₦airaland Forum

k

MANY monuments have been built in honour
of the man Bola Tinubu. He is acclaimed as
the political genius of our times who not
only engineered the taming of the PDP
juggernaut, he caged it and confined it to
the backwaters of Otuoke. Since the APC
defeat of the PDP in the presidential
election, Tinubu the tactician has been feted,
celebrated and praised to high heavens. But
all these encomiums have proved to be
highly exaggerated.
The truth of the matter is that Tinubu, the
veritable Jagaban of Borgu, is a master of
political illusion. He is remarkable for the
distinction of characteristically pulling defeat
out of the jaws of putative victory. He mid-
wifed the birth of the APC, only to be shut
out of its vice-presidential sweepstakes. He
engineered APC”s victory at the centre, only
to see his arch-enemies take over the posts
of Speaker and Senate President in the
National Assembly. He piggy-backed Buhari
to the presidency, only to be shut out of a
say in the president’s cabinet nominees.
Tinubu is called the National Leader of the
APC when there is no such post in the
party’s Constitution. When a critical meeting
of APC bigwigs was called to address the
party’s imbroglio in the National Assembly,
the “National Leader” could not attend
because, in actual fact, he is not even a
member of the National Executive
Committee (NEC) of the party.
Sowing and reaping
In 2011, Tinubu was hailed for cutting
his nose to spite his face. The PDP
nominated his kinswoman, Mulikat
Akande, as Speaker of the National
Assembly. However, Tinubu conspired
with recalcitrant PDP party-members
to frustrate the plans of their party for
his South-West homestead. Instead,
he engineered the election of Sokoto’s
Aminu Tambuwal, an APC wolf in PDP
sheep’s clothing, as Speaker.
In 2015, Tinubu received payback for
these shenanigans again to the
detriment of his native South-West.
The same Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto
he schemed into the position of
Speaker in 2011, repaid Tinubu by
frustrating his efforts to install his
Lagos acolyte, Femi Gbajabiamila, as
Speaker in 2015. Taking a leaf straight
out of Tinubu’s 2011 playbook,
Tambuwal conspired with opposition
PDP members to install another
Northern PDP turncoat, Yakubu
Dogara, as Speaker.
Tinubu’s comeuppance here is
particularly savage because it was
actually Gbajabiamila who reportedly
convinced Tinubu that Tambuwal
would readily act as traitor to his PDP
party in 2011. It is therefore veritable
poetic justice that the same
Tambuwal became an equally ready
tool of the PDP in the frustration of
Gbajabiamila’s ambition and the
interests of Tinubu and the APC in
2015.
Moreover, Tinubu was repaid for his
2011 manipulations with interest. The
same treachery employed to Tinubu’s
political disadvantage in the House
was also duplicated in the Senate.
Bukola Saraki, another PDP turncoat,
refused to abide by the dictates of
APC Central, firmly controlled by
Tinubu’s ACN. He snatched the
position of Senate President without
official APC approval, but with the
support of the opposition PDP. So
doing, he sidelined both Tinubu’s first-
choice of George Akume, as well as
his second-choice of Ahmed Lawan.
Crumbled cookie
Just as Tinubu was licking his
wounds at the denial of his “rightful
inheritance” in the National Assembly
after the APC victory at the polls, the
news came that his political cookie
had equally crumbled at Aso Rock. It
had been popularly alleged that
Tinubu’s portion in Buhari’s
presidency would not be limited to the
appointment of his political godson as
vice-president, but would also include
the allocation of no less than nine
choice ministerial nominees to the
discretion of the Jagaban of Borgu.
But by the time Buhari unfurled his
ministerial list two weeks ago, the
alleged dedicated slots had shrunk to
zero. Many of us had warned in the
heady days of the formation of the
APC that those insistent that power
must return to the North would be
determined to checkmate Tinubu if
and when the election was won. We
warned Tinubu that even as he cannot
conceivably be accepted nationally to
rule Nigeria as president, even so can
he not rule Nigeria by proxy. We
warned him that the North would
never allow Buhari to be his Man
Friday in Aso Rock.
However, Tinubu was too far gone to
listen. It would now appear that he
even failed to take out insurance
policies against such probable
eventualities.
But once elected, Buhari started a
romance with Babatunde Fashola and
Kayode Fayemi designed clearly to
sideline the Jagaban. While these
former governors were previously
members of Tinubu’s inner-circle, they
had since run out of patience with the
heavy handedness of their boss.
Therefore, during the election
campaign, both of them campaigned
for Buhari above and beyond the call
of party duty.
Fashola, in particular, was clearly fed
up with being under Tinubu’s political
shadow. In the struggle for who would
be the APC gubernatorial candidate in
Lagos State, Tinubu did not allow
Fashola to choose his successor, in
the ignoble tradition of Nigerian
governors. While Fashola favoured
Supo Shasore, the former Attorney
General of Lagos State, Tinubu
railroaded in Akinwunmi Ambode as
the APC candidate.
While again, in the ignoble tradition of
Nigerian politics, governors promptly
transform themselves into Senators
when their term as governor ends, this
option was closed off to Fashola
because Tinubu had already installed
his wife as the Senator from Fashola’s
constitutency. The only option left for
Fashola politically was a presidential
ministerial appointment and, even
there, Tinubu had put up a road block
against him.
Tinubu prefers to nominate political
nonentities for higher office in the
South-West, so that he would be the
only Iroko tree in the forests of the
region. Therefore his candidates for
ministerial appointment from Lagos
were his little nationally-known former
commissioners, Wale Edun and Yemi
Cardoso, who could pose no threats
whatsoever to his ascribed South-
West political supremacy.
Alarm bells
But when Fashola and Fayemi
accompanied Buhari to the G7
meeting in Germany in June 2015,
alarm bells started ringing in Tinubu’s
Bourdillon Road mansion in Lagos.
This was clearly a signial that these
former governors were intent on by-
passing the official godfather of the
South-West by applying to be member
of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet on their
own recognisance.
The Tinubu brigade would have none
of this. Therefore, a campaign of
calumny was launched to cut Fashola
in particular to dimunitive size.
Suddenly, the “memo” was sent out
implying the former governor had
developed political leprosy. When two
books were launched simultaneously
celebrating his achievements as
governor, none of his APC colleagues
from Lagos dared to attend for fear of
entering the bad books of the dreaded
Jagaban.
In order to nail the coffin on Fashola’s
ministerial aspirations, it was leaked
to the press that a whopping 78
million naira of public money was
spent on the construction of his
personal website. 139 million naira
was also alleged to have been spent
on two boreholes constructed in
Government House, Lagos during his
tenure. The intention here was to
ensure that Fashola becomes
ineligible for ministerial consideration
on grounds that he would not pass
Buhari’s anti-corruption integrity test.
However, Buhari was apparently
unimpressed by these political
shenanigans. When his list of
ministerial nominees were unfurled,
Fashola and Fayemi featured
prominently among Buhari’s “first
eleven.” None of Tinubu’s nominees
made the list. Other nominees from
the South-West were precisely the
kind of people Tinubu did not want in
Buhari’s team; people who would not
be indebted to Tinubu but to Buhari.
While Buhari completely ignored
Tinubu’s candidates, he included that
of another South-West bigwig.
Obasanjo’s favourite son, Prince
Olagusoye Oyinlola, former governor
of Osun State, was included in
Buhari’s list. Thereby, the president
asserted the saliency of Obasanjo’s
South-West influence in Aso Rock
over that of the Jagaban. He even
pointedly appointed Obasanjo as his
special envoy to Guinea-Bissau.
This is certainly not what Tinubu
bargained for when he decided to
pitch his tent with Buhari and the
APC. If he were to be furthermore
overlooked in the appointment of BOT
chairman of the APC, the
marginalisation of the Jagaban in the
post-election APC would be complete.
Comeuppance
Some of us saw this coming. In the
heady early days of the APC coalition,
we warned that Tinubu would be used
and dumped. But we were labelled as
PDP lapdogs and charlatans. That is
why I say today: let no one cry for
Bola Tinubu.
Anyone who hears Tinubu’s recent
vicious attack on Saraki would realise
these are the tokens of a frustrated
man. Tinubu could not attack the
President, therefore he poured all his
venom on the Senate President. He
accused him of indiscipline and
disloyalty; the very things he
celebrated in the PDP rebels who
joined forces with him against their
party in 2011.
The recent declaration that Buhari
appointed Babachir Lawal as
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation at the instance of Tinubu is
a face-saving device. The Tinubu
camp forgot to tell us this until now.
At the time of new SGF’s appointment,
all the uproar was about the Northern
lopsidedness in Buhari’s choices.
Observing the sidelining of Tinubu by
Buhari, Senator Femi Okunroumu
said: “I am having a good laugh. This
is what I expected. In any case,
Tinubu is stretching his luck too far as
he wants to dictate who will rule
Nigeria. Tinubu’s wings need to be
clipped. With the ministerial list,
Tinubu has been dumped. He should
not just be dumped, he should be
disgraced.”
On his part, Afenifere chieftain, Chief
Ayo Adebanjo, said: “APC is not a
party; it is a gang of people whose
sole aim was to remove Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan as president. In a real party,
you share the spoils of office before
elections not after elections. This is
what is happening in APC. We warned
our people, but they failed to listen.”
In the new politics of today’s APC, it is
better to be the enemy of Bola Tinubu
than to be his friend. The enemies of
Tinubu become Senate presidents;
they become Speakers of the House of
Representatives; they become
ministers of the Federal government.
But the friends of Tinubu are sent to
Siberia.
The Jagaban of Borgu himself has
been slain politically upon his high
places. How are the mighty fallen!

