₦airaland Forum

Na lie joor. Until Prophet TB Joshua, Nigeria's Seer-in-Chief and Ambassador of Doom says it, President Goodluck Jonathan may fly with peace of mind even in rickety and unserviced Jets.

By Dele Momodu


Your Excellency, please permit me to commiserate with you on the unfortunate and untimely death of your dearly beloved brother. I sincerely join other Nigerians in mourning what must have been a sad loss for you and your family in particular. As you travel back home to your tranquil village to pay your last respects, I pray you ponder on the free advice I’m about to offer you in good faith. Even if you’ve already returned to the gilded cage of Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, I wish to plead that you find the time to read this open letter which I would have communicated directly if I had the privilege of a private meeting with you.


Perhaps, I should quickly introduce myself as a journalist and politician. Though I have seen you a few times at functions, we have never properly met. The only time we ever shook hands was when I joined others to mourn the death of, and celebrate, your father in Otueke village of Bayelsa State when you were still Vice President. I also saw you briefly in South Africa in 2009 but did not approach your table because your bodyguards didn’t look like they would appreciate any lesser mortal disturbing your peace.

I was amazed because I had just left the official residence of President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria and did not see more than a few guards in the house. I had spent quality time with him without any other soul than my South African friend I went with. I had gone there in a rented taxi but no one had asked us to go through metal/bomb detectors; or to drop our phones with members of the secret service. I did not see any ADC, CSO, CSD or any other security aide with similar nomenclature only known to, and made in, Nigeria. I think we just love big titles.


Anyway, I saw you again when you invited Presidential candidates, of which I was one, to Aso Rock, last year to brief us on the need for peace during the elections. I doubt if you saw me, though the invitation came from your office. Most of the candidates snubbed you but I chose to attend out of respect for your person and office. I remember seeing Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who sat close to me, and Mr John Dara and so many politicians who I believed came because it was Aso Rock but really had no roles to play. Unfortunately, that meeting was nothing but a waste of time. You came and without even shaking hands with your co-contestants delivered your homily, answered a few questions and disappeared. There were no banters or interactions with us to cement a bond of friendship even if we wanted to take over your office.


I was surprised that you or your aides could not persuade most of the candidates to attend. Yet you went ahead to host an event that was obviously doomed before it began. I can only imagine how much was charged Nigeria for such hogwash. Ghana held a similar peace conference about two weeks ago and it was a star studded event. Part of great leadership quality is the ability to attract certified enemies and convince them to rise above prejudices and pettiness. I believe you have not reached out enough. Your aides have also not helped matters by their paranoia and neurotic approach to issues. They see enemies where none exist and fire all guns blazing at shadows. That is not how to build a nation.


One more example should suffice. You went on an official visit to Ghana. I was invited by the then Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, to attend the brief reception held for you at our High Commission in Accra. Again, it was impossible for most of us to have a simple handshake with you as your security aides practically treated us like common criminals unworthy of communion with the Almighty. I finally gave up.


Sir, let me say emphatically that the biggest problem with Nigerian leaders is that once they attain power, they vacate this earth and migrate to another planet far away from fellow citizens. Leaders are elected to serve the people but in Nigeria we are compelled to serve our leaders and if possible starve to death in the process. We are not allowed to ask questions about how we are led or in reality, misled. This is the reason it is difficult for most of you to know what goes on in the real world. I suggest you borrow a leaf from Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola whose style fascinates me to no end. He drives through Lagos with no disruption to the lives of the people.

He responds promptly to reasonable text messages and emails. I know you’re very busy, but take time to see how President Obama jogs down or sprints up the Air Force One. It demonstrates a man on a mission. Feel free to drive on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and see things for yourself. Go into a pub and mix with the boys like President Clinton once did in Ireland. Refrain from blocking the house of God because you are attending a church service. Sir, no evil shall befall you. You are too distant from the people you lead. Show them love and you shall reap bountiful adoration. No massive security is necessary, once you make God first and suffer not his people. Conversely total security is no security where there is no Godliness. The love and prayers of Nigerians will keep you going.


I have decided to adopt a new approach in my column. I will take it upon myself to write this open letter as regularly as necessary and proffer solutions to different issues, in the hope that you will get to read it. I will tell you what your aides will never tell you. It is up to you to carefully read what I write and take your own decision. Let it be said that we told you but did nothing about it. I would have freed myself from the burden of “siddon-look.” I’m reasonably convinced that if you know the magnitude of problems confronting Nigerians you will work harder and change your style of governance unless you’re determined to fail spectacularly like others before you. I pray this will not be your portion.


Let me state categorically that I write this letter without any malice. More importantly I expect no personal gratification other than to see change in the lives of our people. I needed to make that clear since it is now in our culture to read motives to every good intention.

I have no other reason than out of patriotic fervour. I have not been to Abuja since last year because I’m dutifully engaged at home and abroad, and really have no reason to run up and down the corridors of power like the proverbial yo-yo. Every man must determine his needs in life. I know mine and I am happy and content to manage whatever God in his infinite kindness has given to me. We all have friends and families who have nowhere to go. If Nigeria becomes the country of our dream and there is a level playground for all of us, most citizens would thrive without living like pathological beggars. You’re in a position to leave Nigeria better than you met it. Look at most of the politicians and businessmen around you today. They were the same faces you saw with your predecessors. You are their new god today because of your position. Tomorrow, when you have departed, as you surely must do, they will move on again to the next person, without any qualms.


I have studied men and women of power at home and abroad and have sympathy for their tragic flaws . My discovery is that most leaders often fail to remember that whatever has a beginning must have an end. Time also flies. And it waits for nobody. Who could have imagined PDP in power since 1999 with nothing tangible to show for all the trillions of naira spent by various administrations? Who would believe that President Olusegun Obasanjo’s two terms came and disappeared within a twinkle of an eye? Or that even you have spent two years already as President and Commander-in-Chief? The question that will later haunt you, as it is haunting others before you, for the rest of time is: what did you do with all your time in office and all the resources under your control?
I will say without any fear of contradiction that the money at your disposal right now is enough to transform Nigeria into a true giant if frugally managed. I will now go on to demonstrate what I mean.


