₦airaland Forum

34Years;

' completed specialist training as a psychiatrist and single.

Will give me an opportunity for better choices for my future. Young, full of energy, hope and ideas, compared to current age of 45

Some graceful movements there. Good work, Ini.

Anyone who can give advice on fish pond business in Nigeria in terms of cat of setting up, pros and cons etc?

Thanks

Any group that has strong fraternity bonds and sworn to fight evil against members is very likely to develop into a gangster group especially if there is a society with poor justice systems and strong belief in traditional medicine powers. No one can remember when these fraternity groups were not seen as campus terrors. That is the method they used to influence campus politics, fight injustice and strenghthen  bonds in future. Soyinka had a strong and stubborn personality, and in his younger days, probably would use any means to fight evil, including aggression. After all his name was never Saint Wole. With more maturity he became more peaceable.

That is my take.

A friend of mine cried this complaint loud on Facebook:

Can u imagine, I can't believe he deleted me on his BBM, can't reach him on his phone, he moved 4m his house, removed me from his friends on Facebook n twitter just because I gave d list of things I want for Xmas . 1. Brazilian hair-N95k. 2. Gucci bag-N350k. 3. Louis vutton wallet-N60k. 4. DNKY wrist watch-N70k. 5. Prada shoes-N140k. 6. Aldo sandals-N28k. & Blackberry bold 5 N120k
Did I ask for too much?

Na wah for Abuja girls o!!

The main reason why JAMB was introduced in the late was to curb corruption and the exclusion of some persons who have no financial wherewithal by the so called consensual exams of the unis atbthat time. Post ume is returning to the same process again. We need to improve JAMB aha it Ty rather than post ume

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?

" DUE PROCESS" INDEED

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/sep/9/512.html

2007 Presidential poll: Yar’Adua bought judgment for $57m -WikiLeaks


Friday, September 9, 2011
A glimpse of what may have led to the split decision victory that confirmed the late Umaru Yar’Adua as winner of the 2007 presidential election emerged yesterday from the latest dispatches of WikiLeaks.


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Latest US diplomatic cable reports leaked by the wire spy suggests that the Yar’Adua team may have coughed out a whopping $57 million to procure a favourable judgment.

It further alleged that the judgment may have actually been written in the Presidency and handed to the jurists to read to the public. A named minister was said to have done the writing.

However, this claim is sharply at variance with an earlier dispatch from the same source which confirmed how resolute and incorruptible the leadership of the Supreme Court at that in time was, having refused all manner of inducements from the presidency.

It is, therefore, inconsiwstent that the same judiciary, which refused to stop Atiku in the build up to the election, would now turn around to accept bribe to uphold Yar’Adua’s election.

However, the controversial report, which claimed to be quoting a former Board of Trustee (BoT) member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also claimed that the presidency directed that some of the bribe money be handed to top military chiefs as well. But it did not say if it was eventually given.

The dispatch reads in part:

A founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and PDP Board of Trustees member, but also a strong critic of the party’s current ruling group, alleged that President Yar’Adua directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to divert $57 million to bribe some justices to uphold his April 2007 election.

The informant claimed that, as of February 18, some of the election tribunal justices were privately signaling an intention to overturn Yar’Adua’s election, and a minister (and not the justices) in fact drafted the judgment. The informant also asserted that a Supreme Court Justice told him February 29 the Supreme Court would rule to overturn Yar’Adua’s election since it regarded the election as massively rigged and the Tribunal’s judgment “embarrassing and pathetic.” The PDP chieftain described the March 8 PDP Convention as a battle of wits between Obasanjo and Yar’Adua, to determine who would emerge as having greater influence within the PDP.

Should Obasanjo’s choice, Sam Egwu, emerge the PDP National Chair, it would indicate not only that the PDP remains firmly within Obasanjo’s grip, but also that Yar’Adua is a “nobody” within the party.

The source also believed Yar’Adua may possibly choose former Senate President Pius Anyim for National Chair. He said Yar’Adua has authorized the disbursement of $3 million to be dispatched across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to forestall the possibility of Egwu emerging the victor. The squealer also told PolOff that Yar’Adua had met with PDP governors March 3 and would again meet with them March 7, to pressure them to vote against Egwu.

