₦airaland Forum

You guys just need to wait and see. I guaranty you this is one murder case that will be solve in Nigeria, remember we have cell phones now. all activities on the cell phones can be monitor and obtain, and I recollect they have a centralized databased in Nigeria now due to the census conducted by OBJ, fingerprints will be match to the database and before you know it some key players will be arrested and jail. the next couple weeks will be vital.

i am waiting to see if he is invited for questioning by EFCC< why did he run to exile in the 1st place he he wasn't guilty? IJAW people this are the people killing your state not OBJ

I was just thinking of the same idea for this politicians to show their Ideas

The former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete, arrived the country on Wednesday after eight years in self-exile in France.

Etete, who was a minister in the regime of the late General Sani Abacha, reportedly left the country in 1998 after the demise of the maximum ruler.

In the early days of the current democratic dispensation, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration embarked on a tacit probe of Etete’s tenure as minister, especially as regards the award of oil blocks during the Abacha regime. The Obasanjo administration voided the awards over claims that the beneficiaries got them in questionable circumstances.

Some of the blocks have also been the subject of litigation both within and outside Nigeria and had also been scrutinised by the National Assembly. Etete was specifically accused of using his office to award the oil block covered by oil prospecting licence 245 to himself.

An aide of the former minister, who declined to be named, said the former minister returned to take an active part in politics and may contest for the governorship of his state, Bayelsa.

He said, “He arrived the country on Wednesday morning via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and was received by scores of friends and associates. His political ambition will be unfolded in due course. He definitely has a role to play in unfolding political developments as the 2007 elections draw near and as the first core Ijaw man to be appointed a federal minister, particularly in charge of petroleum.

“He has been under pressure to join the Peoples Democratic Party but he is yet to declare his stand,” the source said.

When our correspondent met Etete, he explained that he returned to Nigeria in recognition of the fact that he had a role to play in restoring peace to the Niger Delta.

“Yes, it is true that I have a role to play in the political terrain. But what is important to me is to be involved with those on the ground to ensure peace in that environment. That is my priority. I have just arrived the country. I want to see how things are moving. As an elder statesman, I want to see what role I can play in ensuring peace and stability.”

Asked whether he was not afraid of being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Etete replied, “I do not anticipate such. My hands are clean. I am a free citizen. In fact, I want to use this opportunity to thank the President for the opportunity given me to return home and to also thank my friends, family and relations who have been supportive and consistent.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200607293262631

statute of limitation is waved in a murder case. there is no limitation to when someone can be prosecuted or murder.

WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO RUN? this are law makers, EFCC Arrests 5 London Bound Ekiti Law makers

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=54343

Officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday boarded a London-bound Virgin Nigeria Airline plane in Lagos, accosted and arrested five members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, allegedly over a state poultry project scam running into billions of naira.
Yesterday's EFCC move occurred barely two days after Mr. Goke Olatunji, a Personal Assistant to Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose was picked up from the governor's entourage while on a plane bound for the United Kingdom on Tuesday, July 25.
The five arrested legislators include four men namely Messrs. Eyeowa Sunday Gabriel, Owoeye Olusegun Emmanuel, Ola Olusegun Festus, and Oluyeni Olusegun Olatunji; while the sole female legislator is Mrs. Oluwafemi Christiana. The five are said to be cooling their heels at the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos, pending further action.
According to sources, the group were arrested around 10.30am while already aboard the Virgin Nigeria airline, in a move that may not be un-connected to investigation into a N1.5billion Ekiti State Integrated Poultry Project; for which both Olatunji and Mr. Gbenga James (project contractor) were arraigned by Federal Government before a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Tijani Abubakar on Wednesday, July 26, in Lagos.
Efforts to ascertain the specific reason (s) for the legislators' arrest from the EFCC proved futile as at the time of this report. Repeated calls and text messages by THISDAY to the GSM phone belonging to Mr. Osita Nwajah, EFCC's Media Relations Officer, went un-answered and un-replied.
THISDAY further gathered that ongoing investigation into the contentious poultry project has so far led arrests of eight persons, including Olatunji, James, one Architect Fari Abiodun, a contractor and owner of Bird Associates, and now the five legislators. Ekiti State House of Assembly has 26 members, all belonging to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Informed sources further disclosed that the legislators' present predicament may not be unconnected to the poultry project, which was allegedly unbudgeted for but was subsequently passed by the law-makers in a supplementary budget in 2004; and also an alleged illegal deduction from the Ekiti State Local Council funds. Fari, on the other hand was alleged to have been involved in the Ekiti State Government House project, alleged to have been completed by the erstwhile Governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo before leaving.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had on July 26 slammed a 15-count criminal charge against Olatunji and three others, for alleged criminal conversion of millions of naira meant for execution of the Ekiti State Integrated Poultry Project contract.
The three others docked with Fayose's Personal Assistant at the Federal High Court, Lagos were James, the contractor handling the Project, and his two companies, Biological Concepts Nigeria Limited and Avian Specialties Nigeria Limited.
However, at that proceeding before Justice Abubakar, the charges were not read and plea were also not taken as counsel representing the accused persons said they were only served a few minutes before the court session and needed to study the charge to be able to explain to the accused persons what their alleged offences were all about.
Specifically, Mr. Adekunle Oyesanya, who appeared for James and Biological Concepts (1st and 2nd accused persons respectively) and Mr. Durojaiye who represented Fayose's aide, had objected to the charge being read, insisting that the position of the law is that an accused is entitled to know the case against him and be given the opportunity to prepare for his defence.
They therefore asked the court to defer the reading of the charge and the taking of the plea to a later date to enable the accused prepare their defence. Consequently, Justice Abubakar adjourned the matter till August 1 and ordered that the accused be remanded in the custody of the EFCC.
The accused persons, according to the charge, were alleged to have either criminally converted, transferred, expended or collaborated to unlawfully expend millions of naira meant for execution of the Ekiti State poultry project.
The charge partly read that millions on naira were either transferred directly to the Governor or to him through his personal assistant or expended on the construction of his personal house or the purchase of personal car for his mother. The prosecution also specifically alleged that about N10 million meant for the poultry project was used in constructing the Governor's house in Ibadan.
The Federal Government also alleged that N14 million contract sum was converted to foreign currencies by the said contractor and was given to Governor Fayose and his P.A, while another N2.1 million was used to purchase a Mercedes Benz Car for the Governor's mother.
It was also alleged that said contractor, on May 26, 2004, transferred another N10 million meant for the poultry project to the Governor, while another N1.5 was said to have been transferred to one Chief Boboye Olanipekun.
The P.A. apart from allegedly receiving the stolen funds and transferring same to his boss, was also alleged to have made false statement to the EFCC by denying that he did not receive any money from the said contractor for onward transmission to his boss

