₦airaland Forum

Olisa Metuh has spoken, one of the 12 disciples of (jesus) Jonathan. Same incendiary comments again ; In Lai Mohammed's voice;

”Everything that the President’s political associates, supporters and spokespersons have done has been geared toward creating division among Nigerians and sowing the seeds of discord and hatred, and the President is not on record as having ever called them to order.

”Recently, Chief Edwin Clark, a die-hard supporter of the President, said glibly that if the opposition has its way it can poison or kill President Jonathan just to take power. No
statement could be more absurd and incendiary, yet the
President never called him to order.

”Another dyed-in-the-wool supporter of the President,
Mujaheed Asari Dokubo, said on national television that there will be blood on the streets if President Jonathan is not re-elected in 2015. He also said ‘we will not take any prisoner of war. It will be total battle’, but the President never uttered a word in his rebuke.

”Since President Jonathan’s main opponent in the 2015
elections, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, emerged, his party
members and spokesmen have been falling over themselves to pour invective on him and his party, the APC.
The National Secretary of the President’s party, Wale
Oladipo, called the former head of state a ‘semi-literate
jackboot’, Doyin Okupe lambasted Gen. Buhari for not
stealing money during his many public appointments while
PDP spokesman Olisa Metuh issued his most jejune
statement to date just to pillory the APC and its leaders.

”In all this, President Jonathan never saw a comment that
could fan the embers of discord and hatred. Having failed to
call his spokesmen, party members and supporters to order
when they made incendiary comments, President Jonathan
has lost the moral authority to call anyone else to order for
the same wrong doing,” APC said.

”Nigerians are more divided along ethnic and religious lines
today than at any time in the history of the nation, and this
is traceable to the President. President Jonathan should
therefore look inwards and stop being sanctimonious.
”On our part, we say, without equivocating, that we do not
need any admonition from anyone, least of all a holier-than-thou President, to avoid actions that could divide the people or create discord or hatred. We are a party of peace, inclusiveness and concord, so President Jonathan should first speak the truth to his party before saying it to anyone else,”

FAKE BOKO-HARAM

It is arguably that, the dilemma of fake Boko-Haram posed more threat than that of the so call real Boko-Haram. According to the Nigeria’s Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, “fake members of the Boko-Haram sect whose mission was to collect money showed up when dialogue was going on with key members of the Boko-Haram sect to end the insurgency in parts of the north” (PM NEWS, 8th October, 2013). This type of incident can easily explain why GEJ believes they are negotiating cease fire with Boko-Haram this year to release the Chibok girls. There are lot of Boko-Harams, and Shekarau appears to be a title.
Besides, there are incidents where suspected Boko-Haram members were arrested and later turned out not to be Boko-Haram members but impersonators who used the name of Boko-Haram to cause havoc. Armed robberies are sometimes credited to Boko-Haram and there are some politicians that used Boko-Haram as a cover to carry out assassinations. For example, on the 10th of March 2012, it was reported in Sky news and major media houses in Nigeria, Boko-Haram spokesman denied the involvement of the group in both the kidnapping and the killing of British Chris McManus and Italian Francesco Molinara after the government and media put the blame on them. It was apparent with the denial from Boko-Haram spokesman; some elements do orchestrate evil in the name of Boko-Haram. However, the arrest of a “fake Boko-Haram” member using the sect name to terrorize and extort money from people in Enugu state by Security operatives make it imperative for us to start thinking (Vanguard, October 25th, 2013). In another example a failed bombing in March 2012 of a church in Bauchi was said by the police to have been plotted by a rival Christian organization. Had the bombing gone to plan, it is easy to see how the attack would have been blamed on Boko Haram. The main challenge now is, who is real and who is fake Boko-Haram? Which attack are Boko-Haram orchestrated and which one is not? How GMB want to deal with fake Boko-Haram is not yet clear to me

NIGERIA ARMY AND WAR ON TERROR

To understand what is going on with Nigeria army, I will like to make reference to a similar situation in ISIS. The math seems so simple. The Iraqi army has 250,000 troops; its enemies, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), somewhere around 7,000. The Iraqi army has tanks, planes, and American training. ISIS has never fielded a tank or a plane and its troops didn't get formal training from an advanced military. Yet ISIS is demolishing the Iraqi army on the battlefield, seizing a massive swath of the country's northwest. Why? It comes down to two things: training and professionalism. ISIS learned how to fight, while the Iraqi army has long been a weak fighting force just like the Nigerian force living on past glory, moreover, they have never encounter this type of force before in their life. All the weapons in the world won't matter if you don't know how to wield them. And Boko-Haram’s victories, not to mention the Nigerian army's repeated failures, tell you a lot about the country's larger crisis. The ISIS example is a direct example of what is happening between Nigerian army and Boko-Haram, Nigerian army just like the Iraqi lack professionalism and training while Boko-Haram has over the time, focused on training in different terrorist camps all over the world for this type of warfare. It's hard to overstate how much of advantage this training and professionalism gives the Islamist group. Boko-Haram knows how to use smaller units effectively against larger forces. They're "very efficient, and you have to deal with that. This matters greatly. An undisciplined force, one whose movements aren't well coordinated or can't deploy proper tactics for taking city blocks, can be beaten by a much smaller opponent that knows what its doing.

