PRESIDENT BUHARI'S IMMUNITY IS INFERIOR TO THAT OF THE NIGERIAN JUDGE!

Although the solid foundation for the total eradication of corruption from the Nigerian polity has been laid by the present APC Administration through the option of a TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (TSA), and other strict economic policies which make it totally impossible for any pilferer, no matter how deft, to steal a kobo from the dedicated account without being detected, judges of THE JUDICIARY, which is acclaimed as "last hope of the common man", can collect bribes, falsify documents and retire to enjoy their loots unchallenged!

Is it not very glaring that the present "immunity status" of judges was cleverly inserted as a bargain by some of the judicial officers who drafted and crafted the bogus 1999 Document to suit the whims and caprices of the Military? They had to immunize themselves from prosecutions over crimes and criminalities blatantly committed at the BENCH! Or, how do you explain that law enforcement agents cannot arrest any JUDGE over any allegation of crime without first seeking permission from the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC), which members, eminent jurists, who unless, convinced that such judges actually erred, would grant permission for his arrest and subsequent prosecution before other judges who, after some judicial rigmarole, would eventually set them free! The African adage says “an empty mouth does not make CRUNCHY NOISE"

For the PRESIDENT, Chapter VIII, Part II, Section 308 (1) (3), of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution 1999, as amended stipulates that he shall be immune from criminal prosecution while in office. However CIVIL litigation could be instituted against him according to 308 (2)! The Vice President, Governors and their deputies also enjoy same immunity!

But for the JUDICIARY, the 1999 Constitution in the THIRD SCHEDULE Part I, Section 21 (a) - (i), recognise the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC), as the only body, responsible to RECOMMEND to the President, the removal from office of Judges and to EXCERCISE disciplinary control over such officers from office (often without prosecution); therefore every complaint against them MUST first be reported to the body for necessary action and sanctions?

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, of the Supreme Court, was one of the SEVEN Judges whose homes were raided by the DSS, in a "Sting Operation", on 8th/9th October, 2016, and was eventually arraigned for prosecution on a 13- count charge of money laundering and passport fraud by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation until his recent discharge and acquittal in March, 2018, by a member of the revered fraternity!
Justice John Tosho, of an Abuja High Court, ruled that, "the pre-condition for instituting charges against a judicial officer were not met before Justice Ngwuta was brought to court, because a serving judge could not be investigated or prosecuted without being first disciplined by the National Judicial Council according to the provision of section 158, sub-section I and paragraph 21 ( of the third schedule of the Constitution!


When, for the very first time the Department for State Services (DSS), of the Federal Government of Nigeria executed a successful STING OPERATION on suspected corrupt serving Judges across the nation, on 8/9th October, 2016, political pundits predicted that nothing meaningful nor positive would come out of the exercise - which was blamed on the EXECUTIVE - because they believed that the SPIRIT OF BROTHERLY FRATERNITY WITHIN THE JUDICIARY WOULD PREVAIL TO SET FREE THE ACCUSSED PERSONS - AND THEY WERE RIGHT!

Eight months after that operation, described as unheard of, unprecedented and unlawful by detractors of the WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION, even though they are aware that Judges were not above the LAW, one of the accused persons, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, (now retired), was DISCHARGED AND ACQUITTED by his fraternal colleague, on the BENCH, just like Justice Ngwata, following a "NO CASE SUBMISSION" by the defence counsel and was set free to go home to "enjoy the sweat of his labours and RESUME AT HIS DESK for business as usual!" He was among the SEVEN Justices investigated on after that STING OPERATION carried out by the DSS on 8/9th October, 2016.He and his wife Olabowale and Mr. Joe Agi, SAN, were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), prosecutors on an 18- count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy to receive gratification in various ways contrary to Section 8( 1)(a) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and items recovered from his home included the following: Large sums of money in foreign currencies; $121.279 US Dollars, 400 Euros, 110 Indian Rupees, £80 pounds sterling totalling several millions of naira and also TWO PUMP ACTION RIFLES! During his trial at the Law Court, evidences were adduced that the Judge transferred N175 million in TWO TRANCHES in N90 million and N85 million respectively to a property company through a Nigerian Bank and was also admitted in evidence that a litigant standing trial before the Judge bought a car worth over N7 million naira for Mr. Ademola junior!

That was not all, while the fate of ONE female Judge who was also on trial – Justice Ajumogobia, was yet to be decided, SIX Judges, who were about to be formally charged, were SUDDENLY RECALLED AND ASSIGNED TO DUTY POSTS BY THE NIGERIA JUDICIAL COUNCIL (NJC), who, arbitrarily decided that EFCC failed to file charges against them, months after their arrest and suspension. They were, Sylvester Ngwuta, Inyang Okoro, both of the Supreme Court; the suspended Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya; Justice Kabiru Auta, of the Kano State High Court; the sacked Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I.A. Umezulike; and Muazu Pindiga, of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division; were also arrested during that DSS Sting Operation!


Patriotic Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora shouted FOUL at the NJC'S DIRTY MOVE and wondered why EFCC would not APPEAL Justice Ademola's acquittal and also PRESS CHARGES against the SIX JUDGES, recently recalled by NJC. But we have it on record that EFCC appealed against the acquittal of the Justice and also formally charged TWO of the recalled Judges to court on 8th June, 2017, for offences bothering on UNLAWFUL ENRICHMENT, CORRUPTION AND ATTEMPT TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE.
However, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen has made it clear that the RULE OF LAW should be meticulously pursued in every arbitration resolution at the LAW COURTS because citizens and corporate organisations have the RIGHT OF APPEAL if dissatisfied with the outcome of any litigation.


THE NEW ORDER IN RESPECT OF SPECIAL COURTS!
Prior to this timely move by this Reformist Chief Justice, there had been concerted efforts and clamour by patriotic, decent, upright, and righteous Nigerians, including, very sincere pressure groups, Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations who strongly believed that the well-calculated and well- intentioned strategies by the Buhari's Administration to destroy the endemic institutional corruption of several years could actually succeed if SPECIAL COURTS/TRIBUNALS were assigned to handle corruption cases!

During a special court session of the Supreme Court held to mark the opening of the 2017/2018 legal year, on Monday, 25th September, 2017, Justice Onnoghen who directed all Heads of Courts in the country to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC), comprehensive lists of all crime cases being handled by their various courts, also noted that "inexplicable and seemingly intractable delays, and disruption of due process", had been the bane of CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION in Nigeria. In addition, he said that the NJC at its next meeting, would constitute an Anti-Corruption Cases Trial Monitoring Committee that would continually monitor the progress of high-profile criminal cases adding that Judges must not lose sight of the Judiciary's fight against corruption which continued to place this noble institution in the "eye of the storm" and must not deter its resolve to ensure victory! DO YOU BELIEVE?

TWO MONTHS before the "sting operation", President Buhari, in a petition to the Judiciary (July, 2016), reminded the learned benchers that they should be in the fore-front of efforts to develop right-based jurisprudence as an element in the multi-disciplinary approach advocated in the fight against corruption by enforcing applicable laws to avoid delay in ensuring criminal justice administration because corruption cases filled by government were not progressing as they should! He also complained that in spite of the Criminal Justice Act of 2015, the courts allowed some lawyers to frustrate the Reforms introduced by law and called for a change of attitude for a collective action in building a new Nigeria in the face of dwindling revenue by tackling two ILLS - Waste and Corruption simultaneously! "To this end the Judiciary is under a duty to keep its house in order and ensure that the public which it serves sees this," he added. IS THE PRESIDENT AWARE THAT A JUDGE'S IMMUNITY WHICH IS SUPERIOR TO HIS IS THE HEIGHT OF CORRUPTION IN THE LAND?

The Presidential counsel could not have impact in respect of the RULE OF LAW or CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM because of that DEFECTIVE 1999 Constitution; and whereas judicial powers of the Nigerian State, both at the Federal and State levels, are vested in the JUDICATURE, which consist of the superior courts of record, established for the Federation, according to Section 6, subsection (5) (a) to (i) of the 1999 Constitution which empowers the CORRUPT to judge the INNOCENT! THIS ILLEGAL IMMUNITY OF JUDGES FROM CRIMINAL PROSECUTION IS AN ABBERATION TO DEMOCRACY, A TERRIBLE DIS-SERVIVE TO THE DOWNTRODDEN, AN ABSURDITY TO MODERN CONSTITUTION IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA, A ROBBERY OF OUR COMMON SENSIBILITIES, AND THE WORST FORM OF CORRUPTION WHICH PRESIDENT BUHARI AND ALL PATRIOTS ARE DETERMINED TO CRUSH AT ALL COST! WHO SAYS THAT NIGERIA DOES NOT NEED A BRAND NEW CONSTITUTION NOW, NOW, NOW? “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.’’(Proverbs 29:2).



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Blackfire:
What is this one saying..

Dear friend (Blackfire), make an effort to read before commenting.

DOES THE HOOD MAKE THE MONK? [THE NIGERIAN YOUTH: 1960-2018].


When Microsoft inventor and Philanthropist Bill Gates, came visiting Nigeria in March 2018, at the invitation of Africa's richest man and business mogul, Aliko Dangote, he emphasised the urgent need for the nation to critically re-engineer its Human Capital Architecture in order to achieve economic viability by the year 2020 and also completely eradicate Poverty before the set time for the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).

The two personalities from Europe and Africa, just like FACEBOOK inventor Mark Zuckerberg, an outstanding global achiever and NAIRALAND founder, Nigeria's 'Seun Osewa, whose site records more than One Million views daily among the top 1,000 sites in the world, should serve as role models for the serious-minded and patriotic Nigerian Youths, because they did not allow initial educational challenges to stop their ambitions to get to the top! While Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to pursue their interest while 'Seun Osewa, dropped out of University of Ife, from an Electrical Engineering Course in 1998, at a tender age to make success of Nairaland!

There are TWO - albeit - THREE groups of Nigerian Youths:
(1). Patriotic and determined youths, who believe in acquiring good education in order to give back to the society;
(2). Those who have flair for vocational/professional engagements theatre arts, acting, drumming, fashion designing, tourism, welding, motor/tri-cycle repairs, drivers, builders, traders, including land cultivation/animal husbandry - which have now engaged prominent national attention;
(3). Youths with poor academic assimilation who believe in SHORT CUTS AND "FREEBIES", who were always available as evil tools/pawns in the hands of dubious Nigerian politicians or fake Religious leaders!
These last set are the rabble-rousers, who have lost hope of any form of positive achievements in any business endeavour - these, who are classified colloquially as; "LOW LIFES", are those that are bent on truncating the nascent democracy which the present APC Administration is building for the TALAKAWAS!
They have neither respect for God, the LAW, nor for lawful authorities, parents or elders, not even the Executive President and Commander-in-Chief, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

NIGERIAN YOUTHS PASSIONATELY HATE THE TRUTH!
Since Wednesday, 18th April, 2018, several Nigerian Youths (between 18-60 years), had thrown caution to the wind to vet tirades of anger and venom against the FATHER OF THE NATION, President Muhammadu Buhari, through several derogatory, abusive, insulting and libellous comments, statements/articles on the internet social media and all tabloids across the globe, in a manner as had never been witnessed before, because he said, "MOST NIGERIAN YOUTHS WANT EVERYTHING FREE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING."

Reports have it that the President, in a keynote address on "Making Business Easier Between Commonwealth Countries" also said, during the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster, London, that those youths preferred to do nothing because they felt that Nigeria was an oil-rich nation, adding, " We have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million. This is a very conservative one. More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil-producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, and education free."

Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Mr. 'Femi Adesina, who was present at the forum said the President never described ALL Nigerian Youths as lazy. According to him, the President said, "A LOT OF NIGERIAN YOUTHS ARE LAZY AND NOT ALL YOUTHS", during a discussion/question/answer session at the said forum. The presidential aide attributed the imbroglio to manipulators and twisters whose stock in trade was to lie in wait to make mischief. He said that elementary English recognizes a wide gulf between "a lot of" and the word "all", and he queried, how can "a lot of them" suddenly transmogrify to mean "all of them?" Mischievous and unconscionable! He also said that the focal areas of the administration; securing the country, reviving the economy and fighting corruption were actually intended to give youths a future and a hope!

But in a swift reaction, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, convener of the "Bring Back Our Girls" #BBOG, described 'Femi Adesina's defence as sheer "semantic obscurantism", as her father would have described it, adding that it "would have made sense to sincerely apologize on this legendary misspeak of our President.@MBuhari than to rush out with these acrobatics of "A Lot of is Not Equal to All".”When shall his media team learn? Been almost four years. I mean, FOUR YEARS. Haba", she concluded!

IS PRESIDENT BUHARI'S ADMINISTRATION, "ALMOST FOUR YEARS" OR "FOUR YEARS Haba"? HOW WILL OBY'S FATHER DESCRIBE THIS MISSPEAK OF HER DAUGHTER? PERHAPS, "SEMANTIC CONFUSIONISM"?

OUR EDITORIAL COMMENT: This will be the umpteenth time that we will be writing on our ebullient and boisterous Nigerian Youths! In some past editions i.e., Vol. 3... No. 80, of 22nd February, 2015, "AGONY OF THE NIGERIAN YOUTH [1999-2015]; Vol. 4. NO. 118, 15th November, 2015, "MUST NIGERIAN YOUTHS BE DRAGGED INTO THE TRAUMA OF VICIOUS DECEITS AGAIN AND AGAIN BY PDP"? And VOL. 7. NO. 237, 25th February, 2018, NIGERIAN YOUTHS ARE NOW BACKED BY LAW TO CHOP "GOVERNMENT MONEY", we had graphically charted the cultural, traditional and spiritual traits/mien of the NIGERIAN YOUTH vis-a-vis his/her relationship to their immediate environment and perception of world-view as offsprings of a THIRD WORLD DEVELOPING AFRICAN NATION and have come to the unsavoury conclusion that the slow pace of education/civilization was responsible for the serious set-backs which they now grapple with in a fast-growing global village of high-speed Information/Space Rocket Technology!

IN THE BEGINNING OF PRO-CREATION: When the GOD OF CREATION, assessed the failure of the full-grown ADAM (Genesis. 2:7; compare 3:6), He sent him and his wife out of the Garden of Eden to begin the process of pro-creation, according to His blessings upon mankind in Gen.1:26-30, having equipped him with the art of sense of duty and hard work. (Gen. 2:15-17). Children are God's heritage and they are to fill and replenish the Earth. The New Testament talks about the call to duty and how LAZY PEOPLE WHO REFUSED TO WORK, SHOULD NOT EAT! (2 Thessalonians. 3:10-11).

The first offspring’s - Cain and Abel - were into Agriculture and Animal Husbandry while their descendants diversified into, Hunting, Brazier (worker in brass), Brick maker, Builder, Foundry, Aquaculture etc, as the world progressed into the Dispensation of Human Government.
God did not give room for any form of laziness! The TRUTH must be told that there is plenty of room at the TOP but every aspirant must passionately desire to pursue his/her course diligently with dedication, consistency, persistency, devotion and resilience before SUCCESS could be guaranteed! Must we lose sight that all Nigerian leaders (past or present), started off as YOUTHS before they acquired those positions in life! More importantly, Nigerian Youths should understand that there is no short-cut to success except through dint of hard work! DOES ANY NIGERIAN LAW STOP ANY NIGERIAN YOUTH FROM CULTIVATING THE LAND LIKE ADAM? SHOULD THEY OPT FOR THE PRESIDENCY AND OTHER TOP POLITICAL JOBS WITH THEIR MILK TEETH BECAUSE THERE IS MUCH ILLEGAL LOOTING OF THE TREASURY AMONG UNPATRIOTIC POLITICIANS?

APC WILL NOT STOP DETERMINED NIGERIAN YOUTHS FROM SUCCESS! Outside of the concerted efforts by the APC Governments at Federal and State levels in almost THREE YEARS, to fight insurgency, ensure security and eradicate endemic institutional corruption, utmost priority was placed on improving on YOUTH EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
More than 50% of the children of school age who were roaming the streets have been absorbed into the educational mainstream, over one million of the university graduates, have been gainfully employed through the N-POWER PROGRAMME, (at the Federal level alone), while millions of able-bodied youths are working at all the resuscitated textile factories, manufacturing industries, Ajaokuta Steel Industry, several construction firms, the oil and gas sector - where SHELL will soon upgrade the stakes through an investment of USD $ 15 billion dollars - that would create more employment opportunities that would gradually eradicate poverty from the polity!


PRESIDENT BUHARI’S COMMENT IS A WAKE-UP CALL FOR LAZY YOUTHS ACROSS THE NIGERIAN NATION!
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to ALL people." (Proverbs.14:34). Lazy able-bodied/employable youths believe in SHORT CUTS to the top or to making illegal money, having wasted good opportunities to acquire education or vocations while growing up. Check the following list below and come to your own conclusions!
WHO ARE THE UNPATRIOTIC CITIZENS INVOLVED IN: CYBER CRIME, POLITICAL THUGGERY, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, INSURGENCY, TERRORISM, PASTORAL/FARMERS CLASHES, HERDSMEN KILLER GROUPS, MILITANCY/BRIGANDAGE, ORGANISED MILITIA GROUPS, NIGER-DELTA MILITANTS, O'DUA MILITANT GROUPS, ISLAMIC BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS, DISORDERLY SHI'ITE MUSLIMS RELIGIOUS FANATICS, DANGEROUS DRUG PEDDLERS/USERS, SMALL ARMS/AMMUNITION PROLIFERATORS AND USERS, SMUGGLERS OF CONTRABAND GOODS, MONEY LAUNDERERS, BANK FRAUDS/CURRENCY COUTERFEITERS CERTIFICATE FORGERS/EXAM MALPRACTICES EXPERTS; ETC. THEY ARE THE NIGERIAN YOUTHS OF 1960-2018 OFCOURSE!!!
"Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." ( Proverbs.29:18).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Solidkay:
Wake up,
stop daydreaming.

Dear friend, please read before commenting.

"BY THIS TIME TOMORROW .......... NIGERIA WILL BE UTOPIA!"

Successful global democracies were not founded on bed of roses! Visions were conceptualized with ideas to conceive well-planned expeditions which were executed by determined/dedicated people who believed in exploring new frontiers to spread civilization for better living conditions.
To achieve their quests, they had to face serious challenges ranging from security, to health, weather/climate, environmental changes, hostilities/wars with indigenes of new found lands or settlements etc.

History is replete with stories of the dangerous exploration/expedition experiences of the founding fathers of the various exisisting continental countries without which, many of today's inhabited places of renown would been expansive habitations of WILD LIFE! The United States of America (USA), and the United States of Nigeria (USN), are TWO global countries that stand out with distinctive similarities for our case study on how determined people were able to change the course of history through divine inspiration which empowers Man to possess, subdue, and have dominion over the Earth, and also to be fruitful, flourish, multiply etc. but not without challenges!

AMERICA AND NIGERIA WERE FORMER BRITISH COLONIES!

The Nigerian and the American history cannot be narrated without giving immense credit to the FOUNDING FATHERS; like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro; George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and the others, whose determination to change "servants to masters, and slaves to lords" and whose persistency and consistency to either negotiate or to go to WAR with their COLONIAL TASK MASTERS; and also their tenacity of purpose to achieve the seemingly impossible, gave them outstanding qualities beyond their contemporaries of the 18th and 19th Centuries respectively!

History revealed that one 15th-Century Italian adventurer, Christopher Columbus, discovered America while he was in fact trying to find a westward sea passage to the Orient but landed in the New World, just like the Scottish Explorer of West Africa, Mungo Park, who set out to discover the true central portion of the River Niger in 1795 but eventually died at the BUSSA FALLS in an attempt to reach the source of the river! Long before Mungo Park, Columbus, arrival in 1492 started the European colonization of the Americas with settlements spanning a period between 1600 and the 1770s when thirteen British colonies of about 2.5 million population eventually came into existence, but subsequently had to fight a CIVIL WAR to severe relations from Britain by declaring Independence on 4th July, 1776, while Nigeria now with 36 States, had its share of a civil war, shortly after independence in 1960!

BECAUSE INDEGENES had weird dispositions to European adventurers, the colonialists had rough times to possess their lands but they always succeeded to fulfil their ambitions of establishing new settlements and to extend CIVILIZATION to remote areas of the world which would have remained DARK CONTINENTS, had they not pursued their intuition!
America in 242 years of its independence as a united country (4th July,1776 - 4th, July, 2018), can boast of strong /iron-cast institutions that run the social contract with the people and determine their limitations ACCORDING TO THE LAW - a condition which is akin to the new drive by Nigeria, which is determined at 58 years to borrow a leaf from this accomplished world power by following suit to also ensure the establishment of VERY STRONG AND RELIABLE INSTITUTIONS, instead of strong personalities that would naturally fade off!
Whatever the American Law states remains an established command that must be obeyed by all citizens - including the President, who is regarded and acknowledged as the most powerful in the world. That was why President Donald Trump could not "bulldoze" the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), into submission, in the cover-up attempt by the Executive to sweep the alleged Russian Government involvement in the hacking of Mrs. Hillary Clinton's website to favour the incumbent president in winning the 2016 US Presidential Elections!

