@ Afeni, its obvious you have not read the discourse on this thread up to the point you joined with your skewed suggestions. Pray that you have not bitten more that you can chew.

Please do yourself the good favour of getting a balanced understanding of events, issues, precedents and simple projections into the immediate or remote future, it will do you a lot of good.

You have stated that
1.

Afeni:
Niger-Deltan people combined only account for 10 percent or less of the nations population.

Which census gave you the figures? Do you even know the geographical location called Niger Delta? If indeed it has less than 10% of the population, then, is it not a marvel that it has been sustaining the remaining 90% of the population with its resources (for the past forty years).? How come all the 90% are so ungrateful that they seek its extermination- are they cannibals?

2

Afeni:

The Federal Government needs to send in the troops before they begin any economic development projects. If you start building roads before you have crushed the degenerates you would only send the message that anyone that is not satisfied with the current situation of the the country should go out in search of foreigners to kill.

May this prayer be fulfilled in your village, town and state (wherever that may be) - if the above statement really reflect your heart's desire.
If you seek the extermination of remaining people that Nigeria's scorch-earth policy has left in the Niger Delta, then may your prayers be answered speedily with your community as the recipient of the venom you propose.

3.

Afeni:

Where were MEND and the others when Abacha was around?

It is interesting to see the thugs come out when there is a civilized government in place. If the Nation goes into Anarchy and the degenerate generals use this as an opportunity to stage a coup, I wonder if the MEND and others would be "brave" enough to fight against a military regime.

Were you alive when Saro Wiwa was killed by Abacha? Is there any other single factor that contributed most to Nigeria's International Isolation?. Did shell ever enter Ogoni Land through-out the Abacha era to produce a single barrel of crude? Was that not during the height of the military era? Yet, do you know that the single largest investment in Nigeria's Oil and Gas industry was made at that time and in the Niger Delta?

If you have even gone ahead to use the term, civilised, to refer to this government despite its loads of atrocities and current immoral scheming for third term, then, you surely need to look at your basis of reasoning more than once.

We insist thatyour assertions are wrong and wholly wrong for that matter.
We insist that the Niger Delta is not looking for alms, pity, favour, handout outs, allocation, projects or what ever level of benevolence the government has to offer.
Rather, we seek our due, which is, the control of our men, materials and resources for the attainment of a great future which is controlled by us (God helping us) and not controlled by any other person, group of persons, system or entity.

Date: september 25,1987

Event: my immediate younger brother, slumped and died, became stiff, teeth clenched , stracthed and cold.
mum, a senior nurse confirmed that he's dead.

Mum and her sister prayed in Jesus' name and the boy sneezed and came back to life after some hours.


If your god cannot heal, raise the dead or do miraculous deeds, mine - JEHOVAH - can.

After all the storm in the teacup, name calling, and cursing, the question raised by this thread is yet to be answered in r'eal terms'.

In this free world, whoever does not have the liver to reply the issues that has been raised by this thread knows what to do -KEEP QUIET.

I maintain that Islam is seen, perceived, considered, assesed by most of the human race as violent and thus a threat. This brings up the questions raised by the originator of this thread. This is the crux of the matter and this is what we seek answers for. Every other attack, personal or corporate, only serves to deepen this perception and beg the question.

Intelligent minds seek opportunities to clear perceptions (and the corresponding actions/issues that it can inspire)  about their beliefs.

After all the storm in the teacup, name calling, and cursing, the question raised by this thread is yet to be answered in real terms.

In this free world, whoeer does not have the liver to reply the issues that this thread raises knows what to do -KEEP QUIET.

Fellow Nigerians please find extracts of the speech made by Mr OBJ when he became president in 1999.
Please carefully contrast his intentions with his deeds over the last seven years.

Some areas of particular interest have been highlighted.


Inaugural speech by His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo following his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 1999.
Olusegun Obasanjo takes over from Abubakar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

F ELLOW Nigerians, we give praise and honour to God Almighty for this day specially appointed by God Himself. Everything created by God has its destiny and it is the destiny of all of us to see this day.

Twelve months ago, no one could have predicted the series of stunning events that made it possible for democratic elections to be held at the Local Government level, the State level, and culminating in the National Assembly Elections. Thereafter, you the good people of Nigeria elected me, a man who had walked through the valley of the shadow of death, as your President, to head a democratic civilian administration. I believe that this is what God Almighty has ordained for me and for my beloved country Nigeria and its people. I accept this destiny in all humility and with the full belief that with the backing of our people we shall not fail.

Our thanks go also to the friends of Nigeria in many lands for the commitment and unrelenting support they gave throughout the dark, ominous days of the struggle.

