TonyeBarcanista:

Sambo Dasuki has released statement with respect to the subject and never DID he refute the $2.2billion sum in the statement. The second major player, a Director of Finance in the ONSA also didn't refute the total sum. On what basis are you taking your position? Is it not when the suspects refutes that we will ask EFCC and DSS to produce the documentry evidence in their disposal?


PS: I'm not a sycophant like some of you. I can boast anywhere that I have never received any dime from any politician dead or alive. If I'm employed by a politician today, I will only accept if it suits my principle. Stop judging me with your own standard!

you just repeated thesame crap again, pls can you show us the link or are you the link?

just give it up already, youve made a big mess of yourself today

TonyeBarcanista:

Dasuki has already been charged to court. He is in detention for a different case. He wants to run abroad in the name of bail. The FG however is dishing the meal bit by bit.

Perhaps, you are not aware that Sambo released statement on this issue and NEVER in the statement refuted the $2.2 billion sum.

Again, save your epistle for the judge.

now you have opened a new chapter by defending tyranny. pls can we know of the new crime he was detained for? is there any law that allows for a man to be detained beyond 48hrs without charging him to court? this are evidence of tyranny and no matter how hard a tyranny sells its agenda a bad democratic govt will always be a better option.


pls just stop making fun of yourself on this thread

snailspeed:


In addition to being a sycophant for Buhari, you are really not that intelligent. Just read your own post again. If the $2.2B money was diverted to purpose other than arms purchase then Dasuki is certainly guilty of corruption of the whole sum, not the one he used to buy things for himself. Isnt he the one who disbured it? Or someon else was in charge of the money who now debursed Dasuki's own share to him? You are terribly confused! You dey fall hand no be small. Shameful!

guy trust me TonyeBarcanista is intelligent but he just happen to be compromised at the moment,its a shame though cos i highly revered him in the past ,cant believe he can really stoop so low.

TonyeBarcanista:

Sambo Dasuki is alove and not dead. He is yet to refute the said $2.2billion. What is your own inside? Were you paid peanut by the indictee? Whether or not EFCC(under PDP) looted more does not nullify the subject at hand. Even if a percentage of the sum was used for arms, it still doesn't invalidate the subject. They should explain to the investigators and the judge.

Sambo dasuki is indeed alive but will not be allowed to say his side of the story by the EFCC and DSS. can you tell me when he spoke about how he received approval for 2,1 bn dollars? thats all i asked of you or did sambo dasuki tell u all this in person? you have long lost your penchant for objectivity and its shameful. the TonyeBarcanista of before will provide a link and sufficient proof to defend his points but now he has been reduced to defending beer parlour thrash. dont know what made you change but i must say that if its for monetary considerations then its not worth it

maverickboy:
Bro, seriously I don't know why you are fighting for these crooks.
The money under NSO

enlighten yourself bro, NSA office is not for arms purchase alone,they carry out other functions and all these are budgeted for


Find out and thank me later

amaechi1:
It is propaganda but some people are testifying to have received money. Even Dasuki himself acknowledged that monies were shared. Perhaps, you have benefited from the loot and you are afraid the bus will soon stop at your door post. Don't worry it will soon get there.

give us a link to where dasuki said money was shared

stop believing beer parlour gists, read and be enlightened

TonyeBarcanista:

I don't get your point. You can't charge Dasuki for looting the whole $2.2billion except you can establish that he on his own diverted the entire money. However, there are people involved that will share part in the prosecution. Also be aware that the FG is charging Sambo in bits.

Secondly, if neither Sambo Dasuki nor the Director of finance denied the $2.2billion, what exactly are you harping your argument on?

Thirdly, the investigators has said they have documents, this the people in the center didn't dispute. I don't know why again you are disputing.

Fouthly, Dokpesi has already been charged to court, he's on bail. He will explain to the judge. Bail is not freedom

Fifthly, there is nothing like media trial. I am not aware of any. The media only report events.

stop trying to change the goal post

1) there is no where dasuki admitted GEJ approved any 2.1bn dollars

2)the total amount alleged in court by the EFCC to have been siphoned is a far cry from the much talked about 2.1bn dollars

3)There is enough evidence to indeed prove that arms were purchased, so where did the FG get the money from





tonye my guy, psycophancy dont pay like objectivity does

TonyeBarcanista:

Oga forget what GEJ said in USA. There are document with DSS and EFCC. Sambo Dasuki, the main at the center insisted that GEJ approved the $2.2billion for arms. What Iwaela said was that she wasn't part of the entire $2.2billion extra budgetary arms deal, she said she was only involved in the committee that allocated $300million Abacha fund to Dasuki. The $300million isn't exclusive of the $2.2billion, it forms part. Jonathan on his own said he didn't approve $2.2billion "at once", and nobody said it was approved "at once". GEJ is yet to deny approving it. Beside, there are documents and authorisations.


