CFCfan:
They say it's on Supersport

thanks my bro but I don't have DSTV and it makes me more sad the pity state of my country.

Which TV station are you people watching? Imagine staying awake to watch this match I can not and I have GoTV and Metro Digital none is showing the match is that not madness.

@ Emma pls where do i insert d blackberry.net because what is there is web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net i replace it with blackberry.net as u said its not browsing am using tecno d5. Help my bb subscription is running out.

[quote author=slashdot]Hi,

Kindly send me the pictures, both interior and exterior including the price. I'm interested.

benwacng@yahoo.com

PLEASE AM SETTING UP A CAFE I NEED TO BUY SOME GOOD COMPUTERS AND LAPTOPS. CAN SOME GIVE ME A REASONABLE OFFER FOR THE COMPUTERS WITH A FLAT SCREEN MONITOR AND NOT LOWER THAN 2GB RAM, LAPTOPS, PRINTERS, SCANNERS. THE COMPUTER N LAPTOP PLEASE THE PRICE FOR BOT FAIRLY USED ONE AND BRAND NEW SYSTEMS. MY CONTACT IS pleasantguy@live.com

Please I don't know were to start, Who knows how much and were I can get in door electronic power bike or car racing game machine normally use in amusement, entertainment or eatries, coins are use in playing them, I don't know the name but I hope my description is understandable. I will really appreciate if I get the info. Also better and fairly used PS 2 and Ps 3 from 140gb up. my contact is pleasantguy@live.com I need this info urgently, please.

My friend has a bakery and his product is one of the best and leading name in bread making in the state. He wants a website but not just a doll and static website but one that can generate income, how can this be possible. His bakery produces in thousands daily and the workers are running two shifts per day to meet the high demand for the product.

My friend has a bakery and his product is one of the best and leading name in bread making in the state. He wants a website but not just a doll and static website but one that can generate income, how can this be possible. His bakery produces in thousands daily and the workers are running two shifts per day to meet the high demand for the product. The question is; What kind of online business can he do to generate income on his website or social network.

Please any idea will be appreciated email me. thejonny2009@live.com

@poster hw much will it cost to ship a Toyota Corola 2003 or 2004 to lagos am interested.

You have done very well Lastpage for this thread if most NL is as informative as this we would have less fight and prejudice in Nigeria.

That said I was raise in the Christian organization by my mum but accepted the truth when I was 22yrs that was when I got baptized after I had sojourned other religious organization and debated enough about doctrines with my mum and the witnesses and even experimented with the occult, but today I give God thanks because I have found the truth in JW my sojourns ends there. I am not the best of them but I try my best to serve God sometimes bad influences and our in-born imperfection drift us to d bad waters and well the consequences is discipline which I have experienced. Well to the thread I will love to clear you on the teaching of birthday celebration and other celebrations inclusive that JW don’t participate please bear with me this could be lengthy. Your comment was this:-

BIRTHDAYS

As it relates Birthday celebrations, the “excuse” they give (Jesus never celebrated his birthday, Peter’s head was cut-off during such a Birthday celebrations), are myopic, in my own opinion.
Every Birthday does not and did not end that way!
In fact, such celebrations can be used for good or evil, just like the J.W’s festivals at Igeduma or Sango-Otta in those days, can be used for good or evil!
It is not the Birthday that was wrong, it is the way it was celebrated, back then!
Is it then a case of "moral persuasion" not to celebrate Birthdays or a "biblical injunction"?

if it is the later, it is sacrosanct but if it is the former, then it is only obligatory but not a requirement and therefore, not binding!

Basically, it is because they respect the Word of God and are keenly interested in responding to its indications.
Birthday celebrations are popular world wide and have been for millenniums. Often there will be a party, with presents being given. But does the Bible say anything about birthdays?
It can be said at the outset that the Bible does not discourage generous giving to a loved one. (Gen. 33:10, 11; Luke 15:22; 2 Cor. 8:19) Nor does it discourage enjoying a feast or party, for eating and drinking in moderation are recommended as one means of enjoying life. (Eccl. 3:12, 13) Jesus shared in a wedding feast. Job’s children held what may have been harvest feasts that occasioned family reunions. Abraham had a feast when Isaac was weaned. (John 2:1, 2; Job 1:4, 5, 13; Gen. 21: And even though it was not commanded by God, the Jews held an annual festival on the anniversary of the rededication of the temple, which feast Jesus attended.—John 10:22, 23.
The Bible does, though, indicate that certain caution is needed, for it would not be proper to share in just any celebration regardless of its reason or nature. (Ex. 32:1-6; 1 Pet. 4:3; 1 Cor. 10:20, 21) What about noting and celebrating birthdays?
Obviously, many true worshipers kept record of birth dates. Priests and others knew their ages. Such a matter was not left to guesswork. (Num. 1:2, 3; 4:3; 8:23-25) But there is nothing in the Scriptures to suggest that true worshipers had annual birthday celebrations.
The Bible reports only two birthday celebrations, both of persons who were not servants of the true God.
How are we to look at these two birthday celebrations? Is it just coincidental that they are mentioned and that both were for persons not having God’s approval? Or could it be that Jehovah deliberately had these details recorded in his Word, which he says is “beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight”? (2 Tim. 3:16) At the very least it can be said that these two accounts Biblically put birthday celebrations in a bad light, as a practice of those estranged from God.
Also, it is worth noting that God did not record the exact date of Jesus’ birth, which certainly would be the most important birthday if God’s servants were to celebrate birthdays. Instead, the Bible indicates the date of Jesus’ death and instructs Christians to commemorate that as an anniversary each year. (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26) This harmonizes with the fact that the Bible says that the day of a person’s death is more significant than the day of his birth if he has made a good name with God during his lifetime.—Eccl. 7:1, 8.
Consistent with the Scriptural indications, the early Christians did not hold birthday celebrations.
“The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period in general.”—The History of the Christian Religion and Church During the First Three Centuries, by Augustus Neander.

