₦airaland Forum

@ Beaf, how I wish I'm on their PAYROLL, but do not forget this, Fashola & Tinubu are not Gadafi, Same way YOU NIGERIANS are not as TOUGH as Libyans & Egyptians.

@ BEAF, I don't know the countires you have lived IN, but where I live, Govt TAX every TAXABLE thing, residential properties inclusive! I don't care about all these other stuff you're talking about OPC, I detest CHEAP POPULARITY. MY point is this, THIS PROTEST IS COMING TOO LITTLE TOO LATE and by Monday, they will all be too anxious to be in the office & everything will fade away. Wait till they deploy soldiers & you will see how people will run & head to their BEDROOMS. A lot of countires view Nigerians as COWARDS,they are, you know WHY? Because of the things that we allow the GOVT. to get away with. Let's watch and see if the Lagos Govt. will not get away with this. I support the PROTEST,if it's sustainable. I bet you, majority of these protesters came from other areas of Lagos, if you live in Lekki, you'll know that  thousands of its residents will PREFER to protest on the NET or NEWSPAPER! rather than leaving the COMFORT OF HIS HOME TO CONFRONT THE THOSE LUNATICS CALLED  POLICE & ARMY. We're watching how everything will turn out.

My point is this, KNOWING NIGERIANS & THEIR COWARDNESS, LAGOS GOVT. MUST SURELY COLLECT THAT TOLL, peroid.

@ Jmaine, Nigerians can't do it!! I repeat, they can't do it, This protest is coming too little,too late. I'm not telling you that I do not support, but, Dude, IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE, I lived in Lekki, and I know how people their behave, not different from every Nigerian. Watch out! The Fed Govt will warn Lagos PDP to stop identifiying with that protest, cos, they will use that Lekki TOLL to test the waters on the ones they planned to erect on HIGHWAYZ. REVOLUTION, is different from protest, Go and ask EGYPTIANS & LIBYANS what they went thru. Why are they protesting? TOLL GATE! But if they hear that people are protesting in Yaba, or Ajegunle cos of BAD GOVT will they go from Lekki, to go & join them? NO! Cos they'll view it as their HEADACHE!

PDP, ACN & co do RIG elections, how many times do people come out to protest, cos their MANDATE have been stolen Yar'adua acknowledged that the elections that brought him was RIGGED, any serious NATION will use that to protest & call for cancellation of that very election.

I support toll on LEKKI, but do not support MUTIPLE toll gates on LEKKI ROAD. And they charges should be reviewed. People have a wrong concept about Govt in Nigeria, Govt. should not be providing anyting for FREE! period.

I read about LASU school fess that was increased to an incredible amount. The students have been protesting, why can't Lekki residents join them? Cos it's not their business, as their kids are all OVERSEAS or in private Universities. Nigerians? forget them!

Lekki residents are coming out to protest becomes this very one directly affects them. They should quit looking @ the wrong direction pls! Fed Govt have been rolling out wrong policies & you can only hear them complain in thier various offices, (COWARDS),but they can't take to the streets to challenge the Fed Govt that has kept Nigeria down. However, the highway toll gates will soon be operational, they will not come out to protest, cos some of them will ask you " I DON'T PLY THE HIGHWAYS", therefore, he or she will not be bothered. Nigerians are COWARDS, I wish they can sustain the PROTEST in everything. Mark my words, NONE OF THESE GUYS WILL LEAVE HIS OFFICE TO PROTEST ON WORKING DAYZ,cos HE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HIS STOMACH, IT WILL FADE AWAY by Monday. Nigerians can't do NATING. This protest would have been in place from the time they wanted to build the toll plaza, but, coming to protest when TOLL GATE is already functional is a WASTE of TIME & ENERGY. I trust Naija police, when they kill two people, wives will be calling their husbands " pls come back oooooo!!! " I will be giving you money to pay them, we have kids to raise. END of DISCUSSION ( EOD).

SHAME ON YOU ALL THAT IS AGAINST THE TOLL GATE. NIGERIANS WANT THE BEST & THEY ARE NOT READY TO PAY FOR IT. I LIVED IN LEKKI & THAT ROAD WAS A MESS & IF GOVT DID NOT FIX IT PEOPLE WILL BE SCREAMING,NOW THEY DID & ASK YOU TO PAY,IT BECOMES A PROBLEM. I KNOW HOW MUCH PEOPLE SPEND IN UTILITY BILLS IN ALL THOSE PRIVATE ESTATES IN LEKKI & IF YOU FAIL TO PAY, THEY'LL CUT YOU OFF, BUT THESE SAME PEOPLE WILL BE RELUCTANT TO PAY WATER & ELECTRICITY BILLS WHEN ITS BEEN PROVIDED BY GOVT. THIS PROTEST IS A MISPLACED PRIORITY, THEY SHOULD NEGOTIATE WITH GOVT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TOLL GATES ON THAT ROAD & THE CHARGES. BUT SAYING NO TOLL GATE, IS A BS, THESE SAME PEOPLE WILL NOT BE THERE TO PROTEST ABOUT FUEL SUSBSIDY REMOVAL. CONFUSED CITIZENS.

Can't someone attend to these guyz?

Gunmen suspected to be members of the militant Boko Haram sect have killed three Air Force officers and injured one other in Kano.

The gunmen, numbering about 15, were said to have stormed the Nigerian Air Force Comprehensive Secondary School located in the village of Kwa, along Kano-Katsina Road, where a heavy exchange of gunfire ensued.

According to the Air Force authorities in Kano, the gunmen launched the ferocious attacks on the Air Force formation at about 8.30 pm.

They attacked the four officers on guard in an attempt to gain entry into the premises, ostensibly to massacre the JSS 1 students in the hostel.