Exactly, its not like OBJ elected the governors, all he can do is speak to them, he has no control over their activities, the house of assemble and the lay makers can impeach this people their are checks and balances in politics, that is what the law makers are there for, and if they are not doing their job, why are people still voting them in, this are the original criminals if you ask me, they have something in their cupboard, that is why they can't impeach all the ruthless governors.

How do you know he has any thing to do with this senceless killing?

The continued bombardment of Lebanon by Israel has resulted in a exodus of foreign civilians. But for many Africans who live in the capital Beirut, this is not an option.
Read about their experiences below and find out their reasons for remaining in the conflict zone.


Liberian Mary, 45, cleaner/casual worker
I have lived in Lebanon for 37 years. I saw the first war, and now I am seeing the second.

I want to go back home, of course I want to but I don't have any money. I could be evacuated but all the government will allow me to take is 10kg.

While I have lived here I have bought some things - a small TV and goods like that and these things are money. If I can't take them with me then I'll lose them and the money they are worth.


Mary lives on the outskirts of the city and so far her home is safe

If I could take them with me maybe it would be OK, then at least I could leave the suffering here and have some money to survive on once I got home.

But how can I go home to my country, Liberia, with nothing? How will I live?

There is suffering there too.

There are no jobs there. I will not have food. I will have nothing.

I cannot go back with just my clothes. If I arrived back after 37 years - just me and my handbag - everyone will laugh at me. People will think I've been doing nothing all the time I have been away.

Also I don't feel like I have a home anymore. My family are gone.

I don't know what life in Liberia is like anymore - the war came and now it has passed. I wasn't there. I don't know my home anymore.



Ghanaian Mahmoud, 28, cleaner/casual worker
I am planning to go back home because I have been here for eight years.

You cannot go home with empty hands


But now the government is saying that everybody must leave immediately. But for me, I do not want to go home without my loot - my personal belongings, my possessions.

Likewise many other Ghanaians are refusing to return home because they can't take their things with them.

The government says it wants to helps us but then why do they want us to leave empty-handed?

I want to take my property with me because if I go, I am not coming back again.

You cannot go home with empty hands.

The home is catching fire and now if you go home without water, what will quench the fire?

My family need me, a lot, they depend on me and if I return with nothing, what will they think?



Nigerian Mary, 37, cleaner/casual worker
I have been here in Lebanon for a very long time. I came to this country at the age of 10.


Evacuation isn't an option for many Africans, like some Sri Lankans

The war here is very bad, the situation is not good and I don't know what I am going to do right now.

I have stayed in Lebanon for 20 years but still I have nothing. I don't have a good job, I don't have any money, nothing.

I have nothing to take back and so I don't know how I can go home, back to Nigeria.

The Nigerian government has arranged for us Nigerian nationals to be evacuated to Syria. From there we could travel back home to Nigeria.

But I cannot go because I don't have anything.

I want to be evacuated, and I want to go back home to Nigeria, I do, but I cannot face my family and let them find out that I have nothing.

How can I face my family and tell them I don't have anything?

Everything is miserable


http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5195240.stm

walel that is the most ignorant statement I've ever heard in my life, did Baba Iyabo teach this governor to embezzle?, his aids were arrested for corruption practice, if baba was behind the governor, his aids will never be in jail as we speak, secondly, OBJ did not make the law he is an executive officer as president, if you want to expunge the clause go to national assemble.

it's call destiny, or as my grandmother will say Untimely death, if we know who kill him, it wont be an assassination.

I think they already have a case, the Benz his mother got, and the house in Ibadan, the governor is in hot water for right now

there is no need to a Northern president in the current Nigeria we are striving to be a better nation and the reason we are in shamble now is because of the Northerners. I recall in a recent news paper Umaru DIKKO talking about democracy in Nigeria, this is the same bastard that escape with $billion from Nigerian Treasury after the 79 election, there are more educated and intellectual Nigerians all over the country and if the west and the south cant stand and fight this illiterate Malam from the North, then Nigeria is in trouble.

What is the Nigerian embassy In Bangladeshi responsibility ? the airline should be held accountable as well.  there are surveillance camera all over the airport and they have no clue how he got there, give me a break.

A Bangladeshi court has handed over an 11-year-old Nigerian boy to a charity after he was apparently deserted at the country's international airport.
Efforts by the authorities to locate the boy's guardians or parents have not so far been successful.

Aloysius Abacha told immigration officers at the airport that he arrived in the country on Sunday with his aunt while they were in transit to London.

But police say that they have failed to trace any such woman.

The boy was discovered at the arrival lounge of the busy airport by security guards, who handed him over to immigration officers.

Immigration officer Muntasirul Islam quoted him as saying that his aunt's name was Rosemary.

The boy told the officers that he was going with her to London because his parents lived there.

'A mystery'

"But we checked our CCTV footage which suggested that he came to the arrival lounge alone," Mr Islam told the BBC.

"The passenger lists of the flights that landed at the airport on that day included no such names.

"We have no clue as to how he came to Bangladesh. Everything surrounding him remains a mystery to us," he said.

The court in Dhaka said that the boy was being handed over to the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) with the aim of keeping him in safe custody.

"The condition of the boy seems to be alright, although he is a bit mentally traumatised because he knows no one in a foreign land," BNWLA spokeswoman Salma Ali said.

She said that while the circumstances of the boy's arrival in Dhaka were still being clarified, he was being treated as a "victim" and would be sympathetically dealt with.