Also celebrating birthdays is rooted in superstition and false religion, but that is not the sole or prime reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid the practice.
There is no denying, though, that numerous reference works reveal the superstitious and religious antecedents of celebrating birthdays. The Encyclopedia Americana (1991 edition) notes: “The ancient world of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia celebrated the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles.” It says that the Romans observed the birth of Artemis and the day of Apollo. In contrast, “although the ancient Israelis kept records of the ages of their male citizens, there is no evidence that they had any festivities on the anniversary of the birth date.”
Other reference works go into considerable detail about the origin of birthday celebrations: ‘Birthday parties began years ago in Europe. People believed in good and evil spirits, sometimes called good and evil fairies. Everyone was afraid of these spirits, that they would cause harm to the birthday celebrant, and so he was surrounded by friends and relatives whose good wishes, and very presence, would protect him against the unknown dangers that the birthday held. Giving gifts brought even greater protection. Eating together provided a further safeguard and helped to bring the blessings of the good spirits. So the birthday party was originally intended to make a person safe from evil and to insure a good year to come.’—Birthday Parties Around the World, 1967.
The b ook explains, too, the origin of many birthday customs. For example: “The reason [for using candles] goes back to the early Greeks and Romans who thought that tapers or candles had magical qualities. They would offer prayers and make wishes to be carried up to the gods by the flames of candles. The gods would then send down their blessings and perhaps answer the prayers.” Other such background information is collected on pages 69 and 70 of Reasoning From the Scriptures, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
As mentioned, however, more is involved in this question than whether celebrating birthdays was or still is religious. The Bible brings up the matter of birthdays, and mature Christians wisely are sensitive to any indications it gives.
God’s servants of old noted when individuals were born, which allowed them to figure ages. We read: “Noah got to be five hundred years old. After that Noah became father to Shem, Ham and Japheth.” “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, . . . all the springs of the vast watery deep were broken open.”—Genesis 5:32; 7:11; 11:10-26.
As even Jesus mentioned, among God’s people childbirth was a blessed, happy event. (Luke 1:57, 58; 2:9-14; John 16:21) Yet, Jehovah’s people did not memorialize the date of birth; they kept other anniversaries but not birthdays. (John 10:22, 23) Encyclopaedia Judaica says: “The celebration of birthdays is unknown in traditional Jewish ritual.” Customs and Traditions of Israel observes: “The celebration of birthdays has been borrowed from the practices of other nations, as no mention is made of this custom among Jews either in The Bible, Talmud, or writings of the later Sages. In fact, it was an ancient Egyptian custom.”
That Egyptian connection is clear from a birthday celebration related in the Bible, one that true worshipers were not observing. It was the birthday feast of the Pharaoh who ruled while Joseph was in an Egyptian prison. Some of those pagans may have been happy over the feast, yet the birthday was linked to the beheading of the chief of Pharaoh’s bakers.—Genesis 40:1-22.
A similar unfavorable light is shed on the other birthday celebration described in the Scriptures—that of Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. This birthday celebration is hardly presented in the Bible as just innocent festivity. Rather, it occasioned the beheading of John the Baptizer. Then, “his disciples came up and removed the corpse and buried him and came and reported to Jesus,” who ‘withdrew from there into a lonely place for isolation.’ (Matthew 14:6-13) Do you imagine that those disciples or Jesus felt drawn to the practice of birthday celebrations?
Given the known origin of celebrating birthdays, and more important, the unfavorable light in which they are presented in the Bible, Jehovah’s Witnesses have ample reason to abstain from the practice. They do not need to follow this worldly custom, for they can and do have happy meals any time during the year. Their gift giving is not obligatory or under the pressure of a party; it is spontaneous sharing of gifts at any time out of generosity and genuine affection.—Proverbs 17:8; Ecclesiastes 2:24; Luke 6:38; Acts 9:36, 39; 1 Corinthians 16:2, 3.

So even though the Bible does not contain a specific prohibition against birthday celebrations, Jehovah’s Witnesses have long noted the Scriptural indications and have not celebrated birthdays. In this, they harmonize with the pattern of the earliest Christians.
Also, while there is no Bible justification for annually celebrating the date of a Christian’s death, we can agree that the day of death is better than the day of his birth. Thus we should concentrate, not on the day of birth but on each day imitating Christ and reflecting God’s image. Should we die, then we will have glorified God by our way of life, and he will surely remember us.—Heb. 5:9; 11:6; Phil. 3:8-11.

Cheers.
I will happly contribute to other issues trinity, tithing, blood transfusion (even though this is a debate till now both in religious, circular and medical field) etc as our busy schedule permits.

Zain Nigeria , at the weekend in Abuja changed its name to Airtel.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/suntech/2010/nov/23/suntech-23-11-2010-001.htm

this is the sixth (6) name this telecommunication company is answering still counting?

Why We Must Whip Babangida Into Submission
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By Tunde Chris Odediran

Domestic goats are known to be stubborn animals. In a traditional African market, traders wield long sticks as a deterrent to market goats, which roam with the intention of stealing from unsuspecting sellers.

No matter how hard the trader tries, the market goat keeps coming at its target. It is sleek, calculating and seemingly gentle, but is irredeemably destructive. It never stops to roam until it can carry out a stealth raid on its victim. Wise traders are never deceived by the meekness of this familiar animal that is capable of turning the day's gain into significant loss. The success of the goat in every market is simply remarkable, and it thrives on three elements of success.
Persistence. Focus. Stubbornness.

With these three attributes, it wears down opposition. Anyone who will deter the proverbial goat at the beans market must match its resilience and pay close attention to its tricks. While it is almost impossible to pay full attention to it because of the other reasons for being at the market, wise traders are often able to deter it with the only language it understands - the cane. Watching from the corner of the eye, the trader is ready to fling the whip whenever the goat attacks.

Ibrahim Babangida is Nigeria's market goat and we must not spare him the cane. He has never been away. Rather, he always picks his moment to strike. Those who think he retired do not really know him. In fact, he never said he was leaving power - he only stepped aside until a time like this when he calculates we are worn by his persistence. He reasons the best time to strike and loot the market is the height of its activity. Babangida has been around, focused as ever and immensely stubborn against a forgiving society. Probably even more forgiving to him as a result of the loss of his wife, Maryam.