Again, it is no scam. Dokpesi and co should save their sermon for the judge.

guy dont let me lose my respect for you, can you please show us the link where Dasuki said GEJ approved "2,1 bn dollars" for arms purchase?

for crying out loud if you want to support APC govt do it with pride and stop acting a script

Goke7:


I will not condemn but rather asked if you or anyone close to you was a victim of the insurgency, will you ever come out with a piece like this? I think we should careful when we try to confuse our personal opinions or experience in discussing very sensitive national matters, GEJ is not that hated as you and your fellow admirers think but the way and and manner you guys confuse very sensitive national matters with how you will feel personally over issues requires some restraint.

You guys have forgotten that it was when PMB set up a panel to probe whether monies budgeted to spent on arms to fight insurgency was used judiciously that all the revelations we have been hearing emerged, we are talking serious matters here and you are trying to be technical by saying that they were security votes, if its security votes, how come falae, dokpesi, obaigbena that are not security contractors benefited from the funds.

Please for once be sympathetic to the plight of the victims of the insurgency and don't let your hatred for PMB and love for GEJ make you a human being without feelings to the down trodden. Thanks and God bless

channel your grievance to the right quarters bro, don't bath this thread with your sentimental crap, boko haram has killed a few thousands of people under Buhari and the presidiot has not bought a single rifle for the army,soldiers morale has been badly silenced but yet your presidiot is claiming victory. he is the one that you should be angry with and i wonder why you are not asking for Buhari to be jailed since under him too people have also been killed by boko haram.

this whole arms scandal is a well articulated media propaganda by the devilish APC party and it is targeted at distracting your attention from pressing issues like the economy,shiites massacre, IPOB demonstrations, stock market crash et al. it is what APC needs to whip up sentiments for itself and its band of economic assassins. not everybody can be fooled and i dare to stand out even if it means standing alone

abduljabbar4:


1) The last time i checked, pdp referred to gej as jesus

2)Where? How? You want him to resign and hand over to an ibo man?

3)Pej insulted the northerners in rivers, pdp accused Buhari of planning to Islamize Nigeria in the south east and then Namadi sambo came to the north here in Kaduna and told us not to vote APC because pastor osinbajo is a pastor who has 500 churches. Google is your friend

4)How is namdi kanu a non violent person? Has he changed his plans to burn down the "zoo"?

5)His statement is dependable but can you compare that to gej who said he is being soft on boko haram because they are his brothers? Google is your friend.

6)What will condemning them do for you?

The rest are the usual rants of an average ipob member. Buhari will continue to fight corruption and Fayoses turn is around the corner. You cannot do anything about it

i can see you are among the jollof rice brigade of this current admin, all the crap you just wrote in defence of your slavemaster is just typical of the rubbish the sai baba's churn out to defend the dullard in aso rock. i don't need to start arguing your lies with you all i'll just need you to do is provide a link to where GEJ insulted northerners anywhere. your life is really pathetic and not worth living from the looks of it, i can never envy your status as it is only befitting of slaves who will defend their master to any length just to get a chance to pick up any crumb that falls of his table. continue in your shamelessness, people choose destinies and learn to live with it so i got nothing against you, but the moment you feel you can make your destiny cross my path and drag me down to your pathetic level then you'll have issues with me.
fayose is not scared of your God and he will continue to dare him and all his partners in tyranny. the presidiot is a vindictive fool and his end will not be good. if you dont like what i say then do your worst

olatunji21:
Our Fayose is back... Welcome Mr Gomina.... Ur File is almost ready...

not every one is corrupt as you have been made to believe and not everybody is scared of the buffoon in aso rock as you are made to believe, so keep that your corruption trash for LAWMA

Fayose carry go...keep speaking truth to power. nobody is above the law not even the self acclaimed all and mighty mr do-no-wrong in aso rock. its just a matter of time before he bites more than he can chew and be rest assured that he'll be cut down to his size.

i cant support a president who:

1) sees himself as a god

2) sees citizens of the same country as unequal in rights

3)divides the country along religious and voting lines

4) is ready to negotiate with shekau but will go to any length to prosecute a yet non violent Nnamdi kanu

5)saw war on boko haram as war against the north because he was not in power but now condemns them when in power

6) is yet to come out to condemn the fulani cattle rearing militia despite the fact that they've killed thousands of innocent people and are now the 4th deadliest terrorist sect in the world

i can go on and talk about the economy,civil service, budget et al but i'll rather stop here

what we have in aso rock is a barefaced hypocrite and a extremely vindictive one at that, i don't really blame some people that are supporting him cos truth be told some are not paid and i can testify to this but they are blinded by the 'media governance' his party offers. its just a matter of time before their eyes will be opened.
character is the true definition of every man. it's like pregnancy, it can be hidden but not for long.


and for those paid APC E-hustlers that'll label me an IPOB, be sure that im not but i refuse to live a lie. Nigeria belongs to everybody and everybody has equal stakes in it if you guys don't know this, well thats not for me to worry about

pheliciti:

