After a hot session behind closed door, the House of Representatives yesterday decided to raise a five-man team to negotiate financial bailout with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The leadership of the House had been having a running battle with banks to obtain loans to pay the statutory allowance of members and the outstanding allowances of its recalled eleven members after weeks of suspension last June. Speaker Dimeji Bankole had confessed to his colleagues that a loan of N10 billion obtained was blocking the payment of the allowances, while banks contacted to facilitate fresh loans declined. Unlike the last closed door session after which the Speaker announced the decisions arrived at, he did not mention what transpired at yesterday’s session, which lasted for one hour and 36 minutes.

However, it was gathered that the Speaker succeeded in wooing members to his side with explanations that progress had been made in reworking the 2011 budget for the president to sign it into law.
The delay in returning the budget to the president for his assent was laid on the door- step of the Senate Chairman for Appropriation, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who had been away from the National Assembly for weeks.
Bankole sold an idea to set a five-man delegation to meet the President on the need to come to the aid of the House.

The idea, it was gathered, provoked hot argument. But at the end of the parley, an agreement was made and the Speaker named to lead the team to meet with president. Others who are to join him are the Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada, Halims Agoda, Dino Melaye and Abdul Ningi. They are to solicit for help from the president to source for money to pay the last allowances of the 360 members, which had been captured in the 2011 budget as passed by the National Assembly, a source said.

Evidence that the budget had been reworked was discussed at the closed session, while it was learnt that temper rose to a boiling point on the issue that the rework was carried out without the knowledge of most relevant chairmen to preparation of the budget. Bankole also informed his colleagues that money had been sourced from which 55 percent of the outstanding allowances of the recalled eleven members was paid . He assured that before next Tuesday, the balance of their allowances would be paid.

At the plenary, the House considered only eight clauses out of the 406 clauses of the report of the joint committees on Petroleum Resources [Upstream and Downstream], Gas and Justice on a bill to provide legal and regulatory framework for the petroleum industry, otherwise known as Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The House had erupted in confusion with members using un-parliamentary words when the report was to be debated on Wednesday, leading to its postponement.

The House also considered the conference committee report on the 2011 outstanding borrowing plan of the Federal Government and accepted it. The house also read for the second time a bill for an act to amend some sections of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria Act.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/20/national-20-05-2011-001.html

President Goodluck Jonathan has called for a meeting of the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party over the resolve of the members of the House of Representatives to disregard the party’s zoning arrangement for picking a new speaker.



The meeting which will also have other top PDP members in attendance, will hold at the Presidential Villa on Sunday.



Its main goal is to analyse the implication of the ‘rebellion’ by the lawmakers and find ways to make them tow the line of the party on the zoning of the speakership to the South-West.



The PDP leadership had nine days ago ceded the office of the Speaker to the zone (South-West) and the Senate Presidency to the North-Central.



While there has been no much fuss over the Senate Presidency, groups in the House of Representatives have consistently said the decision on who would become the speaker would be taken on the floor of the House.



On Tuesday, the House members took concrete steps to signpost their seriousness by opting to adopt open secret balloting in the electing the speaker instead of electronic voting.



THE PUNCH had gathered exclusively that the decision by the legislators was to check the imposition of candidates on them by the PDP and its godfathers through zoning .



Our correspondent gathered that Vice-President Namadi Sambo had met with PDP members in the House on Monday but no agreement was recorded at the meeting.



The Monday meeting was said to have been brokered by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Alhaji Bayero Nafada.



Sambo, it was learnt, used the occasion to appeal to members of the House, not to disgrace the PDP with their resolve not to abide by its zoning formula.



A member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “We were told that a bad precedent would be laid if we did not follow the party’s decision. We listened with rapt attention but did not make any commitment.”



But a member of the NWC, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, confirmed that the President had invited the NWC members to the Villa for a meeting.



He added that the NWC members had discussed the lawmakers posture on zoning at their meeting in Abuja.



The source said, “We will meet the President on Sunday and see how we can salvage the matter, which is becoming embarrassing to the leadership of the party and the Presidency.



“It has never happened that the party, which produced these men as lawmakers, will give a directive and its members will move against such directive.



“If we say this is what we want, we expect these young men and women to follow the directive given by the party. We hope to iron this out on Sunday.”



But a member of the House said he and his colleagues had plan to defeat whatever the outcome of Sunday meeting was.



He claimed that their first plan was to make the Deputy Whip of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, the speaker and the Chief Whip, Emeka Ihedioha, his deputy .



The legislator added that if the plan failed, the House would then vote for a lawmaker from Oyo State, Mulikat Akande-Adeola instead of Muraina Ajibola, who was endorsed by the leadership of the party and its South-West chapter.



Our correspondent also learnt on Wednesday that the former Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Mr. Ndidi Elumelu, is been considered for House Leader.



When contacted, Elumelu said he would gladly accept the post. He added, however, that the House was not planning to work against the directive of the party in choosing its speaker.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105195381862

Akala go and sleep

Oyo State Governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala and the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did a volte-face on the just concluded governorship election in the state won by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Senator Ajibola Ajimobi. They appealed his victory.
The governor had in the wake of the electoral verdict congratulated Ajimobi, but in what appears a 360 degrees turn, Dotun Oyelade, special assistant to Alao-Akala on Public Communications, in a statement last night said the PDP had challenged Ajimobi’s election.

Details of the legal processes and the lawyers handling the case were not immediately available as phones calls made to Oyelade were unanswered but Daily Sun learnt that relevant papers were filed at the state election petition on Tuesday. Oyelade in the statement said although his boss congratulated Ajimobi over his victory at the April poll, he could not stop the party from going to court if it was so convinced to do so. The governor-elect, who contested under the banner of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), was declared winner of the election after polling a total votes of 420, 852 to beat Alao-Akala, the incumbent, to the second position with 387, 132 votes.

Accepting defeat in a letter he wrote to Ajimobi, Alao-Akala noted that all the hot verbal exchanges that characterized the campaign period were mere political statements and should not be taken personal by the winner. According to Oyelade, the party decided to challenge the victory because of the overwhelming evidence at its disposal to prove that the election was not as credible as it should be.

“While it is true that Governor Akala congratulated Senator Ajimobi after the April election and cited the need to reduce tension and actively support the growth of our fledgling democracy as his reason for his public remark, the issue must not be confused with the determination of the party to challenge his victory at the tribunal, which it has done yesterday.
“Governor Akala is not in a position to stop the decision of the party to contest the result in the face of more daunting evidences which it may have in its possession. It will be recalled that Senator Ajimobi and the ANPP, which he represented in 2007, both separately went to the tribunal at the time, which means that the law recognizes each as a legal entity.

“Governor Akala will support any move to strengthen our democracy and expand the frontiers of the rule of law,” the statement said.


Link;http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/19/national-19-05-2011-001.html

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday began his defence in the petition filed by the Congress of Progress Change (CPC) challenging his election victory insisting that General Muhammadu Buhari has no case.
The president who spoke through his lawyer after the court session said he was not afraid of the legal battle.
This was even as CPC kick-started its petition on a shaky note as it withdrew its earlier application requesting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow it inspect electoral documents.

President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami who is heading other justices of the Court of Appeal consequently struck out the application.
As a replacement, however, the CPC filed a new application, which largely contained the same prayers like the one that was withdrawn.

Counsel to the party, James Ocholi (SAN) at the inaugural sitting of the tribunal informed the court that he would like to withdraw the earlier application on technical ground and substitute it with a fresh one filed on May 16, adding that he was not aware of the directive of the court that the respondents should be put on notice.

Counsel to INEC, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) did not object to the application.
Counsel to President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) leading a team of 25 lawyers including nine Senior Advocates did not also oppose the application but prayed the court to allow the petitioner to effect the service of the motion on the counsel.
In a similar way, counsel to PDP, Joe Kyari Gadzama (SAN) did not also oppose the withdrawal of the petitioner’s earlier application.

After hearing all parties in the appeal, the chairman of the panel, Justice Salami later struck out the application dated May 6, 2011 and therefore adjourned till May 23 to hear the fresh application filed on May 16.
He further ordered that all respondents should be put on notice and that service should hence forth be through counsel to counsel to avoid cases of delay services.
Other members of the panel are, Justices M.L Garba, M.A Owoade, I.I Agbube and Obande Ogbuinya.
While speaking with journalists after the sitting, Ocholi stated that the fresh application is premised on 15 grounds adding that it is seeking the leave of the panel to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to bring some vital documents that will maintain the main appeal.

Olanipekun while also addressing journalists stated that they are not afraid of the request of the petitioner and that they are not going to depend on any abstract adding that what the petitioner is asking for is abstract.
He added that they have good grounds to defend their clients stating that they are not afraid even if all the ballot papers would have to be tested.
In the petition, the CPC is asking the tribunal to nullify the election of President Goodluck Jonathan on the grounds of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

In the petition anchored on two grounds filed by Ebun Shotunde (SAN), Abubakar Malami (SAN) and Alasa Ismail, the CPC is further asking the tribunal to set aside the presidential election of April 16, 2011 and organise a fresh election between the CPC and the PDP.
The CPC also wants the tribunal to hold that Jonathan and Sambo of the PDP were not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
The CPC stated that it shall prove at the hearing that there is substantial variation in the voters’ register used by the INEC for the conduct of the presidential and governorship elections respectively and to that extent INEC and its chairman, Attahiru Jega unlawfully manipulated the register to the advantage of Jonathan and Sambo.

