₦airaland Forum

Part of the reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari was voted into power in 2015 was the surging strength of the Boko Haram sect which was specifically occupying 14 Local Government Areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria. The regular guerrilla attacks by their foot soldiers gradually dented the popularity of the ex President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan till what was left only qualified him for an exit from the Aso Rock Villa.

The kidnap of the 276 Chibok school girls in 2014 was a knock-out punch to the second term bid of the ersthwhile leader. As the numbers of Internally Displaced People in the North-east swelled into millions with several other women and girls constantly kidnapped amidst invasion of military baracks, police stations and destruction of schools with most terrorist attacks going unreported by the media, fear gripped the people and they began to crave for a messiah. But is there really a messiah here? Not even a fore-runner like the Biblical John The Baptist is in sight.


President Buhari's military background especially with his rise to the post of a Major General in the Nigerian Army and his ironhand rulership as Head of State within 1983-1985 gave the people the phantom feeling that he could probably lead the Nigerian troops from the front just as we used to have it during the medieval period where kings commandeered military operations from the forefront.

Since the All Progressives Congress, APC took over power, what we have seen in the last three years is the constant politicization of the war against terrorism and a highly publicized victory laced with calculated propaganda. This doesn't mean the Buhari administration hasn't made progress against Boko Haram but the more the government sells the false narrative that Boko Haram has been 'technically' defeated, the more the group paints the roads in the north-east with fresh human blood. In factual terms, a 25th of January, 2018 report by BBC Monitoring shows that at least 967 people were reportedly killed by Boko Haram attacks in 2017, an increase on the previous year when 910 deaths were reported.

News of Boko Haram attacks have become so normal that Nigerians have decided to live with it just like the challenge of poor economic growth, corruption, inadequate infrastructural facilities, and unemployment in the country.

With the Boko Haram sect brazenly kidnapping and returning the Dapchi school girls in broad daylight like scenes taken from a Nollywood movie coupled with the intensification of ground assaults and suicide bombings; the government appears to be running out of lifelines.

The government is no doubt overwhelmed by the 9-year battle which has no end in sight. There seems to be no other military or ideological option to curb the menace of the Boko Haram sect as it has intelligently made the Federal Government its greatest financier by kidnapping for ransoms whenever they are broke or probably need to secure the release of some of their arrested top commanders for operational purposes.

Today, President Buhari who seems to have exhausted his arsenal is apparently begging members of the Boko Haram sect with amnesty. The mind-boggling part of the offer is that Boko Haram alleged to be decimated appears uninterested in a truce. The Federal Government has been caught negotiating from the weak side which is highly detrimental to our existence and recognition as a country.

The call for amnesty for Boko Haram members by the current administration amounts to the following;

(1) The gross failure of the entire security apparatus in Nigeria:

One could safely conclude that Boko Haram has overstretched the combination of the Nigeria Police Force, Directorate of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Civilian Joint Taskforce, National Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Air Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy (possibly) and other constituted bodies that could thwart the operations of the sect. Even the massive funding of these bodies by the government has refused to give them the needed edge against the amateur fighters of the Boko Haram group.

(2) Poor intelligence gathering:

One of the reasons why the Boko Haram fight has lasted this long is the failure of the government to gather credible intelligence about the group and judiciously work on it. Its almost a decade now and the financiers of the sect are still elusive. The government has also struggled to plug their source of finance which is the backbone of their operations. How do they smuggle in weapons to the country unnoticed?
Security operatives have now been reduced to mere spectators following the media utterances of private citizens like Ahmad Salkida, Aisha Wakil (Mama Boko Haram), the spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, Ango Abdullahi to understand Boko Haram.

(3) Complicity on the part of the government:

The Boko Haram war has become the cash cow of every administration. Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki allegedly siphoned $2.1 billion arms deal funds and President Buhari is set to scoop $1 billion to buy military equipment to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency although many believe the controversial withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account is to prosecute the 2019 presidential election. Since the battle has become a conduit pipe for diverting public funds, every administration would never want to end it. The late General Sani Abacha further confirmed it that "if insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, the government has a hand in it".

(4) Rewarding an unrepentant prodigal son with gold:

The war against terrorism has been frustrating as it is not a conventional war and the Boko Haram sect appears uninterested in holding territories any longer as its perceived new strategy. It only relies on lethal surprise attacks for now and its working. This present administration is hastily interested in scoring cheap political points at the expense of morality especially as the next election approaches. The group doesn't deserve amnesty like the Niger Delta militants were given by the late President Musa Umaru Yar'Adua in 2009. They don't have a valid cause compared to the Niger Deltans who have been sidelined and marginalized of their own birthright. The establishment of an Islamic caliphate through means of conquest is a tall dream in this modern world.

(5) Exposure of the detrimental gap in technological advancement in Nigeria:

The manner in which the Boko Haram sect kidnapped 110 Dapchi girls and also returned them reeks of how poor our security surveillance system is. There was no drone to capture their movements or helicopters to give them a hot chase as well as a remote sensor to tap into their communication network as we have seen in developed countries. In a place like Russia or the U.S, someone could have planted a transponder on the body or vehicle of the terrorists while they carelessly shook hands with residents of the Dapchi town during the drop-off. An operation like that would have given us the coordinates of their base for appropriate aerial bombardment and other military operations.

(6) Portraying the Nigerian government as weak before the international community:

With the Federal Government proposing amnesty which the supposed decimated Boko Haram sect doesn't find attractive, it shows who is truthfully winning the war although the terrorists overtime have nothing to lose. The deployment of all the powerful machineries of state against the sect have failed thereby prompting the option of negotiation and concessions with the ambassadors of wanton and senseless killings. Our sovereignity has been further undermined and mortgaged as initially done by the news of 'back-channel' negotiations and alleged ransom payment to the terrorists for hostage release.

(7) Wastage of scarce economic resources:

The Federal Government is already expending over N541 billion in settling the amnesty deal signed with Niger Delta militants over the years. There is a possibility that the Boko Haram members might be incorporated into a similar financial scheme which will further weigh down the national budget. I am sure it was on this note that an Environmental Rights Activist and convener of Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement, NDSDM, Ann Kio-Briggs said revenue generated from the oil-rich region shouldn't be used to resettle terrorists as it is imminent.

( Emboldening of other fresh militias:

An offence that goes unanswered is bound to multiply. Till date, we have several militant groups operating in the Niger Delta region craving for the attention of the Federal Government. Embracing the Boko Haram and integrating a misfit like Abubakar Shekau into the society will inspire other budding armed groups already threatening the faltering security system of Nigeria to fully manifest. There is no guarantee that some of the Boko Haram fighters who have been exposed to the short term benefits of crime will not melt into other splinter cells to commit further crimes as they are already accustomed to.

(9) Indication of President Buhari's soft spot for the insurgents:

Buhari amnesty proposal appears preconceived and has always been a viable option on his agenda list even before he became President in 2015. It would be recalled that in 2013, President Buhari lamented on the declaration of State of Emergency in Boko Haram's worst-hit states - Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States under the Jonathan administration. He likened the Boko Haram insurgency to the Niger Delta militancy in the south faulting the military approach of the government to the Boko Haram insurgency. ( See 'Buhari faults clampdown on Boko Haram members' - The Nation, June 2, 2013 report).

(10) Furtherance of disunity among ethnic groups:

Granting amnesty to Boko Haram which has killed over 20,000 Nigerians, displaced over 2 million people, destroyed infrastructural facilities worth billions of naira amidst other vast damages will further fan the embers of disunity in Nigeria considering Buhari's ill-treatment of unarmed secessionist group - Indigenous People of Biafra in the South-east. Some members of the group were maimed, incarcerated and others killed as brute force was applied to cripple their activities. Their ringleader, Nnamdi Kanu is missing till date. The moderately peaceful group has been proscribed after being tagged a terrorist cell despite not being in the class of Boko Haram as the international community acknowledged. This indication of favouritism will further deteriorate the level of disunity in Nigeria.

The amnesty proposal is another wild goose chase and dance of shame by the government as the top commanders of Boko Haram like Abubakar Shekau, Shuaibu Moni and Abu Musab Al-Barnawi are fully aware that they can never be reintegrated into the society again due to the level of bloodshed and destruction they have orchestrated in the north-east.

Their entire family and lineage will forever be stigmatized worse than the Boko Haram kids and their wives and history will never be fair to them. They will rather choose to die in their chosen cause as martyrs with their names written in gold in their world of terrorism.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and a political scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/what-granting-amnesty-to-boko-haram.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique Airforce1

In an interview with 60MINUTES.com, African Duchess who goes by the Instagram handle: african_duchess_supremacy opens up on her perception of sex.

She is a popular Nigerian lady on the platform who is never scared to bare her curves for the world to see.

Read her words below:

I love sex guys don’t get me wrong,as a matter of fact i have huge appetite for it.But the way the society now see sex as something you can buy on OLX is not looking normal anymore.

Yeah one night stand etc can be normal for a lady that doesn’t want to get emotionally attached to anyone due to some past and emotional trauma but all the same there should be self respect,class and dignity.

I have dated few guys in my past or let me say fling few guys and we don’t talk anymore but when they slide in my DM they talk to me with respect and mind their speech this is simply because i positioned what we had as something of respect and something we both enjoyed and valued I didn’t low my standard simply because i enjoyed the whole thing but i made a mark that gives the understanding of “Dude we both enjoyed this”. Fling is far different to prostitution or being a lose woman,don’t mix them process of flinging comes with circumstances for instance i have stayed calibrated for 1 year and some months but needed sex and still don’t want it to come with drama all I need to do is link up with a man that I know he talks to me with respect understand that right now this is nothing serious this is just us two mature people trying to enjoy the moment . This is far different from when I have to spread my legs for money or make sex an obligation.

Social media lately has been terrible with the way it has painted sex as a normal thing,guys it is not a normal thing it is something you should have with self respect don’t let all this reality shows and American life gets to you,if you meet this one knack am meet that one knack am before you go knack father and son with uncle you won’t know and Karma will slap you right in the face.
Lately people said there is no big deal having sex on TV etc,my dear it is a big deal if you want to be a porn star be a porn star you can’t go on national tv get bleeped and later coming out being brand ambassador and thinking that’s the goal,what about the goal for the future the record and legacy you want to keep ?

Let’s be careful about our sex life,have sex Bleep your brain out but please guys let’s do it with respect and dignity.


source: http://www.60minstv.com/duchess-plus-size-model-i-love-sex-but-i-wont-let-social-media-help-me-think-sex-is-a-normal-thing/

I was at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State for a proposal presentation last month - March when a former colleague during my Masters Degree days informed me that he was working on the 'Role of Religious Institutions in Politics'.

This might sound awkward and irregular but there is much sense in his work. In Nigeria and across the world, we have seen religious groups majorly the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others which command large followership influencing the voting patterns of their members who align with the words of their spiritual leaders from the pulpit as it is assumed to have divine inputs.

As a former British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the church (Redeemed Christian Church of God), the Neasden Hindu Temple and Sikh gurdwara while canvassing for votes during the election campaign of 2015, so also was President Donald Trump able to create a formidable support base among the White Evangelicals in the United States of America in 2016 and former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan apparently did a church tour ahead of the 2015 presidential election to garner political support.

That being said, advancement in Information Communication Technology (ICT) today also plays a key role in influencing political decisions in the world.

The increased usage of the internet and social media has technically turned all netizens to citizen journalists as well as boosting communications among people. This has enhanced political consciousness, participation as well as establishing a viable channel of communication between the electorate and their representatives in government. Apart from the merits, social media advent has also brought its ills, part of which we have Fake News, hate speech proliferation as well as privacy breach and others which don’t constitute the focus of this piece.

In the past, news was majorly propagated through the broadcast media involving the television and radio as well as the print media - newspapers after it must have been well vetted by professional hands to prevent creating undue panic and disruption in the society through misinformation.

Today, committing sedition and subversion through propaganda has become too undemanding. You can write any bland or unverified claim or story and drop it on your WhatsApp or Blackberry Messenger, BBM urging people to share among their contacts and most people will obey without even reading the details. People go as far as uploading such adverse contents on personal blogs. Such sensationalized contents get massively plagiarized by other bloggers hungry for traffic to boost revenue.

This might make it to Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Google Plus and Twitter with people sharing, regranning and retweeting to boost its outreach. If the purveyor of the news has some funds to spare, he might just sponsor the post with some money to reach thousands of people who might believe without considering the veracity of the news.

In May, 2017; seven men were killed in two vigilante mob attacks in state of Jharkhand, central India over rumours on the messaging service WhatsApp warning of strangers who were abducting children.

The stories proved entirely false. At the gory scenes of jungle justice, misguided crowds swelled to more than 500 over several hours and the victims were tortured to death. According to the police, the men who were killed were innocent passers-by.

Recently, Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage was shocked that her death was announced on a Facebook page to serve as click baits. Social media interactions have also increased the flow of hate speeches with people from different ethnic groups using unprintable names and expressions against each other while debating on mostly political issues. All these have further divided Nigerians with citizens showing loyalty to their states of origin rather than the country. I am sure it was on the note that the missing separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra was able to rapidly win the hearts of millions of people of South-eastern and South-southern extractions as the seeds of discord were already sown in their hearts.

Tracking Fake News and Hate Speeches on social media has become a herculean task even the under fire programmer, Mark Zuckerberg might not have answers to.

Furthermore, in an era of big data and Fake News, political leaders are changing the way they campaign. What you post on social media is being watched and used. What you see is being crafted to influence your perception.

The Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal which is still unravelling has proved beyond reasonable doubts that social media platforms are not mere playgrounds anymore. Personal details of people are being retrieved and sold to questionable people who in turn send you contents that could influence your thought process.

Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm which combines data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication for the electoral process boasts it can find your voters and move them to action through data-driven campaigns and a team that includes data scientists and behavioural psychologists.

In a nutshell, personal details here are being used to manipulate political views for money which is termed 'Psychosocial profiling'. Facebook makes money by selling digital advertising spaces with annual revenue that amounts to $40 billion. About 1.4 billion people log on to Facebook everyday making the platform a big market for advertisers. Cambridge Analytica is accused of using the data of over 50 million Americans harvested from Facebook through a sham personality test that initially engaged about 270,000 participants to target and manipulate U.S voters during the 2016 presidential election in favour of President Donald Trump who has since distanced himself from the company.

Cambridge Analytica also reportedly interfered with the outcome of the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom according to a whistleblower, a former director of research at Cambridge Analytica - Christopher Wylie.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya also is believed to have consulted the U.S-based company in 2013 and 2017 for campaign strategies during presidential elections. The self-acclaimed giant of Africa, Nigeria was also touched by Cambridge Analytica. The company reportedly influenced the 2007 presidential election won by late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The Guardian, a British newspaper had also reported that in the run up to the 2015 election, Strategic Communication Laboratories, SCL (parent company of Cambridge Analytica) was hired by a wealthy Nigerian who supported then incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, to sway the polls. It said Cambridge Analytica worked with people they believed were Israeli computer hackers, who offered it access to private information about Muhammadu Buhari, of the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

From Indonesia (in 1998) to Thailand, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company also influenced Southeast Asian politics where it did a test-run of its work model. In total, SCL claims to have worked on more than 100 election campaigns across 32 countries.

Applications that do personality tests have a way of harvesting data of participants and also that of their friends without their knowledge. A school of thought has it that the scandalous business model of Facebook is what the platform was built for as it makes it easy for advertisers to target their potential customers and there is a strong possibility that it would be business as usual for Facebook when the dust raised is settled.
Christopher Wylie has described the act of data grab as a form of harm and damage to the political process. According to him, cutting edge technology has shown that the computer has a better way of understanding human behaviour better than human beings.

"On social media, you curate yourself; you post so much information about who you are in one single space. Whenever you go and you like something, you are giving me a clue as to who you are as a person and so, all of these could be captured very easily and run through an algorithm that learns who you are. When you go to work, your co-workers only see one side of you, your friends only see one side of you but a computer sees all kinds of sides of you. And so we can get better than human level of accuracy in predicting human behaviour" he said while speaking with the British public service, Channel 4.

The whistleblower believes there is a dangerous alchemy to Cambridge Analytica's art.

[i]"There is lack of awareness, it is coercive. If I am studying you and I have enough information about you because you have curated your entire self online and I capture that, I can anticipate what are your mental vulnerabilities, what cognitive biases can you display in certain situations and I can exploit that" [/i]he added.

From stimulating U.S Republican campaigns, to election in Africa, Asia and beyond, Cambridge Analytica are now the big data strategist with a big name and little time for ethics.
The issue of Russian meddling in the U.S election which prompted Zuckerberg to consider going back to the basics of the foundation of Facebook is centred on his company. As long as the Russians had about $1.25 million to spend for advertisement per month, their political messages were delivered to the door steps of their target audience via social media. Russia has constantly denied meddling in the U.S election or a possible collusion with Trump in the face of a deep investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Facebook has also been monitoring calls and text messages of users using Android phones for years without their knowledge with call logs stored up although this could be deactivated. This scandal has continued to cost Facebook billions of dollars and if events continue to go south, this might mark the downfall of Zuckerberg. Facebook business model is now under scrutiny and last week Thursday, its shares lost $50 billion in market value.

If Facebook is found guilty of privacy violation by the Federal Trade Commission, FTC (a constituted body in America whose principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anti-competitive business practices) Facebook might pay a sum of $40,000 for each case of privacy violation in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Multiply that figure by the over 50 million cases and the possible end of Facebook is what you will get.

Facebook is not alone; Google Inc also has some questions to answer. An investigation by Quartz discovered that smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system continued to track a user’s general location even when location services were turned off, the phone didn’t have a SIM card, and no apps were installed. As long as the device was connected to the internet, it transmitted the address of nearby cellphone towers back to Google’s system that’s used for push notifications and messages. This could predispose phone users to a huge security risk.

The Google map also has a way of tracking the movements of users when installed on phones and Google Street View technology has been rejected by some countries e.g. India over expected privacy invasion, spying and security breach. There are fears that this could be utilized by terrorists and other criminals to orchestrate mayhem.

Email marketing also constitutes a nuisance in Nigeria with private e-mails of people being surreptitiously sold to third parties who end up harassing you with unsolicited emails to create awareness about certain goods and services.

The Facebook data scandal might be bigger than what we can see at the surface level. The simple conclusion is that social media is not as safe as it was touted to be thereby turning people into puppets in the hands of some faceless programmers.

In the 21st century where smartphones have become the greatest companion of people and social media is their popular destination on the internet, more millions of people will be subjected to political manipulations as we have seen in the controversies surrounding the 2016 U.S election.

In summary, the role of social media in today's political process can't be overemphasized and its abuse should be curtailed by constituted authorities so that it will not be used to undermine democracy.

Written by Osayimwen Osahon George, a journalist and political scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/04/facebook-data-scandal-malicious-role-of.html

OSAYIMWEN OSAHON GEORGE of Tori News has released the latest edition of the well-read 'Diary Of A Lagos Bachelor' focusing on a woman of enigmatic character as gathered.

The economic conditions in Nigeria have been quite harsh thereby turning most exuberant single men into emergency 'Born Again' Christians who have learned to appreciate and marry their beds on Friday nights instead of clubbing.

With over 7 million people losing their jobs in the last three years, you just have to save your earnings against any incident of famine in the land.