However, Nigerian army lack everything a military unit required to engage in WAR ON TERROR (this is alien to our country and we were not prepared), yet the experienced western countries that supposed to assist us in dealing with this menace are blocking all chances of success that we might achieve against Boko-Haram. The sale of lethal weapons to Nigeria is prohibited by UK law because of human right violation of Nigeria Military in the process of fighting against Boko-Haram. "Without the training, they won't be able to get the equipment, and we aren't giving them the training either,"
Mr Hall a top UK military official said, (BBC, May 14th, 2014). The same excuse of International Humanitarian Law and conventional warfare rules of engagement abuse by Nigerian Military was given by the United State Government in their refusal in selling modern and effective equipment to Nigerian government to combat Boko-Haram. Yet, the effort of GEJ administration to acquire weapons through back channel in South Africa was sabotage by this group of countries that continue to malign the current administration of not paying attention to Boko-Haram crisis.
Fellow Nigerians, so you want Nigeria government to fight Boko-Haram with bow and arrow or cock and shoot guns. When we are talking about the countries that break International Humanitarian Laws with no respect to rules of engagement in Warfare, US, UK and all this western countries top the chart. Pakistan human right record is far worse than that of Nigeria, yet they received billions of dollars yearly, weapons, and military training among other things. Wake up country men Despite all odds, the Nigerian government has made some efforts to counteract the activities of the Islamist sect; the President, wanting to be seen to be doing something, sacked his National Security Adviser (Owoye Azazi) and Defence Minister (Bello Mohammed). Kabir Sokoto’s arrest was a landmark in Nigeria’s effort to combat the unpopular group.

The Goodluck Jonathan administration has also made drastic efforts to improve the current fragile security situation by giving priority to security in the 2012 budget and the subsequent years have witnessed increase. More than a thousand illegal immigrants from countries like Chad, Niger and Sudan have been deported from Nigeria and the Terrorism Prevention Act has been signed into law by the Nigerian President .The Nigerian security service’s discovery of bomb factories in the cities of Suleja, Kano, Yola and others places was also commendable. We cannot say that the deployment of troops to the northern states and declared a State of Emergency in three states in the region – Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, have been a total failure, there are some level of success of Nigerian army despite all criticism, they pushed Boko-Haram into Sambisa Forest until lately that they resurface to carry out suicide attacks in Abuja and Kano. My argument is not to eulogies the army, but recognition of their sacrifice is not too much for every Nigerians to give From my understanding about global political jihad, the security service has not been able to prevent several deadly suicide attacks not because the government is not doing anything but because we are fighting against people that are not afraid to die. If you have opportunity to meet any Islamic fundamentalist that beliefs in the 72 virgins and martyrdom, you will understand that no amount of wealth, military muscle or technological prowess could erect an effective shield against the actions of desperate men that are not afraid to die. I want all Nigerians to read and try looking inside the mind of Islamic terrorists to understand why they are willing to give up their lives-and why they can't be stopped by weapons made by man.
Indoctrinated since childhood and trained in secret camps across the world, they are dominated by an aggressive false religion and fueled by a belief that they are doing God's will.
I don’t know if GMB will be successful to change the mentality of people that beliefs in the more people you kill, the higher your reward in heaven.

CHIBOK GIRLS

It will be highly insensitive if I don’t talk about chibok girl’s abduction, and to be honest I felt bad for them just as I felt bad for any victim of terrorism. But the simple truth is that the chances of seeing those girls again are very slim. If some of them can develop resilience against been brainwashed, we might see them again. It is laughable that the US and UK despite committing considerable military resources to hunts Joseph Kony of Lord Resistant Army in Uganda (Kony specialized in Kidnapping young boys as child solider and girls as sex slaves and soldiers in some cases) can come out to say Nigerians has failed to rescue those girls after they themselves failed to rescue more than 60,000 children (boys and girls) from Kony bondage. Trust me if those children are Chibok boys, there will be no attention and noise, a lot of mushroom NGOs has become rich overnight because Gender equality campaign attract international funding. People are so wicked, for selfish interest they are promising what they cannot do. For God sake, Nigerian army specialized in conventional warfare, this explains why they were successful in ECOMOG, however our army is confronted by enemy that is well trained and equipped in unconventional and guerrilla warfare. Yet, the same US and UK supporting BringBackOurGirls groups refused to offer training and blocked all access to purchase modern weapon to match the firepower of Boko-Haram. If Pakistan, a nuclear war power with a strong army cannot stop the Talibans carnage, the combination of United Nations Coalition forces and Iraqi army cannot stop ISIS slaughter house, I don’t know how GMB want to tackle people that sees him as infidel which deserves to be beheaded. Make no mistake, BOKO-Haram was listed as number 3 terrorist group in the world ahead of FARC, AQIM, Al Shabab, so we are not just dealing with some small boys with toy guns since some of my Buharist friends believes that GMB will be successful has he did with the Maitasine of 1984. If my Buharist friends are thinking GMB can negotiate with these animals or think they are Muslims, start thinking again, they are not human, they don’t have a religion, they are lunatic from planet destruction.