It also said that in effect, INEC used different voters’ register containing different number of voters for different election held in Nigeria.
The petitioner also alleged that the ballot papers were made for the polling units at polling stations other than the original places they are made for.
They held too that there is under usage of ballot papers at polling station there are meant for and mass movement thereof to different polling unit in facilitation of ballot stuffing in favour of the PDP.

There is significant number of ballot papers missing in some polling units that were never accounted for that affected the result of presidential election.
The petition therefore asked the tribunal to declare that Jonathan and Sambo were not duely elected in respect of Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo Anambra, Benue, Lagos, Plateau states and the FCT.
The tribunal should also declare that Jonathan did not fulfil the requirement of section 134 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
CPC also wants the tribunal to hold that Jonathan did not score the highest votes cast, did not meet the one-quarter mandatory votes cast in addition to scoring two-third votes cast in all the states of the federation and the FCT.

•That it may be determined that the result declared by Jega on April 18, 2011 by which Jonathan was returned as elected president is wrongful, invalid and unlawful.
• That the election held on April 16, 2011 did not produce a winner as contemplated by the provision of the 1999 Constitution.

The tribunal should therefore direct Jega to arrange another election between the petitioner and the PDP in conformity with the provision of section 134(4) of the 1999 Constitution.
But two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Professor Itse Sagay and Yusuf Ali have expressed divergent views on the issue.
According to Sagay: “I am very surprised that the CPC filed a petition on Sunday because it is one of the days under our law in which a case cannot be filed, the party should have filed it on Friday as it run a danger of technical difficulty because the other side may say the time had lapsed for them to file the petition.”
In his own comment, Ali said: “Because of the time limitations on all these tribunals, the registry is kept open seven days a week. It is open on days when courts don’t normally sit.

“I cannot give a legal opinion on whether the petition will face a technical difficulty. I have just said the fact that the registry is kept open.”
The national chairman of the CPC, Chief Tony Momoh who accompanied their lawyer, Alasa Ismail to file the petition, said the results announced to the world were manipulated, where the election took place, between the polling units and the collation centres.
In a statement signed by Momoh, he said “We are even encouraged that the PDP has packaged a legal team to question the scores credited to our candidate in his areas of strength. This is acceptance that the elections were flawed.
“The outcome of the case will no doubt enrich our electoral case law, especially in the area of forensic examination of finger prints on the ballot papers.”Presidential election: CPC begins petition on a shaky note




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/18/national-18-05-2011-01.htm

President Goodluck Jonathan said the Federal Government is desirous and committed to decongesting Lagos State of cargoes as well as making the aviation industry more efficient.



He also reterated the need to ensure that the six-geopolitical zones in the country are economically viable to drive growth in the nation.



Jonathan said this in Ilorin on Tuesday while inaugurating the International Cargo Terminal building, Ilorin International Airport.



He said his administration would make sure that the zones were not “just for sharing political offices” but are strong economic hubs and catalysts for socio-economic transformation.



He explained that the government would revolutionise agriculture as a viable strategy for industrial revolution, job creation and economic transformation.



The President, who was in Kwara State for a one day working visit, inaugurated some projects embarked upon by the Kwara State Government.



The projects included, the International Cargo Terminal building, the International Aviation College, Ilorin, Kwara State University being built by Charvet Nigeria Limited, Mass Train Transit Scheme and Ilorin Water Works Project, Asa-Dam.



Jonathan said, “From all indications, we will play our own part to encourage our airports to receive cargoes. FG is committed to decongesting Lagos and making sure that the six geo-political zones of the country are not just used for shared political offices but also for economic development to position them for economic growth so that Lagos would be decongested.”



The President stated that the Federal Government might no longer be involved in running secondary and primary school education but would devote its resources in elevating the standard of university education in the country.



Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki said his administration had built a solid foundation for the economic and socio-political transformation of the state.



He added that the projects would improve the economic viability of the state as well create jobs for the teeming unemployed residents and other Nigerians.



“We hope that by August, 1, we will have the first set of students to start learning here. We have already 22 registered students and there is capacity for more,” he said.



The Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu-Gambari, said the nation had many problems but advised Jonathan to deliver efficient and functional electricity to the nation.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110518302297

The matter has been swept under the carpet, Nigerian style. 10 billion naira is certainly enough to go round. All that huffing and puffing was simply to make sure not only Bankole takes home the booty.

After hours of secret talks on Thursday, members of the House of Representatives dropped a plan to investigate the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, over fresh allegations of corruption. Mr Bankole’s opponent in the House, Dino Melaye, along with other lawmakers had alleged that the speaker drew loans amounting to about N10 billion from the chamber’s official banker, the United Bank for Africa, without authorisation.

Thus, funds meant for the members’ quarterly pay, as they end their four-year tenure, were trapped by the bank in lieu of the credit drawn without their knowledge, the lawmakers said. The speaker was also accused of mismanaging funds due to be paid to the 11 members, led by Mr Melaye, who were suspended last year after calling for the probe of the speaker for allegedly misappropriating N9 billion of the house’ capital votes.

However, the speaker and his supporters were able to pacify the incensed colleagues yesterday after a pledge to ensure payment of all allowances owed to members.

The House, presided over by Mr Bankole himself, denied claims that the speaker secured the loan and ruled that the speaker’s ‘graphic explanation,’ given yesterday behind closed doors, was satisfactory.

“There is no financial mess in the house. There is a clear appreciation that there was no loan taken,” Ita Enang, chairman of the House Business and Rules committee, told reporters hours after the end of a closed session held to consider the concerns of the lawmakers.

Mr Enang, who denied that loans were taken by the speaker, said any issue that arose, including the delay in the payment of members, was a “domestic banking operation between the bank and its customer,” which the leadership of the house was working to resolve.

Promise of payment

Some lawmakers, however, said Mr Bankole was again spared after he appealed to the aggrieved members and offered to clear their unpaid allowances, which had accumulated for months.

The monies are to be financed from other budget subheads since the appropriated sum had been used, they said, a day after members overwhelmingly passed an uncommon resolution seeking to suspend the speaker.

Dramatically, the motion was dropped yesterday after the meeting and many lawmakers evaded questions from journalists who had thronged the chambers to witness the inquiry.

The brazen decision, conforming to a well-known house tradition in which legislators shy away from probing graft charges against its leadership, was widely expected although a few dissenting members dissociated themselves from the resolution.

It would also appear to be a fitting end to the complex financial controversies that have engulfed the lower chamber for years, as it rounds up the present session on June 4.

Some lawmakers, who did not want to be named, said the speaker admitted to taking the loan, but said it was done in 2009 and had subsequently been rolled into fresh budgets.

As Mr Bankole leaves the chamber, having lost his reelection, it is not yet clear how the amount owed to the bank will be fully settled.

‘No evil will go unpunished’

After the sitting, Mr Melaye, whose motion on Wednesday detailing the financial wrongdoings of Mr Bankole, won enough support to back his call for the speaker’s suspension, said, “I insist that no evil will go unpunished.” Mr Melaye shunned a scheduled media briefing where he was supposed to appear with Mr Enang, saying “light and darkness can have nothing in common.” Sticking together Mr Bankole has been a key figure in almost all allegations of corruption that have erupted in the house. Shortly after taking seat in 2007 – after the ouster of Patricia Etteh on similar controversy – the speaker was named in an alleged car purchase scam involving over N2.9bn.

A promised probe of power projects handled by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration was also aborted, while indictments against top officials were reversed.

The new allegations, touching on the remuneration of members – many of whom lost reelection bids – appeared set to upturn the usual camaraderie, as many members openly backed calls for the speaker’s sanction on Wednesday. The unprecedented house resolution urged the speaker to without fail, address the allegations on Thursday by 10 am.

But with his hands crossed behind, Mr Bankole strode into a waiting chamber at 11.11am, unusually offering no hand shake as he reached the rostrum. He promptly convened a closed session against loud protest from some members and, hours later, announced that “satisfactory explanations” were given and members’ allowances were being “executed.” Asked why the lawmakers capitulated, Ehigie West –Idahosa, from Edo State said the members recognized the need to complete their term ‘amiably.’


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5699875-146/story.csp

To many Nigerian soccer fans and even the media, the Super Eagles are loaded to the hilt with super stars most of whom are plying their trade outside the nation's shores.
But the world appears to see our players differently, if a recent rating done by a US based sports media outfit, Bleacher Report is anything to go by.

Bleacher Report's list of the world best 100 soccer stars did not include any Nigerian player as only the likes of Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, Coted Ivoire's duo of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure and Ghana's Michael Essien were the African stars that made the big boys list.
As expected, Argentina's Lionel Messi was No.1 on the chart alongside his Barcelona team mates, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and David Villa.