Mike never felt like spending the Friday night alone. Friday nights are like festivals in Lagos for most fun-loving single men who have worked hard throughout the week. Its either you are engaging in an indoor affair e.g. bringing her home for the night or you are doing it outdoors i.e. clubbing.

Considering his very fragile bank account status, Mike settled for his bed. He returned to his dark house as there was no light, had a shower, enjoyed the big pineapple fruit he bought on the street and hit the room for a nice sleep after raising the curtains of his room for fresh air. It was not his ideal night but an austerity period ushered in by the Buhari administration demanded common sense to prevent undue loan applications to unwilling friends before the end of the month.

As 'early' as 10pm, Mike was already sleeping but he got an unusual call an hour later from someone. He grabbed his phone which was beside him on his bed and it was his friend Simeon, a legal practitioner working in one of the top law firms in Lagos State.

"Hello... How far na? Sorry to disturb you. I hope you are alone boss? I am coming to pass the night at your place." he said.

"Baba. E don late na. Wetin happen? The gateman would have locked the gate oh" Mike replied in an unstable tone.

"Boss, I close late for work jor. I can't make it home this night. I will call you when I get to the gate of your house" he replied.

In less than less than 20 minutes, Simeon was already at the gate. Fortunately for him, the gateman of northern descent identified him as a regular visitor and allowed him in. He made it to Mike's flat as soon as possible. Simeon immediately expressed his desire to eat. His hunger was double. He wanted to feed his mouth as well as his waist. Simeon's s*xual urge wasn't new to Mike. They were friends during their university days and Simeon has always been gracious with his third leg.

Mike switched on the TV as power was already restored to keep him entertained while he prepared some noodles at the kitchen. The clock was already approaching 12am at this point.

Despite being married and having a child, Simeon has remained unrepentant with his waist. He has graduated from sleeping with just one to doing them in twos. He tends to taste from the girls in every state or African country his firm posts him to work and his gist is very intoxicating. Some of them could heal an impotent man due to the erotic depth. This time around, Simeon was at it again with his s*xcapades.

"You wouldn't believe I entered one hotel on my way here to ease some stress but the girls I approached for a short time service were skeptical because I wore a suit. They felt I was a federal agent who was on an investigative assignment. Most of the girls didn't even look good at all. I am sure their services will be as bad as their physical appearances" he said as he fiddled with the DSTV remote.

"You are already used to bad things, so you really wanna have s*x this night? Mehnn...go to bed jare." Mike advised.

Simeon wasn't ready to sleep without mounting something. He devoured his hot noodles voraciously and searched his phone contacts for numbers of girls who offer 'home services'. It was already midnight and no hustler was ready to risk it. Simeon had no choice than to hide his erect manhood in his boxers and sleep off.

The next morning, Simeon insisted on inviting a girl over. One would have thought marriage reduces the urge people have for s*x or even make them more disciplined. But it’s like the randy men never change, It only gets worse. They tend to see marriage as a bondage over time, they will tell you sleeping with one woman is like eating rice and stew non-stop over a year and there's no way one will not beg for Egusi soup and Eba at some point.

Simeon just wanted to taste a different soup to refresh his head. Mike who is a veteran in the field but currently incapacitated by the struggling economy brought out his phone and started dialing numbers.

Much focus was on a beautiful hooker in FESTAC Town who smartly maintains a low profile just like the notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans. It was hard to reach her due to the high demand for her services by the public. After her, a voluptuous student who shuttles between Bayelsa State and Lagos State was also contacted but she wasn't available. Mike scrolled his contact list for more numbers until he found that of one busty Amarachi who seemed to have had an overdose of s*x all through the night as she kept responding as if she was drunk. She was still in bed and quite fatigued probably after serving many men.

Simeon was almost losing hope when Mike suggested that he could lay with a 36-year old woman identified as Sister Precious.

"Baba make I call one Sister Precious for you? (Showing Simeon her picture on WhatsApp)." Mike asked. Simeon nodded in acceptance, the call was made and the response of Sister Precious was very positive.
"Merely seeing her, she might not be your preferred choice but her skills, physical endowment, energy, passion and reliability stand out" Mike told him.
Looking impressed, Simeon decided to try her out and Mike made the call. Precious seemed excited as she promised to be at Mike's house which she is familiar with in a matter of minutes.

Precious is a very strange person who might even be a ghost if one decides to trace her roots. Mike met her on a dating application late in 2017 and the duo has enjoyed a smooth sexual relationship. It’s cheap dealing with Precious. She loves s*x and she concentrates more on satisfying herself and not just the money. She would demand for alcohol on some occasions to enable her go ballistic on a client during s*x.

Precious is very discreet about her trade, she is well covered up, no weird hairstyles, no strange make-ups, tattoos, nose rings or any indications that have to do with harlotry. Her stealth nature was just like the Cali drug cartel in Colombia. She appears like that innocent friend who came to discuss that state of the nation and maybe personal issues. Nobody really knows where she stays. When traced on Facebook, it appeared that she might be married with kids but she never talks about that aspect of her life and Mike never cared to know.

The demand for her services is quite high as she could be seen always replying messages from her potential customers on WhatsApp. The s*x trade in Lagos moves faster than petrol; the fabulous lifestyles of some less busy and self acclaimed Nollywood actresses supplies an evidence.

While others might charge so much for just a round or two for the show, she challenges her customer for an unlimited match. This simply means we can have s*x till one of us passes out.

Her hips are as massive as the fresh yams from Benue State and her bum is like the head of a whale if one is not exaggerating. You even find it hard to see between her legs when she sits down. But she is not lazy, despite her size, she is as strong as a village wrestler and she is comfortable with all positions. Her moans sound like the trumpet of a baby elephant.

She is not the most beautiful woman but she will give you more than the value of your money. She likes it rough and hard. She likes her bogus backside been slapped like it’s done in adult films. She offers oral s*x on a free will note. While some Lagos 'Runs girls' guard their breasts jealously to prevent manhandling by Hot men, she begs for hers to be fondled and sucked.

"On a particular occasion, I lost appetite for food after sleeping with Sister Precious. I exhausted my energy and I was wobbling. I only took milk solution constantly till the next day to regain my fitness. It has never happened to me before. On getting home, she messaged me on WhatsApp that she is so proud of me" Mike recounted to Simeon who was becoming too eager to meet her.

In less than 20 minutes, Sister Precious had arrived. Mike led her into his room and informed her that it was his friend who wanted her. She smiled and started taking off her clothes for business without any mention of her charges.

Simeon is stronger than a horse; he entered the room as Mike gave him a go ahead as he kept his distance for privacy purpose. In seconds, the bed stand was already quivering. Two warriors of years of meritorious service on the battlefield were locked in a contest. As Mike took a stroll, he knew there was going to be a story to tell from either of the parties.

Simeon soon called that he was done with the first round. He rejoined them and Precious appeared overly excited like she had collected money from the popular Ponzi scheme, MMM.

"This your friend is too strong, the condom even broke. I am sure he took something intoxicating. His energy level is strange" Precious said amidst smiles as she awaited a second round.

As Simeon and Mike cracked jokes over a plates of rice and salad with beef, Precious was restless as she fiddled with Mike's manhood. Mike also used that juncture to have a feel of her for free. She joined their conversation as if they are her close friends and she kept laughing. She really felt at home which a rarity among pleasure workers in Lagos as they are mostly hostile and overly quiet mostly due to inferiority complex.

Looking into Mike's eyes, she asked; "How come you haven't contacted me this year? Anyway, happy New Year oh."

"I have missed you but you know the state of the Nigerian economy. It’s cheaper to be a good boy in recent times". Mike replied.

“You must prepare for yours (s*x) before I go even if it’s a round". She said.

At that moment, Mike whose manhood had ears developed an erection which he couldn't hide. Simeon after taking his bath demanded for his second round and the show started with Sister Precious on top. It was so fierce that the bed stand almost collapsed. The bed stand was literally complaining as they banged. Both parties switched positions severally till Simeon exploded in her. As Simeon came out of the room sweating like a Christmas goat as they say, Sister Precious called Mike into the room. She was still half-n*ked. She asked for Mike to pay her a token and take his shot. It sounded like a compensation for the link which she liked.

Mike gave her some money, wore a condom and she was on bed again hitting him from top with her mountainous breasts flapping like a hand fan as Mike thrust deeply. He demanded for a doggie and she obliged him. Sister Precious took a position like it was done in the blockbuster movie, Spartacus and plugged in his prodigal organ.

The position was perfect. It was as if he was tickling her womb. In no time, she started moaning. She shook her bum as he humped for sensational effects. It was so pleasurable that Mike felt like dying in the process. He didn't just want to have a taste of the unending drama called life anymore. He forgot about all his challenges at that moment.

"Let me be truthful with you for once, I felt like Mark Zuckerberg for the first time in my life as I climaxed in her. She didn't want me to stop. She was ready to go on and on but she still gave me that appreciative look" Mike told this journalist.

He dashed off to the bathroom for a cold shower. He was breathing hard as a high volume of water at a top velocity poured on his body through the shower. He made no effort to use his hands as he reminisced over his shot. It was quite commendable. He felt so relieved!

Before he finished, he heard his door being opened and shut simultaneously. His guess was right; Sister Precious was gone after wearing her usual innocent makeup like nothing ever happened.

As Mike stepped out of the bathroom after washing himself, Simeon looked at him and said;

"I have never seen someone like her in my life. She was really worth it. She enjoys her job. I doubt if she can ever be satisfied by a man born of a woman"

"I really doubt" Mike replied as he used the towel to clean his body.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/03/tale-of-lagos-woman-sister-precious-who.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Dominique Airforce1 Obinoscoppy

Tope Adebayo of Advanced People Democratic Alliance on Friday met with party faithful in Moba Local Government Area as he intensifies consultation with his teeming followers at the grass root.

At the gathering of more than 1,200 supporters and members of the fastest growing political party in Ekiti State, Tope Adebayo declared readiness to battle for Ekiti’s top seat in a bid to serve the people of the state.

In his welcome address, Mr Oladunjoye Abiodun, the Local Government Chairman of APDA in Moba Local Government congratulated Tope on the enormous momentum his campaign has gathered within the shortest time possible.

He declared that the people of Moba are not known to be political cowards and they always follow who they decide to follow till the end. Mr Oladunjoye also confirmed the feelers from the average Ekiti indigene that wants a radical and conscious move away from the political class that has impoverished the people of Ekiti and turned them into beggars.

In closing his address, the chairman, Mr Oladunjoye Abiodun on behalf of the people of Moba showed appreciation to Tope Adebayo for leaving his comfort to via for the office in order to redeem Ekiti State.

In Tope Adebayo’s response, he appreciated the courage of the people to take back their government, own it and make it work for them. He said ‘I am happy to be here today amongst you and I want to congratulate you for standing up for the revolution that is ahead of us. The destiny of Ekiti is in our hands and we must come together to make it work’.

‘I am one of you, not only because I am young but for the fact that my parents who were poor farmers raised me in this state, I schooled here and I have never been far away from home. I know where the shoe pinches’.

Tope assured his teeming supporters of economic prosperity after three years of taking over the government of Ekiti State.

He said the state apparatus would be mobilised to ensure that we revive technical education, make agriculture friendly and equip the people of Ekiti with the knowledge they can exchange for value in the wealth creation chain.

Source: Tori News

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique

One of the popular housemates at the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show - Tobi Bakre has revealed he earned a meagre sum of money during his time in the banking sector.

23-year old University of Lagos graduate and former Heritage Bank employee, Tobi has revealed life was unpromising while he worked at the new generation financial institution.

According to him, he was earning a sum of N130,000 per month and the amount was insufficient for his upkeep. This he revealed during an afternoon parley with fellow housemates, Miracle, Teddy A, Alex and Cee-C.

" I was earning 130k at the bank. At a point, I got bored doing the samething everyday. But my bosses were really nice to me. I was always being given gifts by my superiors" he stated.

He explained that he believes he has more potentials and this prompted him to apply for the Big Brother Naija contest where he has emerged as one of the favourite housemates. Tobi didn't fail to mention that he wasn't promoted for 4 years despite emerging as the best new staff at the bank at some point.

Tobi further revealed that he graduated from school at 18 and joined the bank in 2014 as a 19-year old.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/91731/bbnaija-tobi-reveals-the-small-salary-he-earned-at.html

Incidents in the last couple of months have proved that President Muhammadu Buhari's achievements in office might be a smokescreen with reference to the three cardinal points of his electioneering campaign.

The former military dictator was railroaded to power based on the major promises of:

(1) Creation of jobs (at least three million jobs per year).

(2) Fighting corruption.

(3) Combating insecurity (particularly the Boko Haram sect).

As at the 3rd quarter of 2017, an estimate of 7.74 million jobs have been lost under Buhari according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS with one of the Bretton Woods institutions - International Monetary Fund recently stating that Nigerians are becoming poorer in its March, 2018 report.
In the commercial capital of Nigeria - Lagos State today, it’s not quite aberrant to find that your ever busy working class neighbour unusually sitting at home on a Monday morning as a result of the rampant cases of sack especially at private firms.

As for the anti-graft war, under Buhari's nose N400 billion was paid as bribe by Nigerians especially to the public officers where the Nigeria Police Force rated as the worst in the world emerged as top gainers according to last year's research by the National Bureau of Statistics. The Transparency International also revealed that corruption in Nigeria worsened last year amid frantic efforts by the President to sanitize the system.

What about the menace of insecurity? Has Boko Haram being defeated truly, technically or politically? Only parents of the abducted 110 students of the Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School girls in Dapchi town, Yobe State and victims of the regular bombings in the north-east might have trusted answers.

The Fulani herdsmen described as militants have also emerged as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world according to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index. They have been rated behind Boko Haram, ISIS and al-Shabab. Fulani herdsmen have continued to kill freely, rape, maim and destroy vast properties across the geopolitical zones in the country with slow reactions from security agencies and the Federal Government.
To make matters worse, Buhari who is supposed to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has appointed an Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim who has refused to take directives from him without sanctions.

Boko Haram is still very much operational, making lump sums from detrimental negotiations with the Federal Government on hostage release as they continue to attack military zones with unidentified militias also hunting down lives at the slightest provocation in Zamfara, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba States.

In the light of the above major failures and a sharp decline in popularity, how will President Buhari market himself to the electorate ahead of the 2019 presidential election when the former military general is expected to throw his hat in the ring again?
Well, since the acts of buck-passing and preaching patience have become ineffectual, Buhari might as well ignore the potency of the ballot box and influence his re-election with the machinery of state regarded as the power of incumbency which a former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan failed to exercise till the end in 2015.

Buhari's possible re-election in 2019 which is thousands of miles away from merit will be predictably hinged on three major factors below:

(1) Decimation of the PDP/Confusion among the electorate

The wild wind of anti-corruption in Nigeria which has rocked the ship of the PDP coupled with past records of misrule has demonized the main opposition party in Nigeria. With the media and court trials of the party members under the Buhari administration, a voter might refuse to use an umbrella under a heavy downpour or scorching sun to prevent an indirect support for or representation of the party which uses an umbrella as its logo.

Nigerians have become to disillusioned that the electorates are wary of trying the new crop of young leaders like the publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore, Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, motivational speaker and entrepreneur Fela Durotoye amid the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign or return to the PDP days tagged 'free looting'. This is a cul-de-sac; since we can't move forward or backward, automatically, the aged Buhari remains the viable option.

It is widely believed in the north (I hope I am wrong) that a dead Buhari at the Aso Rock villa is better than any fresh head from Nigeria and this might not be far from why mammoth crowds trooped out to support him in his last visits to Kano and Yobe States even in the face of the Dapchi school girls kidnap.

(2) General apathy towards politics:

With Buhari's abysmal performance in the face of high hopes of positive change in 2015 which prompted massive participation in the electoral process, some Nigerians have resigned to their old beliefs that Nigeria might never get better and all politicians are liars churning out fake and juicy manifestos to rob people of their votes.

With 8 million unclaimed Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVCs in the country, it’s safe to say the age-long apathy towards politics is about to get worse. About 16% of Nigerians (29,432,083 million out of over 180 million people) participated in the last presidential elections despite the intense heat it generated.

The supposed youths who are the proclaimed leaders of tomorrow have ignored political affairs to find masturbatory satisfaction and solace in the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show. This might not be far from a long history of disenchantment by previous administrations eating off the destinies of the people for their self enrichment.

In Nigeria today, the reason why most people are starkly poor is the same reason why a few are monstrously opulent as they have signed fat cheques in the names of the poor masses with the powers of public offices. In a nutshell, this developing political remoteness is expected to maintain the statusquo in favour of Buhari.

(3) Power of incumbency and dirty politics

This is the crux of this article because of the trend of international politics today.

In recent times, most incumbent leaders either go after their strong competitors and decimate them with powers attached to their office or amend the constitution to accommodate their political ambitions like former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s botched third term bid.

We have read about how Alexei Anatolievich Navalny of Russia, a saleable candidate challenging President Vladimir Putin has been barred from contesting for president over corruption with reports having it that the charges were politically motivated.

The late Morgan Richard Tsvangirai suffered the same fate in the hands of former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe in which he was tortured, threatened with death and locked up behind bars in a bid to clip his wings and derail his political ambition.

President Youwerri Museveni of Uganda has held power under the umbrella of the National Resistance Movement since 1986 despite his lack of popularity. He has set anti-democratic structures which have left the main opposition figure, Kizza Besigye at his mercy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya was also accused of influencing the 2017 presidential election results to secure his victory against the self acclaimed people's president Raila Odinga. The second election organized after a Supreme Court judgment has been described as a sham which was largely boycotted across the country thereby causing crises which led to the death of about 90 people.

President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has mastered the leaf he borrowed from the playbook of these power-drunk leaders as he has simply forced there major opponents in the forthcoming election to abandon their ambitions thereby leaving him to run technically unopposed as the other present challengers are apparently insignificant.
A former military chief of staff Lieutenant General Sami Anan, Ahmed Shafik, former prime minister and air force chief, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, the nephew of assassinated President Anwar al-Sadat who have been described as worthy candidates that could give him a run for his money at the polls have pulled out of the presidential race after being reportedly intimidated by government forces.
Another popular figure, rights lawyer Khaled Ali has said he will still run, but he might be disqualified over an ongoing legal case against him.

We will not also forget the ‘born again’ and football-loving president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza who defied the constitution to run for a third term in 2015 amid nationwide protests leading to several deaths. Despite the glaring rejection by his people, he manipulated the election results and held unto to power against the will of Burundians. Under existing laws, Burundian presidents are limited to two five-year terms.
Unrest that has gripped Burundi since April 2015, when Pierre Nkurunziza who has been in power since 2005 announced he would stand for a third term. Nkurunziza has been accused of killing hundreds of his people. He left the economy moribund and forced about 400,000 people to seek safety in neighboring countries. Burundi’s cabinet in October, 2017 backed a constitutional change that would allow its president to stay in office until 2034, widening a political rift that has driven the country progressively deeper into crisis.

Other African leaders have in the recent past also tinkered with or defied their constitutions to extend their rule, including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila.

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman under the guise of fighting corruption purportedly eliminated the political obstacles that would prevent him from consolidating power as successor to his father - Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 82.. The rich and influential figures in Saudi Arabia were arrested and locked up in a hotel where they are allegedly tortured with a price of $100 billion slammed on them to secure their freedom. MBS as he is fondly called masterminded the arrest of the prominent billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, plus at least 10 other princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers. The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh has been commandeered to house almost 50 Saudi royals including cousins of MBS.

