₦airaland Forum

9ijaMan:
While I agree with your point that it makes no sense to measure a mediocre perfomance against another one, the fact remains that Alams did a lot for for his people in Bayelsa than GEJ & Sylva combined. I know the place very well 'cos I worked in some of the towns such as Nembe, Gbaran, Kolo Creek, Opokuma for several years and noted that Alams pursued some developmental projects which are either decaying currently due to lack of maintenance of halfway completed.

Alams was a crook who should be prosecuted no doubt, his thievery pales in comparison to GEJ & Sylva. That's the reason I keep asking team GEJ cronies on NL to point out what GEJ has achieved in his 12 years in governance.

the mother of all thief in bayelsa will be timi alaibi. I heard he is contesting for gov in 2011.

Alams is the best gov bayelsa has known, off course others will say he is a crook, as if there is one politician that's not a crook in nigeria.
Alams wa disgraced out of office because he moved with the wrong gang

Ibori is the best gov delta state has also know, unfortunately he is also a crook.

the best govs of the core niger delta turns out to be crooks while the ones who do nothing for their people turns out to be saints because they mix with the right crowd

ddippset:
do you all know how wealthy these niger delta governors and chairmen are? if u did, then u would know we have to hold our direct leaders responsible not abuja!

The Thinking of a men so used to abuse. Blames himself instead of the abuser. Do you know how wealthy the northern leaders are? If only you know. They are so wealthy that they are drunk from too much wealth and marry 13 yrs old children with millions as bride price.

Chrisbenogor:
Whoever set this up to make us think the North is responsible for the woes of the Niger delta must be laughing his buttocks off somewhere. The level of funding given to the Niger delta presently is enough to make the region a little heaven in Africa. Instead of facing the immediate problem we have there which is the lack of leadership we would rather blame someone else for our problems. All the governors of the Niger Delta are stinky and corrupt, they are a living punishment to the region and if anyone can convince me that it is the north that foisted the lights of Ibori, Igbenedion, victor attah, uduaghan and their thieving and conniving backsides into power in this region I might just listen.
For now the ND is the laughing stock of africa, instead of these silly bondage freedom fighters to take them out they are busy bombing inanimate objects like pipelines. MSCHEWWWWWWWWWW

Thats just the way those in Abuja and in the north will want you to reason.
They want you to blame your governors for the problems in the Niger delta. You forget that for every 13% given as derivation, there is a remaining 87% not yet accounted for. You really believe that you can achieve more with 13% than with 87%?

and is the 13% derivation a replacement for Federal presence in the ND?

You are told to blame your govs for the failure of federal structures, and with your brain numb by propanganda against your local leaders you blame your govs and leave the main crooks in abuja.

What ever the state you come from in the ND, you can point out one silly project being done by the state govs, can you point out what the Federal govt is doing in the ND apart from arming the Military against the people of the ND?

NIGER Delta is under colonial rule and its people are being subjected to suffering by both the Federal Government and the oil companies operating in the area, former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has said.

Campbell spoke in Rhode Island, United States over the weekend at the second yearly Chinua Achebe Colloquium hosted by Brown University and the famous Nigerian author during a panel discussion entitled, “The Niger Delta Crisis: The Political, Economic and Environmental Conundrum”.

Campbell spoke just as the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) condemned the renewed hostilities in the region, especially the alleged excessive use of military force last week in seeking to dislodge some alleged armed militants in Ayakoromor community in Burutu council of Delta State which led to the reported killing of an undetermined number of civilians.

The former U.S. ambassador said what is happening in the oil producing area can also be described as “an insurrection that goes on for 50 years,” adding that it goes beyond poverty and criminality.

“Too many people in Niger Delta actively supported the insurrection because they are alienated from their government and excluded from the political process,” he said.

Explaining why he thinks the Niger Delta situation is comparable to colonial rule, Campbell described what is happening there, as recurring insurgency.   “We should think of colonial rule. Is Niger Delta a colony of Abuja and the oil companies are the junior partners?” he said.

Going further, Campbell who was U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria up till 2007 when Dr. Robin Rene Sanders took over, added that while Niger Delta should be viewed as a colony, the “imperialists in that case are not some foreign country, but some other parts of Nigeria.”

Campbell who recently wrote a book titled, “Nigeria on the brink”? for which Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Prof. Ade Adefuye, took him to task, added that Niger Delta as a colony is producing profit that is being distributed from oil and gas as determined by Abuja and not the people of the area.