The other first XI that made the list from outside Barcelona's camp were Real Madrid's Christian Ronaldo, Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, Man City's Carlos Tevez, Bayern's Arjen Robben and Arsenal's Robin Van Persie.
Some of the other notable players that got on the world's best 100 list include
Wayne Rooney (13th), Cesc Fabregas, Wesley Sneijder, Nani, Angel Di Maria, Gareth Bale, Diego Forlan, and Landon Donovan.

The goalkeepers that made the list were Iker Casilas, Van Der Saar, Manuel Neuer and Petr Cech.
The US media used the performance of the players (current form) for club and country to rate the players. Another factor that came up for consideration was the rating of the clubs, which the players are featuring for.
Asked to comment on the rating, Soccer Star Editor, Kunle Solaja said the fact that no Nigerian player made the list did not come to him as a surprise.

He noted that Nigerian players are playing for lowly rated clubs, even as he warned that Nigerian players would in the near future not be making the cut at the African level.“The rating is one that should make those running the game in the country realize that our football is not just there at the moment,” Solaja declared.
It would be noted that most of the regulars in Super Eagles are playing for clubs that are struggling to survive relegation in Europe. Obinna Nsofor's West

Ham is going down alongside Obafemi Martins's Birmingham, Ike Uche's Real Zaragoza and Kalu Uche's Almeria. The only Nigerian “star” whose performance has been heartwarming is West Brom's
Osaze Odemwingie. West Brom is also one of the lowly rated clubs in the Premiership, a situation that would make Osaze's heroics not to be acknowledged.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2011/may/13/sportsbreak-13-05-2011-001.html

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd), yesterday blasted President Goodluck Jonathan for allegedly playing petty politics with the unfortunate disturbances in some parts of the country.

Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, the former Head of State said “The petty politics being played by President Goodluck Jonathan with the unfortunate disturbances following the massive rigging of the April 16, presidential election, shows the tragic incompetence that is governing Nigeria at its pathetic worst.”

Buhari also said that contrary to the vile propaganda by Jonathan that the CPC was justifying the unrest, “it is clear that he is the one who cannot rise beyond base politics when statesmanship is what is required.

“Beyond the twisted logic of the official bulletin of the ruling party, pretending to be news medium, there is nowhere anybody associated with us in any form has provided justification for the crisis in the manner a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor has done.“The only sour truth we have pointed out is that those who willfully violated the right of the people to freely choose their leaders are vicariously liable for the outrage of the mob.

“While we want justice for the people who lost their lives, we need to alert the whole world that the handling of this issue by President Jonathan is the worst form of mischief dance on the graves of the dead,” Buhari said. Buhari explained: “It is galling that a President who has not shaken off the allegation that he distributed dollars within Nigeria, will value a slain Corper who would have been a breadwinner for life for his family at a token of 5 million naira.“The motive behind this gesture could at best only be a photo-op with the families and not genuine concerns for the dead.

“The Federal Government by law, has no powers to investigate any disturbances outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as pronounced by the Supreme Court in Fawehinmi vs Babangida.“The 22-man panel set up by the President, is therefore a hollow ritual meant to just-play politics with a serious national tragedy.

“Ironically, Justice Samson Uwaifo, who has been made the Deputy chairman of this illegal panel, was on the Supreme Court panel that gave that decision. He presently chairs a lawful Truth Commission in Osun State as only states have such powers. Most of the terms of reference of this illegal panel are criminal investigations that cannot be tribunalized. The burning of houses is arson, while the killing of people is culpable homicide, which competent government should be filing charges against the suspects arrested, rather than embarking on a wild goose chase.”

He further said: “We have not forgotten that seven months after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for the October 1, bombing in Abuja during which one family lost four children, the President, who absolved the Niger Delta terror-gang from culpability in a crime it owned up to, is yet to bring the culprits to book.“Were the Government to be genuine over its intention of even compensating those who lost their property, all it would have needed was advertising in newspapers for such victims to come forward with a verification panel to assess their claims and value genuine losses.”

“It has now been forced to eat its words and those of its many accomplices that the elections were free and fair with a self-shot at foot that six million under-age voters, voted for the CPC. This has further strengthened our position that the elections were not credible.“If indeed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and not the CPC allowed six million unqualified voters in one election, the electoral body has serious questions to answer and all elections conducted based on such a fraudulent N87 billion voters register should be nullified.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/13/national-13-05-2011-001.html

It will be better u go to AIT or DSTV and tell them to help look for a lady that F-L-O-S-S all the day of her life  

The supplementary election of May 6, 2011 in Imo State that culminated in the declaration of Chief Rochas Anayochukwu Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance as the governor-elect is generally regarded by most indigenes of Imo State as one of the best things to happen to the state since it was created in 1976.



Never in the life of Imo State has the emergence of a governor-elect elicited such a monumental excitement and an overwhelming outpouring of emotion by a majority of the people like what happened on Saturday May 7, 2011 when the returning officer for Imo State, Professor Hilary Edeoga, declared Okorocha the winner after the results of the three local government areas whose results were not taken during the April 26 election in the state, were announced.



The governorship poll was earlier declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission as Okorocha and Ohakim ran neck and neck in the 23 councils declared by the commission on Wednesday, April 27, 2011.



Specifically, the INEC had ordered that a supplementary poll be conducted on Friday, May 6 in four councils comprising Ngor Okpala; Mbaitoli; Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta as well as a ward in Orji in Owerri North LG.



However, in the results declared on Saturday by Edeoga in three of the four councils and Orji ward, Okorocha swept the poll, scoring 15,234 in Ohaji Egbema against Ohakim’s 11,588; Ngor Okpala, APGA, 17,370, PDP, 9237; Mbaitoli, APGA 24,305, PDP, 12,278; and Orji ward, APGA 22,723 and the PDP 8,025. Media reports said there was no election in Oguta as youths and women in the council protested against the late arrival of voting materials.



Edeoga, who is also the Vice-Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, thus declared Okorocha the validly elected candidate and winner of the election having satisfied the constitutional requirements and polled above other contestants had been declared the governor-elect.



I had cancelled my trip on Thursday to observe the election following conflicting reports that a Federal High Court may rule against the holding of the election. But when on Saturday 7th May, the INEC announced Okorocha as the winner; I got several calls from jubilant indigenes who were happy that Ohakim, the incumbent governor, has suffered electoral defeat.



One of the many calls that came through was from one of my civil society partners who shouted on top of his voice that the entire Imo State was in a jubilant mood because of the political tsunami that has just swept away Ohakim, regarded as one of the worst governors to have presided over the state. I also got several calls from Arondizuogu, my home town, which is one of the most marginalised and neglected towns in the entire state. My callers informed me that the elderly, children and women were in jubilant mood that at last a humane politician has been elected to govern Imo State and that they are optimistic that he will not forget Arondizuogu like most other former governors including Ikedi Ohakim.



Another caller spoke with me from Ohaji/Egbema and expressed similar sentiment of worry that most rural communities in Imo State have suffered longstanding neglect from almost all successive administrations particularly in the hands of the outgoing administration.



On Sunday May 8, I did a quick content analysis of about seven national papers that ran the story of the Imo election on their front pages and I can confidently say that SUNDAY PUNCH did one of the most thrilling and graphic stories of the victory party that spontaneously happened in Owerri and other parts of the state soon after the announcement was made.



Some climbed the top of moving vehicles, some half-naked, while others took over the major junctions, expressways, roundabout and streets, dancing, singing and celebrating in grand style.



A jubilant resident, who craved anonymity, said the victory of Okorocha was an end of slavery, poverty and trampling of fundamental human rights of people.



Okorocha’s victory, he said, would teach politicians lessons that things go wrong when they disconnect with the people.



Also, the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, said the party would not disappoint the people and that they had made a very wise choice in voting Okorocha, whom he described as an agent of change and transformation.



That said, as one of the stakeholders in Imo, I am not one of those that will embark on elaborate celebration because what Okorocha needs to do is not to keep celebrating the victory handed to him by the people. Instead, he should go into deep reflection on what steps he needs to take to rebuild Imo from the ruin that it is right now.



We know that Okorocha made name for himself as a philanthropist but he must know that Imo people are neither beggars nor lazy but are only interested in seeing good governance whereby transparency and accountability would become the watchword of whomsoever they have elected to govern the state for the next four years. Governor-elect Okorocha should therefore not see his election as a call for philanthropy but rather a call for genuine transformation of the state so that the people can become self-reliant and the economy of the state would become one of the best in the entire country within the shortest possible time.



I also think that Okorocha need not dissipate energy in jubilation over the mandate given to him because his road will be rough and tough and he will surely experience the roughs and tumbles or rather the extreme difficulties that await him if he truly wants to serve the people of Imo State because in the past decades, Imo State according to popular saying has gone from bad to worst in terms of governance.



Okorocha must rebuild the education, health, agricultural and environmental sectors of the state and also transform Imo into an industrial hub of the South-East by creating the enabling environment for genuine investors to come in and aggressively establish private manufacturing firms that would boost the productive sector of the state and engage the hundreds of thousands of graduates who have been compelled by circumstances of past and present political misgovernance to become petty transporters on tricycles or Keke NAPEP.