The source decried Yar’Adua as a “ruthless, cunning” individual who has done nothing for the Nigerian people since he took office last May. While the squealer’s antipathy for Obasanjo is well-known, he averred that Yar’Adua was even more “dangerous” and “corrupt” than Obasanjo, and suggested that First Lady Turai Yar’Adua, at the possible behest of President Yar’Adua, controlled access to the President and did it well. Moreover, the PDP chieftain confided that in mid-January discussions in Paris, he advised former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida to remain outside Nigeria and not attempt a political comebwack since he lacked any significant base of support either within the PDP or the military.

The source claimed that President Yar’Adua instructed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on February 20 to release $57 million to a minister. In turn, the informant noted, the minister would disburse the funds among top judges and military chiefs. As of February 18, three justices had declared privately an intention to overturn Yar’Adua’s election, contending the election was massively rigged and flawed. As well, the PDP chieftain alleged the Tribunal judgment had been written by the minister from North Central zone. (Comment: While we have maintained that the provisions of the 2006 Electoral Act necessarily make it difficult for any petitioner to prove that electoral malfeasance “substantially” affected the outcome of elections in 2/3 of Nigeria’s 36 states, and that that meant a judgment against Yar’Adua’s election was unlikely, this is the first allegation we have heard of Yar’Adua directly interfering in the Presidential Election Tribunal process. End Comment.)

The informant confided that a Supreme Court justice told him over a private lunch February 29 that the Supreme Court will overrule the tribunal’s verdict to uphold Yar’Adua’s April 2007 election since, according to the jurist, the tribunal’s judgment was “embarrassing and pathetic.” In such an eventuality, the informant stated, the Constitution may be interpreted to suggest that the Senate President would take over as interim president for a period of no more than 90 days. The squealer told PolOff that the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and Action Congress have signaled privately that they will not support this reading of the Constitution, particularly if Obasanjo-loyalist and current Senate President David Mark’s (PDP) election is upheld at the Court of Appeal.

(The Benue State Election Tribunal overturned Mark’s election February 23, ordering elections in two local government areas (LGAs) to be re-run. Mark’s opponent Usman Abubakar (ANPP) filed a counter-appeal to Mark’s appeal March 3, petitioning the court to declare Abubakar the victor since he had received the greater number of votes across seven LGAs (See Ref A).)

Note: PolOffs witnessed February 26 at the Presidential Election Tribunal that both the minister from North Central zone and a son of one of the justices walked through to chambers to meet with the justices. Under law, however, justices must be sequestered during deliberation and especially prior to delivering a judgment. A Reuters foreign correspondent resident in Abuja told PolOff March 2 that a source inside the Villa had read the judgment verbatim to the correspondent February 25 (a day before the actual ruling was delivered). An Adviser to General Muhammadu Buhari (ANPP), told PolOff February 28 the General had received information from contacts within the Villa on February 24 that the Tribunal would uphold the election.

, Kutigi rejected N600m bribe to stop Atiku

Fresh dispatches from WikiLeaks have revealed how the Obasanjo presidency in the build up to the 2007 presidential election, tried to compromise the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Idris Kutigi, in its desperation to stop Atiku Abubakar from contesting the election.

According to the latest postings on the raging WikiLeaks expose, the Obasanjo presidency voted as much as N600 million to bribe the now retired eminent jurist.

Incidentally, Kutigi was said to have rejected all, including a later offer to nominate his son for federal appointment.

According to the WikiLeaks cable believed to have emanated from the US Embassy, there was serious danger that the bribe offers would colour the outcome of the myriad of “lawsuits brought by President (Olusegun) Obasanjo and Vice president Atiku (Abubakar) in their political battle,” as the former desperately tried to stop the latter from standing election.

The dispatch noted that a controversial former senior special assistant to Obasanjo initially offered a bribe of N200 million to Kutigi during a private visit to the then CJN but that the jurist walked both the SSA and the equally controversial Anambra billionaire businessman who came with him, out of his office.

According to the unconfirmed WikiLeaks report, the presidency again tried to get the jurist to bend the law through a traditional ruler whom both the presidency and the jurist had enormous respect for. This time, the bribe money was upped to N400 million, but again, Kutigi turned it down and proceeded to do the right thing.

The report reads in part:

In the upcoming weeks, the mood of the Supreme Court may well be an important factor in determining how many of the recently concluded “elections” stand. In the past three weeks, court rulings on the myriad lawsuits brought by President Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku over the political battle between the two top elected leaders may provide an indication of its future direction. In the two biggest cases, one determining whether the National Electoral Commission (INEC) had the right to disqualify candidates, and the second on the validity of the hastily convened Administrative Panel to indict Atiku, the court came out against the use of the Presidency’s powers to manipulate the electoral environment. And Chief Justice Kutigi, in establishing the elections tribunals several weeks ago, stressed to the judges selected for the panels the importance of dealing with cases quickly.

