₦airaland Forum

sleekdot:
I think the originator of this thread deserves a nobel prize for senselessness.

McKren,
Wole Soyinka replied to OBJ's attack on Bola-Ige What has that got to do with Atiku?

What happened to McKren or is another person using his ID. because Mckren of last year used to be a very reasonable poster that I always look forward to reading his post, the McKren of this year can not even differentiate between Atiku and Bola-Ige what a shame. How come you now join psychophants like Mamajama, wa do moi e.t.c to praise every OBJ action even for killing Ige and coming out to insult a dead man why did he not say those stuffs when Ige was alive he would have heard the beffitting reply he deserve for the Cicero knows how to reply fools. Maybe you should go for a recess to rediscover your old self.

For your info Soyinka did not support Atiku he supported Utomi.

Nigeria May Reciprocate New British Visa Policy, Says Ogwu



May 24th, 2007
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Abuja may reciprocate the new British visa policy which requires Nigerians living in the United Kingdom to return to Nigeria to renew their travel documents.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Joy Ogwu, said at her valedictory news conference on Wednesday that Nigeria’s bilateral agreements require it to reciprocate any gesture.

She regretted the new British policy and stressed that the contents of Nigeria’s bilateral relations with other countries must be maintained to protect the interest of Nigerians.

"Most of these things that you see manifest are based on the national calculation of nation states. The national interest of every nation state must be served. If we don’t serve our own national interest of Nigeria, then it is our fault. If the British define their national interest as keeping as many Nigerians out of their territory, we have ways, we have means of dealing with it: reciprocity. That is it. I will stop at that so that I don’t step on too many toes. But you can be sure that in our bilateral relations with any country, we will reciprocate. Reciprocity is certain as solution," she stated in Abuja.

Ogwu recalled that on assumption of office nine months ago, she embarked on comprehensive reforms to "re-position, re-invent, renovate, restructure, re-engineer, renovate, and re-tool" the ministry to articulate and implement foreign policy.

The ministry will celebrate its golden jubilee this year and is already setting a new foreign policy agenda that would refocus it on "new themes, priorities, and challenges, such as poverty alleviation and combating pandemics, peace-keeping and peace-building, energy, organised crime, including human trafficking, fair trade, disarmament and human rights."

About 544 officers have been redeployed from there to the office of the head of service who would decide what to do with them.

But President Olusegun Obasanjo has given Ogwu the approval to engage 80 officers whose degree qualification rank first class or second class upper.

The ministry, according to her, is now better placed to promote closer economic and political ties with other countries, in order to achieve Nigeria’s foreign policy goals of rapid economic growth.

She lamented the low funding for the ministry, but stressed that a stakeholders’ forum that would help reshape foreign policy has been instituted.

Also at the briefing, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Hakeem Baba Ahmed, said the ministry has investigated the case of the Defence Attache to the Nigerian High Commission in India, Captain G.A. Ojedokun, who was caught with over $2 million (N260 million) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

Ahmed, who recounted that he has been on the matter since the news broke, said there is no evidence from either India or Nigeria that Ojedokun was involved in crime.

His words: "Since that time, detailed explanation has been given about the source of the money, the officer has been released and the Nigerian and Indian authorities have been co-operating ….

"There was a need for some explanation to be given to the Indian authorities and it has been given to them. The officer is no more under detention."

Obi goes to Supreme Court

ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU, Awka


ANAMBRA State governor, Mr Peter Obi yesterday headed for the Supreme Court to challenge Appeal Court’s decision, declining jurisdiction to hear the governor’s matter over his tenure.

Since the ruling, a cross section of Nigerians have been reacting to the judgment. Governor Obi, who already asked the people of the state to go about their lawful businesses, vowed to pursue the case to its logical conclusion. Our investigations revealed that his lawyers have already filled a notice of appeal and are warming up at the Supreme Court.

Personal Assistant to the Governor on Media, Valentine Obienyem, confirmed the development to Daily Champion, saying the governor would do all within the law to ensure that his tenure was properly interpreted.

Meanwhile, mixed reactions have been greeting ruling of the Court of Appeal. Commenting, Barrister Emilia Enemuo, a legal practitioner based at Onitsha disagreed with the decision of the Court of Appeal saying: "The Court of Appeal erred in law. It did not answer the prayers of Governor Obi but chose to hide under the cloak of jurisdiction.

Clearly, by virtue of Section 251 of the Constitution, the Federal High Court has powers to handle that matter. It is mysterious that a simple case of constitutional interpretation is now transformed, by some magical formula, into an election matter. The question now is: which tribunal are they talking about? Is it the one that was since wound up or the one already set up that do not have the powers to even hear Obi’s case? If the court says that individual should approach it to set up tribunals when their rights are threatened, then we will soon have millions of tribunals in the country."

