 2011, in Dutse the Jigawa statte capital, you promised:"If I win the election, within my four years in office, I will establish domestic airports in all the states without airports, WE ARE WAITING.



4. In Nasarawa, at the flagoff of your campaign you promised at least a university in every state including building specialist almajiri schools to shore up education in the North so as to eradicate illiteracy. The Almajiris are waiting o!



5. On February 8th in Ibadan, the day you called some people "rascals", you promised to create jobs and improve the power sector. The OYO people and indeed all Nigerians are waiting!!!



6. On Feb 9th, you were in Bauchi and you promised to intensify oil and gas exploration in the North-East as part of efforts to harness resources for economic development. Also you pledged to boost agriculture, power and water supply for wealth creation and revenue generation. Then you assured that projects such as the Mambilla hydro-electricity, Jada irrigation project and Kafin Zaki dam in Taraba, Adamawa and Bauchi would be pursued to boost agriculture and industrial development. Then you promised that your administration would establish two universities in the region. The NORTH EAST PEOPLE ARE WAITING,



9. You landed in Portharcourt on Feb 12 where you made alot of promises, maybe to woo your Niger Delta people. Be that as it may, you announced that the NNPC, in partnership with the private sector, would establish a petrochemical plant in the Niger Delta (you didnt state where exactly). You promised the plant will create job opportunities for the Niger Delta youths. Then you went ahead to promise the implementation of Local Content Law and Petroleum Industry Bill. In case you cant remember when you made all these, cast your mind back to the stampede that claimed some lives (where your wife called them martyrs).



10. In Kaduna- You promised massive transformation of the agricultural sector through construction of large dams and distribution of one million metric tonnes of fertilisers for the 2011 farming season (The rains are here already, so fulfil your promises o)

You also pledged to establish Almajiri model schools to address the challenges of the Almajiris.



11. In Benue-You promised to revolutionise agriculture and establish industries in the country through a five-year plan (We need that Plan now so we can keep track, the five years have started counting already)

You also promised to complete the irrigation project in Otukpo. Then you promised that the second Niger Bridge and the Benue Bridge projects will be worked on in the next four years. I think its better to start now so by April 2015, we trust you would have completed it.



12. February 17th, you were in Plateau where you made shocked the entire country with amazing promises. First of all, you pledged to refocus on the solid mineral development of the state and make it one of the key revenue sources in Nigeria. The Plateau people are banking on you.

Mr President, You promised to build more dams and complete ongoing ones, so as to boost agricultural growth.

In addtion you promised to complete the Vom-Manchok-Jos road to boost economic links between Plateau and Kaduna states. Yoy left the state and the Plateau people have been happy ever since and now that you have won, they are waiting



13. Mr President on Feb 21, you were in Kogi. You promised among other things promised that the dredging of the River Niger and Lokoja-Abuja road dualisation would be completed very soon. THE KOGI PEOPLE AND INDEED NIGERIANS ARE HOPING AND WAITING



14. In Kwara State on Feb22, you pledged that the irrigation project in Shonga would be completed soon to boost the commercial farming activities of the New Nigeria Farmers in the area. Mr president, remember you also said the Jebba-Mokwa road and Jebba bridge would be given adequate attention to ease transportation in the area. Kwarians are waiting!



15. On February 24, Mr. President, you pledged to rehabilitate ALL ailing industries in Aba. I believe all Abians are hoping on you to provide the enabling environment to do their businesses, you must keep your promises,



16. Mr.President, on Feb 25th in Anamabra you said there is a plan to build a power station in the state, assuring that within the next four years your administration would construct and rehabilitate ALL federal roads leading to Anambra as well as the South East. You equally to provide potable water to the densely populated Onitsha and Nnewi cities and tackle erosion in the South-East. To tell you the truth, Mr. President, Anambrians are banking on you!



17. In Ebonyi state, you promised to dualise the Enugu-Abakaliki federal highway in addition to establishing a secretariat for ALL Federal government's agencies and parastatals in Ebonyi. Mr. president, The people of Ebonyi has never had it so good since the creation of their state. Now, you have promised them the good life. Please keeep to your words!



18. In Niger state, you promised the more power generation. Perhaps the most important aspect of your promises is that your government would map out a five-year strategic plan for road projects. (Please we are waiting for the Plan NOW!!!!)



19. On Feb 27, you were in Asaba, the Delta state capital, which happens to be my state. On that fateful sunday, you revealed that “The NNPC is developing a new programme that will absorb about 5,000 youths, ”, Mr. President, Deltans are delighted at this REVELATIONS. While that number is a far cry from the number of unemployed youths in the state, at all at all na winch (as we say in Warri), so Deltans are waiting.