Nigeria is much more determined to even do better than the US - under this divine dispensation of God - headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who, at the invitation of Donald Trump, visited the Oval Office, to consolidate a new and fresh US-NIGERIAN relationship, through various bi-lateral discussions, negotiations and agreements favourable to both countries in commerce, industry, manufacturing, agriculture, power/energy and most importantly, supply of war armaments of the TWELVE TUCANO FIGHTER JETS - procured at a sum of USD $ 496 million dollars - thus reversing earlier ban on supply of military weapons and hardwares to the country by the Obama Administration!


THUMBS UP FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ON THIS ONE! BRAVO!

With this new support by the most-powerful nation in the world, Nigeria, under the watch of President Buhari, will definitely push harder to end the recalcitrant Boko Haram terrorism once and for all and also bring to book all corrupt Nigerian politicians who believe they are "UNTOUCHABLE", recover all looted funds, and ensure that all of them are sent to rot in prison according to the LAW - as it obtains in the United States - Nigeria's formidable ALLY! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT DONALD TRUMP WOULD MAKE A U-TURN TO FAVOUR NIGERIA IF IT WERE NOT FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION!


DETRACTORS OF NIGERIA WILL COLLAPSE IN THE TWINKLE OF AN EYE!

Detractors have predicted that the Nigeria of their imagination would not survive the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and re-invention of the economy, and the pursuit of safety and security measures of government for its citizens, and have therefore formed a new COALITION comprising of SOUTH WEST, SOUTH EAST AND THE MIDDLE BELT DO-GODDERS which has begun fresh campaign of CALUMNY by spreading prophecies of DOOM THAT THEIR CONCEIVED NIGERIA WAS ON THE PRECIPICE OF COLLAPSE AND BREAK UP - without proffering one credible solution to end the incessant killings by armed herdsmen, who have turned out to be the MONSTERS they created while in government, just as the BOKO HARAM!

We prophesy that Nigeria will be divinely-secured and bask in the euphoria of a bubbling economy! IS THERE ANYTHING TOO DIFFICULT FOR OUR GOD TO DO? THESE EVIL TIMES WILL PASS AWAY ACCORDING TO THE ORACLE OF GOD IN ZION - AND "BY THIS TIME TOMORROW, THIS NATION WILL BE UTOPIA"! The criminals will repent and surrender to lawful authorities and PEACE will prevail from North to South and East to West!
UTOPIA is a condition of absolute perfection! A state of completeness where thoughts, motives, intuition, drive etc, unite to exhibit a righteous administration where none is molested, rejected, insulted or sidelined in social, political, or economic affairs of the STATE and where all activities are righteous according to the LAW and oversighted by men and women of integrity, probity, and impeccable antecedents!
Utopia is a state where, LOVE, TRUTH, FAITHFULNESS, SINCERITY AND RULE OF LAW PREVAIL!
Utopia is a classic country where only the GUILTY are sent to the GUILLOTINE and the RIGHTEOUS are vindicated, recognized and rewarded to encourage good people to participate in governance! It is a society of LOVE - crime-free, corruption-free, hate-free, tribalism-free, nepotism-free, and without religious bigotry etc.
Utopia is a place of PEACE, TRANQUILITY, SERENITY, BLISS, JOY AND HAPPINESS! To the uncouth, the doubter and the unbeliever, this could be just a dream adventure, but it would happen TOMORROW and Nigeria will be the "NUMERO UNO", THE CYNOSURE OF ALL EYES - THE NUMBER ONE NATION, THE COMMERCIAL, ECONOMIC AND INVESTMENT DESTINATION IN AFRICA, HIGHLY RATED FOR TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNANCE, DEVOID OF HUMAN RIGHT ABUSES AND HIGHLY-ESTEEMED FOR COMPLIANCE TO ALL INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND CONVENTIONS!

PROPHET ELISHA'S PROPHECY WILL COME TO PASS IN NIGERIA!

During the OT Bible times in the nation of Israel just as in today's Nigeria there were several churches, mosques and many worship centres. There were also many "men of God", prophets, pastors, imams, marabouts etc. - genuine and fake! But there was one anointed and highly-revered Man of God called, Prophet Elisha, who carried DOUBLE ANNOINTING OF HIS MENTOR, PROPHET ELIJAH (THE FIRE PROPHET), WHOSE GENUINE PROPHECIES AND MIRACLES WERE UNPRECEDENTED IN ISRAEL AND WHOSE PROPHECY OF TERMINATION OF FAMINE AND DIVINE RELEASE OF ABUNDANCE IS ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED IN NIGERIA TOMORROW!

When the nation of Israel suffered an unprecedented hunger through a SEIGE by the Syrian King and his army, total food scarcity across the nation precipitated CANIBALISM as citizens BOILED THEIR CHILDREN FOR MEALS! But the Prophet Elisha, pronounced these word of prophecy quoted as follows: "TOMORROW ABOUT THIS TIME, SHALL A MEASURE OF FLOUR BE SOLD FOR A SHEKEL, AND TWO MEASURES OF BARLEY FOR A SHEKEL, IN THE GATE OF SAMARIA!" (Please read 2 Kings. 7 - 1- 19).

The prophecy came to pass! Those who believed enjoyed the abundance while, “a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.....fell and died according to the word of Prophet Elisha, for he was trodden upon by the surging crowd"


WARNING FOR DESPISERS OF THE WORD GOD!

Henceforth, GOD will not spare the enemies of Nigeria who do not believe in DIVINE INTERVENTION in the affairs of men! What befell the doubter of the Word of God in the above narrative would definitely be their portion! “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’’ (1Sam 15:22b)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

STATE POLICE MUST BE QUICKLY ACTUALIZED TO STOP INCESSANT KILLINGS IN NIGERIA!

Virtually all well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians (including members of the opposition parties), welcomed and embraced APC's January, 2018, recommendation for the establishment, engagement and training of able-bodied citizens for STATE POLICING in the areas of crime-fighting, crime-control, criminal investigation, prosecution, etc, which was mooted among others, and geared towards the actualization of several RESTRUCTURING CONCEPTS of the Nigerian nation, which trended for most part of 2017!
Before Thursday 25th January, 2018, several political groups/associations, Civil Society Organisations (CSO's), and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's), traditional rulers, religious bodies, the intelligentsia, etc, inundated the tabloids and the social media with all manner of their versions and best “blue-prints" of how the diverse nation of 36 States could be restructured to allow for everlasting peace, which would be devoid of rancour and instability.

There were suggestions for the merger of the existing geo-political zones to form Regional blocs in line with post-independent Regions of the North, East and West, before the creation of the Mid-West Region, comprising of Edo and the present Delta State.
Some suggested that federating States could opt for voluntary mergers involving three or more States, for economic cohesion, enhanced security arrangement, robust internally generated revenue structure and a comprehensive administrative net-work!

GAINS OF STATE POLICING ARE INNUMERABLE!

These APC's recommendations in respect of establishment of State Police, Resource Control, Devolution of Power, etc, which had constituted contentious arguments since the advent of the new democratic dispensation in 1999, should not remain in the cooler or pipeline at all! It was high time they were collapsed into Executive Bills, sent to the National Assembly (NASS), for quick legislative intervention - because they should be prioritized to douse the current spate of unprovoked bestial killings of innocent citizens in the remote areas of the North East States and the Middle Belt!

It is common knowledge that Nigeria's security forces comprising of the Armed Forces, Police and other paramilitary agencies have been seriously overstretched - especially in the last nine years of the insurgency perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorists. For instance, the strength of the Armed Forces is about 170.000, while that of the Police and para- military agencies is about 370.000 and 250.000 officers and men. The Internal Security (IS), Operations of the military have become commonplace and soldiers have become household name because, the Police has failed to contain internal security challenges, which are their primary occupation of assignment - especially when the herdsmen/farmers clashes have taken national dimension and soldiers are deployed to virtually all States of the federation to quell one upheaval or another!

There could be no better time than now for State Police to take off because indigenous officers and men of the various STATES would be in better position to assess security situations, better knowledge of the topography, the terrain no matter how difficult, identification of infiltrators and enemies would be easier to identify, prevention of crimes and criminalities, investigations of security reports would be easier to carry out by indigenes because there would be mutual trust between the Police and their kith and kin! Has anyone ever thought of the employment opportunities that would accrue through the establishment of State Police and would take off the street thousands of unemployed graduates and able-bodied men who would have been enticed into crimes by men of the underworld?



COULD THERE BE EXCESSES BY GOVERNORS?

Antagonists of State Police creation had always opined that State Governors would misuse the services of the security agents by deploying them to harass and intimidate perceived political enemies, rig elections etc. They also believed that most States Governors would not have the financial muzzle to fund, maintain and manage a Police force on their own without Federal assistance!

Some have also queried: Where would States get funds to establish State Police, recruit sufficient manpower, pay salaries, provide upkeeps, uniforms/kits welfare, regular allowances etc.? Why can't Governors surrender their SECURITY VOTES to establish State Police and increase their internally Generated Revenues (IGR's) to achieve this feat in no time? They could do these and more if they descended from their high horses and assumed their status as servants of the people and not masters! The Nigerian Constitution should be amended to accommodate the establishment of State Police, enact relevant clauses for checks and balances in order to curb the excesses of governors who might decide to go overboard in the management and control of the State Police! The international best practice is for POLICE to obey only lawful orders and refuse those that could be unlawful to provoke not only civil disorder but - civil disobedience, rioting, arson, murder or insurgency as it now obtains in the North East!


ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE POLICE IS VERY IMPERATIVE NOW!

The Regional structure and the existence of the Native Police side by side with regular, policemen was a regular phenomenon at that period of pre and post independence up to 15th January, when the military terminated civil authority and that singular act of selfishness has been responsible for the security challenges that got worsened by each day!
With the advent and continued military dictatorship all over the nation, also came importation of small arms and weapons through different sources, with the multiple and ripple effects of crime statistics soaring, year-on-year-in, till date! It is said that, of the over 500.000.000 million illegal arms in the West African sub-region, about half of these figure are in the hands of non-actors, i.e. neither with the armed forces nor with the Police.

These illegal weapons are being used every day to murder in cold blood, the defenceless downtrodden everywhere without discrimination - in the remote villages or city centres, under one guise or the other.
In the United States, State Policing is common phenomenon and has metamorphosed into the strong institution of the nation’s security architecture! Officers and men of the State Police should be made up of indigenes of the Local Government Areas - who have vast knowledge of their territories and conversant with all porous areas - especially in States that share international borders with neighbouring countries through which criminal and mercenaries sneak into Nigeria! The Federal Police would still be in charge of all matters that border on national security, espionage etc, co-ordinate and co-operate with any State where federal laws have been infringed, to investigate and prosecute as may be applicable.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE APC ON TRUE FEDERALISM!

The Governor El Rufai-led Committee on True Federalism submitted its very detailed report on Thursday 25th January, 2018, on the following planks:
Devolution of powers to the States through Resource Control.
State Police and State Prisons to be run by all States of the Federation in respect of certain crimes.
Independent candidacy which can only be enjoyed if such candidate was not a member of any political party, six months prior to any election.
There should exist constitutional autonomy for the 774 Local Governments, which should be free to legislate freely and create any number of councils as they so desired.
Food, Drugs and poison to be moved to the Concurrent List so that States could constitutionally legislate on those items, while narcotics/psychotropic substances should remain on the Exclusive List.
Labour issues, trade unions, industrial relations, conditions, safety/welfare, disputes/minimum wages/ industrial arbitration, should be handled by both States/Federal Governments who should enjoy independent legislation.
Mines and minerals, oil fields and mining, geological surveys and natural gas that are ONSHORE will be vested in all States of the Federation, while all OFF-SHORE OIL shall remain vested in the government of the federation.
Registration of Business Names should be on the Concurrent List for companies to choose their areas of operations; State or nationwide.
Collection of Stamp Duties was also recommended to be moved to the Concurrent List, for the States to collect duties from individual and small businesses while Federal Government collects duties from Limited Liabilities Companies.
Issue of Citizenship, Local Government or State of Origin, which had hitherto been discriminatory, "should be replaced with State of Residence", through a proposed amendment to the Federal Character Commission Act to allow people domicile in a place to be considered as INDEGENES of such place.


It is in the interest of all patriotic Nigerians that this democracy must succeed and everything must be done by the Buhari Administration to push through these lofty recommendations that would proffer a permanent solution to incessant decimation of precious human lives on daily basis because of minor disagreements on STATUS QUO!!
The poor masses should not always be at the receiving end of the misgovernance of those saddled with the responsibility to protect their lives and properties!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, 1999, is resplendent of several manner of constitutional "freedoms", referred to as fundamental rights!
In Chapter IV, Sections 33 to 46, one is inundated with an avalanche of these rights - Rights to life; dignity of human person; personal liberty; fair hearing; Right to private and family life; Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; to peaceful assembly and association; Right to freedom of movement; to acquire and own immovable property in Nigeria; etc - mouth-watering freedoms that would have made citizens of the defunct Communist Soviet Republics, old China and North Korea swoon with jealousy!

One of these freedoms is extended especially to journalists described as the PRESS, in Section 39 (1) - (3) (a) (b) as, "Right to freedom of expression and the press." Globally, members of the Press are described as the "Fourth Estate of the Realm," and the Nigerian Press, with specific assignment to checkmate governments excesses as the "watchdog", "watchman" or "ombudsman", and ensure good governance, diligence and accountability by those who hold in trust all private, public or political offices in the Nigerian nation, including the security agencies - the Armed Forces and the Police!

Outside of the constitutionally-backed Press which comprises of the Electronic and Print Media, there is now a THIRD FORCE MEDIA that is fast becoming a portent danger to the very existence of Nigeria as an independent nation!
The Social Website Media ( Faceboook, Twitter, Instagram), which was not given any mention anywhere in the Nigerian Constitution, has clandestially taken over, in a landslide manner, the entire spectrum of not only the social space but also, the political and economic life of the nation like an uncontrollable wild fire poised to wipe out all sacred legacies of the FOUNDING FATHERS and the government seems helpless to salvage the unacceptably and notorious situation?

THE SOCIAL MEDIA IN NIGERIA IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS OR INSTITUTIONS!
Many detractors who patronize the Social Media and masking under the guise of pseudo names, regularly unleashed libellous publications in the form of character assassination, hate speeches, unprintable abuses/curses etc, on the person of the ruling Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), incumbent President/his management team and members of his family, without recourse to the fundamental rights of the citizens in question!

For now they seemed to be having a field day and believe they would escape justice but they are living a lie, because technology has the window to trap them as is being done in other climes! Very soon they will all be caught in the web of Rule of Law and be given the full dose of the medicine!

IS THE PRESS LICENCED TO PUBLISH FAKE NEWS?
The sacred profession of Journalism was given mention in the Nigerian and most global constitutions because "journalism is synonymous with processed information"! In the practice of the trade, journalist are warned to "leave out" information that could not be confirmed or substantiated, in order to avoid false publications that would attract litigations bordering on libel! They are also schooled to always procure and ascertain the "two sides of every story or information, and even the edge of the coin", before rushing to beat "deadlines", but in the last decade, the Nigerian Press also, like their foreign counterparts, threw caution to the wind and totally discarded the notion that the citizens whose characters were maligned also had constitutional protection as stipulated under HUMAN RIGHTS!

Thorough-bread journalists from time immemorial across the world have religiously adhered to the codes and ethics of the profession and had executed their beats creditably but in recent times - especially with the frenzied embrace of sophisticated information technology gadgets, unprocessed information in the form of FAKE NEWS, is now the order of the day!

Today, every Tom, Dick and Harry, could tweet from his CRIB, in any part of the world, concoct/proliferate untrue or fake news, disseminate it at a speed faster than light on social websites to cause disharmony, dissension, civil disobedience or even communal war in some cases!


CLANDESTINE ROLE OF THE MODERN PRESS IN NIGERIA!
In recent times, Nigeria has had its ugly share of damaging fake news, hate publications etc against constituted authorities, public figures/personalities, institutions and even against the incumbent Executive President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.
Before and after the 2015 General elections were contested, won and lost, several Print and Electronic media indulged in dissemination of hate speeches, publications and advertorials with a view to truncating the nation's nascent democracy at all cost because of selfish inordinate ambitions!
Daar Communications' Africa Independent Television (AIT), and the National Television Authority (NTA), including some prominent national newspapers occupied the frontline position in character assassination/smear campaigns against President Buhari in particular and were handsomely and promptly paid with the tax-payers money, while the unfortunate citizens were hacked down in cold blood on daily basis by insurgents!
Ex-President Ebele Jonathan, in his desperate bid to maintain status quo of "continuity", employed both the private and government electronic and print media to execute smear campaign publications in order to ensure that President Buhari was discredited before the electorate. He allegedly dipped his hands into the funds meant to execute the Boko Haram war to run his vicious campaign and in the process abandoned down-trodden Nigerians to daily assaults of the insurgents who then had the effrontery to “conquer" portions of Nigeria's territory in the North East as their Caliphate!

EXCERPTS FROM AIT'S ALLEGED FACEBOOK ACCOUNT ON FAKE NEWS!
In our article, of 12th February, 2016 we published the excerpts below:
"Not many people were surprised when a FACEBOOK ACCOUNT credited to AFRICAN INDEPENDENT TELEVISION (AIT), ANNOUNCED THE RUMOURED DEATH OF PRESIDENT BUHARI in London, on the 23rd January, 2017, because that station, owned by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, Raymond Dokpesi, was notorious for "mercenary" journalism of fabrication, falsehood and distortion of facts for illicit monetary gains! The transmission of HATE SPEECHES video documentaries on AIT and its sister radio station, RAY POWER against the incumbent President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, during the electioneering campaigns of the 2015 General Elections, as contracted to DAAR Communications Plc, the umbrella body of both stations by ex-President Jonathan's Administration and the subsequent payment of billions of naira for THE HATCHET JOB, is still fresh in the memories of all Nigerians and political development observers around the world!

Although, DAAR Communications Plc, has denied both ownership and authorship of the FACEBOOK and its content; were they convincing? Below are excerpts of the denial: "The attention of DAAR Communications Plc, has been drawn to a FACEBOOK Account purported being operated by our Organisation.”A report was published on the FACEBOOK that the incumbent President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently on vacation in London has passed on. "We wish to state the following facts: It is falsehood dressed up as truth that we opened such FACEBOOK ACCOUNT.
We did not publish nor know anything about the report. None of our correspondents in London filed such report. The editorial policy of our Organisation is that any of our correspondents is mandated to file all the reports for vetting and approval before publication which can only originate from our headquarters. No correspondent could individually on his or her own decision publish or cause to be published any story. "The FACEBOOK Account is the brain child of a faceless and mischievous group whose despicable activities must be investigated by security agencies because of the unpleasant consequences.”We wish to state that the AIT runs an official on-line site fir News which is not available for use by outsiders.
"We dissociate ourselves completely from anything contained in the said report which is a figment of the imagination of the authors.”We also disown the so-called FACEBOOK Account, and have officially reported to FACEBOOK Managers." DO YOU BELIEVE?


THEY ARE AT IT AGAIN AND MUST BE STOPPED!
We have it on good authority that legislators of the 8th National Assembly (NASS), have mooted a Bill to stem the tide of FAKE NEWS publications in Nigeria and completely annihilate the evil attitude through very stiff penalties while Nigeria's Information Technology Gurus have reached advanced stages of detecting, arresting and prosecuting culpable persons without delay, because they are not excluded from the evil smear campaigns! All hands must be on deck to stop these enemies of STATE! ‘’The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead’’ (Prov 11:.


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

NOW THAT DAPCHI GIRLS ARE BACK: THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE [SSI], SHOULD BE PRIOTIZED!


That "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much", according to the scripture, manifested in favour of the 104 little innocent Dapchi girls who though were in the DEN OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENTS FOR 31 DAYS, were protected by the Living God of Creation and released on Wednesday 21st March, 2018, to yet enjoy the inalienable fresh air of freedom. The news of their release was comical and almost unbelievable, but it was very TRUE!

Or else, how else could one explain this exemplary divine intervention which compelled the same abductors to repent and return the abductees (except for the FIVE that allegedly died, and one that refused to be converted to Islam), to their parents, families and loved ones "without demanding, neither for ransom nor swapping the girls with detained insurgents?"

Nigerians from all walks of life cannot be faulted for lamenting that Boko Haram's incursion into Dapchi Girls Science Technical Secondary School, could have been avoided if adequate security measures were in place, especially when a similar abduction took place at Chibok, Bornu State, almost FOUR years ago, (14th April, 2014), and 112 girls of that abduction were yet to be released by their captors!