“No accountability at local or state government level, so Niger Delta people have little or no role in who is governing them and how,” he submitted to other members of the panel and the colloquium audience including Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, Prof. Ade Adefuye, Dr. Judith Asuni, who was once detained for suspected espionage activities in Nigeria, and U.S. academic, Peter Lewis.

There were also activists like Annkio Briggs, Isidore Udoh and the panel moderator, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, who identified himself as a son of a Niger Delta mother. The Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian, Mr. Emeka Izeze, also attended the event and spoke on the topic, “Elections and Political Transparency” at another panel discussion.

In her own submission, one of the activists on the panel, Annkio Briggs, argued that militants are a creation of the political elite in Niger Delta and some of their leaders.

Corroborating Campbell’s views on elections in the area, Briggs pointed to lack of credible elections in the area, recalling how someone from Niger Delta had recounted that the last general elections in the area was the best because at least, no one went to vote, and there was no violence even though results were declared.

On how to end the Niger Delta insurgency, Campbell advocated for the conduct of credible elections in the area which would make the political leaders accountable to the people, and a credible political process to address the “myriad of issues” in the area.

“Disarmament and pay-off without a political process will not work. It will be a long process, but not unrealistic that credible elections in Niger Delta could indeed start the process,” he said.

Isidore Udoh from the Niger Delta World Congress also agreed that the ongoing amnesty programme of the Federal Government has “no useful strategy,” as it is being currently implemented.

Meanwhile, the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday in Benin City condemned the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta, calling for the implementation of the report of the Ledum Mitee Technical Committee on the Niger Delta.

While fielding questions from journalists at the University of Benin, National President of ASUU, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, said the ASUU NEC observed that the massive infiltration of military personnel into the region is an indication that the amnesty programme of the Federal Government is a failure and needed to be readdressed by the government.
Besides, the university teachers criticised the decision of the Federal Government to build six new universities just as they condemned the attitude of the south-eastern state governors, who they accused of neglecting education in the area because their wards are not schooling in the country.

Speaking after the association’s national executive meeting, Prof. Awuzie accused the five governors of the south-eastern states of “criminal conspiracy against the Igbos” by their alleged failure to solve the lingering problem in the universities in the states.   

On its part, the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), which strongly condemned armed insurrection in the Niger Delta and urged all militants to embrace the amnesty programme of the Federal Government, however stated that the men and officers of the joint military task force must exercise the highest degree of professionalism and ought to have done everything within their power to minimise the damage which was unnecessarily visited on the riverine community of Ayakoromor in Delta State as claimed by the now displaced civilian inhabitants of the community.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Affairs, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA faulted the claim by the JTF boss, General Charles Omoregie that because the soldiers came under fire was a justification for the kind of unprecedented carnage that was reportedly visited on the fishing community.

MShittu:
Lagos, Edo and Jigawa, all examples I had in my first post, have been doing so, with Lagos and Edo fixing up state infrastructure and with Jigawa relaxing state economic policies to allow small businesses to thrive more

I asked which country? not state. Maybe I should repeat the question. Which country in the world do you consttuent states driving development policies.
People are calling on states because the federal level has simply refused to do their duties and are using federal might to bully states into doing federal responsibilities.

What you people fail to realise is that what the federal govt can achieve in 1 year will take states donkey years to achieve.

An example is GSM coverage, How long do you think states govs would have required to license gsm operators to cover the 36 states. The federal govt made over 1 billion dollars just to license the GSM operators. Just by creating the policy that alllowed private investment in telecoms.

On power for example, the federal govt can also make money easily by creating a policy that allows private investment in power at a profit to the investors. No state gov can do that.

What you see in Lagos, edo and the other states you count a mere cosmetic development to woo electorates and solicit praise.
How does the development affect the the living standards of the people in those states.

Development is and will always be driven by good and consistent economic policies at the federal level

Can you tell me of any country where development has been spearheaded by the governors with those at the federal level sleeping?

coming a few months to the end of the gov. tenure, this is very absurd.

I Strongly doubt that the catholic priest is guilty.

FACE:
You played football with the fellas that lived around the church, you saw their guns, thought they were local thieves and still imagined that they were harmless ? Were you just naive, plain silly or are you the type of person that would continue to condone evil as long as you don't feel threatened ?

