IGBO-SON:
This man is a fool!

How? Methinks this article doesn't in any way call for unsubstantiated knocks. Looks more like deserving of kudos, if you ask me!

Stella Oduah: Frequently Asked Questions By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo
Posted: October 31, 2013 - 14:40

Columnist: Correct Me If I Am Right By Rudolf Okonkwo
The revelation that the Aviation Minister Ms. Stella Oduah arm-twisted the National Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to buy two armored BMW cars for $1.6 million dollars has raised a lot of questions. How we answer some of these questions will determine if we will be able to reduce corruption in our society. I will now tackle some of your frequently asked questions.

Q1. Why Ms. Stella Oduah?
Answer: Because she was caught, red-handed, if I may add.


Q2. Isn’t that what they’ve all been doing? They are all corrupt.
Answer: When a police radar clocks your car for driving faster than the speed limit and you are pulled over, that some other drivers were driving faster than you will not let you off the hook. That they all do it does not exonerate you.


Q3. Why now? Isn’t this a calculated attempt to frustrate her? Is this issue not orchestrated by the special interests she sidelined in order to carry out impressive work she is doing in the aviation sector, like the airport renovations?
Answer: Every person in authority deals with special interests. In a place where there is no transparency and standards, people in power favor some and disfavor others. This is something that following laid down procedures will save them from. Those you did not favor may be unhappy, or even be antagonistic. For every Dangote favored there is an Ibeto disfavored. They may wish that you disappear from your position, but they will not force you to spend $1.6 million to buy two armored cars.


Q4: Stella Oduah is not the first person to be caught misappropriating public funds. There is Farouk Lawan, Dimeji Bankole, why is everyone piling on her?
Answer: I went back to look at news reports of the time when major corruption scandals broke. They looked to me as if everyone was piling on those people, too. In fact, it appears as if those who complain that a particular corruption suspect is being piled on are the same people who derided another suspect in the past.

The only change that I see in Stella Oduah’s case is that Nigerians are getting more frustrated by the day. And social media is expanding the more. If you think Stella Oduah had it rough, wait until the next scandal that will break. In fact, President Jonathan complains of being the most criticized Nigerian president but my pity is with the next president- whoever that may be. It’ll be rough, rough, rough.


Q5. Are we not innocent until proven guilty in a court of law?
Answer: Yes. But that’s in a sane society. In a society where a suspected thief is lynched on the street or a police officer regularly shoots a suspect and plants evidence on him, what do you expect? Isn’t it ironic that some of the same people who are quoting the law in the case of Ms. Oduah will gladly pour petrol and light the matches on a suspected thief?


Q6. Isn’t the fact that she’s a smart Igbo woman a factor?
Answer: I hope she is not the first smart Igbo woman in government. And I hope she will not be the last. If my memory serves me right, in September of 2007, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Patricia Etteh was accused of authorizing the spending of N628 million naira (about $5 million) to renovate her official residence and that of her deputy and also for the purchase of 12 official cars. She was forced to resign by public outcry, even when President Olusegun Obasanjo was solidly behind her. I don’t remember her being a smart Igbo woman.


Q7. Isn’t this whole thing a plot by the opposition to embarrass the president?
Answer: As far as I know, the opposition did not order the purchase of the two cars. And the opposition did not take delivery of the cars, either.


Q8. But someone leaked the information. And that person must be working for the opposition. Don’t you think?
Answer: The person who leaked the information is working for Nigeria. He or she is a hero- a Nigerian hero. We need more of them everywhere. That he or she is now facing 10 years in jail should worry us all. Meanwhile, if convicted of violating procurement act, Stella Oduah will only get 5 years in jail. For a thoroughly corrupt society like ours, we need a law that protects whistleblowers. We need it yesterday.


Q9. The Yoruba Lagos-Ibadan press is just lynching an Igbo woman. Can’t you see that?

Answer: The Lagos-Ibadan press phenomenon is like the Kaduna mafia. Like a phantom, it exists and at the same time it doesn’t exist. That the media in Nigeria is fractured and flawed is not in question. But the majority of the Lagos-Ibadan media is owned by people from the minority ethnic groups. By the way, Igbo people own enough newspapers in the Lagos-Ibadan axis that, if what is going on is an ethnic war to expose corrupt practices of government officials from other ethnic groups, the Igbo have the means to get into the game.

Of course, that is not what is happening. But should that be, Nigeria would be the beneficiary if all corrupt elements are exposed.
The engine driving the Stella Oduah’s story does not come from the Lagos-Ibadan press. Saharareporters broke the story. And Saharareporters and Premium Times have kept the heat on. The Lagos-Ibadan press is reluctantly following along. Saharareporters and Premium Times are not owned by Yoruba people.

Online, the Igbo own more news websites than any other ethnic group. So nothing stops them from exposing the corrupt practices of other government officials. And you can be sure that once the evidence is out, the Lagos-Ibadan press will join in to lynch the suspect.


Q10. Why is the press not reporting that Governor Babatunde Fashola also bought a bulletproof car?
Answer: The simple answer is that the press has no evidence to support that story. The only reason why the Stella Oduah’s story gathered momentum was that Saharareporters presented irrefutable evidence. Those who have such evidence on any politician will always find a media outlet that will publish it. In the media, there is a difference between what is known and what can be supported by evidence. People in the media know a lot but are limited in some cases by a lack of proof. And that is where they need help from the public and whistleblowers. If, for any reason, no media will touch an authentic story with verifiable evidence, the democratization of the media means that anyone can put such material in public domain. The social media has made it so simple.
Politicians are frustrated by social media. They can buy up all the reporters and editors in Nigeria but they cannot buy every Tunde and Obi and Sani with a cell phone in hand.


Q11: What will now happen to the airports if Stella Oduah is sacked?
Answer: Somebody will take over from her and carry on from where she stopped. If she is the only person that can do the work in a country of 160 million people, then, you should know that we have more serious problems than we thought.


Q12. Now that you’ve said all these things, how can we eradicate corruption in Nigeria?

