₦airaland Forum

ajiri avae:
sky blue, i guess we are both approaching this issue from two very different points of observation. while you are looking at the allegations in isolation, i am relating it to a much larger political picture. as for your need for a press conference held by bankole to tell us if keyamo is correct in his accusations, maybe the reason why i don't seem to share your enthusiasm is that the house committee on media and public affairs has given us the side of the house leadership, pan has given us their side and the matter was under investigation by the ethics and privileges committee even before keyamo became aware of it. before you say that it is bankole who needs to address us and not the committee, let me remind you that as much as the whole thing has been sensationalised by personalising the matter, it is actually an allegation against the house leadership and its following due process. if the house was already investigating the matter, why then did keyamo sensationalise things if his intentions were good. while you may believe that his intentions do not matter, i strongly disagree. it makes all the difference.
you say you don't understand how this issue is connected to the report on the probe. let me explain it this way. when the house leadership decided that it was going to start to take its oversight functions seriously, and look into how money allocated to the differrent organisations that make up "government" was spent, let me assure you that, hardly anybody in that system was happy about it. there was a time in my life, between 1999- 2004 when i frequented abuja and hung out with civil servants. if you don't have direct contact with them in their official capacity, then you have no idea the corruption that goes on in our civil service. forget what you hear, i got to see it. so let me assure you that by questioning how moneys were spent, many toes (interests) were stepped on.
to add salt to injury, these small boys (the house) went so far as to insist on finding out where all the money spent on the power sector went. can you imagine all the people that will be fingered in the report. i don't want to believe you are naive enough to think that the interests involve will stand back and watch while they are publicly shamed. even if nobody gets arrested and no money is returned, the fact that the report is allowed to come out will forever change the way government contracts are handled. how many of these interests do you think can afford to let that happen.
the house has been under pressure not to come out with its report. the first casualty was elumelu who was accused of being bribed. that was done with the intent of discrediting him, the committee and therefore the report. when he was cleared of the charges, there were threats of law suits. obviously that did not work so now they are going after the main guy, bankole. with him out of the way and their man in, end of discussion.
before you dismiss this as being irrelevant to whether the report comes out or not, remember certain key factors. this is politics. most (if not all) of the people involved, both for and against, are members of the same political party. at times like this there will be a lot of lobbying by the different interests to infleunce which way the matter goes. every member of both the committee and the house has a political carear to protect. so my dear, its not an open and shut matter. this is a monumental matter and a controversy like this is designed to check mate the house.

ajiri avae:
my brother, may you live long. may your name remain on this earth long after you are gone. like i said in my second post on this topic, when a man with a reputation as a thief runs into the market shouting "the palace is on fire", wise men will first ask, "what can this man's intentions be". the answer most probably is that he is just trying to attract attention away, so that he can carry out his evil acts. unfortunately, most of the villagers will suffer the loss of stolen goods.
like i said, i will not be decieved. they should bring out the report of the committee. enough of this drama. let us know who the thieves are. even if you don't arrest them, give us their names. if our representatives have gone as far as to investgate, then the least we deserve is to know the result. power is too key a sector in our economy for us to allow this madness.
the integrity group has supporters out here. there are those of us that stand with them. elumelu, we are praying for you. bankole, the son of alani, make us proud. bring out their names.
do not forget us in the niger delta. explain to us how this was allowed to happen. so many trillions. how many zeros? where are all the men who have always told us that they are on the side of the common man. insist on our behalf that the report comes out. abi, were all your sweet sounding words just rhetorics? all you our freedom fighters. isn't it hypocritical that none of our elders in the niger delta is insisting on the probe.
those of you that set out to manipulate us for your personal agenda, and in so doing, sell our birthright by covering up for people who have run down our economy, putting us in pepetual darkness, repent. repent. repent.