Places like Arondizuogu and parts of Orlu that have rich soil for rice farming must be given proper attention and infrastructure of roads and power supply must be equitably distributed in the entire state. The era of media governance of Imo State must be buried with the outgoing Ohakim’s regime and genuine, credible, transparent, and good governance must become realistic in Imo State.



Okorocha should please stop dancing and start putting together those critical ingredients for the rapid transformation of Imo State and he must ensure that every Kobo stolen from Imo State’s treasury by whomsoever is retrieved back to the state to be used for public good and interest.



* Emmanuel Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, Suite A 37, Maitama Office Complex, FHA, Maitana. He can be reached via doziebiko@yahoo.com


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2011051022798

Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Ogun state and former governor of the state Aremo Segun Osoba says the 2011 elections have exposed the previous malpractices of the Peoples Democratic Party and effectively caged former President Olusegun Obasanjo who allegedly played active roles in the misdemeanor.

Speaking to Daily Sun in his Ikoyi residence shortly before traveling out of the country Osoba said the South West has returned to what he described as ‘progressive politics’ and that Obasanjo’s ‘fraudulent political activities are being exposed’. He said his party worked so hard and ensured that the former president lost both in his polling booth and his village. He said a comparative analysis of results of the presidential election in 2003 and 2011 will expose the irregularities perpetrated by the PDP in 2003 with the alleged participation of president Obasanjo.[see the figures below]
‘Obasanjo has been put in an iron cage…he should now learn to keep his mouth shut. No more grandstanding’ Osoba told Daily Sun, insisting that his set of governors in the south west were rigged out of office by the PDP machinery. Excerpts of the interview:

Can you give a general appraisal of the 2011 elections?
I can only talk for Ogun State where it became clear to me that in a well organized, free and fair election, the progressive forces are still politically in control of the South West. The South West is one zone where I can vouch that the 2011 elections were free and fair. Some of the figures from many parts of the country do not make me feel comfortable that elections in some of those places were free and fair because the figures are so large and unimaginable. It was surprising that they could count such figures within so short a time and announce the results the same day.
What do you say about the emergence of CAN as the main opposition in the country?

I have always told the whole world that we are the main progressive party in the country. But because the retrogressive forces conducted the 2003 and 2007 elections in such a fraudulent manner people did not realize that we progressives are so strong in this country. That is what the last election has shown. It should not actually be a surprise to people. It is just that we had been denied our right through massive rigging in the past. I am confident that when the 2015 election is held and there would have been improvement in the modified open-secret ballot system which we have been advocating, we will be the leading party in this country.
How has Ogun State fared since you left office and what are the prospects for the state under the in-coming administration.

Eight years after I left office, I went round on a tour of the entire state during the last campaigns and I got the shocker of my life in that the level of rot I found in all aspects. I was very disappointed. For example, all the neighbouring areas of the state with Lagos State where there had been upsurge of population from resulting in movement from Lagos, I found in total decay in infrastructural facilities. All the way from Julius Berger to Ojodu, to Alagbole, Agbado do not have water supply. There are no roads. The road I did along Toyin 11 years ago is still the only passable road other than the ones the Lagos State Government did. Both sides of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from Berger have had an upsurge in population, including the journalists’ village in Arepo. Al those areas, Ibafo, Magboro, Mowe and the entire Ofada area is in more serious infrastructural neglect. A Chinese company built the only primary school in Magboro. That shows you the level of neglect the people of Ogun have suffered under the PDP.

What prospects does the state now have under ACN
Serious challenges. I have told our governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, that I don’t envy him because he is going to meet mountains of challenges and problems that are very daunting. Salaries have not been paid up till date, even WAEC fees have not been paid up to date. Meanwhile, out-goingovernor Gbenga Daniel is setting booby traps for Amosun. He has accepted to pay minimum wage, which he has not paid. This a deliberate act to frustrate Amosun. He has been employing workers on a large scale. He is doing all these deliberately to embarrass the in-coming government. He has been selling assets of the government to his cronies. I did not do anything of the sort. I did not even buy a single car. The only person who bought a car from the government was my deputy, Gbenga Kaka, who went to meet Daniel and Daniel sold it to him at the market rate. Now he is selling hundreds of vehicles belonging to the state government

There was a time Daniel said that most of the people in those areas you mentioned earlier work in Lagos and pay their taxes there.
I heard that story and I was scandalized that a governor would deny Nigerians, even non Nigerians living within his territory their rights in terms of facilities. It is terribly insensitive and smacks of lack of compassion for fellow human beings. I would never have said such a thing. I knew that the sudden development of Ibafo area was coming and that was why I electrified Ibafo during my time as governor. We electrified the place. All the way from the Redeemed Camp to Ibafo. Today, all that area has become a brand new mega city but it is unplanned and lacks any modicum of infrastructure in terms of roads and schools. It makes me weep for Ogun State.

There is a trend now in the South West whereby political leaders and elders like you are bringing members of their families, their wives and children into political offices, this was something Chief Obafemi Awolowo did not do?
Papa Awolowo did it. We are Awoists to the core and we are following in his footsteps in every respect. In 1979, Papa Awolowo was the presidential candidate, his son Wole, contested to represent Apapa in Lagos State House of Assembly and won. He was returned in 1983. So we are doing nothing new to our Papa’s philosophy, ideology and ways of life.

Are you satisfied now that former president Olusegun Obasanjo has been effectively tamed in Ogun State?
He has not only been tamed in Ogun State, he has been caged in the entire country. The 2011 elections have put him where he belongs. It has put him in an iron cage where he cannot escape. He should now go and live the rest of his life in peace and learn to keep his mouth shut. No more grand standing and I have my reasons for saying so.

What are your reasons?
I pity him that in his lifetime his fraudulent political activities are being exposed. I will give you an example. I have with me here the results of his fraudulent election results in 2003 and the voters’ register currently in Ogun State. When you compare the two figures you will laugh off your head at the fraud perpetrated in 2003 under Obasanjo’s watch.

In Ikenne Local Government area, for instance, total number of votes scored by Obasanjo in the presidential election in 2003 was 60,445. Obviously these are figures he wrote for himself because the total number of registered voters in 2011 in the same Ikenne, eight years after, was 42,192. It means that half of Ikenne people died. Was there a Tsunami there or what,[general laughter]?

Obasanjo claimed to have scored 99 percent of the votes in Ogun State and that came to 1.93 million. Eight years after, the total number of registered voters in the state was almost the same thing. We are not talking about those who actually came out to vote.
Let me give you another example, with the result from Remo North Local Government. In 2003, he wrote for himself 65,736 votes, but the total number of registered voters in 2011, eight years after, was 36,754. So half of the people there died. So what you are seeing today is exposure of total fraud. It is an example of how we have been shortchanged. It also proves what we had always said that we were rigged out in 2003 by Obasanjo. These are figures that cannot be controverted.

There are fears that godfathers will not allow Ibikunle Amosun to be his own man and govern the state?
If you look at my antecedents, I successfully ran three major newspapers in this country. In The Herald, I handed over to a new chief executive, I never looked back. In Sketch, I handed over to my very close friend, the late Peter Ajayi, I never looked back. Yemi Ogunbiyi is still alive, I handed over to him in Daily Times and I did not look back. It is going to be the same thing.

I led the campaign in Ogun State and I am happy to say that while I was doing grassroots campaign, ward to ward, local government to local government, we did so well that we delivered Ogun State even beyond our expectation. It was such that Obasanjo lost at his own polling booth, he also lost at his village in Ibogun. That will show you how effective our campaign was.

I am also highly impressed that we did not have any external funding of any sort. Our members tasked themselves and contributed their own little quota, including Fola Adeola who was our vice presidential candidate. Our members made sacrifices, for example, our agents at the polling centres were paid only N2000 per person. Yet, they did not fall into the temptation of those carrying big money, namely the PDP and PPN. They did not compromise, all members of the ACN sacrificed and worked hard for succcess.
If there is going to be any godfather, it will be the party policies and programmes which Governor Ibikunle Amosun must implement. There is no external godfather that pumped money into the party in Ogun State. I, as the leader of the party in the state will not interfere because all my life I have never looked back to interfere with those I handed over to in the past.

What went wrong with the alliance with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)?
It was basically distrust. (General Mohammadu) Buhari (retd), was not sure that he would get the ticket if both parties fused into one. That was the bottom line. If we had merged and he came to run on the platform of our party it would have been a different story today. What he suffered in the ANPP where he was tossed around and he eventually formed his own party may have influenced his distrust. But the party he formed which was CPC did not have any serious structure. It had mass following but tested politicians were not in the party. He became a lone ranger as leader and campaign leader for the party.

