₦airaland Forum

@ElRazur
Are you kidding me? Dolphins are the "friendly" ones, not Killer whales. Here, a clue lies in the name. . . KILLER whale. lol.

Dolphins too are predatory.
Dolphins kill sharks by ramming them
The Bottlenose is particularly aggressive nature
Because they play so much, people do not fear them
Dolphins are not all love and friendliness.
They are large (mostly) and very powerful animals with a mouth full of sharp teeth
Although swimming near them does not lead to automatic attack
One still needs to be careful and observe their behaviour

Nigerian Pastors exorcise witchcraft by acid, fire etc

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/17/world/main5392572.shtml

Excerpts

Nigerian Children Deemed Witches Tortured
(AP) The nine-year-old boy lay on a bloodstained hospital sheet crawling with ants, staring blindly at the wall.

His family pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his throat as an exorcism. It spilled as he struggled, burning away his face and eyes. The emaciated boy barely had strength left to whisper the name of the church that had denounced him - Mount Zion Lighthouse.

A month later, he died.

Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.

For their part, the families are often extremely poor, and sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed. Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which are then triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.

"When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change , and children are defenseless."

afiq:
Belongs to the Israelite, God said so.

Next time the Russians or the Chinese are quarelling with the Americans, be sure to remind the Americans to simply quote the bible to their adversaries as proof that they (the Americans) are right.
Russia and China wil proceed fortwith to destroy their nuclear weapons!

MrPrsdent:
you did not dispute the fact that the muslim father forcefully tried to force his son to recite haddith,and killed him when he refused.

the other link you posted does not show that the deaths were due to religious reasons.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-35521.0.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6252463.stm

Preacher to hang for sin burnings
map
A Nigerian high court has sentenced a Lagos preacher to death by hanging for setting fire to members of his congregation, killing one woman.

Emeka Ezeuko, better known as Reverend King, was found guilty on one count of murder and five of attempted murder.

In July last year, he accused six members of his Christian Praying Assembly church of sinning by having extra-marital intimacy.

He poured petrol over them before setting them alight.

Ann Uzor died in hospital from her burns.

Rev King allegedly told members of his congregation that he was Jesus Christ, a claim that gave him the powers to punish sin.

The BBC's Umar Shehu Elleman who was in court said Rev King began to shiver when the sentence was passed and then started to shout angry protestations.

He claimed he was innocent and accused people of plotting against him.

His lawyer said it was a sad moment and an appeal would be considered after they had read the judgement papers in detail.

Our correspondent says there was a heavy security presence around the courtroom and congregation supporters were not allowed in.

agabaI23:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-423034.0.html

Reverend King
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6252463.stm
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-35521.0.html

Violence in Catholic Church - Kaduna
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/apr/04/national-04-04-2010-002.htm

Nigerian procuring men for vatican priests
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/04/vatican-gay-sex-scandal

Exorcism by acid and fire in Nigerian church
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/17/world/main5392572.shtml

Pastoral Intolerance
http://christianchildabuse..com/2009/12/pastor-father-kills-son-in-domestic.html

Paedophilia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/paedophile_priests.shtml

marvix:
Jonathan has started building consensus, d oposition already lookin in his way. The pple who want 2 stand by zonin will lose out in d pdp, they will b d ones lookin for a platform to maintain their zoning formula.

Agan has called out 2 us to stand up nd support d man Goodluck Jonathan, let's start d campaign.

What is consensus but opportunism. CNPP is supposed to be composed of opposition parties
Ordinarily when your opponent advises you, you ignore him - he is just setting you up
On the other hand, if his advice is sincere, then it means he is ready to jump ship - typical opportunism
Nigerian politcians cannot take principled opposition to a government
The ruling government in Japan was in opposition for decades
Johnathan building consensus is not good news
We have consensus about the problems of this country

But does a consensus candidate (primarily loyal to his consensus partners) really deliver what we need
He does not need to campaign or woo us
His election is already confirmed anywhere
In Nigeria, that is bad news

Let people fight it out based on track record and ideas
So what are Johnathan's concrete achievements todate apart from taking over from Yaradua?

Note that Johnathan is still enjoying the traditional honeymoon which at this stage in 2007 Yaradua was still enjoying!

kodewrita:
Fine, your Quran may allow mortal combat, but my belief (other christians may differ) is that Christ is against the concept of war itself (and we are supposed to be his followers, arent we?)

Matthew 26:52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."

James 4:1 "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"

Enough said.

Sorry to intrude
But you did not address the issue of how christians fight battles
I don't want to judge christainity by the actions of Bush, Hitler
Tell me the guidance provided by the bible when war is inevitable
eg when your country is invaded

Reading your post, one may be lulled into a false sense of relief
But everyday, I see christians attributing nearly every affliction of this world to Islam
And I look around me, I see both christians and muslims giving vent to normal human emotions
I know christians that I would not want to tangle with
I know christians who are very peaceful
But when I get on the net, I see a picture of christainity that is strange
They don't attack first, they don't seek revenge
And I ask?
Where are they? - definitely not in the morning traffic on 3rd mainland Bridge when tempers are short
Not in Aba where A ManU fan ran his car into some Barca fans who were celebrating their UCL victory
Or in the political arena where violence is greater in the "christian south" of Nigeria

And when Muslims are involved in a regretful (and misguided eg suicide)
Christians start crowing

they accuse Muslims of trying to convert christians
True for every group - gays, political parties, ideologues, religions
But christians publish lies to convert/confuse muslims

Actually what we seek is simple
Join us in pointing out the bad ways of these muslim extremists
The irony of which is that the extremists have no calms about killing me or you
Yet I am being persecuted on account of their deeds
Be fair when there is a dispute
Punish the culprits of BOTH Jan and March incidents in Jos
Let us defend the truth
Punish Boko Harma members
Punish the security agents who dragged innocent muslims out of their homes and slaugthered them in cold blood

careytommy:
. well said bro, i wonder if some posters read or listen to nigerian news to know of d free health care n dev programs being carried out by foreign gov and org

Exactly,
why should a beggar be assisting beggars
Let us stop this big brother self-deceit.
we made some concessionary loan to Ghana during Obj era
Now all I hear is that Ghana is a better destination for investment than Nigeria
And by the way, what about the blood sacrifice we already make through peacekeeping operations
That should count for someting

~Bluetooth:
Not a bad idea provided the $5m gets to its final destination

The proper destination is the immediate welfare of the Nigerian people

I don't support this because all I hear our rulers tell Nigerians everyday is that "the government cannot afford this or afford that"

$5m @N151:$1 is N750m

Can this set up a factory, hospital or provide scholarship? Of course
Companies still go to the capital market to raise N2b
And if it just a 419 pledge
Another blight on our image

@edoyad
If the terrorist is a christian sent by Jesus to kill christians then that is a problem between christians because i know virtually no hausa man was on that plane. He did not carry himself to any Almajiriland or middle east to waste his life on low IQ persons at the end of the day. About my low IQ line i'm not joking about it cos studies are showing that middle east, e[b]specially around that Saudi region have the highest rate of mental retardation in the world; i believe it has reached 6.9%[/b] there while global average is just about 3%.

If this is true, I would like us to become mentally retarded so that we can
have the tallest building in the world (in Dubai) and Prof Soludo will no longer have a vision of ATD (African Taiwan Dubai)
be among the top 20 economies in the world (Saudi Arabia)
become a destination for asylum/greener pasture seekers rather than being among highest asylum seekers
etc

@kodewriter
Jihad is not in our code. But it is in yours.

So when christians fight wars, how do they conduct themslves?
Can they kill women, children etc
How do they treat people who surrender

Muslims will fight upon provocation
But there are rules of Jihad

But realise that Al Qaeda is a whole movement, an ideology secretly supported by millions while the Hutaree are just a band of miscreants from a nation that has already provided us with silly brainless cults like the Branch Davidians, Ku Klux Klan, The Brotherhood (prison racists) and popular gangs like the Bloods and the Crips.