Answer: Aside from the structural flaws, the single most challenging issue facing Nigeria is corruption. It has eaten so deeply into every facet of Nigerian life that it undermines what would otherwise have been beneficial initiatives. Can corruption be effectively tackled without first undertaking the task of restructuring? My answer would be no, because the synergy needed to push for a clean society is difficult to gather in a structurally weak country like Nigeria. The reason why Mr. Andy Ubah and his group will destroy government properties in Awka and nothing could be done is because of the prevailing structure that places the center over the region. People in each state or region can handle their renegades but not when the federal might is behind the renegades.

But what could be done while we await the inevitable restructuring of Nigeria?

First, why are we so corrupt? We are corrupt because we have a poor and lawless country where there is no freedom of information and whose leaders/citizens - who have no shame - are overloaded with exaggerated sense of importance. Those are dangerous combinations. They have guaranteed corruption in all societies where such propensities exist. It is the same in Bangladesh. It is the same in Mexico. It is the same in Haiti. And it is the same in Kenya.

Anyone living in the West can attest to the fact that without the enforcement of law and order, these western societies would, in a short time, deteriorate into corrupt societies. The primary task of lawmakers and law enforcement agencies is to stay one step ahead of the lawbreakers. It is a perpetual battle that every generation redefines. In the case of Nigeria, the ball was dropped soon after independence, as men became gods and civil service became self-service.

What we have in Nigeria is power without accountability, action without consequences and citizens without a say. Everyone, it seems, is either already corrupt or is searching for a chance to be corrupt. The few who are not yet corrupt are busy fighting off the pressure to be corrupt. Those who are rich by means of corruption have nothing to fear and those who are poor because of corruption have nothing to love. In a society where corruption thrives, the dream of a fair and just society can never be attained. And with that dies the hope of a prosperous society for all.

It is, therefore, in the interest of all Nigerians that corruption is eradicated. Corruption does harm to everyone of us. It is indirectly responsible for a great percentage of all unnatural deaths of Nigerians. When a corrupt politician connives with a corrupt contractor to award and execute a frivolous road contract and people die in accidents due to poor roads, it is an indirect result of corruption. When a corrupt businessman connives with a corrupt hospital administrator and supplies adulterated medications to hospitals and patients die in doctors’ care, it is an indirect result of corruption. When a policeman confuses bribery with bonus, frees a criminal and the criminal kills an innocent man, it is an indirect result of corruption.

Tackling corruption will require a three-way act – prosecution, prevention and education. So far, none of these is happening in Nigeria at the level it should. Prosecution of corrupt practices must be swift, severe and steady. It must proceed with a thorough investigation. It must be across the board. It must be carried out by competent individuals. Prevention of corruption entails the reduction of opportunities for corruption in existing procedures and practices of government departments and private organizations. Education of the citizenry must integrate the importance of ethics in civic and business life.

Without leaders who uphold higher standard of integrity, the task is hard to begin. The tendency for blackmail is great when leaders are themselves stained by the oil of corruption. In such situation, emphasis should be built around public institutions. An efficient public complaint structure should be established as an avenue to initiate actions. Civil servants must have firm and independent-minded monitors. With citizens’ rights enthroned, accountable democratic institutions could be built from down to up.

process of making bids, awarding contracts and procurements must be made public. If the Ministry of Works, for instance, says that it spent 400 billion Naira in road constructions in the last year, the public should know how the bidding was done, who won the contract and why. Also, the public should know who supervised the job, who approved the job completion, and who should follow up with the maintenance. Nobody should need to invoke the Freedom of Information Act before they find out how much elected officials and civil servants make.

To build a clean society we have to start by creating an open one. Any Nigerian should be able to know the assets of our public officials. Public servants who declared marginal assets when they went into office and came out with mega wealth should be probed and the source of their newly found wealth exposed. The same should go for public officials who throw money around. We should be able to demand and receive information on what each public official costs us and where the money goes. Those found wanting in their handling of public funds must be punished severely and should be made to pay restitution. As we close up loopholes to embezzlement, we have to teach our children social contract and the beauty of abiding by it.
Eradicating corruption in Nigeria may sound like an oxymoron now but, if we really mean it, we can make it happen.

http://saharareporters.com/column/stella-oduah-frequently-asked-questions-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo

Just heard from credible sources - Inspiration FM and Nigeria Info FM.

ANyone near the epicenter should provide update and pics, please, as long as you don't get in the way of rescue operations!

This is quite disturbing, and the sheer height of the building in question gives even more cause for concern.
This is hoping that this time around there'll be better response from the relevant agencies.

From the pix here doesn't seem like much of the building will be rescued, though.

Strike Started July 1, 2013.
As at today it's 123 days.

So sad

Sad development. Please, all Nigerian traders by now should know the importance of insurance cover. You NEVER can tell when "it" could happen!

I just hope this won't make the government in Nigeria to now relax... "afterall it happens also in the UK... blah.. blah... blah..."
PLEASE REOPEN OUR SCHOOLS, GEJ. An agreement is an agreement!

Just like in Nigeria, where the university staff union (ASUU) embarked on a nationwide strike, union members working in higher education in United Kingdom have taken part in a UK-wide strike over pay on Thursday.

Members of trade unions took to the picket line at University of Ulster Jordanstown, St Mary's College in west Belfast and Queen's University.

They are calling for an improvement in the 1% pay rise offer made by employers as they say they have suffered a 13% real term pay cut since 2008.

According to Unite union, pay and benefits for university leaders have increased on average by more than £5,000 in the last year, with the average pay and pension package for vice-chancellors hitting almost £250,000.

Mike Larkin, president of the university and college union at Queen's said workers felt they had no other choice.

"Pay has been so low for so many years, we've lost 13% in our pay over the last four years and a 1% pay offer is just not good enough," he told UTV.

He added that those on strike were not out to damage the education of university students.

Eugene McGlone, from Unite the Union, told UTV: "Staff at universities have seen their pay drop over the last five years.

"And at the same time have noticed that the top 10% of the employees at the university - that's the top 10 managers etc - have seen their pay increase by at least 5.5% year or year and those sorts of figures are absolutely damning."

Academic and support staff have both taken part in the action.

Dr John Barry from the School of Politics at Queen's said the walk-out was a "sign of desperation".