Nigerians living in foreign lands deserve special tribute for not forgetting their fatherland and for making their voices heard persistently in defence of freedom. And I must commend you my home-based fellow Nigerians for the way you bore unprecedented hardship, deprivation of every conceivable rights and privileges that were once taken for granted.


Nigeria is wonderfully endowed by the Almighty with human and other resources.
It does no credit either to us or the entire black race if we fail in managing our resources for quick improvement in the quality of life of our people. Instead of progress and development, which we are entitled to expect from those who governed us, we experienced in the last decade and a half, a particularly in the last regime but one, persistent deterioration in the quality of our governance, leading to instability and the weakening of all public institutions. Good men were shunned and kept away from government while those who should be kept away were drawn near. Relations between men and women who had been friends for many decades, and between communities that had lived together in peace for many generations became very bitter because of the actions or inaction of government. The citizens developed distrust in government, and because promises made for the improvement of the conditions of the people were not kept all statements by government met with cynicism.

Government officials became progressively indifferent to propriety of conduct and showed little commitment to promoting the general welfare of the people and the public good. Government and all its agencies became thoroughly corrupt and reckless. Members of the public had to bribe their way through in ministries and parastatals to get attention and one government agency had to bribe another government agency to obtain the release of their statutory allocation of funds.

The impact of official corruption is so rampant and has earned Nigeria a very bad image at home and abroad. Besides, it has distorted and retrogressed development.

Our infrastructures - NEPA, NITEL, Roads, Railways, Education, Housing and other Social Services were allowed to decay and collapse. Our country has thus been through one of its darkest periods.

All these have brought the nation to a situation of chaos and near despair. This is the challenge before us. Fellow Nigerians, let us rise as one, to face the tasks ahead and turn this daunting scene into opportunities in a New Dawn. Let us make this the beginning of a genuine Renaissance.

Fellow Nigerians, the entire Nigerian scene is very bleak indeed. So bleak people ask me where do we begin? I know what great things you expect of me at this New Dawn. As I have said many times in my extensive travels in the country, I am not a miracle worker. It will be foolish to underrate the task ahead. Alone, I can do little.

You have been asked many times in the past to make sacrifices and to be patient. I am also going to ask you to make sacrifices, and to exercise patience. The difference will be that in the past sacrifices were made and patience exercised with little or no results. This time, however, the results of your sacrifice and patience will be clear and manifest for all to see. With God as our guide, and with 120 million Nigerians working with me, with commitment, sustained effort, and determination, we shall not fail. On my part, I will give the forthright, purposeful, committed, honest and transparent leadership that the situation demands.

I am determined with your full cooperation, to make significant changes within a year of my administration.

Together we shall take steps to halt the decline in the human development indices as they apply to Nigeria. All the impacts of bad governance on our people that are immediately removable will be removed, while working for medium and long term solutions.




Priority Issues

I believe that this administration must deal with the following issues even in these difficult times of near economic collapse:

[b](I) The crisis in the Oil Producing Areas

(ii) Food Supply, Food Security and Agriculture

(iii) Law and order with particular reference to Armed Robbery, and to Cultism in our educational institutions

(iv) Exploration and Production of Petroleum

(v) Education

(vi) Macro-economic policies - particularly, Exchange rate management etc.

(vii) Supply and Distribution of Petroleum Products

(viii) The Debt Issue

(ix) Corruption, Drugs, organised fraud called 419 activities, and crimes leading to loss of lives, properties and investment.

(x) Infrastructure - Water Supply, Energy, Telecommunication, Ports, Airways, National Shipping, Nigerian Railways, etc.

(xi) Resuscitation of the Manufacturing Industries

(xii) Job creation, and creation of conducive environment for investment

(xiii) Poverty alleviation

(xiv) Housing - both

* Civilian Housing Programmes; and

* Barrack Refurbishment and New Construction for the Armed Forces and the Police

(xv) ECOMOG

(xvi) Health Services

(xvii) Political and Constitutional Dialogue

(xviii) Women and Youth Development [/b]

In pursuit of these priorities, I have worked out, measures which must be implemented within the first six months.

Details of the focus and measures of this administration on these and other matters, will be announced from time to time. I shall quickly ascertain the true state of our finances and the economy and shall let the nation know. In the light of resources available, I shall concentrate on those issues that can bring urgent beneficial relief to our people.

http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/speech/inaugural.html

My views on each of the highlighted issues are clear.
1. He has been a failure in all of the areas except no 9 ( on 'drugs' only) where NAFDAC has 'done' a yea man's job and in no 8 (debt management.)
2. If he is to be judged by the standards that he set for himself (not ours) he has failed woefully.1.3/18 = 7.2%
3. What he promised to do in six months, he could still not do it in 7years.
4. If this is the 'only' man that can take Nigeria to where it should belong, then, Nigeria will , certainly, never get there.