Sir, for every one billion naira we waste on frivolous projects, the dream of a fresh thousand millionaires would have perished. If you hand me the N2.2 billion naira you are about to spend on building a new banquet suite in Aso Rock, I will instantly create 2,200 brand-new millionaire farmers from our large army of brilliant but unemployed youths. Each of them would be able to employ 10 to 20 people in production, preservation, processing and distribution. If you think I’m joking, please hand me the money and I will urgently invite applications from potential beneficiaries. I and my team pledge not to earn a kobo from the project.


If I may ask, what is wrong with the banquet suite you presently have? Is it not better to spend money on providing jobs than trying to show off to visitors that we are prosperous in the midst of wanton poverty? I’m writing this letter from Cambridge University, one of the oldest surviving institutions of learning. The buildings of most Colleges here are as ancient as history, yet there is no plan to demolish them and build new ones. The problem with us is lack of a maintenance culture. You can rehabilitate the old banquet suite with less than N100 million and turn it into an architectural masterpiece. I’m sure you won’t spend your personal money the way ours is being poured away like rain water. Do you know how old Buckingham Palace is? If it was in Nigeria, we would have demolished it many times over in order to award some horrendous contracts.


I gather you want to build a new home for the Vice President at over N6 billion. This is sinful in a nation with over 12 generations of unemployed, and unemployable, graduates. What is wrong with the current Vice President’s home, Akinola Aguda House and wherever Alhaji Atiku Abubakar once lived? It smacks of gross insensitivity to waste resources in this manner. Please, give us that N6 billion and I will give you 6,000 productive millionaire entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Imagine each of them employing 10 people within the first year or two, we would have taken more than 60,000 youths off the streets. We’ve done it several times through Goke Dokun’s creative Entrepreneur Series on television and can do it even bigger in real life. As President, I would rather do this than build a home for a family of less than 50 people.


Mr President, Nigerians are not difficult to lead. In fact, we get carried away by little mercies. I know you have your sight on contesting elections in 2015. Let me assure you that you won’t have to campaign much, or spend billions to get re-elected if you listen to me. All you have to do is demonstrate to Nigerians that you can resist those carpetbaggers who see power only in terms of enjoyment. The world is building monuments and creating new inventions everywhere but we are busy wasting ours on flights of fancy like super jets, palaces, women and champagnes. We can do a lot better because God has endowed us with all we need to be among the greatest of the world. All it takes a little bit of vision and discipline.


Sir, there is nothing you want in life that God has not given you on a platter of gold. It is time for you to reciprocate by humbling yourself like all Saints. I will tell you about them and great names in history when I write my next epistle to you. If you hearken to the voice of reason, you will etch your name in gold.


Truly, like Jesus Christ (apologies to Christians), you will ride triumphantly into your own Jerusalem.

Maleeq: Hmmmm, guys, there is a big conspiracy here. Follow me on this and see the light.

Firstly, NOI's mother was kidnapped and the kidnappers demand $1bn ransom. That NOI and GEJ are buddies isn't news. She doesn't have the ransom so she approaches GEJ. Days later, GEJ suddenly requests NGN161bn for subsidy for december offset.
The blackmarket rate of dollar to naira is about NGN161....Do the maths, its equal to the ransom figure of $1bn
GEJ meets with senate last night, gets approval for the NGN161bn, and like magic, NOI's mum is released this morning!!

Who is fooling who? Who kidnapped NOI's mum? Those demanding the subsidy??


PS: I was not high when i figured that out o!

"Can these be mere coincidences?
* Day 1: Ngozi's mother was kidnapped

* Day 2: Kidnappers made contact and requested for $1billion to free her.

* Day 3: GEJ requested N161billion for supplementary budget. (19 days to end the year) $1b = N161billion

* Day 4: Senate approves $1billion for GEJ.

Day 5: Kidnappers released Ngozi's mother.

(Yahoo News) In comments that may shock some staunch Catholics, Cardinal George Pell has described the biblical story of Adam and Eve as a myth.

He appeared alongside renowned evolutionary biologist and atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins, on the ABC’s Q&A program last night.

Cardinal Pell said the existence of Adam and Eve was not a matter of science but rather a mythological account.

“It’s a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and the suffering in the world,” he said.

“It’s a religious story told for religious purposes.”

According to Genesis, God created Adam and Eve as the first man and woman and all people are descended from them.

Cardinal Pell’s explosive comments came after he was questioned about evolution.

He said it was impossible to say when there was a first human.
It is widely accepted in the scientific community that life on Earth has evolved over about four billion years

Source:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/13381016/pell-says-adam-and-eve-didnt-exist

Bishop David Oyedepo may be right altogether in his assertion that the Covenant University was not built with tithes and offerings of parishioners. There are some possible scenarios and some very impossible ones in considerations here. Let's start with the impossible ones first

1.) He couldn't have raised the funds to build the university from the royalty he gets from his books
2.) He couldn't have done same from any form of income he makes that are legitimate (I will like to be taken up on that).
3.) He couldn't have done it with any partner(s) from abroad known or unknown.

The possibilities could be any or combination of the following
1.) Such huge funds could only be raised by investors that do not want to be named, which means it is a venture or an investment that pays dividends. That possibility is remote but could be advanced.
2.) He could have raised money from Capital market to do it, but no data to back up that argument publicly or secretly.
3.) Or is it possible that Oyedepo is being used to front private University by some powerful entity who doesn't want to be seen or known. Very remote possibility.
4.) Such huge funds can also be easily sourced if Oyedepo is into Oil deals and collecting subsidies (we just heard about one Folorunso Alakija topping Oprah's money as the richest woman in the world). There is huge money in the Nigeria Oil sector to be made, and I remember Obasanjo calling the prominent Nigerian Pastors contractors in religious cloak. Very high possibility if what Oyedepo claim is true
5.) The only other possibility is that Oyedepo is lying about his story. That's about 90% possible with me.

If you disown the people at a critical time like this then something is startegically wrong somewhere. Every missionary institution that I was born to see in Nigeria claim they built everything with donations and offerings of people elsewhere. This case is very different and we need to critically examine it.

Na by force

afam4eva: Was he not the one that ordered the sack of a whole village? All hail the general.

