₦airaland Forum

Mend eyes Nigeria changes
The main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta said today it was monitoring developments after Vice President Goodluck Jonathan assumed presidential powers, but declined to comment further.

Upstream staff 10 February 2010 10:19 GMT


"We are monitoring the unfolding drama and will react at the appropriate time," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said in an email to Reuters.

The group last month said it was ending a unilateral ceasefire and threatened renewed attacks on Africa's biggest oil and gas industry amid delays to an amnesty programme caused partly by the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua.


Published: 10 February 2010 10:19 GMT | Last updated: 10 February 2010 10:19 GMT

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article206019.ece?

Quantitative analysis of rural poverty in Nigeria
Source: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Date: 09 Feb 2010


Full_Report (pdf* format - 369.5 Kbytes)

In spite of Nigeria's abundant natural and human resource endowment, poverty remains pervasive, multifaceted, and chronic. Given the most recent data available, it is estimated that approximately 69 million (or 54.4 percent) Nigerians lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of more than 24 percent since 1980. This brief deals with poverty in Nigeria and focuses on the determinants of poverty in rural households by identifying the household/community characteristics (such as the status of women) and region-specific risks that affect rural poverty and how they have changed over time. Copyright © International Food Policy Research Institute


http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SNAA-82J39C?

Yar’Adua’s Absence: Akunyili Speaks For Herself – Aondoakaa
Written by By Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, Abuja
Saturday, 06 February 2010 00:52
The attorney general and minister of Justice, Chief Michael Kaasa Aondoakaa (SAN) yesterday said that the Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili is 'on her own' regarding her widespread calls for Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to become acting president.

Wednesday, Prof. Akunyili presented a memo before the Executive Council of the Federation marshalling out reasons why Vice President Goodluck Jonathan should be asked to start executing the official and constitutional functions of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in an acting capacity until he returns from Saudi Arabia where he is currently receiving medical attention.

President Yar'Adua left the shores of Nigeria on November 23 last year to treat himself of a heart disease which was later diagnosed as pecicarditis.

Akunyili had in her memo to the ECF noted that some aspects of government had been in limbo, for instance the swearing-in of some permanent secretaries and what she referred to as a "threat to our hard earned democracy".

But the chief law officer of the federation, Aondoakaa, while responding to Akunyili's position on the Yar'Adua question, told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that Akunyili is airing her personal opinion, pointing out that every citizen is entitled to his own opinion on issues.

In another development, the Justice minister Friday morning held a meeting with lawyers in the ministry of Justice and promised that they would be elevated to be at par with their counterparts in other states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

This is contained in a statement signed by his chief press secretary to the minister, Ambrose Momoh. The statement faulted the non-inclusion of federal law officers in the harmonised scheme, while those at the state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) level are benefiting.

According to the statement, the one-day industrial action slated for February 8, 2010 is to press home the demand for federal law officers to be treated on the same level with their counterparts in the states and the FCT.

In the document made available to our reporter in Abuja, the group served a notice of impending strike on the minister of Justice in his office on Friday, intimating him of their plight and the need to embark on the strike to draw the attention of the relevant authority.

The statement reads that the group told Aondoakaa that " While law officers in most states of the federation are benefiting from the Harmonisation Scheme, which was mooted way back in 1994 by the Body of Attorneys-general at its 38th meeting, the officers of the Federal Ministry of Justice are yet to do so"

Aondoakaa in his reaction to the proposed strike action, was said to have decried the seeming discrimination against or neglect of the federal law officers, stating that "the situation whereby the States and Federal Capital Territory law officers are benefiting from the scheme to the exclusion of their federal counterparts is unacceptable and constitutes an embarrassment.

"He assured the members of the association that the attention of the head of Service of the Federation had been drawn to the situation with a view to resolving the issue once and for all," the statement added.


http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php/news/cover-stories/11612-yaraduas-absence-akunyili-speaks-for-herself--aondoakaa

Middle Belt Youth To Yar’Adua: Hand Over To Jonathan
Written by By Philip Nyam, Abuja
Saturday, 06 February 2010 01:13
Following series of advice from a cross section of Nigerians to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to transmit a letter to the vice president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the leadership of the Middle Belt Youth League has joined the bandwagon in calling on the ailing leader to allow the vice president to discharge executive duties as acting president.