The four officers were said to have resisted the gunmen, who however, overpowered them, killing two on the spot and inflicting heavy injuries on two others, one of whom later died at the Eemergency Ward of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano (AKTH).

A reliable source at the teaching hospital, who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, confirmed that one of the critically injured officers died on arrival at the hospital, while doctors were said to be battling to remove bullets that lodged in the the other injured officer’s body.

When our correspondent who visited Kwa, about 15 kilometres from Kano, there were bloodstains at the entrance of the school, while the gate was riddled with bullets. Smashed windows also indicated a serious gun battle.

The Commandant of 339 Base Services Group (BSG), Nigeria Airforce Kano, Air Commodore Sani Ahmed confirmed the incident. He said: “We lost three of our officers at the Nigeria Airforce Comprehensive Secondary School at Kwa village in Kano.

“Some gunmen numbering about 15 stormed the school between 7 pm and 8 pm and engaged our men in a gun duel in an attempt to gain entry into the school premises.

“They were however overpowered by my men and, in the process, two of my officers were instantly shot dead. One of them died in the hospital while the third one is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.

The Commander described the attack on his men as criminal, saying “the attack by the suspected armed robbers cannot shake us. And I want to clear the air so that everyone would know exactly what happened.

Ahmed, however, disclosed that “investigations are on. For now, we cannot say if they are members of the Boko Haram sect or any other group. But I want to assure the general public that nobody can shake us.”

In a separate incident at Hotoro Quarters in the Kano metropolis, gunmen, also suspected to be members of Boko Haram, shot a mobile police officer, and allegedly dispossessed him of his AK47 riffle.

The police officer was said to be on admission at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Majia Musa, who confirmed the incident, said the mobile police officer, Sergeant Alhassan Sefiyanu, was shot by some gunmen at about 6 am yesterday.

Musa said: “The police officer saw three men who pretended to be in distress, and in his attempt to assist them got shot by the suspects, who took to their heels immediately. So far, no arrest has been made. But investigation is on to ensure their arrest.”


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/30062-boko-haram-invades-air-force-school-kills-three-officers.html

To them that have the DESTRUCTION of Nigeria in their HEART, Now you all can rejoice. CHAD will supply FUEL from the NORTH, While GHANA supllies ELECTRICITY from the SOUTH. A mere GEOGRAPHICAL expression!

Ghana’s ruling government has concluded plans to begin export of electric power to Nigeria and other West African countries by 2015.
The country’s Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, who unfolded the plan in Accra, on Tuesday, said the government has already embarked on extensive expansion of power infrastructure to enable them achieve the project.

Mahama explained that a key motivation for the investment was that Ghana presently has competitive advantage in the area of power supply over other neighbouring countries, including Nigeria, which is still grappling with massive power deficit for its estimated 150 million citizens.

The vice president, who spoke at a summit on Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact Two in Accra, said the country intends to consolidate on its existing energy infrastructures by exploring alternative sources of supply, including solar power and biomass resources, to ensure that the target of selling power to other West African countries was achieved by the next four years.

Mahama, who underscored the imperative of stable energy in the economic development of his country said Ghana was partnering the United States Government to realize the dream, stressing that raising the nation`s power generation would in addition create wealth and alleviate poverty among her citizens. It was in the light of that initiative that the Millennium Challenge Account Compact two was organized to seek ways of funding power generation and transmission and uninterrupted power supply.

Under the arrangement, the country intends to increase her current 2000 megawatts of electricity to 5000 megawatts with the hope of selling surpluses to needy countries including Nigeria. Also speaking, Ghana’s deputy minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini explained that the country would require about $1.7billion to meet its quest for universal access to power supply, pointing out the President Arthur Mills government had already received about $966.55million from bilateral and multilateral institutions in that regard.
Alhaji Fuseini said there was a` shortfall of about $729million against which background it considered MCA compact two was considered useful.

IT would be recalled that Ghana has one of the largest dams in the world had in 2009 celebrated her ten years of uninterrupted power supply. Authoritative sources say that the Akosombo Dam built by late President Kwame Nkrumah has the potential to supply the entire West Africa with electricity if fully utilized.

It would be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan had shortly after being sworn-in in May reviewed the nation’s power roadmap, raising fears that Nigeria may continue to live with power shortages in the foreseeable future.


http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/16/national-16-12-2011-001.html

Yar'adua was just POWER DRUNK. He held unto POWER under that condition?? I shudder.

On Tuesday morning, I got a call from Mr Yusuf Tilde, the Chief Security Officer to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who features prominently in my book, Power, Politics and Death. Tilde, who had helped to mobilise several people for the presentation (despite his grouse with what he considered my unfair treatment of him in the book) said he could not attend as promised because he was already on his way to Katsina. He didn’t wait for me to ask why before he added: “The chairman died yesterday”.

I was jolted by the shocking news and even today I still feel the pain. The `chairman’ to Tilde and all of us in the Yar’Adua team was Hon Sirajo Muhammed Mashi, a member of the Katsina House of Assembly and Chairman of House committee on Water Resources. Before then, he was chairman of a local government in Katsina. He was Tilde’s good friend but from 2007 he became my friend and that of others in the Yar’Adua team. Anytime we were in Katsina, his wife would prepare all manner of delicacies which he would bring for us both in the morning and at night. He was our host all the time. A very pleasant fellow, he was said to have developed illness a few days ago and he died on Monday.

As I prepared for the public presentation of the book last Tuesday, Mashi’s death helped to put the issues in their real perspective: Because death is inevitable at some unknown points in time, what will ultimately count are the little things we can do while we are still on this side of the divide. I will always cherish the memory of Mashi as I will that of my late boss and former President of Nigeria.