ajiri avae:
let me start by appealing to everyone to please refrain from bickering and insulting one another. we are not enemies here. we are here to learn from one another. i don't want to mention names but,please people, lets be nice.
deepzone, you seem to have misinterpreted the gist of it. keyamo is not fighting for the niger delta. like i said before, the house was scheduled to begin a public hearing on how moneys allocated to the governments of the different states in the niger delta was spent. this is to help it understand why with all the money going into the region, there is still no progress there. the proceedings that we all watched on television was not the proposed probe. it was a fact finding mission, set up by yar'adua, to determine why there are  so many community clashes in the niger delta with the purpose of resolving conflict. the house of reps probe was just supposed to start.
sky blue, i was not refering to anything you said when i mentioned the double taxation. i was addressing what someone esle had said, either on page 3 or 4, infering that bankole was corrupt because of a double taxation. i'm sorry if it seemed that i was addressing you there. concerning the constitutional review, let me remind you that when bankole first recommended it to the house, he meant it as a conference where different regions and interest groups in nigeria would be represented to agree on the way foward, which is what notable nigerians have been asking for, for years. it wasn't meant to be this drawn out, uninspireing review that it has become.
you also talked about fiscal responsibility. if after recieving tenders of between 82-105 million for bullet proof cars, the house chose to buy at 58.2 million straight from the manufactorer, has the house not practiced fiscal responsibility. or are you really asking why a bullet proof car should cost so much. if that is the case then that question should be addressed to car manufactorers and not blamed on the house or bankole. about the inferior cars being supplied, the house also addressed it. it was because the price of the cars went up and the house was not willing to pay the difference. i'm sure you don't expect pan to make a loss on sales simply because the national assembly is involved. that would be fiscal irresponsibility on pan's part.
you talked about bankole giving a consice answer. well, it could be that he felt that, no matter what he said people would still judge him? have you not had times in your life when you felt it was better to not to respond but instead allow the evidence eventually speak for itself. i know i have so i can't fault him for that. besides did he not very simply invite the efcc and icpc to investigate the matter. has he not left the matter in the hands of the appropriate authority.
you accuse me of being ready to accept excuses. i, on the other hand, think you are being too judgemental. this is evidenced by the fact that you don't want to be bothered by the fact that there are explanations for the issues keyamo raised. you are more concerned about the fact that the young man has not addressed the nation on the issue. what is he supposed to say that an efcc,icpc investigation will not clearify. if he comes out to deny it, will that satisfy most people? seriously.

Jakumo:
Don't delete this post Sky Blue. American musicians have made their own contributions to highlighting the plight of Black America, so an honorable mention is definitely in order now that the tide is turning.

Blues singer Billie Halliday comes to mind right now - " Strange Fruit "

Jakumo:
I stand corrected, SkyBlue.   Try as I could, the name of the first singer of those words escaped me.

Going slightly off topic, George Benson's jazz roots run deep, with his early influences traceable to Wes Montgomery's octave-emphatic flow, but you will have to look deep into his musical archive to stumble across those solidly traditional old-school jazz offerings.

Jakumo:
Ndipe regardless of how long you have resided in America as a free-born immigrant, you can never BEGIN to fully grasp the true and full story of Black America, and how that legacy of slavery CONTINUES to affect American-born blacks from their earliest years in grade school, until the time their hair turns grey .   The American civil rights struggle has been a long and bloody one that claimed the lives of many of the brightest and best black Americans to ever walk that land, and so is NOT a chapter of American history that can so easily be closed and forgotten like the Boston Tea Party.

So many of those who actively engaged in that civil rights struggle are still alive today, thus it is natural and fitting that they would recall, on the day a black man FINALLY rose above it all to become president of the United States of America, the tortuous struggle that culminated in this epic victory for the downtrodden and forgotten race that first arrived on America's shores in shackles.  Yes sir, Rev Jesse Jackson's tears were as heartfelt as those streaming down the faces of so many who stood around him on that chilly Chicago night as President Obama addressed America.

Now a few words from jazz guitarist George Benson

There were times when I thought
That I couldn't last for long
Ah, but now I'm able
To carry on
Its been a long, long time coming
But I know
A change is going to come
Oh yeah, a change is going to come