@Ajisafe,

I address this to you because you are the only one that has said anything close to what may possibly be the basis of Islam trying to use violence to foist itself on many (check my last post)

Its unfortunate that you are 'alone', its the reward for choosing to follow what most modern societies consider to be a violent religion. Moreso, you are using words to defend or describe physically violent actions. Further, the presence of live news coverage means that the previously hidden acts done in all 'muslim' lands are being broadcast live throughout all the world, therefore it cannot be denied. Candidly, pictures (acts committed) speak louder that words (your tool).

This thread, I believe ,was aimed at finding out, maybe intellectually, why Islam is threatening many people. That pre-supposes that it has been identified by the generality as a threat (violent one at that). However your defense of trying to debunk that pre-supposition is like going against the ocean current and its obviously yielding the result of aggravating or deepening the fact of violence as the modus operandi of Islam.

Now that you have wearied yourself in punching the air, please settle down and give your candid view on why the religion that you subscribe is using violence as its main mode of 'operation'.

Thank you.

Ajisafe:

4 Play /"pre-intimacy,"
You were so myopic that you couldn't discern how messianic and fundamentalistic George Bush and men of his ilk (the "neo-cons" are. Anyway, you and the rest of senseless christians and jews can go to hell for all I care; we Muslims owe you no apology or unnecessary explanations. Contrary to what your biased and sexually perverted mind believes, no mortal will be able to do damage to the image of Islam. This is Allah's promise: Islam shall overcome all religions. Just watch.

@ Ajisafe: thank you for this 'insight'. I hope others will expantiate on this'revelation'

At last someone is scratching the surface of 'the potential answer' to the question raised by this thread, though it was done inadvertently.

If world religious domination is the objective (Akin to the Nazis killing Jews in an attempt at world domination or the Rwandan and Balkan Genocides) then .

Little wonder Nigeria has not (and may 'never') be able to have credible census. Some people may just have been trying to do a show of numerical superiority all in the name of Religion. So religious domination may just have been the reason why we cannot have credible data to plan that nationhood. There must be more to this, certainly. One can only imagine all the areas that have been totally bastardized because some people just want to show 'superiority'.

Could it be that the perennial killing of Igbos in northern Nigeria is part of the stratagem?


If this in any way explains the killings and murders in the name of a religion then, surely
1. He that lives by the sword, shall die by the sword (Matt 26:52)
2. He that seeks to save his life (image in this case) shall lose it, but he that seeks to lose it shall gain it.(John 12:25)
3. Let him that has no sin (immorality) let him cast the first stone at others (John 8:7)

The First commandment of the Holy Bible is that, the LORD your GOD IS ONE, therefore you shall no ther God beside HIM.
If this is polytheism, then, there is something fundamentally wrong with the English language.

Thank you Chief Defender Omoifa, your spirited defence of the ultimate cajoler of the Nigerian populace Mr. Obj is highly noted. In the coming 3rd term you and other anti-termites will be highly rewarded for defending the indefensible and standing where others have fallen.

Well, on a serious note, I will start by reprinting Obasanjo 1998 article (as presented in today's guardian newspaper).

The country of anything goes
By Olusegun Obasanjo
FOR over four and a half years - from November 17, 1993 to June 8, 1998 - Nigeria, which had been under military rule since the end of 1983, was reduced to a police state: a big prison with gallows, where intimidation, assassination, and deprivation were the instruments of misgovernance of the state by General Sani Abacha, a sadistic, apparently mentally deranged, corrupt, incompetent, arrogant, and ruthless military dictator. The question on almost everybody's lips was: why? What went wrong in a country of well over one hundred million people which used to take pride in its large educated and cultured population?

The answer lies in the gradual but steady erosion of moral and ethical standards that took place during the earlier military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who carried out a military coup at the end of
1984 and ruled between 1985 and 1993. It was at this time that, facing the gun, civilian political leaders acquiesced and abandoned their responsibility.

Some adopted the attitude of "sit down and look on". Others joined in the pillaging of the country by seeking patronage, recognition, and easy money from the ruling military cabal. As a result, the economy was shattered during the 1980s. Whether you were a politician, a businessman, an intellectual, or a retired military man, the seemingly easy avenue for personal economic gain was to accept a job from the military or to seek favour from or support by the military. Some academics abandoned their lecture rooms or research laboratories where they could only make a pittance; they accepted the cozy, cushy embrace of a corrupt, deceitful, and unscrupulous military administration.

