₦airaland Forum

afam4eva: I think he meant assess.

Ok

Traditional wedding. They were negotiating the dowry.

emmddy: how do you access this three generals

Access?

I'm still searching for pictures and accounts of the 2008 episode between Fashola, the airforce officer and the foreigner. Below is an account and picture of the 2011 episode.

[size=14pt]Police VS Soldiers on Ikorodu Road over use of BRT lane.[/size]

There was pandemonium at Obanikoro area of Lagos State, South West Nigeria today when soldiers clashed with policemen who were trying to stop the soldiers from using the BRT lane.Men of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental Offences (Enforcement Unit) had stormed the BRT lane on the order from the state government to enforce the ban on motorists using the BRT lane.


P.M.NEWS reporter who witnessed the scene observed that over 95 percent of BRT lane violators were soldiers who displayed brazen act of lawlessness and challenged the policemen who stopped them and wanted to tow their vehicles for violating the laws of the state.


Trouble started when a female soldier and a Lance Corporal in separate vehicles drove on the BRT lane and were stopped by the police. The soldiers knew the police were enforcing the ban on use of the BRT lanes when they intentionally took the lane.
The police officers attempted to tow the female soldier’s vehicle but were resisted while the soldier pleaded with the cops.

While that was going on, the female soldier who drove in a car with registration number SD 754 KJA attempted to drive away the car by force but unknown to her, an iron spike was placed in front of the car’s tyre while the vehicle climbed it and one of the tyres got punctured.

As the car was being towed out of the BRT lane, the other soldier, whose car’s registration number KE 507 EKY came out of his car and successfully concealed his identity by removing the name tag on his uniform.


He insulted the police officers and dared anyone to tow his vehicle. Because of his rudeness, the policemen who had earlier allowed almost 10 vehicles being driven by soldiers who violated the use of the BRT lane to go, decided to tow the Lance Corporal’s vehicle.


The Lance Corporal headbutted a police officer who was trying to drive his car away. He seriously manhandled the cop, while the police team leader tried to calm him down and restrained his men from retaliating.


The policemen still insisted on towing the vehicle but the Lance Corporal slapped and brutalised the police officers while the policemen kept their cool.


As they struggled with the Lance Corporal, some area boys who were in support of the soldier suddenly went wild, but the police succeeded in arresting some of them who were hauled into the Black Maria. In a sudden twist, the Lance Corporal suddenly feigned being unconscious and collapsed without being touched. He was taken to the road side.
This enraged other soldiers who arrived the scene and clashed with the cops.
A police officer shot tear gas into the air and there was pandemonium in the area as people ran for safety. The Obanikoro Bus stop was deserted.
Rumour immediately started spreading that the police had killed a soldier and that soldiers were on a revenge mission.


The soldiers at the scene of the incident vandalised one of the police towing vans and battered the driver of one of the police vehicles but the police rescued him from the scene and took him to a hospital.


Several policemen at the scene fled sensing danger while only a few remained.


A Divisional Police Officer, DPO, who came to maintain peace ran for his life when he saw the soldiers who had gone to reinforce. People ran while banks in the area and some companies shut their gates as they sensed danger.


As the situation was being brought under control, the Lance Corporal, who pretended to have fainted returned to pick his car.
As he was doing that, a large number of armed soldiers were spotted approaching the scene. The remaining policemen at the scene had to beat a retreat to avert more trouble while they abandoned one of their towing vans on the BRT lane.


As the soldiers approached, passers-by had to run to safety to avoid stray bullet hitting them, though, there was no exchange of gun shots.


Earlier, some soldiers had violated the ban on use of the BRT lane and were able to get out of trouble by force. One of such offenders was Tope Awopetu, a staff sergeant and a brigadier, whose name could not be ascertained by our correspondent.


A police car driven by a sergeant was towed by the taskforce. A customs vehicle was also impounded for using the BRT lane while a Superintendent of Police, who claimed to be a lawyer, had his car towed for using the BRT lane.
Also, vehicle belonging to the Lagos Central Business District, CBD, Enforcement unit with registration number LA 23 CBD was towed for using the BRT lane, among others.