However we believe that it was high time that all our security agencies would turn around 360 degrees and embrace modern methods of crime detection and prevention to further prevent the kind of unpleasant embarrassment, sprung without any form of resistance in Dapchi on 19th February, 2019!
Is it too much for both the Federal Government and all 36 State Governments to install CCTV CAMERAS and other security gadgets in all public and educational institutions, for the purpose of monitoring movements of peoples and services across the length, breath and BORDERS of Nigeria?
Nigerians should no longer be hoodwinked by these crop of LEGISLATORS of the 8th NASS (who have been exposed as the worst representatitives of the downtrodden), due to their lack of penchant when it comes to socio-economic benefits of the masses!
In the last quarter of 2017, President Buhari requested for just USD $1BILLION DOLLARS, to further prosecute the war against the Boko Haram, which had been terribly decimated and degraded at that time; but those ENEMIES OF STATE blocked the passage of the appropriation till date because it would deplete their ILLEGAL RUNNING COSTS, AND ILLICIT CONSTITUENCY APPROPRIATIONS!
Are the LEGISLATORS now happy that the insurgents have regained some grounds through their denial of funds for the NIGERIAN MILITARY, even though APC has majority seats in the National Assembly, (NASS), where an opposition PDP Senator Abaribe (who bailed the absconded "Biafra" agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, now on the run from justice), and his cohorts could vituperate all manner insults against President Buhari, for wanting to keep Nigeria safe?

AMERICA would not boast of being a super power nation of both 20th and 21st Centuries if its legislators did not support approval of regular funds to build its defence and security institutions from one administration to another! Nigerian legislators are quick to quote replication of the American system of government when its suits their whims and caprices but would refrain to follow to the letter when government attention was most needed to succour or favour the populace!

In our article written on the 16th November, 2014, we reminded the PDP Government of that period of the need to beef up security in all schools in North East Nigeria, following incessant insurgency attacks on the facilities, under the following topic: "THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE [SSI]: DESERVES MAXIMUM SECURITY!

We espoused as follows:
That the rate at which Nigerian school children were being eliminated by Boko Haram bombs should be of great concern to all genuine citizens, who believed in the divine law of succession which emphasizes that the young would grow to succeed their forebears because God saved Noah’s THREE children, Shem Ham and Japheth from drowning in the flood and their generations, according to their lines of descent, are products of our modern world as it obtains today! [Genesis.10:18-11:32].
That children are providentially endowed as divine gifts and must therefore be meticulously nurtured, guarded and preserved for posterity according to God's plan but some political apologist posited that social vices like corruption, election or examination malpractices, official deception, poverty and insecurity, were SYSTEMIC and inherited problems which were responsible for crimes and criminalities and should therefore not be blamed on any incumbent administration!
That fundamental obligations of any government to its citizens included faithful execution of political, economic, social, educational, foreign policy, press freedom, environmental objectives, the judicious entrenchment of all fundamental rights and most importantly, the RULE OF LAW! The right to life and the dignity of the human person should always take priority of place with every serious administration as no government could function optimally without its HUMAN CAPITAL which originates from the youths!
But when, the schooling population of any nation is deliberately targeted for pogrom by some bestial maniacs, who claim that Western education was evil as we now witness in Nigeria, desperate measures MUST be employed by government to save these future leaders at all cost! Chapter IV, Section 33(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution states that every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.
Nigerian school children are being murdered in cold blood at random by savages and government seemed to be incapacitated! We must bring this fact to bear that, there is sufficient funds from all economic resources of this nation to cater for the needs of all citizens’ fundamental rights, if RIGHTEOUS politicians are in the saddle of management, but sadly, massive corruption has been the bane of this nation, especially in the past 15 years (1999-2014), of the Peoples Democratic Party’s [PDP], government of continuity!


NIGERIAN GOVERNMENTS HAVE FINANCIAL CAPACITY TO SECURE ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS!

Working with a maximum figure of 100 schools, an initial expenditure of N50 million naira (fifty) each, totalling N5 billion, should take care of fencing, gates, a mixture of uniformed and plain-clothed security personnel equipped with communication gadgets, metal detectors small arms and SNIFFER DOGS, for each institution, would ensure the required positive results! Had these security measures been in place on 10th November 2014, at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School, Potiskum, Yobe State, only the suicide bomber would have died instead of the FORTY-SEVEN who died with 79 others critically injured! Also in Yobe State on February 25, 2014, FIFTY-NINE boys were killed at the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi at night while they slept in their boarding apartments and the 24 buildings of the institution were all burnt down!


CAN BOKO HARAM TRULY STOP WESTERN EDUCATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA?

When the Dapchi School girls were released to their parents, the insurgents warned them against sending their wards to school again! Federal and State Governments should be blamed for insufficient and dedicated commitment, to save these endangered species of our POSTERITY from extinction! It is very important to note that the Potiskum attack (mentioned above), occurred just after the Federal Government announced that 2,400 students would be enrolled in the country's SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE (SSI). Eight hundred students each, from the three North Eastern States hardest hit by Boko Haram’s terrorists activities, were already pencilled down for admission into other unity schools across the country with the consent of their parents, just over six months after the insurgents kidnapped more than 200 school girls from Chibok, Bornu State.
THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE was launched in 2014 at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Nigeria, by Nigerian business leaders, working with the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr Gordon Brown, the Global Business Coalition and a World at School. An initial $10million US dollars was collected at the launch in response to the growing number of attacks on the right to education in the North East States and in solidarity, the Federal government agreed to match the amount with an additional $10million, in a meeting between President Jonathan and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. One hundred ($100million US dollars), was the set target for the SSI to which more funds would be raised according to the Envoy who promised his assistance. This joint effort on the protection of the right to learn in Nigeria is based on best practices from global standards which emphasizes that Safe Schools must be prioritized for continuity in education, even in HIGH RISK AREAS!


DID THE APC GOVERNMENT INHERIT USD $20 MILLION DOLLARS OF SSI DONATIONS?

Reports available to us indicate that the APC Change Administration inherited a virtually empty treasury because all available funds, including funds earmarked to prosecute the insurgency were all deployed to fund ex-President Jonathan's inordinate third-term ambition to rule Nigeria! However, with all security revelations in respect of the recent Dapchi Girls School abduction and President Buhari's stern warning to his government's detractors who connive with criminals to destabilize the polity and by extension, the buoyant economic agenda, we believe that a new course for adequate peace and tranquillity would be charted through patriotic collaborations by all arms of governments and security agencies to adequately protect all schools!
We believe that the insurgents would embrace the fresh window of AMNESTY opportunity that has been made available by the Federal Government, to lay down their arms and be de-radicalized, pardoned and re-absorbed into the society, because it has been divinely declared that, " ....this evil time shall pass away.... these recalcitrant insecurity challenges, will fizzle out and an everlasting peace shall envelope the nation of Nigeria, with or without the co-operation of the terrorists!" May the gentle soul of the five lost girls rest in perfect peace with the LORD. Amen.



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Dereliction of constitutionally assigned duties amongst rival security agencies have been identified as the major cause of an avoidable abduction of 110 Science/Technical Secondary School Girls, Dapchi, Yobe State, (aged between 11-16), who have now become pawns and human shields in the hands of insurgents who are very desperate to prove that they were undefeated! This is the second time in FOUR years that insurgents would abduct the endangered species from their school premises en-mass, uninterrupted and undetected and disappeared into thin air as it were! The first time was the abduction of over 270 girls from Chibok Girls Secondary School, Borno State on 14th April, 2014, to register their disdain for WESTERN EDUCATION! As at the time of this publication, almost 100 of the Chibok girls have been rescued while attempts are in motion to bring back the others; including the DAPCHI girls, with combined efforts of all the security forces that have converged on Yobe, the adjoining States and neighbouring countries.

On the day of this fresh abduction, 19th February, 2018, the camouflaged gunmen had free entry and exit into the school premises; because all they needed do was to fire some warning shots to create pandemonium, harass, intimidate and order as many panicking children into their trucks and drove away without hindrance because the nearby Army unit personnel that would have forestalled the invasion, was withdrawn some two weeks earlier as a back-up force to fight Boko Haram insurgents at the Niger border area! Were there no official procedures in respect of postings, replacements, etc, especially in such sudden exigency of troops movement from one location to another? Should there be a vacuum of security logistics/ apparatuses in a soft target such as the Dapchi Girls School, especially when mass abduction of innocent children had taken place in neighbouring Bornu State, previously? Of course not! The Army Unit Commander claimed that he handed over the security location to the Commissioner of the Nigerian Police, Yobe, who promptly denied the claim! Since the first unfortunate military intervention in Nigerian politics on 15th January,1966, soldiers have been accustomed to playing civilian roles because they remained for too long (almost 30 years), in quasi-politicking engagements that they almost forgot all professional ethics until they were divinely booted out on 29th May, 1999! Constitutional duties of the Armed Forces of the Federation, which consist of an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, are spelt out in Section 217 - (1) (2) (a-d) & (3), Part III, Supplemental, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, to include; defending Nigeria from external aggression, maintaining its territorial integrity, securing its borders from violation on land, sea or air; suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.The Nigerian Police Force on the other hand is saddled with internal maintenance of law and order prosecution of offenders etc, and such order duties as may be prescribed to them by the National Assembly.

If the Army was not involved in Internal Security (IS), duty at the Dapchi Girls School, would the Commissioner of Police have left the soft target open and defenceless in spite of his avowed constitutional duty? Should there not have been Police plain clothes security surveillance to complement the Army even when they were on ground? Would passing of buck between the two security agencies which is though, very regrettable, ascertain the safety or the immediate release of the innocent tender-aged teenagers? There is no doubt on our minds that this particular abduction was targeted by detractors to indict and embarrass the APC administration which has been struggling to surmount the myriads of security challenges, economic/social decay of strategic infrastructure, which it inherited from past PDP administrations! The PDP, which created and nurtured the insurgents known as Boko Haram, and which did nothing to rescue the Chibok Girls, throughout ex-President Jonathan's woeful tenure, is now quick to blame the incumbent of lacking in security management - what an irony of fate?

Though, PDP's vituperation was contrary to the reality on ground, it is incumbent on all patriotic Nigerians to rise in unity an seek divine intervention for the urgent rescue of these innocent children, because the master-minds of this fresh national catastrophe are within the rank and file of those who are very desperate to SEIZE POWER AT ALL COST, EVEN THROUGH THE BARRELS OF THE GUNS AS IKE EKEREMADU, THE CONTROVERSIAL SENATE DEPUTY PRESIDENT IS NOW SUGGESTING! Having formed some COALITIONS targeted to wrestle power at the centre without any success but condemnation from the masses, they resorted to succinct blackmail of President Muhammadu Buhari by alleging his insensibility towards the plight of States that were devastated with wanton human killings and for not visiting them at the appropriate times! And to score cheap political point the chiefest among them, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who ordered his soldiers to kill, destroy and burn down ZAKI BIAM, VASSE, AGBAYIN, GBEJI, SANKARA, AND SEVERAL OTHER COMMUNITIES IN BENUE STATE, in 2001, visited Makurdi on Thursday, 8th March, 2018, (either to commiserate or to gloat), over the graves of the unfortunate dead of January 1st 2018! Were the people of Benue - especially Governor Samuel Ortom fooled? Could Obasanjo re-write the history of events as they unfolded to suit his whims and caprices?

The year 2018 began on the sad note of the killings of innocent peasant farmers and members of their families in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Taraba etc by alleged NORMADIC HERDERS and even into the third month, these murderous incursions has spread to virtually all the SIX GEO-POLITICAL ZONES OF THE FEDERATION! Can the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity escape divine judgement even though they always struck at soft targets and then hide? Surely they would be exposed when they least expected and punished through the long arm of the law because their plan to turn Nigeria into a PARIAH NATION would not work! Patriotic Nigerians have been counselled not to neither retaliate through MILITIA GROUPS nor take up illegal arms to defend themselves but to trust GOD and the APC Government which would provide adequate security and bring to justice, all culpable elements in the imbroglio!

ABDUCTION OF DAPCHI GIRLS IS A NATIONAL TRAGEDY!
That patriotic citizens of Nigeria, except the psychopaths, are greatly traumatized over this ugly development would tantamount to an understatement; because, the mental and spiritual torture being experienced especially by the parents and families of the abductees as they trooped to Abuja, wept profusely and appealed to the President for a quick intervention in the rescue operations that are already in progress was an avalanche! Unlike 2014, when former President Jonathan, declared that the alleged abduction of Chibok Girls was a HOAX, even two weeks after the dastard act, this government has acted very fast and appropriately for early and positive rescue results to be expected! President Buhari did not waste time to deploy all security chiefs and personnel to YOBE STATE immediately he got the report and even though it has been about three weeks as at the time of this publication, tremendous success about the exact location and reasons behind the abduction have been established for possible negotiations for the release of the victims. It had been very difficult to apply any form of force by air or land because the innocent children who are to be rescued would be endangered as they were purposely positioned by their abductors as HUMAN SHIELDS!

THE ROLES OF SSS AND ICRC IN PAST RESCUE OPERATIONS:
In July, 2017, a team of THREE University lecturers of Geology Department of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), who were prospecting for crude oil in the Lake Chad Basin was ambushed while TEN women who were in the convoy of a dead police personnel being conveyed to his hometown for burial, were abducted by insurgents in Borno State and it took the grace of God for both the State Security Service (SSS), and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), officials to negotiate their freedom which was finally concluded on Saturday 10th February, 2018! SICRC, revealed in a statement released by its deputy regional director for Africa that it was contacted to play the role of negotiator just like a similar action it carried out in October 2016 and May 2017, when two batches of Chibok girls were released to the Federal Government following successful negotiations. He concluded that his outfit, “remains ready to provide similar humanitarian services in the future when asked by relevant parties to the conflict."

SHOULD GOVERNMENT CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE WITH INSURGENTS?
Although negotiations with rebels is akin to an invitation to continuous and repeated BLACKMAIL, which would elongate the process of crisis as we are now witnessing, but it is very expedient for now in the present circumstances to choose this path - in order to counter the insurgents doctrine of "Boko Haram" (meaning that western education is bad)! It is also very imperative to save lives of innocent abductees who were in no way responsible nor involved in the CONFLICT(S) currently in contention, through these negotiations, no matter how unpalatable for now! We should also be united in prayer for GOD to touch the insurgents to have a change of heart and embrace dialogue and eventual surrender for PEACE to reign again in our country that is "flowing with milk and honey" and positively save our POSTERITY!

IMMEDIATE, MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS!
Blame game must give way to inter-services collaboration. Police should intensify, Community /Neighbourhood policing by recruiting informants from every hamlet, village and remote settlements, for security information and intelligence gatherings by all willing patriotic citizens. Civilian JTF, and other para-military bodies, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, at the border posts of entry and exit points. Nigerian workers under the umbrella of Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), and Civil Society Groups (CSOs), must be involved in a more COMPREHENSIVE intelligence gathering through sophisticated and well-co-ordinated information network at the highest level of government, in order to NIP IN THE BUD any form of CRIME OR CRIMINALITY BEFORE THEY COULD BE PERPETRATED! More and more recruitments into the POLICE, ARMY, IMMIGRATION, CUSTOMS etc. must be urgently pursued and placed on the PRIORITY LISTS OF THE THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT! "A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE!"


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

It might have taken like forever for the Nigerian youths to wake up from their slumber to share from the national cake, while the elders, especially the veteran political gladiators who have been in the trenches before independence and who obsessively and jealously guard the turf from newcomers - senile or young, - but they have finally debuted in grand style!

They have discarded serfdom, and have rebelled against the task-masters who compounded their disadvantageous position of inadequate education, joblessness/idleness to mould them into criminals and criminalities of political dirty jobs of thuggery and ballot box snatching during elections at all levels!
Gone were those days when they complained of marginalization, relegation or absolute abandonment in the scheme of the social contract because they have become wiser to demand for their rights to vote and be voted for!

But have they rejected the present constitutional arrangement which stipulates that youths should NOT aspire to attain the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces until they clocked the age of 40 because, they believe the popular cliché' which states that, "a fool at forty, is a fool forever"; and have thus re-ordered age qualification for the highly-exalted seat to read 35 instead, while gubernatorial aspirants could clinch their position at the age of 30?

The 1999 Constitution states as follows:
Federal Executive: Age qualification for election as President: 40 years; educational: School Certificate level;
National Assembly Legislators: Age qualification for election into the Senate: 35 years; and House of Representatives: 30 years; educational: School Cert.
State Executive: Age qualification for election as Governor: 35 years; educational: School Cert.
State Legislative Assembly: Age qualification for election as member: 30 years; educational: School cert.

NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL RE-ORDERING OF AGE QUALIFICATIONS!
(1) President: 35 years; (2) Governor: 30 years; (3) Legislators: Senator and House of Representatives member: 25 years! However, educational qualifications remain School Certificate....... haba! Why not first degree at least?

There is a general principle in pro-creation as divinely ordained, that a child would need parental guidance, care, attention, counselling and devotion, at every stage from birth to sitting position, crawling, standing upright, and walking until he/she becomes independent to RUN!
Although that ordained physical sequence has not changed, Nigerian youths have suddenly realised that the first creation that came out of the divine mould was a full-fledge human clay called ADAM, according to biblical record in the Book of Genesis 2:7 and with that thought, believed that they could RUN before crawling!
But are they not forgetting that GOD deliberately changed that giant mould that produced Adam to smaller ones because that full-fledged man became too wise and almost overthrew his creator with the succinct support of the Serpent/Satan in Genesis. 3: 1-24? And now that the divine creator has, in His infinite wisdom re-ordered pro-creation to accommodate both the young and the old to sustain the cycle in which the OLD NOW GIVES BIRTH TO THE YOUNG! "Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass when the LORD commandeth it not? (Lamentation 3: 37).

Is it not very glaring that the REAL motivation for the advocacy of legislative approval for the "NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL" currently receiving urgent attention in the National/State Assemblies is the stupendous and gagantuous unconstitutional salaries, allowances/emoluments and other undeserved perks of office of politicians since 1999, when a fresh attempt to truly democratize Nigeria brought with it this senseless acquisition of illicit wealth in the name of politics? What about the legislators who have seen nothing wrong or unusual about the STRANGE BILL which is poised to turn back the hands of the clock? Definitely, they are passionate accomplices who want their WARDS to succeed them in milking Nigeria dry!

The existing 1999 Constitution is not ambiguous about the role of the youth in governance as it has stated very clearly the adult suffrage of 18 years when a youth was eligible to vote and to be voted for to occupy political offices - from ages 30 and above to become a legislator, governor or president!
During the military interregnum of about 30 years, it was not strange for a 22-year-old soldier to become the governor of the Rivers State and for a 32-year-old to become the Head of State! Would they have qualified to hold such highly revered and powerful political offices if it were not for the crude barrels of guns?
KIM JONG-UN - THE YOUNG EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT OF NORTH KOREA IS THREATENING FIRE AND BRIMSTONES THAT COULD IGNITE A 3RD WORLD WAR BECAUSE HE POSSESSES TOO MUCH POWER AND EXPLOSIVE YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE!
In another clime - Libya under late Muammar Gaddafi for instance - the youthful army officer quietly eased out the monarch who went on vacation with his queen outside of the desert country in 1969 at the age of 22, with a determination to improve the lot of his fellow countrymen but ended up ruling them with an iron fist for 42 agonising years before his was deposed and eventually killed! Why did he remain that long in power? Because, if he had called for an election when he turned 30, just eight years in office, he would have become redundant and irrelevant, even in the ebullience and prime of his youth!


INTELLIGENT YOUTHS PREFER AGE STIPULATIONS IN NIGERIA'S 1999 CONSTITUTION!
With the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, a youth can aspire to become the President at the age of FORTY - which is globally acceptable as the year of maturity and the turning point to prestigious adulthood - so what do the sponsors of NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL intend to achieve by doctoring the Constitution?
Let us assume that a youth at 40 was eventually voted to become Nigeria's President (the highest political office), and was lucky to be re-elected for another term of FOUR years, totalling EIGHT! Outside of the State House after his/her tenure, what happens? Frustration, redundancy, isolation, irrelevancy which usually dominated the life of a RECLUSE!

Serious-minded Nigerian youths regard the current corrupted politicking and governance as unnecessary distractions, because they are highly-endowed with much wisdom to know that the system has been so monetised with a view to making the unambitious to abandon the innate spiritual gifts, abilities, capabilities, talents, natural/scientific prowess, and succumb to the ordinary allurement/inordinate attraction of temporary/illicit monetary gains associated with Nigerian politicians!

Highly-intelligent Nigerian youths are more interested in CLEANSING THE AUGEAN STABLE through constructive criticisms of bad governance, proffering solutions, suggesting ways out of the woods as experts in their various professions and voting out CRUDE POLITICIANS at every election instead of the ILLITERATE DOCTRINE OF " IF YOU CANNOT BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM MENTALITY"!

We believe that the sponsors and movers of this UNEDUCATED BILL have ran short of visions for a NEW NIGERIA being steadily and consciously moulded through God by this current administration's management team of both young and elderly men/women of proven track records, pedigree, integrity and antecedents - who have taken this, (once sinking nation), out of the miry clay and have in less than THREE YEARS, successfully established it on a strong economic platform in spite of the detractors antics! We have always supported youth empowerment through education, which the UNESCO CHARTER recommended should be funded with at least 26% of the annual national budget, we have encourage all tiers of government to encourage technical and vocational studies/occupation amongst those with less ability or capacity to assimilate much of the academics and the APC Government is listening because the three tiers from primary to tertiary have been receiving greater appropriation in spite of the decadence inherited in that sector from past administration which created the uneducated terrorists now identified as Boko Haram!