The only way we can survive this warfare is to stop playing politics with terrorism, bring your ideas to the table and let us put it to test, waiting until you get to power is not only callous but wicked. Also, we need to mobilize 2/3 of all our army and suspend all civil liberty in the three states affected. Yes, there will be civilian casualty but necessary, let the international community make their noise. Put amnesty on the table for those that are ready, I am very sure that some will be ready to help to providing intelligence. We should forget about US, and UK, we need to start looking at Russia and China for support in terms of weapon even though US and UK hardware’s are more effective, we just need to start doing something. Nigerians should stop promoting the videos of Boko-Haram attacks; it is an insult to Nigerian soldiers that have lost their lives in defending our nations. Are we saying Nigerians soldiers don’t record any success against Boko-Haram, spreading Nigerian army success video is morale booster and a necessity in the fight against terrorism. Despite the fact that ISIL committed more crime than Boko-Haram, Syrians and Iraqis just don’t go on social media to be spreading the carnage of ISIL. It took Nigerian media 3 days before they reported the victory of our army in Konduga, and one would have expected the video to go viral on Facebook and YouTube but spreading such video is a victory for GEJ. We need to unite together, Pakistanis did not start calling their President names when Taliban suicide bombers killed 142 school children two week ago rather they put the blame on the evil doers. If you pull me down to get to the top, I will also pull you down, so who is the winner (Boko-Haram) and who is the Looser (Nigerians)?

NB: There are lots of things I want to say but it will be too voluminous (even this is too long), I hope to read your comments and probably I will have the chance to express my remaining thought then. Part 3 of this piece will be out before New Year. Thanks

NIGERIANS FANTASY OF CHANGE THROUGH BUHARI/APC: Part 2 (Boko-Haram Ins urgency and Insecurity).


Today, the country’s nascent democracy is being tested by rampant crime and an unprecedented campaign of terror such that in the south, civil unrest threatens safety and stability, to the east; gangs who kidnap expatriate for ransom lie in wait on the roads, in bars, and cities; and to the north, the Islamic terrorist group called Boko Haram is growing both in number and brutality hence the group has posed brazen challenges to the government and issued the ultimatum “leave or die” to Christians living in the northern Nigeria and confidence that the government can protect the people is at all-time low. Make no mistake terrorism is perhaps the greatest threat not only to the corporate existence of a state but also to humanity. The magnitude of terrorist activities has reinforced the belief that a terrorist is a psychopath who does not show remorse for the pain he/she inflicts on people. But in Nigerian, many of my Buharist friends are of the opinion that either GEJ is a major sponsor of Boko-Haram or he is just clueless and incompetent in bringing an end to Boko-Haram. The Buharist have now embark of a campaign of hope and change, “GMB will bring an end to BOKO-Haram”, going by his records as a former Military man and his zero tolerance for corruption that has eaten deep into our security system. What a pity? It is only people that lack understanding of the origin of Boko-Haram and the process of their transformation from a rag tag militants that operates on bikes to carry out assassinations and sting attacks on police barracks in 2010/2011 will link Boko-Haram to GEJ or argue that GMB will end Boko-Haram. The same Buhari that was a target of assassination attempt early this year will just be handicap as GEJ or probably worse because Boko-Haram metamorphosized daily with advance training and weaponry.