The Lagos State Government had decided to enforce the ban on use of BRT lane because of the lawlessness of motorists who take the BRT lane whenever there is mild traffic gridlock on Ikorodu road.


It was gathered that Governor Babatunde Fashola had gotten wind of the clash between the soldiers and the policemen  and had contacted the relevant military authorities to immediately call their men to order. This is to avert a bloody clash like the one in Badagry last month during which a soldier was killed and his colleagues retaliated by killing the Badagry DPO, DCO and other cops.


https://www.nairaland.com/697662/police-vs-soldiers-ikorodu-road#8577209

The governor and the commissioner of police phoned the GOC who ordered the Brigade Commander, 9th Brigade to arrest the soldier and bring the situation under control.


[size=14pt]Soldier dismissed for driving on BRT lane[/size]

Following last Thursday’s incident in which policemen and soldiers were involved in a brawl after a lance corporal contravened a traffic law by passing the lane designated for Bus Rapid Transit buses at Obanikoro end of Ikorodu Road , the Nigerian Army on Monday dismissed the errant soldier, Sunday Ayodeji.

PUNCH METRO had reported on June 24, 2011 that Ayodeji had defied traffic law and also assaulted security operatives who had been assigned by the Lagos State government to monitor compliance of traffic rules.

Ayodeji allegedly called his colleagues on the phone and the armed soldiers chased away the policemen and LASTMA officials directing traffic in the area, resulting in confusion.

However, the General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Maj.–Gen. Kenneth Minimah, said Ayodeji with recruitment No. 99NA /48/2627 of the 940 Regiment Workshops, had been dismissed for violation of civil law, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

“The dismissal of this soldier will serve as a warning to others. Military personnel must be warned that their insubordination of civil law will attract punitive measures like dismissal,” he said.

https://www.nairaland.com/700731/soldier-dismissed-driving-brt-lane

I'm now your number 1 fan.

Aha! Here it is. The task force against traffic offences (Lastma & police) were arresting traffic offences violators on Ikorodu Road. Some soldiers who were illegally driving on the BRT lane were stopped, but they resisted arrest. One of the soldiers got reinforcements from the barracks and they injured a policeman.

The incident was reported to the commissioner of police (on police radio). The governor also got to know about the incident. They both called the GOC 81 Division (Major General Kenneth Minimah), who directed the Brigade Commander 9th Brigade Ikeja to go and arrest the soldier. Read the rest below

https://www.nairaland.com/700731/soldier-dismissed-driving-brt-lane

Still looking for the picture of the Airforce officer saluting the governor (2008) and the foreigner resisting arrest.

violent: I'm not Fstranger, mate!...I'm much smarter than him.

Hahahahahhahahhaahahhaha! You are arguing with F-Stranger (aka Anti-Tpia, Ojogbontomoye, Paptosibe, etc).

violent: You are a disgrace!...Go suck the white people's di[i]c[/i]k you blithering iidiot!....The instant i read the first crap you wrote, i knew you can't possibly have any smartness in you.

The Lord F-Stranger is one of the most intelligent people on nairaland. However, he loves going against popular opinion and provoking people. It makes nairaland great fun.

saxywale: Naija is just a jungle I swear. We need serious rebranding and purging. I am sure the colonel would not be prosecuted. Fashola would report him to his superiors and the col. would just receive a caution. The naija military are good in protecting their own, that's why they get away with so many crimes.

Well, we can't be too sure. I'm not sure what happened to the airforce officer in 2008, but the soldier who drove on the BRT lane last year and resisted arrest was courtmartialled and dismissed from the army.

Usually the scenario is that he is on his way to an event, etc, when he comes across someone breaking the law and he takes action. That is the duty of every citizen, not just law enforcement officers (citizen's arrest). This incident occurred very close to Lagos House Marina (the governor's residence) and was probably captured by the state house press corps.