He also ordered the invasion of Fela's Kalakuta republic in 1977.

I have always said that perhaps if our top leaders are the ones facing the threat of Boko Haram and other violent groups that just maybe the security policies would be handled differently.We know that instead of building state of the art hospitals in Nigeria, these vision-less leaders prefer traveling overseas, I wonder how they would handle the threat of violence once the violence start to hit them directly...!!!

I have always said that perhaps if our top leaders are the ones facing the threat of Boko Haram and other violent groups that just maybe the security policies would be handled differently.We know that instead of building state of the art hospitals in Nigeria, these vision-less leaders prefer traveling overseas, I wonder how they would handle the threat of violence once the violence start to hit them directly...!!!

Pretty Bisi Ibidapo Obe as you read this, is having the christening of her baby at her Magodo, Lagos home with friends and close family members in attendance.

A lavish reception party will immediately kick off at a nearby hall. The christening is being supervised by clerics from Celestial Church Of Christ. The baby was named Precious Oluwajomiloju Abikeade Melaye. God bless the new born.

SOURCE:AN EYEWITNESS

stagger: Hungry man, come and be fed. It is always better to be the feeder than to be the fed. So Mr modicum, if you need money say so. There are many Winners who can help you out (myself included).

Not unexpected from a child of papa in the lord.Always arrogant and cocky thinking others are scum of the earth!

stagger: I am nobody's mouthpiece. The problem is YOU ARE HUNGRY! That is why the numbers are making you angry.

Come to Abuja and take a contract to satisfy you. When you are busy you won't have time to be calculating another person's money!

Contractor of doom!

stagger: And this is how we know those who are hungry. Why not calculate YOUR OWN cash flow and take your eyes away from God's money?

Oh, I forgot. You probably have none.

Sorry,OLEDEPO'S mouth-piece.God's money my arse! To run the economy of heaven and earth abi?

SHILOH 2012: Money making calculations.

Expected visitors...... 100,000 people
If offering is N1000 per head that is N100m x 4days =400m
If Second Offering..... N500 per head N50m x 4days =200m
If third offering.......... N500 per head N50m x 4days = 200m
If Tithing.............. N30m x 4days 120m
Winners Chapel Pure water income N5m x 4days = 20m
Tapes and Books to be sold..... N10m x 4days =40m
Olive Oil and sundry to be sold.... N5m x 4days = 20m

Total per day = N250m.
Total for 4days = N1billion

This is a modest calculation by.If we consider that many politicians and business people will be giving N20,000 per offering, the income is going to run into N1billion a day, for 4days =4BILLION.

Remember that normal Sunday Service will hold where another N100m will be generated plus the income from other branches of Winner's Chapel across the nation and worldwide.

Church business is the most profitable in the whole world.

MAYOWAAK: Pastor E A.Adeboye, "Open Heavens" Volume 12; 20 November, 2012

"Dollar is a measure, Naira is another measure, Euro is another and Pounds is another measure. If you want returns in Dollars, sow in Dollars. Do not sow in Naira and be expecting a harvest in Euro. It does not work like that.

You can be in any country and sow in the particular currency in which you want your harvest. Sow and keep on sowing in that currency. By the time your harvest comes, you will celebrate. In addition, the various denominations of each currency are different measures too. Take for instance the Nigeria Naira, you have N1000, N500, N200, N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 notes. It is the particular denomination that you use that God will multiply and return to you. If you keep using the smallest of the denominations and think you are thrifty or wise, you are only limiting yourself. Do yourself a favour by using the b...
iggest denominations so as to get the greatest harvest."

Sometimes however, when you sow in a foreign currency, God may give you the harvest in a local currency for a reason. But if you check the value and compare with what you sowed, you will know that God knows how to calculate value in any currency. How often do you sow? The key to you financial breakthrough is in your hands. If you fail to use it, nothing will be delivered to you but if you use it very well, your life will turn around for good.

ACTION POINT:
Before you give, decide on the harvest you want and thereafter choose the seed and container that will deliver the harvest to you.

Pastor E A.Adeboye, "Open Heavens" Volume 12; 20 November, 2012

But our gods of men have a way of taking scripture out of context. Especially when money is involved. God has been alive for billions of years but Naira was printed by man only 30 something yrs ago. Yet they want us to believe he is counting every Naira we drop in church. That is demeaning. Very demeaning.

And the Emir of CBN has been defeated once again!

The truth needs to be told that Nigerian Pastors are not Gods. They are mere mortals plainly benefitting from the stupidity of the mesmerized populace. They are charlatans and sycophants who are benefitting immensely from the ignorance of the masses. While we stupidly follow some smart crooks wearing the toga of pastors, the larger world has left us behind, making stupendous progress in the field of science and technology. We boast of the highest number of churches per streets in the world, our social and moral fabrics remain in tatters. Our crime record is monumental while social instability and insecurity remain our abiding bed felows. The Nigerian socio-political terrace remains a mess, our political leadership tottering from unforgivable indecision to unbelievable corruption whilst promulgation of anti-people policies remains the order of the day

J1: Hello Dear Readers,

My name is Adejuwon Anjoorin and I a blog on www.anjoorinadejuwon..com
The article posted here titled "Lessons I learn t from being an Obama volunteer" was written by me and posted on my website only three days ago, on Sunday 18th, 2012.
The member of this forum, with the username "modicum" copied my article and pasted it verbatim on this website, Nairaland, without writing me to seek my permission, and to make matters worse, he pasted this article without crediting me as the original writer.
I hereby express my displeasure at this ugly and indecent behavior and I demand that "modicum", the member who plagiarized my work credit me as the original writer of this article, or take the article down immediately.
I have also informed the administrators of this website of this ugly development.

Humbly Yours,
Adejuwon Anjoorin (J1 Naijaprince)

I hereby offer my most sincere apologies.It was an oversight on my part.You have been duly acknowledged as the writer.Once again accept my apologies.

