--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is why MEND was able to send them the crocodiles in 20's and 30's, until they offered amnesty. Wretched country.
Modern warfare is all about the information grid, all Nigeria has are people that can barely operate a mark iv and think that a danfo is and APC.

Picture of a US Colonel (google "Colonel Dowling fallujah"



Picture of a Nigerian colonel

watching that Nigeria colonel picture with fat belly tells you everything you need to know about Nigeria army.

Trust Nigerian Generals, someone must have pocket the money meant for quality APC tru award of dubious contract.

From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja, 10.05.2009


United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has described Nigeria’s Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to be deployed to the mission as substandard, saying they were not made for the desert and so cannot protect the troops.
The United Nations military team , led by Lt. Col Frank Leonhardt , which was in Nigeria from August 31st to September 2,2009 for a pre-deployment visit to assist, promote, and inspect the APCs to be deployed to the mission, said it was disappointed with the equipment , describing them as “zero standard” which falls below UN's expectations .
But the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOPs), Defence Headquarters, Major General Ishaku Pennap, while confirming the visit of the UN team, said a letter dated April 30, 2009 was sent to the UN to inform the team that Nigeria was not ready for the inspection.
“The UN visit was a surprise because we had written a letter to which the Defence Attaché had confirmed to us that it was transmitted through the department of peacekeeping to inform them that we were not ready for the visit.
“But I guess since Nigeria was not the only country pencilled down for the pre-deployment visit, so we cannot question that,” he said
Pennap assured that efforts were already being made to address the situation. “It is dangerous to deploy troops with recovery vehicles. Vehicles needed are specialised vehicles like 4x4 suitable for the terrain in Darfur. During rainy season there are no roads but what you have is mud which tends to trap vehicles thereby exposing the troops to danger," he said.
The APCs inspected by the team included wheeled ambulances/rescue, command post, infantry carrier – armed – class II and recovery, truck water, truck tanker, truck utility/cargo, 4x4 jeep with military radio, truck maintenance, truck utility cargo and recovery trucks.
The UN team, which met with Nigerian senior military officers, was quoted to have also expressed disappointment at the serious shortfalls in the medical requirements.
The team said the APCs for deployment cannot protect the troops against environmental changes-related conditions such as dust and temperature changes and that the cultural, religious and societal differences were challenges to peacekeepers as they were incapable and unable to connect with locals.
The team stated that the health threats in Darfur are real and since peacekeepers are deployed under severe conditions, the working environment is stressful and has the potential to aggravate any pre-existing medical condition. It therefore requested that pre-deployment medical examinations be enforced.

NIGERIA DEMOCRATIC LIBERTY FORUM

(NDLF)

JOIN US FOR THE "NIGERIA ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" PROTEST MARCH ON SAT. OCTOBER 3RD 2009 AT THE NIGERIAN CONSULATE ON 2ND AVENUE & 45TH STREET AT 9AM


Sept. 27th 2009; It is that time of the year again when the NDLF with other Nigerians converge at the Nigerian Consulate to protest the state of our country in New York. In previous years we succeeded in confronting Nigerian governors who abandoned suffering Nigerians back home to take part in Independence day parade in New York. Being profligates, about five state governors once came from Nigeria to take the "salute". But the salute they got they never imagined it before they left their abode.

On October 1st 2009, the country would be 49th. It has continuously had the misfortune of being governed by greedy, heartless and incompetent public administrators. For almost five decades, we have watched the country drift and become a caricature of her greatness. Our pride had become our nemesis! The dreams and vision of of our founding fathers have turned into a mirage and a utopia.

Our blessed country whose former leader once said that expending financial resources was our challenge and we actually paid the salaries of workers of a foreign country! We have earned billions of dollars over the almost five decades but the people have become impoverished by the second. The military debased us while the civilians are striving aggressively to take our future and that of our children away from us.

We now have a country that abnormalities have become the norm and the unimaginable a way of life. Successive administration in Nigeria have turned out to be worse that its predecessor. The current President-Umaru Yar' Adua apparently is clueless about what he should be doing. A sick man who has spent most time looking after his health and ignoring the health of the country. There is a leadership vacuum in Nigeria. No one in charge, as the looters of our collective wealth embark on a looting spree. Those whose preoccupation is to ruin the country are calling the shots while we have become on lookers.

The quality of life in Nigeria is inexplicable, our universities have been shut down for over three months, 95% unemployment rate prevails and expectedly there is insecurity of life and property. The Attorney General of the federation has changed his portfolio to the AG of the felons and looters, the financial system is moribund, the infrastructure is in a state of collapse; those who have destroyed the country jet out with the slightest fever with over $200 billion dollars lost on overseas medical expenses. Nigeria that became a home for citizens of a nearby country not too long ago now have her citizens as economic refugees in countries that would confound everyone. Professionals that ought to contribute to the growth and development of the country have been forced out, sometimes taking up menial jobs in less developed nations.

advertisement

The question that we should all ask ourselves as citizens of Nigeria is "Where is our outrage?" Are we going to fold our arms and continue to acquiescence to the destruction of our country by the rogues in power? Are we going to give up without even trying to challenge the status quo in whatever small way we can individually and collectively?

To the Nigerians in the Diaspora, the comfort we enjoy is the result of the sacrifice of citizens of those countries and to Nigerians at home, when we fought against the military, we did not embark on that struggle for a democracy that "ruining elites" would be in power to rob us blind. Let us remember that things are made impossible by inaction. Let us organize ourselves internationally and walk our way back home to take our country back.

To this end we are calling on you to join us at the "Nigeria Enough is Enough" protest march which would take place during the Independence day parade on Oct. 3rd 2009 on 2nd Avenue & 45th Street, NY, NY at 9am. Let us come out in large numbers and express our outrage and collectively say NIGERIA ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Signed

Bukola Oreofe

Executive Director

NDLF

Dr. Willie Nwiido

Director, International Relations

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I have read on this forum that NANS awards Yar'Adua. Only God knows, how many faction of Nans are out there? But we all know which one is on the side of the student.

Independence: NANS declares vote of no confidence in Yar’Adua
Adunola Fasuyi, Lagos - 02.10.2009

ANGERED by the Federal Government’s independence to their plight, Nigerian students, on Thursday, in Lagos, demanded the resignation of President Umaru Yar’Adua.


At a rally to conincide with the 49th independence anniverasy of the country, the students, under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Education Rights Campaign (ERC), passed a vote of no confidence in his administration.


They accused him of ambivalence to the current strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which had kept the students at home for more than four months.


The students, who converged at the Labour House, the headquaters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Yaba, said, “While it (October 1) should be an occasion to celebrate, it is rather unfortunate that it is another time for the Yar’Adua administration, which cannot point to any achievement since it came to power in 2007, to assure the traumatised Nigerian workers, students and youths of the so-called magical formula of its 7-pointless agenda.”


They said it was shameful, degrading, dishonourable and an insult on them for the president to travel to Saudi Arabia to commission an education institution when his own education sector, from the primary level, to the university level had completely collapsed due to the government’s insensitivity to the plight of teachers, lecturers and students.