In recent months, I have come to the sad realization that we now have large sections of Nigerians who were either too young to know who Babangida is or simply have volatile memory. In their ignorance, these Nigerians on Facebook and web blogs sing praises of one of the most dangerous dictators in Africa's recent history. I call him dangerous, not because he did the things he did, but because he did them so perfectly that the least discerning did not even know anything happened. He is like an arts thief who steals the original piece and leaves a counterfeit behind. Such a criminal could get away with the heist for a long time. Babangida is counting on using his greedy friends and the naïve ones among us to ride right back to power. For the sake of these clueless Nigerians, I like to take a moment to introduce the man, Ibrahim Babangida.
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a.k.a, IBB, was popularly called Maradona by Nigerians for his special skill to cheat and divert, in the fashion of Argentina's soccer genius, Diego Maradona, who infamously cheated to earn victory over England in the 1986 World Cup. A self-described 'evil genius,' Babangida led Nigerians through a tortuous and deceptive political and economic transition that ended in a cul-de-sac. Perhaps because of his craftiness, it wasn’t until the end of his military career that the dictator's ruthlessness and lust for power became obvious.

He is believed to have been born August 17, 1941, at Minna, Niger State and attended Government College, Bida, from 1957 to 1962. There is no evidence he passed his School Certificate examination, as he did not receive his undisclosed results until three decades later in a publicized ceremony as the military head of state. Babangida received his military training at the Nigerian Military College, Kaduna, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1963. Judging by his records, he was more interested in politics than a professional military career, as he had been the face behind every military coup in Nigeria over a 30-year period. The BBC remarked that Babangida had taken part in all coups in Nigeria, through which he unleashed many years of needless bloodshed and power rotation that left Africa's highest grossing nation one of its poorest.

When the military returned to power on December 30, 1983, IBB became the chief of army staff and member of the highest ruling military body, the Supreme Military Council, SMC. He also served in that council during the Murtala Muhammed/Olusegun Obasanjo administration. On August 27, 1985, the Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon administration was toppled in a palace coup by Babangida, who made himself Nigeria's first "military President," an indication of his lust for political power. Babangida was Nigeria's sixth military ruler and inarguably the most powerful.

As with most dictators, the evil genius was methodical, shrewd in power, flamboyant in style, and ruthless in response. His predecessor, Mohammadu Buhari was resolute, but Babangida would kill by any means necessary and would not consider it inappropriate to weep at his enemy's funeral. Deft and tactical, Babangida announced himself to power as a champion of human rights, but unleashed a spate of human rights abuses that was only matched by his savage hand-picked successor, Sani Abacha. As he strategically spread his political tentacles, Maradona's first call was to release most of those jailed by Buhari, including the late music star, Fela Kuti. Nonetheless, Babangida brutally muffled opposition, as he frequently detained labor leaders, students and human rights advocates. He closed newspapers at will and sent soldiers to shoot protesters of his economic program on sight in daylight. In the course of my seven-year journalism career, I worked with The Guardian, Concord and Punch; all were closed as a direct or remote consequence of Babangida's war against the freedom of speech. This is why my heart sank at the report that editors of media companies, some of whom were colleagues who suffered under Babangida's heavy boots, went to his house recently to collect his blood-stained 10 million naira in the dark of the night. The blood of innocent Nigerians who died as a result of June 12 is on those journalists who betrayed the trust of the people and the sanctity of the pen.

Ibrahim Babangida has been indicted by the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, led by the respected Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, for the killing of Nigeria's top journalist, Mr. Dele Giwa, by a parcel bomb in 1986, reportedly to stop a story linking Babangida and his wife to a drug trader. Up till now, the killers of Dele Giwa have not been officially exposed, and efforts to probe Babangida's implicated associates have been consistently blocked by him. The report noted: "On General Ibrahim Babangida, we are of the view that there is evidence to suggest that he and the two security chiefs, Brigadier General Halilu Akilu and Col. A. K. Togun are accountable for the death of Dele Giwa by letter bomb. We recommend that this case be re-open for further investigation in the public interest." Babangida has blocked that report from being released, through the judicial system he blatantly corrupted.
By the time Babangida was one year in power, he had begun to demonstrate his deceptive abilities. He started a national debate on whether to accept an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan or embark on austerity measures.

Thinking their leader was faithful, Nigerians favored the measures but soon found that the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) was not being faithfully executed. While they were sacrificing, billions of dollars of Nigeria’s money was being pocketed by Babangida and his followers, such that under SAP, unemployment numbers, food prices, and cost of living soared. As Ghana and Uganda made gains under SAP, Nigeria was going under, until Nigerians responded in a 1989 riot, to which the dictator replied by first killing hundreds of protesters, then issuing palliative measures. A World Bank report issued in 1995 fully documented how grand theft under Babangida’s regime nullified the gains of SAP.

His government implemented a myriad of failed programs, which only helped to divert attention and fritter scarce national resources. Such programs include the People's Bank, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), and Better Life for Rural Women. All these programs are today dead or moribund. IBB tricked respected people, including Professor Wole Soyinka and the late Tai Solarin, to serve under his administration. They later found they had been tricked and resigned.

Among his leadership abilities, Babangida replaced his deputy, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe with Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu -the former was headstrong and idealistic, while the later was largely a yes-man. He executed dramatic changes in public administration, filling strategic military and ministerial positions with his loyalists. Babangida introduced measures that threatened the secularity of Nigeria. Under his watch, Nigeria secretly became a participant at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an action so controversial that it was linked to the ouster of Ebitu Ukiwe.

As things got worse, a band of top officers, including Babangida's colleague and best man at his wedding, General Mamman Vatsa, allegedly planned to remove him. They were all captured and killed without sufficient evidence. We later learned that Vatsa may have been murdered for offences he did not commit, going by revelations by the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Domkat Bali.

Nigeria continued in spiral fall until April 22, 1990, when a brave junior officer, Major Gideon Orkar, almost toppled the Babangida regime. The official residence of the head of state, the Dodan Barracks, was razed. Babangida escaped by a slim stroke of luck. Significantly, Nigerian civilians were, for the first time, involved in a coup attempt, a development the dictator responded to by quickly moving the seat of power from the heavily populated Lagos to previously abandoned national capital city of Abuja, just about an hour's drive from his hometown of Minna. Orkar had, however, made damaging allegations about Babangida’s personal life and political problems, including homosexuality, drug peddling and corruption.