"Prices have risen, the price of fuel, the price of childcare, travel and essentially we've taken a pay cut over the last number of years and enough is enough," he said.

"Our campaign is not simply for well-paid academics, this is really about the pay and conditions for the quality of work that we want.

"Universities are here as major drivers of the economy, certainly in Northern Ireland, it's about helping create a post-conflict society.

"We certainly want to be paying academics and indeed our support staff good wages as well."

Queen's University has said it does not support strike action and that it has taken necessary steps to ensure there is minimal impact on students.

Some students were disgruntled at the disruption to their classes and told UTV they were not in favour of the strikes.

But further action, around graduation and exam times, could be planned if a resolution that workers are happy with is not found.


According to BBC Mary Senior, UCU's Scottish official, said there had been a good turn-out at the picket line at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.

She said: "We're very upbeat, we've been explaining to people why we are out today and people have been signing our petition.

"Lectures have been cancelled and the library in Glasgow is closed, so the action is having an effect.

"We want the employers to come back to the negotiating table and make a better offer."

Protests were also organised at Stirling and St Andrews.

Union members were also expected to take part in rallies later.

Credits: UTV and BBC

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/10/universities-shut-in-united-kingdom-uk.html

Well,
Looks like she's gonna get herself off the hook on this one. This is what happens when the C-in-C (at whose table the buck always stops) chooses to act soooo slowly on anti-corruption matters. But guess what? Nigerians are watching closely.

And let me also remind everyone once again, this public outrage has never been because the cars were bought in her name. It's the same type of outrage that follows reports that our Presidency budgets N1billion annually for feeding and entertainment.... It's an outrage at the wasteful spending on frivolity that permeats our leadership at ALL levels.

After this, let me now see the goathead (appologies) that will open his/her mouth to tell ASUU that her demands will shut down the country's economy!

Please, my people, what word is 'vangry'? Am I the only one or is it completely missing from the dictionary?

On a more serious note, however, this report is quite contrary to the one carried by SR yesterday, namely that Oduah was sharing same hotel with GEJ, meeting regularly with him, and was on the verge of being let off the hook.

STOP THIS! I urge my fellow NLanders to STOP this attempt to drag religion into every discourse on our National space! We the youth are increasingly getting more and more divided whil they steal us blind

Well, guys, I've followed the heated debate for a while now.. here's Starlett's take:
I appeal to our Nairalanders from the SE to cool tempers a bit. Personally I don't know if Cpt Ore meant his comments in good faith, if he was speaking out of ignorance, or if he truly is averse to any perceived competition to beloved Lasgidi. But one thing is clear, that we need to decentralize points of commerce and industry from Lagos. If only this simple Fed Govt policy to develope the South East, (coming soooo many decades belatedly) could generate such criticism from him, then imagine what would happen if other similar policies come up to further open up the South East to the world.

I personally don't think Cpt Dele Ore bears any animosity towards the Igbo. However, this goes further to show how much so many Nigerians have taken for granted that all good things in Nigeria must be situated in or around Lagos/Abuja. Wrong! And did I hear some people saying that it's not advisable for a country to have more than one or two points of intl entry/departure? I beg your pardon! London ALONE has got THREE international airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City. Heathrow with 5 terminals. Countless intl airports abound in US. Virtually evey major city has got one. Houston, Dallas, NYC, D.C, Baltimore, etc etc etc.. from coast to coast!
The important thing is the ability to get airlines that will make any intl airport their base. THe Ethiopian chaps have not complained that they're running at a loss in Enugu, and I suspect that by the turn of the year, some other airlines (some of whom may already be operating in Nigeria out of other intl airports) will also rush to Enugu. Of course, El Al is a key one - GEJ is going to finalize Nig-Israel BASA in Israel this week. Who knows, perhaps five or less years down the line, those of us who have been complaining that the Igbo don't want to stay in their zone may be surprised.

Terribly compromised NANS, IMHO!

Good That ASUU is crying out over their safety concerns. I've always held that in this age, one must also win the social media battle, which so far, ASUU has been slacking in. Take it to the FG, tell the world how they have reneged on an agreement, and cry wolf over their constant blackmail, heckling and intimidation of ASUU members,

Nigerians are behind you!

Game over! We win!

Maybe they're getting jittery, knowing fully well that the issue of our over-expensive NASS is one that MUST come up and be addressed squarely during the coming CONFAB!

The controversy over lawmakers’ pay has taken a new shape, with a senator proposing the scrapping of the National Assembly – if that would lead to drastic reduction in the cost of governance.

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba made the proposal in an interview with newmen in Abuja.


Ndoma-Egba took exception to the frequent bashing of the National Assembly as the cause of the overbloated recurrent expenditure of the Federal Government.

The Cross River Central lawmaker specifically said that the damning Sheik Ahmed Lemu report, which castigated members of the National Assembly for alleged flamboyant lifestyle at the expense of Nigerians was off the mark.

The Senate Leader, who described the report as “sensationalism, tokenism, scapegoatism and diversionary tactics”, noted that those who talk about jumbo pay for lawmakers forgot that the budget of the National Assembly is only N150 billion or three per cent of the country’s annual budget.

He insisted that the country should consider scrapping the parliament if that would assuage the “misinformed sentiment” some Nigerians have about the National Assembly.

Ndoma-Egba said his take-home pay after tax is between N900,000 and N600,000. The basic salary of a rank and file member of the US Congress is $174,000.

He wondered why anybody would accuse members of the National Assembly of flamboyance when he has only one car, unlike ministers who move about in a convoy of cars.

Ndoma-Egba said: “I have made a proposal that we should scrap the National Assembly and see how much we save.

“Like I said before, we lived without the National Assembly before. We lived without the National Assembly for 30 years. Let’s scrap it and see whether it will solve the problem.

“But I told you, even when the National Assembly did not exist, the cost of governance was an issue.”

The Senator said: “Let us put the cost of governance in perspective. First of all, you know, for the many years that we had the military rule the National Assembly did not exist.

“And in those 30 years, that the National Assembly did not exist, the cost of governance was still an issue.

“I remember I was commissioner under the military and one of the most topical issues was the cost of construction in Nigeria.