“In fact, President Yar’Adua only went to humiliate himself because the whole world, including the country he went to, are all aware of the pitiable state of Nigeria’s education industry,” they noted.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/02102009/news/news5.html

sorry, but am not proud about being a nigerian. What has nigeria done for her youths for me to be proud of her? One nation indeed. When my people are being marganalised?

What has Igbo done for you ? Just curious to know. Prof Iwu has the opportunity to turn this country around he is an Igbo man.

Is Adam oshiomole in Labour party or AC? Any one with genuine answer should let me know.

Nans Awards President Yaradua.
« on: Today at 08:56:28 AM » 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was an embarrassment yesterday when the association of nigerian students presented an award of transparency and good governance to president musa yaradua who was represented by the minister of youth development,senator olasunkanmi Akinlabi in Abuja.Acting nans president Egbe Godwin and nans senate president olalekan smart made the presentation amid praises on his administration.What has student unionism turn to in Nigeria?.

No one should be fooled to beleive this. This goes beyond logic, the same student that are looking for how to get back to classroom that has being shut for 3 months will now award Yara dua. its propaganda from insane government

The logic behind this abracadabra economy is what I don't understand. A country without electricity, how can that be possible, only God knows the indices in which Yara used in measuring his own economy recovery. To my knowledge Nigeria economy is dead long time ago only revolution can perform CPR on her, just may be

^^ see, this is why people are starting to go rambo on you armchair critics.

Do you have no manners at all or whats with this everlasting gibberish and inability to make any meaningful post without sounding like monkeys on crack?

Look at the title of this thread by the idiot of an OP and see the first response

I think everyone deserve the right to say whatever he/she thinks about the way he's being govern, that's the essence of democrazy.

Yar'Adua sees signs of economic recovery

REUTERS


October 1, 2009 11:47AMT


President Umaru Yar'Adua said on Thursday that Nigeria's economy is showing signs of recovery, thanks to a series of reforms that has stabilised the naira currency, lowered inflation and renewed investor confidence.

"As the world begins to recover from the global recession, we are increasingly encouraged by the emerging signs of recovery in our national economy," Mr. Yar'Adua said in a national address marking Nigeria's 49 years of independence.

He pegged the oil producer's economic growth at 5 percent this year, echoing similar estimates made by the central bank.

A Reuters' poll of 12 analysts in late August forecast Nigeria's economy to grow 3.6 percent in 2009 and accelerate to 4.8 percent next year.

Mr. Yar'Adua highlighted the drop in inflation to 11 percent in August from 15 percent at the end of last year.

Sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy, once a darling of frontier market investors, has seen its fortunes decline as the global economic downturn pushed down energy prices and exposed fundamental weaknesses in its banking sector.

Reform support

Mr. Yar'Adua offered his full support to Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi's unprecedented reforms in Nigeria's financial institutions.

The regulator injected $2.6 billion into five ailing banks in August after an audit of 10 institutions found they were so weakly capitalised that they posed a systemic risk.

The Central Bank said it would submit the audit results of the remaining 14 banks for final review next week and that they appeared to be in better health than those already examined.

"The goal is to have banks and financial institutions that can be effective partners with government in delivering economic growth," Mr. Yar'Adua said.

"By enforcing full disclosure, entrenching sound corporate governance and risk management principles, Nigeria would be on the way to entrenching a financial system that inspires the confidence of the international community," he said.

Mr. Yar'Adua praised the Central Bank reforms, including the lifting of foreign exchange controls in July, that have helped stabilise the naira.

"In the last quarter of 2008, the naira suffered a very sharp depreciation which continued into the early part of this year," he said. "Normalcy has now been restored with the convergence in rates in our foreign exchange markets."

The president renewed his commitment to develop the oil-producing Niger Delta and provide stable electricity to the country's 140 million residents, both considered major brakes on economic growth.

Mr. Yar'Adua expressed hope that all militants in the Niger Delta would surrender their arms in return for clemency.

The federal amnesty programme is set to expire on Sunday, despite requests from key rebel leaders to push back the deadline to allow time for peace talks.

"Some remarkable progress has been made and it is our hope that all militants would avail themselves of this amnesty, which expires on Sunday," he said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5465847-146/Yar'Adua_sees_signs_of_economic_recovery.csp

Why are this people always power hungry? Just feel for the family of those innocent soul.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8280603.stm


At least 128 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim.

Earlier police said 87 people had died, but local activists say hospital sources confirmed a much higher toll.

Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during the protest.

Junta head Capt Moussa Dadis Camara denied knowledge of sexual assaults.

But he admitted that some of his security forces had lost control.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France was suspending military ties with Guinea after the "savage and bloody" crackdown on opposition protesters, the French news agency AFP reported.

Out of control

About 50,000 people were protesting over rumours that Capt Camara intends to run for president in an election schedule for next January.


ANALYSIS
Paul Melly, African analyst
This reminds us that the army which took power in December is in fact the same army that underpinned the Lansana Conte regime and the same army that was involved in the very bloody repression of protests in January and February of 2007.

Capt Moussa Dadis Camara promised he wouldn't stand in any election in 2009 but by putting the election back to 2010 he has, as it were, got out of that promise.

Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Toure represent potentially the greatest threat to any candidacy by Dadis Camara should Guinea be allowed a free election. Both originated as prime ministers attempting to carry through reforms under the old regime; both found their reform programmes derailed.

Guinea is naturally quite wealthy. It's not easy to just force down a regime through external pressure. The Conte regime survived years of the suspension of European aid without ever caving in to the EU's demands for political reform.

But soldiers moved in to quell the rally using tear gas and baton charges and firing live ammunition into the crowds.

The Guinean Organisation for Defence of Human Rights put the toll at 157 people killed and more than 1,200 wounded, although this has not been corroborated.

Human rights groups said there were widespread reports of rape.

"The military is going into districts, looting goods and raping women," Mamadi Kaba, the head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), told AFP.

"We have similar reports from several sources, including police sources and some close to the military," said Mr Kaba, from his office in Dakar, Senegal.

An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch: "I saw several women stripped and then put inside the military trucks and taken away. I don't know what happened to them."

"They were raping women publicly," opposition activist Mouctar Diallon said in an interview with French radio station RFI, adding that he had witnessed soldiers raping women with rifle butts during Monday's protests.

Guinean human rights activist Souleymane Bah told Reuters news agency that people trying to escape from the shooting were "caught and finished off with bayonets".

A doctor at a government hospital in Conakry said his wards looked like "a butchery".

Threat of sanctions

The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Conakry says Capt Camara acknowledged that "uncontrollable soldiers" were responsible, but did not say how many people had died.



About 50,000 people were said to have protested
Capt Camara He told local radio stations that it was difficult to control the soldiers when there was tension in the country.

Our correspondent says the capital is calm at the moment, with the shops and schools closed, and little traffic on the roads.

There has been worldwide condemnation of the violence.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Guinean authorities to exercise maximum restraint, while the West African regional body Ecowas is reported to be pursuing sanctions against the military regime.