In this piece, I will discuss why GEJ appears to have failed to tackle the Boko-Haram menace and why GMB is not going to succeed either. But before I explain further it is imperative to juggle our mind with some facts, where you place yourself will determine the type of solution you will propose. Space and time will not permit me to go into details of Boko-Haram history (you can read further in one of my publications titled: Rethinking Boko-Haram: The Contending Perspective among Nigerians in Diaspora and Youths. This publication is also listed as a source by dudley knox library naval postgraduate school)

BOKO-HARAM NARRATIVES

The Boko Haram terrorist group’s philosophy and activities have been subjected to different interpretations and narratives among the Nigerian populace. Such interpretations follow traditional lines of ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious cleavages in Nigeria. Some perceive it as war by Muslims against Christians, some as a sponsored conspiracy against the Muslim North, and others interpret it as the Northern war against the emergence of President Jonathan from the south-south geopolitical zone. A few regard it as a generic name for criminal gangs in Northern Nigeria. While overwhelming opinions in the south tilt toward a scorched-earth policy to counter Boko Haram, much of the north favors dialogue. One of the implications of these responses is the widening of already existing cleavages in Nigerian society, thereby further undermining efforts at building unity and coexistence among Nigeria’s varying nationalities. Regardless of the narratives (poverty and deprivation, Political Conspiracy, Islamic State and Global Political Jihad) that you want to choose, one factor is common, Alimodu Sherriff.

Boko-Haram came into political lime light during the civilian dispensation in Bornu state under the leadership of Governor Alimodu Sherriff. The politicians that are using them eventually lost the game against then and the sect activities went beyond control. I will state clearly that the root cause of this violence is not because the northern elite were angry that they lose power to the south. The violence started as a result of misunderstanding between Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko-Haram and ex-Governor Alimodu Sherriff of Yobe state. This in turn led to the massacre and extra judicial-killing of Mohammed Yusuf and 700 others in 2009, after the crackdown the surviving members of Boko-Haram flee the country and find refuge in various terrorist camps in Mali, Somalia and others. All the people shouting sai Buhari now ignored the fact that the Nigerian army execution style of ISIS on Boko-Haram members is just like waking up a sleeping giant. All what Boko-Haram needs to do it to play the video of 2009 to the new recruits and they are ready to go. While most South-Westerners are commending Yaradua, myself and others including GMB condemned the barbaric act of Nigeria military crackdown of 2009. The same sai Buharist for 2015 tagged him fundamentalist back then, now he is no more a Godfather of terrorist; he is a saviour that will save Nigeria. I think we all have serious problem in this country; we have never been united on any cause except for Nigeria national football team.

In addition, research has shown clearly that the Borno state government was against the Boko-Haram not because of its teachings against western education, but for Yussuf fondness in abusing government officials for being corrupt and not representing the interest of the people. Also, it was widely reported in the media that the sects indicated the stoppage of their monthly allowance was part of the reason they started launching attacks against the government of Borno and Bauchi (note: many groups enjoyed similar treatments of monthly payment all over the country from politicians). The governors refuted the allegation as scandalous, however, it important to question the rationale behind the payment of 100 million naira to the Boko-Haram sects to pacify them for the death of their leader in 2009. It is surprising why my Buharist friends refused to pay close attention to the clash between two senators (APC members) in the National Assembly, Senator Alimodu Sherriff, the Ex -Governor of Borno State and Senator Ahmad Zanna alleging each other as the Kingpin and sponsor of Boko-Haram.
Everything is placed on Jonathan; the Boko-Haram issue is a very complex phenomenon that we all need to think carefully before having this fantasy of Boko-Haram defeat through Buhari.

PLAYING POLITICS WITH INSURGENCY

One thing I love about US and UK is that, when it comes to issue of National security most especially on domestic front, the tick ideological line of republican and democrat or labour and conservative quickly disappear. On the contrary, it is an open season for opposition to condemn and score political points on GEJ administration. To make matter worse, the Abbati and Okupe of this world will start to spit out political jargons blaming opposition as sponsors of attacks instead of appealing to the sense of reasoning of the masses to support whatever efforts that the government put in place to counter the menace. I was opportune to engage some of my Buharist friend that if GMB and APC really have antidote or there is a way they know that will curb this Boko-Haram madness, why can’t they bring it to the fore so that we can all be in peace. The response I got was, “don’t worry if GMB emerge he will solve it”. So thousands of people should die before the APC bring out a solution for us, there are many other areas that this administration has failed in which the GMB and APC can use as a campaign slogan. If they cannot offer alternative way to defeat Boko-Haram now, then those supporting them need to start asking serious question because we don’t know who is going to live up to May 29th 2015 at the rate Boko-Haram is going.
If my Buharist friends want to propose dialogue, GEJ has offered enough space for dialogue. He came up with Amnesty for the Boko-Haram members that are willing to embrace peace. All my Buharist friends in the South-West, South-South, and South-East were against it. They called GEJ names, clueless president, how can you give amnesty to killers, Niger delta was a different case, the militant have a genuine cause. Ok, he declared a state of emergency, APC and Northern leaders kicked against it, they started supporting international community on the claims of war crimes of Nigeria military, civilians are dying and moreover the emergency rule is not effective and bla bla bla. Ok, GEJ proposed full emergency rule (suspending all democratic power and civil liberty), it was met with strong resistant from opposition. While we were busy fooling ourselves and scoring political points, the common enemy continue to train, recruit and becoming stronger. To complicate matters, all action of GEJ against Boko-Haram was labelled anti-north. In many ways, the political class in Northern Nigeria reactions against FG decision to proscribe Boko-Haram sect with emphasis on the ethnic bias of GEJ is not helpful. For instance, Abubakar Tsav, former Lagos State Police Commissioner was quoted in an interview “Why did the President not include MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), NDVF (Niger Delta Volunteer Force), OPC (Odua People’s Congress), Ombatse, etc in the ban since these organisations also engage in acts of terrorism.....