The priest may not have been involved in the act but it is unlikely that he was unaware of a defensive sandbag in front of the building next to his residence, which was set up by gun wielding civilians. It was his moral duty to report such development to the right authorities . What about those that worship at the church ? Were they also naive like Slap 1 ?

check the bolded section. which right authority should the priest have reported to. did the authorities say they are not aware of those doing the kidnappings or where they reside?

on the Aba /PH there is a police checkpoint/Anti terrorist and FRSC checkpoint every 700metres. at any point on that road you are in sight of at least 2 checkpoints, yet all these kidnappings were happening under the full view of the police.

Those who reported to the police were either killed by the kidnappers or chased out of the villages. some of the village chiefs that opposed the kidnappers are still living in exile till today.
until they arrest all the police that were aiding and abbeting the kidnapping justice will not be served

lezuya:
A Lady should first of all be in LOVE with her guy,then she should be ready to stand by him through rough times.She should remain honest and truthful  all the time.That is it,what more can we guys seek of ladies?

This approach can get you a man with conscience. The wild ones will take advantage of you.

But what do men really want from you. I think you have what they want already, you just need to be yourself.

But on going into a relationship know what you want, if you are looking towards being married soon,  it does not make sense dating someone you can not marry. Know when to be serious and look for a husband. In a new relationship let you partner know your expectation from the relationship, that way you can quickly eliminate time wasters.

And watch your criteria, the handsome man today may become pot bellied tomorrow, the poor guy may become very rich tomorrow, the young applicant may become a MD tomorrow, so do not write potential suitors off just because on their present condition, things change and people generally become richer with age.

And note that you do not need to change a bit to get a man, different men with different taste, some are looking for someone just like you. But know what you want and go for it.

beejaay:
thank you so much for your post. at least there are still sensible people left on NL.
the guy is so daft that he should be living in the zoo

Thats what you get for coming to a public forum on the internet, you may well be arguing with a 3 year old, Thats why I said children should go to the video game section

flexshop:
'they are terrorists and NOT MEND'

Should d bolded portion be translated to SWAHILI before you understand it.
Geez

can youn explain what you understand by the statement

"The name of MEND that operates in Niger Delta was only used"

jabbok:
^

“We know those behind the attack and the persons sponsoring them; they are terrorists not MEND. The name of MEND that operates in Niger Delta was only used. I grew up in the Niger Delta so nobody can claim to know Niger Delta than myself, because I am from Niger Delta”

—President Goodluck Jonathan


"When President Jonathan, during a visit to the National Hospital to commiserate with victims of the bombing, said the terrorist act should not merely be ascribed to MEND, what he was simply saying was that nobody should use the name of any organization to cover up a heinous crime. He was not absolving MEND or any other group of blame or culpability"

-Mr. Sully Abu(director of media and publicity Jonathan campaign organisation)

After being on Nairaland for quite some time, I have noticed that many people on Nairaland just talk (write) without listening to themselves. People come online to defend some preconceived positions and nothing someone else says will make them see reasons.

Several misconceptions are coming out of these bomb blast issue.

1st, Looking at the statement credited to GEJ, I do not see where he exonorated MEND. In fact He said the name of mend was used to carry out the bomb attack. But does using the name of MEND make it a MEND attack? I don't think so, What I think the president trying to do is to unveil MEND as we know it and get to the Culprits of this heinous crime. We can't just say it is MEND and go to sleep, Who in MEND ordered the attack and for what purpose. If for example Okar, or any other menber of MEND for selfish reasons, collects money from Enemies of Nigeria and set off a Bomb. Can you really ascribe it to MEND? I don't think so. We must unveil MEND and know who did what, many members of MEND have renounced violence, so ascribing the bomb blast to all of them is unjust.

The members of MEND are known to Govt and the Security agencies. They got a threat days before the attack, they contacted the MEND mermbers they knew, all denied planning an attack, even Okar denied planning an attack hence he was released by the SA authorities. Govt certainly know where the threat were coming from, and if they say Terrorists are mascuarading as MEND to cause havoc, who are these people on Nairaland to say no one is mascuarading as MEND. What intel do you people have to show that it is MEND  and not someone else paid to do it and ascribe it to MEND. Certainly govt intel must be strong to warrant the British deciding against gracing the occassion.

2. The other angle is the one of Minority and Majority tribes, We have seen some people trying to say, Gowon, IBB, abacha, Shagari are from minority tribes, hence the minority tribes have ruled Nigeria for a longer time than the majority tribes.
This crap. people just try to twist logic to suite their purpose. We all know that the minority tribes in the north have in addition to their dialet a common language which is Hausa and when national discuss goes on, they are unified to a large extent by the common hausa language. coming out to say they are minorities does not fly because they are unified by one major tribe and they see themselves as unified.