If you read Ignatius Pape's book on the Logic of Suicide Terrorism, you will understand some reasons why people go into terroris
I hope you will not accuse me of supporting terrorism by saying one can understand their psychology
Just like I cannot accuse you of supporting taking women by force though soldiers fighting wars do it and you may know whythey do
I cannot support terrorism because it is a sin to kill oneself in Islam

When people are seen as throwing their weight around, people will hate them
And they can justify sinful acts to themselves
when last did an Islamic country occupy a christian nation?
So why should some christian renegade fight a lawful christian country?
America occupy Iraq
and without justification - actually by telling lies
It is natural that some muslims will fight back
There is no country that has been occupied without somebody fighting back
In WWII, Chrles de Gaule fought the German puppet - Petain
In Iraq, Al Qaida and co fought the American puppet - Allawi and Maliki
Note that Charles de Gaule group was called "Resistance" and supported and paid by Allied Powers (UK and US)
people who fought American occupation are called "Insurgents"

Will people support terrorism out of anger and feeling of helplessness?
Yes,
Is it right
No

When Kuru jenta or karama (a community of Muslims) was surrounded by christians in january
Some christians posting online supported it
Is that right?
Just check it on NEXT newspaper

Christians always compare the activities of muslims renegade to the actions of legally constituted western nations
Al Qaida is "fighting" America and its allies
Al Qaida is used as the yardstick to measure Islamic practices
America fires on Afghanistan civilians (at wedding parties for instance) - deliberately? carelessly? - and explains it away
Why should christians not judge christianity by the actions of IRA, ETA and co
Incidentally, the British police shot civilians in a stadium in 1920 - Bloody Sunday
while looking for terrorists
American conduct in war should rightly be compared to the conduct in war of the governments of Saudi Arabia, Iraq etc


You simply want to use one incident and one misguided band to justify so many years of terror?
When did the first kidnap for ransom happen in Nigeria
Less than 8 years ago
And we were not bothered by it
Where are we today? - it is a booming industry
The first car bombing occured less than 3 weeks ago
You can be sure that some business minded people are already studying how to commercialise it

So nobody should be afraid that a christian would try and blow up his underwear
Actually your assertion has been blown up within 24 hours
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=169860

If christians continue to
Justify atrocities against muslims (burn them alive, the only useful muslim is a dead one etc)
google nairaland you will see more
Then you can be sure that you will see that extremism will crowd out reason in christianity
Don't be so comfortable
It is human nature

For instance, not long ago
women were not preaching in churches
It is now mainstream
Not long ago, nobody would admit being gay christian
Now they openly declare it and want to become priests

I pray that God give us long live
When we look back at developments in the next 10 years
you will see that it is not wrong or alarmist to warn now of christian extremists

Incidentally, you may not believe it
A muslim who knows can not burn a human being - dead or alive (reason why we don't cremate)
An ignorant muslim may join in lynching a thief by burning
christians too do anyway
A muslim who knows does not believe in suicide
It is actually a sin you cannot repent from

(Update:: Your so-called muslim brothers are quite busy this year

--------still stealing ships in the name of jihad in somalia,
--------- selling opium ,cannabis and heroin (they are the world's top producers) to fund jihad in afghanistan,
--------- bombing children's schools in afghanistan to prevent women from schooling,
--------- killing cricketers in india,
--------- blowing up hotels in bali)

You did not add what the christian LRA rebels are doing in Democratic Rep of Congo

Somalia is a failed state - what is the difference between it and Liberia and Sierra leone of a few years back
Christians would do so in a failed state
Afghanistan is a country that has not enjoyed staibility - many warlords
Both the Russians and Americans have conributed to that
Women education is recommended in Islam
What Islam says that educating women is the route to educating a nation

take away the religious blinker and
consider human nature
and you willl see underlying problems

Prosperous countries (Muslim and Christian) hardly have wars and such situation that we have in Somalia or Congo
Poverty brings out the worst in us - christian or Muslim

If you doubt it, hit an Okada in Lagos with your car
And you will see their colleagues - Muslims, Christians, others - assemble and united in their mission to lynch you
They don't care about your religion
at that time, they don't care about what they have been taught in the mosque and church

Oh, you are just an expendable vermin
Human nature

Remember if it happens in the north, we ascribe it to religion
it happens daily in Lagos

The man who beheaded the judge who granted his wife a divorce killed a fellow muslim
Imgaine the outcry if the judge had been a christian


As regards hutaree, what is the difference betwen them and Boko Haram?
It is affront to national sovereignty
It is no less worrying than Muttalab
remember, if it was his dad who reported it
Yet every muslim (including his dad) is answering for what we know to be a renegade action

I try to understand why people do what they do
This prevents avoidable death in the future
Do a study of the original concept of boko haram

Do we still pretend that certain things can never happen here?

This happened yesterday

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=169860

‘Repent!’ the Man Screamed, and then Rammed His Car Under Arik Aircraft
From Ernest Chinwo in Calabar, 04.01.2010

"In a puzzling development, a commercial vehicle yesterday rammed into an aircraft at the tarmac at Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, Cross River State.
The vehicle was said to have sped through two gates of the Air Force Station into the airport, running into an Arik plane waiting to take off.

The taxi with registration number Cross River XA 254 KMM was painted with the state’s taxi colour of blue-white-blue. An eyewitness account said the cab went through the gates without any resistance, drove straight to the tarmac and hit the underbelly of the plane.
The incident occurred at about 2.35 pm. There were about 200 passengers on board the aircraft and they were successfully evacuated.

It was not certain how the driver of the vehicle passed the gates but the scene of the incident showed that the security men could not stop him. The reason for the driver's behaviour was not known as at press time.
But he was arrested and handcuffed by security agents. Upon his arrest, the driver claimed that his mission was to blow up the plane and the passengers since according to him, Nigerians are unrepentant sinners.
The man, whose name is yet to be made known, spoke in one of the dialects of neighbouring Akwa Ibom State.
“Jesus is the redeemer. Everyone should repent and follow him because I will come back and complete the attack,” he said.
The pilot of the Abuja-bound plane marked 5N-MJJ, Captain Simon Robinson, crew members and passengers who had started boarding, ran for safety while the fire fighters rushed to the scene.

Security agents condoned off the area while an anti-bomb squad from the police combed the taxi and the surroundings. The outcome of the bomb search was not made public but top sources at the airport said “no bomb was found”.
Visibly-shaken passengers said they were just settling into the aircraft when they heard a loud thud. Then they heard the alarm and were asked to disembark. At first, they thought it was a fire only to find out when they stepped out that a car had run into the fuel section of the plane.
Pandemonium ensued and they scrambled towards the departure hall.
A passenger, who did not want his name in print said: “It was just a miracle that he was not successful because he got to our plane quite all right and hit it the way he wanted to. God sure has a hand in this. If he had a bomb on him, by now it would be a different story.”

One of the passengers, Mr. Odigha Odigha, said: “We were inside the plane about to take off when the alarm came and we were asked to disembark. Initially, we thought it was fire and everybody scrambled down and when we got down, we discovered it was a car right under the belly of the aircraft.”
Odigha, who is the Chairman of the state Forestry Commission, said he was shocked.
“How can a commercial car ram through two gates of the Air Force Station and get to an aircraft about to take off?” she asked.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Manager at the airport, Mr. Mahmud Sani, said everyone was taken unawares. He declined further comment, saying investigation was ongoing and that a team of investigators were expected from Lagos.
The Air Force Intelligence and Security Officer O. G. Akonye and other officers of the Air Force Base, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tonye Ebitibituwa, and other personnel on ground also declined comment.

Later in the evening, four engineers of Arik Air arrived the airport for an on-the-spot assessment. They jacked up the plane in order to remove the taxi. Passengers were later airlifted to their destination with another Arik plane.
When THISDAY visited the scene, the two gates of the Air Force Station had partially collapsed. Part of the first gate was on the ground, while the poles of the second were badly shattered by the force of the car.
Senior officials of the state government, including the state’s Deputy Governor Mr. Efiok Cobham; the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Edet Asim; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Transportation, Mr. Gabriel Okulaja, also visited the scene of the incident."

Salaam,

Please check out this link
Were a muslim remotely connected, everybody would have been posting why we need to break up this country
or stop muslims from wearing Hijab etc

"Christians Al-queida Has Started In America, Watch Out!

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-421918.0.html#msg5798362"

This is the website of the terrorists www.hutaree.com

[b]About Us

HUTAREE; Christian Warrior

As christians we all are a part of the Souls of the Body of Christ, the one true church of Christ. Not any specific man made building or any man controlled organization. This is the belief of the Hutaree soldier, as should the belief of all followers in Christ be.

We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. All christians must know this and prepare, just as Christ commanded. Luke 22:35-37, And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.” 36, Then he said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37, “For I say to you that this which is written must be accomplished in me: ‘And He was numbered with transgressors,’ For the things concerning Me have an end.” This clearly states the reason for the training and preparation of the Hutaree.

Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment. The only thing on earth to save the testimony and those who follow it, are the members of the testimony, til the return of Christ in the clouds. We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren’t. We will still spread the word, and fight to keep it, up to the time of the great coming.

Being Hutaree is to stay the Testimony of Christ alive, and follow a motto, John15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We are hoping that through this website we can reach out to those who have not the word of God and those who are lost in there ideas of Christ. Many of the things Christ said would happen have happened and some things are still in the works of happening.

