₦airaland Forum

Last year, Nigeria’s Boko Haram extremists offered to free more than 200 young women and girls abducted on April 14, 2014, from their dormitory at Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State in exchange for the release of militant leaders held by the government.

According to Nigeria's Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Mohammed, the Federal Government has been wary of talks with the militants as previous negotiations failed because officials have been duped into talks with the wrong people. According to him, “We are being extremely careful,” information minister Lai Mohammed said in a statement. “We want to be doubly sure that those we are in touch with are who they claim to be.”

Again, in a video recently released by the insurgents, they said unless the government releases their members who were being detained in Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri prisons, they won’t release the girls.

Perhaps this is a leeway for the government? Should the government consider the demands of these terrorists? Here are 7 reasons why:

Boko Haram Has Been Consistent in their Demands: Since last year, they've been on the demand of release of their members held in prisons. If these insurgents have been so keen on this demand, we can say they really have no use for the girls. The government should think again on this issue.

FG Seem Not to Have Any Back up Plans: Nigerian government seems not to have any back up plans in to take on these militants. Better advisable the government shame the don't-negotiate with-terrorist ideology and free the young girls in captivity.

Fulfillment of Campaign Promise: One of the major promises of President Buhari before he took over power is to bring back the abducted girls. A year after he got into office, nothing concrete has been done to return the girls to their parents. Exchange of the girls for the detained militants could be a very good way to fulfil his campaign promise.

Rebuilding Process in the North East: President Buhari should should consider swapping these girls for the detained militants because the nefarious activities of these insurgents have shattered lives and properties in the North East. Exchange of the detainees for the girls will form part of the process to rebuild the North East.

Rekindled Hope for the Parents: Watching the recently-released video by the insurgents is a rekindled hope for the parents of the abducted girls that their daughters are still alive. The hope should come alive in the real sense when they re-unite with their parents.

A New Life for the Girls: The girls need new lives. They have been through the most horrific situations that anyone should not be. More so, the appeal of the girls who spoke on behalf of other girls to the Federal Government mean that they can no longer bear the hard life they are subjected to, and that the government should do the needful.

It's Too Long To Be Delayed: It's more than two years that the girls have been whisked off their school. Some of them are dead in captivity. Others have been impregnated, and now baby mamas. It's already delayed than necessary. President Buhari should see the exchange as an avenue to dust the shame othet than allow the girls to languish in captivity for over two years.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-reasons-why-president-buhari-should-exchange-abducted-chibok-girls-for-boko-haram-militants.219680/

Forget the boisterous drama in Nigeria's political space, the last few weeks have not been funny. It is of the country with loop holes in its legislative chambers with government expenditure. Nigerians have been fed with unpleasant information on the details of how principal officers in the House of Representatives allegedly abused the privileges of appropriation and lawmaking.

The allegation of budget-padding, levelled against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and three other officers, by former chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and the denial and counter-accusation there from, have reinforced the escalating degeneration of lawmaking in the National Assembly.

Nigeria has a President. Mohammadu Buhari, an ex-military commander, and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the history of the Nigerian Army. Minister of Budget and National Planning says the budget passed by the President was a better document than the first budget returned by the National Assembly. What exactly is the issue? Should President Buhari be silent on a sensitive National issue like this? What are those things that could be done to end padding – which has actually been on in the legislative quarters for quite some time.

1. What Exactly Happened? The Public Should Know: Before we get to the stage of trials and punishment, there must be a clear establishment of facts as to what exactly happened, the role of the principal actors and how they exploited the system. This will allow the public to have information that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to a foreclosure process.

2. Offenders Should Be Trialed And Punished: This will perhaps go down as one of the stains on President Buhari's Change mantra. The appropriate action to be taken is to punish all the offenders. This is in consideration of the definition of law as the command of the sovereign which must be obeyed at the risk of sanctions. There should be no ''ábove the law' in this case.

3. Principal Officers Involved In The Mess Should Confess and Apologize: Principal officers involved in this mess should confess and apologise to Nigerians for their shameful conduct. Without taking sides to the raging feud, specific allegations made against the leadership by the former chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Abdulmumini Jibrin, have been left unanswered. The House leadership is trying to use a general traverse of denials against specific allegations. This cannot stand in law and logical analysis. The allegations are specific and need factual responses to successfully rebut them. It is at this second phase that we may be able to explore the possibilities of compensation to society for the misdeeds of the legislators. Whether there is a framework to get this compensation or what exactly the offenders have that can compensate society is a moot point that may be further interrogated.

4. Scrutinize The System That Led to Padding Against Recurrence: After fishing out the details of how the system was manipulated, the next is to use the information to learn lessons, plug the loopholes and devise measures to guarantee non-repetition of the fraud. The system must not be so weak as to allow this manner of fraud to be repeated. Thus, this provides an opportunity for a comprehensive review of the entire appropriation system and ensuring that it is re-wired to protect the public interest.

5. Minister of Budget Should Be Relieved of Duty: Following the scandals surrounding issues of 2016 budget right from the insertion of items, withdrawal from the Senate, and other irregularities, one would have expected President Buhari to relieve the minister of Budget and planning for those woes. President Buhari needs to take the bull by the horn and caution any minister in his cabinet members that aver to irregularities so as to serve as deterrent to others. This will allow Mr President's anti corruption campaign potent

6. Extend Anti-Corruption Fight to His Party: The President has been accused of a one-sided anti-corruption campaign and it seem obviously true. In other to establish deterrence in the national assembly, President Buhari need to extend the hand of probe to his party members. This, will no doubt send stern warning and pad their thoughts positively before they attempt adding up to national budget.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/6-ways-president-buhari-can-end-budget-padding.219586/

New York is just a city in the US. People travel there and to other places in the world from Nigeria everyday.

My point is, something that is common and occurs everyday should not be termed 'News' because it isn't new.

Nairaland sometimes dey mess up!!

The importance of petrol in Nigeria can never be over emphasized. The commodity plays a major role in day-to-day life in Africa's most populous nation. Every Nigerian is affected in one way or the other by this commodity, which let’s face it, is barely produced in Nigeria.

As it is, petrol plays a major part in the core sectors of Nigeria’s economy - transportation and power. Nigerians fuel cars for transportation and majority use it to power generators to get electricity. As a result, the pump price of petrol (the price at which it is sold at fuel stations) is pretty important. It plays an important role in inflation (the price of goods), and determines the general mood of the nation.

Although the pump price of petrol is determined by a lot of things, here are 7 persons or bodies who can influence it in a great manner, negatively or positively.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Apart from being President, President Muhammadu Buhari is also Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources. As a Minister he has tremendous power over the pump price of petrol in Nigeria. As President, he has even more authority and control over the commodity. Nothing happens in the oil sector without his consent or approval. He can also order that it be increased or reduced, at any time.

Oil Minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

Dr. Kachikwu is Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. He is responsible for bringing up policies that influence the pump price of petrol in a major way. He oversees Nigeria’s upstream and downstream oil sector. Many see him as the real Petroleum Minister while President Buhari is just a figure head.

NNPC GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru

Dr. Maikanti is the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Nigeria’s state oil petroleum corporation (not company, corporation). The NNPC plays a huge role in the procurement of petrol for sale in Nigeria. Apart from setting rules, NNPC also imports the product and distributes to major areas of the country.

As the GMD, Dr. Maikanti oversees the day to day activities of the NNPC and any major decision to be made about the pump price of petrol has to pass through him.

PPPRA Chairman, Mohammed Buba

Alhaji Mohammed Buba is the Chairman of Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA. The PPPRA is a subsidiary of the NNPC charged with setting up the pricing template for petrol in Nigeria.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

As things stand, Nigeria imports majority of the fuel it consumes. This makes naira's exchange rate against dollar a contributing factor to the pump price of petrol. Godwin Emefiele is an important member of the apex bank's Monetary Policy Committee, a body which makes important decisions that affects the nation's foreign exchange market.

Major Oil Marketers

Capital Oil owner Ifeanyi Uba, Femi Otedola, owner of Forte oil, and other oil marketers also have a say in the pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria. The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN are also included.

They import the bulk of fuel Nigerians consume every day and have rendered the country comatose in the past when dragging an issue with the federal government on subsidy arrears. Their action or inaction during caused a scarcity which saw petrol being sold for up to N1000 per litre.

Oil Workers

This comprises mainly of members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN).
NUPENG and PENGASSAN influence petrol pump price in their own unique way. Whenever they go on strike, there is a scarcity of fuel in the country. This usually causes the price of the commodity to rise if unaddressed.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-prominent-influencers-of-petrol-pump-price-in-nigeria.219387/

mn09abk:
There will not allow our anambra rice to sell first....ours will still beat theirs

Oga calm down. This is not a competition

Abusive relationships are not new in Nigeria. It is estimated that 25 percent of women in Nigeria face domestic abuse. Nigerian women do not just go through abuse daily but most choose to remain with their abuser.

Here are 5 reasons why Nigerian women stay in Abusive Marriages:

1. Religion

Nigerians are very religious people. We believe that marriage especially for women should be ''until death do us part''. Religious groups in Nigeria do not believe anyone should walk out of a marriage no matter the circumstance. Good women are supposed to pray for change and not walk out.

2. Financial constraints

Women in Nigeria earn much more lower than their male counterparts. Also, a lot of Nigerian women were raised to rely on men for their every financial need - they move from depending on their parents to depending on husbands. The average Nigerian woman does not understand that she needs to have a F*ck off fund for rainy days.


3. Social stigma

In Nigerian societal ranking, divorced women are on the bottom of the list after married women, single ladies and baby mamas. When a marriage ends, the woman is blamed. Most families will rather have their daughter beaten and returned in a casket than divorced. ''A little slap here and there shouldn't end a marriage'' - some will argue.