You mean whatever is on Wikipedia is correct? You really are not very smart.

lets assume whatever is on wikipedia is wrong even though we how know wiki gets thier articles but pls can u tell us how you arrived at yours that is different from that of Fashola the minister of works and his min of state for works and also wikipedia that most scholars use in their research work.

no matter how hard you wish u can change the goal post on this thread you'll end up making a dummy of yourself

pheliciti:

It's understandable that you'll get angry when you get to the limit of your wits. I try not to insult but that doesn't mean I won't correct you. From your grammar, I can understand your limits.
I suggest that you try to be dispassionate and a bit more discerning.
If you are attentive, you'd find that my argument is that you can't justify the statement that GEJ built 25k km roads; not that he didn't build any roads. Further that it's puerile to justify that with an unverified quote from Point blank News. You'd have more intelligence when you pay more attention rather getting angry.

now i can see your argument is motivated by unparalleled ignorance,how else can u justify that work was done than for the same person that 8months ago was ready to swear to a tin god that nothing of such happened now coming out unashamedly, without duress and using free speech to counter his earlier claims ? he's got to be lying right? can you now tell us why he will want to lie and if by any chance you have used some of the roads mentioned and theyre not motorable, even wikipedia states it clear that nigeria has 28000 km of motorable roads.

get acquainted with facts and stop living in perpetual denial of reality

henryhemon:


I don't know who believed that boko haram has been defeated? Me? He's entitled to what he wants to say,Pmb used the word technically that means not totally common we 're educated forget about being bias.

in war its either you win or lose there's no such thing as technical victory, you can claim to have the upper hand during the course of war due to the weakening of your opponents but you cant claim victory in any form. you can easily claim victory in battles when your enemies retreat but despite the retreat the war is still very much on and not won cos the enemies will only regroup and come back.
you only claim victory in war when the enemies have surrendered or are completely decimated.

im very much educated and as such cannot be fooled by the conjecture of band of propagandists but sincerely speaking i dont know about you cos thats not for me to worry about, gerrit? thank me later

henryhemon:
One question I ask is if gej did so well how come you at forcing it on Nigerians to know he did so well? It would have been a testimony of basically most of us,it's cuz morality is so damn now that people still have the guts to identify with such a fellow,ordinarily people would have been ashamed to be associated with such a man with all the craps under his watch but unfortunately people are shameless these days.

same question you should direct to lie mohammed: if buhari has defeated boko haram why do u have to force us to believe?

all im saying is you can believe what you like, the article is laden with enough facts to guide your judgement, what you make of it is not for me to worry about

bettercreature:
TRASH! blaming a government of 6 months old

im sure you were programmed to always repeat this shit cos its obvious you didn't read the article

there was no where in the article that the government was mentioned talkmore of blamed if you want to regurgitate that your rubbish pls look for a thread it suits gerrit? pay me later for this priceless advice

tempex88:
The truth is that we voted a very sincere government. They will not rubbish GEJ's administration without proof. They applauded his work in Agriculture. However, if we look at the area of security, Haba... Na their GEJ failed Nigerians. It's the major reason we all voted for change. Look at the Dasuki story today, see as all of dem dey share dollars at the expense of lives in the NE. I trust God to severely punish those that pocketed the money meant for weapons in the army.

if they were sincere why did they have to lie their way into power?


the scam is real but you'll know in good time

tempex88:
The truth is that we voted a very sincere government. They will not rubbish GEJ's administration without proof. They applauded his work in Agriculture. However, if we look at the area of security, Haba... Na their GEJ failed Nigerians. It's the major reason we all voted for change. Look at the Dasuki story today, see as all of dem dey share dollars at the expense of lives in the NE. I trust God to severely punish those that pocketed the money meant for weapons in the army.

in an attempt to carry the argument to different parts to win it, you carried the argument into space. how is the security you are shouting about? are they not still bombing and killing in the northeast?do u know the level of petty theft and bank robberies have surged since sai baba stepped in?have oil theft stopped? so where is the change?

dasuki has a case to answer in court and he has been clamouring to do so but he can never feel assured of a fair trial when the prosecutor(buhari) is the judge and to worsen things he and the judge are political-never-see-eye-to-eye

in your case its not a matter of getting the facts right anymore, its a case of acknowledging it. i pray you'll have the capacity to do so in the nearest future

pheliciti:
The writer must be insensitive to allege that 25k km was done by GEJ based on fabricated quotes. He should as a journalist be more investigative and list out the roads! If at all, none of the meagre successes of GEJ can justify the amount of theft and cluelessness of that govt. Please the writer should deal with that.
Using subsidy removal as an example, the argument now is different from those of 4 yrs ago. Now, it is glaring that with the fall in oil prices, removal of subsidy would not hurt the populace.
In the 2012 scenario, the argument was that removal would create money to fund infrastructure with the creation of SUREP. Please show us the infrastructure financed with the 50% removal (remember, subsidy was party removed) other than private constructions by the subsidy thieves and their acolytes including Thisday journalists like the writer of the editorial. Don't also forget the manner of the removal; crude was selling at record high yet those that travelled to villages were left stranded as a result of sudden pice changes.