THIS IS GETTING UGLY FOR NIGERIANS, Everything we read about Nigerians in the news this days are all bad. only God can save us

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5220490.stm

This is insane just because the roads are better and streets lights, doesn't justify kickbacks and camellion stealing. my philosophy is if this guy are found guilty hang them high, this will send a clear message to other aspirant of public office. Nigeria is changing

A Spanish teacher was explaining to the class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.


"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."


A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"? Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.


The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora", because:


1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.


(THIS GETS BETTER!)


The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("el computador", because:


1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.


The women won.

Well I am from Ondo and I went to Ondo in December, and I was appalled by the condition of living in the state. the only improvement I saw was the road. and even it wasn't constructed properly

This goes out to all the scammers or what ever you are known as. it's not OK for a total stranger to email other members for no reasons. I received at least 5 instant messages daily from strangers from this forum stating they just want to say hi. I have no intention of talking to a total stranger that I don't know and please stop emailing or sending instant messages to me and other member.

This Ribadu is the new face Nigeria need to progress. I wish they can expunge the immunity clause the Governors have. cause most of this governor should be in Jail and not riding around with entourage.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Wednesday, accused a businessman, Mr. Gbenga James, and an official of the state government, Mr Goke Olatunji, of using the controversial Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project to enrich Governor Ayo Fayose and his mother.

Skip to next paragraph

Punch Photo File
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose

In a 15-court charge of money laundering brought against the two men at a Federal High Court in Lagos, the EFCC alleged that James and Olatunji made a series of payments from the funds meant for the poultry project to Fayose and his associates.

The commission added that James,who is the Managing Director of Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd and Olatunji, the governor’s personal assistant,built a N9.25million house in Ibadan, Oyo State for Fayose.

The EFCC alleged that the accused did not only buy a N2.1million Mercedes Benz car for Fayose’s mother, they transferred N1.5million to one Chief Boboye Olanipekun.

James and his company, according to the charge sheet signed by Mr. S.K Atteh and dated July 25, 2006 paid N10million being part of the money meant for the poultry project to Fayose.

The charges read:

1. That you, James on the February 19, 2005 with intent to mislead, made a false statement under caution that you did not give Fayose any money out of the money received by Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd for the poultry project;

2. That you, Olatunji on July 24, 2006 with intent to mislead, made a false statement that you did not receive any money from James for onward transmission to Fayose;

3. That you, James and Biological Concepts converted N1.25 million from the amount meant for the execution of the poultry contract, to the construction of Fayose‘s House in Ibadan;

4. That you, James and Biological Concepts expended N9.25 million from the amount meant for the execution of the contract to the construction of Fayose‘s House in Ibadan;

5. That you, James transferred N4 million from the amount meant for the execution of the contract to Avian Specialities Nig. Ltd;

6. That you, James transferred N55, 636,171.15 from the amount meant for the execution of the contract to Avian Specialities Nig.Ltd;

7. That you, Avian Specialities Nig Ltd, collaborated with James and Biological Concepts through the receipt from the said James and Biological Concepts, N55, 636,171.15 from the amount meant for the poultry project;

8. That you, Avian Specialities collaborated with James and Biological Concepts through the receipt of the said James and Biological Concepts, the sum of N4 million;

9. That you James and Biological Concepts transferred N7 million from the project and converted it to £37, 600 and gave it to Fayose and Olatunji;

10. That you, Olatunji collaborated with James and Biological Concepts through the receipt from the said James and Biological Concepts, the sum of N7 million from the amount meant for the project;

11. That you, James and Biological Concepts transferred N7 million from the amount of the project and converted it to $50, 000 and gave it to Fayose and Olatunji;

12. That you, Olatunji collaborated with James and Biological Concepts through the receipt from the said James and Biological Concepts, the sum of N7 million from the poultry project;

13. That you, James and Biological Concepts expended N2.1 million from the execution of the project for the purchase of a Mercedes Benz car for the mother of Fayose;

14. That you, James and Biological Concepts transferred N10 million from the amount of the poultry project to Fayose; and;

15. That you, James and Biolgical Concepts transferred N1.5million from the poultry project to Olanipekun.

The offences are punishable under Section 39(2) of the EFCC Act, 2004 and Section 14 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

A firm, Avian Specialties Nigeria Limited, said to be owned by James, was joined as co-defendants to the suit.

The lawyer to the EFCC, Mr Wahab Shittu, had urged the court to allow the charges to be read to the accused.

But the counsel to James and his firm, Adekunle Oyesanya, opposed him on the grounds that he had just been served with a copy of the charge in court.

The lawyer to Olatunji, Mr T. O Durojaiye, aligned himself with Oyesanya.

Shortly after Shittu sought for a short adjournment, Justice Tijani Abubakar fixed August 1 for further hearing of the matter.

He also ordered that the accused be remanded in EFCC‘s custody.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20060727385059



THIS IS WHAT I CALL ACTION GOVERNOR STEALING BY DISGUISE

Killing this corrupt past leaders is a sign of inhumane and I personally think there is a way you can kill a man rather than firing squad. This people should be tries and humiliated like their counter part Tafa Balogun and Alamieyeseigha and Charles Taylor. This people may still be with us physically but they have been dead spiritually and mentally. subject any public officer found guilty to the same treatment. the only thing that baffles me is what are the intentions of Buhari and Babangida and Atiku for trying at all cost to rule Nigeria?

Property belonging to the late Mamman Vatsa appropriated by the late Sani Abacha is to be returned at the behest of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The President will meet with Vatsa’s family tomorrow to discuss the matter.

His execution in 1985 was just one loop in the chain of ironies which stretched back six years.

Then a Major General and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Vatsa was sent to the gallows for allegedly plotting to overthrow the junta of Ibrahim Babangida, who himself had ousted Muhammadu Buhari in a palace coup d’etat slickly carried out in August that year.

Vatsa protested his innocence in vain.

Buhari had become Head of State through a coup on December 31, 1983, which saw the back of "democratically" elected President Shehu Shagari three months into his second term.