In 2008 he arrested an Air Force officer and a foreigner who were driving against traffic flow on Victoria Island. Last year he facilitated the arrest of a soldier who drove on the BRT lane at Anthony and was resisting arrest.

In 2008 he made a pledge to LASTMA that he would assist them in arresting violators of traffic laws. For this reason, there's usually a LASTMA vehicle in his motorcade.

Law enforcement officials (the governor is the chief security officer of the state) often break laws while trying to enforce the law. It is for this reason, for example, that policemen will drive against traffic flow while pursuing armed robbers.

[size=14pt]FEDERATION CUP: NFF INSIST ON BAUCHI AS WARRI WOLVES PULLS OUT FOR SECURITY CONCERNS[/size]

The Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday stated that Bauchi remains a centre for the group preliminary stage matches of the 2012 Federation Cup competition.

NFF’s Chief Sports Officer, Umar Kontagora, told sport journalists in Abuja that there was no going back on the choice of Bauchi as one of the centres.

Warri Wolves, Enyimba, Lobi Stars and Samba FC are scheduled to play their group games in Bauchi from July 17 and according to Kontagora there was no issue to be addressed regarding the choice of Bauchi and the concerns raised by some of the four participating clubs.

Meanwhile, Warri Wolves have announced that they will pull out of the Federation Cup following the insistence of the NFF to organise the group games in Bauchi.


According to the Media officer of the club, Timi Ebikagboro, the club would not put the lives of their players at risk by going to Bauchi for their group games so they will not be going to the northern Nigerian city because of security concerns.



https://www.nairaland.com/989631/nff-insist-bauchi-fed-cup

[size=14pt]Picture: Fashola Enforces Traffic Law, Arrests Two Officers On BRT Lane[/size]

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Tuesday arrested two top military officers who drove on the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane, expressing dismay that those who should show the highest form of discipline and professionalism were the ones violating the BRT regulation.

The two military officers, who were accosted on the BRT lane at the Outer Marina in Central Lagos, are Colonel Ki Yusuf who drove in an Army Green Peugeot 406 with registration number BO1 – 150 NA and Staff Sergeant Adeomi A.J. who drove in a black Toyota Camry.

Realizing that the game was up, Colonel Yusuf came down from his car, saluted severally and kept muttering “I am sorry, very, very sorry”, with the Governor enquiring why, as a senior military officer, Yusuf would choose to break the law instead of preserving it.

The arrest drew the attention of commuters and other passers-by who commended the Governor for showing good leadership and expressed joy that the senior military officers got caught in the act at last.

Fielding questions from newsmen after the incident, Governor Fashola described as very unfortunate the fact that those who ought to stand behind in defence of the democratic values of the nation are the ones violating the law.

Governor Fashola, who noted that the highest levels of the Military Command have expressed continuously their commitment to supporting democracy and to subjecting themselves and their officers to the laws of the country, declared, “those officers that I caught today are a very bad example for the military.”

The Governor said he had already made a representation to the superiors of the culprits, expressing optimism that they would be sanctioned appropriately.

He, however, added: “but it signifies my commitment and the commitment of the Lagos State Government that all those who will not comply with our laws should leave our state. We will not back down.

“There is a zero tolerance for lawlessness. There is zero tolerance for breach of our regulations and we are going to do more of this. We are going to take control over our traffic. We cannot build our way out of traffic congestion; our responsibility is to manage traffic and manage congestion.”

Insisting that people must behave themselves, Governor Fashola declared: “I don’t use the BRT lane, I sit down in traffic and I expect everyone who wants to drive his car to do the same. The alternative is to use the bus.

“The bus is for those who cannot afford to buy cars. They have the right also to use the road and we cannot encroach on that lane which we have reserved for them. This is democratisation of the road and I will defend it.”

https://www.nairaland.com/992912/fashola-arrests-2-army-officers

The devil is in the criteria.

Best league = best players?