“It was said to be the highest in the world. This was when the National Assembly did not exist. The cost of governance was still an issue.”

Insisting that the cost of governance has nothing to do with the National Assembly, Ndoma-Egba said that Nigerians should pick the budget and do informed analysis of the fiscal policy.

He said: “Let us come to the figures. We have maintained a budget of N150billion in the last four or five years.

“That of the Judiciary has been dwindling, from N97billion four years ago to about N60billion.

“What has been the trend for the Executive? Has it been stagnant like the National Assembly or has it dwindled like the Judiciary?

“That of the Executive has continued to go up. Now, what is the ratio or the percentage of N150billion out of a national budget of approximately N4.8trillion, about three per cent.

“So, why do we have this fixation on three per cent of the budget and not on 97 per cent of the budget?

“Three per cent of the budget is getting 97 per cent attention and 97 per cent of the budget is getting three per cent attention.

“What is the fixation? And now the impression out there is that ‘oh you collect this N150 billion and just share it amongst members of the National Assembly.

“Nothing can be more fallacious because one, the N150 billion includes our capital; it includes recurrent; it includes the salaries of 109 Senators, 360 members of the House of Representatives, their aides – we have a maximum of six aides.

“It includes the salaries of the civil servants from the Clerk to the National Assembly to the Deputy Clerk, to the Clerk of Senate, Clerk of House and to all the civil servants here down to the lowest cleaner. It includes the salaries of the National Assembly Service Commission, from the Chairman through his Commissioners, down to the civil servants there to the lowest cleaner. It includes the salaries and allowances of the National Institute of Legislative Studies, from the Director General through the many Professors down to the cleaner.

“It includes our subscriptions to international parliamentary organisations.

“The total running cost of the National Assembly is that N150 billion out of a budget of N4.8trillion.”

Ndoma-Egba spoke about the cost to maintain the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “Do we know? What does it cost to maintain a senior manager in NNPC? I am not talking of the Managing Director. Do we know?”

“What does it cost to maintain a senior manager in Petroleum Technology Development Fund? Do we know? What does it cost to maintain a senior manager in Central Bank of Nigeria? Do we know?

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/10/senate-runs-on-n150b-budget-says-ndoma.html

Hmmm. Must be the article Okey Ndibe strongly recommended in his own recent write-up which I posted on NLand yesterday.

Enough of the lip service and political correctness. Evil is being perpetrated in the name of Islam almost ON DAILY BASIS yet many choose to play the ostrich.

Succinctly put. I've said it for long that there's presently a fierce internecine battle currently raging for the sould of Islam. I don't know who or what constitutes a moderate but we need al those who can fall into that mould to standup and be counted... Let them possess their history and tell their own story, teach what they believe to be right, else nobody should blame anyone for any conclusions that may be drawn about their creed! Succinctly put. I've said it for long that there's presently a fierce internecine battle currently raging for the sould of Islam. I don't know who or what constitutes a moderate but we need al those who can fall into that mould to standup and be counted... Let them possess their history and tell their own story, teach what they believe to be right, else nobody should blame anyone for any conclusions that may be drawn about their creed!

It’s time all decent Muslims woke up and realized that their faith is under an enormous siege. Extremist groups like al Qaeda, Boko Haram and al-Shabaab, which wear the veneer of the Islamist faith, are doing grave harm to the otherwise noble name of Islam. These groups threaten to stamp the impression in the global consciousness of Islam as a faith wedded to impulsive violence, to shocking acts of irrationality and savagery.

Two weeks ago, in the wake of al-Shabaab’s gruesome attack on innocents at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka wrote “Humanity and Against.” Those who didn’t read that piece should hasten to search for it. It is an impassioned plea for a return to decency and commonsense, a cry from the deep heart of a humanist appalled at the ascendancy of callousness in the world, and an eloquent exhortation to Muslims and the rest of us to stand up for humane, civilized values. Soyinka’s entreaty is timely. Wherever you look, there’s the impression that horror stalks our world, often besieging the most vulnerable segments of the human population – children, women, and the elderly. It’s about time, Soyinka’s statement urges, that a broad coalition of humanists stood up against the twisted machinations of zealots who believe that the mindless slaughter of fellow humans is part and parcel of some admirable divine enterprise.

Soyinka is a longstanding advocate of sectarian accommodation, a foe of the many strategies, subtle and egregious, that religious bigots employ to debase adherents of other faiths – or, worse, non-believers. He is a warrior against all sectarian fundamentalists, Christian and Muslim alike, who promote or create a climate of fear, and prey on followers of other faith-paths. The Westgate assault, which happened on September 21, brought home in a salient way the dangers we all face from rabid fundamentalists. The al- Shabaab slaughterers set out to target only non-Muslims. Some survivors testified that the shooters administered quick, standing tests of faith to their would-be victims. Those whose answers established their Islamic identity were spared; those who failed—thereby revealing themselves to be infidels—were instantly executed.

Soyinka isn’t alone in his sense of outrage. Shortly after a friend’s text message brought me the devastating news that Kofi Awoonor, the inimitable Ghanaian poet, was a casualty at Westgate, I telephoned the Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Like Soyinka, Ngugi bears on his body and psyche the scars of violence, inflicted by governments as well as freelance players. Years ago, he was cast into detention by the Kenyan government for using the tool of dramatic theatre to highlight injustices in the Kenyan post-colony. For more than twenty years, Daniel arap Moi’s regime in Kenya forced Ngugi to live an exile’s rootless, peripatetic existence. When he and his wife were finally able to re-enter Kenya, they were viciously assaulted by faceless assailants. He is, by terrible experience and learning, an expert in the burgeoning industry of violence. As he spoke to me about the Westgate catastrophe, his voice shook with indignation. “It used to be the convention that women, children, and the elderly were not attacked in any sort of war,” Ngugi said. “But today, these most vulnerable groups are killed mindlessly.”