Capt Camara staged a coup last December hours after the death of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for more than two decades.

The military takeover initially had some popular support, but in recent weeks there have been several anti-government protests.

Guinean officials and former aides of Capt Camara have been accused of corruption and links to the drugs trade, including the son of former President Lansana Conte, who was shown confessing on TV to smuggling cocaine.

Guinea expert Gilles Yabi told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the rally was "only the beginning" of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations that can be expected in the next few months.

Should Capt Camara stand for president, he said, it would be a violation of the tacit agreement between military and civil forces which has kept him in power.

And it would mark a perpetuation of the kind of rule that Guinea has seen for the past decade - which the military had promised to sweep away.

'Dozens killed' at Guinea protest

The trouble suggests the military rulers are losing popular support


At least 58 people have been killed after troops in Guinea opened fire on a huge opposition rally in the capital Conakry, reports say.

A local doctor said that many victims brought to a government hospital had suffered bullet wounds.

Some 50,000 people rallied against Capt Moussa Dadis Camara who seized power in Guinea in a bloodless coup last year.

The rally was triggered by indications he is to reverse a pledge not to run in a presidential vote set for January.


They just started to shoot people directly, They tried to kill us

Opposition leader Sidya Toure
There has been no independent confirmation of the casualty figures, and the Guinean authorities have made no public comment.

Meanwhile, France issued a statement strongly condemning the "violent repression" of opposition demonstrators in its former colony.

Eyewitness' account

The BBC's Alhassan Sillah says a doctor at government hospital in Conacry said that some 58 bodies had been brought to hospital, which the doctor said looked like "a butchery".

Reports also say at least two opposition leaders have been arrested.



Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (L) may stand for president
"They just started to shoot people directly, They tried to kill us," Sidya Toure, former prime minister and now an opposition leader, told the BBC's Focus on Africa from a hospital.

He said he had been badly injured in the head, and was speaking secretly from the hospital's toilet as the military was not allowing opposition members any contacts with the media.

Our correspondent says the demonstrators later dispersed, but the military is out in force mounting checkpoints on many roads.

Driving through the capital, our correspondent says he saw burnt-out vehicles around the roads and a burnt-out police station.

The atmosphere was "very strange and fearful", with very few cars on the road, our correspondent adds.

Eccentric displays

Capt Camara staged a coup hours after the death of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for more than two decades.

The military takeover initially had some popular support, but in recent weeks there have been several anti-government protests.


This is only the beginning of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations we can expect in the next few months

Guinea expert Gilles Yabi
They appear to have been sparked by hints from Capt Camara that he may stand for president in January.

In Conakry, demonstrators gathered outside the capital's largest stadium, carrying placards reading "No to Dadis" and "Down with the army in power", according to the AFP news agency.

But the demonstration had already been banned and the stadium was closed and guarded by large numbers of police.

Clashes between police and demonstrators followed, with officers charging the crowds and firing live ammunition.

Guinea expert Gilles Yabi told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the rally was not a surprise.

"This is only the beginning of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations we can expect in the next few months," he said.

Should Capt Camara stand for president, he said, it would be a violation of the tacit agreement between military and civil forces which has kept him in power.

And it would mark a perpetuation of the kind of rule that Guinea has seen for the past decade - which the military had promised to sweep away.

Capt Camara's rule has been characterised by eccentric displays of power - such as forcing members of the elite presidential guard to beg for forgiveness on national TV after they roughed up a veteran officer.

Former aides and officials have been accused of corruption and links to the drugs trade, including the son of former President Lansana Conte, who was shown confessing on TV to smuggling cocaine.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8279103.stm

@Poster


So, dont you fall sick? Is he not human?

Now, when he travels, it is news, when he comes, it is news, when he doesnt go anywhere, it is news- what are you on about randy poster?

I just which people can ignore this guy on this forum, 'cause some of his/her comment sometimes, May be you are benefiting from the misrule that is going on Nigeria.

Wat do u mean by the system has a way of tracking them down.

That is pure lie. Was the system able to track down and convict Presdent Lydon Johnson and FBI chief Edgar Hoover when both men assasinated john f kennedy, john oswald and robert kenedy. the answer is no.

Let me take you to a more recent one. Was the system able to track down the corruption that precipated the american invasion of Iraq. The answer is no.

Are these names i highlighted above not still been celebrated in america. The answer is Yes.

Lydon Johnson has a big national library after him.
FBI Building was named after Hoover.

So wat are u saying.

Deluded Nigerian, How can u see white and be calling it black? Nigeria is a hell hole!

What's our President doing in Saudi Arabia?
By Reuben Abati 


Why would President Umaru Musa Yar'çdua choose to go to Saudi Arabia at this time instead of the 64th UN General Assembly meeting holding in New York? What's so special about Saudi Arabia which the President has visited thrice this year and at least twice in 2008? Which trip would have been of more strategic importance to Nigeria: the junket to Saudi Arabia or Nigeria's presence at the meeting of the world's leaders and diplomats? The answer is straightforward: Mr President should have been in New York promoting Nigeria's interest. But he is not. What we are dealing with is a serious crisis in Nigeria's foreign relations process. It is ocassioned by the failure of a new team of foreign policy managers who have no idea what should be important to Nigeria It is either the President has bad foreign policy advisers or he does not care enough about the message that is being sent across namely that Nigeria is losing its pre-eminent position in African and global politics.




It was this year that President Yar'çdua lamented Nigeria's absence at the London Summit of the G20 and others. He later attended the G8 meeting in Italy. Shouldn't we expect therefore that President Yar'çdua would attend the UN General Assembly Meeting? His presence would have been more useful. Nigeria not only had an invitation to the Summit, President Yar'Adua would have had an opportunity to make a speech and to engage other world leaders one on one, and make a case for Nigeria on many fronts, and to promote issues that are of interest to the country. Who advised the President to shun the UN summit?

If it is thought that this amounts to a snobbery of President Obama as a kind of reciprocal action, then that would be wrong. The UN General Assembly is not about the United States; it is not a visit to Obama. After all, President Obama avoided any contact with Libya's Muammar Ghaddafi and before Ghaddafi made his provocative speech, US foreign policy figures including Hillary Clinton had left the hall. Perhaps the world would have been more interested in listening to President Yar'çdua. He has stories to tell and the world has questions for him too. Besides, Nigeria remains the most strategic country in Africa with its oil and large market.

Last year, President Yar'Adua sent Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe to represent him at the UN General Assembly. He has done so again this year. The way these things work, nobody of serious weight is likely to grant audience to the Nigerian delegation. Okay, Maduekwe and co met with Johnnie Carson, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs! But no one should be surprised that the Nigerian representation has been rather ludicrous with the biggest report so far being Maduekwe's alleged statement about the flawed elections of 2007 and the possibility of Maurice Iwu being removed as INEC chair once his tenure expires, and back home, there has been some response from the Iwu camp, accusing Maduekwe of condemning the election that brought Yar'Adua, his boss, to power! This is the cockfight that the Nigerian delegation has contributed to a meeting where important issues like climate change, the composition of the UN Security Council, global poverty, international terrorism and multilateralism are being discussed by over 100 Heads of States.