http://newsbreakers.ng/dont-cry-for-bola-tinubu/

k

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on
Sunday, responded to a statement said to
have been issued by the National Leader of
his party, the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, where
he (Tinubu), while reacting to a recent
media report by a national daily (not
Vanguard), accused Saraki of crass
disloyalty to party discipline, giving the
manner he captured his current seat as
Senate President.
But in a swift reaction, Saraki who took to
his Facebook page, said he had seen the
statement said to be issued by Senator
Tinubu over the published story, but have
decided not to join issues with him.
Recall that on Saturday, the national daily
had in its publication alleged that the former
Lagos State governor, is reportedly angered
that the ministerial candidates he sent to
President Muhammadu Buhari didn’t scale
through.
The daily reported that Tinubu who was
visibly angry is said to have conspired with
Senator Bukola Saraki to thwart the
President Buhari-led administration, adding
that for this reason, the President had
ordered the security agencies to place
Tinubu under security surveillance.
While reacting on Sunday, in a statement
signed by his chief of staff and special
media adviser, Sunday Dare, Tinubu,
lambasted the daily, saying it took a sad
excursion from journalism into the realm of
gothic tales and political slander. Among other things, Tinubu affirmed that he
“remains glued to the party decision that the
manner by which Saraki captured his
current seat travestied party discipline. It
was a crass act of disloyalty showing that
Saraki may have joined the APC on paper
but has remained true to the malpractices
and wrong aims of the reactionary PDP in
his soul.”
Read Tinubu’s full statement here
SARAKI’S REACTION
Reacting however, Saraki said: “I saw the
statement said to be issued by Senator Bola
Ahmed Tinubu over a story published by a
national daily. I have decided not to join
issues with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
However, I know that most Nigerians are
aware that there has been no meeting or
communication between me and Asiwaju
Tinubu since I was elected Senate President.
“Therefore, I do not see any basis for a
newspaper to report that we are both
plotting to oppose the President. I recognise
Tinubu as one of the leaders of the APC who
contributed so much to the victory of the
party in the last election. Some other people
also contributed and I believe the collective
efforts made it possible for the first time in
the history of our party for an opposition
party to win the general elections.
“Let me state clearly that I remain a
committed member of the APC and will do
all in my power to ensure the party fulfill its
promises to bring positive changes into the
country. Since my election as Senate
President, my focus and efforts have been
devoted to doing the job that I was elected
to do by my constituents and my colleagues
in the Senate. Twice, my colleagues have
confirmed their support for me as the
primus inter pares in the Senate.
“As I said in my speech when we resumed
from our recess late September and in
Ikenne yesterday (Saturday) the screening of
ministerial nominees will be handled by me
and my colleagues with all sense of
responsibility and in adherence to the
provision of the constitution.
“We will be fair to all and be guided by the
interest of Nigeria. The screening will be
devoid of sentiment and it is not an
opportunity for anybody to settle scores. We
are equally eager for us to make a positive
difference in our polity and Nigerians will be
able to judge us whether we acted in their
best interest or not,” added the Senate
President.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/saraki-replies-tinubu-ive-decided-not-to-join-issues-with-you/

This is an exclusive presentation of a
classified document on President
Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial
nominees as prepared by the Senate.
According to the document, some of the
nominees are said to have corruption
cases leveled against them.
CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI
Full Names
Chibuike Rotimi AMAECHI
DOB •27th May, 1965
Religion •Christian Catholic
Marital Status
•Married to Judith and blessed with three
Sons.
•Born in Ubima, Ikwerre LG of Rivers State
Background
•Raised in Diobu neighbourhood of Port
Harcourt.
Education
•Govt Secondary School, Okolobiri
•B.A. Degree in English and Comparative
Literature from Uniport 1987
•NYSC 1988
Public Sector/ •Assistant at Pamo Clinic
and Hospitals Limited
Offices Held
•Active member of the National Union of
Rivers State students NURSS and National
Association of Nigerian Students NANS.
•Secretary, Defunct Nigerian Republican
Convention, IkwerreLG
State Caretaker Committee Secretary, Democratic  Party of Nigeria.
•Special Assistant to then Rivers State Deputy Governor 1992 – 1994
•Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly
•Chairman, Conference of Speakers
•Governor, Rivers State 2007 – 2015
•Chairman, Nigerian Governor’s Forum
•Director General, All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Committee
Achievements and Awards
•Commander of the Order of the Niger CON
•Knight of St. Johns Order
Trend Setting
•General Infrastructure development, Construction of 21stCentury Schools, Monorail, Roads, Power Plants and Bridges.
•He is widely seen as improving the general living conditions of the people of Rivers State while he served as Speaker and particularly as Governor.
Organizations and Associations
•All Progressive Congress (APC)
•UniPort Alumni 


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/rotimi-amaechi-cv/

how will this solve the fuel scarcity in Osun state?

k

Naij.com has researched on Alamieyeseigha’s life and brings to you 10 facts that you should know about the prominent Nigerian politician. 1. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was born on November 16, 1952 in Amassoma, Ogboin North local government area of Bayelsa state. 2. He was popularly known as “Governor- General of Ijaw Nation”. 3. He attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School in Yenagoa. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a cadet officer in 1974, then joined the Nigerian Air Force, where he served in the department of Logistics and Supply. 4. He held various air force positions in Enugu, Markurdi, Kaduna and Ikeja. Alamieyeseigha retired from the air force in 1992 as a Squadron Leader. 5. Alamieyeseigha was elected governor of Bayelsa state in May 1999 as a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. He was re-elected in 2003. 6. Alamieyeseigha was detained in London, the UK, on charges of money laundering in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1m in cash in his London home. Later they found a total of £1.8m in cash and bank accounts. He has been found to own real estate in London worth an alleged £10 million 7. He jumped bail in December 2005 from the UK by allegedly disguising himself as a woman, though Alamieyeseigha denied this claim. 8. On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty before a Nigerian court and was sentenced to two years in prison. However, because the sentences were set to run concurrently and the time was counted from the point of his arrest nearly two years before the sentences, his actual sentence was relatively short and on July 27 he was released. 9. On 12 March 2013, Alamieyeseigha was pardoned by President Goodluck Jonathan. 10. He was expected to lead the re-election campaign of Governor Seriake Dickson ahead of the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa state. https://www.naij.com/598325-10-facts-know-late-diepreye-alamieyeseigha.html

k

A Kaduna-based non-
governmental organization,
Centrum Initiative for
Development and
Fundamental Rights
Initiative, has asked the
senate to reject the
nomination of Amina
Mohammed as ministerial
nominee for Kaduna State.
President Muhammadu
Buhari, last week, sent a
list of 21 ministerial
nominees for confirmation.
On the list is Amina
Mohammed, a former
special assistant on
Millennium Development
Goals.
The group rejected Ms.
Mohammed, who is said to
be a nominee from Kaduna
State, saying she is not an
indigene of the state.
According to the chairman
of the group, who is also a
senior lecturer at the
Kaduna State University,
John Danfulani, Ms.
Mohammed is from Gombe
state.
“We object to the
ministerial nominee
representing Kaduna State
in the person of Amina
Mohammed, the group
said. ”The objection is
predicated on the fact that
she is not an indigene of
Kaduna State as provided
in the constitution, but an
indigene of Gombe State.
“The constitutional
provisions, allows each
state of the federation to
have a minister who must
be an indigene of that state.
“If the nomination of
Amina Mohammed is
allowed by the Senators,
the state will be short-
changed and this will be
unconstitutional,” Mr.
Danfulani said.
He also called on the three senators
representing Kaduna State in the
Senate to reject the nomination of
Amina Mohammed and direct that an
indigene of Kaduna State be
nominated and sent for screening.
Also, Danjuma La’ah, the senator
representing Kaduna South Senatorial
district, raised the observation in the
senate chamber on Friday.
He referred to Daily Trust’s citation
which said Ms. Mohammed “was
born of a Nigerian father from Gombe
and a British mother from Wales, and
that she was educated in Nigeria from
the age of two in Birin Kebbi, Kaduna
and Maiduguri, before finishing in
Isles of Man”.
Mr. La’ ah then said he would stand
against any attempt to impose on the
people of Kaduna State a non
indigene to represent them at the
Federal level.
“Be that as it may, I Senator Danjuma
La’ah, stand firmly by the provision
of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, Section 147 Act
(3) – which reads in part, ‘Any
appointment under subsection (2) of
this section by the President shall be
in conformity with the provisions of
Section 14(3) of the Constitution,
provided that in giving effect to the
provisions aforesaid, the President
shall appoint at least one minister
from each state, who shall be an
indigene of such state,” Mr. La’ah
said.


