₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, said in Washington DC today that he sees his current role not just as a transitional period, but as a transformational one. “For us in Nigeria this is our time,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations this morning. “Either we continue with more of the same or we change the game.”

Dr. Jonathan said at the jam-packed event, which was attended by the heads of many US institutions and moderated by a former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Howard Jeter, “We have chosen for ourselves what I will call foundational responsibilities which if well shouldered will form a solid base for the development of Nigeria from this point onwards.”

He said that his domestic focus would be on “electoral reform, delivering peace dividends to the Niger Delta and standing strong on our resolve against corruption.”

On the international front, he expressed the determination to restore Nigeria’s image and traditional role as a key member of the international community.

“In an increasingly uncertain world Nigeria is a key partner in our collective efforts to maintain peace and security in Africa and beyond,” he said. He also reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the battle against terrorism and, rededicated the nation’s efforts to the promotion of development, democracy and a shared value for human progress.
Those accompany Dr. Jonathan to the event included Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State), Ikedi Ohakim (Imo State), Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi (Zamfara) and Godswill Akpabio

The full text of Dr. Jonathan’s address is as follows:

PROTOCOL

1. I wish to commend the esteemed members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) for its continued interest in Nigerian Affairs.

2. We are always ready to work with the Council on areas of mutual interest especially those that foster greater understanding, facilitate growth and promote the mutual development of our two Nations.

3. In this regard the signing of the Bi-National Commission last week opens up a new vista of opportunity for Nigeria/US relations. The BNC marks a new threshold for greater collaboration between the private sectors of our two countries which we must support to drive our economies.

4. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen there is no doubt in my mind that we are presented with an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future direction of Nigeria.

5. When I was a young man growing up in the Niger Delta, I had great dreams for the future. I was fascinated by science and discovery and the transformational powers of technology. So I pursued a course of study in science and for 10 years I remained in the field of science as a teacher nurturing the growth of young scientists in Nigeria. When I ventured out of the classroom it was again another opportunity to apply my background in science to protect the delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta.

6. In both the classroom and my environmental protection work I came face to face with the challenges of sustainable development in Nigeria. The challenges of insufficient funding of critical sectors, mis-prioritization and low infrastructural base were always an obstacle to surmount.

7. But as an individual I continued to make progress and never conceded to these difficulties although of course I was later diverted into politics in 1999.

8. Throughout my political career I have applied the lessons of scientific inquiry and technological innovation to meet the challenges that my constituents face.

9. Today I am confronted with the greatest test of my political career. While we continue to pray for the recovery of our President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua it is my responsibility to work with all Nigerians to improve the pace of development and to do so facing the right direction.

10. We have chosen for ourselves what I will call foundational responsibilities which if well shouldered will form a solid base for the development of Nigeria from this point onwards.

11. In this responsibility of consolidating and deepening our democracy, we are committed to ensuring that the remaining period of the administration is not a transitional period but one which, we hope, will one day be viewed as a watershed, a transformational time in our young democracy. For us in Nigeria this is our time. Either we continue with more of the same or we change the game.

12. There is no doubt that we have been faced by some challenges in our country but we have stabilized the polity and we are determined to consolidate on the gains so recorded. And for now our domestic focus must be on electoral reform, delivering peace dividends to the Niger Delta and standing strong on our resolve against corruption.

13. Internationally we are determined to restore Nigeria’s image and traditional role as a key member of the international community. In an increasingly uncertain world Nigeria is a key partner in our collective efforts to maintain peace and security in Africa and beyond. Nigeria will reiterate its commitments to fight terrorism and rededicate our efforts to promote development, democracy and a shared value for human progress.

14. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity to share our thoughts and hopes with you on the present and future.

15. I thank you for your attention.

Link:
http://saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5789-we-are-determined-to-change-the-game-jonathan-affirms-at-cfr-meeting.html

Nigeria is acclaimed in some quarters as providing a home for the happiest people on earth. It grieves my heart so greatly that we are not extending this happiness to Turai, the long-suffering beautiful wife of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Some satanic fellows are even threatening to invoke Section 144 of the Constitution, thus declaring the ailing president incapacitated and thus sending his regime to a burial ground like Atan Cemetery. Given that the man Yar’Adua apparently does not know where he is, not minding how many imams and bishops and babalawos are sent to see him, this move is only aimed at hurting Turai.

It is wounding enough on Turai that an acting president has already been appointed in place of her beloved husband. It is my considered opinion that Turai ought to have been contacted and her informed opinion taken before any appointment is made. After all, who doesn’t know that the better half of a man is his wife, and definitely not his vice-president?

Just to put a very bad sword into the soft heart of Turai, the Nigerian Senate invented the so-called Doctrine of Necessity, a doctrine that is unknown to our constitution, to give the power that ought to belong to the Yar’Adua family to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. But Turai showed a sharp presence of mind by air-freighting the cargo of her hubby back into the country in the dead of night to tell any aspiring coup-plotter that “Umoru” is still very much around.

A very hardworking executive wife, Turai has all it takes to take the position of her ailing spouse as executive president. Her achievements since the uncanny disappearance of her husband from public view should rank her as the greatest political wife in history. She has been by the side of her man ever since, from Saudi Arabia to Abuja, Nigeria, as attested to by the four visiting mullahs and the Christian witnesses. With this level of loyalty by Turai how come the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka is accusing her of visiting spousal abuse on her husband? At least Turai is not like Prof Dora Akunyili who abandoned the Yar’Adua kitchen once the fire of acute pericarditis got very hot! Well, even Saint Peter denied Jesus Christ…

Turai has been standing on principle, insisting that the presidency is a Yar’Adua family patrimony for four years in the first instance, with another four years on standby. Her husband has not exhausted the first four years, yet some heartless political gerrymander masters are thinking up an acting president and even a substantive president to take the place of the duly elected President Yar’Adua. But for Turai’s gallant efforts these conspirators would have succeeded ever so grandly, thus standing the rotational policy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on its head. Can’t you see how Turai is aiding national unity by making sure that our otherwise perambulating country is trapped in motion without movement? There is trouble in trying Turai. Oh so poetic…

The most annoying thing in the matter for me is that women are not rising up in protest, to enforce Turai’s fundamental human rights of keeping the presidency in the family. All the women NGOs that go by all sorts of names are now silent unlike when the issue was going to Beijing in faraway China! Apparently these NGO ladies are only interested in the so-called estacode attached to overseas travel instead of joining the struggle here and now for their fellow woman, Turai, to keep the property of her husband, that is, the Nigerian Presidency!

As the Pentecostals would have it, dangerous ailments ought to be attacked with dangerous prayers. Turai definitely knows that the spiritual forces assailing her man are deadly, whence the need to allow only the religious types to see him for now. Turai knows that the PDP is quite virus-loaded, as in HIV-AIDS, whence the recent admission by the party chairman Chief Vincent Ogbulafor that the group has been put at the very end of the long queue to see Yar’Adua. As things stand now, there is even no place in the Yar’Adua sighting queue for Acting President Jonathan! Turai’s embrace of dangerous prayers is not just aimed at finding a miraculous cure for her husband but, more importantly, directed as a strong repellent to the dangerous forces intent on wreaking a final havoc on Umaru’s weak heart.

The saddest cut for me is that some Nigerian sadists are now quite happy in stressing that President Yar’Adua’s incapacitation serves Turai right by keeping her locked up where she ought to be – in purdah! Ouch!


Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5787-turai-in-purdah.html

“Let me state categorically that this government will not tolerate any act by its officials that can bring its name to disrepute,” Mr. Badejo said, while disclosing that 87 LASTMA officials have been dismissed from the agency in the last 12 months, while there are about 115 cases awaiting adjudication by the agency’s personnel management board.

Hope you can also read from the statement that 87 was also dismissed from the agency.

Argentine legend Diego Maradona has said that Lionel Messi is in the form of his life, claiming he is ”playing a kick-about with Jesus”, but also warned he must maintain his focus.

Maradona is viewed as the greatest Argentine player of all time, but that title is under threat from the 22-year-old after a stunning season which reached its zenith on Tuesday night with a four-goal demolition of Arsenal in the Champions League.

Now the national coach has lavished praise on his star player, but warned Messi not to make the same mistakes that he did when he was a player.

”He‘s at a select level, being the best in the world and a star at Barcelona. Leo is playing kick-about with Jesus,” Maradona said.”There are moments when you are invaded by loneliness, but you have to be strong so you don‘t end up doing things one did,” he said, apparently referring to his drug addiction during his playing days.

Maradona added that after Argentina‘s World Cup warm-up win against Germany in Munich on March 3, he spent two hours with Messi talking about many issues.

