Some people have the very funny idea that Boko Haram militants want to create a country out of northern Nigeria.
It's probably when the militants start operating in their villages in Southern Nigeria that they will realise that the goal of the militants is to spread their own brand of islam across the world.
They hope to control West Africa, the whole of Africa and even establish the global caliphate.
naptu2: [size=14pt]Osama Bin Ladin's message to Nigeria, which was published by the BBC on Wednesday, 12 February, 2003, 00:56 GMT[/size]
The following is the full text of an audio message purported to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, broadcast on Arab television station al-Jazeera on 11 February.
In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate.
A message to our Muslim brothers in Iraq, may God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
O you who believe fear Allah, by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden as He should be feared.
Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always, and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims] with complete submission to Allah.
We are following up with great interest and extreme concern the crusaders' preparations for war to occupy a former capital of Islam, loot Muslims' wealth, and install an agent government, which would be a satellite for its masters in Washington and Tel Aviv, just like all the other treasonous and agent Arab governments.
This would be in preparation for establishing the Greater Israel.
Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs.
'Unjust war'
Amid this unjust war, the war of infidels and debauchees led by America along with its allies and agents, we would like to stress a number of important values:
First, showing good intentions. This means fighting should be for the sake of the one God.
It should not be for championing ethnic groups, or for championing the non-Islamic regimes in all Arab countries, including Iraq.
God Almighty says: "Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil."
So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.
Second, we remind that victory comes only from God and all we have to do is prepare and motivate for jihad.
God Almighty says: "Oh ye who believe! If ye will help the cause of Allah, He will help you and plant your feet firmly."
We must rush to seek God Almighty's forgiveness from sins, particularly the grave sins.
Prophet Muhammad, God's peace be upon him, said: "Avoid the seven grave sins; polytheism, sorcery, killing, unless permitted by God, usury, taking the money of orphans, fleeing from combat, and slandering innocent faithful women."
Also, all grave sins, such as consuming alcohol, committing adultery, disobeying parents, and committing perjury. We must obey God in general, and should in particular mention the name of God more before combat.
'Media machine'
Abu-al-Darda, may God be pleased with him, said: "Perform a good deed before an attack, because you are fighting with your deeds."
Third, we realized from our defence and fighting against the American enemy that, in combat, they mainly depend on psychological warfare.
This is in light of the huge media machine they have.
They also depend on massive air strikes so as to conceal their most prominent point of weakness, which is the fear, cowardliness, and the absence of combat spirit among US soldiers.
Those soldiers are completely convinced of the injustice and lying of their government.
They also lack a fair cause to defend. They only fight for capitalists, usury takers, and the merchants of arms and oil, including the gang of crime at the White House.
This is in addition to crusader and personal grudges by Bush the father.
Trench warfare
We also realized that one of the most effective and available methods of rendering the air force of the crusader enemy ineffective is by setting up roofed and disguised trenches in large numbers.
I had referred to that in a previous statement during the Tora Bora battle last year.
In that great battle, faith triumphed over all the materialistic forces of the people of evil, for principles were adhered to, thanks to God Almighty.
I will narrate to you part of that great battle, to show how cowardly they are on the one hand, and how effective trenches are in exhausting them on the other.
We were about 300 mujahideen [Islamic militants].We dug 100 trenches that were spread in an area that does not exceed one square mile, one trench for every three brothers, so as to avoid the huge human losses resulting from the bombardment.
Since the first hour of the US campaign on 20 Rajab 1422, corresponding to 7 October 2001, our centres were exposed to a concentrated bombardment.
And this bombardment continued until mid-Ramadan.
On 17 Ramadan, a very fierce bombardment began, particularly after the US command was certain that some of al-Qaeda leaders were still in Tora Bora, including the humble servant to God [referring to himself] and the brother mujahid Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The bombardment was round-the-clock and the warplanes continued to fly over us day and night.
War in Afghanistan
The US Pentagon, together with its allies, worked full time on blowing up and destroying this small spot, as well as on removing it entirely.
Planes poured their lava on us, particularly after accomplishing their main missions in Afghanistan.
The US forces attacked us with smart bombs, bombs that weigh thousands of pounds, cluster bombs, and bunker busters.
Bombers, like the B-52, used to fly over head for more than two hours and drop between 20 to 30 bombs at a time.