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/191323-ministerial-screening-senator-rights-group-reject-amina-mohammeds-nomination.html

k

A wise man once told me: “Nigerians are
mules, everyone who can, kicks at them.”
The thing is, the more things change, the
more they feel the same. In 1984, Major-
General Muhamadu Buhari as military tyrant
diagnosed “indiscipline” as Nigeria’s national
malaise.
The sexy power word in those days was
“summarily.” Buhari promised that the
military government of which he was head
would “summarily” deal with any Nigerian
who was found wanting in “discipline.” He
quickly launched a “War Against
Indiscipline.” It caught on fire.
Nigerians were pressed to “behave.” They
began to queue for buses and other services
in places like Lagos, notorious for jumping
queues. That was the greatest achievement
of WAI: Nigerians learnt to queue. Military
governors sometimes arrived the gates of
government secretariats very early, and
waited for government workers who arrived
late.
Late-coming civil servants were humiliated,
made to kneel down irrespective of their
office or positions, or age, and frog-jumped
as punishment for coming late to work. In
some cases, they were “summarily
dismissed.” Buhari’s government authorized
armed soldiers to raid warehouses, and
seize the goods of traders accused of
“hoarding essential commodities.” That was
in a period, of course, when “ESSENCO”was
very scarce. Buhari’s War Against
Indiscipline, stemmed from his genuine
convictions that Nigerians were an
undisciplined lot, and had to be forced to
obey the simple laws of the land, and of
courtesy.
Recent evidence suggests that Buhari
continues to believe this as a fundamental
problem with the Nigerian character. Last
week, our friends, Dr. Barry and Claire Mauer
had us all over for a party for Claire’s
birthday at their College Park, Orlando,
home. We were all going at it, with a little
wine and sherry, and that good stuff, when
Shanti, another friend of ours said, “I hear
your president say all you Nigerians are
unruly, and you need to stop being unruly!” I
too had heard that the previous day on the
BBC.
It was big news for the BBC that president
Buhari’s Independence Day message to
Nigerians was that Nigerians were “unruly.”
It triggered their fancy so much that they
made such an event of it. They brought a
Nigerian, whose name I do not now recall,
and Ghana’s Elizabeth Ohene, to talk about
the “unruliness” of Nigerians as claimed by a
president who increasingly seems really
disconnected from the Nigerian reality. In
the symbolic moment of Nigeria’s 55th
anniversary as an Independent nation, more
sober considerations should have been
made regarding the trajectory of Nigeria’s
journey, the transitions that have been
made, and the true reasons for the failures
of Nigeria.
We should rather celebrate the hardiness
and resilience of Nigerians in the face of a
terribly confused administration as Buhari’s
is turning out to be.Ordinary Nigerians must
not be made to carry the can for failed
political leadership this past fifty-five years,
of which Buhari has been a distinct part.
The President had not much to say to
Nigerians except that Nigerians are unruly
and discourteous, and must change, in order
to achieve development. Actually, this is the
worst Independence Day speech I have
heard of any Nigerian president. It had no
concrete facts. It simply was high on the
weed of self-indulgence. On such a symbolic
day, President Buhari should have
celebrated Nigeria, and offered it hope.
There are ordinary Nigerians laboring
heroically to turn the disadvantages of being
Nigerian into something hopeful, and
meaningful. Nigerians are not unruly. The
Nigerian child I know is taught, right from
the home, to be courteous, and respectful of
people, especially, older people. Nigerians
know to “throway salute” when they meet
you. They say, “Afternoon, sir!” “Enlee ma!”
“I boola chi e!” and so on. Nigerians are not,
by their very nature, or even by
acculturation, unruly or discourteous.
Our political leaders have been unruly and
discourteous. Those are the real culprits and
makers of our national malaise. They have
very little regard or respect for the civil and
economic rights of Nigerians. Anyone who
suddenly arrives at political office, begins
immediately to see the rest Nigerians as
adversaries and enemies; people who must
be contained and repressed, and garrisoned.
Nigerians are constantly infantilized in the
minds of the men and women who arrive at
power. That is the true meaning of
unruliness: to ride rough-shod on your
county men because you have the privilege
of the protections of public office.
It is unruly of public office holders to
capture the road on a hot, uncomfortable,
tropical day, with sirens and a long convoy,
and horse-whip people to the sideways, and
travel freely while the rest must deal with
congested traffic. It is unruly to shield
political power holders behind the barricade
of high walls inside government buildings,
while the rest of Nigerians are left to the
vagaries of crime. I think President Buhari
must first, look inward.
As president, propriety demands that he be
accompanied by no more than his police
orderly in public, while the secret service
organize his security with unseen and
invisible agents, who mingle with the crowd,
without harassing Nigerians with an
overwhelming image of armed power. It is
the image of overwhelming force, especially
modeled by the military that has created the
psychological crisis that has reduced
Nigerians to its current social miasma.
Nigerians, subjected to force rather than
governance, since 1966, are suffering from
the trauma of social violence, and are
reproducing that violence. They know
nothing else but the unruliness modeled by
the makers of the public system: the
government, and political leadership. It will
not do merely to preach order, curtsey in
society, when the conditions in which
Nigerians live make it possible.
If there was a well-organized public
transport system, Nigerians would have no
need to “rush.” But in a city like Lagos, with
a population over fifteen million, to have
only one means of moving that population is
madness in itself. It is nightmarish, and the
social pressure of moving about in Lagos
which ought to, like cities even half its size,
have an underground system, a surface
metro system, a water transport system, as
well as well-kept roads that do not clog up
movement, makes courtesy difficult, and
unruliness only a means of survival.
A man who has no access to clean public
toilets, must defecate, and if he cannot find
any will be forced to the indignity of relieving
himself in public. To prevent that, it is
incumbent on governments to provide clean
public toilets in strategic places, to prevent
such unruliness. The government itself must
model the meaning of courtesy, by treating
the public with the highest respect in public.
A government officer, like a policeman or
soldier or tax collector, who harasses any
member of the public is modeling
unruliness; a government who keeps armed
soldiers and police on the highways and
streets where they harass Nigerians, is an
unruly administration, and will reproduce an
unruly nation.
A government that offers, not work, but
whips to Nigerians, will create the kind of
social pressure that will make civilized
conduct impossible. So, President Buhari
should for a moment, get off the back of
Nigerians. Nigerians did not elect him merely
to preach, they elected him to act. So, to
make Nigerians more courteous, the
government should begin a work program,
strengthen internal regulations and
enforcement codes in the public service,
provide public infrastructure, enough to
make an aggressive search for it redundant.
That will reduce the kind of social pressures
that make Nigerians unruly.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/buhari-my-people-are-useless-my-people-are-senseless-my-people-are-indiscipline/

The Bible has changed my life and my marriage. Seriously. Depending on where you are on your faith journey, you may look at the Bible (as I do) as a love letter from God filled with inspiration and instruction for life OR perhaps you just see it as an antiquated, outdated relic. Regardless of your current faith (or lack of faith), I’d encourage you to read the ten verses below, because they’ve had a tremendous impact on my life and I believe they could provide some encouragement to you as well.
I challenge you to apply the timeless wisdom of these ten verses below and see what happens. You might be amazed at just how practical and relevant the Bible is for marriage and for every other aspect of life as wellAs a quick disclaimer, these aren’t the ONLY ten verses of Scripture that have shaped my marriage or impacted my life and they’re probably not even the top ten, but these are a few of the MANY that have had a tremendous impact. In no particular order…
1. “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:
This verse is pretty straightforward. We tend to overcomplicate our relationships, but if we’ll just love each other deeply, truly, selflessly and wholeheartedly, love tends to overpower the imperfections and flaws we all have.
2. “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.“ (Genesis 2:25)
I love the idea of a “naked marriage”! God’s original design for marriage was perfect and it included a lot of naked time which not only points to the sexual aspect of a marriage relationship, but also the “unclothedness” that needs to happen on an emotional and spiritual level. unclothedness represents transparency, honesty, vulnerability and an atmosphere of seeing someone for who they are and still accepting them completely. That’s vital in marriage. For more on this, check out our online course on sex and intimacy for married couples.
3. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
You don’t have to read too many magazine covers or watch Hollywood news very long to realize the world’s standards for marriage are pretty messed up. Over 30 million married individuals were recently “outed” for looking for an affair partner on the hacked “Ashley Madison” website. This verse reminds me that my life and my marriage can’t be based on the world’s standards. We need to allow God’s word to transform our minds and shape our thinking.

4. “But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.” (Proverbs 6:32)
The Bible has a LOT to say about adultery, because it causes so much pain and wreckage. This particular verse points out that adultery doesn’t just hurt the person who has been “cheated on” but it also causes great harm to the person who does the cheating. NOBODY wins with an affair.
5. “I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)
This is one of Jesus’ teaching about adultery and he raises the standard to include “mental infidelity.” Our motives, our thoughts and our fantasies matter. We need to be mentally monogamous as well as physically monogamous. This is such a high standard and it removes the option for destructive (yet common) things like porn in a marriage.
2. “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.“ (Genesis 2:25)
I love the idea of a “naked marriage”! God’s original design for marriage was perfect and it included a lot of naked time which not only points to the sexual aspect of a marriage relationship, but also the “unclothedness” that needs to happen on an emotional and spiritual level. unclothedness represents transparency, honesty, vulnerability and an atmosphere of seeing someone for who they are and still accepting them completely. That’s vital in marriage. For more on this, check out our online course on sex and intimacy for married couples.
3. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
You don’t have to read too many magazine covers or watch Hollywood news very long to realize the world’s standards for marriage are pretty messed up. Over 30 million married individuals were recently “outed” for looking for an affair partner on the hacked “Ashley Madison” website. This verse reminds me that my life and my marriage can’t be based on the world’s standards. We need to allow God’s word to transform our minds and shape our thinking.

4. “But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.” (Proverbs 6:32)
The Bible has a LOT to say about adultery, because it causes so much pain and wreckage. This particular verse points out that adultery doesn’t just hurt the person who has been “cheated on” but it also causes great harm to the person who does the cheating. NOBODY wins with an affair.
5. “I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)
This is one of Jesus’ teaching about adultery and he raises the standard to include “mental infidelity.” Our motives, our thoughts and our fantasies matter. We need to be mentally monogamous as well as physically monogamous. This is such a high standard and it removes the option for destructive (yet common) things like porn in a marriage.6. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6)
This clearly isn’t just good marriage advice, but this applies to all parts of life. God doesn’t want us going through life worried and anxious. He wants to give us peace. For more on this, check out my wife Ashley’s great post on overcoming anxiety in your marriage.
7. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)
“Submission” is a controversial word in Christian circles, but this verse gives a clear and potent challenge for us to serve one other out of reverence and respect for Christ Himself. When a husband and wife will place the needs and desires of his/her spouse ahead of their own, the marriage will thrive.