Attorney General of Anambra State, E.D. Chukwuma said "the issue His Excellency went to court for determination has not been determined, rather each court is running away from that. I hope we will get to a court that will not run away."

Barrister Keyinde Olagosonye is equally of the opinion that the Court of Appeal erred and by extension "has abdicated its responsibility."

Besides whether the Court of Appeal was legally right or wrong, the people of Anambra are aggrieved because they expected a favourable judgment for Peter Obi over which Christians in the state have been praying and fasting. The mood in the state was that of gloom until Governor Obi told them in a broadcast that the decision of the Court of Appeal was not the final in the issue.

Speaking to our correspondent, Michael Joe Onwudinjo, a businessman based in Awka said, "Mr. Obi is the duly elected Governor of Anambra State who has shown belief in the rule of law. The Constitution says he has four years out of which he has spent one. I do not understand while the simple prayer that his tenure be interpreted is unnecessarily clothed into technicalities, thereby delaying justice. If anything happens to his tenure, we shall hold the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal responsible. Do they realize that if Obi does not get justice, Anambra State will be sent to hell, especially considering the characters threatening to take over, even without elections?"
Reacting to the ruling, Engr. Anthony Akpulu described it thus: "I am not a lawyer, but the decision is against the emerging trend as expounded by the likes of Justice Alfa Belgore, that technicalities should not be allowed to clog the wheel of justice. If I understood Governor Obi, he is asking for the interpretation of a section of the Constitution and not whether he is validly elected or not."

ThiefOfHearts:
Actually it does help to be with people to understand them better than just going by biased hear-say.

where on earth do you get your information from? My father is over 60, my grandmother is 96 years old, and her sister is still kicking at 101

jenny2007:
it was on the news that there was a speculation that Tony Blair would take over from wolfortz when he steps down as British prime minister. Bush has confirmed this morning that he'd prefer an American citizen on the job, and as you already know, the US gets to make the important decision about the holder of the position. those saying that IWEALA was being considered are only spreading false rumors (though i'll be proud to see her on the job0

angel101:
2/3 of the country were unable to participate and u proudly call that an election? come on man.

adconline:
mckren

In all sincerity, adconline. Tell me who won the presidential electons

In all honesty was there really a presidential election?

adconline:
Mckren and Big 1

Illegality does not beget legality. What one achieves through violence is victory but not justice- Asking me to support Yar'du is like asking me to allow my son who rigged his medical board exams to perform a by-pass surgery on me. Would you allow your son who cheated in his medical exams to operate on you? We need to be realistic folks.

Donzman good analysis.

naijaway:
I think saying that alone is tribalistic and ethnicized. I guess he's expressing himself but as an appointed minister, i don't know how cool that is.

And now, the end is near;
And so you face the final curtain.
My General, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which I'm certain.

you've run a Government thats full.
you traversed each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
you did it your way.

Regrets, you've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
you did what you had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

you planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
you did it your way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When you bit off more than you could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
you ate it up and spit it out.
you faced it all and you stood tall;
And did it your way.

, And, in time, you realise putting the country first doesn't mean doing the right thing according to conventional wisdom or the prevailing consensus or the latest snapshot of opinion.

It means doing what you genuinely believe to be right.

Your duty is to act according to your conviction,

adconline:
Big 1.
Can you make peace with someone who steals your piece of land, builds a house in it and invites you to his house? Your reasons might be that IBB thing did not work out. Good luck.

Injustice goes in a virtual circle. Shagari /Ekwueme rigged polls in 83 elections , military kicked them out of power ,Ekwueme later stood for election during PDP primaries, but was rigged out, Ekwueme called the primary a " charade" Audu Ogbe, then PDP chairman called Ekwueme a bad loser and said his utterances were “treasonable’. Later on Ogbe was kicked out of PDP because he refused to endorse Chris Uba's actions in- another stolen mandate- By the way Chuba Okadigbo, an outspoken critic of those who criticized 1983 elections, later died while leading a march against 2003 election rigging. Atiku Abubakar had been a beneficiary of stolen mandate from 1999 to 2003. Now he wants justice to be done. He had known that what befell likes of Olu Falae, and Ekwueme would befall him, he might have done something about it. If we do nothing about it, the status quo remains. Somebody should learn some lessons by now. This same support was asked of us in 83, 99,03 elections, but politicians never delivered because they did not derive power from the people but though rigging.