₦airaland Forum

I sincerely hope they make an impact cause Lagos has gotten dirtier under Ambode.

rajiraymond:
I would rather be silent for a fool like you, simply because of the way you attacked me.

But who God bless no man can course!

PMB till 2023!!

Join the already moving Train now or you regret later.

Can you tell us why you think Nigeria deserves an extra four miserable years of buhari misrule.

My big problem with them and most other Nigerian churches is that the greatest and most important commandment of Jesus which is loving your fellow man is missing from their core doctrines. This makes me wonder if they are truly following christ as they all claim.

We will certainly stop him in 2019 by the special grace of God.

His body language encouraged and promoted the activities of the killer fulani herds men.

Yet the lying labour minister claims they have created 5 million 'blue collar' jobs. Bunch of hopeless criminals

jamesibor:
The name of the religion translated to English means peace.

That's another lie some muslims propagate to white wash their religion. Islam means 'to submit' in English. The Arabic word for peace is 'salaam'.

This was probably before he became a terrorist

Neither the founder of the religion nor the 'holy book' of the religion in question called it a religion of peace. The phrase 'religion of peace' is a modern day spin to deceive the rest of the world and deny their violent past and modern day jihadists.

Why is my man of the year Daddy freeze not on the list.

I support this initiative, God bless daddy freeze.

Aragon:
Recently DaddyFreeze started a new Campaign to eradicate Poverty by asking everyone regardless of your faith or Religion to take 10% of your Salary and Help someone.

This is called TAP #ThitheAgainstPoverty.

He announced it couple of days ago and it's already picking up. This Lady is giving 100k each to poor women to start a little business and also paying school Fees of poor people. So instead of buying Jets for already rich Pastors and constructing Buildings while many are going to bed Hungry thinking you are Helping or giving to GOD, why not just follow the Simple commandment of God LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOUR SELF..

I will be helping somebody too and might post mine when I do. This thing will take of 2018 by God's grace. The Pastors and their generations are more than rich enough from the money people has given to them. Now is the time to Help God's people. So why some are busy attacking and Insulting Freeze for asking a simple question, he is doing the will if Christ. (When I was Hungry you fed me, now come into the house of my father)


https://www.instagram.com/p/BcmYKwJjXjA/

God bless daddy freeze and all those who respond to this laudable initiative.

GavelSlam:
Dry season is November to March.

Pay more attention in class next time.

And this is December which means we are in the dry season yet bubu's cows are fatter. Olodo

Obviously buhari's cows are enjoying the 'change'. As a fulani herds man he considers his cows more important than Nigerians.

Donald Duke is clearly the best for me. In the case of Fashola, he was Governor of the richest State in the country, so it shouldn't be too difficult to perform but in Duke's case, he was governor of a very poor state and yet he was able to perform far better than other governors that had far more resources at their disposal than he did.

Danelo:
Nigerians were never like this until recently.
Now people commit suicide like it's an option.
RIP to the deceased.

Buhari is to blame.

It's a real shame that we have gotten to this level in this country. A fall out of the poor leadership we have and another reason we must kick that illiterate tribal religious fanatic out of Aso rock come 2019.

Arrant nonsense, when their fellow muslims are massacring innocent people all over the world they won't talk but if people should defend themselves or avenge against the islamic marauders they start yarning dust. Truth is that muslims hate israelites today because Mohamed instructed it in their quoran and the reason Mohamed hated the Jews was because they refused to accept him as a prophet of God.

Daddy freeze for opening the eyes of millions and exposing the lies of Satan being peddled in our churches today.

MasViews:
I'm done here. I cant argue with someone who really don't know what he is saying.

You had better run off before you embarass yourself further. Islamic jihad is terrorism. No amount of al taquiya can change that fact.

MasViews:
So Jihad is terrorism?

Yes it is.