Shagari’s own election was disputed down to the wire, beginning with that of his first term, which dated back to October 1, 1979.

Eight years after Babangida executed his friend, Vatsa, he himself had to "step aside" from power amid the national furore over his annulment of the Presidential election on June 12, 1993 which Moshood Abiola won.

Abiola died in 1998, incarcerated by Abacha, who also kicked the bucket the same year.

Tomorrow, Safiya, Vatsa’s widow, will lead a delegation of eight to seek restitution in Aso Rock. It includes Harauna, the eldest son.

A Presidency source confided that the family plans to press for, among others, the exhumation of the patriarch’s body for proper burial with full military honours and for his posthumous promotion to the rank of General.

A letter signed by K. Uudli in the office of the Chief of Staff to the President conveyed Obasanjo’s approval of the request of the family to meet with him.

The letter, dated July 21, is the response to the one the family wrote on June 22 requesting the parley.

Another source explained that "the meeting will dwell on the frame up and killing of Vatsa for a phantom coup, by Babangida. The family has presented some proposals to the President as restitution for the criminal act.

"The most important is that his body should be released to the family for a proper and decent burial. We also insist that those responsible for the criminal murder of Vatsa should be brought to book, and we want his name immortalised.

"Some of his properties were seized, particularly those illegally converted by the Abacha family. The Vatsa family made a very strong case for the recovery of these landed properties, and the Presidency has given assurances of assisting the family to recover them".

Others on the delegation include West African Youth Peace Mission President, Godwill Richman, and National Association of Nigerian Widows President, Margaret Joseph.

Richman said he is "not in a position to comment on it" because "I cannot speak for Mrs Vatsa. However, I can confirm that I associate very closely with the Vatsa family, and we also empathise with her because she has indeed suffered a great injustice.

"We are particularly thankful to Mr. President for the willingness of his administration to right past wrongs. The murder of Vatsa is indeed one of those wrongs, that is crying to be righted".

Will Richman attend the meeting in Aso Rock tomorrow?

"As the President of a youth organisation that is at the vanguard of peace in Nigeria and beyond", he replied, "I am always welcome at the Presidential Villa – because of the importance this administration attaches to peace".

http://www.independentngonline.com/news/128/ARTICLE/7497/2006-07-25.html

Many people come to this chat room to criticize the police as the most corrupt element of the society,the whole country is fill and infested with corrupt minded people. co to a mechanic shop. he will over charge you. I went to a Barber shop. and they over charged me for services that usually cost #450. I hire a cab and was deal the same treatment. the only one that we see on daily basis is the police. there are other hidden agencies that are worse that the police that if you don't have dealings or interactions with you will never know. Parents need to start teaching their kids values and moral and Nigeria will survive until then, the problem will keep looping.

as Cunning and charming as IBB is this man is ruthless and evil. How many Innocent people got kill under his regime and nothing was ever said or no one was ever indicted. Every thing that goes around comes around, maybe this elections will expose all the dirty laundry IBB has to hide.

Won't it be better to confide the guy to life in prison, rather then to kill your friend? that was my thought . I would have had him behind bars so he can have time to reminisce on his actions.

This story is long but interesting, I wonder if you a re in IBB shoes, will you have a childhood friend kill just because he was planning an inconclusive coup?

There are many other thousands of innocent people in the grave whom IBB murdered. Their souls are crying for justice. All those he made widows and orphans are seeking justice. He has no hiding place. Should anybody or group of persons make any mago mago to force IBB on Nigerians, the Aba women riot of 1929 will be a child’s play to the women riot that will be witnessed in 2007–Vatsa’s wife.

Sava Farm, a nondescript piece of property situated at Malali area of Kaduna city, does not reveal the importance of its occupant. It is owned by Hajia Sufiya, widow of General Mamman Vatsa, executed over a controversial coup by the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1986. With its brown gate, half brick, half metal perimeter fence that looks as if it would collapse any time with the heavy rains, and the rusty signboard defaced by four posters of Isiah Balat who is campaigning to be governor of Kaduna State, the farm stands as a relic, in sharp contrast to the more prosperous-looking Federal Government College and the Kaduna State Water Board nearby.

The bushy farm looks like an abandoned American ranch after a typical Red Indian invasion. An aide who doubles as the gate keeper opened the entrance. As the reporters’ feet shuffled on the cobblestones that had seen better days, a quick survey of the premises showed a once-buoyant animal husbandry business. Another gate, on the left, led to where Sufiya lives. With a quick detour, the visitors were ushered into the front of the main bungalow. The circular forecourt is habitat to flowers crying for pruning. Peeping out of the circle was a white Mercedez Benz 190 that stood as if, driven by some invisible hands from outer space, it was ready to engage the reverse gear, receding further into the dense flowers, away from the intruders, A ricketty peugeot pick -up van and an abandoned white farm truck complete the picture of neglect. Sufiya’s balcony is a testament to a woman who, when she was happy, was in love with nature. Her suspended empty bird cages, creeping flowers, pots of cacti and aloe vera stand as proof. A long white hose meandered on the floor, a mark of half-hearted gardening.

Like her property, Hajia Sufiya Vatsa is a lone historical figure, abandoned in her woes and penury by successive governments after IBB executed her husband over a questionable coup. During a visit to her Sava Farm by three journalists from TheNEWS, the woman cut the picture of Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, who, after being disappointed by her suitor, refuses to see the sun, fails to change her wedding gown and leaves her watch permanently “at twenty minutes to nine.” Unlike Miss Havisham, however, Sufiya’s separation from her husband came from the machination of a third party – IBB. Since then, life has been horrible for her family.

Daily, Sufiya sits by two high-definition photographs of her husband: one in mufti and the other in military gear. When this magazine visited her, she wore a brown wrapper, deep brown headgear with an ankara top embossed with brown irregular designs . She sat behind a small centre table set with assorted drinks, beverages and local herbal solutions. In front of her was a shelf with a rectangular mirror, on which an old television set was placed.