The group also called on the federal government to investigate and bring to book, those behind the recent crisis in Jos, as well as those involved in the alleged misuse of army uniforms and ammunition in the prosecution of the violence.

In a press statement co-signed and issued by the president and secretary of the MBYL, Hon. Jonathan Tsaku and Engr. Kaspa Abah at the end of its emergency meeting in Abuja yesterday, the group said personal interest should not be allowed to overshadow national interest.

It maintained that no individual is greater than Nigeria, hence President Yar'Adua should do the right thing for the nation to move forward by "transmitting power to the vice president with immediate effect as contained in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The youth expressed disappointment with the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly for their inability to comply with the Constitution by ensuring that president Yar'Adua do the 'right thing'.

On the recent crisis in Jos, the group commended Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and the Plateau state governor, Jonah Jang for their timely intervention in the violence. They commiserated with families of those who lost their lives and property in the carnage but warned that both the National Assembly and FEC will be held responsible by the Nigerian people if the present democratic experience collapses.

"The Middle Belt Youth League believes that Nigeria is greater than individuals; no effort should be spared in finding drastic and lasting solutions to this act of terrorism in the guise of religious crisis in Nigeria".

It also call for the immediate overhaul of the nations intelligence unit in order to enhance proper security operations in the country adding that reports of previous commissions and panels on Jos crisis be made public and implemented without delay


http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php/news/headlines/11627-middle-belt-youth-to-yaradua-hand-over-to-jonathan

Nearly $500,000 lost in Nigerian scam
NZPA Last updated 17:19 04/02/2010SharePrint Text Size Relevant offers

CrimeShoplifting leads to knife threats in mall 'Wasted' witness heard robbery plan Court hears of mother's anguish Police chasing motorcyclist recover drugs Napier bank robber threatens to shoot BMX star guilty of sex attacks Four-time drink-driver gran 'distraught' Police seek ID on violent attackers Valentine's Day murder trial Prison escaper on the run A Christchurch woman fell victim to a Nigerian scam and lost nearly half a million dollars of her employer's money, a court was told today.

Jacqueline Louise de Berri, 48, transferred $452,206 from the rental company she worked for at Christchurch Airport to bank accounts in Spain.

Under the Nigerian scam, the money was immediately transferred out of the accounts and Christchurch District Court was told this afternoon that none of it had been recovered.

De Berri pleaded guilty to 13 charges of dishonestly using bank telegraph transfer forms to obtain the money.

Police prosecutor Constable Andy Kennedy said de Berri had worked as a credit controller for the rental car firm since 1996, transferring funds to other branches of the international company.

Last year she received a fax saying that an engineer had died leaving US$14.8 million in a Spanish bank account.

The fax said they were looking for relatives who may be claimants for the money.

De Berri replied and exchanged a series of emails.

Eventually a request arrived for a deposit of 1000 Euros, which she paid.

More requests for money followed until by December 15 she had paid across a total of $452,206 in 13 transactions.

When confronted, de Berri freely admitted the transfers saying she had hoped to be able to claim some of the $14.8 million to repay the money and get her out of the financial stress she was under.

She has no previous convictions.

She is now unemployed.

Judge Raoul Neave remanded her on bail to April 28 for a probation report and a reparation report on her ability to pay back the money.
A report will also cover her suitability to serve a sentence of


hhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3294613/Nearly-500-000-lost-in-Nigerian-scam?ome or community detention

African viewpoint: The nation state


Nigerians describe themselves as the longest suffering people on earth


In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Sola Odunfa considers whether Nigeria can remain one state.

One of the most exasperating experiences of a journalist in my part of the world is that everyone regards them as an authority on every subject and event under the sun.


