₦airaland Forum

Since I am unable to join in physical protests at this time, here is my contribution.

A protest song adapted from an innovative message-song to Charles Taylor of Liberia when he was ruining that country abundantly. Unfortunately it fits our current set of Nigeria's leaders.

NEXT STOP 2011 - Time to send them packing and a warning just in case Yar'adua and his cohorts are entertaining any SILLY thoughts of a second term.

http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/media_files/No_to_bad_leadership_in_Nigeria_come_2011.aac

Enjoy.
Visit Nigeria-Anew Here: [url]http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/index.php/topic,95.msg131.html#msg131[/url]

This game is what you call ORIYOMI (HEAD-SAVE-ME) in Yoruba.

No Offense, No Defense - No Organization.

Again personal skills carry Nigerians. Leaders (coach) - CLUELESS !!!!!!!!!

Yes, I do agree that we cannot be all or nothing in finding Nigeria's next leader. DD is not a hypocrite, but rather may not factor the game that is going on in Aso Rock into his statements.

As someone said, the VP (and perhaps DD) does not have a political machinery of his own. This is what you may be missing in VP Jonathan's handling of this mess. It is worth repeating that he his caught in a DEADLY GAME.

People are talking about Atiku's behavior as VP, but forget that Atiku is actually a member of the cabal (may be a marginal member) that VP Jonathan is dealing with - the only reason he got away with remaining VP while fighting the President. Atiku is not a role model for how the VP should have handled this mess, along with OBJ, he partly responsible for this mess. I don't think Jonathan emerged as VP by being a "mumu" as some call him. That he may have compromised too much in the process and probably did not handle things as others would have preferred is not in question. However, if VP Jonathan had jumped to the front of the crowd immediately his boss went AWOL he would have tripped the trap that the goons set for him.

Mistakes may be, mumu no.

Gbawe:
Even as I don't agree with you , I have to commend your intelligent and well structured debate. If Duke were VP he would do exactly what he is asking Jonathan to do. This is why Duke , Ken Nnamani (former senate President) and others like them where schemed out of reckoning for roles in the Yar Adua government by OBJ and other Kingmakers. The likes of Duke have their own mind and they would be difficult to control. Do you not wonder why there is no place for PDP achievers like Duke in the Yar Adua Government ?

Let us tell ourselves the basic truth. I have always insisted that , at this stage , virtually all Nigerian politicians are corrupt. It is the system. What we must pragmatically look for are 'enablers' who will facilitate national progress alongside their 'shennanigans'. Jonathan and Yar Adua are not in that mould. Duke, Nnamani and Fashola are .The likes of Yar Adua and Jonathan will aid the cabals 100% to the detriment of Nigeria. Yar Adua , for example , will not dare to contemplate the deregulation of the power sector because he is a hostage to the diesel and generator mafia !!!!  Do you now get my drift? I.e whatever cross Duke has to bear, he will still do things that will improve Nigeria if he is ever in a position to do so  . Fashola is bearing his own cross (Tinubu) with pragmatism while he continues to be an enabler who is delivering.

I do not believe DD is a hypocrite . I don't think Duke is telling Jonathan to do what he will not do if similarly placed.

As regards the constitution, please read the article again to note that Duke is not asking Jonathan to defy the constitution or usurp Yar Adua's powers. He is only asking Jonathan to be an effective deputy rather than a totally invisible and impotent Vice President

I never said that DD is not patriotic or shap. He was one of the "best" governors in the past administration despite the fact that his most popular achievement was an uncompleted ranch for the rich. While you might be right that he is actually distancing himself from the presidency with this statement, that is only because we know the next leader is unlikely to be chosen on merit. Those who have spoken against Yar'adua over this incident may be right to call for his resignation. However some of them are simply trying to get in on the act - not that there is anything wrong with that, just that we need to be aware of it.

If DD was so focused on rescuing Nigeria he would have taken the time to actually read what the constitution/oath act said about the CJN oath, rather than follow street talk. Perhaps VP Jonathan could have put on a better show without appearing to grab Yar'adua's powers. I think he erred on the side of caution a little too much, but overall he has played this deadly game carefully so far.

I still think that if DD were VP he would not do what he is recommending to VP Jonathan, because that would be his funeral, figuratively speaking. The power play in Nigeria is full blown, and DD is angling for the next VP slot, in my opinion. Let me say that he might make a better VP than VP Jonathan so don't get me wrong, but if he plans to follow his own recommendation he will not last long.

Gbawe:
Not true and a logic-defying notion IMO. I think Duke has been driven by patriotism to say what he has said. Everybody knows how vengeful the cabal around Yar Adua are . Just ask Kingibe !!!! In fact those who should act or speak (Bankole, Mark, et al) cannot do so because they fear they will be finished if , contrary to popular opinion , Yar Adua actually returns to power. That is what is creating the impasse we see right now . Can we not see all the weak ,compromised and cowardly politicians , to include the VP himself , lying that they spoke to Yar Adua as part of a deceptive scheme to keep Yar Adua President at all cost !!!

The only folks speaking against Yar Adua and Aondoakaa are mainly the patriotic Nigerians who are not afraid and those who are not beneficiaries of the corrupt Yar Adua government. Duke has done his immediate career a big disservice asking Jonathan to stand up for himself when a very powerful cabal have done everything to keep Jonathan out. Duke is a very intelligent chap . He will have realised that to speak in favour of Jonathan taking charge is to offend the powerful cabal insistent on keeping Yardy in charge by all means. He went ahead anyway. Spin it how you want but that is the type of action Gani Fawehinmi would be proud of.

When the G53 initially asked Yar Adua to hand over to Jonathan, it was alleged that some of the Northerners amongst them were actually targeted for assasination by pro Yar Adua groups !!!! There is therefore no way Duke's utterances will move him close to the VP position.

I think you may be right here. DD is angling to be the next vice president. With this statement he is actually showing that he prefers playing to the streets than to the constitution. VP Jonathan has played the cards that were dealt him well. He seems to be the main arm of the Obasanjo group that President Yar'adua could not get rid of, so they made him rather ineffective. The goons in the current administration have done their very best to make him slip-up during this whole saga. I mean people were calling for his resignation like he was the one who threw the nation into a crisis. Others were encouraging him to act unconstitutionally to get the excuse they need to kick both him and Yar'adua out at the same time. So far he has maintained a well-balanced response to this whole mess.

Whether the VP will make a good president or not is not the issue here. The issue is whether when the constitution virtually makes a person from the oil regions the next president, even if only for two years, the powers that be would allow it.