I had told myself right from my first day in office that I would share my experience whenever I was done but never in my wildest imagination did I envisage the dramatic nature of my assignment, especially during what turned out to be my principal’s last six months alive and in office, even though out of power. Now that the book is out, people can make their own conclusions but I am aware that the Associated Press (AP) review has already thrown up a number of issues though I will respond to only one. The issue of whether the timing was right or whether I should even have written was aptly dismissed on Tuesday by the book reviewer, Mr Mohammed Haruna, the presenter, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Yayale (who promised that in his own memoir he would fill all the gaps I either deliberately left out of my book or forgot).

The issue I quickly want to dismiss, however, is whether or not I went too far in the disclosure of the health condition of Yar’Adua. I did not. I was close enough to see a lot about Yar’Adua’s illness and will never disclose the sordid details because I want to respect his memory and also because they actually serve no useful purpose in my recollections. AP quoted two accounts from my book which I will rehash here. The first is what happened on April 12, 2008 when the 2008 was to be signed where I wrote:

Everything was therefore set for the signing of the budget on April 12, 2008, but early that morning, I got a call from the CSO that I had to come to the villa. On arrival at the residence, I saw the president exiting his study and I almost did not recognize him. His entire face had swollen to the extent that he could barely see. The problem, from what the doctor told me, began the previous week when the president started taking some malaria drugs which had been prescribed for him. A few days after it was noticed there was scarcely any improvement, another medication was recommended. But while it brought the needed relief from the malaria, it unleashed an allergic reaction that manifested in the form of a swollen face.

The Chief of Staff, General Mohammed who had been with the president since the night also recounted how dramatic the development was. He said before the president took the prescribed drug he actually hinted he was allergic to it but the doctors said it was not the same drug. But not more than a few minutes after taking the medication, his face began to swell up. By Sunday night the situation had deteriorated, necessitating a visit to the National Hospital where the Chief Medical Director, Dr Olusegun Ajuwon and a team of experts were waiting. Notwithstanding their efforts, the president was evidently in a very bad shape on April 12, 2008.

The budget signing was fixed for 10.00am and some correspondents had started arriving the villa. Meanwhile, efforts were being made to secure German visas for the security men and a few aides, including myself. For me, there was a big dilemma: how would the president sign the budget without being exposed to the public in the state he was in? I asked the Chief of Staff whether the budget could be assented to without any ceremony but he said the convention required that there be witnesses in which case the National Assembly’s principal officers had to be present. This information would be instructive in December 2009 when the supplementary budget had to be signed at a Saudi hospital with no witnesses.

Back in April 2008, it was a big challenge. After a meeting comprising the CSO, the ADC, Chief of Staff and me, we agreed that the budget would be signed at the dining table at the residence but with no media presence. We also decided that only the Senate President, the House of Representatives Speaker and the Special Adviser on National Assembly, Mrs. Florence Ita-Giwa would be present. I felt uncomfortable with the decision to black out the media, but chose not to argue my case at that point because I knew it was inconceivable I could win such debate. It was a matter I knew I had to take up privately with the Chief of Staff.

By 10am, many government officials from the Budget Office, Finance Ministry and National Planning Commission had arrived the Council chambers and were all waiting for the president. They had to be quietly dispersed with the explanation that the ceremony would no longer hold at the venue and at that time. Walking back and forth between my office and the residence, the CSO so casually dressed and the ADC in mufti, it wasn’t long before everybody in the villa sensed that something was amiss. While the reporters pressed for information about when the budget would be signed, all I could do was plead for their patience while reassuring them that the ceremony would hold that day. They had by then received information that the president was ill but putting off the signing till later in the day was based on the doctor’s advice that the swelling would reduce. That was actually the case.

At about 2pm, the president’s face had experienced a bit improvement. Emboldened, we felt the Senate President and the Speaker could be invited to the residence. At that point, I told the Chief of Staff that there was no way the president could sign the appropriation bill into law without a photograph of the event. I insisted that I would bring in the official photographer and the NTA cameraman, but explained that the shots would be taken from a sideways angle that would not reveal the president’s face.

It was a challenge persuading the CSO in that regard. But he would later acquiesce, so I brought in the NTA cameraman, Mohammed Adamu and the photographer, Kola Osiyemi. Before the president came out of the study to the dining table where the ceremony was to hold, we had scrupulously rehearsed where the camera would be positioned and how the shots would be taken, and were thus convinced we could successfully pull it off. With the arrival of Senator Ita Giwa, Senate President David Mark and the House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada as witnesses, the budget was eventually signed at 4pm.

This was an incident witnessed by several people so it was really no secret and more sinister versions were at that period actually published on the internet, especially with regard to the condition of the president before that trip. In any case, the president himself gave an account in his interview with the Financial Times where he made the famous quote: ‘I am a normal human being who can fall sick, who can recover, who can die’. The second incident is what happened in Togo as also recounted below in my book:

The Bayelsa trip was successful, but it no doubt took a toll on the president whose health even at the best of times was very fragile. By then, he had also decided he would attend the ECOWAS summit the next day in Togo because President Faure Eyadema had pleaded with him to attend. Twenty four hours later, we were in the small West African country. As was common at such events within the sub-region, the president alighted from the aircraft to a tumultuous crowd that had been stationed at the airport to welcome the visiting African leaders. That also meant he had to inspect a guard of honour!

Nobody anticipated any trouble until the president took about 20 steps and could not move again. As the drummers and dancers carried on excitedly, there was not much attention focused on him at that point. He whispered to the ADC who had by then moved close to him that he may fall if he took as much as another step. Moving quickly, Mustapha draped the lapel of the president’s babariga over his uniform so that no one would see his right hand which he had used to support the president while pulling him forward with his shoulder and right leg. Many in the ecstatic crowd watched the awkward but slow movement of the president. But the ADC succeeded in dragging him forward until he made a detour to enter the nearest room at the arrival hall. It was a public place, but all the officials were immediately cleared by a visibly worried Togolese president who helped the ADC to sit president Yar’Adua on a chair provided for him.