Nigerian Spiritual Figures and their Nairaland given Names

Adejare Adeboye-Adejale Adebole

Oyedepo-Oledepo

When I received the email from my friend Allyce Pinchback informing me of an opportunity to volunteer for the Obama campaign, I was thoroughly excited. My excitement stemmed from two reasons: first, I wanted President Obama to win a much-deserved second term as I believe he has the heart to do what is right by all Americans; second, as a Nigerian social activist who just recently moved to the United States of America, I knew I had a golden opportunity to learn some new lessons about electioneering and democracy, in its most pristine state.

Hence, I signed up to volunteer as a neighborhood canvasser for three days leading into the election. However, the day I was billed to start canvassing, I was knocked down by a terrible cold. So I had only two days to work with, but within those two days, a period during which I knocked on about two hundred doors in the neighborhood I was assigned to, canvassing for President Obama, I did enjoy myself, I was very happy, for community service and citizen engagement is my passion, and of course I learnt a few lessons, and these lessons, I wish to share with my readers:

Democracy is a way of life: On the day of the election November 6th, owing to my experience of the nature of elections, I expected that something really different was going to mark that day apart. Alas! I was pleasantly disappointed! First, there was no public holiday; people went about their businesses as though it was just another day with nothing special going on. There were no policemen wearing combat uniforms on the streets, totting AK 47s like I was used to. Individuals walked their dogs around their neighborhoods as they did normally. There was no tension at all, no report of fighting, or ballot snatching or any form of violence in any way. As I drove to my station for the last day of my neighborhood canvassing, and throughout the hours I knocked on people’s doors, I thought about electioneering in Nigeria. I thought about all the tension that came with election days, the fighting, accusations and counter-accusations, the deployment of Armored Personnel Carriers and Military combatants brandishing dangerous weapons in the full glare of the hapless citizenry. I came to see that the difference was simple, here in America, electioneering and the democratic culture is a way of life, its nothing different from what every average American has experienced all through his or her life. However in Nigeria, because our democracy is still young, and we have gone through long years of instability and uncertainty, elections are treated as a do-or-die affair, as no one is sure what tomorrow would bring. In our sub-conscious, the Election Day is a day to compete for the spoil while it is available, and our politicians and people would spare no expense in their desperate desire to win anyhow, and at any cost. Politicians consort with thugs and give them arms across both party divides, and election days are usually score-settling days. I saw that this was because we are yet to mature really into the democratic culture, it would definitely take some time, hopefully, we would get there, I mused.

True Democracy, the participation of a willing people: The energy, raw passion and deep interest of the average American in this election was very clear. Even though, one was not likely to see this passion leading to arguments and debates between supporters of the two candidates, nevertheless, the election was passionately contested, not just by both candidates, but by their supporters as well. For Obama, the passion was demonstrated in the number of volunteers willing to leave their comfort zones to go out and canvass for him. A Nigerian friend of mine who lives in Maryland had taken a break from work, relocated to Virginia on her own expenses to spend the last week running into the elections canvassing and campaigning for President Obama. And as I drove from street to street in my canvassing operation, I ran into other canvassers, I saw them by the side of the road, on people’s porches, talking to people, encouraging them to come out and vote. I recognized them by the stickers on their chests and the flyers they carried. These were willing people, by choice, not by inducement. They believed in a cause and would go all the way to work for it.

I thought about our electioneering in Nigeria and the culture of inducement that politicians have introduced with it. The sharing of money to the electorate; the giving out of free gifts such as clothes, bags of rice, etc. just to entice people to vote for particular candidates and parties. In the recent gubernatorial elections in Ondo State, it was widely reported that a party had doled out money to the voters just to ensure they voted for that party, but were disappointed when the voters collected the party’s largesse but did not vote for them. The culture of cash and gift inducement during elections in Nigeria must be condemned and discouraged. This “jeun s’oke” culture will never birth real democracy; neither will it lead to fast development of the people. It is an insult to the Nigerian people as a whole, that a man’s vote can be purchased for as low as N500. Four years of a man’s life for N500, that is $3! Our people also must rise above petty greed, and learn to be ideological when it matters. Yes, there is poverty in the land, but N500 will not alleviate poverty, it will only amount to a quick fix, for a meal, or a bottle of beer. This for a four-year term of political leadership! Real democracy starts, when people express themselves freely and conscientiously without the influence of cash or gift inducements.

The need for Critical Infrastructure: When I arrived for the first day of my canvassing, I was given a folder that contained papers having the specific details of how my canvassing operation would be carried out. This was no blind exercise in futility; it was a properly organized, scientific canvassing. There were different folders, and each folder represented a different neighborhood. Inside each folder was a list of streets that each canvasser would visit, the address of the house, and if it was an apartment complex, the specific apartments were detailed, the name of the occupant of the house to be spoken with, the gender of the occupant and their age! It was so detailed, and I was very impressed! It was a well-researched canvassing operation that made everything so easy. I asked my Supervisor how this list was generated and how the specific people to be spoken to were chosen, and she educated me. The list was generated based on their voting pattern in previous elections. People who had voted for the Republican Party all their lives were definitely Republicans and their names were not on the list; also, people who had voted for the Democratic Party all through their voting history were definitely Democrats and there was no need to speak with them hence their names were not on the list. The list only contained the names of people whose voting patterns had been inconsistent over the years, these were the ‘swing voters’ and they were the important ones, they were the ones whose names were on the list and they were the target of this canvassing operation. A map of the neighborhood was also given to me showing the streets I would visit and the particular houses to be visited. This made things so easy, I walked straight to the houses, knocked on the doors, called the names of the occupants I desired to speak with, they would show up and I would tell them not to forget to vote and hand them an Obama flyer. In two days, during the few hours I canvassed in the morning before my work hours in the afternoon, I was able to knock on almost 200 doors and spoke with almost as many people. This wouldn’t have been possible without the list I had with me, and obtaining the list wouldn’t have been possible if the country did not have a database of people living in it, and maintaining such a database would not have been possible without stable electricity.