We all must know that we all carry a cross and a soldiers cross is just as heavy as any other. Just as Jesus did we must also carry our cross to our destination our life abounds us to. All people are givin a destination by God’s will and have to continue there walk to there own golgotha. But many people, even christians don’t agree with the things we do but all we have to say is, we will not argue over the Bible, read it for what it is. We believe only what the Bible says and not on only philosophy, as many christians of this day do. Christ is our king of kings and top general of all things, for we are not of this world but we live in it.

The Hutaree will one day see its enemy and meet him on the battlefield if so God wills it. We will reach out to those who are yet blind in the last days of the kingdoms of men and bring them to life in Christ. Daniel 11:32-35, “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33, “And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34, “Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join them by intrigue. 35 “And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.”

You can find the news we find in some of the places we have in the information sources section. Also you can get gear from some of the choice places we have on gear links. Thanks for coming to Hutaree.com and please come again. Oh and don’t forget that you can write us through the contact us link on the Hutaree homepage. Once again thanks for visiting Hutaree.com and may Christ bless you widely. [/b]
WWW.HUTAREE.COM

Let the people who say Muslims are intolerant now explain these
Just visit the site and see how attack is the best form of defence for people who preach
"forgiveness, love and turning the other cheek"
Anyway, Christians have always lied to people to convert them

@mikeansy
I am not campaigning for Buhari at all. I don't fancy his chances
I am saying that when he is talking about integrity, he is sincere
Unlike Obj who was talking about corruption while shielding Bode george
I actually believe that sincerity and integrity are more important that vision and empty talk
My post on NL is to sensitise people to what we need
If the interview had been granted by Enahoro or Soyinka who obviously are not going to contest any election
I will still post it
I am not sure that most NL (esp those abroad) even vote, but can contribute to shaping public opinion


@monkeyleg
But issues of the last few months have given me a rethink. Buhari was so so silent when his brother Yar Adua went missing for 3 months. We had no President for over 90 days and the best the opposition like Buhari could do was keep quiet. My understanding was that if Nigeria was trully a progressive country and if the Likes of Buhari were truly for the Masses and represent a real oposition, he would have climbing the Highest mountain to complain about the status quo.

Then came the Jos Crisis, what happened again, he kept quiet. Please if you have the opportunity go and read what the likes of El-Rufai had to say, and quite frankly if you were talking about someone like that, maybe you have a good case, but as others have suggested, let honorable saint Buhari go and rest. Maybe he would be useful as an elder stateman, whatever that is


1. It is not true that he kept quiet about Yaradua
It is better to judge people based on facts
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100310420629
And of course, he has been opposed to Yaradua for a long time

2. On Jos crisis, I don't know if he spoke or not
But you will recall that it is a sensitive political case
In January, Hausa/Fulanis were killed and dumped in wells,
This made it difficult to count the number of the people killed
But Jang and Co did not say anything
When the Fulanis retaliated, people are saying that the likes of Buhari did not condemn it
It would have been difficult to insert oneself into this fray at this stage
I believe that his people will call him a sellout if he publicly symphatises with Beroms
When HE DID NOT  publicly side with his own people in January

That does not mean I personally believe that killing women and children by ANY PARTY is justified

As for El-Rufai
I don't trust him - he is a despot
He made a big error (or was induced to sao act?) in selling NItel to IIL
Before collecting money in full from them, he asked the reserve bidder to forget it
When IIL did not perform, there was no reserve bidder to turn to
He handed Nitel to Pentascope and when people complained, he said they were ignorant
Yet Nitel was handed back by pentascope in bad shape - no apologies
He said only people in government and their party (PDP) could comment on government policies
That means NLC (to whom the statement was addressed), you and I could only comment by joining PDP
He demolished houses bought from FCDA
He said there was a racket within FCDA printing CofO from Kaduna
How was a buyer supposed to know that or that a cashier within a banking hall is pocket deposits?
He is playing the populist democract now that he wants to come back into reckoning
By the way, he has not responded to the public accusation of corruption that Gbenga Obj against him

ziddy

But when I remember the 53 suitcases saga, his stance on Sharia, the fact that he opened his

And he has explained it severally
I actually used to hold that against him
- Atiku was the customs man on duty that day - He said people should ask him (Atiku)
I said repeatedly that the man is not without fault

@PapaBrowne
Buhari is a welfarist without vision
Nigeria's problems have been so diagnosed, locally and abroad
that vision is not an issue - Just pick up Goldman Scahs N11 report on Nigeria in 2025
That was the basis of Yaradua's vision 20 2020
You only need a sincere person to empower professionals
Obj cornered the petroleum ministry for 8 years
We had a former ED in power ministry
This guy said what we need is leave the key sectors to the professionals
I believe that given our population, our route to development lies in human capital development
Education, health and employment
Employment, esp self employment, is faciltated by education
We should then privatise power generation


Anybody but Buhari

You certainly do not mean that
Odili, IBB, Obj etc are
better than Buhari anyway
Please mention a Nigerian leader without any fault
Look at Obama, it was easy to find no fault with him because his public service was short


ola olabiy
he was before PTF.PTF exposed him as a tribalist.and a later-born looter

[b]Had the guy looted at PTF
Obj would have smoked him out[/b]
There is no love lost between the two
And compared to Buhari, Obj is a common rogue

@mikeansy
Who do you want to vote for?
Is it really in our hands?
And that is not really my point
I just want to highlight what this country should be aiming for
Imagine if IBB had not come to democratise corruption
And yet they are saying the man (IBB) should come back
To do what? - life presidency? annulment, reivigorate corruption because it is flagging?

What Buhari says should be the template by which we should judge any aspirant
But will PDP allow us?
Inspite of what NL activists are saying, we know that Gooluck has no real chance against PDP
And of course, he is of the PDP
Atiku, with the help of the governors, nearly did Obj in in 2003 (and that would have been wonderful though)
Will those guys in NASS allow our wishes to prevail?
Do the opportunists amongst the youth want it?
Sad, very sad

@Dominoifet
Couldn't b patient to read thru your lengthy stuff. So in few lines what does mr saint wants? To take Nigeria back to first republic or to move us to middle east?

He should just go and sit down his time is done. No more recycling.

It would have been more useful if you read what the man said.
Buhari admits he is not a perfect
He is talking about things he did - try and read it!
But he is not a hypocrite like OBJ
What I know for certain is that OBJ would have hounded him if he found him guilty of any crime (at PTF) after Obj came to power
If we are talking about recycling, Obj has ruled for over 11.5years
Buhari spent only 20months
Nigeria benefitted from his desire for discipline
And for your information, IBB is being positioned for 2011 (He did 8 years btw 86 and 93)
How can that be better?

Am I campaigning for him? I am not sure it is even worth it, Nigeria is so far gone!
I am not sure that we even want a honest president
You think yahoo yahoo guys and these corrupt politicians want somebody who will make them to live honestly?

@Felele
Mbulela, this is precisely the sort of accusation which Fashola continues to open himself to, and if he is not careful, it may begin to impact his efforts to turn us all into honest, tax-paying citizens negatively.

How can he repudiate something he is benefitting from? Look at any thread that is critical of Fashola, you will see his people coming strongly to abuse Tinubu while praising him. So what gives them that confidence? The gentleman must have abandoned 2nd term ambition or have made enough money to fight Tinubu

Since the man has changed his mind about doing just 1 term and is ready to fight for a 2nd term, then he must have made money. The question is from where? Nairaland donations?

Nigerian politics is dirty and expensive. Why has the man not defended himself against all these allegations? SAN or no SAN, he is a Nigerian politician and has to confront the PDP machinery. With what - internet votes and impotent rage?

The allegations against Fashola will shock us and make us lose hope in this country if they are made public. Every sector - professionals, religious leaders and so on - are all involved.

we should not be blinded by false posturing by any side.
My theory is that nobody, I repeat nobody, holding an elective position in Nigeria is innocent.
If he/she was innocent before becoming an aspirant, the process of becoming a candidate and winner of election will corrupt him/her
It is like a bride who is a virgin hoping to remain one after becoming a biological mother!

Lengthy piece, but the man, though fallible, can justify his actions

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/mar/27/national-27-03-2010-001.htm

THE BUHARI STORY
Why we shot drug traffickers
By EMERSON GOBERT, JR.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
•Buhari
•Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section

It would not be hyperbole to describe former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), as an officer and a gentleman. His political opponents and detractors may call him names, yet, he still passes as one of the most disciplined and principled officers the Nigerian Army has produced. Though he may be fixated on some issues, he proudly insists, with a sense of modesty, that nobody can rubbish his integrity, as, according to him, he has not broken any Nigerian law to warrant being charged to court.