Because we were the last delegation to arrive the airport which was quite a distance from the town where the ECOWAS session was to hold, immediately the president’s aircraft touched down and camera had captured his arrival, all the journalists were directed to leave for the venue so that they would not be caught in the presidential convoy. That became the saving grace. Beyond the official photographers and cameramen who came with the Togolese president, there was no newsman around the airport from the private media to observe the unfortunate drama.

We stayed at the airport for a further thirty minutes while the doctor observed the president. When we eventually arrived the venue, rather than go for the meeting, the president moved straight to the room that had already been prepared for him. As people milled around, there were whispers that the Nigerian president nearly collapsed at the airport with varying accounts as to what happened. Given the incident, however, and sensing that it might not be wise to hold a session in public in the state the Nigerian president was, the ECOWAS leaders decided to have an informal closed-door session with no other officials present. It was only after the session had ended that someone came to where we were all gathered to read the communiqué.

In writing this book, I was not only mindful of the Nigerian environment, I was also conscious of the need to preserve the legacy of my late boss. But there were issues I could not just gloss over, especially as they related to the political crisis that followed the late president’s last trip to Saudi Arabia. On Monday at the Villa, President Goodluck Jonathan said he hoped that my effort would provoke other actors to write their own accounts and that is also my hope. That can only further enrich our democracy and help in the efforts to strengthen critical institutions to perform their roles expeditiously.

I owe a debt of gratitude for the successful presentation of the book to so many people but I can only mention a few here: Governors Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Peter Obi of Anambra, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, and Ibrahim Shema of Katsina. I also thank my chairman, Mr Nduka Obaigbena; Dr Lateef Adegbite; Ambassador Shehu Malami; Senator Ibrahim Idah; Amb. Gbenga Ashiru; Prof. Chukwuma Soludo; Mrs Sharon Kasali; General Godwin Abbe; Dr Sam Egwu; Mr Wada Maida; Dr Hassan Lawan; Mr Jim Ovia and Ima Niboro. Finally, I cannot fail to appreciate three people who have always associated with me either in good times (my children’s naming ceremonies, book launching etc) or in bad times (burial of my parents). Former GMD of NNPC, Mr Funsho Kupolokun, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Senator Tunde Ogbeha were there for me again last Tuesday. I can never repay the unmerited goodwill that I receive from them and the numerous others who graced the book presentation on Tuesday. For interested readers, the bookshops where they can get copies are advertised inside while for outside the country, I understand the book is now available on Smashwords. They can get iBook, Kindle, Nook or Kobo versions. The link is https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/112506. Details are on page 11 of today’s edition.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-yar-adua-years-/105080/

EVERYBODY, you can see how SUCCESSFUL the REVOLUTION is going. The Fed Govt. will reverse the subsidy cos your actions so far have SCARED them. HIP hip HURRAH !!!

& @ the end of the day, You all will blame PDP for Nigeria's  ( your )backwardness.

@ wily-wily, Yourbas are the most " EDUCATED & SOPHISTICATED" they do not revolt against anything.

Those that voted for Jonathan & not PDP where are you guys?

@ parisgoodman, SUSBSIDY, is a euphemism for CORRUPTION. Simply put, they're the same.

@ Jamine, typical Nigerian, can you provide the OP with the necessary tools he'll need to set yourself ablaze?

It's no longer a SECRET that GOVT has removed the almighty SUBSIDY and every Nigerian wants a change that he or she will BENEFIT from ( NOBODY WAN DIE ). Apparently they're going to buy fuel @ any cost and all the talk about REVOLUTION will continue to be a wish. TUNISIA, EGYPT, & YEMEN matched their words with action, In SYRIAN about five thousand people have died for a CHANGE.

To them that " voted for Jonathan & not PDP" did he promise you all that he will remove FUEL subsidy during his campaign?

To them that did not, do you think Nigerians BITE & not BARK @ their beloved RULERS @ this critical time ??

It will be business as usual.

To me, Nigerians will do NATIN!!!

^^^^
What do you want her to do? Pls tell me, Govs & Local govts collect their monthly allocation, only to LOOT the funds & head to Dubai to buy properties. National Assembly members does not want to cut the salary, as all sensible nations even in your so called BRENTWOOD, have trimmed down salaries & cost of running govts. EFCC have the records of all the looters, face them, not her. Jonathan refuse to declare his ASSETS, why? cos he is LOOTING the treasury. Ngozi, can only do her bit, that's it.

It will now become BRICN. Ok, let's wait and see.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said Monday that Nigeria could be on her way to joining the newly advanced economies called BRIC, made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

In a joint interview conducted for her and South African Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) yesterday, Okonjo-Iweala opined that Nigeria has all the fundamentals to be one of the BRIC nations.

“And I think that I always have this one saying that 'if you are not in Nigeria - and with all due respect and support to my colleague Pravin - you are not in Africa' because our fundamentals, that we are the largest country in terms of population, we are growing at a very respectable rate of 7 per cent and better for the past couple of years, and we have got not only the natural resource base but also the human resource base to be able to do better,” she said.

According to her, Nigeria is tackling several constraints that are holding her economy and industries back, like power.

“When we solve those problems, we are going to be in the low double digits and that will parachute Nigeria into the BRICS,” the minister said.

Prodded further by the interviewer, Ed Butler, on the representative role South Africa seems to be playing for Africa in every sphere, sports inclusive, Okonjo-Iweala said the way she feels is that the world needs to look towards the dynamics of what's happening with growth and development on the continent and not towards the statics of the past.

“And when you look towards dynamics, I think that we need more African countries at the table, and therefore that's why I think that Nigeria very soon merits a place alongside South Africa at these gatherings,” she said.