MasViews:
There is a big difference between Islam and Terrorism

True Islam and terrorism[jihad] are inseparable. Mohammad who is the best example to muslims practised it and encouraged all 'good' muslims to do so as well.

baralatie:
tinapa is a great concept!
tinapa is a great asset to cross river state succeeding administration did not know how to maximize it

You are absolutely correct. If the succeeding administration had managed it properly, calabar would have become another dubai by now.

Bunch of fraudsters

rozay12345:
Donald Duke is not a bad idea for the country presidency. If he is serious about contesting, he needs to do more beyond the article, he should start reaching out, delivering lectures on how we can be a super economy and communicate with the people.

Yes I agree with you, Donald Duke needs to do a lot more if he really wants to be taken seriously.

GoroTango:
Buhari is a national leader who commands respect across national divides, but the same cannot be said about Duke.

On the contrary buhari is a sectional leader who is disliked in several parts of the country because of his bigotry and incompetence.

bymigokeph:
1. the number of comments in this your topic in relations views speaks volume of his fate.
2. Just as this post of your is a good political literature but can not make front page on nairaland so is his fate.
A people gets the leaders it deserves.
One of The demerits of democracy is what lead to President Bulgari leading his people.

We can change the narrative.

oodualover:
He will get the chance to rule Biafra

He has absolutely nothing to do with Biafra.

obonujoker:
How

I am a Muslim, how do we expect me to vote for Donald Duke??

You are joking, right?

FarahAideed:
As long as the average IQ in Nigeria remain 60 then people like Donald Duke will never get a chance because people are more comfortable with someone who looks , thinks and sounds like them

If we are to make real progress in this country, we need to start coming out in large numbers to support politicians of his calibre and pedigree.

PEDULUM By Dele Momodu, Email: dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com


Fellow Nigerians, I finally caught up, and had a most productive meeting, with one of my favourite Nigerian leaders, Donald Duke, in Lagos last weekend. I have steadfastly remained his fan long after he left power ten years ago as Governor of Cross River State. Not even his most fastidious and vociferous critic would ever suggest that he did not leave a monumental mark in that fortunate State. It remains a mystery why, and how, Donald Duke, was abandoned, and wasted, by his Party, PDP, and nay Nigeria. I have written endlessly, and campaigned feverishly, that Nigeria desperately, and urgently, needs many leaders in the mould of Donald Duke. So, it was a pleasure not only meeting up with him again but having time to discuss a topic we both fervently and passionately believe in, Nigeria.

I do not know if Donald Duke is a saint, since we seem to be obsessed with seeking, and finding, angels from heaven to lead us, but I’m very certain that Donald Duke would have performed and delivered once more. Successful and progressive nations are not governed by saints but by performers with uncommon vision, zeal and the determination to succeed where others failed. This handsome, charming, charismatic, cosmopolitan, suave, visionary, audacious and cerebral gentleman, has so much to remind us of a Barack Obama. It is one of those cruel ironies that many of those Nigerian youths who shout the loudest about wanting enduring change never remembered to fight for the emergence of the Donald Dukes of this world. They preferred to fight based on ethnicity, religion and raw cash, the very primordial things that have kept us, both, down and extremely backward.

I’m writing this article on a flight from Dubai to London, and there is no better time to get inspired and simultaneously angered about the disgraceful and embarrassing state of things in Nigeria. I have since come to the conclusion that Nigeria is in this peculiar mess because we have consistently and stubbornly continued to do and repeat the same nonsense and rubbish while expecting a miraculous change. Truth be told, a leader can never give or deliver what he does not possess. A leader can only be fired up by the limits of his education, background, worldview, experience and exposure. Age is also a factor, a man who made a mess of important assignments in his prime is not likely to make a success of it when he has become totally weak and dim-witted. It is not his fault but the natural law of diminishing returns. This is the difference between Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe. While Mandela surrounded himself with the brightest whiz-kids to shore up whatever shortcomings he had, having been out of circulation for 27 odd years, Mugabe, on the contrary remained the omnipotent and all-knowing leader even in his twilight years. This Messianic complex is dangerously perfidious.