President Xi Jinping of China last week rode on the massive goodwill of his administration to make himself a life president exploiting the weakness of the Chinese parliament - National People's Congress peopled by his staunch loyalists.

In essence, these few cases have shown that the popularity of an administration might not count in securing continuity. Most leaders especially in Africa lack legitimacy of mandates but they maintain their grip to power by muzzling the media and other dissenters.

One of the odd signs of an occurrence of such in Nigeria is Buhari's decision to ban about 30 correspondents from various media organizations from reporting his visit to Benue State where he was coldly welcomed with some protesters reportedly manhandled by security operatives in a bid to suppress their agitations. According to reports gathered, only seven handpicked media organizations were allowed to cover the President’s visit which is a blatant limitation of press freedom.

Former President Jonathan was nice to stick to his words that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. President Buhari who prefers attending upscale wedding ceremonies and NOT troubled states in Nigeria might not be that gracious considering his military background.
On a lighter note, President Buhari’s administration has also recorded some fantastic achievements that will never be forgotten in a hurry. He has invested much in capital projects across the country (Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo once said that the Buhari administration spent N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016, the highest in the history of the country), grown the excess crude account to $42.8 billion, negotiated the release of some of the Chibok school girls, intensified the war against terrorism and putting Nigeria in the World Bank list of top 10 most improved economies in the world according to the 2016/17 Doing Business report amongst other enviable feats.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a Journalist and a Political Scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/03/why-president-buhari-might-win-again-in.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique

There might be tremors in the circles of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress as influential Nigerian actor, Charles Okocha who is also known as Amoshine joins the presidential race ahead of 2019.

When father of one, Charles Okocha revealed he was going to contest for the position of the president of Nigeria in 2019 in his new song - Amoshine, many thought he was joking as usual.

The light-skinned actor chilling in his white car earlier today, declared his presidential ambition in a viral video. He assured Nigerians of 'free naira' during his tenure as leader.

Amoshine who commands large followership is expected to slug it out with President Muhammadu Buhari, 75, whose popularity has dipped seriously. With the NotTooYoungToRun campaign encouraging youths to participate in politics, Amoshine who also shuttles between music and comedy might be the messiah Nigeria has been waiting for since independence even though he has no political party yet.

Watch the hilarious video of his declaration below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aD6EsXqNFs

Source https://www.tori.ng/news/91196/fear-grips-buhari-as-nigerian-actor-amoshine-decla.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Ishilove Obinoscoppy

President Muhammadu Buhari's gospel of hope and change was preached to the Nigerian masses on the grounds of well-founded integrity amid his low record of individual brilliance, oratory skills, scanty resume, elusive school certificate and other pertinent requirements.

Sympathetic voters were of the opinion that the Daura, Katsina State native could sanitize the country of brazen executive heist orchestrated by the previous administration apparently in full public glare.

But how far has Buhari fared in the past three years with his anti-corruption drive? The answer depends on who you ask. His anti-graft war has been described as highly selective with opposition members and other dissenting voices constantly getting the sticks while his party members relish the carrot.

Below are some shortcomings of the administration of Buhari which have impeded on the sincerity of the present anti-corruption drive:

(1) Budget padding in the House of Reps in 2016:

Part of the earlier indications that President Buhari's anti-corruption fight will not be total is his questionable handling of the budget padding saga at the Green Chamber which implicated the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara pitching him against his former ally, Abdulmunin Jibrin. The alleged manipulation of the budgetary allocations of 2016 which totaled N40 billion has been swept under the carpet with Jibrin - the whistleblower victimized.

(2) Babachir Lawal and Amb. Ayo Oke saga:

Nigerians will never forget the 7-month pressure mounted on Buhari to axe his former Secretary to the Government of Federation, David Babachir Lawal after suspension following the over N200 million ‘Grasscutting scandal’ and also the suspected slush fund of N13 billion found at the Osborne Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos linked to a former National Intelligence Agency boss, Ayo Oke. The fact that the duo hasn’t been arraigned in court for fraud raises eyebrows.

(3) Reinstatement of suspended NHIS boss:

We all remember Buhari's clampdown on suspected corrupt judges during which their houses were invaded in the dead of the night by operatives of the Directorate of State Security with doors forcefully pulled down. Pressure was mounted on the National Judicial Commission to suspend the indicted judges before being charged to court. Today, the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf suspected to have siphoned money in the tune of N919 million according to the provisions of an administrative panel has been reinstated by the President despite an ongoing probe by the anti-graft agencies namely the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission. This has proved that the only corrupt people are the ones with no cordial relationship with the President.

(4) Maina's controversial return:

Erstwhile Chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Scheme, Abdulrasheed Maina has been linked with a monster fraud of over N2 billion making him a leper one is not safe to touch even with a long Stick. But a member of Buhari’s cabinet - Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami considered him for a ‘dangerous romance’. His backdoor reinstatement as presided over by Malami has cast a shadow on the integrity of Buhari's corruption war. Today, the sacred cow is being declared wanted on paper and in contrast being guarded by security operatives in reality.

(5) Missing NIA funds:

Since the discovery of some stray $43 million belonging to the National Intelligence Agency at a private apartment at the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi – Lagos State, it has dawned on Nigerians that agency saddled with covert security operations is a den of titanic sharp practices. Earlier this year, 2018, an alarm was raised about a missing sum of $44 million which some sacred cows wanted to share. There are also concerns that another $202 million belonging to the NIA is yet to be full accounted for. This has attracted the intervention of the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu who has promised the lower chamber that the funds would be recovered.

(6) Failure to prosecute indicted APC members:

Some members of Buhari's cabinet and party members especially the former governors and security chiefs have petitions written against them concerning the mismanagement of public funds but it appears that EFCC passes over them at the sight of the ‘broom’ – APC’s symbol at their door step. A few examples are the former Governor of Rivers State and Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and a former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Solid Minerals Development Kayode Fayemi. This has led to regular social media outbursts by a beleaguered former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani Kayode.

(7) Illegal payment of fuel subsidy:

The leadership of the APC will never be forgotten in the history of Nigeria for running an opaque government laden with calculated propaganda. After the 66.67% increment of fuel price from N85 to N145 per litre in a bid to abolish the fuel subsidy regime, Nigerians were shocked in December 2017 to learn that the President on a clandestine note authorized the state owned oil company – Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to be subsidizing petrol by N26 naira due to landing cost at N171 which doesn't favour importers. How the NNPC pays the subsidy which doesn't reflect in the national budget remains an enigma. Buhari's loud silence is a clear instruction that you are free to believe whatever you want to.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru has also revealed the NNPC pays N774 million daily as subsidy for the supply of petrol. This he did shortly after turning down human rights lawyer, Femi Falana’s freedom of information request on how much the government was spending on subsidy.

( Kachikwu’s exposure of the suspicious award of contracts by the Baru-led NNPC:

The minister of state for Petroleum resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu raised an alarm about being sidelined in the affairs of the state-owned oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC with contracts in the tune of $26 billion awarded without his input and adherence to due process. Till date, the issue has been covered up despite the media interest generated. The fact that this is taking place under the administration that intends not only to fight corruption in Nigeria but also Ghana makes it subnormal.

(9) Arms deal fraud:

There is a conspiracy theory that government officials have turned the Boko Haram war into a conduit pipe to divert money as military expenditures are described as classified. The present Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf Tukur Buratai who has houses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and a snakes’ farm; and the Minister of Interior Abdulrahaman Dambazau have been accused of tampering with security allocations. Recall that there was an outrage on social media in July 2016 when an investigative panel uncovering fraudulent practices in the procurement of arms for the military between 2007 and 2015 exempted Dambazau who was the Chief of Army Staff from 2008 to 2010. Today, the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki appears to be technically playing the role of Jesus Christ by solely paying for the sins of the world.

(9) The IGP of Police scandal

If an interior minister in Portugal, Constanco de Sousa could resign due to political pressure emanating from regular incidents of forest fire, and then a British member of the House of Lords, Lord Bates (junior minister in the UK Department for International Development) could do the same for coming late to the chamber, one would expect the current Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Kpotum Idris to step aside not because of the killings in Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba States and others but the dirt in his office as unearthed by Senator Isa Misau.

He has been accused of being romantically involved with his female colleagues, patronizing Aisha Buhari - wife of President with car gifts and also presiding over a police office that illegally makes about N10 billion monthly from oil companies and other private individuals who enjoy special protection from the security agency which is unaccounted for and also condoning the collection of bribes for juicy postings. The fact that he is still in office is a conk palm oil stain on Buhari's white garment.

(10) Appointment of dead people in boards of Federal Government agencies:

Supporters of President Buhari were left burying their faces in shame and ashes when the administration hit the Guinness Book of Records by being the first government to give political appointments to about 6 people on permanent recess in their graves. This reminds Nigerians of the problem of ghost workers which is a loophole in the public service used in embezzling vast public funds. There was also duplication of names of appointees in public offices. Till date, no reasonable explanation has been given for the epic gaffe which reeks of negligence and gross incompetence.

(11) Case of bribery and corruption against CCT Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar:

Justice Danladi Umar appears to have done a fantastic job presiding over the case of false declaration of assets by the Senate President Bukola Saraki but does it make sense to wash white clothes with stained hands? Umar has been accused of demanding N10 million bribe from an accused to pervert justice. This serious allegation was been swept under the carpet until the EFCC recently moved to arraign him to the dismay of the Federal Government. It would be recalled that the same EFCC had earlier cleared Umar of any wrongdoing in April, 2016 while presiding over Saraki’s case.

(12) Failure of Buhari to disclose health costs in London:

President Buhari cumulatively spent about six months on medical vacation in London, United Kingdom with the presidential jet idly gulping money per day at the hanger according to reports. Till date, Nigerians haven't been kept abreast about the funds expended for his medical expenses.

U.S President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign in September, 2017 over the misuse of private jets at the cost ($400,000) of the sweats of tax payers. But in Nigeria, accountability and transparency are absent. An opaque administration where the public is denied its constitutional right to know is like a loamy soil for corrupt practices.

(13) Clannishness and favouritism:

Many have argued that Nigeria has never been this disunited owing to the actions and inactions of the Buhari administration where some citizens appear more equal than others. Buhari's lopsided appointments which have put more northerners at the helm of affairs re-ignited the Biafra agitations. It should be noted that nepotism is also corruption and not just financial infractions alone.

(14) Escalating Fulani herdsmen/farmers crises:

Under the present administration, there are wild jokes that the Fulani herdsmen encroaching on farmlands with their cattle are above the law and their cows are more valuable than human lives. Buhari's failure to mitigate the Fulani-farmers' clashes and disarm the AK-47 wielding pastoralists earned him the title of the 'president of the north' who has taken sides with the alleged oppressors. This suspected act of favouritism in a polarized state like Nigeria has further added salt to the open sore of discord among the major tribes in Nigeria. Hundreds of lives have been lost to the herdsmen/farmers clashes across the geopolitical zones in the country.

(15) Withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account:

The decision of the governors' forum to endorse the withdrawal of a whopping sum of $1 billion to tackle insecurity in Nigeria was welcomed with mixed reactions across the country. The reasons are not farfetched as funds gave been stolen from the nation's treasury under the secrecy of security allocations. For over 24hrs the Buhari administration struggled to define specific areas the funds would cater for. It was on this note that Governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike washed their hands off the ECA withdrawal.

(16) Gross wastage of resources:

Despite President Buhari's bid to curb the wastage of resources in Nigeria, indications have it that it’s still business as usual. The State House clinic at the Aso Rock Villa can't boast of paracetamol, syringes and other basic clinic needs despite the allocation of N3.2 billion in the 2016 national budget. N65 million has also be allocated in the 2017 budget to design the already existing website of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. About N4.9 billion has also been allocated this year for the mere maintenance of mechanical and electrical equipment at the Aso Rock Villa while majority of Nigerians languish in penury.

In conclusion, the recent report on corruption by the global anti-corruption watchdog - Transparency International has dealt a fatal blow to the anti-corruption drive of President Buhari with a Corruption Perception Index rating of 27 out of 100 which is a confirmation that he has been running in circles. According to the international body, corruption in Nigeria worsened last year 2017 with the country rated 148th out of 180 evaluated countries.

Compiled exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/90921/anticorruption-fight-top-own-goals-scored-by-the-b.html

A Nigerian photojournalist, Etinosa Osayimwen who is presently working for an International Non-governmental Organization, The Bright Continent has lamented about the spread of Lassa Fever in Edo State.

Miss Etinosa Osayimwen, a photojournalist has been in Edo State, South-south part of Nigeria covering the present outbreak of Lassa fever in the state which has been largely unreported.

According to her, the Federal Government hasn't done enough in containing the disease which has been claiming lives. Etinosa took to her Facebook page to make a staggering revelation that Irrua Specialist hospital in Edo state has had over a 100 admissions in the last two months while locals are plagued with ignorance about the disease.

Read her words below:

"This year, the outbreak of Lassa fever has been overwhelming. Irrua Specialist hospital in Edo state has had over a 100 admissions in the last two months, yet lots of locals in Irrua Don't really know much about the deadly disease talk less of how to avoid it.

Lassa fever is the younger brother of Ebola so that gives you an idea of how deadly it is.

The Nigerian government is down playing the reality of the outbreak because, 2019 is just around the corner.

International organizations are doing all they can to curb the spread.

Weeks back the NCDC falsified data to make it look like they were winning the fight, but thank God for white people and how they collate and value data.

I've been trying to get my PVC but the queue has been so discouraging. However, I need to ensure I get it because my vote counts. I need to exercise my rights and we all need to do same.

So much chaos in the country but it seems our leaders don't give a sh*t.

It's tough being a Nigerian sometimes, it really is."

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/90318/over-100-cases-of-lassa-fever-recorded-in-edo-stat.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Mynd44 ishilove Obinoscoppy

"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the slowpoke, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations" - Bertolt Brecht


One of the biggest political lies making the rounds is that Nigerian youths are not too young to occupy public offices. The #NotTooYoungToRun bill initiated by the National Assembly could be likened to a situation whereby a toddler is being offered his father's nipples in the absence of his mother. No matter how hard he tries to extract milk from it, it will amount to a futile mouth exercise designed to distract him from crying momentarily.

First of all, the Nigerian system itself is designed to sideline youths and credible people. Preliminary studies have shown that most people acquire the Permanent Voter's Cards for the purpose of currying cheap favours from politicians. The motives are never about the general interest of the people which is the essence of governance.

In my first three months in the field of journalism, I observed our company's driver then was so eager to obtain his Permanent Voter’s Card, PVC. His level of determination and enthusiasm baffled me and I was forced to ask him if it was the quest for a ‘change’ that was driving him as we experienced in the year 2015. To my greatest shock, he said;

"I need the PVC so that I can sell my vote to the highest bidder. On a normal day, my vote could cost N4,000 or more depending on the heat of the election".

I swiftly ended the inquiry in order to save my ears from more vile details. Election time is a money-sharing period in Nigeria where people mortgage their futures and destinies over a mesh of porridge just like Esau in the Holy Bible. Unlike the American political system where voters engage in fundraising for the candidates of their choice, the ones in Nigeria will put cotton wool in their ears during the electioneering campaign pending when their palms are greased with some coins. This has given politics an outlook of business investment and actors tend to recoup their ‘production costs’ at the expense of the poor masses as soon as they win political power.

But against all these challenges of dealing with recycled and tired leaders trying to run the latest computer software of the 21st century with a Windows 95 Operating System, what are the youths doing to make a difference in a failing country dominated by them? The bitter truth is that we youths are doing nothing. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat monitoring celebrities and celebutantes living a lie to impress us; we are constantly scrolling through the profiles of some cleavage-bearing and twerking ladies on Instagram with a sure plan to slide into their DMs, following comedians online and being engrossed with their skits, monitoring sensational news, social media dramas and gossips to enjoy the moment, we are glued to our TV screens watching Big Brother Naija for the next housemate that would engage in a sensual activity with the opposite sex.

The level of apathy for politics among youths is unprecedented and nauseating; even the so-called social media warriors making the loudest noise about the mysterious snake that purportedly swallowed N36 million Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB money have no PVC. This accounts for the reason why a gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State Osita Chidoka won the election on social media and abysmally lost in real life despite his impressive debate on Channels TV prior to the governorship election.

One of the reasons is that the youths who dominate the social media space don't have voter's cards. They gladly talk the talk on social media amid all manners of frivolities while most of our rugged brothers from the northern part of the country walk the walk; they boldly put action to their words.
In the buildup of the 2015 general elections, I noticed there was a mass exodus of northerners from Ibadan, Oyo State where I resided at that time to their respective states in the northern part of Nigeria. They knew the value of power and the importance of a Buhari Presidency. Most of them expended their life savings in making those long trips and the resultant effect was Buhari's rout of the northern part of Nigeria while some South-westerners either showed apathy or waited for ‘mobilization fee’ from politicians and political parties to exercise their franchise.

While the youths slumber at the driver's seat, it now hurts more that the underaged folks have gone ahead to obtain PVCs without the slightest idea of its essence. The incident of the Kano State Local Government elections where pictures and videos of minors freely participating in the electoral process has supplied us with the robust evidence to buttress this claim.

I have understudied the mind-boggling passion of Nigerian youths for the Big Brother Naija reality show and I have tentatively reached the conclusion that there might be a spiritual undertone to it. Some Nigerian youths stay glued to their TV sets and make recordings of romantic moments between Tobi and Cee-C, Miracle and Nina, Teddy A and Bambam, Bito and Ifu Ennada and other emotionally-confused people to share online regardless of the large internet data consumption. Reactions just never stop flowing like woman with the issue of blood. One can only imagine the kind of positive results we will attain if those energies are channeled into political consciousness towards demanding accountability from our leaders.

Attacks by Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, high-profile kidnappings, exposure of gargantuan fraud in the political circle and others have failed to gain the kind of buzz generated by the BB Naija which gives viewers a mere masturbatory feeling. One imagines the economic advantage Payporte, an e-commerce platform and other sponsors can generate if they convert the 3-month reality show into a workshop to train programmers & Information Technology enthusiasts. At least Nigeria could have our own version of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos.

The same old leaders were are bad-mouthing are still the ones pleading with us to avoid being distracted by the reality show and endeavor to participate in the electoral process and appropriate political discuss via available channels.

On the 3Oth of January, 2018, a concerned People’s Democratic Party chieftain and Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo took to his Twitter account to appeal to Nigerian youths to keep their eyes on the ball.

“#BigBrotherNaija is good and I commend the ingenuity of our youths but the future is not #BBNaija3, it is in your hands dear Nigerian youths. Go and get your #PVC” he posted but this has fallen on permanently deaf ears. We will rather prefer to storm religious centres for fasting and praying when the Shylocks and other political sharks hijack power in 2019 and increase the tempo of economic hardship.

The Senator representing Bayelsa East, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, also reiterated the stand of Governor Dankwambo.

In his words:

”I urge Nigerian youths not to be lulled by #BBNaija and forget to get their PVCs. 12 million Nigerians have lost their jobs since President Buhari assumed office two years ago.

”Most of those 12 million are youths. The power to change this equation is in your PVC and not BBNaija!”


Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), recently went hard on Nigerian youths describing the dreams of political leadership as a mirage as well as dangerous journey.

According to him, there is no evidence that youths were better than elders in leadership.

“They (youths) will be fooling themselves if they think they can sit on their back-pedal and somebody will hand over power to them. That is a pure delusion.