The modified C-130 aircraft kept carpet-bombing us at night, using modern types of bombs.
The US forces dared not break into our positions, despite the unprecedented massive bombing and terrible propaganda targeting this completely besieged small area.
This is in addition to the forces of hypocrites, whom they prodded to fight us for 15 days non-stop.
Every time the latter attacked us, we forced them out of our area carrying their dead and wounded.
'Alliance of evil'
Is there any clearer evidence of their cowardice, fear, and lies regarding their legends about their alleged power.
To sum it up, the battle resulted in the complete failure of the international alliance of evil, with all its forces, [to overcome] a small number of mujahideen - 300 mujahideen hunkered down in trenches spread over an area of one square mile under a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius.
The battle resulted in the injury of 6% of personnel - we hope God will accept them as martyrs - and the damage of two percent of the trenches, praise be to God.
If all the world forces of evil could not achieve their goals on a one square mile of area against a small number of mujahideen with very limited capabilities, how can these evil forces triumph over the Muslim world?
This is impossible, God willing, if people adhere to their religion and insist on jihad for its sake.
Iraqi 'brothers'
O mujahideen brothers in Iraq, do not be afraid of what the United States is propagating in terms of their lies about their power and their smart, laser-guided missiles.
The smart bombs will have no effect worth mentioning in the hills and in the trenches, on plains, and in forests.
They must have apparent targets. The well-camouflaged trenches and targets will not be reached by either the smart or the stupid missiles.
There will only be haphazard strikes that dissipate the enemy ammunition and waste its money. Dig many trenches.
The [early Muslim caliph] Umar, may God be pleased with him, stated: "Take the ground as a shield because this will ensure the exhaustion of all the stored enemy missiles within months."
Their daily production is too little and can be dealt with, God willing.
We also recommend luring the enemy forces into a protracted, close, and exhausting fight, using the camouflaged defensive positions in plains, farms, mountains, and cities.
The enemy fears city and street wars most, a war in which the enemy expects grave human losses.
Martyrdom operations
We stress the importance of the martyrdom operations against the enemy - operations that inflicted harm on the United States and Israel that have been unprecedented in their history, thanks to Almighty God.
We also point out that whoever supported the United States, including the hypocrites of Iraq or the rulers of Arab countries, those who approved their actions and followed them in this crusade war by fighting with them or providing bases and administrative support, or any form of support, even by words, to kill the Muslims in Iraq, should know that they are apostates and outside the community of Muslims.
It is permissible to spill their blood and take their property.
God says: "O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other."
And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendship] is of them.
Verily, Allah guideth not a people unjust.
Mobilizing the 'Islamic nation'
We also stress to honest Muslims that they should move, incite, and mobilize the [Islamic] nation, amid such grave events and hot atmosphere so as to liberate themselves from those unjust and renegade ruling regimes, which are enslaved by the United States.
They should also do so to establish the rule of God on earth.
The most qualified regions for liberation are Jordan, Morocco, [size=14pt]Nigeria[/size], Pakistan, the land of the two holy mosques [Saudi Arabia], and Yemen.
Needless to say, this crusade war is primarily targeted against the people of Islam.
Regardless of the removal or the survival of the socialist party or Saddam, Muslims in general and the Iraqis in particular must brace themselves for jihad against this unjust campaign and acquire ammunition and weapons.
This is a prescribed duty. God says: "[And let them pray with thee] taking all precautions and bearing arms: the unbelievers wish if ye were negligent of your arms and your baggage, to assault you in a single rush."
Fighting in support of the non-Islamic banners is forbidden.
Muslims' doctrine and banner should be clear in fighting for the sake of God. He who fights to raise the word of God will fight for God's sake.
Under these circumstances, there will be no harm if the interests of Muslims converge with the interests of the socialists in the fight against the crusaders, despite our belief in the infidelity of socialists.
The jurisdiction of the socialists and those rulers has fallen a long time ago.
Socialists are infidels wherever they are, whether they are in Baghdad or Aden.
'High morale'
The fighting, which is waging and which will be waged these days, is very much like the fighting of Muslims against the Byzantine in the past.
And the convergence of interests is not detrimental. The Muslims' fighting against the Byzantine converged with the interests of the Persians.
And this was not detrimental to the companions of the prophet.
