₦airaland Forum

The origin of the anus
The extraordinary evolution of our most
embarrassing organ
Presented by
Matt Walker
Yes that’s a picture of a puppy, with a little
bit of its rear end showing. And no, we
couldn’t actually illustrate this story with an
anus, now could we?
And before we discuss the origin of the anus;
let’s back up a little. It’s a subject surrounded
by, how should we put it, a bit of cheek. A
topic right for puns, or a touch of verbal
diarrhoea as we can’t but help see the
innuendo.
See what I mean? So we try to get serious, to
focus, and ask why has no one gotten to the
bottom of this particular mystery before? Is it
a crappy research topic, or by not addressing
it, have other scientists fallen behind? Is even
reporting such a subject, well, a little anal?
Perhaps, if jokes and innuendo are all we care
about. But if we’re interested in some of the
most fundamental questions about how
animals evolved and function, then read on.
Because scientists have just published a
review into the origin of the anus, and in
doing so, they articulate how the subject is far
more important than it at first appears.
That’s because the anus is one of the most
important parts of many animals; an essential
structure that changes how an organism’s
digestive system works. Our puppy would
struggle to eat and grow without it. But
intriguingly, not all animals have one. Some
have simple versions, others have many, while
a few organisms uniquely appear to have
transient anuses, which come and go. Others
have anuses that are… how shall we put it…
multifunctional?
While several organ systems have been
investigated, such as the nervous system,
the anal opening has been largely
neglected
But those that do have an anus, an organ we
can’t help but smirk and joke about, have
vastly improved digestion. They can eat and
grow more effectively, and reach much larger
sizes. And the story of the origin of the anus
is actually a story about how animals evolved,
diverged from one another, and became
sophisticated creatures.
The review into the evolutionary origins and
development of the anus is published in the
journal Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of
Comparative Zoology
.
Molecular biologist Dr Andreas Hejnol and Dr
Chema Martín-Durán, of the University of
Bergen, Norway undertook the research in
part, because no one else had. Over recent
years, scientists have been able to study how
genes affect the development of a range of
species.
There are a select few animals that
appear to have a ‘transient’ anus
“That revived the interest in the origin of our
organ systems. Where did brains come from?
How did blood evolve?” Dr Hejnol told BBC
Earth. “But while several organ systems have
been investigated, such as the nervous
system, the anal opening has been largely
neglected.”
But through evolution, the anus has appeared
in many forms, occasionally disappearing
again. “It is a fascinating subject to
investigate how changes on the molecular
level during evolution led to the shaping of
this part of the gut,” says Dr Hejnol.
Digesting the facts
The appearance of the anus is of course
inextricably linked to the evolution of the
whole digestive system.
The digestive tract is one of the most
important organs in any animal; it allows the
efficient digestion of food and uptake of
nutrients to maintain growth and sustain the
body.
Despite this, some types of animal cope even
though they lack a digestive tract, including
sea sponges (Porifera) and tapeworms, for
example. These species, perhaps obviously,
also lack an anus.
Others have a very simple gut, a single sac
with a single opening.
These have an anus of sorts; as their single
gut opening acts as both mouth and anus –
being used to both ingest food and expel
excrement.
Many gelatinous-type creatures that live or
float in the open ocean, including sea
anemones, corals and jellyfish (types of
animals known as Cnidaria) and comb jellies
(Ctenophora), process food this way. As do
many types of flatworm (Platyhelminthes).
Sessile animals often possess a U-shaped gut
with the gut and anus in close proximity.
"They manage," says Dr Hejnol.
Then there are a select few animals that
appear to have what Hejnol and Martín-Durán
describe as a ‘transient’ anus.
The tiny jaw worm called Haplognathia , which
is just a few millimetres long, has a temporary
opening to its gut, through which researchers
speculate it may occasionally defecate,
although the creature has never been caught
in the act.
A similar transient anus is found in one of the
smallest animals known, a microscopic
creature called Limnognathia, which was only
discovered in 1994, living in the hot springs of
Disko Island, Greenland.
Trying to understand when and why the anus
evolved is also complicated because it
appears and disappears again within many
groups of animals.
While most flatworms lack an anus, some
species have independently evolved one. Some,
such as the polyclad flatworm ( Thysanozoon
nigropapillosum) have multiple anuses,
situated on their back.
Most deuterostomes, a superphlum of animals
including sea stars, sea cucumbers, and all
vertebrates such as birds, fish and mammals
such as humans, have an anal opening (in
some groups, such as reptiles and birds, the
anal opening is fused with the reproductive
opening, forming a structure called a cloaca).
But one group of deuterostomes, the sea stars,
now lack the organ.
Just imagine if we have to wait for lunch,
because we still have not gotten rid of
the remnants of the breakfast
And the history and function of the anus gets
even more complicated. Some animals grow
up with an anus, but then lose it during their
own lifetime.
A rare group of scorpions, for example, will
occasionally break off their tails in order to
escape an attack by a potential predator, a
process called autotomy.
While the benefits of doing so are clear, as the
scorpions avoid being eaten, the act has
consequences for the animals’ own eating
habits. For when shedding their tails, they
also shed their own anuses.
Since the tail never grows back, and the
wound scars over, the scorpion (Ananteris
balzani) can never defecate again, their
abdomens swelling with the build up of poo
.
The tale of the scorpion’s tail, so to speak,
serves to reinforce how important anuses are
in animals that have a gut that opens at two
ends.
This basic digestive body plan is used by
most major animal groups. Insects, birds,
mammals, fish and amphibians, for example,
all have an alimentary canal, or continuous
through-gut, with an opening through which
they eat, the mouth, and another opening for
defecation.
Having a through-gut with two openings,
instead a simple sac, with just one opening,
has two main advantages, explains Dr Martín-
Durán.
“First, an animal can take up new food items
while it is still digesting a former meal,” he
says, because the food flows in one direction
through the body. Animals with a sac-like gut,
however, have to wait to finish their first meal,
and defecate out its remains, before eating
again.
“Just imagine if we have to wait for lunch - up
to nine hours - because we still have not
gotten rid of the remnants of the breakfast,”
he says.
Some animals are also the wrong shape to
cope with a sac-like gut. Ribbon worms,
reputedly the longest animals in the world,
can reach 60 metres long. “A sac-like gut
would make the sorting and digestion of food
difficult,” says Dr Hejnol. Or put another way,
50 metres or more is a long way for the waste
to come back up. Much easier to have another
opening, i.e. an anus, at the far end, to excrete
it from.
Second, a through gut, with mouth and anus,
can be subdivided into different, specialised
sections, each performing a different role in
digestion. Animals have evolved weird and
wonderful mouths; think how different the
mouths of a worm, bee, bird or fish are, for
example.
Many have evolved intricate guts, including
fore, mid and hind-guts, each with different
types of cells and functions. Cows are a
classic example of a ruminating mammal,
which have many gut chambers to
progressively break down hard plants and
grasses.
We, for example, chew with our mouths, digest
proteins in our stomachs, secrete bile to help
digest fats, and finally absorb most nutrients
via the small intestine.
“It is hard to imagine processing food as
efficiently with just a sack-like gut that lacks
an anal opening,” says Dr Martín-Durán.
So the advantages of a through-gut,
facilitated by the appearance of the anus,
seem clear.
Less clear is when and where the anus
originated in evolutionary history.
“The pattern of presence and absence of the
anus in animals is quite fascinating,” says Dr
Hejnol.
The shape of any organ, and the specialised
cells it is made from, depend on a network of
genes that contain the information used to
build it. These genes are inherited down the
generations, and the same genes are present
within many very different types of animal.
That means the early common ancestors of
these various species also had these genes,
and likely the same organ.
Hejnol and Martín-Durán’s review confirms
that two sets of genes in particular, known as
brachyury and ParaHox genes, which are
present in nearly all animals, play a key-role
in the formation of the anal orifice.
Animals that have an anus, almost uniformly
express these genes in the tissues surrounding
the organ. Those animals that do not have an
anus, do not.
Intriguingly, and perhaps confusingly, despite
the clear advantages of having an anus, some
species have undergone a second wave of
evolution, losing the anus that appeared in
their ancestors. They often lose too the genes
that code for the organ when it disappears,
raising questions as to why it was beneficial
to lose something so vital.
Dr Hejnol and Martín-Durán are conducting
further research in a bid to resolve these
mysteries.
They are sure that the anus has evolved
independently more than once among
animals. “But its deep origin remains unclear,”
says Dr Hejnol.
Our own hypotheses is that the anal
opening has some evolutionary
connection to the male gonopore
Their studies do provide tantalising evidence,
however, that the evolution of the anus is
linked to another structure that animals use
for sex.
They are researching a group of animals
called Acoela, which, in evolutionary terms,
are extremely primitive. Resembling tiny
flattened worms, no more than two millimetres
long, these creatures live free in the sea. They
have no gut at all, nor anus and even lack
circulatory or respiratory systems. In essence
they do not have any body cavities; their
bodies are solid.
But they do create sperm, which is released
through an opening in the body called a
gonopore. Many animals that lack back-bones
use gonopores to release sperm and eggs, and
genetic and molecular studies by Hejnol and
Martín-Durán and colleagues suggest the
development of the gonopore might be linked
to the origin of another opening – the anus.
It is very difficult to have a serious
conversation about this subject
“Our own hypotheses is that the anal opening
has some evolutionary connection to the male
gonopore,” Dr Hejnol told BBC Earth.
“This of course makes the whole subject even
more delicate. But this is how nature is -
nature does not care about taboos in human
society.”
“It is very difficult to have a serious
conversation about this subject,” he admits.
“It is much easier to talk about the evolution
of sex and sexuality than about the evolution
of the anus.”
“This indicates that the daily business we
have to do on the toilet is clearly a taboo in
industrialised societies.”
“Maybe our research can contribute to change
the discourse about the subject and
communicate about it more openly.”
And with that, perhaps we should all find a
new, less humorous, respect for what many
still see as our most embarrassing organ.
The sea cucumber (Parastichopus tremulus),
for example, has a wonderfully multifunctional
anus. Not only does it defecate through its
anal opening, it breathes through it too.
And if that fails to impress, and innuendo and
puns is what you’re still looking for, then the
phrases ‘stick it’ and ‘where the sun don’t
shine’ come to mind. Sorry, I couldn’t help
myself.
Or if you’re still reeling with the shock of it all,
here’s another cute picture for you, this time
of a little kitten.