“Speaking generally, there is no evidence whatsoever that the youths are better.

“In fact, the preponderance of evidence is that it is riskier to have a youth, at least in this country, at the helm of affairs.” he emphasized.

His harsh words have attracted hasty and emotional reactions from youths who feel the legal luminary might be acting controversial as usual but he is only speaking the bitter truth.
We can only admire young world leaders like Emmanuel Macron of France (41), Justin Trudeau of Canada (46), the infamous Kim Jong Un of North Korea (34), Kim Yo Jong of North Korea (30), Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia (32), Sebastian Kurz of Austria (31) and George Weah of Liberia (51) but we might never produce them with our poor level of political consciousness, lack of coordination and obsession with frivolities.

The Nigerian youths are dominated by proud side-chicks of married men parading themselves as Nollywood actresses, models, Make-up artists, video vixens and other flexible jobs associated with showbiz. Among the youths, we have ill-mannered ladies posing as feminists looking for rich men to date and marry; we celebrate internet fraudsters and others with unfounded wealth; we give support to musicians who preach societal decadence, immorality, drug abuse, internet scam, and living in the fast lane.

The school libraries have become empty with the Big Brother Naija craze, the unprofitable gist has dominated the media space and the truth is that no matter how entertaining the show might be, it will take us nowhere as youths. At the age of 24, President Muhammadu Buhari had participated in the second military coup of July, 1966, at age 33, Yakubu Gowon presided over the civil war and kept Nigeria as one. Late chief Obafemi Awolowo at 40 founded the Nigerian Tribune – the oldest surviving private Nigerian newspaper to prosecute the nationalist movement. Lawyer, politician and diplomat Matthew Tawo Mbu, from Okundu in Cross River State was appointed Federal Minister for Labour at age 23 in 1953 and he is the youngest Minister Nigeria has ever had in history.

At 25, former Nigerian military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida had become a key player in most of the military coups in Nigeria (July 1966, February 1976, December 1983, August 1985, December 1985 and April 1990). At 44, he subsequently became the President. What about Chief Olusegun Obasanjo? At 39 (going by his date of birth - 1937) he became a military ruler at 39. The list is endless, but what are people of that age doing today? The answer is simple, they are doctoring their pictures taken at exotic locations to showboat on social media as well as doing intellectual analysis of the Big Brother Naija show while the organizers rip them of their funds through text messages and coast to financial success. They are busy online sharing memes, flirting with ladies and making jokes out of all scenarios. This is really sad and it portends a grave danger!

We have to wake up from our slumber and snatch our lives from the alleged political cabal ruling the country using the President’s face. Power can never be handed to us on a platter of gold as the diminutive governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai opined on social media.

We need the dedication employed by one of the most successful countries in the world – South Korea where the citizens once donated their expensive jewelries and other golden personal effects in 1998 to the state to sell them off and recover from economic crisis. At that time, it was estimated that South Korean households held roughly $20 billion in gold, in the form of necklaces, coins, bars, trinkets, statuettes, medals, pendants, military insignias, trophies and more. It was an emergency situation that demanded for an uncanny approach. That act of self-sacrifice stunned the world as the citizens came as a formidable force to salvage their debt-ridden country. The real change starts from the mindset and from there; we can put actions to our words.

We shouldn’t be deceived by the development that 25 Houses of Assembly have passed the #NotTooYoungToRun bill. Youths will soon realize we are #NotTooYoungToLose. Enacting the law is not the challenge but the feasibility of contesting in a faltering system. What is the essence when the structure is closed and youths are selfishly aligned to the old leaders causing us to sing in discordant tunes?

Written by Osayimwen Osahon George, a Journalist and a Political Scientist based in Lagos State.

Source: http://www.villagetowncrier.com/2018/02/big-brother-naija-craze-why-nigerian.html

More images

A commercial motorcycle rider operating in Ibadan, Oyo State has passed away alongside a passenger in a road accident which took place around the 110 area of Alalubosa close to the popular Nustreams event centre.

A local trader in transit to sell some food materials at the Sabo area of Ibadan has been involved in an accident alongside her son.

The duo were on a motorbike around the Alalubosa area when they were hit by a commercial bus. The woman's son and the motorcycle rider popularly called Okada Man died on the spot while the woman survived with serious injuries.

A source revealed to Tori News that the woman who was in a state of coma was swiftly rushed to the hospital by the first responders. The gory event which took place at 6:00pm caused a traffic jam on the busy road with a large scene of sympathizers.

The accident scene was littered with fresh human blood and the wares belonging to the woman currently hospitalized.

The identities of the victims are yet to be ascertained but an eye witness confirmed that the Okada Man is of northern extraction.

Watch a video from the accident scene below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YObs7gmBs

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/88702/fresh-accident-at-alalubosa-area-of-ibadan-claims.html

A single man based in Lagos State is organizing a national search for a beautiful lady he met in a bus heading to Ago Palace Way yesterday night.

Reports gathered have it that he was thrilled when he met her and also paid her transport fare as the driver had no change to give her. His tweet has gone viral and efforts are being made to locate the young lady presumed to be single.

See his tweet below:

VillageTownCrier‏
@osahon87

If you are the light-skinned lady I met in a bus heading to Ago Palace Way, Lagos yesterday that I paid your tfare; I will like to see you again. Pls contact me. You have all I have ever wished for in a woman. @Gidi_Traffic

https://twitter.com/osahon87/status/956115202642202624

It was a scene of intense heat, fire, smoke and tears as business owners lost goods worth millions of naira in a raging fire accident.

A fire outbreak on First Avenue in the FESTAC town part of Lagos State has razed a car and furniture shops in the area with about 26 vehicles and 4 motorcycles destroyed, TORI NEWS can authoritatively report.

The fire incident reportedly broke out at about 12pm around the FESTAC link bridge as the tanker driver attempted to mount the sloppy bridge, a police officer told a TORI NEWS reporter.

Multiple accounts gathered revealed there was no casuality and the tanker driver in the eye of the storm was not in sight as he had evaded the scene for the fear of being mobbed.

The inferno however threw the area into pandemonium with residents and other business operators scampering for safety.

The first respondents at the scene of the accident blamed the Local Government authorities over the inability to site an Emergency Service Agency around the opulent FESTAC Area.

"The government has failed us again. This disaster could have been averted if the fire services came on time.

"The fire incident started at 12pm and it took the firefighters almost two hours when the fire had escalated to visit the scene and salvage the situation. We struggled helplessly for hours with the little we had," an angry resident revealed while speaking to journalists.

A resident, in the rowdy scene who sympathized with the yet to be identified car shop owner claims the owner would have lost exotic vehicles including a Venza and others reportedly worth about N500 million.

An official of the Lagos State Fire Service told TORI NEWS correspondent that his office was contacted around 12pm when the fire was raging and they swung right into action.

Officials of the LASEMA Response Unit, LRU, were spotted at the scene trying to assist in quenching the fire at different ends of the scene.

Multiple police officers were also seen at the scene of the fire incident patroling the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order while also trying to maintain an appreciable flow of traffic.

"The FESTAC bridge road will be blocked throughout today" a police officer at the scene who didn't want his identity revealed stated.

"We are trying to control the crowd and make sure nobody gets hurt. We were called at 12pm and we have been here (at the scene) trying to do our bit.

"Our DPO is also on ground trying to liase with officials of the Emergency Services," the officer added.

Scores of motorcylists and hundreds of sympathizers were seen at the razed area just as motorists lament bitterly in the gridlock caused.

Watch the video recorded by a TORI News correspondent below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J2hUeQ0ItQ

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/83143/how-26-vehicles-4-motorcycles-and-others-were-dest.html

Nigeria is heading to the polls again in 2019 and the weapon of populism which is a political approach that seeks to disrupt the existing social order by solidifying and mobilizing the animosity of the "common man" or "the people" against "privileged elites" and the "establishment" is being deployed massively to sway weak-willed people as usual.

The Nigerian electorate could be likened to that beautiful but orphaned teenage girl roaming the unsafe streets homelessly without the essential guidance of her parents or family members.

Her first hurdle will be her encounter with some elderly wolves in human clothing regarded as paedophiles trying to take her home as if they are interested in fixing her present predicament. But when they get home, her first lesson would be that nothing is free in this world. She would be forced to pay labouriously with what is between her legs.

After being pleasurably used, abused and dumped on the streets where she came from, another paedophile targets her with a different approach in exploitation of her naivety to lure her to his den. They will come with different offers of money, clothing, shelter, food, security, true love and even job just to secure her behind closed doors and have a carnal knowledge of her till her life is completely ruined. One of them might finally decide to end her earthly sufferings by using her for money-making rituals.

This simple analogy embodies the plight of the Nigerian masses right from the inception of the military era since 1966 till date. No political leader dead or alive would honestly admit his misrule; not even the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha whose legendary loot keeps returning to Nigeria posthumously almost two decades of his demise. Even a former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd) and 'Saint' Muhammadu Buhari once cleared Abacha of corruption charges at the tenth year anniversary of his death in 2008.

I remember vividly the widespread celebrations across Nigeria when the death of Sani Abacha was announced on the 8th of June. 2008. Some called an end to his 5-year tumultuous reign of blood and terror an ‘art of God’ while others in the know called it another ‘machination by power hawks’ who simply got rid of an obstacle before them. The jollifications of that fateful day could be likened to the national hysteria felt in Zimbabwe when the 37-year reign of former President Robert Mugabe, 93 was ‘militarily’ laid to rest on the 21st of November earlier this year. Critical and discerning minds wondered why they celebrated his exit considering the fact that his crony, President Emmerson Mnangagwa self-styled ‘the Crocodile’ who was part of the Draconian rule for decades is now at the helm of authority. The people have been tortured and marginalised so much that they just want to be happy for a second even if that will mean them being mere ‘happy fools’with due respect.

When President Muhammadu Buhari kept contesting serially for Presidency from the year 2003, we all believed the 74 year had a metaphysical antidote to our challenges. Buhari insisted that he kept throwing his hat in the ring every 4 years due to the failure of the Nigerian State to get better.

Today, Buhari is President and we can’t categorically say life in Nigeria has reasonably improved. Even his ruling party member, Governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha admitted that 89% of Nigerians are not happy even though we don’t know the parameter the statue-obsessed APC chieftain used in arriving at that figure. Under Buhari, we can only take our grievances to our nearby religious institutions and keep hoping for the best as Karl Max postulated.

In less than two years, Nigerians will be heading to the polls again and it seems that orphaned teenage girl on the street is about to be s*xually-abused once more by the paedophiles. A former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who was a part of the APC process has devised a new strategy to lure the poor girl home again for notorious defilement. Nigerians might be sold into modern slavery again like the illegal migrants in Libya for the next 4 years.

Atiku, a shrewd and opulent businessman has opted to use the slogans of ‘restructuring’, ‘youth emancipation’ and ‘job creation’ to win the support of Nigerians. Atiku has been actively using social media platforms namely Facebook and Twitter to worm his way into the hearts of Nigerian youths who constitute about 60% of Nigeria’s population and also dominate the internet space.

Atiku has also been rolling out his economic achievements while he served as the Vice President with former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the year 1999 till 2007.

"I run my businesses to international standards. Let any of those who want to compete with me show what they have managed successfully. I’ve lifted over 45,000 families out of joblessness and poverty through my microfinance company in my State Adamawa and we’ve have empowered mostly women."

“As VP, I assembled what is arguably the best Economic Team ever in Nigeria. It was made up of young, world class professionals, who came home to work. Some of those professionals are now political leaders, governors and world leaders in their own right" Atiku has boasted on separate occasions.

Atiku claims the banking consolidation process he backed politically has protected commercial banks from collapsing today which is applaudable. According to the itinerant politician, he oversaw the telecoms revolution which enabled 99 million Nigeria to have mobile phones.

"In my home state of Adamawa for example, I’ve created over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect ones. We are the largest private employers of labour in the state only second to the state government. It’s not a lot, but it does help reduce unemployment. Who do you think are holding those jobs? Yes, young people." he claimed in his open letter to ace Nigerian comedian, I Go Dye.

To cap it all, Atiku revealed that he was worth several millions of dollars before venturing into politics and that he even bankrolled the PDP at some point. His CV is alluring enough to sway millions of Nigerian youths living without purpose and motivation due to the unending impecuniosity in the land.

Nigerian youths believe Atiku could translate his personal economic prosperity records into a national one that would affect the lives of Nigerians positively. Aside the seeming unfounded perception that Atiku who has been carefully avoiding a visit to the United States of America due to alleged links with the Halliburton Scandal might be too corrupt to trust with the Nigeria’s already emaciated treasury, he seems to have the political framework to give Buhari a run for his money in 2019.

Atiku has been accused of merely telling Nigerians what they want to hear in his bid to control the blossoming political business in Nigeria. This might not be far from the truth as politicians in Nigeria have graciously used populism to hoodwink the people in whose names they sign fat cheques and get richer while the people whose interests they are supposed to represent become their victims.

Most times, one would wonder how Buhari and his APC friends sleep well at night with the ‘Change’ slogan turning negative before their very eyes.

The leadership of the APC deployed populism in securing power and Atiku, a former member seems to have borrowed a leaf from that playbook to win power ahead of 2019. An X-ray of the campaign promises of the APC seems to show the party intentionally made bombastic promises reminiscent of the Tales by Moonlight told to kids whose brain capacities lack maturity.

The bitter truth is that Buhari would have never happened if the right questions were asked as the party manifesto circulated the media space in 2015.

The APC promised to create 3 million jobs annually and nobody cared about asking the party how; not even the seasoned economists in Nigeria pleaded with the APC to draw a roadmap for the achievement of that mirage in a regressive system like Nigeria. Buhari allegedly promised to make N1 equal to $1 and we never asked how!

Today, about 4.58 million jobs have been lost under Buhari (2016 NBS report) not to talk about the worsening issue of under-employment which has made suicide beguiling to people.

The party also promised to revive the local economy, diversify it and develop vast infrastructural facilities at a period when the price of oil – the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy was dwindling and we asked no further questions. What about the promises of fixing the issues of power supply, security, Boko Haram and others? They have been replaced by either the usual blame game or the endless call for patience. Those listing security as one of the achievements of the Buhari administration might be yet to entertain the gun-wielding Fulani Herdsmen unleashing terror across the different geopolitical zones in Nigeria. What about the Boko Haram sect? A recent investigation by Daily Trust newspaper shows that the terrorist group has killed about 1,100 Nigerians since the government prematurely claimed in 2015 they have been technically defeated.

Did the APC undertake an assessment of our moribund power plants and hapless DISCOs before promising steady electricity supply during the campaign period? The answer is a blatant NO considering the odd realities on ground.

What about Buhari’s promise to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria? He is the biggest high-profile medical tourist in the world currently while the State House Clinic established to cater for the Presidency can’t boast of common Paracetamol and syringes despite the huge budgetary allocations.

Buhari was presented as the ‘Incorruptible Judge’ who would knock out corruption which is a citizen of Nigeria like Anthony Joshua but nobody asked how. Today, the anti-corruption fighter jets have only been dropping bombs in the camp of the opposition members. Kudos to Buhari for recovering over N5 trillion from looters thus far but it is disheartening that no major conviction has been secured since 2015. There is a palpable fear that these corruption cases would be squashed if a new government particularly from the opposition party - PDP wins power in 2019. Nigeria is still riddled with weak institutions and widespread poverty which are like catalysts for graft. Under the present administration, tertiary institutions have been closely competing with thunder in the area of ‘strikes’.

A recent anomaly in the system was when it was discovered that one Adamu Abubakar Rasheed, the son of the current Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC - Professor Adamu Abubakar Rasheed bagged a PhD degree in Engineering at the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom and the man, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano celebrated it on social media with colourful pictures without considering the political implications of his actions. Buhari and the APC leadership promised to restructure Nigeria but never explained how as they today hide under the ambiguity of the concept.

Now the Waziri of Adamawa, Atiku is here with the revised textbook of populism and his media team appears to be doing a fantastic job with the contents. You will know politics is about to get comical when you see a ‘yesterday man’ of 71 contesting for Presidency and at the sametime advocating for the youths to be given a chance. Atiku’s claims about the marginalization of the youths would have looked valid and sincere if he could step down and sponsor a youth he must have mentored all his life. An Atiku Presidency means the youths will wait for another 8 years before it might be their turn because he will certainly gun for a second term as an African man who knows the sweetness of the political business. Specifically, he is giving the youths some 10 years to fully take over government after he must have been done with his two terms.

It’s a good thing Atiku has been promising the creation of jobs which is a global campaign promise in the league of politicians but we need to ask him how and when? This is not about pessimism and scepticism but there is a need for Atiku to show us his economic blueprint and timeframe to actualize it before he blames the Buhari administration and advocate for endless patience like Mama Peace. This is necessary so that the despondent youths can realize what they are up against so that 8 years of faint hopes wouldn’t be wasted.

One wonders how Atiku can restructure Nigeria and devolve powers to the state governments considering the current posture of the National Assembly and the 36 Houses of Assembly concerning restructuring. The National Assembly expressed their nonchalance towards restructuring when they voted against the devolution of powers to the state governments in August, 2017. Is Atiku planning to enforce restructuring by decrees just like the military era? Or Atiku will be the Nigerian version of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman who is breaking standard governing protocols?

This imminent Wild Goose Chase is synonymous to President Donald Trump disdain for the ObamaCare, obsession with travel ban, and building of the wall at the Mexican border at the profligate cost of $66.9 billion aside the annual maintenance cost of $150 million according to the Senate Democrats. Today, Trump has been coerced into supporting the relocation of the Israeli capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem purportedly to score high ratings among the Evangelicals as a fulfilment of his election campaign promise.

Atiku delivered a wonderful speech at the recent national convention of the PDP but one grey area was when he advocated against the high recurrent expenditure in Nigeria. He harped on; “a smaller, more effective government that does not consume 75% of the federal budget just on paying salaries”. This is intriguing but it would be more explicit for Atiku to spell out how he intends to reduce the over-bloated salary burden on the federal government. Will he cut the salaries of civil servants, lawmakers or even downsize the present workforce? Can an all-embracing man like him latching unto all Twitter trends for support summon the courage to take food off the mouths of the ‘great’ Senator Dino Melaye and his colleagues? That will be a blockbusting drama to watch!

U.S President Donald Trump was able to create a record of 261,000 jobs in October, 2017 partly because of the working nature of the American system. One wonders if such a revival is possible in Nigeria where the country is at the brink of collapse after its life has almost be snuffed out due to age-long looting by political businessmen still being recycled till date.

I have a premonition that Nigeria might be ultimately sold to China when Atiku is done recouping his invested funds which some journalists, publicists and other political stakeholders have eaten over the years of his failed attempts at winning power.

A parting question; will Nigerians want to return to the PDP days especially with the latest damning report by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, DFID Nigeria that a about $32 billion was lost to corruption under the previous 6-year administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan?

Osayimwen Osahon George is a Political Scientist and a journalist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/83065/atiku-abubakar-2019-before-nigeria-is-eventually-s.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy

Banky W, a handsome gentleman-turned-attention-freak appears to be acting as if he has missed the camera, lights and action he enjoyed while Wizkid and Skales were signed to his record label which raked cash windfall in those days.

Nigerian celebrities have overtime been accused of grossly abusing the utilization of social media which affords unlimited freedom to an extent based on ill-supervised community rules.