Laws are made for all but GEJ’s law is discriminatory and with ethnic bias” (The Punch News Paper, July 3rd, 2013). And we all want the menace to be over, if we continue playing politics, no president will succeed against Boko-Haram. Trust me, the politics of pull him down syndrome will continue if GMB emerge, Jonathanians will fights back with all what they got in their arsenal and we all know the end result.

For the past 3 months, I have been embroiled in the battle of thought on sharing my opinion about the charade of change that is been perpetuated by my Buharist friends. It became more difficult to remain silient when one is opportune to read various comments that show lack of understanding of Nigeria polity, in particular how Nigeria as a country should proceed in the midst of high level of Corruption, Boko-Haram Insurgency and development. In order not to bore people with a very long epistle of analysis; I have decided to break this piece into 3 parts. The first part look at corruption and what are the prospects of change with a GMB presidency in this regard, the second part discuss the dilemma of Boko-Haram insurgency, why GEJ has failed and the reasons why GMB will not succeed
either. In this part I proposed a way forward that is based on robust research on how Nigeria should respond to terrorism even though it might take years before we achieve significant success. In the third part, I will discuss my choice between GEJ and GMB for 2015 election, reasons why I make such choice will be articulated meticulously without any fear of favour.

GMB and Corruption war

Nigeria is a country of paradoxes: it makes billions of dollars annually as revenue from only one resource (i.e., crude oil); yet millions of its people are wretched. In fact, over seventy percent of its population is said to be enmeshed in extreme poverty. A major causal factor responsible for this disheartening and unacceptable situation is that occupants of state offices in Nigeria use their positions to criminally accumulate wealth for themselves at the expense of the welfare and wellbeing of the masses. The reality in Nigeria is that the Nigerian state is controlled by a very greedy and rapacious ruling class whose essence is self-aggrandizement, and to the members of this class, the welfare of the citizenry means very little or nothing. The point has to be reiterated that in Nigeria, state offices are used by their occupants primarily for wealth acquisition. We do not need the grading by Transparency International to know that it is not a miracle that those who got into public office with the deafening sound of Nairalessness number themselves among the rich, the truly,
stinkingly, mind-bogglingly rich in our country today.

The Nigerian state is controlled by a rogue elite, a group of
persons whose primary goal is to enrich themselves and to
privatize as much of public resources as possible. The situation in the country indicates that there is a complete
prebendalisation of state power and virtually all acts of public officials involving public expenditure or public goods of any kind have led to the appropriation of state finances or property by officials, and the routine operations of
government are being subjected to prebendal rules. when the Nigerian politician (PDP or APC) or government official has acquired enough property in Abuja, Lagos, Dubai,
Johannesburg, London, Washington, and Toronto; when he has acquired a private jet; when his fleet of expensive exotic cars in Nigeria makes his compound look like a car dealership; when he boasts a permanent year-round reserved room in Sheraton or Nicon Hilton, agony and restlessness set in. What to do next? Ah, yes, let me colonise other areas of life of Nigerians. Let me take my loot into other zones, other spaces that ordinarily ought to be inviolable. Just a few instances of how the Nigerian state has been used by public officials can be seen in the Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
which took off on May 29, 1999 with Olusegun Obasanjo as the
country’s president. Prior to his assumption of office as the
head of theNigerian state, Obasanjo was widely reported to be
materially bankrupt and almost in a state of mendicancy. But
by the end of his two terms as Nigeria’s president in 2007,
Obasanjo had become a proud member of the country’s
stupendously-wealthy class. Obasanjo is a very wealthy man
indeed today, not because of his business acumen or artistic
endeavours, but for the sheer fact of having been President of
Nigeria for two consecutive terms, if Obasanjo had left office
the same way he did when he was military head of state, he
would have gone hungry again in no time; so he took no
chances this time around as he not only made certain of his
own massive personal financial security, he made certain of
same for members of his family, his cronies and acolytes as
well. The same corrupt Obasanjo Joint Task Force (JTF) on
corruption headed by Nuhu Ribadu the (then) head of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said
Jonathan was in possession of properties he could not explain
within his legitimate income. Yet OBJ enforced GEJ on us as the
Vice President to Yaradua to appeal to the Militant in Niger
delta even though he is not the most competent candidate as
of that period in time (I will discussed this further in the 3rd
part of this piece). OBJ is now the pillar of change in Nigeria?
What a shame