For a few days, the architects of the bloody Westgate siege commandeered frenzied media attention. Al-Shabaab, a hitherto little known Somali group, seemed to bask in its macabre, blood-earned notoriety. Perhaps, Boko Haram, which operates in the Nigerian sector, felt shooed aside, cheated out of the limelight. So, on September 28, the Nigerian sect made a horrid bid to reclaim some of the spotlight from their Somali brethren. They struck in the dead of night at a college of agriculture in Yobe State, their guns pouring venom indiscriminately at hapless, sleeping students. They left a grim harvest of at least 40 dead students – by some accounts, as many as 70 victims. Most of the victims were, like their attackers, Muslims. Perhaps Boko Haram wanted to underscore their central creed, namely, that Western education is everywhere the enemy. Their victims’ sin, it appeared, was to allow themselves to be contaminated by Western-inflected agricultural studies.

The argument isn’t – cannot be – whether groups like al-Shabaab and Boko Haram have legitimate grievances. Even if the causes they espouse were noble and meritorious, the violence they deploy is absolutely inexcusable. If al-Shabaab wants Kenyan troops out of Somali soil, that’s not an unreasonable demand. But to invade a mall and proceed to shoot at unarmed men, women, and children is to engage in callous mass-murder, pure and simple. No lofty idea is advanced by such grave, inhuman acts.

The same goes for Boko Haram. Nigeria is in the grips of corruption – no question. Admitted, most of the top perpetrators of this corruptive culture are products of Western education. But that hardly proves a putative connection between Western education and the virus of corruption. Heck, corruption is also rife in many officially Islamic states, including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Libya (under Muamar Gaddafi), and Indonesia. And, for good measure, some of the world’s least corrupt countries are to be found in Europe, the very vortexes of what we call Western education.

It’s simplistic – even patently false – to blame Western education and its attendant values for the rampancy of corruption in Nigeria. If anything, the real cause is the absence of an idea of Nigeria as a meaningful entity with an ethical core. There’s a warped cultural orientation that views Nigeria as a strange confection, a space that has inspired no sense of citizenship – and a collectivity with little or no claims to “citizens’” patriotic feeling. For many so-called Nigerians, Nigeria remains a no-man’s land, a land subject to and deserving of parasitic exploitation. That’s why Nigeria has been bent out of shape by “leaders” bereft of ideas save for that of self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement. By the way, Boko Haram’s ability to terrorize innocent people is both a cause as well as effect of a Nigeria that is, as yet, an empty idea. In a real country, fewer people would be drawn to membership of dreaded, dreadful groups like Boko Haram. Fewer citizens would keep silent as extremist groups kill and maim others in the name of God.

If Nigeria is to have any prospects, then it is time – in the spirit of Soyinka’s challenge – that prominent Muslims stood up to be counted on the side of humanity. Major Islamic leaders, beginning with the Sultan of Sokoto, and including emirs across the country, ought to raise their voices and proclaim that it is anathema to slaughter people, whether Christians, Muslims, or animists, in the name of Allah. All Islamic clerics should realize that each innocent life lost to violence by sectarian extremists translates, ultimately, to a collective blot on the faith they profess. It’s time they voiced their outrage, deploring anybody or group that soaks their revered faith in the blood of innocents. Such prominent Muslims as Muhammadu Buhari, Abubakar Atiku, Ibrahim Babangida, Abubakar Umar, Nasir el Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Bola Tinubu, Abubakar Baraje, Rauf Aregbesola, and Musa Kwankwaso have a duty to speak with courage. They ought to rise in unambiguous condemnation of a group that presumes to be fighting for the enthronement of a corruption-free, God-centered ideal – its central strategy lying in acts of carnage. These major voices should be heard saying, loud and clear, that there’s no corruption worse than to take innocent lives; the depravity of the act compounded by the invocation of God’s name.

http://saharareporters.com/column/muslims-stand-be-counted-okey-ndibe

It’s time all decent Muslims woke up and realized that their faith is under an enormous siege. Extremist groups like al Qaeda, Boko Haram and al-Shabaab, which wear the veneer of the Islamist faith, are doing grave harm to the otherwise noble name of Islam. These groups threaten to stamp the impression in the global consciousness of Islam as a faith wedded to impulsive violence, to shocking acts of irrationality and savagery.

Two weeks ago, in the wake of al-Shabaab’s gruesome attack on innocents at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka wrote “Humanity and Against.” Those who didn’t read that piece should hasten to search for it. It is an impassioned plea for a return to decency and commonsense, a cry from the deep heart of a humanist appalled at the ascendancy of callousness in the world, and an eloquent exhortation to Muslims and the rest of us to stand up for humane, civilized values. Soyinka’s entreaty is timely. Wherever you look, there’s the impression that horror stalks our world, often besieging the most vulnerable segments of the human population – children, women, and the elderly. It’s about time, Soyinka’s statement urges, that a broad coalition of humanists stood up against the twisted machinations of zealots who believe that the mindless slaughter of fellow humans is part and parcel of some admirable divine enterprise.

Soyinka is a longstanding advocate of sectarian accommodation, a foe of the many strategies, subtle and egregious, that religious bigots employ to debase adherents of other faiths – or, worse, non-believers. He is a warrior against all sectarian fundamentalists, Christian and Muslim alike, who promote or create a climate of fear, and prey on followers of other faith-paths. The Westgate assault, which happened on September 21, brought home in a salient way the dangers we all face from rabid fundamentalists. The al- Shabaab slaughterers set out to target only non-Muslims. Some survivors testified that the shooters administered quick, standing tests of faith to their would-be victims. Those whose answers established their Islamic identity were spared; those who failed—thereby revealing themselves to be infidels—were instantly executed.

Soyinka isn’t alone in his sense of outrage. Shortly after a friend’s text message brought me the devastating news that Kofi Awoonor, the inimitable Ghanaian poet, was a casualty at Westgate, I telephoned the Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Like Soyinka, Ngugi bears on his body and psyche the scars of violence, inflicted by governments as well as freelance players. Years ago, he was cast into detention by the Kenyan government for using the tool of dramatic theatre to highlight injustices in the Kenyan post-colony. For more than twenty years, Daniel arap Moi’s regime in Kenya forced Ngugi to live an exile’s rootless, peripatetic existence. When he and his wife were finally able to re-enter Kenya, they were viciously assaulted by faceless assailants. He is, by terrible experience and learning, an expert in the burgeoning industry of violence. As he spoke to me about the Westgate catastrophe, his voice shook with indignation. “It used to be the convention that women, children, and the elderly were not attacked in any sort of war,” Ngugi said. “But today, these most vulnerable groups are killed mindlessly.”