Lagos, Nigeria was in fact cited as one of the cities of the world with serious climate change challenges. What did the Nigerian delegation say to that? President Yar'Adua may not have said anything cleverer but with the weight of his office, he would have been in a good position to seek out more friends for Nigeria and do some direct back-room diplomacy for example, over the US rejection of Nigeria's ambassadorial nominee to the United States, bilateral relations with other countries and Nigeria's interest in the UN Security Council seat. Maduekwe or someone else should have been sent to Saudi Arabia! Let our leaders stop ridiculing Nigeria.

Imagine: Newspapers yesterday published our President's photograph as he arrived in Saudi Arabia, looking very happy, being received by the Governor of Makkah! A Governor! Where was the King of Saudi Arabia who reportedly invited him? The King of Saudi Arabia invites our President to the opening of a University of Technology and Science and he jets off and ignores a UN function? And he gets there only to be received by a state Governor. How did Saudi Arabia become so overly important in Nigerian affairs? Our President goes there for medical treatment. Government officials of all ranks visit the same country at least twice a year, for hajj and umrah. When they are not in Saudi Arabia, they are in Dubai!On nearly all fronts in the the past two years, we have consistently played badly in the international arena.

The Nigerian seat at important international engagements is often vacant or it is occupied by low-ranking officials who arrive late or if they are punctual at all, they lack the weight or the authority to engage other participants and secure important commitments. With the Nigerian voice now muted in foreign policy and with the general concern about the failure of governance in the country, the modest gains of the Obasanjo years in foreign policy are being lost. Nigeria is once again back to its position during the Babangida-Abacha years as the country which everyone likes to treat lightly. In China, there are over 700 Nigerians in prison and there is no evidence that the Nigerian embassy is making any effort to ensure that they get fair hearing. In Libya, it took the intervention of the AU to insist that 22 Nigerians on death row should not be killed because they have not been fairly treated by the Ghaddafi government.

In Darfur, a Rwandese was chosen above a Nigerian for the post of the Commander of the UN-AU peacekeeping force simply because Nigeria did not push hard enough. President Obama during his first historic visit to Africa as US President pointedly ignored Nigeria. Mrs Hillary Clinton visited later in what looked like a make-up visit but that soon ended in a disagreement of sorts between the US Secretary of State and the Nigerian authorities particularly the EFCC. Even diplomats who are serving in Nigeria are not impressed with our domestic policy: they file reports to their home governments about how Nigeria is floundering on all fronts and how so little has been achieved two years after the flawed elections of 2007.

About a fortnight ago, the British High Commissioner felt concerned beyond the call of duty to advise Nigeria to diversify its economy, noting that out of six containers that are imported into Nigeria, only one manages to get sent back as export cargo. Corporate bodies and the cultural community abroad are reinventing stereotypes about Nigeria. Sony Corp in its Playstation 3 advertisement labelled our country, a nation of gangsters and scammers. Nigeria's protest has resulted in the withdrawal of the offensive material but the damage has been done. There is also at the moment a controversial movie, Destiny 9, produced by SONY Entertainment in which Nigerians are portrayed as gangsters. Nigeria's image has always been problematic, it is the more reason why greater energy is required on the foreign policy front to reassure the international community about efforts being made in the domestic sphere to address the challenges of national development.

The Saudi Arabian trip by President Yar'Adua is said to be a working visit. On Thursday, President Yar'Adua was one of the guests at the opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology whose President told the guests: "We have recruited the very best minds from around the world, we have students from more than 60 countries. This is truly the beginning of a very exciting academic enterprise." Shame on Nigeria: President Yar'çdua presides over a country where the academic system is anything but enterprising. While he is in Saudi Arabia shaking hands with the Governor of Makkah, the President of a University of Science and Technology and having tea with the King of Saudi Arabia, Federal universities in Nigeria have remained shut for more than three months due to workers' strike. Secondary and primary schools resumed after a long holiday this week, but the teachers are nowhere to be found in the public schools in many states: they are on strike. Best minds are fleeing the Nigerian school system. Students from other countries are no longer coming to Nigeria to study.

And did President Yar'çdua go on a tour of the King Abdullah university? Does it look like any of the under-funded and poorly managed structures we call universities in Nigeria? Is the Minister of Education part of the President's delegation to Saudi Arabia to take notes? Working visit indeed. Hopefully, Mr President will learn some lessons from his trip to Saudi Arabia. He likes the hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He should try and build similar ones in Nigeria. He likes to attend university functions. When last did he personally attend a university lecture or convocation ceremony in his own country? He admires the Saudi Arabian education system. He should try and build a similar system in Nigeria not one that drives away "the very best minds," because government refuses to negotiate with academic and non-academc staff.

President Yar'Adua has already succeeded in helping to advertise the newly commissioned university in Saudi Arabia, that university may soon attract the very best minds in Nigeria who are seeking a place where they can have quality education. And we hope that a memo will emerge from this trip about the importance of education, and that no one will tell stories, the strange type that we have heard this week, that the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja could not hold because Ministers enjoyed the Eid-el-fitri holiday so much they forgot to prepare memos for the meeting!

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/sep/25/99.html

@Kobojunkie

source please!!!!!

Don't u listen to news or read your daily newspaper?

One of the major issues Nigerians seem to have with Yar'Adua at the moment is his apparent dissimilarity with his predecessor on the foreign scene. While Obasanjo would give anything to rub shoulders with other world leaders, Yar'Adua appears totally indifferent on that score. For instance, Obasanjo, would never throw away the chance of addressing the United Nations General Assembly on any issue. But Yar'Adua has done just that. He had since last week declared his intention not to attend the body's parley on Climate Change in New York, even though he is expected to address it. The President turned down the invitation of Obama, and the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. Yar'Adua was expected to address the body on Day two of its meeting tomorrow. Instead of the President, Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, would be attending the summit. But that is the snag, observers say, because though he would be allowed to address a smaller audience at a later date of the week-long event, he could not do so in place of the President, since the slot could only be taken by a serving Head of State

The same Obasanjo give us this slowpoke in power

It has been reported that at the height of the Pan-Africa struggle against the lordship of colonial powers, the late Kwame Nkrumah, whose country, Ghana, had submerged Nigeria in popularity, scoffed at Nigeria, the country that was described proudly as Giant of Africa by its children and friends. Nkrumah had reportedly told those who cared to listen that Nigeria was simply "a sleeping giant." Unfortunately, many analysts believe Nigeria has refused, ever since, to prove the former Ghanaian leader wrong. In the views of many Nigerians themselves, the Giant is not just recumbent at the moment but is snoring so loud that the proud founding fathers, can hear the disturbing noise in their graves.