Again, I reflected on Nigeria, as Trade Marketing Manager II with a multi-national in Nigeria, I had worked on the compilation of the database of retail outlets across the nation, it was one of the projects I handled at the time, and I remembered how erratic and unreliable the information we gathered was, since it was gathered by hand. Only a year after the exercise, much of the data proved incorrect because people moved from one place to the other without any central authority to monitor or report such moves let alone keep trace of people. This canvassing operation I had just done reminded me of the need for critical infrastructure in Nigeria. For example, the urgent need for a national database, a live and current national database. It would greatly help in national planning in many different ways. The private sector also would benefit as corporations would find it much easier to easily and accurately pinpoint their market audiences. It would also help in our security sector, for currently Nigeria’s security sector is nothing impressive. Murders upon murders get committed and the perpetrators never get caught. I remembered when a famous politician in the South West got murdered in his bedroom a few years ago, and investigators from Scotland Yard were brought in to assist in the investigations, those investigators could not achieve anything, and they left disappointed because there was no infrastructure on ground through which they could achieve anything useful. Yes, there might have been finger prints, but where was the database of finger prints to run it against?

The same argument applies for the all-important need for stable electricity in Nigeria. The need for this cannot be over emphasized. Our development as a nation can never be fully attained without a stable grid. When experts recently announced it would take fifty years for the dream of a Nigeria with stable electricity to be achieved, I wept in my inner bowels. For that only meant one thing, my generation would never see this dream. It meant Nigerians in their thirties, and even twenties might never see a Nigeria with stable electricity. This is a serious matter, a matter worthy of a revolution. I do not want to live all my life as a Nigerian dependent on power generators.

The place of the Clergy: On Election Day morning, famous preacher Revd. Franklin Graham, son of “America’s Pastor” Billy Graham granted an interview on CNN in which he warned America against voting for Obama. He stated that the election was probably America’s last chance before an imminent judgment should Obama win the election. He made remarks that were clearly against Obama, based on his differences with Obama on issues of abortion, gay marriage, and other moral issues. When I saw the interview, I concluded that Obama might just have lost the election. For this Pastor’s clout in America is huge. If this was Nigeria, I thought to myself, this would have immediately turned the election in Romney’s favour and he would have won with a landslide. For in Nigeria, “my Pastor said…” is almost equivalent with “God said….” for many Christians. During the last Presidential elections, the incumbent President who ran on the platform of the ruling party had gotten a lot of votes from Southern Christians because they had seen the picture of a respected Pastor praying for him. They erroneously concluded that the picture was an endorsement and voted for him en masse. Less than a year into his Presidency, many of them regretted their decision after seeing how confused and ineffective the President turned out to be. Reports had it that his name popped out on Google as the most insulted President in the world! The religious hallucination being over, the harsh realities of their choice had dawned on them. While it had been clear from the beginning that this candidate had neither ideas, plans or vision for leadership, the simple picture of him being prayed for by the man of God was all they needed to make up their minds that he was God’s anointed.

After the election was over and Obama won, I reflected upon this incidence and discovered that as Nigerians, we also need to become religiously mature. We must develop and we must be able to see beyond religious sentiment. The values that are required for the leadership of a nation are neither Christian nor Muslim values, they are simply Godly values. They include vision, integrity, honesty, fairness, compassion, candor, courage, and several others. A person can possess these values notwithstanding what side of the religious divide he belongs to. The process of our development as a democracy will come hand in hand with religious maturity as a people.

These are a few of the issues I reflected upon as I participated in American electioneering for the first time. I realize that democracy is a new culture in Nigeria and it would take some time for the full impact to permeate into us as a people. I earnestly pray and wait for that day when we can really choose leaders in an environment as free and as fair as what I witnessed on November 6th in the American elections. It will take some time, but we will surely get there. I also hope that the challenges that face us as a nation in critical infrastructure will be resolved sooner than predicted. We Nigerians deserve a new lease of life too, and as the world moves ahead, we must move with it. We must not just move, we must move as champions, as the most populous black country on earth, we must justify the potentials that abide in us, one that the world sees, recognizes and stands in awe of. Nigeria must flourish again.

By:Adejuwon Ajoorin

If you ask me, I think we’re living in an age of irresponsibility. We’re living in an age where everything we do is always somebody else’s fault. If I craft a bomb, and blow up some people, it’s because of imperialist Western agendas and not because I’m a religious and moral bigot. If I hijack a school bus full of little children and demand ransom for them, it’s because of unjust resource allocation and not because I’m cruel and lazy. If I rape a girl, it’s because she dressed provocatively and not because I’m a cold blooded psychopath given over to perverse lusts. If I vote for a clueless, shoeless clutz, whose greatest achievement was not having shoes growing up as a child, it’s because the opposition party couldn’t get their act together to form an alliance and not because I base my choices on religious or tribal sentiments. And if I get swindled by a 419er, it’s because the other guy is bad and evil, and not because I’m greedy, wanting to reap where I haven’t sown. It’s called the blame game and we’ve gotten very good at it. The youth blame the elders, the elders blame modernization; the North blames the South, the South blames the British. Parents blame their children and children their parents. Men blame women, women blame soccer. Everybody blames Somebody and Somebody always blames Government.

Are you getting the gist? If my marriage breaks down, it’s his snoring and not my nagging about it. If I cheat at exams it’s because the teacher is lousy or the subject is boring (or both) and not because I spend all my time on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, if I treat God like a babalawo, or like a money doubler, or like a slot machine and sow N1000 in order for God to give me N1 million, it’s because the pastor manipulated me and not because I couldn’t be bothered to search out the truth for myself. And if I let my pastor replace God in my life, well of course it’s the pastor’s fault but certainly not mine.

Somehow I find it disconcerting to read the numerous posts and tweets that abuse, curse, condemn and isolate pastors who take advantage of their flock and get rich at the expense of their congregation, without them making any mention of a complicit and even somewhat docile follower-ship; and there’s every likelihood this article will stir up a hornet’s nest. But before I’m totally misconstrued, let me say for the record that I empathize with genuine and sincere Christians who have gotten their fingers burnt by charismatic men in pinstriped suits and/or white flowing cassocks, whichever fits the bill. God is faithful, and there’s always a new beginning for you in Him.

Back to the matter at hand. Yes, there are many such pastors; yes, church has become a business for many – both for those who open shop and for those who patronize them (and by the way, if a business has no customers, will it survive?) and yes, they will all be judged by God.