Mark my words, if Yar'adua is truely incapacitated and the VP is not allowed to fulfill the constitutional role assigned to him, the oil regions is going to become a powder-keg that will eventually consume Nigeria. A few years hence there will be no Nigeria.

As for the issue of the CJN it turns out that the retiring CJN had the right to administer the oath to the incoming CJN. For evidence follow this link: [url]http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/index.php/topic,58.0.html[/url]

otokx:
Donald Duke should not open his mouth too wide.

@SEFAGO

I disagree. He is not obligated to do anything of the such, but you are right it might be construed that he his hiding something. However, he is putting himself in danger by attending a Senate hearing in the United States while his son is under trial, evil as the son's plan was, besides it does not make sense. He is in deep sorow over this I am sure.

He shouldn't reply with a no, but say that if it is really that important they are invited to Nigeria to meet him. Afterall they are jetting in and out of Iraq/Afhganistan at a moment's notice.

If our police were organized differently we would have a very efficient Federal Investigation going on to handle all contacts with the United States on this affair. But that is too much to ask, since we don't even know where and how our president is!!

We are truly at a sorry junction in this country!!

SEFAGO:
But he is obliged to go except he is hiding something. Declining to go, could have consequences. This simple request is bubbling with connotations.

@paddy_lo
I agree that this incident is a good test of the system. Once resolved successfully we have two lessons to take from it: 1) Re-write our constitution to take care of this kind of shenanigans 2) It would help dispel the myth that Nigeria will necessarily fall, and hence must be saved by a military intervention, at least for now.

On your second point, I am not so sure, it depends on whether Yar'adua is actually "walking well" as they want us to believe. In that case what is likely to happen is that Yar'adua would return to intensive care in Nigeria, while Jonathan remains VP, but works virtually as the President. Otherwise, I would agree with your assessment.

In any case, the worst option is a military intervention.


[quote author=paddy_lo link=topic=378543.msg5282506#msg5282506 date=1263061015]on the contrary i dont think its shameful at all. . .it has tested our institutions,and they are holding well. . .
i tell u jonathan will be sworn in. . .and after 3months another vice president from the north will also be sworn in

yar aduas presidency might just be over. . .[/quote]

@Tsiya

I agree with you that El-Rufai made many missteps, and those directly affected may not forgive him, but so it goes in life. The third term agenda is one for which, while they were dancing to the tune of the piper, both El-Rufai and Ribadu would have to reconcile with Nigerians as they seek to serve again. On electricity El-Rufai was not in charge of power until a crisis right after the third term agenda failed, I think. NITEL has always been a moribund/corrupt institution and not El-Rufai's fault - unless there is something I don't know. I hope that, if he gets a chance or whoever happens to become our next president, that the basic approach would be to get government out of businesses that private hands can manage without problems, while managing the transition with care to prevent the suffering of Nigerians.  

El-Rufai has said and done other things that suggest he is a bit over-zealous sometimes, but that is not really bad thing, but something that must be controlled. Check your facts carefully is something that we all need to take to heart. He also went to D.C. and practically announced that Yar'adua would become president even before his nomination. Also said that he was going to be learning Chinese after leaving the government because China is the next great powe or something like that. Gen. Obasanjo made statements about Nigeria perching with China as the next great power too - another reason for America to be mad at us. All these are things Nigeria's leaders must learn not to do.

My perspective though is that when you have to pick among hard choices you pick the best. El-Rufai to me has more exposure to the issues & answers to Nigeria's problems, overall has performed well at the Federal level, and is more progressive than most of the other potential leaders you can pick if the presidency must remain in the North come 2011.

Nigerian's would be crazy to allow Yar'adua a second term!

Tsiya:
While I commend any public comment by an official of the Government of Nigeria (present and past), El Rufa'is letter is just opportunistic and sycophancy. El Rufa'i, doesn't represent any good descent Nigeria and Nigerians able to use their head and brain should not be deceived. El Rufai is a typical Nigeria that can kill his mother to achieve his political aim. He presents himself as a progressive, but with due respect, he only considers his personal progressive above all Nigeria.

While I do not celebrate any of his current misfortune and trials, I take them as a lesson for any Nigerian to deal justly whenever he is in the position to do justice to all. While ElRufai was in the previous government, they have not done anything to tackle the root cause of the rampant religious and secterian violence. ElRufai, by his utterances and actions, have precipitated religious and ethnic intolerance in Nigeria. ElRufai, because of his lack of foresight, he is instrumental to the current political quagmire that Nigeria found itself. Please let us not be fooled

El Rufa'i is a typical Nigerian who rushes to say something before he thinks. Simple basic research would have told him 15 of the Hijackers are Saudi not 11. And making reference to Saudi doesn't even make sense, since Saudi has been included in the list long time ago. He should have made reference to United Arab Emirates (2 Hijackers are from their) or with Egypt (one Hijacker with AlQaeda no. 2 coming from their)

If you are actually looking for a Northerner to become President, he is probably the most qualified right now - just the way I see it, but I may be wrong. To answer your question, unlike the imperial presidency that Nigeria runs, anybody can write anything to the POTUS (i.e. President of the United States).

sammyzacks:
iN WHAT CAPACITY WAS ELRUFA'I WRITING OBAMA? ISN'T THE PRESIDENT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THAT?

Are you trusting allegations made by President's Yar'adua's government and his AGF against people like Rufai and Ribadu. You really shouldn't when the CBN and EFCC have acknowledged that the $15 million cash bribery offered by Yar'adua's bankroller, Ibori, was lodged at the CBN, and when they can't fish out the people behind the many real corruption allegations with international dimensions. Rufai and Ribadu's travails are simply due to their role in the previous administration. Gen. Obasanjo was just too big for Yar'adua, Ibori and the AGF to touch. Like Rufai, we all believed in the "clean image" of Yar'adua, not knowing that he was merely green snake under green grass.

Nigeria would have been better off if Rufai had actually become president or at least allowed to continue his reform-mentality into the current administration. Nobody is without blemish, not in the Nigeria of today, but Yar'adua's administration is turning out to be one of the worst if something is not done very fast.

deluxecad:
Sounds good and well composed. But this same guy has corruption issues to answer down here in Nigeria, where's he writing from? Although America may have been hasty in their tagging of Nigeria as a nation to look out for, I think they want to get some crazy stuff cleaned out. Umar Farouk was just following in d steps of extremist people like El-Rufai. Like begets like.

@Beaf (and others interested)
This may be considered a selfish plug here, but is not meant to be. Sorry nairaland owners.

Recall that we had made similar comments on the following thread: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-355552.0.html#msg4971838. At the time I referred to a potential new board as "Nigeria Solutions" or something similar.

