₦airaland Forum

Below is the statement that the ACF released in June of 2009;

“No responsible government can afford to fold its hands and watch a few misguided elements of its citizens hold the nation, including their own people and communities, to ransom.

More depressing, the will of the Armed Forces is being challenged when their members are killed in the course of their national assignment. In such circumstances, government cannot reasonably be expected to shirk in its responsibility of maintaining law and order. Hence the recent campaigns by the Operation Restore Hope by the military, aimed at ridding the Niger Delta region of criminal activities of the militants.

The campaigns must necessarily come with collateral damages, the JTF must maintain at its possible minimum.

This is how the current actions of the military in the Niger Delta should be viewed by all ‘fair-minded’ individuals with ‘patriotic courage.”

Today, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, is against the State of Emergency declared by the President in some Northern State. the group considers it a declaration of war on the North. Last week the forum speaking through Anthony Sani had said “I do not believe state of emergency would be the panacea for the security challenges facing the nation.

But in 2009 the same Arewa Consultative Forum supported heavy military action against Niger Delta militants who did not kill innocent civilians like Boko
Haram is currently doing. Below is the statement that the ACF released in June of 2009;

“No responsible government can afford to fold its hands and watch a few misguided elements of its citizens hold the nation, including their own people and communities, to ransom.

More depressing, the will of the Armed Forces is being challenged when their members are killed in the course of their national assignment. In such circumstances, government cannot reasonably be expected to shirk in its responsibility of maintaining law and order. Hence the recent campaigns by the Operation Restore Hope by the military, aimed at ridding the Niger Delta region of criminal activities of the militants.

The campaigns must necessarily come with collateral damages, the JTF must maintain at its possible minimum.

This is how the current actions of the military in the Niger Delta should be viewed by all ‘fair-minded’ individuals with ‘patriotic courage.”
http://www.naijapundit.com/news/arewa-embarrassed-as-it-statement-supporting-heavy-military-operation-in-niger-delta-resurface

They should try that with prepaid meter. Am sure no one using prepaid meter does it. I believe that's a solution to power wastage by Nigerians.

Emergency Rule: It Is political victimisation , says CPC
On May 15, 2013 · In News
6:30 pm
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BY GABRIEL EWEPU

ABUJA – The National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Engr. Buba Galadima Wednesday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of politically victimising Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States by declaring state of emergency.

Galadima alleged that the affected states were opposed to the style of leadership by Jonathan, because they did not support his 2011 election ambition.

Galadima said: ”Our reaction is simply that we issued a statement yesterday, PDP and its government said that we are rumour mongers, that there was nothing in place, and now it stands out that we are right that the president was considering declaring state of emergency. In the course of the president’s broadcast, he made mention of some certain states, and most of these states are known to be politically opposed to his style of leadership.

“The states that the president imposed state of emergency are the states that did not support him in his 2011 elections. And from the broadcast the president is giving up himself order than security of lives and property for all intents and purposes that he did not secure before this state of emergency, and those soldiers do not have absolute authority in those states without interferences from the civil authority his 2010 ambition.

“It is our hope that the president is not using this state of emergencies in some of these states that are not in support of his policies to settle political scores. We are also afraid that the security agencies will not go out of their way to use this state of emergency as a licence to maim, kill and wipe out communities that the president himself feels is opposed to his political ambition. It is our hope that security agencies.

He said the action of soldiers sent by the federal government in these states led to the spate of insurgence experienced in the country, whereby they decided to pick up arms against the government.

“The insecurity was not caused by the so-called Boko Haram, but by the government who were killing people to make them to pick arms against government. This is my standard as somebody from Borno and Yobe. My people has been short-changed and killed arbitrarily.

“If the government continue to do what they have been doing they will make more enemies for themselves. No soldier has the right to shoot above the hips according the rules of engagement. We asked government to dialogue with them and they refused.

“I advised government on June 9, 2009, that they have no option than to dialogue with this people, but they refused until when it was too late, then they over stepped their bounds by killing innocent people,” Galadima stated.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/emergency-rule-it-is-political-victimisation-says-cpc/

Five Days Below the Poverty Line
ReutersBy Dan Wilchins | Reuters – Tue, May 7, 2013 3:20 PM EDT

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Loaves of bread sit ready for sale on the shelves of a Wal-Mart store in Santa Clarita, California April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Reuters - Loaves of bread sit ready for sale on the shelves of a Wal-Mart store in Santa Clarita, California April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

(Reuters) - My wife Becky and I experimented with radically cutting our food costs last week as part of a fundraising campaign created by a hunger charity.

Under the "Live Below The Line" campaign sponsored by the Global Poverty Project, an Australian charity, for five days we spent $1.50 per person per day on food, which is the extreme poverty line globally, according to the World Bank.

Living in New York, we typically spend about $140 a week on groceries for our family of four. What drew me to the campaign was seeing if we could shrink that amount drastically. It was like trying to solve a puzzle, and if we got it right, we could make a charitable donation.

My wife agreed to do it, with a few stipulations. Neither of us wanted to include our children, who at ages 1 and 4 would gain nothing from losing all those calories. We agreed to "cheat" by not charging pantry staples - like cooking oil, seasoning, or even breakfast cereal - against our weekly allowance of $15.00, or $1.50 per person times five days.

And when co-workers offered us cookies, we gladly ate them.

