I attended a party at the official residence of a very senior government official in 1985 or '86. When it was time for the dance, the MC announced that there would be no spraying because spraying was not allowed. I thought about this and I understood it.
From then on I heard similar announcements at parties that were held by government officials. My thought was that they did not want any ostentatious displays of wealth. That was in line with the situation in the country at the time.
Dirty and mutilated notes in the 1990s and early 2000s
Fastforward to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nigerians had been complaining about the poor quality of naira notes since the end of the 1990s. They complained that naira notes were dirty, torn and that in some cases you could barely read what's written on them. At that time (Joseph Sanusi era) the CBN put pressure on banks to receive old naira notes and forward them to it for destruction (Nigerians were complaining that even banks were rejecting old naira notes).
Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo and the change
Then came Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Professor Soludo gave a speech in which he complained that the CBN was spending too much money to destroy mutilated notes and print new ones. He complained about the way that Nigerians treated bank notes. He reminded people that it was illegal to mishandle currency notes and he said that he was going to propose an amendment to the law to ensure that people who mishandle naira notes were severely punished.
Adverts
The CBN then released adverts to educate Nigerians about naira notes. You might remember them. The adverts were very detailed and explained every single situation properly. I’m going to try and explain them from memory.
1) Spraying: Do you want to show appreciation to a musician? Don’t paste naira notes on his forehead (where they will react with his sweat), don’t allow it to drop to the floor and react with dirt, don’t allow people to step and dance on it.
Instead, put the money in an envelope and go up and give it to the musician.
2) Carrying money: Don’t put naira notes in your bra where they will react with your sweat. Don’t squeeze naira notes and stuff them in your pockets. Get a wallet and put them neatly in the wallet.
3) Trading: Are you a trader/hawker? Don’t squeeze naira notes, don’t stuff them in your wrapper/pockets. Get a waist pouch and place them neatly in the pouch. Ensure that your hands are clean before you handle the naira. Don’t get blood or other liquids on the naira.
4) Church: Don’t squeeze naira notes into the collection box/basket. Put them in an envelope and place them neatly into the box/basket.
5) Selling change: Don’t sell naira notes. It is an offence. (Some people sell lower denomination notes [aka change] at parties, so that people will have money to spray).
6) Writing: Do you want to make calculations and write down important things? Don’t write on the naira, get a notepad.
All these scenarios were dramatised in the adverts (I’m sure that I have forgotten some of them).
The CBN said that the naira was a national symbol and people must treat it with respect.
Polymer notes:
You might remember that this was also one of the reasons that Professor Soludo introduced polymer notes. It was said that the polymer (plastic) notes would not get torn and would not absorb liquids as easily as the paper notes. It was also more difficult to write on the plastic notes.
Enforcement
The CBN act was amended to include jail terms for people who mishandle naira notes.
However, on one hand, some people expressed scepticism. Would the Central Bank go to all parties at weekends to arrest people that were spraying and selling change? They said that it was impossible to enforce.
On the other hand, some bloggers and rumour mongers created scare stories about policemen invading parties and arresting people.
Flagrancy
As stated above, the CBN/EFCC/ICPC cannot go to all parties every weekend and arrest every single person that sprays or sells money. They can’t arrest everybody that puts naira notes in their bra or stuffs them in their pocket.
Yet many people have been arrested and prosecuted for committing these offences in the past 17 years. How come?
Bobrisky was arraigned on a three count charge, that means he committed the offence 3 times, why wasn’t he arrested after the first or second time and why was he arrested after the third time? In fact, people who follow these kind of events will tell you that Bobrisky has sprayed money on more than 3 occasions. Why wasn’t he arrested all the other times? I’ll tell you what happened.
A movie producer wanted maximum publicity for her movie and she figured out a way to get it. Bobrisky was invited to the movie premier and given an award for being the best dressed woman at the event. As expected, this caused an uproar.
The issue trended for a full week. There were many pictures, videos, stories and opinions about the incident. Many of them graced Nairaland’s homepage. The movie producer had gotten the publicity that she wanted.
