Activists and lawyers were advertised, but it is not known who attended or whether Mr Abdulmutallab knew them

Sean O’Neill, Crime and Security Editor and Giles Whittell in Washington


The Christmas Day airline bomb plot suspect organised a conference under the banner “War on Terror Week” as he immersed himself in radical politics while a student in London, The Times has learnt.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, a former president of the Islamic Society at University College London, advertised speakers including political figures, human rights lawyers and former Guantánamo detainees.

One lecture, Jihad v Terrorism, was billed as “a lecture on the Islamic position with respect to jihad”.

Security sources are concerned that the picture emerging of his undergraduate years suggests that he was recruited by al-Qaeda in London. Security sources said that Islamist radicalisation was rife on university campuses, especially in London, and that college authorities had “a patchy record in facing up to the problem”. Previous anti-terrorist inquiries have uncovered evidence of extremists using political meetings and religious study circles to identify potential recruits.


It emerged last night that Mr Abdulmutallab featured on the periphery of one counterterrorism intelligence operation in Britain. US intelligence authorities are also looking at conversations between him and at least one al-Qaeda member.

The event he organised took place in January 2007 and included talks on Guantánamo Bay, the alleged torture of prisoners and the War on Terror.

He is the fourth president of a London student Islamic society to face terrorist charges in three years. One is facing a retrial on charges that he was involved in the 2006 liquid bomb plot to blow up airliners. Two others have been convicted of terrorist offences since 2007.

Mr Abdulmutallab left UCL last year. The Times has learnt that his attempt to renew his student visa in May this year was based on an application to study “life coaching” at a non-existent college. That visa refusal may have saved Britain from an attack. His terrorist training took a new turn in August when he moved to Yemen, ostensibly to study Arabic, and was schooled by al-Qaeda there.

Yesterday, the US put on display the underwear he wore on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day. Explosives had been sewn into them. As the plane approached Detroit the material ignited, shooting 6ft flames up the cabin wall. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has claimed the attack, said that the device failed because of a “faulty detonator”.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, the Yemeni Foreign Minister, appealed for help to train and equip counter-terrorist forces. He said: “Of course there are a number of al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen and some of their leaders. They may actually plan attacks like the one we have just had in Detroit. There are maybe hundreds of them — 200, 300.”

President Obama said that it was “totally unacceptable” that US agencies had not prevented the attack with the information available and demanded preliminary results from two security reviews by tomorrow. He is facing criticism for leaving two key federal security agencies without leaders 11 months into his administration.

Dutch authorities dismissed claims that Mr Abdulmutallab boarded the flight in Amsterdam without a passport. A spokesman for its counter-terrorism office said: “He had a passport and a valid visa for the United States and KLM had clearance on the passenger list to carry him to the US.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6971098.ece?&EMC-Bltn=DAOBX1F

The Arabians can now heave a sigh of relief since Nigerian Negroes will also be stereotyped henceforth

Remember! Richard Reid (the shoe bomber) was  British, does that make all British a terrorist?

Malam are coming to their senses.

Written by Nuruddeen M. Abdallah
Sunday, 27 December 2009 00:09


Faruk Adamu Aliyu
Alhaji Faruk Adamu Aliyu is a former member of House of Representatives from Jigawa State. In this interview, the politician explained why he and others went to court requesting it to declare President Umaru Musa Yar’adua permanently incapacitated, in accordance with Section 145 of the Constitution. Excerpts:



Why did you decide to go to court, requesting it to declare the president incapacitated because he has been away from the country for over 30 days?

Well, the thing is that sometimes last year, when Mr. President travelled for 17 days, nothing happened in this country. Now, he has been away for over 30 days. But, because we do not want what happened last year to happen again that is why we went to court.

The Presidency is still maintaining that everything is moving well…

That is not true. And the reason why things are not going well is because the president has been out of the country for all this while. The Constitution has envisaged this kind of this situation. I still wonder why The Presidency, through the Federal Executive Council (FEC), has refused to invoke Section 145 of the Constitution. This situation doesn’t warrant the Minister of Information and Communications or the presidential spokesman or anybody to come out and tell us that the president is well or he is watching football. The Constitution which the president has sworn to protect and respect has made provision for this kind of situation.

So, we are only asking them to invoke the Constitution. We do not believe the half truth of The Presidency, because this is a country which is governed by people who are not sincere and who will never tell Nigerians the truth. You could see that’s why nobody believes them. So that is why we went to court. This government talks about the rule of law, okay we have gone to the court, we do not call for any mass action; we do not incite anybody.