But even with changes to the rules, the exercise still had integrity. Living in a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York, we have a small larder, so whatever we buy, we soon eat.

I do the food shopping and the cooking and have learned to economize over the years. I came to the exercise ready with these principles:

- Never let your produce die of old age. I would forget about errant broccoli stalks or bunches of carrots, only to find them weeks later, shriveled in the produce drawer of our fridge. I know I'm not alone; as much as 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted, according to United Nations data, and at least some of that happens on the household level. Generally, I build the week's menu based on what we already have in the fridge and the pantry.

- Substitute relentlessly. Yellow onions taste the same as white onions when cooked, but are often cheaper. In many recipes, cream cheese can work in place of goat cheese.

- Look for cheaper places to buy weekly staples. At another apartment we lived in, I saved $7 a week by buying milk and eggs at an organic market a little further away than the neighborhood store. Think that's not worth it? That's as much income as you might earn from a roughly $182,000 fixed-rate savings bond at today's 0.2 percent interest rate. And of course, shop the sales.

A HILL OF BEANS

Some of these lessons came in handy as I tried to whittle down our food bill to sub-poverty levels. The flour tortillas we usually buy are $2.99, so we got corn tortillas instead, buying 30 of them for just $1.25. And the corn tortillas made our Mexican food more authentic.

Green beans were $3 a pound fresh, 80 cents a pound frozen, and 67 cents a pound canned, so we held our noses and went for the canned.

With fresh zucchini was on sale for just 50 cents, we bought one.

Our plan was to make big dinners, and use the leftovers for lunch the next day. Our meal plan always includes at least one beans-and-rice dish a week, but last week beans had to go a lot farther for us.

Monday night we had plain beans and rice, and the next night we put the beans and rice on tortillas, added a little cheddar cheese and zucchini, and had excellent tacos.

For variety, on Wednesday and Thursday we ate fried rice with green beans, ginger, onions and eggs, and a black bean sauce.

I'm a kosher vegetarian married to a sometime vegan, so I figured that sticking to the plan would be easy. But it was harder than we had hoped.

I craved variety after just a few days of beans and rice. For much of the week, I envied my coworkers' sandwiches. By Friday, I groaned at the prospect of another meal with canned green beans, and instead ate ramen noodles with eggs for lunch.

On Sunday, when we bought our food for the week, we spent $13.88, figuring we'd leave some wiggle room for extras. We only ended up using one bag of rice, though we bought two, which gave us an extra $1.19 to play with.

And we planned to make a salsa to include with our huevos rancheros on Friday night, but decided to skip it, giving us another 30 cents to use.

Becky ended up buying a few slices of dried apples on Friday for a snack, and I bought two packages of ramen noodles for my lunch on Friday.

When the dust settled, we had spent $14.04 for the two of us, not including food for our sons, and will donate about $125 to a hunger charity. The Global Poverty Project, which runs this challenge, aims to educate people about poverty and advocates for changes to help end extreme poverty. We are still figuring out where our donation will go, but it may well go to them.

As with religious practices, it is easy to imagine ways to be more stringent. You can skip the pantry items. You can count the cost of water, which in a third-world country can be difficult to transport. You can count the cost of electricity or gas for cooking.

Becky and I are already thinking about our plan for next year.

Our initial budget:

- Two bags of rice, $1.19 each, $2.38.

- Tortilla shells, $1.25.

- 8 oz cheddar cheese, $2.19.

- Two cans of green beans, 67 cents each, $1.34.

- One dozen eggs, $2.00.

- One zucchini, 48 cents.

- One onion, 94 cents.

- Fresh ginger, 32 cents.

- Bag of dry black beans, $1.49.

- One can of tomatoes, 8 oz, 30 cents.

- One quart of milk, $1.19.

Additions and subtractions:

- two packages of ramen noodles, +67 cents.

- a can of tomatoes, -30 cents.

- a bag of rice, - $1.19.

- dried apples, + 98 cents.

Total spent at week end: $14.04.

4 Play: This is a comment by a UN official and not the outcome of an official ranking done by the UN or any credible body. He was probably playing to the gallery as a lot of people do when they visit a country.

This is a clear case of inferiority complex which many Nigerians have sold themselves to. If this report had said Nigerian press are the most gagged in the world, would you still have questioned the credibility of this U.N official? Shame on all of you that celebrate everything negative about your land. May u be delivered by whatever you believe in.

E*X*P*O*S*E*D!
Baga District Head Denies Death Figure.
Kukawa LGA Chairman Not In Town when Attack happened.

It is shocking that the two prominent figures in Baga Town and Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno state and the claimed sources of the local and International Media, Red cross and local Politician claimed that gave them the death figures (185, 187, 238) and 2,000 and 4,000 Houses being destroyed, have claimed no knowledge of these figures and said that there is no mass grave in their District.

The District Head of Baga, Alhaji Babagana Zanna, denied knowledge of giving any death figure to any person or group on the day of the JTF counter attack on Boko haram.
Alhaji Babagana Zanna maintained that "I had not received any report of the said mass burial in my domain".

The Chairman, Kukawa Local Government Area, Alhaji Kone who was earlier quoted to have given some figures (185 deaths and mass grave), said he was not in the town during the incidence and as such does not know the number of civilians who died in the incident”.