They have often times uploaded contents that buttress their seemingly perfect lifestyle of opulence for the purpose of subtly oppressing their ostensibly despondent followers. This accounts for one of the reasons why the social media space especially Instagram is flooded with falsehood as people attempt to replicate the subject-matter of the popular book – ‘Sizwe Banzi Is Dead’, a play by Athol Fugard. The internet has been riddled with irritating cheap publicity stunts by people old enough to lead Nigeria to our Nirvana.

The truth is that showboating on social media has been tentatively linked with lonely people of low-self esteem who want to enforce themselves and influence the mental processes of others going about their daily productive duties.

This odious act tantamount to the issue of poverty mentality in the Global South prompts most Nigerian public figures to constantly make calculated attempts to take undue advantage of the media to hijack headlines. They just want to be talked about by the people at all costs. The inordinate efforts are fuelled by the proliferation of blogs in Nigeria which feed on any little details about celebrities simply for traffic no matter how immaterial they might be. Anything for the clicks suits the blogs regardless of the veracity!

We have heard cases of a prominent Nigerian actress of A-list class named Oge Okoye stealing a picture of dogs belonging to an American celebrity Kenya Moore, singer KC Limpopo stealing a dollar photo of a foreigner, married mother of one, Maheeda notoriously stripping herself n*de on Instagram to gather followers, Davido clownishly flaunting wads of cash, frequently staged celebrity bust-ups and Toke Makinwa making a dry reality show of her life on Instagram amongst others. The list of frivolities being perpetrated by supposed mentors and idols on social media is endless and repugnant.

The latest has been the serial movie of a wedding ceremony between Bankole ‘Banky W’ Wellington and Adesua Etomi tagged '#Baad2017'. Right from the announcement of their engagement on social media, Banky W has technically dragged the newspaper headlines with President Muhammadu Buhari, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Boko Haram sect which dominate media contents on a daily note. This was backed by their happy-ending relationship in the blockbuster movie – ‘Wedding Party’ where the duo got married in spite of challenges that punctured the level of trust in the union.

Celebrities with millions of followers helped in propagating the engagement gist coupled with the alternative media making news out of every unnecessary detail that came out of the proposal. The traditional introductory ceremony which took place shortly after the engagement of the duo was almost bigger than the dream wedding party of an average Nigerian person who resides in a ‘blessed country’ where poverty and unemployment are rife.

Banky W in obedience to the sound of his name showed how bankable he could be after raking cool cash from the Empire Mates Entertainment, EME record label and other massive commercial endorsements. He gathered his celebrity friends for a fashion show with glamorous pictures of their expensive attires, shoes, wristwatches and other privileged wares flooding social media pages in batches. From the 19th of November, 2019 till date, the wedding party which initially started in Lagos State has been the talk of the town with the venue finally moved to South Africa.

The truth is that the trendy and alluring photos of the wedding party have appealed to the minds of Nigerians who have admired them with a high percentage of envy and lingering hate. This in turn makes the couple so vulnerable security-wise (and even spiritually if I am to think like an African for a second) as they could be placed on surveillance just like billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans did with his high-profile victims. It must have been on this note that the leadership of the Lagos State Police Command once cautioned comedian AY Makun when he flaunted some hard currencies from his brother’s wedding ceremony on Instagram. According to the police, that act attracts criminals to them easily. It should be noted that Lagos has been battling with the menace of muggings, burglary and kidnappings in recent times despite sterling innovations by security chiefs.

Most Nigerian ladies wished they could be Adesua Etomi for a minute while their male counterparts wanted to take the place of Banky W even if it’s going to be for a second. Others longed for a ‘Tonto Dikeh marriage’ kind of outcome which is associated with celebrities in Nigeria. This is the ugly side of life but we have to face it even though reality bites.

Banky W undue publicity spurred mother of four, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde who has been married for 21 years to advise Banky W to exercise due diligence in the usage of social media to avoid detrimental effects.

"Dear Banky and Adesua, After Capetown, everyone leaves...it's just you two. My darlings if possible, stay off social media a bit. Communicate continuously. Preserve your friendship not just your love. Even as you two have now become one, don't forget to respect your individuality. We love you and are rooting for your special Love," she wrote.

Her golden advice which reeks of experience appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as the trends of showmanship and showboating amid an austerity period continued, with Banky W dominating entertainment news in Nigeria like the boss.

Fast-forward to today (28th of November), Banky W while showcasing the luxury of his hotel room in Johannesburg mistakenly exposed the nudity of his beloved wife, Adesua whose glory was only veiled by her panties as she backed the camera while dressing up. Eagle-eyed Nigerians downloaded the video, did a screengrab of the Adesua scene and shared on social media for gossips.

The multimedia contents have garnered thousands of views on social media to the dismay of the newly-weds who are managing the situation well to the best of information gathered from their Instagram accounts. This absurdity committed by Banky W underscores the need for the education of Nigerians on social media usage where we have been constituting nuisance by reporting our daily lives to people who hardly care.

It’s inglorious for the body of our beautiful and decent Edo princess, Adesua to be exposed to public viewership just because of the seeming youth exuberance of Banky W who has ignored the Yoruba saying that;

"If a farmer's yam tuber harvest is too big, he would cover it with his hands".

In simple terms, this emphasizes on the need to hide your massive success from your neighbours to prevent any undue envy that could lead to spiritual attacks and cold war.

Banky W has succeeded in humiliating Adesua beyond measure as we Nigerians are very conservative people who scorn n*dity at least in public to protect our societal values and sanity. The issue can die for today but the internet never forgets and his singular act will be a vivid point of reference in discussing the ills of social media. This is not the United States of America where reality star, Kim Kardashian and her sisters strip to get moneyed endorsements from adult contents or a Chrissy Teigen-John Legend union where n*de picture leaks is as normal as drinking water.

36-year old Banky should learn from Dbanj and his signee, DJ Xclusive who are presently basking in the joy and peace of marriage after engaging in it secretly. Sound Sultan is another great artiste and father who sells his art on social media not his marriage to protect the sanctity of the institution.

Life in Nigeria is harsh due to the hard economic realities thereby making it risky to share success stories without being hurt by hateful comments. Several people are angry online for reasons they can't just explain. People upload pictures to hide their pains because they want to catch up with people like Banky W who have consciously and unconsciously kept them on their toes with the photoshopped parts of their lives.

The bitter truth is that majority of commenters on social media are not happy for Banky W and can't wait to voraciously feed on contents which would point to the crash of the marriage.

We pray Banky W learns from this experience which must have left Adesua and her family members devastated after their daughter has enjoyed a scandal-free career thus far.

Written exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George

Source: https://www.tori.ng/news/81669/banky-w-more-stories-on-adesua-etomis-unclad-image.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Mynd44

A young love-struck couple decided to abandon elements of civilization by taking their pre-wedding photo-shoot to the past with the wealth of the local tradition expressed.

Chizurum Chukwuocha a.k.a 'All Weather', has decided to finally tie the knot with his fiancee, Nkechi after a successful courtship over a period of time.

Their pre-wedding photo-shoot captures the environment of love in the medieval period before the advent of onstentatious products and lifestyle linked with the 21st century.

An excited Chizurum made an appraisal of his beautiful wife-to-be in a message sent exclusively to TORI News, and can be read below:

"Vivian Nkechinyere Asogwa (Princess Nk) is a pretty damsel whose heart is that of a gold, her smiles brings forth the sparkles of emerald, very prudent in speech.

"She's a God fearing woman, my prayer warrior. i met her on that faithful day after church service, enjoying herself in an exotic restaurant. Like play - like play, things began to go down well, our love grows stronger every single day and finally landed us on the aisle.

"25th of November is the day I will forever dedicate to God almighty for joining us together as one. I love you NKzurum."

Speaking about the couple, a longtime friend of the groom, Odinaka George, who shared the photos said; "Chizurum is my friend, we met way back from IMT Enugu in 2005, he is a kind-hearted, accomodating and takes everyone as his brother. I wish him and his wifey the very best in their marriage."

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/80375/love-drunk-man-climbs-palm-tree-to-profess-love-to.html

Since the year 2008 when social media usage started gaining prominence in Nigeria - the acclaimed giant of Africa, friendly interactions have been boosted among different people from diverse locations, colour, gender, race and other notable extractions.

The internet has created a hotspot for Nigerians to meet new people, reconnect with old friends and mostly kick-start romantic relationships with a wide range of people as against the old practice of accosting people at events and other public gatherings for the same purpose. This has also given adequate oxygen to internet-based s*x work.

According to research, the internet has become one of the most preferred methods of communication as potential clients and prostitutes discreetly reach agreements online and set meeting points. Commercial s*x workers across the world have tapped into the provisions of the internet to create a better contact point between them and their customers.

On the global scene, a first-ever study of the U.S. s*x industry shows that many prostitutes prefer to make transactions over the internet now, where rates are higher and they are less vulnerable to arrest or assault according to a 2014 report on NBC news.

The study found the underground s*x economy in the eight cities brought in nearly $1 billion per year. The five-year study focused on eight cities namely; Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Seattle, San Diego, and Washington and was based on interviews with prostitutes and pimps in all venues including massage parlours, brothels and escort services. It did not include the p*rnographic movie industry which is legal.

Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) which involves buying and selling online has come to stay in Nigeria with the strength of the internet today. The mode of operation is simple; all you need to is to purchase a Smartphone that could guarantee you clear pictures and then subscribe to the internet to connect with the world.

“Flirting online could be fun. It gives you access to a wide range of ladies. You check out their profiles, browse through their different pictures and send your desired one a message. Who knows, you might be lucky to get a favourable response from her. I can’t imagine myself wooing ladies on the streets. I could get embarrassed for that” a Nigerian youth based in Lagos State, the financial hub of Nigeria said.

Nigerians are not only transacting deals on goods like we have e-commerce sites - Jumia, Konga, Payporte, Yudala and others but also services just like it happens in other places in the world.

Practitioners of the oldest profession in the world - prostitution have found it convenient to relate with the outside world through their social media accounts. The fact that Nigeria has over 91 million netizens has created a fertile market for s*x business.

The Nigerian 'pleasure market' is not as organized and audacious as we have in the developed societies where we have escort companies, p*rnstars, professional pimps and others attached to the prostitutes despite the seeming illegality in some countries.

A study by the reporter showed that the Nigerian market could be safely divided into two groups namely; the traditional or full time prostitutes and the alternative prostitutes or freelancers according to his tentative descriptions arrived at in the course of observations and interactions.

Members of the traditional group are the conventional s*x workers you find in brothels, beer parlours, popular junctions in scantily-clad clothes openly trading their services without restraints and mind-boggling boldness. The alternative group could safely be explained as the average next-door neighbour trying to make extra bucks with her body. This could be very clandestine to save the image of the person involved. The business suffers from acute stigmatization on religious and moral grounds but the market is disturbingly large and in high demand.

Monica, a 25-year old lady from Anambra, South-eastern part of Nigeria based in Lagos is living her dreams from the black market where she comfortably makes money simply “enjoying herself”. All she needs to do is to update her Instagram account with alluring photographs of her luscious body parts on display, add a catchy hashtag and the messages will keep rolling in. The light-skinned lady of average height has been touring countries. She has been to Ghana and Dubai. She plans to visit more countries with proceeds from her work.

The motivation behind this trade by promising and educated Nigerian ladies remains elusive as it’s an area they will never want to address.

“They are so business-minded. They just want to deliver their services and leave the house of their clients after being paid. They hardly talk about their personal lives” a source in the know revealed.

A fraud investigator in a top multinational firm in Lagos, Daniel Stephens (not real name) who buys s*x online believes the ladies have no excuse for doing such jobs since they are not handicapped. He believes they are driven by greed and laziness.

“They are no excuses for selling your body but life is all about making choices. No matter how hard life gets, one could engage in artisanal jobs or enrol in teaching or sales jobs pending on when things get better. With my experience, I think most of the ladies naturally enjoy having s*x and drinking heavily. It’s some sort of lifestyle for them” Stephens concluded.

Popular social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Eskimi, Naijapals, Mobofree, Badoo and other small mediums have created an ease in doing business across the length and breadth of the country.

Focus of late has been shifted to Instagram where a lady can expose her b*obs, hips, flat tummy and bum to amass thousands of followers more than prominent celebrities. As the pages skyrockets in terms of followership rate, increased interaction is witnessed in her private box known as Direct Message (DM). Pleasure services in this regard are delivered at cut-throat prices due to the corporate nature of the platform of negotiation. This has proved to be highly lucrative with light-skinned ladies taking the centre stage of attraction.

As Onlinebootycall.com, Hornymatches.com, Fling.com, Cdate and other communities that enhanced ‘one night stands’ brought Americans and Europeans together for s*x in the early 2000s, internet users in Nigeria wished there could be local platforms of that nature in the country as Hi5 struggled.

The growth of Instagram has finally answered the obnoxious prayers of such fellows as a smaller community linked with it and identified as ‘Insta Messenger’ has become the hottest spot for online prostitutes.

The application which is found on Google Play on Android phones as well as iPhones or other smart devices is designed to connect you with individuals within your locality and other close by areas within your state. Although, the mobile application wasn’t purposely designed as for casual relationships with the opposite s*x, young Nigerian ladies with a myriad of successes of business transactions have invited friends to also open accounts and meet men for the delivery of pleasure services.

Users of this online community are not totally commercial s*x workers but 80% of them are into the discreet trade. The deal is codenamed ‘Hook-Up’ according to the information gathered from some male members who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

Some female members on Insta Messenger boldly indicate on their profiles that they want only s*x for money and nothing more. Some list their intoxicating s*xual offers supported by their massive breasts and backsides on display as veiled in see-through clothes.

According to reports gathered, you can either have the ladies on a part time note regarded as ‘Short Time or Short Rest’ or “Overnight”. The Short Time schedule is cheaper. It mostly involves a round or two of s*x depending on the amount of money involved and expertise in negotiations. This could cost N4,000 and above depending on the taste of the girl involved.

The Overnight package involves she sleeping over at your place during which you are entitled to at least three rounds of s*x before 6am in the morning. This costs about N7,000 and above depending on who is involved. If she is based in the highbrow Island area of Lagos, you might fork out about N20,000 to N30,000 for the session because ladies from that axis have better access to wealthy men.

A sales representative, Hassan Ahmed (not real name) who has transacted business on the online community in the cities of Ibadan and Lagos believes the platform is addictive and unbelievable.

“The mobile application makes s*x too easy I must confess. I have used it in two major cities in Nigeria at different times and the female members have been very responsive. They are just normal ladies in serious relationships with some guys not aware of their secret hustle. I am addicted to the platform. I have deleted the application more than 20 times but I always download again when I am Hot” he concluded with laughter.

Aside the ‘freelancers’, random interviews conducted on the mainland axis of Lagos State revealed some mainstream prostitutes who reside in brothels on a full time note are also using Insta Messenger. Most of them are based in Festac Town, Ikeja and some in the Ago Palace Way ares of the economic epicentre of Nigeria. They will direct you to their ‘hotels’ as they call it from the platform. Married men prefer this group of pleasure workers due to issues of venue.

The economic crisis in Nigeria has aggravated moral decadence in Nigeria as young ladies between the ages of 18-30 as seen on Insta Messenger easily raising money from promiscuous men to settle common needs.

Unlike other developed countries in the Global North, Nigeria has no concrete quantitative research conducted on the online prostitution business among her youths. It appears that this is a topic a lot of people shy away from despite being aware of its pronounced existence.

Written exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/80196/how-the-internet-changed-the-face-of-prostitution.html

CC Seun Lalasticlala Ishilove Obinoscoppy Mynd44

The Nigeria political conversation has gone wrong overtime. It is a worrisome situation indeed. How our political institutions, under the watch the ruling All Progressives Congress has been fondly found wanting on the issue of corruption.

Permit me to say this legendary maxim “how is the mighty fallen?” If the change administration could be involved in such a saga among numerous others, then who is safe?

Recently, it was Baru Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru versus the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu over $25 million dollars quagmire. Then now, the Almighty return of Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, a former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms to the civil service.

Sincerely, without fear or favour, I have followed the debate, contending realities about the said Maina Gate. It is critically obvious that Maina seems to be a victim or scapegoat in the hands of the political cable of the Buhari led government. Mr maina was returned to the service, a letter was sent by the constituted authorities. The court acquitted him all charges brought against him. It is expected that the complainers ought to have re-appealed the case, but that wasn't done.

So Mr Maina after winning his case has the constitutional rights to be reinstated and all allowances due to him paid. The point is simple, Maina was accused, he was charged to court and he was declared free of the charges brought against him by law. So therefore, he is free to be re-instated to his position like any other Nigeria who is victorious in a court case.

Did you know that other bodies are involved in cases of pension affairs? For your knowledge, let me bring to your table the details of other establishments that collaborate with the pension office over any issues on civil servants pension. They include and not limited to the following: 15 representatives from the EFCC, 2 representatives from the ICPC, 4 representatives from the state security service, 2 from National Intelligence Agency, 15 from the office of the head of service, 3 from the office of the accountant general of the federation, 2 from attorney general office, while other core representatives are from public complaint commission and national association Nigeria pensioners respectively.

This is the issue. If all these aforementioned bodies are involved in the Maina Gate, how come they are all quiet and silent while only Mr Maina is accused?
Where are they above mentioned names? Why can't the government agencies in question not be called to give account of the roles the play? This is a national issue, and it is expected to me treated nationally without any form of prejudice or fear or favor.

Back to the case of Baru versus Kachikwu, the latter said the former didn't carry him along, so therefore all contracts signed without the knowledge of his desk or office are illegal. That is understood because of lack of due process. Then in case of Maina versus the government agencies present and involved in the issues of pension, have they come out to say Maina acted alone without their consents? No. So why focusing on Maina’s return, calling him so many unprinted names while his counterparts from other government establishments, who worked hand in hand with his office are left out?

The PDP on the other hand has every right to dance to the thrones with the issue at hand. But this issue is not political at all, it should be national. Because whatsoever ever we do today shall resurface tomorrow. So we must learn to do things with posterity in mind.
Maina didn’t act alone, Maina was charged and acquitted by a court of competent jurisdiction, his accusers didn't appeal the case of his victory. So the man is innocent.
There is no need criticising him over what those in authorities took parts in.

Government and governance continue indeed. Whether it happened under PDP or APC, Maina is a Nigerian and must be treated as one.

Points of interest from the Maina Gate:

1. Maina worked with over 6 government agencies as constituted by the law of the federal republic on pension matters.

2. Maina was discharged and acquitted by the court of competent jurisdiction.

3. [/b]Maina accusers didn't re-appeal the case.

[b]4. [/b]Maina was returned to service.

From the above mentioned points, what then makes Maina guilty aside political sentiments and emotional analysis without fact?

This situation is not as bad as it appears. Nigerians must learn to look into matters from the standpoint of truth than mere sentiments.

Until all the agencies involved in the pension scam are brought to testify against their involvement and role they played on this, Maina should not be seen as the evil genius and corrupt fellow because he didn't act alone.

[b]Written by Rwang Patrick Stephen, a Lecturer at the Federal University Kashere, Gombe State.

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/78332/the-hydra-view-of-maina-gate-contending-issues.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Tonyebarcanista Dominique

"Sex is sweet" is the name of a youth church programme to be organised in Kaduna. This has been frowned at by puritans. What can you say about the image below:

News correspondents of the Hello Oduduwa team have reported the story of a family that traditionally rears crocodile as a cultural value passed on from their dead parents in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Follow the story below:

I am Chief Raufu Yesufu Delesolu, the Oota Olubadan of Ibadanland.