He also warned the electoral tribunal judges against being influenced by bribery and political pressure, stating that those who succumbed could be dealt with through the National Judicial Council, and those found wanting could be removed from their positions.

Kutigi appears to be reacting strongly to several credibly reported attempts to sideline him or to co-opt him for political purposes. A member of the Chief Justice’s staff told PolCouns that the Presidency had attempted to bribe Kutigi twice before the elections. In the first case, it contacted Kutigi to offer CJN’s son an appointment as a Federal judge. Kutigi is said to have demurred, saying that he wanted nothing that might be seen as favoritism and was concerned that his son should be appointed in the future on his own merits. Nevertheless, Kutigi’s son was nominated.

According to the same source, the second attempt came when the President’s former aide who was later a governor, visited Kutigi’s office on April 10 accompanied by a controversial businessman and at one time, the godfather of Anambra polities. The aide says the two offered Kutigi 200 million Naira (about $1.6 million) to drop the suit by Atiku and leave him off the ballot. Kutigi, according to the aide “reacted strongly” to the offer and escorted them out of his office. The next day, President Obasanjo declared a two-day holiday ahead of the April 14 elections effectively delaying the decision in the Atiku suit until the following week.

A third attempt reportedly took place on April 24, when Kutigi was summoned to meet a paramount traditional ruler from his home state. According to a member of the monarch’s council of chiefs, the monarch offered Kutigi N400 million (about $3.2 million) from “the Presidency” in exchange for “control” over which specific cases the elections tribunals would overturn results.

According to the source, Kutigi was livid. He told the king that he had no desire to explain to his family “where this kind of money comes from” and pointed out that, at his age, he would be “meeting the angels” to answer for his life very soon. And they will not be asking me for Naira.” When the monarch discussed the situation with his council, several of them reportedly berated him for “even suggesting” that Kutigi could be bribed and advised him to return the cash to its source as soon as possible.

On April 26, rumours began circulating that Kutigi’s official vehicle had come under attack in Abuja by “unknown gunmen.” Reportedly, shots were fired at the Chief Justice’s car and he was whisked to safety by his security aide. Post has been unable to confirm this rumour, but it is widely believed by Nigerians to be true.

On the same evening, PolCouns overheard phone calls from three Supreme Court Justices, including the Chief Justice, to members of ANPP presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari’s entourage. Two of them were expressing sympathy with Buhari over the elections and assuring him of the judiciary’s impartiality. The third call-a Justice from the Southwest- also encouraged Buhari personally to forge ahead with the elections tribunals because, in the words of the Justice, “we are fed up with the pretense of democracy” pushed by President Obasanjo.

That's is one major problem with Nigeria. Every minister or gov wants to site projects, institutions in their own village or stated Without due consideration for the suitability of that siting it there. I am not an expert in space and astronomy but these projects are usually sited in dry areas that are mountainous and have clear skies over the world. Wonder if akwa ibom have these features.

Fhemmmy:
Both are very happy:
Groom: Finally, i can have it when i want and dont have to treat her out, I can finally show her who i am and no more flowers.
Bride: Now i have him where i want him to be.

We know say both of dem dey happy, but who happy pass?

I think the bride is happier because  she  feels safe, more respected among women. The man is less happy because of financial responsibilities of the wedding, the strings of marriage and anxiety of money to keep the home after the wedding.

Most girls cheat before marriage, so consider her good qualities before dumping her. Have you being absolutely faithful yourself? The devil u know is better than the angel you do not know.

9jacrip:
This is good to know but which of the Nigerian accents sounds sexy? Because I don't think the Hausa/Fulani sounds good to the ears, I can stand the Igbos and my beloved Yorubas being ranked as people with sexy accents but the Hausa/Fulani, naw!

The sexy accent may not be obvious when we speak at home. It is when you speak good English that the beauty comes out in every naija no matter the tribe. It is more obvious when they speak with foreign colleagues abroad. Honestly my wife and I have many times mistaken Uk prime ministers and parliamentarians as nigerians when we hear their voices on TV when we not looking. Now we know why.