NB: The Wind has blown and the Ass of the Cock is Exposed.

aga clashes: Nigeria army seizes heavy weapons

Civilians were the main casualties in the fighting in Baga
Continue reading the main story
Nigeria under attack

Going global?
Fear in Maiduguri
Who are Boko Haram?
Who are Ansaru?

Nigeria's army has said it seized rocket-propelled grenades during last week's fighting in Baga - believed to have been one of the first times Boko Haram has used heavy weapons.

It says 37 people were killed, while others maintain at least 185 died.

The army says 30 members of the Boko Haram Islamist group, one soldier and six civilians died.

The Red Cross has backed local officials who say the figure is higher but they have not been into the town.

An army statement said three rocket-propelled grenade launchers had been recovered, along with bomb-making material.

The previous most deadly incident of the three-year Boko Haram uprising came last year when at least 160 people were killed in co-ordinated bomb attacks in the northern city of Kano.

The group is fighting to install Islamic law in the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

There are so many versions of what happened. Everyone tells his own version. So, no-one is sure which version to believe”

Isa Lawan Baga MP
'Military siege'

Baga is close to the border with both Chad and Niger and a multinational force from the three countries was attacked, its commander Brig Gen Austin Edokpaye said.

The Red Cross is still trying to gain access to the town to help those affected by the violence, national co-ordinator Umar Mariaga told the AFP news agency.

Local MP Isa Lawan told the BBC Hausa service that "what happened is Baga is sad and beyond description".

"We have already started despatching relief materials, including building materials and food stuff. We want to make sure that people get the necessary assistance to start rebuilding their homes."

He said there were "many versions of what happened. Everyone tells his own version. So no-one is sure which version to believe.

"Many people died. But the figure of casualties given by the people of Baga is 185."

A resident who did not want to be named told AFP:

"Baga is still under military siege... The town is at a standstill, with little food and water, which has forced even those of us that stayed behind to start leaving."

One unnamed rescue official said that 40% of the town had been destroyed by fire following the clashes.

But Brig Gen Edokpaye disputed this, saying Boko Haram's weapons had exploded, causing "fire to about 30 thatched houses in the predominantly fishing community".
Map

He said that five militants had been arrested.

Many of the town's residents fled during the clashes and say they returned to find their homes burnt to the ground.

Bodies were still being found and buried on Monday, two of the town's inhabitants told BBC Hausa.

One eyewitness told the BBC that the fighting started when gunmen entered a video-viewing centre, looking for a man, who then fled.

The militants opened fire, attracting the attention of nearby soldiers, who were initially overpowered, before returning with reinforcements, leading to a fierce gunbattle, he said.

Correspondents note that the Nigerian military often plays down the number of people killed in clashes with militants.

Communications with parts of northern Nigeria are difficult since mobile phone masts were destroyed by militants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22270648

Does Death Exist? New Theory Says ‘No’

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Many of us fear death. We believe in death because we have been told we will die. We associate ourselves with the body, and we know that bodies die. But a new scientific theory suggests that death is not the terminal event we think.

One well-known aspect of quantum physics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations each with a different probability. One mainstream explanation, the “many-worlds” interpretation, states that each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe (the ‘multiverse’). A new scientific theory – called biocentrism – refines these ideas. There are an infinite number of universes, and everything that could possibly happen occurs in some universe. Death does not exist in any real sense in these scenarios. All possible universes exist simultaneously, regardless of what happens in any of them. Although individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the alive feeling – the ‘Who am I?’- is just a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain. But this energy doesn’t go away at death. One of the surest axioms of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created nor destroyed. But does this energy transcend from one world to the other?

Consider an experiment that was recently published in the journal Science showing that scientists could retroactively change something that had happened in the past. Particles had to decide how to behave when they hit a beam splitter. Later on, the experimenter could turn a second switch on or off. It turns out that what the observer decided at that point, determined what the particle did in the past. Regardless of the choice you, the observer, make, it is you who will experience the outcomes that will result. The linkages between these various histories and universes transcend our ordinary classical ideas of space and time. Think of the 20-watts of energy as simply holo-projecting either this or that result onto a screen. Whether you turn the second beam splitter on or off, it’s still the same battery or agent responsible for the projection.

According to Biocentrism, space and time are not the hard objects we think. Wave your hand through the air – if you take everything away, what’s left? Nothing. The same thing applies for time. You can’t see anything through the bone that surrounds your brain. Everything you see and experience right now is a whirl of information occurring in your mind. Space and time are simply the tools for putting everything together.

Death does not exist in a timeless, spaceless world. In the end, even Einstein admitted, “Now Besso” (an old friend) “has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us…know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Immortality doesn’t mean a perpetual existence in time without end, but rather resides outside of time altogether.

This was clear with the death of my sister Christine. After viewing her body at the hospital, I went out to speak with family members. Christine’s husband – Ed – started to sob uncontrollably. For a few moments I felt like I was transcending the provincialism of time. I thought about the 20-watts of energy, and about experiments that show a single particle can pass through two holes at the same time. I could not dismiss the conclusion: Christine was both alive and dead, outside of time.

Christine had had a hard life. She had finally found a man that she loved very much. My younger sister couldn’t make it to her wedding because she had a card game that had been scheduled for several weeks. My mother also couldn’t make the wedding due to an important engagement she had at the Elks Club. The wedding was one of the most important days in Christine’s life. Since no one else from our side of the family showed, Christine asked me to walk her down the aisle to give her away.