I was hoping that the initial request or your latest proposal would lead to the creation of such a board, but this seems unlikely. In the meantime I have set up a forum that is aimed at addressing this need. The forum would be focused on distilling useful information for practical application and as such is a companion to nairaland and other fora out there.

What I realized in the process, and that the administrators of nairaland may be getting at,  is that the issues involved can be located in many of the boards already on nairaland. However, these are not aimed at getting at practical solutions. It seems to require a separate forum specifically administered for that purpose.

The forum is named "NaijaDialogueCentral". It is divided into two main sections. The first is an area where news and commentary on developmental issues occur, known as the "General Category", while the second is "Naija Solutions Central". Both categories have similar boards on them, but the second would host actual proposals and discussions aimed at producing actionable items.

I am not an IT expert, so one need here is volunteers to help handle the IT issues. Most importantly, you and others who have posted on this topic could become full members to help moderate boards in either category. Your interest would seem to fit in the second category. The basic rules are the following:

REGULAR MEMBERS are promoted to FULL MEMBERS after a couple of posts, and can then post new topics. GUESTS are allowed to leave comments on posts to encourage wider participation.

These rules are to ensure that those who actually register are really interested in helping with organizing the forum, since no registration is needed to provide comments on posts. Those comments would be closely monitored to prevent the rapid degeneration that can sometimes occur here on nairaland - moderators would have powers to get rid of posts that are completely off topic or abusive or threatening, especially in the "Naija Solutions" category. The number of posts would however be controlled since GUESTS and REGULAR MEMBERS cannot post new topics. In the initial stages we would need to quickly upgrade regular members to full members to help moderate the boards.

So please take a look http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/index.php

Thanks.

The first part of this article made some sense, but the latter part is mere racist CRAP. Look at this statement:

"There is nothing inherently wrong in choosing black Americans for these posts, or female black Americans in particular, except for the fact that they are not highly regarded in Africa. In country after country I have been asked why the US is sending the children of slaves to deal with them."

Is it true that Africans make this statement or this is just another fabrication of a closet racist? Children of Slaves? Not highly regarded?

True or not there is no gainsaying that Africans also display a form of racism that is not stopped by having the same skin color (languages and religions borrowed or native, etc are enough excuses for us). When we cure ourselves of this disease we will know exactly how to deal with those who promote racism against us.

@sunboy
Wha are you drinking  .

Here look at this:

You bought a new car, someone took it from you because you had a minor accident, drives it in the roughest way possible, had multiple accidents worse than you had in it, doesn't maintain it, forces you to pay for gas while you walk around town with no shoe. 43 years later he returns your car to you after you had engaged him in a long battle. You start driving this car, but it won't start, when it starts it dies frequently, when it moves it travels at 1km per hour. Meanwhile, the thief and his friends are sitting in the back blaming you for the poor condition of the car and how you can't drive.

Here comes sunboy peeping through the window and telling you to give your car back to the thief because it used to run much smoother when he was in control. Who do you think is responsible for the car' condition? Don't you think what you need to do is not only kick the thief out of your car and far away from it? Then you need to decide if you need to rebuild that car, buy a new one, change the engine, as the case may be. You would also think of a good unflattering name for sunboy, won't you?

Here

sunboy:
Military all d way! I think a non dictative military can handle this nation

I think these perspectives and the original post while valid at a certain level are missing the point. Specifically, the U.K. is keeping an eye on all foreigners and their associations, although it could be more stringent. However, the real reason Jamaica or Ghana has not received country-level scrutiny is because their citizens involvement so far has been restricted to the U.K. As such, all they worry about in their case is what they do inside the U.K. Now, Umar Abdul's case is going to change a lot of that - more scrutiny is coming for all Africans (but especially to tell the truth - African Muslims). Umar Abdul upped the potential role of non-Arab Muslims in potential terrorism, and coming from Nigeria magnifies it by a thousand. Our country's reputation, earned and unearned, is bad and now there is terrorism.

On another note, we need to think about this incident in the following way: 1) Suppose he had succeeded in his evil plans - killing all on board and an unknown number on the ground; 2) Although populations all over West Africa have mixed religious compositions the pronouncements of Osama Bin Laden has specifically mentioned Nigeria as a target; and 3) Incessant religious upheavals destroy hundreds of lives yearly unlike most African countries (many are killing themselves likewise based on tribal/resource and sometimes religious issues). In Nigeria's case it is usually Church burning leading to Mosque burning with a cycle that takes the military to put down.

Lastly, we need to turn this around - suppose some person from an unfriendly African country did exactly the same thing to Nigeria - would we not call for thorough screening or a ban on citizens from that country or a war depending on what motivated him/her. Perhaps not with our current set of "forefronters", but in a REAL country, where citizen security is paramount, these are the scenarios that we need to be examining each day.

Just today soldiers, who have no constitutional business in civil affairs, shot dead two protesting workers! As long as we continue doing this to ourselves internally this  is what we will continue to get. One follows from the other.

Beaf:
I Love Nigeria,

The issue is clear we are not the worst offenders of any known criminal infraction but it is our stand, reaction, mood, complex and posture that determines how we get treated.

Nigeria is a nation of people with no patriotism so they have problems defending their country, the world realises that and they take advantage of it.

The worst cases of mis information, bias and media miscarriage against Nigeria has been perpetrated by Nigerian citizens many of who belong to the educated "intellectual class", so I ask you a question, why will the rest of the world not pour abuse and scorn on Nigeria. If I was a foreign government or a media house all I have to do is ask nigerians what they think or use google and you will find Nigerians are "begging" to be profiled and stereotyped!

Closer to home and race, A Jamaican and Ghanian participated in the London bombing and one actually murdered people but those nations did not personalise it. I have followed the Nigeria case since it happened and constantly read from Nigerians that they "know" we are the worst and will be subjected to all sorts of abuse because we did exactly what other nations do everyday!

We are our worst enemies, and it is happening right her on Nigerianvillage square and other Nigerian media outlets, they are slowly helping the enemy exploit our weakness and complexes!