All we have gone to the court to seek is clarification. Let me take you back to the 1999. There was a case between the PDP and Boni Haruna over the case of governorship of Adamawa state. The PDP did not want Boni Haruna to be sworn in because one, they were just governor-elect and deputy governor-elect when Atiku was given the vice presidential slot. The Supreme Court solved that logjam and Haruna was sworn-in as governor.

So we want the same Supreme Court to give interpretation of incapacitation. The president has failed to write to National Assembly on his health conditions. What we want is simply an interpretation as to whether this thing does not constitute incapacitation.

But do you think that it is within the power of the court to declare the vice president as acting president?

Well, it is, of course, within its powers. In recent times, the Supreme Court gave a ruling and Rotimi Amaechi is the governor of Rivers state now. It also gave a judgment in Anambra state and Peter Obi is the governor now. We want the same court to give interpretation on this matter. People have been speculating that the president should continue to hold on to power no matter what how long he stays abroad. It is only the court that can give genuine interpretation and clarification. That is the rule of law. Just recently, the Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa came out to say that Yar’adua can rule from any part of the world for as long as he wishes. We want to know where he got his authority from. And the only person who can do that is the court. So if the court tells us that Nigeria can survive without a leader, the budget has not been signed, because he has not handed over to anybody nobody will sign it. The new Chief Justice of Nigeria cannot be sworn- in, the same with thing applies to the President of the Court of Appeal. It is evident that nobody is in-charge of this country.

As a former lawmaker, why are you not asking the National Assembly to exercise its veto power in this case?

The issue of veto power doesn’t even arise now. It can only apply if the budget is transmitted to the president but it has not even transmitted to the president. They lawmakers were not even informed that the president has not been around. Physically, the president is not around but officially, the president is around. So how can you talk about the veto?


http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2381:why-we-want-yaradua-to-be-declared-incapacitated-faruk-aliyu&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

My friend working in BBC just told me that Sahara Reporters were paid £150,000 pounds to release the picture of the would be bomber guy to BBC - why is SR reaping where they did not sow? For all I care, as characteristics of SR, this might be a fake picture given to BBC, who knows?

Who is your pay master?

Mournful mood at the Mutallabs
Written by .
Sunday, 27 December 2009 00:27


A mournful air of calm pervaded the highbrow Maitama residence of the family of Faruk Abdulmuttalab who is accused of trying to detonate an explosive device aboard an American airliner as it made to land in Detroit.

The head of the family, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, children, grandchildren and in-laws arrived the residence yesterday afternoon from his country home in Funtua, Katsina State, and other locations and immediately began coordinating a common response to the aftermath of the unprecedented challenge to the family name and honour.

In between retelling stories of Faruk who, as a student of the British School in Togo was known by the nickname of Pope, answering never-ending phone calls, and attending to summons from the Presidency, the recently retired Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria was also receiving a string of visitors who ranged from a former Nigerian ambassador to the US, a former chairman of an opposition party and officials of local and foreign security services who were there to commiserate or interrogate.

The Imam, who led the early evening prayer in the mosque within the family residence, prayed for the easing of the difficult time that the family is passing through. Sunday Trust investigations revealed that Faruk Abdulmutallab in addition to being like other children of the well-to-do who get most, if not all their education abroad, is said to be a bright chap who mostly got A grades in his classes. Those who know him say although he was a religious person, who seem to delight in pursuit of Islamic knowledge, he never struck them as someone who could commit any harm to anyone.


http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2389:mournful-mood-at-the-mutallabs&catid=41:latest-news&Itemid=26

Written by Abubakar A. Ibrahim
Sunday, 27 December 2009 00:32


Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab is the son of retired First Bank chief, Dr Umaru Abdulmutallab, who hails from Katsina State. Though information on the would- be bomber is still sketchy, Sunday Trust gathered that he was born in 1986. He spent most of his formative years outside Nigeria and can best be described as British-educated.
He had his secondary education at British School of Lome, Togo, a school established 25 years ago to cater for the needs of British expatriates in the West African country. The school currently has students from about 37 different countries and caters for students between ages 3-18. While there, Abdul Mutallab became known for his radical views.

After graduation, he relocated to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. His radical tendencies took another dimension and became increasingly disturbing to his parents who tried to call him to order, according to family sources. He was admitted into the University College, London in 2005 as a student of Mechanical engineering, a programme that would have ended June, 2008.

His father, Dr Umaru Abdulmutallab had reported his son as a security threat to both US and Nigerian security agencies several months ago and the US had him on a security list though he was not considered a serious risk and was not placed on a ‘no flight list.’

Early reports have linked him to Alqaeda but US security agents have cautioned against this claims, saying though he has terrorist tendencies, he is not known to be affiliated to any terror group.