Soon after the wedding, Christine and Ed were driving to the dream house they had just bought when their car hit a patch of black ice. She was thrown from the car and landed in a banking of snow.

“Ed,” she said “I can’t feel my leg.”

She never knew that her liver had been ripped in half and blood was rushing into her peritoneum.

After the death of his son, Emerson wrote “Our life is not so much threatened as our perception. I grieve that grief can teach me nothing, nor carry me one step into real nature.”

Whether it’s flipping the switch for the Science experiment, or turning the driving wheel ever so slightly this way or that way on black-ice, it’s the 20-watts of energy that will experience the result. In some cases the car will swerve off the road, but in other cases the car will continue on its way to my sister’s dream house.

Christine had recently lost 100 pounds, and Ed had bought her a surprise pair of diamond earrings. It’s going to be hard to wait, but I know Christine is going to look fabulous in them the next time I see her.

WhatsApp grows bigger than Twitter
April 18, 2013 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment



WhatsApp, the almost free messaging app, now has more users than Twitter and carries more messages than Facebook, according to its chief executive.

The service has attracted more monthly users than the 200 million claimed by Twitter, Jan Koum told a technology conference on Tuesday. He did not release an exact figure, however.

He also said WhatsApp carries as many as 20 billion messages per day, double Facebook’s daily message traffic.

Although WhatsApp is seen as more of an internet-based threat to text messaging than as a competitior to social networks, the figures represent major milestones for a service that was only introduced in 2009.

Koum said WhatsApp, based in Silicon Valley, will not follow Facebook and Twitter in carrying advertising, however. The app charges a 99-cent annual subscription on Android and other smartphone operating systems.

“We do have a manifesto opposing advertising,” said Koum.

“We’re so bombarded with ads so much in our daily lives and we felt that smartphones aren’t the place for that. Our phones are so intimately connected to us, to our lives.

“Putting advertising on a device like that is a bad idea. You don’t want to be interrupted by ads when you’re chatting with your loved ones.

“Our monetisation strategy is simple. One dollar a year. If we did something besides that, it would just get in the way.”

WhatsApp currently charges only a one-off download fee of 69 pence for its iOS app. In previous interviews Koum has indicated iPhone users will be migrated this year to the same annual subscription scheme as Android users, however. He said the subscription charges had not affected the popularity of WhatsApp.

The firm recently denied it was in active discussions to sell up to Google, although did not deny talks had taken place.

WE LACK AN EDUCATED MEDIA IN NIGERIA. WHAT WE HAVE ARE HUNGRY JOBLESS GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EMPLOYED WITHOUT SALARY AND ASKED TO USE THEIR ID CARDS TO LOOK FOR MONEY. SO THEY DANCE TO ANY TUNE PLAYED BY ANY NAIRA WIELDING PERSON. WHERE IS OUR PATRIOTISM IN THIS COUNTRY?

President Jonathan Sets Up Committees On Boko Haram And Other Security Challenges
Posted: April 17, 2013 - 12:37
President Goodluck Jonathan
By Reuben Abati

Following the consideration yesterday by the National Security Council of the report of the technical committee it set up to review fresh modalities for addressing security challenges in the North, President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee to constructively engage key members of Boko Haram and define a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the crisis of insecurity in the country.

The Committee’s terms of reference will include developing a framework for the granting of amnesty; setting up of a framework through which disarmament could take place within a 60-day time frame; the development of a comprehensive victims’ support programme, and the development of mechanisms to address the underlying causes of insurgencies that will help to prevent future occurrences.

President Jonathan has also approved the constitution of a Federal Government committee on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in keeping with his pledge that Nigeria will work with the United Nations and other countries to stem the worrisome proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and their use in creating insecurity and instability in Nigeria and other developing nations.

The composition of the two committees is as follows:

COMMITTEE ON DIALOGUE AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF SECURITY CHALLENGES IN THE NORTH

1. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties -Chairman
2. Sheik Ahmed Lemu - Member
3. Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed - Member
4. Col. Musa Shehu, (rtd.) - Member
5. Sheik Abubakar Tureta - Member
6. Dr.Datti Ahmed - Member
7. Senator Sodangi Abubakar - Member
8. Senator Ahmed Makarfi - Member
9. Hon. Mohammed Bello Matawalle - Member
10. Amb. Zakari Ibrahim - Member
11. Comrade Shehu Sani - Member
12. Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed - Member
13. Malam Adamu S. Ladan - Member
14. Dr. Joseph Golwa - Member
15. AVM A. I. Shehu - Member
16. Mr. R. I. Nkemdirim - Member
17. DIG P. I. Leha - Member
18. Prof. Nur Alkali - Member
19. Malam Salihu Abubakar - Member
20. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Lugga - Member
21. Barrister Ibrahim Tahir - Member
22. Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo - Member
23. Amb. Baba Ahmed Jidda - Member
24. Group Capt. Bilal Bulama, rtd. - Member
25. Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi - Member
26. Representative of OSGF - Secretary