From this point, IBB was held in widespread suspicion among Nigerians. He held on to power with a single promise: to lead Nigeria back to democracy. Trusting and hopeful once again, Nigerians were carried along until 1992, when his abrupt cancellation of a political process led to mass suspicion about his true intentions. At this point, the term "Hidden Agenda" was coined by the late lawyer, Mr. Alao Aka Bashorun, who declared that Babangida was attempting to succeed himself. Bashorun seemed to have provided light in a dark tunnel as Nigerians began to place the evil genius' programs under the microscope.

The outcry that followed the cancellation of presidential primaries about to be won by the late General Shehu Yar'Adua led Babangida to hurriedly, without much of his usual plotting, move the political transition process at such a pace that caused a generally accepted candidate, billionaire philanthropist, M.K.O Abiola, to be elected as president in Nigeria's most peaceful and acceptable election. Confused and dazed, IBB annulled that election and unleashed a national outrage that led to his downfall. Hundreds of Nigerians were killed by soldiers acting under the directives of Babangida and his beneficiaries, as the citizens fought for the mandate given to Abiola.

Eventually, it dawned on the Maradona, the game was up. He was forced to vacate his beloved presidential seat. Nigerians can remember how Babangida made a spectacle of himself on the NTA as he bounced continuously on a chair in utter confusion when he had to “step aside.” Babangida was forced out, but not before he planted his equally ruthless and utterly vindictive partner, the late General Sani Abacha, to guide a lame civilian caretaker administration of Ernest Shonekan. It surprised no one that Abacha sent Shonekan packing in less than three months, and continued the evil legacy of his former boss, IBB.
Do not be fooled into thinking Babangida is not serious about being a civilian president at the age of 70. The evil genius knows he had stepped aside long enough and his insatiable thirst for power cannot be quenched by time. IBB has sent his beneficiaries out to the field on a mission to buy back lost political patronage with his vast wealth, stolen from Nigerians, and which is now being employed to bring Nigerians back to servitude in 2011.

The bedrock for today's economic and financial problems was laid by this man, Ibrahim Babangida! He created conditions malignant to national advancement, such as the institutionalization of the culture of corruption that is now heavily entrenched in the social and moral fabric of the Nigerian society. The phenomena of the notorious thievery schemes or theft-by-deception, a.k.a "419," is largely believed to have gained undue prominence and seeming acceptance during the eight-year misrule of Ibrahim Babangida in Nigeria. Today, the nuisance of the so-called "Yahoo Boys" is believed to be a by-product or creation of the IBB era. Owing to corruption and deception, Nigeria is not able to participate without restriction in modern commerce. What is the moral justification for a society to wage war on scammers when known social culprits enjoy stolen public wealth without restraint? These conditions have been almost impossible to reverse. And now, IBB is out again make things even worse. For those who think otherwise, on what ground can Babangida be trusted?

Babangida has, over the years, schemed to have the facts of his misrule erased. He has been a bit successful, we must admit. How else can one explain the failure of some of us to appreciate recent history? It is against this backdrop that Againstbabangida.com was launched for the continual education of Nigerians about his legacies but more importantly, as a watchtower against his return. It has been six years since Againstbabangida.com came into existence.

Over these years, many have accused our organization of wielding too big a stick for the goat. We have been blamed for paying too much focus on one problem and have been asked to widen our scope. While we admit that Nigeria has multifarious problems, requiring wide-ranging solutions, we are glad at Againstbabangida to focus strictly on Babangida. We know him. Like the proverbial goat, he will not go away. While we have volunteered to watch, we also know that he visits many markets. The revelation that Mr. Raymond Dokpesi, owner of Africa International Television, whose station hired many of the journalists who were victims of Babangida's misrule, is tragic. Nonetheless, it goes to show the extent to which Babangida can wear the most resolute of us down. It shows that we can't but watch the devil.

It is sad to realize that among those taking money from Babangida against the interest of the society are the so- called Emirs, Obas, Obis, and High Chiefs, business executives, retired military officers, political bigwigs and, even, intellectuals. For this reason, we wonder how our collective conscience became depleted to the extent that people who should be leading are the greatest culprits of the moral bankruptcy that is prevalent in Nigeria today. It does not matter how highly placed they are, any Nigerian who is willing to serve Babangida is an enemy of the people. They should be identified and treated as such. The time has come for Nigerians of goodwill to totally unite and unequivocally reject the enemies of the people. This was the theme at the launch of Dr. Olatunji Dare's book, Diary of a Debacle: Tracking Nigeria’s Failed Democratic Transition (1989-1994), in Lagos recently. This should our collective theme from now until Babangida is beaten back into his hole in hilltop Minna.

The only deterrent to IBB's persistent strike is a focused people, who have the horse whip lifted to beat him. I ask all Nigerians who truly understand the issues, who have lived the problem created by Babangida and are determined never to let it happen again, to get their ‘kobokos’ in hand and keep watch. When this goat sees how determined we are, he will think twice. He may not entirely give up, but as we exchange watch, month after month, year after year, he will get old and get out. He may even die on his duty.

This is the perfect time for Nigerians to tell Babangida and his fellow crooks, "Never Again." For him to think he can rule us again with his dirty, bloody hands is already a national tragedy. Let us all get our sticks out and beat the devil out of our national life. Never Again, Babangida!

Tunde Chris Odediran, former journalist in Nigeria, is the founder of Citizens for Nigeria and Againstbabangida.com

http://www.pointblanknews.com/Special_Reports/os3819.html

What a revealing article.

Why We Must Whip Babangida Into Submission
advertisement

By Tunde Chris Odediran

Domestic goats are known to be stubborn animals. In a traditional African market, traders wield long sticks as a deterrent to market goats, which roam with the intention of stealing from unsuspecting sellers.