That was too much for one man to carry.
Some people said that it was the division in the PDP in Ogun State which gave birth to PPN that gave your party an opportunity to win in the state, is it true?
I have given them a challenge that they should quickly settle their quarrel, combine their votes, choose Isiaka or Olurin as their candidate. If the totality of their votes put together is more than our own, then I will immediately concede victory to them. Ebenezer Babatope who is not an indigene of Ogun State has been shooting his mouth with such comments. But he is not being scientific. We scored 377,487 votes, PDP scored 188,698 PPN scored 138,057 votes. If you add their votes, it still does not beat our votes. So what are they talking about? In fact, if they had remained in PDP we would beaten them even better because the vehemence of the people would have shown more. They are lucky that the first election of April 2 was cancelled. Their defeat would have been more devastating.







http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/10/national-10-05-2011-01.htm

The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party rose from a crucial meeting in Abuja on Monday, lamenting the loss of five states to opposition political parties during the April 26 governorship election.



The states are Oyo and Ogun states which were won by the Action Congress of Nigeria; Nasarawa, Congress for Political Change; Zamfara, All Nigerian Peoples Party; and Imo, All Progressives Grand Alliance.



The PDP, however, won in Kano State, which is currently being governed by the ANPP.



“The loss in these states is a sacrifice we have to make for our democracy,” said the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali.



Alkali, who declined to speak on the agenda of the meeting, added that the PDP NWC noted that the party also lost “several seats in the National Assembly.”



Rufai said that it was gratifying that “despite the losses, we did not embark on demonstration or call for violence.”



Alleging that the PDP and its members ‘became objects of attacks’ in some states, he said that the NWC sympathised with those that lost either their loved ones or properties to the riots that greeted the results of the presidential election in some states in the North.



“We sympathise with those who lost their relations and families in the post-election violence. It was uncalled for,” he said.



On the decision by the presidential candidate of the CPC, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to challenge the outcome of the presidential election in court, Rufai said it was a welcome decision.



He said though Buhari had told Nigerians that he would not go to tribunal if he failed at the poll, he said his decision not to honour his own words was his constitutional right.



The PDP spokesman said, “Litigation is meant to divert the attention of the winner of elections and that is why we welcome the decision of our members who lost elections not to go to tribunals.



“However, it is the right of anybody that lose election to go to court. Buhari promised not to, but he has changed his mind. It is constitutional right.”



Our correspondent learnt on Monday that the PDP national caucus would meet in Abuja on Tuesday (today) to take a decision on the zoning of political offices among the six geopolitical zones in the country.



It was also learnt that the leadership of the party decided to call for the caucus meeting when it was unable to arrive at a conclusion and President Goodluck Jonathan on how to zone the offices.



Offices expected to be zoned are that of the Senate President, the deputy Senate President, speaker of the House of Representatives, the deputy speaker, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and chief of staff to the President.



Almost all the four zones, except the South-South and the North-West which produced the President and his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, are scheming to produce the occupier of one of the listed offices.



While the South-East has been clamouring to have one of its members in the National Assembly as either the Senate President or the speaker, the South-West, where the current speaker, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, comes from, has also been agitating to have a replacement for him. Bankole is not returning to the House having lost his re-election bid.



Also, both the North-Central, which produced the current Senate President, Senator David Mark, and the North-East are currently at loggerheads over which of the two zones would produce the next Senate President.



Those expected at the meeting, apart from the members of the NWC, President, Vice-President, are the members of the Board of Trustees, governors elected on the PDP platform and the vice-chairmen of the party in the six geo-political zones.



The meeting is scheduled to hold at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.



Alkali declined to speak on today’s meeting and the NWC’s decision on the zoning formula, saying “we will comment on that at the appropriate time.”






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105103254481

The elections have come and gone. There have been winners & losers. The people of Imo State should rally around and move the state forward from henceforth. It is the duty of every Imo indegene to do so. Aluta Continua!

Following the outcome of the just concluded Imo gubernatorial elections in Imo State, youth of Okohia, Isiala Mbano, country home of Governor Ikedi Ohakim stopped the outgoing governor from attending a Church service on Sunday. The youth were expressing their anger over the governor’s neglect of the community throughout his four years in office.

Youth of the community, on learning that the governor and his family were billed for a special church service at the St. Michael’s Anglican Church, Okohia the home parish of the governor, stormed the church smashing windows. They drove away the priests who were supposed to officiate the church service.

No entrance

They barricaded the church insisting that the governor would not be allowed to attend any church service in the area. The youth, numbering about 50 wanted the governor to explain what he did for his immediate community during his reign as the chief executive of the state.

The Chief of Staff, Emma Ohakim, was said to have gone to the church to intervene in the matter but the youth remained adamant. They challenged him to point to any benefit the community got from the administration. The church service was aborted.

Yesterday, the group assembled again to continue with the protest but security operatives were swiftly deployed to the area to quell the action.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5698822-146/story.csp

One of the best player, Keep it up !

K-A-R-E-N I-G-H-O

K.A.R.E.N I.G.H.O

UK based nigerian musician and model, miss k (karina matrinez) was spotted at the future awards 2011 wore dress that exposed her butt.

Newly released videos show Osama bin Laden watching himself on television and rehearsing for terrorist videos, revealing that even from the walled confines of his Pakistani hideout, he remained a media maestro who was eager to craft his own image for the cameras.

The videos, released by U.S. intelligence officials Saturday, were offered as further proof that Navy SEALs killed the world’s most wanted terrorist this week. But they also served to show bin Laden as vain, someone obsessed with his portrayal by the world’s media.

One of the movies shows bin Laden, his unkempt beard streaked in gray, sitting on the floor, wrapped in a brown blanket and holding a remote control. He flipped back and forth between what appears to be live news coverage of himself. The old, small television was perched on top of a desk with a large tangle of electrical wires running to a nearby control box.

In another, he has apparently dyed and neatly trimmed his beard for the filming of a propaganda video. The video, which the U.S. released without sound, was titled “”Message to the American People” and was believed to be filed sometime last fall, a senior intelligence official said during a briefing for reporters, on condition that his name not be used.

The videos were seized from bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Officials said the clips shown to reporters were just part of the largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever collected. The evidence seized during the raid also includes phone numbers and documents that officials hope will help break the back of the organization behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Intelligence officials have known that bin Laden and al-Qaeda monitored the news. But for years, when it was assumed that he was living in Pakistan’s rugged, mountainous tribal region, some believed he might not be able to get real-time news. After the CIA discovered bin Laden’s suburban compound, they realized that a satellite dish provided a television feed to bin Laden’s compound. The video also reveals that bin Laden had a computer in his home, though officials say there were no Internet or phone lines running from the house.

Bin Laden and four others were killed in a daring pre-dawn raid Monday after U.S. helicopters lowered a team of SEALs behind the compound’s high walls. The terrorist leader’s death leaves al-Qaeda with an uncertain future and represents America’s most successful counterterrorism mission.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/may/08/newsbreak-08-05-2011-001.htm

When an intrepid and award-winning Pakistani journalist, Hamid Mir scooped an exclusive interview with the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, the world’s intelligent agencies swooped on him like bees.
They wanted to know how he was able to get an interview with a man who had defied the prying searchlight of the world’s most sophisticated intelligent agencies, like America’s CIA, Pakistani Intelligence Services, Israeli’s Mossad and Britain’s M-15, among others.

Mr. Mir scaled through the rigorous intelligence inquest only because he posed the toughest of questions to the godfather of Islamic terrorism, Osama bin Laden and the nemesis of Western imperial swagger.

He said: “In going to interview Osama, I risked my life. Here was the man the whole world was looking for. Then I was also investigated by the various intelligence agencies. I was vindicated just because I put the very hard and unfriendly questions to the most wanted terrorist in the world. The US Ambassador in Pakistani told me: ‘You were saved because of your questions.”
Ironically, Mr. Mir was also put through severe, life-threatening test before the interview by al Qaeda operatives, who feared that he might be a mole of the Western intelligence agencies who would do anything to get Osama bin Laden dead or alive.
Mir’s story is the story of grit, gut and willingness on the part of a journalist to risk his life to get a great story. A great story he got, but not before passing through the eye of a needle.

The Osama people had to put the poor reporter through a baptism of fire, as a precautionary measure to protect the world’s most wanted extremist and elusive fugitive.
As part of the baptism of fire, Hamid Mir recalls: “They asked me to take a bath with hot water. They placed some jell on my body; then they gave me some medicines and I had loose motions. I was not well when I was interviewing him. They took all precautionary measures. For two days, they were giving me medicine and I was just shitting. They were putting jell on my body again and again.

“I took hot water bath 15 times before interviewing him. They were suspecting there were some chemicals on my body, which could make it possible for the Americans to detect my location through the satellite. That’s why they asked me to take bath again and again. They were suspicious that maybe I had something in my stomach.
So, they gave me medicine for loose motions. You see, they never treated me very well.”