It was with this background in mind that I was truly elated when Donald Duke accepted the invitation to meet me for a private session. The first thing that struck me on his arrival was his very good looks. Also, his confidence and poise. And, of course, as our conversation progressed, his sharp brains and wits. I had no doubt in my mind that Nigeria has been haemorrhaging to death because of our self-immolating lack of respect for the likes of Donald Duke and our preference for enthroning mediocrity. If we made mistakes in the past, must we continue to wallow in our foolhardiness? This was my starting point with Donald Duke.

“Oga, thank you for honouring my invitation at such short notice Sir. You know I have been your self-appointed Campaign Manager all these years. It is so wonderful to have you here finally, one on one…” I stated. “I cannot thank you enough Dele for keeping faith with me without seeing me. I cannot say we’ve been close friends, yet you mentioned me regularly in your column and I’m always wondering what I have done to deserve this honour from you…” he responded.

I told him how much I was fascinated by his incredible work in Cross River State, especially, how Calabar was fast becoming the Dubai of Nigeria. I was not unaware that his critics often lampooned him as wasting resources on building a beautiful State while his people languished in squalid conditions. But I knew such arguments came from people of limited minds and dreams. The living conditions of a people will never improve unless and until leaders learn to create huge dreams and gigantic activities that would ultimately generate jobs and opportunities. Donald Duke looked a bit pensive. “You won’t believe this; I was totally disappointed to hear supposedly knowledgeable people utter such words like ‘na Dubai we go chop’? It is this sort of warped mentality that has kept us where we have found ourselves… Lack of big dreams… Lack of faith in our abilities to build our own big cities and compete against the greatest nations… Nigerians are naturally brilliant, and we have the population to give us the power and influence of China, but we are not ready to change our ways of doing things…” he said, with sorrow in his eyes.

This dovetailed to my most important question: “Will you run the Presidential race?” He paused for a moment, measuring his thoughts and probably his choice of words. “Dele, do you want to hear the truth? I seriously want to run but my party, PDP, would have to decide on many things… Our party is well-positioned to win the next election if we can change our style a bit and beat APC at its own game. We must take advantage and benefit from our experience since 1999. Despite our apparent mistakes, Nigerians can now compare and contrast us with APC. What do we need to win the next elections? We must go to the field with our best candidates. We must learn from how we select our footballers. No one cares where you come from. Can you play well? Pronto. We must show clearly that we are more democratic. Zoning is good, but it has not worked well in Nigeria. The time has come to unleash the best brains from every part of Nigeria. We must galvanise our youths. They will never follow or support us if we can’t show how we are different and far better than APC…”

I told him how much I detest the idea of zoning and the way we’ve all accepted this unconstitutional act, unquestionably and horribly, like victims of mass hypnotism. I do not mind the principle of Federal Character in certain appointments and promotions, but it has no place whatsoever in elective office. Even Federal Character must be based on sound merit. No one should ever be appointed or promoted only because of tribe or religion. No student should be admitted or promoted if he cannot meet minimum requirements. We have now seen the result of promoting mediocrity, hypocrisy and laziness in Kaduna State where Governor Nasir El Rufai has practically guillotined the teaching careers of about 20,000 hopelessly and ridiculously dull teachers.

Zoning is undoubtedly one of the biggest scams in Nigeria. It was forced on us by some control freaks in order to direct and manipulate the system in perpetuity. If we break it down, we’ll see that it has favoured some states and regions more than the others, while some are at serious disadvantage. Nigeria has been led to date by government heads as follows: Tafawa Balewa (Bauchi, Moslem for 6 years) jointly with Nnamdi Azikiwe (Onitsha, Christian for 6 years), Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi (Umuahia, Christian for 6 months), Yakubu Gowon (Lur, Christian for 9 years), Murtala Muhammed (Kano, Moslem for 6 months), Olusegun Obasanjo (Abeokuta, Christian, two stints, for 3 years and 8 years respectively, totalling 11 years), Shehu Shagari (Sokoto, Moslem for 4 years and a few months), Muhammadu Buhari (Katsina, Moslem (two stints, for 20 months and currently 2 and a half years respectively, totalling over 4 years and counting), Ibrahim Babangida (Minna, Moslem for 8 years) Ernest Shonekan (Abeokuta, Christian for almost 3 months) Sani Abacha (Kano, Moslem for almost 5 years), Abdulsalami Abubakar (Minna, Moslem for about one year), Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina, Moslem for almost three years) and Goodluck Jonathan (Otuoke, Christian for 5 years). More significantly the North has held power for 34 years and shared power as the stronger of two heads for six years, whilst the South has held power for 17 years and shared power as the weaker of two heads for 6 years. Using religion, Christians have held power with 25 years to the Moslems’ 32 years. So much for zoning!