I'll try my possible best to sound nice as i try to school you out of your self-induced ignorance

on your first point: the GEJ admin used to tell nigerians before it was voted out but the opposition as at then rubbished it as a sham. now the same opposition (in the mould of FASHOLA) as of then which is now the ruling party which now has all the organs of state to investigate and verify these claims have come out to confirm them and even went further to acknowledge that the feat of the past admin is the highest so far in nigerias history. are you trying to tell us you now know more than those that are there or FASHOLA who would have loved ythe story to be false is the one telling the lie. and not just the minister in the person of fashola said it the minister of state repeated same lines.

on your second point: the narrative would have even favoured nigerins in 2012 than 2016. oil price was high which means more money for government but with subsidy it meant more money for subsidy that could ahve been saved as gains.

on your last point: you must be living in mars for you not to know what the sure-p funds was used for,lemme highlight a few
1)the revival of the railways which Amaechi acknowledged
2)the construction of the benin-ore expressway
3)i have friends who got employed under the sure-p graduate internship scheme GIS and the youth work programme
these are just a few of many

conclusion: if inded you are unconsciously ignorant in your judgement then i'll suggest yo take out time to study more on a topic and not base your judgements on hearsays cos you might just passionately judge an innocent person as guilty. and i dont pray someone judges you like that either

happy new year

God bless you

jmaine:


They are trying to censor the word "zombie" via bans even when they deserve such descriptive .

No matter how hard they try to beat everyone into line,they would be forced to learn the hard way that KARMA is a BIATCH that respects no one even APC.

if this topic was about about the bla bla bla on corrruption in jonathan regime ot will be on frontpage since with over 200 comments. we live oin an era of propaganda but even at that the truth will still prevail in its time

jmaine:


When faced with superior fact. You shut up.

Thanks . . .

zombies dont understand what y said they are programmed to see everything as corruption(them inclusive) except BUHARI


cc: lalasticlala

cc: lalasticlala


Aprokoman,Barcanista, Whynotthetruth, Dearpreye, Firefire, Francizy, Biafranqueen, Mogidi, Mizmycoli, IsraeliAirforce, Candirain, Rose2014,BraniacX,Kenai, Provacateur, Opiaoku, NDPVF, Anonimi, Engineerboat, Talktimi,

Fellow Nigerians, have you heard the news coming from the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola - that former President Goodluck Jonathan constructed more roads than any president ever n the history of Nigeria? He was reported to have made that startling admission on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 in Abuja during his first news conference tagged, “Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change”. He also acknowledged that the transformation in the power sector was above 50 per cent and that he would try to build on it. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I read about it in the newspapers.

I had to read the story several times to be sure my eyes were not playing pranks on me and that the news report I was reading was not made up by someone trying to “undo” Fashola in his new assignment. And to be doubly certain, I had to call somebody to read the story aloud to me to be sure some smart Alec wasn’t about to fool me. Then I decided to wait for a denial in the hope that the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) poster boy of good governance, the “prime minister” and the “actualiser” of Buhari’s change was not quoted correctly.

Three weeks after, I haven’t seen a rebuttal. Following on from Fashola’s acknowledgement, the Minister of State for Works, Adebayo Adeyeye, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily was even more specific with figures, stating with emphasis that Jonathan’s administration recorded more success in the provision of motorable roads than any other administration in the history of Nigeria. I couldn’t resist the urge to ask what was going on. According to Adeyeye, Nigeria in 2011 had about 4,500 kilometres of fairly motorable roads, and that the Jonathan administration was able to raise that number to “25,000 kilometres of very good roads”.

The truth here is I hardly knew what to make of Fashola’s admission after the fact. If you will recall, in the run-up to the presidential election, Fashola was one of the APC stalwarts who made carnage of Jonathan’s achievements. He repeatedly and savagely tore at the core of the last administration’s programmes and made mincemeat of Jonathan in a caricature of facts that he now acknowledges in beautiful expressions. He made political capital out of the last government’s problems and ripped to shreds every conceivable achievement of that administration. He declared emphatically that Jonathan achieved “nothing” and as such did not deserve a second term.

Fashola’s campaign of deliberate misrepresentation of the facts and desperation became reckless, cold-hearted and even unpatriotic when he tried to scare potential foreign investors away from the country all in a bid to undermine that government. His gentlemanly mien, apolitical persona and disposition reinforced by the public perception that he had “performed” did much to sway the gullible public to the lying eyes of his campaign narrative. But that is what you get when political novices take front row seats and talk from both sides of their mouth all in a bid to impress.