Big Questions
Is it better to have more sons or more
daughters?
Can some animals, including people, choose
the sex of their offspring? And what's the
benefit?
Presented by
Daniel Cossins
Henry VIII famously went through six wives,
and executed two of them, in his despairing
attempts to produce a male heir. His
approach was extreme, but Henry was far from
alone in his desire to choose the sex of his
children.
Parents-to-be have tried all manner of things
to ensure they have a boy or girl. In ancient
Greece, men lay on their right side during sex
to guarantee a boy. In 18th-century France, it
was believed that a man could tie off his left
testicle for the same result.
These days, books like How to Choose the Sex
of Your Baby recommend that couples who
want a boy try to conceive on the day of
ovulation or the day before. The idea is that
sperm carrying the Y-chromosome, which
produce males, move faster than sperm
carrying the X-chromosome, but don't last as
long.
There is no proof that any of these tricks work,
and many of them now look outright
ridiculous. But there is little doubt that many
animals unconsciously alter the sex ratio of
their offspring, producing extra boys or extra
girls. So why would animals ever choose to
produce more of one sex? How do they do it?
And can humans do it too?
The story begins in the 1930s, when biologist
Ronald Fisher tried to explain something that
had baffled Charles Darwin. Sexually
reproductive animals usually produce roughly
equal numbers of sons and daughters, but no
one knew why.
If there are too many males, parents
should produce more daughters
Fisher argued that the sex ratio ought to be
self-correcting. If there are more males than
females in a population, on average each male
will get less than one mate. That means it
would pay parents to produce female offspring,
as that would give them a better chance of
having grandchildren and thus preserving their
genes.
So if there are too many males, parents
should produce more daughters. Similarly, if
there is an excess of females, on average each
male gets more than one mate, so parents
should produce more sons. For this reason,
the sex ratio should always revert to one-to-
one.
It's an elegant theory. There's just one
problem. Biologists have shown that it
doesn't always hold true. In particular
situations, parents are better off producing
higher proportions of one sex. For instance,
fig wasps mostly produce daughters.
Pollinating fig wasps have mutually beneficial
relationships with fig trees. The wasps
pollinate the figs, allowing them to reproduce,
and in return the figs protect and nurture the
wasps' young.
Male wasps compete with their brothers
for mates – which are often their sisters
A month or so before a tree's figs ripen,
female wasps are attracted to the fruit and
enter it through little holes. These soon close
up, trapping the females inside. The wasps
pollinate the fig flowers, which grow together
with the seeds inside the fruit, then they lay
eggs and die. When the eggs hatch, wingless
males mate with females, and then the
females leave.
Most species of fig wasp produce precious few
sons: sometimes as little as 5% of each brood
is male. That might seem odd, but it's for
good reason.
Because all mating takes place within one fig,
male wasps compete with their brothers for
mates – which are often their sisters. Males
that fail to mate might as well not have been
born.
"If you produce fewer sons, there is less
competition for each brother, and you increase
the average value of each son," says Stuart
West of the University of Oxford in the UK.
What's more, the males often mate with their
sisters, so "if you're producing more
daughters, you're also producing more mates
for your sons."
This is precisely as evolutionary biologist
William Hamilton predicted in the late 1960s.
What's more, it turns out that if the
competition between sons is more intense,
parents are likely to produce even fewer of
them.
The parasitoid jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis
is an extreme example. These wasps lay their
eggs inside blowfly pupae, but apart from that
they reproduce much like the fig wasps. In
2008 West's team studied the pupae they
used , and found a pattern. "Females shifted
their sex ratios according to the number of
eggs other females had laid on the same
pupa," he says.
If a female wasp finds a pupa that has no
eggs from other females, she biases the sex
ratio heavily toward females. But if other
females have already laid eggs in the pupa,
she produces a brood with a less female-
biased sex ratio. There are already unrelated
females in the pupa that her sons can try to
mate with, so the competition will be less
intense.
In other species, relatives don't compete for
mates, but for food.
In 1978, Anne Clarke of Binghamton University
in New York studied the reproductive habits of
thick-tailed bushbabies , a species of primate
from sub-Saharan Africa. She found that they
produce more males than females , and argued
that this was a result of competition for food.
Sometimes, breeding adults recruit their
offspring to help them raise the next
brood
When young bushbabies reach adulthood, they
leave their mothers behind. But females don't
go as far away as males do, so daughters end
up competing with their mother for food. As a
result, bushbaby mothers have a reason to
prefer sons.
There is support for this idea. In 2008 Joan
Silk, now at Arizona State University in Tempe,
surveyed the sex ratios of 102 primate
species. She found that birth sex ratios were
slightly skewed in favour of the sex that
disperses from the mother's territory
.
But this isn't always true. Sometimes, breeding
adults recruit their offspring to help them
raise the next brood. This can completely
reverse the pattern.
In 2008, Silk worked with J Weldon McNutt of
the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust to
study sex ratios in African wild dogs. They
found that their litters include more sons than
daughters , and argue that this may be
because of how they disperse.
Females must also consider how much
food is available
Sons remain in the same pack even after they
are mature, and provide food for the mother
and her subsequent offspring, whereas females
leave earlier. "Males are better helpers than
females, so it makes sense that the wild dogs'
sex ratios tend to be biased toward males,"
says Silk.
The male bias was most extreme for younger
mothers with smaller packs. "That's when
males are most useful," says Silk.
This is all getting quite intricate, and there's
another twist to come. Females must also
consider how much food is available when
deciding what sort of offspring to have.
The most striking example of this is the
Seychelles warbler . These birds are only found
on a handful of tiny islands in the Indian
Ocean. Breeding pairs stay together in the
same territory and produce one offspring per
year. Young males usually scatter, while
females stick around to help their mothers.
Seychelles warblers adjust their sex ratio
in response to local food circumstances
You might assume they would always produce
more of the helping sex. But that’s not always
the case, says Jan Komdeur of the University
of Groningen in the Netherlands. Instead, what
they do depends on where they live.
On high-quality patches, where insect prey is
plentiful, helpers are beneficial. But on low
quality territory, where food is scarce, they
provide increased competition for food.
In 1996, Komdeur discovered that breeding
pairs produce 90% daughters on high-quality
territories
and a similarly high proportion of sons on
low-quality territories. In a follow-up