Like I said there are several people on Nairaland, those who are of age and others that are not, those who can hold educated discourse  and others who can't. if you are a child and can not fully understand what is being discussed, pls go to the Video game or gossip section. Those who can not hold educated discourse, go to the jokes section

• Jesus Of God Mission (Imo State)

• God's Mennonite Church

• Guided Missiles Church



• JESUS IN THE NOW GLOBAL MINISTRY'

• Healing Has Begun Ministry

• God's Own Ministry

• The True Assemblies of God Church (don't want to think of what this implies of the other Assemblies of god we know)

• Jehova Sharp Sharp (Festac)

• Huricane Miracle Ministry

• Healing Tsunami Ministry

• Satan in Trouble Ministry

• Fire for Fire Ministry

• Guided Missiles Church === saw this one myself here in Lagos.
• My guess is they're affiliated with NATO

• FIST OF FURY (NTA road, Port Harcourt)

• Run For Your Life Ministry === my favorite!

Here's the sign for Run for your life chapel

• The Yoke Must Broke Ministry

• Jesus Heal Ministry

• Face to face ministry

• Angels on Fire Chapel of Peace

• Liquid Fire Ministries (Suleja, Niger State)

• By fire By Fire Ministry

• HOLYFIRE OVERFLOW MINISTRIES

• David Killed Goliath Ministry (Kaduna)

• House of Jehova's Padawans (TransAmadi, PH)

• JESUS IN HIS MIGHTINESS GLOBAL MINISTRY

• OPM - Other people's money (PH)

• God in action ministries

• Moving mountain gospel church

• MY BROTHER IS A CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD

• Fellowship of the Wings - Ajah (Langbasa)

• Power Foundation Ministries, Aba. === The pastor's maiden crusade was titled: "Your Money is Looking For You"

• HOLY GHOST ON FIRE MINISTRY (Abuja)

• HIGH TENSION MINISTRY

• JESUS NEVER bleep UP MINISTRY (Benin) === for those of you who don't get the meaning, replace the word bleep in this one with the err, the "F" word

• Devil go hear am Jesus Ministry

• Accredited Church of God

• Chukwudi & Son evangelical ministry, Aba === (Igbo man no dey carry last!)

• Power pass power church of the mountain ministry incorporated

• Ministry Of The Naked Wire - Bayelsa State

• LABORATORY CHURCH OF GOD

And here's the sign for Laboratory Church of God

• Go and tell Ahab that Elijah is here ministries - Benin

• God is Real Ministry.
Motto: "Jesus no get muscle but he get power"

• Fire burn ministries

• JESUS THE LANDLORD, WE THE RELAXING PEW MINISTRY - Portharcourt

• Happy Go Lucky Church of God Almighty In Jesus Name Amen - Abeokuta

• Old time religion ministry

• Strong Hand of God ministry

• Best Spot In The Land of God Church - Apapa.

• Trigger happy ministry.
Motto- always firing the devil

• KASABUBU CHURCH OF GOD - Ibadan

• Jesus knows his children ministry - Benin

• SEVEN THUNDERS OF JESUS

• Perfect Christianity Ministry

• Elshaddai Shall Not Die Ministries

mr banji:
Suv and jeep are the same custom will write same valuation for it.

What about a chevrolet 2007 Equinox (SUV). How much will it cost to clear. Pls treat my request as urgent.

mr banji:
Answering question is a different thing,how ready is the client is another issue, 10 is not a vehicle that stick to price, a may get a way of getting the price reduced now and when you ready it may not catch up with the price again. It is something you attend to with ease. Am not an agent that does not carry client along i will let you know what the situation is for the moment.
@ sparkel i did answer your question.
[b]For chevrolet traverse if is a jeep it will cost 950k[/b]

Chevrolet Traverse is a SUV.
950K is rather on the high side. Can this price be made lower?

how much will it cost to clear a used 2010 chevrolet traverse. it will be coming from the US

RICHIE BOI:
Meanwhile, leaders of the Urhobo ethnic nationality in Delta State on Thursday said the projects Jonathan would inaugurate were inherited by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan from Ibori, adding that the present administration had not executed any meaningful project to warrant inviting the President to the state.

The Urhobo elders, under the aegis of Delta Elders, Leaders and Stakeholders Forum, spoke at a news conference in Warri.

The group in the address signed by Chief Patrick Ideh; Chief Godwin Ogbetuo; Mr. Sam Kowho; Chief Atuyota Ejughemre; and Chief Tito Kedo, described the projects, especially the headquarters of the Nigerian Navy Logistics Command, as a misplacement of priority by the state government.