ajiri avae:
sky blue, your comments seem biased. you made an earlier comment about fiscal responsibility. you said that cars were paid for but inferior models were supplied. i quoted from punch the explanation for that. why didn't you address the issues. the truth is that most people already have preconcieved ideas about him based on the premise that "he is a politician, therefore he is corrupt". you mentioned the power probe. did you not read my comment before the one you quoted very well. have you forgotten that the papers were talking about the fact that the report was being brought before the house just before this diversion came about. was elumelu not accused of bribery in order quench the matter. after being cleared of the allegations, did agagu not threaten to sue him if the report came out( punch of a couple weeks ago). why is nobody else connecting the dots. has the house not been under pressure because of the release of this report.
as per the niger delta probe, who has mentioned it since this keyamo matter started? it might not be a concern to you but i'm from the niger delta so i want the probe to start. the child is crawling towards the fire but the adults are focusing on the fact that the room is untidy. the bullet proof car for bankole cost 52.8 million even though the tenders were for between 82 - 105 million. bullet proof cars don't come cheap. they supplied inferior models because prices for the cars went up and the house was unwilling to pay the difference. due process was followed. i can assure you that the money from the double taxation did not enter bankole's pocket. he is not part of the firs.
as for his having access to official cars in lagos and ogun states, are we saying that he seizes to be speaker when he is in lagos or ogun. or that his security should be reduced. the cars were not bought for dimeji bankole, they were bought for the speaker of the house of representatives. by virtue of his position, he needs a certain level of security anywhere he is. even when he is outside the country. he has a stipulated amount of security he can have and he has not overstepped that boundary.
he has not done anything in that regard that is beyond what he is allowed to do legally. lets not be emotional
as much as this is a digression, you talked about fraudulent elections. i know i have watched and read several interviews where bankole admitted that he came in as part of a fraudulent system but that he needed to do what he could to correct it. which member of the integrity group did not come through that same system. do you think the majority of the politicians want bankole and the integrity group to actually succeed. granted, the majority of the politicians are unsuitable. do you think they want the changed that bankole stands for. most of us here at one time or the other  have worked within organisations. we know from experience that it is human nature to resist change, especially that which will cost us immediate gratification. did he not push for a constitutional review in which different sides would contribute. was the matter not frustrated. what do we want from him. haba. lets be reasonable. it is very easy to throw stones. but like i said before, this is a digression.
let me appeal to focused people to insist on the report coming out since our attention is being diverted from it. also, this niger delta probe must happen. we must not allow the few serious minded reps be bullied into brushing issues under the carpet. as long as we are singing keyamo's praise, then tell me how will the few serious ones among them be encouraged to continue to push for change. if it were you, and the old guard is frustrating your efforts and now your integrity is being questioned, would you be encouraged to continue. nobody here can deny the fact that there has been improvement in the way the house is being run since this young man got there. if nothing else the national assembly is now independent of the executive and they take their oversight functions more seriously. i can assure you that david mark had nothing to do with it. the senate took its cue from the reps. it started with bankole and the integrity group. and as long as he is speaker for a few more years, the executive will permanently loose its hold over the legislature. amen.

ajiri avae:
good people of nairaland, please indulge me. i would as respectfully as possible like to comment on the commenteries. i think it cheapens the seriousness of the issue when people just make emotional statements. we are talking here about issues. statements that bankole is guilty simply based on the fact that he is a politician, in my very humble opinion, give the impression that the writer is just being emotional. please let us, as intelligent men and women give well thought through responses. it is this penchant for making such biased statements that makes me avoid political discuss. 
nozu said "this is what one gets in the remaining nigeria;lost souls, very confused set of people" in response to a previous comment i left. i'm assuming that he meant that as a diss. now young man, what are you basing that comment on. are you saying that my arguement was unintelligent or are you just dismissing it because it wasn't what you want to hear.
a lot of people have commented that keyamo's motives are not important. that is very naive. the man is making claims that are very serious. his claims will affect the direction nigeria will go and you think his intentions are not important, haba. saying that they bought televisions for 500k is not much information to go by if you do not tell me the brand and size of the t.v. i'm going to assume that there are people here who are aware that there are t.vs in shops in this country that go for even more. let's try not to let our emotions cloud our senses please. even peperspray, who i want to believe is just trying to defend someone he sees as being victimized, fell into the emotional trap. lets not turn this issue into 'market woman' gist.
for those of you claiming that keyamo gave cold hard facts. did he give facts or did he make allegations. there is a fundermental difference. allegations can be made by distorting facts. for example he claims that (according to punch, november 3) mercedes benz s.600 car (bullet proof) that (treated) cost them 52.8 million naira straight from manufactorer. the first question should be "how much is the going rate for that specification in the market right now. according to quotation submitted, between 82-105 million naira. i'm no math wiz, but 52.8 seems cheaper. or, are we REALLY saying that the fourth most powerful man in this country does not require the protection of a bullet proof car. is it his fault that such cars don't come cheap. keyamo claims that the cars supplied were inferior to those paid for. the said manufactorer says its because between payment and delivery, the price went up and since the house refused to pay the difference, they simply supplied what the money paid, could cover. like i said, facts or allegations. lets not forget that keyamo is a lawyer and thus, has the ability to distort facts.
like i said in my last post, lets not allow the p.d.p manipulate us in order to remove someone who they see as independent minded in order to replace him with a puppet. country people, i don talk my own.

bioye:
I am as well aware of the drama that prevailed at the hearing held by the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House and must say I was terribly disappointed by the way things went. I remember the chairman of the committee repeatedly cautioned the committee members and he particularly addressed the lawyer in a rather civilised manner. I have to admit that it is sad that some members of the House still cannot communicate based on facts but rather will resort to gangster behaviour. But that's by the way.