experiment, he moved breeding pairs from
low-grade patches to high-grade patches, and
found that they switched from producing 90%
males to 85% females
. "This was really clear experimental evidence
that Seychelles warblers adjust their sex ratio
in response to local food circumstances," says
Komdeur.
What's more, the parents' sex-selective policy
pays off.
In a study published in 2008, Komdeur
swapped nestlings between breeding pairs
with no helpers, and then observed these birds
for three years. Parents given the "correct"
offspring had more grandchildren.
Foster daughters can become co-
breeders
For instance, parents on low-quality patches
produced more grandchildren if they had
foster sons
than pairs on the same patch raising foster
daughters. The reverse was true on high-
quality territories. Parents raising foster
daughters where there was lots of food did
better than those raising foster sons on the
same patch.
"On territories with lots of food, foster
daughters can become co-breeders, laying
additional eggs in their mother's nest without
harming their mother's offspring," says
Komdeur. This boosts the number of
grandchildren, but it's only possible when food
is plentiful.
The warblers are adjusting their offspring sex
ratio in response to changes in their living
conditions. Other animals go a step further,
and change their offspring based on their own
condition.
Tim Clutton-Brock of the University of Oxford
in the UK once spent several years studying
red deer females on the Scottish island of
Rhum. In 1984 he found that high-ranking
females produced a high proportion of sons
, while low-ranking females produced more
daughters.
If the mother is in bad shape she should
produce more daughters
This may be because the high-ranking females
are in better condition. A decade earlier,
biologist Robert Trivers and mathematician
Dan Willard had suggested that females in
good shape should produce more sons
. They reasoned that sons have to compete
with other males to mate, so only high-quality
sons sire lots of offspring. As a result, when a
mother can afford to plough plenty of
resources into her offspring, it pays to have
sons.
On the other hand, if the mother is in bad
shape she should produce more daughters,
because even females in poor condition will
reproduce. When mothers can't afford to invest
heavily, the less costly sex represents a safe
bet.
The female deer were choosing their
offspring's sex based on their own condition.
But it can also pay a female to make similar
decisions based on the quality of her mate.
The idea is that a male's attractiveness is
potentially a strong indication of his genetic
quality. In turn, his sons benefit from that,
either because they inherit his good genes or
because he does a better job of caring for
them. This means that the male offspring of
attractive males should themselves produce
lots of offspring.
Animals can control the sex ratio of their
offspring
"If a female mates with a very attractive male
she should produce sons, because they too
will be attractive and get lots of mates," says
Tim Fawcett at the University of Bristol in the
UK.
This seems to play out in some birds. In 1999,
Ben Sheldon of the University of Oxford and
colleagues demonstrated that female blue tits
who mated with males that had brighter crown
feathers produced a high proportion of sons
, compared to females who mated with dull,
low-quality males. When Sheldon blocked the
ultraviolet light reflecting off the attractive
males' crown feathers, the females started to
favour daughters.
All this tells us that animals can control the
sex ratio of their offspring, even when the
factors influencing their decision are quite
subtle. But that raises another question; how
do they do it?
For ants, wasps and bees, it's perfectly clear.
Their DNA is stored in long strands called
chromosomes, one of which controls sex. An
individual's sex is determined by how many
copies it has. Unfertilised eggs, which only
have one copy, become males. Fertilised eggs,
which have two copies, become females. So by
controlling whether eggs get fertilised, females
can control the sex of their offspring.
Under this system, it's pure chance which
kind of sperm fertilises the female's egg
However, in mammals and birds the
mechanisms are more mysterious. "What
individuals should do in terms of biasing sex
ratio is well-established, but how they
actually do it is much less well-known," says
Fawcett.
Unlike wasps and bees, mammals and birds
determine the sex of their offspring by
combining different types of chromosomes. In
mammals, females have two identical "X"
chromosomes, while males have one "X" and
one "Y". Males produce equal numbers of
sperm with an X chromosome and sperm with
a Y.
Under this system, it's pure chance which kind
of sperm fertilises the female's egg, so the sex
ratio should be 1:1. But the evidence is clear
that the females can skew it somehow.
One possibility is that circulating hormones in
the breeding female, known to be sensitive to
environmental conditions, play an important
role. In 2006, Marion Petrie at the University of
Newcastle showed that the sex ratio of the
offspring of Japanese quail varies with the
concentration of the stress hormone
corticosterone
. She also found that artificially elevated
corticosterone levels resulted in significantly
female-biased sex ratios.
Females might selectively abort embryos
of a particular sex
Blood glucose levels may also have an
influence. A 2008 study found that female
mice with experimentally lowered glucose
levels produced a higher proportion of
daughters
than mice with normal levels of glucose.
Alternatively, females might selectively abort
embryos of a particular sex. They could also
starve particular eggs of provisions. There are
many possibilities, and no reason to think that
all animals use the same one.
Finally, do any of these mechanisms work in
humans? Could we succeed where Henry VIII
failed?
A handful of studies have looked at human
sex ratios. In 2009, Thomas Pollet of VU
University in Amsterdam and colleagues
investigated the sex ratio bias in the children
of 95,000 Rwandan women, many of whom
lived in polygamous households where the
man has several wives. They found that low-
ranking wives produced a higher proportion of
daughters than high-ranking wives or women
in monogamous relationships
.
Billionaires produce a higher proportion
of sons than daughters
In 2012, Shige Song at the City University of
New York showed that Chinese women gave
birth to a significantly higher proportion of
girls than boys in the two years following the
Great Famine of 1959-61
, during which 30 million people died of
starvation.
This suggests that, if food is scarce, humans
respond by producing more daughters, who
are likely to reproduce even if they become
weak adults. This is just like other mammals.
On the flipside, according to a 2009 study,
billionaires produce a higher proportion of
sons than daughters
, and those sons produce more grandchildren
than do daughters.
This is all about the good of your genes
If these studies are to be believed, humans
have the same ability to skew their offspring's
sex ratio as other animals. But it doesn't work
the way many of us want it to. Whatever is
happening in these studies, it is unconscious
– and it's probably more to do with the
mother than the father.
It's also got nothing to do with personal
preference. You may intensely desire to have a
son or daughter for personal reasons, but this
is all about the good of your genes and the
ability to produce successful children and
grandchildren.
Your conscious preferences may be strong,
but your genes are stronger.

