₦airaland Forum

Our investigation exposed suspicious financial dealings that connect Mr. Obasanjo with Ms. Welsh and her husband, Marvin Welsh. Mr. Welsh is a Canadian national and an oil executive doing international business .SaharaReporters had reported that the Charity Commission of the United Kingdom, which has responsibility for monitoring and regulating all the activities of charities and foundations, has since June 2014 been investigating apparent conflicts of interest in the Obasanjo Foundation. Since its inauguration in 2012, the Obasanjo Foundation has had Olusegun Obasanjo, Anne Chigoziem Welsh, Marvin Welsh, and a woman named Temilade Marcella Olatunde as its directors. SaharaReporters’ investigation has found that Ms. Welsh, Mr. Welsh, and Mr. Obasanjo were financially connected in a number of other companies, along with Temilade Marcella Olatunde. Anne and Sierra Welsh between 2011 and 2014, Marvin Welsh, Anne Welsh and Temilade Olatunde all served as directors in New World Capital Ltd, a financial management company. Both former President Obasanjo and Ms. Welsh were also directors in Arise Consult, another financial management company. The family ties and corporate connections grow deeper, according to investigations carried out by SaharaReporters . Our investigative reporter discovered that the Caucasian woman seen accompanying Ms. Welsh in a viral video released last week, in which Ms. Welsh discussed a money laundering deal, is Sierra Welsh—a stepdaughter to Anne Welsh. Sierra is reportedly Mr. Welsh’s daughter from his previous marriage. Several sources associated with the Obasanjo Foundation confirmed Sierra Welsh's identity to SaharaReporters, on the condition that their own identities should not be disclosed. The sources were all able to identify Sierra from the video footage. Furthermore, Anne Welsh referred to her accomplice as “Sierra” in the video recording released last week.Temilade Marcella OlatundeSaharaReporters has also learned that Sierra was hired in 2014 to serve as Anne Welsh’s personal assistant, and was aware of her stepmother’s schedules and meetings. Sierra Welsh has also been identified as a “business development representative” for Arise Consult, a company now owned by Anne Welsh.In the money laundering video, Ms. Welsh is seen boasting that the Obasanjo Foundation had engaged in multiple acts of money laundering by accepting donations from benefactors who later had some of the donated funds funneled back to them. She also declares that Mr. Obasanjo had been the conduit for cash going to President John Mahama of Ghana.
Source - SAHARAREPORTERS

The fuel subsidy devil has grown more horns, defying logic and commonsenseIf Nigeria’s economy is a queer admixture of voodoism and avarice, the fuel subsidy syndrome must be magic of the most malevolent kind. For government economic managers and the Bretton Wood school of analysts, the issues are as complicated as rocket science. They insist market prices must be allowed to reign in the downstream oil sector otherwise supply of products will always fall short of demand and the economy will continue to bleed.But for the average Nigerian, the matter is simple and straightforward. Extremely poor leadership class had failed to develop Nigeria’s oil sector and indeed, gave rise to a deadly cabaltaking over the space. They also insist that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has outlived its purposes, having been circumscribed by enervating corruption.The arguments on the street have beenquite simple and uncomplicated. First,Nigeria is one of the top 10 global crude oil producers, yet it is the only one that still imports petroleum products; recently spending about one quarter of its annual budget on this. Second, refineries – both public and private – are functioning in other countries, even in non-oil producing countries. In fact Nigeria ships large quantity of products from refineries in Cote D’Ivoire, a non-oil producing country.Another galling argument is that each drop of crude oil shipped out bears over a dozen other products apart fromthe commonly used petrol. Nigeria therefore exports crude oil as a single product and at a single price but imports over a dozen refined products at premium prices. For instance, aboutN500 billion has been paid out to oil marketers this year alone for petrol imports, including interest rate differentials of about N40 billion. This is only as regards petrol (PMS) and kerosene. The foreign exchange cost ofimporting other products like diesel and other petroleum products and by-products which are supposedly deregulated, remain un-captured in Nigeria’s annual fiscal expenditure.However, a more troubling propositionis what may be described as the Nigerian fuel quagmire - the so-calledpetrol subsidy by the Federal Government – no longer obeys economic rules, it seems. For example,when crude oil prices rose sharply in the international markets, there was pressure to increase the pump price of petrol in order to cut down on the sum required for subsidy.In other words, high price of crude oil is directly proportional to high price of refined petrol. In the past six months however, the price of crude has fallen by nearly half, yet the pump price of petrol in Nigeria has dropped by only about 10 per cent. Late last year when crude oil price fall manifested, daily subsidy on petrol was said to have dropped to 90 kobo per litre. As at late last week, daily subsidy had risen to about N45.21 according to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).We do not have the PPPRA’s numbers and its special abacus for generating spiralling subsidy figures in a period offalling crude prices. That would not matter anyway because there are devils both in PPPRA’s numbers and government’s logic. This is simply manifest failure of the outgoing government, especially. It has left not just the oil sector in a mess, it has fouled up the entire economy in a way that it will take some time to clean up. A whopping N6.35 trillion is said to have been flushed down the subsidy drains in the last five years; half of it probably purloined. Half of this would have been sufficient to build a large capacity modern refinery over the same period. This would have ended products importation.It goes without saying that petroleum is Nigeria’s number one asset. The Buhari administration must start by emplacing men and women of integrity at its helm so that they can revamp the rundown sector in record time. Going forward, the NNPC must render annual accounts publicly. Theremust be transparency. Old refineries must be fixed in record time. New onesmust be established also in record time. This is the way to go and no excuses will be acceptable anymore.‘We do not have the PPPRA’s numbers and its special abacus for generating spiralling subsidy figures in a period offalling crude prices. That would not matter anyway because there are devils both in PPPRA’s numbers and government’s logic. This is simply manifest failure of the outgoing government, especially. It has left not just the oil sector in a mess, it has fouled up the entire economy in a way that it will take some time to clean up’Share

Jonathan will never know peace insha Allahu .God will punish his entire generations. amin

83: Do they now seek a religion other than prescribed by Allah even though all that is in the heavens and the earth is in submission to Him – willing or unwillingly – and to Him all shall return?

84: Say: ‘We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and to Issac and Jacob and his descendants, and the teachings which Allah gave to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets. We make no distinction between any of them and to Him do we submit.

85: And whoever seeks a way other than this way a submission (Islam), will find that it will not be accepted from him and in the Life to come he will be among the losers.

1.“Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam” 5:33

Comment:

The authors of this smear message seem to believe that everyone is either too lazy to do fact checking or too stupid to notice the obvious lies. Again, the verse had been deliberately misquoted and truncated. The full verse and its context reveal the treachery:
Al Maaidah Q5:33-34

33: The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;

34: Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful .

These verses, like those I have quoted earlier were revealed in relation to a certain event or series of events. The most popular of these events was the butchering of the camel herders of Madeenah by a group of people who claimed to have accepted Islam during the time of the Prophet (SAW). They had come to pledge allegiance to the messenger of Allah, and before they could return to their base, they fell ill and the Prophet instructed them to follow the camel herders and take fresh camel milk and camel urine, which were two excellent healing substances. After they became well, they attacked the herders and ran off the camels into the wilderness. They were arrested and Allah revealed how they should be handled in these verses.

In fact, in a Shari’ah country, these verses would be the evidence against Abubakar Shekau and his fellow murdering fraudsters called Boko Haram, that claim to be Muslims. Acts of terrorism, brigandage, armed resistance, armed robbery and so on are the ones to which the verses apply.

12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.

13 When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.

14 As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.

15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.

17 Completely destroy[a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your Godhas commanded you.

1.“Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.” 3:28The actual words of the twisted verse are as follows:

“Let not the believers take the unbelievers for allies or friends instead of believers; and whoever does this, he shall havenothing of (the guardianship of) Allah, but you should guard yourselves against them, guarding carefully; and Allah makes you cautious of (retribution from) Himself; and to Allah is the eventual coming.

”As mentioned earlier, there is a historical context for this verse, which has not been mentioned. The reason it is easy to deceive many non-Muslims into thinking that such quotations refer to every non-Muslim is that most assume that the Quran was compiled like the Bible years after the ascension of Prophet Jesus (PBUH). It was not. The verses were revealed over a 23-year period and its commandments were revealed in real time. As issues emanated from the believers, Allah revealed verses to addressthem. A similar verse to the above is this one in Al Mumtahinah Q60:1-21:

O ye who believe! Choose not My enemy and your enemy for friends. Do ye give them friendship when they disbelieve in that truth which hath come unto you, driving out the messenger and you because ye believe in Allah, your Lord? If ye have come forth to strive in My way and seeking My good pleasure, (show them not friendship). Do ye show friendship unto them in secret, when I am best Aware of what ye hide and what ye proclaim? And whosoever doeth it among you, be verily hath strayed from the right way.

2: If they have the upper hand of you, they will be your foes, and will stretch out their hands and their tongues toward you with evil (intent), and they long for you to disbelieve.

Verses like these will be found in several chapters of the Quran. They addressed a burning issue of the time – the treachery of the pagans of Makkah to whom some of the earliest Muslims were related and for whom the ties of friendship and kinship became an impediment in carrying out the task of protecting themselves and others from external aggression.Allah was addressing cases of divided loyalty based on sentiments. He was commanding the believers not to take the pagans who were attacking and plotting against them into confidence. This is what common sense dictates. Even in secular laws, hobnobbing with the enemy is treason. It in no way talks about attacking anyone other than those who have attacked the believers or who are planning to attack the believers.

Other verses addressed the forming of alliance with Christians and Jews who were in the new city of Madeenah. These people formed secret alliances with themselves against the Muslims. Allah warned against alliances with these.

One of the easiest ways to showthe falsehood the authors employed is to show the other verses so that people will have aholistic understanding of the message. For example, Allah explained to the Muslims what He meant in the other verses like the ones above in the same Q60:7-9 :

7: It may be that Allah will grant love (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. For Allah has power (over all things); And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

8: Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loves those who are just.

9: Allah only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for(your) Faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances), that do wrong.

1.“Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.” 3:85

Comment:

This is the most ridiculous accusation. Every religion makes this claim or else, why would we be writing this? The Christians see all Muslims as pagans who will end up in hell unless they accept Prophet Jesus (PBUH) as a god and the Muslims reciprocate the sentiments. John 3:16 is the most commonly quoted verse inthe Bible by evangelical Christians trying to win souls while Q3:85 is what we quote. There is nothing to suggest in the verse that if you are not Muslim you ought to be killed at all. To get a full sense of the message, you need to go back a few verses. If you start from verse

83, the intent of the message becomes even clearer. The actual verses are below:

— May 8, 2015 6:59 am|0 comments many may wonder why today’s piece is not on the late Chief Imam of Abuja, Ustaz Musa Muhammad. This is because I have dedicated a special feature in honour of the Imam in tomorrow’s LEADERSHIP WEEKEND captioned: Last Moments of The First Chief Imam

.A friend sent the following mail to me:

“I found the following quotations from the Koran on the net. Were they quoted correctly?