For a few days, the architects of the bloody Westgate siege commandeered frenzied media attention. Al-Shabaab, a hitherto little known Somali group, seemed to bask in its macabre, blood-earned notoriety. Perhaps, Boko Haram, which operates in the Nigerian sector, felt shooed aside, cheated out of the limelight. So, on September 28, the Nigerian sect made a horrid bid to reclaim some of the spotlight from their Somali brethren. They struck in the dead of night at a college of agriculture in Yobe State, their guns pouring venom indiscriminately at hapless, sleeping students. They left a grim harvest of at least 40 dead students – by some accounts, as many as 70 victims. Most of the victims were, like their attackers, Muslims. Perhaps Boko Haram wanted to underscore their central creed, namely, that Western education is everywhere the enemy. Their victims’ sin, it appeared, was to allow themselves to be contaminated by Western-inflected agricultural studies.

The argument isn’t – cannot be – whether groups like al-Shabaab and Boko Haram have legitimate grievances. Even if the causes they espouse were noble and meritorious, the violence they deploy is absolutely inexcusable. If al-Shabaab wants Kenyan troops out of Somali soil, that’s not an unreasonable demand. But to invade a mall and proceed to shoot at unarmed men, women, and children is to engage in callous mass-murder, pure and simple. No lofty idea is advanced by such grave, inhuman acts.

The same goes for Boko Haram. Nigeria is in the grips of corruption – no question. Admitted, most of the top perpetrators of this corruptive culture are products of Western education. But that hardly proves a putative connection between Western education and the virus of corruption. Heck, corruption is also rife in many officially Islamic states, including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Libya (under Muamar Gaddafi), and Indonesia. And, for good measure, some of the world’s least corrupt countries are to be found in Europe, the very vortexes of what we call Western education.

It’s simplistic – even patently false – to blame Western education and its attendant values for the rampancy of corruption in Nigeria. If anything, the real cause is the absence of an idea of Nigeria as a meaningful entity with an ethical core. There’s a warped cultural orientation that views Nigeria as a strange confection, a space that has inspired no sense of citizenship – and a collectivity with little or no claims to “citizens’” patriotic feeling. For many so-called Nigerians, Nigeria remains a no-man’s land, a land subject to and deserving of parasitic exploitation. That’s why Nigeria has been bent out of shape by “leaders” bereft of ideas save for that of self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement. By the way, Boko Haram’s ability to terrorize innocent people is both a cause as well as effect of a Nigeria that is, as yet, an empty idea. In a real country, fewer people would be drawn to membership of dreaded, dreadful groups like Boko Haram. Fewer citizens would keep silent as extremist groups kill and maim others in the name of God.

If Nigeria is to have any prospects, then it is time – in the spirit of Soyinka’s challenge – that prominent Muslims stood up to be counted on the side of humanity. Major Islamic leaders, beginning with the Sultan of Sokoto, and including emirs across the country, ought to raise their voices and proclaim that it is anathema to slaughter people, whether Christians, Muslims, or animists, in the name of Allah. All Islamic clerics should realize that each innocent life lost to violence by sectarian extremists translates, ultimately, to a collective blot on the faith they profess. It’s time they voiced their outrage, deploring anybody or group that soaks their revered faith in the blood of innocents. Such prominent Muslims as Muhammadu Buhari, Abubakar Atiku, Ibrahim Babangida, Abubakar Umar, Nasir el Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Bola Tinubu, Abubakar Baraje, Rauf Aregbesola, and Musa Kwankwaso have a duty to speak with courage. They ought to rise in unambiguous condemnation of a group that presumes to be fighting for the enthronement of a corruption-free, God-centered ideal – its central strategy lying in acts of carnage. These major voices should be heard saying, loud and clear, that there’s no corruption worse than to take innocent lives; the depravity of the act compounded by the invocation of God’s name.

http://saharareporters.com/column/muslims-stand-be-counted-okey-ndibe

Source?