Their spirits, it would appear, are not amused. The intensity of this argument, seems to have been given a fresh push in the last few weeks, in which the nation has been at the receiving end of international diplomacy. Long after President Barack Obama of America refused to visit the country, the African regional government in obvious addition to its humiliation, chose a Rwandan junior officer to head the United Nations-African Union (UN-AU) Hybrid Force in Darfur over and above competent Nigerian Generals, who are Sector Commanders in the same mission. A Nigeria General had even beaten the junior officer at an interview conducted for the job in New York. In addition, the U.S. last week rejected the country's Ambassador-designate to that country, on moral grounds. This is coming on the heels of the substantial tongue-lashing of the American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who was in the country a few weeks ago. In the estimation of many, the country is now confronted by a reputation not unlike the pariah image it got during the military dictatorships of the 1990s, and this despite the efforts of the last few years, especially the eight-year globe-trotting image-laundry of ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo.



AU's ash on the giant


[b]

Nigeria's Gen. Martin Agwai was, until August when he went on retirement, the Force Commander Darfur's hybrid intervention force (UNAMID). He was replaced effective September 1 by Rwandan Lt.-Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba, 42. Protests Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, was effectively brushed aside. Details, which emerged from the UN Headquatres in New York, indicated that Yar'Adua's protest came too late. The UN had conducted a panel, which interviewed prospective replacements in New York in July, and a Nigerian General had emerged best candidate after the interview, but he was brushed aside in favour of the Rwandan junior officer who had trained at the Nigerian Defence Academy

. [/b]

Nyamvumba is junior to some of the UN peace-keeping mission's sector commanders, who are from Nigeria many of them Nyamvumba's seniors at the Academy, according to UN sources. Reports say Agwai was unhappy about the development. But insiders at the UN reportedly disclosed that in spite of the performance of the Nigerian, an agreement by the AU was sent to the world body that regardless of the outcome of the interview, Rwanda should get the job.


Curiously, Nyamvumba, who died last week, victim of a suicide bomb attack, commanded and led other Nigerian military officers who were called sector commanders. Sector commanders are below the Force Commander in hierarchy. Many of the sector commanders from Nigeria are said to have passed out of the NDA even before the Rwandan General joined as a cadet, while others were his seniors there. For instance, Agwai, who held the office of Force Commander, was already a Colonel in the Nigerian army when the Rwandan General was only a cadet in the NDA. Close watchers of the development said it was yet another evidence of Nigeria's declining influence in Africa.


Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Aborishade, described the development as not surprising as the image of the country was on the downward slide. He is of the opinion that there was no way a non-performing government would be expected to carry out laudable projects at the international level when it had failed at the local level.


The radical lawyer told Daily Independent that Nigerians should not expect any miracle from Yar'Adua. "Yar'Adua has nothing to offer". He spoke more on the issue: "Nigeria on a daily basis suffers dwindling reputation and this is as a result of a government that lacks focus, vision as well as the crisis of credibility it has brought upon itself. Nigeria ought to show a strong presence in the international community and make its efforts felt but that is not so. Of course, the reason is that foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy. Domestically, this regime is a failure and, inevitable, it will fail at the international level. There is no gainsaying the fact that this government is a non-performing one; what you don't have you can't give."



US Rejects Adeniran


Not long after the apparent ignominious treatment of Nigeria by the UN-AU, the United States came with another hammer, with last week's refusal to accept Nigerian ambassador designate, Tunde Adeniran, to its country. The development appears not to have come as a surprise to many Nigerians after Clinton, promised a tougher stance against Nigeria during her recent visit. Adeniran's rejection, was based on the alleged involvement of his son, Adedamola, in a rape case in America.


The news of the rejection, which broke last Thursday, was said to have come nearly five weeks after Adedamola was apprehended in Baltimore for the offence. He was said to have been arrested last month together with two other Nigerians for the crime. Some few observers, who believe that the sin of his son should not be used against him, argued that Adeniran's wealth of experience was enough to qualify him for the position. They contended that it is abysmally unfair to judge a man who had contributed in various capacities to the growth and development of Nigeria because he had a son that decided to be criminally inclined. Other commentators, nevertheless, have said they did not see any substance in this argument, arguing that it was not wrong for the U.S. government to have refused endorsement of the appointment as a result of his son's involvement in a rape matter.


Damian Ogbonna, National Chairman of Peoples Progressive party (PPP), who lived for about 15 years in America before coming back to Nigeria, said things do not work in the U.S. the way they do in Nigeria. "Don't forget that rape is a very serious crime in the United States. As a matter of fact, in U.S. crimes of whatever kind have the potential to derail the appointment of a person, even when you are not the one that committed it, but it is traced to your family. The U.S. views you from your family perspective. Whatever negative thing that is attached to your family, tends to rub off on you in terms of appointment into public offices. It is a good and excellent way for a country to judge government appointees. In that part of the world, you are not just judged based on your experience alone. They will consider what type of children you have and whether you have been able to effectively and properly manage the domestic affairs of your family. It is not like in Nigeria where we just appoint people into offices without bothering to dig into their family backgrounds. When it was reported that Mike Okiro, former police IG, owed a bank N150 million, he came out to say that it was his wife and not him. But in America, it would not matter whether it was you or not, as long as it involved your family member, they would use it against you. But you know, this is a country where anything goes. If Adeniran cannot train and control his child, then he does not deserve to hold such a sensitive position. You can only bring in integrity into government domain, if you can ensure of entrenchment of good conduct in your family," Ogbonna averred.


The PPP chieftain maintained that the issue of morality was taken so seriously in that clime that nobody voted for candidates in an election if there were indications that members of their families had been involved in any form of crime. "In America, because of the crime of a member of a family, people lost out in public offices and elections. You dare not seek for re-election if you are holding an elective post and a member of your family was involved in a particular crime. Nobody would vote for you. But of course, you and I know that if it is in Nigeria, your supporters, sycophants and so-called political associates, would close their eyes to it and even beg you to come for another term. Rather than try to persuade the U.S. to accept the appointment of Adeniran, the Nigerian government should look for somebody that is more suitable, not just based on experience but also on unblemished family record," he advised, adding that "they should look for somebody who can command the respect of the U.S. If they look through the 140 million people in the country, they will certainly find one. It is not a must to have Adeniran as Nigeria's ambassador to the US."


For Maxi Okwu, a legal practitioner and National Chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), "Diplomatic relations is based on etiquette and protocol. Any country that is given a envoy from another country has the right to reject. The issue of rape is a very serious offence in the U.S. Though, it is unfortunate that Adeniran has to be treated this way for an offence committed by his son. But he has to take it in good faith. That is what obtains in civilised societies. Nigeria had better be conscious and pick up another person that would be accepted by the U.S. Nigerian government should not ridicule itself by trying to press the U.S. government to accept Adeniran. What they should do is to simply send another nominee."


National Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh, toed the same line as Ogbonna and Okwu. He said: "It is a fact that America has its own standards long established. One thing that we had to know is that U.S. is a highly morally conscious society. And in any dealing, U.S. government would do everything to ensure that its relationship will not attract moral questions, unlike what we do in Nigeria. We do not do any due diligence check on people we put into public offices in Nigeria. So, we can't blame the U.S. if they reject Adeniran's appointment. Nigeria should search for somebody, who will fit into U.S. high moral standard. Morality is something that is deficient in the public life of Nigerians, but it is a very strong issue in America. In the U.S., people who are aspiring for public offices are always very conscious to be clean in their moral life because they know that any act of immorality traced to them could serve as an impediment to their political aspiration."