ARE THESE MIS-GUIDED YOUTHS AND THEIR SPONSORS ACTUALLY READY TO STEER THE SHIP OF THIS NEW NIGERIA AND ESCHEW THEMSELVES OF THE CANKERWORM OF CORRUPTION? CAN THEY EVER GOVERN ALONE WITHOUT THE ELDERS GUIDANCE AND CONSELLING? WE DOUBT IT!
WE want them to include an addendum in the BILL that THE SENATE SHOLD BE SCRAPPED AND THAT ONLY TWO REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BE ELECTED FROM EACH STATE TO FILL THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND ALSO THAT THEIR TENURE WOULD BE ON PART-TIME ARRANGEMENT AND THAT ALL LEGISLATORS WOULD ONLY BE PAID SITTING ALLOWANCES IN ORDER TO TERMINATE MASSIVE CORRUPTION AND WASTAGES IN GOVERNANCE AS BEING WITNESSED NOW!
IF THESE YOUTHS ARE TRULY READY TO SERVE, AND ARE UNSELFISH, THEY SHOULD RE-FRAME THE CLAUSES OF THEIR BILL TO INCLUDE LOCAL CONTENTS THAT WOULD INVOLVE THE GRASSROOTS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE DOWNTRODDEN MASSES AND NOT THE SUPER-RICH LEGISLATORS WHO WOULD BANK-ROLL THEIR ELECTIONEERING CAMPAIGN BILLS! A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH OF THE "NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL" SHOULD REPLACE THIS COVETOUS ONE NOW IN CIRCULATION! "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.’’ (Exodus 20:17)



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

KWARA STATE ASSEMBLY IS FIRST TO STOP EX-GOVERNORS FROM TREASURY LOOTING!

According to extant appropriation laws in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the emoluments of all civil servants including political appointees, are determined and legislated by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and is sacrosanct accordingly!

But former State Governors and their deputies, through the succinct support of their legislators enjoy illicit pensions/gratuities that are unknown to the Constitution while the National Assembly (NASS), principal officers with the connivance of their Civil Service Staff, have circumvented all known financial principles to appropriate unto themselves incredible salaries, all manner of spurious allowances, including illegal CONSTITUENCY ALLOCATIONS in billions of naira, since 1999, when "politicians" took over governance from the Military!

RMAFC, is guided to provide 300% SEVERANCE for the governors as stated in the provisions under "Certain Political Office Holders and Judicial Officers Remuneration Act." Within the confines of that Act, ex-governors and legislators are entitled to 300% of their basic salary of N2,223,705; totalling N6,671,115, as a once-and-for-all-severance pay!
A former Chairman of the RMAFC has said that if the Pension Laws enacted by the States contravened or was inconsistent with the Federal law as prescribed for the Commission, they would be deemed ILLEGAL whereas some State Legislatures have even granted ex-governors PENSION EMOLUMENTS FOR LIFE!

According to undisputed statistics collated by the Vanguard, TWENTY-ONE STATES, as at the year 2017, spent a whooping sum of N37.4 billion for 47 ex-Governors on illegal monetized pension emoluments that are not recognized by the Nigerian Constitution! These expenditures have exerted much pressure on the coffers of such States which failed to fulfil regular contractual salary payment obligations to workers but instead, diverted such funds to pay their ex-Governors and their deputies!

So, where did all other illegal provisions for outlandish cash benefits, running into billions, vehicles (renewable every three to four years), accommodations in their State capitals and Federal Capital, Abuja; overseas holiday/free medics for them and family etc, being collected by ex Governors of BAUCHI, RIVERS, AKWA IBOM, LAGOS, YOBE, GOMBE, KANO, KWARA,, SOKOTO, BAYELSA, DELTA, EBONYI, ZAMFARA and others, emanate from?
Bauchi, according to the revelation, topped pension payouts to ex-governors. Payment of pension to former governors over a four-year circle are highest in Bauchi, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Lagos States with former governors drawing N23.18billion, N2.795 billion, N2.043 billion and N1.606 billion respectively while Gombe was reported to be the FIRST to pay out an humongous benefit of N900 million to two ex-governors whom the State Pension Law provided a sum of N300 million, per term of four years! The Sokoto State Pension Law provides for N200 million every four years for former governors, and with three former governors it’s stable, "the State has to cough out N600 billion every four years for these governors"! Another tranche of N180 million each is respectively set aside for their deputies within the same period of time.

IT IS HOWEVER GRATIFYING TO KNOW THAT EX- GOVERNORS RAJI FASOLA AND KAYODE FAYEMI OF LAGOS AND EKITI STATES RESPECTIVELY DECLINED AND REFUSED TO COLLECT ANY SEVERANCE PACKAGE ON THEIR DISENGAGEMENT FROM GUBERNATORIALOFFICES!
The offending States believe they could cover their tracks under the "State Pension Law", which is inferior, contrary and null and void according to the 1999 Constitution, which expressly and unequivocally states in Part II, Powers of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Section 4 (5), which states as follows: "If any Law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law made by the National Assembly shall prevail and that other Law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void."

HAVE THESE EX-GOVERNORS RETIRED INTO PRIVATE LIFE?
NO! They are still the same greedy politicians who retired as governors and are enjoying pension benefits but now freshly voted as politician and still paid by the same Federal Government as Senators or as Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and COLLECTING DOUBLE SALARIES, ALLOWANCIES, PENSIONS, GRATUITIES ETC, FOR EVERY FOUR-YEAR TERM IN POLITICAL OFFICE!
IS IT NOT VERY GLARING THAT THESE "NAIRA SUCKERS" AMONG WHOM ARE 21 EX-GOVERNORS SERVING AS SENATORS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ARE THE REAL ENEMIES OF THE TALAKAWAS? WOULD THE ELECTORATE JUST MOPE SHEEPISHLY WHILE THESE INSENSITIVE FELLOW NIGERIANS BLED THE ECONOMY TO DEATH IN A COUNTRY WHERE SOCIAL JUSTICE SYSTEM THRIVES?

KWARA STATE LEGISLATORS ABBROGATE GOVERNORS PENSION LAW!
Kwara State's version of State Pension Law which came into effect in 2010 states that an ex-governor would be entitled TWO LUXURY CARS PLUS ONE ARMOURED OR SECURITY CAR - replaceable every three years, A WELL-FURNISHED 5-BED-ROOM DUPLEX, FURNITURE ALLOWANCE OF 300% OF HIS SALARY; FIVE PERSONAL STAFF, THREE DSS OPERATIVES, FREE MEDICAL CARE FOR THE GOVERNOR AND THE DEPUTY, 30% OF SALARY FOR VEHICLE MAINTEMANCE, 20% FOR UTILITY, 10% FOR ENTERTAINMENT, 10% FOR HOUSE MAINTENANCE!

Controversial Senate President 'Bukola Saraki, is one of these ex-governors who collected double salaries, allowances, pensions and all manner of spurious emoluments from the Nigerian treasury! He was two-term Governor of Kwara State, (2003-2011), one-time Senator representing Kwara Central District (2011-2015), of Kwara State, and presently "Senate President" (2015-date), in spite of the impoverished economic situation of his state!
But now, that the legislators have become wiser and have turned the table against him and his ilk, he is now advocating that other States should follow KWARA EXAMPLE! That is not enough! SARAKI SHOULD VOLUNTARILY REFUND ALL ILLEGAL EMOLUMENTS HE HAD COLLECTED FROM 2011 TO DATE OR BE FORCED TO DO SO!

SERAP'S LEGAL CONFRONTATION AGAINST ILLICITLY RICH EX-GOVERNORS!
We have on record that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in December 2017 filed a suit challenging the legality of 21 former state governors and their deputies now serving as Senators and Ministers, and drawing two salaries/emoluments from former and present employers at a Federal High Court and got a favourable judgment in January 2018. The court ruled that SERAP has "sufficient interest to bring its suit to stop former governors and now serving senator and ministers from receiving double pay and life pensions and to seek recovery of over N40billion of public funds unduly received by these public officers." The Judge granted leave in the suit by SERAP to compel the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice "to challenge the legality of the State Laws that allow those former politicians to draw double payments, identify those involved and seek full recovery of the funds involved."

HEARTLESS EX-GOVERNORS MUST PAY BACK ALL ILLEGAL EMOLUMENTS!
In 2016, a young street boy's angry vituperation that all Nigerian politicians should be BURIED ALIVE was nationally condemned - we still condemn jungle justice BUT these set of politically armed robbers - governors, legislators et all, MUST be made to face the law quickly and sent to jail where they belong! And they MUST PAY BACK ALL MONIES AND RETURN ALL PROPERTIES THEY HAVE ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED THROUGH THEIR DUBIOUS AND CRIMINALLY-DOGGED LIFE STYLE! Is it not an irony of fate that these leaders who possess no iota of moral discipline when it comes to acquisition of illicit wealth legislate at all levels of government over the academia, professional, technocrats able-bodied unemployed youths and adults and craft and oversight budgets which determine the economic lives of the poor citizens whom they have drained and left high and dry without A KOBO to their names?

Civil servant Workers (serving and retired), in about 35 out of 36 States of the Federation, according to the Trade Union Congress (TUC), President, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, are owed salaries, allowances, gratuities/pensions up to 19 months in some cases; despite billions of PARIS CLUB REFUNDS, while these heartless set of opportunists smile to the banks with billions of the naira made through the blood and sweat of the very unfortunate workers!
Outside of the REFUNDS, two initial FG financial bail-outs were loaned to salary payment defaulting STATES, and were expected to take care of all outstanding workers emoluments, had taken wings to satisfy the pecuniary lust of most of the governors and the helpless workers are still languishing in abject poverty!

All Nigerians MUST UNITE to bring these set of thieving "representatives" to quick justice through collective legal actions and through the BALLOT BOXES as the nation goes to the polls within 12 calendar months from now! THEY MUST ALL BE VOTED OUT IN 2019, STRIPPED OF ALL STOLEN MONIES FROM THE TREASURY, PROSECUTED IN THE LAW COURTS AND SENT TO PRISON IF CULPABLE!
It is the only way to stop all category of persons who believe that Nigerian Political Landscape is a GOLDMINE for small minds which believe only in the ephemeral things of life as money!

21 EX-GOVERNORS ARE BLEEDING NIGERIA TO DEATH!
Kwara State has taken the lead; what are the other 20 States waiting for in view of the recent court judgement mentioned earlier? Citizens who are in bondage under these heartless ex-governors MUST SPEAK OUT IN UNISON NOW TO TOTALY CONDEMN THE WICKED ACT AND PURSUE THE MATTER IN THE COURTS OF LAW IF THEY REFUSE TO FOLLOW KWARA LEAD!
Those States that indulged in the squandermania of public funds did so for their own gains BUT AT THE UNFORTUNATE EXPENSE OF THE TALAKAWAS WHOSE MONIES ARE MERCILESSLY AND WICKEDLY FRITTERED AWAY THROUGH THIS CRIMINAL ACT OF CONNIVANCE!
We have always been in the vanguard of advocacy for ONE NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE HOUSE TO BE RUN ON PART TIME BASIS AS PRACTICED IN OTHER CLIMES AND THE TOTAL DEREGULATION OF MONETARY INCENTIVE IN THAT SECTOR OF THE COLLECTIVE LEGISLATION OVER THE GIAGANTIC ECONOMY OF NIGERIA!
"Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

rexlims:
at op u must be an APC supporter. your point although well articulated are full of flaws.

please name the flaws rexlims.

The pre-election year of general elections is usually pregnant with premonitions about whether an incumbent government would be voted out or continue in office because in that year, proximity of the D-Day, would create advantage for opposition parties and rabble rousers to unearth all negativities and untruths with a view to scoring such administration very low before the Electorate!

Nigeria is not an exception to this political game of vindictiveness which had played out in cycles across thriving global democracies since the extinction of monarchical governance in most nations of the world!

The cacophony of accusations of non-performance against the ruling All Progressives Congress Party (APC), since the beginning of year 2018, by opposition parties especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in areas of security, and socio-economic contracts have been loudest because the year affords the antagonists the easiest opportunity to play dirty and get into political offices in desperation!

For instance the PDP, which wants to "recover power" at the centre at all cost has cashed in on the lingering artificial fuel scarcity to poison the minds of the vulnerable downtrodden Nigerians as the 2019 election year creeps in and have blamed the incumbent government for the unending daily queues at fuel stations across the nation since December 2017!
THE INDISPENSIBILITY OF PETROL IN PROCURING DAILY BREAD BY THE LARGER POPULATION - CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED WHILE ITS INACCESSIBILITY WAS BOUND TO SOLICIT INSTANT/OUTRIGHT CONDEMNATION OF ANY GOVERNMENT IN POWER! Therefore, whenever irregular supply of electricity occurred, petrol (premium motor spirit) MUST be readily available in great supply to fill the huge vacuum in order to avoid uncontrollable agitations that the opposition could use to advantage!
It is not beyond the capability of the Ruling Government to quickly correct this anomaly! The antagonists should not be given any opportunity to capitalize on the recalcitrant artificial scarcity of PETROL to turn APC's loving masses against their divine government.

POSITIVE GAINS FOR THE MASSES!
In less than THREE years, the Change Administration reduced official corruption with impunity, ineptitude among political office holders and the civil servants, embezzlement of government funds by officials including organised robbery of the national treasury to the barest minimum and introduced the marvellous success stories of ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION FROM CRUDE OIL TO AGRICULTURE, NATURAL MINERAL RESOURCES, MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL SECTORS, TOURISM/ NOLLYWOOD MOVIE INDUSTRY, INFORMATION COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT), TRANSPORTATION, YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, PROMOTION OF SMALL/MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMSEs); ETC, in spite of inheriting a completely despoiled and battered economy from PDP?
Now there are over ONE THOUSAND millionaire farmers who benefitted from the CBN's Anchors Borrowers Programme, including fresh employments for millions of Graduates, in the public and private sectors of the economy; and thousands of opportunities for self-employment through the manufacturing and the SMSEs who have attained financial supports through the Bank of Industry (BOI).

THE UNENDING PETROL QUEUES ARE UNACCEPTABLE!
That the official pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), is fixed at N145, 00, is not in doubt but, all Nigerian motorists know that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have continued to violate the price regime and are pressurizing the Federal Government to increase the price to between N165-170 naira, per litre for them to have some profit margin.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which assumed sole importation of petroleum products from early 2017, sold to IPMAN depots at N125 naira - a price which they claimed did not take into consideration their own inputs of transportation and dispensation at the fuel stations nation-wide and this stout attitude has been responsible for the unending fuel queues at the filling stations even as at the date of this publication!

Though, NNPC mega-filling stations nation-wide sold petrol at subsidized pump price of N145,00 naira in spite of the landing cost of imported PMS which rose to about N171.50 naira, and also instructed other stakeholders to do same, - in the height of artificial scarcity between December 2017 and January 2018, - IPMAN sold at between N170-200 naira in their various outlets to further compound the travail of Nigerians in their desperation to make extra gains because they had been banned from the importation of petroleum products for over a year in order to reduce payment of the controversial and fraudulent subsidies!

IS GOVERNMENT AMELIORATING THE MASSES PAIN?
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has claimed that government-owned refineries would be quickly fixed to produce at optimal level while MODULAR REFINERIES would be speedily introduced (by government), to take care of all local consumption; but even at that, we believe that local or international private oil entrepreneurs, should be invited into partnership to ensure regular, efficient, professional and digital operations that would always complement the economy on that platform!
Government, according to the Minister, is also soliciting wholesale private sector participation in refining the crude oil to ensure adequate supply of petroleum products in the country, but we advise that it is imperative for government to create the all-enabling environment conducive for adequate profitability as an incentive commensurate to the huge investments envisaged!
Government was also able to persuade the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), from embarking on an industrial action which would have compounded the already volatile and agonising condition of the suffering masses, by ensuring that some sacked members of the association were recalled!

IS GOVERNMENT ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE IN PUMP PRICE?
Tongues are wagging in negative directions that the APC government might be toying with the idea of effecting TOTAL DEREGULATION OF THE DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM SECTOR, which will remove the price regime and afford free-for-all opportunities for all stakeholders to purchase Crude Oil, refine and commercialize it for profitability without constraints! If the intention materializes TWO THINGS would happen:
Petroleum products would flood Nigerian markets to nullify scarcity at filling stations; but PETROL new prices would be unaffordable to the COMMON MAN!
The alluring charismatic image of the Change Administration before the TALAKAWAS would shatter because the amiable citizens would be incensed by the opposition PDP remnant factions to hate the ruling party in order to divert their votes at the up-coming elections! And whereas PDP consecutive corrupt administrations actually created the present messy fuel challenges which root germinated through the active connivance of very rich and wealthy former Minister of Petroleum, who signed the fraudulent payment bills for SUBSIDIES to phantom importers and manipulated OIL FUNDS at will!

APC SHOULD URGENTLY GET ITS ACTS TOGETHER!
Is it not a shame that in the 32 months of APC administration the rumblings of polarisation, disaffection, dissatisfaction, rivalry, disobedience, opposition and counter opposition to government policies by legislators of the ruling party with poisonous passion, are still the order of each day? The Party is yet to hold a National Convention till date because of internal imbroglio! Has APC forgotten the adage which says, "A house that is divided against itself would fall?
Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, the Party leader has been mandated to mend fences around the feuding and rival members in,: Oyo, Kogi, Kwara, Kaduna, though he himself is part of the problem! We have faith in divine intervention for permanent solutions before the 2019 election which is just one year away, because the party belongs to GOD and NOT any individual or groups of persons!
In the interest of all aggrieved members, they should trust in providence and allow the WILL OF GOD to reign supreme by allowing internal democracy and Party Supremacy flow seamlessly, this time around. Nobody should rock the boat by antagonizing the anointed one MUHAMMADU BUHARI, who will clinch victory and run his second term till 23rd May, 2023!

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, APC MUST NOT INCREASE PETROL PUMP PRICE ABOVE N145, 00 PER LITRE! Some members of IPMAN should be quickly contracted and encouraged to support the inadequate importation of this scarce commodity, while the intervention measures already put into motion by government should be fast-tracked as the debut of DANGOTE PETROLEUM in 2019, is awaited with much enthusiasm!
ANY PETROL PUMP PRICE INCREASE AT THIS TIME WILL BIRTH NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO THE TALAKAWAS! THEY ARE BUHARI’S SUPPORTERS! ’’For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, the labourer is worthy of his reward.’’(1Tim 5:18)



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Patriotic Nigerians cannot be alarmed at the vicious gang-up by legislators of the National Assembly against the Executive because they never hid their covetous character when they forcefully seized the administration of the hallowed chambers on 8th June, 2015, in a manner reminiscent of political gangsterism!

In the past 32 months of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Administration, opportunists APC Federal Legislators have engaged the PRESIDENCY in heated muscle-flexing, ego competition and vicious political confrontations in spite of the fact that they all rode on the wings of President Muhammadu Buhari's untainted character, dignified antecedent, popular acceptability and charisma, during the 2015 general elections to clinch unmerited seats at red and green chambers respectively!

They began their rebellion by rejecting Party's Supremacy with impunity but connived with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), legislators to swear-in principal officers of National Assembly (NASS), at the Senate and the House of Representatives Chambers respectively! From then on they remained at dagger-drawn; opposed and criticized every Executive action or Bill - including budgetary presentations, as if they were not APC card-carrying members who have majority seats in both chambers!
Presently they have vowed not to deliberate on any request for confirmation of appointees of the Executive until the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, was replaced and have been deliberately foot-dragging on the oversight of the 2018 Budget estimates by anchoring on a flimsy excuse that the 2017 Budget was yet to be fully implemented! If they were genuine/patriotic democrats of the APC and without HIDDEN AGENDA, should they have been so confrontational and pretentious of the myriads of socio-economic challenges on ground when the Party took over the mantle of a government with an almost EMPTY TREASURY and a GLARING RECESSION even as at 29th May, 2015?

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on 9th March, 2017, released a time-table for the 2019 general elections in the following order: Presidential/National Assembly (NASS), elections to come first on Saturday 16th February, 2019, while the Governorship and State Assembly/Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Council elections were to hold on Saturday 2nd March, 2019, (i.e. two weeks later), these overzealous federal legislators nullified the independent status of the electoral body by taking over their functions!
On 6th February, 2018 , they hurried amendment of Section 25 of the 2010 Electoral Act by both Chambers saw the light of the day and exposed their selfish motive aimed at SECURING THEIR OWN SEATS BEFORE PRESIDENT BUHARI, ON WHOSE POPULARITY THEY RODE INTO POLITICAL LIME LIGHT AND RECKONING IN 2015 AND HAVE NOW HATCHED A DIABOLICAL PLAN TO UNSEAT HIM BY JOINING FORCES WITH HIS MULTITUDE OF DETRACTORS!