4. For their child

Women stay even longer in abusive marriages when a child is involved. Women come up with excuses like ''My children will blame me and resent me'' , ''The kids need a father'', etc. Alot of Nigerian woman will take as many slaps and down-talking as possible to make their children happy.

5. Poor orientation

Women are often blamed for getting abused in the relationships. It is often assumed that when a woman gets abused by a man, she did something to deserve it. Some women who get abused frequently, even believe they deserve it.

--------------------------
Proper education and reorientation is necessary if domestic abuse against women must stop. Women must also play a vital role in breaking the cycle by raising better men.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/5-reasons-why-nigerian-women-stay-in-abusive-marriages.219199/

Abusive relationships are not new in Nigeria. It is estimated that 25 percent of women in Nigeria face domestic abuse. Nigerian women do not just go through abuse daily but most choose to remain with their abuser.

Here are 5 reasons why Nigerian women stay in Abusive Marriages:

1. Religion

Nigerians are very religious people. We believe that marriage especially for women should be ''until death do us part''. Religious groups in Nigeria do not believe anyone should walk out of a marriage no matter the circumstance. Good women are supposed to pray for change and not walk out.

2. Financial constraints

Women in Nigeria earn much more lower than their male counterparts. Also, a lot of Nigerian women were raised to rely on men for their every financial need - they move from depending on their parents to depending on husbands. The average Nigerian woman does not understand that she needs to have a F*ck off fund for rainy days.


3. Social stigma

In Nigerian societal ranking, divorced women are on the bottom of the list after married women, single ladies and baby mamas. When a marriage ends, the woman is blamed. Most families will rather have their daughter beaten and returned in a casket than divorced. ''A little slap here and there shouldn't end a marriage'' - some will argue.


4. For their child

Women stay even longer in abusive marriages when a child is involved. Women come up with excuses like ''My children will blame me and resent me'' , ''The kids need a father'', etc. Alot of Nigerian woman will take as many slaps and down-talking as possible to make their children happy.

5. Poor orientation

Women are often blamed for getting abused in the relationships. It is often assumed that when a woman gets abused by a man, she did something to deserve it. Some women who get abused frequently, even believe they deserve it.

--------------------------
Proper education and reorientation is necessary if domestic abuse against women must stop. Women must also play a vital role in breaking the cycle by raising better men.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/5-reasons-why-nigerian-women-stay-in-abusive-marriages.219199/

Though they reportedly circumvented popular wishes to enthrone their anointed godsons as governors, most former helmsmen are lamenting installing incumbent chief executives who are now at daggers drawn with them.

Most of them are currently battling with life survival and political relevance in the state and federal levels with little or no attention accorded to them by their successors. Instead, the Economic Crimes and Financial Commission is bearing his torch light on their administrations and time in office as some of them are yet to grip of their fate after office.


Kano: Kwankwaso vs Ganduje

Kano State made history in the current political dispensation with Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje emerging as the only deputy to succeed his immediate boss. He was a loyal deputy of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

It was widely believed that Kwankwaso could never have found a more loyal follower than Ganduje, who served the two terms with him and carrying the ‘Kwankwasiyya’ philosophy with a red cap to signify followership.
Though the rift between the two seemed settled, their ‘war’ of attrition recorded the most violent incidents leading to the loss of lives and wanton destruction of property.

Lagos: Fashola vs Ambode

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola have largely maintained their differences. However, it is unclear if issues bordering on mistrust between the pair have been duly addressed. It is on record that Fashola did not support Ambode’s emergence because the incumbent is known to be a political godson of ex-governor Bola Tinubu, who was also Fashola’s predecessor.

Ambode eventually won the party’s nomination. Fashola, in order not to rock the boat, grudgingly supported Ambode. Yet, the bad blood did not completely ease out as there were swift overturn of certain policies of Fashola by Ambode on resumption of office.
Also, some disgusting revelations about Fashola’s controversial award of contracts like the N78 million website development and the over N100 million allocation for the dredging of two boreholes in the Alausa Government House, were seen as part of strategies, hatched to subdue the ego of the ex-governor.


Cross River: Imoke vs Ayade

Though former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, has not come out openly to say it, he is said to have expressed regret over the performances of Senator Benedict Ayade whom it was believed he made to succeed him.
Imoke is unhappy that Ayade is no longer taking directives from him and carrying on as if he (Imoke) does not matter anymore. The incumbent's loyalists however, say Imoke was demanding for too much from Ayade, especially on issues bordering on contracts and political patronage.

Rivers: Amaechi vs Wike

The problem between Governor Nyesom Wike and Rotimi Amaechi, now minister of transportation bordered on their irreconcilable differences on who should call the shots on the soul of Rivers State politics. The once close political allies went their separate ways prior to the 2015 general elections and ever since have maintained a cat and mouse relationship.

Katsina: Shema vs Masari

Hostilities in Katsina State between ex-governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of the PDP and Governor Aminu Bello Masari of the APC surfaced shortly after the handing over formalities. The incumbent who was a PDP member before defecting to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the parties that merged to form the APC, announced immediately on assumption of office that he met an empty treasury and a debt of N42 billion.

But the former governor described the allegations as a witch-hunt meant to taint his reputation.

Benue: Suswam vs Ortom

The inability of former governor Gabriel Suswam to support the emergence of his successor, Samuel Ortom on the platform of the PDP in the 2015 general elections laid the foundation of the bitter rivalry between the two.

Ortom later defected to the APC and has vowed to jail his predecessor for allegedly defrauding the state. Suswam, who is accused of siphoning N48 billion in local government funds, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Plateau: Jang vs Lalong

The heat between Governor Simon Lalong of the APC and his predecessor Jonah David Jang of the PDP was stoked mainly by the alleged N104 billion debt left for the new administration. Jang was accused of misuse of public funds having piloted the affairs of the state for eight years.
There was an outcry by a group loyal to Lalong in court alleging a N400 billion debt profile, which prompted a response from Jang’s side owning up to a debt profile of only N18 billion.

Niger: Aliyu vs Bello

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of the APC emerged against formidable impediments of his predecessor Dr. Muazu Babaginda Aliyu of the PDP.

Bello who defeated the youngest governorship candidate at the general elections and Aliyu’s candidate, Umar Mohammed Nasko, on assumption of office, asked for the immediate refund of the N2.9 billion allegedly obtained illegally by the past government on the eve of its departure.
Aliyu reportedly left a debt of N57 billion, prompting the house of assembly to direct Bello to probe how his predecessor managed the state’s resources during his eight years tenure.

Bauchi: Yuguda vs Abubakar

Governor Mohammed Abubakar of the APC accused his predecessor Isa Yuguda of the PDP of “destroying” the state. He said apart from leaving an empty treasury, the ex-governor also left a debt of N125 billion in addition to unpaid salary arrears.

He pointedly asked Yuguda to account for the sum of N825 billion received by his administration, vowing to employ all measures to trace funds and property allegedly looted during the former governor’s tenure and recover same.
There was also the controversial issue of the state’s private jet and its alleged ‘detention’ in Morocco.

Kogi: Wada vs Bello

All seems not to be rosy between Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his predecessor, Capt. Idris Wada of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), especially as the latter is accused of maladministration and siphoning of public funds. Bello had recently engaged an independent consultant who probed the various contracts awarded by the past administration with the report revealing a lot of infractions and shady deals perpetrated under the Wada administration.

Kebbi: Dakinggari vs Bagudu

Governor Atiku Bagudu shared a similar fate with his Niger State counterpart against his predecessor Saidu Nasamu Dakingari.

Dakingari of the PDP fell out with many of his party chieftains prior to the party’s primaries. He also publicly declared he would never hand over to Bagudu, who was then in the PDP. Bagudu lost the party’s primaries and 24 hours later defected to the APC where he emerged the governorship candidate. He later won the election and has since been at loggerheads with his predecessor.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/11-political-wars-between-governors-and-ex-governors-across-states.219108/

When the All Progressives Congress successfully took over power from the erstwhile PDP, that ruled for 16 years, no one envisaged that the party would be enveloped in such trouble as it finds itself now. The APC was 'packaged' as the saviour and flawless todeliver the CHANGE promise. But the recent cause of events in the ruling party may weaken its potentials ahead of the 2019 polls, or perhaps lead to eventual downfall. These deep cracks in the ruling party across the country may lead to massive defections if not urgently attended to. Here is a look at some of these problems.


1. Quarrel Within the National Executive:
There is a running acrimony among some officials of the party in the national executive. Their disagreement is hinged on loyalty to various camps that formed the APC. Of late, the most visible antagonist to the party’s order has been its deputy national publicity secretary, Chief Timi Frank. After the exit of the former national publicity secretary of the party, now minister of information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, from the party executive to take up a cabinet appointment, Frank, as his deputy, was expected to step in as his replacement. But that was not to be, as only the chairman, John Odigie Oyegun and the national secretary now speak on behalf of the party.

2. Neglect of Top Politicians:
This may be a major threat to the future of the APC with the the neglect of top politicians in the legacy parties that collapsed in the merger agreement. Some stalwarts of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have expressed worry over the manner with which the APC government failed to carry them along.
Such agitation, it was gathered, recently led to the formation of a group, which is a forum of the defunct CPC leaders. After a recent meeting in Abuja, the group, which comprised of chairmen of the defunct CPC in 26 states, said in a communiqué that President Muhammadu Buhari should “remember the goose that laid the golden egg in the scheme of things.”
Also exposing the internal suspicion within the APC, the CPC block said, “The fact is that we can’t totally trust men and women from other political parties like the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Though we are under one umbrella, the APC, everybody knows where he or she belongs. So, we need to come together to support our own; this is politics.” Party members have not been happy with Buhari’s appointment of a number of PDP stalwarts when those who fought for the APC to win the 2015 elections have not been considered.