Another symbol of her state of mind and the neglect she suffers was an abandoned grey aquarium, tilting against the wall under the portrait of a medieval soldier riding a chariot, shooting an arrow. Under another congested table in front of her was a green book, Makers of Modern Africa. A reading lamp, about four chandeliers and a dining table required dusting just as her life requires rehabilitation. An extension of her melancholy was that, contrary to expectation, she declined an interview since it would bring back a deluge of old, painful memories.

Sufiya’s journey into the abyss of poverty began on 23 December 1985. The family had just concluded plans to travel to Calabar because, usually, they spent the yuletide in the Cross River State capital (Sufiya is Efik), the Id-el-Fitri in Minna, Niger State and the Id-el Kabir in Kaduna. After the necessary packing for the trip, the family waited for the return of General Vatsa from the Armed Forces Ruling Council, (AFRC), meeting he had attended. He returned home late, so the trip was postponed till the following day. At about 12 midnight, while Sufiya was watching a movie in her bedroom, her husband, who was working in his study, rushed in to tell her that IBB had sent for him. The wife protested that it was too late in the night and that Vatsa should phone his boss to shift the meeting to the following morning.

As this debate was going on, Lt. Col. U.K. Bello led a team of soldiers to Vatsa’s home at Rumens Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. The soldiers, who came with armoured vehicles and military vans, surrounded the house. Vatsa told his wife who was upstairs to peep through the window. Unable to contain her fear, she rushed downstairs and insisted that if the soldiers would take away her husband, then she had to follow them. Sufiya insisted on driving Vatsa in her own Pengeot 404. At this point, Vatsa directed that the children be woken up, and he kissed them one after the other.

Haruna, the first son, who was in Military Training School, Zaria, followed them downstairs, weeping. While UK Bello drove in the fore of the convoy, Sufiya and Vatsa were chauffeur-driven in their own car in what later turned out to be a merry-go-round about Lagos till about 2 a.m when they stopped at 7 Cameron Road, Ikoyi. Vatsa was ordered out of the car. As he made to enter the building, Sufiya ran after him but she was rudely pulled back by the soldiers. The General turned and gave his wife a bear hug, an embrace that was their last. He urged his wife to take care of their children. Sufiya returned home dejected. To her shock, the military authorities had withdrawn the official domestic staff. At 5a.m, she prepared breakfast of fried yam and pawpaw, drove to her husband’s detention centre but was told she could not bring in any food.

Another surprise awaited Vatsa’s wife. A soldier came in and said: “Madam, Oga’s wife, Mrs Mariam Babangida, said I should carry General Vatsa’s telephone handset to her.” Fatima, Vatsa’s daughter, clung to the gadget. A struggle ensued between the 15-year-old girl and the soldier, whose muscles bulged like like the biceps of Michaelangelo’s statues. Sufia asked her daughter to let go of the probably bugged set.

Worse still, some gruff, fierce-looking soldiers, led by Vatsa’s former Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Captain Maku, an intelligence officer of Idoma extraction, had led other soldiers in laying siege to the family’s house. “Madam, no visitors, no phone calls, no going out,” Maku snapped as he reclined on a settee in the living room, an improvised toothpick, peeping out of a corner of his mouth. When Sufiya protested that the family needed to buy foodstuff, Maku, whose friendly disposition when he was Vatsa’s batman had changed, commanded that the woman and her children “must manage.”

After three days of captivity, Sufiya could not endure it any longer. She told Maku: “Look, I am going to the market. If you refuse me, it means between you and I, somebody will die. I will show you I am a soldier’s wife.” She took her car, and without bothering about the soldiers who cocked their guns menacingly at her, rammed it into the gate, which gave way as the soldiers scattered capriciously in different directions. She got to Falomo, bought bread and eggs, and decided to see one of her husband’s friends, General Gado Nasko. Before the visit to Nasko, however, Sufiya had driven home and, since her daughter was, coincidentally, at the gate, had dropped the food and driven to the Naskos. Sufiya’s mission was to ask Nasko to fix a meeting between her and IBB to find a way to settle the matter. Although soldiers at Nasko’s house gave her the cold shoulder, her persistence worked.

Nasko, who said he was aware of the problem and would try to arrange the meeting, asked Sufiya to see him in the evening. Her hope soared. The reason was the special relationship between her family and IBB’s. “When we got married,” Sufiya was reported as saying, “I thought IBB and my husband were of the same family. The two wore the same size of dress and pair of shoes. IBB would drop his dirty wears in our house and put on my husband’s. When IBB travelled out, for a further military training my husband took care of Mariam and her children. General Vatsa, apart from mounting the horse when IBB married Mariam, bought their first set of furniture from Leventis on hire purchase.

IBB was also my husband’s bestman during our wedding. Whenever Maryam’s Mercedez car broke down, she used to drive my Peugeot 404. We were close.” All these, to Babangida, did not count in the field of realpolitik. Nasko told Sufiya later in the day that the military President was not ready to see her.

Another disappointment awaited Sufiya when she returned to her Rumen’s Street residence, Ikoyi. A soldier from Bonny Camp was waiting for her with an order that the family should vacate the house. Another military officer said the car should be taken to Army Headquarters for security check after which they broke into the car’s glove compartment and confiscated Vatsa’s manuscripts. In frustration, Sufiya hired a trailer and moved the family’s belongings to Kaduna. She and Fatima, however, returned and stayed in Nwakana Okoro, her brother-in-law’s house at Queen’s Drive, Ikoyi. When the military authorities bugged Okoro’s telephone, the lawyer, a Senior Advocate, of Nigeria, became jittery.

All attempts by Sufiya to see her husband were frustrated by the military authorities. It was only Fatima’s trick that worked a bit. Posing as a lawyer, she would follow other counsels into Vatsa’s detention centre and trial venue. Vatsa, however, sent Sufiya a note from Kirikiri, saying: “Do not beg Babangida. He is after my life. Take care of the children. I know it is not easy but God will help you.” When he was to be executed, Vatsa requested that his wrist watch and wedding ring be given to Sufiya. “But by the time they brought the watch and the wedding ring, the ring wasn’t my wedding ring, so I rejected it. “Till today, they have not returned the ring to me,” Sufiya was quoted by a family source.