Could be true. When I first arrived Australia, I used to get a lot of attention when I speak, and some actually made positive commrpents  about my accent. I first thought they were being snobbish because they could not imagine someone from Africa being able  to speak correct English language. Even till now

Now I know they were being thrilled by the sexiness of the accent leading to the excessive attention. You may keep the Nigerian accent when abroaad but try to be clear and slow down the pace. Help yourself with a good digital pronunciation dictionary to pronounce words clearly.

Most of the sexiness may be due to the deep voice common in Nigeria, which is so attractive especially to the womenfolk.

For political reasons, the world bank did not include corruption as one of the reasons fir slow economic growth on Nigeria. Corruption, to my mond os the biggest impediment to Nigerian economic growth.

it is ethically wrong because of conflict of interest between doing a state job and serving his father's interest. Would have been a bit better if he was made a commissioner of a ministry of his skills and interest rather than post Of a adviser to his father. Just like Clinton's wife Hillary served in the department of health when her husband was president of the USA

Please read link below in which Henie Botes of Moladi building Company based in SA and Naija, basts if being able to build cheaper more durable houses using plastic concrete technology. Does anyone on Nairaland have any experience to share?


http://www.vc4africa.com/profiles/blogs/n74m-can-build-a-twin-duplex

NLs be balanced and understand everyone have the right to their own views. Some people may not enjoy Fela music, and so may not regard him as an icon. Excessive propagation of African culture to the exclusion of good western education and abuse of white people may sound racist to some.

Preaching against societal vices and behaving badly may amount to hypocrisy.

Rehearsing with colleagues with in underpants is surely against Nigerian  societal norms especially when he knew the press were around. Fela's sense of morality and decency was beclouded by his excessive shunning of ethics all in the name of freedom. He was a great saxophonist notwithstanding.

DASLEEKY:
I feel compelled to post on NL. I rarely do, My simple reason to clear up one fact:
FELA NEVER WAKED  THE STREET Unclad NOR PERFORMED WITH JUST UNDERPANTS ON STAGE

A controversy ignited During the West african idol auditions, one of the judges, Dede Madiaku (Fela's protegee),  strongly abeit harshly chatised some dude for trying to mimic Fela with just underpants and Dede was unequivocal in saying the fact "FELA NEVER CLIMB THE STAGE WITH HIS UNDERPANTS"
 see said incidence here  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDh_TsHKfJU
& folks came up with diff videos of him, (including this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPIZBcb6hQI  singing is his underpants but all of such videos are rehearsal @ his gbemisola street residence  in Ikeja

So if there's anything to be re-emphasized here it is the simple fact:
[size=16pt]FELA NEVER CLIMB THE STAGE WITH JUST UNDER PANTS!!!![/size]

I believe what the OP raised is an important issue. That is what makes a real man, an icon. We need to redefine this carefully. The morality of one's life  is an important aspect of one's status.

In retrospect, Fela was like a hypocrite who condemned society's ills but practices bad behavior in his own way, all in the name of freedom. He ruined the lives of so many youths, spread HIV to many and had little control over finances. His republic was a disaster.

He was a social critic, a hypocrite and a musical genius. ThIs  is my submission

Mustapha had already pleaded not guilty. The onus is on the prosecution to show the evidence Against him. After 12 years they could not. So mustapha'begin tell story.

Aigbofa:
Even if they took the money, this is not sufficient to save Al Mustapha from the noose.
He is on trial for murder and attempted murder. Is he guilty or not, that is the question.

what if he was commanded with threats to his life by a very senior General to kill kudirat, possibly Abacha, would mustapha's bear the full brunt of the law? And if the agents of this same general forbid him to name them with threats to his family's life, can mustapha confess in court? That is the irony of the situation, I believe

It would be superfluous to expect mustapha's video to show these leaders collecting Money live. They probably have collected the money before meeting AbubakAr and the press, to soften their minds. Nairalanders be smart and apply your intellect. The murderer of Abiola was also in the video!!!

[b][/b]

Good Police work

where is the electricity to sustain such projects
We need the required electricity water transport and security before we can ever dream of such a project

I heard that the Ijaws are from Ghana

The issue of women demanding is related possibly to the cultural attitude in nigeria that a man should look after a woman's material needs and so to show u love her a man has to spend so much money on the women, just like men expect to a woman to love by doing the domestics for him. Some women take this notion too far and becomes A bad habit

Nigerians generally like begging a lot from richer family members or those who are abroad. It is a demonstration of inferiority and bad parental training in independence and self esteem. No solutions for now as many of these women equate love to the value of the gift in terms of money.