Abdulmutallab is from a very rich, polygamous family. His father, recently retired as Chairman of First Bank , one of the country’s biggest banks and is currently heading the soon-to-take-off Jaiz Bank.

It has not been determined where or how Abdulmutallib picked up his extremist views, it is known that he has spent more years outside Nigeria than in it. He admitted being trained for a month as a suicide bomber in Yemen. Details about him remain sketchy as all websites or blogs with information about him have been blocked. Already, some sites that contained his image have been rigged with virus by unknown parties.

His last known address is a four million pounds house in Central London, where Metropolitan Police have been conducting investigations.

http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2393:faruk-profile-of-a-rebellious-son&catid=41:latest-news&Itemid=26

By Ise-Oluwa Ige & Emma Ovuakporie
Wednsday, December 16, 2009




ABUJA—The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal yesterday issued an interlocutory order stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising, accepting, endorsing or ratifying the selection of Professor Chukwumah Soludo as the flagbearer of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in next February 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.


Soludo

Soludo was the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, before his incursion into politics.


The appellate court also stopped Soludo from parading himself as PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for the election.


The court, in a unanimous judgment, yesterday, said its order would subsist until the determination of a pending substantive appeal filed by four PDP members against Soludo’s nomination.


Mr. Valentine Ozigboh, Mrs. Victoria Nwankwo, Mrs. Nkoli Imo and Mr. Ferdinand Okoye commenced the action which shattered Soludo’s political ambition to rule Anambra State.




Justice Mary Odili prepared the lead ruling.


Although she was absent in court, yesterday, Justice Oyebode Sodipe read the verdict of the court on her behalf.


Two other justices of the court – Mohammed Aboki and Olukayode Bada- concurred with the lead ruling.


However, PDP yesterday filed a notice of appeal before the Supreme Court to contest the verdict of the Appeal Court.


Verdict shocks PDP


It was evident that the party had anticipated that it would lose the case because copies of the notice of appeal were circulated moments after the Court of Appeal delivered its verdict.


In fact, the party’s lead counsel, Chief Olusola Oke, never stepped out of the court room when Vanguard obtained a copy of the notice of appeal which was duly signed by him.


Although parties in the case are expected to appear before the Supreme Court this morning over the interim order earlier granted by the Appeal Court stopping Soludo from parading himself as PDP’s candidate for the election, it is doubtful if the apex court would be able to hear the case today in view of the new development.


The implication is that PDP may lose its chance of fielding any candidate for the gubernatorial poll.


Soludo’s lead counsel, Chief P.I.N. Ikwueto, SAN, had expressed shock at the verdict of the Court of Appeal.


He told newsmen yesterday that he would take an appropriate action on the issue.

He, however, begged the court to release a copy of its ruling to him so that his client would be able to formally report back to the Supreme Court as ordered by it during the week.


Oke, yesterday, also told newsmen that he found it difficult to agree with the position of the Court of Appeal in the matter.


He said since he could not reverse it, the best he could do was to ensure full and effective prosecution of the party’s appeal before the apex court.


INEC ‘ll honour court verdict


Meantime, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday said it would obey the court’s ruling on Soludo.


INEC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umenger, told correspondents in Abuja that INEC, as a law-abiding institution, would not do anything that would be contrary to the law.


“The commission is an agent of the law and is bound to abide by the law of the land in every aspect and respect to the commission,” Umenger said.

This can not be true!

Hi Beaf,

Are you serious? is there a place where I can go online to read more about what happened to him?

Join friends of Gbenga Mike Aruleba for FOI bill on facebook. Lots of Nigerian celebrity and politician are part of this group.

2011: Fashola’s ambition and the powers that be

Monday, December 7, 2009
Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, may have done enough to merit a second term of office. But he is up against a cabal in the Action Congress (AC), his own party. Kunle Awosiyan reports.
No doubt, the achievements of the incumbent Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in the last 900 days are enough to earn him a second term in office but the “powers that be” may erode his ambition.

The governor has been so diplomatic about his bid for the second term. At various events, he had ceded the decision on second coming to his party, the Action Congress (AC).

Unlike some of the state governors, Fashola has been so careful in his utterances and public presentations on his second term issue. Despite his achievements in the area of environmental beautification,transportation system, security and health, he could not just beat his chest for the second term ticket.

Though he has wormed himself into the hearts of most Lagos residents, his political future depends solely on the powers that be, which perhaps are synonymous to his predecessor, Senator Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu, unarguably, holds the power to install anybody in Lagos at present. The incumbent governor, Fashola, whose status in Lagos politics today is a measure of Tinubu’s strength, is a good example. The former governor succeeded in convincing and confusing over 600,000 electorate to vote for his former Chief of Staff, Fashola.