These suras (chapters) from the Koran make it quite clear that the devout Muslim must kill for the faith, just as Muhammad did

:“Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” Koran 2:191

“Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.” 3:28

“Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.” 3:85

“Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam” 5:33

“Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.” 8:12

“Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.” 8:60“

The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”8:65“

When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them.” 9:5.”

I will respond by labelling these misrepresentations from A to H, quoting the full texts from the Glorious Qur’an and commenting on the context on which the verses were revealed

.A.“Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” Koran 2:191

Comment:The verse above has been deliberately quoted out of context. This is the commonest way those who want to attack Islam distort its message. To have the correct understanding of the partly quoted verse, the objective reader needs to go back a verse and continue two verses after the distorted verse 191. The full verses (190-193) are reproduced below

:190: Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.

191: And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have Turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.

192: But if they cease, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

193: And fight them on until there is no more Tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah. but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression.
An objective analysis will show that these verses are intended to give instructions on the rules of engagement during an outbreak of war. It spells out that only those that fight the Muslims are to be fought. It explains that those who were persecuted for their faith and were killed or maimed have every right to fightback. Every verse had a historical context or an issue it addressed originally. When the same issue or a similar issue occurs, the Muslim is bound to apply the same ruling or similar ruling as the case may be. Besides, the Bible itself is replete with commandments to attack those who reject faith. An example is below:

Deuteronomy 20:10-17 New International Version (NIV)10 When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.

11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labour and shall work for you.

Few months back, nobody really knew who
Zahra Buhari was. In fact, if not that she is
one of the daughters of Nigeria’s President-
elect, General Muhamadu Buhari (retd), Zahra,
indeed, would have just been like any other
babe, a fine girl.
But then, politics came, her father picked up
the presidential ticket for his party, All
Progressive Congress, followed it up with a
massive political campaign and boom, Zahra
surfaced! Now, as the daughter of the first
family, it isn’t out of the ordinary that the
lady and her siblings, would be under the
scrutiny of the media, being the children of the
first family.
But even before people would wonder and
speculate about the children of the
presidential candidate of the APC and now the
President-elect, Zahra made it easier for nosy
parkers; she posted an incredible picture of
herself online.
Yes, her picture hit the Internet in the thick of
the election campaign and undeniably, the
young lady practically broke the internet. She
is pretty and that is not understating the
obvious. Since her pictures went viral, Zahra
has become one of the most popular young
ladies in Nigeria. Expectedly, she should be,
since her father is going to rule Nigeria, again.
Apart from her pictures that are online,
nothing much is really known about the young
lady except that it‘s been alleged that she
studies abroad.
But Zahra is not just only about a babe that
posts beautiful pictures on the internet to wow
the men and make the ladies go green, she is
also about support, family and love.
She proved this when her father’s certificate
saga came up during the campaign.
In the heat of the scandal, the young babe via
her twitter handle defended her father and
lambasted the ruling party.
Her tweet in part read, “About 53 years ago, he
acquired this certificate. During his military
years, he held posts that couldn’t possibly be
run by an illiterate.
“Mind you, these were posts he managed very
well. He ran for office three times, this is the
fourth time and now his certificate matters.
The ruling party should accept the fact that
they have failed Nigeria as a whole and we
can’t give them any more chances.
“Misplaced priorities. Security should come
first not #GMB’s certificate. We don’t want
them anymore and we don’t want them to
persuade us to want them. We just simply do
not WANT.”
More Nigerians, after these tweets, fell in love
with her and eulogised her eloquence
especially when it mattered the most.
When Nigerians were getting used to Zahra’s
pictures and coming to terms with the lady
being one of the most eligible single ladies in
town, then came Kiki Osinbajo.
By the way, Kiki is the twenty-one year old
daughter of the Vice President–elect, Yemi
Osinbajo.
Perhaps, Kiki would have remained just the
daughter of the senior pastor of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God and may just be
known by the members of the congregation
and of course, her friends and school mates.
But just like Zahra, Kiki is in the eye of the
public at the moment. Yes, she was
‘discovered’ yet again, (like Zahra), when she
posted some of her pictures online, one of
them with her father, when she celebrated him
on his birthday.
Kiki was not really as outspoken as Zahra
during the campaign as she didn’t use her
social media to solicit for votes and support
for her father and her father’s party.
Howbeit, their emergence on the Internet,
perhaps came at the right moment as many,
especially the young men, fell in love with
them (their looks) and possibly, voted for their
parents based on that.
And as the election has favoured their parents,
these two ladies have topped the list of the
most popular ladies in Nigeria.
Interestingly, the elections have come and
gone with their fathers winning the race. It
was as if the girls (Zahra in particular) were
waiting for it to end before going back to their
shells.
At least for now, there haven’t been recent
pictures of the girls on the social media. As
much as people know they exist, they perhaps,
do not want to be in peoples’ faces. They
probably do not want to rub it in that they are
the daughters of the most powerful men in the
country.
The lives of these young ladies might be
likened to that of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of
the former president of the United States of
America, Bill Clinton.
Chelsea’s life actually turned around in 1993
when her father became the president of the
US. Being the child of the first family, she
experienced intense media scrutiny.
According to biography.com, Chelsea’s
parents encouraged her to live as normal a life
as possible. She became a frequent topic in
the press, who made headlines out of her
romantic relationships with fellow student
Matthew Pierce, as well as former White House
intern Jeremy Kane. She eventually got
married to Marc Mezvinsky and the couple is
blessed with a child.
And like Malia and Natasha, children of
Barack Obama, the current president of the
United States of America, there might really be
no hiding place for the children of Nigeria’s
first (and second) families as they sure would
be under watch.
Obama’s kids are underage, no doubt, but that
has not deterred one or two negative stories
from being written about them, top on the list
was when Malia was rumoured to be pregnant.
The rumour has long been denied.
Just like their counterparts in Africa,
especially the likes of Ange Kagame, daughter
of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Kenya’s
Ngina Kenyatta, daughter of Uhuru Kenyatta,
Gabon’s Malika Ondimba, daughter of
President Ali Bongo Odinmba and so many
others, Zahra and Kiki would certainly be in
the eye of the public; no hiding place for
them.

The Independent National Electoral
Commission has said it has no power to
cancel the results of the governorship and
state Houses of Assembly elections in Rivers
and Akwa Ibom states.
It made this known to The PUNCH a few hours
after the European Union Election Observation
Mission to Nigeria on Monday called for a
probe of the “severe problems” that
characterised the polls in the two states.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC
chairman, Kayode Idowu, said those calling on
the commission to cancel the results were
misdirecting their request.
He explained that once results had been
announced by INEC , only election petition
tribunals had the power to cancel and order
fresh elections.
Idowu said, “The law does not allow us to
cancel any result after it has been announced.
Everyone knows this.
“It is only the election petition tribunals that
can order that or even cancelled the elections.
We would advice anyone who is aggrieved to
go to the court. “
Also in Abuja on Monday, EU EOM said the
elections in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states
needed to be probed because of accusations of
rigging, intimidation and violence by
opponents of the winners.
Udom Emmanuel won the governorship in
election in Akwa Ibom while a former Minister
of State for Education, Nyesom Wike,
triumphed in Rivers.
The Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Santiago
Fisas, said at a news conference that even
though the elections witnessed “more efficient
polling, “there were “increased incidents of
violence and interference.”
He added, “On April 12, INEC referred to 66
reports of violent incidents targeting polling
units, INEC officials, voters and election
materials in 19 states in all geopolitical zones
except for the North-East.
“Both the main parties made many
accusations of rigging, intimidation and
violence by opponents. Problems were most
pronounced in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states
where there are multiple credible reports of
violence and interference, which warrant
further investigation.”
Fisas however encouraged those with
grievances to address them through official
channels.
The Chief observer also commended President
Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat
before the last result was read.
Fisas, who described the election-related
killings as regrettable, stressed that loss of
lives was unacceptable in election conduct.
He said, “It is very regrettable that so many
people lost their lives during the elections.
Election must be violence-free; loss of lives is
not acceptable. Citizens should be able to
express their political will freely without fear
for their lives.
“My full condolences go to families and
friends of those who have been killed during
this election process; also to the family of the
Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kano, who
perished with his family in the tragic fire.”
Also on Monday, the United States which
congratulated Nigerians and INEC on the
successful conduct of the general elections,
said it had “seen the reports of violence and
alleged irregularities, particularly in Rivers and
Akwa Ibom states.”
In a statement by its Embassy in Nigeria, the
US callED on those dissatisfied to pursue their
grievances peacefully through the judiciary.
The statement read in part, “The US Embassy
in Nigeria congratulates the people of Nigeria
and INEC for an electoral process on April 11,
2015 that generally went well across the
country and built on the success of the March
28 polling process.
“We have seen the reports of violence and
alleged irregularities, particularly in Rivers and
Akwa Ibom states, and call on those
dissatisfied to pursue their grievances
peacefully in the judicial arena. We regret any
loss of life and destruction of property.”
It lauded “the leadership of Nigeria’s political
parties, notably President Goodluck Jonathan
and President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, for
urging their supporters to conduct themselves
peacefully throughout the electoral process.”
Presidency, militants rigged elections in
Rivers, A’Ibom –APC
But in Lagos, the national leadership of the
APC accused the Presidency and Niger Delta
militants of rigging the elections in two states.
The APC, at a news conference by its Publicity
Secretary, Lai Mohammed, described the
elections in the states as a mockery of
democracy.
It therefore called on INEC to cancel the
elections.
The party said, “It is clear that the script for
the distortion of the Rivers elections was
written by the Presidency and executed by the
PDP, the police and militants
“As you would recollect, our party’s chapter in
Rivers had written a petition complaining of
the crass partisanship of the Rivers State
Commissioner of Police in the presidential and
National Assembly elections held on March
28.
“Because of this petition, the Inspector-
General of Police, Suleiman Abba, posted three
police commissioners from the Force
Headquarters in Abuja to oversee the April 11
elections in Rivers State.
“As soon as the President learnt of this
development, he directed the IG to reverse the
decision and instead requested that AIG Tunde
Ogunsakin be posted to oversee the April 11
elections in Rivers State.”
The APC spokesman said as soon as electoral
materials were distributed, a senior police
officer in Akukutoru Local Government Area
simply handed over the election materials for
this local government to the militants.
He said upon learning of this development,
Ogunshakin ordered that the materials should
be recovered and handed over to the electoral
officer for the LGA within the next hour.
Mohammed said, “Irked by A Ogunsakin’s
directive, the Presidency ordered him to leave
Rivers State within six hours and a pliant
replacement was asked to take over from him.
“From then on, unimaginative terror was
unleashed on the electorate, in particular on
APC members and supporters. It was a
straight fight between the police, the militants
and the PDP on the one hand and the APC on
the other hand.”
He said in former Governor Victor Attah’s
ward in Ibesikpo Asutan, three contiguous
polling units did not receive election
materials.
Mohammed said that electoral officers even
told the APC governorship candidate, Umana
Umana, that the election process was marred
by security failure, which allowed PDP thugs
to hijack election materials and take them to
private homes for thumb-printing.
The PDP however said it was wrong for the
APC to call for the cancellation of the results
because there was no way it would not have
won the polls in the two states.
APC is wrong, says PDP
The National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Olisa Metuh, told one our correspondents that
the PDP might as well demand that the
presidential election be canceled because of
the irregularities it noticed.
He said, “There was no way we wouldn’t have
won the elections in both Rivers and Akwa
Ibom states because they are our stronghold.
“Maybe we should as well ask that the
presidential election be canceled because of
the irregularities we noticed during the
conduct of the election.”
Metuh called on the APC to learn to accept
the outcomes of elections
Meanwhile, THE announcement of the
governorship election results by INEC enetered
a second day on Monday with the APC
winning additional six states and the PDP,
three.
The states whose results were announced in
APC’s favour are Zamfara, Jigawa, Adamawa,
Niger, Nasarawa and Borno. The PDP had
Rivers, Delta and Cross River states.
As of Sunday midnight, INEC had formally
declared the candidates of the APC in 13
states as winners. The states are Sokoto,
Kebbi, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Katsina,
Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Yobe and
Benue.
It also declared the PDP candidates in Gombe,
Enugu, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom victorious.
When the results began to trickle in between
1pm and 7pm on Monday, INEC announced
more APC candidates as winners.
In Nasarawa State, Governor Tanko Al-Makura
scored 309, 746 votes to beat his closest
rival,Yusuf Agasi of the PDP, who had 178,
983 votes.
Abdulaziz Yari scored 716,964 votes while
Mamuda Shinkafi of the PDP in Zamfara State
had 201,938 votes.
Also in Jigawa, Badaru Abubakar defeated
Aminu Ringim of the PDP by polling 648, 045
votes. Ringim had 479,447 votes.
INEC merely confirned unofficial reports of
Jibrilla Bindow, Abubakar Bello and Kashim
Shettima’s victories in Adamawa, Niger and
Borno states.
Bindow defeated PDP’s Nuhu Ribadu by
scoring 362,329 votes. Ribadu had 98,917
votes.
While Bello had 593,702 votes, Umar Nasco of
the PDP in Niger State had 239,770 votes.
In Borno State, Shettima scored 649, 913 votes
as against 34,005 votes by Gambo Lawan of
the PDP.
The PDP candidates however floored their APC
counterparts in Rivers, Delta and Cross River
states.
In Rivers State, a former Minister of State for
Education and PDP torch-bearer, Nyesom
Wike, trounced APC’s Dakuku Peterside having
polled 1,029,102 votes. Dakuku had 124,896
votes.
In Delta State PDP’s Ifeanyi Okowa became
governor-elect after defeating APC’s O’tega
Emerhor by garnering 724,680 votes. Emerhor
had 67, 825 votes.
Benedict Ayade of the PDP in Cross River also
handed defeat to his APC closest rival Odey
Ochicha. He polled 342,016 votes as against
Ochicha’s 53,983.
INEC which also updated the results of the
Benue State election, had declared the Imo,
Abia and Taraba state governorship results
inconclusive.
As of Sunday night when the Imo results were
announced uncompleted, Governor Rochas
Okorocha of the APC was leading his PDP
counterpart and Deputy Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha.
APC’s candidate in Taraba State, Jummai
Alhassan, was also leading other candidates
in the state.