No matter how hard the trader tries, the market goat keeps coming at its target. It is sleek, calculating and seemingly gentle, but is irredeemably destructive. It never stops to roam until it can carry out a stealth raid on its victim. Wise traders are never deceived by the meekness of this familiar animal that is capable of turning the day's gain into significant loss. The success of the goat in every market is simply remarkable, and it thrives on three elements of success.
Persistence. Focus. Stubbornness.

With these three attributes, it wears down opposition. Anyone who will deter the proverbial goat at the beans market must match its resilience and pay close attention to its tricks. While it is almost impossible to pay full attention to it because of the other reasons for being at the market, wise traders are often able to deter it with the only language it understands - the cane. Watching from the corner of the eye, the trader is ready to fling the whip whenever the goat attacks.

Ibrahim Babangida is Nigeria's market goat and we must not spare him the cane. He has never been away. Rather, he always picks his moment to strike. Those who think he retired do not really know him. In fact, he never said he was leaving power - he only stepped aside until a time like this when he calculates we are worn by his persistence. He reasons the best time to strike and loot the market is the height of its activity. Babangida has been around, focused as ever and immensely stubborn against a forgiving society. Probably even more forgiving to him as a result of the loss of his wife, Maryam.

In recent months, I have come to the sad realization that we now have large sections of Nigerians who were either too young to know who Babangida is or simply have volatile memory. In their ignorance, these Nigerians on Facebook and web blogs sing praises of one of the most dangerous dictators in Africa's recent history. I call him dangerous, not because he did the things he did, but because he did them so perfectly that the least discerning did not even know anything happened. He is like an arts thief who steals the original piece and leaves a counterfeit behind. Such a criminal could get away with the heist for a long time. Babangida is counting on using his greedy friends and the naïve ones among us to ride right back to power. For the sake of these clueless Nigerians, I like to take a moment to introduce the man, Ibrahim Babangida.
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a.k.a, IBB, was popularly called Maradona by Nigerians for his special skill to cheat and divert, in the fashion of Argentina's soccer genius, Diego Maradona, who infamously cheated to earn victory over England in the 1986 World Cup. A self-described 'evil genius,' Babangida led Nigerians through a tortuous and deceptive political and economic transition that ended in a cul-de-sac. Perhaps because of his craftiness, it wasn’t until the end of his military career that the dictator's ruthlessness and lust for power became obvious.

He is believed to have been born August 17, 1941, at Minna, Niger State and attended Government College, Bida, from 1957 to 1962. There is no evidence he passed his School Certificate examination, as he did not receive his undisclosed results until three decades later in a publicized ceremony as the military head of state. Babangida received his military training at the Nigerian Military College, Kaduna, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1963. Judging by his records, he was more interested in politics than a professional military career, as he had been the face behind every military coup in Nigeria over a 30-year period. The BBC remarked that Babangida had taken part in all coups in Nigeria, through which he unleashed many years of needless bloodshed and power rotation that left Africa's highest grossing nation one of its poorest.

When the military returned to power on December 30, 1983, IBB became the chief of army staff and member of the highest ruling military body, the Supreme Military Council, SMC. He also served in that council during the Murtala Muhammed/Olusegun Obasanjo administration. On August 27, 1985, the Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon administration was toppled in a palace coup by Babangida, who made himself Nigeria's first "military President," an indication of his lust for political power. Babangida was Nigeria's sixth military ruler and inarguably the most powerful.

As with most dictators, the evil genius was methodical, shrewd in power, flamboyant in style, and ruthless in response. His predecessor, Mohammadu Buhari was resolute, but Babangida would kill by any means necessary and would not consider it inappropriate to weep at his enemy's funeral. Deft and tactical, Babangida announced himself to power as a champion of human rights, but unleashed a spate of human rights abuses that was only matched by his savage hand-picked successor, Sani Abacha. As he strategically spread his political tentacles, Maradona's first call was to release most of those jailed by Buhari, including the late music star, Fela Kuti. Nonetheless, Babangida brutally muffled opposition, as he frequently detained labor leaders, students and human rights advocates. He closed newspapers at will and sent soldiers to shoot protesters of his economic program on sight in daylight. In the course of my seven-year journalism career, I worked with The Guardian, Concord and Punch; all were closed as a direct or remote consequence of Babangida's war against the freedom of speech. This is why my heart sank at the report that editors of media companies, some of whom were colleagues who suffered under Babangida's heavy boots, went to his house recently to collect his blood-stained 10 million naira in the dark of the night. The blood of innocent Nigerians who died as a result of June 12 is on those journalists who betrayed the trust of the people and the sanctity of the pen.

Ibrahim Babangida has been indicted by the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, led by the respected Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, for the killing of Nigeria's top journalist, Mr. Dele Giwa, by a parcel bomb in 1986, reportedly to stop a story linking Babangida and his wife to a drug trader. Up till now, the killers of Dele Giwa have not been officially exposed, and efforts to probe Babangida's implicated associates have been consistently blocked by him. The report noted: "On General Ibrahim Babangida, we are of the view that there is evidence to suggest that he and the two security chiefs, Brigadier General Halilu Akilu and Col. A. K. Togun are accountable for the death of Dele Giwa by letter bomb. We recommend that this case be re-open for further investigation in the public interest." Babangida has blocked that report from being released, through the judicial system he blatantly corrupted.
By the time Babangida was one year in power, he had begun to demonstrate his deceptive abilities. He started a national debate on whether to accept an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan or embark on austerity measures.

Thinking their leader was faithful, Nigerians favored the measures but soon found that the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) was not being faithfully executed. While they were sacrificing, billions of dollars of Nigeria’s money was being pocketed by Babangida and his followers, such that under SAP, unemployment numbers, food prices, and cost of living soared. As Ghana and Uganda made gains under SAP, Nigeria was going under, until Nigerians responded in a 1989 riot, to which the dictator replied by first killing hundreds of protesters, then issuing palliative measures. A World Bank report issued in 1995 fully documented how grand theft under Babangida’s regime nullified the gains of SAP.