8. “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her” (Ephesians 5:25)
This may be the most challenging verse in the Bible for a husband, because Jesus set such a high standard. He literally gave his life in a torturous death for His bride (the church) and then calls us to love our wives with that same level of devotion. I want to love Ashley the way Jesus loves His church. Husbands, if we’ll do our best to follow this ONE verse of scripture, our marriages could be radically transformed in the process!
9. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4)
This is just one small verse from the “Love Chapter” (1 Corinthians 13), but this short verse is power-packed with practical application for marriage. Love is patient and kind so be patient and kind with your spouse. Love is not jealous or proud, so be humble and selfless with your spouse. It sounds so simple, and yet our selfish nature makes it so complicated. Simply love and serve each other and your marriage will transform before your eyes!

10. “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Kindness and forgiveness. Imagine what marriages could look like if we simply made it a daily priority to show kindness and forgiveness to each other!

Written by Davis willis
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davewillis/ten-bible-verses-that-changed-my-marriage/

Hummm

A Zimbabwean church Pastor by name Pastor
Madaristo Ranch has been arrested by the
police after he beheaded his pregnant wife and
hid her corpse in a big bowl in their bedroom.
Her body was later discovered after five days
because the incident happened on Sunday.
The pastor who is the General Overseer of Living
Word Ministries is being suspected of using her
wife for ritualistic tendencies because her eyes
and heart were missing while her stomach was
also cut open and the foetus removed.

http://www.360digrees.com/2015/08/viewers-discretion-strongly-advised.html?m=1

Humm

Strong indications have emerged that
today’s plenary session, where the Senate
would unveil the ministerial list sent by
President Muhammadu Buhari, may be stormy
as senators are saying the President must, in
line with the constitution, submit himself
before the Senate for screening if he appointed
himself Minister of Petroleum.
They are also set to reject an incomplete list,
saying the constitution provides for a nominee
from each state of the federation and that any
list that did not cover the 36 states would
suffer serious opposition on the floor of the
Senate.
The senators have also vowed that they would
not be cowed by the trial of Senate President,
Dr. Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal, CCT, just as they promised to adopt
stringent measures in line with the provisions
of the Constitution during the screening of
ministerial nominees.
They added that the tradition of take-a-bow for
senators coming for screening as ministers
would be jettisoned, adding that they were
prepared to send names of nominees to the
sender of such a list.
Senate President, Dr. Saraki, is currently facing
trial at CCT, following a 13-count charge
levelled against him by the Code of Conduct
Bureau, CCB, bordering on alleged corruption
and false declaration of assets in 2003 and
summoned him to appear before it, which he did.
‘We’ll stick to rules’
Speaking with journalists yesterday in Abuja,
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Abia North, who noted that the list
was expected to be complete, in line with the
Constitution, said: “The list will be unveiled
tomorrow( today). The Senate President kept
to his words that the envelope will remain
sealed until tomorrow (today).
“We know that all we have been reading could
be speculations until it is opened. It will be
read on the floor of the Senate and we will
know. Even the 21 that people are speculating
will be ascertained tomorrow (today) on the
floor.
“The Constitution does not support ministers
by batches. Every state must be represented
but if the number is not complete, some of us
may raise constitutional issues. If we have to
wait for another three months for him to send
another list comprising representatives of other
states, it means those states would be non-
functional.
“We will be guided by the constitution and the
rules of the senate. This time around, we
resolved that we are going to be quite
stringent. We are going to ensure that whoever
is coming as the minister of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria must be somebody worth
the salt; somebody we can rely upon and
somebody that would have met the
constitutional requirements.
‘We’ll stick to the rules’
“We are not considering waving any rule. Why
should we wave the rule? If we want to do
that, it should be before the screening. I
believe that at the end of the day Nigerians will
be happy because some Nigerians are already
saying that the names being speculated were
not what they have been waiting for these five
months.
“This government has tagged itself as the
government of change. If that is the cardinal
thing, it will be against this Senate and, indeed,
against the President and Nigerians for us to
see a very strong allegation that hinges on
corruption and we ignore it. If we see a strong
petition, definitely we will look into it and follow
it to a logical conclusion.
“If it requires writing to the anti-graft agencies
like ICPC or EFCC to give us a report on such a
person, we will do that because that is what
screening is all about. Screening is not a tea
party. In Cross River State the appointees are
going to write aptitude test.”
Days of take-a-bow over
On the President’s decision to appoint himself
as Minister of Petroleum, he said: “I do not
think the President’s name will be on the list
and I also do not think that the President will
say he is a minister because if you are a
minister, one of the conditions is that you must
be subjected to screening and approval of the
Senate.
“He, as the chief minister, can be there to
supervise any ministry, but he cannot be a
minister. Whoever is advising him to be
minister is not advising him rightly.”
Chairman, Senate ad hoc Committee on
Publicity, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi
West): “In our screening of ministers, it will not
be business as usual. The era of take a bow
and go are over. The right people will be made
ministers without any political or religious
consideration.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/ministerial-list-buhari-must-be-screened-if-hes-petroleum-minister-senate-2/

A Twitter user, Chima Okoro, who predicted the attacks in Abuja on Friday on the social networking site, has deactivated his account.

Okoro, with @chimaokoro63 as his username on Twitter, between 8.34 am and 9.12 am on October 1, had repeatedly posted: “I pray for Nigeria: there will be a bomb blast in Abuja &Lagos, Boko Haram is going to attack and kill police_army &_ Navy their evils (sic).”

In the profile picture of the account, which was captured by other users before the user deactivated it, a young man of dark complexion is seen slouching in a room with cream-coloured walls, dressed in a red T-shirt, while holding up a mobile phone in his left hand and smiling to the camera.

Checks on Twitter revealed that other users had started raising the alarm about Okoro’s tweets as early as 10 pm on Friday.

One user, Eduozor Henrie, at 10:47 pm, said, “@Omojuwa @toluogunlesi @ogundamisi, please guys see the timeline of @chimaokoro63… worrying. He tweeted this yesterday.”

Another user, @md_oyereyi at 11:31 pm, said, “The attention of the DSS and other security agencies should be called to this… @Ifyduoz @Omojuwa @toluogunlesi @ogundamisi.”

Debo Oduola, at 11:32 pm, said, “@Ifyduoz @toluogunlesi @Omojuwa @ogundamisi @chimaokoro63 he should be arrested asap,” while Dame Jayla Peperempe, in her reaction (11:03 pm), said, “Hmmm this is all he tweeted yesterday.”

Ogundana Michael (11:16 pm) said, “Who is this that tweeted this? He tweeted this just yesterday!” and Dogoh Orduen @MackDogoh (11:18 pm) expressing disbelief, said, “@MickeySunny @chimaokoro63 you are kidding me!!!”



http://saharareporters.com/2015/10/03/twitter-user-who-predicted-abuja-attacks-deletes-account