pDP power

mrintelligent:
It's a lie ooo. There is nothing like he may not end up in jail. That is his final destination. He has so many gross financial malpractices case hanging, so his chance of not ending up in jail is slim.

Leopard cannot change its skin. He guy has just finished himself politically. He is a novice in this political game. Instead of him to learn from past experience and thread with care this second time, he was busy attacking GMB and committing all sort of impunity.

Mr 7 is greater than 19 must be eradicated from Ekiti state

mrintelligent:
It's a lie ooo. There is nothing like he may not end up in jail. That is his final destination. He has so many gross financial malpractices case hanging, so his chance of not ending up in jail is slim.

Leopard cannot change its skin. He guy has just finished himself politically. He is a novice in this political game. Instead of him to learn from past experience and thread with care this second time, he was busy attacking GMB and committing all sort of impunity.

Mr 7 is greater than 19 must be eradicated from Ekiti state

mrintelligent:
It's a lie ooo. There is nothing like he may not end up in jail. That is his final destination. He has so many gross financial malpractices case hanging, so his chance of not ending up in jail is slim.

Leopard cannot change its skin. He guy has just finished himself politically. He is a novice in this political game. Instead of him to learn from past experience and thread with care this second time, he was busy attacking GMB and committing all sort of impunity.

Mr 7 is greater than 19 must be eradicated from Ekiti state

mrintelligent:
It's a lie ooo. There is nothing like he may not end up in jail. That is his final destination. He has so many gross financial malpractices case hanging, so his chance of not ending up in jail is slim.

Leopard cannot change its skin. He guy has just finished himself politically. He is a novice in this political game. Instead of him to learn from past experience and thread with care this second time, he was busy attacking GMB and committing all sort of impunity.

Mr 7 is greater than 19 must be eradicated from Ekiti state

laugh wan tear my belly

What does Muhammadu Buhari owe a country
which has embraced him tighter than a
mother?
The simple answer: He must stand up.
And remain standing.
For four years.
Without sleep.
That is the implication of the momentous
events in Nigeria last week. Those who do not
fully understand are congratulating General
Buhari because he won an election.
That is a significant achievement, considering
the circumstances. But what really happened
is that Nigerians won the election, in terms of
the right to determine who they are, and who
they want to be.
In that sense, they won Buhari, not in the way
you win a prize, but in terms of appointing
him ‘The Sheriff of No Nonsense’.
They stood for hours in long lines in the sun
to vote, and waited in hunger for the votes to
be counted. They did that to recover their
country, and to appoint a sheriff to serve their
purpose, not his.
Of great significance is that many Nigerians
were stepping forward to volunteer their time
and money for the Buhari war effort, for it was
a war. Nigerians who volunteered selflessly
did not do so in order to select a party or an
individual, but to salvage their country and
yank it from the clutches of whatever monster
had hold of it.
For that, they wanted a Sheriff of their own
definition.
Four years earlier, when I publicly endorsed
the General for the presidency, there were
Nigerians who called me names. They wrote
up long lists of accusations and allegations
against him. To be sure, at no point did I
suggest that some of those concerns were
invalid. Some of them still are, but it is
remarkable that in the past few months, those
same people worked doggedly to make him
The Sheriff.
Somebody was clearly hearing his message: “I
don’t have money to give you…If I had I would
not give you because the destiny of Nigeria is
not negotiable,” or something like that.
Not simply someone, it is now clear, but
many, because when you think back, he did
win his party’s presidential primary rather
comfortably.
That was in December, but following that
event, his opponents and detractors seem to
have retreated into the kitchen. There, they
cooked up for him every conceivable obstacle
known to politics.
Buhari turned to Nigerians: I just want to
serve. I want to change things because the
way Nigeria is going, Nigeria has no future.
Stepping out of the kitchen, they emptied the
garbage heap over him. They questioned his
health. His family. His education. His
computer skills. His military record. His track
record in every office he had ever held.
They quoted him, and then misquoted him.
Buhari: I want to serve Nigeria. I have never
compromised Nigeria’s resources, and I will
neither do it nor permit anyone to do it.
They altered their strategies and questioned
the very notion of an election. They said it
needed to be postponed because the nation
was “at war”. They could not protect the
country, they lamented, as though they had
been accused of doing that. And in any event,
they added, it was essential to postpone
because, well, the electoral commission was
not ready.
The electoral commission was using card
readers and permanent Voters Cards, did
anyone know that? How could they do that,
who had ever heard of voting by permanent
cards being read by a machine? And why had
the commission not distributed all the cards?
Someone was watching; a lot of them.
They denied the activism and energy of
Nigerians articulating a different Nigeria. Only
a few people were on social media, they
argued, and they were unimportant because
they did not have a vote.
They discounted and denied every conceivable
poll which showed Jonathan losing the
election, preaching that Nigerians wanted
continuity, not the change the opposition
advocated. The people of Nigeria were
portrayed as somehow loving their poverty
and insecurity, their darkness and weakness,
hopelessness and joblessness.
In an age in which stealing isn’t corruption,
the propagandists also gave the impression
you can simply preach probity, but not
practice it. That is why they threw the federal
treasury open, ferrying money by airplanes
and busloads in search of pockets of greed
into which to dump it to buy votes: churches,
mosques, palaces, associations.
But they learned, to their horror that Nigeria
was still out of reach. They misunderstood
this phenomenon, mistaking it for Buhari
rather than its real identify: Nigeria.
Then they found out, rather late, that the
phenomenon was only real, but that it was
angry and unchangeable. Nigerians willed
change, and change they demanded. That
mission: uprooting the untenable order and
hiring a promising sheriff to bulldoze the soil
and dismantle the soil of impunity that, for
half a century, has mistaken politeness for
weakness and indifference for complicity.
Has change come to Nigeria? Not yet, but
Nigerians have changed. They have regained
control. They have asserted that the country
belongs to them, not to any ants that may
have eaten their way into a few branches.
Let us therefore be clear about what time it is:
Nigerians did not replace one set of ants for
the pleasure of another. Their loyalty is to
Nigeria, not to a replacement army of
occupation. Happily, Buhari understands this.
He says his will be the governing, not ruling,
party.
In my endorsement of his candidature in 2011,
I described him as “an opportunity”. Last
weekend, Nigerians demonstrated agreement
with this assessment. Not a magician, but a
chance.
The Sheriff of No Nonsense. He has fought for
this job for a long time, and I believe he is
prepared. I am not preaching to him about
what needs to be done because it is obvious,
but Nigerians must rally behind their Sheriff.
He can’t achieve anything if Nigerians choose
to be spectators rather than members of the
team.
All Buhari has to do is harness the massive
groundswell of goodwill he has captured, and
mobilize this energy as part of the team. He is
not the team, just a member.
And he doesn’t have to reinvent everything,
either. There are reports on the table that are
excellent. He doesn’t have to reverse
everything Jonathan or PDP, either. Some of
their plans and ideas are good, as are some of
his people. They just have had neither
leadership nor guidance.
But the first order of business is to be
categorical that nonsense—as platform, policy
or practice—is no longer an option.
If Buhari needs any reminding, he will lead
from a city in which he owns nothing and
cannot afford a slice of land. That is because
Abuja, like Nigeria for over 50 years, belongs
to hostage-takers. Now is the time to set the
homestead free so ownership and opportunity
return to all, not a few.
This is the challenge before The Sherriff of No-
Nonsense. Not only can he not afford to sleep,
he must bring on the revolution the way they
scheduled the Boko Haram war: in weeks, not
months.
sonala.olumhense@gmail.com
Twitter: @SonalaOlumhense

Texcoco:
[color=#1980BC] Thiffnubu should come to an understandin that victimising a thoroughly hardened character like Fayose would not only achieve nothing but evoke strong sympathies from his people to his cause and the PDP.Instead of him to urge his minions, these lawmakers to campaign for a fresh mandate out which they can be allowed full latitude to impeach,they have shown extreme prejudice as trouble makers and wouldnt mind heating the Ekiti polity to achieve their selfish aims even with the little time left.The uimpressed Ekiti voters are watching and come April 11, APC will be swept away from Ekiti.All Fayose has to do is to hold them down till May 29.........Thieffnubu horribly miscalculated this one. [/color]

what are you saying

brilliant boy. Abeg ansa am like that for waec or gce

sAI BABA

afenifere where you dey

;Dhnmm

SAI BABA

SuyaEater:
Northerners governing our country is never good...they have ruined the country

fool

hmmm IMO state

one by one

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Am waiting!
Inec should pls release chatham house ward result now, pls no delay
While pdp swears in jonathan at d eagle square on may 29, apc will swear in buhari on google square

oponu.What are you saying

PDP+corruption = rigging

Jonathan loses to APC in Agagu’s ward
The All Progressives Congress has posted a
surprise victory at the Iju-Odo/Iju-Oke/Erekiti
Ward, in Okitipupa Local Government, the
traditional place of the late former Ondo State
Governor, Olusegun Agagu.
Reports from the ward collation centre show
that in the presidential poll, PDP scored 1,006
votes while APC polled 1,127 votes.
For the Senate, the PDP polled 1,103 votes
while the APC recorded 1,113 votes.
The APC topped the House of Reps contest,
scoring 1,088 to beat close rival PDP, which
polled 1,086 votes. source; 247nigerianewsupdate.com