Since he became the governor, Fashola had been soaring high to the amazement of his critics. Opinion polls across the state also favoured him, as most residents would want the governor to run for the second term. But it is quite unfortunate that for now, leadership in this part of the world is not about public acceptance, but the skill to swindle the electorate.

Interestingly, Fashola lacks the skill to deceive the masses and may pay for it with his position. He has since stopped the activity of praise singers at public functions organised by his government.


The praise singers, led by a woman popularly called, “Mama Kalokalo” are not happy with the situation. They are grass-roots politicians selected across the state to promote AC. They appear unfavourable to Fashola’s academic approach to issues and have vowed not to sing at AC rallies, if Fashola eventually emerges as the party’s candidate for 2011 gubernatorial election.

Fashola’s style is also a thorn in the flesh of some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, most of who are Tinubu’s stooges. The governor believes in due process, which is not in the dictionary of the parliamentarians.

Recently, the House turned down the governor’s request to present the budget 2010 to the parliament. To the governor, budget presentation to the House of Assembly is an official assignment that should not hold any snag but he was surprised when the House turned him down.

He could not present the budget on a flimsy excuse that the notice was too short for the legislators to converge.

This perhaps would have not happened if the governor had been compromising his position with the House. The budget presentation was postponed and to most political umpires, the parliament’s action could best be described as the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob.

The powers that be used the House perhaps, to teach the governor some political lessons he had failed to learn at the Law School.

For a student of political science, the postponement of the budget presentation is not illegal but a show of parliamentary power. It is an indication that Fashola did not adequately lobbied the members of the House like his predecessor, Senator Tinubu.

It is not that lobbying is immoral or illegal, especially when it is about adopting a superior argument on the floor of the House, but it connotes different thing in Nigerian politics, including Lagos.

Lobby, to an average politician, could mean bribery, which Fashola might not want to indulge in. But he could still pay for it with his position. Since the inception of the present administration, bribery, as a weapon to lobby, is believed to have ceased at the state House of Assembly.

Tinubu was able to buy over the Assembly with his lobbying strategy, an idea Fashola had refused to embark upon.

When the budget was finally presented about two weeks ago, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, advised the governor to beware of flatterers. He made the audience realise that the legislature was in good terms with the state executive, contrary to the insinuations from various quarters.

He told the governor not to be carried away by sycophancy, adding that he would be judged by the amount of resources at his disposal, the prevailing conditions and environment under which he operated and how he made use of those resources.

Ikuforiji did not hesitate to announce to the audience, including Tinubu at the chambers of the Assembly, that no member of the House was bribed by the executive to do his or her job.

“Today, I can boldly state without any fear of contradiction, with the fear of God, that no House of Assembly in the entire federation can boast of being more productive and supportive without financial inducement of its executive arm, at no cost to the executive arm, as Lagos State House of Assembly has done. We are just fully committed to our responsibilities and our shared goals,” he said.

However, one thing is certain. The popularity of Tinubu is gradually fading due to the achievements of Fashola. Though Fashola has been decorous in his comment on the second term issue, his predecessor is disturbed by the heroic posture being given to him by flatterers. And one of the ways Tinubu might show the flatterers that he is still in charge in Lagos is by replacing Fashola in 2011.

In the interim, the governor has been so careful with his former boss. He could not reshuffle the state executive council because of the powers that be. He has had to accommodate some of members of the state executive council, despite their inefficiency because of the same reason.
He has continually echoed that his running for a second term in office as governor of the state will be determined by his party.

At the 2009 alumni day of the Lagos Business School, Fashola said that he would follow due process on the issue of second term and laid down nomination procedure of his party.

“I have not said that I would not serve a second term as the governor of Lagos State, if fielded by the Action Congress (AC). But it is too premature to do so now since my party has not called for nominations.

“My party will call for nominations, conduct its primaries from which the gubernatorial candidate would emerge, which has been the procedures adopted in the past,” he said.

By Reuben Abati



OUR Father who art in Heaven, Please do not forsake your children at this trying moment in the life of our Nation, "



"What's going on?"

"Our Lord and our Father, Everlasting Grace of Ages, you delivered Daniel from the lion's Den, you saved Isaac from the butcher's long knife, "

"Hello o, o, o ?"

"I call upon the Holy Covenant, for whoever believes in your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ shall have eternal Salvation. Father, unfold now upon this nation, your Wings of Grace, your wings of Redemption, your shadow of Salvation, "

"Are you alright?"

"I am trying to get across to God. Have you not heard? They say we should pray. Pray for President Umaru Yar'Adua, Holy Ghost Fire , shabbarara h bababa "

"Who said so?"