”I told him I‘d done my thing, now he has to make his career and at the end we‘ll see who was the greatest of all time. But he‘s on the right path. I saw that he‘s mature and full of will,” Maradona said. ”How could I not be happy for Messi to win the World Cup. The Maradona and Pele polemics will end and the best thing is that Messi is Argentine.”

And according to his Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique, who played with him as a youngster, Messi‘s talent was obvious from an early age.

Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100409424551

The Protem National Chairman of the Social Democratic Mega Party, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Thursday said that the exit of former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar from the Mega Summit Movement will not affect the organisation in the 2011 poll.



Utomi, who spoke with journalists on party matters and other national issues at an interactive session in Lagos, said that the philosophy of the SDP was ”built on the people, not personality.”



He said, ”We have established some principles and proven that the group is made up of men willing to serve, it is now left for the electorate to decide what they want and to live with their decision.”



Utomi said that those who predicted at the inception of the Mega Party Movement that most of the real progressives in its fold would depart did not understand the philosophy which brought its conveners together.



”Any member can decide whether they are aligned or misaligned and have a right to leave; people said we were strange bed-fellows but the fundamentals will reveal those that are committed to the ideals that we set out to project, first among which is discipline.



”Political parties must be open to everyone but those who cannot align with the principles of the party as it grows will nicely be exited,‘‘ he said.



He dispelled the speculation that the mega party was factionalised, saying that contrary to reports, the South West zonal coordinator of the MSM, Chief Rasheed Shitta-Bey, remained an integral part of the new party.



Utomi listed education and health as areas deserving of priority, promising that those areas would be given attention by the SDMP.



He said, ”We have the problem of almajeris in the North, militants in the Niger Delta and social miscreants in the South-West; many of these social problems in Nigeria can be traced to those two issues.”



He outlined other issues that would engage the party‘s attention to include power, employment and infrastructure.



On electoral reforms, he said that the party was encouraged by the pronouncement of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan that the electoral laws would be passed before the 2011 general election.



He disclosed that the SDP was set to mobilise Nigerian youths, civil society groups and organised labour to actualise the passage and implementation of the Electoral Reform Bill.



Utomi confirmed the April 28 launch date for the party.



He however explained that the movement would forward its application to INEC by April 19 and wait for recognition of the SDP as a party in writing, failing which it would deem the party registered in accordance with the law.

Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004094134893

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Vincent Ogbulafor, on Thursday said the party leadership was on standby to meet with ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua.



Ogbulafor, who spoke to journalists after meeting with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was reacting to recent visits by Muslim and Christian clerics to Yar’Adua.



Asked why the PDP, being the President’s political party, had not been able to meet with him, even though clerics have had that opportunity, Ogbulafor said the party leadership was waiting to be invited.



“Whenever we are invited; we are on standby,” he said.



Our correspondent learnt that the PDP leadership was unable to meet with Yar’Adua on Tuesday night, as a scheduled appointment was cancelled at the last minute.



On April 1, the President reportedly met with four Islamic clerics, namely, the Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Mohammed; leader of the Izala Muslim sect in Katsina State, Sheik Yakubu Musa; Sheikh Isa Pantami, and the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, Sheik Ibrahim Datti-Ahmed.



The clerics reportedly prayed for the President.



The visit of the Muslim clerics preceded that of their Christian counterparts, who also reportedly visited Yar’Adua at his private residence at the Presidential Villa last Monday.



The four Christian clerics, namely, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Archbishop John Onaiyekan; the General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo; Pastor Emmanuel Kure of the Throne Room Trust; and former Aso Rock chaplain, Prof. Yusuf Obaje, also prayed for the President.



While the Muslim clerics said they sought the invitation to meet with Yar’Adua and pray for him, the Christian leader said they were invited individually.



Interestingly, the four Christian clerics returned to the Presidential Villa on Wednesday to meet with the Acting President.



It was gathered that they briefed Jonathan on their earlier meeting with Yar’Adua.



Also on Thursday, Ogbulafor advised former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, to follow due process in his highly publicised plan to return to the PDP.



Reacting to the reprots that the former presidential candidate of the Action Congress was planning to return to the party, Ogbulafor said the PDP was large enough to contain every politician.



But he said Abubakar should inform the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja and then rejoin the party at the ward level, rather than declaring his return on the national stage.



He said, “PDP is a big political organisation; it is a big political party. The umbrella is so large, it can take everybody.



“If Atiku is returning, he will inform the national secretariat. Joining the party is at the local government or ward levels. It is not done at the national level. We don’t have a national membership card.”



Ogbulafor explained that he was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Acting President on some undisclosed issues.



He also denied reports that the party postponed its National Executive Council meeting because of Yar’Adua.



He said the postponement was as a result of the death of some party chieftains, including former governor of old Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, and two serving senators from Gombe State, Tawa Wada and Kawu Dukku.



Some state governors also met with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on Thursday. They include Timipreye Sylva (Bayelsa); Namadi Sambo (Kaduna); Bukola Saraki (Kwara); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).



Imoke wore a bandage on his hand due to injuries sustained in a recent car crash. Sylva, in a short encounter with journalists after the meeting, denied reports of a feud between him and the Acting President.



He also said the recent arrest of some officials of his administration was politically motivated, although he exonerated the Federal Government of complicity in the matter.

Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004095492410

The Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has faulted two of the key assumptions in the 2010 budget.



Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke as a guest lecturer at the University of Calabar, Cross River State on Thursday, also expressed concerns about the nation’s rising debt profile.



She, therefore, advised the reconstituted cabinet, especially the Minister for Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, to work in harmony with the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the emerging knotty issues bedeviling the Nigerian economy.



The World Bank chief said, “I am concerned about the realism of the 2010 budget assumptions of a reference oil price of $67 per barrel and production of 2.35 million barrels per day. If oil revenue assumptions are not met, more drawdowns from the Excess Crude Account would be required on the back of the already substantial depletion in 2009.”



She listed recent trends in the economy that must be given urgent attention as the country’s current rising debt profile; cracks in the banking system; and over-reliance on oil revenue in the 2010 budget.



The Senate and the House of Representatives recently passed a harmonised budget of N4.608tn, 13.3 per cent higher than the initial N4.07tn estimate sent by President Umaru Yar‘Adua in November 2009.



While recurrent expenditure in the harmonised budget was N2.077tn, capital expenditure was increased to N1.8tn, about N253bn higher than the Executive proposal.



The budget was predicated on $67 per barrel of crude oil, up from the initial projection of $57 per barrel by the Executive; oil production projection was put at 2.35m barrels per day; and budget deficit was estimated at N1.5tn.



The government also projects an inflation rate of 11.2 per cent on a Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 5.47 per cent.



She was a Minister of Finance under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.



Okonjo-Iweala, who said the economic trends, though not alarming, were not the best stressed that the cabinet should be vigilant in order to ensure that the gains of the earlier part of this decade from 2003 to 2007 were preserved.



She affirmed that Nigeria must meet two criteria in order to be one of the 20 largest economies in the world, able to consolidate its leadership role in Africa and establish itself as a significant player in the global economic and political arena.



These she said must include the country’s ability to manage her oil resources well and find ways of diversifying her economy away from oil as well as creating jobs for her burgeoning youths.



On the country’s indebtedness, she recalled that government was able to pay off the last installment due on its debt settlement agreement with the Paris Club in April 2006 thereby erasing $30bn in external debt and reducing government external debt to $3.5bn.



But she regretted that by the end of 2009, fresh external debt for the country had risen to about $5bn which she said was discouraging considering the pace of GDP growth.



While the Federal Government was accumulating fresh debts, she said the debt profile of various states was also rising through issuance of bonds, adding that four different states issued bonds for a total of N90bn during 2008 and 2009.



“This is less than a billion dollars, but is only a partial picture and a complete picture needs to be put together as a top priority. Some states are floating bonds and can sustain the debt service comfortably via the oil transfers received from the Federal Government. But some are getting into trouble and running into liquidity problems. As you know, provisions of both the Fiscal Responsibility and DMO bills prevent states from borrowing externally; but their domestic borrowing needs monitoring,” she said.



She also commented on the domestic debt of the Federal Government and charged the new Minister of Finance to keep it in check.



According to her by the end of 2009 the Federal Government’s external debt had virtually doubled in naira terms to N3.23tn adding that people might be tempted to claim that internal debts “does not matter, because we owe it to ourselves.



“This is not fully true, because some of this debt in the form of treasury instruments could be held by non-resident portfolio investors. For example, a 2008 IMF report on private capital flows to sub-Saharan Africa estimates that about 20 per cent of Nigerian government domestic debt is held by foreigners.”



She also argued that higher fiscal deficits financed by selling domestic bonds could crowd out private investment and that “what the government does with the money is of utmost importance for a developing country like ours.”