Before concluding, we reiterate the importance of high morale and caution against false rumours, defeatism, uncertainty, and discouragement.
The prophet said: "Bring good omens and do not discourage people."
He also said: "The voice of Abu-Talhah [one of the prophet's companions] in the army is better than 100 men."
During the Al-Yarmuk Battle, a man told Khalid bin-al-Walid [an Islamic commander]: "The Byzantine soldiers are too many and the Muslims are few."
So, Khalid told him: "Shame on you. Armies do not triumph with large numbers but are defeated if the spirit of defeatism prevails."
Keep this saying before your eyes: "It is not fitting for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he hath thoroughly subdued the land."
"Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks."
Your wish to the crusaders should be as came in this verse of poetry: "The only language between you and us is the sword that will strike your necks."
In the end, I advise myself and you to fear God covertly and openly and to be patient in the jihad.
Victory will be achieved with patience. I also advise myself and you to say more prayers.
O ye who believe! When ye meet a force, be firm, and call Allah in remembrance much (and often); That ye may prosper.
God, who sent the book unto the prophet, who drives the clouds, and who defeated the enemy parties, defeat them and make us victorious over them.
Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire! [Koranic verse].
May God's peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad and his household.
BBC Monitoring , based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
naptu2: In the 1990s Osama Bin Ladin operated out of Sudan until the US and its allies made it very difficult for him to do that. He moved to Afghanistan.
The US and its allies have made it difficult for islamic extremists to operate out of the middle east and south asia. The extremist are now making western africa (Algeria - Cameroun) their new headquarters. There are certain conditions in this area that make it ideal for them.
1) Ethnic, political and religious division: These divisions make it very easy for the militants to operate, while the various groups blame each other (eg in Nigeria, North vs South, East vs West, Christian vs Muslim, Buhari vs Gej, etc). This was the same situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, until the "tribes" realised that the islamic extremists are worse than their opposing tribe and also worse than the US. I pray it doesn't take us too long to figure this out. Boko Haram, if given the chance, will happily kill the sultan, buhari, GEJ, Babangida and Oritsejafor.
2) Corruption: Throw 50 naira or a hundred naira to a policeman and he would happily allow a bomb laden vehicle pass through a check point without inspecting it. Nuff said.
3) Poverty and disillusionment: It's easy for the groups to project themselves as heroes fighting against government, the US, etc. Until the people get to have a feel of the ideology/philosophy of the militants. By then it's too late.
4) Lack of technological sophistication and intellectual capacity to confront the militants.
The solution is unity. We need to unite to confront them. That's why I believe that we need to reactivate Ecomog.
cecegorz: Guys. The Jihadist are at serious war with the rest of the world! Listen carefully at Mali and Algeria today. They seek a country they can possess in Africa. They care not whether you are Emir or Sultan, so long as you ain't on their side. Wake up folks, there is a global war going on, it's beyond PDP politics.
At least some people are aware of what's going on while others continue to play local politics.
PDP vs CPC Buhari vs Jonathan North vs South Christian vs Muslim Biafra vs Nigeria
Continue with the division while the fascist islamist militants seek to destroy everybody and set up the global caliphate.
kaorama: Will u go and sleep. Why will Boko Haram succesfully attack a church in a well guarded military barracks but always fail when they attack common Emirs and some mosques? Are u trying to make us feel u guys dont know ur targets?
I keep telling people, but they won't listen. If given the opportunity, Boko Haram will kill the Sultan, the Emirs, Buhari, Jonathan, Oritsejafor, Babangida, Atiku and anybody that does not agree with their own brand of Islam.
It seems people will soon start realising the truth and understand why we are in Mali.
Let me see if I can remember the cast (I'll list them together, cos it would be difficult differentiating between the original and the new village headmaster).
Dejumo Lewis (Kabiyesi, The Oloja of Oja), Elsie Olusola (Sisi Clara), Ibidun Allison (Amebo), Jab Adu (Bassey Okon), Roseline Birch (Fathia Okon), Wole Amele (Councillor Balogun), Funso Adeolu (Chief Eleyinmi), (Gorimapa), Jimmy Johnson (Okoro), (Boniface), Toun Oni (Eleyinmi's wife), (Teacher Ogene), (Teacher Garuba), (Laraba), (Doyin), (Councillor Bamishe), (The Prince), etc.