p

space booked

Sokoto State APC Chieftains Arrested
With just hours to the 2015 presidential
elections, SaharaReporters has been informed
of the detention of some chieftains of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) by the Sokoto
State command of the Department of State
Security (DSS).
BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
MAR 28, 2015
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0
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With just hours to the 2015 presidential
elections, SaharaReporters has been informed
of the detention of some chieftains of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) by the Sokoto
State command of the Department of State
Security (DSS).
Alhaji Ummarun Kwabo
Photo Credit:
Sahara Reporters Media
Those under arrest include Alhaji Mu’azu
Zabira, the chairman of APC’s Security
Committee. The home of another APC
chieftain, Alhaji Ummarun Kwabo was raided,
during which Alhaji Abubakar Kani was
arrested. Up to the time of this report, no
information was available with regard to
where they are, or the offences for which they
are being held.
Confirming the situation to SaharaReporters,
the APC acting Chairman in the state, Alhaji
Usman Suleiman Danmadamin Isah, said
arrests are one of the strategies of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to use force to seize
power in the state. Alhaji Isah said efforts
were being made to secure the release of the
men before the election.
Responding to telephone inquiries, the DSS
Director, Abubakar Bubuche, denied knowledge
of the arrests. The Sokoto State Police
Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), El-
Mustapha Sani, also denied that the Police
have a hand in the arrests.
The state PDP, in conjunction with the Federal
Government, is alleged to have listed about
nine APC chieftains in the state as well as
some state government officials to be detained
until the result of the elections is announced.
Meanwhile, Justice Rilwanu Aikawa of the
Sokoto Federal High Court has restrained the
EFCC, ICPC, the Police and the NIA from
arresting state government officials in relation
to investigations in alleged cases of
appropriation, disbursement and
administration of monies appropriated
between 2008 and 2014.
Also on Friday in Kaduna, Kaduna State, the
police was reported to have attempted to
detain several APC chieftains, including the
governorship candidate, Nasir El-Rufai, the
APC Senatorial Candidate for Kaduna North,
Suleiman Hunkuyi; and a top campaign
council official, Lawal Yakawada.
Premium Times said the APC officials had
declined to honour the invitation, but that
their lawyer wrote to the police to say the
matter over which they were invited was
already in court.
Interested in Advertising? Sponsored Ad
SOURCE:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK

Jega: An umpire’s date with history
Posted by: Emmanuel OLADESU
in Featured, News 6 hours ago
Attahiru Jega, political scientist, university
don, pro-democracy activist and Chairman of
the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), is walking on a tight
rope. The electoral agency under his watch is
on the weighing scale. Will he survive the
electoral tempest? Will the commission live up
to expectation?
The seat was hot for his predecessors-Eyo
Esua, Michael Ani, Ovie-Whiskey, Eme Awa,
Humphrey Nwosu, Okom, Dagogo Jack,
Ephraim Akpata, Abel Guobadia and Maurice
Iwu. Today, the seat is hotter, owing to the
dynamics of politics, stiff competition for
power, political antagonism and growing
electoral corruption, intolerance and gross
violation of electoral due process. Reminiscent
of the earlier dispensations, elections, rather
than being a festival of choice and change, are
a nightmare.
The INEC boss is conscious of the weight of
historic responsibilities on his shoulders. The
eyes of the political class and the
international community are on him. To
observers, he is a key player in an election
that has been described as a make or mar
exercise. Due to the contradiction in the polity
and the perception of election as war by
critical stakeholders, Jega carries a national
burden. On many occasions, he has reiterated
his determination to conduct credible
elections. “I can assure you that we will do
everything humanly possible to deliver a free
and fair election,” he said in Abuja, the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It is an irony
of fate that the chief electoral officer, who was
commended for conducting a transparent poll
four years ago, is now being viewed with
suspicion by both the ruling and opposition
parties.
To rekindle public trust and confidence, Jega
said the electoral agency will not compromise
its integrity. He said INEC officials will
demonstrate patriotism and ensure the
credibility of the electoral process.
Unscrupulous officials, he said, would be
shown the way out. In the face of multiple
challenges and barriers erected by
stakeholders with competing political
interests, the commission has been up and
doing. But, when Jega rose swiftly to assert
the independence of the electoral body, reality
dawned on him that the commission still has
a long way to go.
Jega has been a household name in Nigeria
before he became the 11th umpire. He has
served as the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero
University, Kano. He is also the former
President of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU). In the human rights
community, he is a vocal voice. Under the
Yar’Adua Administration, Jega also served as
a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee
led by the former Chief Justice of the
Federation, Mohammed Uwais. But, his job as
the chief electoral officer of the nation is the
most challenging.
Many Nigerians hailed his appointment in
2010. Reflecting on his appointment, former
President of the National Association of
Nigerian Students (NANS) and House of
Representatives member Hon. Opeyemi
Bamidele, who shared the same cell with him
when they were detained by the military, said
many were surprised by the appointment. “It
was either the President meant serious
business or he did not know what he was
doing when he appointed him,” he said.
His first baptism of fire came in 2011. He
nearly lost the opportunity to write his name
in gold. Four hours after the commencement
of the polls, the Chairman cancelled the
exercise. It had flopped in many states. There
were cries of despair by voters. Many voters
complained about shoddy preparation for the
exercise. In many polling units, officials did
not turn up for the electoral duty. In others,
they came late. There were complaints about
shortage of personnel and polling materials.
Within two weeks, the mistakes were
corrected. Unlike the 2007, which was
acknowledged as a severely flawed exercise by
the late President Yar’Adua, the 2011 poll was
applauded.
Basking in the euphoria of the success, INEC
has also conducted parliamentary by-elections
and governorship polls in Anambra, Ondo,
Ekiti and Osun, with varying degrees of
controversy.
However, today’s elections are a turning point.
Some loopholes have been exploited to
discredit the agency. The controversy over the
distribution of Permanent Voter’s Cards
(PVCs) and card readers was deliberately
fuelled to convey the impression that INEC
was not ready for the election. When the
exercise kicked off nation-wide, it was a
disaster. The All Progressives Congress (APC)
cried foul, saying that there was a deliberate
attempt to disenfranchise registered voters in
its strongholds. In the North, there were even
allegations that people were collecting PVCs
by proxy.
Also, PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa
Metuh, had an axe to grind with the
commission. He alleged that non-indigenes,
who he said, were in the majority, were being
denied PVCs in Lagos, adding that the
scenario is the same in other APC states.
When the commission came up with the idea
of card readers, the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) raised an objection. However,
INEC overcame the challenge when the test-
run was successful. When Jega tried to
convince skeptics about the commission’s
preparations and readiness, insecurity, which
was outside INEC’s purview, came to the front
burner. Nigerians were shocked when service
chiefs said that they could not guarantee
security for INEC officials and voters in the
Northeast, which has been ravaged by the
Boko Haram insurgency.
The Federal Government demanded for a six-
week postponement. Jega was under pressure
to postpone the election. When he mustered
the strength to assert his independence, he
became a subject of blackmail. PDP leaders,
including Senator Edwin Clark, Dr. Doyin
Okupe, and Femi Fani-Kayode, alleged that
Jega was acting the script of the APC. The
umpire was compelled to surrender and the
poll was postponed.
When the poll was shifted, it was feared that
riots might break out in the North. But, the
APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari, pacified his supporters. Criticisms
trailed the polls shift. APC alleged that the
PDP influenced INEC to shift the exercise to
avert imminent electoral defeat. But, PDP
chieftains fired back, saying that INEC was
not ready.
Shortly after the postponement, the agitation
for Jega’s sack by the PDP chieftains
assumed a new dimension. Clark said that
INEC had sold out to the opposition, thereby
forfeiting public confidence. But, members of
the civil society groups rejected the agitations,
saying that it was devoid of logic. Lagos
lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), pointed out that
Jega’s five-year tenure as the INEC chairman
enjoyed the backing of the law.
Last week, another coup against the electoral
process was in the offing. The Chief of Army
Staff, Gen. Kenneth Minimah, said the onus
was on INEC to decide on whether to conduct
elections in three local governments in
Northeast states because, despite their
liberation from the Boko Haram sect, the
governance structures germane to peaceful
elections were still absent. But, according to
observers, INEC jettisoned pressures to shift
the polls again in utter sensitivity to public
mood.
As the first leg of the elections kicks off today,
there are some mistakes the commission must
avoid. INEC has a duty to properly organise
the poll without compromising ethics and
sacrificing the rules of the game on the altar
of partisanship. Many election observers have
pointed out that, while election can be free
and fair at the level of voting and counting at
the polling units, electoral fraud can be
committed at the level of collation of results
at the collation centres. According to the
Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms
(CODER), a transparent election is possible, if
the officials exhibit patriotism and candour in
the discharge of their duties. Its convener, Ayo
Opadokun, warned that the exercise can be
hijacked and manipulated at the polling unit,
local, state and national collation centres. He
urged returning officers to avoid any break or
adjournment during collation because it can
be exploited to declare false results.
During the Anambra State governorship
elections, there were no result sheets in many
polling units. Many officials also reported late
for the assignment in many local
governments. Where the officials reported for
the exercise, they did not show up with the
non-negotiable polling materials. Voters were
disillusioned. Many returned home in protest.
Later, the commission shifted the exercise in
some units till the next day.
Elections have become a burden in Nigeria,
owing to the do-or-die contest, thuggery and
violence. Ahead of the polls, there is tension.
According to observers, troops deployment, in
defiance of court rulings, may scare away
votes. This may result in low turn out of voters
in some communities.
Many electoral observers have wondered why
the INEC is reluctant to invoke the various
provisions in the constitution against electoral
malpractices. Electoral officers who act in
concert with politicians and the police to
commit atrocities against the ballot box
should be prosecuted.
Jega’s staying power has been his integrity.
Will his integrity still be intact after today’s
polls? Can INEC weather the storm?
Everybody watches.