The zest and tone of his campaign was something of a revelation to many including myself and I dare say no one knew he had the capacity for such political mischief. But it speaks to the fact that science hasn’t found a way to decipher what is in a man’s mind or predict his actions within a given circumstance. The 2015 campaigns shattered Fashola’s image that had formed in the public psyche and revealed a side previously unknown. I must admit I was taken aback by his resort to scorched earth tactic and I held my breath each time he was on the campaign stump. He rubbed himself in the mud and got dirty happy with his condition. And of course he got rewarded handsomely by Buhari despite allegations of abuse of office.


Lest we forget, in January 2015 when the Jonathan administration reduced the pump price of PMS from N97 to N87 in response to the fall in oil price to the $60 range, Fashola criticised the move as too little in an article titled, ‘PMS Pump Price Reduction and the Economy – My Take Away’. He stated: “I doubt that a 10% reduction is the best that we can get in response to a 50% drop in oil price, and this is simple common sense.

If a product is manufactured at X price and the price of the raw material drops by Y%, I think it is simple economics to reflect that Y% drop in the price of the final product without doing any damage to the cost of packaging or transporting the product. And this should happen vice versa if the price of the raw material heads in the opposite direction.” Now, 12 months after he wrote that take away as an opposition governor, Fashola’s party, the APC, is now in power at the federal level. The price of crude oil has dropped to $31 (about 50% of what it was when he wrote that article), the federal government just announced a pump price reduction of a mere 50 kobo which is just 0.57% reduction. Is Fashola there? What is his take away on this reduction now?


Now, let’s go into the nitty-gritty of the repeated denials of Jonathan’s achievements. Speaking at the inauguration of the Cooperative Home Ownership Incentive Scheme (CHOIS) city at Agbowa, Ikosi-Ejirin and the first solar-powered Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Epe, on January 7, 2015 as reported in some newspapers the next day, Fashola lamented that all the central government informed the citizens and foreign investors about the country especially on insecurity and rebasing of the country’s economy was untrue. Fashola said: “The federal government is ignorant and later lied to Nigerians. This is an indication that they do not know what to do on the challenges confronting this country, especially on insecurity.” In the quest for power everything was considered fair game. It is good that Fashola is now playing a major role in this government, we can now benchmark him with his campaign rhetoric.


In this abridged statement by its then National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party lampooned the rebasing, saying the federal government had only succeeded in opening itself to ridicule. “If ever there was a clear play at oxymoron, this was it: The largest economy with the largest population of the poor, the largest economy with the largest population of unemployed, the largest economy with the largest population of citizens living in darkness, and the largest economy with the worst infrastructure.


“Simply put, there is too much poverty in the midst of plenty, and the so-called economic growth which the FG has been trumpeting with its dubious statistics is not a result of any deliberate government policies. Policies of government are expected to result in reduction in unemployment, increase in capacity utilisation by manufacturers, increased access to basic needs of life (food, water, electricity, health care, education, healthy environment, etc), increase in transparency and accountability, etc. On the contrary, the country continues to slip down the ladder on all of these fronts.


“Therefore, President Jonathan and his shadow-chasing economic team should therefore quit wallowing in unnecessary chest-beating over the rejigging of figures and the play on statistics and put their shoulders to the wheel to push our nation forward. If they cannot, they should get out of the way and allow those who are capable to do so. Enough of this choreographed distraction,” the party concluded.


Luckily, the APC got its wish and was elected to bring all its magic to turn things around for the better. Well, the jury is still out on the party, but if as the saying goes, the morning shows the day, the APC appears to be even more clueless than the man it successfully prefixed with that adjective. A more bizarre admission came from the garrulous enfant terrible of the APC, and former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and now the Minister of Transportation. Amaechi who made a career out of his attacks on former President Jonathan made his startling disclosure that he never knew railway transport still existed in Nigeria.


His statement as reported in the media sent shockwaves across the landscape. His words: “In fact, I think we have a problem; most people don’t believe that the railway transport is functioning in Nigeria. I didn’t even know until I started this tour, I never knew that the railway was functioning; it was even from his (MD’s) speech that I learnt that there are some coaches or services that go to Kano or Port Harcourt or elsewhere.


“The only time I had seen railways (trains) or the coaches was one or two days in Lagos, and I thought it started from the beginning of Lagos to the end of Lagos.
“So we need to make people become more aware that the narrow gauge is working, and that people can still use it to travel around the country.”


That was Amaechi practically telling the world that railway transportation is working in the country after all - even though it may not be as sophisticated as you have in some advanced countries. In the run-up to the election, Amaechi and his party, the APC and its supporters never acknowledged this achievement by the last government. Rather, they rubbished it as “old useless coaches brought in to fool Nigerians to create a semblance that the rail lines were functioning.” Wait a moment - he said he never knew that the rail as a means of transportation existed in Nigeria? But how can he say that? For the life of me, how can Amaechi claim not to know that railway transportation was revived by the last government after it was abandoned for over 30 years? I remember that in December 2014, right under Amaechi’s nose, the then President Jonathan flagged off the Enugu-Port Harcourt train service. It was reported by all the newspapers the following day.