It just might work, depending on how they adapt it.
I watched the original Village Headmaster (1970s & '80s) and it was a huge hit. When the New Village Headmaster started in the mid-1980s people thought that it would flop. They compared it to the original show.
However, by 1989 the show had been modernised (the introduction of Oloja's son, etc) and it became a huge hit again.
(I can't find episodes of the original Village Headmaster on youtube, just an audio recording, but there are lots of episodes of New Village Headmaster).
I believe he made that statement (I also believe that The Nation's account is the most detailed), but your view of the statement would depend on your interpretation of the statement.
1) How did Channel's Television get footage for its exposé?
Interpretation A: He is angry that something so embarrassing was made public.
Interpretation B: He is angry at the security breach. How could the camera crew film parts of the college without the knowledge of the commandant and the management? It means that the commandant is sleeping on duty.
2) "This is a calculated smear campaign". A calculated smear campaign by whom?
Interpretation a: A calculated smear campaign by Channels Tv/the media/the opposition.
Interpretation b: A calculated smear campaign by the management of the college/members of the police force. If money was budgeted and disbursed, but not used for its intended purpose, then the president might believe that it's because of sabotage.
Anyway, what's important to me is that action should be taken to upgrade the college facilities. I expect to hear an announcement (concrete measures) by monday evening and if I don't hear it, then I'll be very disappointed.
I also want to know the current status of the promised police universities.
fuelsaver: That's not all. Why can't Nairalanders contribute and build Schools (Primary - University) instead of criticizing others that have tried their best. Just contributing N2,000 x 1,000,000 = N2billion. This amount can rebuild the foundation of our educational system through practical example. My opinion anyway! Lets do something for our people! Lets do something for our country.
Dagogo Joel's arm was burned by the Oshie gas flare when he was a child. The flare--lit since early 70s and adjacent to Joel's home village of Akaraolu -- occasionally spews out flaming liquids on the countryside, and burned Joel's arm while he was fishing with his father.
The individual who owns the land should own the resources and get the revenue derived from the resources. He then pays tax to the government.
The local government gets 25% of that tax and remits the rest upward. The state government gets 35% of the tax and remits the rest upward. 20% of the tax goes to the Federal Government, while the remaining 20% is put in an account in case of emergencies (to help states that have suffered floods, drought, earthquake, etc).
Off-shore:
50% of the revenue should go to the Federal Government, 30% to the litoral state and 20% to the local government.
The Federal Government should also shed some of its responsibilities (this it has already started doing) by returning private companies/institutions that were taken over in the 1970s and relinquishing functions/agencies like the Federal Fire Service, etc and devolving them to the state and local governments.
naptu2: Things are slightly better now, but I'll paint you a picture from the early 90s when the Niger Delta crisis started.
1) Crude oil is found in your ancestral land. The government steps in, pays you a pittance called "compensation" and takes your land from you.
2) The indigenes are mostly farmers and fisher folk. The oil companies cut corners to save cost. This results in oil spills. The oil spills kill off fish and render land infertile. The livelihood of the indigenes has thus been destroyed. Sometimes, vandals who cut pipelines to steal oil also cause spillages.
3) Sometimes (I stress, sometimes) the oil companies pay compensation, for environmental degradation, to village chiefs who pocket the money. Other residents do not receive a kobo.
4) The government of Nigeria, which should protect the indigenes (citizens), usually takes the side of the oil companies, because over 90% of government revenue is gotten from the oil companies. The citizens are expendable. (Basically, the government of Nigeria acts like an oil company, so it has more sympathy for the oil companies).
5) Citizens stage peaceful and sometimes violent protests. The government of Nigeria sends in soldiers and policemen to break up the protests (sometimes with maximum force). The citizens "are engaged in economic sabotage" (preventing government from getting oil revenue).
6) I can still remember my conversation with a former medical student at Uniben. I can't remember the medical jargon he used, but I can remember the shock (or should I say horror) that his voice conveyed. They conducted research and discovered high levels of carcinogens and respiratory problems in villagers in the Niger Delta. This was something that his books and lectures had not prepared him for. The cause. . . .
Natural gas is one of the by-products of crude oil. Once upon a time, it was thought that the gas was useless, so it was burnt (gas flaring). This releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere which fall back to earth as acid rain. The villagers breathe this air. They drink water from polluted streams.