COMMITTEE ON SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS

1. Amb. Emmanuel Imohe - (Chairman)
2. Amb. Martin I. Uhomoibhi - Member
3. Amb. T. Dan Hart - Member
4. Amb. Ghali Umar - Member
5. Amb. B. G. Wakil - Member
6. Mr. Opelusi Olureti - Member
7. Representative of Ministry of Interior - Member
8. Representative of NSA - Member
9. Representative of DG (SSS) - Member
10. Representative of NIA - Member
11. Representative of Federal Ministry of Justice - Member
12. Representative of Ministry of Defence - Member
13. Representative of DIA - Member
14. Representative of the Nigeria Police Force - Member
15. Representative of the Nigerian Customs Service - Member
16. Representative of OSGF - Member
17. Director, International Organisations Dept (MFA) - Secretary

Both committees will be formally inaugurated by President Jonathan at 10 am on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 17, 2013

U.S. Agency Blasts Jonathan

17 April, 2013

Local

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has reinstated its recommendation that Nigeria be labelled “a country of particular concern”, a designation by the United States Secretary of State (under authority delegated by the President) of a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 (H.R. 2431) and its amendment of 1999 (Public Law 106-55).

In a statement in Washington D.C. Monday, USCIR said President Goodluck Jonathan-led Nigeria deserved that designation giving its failure to hold accountable perpetrators of religiously-related violence.

“The Nigerian government’s failure to prosecute perpetrators of religiously-related violence only encourages reprisals and intensifies local tensions and mistrust. Boko Haram uses this impunity as a recruitment tool and to justify its attacks on Christians,” said USCIR chair Katrina Lantos Swett.

She added, “USCIRF has recommended since 2009 that Nigeria be named a “country of particular concern” (CPC) due to the government’s failure to hold accountable perpetrators of religiously-related violence. While since 1999 more than 14,000 persons, both Muslims and Christians, have been killed, USCIRF has been able to document that only 1% of the perpetrators have been prosecuted.”

The commission said its tally showed that the ongoing attacks and retaliations by Muslims and Christians in Nigeria’s religiously and ethnically mixed Middle Belt had left more than 100 dead and dozens of properties destroyed since March of this year.

“This recent Muslim-Christian violence in Plateau State exposes the Nigerian government’s failure to effectively deal with a history of religiously-related violence that threatens the country’s stability,” Ms Lantos Swett said. “Religiously-related violence has led to more deaths in northern Nigeria than have Boko Haram attacks. The Nigerian government needs to end this entrenched violence and the culture of impunity.”

USCIRF recalled that the most recent round of fighting started on March 20-21 when armed men opened fire on Ratas village while villagers slept, killing 19.

This violence, it said, has since led to Christian and Muslim reprisal attacks throughout Plateau State and even Kaduna State, including an Easter weekend assault that left an estimated 80 dead.

In 2012, Boko Haram, an extremist and violent group, attacked churches, security installations and government buildings in cities with a history of religious-related violence, destabilizing Nigeria in the process.

The group noted that Boko Haram had killed more Muslims than Christians over the past few years in the guise of retaliating Christian attacks on Muslims.

Al-Qaeda Targets Children Through Video Games15 April 2013 , By Jemal Oumar, Source: MagharebiaNouakchott
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is changing its strategy to target children at an early age to lure them to its radical ideology.
To do this, the group is using new methods deemed to be more capable of attracting children's attention such as video games that include a clear strategy to show the group's ability to win wars against international forces.
On March 26th, telquel-online.com published a picture from a jihadist forum showing a video game designed by AQIM.
The game has a military aircraft carrying AQIM's black flag while hitting and destroying French aircraft in the Sahara where battles are raging against the terrorists in northern Mali.
The website said that the game, "Muslim Mali", displays the message "Congratulations, you have become martyrs!" in lieu of "Game Over" when a player loses all their lives.
Journalist Abi Ould Zidan visited Timbuktu while the radical groups were controlling it last year.
"Children usually represent significant numbers of recruits at training camps in Timbuktu," he told Magharebia.
Citing Ansar al-Din spokesperson Sanad Ould Bouamama, he added that the group justified the recruitment of children based on a certain religious interpretation of some hadiths.
However, the exploitation of children by jihadists did not surprise many after adolescents were recently arrested in Ifoghas Mountains.
In addition, a Mauritanian adolescent was killed in the In Amenas operation in southern Algeria. Later information about him showed that he joined al-Qaeda years before his death.
Since al-Qaeda was keen on exploiting all means of communication in order to attract the biggest possible number of sympathisers, it created an account on Twitter to post its statements and tweets.
The AQIM Twitter account on March 24th threatened to kill the French hostages it still held in order to inflame the feelings of hostages' families, AFP cited a website specialising in monitoring Islamist groups as saying.
"Although al-Qaeda usually uses the internet... to pass on its speech and express its opinions and positions, it is also certainly using social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter because it realises that children have a presence on these websites," Mauritanian researcher Bechir Ould Mohamed said.
"Families in Maghreb countries must be keen not to allow their children absolutely free access to social networking websites to prevent them from falling into the trap of the propaganda of jihadist groups," he added. "Most young members of jihadist groups joined when they were adolescents unaware of the risks."

How Gov. Amaechi Gets Away With Everything By Stanley Azuakola
Posted: April 13, 2013 - 16:51
By Stanley Azuakola
I remember when I first noticed the Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, in a TV interview. It was in 2005 or 2006, and he was speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly then. My first impression of him was: Ah, what a childish man!

He had shifty eyes and looked restless – fidgeting nonstop, flying from one point to another before the first point had been made, and at different times during the interview, I noticed how he played unconsciously with items on his desk in his office where the interview held.
“And this is the man who wants to govern Rivers state?” my brother said to me.