In an interview with Saturday Sun, Buhari displayed intelligence and tact. He spoke about his humble childhood into a polygamous family, how he lost his father at age four, his love for rural life and attraction to the Army.
The former head of state revealed that he was once a cattle rearer and enjoyed it. He spoke about his relationships with the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who joined the military with him the same day after they had spent nine years together in primary and secondary schools, and the late Major General Tunde Idiagbon, who was his Chief of Staff in his military presidency.

An officer with an impressive career, Buhari, who was commissioned second lieutenant in 1963, has commanded three of the four divisions of the Nigerian Army. He was governor of North Eastern State in 1974/5 and was later succeeded by the late Gen. Idiagbon. He later became Minister of Petroleum before becoming Head of State in 1983.
The interview is Gen. Buhari as never before.

Not much has been known about your early life. How was your childhood and parental background?
Well, when I was the Head of State, the Ministry of Information attempted to write a book about me. General Muhammadu Buhari, the Seventh Head of State. It dealt with part of my early life, to some extent, but it appears that you haven’t seen the book. Well, I’m No. 23rd on my father’s side and No. 13th on my mother’s side. My father was a Fulani man. My mother, on her father’s side, was a Kanuri, and was Hausa, on her mother’s side. So, this question of Hausa-Fulani and whatever, I think I have qualified for that. I was born in Daura, a very, very old town; very old Hausa state that is claiming to be the root of the Hausa city state. I went to primary school there. We were under Katsina province, which came out of the old Zaria province in 1934. I went to Kaduna Middle School in 1953, went to Kaduna Secondary School in 1956.

When I finished in 1961/62, I came to Kaduna Military Training College then, but now, Nigerian Defence Academy. After that, I went to UK School of Infantry, Aldershot Cadet School. I was commissioned Second Lieutenant in January 1963. On my return, I was posted to Zaria and from there to Abeokuta and later Lagos and I was in Lagos until the first coup in 1966. From there, I was posted to Kaduna, then of course, the civil war. I have risen from Second Lieutenant to General and I have commanded from a platoon up to a division of the Nigerian Army. I have commanded three of the four divisions of the Army: 81st Division, then in Ikeja, then the 2nd Division in Ibadan; then the 3rd Division in Jos before I became the Head of State.

So, what attracted you to the military?
Well, actually, when we were in secondary school, there used to be cadet units and I joined the cadet unit in secondary school. I became the cadet sergeant. I was impressed with the military life since then because it is orderliness. General Hassan, I think, was in Sandhurst when we lived in Kaduna. His father, the late Emir of Kaduna, Alhaji Usman Nagogo, used to send him to talk to us. So, our interest really was laid by the Emir himself through Gen. Hassan, who used to come in uniform to lecture us about the military, during my secondary school. So, I joined the cadet unit. It was the orderliness of the military that aroused my interest.

How would you describe the kind of child you were? Stubborn?
Well, I think in those days, though I worked in Daura township, I liked rural life and I actually reared cattle. I liked rural life because the education you get about plants, animals, insects is really intellectual in the sense that everyday, you are learning something about nature. I try to compare it with the life of a shopkeeper. He sits in one place looking at his wares and exchanging it with coins and notes and so on, but as a form of cattle rearer, you are exposed to the full power of nature and I found that very exhilarating and I enjoyed it extremely.

The Gen. Buhari that most Nigerians have come to know in the past couple of years is a very disciplined General and leader. What are ingredients that moulded you into that character from the boy who loved rural life?
I think it is the quality of education in my generation – so profound. Teachers were so committed. They treat the children like their own children. They had all the time for the children; so you get fatherly care, love from teachers and the teacher seemed to be available for the subject and would start simply with mother tongue, what you can understand – the folklores and so on and I think that made it possible for children of my generation to pick rapidly before you start transferring it to English and then English Literature. You start with your mother tongue, your locality, your history, as a people, in your locality and you rapidly grow into it. I think the influence of the teachers helped. I recognized that fact very early when I was about four years old. So really, my life was shaped by my teachers and boarding school of nine years.

Who can you recall were your childhood friends?
Most of them are gone. Musa Yar’Adua was my classmate for the nine years, since we were in primary and secondary school. We joined the military the same day and he only left a little earlier than me. So, consistently, I have been close to him from school days to military life and so on.

If you were asked to name your three closest friends today, who would they be?
Well, I’ve told you one who was my closest friend. Along the line, we met with Tunde Idiagbon. We met in the military and somehow, Tunde was following me when I formed a brigade in Makurdi. After, he went and commanded that brigade. When I became a governor of North East, with headquarters in Borno in 1975, later, he became governor of Borno State and of course, he became the Chief of Staff when we worked together for 20 months before we were overthrown. We were very close.

Can you recall any other person?
There are so many other people, like Jega, now the Emir of Gwando. We have Gen. Magoro.

Does the Nigeria of today suit the dream of your Nigeria as a child and if not, what are the deficiencies?
First is health. I will give you an example now. In those days, if there was a breakdown of say cerebro spinal meningitis or small pox, the way local governments; not even emirates completely, would mobilize resources to go into every nook and cranny of the locality either to inoculate people or isolate those who had been infected and treat them. It’s the same thing, even with animals everywhere. They get inoculation, say, against rinderpest and so on. So, as far as medical care is concerned, education, even drinking water, there are wells that are dug and are available in localities and if you compare that relative to the resources now, you would feel very sorry for this country because if you drive now from the North to the South, you stop anywhere outside a town or village and you go to a family where there is a 60-year-old person, he would tell you he would rather be in the First Republic than today, and if you compare the resources that were realized, in spite of the population now, in relative terms, there are much more resources now. The question is, how does the leadership treat the followers? You would be very sorry for this country. I will give you another personal example.

In 1961, Elder Demster Lines gave scholarship for one child per region to go to UK on holidays. One from the North, one from the East, one from the West and one from Lagos – four from Nigeria; two from Ghana and two from Sierra Leone. So in the whole of the North, I was picked. I came from a minority area, which is in Kaduna State – Daura Emirate and I was an orphan. The late Yar’Adua was my classmate. His father was a minister. Senior to me was the son of the Minister of Education, Nozerim Isa Kaita, but I, an orphan from a minority area, was picked to go to the UK and these sons of ministers were not picked. How can you get that done now in Nigeria of today?

So, what criteria do you think Elder Demster used to pick you?
All they did was ask the government to produce four Nigerian children to go to the UK. It was actually the government of Nigeria that said one from the North, one from the East, one from the West, one from Lagos. We have lost these values. Relationship between leadership and followers is the most tragic thing in Nigerian development and social justice.

You headed a coup that overthrew the government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, which was democratically elected. What was your motive?
I believe in your archives, you have our speech on the day we took over and why we took over. The officers’ corps then decided to make me Head of State. They were sitting in Lagos, where the government was seated and I was sitting in Jos, where I was commanding a division. So, they could do their Lagos business because I cannot overrun Lagos from Jos; so it was my colleagues then in the military that decided to make me the Head of State.

It is true then that you were not a principal actor in that coup. Your colleagues just saw perhaps, your leadership qualities and decided to make you Head of State. Would that statement be true?
It has to be because, as a GOC, my troops were deployed for the coup, but I don’t think anybody, who lacks the support of the officers’ corps, could be a Head of State after the coup. It’s not just possible.

You were once Petroleum Minister and we did not have the petroleum scarcity that has become a major problem in our country today. What magic did you use so that Nigeria did not suffer from what God had blessed us with?
I don’t think there was magic. What we had was better leadership. General Obasanjo then was the Head of State. I was Petroleum Minister. For all intent and purposes, he allowed me to work as a minister. He was not the Minister of Petroleum. I was the Minister of Petroleum and I was not an engineer of any discipline. What I did was to head and encourage the professionals to be real professionals. I will give you an example. Initially, we had only one refinery in Port Harcourt. With the turn-around maintenance, time came when the only one refinery was closed and Nigerians, apart from us in the ministry and the workers there, never noticed that the only refinery in Nigeria was closed.

Why? People allowed pure professionals to work. How? We looked at Nigerian type of crude and analyzed how much product a barrel can give. So, the amount of barrels Nigeria normally consumes, a tender is put and only operative multinationals were allowed to quote because they were the ones that knew more about our petroleum industry than ourselves because they did the research and development and they had offshore refineries; so they gave us so many barrels of some types of Nigerian crude. Then we gave them other products, which they took, refined and brought back to us. If we had any balance, they sold it and credit NNPC or the Nigerian government. But the moment some leaders decided to be ministers of everything the professionals were not given free hand. I think all they needed to do is to attempt to educate themselves to understand what is happening. I think it is wrong to be so greedy and intolerant as to take away the responsibilities of professionals just because you want to get money for your banking or for yourself. This is what has destroyed some of our industries.