3. The ATIKU factor:
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is a major factor in determining whether the future of the ruling party is bright or blur. When Atiku Abubakar visited the national secretariat of the APC on July 18, 2016, it was largely conceived and convinced that the move was in connection with his 2019 presidential ambition. This was largely founded on the fact that the former vice president had not visited the party secretariat since its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held earlier in April with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.

During that visit, Atiku simply told journalists that he had come to familiarise himself with the party leaders; but not many were convinced.
Apart from linking the visit to his perceived 2019 presidential ambition, it was strongly believed that the party leadership used the visit to express concern over his professed support for the restructuring of the country, a position that is at variance with that of the ruling party.
Apart from speculations that he may be eyeing the presidency in 2019, signs that Atiku may have pitched himself against the ruling APC in the aftermath of the 2015 elections emerged over the outcome of National Assembly elections. The elections that saw Dr. Saraki and Yakubu Dogara emerge as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Reps despite being excluded by a mock poll. Atiku was suspected to have plotted with Saraki to defy the ruling party, giving rise to reports that he might be sanctioned by the APC over his alleged role.


4. Kano State Crisis:
In Kano State, the internal crisis in the APC is mainly between the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and the incumbent governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. Although the two principal actors have denied any rift, political happenings in the state suggest the contrary. The crisis in the Kano APC took a new dimension after the conduct of the by-election for Minjibir Local Government state assembly constituency. Results published by people believed to be members of the Ganduje faction of the APC indicated that APC got 21,970, while ‘PDP+Kwankwasiyya’ polled 1,238 votes. By implication, Ganduje’s loyalists now link the Kwankwaso group as being in alliance with the opposition PDP.
The sour political relationship between the two political gladiators became public after the death of Ganduje’s mother when Kwankwaso paid him a condolence visit at his home town in Ganduje. Since that incident, the APC has not known peace in Kano as supporters of the two politicians were engaged in political war of words. While Kwankwaso’s supporters accuse Ganduje of betrayal, Ganduje’s followers blame Kwankwaso of sabotaging the present administration.

5. Splinter Group In Kaduna:
The splinter group of the APC in Kaduna State, known as the APC Akida, which constituted a leadership structure at the state level, is yet to reconcile with the main organ of the party, two months after the group threatened to form structures at all levels of the state. When the splinter group emerged, it appointed Mr. Tom Maiyashi as its convener, Alhaji Ibrahim Yaro as deputy convener and Hafsat M. Baba as secretary.
The main grief of the splinter group is that the state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has ‘hijacked’ the party and is not willing to recognise their contributions to its success in the state. Maiyashi confirmed this recently when he said that the group came into being because the APC had been hijacked and incapacitated, and because members were deprived of a major asset to exercise their rights.

The Kaduna State chapter of the APC has, however, preferred to disown the splinter group, saying its leadership and members stand united with Governor el-Rufai.
The state acting publicity secretary of the party, Salisu Tanko Wusono, described the group as ‘illegal and unrecognised,’ and warned them to desist or face sanctions.


6. Division in Adamawa over Atiku's Call For Restructuring:
The heavy weight APC supporters in Adamawa State has dismissed the recent call for the restructuring of Nigeria by Atiku Abubakar. They term it as divisive, and saw Atiku's position as clever and a means to attaining political power.
Looking at his antecedents in politics, many dismissed his call for restructuring as another ploy to woo the support of the elite in the southern part of the country, especially the South-South and South-East which have been agitating for regional control of resources.
In Adamawa, where Atiku enjoyed unchallenged political control during his days as vice president (he has remained the biggest force since then), his ambition is currently under threat from unforeseen political alignments despite his alliance with Governor Muhammadu Jibrilla. Pundits have it that the perceived alliance between Buhari’s loyalists, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, and former Governor Murtala Nyako, may signal a danger to the ambition of Atiku ahead of 2019. Secondly, the return of Ribadu, as well as Marcus Gundiri, the former governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), is already creating tension within the party.

7. All Is Not Well In Zamfara With The Move To Impeach Governor Yari:
The move to impeach Governor Abdulazeez Yari by member of the state assembly has caused a major crack in the APC family in Adamawa state. The assembly had accused the governor of “misappropriating N11 billion bailout fund, N1 billion agricultural loan released to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and “corrupt abuse of local government funds.” The move was, however, seen as a fallout within the APC and is related to how public offices were being shared.
The lawmakers accused the governor of frequent foreign trips which have had negative impact on the day-to-day running of government, apart from imposing financial burden on the state. In an unprecedented move, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) swooped on the Assembly and arrested the speaker, Alhaji Sanusi Garba Rikiji and other principal officers. The governor survived the impeachment attempt, but the saga exposed the disunity within the party in the state.

8. Saraki's Impeachment & Dogara's Resignation:
At at now, some senators of the APC are bent on removing Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is also their member. And in the House of Representatives, the sacked chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, also of the party, has made weighty revelations that exposed corruption in the budgetary process in the National Assembly. His allegations indicted the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers, who are mainly members of the ruling party. The padding scandal has embarrassed the APC and further exposed lack of internal agreement within the party.


We need to ask ourselves: Where are APC's Big Men? Where is Sam Nda-Isaiah? Where is Rochas Okorocha? Rabiu Musa Kwankaso? They were Presidential aspirants in the last elections? What significant role are they playing in the affairs of the ruling party? Can we say there may be an end in sight for the ruling party with these problems?

https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/8-major-political-battles-within-the-apc.219012/

karryn:
they want chelsea

Too bad. A man should derive satisfaction from his wife alone.

You wife is absolutely beautiful. She also has very big Manchesters....yet you lust after another woman's orobo Manchester!!!

What do men really want sef?

5 goals, the opener from Sadiq Umar, 4 from Oghenekaro Etebo was enough for the Nigerian Olympic team to see off their Japanese counterpart. Despite all odds, the jet-lagged lads gave Nigerians a hope of success as it was in the 1996 campaign.

As it is always said, every event, circumstance or encounter goes with its lesson, on the positive or negative.

Here are 5 things we learnt from the Nigeria vs Japan encounter:

1. Lateness is no excuse for failure

The Dream Team VI suffered the unimaginable before heading for South America yesterday. After three flight cancellations, the team finally headed for Rio barely 14 hours to their first match. However, they remained undaunted in their struggle for success, going all the way to score 5 goals against an efficient Japan.

2. Nigeria will scoop the gold

Atlanta airport where the team took off yesterday, tweeted yesterday; “20 years ago, the Nigerian #Olympic soccer team arrived late in #ATL after a travel mix up. They won gold,” it tweeted. “This year, another mix up. @Delta stepped up, offered charter, and the Eagles are going to #Brazil. Another gold?

Also, this is only the second time a Nigerian Olympic team will win their opening match. The last time it occurred, they won gold.

Are these not indications that we are up for the gold?

3. Our defense needs to improve

Irrespective of travel fatigue, 4 goals are a whole lot to concede for a team that is dreaming of going far in a tournament. Worse still, one of the goals was conceded at extra time. Siasia boys need to improve on defense in coming matches.

4. Etebo is a messiah

He may not be the striker with the Thierry Henry flare, the Ronaldo dribbles or the Lionel Messi swiftness but you will always find him when needed, especially in the 18 box. More is expected of him in the coming games.

5. Mikel needs to step up

Not a good game for the Chelsea player. However, his leadership and experience is needed on and off the pitch. Mikel needs to justify why he was selected as one of the overaged players and he needs to do that fast

6. It's indeed a 'United States of Nigeria'

One of the best ways to measure patriotism in Nigeria is football. Despite the odd timing (2am), millions of Nigerians were awake to watch the encounter. Several tweeted continuously about it and some still shouted ' goooooooaaaaaal' the usual way. All these are indications of Nigeria's unity when it comes to soccer. Unity in the cause of victory. Therefore, the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung may not be wrong after all, for saying United States of Nigeria.'

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/rio-olympics-5-things-we-learnt-from-the-nigeria-vs-japan-encounter.218803/

Nigeria is the giant of Africa only in TV ads, in reality; the country is a sleeping giant. Nigeria needs a lot of things but first the country needs to change its way of doing things. We cannot keep running Nigeria the same way and expect different results. Our leaders need to go back to the drawing board and do their homework.

Here are 6 things Nigeria desperately needs:

1. Educational reforms

If Nigeria can make its educational sector work properly, the country will register significant progress in all spheres of life. Nigerian education is plagued by a number of issues ranging from accessibility to quality.

On accessibility, not every Nigerian child has access to education. Globally, education is considered as a human right that should be accorded to all human beings but such is not the case in Nigeria. There are still communities in Nigeria with no single school located to them.

A poor education is as bad as 'No education' . Nigerian schools are badly equipped for educating future leaders. Some key problems facing education in Nigeria are poorly trained teachers and inadequate funding. Every year, the Nigerian government loses billions of dollars as thousands of students and academics travel in search of better educational opportunities.

If Nigeria must make progress, the educational sector must be reformed.

''Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.'' Nelson Mandela - let's change Nigeria.

2. Health reforms

After education, medical tourism is another sector that is bleeding Nigeria. Everybody that can afford it including the President runs abroad for treatment while the poor masses are left to fend for themselves.

Nigeria is in dire need of an health sector that works. We need an health sector that attracts and retains our best brains. Nigeria needs an health sector that heals rather than kill.