Tafa Balogun Makes
Surprise Appearance At Aso
Rock
• Buhari, Saraki Meet • Nigeria’s Future Bright
–Senate President •We’re On Right Path –
CJN
By Chesa Chesa (Abuja) Oladele Ogunsola
(Ibadan) Gbenga Faturoti (Osogbo), Francis
Onoiribholo (Benin) and Felix Igbekoyi
(Asaba)
Former Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Mustafa Tafa Balogun, made a surprise
appearance at the Presidential Villa
yesterday, years after he had gone
underground following his unceremonious
end as head of the Nigeria Police Force.
Balogun, who was sacked and put through
harrowing court trials by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over
cases of official corruption and diversion of
police funds, was guest of President
Muhammadu Buhari at the occasion marking
the 55th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria.
The former IG was invited to the
Independence Anniversary alongside other
top cops that had headed the Nigeria Police
Force.
Balogun was Inspector-General of Nigeria’s
Police for three years until his arrest. He
assumed headship of Nigeria Police in March
2002 and was forced to retire because of
widespread charges of corruption in January
2005.
He had pleaded guilty to eight charges of
corruption and sentenced to six months in
prison.
He was arrested in January 2005 and spent
67 days in custody while the case against him
lasted in court. He walked out of prison in
early 2006.
He was accused of illegally diverting police
funds put in the region of about N5.7 billion
official corruption.
The pioneer Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu
Ribadu, had explained that Balogun crossed
the line and had to face trial for corruption.
Sentencing Balogun, Justice Binta Nyako had
noted that he was a first offender and his
demeanour in court reflected him as having
shown remorse.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of N4
million ($30,000), while some $150 million
worth of cash and property were seized by
government.
Buhari, Saraki Meet
President Muhammadu Buhari had led former
Heads of State, the leadership of the National
Assembly, the judiciary, other senior
government officials and diplomats to
celebrate Nigeria’s 55th Independence
Anniversary in Abuja.
The President was dressed in
white babanriga and cap while Vice-President
Yemi Osibanjo was similarly clad in
white agbada,but with green cap to match the
nation’s colours.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, and Speaker
of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara,
were accompanied by some principal offers of
the National Assembly, and arrived shortly
before the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud
Mohammed.
The one-and-half-hour event held at the
forecourt of the Presidential Villa, Abuja,
decorated in green and white colours and
featured the ceremonial Presidential Change
of Guards Parade, a military affair.
The parade was mounted by officers and men
of the 177 Battalion and 7 Battalion of the
Presidential Guards Brigade, Abuja.
Other features of the colourful event included
inspection of new guard/quarter guard; silent
drill; posting of sentries; colour/flags patrol;
21-gun salute and echelon reporting of
parade, among others.
There were also foot and arms drill, rhythmic
march steps, and inspection by parade
commander of the soldiers’ weapons to
ensure they were battle ready.
At the end of the parade, Buhari signed the
Independence Anniversary register and
released white pigeons to signify peace.
He was accompanied to this by a few of the
dignitaries, including the Service Chiefs;
Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase;
and the former leaders.
Among dignitaries at the event were former
Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), and
erstwhile Head of the defunct Interim National
Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.
Former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme; Deputy
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
former Chiefs of General Staff, Commodore
Ebitu Ukiwe, and Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd);
and former Senate President, Joseph Wayas,
attended the ceremony.
There were also National chairman of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-
Oyegun; APC governorship candidate in
Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva; former Secretary
to the Government of the Federation,
Babagana Kingibe, and members of the
diplomatic corps.
Buhari, Osinbajo, Saraki, Dogara and
Mohammed shared light refreshments after
the ceremony before proceeding to the
President’s office for small talks before they
all departed.
In a brief chat with journalists afterwards,
Saraki spoke of Nigeria after 55 years of
Independence, saying “I am hopeful and
confident that the future is very bright. In
next few years, things will be even better.
“It will not be business as usual. We will
ensure that the National Assembly will be
people-oriented and will make laws that will
make impact on Nigerians.”
On his part, the CJN simply said, “We will
make it by the grace of God. We are on the
right path.”
Dignitaries
In his remarks, Oyegun said: «At 55, we have
finally discovered that we have been on the
wrong road.
“We have finally moved to the road that leads
to progress, hope, employment, prosperity
and that will lead to Nigeria finally attaining
that greatness that God destined it for. We
are on the way.”
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State
said Nigeria has started to reclaim her lost
glory in the comity of nations since Buhari
took the reins of governance.
In his 55 Independence Anniversary message,
the governor said in spite of the turmoil of the
past, Nigeria is stronger today than it was 55
years ago when it gained Independence
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State in an
address to commemorate Nigeria’s 55th
Independence Anniversary in Asaba yesterday
urged Nigerians to remember and pray for our
compatriots who were in the trenches battling
insurgents to save the country.
The governor who paid glowing tributes to
those who fought for the country’s
Independence like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi
Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa and Tony Enahoro,
among others, used the occasion to reassure
Deltans of his administration’s commitment to
their welfare and prosperity for all Deltans.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Rules
and Business, Senator Babajide Omoworare,
has expressed optimism in the greatness of
Nigeria regardless of the enormous
challenges it is facing at present.
In a congratulatory message to Nigerians on
the 55 years of Independence Anniversary,
signed by his media assistant, Tunde Dairo,
Omoworare said that the future of the nation
was bright, given its size, ethnic diversity,
culture, natural and human resources.
Contrary to expectations, the Nigeria 55th
Independence Anniversary celebration could
not hold in Oyo State as the state governor,
Abiola Ajimobi, stayed away from the
designated place for the annual celebration.
As at the time of filling this report, there was
no official explanation from the state
government on why the governor and any of
his officials failed to show up at the
anniversary venue.


http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/10/tafa-balogun-makes-surprise-appearance-at-aso-rock/

#TheList has been trending and here are some of
those we found hilarious
when see #TheList and cant find your
name pic.twitter.com/aarD8Dr3mw
— Idemudia Spencer ▶ (@Ask_spencer)
September 30, 2015
Pleassseeee President @Mbuhari ...
Release #TheList ... pic.twitter.com/
D0ggvzGluE
— Daddy JAG (@jag_bros) September 30,
2015
Well, Senate has gone on break (as usual)
till Mon. @MBuhari can still release
#TheList. While we wait, some music.
pic.twitter.com/EJLZsKsyF8
— EiE Nigeria (@EiENigeria) September 30,
2015
“@Titilayodeji13 #Thelist Buy your scratch
card here! Check your ministerial list
online @Gidi_Traffic #GIDITRAFFIC
pic.twitter.com/ZWIOeUsGYs
— GIDITRAFFIC (@Gidi_Traffic) September
30, 2015
Are you ready for #TheList
pic.twitter.com/dcRDNJxTsn
— Y! Online (@YNaija) September 30, 2015
Make I no see my name for #Thelist first.
pic.twitter.com/88DotQ2TYy
— Michael Collins (@DONJAZZY)
September 29, 2015
When you see your Mummy's best friend
or your Uncle's name on #TheList.
pic.twitter.com/92hTTn8sm4
— Layinka.• (@Layinka15) September 29,
2015
That moment when Asari Dokubo sees
"Tompolo" on #TheList | @olulateef
@Omojuwa @ogundamisi @Gidi_Traffic
pic.twitter.com/BqgmotGvMi
— Eniola Opeyemi (@eniola_opeyemi)
September 29, 2015
That moment you see Orubebe on
#TheList pic.twitter.com/0oiME3ulHF
— Chukwuemeka Ekenaka (@MrEkenaka)
September 29, 2015
Saraki after receiving #Thelist be like
gentlemen can we go can we negotiate
now? pic.twitter.com/xjTSPNcKGX
— lordFT™ (@femiTRIPP) September 29,
2015
PMB telling you why you can't be a
minister under him after sponsoring his
election and you're like #Thelist
pic.twitter.com/GkpxHWtu1r
— lordFT™ (@femiTRIPP) September 29,
2015
When you make #TheList but you hear
wails all over pic.twitter.com/Ei0xAoD6IN
— Clarence (@Clarenceonyeks) September
29, 2015
RotAm: Baba I didn't see my name in
#TheList Baba: Wait, supplementary list is
coming RA: but, but. Bb: I say wait
pic.twitter.com/paU2ZwZ24s
— Clarence (@Clarenceonyeks) September
29, 2015
When baba tell you to wait for second list
#TheList pic.twitter.com/w1rqegycmd
— lordFT™ (@femiTRIPP) September 29,
2015


http://naijainfo..com.ng/2015/09/must-read-hilarious-tweet-memes-of.html?m=1

Hopes of Nigerians for a glimpse into
President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet was
dashed Wednesday when the nominee list
failed to arrive the Senate on schedule.
Buhari had promised at several fora that the
ministerial list would be sent to the Senate
on or before September 30.
On Wednesday, the last day of September,
there was no ministerial list in the chamber,
prompting Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio
to raise a motion vide Order 14 of the
Senate Standing Orders. He drew the
attention of his colleagues to Buhari’s
promise and asked Senate President, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, if the list was on hand.
Deputy Majority Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah,
quickly countered him. He said the office of
the Senate President was still open till 12:00
am to receive correspondence from Aso
Rock.
Daily Sun, however, gathered that the
Buhari-approved list would be read in
plenary on October 6.
Nigeria celebrates her independence
anniversary on October 1 and next Tuesday
is the next legislative day in the Senate.
Traditionally, the Senate President reads
presidential communications in plenary,
after which it would be referred to the
relevant standing committee for
consideration.
Addressing newsmen after the Senate
adjourned plenary, Chairman of the Adhoc
Committee on Media and Public Affairs,
Dino Melaye, promised to inform Nigerians
as soon as a formal notice was sent to the
National Assembly.
He said the Senate waited patiently on
Tuesday for the list, but to no avail.
“As I speak to you, the Senate is yet
to receive any list of ministerial
nominees from President
Muhammadu Buhari. We have
adjourned till next week. But in the
event that we get the list before
midnight today (Tuesday), we shall
inform Nigerians about it,” Melaye
said.
In a related development, Daily Sun
gathered that the Presidency is fine-tuning
the ministerial list here in Nigeria which is
reportedly ready for submission.
A Presidency source said: “the first list
contains 41 names,” adding that, “the
President intends to really cut down on the
number of ministers and the list right now
contains more names than the required
constitutional one-candidate-per-state.
“Some states like Lagos and Ekiti
have three candidates each and only
one of them can become minister.
“Former Lagos State governor,
Babatunde Fashola, Abike Dabiri-
Erewa and one other female name
are said to be on the list.”
Another source added that Buhari has come
under intense pressure from the political
elite for him to accommodate acolytes in
the cabinet.
“The President has been under serious
pressure to drop Fashola, as a topshot in
the All Progressives Congress (APC) would
not hear of the President appointing
Fashola. But the President prefers him
above others…”
The final decision, it was learnt, will be
taken in the Presidential Villa. Also, in the
case of Ekiti, two former governors of the
state, Segun Oni, Kayode Fayemi and
human rights lawyer, Femi Falana are also
said to be on the list.
“As consolation those who don’t make it to
be ministers will be compensated with other
appointments,” the source said.
The source continued that the ministerial
list was one of the reasons Buhari invited
some of his National Assembly aides to New
York, “in order to strategise on how to avoid
any hitch after the list has been submitted,
considering the crisis following the Senate
President’s trial at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal (CCT).
( Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Juliana Taiwo-
Obalonye, Fred Itua , DAILY SUN)


http://sunnewsonline.com/new/ministerial-list-buhari-defaults-senate-gets-list-october-6/



Odeyele

PROTESTERS,Tuesday, barricaded
the National Assembly drumming support for
the embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki
and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu.
The pro democracy group, Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo
Youth Movement ,ONYM, led by Mr Uche Nnadi
told newsmen that the rally to the National
Assembly was also to protest the use of anti-
corruption war by politicians for personal
gains.
“This despair is caused by the fact that the
anti-corruption war which Nigeria in general
and Igbo youths have keyed into is being
misused by few political elite to fight their
political war.
“We must state categorically that it is an act of
corruption to use the anti-corruption war for
party politics and political benefits,’’ Nnadi
said.
Saraki
He faulted the trial of Saraki by the Code of
Conduct Tribunal, saying that he was being
persecuted because his emergence as Senate
President allowed an Igbo man to be the
Deputy Senate President.
According to him, the trial of the Senate
President by the code of conduct Tribunal is in
contravention of section 3(d) of the Code of
Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

read more
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/breaking-news-pro-saraki-supporters-barricade-national-assembly/

I am not a Christian. But growing up in
India , I was immersed in Christianity . I
attended Catholic and Anglican schools
from ages 5 to 18, where we would sing
hymns, recite prayers and study the
Scriptures . The words and actions of Pope
Francis have reminded me what I , as an
outsider , have always admired deeply
about Christianity , that its central
message is simple and powerful: Be nice
to the poor .
When I came to the United States in the
1980 s, I remember being surprised to see
what “Christian values ” had come to
mean in American culture and politics —
heated debates over abortion , abstinence,
contraception and gays . In 13 years of
reading, reciting and studying the Bible , I
didn’ t recall seeing much about these
topics .