The minister stressed that having one African country on BRIC is good, adding that South Africa and Nigeria have very good relations.
She pointed out that a lot of investment in Nigeria comes from South Africa but mentioned that despite these, competition still exists.

“And I feel that as Nigeria's economy, the structural factors are cleared up and we compete, we should be at that table too. Yes, so our aspiration is to be at that table and I know we will be,” Okonjo-Iweala re-emphasised.
On the analysis by Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs, who coined the BRIC term and later talked about the "Next 11" beyond Brazil, China, Russia and India, Okonjo-Iweala accepted that Nigeria fits into this study.

She said: “… Nigeria comes into those. It is estimated that by 2050, Nigeria may have the third-largest population in the world. It's for all these reasons that my president, President Jonathan is at the moment really focusing on a programme that transforms the economy so we can remove those structural factors that are holding us back.”
On how this could be achieved, she said that 53 per cent of the last World Bank poll said the biggest problem of Nigeria is power and access to finance.

“So we have to address these problems square on. So these analyses make clear that Nigeria will make it provided it deals with these issues and that's why we are focusing on dealing with those structural issues,” she said adding that a clear problem Nigeria is looking at is that of job creation and growth in non-oil sector which, according to her, would “really help us parachute into those ranks”.

On the effect of global financial crises on Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala said this affects Nigeria in the sense that 60 per cent of the demand for the country’s product come from Europe and the United States at the moment even though attempts are being made to diversify markets.

She disclosed that what happens in the affected parts of the world is of a direct consequence to Nigeria when it translates through volatility in the prices of the commodities and products that Nigeria exports, volatility in currencies and stock market.

“At the time of the last crisis, we had a great impact on our stock market as people flew, there was a flight to safety and a flight to cover positions that were exposed in Europe and lot of people withdrew their money from the stock market, and all that kind of volatility is really not helpful to us,” she said.

Both Okonjo-Iweala and Gordhan agreed that Africa does not need bailout with Gordhan stressing that it is the developing countries that are bailing the developed part of the world out at this point in time.
Okonjo-Iweala emphasised that the developed countries could look at some of the lessons that come from the work that the developing countries have done or doing, and ask the question, “why are these economies now rebounding and sustaining growth?”

“It's because many of our economies, even in Africa, have gone through some of the challenges that the developed world is now going through. We have learned lessons. We have learned how to manage our economies in order to produce and promote sustained growth now,” she said.

According to her, after two or three decades of lost growth, Africa had learnt which policies make for good policies.

According to her, “We have learned to keep our debt at a sustainable level and to be consistent in terms of the way we manage our macro economy, and I think there are a few lessons there from the financial sector and from macro that could be offered.”


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-fit-to-join-bric-nations-says-okonjo-iweala/104939/

Lol, I told a friend last week that Nigerian's, GAYs & non GAYS will use this gay bill to seek asylum and here we are! fast dude

Several persons seeking compromise means of travelling and settling in parts of Europe and United States of America may have had a travel-made-easy process, as their claim to being gay could brighten their chances of seeking asylum in such countries.

Following the recent passage of the Same-Sex Prohibition Bill by the Senate, where a jail sentence of 14 years is prescribed for any offender, several Nigerians desperate to obtain entry visas to occidental countries, now claim persecution and discrimination on account of being homosexuals.

The United Kingdom and America have opposed the passage of the anti-gay bill in Nigeria, with the UK threatening to withhold aids to Nigeria if gay rights were not restored. The American President Barrack Obama has charged the US ambassadors to fight for the protection of gay rights, across board.

The strategy of hanging on to this window of curious opportunity is already playing out as a Nigerian student studying in the UK, who was facing deportation threat, recently claimed that he would be persecuted and even jailed in Nigeria if he was deported, because he is gay.

The student, Hope Nwachukwu, studying at Warwick University in the UK has claimed that he faces being whipped and jailed for up to 14 years in Nigeria after he was threatened with deportation by British authorities.

The 34 year-old asylum seeker, convinced fellow students to hold a candlelit vigil in Coventry to escape the wrath of the authorities and drive home his quest to remain in the UK.

Nwachukwu was apparently taking advantage of the recently passed bill by the Senate which stipulates a 14-year jail term for a person who enters the contract of marriage with a member of the same sex.

According to the Senate, a person – or group of persons – who witnesses, abets and aids the solemnisation of a gay marriage may receive up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of N5,000. The bill is, at present, with the House of Representatives for endorsement.

Coventry Telegraph reported that for Nwachukwu’s sake, students at Warwick University staged a talk and a candlelit vigil on the piazza outside the student union building to highlight his case.
He came to Britain in 2009 and began working in a warehouse with fake ID but was found out and kept in a detention centre for six months.

However, his supporters said UK’s Home Office views his case with suspicion because he has not been in a relationship since arriving in the UK.

Elsewhere at the Nigerian House in London, a demonstration was organised by Nigerians who wanted the Senate to reverse its earlier decision to ban same-sex marriage. But opposition against the practice has continued to mount as it is largely considered as a taboo and an act described as “grossly ungodly”.

The demonstration called “kiss-in” is organised by Nigerian gays in the Diaspora Against Anti-Same-Sex Laws. The group's Nigerian Coordinator, Yemisi Ilesanmi, said: “Outside the embassy, Nigerian LGBTI people and our allies will hold hands, hug and kiss as a gesture of defiance against the proposed ban on same-sex marriage and in solidarity with our Nigerian LGBTI brothers and sisters. Come and join us to kiss goodbye to this bill and the sodomy laws. International solidarity knows no borders.