A vibrant health sector will reduce the amount of unnecessary deaths, boost our economy and even increase the life expectancy of the average Nigerian.

3. Basic Infrastructural reform

Better infrastructure will translate to less problems for the masses. Given some basic infrastructures, Nigerians can entrepreneur themselves out of poverty. The Nigerian government needs to learn and master the art of building and maintaining basic infrastructures.

Nigeria needs taps that runs, light bulbs that come on everyday and roads that do not swallow cars and human lives.

4. Stronger institutions

In Nigeria, we have strong men instead of strong institutions. Nigeria needs less strong men and stronger institutions if it must make progress. No man should be an institution onto himself or those beneath him. Stronger institutions will make politics and civil service less attractive for idiots and thieves as the law will spare no man.

Stronger institutions will attract progress. When there are stronger institutions, Nigeria will work even with a weakling at the helm of affairs. Stronger institutions will guarantee better infrastructure, respect for law and order, etc.

5. Restructuring of Nigeria

Restructuring Nigeria will break government into smaller bits, making it more accessible to the people. Restructuring the country will force every part of it become productive and make useful contributions to the center.

Restructuring will also help address incessant cries of marginalization and oppression. Nigeria is long over due for restructuring.

6. Diversification of the Economy:

As Global oil prices continues to drop further, there is need for Nigerian government to diversify the economy. A continue that keeps importing toothpicks in its economy cannot and may not thrive. It is high time Nigeria took a look into other sectors of the economy and reduce the stress on crude oil. This will not only help the economy to grow rapidly but will also promote growth and create job opportunities for the teeming youths.

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If Nigeria must make progress, her leaders must be willing to make tough decisions. A better Nigeria is possible.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/6-things-nigerian-government-should-desperately-look-into.218626/

Controversies are not new in Nigeria's political space. As a matter of fact, they are what shape the polity, and put the government of the day on its toes. President Buhari's one year-plus administration is not without controversies, coupled with several hits from the now-opposition party, PDP – that was ousted out of power after 16 years of rule. Though President Buhari has not declared any intention to run for the second term in office, but the controversies that have trailed his administration may send him out of Aso rock after the 4-year single tenure, even if he has plans of a second term. Here is an examination of some of them as compiled by Nigerian Bulletin.


1. Denial of Campaign promises: Some months after President Buhari assumed office, in August 2015, he distanced himself from two documents - “One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days” and “My Covenant With Nigerians.”- containing promises on what he would achieve in his first 100 days in office. A statement from his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu titled: “Understanding Buhari in 100 days” said he has no knowledge of the two campaign documents which reportedly emanated from the party’s “many centres of public communication which, for whatever reason, were on the loose.” According to Garba Shehu, “both pamphlets bore the authorised party logo but as the Director of Media and Communications in that campaign, I did not fund or authorise any of those. I can equally bet my last Kobo that Candidate Buhari did not see or authorise those publications.''

2. 5, 000 Promise to the Unemployed & Vulnerable: Well, stylishly President Mohammadu Buhari has made a U-Turn from the campaign promises of 5,000 to unemployed Nigerian youths and vulnerable. Early this year, President Mohammadu Buhari said he would not pay the N5000 stipend he promised to unemployed youth in the country. He made the remarks while on the visit in Middle East. He said it was wise to use a collation of the funds to put up infrastructures and empower them through agriculture for than to give out monies. According to him: “This largesse N5,000 for the unemployed, I have got a slightly different priority. I would rather do the infrastructure, the school and correct them and empower agriculture, mining so that every able bodied person can go and get work instead of giving 5,000, N5,000 to those who don’t work.”

3. Insecurity: Silence On Fulani Herdsmen Crisis: The brutal killings by men suspected to be fulani herders have left so many families in deep sorrow and anguish. President, Mohammadu Buhari is still silent and yet to address the issue of herdsmen attacks – that have claimed thousands of lives. He is seen as being biased and as he continues to talk tough on the secessionists and militants in southern Nigeria, the Fulani herdsmen from his own ethnic division are ‘spared.’

4. Lopsided Appointments/ Incompetence: No doubt that President Buhari's appointments presently favour the Northern region of the country. This has generated heated debates and raised eyebrows on why Mr. President choose to do so. In addition President Buhari seems to have placed trust above competence in his appointments – reason why there are flops in critical ministries. And as well, these appointments will make him a sectional president, and will hurt his support chances from the South.

5. Anti-corruption Fight: President Buhari's anti corruption war has rounded up mostly members of the opposition party. Many believe Buhari is partisan on the anti corruption fight, leaving members of his own cabinet out. More so, some aggrieved parties think President Buhari is hurting their means of enriching their purses and pockets.

6. Style of Leadership: As a fierce military ex-commander, many believe President Buhari's style of leadership is dictatorial. And with some of his actions that have tilted towards that end.

7. Economic Troubles, Inflation and Others: If the economic troubles continue till late 2018 and early 2019, Nigerians and opposition parties will have a very good excuse to throw not only President Buhari out of office but other APC governors, legislators may lose their sat as well.

Presently, Nigeria economy is in recession, inflation hit has geared up and consumer price sky-rocketed while workers groan on late payment of salaries, non-payment of salaries and so on.


Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-controversies-that-may-throw-president-buhari-out-of-office-in-2019.218567/

In the spirit of celebrating Democracy day on May 29th, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari advised Nigerians to pass a verdict on the performance of his appointed officials so that he will know if he should change them.

The president was quoted as saying, “I am waiting for the newspapers to tell me the performance of my ministers and whether I should make changes”., while fielding questions from journalists at the Statehouse.

Meanwhile, here is a look at the performances of these Ministers in their various ministries and what might make President Muhammadu Buhari to have second thought on their performance, as c0mpiled by Nigerian Bulletin.

They are:

1. Minister of Housing, Power and Roads, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola: Babatunde Fashola was known for his versatile and hard-working spirit as the then Governor of Lagos State.

The minister seems over-powered due to the 'giant' ministries allotted to him by President Muhamamdu Buhari.

Since Fashola's assumption as the Minister of the three-combined ministries, it seems the glory of the Lagos born Senior Advocate of Nigeria is gradually fading away.

The President needs to help Fashola offload some of the loads on his head to allow room for optimal performance and long life.

2. Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu: The Minister of Education may be on the watch list of President Muhamamdu Buhari if the president listens to the impulse and messages from the public. The controversies trailing the Ministers' pronouncement and infringement on Varsities' policy and autonomy. The issues of Post Jamb registration, battle for the survival of Vice Chancellorship in tertiary institutions and the blunder of sacking before reinstatement of the heads of Universities established by the former president, Goodluck Jonathan might be another reason why President may consider Mr. Adamu as a goner.

3. Minister of Youths and Sports : Solomon Dalung: The comrade and 'esprit de corp' Minister, who his known with his identity of wearing red beret 'cap' to functions and events which many believed might be linked to an occult group.

Without public opinion and outcry, everything portray to the inability of this Minister to make the nations proud in Sporting activities.

The pulling out of Nigerian sport ministry to provide a befitting burial arrangement for the late Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, the alleged report of Rio Olympics team to find their ways to Rio, inability of Team Nigeria to fly to various competition owing to visa issues, ticketing other embassies' stress accrued to the office of the Honourable Minister of Sports.

If Nigeria and Nigerians want to make a landmark strike in the sporting world, then Mr. Solomon Dalung might be a -no – go area for Mr. Buhari when considering dropping Ministers or changing his cabinet.

4. Minister of Industry, Trade And Investment: Okechukwu Enelemah: According to Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun during her meeting with the Nigerian Senate before recess, she said the Nigeria economy is technically in 'Recession'. What did means is that President Muhamamdu Buhari needs to gear up in doings and ensure that he has a viable team members that can salvage the economic or better put, that can rescue the dying economy from total collapse.

Trade and Investment should be one of the rescue to the dilemma currently facing the present administration and the Minister and his team needs to ensure that their works and activities project the nation towards economic progression.

5. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs: Usani Uguru: With the recent crisis rocking the Delta region, coupled with the blasts of oil installations, Mr. Uguru hasn't been pro-active enough to step up his game with the Niger Delta Militants.

The president do not only need a versatile Minister in this ministry but someone that can talk down the Militants and a closer person to this region.

6. Minister of Science and Technology: Ogbonnaya Onu: The ministry of Science and technology is an evolving portfolio that needs the hands of young, talented and professional mind that can move with the global trend in technological advancement. Mr. Onu might not be living to the expectation at the moment and the President may replace him soon.

7. Minister of Women Affairs: Aisha Alhassan: Everything has pointed in one direction for the APC governorship aspirants in Taraba at the last general elections, Hajia Alhassan, common known as Mama Taraba. For the fact that Mama spent over 5 months of his ministerial position at battling with treatment at the foreign land. There is need for President Buhari to do more at appointing those capable and can really take the country to dream and aspiration of the President if only, there are not mere paper work.

In your own view, do you other Minister(s), you think President Buhari can do away with and get new and fresh mind on board? Lets have your views

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-ministers-president-buhari-may-sack-soon.218542/

Nigeria's political space is not without drama. The recent happenings have made the scene look like a theatre with different stunts from political actors. Amid this worrying situation, new terms, languages have been coined out, that many Nigerians now see as deceitful, usual and interestingly crept into the nation's political dictionary. Here is a look at some of these new terms.

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1. Padding: Padding is the new vocab in Nigeria political space with the recent scandal by some members of the House of Representatives infused some figures into the 2016 Budget. Padding is to insert something into a document with the intention of comforting yourself or distorting information.According to Lawal Gumau, member of the Transparency Group, he said they (lawmakers) are used to Padding, as it has been around for a long time. This is causing heated controversy at the legislative chambers, especially with the sack of Hon. Jibrin Abdulmimin as Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation.