Previously, independent and respected intellectuals became the mouthpiece and apologists for the military; they made excuses for General Babangida and his fellow military leaders, and helped them deceive and confuse the people.
Respected social critics accepted money from the government and became compromised. To take an independent stand became an exception and an extremely risky one. Many outspoken critics of the government were assassinated. Dele Giwa, the founding editor of the weekly Newswatch, was killed by a letter bomb in 1986.

The Nigerian military men, who once could claim to be officers and gentlemen, became men of double-talk, unkept promises, and devious actions and behaviour inimical to public order and proper military conduct. But what was most deplorable was that with the pillaging of the society and the destruction of moral and ethical standards, those who might have been expected to try to sustain such standards - the by-now bought-up, co-opted, and corrupted members of civil society: politicians, intellectuals, journalists, business people - made excuses. They became defenders of a military administration which consciously or unconsciously embarked on systematic destruction of all that matters in a society - politically, economically, socially, morally, ethically, and culturally. The press and publishers who were not directly under government control were corrupted; they in turn hired and corrupted writers who pretended to be objective and independent, but who vigorously and viciously attacked opponents of the military regime.

In this way Nigeria became a nation of "anything goes", where anything could be rationalised and justified. Babangida shifted his ground and broke his promises so often that he earned the popular nickname "Maradona" for his fancy dribbling; his deceitfulness was widely defended and even praised as political cleverness, dexterity. There was no moral standard left in public life. Corruption and fraud became habits that trickled down to every level of society.
Nonetheless, the citizens of Nigeria persisted in calling for democracy. And Babangida, who had been promising a return to civilian government since September of 1987, and who was also facing increasing pressure to relinquish power, both from the international community and from members of his own divided military regime, finally seemed to be taking steps in that direction late in 1992. In December of that year he replaced his Council of Ministers with a civilian Transitional Council, headed by the businessman Chief Shonekan, which was given the task of monitoring and overseeing a return to democratic government by August 27, 1993. And on June 12, a presidential election was indeed held, although the only parties allowed to compete in it were two that had been created by the military regime in 1989. This election was apparently won by Moshood Abiola, of the Social Democratic Party.

Even though the election was considered a fair one by international observers, however, it was annulled a week later without any plausible excuse being given. Although, both a national commission monitoring the voting and one of the Nigerian courts were involved in the rigmarole of challenging the election, it was General Babangida who acted to invalidate it. Riots broke out in Lagos, and there followed a chaotic summer in which a number of possible solutions to the situation, including promises that the election would be rescheduled, were floated and then quickly cancelled; no one seemed sure what would happen next.

Finally, at the eleventh hour, Babangida decided to relinquish power. On August 26, the day before the deadline he had set himself the previous year, he stepped down, naming Chief Shonekan the head of an Interim National Government. On the same day, General Sani Abacha - who had been intimately associated with the Babangida regime since 1983 - was promoted to minister of defence.

The responsibility of leading Nigeria was too much for Shonekan; he had had power thrust upon him only because he posed no serious threat to the continuing power of the military. The real power in this government belonged to Abacha, and Shonekan had neither the savvy nor the backing to challenge him. Within a month, Abacha had arranged to replace all the chief supporters of Babangida within the new government. Then, on November 10, the High Court pronounced the Interim National Government unconstitutional. A week later Shonekan stepped down, in favour of Abacha.

It had been clear to many discerning observers well before Abacha struck that he had his own ambitions. But even after he took power, there was also a great deal of confusion about his intentions and abilities. Many Nigerians thought him nothing more than a light headed and empty-minded military officer who wanted nothing more than to occupy the presidency long enough to enrich himself and reward his supporters. But in the confusion surrounding the annulled election, some politicians and their followers looked for a "messiah", who, they believed, would proclaim the annulled election valid after all. That was the situation in which Abacha was able to take power.
Some of the people who gave him encouragement and support believed that he would act in the public interest; that they could successfully use undemocratic means - the installation of a military government - to attain democracy. They ignored the fact that the man in charge was undemocratic at heart, as his record clearly indicated.

For his part, Abacha showed an unexpected capacity for deception. He brought the key men in the two political parties he had disbanded into the government he appointed, apparently with the promise that he would hand over power to Abiola within three months. But he made sure that he never committed himself to any definite date for the transfer of power, he used the nebulous phrase "brief period". Meanwhile he consolidated his position.

As could be expected, through all this time some people stood firm, un-purchasable, advocates, despite all intimidation and discouragement, of truth, good governance, and the interests of the country. But by November
1993 - when lying and deception of the people by the government, and deprivation of the rights of the people, and pervasive corruption had been made into an art - there was no critical mass, not enough of such men and women of integrity and conscience, to stand solidly against Abacha.