However, it’s easy to blame the people sitting in power. Of
course they are certainly the ones making immoral and
moronic decisions that impact negatively on the people they
are meant to serve. The government should be responsible for
infrastructure, education, nourishing and protecting home
industries and making sure international trade is as beneficial
as can be. But Goodluck Jonathan, Namadi Sambo, and those
under and around them did not arrive on a spaceship from
planet Corruption. They are, after all, former ordinary citizens.
I came across a Nigerian forum a while ago in which the issue
of tax was being debated. One poster claimed that it was
probably for the best that Nigeria wasn’t fully developed
because perks of evading tax made life, for him, a lot more
comfortable. He went on to tell an anecdote about how his
brother was taken to court in the United Kingdom over
refusing to pay a TV licensing fee, and described how systems
such as these were “a nuisance”. I remember watching a news
programme years ago asking young Nigerians what they would
do if they were in power. One boy, aged around 10yrs, said
''chop [steal] money.”
In Nigeria, it’s normal to play ‘the game’. From bribing airport
staff when one enters the country to paying 20 naira to
policemen at so-called ‘checkpoints’ dotted along the main
roads to allow you to get on with your journey. Travelling to
my father’s house in Lagos from abroad we were stopped by
policemen, armed with guns, who demanded a search of our
car. In the glove compartment was a sum of money given to
me for the father of my friend, to pass on to their relatives.

Of course the policemen demanded a large portion of that
money. Money that had entered the country legally and money
that was not theirs to take, after much pleading, they finally
accepted a smaller proportion of the money and went on their
way. Corruption, like any virus, has spread throughout all
sectors of society. From politics, to education, from the top to
the bottom, no one seems to be immune. But Nigeria is going
to need some sort of cure – some sort of revolutionary change
in mindset to change the status-quo. It’s easy to blame ‘them’
but what ‘you’?

Unfortunately, the war against corruption is only limited to the
center because of the headlines, the corruption from the
grassroots is more massive than that of the center.
I don’t know if Buhari will come down from Abuja to deal with
the police collecting bribe in Ekiadolor road to Benin or the
idiots at the airports that make your life miserable because
you are travelling with foodstuffs (your country of destination
is not complaining that you are bringing the food into their
country and yet to carry it from Lagos is like a war from Syria,
any attempt to proof your right, you might miss your flight).

The saddest part of the story is that if you are determined that
you will not give bribe, there are thousands of people that are
behind you that are willing to pay. When a bus driver refused
to give 20 naira to police, it is the passengers that will be
shouting on him to give bribe because they are late for their
appointments, so GMB will stop that too right? My Buharist
friends have argued that, GMB cannot solve Nigerian problem
in 4-8 years but he will set up a foundation that will put us on
track. You are talking about foundations, who are those people
that going to enforce the rules, policies, and discipline that
GMB will put in place. Are they Americans or Germans, are
they not Nigerians? Please with all honesty, you still believe
there is anything GMB can do without you and I becoming
more patriotic and carry out our responsibilities dutifully.
When you and I still continue to celebrate money over
intelligence and embraced the mentality “Olowo soro Talika ni
ohun ni idea” (when the rich is talking what kind of
contribution can you get from a poor man), or “ti omode
balowo eje ka ponle” (if a child is rich let us honour him/her).

Developed countries that we are trying to emulate don’t give a
shit about your status; you will not want to even think of going
into corruption ,Netherlands prime Minister and my
professors ride bicycle to office but in Nigeria a graduate
assistant is using Camry 2007, with what salary? (let us keep
our mouth shut for the professors).

Getting jobs (government and private) in Nigeria is not on
merit but rather its depend on who you know. To my entire
firebrand Buharist change agent, what is your salary and what
is your assets, are you not living beyond your means? For me, I think the very high importance placed on devotion to one’s
family in Nigeria that actually encourages corruption, at least
in the form of nepotism. Most Western countries are much
more individualistic, which is bad in some ways but at least it
creates more of a culture of people getting ahead on their own
merit. The moment you are elected into office, you will be
bombarded with series of ridiculous request and if you don’t
comply you become enemies of the society. What about you
getting a job, plethora of stuffs that you yourself cannot afford
will become other of the day (Aso-ebi for 10 years burial
ceremony remembrance, weddings and birthdays where you
will have to display how God has blessed you).
It goes without saying that the pressure on those that travel
abroad is even more enormous; it explains why some
Nigerians resulted to crime and in turn eventually bring shame
to the name of the country. I remembered last year when I travel back to Nigeria after finishing my Masters, some idiots
are making mockery of me because I did not come back with
car. Hey continue to make references to people that have
travelled just like me in the area and in short period of time
came back home with material. Trust me, it was very painful,
no congratulation for my academic excellence, since then that
particular area has become a taboo for me. I hope GMB will
change that too.