“The Excess Crude Account has suffered a big depletion. At the end of 2008, the ECA amounted to $20.1bn according to data from the CBN. By the end of 2009, this had diminished to $7.8bn. So the ECA fell by $12.3bn during 2009,” she added.



On the banking crisis, Okonjo-Iweala observed that while the emergence of distressed banks accounting for some 30 per cent of banking system assets was regrettable, the manner in which the situation was addressed represented a huge signaling opportunity.



She said, “The transparency and evenhandedness with which these banks are ‘intervened’ and resolved will have a major impact on Nigeria’s reputation as a potential regional financial center. This reputation took a bit of a beating as a result of the way the interbank foreign exchange market was treated early last year”



To remedy the situation she called for stronger supervision adding that for good monitoring of banks to work, Nigeria would need to overhaul and modernise its infrastructure for accounting, financial reporting, collateral registration and credit rating.



She also affirmed that any bank bailout would automatically raise the specter of moral hazard adding that Nigeria must take steps to avoid situations where good fiscal policy resulting in growing ECA assets was undone by bad loans on the balance sheets of banks, as already seen to some extent.

Link:

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201004095461342

Looking back at his life of 50 years, veteran broadcaster, Patrick Rutherford Doyle said he is one of the most fortunate individuals in life. The multi-talented broadcaster has tasted both sides of life, having lost three relations, including a wife and a son to Sickle Cell Anaemia.

But for each loss he has suffered, the broadcaster believes he has always emerged stronger afterwards.

From the training he received at the Federal Radio Corporation on recommendation of his late mother at the age of 20, he has since distinguished himself as an award-winning broadcaster at both FRCN and NTA. Even without a university degree, he has equally excelled as an actor, producer, master of ceremony and expert. The recent one was his handling of a brief for Silverbird Television (STV) which in turn gave birth to Morning Show on STV.

He took Daily Sun on a retrospective journey of his life, his 10 year-old marriage to versatile actress, Iretiola Doyle among others.

Returning to school
I have made up my mind to acquire formal education before I die. I don’t have to do this but I am doing it to make a point to young people about the importance of education. It’s not because of learning any other thing that I don’t already know. Whatever I know and I have become came by virtue of being inquisitive and being ready to learn. Going back to school will be in my own good time and I won’t study something different than my line of career.

My absence from the screen
It has been a long time I appeared in the movies. I am glad producers have found someone else to play the role of pastor in their movies. The stereotype is as a result of being unimaginative on the part of movie producers. However a Director, Tchidi Chikere tried me in a different role recently. I played the role of a lunatic and I did enjoy it. Ever since acting has always been something I did at spare time or for fun. This is why I don’t regard myself as an actor.

Leaving a legacy for my kids
Producing drama is very complex and time consuming. I am 50 years old now and I am concerned about using my energy wisely. While drama production is time and energy consuming, the financial reward is limited. At this point in my life, I look forward to small work, big reward because I’ve been thinking of leaving a good heritance for my children. My good name and goodwill is not enough but I want to leave landed properties for them.

My wife, Iretiola is a stabilizing factor
Indeed she has been a rock of Gibraltar in my life and a stabilizing factor for the past 10 years of our marriage. God is good because He brings people into one’s life for a specific purpose. She came into my life at a time when even strong men would have been shaken. She is a good girl, no doubt about it. She was not the only actress I have worked with. We had a solid friendship based on a mutual respect for one another’s intellect. This was a plus for me because everyone I have ever considered my friend is intelligent. In the course of my friendship with Ireti, affection set in and the relationship progressed, the rest is history.

Romance for 10 years
I don’t know where this impression about society people came from. One thing I know to be true is that the law of relationship is universal and is without discrimination. It is not a question of class, my wife and I have respected the laws of relationship such as respect for each other, mutual fidelity, and loyalty to the marriage institution etc. We are overrating this society thing because society people are simply ordinary people who have been thrust into limelight. Having said that I am not taken in by this celebrity status because my wife and I, we hardly go out to social gatherings or club. Apart from our jobs which makes us highly visible, we are content being daddy and mummy to our kids at home.

Chris Okotie and I
I was flattered to hear Pastor Chris Okotie described me as his friend. He used to be my friend but I regard him with more respect. I consider him my spiritual mentor while I see myself as his spiritual son. Thirty years ago when he was a music star, we hang out together regularly and partied everyday in his room at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. He is no longer the pop musician that he was then, hence I relate to him now as Pastor Chris Okotie.

Children taking after me
My little daughter is a performer. She enjoys it and is born to perform. My sons are very shy but one of them has the gift of the garb. He did a lot of narration in Primary School and is always the first to be called upon to read the news at school party. I see him joining my profession or doing something close to it.

My new call on Sickle Cell awareness
A sickle cell foundation exists under the chairmanship of Prof Olu Ajayi which has been doing extensive work of research on cure and prevention of Sickle Anaemia. On my part, I hope to use the Raymond Doyle Sickle Cell Foundation to create awareness. We embark on promotion. It is not for nothing that I lost three close relations including, my late wife, son and sister-inlaw.

I have the respect of friends in media like Lekan Ogunbanwo, Bisi Olatilo, John Momoh, Bruces and I intend to explore the relationships. God made people with sickle cell come into my life for a purpose. My late wife’s younger sister, Ngozi died of sickle cell anaemia. With my influence and goodwill, I will do this for the rest of my life. Maybe this is the reason I was even born. I will dedicate meaningful part of my life to this course.

Broadcasting Industry in Nigeria
It is only in Nigeria that a producer buys airtime. We carry all the responsibility such as developing content, production, editing, seeking adverts and buying airtime. I think asking a producer to buy airtime is criminal. This should stop. I hope to join colleagues in fighting against this anomaly. At present I am engaged in the business of commerce. I don’t enjoy it but I have to keep my family together. So far, it has been very promising. Indication is that it will mature and grow. The business allows me to bequeath something to my offspring. However, my heart is in broadcasting.

Link:

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/showtime/2010/apr/09/showtime-09-04-2010-004.htm

After several minutes of recounting Nigeria’s political and economic travails, the president of the Senate, David Mark, on his birthday, said he is confident that “God will intervene in a positive way.”

Mr. Mark, who turned 62 on Thursday, spoke in an early-morning prayer session at St. Mulumba Catholic Chapel, Apo, Abuja. He said that regardless of the challenges and difficulties Nigeria faces presently, “I am hopeful that God will see us through”.

Prayer for leaders

Mr. Mark called on Nigerians to continue to pray for the nation and its leaders in order to overcome its challenges.

“There is no gift that is bigger than the gift of prayers,” Mr. Mark said. “Politicians go through a lot of temptations, countless in number, it is only through our support, fasting and prayers that they can survive and triumph.

“I am certain that our prayers for the country and our leaders during the Easter celebration will not go in vain to seeing Nigeria through.

“All we need as a nation is prayers that God in His infinite mercy should help our land”.

The Senate president noted the temptations leaders in Nigeria face by the day and concluded that only supplication to God could see them through.

Mr. Mark has often, at most public religious events, requested for prayers from Nigerians for either ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua or the unsettled political balance in Nigeria.

Guests pray

Scores of politicians including Maurice Iwu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the newly-appointed ministers attended the early-morning prayer session.

In the homily, Rev. Jerome Bello urged Nigerians to have faith and believe in the country as a way to invoke God’s intervention on every aspect of the nation’s plight.

“God wants us to demonstrate our faith for our miracles to happen,” said Mr. Bello. “We should also believe in ourselves to overcome any obstacles on our ways. Miracles are not automatic, it happens when we play our own part of faith.”

Mr. Bello and guests offered prayers for a democratic stability in the country and for wisdom for leaders.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5552229-147/mark_at_62_seeks_divine_help.csp

How much can you sell this car last? i will like to fly it.

End of wedding (EOD)

We both have everything in common, all the way from sleeping with each other to eating and thinking. we both are just too common for we also find it very hard to leave each other

The reign of Taofik Olawale Abdulsalam as Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly came to an abrupt end yesterday, as he was impeached by 18 of the 26 members of the Assembly.

The impeachment gale also swept away his deputy, Mayowa Akinfolarin, who had been the Deputy Speaker since 2003, and other officials.

In an unusual manner, the lawmakers converged as early as 8.am to carry out the internal coup, which finally led to the removal of principal officers of the House, including the Majority Leader.

The impeachment exercise was carried out amidst tight security, while journalists were barred from entering the Assembly complex. The motion for the removal of the Speaker was moved by one of his colleagues, Igbekele Bolodeoku, who before now, was the Chairman, House Committee on Information. Incidentally, Mr. Bolodeoku, who is representing Ese-Odo State Constituency, is a Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, like Messrs Abdusalam and Akinfolarin. His motion was supported by 18 lawmakers who had earlier signed a petition calling for the removal of Mr. Abdulsalam.