“The new Nigerian bill aims to further criminalise same-sex relationships. Already, consensual same-sex conduct between adults is a criminal offence carrying up to 14 years imprisonment and in some parts of the country there is the death penalty under Sharia law.
“Lawmakers are fast tracking the bill. The bill has already passed its second reading," she added.

Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights lobby, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, will attend the kiss-in.

“This proposed new law violates the equality and non-discrimination guarantees of Article 42 of the Nigerian Constitution and Articles 2 and 3 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, which Nigeria has signed and pledged to uphold," Tatchell said,

But hard as the gay are fighting to kick against the coming law, most Nigerians from all walks of life and class have continued to commend the courage of the Senate in knocking a long nail in the coffin of gay practice in Nigeria.

Over the weekend, President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, declared that the Senate did Nigeria proud by passing the bill against same-sex marriage. Indeed, the Senate had dared the Western nations to withhold their financial aids, if it will be given in exchange for the desecration of the cultural values of Nigerians. Pastor Oritsejafor described the move to legitimise same-sex marriage as “an aberration and an abomination and it is evil like this that is shutting the heavens on us as a nation, because really something is not right with us as a nation”.

Another clergyman, Rt Rev Peter Adebiyi, the Anglican Bishop of the Lagos West Diocese, who has been virulent in his opposition of same-sex marriage especially in the church, has remained opposed to the practice and explained that homosexuality is a hindrance to the work of God among mankind


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/same-sex-bill-opens-door-for-asylum-seekers/104937/

@ Alhj_ Harem, I am not writing because I'm Igbo. I am a TRUTHELA, and look @ issues in the most OBJECTIVE way possible. FYI, nobody can change NORTHERN NIGERIA,it is what it is, U shold ask yourself this, why is it that HAUSA/FULANI's in GHANA, TOGO, NIGER, CHAD, CAMEROON, & MALI are not killing CHRISTAINS & MINORITIES the way people do in the NORTHERN NIGERIA? Mind you, this a foreign religion that was brought to them, now they want to practice it more than the INDEGINIOUS owners, thru constructive POGROM. Shame on 'em all.

@ Okija_Juju, I'm not a faceless coward. I'm Igbo. How do you want me to prove? by not saying the fact? Or not being OBJECTIVE? Too bad, I was not wired that way.

Most people  will read DAILY SUN NEWSPAPER and come to NL, & write CRAP about Igbo's and how they plotted the coup to take over Nigeria's political leadership. You'll do a good thing to your mind by reading into the HISTORY of post-independence Nigeria. Then, you'll realize that Igbo's were'nt on the BACK sit of POLITICAL & MILITARY LEADERSHIP of Nigeria. Nigerian state was badly structured and which has made it a BACKWARD nation, and someone ( Nzeogwu), wanted to redress but the REVOLUTION failed. The Igbo officers made a huge BLUNDER. Both Ironsi & Ojukwu made the same BLUNDER. Gowon, made the bigger BLUNDER, which I learnt that he is regretting. Consequently, Nigerian RULERS have been making the same BLUNDER, upon BLUNDER, from 1960- 2011. Tell what has CHANGED? Rather, the Igobs and Yourba's will be attacking each other, while the MONSTER that kept Nigeria down is busy SOLIDIFYING its GRIP on y'all, but you claim to be the MOST EDUCATED & EXPOSED. Shame on y'all, cos you keep FIGHTING the wrong ENEMY.

People should not allow sentiments to blind them irrespective of your TRIBE. READ, READ & read HISTORY with Objectivity. Nigerians & Foreigners have written about the FIRST coup in Nigeria. The fact remains that Nzeogwu initiated a REVOLUTION because the same thing that kept Nigeria backward today and his military colleagues from the North & South made an agreement to WIPE OUT the ROUGES in govt. Unfortunately, the Igbo folks BETRAYED Nzeogwu for no just cause. YOU DO NOT RENEGE ON AGREEMENT LIKE THAT. The BETRAYAL on the side of the Igbo offices made people to brand it Igbo coup, and if we can be HONEST with ourselves, calling it an IGBO coup is JUSTIFIED, given the OUTCOME of the coup. However, it is documented FACT that alot of Northern soldiers shared the same view with the HERO (Nzeogwu), consequently, the Northern soldiers led by Nzeogwu, planned and took care of their own Kaduna deal.

It will be recalled that the soldiers in Kaduna, were loyal to Nzeogwu, and he planned fighting his way to Lagos with the troops loyal to him,to get rid of Ironsi. It is imperative to let y'all know that Ahmadu Bello was a very powerful individual, with so many people gurading him and a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL (Nzeogwu), would'nt have dared to go after him. Futhermore, Nzeogwu & his troops witnessed a heavy fight when they went to Saraduna's house and he was so SECURE that Nzeogwu used a GRENADE to blow up his personal room and in the process he sustained injury. And when he got home with the injury,his roomate & best friend, Olusegun Obasanjo, asked him repeatedly, " WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU", cos he was not aware of the PLOT & his roomate, Nzeogwu, consider him ( Obasanjo ) a WEAKLING and not SMART enough to be carried along. UNfortunately, people like him REAPED where they did not SOW and ended up proving Nzeogwu RIGHT.

My fellow Igbo's, in all HONESTY, anyone that calls it Igbo coup,judging by the OUTCOME of the coup, might be RIGHT. If you are on the other side, you'll brand it an IGBO coup too. Mind you, his ( Nzeogwu's ),PLOT was for a REVOLUTION, but the outcome made it a COUP. Why and why did the rest Igbo officers RENEGED? Why? this should be the question? and their betrayal culminated to the POGROM and NOTHING, absolute NOTHING justifies the POGROM.

This I found intriguing, I'm yet to come across any ethnic group that condemned the pogrom, before and during the civil war, only the likes of Tai- Solarin & Wole Soyinka stood up against all that was going ON.