Best league = Good results on the continent?

Best league = Best facilities?

Best league = Best administrative procedures?

Best league = corruption free?

Best league = greatest revenue?

Anyhow, congrats to the NPL.

☆HAPPY*√*¨`*BIRTH√*¨´♫ •.☆ ♥♫ •☆.DAY♥.•°SEUN°¸.•*¨`*•´♫ • °¸.•* ¨`☆*♥¸.•*¨`*• ¸¸.•¨¯`•.•..•¨*♪ ♥ *☆HAPPY*√BIRTH*¨`*DAY☆*»SEUN”¤'”~«

[quote author=Okija_juju]My brother, thats why we need Igbo Super mods.. The only Igbo themeed threads that make the front page has to do with either MASSOB, Deproter from abroad or one form of crime or another.... This is worse than a dictatorship.. I was banned by Mukina till 2099.. I will be dead by then.. Isnt that just evil?!

On the Plus side, He or She is always there to bail me out when I get banned unnecessarily by other mods..

FREE AFAM4EVA _{An Appeal from OHANEZE NDI IGBO of NAIRALAND}[/quote]Afam was released from jail this afternoon https://www.nairaland.com/992335/seun-request-free-afam4eva

☆HAPPY*√*¨`*BIRTH√*¨´♫ •.☆ ♥♫ •☆.DAY♥.•°AFAM°¸.•*¨`*•´♫ • °¸.•* ¨`☆*♥¸.•*¨`*• ¸¸.•¨¯`•.•..•¨*♪ ♥ *☆HAPPY*√BIRTH*¨`*DAY☆*»AFAM”¤'”~«

In primary school we were taught that there are two types of Fulani, the "Town Fulani" and the "Cow Fulani". Later we were taught that the term "Cow Fulani" is derogatory and that they should be called "Nomadic Fulani".

The Nomadic Fulani are pasturalists who go from place to place grazing and tending to their cattle. They usually move up north in the wet season and down south during the dry season.

A cow means life to a nomadic fulani. It is his bank. He gets credit by borrowing cows from other herders and pays interest by repaying the cows borrowed+calves.

It would be difficult for a Nomadic Fulani without cattle to get married. The bride price consists of cattle.

The Fula depend on cattle for their diet of milk, cheese and meat.

Therefore, a cow is more sacred to the Nomadic Fulani than life itself (he would kill you if you kill his cow).

The Nomadic Fulani do not believe in private ownership of land. They see land as a free gift given by God, therefore, they believe that they have the right to graze on any fertile piece of land they see. They wander across West Africa, from Mali to Cameroun, grazing their cattle. This often puts them in conflict with their neighbours, including the Town Fulani and the Hausas (the Nomadic Fulani's cows usually graze on and destroy crops planted by these villagers/townspeople).

naptu2: This problem is the result of bad governance/poor leadership.

In the 1960s, Sir Ahmadu Bello built ranches and and grazing areas for his people. This policy was abandoned after his death. In the early 1980s, I watched NTA News reports of violence between fulani nomads and hausa villagers. With desertification the problem spread to the middle belt in the 1990s and finally to the south.

Why can't northern state governors educate and empower their people so that they create grazing areas with adequate irrigation so that the clashes would come to an end? The fulani nomads should be an economic resource, providing meat and milk to the nation, while the state governments gain revenue from taxation, while the federal government gets revenue from exports.

Why can't the state government provide ranches or encourage the nomads to pool resources and build ranches, provide agricultural extension officers, research into animal husbandry,milk and meat processing factories, etc.

The fulani nomads, just like oil, have become a curse rather than a blessing and it's all down to poor governance/leadership.

Fulanis agree to leave villages after meeting with STF https://www.nairaland.com/992133/fulani-agree-leave-villages-after

Mukina2 is a man

Anyway (she) is doing a good job (you can't please everybody).

So, who's next? Oko-Baba or Ilaje Bariga? (I vote Oko-Baba. They burn saw dust right beside the bridge, making it difficult for motorists to see).