One test is to ask young women this question; if you have two boyfriends and one gave you a gold watch for your birthday, and the other gave u a bunch of flowers. Who loves you more. Most Nigerian women I asked usually say the gold giver, indicating  materiListic inclination.

Nairalanders pls use words that heal not wound. Show some intellect in your posts.

Why did the police arrest the landlord and his son without ordering a postmortem and testing the food eaten by the deceased? Our police force is a disservice to the nation

I believe the deaths of Abiola, abacha and possibly idiagbon were carried out by the people who benefitted most from their deaths. Ie the succeeding military leaders. Full stop. They had to kill idiagbon to avoid an investigation. They made Abiola 's death look connected to the USA , and mustapha and many NLs have fallen for the guse. Ask general Abubabakar to tell you. The 200 million usd was given to yorubas to keep dem quiet after Abiola died not before. No Yoruba leader would accept money to have Abiola killed. The killers did not need their approval to do it anyway. The leaders who took over from Abacha after he died know the truth or were involved. They should own up.

Al mustapha's knows little about what actually happened. His USA conspiracy had been a common street and lacks veracity. Abiola's reparation calls against the West for enslaving Africans were not a big threat to the west as he was still willing to do business with them and were generally not viewed with malice. Not enough to have him killed. The killers of Abiola are closer than you think. Abacha'sdeath was possibly a silent coup defat.

This is my conspiracy theory. comments welcomed.

I doubt the veracity of al mustapha's claims of the death of abiola being engineered By the USA. Indeed there is a poison like the chemical 1 in espionage cycles. Mandela had reported the apartheid regime In SA had contemplated killing him with it while he was in prison. The plan was to incorporate the poison in his sugar so that his tea would kill him. The govt changed it's mind later on. If Abiola was poisoned General Abubakar knows how. It was possibly hatched in Nigeria. The toxicological postmortem reports On Abiola never saw the light of day. Why?

Better to sell the properties, and use the money for a project that benefits the common people rather than running a hotel.

Narrow-minded thinkers!!!

Thanks Barkono. If Islamic banks are operating in the UK why not here in naija. I think what the proposers want is to legalize and license the banking system, that is all. People should then be free to operate it. There is a big misunderstanding, and xtians need education on the issues. We also need assurance nobody would be forced to join any Islamic bank even in the northern states. Orisejafor should learn more about the Islamic bank, already noted to be okay by Dr Iweala. Only time will tell how successful it will be.

Pt is natural to be wary of new ideas.

Barkono:
@ Olumide
Here are the holes : "let it also be known that we are not against islamic banking per se, " Contrast this with ", this is in addition to a proposed establishment of a sharia council of experts to be based at the CBN to monitor the operations of the islamic banking and we asked, is this what operates in all the countries before the introduction of islamic banking as against other non-interest banking" I must say, that this man is confused. How do you manage an institution that is out to benefit the generality of the populace without having experts/consultants? In the UK., the islamic bank of britain has a sharia advisory committee, which advises the central bank governor. And it is called Sharia Supervisory Committee. See www.islamic-bank.com/sharia-finance, It is therefore disheartening that the CAN president, whom we assumed to be well travelled and knowledgeable, will speak to the press without making research. And he said 'we have continued to frown at the way the CBN governor who is paid with taxpayers money to be championing islamic banking, " This is crazy. Who do investors look up to on matters like this before investing their dough? Does he think the 25billion naira, they are depositing will not come with some price? I doubt if the CBN, will box the 25billion naira, just for safe keeping.

2. In other interviews, he brought the issue of OIC, the ajami (arabic) letters on the naira notes. He went further to say that the removal of the ajami on the smaller notes by Soludo, has been brought back bY Sanusi. I wonder if this man handles Nigerian currencies at all. I didn't see any ajami on our smaller denomination. If this man has an issue with Islam, then the Sultan is corrrect when he said what he said earlier.
On the issue of Boko Haram, the CAN president was in the news supporting the Niger Delta militants, in their heydays. The Sultan as a former intelligent officer knows exactly what he is saying.
I think the CAN has made a big mistake by nominating this Oritseajaifor of a man. He doesn't think before he speaks. He should have studied the situation before talking. Thank God he said it himself, that the Sultan has finally spoken. But the Sultan was consulting and thinking before he spoke. That is sign of good leadership.
Lest we forget, this CAN president's wife is managing eagle flight microfinance bank, in warri. A bank that is neck deep in usury. How holy is he then?