When it matters MOST, you always speak up against EVIL. Gani Fawehinmi, did same. Chinua Achebe, could have kept silent and pick the National Award, but he said NO & he told the rulers of Nigerias that all is not well. Fine, Segun can " serve" his country,but what did he do when it mattered the MOST? When Nigerians looked up to him to come out & say the TRUTH about why the country is ruderless, did he? No. Now he has written what he think is SELLABLE to make money. I'm glad that within the space of 2 years, he showed Nigerians the other side of him. History will JUDGE him, not his BOOK.

SEGUN ADENIYI, wrote so much against any govt, but when it mattered most, he could not talk, pls let him FOREVER remain silent, for all I care, he is a BLOODY HYPOCRITE & he's in the same category of those that LOOTED & destroyed Nigeria. A loser he is.

Lol, Action Man!

Subsidy Removal:i’m Ready For Mass Revolt –jonathan


President Goodluck Jonathan, at the weekend, vowed to take the option of social revolt from Nigerians than back down on his plan to withdraw the subsidy on fuel.
He said his insistence was informed by his knowledge that Nigeria’s economy will collapse in two years if the subsidy is sustained.

Sunday Sun learnt President Jonathan stated this at a meeting with the leadership of some civil society organizations at the President Villa in Abuja, which was also attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economic Team, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and her Petroleum Resources counterpart, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke

Notable names at the meeting included the former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Chidi Odinkalu, Sam Amadi, Dr Oma Nwokeocha and Emma Ezeazu.
Others are Mahmud Abdul, Ms Annkio Briggs, Tony Uranta, Emmanuel Onwubuiko, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani and Toyosi Akerele.

A source at the meeting, which lasted between 11pm and 3am, told Sunday Sun that the President explained why his government was bent on removing the subsidy.
He said the economy was on the verge of collapse and only an assured extra revenue can halt the slide. To the Presidency, that alternative revenue is proceeds from the removal of the subsidy.
Reminded that Nigerians were totally opposed to the move, Jonathan, according to our source, said he was ready to face uprising from the masses than allow the economy to collapse.
He listed ways the proceeds from the subsidy removal would be put to use for the good of the masses. For a start, he said a seven-member trust fund akin to the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) established during the late Sani Abacha administration would be set up to administer the extra revenue accruable from the subsidy removal.

He also told the civil society team that apart from constructing and rehabilitating some infrastructure, he would direct state governments to forward a list of 20,000 unemployed youths each for immediate engagement.
He equally pledged to use the proceeds to tackle maternal mortality and the decay in the education sector.
Most of the civil society members at the meeting however disagreed with the President and his cabinet members, asking him to look for alternative means of reviving the economy rather than creating more hardship for the masses.

Agbakoba reportedly told the President that the maritime sector was a goldmine for a robust economy any day if it is well tapped into and advised the government to diversify the economy by exploring other options.
Falana and Onwubuiko similarly disagreed with the President’s proposition, arguing that it would be defeatist for the government to narrow down Nigeria’s economy to oil revenue only.
They argued that since over-dependence on oil in the past never grew the economy, it would be absurd for the present administration to continue on the same path of economic retrogression.

Both of them also reportedly told Jonathan that most of what he was promising to do with the extra oil revenue were already accommodated in the budget even without subsidy removal.
Sunday Sun however learnt that one of the civil society members backed the government plan and suggested that it should step up enlightenment campaign to enable the public see the merits of the move.
Towards achieving this, the government is said to have budgeted heavily for an hyper e-campaign propaganda to sway Nigerians to buy into the policy. It has been running advertorials in the media on the planned subsidy removal.

But at the next leg of the e-campaign, it plans to inundate Nigerians with a propaganda bliss using the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.



http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/dec/11/newsbreak-11-12-2011-001.html

How many did the Police kill because of N20 ??

A grim picture of state of insecurity in the country came to the fore yesterday, as it was discovered that 602 police officers and men have been killed by dare-devil armed robbers and Boko Haram Islamist fundamentalists within the last five months.

Daily Sun investigations revealed that the police recorded 156 deaths in May 2011, the highest casualty figure within the period under review. Dozens of the personnel also reportedly sustained serious injuries in the line of duty, and in some cases, leading to permanent disabilities.

Available data on death benefits paid by insurance firms to families of deceased policemen at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, indicated that 143 officers and men died in active service in June, this year; 122 in August, 119 in September, and 62 in November.

Checks further indicated that apart from a few out of the total figure of deaths recorded within the period who were killed in mob action or accidents, a large number were victims of attacks by the Boko Haram sect in Abuja and in the North-east while some lost their lives in encounters with armed robbers. It was learnt that records of some others who died on duty were yet to be officially computed as at press time, even as there are increasing reports of policemen killed by bandits almost daily, across the country.

Expectedly, fear of the unknown has gripped most of the officers and rank and file, especially those involved in operational duties, just as some of them who spoke with Daily Sun on condition of anonymity, lamented that they were increasingly becoming endangered species. A Police Inspector, who didn’t want his name in print, said: “Our lives are no longer safe in the performance of our lawful duties. Whether it is broad daylight or at night, you have to keep praying to God to save your life as you put on the uniform and set out for work.

“Being a policeman has become a danger in itself, because apart from the fact that you are not loved by members of the society, the Boko Haram and armed robbers are waiting for you out there to put you out of circulation. The worst thing is that we do not even have the required weapons to confront them. And our men are dying like chicken everyday in large numbers. It is a sad development.” Reacting to the development, the Deputy Police Force Public Relations, Mr. Yemi Ajayi, neither disputed nor confirmed the figure of policemen who died in active service within the five months investigated by Daily Sun, but said it could not be described as alarming.