His model, as it soon became clear, was Mobutu of Zaire; it was his ambition to be the richest man in black Africa and the longest-ruling Nigerian leader. He could not achieve these two objectives without silencing the opposition of anyone who might stand in his way. Babangida had tried the tactics of domination through patronage, corruption, acquisition, deceit, and selective elimination of his opposition. Abacha had learned that these methods were insufficient; they had not worked for his tutor and they would be enough for him - and in any case, he did not have his predecessor's knack for subtlety.

So he used those people he thought could help him, and then, particularly if they seemed capable of questioning him, discarded them. His first cabinet, for example, included many important figures from the civilian government of the early 1980s, and even human rights activists; but within a year Abacha felt secure enough in power to replace almost all of these people. After that he embarked on a ruthless campaign of oppression, directed not only against those who opposed him but against those he believed uncompromising enough that they might oppose him. In this way, Abacha stole the property he was meant to guard and prevented the promised rescheduling of the annulled election. In the end he brought about both his own death and that of the presumed winner of that election. But before he died this summer, he managed to become the worst affliction suffered by Nigeria since it became an independent nation in 1960.

I fell into the group of those whom he could not corrupt and who would not make a deal with him. He knew this from my criticism of Babangida for holding on to power through error and intimidation. He decided to take preemptive action, and manufactured claims that I was plotting an impending coup. He used this fiction as a pretext for jailing, in addition to myself, some forty of his potential opponents including my former deputy, Major General Shehu Yar'Adua; Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, head of the Campaign for Democracy; prominent journalists; and some of the most capable middle-level officers of the army.

General Olusegun Obasanjo (as he then was) wrote this piece originally for The New York Review of Books, Sept, 24, 1998, pp.55-57.



Omoifa, please read the highlighted portions of the article and compare/contrast them with the tactics being adopted by today's Obj.

Much as you may have tried unsuccesfully to defend his actions (commision) his ommisions (missed opportunities) brings tears to the eyes

For the records, the cool 'international statesman' of yesterday is now a tyrant that will become a despot in the not too distant future if we don't collectively save him from himself

Beautiful, what more can I say

thanks a million

@ belloti, you need to defend your candidate.

We are still waiting for your anwers

Nigerians are religious and deeply too.

We are only waiting for the messiah that will harness this trait and pronto, heaven will be manifested on earth.

Your friend only needs to be told that without the God-factor, he would not have seen a country like Nigeria on the map talkless of visiting it.

It does seem likely that the messiah may never show up to harness this unique treasure (religious fervour), therefore you cannot vouch that the heaven on earth (aka zero coruption and evil) will ever see the light of day. Therefore take the next step.

@ kajad, your assesment is completely false.

You get what you want.

I have personally met some of the most humane and selfless ladies you can find in the same port harcourt.

Change your circle of friends and the places that you go (hangout) and the people you meet will be different. You do well to take Rottweiler's words to heart.

i'm in boy, we have the same passion. pheeewww.

Nwoke=Seun=Nwoke=Seun=Nwoke=Seun

Nwoke, we are still waiting for you!!!

In the next few years (say ten), Nigeria would have totally forgotten all his deeds and words.

Candidly if there is still a country called Nigeria, and he is still a politician (at the federal level), by 2015 he will be touted as the messiah that will take all 'Nigerians' to the promised land.

Because, political Amnesia (or whatever memory loss is called) is the most common disease in this place, even more than malaria.

Nwoke:

Criminals are mobilizing themselves, yay! Ono and Owo, rejoice, for your brothers are mobilizing!

Please define the term 'your brothers'. Could it be that its the criminals that you mean by[b]'your brothers' [/b]?

Date:  Friday 6-9th December 2005

Event: Thousands on Nigerians resident in Eric Moore towers, Bar beach towers and 1004 Flats are forcefully evicted in disobedience to court orders and in defiance of simple moral justice.

Brief Description:  this is as captured by those that write history in 'hurry', Journalists) It all started  on March 16, 2003 when the former Housing and Urban Development Minister, Mrs. Mobolaji Osomo announced government’s decision to sell eight of its high-rise buildings in Lagos. The buildings included the burnt Federal Secretariat Complex in Ikoyi, 1004 Estate and Bar-beach Towers  on Victoria Island and Mulliner Towers, Ikoyi. Others were Ikoyi (Alagbon) Towers, Reeve Road Towers and Awolowo Road Towers in highbrow Ikoyi and Eric Moore Towers in Surulere . The decision to sell the properties, according to Mrs. Osomo, was a fallout of the monetization policy and government’s decision to free itself from the management of the houses. According to the monetization policy, the Federal Government occupants of the houses would be given the option in the sale.