Ask anyone around the Oje axis in Ibadan for directions to Delesolu Compound, you can be sure you’ll get there without having to ask again. “Ile Dele”, as they call it, is well known especially because a crocodile is being reared there.

In a bid to find out why a crocodile is being reared in a compound in the heart of one of Ibadan’s most popular markets in Ibadan, the quartet of Emmanuel Okafor, Wole Adejumo,Segunfunmi Adedeji, Tunde Ayanda and Tunde Ajibade went to the compound.

Having to wait as the head of the family, Chief Raufu Yesufu Delesolu, who doubles as the Oota Olubadan of Ibadanland was holding court proved useful. It provided a firsthand experience of what happens in Igbejo Delesolu. He was overseeing a matter brought by traders in the market. When he had settled the matter, we were ushered into the hall and one after the other, Chief Delesolu did justice to the questions posed by the team.

When asked what was behind the rearing of a crocodile by the family, his response was “it is not a religious thing; it is just a family tradition. When our father came to Ibadan as a soldier, he had it.

He had first settled in Ojaaba but when the place became too small for him and his family, he approached Iba Oluyole who was ruling Ibadan then and he gave him the place we are now. And when they came, they agreed that there had to be a crocodile”.

While making it clear that the tradition is as old as Oje Market itself, he shed more light as he said “the present crocodile is not the first. The present one was brought in 1940”. Not done, Chief Delesolu explained that “we moved into this hall in 1949. That was when I was in Class One. And since then, I have never seen anyone bringing palm oil or salt to say they are doing any ritual. The only instruction our parents would give us was that we should go and fetch water and pour it where the crocodile is. Sometimes they would tell us to fetch six buckets each and we would be in a hurry to do so; in order to have time to play football”.

He agreed that the crocodile has been a centre of attraction for decades; “back then, Europeans would come and see the crocodile. They were the ones that made us know that we should be feeding it with chicken. Our fathers never gave it chicken; all they did was just pour water. It used to go out then. It would go and stay in the pond near Ojo ‘Badan’s house. Maybe if not for that pond, it would have gone away long ago.
Funny enough some herbalists would come and even people looking for children. There was a day some people in white clothes came and wanted to start circling the place but we quickly stopped them so that they won’t give our compound a bad name. I said this is not the Ka’aba, why would you be going round it? So we drove them away”.

But does the croc perform any particular function? Oloye Delesolu said “as a family, we believe there are some things that cannot be seen by the ordinary eye. Maybe it has a way of protecting children in the compound. For instance, high fever is not heard of in the compound. You can see that we ran a pipe there; those days we used to pour water and drain the water manually, it would sometimes snatch containers and damage them with its teeth.

It lays eggs, even without mating. It laid eggs some months ago and to retrieve the eggs, we would trick it with a chicken and use the wood there to enclose it at the other end before someone can enter to pack the eggs.

There is nothing religious about it; it is just a family tradition. We are not the only ones that have a crocodile in Ibadan.”
We didn’t leave without asking if there a taboo guiding the tradition or what would happen if there is no crocodile , he looked at the team and said “like I said, it is not a religion. When you know that this thing is your tradition, your family custom, that oh, this was how my fathers did it, you will want to continue that way.

It has never harmed anyone and we don’t even allow it to go out so it is not posing any danger to anybody.
We buy chicken for it but meat sellers in the market come to give it meat, sometimes when animals get killed by vehicles, they will come and give it to the crocodile”.

Again we asked, can there be more than one? “Sometimes Hausa traders bring crocodiles for us to buy but we don’t oblige them because we are not rearing it for food so we don’t need more than one at a time. And when that one dies, whoever is the head of the family at that time will buy a new one”.

When we asked how Igbejo Delesolu came to be, Chief Delesolu laughed and said “Allahu Akbar, this is our own Aso Rock because our family has about 131 compounds extending from Alafara Oje. Igbejo is what our fathers had before the British came with their court system and established customary courts. What we do here is to ensure that peace reigns in the market and till date, if there are disputes in the market they will come here and the matter will be resolved”.


Source: Tori News

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Tonyebarcanista Dominique

I have always argued that one of the prime challenges of Africa is the quality of leadership. Africa, a continent naturally endowed with vast mineral resources has been plagued with self-seeking representatives who are disconnected from the people whose interests they are supposed to protect.

The state's treasury is the motivation of African political actors who tend to corner public funds throughout their tenure in office for the purpose of banishing poverty from their generation and any other group affiliated with their family names. From the 93 year old Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to Faure Gnassingbé of Togo to Paul Biya of Cameroon to Alpha Conde of Guinea, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda and other sit-tight leaders; most African leaders contest and win political power with no clear-cut plan of how to judiciously utilize it. This is part of the reasons why the people still wallow in abject poverty and limited chances of human development.

As China and France positively focus on developing electric cars to eradicate the pollution of air by the emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles, the government of Sierra Leone has comically banned people from "jogging in groups" as it constitutes security threats. Live bullets are still being fired at protesters in Southern Cameroon and Kenya over political issues without any complicit security operative being brought to book for the purpose of deterring any future occurrence of such. Egypt is still maintaining its zero tolerance for press freedom, Nigeria is hoping to start manufacturing pencils in the year 2018 as part of her self-sustainability agenda, the state house clinic in Nigeria despite being allotted an enormous sum of N3.2 billion from the 2015 national budget can't boast of basic medical materials like drugs, syringes, functional X-ray machine and the rest. Our leaders of 'Change' still fly abroad to tend to their health while they leave the ‘death traps’ called local hospitals for the poor masses to possibly die if the opportunity comes. These are aberrations compared to a recent technological watershed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Dubai in September this year successfully tested its first Volocopter autonomous flying taxi drone. They plan to build an Uber-like flying taxi service. This test flight has been described as the world’s first drone taxi service. Why can’t Nigeria and Africa as a whole grab headlines with feats of this magnitude?

Now to the crux of the matter, topping the chart on misplaced priorities in Nigeria in recent times is the erection of an ostentatious statue for the embattled President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma during his visit to Owerri - Imo State, Southeastern part of Nigeria on Saturday, 14th of October, 2017 for an event hosted by Governor Rochas Ewelle Okorocha who has been making headlines over the constant demolition of market structures in the state with the ground accidentally littered with different samples of human blood. The All Progressives Congress governor reportedly erected about 7 of such statues for other local and international personalities yet to be unveiled.

The erected statue of Zuma has been rumoured to cost a whooping sum of N520 million which is obviously inconceivable. Zuma had earlier been conferred with a title of Ochiagha Imo (The head of Imo warriors), by Eze Imo, His Royal Highness Samuel Ohiri. The Imo State government also named a road after the South-African President – Jacob Zuma road after conferring on him the highest Merit Award in Imo for reasons best known to Governor Okorocha.

It was gathered that the purpose of the 2-day visit was to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will provide free education for poor children in Africa and to strengthen socio-economic relations and deepen cooperation in education which is highly applaudable.

The seeming extravagant bronze statue of Zuma has overshadowed the goodwill of the meeting considering the current economic realities in Nigeria.
This has caused an outrage on social and online media with Nigerians expressing displeasure about the celebration of Zuma who has been touted as an icon of corruption by his own people. As Okorocha erects a magnificent statue of a well-clothed Zuma in Nigeria, a naked statue of Zuma purportedly lies in his country for the essence of ridicule. Zuma has been accused of heartlessly mismanaging government funds in his country. He used over $500,000 of public funds in upgrading his apartment housing his numerous wives in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which he was compelled to refund. He flamboyantly constructed a cattle enclosure, amphitheatre, swimming pool, visitor centre and chicken run in his family house.

The Supreme Court of Appeal recently ruled that Zuma should face trial bordering on charges of corruption ranging from fraud, racketeering and money laundering. It agreed with a lower court ruling last year that prosecutors could bring back 783 counts of corruption relating to a 1999 arms deal worth $5 billion. The charges had been set aside eight years ago, enabling Mr Zuma to become president. Corruption just like the administration of a former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan blossomed under Zuma graciously.

According to the African edition of the Global Corruption Barometer released in December last year, 83 per cent of South Africans believed that corruption was increasing and 79 per cent believed that the government was doing a poor job of fighting the trend. In fact, South Africa has experienced its most turbulent year since the end of apartheid in 1994 leading to a non-stop drama featuring allegations of high-level corruption and illicit influence by private interests which have led to court cases.

In March, 2016, Zuma was accused of allowing members of the affluent Indian-born Gupta family to wield undue influence, with a deputy finance minister, Mcebisi Jonas saying he was offered the job of finance minister by one of them.

The family was accused of wielding enormous political influence in South Africa, with critics alleging that it is trying to selfishly capture the state to advance its business interests.

Zuma’s eventful presidency which expires in 2019 has seen him survive eight votes of no-confidence, making him the most colourful and controversial president South Africa has had since white-minority rule ended in 1994.

The state of the South Africa economy under Zuma has also left much to be desired following a historical youth unemployment rate and a fragile economy which just recovered from economic recession. South Africa is becoming Africa's ‘new Mexico’ where drug cartels flourish. It should be recalled that the infamous Ozubulu church massacre in Anambra State earlier this year emanated from South Africa under the leadership of Zuma who has been openly rejected by his people severally in bold protests.

His reputation has depleted the membership of the ruling African National Congress ANC as some visionary party bigwigs left to salvage what is left of their integrity and join the "wailing wailers". Zuma's reign has overseen regular bloody incidents of xenophobia with Nigerians living in the country being at the receiving end. Our Igbo brothers during 'business' in South Africa have been regularly killed by police operatives without any meaningful probe into the anomaly for the purpose of curbing future occurrences.

Zuma is a proud polygamist following a Zulu tradition and currently has four wives. He is also known for his infidelity and has fathered a child with another woman. His private life has also put him in bad light according to media reports. Zuma married six times in total; he has 21 children and has married twice since becoming president in lavish traditional ceremonies.

Okorocha who was accused last year by pensioners of owing pension arrears ranging from 22 to 77 months decided to mock his people by celebrating Zuma with epic profligacy and ignoring legends like Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, Emeka Anyaoku, Sam Nbakwe, Nnamdi Azikiwe and other prominent Igbo bloods who have represented the ethnic nationality at various laudable capacities. It appears that Nigeria is growing but the growth has been negative as usual. We have graduated in flying colours from celebrating our own leaders of questionable characters and we are now honouring the lax personalities of other countries probably in a bid to institutionalize corruption in Africa.

One wonders the rationale behind Okorocha's 'capital project' considering the fact that Zuma might never step into the state again in his life coupled with the impoverished state of Imo people where the people of Mbaise have been teased about living on humongous dowries paid by suitors for their beautiful daughters due to the paucity of funds.

Now, why did Okorocha embark on such a dance of shame that has grabbed the headlines on the basis of oddity? Did he ever consider public perception? Who are the political advisers that gave him the nods on the construction of the statues? What was he aiming to derive from Zuma considering the 'merchant nature' of politicians who always want something back? What has he really benefited from Zuma? Does he believe Zuma could sell his presidential ambition to other African leaders? Does he belong to the same social or powerful cult group with Zuma? These are some of the disturbing rhetorical questions being asked by Nigerians on social media. It appears Mr. Okorocha feels like an achiever considering the 27 cakes he received from the different local government areas in Imo in celebration of his 55th birthday on the 22nd of September, 2017.

Okorocha seems to have adopted President Muhammadu Buhari's golden silence style of ignoring the public reactions till they die down naturally. After all, he can't contest as governor again in Imo after serving for 2 terms of 8 years. Okorocha might never find a need to answer questions but he has scored a dying minute political ‘own goal’ against himself ahead of his presidential bid.

Anybody who was seeing him as the future president of Igbo extraction will be having a rethink by now before Okorocha uses scarce state funds to build flying houses.

Osayimwen Osahon George writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He is a Political Scientist and a journalist.

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/77174/why-okorocha-probably-erected-a-statue-for-preside.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique

One of the leading lecturers of the department of Political Science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State - Dr. Olugbemiga Afolabi recently posted on Facebook that there is no significant difference between President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party, PDP.

Dr. Afolabi made the claim in reaction to the crisis of the state-owned oil company - Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) involving the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Maikanti Baru.

"I wrote before the 2015 elections that Buhari is just slightly better than Jonathan, but that both are bad for Nigeria in every sense material or otherwise. Many picked offence. But events have proved me right that humongous stealing and corruption is still pervasive as before. Those who have hijacked Nigeria will not let go easily. The details coming out of every facet of governance under Buhari, inclusive of NNPC, Senate, House of Reps and the 36 States is as repulsive as repugnant".

This kind of thought is common among Nigerians of late although alot of people fail to admit the sense of truth here and it has been noticed that their confidence in Buhari who has failed to present his minimum educational requirement for the Presidency post - Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE result is not based on facts but phantom feelings in view of the recent developments in Nigeria.

The Buhari product was marketed to Nigerians and accepted widely using his perceived integrity and sturdy intolerance for corruption. In fact, a popular maxim linked to his person during the heated 2015 presidential election was that "if Nigeria doesn't kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria".

Buhari was given the messianic status and the poor masses looked unto him as the missing piece of the puzzle called Nigeria. But Buhari started showing signs of his future failure of integrity test from the 29th of May, 2015 during his inauguration when he plagiarized the words of former French President, Charles de Gaulle which reads "I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody" without giving appropriate credit.

Two of the cardinal points of this current administration are the fight against graft and security; one can't beat his chest to the fact that Buhari is a success if the score-sheet is being rolled out with a scholarly rating of his performances in those areas not to mention the state of the Nigerian economy.

The crisis of confidence between Baru and Kachikwu appears to be the gold-laden coffin of Buhari's anti-graft war which has been described as a clandestine weapon graciously deployed against dissenters in a democratic dispensation.
In an August 30, 2017 memo to Buhari, Kachikwu accused the GMD, Baru of awarding $25billion contracts without consulting either his office or the corporation’s board.

He blamed the GMD for alleged insubordination, lack of adherence to due process and running a “bravado management style”. Kachikwu said he was being sidelined by the GMD and other heads of parastatals in major decisions and appointments. He averred that he has been blocked from meeting with the President by some officials ostensibly working in cahoots with the GMD.

The other details are more disturbing than the unemployment and under-employment rate in Nigeria. Even a person with a blocked nose will perceive that Baru could be aspiring to be the next beleaguered former Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison Madueke under the nose of 'Saint Buhari'. In fairness, today’s response by Baru where he stated that no law obliges him to discuss contract details with Kachikwu requires the expert intervention of lawyers and the law court to reach a compromise.

“It is important to note from the outset that the law and the rules do not require a review or discussion with the Minister of State or the NNPC board on contractual matters.

“What is required is the processing and approval of contracts by the NNPC Tenders Board, the President in his executive capacity or as Minister of Petroleum, or the Federal Executive Council, as the case may be. There are therefore situations where all that is required is the approval of the NNPC Tenders Board while, in other cases, based on the threshold, the award must be submitted for presidential approval. Likewise, in some instances, it is FEC approval that is required” part of the long statement stated.

It should be noted that the oil and gas sector which accounts for over 80% of Nigeria's national revenue is the headquarters of graft in the country. One of the biggest heists in Nigerian history came to light in 2014, when a former Central Bank governor Lamido Sanusi (now Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II) revealed that the equivalent of $20bn had disappeared from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) between 2012 and 2013. The issue today is yet to be fully resolved despite the intervention of the British auditing and consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PWC.

Buhari's government is set to go down as one of the most corrupt and fantastically irresponsible administrations in the history of Nigeria if the definition of the term 'corruption' is well understood and juxtaposed with the gory happenings at the corridors of power where the future over 80 million Nigerian youths are being eaten away by their representatives.

According to the Wikipedia, corruption is a form of dishonest or unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire personal benefit.

In another perspective, Stephen D. Morris, a professor of politics, also writes that political corruption is the illegitimate use of public power to benefit a private interest.

On the basis of the aforementioned, there is no gainsaying the fact that Buhari might be directly and indirectly involved in sharp practices if we are not being economical with the truth. Firstly, Buhari, the custodian of our commonwealth has been running an opaque administration and he betrayed the sacrosanct principle of accountability when he failed to disclose his health status as well as the source and cost of his medical bills in London, United Kingdom for 103 days suspectedly drawn from the tax payers sweat.

Under Buhari, the foremost anti-graft body - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is failing to fully account for the total amount of money and assets recovered from dishonourable public officials. Even the embattled acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu couldn't put a figure to the recovered loot during his senate screening earlier this year. Lack of transparency creates a safe haven for petty, grand and systemic corruption. There are fears that the loot could be 're-looted' as the rumoured case of the late Gen. Sani Abacha loot under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Constituted Authorities or Constituted Thieves?

One enigmatic characteristic of the Buhari administration is the reputation of his cabinet members, political associates and generally other appointees attached to him by party or ethnic lines. This is like a case of a Pastor keeping suspected armed robbers as close friends. It’s only a matter of time before the police whisk him away for the crimes of his friends.

One of Buhari's right-hand men, David Babachir Lawal - the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been embroiled in an over N200 million grass-cutting scandal.

Mr. Lawal allegedly used his company Rholavision Engineering Ltd, while still being its director, to receive consultancy contract to clear invasive plant in Yobe State from Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE, an intervention agency under his office. Buhari cleared him of all the charges in his letter to the senate only for the President to make a U-turn in the face of public pressure and daunting evidence. Till date, the issue of corruption right in front of Buhari is being handled like an 'in-house family affair'.

The suspicious N13 billion Osborne funds stashed in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos State in which the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency - Ambassador Ayo Oke was fingered is also yet to be addressed by Buhari despite the fact that his amiable deputy, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo presented his panel probe report before him about a month ago.

This has given credence to the rumours that Buhari knew about the funds appropriated for a covert operation that looks non-existent. Buhari's Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari has been accused of obtaining N500 million bribe from South African telecommunication company, MTN to lobby its soft-landing after the heavy fine slammed by the Nigerian government.

Mr. Kyari has also been accused of prospecting on behalf of a private business - Valiant Offshore Contractors Limited that is being fronted by the major owner of SeaWolf Oil Services Limited, the single biggest debtor of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

According to investigative online newspaper - Sahara Reporters, Seawolf Limited owes First Bank of Nigeria about N160billion, as a result of which two oil rigs owned by the company have since been seized by AMCON and parked at the Lagos Marina.

Rumours have it that Kyari has also being frolicking with an alleged morally-bankrupt businessman, Jide Omokore who is being tried by the EFCC alongside Diezani Allison Madueke and Kola Aluko over what could be regarded as 'legendary fraud'.

Kyari has been linked with a prominent role in blocking an investigation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into a huge fraud by Sahara Energy. Some sources claim Kyari has his hands and legs in the plight of Magu as he seeks to remove him for a fresh candidate that could do his bidding. While these are still mere allegations that should be properly investigated with Kyari questioned, Buhari has confidently looked the other way.

Members of the opposing People's Democratic Party wouldn't have enjoyed this level of presidential grace. The Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Toyin Ojo; and the Accountant General, Mrs. Oluyemisi Owolabi are languishing in EFCC cells over the alleged misuse of bailout funds by the Ayodele Fayose administration.