Fresh indications emerged on Monday that the
South-West geo-political zone would produce
the next Deputy Senate President based on the
ranking rule of the upper chamber which gives
preference to returning senators.
A critical analysis of the incoming 8th Senate
indicated that with a simple majority in the
chamber, the All Progressives Congress’
members are expected to emerge as, Senate
President; Deputy Senate President; Senate
Majority Leader; Chief Whip; Deputy Majority
Leader and Deputy Chief Whip.
A ranking senator, who preferred anonymity,
told our correspondent that the APC Senate
Caucus members were pushing for the Deputy
Senate President slot to be filled by the
South-West since the North-Central and the
North-East were currently battling to produce
the Senate President.
He said South-South and the South-East
would only produce the Minority Leader,
Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and
Deputy Minority Whip because none of the
senators from the zone, either new or old, was
a member of the APC which would constitute
the majority in the 8th Senate.
He said the North-West was expected to fill
the slot of the Senate Leader, because there
were many ranking APC senators from the
zone.
But further investigations by our
correspondent in Abuja revealed that there
was a simmering battle among members of
the incoming 8th Senate, as some new
entrants were allegedly insisting that the
ranking rule be set aside during the
composition of the Senate leadership.
A ranking senator confided in our
correspondent on Monday that some fresh
senators, believed to have strong godfathers
were also lobbying party elders to be elected
as principal officers.
The returning senators, he added, were
however insisting on the application of Senate
Standing Orders 2011 (as amended) during
the inauguration of the 8th Senate on June 4.
The rule stipulates that any senator who has
been elected and has been re-elected into the
chamber, has advantage over a member who
is newly elected into the chamber.
Chapter II (2) of the Senate rules specifically
removes any ambiguity about the status of
Senators in the chamber.
The rule titled, “Election of presiding and other
officers states that in determining ranking
states that, “the following order shall apply:
(i) Senators returning based on number of
times re-elected; (II) Senators who had been
members of the House of Representatives; and
(iii) Senators elected as Senators for the first
time.”
Based on this ranking rule, only senators who
had been re-elected based on the number of
times he had won elections in to the Senate,
are expected to form the nuclei of the
leadership.
Attempts to find out details of the meeting
allegedly held in Abuja by the APC Senate
Caucus were unsuccessful as some of the
senators contacted denied knowledge of the
meeting.
For instance, Senator Robert Boroffice (Ondo
North) said, “I am in Ondo State at the
moment. We are resuming tomorrow
(Tuesday), and I don’t have any invitation to
attend any meeting.”

National dialogue not for resource, power agitations – Kaigama
October 28, 2013by Jude Owuamanam
Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has advised Nigerians, especially delegates to the proposed national dialogue, that the conference should not be an avenue to agitate for resource allocation or negotiate for rotation of power.
Rather, Kaigama said the dialogue should be an opportunity for soul searching and to reflect on the worsening state of things in the country.
The cleric, who spoke to journalists in Jos after an interactive session with religious leaders on the peace process on the Plateau, said that it would be wrong for any group or individual to think that the aim of the dialogue is to serve as a forum to negotiate someone’s right or debate on whether Nigeria can continue to exist as a country or not.
He commended the Federal Government for proposing the national dialogue as a way as solving some pressing national questions.
The archbishop also advised those threatening to boycott the conference to give it a chance but said that the dialogue could only be meaningful when diversity of opinions were allowed and the delegates were true representatives of their people.
Kaigama said, “People talk of national conference as if it is an opportunity for us for us to sit and allocate the resources of this nation or as if it is to discuss the division of this country into different countries. I think if we go into dialogue with that mindset, it is going to be a political disaster.
“But if we go into dialogue of this nature, asking ourselves what is wrong with us; why do we not progress the way we should; why are we not practically and concretely the giant of Africa with all the resources God has given us.”
Kaigama said dialogue should be ongoing and that the proposed national dialogue will bear fruits if it is genuine and the organisers are sincere and “it is for the common good of Nigerians.”
“But as we know, we have had series of conferences that had not yielded any fruit. We are hoping that this will,” he said.

Canada begins compulsory fingerprint for Nigerian visa applicants
October 28, 2013by Temitayo Famutimi
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The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria says Nigerians applying for visa to the North American country will henceforth be required to provide their fingerprints.
It said the new requirement which took effect from October 23, was introduced to check fraud, facilitate legitimate travel by making entry into the country easier.
According to the High Commission, applicants will need to go in person to a visa application centre to submit their application and give their fingerprints as well as have their photograph taken.
This was contained in a statement by the high commission’s Public Affairs Officer, Ezinne Uluocha.
The new requirement, Uluocha said, would put Canada in line with other countries already collecting this information from visitors. These countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, countries in the European Union Schengen Zone, and Japan.
But, the High Commission noted that the new application process will exempt applicants under the age of 14 or over the age of 79 as well as diplomats and government officials travelling on official business.
Uluocha said, “Effective from October 23, visitors to Canada from several countries, including Nigeria, will be required to provide fingerprints and a digital photograph when they apply for a visitor visa, study or work permit.
“This new requirement will not only help protect the safety and security of Canadians while helping facilitate legitimate travel, it will also protect prospective visitors by making it more difficult for others to forge, steal or use an applicant’s identity to gain access to Canada.”
However, the High Commission added that applicants would have to part with a fee ranging from $85 to $170 before their fingerprints and photograph before their date will be captured at any of its visa application centre.

Leave PDP now, Wike dares Amaechi
October 28, 2013by Chukwudi Akasike
THE Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Sunday dared the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and his supporters to leave the Peoples Democratic Party for another political party.
Wike said Amaechi and his supporters should go to another party if they believed they were popular, promising that he (Wike) and his followers would celebrate the exit of the governor from the PDP.
The minister, who made this remark during a rally organised by the Grassroots Development Initiative in Port Harcourt, said they would resist any attempt to rig the 2015 election.
He explained that Rivers State Government had collapsed, adding that a revolution was taken place in the state.
Wike said, “If you think you are so popular, why not join another party. The day they join another party, we will do thanksgiving. We will have to celebrate their exit and we will tell them that nobody can rig elections in Rivers State any longer.
“The day you dare it is the day you see the consequences. We are going to resist any attempt to say that our votes will not count. Everybody is jittery. Why are they jittery? We are not worried, they are worried.”
The minister said that the support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the Niger Delta was not based on any condition, but because he (Jonathan) had done well.
Earlier, the State Chairman of the PDP, Obuah, said they (PDP) were witnessing a wind of change in Rivers, adding that six commissioners in Amaechi’s government had agreed to leave the governor’s administration.
Reacting, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Tony Okocha, said Wike should bother about the capital flight and the attendant brain-drain and not to visit the state every weekend to oil his campaign outfit.
“Rivers people are wiser. Wike’s ranting every weekend in Rivers State leaves much to be imagined especially as the country is relapsing to the Dark Age.
“As supervising minister for education, it should be have been reasonable for him to bother about the fact that students roam the streets and take to heinous crimes because of a protracted strike by lecturers.
“Rivers people are not opposed to Mr. President. Wike should stop his attempt to commonise the office of Mr. President in his attempt to curry under served favour.
“What may be in the issue is purely ideology, which is common with great minds. Wike should be thought that ideas rule the world. Petty mind discuss people,” Okocha said.