20. On March 2nd, you were in Ondo where you pronmised that roads and other basic infrastructure across the states will be developed in four years. In addition you also promised the exploitation of the vast bitumen deposits in the state for national economic development and employment generation. The Ondo people are waiting. Your Four years have started already. You must start now.



21. On the same day, March 2nd, your campaigbn train was in Ekiti state. While there, you promised that more than N50 billion federal intervention projects were ongoing in the state. You can be rest assured that the Fayemi and indeed the entire Ekiti kete are waiting for you.



22. On March 9th, in Sokoto, you promised to rehabilitate the abandoned Shagari irrigation project as well as reviving the nation’s rail system and figh the menace of desertification in the country. Sokoto people have sufffered for too long. This is your time to redeem your pledge, Mr President. The clock is ticking!!!



23.The date was March 12th 2011 and you were in Ogun state.

Remember, the day you rode to Abeokuta through rail?

Yes, That was the day you promised an improved power supply before the end of the year through the Integrated Power Project (IPP) initiative.

You also pledged to build more refineries, encourage downstream activities, resuscitate rail transportation and create jobs. In case you have forgotten, that was the day that Gbenga Daniel (your South West campaign coordinator was booed by the Ogun people).



24.On March 14th, your campaign trained moved to Kebbi where you promised to establish a federal university next year (2012). You also promised to create jobs through science and technology, tackle environmental challenges and boost health care delivery.



25.Katsina, was your port of call on March 15 where you promised to enhance the living standard of Nigerians through implementation of people-oriented programmes that would provide citizens the necessary opportunities to realise their potentials.

In my opinion, this was just mere rhetorics as you did not make any concrete promises. or did you have the premonition, you will lose in Katsina? I might just be right.



26.In Kano, you pledged to resuscitate the nation’s power sector and encourage the development of small and medium scale enterprises in the country while ensuring justice, equity and fair play in the polity.



Mr.President, Space will not allow me to list the deluge of promises in Lagos, Osun, Borno, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo, Taraba, Jigawa, Edo, Bayelsa and Zamfara states. If you can accomplish all your promises in the next four years, then you will go down memory lane as the best President ever.

.

landlord01:
The best names start wit J - like JEHOVA, when He wanted 2 choose d father of his ppl, He chose JACOB. To bless Jacob's children, He blessed JOSEPH. To lead His ppl to d promise land, He sent JOSHUA. When He wanted to save Nineve, He sent JONAH. And to save world, He sent JOHN d Baptist to fore-run for JESUS,the son of JOSEPH from d tribe of JUDAH who lived in JERUSALEM.2save Nigeria He sent JEGA to anchor 4 JONATHAN

What about Judas Iscariot?

If I have to do this again, I'll go for Buhari-Bakare a million times, even if they lose 999,999 times!

I earnestly pray that the masses of Nigerians will be freed from the limitations of our warped environment & the shackles of a "greedy few"-inflicted poverty.

"Let not him who puts on his armor boast like him who takes it off"

Nigeria shall be saved! Nigeria shall be changed! Nigeria shall be great again!

We fought a good fight, we fought for what we believed in, we stood on the side of truth, integrity, rule of law and fair play, To some people, it may seem we lost our shot at the presidency, but we'll always hold our heads held high that we stood for what is right and we never sold out our future for the petty gains of today, NIGERIA will surely rise again, U'll always be our Hero GMB, BB 4 LIFE.

Gumel,gombe,bauchi,kaduna security personel are shooting try to scare away voters from safeguarding. In all d places cars stuffed with thumbprinted ballot papers in favour of d rulin party were burnt. So dey re doin it to have their way and pple ready to die. Culled from peoples post ob bbc hausa page.

President of Czech Republic steals pen during his official visit in Chile.A Goodluck Jonathan led government will steal the pen manufacturing company.

If you can say Amen to any of these prayers please go to the polls on Saturday and vote for PDP:

1. May your lives and businesses be run exactly the same way the PDP has been running Nigeria for the past 12 years.

2. May your life be as bright as PDP has lighted Nigeria with electricity.

3. May your journey in life be as smooth as the interstate roads in Nigeria.

4. May your home be as organised and as beautiful as Murtala Mohammed Airport.

5. May your life savings be managed as PDP has managed Nigeria's foreign reserve.

6. May your family experience the peace and love that the people of Jos have experienced in 4 years.

7. May your children's education and working career reflect the standard of education in Nigeria.

If you were able to say Amen to just one please feel free to vote PDP on Saturday. If not, then you have the power to give CPC a chance to correct all these defects of PDP.