Nigerians riot and kill fellow underdogs only in the conviction that they will survive

One cannot slip into a bar or a restaurant for a quiet sip or meal without someone or, at times, total strangers walking up to ask for an opinion on matters ranging from serious affairs of state, through to the technical quality of the Super Eagles coach and the latest gossip about Nollywood film stars.

I always wonder why anybody would conclude that I am the best person to inform them of secret political intrigues.

Recently, however, it has been a different experience for me.

Many of the people I met had already made up their mind, they only sought my confirmation.



The absence of the president is a subject that is preoccupying most Nigerians


Their question was when, not whether, Nigeria would break up as a political entity in the aftermath of the leadership crisis of the past two months.

I walked away with an indulgent smile from everybody - or nearly everybody.

But one group I could not brush aside just like that was of my mates at a private men-only social club.

I felt comfortable in their midst because they were not seeking my magisterial opinion, they desired to exchange information which could lead, hopefully, to a reasonable conclusion.

Facts of life

Fact No 1, according to my friends, was that President Umaru Yar'Adua, who has spent more than two months in a bed in a Saudi hospital - was not in a position to hand over power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as is being demanded across the country.



Some people want the vice president to take over but he is keeping quiet
They said that this was because (assuming he was in good shape medically) he was holding power in trust for the Hausa/Fulani elite of the north and that the group would not allow for any break in tenure, whatever Mr Jonathan the aspiring beneficiary might claim.

What is the guarantee that once installed in power effectively Mr Jonathan, who hails from the south, will honour any agreement he had with the group?

No-one could answer that.

Fact No 2, as pronounced by the discussants, was that First Lady Turai Yar'Adua, being the only person with unimpeded access to her sick husband, was in position to exercise real power and no-one would voluntarily give up such enormous privilege in such a country as Nigeria.

The argument put forward was that she could pass any instruction to Abuja as coming from her husband and no-one would dare seek to cross-check.

Fact No 3, they said, was that financial power in Nigeria was now firmly entrenched in the elite of the north and those of the oil-rich Niger Delta by the grace of President Yar'Adua.

The simple logic of self-interest, my club mates argued, would dictate that everything be done to keep Mr Yar'Adua in power whatever his state and through the trusted first lady rather than take a chance with a Goodluck who was regarded as an outsider.


Nigeria will remain in political turmoil for a long time to come but it will not tip over as long as the ruling elite remain united

Fact No 4 was, again according to those young Turks, that the mainly ethnic Ijaw militants of the Niger Delta were a while ago becoming impatient over the seeming abandonment of the amnesty programme but the political leaders of the region had held them at bay by getting the government to address their "welfare needs" generously.

So oil and gas are flowing to the satisfaction of all interests.

All these "facts" and opinions lead me to the conclusion that Nigeria will remain in political turmoil for a long time to come but it will not tip over as long as the ruling elite remain united and they cultivate the art of allowing more than crumbs to fall from their table.

'Meek lambs'

Average Nigerians describe themselves as the longest suffering people on earth.



Mr Abdulmutallab could face a long jail term
Their religion - whatever it may be - has taught them that leaders are ordained by God and followers must be content with being the meek lamb.

And Nigerians are faithful followers. They pray and pray and pray as instructed.

They rise in protest only when there is disagreement among the elite and they only go as far as they are paid to go.

Also, however strongly average Nigerians may believe in a principle or cause they are not willing to die for it.

They riot and kill fellow underdogs only in the conviction that they will survive.

It is not in the character of Nigerians to commit suicide.

Witness Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of trying to blow up a US plane on Christmas Day.

He seemed willing to do whatever his Yemeni masters had instructed him in the name of Allah but when the time came he appeared to opt instead for a long jail time in the US.

About 10 years ago an American research institute predicted the collapse of the Nigerian state in 15 years.

Last week, Mrs Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, issued her own critique which was not less cheering.

I often ask myself: Should Nigeria break up, how many countries will it produce?

I am not aware that any three of its more than 200 ethnic groups sincerely agree so much as to come together in a peaceful independent state.