They alleged that the Delta State University Teaching Hospital was sited at a wrong location, to serve the personal interest of the former governor.

The group in the address signed by Chief Patrick Ideh; Chief Godwin Ogbetuo; Mr. Sam Kowho; Chief Atuyota Ejughemre; and Chief Tito Kedo, said it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to build and equip naval formations. The Delta leaders commended Jonathan for his war against corruption and electoral fraud and urged him not to relent or succumb to intimidation.

“Since the administration, no meaningful project has been undertaken in the state. The projects to be inaugurated by the President are old projects done by an earlier administration. The commissioning of Olomu Bridge, Okpare, which attracted hostile reaction from the people, is one of such projects,” the group added.

What makes these people leaders of Urhobo ethnic nationality. people just ascribe titles to themselves.
The Naval headquarter was built as a condition to make the Naval vacate the Sapele Port. how can dismissing the Navy from the sapele port be called misplaced priority when the 4 ports in Delta state has been made idle by policies of the FG. Think of the jobs that we be created if the sapele port would work the way it used to work before it was confisticated by the navy. People just talk rubbish to get political relevance

monkeyleg:
Guys, you know this is the problem with Nigeria. We as a people find it extremely difficult to be true to ourselves. We have lost the sense of right and wrong. This in my humble opinion is the real reason why nigeria as a country is going nowhere.

What are the facts of the matter

1: Ibroi was governor of Delta state for 8yrs
2: Ibori's salary as about £25000 per annum
3: Ibori's father was an ambulance driver (came from a very poor home), not a problem, but cant have inherited great wealth
4: Ibori got an extra 960BN from oil revenue
5: did absolutely nothing in the state.
6: Bought properties worth millions of pounds
7: Is currently charged with money laundering to the tune of £43m (far more than he ever earned).

And yet , there are people one here defending him

Why will people not defend him when you come online and spill lies.
look at your list above and tell us how you came across the data you are parading.

75% of millionaires worldwide are 1st generation millionaires, so Ibori does not need to inherit millions from his parent to be a millionaire. Do you know Ibori's declared asset in 1999 on entering office was 9 billion naira? was that money stolen from the coffers of the state?

Imagine you coming online to say Ibori did absolutely nothing in delta state, My advice, if you know nothing keep quiet, people will assume you are wise. Visit delta state, structures built by Ibori are there for you to see.

imagine saying ibori got 960 billion from oil. Thats 10 billion monthly. No state gets 10billion naira monthly as derivation. The figures are published periodically, the publication are meant to be read, read the publications and arm yourself with the truth.

joshO:
What's important now, is the complete destruction of Ibori's political structures in Delta state - remove Uduaghan, legislators, State PDP chairman and many legislatures, which extensive political reforms can help achieve.

that is simply the crux of the matter. if Ibori agrees to stop being a political force in delta state all these so called trouble will go away in a flash.

Remember the ex-convict case. ibori only had to soft pedal on resource control agitation and the case was dismissed.

Looking at the so called delta elders who are behind this latest noise, they simply want power. none of them is fighting for better governance in delta state.

Aba is off limit to me. too many kidnappers on the Aba axis. and they are gradually creeping closer to port harcourt.

The Story of my abduction.


I was traveling from Aba in Abia state back to PortHarcourt where I reside after a marriage introduction ceremony of my youngest sister Nene in my family house in Aba.
I left the house at about 4pm that day 15/5/2010 with my small uncle Anayo and a cousin Maureen. Maureen dropped somewhere in Aba while I proceeded to Portharcourt with Anayo.

We had barely traveled 11km when we met what appeared to be a routine Police check point at Ihie. Normally we were flagged down for routine check at about 5pm or even later. I was asked for my driving license which I produced, I was asked to come down and open my boot and it was at this point that I was told to enter a waiting Kia saloon car facing right and at right angle to the main express road. Other vehicles were stopped simultaneously for stop and search. An SUV that refused to stop was sprayed with bullets with apparent missing of targets and within about 5minutes the operation was over.