What would you give as your recipe towards solving Nigeria’s petroleum crisis? Is deregulation as touted the solution?
I don’t believe in deregulation. I will tell you why. We must accept that we have failed in managing our most globally accepted sector, which is petroleum. We have four refineries, each of them with the capacity of at least 480,000 barrels per day. Our production, militants allowing, should be about 2.3 million barrels per day. We have infrastructure on the ground. We have land pipes across the country, at least, 3500 kilometers of land pipes, pumping stations, about 25 depots. We have infrastructure on the ground, but government after government has failed to make sure the refineries are at their optimum production. Of course, militants allowing, we blow pipelines there, pipelines here. I believe the country is capable of giving this country security. This is purely and squarely the failure of the government and I don’t think we can explain it off.

There is this story that General Sani Abacha set up the Petroleum Trust Fund, which you headed, as a compensation for the North over the guise of OMPADEC for the Niger Delta.
It can’t be true. This is one of the most unfair allegations against the Abacha government. What happened, because I knew, as you said, is this. I was in charge of PTF because Abacha’s administration wanted to increase the cost of petroleum product at the pump. Although they were a military regime, they were mindful that Nigerians were not in the mood; so they came up with the idea that okay, let us tell Nigerians that we are going to increase one naira or N20 per litre but we are going to put 25 per cent of it or 15 per cent of it for social services – drugs, education, health, drinking water and so on and so forth. And to confine it only to the North, as the beneficiary, is most unpatriotic and if I should say, is irresponsible. Go to any part of Nigeria. Go to any government hospital; you will still see PTF equipment and roads from Abuja to Port Harcourt were rehabilitated. In fact, the first N1 billion of PTF was spent in Lagos. We did the Iju water works; we did Victoria Island and Ikoyi water works and we did 43 kilometers of road to Mile 2 to the port. We did the drainage. The first N1 billion of PTF was spent in Lagos. The records are there. So, for anybody to come with the idea that this was done to compensate the North, because of OMPADEC, is unfair and it is untrue.

Can you recall any heroic thing that stands out in your life or career?
I wouldn’t like to… How I wish you can go into the archives to see how we survived in the Awka sector, which is the most terrible place in the front during the civil war, but I wouldn’t like to say what I have done. The commander, who supervised me, said I did what I had done more than an individual in my report. I wouldn’t like to put my own confidential report here.

The military recently took over power in Niger Republic. In your view, what does this development portend for the African continent?
Well, it is a sad commentary on us and developing democracies. It will appear as if some of the democratic leaders unfortunately, unlike Nelson Mandela, have refused to mature. You find a leader, after being Head of State for 10 years, thinks that he is the only one that can rule his own country. I believe in the system – multi-party democracy. I believe that it should be allowed and the most important thing is free and fair election and people must be allowed to vote for those who will lead them; that will represent them. But if there is no free and fair election, the democratic system can come and go.

Do you see that kind of development happening in Nigeria of today?
Well, you know somebody wanted to have a third term and what happened?

Some people insinuate that you don’t have a cordial relationship with General Ibrahim Babangida today. Is that right?
I don’t think they are right. Nigerians keep on saying that I don’t forgive and I don’t forget. It’s not true. With what I go through in life, if I refuse to forgive and forget, I think I would have been dead by now, but there are certain things I can forgive but cannot forget. What was the reason for being overthrown and after three years in detention, have you found anything wrong with me or my administration?

What is your philosophy of life?
Well, I believe in trying to do my best. I believe in praying to God very hard and I think a question of luck crosses in one’s life. There are people who try, no matter how hard, they will never succeed in life. I think I tried. I succeeded in many ways. One of my biggest successes, although it was an age of setback was that I reached the highest office in my country and I was so happy that nobody has ever found anything about my profession and personal integrity. I believe up to today, that there are people who look for my fault. I’m not perfect at all. No human being is perfect but all the offices I held, be it governor, petroleum, Head of State, PTF, not to talk of all the military commands –from platoon to division, nobody can bring anything on record that I have broken Nigerian law to the extent that I should be charged to court or by military authority. I think with all humility, that it is a great achievement.

What do you consider as your happiest moment in life?
I think part of it was the end of Nigerian civil war.

Why would you consider that your happiest moment?
Because we were stuck almost in a quick sense definition and it was then I was reflecting on United States with all its power, it was sent parking from Vietnam. Vietnam was not part of America but the South East or the Eastern region was part of Nigeria and we got stuck and I was thinking if America, with all the ammunition in the world, could not subdue a Third World country, can Nigeria save itself? And when the war was over, I was in Akwa. I was happy. I couldn’t see anything that made me happier in my life.

Considering your modest rendition of the activities of the civil war, why have you not written your memoir like other officers?
Well, because we served under different circumstances. For example, Gen. Obasanjo wrote a book about the Nigerian civil war. He was a very senior officer. He commanded the Army and was a very lucky officer. He took the surrender at the end of it on behalf of the nation. It was an exceptional luck, but there are some of us who started with a company on foot. We ended up commanding as many as a divisional group, 12 Infantry battalions. The Awka sector was the toughest sector of the war. I have a lot that I could write about but when the war ended, I was just a Major and don’t forget that there were Lieutenant Colonels; there were Colonels; there were Brigadiers; there were Major Generals; there were Lieutenant Generals ahead of me who commanded divisions. I think you should ask Gen. Danjuma why he has not written a book like that because they are the real people who directed the war and they knew much more about it. Go and ask Gen. Gowon, who was the Commander-in-Chief, but people like us were very junior but we were the real foot soldiers. We walked across the nation or the whole of the South East.

What’s your concept of leadership?
Well, I’m lucky I received military training. Leadership is sacrifice. It is social justice. A leader, in my view, will never think of short-changing the followers. The worst thing a leader can do, especially in a developing country, is misappropriation of public funds. You go out of my office, you go any direction, East or West, before you hit the main road, you will see children with plastic bowls or aluminium bowls begging for what to eat from morning till night in Nigeria, with what Nigeria has been getting in the last 10 years; a failed leadership that couldn’t organize society based on social justice. We are in a country now where only multi-millionaires can afford to see their children go through university. Look at the result of NECO last year. Ten per cent passed. WAEC, it was 23 per cent. This is a disgrace to Nigeria’s leadership. The best way we can do it is good education and the country can afford it, but the leadership is so busy doing other things rather than giving the correct priority to give the nation the structure for sustained development. Without good education, a nation is going nowhere.

Not much, if any, is known about you nuclear family. Is it deliberate?
Yes! I think it is deliberate. It is not very important. Why should I distract the attention of the nation because of my wife or my relative? Who brought me to the status that I was at that time? Who made me a commander from platoon upto division, 12th Battalion at Awka by the end of the civil war? Who made me a governor of North East, now six states? Who made me Minister of Petroleum? Who made me Head of State for 20 months? Who made me Chairman of PTF for five years and all that the PTF has done? I believe in democracy and social justice and I’ve said it so many times, democracy doesn’t even exist without free and fair election. It’s brigandage.

Why did you not consider it necessary, considering the Nigerian factor, to celebrate the office of the First Lady?
I don’t like that diversion. You have Ministry of Social Welfare or Women Affairs or Health. Any social service, you go and collect from it. You appoint a minister by the constitution. You budgeted for them and then you have a First Lady to do what? Run around all over the place, work out in the budget money for executive aircraft with crew and so on. If you put that money back into education or get better equipment for our tertiary institutions, we would have better teachers; we would have better laboratories and service. Okay, First Lady, go and see orphan homes, but there are ministries doing it. Allow those ministries to do it and allow the international donors to do it properly through the ministry where it can be monitored and audited. I don’t think we can afford this waste. Among the developed countries, which country do they have office of the First Lady and public funds sinking in billions of naira? Go and find out, as rich as they are. This is diversion for funds.

How many children do you have and wives?
I have nine living children. One died. My first wife died. I had five from my first wife – four girls and a boy and I have five from my second wife – four girls and boy.

Seeing what other past Heads of State have done in Minna, can you assess yourself as making positive impact on Daura?
I think I did. They were happy their son somehow became the leader of Nigeria but they did not expect me, for example, to build a refinery in Daura or even a filling station because I did not do it when I was in petroleum. When I was Head of State, they did not expect it. Luckily, nobody will go to Daura and say that while Buhari was there for 20 months, either he built a N10 billion house. No government has ever built a house for me. I haven’t done it for myself and nobody did it for me. The Daura people were very happy nobody has ever accused their son of stealing.