Yar'Adua: So different, so indifferent


One of the major issues Nigerians seem to have with Yar'Adua at the moment is his apparent dissimilarity with his predecessor on the foreign scene. While Obasanjo would give anything to rub shoulders with other world leaders, Yar'Adua appears totally indifferent on that score. For instance, Obasanjo, would never throw away the chance of addressing the United Nations General Assembly on any issue. But Yar'Adua has done just that. He had since last week declared his intention not to attend the body's parley on Climate Change in New York, even though he is expected to address it. The President turned down the invitation of Obama, and the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. Yar'Adua was expected to address the body on Day two of its meeting tomorrow. Instead of the President, Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, would be attending the summit. But that is the snag, observers say, because though he would be allowed to address a smaller audience at a later date of the week-long event, he could not do so in place of the President, since the slot could only be taken by a serving Head of State.


Observers are sulking that it is at such forums that foreign leaders sell themselves and their governments and not grabbing such opportunities could only have negative consequences. They believe, therefore, that Nigeria, would not be better for it in the long run.


Besides offering him an avenue to address the Assembly, such a gathering, according to UN sources, would have enabled President Yar'Adua to campaign for Nigeria's election for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council with his fellow presidents and heads of state. According to a diplomat, the UN is a very hierarchical community and only heads of state could talk to another. The election comes up on October 15 and although the African Group has endorsed Nigeria, the country still needs 128 votes, which is two-thirds majority requirement to join the elite club.


Yar'Adua was also expected as a major participant in meeting with Obama. U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, had hinted that Obama would host on the 22nd a lunch for heads of state and governments from sub-Saharan Africa. The luncheon was supposed to "focus on how the country could work in partnership with African governments to strengthen African economic and social development. The talk would focus primarily on three topics: job creation, especially for young people; creating a more conducive climate for trade and investment; and ways to mobilise African agriculture to create jobs and help feed the continent."


Nigeria, would, also miss another crucial meeting, which, again was called by the U.S. President only for UN member-states like Nigeria, which contribute troops to the UN international peace-keeping missions. Apart from being the fourth ranking UN nations in troop-contribution, Nigeria is also the leader of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping. With his absence from the meeting, Yar'Adua had undermined the importance of that crucial meeting on the subject of peacekeeping with the U.S. President who is apparently reaching out specifically to Yar'Adua, among a few other presidents, analysts say.


More than 140 heads of state or government would take part in the body's annual debate and the specialised summits, which would focus on such global challenges as climate change, nuclear security and non-proliferation, as well as the world financial and economic crisis.


Yar'Adua's absence has denied Nigeria the opportunity to share the stage with the most influential men on the planet. He has also missed the chance to hold important bilateral and business meetings made possible by the presence of so many leaders in New York. Analysts say this development confirmed Nigeria's deepening irrelevance, even in Africa.



Stalked By A Vicious Shadow


Analysts tend to agree that some well-known factors might have influenced Yar'Adua's decision to remain in Abuja. They mention the fact that while he was expected to be in New York the real action would be at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh. Nigeria has persistently recorded its protest over being overlooked when nations are invited for the G20 Summit.


Yar'Adua, some say, might also have decided against attending the meeting in order to avoid embarrassing questions concerning the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which are targets of development that nations are expected to meet by 2010. It is speculated that while some countries regard those targets as the "minimum" not "millennium" goals and are working to exceed them, Yar'Adua had claimed in April that Nigeria would not meet several of them. He mentioned such key MDGs targets as poverty-reduction, maternal health, education and child health as those that Nigeria would not achieve.


Three weeks ago, Amina Ibrahim, who is Yar'Adua's Presidential Assistant on the MDGs, told reporters that in order for Nigeria to meet the MDGs, it would need to invest N4 trillion per year. Critics of the government say Yar'Adua is not ready for penetrating questions from the international press on the matter. However, it emerged on Monday that the real reason might not be unconnected with the President's trip to Saudi Arabia.


He jetted out of the country on Monday for a working visit to the Arabian country on the invitation of King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud.


An Aso Rock statement issued on Monday indicated that Yar'Adua was scheduled to hold talks with the Saudi monarch during the visit and participate as a Special Guest of Honour in the opening of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.


The President would also meet with the leadership and members of the Nigerian Community in the country before returning home on Saturday.


He had only a few weeks ago returned from the same country, where he performed the lesser hajj (umrah) and underwent a medical check-up.


Many Questions, Few Answers

Ossai Ossai, Public Commentator, on Monday, expressed anxiety over the diminishing status of the country even among the nations of the African region.


He lamented the choice of the Rwandan Commander, now late, who had had been picked in defiance of the eligibility of the more experienced Nigerian, saying "all points to the singular fact that our leadership has not asserted itself the way it should." Ossai told Daily Independent in a telephone interview that leadership required action. His words: "Nigeria is a great country going, by its abundant human and material resources. But it is the leadership that must translate it into a great asset. It is a focused leadership that will make the difference and without getting the right type of leadership the country will still be walking in circles. Yar'Adua must repackage his style of governance if we must get somewhere, and if the international community must take us seriously."


There appears to be a growing despair in the country as government business gets more quiescent by the day, and even patriotic optimists are saying there is no governance in Nigeria at the moment.


There are a few persons who have expressed support for the President disinterest in the UN and its meetings. Fred Ojie, a Lagos lawyers and activist however sees nothing wrong. He claimed that the UN meetings do not solve any problem, and added that since the America President does not consider Nigeria a worthwhile nation to visit, Nigeria should also ignore America. Ojie, in fact, wants Nigeria to withdraw its troops from the UN-AU Mission. The overwhelming question many scholars of international affairs would ask is: Does Nigeria have what it takes to embark on a policy of splendid isolation? On the other hand, can it continue to bear being at the receiving end of international diplomacy?


Comments on the general malaise in the country seem to point to the overriding importance of instituting good governance and impeccable economic administration in the country. Those who make this point say Nigeria has to make itself worth international respect largely by the dynamism and effectiveness of its policies at home. Whether that era would come, remains to be seen and indeed, depends largely on Yar'Adua.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/sep/23/411.html

The question is, where is he getting is funding from b/c as CBN governor his salary can not even pay to get the PDP form.

AIT has given 2 updates damn!!! Its the Secretary!!! Seun modify the topic!!! Na AIT o, no be me!!!

Why can't u modify it by yourself?

As you know, a smart Nigeria will not send his/her details to this email address. You can call me cynic but the truth is that Nigerians don't trust each other when it comes to sharing Name, Address & phone numbers. Good luck

This Anaconda must be the most poisonous, corrupt Nigerian that has ever lived.