His government implemented a myriad of failed programs, which only helped to divert attention and fritter scarce national resources. Such programs include the People's Bank, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), and Better Life for Rural Women. All these programs are today dead or moribund. IBB tricked respected people, including Professor Wole Soyinka and the late Tai Solarin, to serve under his administration. They later found they had been tricked and resigned.

Among his leadership abilities, Babangida replaced his deputy, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe with Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu -the former was headstrong and idealistic, while the later was largely a yes-man. He executed dramatic changes in public administration, filling strategic military and ministerial positions with his loyalists. Babangida introduced measures that threatened the secularity of Nigeria. Under his watch, Nigeria secretly became a participant at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an action so controversial that it was linked to the ouster of Ebitu Ukiwe.

As things got worse, a band of top officers, including Babangida's colleague and best man at his wedding, General Mamman Vatsa, allegedly planned to remove him. They were all captured and killed without sufficient evidence. We later learned that Vatsa may have been murdered for offences he did not commit, going by revelations by the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Domkat Bali.

Nigeria continued in spiral fall until April 22, 1990, when a brave junior officer, Major Gideon Orkar, almost toppled the Babangida regime. The official residence of the head of state, the Dodan Barracks, was razed. Babangida escaped by a slim stroke of luck. Significantly, Nigerian civilians were, for the first time, involved in a coup attempt, a development the dictator responded to by quickly moving the seat of power from the heavily populated Lagos to previously abandoned national capital city of Abuja, just about an hour's drive from his hometown of Minna. Orkar had, however, made damaging allegations about Babangida’s personal life and political problems, including homosexuality, drug peddling and corruption.

From this point, IBB was held in widespread suspicion among Nigerians. He held on to power with a single promise: to lead Nigeria back to democracy. Trusting and hopeful once again, Nigerians were carried along until 1992, when his abrupt cancellation of a political process led to mass suspicion about his true intentions. At this point, the term "Hidden Agenda" was coined by the late lawyer, Mr. Alao Aka Bashorun, who declared that Babangida was attempting to succeed himself. Bashorun seemed to have provided light in a dark tunnel as Nigerians began to place the evil genius' programs under the microscope.

The outcry that followed the cancellation of presidential primaries about to be won by the late General Shehu Yar'Adua led Babangida to hurriedly, without much of his usual plotting, move the political transition process at such a pace that caused a generally accepted candidate, billionaire philanthropist, M.K.O Abiola, to be elected as president in Nigeria's most peaceful and acceptable election. Confused and dazed, IBB annulled that election and unleashed a national outrage that led to his downfall. Hundreds of Nigerians were killed by soldiers acting under the directives of Babangida and his beneficiaries, as the citizens fought for the mandate given to Abiola.

Eventually, it dawned on the Maradona, the game was up. He was forced to vacate his beloved presidential seat. Nigerians can remember how Babangida made a spectacle of himself on the NTA as he bounced continuously on a chair in utter confusion when he had to “step aside.” Babangida was forced out, but not before he planted his equally ruthless and utterly vindictive partner, the late General Sani Abacha, to guide a lame civilian caretaker administration of Ernest Shonekan. It surprised no one that Abacha sent Shonekan packing in less than three months, and continued the evil legacy of his former boss, IBB.
Do not be fooled into thinking Babangida is not serious about being a civilian president at the age of 70. The evil genius knows he had stepped aside long enough and his insatiable thirst for power cannot be quenched by time. IBB has sent his beneficiaries out to the field on a mission to buy back lost political patronage with his vast wealth, stolen from Nigerians, and which is now being employed to bring Nigerians back to servitude in 2011.

The bedrock for today's economic and financial problems was laid by this man, Ibrahim Babangida! He created conditions malignant to national advancement, such as the institutionalization of the culture of corruption that is now heavily entrenched in the social and moral fabric of the Nigerian society. The phenomena of the notorious thievery schemes or theft-by-deception, a.k.a "419," is largely believed to have gained undue prominence and seeming acceptance during the eight-year misrule of Ibrahim Babangida in Nigeria. Today, the nuisance of the so-called "Yahoo Boys" is believed to be a by-product or creation of the IBB era. Owing to corruption and deception, Nigeria is not able to participate without restriction in modern commerce. What is the moral justification for a society to wage war on scammers when known social culprits enjoy stolen public wealth without restraint? These conditions have been almost impossible to reverse. And now, IBB is out again make things even worse. For those who think otherwise, on what ground can Babangida be trusted?

Babangida has, over the years, schemed to have the facts of his misrule erased. He has been a bit successful, we must admit. How else can one explain the failure of some of us to appreciate recent history? It is against this backdrop that Againstbabangida.com was launched for the continual education of Nigerians about his legacies but more importantly, as a watchtower against his return. It has been six years since Againstbabangida.com came into existence.

Over these years, many have accused our organization of wielding too big a stick for the goat. We have been blamed for paying too much focus on one problem and have been asked to widen our scope. While we admit that Nigeria has multifarious problems, requiring wide-ranging solutions, we are glad at Againstbabangida to focus strictly on Babangida. We know him. Like the proverbial goat, he will not go away. While we have volunteered to watch, we also know that he visits many markets. The revelation that Mr. Raymond Dokpesi, owner of Africa International Television, whose station hired many of the journalists who were victims of Babangida's misrule, is tragic. Nonetheless, it goes to show the extent to which Babangida can wear the most resolute of us down. It shows that we can't but watch the devil.

It is sad to realize that among those taking money from Babangida against the interest of the society are the so- called Emirs, Obas, Obis, and High Chiefs, business executives, retired military officers, political bigwigs and, even, intellectuals. For this reason, we wonder how our collective conscience became depleted to the extent that people who should be leading are the greatest culprits of the moral bankruptcy that is prevalent in Nigeria today. It does not matter how highly placed they are, any Nigerian who is willing to serve Babangida is an enemy of the people. They should be identified and treated as such. The time has come for Nigerians of goodwill to totally unite and unequivocally reject the enemies of the people. This was the theme at the launch of Dr. Olatunji Dare's book, Diary of a Debacle: Tracking Nigeria’s Failed Democratic Transition (1989-1994), in Lagos recently. This should our collective theme from now until Babangida is beaten back into his hole in hilltop Minna.