But contrary to the provisions of the policy, the minister in April, 2003, announced the winners of the bids for five of the properties. Top on the list was UACN Development and Property Company Plc with a bid of N4.501billion for 1004.  Union Homes’ bid of N501 million and N575 million were enough to win the bids for Awolowo Road and Mulliner Towers Ikoyi. The Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund’s (NSITF) bid for Ikoyi (Alagbon) Towers was N1.2 billion while Dock Management Nigeria Ltd’s bid of N40,011,111 was good enough for a block of flats in Eric Moore Towers.
Following public outcry over the low prices, the government further negotiated with the preferred bidders and finally arrived at new prices for the properties. UACN’s offer for 1004 was upped to N7 billion while Union Homes coughed out N600 million and N520 million for Mulliner and Awolowo Road Towers respectively. NSITF’s N1.2 billion for Ikoyi Towers remained while Dock Mgt Services Ltd was made to pay N570 million for the six blocks in Eric Moore Towers.

The chairman of the 1004 Estate Residents Association, Mr. Sunny Baba told Vanguard Property & Environment that “the  police numbering in their hundreds came in a few minutes after 4:00am, supported by soldiers. They stormed various flats, smashing windows and doors and dragging people out, telling them to leave or they will be hurt.”
He decried the attitude of the Federal Government, accusing it of failure to obey court orders. According to him, Nigeria is gradually drifting to a state of anarchy where there is no respect for the rule of law. “Nigeria is gradually drifting into anarchy because some people want to hold onto power and play God”,
She lamented that the eviction was carried out in defiance of a Lagos High Court order of December 2, 2005 stopping the government from going ahead with the plan to eject the residents

Witnesses: Yours truly and fellow nairalanders https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-3605.0.html
In addition thousands of children and young adults whose parents had served their fatherland. Some were even lured back to the country by the same man (Chief obasanjo- in the seventies) and many served with all sincerity and forsook better opportunities in other climes all in the name of serving their fatherland.

Cause: There has not been any investment in housing. In short the few houses that were there have been sold to 'themselves'. The Ikoyi houses put up for sale with the names of Mr Obj's family members as beneficiaries, is still fresh in the mind.f

Who is responsible?: From the narrative above, it is clear that the blame lies squarely on Mr Obj. He has inspired the selling of all the government's properties (a good thing to do) but unfortunately cronies and the like are the beneficiaries while innocent Nigerians 'must sleep under Lagos bridges.' Whose fault?

What are the alternatives: More than any other government, the current one has had the best opportunity to positively affect the life of Nigerians.
With the cost of land (which the government owns by virtue of the land use act) in the high heavens, the provision of large scale affordable  accomodation should naturally be the pre-occuppation of the leadership.
1. the reputed 300bn washed down the drain through the ministry of works would have housed much more Nigerians than the number evicted.
2. Third term campaign budget  would have housed another set of thousands.


Housing is one of the basic necessities of levey human being. However, among all the 'wonderful' things this man has done, his gross disrespect for the human beings under his care clearly (morally)disqualifies him from leading ( or seeking to contnue leading) .

@belloti

belloti:


Yarima is not all about Sharia. Cant we just look out for something good in him?

Please state the good things that we should look out for in your candidate.

Having been a governor for the last eight years, there should be a basketful off things to 'boast' of.

Hi, please can you send me invitations for orkut and a gmail. My mail address is owotutu@fastmail.fm

unfair who is candy? who is nneka? and who is being 'mischievious' among the ("one" abi) two?

please carify.

Use the link below to get to the budget speech

http://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/docs/bgspeeches/bs2006.pdf


BUDGET 2006 PARAMETERS:
The budget is based on the following assumptions and
targets:
Budget/2006
Page 13 of 27
(a) a prudent oil price of $33 per barrel
(b) crude oil production of 2.5 million barrels per day
(including condensate)

Excess funds?
Kept in a special account and shared between the tiers of government

Other concerns?
Typically western countries make more money per barrel of crude than Nigeria (the producer) does. So don't expect any big difference(investment-wise) as a result. In any case, you should remember to budget for looting that is rampant in some government circles.


Full budget breakdown?
I have a softcopy. I think its online somewhere. Upon request, I can send one to you.

The men and women that stole all of the $35billion that was owed as debt, are still here, walking free, and I dare say most are still in Government.

Their Children are now raping what their fathers couldn't loot.

As much as it is some good news, some questions remain;
What are we doing (or hoping to do) to those that stole most of the money that was collected as debt, which we are now paying?
Is that we don't know them? Like those that ensured that we used 20 years to build one (barely working)steel plant or those that used $2bn to build an aluminium smelter plant when a similar one was built for $1.2bn here in Africa at about the same time.
What is the mechanism set in place (outside third term) to ensure that some charlattan does not go aborrowing again in the near future?