In fact, the backlash was so great that the producer had to eventually admit that it was a publicity stunt (my friend had said that it was a publicity stunt right from when the first story broke).
Among the videos that trended for a week was a video of Bobrisky spraying money at the event. There was no way that it would not catch the attention of the EFCC.
A lot of people have been arrested and prosecuted for these offences in the past 17 years and if you look at them you’ll notice that they were all fragrant violations of the law.
A1) A Chinese man got angry at the Murtala Muhammed Airport and he tore over three thousand naira worth of notes right in front of security agents (Immigration, Customs, SSS). He was arrested by the SSS and handed over to the EFCC. He was prosecuted and sentenced to 2 years in jail.
Another actress was spraying money at an event and the video went viral. This was at a time that the government was very sensitive about the notes because they had just been redesigned and were scarce. Of course she was arrested and prosecuted.
There were also some people that were selling new naira notes at a party in Ilorin at a time when the notes had been redesigned and were scarce. They were also arrested.
So as you can see and as you will see when I share more articles and stories, there is nothing special about Bobrisky’s arrest and conviction.
naptu2: I am sure that many people will start arguing about this issue again without knowing the full story, so I'm going to tell you the full story, beginning from the early 1980s.
There has always been issues around the idea of Lagos being the capital of Nigeria. Some people did not want Lagos to be the capital and instead they wanted it to be joined to the Western Region. The Action Group even offered to pay the Federal Government to find another place to be the capital. Meanwhile, some people in Lagos did not want Lagos to be the capital, neither did they want Lagos to join the Western Region. They felt that Lagos could stand on its own (Gedegbe l’Eko wa) and they wanted a Lagos State.
There was also the problem of what will happen if one party controls the Federal Government and another party controls Lagos.
The search for a new capital began in the Gowon era, but General Gowon was overthrown before a new capital could be found. Justice Akinola Aguda headed the committee that eventually recommended the present FCT as the new capital and their recommendation was accepted by General Murtala Muhammed.
President Shehu Shagari took the idea of a new capital very seriously. I have previously told you about the friction between the NPN controlled Federal Government and the UPN controlled Lagos State Government. So President Shagari seriously wanted to move to Abuja. He held the first Independence Day parade in Abuja and therefore, the Akinola Aguda Lodge was built as a place for him to stay while he was in Abuja.
That is issue number 1. The Akinola Aguda House.
It was actually just a make-shift house, so that the president could stay there when he was in Abuja.
General Ibrahim Babangida also staged Independence Day parades in Abuja, but work on Abuja slowed down a bit because of the economic crisis.
There was a master plan for Abuja and in that master plan the presidential palace was meant to be at a certain location. However, no president has actually lived there. That place is now the Shehu Shagari Complex and it serves as the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
That is issue number 2, the Shehu Shagari Complex.
Three things happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (A) There was the very violent 1989 SAP riot (B) there was the very violent Orkar Coup in 1990 and (C) there was the Gulf War windfall.
A and B made President Babangida want to leave Lagos and C gave him the money to do it.
The Aso Rock Villa was built to serve as the new presidential palace. That area was originally meant to be a green area in the Abuja master plan.
That is issue number 3: The Aso Rock Villa
Now we are getting close to the most relevant issue.
The Federal Government moved to Abuja in 1991, but everything wasn't ready. It was important (for optics) that both Babangida and Aikhomu moved to Abuja. The service chiefs and others remained in Lagos, but Babangida and Aikhomu had to move to Abuja. But there was a problem. The Vice President's residence was not ready! So where would Aikhomu stay?
An agreement was reached. The Supreme Court was not ready to move to Abuja, but the Chief Justice's residence was ready. Therefore, Aikhomu would stay in the Chief Justice's residence.
That is issue 4: The Chief Justice's Residence.
Aikhomu, Diya, Aikhigbe and Atiku stayed at the Chief Justice's residence.
However, there was friction between Obasanjo and Atiku at the tail end of the Obasanjo era.