Aondoakaa gives up on Ibori, okays his trial in UK • Presidency probes minister’s London trip

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja
Monday, September 21, 2009

ANOTHER twist has come into the controversial prosecution of former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, for alleged money laundering in the United Kingdom, with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) making a 360-degree turn to support the trial.

The minister had earlier said he would not allow the prosecution of Ibori and others in London for offences allegedly committed in Nigeria, despite the existence of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between Britain and Nigeria.


He was alleged to have stopped 25 witnesses lined up by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from testifying against Ibori in a case at Southwark Crown Court in London.


He also controversially cleared Ibori and two other former governors in an alleged N6.1 billion scam in the sales of Vmobile shares belonging to the three states.


A ding-dong was said to have ensued between the anti-graft commission and the minister over the trip of the witnesses to London, with the minister coming out with a statement signed by him on Sunday to clear the air on his trip to London and stand on the trial.


The statement read “Following reports in the media on my trip to London , I wish to make the following clarifications. My mission to London has nothing to do with ongoing prosecution or investigation of anybody.


“Why I went to London was in connection with the allegation that I have stopped prosecution of all corrupt cases. And what I did was that I requested the EFCC to give me a list of all ongoing prosecution with the stages of prosecution and the next adjourned date for a better and mutual understanding between me and the Home Secretary. When I come back, I will release the list to the press on the first working day.


“I went to meet with the Home Secretary and not the Metropolitan Police. It would be mischievous to expect that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation will go low to go and discuss with the Met Police.


“On the issue of 25 witnesses needed by the Met Police, nobody has brought that information to my notice and immediately I saw the publication in the papers today, I contacted the Secretary of the EFCC, Mr. Emmanuel Akonmaye, who said they will be bringing whatever they have got from the Metropolitan Police on the next working day as regards the witnesses to testify in Ibori’s case.


“I have no request on my desk in relation to these witnesses. As soon as my office receives the request, it will be treated with dispatch and as the law requires.


“Let me make it clear on record that every Nigerian has a constitutional right of free movement and freedom of expression and therefore, the Office of the AGF will not breach the constitution by stopping anybody from testifying before any tribunal or court in Nigeria or outside, including the UK. That is the true fact.


“Lastly, these people are witnesses, they are not accused persons and they have a right to go anywhere to give oral testimony.


“So, the issue of trying to blackmail people and trying to create sensation does not arise. I will never prevent any Nigerian from testifying.”


However, indications emerged at the weekend that the Presidency had asked the State Security Service (SSS) to probe last week’s trip by Aondoakaa to London to prove the innocence of former Governor Ibori in the Vmobile $1.6 billion shares sale scandal.


Sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the government was shocked to discover that the trip was aimed at defending an individual.


A source said that contrary to the indication given by the minister while embarking on the trip, he actually went to London to defend the former governor of Delta State.


The minister was said to have travelled on the pretext that he was going to attend to issues relating to the Nigerian/British trade mission.


The source said that on paper, the minister was to attend some programmes alongside the Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK), Senator Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, but the trip was exclusively turned into an avenue to defend the former governors who were being investigated by the London Metropolitan Police.


An official in the administration told the Nigerian Tribune that the image of the country was at stake in this matter and the minister had stuck his neck out too far.


A source said on Sunday “there is the feeling that the government of Nigeria was doing all it could to prove the innocence of the former governors. The UK police said they have evidence against them, is it not better to allow the UK courts to sort out the matter rather than drag the Nigerian government into the matter?”


It was gathered that the SSS had been mandated to look into the circumstances of the trip with a view to determining the AGF’s true itinerary in London last week.


But a source stated that the minister actually met with the investigators in London and protested their decision to go ahead with the case against former Governor Ibori, when the Nigerian authorities had cleared the former governor.


The Metropolitan Police are said to have exclusive evidence relating to the shares proceeds scam being equally investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).


They were said to be unimpressed by the arguments of the minister.


A source said the opinion of the UK investigators was that Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight had taken a nosedive with the presentations by the minister.

Another source said the SSS actually had the mandate to investigate anyone and that it was the first time a sitting minister was being investigated under this administration.


The AGF and the EFCC had been at loggerheads over the trial of former Governor Ibori in the Vmobile shares sale scam.


While the Attorney General had declared that the EFCC had cleared the three former governors, James Ibori, Bola Tinubu and Victor Attah, in the case involving the shares scam, the EFCC shot back last week, insisting that the former governors had not been cleared.


“The commission wishes to state emphatically that it has not, at any time or in any correspondence with the persons referred to in these media reports or any other person, cleared them of complicity in all matters relating to them which are either in court or still under investigation.


“It is, therefore, inappropriate to input or infer that the three former governors have been exonerated in matters that are still pending or yet to be determined by the law court which is the only competent organ of government that can pronounce guilty or innocence in matters like the ones under reference.


“The commission has to make this clarification in view of the volume of enquiries from concerned Nigerians so as to lay to rest all doubts and insinuations as to the position of the commission and its leadership in all these.


“The letter being referred to in these reports has no specific impact or reference to the cases of the three former governors as it was only an advice to a bank on the operation of a company’s account and as such, cannot speak for substantive cases being investigated.


“While not adjudging anyone guilty until proven so, the commission wishes to restate that it has not, in anyway, declared the three former governors innocent of the allegations for which they are being investigated,” the EFCC stated.

Working visit about what? what can Nigeria gain from the visit? The same man that cancel United nation meeting with Baki moo, This man is just a joke.

When will this people learnt that no one can fight for God. This is a very disturbing situation in northern Nigeria.

Three feared dead, 60 injured as Shiites protest in Kaduna, Kano
From Saxone Akhaine and Adamu Abuah, Kano

BLOODY clash broke out in Zaria yesterday, when members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria otherwise known as the Shittes Islamic sect engaged in gun battle with the Police with no fewer than three persons allegedly killed while about 60 others were injured

Besides, members of the Shiite sect in Kaduna had earlier staged a peaceful demonstration in the state capital in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Two incidents, however, heightened tension in the state resulting in the military and Police personnel under the states anti-crime outfit, Operation Yaki particularly in Zaria and Kaduna cities.

The clash, it was gathered, broke out during a procession by members of the sect in Kofar Doka, an area in Zaria town.

The dead and injured persons were allegedly caught in a cross fire during the exchange of gunfire.

Eye witnesses told journalists that the Shiite protest, which took off on a peaceful note turned violent with the arrival of some armed policemen and soldiers, sending people scampering for safety.

A security source said the Police got an intelligence report of an impending attack on them by the Shiite sect and then mobilised to secure the lives and property of the people of the area.

The source added that an Assistant Superintendent of Police controlling traffic around the area was allegedly attacked by the Shiite members, who allegedly snatched his gun and shot him.

The mobile policemen stationed around the area consequently moved in to retrieve the seized gun from the fleeing Shiite members.

In the process, there was exchange of gunshots during which three persons were feared killed and 60 others seriously injured.

The clash has caused panic among the residents of the area who fear a reprisal attack.

At the time of filing this report, more soldiers and anti-riot policemen were being drafted from Kaduna to maintain the peace.