“We are finished,” I responded.

We were certain the PDP candidate would become governor, and at that time Amaechi was the runaway favourite, so we were resigned to fate.

Then things happened quickly. Olusegun Obasanjo, the president at the time, suddenly realised that Amaechi’s candidacy had “k-legs” and he was unfairly kicked out of the ticket. When he was disqualified, I felt no sympathy for him. By then, my mind was made up anyway - after 8 years of enduring Peter Odili’s reckless rule, I would sooner have voted for a cow than a PDP candidate. My vote in that election went for someone else, although the PDP’s Celestine Omehia – Amaechi’s cousin and usurper – was declared winner by Maurice Iwu’s INEC.

We know the story of Amaechi’s defiant fight and how he snatched an improbable judicial victory in the nation’s highest court. I was ambivalent about it all. I admired the tenacity, the discipline to go against the grain despite the entreaties to compromise. But I remembered how the Rivers assembly which he led for the 8 years of Odili’s misrule was just an appendage of the governor’s office, never going against the dictates of the Brick House (Rivers government house), and I shrugged.

But Rotimi Amaechi surprised me.

Yes, my expectations were very low, but as governor from 2007 to 2011, Amaechi led a hardworking government, recording achievements in primary education, health care, agriculture and security. Rivers people cheered his every stride; we even cheered his excesses.

Oh, there were many excesses, but who didn’t have those, we asked. He was authoritarian and could show an inhumane side like his slums demolitions project done without adequate notice or compensation, but these things needed to be done if progress is to be made; government was run as if on a whim, but that’s his unique style; he seemed to be doing everything at once, with no mind for structure or systems, hence unleashing chaos, but at least something was being done, nothing else mattered. We defended him at every turn. Our governor is a maverick, he would follow his guts and damn the cost, we loved to say.

In 2011, I was not in Rivers state during the elections. I would have voted for Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi if I were. Even though my family in Port Harcourt was divided on the choice of a presidential candidate to support, every one was with Amaechi.

Performance-wise, Amaechi has declined considerably since his re-election. His mind seems to have moved on past Rivers onto his 2015 ambitions. His every action seems to be with an eye for a bigger stage, he acts nowadays like one auditioning before a national audience.

Port Harcourt roads continue to be an eyesore, despite his repeated assurances. In fact during a guided tour of projects in the state last August together with some other youths, his information commissioner hemmed and hawed when asked about roads. We were shown those lovely accomplishments of the governor – the model primary and secondary schools (befitting), the primary health centres, the maxillofacial clinic, the Kelsey Memorial hospital (grand), the Songhai farm (ingenious), and others. The thing is that most of those were first term achievements – we continue to await the promises of the second term.

Now, concerning the strain in Gov. Amaechi’s relationship with President Jonathan, the interests of the two men just do not align presently. The president’s handling of the matter in recent times has been bizarre – instigating divisions within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum; unleashing his surrogates (like the minister of the Niger Delta and the minister of state for education) on Amaechi; and allegedly – if a report by the Leadership newspaper is to be believed – placing Amaechi under constant surveillance. Unbelievably desperate moves by Aso Rock!

However, Amaechi bears a chunk of the blame. I see the creeping rise of the governor’s churlishness, that pettiness which tarred my first impression of him eight or so years ago. But he has been fortunate. He is self serving and lacks a sense of proportion, yet we all – especially the media – continue to cut him so much slack.

Last week in Ekiti, he spoke at the Symposium for Young and Emerging Leaders, and all his excesses were on full display again. It was a painful thing to watch.

Amaechi was unprepared – he said so himself. But whereas for others, that might have served as a cautionary marker to watch what comes out of their mouth; for him it was a licence to run amok.

It is unbecoming of the governor to use every given opportunity to throw barbs at the president.

Hear him: “On fuel subsidy, what have we done? A lot. That’s why they want to remove me as chairman of the Governor’s Forum. They face a radical chairman that’s why they want me removed.”

Interestingly, in 2012, when Jonathan took the bold, mistimed, callous decision to remove subsidy on fuel and the whole nation was about to combust, all the fingers pointed to Aso Rock. Amaechi and the other governors in the NGF from all parties, the instigators, remained strategically silent, allowing the president take the hits on their behalf.

To be clear, he never said he was opposed to the removal, but no one heard him come out to speak forcefully in backing the president. When labour leaders met with him during the Occupy protest in Rivers, he said, “Please let’s bear with the president, we have only one country.” Then in the midst of it, he announced a N4 subsidy, slashing the price from N141 to N137 in Rivers, and asking that motorists cut fares which had increased following the subsidy removal.

And that’s exactly how he does it – by playing both ways. On the one hand he announced the laughable N4 subsidy and the bus fare slash, small gestures intended to show that he was making motion; securing his ‘lovability.’ Behind the scene however, he maintained pressure on the president to stay firm and not budge to the people’s demands, and he was at the forefront of the hawks who clamoured for soldiers to be deployed to Ojota (he mockingly said so himself at the symposium.)