Date: December 10th; 2005
Incident: Sosoliso plane crash, at Port Harcourt 'International Airport'.
Brief description (source: my friends brother,an airport taxi driver, who was present at the airport during the incident): Aircraft burst into flames at touch-down, but the airport fire department does not have water or adequate equipment to tackle flame.
Taxi drivers and other airport staff send distress calls to Shell (SPDC), NNPC, NPA seeking assistance. They arrive after driving through at least 25kms (in addition to traffic) from the town and were able to save seven (7) of which only one is alive today.
Those affected:At least 50 students of Loyola Jesuits college, and numerous others
Witnesses: Parents of the students that had come to the airport to receive their wards, but rather saw them burnt before their very eyes because there was fire fighting equipment or water (in the Niger Delta of all places).
Those affected: At least 50 students of Loyola Jesuits College, Abuja., Multitudes whose lives have been touched by Mrs Bimbo Odukoya's messages, The charismatic president of PENGASSAN (Oil industry workers union) comrade Okoro, and numerous others too grim to mention (among them my sister's first daughter, and a beloved colleague).

Cause: The airport lacks the facilities that airstrips in other climes can boast of.
Yet this government has been there for the past seven years.It has garnered a minimum of (an unprecedented) $120billion (I should know, if no other person does) through the Oil industry of which Port Harcourt is the capital.

Who is responsible? Chief Obj because the bucks stops at his table. The 'minister' is still there. Nothing new has been done to the airport because human life is of no 'value' to this team. Women engaging in peaceful protest on this case were beaten up before our very eyes.

Moral of this story:
1.Education is thoroughly underfunded (where there is funds) - because human life is not of much importance to this man. If the $214m(at least ) siphoned through the failed national identity card scheme or the billions lost in the last census was used to ensure that at least 3 secondary schools per state/region/area etc is world class, then those bright souls would not have been so cruelly killed. SEVEN YEARS IS ENOUGH TO THIS.

2.Public Infrastructure (except in his home town, maybe) have been forgotten by this man. If the money spent on gallivanting around the globe (for good and great purposes possibly) and that used to 'settle' members of the national assembly was used to fix up one airport per region/area/state etc, peradventure we would have saved some souls. THIS CAN BE DONE IN SEVEN YEARS. Unknown to him, no society can grow beyond the level of infrastructure that is available to its citizenry.

Thank you Ababoy1. This thread is all about giving everyone an opportunity to express their feelings about him (especially on areas that are not covered by other threads).

Is that your view about him?
That's fantastic Keep it rolling.

It seems bashing the President of Nigeria is the latest thing in town. In the newspapers, nairaland, campus gists, villages, danfo, bank, okada, jand, yankee, farm, office, buka, in short everywhere.

Do you have any pent-up feelings/views about him? Please say it here.

@Ajisafe,
your comments not withstanding, the questions raised by this thread has not been answered. The questions are grievous enough for me to absorb all the punches that you have to through.
I insist that you are begging the question and should step in and answer the questions , if you can.

Must Nigerians die whenever someone (wherever he may reside) draws a cartoon that 'castigates' Islamic beliefs?
Must there be massacre when someone tears a piece of paper simply because there is a claim that it is a portion of the koran?
Why must the 'learned' among muslims always blame the violence on the illiterate and claim the position of apostles of peace? Are Illiterate muslims the most violent illiterates in the world?
How can human being gather and form groups for the sake of murdering others just to advance whatever the claim is their belief?

This thread is raising a fundamental question and dodging it in favor of mudslinging should be considered as a disservice to the generality of humanity who are affected, daily, by this issue.

@ idrissa,
I wonder why you refuse to address the issues that you raised and the mis-information that you peddled.
In short I put it to you that you know little about the 'motive' aspect of your religion (which makes me wonder why you are still there). In addition you know almost nothing about about the historic Christian faith, therefore your comments are at best childish and at worst un-necessary/bigotic/false (sometimes reflecting a high level of benightedness)

There are a thousand one ways of passing comments or relaying your views in a decent and convincing manner. The content, approach and presentation of your message is certainly not the way. Go do some more reading and learn more about the religio-politio cum economic factors that influence our world. After that, you can come back.

We will be waiting.

Idrisa:


Any Imam/Pastor who thinks that he has to defend GOD does not know GOD and he may be a devil.

Then you have to tell that to all those Imams who travelled from Denmark around the world propagating the hatred that culminated in the cartoon riots.
You have to tell the ones that have instigated all the riots in Nigeria.
You also have a duty to take the message to them wherever they are because according to you, they are devils. They are the ones that have caused the most trouble in recent years.

Just some weeks ago, they gathered their gullible members in Afghanistan and called for the killing of someone who took a personal choice on who to worship. They must all be of the devil.