Sufiya was, therefore, left in the cold, without any wealth to fall back on. Vatsa had only one plot of land in Abuja, but it was taken over by the late despot, General Sani Abacha. At a point, Sufiya approached General Jeremiah Useni, one-time Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, in a bid to reclaim the land. Useni called for the file and told Vatsa’s wife to pay for the land rent. She, however, complained to Useni: “When my husband was a minister in FCT, he refused to allocate land to me, his wife. He said it would be immoral for him to give me land. He said his successor would give me.” Useni looked the other way while Sufiya and her family were deprived of the land.

Not all of Vatsa’s friends abandoned the family, however. “One of his friends came to our aid.” Sufiya once said. “Every other person that was dining and wining with my husband immediately switched over to IBB. Even my children today are not identified with.” To keep body, soul and the family together, Sufiya, of Efik descent, would travel to Calabar, in Cross River State, and bring food from her people to take care of her children in Kaduna where she has vowed to remain. Apart from buying and selling, Sufiya used to engage in poultry and cattle rearing. In fact, she injected life into her Sava Farm, which she set up in 1971 after the civil war. But robbers ruined the business, a situation that led to the lack of care for the premises, part of which, by the time TheNEWS visited, was overgrown with weeds.

Sufiya, therefore, has brought up her children on a shoe-string budget. Haruna, whom Vatsa asked to be withdrawn from the Nigerian Military Training School, Zaria, because of the way the Army treated him, is now married with two children. Fatima, who is studying medicine, is in London with her husband, while Jubril, who studied law, is in Minna, Niger State. Aisha is a US-based pilot.

Sufiya believes that IBB himself planned the coup. “He wrote the script, got an officer to execute.” The officer in question was close to Mamma Madaki, a former military administrator of Plateau State. Apart from Major General Charles Ndiomu who once made a statement that he regretted killing Vatsa, this magazine gathered that the interview which General Domkat Bali granted TheNEWS (22 May 2006 edition) raised Sufiya’s hope that justice would finally be done.

She once lamented to her husband’s family:“It is painful that my husband was executed as a coup plotter even when he was not. And till this moment, we don’t know where he was buried. That Gen. Domkat Bali interview published in TheNews magazine is one of the good things God has done to us in the Vatsa family. Before, some people did not believe that Vatsa was not a coup plotter; but Bali’s confession explained it all. They should release the corpse of my husband to me so that he can be given a befitting burial. That is my prayer.”

It was for this reason that Sufiya wrote a letter, dated 15 June 2006, to President Olusegun Obasanjo, where she stated: “Although there was no iota of evidence linking my husband with the phantom coup, he was convicted and sentenced to death by the Special Military Tribunal which purportedly tried him and other coup suspects. My husband’s appeal to the Armed Forces Ruling Council against his illegal conviction was yet to be considered when the Head of State, General Babangida had him secretly executed along with the other coup convicts.”

She claimed in the letter that Bali confirmed her husband’s innocence in TheNEWS’ interview when he said: ‘“My regret is that up till now, I am not sure whether Vatsa ought to have been killed because whatever evidence they amassed against him was weak. My only regret is that I could not say, don’t do it. I am not so sure whether we were right to have killed Vatsa.” Sufiya, therefore, requested the Obasanjo administration to prosecute General Babangida for “the murder of my husband, General Vatsa.”

Born on 3 December 1940, Major General Mamman Vatsa attended the Government Secondary School, Bida, Niger State. He enlisted in the Nigerian Army on 10 December 1962 and was trained at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna and the India Military Academy.
Vatsa was in charge of the 21 Battalion during the Nigerian Civil War, after which he became an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. Apart from his position as Principal Staff Officer at Army Headquarters, he commanded the 30 infantry Brigade (Ogoja) until July 1975. As the Commander of the Brigade of Guards, a post he held until 1979, Vatsa oversaw the movement of its headquarters from Dodan Barracks to Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

One proof of his loyalty to his Commander-in-Chief was when, as Commander, Brigade of Guards, Calabar, he was the first to go on air to kick against the 13 February 1976 coup, led by Lt. Col Buka Dimka. During the trial of suspects involved in that coup, he was the Tribunal Secretary. Thereafter, he was appointed the Commander, Brigade of Guards under General Olusegun Obasanjo. Mrs.Vatsa once revealed: “My husband drove General Obasanjo to his Ota farm after he handed over power to the civilians in 1979.”

As Nowa Omoigui wrote, Vatsa was Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) from 1979. “He, along with Lt. Col Bitiyong, developed the Special Warfare Wing and established the doctrinal basis for the establishment of the 82nd Composite Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu. In fact, it was Vatsa who suggested that the Division be called the 82nd Division – after the 82nd West African Division, Burma.”

As an accomplished poet and writer, Vatsa was able to publish eight poetry collections for adults and 11 for younger ones. Some of his book titles are Back Again At Watergate (1982), Reach For The Skies (1984), and Verses for Nigerian State Capitals (1973). His pidgin poetry collection is Tori for Geti Bow Leg (1981). His pictorial books are Bikin Suna and Stinger the Scorpion.

His literary interests transcended merely reeling out volumes of verse. He organised writing workshops for soldiers and their families, assisted the Children’s Literature Association with funds, as well as allocating a piece of land in Abuja for a writers village for the Association of Nigerian Authors. Vatsa was so pre-occupied with creativity that he always carried jotters to the toilet, dining table and the bedroom. There were books strewn around in the family’s apartment so much that, as TheNEWS gathered, Sufiya once threatened to “throw these books out.”

Vatsa’s journey to the great beyond started on 17 December 1985 when the military authorities arrested over 100 officers from the Army, Navy and the Air Force. Vatsa was picked up seven days later. They were, for two weeks, investigated by the Brigadier-General Sani Sami-led Preliminary Special Investigation Panel. After this, 17 of them were dragged before a Special Military Tribunal, set up by Bali, at the Defence Minister, at the Brigade of Guards Headquarters, Lagos. The accused officers were Lt.-Cols. Musa Bitiyong, Christian A. Oche, Micheal A Iyorshe, M. Effiong; Majors D.I Bamidele, D.E. West, J.O Onyeke and Tobias G Akwashiki. Others were Captain G.I L Sese, Lt. K.G. Dakpa, Commodore A.A. Ogwiji, Wing Commanders B.E. Ekele, Adamu Sakaba; Squadron Leaders Martin Luther, C. Ode and A Ahura.