At exactly 8.30 am, news of the resignation of the Speaker was broadcast by virtually all the radio and television stations in the state.

The announcement, which was sent via the Speaker’s telephone number, was sent to the news editors of Positive FM, Adaba FM, NTA Akure and the state-owned radio and television stations. The resignation news was flashed at regular intervals by these media organisations.

Mr. Abdusalam later told journalists he neither resigned nor was properly impeached. One of the eighteen lawmakers who had earlier signed the impeachment notice, Adams Adekanye, later backed out because he was not favoured to become the Speaker of the House.

Mr. Adakanye, who incidentally is from the northern senatorial district, like Abdulsalam, was shocked to his bone marrows when his colleagues resolved to pick Samuel Adesina, from Odigbo II constituency, to become the new Speaker of the House.

Mr. Adesina, who is otherwise known as ‘Imole’ among his colleagues, was picked because the zoning arrangement worked in his favour.

Before now, the political power sharing arrangement in the state was unbalanced because of the change in government, which saw the emergence of Olusegun Mimiko as the governor.

Mr. Mimiko is from the Central Senatorial District, while his deputy, Ali Olanusi, was from the Northern Senatorial District. The impeached Speaker also hails from the same senatorial district with Mr. Olanusi.

The impeachment of Abdulsalam restores the balance, as the new Speaker comes from the Southern Senatorial District.

Shortly after the impeachment, the 18 lawmakers moved to the Press Centre, Alagbaka, to address journalists about the latest development in the State Parliament.

The spokesperson of the lawmakers, labeled as G18, Mr. Bolodeoku, said the House decided to remove Abdulsalam because the members have lost confidence in his leadership style.

“In the spirit of sportsmanship, we have decided to dissolve all the entire leadership structure of the House and we have appointed a new Speaker,” he declared.

“The former Speaker, through the media organisations, announced his resignation as the Speaker as soft landing for himself. We have accepted his resignation in order to move the state forward.

“There was no allegation of fraud against the former leadership, but we as lawmakers, are not happy about the ineptitude nature of the leaders of the House. They are not moving the way that is expected of them.”

He also announced that the House was going on an indefinite recess till the new Speaker deems it fit to call members to resume.

Impeached speaker disagrees

But Mr. Abdulsalam has described the action taken by his colleagues as an illegality of the highest order. He also denied the report that he had tendered his resignation letter.

Mr. Abdulsalam, who addressed a press conference in company of ten lawmakers, said his puported removal was not in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which stipulates that the Speaker can only be removed by 2/3 majority votes.

He also accused some people of using his phone to send text messages of his resignation to various media organisations without his knowledge. Besides, Abdulsalam also stated that signatures of three members were scanned on the purported impeachment list.

“What happened today at the Ondo State House of Assembly is nothing but illegality of the highest order. Some of the members were not allowed to enter the House during the proceedings. The one who was later allowed in, I mean, Otitoju Atikase ,was bundled out of the House,” he said.

“I was shocked to hear in the news on some stations that I have resigned as the Speaker of the House. This purported message was never sent by me. I don’t know how some people got my phone and used it to send messages to radio and television stations.”

Mr. Abdulsalm also accused the state government of being the brain behind his purported removal. He said the way policemen were deployed to the House without the Speaker’s knowledge was a clear indication that government has a hand in the crisis.

“The whole event was covered by government media organisations; that is to tell you that the lawmakers were sponsored by the state government,” he said.

“The governor was never comfortable with my leadership style because I have always asked questions in the interest of the people of the state. The governor, a product of the rule of law, is now rubbishing the rule of law that brought him into power.”

He appealed to security agencies not to allow themselves to be used to disrupt the peaceful co-existence of the state, just as he also called for adequate security of members of his group.

Governor is surprised at change

Meanwhile, the Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has expressed surprise at the change in the leadership of the State House of Assembly.

Mr. Mimiko, who expressed surprise during a visit to his office by the new Speaker, Samuel Adesina (Odigbo II), and sixteen other members of the Assembly and the Clerk of the House, Taye Dada, however, enjoined the House to ensure that the existing cordial relationship between his government and the PDP-controlled Assembly continue in the overall interest of the state.

“Honestly, this development came to us a surprise,” he said. “We have enjoyed a cordial relationship with the House and this can be seen in the speedy passage of the 2010 Budget. But the Clerk of the House has just told us all that have been done. Since what has been done was in the purview of the Legislative Arm of Government, we want to welcome Mr. Speaker on board and wish him a successful tenure of office and we hope that the cordial relationship that exists between us will continue in the interest of Ondo State.”

Mr. Abdulsalm emerged as the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly on September 16, 2008 when the then Speaker, Bakkita Bello, representing Akoko-North West I, was removed from office.

Mr. Bolodeoku, who moved the motion then, was also the person who moved the motion yesterday.

Mr. Bello vacated his seat because 21 of the 25 members of the House unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on him as he was accused of incompetence, greed, and high-handedness.

Genesis of troubles

NEXT, however gathered that Mr. Abdulsalam’s problem started last year when he refused to sign the supplementary budget presented to the House by the executive. He was said to have insisted that the supplementary budget would not see the light of the day. This drew the wrath of the executive, which vowed to get him out of office at all cost.

It was gathered that Mr. Abdulsalam was even threatened with impeachment notice before he could bow to the pressure to sign the 2010 budget.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5552277-146/members_impeach_ondo_assembly_speaker.csp

First time a boy and a girl trying to have SEX!!!!

The commissioner for transport in Lagos State, Bamidele Badejo, on Thursday appealed to Lagos residents to take advantage of the complaint units at various licensing offices to report erring officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, LASTMA, instead of “taking laws into their hands by attacking (the) officers.”

“It is disheartening to note that the last one year witnessed fifty-eight accidents/attacks on our personnel resulting in eight deaths,” Mr. Badejo said at the ministerial press briefing held in Alausa.

However, the attack on LASTMA officials by motorists is a direct reflection of the incessant excesses of the traffic management officials.

The state government has turned a deaf ear to motorists’ overwhelming complaints until recently, when the helpless motorists started to claim back a pound of flesh from the officials.

Getting serious with discipline

“The fear of LASTMA is the beginning of wisdom,” is a common cliché that portrays the rate at with which the traffic officials have always got away with their well reported excesses, but Mr. Badejo assured Lagosians of a new attitude towards the discipline of LASTMA officials and appealed, therefore, that they report erring officials.

“Let me state categorically that this government will not tolerate any act by its officials that can bring its name to disrepute,” Mr. Badejo said, while disclosing that 87 LASTMA officials have been dismissed from the agency in the last 12 months, while there are about 115 cases awaiting adjudication by the agency’s personnel management board.

On the other hand, Mr. Badejo noted that Lagosians are improving on their compliance with traffic regulations as the statistics revealed decrease in number and degree of road accidents and offences.

The commissioner also said the negotiation for the takeover of the three watch towers in Ijora, Costain, and Apongbon was concluded last month and rehabilitation will soon commence to use the towers to monitor traffic and security.

He commended the attitudes of Lagosians towards public infrastructure, while announcing that 10 roads have been fitted with roads studs.

“I am happy to inform you that there has not been any report of vandalism of the road stud installation since the year 2007 to date. This signifies that our people are now better informed about the composition of the road studs, as against the erroneous old belief that the studs contain mercury, which is used for producing fake currencies,” he said.

The commissioner also revealed that the days of evading the agencies enforcing validity of vehicle particulars are numbered as the state government is planning to implement an auto-inspector, a device that electronically checks the validity of vehicles. The device will also put an end to traffic snarls that result when motorists are accosted by vehicle inspection officers.

Link:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5552173-147/87_traffic_officials_dismissed_in_lagos.csp

Reacting to a recent reported visit of religious leaders to ailing Nigerian president Yar' Adua, Wole Soyinka alleged that the president was a victim of spousal abuse. The Nobel laureate made the remarks while talking to reporters after delivering a lecture titled ‘Leadership and Follower-ship as shared responsibility’ at an event organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). The president was last seen in public late in 2009 and a lot has been written about his illness and probable incapacitation as well as the role of his wife, Turai in the ensuing political struggles. However not to my knowledge has anyone really looked at the relationship of the "first" couple in the context of spousal abuse. Wole Soyinka's analysis really got me thinking.

Spousal abuse can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. There are two common misconceptions about this topic. Firstly, spousal abuse is not limited in any way to physical abuse and goes much further than physical beatings. There are other abuses that are just as damaging and serious including verbal and emotional abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, and sexual abuse. Secondly, women, although in the majority, are not the only victims of physical or emotional abuse. Spousal abuse is committed by both males and females in relationships. Spousal abuse involving men is often overlooked or ignored by society due to the stigma. In the United States for example, where spousal abuse has been studied extensively as a public health problem, it is estimated that men are 32 percent less likely than women to report any form of violent victimization. Studies also show that women are far more likely to enlist help and to use weapons in abusing their spouses. So is Yar' Adua a victim of spousal abuse?

Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, the elder brother to President Yar'Adua was reported to have told the people of Katsina (before Umaru Yar' Adua became governor) that any vote for his younger brother was a vote for Turai. This was a tacit acknowledgement of Turai’s influence in the Yar'Adua household. There is also a general belief that for his wife, Turai Yar'Adua, President Umaru Yar'Adua most likely would not have contested the 2007 presidential election, in consideration of his failing health.

Such is the commanding influence of Turai who has been Nigeria's first lady since 2007 and who has been likened to Eva Peron of Argentina. Strong-willed, cold-blooded and calculating, she is alleged to have commanded the loyalty of erstwhile cabinet ministers and state governors. Political wannabes continually flocked to her patronage.

Her husband, President Yar' Adua is known to have chronic kidney problems as a result of a medical condition called Churg-Strauss syndrome. His kidneys having failed, he had been on dialysis for quite some time, necessitating several medical visits overseas, even while he was still governor of Katsina state. In November 2009, he was rushed to Saudi Arabia for treatment, having taken ill due to an inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the heart, a condition called acute pericarditis. This condition is a known complication of end-stage kidney failure. While in Saudi, his hospital course was complicated by severe respiratory problems, necessitating his placement on a mechanical ventilator (life support machine). It is also strongly suspected that he also suffered a massive stroke, which left him severely debilitated and incapacitated.

Running a government is no child play. More so, running the federal government of a country like Nigeria. Prior to the president’s evacuation to Saudi, the process of government got so stalled that practically everything came to a halt. A return to power for the ailing president was therefore not only morally wrong but also impractical. In such circumstances, a wife, loving of her husband and her country would have removed her husband from national limelight by championing his immediate resignation, thereby moving the country forward and optimizing conditions for the sick man’s eventual recovery.

Turai however did not reckon as such. She enlisted the help of the much touted cabal and manipulated the apparatus of state, including the judiciary and the military - weapons that she utilized to maximum effect in her attempts to usurp her husband's throne and hold unto power at all costs. She continually deceived Nigerian's about the true state of health of her husband. At a time when the image of the country was being rubbished by civil unrest and a terror plot involving a Nigerian, her actions tarnished whatever good image that was left of her husband while further casting the nation in bad light. In her cunning and scheming, she even stopped the president's mother and family from visiting him thereby depriving her husband of essential ingredients that may have aided his psychological healing. Poor Yar' Adua! If only he could talk.

So much has since happened. Goodluck Jonathan is now Acting President and a semblance of normalcy has returned to government. Reported visits to the president by Islamic clerics and Christian religious leaders have not shed additional light on the president's circumstances. Was Wole Soyinka right in his assertion? Probably so. This is spousal abuse, presidential style!

Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5756-spousal-abuse-presidential-style.html

The Goodluck Jonathan-led government will focus on seven streamlined agenda over the course of the next one year, Oronto Douglas, the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on documentation and strategy, said yesterday in Washington DC.

Mr. Douglas, who delivered a speech on ‘Nigeria: Priorities for the Year ahead’ at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), ahead of a visit to the city by Mr. Jonathan, said the new policy signals continuity in government, but with additional vigour, urgency, and fresh perspectives.

The new agenda listed by Mr. Douglas include: electoral reforms to enthrone electoral integrity and strengthen democracy in Nigeria; resolving the Niger Delta crisis and enthrone a sustainable framework for the development of the region, while accelerating investment; reform and strengthen the energy sector, through a strong and viable Petroleum Industry Act; and a recalibration of our approach to eliminating energy poverty in Nigeria.

Others are: expand national capacity in the agricultural sector as part of the overall strategy to promote food security, and diversify the economy; strengthen the financial services sector; enhance anti-corruption and anti-money laundry initiatives; and promote Human Rights and eliminate impunity.

“The Acting President believes that of all the challenges Nigeria currently faces, instituting electoral integrity is the greatest as it has a corresponding impact on all sectors,” Mr. Douglas declared.

A strong balance

He also said the federal government will, this year, accomplish the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law because the acting president seeks to maintain a strong balance of foreign investment and local participation. “Nigeria seeks greater benefit from its oil and gas resources, but we still value our partnerships with western IOCs, even though the Chinese, the Russians, and others have recently shown a tendency towards competitiveness,” he said.

“We must, therefore, deepen dialogue but swiftly move to accomplish an oil and gas regime that is equitable, stable, and sustainable, and above all, community and environment friendly.”

Mr. Douglas also said Nigeria will strengthen its war against corruption and called on the United States to support the country’s renewal.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5552330-146/jonathan_to_focus_on_7-point_agenda.csp

Fifteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery attack that led to the death of the late politician Abubakar Rimi, the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo has said.

The late Rimi’s vehicle was attacked late Sunday evening on his way from Bauchi to Kano in the company of his younger brother, Sule Sa’a, who was physically assaulted by the assailants.

Mr. Rimi died by 11.35pm that same day, at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, reportedly, as a result of the shock he developed during the attack.

Mr. Onovo announced the arrest yesterday in Kano when he led top police chiefs to the house of the late former governor of Kano, to pay condolence to the family.

The acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, had ordered Mr. Onovo to find the attackers of the late flamboyant politician.

Mr. Onovo, while taking questions from journalists, revealed that the police were able to arrest the suspects with the help of vigilante and local community leaders.

He said the suspects, who are local hoodlums, are currently undergoing interrogation and promised that the police will get to the bottom of the matter.

“Fifteen persons have been arrested, through the effort of the vigilante and the district head, other community leaders including the efforts of Meyeti Allah that have been called upon to assist us,” he said.

“Because they are local hoodlums they must be known in the vicinity. Those people arrested are still been interrogated and I can assure you we will come to the bottom of this.”

The police, he said, had been keeping surveillance on and patrolling the road before the day the incident occurred.

“In crime prevention, it is a battle you win some, you lose some. It is very unfortunate because that particular road has been under police surveillance and patrol for a very long time. It is indeed unfortunate that the incident happened on that road that has been very safe for a very long time,” he said.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5552320-146/police_arrest_15_over_rimi_.csp

Ahead of his official visit to the United States tomorrow, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday met with Umaru Muttalab, the father of the 22-year-old Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who allegedly attempted to bomb an American aircraft on Christmas Day last year.

Dressed in white Babanriga, Mr Muttalab came to the Presidential Villa alone and met with the acting president behind closed doors for close to an hour, but he refused to speak to the press afterwards.

He is, however, believed to have discussed his earlier trip to the United States during which he met with American security officials who were after more clues about his son’s attempted terrorism on American soil, for which the young man is currently facing trial.

Washington immediately placed Nigeria on a 14-nation terror watch list after the attempt and ordered a thorough screening of Nigerians travelling to the States, a development that was bitterly criticized by the Nigerian government.

Earlier this week however, the US announced that it will implement new airline security measures to replace mandatory screening of air travellers from the 14 listed countries. The Nigerian ministry of foreign affairs which released a statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson Ozo Nwobu, yesterday, welcomed the de-listing of Nigeria as a ‘country of interest’ in the U.S. anti-terrorism crusade, following the new guidelines.

A few days to Mr Jonathan’s visit to the White House, the US and Nigeria signed a U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC) on Tuesday. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton signed the agreement on behalf of the US, while the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed signed for Nigeria.

Mrs Clinton described the document as “a new vehicle for cooperation,” which grew out of discussions that started during her visit to Nigeria last August. She said the agreement was signed at a very challenging moment in Nigeria’s political history, which “reflects the commitment of the US to this absolutely critical bilateral relationship.”

The US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, Johnnie Carson who recently visited Nigeria, recently described the relationship between the US and Nigeria as ‘special’. He was giving his testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which was examining the US-Nigeria relation last February.

“Our bilateral relationship with Nigeria remains strong and we can continue to press forward our mutual strategic goals,” he said. He identified free and fair elections, building capacity and commitment to fight corruption, promoting economic development, resolving internal conflict, enhancing Nigeria’s role as a regional leader in conflict mitigation, and developing other influential actors such as the state governments and faith communities as mutual goals for both nations.

Obama’s guest

Mr Jonathan goes to the US on the invitation of America’s President, Barack Obama to attend a maiden nuclear security summit, organised by the American government. The trip will avail the Nigerian leader an opportunity to personally present the federal government’s demands to the American president.

The Obama administration was the first government to congratulate Mr Jonathan after the National Assembly declared him the Acting President to avert an impending constitutional crisis as the ailing President stayed away in Saudi Arabia for treatment on a heart condition without appropriately delegating his power.