Furthermore, in reality, if zoning was a sincere and precise formula, Buhari should be seen to be completing Yar’Adua’s, and thus, the North’s, second term. After all, Yar’Adua spent three years in office before he died. If APC or PDP fields another Northerner and either manages to win, is that person going to serve one or two terms? Whichever way you look at it, those insisting the North must produce the next President are thus being clever by half. In fact, the South South has the right to insist Jonathan or someone from his zone should come back to complete their own second term. Just imagine such confusion and conundrum!

What is worse, zoning has never been of immense benefit to Nigeria or its utmost beneficiaries. Katsina has produced two Heads of State on three different occasions (Buhari, Yar’Adua and Buhari again). Kano has produced two (Murtala Muhammed and Sani Abacha). Minna has produced two (Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar). Abeokuta has produced two, also on three different occasions (Obasanjo, Shonekan and Obasanjo again). Have their sons turned their cities or States into Eldorado? The answer is a resounding No!

Donald Duke agreed with me that Nigeria needs to be reconfigured and repositioned urgently. We are respected globally for our brilliance, intellect, innovativeness and boundless energy, but we parade some of the worst leaders on planet earth and the global community wonders how and why we allow the dregs of our society to represent us. Duke believes things might change for the better if we don’t give up. He said there are times he feels frustrated about the Nigerian situation but wakes up the next day re-energised seeing the potentials instead of the horrendous challenges and difficulties. He said he would appeal to members of his Party not to waste this unique opportunity because history would not forgive them if Nigeria collapses so miserably.

He elaborated extensively on his vision for Nigeria. He said rebuilding Nigeria is not going to take rocket science but vision, passion and total commitment to the ideals of civilisation. According to him, this cannot be achieved if we keep Nigeria perpetually in the hands of those who play Nigeria like Russian Roulette. For such leaders, there is no hurry or any sense of urgency to develop. Theirs is to attain power by crooked means, warm the seats and quit without any tangible achievement. Nigerians seem comfortable in this ‘game of thrones’ that forces them to accept their bizarre existence as if it were God-ordained. We all complain but still do nothing to correct these foolish anomalies.

How hopeful is he that he, or people of his ilk and pedigree, may emerge in the next dispensation? His response was very calm and sober. “If I can get the ticket of my Party, I’m certain that with the support of our members and the youths of Nigeria yearning for urgent restoration of hope, we shall defeat APC. I’m certain Nigerians are anxiously waiting for a leader with proven record of vigour and excellence. They will come out en masse to vote if they see such a candidate. And I promise to join hands with my Party to free Nigeria permanently from recession, oppression and depression. We know what to do to unlock the potentials of our vibrant youths and we possess the most important gift of all, the trust in our ability to take development to every part of our great country and attract our most fertile minds back home from all over the world. Our international friends are also waiting to support the right leadership when they see one. It would be the dawn of a new era in Nigeria…” I couldn’t help but shout a loud Amen to that, as he stood up to take his exit.

I followed him to his car and I felt proud and privileged knowing that such a leader is available if ever we need him and are ready to avail ourselves of his quality services. The ball is in our court.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing as I search and serve you more leaders soon.

God bless Nigeria


http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/11/18/will-the-donald-dukes-of-nigeria-ever-get-a-chance/

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