My original commentary on the Umar Abdul recommended a more cool headed approach by Nigerian officials to get our name of that list. See https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-376668.0.html#msg5257701 and the recommendations below. Meanwhile here is a lighthearted take on the implications for Nigerian Passport holders (poster included)

[flash=400,250]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Ou87VtFvM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"[/flash]

7. What Nigeria Must Do:

a. Find our President or kick him out (but not militarily, we have senators who make laws -supposedly- and have the POWER TO CHANGE the constitution) - this is sad but is the first task Nigeria must do now.

b. Nigerian officials need to stop public outcries, and truly begin to engage the United States in dialogue as a way out of this impasse. Foreign policy has gone comatose in Nigeria, like most everything else. The first to be heard from our Foreign Minister over this incident was a reaction to the 14-country list demanding that Nigeria be removed from it, while others are calling for a diplomatic row with the United States. We all know that these are toothless barks. In reality, there is still time for Nigeria to engage the U.S. cooperatively, and eventually get ourselves off that list. It was certainly not a small decision to include Nigeria on that list, but where was Nigeria's  president when he was needed? We currently have no Ambassador to the most powerful country on the planet! It does not serve the U.S. economy to incur the cost of implementing these new screening procedures, but security is paramount. What Nigerian leaders need to show is responsibility for their citizens all over the world, and provide alternative approaches that would be agreeable to both sides.

c. Internally, Nigeria's security apparatus is begging for a complete overall and reorganization to help it contain modern and traditional threats, and free the military for its primary mission of preparing for, containing and putting down external threats.

d. Since the tail end of the previous administration and President Yar'adua's ascendancy Nigeria's relation with the U.S. has been frosty at best, no thanks to the egoistic third term agenda and the non-election of 2007. The fact is that Nigeria needs U.S. help, and rejecting or snubbing it is being more catholic than the pope. As a case in point our President has disappeared for medical care into  the country of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the home of Osama Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia is on the 14-country list, Saudi Arabia's government relies on U.S. arms and forces to keep the threat of al-qaeda at bay, but most importantly when the Saudi Crown Prince got seriously sick he headed to the United States.

[url]http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/index.php/topic,19.msg42.html#msg42[/url]

Preamble:
I am a Nigerian who loves my country dearly. What you are about to read are hard truths that we, especially our leaders, must hear. I have vehemently defended Nigeria on previous occasions and will continue to do so. However, on the above topic I refuse to join the train of useless jingoism.

Introduction:
First, thanks be to God that the evil plans of Umar Abdul Mutallab failed. Be that as it may, the failure of this particular attempt provides no succor to the citizens of the United States, Nigeria, Netherlands, Ghana, U.K. and Yemen and the world, but particularly the 278 passengers on NW Flight 253 whose plans for a festive season were shattered by terror, who were and would continue to be affected by the murderous intentions of this good-for-nothing scum of the earth. In my view, his attempt was as good as the act in this case, except that, by the grace of God, no lives were lost. My comments here will examine the reaction of Nigeria's leaders, Nigerian citizens, and U.S. response to this event.

Commentary
The reaction from Nigeria after news of this incident broke was expectedly halting - what with the fact that nobody in Nigeria knows the location of our President. While it is easy to blame this halting response on his absence, the fact is that President Yar'adua has proven to be largely an "absentee" president, and his handling of foreign affairs particularly borders on incompetence. It is my believe that the reaction out of Nigeria was actually better than we would have had were Mr. President to be "on seat" - mainly because the various agencies had a relatively freer hand in their response.  Although initial reactions from the Information Minister appropriately condemned the dastardly act of Umar Abdul and announced that the VP has called for a probe, statements over the following couple of days were more typical of Nigeria's leaders:

1. Umar Abdul "sneaked" into Nigeria: Officials began to focus on the fact that he started his journey in Ghana and spent less than 30 minutes at MM Airport on the day of his evil plan. Later the argument included such statements as "He was not influenced in Nigeria, he was not recruited or trained in Nigeria, he was not supported whatsoever in Nigeria." This was an attempt to shift the "geographical" blame for this act as if these facts override his being a Nigerian citizen. The other side of this argument is that all those other countries through which Umar Abdul paraded his evil intention should bear the blame, but not Nigeria. There was/is no need for this line of argument at all, but then Nigeria's leaders are fond of washing their hands off issues of great importance to national well-being.

2. Umar Abdul the "young lad": I have been amazed at how often the culprit in this case has been referred to as young: the "young lad". These references have the tendency of implying he was not under total control of his actions, being young. However, it must be remembered that Umar Abdul is 5 years beyond adulthood. He was a man who planned his actions with his cohorts and traveled through five countries in the process. He was said to have spent 2 weeks in Ghana, enough time to repent, run away or do something different than follow-up on this calculated, cold and evil intention. There are younger men and women all over the world doing their country proud, with no one suggesting their being young as an issue. Umar Abdul has visited untold shame on his family, religion and country, yet someone is referring to him as a "young lad"! It is not surprising, however, since ageism remains a major impediment to Nigeria's progress, but that topic is for another day.

3. "We are not terrorists response": This reaction is typical of individual citizens caught in the middle of an issue in which they are personally not even remotely involved, and may be considered appropriate from a psychological standpoint given the heightened level of fear and anxiety about their own safety. However, such reactions can only come out of the mouth of irresponsible leaders like Nigeria's. One of the statements from Nigeria's officials was "Abdul Mutallab's behavior is not reflective of Nigeria and should therefore not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians". Yet, no country had officially suggested that all Nigerians are terrorists, and there is no need for Nigerian officials to be replying to street talk. Truth be told, a responsible and visionary leadership for whom national unity, peace, and progress is daily bread would realize that the potential for terrorism in Nigeria is significant.

Incurable sin assemblies of political violence, religious extremism & violence and legitimate-turned-criminally-violent resource agitation suggest a serious tendency to resort to violence, a crucial ingredient for subsequent terrorist behavior. Perhaps what our leaders are trying to suggest is that because terror-like behavior stays within our borders there is no chance of "international terrorism" coming out of Nigeria.  The fallacy of such a line of reasoning has been put to rest by the evil machinations of Umar Abdul. Keen observers of the Nigerian situation have long known that it is a matter of time before some good-nothing-fool drags the country into Osama Bin Laden's useless war. Religious violence in Nigeria has always possessed an international dimension. Most other countries in West Africa have large portions of Muslim, Christians and Other Religions, but you would not know it since it seems that Nigeria is the only one hundreds of citizens are sacrificed in furtherance of religious aims. In fact, religious violence was one of the immediate reaction to the Umar Abdul incident. Osama Bin Laden has specifically named Nigeria as one of his objectives, and our leaders better take him seriously since his madness and that of his followers have no boundaries. The fact is that what has being missing is the "opportunity" for the evil doers to internationalize their evil acts. Still some of these God-forsaken citizens have found their way into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This situation represents a potential conflagration that no leader worth the name would let be. Umar Abdul is a call for Nigeria's leader to wake up figuratively and literally.