NASS ELECTION IS NOW IN THE NUMBER ONE SLOT; to be followed by the Gubernatorial/State Assemblies and LASTLY, the Presidential, because the legislators claimed to have the "constitutional right" to re-order ELECTIONS according to Section 4, sub-section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but forgot that their legislative function was to MAKE LAWS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND NOT TO MUTILATE LAWS FOR SELFISH REASONS AS IT NOW STANDS!

According to Section 76 of the 1999 Constitution which empowers INEC to fix dates and conduct elections, the Electoral body had on 9th March, 2017 announced the dates which placed the PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FIRST, only for the House of Representatives to raise objections which led to the ILLEGALITY WHICH CONSTITUTED AN ENCROACHMENT/INFRINGEMENT ON THE INDEPENDENCE AND RIGHTS OF THE EXECUTIVE AND ITS MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES (MDAs)!

WHAT THESE 8TH NASS LEGISLATORS HAVE DONE TO INEC's TIME-TABLE IS TANTAMOUNT TO DOCUMENT- PADDING LIKE THEY HAD DONE TO PAST EXECUTIVE BUDGETS FROM 2016-2017!
There is no part of the 1999 Constitution which permits legislators to REMOVE, INSERT, RE-WRITE, RE-PHRASE, RE-INVENT, OR RE-CREATE EXECUTIVE DOCUMENTS FORWARDED TO THEM FOR OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS IN VIEW OF THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS, BUT THEY ALWAYS OVERSTEPPED THEIR BOUNDS!
At best, they could make observations and request the AUTHOR to amend and re-forward! It was high time the Executive tested these obnoxious and attitudinal excesses of the recalcitrant legislators at the APEX COURT FOR LEGAL ADJUDICATION! If the legislators were not very selfish meddlesome interlopers, should they overheat the polity in a matter that was the exclusive preserve of INEC and even threaten to veto Mr. President if he refused assent to their obnoxious bill after 30 days of submission according to constitutional provisions?

THE POTTER'S CLAY EFFIGIES ARE ABOUT TO TAKE A SWIM!!
Let us imagine that these greedy legislators were not attracted to NIGERIAN POLITICS because of the perks of office and largess of FINANCIAL INDUCEMENT of this Presidential system which has turned pauperish politicians into multi-millionaires and billionaires within few months of EMPOLYMENT, while those they pretend to represent wallow in abject poverty.......
Let us also imagine that they did not allocate to themselves outrageous annual sums of extra-budgetary salaries, wardrobe, vehicle and sitting allowances, including gratuities/pensions, etc; of between N120-150 billion, to be paid to them and those who would not be re-elected at the end of every FOUR-YEAR-TERM; would there have been any need, for that aggressive struggle to remain a legislator at all cost?

Before Nigerian politicians, especially the current legislators decided to DIE IN OFFICE because of outrageous financial inducement deliberately created through the COPY-CAT MENTALITY of mimicking United States Presidential System of Government, let the ELECTORATE make up their minds to VOTE THEM OUT IN THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS, NOW THAT THE CHARLATANS HAVE ENVIABLY AND SURREPTITIOUSLY TAKEN OVER THE "FIRST POSITION" IN THE ORDER OF ELECTION PRIORITY!

DO YOU KNOW THAT A NIGERIAN LEGISLATOR EARNS HIGHER SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES THAN HIS COUNTERPART IN THE UNITED STATES AND EVEN THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT?
In view of this ugly development, we advocate that all CIVIL SOCIETY/NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS, should lay emphasis on civil and voter education through all available media outlets especially - THE SOCIAL MEDIA - which is accessible to the poor masses who have been short-changed for too long so that they would exercise their electoral franchise with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), in the right direction!
Urgent steps should also be taken by the EXECUTIVE to enforce the CONSTITUTIONAL SALARY STRUCTURE FOR THE LEGISLATURE AS CONTAINED IN THE REVENUE MOBILISATION ALLOCATION AND FISCAL COMMISSION (RMAFC), REMUNERATION applicable to political office holders because these legislators are being intoxicated by TOO MUCH MONEY!

SOME FAILED POLITICIANS ARE SEARCHING FOR DIGITAL YOUTH LEADERS IN NIGERIA!
Do they have to search very far? Digital youth leaders have been ruling Nigeria since 15th, January 1966! All the military coup leaders, Head of States, Governors and Administrators who ruled Nigeria with IRON FIST, for about THIRTY YEARS were all in their twenties and early thirties and they were VERY DIGITAL!

In 1999 when they eventually relinquished power, they handed over to digital civilian governors, most of whom were in their early thirties and the elected President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who was just about 52 years old! These digital generations are still very much around and are still trying very hard to build prominence around themselves by claiming to have solution to all political/socio economic problems! DO YOU BELIEVE THEM? WE DON'T!

Let us rise up as a nation of GOOD PEOPLE, with to support PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, THE AFRICAN CHAMPION IN THE WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION AND TOGETHER, BUILD DIGITAL/VIABLE INSTITUTIONS RATHER THAN CORRUPT/GREEDY PERSONALITIES!
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." (Psalm. 34:19).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Funbabaty:
Dr. Olufon. I think you missed the point in your piece. You started by saying you will focus on the message and not the messenger. But in every section of your writing, you referenced the messenger. I think your writing is confusing and sentimental. OBJ was part of the problem you outlined. I will agree with you on that. But Buhari's government was voted in to fix that problem. The question is how well has Buhari's government performed after 3 years in office. The answer is obvious.

Perhaps Funbabaty, you did not look closely enough, what is written is this- "we will limit our analysis to the
contents and antecedents of the writer and conform
with the adage which says one should not "throw
the baby out with the bath water"; but place
emphasis on the message and not the messenger,
in order not to lose salient points in the message,"

In the analysis of national issues, good citizens dwell on facts while bad citizens dwell on sentiments. In Nigeria, the bad citizens are more than the good ones both at the leadership and followership levels and this imbalance is responsible for the uproar and stampede for negative comments on any trending matter on the social media!
Ex-President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, (OBJ), the ubiquitous letter-writer, threw "a spanner in the works" on Monday 23rd January, 2018, in his usual style of criticisms against every government since 2007, when he lost his inordinate ambition for a third-term in office!
Not surprisingly, the social/print and electronic media exploded into jittery commotion of an avalanche of support for the Chief, who hails from the Owu Clan in Abeokuta, Ogun State, because he suggested that the incumbent occupier of the Aso Rock Villa should relieve himself of his constitutional duties and right to re-contest as President in 2019!
He also recommended that Buhari should go home to Daura to ROOST, because he was too old and bereft of economic ideas; whereas, OBJ was about 70 years old n 2007, when he reluctantly departed from office!

Obasanjo criticised Buhari for:
(1) Poor performance in government,
(2) Poverty in Nigeria,
(3) Insecurity,
(4) Poor economic management,
(5) Nepotism,
(6) Gross dereliction of duty,
(7) Condonation, if not outright encouragement of it,
( Lack of progress and hope for the future,
(9) Lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and
(10) Widening inequality!

Although we believe that Obasanjo's latest treatise was not only vindictive, but was an academic exercise in futility, we will limit our analysis to the contents and antecedents of the writer and conform with the adage which says one should not "throw the baby out with the bath water"; but place emphasis on the message and not the messenger, in order not to lose salient points in the message, titled, "The Way Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement"!

We have no quarrel with either Obasanjo or his umpteenth message (because he wrote similar letters to ex-presidents Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Babangida, Umaru Yar-Adua, and Ebele Jonathan), in the past, but we will put his thoughts in this particular letter in their proper perspectives, so that the good people of Nigeria would not be hoodwinked into believing falsehood and fallacies that are sinisterly-packaged to gain cheap political relevance!

Is Ex-President Obasanjo not GUILTY of all the TEN reasons he adduced as the SINS/DERELICTIONS of the present CHANGE Government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in particular?
Though, Obasanjo was oblivious of divine providence of becoming President of Nigeria in a STARCHED KHAKI underneath a civillian mantle, shortly after his release from ABACHA's incarceration in prison, did he as a "born again" Christian govern in RIGHTEOUSNESS?

Would articulate Nigerians easily forget the disgraceful, dirty, mudslinging and unconstitutional EGO WAR between Obasanjo and his Vice, Atiku Abubakar, in respect of the former's Third Term ambition bid during the second tenure of the first TWO citizens of this good nation? Had the adage which says, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely", not played out in OBJ's style of government in that instance?

It is unheard of, neither is it constitutional that a sitting President would attempt or actually pronounce the SACK FROM OFFICE of his VICE with whom he was voted with the same ticket! Obasanjo did so between July, 2006 and May, 2007, in a military-commando style! He did not only sack Atiku Abubakar from office (unconstitutionally), he also drove him out of his official Presidential Lodge within the Aso Rock Complex, and got away with the dastard act through an OFFICIAL INDICTMENT, by EFCC and also a KANGAROO SENATE AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON PETROLEUM TRUST DEVELOPMENT FUND (PTDF), which sanctioned the ex-Vice President for "abusing his office by aiding and abetting the diversion of public funds in the sum of US $125million and US $ 20 million respectively!"

DOWN THE MEMORY LANE!
When Obasanjo was released from prison in a coup de tat Death Sentence in June 1998 by General Abubakar Abdusalam, who took over power shortly after General Abacha's demise, he uttered the following emotionally-laden/spiritually-inspired speech at a thanksgiving service in Abeokuta, Ogun State, which we paraphrase as follows: "To accomplish a sound and wholesome society, a critical mass of righteous and upright citizens must rise to the occasion to act as the salt and light within their communities. The goal of life is to pursue truth, know God, serve humanity and resist Satan."
Well said; but is the Obasanjo known to Nigerians, the Diaspora and the World at large, NOT the total opposite of his personality and advocacy? Would it not take divine intervention for ex-President Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo, to admit that he was no longer relevant in trending issues of partisan politics because he abused his last opportunity as a democratic President (having served as military Head of State between 1976-1979), through greed, avarice and covetousness?

Having lost a diabolical plot to manipulate the Nigerian Constitution to favour him with an illegal Third Term in office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he declared a "do-or-die", political election process which he insisted that his Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), must win at all cost through his anointed candidate, late President Umaru Yar' Adua of blessed memory!
Did he not also device a plot to remain in power through STOOGES whom he could manipulate at his whims and caprices, first through Umaru Yar'Adua and later Ebele Jonathan?

CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS DURING OBJ's TENURE!
The following allegations which have not been denied, trailed OBJ throughout his eight-year tenure of presidency as follows:
* That he had only N20.000 (twenty thousand naira), in his bank account on release from prison in 1998 - but in those two terms in office it was very easy for him to become a multi-billionaire!
* That he corrupted himself through NNPC and PTDF, as the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources, and through the Shipping, Communications/Industrial Sectors - especially NPA, NITEL, and TRANSCORP!
* That, he acquired and funded large FARMS in the six geo-political zones with over N 2 billion naira, "borrowed" from United Bank for Africa, (UBA)!
* That OBJ subtly approved for PTDF (was under his supervision), without recourse to Federal Executive Council (FEC), on the same day, two tranches of N 20 billion naira and N10 billion naira respectively which were never accounted for subsequently!
* That his administration spent over N16 billion naira on phantom Power Projects!
* There were also allegations of his involvement in bribery scandals in respect of the Halliburton and Siemens Contracts against some highly-placed government officials and retired Nigerian Presidents!
* That it was during Obasanjos's era that the Executive lobbied Legislators with GHANA MUST GO BRIBE MONEY BAGS for approval of illegal favours!
* That he was NEPOTIC in his appointments to the extent of presenting a rejected ministerial nominee before the Senate for FOUR times until the legislators succumbed!

OBJ sold all government's critical infrastructures, including legislative/civil servants quarters, for PEA NUTS, to his political associates/cronies in order to achieve his third term desire! MANY POLITICIANS WERE ALSO ASSASINATED DURING OBASANJO'S PRESIDENCY!
The list is long, but OBJ believes that he could cover up his corruption tracks by pointing accusing fingers to successive governments through covert letters; but we believe otherwise, because it would not take too long before he is brought to book through DIVINE INTERVENTION!
OBJ can only run but cannot HIDE!
OBJ is confused! In one breath, he said he had no more interest in partisan politics and tore his PDP CARD, yet in another breath he is not only advocating for A COALITION OF NIGERIA MOVEMENT but spearheading its speedy formation for participation in the up-coming 2019 General Elections!
What does that mean to the ELECTORATE other than a new Political Party under OBJ's control that intends to wrestle power at all cost in another do-or-manner in 2019, if GOD PERMITS?

When will the mentality of the Nigerian politicians shift from building individuals and focussed on building INSTITUTIONS? OBJ's Letter was full of self indictments because his tenure was the WORST in the history of Nigerian politics!

DOES OBJ POSSESS MONOPOLY OF LETTER-WRITING? The answer is NO! Ex-President Ebele Jonathan replied his letter titled, "Before It Is Too Late"; OBJ's daughter, Iyabo Obasanjo wrote a HATE letter to his father, while OBJ's first son, Dr.Gbenga Obasanjo, publicly and in an open court, accused his father of INCEST with his estranged wife, Mojisola, in January 2008'! OBJ has not denied this grievous allegation! "He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones!"

Obasanjo has the fundamental right to write letters BUT he should be mindful to respect the constitutional rights of others in order to avoid unpleasant consequences and embarrassing litigations. BUHARI WILL NEITHER STEAL, NOR ALLOW ONE KOBO OF THE NIGERIAN COMMONWEALTH TO BE STOLEN UNDER HIS WATCH UNLIKE OBJ AND HIS STOGEES! "See thou a man diligent in his business, he will stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men." (Proverbs 22:29)



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

jesse8048:
Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood to read long epistle. Simply put, God punish the dullard and whoever that supports him.

Make effort to read the "epistle" friend; the dullard is the person who is too lazy to read and as such cannot have knowledge

Artificial scarcity of premium motor spirit (petrol), which became noticeable in the first week of December 2017, and persisted for about seven days into the new year, brought in its wake, fresh fuel queues in all filling stations across Nigeria, and the poor citizens who depended heavily on this crude oil byproduct on daily basis for business/domestic use, suffered tremendously as all their commercial motor-bikes, grinding machines and manufacturing/industrial equipments for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs), which depended on electricity grounded to a halt!
As the masses languished on the streets, day and night in desperate quest to acquire the scarce product at all costs, and Federal Government and its agency, the NNPC seemed helpless in restoring sanity in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, black market vendors flooded the entire nation with the precious commodity and sold ONE LITRE for as high N400.00, and an orchestrated and very loud agitation rang across the nation that, President Muhammadu Buhari should resign as the substantive MINISTER OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES!

How was the Black Market flooded with large quantities of the PETROL which were not available in filling stations and vendors could freely merchandize them in plastic containers without apprehension by any arm of the law-enforcement agencies and how come the hue and cry for the resignation of the President who had ensured regular distribution of petroleum products (especially the PMS which could not be substituted, unlike Kerosene), for over ONE YEAR without any lapse?
ONE SALIENT TRUTH IS VERY GLARING AND THAT IS: NIGERIANS HAVE BEEN SO CRUELLY MIS-GOVERNED AND DOWNTRODDEN TO BREAKING POINT BY PAST ADMINISTRATIONS THAT THEY HAVE BECOME HIGHLY SENSITIVE AND ARE PRONE TO PROTESTS AT ANY GIVEN PROVOCATION!

GENESIS AND PROGRESSION OF THE PRESENT CRISIS!
(1) On Wednesday, 11th May, 2016, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), announced an upward adjustment, from N87.00 to N145.00, which turned out to be a TOTAL REMOVAL OF SUBSIDY BY GOVERNMENT ON THE PETROL - since it was not even captured in the 2016 Budget by the out-going PDP Administration!

(2) Between then and now, the international crude oil price further nose-dived to about US $30 dollars per barrel and though now rising to an all high US $70, the ripple effect of the downturn, hit the exchange rate and made the NAIRA to further depreciate against the United States dollar, from about N196 then to about N360 to one dollar now in 2018, for importers of PETROL - one of the subsidiaries of crude oil!

(3) In view of this development, according to major stakeholders in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the landing cost of imported PMS rose sharply from N126.5 in 2014, to N171.4 in the second quarter 2017, and the importers pushed for pump price increase from N145 to about N180 per litre, - which would nullify the 2016 removal of subsidy and total deregulation of the downstream sector - inclusive of Kerosene and Diesel Oil - which had long been deregulated! Government resisted and sidelined them for NNPC to have monopoly of PETROL importation but agreed to sell the imported commodities to the marketers who still complained that the marginal profit extended to them was insufficient and their covetous attitude led to HOARDING AND DIVERSION OF THE FINISHED PRODUCTS TO NEIGHBOURRING COUNTRIES FOR ILLICT GAINS!

(4) However, government's moves in the above direction has indicated that the difference between N145 pump price and the present landing costs of N171.4, - a difference of N26.4, - which represents a NEW "SUBSIDY REGIME", is being paid by NNPC - which is about to generate a fresh rift between it and the Senate Committee on Petroleum, which has queried the authority of Federal Government for paying fresh subsidies after total deregulation of the downstream sector in May, 2016!


PRESIDENT BUHARI IS MOST QUALIFIED TO SANITIZE THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY!

(1) The Petroleum Industry which he superintended over as Military Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resource, between 1976 - 1979; had acquired a negative identity as the most corrupt government agency, a drain-pipe/liability to the economy, in view of the magnitude of the ROT (corruption with impunity, mass robbery of the BLACK GOLD), in all management cadres - upstream, middlestream or downstream!

(2) Under Buhari's watch, the Warri and Kaduna Refineries were initiated to promote local production of finished products of crude oil and save the much needed foreign exchange to support the economy and he was the first Chairman of the NNPC which was created in 1977.

(3) He was instrumental to government's investments in pipelines and petroleum storage infrastructures which as a result facilitated the construction of 21 petroleum storage depots across the country from Lagos to Maiduguri and Calabar to Gusau, including a pipeline network that connected Bonny Terminal and the Port Harcourt Refinery to the depots.

(4) President Buhari, who was appointed by Military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, was also responsible for the contract of pipelines to connect from the Escravos Oil Terminal to Warri and Kaduna refineries had been very disturbed about the fact that NNPC he once chaired was turned into a cabal for economic saboteurs where monies which accrued from crude oil sales were unaccounted for; where there were no existing records or inventory of crude oil lifted on daily basis, where no one bothered about ANNUAL AUDITING of the Corporation's accounts; where OIL BLOCKS were distributed as political dividends to the inner caucus and all who worked for NNPC at all levels of administration were millionaires and where past Ministers of Petroleum Resources and NNPC GMDs became Billionaires in US dollars and some kept unspent dollars in abandoned cottages and others acquired massive edifices in quantum!

The Group Managing Director (GMD), of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, was quoted by the Nigerian Press to have told the President on Christmas eve, 24th December, 2017, that the "major reasons for PMS scarcity were hoarding and diversion of products to neighbouring countries"!
During that meeting, Baru was said to have also alleged that about 1,456 fully-loaded trucks with PMS meant for distribution to designated parts of Nigeria were among those that found their way out of the country without a trace thereby aggravating scarcity of the products during Christmas 2017 and New Year, 2018 festivities, respectively!

The economic loss throughout those agonizing weeks when man-power hours were spent in night vigils at filling stations by both public and private workers, whose productivity diminished drastically for as long as the scarcity lasted, was better imagined than quantified; but from Baru's revelation, a treasonable crime of ECONOMIC SABOTAGE BY A CABAL OF PETROLEUM MARKETERS WAS ESTABLISHED!

Hoarding and diversion, (whether to Black Market or neighbouring countries), are very serious economic crimes under the recently endorsed Petroleum Industry Act but, are the law enforcement agencies, including the CUSTOMS/IMMIGRATION SERVICES, who watch over movement of people, goods and services at Nigeria's borders aware of the existence of the PIA or did they connive with the Cabal to rubbish and discredit all democratic dividends which the masses had benefited from since 29th May, 2015, when the APC Administration came on board through artificial scarcity of PETROL?

With the hind sight of his experience as a Military Federal Minister of Petroleum, President Buhari did not waste time to order all the security agencies to increase vigilance and tighten border patrols around the country and to institute immediate investigations to unveil the saboteurs and deal with them judiciously!
The Ministry under his supervision now has been sanitized of MASSIVE FRAUD of the past. ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOW THE WATCHWORD IN NNPC under the President's watch as the substantive Minister of Petroleum and with some patience, the refurbishing of the existing refineries through Public/Private Partnership (PPP), which is already underway, and construction of NEW REFINERIES - already on stream both by government and private entrepreneurs, would soon come on board and PETROL SCARCITY would disappear into thin air!
NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY FROM MUHAMMADU BUHARI HIS ANTECEDENT AND PEDIGREE WHEN IT COMES TO PROBITY, FAITHFULNESS, HONESTY AND DILLIGENCE IN GOVERNANCE! TALAKAWAS WHO ARE IN THE MAJORITY SHOULD HAVE FAITH IN GOD AND IN HIS ANOINTED SERVANT - PRESIDENT BUHARI WHO WILL DELIVER THE TRUE DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY TO THEM CONSISTENTLY UNTIL YEAR 2023, WHEN HE MUST HAVE EXHAUSTED HIS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE!