The tribunal, chaired by Major General Ndiomu, tried the officers under the Treason and Other Offences (Special Military Tribunal) Decree 1 of 1986. Other members of the tribunal were Brigadier Yerima Yohanna Kure, Commodore Murtala Nyako, Col. Rufus Kupolati, Col E. Opaleye, and Lt. Col. D. Muhammed. Alhaji Mamman Nassarawa, a commissioner of police and Major A Kejawa, the Judge Advocate, were also members.
The IBB regime accused Vatsa of trying to overthrow it by hiding behind a farming loan to Lt-Col Bitiyong, a charge which the general denied. As Nowa Omogui, a military analyst explains in his essay, The Vatsa Conspiracy, Bitiyong was allegedly tortured to implicate Vatsa “by making reference to certain private political conversations they had, which Vatsa denied.”

There were further allegations that Luther, Oche, Ogwiji and Bitiyong held a meeting at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers in November 1985. Iyorchie, Bitiyong, Oche, Ekele, Sakaba and Bamidele also allegedly met in Makurdi. Allegations such as the diversion of the presidential jet to a pre-arranged location by pilots in the executive fleet (Luther and Ahura), as Omogui put it, were floated. Oche allegedly held a meeting with Major Akwashiki, Commander of the 6th Battalion, Bonny Camp, and Onyeke, after a game of squash in Lagos and spoke about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. Akwashiki was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life imprisonment. He was however released 10 years later by the Abacha regime.

Oche, it was also alleged, mentioned the plot to his nephew, Peter Odoba, a young lieutenant of the Brigade of Guards who, as Omogui wrote, informed then Lt. Hamza al-Mustapha, an intelligence officer to the Chief of Army Staff. Obada was charged with “concealment, recommended for dismissal and a long jail term.” On 6 March 1986, however, Vatsa, Iyorshe, Bamidele, Ogwiji, Ekele, Sakaba, Luther, Akura were executed.Vatsa had taken his trial and sentence with cheerful equanimity like the writer that he was. His vintage smiles revealed more than his words. “I leave you with smiles as smiles surprise people. But I will tell members of the Nigerian Army that the day you start insulting yourselves, others begin to join you,” he said.

To butteress his position that there was rivalry between IBB and Vatsa, Omogui referred to an interview that Eniola Bello of THISDAY had with IBB in 2001 when he turned 60. ‘“Babangida said it was after Vatsa’s coup was foiled that he realised his childhood friend and classmate planned the coup in line with a deep-seated personal rivalry, going back to their days as young officers. He said that unconsciously, he and Vatsa had been great competitors; that as a young officer, whatever he did Vatsa equally did and whatever Vatsa achieved, he also went after. He said it was Lt. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma who pointed this out to him from their military records.” Babangida gave this rationalisation to justify his refusal to pardon Vatsa. He said when he first heard his childhood friend was planning a coup, he decided to do nothing but monitor him. He added, however, that Vatsa came to him to complain thus: You heard I was planning a coup and couldn’t even ask me. What kind of friend are you? To this, Babangida said he replied: I didn’t believe it, or are you planning a coup? He said Vatsa replied in the negative and the matter was forgotten until there was evidence of the plot. Babangida said he instructed that Vatsa be arrested and detained to prevent him from impeding investigation into the matter.

Babangida argued: “However, Vatsa tried to escape through the air conditioner hole. I couldn’t understand why he was trying to escape if he was not involved in a coup plot. But while watching the video of his execution, I turned my eyes away when I saw him remove his watch and ask a soldier to give his wife. I couldn’t continue watching.” Babangida added that he couldn’t retire or imprison Vatsa because he believed the guy could still have planned a coup either in retirement or in prison. “Rawlings did it in Ghana and you know Vatsa was very stubborn,” IBB said.

Omogui, however, lamented the tragedy that befell Vatsa: “Vatsa maintained to the very end that the money was for farming. Others alleged, however, that after being tortured for two days, Bitiyong implicated Vatsa by making reference to certain private political conversations they had, which Vatsa denied. But Vatsa was accused of harbouring “bad blood” against his friend and classmate Babangida, dating back to the Buhari regime and possibly earlier. He was also obliquely accused of reporting Babangida’s coup plot to Buhari before he left the country for pilgrimage along with Major General Tunde Idiagbon in August, 1985.

Actions he later took as a Minister to accelerate many military applications for certificates of occupancy for land in Abuja, came to be viewed as efforts to buy the support of one or two of the plotters. Rumours that a civilian had introduced him at a party as Nigeria’s next President were even aired. All of this was, of course, circumstantial. But they took him to the stake, which was quite an anti-climax to the career of a brilliant man who never took part in any coup in Nigeria. Indeed, Mamman Vatsa was the first to go on air in Calabar to denounce the Dimka coup, and was later the Secretary of the Obada panel that tried Dimka and others in 1976. This little detail may have earned him some latent enmity in certain circles of the Army which later contributed to his death.”

There is also a very strong belief that Vatsa may have been a victim of political intrigues because of his intellectual sagacity, being a writer and soldier-poet, and his significant indifference to the military politics at that time. In fact, his ordeal had attracted three leading Nigerian literary icons, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and John Pepper Clark Bekederemo, who had gone to plead with Babangida for clemency, only to be shocked by news of his execution few minutes after departing Dodan Barracks, venue of the meeting.

But in a swift reaction tainted with arrogance and insensitivity, Alhaji Shuibu Badeggi, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Governor Abdulkhadir Kure of Niger State and an aide of Babangida, stoutly defended the execution, claiming that a process found Vatsa and nine others culpable in the coup saga. According to him, Mrs. Vatsa’s petition is baseless. “She should shut up. Shut up! If you commit a coup and you know the punishment is death, then you should face it. That’s all. Those who plot a coup, when the coup fails, they die.