That duty is grave and it is certain that if you devote your time in doing that, it would do you a world of good than thinking that another form of worship is your problem.

Idrisa:
Christianity is not ordered by GOD.

With statements like this, it is really clear that the god you are referring to is the one in Saudi Arabia whose direction you must face and bow down for every time you pray. Certainly you cannot be referring to the great God who created heaven and earth.
Because the great God of heaven and earth cannot dwell in one direction on listen to prayers prayed in one direction only, so much so that if prayer is not offered in that direction then its efficacy is suspect.

In that regard, it is certainly true that the god in Arabia who your brothers try to defend (since he cannot defend himself) did not (and cannot) order Christianity.

Idrisa:
Why must children be taught any language? If the Book of God must be in a language like any other book that could be written originally in any language, is it not a good idea to study such language to get access to the original message?

You make me laugh. The 'Book Of God'?  was written in a man's language [what a big joke]. Is that not unwise in you ears? God's book cannot  and will not be written in man's language.
Rather the Holy Scripture states that 'Jehovah (the maker of heaven and earth) will write his laws in the heart of his children'. How different. Does it not puzzle you that you still have to struggle to learn another man's language  just to get to understand what your god is saying.?Its a pity. Does that not tell you that you are following someones local deity?.
You pray facing the man's village, you sing in his language for you to be heard well, you go there every year to visit and above all you learn the man's language for you to be heard. If that is not enslavement, then nothing else is.
I bet you, my great-grand father's god had better offers.

Idrisa:

If human beings are social creatures and they need to meet to discuss their affairs to visit places of importance to them, what is wrong in that? Al-Islam is a complete way of life and nothing has been left out. Muslims meet once in a year to remember Abraham and then to discuss their affairs.

is the thing now a social thing. I thought it was religious? You can be sure that Abraham is not on your agenda when you go to meet your god in Arabia. This 'complete' way of life (according to you) is today the cause of the untimely death of uncountable multitudes. Does that not tell you that it is everything but complete.
I put it to you that the Islamic way of life is the most incomplete way of life that a man can live (If it can even be called a way of life). It is the way for many blood thirsty men to hide under and still be heralded.

Idrisa:

I discuss general issues and I want you to come in the same way without biasness. Point to me intellectually where I have erred.
Waiting.

The areas and places that you have erred in addition to those shown above are so many that its amazing how you got yourself into this level of mess.
You have erred in the following:
1. Refusing to remove the cement, Log and blindfold from your eyes before jumping onto another man's business.
2. By stating that Christianity is of the devils because its only the Devil himself that can say that. (You must be his agent then). Only the devil can see the great Love of God as expressed through God's great gift to humanity (Jesus Christ) and call it the devil's work. Little wonder they conspired and killed him and then put out a lie that he was taken by His disciples. Thank God that today uncountable millions have had personal experiences with Him, thus discountenancing every lie from all of the devil's arsenal (you inclusive)
3. By refusing to see that you have been enslaved by another regional or tribal deity.
4. By agreeing to be a willing slave.
5 By agreeing to believe a big lie that a book was given to someone by an angel and that you should pattern your life after that.

My dear would you rather believe a man's 'messenger' instead of his son?
Listen to God's word for you and choose this day who you will serve
" God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: " {Heb 1: 1-3}

1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

2For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;

3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; " {Heb 2:1-3}

The question that started this thread has not been answered.

Threats to the originator of this thread will not answer this stuff. America is not a Christian nation (if the responses so far are meant to indicate that). There is no such thing as a Christian country.

That people are killing and planning to kill others who are not connected whatsoever with problems elsewhere, all in the name of a belief system is outrageus and deserves some answers.

Kimba's personal experiences and wellborn's definitions really tell the story as it is.

In addition, not many things point to Christianity as a 'way of life', relationship and fellowship (as opposed to religion) as much as the fact that adherents are basically propelled by LOVE.

To the committed/converted:
The Bible - is the Father's love letter to be read and savored with all delight
Obedience - is keeping in step with the one you love
Prayer - is talking with your best/greatest friend

There is always that urge to be near or around His presence.

This is aptly captured by the text

"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:29-30) (emphasis mine)

Even at the end of time, God's gifts are for those that love His appearing
"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing"2 Timothy 4:8


Religious living is clearly in contrast with this type of life. In religion;
1. You are 'right' as long as you take the prescribed action (irrespective of what is in your heart)
2. You are 'rewarded' for taking the action (even if you did not want to do it)
3. There is no personal relationship with 'GOD' .

In reality, the religious angle of the living Christian faith is infinitesimal. Immediately a person gets into the experience of real Christan living, he finds out that the word, 'religion' is, certainly, not a fitting description of his lifestyle.