As at the time of this publication, fuel queues had resurfaced in some filling stations in Abuja! But NNPC has urged motorists to desist from panic purchases and insisted that there was sufficient stock of petrol to serve the nation for more than a month.
The Oil Corporation also enjoined Nigerians to report petroleum product hoarders or greedy marketers who sell above the N145 per litre to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is statutorily empowered to handle such complaints through their offices nation-wide. As it is written, "Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to all people."(Proverbs. 14:34).



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

IT'S SUICIDAL TO SEEK GREEN PASTURES OUTSIDE OF NIGERIA WITHOUT LEGAL PAPERS!

Very disturbing but authentic news reached the shores of Nigeria in November 2017 that our able-bodied citizens were being sold to slave merchants for FOUR HUNDRED United States dollars (US $400; about 123.200 naira), in the North Africa country of LIBYA, where they absconded to seek "greener pastures"!
At about the same period, the raped dead bodies of 27 Nigerian women, between 14-23 years, were discovered in an abandoned ship on the Mediterranean, off the coast of Libya!
Before these very unfortunate incidents, some Nigerian drug peddlers in July, 2016, were caught in Indonesia, tried and executed, whereas Nigeria's fertile arable lands have no comparison anywhere in the world because the 36 States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FTC), can feed and profit from agricultural produce through their commercialisation, locally and exportation to foreign countries.
Outside of agriculture, there are not less than 700 species of naturally-endowed mineral resources outside of Crude Oil - ranging from Coal to Iron Ore, Bitumen, Gold, Copper, Silver, Gypsum, including some deposits of URANIUM, (a universally-sought-after, very important, scarce, but major mineral ingredient needed for nuclear energy), buried, lying fallow and untapped, in some parts of Nigeria, but which only needed organised labour to harness and commercialise to boost the nation's economy and its coffers!

Why would the able-bodied citizens of Nigeria depart from Eldorado to the deserts of Africa and perish? Why would they abandon the GREEN VEGETATION of this green and luscious landscape to swim in the polluted waters of the Mediterranean in a bid to cross to Europe, but only to end up in the belly of vicious and hungry sharks and whales prowling in the depths of the violent seas?

Where did we get it wrong as a people and as a nation? Is it not the norm that parents would naturally serve as guides and first teachers to their offspring before sending them forth to educational institutions to acquire further knowledge to enable them contribute their quotas in the areas of national development?
In view of this national embarrassment, who should take the blame of aggravated promiscuity in the societies, the inordinate ambition and insatiable urge/desire to get rich at all costs - especially among the youths?

Do the Nigerian parents, teachers, politicians, elders and elites present themselves as perfect role models for the teaming youths who constitute about 60% of an estimated population of 170 million people?

IS THE ECONOMIC SITUATION IN NIGERIA THAT BAD, EVEN WITH THE CHANGE OF GUARDS AND ALL STRATEGIC ECONOMIC INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES ALREADY FRUITING POSITIVELY IN THE PAST 31 MONTHS THAT SOME CITIZENS WOULD STILL PREFER TO BE WASTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES RATHER THAN JOIN HANDS TO BUILD THEIR OWN NATION?

In spite of a transient economic recession in 2016, Nigeria has bounced back as the nation with the highest GDP index in Africa and the most attractive industrial destination for European, Asian and American investors who are competing for space in the Nigerian Market Arena!
Nigeria is presently enjoying bumper food harvests - especially in agricultural produce as more State Government have diversified attention to the land for increased internally Generated Revenues (IGRs).

According to World Bank Group, the diversification from crude oil to agriculture which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), played pivotal role and solid minerals had helped in no small measure to ameliorate and cushion the smarting effects of recession as it affected the daily bread of the resilient masses of Nigerian workers.
The Anchors Borrowers Programme of the CBN, which has produced several millionaire farmers, with other economic interventions by the apex bank has enabled Nigeria to rise 24 places on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings and earned a place for the nation on the List of Top 10 Reformers in the world!

Why would the unemployed citizens not take advantage of the golden opportunities available in Nigeria where they are accorded first class citizenship and steadily grow successfully with the new economic template than take suicidal missions to foreign lands?

OFFICIAL RECORDS OF REPATRIATED NIGERIANS FROM LIBYA IN 2017!
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has disclosed that a total of 6,672 Nigerians (male, females and infants), who were lured to Libya by human traffickers, voluntarily returned to Nigeria between 6th January to 28th December, 2017, with the tacit co-operation of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). According to the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), the returnees were encouraged to join hands with the various government agencies to tackle the problem of human trafficking syndicates by identifying them with the assurance that their information would be treated with utmost confidentiality and secrecy! Those who were lucky to return claimed that they were lured with "juju" (magical charms), and oaths of secrecy by the syndicates!


FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR ILLEGAL MIGRATION!
We have conclusively researched that Nigerians involved in soiling the good image of the nation are negligible in number but negatively destructive in their unbridled desire to acquire money at all costs and by all means when they are demonically lured.
We have also discovered that this suicidal urge that has blinded all those who have been shamelessly involved in the desperate pursuit of transient riches and wealth also has a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION which contradicts the divine commandment against the LOVE OF MONEY, that constitutes the root of all evils!

The desperate pursuit for quick wealth abroad by illegal migrants should be traced to the antecedents of Nigerian rich citizens whose sources of acquisition of sudden riches were neither questioned nor investigated by any anybody or agency of government but who, suddenly became famous, popular and worshipped by the downtrodden in their communities as celebrities!

With the determination of the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to purge Nigeria of the deep-rooted cankerworm of corruption, many looters of the treasury, money launderers, drug barons, illegal crude oil bunkerers, currency racketeers, have been rounded up and tons of monies recovered - especially with the introduction of the Whistle Blower Policy - which has yielded lots of positive results!
We strongly believe that it is very wrong for youths to grow up in lawless societies where money, instead of the dignity of education, ingenuity and labour, is worshipped and advocate that all hands must now be on deck to reform and re-orientate the youths in a new direction of inculcating the habit and godly doctrine of righteousness, probity and equity, which will gradually lead to accountability, good success and clean sources of acquisition of wealth in all their chosen endeavours of life.


RESILIENT AND PATIENT NIGERIAN YOUTHS ARE IN THE MAJORITY!
Majority of courageous Nigerian youths are domicile in the country and are doing well because the Change Government is encouraging them through the N-Power Employment and Special Intervention Programmes; Agricultural Loans/Land Leases through Bank of Industry (BOI); and encourage into the political terrain through the "Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill," which has passed through second reading in the National Assembly (NASS); Educational Scholarships; and the enforcement of the Local Content Law, on foreign investors, etc, and they are prospering by leaps and bounds.
If only those returnee migrants like the prodigal could only repent and, settle down and embrace government incentives as enumerated earlier and if those who are still contemplating to "stow away" would have a change of heart, they WILL all eat of the good of the land of Nigeria, flowing with milk, honey, fruit juice and SMUDDIES!

PARENTS' DESPICABLE LUST AND AGGRANDIZEMENT MUST STOP NOW!
Is it not ironic that parents sell landed properties and even obtain loans at exorbitant interests to sponsor their wards to foreign lands because of their lust for illicit wealth with which they intend to compete with the JONESES?
What about the human traffickers with perverse intentions of luring desperate youth into prostitution in Europe through deceits of lucrative employments or further education? The Word of God says parents should teach their wards good behaviour for them to become good citizens of the world.


THE ROLE OF NAPTIP MUST BE ENHANCED!
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), should be commended for its relentless efforts since inception on 14th July, 2003 in curbing the excesses of human trafficking and prosecution of several offenders but now need the collaboration of the WHISTLE BLOWERS to get more positive results because these traffickers are human beings and not spirits and must therefore be tracked down, subjected to face the rule of law and be punished according to the law if found culpable. All the three tiers of government must also collaborate to "ground the youths at the grassroot" where the urge for illegal migration is rife and deeply rooted due to the support of the elders/parents, until this societal evil is uprooted from Nigeria!


CAN WE BLAME UNEMPLOYMENT/UNDER-EMPLOYMENT FOR THIS NATIONAL MALAISE?
Nigeria's unemployment/under-employment rate has increased to 14.2 per cent in the Fourth Quarter of 2017, from 13.9% in the Third Quarter of 2016! According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), of the nation's 85 million able-bodied workforce, 29 million are unemployed, an increase of 351,015 persons between ages of 15 to 34, which falls within the age bracket of the youth population! We have agricultural lands that are more than sufficient to cultivate by 170 million Nigerians, yet our children are on suicide missions abroad to look for jobs! WHAT A SHAME?

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov 16:25. KJV)
“ILLEGAL FOREIGN TRIP IS SUICIDAL! NIGERIAN YOUTHS PLEASE BEWARE AND DESIST!

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

When patriotic Nigerians bade one another Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance in December 2017, little did they expect that the year 2018 would commence with the bloodbath of innocent fellow Nigerians from Benue to Rivers; Maiduguri to Taraba; Adamawa to Niger; Kwara to Kaduna; Oyo to Ikorodu and Cross-River; there was virtually no geo-political zone that was not attacked by gunmen and bloody psychopaths!

Nigerians were greeted with the sad news that over 50 people, rural men, women and children were murdered by gunmen believed to be herdsmen in Benue State on 1st January, 2018; on the same day, more that 40 people were killed in cold blood by cultists in Rivers State, and innocent blood flowed on daily basis unabated up till the morning of 6th January, 2018, when another 16 persons were sent to early graves in Tombo village, Logo Council Area, in a fresh attack! -SAD, SAD, SO SAD!

Benue State was the hardest hit because, less than 24 hours of the Inspector General's of Police deployment of additional security personnel headed by Deputy IGP and an Assistant IGP, on 4th January, 2018, FOUR persons were killed in the same area!
Has all security measures defied solution - also in Luru Community, Numan LG, Adamawa FOUR people were also killed on 5th January, 2018!
Could Benue's Anti-Open Grazing Bill signed into law late last year by the Governor be responsible for the attacks by his detractors who are opposed to restriction of their cattle to RANCHES?
But, should the innocent citizens become scapegoats to government's friendly policy? Now, apart from those killed, over 40,000 people have been displaced and are homeless because their homes have been razed to the ground by the murderous arsonists!


ARE THE KILLERS EVIL SPIRITS?
Media reports indicate that those perpetrators were gunmen with sophisticated weapons whose "modus operandi" is the "hit-and-run" tactics of Boko Haram terrorists but the only noticeable difference between the two groups is that the alleged herdsmen gunmen have not yet introduced suicide bombings into their heinous rampages. Some criminologists have alleged that "fleeing Boko Haram terrorists from Sambisa Forest" are the marauders while analysts believed from reliable sources that the killers were contracted Fulani mercenaries who were brought in from Nigeria's neighbouring States of Chad, Niger and Cameroon! If we choose to believe the second information, we would surely be on the right track because it was confirmed by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El- Rufai that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, of Nigeria (MACBAN), had regularly contracted foreign mercenaries to defend the herdsmen from untoward attacks in the line of their nomadic occupation. He also said that he brokered peace at one time between farmers and herdsmen by paying handsomely for some cows allegedly killed by the former, which proves that law enforcement agents are dealing with HUMANS and not SPIRITS and therefore it should not be too difficult to track them through genuine public information!


IS A COW'S LIFE MORE SACRED THAN A HUMAN LIFE?
It has been alleged that almost all retired army generals in Nigeria own large agricultural and dairy farms and are the employers of the herdsmen - mostly of the Fulani stock, because the average herder may not own more than four or five cattle of his own and that these military men were in good position to arm and train their employees to "defend" themselves in the case of any confrontation which have become very rampant in recent times!
SHOULD IT NOT BE OF CONCERN TO POLICE DETECTIVES AND OTHER SECURITY OPERATIVES THAT CASUALTY FIGURES AT THE END OF EACH VIOLENT CLASH HAD ALWAYS BEEN OF INNOCENT HUMAN BEINGS AND NOT COWS?


WHERE ARE THE DEAD CATTLE?
We have it on good authority that MIYETTI ALLAH has instructed their nomadic herders not to engage the farmers whenever they were confronted in respect of grazing but to report to the Association for necessary action normally carried out by their contracted mercenaries and that was why there were no cattle but human casualties at the end of all bloody clashes because the cattle were usually kept away in safe custody and out of sight!
WHAT DO THESE PSYCOPATHS GAIN FROM SHEDDING INNOCENT HUMAN BLOOD? DO THEY FEEL ANY REMORSE WHEN THEY NESTLE WITH THEIR OWN WIVES AND CHILDREN WHOM THEY HAVE KEPT AWAY IN "SAFE HAVENS" JUST LIKE THEIR BOKO HARAM COUNTERPARTS? DO THEY HAVE ANY KIND OF CONSCIENCE? ARE THEY CREATED BY OUR GOD WHO SAYS, "THOU SHALT NOT KILL?"


NASARAWA STATE:
On 9th May, 2013, about two years before the APC Government took over the reins of political power in Nigeria, Nasarawa State recorded the bizarre massacre of over 100 policemen and about 12 State Security Service agents, who were officially deployed from Abuja to maintain law and order in that land which was notorious as the theatre of violent conflicts between rival cults which struggled for political relevance along ethnocentric divide on one side and nomadic herdsmen and farmers frequent clashes over grazing "rights", on the other!

At the end of the gruesome cold-blooded homicide on the fateful day, it was widely reported that there was not a single civilian casualty recorded because members of the OMBATSE CULT whose leader was to be arrested claimed that they were protected by their deity which protected them from POLICE BULLETS WHICH HAD NO LETHAL POWER TO KILL THEM!
A tribunal instituted by the State Government after the massacre sat for several weeks but was unable to establish those who were culpable because the National President, Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), claimed that devotees to Ombatse Cult were peace-loving and did not participate in the killings of the team of policemen, which was headed by an Assistant Commissioner! THESE SENSELESS KILLINGS ARE RUBBISHING DIVIDENDS OF ECONOMIC GAINS!


THE SANCTITY OF LIFE:
What is the life of a Nigerian worth these days? What could be responsible for the massacre, slaughter and dismemberment of innocent fathers, mothers, children, even pregnant women? Could it be hatred, ethnicity, tribalism, nepotism, caste discrimination, ethnic/religious bigotism, or sheer bestiality of the act of man's inhumanity against man? Could it be a senseless political move to ignite a RELIGIOUS WAR, similar to the kite flown by Boko Haram in 2009?


PLATEAU STATE:
Human Rights Watch (HRW), quoting the Geneva Declaration published in November 2011, reported that more than 13,500 people were killed in communal violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt Region since the nation returned to civilian rule in 1999, and that Plateau State was hardest hit because it became notorious for bloody political crisis over indigene rights and political representation in Jos, State Capital, had evolved into protracted communal clashes in which, during that period, about 7,000 were killed! Other Middle Belt States which had similar and violent crises are Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, and Kaduna!

During the years of the very first and second military coups in Nigeria and the 30-month-long period of the Biafra Civil War January 1966 - January 1970, some unpatriotic Plateau State indigenes unleashed mayhem which resulted into massive culpable homicide of innocent about 1,000 non-natives and settlers throughout the four years of instability in the country!
The end of the civil war ushered a fragile peace but in bottled-grudges of many years on both sides resurrected chains of reprisals which changed the story from 2001, till date over indegeneship and political representation status.
Mindless killings are not limited to the Middle Belt: virtually all geo-political zones have been invaded by armed herdsmen! Ethno-religious clashes in Southern Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa ,Taraba, Cross River State, etc. has turned the promulgation of the Anti-Open Grazing Act in some of these States into mere academic exercise but it should not be so in this Change Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
These herdsmen/farmers clashes which defies all borders and is no respecter of persons are no doubt orchestrated and brazen effrontery by some detractors against the ruling administration and MUST be dealt with decisively - especially when the Commander-in-Chief has given marching orders to all security agencies to move in full gear to destroy this communal plague of epidemic proportion!


RIVERS/KADUNA STATES:
What of the cult killings in Rivers State on the new year's day celebration, and the dastard and gruesome murder of a tribal chief and his pregnant wife on the same day in Kaduna State? According to Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State, some members of rival cults who were contracted by foreign oil companies to protect oil installations and were responsible for the bloodshed in the State because they were empowered to purchase sophisticated weapons with which they have been unleashing terror on their communities!


WAY FORWARD:
Since terror attacks are rife in isolated outskirts of all States involved and it is noticeable that the presence of security agents was more felt in the tows rather than the villages which are vulnerable to the attackers who after their dastard crimes disappear into THIN AIR, troops who were usually drafted to restore peace MUST NOW resided with the locals, and forestall REPRISALS and prevent marauders from attacking the SOFT TARGETS over and over again!


ARE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES - ESPECIALLY THE SOLDIERS, AND POLICEMEN OVERSTRECHED?
Or are they conniving with the Fulani herdsmen as alleged by Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives, an umbrella for all (56) ethnic nationalities in Plateau State. A survivor of the 17th October, 2017, attack on the frightened natives of Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa Local Govt Area, claimed that they were lured into a classroom and abandoned there for their assailants to kill 27 innocent natives who could not escape!

CAN'T WE NIP THESE CONFLICTS IN THE BUD? ARE THE ATTACKERS FULANI HERDSMEN OR MERCENERY FULANIS, CONTRACTED FROM NIGER, CHAD, AND CAMEROON? IS FIRE BRIGADE APPROACH THE SOLUTION? HOW MANY CULPRITS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED OR CONVICTED?
BREAKING NEWS: "SEVEN SUSPECTED HERDSMEN WERE REPORTEDLY ARRAIGNED IN A COURT IN BENUE?"
Life is the fresh air that we badly need to keep alive; It is the heat, the warmth, released from the Sun across the earth for the organic; Life is the Gilead Balm that swaps frayed nerves for good health; Life is the spirit in a clay tabernacle; the life of the body is in the Blood. Human life is sacred. Life is precious, it must not be wasted!

We appeal to these psychopaths and their sponsors to repent from destroying human lives which they cannot CREATE! It is written: "God cannot be deceived, whatever a man sows, that he will surely reap. He who kills by the sword will surely die by the sword. AND HELL FIRE AWAITS THE UNREPENTANT, BE WARNED!



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

An on-going trend of electoral fraud in Nigerian politics is VOTE SELLING and no stakeholder is denying the anomaly!
Prior to this development, there was general VOTER APATHY, caused through disenchantment of the ELECTORATE, who felt short-changed in the electoral process that yielded them no concrete manifestation of socio-economic dividends! 
It is common knowledge that most Nigerian Politicians/Political Parties usually turned their backs on the VOTERS and never kept promises contained in their manifestoes once they got the mandate of leadership and authority; an attitude which informed the boycott of most Local, States and National Elections in recent times.
In the past decade, 2007-2017, there had been a decline in the percentage of the voting pattern because of the threat to lives and properties by politicians who believed that politicking was a "do-or-die affair" and had introduced brigandage and thuggery, in which dangerous weapons were freely employed to scare credible voters away from polling booths and make way for their cronies to perpetrate ballot box snatching and vote rigging! But surprisingly, the recently concluded ANAMBRA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION, of Saturday, 18th November, 2017, did not witness any recorded violence in spite of the assumption that the entire South East Geo-Political Zone was a haven of arms proliferation. Instead, the witty politicians employed the VOTE BUYING SYSTEM (VBS), in which PERMANENT VOTERS CARDS (PVCs), rights were exchanged for as little as five thousand naira with oath-invocation, while the deal was monitored by eagle-eye party agents who ensured that their party's logos were thumb-printed on the ballot papers.

ANAMBRA STATE did not pioneer the VBS. During the 2015 Presidential and General Elections, ILLICIT BANKING HALLS moved to all States of the Federation and monies (INCLUDING THE US $2.1 BILLION DOLLARS, APPOPRIATED TO PROSECUTE THE WAR AGAINST BOKO HARAM), allegedly exchanged hands due to the desperation of the ruling political class which was determined to keep STATUS QUO and CONTINUITY!
This trend moved to EDO (September 10, 2016) and ONDO (November 26 ,2016),  Governorship Elections where PVCs were monetized with tacit support from some law enforcement agents without scruples in the full glare of electronic, print/social media videos and without any form of petitions until after announcement of results which did not favour those who LOST!

During the Anambra Elections which saw the incumbent Governor, Willy Obiano, retain his seat in a landslide victory over 36 OTHER CONTESTANTS, an All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), agent was arrested by Department of State Security (DSS), Operatives with a sum of N 300.000 Naira in his possession at a polling booth, taking into official custody, but was released few hours later with the said amount still in his possesion in spite of the fact that it was an infraction of the extant electoral law which forbids such large amount of money from being brought into the premises of any Polling Centre.