Home
Who becomes Nigeria’s first lady: extrovert
patience or introvert Aisha?
MARCH 28, 2015 : ADEOLA BALOGUN
20 Comments
Patience Jonathan and Aisha Buhari
The Nigerian constitution does not recognise
the office of the First Lady which is a title for
the spouse of the head of state or president of
Nigeria. However, the office has remained one
of the most funded and staffed since
independence and the First Lady is addressed
by the title Her Excellency.
Nigeria has had several first ladies since
independence but the late Maryam Babangida,
wife of Nigeria’s military president from 1985
to 1993, General Ibrahim Babagida, began the
trend.
As first lady, she launched many programmes
to improve the lives of women. The “Maryam
Phenomenon” became a celebrity and “an icon
of beauty, fashion and style,” a position she
retained after her husband’s fall from power.
When her husband became Head of State in
1985, Maryam Babangida moved into Dodan
Barracks in Lagos. She was said to have
arranged for considerable renovations to make
the rooms more suitable for formal receptions.
As First Lady of Nigeria between 1985 and
1993, she turned the ceremonial post into a
champion for women’s rural development. She
founded the Better Life Programme for Rural
Women in 1987, which launched co-
operatives, cottage industries, farms and
gardens, shops and markets, women’s centres
and social welfare programmes. The Maryam
Babangida National Centre for Women
Development was established in 1993 for
research, training, and to mobilise women
towards self-emancipation.
She also established a glamorous persona.
Talking about the opening of the seven-day
Better Life Fair in 1990, one journalist said
“She was like a Roman empress on a throne,
regal and resplendent in a stone-studded
flowing outfit that defied description…” Women
responded to her as a role model, and her
appeal lasted long after her husband fell from
power.
But the current First Lady in the person of
Dame Patience Faka Jonathan is one woman
who shares the political space equally with
her husband, regardless of what the
constitution says about her office.
If her husband is re-elected, Nigerians may
not see much difference from what Mrs.
Jonathan has done as their First Lady for the
past six years. But if General Muhammadu
Buhari of the All Progressives Congress gains
the upper hand, then Nigerians would then
have a new experience with Mrs. Aisha Buhari
as the First Lady.
Dame Jonathan is reputed as a woman who
holds court, summoning ministers, even
governors for meetings. Dame Jonathan is not
your regular first lady that is content with the
glamour of office; she is as active, if not more,
than her husband in the politics and
politicking of the Peoples Democratic Party of
Nigeria.
With her influence, so many people have been
appointed ministers, permanent secretaries,
ambassadors, name it. In fact, through her,
many governorship candidates have received
endorsement to contest in their home states.
Mr. Evans Bipi, a member representing Ogu
Bolo State Constituency in the Rivers State
House of Assembly, described the first lady as
his Jesus Christ. When he was asked why he
calls her mummy even when he was no way
related to her nor come from her local
government, he said, “Have you forgotten that
she is from Okrika? So, whoever attains the
position of the First Lady, what would you call
the person? You call her mummy. She is the
mother of the nation and she is the
mouthpiece of Okrika people. She is the
mother of Okrika people. So, every Okrika
person calls her mummy. Ogu Bolo is Okrika.
They are all Okrika people. It is like Ikwerre
and Obio/Akpor; they are all Ikwerre. It is only
the local government area that split them. So,
as an Okrika woman, who has risen up to that
position, everybody calls her mummy.”
He also justified why he called her his Jesus
Christ on earth, “Let me say this. Man is God
to man; it is in the Bible. You must not see
God; you will see God through somebody. God
said, see me through Jesus Christ. That is
why we are seeing God through Jesus Christ.
This woman (Patience Jonathan) is everything
in my life. She made me what I am today.
Politically and otherwise; I can say it
anywhere. I can say she is my Jesus Christ
because she has made me who I am today.
That is the truth and I can defend that
anywhere.
“Babangida’s wife was from Delta State. Her
people called her mummy. Yar’Adua’s wife is
from Katsina, all the people from Katsina call
her mummy. Even Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s
wife, the people call her mummy. When a
woman attains such level, everybody calls her
mummy. It is a form of respect. But to me, my
mummy (Patience Jonathan) is special
because she brought me up to this level.”
His testimony is not different from that of her
other beneficiaries and she wields enormous
power.
On her own, she anointed Nyeson Wike, the
present governorship candidate of the PDP in
her home state, Rivers, to dislodge Rotimi
Amaechi, after falling out with the governor.
Because of the respect the Bayelsa State
Governor, Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson had for
her, he made her a permanent secretary in
July 2012 even after a long time absence from
work. But when she fell out with the governor,
she resigned from the office to show her
annoyance. She then handpicked the Special
Assistant to the President on Domestic
Matters, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa to take over
from Dickson in 2016 irrespective of the
governor’s aspiration for a re-election.
The likes of Chief Christopher Alao-Akala, a
former governor and deputy governor of Oyo
State, would not forget in a hurry the role
Dame Jonathan played in the politics of the
PDP in Oyo State when she summoned their
leaders and advised them to make the former
governor of the state, Chief Rashidi Ladoja,
the PDP flag bearer, even after the latter had
since left the party and become the founder of
Accord Party. Akala is today the governorship
candidate of the Labour Party in Oyo State.
She is a woman who makes no pretence about
her views. After a long absence from the
country amidst speculations that she was
down at a German hospital, the presidency
and her office kept on assuring the citizens
that she had merely travelled to rest after the
rigours of the 2011 elections and hosting of
the African First Ladies Summit.
But on February 17, 2013, she came out to tell
the stunning story of how she rose from death
after being dead for a week during a
thanksgiving service in Abuja. She debunked
the stories dished out from her husband’s
office completely without scruples.
Punctuating her testimony with praise songs,
Patience, who refused to read from a speech
prepared for her, narrated to the congregation
how she underwent nine surgeries within one
month in London.
“It was not an easy experience for me. I
actually died; I passed out for more than a
week. My intestine and tummy were opened.
“I am not Lazarus but my experience was
similar to his own. My doctors said all hope
was lost.
“People are always afraid of operation
(surgery) but in my own case, while my travail
lasted, I was begging for it (surgery) after the
third operation because I was going to the
theatre every day.
“It was God who saw me through. I did eight
or nine operations within one month. It was
not an easy one.”
When the Chibok girls were abducted by the
dreaded Boko Haram terrorists, Dame Patience
beat her husband to take action by
summoning to Aso Rock those she believed
could explain what happened.
The video recording of the meeting in Abuja
went viral and trended so much, particularly
the part where she discarded the English
language for her preferred pidgin and launched
into a tirade against the principal of the
school and the Borno State governor and his
wife.
That was where she asked the principal, ‘Na
only you waka come?’ She broke down in tears
and told the state governor and those who
wanted to rubbish her husband’s government
that, ‘There’s God o.’
Dame Patience Jonathan is more at home in
her native language and pidgin English,
irrespective of the occasion.
Yet, the First Lady was sufficiently educated.
Born in Port Harcourt, she earned her school
certificate in 1976, and passed the West
African School Certificate Examination in
1980. In 1989, she obtained the National
Certificate of Education in Mathematics and
Biology from the Rivers State College of Arts
and Science, Port Harcourt. She then
proceeded to the University of Port Harcourt
and studied for a B.Ed in Biology and
Psychology.
For Mrs. Aishat Buhari, wife of the presidential
candidate of the APC, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari (retd.), the office of the First Lady
could turn out to be a completely different
experience if her husband wins the election
and becomes the president.
When her husband became the head of state
in the 80s, she had not yet appeared in the
picture as she was said to have got married to
the General in 1989. At a time during the
electioneering, the ruling PDP made it an issue
that Maj.-Gen.Buhari might not have a place
for a woman in public life. As a former head of
state, his then wife remained anonymous
throughout.
And when he started the current campaign,
there was no sign of a woman with him,
creating the fear that he might not be women
friendly. That was when the picture of his wife
appeared on the social media and she turned
out to be a stunning beauty.
The opposition was still not satisfied. In fact,
critics concluded that the General must be
less enamoured with women by refusing to
pose for pictures with his family.
When Buhari’s campaign train hit Abeokuta,
Ogun State, early this year, the major highlight
was the unveiling of his wife. In fact, both
Buhari and his running mate, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, used the occasion to pose with their
wives and with the way the pictures trended
on the social media, many Nigerians were
impressed by the images of the potential First
Lady and her deputy.
Of course, all the major newspapers splashed
the pictures on their front pages the following
day.
Aishat Buhari was drawn out to the public
glare and as such, observers are still trying to
assess her to see the kind of First Lady she
will turn out to be if her husband is victorious
at the polls.
One thing is sure though, Maj.-Gen. Buhari
has a softer side represented by his gorgeous
wife, Aisha.
Mrs. Buhari obtained a diploma in Beauty
Therapy at Carlton Institute of Beauty Therapy
Windsor in United Kingdom; she also obtained
a certificate course in French Beauty School,
Esthetique Academie Dubai. She is also a
member of UK’s Vocational Training and
Charitable Trust and the International Health
and Beauty Council.
Aisha also holds National Certificate in
Education, a Bachelor of Arts Degree at
Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma and Masters
in International Affairs and Strategic Studies
from Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. She
is the founder/Managing Director of Hanzy
Spa and Principal of Hanzy Beauty Institute.
Though Aisha has managed to limit her public
gaffes, what she said about Edo women has
drawn the wrath of the people of the area.
Aisha had said that if her husband is elected,
he would make sure that there were enough
jobs so that young women from Edo State
would no longer take to prostitution. The
women group in the state took her up on this.
She must have learnt some lessons from the
criticisms that trailed her comments.
Nevertheless, she has said, “For me, I will
perform my duties and role as the wife of the
President of Nigeria traditionally.”