As Nigeria and Israel get set to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), there were indications, last night, that President Goodluck Jonathan may not allow the embattled Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, to take part in the symbolic event slated for Tel Aviv tomorrow.
Presidency sources hinted that although Oduah left Nigeria to prepare the ground for the event, Jonathan was uncomfortable with her presence in Israel and might bar her from the spot.
Competent Presidency sources said the president was uncomfortable with the public outrage arising from the N25 million armoured vehicles said to have been bought for Oduah by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and would not want to be seen as condoning corruption with the embattled minister on his side.
One source said, “The president is mindful of the fact that he has to project Nigeria as a country which does not condone any form of graft and will not bring a tainted official of his administration to Tel Aviv for a serious event as the BASA signing ceremony.
Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah and President Goodluck Jonathan
“Before leaving for the holy land, Jonathan had made it clear that the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the two armoured cars for the minister be thoroughly investigated and a detailed report made for him to assure Nigerians and the international community that he does not tolerate any form of financial impropriety.”
The alleged scandal has reportedly split the Federal Executive Council given the prime position of the minister in the administration.
The FEC is said to be divided on whether Jonathan should offload her from the administration or allow her to remain with the image triggered by the alleged car deal. Sources said many ministers were pushing for her removal from the cabinet while those in her support think otherwise, blaming political enemies for her ordeal.
Meanwhile, business activities were, yesterday, paralyzed at the Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, although temporarily, as hundreds of Igbo youths, under the aegis of Igbo Progressive Union (IPU), embarked on a peaceful protest against the calls for the sack of Oduah over the controversial armoured cars.
The kinsmen of the embattled minister from Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State, led by High Chief George Nwabueze, also exonerated her from any wrong doing in the purchase of the cars. Nwabueze said that the target of those calling for the head of Oduah was President Goodluck Jonathan whose second term ambition in 2015 they have vowed to stop by all means.
The protesting young men and women, who carried placards with different inscriptions, accused an unnamed personality of being behind the calls for the removal of the minister, insisting that the intention was to stop Oduah from going ahead with her transformation agenda in the aviation sector.
The group, who spoke through their leader, Emeka Agbo, a student of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, said Igbo youths were prepared to go the whole hog in ensuring that their daughter was protected, expressing dismay that some highly placed individuals were determined to rubbish the achievements of the minister.
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OBS: Twitter Overtakes Facebook As The Most Popular Social Network For Teenagers
Oct 25th, 2013 @ 11:29 am › GC Staff
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LikeOne person likes this. Be the first of your friends.
Surely this should have been expected the moment the mothers, fathers and grandparents started joining facebook. Teenagers generally like to keep to themselves and stay with their peers…
According to the semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens; Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most important social media network.
According to Business Insider;
Twitter is the new king of teens, with 26% naming it as their “most important” social site. Only 23% said Facebook was most important, down from a high of 42%.
But Twitter should not become complacent, the report suggests. That’s because Instagram has rocketed in popularity with teens. 23% said Facebook-owned Instagram was their No.1 choice, up from 12% a year ago.
The maneuvering suggests Facebook was right to acquire Instagram as a backstop against losing younger users to competing, simpler networks.
The reports are a contrast, but not a contradiction to, Facebook’s own statements on teen users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has twice spoken publicly recently about whether teens are abandoning Facebook. In September, Zuckerberg said “ coolness is done for us.” Previously, on his Q2 earnings call, Zuckerberg saidthat Facebook’s own research shows that teens are not abandoning the site.
Facebook has, frustratingly, declined to share that research — even though investors would salivate over it.

Before I came across this article, I’ve always held the belief that tithing is a scheme the early smart religious leaders used to STEAL money from their poor followers…
What is the point in giving your little money to a pastor who will very much used it to buy a private jet, a BMW or send his children to the best schools while you continue to linger in poverty?
And it is even compulsory; a certain percentage (10%) of whatever you earn including the bonus or gifts must be taken to the house of God—pretty cunning if you ask me.
I will rather put that 10% in a bank and give it to my children when they grow up. And if you think I am the only person who sees the deep fraud embedded in the concept of paying tithes to enrich some few, read the below article…
***Note: Do not miss the sarcasm in the article…
….Not Christian Economists
At a point, one of my best friends was a Buddhist. He had been an atheist for a long time until he resolved it was time to believe in something. He decided the Abrahamic religions were too arrogant and didn’t quite give room for dissent. He found that those who subscribed to their teachings were usually very gullible and vulnerable. They were those who found it sacrilegious to pry into the where fores of the very things that under pin their beliefs. He satisfied himself that Buddhism allowed him to think outside the defined confines of the art of living. He passed away three years ago. His name was Jason Roberts, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. May Buddha keep his soul.
Jason was right about the gullible part, and maybe the vulnerable bit, too. If today a trusted archaeologist discovers the bones of Jesus in a certain tomb, Christianity will be the biggest fraud ever cooked. It requires some amount of gullibility and indeed some vulnerability, to believe that a certain gentleman died some 2,000 years ago and rose again, so all mankind is saved if they believe. Prof Richard Dawkins will not buy that and I don’t blame him. He is too intelligent to settle for a story. Jason didn’t buy it, too.
Now, the real test of the gullibility: Work very hard, so hard and sign away 10% of your hard earnings to a church or a pastor, and pretend that you gave it to God. Suddenly, you will be so blessed that you will not have room for your blessings, pressed down and shaken together, running over until your blessings pour onto your laps. (Luke 6: 38). If you don’t do this, you are stealing from God. You will also deny yourself your blessings. Do it and He who walks on the wings of the wind will open the Heavens on your account and rain material prosperity on you and your generation, until you are too blessed.
Keep the 90% for yourself. Do whatever you want with it but the 10% is your first fruit, which comes back to your source of provision–God. The principle behind tithing is that you are merely making an acknowledgment that you may have worked hard through the month to earn your wages, but the source of your enablement–that which made all Grace abound to you (2 Corinthians 9:, to be able to work in the first place–deserves a little bite of what He gave you. And it is not that He needs your money; it is because you are privileged to be able to give unto Him who first gave you.
My great-great spiritual grandfather, the Archbishop Nicholas Boye Duncan-Williams, has often asked: What is it that you have that you did not receive? It is not so much that the hardworking reaped more, or that the swift galloped a bigger distance, but time and chance happened to them all. It is God that showeth mercy. And He would have mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and He would show compassion to those that He decides deserve compassion. That is why He is God. (Romans 9: 15).
If God would bless me anyhow, whether I tithe or steal from Him by not tithing, then why do I bother to tithe? Why don’t I keep my money and decide to commit the same amount I would have paid in tithes to sponsor a needy neighbor’s education? Isn’t showing a needy person some kindness pleasing unto God than giving the money to a bling-bling pastor who is already living in luxury? Or look at this way: instead of making a monthly commitment of #4000 to a church or a pastor with a guy-name (that is if your monthly salary is #14000), I could add up the #4000 for a year or two and contribute the lump-sum towards a development initiative in a poor village community. And for those who live abroad, many have wondered whether there is wisdom in paying your tithe to your local church in Ghana when you worship in a new church in Atlanta.
Whenever we talk about tithing, a certain presupposition is immediately operative: Where is the money going go? Perhaps if we were in the days of old where the currency for commerce was foodstuff or some farm produce, we would not find it necessary to discuss the economic merits of tithing. True, parting with a tenth of #100,000 is not exactly an easy effort, but those who have dared to remain faithful have had reason to count a thousand fold of the little seed they sent away to God. It is a biblical principle, not an economic decision or an academic exercise. There are no pros and cons here; there are only constants: Fill the tithe card every month and send the money away.
The thing about being a Christian is that you cannot be too much of a Christian to know more than the Bible. It does not matter what interpretation you give to Malachi 3: 8-10, or Amos 4: 4. Those who question the instruction on tithing are not Christians. Tithing is not for discussion; it is just to be obeyed. And often times those who find reason not to pay, citing context and Israel and Levites, are usually those who have never actually tried paying any tithe at all in their lives. The pastor’s Bentley or private jet should not prevent you from obeying God’s word. His wife’s shoes and headgear should not stand in your way. Yours is to do it in obedience and watch Him exceed His promise.
Presently showing on American television is ‘Preachers of LA’, a documentary that has received a lot of commentary around the world. What does a man of God need a Bentley or a private jet for? Well, what does a CEO of a company need a great car for? My pastor doesn’t have a Bentley or a jet, but if he had one, I wouldn’t revise my tithe paying commitments or offering obligations. Any pastor who buys a jet may have given away several jets to many others. And a Bentley is just an expensive car whose value can be quantified. You couldn’t put a monetary value on your faith. It is by faith that you dispense a 10th of your earnings to God, and it is by faith that you would receive the blessings that were promised Abraham. Tithing is an expression of faith, not money.
Unless you do not identify as a Bible-believing Christian, you are obligated to pay up your tithe every month, and promptly too. If your church is rich and your pastor owns a Rolls Royce, still pay up. Tithing is consecration, a private consecration which will ultimately reveal the public manifestation of God’s glory on you (Bishop John Francis, Roach, London). Ooops it is that time of the month. Where is my tithe book?