About 2 vehicles carried the victims, a Kia saloon and a Pathfinder SUV. Some of us were loaded in the booths. After 5minutes drive into the village we were all blind folded and now driven through untarred bush roads to an isolated location which was a transit point. It took about extra 5minutes to get there.
You know things were happening fast and it was so easy to lose tract of time. At this temporary site, we were thoroughly beaten with the butts and barrels of the gun. I never knew pains could be felt in quick succession after trauma to a particular point. When I was hit at the back with the AK47 assault riffle, I felt the first superficial pain and this was followed immediately by another crushing pain much deeper.
We were about 15 people, men, women and children. After about 4hours, the women and children were driven back to the road to find their ways home.
We the men, about 9 in number now waited for the next 1.5hours to be taken to their so-called police cell were they kept captives. In the transit camp where we were kept, there is one small house inhabited by a woman and some 2 or 3 children. The woman had normal conversations with our captors and her small baby was always crying. We left the temporary area in the same 2 vehicles and by 10minutes we were in the cell.
The place was surrounded by bushes and harbored a roofed but un-completed block house with doors. A standby generator was on and I had lifted the scarf over my eyes a little long before we left the transit location. We were bundled into a dark room wit one window and with 8 captives inside already.

The mode of capture of these previous 8 was targeted and not as random as ours. Example the councilor was visited by them as a Police team in a Police vehicle and informed that he was wanted in the police station in connection with certain matters. He followed them willingly.

We could only sit or lie down with our eyes covered. We were 17 in number in my cell. These include 3 Royal highnesses (The Eze of Isuochi, The Eze of Omuma, and another very important Eze that I couldn’t quite identify well because he was taken away shortly for ‘special treatment’ and remained there after I left), the councilor representing a constituency in Omuma (hypertensive and diabetic), a retired NNPC manger (diabetic), a retired CBN supervisor, a PTI lecturer/pastor, 2 yahoo fraudsters, drivers, a tailor, and some others.

Our cell phones, money and every other belonging were taken from us apart from our clothing. Food is never given to the captives and water is dispensed at extreme discretion of the captors and by my calculation this amounted to 500mls alternate daily. At a point the councilor drank my water as I moved a little out of my position to urinate. As it was close to midnight, the captors encouraged us to pray and came in periodically to check on us. I must tell you that we all prayed as never before till morning. We also continued to pray like that every day.

For me it was as true as daylight. The next day was a Sunday and at about 9am, the captor in-charge of making contacts for the captives came into our cell enquiring for people needing to contact their people for early release. It followed the sequence from interrogation about yourself and work to brutality and torture, bargain for release and possible mortal injury following failure to reach an amicable settlement. One of the captive’s phone lines was always used for these contacts. The man in charge of the contact making is called a name. I figure he is the 3rd in command in the camp. He comes with aides who brutalize the captives mercilessly on failure to agree to a stated bill which runs into millions of naira.

My initial bill was N10million even though it came down to N2m later. I was now asked to talk to my people. I talked to my people and returned the phone to the captors for negotiation with my people. The first bidding amount from my people was N100,000 which earned me the beating of my life in the hands his aides. I was hit with the gun repeatedly and while pointed close to my neck with the gun corked and uncorked severally and with several simultaneous kicks on the head and body, I was asked to talk to my people. The beating was temporarily halted when impressed it on my people of the need again to be ‘reasonable’ amidst my cry of pains. I was one of the youngest captive. One can now imagine the impact of the brutality on an elderly man and the sick people.

On that Sunday the councilor was beaten blue and black on failure to accept the N10million request fast. This was a frail looking man with 10 children, a wife and with the whole extended family as dependants. He collapsed with repeated hits on the head, ribs, hands and every other parts of the body with the butt, barrel of the gun and woods measuring 2inch x 2inch in thickness. He was literally left helpless on the floor. He constantly bemoaned his fate and wished to die in his house where his corpse will at-least be seen and given a burial unlike the camp here where our captors will bury him. He recovered a little by Monday but that never gave him any reprieve as he continued to receive thorough beating like the rest of us. Many of us all cried like babies.

The councilor got his people to sell his new car, his lands, and several other belongings and all amounted to the sum of N450,000. He also sought to collect the month’s contribution among 10 of his colleagues amounting to N500,000 which never materialized by the time I left them.

My brother it was pathetic for the diabetic and the hypertensive. It is noteworthy that age was no barrier to the brutality because we had 2 people who were above 70years of age, the Eze of Omuma and the Eze of Isuochi. The first received thorough but a moderated level brutality which increased sequentially with each daily failure to meet the captors’ demand while the second, though brutalized, had some significant consideration because he is 74years. His wife had to walk virtually the whole streets begging for money and he also had to sell lands. The rest received the same level of brutality and torture which increased with every passing day.