The Acting President is expected back home by Thursday next week.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5552336-146/jonathan_and_muttalab_meet__.csp

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the pact at a ceremony in the mediaeval Prague Castle after talks that covered nuclear security, Iran's atomic program and an uprising in the strategic Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan.

The agreement will cut strategic nuclear arsenals deployed by the former Cold War foes by 30 percent within seven years but leave each with enough to destroy the other.

Both major nuclear powers needed to show they were serious about reducing their vast stockpiles to lend weight to efforts to curb the atomic ambitions of countries such as Iran and North Korea, and avoid accusations of hypocrisy.

White House officials told reporters on Obama's flight to Prague that tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran's disputed nuclear program would be prominent in his talks with Medvedev, although no specific announcements were expected.

"The Russians are already committed to holding Iran accountable through the multilateral sanctions regime," deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.

The situation in Kyrgyzstan, where opposition protesters forced out President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Wednesday, thrust its way on to the agenda as both Washington and Moscow have military bases in the poor Central Asian state. The U.S. base at Manas is vital for supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin effectively recognized the interim Kyrgyz government formed by opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva on Thursday, speaking to her by telephone, his spokesman said. There was no immediate word on whether Washington would follow suit.

Obama this week announced a shift in U.S. nuclear doctrine, pledging never to use atomic weapons against non-nuclear states, as he sought to build momentum for an April 12-13 nuclear security summit in Washington.

The U.S. president set out his long-term goal to work toward a world without nuclear weapons in a speech at the same Prague Castle a year ago.

Medvedev said on arrival on Wednesday that the treaty could play a considerable role in shaping disarmament in the future.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama hoped and expected the U.S. Senate would ratify the treaty this year, before mid-term elections may change the composition of the upper house of Congress, controlled by the Democrats.

Message on Iran

Analysts expected Obama to use the signing to build pressure on Tehran, along with the nuclear summit in Washington and a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao next week.

Steven Pifer, an arms control expert at the Brookings Institution, said the pact with Russia would give the U.S. delegation more credibility at the non-proliferation conference.

"If the United States and Russia were to show up with no agreement and between the two of them controlling 95 percent of the weapons, it's pretty easy for the non-nuclear states to say, 'well you're not doing your part, why should we?'," Pifer said.

Obama's new nuclear strategy document broke with former President George W. Bush's threat of nuclear retaliation in the event of a biological or chemical attack.

The assurance applies only to countries in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, so Iran and North Korea would not receive that commitment.

Washington and Moscow have plenty of differences on issues ranging from Iran to missile defense.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow's threat to withdraw from the START II treaty if U.S. plans for missile defense threatened Russia.

Obama has put a priority on trying to "reset" relations with Moscow that hit a post-Cold War low during Russia's 2008 war with Georgia, and the treaty could help that.

The successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty would limit operationally deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, down nearly two-thirds from START I. However, it does not limit shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons.

Later on Thursday, Obama will dine with 11 heads of state from central and Eastern Europe. Czech diplomats said the meeting was designed to reassure former Soviet bloc countries that resetting relations with Russia would not diminish U.S. interests in the region.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/World/5552031-146/obama_and_medvedev_sign_disarmament_treaty.csp

Room 4 will be the best for me (men's room)

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) at the weekend joined a growing chorus of politicians and civil society activists calling for the sack of Maurice Iwu as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The NLC said on Sunday that it will collaborate with the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE) to reinforce its demand by staging a protest against Iwu’s continuous stay and retention as the chairman of INEC at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

‘Iwu must go’

Both bodies say they are mobilising hundreds of Nigerians to join the protest march, which will also seek the total implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the Mohammed Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee.

“Labour is saying that Iwu lacks the integrity to remain in office as INEC chairman.” Abdulahi Danja Yahaya, the vice chairman of the NLC’s Abuja chapter, said.

He said Mr. Iwu could not produce a credible voters register in 2007 neither could he serially number the ballot papers used in the presidential election.

“We have had WAEC (West African Examination Council), and NECO (National Examination Council) registrations in Nigeria and we have not seen any case where a candidate who registered in Yobe have his name appear in Anambra State. So why should it be during electoral process we will be moving voters’ register from one state to another?” Mr. Yahaya asked. “It is because the chairman lacks that integrity, let the head do the proper thing first and let the politicians hijack the boxes.”

‘Stop the lobby’

The group also alleged that the INEC chairperson is lobbying high profile government officials to help retain him in office beyond July. The group also alleged that Mr. Iwu has been renting crowds to sing his praise.

“It is wrong for Iwu who is supposed to be an umpire is lobbying top government officials to retain his job in INEC,” Emma Ezeazu, the general secretary of the ACE, said. “His tenure should not be renewed.”

The second demand of the coalition, as they protest on Wednesday, will be for full implementation of the ‘Uwais report’.

According to the Mr. Ezeazu, both labour and the larger society are not satisfied with the partial implementation of the report so far by both the senate and the House of Representatives.

“Financial autonomy without political independence is not good enough,” he said.

Mr. Ezeazu argued that except the Uwais report is fully implemented, Nigerians cannot be guaranteed free and fair election.

“The issue is the strategic recommendation of the Uwais report that for the independence of INEC, the power of the president to unilaterally appoint the INEC chairman and commissioners should be whittled down by introducing an element of quality control through the NJC (National Judicial Council),” Mr. Ezeazu said. This recommendation was rejected by the Senate.

“We think that electoral reform has been shot in the leg. We hope that the House or Reps will reverse this,” he added.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5546965-147/labour_congress_also_calls_for_iwus.csp

The governor of Osun State still has more than 13 months in office but the race to replace Olagunsoye Oyinlola, come 2011, is gathering pace, especially within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Despite a controversial N3million expression-of-interest form introduced by the party's leadership, partly to thin the number of candidates, there are many who want to run on the PDP's platform.

The party's leadership has struggled to manage the number but recent events have shown that a meaningful compromise is not in sight.

Some members of the party are dissatisfied with the zoning of the party's ticket to one of the state's three senatorial districts, Osun East Senatorial district, and the decision of a large segment of that zone to endorse just one of the nine aspirants from the zone.

Recently, the elders caucus of the PDP in Ijesha, an axis in the Osun East Senatorial district many believe will produce the next governor of the state, announced its endorsement of Gbenga Onigbogi, who is currently a member of the House of Representatives, as the sole aspirant of the party from the area.

The Ijesha zone consists of six local councils and has nine aspirants including Mr. Onigbogi, Toye Wahab, Diran Odeyemi, Lateef Bakare, Tunde Odanye, Remi Olowu, Dosu Fatokun, Femi Alafe-Aluko, and Saka Sarumi.

Aspirants from the Ife zone of the senatorial district are Iyiola Omisore, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Baju Bamigbetan.

While no group in the Ife zone has endorsed any aspirant, the Ijesha Elders caucus, led by former Minister of Transport, Ebenezer Babatope, set up a committee to screen all its aspirants before deciding on Mr. Onigbogi.

Displeased

Mr. Onigbosi's endorsement did not go down well with other aspirants and their followers who are querying the parameters used to select him and the disqualification of other aspirants, who had also paid N3million to be in the race.

A pressure group, the Ijesha Redemption Group, asked the caucus to explain the choice. It also cautioned the leadership of the party against acts that may affect the performance of the party in the 2011 election.

The leader of the group, Gbenga Fowowe, said the endorsement of Mr Onigbogi was against the PDP constitution.

"The process was un-transparent, unfair and marred with bribery and high level corruption," he said. The endorsement is undemocratic and uncivilized."

Mr. Fowowe, who is also a member of the elders caucus, said the party's constitution does not give room for sectional primaries.

"This action is a total negation of the PDP constitution and operational guidelines," he said.

"The selection committee, along with few leaders of the PDP in Ijesha land, failed to realize that their actions can lead to total disintegration of PDP, which may spend doom for the party during the forthcoming general elections.

"They also failed to allow a level play ground for all aspirants before handpicking their anointed and this has led to factionalization of the party in Ijeshaland."

He appealed to the state's governor, Mr. Oyinlola, and the state chairperson of the party, Ademola Razaq, to look into the dispute before it degenerates into a crisis.

"It is very clear that the recent activities of the committee, along with few leaders, are a calculated attempt to plunge the Ijesha PDP into chaos and to frustrate the activities of other serious gubernatorial aspirants in Ife/Ijesha senatorial district of the state."

Mr. Fowowe said the selection process should be made open to all interested candidates.

One aspirant, Femi Alafe-Aluko, said the nine Ijesha aspirants recently met at the Ilesa residence of Mr. Babatope and the issue of endorsing a candidate did not come up at the meeting, which was called at the instance of the elders caucus.