Let’s hear more quotes from Amaechi: “Because government is the biggest enterprise in the country, that’s why when the president enters, everybody catches cold, so that’s why I keep getting advise ‘Amaechi don’t talk again oo…’” and “I went to Turkey with the president and that’s the last trip I went with him. They don’t like taking me to travel with them…” and “They’ve threatened me with the EFCC, they’ve hunted me, there’s nothing they’ve not threatened me with… If I was not a governor with immunity, they would have taken me down.”

Did I mention that people cheered him on? But of course! We love the “me” vs. “them” stories which Amaechi tells so well. His “David” vs. “Goliath” epics, in which he is always the “David” with his tongue for a sling and haughty words for stones, felling every giant in sight.

But while he ‘photoshops’ his narration of his records, he cannot photoshop our memories. And we remember that it was he who pushed for the noxious Rivers Governor and Deputy Governor Fringe Benefits Bill last year which entitles all Rivers ex-governors and their ex-deputies to two houses in Rivers and Abuja, three new vehicles to be replaced yearly, 300 per cent funding for any furniture of their choice, pension equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent governor or deputy, amongst other benefits. These bills of course would be footed by the Rivers taxpayer.

The assembly members knew better than to oppose the bill. You see, part of Amaechi’s ‘maverism’ is that he doesn’t tolerate dissent. Imagine if it was Jonathan who had proposed and signed the law – Verily, verily I say unto you, this nation would have known no peace.

When you hear Amaechi describe Jonathan as a “dictator”, you wonder if it’s not the same Amaechi who sacked 11 duly elected local government chairmen because they failed to attend a meeting at the Governors’ Office. When you hear him claim to be a Marxist and a radical socialist, you wonder if it’s not the same guy who six months ago blew $45 million to procure a new Bombardier jet. Oh, and by the way, in Ekiti, when he saw a small reference to the obscenity of his jet purchase in an Enough is Enough (EiE) flyer, he simply accused the executive director of EiE, Yemi Adamolekun, of “trying to incite people against me. Tomorrow when you come and ask me to carry you in my jet, I won’t.”

“Hahahahaha,” roared the audience. Our maverick has spoken.
So in essence, Amaechi has a blank cheque – he can say whatever he likes (“kidnapping can be seen as a form of redistribution of wealth”), change sides whenever he likes (“Orubebe is an incompetent minister”/January 2013; “Orubebe is a transformational leader”/March 2013), and still have everyone in his corner. What a charmed life!

He’s the only one who can condemn oppression and claim to be an oppressor while making the same speech, and be applauded both times because he is just being himself, he speaks his mind, and he is a maverick. No, no, no, he is a politician, people! He should be judged on a case by case basis and the press should not be too quick to make excuses for him.

The governor is not incompetent and he has not been a failure. If any comparison is made between him and the president, only the deliberately mischievous can claim that Jonathan has been a better performer.

But it’s time to tell him that he hasn’t done anything extraordinary, that he is taking his eyes off the ball, that his double speak and double mindedness would not go unchallenged henceforth and that for some time Rivers people have been reaping thorny fruits of his neglect. It’s time for someone to tell Gov. Amaechi that he talks too much, that he needs to tone down on his self-serving arrogance and that next time he feels the need to criticise President Jonathan, he should go right ahead, but only after removing the Iroko trunk in his own eyes.

Lindsee: HMmmmm..I just want to thank God for this wonderful opportunity. For his protection nd unending grace, just heard bt this ysterdae..and realised that this happened a few minutes after I had left that area as I was coming to lagos from anambra...God is just too faithful..having in mind tha all things worketh together for the good of those who believe..even as delays occured as we departed from anambra..his grace is ever increasing..Thank U JESUS

Ladies and testimonies, una no go kill person. So you are more righteous than those that died abi?
Well done sister holiness

12 inches!:
If you believe this then you can believe anything. Are you kidding me? Accidents happen more on Good roads? In short I don't think you have ever driven a vehicle before.
Causes of Accidents are as follows in no paticular order
1. Poorly designed roads
2. Overspeeding
3. Bad driving (drunk driving, dozing while driving, inexperienced drivers, impatience etc)
4. Poor inter-visibility
5. Weather conditions and road way drainage

You only ended up making my point stronger.
Where do people overspeed? ...on a good road
Where do drunk drivers express there drunken state most?....on good road
These are your two top reasons.
I rest my case

Have you noTiced that these accidents happened on road that were recently mended or constructed. It brings to mind the assertion of the FRSC that accidents happens more on good road. Maybe we should all review how we drive especially on smooth roads and clear high ways. We must begin to take responsibility for our cations and not finding ways to blame the govt. or GEJ

Still from the same man:
@elrufai: "@NigeriaNewsdesk: [DailyPost] Kano bomb blast: MASSOB threatens war http:///Z98fY3dNLS"...GEJ's exact plan?...his siblings at it again!

APC Chieftain Raises Suspicion That Kano Bomb is Distraction by GEJ

Controversial former minister of the Federal Capital Territory and now chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Malam Nasir Elrufai has raised suspicion on his facebook page that the Kano Bomb blast which killed several people yesterday in Kano was carried out by agents of the President in order to divert attention from unpopular policies.

As usual NaijaPundit brings you his post below.