2. Inconclusive Elections: This is also a new term in the dictionary of Nigerian politics, over the spate of inconclusive elections under the watch of the Professor Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Some now cynically refer to the Electoral body as the “inconclusive” National Electoral Commission. Since October 21, 2016 when President Muhammadu Buhari named the new helmsmen for INEC, the electoral body has conducted elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo states, which were declared inconclusive at the end.

3. Stomach Infrastructure: Stomach infrastructure, a new vocabulary quietly crept into our political dictionary in this dispensation. The vocabulary crept into Nigeria’s political lexicon after the Ekiti governorship election when voters were given gifts of bags of rice and other foodstuffs to vote in certain directions. Distributing foodstuff during campaigns in Nigeria did not start with the Ekiti election. It has been happening in many parts of the country but it was heightened during the Ekiti election. Politicians have started handing over to Nigerians, the dividends of democracy in cash. The naira is becoming worthless and ordinary citizens are parading dollar notes, courtesy of politicians.

4. Ghost Workers: Ghost-working service has been around for a long while in Nigerian states. It's one of the major setbacks in Nigerian Civil Service. In 2015, investigations revealed that the Federal Government and 10 other states lost over N538bn to thousands of ghost workers in the last five years. Of the amount, the Federal Government paid N220bn to 103,000 ghost workers between September 2013 and May 2015. Recently, some states also uncovered numerous ghost workers that constitute more than half of its workforce.

5. Technical Recession: This term got on the lips of Nigerians when Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun appeared before the Senate in July to allay the fears of Nigeria about the tough and troubled economy. According to Adeosun, 'Nigeria's economy is technically in recession, but, there is no need to panic because it will be short.'

6. Northernization/Lopsided Appointments: Northernization is not a new word in Nigerian politics. It became so popular in President Buhari's administration with some of his appointments tilting towards the Northern region of the country. It has generated heated debates and raised eyebrows on why the ex-commander choose to do so. President Buhari had during an interview with BBC Hausa on September 8th, 2015 said the Constitution allowed him full control over the choice of his closest officials. The president assured that he was not ignoring some regions of the society in his appointments, explaining that those he appointed were some of his most trusted associates. Responding to the interviewer’s question on the controversy generated by the appointments, Buhari said “This is the nature of Nigerian politics.”

7. Lopsided Anti Corruption Fight: This is also one of the newest terms in Nigerian politics. It generated from President Buhari's anti corruption war that has rounded up mostly members of the opposition party. Many believe Buhari is partisan on the anti corruption fight, leaving members of his own cabinet out.

8. Change: This seems to the most popular of the new terms in Nigerian politics today. It is hinged on what ushered in the current administration of president Buhari. Buhari came in to power with the CHANGE Mantra from the 'Transformation Agenda' of former President Goodluck Jonathan. President Buhari's CHANGE Mantra is to rid off the system of gross corruption, terrorism, militancy, unemployment and to also improve the economy. But reverse seems to be the case, as Nigerians now experience Change (in the opposite context).

9. Technical Defeat Of Boko Haram: Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram has been technically defeated, despite recent attacks by the insurgents. While speaking to BBC on Friday, February 5, Buhari maintained that the terrorists had indeed been technically defeated. According to him, “Well, all I know is that out of the 14 Local Government Areas in Borno State where they (Boko Haram) used to hold and hoist their flag, they are nowhere in charge of any of them again. But they can still regroup and go after attacking soft targets.” When asked if it was fair to say a group which killed over 65 people in a single attack had been “technically defeated,” the Buhari said: “Well, that’s your own description of it. My own description is that they can no longer mobilise enough forces to attack police and army barracks and destroy aircraft like they used to do. They can no longer do that.”

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/9-new-terms-in-nigerian-politics-since-buhari-became-president.218467/

The Nigerian Naira, quite obviously, has been depreciating steadily against major currencies (dollar, pounds, etc) of the world over the past few decades. In the 70’s and early 80’s one naira was approximately two dollars . In the early 90’s it had fallen to N10 per dollar and by year 2000 it has was over a hundred naira to one dollar. Currently, the currency exchanges at over 300 to the dollar.
The reason for this isn’t far-fetched - for some reasons Nigeria prefer import to produce, and export; and as the country’s population increases the demand for imported goods increased.

Due to the unbalance of import to exported goods, the demand for dollar is always on the rise, which generally causes a continued depreciation of the naira. Depreciation is steadfast at the parallel market and the gap between naira’s value at the parallel and official market widens easily due to this imbalance. To checkmate this, the CBN has devalued the currency a number of times, only for the same thing to happen years later. This trend has continued since the 90’s and here are 5 reasons why it will continue, until something effective is done.

Poor Infrastructure

The infrastructure on ground doesn’t support the production and manufacture of goods in Nigeria. Bad transportation networks and facilities, inadequate power supply coupled with an unfavourable climate to run businesses make it hard for goods to be produced in Nigeria. As a result Nigerians turn to other countries to get stuff that aren’t easily available in the country. This includes products like rice, toothpick, turkey and other goods that can be produced locally.

Moreover, the demand for goods is ever present and needs to be met. If there isn’t infrastructure to support poultries, toothpick-making factories, rice farms, and so on the need to export these products will always be on the rise. This will cause the naira to continue depreciating against the dollar.

Unwholesome practices of middlemen

There’s a lot of round tripping going on at the Nigerian forex market. People buy dollars at the official market and sell at an inflated price on the parallel market. This has caused the gap between the official market and the parallel market to keep widening, resulting in the weakness of the naira. The CBN has put some measures in place to checkmate this but the results so far haven’t been encouraging.

Persistent negative predictions and projections by Naysayers

Nigeria is known and associated with many bad things globally. Foreign and local media most times have a negative projection about the country’s economy. Things are most of the times, projected to get worse and negative predictions about the naira abound as well. This scares investors and most of them won’t want to put their money into the Nigerian economy when they should, causing a shortage of dollars in the foreign exchange market. Dollar scarcity in turn causes the naira’s value to fall.

“Made Abroad” Mentality of Nigerians

It goes without saying that a lot of Nigerians prefer imported goods to those made locally. We prefer to buy things made in foreign lands, which can easily be produced locally. It’s generally assumed that made-in-Nigeria goods are fake and of substandard quality. Until Nigeria starts producing standard goods and Nigerians have a different mentality, the demand for dollars will always be on the high and the naira will keep depreciating.

General Instability

Nigeria needs to be stable economically, politically and socially for the currency to stabilize. Clashes between rival tribes, political instability and lack of definite economic direction all make the country look unstable to outsiders, disrupting foreign investors and investments.

These 5 issues need a long term solution for the Naira to stabilize and stop depreciating against the dollar and other major currencies.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/5-strong-reasons-why-naira-will-keep-falling-against-the-dollar.218253/

Former Nigeria's President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan left office on May 29, 2015 after he conceded defeat to President Mohammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress. It was the time time a sitting President would lose an election in Nigeria. Dr Jonathan has been hailed as Nigeria's peaceful President, with the manner he relinquished civilian power to Mohammadu Buhari, a tough ex-military commander. But Dr Jonathan's administration was not without flops. He was considered 'weak' owing to his inaction on certain issues of security and national importance in his administration. They called him names and tagged him.

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The look of things in President Buhari's one year old administration have made people say he is no different from Dr. Jonathan, if the latter not even better. They have also called him names. But below are some of the funny names Nigerians referred to the erstwhile president.
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1. Jona-Daft: The former president was called by this name because of his 'cluelessness' in handling national issues.

2. Zoologist: Former Goodluck Jonathan holds a B.Sc in Zoology, which he attained Second Class Honours from the University of Port Harcourt. He was often addressed by this name, and most times lashed to return to the zoo to be the Commander-in-Chief of animals.

3. Ogogoro President: This name was popular among Nigerian social class who have one time or the other dined with him. They say former Mr. President relax himself with some alcohol drinks.

4. Otueke Drunkard: This is similar to the afore-mentioned point. A native of Otueke in Bayelsa state, 'Otueke Drunkard' was a household name in Goodluck Jonathan's administration.

5. Stealing Is Not Corruption: This is one of the names that was widely circulated in Goodluck Jonathan's administration. Dr. Jonathan in a Presidential Media Chat said: “There is no corruption but mere stealing in Nigeria”. This statement got on the nerves of many who felt the President approves of gross corruption in his cabinet.

6. Badluck Jonathan: This is also one of the popular names Nigerians called the erstwhile President. His name Goodluck was changed to Badluck because of the ugly situation in his administration, and that consequently ousted him out of office.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/6-funny-names-nigerians-called-former-president-goodluck-jonathan.218203/

Job interviews are not meant to scare you. They are the meant to be a reflection of your qualifications and abilities. It is okay if you ask questions as it concerns the job – but it is not okay if you ask some certain questions, that will make you sound lazy, and may disqualify you for the job.

1. 'Can I make personal calls during the day?': This question should not even come up at all, not when you have not got the job. It totally interprets that you are not focused and will be easily swayed by personal things.

2. 'Will I have to work long hours?': Asking this question screams aloud that: You're pretty lazy!' You don't have to ask this question, your working hours will be clearly stated upon the confirmation of your appointment, and sometimes during the interview. It doesn't have to come from you.

3. 'Will I have my own office?': Having an office to your self does not matter to getting your job done. This question just makes you sound entitled. Be prepared to work your way up toward certain perks, like getting a big, fancy office. Some jobs require sitting around other co-workers to see how things are done and facilitate team work.