The trip from our temporary abode, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, took only 15 minutes. Quite unlike the fender-to-bumper weekday situation around the Federal Secretariat, traffic, last Sunday, was light. We cleared the last security check in the Villa at exactly 6.37 p.m., twenty-three short minutes before going on live television with Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I don’t know what happened, but strangely, I started feeling slightly nervous as Dr. Rueben Abati, Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, ushered us to the Council Chamber.
The five-man panel of interviewers included: Mallam Shehu Dauda, Editor-in-Chief of The Capitol Post, Mr. Nosa Igiebor, Editor-in-Chief of TELL, Mrs. Gloria Ume-Ezeoke of Channels Television, Abuja Bureau, Mrs. Senami Ohaimokhare, a newscaster with African Independent Television, A.I.T. Abuja, who was also the night’s anchor, and my humble self.
As I said, my heart began to palpitate as soon as we entered the chamber. Meanwhile, this was no strange terrain for me. I had covered former President Olusegun Obasanjo in this same tower of power for almost five years while I was a senior associate editor with TELL magazine between 2001 and 2005. During that period, I had teamed up with my bosses, at least twice, to interview the then president in this same chamber. This is not to mention my encounters with presidents of some other countries in my travels across the world.
So, I couldn’t understand why I should fret at the threshold of another encounter with my own president. I shared my fear with my senior colleague and beloved brother, Ohi Alegbe, and he had a good laugh.
“Bros., you, afraid? I don’t believe you?” he said as he squeezed my hand.
‘But the truth is that, I’m nervous. Pray for me,’ I insisted.
So, he said an arrowed prayer. Just as I was disengaging my hand from his, I saw the aide-de-camp, ADC, to the president. Split seconds later, President Jonathan, emerged with his signature smile. A pin-drop silence fell on the chamber as he shook our hands.
The seconds ticked. The zero hour was here. Suddenly, I found my voice as the president settled in his seat. Looking straight at him, I fired a friendly salvo: ‘Mr. President, if I was doing this interview alone, for my paper, The Sun, I would have started by asking you: How hot or cold is that seat?’
He laughed heartily as he replied:
“Well, when it is hot, it is extremely hot. When it is cold, it could be extremely cold. If things go on well in the country, nobody gives the president any credit. When things are not going on smoothly, it’s the president.”
“If I fought my wife before coming here, it must be the president,” I interjected, supporting him.
And the room, filled with TV and radio crews, as well as some ministers who sat in the shadows, quaked with laughter. That did the magic for me. My fear vanished, and from then onward, there was ‘no shaking’ as they say in local parlance.
Presently, the camera would begin to roll, and the two-hour Presidential Media Chat would kick-off. My confidence level soared once the interview started and the anchor, Senami Ohaimokhare, began with my question on the spiking temperature of the president’s seat. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now, if you were to use the opposition’s prism to do a political or journalistic portrait of President Goodluck Jonathan, you might profile him as a stiff, boring and conservative former university teacher, who lacks the spine for the high level intrigues that characterize politics in these shores. You would think he is a weak Commander-in-Chief who would have problems saluting the military on October 1 or Army Day.
But was the president boring on a night many would later testify was his best outing so far? Far from it! The President Jonathan that we sat with for two solid hours before live television, last Sunday night, was supremely confident and deeply incisive. He acquitted himself well and sincerely on virtually all the issues raised. He engaged the team brilliantly.
Now, wait for this: contrary to the impression that media managers of high profile, politically exposed persons like the president usually teleguide interview processes by forcing prepared questions on interviewers, Dr. Abati never did anything of sort. He told us to come with our questions while confirming our invitation. It was a no-holds-barred encounter, he assured. And that’s exactly what happened.
So engaging was the session with the President that Labaran Maku, Minister of Information and supervising Minister of Defence, exhaled moments after, and said: “You guys!”
As we filed out of the chamber to join the President at dinner in his residence, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said what Labaran didn’t say.
“Ha! You guys really engaged the President, but the President was more than equal to the task,” she declared.
On Sunday night, I saw the side of President Jonathan that many Nigerians may probably not have seen before, or known, i.e. his hilarious side. Welcoming us to dinner, he said: “It is a law here that everybody must serve himself thrice. It’s a must, lest anybody say the president is a glutton.”
Again, everybody roared in laughter. But President Jonathan was just beginning. “Now, it’s my turn to interview you people,” he announced as he sank into his seat with his first serving. Turning to Senami Ohaimokhare who sat three seats away, he said: “My first question goes to you, madam: You change your dress every morning (on Kaakaaki, A.I.T’s early morning programme that she co-anchors). How do you manage? Is your husband not in trouble?”
“So, the president watches television like ordinary people like us?” Nosa Igiebor interjected. “My organization actually pays us wardrobe allowance,” Ohaimokhare replied, as Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, laughed.
“But the men get more,” Igiebor quipped.
“Ah, that’s not fair oh,” President Jonathan said. “But the women need more money because they would need lipstick, and other things.”
“But Christiane Amanpour doesn’t change her dress. She is constant…,” Maku said.
“You mean she doesn’t change like we politicians?” the President joked as he scooped from his plate.
“She changes,” I corrected Maku respectfully.
“She may have hundreds of the same shirt and jacket, and you would think she wears only one every day,” Gloria Ume-Ezeoke came into the conversation.
“We, politicians, don’t change our style on purpose,” the president extended the narratives on style. “We don’t it for identity. But I can’t afford to change often because nobody pays me wardrobe allowance.”
“More importantly, we don’t want them to say our President is over dressing,” the Vice President expatiated.
I looked at the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, sitting next to me, who, in turn looked at the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, and both smiled.
“But the President wore agbada when he visited Ogun State not too long ago,” Igiebor came in again after pausing to take in the jokes.
“Ah, Nosa, agbada is very oppressive o,” the President came in seriously.
“Is it because it is too heavy?” asked Igiebor.
And Maku remarked: “Mr. President, that reminds me of what the late Sultan Siddiq Abubakar III once said about politics. He said politics in Nigeria is like wearing a silk gown (agbada). As you are taking one side up, the other side is falling.”
“That’s apt,” Sambo said, as Igeibor nodded his agreement.
“The job of president is the worst job in the world that everybody wants to do,” Maku continued. “This is not a job for anybody above 70.”
The conversation continued on that note as A.I.T beamed clips of the Presidential Media Chat in its flagship news bulletin. Suddenly, a pall of silence fell on the room, as everyone shifted attention to the big, flat screen on the wall.
President Jonathan, noting the inscription at the right corner of the screen, which read ‘Live’, almost threw everybody off his seat when he joked: “This is great! So, A.I.T. is still showing it live!”
When the ensuing laughter subsided, Maku commended the president: “Well done, Your Excellency. You did a great job, sir. It was a difficult conversation but you acquitted yourself well, sir.”
Everybody agreed.
From the Presidential Media Chat, the TV station showed reactions to the massacre of students in Yobe earlier that day, after which it moved to a bombing scene in Pakistan.
“That’s Pakistan, sir,” Maku emphasized on that piece of news. “That has been going on for 10 years and it’s a Muslim country. So, it’s not about religion.”
By now, most of the plates on the dinner table had become empty. Except mine. Quite unfortunately for me, I couldn’t level the mountain in my plate before the president rose steadily, and began to thank us once again for coming.
I couldn’t eat because I was busy writing. Everybody rose automatically, as President Jonathan left the dinning area for the expansive living room.
There, he paused to converse briefly with the Minister of Labour and Productivity. In a jiffy, he was gone. That effectively ended the four-hour encounter with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Boy, was it a worthwhile experience! You can say that again.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/national/an-evening-with-the-president/

Any pictures of flooded areas, guys?
I need to CAREFULLY plan my return trip to Surulere o!

Sijo01: Are those in Benin allow to contribute

You mean this downpour got to Benin
I'm not surprised, though. This looks like the type that falls in the entire geopolitical region! Won't be amazed to hear it's raining all the way to Abuja right now!