Many injured as hoodlums sack PDP secretariat in Kanoon October 22, 2013 at 12:59 am in News
By AbdulSalam Muhammad, Kano.
KANO -Hell was let loose in Kano Monday afternoon when “well dressed” thugs invaded and overran the PDP secretariat located at Gydi-yadi quarters in the Kano leaving many injuries.
Eyewitness account told Vanguard that the Caretaker Committee recently inaugurated by Bamanga Tukur led PDP were conducting official business at the new secretarial when they came under attack.
Those injured in the ensuing pandemonium included the state PDP Publicity Secretary,, Ja’afar Sani Bello, the state Women Leader, Rabi Shehu Sharada, while the legal adviser who escaped through the window of a story building sustained minor injuries.
Another party member whose identity could not be ascertained as at press time has his bowel ripped opened, while Elder statesman, and founding father of PDP, Alhaji Dauda Dangalon and several other party faithful sustained various degree of injuries.
However, the PDP Publicity secretary, Ja’afar Sani Bello who was the victim of the attack accused Kwankwaso administration of masterminding the attack, alleging that “those who attacked us are cabinet members of the regime”.
Sani Bello stated that “I was reading from the table when suddenly a sharp iron metal landed on it, and as I raised my head I saw one Murtala Muhammad Gwarmai, a Special Adviser to the Governor trying vainly to retrieve the object from the table”
Ja’afar further alleged that “as I set to escape, he drew a sharp horn and it hit me on the neck, stressing that “the police arrested him while fleeing the scene”
Further he that “we are almost through with our function when they infiltrated the gathering and unleashed mayhem as several faithful were injured while trying to escape the terrorist attack”.
Ja’afar who spoke with Vanguard at the Emergency Unit of Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital vowed that “the attack on us would not deter us in our quest to reposition the party in the state”.
Confirming the incident during a chat with reporters in Kano, the Commissioner of Police, AbdulSalam Daura revealed that 4 suspects have been arrested and are been investigated in connection with the mayhem.
Mr.Daura stated that “our men arrested 4 suspected while trying to disrupt the PDP function and are helping us with our investigation and want to assure you the full weight of law would be visited on whoever is behind this”
He urged politicians to be civil in the way and manner they conduct their activities in order to avoid overheating the polity, adding “peace remain an essential ingredient of growth and we must treasure it”.

Open Letter To Maheeda: The Prostitute Who Became Born Again Then Went Back To Her Old Ways
Posted by: Information Nigeriaon October 18, 2013
In not more than 200 words I’d like to tell you what I think of you and your recent abuse of social networks. If I should allow myself to use more words than that you’d hate my very existence. So I’d keep it as short as possible.
You’ve taken the exercising of the term ‘freedom of expression’ a bit too far. I still can’t wrap my brain around the fact that you were once a gospel musician, what kinda gospel music were you singing, s*xual gospel? Huh?
Will you please kindly kindly kindly stop bombarding our eyes and spoiling our spiritual fasts (Yes! We are still God fearing, unlike you) via social networks with pictures of your after one, not so hot but manageable body, graphic and explicit suggestions that make ‘places’ rise.
Show off your shoes and not your panties and No! We don’t want to see your hooties.
And try to promote your music and not your nudies. :-D
N.B: I’m not a fan of yours, just a fan of good music..
Yours Faithfully,
Concerned fan.

Thirdhand Smoke: What Are The Dangers To Nonsmokers?
Posted by: tosinon October 18, 2013
Thirdhand smoke is generally considered to be residual nicotine and other chemicals left on a variety of indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. This residue is thought to react with common indoor pollutants to create a toxic mix. This toxic mix of thirdhand smoke contains cancer-causing substances, posing a potential health hazard to nonsmokers who are exposed to it, especially children.
Studies show that thirdhand smoke clings to hair, skin, clothes, furniture, drapes, walls, bedding, carpets, dust, vehicles and other surfaces, even long after smoking has stopped. Infants, children and nonsmoking adults may be at risk of tobacco-related health problems when they inhale, ingest or touch substances containing thirdhand smoke. Thirdhand smoke is a relatively new concept, and researchers are still studying its possible dangers.
Thirdhand smoke residue builds up on surfaces over time and resists normal cleaning. Thirdhand smoke can’t be eliminated by airing out rooms, opening windows, using fans or air conditioners, or confining smoking to only certain areas of a home. Thirdhand smoke remains long after smoking has stopped. In contrast, secondhand smoke is the smoke and other airborne products that come from being close to burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes.
The only way to protect nonsmokers from thirdhand smoke is to create a smoke-free environment, whether that’s your private home or vehicle, or in public places, such as hotels and restaurants.

Violence And Mayhem Tarnish The Image Of Islam, Muslims, Says Sultan of Sokoto
Posted by: danielon October 18, 2013
Muslims in the country have been warned against instigating violence in the name of Islam.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday, gave the warning in his palace when the Emirs of Gwandu and Argungu in Kebbi, Alhaji Ilyasu Bashar and Alhaji Sama’ila Mera, respectively, paid him the traditional Sallah homage.
According to Sultan Abubakar III, Islam is a religion of peace which abhors violence.
His words, “Violence and mayhem tarnish the image of Islam and Muslims and we should shun them. We should only rely on God, the Almighty, as the Alpha and Omega of the World”.
He further called on northerners to work toward ensuring sustained peace and unity in the country.
The Sultan, who is the Spiritual leader of Muslims in Nigeria, said: “Peace should be ensured in the region and by extension all parts of the country, as God has created us together with diverse backgrounds.
“These religious, ethnic and cultural differences, among others, should further unite and not divide us.”
Earlier, the visiting Emirs had told the Sultan that they were in his palace to pay respect to him, adding, “We are here to strengthen the bond of relationships between us.”
-VANGUARD

Prison Transfer Deal May See Ibori, Other Prisoners In UK Repatriated To Complete Jail Terms In Nigeria
Posted by: danielon October 18, 2013
As part of a prisoner transfer deal between the British and Nigerian government, former Delta State governor, James Onanefe Ibori, who is currently serving a jail term in Britain, might be among Nigerian prisoners scheduled to be transferred to Nigerian prisons to complete their jail terms according to a report by a British newspaper.
According to Mail Online, a British online newspaper, the United Kingdom prisons minister, Jeremy Wright said talks are in progress with the various governments including Nigeria on prisoner transfer deals.
If the deal pulls through, according to Wright, more than half of the 534 prisoners from Nigeria currently in UK jails will be repatriated to Nigerian prisons.
It would be recalled that Britain had earlier promised to fund the construction of new prisons in some countries including Nigeria for the prisoner transfer deal just as the deal will see the country collecting £1 million for the upgrade of some of its prisons including the Kirikiri prison in Lagos and others across the country.
-Daily Trust
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By Dapo Thomas
The quiescence of the dead to object to their eternal confinement six feet below, certifies the reality of their non-existence. We, the living, also grope in a void of vanity that we proudly call existence. The movement of the living from the void to the darkroom below is wrapped in mystery. I have seen mysteries to a point of not being mystery-awe.
The Agagu episode was not a mystery as such but something like it. A dead man Olusegun Agagu was enclosed in a casket of gold with all his vanished accomplishments – former governor of Ondo State, former chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Minister of this and that, Dr this. Chief that, ex- His Excellency etc. His corpse was on the way to its final resting place in Iju Odo in Ondo State. The man in the small metal box was isolated in the belly of the plane while others were seated in the cabin. The man could no longer sit with the living among whom were my good friend, Tunji Okusanya (Snr) a.k.a. Rector, his son, Tunji (Jnr) and other people of mixed importance. In less than two minutes of take-off, the plane crashed and closed the gap between the living and the dead. The accident was a dramatic illustration of the dead burying the dead.
When Jesus said, ‘Let the dead bury their dead’, it was not a parable. It was a poetic mockery of mortal humanity. He saw no difference between the dead and the living. What separates them is time and space of tenuous insignificance. One sleeps in perpetuity while the other functions in the chaos and ructions of human existence. For one, the politics of life has ended. For the other, he skedaddles with death in the politics of hide and seek. When mourners and undertakers assemble for the funeral of a departed one at a cemetery, their posturing and pretensions notwithstanding, they are flirting with the rehearsal of their own funeral. The difference is in time and space; one sleeps that day, others will come to sleep on other days. The cemetery gate is the metaphor of life and death; the barrier between the dead on the other side and the dead on this side. While some dead are sleeping in the graves in the cemetery, the other category of “the dead” (the living) are on long-queues outside the cemetery gate uncertain of whose turn is next.
The dead in the graves are the ones that have been eternally denied the right of redress and corrective privilege for all their actions when they were outside the cemetery. But those at the gate are the living that still have the privilege of correction. The stories of those inside the cemetery have sufficient lessons for those outside it. But very foolishly, many who are still outside the gate will still go inside the cemetery with the same blunders committed by those within believing that eternity is nothing but a fantasy promoted by those seeking recompense for their perceived self-righteousness.
The circumstances of the literal narrative of the accident excite me just as its figurative dramatisation.
A spiritual rhapsody was introduced to the narrative when Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State urged all Nigerians to intensify their prayers as a way of cleansing our nation of all its profanities and iniquities. He made the call when he paid a condolence visit to his bereaved Ondo State counterpart, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. Fayemi’s prayer alert is troubling. Of all the countries of the world, Nigeria appears to be the one with the highest number of churches, pastors and prophets who are very very close to government and political leaders. Even if I don’t know what goes on in other churches, I know that in my own church, prayers are always said for Nigeria during some of these special programmes. If all these prayers are still to be intensified as Fayemi suggested, it shows that most of our churches have either not been praying for the country, or have not been sincere in their prayers, or that GOD is not accepting our prayers for one reason or the other.
Countries all over the world had been granted autonomy by GOD to run their affairs but here in Nigeria, we keep showing our incapability to manage our affairs ourselves. We bother GOD for virtually everything that other countries have taken for granted. We organize vigils, special prayers and even visit prophets before we take a flight, before we travel from one part of the country to the other, we pray to get jobs, we pray before writing exams, we pray to get contracts, we pray before attending political meetings/rallies, before our children go for national service, we pray not to be victims of Boko Haram, kidnappers and ritual killers. Even simple thing like eating also requires prayer otherwise… we pray when our drivers take our children to school and pick them from school, we pray before we sleep. With all this list of ‘befores’ coming from Nigeria alone when will GOD rest?
Our post-tragedy attitude reveals one thing – human existence is a puzzler. As soon as a tragedy occurs, we cry, we shout, we moan, we mourn and we grieve. Afterwards, I mean in a very short period, we begin to laugh, we rejoice, we frolic, we enjoy, we razzle and continue with life as if nothing had happened. The one that is dead is the one that is doomed. This is why I think government attitude to tragedies is spiteful. It is convenient for the government to deal with tragedy in a casual manner because Nigeria is one nation where tragedies are on queue. As soon as one erupts, the next on the queue allows just some few days of hoopla before it takes it own turn and it does not take time at all.
If the government is therefore overwhelmed with tragedies and lacks the capacity to prevent them, it is because we have allowed tragedies to become a routine occurrence hence death no longer shocks us.
Besides, government’s strategy in the management of tragedy needs some elevation. Making predictable moves all the time does no credit to its creative capacity. Immediately the tragedy occurred, I was expecting government to set up a panel to investigate the cause or causes of the crash. And it did. Yes, it may be the natural action to take but my concern is that the country is becoming notorious for its festivals of probe.
Government has never shown the political will to release past investigation reports or even release White Paper on them. Why must we always set up panels to investigate tragedies when we can set up one to prevent tragedy so that we can stop turning funerals into a way of life.
The death of a dead man is far-fetched, eldritch, curious and preternatural. Methinks we are exaggerating the fatality of death knowing that nobody dies twice. Everyman, whether in a casket or in a mansion, dies once. When therefore a corpse in a casket, on its way to its final resting place, is assaulted again by death, such bizarre attack is misplaced venom from the one that has the final encounter with everyone that carries the flesh of sin. This second death is nothing but an evil expression from the one that is proud of the superfluity of its sting. Otherwise, why waste your sting on a man that is already gone?
The riddle lies in the multitude of victims that became the casualties of the cabbalistic fellowship between death and its evil accessories that were engaged in a conspiracy of revenge over covenant breach. Agreed that death is the conclusion of life’s vanity and the finality of the unrewarding labour of man on earth but why must another man depart consequent upon the unfaithfulness of the other to the obligations of his covenant? Why did GOD allow a collateral damage of the innocent in the crossfire between death and the brotherhood. The Christians are not wrong when they refer to GOD as unquestionable. What then is the point of engaging GOD in a dialogue that will end in rhetoric? I therefore submit myself to a mystery I can NEVER unravel.