But so will you and so will I, whether we are the deceived or the deceivers. Remember how Adam got all defensive in the garden of Eden when God confronted him and he tried to push the blame on both Eve and God for them to share? Well, if I read my Bible right, Adam (the alleged deceived) came under judgement and was driven out of the garden too, not just Eve (the alleged deceiver). However, Adam was judged because God knew he wasn’t deceived like he claimed, and Eve also, even though she was genuinely deceived by the serpent.

I find that really scary, that even though Eve was well and truly deceived, God still kicked her out of paradise. It’s rather frightening to know that God knows and sees everything, and is totally righteous and just when He judges a matter. Besides that, He knows the end from the beginning and knows the far-reaching consequences of our present day actions, and will act accordingly, whether we like it or understand it or not. Eve discovered that very early on. Wahala dey o.

Perhaps someone might think I’m writing this because I haven’t fallen prey to such “merchants of God”. But maybe I’m writing this as someone who needs to sound the warning bell. We will all give account to God, both the called many and the chosen few, both the manipulator and the manipulated, both the ones who market God and His Holy Spirit as money doublers, and those who buy into their pitch.

Remember God cannot be mocked; whatever we sow, we will reap. So if you are one of those pastors who prophe-lie, teach error and peddle half truths in order to get rich at the expense of your congregation, your day of reckoning will surely come. And if you’re one of those who are like sheep to the slaughter, following blindly, believing everything and testing nothing, know that you will give an account of your actions also. You just might discover that the excuse “I was deceived” does not hold much sway.

But hey, I’m not God… Fortunately.

May Olushola Saraki's soul rest in the most hottest place in Hell.

How can we forget the atrocities he committed in Nigeria that sent a lot of people to their early grave because he thought he would live forever by using his 419 bank to rob people of their hard earned money.

May Devil rob him of peace in Hell.

He was a selfish man who imposed his children on the people of Kwara state.

It is very important to educate some who really buy the excuse that owing a private jet by Pastors makes the work of getting around easier for them. That is NOT TRUE in any inference.

1) If private jets are a necessity in the first place, these guys can buy ones at less than $1 Million.Why buy gold-plated jets for $30M-$45M with all bells and whistles?

2) The cost of maintenance of private aircraft within the hangers and cost of running is 20 times more than flying first class. A trip from Lagos to London in a private jet for 5 days is enough to fly first class for several such trips in a year. Cost imperative is bad owing a private jet.
...

3) Having a private jet does not mean you can get into it and fly any time you want. You have to get series of permissions from your airport and your destination, and then you follow all same protocols other aircraft oblige to. Time and effort is severally more costly to own private jet. Its not like owing a private car.

4) Private jets cost a fortune keeping on the ground, so it is gulping money even when not in use. What sense is in that?

5) One yearly service call on a private jet is enough to keep several families happy all through the year. Why the waste, all in the name of showing "you are blessed".

Why this severe waste in a land where suffering is written in caps on people's faces? It is ungodly and outrightly wicked.

Corroborating my point is Warren Buffet. Here him

"Do you know that Warren Buffet owns the largest private jet manufacturing firm in the US? Yet he has never flown in one because he says "everyone who says they need a private jet to make important appointments is a liar". "They need it for their ego. Name me one of them busier than I am who owns more US corporations than I do". "I travel constantly across the US and the world in commercial jetliners, live in the same house since the 70s, still buy $9 ties and $75 suits and still drive my 22 year old immaculately maintained Lincoln". Buffet is one of the richest men in the largest economy on earth!"

British government DOES NOT OWN one jet because it is very expensive. The British Prime Minister flies BA. Think about that people. Call me names, call me whatever but you cannot fault the TRUTH.

Niger state governor, Gov. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu celebrated his birthday aboard a private jet yesterday. This picture go sack person for work, but definitely not me because i am not employed by the governor. Everyone in aboard that jet must answer query because the picture was taking by one of them. Nigerians are setting new records. Over 65 private jets in Nigeria, but less than 20 commercial aircraft out of which less than 15 are operational to carry 160million Nigerians. You better start making arrangements for your pastor to get one because soon any pastor that does not have one will not be invited to speak where pastors are speaking as the genuineness of his calling will be in doubt because those who are genuinely called must prove it with a jet

No way--I disagree. what about those of us waiting to become overseers too

Don't insult the wife of the special adviser to the President on Spiritual Matters

My opinion! Ayo Oritsejafor has been very active on a cause since GEJ assumed power. He wasn't mistaken on this cause and has probably done a very good job. Now he has the perfect gift from an unknown church member on a day GEJ visited. Question now is who continue to pay for Jet maintenance....will it be the same mystery,gracious church member?
I feel sad for this Africa Magic of a nation!

Why Are They Really Keeping Birthdays


So the next question we should be ask ourselves, why is “Christian Groups” keeping “Birthdays” well you would be surprised to learn that there pagan in origin, and it was never been the custom of the kingdom of Israel or any of the New Testament churches to practice this so why are Christian who claim to love the word of God doing such practices but as human beings we do all love gifts there is nothing evil in giving and celebrating life’s beginnings, but what is wrong is we are only command to keep the Passover and the holy days, which is set in stone and written in the heavens form the beginning of time and in the cycles of time, and days months in short?

So it’s high time we covered this and what does the bible teach on the first recorded birthday in bible history was pharaoh’s birthday in Ancient Egypt that is the first recorded in the bible?

But there is many records outside the bible of people who kept birthdays.

Birthdays: Pagan/Occult Origins in the Satanic Bible
Bible does not necessarily endorse anything outside or beyond the testimony against the pagan practice of birthday keeping in, or from, any of the information or sources quoted in this article.

There is an affinity of such commemoration among the wicked as recorded in The Satanic Bible (Anton Szandor LaVey, (Air) Book of Lucifer – The Enlightenment, Avon Books, 1969, Ch XI, "Religious Holidays," p. 96) regarding Birthdays:

Quote from the satanic bible: "The highest of all holidays in the Satanic religion is the date of one’s own birthday. This is in direct contradiction to the holy of holy days of other religions, which deify a particular god who has been created in an anthropomorphic form of their own image, thereby showing that the ego is not really buried. The Satanist feels: ‘Why not really be honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself."