4. U.S. Initial Reaction: My main comment here is on the politics. As usual from the very first hours of this incident the GOP sought to exploit it for political gain. Left to them the U.S. would be in the grip of fear greater than due to the incident itself. I must commend President Obama for his calm response to this incident, while working all angles behind the scene. The countries directly affected by this incident probably placed a call to the White House or communicated in some other way immediately. It is almost a sure bet that Nigeria (whose citizen was the principal) did not. Does the VP have the power to call the U.S. President? A million dollar constitutional question indeed!

5. U.S. Pre-Incident Handling of Umar Abdul: This case may be a failure of intelligence comparable to 9/11 or simply one that slipped through the cracks. No one can tell for sure since we are not privy to all the cases that are being handled. However, from the foiled New York terror plot, arrests of 5 Americans in Pakistan and the case of Major Hassan it is safe to say that U.S. efforts have met with successes and failures. In any case, this particular incident suggests the need for more work. There is no excuse in this age for not scanning names/half-a-name, etc of all potential fliers against an omnibus database of suspicious individuals whether on a no-fly list or not. This much is required as an initial basis for pulling in specific information.

6. The New 14-Country Screening List: Personally I would submit to more thorough screening if a) No "actual nudity" is involved; b) The process would not endanger my health. The reason being I do not want to fall out of the sky as an innocent bystander due to affairs that are completely irrelevant to me. Still, there are at least two problems with this list. First, for many ordinary citizens of these 14 countries the list signals discrimination not only because of what it connotes to be separated into this kind of group, but also because it could actually be turned into instruments of discrimination/racism/sadism. Second, the list suggests static thinking on the part of policy-makers. It is well-known that al-qaeda is active in more than 80 countries and seeking to expand. That list must contain at least 80 countries, but I dare say everyone from everywhere ought to undergo more thorough screenings. Nevertheless, the U.S. has a right to setup any list of countries from which it faces danger - no amount of cries from such countries can justify another evil, would-be-martyr slipping through the cracks when technology (including part-downs) exists to prevent it.

7. What Nigeria Must Do:
a. Find our President or kick him out (but not militarily, we have senators who make laws -supposedly- and have the POWER TO CHANGE the constitution) - this is sad but is the first task Nigeria must do now.

b. Nigerian officials need to stop public outcries, and truly begin to engage the United State in dialogue as a way out of this impasse. Foreign policy has gone comatose in Nigeria, like most everything else. The first to be heard from our Foreign Minister over this incident was a reaction to the 14-country list demanding that Nigeria be removed from it, while others are calling for a diplomatic row with the United States. We all know that these are toothless barks. In reality, there is still time for Nigeria to engage the U.S. cooperatively, and eventually get ourselves off that list. It was certainly not a small decision to include Nigeria on that list, but where was Nigeria's  president when he was needed? We currently have no Ambassador to the most powerful country on the planet! It does not serve the U.S. economy to incur the cost of implementing these new screening procedures, but security is paramount. What Nigerian leaders need to show is responsibility for their citizens all over the world, and provide alternative approaches that would be agreeable to both sides.

c. Internally, Nigeria's security apparatus is begging for a complete overall and reorganization to help it contain modern and traditional threats, and free the military for its primary mission of preparing for, containing and putting down external threats.

d. Since the tail end of the previous administration and President Yar'adua's ascendancy Nigeria's relation with the U.S. has been frosty at best, no thanks to the egoistic third term agenda and the non-election of 2007. The fact is that Nigeria needs U.S. help, and rejecting or snubbing it is being more catholic than the pope. As a case in point our President has disappeared for medical care into  the country of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the home of Osama Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia is on the 14-country list, Saudi Arabia's government relies on U.S. arms and forces to keep the threat of al-qaeda at bay, but most importantly when the Saudi Crown Prince got seriously sick he headed to the United States.

Quote: “The powers of the President are not exercised territorially. Yar’Adua can exercise his powers anywhere in the world, on the plane, at the meeting of the United Nations or even on his sick bed, as long as he is not incapacitated by the sickness."

Comment: Why not, the president and this group of court jesters were not doing much anyway. I guess Andoakaa would support an "absentee" president in the next election too - I 'll like to be a candidate for that   - I don't live in Nigeria and am not incapacitated.

We know what they are setting us up to do. Instead of coming out to explain things to the Nigerian people in plain terms they keep treating us like kids. This AGF particularly keeps showing that he will throw away all common sense to defend the indefensible. I can't get the image of him climbing on a plane to personally intervene on Ibori's behalf out of my mind - that wasn't too difficult. Now, the Haliburton probe is stalled because he cannot find translators to translate evidence given in French to English (see below). For for God's sake, our country is not located at the bottom of the ocean where nobody can see or hear us, although the world is slowly tunning us out, and laughing themselves silly behind closed doors.

Quote: “The powers of the President are not exercised territorially. Yar’Adua can exercise his powers anywhere in the world, on the plane, at the meeting of the United Nations or even on his sick bed, as long as he is not incapacitated by the sickness."

Comment: Why not, the president and this group of court jesters were not doing much anyway. I guess Andoakaa would support an "absentee" president in the next election too - I 'll like to be a candidate for that  - I don't live in Nigeria and am not incapacitated.

We know what they are setting us up to do. Instead of coming out to explain things to the Nigerian people in plain terms they keep treating us like kids. This AGF particularly keeps showing that he will throw away all common sense to defend the indefensible. I can't get the image of him climbing on a plane to personally intervene on Ibori's behalf out of my mind - that wasn't too difficult. Now, the Haliburton probe is stalled because he cannot find translators to translate evidence given in French to English (see below). For for God's sake, our country is not located at the bottom of the ocean where nobody can see or hear us, although the world is slowly tunning us out, and laughing themselves silly behind closed doors.


*****************************************************
President can rule Nigeria from Saudi Arabia —Aondoakaa
Punch Nigeria - By Tobi Soniyi, Abuja, Published: Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009
     
 
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa (SAN)


The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) on Tuesday said President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua could perform his official duties from his sick bed at the King Faisal Intensive Care and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Addressing a press conference to highlight the achievements recorded by his ministry in the past one year, the minister advised those calling on the President to resign to take a second look at the 1999 Constitution.

There have been calls for Yar’Adua’s resignation from various interest groups. Also, his refusal to hand over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, has attracted widespread condemnation.

But the justice minister declared that the powers of the President were not exercised territorially. He said that those calling for the President’s resignation were ignorant.

He said, “There is no evidence that he is not exercising his powers as President. He has his vice-president and his ministers whom he delegates power and functions to.

“The powers of the President are not exercised territorially. Yar’Adua can exercise his powers anywhere in the world, on the plane, at the meeting of the United Nations or even on his sick bed, as long as he is not incapacitated by the sickness.