Recently, an archbishop took President Jonathan to task about the East-West road. Two years ago I had the opportunity to hear the bishop speak. He spoke about mothers bringing their children to him to bless them before they die, or asking him to heal them. He spoke about illnesses and extreme poverty. Everybody was in tears by the time he finished speaking.
Since 1999 the government has repeatedly given deadlines to the oil companies to stop gas flaring, but none has been met (also consider the fact that that gas could be used to generate electricity or sold). (The government can't enforce these deadlines because it is basically an oil company).
7) The government, oil companies and politicians sometimes sponsor inter-ethnic wars in order to gain easy access to oil fields.
Social Justice
8 ) Imagine that you live in your own village in your own country, yet you have no electricity (I'm not talking about power cuts, I mean that you are not connected to the national grid). Yet, at night, you can see a place, just a few metres away, that is a Shell or Mobil or Chevron camp. There's electricity there. The lights are blazing. That's because the white men are there.
9) Imagine that a boat comes to your village every friday to pick up girls. Some mothers would holler at the people in the boat, "na white man I want for my daughter o!" Imagine that one of those girls is your sister, or your daughter, or your mother, or your girlfriend; how would you feel?
10) To add to that, consider the fact that the people have no roads, schools, health centres/hospitals, electricity, etc, then you'll understand the reason for the Niger Delta crisis.
X) Most of what I wrote up there were problems from the early 1990s (many persist till this day), but there's also another problem. I mentioned the fact that some chiefs received compensation, on behalf of the community, for environmental degradation and pocket the money. Well, this problem has spiralled out of control.
Some people were appointed to government positions because they are from the Niger Delta (it was expected that they would use their positions to better the lives of their people). They got to these positions, took "their share of the national cake" and forgot about the people that they were representing.
Niger Delta militants emerged "to fight for the rights of the people". Well, some of them also took "their share of the national cake" and forgot about the people they were supposed to be fighting for.
adewaleafolabi: Thanks Nairaland for all the rib cracking comments. Really its a good pill for depression and works great after a bad day. Just can't say thank you enough to all those peeps, i wonder how they come up with all the crazy replies or what goes on in their brains. On second thought i'd rather not know. Thank you guys! and to Seun great job!
In 2009 anytime I was stressed out or tired I would just google "Becomerich Nairaland" and laugh the stress away.
A Flying Officer of the Nigeria Air Force, Blessing Liman, on Friday made history as the first female pilot of the force.
Liman was decorated alongside 29 other male counterparts by the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, who represented the Minister of Defence, Dr. Haliru Bello, at the ceremony in Abuja.
Liman is also the first female pilot of the Air Force to have emerged from West Africa.
The minister called on the Armed Forces to put in more efforts to the campaign against terrorism in the country.
He maintained that the current security threats and the incidents of bombing required the efforts of all and should not be left in the hands of a single service.
He urged the Armed Forces to pay attention to the task of protecting Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religious inclination.
He urged Liman to maintain her record of outstanding performance, stressing that she was a major aspect of the nation since the commencement of democratic governance in 1999.
He said, “For the female pilot in your midst, as well as every woman serving in the Armed Forces of Nigeria, let me state that you represent independence, power, equal rights and obligations.
“I dare add that you are a significant part of the success story of Nigeria since the advent of the current democratic dispensation; I urge you therefore, to remain outstanding examples.”
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar, said the emergence of Liman was in line with Jonathan’s directive to the Armed Forces to produce female combatants in the pursuit of the 35 per cent affirmative action.
Liman told reporters shortly after the event that she was able to surmount all challenges she encountered in the course with dedication.
During the Obasanjo era, women were allowed into the Mobile Police Force (MoPol) for the first time.
President Jonathan went a step further by ordering that women should also be trained and deployed for combat roles (beginning with the air force).
Now, combat role does not mean "taking care of women and children". It is expected that these women will also fly our fighter jets, be deployed aboard our warships and engage in armed combat.
naptu2: In the 1990s Osama Bin Ladin operated out of Sudan until the US and its allies made it very difficult for him to do that. He moved to Afghanistan.