The only deterrent to IBB's persistent strike is a focused people, who have the horse whip lifted to beat him. I ask all Nigerians who truly understand the issues, who have lived the problem created by Babangida and are determined never to let it happen again, to get their ‘kobokos’ in hand and keep watch. When this goat sees how determined we are, he will think twice. He may not entirely give up, but as we exchange watch, month after month, year after year, he will get old and get out. He may even die on his duty.

This is the perfect time for Nigerians to tell Babangida and his fellow crooks, "Never Again." For him to think he can rule us again with his dirty, bloody hands is already a national tragedy. Let us all get our sticks out and beat the devil out of our national life. Never Again, Babangida!

Tunde Chris Odediran, former journalist in Nigeria, is the founder of Citizens for Nigeria and Againstbabangida.com


http://www.pointblanknews.com/Special_Reports/os3819.html


What a revealing article.

@Jude why do you suggest GEJ should not contest? He can be a good umpire and still contest. For the man he got what he deserved SACK. Such men with no INTEGRITY are not needed.

thank god some trustworthy persons are still in nigeria money can not influence them. 'one man one vote'

Fresh facts emerged on Wednesday as to how the former Editorial board Chairman of the Punch Newspapers, Adebolu Arowolo, was fired by his employers over that infamous ‘ ‘Minna Media Parley’, hosted by the evil genius, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

He was the first victim of the trip to Minna where Babangida who wants to be President, tried to compromise the media. The Punch which has showed zero tolerance for such behavior had few months ago showed former Managing Editor, Azu Ishiekwene, the gate for alleged corrupt practices. The whole saga also consumed Ex Editor, Steve Ayorinde. Arowolo, just like Ishiekwene, wrote consistently on the corrupt system, including legislators pay, and the alleged $5 Billion LNG remittances to NNPC,

Pointblanknews.com learnt that shortly after Arowolo returned from Minna with a bagful of cash, he went straight home since it was a weekend. He also did not disclose to anyone his invitation to Babangida’s house, nor his nocturnal trip.

According to our source, few days later, an online publication blew open the meeting where over 20 editors, and 20 line editors attended, and how they shared a paltry N10 million. Pointblanknews.com later learnt that they got N200, 000 each, and an extra N50,000 for flight expenses.

At that meeting were editors from the Guardian, The Sun, Thisday, The Nation, Daily Independent, Sunday Independent, Punch, Tribune, Vanguard, Leadership, the electronic media etc. The parley and propaganda stunt lasted between 11pm and 1am. They were ‘compelled’ to sign a birthday card for IBB, and pose for a photo shoot.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that few days after the publication by the online media and mentions on face book, the Managing Director, Demola Osinubi, called Arowolo into his office and repeatedly asked him if he was at the IBB media parley. He consistently denied he was there, claiming he was home.

Our source said Osinubi believed him because, Arowolo was like a laid back guy, with the mien of one of the few good ones, who hardly leaves Lagos. “He believed him because he didn’t appear to be such a person. He was well paid, he gets a little over N400, 000 per month. “

So, Osinubi said if he (Arowolo), was sure he did not attend, he should put together a rejoinder disclaiming the story. According to our source, “ The MD repeatedly asked him, if he attended , he said no, so he said since we can’t sue them because they are not in Nigeria, let’s put together a rejoinder because, the story really embarrassed the Punch.”

Pointblanknews.com further learnt that, few days after the encounter with Arowolo, The Chairman of the Board, Ajibola Ogunshola was at a meeting of the Nigeria Newspaper Proprietors Association (NPAN), with other publishers, when the issue came up. Our source also said, in attendance was the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Amuka Pemu, believed to be a member of IBB fan club.

Said the source “at that NPAN meeting the chairman, (Ogunshola), and others talked about the issue. Amuka Pemu told him, it was well attended and that the Punch was there. Ogunshola said there was no way the Punch would have been there. It was at that point that Gbenga Adefaye (President, Nigeria Guild Of Editors), leaned towards him (Ogunshola), and whispered into his ear that Arowolo was there. He was shocked, but not convinced”

Pointblanknews.com gathered further that the moment Ogunshola left the meeting he called the MD, Osinubi to ask about Punch presence at the IBB parley.

“The MD called him into his office and confronted him with the latest revelation. He (Arowolo) just burst into tears and fell on the floor, begging and asking for forgiveness. But the Boss told him, it was late because the Chairman is already aware. So he was asked to resign or be fired.” The worse part of it all was that he embarrassed the Punch, lost his job for a paltry N200, 000,” said a source.

http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os3828.html

DO NOT SELL YOUR FUTURE LIKE THIS SHAMEFUL JOURNALIST PLEASE MY BROTHERS/SISTERS. ‘ONE MAN ONE VOTE’

Fresh facts emerged on Wednesday as to how the former Editorial board Chairman of the Punch Newspapers, Adebolu Arowolo, was fired by his employers over that infamous ‘ ‘Minna Media Parley’, hosted by the evil genius, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

He was the first victim of the trip to Minna where Babangida who wants to be President, tried to compromise the media. The Punch which has showed zero tolerance for such behavior had few months ago showed former Managing Editor, Azu Ishiekwene, the gate for alleged corrupt practices. The whole saga also consumed Ex Editor, Steve Ayorinde. Arowolo, just like Ishiekwene, wrote consistently on the corrupt system, including legislators pay, and the alleged $5 Billion LNG remittances to NNPC,

Pointblanknews.com learnt that shortly after Arowolo returned from Minna with a bagful of cash, he went straight home since it was a weekend. He also did not disclose to anyone his invitation to Babangida’s house, nor his nocturnal trip.

According to our source, few days later, an online publication blew open the meeting where over 20 editors, and 20 line editors attended, and how they shared a paltry N10 million. Pointblanknews.com later learnt that they got N200, 000 each, and an extra N50,000 for flight expenses.

At that meeting were editors from the Guardian, The Sun, Thisday, The Nation, Daily Independent, Sunday Independent, Punch, Tribune, Vanguard, Leadership, the electronic media etc. The parley and propaganda stunt lasted between 11pm and 1am. They were ‘compelled’ to sign a birthday card for IBB, and pose for a photo shoot.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that few days after the publication by the online media and mentions on face book, the Managing Director, Demola Osinubi, called Arowolo into his office and repeatedly asked him if he was at the IBB media parley. He consistently denied he was there, claiming he was home.