Edit: just read that the Oko-Baba saw millers have been given 2 year's quit notice. They are to move to the new site built for them by the Tinubu Administration.

Fulani agree to leave after meeting with STF https://www.nairaland.com/992133/fulani-agree-leave-villages-after#11459060

Latest on Fulani/STF Standoff

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

(All editing errors regretted. There isn't time to proofread the article thoroughly this late)

When it became clear that the Defence Headquarters are bent on carrying out its security operation in the areas it announced, we put our heads together to see what best we can make of the situation to ensure minimum difficulties for the Fulani that were to be affected. Saleh Bayari, the Protem National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association who was just released yesterday after a four-day detention by the SSS, was very handy. I got over to him and together with some Miyetti Allah leaders from the affected areas we visited the Special Task Force (STF) Headquarters near Hill Station Hotel, Jos, to iron out some issues regarding how the operation would affect the Fulani.

Principally, we wanted to, one, finalize on the camps to relocate them temporarily should we be successful later in the day in convincing them to the relocate for the period of the operation. The Defence has that evening given the nation the assurance that the displacement is temporary and not a design to evict the Fulani from the area totally. The three camps listed in the day are all located in areas heavily populated by Beroms. The Fulani will just not accept to go there. Also, moving the Fulani is not like moving other people. Their masters – the cows – must be taken into consideration. The cows have to graze in a secure place, away from farms. Otherwise, na another wahala kuma.

Two, we also wanted to ensure that the Fulani are secured in their camps, along with their cows. Their property back home must be secured also. Without this assurance, the possibility that the Berom attacking them and the houses they would leave behind should not be ruled out completely.

Three, we also wanted to know what arrangement was made to deliver adequate relief materials to their camps to cushion the harsh experience of displacement and avert humanitarian crisis. Speaking to one of the local government chairmen around 2.30am earlier, he confessed a colleague that this would be the first time in the history of Plateau crisis that they would be camping the Fulani. So they do not have the full picture of their humanitarian requirements, he said. In previous situations, typically, the Fulani simply left to other areas on their own without seeking any assistance from the Plateau State government they amply mistrust. Even in this case, they refused to communicate with officials until Malam Shehu Buba from Bauchi intervened.

Four, the reassurance from the STF commander that these IDPs will return to their homes immediately the short operation is completed.

In our meeting with the commander, Maj-General Henry Ayoola, he and his team assured us that all he wanted is to restore peace to the Plateau. It really took them a good deal of explanations to convince most of us that they are not playing the game of Jang, the Berom state governor.

The secret of the matter, they told confided in us, is that they do not believe that the people they encountered in the mother of all battles last Tuesday in the area after a policeman was killed were Fulani. Our Fulani, they said, do not have that firepower. Boko Haram, they strongly suspect, could be behind this. So they want to go into the places those people are using as hideouts to flush them out, within a period of one day or – maximum – two. “If I can do that without firing a single shot,” Ayoola assured us, “I would be very glad.”

Though many of us are not privy to the intelligence information that is available to the commandant, there is the general belief amongst us that the exercise is unnecessary if its aim is just to flush out the perceived outside attackers. They must have left already because tomorrow it would be two weeks and so much information on the intention of government has been made public. If the security challenges of the country are anything to go by, the attackers must have thought ahead of government and left since.

Honestly, being at the middle of a situation like this is extremely difficult for us. Maj-General Ayoola himself is just recently posted to head the STF in Jos. He is a young man in his forties, I believe, except if he is looking younger that his age. He may not be in the full picture of any hidden machination that may be employing the STF to dislodge the Fulani, now or in the long run, from the place after the Berom have failed to do so for over a decade. The level of deceit played in the crisis on the Plateau is really unprecedented in this country. Everybody that attempted to bring peace to the state will tell you the same story. I will be glad if Ayoola will prove me wrong.