"Political leaders. Religious leaders. The PDP. The other day, there was a request on the floor of the Senate asking that the Senators should have a special prayer session for President Yar'Adua."

"Pastor David Mark turning the Senate Chamber into a church. The Senate President wants the Catholic Novena prayer. I know. Has anyone also declared a period of fasting, in addition to the inter-denominational prayer session that the PDP is proposing? Or do you think they will give us public holiday for the prayers? "

"Don't be heartless. I have nothing against prayers. And the Bible says, "

"Don't bother. I know what the Bible says."

"Then, shall we pray together?"

"For Nigeria?"

"For President Yar'Adua. Well. Both."

"You know something?"

"What?"

"You know Nigerians like to create a circus out of everything. And that is what they are beginning to do with President Yar'Adua's ill-health. I am a scientist. I like to face the facts. The President is ill. He is in a critical condition. Nigeria must organize itself. We must use this opportunity to strategise for the future and possible developments. "

"Science is not God. Are you God? The God that I worship is the God of miracles."

"Fine. So, since you are now Yar'Adua's spiritual prayer warrior, why don't you ask all these our Pastors and Prophets who claim to have the power of the Word, and a direct phone line to God, to come together and cure the President of his ailment?"

"Beware of blasphemy."

"Talking seriously. How about taking this matter to Pastor Temitope Joshua for example? When the President of Ghana had a health problem, he solved it. A former President of Zambia is also his parishioner; he cured the man. The Pastor also helped Ghana to win the U-20 World Cup; he said so. A moment like this calls for patriotism. I am surprised that all you prayer warriors have not deemed it necessary to ask the Pentecostal body of Christ to cast out all demons that may be troubling Nigeria at this critical hour. Charity should begin at home."

"May God forgive you."

"I am a pragmatist. To tell you the truth, I share the view that the President should resign."

"You know, asking the Commander-in-Chief to resign from office is actually a treasonable felony."

"I plead the First Amendment."

"You are in Nigeria, Mr. Scientist."

"Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, then."

"Just be careful."

"What are you saying? Are you trying to suggest that those 55 Nigerians who signed a statement asking President Yar'Adua to step down and save the country from this uncertainty, this drift, will be charged for treasonable felony? That will be the day."

"The country started drifting long before President Yar'Adua took over. And mind you that statement has been disowned by many of the persons whose names appeared on it."

"No matter. Yar'Adua has become the issue, he has made the national drift worse. And now the country is about to collapse. You better forget this thing about prayers and let's discuss Nigeria. We are in serious trouble."

"But be realistic. You are a scientist or so you claim. I am a student of power. You must know that President Yar'Adua will not resign."

"I know. It's better to die in office and get a state burial. But where does that leave Nigeria?"

"You are so cold-blooded. Nigeria. Nigeria. Nigeria. Is this your Nigeria not made up of human beings? And is the President not one of us? We all voted for him, didn't we?"

"Hey, speak for yourself."

"The Federal Executive Council has already told us that all is well, and that government is running smoothly."

"Now, using the platform of the FEC to tell lies - that is what I call treasonable felony."

"There are just too many bad persons in this country. I can't imagine how President Yar'Adua will be feeling now."

"Okay, look at it this way. Let us imagine that you are the one suffering from acute pericarditis, "

"I reject it in Jesus name."

"What's wrong with you? This is only a hypothesis. Suppose you have complications, "

"It is you that will have complications. Look, stop pointing in my direction. I am covered by the blood of Jesus."

"Okay. I rest my case. You see now? When Nigerians are confused, that is when they begin to hide under the umbrella of prayers. But let's be realistic. We should start thinking ahead. Even if the President returns to Nigeria tomorrow, he'd be on bed rest most of the time. That is why I am in support of the open debate of his condition. Nigerians must be free to discuss their own future. At least, one point is now settled in the public domain."

"Which is?"

"The Jonathan Goodluck issue."

"No comment. Although I noticed that the man is now wearing Northern Nigeria caps. He wore it two days ago."

"What does it matter?"

"I am just observant. At a time like this, we must pay attention to the minutest detail."

"It doesn't matter. I am on the side of those who believe that if the occasion arises, we must test the will of the North."

"Be careful. The last time the will of the North was tested was in January 1966."

"You don't know your history."

"Please, can we change this subject? Let the Will of our Father who art in Heaven, be done."

"I think it is a national tragedy that this is how every important subject in Nigeria ends. We claim to run a democracy, but in the end, we are mostly theocrats."

"Okay. If you are opposed to God's Will, is it your own Will that Nigeria must obey?"

"And what is my will?"