The US and its allies have made it difficult for islamic extremists to operate out of the middle east and south asia. The extremist are now making western africa (Algeria - Cameroun) their new headquarters. There are certain conditions in this area that make it ideal for them.
1) Ethnic, political and religious division: These divisions make it very easy for the militants to operate, while the various groups blame each other (eg in Nigeria, North vs South, East vs West, Christian vs Muslim, Buhari vs Gej, etc). This was the same situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, until the "tribes" realised that the islamic extremists are worse than their opposing tribe and also worse than the US. I pray it doesn't take us too long to figure this out. Boko Haram, if given the chance, will happily kill the sultan, buhari, GEJ, Babangida and Oritsejafor.
2) Corruption: Throw 50 naira or a hundred naira to a policeman and he would happily allow a bomb laden vehicle pass through a check point without inspecting it. Nuff said.
3) Poverty and disillusionment: It's easy for the groups to project themselves as heroes fighting against government, the US, etc. Until the people get to have a feel of the ideology/philosophy of the militants. By then it's too late.
4) Lack of technological sophistication and intellectual capacity to confront the militants.
The solution is unity. We need to unite to confront them. That's why I believe that we need to reactivate Ecomog.
naptu2: [size=14pt]Dozens of Boko Haram help Mali’s rebel seize Gao[/size]
April 9, 2012 | 10:12 pm
News
BAMAKO (AFP) – Among the rebels controlling Mali’s northern city of Gao are dozens of Nigeria’s Islamist Boko Haram group, a regional deputy told AFP on Monday, while a security source confirmed the information.
“There are a good 100 Boko Haram fighters in Gao. They are Nigerians and from Niger,” said Abu Sidibe, a regional deputy. “They’re not hiding. Some are even able to speak in the local tongue, explaining that they are Boko Haram.”
Militants from Boko Haram “were in a majority among those who attacked the Algerian consulate” in Gao on Thursday, a Malian security official said, adding that “they had black skin”.
Seven Algerian diplomats, including the consul, were taken hostage at the time.
Witnesses interviewed by telephone from Bamako said members of Boko Haram were later seen openly driving the kidnapped consul’s car.
The kidnapping was claimed in a statement on Sunday by an Al-Qaeda dissident group, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).
MUJAO is said to have broken off from the main group, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in order to spread jihad to west Africa rather than confine themselves just to the Maghreb or Sahel regions.
Boko Haram, which has also kidnapped westerners in Nigeria, has been blamed for a series of attacks over Easter weekend in northern Nigeria that left at least 45 dead.
Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the leaders of AQIM, was also spotted over the weekend in Gao, witnesses said.
It seems some people do not understand that you can not fight terrorism from a purely defensive position. There is no way you can absorb that much pressure. You have to take the war to them. That's the only way. That's something that George Bush understood, which is why he deployed troops to Afghanistan. I like Bill Clinton, but that's something he did not understand.
I've been calling for this intervention and the reactivation of ecomog for a long time.
In fact, we shouldn't stop at Mali, we need to undertake covert operations in MAURITANIA! It's the only way we can defeat Boko Haram.
By the way, in either 2011 or 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan approved the deployment of women in combat roles (beginning with the Nigerian Air Force).
talktimi: sold/demolished isn't the way to go, remember the lagos state govt met the national stadium whr it is and still decided to build the teslim balogun directly opposite, as a kid growing up and going to primary & secondary sch thru that axis I always wondered at the logic. In my opinion, the national stadium lagos should be concessioned to a private individual for 10/30 yrs who's main job IS stadium facility management. Such an enterprise will know how to manage the stadium better while those who have been in charge of the stadiums for the past 10yrs should be queried and those found culpable for the rot should be retired. Money is released each year for maintenance but civil servants are the most corrupt individuals in Nigeria.
Would you believe that in the mid 2000s area boys in Surulere wrote to the stadium management that they want to be given the chance to manage the stadium. That they'd do a good job if given the opportunity (I'm not kidding).
If placed under the right management, that stadium is a cash cow.
By the way, there was already a stadium at the site of the present Teslim Balogun Stadium. It was known as UAC Stadium. The stadium was demolished in 1987 and construction work began on the Teslim Balogun Stadium (it took 20 years to complete the stadium).
Politics › Re: Gunmen Attack Emir Of Kano's Convoy? by naptu2: 5:09pm On Jan 19, 2013