Our source said Osinubi believed him because, Arowolo was like a laid back guy, with the mien of one of the few good ones, who hardly leaves Lagos. “He believed him because he didn’t appear to be such a person. He was well paid, he gets a little over N400, 000 per month. “

So, Osinubi said if he (Arowolo), was sure he did not attend, he should put together a rejoinder disclaiming the story. According to our source, “ The MD repeatedly asked him, if he attended , he said no, so he said since we can’t sue them because they are not in Nigeria, let’s put together a rejoinder because, the story really embarrassed the Punch.”

Pointblanknews.com further learnt that, few days after the encounter with Arowolo, The Chairman of the Board, Ajibola Ogunshola was at a meeting of the Nigeria Newspaper Proprietors Association (NPAN), with other publishers, when the issue came up. Our source also said, in attendance was the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Amuka Pemu, believed to be a member of IBB fan club.

Said the source “at that NPAN meeting the chairman, (Ogunshola), and others talked about the issue. Amuka Pemu told him, it was well attended and that the Punch was there. Ogunshola said there was no way the Punch would have been there. It was at that point that Gbenga Adefaye (President, Nigeria Guild Of Editors), leaned towards him (Ogunshola), and whispered into his ear that Arowolo was there. He was shocked, but not convinced”

Pointblanknews.com gathered further that the moment Ogunshola left the meeting he called the MD, Osinubi to ask about Punch presence at the IBB parley.

“The MD called him into his office and confronted him with the latest revelation. He (Arowolo) just burst into tears and fell on the floor, begging and asking for forgiveness. But the Boss told him, it was late because the Chairman is already aware. So he was asked to resign or be fired.” The worse part of it all was that he embarrassed the Punch, lost his job for a paltry N200, 000,” said a source.

http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os3828.html

DO NOT SELL YOUR FUTURE LIKE THIS SHAMEFUL JOURNALIST PLEASE MY BROTHERS/SISTERS. ‘ONE MAN ONE VOTE’

I will say it depends on the type of relationship you have. It happened to me but its was so easy for me to solve. Brazil v Holland was just 5 mins on and she came wanted us out, as a sharp guy to please her and myself I quickly mentioned Silverbird Cinema Port Harcourt, she was hoping to watch a movie but I told her a drink and meal will do for today she accepted we went to their bar I watched my match now with other guys on a much bigger screen than mind and she enjoyed the euphoria it was fun. No fighting everybody was satisfied.

@poster I will take it that u made a mistake instead of 8000$ u were about to write 800$. I work in d same industry and I know that newly employed with no previous experience in d job do not earn up to that amount. You can earn up to 500-800k that’s if u are very good and was badly needed for a replacement. To prove your critics wrong name the company.

As for your girl women are insecure when u r not committed to them. Your constant refusal of her to wherever cabin u stayed was wrong. This insecurity most likely pushes some of them to seek for double assurance somewhere else. I know your thought is that she is cheating on you anyway that’s too fast to conclude even though it’s possible. Throwing away a ring was to hash a decision and childish. Go meet her and sort things out nothing is as good as marry a girl that has been with you and supporting you when life was f…king you up, you will enjoy the relationship more than picking a stranger now that the money has come.

yemmight:

Ignorant.  Oloun maje kope ko to ye o (God will not let it be too late before you realise)

. . .what happens to your forefathers who died before the white slave traders came?

The answer to that question is RESURRECTION. Resurrection does not agree with the teaching of hell. Nevertheless, true Christians know that hell is an invention of some sect and does not agree with the Bible.

As for P. Christ Matt 7:21-23 is the answer.

Missy B:

Source, please?

its a really life story, it happens in Bonny Island or Rivers State if u know Bonny.

This is a real life story that just happened in Rivers State.

A young guy of 15 years got into a relationship with a lady of 25 years. But some thing tragic happened when the lady discovered that her young boy friend had another younger girl of his mate as girl friend, she invited the young guy home as usual after some drinks and during lovemaking the lady sliced the young man’s penis off and was holding it in her hand when neighbors came, police was invited and now she is in their custody.

My NL I am of the opinion that the family of the guy sues her for child abuse and rape because the guy is still too young for her. Abi no be so? NL what do you think?

Nigerian footballer Endurance Idahor has died after collapsing during a game in Khartoum. Idahor, 25, who played for Sudan's Al-Merreikh club, clashed with another player minutes after the start of the match, an official from the Sudan's FA told Reuters.

"It was a normal incident of obstruction," said the official who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

"He fell over and now he has passed away. It is a huge shock to Sudan's whole sporting family."

The official said Idahor collapsed during a game with Sudan Premier League rivals Al-Amal, held at Al-Merreikh's stadium in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/06032010/58/international-football-nigerian-footballer-collapses-dies.html

May God help the family to bear this untimely death.

What a tragedy for Nigeria Football Family. May God help the family to bear the lost.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-409165.0.html

Nigerian footballer Endurance Idahor has died after collapsing during a game in Khartoum. Idahor, 25, who played for Sudan's Al-Merreikh club, clashed with another player minutes after the start of the match, an official from the Sudan's FA told Reuters.

"It was a normal incident of obstruction," said the official who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

"He fell over and now he has passed away. It is a huge shock to Sudan's whole sporting family."

The official said Idahor collapsed during a game with Sudan Premier League rivals Al-Amal, held at Al-Merreikh's stadium in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/06032010/58/international-football-nigerian-footballer-collapses-dies.html

@Poster. My advice is remember the saying "All that glitters is NOT GOLD" and "The Devil you know is BETTER than the ANGEL you presume you have or will come". Moving on may look better and easy but think about those saying and consider the situation do not allow your emotions decide for you it could spell doom (I don't prayer that for you anyway). Wishing you the best.

Most girls do that, another annoying one is a girl just meet a guy not up 2 a month she start talking of marriage as if it is a commodity u can buy.