“The President can exercise his powers through the vice-president and ministers while on his sick bed and that is what he has been doing. For example, the Chief Justice of Nigeria wrote a letter to the President and copied me that he would be retiring on December 31, that the President of the Court of Appeal has just retired and that their replacements have not been screened by the Senate.

“I sent the letter to the Principal Secretary to the President who transmitted same to the President who approved it and sent it back to me.”

Aondoakaa cautioned opposition leaders against making utterances capable of destabilising the nation, noting that “the powers of the President are embodied in his body. We don’t want to take issue with the opposition. We shall meet in 2011 and they will not succeed.”

Aondoakaa also said that the probe into the $180m Halliburton scandal was stalled because witnesses gave evidence in French and it had been difficult translating the information to English in Nigeria.

He added that N6bn was paid by the government through his ministry for debts incurred on judgements against federal agencies in 2009. He decried the failure of federal ministries, departments and agencies to heed legal opinion from his ministry. He lamented that this non-challance had cost his ministry huge sums of money in litigation.

He sadi, “The revocation of the Ajaokuta steel complex contract has so far cost government a whopping $2m in legal fees. Government still pays about N12bn to workers in a company that is not working. The ministry is developing a strong internal capacity to offer advisory legal opinions to agencies of government. The core objective of this initiative is to develop a culture of predictability and uniformity in government positions on similar issues across all MDAs.

“We also seek to progressively rely less on external consultancy services and ultimately reduce the government’s liabilities in the handling of legal matters which may sometimes be aggravated by poor legal advice.”

He said the President had asked the Borno State commissioner for justice to investigate the killing of a female corps member, Miss Grace Adie.

Speaking on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency {NDLEA}; an agency under the ministry, the minister noted that “NDLEA has again received ninth consecutive certification for excellence for taking Nigeria out of the list of countries determined as a major Drug-Transit and major Drug producing countries. Within the first eight months of 2009, the agency has successfully apprehended 4,970 suspected drug traffickers. A total of 48,770,773 kg of various narcotics and psychotropic substances were also seized from illicit drug traffickers”.

Aondoakaa said that under the ministry’s prisons decongestion programme that about 42,000 cases had been given to about 2,500 private legal practitioners across the 36 states of the Federation. “Over 5,000 accused persons have been granted bail while over 3,000 accused persons have been convicted after diligent prosecution. So far about 25,000 cases are still pending in courts with representation from the office of Attorney-General of the Federation,”

He said that in 2009, N1, 815,666,668 was released by government for the programme and that his ministry had achieved 100% utilization of the released amount. “We hope to prosecute the programmed with even greater vigour next year in view of the obvious benefits to our criminal justice system” he added.

Aondoakaa announced that the Nigerian Law School will establish additional campuses in Bayelsa and Adamawa states respectively in addition to the current ones in Lagos , Abuja , Enugu and Kano.

This, he said, would help to maintain a 6-campus structure that would cover all the country’s geo-political zones.

He however said that law school examination would continue to be administered centrally.

“We have extracted concessions from the Adamawa and Bayelsa State governments to complement federal government’s efforts by providing the physical facilities for the two new campuses.”

Reuters - Thu Dec 3, 2009 1:52pm EST* Governor says bank bosses were too close to politics

* Says fortunate president supports his reforms

* Nigeria must fight broader corruption culture


By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria's "culture of corruption" contributed to the crisis which led to a $4 billion bank bailout earlier this year, with bank chiefs too cosy with powerful politicians, central bank chief Lamido Sanusi said on Thursday.

Sanusi sent a shockwave through the corporate establishment in August and October when he injected funds into nine banks and sacked the top managers of eight of them, saying lax governance had left them so weakly capitalised they posed a systemic risk.

Nigeria's anti-corruption police have filed charges ranging from recklessly granting loans to share price manipulation against many of the executives, including members of a business aristocracy which had long been seen as untouchable.

"You cannot be a good regulator if you are hob-nobbing with the operators. Bank MDs (managing directors) were always in the (presidential) villa," Sanusi told an African stock exchange conference in the capital Abuja.

"How many regulators can discipline the CEOs of banks who were friends to the president? Bank CEOs were sponsoring politicians and political parties. So we have to address the culture of corruption," he said.

"I've been very fortunate to have a president who supports what I'm doing."

The 1.14 trillion naira ($7.6 billion) in bad loans run up by the first five banks bailed out alone is roughly equivalent to the combined annual income of the poorest 20 million people in Africa's most populous nation, who live on around $1 a day.

Yet the bailout shocked Nigeria not for the amounts of money involved but because after only two months in the job, Sanusi had taken on some of its most powerful business figures, with interests ranging from shipping and hotels to oil and media.

"He's always been a radical and his speeches and essays show this," said Kayode Akindele, a director at Lagos-based financial advisory firm Greengate Strategic Partners.


WINNING POWERFUL ENEMIES?

Sanusi's readiness to take on powerful vested interests in a country ranked among the most corrupt in the world has won him praise from international investors, but even his supporters in Nigeria fear it may win him powerful enemies at home.

Sanusi is a related to the Emir of Kano, one of the most powerful traditional rulers in Nigeria, and his royal lineage is seen as helping him to cut through the turbulence and in-fighting of Nigerian politics.

Analysts say he stands out as one of relatively few serving public office holders willing to speak their mind.

"If we say there's no problem in Nigeria then we would be dishonest," he told the Abuja conference.

"It's not only in banking. In Ghana, for instance, a sitting president was defeated with 40,000 votes and he left office. This will never happen in Nigeria. In Nigeria, a president that has left office will be dictating to a sitting president."

Ghana won praise from foreign powers including the United States for electing President John Atta Mills in a peaceful, transparent vote a year ago that defied the stereotype of a region blighted by conflict, coups and crisis.

The Ghanaian vote was a marked contrast to Nigeria's last national elections in 2007, which were so marred by ballot-stuffing and voter intimidation that they were deemed not to be credible by foreign observers.

Nigeria has seen vocal reformists like Sanusi before, such as former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, but they fell out of favour when the political wind changed.

Some analysts fear Sanusi risks the same fate.

"Although there are one or two good things going on in Nigeria at the moment -- the banks, the oil reform bill -- there is no overarching sense of a reform programme and I think Sanusi in some sense is trying to compensate for this," one Nigeria analyst said, asking not to be named.

"It would be a real shame, but also a silly mistake, for the banking reforms to fail because he can't stay on his own turf." (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Nick Tattersall) ((Reuters messaging: nicholas.tattersall.reuters.com@reuters.net, Lagos Newsroom +234 1 463 0257))

Check out these quotes:

"Senator Ekweremadu said “but interestingly, the matter also came up during the discussion with the Council of Foreign Relations. They looked forward to a specific answer from me but I took time to explain to them the issues concerning life and death in Africa. For us, life is sacrosanct and we deal with life very respectfully."