"The governor has assured us that a primary election will be conducted, and he also assured us that the primary election will be free and fair, so the issue of endorsing a candidate is a non-issue which cannot stand at all.

"Ijesha people are responsible people and we know how to put our house in order. So, I know that this issue will not degenerate into crisis," he said.

Another aspirant, Diran Odeyemi, said he was not aware of the endorsement of any aspirant by any group in the state.

"I remain an aspirant, having paid the mandatory N3million for the expression of interest, and I will go ahead to contest the election," Mr Odeyemi said.

Tunde Odanye, also in the race, said the endorsement of Mr. Onigbogi did not gain the backing of most PDP members in the area. He also suggested foul play in the endorsement.

"Onigbogi is an in-law to the chairman, screening committee, of the elders caucus," he said.

Consensus candidate

A party leader, however, said the aspirants might have agreed to comply with the directive of the party leadership to agree on a consensus candidate.

In a letter dated March 6, 2010 addressed to Mr Babatope, six of the aspirants asked the party to give them time to agree on a consensus candidate.

The letter reads, in part: "Pursuant to the meeting of February 27, 2010 held at your residence, all the aspirants in Ijeshaland have held a meeting and resolved that in order to achieve this objective in a transparent manner acceptable to all, the process should not be rushed or stampeded.

"We have also agreed that all the aspirants should go out and mobilize the electorates for the development and electoral success of the party in the state."

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5539910-147/pdp_gubernatorial_aspirants_bicker_over_sole.csp

Aramide Aitejina, a 41-year old man has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Sabo, for allegedly issuing out a dud cheque, worth about N3.5 million.

According to the charge sheath, he was alleged to have committed the offence on December 4, 2009 at Apapa area of Lagos. He was said to have issued the cheque of N3, 415, 500 to Kwakyama Oil and Gas limited.

The sheet further stated that when the cheque, was presented at Oceanic bank, it was dishonoured on the grounds that there is no sufficient fund in the said account.

According to the police prosecution counsel, O Okorie, the defendant was said to have obtained 33, 000 litres of diesel, from the oil company under the false pretence that he had enough funds in his account, which was not true.

When the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Aitejina, however, urged the court to grant him bail on liberal condition, to which the prosecution counsel did not oppose her bail.

Presiding magistrate, Ayodele Isaac granted him bail in the sum of N250, 000 with one surety in like sum.

“Defendant is hereby admitted to bail in the sum of N250, 000 with one surety in like sum, the surety must show evidence of two-year tax payment to the Lagos State government,” he said.

The suit was adjourned to April 22, for hearing.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5551707-147/story.csp

A Qatari diplomat on a United Airlines flight from Washington to Denver caused a security alert after he was apparently caught smoking in the toilet and made a remark that was perceived as a threat.

Qatar's ambassador to Washington called Wednesday's incident a "mistake" said the man was a diplomat traveling on official business. U.S. officials said the man was in custody and the incident did not appear to be serious.

Coming just months after the failed "underwear" bomb attempt on Christmas Day, the scare prompted security officials to scramble two F-16 fighter jets to intercept the Boeing 757 aircraft and escort it to Denver International Airport where it landed at about 9 p.m. EDT.

"It looks like the individual in question was perhaps smoking in the lavatory and might have made an unfortunate remark" when confronted by airline personnel, a U.S. official said.

Qatar's ambassador to Washington, Ali bin Fahad al-Hajri, said the man posed no security threat.

"He certainly wasn't involved in any activities involving a threat. This was a mistake and we request that all parties concerned refrain from making any assumptions or judgments," al-Hajri said in a statement to the Qatar News Agency.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the disturbance and a White House official said actions were taken to ensure travelers' safety.

But passengers aboard United Airlines flight 663 said no struggle took place and the suspect appeared to be speaking calmly to a U.S. air marshal in first class.

"I didn't know anything had happened until we landed," said Tim Burney, a first class passenger sitting one row in front of the man who was handcuffed and taken away for questioning at Denver International Airport.

Burney said he overheard the marshal telling the man "just be honest with me" and the passenger saying something about being "embarrassed."

Security heightened

U.S. officials have been on heightened alert and have ramped up security substantially since Christmas Day last year after a Nigerian man allegedly tried but failed to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb hidden in his underwear. He has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges and is in custody awaiting trial in Detroit.

The first reports of Wednesday's incident led to heightened security at other airports.

ABC News, citing federal law enforcement officials, first reported that air marshals subdued a Qatari man who authorities say tried to "light his shoes on fire" on the flight.

CNN said no explosives were found on board. When asked why he was in the toilet so long, he "said something about lighting his shoe on fire," the network reported. U.S. officials could not confirm that report.

The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement the passenger was now in custody. A total of 157 passengers and six crew members were aboard, according to United Air.

U.S. officials have tracked the December plane incident back to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. This has led Washington to step up efforts to combat the militant group in Yemen.

TSA has increased security since that incident, requiring some passengers to undergo full-body scans at airports.

Just months after hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Richard Reid, a Briton and self-admitted member of al Qaeda, was subdued on an transatlantic flight diverted to Boston after attempting to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes.

Reid pleaded guilty to eight counts related to terrorism and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5552038-146/qatari_diplomat_causes_security_scare_on.csp

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Four days after returning from a medical trip abroad, Cross Rivers State governor, Liyel Imoke, is yet to resume at the office, an indication that his right hand (cast in POP) and four ribs affected in the March 6, 2010 auto crash at the Obudu Ranch Resort, are yet to heal properly.

The governor’s entourage had been on the road for some 17 hours before the accident, as Mr. Imoke inspected projects enroute to the burial of the pioneer state chairman of the PDP in the state, Benedict Ikobi. The governor also attended the wakekeep of two other PDP stalwarts that same night. But Nicholas Odu, the driver who reportedly fell asleep while driving the governor, has been suspended.

The machinery of government in Calabar is still at a snail pace, as no major decision has so far been taken by his deputy, Efiok Cobham, or cabinet members.

But the return of the governor, last Sunday evening, was expected to increase the tempo of activities in government offices, given that many issues are pending on his desk for either approval or study.

Government House sources told NEXT that Mr. Imoke is still being attended to by his personal physician, and is not likely to surface in office until he can make use of his right hand.

When he arrived last Sunday, he could not shake with the right hand as it was resting on a sling fastened to his neck.

Mr. Imoke, accompanied by his wife, Obioma, was received by a large crowd led by Mr. Cobham and wife, Glory, when they alighted from an Arik 5N-JEA aircraft at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport at 5.32 pm.

Other well wishers at the airport included two senators, Bassey Ewa Henshaw and Victor Ndoma-Egba; Paul Ada of the House of Representatives; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Francis Ada, his deputy, Dominic Aqua Edem, and other members of the House.

Mr. Imoke told journalists that the accident was unexpected and that he is not incapacitated, as carried by a section of the media.

“You can see me standing, walking, smiling and doing everything,” he said. “I think it is clear that there were some injuries sustained in the accident, but I think there was some exaggeration in the media about the extent of the injuries. The good thing about Cross River is that we have such a structure that government and governance continues with or without me.”

Agitations for acting governor

There were, however, unconfirmed reports that Mr. Imoke rushed back to the country following agitations in Calabar for an acting governor for the state, given that he had spent three weeks in the US, contrary to the provision of the amended section 164 of the 1999 Constitution, which states that after 14 days of absence, the vice president or deputy governor begins to act automatically.

At the airport reception organised for him, the governor could not walk properly. His steps were slow and his voice was not audible enough. All he did was to touch some of his aides with the left hand, with which he also waved at the crowd.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5551581-147/imoke_yet_to_resume_work_.csp

A network of civil society groups has urged the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke to prosecute a former military president, Ibrahim Babaginda over alleged mismanagement of funds.

The coalition, in a letter addressed to the justice ministry in Abuja, requested that Mr Babaginda be brought to book over mismanagement of funds running into about $12.4 billion earned from the sale of crude oil during the Gulf War in 1991 The group asked the Minister to, “urgently and fully implement the recommendations of the late Pius Okigbo Panel report which indicted the former military leader of corruption and mismanagement of the oil windfall.

The panel was set up in 1994 by the late Sani Abacha, another former head of state, to probe how the $12.4 billion oil windfall earned by Nigeria during the first Gulf War was spent.

The groups said they were concerned about the failure of successive governments to act on the report and the non-adaptation of a White Paper since the report was submitted to the ruling government in 1994, with the last administration of Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly claiming that the report could not be found.

The group, which claims to be in possession of the report, alleged that “the Babangida administration operated ‘a second but undisclosed budget’ with the then Central Bank of Nigeria governor, the Abdulkadir Ahmed, and the operations of these accounts were fraught with irregularities as the proceeds of the sale of the crude were not shown in the revenue side nor were the expenditures reflected in the expenditure side of the budget.” Claiming that corruption is well entrenched in the country, the group said “fighting it requires being ready and able to confront powerful interest groups that clearly benefit from the status quo.” It therefore urged the government not to let the allegations against Mr Babaginda go unverified.