This would not be the first time that Elrufai is making this allegation. He had previously alleged on his facebook page that Boko Haram was a Southern Christian agenda against the North. You may read that post by clicking here.

yesterday, the lives of over 25 innocent Nigerians from all parts of this country, were caught short by a suicide bomber in Kano. The man drove a Volks Wagon car loaded with explosive into the luxury bus park during the evening rush hour. what the barbaric killer failed to tell us is what he wants for which these innocent men, women and children must die. Interestingly, some persons are still calling for amnesty for them and the opposition is busy politicising the matter. for all we know, it could have been any of us reading this or our loved ones. Do these men deserve amnesty for their continued killing of innocent Nigerians?

By Nura Gwaram
For some days now, the media has been over flooded with the phrase: “my oga at the top”, which emanated from the live interview at channels_TV granted Mr. Sham Obafaiye, the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps. (NSCDC). Whilst so many have chosen to turn this to a joke, I think it should be

an eye opener for us.

Now, let’s glean some lessons from this;

1. Be very conversant with the happenings around you at all times. Ignorance can be deadly!

2. Regardless of your qualification, strive to possess a Sound Interpersonal Communication Skill (IPC). This will prevent you from making incoherent presentations. He was unable to answer any question appropriately!

3. Regardless of the case, be calm, remain yourself. Don’t be too “Boss Conscious”. This was a challenge the man had. He wanted to please his Boss at all cost, hence, the phrase “My Oga at the top”. Refrain from worshiping people! Respect all, fear none. Honor all, worship none!

4. When asked a question and you don’t have an answer, please just open up by saying you don’t know. Better still, say you’ll get back to the person. This led the man to giving “www. nscdc (coughs) that’s all!” as the URL for his organization. Don’t EVER misinform people!

5. In this jet age, it will be highly calamitous to get ready. Please DON’T GET READY, LIVE READY! The man obviously wasn’t expecting the questions asked.

Bear in mind, that this same interview could have boosted Mr. Sham’s image if successful.

Sometimes, the path that leads to success may also lead to failure!

This is a lesson for all

NOTE: Till date, lots of media channels who kept posting the issue as jokes and some publishers who published the story do not know the official website for NSCDC.

They’ve been claiming its “www. nscdc .com” but reverse is the case, as such domain does not exist as the official website for NSCDC.

And yet, they are making jest of Mr. Sham, I can tell that; they are still in same shoe with Mr. Sham not knowing the official website yet, and kept making jest of Mr. Sham as “Oga At The Top”

To clarify this issue, I want you all to get familiar with the website URL:

Its WWW. NSCDC .GOV .NG

That’s the official website, and not “www .nscdc. com” as lots of media channels claimed.

Logicboy03: Why not answer yes or no?

you dont speak for Seun or Bill Gate.
speak for yourself.

Logicboy03: The owner of this site doesnt believe in god and so does bill gates. Are they fools?

A phool says there is no God (Bible)

Logicboy03: I dont believe in God

the greatest phool indeed

As Northern Elite Express Fear Over Drone Base in Niger, US Ambassador Says Nigeria Not Complaining

Ambassdor to Nigeria, Terence P. McCulley has said that the Nigerian government has not said anythng about the drone base in neighbouring Niger republic. This silence is being taken by the Americans as consent and approval. However, the presence of the drone is causing massive anxiety in Northern Nigeria and may have been partly responsible for the Sultan of Sokoto's call for an amnesty for Boko Haram and other Islamic insurgents.

It would be recalled that the United States is setting up a Drone Base in Niger Republic whose responsibility will be to help in the fight against terror amongst other things. Drones are unmanned planes that are used to kill persons who are a threat to the National Security of the United States.

and what are you? am sure its your type that the only thing they know about God is what"my pastor said".

Logicboy03: Says the Nigerian worshipping a Jewish Master. A slave religion. Mtchew

whats your point?

Logicboy03: lmao.

Denial of grandeur!

Christianity is not a religion

only those truly liberated have the eyes to see. those deeply enslaved will come here and throw words they neither know the origin or their true meaning

LIFE IS FOR LIVING
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Ecclesiastes 8.15
Religion holds people in bondage, but faith sets people free.
Religion promotes suffering, faith promotes enjoyment.
Religion promotes piety and self exultation. Faith promotes God.
Religion tells you what to do to get to heaven, faith brings heaven to you.
Religion separates, faith unites. Religion kills, faith gives life.
Religion ostracises, faith brings back home. Religion brings fear, doubt, anxiety and condemnation, but faith brings freedom, boldness, courage, and justification.
Religion pleases man, faith pleases God.
When Jesus came on earth, he was too different for religious people. He was eating and drinking, and healing people. He was restoring hope and bringing joy to everyone that he met. So religious people conspired and killed him and started a religion upon his death. Jesus did not come with a religion, he came with life from heaven. He came with faith from God. He came with a relationship. He said in Mark 9:23, that “to him that believes all things are possible”. He said believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1. Jesus brought life, healing, deliverance, joy peace, favour, blessing, laughter, goodness and health. But religion tries to postpone all these in the guise that you will have them when you get to heaven. What do you want child of God? Religion or Faith. Life or death. Suffering or enjoyment. Sin or righteousness. The bible says in 1 Timothy 6:17 that God gives us all things richly to enjoy. 3 John 2 says I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health. If you suffer one more day, it’s your fault. God has given you life. Choose life and live. The bible says in Deuteronomy 30:19, behold I set before you life and death. Choose life and live. Life is for living and not for enduring.

A new Pope has just been elected on the second day of the conclave meeting as white smoke is seen coming from the sistine chapel
. details coming