This is a suspicion shared not only among the Fulani but also among many international organizations that have been discussing the matter since the evacuation order was given. Leaders of this country have proved to be pathological liars who cling to power through deceit, preoccupy themselves with looting the treasury and leave the country to run on autopilot. This is the result. The world has been watching them all along. The UN is particularly serious about this operation. Only God knows how many emails were flying last night between New York and Geneva on this matter, an official of a UN body told me. Ayoola and Defence Headquarters must therefore know the gamble they are making. If in the end of the operation or even in the long run it is proved that the operation was done to place the Fulani at a demographic disadvantage in the area or make them vulnerable to attacks by the Berom, heads will definitely roll at the Hague in addition to the internal crisis it will generate. Then as I said in my previous article we will be faced by a crisis worse than Boko Haram.

Despite our misgivings, we decided to be on the side of hope, based on the assurances the STF gave us and left the rest to God, the Able that knows what the hearts conceal and what they reveal. Four vehicles were arranged to convey us to the place to prove to the STF that there were still thousands of people in the vicinity of Mahanga. This was necessary because Ayoola and Col. Abdul Mumin Jimoh, one of the field commanders, were emphatic that not up to 10% of the population remained there. Ayoola said he was in all the places yesterday and he did not see people. Those of us from the area refuted the claim out rightly and told him that thousands of people were still there. Of course, he was right that the Berom since a week ago have fled from most of the villages in the area into the neigbouring Kaduna State and other towns.

It turned out that our going to Mahanga, the epicenter of the faceoff between the STF and the Fulani, averted what would have been a major humanitarian catastrophe. If we had left Ayoola with his belief that people have already left the place, his soldiers would have killed thousands of Nigerians there after the start of their operation, when they would declare anybody seen in the place a potential target of elimination. In just less than five minutes of our arrival, we were able to prove our point. Families started trooping onto the high ground we stood on from all directions. The Deputy Commander of the STF, DSP Umar Magiri, immediately became convinced that people have not left. He informed the commandant instantly. The task of convincing them to evacuate then started. I leave you to imagine how difficult it was to disabuse their minds and reassure them that no ill was intended, more so when the Berom did not help matters. The Fulani complained that the Berom were beating drums of victory throughout the previous night in the neighbouring villages, jubilating that the Fulani will finally be evicted from the area. See?

We overcame these difficulties. In the end, we got their leaders to agree on the evacuation and allowed them to choose the locations of their camps, separate from those of Berom which, in any case, were too far. They chose the nomadic primary schools at Dogo and Sharuk in Barikin Ladi LGA and those at Diyan and Rim in Riyom LGA. Then the commander promised that no further molestation and plundering of their property by soldiers would take place. We later returned to the crowd for the address by the DC.

The DC’s speech composed of the following six points:

The reason behind the operation and the assurance that it will hardly be for more than a day or two.
The assurance that everybody will be allowed to return to his house immediately after the operation.
That the STF personnel will immediately arrive to provide security to Fulani properties.
That nobody should run away when faced by a soldier. He should stop and surrender instead for his safety.
That the operation is in no way aimed at driving them away from the area.
The announcement of the locations of the camps as agreed by their leaders.

We have him on videotape, not for Youtube, but just in case.

Movement was to begin immediately. It was already 4pm. The operation could start any time after the deadline of 12pm later in the night. Contacts were immediately made with officials of State Emergency Relief Agency (SEMA), which were in the waiting already. The locations of the four camps were immediately passed to them. They promised to start delivering relief materials right away.

We returned to the STF headquarters in Jos around 5.30pm. We told the command that leaders of the Miyetti Allah will be monitoring the camps during the period of the operation until the IDPs return to their homes safely as promised.