That’ s because there is very little in there
about them . As Garry Wills points out in
his perceptive new book , “The Future of
the Catholic Church with Pope Francis , ”
“Many of the most prominent and
contested stands taken by Catholic
authorities ( most of them dealing with
sex ) have nothing to do with the Gospel . ”
The church ’ s positions on these matters
were arrived at through interpretations of
“natural law, ” which is not based on
anything in the Bible . But because those
grounds looked weak, conservative clergy
sought to bolster their views with biblical
sanction. So contraception was
condemned by Pope Pius XI , Wills notes,
through a pretty tortuous interpretation
of a couple of lines in Genesis that say
Onan “ spilled his seed on the ground ” —
since it involves ejaculation without the
intent of conception .
The ban of women in the Catholic clergy
is a similar stretch . When the Anglicans
decided to ordain female priests in 1976 ,
Pope Paul VI presented a theological
reason not to follow that path. Women
could not be priests , he decreed , because
Jesus never ordained a female priest.
“True enough , ” Wills writes . “ But neither
did he ordain any men . There are no
priests ( other than the Jewish ones ) in the
four Gospels . Peter and Paul and their
fellows neither call themselves priests
nor are called priests by others . ”

Wills even takes on abortion , opposition
to which some Catholics have taken as
fundamental to their faith . “This is odd , ”
Wills writes , “since the matter is nowhere
mentioned in the Old Testament or New
Testament , or in the early creeds. But
some people are convinced that God must
hate such an immense evil and must have
expressed that hatred somewhere in his
Bible . ” In fact , Wills points out, the ban is
based on a complex extrapolation from
vague language in one verse, Psalm
139 : 13 .
If you want to understand the main
message of Jesus Christ, you don ’ t have to
search the Scriptures . He says it again
and again . “Blessed be ye poor: for yours
is the kingdom of God. ”
Jesus has specific advice on how to
handle the poor . Treat them as you would
Christ himself , sell your possessions and
give to the poor . When you hold a
banquet, Jesus says , do not invite the
wealthy and powerful , because you do so
in the hope that they will return the favor
and reward you. Instead, invite the
dispossessed — and you will be rewarded
by God. It is because he expects so much
from the rich that he said that it was
easier for a camel to get through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to get to
heaven .
We live in a meritocratic age and believe
that people who are successful are more
admirable in some way than the rest of
us. But the Bible notes that “the race is
not to the swift , nor the battle to the
strong, neither yet bread to the wise . . .
but time and chance happeneth to them
all. ” In the Kingdom of Heaven, it warns ,
“the last shall be first , and the first last . ”
In other words, be thankful for your
success, but don ’ t think it makes you
superior in any deep sense .
Commentators have taken Francis ’ s
speeches and sayings and attacked him
or claimed him as a Marxist, a unionist
and a radical environmentalist . I don ’ t
think the pope is proposing an alternative
system of politics or economics . He is
simply reminding each of us that we have
a moral obligation to be kind and
generous to the poor and disadvantaged
— especially if we have been fortunate . If
you have a problem with this message,
you have a problem not with Pope
Francis , but with Jesus Christ.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-main-message-of-pope-francis-and-jesus/2015/09/24/997e1e54-62ea-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html

The palace of the Ooni of Ife which had always been busy round the clock is now bereft of life and activities. The signs are there for all to see. The evidence showing that the palace was in deep mourning mood was registered in the minds of some prominent culture technocrats who paid a courtesy call on the palace and some top chiefs of the Ife Kingdom last weekend. Among the visitors were Akin Adejuwon, the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Yusuf Usman, the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and other top staff of the culture sector. They were in town to commission a new private museum and to also felicitate with the palace on its cordial relationship with the National Museums which has its Ife office located within the precincts of the palace. Adejuwon, who until his appointment last years as the Artistic Director of the Troupe, had been resident in Ife for ten unbroken years was quick to observe this sudden change of mood in the palace and the sudden quiet that has now become the lot of the palace as the people await the announcement and coronation of a new Ooni. He said: “Yes, the D.G. of National Museum, had been angling to pay a condolence visit to the Ooni’s palace, because the late Ooni and the people of Ife, had been pivotal to issues concerning the museums and artifacts. This is for obvious reasons, for Ife has some of the richest repertoires of artistic and historical elements in Nigeria’s history. They have some of the largest collections of antiquities in Nigeria. And so he thought by being in Ife for the opening of the dental museum, it would be proper also to be at the palace. We got to the palace, we had to be admitted through an alternative entrance. This was so because the main entrance was under lock and key and that in itself would tell you that the old palace is wearing a sombre look.” He went on: “All entrances to palace were sealed at the demise of the Ooni. So we had to go through the other door and the palace secretary and the representatives of the high chiefs were on hand to receive us. After waiting for sometime, it was interesting to note that the whole palace looked like a ghost town. There were no more people milling around the palace with one activity or the other. I had been to the palace hundreds of times in my life and I had never, for once, seen the palace so quiet, so cold, so isolated and so bereft of social and cultural activities. It then dawned on me and others that this is how a palace looks like when a new Oba is being awaited.” Adejuwon’s surprise did not end here. He continued: “I have lived in Ife for ten years. Yes, it is understandable if there is lack of movement, it would look so isolated. Even then we were received in the Ooni’s large hall where the D.G. of National Museums thanked the chiefs for the total preservation of some of the national artifacts in Ife Museum.” At that event too, Ife Chiefs reiterated the importance of one of their most revered gods (deities) that would soon appear and no one would be expected to be seen in public. The people particularly identify with this deity, very powerful in its role in the lives of the people. Beyond this, the Ife artifacts have been part of exchange programmes between Nigeria, Spain, and some other European and American nations in the last few years. Above all, the rich Ife antiquities have shown the whole world that Africa and Africans had history and culture before the advent of the Europeans. The visit was also topical in order to solicit the support of the incoming Ooni to keep the importance and prominence of Ife heritage ever aglow in national history and documentation. The Ooni’s role in this regard can never be thwarted. The issue of making a bigger request and demand on the intending King was also brought to the fore. It was heartwarming too to hear Ife Chiefs commend the management of the National Museums as they advised them on how to go about asking for more in the future. For a long time, the traditional Ife bronze with its remarkable facial marks depicting royalty and dignity has been adorning most art festivals world-over. This symbol, along with others which showcase heroism in warfare, courage in traditional fanfare and lots more are some of the topical issues that the visit harped on. In all, Ife historical and traditional properties in the National Museums and Monuments will continue to dominate the attention of those who love to make history an issue, indeed an enduring legacy.
http://thenationonlineng.net/as-ile-ife-awaits-a-new-ooni/