A former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola who is now the Minister of Works, Power and Housing was accused of spending a ridiculous sum of N139m on the drilling of two boreholes and another N78.3 million for the upgrade of his personal website during his tenure as governor. The figure for the latter was later beaten to N10 million through a suspected media manoeuvre.

Fashola is not alone in this; a former governor of the oil-rich Rivers State - Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi who is now the Minister of Transport has been accused by Rivers state government of embezzling a whooping sum of N3 trillion in 8 years. As usual, the allegation has been countered with a press statement from Amaechi's camp and the EFCC has kept mum.

Similarly, a former governor of Ekiti State and now Minister of Solid Minerals Development - Kayode Fayemi has been accused by the Ekiti State House of Assembly of raiding the state's purse of N40 billion during his single tenure. The lawmakers have laboured in vain to draw the attention of the EFCC to the historical fraud.

To be continued tomorrow..................

Written by Osayimwen Osahon George from Lagos, Nigeria.

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/76318/nnpc-crisis-the-corrupt-side-of-buharis-antigraft.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mynd44 Obinoscoppy Dominique Tonyebarcanista

When I just joined Twitter, or say, when I just realised how to use the very complicated micro-blogging platform, one of the phrases I came in contact with is “Everything in Nigeria will Kill You”. I think someone also had a chapter in his book titled that. It is one shocking fact that is hard to put away – one that all indices in the country support clearly. It is worrisome to say the least, it is even disturbing as one lives this reality daily. This reality pits Nigerians and all that they hold dear against an evil that seems it will never go away.

As usual, filled with enthusiasm, I packed my bags and headed to Enugu as we continue to work towards ending Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria. I was filled with the joy of another learning opportunity – opportunity to learn lessons from others working in various states, the excitement of sharing our side of the story in Ekiti State and by extension, the south west. I also saw the opportunity to see what the south east looks like after the brouhaha that followed the Operation Python Dance.

It was not my first sojourn into the region. It would be my second after East 101. My first trip to Enugu was beautiful – new food, new tongue, new people. It was going to be my second – an opportunity to build on the first beautiful impression I had, an orgasmic feeling I wanted again.

Akure is a beautiful place in its right and one of the interesting thing about it is the easy access that you have to all other parts of the country. It gives me pleasure to travel outside Akure by road. The chance to see people, interact with them and learn one or two things about Nigeria. The journey from Akure was near perfect until we got to the Benin-Asaba road and ran into a gridlock. Everyone thought there had been an accident or that one of the many trailers on the road had broken down or that a part of the road had gone bad – these are the usual suspects for traffic lock down in our dear country.

It will amaze you to learn that the gridlock was caused by men of the Nigerian Army who narrowed all the vehicles to a single file (for whatever reason, I always believe that when security check points are mounted, they are essential unless when used as collection points for money). Just as we were been passed to move on, we heard a gun shot and people in the vehicle were enveloped by fear. A soldier, one of the men at the check point, had shot into the air for no reason. For no reason.

A man paid to protect the people sent shivers down their spines for no reason and then I imagined what if people who respond badly to shocks were on that road, a Nigerian soldier would have caused more harm for such person without provocation. Tell me again if Nigeria doesn’t want Nigerians dead.

The journey continued without any funny incident but every kilometre covered reminded me of the horrible road between Onitsha and Awka, then the Awka to Enugu road. The fear of what to encounter there frightened me after every thought of it.

In 2016, when I visited Awka for a week long social impact programme by the Editorial CDS of Awka NYSC, I saw the bridges built by Obiano and the machineries on the Onitsha-Awka road. I returned to Akure singing the praises of Gov. Willie Obiano and told my people that truly Obiano is Working. However, since I have not heard nor read the news of the commissioning of the road, my fear became stupefying.

I never knew all along that I was not alone. On ascending the Niger bridge in Onitsha, people began murmuring about the state of the road ahead in mockery of the posters that littered everywhere talking about Willie. I was not only shocked but filled with disappointment when I saw that the state of the road had gone from bad to worse in just a year. The shame of a road sandwiched between Onitsha and the bridges of Obiano in Awka. It ridicules the achievements of Mr Gov as advertised on TVs. Then I wondered, why lie about these things? An irony? A billboard of Willie’s conferment of a chieftaincy title stands at the end of one of the bridges, just after a very bad portion of the road. Then an Obiano is Working branded bus drove through the muddy road slowly to avoid skidding off its lane. The shame that governance is in Nigeria.

It didn’t get any better as the journey progressed. A part of the Awka-Enugu road is in a state where no vehicle can ply it again, at least, for the rainy season. Many trailers loaded with goods are trapped on that road.

As usual, Nigerians would always find their ways out of the death trap set for them by Nigeria but the question is always “are there better alternatives”? There are always alternatives, always, but are they in any way better? Improved service or convenience? The answer remains NO, for now.

The alternative route from Awka to Enugu is an abandoned bridge where only one vehicle can pass at a time. This route is not good enough for bicycles let alone cars or buses. This route that Nigerians have come to accept as their alternative is nothing but a disaster in waiting. This alternative route is now a commercial centre as hawkers have shifted their base here and they have been joined by a gang of young men who smoke and consume alcohol while they work as Toll fee collector and traffic officers. This sad occurrence is possible because Nigeria (Federal and State) have decided to allow her human capital base continue to degenerate.

The above scenario replayed itself in about 4 places on the Kabba-Ikare-Ado axis. Yes, when I was returning for fear of travelling that horror of a road again, we were advised to travel through Nsukka to Okene road.

It is shameful to admit that the alternate route gave me more nightmare than the first. I was dazed when I heard that the Iyamoye-Omuo road was not motor-able at the time and we detoured to the Kabba-Ikare-Owo road. This road was like a “Copy and Paste’’ version.

Nigerians were travelling through thick forests and filled with fear. No one knows what lies ahead and people coming from the other end were asking what lies ahead of them. I saw Nigerians sharing hope with one another. Drivers telling one another to proceed with caution and saying words of prayers for one another. For more than 4 hours, I couldn’t concentrate on anything, not even the silent prayers I was saying for myself and the nation. Not even on the prayer for the businesses of Nigerians that have taken big hits because trailers carrying their merchandise are either trapped in some muddy forest or the many others that have fallen on one another. It was a shame, a distasteful look. One wondered again and again, why do we have leaders and people who care less about our well being and derive joy from sending us to early graves through avoidable deaths.

It beats me how people who we elect from amongst us continue to act like these problems don’t exist and continue to live in opulence when 99% of the nation is enveloped in untold hardship.
It is beyond my comprehension how Nigeria continues to put us in impossible positions yet expect us to remain together in peace. It confounds me how Nigeria treats us as slaves in our own country yet want us to develop and compete with others favourably in the next three years.

Again, more than ever, the road trip showed me that the citizens can not afford to always stay in the background when matters that affect them are discussed. We must go beyond all the divides to raise our voice and take actions that will give us a better life.

We can not afford to leave our lives in the hands of a few group of people who have equated us to pawns in their chess game of money and politics.

Written by Arakunrin Abayomi Tajudeen Sarumi

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Mydn44 Obinoscoppy

Source: https://aatsarumi.com.ng/2017/10/01/nigeria-wants-you-dead/

From historical flooding to earthquakes, mudslides, landslides and hurricanes; it appears the world might end soon as spoken about in the book of Revelations in the Holy Bible. Nigeria might not be experiencing the worst of natural disasters like the hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Katia and Jose but it appears a seeming human disaster tagged ‘Hurricane Nnamdi Kanu’ spinning in the South-east might tear the country apart in the face of President Buhari in no distant time.

In the latest season of the endless political drama tilted 'Nigeria', President Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB - Mazi Nnamdi Kanu have taken dominant roles of the antagonist and the protagonist with their parts alternating depending on where you stand tribally.

The audience is being tortuously and distractingly entertained with a show of influence between both parties. Buhari is staging the cultural Operation Python Dance II right beside the compound of Nnamdi Kanu's father's compound at Afaraukwu Ibeku Umuahia in Abia State. The dance isn't by beautiful ladies and energetic men in colourful native attires showing the flexibility of their body structures while people wined and dined as we are used to. It's a dance exasperated Nigerian soldiers who treat every national assignment with discontentment with life and the depressive economic realities in the most populous black nation in the world. It’s a dance where the music is replaced with gunshots and horse whips with smiles replaced with hot tears and agony. I am talking about the dance of widespread fear, panic, flesh and blood. This is what happens where the python, a reptile that is known to swallow its preys dances for you.

Before now, Nnamdi Kanu, 50 traversed the polity as an emperor walking majestically among his teeming followers who found his feet attractive to kiss; an act that is reminiscent of the master-slave relationship in the medieval period. Gradually, he gathered momentum and courage to flout the bail conditions he signed to while Buhari struggled with his undisclosed illness in London, United Kingdom. His words against the Nigerian government carried fire, fury and stark hate thereby threatening the ‘theoretical unity’ the major tribes in Nigeria share.
Nnamdi Kanu enjoyed the open and unwavering support of some professional politicians from the main opposition party in Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party namely a former minister of Aviation Femi Fani Kayode and the governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Peter Fayose. Other politicians in the Southeastern part of Nigeria on a clandestine note drummed support for the young man like he was divinely mandated to break the Igbo Nation out of the ‘Zoo’ which he regards Nigeria as. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, an apex Igbo socio-cultural group stood solidly behind Nnamdi Kanu. A former Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubo also suddenly fell in love with making videos to mock the President while the spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful released more press statements than a media house. The situation was tantamount to the perfect picture of the fate of your house in the hands of rats when you embark on a lengthy vacation.

As the pictures of Nnamdi Kanu’s soaring popularity littered social media platforms, the United Kingdom returnee launched the Biafra Secret Service and reportedly the Biafra National Guard which he called the vigilante groups. In fact, his inspection of the guard of honour at the inauguration of the BSS was spectacular and presidential.

There were social media arguments that Nnamdi Kanu could wield more influence than Buhari. Kanu even went as far as reiterating that he was ready to die for the Biafra cause and his followers could burn down Nigeria if anything happens to him. I remember vividly when he threatened former President Olusegun Obasanjo as well as his lineage with total annihilation over some comments of his which Kanu found unfavourable to his separatist cause.

In the absence of Buhari, a coalition of northern group, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum appeared to embark on an offensive crisis de-escalation move in the inglorious Kaduna Declaration that called for the exit of the Igbo's from the 19 northern states before the 1st of October, 2017 or face physical attacks. It took the intervention of Governor Shettima of Borno State and other stakeholders to make the infamous group rescind the order which had birthed a hate and genocidal song against the Igbos in the north. This would have not only claimed lives but properties of the prosperous Igbos would have been reduced to rubbles by the northerners who have a long history of restiveness and homicidal acts.

In the light of the foregoing, it was crystal clear that Buhari, a former military dictator rumoured to have a penchant for wielding the big stick generously at dissenting voices and being stingy with the carrot was going to pay Kanu an august visit. It was just a matter of when and how. All indications showed that Buhari was going to wait for the court of law to sanction the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu as filed by the government but the 74 year old retired Major General was impatient and had other plans. He opted to give Nnamdi Kanu a bit of his military orientation and the python was called to come dance for him at the heart of the IPOB headquarters.

One uncanny thing about Buhari is his level of unpredictability. You hardly know his direction and it’s debatable to say this attribute must have detrimentally affected his handling of the recuperating local economy. He loves to spring surprises and it’s almost impossible to know his enemies from his few words or physical reactions. In the last two years of being verbally attacked and mocked with his health by Fayose, Buhari has never mentioned his name in the media but the war between them is colder than Iceland. That is who the leader of Fulani descent is. The preparation of the dance of the python - Egwu Eke II has thrown Kanu's defiant and compact camp in disarray. His supporters have been reportedly subjected to inhumane conditions of military brutality while others have been killed. Kanu in a phone call put to him by Channels TV yesterday evening claimed the Nigerian Army invaded his house and killed 22 of his followers as well as his dog with his elderly father threatened with a gun. The IPOB has been declared a terrorist organization by the Nigerian Army and to compound their woes, the South-eastern governors in a fresh resolution have proscribed the pro-Biafra group which has been labeled a security threat. The self-styled Southeastern warlord has been relegated to the level of someone seeking public sympathy as he hides from the Nigerian Army. He is presently calling on the United Nation, European Union, and other members of the international community for intervention.

It seems Buhari’s military approach to the agitations which might be reasonable depending on where you stand has been reckless. But again, accidental human right activists heaping criticisms on him have forgotten that you can’t beat a child and as well teach him or her how to cry. You can’t hurt me and also teach me how to revenge although two wrongs don’t make a right and fire doesn’t quench fire; water does.
Those criticizing Buhari for making Kanu relevant following his initial arrest are only making a mockery of the wise saying that you can only trim the branches of an Iroko tree when it’s at the tender stage, it will demand sacrificial exercises to control when it reaches full maturity. No wise man finds rest in a room when a small snake is parading because the size can never be undermined when considering the grave danger it poses. The neglect and condoning of the nefarious antics of the late Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf by security operatives and the state government in Borno State today has birthed the cancer of terrorism leading to the death of over 100,000 people (Shettima, 2017), displacement of 2.7 million people taking refuge at the Internally Displaced People's camps, destruction of infrastructural facilities in the northeast, setback in the aspect of agriculture and other crises which are chain reactions to public unrest. Remember that Nnamdi Kanu once attempted to talk an Igbo group in diaspora into raising funds for him to acquire arms to battle Nigeria for the independence of Biafra. He was like a ‘loose cannon’.

No sane leader will watch Nnamdi Kanu pollute the minds of his people through the Radio Biafra which was illegally being transmitted in the country from the United Kingdom. Another state was technically created inside Nigeria with emblems, flags, passports and currencies. The group even grew wings that it had the effrontery to declare that no election will hold in the Southeastern part of Nigeria and stakeholders started trembling with fear. They were forced to hold emergency meetings with their recalcitrant son pursuing a cause outside the dictates of legitimacy.

The last thing Buhari would want to be remembered for is the break-up of the Nigerian entity. Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through an act of political expediency avoided being associated with that by history. This is the last detail Buhari would like to be associated with in his Wikipedia page.

Right to self determination by a group of people isn’t illegal. It is recognized by the United Nations charter which Nigeria is a signatory too. The problem I have with the cause is that it has an egomaniacal outlook. There has been a proliferation of pro-Biafra groups following the success of Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB and IPOB which the leaders are drawing money from in exploitation of sympathizers. MASSOB is like a company run for 18 years by Ralph Nwazurike without a concise direction which is on purpose. Covert and overt followers are made to contribute to a common purse which is never accounted for just like the constituency projects of federal lawmakers and security votes of state governments.

For every statement in support of Biafra, you will see five others against it from the same people reported to be marginalized. The Igbos have never spoken in unison and this is a historic problem that could be traced to the failure of the British Indirect Rule system. There are claims that the voice of Nnamdi Kanu doesn't reflect the yearnings of the people which is a fact as he is not a constituted authority. The referendum he is seeking for is alien to the Nigerian constitution. His efforts shouldn't be originally directed at Buhari but the National Assembly for the amendment of the 1999 constitution to facilitate a referendum. Our constitution says in Section Two that Nigeria is one “indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state” to be known by the name the federal republic of Nigeria.

He should gather the South eastern governors, senators, House of Reps members in the Southeast, House of Assembly members, traditional rulers and representatives of dominant socio-cultural or political groups to speak in a common tongue and prosecute their demands of secession. This will give it a more far-reaching face and not his purported collaboration with an Osita Chidoka who is hoping to be an Anambra governor come November 18 under the banner of the United Peoples Party, UPP or a Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia-South Senatorial District) who plans to dig his grave at the Red Chamber where he has spent over 10 years making uncommon laws.
The level of hypocrisy in Nigeria is alarming and the country is built on lies. The country is cursed with ‘political entrepreneurs’ investing the angers and despondency of the downtrodden in their political businesses.

The only business venture that strives well is politics where the act of sleaze is not a sin. The Igbos claim to be marginalized but I have always argued that there is no challenge faced by the Igbos that is not evident among the other tribes. The bitter truth is that the country is sick without an available serum. The Igbos have argued that appointments in the country have been lopsided which is very true but in the real sense the issue of the reflection of the federal character principle in the area public appointments has never translated to national development. The north has produced more leaders today but the region has remained perpetually impoverished and starved of formal education which is the light every generation needs to move forward.

The truth of the matter is that everybody is fed up with Nigeria where a First Class university graduate is not even guaranteed of anything in the labour market. I have a very young friend who almost graduated with a First Class from a federal university and she has been forced to settle with a teaching job where she is earning a meagre salary that can’t cater for her transport costs pending on when God will ‘pick her call’. Yes, the pastors now are like the hope of Nigeria seeing our problems from the spiritual perspective.

People are hungry and angry despite the fact that some even have comfortable. The high rate of inflation in Nigeria has rendered the greenback worthless and figures of economic projections churned out by the National Bureau of Statistics every month have failed to connect with the realities on ground. Inflation rate in Nigeria for the month of August has dropped TO16.01% but the surge in food prices at the local market is astronomical. This is part of many issues interwoven with poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, healthcare, power, potable water, good roads and legendary corruption. Nigeria is truthfully a plague we should be divorced from but looking at the situation that way is like cutting off the head because of a disturbing migraine instead of settling for drugs.

I must admit that President Buhari’s body language has further divided Nigerians as he appears to have a score to settle with the Igbos. Buhari in 2015 told an American audience that he was going to treat Nigerians unequally, that is according to the support they gave him during the presidential election. What a gaffe!

We all know Nigeria has never been united and we have been wired by documentation procedures to think about our Local Government Areas and States of Origin first before considering ourselves as Nigerians. That is what our resumes even teach us except for those that have upgraded theirs to the latest standard.

President Buhari’s lopsided appointments are reprehensible, provocative and condemnable. It hurts more that the government has refused to prosecute the self-acclaimed youths behind the infamous Kaduna Declaration which almost tore Nigeria apart. I personally wish the Operation Python could be directed at the irate Fulani herdsmen committing all manners of atrocities across the geopolitical zones with the my-brother-is-in-power feeling. There is no special law for any ethnic nationality in a democracy and preferential treatments will always breed discord. The bad news is that Buhari doesn’t care and he is not ready to be politically correct. This was expressed in the tone of his presidential speech on his return from London, United Kingdom after staying for about 103 days.

With the 2019 presidential election less than 18 months away, it seems Buhari doesn’t care about the reputation of his party or himself in the South-east with gory pictures of killed IPOB supporters and sickening videos of civilians being tortured by the army on the streets.

The reports have been laced with serious propaganda and it’s working positively for the IPOB members. The truth is that the international image of Buhari and Nigeria is also being sacrificed on the altar of ego here. As the United States of America whose political system used to reek of perfection at the surface level is dealing with the character of President Donald Trump acting against the norms, I think Nigerians should also conform and adapt to a Buhari who has a military ideology which has worked in crisis de-escalation to an extent.

The Igbos might not like him but I will not encourage the Igbos to hate him as he is the pilot flying the Nigerian plane and it will be suicidal to help him crash the big bird conveying us into the Red Sea. His time will probably expire in the year 2019 but the Nigerian entity which is bigger than all of us continues.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a political scientist and journalist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: http://villagetowncrier..com.ng/2017/09/the-unholy-union-of-president-buhari.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Obinoscoppy Dominique Mynd44

Mother of one and Ekiti State University graduate, Gwen Tagbarha is set for her first political outing in her home state, Delta.