Considering your perceived rigidity in governance, how do you think you can cope in a democratic setting with all the checks and balances?
I don’t believe that democracy is a confusion. I wouldn’t have attempted to go and try to get leadership if I know it is a confusion. I think people deliberately bring confusion into democracy in order to materially benefit. For those who want to develop their country, democracy is the ideal food because of the checks and balances, but those checks and balances must be under severe scrutiny by the country’s elite. If you have a committee on power, you don’t start hearing an investigation and destroy the paper because probably, the committee has been compromised. No. They wanted people of integrity to get to legislature and they want them to play that role according to the constitution of the country. Now, an elite that failed to supervise the legislature as such, is a failed elite and I think Nigerian elite is becoming a failed elite.

There has always been political and religious tension between the North and the South and it leads to suspicion.

What’s your recipe for enduring peace and harmony for a better nation?
I don’t know. I think we have different perception on that. There haven’t been much religious intolerance between Muslims in the North or in the South. There is no division. I can’t agree on that. It is also the law itself. Look at the four crises in the Plateau between 1990 and 1991 and now. Look at the Boko Haram or Maitatsine. It is only in the North. Tell me one serious religious incident between the North and the South. Tell me one. There is hardly any. If you can recall, throughout our stay in office, the Western press was saying something about, just as they were saying about the Sudan, the Muslim North versus the Christian South. Up to date, I’m sure, perhaps, 85 per cent of the Nigeria military is Christian. For nine years, Gowon was the Head of State.

His second-in-command; the two of them were Christians. Idiagbon and I were Muslims from the North. No matter what you call it, when Abiola and Tofa contested people said, it is the best election that ever took place since independence. It was a Muslim – Muslim ticket. Whoever talked to you about Abiola and Kingibe being Muslims during that time? There is a lot of misconception about this Muslim/Christian thing in this country. If people are trying to hide their incompetence, they start introducing religious war, but they never bother to make a research and find out who are the biggest thieves in government. Were they Christians or are they Muslims? It is when they want the power to facilitate stealing, that is when they start talking about religion.

How would you describe your political ideology?
Honestly, if you had read my statement, when I presented myself to ANPP to make me a candidate and subsequently when I got the candidature, you will understand my stand. All I want is democracy, as described as a government of the people by the people, for the people and then social justice and the checks and balances in the constitution is what will facilitate the democratic credential and social justice. This is my philosophy. You educate a people, you allow them to choose who they want to lead them and you make sure you utilize the national resources most responsible for the development of the country. Look at what this country earned in 10 years. Look at the state of NEPA or Power Holding Company of Nigeria. We cannot fail to indict the Nigerian leaders along the line because they know that without power supply, the industries will collapse. When the industries collapse, you lose jobs; you lose goods and services. This is what is happening now. So, if there is any philosophy that will give you economic strength, we have already failed, no matter what people are saying. You have to give people jobs to earn a respectful life and then you have housing, education, healthcare, security, drinking water and this country can afford it. It is the leadership which is consistently being failing.

Have you groomed people to succeed you along this political and ideological line?
There are people I worked with in the military. There are people I worked along the line in the political development as a governor; in petroleum. Please, make research on the political activities of Muhammadu Buhari. It is a pity Tunde is dead, but he is not the only person that worked with me. I worked with people like the Managing Director of NNPC. Again, Sunday Awoniyi died. He was my Permanent Secretary. My Secretary to the Government in Borno State died as well as Abubakar Umar. But try and fish out those who worked with me and ask them. And I told you about our teamwork at NNPC. Respect professionals and encourage them to work. However, work harder to understand them because you are not an engineer of any discipline and you are asked to supervised an engineering ministry. You have to work so hard to understand them and, therefore, give correct political direction.

When you took over government in 1983, you crusaded for a patriotic Nigeria then. Do you still have the same fervour?
You know the reality yourself more than myself, because now you give me feedback because of your profession. You can be a nuclear physicist. If you go to United States, where you find a lot of Nigerians of that calibre, they give you your dollar bill but you’re still a black man and a Nigerian. It is here that even if you are a good vulcanizer, you can show yourself because it is your home. Nobody can move you out of it. This is your country but out there, you may have the money, you have a house, educate your children and so on but I assure you, go and try and know any of those people, their mind is back home, whether it is Aguleri, Awka, Daura or somewhere in Akwa Ibom. So, the most important thing is for Nigerian elite to convince themselves that they better do something about this country. It has all the resources within Nigeria. It is a question of administration. For goodness sake, let Nigerian elite apply it.

Why do you live and maintain such a low profile, unlike other Generals we have in this country?
Do you know how much obligation I have made that I should remain comfortable as I am?

It is generally observed that you live a modest lifestyle whereas even Generals after you and some who never got to such rank live in opulence.
I think the most comforting thing is for one to live within one’s resources. I have never been anywhere I lacked in my life, but I have never lived where I was wanting. I think I have modest requirements in life and I am fulfilled. I don’t want to have what I cannot account for. I don’t want to be embarrassed by anybody. There is no way in the company I commanded, the battalion I commanded, the troops I commanded, the brigade, I commanded, the division I commanded, for you to go and find out that soldiers allowances or whatever were diverted or misappropriated. I wouldn’t do it and anybody else who did it under me would have been court martialled. When I was the governor, nobody will say there was too much he bought, even when I was Head of State. In PTF, I was only taking allowance because I was on pension. I was not taking any salary in PTF. We were there for almost five years; so I have a very clear conscience.

So, how do you react to this story of $2.8 billion when you were Minister of Petroleum?
You see, somebody said $2.8 billion dollars was missing. Now, if you try to make any research, this is my problem with you Nigerian press. There is a shortage of investigative journalism. Somebody said $2.8 billion was missing and nobody tried to go and find out how much a barrel of crude was selling then and how much we were producing and what was our budget for those years? If you do it, you will find it impossible for the government to just steal $2.8 billion.

The governor of Central Bank then, may his soul rest in peace, Dr. Clement Isong, I think when I was in the United States of America War College, he was the only one as governor of Central Bank. He was being very careful because people were mobilized, almost like juntas, but he said then, if I can recall, that even the king of Saudi Arabia cannot go and write a cheque of $2.8 million and you withdraw it. That’s not the way the financial world works. And those days were the days when there was some order. What I mean is each agreement I signed for oil lifting, the cost of the crude will be written in the agreement.

That amount will be brought to the Federal Government of Nigeria account in New York or in Zurich. We had no excess crude account. Nothing. That money from there will go to Nigerian Central Bank after the Ministers’ Council memo. Those were the days of accountability. You can trace it anywhere. You don’t go and open excess crude account and ask crude money to go there. It wouldn’t go. It will only go to federation account because that is where you will trace it to know the agreement signed by Buhari. So I was not bothered. I was in war college. Even when they asked Shagari to bring me back because of Irikefe Judicial Inquiry. Irikefe was a justice of the Supreme Court, one of the most respected ones. When he asked the people, okay, you said $2.8 billion was missing, where is it? They said, “I heard it in molue.” This is irresponsible. You cannot damage people’s file or record by just opening your mouth because you feel you are Tai Solarin or Fela or Dr. Awoyobi, because people respect you socially, you come and destroy somebody’s credibility. Shagari told me, when I completed my tenure, that he told the late Makama

@Afro Rebel
You Nigerian animals are ignorant and aught to be ashamed of yourselves, i mean slaughtering little black babies(and women/ ederly,etc) like goats over the European's whitewashed Christianity and the arabian's cult of Islam as if the fact that they worship diffrent religons takes away their humanity shows how sick and silly you are,

Yes, killing ourselves and promising more is a sign of ignorance. Those who fought bitterly during WWI and WWII are now friends

I thought these foreign religion was supposed to civilze you not enhance the intensity of your barabric tribal wars,

We were civilized before the foreigners came. We had our civilization, they had theirs. They just imposed theirs on us. I still prefer our civilization although most Nigerians see anything foreign as better

No matter how devout you are in your religions the Romon pope or Saudi Iman's don't give a damn about your black asses and laughing at how you murder your own brothers, sisters, and children in the name of their religons, Ethnic cleansing is hardly god''d work either, i't's pure evil, Wake up Nigerians

We actually are not looking to a Saudi Imam, who as a human being may be a sinner, for approval. Both the Saidu Imam and I pray to Allah and depending on how much I fear Allah, my prayer may be accepted before his. That is why muslims do not pray to anyone other than Allah

From Ike Aboyin in Abuja, 03.27.2010

The General Officer Commanding 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, Major General Saleh Maina has there has been no sincere effort by anyone in or outside government to address any of the issues that have turned Plateau State into a conflict zone.

In an interview with this newspaper, Gen. Maina, who made it abundantly clear that he does not want to be dragged into politics or making political statements on Jos, said that the crisis keeps recurring due to the lack of effort to resolve it decisively.

Using the opportunity to provide clarification on the communication received by his officers alerting to the attacks carried out against villagers of Dogo Nahawa, Plateau State on Sunday, March 7, he said “those who should know, know exactly what the problems are or what the causes of the conflicts are.
“And nobody, I repeat, nobody has made any sincere effort to address any of the issues sincerely. That is why the conflict keeps recurring, that is why the crisis keeps occurring.”