seunlayi:
I will just continue praying for peace because i am sure if APC failed in this election, there will be chaos since their contestant has failed to show the spirit of sportsmanship towards this election. Gej has said his own that if he loose, he is going back to his village unlike GMB

oponu

kodded:
naaaaa there are some things you don't say to the public at a certain time it might spark conflict and war


The major reason for war in the world today is because they said the right thing at the wrong time

I agree with you on that

kodded:
This is the worst time for apc to release such news to the public because it can incite more violence in the country
I keep telling my friends that apc does not have nigeria at heart..........they prefer nigeria splitting than for jonathan to be declare the winner

***spit at their change***

u mean for exposing the rot in our state security system.My guy on this you are wrong

kodded:
Ggg

ggg

For most of 2014, Marilyn Ogar, the
spokesperson for Nigeria’s secret police, the
State Security Service, SSS, cut out for herself
a controversial portrait of a blunt security
official who had no qualms issuing threats
and attacking anyone or institution perceived
to be critical of the Nigerian government.
In the heat of the August 9 Osun State
governorship election, won by the All
Progressives Congress, APC, Ms. Ogar alleged
links between the party and bomb attacks, and
narrated how SSS officials rebuffed N14million
offered as bribe by an unnamed party –
although her description fit the APC.
“A director in charge of election duties
(security) was offered N4 million for himself
and N10 million,” Ms. Ogar, a deputy director
in the service, said at a news conference. “It is
because the money was declined, that is why
the certain political party is having a running
battle with the DSS.”
She added, “Thank God the APC won the
election; its loss could have been blamed on
the DSS”, using the service’s alternate name.
Ms. Ogar assured that she and other SSS
officials could not be bribed because the
service provides a competitive reward package
for its personnel, even before assignments.
“We are well paid, I will say it categorically,
our operations are well funded. N14 million as
against N200m that was spent, which one will
you go for? The federal government and the
people of Nigeria who have engaged us have
the capability of taking care of us.”
Ms. Ogar was lying. Investigations by
PREMIUM TIMES have confirmed the SSS
spokesperson received bribe from government
officials well ahead of the Osun election, and
was indeed paid millions of naira at least two
months before the polls.
PREMIUM TIMES could not however confirm
whether the money was directly tied to the
Osun election.
But in June, Ms. Ogar was treated to a special
offer the Nigerian government utilises in
appeasing dubious officials who are willing to
play ball, and other Nigerians regarded as
troublesome.
Within government circles, the offer, which is a
direct allocation of fuel products, is termed
“settlement”.
“That is what the government uses if it wants
to settle you. If you are settled once, you are
made,” one source told PREMIUM TIMES.
Ms. Ogar was referred to the Pipelines and
Products Marketing Company, PPMC, a
subsidiary of the government-run Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in
charge of marketing and distribution of
petroleum products.
According to elaborate details of the
transaction obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the
PPMC was directed to allocate 10 trucks of
DPK (Dual Purpose Kerosene) to Ms. Ogar.
The SSS spokesperson, accordingly met with
the Managing Director of the company,
Haruna Momoh, and the deal was struck
between first and second week in June, this
newspaper confirmed.
With little or no previous fuel marketing
experience, and more importantly, without a
registered company for that purpose, Mr.
Momoh, who took charge at the PPMC in
2011, suggested the allocations be channelled
through known fuel independent marketers
who will receive the allocation, sell them and
deliver cash to Ms. Ogar.
The SSS spokeswoman agreed, and the PPMC
selected three marketers to deliver four, three,
and three trucks apiece on her behalf.
An agent at the PPMC triggered text messages
to the respective marketers. In one, sent by
the coordinator of a private depot in Apapa
Lagos via 08064387579, the firm wrote,
“Please be informed management has
approved three trucks of DPK to your
company. Kindly make arrangement for
payment. Thank you.”
To finalise the deal, the PPMC introduced Ms.
Ogar to the three marketers and all sides
agreed she be paid N1.5 million for each truck
of DPK.
In all, Ms. Ogar was paid N15 million for
doing nothing beyond meeting the PPMC boss
having been recommended by the higher
authorities to do so.
Ms. Ogar declined to comment to this story.
She did not answer multiple calls to her by
one of our reporters. She is also yet to reply a
text message sent to her seeking comment.
Mr. Momoh too did not answer or return calls.
Neither did he respond to a text message sent
to him.
Third party bazaar
For the marketers, the deal was not a bad one
as they received hundreds of thousands of
DPK at N40.90k per litre.
For a 33,000-litre truck, as the average
volume of fuel tankers is, that amounted to
N1.345 million in purchase cost for each
truck.
To enable them profit, the Nigerian
government allowed the marketers the liberty
to sell the fuel at any rate, as high as N120, to
raise their profits after paying Ms. Ogar.
Ms. Ogar’s bazaar was typical of the rot in
the marketing of petroleum products in
Nigeria, the most infamous example being the
2012 fuel subsidy that cost the nation nearly
N3 trillion.
While landing cost of fuel could be as low as
N40.90k, registered marketers buy at far
higher price than that, often in excess of
N100.
Our investigations showed that the huge
differential oils a complex web of official
racket that allows top government officials
settle their cronies, by using them as
intermediaries who receive direct fuel
allocations before re-selling to marketers.
The end cost is transferred to Nigerians who
buy fuel at far more exorbitant rates.
Ostensibly to cover up the deal, Ms. Ogar and
the PPMC chose not to issue routine
documents for the transaction, but conducted
most of the deal through telephone calls and
text messages.
Our sources said the June allocation was
neither the first nor the last for Ms. Ogar, a
claim PREMIUM TIMES could not
independently verify.