It was a huge challenge driving into the island today. And even right now, the car park don dey flood o!

Na wa o. But if they looted, where was it taken to?

By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News
Some store owners at the upscale Kenya shopping mall attacked by terrorists said soldiers sent in to end the four-day siege made off with valuable electronics, jewelry and cash.
On Monday, as shop keepers were allowed back into their stores to catalog damage from the bloody attack that killed 67 people, the interior ministry confirmed that three shores had reported looting. Other store owners said their goods were left untouched.
The Kenyan government said it was taking the allegations seriously, asserting that it had acted to protect the stock at the mall, a shopping center that catered to prosperous Kenyans as well as foreigners. The mall complex sold such items as iPads, Swiss watches and expensive jewelry, Reuters reported.
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Store owners and many other Kenyans on Monday focused their anger for the apparent looting at government troops — who made up the bulk of the security forces hunting down the 10-15 gunmen — because they had locked down the complex during the siege, so no on else was allowed to enter.
On Sunday, dramatic pictures of the destroyed interior of the complex started to emerge in the aftermath of the siege that began on Sept. 21.
"The whole place has been done over," Tariq Harunani, an optician who was let into the mall late on Sunday told Reuters. He said dozens of pairs of sunglasses and frames were stolen from his store.
"The watch counters have been cleared, the jewelry shop is empty, there's no jewelry on the necklace stands," Harunani said.
Harunani’s brother Yasser, also interviewed by a Reuters reporter, appeared to assign blame directly on the troops.
"We know who's done it but what can we do? They ransacked it. The military secured the place and in that time the place is emptied,” Yasser Harunani said. "This is Kenya. Let's just face it, what's lost is lost."
Other shop owners echoed the brothers’ sentiments. Paku Tsavani, who owned a bookstore at the mall, said he had lost laptop computers and cash, though books were left in their place.
Tsavani appeared reluctant to blame security forces when he spoke to The Associated Press, saying he doesn't know who took his goods.
"Obviously the terrorists wouldn't steal those things, so we just don't know," Tsavani said.
The brazen attack on the luxury mall, in which non-Muslims were reportedly targeted, was carried out by militants from al Shabaab, an offshoot of al Qaeda based in Somalia.
Another witness told The Associated Press that he saw a Kenyan soldier take cigarettes out of a dead man's pocket.
The government said it would seek those responsible and prosecute them.
"We wish to affirm that government takes very seriously allegations of looting and that those found to have engaged in looting will be prosecuted," Interior Minister Ole Lenku said, according to Reuters.
A military spokesman did not answer repeated calls for comment from the AP.
Kenyan troops were also accused of looting during a huge fire in August at Nairobi's main airport.
Lenku, who conducted a press briefing on Sunday in which he confirmed nine suspects in custody, also said there were no reports of missing persons from the mall filed with police.
The Kenya Red Cross, however, issued a report on Monday, that put the number of missing people at 39. The Red Cross also said no search and rescue operations were carried out over the weekend as government agencies continued to probe the complex and clear rubble.
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More than a thousand people successfully fled the mall or were rescued officials have said.
Kenyan officials visited the mall area on Monday said they would question top security officials in attempt to determine whether they failed to act on intelligence of an impending attack.
Government officials and religious leaders will attend a prayer breakfast on Tuesday in honor of the Westgate victims, NTV Kenya reported.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
Mom of girl in iconic Kenya photo: ‘Regular men’ saved us

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/30/20760521-kenyan-soldiers-responding-to-mall-attack-looted-stores-owners-say?lite

But why should this man be making such comments on deeply political matters to a serving military officer in public Or does he want to compromise the neutrality of our fine military in partisan politics?

Even a junior officer that I gave a ride the other day politely refused to be drawn into passing comments on the political state of affairs of the nation, humbly confessing to me that he "knows nothing" on the subject matter as he is only a soldier and not a politician.

That's how it should be.

While some friends of President Goodluck Jonathan on Facebook have expressed disappointment, following his ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Monday. Many others had described it as an “achievement.”



Jonathan, who broke his month-old silence on the social network on Monday, had posted a link on his Facebook page and asked his friends to watch the event live online.

Jonathan, after ringing the bell, posted that the event was “the beginning of greater things” for the country and attributed the honour to the fact that global captains of industry are catching up with Nigeria’s efforts, which had culminated in progress being made “in every sector of our economy.”

However, Jonathan’s Facebook friends disagreed with him, saying his ringing of the NYSE bell did not call for any kind of celebration.

Many of those who dropped comments on his Facebook page said they did not elect him to act as “timekeeper” but as a leader that would liberate the nation from the grips of poverty and underdevelopment.

They said that ringing the NYSE bell should not translate into an achievement for the President, considering the numerous socio-economic, political, and security challenges bedeviling the nation.




One Abiodun Olalekan says, “We didn’t elect you to be a bellboy. We voted for you to bring our universities at par with those in the US. How can you defend the fact that no considerable progress has been made in key sectors that have the capacity to drive other sectors? Our infrastructures are still in shambles. Don’t get me wrong, I only want you to make sacrifices. Leave politics alone, give us development.”

One of the President’s friends, Tunji Ogundero, says he is challenging the President to ring the closing bell on the numerous problems the country is faced with, rather than bask in the euphoria of ringing the NYSE bell.



Ogundero says, “How does the ringing of the closing bell at the NYSE affect our economy and what lesson does Mr. President want us to learn from watching him ring the bell? Is he the timekeeper?

“Mr. President, we need you to be back here in Nigeria, to ring the closing bell to the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities; closing bell to the poor electricity power supply; closing bell to terrorism.”

A particular friend of the President, Oyekunle Olaitan, said world leaders such as the American President, Barack Obama; and the United Kingdom Prime Minister, David Cameron, would not ring the bell of any stock exchange and return to their respective countries describing such as an achievement.

Elizabeth Abdullahi-Usman says Jonathan’s celebration of the honour on Facebook clearly shows that he has yet to get his priorities right and urges him not to be misled by sycophants around him.
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2013/09/nyse-bell-cyber-friends-label-jonathan.html

Or could this be because of all the knife-violence we've been seeing amongst the so-called "young adults"?