I tried to get close to the retired NNPC man who is also a pastor because I felt he never understood the psychology of this group that prefer to call themselves Abia State Militants.
He never agreed to any fixed amount and I felt he mistook the initial moderation of the brutality on him as a spiritual effect. He is a retired man and probably over 60yrs of age. However, he was soon to understand that his judgment was wrong. The mercilessness of the boys was un-paralleled because by the time I was leaving the camp on Tuesday night there was a special torture session carried out simultaneously by over 20 of the militants which I myself may have found difficult to recover from despite my good physical fitness. The captors had claimed that a cell phone had been stolen in the camp and all the captives that refused to bargain ‘properly’ were responsible. The captors appear not to have much interest on what they regard as poor fools like drivers, gaunt looking people, mechanics, tailors etc. Even though the ‘poor fools’ sometimes pay all their savings to the captors, they tend to receive good considerations in terms of length of stay only.

I left the camp after the direct negotiation between my people and my captors went through. We left the camp at about 10pm on Tuesday. Those released that night were the Professor (Eze of Isuochi), one pastor, one driver and my humble self. Three of us were bundled into the booth of a Nissan Pathfinder SUV while Prof was given the privilege of sitting down comfortably inside the car.

As we left the camp, one or two small boys were moving about close by and our captors questioned the supposed strangers in a loud voice asking “who be that” and the small boys (I say small boys from their voice on reply) answered “I beg na indigenes”. The Eze of Omuma was released a day earlier after paying the sum of one million two hundred thousand naira.

After about 5minutes into our journey to freedom, the SUV stopped suddenly and refused to start again. After a few futile attempts to start the car, the four armed captors disembarked and called the camp for another vehicle. They identified their position as opposite the Nigerian Police Station. In less than 4minutes a new Toyota corolla arrived for us to continue our journey. I was asked to enter the booth with the pastor/PTI lecturer. They discharged us at Ihie junction and gave us transport money. We all walked bare footed because even our shoes were collected. I received N500.00. They also informed me that my vehicle was at the Police station. The Prof and the released driver proceeded to Portharcourt while I proceeded to Aba with the pastor. I arrived my family house at Aba at about 12:09am on Wednesday to the jubilation of my parents and every other person in the house and on the street. I am grateful to my relatives who contributed immensely for my release. They include my parents, my wife, my brother, my sisters, my cousin, my uncles abroad, my in-laws, my mother’s uncle, my aunt, the pastors who prayed continually, my local church, my genuine friends who acted promptly and several well wishers.

I did not involve the police and it was the best decision. The location of the camp is not hidden. The subdued villagers know them and also know all their locations. Again the terrain of the area consisting of thick bushes, well spaced houses and the bad nature of the road all combine to favor the use of those locations by the militants.

The militants tend to wear military uniforms in the camp and police uniforms with police bullet proof vest outside the camp for their normal operations. They carry AK47 assault riffles and perform drills each morning in the bush around the cell building- the so-called camp. All the boys spoke the local dialect- asa/ngwa version of igbo language. The chairman/leader of the group who authorized each release has facial tribal marks, speaks same dialect. It may not surprise me if he is a northerner and security personnel. It is impossible that the security agents do not know their position.

The joy of release subdued all the pains. I also forgot I had not eaten for 4days. I proceeded to Ihie Police station to collect my car as I was informed by my captors as my car was too old for an operational vehicle. I saw the vehicle at local police station at Ihie. I fulfilled their formalities, made statements and informed them of the release of Prof. In doing these I guarded my utterances because you never know who the insiders were. I also spoke with the DPO of the station. I also met some special police units who came on routine patrol to the police station and narrated my ordeal to them.

On this visit to retrieve my car I also observed that the security agents concentrated their presence on the express road leaving the entire village empty.

My brother even the people you are supposed to report to are scared and appear helpless. You also cannot rule out their support from politicians because of several boasts of installing candidates come 2011. Information flow freely in the camp there; it is unimaginable how the information comes without government/security insiders. It also appeared they were planning relocation soon based on the insiders’ requests; possibly because of impending raid by government forces. They claim to pay some insiders-the normal Nigerian settlement.

It is pathetic the level Abia state has degenerated to. It is a level just slightly above those of animals and the bottom line is greed, corruption, power drunkenness. I understand Imo-state is following closely.

I became ill on Thursday- the cumulative effects of the ordeal. My heart goes out to the innocent men still in captivity. I wonder if they will make it alive. They include the retired NNPC manger/pastor in Winners chapel (Yoruba), retired CBN supervisor (igbo), the councilor (Omuma), The Eze who I could not identify well.