My Buharist friends also maintained that when the head is
bad, it will affect other part. I don’t buy that concept, so it is the
President incapability that affects a LG chairman not to deliver?
Make no mistake; there are many that will benefit from a
reliable leadership of a LG chairman or governor rather than a
president. I have witnessed a situation where the President of
SUG failed to impact the lives of students while a faculty
president performed beyond expectation. If their theory (when
the head is bad, other part will not function) is correct, all
governors, senators, LG chairmen, Reps of APC, CAN, AD,
ANPP, APGA, ACCORD, LP and many more have all failed to
performed and deliver the dividend of democracy to the
masses because of PDP bad leadership, surprisingly, majority
of all this PDP stalwart are now in APC and you call that change
or foundation for change. I know there will be lots of people
that will disagree with that theory because we have witnessed
good leadership across all this parties. They also forgot that,
we are not in Military regime where mere allegation can lead
you to jail. It is not what you know but what you can proof at
the court that matters. Alleged me if you like, you can’t just
send me to prison on corruption, you have to proof it, this
might take years or GMB will also become judge.

Maybe GMB will use his power to reduce Senators (PDP and
APC) salaries that are twice higher than that of President
Obama?. My brothers and sisters I dont live in fantasy, the
change start from you and I and not GMB You are talking
about. This is my thought on corruption in Nigeria and why
GMB ticket is just like pouring a tea spoon of salt in River Nile:
It does not exonerate the GEJ administration or discredit GMB
as a person, rather it is an attempt to raise the consciousness
of Nigerians that are busy enjoying the fantasy of change
without carefully analyzing the dynamics that are involved in
the topic of discourse “CHANGE”

Omg!!!

dwilliams:
All we want is a transparent govt, and a leader that has ideas,not some dumb PhD fisherman

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President
Goodluck Jonathan to show leadership by example instead
of engaging in mere rhetoric, saying talk becomes cheap the
moment words lose their meaning.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said
President Jonathan’s exhortations at a Christmas service in
Abuja on Thursday would have carried weight if the
President had acted in such a way that his compatriots
would not doubt his sincerity.

It wondered how the President could admonish others to
avoid sowing the seeds of discord and hatred through their
utterances when that is exactly the stock in trade of his
political associates, supporters and spokespersons.

”Everything that the President’s political associates,
supporters and spokespersons have done has been geared
toward creating division among Nigerians and sowing the
seeds of discord and hatred, and the President is not on
record as having ever called them to order.

”Recently, Chief Edwin Clark, a die-hard supporter of the
President, said glibly that if the opposition has its way it can
poison or kill President Jonathan just to take power. No
statement could be more absurd and incendiary, yet the
President never called him to order.

”Another dyed-in-the-wool supporter of the President,
Mujaheed Asari Dokubo, said on national television that
there will be blood on the streets if President Jonathan is
not re-elected in 2015. He also said ‘we will not take any
prisoner of war. It will be total battle’, but the President
never uttered a word in his rebuke.

”Since President Jonathan’s main opponent in the 2015
elections, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, emerged, his party
members and spokesmen have been falling over themselves to pour invective on him and his party, the APC.

The National Secretary of the President’s party, Wale Oladipo, called the former head of state a ‘semi-literate jackboot’, Doyin Okupe lambasted Gen. Buhari for not stealing money during his many public appointments while PDP spokesman Olisa Metuh issued his most jejune statement to date just to pillory the APC and its leaders.

”In all this, President Jonathan never saw a comment that
could fan the embers of discord and hatred. Having failed to
call his spokesmen, party members and supporters to order
when they made incendiary comments, President Jonathan
has lost the moral authority to call anyone else to order for
the same wrong doing,” APC said.

”Nigerians are more divided along ethnic and religious lines
today than at any time in the history of the nation, and this
is traceable to the President. President Jonathan should
therefore look inwards and stop being sanctimonious.

”On our part, we say, without equivocating, that we do not
need any admonition from anyone, least of all a holier-than- thou President, to avoid actions that could divide the people or create discord or hatred. We are a party of peace,
inclusiveness and concord, so President Jonathan should
first speak the truth to his party before saying it to anyone
else,” it said.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/12/incendiary-comments-politicians-apc-urges-president-jonathan-lead-example/

Lolzz

Let them go back to their old ways, Na hummer-bus sure pass now

gentleoyink:
Hehe you lack originality.

Going back to my previous post to steal.