Mir was the moderator at the annual conference of the International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress and 58th General Assembly, which took place in Helsinki Finland from June 6-9, 2009. He was at the IPI to moderate the topic: “Talking to Terrorists: Should journalists, who provide the public with the information they need to understand the complexities of the battle against terrorism, talk with terrorists? Do they do so at the risk of becoming pawns in the terrorists’ public relations campaign? Where should journalists draw the line?”
As part of his remarks, Mir, who had interviewed Osama bin Laden thrice, told the delegates part of his Osama story. He said:

“When I interviewed Osama bin Laden first in 1997, at that time he was not a very popular international figure. My objective was to know whether he was involved in the killing of the Pakistani soldiers in Somalia in 1993. I was just trying to investigate who killed the Pakistani soldiers who were there on United Nations peace mission. And he confirmed: ‘Yes, I killed Pakistani soldiers because they were guarding the US soldiers.’

“So, actually I was trying to find out the story and I got the story. Then in 1998, he issued a fatwa to kill all the Americans and I asked him: Can you justify the killing of innocent people in the light of Islamic teachings? The third time, it was after 9/11. And I must tell you it was a lot of risk I had to take. When I went there I was not sure I would arrive my office safely. I even made a will to my wife. I wrote a letter of apology to my wife explaining why I went to risk my life.
“It is not very easy but then when you are confronting a big terrorist, one thing must be kept in your mind; that you should not become a tool. He wants to propagate his views; he wants you to ask easy question; he wants you to become his mouthpiece but it is your duty as an objective journalist to ask him difficult questions so that if you are arrested by the intelligence agencies or your government is not happy with your mission, then you can present your questions as an evidence that you actually confronted the terrorist and you actually exposed him, you actually proved him wrong. Your conscience, your professional ethics, everything must be kept in mind. I believe as journalists we should serve the society; we should not serve terrorism.

“In going to interview Osama, I risked my life. Here was the man the whole world was looking for. Then I was also investigated by the various intelligence agencies. I was vindicated just because I put the very hard and unfriendly questions to the most wanted terrorist in the world. The US Ambassador in Pakistan told me: ‘You were saved because of your hard questions.’

“The intelligence agencies could not find him. At the time I went there, the war was still going on in Afghanistan and it was very difficult for any journalist to enter that area. When I reached Kabul, a massive carpet-bombing had started. I lost the hope of living. I thought I would be killed. I was the only journalist left in Kabul. Immediately after that interview, they entered the city of Kabul—the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Maybe that was the last interview he gave to any journalist. For me, it was only madness that drove me. I got the interview out of madness. There was another journalist, Robert Fisk. He also interviewed Bin Laden three times.”

When asked by a journalist on the floor why he did not brief the CIA after his trip, Mir responded: “It is not our job to brief CIA. It is the job of the CIA to learn something from us.”
After the discussion we, the two reporters from The Sun, engaged Hamid Mir in an exclusive interview on his life as a journalist and what prompted him to go to Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden. According to him, it was simply “madness” and a challenge to prove to an American lady reporter that he had the gut to do what the Americans couldn’t do — by going to cover the Afghanistan war from the war front in Afghanistan and not from the safety of a five-star hotel in Pakistan like the American reporters did.
Excerpts:

What prompted you to come into journalism?
I became a journalist because my father was a professor of journalism and he died at a very early age because he was fighting against the dictator in Pakistan. He poisoned him and I became a journalist just to continue his mission.

How did you learn the ropes?
I learn journalism after the sudden death of my father. I was a college student at that time. He died at a very early age. I was the elder one; so it was my responsibility to look after my family. So that’s why I became a journalist.

What kind of journalist was your father?
The name of my father was Waris Mir. He was the professor of journalism in the University of Purjab, Lahore, Pakistan. And he used to write a column in the biggest newspaper of Pakistan, which is called Daily Jang. He was a great critic of General Zia-ul-Haq, who ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988. General Zia-ul-Haq introduced some so-called Islamic laws in Pakistan. He started helping America in fighting in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. So, my father was against the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. He started criticising him. And in 1987, General Zia-ul-Haq killed my father through slow poisoning. So when my father died, I was only 22 years old at that time. I just graduated from college and was about to go to the university.

We were not a very rich family. It was my responsibility to look after the family. I was the editor of the college magazine; so I applied for a job in the same newspaper; my paper was writing for and I got the job of an apprentice reporter in training there. That’s how my journalistic career started in 1987. Now, I am 22 years in journalism.

How did you rise in the profession?
I made a name for myself through scoops and big interviews. First of all, in 1994, I interviewed the Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres in Switzerland. I was there with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. It was at the World Economic Forum meeting. As is known, Pakistan and Israel do not have diplomatic relations. I was the first ever Pakistani journalist to interview any Israeli leader. So that was my major scoop. And then in 1995, I interviewed President Nelson Mandela in New Zealand. And then I interviewed President Yasir Arafat. So, that’s how I made my name.

These interviews made me very famous in Pakistan. Especially, the interview with Nelson Mandela was a big hit. Because I was the only journalist in the whole of the South-Asian region, including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, to ever interview President Nelson Mandela. And with the passage of time, after a few years in 1997 I interviewed Osama bin Laden for the first time. I interviewed him again in 1998 and then I interviewed him for the third time in November 2001. And after that, in 2004, I interviewed the U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell. Then I interviewed Condoleezza Rice. Then I interviewed Tony Blair. Then the President of Afghanistan, Mr. Hamid Kazei and many international celebrities.

How important are these big interviews in the life of a journalist?
These interviews are important because when you talk to tough people, you talk to famous people, and you ask them tough questions, valid questions, your readers come to know about your competence. They can judge your quality through your questions. If you have dug out a big story out of an interview, you are a good journalist.

What kind of preparation did you make to get Osama bin Laden?
When I was going to interview him for the first time in 1997, I was not aware of who he is, where he is from. I had very little knowledge about him. But when I interviewed him after 9/11, I asked him tough questions. And when I asked those tough questions, sometimes he got angry with me. He never answered some of the questions. And when the interview ended, he had tea with me, then he tried to terrify me. He said: “Mr. Mir, the bombing is going on, you may be killed with me and I will be happy to go to paradise.” But I told him: “I will go to hell with you.”

How did he react to your statement?
He never responded because he was not expecting such an ugly answer from me. Because at that time, I was of the view that I would not be alive. I felt that in the next few minutes, maybe I would be killed, so why should I be terrorised under pressure by this man? So he was talking nasty with me and I was talking nasty with him.

What are some of the hardest questions you asked him?
One of the questions was: “How can you justify the killing of innocent people in the 9/11 attacks?” Then I asked him another question: “There is a rumour that you have married the daughter of Mullah Umar, the head of Taliban. And that is why he has provided you with sanctuary in Afghanistan.” He was not expecting these kinds of questions from me. I also asked him: “You are suffering from kidney disease and you may not live very long.” But he said: “No, no, no, I am not suffering from kidney disease.” These were questions he had not been asked before and these were the questions, which saved me, because after coming back to Pakistan I was investigated by the Pakistani Intelligence Services and the Pakistani Intelligence Services were provided a lot of questions by the American CIA. They actually wanted to arrest me but I was very careful.

I never violated any international law. I got visa; there were visa stamps on my passport; I had the recording of the interview on my tape, I had the pictures, the negatives, each and everything. Many people said I had not interviewed bin Laden and that I was making the wrong statements just to become famous. But the CIA, the Pakistani Intelligence Services and the CNN — Nick Robertson of CNN — investigated and said it on CNN that “it is a genuine interview; we have examined the negative; we have examined the audio tape recorder, each and everything.” That was how I survived.

Who took the photographs while you were interviewing him?
I had my camera with me, but bin Laden never allowed me to use my camera. He never allowed me to use my camera because he was very careful. He took my camera; he emptied the camera; my film was removed. He put his film inside my camera and he gave that camera to his son, Abdulrahman, who took the pictures of bin Laden and I. He also recorded that interview on some small DVD Sony cameras. He recorded that for himself on the video camera, but for me, he gave only some still shots and the recorded interview on the tape recorder.

How come he was not suspicious of you? You could have been a spy.
Because I interviewed him two times before and his people spent two days with me in Afghanistan. They asked me to take a bath with hot water. They placed some jell on my body; then they gave me some medicines and I had loose motions. I was not well when I was interviewing him. They took all precautionary measures. For two days, they were giving me medicine and I was just shitting. They were putting jell on my body again and again. I took hot water bath 15 times before interviewing him. They were suspecting there were some chemicals on my body and the Americans can detect my location through the satellite. That’s why they asked me to take bath again and again. They were suspicious that maybe I had something in my stomach. So they gave me medicine for loose motions. You see, they never treated me very well.

What gave you the courage for all these?
It’s a good question. When the Americans started the war in Afghanistan, the whole Western media came to Pakistan. And they started covering the war in Afghanistan. They were standing on the roof of Marriot Hotel in Islamabad. So, one day I had a discussion with an American television journalist. She was a producer at the CBS news channel. And I asked her: You people are covering the war in Afghanistan while standing on the rooftop of a five-star hotel. Why don’t you go to Afghanistan? And she said arrogantly: Why don’t you go to Afghanistan? You also don’t have the balls to go to Afghanistan. You cannot face the bombing. That was the challenge for me.