Ajayi, a Chief Superintendent of police [CSP], noted that the lives of policemen were exposed to danger whenever they were on duty, but however, gave assurance that the authorities are putting up more effective measures to ensure the safety of personnel. His words: “The number of policemen who died in active service cannot be seen as high or low based on the figure because death is death; the life of every policeman is sacrosanct. Every day the policeman goes out on duty his life is on the line, and that is why the authorities are showing serious concern over their safety. I do not know the source of your figures, but if it is from the insurance data, then it is authentic.

“There was a directive to the banks to provide armoured personnel carriers for policemen on escort duties. Though the level of compliance is not total, but it is appreciable in some major cities such as Lagos, Aba and Abuja. In Lagos for instance, there is a Police Trust Fund, which has helped in the safety of policemen with the purchase of several APCs for their use. Some other state governments are also complimenting the efforts of the banks by providing such facilities for police operations.

We hope that the situation would improve in due course.”
However, a frontline security promoter and National Co-ordinator of the controversial Police Equipment Foundation [PEF], Chief Kenny Martins, had told Daily Sun shortly after the bombing of the Force Headquarters in Abuja, that the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, didn’t possess the required weaponry to successfully confront the rampaging armed bandits or the Boko Haram menace, which claimed responsibility for the serial bomb blasts especially in the northern part of the country.

Martins, who spoke against the backdrop of his vast knowledge of the strength of police logistics including armament and other operational equipment in the course of executing PEF projects, said emphatically that the police could not in the present circumstances, frontally tackle the Boko Haram insurgence, describing the situation as hopeless. “What can the man [Ringim] do? Can he protect the Force Headquarters with bare hands? Then, if he cannot protect himself, how can he protect me or protect you where you are? Our police are just not well equipped to do the job; that is the reality. And from the look of things, where do we go from here, nowhere. We are just facing anarchy,” he declared.

Martins noted that PEF and a few security goons had long foreseen the emerging trend of armed banditry and terrorism, and were indeed, working towards averting the prevailing situation, but the efforts were thwarted by some powerful forces in government. His said: “We foresaw it; we said it that the trend of events and the deterioration of the security situation and circumstances in Nigeria nationally, and with individuals and corporate bodies was such that if you remembered, the banks were being robbed with bombs and the robbers would come and stay for eight hours all night long, blowing the banks up, and the police will not be able to get there.

“So, we foresaw all these things coming; and you know that once you are able to nip some of the other security problems in the bud, there is the tendency for the same people to apply themselves to other areas of our security challenges. What will be government's response? And let me tell you, all over the world, this is what we found out and this is where we still stand: no matter how much money ex-president Obasanjo, late Yar'Adua, and incumbent President Jonathan have kept aside, the government by itself cannot fund the resolution of security problems in Nigeria.

Let me tell you, the government's involvement in security is not up to 10 per cent of what is needed to solve security problems in Nigeria. Right now, as individuals and corporate bodies, we are spending 90 per cent as against the 10 per cent government is spending on security.”


http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/dec/08/newsbreak-08-12-2011-001.html

Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.

He was found guilty in June of 17 counts of graft, including trying to sell the US Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

At the sentencing in Chicago, he said he was "unbelievably sorry" and had made "terrible mistakes".

Prosecutors had requested a maximum sentence of 20 years, saying the 54-year-old knew he was breaking the law.

The former two-term Democratic governor has been ordered pay a $20,000 (£13,000) fine as part of his sentence, and will report to prison on 16 February 2012.

Correspondents say it is likely that Blagojevich will serve his sentence in a prison outside Illinois. He will be required to undertake eight hours a day of menial labour for 12 cents an hour and share a cell with other inmates. Family visits will be limited.

Blagojevich was arrested in December 2008 while still in office. His Republican predecessor as governor was also jailed for corruption.

He has been handed the harshest sentence of any of the four former governors of Illinois who have been sent to prison during the last four decades, the Associated Press reports.

'Life ruined'

In court, Blagojevich sat hunched forward with a blank expression as the sentence was read on Wednesday.

Afterwards, he brushed away tears from his wife's cheeks as he held her in the courtroom.

Pleading for leniency before sentencing, Blagojevich told Judge James Zagel he thought what he had been doing was "permissible".

Acknowledging his mistake, Blagojevich said he "never set out to break the law".

"My life is ruined, at least now," he said. "My political career is over. I can't be a lawyer anymore. We can't afford the home we live in; we're trying to sell it.


Antoin Rezko (centre), convicted on corruption charges, fundraised extensively for Rod Blagojevich "I realise that the things I thought were permissible, the jury has made abundantly clear were not."

He added: "Because of all that, I have jeopardised my ability to protect my children."

The admission of guilt came after years of insisting he was innocent.

Judge Zagel said that Blagojevich's appeal to the court did not mitigate his crimes.

"Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers when you wanted to do things that were only good for yourself," he said.

"When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired."

Bribes and extortion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15602816

Blagojevich was not immediately taken into custody and it is expected that he will appeal against the conviction.

He was also convicted of trying to extort campaign donations from business executives, and of soliciting bribes from racing officials.

One of his top fundraisers, Antoin Rezko, was sentenced last month to 10 and a half years in prison.

Prosecutors said: "Blagojevich engaged in extensive criminal conduct with and without Rezko, provided no co-operation, perjured himself for seven days on the witness stand, and has accepted no responsibility for his criminal conduct."

The defence argued that the former governor had already paid a high price for his actions through ridicule and financial ruin.

He was elected governor of Illinois in 2002 and served until 2009, when the state legislature threw him out of office following his arrest.

As governor, he was tasked under law with appointing someone to fill the Senate seat left vacant when Mr Obama won election to the White House.

In FBI wire taps, Blagojevich was heard describing the Senate appointment as a "golden" opportunity.

After the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the first trial, Blagojevich was found guilty second time round.