"Many things have to change course, but it is
we human beings above all who need to
change." Those were the words shared— on
Twitter—by Pope Francis, Time 's " Person of
The Year" in 2013, who assumed the
pontificate that year and has since projected a
transformational leadership style.
Those who aren't spiritual
leaders should also rethink what
their most important
responsibilities are—people over
processes, names over
numbers.
That approach has earned him titles like "Holy
Reformer" and "The People’s Pope." In New
York City today on a visit to the United States,
Pope Francis reflects not just the changing
tenor of the Catholic Church but evolving
ideas about leadership itself. That makes his
trip this week a perfect time for entrepreneurs,
CEOs, politicians, and other leaders of all
stripes to reflect on their own leadership
styles. Here are five lessons all of them can
learn from the Pope's.
1. BE ACCESSIBLE
Pope Francis is arguably best known for
availability and openness to the public. On his
first day as Pope, he reversed the tradition of
blessing the people by inviting them to bless
him instead. He's since decided to ride in a
bus with his team rather than in a bulletproof
limousine. Pope Francis has also been seen
getting around Rome in a Ford Focus and a
Fiat during his U.S. visit.
Personal, handwritten thank-you notes and
birthday lunch invitations to the homeless of
Rome take priority in his schedule and
exemplify his leadership vision.
Those who aren't spiritual leaders should also
rethink what their most important
responsibilities are—people over processes,
names over numbers. Accessibility sows trust
and loyalty among colleagues and customers,
making other transformations possible.
2. DON'T IGNORE SOCIAL MEDIA
The Pope is a tweeting aficionado. His primary
Twitter handle ( @Pontifex) is the English-
language equivalent of eight others—in Latin,
Arabic, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Italian,
French, and German. And the English account
alone has 7.3 million followers. In other
words, communication matters, especially
digitally.
Social media has proved one of the most
effective—and democratic—mediums for
influencing current generations. Its 140-
character interface is clear, concise, and
relatable, whether you're a Starbucks barista,
a Fortune 500 CEO, or anyone in between. For
any business leader who has an idea to offer
or a message to convey, social media is the
main avenue for doing so. But bear in mind
that the social sphere is about sparking
conversation, not dictating from on high. The
Pope's tweets are popular not just because
he's the Pope, but because they're humble,
inviting, and pluralistic.
3. FLATTEN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Pope Francis bypassed bureaucracy and
reevaluated his organizational structure. He
started with his own title, changing it from the
"Supreme Pontiff" to the "Bishop of Rome."
Upon adjusting and delegating some of the
papacy's traditional responsibilities, he took a
radical approach to age-old customs and
rearranged his management team, reducing its
sense of hierarchy.
As a result of Pope Francis’s innovative
methods, the organization of the papacy got
flatter. As a result, the Boston College
Graduate School of Social Work referred to
him as an "intrepreneur"—someone who
generates genuine, sustainable change in an
organization that's resistant to it.
In the first few months of his
papacy, Pope Francis took risks.
Flattening an organization can be one of the
best ways business leaders can institute their
vision without relying on the prevailing means.
Restructure, revamp, and realign so that the
top leadership drives the vision, and the
subsequent layers can execute and sustain it.
4. TAKE RISKS
In the first few months of his papacy, Pope
Francis took risks. He made unprecedented
claims and unconventional decisions. "To
listen and to follow your conscience means
that you understand the difference," he wrote,
reaching out to atheists and agnostics. He
also proclaimed a year of jubilee for women
who've had abortions but have since chosen
to reflect on the Church's teachings on the
issue. It's worth nothing that in both cases,
Pope Francis didn't revise Catholic doctrine,
but his leadership style offered a refreshing
new perspective to many who might have
previously felt shut out.
In the business world today, many leaders are
blinded by the fear of failure. Big changes are
hard to make—they take time, and often many
people, to institute—but messages are easy to
change. Still, risk is vital to your business's
growth and your own development as a
leader. Risk can help you rise, even though it
sometimes leads to failure. But it will always
prove a worthy teacher.
5. VALUE INPUT FROM SUBORDINATES
Risk can help you rise, even
though it sometimes leads to
failure. But it will always prove a
worthy teacher.
Pope Francis has shown he recognizes the
intrinsic value of every person. First, he
decided to transform the Synod of Bishops
under his leadership into a decision-making
body rather than a ceremonial group. And
within his first 10 months at the Vatican, Pope
Francis washed the feet of laity prisoners,
women, and Muslims, rather than performing
the ritual only on priests. He also refocused
the role of bishops toward more pastoral
activities, premised on the notion that human
relationships should be esteemed above all
else.
Leaders should approach the people in their
organizations much the same. There's real
value in your lower subordinates—what they
think and believe and the skills they offer—to
achieve real progress. But it's up to leaders to
go out and seek that value, then develop it in
everyone they lead.
In just two years, Pope Francis has taught us
another lesson as well: It's important to act.
Start cultivating the right leadership style now ,
and you'll begin writing your legacy today,
rather than waiting for it to catch up with you
later.
William Vanderbloemen is the coauthor of Next:
Pastoral Succession That Works and president
and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, a
startup that leads in executive search for
churches, ministries, and faith-based
organizations.

http://m.fastcompany.com/3051514/know-it-all/5-lessons-every-leader-can-learn-from-pope-francis

Ondo State governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, has said
that Yoruba land remained
better protected by members
of the Oodua Peoples’
Congress, OPC, than by the
Nigeria police.
Mr. Mimiko stated this at the
80th birthday celebration of
OPC founder, Frederick
Fasehun, in Lagos on
Saturday.
“You founded OPC. Today, I
tell you in Yoruba land that
many Yoruba people will feel
secure with OPC guarding
their streets than the
conventional police,” he said.
The governor said the
formation of the group was
one of the many legacies of
Mr. Fasehun.
“It is not yet over; you
struggled for democracy for
this country; the second part
of it is indeed the struggle for
restructuring Nigeria into
true federal states.
“One thing is clear and I have
always said this that OPC is
about protection of Yoruba
people, because Yoruba
people hate injustice,’’ he
said.
He described Mr. Fasehun as
a gentleman, a detribalised
and unique Nigerian.
“I speak on behalf of the
government and people of
Ondo state; we are proud of
you. As a governor of Ondo
state, I am proud to be
associated with you,’’ he
added.
In his remark, Hamza Al-
Mustapha, the former Chief
Security of Officer, CSO, to a
former Head of State, late
Sani Abacha, said Mr.
Fasehun was a bridge builder
with a large heart.
“He has done quite a lot;
nobody can quantify the
much he has put across the
country.
“He has the capacity and the
wisdom and the large heart to build
bridges of peace in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr. Al-Mustapha, a retired major, also
described Mr. Fasehun as “brave,
dependable, fearless and
knowledgeable’’ person.
In his speech, the OPC leader said that
the celebration was organised to build
bridges by bringing different ethnic
groups in Nigeria together.


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/190655-yoruba-feel-secure-with-opc-than-police-mimiko.html

The clock is gradually ticking against
the embattled president of the Senate,
Bukola Saraki as some of his loyalists
cutting across the ruling All
Progressives Congress and the
opposition Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) have begun withdrawing their
support for him for the fear of being
perceived by the public as advocates of
lawlessness and impunity.
It was also learnt that the senators are
also of the view that as distinguished
lawmakers elected to represent their
senatorial districts, their integrity,
national interest and strict adherence
to the provisions of the statue books
must be paramount and above any
personal interest.
It would be recalled that Saraki is
currently facing charges of false
declaration of assets amongst other
charges and was docked by the Code
of Conduct Tribunal, becoming the first
sitting presiding officer in the history of
the National Assembly to stand trial by
a competent court.
All former presiding officers of the
National Assembly, who were faced
with similar charges, first resigned their
positions in order to protect the
integrity and sanctity of the highest
lawmaking body in the country, and
biggest in Africa.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the
ranks of the ‘Like Minds Senators’, a
group of senators that worked for the
emergence of Saraki as President of
Senate, has come falling naturally, a
fall anchored on the need to defend
and protect their individual names as
well as the institution of National
Assembly, “not the interest of Saraki or
any other individual”, our source
declared.
Our source, an APC member and
Senator from one of the North Central
state, who preferred anonymity, in view
of the critical role he played in Saraki’s
emergence, told LEADERSHIP Sunday
that, “I am personally not surprised at
what is happening because I knew that
Saraki will have problems but I was not
expecting it soon. Secondly, I did not
honestly look in the direction of any
cases of alleged corruption when I was
supporting him.
“My fear was how he will manage his
colleagues because of his seeming and
perceived arrogance, because I
remember that the President did say he
will work with anybody, provided the
person is not corrupt. So I became
involved in his project because I
believed he could use his experience
and complement the president,
particularly in the fight against
corruption. But seriously, I am
ashamed of myself to see these
charges, yes it is an allegation but you
can see that they are solid and appear
true as far as a layman can see. And
then his efforts to stop that process
were just admittance of guilt as far as
I’m concerned.”
Continuing, the Senator said, “I don’t
see myself being viewed on national
television defending that kind of thing.
What will my constituents think about
me? I cannot do that so I believe he
should just step aside and clear his
name, which is the most honourable
thing to do. You journalists have put
the matter out in the public and the
public reaction is not favourable and if
we are not careful, we will be
overwhelmed by the public and further
lose respect in the eyes of the public.
“I’m not alone, many will back out and
many have spoken to me about their
displeasure. Maybe we should support
Senator George Akume or Barnabas
Gemade for the position. Gemade for
instance is a perfect choice if you ask
me.”
On the possibility of the emergence of
a Senate president from the PDP, the
source said, “that cannot happen, it is
not possible. This time, you will see
that we have a president who will be
interested and will be right, it was
because he refused to intervene that it
led to emergence of Saraki and even
Ekweremadu. That will not happen
again I assure you. PDP senators
cannot emerge Senate President, no
way,” he said.
Meanwhile, following the arraignment
of Saraki before the CCT last week,
Senators elected on the platform of the
opposition PDP appear to have
perfected plans to replace him with one
of their own in case of his eventual
removal from office.
An impeccable source within the PDP
last night confided in LEADERSHIP
Sunday that the permutation of the
PDP lawmakers is that if the governing
APC of which Saraki is a member, uses
the court or other means to remove
him, the PDP should reach out to the
Senate President’s core supporters in
the APC, who are already endangered
and aggrieved with the way and
manner Saraki was last week
humiliated by being dragged to the
tribunal without previous invitation.
He stated that if this is achieved, the
PDP will then try to get the needed
number to make the balance and
present either former Senate President
David Mark or the incumbent Deputy
Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as
new Senate President.
Indications at the weekend revealed
that PDP senators have also realised
that they need to stay together as a
united team to be able to assert
themselves and get what they need,
hence their recent meetings in different
parts of Abuja to be able to present a
common front when the need arises.
The source added that “one of the
problems Buhari and others have with
Saraki is the emergence of
Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate
President and that if Saraki is removed,
the APC will not be satisfied until
Ekweremadu is also removed. So, if it
is David Mark that emerges, the job is
easier. He is still respected among
ranking Senators.”
Meanwhile, it was gathered that
President Muhammadu Buhari in his
ongoing visit to New York for the UN
General Assembly got the clear
impression that the international
community is not seeing Saraki’s trial
as an anti-corruption issue.
A US diplomat was said to have told
members of the Nigerian delegation
that the US respects separation of
powers as an inherent part of its
presidential system of government and
that politicizing the campaign against
corruption will not help Nigeria.