COMMENT: I understand what he is trying to say here, but to claim that " life is sacrosanct and we deal with life very respectfully" on a continent with multiple countries killing off its own people by the hundreds daily, and where preventable natural and human disasters do the rest, is trying the height of ignorance.


“Beyond that, matters concerning president’s illness is something that is handled with utmost care, not just in Nigeria but all over the world, including America. As I took turn to explain to them, I gave them a brief history of presidential ailments across the globe and how countries have been quite reluctant to ease out a sitting president on account of ill health."


COMMENT: Anybody have an opinion on his second quote i.e. countries"unwilling to ease out presidents for ill health".

*******************************************************************************************************************
Tribune-From Taiwo Adisa, Lanre Adewole and Adewale Ajayi - 04.12.2009

THE concern over the health of President Umaru Yar’Adua is fast spreading beyond the shores of Nigeria, as the United States is said to be worried about the president.


According to information reaching the Nigerian Tribune, the United States is particularly bothered about the likely implications the Yar’Adua’s health would have on Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, especially against the current controversies over who should succeed him in the event of his resignation.


The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekwe-remadu, who confirmed the fears of the United States to newsmen in Abuja, said the US congressmen pointedly told him of their concern over the health of President Yar’Adua.


Ekweremadu just returned to the country after a trip to the United States of America, where his Committee on Constitution Review met with the US Congress Committee on Foreign Relations.


Senator Ekweremadu said “but interestingly, the matter also came up during the discussion with the Council of Foreign Relations. They looked forward to a specific answer from me but I took time to explain to them the issues concerning life and death in Africa. For us, life is sacrosanct and we deal with life very respectfully.


“Beyond that, matters concerning president’s illness is something that is handled with utmost care, not just in Nigeria but all over the world, including America. As I took turn to explain to them, I gave them a brief history of presidential ailments across the globe and how countries have been quite reluctant to ease out a sitting president on account of ill health.


“So Nigeria is not the first country where we have a president that is ill while in office. It happened across the world and I am not aware of any of such circumstances where the president was forced to resign or pushed out of office.”


Meanwhile, some state governors met on Thursday, ostensibly to apprise themselves of the latest reports on Yar’Adua’s health. The meeting, which was held at the Kwara State Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, was attended by most of the governors, who started arriving in Abuja from 5.00 p.m.


The Kwara State governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, was one of the top government functionaries who visited Saudi Arabia last week to see the president. However, information in the media indicated that the team of well-wishers did not see the president, who was said to have been taken into the intensive care unit of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah.


The source, however, said Saraki, the chairman of the Governors’ Forum, would brief his colleagues on the reports he received from members of the presidential team in Saudi Arabia.


Besides the Thursday meeting, a source also said a meeting involving governors and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan would hold today, ostensibly to discuss the same matter.


Meanwhile, the Action Congress (AC) has said the stand of the Federal Executive Council on President Yar’Adua’s health is unprincipled, self-serving and predictable.


The AC, in a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the FEC had vindicated its call for constitutional reform, which would ensure a more effective way of handling issue of national importance.


“As we said before, there is nothing in the antecedents of the present FEC to indicate that it can put national interest above individual considerations in dealing with an issue that has jolted the polity more than any other issue in recent times.


“FEC’s contention that the government is running properly in the absence of the president and with no one in charge is the biggest joke of the year; it shows that the members do not have the interest of Nigerians at heart,’’ the statement read.


The party said it would have been surprised if the FEC, the only body constitutionally mandated to initiate a probe of the presi-dent’s health, had acted otherwise.


The AC highlighted misguided loyalty and enlightened self-interest as the reasons FEC could not be decisive at a time that called for nothing but uncommon courage.


It noted that FEC members were all appointees of the president, who, they believed, they owed their lofty positions to his benevolence rather than competence.


The party said “if FEC kick-starts a process that throws up a successor to the ailing president, how are they sure the new president will retain them? These are the issues on the mind of this FEC.”


It called on the government and the presidency to immediately initiate a process of daily media briefing on the state of the president’s health so as to stem rumour mongering and keep Nigerians informed.

Surprise! surprise! 

You can't hold your water in a basket and keep complaining about leaks - you don't even know the half of it.

Those chasing thieves around today will be be pursued tomorrow because whethey by omission or commission they are stealing national resources too!

The current system basically calls you stupid if you have access to national resources and are not stealing it.

My 2 cents.

@military_coup_apologists

Those inviting the military back into our polity should pray for a military coup in their own personal lives too.

This excuse of straightening out a political logjam was how we got the worst administration in the history of Nigeria under Abacha.

If you don't wish a military coup and/or an "Abacha" in your personal live then don't wish it on Nigeria.

We will work this out ourselves. Despite the way it looks this is a surgery that Nigeria must undertake to reach true nationhood, and we are already moving in the right direction. We don't need the military to come in and truncate our learning process. No matter what happens the military needs to stick with their true calling and honor.

@chidichris

Personally, I sympathize with and pray for the president and his family. He was obviously a very religious, largely upright individual.

In a different country and without this condition he probably would have made a good president - as people hoped.

He was obviously aware of his own condition, but his own ambition and the kingmakers need to preserve their continued hold on Nigeria, plus the lack of space for any serious minded individual on the Nigerian political landscape, got him into this situation.

Until Nigeria wrestles itself from these people that have dominated our polity for more than 43 years we are going nowhere fast.

chidichris:
my question is, does yar adua and that idiot that imposed him on nigeria and nigerians aware of this health problems?

@4_play

Finally somebody is thinking about the inconsistency of forcing private companies to invest in any business. Any investment must meet the profitability criterion, and if this policy doesn't add value to their current investment in Nigeria, they will take their investment somewhere else - think Angola, Ghana and other countries itching for investment in their upstream oil sectors. Just a few months ago the worry was that Nigeria will lose its status as Africa's largest oil producer.

On the other hand, there may be a reason for this - perhaps China is throwing in refineries as an incentive to snatch the concessions from Western companies. If China would really do that, and "REALLY" is the important word here, then this may actually benefit Nigeria in the short term. We need to thread carefully.

Otherwise, the outcome of this policy would be determined by the answer to the following question: Does the world need Nigeria's oil more than Nigeria needs the oil revenue? Nigeria certainly needs the revenue - it is one reason for the uncharacteristic peaceful approach Yar'adua is pursuing in the Niger Delta.