The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Tambari Mohammed, declined to comment when contacted, but said that he was on his way to the scene of the incident "to assess the situation."

In a swift reaction, the Kaduna State Government said there was no cause for alarm as security agencies were in control of the situation.

The Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Public Affairs, Alhaji Umar Sani said residents of the state had no cause to panic and should go about their normal duties.

He confirmed that two Shiites died in the crisis and their bodies have been deposited at the mortuary.

In a related development, hundreds of Shiites staged a peaceful protest in Kano against the plight of Moslems in Palestine and other parts of the world.

The protesters who marched through the road linking Fagge to the Emir of Kano palace expressed disappointment with Israel and its allies who have allegedly been oppressing Moslems globally.

Malam Abdulhamid Bello who later addressed the protesters named the occupation of Jerusalem which harbours the Al-agsa Mosque by the Israelies as part of the grouse of members of his group led by sheik Yakub Ibrahim Zakzaky.

He noted: "As we have been stating over the years, the importance of this day cannot be over-emphasised. It is a day set aside for reminding the world of the significance of the holy Al-agsa Mosque in Jerusalem and its desecration perpetrated by the Zionists usurpers for decades.

"But wait, in what condition is the holy Al-agsa Mosque now? A fair answer to this question is discernable to any ardent follower of current affairs. It is a known fact that the holy mosque and its environs are under the clutches of the Zionists of Israel. Since the day they usurped this Palestinian land, peace has become elusive.

"Massacres, demolition, target bombings, assassinations and imprisonments by the Zionists are the order of the day. When will these brutal activities unleashed on defenceless Moslems come to an end?"

The cleric condemned the war unleashed by the American government and its allies on Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq under the pretext that they are staging a war against terrorism in the world.

He argued that the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and camp X-ray Guantanamo by what he calls "occupation forces" are pointers to the insincere and ungodly acts of Israel and its American allies.

Amidst chants of "Allahu Akbar", Bello enjoined Moslem across the world to wake up and join hands in ensuring the defeat of the enemies of Islam.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/sep/19/9.html

This surely confirmed that Yara dull is mentally lazy.

Yar'Adua Will Not Attend UN General Assembly


Cancels Meeting Obama, Ki-Moon

To Miss Four Top Meetings
By Laolu Akande, New York

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua will not be attending the United Nations annual General Assembly and the Climate Change summits starting on Tuesday, September 22 in New York.

The President turned down the respective invitation of US President, Barack Obama and the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon at the last minute.

Up till Friday afternoon at the UN Secretariat, Yar'Adua still had a slot reserved to address the UN General Assembly on Day 2 of its meeting on Thursday.

But UN sources confirmed yesterday that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, would now represent Nigeria, which means that the country will lose that slot reserved only for presidents.

Maduekwe will speak at a later date before the end of the weeklong meeting.

President Yar'Adua was invited alongside other heads of state, with more than 100 world leaders confirming participation.

There are at least four crucial events where Yar'Adua was being expected to participate.

First is the Tuesday Climate Change conference, which the Secretary-General summoned to mobilise world leaders on the need to conclude negotiations for a treaty on Climate change before the December meeting on the subject in Copenhagen, Denmark where the deal is to be sealed on Climate Change.

On Thursday at a press conference, Ki-moon warned that only about two weeks was left for the international negotiators to complete their work, but no agreement had been reached as yet.

The Secretary-General's plan is to use the Climate Change summit with presidents and heads of state in attendance to convince the world leaders to reach a deal soon.

Secondly, the Nigerian president is expected to participate at the regular annual General Assembly summit of heads of state, which starts on Wednesday.

Besides offering him an avenue to address the Assembly, such a gathering, according to UN sources, would have enabled President Yar'Adua to campaign for Nigeria's election for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council with his fellow presidents and heads of state.

According to a diplomat, the UN is a very hierarchical community and only heads of state can talk to heads of state.

Although Maduekwe will be representing Yar'Adua, yet, no president will meet with the Minister, except presidents from very small and non-influential nations, a source revealed.

The election to the UN Security Council non-permanent seat comes up on October 15 and although the African Group has endorsed Nigeria, the country still needs 128 votes, which is two-thirds majority requirement to be elected into the Council.

Thirdly, the President is expected as a major participant in the unprecedented meeting of US President Barack Obama on Tuesday, September 22.

According to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, a well known pro-African American diplomat and official, Dr. Susan Rice, President Obama will "host on the 22nd a lunch for heads of state and governments from sub-Saharan Africa."

The luncheon "will focus on how the United States can work in partnership with African governments to strengthen African economic and social development."

"The talk will focus primarily on three topics: job creation, especially for young people; creating a more conducive climate for trade and investment; and ways to mobilise African agriculture to create jobs and help feed the continent," she said.

Yar'Adua will miss this meeting as well, and it was not clear as at press time whether Maduekwe will be welcomed since this was clearly labeled a meeting of heads of state with the US President.

The following day, President Yar'Adua will miss a another crucial meeting, which, again is called by the US President only for UN member-States like Nigeria, which contribute troops to the UN international peace-keeping missions.

Apart from being the 4th ranking UN nations in troop-contribution, Nigeria is also the leader of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping.

But Yar'Adua will meet such a crucial meeting on the subject of peacekeeping with the US President, who is apparently reaching out specifically to Yar'Adua, among a few other presidents.

As US Ambassador Rice said in a White House press conference during the week, President Obama "will host a meeting with countries that contributed the largest numbers of police and troops to the United Nations peacekeeping operations."

She hinted at the importance of the meeting, saying, "this is an opportunity for the President to focus attention on reforming and strengthening U.N. peacekeeping for the 21st century, and to recognise the largely unheralded contributions of those that are providing the backbone of these critical peacekeeping operations."

Regarding this Obama meeting with States like Nigeria, UN sources explained that Yar'Adua was, in fact, the "beautiful bride to the Americans."

This is because, as diplomatic sources explained, the US government was concerned about the situation in Somalia and desires that a more robust UN peacekeeping force be deployed quickly.

In that regard, sources say the Americans are hoping that Nigeria's president could be encouraged during the meeting with Obama to provide substantially more troops for the UN peacekeepers in Somalia.

A Nigerian diplomat working with the UN Secretariat said this would have been an opportunity for President Yar'Adua to negotiate directly with Obama in return for whatever the Americans want from Nigeria.

Before now, Nigeria had been reluctant to commit more troops for the Somalia deployment at the UN. And since the US government is keen on protecting its interests against the activities of terrorists in Somalia, the Americans have been clamouring for a stronger UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Until this effort, White House had simply not been very friendly towards the Nigerian presidency. First, President Obama opted not to visit Nigeria in his first African trip.

Secondly, when US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, visited Nigeria, her public and indoor comments were considered very critical.

Even there are reports that in the planning of the Clinton visit to Nigeria, the US Government might have left the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Nigeria out in several aspects.

However, with the current veiled offer from the White House to Aso Rock, a rapprochement is being built, according to diplomatic thinking.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=200909&ptitle=Yar'Adua  Will Not Attend UN General Assembly