Before I close this update, I would like to express our gratitude to the individuals and various local and international bodies that showed serious concern over this issue. They have understood that this is a matter that borders on gross war crimes and violations of the Kampala convention. For the first time, the nation was united against government arbitrariness to the weak. It is left to the government to fulfill its commitments to the people it is displacing intentionally. If in the end it proves to be a deceitful, then its officials will have themselves to blame. Nobody – from the field commanders to the President – will claim ignorance because they have been adequately reminded by local and international organizations about their obligations under the international conventions that it ratified. It got away with the massacre of Muhammad Yusuf and his group. It will not get away with this.
Our lawyers are already placed on notice. Combined with a catalogue of previous evidence of genocide on the Plateau, a convincing case will not be far-fetched at the Hague.

We are humbled by the gross support the Fulani received from their brethren including many dignitaries across the country and the thousands of youths in the social media. The solidarity expressed for the Fulani cause by the entire Hausa community in Jos town is unprecedented. The township was empty. Though the city calm and banks and offices have opened, virtually all shops were closed. We appeal to people to remain calm as we update them daily with the happenings on the matter. The entire Fulani community in the country remains indebted for the high level of support they received.

Finally, the cooperation of the STF team is hereby acknowledged and highly appreciated. We hope they live to their promises. We will commend them if they live to their promises and behave professionally. If they do not, apart from inviting our condemnation, they will definitely have themselves to blame.


Bauchi
16 July 2012

Source: Nigeria Village Square.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/aliyu-u-tilde/latest-on-fulanistf-standoff.html

Please help.

This is not the first time (google Makoko demolition 2010).

Makoko. The government tried the same thing @ Oko Oba, but the people fought back.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI]We all know Yoruba men will knack anything lol




Genocide? Who wants to try that in 2012? You're indicting innocent (not yet proven) Fulanis as terrorists.
We have Igbo kidnappers in the North, whould we say they're all kidnappers?
We have educated Yorubas in the SW, should we say they're all educated?
We have witch hunters in Akwa Ibom, should we say they're all witch hunters? abeg. . . .[/quote]+100

Bump

Do you know any scholarship programs for secondary school kids in Lagos? I know a bright kid that really needs it. Any information you provide would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

nagoma: Please take a look at my previous posts, I have been advocating for a separation. I personally hate to be in the same country with you. As clueless as GEJ is, he will be my hero if he can fix date , form a committee and design a timetable for our separation. I can't stand you and what you represent.

my aching ribs.

Jarus: Fulani control Kwara, you know.

[quote author=Aloy~Emeka]Pa Dr. Olusola Saraki: Warts & all • Yes! I’m Fulani from Mali • Why I never served military govt
By FEMI ADEOTI

Monday, August 17, 2009
Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, elderstatesman and chairman, Northern Union (NU), has spoken as never before. He practically opened up for close to two-and-a-half hours when he met with a group of selected journalists at his Abuja home recently.

Saraki


http://odili.net/news/source/2009/aug/17/514.html

He answered every question as much as he could, and clarified some “knotty” issues. He talked about his “real” origin, past military governments, why ex-civilian governors of Kwara State always rebuffed him after installation, NU, collapse of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term agenda, etc.

Excerpts:

Who is Saraki?

As you know, I am Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki. By profession, I am a medical practitioner but by accident, I found myself in politics and I don’t regret it in the sense that I am satisfied that I am doing what I like. I am happy with it even though the road has been very rugged and rough. But if you are honest and sincere, and this is what has happened to me, you will feel fulfilled. I have been very honest in politics and in life. I have been very sincere and very considerate and so I feel fulfilled and very satisfied.

I found myself in politics by accident because I am essentially a medical practitioner and I trained in one of the best medical schools. I was at the Saint George Medical College, University of London. When I was a student in London, I was a very active member of Nigerian Students Union. That was before Nigeria’s independence during the colonial days. I used to attend Nigerian Students’ meetings and I used to write a lot of articles such as those “Letters to the Editors” in the West African News Magazine which was popular at that time.

When I qualified as a medical doctor in 1962, I came back to Nigeria. I would have gone to Kaduna to practise medicine but I never did because I was angered by the refusal of the then Northern Regional Government to grant me scholarship to study medicine. The refusal was on the grounds that my parents could afford to train me and, so I too refused to go and work for the Northern government. I worked in Lagos at the General Hospital instead.