Normal worship at The Lord’s Chosen Church despite govt’s sealon October 13, 2013 at 9:36 pm in News
BY OLAYINKA LATONA & WILLIAM JIMOH
Lagos — NORMALactivities continued at the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry headquarters, Sunday, despite its closure by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment for environmental offences.
Activities at the church’s headquarters betrayed no sign of the sealing by a government task force.
This came as the church’s founder, Pastor Lazarus Muoka said the closure was an advertisement for the church.
Several gates leading to the church’s main auditorium were opened and there was no sign of government’s seal to indicate a clampdown.
A few gates were shut, but without government’s official seal.
Muoka says shutdown is advertisement for the church
It would be recalled that the Lagos State Ministry of Environment announced that it had shut down the church’s headquarters last Tuesday over failure to comply with the state’s environmental laws.
A visit to the church, Sunday, revealed that members freely assembled at the premises as usual for worship and other activities while others busied themselves selling inspirational materials and other items.
However, it was noticed that the church has removed some structures on the drainage channel and cleared the canal, giving the area a new look.
Muoka also observed that the church had begun a process of erecting new toilet facilities.
Church founder, Pastor Muoka who was said to have just returned from a mission outside the country, told worshippers not be discouraged about the news of the church’s closure by government agents, saying it was another way of advertising the church.
Preaching on a topic entitled, ‘The Necessity of Faith in Challenging Cituation,’ Muoka urged members not to be deterred by the current challenges confronting the church as such situation was only testing their faith.
Continuing, he said: “The shutdown of the church can only advertise the church and multiply us more. They are all after our faith. Any member that loses his or her faith in a situation like this is gone.
“As members, do not allow adverse news about the church to affect your faith because every true child of God must pass through trials and persecution but blessed are those who keep their faith to the end.
“No matter what the church is going through we shall overcome, we are unmovable, and we will not look back. Despite all the noise they are making aboutChosen, we do not look back, instead we keep moving forward.
“The more they speak about us, the more you should keep preaching righteousness, go out by faith. We are not moved, all the people causing these, will see you succeeding and they will be ashamed,” he stated.
The cleric after his sermon called on members who can build toilet facilities to join in the construction work.
The church’s Director of Public Relations/Press, Pastor Louis Chidi said the church had fully complied with the state government’s order with a reversion to its former status and was fully operational.
Some church members, who gathered in groups after the service, said the Lagos government took on the church simply because the founder was away on an assignment outside the country.
Another member countered that it was better that the structure on the drainage channel was removed including the evacuation of solid waste dumped inside the canal.
As at the time of this report, it was not clear if the state government had lifted the order shutting down the church following the church’s non-adherence to the state’s environmental laws.
Several phone calls made to the state Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello and his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, were unsuccessful at press time.
However, a senior official of the state Ministry of Environment, who preferred anonymity, affirmed toVanguardthat “the church is still under seal and there is no way the authorities could have broken the seal.”
He confirmed that the church authorities had written to the state government of their willingness to comply with the directive in full.

Churches should subsidise their schools by 50% — Pastor Adegboro
October 5, 2013 by KUNLE FALAYI
Founding Pastor of Kingdom Purpose Assembly, Morayo Adegboro, speaks on sundry issues relating to his ministry and the church’s challenges over the years in this interview with KUNLE FALAYI
How was it easy for you to go into church ministry after graduation instead of picking up a job?
Giving my life to Christ was a big step for me when I was in school. I was very controversial in the old Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti (now Ekiti State University). They thought I was a cult member. But I was just an undergraduate having fun. So, my conversion was a big one. After two years, I started receiving the call that I needed to preach the gospel. I needed direction for my life. My father, Prince Olu Adegboro was a commissioner during Chief Adebayo Adefarati’s regime in Ondo State. So, I had opportunities to work on a platter of gold. I knew it would be difficult to leave a lucrative job later to respond to God’s call.
Were your parents receptive about your going into the ministry?
Initially they did not like the idea. You know there are so many people saying God has called them. That was also the way my parents saw me. They had expectations. It was difficult for them initially. But over the years, they have come to love and support me. My mother especially was very supportive because I was raised by her and her family. They are proud of what I am doing right now.
Your church celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, how has the journey been?
Kingdom Purpose Assembly has come a long way. It was not my personal agenda to start this ministry. I was working under the ministry of Chapel of His Glory in Ado Ekiti headed by Reverend Kunle Salami, my father in the Lord. I started to minister in the Surulere branch of the church and worked for about five years and was posted to the Ikeja branch. God started to talk to me about pioneering a ministry. Initially, I felt inadequate. I did not think I would be able to do it. But by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we launched out in 2003 with just a few people. After eight months, we had to look for another location when we started having accommodation challenges. We had grown to about 20 people at the time and that was how we came to this present location.
Did you take part of the congregation when you broke away from Chapel of His Glory and how did your Father in the Lord take that?
Our track record shows the way and manner we started. The composition of our congregation did not show we broke away. I remember when I informed my Father in the Lord about my intention. He said no and told me to come back to get the branch to a particular level. I actually went back and did that before I left. We left with his blessings. There was no membership transfer. This church was not established until two years after I left Chapel of His Glory. So, there was no conversion of membership. Over the years, Rev. Salami has been of great help to us and we are proud of him.
What were you doing in those two years?
I was waiting for the prompting of the Holy Spirit. There is a time to receive a vision and there is a time to launch out the vision. If you miss this timing, you’d pay dearly for it. God was using this period to prepare me for the mission. I was just a regular Christian going to church.
Which church were you attending then?
I spent some time in the Winners’ Chapel and then became a regular congregant for a while at Daystar Christian Centre. But as soon as the prompting of the Holy Spirit came, we launched out.
People expect the church to give back to the society when they begin to do well. Does your church do that?
At our level, we have been able to do that. We have a scheme through which we feed the needy. If you come to our service and you are hungry, all you need to do is go to our welfare department. We give some quantity of food items and condiments. We don’t have a clinic of our own but we pay the hospital bills of those who are in need and approach us in this direction. We also do not have a school of our own but we pay 50 per cent of the school fees of needy people who approach us for help.
Some believe it is not right for churches to establish schools their own congregants cannot afford. What’s your opinion of this?
Some of our pastors are beneficiaries of missionary schools. I strongly think those missionaries left the comfort of their homes to do a selfless service. That is the same attitude we should have as missionaries. There is no justification for any church to charge fees that 90 per cent of their congregation cannot afford. That is a betrayal of trust. Church money is on trust. I strongly do not subscribe to this. Most of these institutions are expensive to maintain and most of them are maintained by charity and the church’s purse. The churches should cut those fees by 50 per cent and make their medical care free for the people because if you talk about subsidising medical care, an average congregant may not be able to afford it. They cannot afford to run the schools for free though, but the fees can be reduced.

Amaechi alleges attempt by Police to turn Rivers into military stateon October 02, 2013 at 12:50 am in News
By JIMITOTA ONOYUME
PORT HARCOURT— GOVERNOR Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State has again lashed out at some of the alleged actions of the Police in the state, describing them as an attempt by the security agency to turn Rivers into a military state.
The governor, who spoke yesterday, at a ceremony at Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, to mark the 53rd anniversary of the country’s independence, also urged Rivers people to join forces with the state government to resist the move.
He recalled how the Police dispersed 13,000 newly recruited teachers by the state government at the Liberation Stadium over unfounded excuse that they were hired to protest against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
It would be recalled that the teachers were invited by the state Ministry of Education to collect their posting letters before they were dispersed by the Police command in the state.
The governor said all steps should be taken to thwart attempts by those plotting to disrupt democratic flow in the state.
Amaechi further assured that his administration would continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the state, adding that he would not compromise on the standard of education.
“We must come together as a people to chase away those who want to turn Rivers State into a military state.
“This state is identified by an elected government and we must identify with a civilian government,” he said.

Aregbesola, Amaechi deplore terrorism, conflicts
October 1, 2013by Femi Makinde and Chukwudi Akasike
Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has described the problem of terrorism and other criminal activities, including bad governance, as some of the serious setbacks to the development of the country.
Aregbesola said this in a message issued in Osogbo on Monday to commemorate the 53rd Independence anniversary of Nigeria.
He said, “The country is faced with tough difficulties and mortal dangers on multiple fronts. Our efforts at nation-building are being affronted by manifold crises of under-development – bad governance, poor planning, industrial collapse, decay of basic infrastructure, socio-economic backwardness, political instability, insecurity, widespread poverty, and terrorism, among many other woes.
“These are undeniably serious setbacks to our development march; but they do not amount to any permanent incapacity for us not to move forward. Indeed, setbacks are necessary but temporary impediments along the path to progress.”
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi called for national cohesion and true democracy as the country marks its 53rd anniversary.
Amaechi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, explained that democracy could only thrive when the people lived in peace and unity with leaders showing true leadership and statesmanship in line with democratic tenets.
He said, “No democracy can grow in the face of unending conflicts and in the midst of impunity. Nigeria is one country in spite of our varying cultures, religion and ethnic nationalities; and we can only succeed as a nation if we stand united.
“As we mark this year’s Independence Day, let us all reflect on the dynamics of true democracy and work towards improving our national life.”