Simple. Talking about those saying all sorts of negative things about IBB, they are only out to score cheap political goals. Envy, grudge, that’s all. It’s envy and madness. Otherwise, if you thought 20 years ago that your husband had been wrongly accused of a coup plot and executed, why wait till now to demand that Babangida be punished? If anybody or group is using her to smear Babangida’s image, then they have a problem because it is not Babangida who desperately wants to be president of Nigeria. It’s we his supporters. There is nothing anyone of them can do in this and any other case.”

This may be Badeggi’s simple response to a complex issue which is already generating interest across the country. The day Badeggi’s outburst came out, TheNEWS gathered, Mrs. Vatsa did not hold back her own ballistic missile. She reportedly said: “Anybody who says I am being used is a big fool. In the first place, my husband made Kure. As a Minister, my husband brought Nupe people to government. That was when Kure came to Abuja to work with my husband. If Kure was not made by my husband, would he be in a position to have an aide like the one talking rubbish? That aide should shut up 100 times. Nobody is sponsoring me. All I want is the matter to be opened up so that the whole world will witness the case.

There are many other thousands of innocent people in the grave whom IBB murdered. Their souls are crying for justice. All those he made widows and orphans are seeking justice. He has no hiding place. Should anybody or group of persons make any mago mago to force IBB on Nigerians, the Aba women riot of 1929 will be a child’s play to the women riot that will be witnessed in 2007.” Will justice be done in the Vatsa case?



http://www.thenewsng.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1331

Former President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, yesterday in Abuja, dispelled the common notion that lack of growth in developing nations was caused by corruption, saying “too little capacity” is responsible for problems in the third world.
Clinton, who spoke at the opening luncheon of the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock Abuja, said developing nations were thus faced with the challenge of building a system that would give people the opportunity to excel and also reward hard work.
He said inequality in the world only rests in the distribution of opportunities, the reason why African countries should strive to build a system that solves that problem.
“All this time, we say there is too much corruption in the developing world, what is there too little capacity. This creates a vacuum where all sorts of bad things happen. People need an organised way to pursue their objectives,” he said.
Clinton, who received a thunderous applause after making the statement, went further to point out that intelligence, ability and effort is evenly distributed in all parts of the world but that investments and an organised system is only achieved through a thoughtful planning by the government.
He stated that the whole idea about the Sullivan principles is the maximisation of talents and to help people achieve their dreams.
“I am convinced that the number one challenge today in Africa is building the systematic capacity that would enable people who live here to make their own future. One thing I have learnt in all the places that I have been all over the world is that intelligence, ability and effort are evenly distributed. But investment, opportunity, effective system are not”, he said.
He said the “miracle economies of Asia” did not come about only as a result of intelligence and hard work but also because of a system that will reward people’s efforts and intelligence.
The former US President who has been to Nigeria three times since leaving the White House praised President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Minister of Finance, now Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the great work he says they have done for the country.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has signed a deal with the Clinton Foundation to facilitate the supply of affordable and high-quality drugs to fight the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.
Though accurate health statistics are elusive, experts estimate that between 3.5 million and five million people here have contracted the HIV virus which leads to AIDS and that the number is increasing rapidly.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding in Abuja yesterday was witnessed by President Olusegun Obasanjo and Clinton and Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo signed for Nigeria, Ira Magaziner signed for the Foundation.
Under the deal, Nigeria will be included in the Foundation's procurement consortium and benefit from its negotiated supplier agreements to reduce the prices of HIV/AIDS drugs.
Under the deal, the Clinton Foundation will also assist Nigeria in expanding access to pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment by facilitating access to pediatric anti-retrovirial drugs and providing technical assistance.
The Foundation will help the country mobilise financial resources from donor governments, other foundations, multilateral organisations, private corporations and individuals and fund HIV/AIDS interventions.
Clinton at the event also called for concerted efforts to fight AIDS saying "We cannot stop the spread of AIDS without building the capacity of governments, without NGOs working with governments. My contribution is basically to give the least expensive high-quality AIDS medicine in the world to children and adults.”
But Nigeria and other African countries are most unlikely to meet the 2015 target for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated this yesterday in Abuja while presenting a paper on "Financing and Investing in Africa's Private Sector" at the on-going Sullivan Summit VII.
The Minister noted that over the years, there had been an improvement in the macroeconomic environment, business climate and good governance, but lamented that human development indicators in most African countries have shown little improvement.
She said, "Infact, with less than a decade to 2015, it appears most African countries are unlikely to meet any of their MDG targets. The missing link here is that we have not been able to translate our improved economic and political environment into measurable developments of the real sectors of our economies so that jobs can be created for our youths and poverty cut in half."
The Foreign Minister said compared with other regions, Africa's share of global FDI at about 6-7 percent is still very low.
"In 2005, when sub-saharan Africa received $17.6 billion in FDI, other regions performed much better, with East Asia attracting about $65.3 billion, Latin America and the Caribbean receiving about $61.4 billion", she said.
Okonjo-Iweala stressed that "developing the real sectors of the economy is needed to create employment, and also to improve the incomes and livelihoods of our citizens. The lack of adequate investments in Africa, is also surprising given the high rates of return obtained by foreign investors. Research by UNCTAD examined foreign direct investments in the 1990s, and concluded that the African region provided some of the highest rates of return of about 29 percent. Infact for Nigeria, the average rate of return is on private investment in the economy is 35 percent."



http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=53413

Like I've said and I repeat, ATIKU NOR IBB will never rule Nigeria, forget about politics, OBJ will choose the next president of the country to replace him, and neither ATIKU or IBB fit that post for now.

Yes, I am a Yoruba man, and I will prefer Igbo man as president compare to Hausa man, the Northerners has nothing to offer the new Nigeria but corruption and embezzlement, I know I will be stepping on toes by that statement, but its the reality we've been experiencing since independent.

Damn Lawrence Anini, a arm robber. None of this people will ever rule Nigeria again mark my word, Nigeria of today is different .