That being sad, you cannot rule out my effort in trying to bring to light[b] the possible reasons why all these allegations are coming to light now and the people behind[/b] the expose. I believe in prudence in the management of public funds, but I'm surprised Nigerians will scream at these news when the purchase of convoy vehicles is the order of the day for the Presidency, State Governors, Senate President, Ministers, Commissioners, State Speakers to mention a few!

Yes, we can eradicate corruption. But it cannot be championed overnight single-handedly by the Speaker if the other 359 members don't share his enthusiasm.

bioye:


I would appreciate if you don't twist my words. I did not say anything of the kind that you expressed! Why not dispute my statements first? It appears you have made up your mind already and any contrary views expressed to yours would be summarily attacked. Take it easy. Now to respond to your hasty conclusions, the House of Reps collectively agreed to the purchase of cars for the committees. It was not singlehandedly decided by Bankole. Bankole had no hand in the purchase of the cars itself - it was entirely executed by the National Assembly management. When the cars were purchased, Bankole was not in the country. When he returned he was seriously dissappointed with the way the Deputy Speaker Nafada handled the matter. The issue was on the pages on newspapers then.

On the new issue of tv sets and all, my question is this: Were these purchases part of the 2008 budget as approved by the Legislature and accented to by the Executive? If so, there are definitely similar items in other budgets asides that of the House. The only reason light is being shone on all these is because some great enemies of Bankole are bent on taking power away from him. I would be very surprised if some of them are not active in this very thread.

bioye:
True - Etteh was selected and forced on the House by Obasanjo and the then-PDP caucus because of her 'close' relationship with OBJ
True - Etteh was removed from office because the Reps believed that she was incompetent educationally, experiencewise and morally to lead them
True - Etteh was loyal to OBJ, the then-PDP caucus and had considerable disregard for many Reps members
True - Many members of the House of Reps were not satisfied with Etteh's constitution of the House Committees
True - Many Reps are corrupt and would oppose a leadership that did not allow them to chop

True - Bankole has sound education
True - Bankole was unanimously elected by a majority of the House of Reps
True - Bankole is seen a player in the power play in Ogun State along with his Father, OBJ and Iyabo, Gov. Daniel, Oba Alake and others
True - Bankole just reconstituted the House Committees
True - If a Speaker does not allow the House of Reps members to chop, many will oppose him
True - If the Speaker allows some members to chop, his permanent enemies will expose him

Bankole is in the middle of a dilemma where the Governor of his state is his greatest enemy.  Gbenga Daniel believes Bankole was key in the removal of the speaker of the state house of assembly and that Bankole is after his impeachment.  Thus Gbenga Daniel along with others are sponsoring Keyamo to dig any dirt he can find.

1luvkipsus:
And I will join the Honourable members to ask Keyamo 'Who are you?' Every Nigerian Lawyer wants to be like Gani, and Keyamo is exploring every available means to make himself popular. He should watch his back. A slave should note that he will be buried the same way his colleagues were buried. Keyamo is becoming the nuisance that Gani once was.

Kobojunkie:
_whistles Oga Chop, I chop! Why you too dey like to chop alone ooO!

roflmao!!!

Jakumo:
Rather than the usual practice of setting up police toll gates every 50 meters on Nigerian roads, there ought to be one main toll gate at the start and end points of all highways in Nigeria where motorists can donate lump sums equivalent to three month's working salary, such that no further fees would be expected until the motorists reach the termination point of that same highway.

In this way, payment defaulters can be dragged out of their vehicles and shot in one or two central locations on each highway, rather than the present situation where capital punishments are inflicted at random points along the road, creating numerous corpse disposal logistical problems for the police officers whose time should be more effectively devoted to collecting and sharing cash in a more organized and civilized manner.

nuzo:
I can never deny the fact that the nigerian policemen are one of the most annoying set of people in nigeria, but i will choose them anyday over armed robbers.
Nigeria is not fit to go without checkpoints for now until the right things are done to raise the standard of living in the country. One wont have to rob banks to buy cars, when his 1 month salary can afford get him one.

If Okiro's order is carried out, i'm afraid we will be hearing more from nigerian dare devils; the armed robbers.

QuotaSyste:
Don't be silly by involving USA, aka New York and Washington into this. One question to you is, does New York get the money being used to run and build it from Washington? Rather, it pays only tax to Washington. Does USA share national money to it's states as it's been done in your failed country nigeria?

It's easy for you to open your mouth gboa gboa and ask for people to develop their own area, but when real federalism is called for which will bring the real development to the regions through each region using their hard earn money to develop their own areas at their pace which you hinted on and same as it's done in the same USA which you used as a reference, people like you will be the first to block such true federalism.