So, I said: I will go. You will give me your cameramen and I will go and I will make some good shots. So, interviewing bin Laden was not on my mind. When I entered Afghanistan, the bombing started; so it was not possible for me to go back. Because that road was bombed by the Americans. So, we rushed toward Kabul. We reached Kabul and I was the only journalist there and the bombing was going on there. That was in November 2001, two months after the war. All the journalists run away. I had no option than to stay there because bombing was going on. And in the meantime, I met some fighters there in Kabul. The city of Kabul was empty.

There were only Al Qaeda fighters there. One of them recognized me and said: “Mr. Mir, how are you?” I asked him: “Where is your leader? I want to interview him.” He said: “No, no, no, he cannot give you an interview this time. The war is going on.” I said, “OK, I can stay here.” Because it was not possible for me to go back. I was stuck up in the war zone. I spent two days and finally I was able to get that interview. I got the interview out of madness. Because the war was going on and one American journalist challenged that if she cannot go to Afghanistan, then I cannot go too. But I proved that I can go to Afghanistan. That was the main objective. To go to Afghanistan. The main objective was not to interview Osama bin Laden.

What lessons can you draw from this concerning what makes a good reporter?
I must say risk is the beauty of journalism. If you don’t take risks, you cannot become a good journalist. A good reporter must be well-read; he must be honest; he should be objective; he should not take sides with political parties or whoever.
For me, a good journalist cannot remain neutral. I don’t believe in neutrality, because you cannot become neutral between good and bad. One thing is good; one thing is bad. If you are writing an opinion column, then you have to take the side of good people, you have to take the side of justice, you have to take the side of honesty. You cannot take the side of dishonesty. You cannot take the side of the President or the prime minister of the country. Always take the side of the good and honest people. If you are reporting news, you have to be objective. But if you are writing an opinion column, you have to take the side of justice and honesty.

What is news?
News is 5Ws. (Who, What, Where, When, Why?) Any incident taking place at any particular time at any particular place is news, and you have to report it. You should become a mirror in which the reader of your paper can see the incident. So a good reporter should behave like a mirror. And a good opinion writer, opinion column writer should act like a guide, should act like a man who is giving light in the darkness.

What does it mean to report?
You have to report what happened, where it happened and who did it. That’s all: 5Ws. This is the international principle of reporting. But a reporter should not become a tool of any political group; he should not become a tool of any terrorist group; he should not become a tool of any government; he should remain neutral. But I am repeating again and again, a good editorial writer and a good opinion column writer should not be neutral. You cannot be neutral; otherwise nobody would read your column.

What’s your impression of Osama bin Laden?
The main source of his strength is the bad American policies. If America today corrects its policies, if today America is ready to resolve the issue of Palestine, withdraw its forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, Osama bin Laden would be eliminated politically. But if you are not ready to resolve the issue of Palestine, you are not ready to resolve the issue of Kashmir, you are not ready to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan and Iraq and you want to kill Osama bin Laden, you will not get rid of terrorism. You can kill him physically but you would not be able to kill him politically. So, try to eliminate him politically by addressing some political issues.

In your opinion, is he still alive?
Yes, he is still alive and he is hiding somewhere in the eastern or southern part of Afghanistan.

Can you describe the milieu in which you found him?
First time I met him in the mountains in 1997. Second time I met him in the city of Kandahar. Third time I met him in the city of Kabul.

Can you describe him?
He is a very tall man, very smart man. I must say he is a lady killer but you don’t have picture of beauty.

What was the challenge of being the youngest man to edit a national newspaper in Pakistan?
I became editor at the age of 30 in 1996. When I became editor, I had never interviewed bin Laden. I became editor because my chief editor was of the view that I may become a very successful editor because I was very hardworking. So hard work and honesty forced my chief editor to appoint me editor of my newspaper.

What did you take after your father?
I learnt honesty from my father. I learnt bravery and courage from my father and I am very proud to be his son and I think that today I have outstanding achievements in journalism because of my father.

What values did your father stand for?
He stood for democracy, for human rights, for liberal and progressive Islam and he always stood for the truth.

How about your own family?
I have one son and one daughter. My son is not interested in becoming a journalist but my daughter is very much interested and I think she would become a good journalist.

• Editor’ note: This interview was first published on October 10, 2009 in Saturday Sun. This is being republished because of its relevance now.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/07/national-07-05-2011-010.htm

There were indications on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party have failed to agree on the zoning formula that would be adopted by the party in the next four years.



Investigations by our correspondents showed the Senate Presidency and the House speakership were the two key posts that made the meeting to hit a brickwall.



By national precedence, the Senate President is the nation’s number three citizen while the speaker of the House of Representatives is the fourth.



Jonathan had summoned the PDP leaders to Obudu Ranch, Cross River State, over the constitution of his new cabinet as well as the sharing of other public and party offices.



“The South-East, it was gathered, pressed for the zoning of the speakership or the Senate presidency to it because of the impressive performance of the party in the area during the general elections.



Our correspondents also learnt that the South-West insisted that the speakership should remain in the zone, in spite of the fact that it has only four elected lawmakers in the House. Two of legislators are eligible to contest the post.



The South-West leaders, according to a source close to the meeting, argued that this would assist in reviving the party in the zone, where it was defeated by the Action Congress of Nigeria.



Investigations showed the North-Central and North-East were jostling for the Senate presidency to be zoned to them.



The current Senate President, David Mark, had hurriedly gone to Obudu on Wednesday following fresh threats to his position.



Mark was initially tipped to retain his position, which is tentatively zoned to the North-Central, where he hails from.



But the crisis over the zoning arrangement worsened when some senators-elect from the North-East indicated interest in the position.



Our source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the outcome of the meeting said, “We have not come up with a zoning formula.



“There are some knotty issues, which we have not resolved. But I can assure you that we will come up with a zoning formula that will be acceptable to all our members.”



When contacted, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees and chieftain of the party in the South-West, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said the PDP’s zoning formula remained intact.



Babatope said that Jonathan and the ruling party would not shortchange the South-West in political appointments.



He said, “The PDP nurses no ill-feeling against any zone. The PDP will come out with an arrangement that will suit all the zones.



“We, in the South-West, are unhappy about the electoral loss in the region but we are going to reclaim our states back. We have taken this path before in 1999 when the Alliance for Democracy won elections in the region.



“But in 2003, we took back the region. We will take back the region in the next general elections.



The South-West PDP is awaiting the directive of the party. As a party replete with democrats, the PDP won’t alter the zoning formula.”



But a South-East leader, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, said that the zone would insist on the position of the Senate presidency because it merited it.



Ezeife said there should be no debate about the matter because it would amount to diverting the course of justice.



He said with the new political equation in which the South-South has the presidency and the North has the vice-presidency, the South-East should produce the senate president.



“The senate president should come from the South-East because it is logical, it is merited, it is natural and politically the right thing to do. All we need to do is to apply fairness to it. They have not given a reason why the senate president should come from the North, so it should to the South-East,” he argued.



Meanwhile, re-elected and newly elected members of the House of Representatives will on Friday (today) meet to decide on how to elect the new leadership of the House.



Several meetings were said to have been held in Abuja in the past few days by different groups in the House on the matter.



Our correspondent learnt that today’s meeting which will take place under the aegis of Seventh Assembly Group, is the brain-child of Dr. Abdulmumin Jibril, a member-elect from Kiru Bebeji Federal Constituency in Kano State.



It was also gathered that the newly elected members of the House decided to meet with the re-elected lawmakers to see if one of them could assume the position of speakership.



Two hundred and sixty out of the 360 members of the House will not resume with the new members when the Seventh Assembly of the lower arm of the National Assembly reconvened in June.



However, sources close to them said that if their ambition to produce the speaker fail due to the House rule that says that a first timer will not be allowed to assume the position(speakership), they will insist that they be allowed to freely choose their leaders.



A copy of the letter inviting members to the meeting was sighted by our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday.



The letter explained that, “The meeting will provide a platform for members-elect to establish acquaintance and cross fertile ideas emanating from various constituencies for the overall interest of the country.



“Furthermore, it will seek to calm frayed nerves of political opponents as a fallout of the 2011 general elections.



“It is our fervent desire that this forum will also serve as a prelude and pivot upon which the emergence of a creditable leadership for the House of Representatives will emerge.”



Jibril, who spoke with our correspondent, said though it was the prerogative of the members to chose who would lead them, they would still listen to their respective political parties on which zones of the country would produce the principal officers of the House.



He, however, said the members would discuss how to have the “right leadership for the House.”



Jibril said, “The meeting is aimed at polling all the newly elected members of the House together and discuss major issues affecting the country and also know ourselves better.”



The Rep-elect, who is being touted as the likely deputy speaker if the office is zoned to the North-West, however, said he would allow the party to decide “on zoning formula before making any comment on it.”






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105062403815

Billionaire businessman, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, on Thursday concluded arrangements for the acquisition of Newswatch magazine with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the former owner of the magazine and the new management.



Under the new arrangement, the backlog of seven months staff salary owed by the old outgoing management will be paid by the new management while all debts being owed by the old management will also be paid by the new owner.