"You tell me."

"Let's leave the matter. In Nigeria, we always like to postpone the truth. We postponed the truth on the Niger Delta, but eventually it caught up with us. So let it be."

"I don't know whether you saw the story about the Oba of Benin and the Benin Airport."

"I read it. Uku Akpolokpolor says the Royal Family is being disturbed by the endless noise of aircraft flying over the Palace. He wants the Airport moved."

"I support him."

"Because he is the Oba? How about ordinary people across Nigeria who share fences with airports? I have a friend who lives in Akowonjo. If you are in his bedroom, you can actually stretch your hand and touch an aircraft as it descends into the airport."

"But that is not right?"

"So what does the Oba want? He wants every approaching aircraft to switch off their engines as they fly over the palace?"

"No. The Oba is talking about an urban planning crisis. He wants the authorities to change the flight route by diverting aircraft away from his palace."

"How about moving the palace itself?"

"Not your fault. This is the kind of contempt that democracy allows. The Oba is the owner of the land. You think the Benin Palace is one of those palaces in other towns which have since relocated to the GRA?"

"I don't like the idea of the Oba talking about himself and his family. He should have spoken for the people, for the community. The truth is that Nigeria is generally, a noisy country. Every day, we have to deal with so much noise. We are almost going deaf. Have you not noticed that most Nigerians shout when they talk?"

"The Oba's opinion should be respected. If this were the 19th Century in the days of Oba Ovonranwen, you know what could happen?"

"I think you are confused like all Nigerians. Now, you are a Pastor. The next minute, you are a monarchist, defending ancient norms."

"All I know is that the Oba has a point."

"All I know is that anything anybody in power says, you defend it. It is people like you are the enemies of Nigeria."

"I can empathise with the Oba. Look, he is complaining about noise. In my own case, I deal everyday with both noise and insomnia. When I am on the road, the bedlam on every road gets on my nerves. When I get home, the sound of generators robs me of sleep. At least twice before daybreak, I have to wake up to switch the power gear between PHCN supply and the generator."

"But just now, you were defending the Federal Executive Council, and the Ministers who claim that all is well in Nigeria?"

"I am strengthened by faith".

"Well, some people can't take it so they turn their anger on society. Like that policeman at the Oni Memorial Children's Hospital, Ibadan who was told that his daughter had died of severe malaria and he turned on other people's children in the ward, trying to kill them".

"A case of temporary insanity. He has been dismissed from the Police Force."

"But he threatened that if he had a gun, he would have killed".

"I blame the hospital management. Knowing that his daughter had died; in fact the second child he'd lose within two weeks, they should have been more careful breaking the news to him. He should have been counselled. But in many of our hospitals, the medical personnel are terribly callous. They have no human feelings".

"A policeman."

"It is not only policemen who are frustrated in Nigeria".

"Precisely my point. This country makes me sick. It makes you sick".

"I reject it in Jesus name. I am strong".

"Strong. Come to think of it, that is a terribly misused word in Nigeria. I know many Nigerians who will never used the word-sick, or ill, or indisposed. When you hear: I am strong, it actually means I am ill. We are a nation of sick people who will never admit it. So, you see why the Federal Government will forever insist that the President is strong?"

"Na you sabi".

"Are you aware that after the Ibadan incident, another policeman in Mashimari Barracks, Maiduguri, killed his wife and used the same AK-47, his official rifle, to kill himself, over a disagreement?"

"Two policemen going berserk within a week. The Inspector-General of Police should authorize psychiatric tests for every policeman in this country".

"I'd recommend the test for every Nigerian".

"Starting with you".

"Yeah. Why not? And you too, of course".

"I reject it in Jesus name. I am sanctified by His Blood."

"Only God knows how many things you people reject in a day. That is why the country is the way it is; the truth is rejected all the time."

I can't beleive the support Soludo is getting from the legit questions the thread was asking. Due to tribalism and all sort, Nigerian can now see black and call it white.

Thank God for intelligent, and objetive Nigerians like Segzyjoe and Giayong (i wish you re Nigerian). Would have made all the difference if we had only 20% of Nigerians like You. (Remember Pareto's Principle?)

As always, we always need other peoples to SEE and TELL us what good we have.

You know, i have always imagined that if not for Foreigners, Crude Oil would only have been a useless, ugly oily mess to us nigerians.

People like MrCrackles and Dean2725 need to be more objective, less biased, and find better ways to observe and measure performance.

Later, for more of the facts.

Don't be fool with that Chinese guy talk. Is either one of those contractor that wanted to construct railline to no where in Nigeria, he must have got his advance payment and where is the rail line today?

Praise God  - Maybe this second chance will allow him reason well .