WHY THE ELECTORATE MUST VOTE!
The right to suffrage is both universal and inalienable in every democratic dispensation for the purpose of choice of candidates during elections and also for creating sure platforms for taking critical decisions in nation building, good governance and resolution of political, economic, social, or even conflict issues.
Voting is not only the soul of democracy but its heart and spirit because political victory depends on who had the highest numbers, therefore, the majority must be a people of godly conscience!  When a qualified citizen shuns voting at elections for whatever reason(s), he/she, is the loser and not the system, because there is no place for vacuum in governance!
For instance, when some miscreants threatened and intimidated "ANAMBRIANS" to shun the recently concluded governorship elections, and only about ONE THIRD of the registered voters participated, Willy Obiano was not robbed of his electoral victory!
Also in Kenya, East Africa, where Raila Odinga, instructed his Party faithfuls to boycott the 26th October, 2017, re-run presidential elections because he no longer had confidence in the Electoral Umpires and the entire political process, his beclouded judgement did not stop other Electorate from exercising their franchise which coasted the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta, into a second term landslide victory of 98% with only 38% Electorate turnout!

WHY WOULD SOME ELECTORATE TRADE THEIR PVCs FOR PEA NUTS?
Can one safely put the blame of Vote Selling at the door steps of disillusioned, poverty- stricken, hungry, jobless and seemingly hopeless TALAKAWAS in all the geo-political zones, who eek their living through menial vocational engagements or the electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for dereliction of duty in the area of VOTER EDUCATION, which is one of their primary assignments? OR: The National Orientation Agency (NOA), which should promote PATRIOTIC/NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, OR: the multitude 57 Political Parties, OR: The ACADEMIA/STUDENT UNIONS for this failure?

Who should be held responsible for the decadence being witnessed in the organisation and controversial results/outcomes of virtually all elections ever conducted by past and present electoral umpires in Nigeria? International best practice dictates that it is the fundamental duty and primary responsibility of a sincere government and its election management team to educate citizens on all aspects of voting including their civic duties on election days but where there was deliberate plan to disenfranchise the citizens, Non-Governmental Organisations, (NGOs), Civil Society Groups, (CSGs), LABOUR/TRADE UNIONS, MUST SPEEDILY INTERVENE TO DEFEND THE MASSES WHO WERE ALWAYS EXPOSED TO SUCH UNPATRIOTIC AND CRUEL MANIPULATIONS!

We need not emphasize that to ensure democratic and successful elections, voters needed to be sufficiently knowledgeable and well-informed of the electoral process of how to identify credible politicians and political parties by digging into their ideologies, manifestoes and most importantly, whether they could be prone to aggression, thuggery, unruly/cantankerous attitudes, mud-slinging, HATE SPEECHES etc, by probing into their antecedents and pedigrees!
Most Nigerian politicians believe in the power of MONEY to buy off both the Electorate and their Votes and believe that only the MONEYBAGS (not even intelligent POOR), would rule the nation forever!
On Friday, 1st December 2017, one PDP member and ex-Federal Minister of Works, of the inglorious Obasanjo Administration, Mr. Adeseye Ogunlewe, whose godfather is Chief 'Bode George, spoke the mind of his party on CHANNELS TELEVISION'S POLITICS TODAY Programme, with so much passion against the POOR in this manner: "Poor people have no business in politics! Nigerian politics is not meant for poor people. ... where would they get money to organize campaigns, print posters, mobilize agents etc?" AND PDP WANTS TO SEIZE POWER AT ALL COST IN 2019 WITH THEIR ILLICIT LOOTS OF 1999-2015!
Can anyone further doubt the GENESIS of VOTE BUYING AND SELLING?

APC CHANGE ADMINISTRATION SHOULD RESCUE NIGERIA FROM MONEY BAGS NOW!
It is most imperative now for the APC Change Government to embark on modern creative approaches of information dissemination through educative electoral posters, leaflets, hand-bills, tracts, including audio/video, - radio jingles, songs, comic strips on television and the social media for public awareness, from cities to the grassroots, in local languages and dialects for the ELECTORATE TO BE WELL-INFORMED TO VOTE WISELY!

INEC must be adequately funded to devote more attention to Civic/Voter Education and also to address complaints by some political parties which accuse the Agency of not providing a level playing field for all stakeholders except the few BIG PARTIES!
THE NIGERIAN POLICE and other security agents must always assure the Electorate of credibility of their votes by ensuring that all forms of electoral malpractices are investigated, prosecuted and that culprits are sent to jail to serve as deterrent!

THE GAINS OF CREDIBLE ELECTORAL SYSTEM?
The global norm is that democratic governments MUST ensure that all eligible citizens exercise their franchise to vote and elect representatives of their choice for their voices to be identified in the process of establishing good governance. Dis-enfranchisement of citizens through any group of people or deliberate voting apathy by the electorate for any reason or excuse, is ANATHEMA to democracy because such unpatriotic attitude would always provide opportunity for poorly-educated and jobless persons of the society to occupy political offices UNPREPARED, and make unpleasant decisions for the majority of the citizens as evident in the Nigerian political arena since 1999 to date!

AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST! YOUR VOTE IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT! YOU MUST NOT WAGER IT FOR THE BIBLICAL CAIN'S RED PORTAGE! (Genesis.25: 29-34).        


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390.  08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

WOULD THE LEGISLATORS ALSO GAG THE CITIZENS WHO VOTED THEM TO POWER?

Those ubiquitous legislators are always in the news for controversial reasons! When the brazen principal officers among them were not championing budgets padding for illicit constituency projects appropriation gains, they would rather amend the Nigerian Constitution to favour their egotist tendencies or demand for constitutional immunity like Mr. President and his Vice; Governors and their deputies; or depriving the downtrodden Nigerians, whom they have consistently mis-legislated in areas of inalienable rights in order to keep them in perpetual slavery!

When the Senate President's trial in respect of false and fraudulent assets declaration at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), progressed in 2016, the legislators quickly initiated an amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Bill for them to take over constitutional duties of the Bureau from the Executive! EIGHTY (80) of them also abandoned the Senate Chambers in solidarity to attend court with Saraki and later collected fraudulent sitting allowances!

When the House of Representatives Speaker, and about 16 Principal Officers, were accused of budget padding and exposed to the whole world as a bunch of corrupted persons, by Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, Chairman of the Finance Committee, he was promptly suspended for twelve months of legislative sittings!
Senate rejected the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, twice because he intensified the anti-corruption crusade against legislators of the 8th NASS Assembly and they also threatened not to approve the nomination of 26 INEC Commissioners whose names were forwarded for approval until Magu was sacked as anti-graft agency head!
When Senator Dino Melaye launched an anti-corruption book titled, "Antidote For (To) Corruption" in June 2016, Senator 'Bukola Saraki and Hon.Yakubu Dogara, promptly purchased 469 copies for N23.450 million naira at a cost of N50.000 thousand naira each, on behalf of all NASS Legislators!

For SIXTEEN years of consecutive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Administrations, 1999-2015, power struggle between the two tiers of government at the federal level, aided by institutional corruption with impunity, had free reign; and the spill over and ripple effects are still playing out in 31 months of the Change mantra of the All Progressives Congress (APC), even under the watchful eyes of President Muhammadu Buhari, all because of the NASS Leadership COUP led by 'Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, who still defiantly hold sway against PARTY SUPREMACY!
Their most recent political escapade is an obnoxious and masses unfriendly bill, titled NGO Regulation Bill, which was mooted and sponsored by two legislators; Honourables 'Duro Faseyi and Umar Baba Jubril, on 20th October, 2015 and 2nd June, 2016, respectively, and a separate Civil Society Committee of Nigeria Bill, by Hon. Douye Diri, on 15th June 2016, which in September 2017, scaled through SECOND READING at the House of Representatives (HOR)!
The said Bills, according to the aggrieved human rights bodies, constituted infringements to the fundamental rights of the masses and would therefore violate CITIZENS right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association and non-discrimination, and that they were also inconsistent with Sections 39, 40, and 42, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended), and should therefore be rejected by all patriotic citizens of Nigeria SINCE VERY FEW LEGISLATORS RAISED OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE BILLS!

Provisions of the NGO Regulation/Civil Society Committee of Nigeria Bills will, if passed into law, COMPEL all Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs), all Organised Religious Organisations (Christian or Islamic), and sundry human groups, working on HUMAN RIGHTS activities, to register under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), or with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), like political parties with a view to forcefully put them under extra burden of registration, though these groups are legal entities guided by established laws, conventions and statutes of the Companies and Allied Matters (CAMA), under which all NGOs are securely registered!

Although, the legislators have denied that the NGO Bill, had no intention to regulate CHURHES AND MOSQUES, but it is on record that a government Agency ,Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.(FRCN) , in 2017, attempted to both gag and regulate religious organisations by compelling their General Overseers, General Superintendents, Archbishops, Chief Imams, etc, to retire at the age of 70, and were FORBIDDEN, in the course of the compulsory retirements, to hand over their offices to spouses or relatives! BUT THAT ACRIMONOUS DIRECTIVE WAS VETOED BY PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, WHO DIRECTED THAT STATUS QUO BE MAINTAINED!

In view of all of the above, a group comprising of 23 NGOs, under the aegis of Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN), on 3rd November, 2017, in a 19-paragraph affidavit, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order of the court to declare as unconstitutional and unlawful, the repulsive NGO Regulation Bill, which provisions also contradicts Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, by seeking to register, and regulate NGOs who defend human rights and the court to stop NASS from further deliberating on the said Bill by virtue of Section 46 (1) of the same Constitution.

It is no wonder these legislators are desperately bent on putting down every opposition to their inordinate ambition of calling the shots and subtly threatening the authority of the Executive. They have dabbled into all manner of self-imposed duties which have no bearing with their constitutional appointments, which have back-lashed and gravely conflicted with the urgent oversight of the 2018 Budget proposals, a well-crafted legal document which was discredited by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who stood SURETY for Nnamdi Kanu, the FUGITIVE IPOB LEADER, as a "fictitious document"?

They also complained that because the 2017 Budget Appropriation was yet to be executed half-way, the new 2018 Budget would not be ready for the re-introduced January-December financial year proposal and have unilaterally extended the life of the 2017 Budget to the end of the first quarter, March 2018!
There is no iota of doubt that the National Assembly legislators who are members of the second tier of government at the national level and are saddled with the constitutional duties of making laws for good governance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are bewitched by an accursed inheritance of inordinacy bequeathed to them by their immediate predecessors in office, is presently playing out to set them on collision course with the Executive and the entire mass of the Nigerian people!

In 2015, ex-President Ebele Jonathan, withheld his assent to the, "Constitution of the Federal Republican of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Act 2015," but queried the legislators' decision to whittle down SOME EXECUTIVE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY!
The legislators decided to test the President's VETO at the apex Supreme Court but were asked to maintain status quo as Jonathan lost the Presidential election and the matter died naturally!
History has repeated itself in 2017, because these 8th NASS Legislators have boasted to override President Buhari, if he VETOED any part of the latest wobbling constitutional amendments!

THE IMMENSE CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF NIGERIAN LEGISLATORS!
In Section 4 (1) - (9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, legislators are empowered (in a nutshell), (a) to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to the Constitution, to the exclusion of the State Houses of Assembly; and (b) matters in the Concurrent Legislative List and any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Federal Constitution.
They are also backed by law to carry out legislative oversight functions on both the Private and Public Institutions, especially the Ministries Departments and Agencies, (MDAs), for the purposes of CHECKS AND BALANCES, to ensure probity, equity in appropriation and execution in budgetary transactions of government at the Federal platforms.
Under Sections 88 (1) (2)-89 (1) (2), legislators have powers to conduct investigations into any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make laws; and the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, Ministry or government charged, or intended to be charged with the duty of or responsibility for executing or administering laws enacted by NASS and disbursing or administering moneys appropriated or to be appropriated by NASS; EXPOSE CORRUPTION, INEFFICIENCY OR WASTE IN THE EXECUTION OR ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS WITHIN ITS LEGISLATIVE COMPETENCE AND IN THE DISBURSEMENT OR ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS APPROVED BY IT ........ETC!

WHO OVERSIGHTS THE CORRUPT LEGISLATORS STILL WALKING FREE?
But outside of these spheres, the legislators have become busy-bodies and meddlesome interlopers as they struggle very unsuccessfully, to take over executive functions and power from President Muhammadu Buhari at every opportunity, through spurious interpretation of their oversight functions, when constitutional INTERPRETATION OF LAWS is the sole function of the JUDICIARY and PROSECUTION OF OFFENDERS, REST WITH THE EXECUTIVE!

Should Nigerians wonder why Ibrahim Magu's confirmation was rejected twice and why Senator Ali Ndume was suspended for SIX LEGISLATIVE MONTHS OF 181 DAYS because he contradicted his colleagues?
Legislators that are claiming relevance through the Constitution have messy antecedents:
*Not less than 15 Senators are under EFCC investigations for corrupt enrichment;
* Saraki has been ordered for re-trial at the CCT, for fraudulent declaration of assets between 2003-2011, when he served as Governor of Kwara State; * Corrupt ex-governors are members of the "hallowed chambers"; and
* Some of them conspired to forge the Senate Rules to get into office by hook or crook!

TIME TO EXPOSE THESE ENEMIES OF THE MASSES IS NOW!
We advocate that the WHISTLE BLOWERS in conjunction with the NGOs, CSOs, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), Stand Up For Nigeria (SUN), SERAP and all downtrodden Nigerians whose sweat and blood constitute the common wealth being looted by these reckless and heartless politicians, should dig out the legislators' SKELETONS and expose the OSTRICHS, whose heads are buried in the sand!

LET'S NAME, SHAME THE CROOKED LEGISLATION WHO ARE HIDING BEHIND OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS TO CAUSE HAVOC AND KILL THE OBNOXIOUS AND ANTI-CITIZENS NGO AND CIVIL SOCIETY COMMITTEE OF NIGERIA BILLS, PENDING AT THE NASS, NOW!
"Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Almost all the existing Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), in Nigeria are dispensing FAKE Nigerian highest currency of ONE THOUSAND NAIRA across the nation as if they were legal tenders!
In most cases, the fake notes were undetected until they were presented in exchange for goods or services, where disputes over the source of such illegal currencies were usually dragged to police stations for arbitration!
This brazen economic sabotage through legal and official infrastructures of ATMs, is seamlessly perpetrated by internal forgery syndicates of Commercial Banks Operation Departments who dexterously insert the offending fake notes in-between masses of genuine ones and were never detected by the machines during dispensation, contrary to official claims!

ATMs were introduced to encourage CASH - LESS culture and not CASHLESS Nigerians!


In the past several years of the activities of these fraudsters, within the banking sector, TRILLIONS OF FAKE CURRENCIES, have been injected to scuttle and damage the progress of the economy, without serious challenge or indictment of the unfaithful commercial banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), or the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), crack detectives!

The social media is awash with sad tales of how average Nigerians who managed to keep bank accounts were daily ripped off of their meagre savings through these institutionally-backed ROBOTS which should, under normal circumstances re-position and add value to the banking sector of Nigeria's fast-growing economy instead of destroying the system!

According to available statistics, from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc. (NIBSS), Nigerians withdrew N 4.7 trillion naira through these electronic banking system in the year 2016 alone and one can best imagine how much of this huge amount of monies were FAKE!
ATM users have exceeded dispensing capacity of existing machines which informed the engagement of independent ATM Consortia, to augment the high and fast rising profile of nation-wide monthly transactions/withdrawals which stood at over 607 million within the same year!
On daily basis, millions of these dummy notes are dispensed to diligent and hard-working Nigerians by those vicious, fraudulent and heartless syndicates within the banking system without immediate/ commensurate compensations and apologies!

In some cases when ATM fake notes were dispensed during legitimate transactions, in the presence of eye witnesses, security agents were usually invited to harass innocent account holders for attempting to exchange such monies for genuine bank notes!

In spite of the fact that CBN (the Commercial Banks Sheriff), is the only regulatory body under the Constitution, saddled with the responsibility of oversight functions on financial and banking activities in all operational areas; including the issuance of licences, banknotes and coins in their different denominations, monitoring the compliance of banking regulations as stipulated by the apex bank, application of disciplinary measures to erring banks; etc, no commercial bank, to our knowledge, has been indicted, punished or convicted for dispensing fake one thousand naira currencies (or other currency denominations), from their ATM outlets, to date - though the hues and cries of aggrieved Nigerians flood the social media on daily basis!

The banking sector of Nigeria has not less than 25 private commercial banks/financial institutions across the nation following the merger of financially-unstable banks of previous years with the strong and reliable ones and also, 36 branches of the CBN in all the State Capitals with headquarters in the FCT - all established for one special goal - as the medium of exchange of monies for services and goods to facilitate, improve and increase traffic and volume of transactions in both the Public and the Real Sectors of the Economy: i.e. governments annual budgetting/appropriations for capital projects, recurrent obligations of salaries, wages, and all manner of statutory emoluments/financial entitlements of civil servants without sidelining the aggressive official efforts at diversification of the economy!


The CBN also functions as financial backbone at critical periods of recession to the education, industrial, manufacturing, textiles, agriculture, solid minerals, tourism, film/music sectors of the economy, according to the mandate of the Act of the National Assembly that established it, and remain the driving force and catalyst in that direction to keep Nigeria afloat as the topmost economic hub and industrial destination in Black Africa!

But sadly, COMMERCIAL BANKS, under the "watchful eyes" of CBN have grown to become economic monsters, detractors and saboteurs of the government and marginalized peoples of Nigeria because most of these operators are working at cross-purpose and opposite direction to the mission/objectives of the Change Mantra and trajectory of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his faithful Associate, the indetifagable, resilient, diligent and hard-working but silent worker, Vice President 'Yemi Osinbajo, (SAN), who are opposed to all forms of CORRUPTION, which had been the bane of past consecutive administrations of the failed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)!

Both Progressives, since assumption of office on 29th May, 2015, had worked relentlessly to turn the table against die-hard looters of the nation's treasury through bold and articulated measures to block avenues for pilfering.
The Treasury Single Account (TSA), pioneered government's aggressive determination which ensured that all revenues were paid into that CENTRAL POOL, followed by the overhaul of the workforce to expose GHOST WORKERS and to also drastically reduce/eliminate government wastages at the higher echelon of the CIVIL SERVICE STAFF!

In addition, to the preceding measures, the EFCC, ICPC, State Security Service (SSS), Nigerian Police and other relevant security agencies in collaboration with their international counterparts were re-organized and mobilized to intensify efforts at recovering looted funds that were stashed at home or laundered abroad by past administrators of the treasury and presently, the following amounts:
(a) N 3.4 trillion as at 5th June, 2016,
(b) US $151million dollars and N8 billion naira, as at February, 2017; according to government list which is still being updated.

On 5th December, 2017, the Swiss Government announced its intention to return to the Nigerian Government, the sum of US $345 million, (over N2.2 billion naira), looted and deposited in a Swiss Bank Account, by late General Abacha, according to a bi-lateral agreement between both countries.
A comprehensive list of all recovered loots, including names of the looters would be published soon according to the Information Minister. Must these monies be exchanged with FAKE CURRRENCIES?


INTRODUCTION OF CBN'S DEVELOPMENT FINANCING!
In pursuance of its mandate of interventions for economic development programme, CBN, is collaborating with the Federal Government in the drive towards a workable transition from the mono-economic platform where crude-oil took the centre stage from the seventies as the major foreign exchange earner for budgeting and appropriation, to aggressive drive into agriculture through its Anchor Borrowers' Programme (ABP), for Farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises - SMEs Financing, for indigenous entrepreneurship and speedy integration with large-scale industries.

Just as financial interventions of two tranches - N500 and N300 billion - respectively, were released to ABP and SME's, to boost production, a sum of N235 billion was also allotted for Manufacturing and Restructuring Facilities of Bank Loans to the MANUFACTURING SECTOR to fast-track access to credit through Bank of Industry (BOI), by manufacturers.

The INDUSTRIAL SECTOR was not left out in the programme as funds has been injected to fast-track development of Electric Power Projects - especially those identified in industrial clusters and the Aviation Sector in terms of credit facilities to Airlines and other critical sectors of the economy!
In a recent press release, the CBN claimed outstanding achievements in promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development as its intervention programmes have created over SEVEN MILLION JOBS in the country as at August, 2017! BUT CBN HAS NOT ARRESTED THE VICIOUS BANK SYNDICATES SYPHONING TRILLIONS OF NAIRA ANNUALY BY EXCHANGING THEM WITH FAKE NOTES!
And until they annihilate those unpatriotic subtle killers of the Nigerian economy, millions of dedicated workforce will find it very difficult to put any kind of food on their tables; while crimes and criminalities would flourish unabated!

It was high time CBN sought the collaboration of all security agencies to overcome this negativity of FAKE CURRENCIES IN CIRCULATION, in other to truly celebrate their recorded successes in critical interventions for economic development.

GENUINE CURRENCIES in circulation are far less than those released by the CBN to the commercial banks because their infiltration with fake notes by internal syndicate fraudsters had greatly reduced legitimate economic transactions to about 30 - 50% on daily basis due to nation-wide customers rejection of the fake notes during periods of business transactions.