There is so much distrust that any major national crisis can only lead to civil wars here and there but at the end of the day the leaders will contrive a common interest and settle for a truce.

With time the party will resume.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you would like to comment on Sola's latest column, please do so using the postform below.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8493711.stm?

for now nigeria dont have minister of information, dora is silent for a long time now

Tinubu says Fashola ‘still the best man for the job’

By Segun Balogun


February 3, 2010 02:00AM
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Former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, yesterday publicly demonstrated his support for the incumbent governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola.

At a press conference in his Lagos home, Mr. Tinubu denied rumours of a bitter feud between him and Mr. Fashola. “I am saying it categorically that all is well, and that Fashola is still the best man for the job” declared Mr. Tinubu who added that “at the initial stage, people expressed doubt about him. They said he won’t perform and I created the slogan that he is the best man for the job and I am still standing on that till tomorrow.” Mr. Tinubu drew parallel to the early history of his administration when he was the subject of a ferocious opposition attack, and said, “There were several paid advertorials and allegations against me when I was the governor of Lagos. I didn’t attribute it to internal problem. You will expect these in politics. What we need to do is to be mature.”

He said, “If they don’t abuse you in politics, you are not successful” and that the allegations of feud merely illustrates that the governor is on the right course.

However, Mr. Tinubu said he would not deny that there had been moments of friction between him and Mr. Fashola but said it would be wrong to characterize this as a fight.

“If I see certain things that might be wrong, I will not watch him fall and have broken legs with bruises before I try to pick him up. Experience you don’t buy but acquire and I am a well experienced politician and a matured one at that” he said, describing himself as a guardian angel for Mr. Fashola, and scolding the media coverage of the feud as a strategy to shift the nation’s focus from the more important presidential and constitutional crisis Nigeria is currently going through.

Bisi Akande, the national chairman of Action Congress, who brokered a reconciliation meeting that led to the press conference sat between Mr. Tinubu, and Mr. Fashola. In attendance were also a number of lawmakers as Mr. Akande tried to dampen the tense mood in the state, opening his address with a gleeful claim that “Tunde Fashola is an anointed disciple of Bola Tinubu and that was why, as a replacement for Bola Tinubu, we chose Fashola as our governor of Lagos state.”

He said the press conference was to correct the erroneous reporting of a feud in the press when indeed there was no such feud. “The more we deny the rumour that there was a feud between the two of them, the more people want to hear something” Mr. Akande said, insisting that, “The cordiality between Tinubu and Fashola remains as solid as it was in 2007.”

We disagree but we are not enemies

Mr. Akande reached out to a domestic reference to illustrate the feud between the two gentlemen saying “It is possible for Tinubu and Fashola to disagree over certain issues, [but] that doesn’t make them enemy,” and gave a thumbs up to Mr. Tinubu’s choice of the incumbent governor as a successor describing, him as the “best chooser of a leader in Nigeria today.”

Second term is uncertain

The Party’s national chairman said the party’s candidate for the 2011 general elections was still open adding that, “I have a guideline for 2011 for all candidates all over the country and Lagos will not be an exception. When we get there, we shall let you know our decision.

In PDP, they can say no vacancy, all governors are returned unopposed. We don’t do that in our party” Mr. Akande said.

Nothing to add

Mr. Fashola towed the same path as Mr. Akande and Mr. Tinubu saying, “there is no rift between me and the speaker or between the executive arm of the government and the legislative. None of us can work without one another.

You have heard the members of the House say that they have nothing against me and they are not planning to impeach me.”

He urged that the people should accept their words and trust them, if indeed “we are your elected representatives.”

Even though Mr. Tinubu has earlier described the publication alleging corruption as something that “may be from the opposition party,” Mr. Akande said the planned investigation by the House of Assembly based on a newspaper publication is not wrong.

“It is only in PDP [that] you talk of mismanagement of fund. In the AC, we will still investigate it. There is nothing wrong with the investigation because we have to clear our name. It will still carry on,” he said.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5521377-146/tinubu_says_fashola__still_the.csp