So how could Amaechi feign ignorance about rail transportation in the country when a rail line connects Enugu to Port Harcourt in Rivers State where he held sway as the governor for eight years? Maybe the Port Harcourt /Aba rail he took a tour on that impressed him to the point of gushing out his feigned ignorance was built by Buhari. But more than anything else is it not ironic that a man who for eight years could not actualise the single most important signature project of his administration - the 9.3 kilometre Port Harcourt Monorail after sinking tens of billions of naira of taxpayers’ money is now the one superintending over Ministry of Transportation, driving the transport policy of the entire country? Well, that is how Nigeria works and that precisely is why we have been sitting on a barber’s chair, swiveling in all directions in motion without movement.


On the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s call on Buhari to remove subsidy, I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. But here is what I did: I shook my head in pity for this nation. But did he really say that or an impersonator was using his name in vain to try to embarrass him? What has changed between 2012 and 2015? Oh, Jonathan is no longer in power! It is Muhammadu Buhari of the APC who is now the president.


Well, in actual fact it is not so much what he said that is relevant here but what he didn’t say. Anyone with a sense of our recent history and with a long memory will recall the role Tinubu’s then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) played to frustrate the deregulation of the downstream oil sector and the subsequent removal of the highly contentious subsidy in January 2012. It was the best policy option then as it is now. All the governors supported the policy before it was carried out, but immediately it came into effect and Labour started protests, the ACN governors quickly backed out and aligned with Labour in condemning the then federal government. The Occupy Nigeria group was born with the active connivance of the ACN. Eventually the government had to somewhat rollback the policy. In the last five years plus, the World Bank recently revealed that the country had lost nearly N6 trillion to subsidy that hardly benefits the poor, the very reason often cited for its retention.


Tinubu, who ferociously fought against the re­moval of fuel subsidy during the immediate past administration, finally had the temerity to ask Buhari to do away with the policy for the country to move forward be­cause according to him, ordinary Nigerians no long­er benefited from it. His words: “In a per­fect world, I wish we could sani­tise the subsidy regime and thus continue with it. However, I have reached the conclusion that there are too many demons in the sys­tem for that hell to be turned into heaven.”


The question is: did ordinary Nigerians really benefit from the subsidy in 2012 when the then ACN frustrated its removal? There is nothing in Tinubu’s preposition that is new to the clamour to do away with the subsidy regime. As a matter of fact, it is coming quite late and may be an opportunistic attempt to seize the high ground from a coalition of clear thinkers who had long identified and articulated the need to jettison the subsidy regime. Why it took Tinubu so long to see what he now sees as the way forward can be nothing other than petty politics which to my mind has cost the nation huge resources that would have been used for the development of infrastructure. People close to him describe him as sharp witted, a great thinker, a visionary and a bridge builder.

All that may be true as long as it meets his short-term political gains and that to me does not show proud and patriotic wisdom. However, what is often less spoken about him but which is also manifestly true is that the man is neither a true democrat nor is he a principled progressive. A fatal flaw in his credentials is that he is surprisingly blinded by his ambition and desire for power and control which leaves him vulnerable to the same charges he accused others of. And more than his trumpeted democratic credentials, he brooks no dissent.
What is actually happening now is that there is a struggle between the ferocious propaganda upon which the APC rode to power and facts on the ground. And the former is unraveling in the face of cold hard reality of the latter.


Let me state here categorically, there is no denying the fact that Jonathan exhibited extreme weakness on the twin issues of security and corruption. He failed to decisively deal with the Boko Haram menace and the establishment forces behind it early enough. His resort to the policy of appeasement in early days of Boko Haram when decisive military action was needed failed spectacularly. He failed to rein in impunity among government officials. His stunning lack of will to wield the big stick when necessary defied common sense, and even when the public demanded it, he was shockingly unresponsive. But Jonathan redeemed himself somewhat with just that momentous telephone call that changed the course of our democratic history. Happy New Year to All.


source:http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fashola-amaechi-tinubu-and-change/229235/

Ayt27:
Too long

i made it easy by highlighting the important parts

please take out time to read the important parts

Dear Mr. Femi Adesina

Since I am a victim of association to one of the most vilified and scandalised Nigerians through media trial, this Open Letter is the best opportunity for me to put some issues in proper perspective following some of your public remarks about your old friend.

As you are aware, I have been actively involved in cementing relationship between the media and security agencies in the recent past. Immediately after my premature retirement from the public service by the Jonathan administration, I was invited by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retired), to help in changing the negative media narrative on Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaigns. It was at a period when the Boko Haram was having the upper hand in the propaganda campaign of the war against Nigeria with a section of the foreign media castigating Nigerian troops as “cowardly” “undisciplined” and “ill-trained.”