thank God.Your eye don open

Nigeria elections: Nation split in Jonathan-
Buhari contest
By Will Ross
BBC News, Lagos
26 March 2015 From the section Africa
Supported of the president are confident that
he will defeat his rival
In Nigerian elections, the incumbent always
wins. But so far this campaign has been
different from all others and this Saturday's
poll is a real contest.
Not only has President Goodluck Jonathan
haemorrhaged support since he comfortably
won in 2011, the "change" chanting opposition
has thrown its combined weight behind one
candidate - former military ruler, Muhammadu
Buhari.
In a country where opinion polls can be
trusted about as much as a politician's
promise, it is hard, even foolish, to predict the
outcome.
With control over Africa's largest economy at
stake - this is a country where multi-billion
dollar corruption scandals come and go - the
campaigns have been toxic with both the
ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and
opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
hurling abuse at each other.
'Shameless'
In this diverse nation of immense potential,
regional and religious divisions have been
exposed. The two main candidates are from
different religions from opposite ends of the
country - Mr Jonathan is a Christian from the
south and Gen Buhari a Muslim from the
north.
The opposition says it wants to clean up the
"mess" caused by the governing party
Violence broke out after the disputed 2011
election
In this campaign, the president's wife has
been accused of hate speech, which she denies
The hate speech seemed to reach a dangerous
nadir earlier this month when the president's
wife, Patience Jonathan, was filmed at a
campaign rally telling a crowd: "Anyone that
comes and tells you 'change', stone that
person."
Her spokesman was later quoted in the local
media saying she was a woman of peace.
"Shamelessly you will discover politicians,
against the electoral law, distributing money,"
says Bawa Abdullahi Wase of the Nigeria-
based Network For Justice rights group.
He says a candidate wishing to get a seat in
the House of Representatives needs a
minimum of $1m (£670,000) for the
campaign. For a Senate seat the war chest
must be even larger.
These are the most expensive elections ever
held in Africa and Nigerians are left guessing
how much of the campaign money has been
looted from the public purse by power-hungry
men and women on both sides of the political
divide.
'Bribes'
"When they get into office, instead of
concentrating on offering services to the
people like electricity, water, roads and
education, they amass the wealth of the total
budget because they know for the next
election they will have to spend more than
they've spent in this election," Mr Wase adds.
As well as cutting expensive deals, the main
political parties have been dishing out sacks
of rice to voters in an effort to influence the
outcome.
"I will collect it, but I will vote for whoever I
want," says Peter Ayas, standing in a tailor's
shop in the commercial capital Lagos's
Obalende suburb. He adds that he found the
bribe an insult.
Goodluck Jonathan in focus:
A supporter wears a mask of the Nigerian
leader
Has a penchant for fedora hats
Regular church-goer
Middle name, Ebele, means "God's wish"
Fond of saying he never had shoes as a
child because of poverty
Told journalists in 2012 that he would not
declare his assets because he did not "give
a damn about it, even if you criticise me
from heaven"
Denied reports in 2014 that his net worth is
about $100m (£62m)
Profile: Goodluck Jonathan
Nigerian exodus as election looms
Could ruling party lose power?
If Nigeria's politicians had done more to
tackle poverty over the years, then such a gift
would be pointless but sadly many people are
susceptible to the bribe as they struggle hand
to mouth every day.
"The gap between the rich and the poor is too
wide. It is only during the election that you
see the rich coming down to interact with the
poor, to get their votes," Mr Ayas tells me over
the din of generators due to the appalling
electricity supply.
'International reputation'
A six-week delay in the vote has meant the
electoral commission is now better prepared -
some analysts believe it would have been an
utter shambles had the vote gone ahead on
14 February.
There are still concerns over whether the
elections will take place, as many Nigeria
watchers believe the ruling party will not risk
facing the electorate unless victory is certain.
Muhammadu Buhari in focus:
Will the former general get the kiss of
approval in February - his fourth attempt to
win at the ballot box?
Age 71
Military ruler of Nigeria from 1984 to 1985
Deposed in a coup
Poor human rights record
Seen as incorruptible
Disciplinarian - civil servants late for work
had to do frog jumps
Muslim from northern Nigeria
Survived an apparent Boko Haram
assassination attempt
Profile: Muhammadu Buhari
Mixing religion and politics
Serious about tackling corruption?
In a letter this week, UK Prime Minister David
Cameron urged Mr Jonathan to ensure that
the elections go ahead as scheduled, warning
that failure to do so "would risk national
security and stability, and adversely affect
Nigeria's international reputation".
"There is still a suspicion that neither party
appears well-suited to the trauma of defeat
and that what Nigeria needs after the dust
settles on this election is not just an effective
government, but an effective opposition," says
Anthony Goldman, a Nigeria expert who heads
the London-based PM Consulting firm.
Whether this important period in Nigeria's
history is peaceful will partly depend on the
behaviour of the politicians and their hired
thugs, as well as the determination of militant
Islamist group Boko Haram to disrupt
democracy.
Violence erupted in the northern state of
Gombe ahead of an election rally by President
Jonathan
The official reason for the election delay was
the insecurity in the north-east.
Considering the massive loss of life -
campaign group Human Rights Watch says
the insurgents have killed 1,000 people this
year alone - it seems inexcusable that a
robust military offensive was not launched
months, even years, earlier.
A pre-election regional assault has turned the
tide against the jihadists but as a disrupted
rather than decimated force they still pose a
significant threat.
It is unclear how much voting will take place
in the battered north-east, where 1.5 million
people have fled their homes. A low turn-out
would favour Mr Jonathan as it is an
opposition stronghold.
Then there is the threat of further bomb
attacks even outside the north-east - in recent
years cities like Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Abuja
have been targeted in bombings blamed on
Boko Haram.
'Memories of civil war'
The oil-rich Niger Delta, where the incumbent
is from, is another flashpoint. Political
rivalries in Rivers State threaten to boil over
and some former militiamen have promised
chaos should Mr Jonathan not win.
There is a deeply entrenched culture of
impunity in Nigeria when it comes to electoral
violence and it seems that suits many
politicians.
"In the past, most people who are implicated
or indicted in the election violence go home
scot-free. There are no trials," says Tony
Ojukwu of Nigeria's National Human Rights
Commission.
"After the last election [when at least 800
people were killed] the reform panel
recommended that an election offences
tribunal should be set up. But, of course, you
know this is not in the interests of the
politicians as they are the major violators so
they never set up that panel," adds Mr Ojukwu.
Militias in Nigeria's oil-producing region still
pose a threat
Many Nigerians cannot wait for this drawn-
out tense period to be over.
"I pray every day but this morning I prayed
hard for Nigeria," says Tomiwa who works for
an online business in Lagos.
The night before she had watched a film set
during Nigeria's civil war, which ended in 1970
with the military putting down an attempt to
create the breakaway Biafra state.
"I saw so many parallels with the current
situation in Nigeria, it terrified me," she said.

too late,click like for sai buhari

thank God

if he like make he rub powder join am.