Colonel Banjo openly wear his service pistol, but if that were true, only a concealed weapon would be consistent with treason, not an openly displayed service pistol.
Besides, Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo came into General Ironsi’s ante-room alone. His military escort of five (5) soldiers was left behind in the land-rover that brought him at the parking lot, along with the driver, altogether making six soldiers.
Whereas, according to Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo, after his arrest, “to move me, alone and unarmed from Federal Guards, Ikoyi to 2nd Battalion in Ikeja took 3 land Rovers, one heavy Anti-Tank Gun, three medium machine guns, 25 rifles, 3 sub – machine guns, all loaded; one captain, one lieutenant and 30 soldiers. I must have been really dangerous, unarmed as I was!”
So, was there a coup on Monday, January 17th, 1966, in Nigeria – with just five soldiers in the parking lot, and with Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo denying bearing his service pistol, which even if he had - according to General Ironsi’s spin doctors – he’d openly displayed it at the Police Headquarters for Lt. Colonel Kurubo and Major Anwuna and all else to see?
... Seyi Olu Awofeso is a Legal Practitioner in Abuja

Was There A Coup On 17th January? By Seyi Olu Awofeso
Posted: September 28, 2013 - 14:17
Columnist: Guest Columnist
Someone in Nigeria’s Army Officers’ Corp dissembled innocence and went away with a page of history. And now, with the truth of evidence which history means lost, sheer cant fills the gap.
Publicly, no Nigerian Army Officer is known to have walked back or sought to un-cover what actually happened. In effect, Nigerians have but garden-variety gossip to make do with as scrap knowledge.
The still mystifying event happened early in the morning of the first working day – Monday the 17th of January, 1966, as Nigerians reeled from the shocks of sub-machine guns fired by mutinous soldiers in Lagos, Ibadan and Kaduna - beginning 2.00am, two days earlier.
Exact casualties from those shootings were yet unclear, but Nigeria was loosed adrift by the hatreds the scrappy details of the killings stoked, and, the badly shaken country risked floundering on ethnic shoals.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, at the time Nigeria’s President, had in late 1965 left for the Caribbean, announced, but for medical check-up (which turned out to include a cruise) along with his physician, Dr. Humphrey Idemudia Idehen.
Dr. Azikiwe strangely did not come back in December, 1965, as scheduled, and gave no reasons.
When he eventually returned, much later in February 1966, he was received as a private citizen, because his post as Nigeria’s President had been abolished in his absence.
His inexplicable and un-explained failure to return home as host of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Africa, holding in Lagos, Nigeria, beginning January 10th 1966, heightened suspicion that he knew more than he was letting on regarding the soldiers’ revolutionary mutiny of 15th January, 1966.
By early morning Sunday, January 16th 1966 - with President Azikiwe still away on his Caribbean cruise, and, with the country’s Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa declared missing – Nigeria became vulnerable.
Amid the gathering clouds, a certain 35-year-old bandy-legged and sometimes chatty but cuttingly frank Nigerian graduate military officer volunteered to put himself at the centre of what would become the missing page in Nigeria’s history.
He obliged fate – but a cruel one which would see him interned in six prison cells - detained on land and sea - a terrible fate that would later render his wife, Taiwo Joyce, an exiled widow in Sierra Leone.
Paradoxically, the fate’s first course was as tempting as dire, but the choice was ultimately his.
For on that bloody Saturday, 15th January, 1966, he could well have opted to join either side of a divided army amid the on-going mutiny, but chose to squelch Major Ifeajuna-led rebellion in Lagos. He would later share the same deathly fate with Major Ifeajuna in a worst irony of history.
But before that, and as the mutiny gathered under the darkness of Lagos - where he was quartered as Director of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering of the Nigerian Army – the 35 year old bandy-legged military officer chose to set his face against the rebels and squelch their mutiny.
By that same night, Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu hadn’t announced the coup. He later did so at mid-day on Radio Kaduna. But under the darkness of the night of January 15th military operations, Major Nzeogwu’s triage was to liquidate the Premier of Northern Nigeria; disarm the Commanding Officer -Major Hassan Katsina - and prevent counter-attacks from southern Nigeria through Jebba and Makurdi bridges where he reportedly deployed army units.
Back in Lagos, the bow-legged officer, who was obliging fate, readied to counter the Lagos end of Major Nzeogwu’s coup, but it was bound to be a dicey military operation, because the actual master-mind of the coup, Major Ifeajuna, was the one executing the Lagos’ revolutionary coup; at first from his Apapa quarter - from where he’d infiltrated both the 2nd Brigade Headquarters and the Federal Guards garrison in Lagos.
He was operationally backed by a phalanx of military officers; including Major Ademoyega, Major Anuforo, Major Okafor (detailed to arrest Major General Ironsi)and, Major Chukwuka.
But having resolved to defeat Major Nzeogwu’s revolution in Lagos, the bow-legged officer of fate knew he’d have to put aside his early years’ training as a 1950s sermonizing college teacher in Ilaro and instead brace for his army hat as a 1954 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst graduate, since coup is bloody business, and the phalanx of opposing officers was as tough as rawhide.
At once, he summoned a junior officer to work with him at military communications, to undermine Major Nzeogwu’s revolution then spreading bloodily in Lagos. The officer he summoned that dangerous night was Major Anwuna – who would later play the role of seeing off the bandy-legged officer on a journey to eventual death 48 hours later.
Meantime and as the night darkened, and as shots rang around Lagos Island, the bow-legged officer of fate must have known there were no easy options; with Major Ifeajuna having taken control of the 2nd Brigade headquarters in Lagos from where he issued ammunitions to his foot soldiers, and his having also secured the Federal Guards Mess - where he was to rendezvous with other military officers after completing targeted killings of Nigeria’s topmost military officers, as well as Nigeria’s Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
So, the bandy-legged officer of fate firstly sought out and linked up with the Supreme Commander of the Army - Major-General Ironsi - who by then was patrolling Lagos in the night and securing all army units and the Police Headquarters.
Under Major General Ironsi’s command and control, some order was finely established on Lagos military barracks, backed by Lt. Colonel Jack Gowon, who resumed duty two days earlier as Lagos garrison Commander, on 14th January, 1966.
That done, and still in the confusion of that night, the bow-legged officer of fate contacted the Commanding Officer in Kaduna - Major Hassan Katsina – but he got no assurance of a planned counter there, perhaps because Major Nzeogwu was in control and reportedly set to dispatch military units to secure or blow up both Jebba and Makurdi bridges.
But back in Lagos, with the Lagos garrison Commander, Lt. Colonel Jack Gowon on side, and with the Army’s Supreme Commander Major-General Ironsi in control of Lagos army barracks and the Police Headquarters, the revolutionary soldiers in Lagos knew the game was up.
Major Ademoyega and Major Ifeajuna – the two leading lights of the Lagos revolution - did a quick military appreciation and sped out of Lagos, leaving behind several dead bodies of Nigeria’s topmost politicians and military officers.
With the Lagos mutiny later suppressed at dawn, but with the revolution almost wholly successful in the Northern region under Major Nzeogwu, Nigeria virtually split into two countries under different army command.
Over against that spectre of a divided country, Major-General Ironsi rushed to summon all army officers in Lagos for an emergency meeting next day, Sunday, January 16th, 1966.
“I was the first to speak,” said Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo, the bandy-legged officer whom fate teased unto death. “I rose and urged Major-General Ironsi to take over control of Nigeria and set up a National Military Government,” he further said, but did not say if his suggestion was countered by any military officer present at the Sunday emergency meeting or by Major General Ironsi himself.
At the time Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo was exhorting General Ironsi to launch a formal coup d’état, the Cabinet Ministers in Nigeria’s ruling coalition of Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and the eastern-based National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons / National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) were holding meetings to preserve civil rule.
The crux was to appoint an interim Prime Minister, since Prime Minister’s Tafawa Balewa’s whereabouts were at the time unknown to Cabinet Ministers. But despite caucusing throughout the day, a certain dishonesty crept in.
NCNC Ministers meeting secretly at Dr. Nwafor Orizu’s residence, penciled Mr. K.O Mbadiwe (NCNC member) as the interim Prime Minister, despite that NCNC was the coalition’s junior partner with far fewer seats in the federal Parliament.
They coaxed Nigeria’s Acting President, Nwafor Orizu, also a member of NCNC – who had the constitutional right to accept or refuse a nominee as Prime Minister - to finesse the interim appointment for K.O Mbadiwe. The NPC Ministers, meantime, were themselves meeting separately and were agreed on a Kanuri man, Alhaji Dipcharima, as Acting Prime Minister.
But in the end, there was sheer impasse, as neither political party in the coalition agreed a common choice.
And so, no acting Prime Minister was ever sworn in - thus making it possible for the U.K government in London to reject Nigeria’s rump Cabinet’s oral invitation to fly in British soldiers and smother Major Nzeogwu’s revolution still flaming by then in both the northern and western regions of Nigeria.
That Ministerial impasse eased the way for General Ironsi, who had apparently taken Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo’s advice, but without saying so, when he summoned all Ministers in the NPC and NCNC coalition to the Cabinet Office for an evening meeting on even date; Sunday, January, 16th, 1966.
At that evening meeting, Nigeria’s Cabinet Ministers were sitting ducks. Without having agreed an acting Prime Minister beforehand they had no constitutional aces to play. They could not plausibly claim that that a constitutional order was in place.
So it was left to Alhaji Abdulrazak, the NPC Minister, reputed as the first lawyer in northern Nigeria, to oblige General Ironsi’s demand for army rule as the next best option, to take a piece of paper on which he wrote assigning the government of the federal republic of Nigeria to the Nigerian Army.
Alhaji Abdulrazak then handed over that political conveyance, as written, to Major General Ironsi. There wasn’t much else to discuss after that. The meeting ended on that note as the federal Cabinet self-dissolved.
Previous Acting President Nwafor Orizu left the meeting and headed for the radio station to broadcast the federal cabinet’s deed to all Nigerians. His task was finished.
But up until that Sunday evening when Major General Ironsi received governmental power as Nigeria’s new head of state, simply for the asking, Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo was en route to becoming a military hero for having stood behind the army’s chain of command.
Helas, he wasn’t to be garlanded for it, rather, by the next day, Monday, 17th January, 1966, Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo was on the way to prison, never to return to Lagos alive.
In a passionate letter he wrote to Major General Ironsi six months afterwards, as a detainee in the Federal Prisons at Ikot Ekpene, Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo recounted the Monday, January 17th incident as follows: “On the morning of Monday 17th January 1966 I was arrested by Lt. Colonel G. T. Kurubo and Major P. A. Anwuna in the anteroom of the Inspector General of Police’ Office for no ostensible reason while I was waiting to see you.”
The irony self-revealed at that point, for it was the same Major Anwuna - an Igbo army Officer, whom Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo had summoned in the night to assist him work at military communications to suppress Major Nzeogwu’s coup two days earlier.
But the richer irony of being handcuffed 48 hours later by a presumed ally aside, Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo’s letter casts doubt on the apocryphal story the stalwarts of General Ironsi spun, by saying Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo had a service pistol on him at the time he was arrested.
But if having a service pistol was Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo’s offence, he could have been charged under service regulations for any offence forbidding bearing a service pistol by a senior officer at all places. But he wasn’t. He was just bundled, beaten up by junior officers and other rank soldiers, before being dumped - first in a ward at the Federal Guards Mess and later on, at a detention cell on a ship at a naval base, with no questions asked, no investigation done and no offence charged.
The apocryphal story had said that both Lt. Colonel Kurubo and Major Anwuna who arrested Lt. Colonel Victor Banjo, saw Lt.