4 Play:
This policy is clearly stupid and stories like this make you wonder whether Nigerians lack intelligence.

You can't coerce oil companies to invest in refineries when the key stumbling block to having an efficient domestic petroleum market is the myriad of regulations that distort the market.

Quite simply, if there was money to be made in investing in refineries in Nigeria's present day environment, foreign investors would not need to to be coerced. The lack of investment in refineries is merely a symptom of a greater malaise, not the malaise itself.

@Paroh_frey
And we should take your word for it? Somebody said the NPC told him they can't release the results he wanted, you said he is lying - without releasing the results. I have looked for this information on their website and the so-called Nigerian Databank - they are simply not available. You have population by state and gender, that is about it.

Please post this information if you really have it, otherwise you reply is of no value at all. The poster has no reason to be lying!


[quote author=Paroh_frey link=topic=356871.msg4990150#msg4990150 date=1259102003]very myopic way of thinking, poster, go self-service yahself.[/quote]

If PDP wants to "legitimately" win any election in the next rounds they need their own "Fashola" (the hope in Yar'adua is just about go out, although he's got two years still -and almost surely another 4). That is enough time to bring positive change. Methinks Soludo could be that person, and yes we should be watching closely. This is what Nigeria needs - meritorious and healthy competition of ideas among parties, governors, local goverment chairmen, business men, academics, workers etc.

@topic
I am impressed by the promise of a technological foundation for Anambra. Let us see.

If Soludo wins, we will be watching Anambra closely. A lot of hope lies in a man of his calibre, we will need men of genius to uproot this country (come 2015) from the chasm Yar Adua is frantically digging.
[quote][/quote]

----Commentary

In another retrogressive and dangerous step the "militocracry" we are currently running in Nigeria is planning a new round of media repression.

They not only killed the Freedom of Information Bill, but are now putting in place a new bill to actually go after the media.

Where is President Yar'adua in all this? Has he told them he would sign such a bill? If the President makes clear that such a bill would never be signed they will not be spending time on it.

These senators, feeding on national resources, were supposed to deliver a "new" constitution, but they are not even adhering to the existing constitution.

These are the same people who talk about a 2020 Vision. Judge for yourself where Nigeria is headed here.

----End Commentary

By Zacheaus Somorin, 11.19.2009 - ThisDay

A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned  Commissioner Pansy Tlakula,  Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, The Gambia, asking her to “urgently intervene to stop the Nigerian government from instigating the passage of a bill in the National Assembly, which aims to undermine the internationally recognised right to freedom of expression and press freedom in the country.”
In the petition dated 18 November 2009 and signed by SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation posited  that  its ''investigation reveals that the Nigerian government is behind a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Repeal of the Nigerian Press Council Act 1992 and Establish the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council''.
Among others, the new Bill, which  is now before the National Assembly, requires members of the Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council to swear to an oath of secrecy.

The bill also requires the licensing of journalists and the pre-qualification examinations. It provides for the appointment of a chairman, who will be appointed and dismissed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Information and Communi-cations, a political appointee of the President.

“We are seriously concerned that if passed into law the bill, it would contravene  Nigeria’s international legal obligations, and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a signatory.

The bill also directly violates Section 22 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, which requires the Press to hold the government accountable to the people,” the organization added.
According to Adetokunbo, “the implementation of the bill would undermine and limit the citizens’ right to freedom of opinion and expression; including the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The guarantee of freedom of expression applies with particular force to the media, including the broadcast media''. The organization also argued that “states are required not only to refrain from interfering with these rights,  but also take positive steps to ensure that rights, including freedom of expression, are respected. And that ''in effect, governments are under an obligation to create an environment in which a diverse, independent media can flourish, thereby satisfying the public’s right to know''.

“The proposed bill is coming at a time when Nigeria has performed very poorly in the Transparency International 2009 Corruption Perception Index, ranking 130th of the 180 countries surveyed. The bill would further undermine the fight against corruption in the country, and the ability of the government to fully implement its international anti-corruption obligations and commitments. Without press freedom, it is much easier for the government to take away other human rights and to perpetrate official and large scale corruption,” the organization further clarified.

SERAP therefore declared that '' to fulfill its commitments under the UN Millennium Development Goals, including eradication of poverty, the government should ensure access to information and press freedom''.

@Negro_Ntns

I think you have a good point, although it is not clear to me that a political action committee formed on the basis of an internet forum would be workable.

In keeping with the nature of the forum one idea might be to create a separate NL child-board titled "Nigeria Solutions" or something similar where topics are selected by moderator(s) (who would also receive suggestions from the NL community at large). The moderator(s) would have the power to remove irrelevant posts, mainly related to name calling and cyber-tribal war or completely off-topic posts that constantly derail serious discussion.

That child board would likely be boring for most, but would distill serious issues and possible solutions from our normal constant charter. Most topics would actually arise out of discussions in the more general boards, with the requirement that they address an issue of national importance.

If this sounds like a useful first step we could approach NL owners for the creation of such a board.

Thanks.

@walakolobo
I was hoping you at least have some decency left between your ears.

It seems though that you are high on your own fart. Truly sorry that you have to stoop this low in service of some other master. I know they make provision for your kind in the salary table - look under Domestic Servant (75% of basic salary), but didn't know they also hollow out the white stuff as a condition of "servanthood".

walakolobo:
meaningless

*****This is a truly sad development
Nigeria coughed out $12.4 billion a couple of years ago  to wipe out a $30 billion of debt, leaving a balance of $5 billion in external debt. That $35billion debt was itself the unpaid balance after paying billions of dollars over several decades. In 2007 or so it was estimated that Nigeria had paid $42 billion in interest and penalities to the Paris club on a loan principal of only $13.5 billion.

*******Below was the promise after the debt relief
Government Ministers hailed the debt deal for Nigeria, which will provide the country with an extra $1 billion a year to spend on anti-poverty programmes. In an interview with the Guardian, Nigeria's Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said: ``We are thrilled by this news. It will mean more money for roads, rural electricity, health, education and HIV/AIDS.'' The plan — which will include strict economic and anti-corruption measures — will involve the most populous country in Africa using the windfall from soaring global oil prices to wipe the slate clean from debts built up in the 1970s and 1980s.

To convince sceptical creditors that the money will be well spent, Nigeria has set up a millennium development committee — chaired by the President, Olusegun Obasanjo — to monitor what happens to the debt relief.
*********

Where is the millenium development committee and its projects now?

Take a look at previous administrations in the chart below, and decide for yourself which history Yar'adua is about to repeat.

Based on a point from the Transparency International on Public Official Salary in Nigeria - I went looking.

Below are my findings/calculations for your "pleasure"!!!