The GOC, however, commended Acting Pres-ident Goodluck Jonathan for setting up the Solomon Lar Committee, stating that under the terms of reference, the committee is tasked to identify the problems and advise government on how to resolve the problems.

“Further than that, the committee is to advice the government on how each organ of government, each tier of government as well as related organizations will carry out their roles specifically in solving the problems.
“If that committee does its job properly and the government responds positively, the problems will be solved once and for all,” he stated.

Dismissing reports that made the rounds after the last skirmishes that the governor of Plateau, Jonah Jang notified him of an impending strike which he ignored, Maina said he personally did not receive any communication from the governor or any other party about impending attacks.

“I have been misunderstood, misrepresented and misconstrued by the media which has been apportioning blame on the military over the March 7 incident.
“During my press conference on Thursday, 11th of March, I said the governor did not call me, did not send me any text message neither did any of the government officials on the impending attack on Dogo Nahawa and surrounding villages.

“During the same conference, I stated very clearly that the governor couldn’t have told journalists that he called me because he did not.
“And I referred to his credentials as to why I made that statement - that he was a former governor of two states, he is my retired senior colleague and I am his subordinate.

“Today he is also the chief executive and chief security officer of a whole state in crisis. He knows he didn’t call me, he wouldn’t have said he called me and neither did any of his government officials.
“But I did reveal the text messages that were sent to my officers, not to me, and their contents.

“The Dogo Nahawa attacks took place between 1. 30 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the morning on Sunday and the first message my officers received about Dogo Nahawa was about 3.41 a.m. on that Sunday morning.
“I read those text messages, the three text messages, word for word to journalists.
“But I was very disappointed that all of them, including some sections of the print media, were misconstrued, misunderstood, misrepresented, and they misinformed the public and were apportioning blame on the military.”

The GOC admitted that despite the best effort of the security agencies to maintain law and order in Plateau State, they continue to encounter challenges.
He enumerated the challenges to the operations as inflammatory or inciting statements by those who ought to preach peace especially in the prevailing circumstances.

The second challenge, he said, is[b] the large number of unemployed youths who do not seem to be under any form of authority and who are very ready or willing conduits through which havoc could be caused[/b].
“The third one is rumour mongering especially the very inciting messages that are sent using mobile phones, and the fourth one is the press.”

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=169558


While the crisis persists, innocent people continue to be killed. We still need a political solution - dialogue, addressing the cause of the problem, unemployment etc


Abusing ourselves on NL WILL NOT end the problem. Justifying attacks on people may even increase the ferocity of future killings. And those will be avoidable deaths. Virtually all crises of this kind in Nigeria were resolved by dialogue, rather than overwhelming military victory. Given the population of Nigeria, no side can win by killing unless that side is prepared to kill tens of millions - even a highly trained and well equipped army will be hard put to achieve that.

And we should stop believing that one side is totally innocent and the other totally culpable. That is against human nature.

Nigerian journalists are far more corrupt than politicians!
Yaradua is brain dead!
   We rush to buy newspapers
Johnathan will dissolve cabinet and appoint technocrats!
    We rush to buy newspapers
Then we see cry baby Deziani Madueke on the Johnathan's list
Yaradua is going for Jumat service!
      We rush to buy newspapers
Oh, on the way, we drop by at Nairaland to abuse Yaradua, his wife and friends

But did we pause to consider this
Did Yaradua people tell us the guy would attend Jumat Service?

It is a newspaper that is telling us the man is going to Jumat and no, did not show up, and without proof

Why do we believe everything read in the papers?
Let us remember what the former editor of Punch told us about press stories

We need to tackle these issues very seriously
Must these incidents happen daily?
This is another one


http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/40364/1/Herdsmen-strike-in-Ekiti-kill-police-corporal-two-villagers-wounded/Page1.html

Herdsmen strike in Ekiti, kill police corporal, two villagers wounded

By Adewale Adeoye


"Armed Fulani herdsmen have killed a police Corporal identified as Shuaib, a native of Edo State who until his death was the head of a little community police station located at Irele, North East of Ekiti State. The dawn attack on Wednesday left two peasants critically wounded.

The incidence happened barely a week after the Northern city of Jos witnessed violent attacks by herdsmen on locals. The Jos incidence claimed hundreds of deaths, including but not limited to women and children.

Police sources at Ikole Ekiti, the chief town in the area, claimed that a ‘bush-hunt’ for the murderers lasted for two days but did not yield results until last Friday when three of the herdsmen were arrested. Another suspect was arrested at Ogbe, on the community’s market day. Ogbe is a nuclear settlement on the fringe, between Kogi and Ekiti States.

Eyewitnesses claimed that in the early hours of Wednesday, two natives had complained to the local police authority after several cows owned by the herdsmen had invaded subsistent farms, eating much of the cash crops. Yam tubers destroyed or eaten were said to be in hundreds. The killing of the police man, locals claimed, marked the odd peak of frequent skirmishes that had characterized the relationship between natives and the herdsmen for close to half a decade.

‘The herdsmen come to our farms all the time. We are at their mercy. In this latest case, they invaded the farms cockcrow last Wednesday after which they wounded several of the farm owners. The owners reported the incidence to the police station from where a corporal was sent to arrest the herdsmen. When they sighted the policeman, they viciously attacked and killed him,’ an old farmer whose family of five spends most of their days working and sleeping on their farmland told The Nation. He said since the recent attack, his family has relocated into his ancestral home in the centre of the small, peaceful community.

He said the tow attacked peasants were Tiv, natives of Benue State, who recently migrated into the area in large numbers for farming. Many of the Tiv were said to be victims of past ethnic clashes in Taraba state where many of them were displaced due to the year-long fighting with their Junkun neighbours in 2004.

Mr Sola Olatunde, an indigene of Ekiti State and member of the Ekiti Development Association, EDA said the past one decade has seen what he called the invasion of Ekiti and many states in the South West by ‘herdsmen that have no respect nor understanding of the customs, tradition and ownership of land by families and communities.’ He said the grazing activities of the cattles owned by the herdsmen have led to the depletion of forestland in Ekiti while raising the specter of serious ethnic conflict in the entire South West region.

‘We have on our hands a very serious social, cultural and security problems due to the invasion of the herdsmen some of whom are from Chad, Niger and Mali. Unfortunately they are all armed with guns and machetes. They forcefully live in our ancestral lands which they now seize by force,’ Olatunde stated adding that cases of violent robbery and rape of minors are constantly associated with the herdsmen.

A community leader in Irele, Dr Niyi Oluwafemi, who is a medical doctor, told The Nation that herdsmen in the area occasionally block the new trunk-B road that runs from Ikole to the surrounding towns and villages with their cattles, leading to untold hardship for commuters. He said he has confidence in the ability of the police to tackle the menace."

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=169074

"By Chinedu Eze, 03.21.2010

The communal clash between the people of Ezillo clan who are the aborigines and the Ezza settlers over struggle for land has claimed four prominent people from Cross Rive State. The quartet were burnt to death during the week on an emissary to the troubled community.


Report said mercenaries allegedly employed by the Ezzas killed and burnt to death the victims who were on their way to Ogoja through the Enugu-Abakaliki highway that cuts through the warring community and that their four-wheel-drive vehicle with the number, LN 304 AAA, belonging to a director in the Federal Civil Service who was also killed in the incident, was also burnt down.
THISDAY learnt that Cross River State Government sent a delegation to Ebonyi State Government on Tuesday, protesting the killings and the state government is striving to end the crisis by any possible means.


Besides the aforementioned, other killings have been taking place along the highway and in the various villages of the community.
According to eye witness account, the crisis is still on-going in spite of all the efforts to end it because the Ezzas who have dominant population in the state refused to resettle in portion of land given to them by the state government, while the Ezillo people defiantly insisted that the Ezzas, known as Ezza Ezillos must leave the community.


The clash which started on May 10, 2008 has claimed more than 600 lives with property worth more than N1 billion destroyed.
A senior official of the Ebonyi state government told THISDAY that efforts made by the state government to reconcile the two warring clans ended in futility as political interests seem to have suffused the major reason why the crisis started, which is the resistant of the Ezillos against alleged plan of the Ezza settlers to take over the community by their superior population and overwhelming wealth.


But the Ezzas have dismissed the fears, alleging that the Ezillos had always wanted to force them out of the community, which became their home way back in the 1930s, when their great grand fathers were invited to help Ezillos fight their neighbours in the enduring struggle for land.
A prominent son of Ezillo and a public servant in the state told THISDAY at the weekend that Ezillo people are eager to make peace, complaining that Ezza people have engaged in guerilla warfare to exterminate the Ezillos, adding that to make peace both parties should make sacrifices.