Among other things, I have the responsibility of consulting for the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA), then Chaired by Major General Chris Olukolade, which has membership from critical public institutions including the military, security, intelligence and response agencies. We also created and sustained web portals for providing accurate and timely information to the public.

I must commend Mr. Femi Adesina for playing greater roles on the success of our campaign because as the President of Nigerian Guild of Editors, you also encouraged Editors to support our activities through occasional self-censorship to manage negative terrorists’ propaganda.

Being one of the closest Editors to former National Security Adviser, you were always sincere and frank when you met and discussed with Dasuki. You never hid your hardened support for the candidacy of General Buhari of All Progressive Congress (APC). I remember your annoyance over security clampdown on the media and when you sought Dasuki’s intervention for compensation for media organisations over their loss rather than engaging in prolonged court cases. I was with you on that occasion in his office.

Apart from interfacing between FOSSRA and media representatives at different levels and locations, which you encouraged, Sambo Dasuki too, as National Security Adviser occasionally hosted Media Debriefing sessions where sensitive information was disseminated with supported photos and video clips. Many of such sessions were classified, not for publication, where atrocities of terrorists; the gallantry of the Nigerian troops and sophisticated equipment deployed for counter-terrorism operations were disclosed or shown.

I am glad that not only were you adequately informed of those success stories of Jonathan administration’s war on terror, you even took the pain to pen an opinion article eulogising Dasuki for keeping to his promise of clearing all known terrorists’ camps before the handover to the new government.

As a respected columnist, your article of May 1, 2015 on the back page of the Daily Sun with the title “A little Late But Not too Late,” clearly exonerates Dasuki from some allegations and also reveals some concrete facts of achievements that were not being reported in the media.

It is therefore, baffling that the same Femi Adesina, could brazenly contradict himself shortly after gaining public office in his official statements. Some of us who know your cordial relationship with Dasuki and information at your disposal are indeed baffled by your dramatic turn-around in so short a time.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to point out that not all funds in ONSA are meant for arms procurement. As you are aware, under its Special Service Office (SSO), funds are expended on training, espionage, communication, special interventions for special causes including NGOs. One of the successful programmes under ONSA is Soft-Approach to countering terrorism, of which deradicalization without the use of force through economic empowerment, education, communication, rehabilitation and counselling were part. The Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE) was conceived from the Soft Approach.

As a media consultant who has distributed over 1000 releases on behalf of the military and security agencies, I can state the following as a fact from official documents and releases:

On August 6, 2015, through PRNigeria, Dasuki named and provided pictures of sophisticated weapons bought for the military, which included: “Alpha jets, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) APCs, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 Battle Tanks and modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.” Even in his official response to your statement against him on November 18, 2015, Dasuki mentioned official acknowledgements of delivery of some of the equipment by the security chiefs.

It is therefore laughable when critics claim that no weapons were purchased when a video from Boko Haram leader Shekau displayed captured sophisticated weapons after alleged mutinous soldiers fled Baga

At the twilight of Jonathan’s administration more than 22 towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were recovered and confirmed with video and pictorial evidences through military press releases. Some of the towns recovered before the coming of President Buhari included: Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Biu, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Goniri, Gujba, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, and others. A clear testimony to some of the accomplishments was the official DHQ release dated March 16, 2015 with reference No: DHQ/ABJ/901/32/DDI and a title: “Troops Finally Rout Terrorists from Bama and Last Stronghold in Yobe.”

Even though when you confirmed in the same article while you were still a columnist that “Sambisa Forest is falling” it was actually stormed by Nigerian troops where about 300 kidnapped women and children were rescued with video evidence before the emergence of the current administration.

In an attempt to indict Sambo Dasuki, some media leak unethically expose expenditures of sensitive agencies like National Intelligence Agency, Department of State Service and others to public ridicules. This is unfair. It was for sensitive nature of issues that we guarded the recruitment of Special M Forces to help in the air while Nigerian troops recaptured the ground. Some would rather call our technical Advisers as South-African mercenaries. Even when Nigeria financially supported some neigbouring countries to participate in the Multi-National Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) it was deliberately done because they were initially reluctant as foreign powers were not helping Nigerian troops.

Since Dasuki and others are now being arraigned in court, rather than the continued media trial and planned secret trials, let the trial commence in open court to enable prosecutors and accusers present their arguments to remove facts from fictions and reality from illusions.

Sir, as you know that I have tremendous respect for you, I strongly urge you to use your good office to protect the integrity of critical institutions like security and the media from public ridicule as some patriotic officers, media organisations, and publishers are already being indicted without fair trial in the court of law.

While I vouch for your professional integrity, you know for a fact that Dasuki is kind and obediently loyal in and out of office. You know that for sure, Mr. Femi.