Every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one. So, the Satanist celebrates his own birthday as the most important holiday of the year. After all, aren’t you happier about the fact that you were born than you are about the birth of someone you have never even met? Or for that matter, aside from religious holidays, why pay higher tribute to the birthday of a president or to a date in history than we do to the day we were brought into this greatest of all worlds? Despite the fact that some of us may not have been wanted, or at least were not particularly planned, we’re glad, even if no one else is, that we’re here! You should give yourself a pat on the back, buy yourself whatever you want, treat yourself like the king (or god) that you are, and generally celebrate your birthday with as much pomp and ceremony as possible."

It is interesting that birthdays are considered the most important holiday to these Satan worshipers (the founding of their “Church”, called Walpurgisnacht, and Halloween are the other ones of importance to them).

Of course, early Christians did not celebrate birthdays nor did the early Jews. Nor have real Christians ever celebrated Halloween.

Origen of Alexandria, writing over two centuries after the death of Messiah follows this same line when he recorded a diatribe against the memories of birthdays, indicating that at the time of his writing, a day to remember the birth of the Messiah was not part of the church calendar. In his Homilies on Leviticus, speaking on the aspect of birth, Origen states:

", not one from all the saints is found to have celebrated a festive day or a great feast on the day of his birth. No one is found to have had joy on the day of the birth of his son or daughter. Only sinners rejoice over this kind of birthday. For indeed we find in the Old Testament Pharaoh, king of Egypt, celebrating the day of his birth with a festival, and in the New Testament, Herod. However both of them stained the festival of his birth by shedding human blood, But the saints not only do not celebrate a festival on their birth days, but, filled with the Holy Spirit, they curse that day (after the example of Job, Jeremiah and David)." (Barkley, Homilies on Leviticus: 1–16 / Origen, 1990, 156.)
Birthdays Celebration are only Recorded in 3 Places in the Whole Bible

(N.I.V)
Genesis 40:20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:

Matthew 14:6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much

Mark 6:21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for
his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

(K.J.V)
Genesis 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

Matthew 14:6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
Mark 6:21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
What is the origin of birthday celebrations?
Birthday celebrations are actually rooted in paganism.

The Encyclopaedia Americana (1991 edition) states:
"The ancient world of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia celebrated the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles."
Authors Ralph and Adelin Linton reveal the underlying reason for this. In their book The Lore of Birthdays, they write:

"Mesopotamia and Egypt, the cradles of civilization, were also the first lands in which men remembered and honoured their birthdays. The keeping of birthday records was important in ancient times principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope."

So, there is a direct connection between the Pagan practice of birthday celebrations and astrology (horoscopes and fortune telling).

Not surprisingly then, the ancient Jews did not celebrate birthdays, regarding them as Pagan.

Also, The World Book Encyclopaedia (volume 3, page 416) states:
"The early Christians did not celebrate His [the Messiah's] birth because they considered the celebration of anyone's birth to be a pagan custom."
Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom.

To satiate this point, notice also the record of the first century historian Josephus: The Jews in the Messiah’s day knew “Yahweh’s” attitude toward birthday celebrations, “Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals at the births of our children” (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion, Book II, section 26).
History of Celebration of Birthdays in the West
It is thought that the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Before this, such celebrations were not common; and, hence, practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire, (Wikipedia. Birthdays. July 12, 2007 version).
Christmas is also relevant because December 25th was the day of celebration of the birthday of the sun-god Mithra.

The World Book Encyclopaedia Notes,

"Christmas, In 354 A.D., Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the sun" (Sechrist. Christmas. World Book Encyclopaedia, Volume 3. 1966, pp. 408-417).
Long ago, the average person never paid any attention whatsoever to the anniversary of their birth. The initial pattern that developed concerned the celebrating of the birthday of their deity, once each year, at the winter solstice. This is the origin of Christmas, since the winter solstice was considered the "Re-birth" or "Birthday" of the solar deity (Natalis Sol Invictus, or the Nativity of Sol, the unconquerable). This alone marks the behaviour as originating from the rebellion against “Yahweh”, Who is the one and only Elohim of Heaven and Earth. Remember that “Yahweh” commanded that we not learn the ways of the heathen (Duat. 12).

Later, people began to celebrate the annual birth of their king at the same time as their deity, aligning their ruler with the same honors given to their deity. In their minds, their ruler became an anthropomorphic version of their deity. In the east, average people slowly began to celebrate their personal "birth day" once each year on what they believed to be "new year's day." Eventually, people developed the custom of observing their personal birth day on the annual day they were actually born.

Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts; Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Arnobius (VII, 32 in P.L., V, 1264) can still ridicule the "birthdays" of the gods.

In their essay titled Birthdays, Jewishly, Lisa Farber Miller and Sandra Widener point out that the Encyclopaedia Judaica is very blunt on this topic:
"The Celebration of Birthdays is Unknown in Traditional Jewish Ritual."

Originally, even as more and more Gentiles began to profess the Messiah (so much so that they outnumbered those of Jewish heritage that did), the early Gentile leaders also did not endorse the celebration of birthdays. No early church writer endorsed the observance of birthdays by Christians, nor are they ever listed in the early observances of the Christian church.

Therefore, the celebration of birthdays, was clearly not part of "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).
No early religious/church writing from the second century that I have seen (and I have read most that are available) seems to endorse (or even suggest) the celebration of birthdays by any who professed the Messiah.

Although he was not part of the Ecclesia of “Yahweh” God, the writings of the early third century Catholic theologian Origen of Alexandria show that even that late, Orthodox Catholics were against the celebration of birthdays. The Catholic Encyclopaedia states:
"Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday" (Martindale C. Christmas, 1908).

Christmas is coming! Quite so: but what is "Christmas?" Does not the very term itself denote it's source -- "Christ-mass." Thus it is of Roman origin, brought over from paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Savior's birth. It is? And WHO authorized such commemoration? Certainly “Yahweh” God did not.