http://www.leadership.ng/news/463449/cct-trial-fresh-cracks-in-sarakis-camp

•To testify before U.S. Congress It was an ordeal that nightmares are made of. A 20-year-old Yazidi woman, who says she was held as a sex slave by ISIS, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview that her captor was a fighter who told her he was from the United States. Rape •To testify before U.S. Congress It was an ordeal that nightmares are made of. A 20-year-old Yazidi woman, who says she was held as a sex slave by ISIS, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview that her captor was a fighter who told her he was from the United States. The victim, who asked to be called “Bazi” (not her real name) is now in the U.S. to testify to Congress about her allegations against the American – and to push the FBI to press charges against the man she said went by the name of Abu Abdullah Al Amriki (Abu Abdullah the American). The woman’s story could not be independently verified. The human rights group Hardwired assisted her in going to the U.S. Her captor “was very white,” Bazi told Amanpour in Washington. “He was a little bit taller than me, with a black beard, black hair. I also saw his own family. He had a wife and two children, a son and a daughter.” That family, she said, still lived in the United States; he claimed he was able to visit them several times. He claimed he had been a teacher in America, and showed her pictures of his family, she said. Bazi told Amanpour she was captured by ISIS when the extremist group overran the city of Sinjar in Iraq, in August 2014. She was taken to Raqqa, Syria, which ISIS claims for its capital. There, she was auctioned off as a slave along with 10 other girls. The American, she said, sold off the nine other girls and kept her for himself. ‘Before raping me, he would pray…’ In the hands of a member of ISIS, the punishment for not being a Muslim was horrible. “He was talking in a bad way about the church,” Bazi said. “He said, ‘I wasn’t awake in my life … until I was converted to Islam.’ He said this is the right path for me and for everyone to live on this planet, to become Muslim.” “He was telling us we should go back to the Prophet’s age, where we force everyone to become Muslim. Everybody should be a Muslim – either be a Muslim or die.” The American, however, seemed content to keep Bazi as a slave for his sexual pleasure – albeit one, as a non-Muslim, that required him to cleanse himself after the act was done. “Before raping me, he would pray for like fifteen minutes or half an hour. And after that, even if it was 2 a.m., 3 a.m., after raping me, he would go take a shower and pray again.” After several attempts, escape Despite the horrors she faced, Bazi said her thoughts were with the other girls. “The first time he raped me, he tried to rape the other girl who was with me, but I told him since I felt I’m already raped, I don’t want the other one [to be raped]. So I became responsible for the other one. “I told him, you do this to me, you can have me. Please don’t hurt her and don’t do anything to her. “I told him to treat her as a servant for him, because he was sheikh, an emir, so he would just have her as a servant. “So I convinced him the whole time until we were able to escape from his house.” Her eventual escape came after several failed attempts. She told Amanpour that on her successful attempt, she managed to make it to a nearby shop and call her family. Her family knew people in ISIS-held territory who worked to get girls out of Syria. “I was never able to even think about getting out of there, since – although I tried many times, all the time I was aware that I will fail. And so even now, I don’t believe how i made it. “Everybody talks about this subject because it’s sensitive,” Bazi said. “But when it comes to the action, nobody does nothing.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/he-prays-before-raping-me-victim/

By SKC Ogbonnia The election of Muhammadu Buhari on March 28, 2015 came with much hope. The euphoria continued to breeze until June 9, 2015. June 9 was the day Bukola Abubakar Saraki emerged the President of Nigeria’s Senate. Since then, the masses have continued to yearn endlessly for meaningful change in their well-being. But the major changes witnessed thus far from the Legislature have been different shades of controversies—all bordering on the venal travails of Bukola Saraki. The drama began to unfold when Saraki confessed he was able to assume the exalted position by disguising himself to upstage the party that brought him to power. As if that was not enough, the Nigerian Police declared that the Standing Order used to elect him to the leadership of the law-making body was forged. While the Ministry of Justice was reviewing the police report, another bomb shell erupted: The wife of the Senate President was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption and money laundering. In utter show of supremacy, the Saraki-led Senate was set to tame the EFCC by stoking the most infantile form of vindictive impunity. The law-making body brashly violated its Standing Rules in a hasty attempt to probe the anti-graft body on alleged diversion of funds recovered from corrupt people and, in the process, put Buhari’s war against corruption in disrepute. But the fire in the molds of smoke beclouding Bukola Saraki is no longer in doubt. The Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau has revealed that the Senate President had falsified the declaration of his assets as a governor a decade earlier. Accordingly, he was invited to the Code of Conduct Tribunal to clear himself of any wrongdoing. Instead of responding in a civilized and democratic manner befitting a chief lawmaker of a country, Saraki engaged in series of clandestine schemes to obstruct justice. Though he would finally surrender to the authorities after being declared wanted, his attitude in the court house has given a black eye to Nigeria’s Legislature. Worst still, an asinine entourage of about legislators, most of who are equally guilty of all sorts of corrupt practices, exhibited unprecedented show of shame by accosting Saraki with pomp and pageantry to the tribunal. Clearly, the whole Saraki saga is no longer funny. The matter has become a serious threat not only to the much anticipated change under President Buhari but also the nascent democracy. Something has to give. It is either Nigeria gives in or Saraki gives in. But nonsense must give way to common sense. It is time the Senate President recognizes that his current maneuver against the masses is an exercise in futility. It is time to consider nation before self and quietly go away. Of course, Saraki has an army of stooges whose argument revolves around the archaic cliché: presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, they should be able to discern that law and leadership are two different things. Nigeria cannot afford to allow its war on corruption to be undermined—at the cruelest expense of the masses—all in name of borrowed theories. It is rather mystifying that the strict interpretation of the rule of law is only sacrosanct in Nigeria when it advances criminal ingenuity in favour of those in position of power. The current change movement must not allow one person to hold the country hostage with legal moonwalk. Nigeria is more than one man. Besides, Bukola Saraki is not the first public official accused of wrongdoing but opted to place nation before self. The current Fourth Republic opened with a former governor and a man of Spartan values in Evans Enwerem as a Senate President. Yet, Enwerem had to resign in 1999 due to trumped-up allegations that he falsified his name from Evan to Evans. Following him was Chuba Okadigbo, a doyen of intellectual cum legislative acumen. Once charged with wrongdoing as a senate president, the 4th Senate rose to impeach Okadigbo in 2000. In 2005, then Senate President Adolphus Wabara honourably resigned in midst of bribery allegations. The House of Representatives also promoted nation before self. Salisu Buhari was the first Speaker of the Lower House in 1999. Similar to Saraki, Salisu Buhari played a measurable role in his party before it gained power. Nonetheless, the speaker was relieved of his position less than two months after assuming office due to accusations of forging university certificate and false declaration of age. Patricia Etteh made history when she became the first female speaker in 2007. Muddled with claims that she authorized huge sum of money to renovate her official residence, Etteh stepped down less than five months on seat. Perhaps Nigeria is not the only country where public office holders have stepped aside while they are being proven innocent or guilty. A cursory look at United States of America, a nation commonly viewed as a model democracy, helps make this case. Jim Wright, US Speaker of the House of Representatives, was one of the most humble Congressmen ever to grace the Capitol Hill. However, he swiftly resigned from the Congress in 1989 when he became the target of a probe. What is the offense? Wright was accused of using bulk of the funds raised from his own book to earn speaking royalties in excess of the maximum amount allowed under law. Not long after, Newt Gingrich ceased from being the House Speaker in 1998 mainly because he was reprimanded for mere ethics violation. That was the same story for Tom DeLay, the Majority Leader of US House of Representatives. DeLay stepped down from his position in 2005 following a House indictment and the cloud emanating from charges of illegal campaign funds. It is worthy of note, however, that some of the public officials cited above —both from Nigeria and the United States—were later acquitted of the charges and went on to enjoy decent political future. Nigeria’s Chuba Okadigbo, for instance, ran for president not long after—before serving as the running mate to Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election of 2003. Former Speaker Salisu Buhari recovered to become a member of Governing Council of University of Nigeria by 2013. Similarly, former US Speaker Gingrich eventually redeemed himself to emerge the leading Republican presidential candidate in 2012 before dropping out due to new revelations of unethical behaviours. Bukola Saraki still has a bright future ahead of him. But that future depends on how he handles the moment. The moment calls on him to realize that the ‘clean hands’ maxim readily holds in the doctrine of equity. The point is that Senator Saraki no longer has the moral grandeur and audacity to head a Legislature vested to lead the war against corruption. Considering that societal virtue is the litmus test for Buhari’s political appointments, how plausible is it for the Senate President to look the prospective ministers in the eye during screening? The thought or sight of such phenomenon has failed to register. Expecting Bukola Saraki to go away quietly is nothing but wishful thinking. His inordinate ambition has already placed his political party in shambles. Moreover, he has failed since June 9 to heed private as well as public calls to resign honourably. In short, it has become abundantly clear that Saraki does not give a hoot about what becomes of Nigeria insofar he clings on to the post of Senate President. Thus, it is incumbent upon the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to do the needful and remedy the fast fading image of the legislative body. The time is now to initiate the necessary proceedings to impeach without delay Dr.Olubukola Abubakar Saraki as the President of Nigeria’s Senate before things get out of hands. It is definitely a herculean task for the 8th Senate to willingly impeach Mr. Saraki, especially having passed a hasty vote of confidence on the same beleaguered leader during this ordeal. At the same time, there is the need for the senators to bear in mind that it is no longer business as usual. Nigerian masses are no longer helpless. The change movement that brought Buhari to power remains a potent force. The world is closely watching the current posture where the Hallowed Chamber is widely seen as aiding and abating corrupt practices. SKC Ogbonnia Houston, Texas http://leadership.ng/opinions/463143/time-to-impeach-saraki