You see, Abacha had forced the Supreme Court to move to Abuja during the June 12 case and the Chief Justice now lived in temporary accommodation in Abuja. The Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives then complained that the vice president was living in the chief justice's house. (I suspect that President Obasanjo had a hand in that complaint). The Federal Government then decided that the vice president should move into the Akinola Aguda House, so that the chief justice can take back the house that was originally built for him.
At this point I need to tell you more about the Akinola Aguda House.
I said that Akinola Aguda House was a makeshift house when Shagari lived there. It was decided that Aguda House should be the guest house of the president and that a befitting house should be built. The contract was awarded, but it kept dragging on. I remember when Jerry Useni was minister of the FCT. He kept promising that the house would be completed, but it was not completed.
Then Nigeria was to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2003 and it was decided that Akinola House should be rebuilt so that Queen Elizabeth could stay there for the summit. It was at this time that it was finally completed.
So they asked Atiku to go and live there. However, Aguda House was within the Aso Rock precinct and Atiku did not trust Obasanjo, so he refused to move there and instead moved into his private house in Abuja.
However, after the 2007 elections, Niger Delta militants attacked Dr Goodluck Jonathan's personal house in Bayelsa. Luckily he was not there at the time. The National Security Adviser therefore advised President Obasanjo that a safe place needed to be found for the vice-president-elect to stay. Eventually it was decided that he should stay at Akinola Aguda House, which is the presidential guest house.
All vice presidents since then; Namadi Sambo and Yemi Osinbajo, have stayed at Aguda House.
But I told you that Aguda House was the presidential guest house. So where was the vice president originally supposed to stay.
I told you that the vice president's residence was not ready when Admiral Aikhomu wanted to move to Abuja in 1991. It is still not ready today. They kept adding things to the complex and it became like a mini Aso Rock Villa. There's supposed to be a banquet hall, swimming pool, etc.
The National Assembly rejected the cost that was presented to it during the Goodluck Jonathan era and that stalled the project. In 2015 or 2016 Vice President Osinbajo said that it was a waste of money and that the Federal Government was not interested in spending money on it. Nothing has been done about it since then.
That is our 5th issue. The Vice President's Residence.
Super Falcons and Paris FC goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has been nominated for player of the month of March in the French league.
She kept two clean sheets in four games for the Paris FC, powering them to three victories.
Nnadozie notably brilliantly saved a penalty from Inès Benyahia in a thrilling clash against Le Havre minutes before teammate Ribadeira netted the winner for Paris FC in a 3-2 victory.
She is up against Malawian star striker Tabitha Chawinga and French international Grace Geyoro.
naptu2: That post has nothing to do with South Africa. He posts things like that daily. He has always posted things like that daily. He uses them to advise and mentor younger coaches.
That post has nothing to do with South Africa. He posts things like that daily. He has always posted things like that daily. He uses them to advise and mentor younger coaches.
1) Some people blame the coach for fielding Kaylin Swart instead of Andile Dlamini. They say that Desiree Ellis is racist and is promoting coloured players over black players. Banyana Banyana legend, Portia Modise, appeared on a radio show and condemned Desiree Ellis and accused her of deliberately sidelining Dlamini.
2) Some others say that it's the FA that is against Dlamini, not the coach. They say that Dlamini was one of the leaders of the protest that was staged before the World Cup and that the FA has frozen her out of the team since then.
3) Some South Africans are still blaming Ellis for moving the match to Pretoria. They said that it wasn't like a home game for South Africa because there were too many Nigerians in the stadium (these people are sharing that video of Nigerian fans singing the National Anthem in the stadium after the match).
4) Some say that Desiree Ellis has no new ideas and that she was just relying on one player (Kgatlana) and she needs to go. They accuse Danny Jordan of shielding her.
I always remember this goal anytime I hear the name Andile Dlamini. In the feed that I saw in 2016, you could see her smiling after the ball went in because there was nothing she could do to stop Desire Oparanozie's freekick.
Celebrities › Re: It Was Grossly Unfair To Send Bobrisky To Prison Without Option Of Fine by naptu2: 8:09pm On Apr 13, 2024