What if these kidnappers were ritualists; what would have been our fate; it is all greed, corruption, power drunkenness. Until there is good and committed leadership everything will continue to go downhill.


Dr Ohaka, MD.

You can marry her if you both so desire. There is nothing wrong in that. afterall most likely she will not remain a widow for ever, she will marry someone.

As long as you were not dating before the death of the husband, who the hell cares whether you marry a widow or not.

If you marry someone else, you can never help your friend's family as much as you want, your new wife will ensure you are not too close to give valuable help. women have a way of doing that.

But donot marry anyone out of pity. you might regret it.

and do not take advantage of her. She might just be down now due to the death of her spouse. Do you really think you are good for her?
She might marry you out of her current depression and later regret it

Sagamite:
You are an utter slowpoke!

A thief is a thief and stop defending him by talking crap about who has not been arrested. Ediot!

By your analogy a petty thief should be given maximum punishment. afterall a thief is a thief. so the lynching and burning to death of GSM thieves on the streets of Lagos is justifiable.

Instead of being objective in your reply you quickly result to insults. what a shame.

Another round of legal trouble has started for Ibori.

Reports have it that Ibori has been arrested by Interpol in Dubai.

With Ibori out of the picture, lets see if the problems of Nigeria will now be solved.

24/7 electricity, Security for all, motorable roads across the country, No more rigging of elections, Jobs for the Jobless youths, Functional schools

http://www.huhuonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1572:chief-james-onanefe-ibori-arrested-in-uaedubai&catid=103:more-news

which part of this writeup support the title? kolo dey worry you

3 Yrs ago when OBJ was leaving we had about 60 Billion dollars in our foreign reserve. In 3 yrs they have been able to squander the money.

I guess Ibori must have squandared the 60 billion USD thats why Jonathan wants him arrested dead or alive. Foolish leaders, foolish followers

its frustrating that Ibori gets involved in controversies. why on earth will ibori stick to Yaradur even when it was obvious that yaradua was on a one way mission to meet God.

Now its pay back time. Goodluck wants his pound of flesh. Waziri has been told that a shakeup is coming to efcc and she is doing everything to save her job, even if it means biting the fingers that fed her.

The average nigerian is easily fooled. They want a crackdown on corruption, so those in power only need to label their opponents corrupt and pounce on them. then they are applauded, just like what is happening now. Even when yardua wanted to pounce on Rubadu, all he had to do was label Ribadu as a corrupt man who did not declare his asset. To throw El rufai out, they simply had to label him corrupt, accusing him of shady dealings in the FCT. The yearnings of the average Nigerian for the Govt to fight corruption is being used by those in power to consolidate themselves, without any intention to fight corruption. And the average nigerian, like rasputinn, is falling for the trick.

It no longer count that Ibori performed better than most govs during his tenure. It no longer count tha he built schools (primary, secondary and tertiary) roads, hospitals e.t.c all over delta state. He has been labelled a criminal and must be crucified even before any court pronounce him guilty. The next govs of delta state are learning. it does not pay to build infrastructures. Simply share the money to those who can cause you trouble and live in peace and praise just like Odili did. What a nation.

naijaking1:
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An Islamic cleric who spoke to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND said that the whole thing goes counter-cause to Islam. He said that though there were no limits to how much can be paid as bride price, Islam still preaches moderation. According to him, the former governor flouted this caveat. Besides, said the cleric, Yeriman being a public office holder, should not have made such an ostentatious show of wealth.

Those who attended the wedding in Abuja include Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Maina Maaji Lawal, deputy governor of Zamfara State, Mukhtar Hanka, and the Emir of Bakura.

Thats the troubling part. the clerics who mislead them do not see anything wrong in marrying toddlers. the cleric in this case only see the display of wealth as being bad.

Poster, check Chi Limited, makers of Chivita. They buy more than you can supply

just wait, the bashing will begin soon. you called for it

Thats where i normally keep my chocolates when going to nigeria.

Because chocolate is heavy, I don't like checking them in so that it does not robb me of my allowed checked in baggage allowance

So i keep them in the hand luggage, and believe me, I buy alot to share to all the "well wishes" in nigeria. and I keep all in my hand luggage. Normally they don't weigh the hand luggage, they only check it for size dimensions.

Some people are saying getting development approval for Lugbe is difficult and there are demolations being planned for Lugbe, how truthful are these rumours

This look cheap, Maybe am used to expensive properties.

Any particular reason why it is cheap?
Whats the going rate for thesame size of land in the area this one is situated?