If its' in the USA that you prefer out of your ignorance to use as a reference here, what reason does Abuja/Washington has to hold on to the money that is been gotten from Niger Delta and share it to other lazy states in the name of national cake?
Do you know how much development such money if left alone to Niger Deltans would have brought to their area? Since you can not practice it as it's been done in USA, then the originator of this thread is right by calling for the rotation of federal capital so that Niger Delta money will float to other areas as it has done in Lagos and now Abuja.

Monkey can not be working while baboon will stay idle and be chopping only. Once Igbo president mounts the throne, (that is if your nigeria still remains one then) Enugu or Umuahia will be declared the new capital of your country nigeria and all money from the Niger Delta channeled to there for rapid development. After all, what is good for,             is also good for             .You fill the blank space if you agree.

annyplenty:
The location of the seat of government of any country in any region always bring enormous development to that region. In most times, that status of being the seat of government often makes that region most developed and the development often spread to nearby cities. In my opinion, i think the federal capital of nigeria should be rotated between geographical regions of nigeria to speed up development across the length and breadth of our country. who ever thought Abuja could be this developed if it was not made a capital. do you feel me? lets hear your own opinion.

inquisitiv:
I have been going through all the posts carefully and I am happy I am not the only Nigerian who believes we will do exactly what we have set out to do.

1. to my northern brother addressing the biafran optimist, some people never forget about the past not because they gain anything from it but because they refuse to move forward. we aim for a nigeria that is blind to tribes but is united on the basis of one nation. when the time comes we will address tribalism and put such people where they belong because they are more destructive to this mission than the corrupt people we want to sack. whether hausa, igbo or yoruba or the other tribes, we will handle tribalism and put an end to it. Anybody cannot hide under the cloak of a war my grandfather fought to further plunge this nation into the abyss. The corruption we are facing is it limited to one tribe
in the east was it not people like Chimaroke Nnamani that looted states and siphoned money into their personal accounts, in the north was it not people like Yerima that destroy their states, in the west was it not Adedibu and his cohorts of evil that ran oyo into the slums, in the south south was it not Odili and people like Alams that wreck financial havock.

I would want us all to see that tribalism is more dangerous to this nation than anything else because people will perpertrate evil and run to the umbrella of tribalism for cover. if i had the power to ban posts in this thread i will quickly remove any ethnocentric individual just as i will not hesistate (when we swing into real action) to remove anybody who displays this tribalistic nature. I want to address this issue straight ahead and say anybody who habours tribal sentiments should see himself as an illiterate.

Secondly on the issue of the failure of groups because everybody wants to be the leader, i would say that this revolution will be directed by people not an individual we will not have politics destroy this movement. A group of people, a decentralized council will direct this REVOLUTION. i may have atarted this thread but I do not have an interest in being in that council or group. This is about the future of our children, the generation before us handed us a destroyed nation are we going to hand over the same to our children. I have determined not to whatever the cost, YOU can also determine to do same.

Victory is in sight.

Big B1:
@Mr.Blue:
I will rest my case as soon as you're able to identify a single Fed Government accomplishment in Nigeria between 1993 and 2008.

Do you know how much money our Nation made and how much money the elected/ government officials (new, young and educated leaders) stole between or during those years (1993-2008)?
Do you know how many young Nigerians in their late 20s that are ready/waiting to go into politics only to steal?
Do you know how much money is being siphoned directly from the Nigerian public treasury on a daily bases?

Again, it's been over 10 years and your people still find it impossible to get it right.

Big B1:
My man, no need for us to raise up our blood pressure over nothing.
The game is on; IBB has been gone for over 10 years and I ask your people this question:
What have you done for us lately?
@ Skyblue: you can answer that question if you know the answer.

With time, I think it would become clearer to all why IBB would have been a perfect entity to correct what is wrong with our lovely nation.

We shall see!

Big B1:
OK
If you know one or two things about Nigerian politics, you will realize that these listed names are products of defective system.
95% of the time, with time these entities would repeat the past failure.

Moreover, I do not think that any of the listed entities has the stamina and the capability to vigorously go against the odds (who are mostly invisible); trust me.

Please, keep in mind that Nigeria is not UK or USA; it makes me sick when folks try to view things in Nigeria using UK or USA state of mind.
This is totally different animal; and a special or unique approach must be taken to restore things back to normal in Nigeria.

I still feel very comfortable to pick IBB as the perfect leader at this time in Nigeria.
He has a lot to lose if things fall apart once again.

OBVIOUS:
Italy houses a lot of Nigerian prostitutes.