 
 
Why bother taking him to the hospital while you can praise the Lord

Your mother is the chalatan scycophant.

Speechless

From those who wish him dead, please give us answers.

How much is this scycophant is getting paid for this job she is doing?

He has been in the service of the government in the last 10 years and I appreciate the many things he has been doing. This is a demonstration that one cannot be so desperate to hold on to public office in the face of failing health.”

I think Yar'Adua needs to learn from this man action.

Fashola’s aide resigns, cites medical condition
By Mudiaga Affe, Published: Tuesday, 1 Dec 2009


The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr. Segun Ayobolu, on Monday formally resigned from the state cabinet.

Ayobolu said he was suffering from high blood pressure and acute ulcer.

His resignation, however, created shock among some members of the cabinet, who said the action took them by surprise.

At a valedictory session during the SEC’s meeting, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, who announced Ayobolu’s resignation, said it would take effect from 12am on Tuesday.

Bamidele said the special adviser had informed Governor Babatunde Fashola about the decision, adding that the governor had willingly his explanation.

Ayobolu was the Chief Press Secretary to the immediate past governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for six years (1999-2005); Permanent Secretary/Special Adviser, Ministry of Information and Strategy (2005-2007); and Special Adviser to Fashola on Information and Strategy from 2007-2009.

Speaking further on his medical condition, Ayobolu said he had been facing the medical challenge since 1984. he said the situation made him lose one academic session at the university.

While thanking the state government for giving him the opportunity to serve for about 10 years, he said it was time for him to seek medical attention.

He said, “A few months ago, I sought the attention of Governor Fashola, which he granted me, in spite of his tight schedule.

“I have been contending with high blood pressure and acute ulcer, which I felt were beginning to take their toll on my performance. I need to take care of myself. That is the primary reason why I am resigning.

“I come from Kogi State and I know no other state can give me the kind of opportunity that Lagos State gave me. That is the uniqueness of Lagos.”

No fewer than five commissioners expressed surprise at Ayobolu’s action.

Those who expressed shock included the commissioners for Establishment and Training, Mr. Jide Sanwoolu; Science and Technology, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Rural Development, Mr. Lanre Balogun; and the Head of Service, Alhaji Yakub Balogun, among others.

Sanwoolu said, “It is coming to me as a shock, but he has demonstrated what true leadership is all about. This is a good test case – that you can bow out when the ovation is loudest.”

Fashola, however, apologised to the commissioners, who had expressed surprise, saying the resignation became inevitable as a result of his (Ayobolu’s) failing health.

He expressed regret that the vacuum Ayobolu had left would be difficult to fill, but noted that the special adviser had played a critical role in the development of his administration.

Fashola said, “We have laboured hard to build a team. His exit will create a huge vacuum. It will be unfair for us to continue to ask him to stay when we know the situation. We are committed to exploring the best medical attention to address his problem.

“He has been in the service of the government in the last 10 years and I appreciate the many things he has been doing. This is a demonstration that one cannot be so desperate to hold on to public office in the face of failing health.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2009120133931

@cyberG,

God, hoops! anyway  bless you. I always enjoy the way you put out fact not all those sycophant thay thinks they love Nigeria more than everyone of us.

call 999

In Nigeria?

Lyndon Johnson, former American President chose not to seek re-election because, amongst other reasons such as a poor poll rating and disunity within his own democratic party and the bungling of the Vietnam war- he had a heart ailment. He told his compatriots on March 31, 1968 that - "With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office--the Presidency of your country. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President." He thought Americans deserved a President with a strong focus on ONLY the presidency and not the distractions that his personal circumstance was creating. Those were the words of a patriot.

Yar'dua should just resign to take care of his ill health.

Because i didnt agree to your pull Nigeria down antics?

How much are you getting paid for all this nonsense you are putting on NL?

How can anyone in his/her right mind defend Yaradua or pray for him? That money there Will be better spend to improve 1 or 2 hospital in the country. I could remember during Tony Blair premier in UK when the man was ill then, he got admitted to Hammersmith hospital in Fulham (NHS).
Until when Nigerians realise that Yaradua is not a ruler of Nigeria but part of arm of govt of Nigeria.

Because of one man out of 140m people. This country sef

YAR’ADUA’S ILLness - The Presidency Raises Expenditure on Health To Spend N386m on Medical Equipment Purchases Drugs Worth N394 m 

Written by Sule Lazarus     
Saturday, 28 November 2009 23:51 
Preident Umaru Musa Yar
The Presidency has proposed the sum of N1,052,820,475 in next year’s budget for State House health care delivery.  Of this sum, N386 million is meant for the procurement of medical equipment for the State House Medical Centre, while the completion of the extension works at the centre is to gulp N162 million.
Inside sources confided in Sunday Trust that the expansion work is apparently to reposition the State House Medical Centre (SHMC) for the new health challenges of President Umaru Yar’adua and other occupants of the State House.