The former beauty queen is prepared for the uphill task of unseating an incumbent Chairman of the Sapele Local Government Area in Delta State at the polls in November, 2017 when the Local Government election is expected to hold.

Gwen Tagharha, an advocate of formal education for youths as a great step towards restructuring the human minds will be slugging it out at the primaries with political jugernauts at the grassroots level under the banner of the People's Democratic Party, PDP.

Mrs. Tagbarha is testing the murky waters of politics at a time when the #NotToYoungToRun campaign to encourage the participation of Nigerian youths in politics is gaining momentum.

The participation of women in Nigerian politics has been limited but the beautiful and very young woman might be drawing inspiration from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May and other frontline women leaders across the world towards positivity.

She believes governance is for the young, intelligent and the service-minded people with the vision to heal the people from the sickness of maladministration which has birthed the general apathy towards politics.

The actress and screen idol is passionate about the welfare of widows, orphans and the less privileged. She achieved a life-long dream in 2014 when she was crowned the winner of the maiden Miss Nollywood Nigeria; and that’s in addition to her being the Face of Niger Delta.

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/72594/former-miss-nollywood-gwen-tagbarha-ventures-into.html

In this age of false prophecies being released by clerics in the media thereby causing apathy among faithfuls, there seems to be a young man who stands out with valid prognosis.

A two year old video of prophetic utterances (posted on Youtube on the 30th of March, 2015) made by one Prophet Gbemiga Shedrack Adetuberu of the Faith and Miracle International Church located in Ibadan, Oyo State is currently making rounds on social media.

The prophecies of the 30-year old which centred on politics have left Nigerians shell-shocked due to the plausibility and relevance of his revelations to the current realities in the Nigerian political space.

Mr. Adetuberu whose parents are also religious leaders in the Christain faith revealed Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (RTD) was going to win the 2015 presidential election under the banner of the All Progressives Congress beating his incumbent People's Democratic Party counterpart former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

He revealed that Mr. Buhari's 2 years in office will be marred by sickness but he would recover to transform Nigeria and revitalize the local economy.
The handsome prophet who has gained popularity in the city of Brown Roofs as a result of miracles, signs an wonders linked to him stated that Akinwunmi Ambode (current governor of Lagos State) was going to win the gubernatorial election in the financial hub of Nigeria with Jimi Agbaje of the PDP trailing him.

Majority of the chilling revelations have come to pass with Buhari and Ambode cruising to victory, Nigeria sliding into economic recession and the President almost spending 6 months cummulatively in London, United Kingdom over an undisclosed ailment.

Read some excerpts from the 3:37 minute video obtained by Tori News correspondent, Osayimwen Osahon George:

"APC is going to win this election by a landslide.

After APC wins, for the first two years there will be scarcity of finances but its for the good of the country.

For 2 years, people will almost be cursing him (Buhari). People will almost be tired of him but after two years, people are going to know the value of what he has been doing.

.......Because I see the naira at the rate of N100 or less to the dollar.

Then, in that rule of APC, the President will be sick but it is not unto death. God is going to heal the man, that is the new president. He is going to bring greatness and openness to the country.

APC will rule for two terms. They will win the first term and they will win the second term but the second term will be very close.

After the second term, the APC will break up into 3-4 fragments due to the traitors among them.

Concerning Lagos State, Ambode is winning Lagos State"

Watch the video below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fiST-0ROzY

Source: http://www.tori.ng/news/71271/meet-the-young-prophet-who-predicted-president-buh.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Mynd44 Ishilove Dominique

There is no gainsaying the fact that the 72% poverty level in Nigeria according to an August 2016 report by Fitch Ratings Incorporated has eaten into the psyche of Nigerians thereby adversely affecting our quality of thoughts and rationality.

People nowadays astonishingly suppress their conscience for short term benefits. Integrity appears to have been banished from this country with a threat that it will be lynched on a return at a future date. A typical Nigerian man will not mind housing the dreaded Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau if he can offer him a rent running into millions. This also accounts for why the electorates openly sell their votes to egocentric politicians in broad daylight only to regret it when the treasury is ' kidnapped and raped'.

The Anambra massacre which took place on Sunday, the 6th of August, 2017 at St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, claiming at least 12 lives with injured 40 people according to recent reports reeks of the level of societal decadence in Nigeria. It exposes an anomalous situation where people are ready to collaborate either directly or indirectly with individuals of questionable characters for crumbs. To them, crime is legal as far as they are not the direct victims of the act.

A confirmation statement by the governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano that the bloody attack wasn't orchestrated by members of the Boko Haram sect or the separatist group - Independent People of Biafra, IPOB but the sons of the Ozubulu community who were at war over a presumed illicit business deal is a naked walk in the market place. I guess the audacious bloodbath and sacrilege needed no much investigation following the speedy tracing of the source of the fracas by the people. It means it was an open secret which toddlers are even privy to unconsciously. For those who believe the narrative of a drug feud is fallacious, I want to remind them that valid intelligence begins like mere rumours till they are followed up by security operatives and proved to be veracious.

Even the world-record move of Brazilian forward, Neymar Jr from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £200m and fairy tale annual salary of £40.7m before tax started as a laughable gist on blogs till reality stunned all football fans.

According to reliable media reports, the attacker(s) stormed the Church premises during a worship session to hurt the family members and loved ones of the founder of a certain Ebubechukwu Uzo Foundation, Chief Aloy Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, Akuchinyere Nwata 1, Bishop 1 of Ozubulu popularly regarded as Bishop after a possible failed attempt to nail him on his visit to Nigeria.

Rumours have it that Bishop had been locked in a fierce feud with one other Ozubulu man named Obrocho who is based in South Africa peddling hard substances. The bad blood according to preliminary reports had already claimed 15 lives in both Nigeria and South Africa as at 2015. Additionally, Bishop who is alleged to have a drug cartel of about 500 men working under him became a trouble magnet after his former hatchet man from Mbaise Local Government Area, Imo State was killed for defecting to the opposite side. One drug pusher, Nonso from Nnobi (next to Idemili South in Anambra State) who was reportedly betrayed by the Ozubulu brothers and thrown into jail for the purpose of hijacking his territory in Johannesburg also aggravated the tension among the drug syndicates.

The 36-year old Bishop who claims to be an estate developer as well as an international business man has endured a negative reputation of unfounded wealth and drug-pushing but the people accommodated and showered him with support as long Greek Gifts were in wide circulation.
He is said to have tarred some roads in his community – Amakwa Ozubulu in Ekwusigo local government area and had also contributed to the building of St. Aloysius Church of Divine Mercy, still in Ozubulu. Impressively, Bishop had instituted a salary scheme for the people of Ozubulu, including the aged.

In fact, on May 1, 2017, the governor of Anambra, Mr. Obiano was billed to inaugurate some of the roads Bishop tarred in his community. This assuaged the uneasiness of residents including clergymen who never thought it wise to exercise due diligence in the face of free food. This is the same way our society celebrates morally bankrupt leaders and internet fraudsters addressed as ‘Yahoo Bois’ as long as they are generous with their loot. In fact, musicians praise them in hit songs to the envy of the good and law-abiding citizens.

Bishop with his enigmatic wealth was also conferred with the Ozo chieftaincy title which is one of the most revered positions in Igbo land. This was done by high ranking traditional ruler - Igwe of Umuje (a.k.a Igwe Talu Nchara), in 2014.
The most mind-boggling part of the story is that the bloody feud was reportedly known to prominent people in Ozubulu who are expected to be puritans and fundamentalists redirecting the paths of the youth when they go astray.

Further reports have it that before this Sunday attack at the Catholic Church that the Igwe (His Royal Highness, Igwe Fidelis Nnamdi Oruche, Eze Ugodinaobi, Okeife II, The Obi of Ozubulu) had tried to settle the matter about eight months ago without success according to an investigation carried out by online news portal, PM Express.

Even the involvement of clergymen had not help resolve the animosity. And so this attack confirmed that the matter wasn't resolved amicably. It this is true, then the last iota of integrity and morality in Nigerians has been lynched by an angry mob for no just cause. People no longer patronize the devil on a subterranean note but they also romance him in broad daylight and damn the public.
This might not come as a rude shock considering the fact that a former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori was celebrated by state governors, businessmen, lawmakers, traditional rulers and other eminent people on his exit from a United Kingdom prison in December, 2016. This was a man that ostensibly pleaded guilty at the Southwark Crown Court in London in 2012 to the theft of $250 million from the state's commonwealth and other 9 corruption charges.

In Nigeria today, the Church has been enmeshed in dirty politics as religious gatherings have become campaign grounds. Politicians in turn share their loot with their so called spiritual leaders who are impatient about reaping the rewards of their labour in heaven as postulated in holy books. Every politician today is attached to one religious group or the other to launder their stinking images. The peak of it was when the then ruling party - People's Democratic Party was accused of sharing N7 billion among influential clerics during the 2015 presidential election to bribe them into securing their political support and that of their members for former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Nowadays, nobody cares about the source of money anymore. Everybody just wants to partake of the spending party without any due consideration of the untold implications. This has encouraged and energized criminals in our societies which is boldly detrimental and condemnable.

A few months ago, some unscrupulous Nigerians mustered courage to push for the freedom of a self-confessed billionaire kidnap kingpin - Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans who ran a criminal empire across geopolitical zones in Nigeria elusively for years.
As a subtle way of abusing the sensibilities of Nigerians, an aide of Bishop named Mr. Jovita Offomata has adopted a damage control measure. He refuted the claims of the governor and the media that his principal's hands are not clean as well as his involvement in the Black Sunday incident.

In his words;

“He (Bishop) has built three churches in the community and through the foundation has assisted so many people; including scholarships to indigent students and empowered others in Ozubulu and beyond"

Of course, nobody is expecting Bishop to admit culpability in the gory incident. Drug lords are good at cleaning their money by creating decoy business enterprises to beat the law when prosecuted. The Churches built with blood money are nothing but mere buildings without the presence of God. Christians should be reminded of how God rejected the sacrifice of Cain who later killed his brother Abel and hid his body. The books of Jude 11 and 1st John 3 verse 12 in the Holy Bible painted Cain as an evil doer laying emphasis on God’s disdain for unclean things.
Hard drugs symbolize destruction and disaster; its proceeds are evil. The traffickers should never be tolerated but shamed and ostracized for the purpose of sanity in any environment that means well for its people.

Since the Anambra massacre has been described as a fight of rich brothers, one doubts if their wealth will not be extended to the police officers to influence their investigations. Already, the arrest of the 3 suspects of the attack is shrouded in suspicious secrecy. Community leaders who have also benefited from the sweet drug money will also use their positions to deter the police from searching in the right directions.
In a few days, the media will shift attention away from the matter and the case is discreetly buried. The perpetrators will go scot free. The dead passed away for nothing and the crime could repeat itself again. This is how it works in Nigeria when big people are involved. I am sure it was on this premise that President Muhammadu Buhari admitted humbly on international soil that his people are corrupt and the same hypocrites who abhor the truth stirred up a massive outrage against him in the media.

How do we expect our society to advance when we continue to injure ourselves with greed and adopt corruption as part of our culture and tradition?

Integrity has indeed been sacrificed on the altar of selfish interests. It has finally severed ties with Nigeria in consideration of recent developments.

Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and political scientist. He writes from Lagos State.

Source: http://villagetowncrier..com.ng/2017/08/anambra-massacre-day-integrity-finally.html

Air Peace, Nigeria’s leading carrier, is to begin flight operations to Akure, the capital of Ondo, Southwest Nigeria tomorrow.

According to the airline, the maiden flight into Akure Airport will take off by 1 pm from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja and touch down at Akure Airport at 1:40pm.

A statement issued by the Corporate Communications Manager of the airline, Mr Chris Iwarah, said the airline was collaborating with the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu administration to guarantee easy access to Ondo State by investors, tourists and other categories of air travellers.

The return flight, Iwarah said, would depart Akure Airport at 2:10pm and land at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos at 2:50pm.

The airline stated that the Akure flights would open up a whole new opportunity for Air Peace guests to visit and explore the wealth of tourist attractions in the state as well as expand the access of investors and other categories of air travellers to connect with the state.

Air Peace, which commenced commercial flight operations to a record five destinations in 2014, currently has presence in Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Sokoto and Accra-Ghana.

Source: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/air-peace-hits-akure-tomorrow/209319.html

Since Buhari, a former military man hasn't been visible and accessible to the generality of Nigerians for 80 days, it will not be hyperbolic to say he is 'Missing In Action, MIA' using the army language.

Today, 26th of July, 2017 makes it 80 days that Nigerians haven't officially seen or heard from their icon of ‘change’, President Muhammadu Buhari who continues to ostentatiously receive medical attention for an undisclosed illness in London, United Kingdom.

In the last over two months of Buhari's long distance political 'relationship' with Nigeria, the people have only seen a picture of their leader once after he was seen dining with privileged members of his All Progressives Congress in London on the 24th of July, 2017.

A combination of 7 state governors from the ruling APC and the main opposition party in Nigeria - Peoples Democratic Party yesterday jetted off to Europe to see the President in what is touted as an august visit that excluded his major critics namely Governor Ayodele Peter Fayose of Ekiti State and Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State for obvious reasons. But will the poor masses ever get a chance to see their leader?

The commoners can only hope to hear from the President in their wildest dreams due to the lack of the necessary political connections. The last time Buhari's voice was also heard by Nigerians was on the 25th of June, 2017 when his ‘unofficial media camp’ released an Eid-el-Fitr audio message for the celebrating Muslims in the country.

But again, the message wasn't for all Nigerians. It was for a section of the country as the official language constitutionally recognised - English was ditched by the President as he spoke Hausa thereby alienating other tribes from the goodwill message at a period of growing threats of secession.

Mr. Buhari daringly has also failed to communicate with Nigerians through the presidential media structure as it appears that a combination of all the media team members namely the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu; Personal Assistant on Social Media, Bashir Ahmad, Special Assistant on Digital/New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi; and Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie have all gone on unprecedented vacation prior to his costly absence.

All these experienced professional journalists with enviable records of excellence are not deemed fit of a shareable knowledge of Buhari's health status. There is also the possibility of them being informed about his status but lacking the authorization to speak about it. Buhari's health report has been well ‘hoarded’ from Nigerians like petrol during recurrent periods of scarcity.

A study of Buhari shows that he has an interesting personality and an capricious nature which makes him capable of springing controversial surprises like the sanctioning of the late night arrest of justices by the operatives of the Directorate of State Security, DSS in Gestapo Style.

The latest is that he has overlooked Nigerians in a letter of appreciation to the President of Guinea, Alpha Conde who last week declared a nationwide prayer session for the recovery of Buhari. This has raised laughable claims that the First Man of Nigeria might be keeping malice with his own people.

The constitution of Nigeria appears to be aiding the prolonged medical vacation of Buhari as it failed to specify a time limit for his absence from the country so far he has transferred power to his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo which he did in a transmitted letter to the National Assembly before his indefinite exit.

The question on the lips of Nigerians is if a combo of the Red and Green Chambers will invoke the Doctrine of Necessity if Buhari's medical exile reaches the 90 days landmark. Meanwhile, a statement made by the spokesman of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North, APC) yesterday on Channels TV's Sunrise Daily political platform clearly indicates that the upper lawmaking body is not ready to wade into the controversies surrounding Buhari's health as well as the secrecy involved.
Mr. Sabi garnished his pro-Buhari views with the doctrines of morality as he feels it’s a disservice and disfavour to the President if the leaders of the country fail to give him the necessary support at his trying time even if it’s against the general will and destiny of the people which is supposed to be of paramount interest.

The irony of the current political climate in Nigeria is that the 74 year old 'political doctor' assigned to treat gravely ill 'patient', Nigeria has also developed a threatening ailment and battling for an antidote apparently beyond the rich of the best physicians. Now who is the real messiah of Nigeria? Can it be the leading advocate of 'Restructuring' and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar? That answer appears to be less than 21 months away when Nigerians will be heading to the polls to exercise their civic responsibilities again.

The retired major general in the Nigerian Army has become a victim of the adverse upper class citizens’ culture of medical tourism which he promulgated a law to curb government officials from. He has not only sought the services of foreign medical personnel but he has unusually stayed too long abroad. There is no better way to de-market the medical system in Nigeria which recently treated the mother of a prominent CNN anchor, Isha Isatu Sesay from Sierra Leone and also completed a bilateral total knee transplant of a 50-year old woman's knee in Sokoto State-owned Orthopedic Hospital in Wamakko Local Government Area.

Over a year before now, Buhari in a bid to discourage the trend of medical tourism causing the wastage of state resources said;

“While this administration will not deny anyone of his or her fundamental human rights, we will certainly not encourage expending Nigerian hard earned resources on any government official seeking medical care abroad, when such can be handled in Nigeria,” Today, Buhari appears to have ‘presidentially’ eaten his own words.

Buhari and the presidential jet have continued in their holiday of luxury far away from the austerity period in Nigeria where a majority of his supporters live from hand to mouth and strictly on the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.

Buhari who garnered a majority vote of 15,424,921 was elected majorly by the Nigerian poor masses ahead of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the then ruling party - PDP to right the wrongs of the past leaders as promised in the party manifesto but it seems he has chosen to walk in the anomalous shoes of his predecessors who made Nigeria their personal enterprises.

When will Buhari ever return to Nigeria? The bitter truth is that only God appears privy to that classified information as a rumoured powerful cabal around him have him kept Buhari's return date away from the President himself. His wife, Aisha Buhari told journalists he is doing fine and will return soon. The word 'soon' was also evident in the public response given by the performing Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo when he visited Buhari at the Abuja in London. The word 'soon' appears too vague to sort out Buhari's awaited return date to Nigeria.
The Imo State governor and chairman of the APC Governor's Forum - Rochas Owelle Anayo Okorocha was quick to state that Buhari will return to Nigeria in two weeks time only for a media aide of the President, Mr. Femi Adesina to respond that there is no specified date on his 'triumphant entry' to Nigeria.

Osinbajo, a professor of Law has been performing well in the absence of Buhari although he is trying hard never to outshine his master according to public views. The vacuum left by Buhari's recrudescing sickness still shows. Two of the federal ministers (Stephen Ocheni from Kogi State and Suleiman Hassan from Gombe State) confirmed by the Senate on the 3rd of May, 2017 haven't been sworn in for any given reason although there are reports that Osibanjo could swear them in today (Wednesday) at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting. The Fulani crisis has continued unabated across Nigeria with the Southern Kaduna and Mambilla in Taraba State being the recent disturbing cases likened to carnage.

The Boko Haram terrorist group has intensified fatal attacks in Borno State through suicide bombers and they are reportedly taken some female police officers hostage after ambushing a convoy heading for a social gathering. Just today, some Nigerian scientists ‎searching for crude in Lake Chad were reportedly kidnapped by members of the sect with nine soldiers feared dead. The probe into the N13 billion Osborne funds that indicted the suspended National Intelligence Agency boss – Ambassador Ayo Oke and the grass-cutting scandal of the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal has been hampered by Buhari's absence. Most importantly, one of the hyenas and the jackals, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu of the Independent People of Biafra appears to be having a field day in the absence of the 'Lion King'.

No doubt, Buhari's return is expected to give the needed vigour and developmental momentum to the current administration which is struggling to meet the astronomical expectations of the masses.

Source: http://villagetowncrier..com.ng/2017/07/80-days-in-london-president-buhari.html

CC Lalasticlala Seun Ishilove Obinoscoppy Mynd44 Tonyebarcanista