Later on, I joined the Peak Hospital from where I resigned my appointment in order to contest election into the Federal House of Representatives in 1964 as an independent candidate. Of course, I lost the election. The reason was that the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was a very strong party which would not accept me as the official candidate. The leader of the party and Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, announced that all the old members should be returned at the polls because the NPC believed that it was being threatened by the Action Group (AG). They believed that the devil they knew was better than the one they never met.

That decision was taken barely two weeks before the elections.

My people insisted that I must contest even if as an independent candidate because I was very popular with the people at that time. But we forgot the strength of the government and the party officials at that time. Two weeks before the elections, it was announced that nobody should vote for an independent candidate and that the Sardauna had a big mirror in his Kaduna office with which he could monitor anyone flouting the order. They voted for the official candidate and that was how I lost the election. But I was never daunted because I believed in what I was doing. I went back to my practice in Lagos and I was doing well in my medical practice until the return to party-politics in 1978/79.

Real identity

[b]My mother is from Iseyin in Oyo State, while my father is from Ilorin in Kwara State. My great-great grandfather originated from Mali and I am talking about some 150 to 200 years ago. And they are Fulani and that is where we got our Fulani connection from. My great grandfather settled in Ilorin preaching the religion of Islam. A section of Ilorin came from Gwandu and they were religious, but my people came there as practising Muslims from Mali with their own Quran. In fact, the Emir and I used to joke that we had our own Quran and that nobody gave us Quran. My great-grandfather brought our own Quran to Ilorin from Mali to Agbaji where we settled. The Agbaji quarters is about 200 to 300 years old. Over the years, religious piety and devotion have led the prohibition of drumming (in whatever circumstance) in the area.

But because of our connection with the Southern people, a lot of Yoruba are always in Ilorin and so we speak the same language.

If you look at the Ilorin people, the real Ilorin people like Saraki for example, the culture and their ways share affinity with those of the far Northern Nigeria. That accounts for the difference you observe between us and, particularly, people of the South-West, despite the existence, now, of Yoruba as a common language. I leave people to say whatever they like about me. Some people even say I am from Ogun State and some even say I am from Togo but I know where I am from. Even, not long ago, I had a letter inviting me to join in the formation of a Mali-Fulani Organization and that I should be its chairman.

What about your ancestral lineage? People have accused you of bearing Alhaji Abubakar Saraki when you needed votes from the North, Chief Olusola Saraki when you needed votes from the South-West and in the South-East and South-South, you answered Dr. Sola Saraki. How do you reconcile these differences?
[/b]
People are just reading political meanings to my actions. My Islamic name is Abubakar. When were growing up in Lagos in those days, unless you were a Christian or bore a native indigenous name, you couldn’t get a school. If I wanted to be admitted to a school, I had to drop Abubakar in favour of Sola as virtually all the schools belonged to Christian organizations. It is not correct that I was changing names to garner votes. Politicians invent those kinds of stories against their opponents. You, yourself, should know who you are.[/quote]https://www.nairaland.com/311183/saraki-yes-m-fulani-mali

This problem is the result of bad governance/poor leadership.

In the 1960s, Sir Ahmadu Bello built ranches and and grazing areas for his people. This policy was abandoned after his death. In the early 1980s, I watched NTA News reports of violence between fulani nomads and hausa villagers. With desertification the problem spread to the middle belt in the 1990s and finally to the south.

Why can't northern state governors educate and empower their people so that they create grazing areas with adequate irrigation so that the clashes would come to an end? The fulani nomads should be an economic resource, providing meat and milk to the nation, while the state governments gain revenue from taxation, while the federal government gets revenue from exports.

Why can't the state government provide ranches or encourage the nomads to pool resources and build ranches, provide agricultural extension officers, research into animal husbandry,milk and meat processing factories, etc.

The fulani nomads, just like oil, have become a curse rather than a blessing and it's all down to poor governance/leadership.