Addressing members of staff of the magazine on Thursday, Ibrahim, who introduced the principal members of his turn-around team, explained that his mission in Newswatch magazine would not tamper with the editorial build up of the magazine.



He added that the new team would concentrate on the managerial aspect of the company to ensure that the vision of the founding fathers of the magazine did not “go under, but survive.”



Ibrahim expressed confidence in the ability of the editorial department of the publication to deliver, stating that though he had not done a proper diagnosis of the paper, he was relying on the reports submitted by members of his acquisition team who stated that the principal problem of the magazine was that of finance and not incompetence.



He assured the workers that none of them would be sacked, except those whose appointments did not follow due process; those who had been “fraudulently promoted, and those who were indebted to the company.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105062333492

;d ;d ;d ;d

Members of the House of Representatives from the South-east said yesterday that the zone would not accept any position in the in-coming administration short of that of the Senate president or Speaker of the House of Representatives. In a statement jointly signed by 43 members of the House from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States in Abuja, the lawmakers alleged that “the South-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria has suffered serious political setbacks,” some of which had been self-inflicted while others were imposed in recent times.

They noted that the zone had demonstrated absolute good faith in the recent presidential election when it “whole heartedly and unconditionally” backed the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan, following what they called the block votes given to him by the zone at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries.“It is pertinent to mention here that under the present circumstances only the position of Senate president or Speaker of the House of Representatives is acceptable to the South-east. It is a gratuitous insult to offer the South -east any position less than this,” the lawmakers insisted.

According to to them, the argument about religious balancing is not historically tenable even as they pointed out that in “the Second Republic, while the president (Shagari) was a Muslim, the vice president, Senate president and Speaker were all Christians. Hell was not let loose. During the 1993 presidential elections, the South-east put its weight behind the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Muslim - Muslim ticket of MKO Abiola and Babangana Kingibe.”

“In 2007, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, were Christians. In fact, in the current legislature, both the speaker and the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives are Muslims. Religion has never been an issue. How has it now crept in surreptitiously?”
“We call on Ohaneze Ndigbo, all the governors of the South-east, all Senators and honourable members-elect and all stakeholders in the politics of the South-east, who were in the forefront in convincing the people of the South-east to support President Goodluck Jonathan to once again rally round and ensure that the South-east is not further humiliated.

“We insist on either the offices of the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives. We will reject other offices such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Deputy President of the Senate or any such office that may be offered to undermine the attainment of the two offices so mentioned.

“Our patience, support and loyalty must not be taken for granted. In the words of Mr. President, ‘enough is enough.’”




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/05/national-05-05-2011-001.htm

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the April general elections, General Muhammadu Buhari, has said that Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State is unfit to hold a responsible office in Nigeria.
Governor Aliyu had lashed out at the former head of state twice last week, reminding him and his supporters that Nigeria was not their village.

“I am emphasising this fact because of what happened after the presidential election. Many of us are so myopic that we think our village is Nigeria. No, we’re a part and never can a part be a whole. Your village is not Nigeria. Your village is a part of Nigeria. So, if somebody wins or loses election in your village, that does not mean he has lost election in the country,” Aliyu said at the celebration of the 2011 Workers’ Day in Minna.

Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Buhari said, “Governor Babangida Aliyu, in his recent comment on General Buhari, has been highly disrespectful and uncouth. His language to General Buhari has been very rude and he has portrayed himself as uncultured and somebody that is not fit to hold a responsible office.”

Buhari further said, “if he cannot cultivate descent language of talking to somebody who is his elder and who is his senior in every respect, the fact of reckless comment that he has been making has portrayed him as somebody that is ill-mannered and quite uncivilised as a person holding responsible office in Nigeria.”




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/05/national-05-05-2011-003.htm

Following the April 9 and 26 National Assembly elections, a total of 73 senators lost the battle to retain their seats in the upper federal legislative chamber.



The Senate has a total of 109 members, out of which the Peoples Democratic Party had 89 senators before the elections.



While some PDP senators had lost at the primaries for the April polls, only 26 of them were re-elected to serve in the seventh National Assembly to be inaugurated on June 5.



Also, only six out of the All Nigeria Peoples Party’s 11 senators will be returning to their seats in the senate, just as only three out of eight old Action Congress of Nigeria senators will return.



Senator Chris Anyanwu who defected from the PDP to the All Progressive Grand Alliance was also re-elected; same goes for Senator Ehigie Uzamere who dumped the PDP for the ACN.



Despite its huge loss, the PDP still has the highest number of seats with 71 senators, but was two senators short of the two-third majority lead.



The ACN has 18 senators. The Congress for Progressive Change has seven; ANPP, eight and four for Labour Party.



The ACN swept the polls in the South-West region and made inroads into the North-West and North-Central.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105032192868

The helicopter carrying members of the United States special security force, Navy SEALs, malfunctioned as it approached Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on Monday morning.



This heightened the tension that gripped President Barack Obama and members of his war cabinet in the White House Situation Room where they monitored the raid.



But the pilot managed to set the helicopter down gently inside the walls of the expansive $1m mansion where the world most wanted man and believed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on Washington and New York lived. On touching the ground, the chopper could not move.



Will the operation fail? Obama, his National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon; Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Bob Gates; Joint Chiefs Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen; and the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, asked themselves rhethorically.



“Obviously, everyone was thinking about Black Hawk Down and Desert One,” a senior administration official recalled as he spoke with an online news portal, Politico.com.



“The assault team went ahead and raided the compound, even though they didn’t know if they would have a ride home,” he said.



The special forces put bombs on the crippled chopper and blew it up, then lifted off in two MH-60 reinforcement helicopters, after bursts of fire that lasted about 40 minutes.



Bin Laden’s guards were said to have fired rocket-propelled grenades from the roof and at least two explosions rocked the town during the fight.



But the members of Navy SEALs, who flew across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers, shot the terror chief in the head after he refused to give up himself.



His body was taken to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, and was buried in the North Arabian Sea overnight — less than 12 hours after the raid, officials said.



The DNA from the remains provided certain confirmation that bin Laden was dead. He was 54.



The Cable News Network confirmed on Monday that bin Laden was shot in the head, and that three other men and a woman who were being used as a human shield were also killed.



Seventeen other people were said to have either been killed also or captured in the raid that gave Washington a tectonic victory in the 10-year war on terror touched off by 9/11.



Agency reports say that the fugitive must have been living in the house which was built in 2005 with his youngest wife, brother and other family members.



Another official said, “Everything we saw, the extremely elaborate operational security, the brothers’ background and their behaviour and the location of the compound itself was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden’s hide-out to look like.”



After watching the successful operation Obama said, “The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of bin Laden.”



Officials described Abbottabad, a city of about 60 kilometres north of Islamabad as a relatively affluent community, with lots of residents who are retired military.



“Bin Laden was living in a relatively comfortable place, a compound valued at about $1 million,” another senior US official told Politico.com



The fortified compound, surrounded by walls as high as 12-feet with barbed wire on the top to ward off intruders, was said to be far larger than other nearby homes and placed just 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy.



Two security gates guarded the only entrance and a third-floor terrace was shielded by a privacy wall. There were no phone lines or internet connection linking it to the outside world.



The US official added that “many of his foot soldiers are located in some of the remotest regions of Pakistan and live in austere conditions.”



He said that Washington was convinced that the house had been built in 2005 to protect a major terrorist figure and came to the conclusion it must be bin Laden.



The raid was described as the culmination of years of highly advanced intelligence work that included the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which specialises in imagery and maps, and the National Security Agency, the “codemakers and codebreakers” who can covertly watch and listen to conversations around the world.



On June 2, 2009, just over four months into his presidency, Obama had signed a memo to CIA Director, Leon Panetta, stating “in order to ensure that we have expanded every effort, I direct you to provide me within 30 days a detailed operation plan for locating and bringing to justice” bin Laden.



In the biggest break in a global pursuit of bin Laden that stretched back to the Bill Clinton administration, Washington discovered the compound by following one of the terrorist’s personal couriers, identified by terrorist detainees as one of the few al-Qaeda couriers who bin Laden trusted.



“They indicated he might be living with and protecting bin Laden,” a senior administration official told reporters during a midnight conference call.



“Detainees gave us his nom de guerre, or his nickname, and identified him as both a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11, 2001 attacks, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al- Qaeda who was captured in 2005.”



The officials didn’t learn the courier’s name until 2007. Then it took two years to find him and track him back to this compound, which was discovered in August 2010.



Obama, who began planning for the raid as far back as March, said none of the Americans involved in the targeted assault was wounded.



The President gave the go-ahead for the Navy SEALs to go in on Saturday but due to bad weather, they switched to Sunday.



During his televised speech, Obama addressed those who lost loved ones during the September 11 attacks and said, “We have never forgotten your loss nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.”



TV reports showed a huge crowd gathered outside the White House, Ground Zero in New York and New York’s Times Square after Obama’s speech, cheering and waving American flags.



Obama used the address to reiterate that while the United States has been hunting the Al Qaeda leader in the Arab world for the past decade, and has waged wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, America is not at war with Islam or Muslims.



He said, “We must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims.



“Indeed, al-Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105033375834