The project commenced in the previous year, 2009, when the sum of N119 million was set aside for the ‘completion of the extension work.’  But it was not clear at the time of this report why The Presidency is still budgetting such sum for the completion of the SHMC extension in 2010.

The breakdown of the over N1billion appropriated in the 2010 budget also indicated that N67,850,000 was budgeted for medical expenditure, as against the N13,925,000 in 2009.

Then, another segment entitled “drugs and medical supplies” gets an allocation of N394,000,000 against the N242,100,000 that was assigned for the same subhead in 2009.

There is also another segment for the Presidency’s contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to the tune of N42,970,475.00. In 2009, the provision for the NHIS was slightly lower. It stood at N41,024,471.


In 2008, the budget for health care services was a total of N520,476.333. In 2009 the budget came down to N431,049,471, only to rise sharply in 2010 to N1,052,820,475.

Though the State House medical centre is meant to service the president and other workers in the State House, the huge budgetary allocation for 2010 which is far above the previous years’ (2008 and 2009) and gives credence to the suspicion that the budget is likely raised to meet the current health challenges of the president.

It should be noted that workers in Aso Rock also have unhindered access to other high profile hospitals, both private and public, in the Federal Capital Territory, owing to the current government health policies  such as the National Health Insurance Scheme which has made it easy for public servants to get medical attention.

The sharp increase in financial vote for medicare in The Presidency in the 2010 budget comes on the heels of concerns for Yar’adua’s failing health, confirmed to Nigerians last week by his personal physician, Dr Salisu Banye. He is suffering from acute Pericarditis, an inflammation of the fibrous sac surrounding the heart.

Banye said the president was diagnosed with pericarditis last week, and was being treated at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to an inside source, the medical equipment that would be acquired in the coming year are sophisticated enough to meet the medical needs of the president, thereby reducing the regular foreign trips for medical attention and the attendant criticism the trip often generates.

“Each time the president travels out for medical attention it generates controversy here and there, hence if the state House clinic is fully equipped it would address some of the matters for which the president does travel abroad to address,” he said.

In recent times, they have been rising concerns over the president’s failing health.

The president’s trip, particularly the way and manner he rushed out without the usual prior announcement and television footage of his exit, generated tension about his state of health. The anxiety grew into wild rumours.

However, the President’s adies have insisted that he was hale and hearty, and recovering at the foreign hospital where he had undergone tests and received treatment for the ailment he was diagnosed.


http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2088:yaraduas-illness-the-presidency-raises-expenditure-on-health-to-spend-n386m-on-medical-equipment-purchases-drugs-worth-n394-m&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

We need to send representations calling for the ban of this evil reporters

Iwo ati awon melo? You and who?

@

Poster,
i must confess that you beat me to the gun; i am very sick of these sahara reporters!
Yes we are practicing democracy; but it must become the basis of frivolity!
Saharareporters are everything but objective in their reports and that - that, is considered as a failure in journalism

How can you get to heaven when your eyes can not see the light. Saharareporters is the best thing to happen to  Nigeria, since Nigeria journalism is about Ghana must go

Yara'dua please resign!

As Yara do nothing is on his sick bed now, who is representing Nigeria at the commonwealth head of state meeting in Trinidad and Tobago? This is more reason this man has to resign. He absent from UN some months back now he is not attending another important meeting that would benefit Nigeria.

Phone the hospital and tell the hospital that thousands of Nigeria are dying of the same ailment that Yaradua should be deported to Nigeria and fix the hospital back home.

Culled from Sahara reporters posted comment.

Contact of hospital where Yaradua is:

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre : Jeddah P.O. Box 3354 / Riyadh 11211, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Telephone: 464-7272, 442-4000, 442-7888

I´ve called to make my complaints.

Please call hospital and tell them that: (1) They should deport the president to Nigerian hospital built by PDP since 1999 (2) That Turai has told Yaradua not to resign making doctors´ work difficult (3) tell hospital that some cabal has decided to make David Mark president in the stead of Jonathan Goodluck, a recipe for another Nigerian civil war.

Please do call the hospital with decorum and lay down you pent-up anger before them why Yaradua should be deported back to Nigeria since he refused to develop Nigeria. Also write letter to hospital saying how crossed you´re. This our chance to shame this president. I´m still going to make more calls.

Stay blessed. Power to the people. Shame on senate and Aso Rock corrupt occu
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