The Messiah bade his disciples "remember" him in his death, but there is not a word in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, which tells us to celebrate his birth. Moreover, who knows the exact time when, he was born but the calendar around the time of the month of “Nissan in the Hebrew Calendar” or better known as the Sacred Calendar is in what month, he was born? (Which is the feast of “Tabernacle” known as “Sukkot” well this was October or September when this month falls) Then after the “eight” days he would have been “circumcised” completing the festival of “Sukkot”) The Bible is silent thereon. It is without reason that the only "Birthday" commemorations mentioned in “Yahweh’s” Word are Pharaoh's (Genesis 40:20) and Herod's (Matthew 14:6)? Is this recorded "for our learning?" If so, have we prayerfully taken it to heart?

Well we will conclude it is wrong and an unbiblical practice. It may be a social norm in this world but, so are many other evils being practiced and being done?

Exactly what is corruption? If you are a typical Nigerian, you would define it as government officials looting our treasury. In our view, everything starts and ends in government offices. Should we then be surprised that almost everybody is campaigning against corruption in Nigeria? We are all waging a war against corruption. We are all appalled. We are all agreed that corruption is dragging the nation backward. The main reason Nigeria is not making progress, we say authoritatively, is that those in government are just stealing public money.

Even—surprise! surprise!!—government itself is fighting corruption! We have the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Police Force all fighting corruption. NGOs are campaigning against corruption. Youths are fighting corruption. Lawyers, journalists, doctors, engineers, bankers, pastors, imams, taxi drivers, truck pushers, all are fighting corruption. Fellow Nigerians, if we all are fighting corruption, who then are the people “doing” the corruption? Are they spirits?

Following our failure to win any medal at the 2012 Olympics, some Nigerians launched the humorous campaign that corruption should become an Olympic sport. Nigeria would sweep all the medals at stake, they joked. There is a belief that no country can beat us in the game of corruption. An author wrote: “Corruption is rare in Botswana, common in Ghana and endemic in Nigeria.” There is a feeling that corruption is in our DNA. It is believed that we are genetically corrupt. If you send a five-year-old boy to buy you a piece of cake, chances are he would inflate the price and seek to make away with your change. It is that bad.

So maybe we are wrong to focus our attention on the corruption in government alone. In recent times, the organised private sector has proved to be as corrupt as the public sector. The massive rot in the banking industry provided all the proofs we needed to understand this. But I am not about to write on the destruction of the financial sector through greed and mindless manipulation by the bankers and their accomplices. The stealing of billions of naira by government officials is not my focus either. No, I am not about to write about the multi-billion naira pensions scam. The fuel subsidy tryst, which brought the private and public sectors together in unholy matrimony, is not of interest to me today. We have written on these usual suspects a million times.

What I seek to do today is drag our attention to the unusual suspects whom we perhaps ignore from day to day as we talk about corruption—the so-called lower classes of the society. Listen to the radio, spend a few minutes at the vendors’ stand, or tarry awhile at the village square. Everybody is discussing corruption and how “our leaders” are looting us blind. It is usually a case of “we the ordinary people” against “they the government”. Somehow, it keeps escaping the attention of these “ordinary people” that they (we) are part of the system that is destroying the country and making our lives worse from day to day.

I will cite five instances to illustrate my point. One, at a construction site, a man came to market cement. He said a bag was N1750, including transport to site. But the builder said he was getting his supply cheaper, at N1700. After a brief argument, the cement seller gave out a secret of the trade which he called “repacking”. Cement sellers, he said, have a way of opening the bag, taking out a few kilos of cement and then re-sealing the bag. The kilos so stolen are re-bagged. That gives an additional income to the cement seller. From 10 or so bags, he can get an additional one bag. Is that not worth an Olympic gold for corruption? Yet, this same set of people will gather at the village square to discuss how “our leaders” are looting the treasury!

Two, rice sellers. This is a well-known secret. They have a long rod they insert into a bag to steal a few “mudus”. They then re-pack into an additional bag. That’s additional income. Three, the bread sellers. They remove a few slices from several loaves to make an additional loaf! Four, the petrol station attendant. He sells N200 fuel to a motorcyclist without “rubbing off” the meter. When a car comes along, he continues from where he stopped and pockets the additional N200. Another trick is to sell fuel of N109 to a motorist and then sigh that there is power failure. He tells you to look at the meter very well, that he had already sold N1009 (not N109) worth of petrol to you. If you don’t pay attention, he will fleece you of N900. Five, the woman selling garri to you has already tampered with the measurement by battering the can. Yet, all of them (all of us) will call the radio station to complain about “our leaders” and corruption.

My father-in-law, a doctor, once told me a heart-breaking story. In the 1990s when he was working at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), an eight-year-old boy died. As he took the body to the mortuary, the attendant told him: “Doctor, you have to find us something o!” That means he had to give him a tip. A morbid tip! If you bury the dead at some cemeteries in Lagos, you need to “find something” for the cemetery workers. If not, as soon as you turn your back, they will unearth the casket, steal any valuables they can find, dump the corpse in the grave and sell the casket for peanuts. Yet, all of them (all of us) will gather at the vendors’ stand the following morning to complain about how corruption is killing Nigeria! Doesn’t this also deserve an Olympic gold medal?

Let’s look at it this way. If the person who steals and re-bags a few kilos of cement gets into government, is he not likely to steal pensioners’ money? If the market woman becomes a bank MD, would depositors’ money be safe in her care? We seem to think that people suddenly become corrupt when they join government. No. We are groomed for corruption. For a plumber, for instance, it is part of his training that if he needs 20 pipes, he should quote for 40. He will buy 20 and pocket the balance. Cheating and short-changing customers are part and parcel of the training of artisans here. They are actually trained to tell lies without batting an eyelid.

Since this sleazy system produces our leaders, maybe we deserve the leadership we always get then…

And NYSC allows this kain nonsense? O ga o.

DEMOCRACY 101 FOR IDIOTS:
THE UNITED STATES COULD LEARN FROM NIGERIA HERE!
■ The Nigeria’s electoral process may be labeled names, but at least their election takes place in the weekends to allow a massive participation. But, The United States hold their most crucial elections on busy Tuesdays when most citizens work from 8am to 6pm. Meanwhile most polls close 7pm, and a so called early voting method is suppressed with retributive distractions and discouraging litigations. Is voter-suppression democratic? Is this not the same country that flaunts itself the godfather of DEMOCRACY?