As we end 2015, I pray the year 2016 will not be one of media circus but one in which the rule of law will determine official actions and suspects of all kinds will have their rights under the constitution respected. This is my last article on this issue and I do this with the best of intention to protect our institutions.

Yushau A. Shuaib

Blogger: www.yashuaib.com

[irp]
yashuaib@yahoo.com[b][/b]

sources:http://dailypost.ng/2015/12/31/yushau-shuaib-femi-adesina-knows-more-about-dasuki-an-open-letter/

omenka:
Of course it is!! It is 10 times more!! Obviously, Dasuki paid her too!!

dry joke.....oya try again

all i can say is that a 1984 'mistake' cannot be a 2015 'solution' i don't know why Nigerians where conveniently made to think otherwise but the truth is gradually coming out and reality is gradually finding its bearing. May God help us

Two bomb blasts ripped through mosques in northeast Nigeria on Friday, killing at least 55 people and injuring more than 100, as Boko Haram fighters briefly seized a town in neighbouring Cameroon.

The attacks in Maiduguri, Yola and the Cameroonian town of Kerawa again underlined the persistent national and regional threat from the Islamist militants, despite military claims of gains.

Fears will be heightened particularly in Maiduguri, which has been hit six times this month, with a total of 76 people killed, according to an AFP tally.

Questions will also again be raised about how the militants are able to carry out such attacks on a regular basis, after similar attacks in the city last month claimed 117 lives.

The bombings also demonstrated the challenges facing the United States, which last week announced the deployment of up to 300 military personnel to northern Cameroon.

The contingent will conduct surveillance and intelligence operations against Boko Haram, including within Nigeria, at a time when attacks on civilians are on the increase.

Suicide bomber

The first attack in Maiduguri happened shortly after 5:00 am (0400 GMT) in the Jidari area of the Borno state capital, where Boko Haram was founded in 2002.

Umar Sani, a civilian vigilante assisting the military in the counter-insurgency, and local resident Musa Sheriff both told AFP there were two blasts at the mosque.

“I was involved in the evacuation. We counted 28 dead bodies apart from the two bombers, who were identifiable by the mutilation of their bodies,” said Sani.

“Over 20 other people were injured.”

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said only six people were killed and 17 others injured, while hospital sources put the death toll at 19.

Both Sani and Sheriff said two other people were arrested and handed over to the military for questioning after they were seen apparently celebrating following the blasts.

The two men were “standing from afar, hugging each other like a celebration, chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest)”, said Sani.

“To them it was a mission accomplished,” added Sheriff.

Boko Haram, which wants to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has previously targeted mosques and religious leaders who do not share their extremist ideology.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military commanders until December to end the insurgency, which has left at least 17,000 people dead and more than 2.5 million homeless since 2009.

Packed mosque

The explosion in Yola happened at about 2:00 pm at the Jambutu Juma’at mosque in the Jimeta area of the city, shortly after the imam had finished his inaugural sermon.

At least 27 people were killed in the bomb blast at the newly-inaugurated mosque, NEMA said.

One volunteer at the Jambutu Juma’at mosque, who helped in the rescue effort but asked not to be identified, said: “This mosque was nearly built and this was the first prayers in it.

“While worshippers had risen for the prayers to start after the sermon by the imam, there was a huge blast in the premises.”

NEMA’s coordinator in the Adamawa state capital, Sa’ad Bello said that 116 people were being treated for injuries at two hospitals in the city.

Most of the injured were in a stable condition, with injuries ranging from fractures and burns to cuts from the blast, he added.

Yola has been seen as a relatively safe haven from the Boko Haram insurgency, which has ravaged the northeast for the last six years.

But fears were heightened after an explosive device went off at a camp for displaced people to the south of the city last month, killing seven people and injuring 20 more.

Town overrun

In Cameroon, regional and security sources said the rebels had briefly overrun the town of Kerawa, in the far north, and an unspecified number of civilians were killed.

“They pulled out after the troops arrived. There hasn’t been any more fighting,” a source said, while another said the Islamist group had “fled” to neighbouring Nigeria.

Kerawa, which has 50,000 inhabitants, is located in the Kolofata district that is regularly targeted by Boko Haram.

There is a military camp inside the town, which was last hit by a double suicide bombing on September 3, which claimed at least 30 lives.

Cameroon, Chad and Niger have formed a military alliance with Nigeria and Benin to battle the extremists, who this year declared allegiance to the Islamic State.

The Islamists’ grip on the region has suffered as a result of offensives launched by local armies.

But the group maintains strongholds in areas that are difficult to access, such as the Sambisa forest, the Mandara mountains and the numerous islands of Lake Chad.

AFP

Omolara Adegoke- Abuja


http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/boko-haram-over-30-killed-in-maiduguri-27-killed-in-yola-town-overrun-in-cameroun/

Pls Lalasticlala your attention is needed here