4. 'Do you monitor emails or internet usage?': This question will raise red flags. Your interviewer might worry that you plan to slack off on social media all day.

5. 'How soon can I take a vacation?': Why should you ask this? Planning your time off before you've even gotten the job sends the message that you're not committed to the work, and you are ready to whisk off at the earliest holiday.

6. 'What's My job?': Did you just ask that? This question can really put the interview off, and abruptly put an end to your interview. You should definitely look up your what your job entails before hand.

7. 'Can I arrive early or leave late as long as I get my work done?': Don't try to make adjustments to the schedule before you've even been offered the job.

8. 'That sounds like a lot of work': This statement means that you're already complaining about the work load before you even start the job.

9. 'What does your company do?': It's one thing to ask them to explain their role and responsibilities, but it's another to ask them their job title. This tells the interviewer that you're either absent minded or you just didn't care enough to do your homework before the interview. Do lots of research before any job interview.


Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/9-questions-that-will-make-you-sound-lazy-at-a-job-interview.218172/#.V5nI5NvHMLg.gmail

The change mantra was a pervasive parlance in the Nigerian electioneering campaign of 2015, even to the younger generation. In his manifesto, Muhammadu Buhari, then contesting under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress, APC, made promises which he was certain to fulfill with short period of time.


According to him, ‘‘what is certain in Nigeria today is that the entire country is in need of being fixed. The challenge, and choice facing all Nigerians at home and abroad is whether Nigerians have enough will and courage to unite, and resolve to radically move the nation forward. We are here committed to Change Nigeria, THIS IS HOW I, WITH YOUR HELP, WILL FIX IT,’’

A year after his inauguration, Mr President has already failed in delivering some of his campaign promises. Here are 7 times President Buhari has failed Nigerians since he became president.

1. Federal Character: President Buhari in his campaign promised Nigerians ‘true Federalism and the Federal spirit’ not only at federal but all levels of government. However, in his move to restructure the country’s public sector, the president has made a somewhat lopsided appointment. In what people described as the northern agenda, most of the key positions have favoured the North.


2. Chibok girls’ Rescue: On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. According to reports from the media, 57 of the schoolgirls managed to escape while the whereabouts of the remaining 219 is unknown. It should be recalled that the rescue of the remaining girls is one of the key promises of APC in their campaigns. Buhari’s speech at the Chatham House in London, the United Kingdom, gave a ray of hope. He said: “Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of our nationals, displacing millions internally and externally, “Let me assure you that if I am elected president, the world will have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to recently. Till today, the girls are still missing.


3. Unfree and Unfair elections: President Muhamadu Buhari rode to power on an election described not only as free, but the people’s mandate. However, the president has failed in delivering a similar feat since he came to power. Elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states were inconclusive just as Rivers’election has been postponed due to arson.


4. National Security: The major national threat Buhari government met on ground was the Boko Haram crisis. However, the country’s national security has been put under serious threat with recent attacks by Fulani herdsmen, militants group in the creek and other unreported cases. It is expected that an army general will handle a country’s security better.


5. Sports: The present government has turned the sports sector to a laughing stock. Just last week, athletes who are billed to represent the country took to social media to beg for funds. Before then, the nation’s basketball team was unable to participate in a major tournament due to visa issues, there was the NFF leadership crisis and many others.


The turn of event is a sharp contrast to APC mouth-watering promises The party promised to build world-class training academies nation-wide, identify talents, revive football, hockey, tennis, basketball leagues and assist the arts, entertainment and creative industry with funds to develop into world-class industry within a short time. So far, the Buhari administration is yet to initiate any policy or programme towards making good, the promises contained in his party manifesto.


6. Power: The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on March 13, 2016 said that a ‘serious government will fix the power problem in six months.” On the 29th of May, 2016, Buhari’s serious government was inaugurated and up till now, there has been no serious improvement in the sector.


7. Economy: Since the inception of President Buhari's administration, the economy of the country has gone out of the box. Investors are still confused of his economic policies and directions, reason why there is liquidity of foreign currency in the country. The issues have paved way for serious challenge on the nation's currency, Naira and it keeps heading to the south.


The body language of Mr. President and the CBN Governor goes in different direction as well as policy somersaulting which has been having adverse affect the economy. The renewed Militants attack on oil installation and global shock of crude oil prices have affected the economy of the country as well.


With hope, with time, if only President Buhari can make open a viable and strong economic policy and team, things may soon turn around for the country.


Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-times-buhari-has-failed-nigerians-since-he-became-president.218169/

Food poisoning, also called foodborne illness, is caused by eating contaminated food. It can be extremely unpleasant even for people that are fit as fiddle, and healthy as an ox. It can cause serious illness, and sometimes death. Infectious organisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites or their toxins are the most common causes of food poisoning. Below is an examination of some important information on how you can reduce your chances of contracting food poisoning when preparing your meal.

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1. Shop With Care: Food safety begins at the grocery store, so make sure to shop wisely:

Check the use-by dates on all products and use your judgement to decide if foods have been stored at the correct temperatures.
Pack meat and poultry products into separate bags and do not let the raw flesh touch any other food products as you shop or bring them home.

2. Maintain the cold chain: Keep cold and frozen foods as cold as possible, especially when transferring from the store to your home:

Wrap the goods in newspaper or buy a small cooler bag to transport your cold and frozen foods home.
When possible, leave grabbing cold products to the end of your shopping.
Store all foods properly and quickly when you get back home.

3. Always Wash Your Hands Before and After Preparing Foods: Wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and antibacterial soap before and after preparing food, especially after handling raw meat.

Keep dish cloths and hand towels regularly cleaned to prevent bacteria from accumulating on the fabric.
Always wash your hands after handling pets (especially reptiles, turtles and birds) and after using the bathroom or handling pet litter.

4. Keep Your Kitchen Clean: It's very important to keep your kitchen counters and other food preparation areas clean, especially when preparing high-risk food items like meat, poultry and eggs.

It's not necessary to use a disinfectant, a mild solution of hot water and soap will sufficiently clean your counters, cutting boards and utensils.
Also make sure to rinse down sinks after washing raw meat products -- you don't want bacteria being transferred to any clean dishes.

5. Use Separate Chopping boards for preparing raw meat/poultry and vegetables. Keep these boards separate to avoid any possibility of cross-contamination of bacteria from meat to other food products.

If you cannot keep separate chopping boards, make sure to disinfect a multi-purpose chopping board thoroughly after each use
Plastic chopping boards are recommended over wooden chopping boards, as the wooden ones are harder to clean.

6. Defrost Carefully:You should never defrost food (especially meat and poultry) at room temperature just to speed up the process.

Food should always be thawed in the refrigerator, as thawing at room temperature allows the surface of the food to warm up too quickly, promoting bacteria growth.
Alternatively, you can defrost foods using the "defrost" or "50 percent power" setting on your microwave. You can also safely defrost food by holding them under cold running water.
Once foods have been completely thawed, they should be used promptly -- they should never be refrozen without being cooked first.

7. Cook foods thoroughly: This is especially important for red meat, poultry and eggs, which are considered high-risk foods. Cooking these foods all the way through will destroy harmful germs.

8. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold: Bacteria multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F, so it's important to keep foods either above or below these temperatures. You should make sure your fridge is set at a temperature of 4°C/ 40°F or less and that cooked food reaches a temperature of at least 165°F.

9. Reheat leftovers thoroughly before serving: Leftovers that have been reheated poorly can still contain active food pathogens. Moreover, if leftovers have gone bad, no amount of reheating will make them safe.

Do not keep leftovers for too long. Any signs of discoloration, sliminess, growth of mold etc. are signals to discard or compost the leftovers.

Never reheat leftovers more than once and never refreeze food without changing its state. (i.e. you can safely freeze raw food, defrost the raw food, cook the food, refreeze the cooked food and defrost/reheat the cooked food. However, if any of the reheated cooked food is left over, throw it away or there is a very high chance of getting sick.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/food-poisoning-9-ways-you-can-prevent-it-when-preparing-your-meal.218100/

Before the 2015 elections, President Muhammadu Buhari was touted as the messiah that will fix all Nigeria’s problems. He was repackaged and presented to Nigerians as the best invention since sliced bread.


Fast-forward to 2016 – Nigerians who voted for Buhari are now reawakening from the spell cast over them during the elections. There is widespread poverty in the land and the middle class may soon become extinct. As at June 2016, the President’s approval rating stood at 39 percent as against a very high rating of 80 per cent in October 2015. People want to see the President work for them. Here are 5 things President Buhari can do to endear himself to Nigerians one more time:

1. Cabinet reshuffle

The President’s cabinet is filled with professional politicians and not technocrats as expected; a little shake-up will really boost the President’s image. A lot of Nigerians will be happy to see him sack Minister of science and technology, minister of Agric, Minister of finance, Minister of interior, minister of education and his spokespersons. The President also needs to move a few others to ministries best suited for their skillset.


2. Visit the South-South and South East


Before the election, the President stunned Nigerians by dressing up in clothes depicting different Nigerian cultures. He did his best to show Nigerians that he wanted to be President of Nigeria and not President of his region. Today, the story is different. ‘’King of the North’’ – that is now one of President Buhari’s nickname. Some will argue that he is more sectional than any other President Nigeria ever had. What better way to shut up critics than to pay a visit to the South-South and South-East?


3. Commence distribution of N5,000 cash

Poor Nigerians expected Buhari to make their lives better but today they’re suffering the most. Parents now exchange their kids for bags of rice and cartons of noodles – the country is experiencing a technical recession. A lot of jobs have been lost and no new ones created. Nigerians all over are waiting to see President Buhari’s magic move that will end their sufferings. What move can be more magical than distributing free money that was promised during the elections? . Distribution of N5,000 to poor and vulnerable Nigerians may not solve every problem but it will sure help President Buhari regain the support of millions of Nigerians.