An Outbreak of Political Worshippers By Sonala Olumhense
Posted: September 30, 2013 - 11:26
Columnist: Sonala Olumhense
Last Sunday, I was one of the Nigerian “professionals” in the United States who answered an invitation to lunch with President Goodluck Jonathan in New York.
I wondered if we would be treated to cassava bread, or Umuoffia-style high elevations of pounded yam. Would there be peppersoupogbono,bushmeat,isiewu,afangorohaorsuya?
It turned out there was no such subtlety, no attempt either at symbolism or suggestion. No Nigerian restaurant in the United States got a phone call asking if it could feed a few hundred Nigerians.
Lunch, it turned out, was processed Omaha steak: what do you mean you do not eat beef?
The other part of the event, talk, was far more Nigerian, and that was why it became the day I learned President Jonathan suffers from a crippling disease: adulation.
It is an open secret Mr. Jonathan is a weak President, but to listen to the song and dance of the people around him, the man is Hercules, a hero, a savior. What this means is that even with the best of intentions, the Nigerian leader can barely hear, see or smell the agony of the real Nigeria.
Professor Ade Adefuye, Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States who welcomed the President, spoke about his heart and his wonderful decision-making, including his insistence that qualified Nigerians abroad be brought home to head some of the new universities. He spoke about Nigeria’s rapid production-line of high-level achievers in the country; 10 of them were presented to Mr. Jonathan.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Coordinating and Finance Minister, described how well the Nigerian economy is doing, while Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga put in a pulpit-shaking Pentecostal-Minister style shift as he praised Jonathan’s wisdom, leadership and achievements. So successful was his earthquake-in-the-backyard that Mr. Jonathan, when he spoke, repeatedly quoted him.
One of the MCs bragged about Nigeria’s “achievement” as Mr. Jonathan would speak in 4th place at the United Nations General Assembly debate (“Claps your hands!”); that Mr. Jonathan would ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (“Clap…!!!”).
He also celebrated Nigeria’s taking over, “in 2014,” as Africa’s largest economy. Mr. Aganga did not appear to have been so sure it was a good idea to nail such a date to the mast, but he assured Nigeria would take over, although “perhaps not in 2014.”
Speaking of the MCs, let me dismiss the most annoying language usage in Nigerian officialdom: “Mr. President.”
Each time this form of address is used outside the introduction of the incumbent, it is an attempt at sycophancy, and Nigerians are very good at it. We say, “Mr. President said…” as though he answers President for a name. “I told Mr. President…” “And then Mr. President took a sip of his water…”
The correct usage is to say “Mr. President” only if you are introducing him—that is, calling on him—or addressing him directly.
Nobody was guiltier of this on Sunday than the two MCs who did their groveling best to make Mr. Jonathan look as if his wife obtains her medical care in Abuja.
We were permitted four questions, a number I considered to be somewhat unfair but perhaps understandable in the circumstances. I did not think anyone really wanted to fire uncomfortable questions; we were honoring a country, not an individual.
Mr. Jonathan answered the questions himself; his Ministers were scheduled to do that. To his credit, he went beyond the three questions that were raised—the fourth was a medical inventor’s comment about his product—and responded to a couple of hanging questions. In my view, he demonstrated a new level of comfort about his job.
The two extra questions he addressed were national security and corruption, but he was not challenged, and he said nothing substantial.
In the end, it was clear that the current government will remain mediocre, promising plenty, delivering little. At the event, for instance, we heard that in 2014, Nigeria will have 10,000 megawatts of electricity.
The streets of Nigeria are littered with broken political promises, and Mr. Jonathan is proof of how the country’s poor, the unwary and the uneducated can easily be seduced with them. Google my list of his 2011 electoral promises, for instance: despite completely ignoring its implementation, the President seems to believe he will run again, and win.
Promises: In a speech in Kaduna in November 2009, he promised Nigerians they will have full and unfettered electricity in 2010. In September 2010, he promised electricity in 2012, just as he promised Nigerians, in 2012, they will begin to enjoy the performance of his government in 2013.
“People (critics) will begin to change after one year,” the president said during his Media Chat. Well, 2013 is almost over, which might explain why those around him are now swearing by 2014 and 2015.
Evidently, Jonathan got Sunday wrong, premised on ancient History: that Nigerians abroad are ignorant about their country. That lured an unimaginative government into gathering a distinguished wattage of Nigerians simply to tell them much less than they already knew.
Nigerians abroad know the challenge of supporting a long list of relatives at home. But it is also true that there was none of them on Sunday who could have confidently stated that were he to travel to his home State in Nigeria today, he will return.
And think about it: no Nigerian present can name any friends or that has gone, or is preparing to go to Nigeria as a tourist. That is because the front door into Nigeria is practically locked and barred. It is not the same with Ghana, South Africa or Ethiopia.
This is not about the potential of Nigeria; it is about our debilitating kleptocracy which masquerades as a democracy: it is incapable of bold visions and novel solutions.
Nigeria has bright prospects, but how can we be taken seriously when the leader chooses one of New York’s most expensive hotels to demonstrate his power. For Mr. Jonathan to pay $10,000 per night in New York insults Nigeria’s poor and the very concept of battling poverty. How does the leader of a developing nation make such an abominable judgment when he knows that his hotel bill alone can take care of entire villages or universities or hospitals?
When a leader makes such a decision, it feeds into the stereotype of Nigeria, but it is also a covert signal for the looters that the bar is open. It fuels the corruption and impunity that has imprisoned us. It means that whatever anyone says we are achieving, we can achieve 100 times as much.
It must also be remembered that Nigeria’s impoverished exist in large numbers outside Nigeria. I know many in the Diaspora who, with a little public policy encouragement, would return home. Unfortunately, while many Nigeria thieves are walking free, building mansions and traveling the world, such returnees are unsure they can afford an apartment.
In any event, exactly how well-off is a Nigerian abroad when he is disenfranchised at home? It is a shame for someone to describe you as “successful” knowing that by definition he is against your right to vote.
And so we come back to the ugliness of two Nigerias: home and away, rich and poor, strong and rich, in power and outside of it, the clinic where patients treat the doctors.
There is a lot of talk, but there is even more hypocrisy. We conveniently forget that food poisoning does not mean someone has put poison in your eba. You can poison yourself.
*. sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

Oritsejafor Asks Jonathan, Public Office Holders To Dedicate Half Of Their Salaries For One Year To The Poor
Posted by: danielon September 30, 2013
National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has called on President Goodluck Jonathan and other elected and appointed public office holders to dedicate half of their salaries for one year to the poor.
The CAN President, who spoke during the 53rd Independence Anniversary Interdenominational Church Service on Sunday at the National Christian Centre in Abuja, said the move would build confidence in the country.
“The unemployment situation is bad. The situation is critical. People are jobless. I want to make a suggestion; and in making the suggestion, I want to look up to the heaven, that probably if all political office holders, both elected and appointed, will give half of their salaries for one year and put it in a dedicated account for the poor and let men and women of integrity run that account, it will build confidence in the society,” he said.
Oritsejafor also identified what he called terrible demonic sacrifices allegedly made by some people for wealth, political and spiritual powers as one of the nation’s problems.
“Nigeria is in the hands of God; no one has power over this nation. God is in control”, he said adding that “one of the things troubling this nation are terrible demonic sacrifices that men have made human sacrifices and life cow sacrifices for wealth an political powers.”
Oritsejafor, who announced the presence in the church of some of the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency, said about 10,000 Nigerian refugees, driven out of their country by what he described as “mad men” without dignity and respect for humanity, are currently in Cameroon.
He commended the efforts of security agencies and asked them to continue to collaborate to fight terrorism.
Oritsejafor also reserved praises for members of the Volunteer Vigilance Youth Groups (VVYG) popularly called civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, describing their efforts as a bold step even as he tasked northern leaders on the need to do more to contain insurgency in the region.
On the lingering faceoff between members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal Government, The CAN President urged both parties to make concessions to bring the strike to an end, saying the Christian community, if allowed, is ready to “midwife” a solution to the dispute.
-Daily Trust

Members of theNew Peoples Democratic Partyhave said former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not a member of the faction.
It said the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP was not directly or by proxy, linked to the faction of the ruling party.
A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the faction, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze in Abuja on Sunday, also cautioned against arresting or ridiculing the former President over his alleged closeness to the faction.
Eze said former President Obasanjo played an important role in making Dr. Goodluck Jonathan the President of Nigeria and deserved respect.
He said, “We do not know why General Olusegun Obasanjo (retd.) is being linked with theNew PDP.
“Let us state unequivocally that this foremost nationalist has not in any way – either directly or by proxy – had anything to do with our existence and operations.
“Ridiculing and plotting the arrest of such a distinguished personality that fought to keep this nation as one entity and contributed immensely in making the PDP the most vibrant, virile, versatile and biggest political party in Africa as a nobody is not the best strategy to use to fight the cause of President Jonathan, who knows what Chief Obasanjo did to make him President in the first place.”
Eze also raised the alarm over an alleged plan to begin a crackdown on members of the faction, including the seven governors.
Governors in theNew PDPare Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Murtala Nyaho (Adamawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).
He said members of the faction had received intelligence reports that the Presidency was putting finishing touches to what it called “Operation Total Crackdown on G7 and their allies in theNew PDP.”
He said when the report got to them that members of the faction were going to be arrested and jailed without charges, they discarded it, describing it as a joke.
However, he said an interview granted an online medium by Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, in which he allegedly said there were pressures on President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest both Obasanjo and a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, showed that such plan was in the offing.
Eze said, “The sin of these two distinguished Nigerian statesmen, according to those plotting their ‘demystification,’ is their alleged support for theNew PDP, including the G7 Governors.”
He said in view of the seriousness of the plot, the National Chairman of theNew PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje had summoned an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee of the faction on how best to respond to the situation.
Though he said that they concluded at the meeting not to be intimidated for any reason, even if it means death, as the members believed that they were fighting a just cause, Eze nevertheless said Baraje directed the members to prepare their Will.
In his reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh, said all the aggrieved governors would soon return.
Jalo said, “Our governors, though aggrieved, would soon return to us. No one would leave a winning team, or abandon a bright future for an uncertain one.”

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