Because I don't trade abuses but I can use your words against you. #RespectIsReciprocal


Good to know #youhaveAsharpMemory


Take care.

gentleoyink:
You think you are smart. You deliberately misquoted me to suite your biased mind and when you got a reply you highlighted a part that is not even a valid insult.

You know the environment and the kind of values they were brought up in by their reasoning and comprehension levels.

Hey, try harder next time. I believe you can say more than
this even in the absence of knowledge and reasoning.

NgeneUkwenu:
Idiotic Campaign! When last did you see Cameron Campaigning in Nigeria? How low can this useless man go?

Buhari/Osinbajo---We Cant Wait

I can't wait to see Hilary Clinton Campaign bus in Surulere Cluelessness at his peak

gentleoyink:
Did you not see the conditional statement 'if'? I am showing simple logic that if he calls Buhari a messiah for changing his mind, then GoodLuck is also a messiah for changing his mind.

Are you going to deny that Buhari supporters don't describe him as the 'only man that can save Nigeria'?

I am in good mood if not I would have said go ask for part of your school fees from your secondary and primary schools.

By their words, we shall know them::: That's what poor upbringing does leads to #smh

gentleoyink:
Mr man, you are really working hard. You have continued to post that picture on nairaland as if Nigerians have short memory.

Sorry to burst your bubble. Buhari also said 2011 will be the last for him to contest in presidential elections.

Miraculously, links to that statement online are no longer valid. Somebody must have paid some people.

Thank God this Channels guy asked him about that statement [1] listen to the video at 11:15 mins, he confirmed it and gave reasons why he changed his mind.

You see, nobody quotes that as a reason not to vote Buhari. If Buhari can change his mind, Gej can do so also. If Buhari is a messiah because he changed his mind, GEJ is a messiah also.

Video

[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsOEmrAV74Y

And your messiah can't even safe a Nation #SMH , you guys just use words without knowing the meaning, just like your elder brother (okupe) called him ''God'' you also said he is ''messiah''. Almighty God will judge you all.

omenka:
Not my kind of stuff.

But then:




Barcanista, Gbawe, Obiagelli, Berem, Donphilopus, Caseless, Ibnsultan, Aresa, NgeneUkwenu, et. al., are you seeing what I'm seeing??

So, it was days after the Yobe incident dat he went ahead with his declaration Perhaps d attack was as a ritual for successful declaration!!!!

victorazy:
I hate it when ppl say something like this!
Mistabiola my brother, Who told you? Gov spends much on them but Buhari boys among them dey sabotage them.

-Government should explain why Boko Haram, a rag-tag army of religion-crazed maniacs that lack the intelligence to make the simplest battle formation, keeps defeating trained
soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

-Government should explain why soldiers consistently mutiny; why their wives have echoed the similar complaints as their husbands that their failures on the battlefront is because that they are poorly equipped for war.

-Government should tell us why, after all the monies spent on security and the extra $1bn it received, soldiers still complain they lack the weapons they need to confront Boko Haram.

-Government should tell us why those soldiers should be sacrificed on the altar of their collective impotence and pot-bellied corruption.

-And truthfully Government should tell us if the government is still searching for the Chibok girls.

In Baba Oshio's Voice; Go and die

God bless Nigeria Soldiers

But our Govt care-less about them, that for sure I know.....

TopNaijaMusic:
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We desire to re-design the sign-up page and the inner pages for individual accounts. If you are a graphic designer, we will like you to propose new graphic layouts for our site. We want it to be colourful, fun, original and professional.

First four people that send in reasonable designs will get N2,500 each. The design we choose will get N10,000.

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Follow us on twitter: @samebornday; Facebook: samebornday.com

Quadri you're a badass using the different moniker to prove a point, one of those lautech bad nigga

VICTORCIZA:
Senseless thread.

Are you for real or a Robot

They look alike

lanxlot:
y u de lolzz?

This is the full post

''Lolzz!!!

And the moderators think Boxing Day is all about
throwing punch''

Okay

lanxlot:
chei, u neva recover frm yesterday stupor.

As in

Baba has spoken So shall it be

Sheggy13:
People like him can openly defend the devil. States are owing workers salaries and donating to a gluttonous corrupt president and he's all smiles when his subjects don't even know what to eat for Christmas. Yet people want this kind of insensitive person to continue piloting the affairs of this country simply because he's from their region even though they're on empty stomachs.

gratiaeo : I'm sorry sir, that's true

Hahahahahaha

Karleb:
You knew that and you bragged about your 18yrs pseudo-success?

Its all because he said ''That is how you fail in school, they said choose one...you say "all of the above" ,''

And I need to let him know that I'm not a failure. Thanks.

sagaciousblog:
would luv to see the certificate sir!

I will upload it later in the day!!!