Let us vote wisely. Its not only about a personality. Let us think and ask ourselves this question: "is it proper that the party that brought us to this mess be the same party to lead us into the future?" Think Nigerians, think.

If you can say Amen to any of these prayers please go to the polls on Saturday and vote for PDP:

1. May your lives and businesses be run exactly the same way the PDP has been running Nigeria for the past 12 years.

2. May your life be as bright as PDP has lighted Nigeria with electricity.

3. May your journey in life be as smooth as the interstate roads in Nigeria.

4. May your home be as organised and as beautiful as Murtala Mohammed Airport.

5. May your life savings be managed as PDP has managed Nigeria's foreign reserve.

6. May your family experience the peace and love that the people of Jos have experienced in 4 years.

7. May your children's education and working career reflect the standard of education in Nigeria.

If you were able to say Amen to just one please feel free to vote PDP on Saturday. If not, then you have the power to give CPC a chance to correct all these defects of PDP.

Let us vote wisely. Its not only about a personality. Let us think and ask ourselves this question: "is it proper that the party that brought us to this mess be the same party to lead us into the future?" Think Nigerians, think.

Former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, has lamented his inability to vote in the ongoing general elections.



George, who spoke to our correspondents in his family house on Evans Street, Lagos Island on Saturday, said that he would have loved to vote but he did not have the opportunity to register during the exercise.



He said, “You know, I just came out of prison; I did not register. At that time, we were not allowed to register. If you did not register, you can’t vote. You know, Bola Tinubu and his cohorts made sure that we were locked away during the registration period.”



The PDP chieftain expressed the hope that PDP would do well in the election, describing as non-issue the wrangling in the party following the emergence of Dr. Ade Dosunmu as the governorship candidate of the party in Lagos State.



He denied the claim that he was the one who imposed Dosunmu on the party, saying that the process that produced him was transparent.



“I was not there; you all know I was in prison then, so how could I have imposed a candidate on the party?



“Again, among all the candidates for the governorship position, he was the most qualified academically and professionally.”



He described the allegations made by the likes of Wahab Dosunmu and Adeseye Ogunlewe that he controls the party as baseless.



http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201104100132393

FOOD FOR THOUGHT !!!!!!
PDP's Case In This Elections Is Like The Case of an Unserious Student
Who Seldom Attends Classes , And Has Been Relying On Cheating
In His Exams All His School Life. Now All Of a Sudden, He Is Faced
With The Prospect Of Writing a Digitalised & Computerised Exams !
Results Of Which Shall Be Published Same Day Immediately After The Exams ! No More Expos, Copying From Friends, Desk Notes, Tattoos,
No More Hiring Of Mercenaries Sitting For The Exams For Him, & No Chance Of Bribing Or Settling The Examiners Like In The Past ! No Chance of Seeing Guys In Records To Change The Scores ! No Chance Of Using Violence To Disrupt The Exams Like Before !
Everything Is Now Online, Defeat Is Now Staring "Student PDP" In The Face !
Age Is No Longer On His Side, So What Is He Now Going To Do ?
I'll Suggest The School Still Gives "Student PDP" a Soft Landing,
Something Like B.Sc Political Failure, So He Can Go Back To Start All Over Again,
By Taking Another Entrance Exam. , Or Go Learn a Decent Trade .
Folks, "Student PDP" Urgently Needs Your Advice, To Deal With His Ugly Situation
Before He Commits Suicide Or Run Amok ! He Sees No Chance Of Help From His
Family, As "Student PDP" Himself Admits, This Is Beyond "Family Affairs" !
Who Really Cares ? Let The Music Of Change Continue To Play, Vote Out
Party of Decaying Politicians, Vote Congress for Preferable Change, Vote
Buhari - Bakare , 2011 Is Nigeria's Year Of Change, By Nigerians & For Nigerians, Don't Be Left Out !!!!!

No. 4-Dimeji Bankole gone. No. 3-David Mark gone. Both Nos. 2 & 1 -Sambo & Jonathan shall be gone this time next weekend

Reports confirmed from NN24 has it that there has been sporadic shootings at INEC office in Abeokuta. INEC office burnt down.

serious shooting in abeokuta while results are being counted, the lights went off and they started shooting, this is the desperations of the pdp to create confusion and upturn the loosing result of the pdp. a great deal of sabotage.