THISDAY also gathered that the Ezzas who rejected the place given to them in the community by the state government, arguing that it was a stream of land that lies in the boundary between two communities, requested that one half of the community should be allocated to them, while the Ezillos reject such request, insisting that they could only concede what government has already given to the Ezza Ezillos.
“Government moved from the initial 52.5 hectares of land given to them and enlarged it to 306. 29 hectares; this is additional landmass of 253.5 hectares as contained in the broadcast of the governor, Chief Martin Elechi,” a source told THISDAY.
But Ignatius Nwali from the Ezza clan told THISDAY that his people decided to continue to launch attacks because in the past whenever a truce was agreed on the Ezillo people would break it and they would be caught unawares, noting that until their own conditions are met they would not stop the fight.


“The area that Ezza people want is on this side of Ebonyi River . Due to the good relationship and good co-existence our grandfathers had with their grandfathers they agreed to live together. But since they want to flush us out or eliminate or prevent us from enjoying the fruit of the labour of our grandfathers, we have requested that we live at one side of the community. The land where we live before, we are ready to forfeit— those land at the other side of Ebonyi River is what we want. That is what we want now.”
Dr Onyekachi Eni, Chief Press Secretary to the Ebonyi State Governor told THISDAY, “Since this crisis broke out, Governor Martin Elechi has left no stone unturned to resolve it. He has been personally involved in the various peace building initiatives of the state government."


So how do we resolve the issue of communal crises?
What do our security agencies do about intelligence gathering?

@fisheye
ask her what happened at ekiti,  she sure cant talk about credible polls

Exactly. When Yaradua was firmly in power, did Akunyili tell him the truth ie to allow the INEC official in Ekiti release the authentic result?

Akunyili only started talking after
Obasanjo had publicly asked Yaradua to quit (So Obj knew something and it was safe to assume that talking will not backfire)
Shagari, Gowon & co had gone to the national assembly to ask that Johnathan be made acting president

Furthermore, can she tell us what happened to the NTA OB van contract that was required for the U-17 world cup

I am not enamoured of her at all

Iwu is partlly INEC's problem, PDP is also part of it
How will career politicians who have not been performing, and do not answer to us ever allow INEC to conduct and election that will sweep them away

Who voluntarily commits such suicide

I actually believe that protests against Yaradua are not as important as protests for reform that will make us truly decide who will govern us

Obj would not have fielded an unfit Yaradua if Nigerians had the powers to vote against a man whose health status they are not sure of

@morpheus24
My accusation has nothing to do with the above claim.The implication of your statement suggests your rationalization (please notice I did not say support) of of the attackers behaviour(as hardened people) such that it implies that the other side are unable to claim or adopt a similar strategy  in such a manner as to repel these would be hardened criminals.

Think about what I said. Georgia started a war thinking that Russia would not react forcefully. It miscalculated. Japan and Hitler thought that they would benefit from 2nd world war. They lost
My point is think well before going into a war or an engagement



No one called for a war. However I do support the arming of a militia since the government is incapable of protecting its citizens from what seems to be emboldened attacks. I think any reasonable civilized people would not disagree to this fact.
Sorry. People have been calling for war
Read posts on NL again
Maybe I am neither reasonable nor civilised. Kudos

In the absence of a government who is incapable of solving existing problems, I see no deficit in creating a new one.
So if you can live with 2 problems, why not be contented with only one


Stop trivializing the loss of innocent lives of women and childre. I repeat women and children to this silly ethnic bru ha ha. the main objective here is protect the lives of innocent people who are not liable for any previous or present attacks from an illiterat who has been programmed his religion is superior to anothers.

In my interpretation that is the sole responsibility of the militia and if they disobey that directive. They will be shot on sight. Chikena Aboki,
Am I trivializing this?
I am just pointing out that there cannot a group of people so sanitised by religion, culture etc that you would not find some of them starting a fight at one time or the other
As for the innocent lives, have you seen me advocate killing people here?
Poeple have been saying kill the hausas, they are animals, burn them alive etc
In a time of war, people are sorely tested, can they maintain what their culture and/or religion preach in the face of provocation
Posts here say that when confronted by a war situation, christians will not turn the other cheek
I neither advocated that anyway, but that is what they tell me christians do
I have never believed that people a
Inspite of what you may think, I am personally distressed by what is happening. I actually believe that we stand better united

I am a Muslim, I know well enough that is wrong to kill a woman or child even in a time of war
What actually see as unfair is the fact that I have been offended several times in my private life by christians
and yet most christian comes here to castigate ALL muslims
That is against human nature
There are renegade muslims and christians
Remember that we read on Next in January when a muslim community was surrounded
They sent distress message, it was too late.
They were killed and their bodies dumped in wells
Some of the wells were covered up eventually
Is it too difficult to admit that these people were also human beings, some innocent
I have posted that a Fulani posted in Sahara Reporters that his people were wrong to kill children and women
Has any christian ever admitted ever doing that?

Incidentally, people are recommending a military solution
Is that the only option
Armed forces eventually start abusing people they were asked to protect
They may relax after a few months
What did we do in Ife-modakeke?
Let us try a solution that will encourage people live together in peace
A peace permanently policed by the army or a militia will be abused and is unviable

@babsmii
someone once said the world would be a better place if these muslims are sent to the antartica without a coat,  im beginning to reason that line too,  no offense intended!


I believe that it would solve the following problems:
The tension between america and China will evaporate
The ETA in Spain will cease their bombings
North Korea will destroy all its nuclear weapons
Ukraine and Russia will become permanent friends
Russia will stop being a threat to Georgia
The baltic states of Estonia & co can breathe easy
Apartheid would not have happened
The 1st and 2nd world wars would have been avoided
Hitler would not have attempted a "solution" to the jewish problem
The inquisition would not have been necessary
The Ifes and Modakeke would be bosom friends
Same for Ijaws, Itsekiri, Jukuns, Umuleri
Nigerian exorcists would stop burning and stabbing children
And so on so on

Maybe you should give it a serious thought and the army of unemployed youths in Nigeria will become employed
But the christians working and living in muslim countries will have to come back home to their country to join fellow christians
in their countries where there will now be no armed robberies
Benin-Ore road can be travelled at all times without armed escort
Just like at the Vatican, there will be no need for security agencies
Oh 419, yahoo yahoo will be gone
no disease, poverty, stealing governors (all the kleptomaniacs are muslims)
And the muslims who have misled Iwu, Obj, Akala, Gbenga Daniel etc would be gone
there will be no assasination of people like Ige, Dikibo, Marshal Harry, etc again since Muslims were responsible
And next PDP primary in Anambra will be like a brothers and sisters meeting - most peaceful
Next Ekiti election will be devoid of tension
Of course Akunyili and Ayoka will tell us what happened and how the Muslims tricked them
Luckily Gani Fawehinmi is gone, you would not need him to check Obj, Agagu etc
For the lovers of Ribadu and El Rufai, their shoes will be filled by Ibori, Odili and Igbinedion

The benefits would be immense, no doubt

@tpia
tongue cutting and body mutilation are usually a sign of secret cults and juju involvement.

I think other factors are at work here, such as assasins being brought in from outside. Like I pointed out, such things are more common in central Africa.



as per suicide bombing, that's another topic.


There is juju in Nigeria, all over the country, in all regions
Don't let us run away from the reality of our life

@morpheus24
Stop defending your fulani muslim brothers by trying to analyze the readiness of village people. All they need is someone who will co-ordinate their young and able bodied men into a vigilante group, arm and train them to defend themselves from these attacks.

I really don't care much for religions per say but concerned about the preservation of innocent life so I bet you when these attackers get it through their skulls that the individuals they are attacking are not helpless defenseless women and children they will second guess their cowardly strategies no  matter how hardened you claim theare are battle ready.

No body likes casualties, not even the most armed military on the face of the planet.

The problem I have with this type of response is that it imputes into my statement what I did not say
I did not say Fulani muslims are not responsible
If I did, please be kind enough to point it out
I said we should be careful about calls for war or arming everybody
Anybody could have made that suggestion - Muslim, christian, Clinton, Obama
Indeed Britons who don't allow people to carry guns will say the same; Americans will say people should carry guns

Suppose these mobile invaders prevail in a war of attrition - what next
At least the pickpockets etc will still have their guns
we would not have solved the initial problem, we would have created a new one
My opinion. Were I in the US, I would say the same
So it has nothing to do with religion

Afterall, we did not arm the Ifes and Modakekes when they were doing their fighting
As regards the issue of "the attackers getting it through their skull"
This presupposes that the attackers are always Fulanis
I can also imagine that the Biroms would have initiated an attack at one time or the other