4. Focus on doing good rather than looking good

The Buhari administration has become one that is bent on looking good rather than doing good. We see more photos of the President doing mundane everyday things than we hear him speak. Nigerians want to see the President flag off new projects, they want to hear him roll out new policies and not pose for photos with newspapers.

5. Stop talking about the past


‘’Shut up and face front’’- is what President Buhari badly needs to hear from his advisers. Over one year into his term as President, Buhari is still talking about the previous administration. He has even managed to talk about the military coup that removed him from office in 1985. So far, Buhari has shown more interest in Nigeria’s past than her future. Young Nigerians do not want to hear the President talk about ‘what was’, they want to hear him talk about ‘what will be’.


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No Presidency is perfect but President Buhari can do better. If Nigeria must make progress under Buhari, then the President must up his game.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/5-things-president-buhari-can-do-to-regain-the-trust-of-nigerians.218062/

President Muhamamdu Buhari's administration has faced lot of critics and most especially some of the state governors are not helping the President visions while some are moving in negative direction to president's policy.

The success and failure of President Buhari do not only depends on his team and immediate advisers but also state governors who can can see beyond the Federal agenda and allocation by empowering its own citizen through programmes and actions driven project.

Meanwhile, since the inception of president Muhammadu Buhari's administration in may 2015, these following governors have not been portraying the administration of this government in good manner at the international scene thereby giving the President serious headache.


Ayodele Fayose - Governor of Ekiti state, the self acclaimed semi-god, preacher and one who put President Muhammadu Buhari on his toes every minute. He is renowned for his controversial theatrics. ‘The People’s Governor’, as he is fondly called in Ekiti state because of the massive support he enjoys in his state. No news day is complete without a scathing statement from Fayose.

Any statement or report abut Ayodele Fayose is most controversial, the latest being his report on President Muhammadu Buhari's wife, Aisha Buhari on an alleged role in Haliburton scandal. Asides, immunity and party politics, Ayodele Fayose is a force to reckon with in today's politics under the present APC-led federal government.


Nyesom Wike of Rivers State – After battling a sitting governor, APC led state government and the federal might at various Courts, Governor Wike has become a great force and headache for All Progressives Congress in the state and federal government. Elections under Governor Nyesom Wike have been a nightmare, either ends inconclusive or the Election Umpire, attacked or the state is tense due to hoodlums' activities.

Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state – The only Ogbeni among the state governors in Nigeria. Rauf Aregbesola's administration has witnessed a lot of bash from activists, the main opposition party in the State, Peoples Democratic Party and workers. Unlike the present Federal government, Ogbeni's policies have been the talk of the town ranging from his O'meal, O' work, “O' everything” and the Opon Imo (Tablet) that was allegedly contracted to his first son.

Another controversial angle to his administration was the meagre allocation the state gets from the federation purse which cannot sustain its administration nor provide basic social infrastructural activities for the State. Little wonders, the Governor is said to be running the affairs of the State without Commissioners at his second entrance into Office.

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Fayose's close ally during their school days at the Federal Polytechnic of Ibadan is fond of Dancing and Singing at every political rallies or gathering. This governor is the ‘head boy’ of debtor Governors.

Mallam Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna – As popular as Mallam El-rufai is, so also is his controversial status. The former FCT Minister, who is renowned for the massive demolition of Abuja structure that renders many homeless is now toeing the line in the State.

El-rufai recently marked over 10,000 Houses, School and Churches for demolition in the state, also is the Anti religious bill, that still awaits Lawmakers' approval. Many critics view his administration as Anti Christian government in the State and his headache has always been the popular Socialist Senator, Shehu Sani, who keeps close tab on his government.

The State came under tension last year with the Zaria Massacre, with the whole world carefully monitoring the affairs of the Commission set up to look into the remote and immediate causes of the massacre.

Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state- He is the self appointed auditor of the Nigerian treasury and never fails to thrill Nigerians with his outbursts of how ‘trillions’ were looted. Critics claim Oshiomhole is trying to secure his next job by being as loud possible considering his tenure as Governor ends this year.

Samuel Ortom of Benue State – Governor Ortom is another state governor that is on the neck of President Muhammadu Buhari. Though they belong to the same party, but the inability of his administration to suppress herdsmen attacks in the state sends a bad signal to President Muhamamdu Buhari's security team and pictures his administration in a bad light at the international scene. Ortom has come out on several occasion seeking help against incessant herdsmen attacks in the state.

Rochas Okorocha of Imo State – Governor Okorocha is known for his intimidation against the state workers. He has in recent times threatened state workers of sack and also among state governor that finds it difficult to workers' salaries. His people believes that Okorocha is among those South East prominent leaders who wouldn't want the Biafra agitation to succeed. Recently, Governor Okorocha jettisoned his 2019 ambition because of President Muhamamdu Buhari anti-corruption war.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-state-governors-giving-president-buhari-headache.217982/

The continued crisis in the Niger Delta fuelled by the activities of the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’, among other groups is cause for concern. The relentless blow ups of the country’s oil infrastructure have slashed its crude output. Experts say attacks by the new militant group has shut down nearly 50 percent of output and production is down to 1.1 million barrels per day. Nigeria's President, Mohammadu Buhari seems trapped in all these attacks, as there has not been a way out of this ugly situation. Below is list of what President Buhari-led government should do to permanently end crisis in the region.

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1. Investigate and Punish Oil Companies Over Oil Pollution: President Muhammadu Buhari should implement the ECOWAS Court judgement which ordered the Nigerian government to punish oil companies over oil pollution and devastation in the region. The FG should stand up to powerful oil companies that have continued to abuse the human rights of the people of the Niger Delta with impunity for decades if it is to satisfactorily resolve the crisis in the region. The government should also investigate the role that oil companies and others have played and continue to play in the environmental pollution in the region, and widely publish the outcome of any such investigation.

2. Imposition Of Fines on Oil Companies: The government should impose fines on oil companies for breach of regulations over the past 10 years and take measures to punish the companies. Oil spills pollute water, destroy aquatic life and soil fertility with resultant adverse effect on the health and means of livelihood of people in its vicinity. The government has failed in recent years to take any single action to punish perpetrators of oil pollution. It is incumbent upon the Federal Republic of Nigeria to prevent or tackle the situation by holding accountable those who caused the situation (with the clear expectation of impunity) and to ensure that adequate reparation is provided for the victims.

3. Implementation of Ogoni Clean-up: Following the launch of Ogoni clean-up exercise, President Buhari should start its implementation as soon as possible. Buhari must ensure that the general clean-up of the entire region should begin. This is justice for the people of Niger Delta. the implementation of UNEP report must also include timelines which must define progress.

4. President Buhari should adopt a sustainable long-term approach of peace-building and conflict transformation in the Niger Delta that does not merely focus on reducing the symptoms of social restiveness.

5. President Buhari should review the strategy of invasion by the military and paramilitary agencies currently going on in most Niger Delta communities in order not to further escalate the conflict.

6. There is an urgent need for multi-governmental security collaboration among the Federal, States and local governments, as well as the communities in the Niger Delta region for the adoption and implementation of a more efficient and effective security blueprint in the region.

7. Excessive Use of Force Should Stop: Even though he is a ex-military commander, President Buhari should tone down the narrative of show of force and explore alternative ways of dealing with the conflict.

8. Maritime University Should Take Off: President Buhari should ensure legal and financial support for the take-off of the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, desired by the vast majority of persons in the region.

9. Visit & Meet With Them: President Buhari should take a bold step to visit the Deltan region, and hold a town meeting with different communities in the region to identify their pressing needs and map out a 3-year reform plans from responses.

10. Visible Infrastructural Development: President Buhari should embark on massive visible infrastructural development. Aid programmes should be developed for farmers, business people, students etc. It should be well-funded, not free, with good collateral request. However, such programme should not be in form of amnesty.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/10-urgent-steps-president-buhari-should-take-to-permanently-end-niger-delta-militancy.217877/

Let’s face the fact- we, human beings love shopping. Everybody enjoys new stuffs - from shiny new shoes to the latest sophisticated gadgets. Who wouldn’t like an upgrade from iPhone 6 to iPhone 7? Or who wouldn’t want to wear that new design everyone's talking about?

Formerly, shopping is done physically. You’d have to go to the market (or boutique, supermarket, auto dealership) and buy what you need. You’ll also do a lot walking, sweating, and sometimes swearing (in some local tongue) over price of goods.

Technology is however changing things. With the internet, you can now buy new stuff and have it delivered at your doorstep - at the push of a button on your iPhone 7.

As a result, ecommerce has evolved over the years globally, meeting people’s need effectively and efficiently. In the US and Europe, ecommerce is thriving and plays an important role in everyday life. However this isn’t the case in Nigeria and most parts of Africa. These are the reasons why:


1. Low internet Penetration and network unavailability

This is a major problem all over Africa. Internet penetration isn’t at a stage that will favour ecommerce. Also, internet connection isn’t always available due to several reasons. How would you order for those hot pants on Jumia if you can’t even access the internet? This is killing business. For everybody.

2. Trust issues with Nigerians

There’s this thing among Africans- we don’t have the courage to trust each other, let alone internet companies. There’s a lot of skepticism among online shoppers. Most people would hardly offer to pay for goods up front. We often opt to Pay on Delivery, and then send the messenger back, with one excuse or the other.

Apart from this, a larger percentage of Nigerians don’t trust e-commerce firms to deliver the goods they promised online. A beautiful red robe, when delivered could look like an ugly red apron, and this damages the trust between consumer and e-commerce firms, hindering the business from flourishing as it should.