14 days ultimatum

The activists said if nothing was done until the expiration of a two weeks ultimatum, they will “take all appropriate legal actions nationally and internationally to compel you to comply with Nigeria’s voluntary international anti-corruption commitments.” The letter was signed by heads of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP); Access to Justice (AJ); Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Nigeria Liberty Forum, London. Others are Women Advocates and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA); Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR); Partnership for Justice; Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS) and Centre for the Rule of Law On-line campaign.

The group also said it will “mobilise Nigerians through online campaign tools such as Facebook, You Tube, MySpace, and other platforms to ensure that sufficient pressure is mounted on the government to implement the long-standing recommendations of the Okigbo report.” It also threatened an online campaign on the social networking media, Twitter against the much rumoured candidacy of Mr Babaginda ahead of the next general elections.


Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5551709-147/activists_want_babangida_prosecuted_over_oil.csp

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP}, Ogun State Chapter yesterday issued a warning to the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu urging him to keep off from the state and its environs in the interest of peace in the South-West.

The party gave the warning through its Elders Consultative Forum in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting, held at the home of the Chairman, Okanlawon Soboyejo.

Reading out the communiqué to journalists, Mr. Soboyejo said the resolution to ban Mr. Tinubu from visiting the state was reached after the meeting deliberated on his {Tinubu} utterances during the recent burial of late politician, Dipo Dina in Ijebu-Ode.

The PDP boss said he recalled that at the burial, Mr Tinubu was quoted to have publicly said that Ogun State would soon be liberated, a statement the forum ‘considered as misguided utterances and least expected from him.’ Intolerable comments

The communiqué of the PDP elders, which was read by, the forum’s secretary, Yomi Akinwonmi, said ‘the council frowned at the public statement made by Bola Tinubu in which he said Ogun State will soon be liberated.

“To the council, this misguided utterances is least expected from a former governor of a state in enlightened South-West region of Nigeria.” The party leaders said they would not tolerate such statements.

“The council therefore warned that Bola Tinubu should henceforth confine his thuggery tendencies to Lagos State as future occurrence of such unprogressive act will be repelled,” the PDP said.

The forum also said it passed a vote of confidence on the Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, whom they said has done well for the state. “His foray into the political landscape of Ogun State has presented many unprecedented successes,” the group said.

Mr Dina, a former governorship candidate of the Action Congress in Ogun State was murdered last month in circumstances that are still unclear. Mr Tinubu is a national leader of the Action Congress.

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/Politicz/5534851-147/party_leaders_ban_tinubu_from_ogun.csp

New ministers were yesterday drilled by the Head of Service, Steven Oronsanye, who led them through the various processes of governance, including the basic laws of public procurements, due process and the rule of law.

He warned them against violating laid down procedures in order to avoid the acting president’s sanctions. Mr Oronsanye also urged them to work together to end the perception that ministers and their ministers of state love a quarrel.

He spoke at the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation - the 14th held this year - which was presided over by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. This first meeting of the new council started at 10.15 and ran for over four hours and Mr Oronsanye was invited to speak during the briefings.

The head of service said the orientation exercise was necessary to prepare the ministers for the task ahead, and to ensure that they know what is needed in the discharge of their ministerial responsibilities.

“What we did today was simply to bring the rules and regulations on the table. There are sanctions already prescribed for those who do not comply with the rules and regulations and it is not just for ministers, but also for permanent secretaries, for civil servants and for all of us,” he said.

Geopolitical allocations

On the allocation of the same ministerial portfolios to ministers from the same zone,

Mr Oronsanye said the practice does not violate any convention or procedure.

“There is nothing in writing which says that because we are from the same zone or state we cannot man the same ministry, but as much as practically possible, we try not to put people from the same zone or state together,” he said. “But, the time has come when we should also have confidence in ourselves, when we believe that we are from the same state, we should be able to live above board.

What is important is to have the courage to do what is right: that is, if somebody has erred, for you to make a formal report instead of covering and where you do not make a formal report then such wrong will remain covered.”

Power struggles

Dora Akunyili who heads the ministry of information said the issue of power struggle between ministers was exhaustively addressed. “The relationship between ministers and ministers of state came up during the discussion because it is a very important factor in ensuring that we work amicably to ensure that we deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of this country but I want us to remember that this problem actually depends on individuals.

“They are not created, per se, by the job; they are created by the individual and, as such, when the individuals decide to work with one another as a family, knowing that you are working for the same people, the same government, the same country, friction shouldn’t really arise. So we believe that this time around, those differences that were noticed would be sorted out since we have started the discussions today. In the future we are going to come up with more details.”

Mrs. Akunyili pleaded with the press to support her and her new counterpart, Labaran Maku, a journalist and former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, who is now the minister of state for information.


Link :

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5551682-146/head_of_service_drills_ministers_.csp

Business managers and very successful people know that it is difficult to manage success than failure. When you strive to get to the top, you just have to work extra hard to remain on top. When people who do not know this fact get to the top they relax, they begin to celebrate, they see themselves as special people directly connected to God, they think they are the best God ever created, they reject advice, they treat people with scorn, arrogance takes the centre stage as they assume they know it all and see it all. When success is abused, failure stares us in the face.

Few years back, January 18 2003 to be precise, the SUN newspapers Ltd managed to sneak into the already saturated print media industry that has witnessed heavy casualties in recent times. How the progenitors of this powerful newspaper managed to achieve the feat has remained a surprise to me. But it is not unconnected with the wonderful hands of the three musketeers in the industry: Dimgba Igwe, Mike Awoyinfa, Femi Adesina. These three giants brought in their wealth of experience you cannot buy with money from defunct Weekend Concord in the Concord stable. Former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu saw the proposal of these men and bought into it and the SUN newspaper was born. Since June 16 2003 when this great newspaper went daily, it has not looked back. SUN has become the darling of all. The unique style of reporting, the kind of stories the paper carry, the beautiful prose, the language, the presentation, the imposing headlines, the crime reports and its crops of wonderful writers appealed to Nigerians and they accepted the SUN hook, line and sinker. Looking back in the past seven years, I think the management of the SUN newspaper has done very well for themselves and has achieved what others could not achieve. I praise them for this, I salute their courage and I doff my hat for this great feat.

However, I am sad today. Sad in the sense that the SUN is going down the drain. Sad that a paper that was founded and pieced together by committed men and women with former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu as financier is losing focus. Sad that the people’s paper is derailing and moving out of track. I am shedding hot tears that a successful paper founded by somebody from the Eastern part of Nigeria is on its way to the Golgotha. Why am I saying all this? In the past few weeks, the SUN newspaper has been positioning IBB for President on the front page of the people’s paper without remorse, without considering the feelings of its teeming readers, and without reflecting on the past histories of Nigeria. Yesterday, it was IBB considers joining the race for 2011, today it is IBB eyes the Presidency, tomorrow it will be IBB should return. This is absolute nonsense, silly, foolish and totally irresponsible.

When the federal troops threw bombs in Aba market during the civil war, Biafra recorded a lot of casualties. The then Head of State Biafra, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu went the scene to see things for himself. On seeing the number of casualties, he cried out in Igbo language, Anyi o foro one? (How many of are remaining?) If out of stupidity political irresponsibility, mediocrity and lack of foresight, the SUN goes down today, how many of such national newspapers owned by people from Igboland are remaining?.

If the SUN newspaper is positioning IBB for Presidency in 2011, I want to advise that they are trying to sell a fake product. If it is attempt to whitewash the failed General and politician in readiness for 2011, I want to advise that this is an exercise in futility. IBB failed in 2003, failed again in 2007 and I tell you, he will fail again in 2011. My only regret is that some people and institutions, like the SUN will go down with him this time. Impunity has eaten deep into the fabric of our society, our culture, our psyche, our thinking and I think this is dangerous. What this country has been suffering in the past 17 years since 1993 were the pains inflicted by IBB and his cohorts and they think we are foolish people. No, they are the ones that are foolish. Some writers wanted to write IBB back to power in 2003 and 2007 but we stopped them and now they are back again and they will fail. One school of thought has suggested that IBB should go into the business of wrecking cars if he is looking for what to do, because anything he touched during his nine years in office turned to ashes. He came in 1985, saw and destroyed Nigeria. If in 2011 we are still asking for the likes of IBB even after the disaster called OBJ, I think ours should be a hopelessly retarded country that is totally irredeemable. If actions carry consequences, those who created yesterday’s pains do not control tomorrow’s potentials.

Link:

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5739-sun-newspapers-begins-the-journey-to-the-golgotha.html