3. Low Purchasing Power

Times are hard and the masses are complaining. The purchasing power of the average African man is low when compared with his American counterpart. The income of the average Nigerian doesn’t allow much allocation for shopping, either physical or online. A hungry man doesn’t look for money to shop online, his primary objective is to quench his hunger. Shopping will come afterwards- if there’s enough money left.

4. Unfavorable Business Climate/Government Regulations:

It’s not easy to establish or run a business in Nigeria, and the World Bank can attest to this. According to Tony Elumelu (CEO, Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, UBA, etc) Nigerian laws are too stringent for businesses to run smoothly. There’s an enormous amount of trouble (and bureaucracies) to face when trying to register a business in Nigeria, and once that’s done, there’s a huge amount of tax to pay too.

Apart from these, the cost of running a business in Nigeria is unusually high. Expensive power and transportation costs have negative impacts on e-commerce businesses, making business hard and tardy.

5. Poor Infrastructure

Nigeria still lacks adequate infrastructure to ensure timely delivery of ordered packages. You could order for the latest Tecno tablet and longer than the stipulated time for it to arrive. At the moment delivery is efficient only in select places in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

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Until these issues are addressed, e-commerce won’t thrive in Nigeria or Africa as it should. It will require a considerable amount of cooperation between stakeholders, government and Nigerians for the business to flourish.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/5-reasons-why-e-commerce-is-not-thriving-in-nigeria-as-it-should.217686/

President Muhammadu Buhari, the 5th civilian president of Nigeria is to Nigerians what they deem him to be. To this end, many Nigerians prefer to call him some names owing to his background, political life, and the how the nation has fared under his one year administration.


However, many make mockery and humour of situations to christen the president 72 years after his official christening by parents.

Here are some funny names Nigerians call President Muhammadu Buhari

Sai Baba

This is the slogan, used majorly during the electioneering campaign in 2015. And till today, Northerners use the word frequently to praise the president. In one of his visits to Kaduna State months after election, the chants of ‘Sai Baba’ rented the air and this has stuck as one of Mr President’s name.

Baba go slow

As the name implies, Buhari has been labelled a slow president in many quarters. The name became rampant during the one-year celebration of his ascension to office. Is Baba actually slow? That is left to you to judge.

Goro President

Goro in Hausa language is kola and many northerners are known for consuming it. The name is rampant among southerner, especially for northern traders. Being a northerner, President Buhari has nbeen named a Goro President.

Anti-corruption

Since assuming power, president Buhari’s anti-corruption war has been ‘well fought.’ With the arrest of prominent names such as Femi Fani Kayode, Sambo Dasuki, Olisa Metuh, Lawal Jafaru Isa and others, Buhari has earned himself a new name; Anti-corruption.

Dollardinho

Nigerians are passionate about how the currency does against the US Dollars. However, the naira has been depreciating in recent times. For this reason, the president has been named the ‘Dollardinho’ of our time.

Daura President

President Buhari's certificate saga has been on for a while. Many believed he has no WAEC certificate and this has earned him a new name - Daura President.

Ajala the traveler

In his first year in office, President Muhammadu Buhari embarked upon 29 foreign trips despite the myriad of challenges facing the country. Many accused him of staying of staying off the country more than he stays at home. For this, the president has been named Ajala the traveler.

Old Soja

This parlance is usually reserved for retired military officers in Nigeria. Being a former military president, the name seem to be well justified.

Baba Zahra

President Buhari is being addressed as such because of one of his pretty daughters, Zahra, whose beauty was in the spotlight during her father’s campaigns and after.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/9-funny-names-nigerians-call-president-buhari.217507/

It's so weird that the spelling of weird is not wierd.

The recent happenings in Lagos state is worrisome, and demand urgent attention by Dr. Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in the state. From kidnappings, to militants invasion, among others are issues that may mar the successes of his one year-old government and crash the mega city if not dealt with. Here is a run through at some of these issues.

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1. Kidnappings - The Lagos State Government on Monday assured residents of the State that it is working hard in conjunction with security agencies to address the recent cases of kidnapping and armed robberies in some parts of the State, just as it disclosed that security intelligence has revealed useful leads towards identifying notorious syndicates behind the heinous crimes and their accomplices.

2. Armed Robbery – One chance: This is another area that requires security beef-up in Lagos State. It is also one of the most common crimes committed in the state.

3. Noise Pollution - Noise pollution or noise disturbance is the disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has also restated the government’s resolve to enforce relevant regulations on noise pollution in the state.

4. Militants Invasion – Until recently, militancy activities are known to be rampant in the Niger Delta zones, but Lagos state may continuously be a victim of militants attacks if the State government and Lagosians did not raise to the task of combating the menace. Suspected militants unleashed mayhem on several residents in an orgy of violence that lasted for hours in some communities in Lagos and and neighbouring communities in Ogun state.

The bandana-wearing militants, who were reportedly more than 100, carried out series of attacks on houses in the Elepete and Kajola areas of Ogun State, and the Igbo Olomu community of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

5. Electricity – For a fast growing economy and a mega city such as Lagos to compete and attract investors, the state government needs to attend to epileptic power issue in the state.

Akinwunmi Ambode should not just wait for the federal government to distribute power supply to the state but as a matter of urgency, everything to run an independent power supply. The governor had over the months inaugurated a committee to boost household and business power supply, with a charge on them to work assiduously to create an enabling environment that will ensure 24-hour power supply to residents in the state.

No doubt, Lagos state alone needs nothing less than 5000MW of electricity to survive and currently what the national grids can generate is even less than 3,000 mega watts save the epic power boost that was witnessed in February 2016 which was 5,074.

The importance of the Lagos economy to the nation and the concerns that have been expressed particularly by the business community, Ambode's administration should consider it expedient to monitor and assist the advisory committee on power set up by his administration, knowing that no state in the federation is more affected by the state of the power sector than Lagos.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/lagos-5-urgent-issues-governor-ambode-need-to-tackle.217401/

The brutal killings by men suspected to be fulani herders have left so many families in deep sorrow and anguish. Within the last two weeks, more than 81 Nigerians have reportedly been killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Benue State alone. Some weekends ago, a clash between the Fulani herdsmen and local farmers in Niger state left no fewer than 11 people dead.

Nigeria's President, Mohammadu Buhari is quick to react to tragic situations in far away climes, but here in his home, the President is silent and yet to address the issue of herdsmen attacks – that have claimed thousands of lives. The crimes committed by these herders are highly condemnable and should not be tolerated in any sane society. President Buhari needs to understand that his silence comes with many direct and indirect implications, most of which threaten Nigeria’s unity and breed instability.

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Here is a quick look at some of the implications of Buhari’s silence:

1. Ethnic Conflict: The silence of President Buhari may fuel ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Since the President has not mentioned anything on an incident that left over 92 persons dead within 2 weeks, these criminals may find it hard to understand the gruesomeness of their acts. Also, this could lead to deadlier reprisal attacks and, in this way, Nigerians are further divided along ethnic lines.

2. Bias: President Muhammadu Buhari will continually seem biased with his silence on the herdsmen. Just as the president continues to talk tough on the secessionists and militants in southern Nigeria, the Fulani herdsmen from his own ethnic division are ‘spared.’

3. Weak Nigerian Security Forces: The inability of the Nigerian Forces to contain the herdsmen menace further substantiates claims that the Nigerian security forces are weak and in disarray.

4. Unfulfilled Mandate: President Mohammadu Buhari rode into power on the mandate of tackling insecurity in any form it rears its head. The herdsmen reprisal attacks that have left scores dead spread its tentacles in Buhari's government. If these attacks prolong with President Buhari in silence, it will amount to an unfulfilled electoral mandate.

5. Incompetence: President Buhari is not just anybody. He is a two-time Commander-In-Chief, a retired army General and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the history of the Nigerian Army. As Commander-In-Chief, and tough ex-general, he has a responsibility to take a stiff military action against the herdsmen. By keeping quiet, he reinforces the impression that he has become soft not up to the task anymore.

6. Repeating The Errors of the Previous Administration: President Buhari is not just anybody. He is a two-time Commander-In-Chief, a retired army General and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the history of the Nigerian Army. As a General, fulani's herdsmen attacks must be of interest to him, and properly dealt with. By keeping quiet, he reinforces the impression that he is no better than the erstwhile administration of Goodluck Jonathan that also had major lapses with security.

7. Politicising the issue: President Buhari's silence may mean that he reads a political meaning to the herdsmen gruesome attacks. As was the case with the kidnapped Chibok girls, when former President Goodluck Jonathan initially thought it was the action of the opposition to dent the image of his administration but later realised the girls were truly whisked away from their college. Coupled with the reports from the Presidency quarters that the pictures from the herdsmen attacks are imported pictures from Congo attacks – all these mean that President Buhari is taking the issue as one of the tactics of the opposition against him.

8. APC's Chances Will Be Limited: 2019 General Elections are almost on us where Nigerians will go to the polls en masse. Before 2019, we have elections this year in Ondo, Edo states. With the spate of brutal attacks on innocent civilians by suspected herders, the chances are slim for the All Progressives Congress at the polls , judging from the silence on a very sensitive issue from the Federal Government.

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It is already late but there is still time for the President to correct the course of happenings. The President who promised change cannot keep quiet when herdsmen leave scores, with hundreds of civilians killed in their wake. He needs to speak to Nigerians and the world urgently and reassure everyone about his commitment to tackling insecurity.

Source: https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/fulani-herdsmen-attacks-8-dangerous-implications-of-president-buharis-silence.217302/