ALL NIGERIAN BANK ACCOUNT HOLDERS MUST RISE IN UNISON TO PROTEST THIS INJUSTICE TO GOD AND TO GOVERNMENT! THESE UNREPENTANT SINNERS MUST BE DIVINELY AND JUDICIOUSLY PUNISHED! AMEN.

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

"Soldier goes soldier comes, but barrack remains," is a universal cliché that strengthens the concept of imperative continuity of government administrations and institutions because assets and deficits of previous managers were automatically transferred for continuous attention of the new coaches!
Military Ministers of Works and those of the failed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Administrations of SIXTEEN consecutive years (1999-2015), claimed to have "successfully" executed road constructions across the country only for road users to discover that such claims were mere electronic and print media propaganda while the intractable decays resulting from criminal deficiencies in constructions have continued to stare over 170 million Nigerians in the face till date!
It has been officially disclosed by the incumbent Minister of Works (who is also in charge of Power and Housing), that only 28.980 km. out of 193.200 km of Nigerian road net works have been PAVED in the past 55 years of the nation's independence and from all available records, the claimed paved roads are virtually non- existent due to loss of asphalt surface/concretes through deterioration, dilapidation, gully erosion, floodings etc. and most of them no longer accessible!

Road transportation has become an incessant nightmare to relevant stakeholders - the road sector operators and the commuters because erosions and deep gullies have taken over virtually all motorable roads in Nigeria in spite of billions of NAIRA which have been appropriated for road constructions, repairs and maintenance by successive administrations during the periods in question!
Over one trillion naira has been voted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Federal Government for the Capital project of road constructions in the 2016 and 2017 Budget Estimates, because of its economic importance in the distribution of wealth across the board; but positive effects are yet to be fully felt because past claim by the PDP especially by the last Minister of Works, that all major Nigerian roads were motorable and in good condition, was nothing but FARCE!

Can Nigeria, which has the largest road network in West Africa and the second largest, south of the Sahara toy with the economic realities that come with good and well- constructed road networks in view of global developmental competitiveness in commerce, industry, manufacturing, entertainment, tourism and even the film industry?
WHAT ABOUT ROAD FATALITIES OF WHICH NIGERIA ALWAYS TOPPED THE CHART AS THE COUNTRY WITH THE ANNUAL GLOBAL HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTCS, BECAUSE OF ROAD GULLY POT HOLES WHICH CONSTITUTE DEATH TRAPS ON DAILY BASIS!

The Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fasola believes: funding could "only” be assessed by the creation of tolls and promised to ensure that the use of TECHNOLOGY will make the scheme transparent and the ministry will be accountable with the money, and ensure it is channelled to the right places. Thirty-eight tolls gates will be re-constructed at the former sites and the extra thirteen constructed in secured and conducive areas of the country after the Federal roads have been modernized to motorway and expressway standards.

GENESIS OF THE RE-INTRODUCTION OF TOLL GATES!
In 2016, twelve years after toll gate levies were scrapped by ex-President Obasanjo, the Nigerian Senate passed a motion to re-introduce them on Federal Roads in the country, but the move was resisted through public outcry by Civil Society Groups, Labour Unions, Non-Governmental Organisations, etc. and should have died a natural death but for the recent executive nod accredited to the Works Minister, Raji Fasola.
However, Mr. Fasola was categorical that Federal roads would not be levied until they have been professional fixed and in perfect motorable conditions.
The thought of the return of traffic Toll Gates gridlock which would attract in its wake, multitude of traders, shunting by impatient drivers, kilometres of vehicular cue commotion across the 36 States of the Federation, and which will create fresh set-backs to the multiple gains recorded in the economic sector, is better imagined than experienced for the following reasons:
(1) Wasted economic man-hours will be lost at toll gates.
(2) Crimes and criminalities, including kidnappings will flourish afresh.
(3) Syndicate fraud of multiple ticketing by Toll Gate cashiers would resurrect to divert government revenues into private pockets.
(4) Commercial vehicle operators will pay small fees to be pocketed by cashiers who would not issue tickets!
(5) An all-comer avenue for corruption with impunity will boom afresh in an administration of the Change Mantra and would be very difficult to check although, Mr. Fasola promised to introduce modern technology to handle revenues that would accrue from the project!

AT WHOSE EXPENSE IS THIS VENTURE?
Re-introduction and construction of new toll gates which will gulp some trillions of NAIRA of the TALAKAWAS TAX MONIES, will become fresh tortuous adventure to them as commercial automobile drivers and commuters who would consequently spend unending hours, even days to get to their various destinations in view of the several obstacles they would have to surmount -
(a) dilapidated road networks which will slow down their journeys;
(b) police "stop and check" patrols/road blocks; immigration/customs check points; military road blocks etc, and also confronting long queues at toll gates in-between!

It is pertinent to ask the honourable Minister what informed the idea of re-introduction of Toll Gates in Nigeria when Federal Governments economic thrust is massive diversification to agriculture and natural mineral deposits in all 36 States for desired increase in GDP and export potentials! Would this proposal not eventually result in POLICY SOMERSAULT of this Change Administration?

In a recent gathering, Mr. Fasola said that the Federal Government was committed to improving the road network an DECREASE OVER-DEPENDENCE ON PUBLIC FINANCE FOR THE EXECUTION OF ROAD PROJECTS by facilitating participation of private sector, multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies on road development projects; And we ask, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "PUBLIC FINANCING AND PEOPLE FINANCING"? Is this Fashola's Semantics? Is government truly committed to improving infrastructure development through delivery of good motorable federal roads or planning to increase grassroot financial burdens?

WHY OBASANJO SCRAPPED TOLL GATES LEVY IN 2004?
The PDP Administration of ex-President Obasanjo scrapped toll gates levy in 2004 due to claims that their existence encouraged corruption and that the gates inconvenienced motorists!
According to the reasons adduced, the N23 billion naira generated annually at N63 million per day was insignificant compared to the capital investment and therefore had to be replaced with THE PETROLEUM TAX REGIME OF N1.50K PER LITRE OF PETROL FOR FEDERAL ROAD MAINTENANCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY!

The ex-President also said that although the petroleum tax would create an initial public resistance because it would attract inflationary trend on goods, services, and most especially on agricultural produce due to unavoidable increase in cost of transportation, but in the long run, when the roads were well-maintained and in good motorable condition, the gains would outweigh the perceived losses.

Nigerians are yet to be told that the Petroleum Tax or the Petroleum Subsidy had been scrapped; which means that those financial burdens plus the new Toll Gate Levy being envisaged, would rest on the POOR MASSES who also pay Value Added Tax, & virtually live from hand to mouth!
BUT THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE IN THIS GOVERNMENT THAT IS DETERMINED TO RESCUE THEM FROM THE YOKES OF THE NEO- COLONIALIST PDP GOVERNMENTS OF THE PAST!


ARE THE REASONS ADDUCED BY OBASANJO IN DEMOLISHING IN 2004 TWENTY-FIVE TOLL GATES BUILT BY THE MILITARY IN 1987 AT THE COST OF N74 MILLION NO LONGER TENABLE IN 2017?

Are those reasons no longer feasible today? Now that the RAILS are here, government should intensify efforts in advocacy for diversification of the large volume of goods, services, passengers to the rails and by implication remove the 90% of freight and passengers presently being ferried by road due to the inadequacy of other mode of inter and intra states transportation!
COST OF DEMOLITION OF TOLL GATES ARE STILL SHROUDED IN SECRECY!
“I have surely seen the affliction of my people...I know their sorrows.”(Exo.3:7).

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon,. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

THAT AUDACIOUS CONDEMNATION OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE WAS ILL-CONCEIVED!

That the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), is the worst security organisation in the world in terms of its "inability to handle internal security challenges", is the cruellest, wicked, uncharitable and most unpatriotic assumption that any person or group of persons could ever adduce to the present crop of dedicated, courageous, diligent and very brave officers and men of this noble profession of the Change Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his management team!
The 2016 World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI), negative report - credited to two organisations, on 10th November, 2017, was based on hearsay since it failed to consider the United Nations credit rating that the Force has been a consistent best global law-enforcement institution in foreign peace-keeping operations! And at the home front, NPF has proved to be well-established and vibrant in terms of organisation, administration, communications, advocacy, operational capabilities, and the most consolidated and credible institution that Nigeria could boast of, even in the face of socio-economic and political challenges!
The maintenance of law, order, peace, tranquillity, and enforcement of all lawful orders from government are some of the core duties which the Force had been saddled with since middle 20th Century till date!
It is evident that the controversial ranking was based on the ability of POLICE to address Internal Security issues in 127 Countries in four key areas of (1) Capacity, (2) Process, (3) Legitimacy and (4) Outcomes, as criteria, not through research but on adulterated social media stories without considering the serious international diplomatic implications!

THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE IS THE BREATH AND LIVE-WIRE OF NIGERIAN GOVERNMENTS & PATRIOTIC CITIZENS BECAUSE THEY ARE INVOLVED IN EVERY FACET OF THE PEOPLE'S SOCIAL, POLITICAL & ECONOMIC LIVES:
* They settle community/marital squabbles at the police posts/stations in all 774 Local Government Areas;
* Provide security in their vicinities at night, when they are fast asleep;
* They are at traffic duties in the day time to ease congestion; These ubiquitous officers are in the market places/shopping plazas/motor parks to prevent crimes and criminalities.
*They are the MAJOR SECURITY FORCE constitutionally recognized to provide adequate security during all ELECTIONS across the length and breadth of Nigeria!!

HISTORY:

(a) The Nigeria Police was established with a meagre 30 men in the June 1861, as a Consular Guard made up of Lagos natives, specifically to take care of community policing, but has now grown in numerical strength to over 360.000 high-tech-trained, and efficient officers and men with modern weapons to deal with all-conflicting issues of crimes and criminalities of the 21st Century.

(b) CAPACITY-building in the Force has been very progressive through a well-designed, deliberate, meticulous and painstaking process which took into cognisance, officers enhancement in literacy, mental/physical capabilities, welfare and adequate remunerations, with successive team managers who piloted the Force patiently as it progressed to the Hausa Police (1863), Royal Niger Constabulary (1886), Niger Coast Constabulary (1894), Crime Detection Department (1898), Northern Nigeria Police Force (1900), Fire Brigade (1901), Southern Nigeria Police Force (1906), Amalgamation/Consolidation: The Nigeria Police Force (1930), Constitutional Establishment of NPF at Independence (1960); and Subsequent Constitutional Recognition in all Democratic Administrations (1963,1979,1999).

(c) From inception in 1861 until Nigeria's Independence in 1960, the British Colonial masters were very courteous to build up the NPF in line with international best practice, through incisive personnel training - (locally and overseas), by tested officers from the renown Britain's Metropolitan/Scotland Yard Police Departments - to acquire modern ideas, tactics and deployment of technological equipments as the world gradually turns out to become a civilized global village.

(d) PROCESS of administration and growth in the NPF, has been gradual, - taking into consideration that the country experienced an inglorious CIVIL WAR shortly after independence, from July, 1967 to January, 1970. During that unfortunate 30-month-old war which consumed much lives and properties between Biafran secessionists and the Nigerian troops, the role of the Police as the enforcers of law and order, diminished tremendously because the Nigerian Army (established in 1960), took over their numerous responsibilities through Internal Security (IS) Operations, and were thus treated as subordinates and relegated to the background in a country run by martial laws.

(e) LEGITIMACY of the Police in almost 30 years of military interregnum, (1967-1999), was at its lowest ebb since the Nigerian Constitution was thrown overboard and the Force became a shadow of its pre-eminent position before 1960, but coped efficiently through submission, courage, resilience and perseverance only to enter into a new dawn of another 8-year quasi civilian/military administration of former Nigerian Army General, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, 1999-2007, who introduced the "do-or-die" commando style into the democratic arena before his departure from the political scene!

(f) OUTCOME of all of the above is now the branding of the "CHANGE NPF" under the able mentorship/leadership of no other personality than the Nigerian Brand himself - President Muhhamadu Buhari, GCFR, who identified the great potentials of the indomitable and indefatigable qualities of the NPF as the only solid foundation on which his democratic agenda for adequate and water-tight 24-hour security of lives, properties and strategic infrastructures heavily depended and therefore left IGP Solomon Arase, (appointed by ex-President Jonathan), to complete his term before appointing the incumbent, Ibrahim K. Idris in July 2016!

NIGERIAN POLICE IS GLOBAL BEST!
The Nigerian Police High Command on Monday 13th November, 2017, dismissed the said rating as unempirical, claimed its officers and men to be the BEST IN THE WORLD instead of the Singapore Police (adjudged as NO. 1), and urged all Nigerians and the International Community to disregard the report which also scored the country 0.255, below DR Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Pakistan, as unfounded and misleading.
The strength of about 370.000 Police personnel in the country stands out at around One (1) policeman to less than Six Hundred (600) people in a population estimate of One Hundred Million (180.000.000) Nigerians but the Federal Government has ordered immediate recruitment of additional 10.000 Police personnel while the Inspector General has equally requested for annual recruitment of 31.000 men for a period of five years, in order to make up for the shortfall in personnel strength to fulfil the United Nation's recommendation of One policeman to 400 citizens.

BAD COPS ARE NOT SPARED BY POLICE HIGH COMMAND!
The NPF is the only Para-military organisation with constitutional powers for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, and shall perform such military duties within or without Nigeria as may be required of them.
In the discharge of these very daunting duties, the Force had to cope with some "BAD COPS" who attempted to smear the dogged and formidable image which had been built with sweat and blood of PAST HEROES in 156 years and would have succeeded but for the determined courage of the majority population of highly efficient and dedicated officers who had kept the flag flying through lawful discharge of their constitutional duties with decorum and probity.

In all of the years of existence of the NPF, junior officers of the Rank and File, had been the BLACK SHEEP until IGP, Mustapha Adebayo Balogun, (2002-2005), who was alleged to have hired thousands of officers with criminal records during his tenure was eventually indicted and later convicted over corruption charges!
THE FORCE HAS ITS OWN IN-HOUSE DISCIPLINARY AND CLEANSING MECHANISM WHICH ENSURES THAT NO OFFENCE, MISDEMEANOR OR CRIME COMMITED BY ANY MEMBER IS EVER COVERED UP! From the recruits to all Superior Police Officers (SPOs), crimes - including extra-judicial killings - were exposed and punished adequately according to the law and that why it was not easy for ex-IGP 'Tafa Balogun to wriggle out of the accusations that were proven against him at the law courts!

STRONG LEADERS MUST BE SUPPORTED TO BUILD STRONG INSTITUTIONS!
We advocate that government institutions should be strengthened to outlive all strong and charismatic leaders of this generation and those yet unborn in credibility, probity and equity in the execution of all defined constitutional duties, functions and performances!
PMB was once castigated by ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, who alluded that Nigeria and Afghanistan were "fantastically corrupt countries", because Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2015, (released in January 2016), ranked Nigeria in the 136th position out of 168 countries as the most corrupt nation in the world since 2014, but President Buhari was neither deterred by the negative comments nor the obnoxious ratings, instead, he was rather encouraged to carry on the crusade to purge the stigma and turn the nation around to become one of the 20 MOST ECONOMICALLY-VIABLE NATIONS BY THE YEAR 2020!

The Nigeria Police Management Team should follow suit. They should discountenance the HATE REPORT OF WISPI and move on to a greater level of superior professionalism, dexterity, tenacity of purpose, diligence and above all resilience, in order to put their detractors to everlasting shame and prove to the whole world that they have come a long way to become a very STRONG AND RELIABLE INSTITITION! "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings;he shall not stand before mean men." (Prov 22:29 KJV)



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

There is a general consensus that good governance would engender stable economies and peaceful societies. The divine institutionalisation of human government was informed through a deliberate defiance to THEOCRACY (the Lordship of the Sovereign God over His own creation), by the people of past centuries before democratic and socialists institutions!
It is therefore not surprising that major decisions of governments ( socio-economic, political or military), were usually pronounced by the highest authorities like, Supreme Military Council, (SMC), Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, (AFRC), Supreme Executive Council, (SEC), Federal Executive Council (FEC), etc which usually took precedence and without recurrence to the divine authority of God even in the event of the supreme judgement of death - and yet human governance was divinely ordained! (Roman.13:1).
When Prophet Joshua took over the mantle of leadership of Israel from Prophet Moses, the LORD spoke to him in this manner: “.........as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth: but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shall make thy way prosperous and then thou shall have good success."(Joshua. 1:.


Are today's leaders hearing from God as did the prophets of old?
Biblical scripture has it that the Jewish people of Israel in the Old Testament period, whom the LORD chose to showcase His divine attributes of love, holiness, righteousness, purity, perfection, etc, to the rest of the entire universe, as an UTOPIA to be desired and emulated, messed up badly and provoked Him to vent an unrestrained anger of dispersion and enslavement to the generations before the 1948 re-establishment of Israel as a new nation in Palestine after World War II! Old Israel rejected the Almighty God as her sole Administrator and divine ruler in spite of warnings against such decision by Prophet Samuel (I Samuel. 8: 4-22), and had to suffer terrible consequences for their wrong decision rebellion through world-dispersion! (735-586BC).
There is an ethical problem that is plaguing the universe, which is the need for a profound public theology which should afford divine interpretation of all events in the affairs of men especially in the areas of defiance, rebellion and disobedience to moral/divine laws and commandments - all of which emanate from the Word of God, whether they were enacted through the Fingers of God or by the Lord Jesus Christ who says, “I have not come to destroy the laws and the prophets, but I have come to fulfil them." (Matthew. 5:17).
That today, the CARNAL MAN could easily ignore the dictations of his conscience and religiously follow after all waves of worldly doctrines in respect of the ephemeral, is an issue that should attract global attention at this critical period of APOCALYPSE when predictions are rife that the end of the world is very much at hand!
The United States of America (USA), came to terms with God, following several years of divine relationship which kept them as the most outstanding nation, blessed with the milk and honey of an enviable economy, stable governments since 1776, military prowess of a super power, industrial and manufacturing dexterity, tourism, an exquisite film industry/entertainment conglomerate that is unrivalled globally - and reached this undisputable conclusion of their motto which states as follows: "IN GOD WE TRUST"! But, in spite of the above accolades, the worst kinds of crimes, criminalities, atrocities, mayhems, and senseless killings by demented gunmen still occur in God's own country; which brings to the fore that though a whole country may propagate godliness, some misguided elements would still create dents in the overall scorecard!

Also in the United States of Nigeria (USN), efforts are made in the same direction through the new APC Administration for the citizens to become more patriotic, imbibe the spirit of godliness and embrace the attitudinal change and the re-orientation slogan of, "CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME" Barely fifteen months into the new government, on 8th September, 2016, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, launched the mass re-orientation and revolutionary initiative to canvass the co-operation of Nigerians in ensuring fulfilment of his campaign promises to deliver the mandatory dividends of democratic governance in terms of socio-economic reforms hand-in-hand with the citizenry!

But more importantly, the campaign demanded for patriotism through a united front to achieve the very tasking and arduous duties of
(1) Reviving a dying economy caused by the deliberate looting of the treasury by previous administrations,
(2) A total war to annihilate elongated terrorism by Boko Haram insurgents and
(3) Destruction of the roots of all corruptive tendencies among the populace!
The President believed that a determined citizenry would be God-fearing, disciplined and patriotic enough to shun imported goods and services and opt for "Made-in-Nigeria" products, expose the thieves and pen-robbers in the system, through the "whistle-blower" initiative, give security information that would also expose sponsors of the recalcitrant insurgency etc! In spite of the focus of the new administration, political jobbers in Nigeria are all jostling for positions and ephemeral power again in a do-or-die manner even before the INEC's whistle to announce declaration of intentions or the campaign time tables, without any recourse to divine approval. Because they are ungodly, they now run from pillar to post to gamble for political party elective offices under different guises of Chairmanship and General/Publicity Secretary positions, for lack of divine wisdom that it was only God who could give such favours! ‘’.......for without Me, you can do nothing’’ (John 15:5b).

Prophet Daniel said, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. (Daniel 2:20-22) KJV.

In the Dispensation of Human Government in the New Testament period, God specifically exhorted, world citizens through Paul the Apostle in Romans.13: 1-13, (KJV), that World Governments have His mandate to rule justly and with godly fear and vice versa for godly children to live righteously:
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE! (Rev 22:11-22).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

NIGERIA, as the undisputable Giant of Africa in numerical strength, highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economic/military strength, outstanding international peace-keeping records etc, and having celebrated 57 years as an independent nation, should not continue to be hood-winked with a bogus 1999 Military Document, which National Assembly Legislators still romance with great passion to their advantage!

This inherited martial laws have caused greater havoc in diversity instead of uniting the over 500 tribes, 250 languages/tongues and whereas, a concise, unambiguous, articulate, authentic, and more pragmatic brand new National Constitution should be highly beneficial and more advantageous for this great nation in order to maintain a convincing leadership role in all ramifications, over and above other countries in the Black African Continent!
But the present crop of Legislators of the National Assembly (NASS), who are constitutionally saddled with the duties of LAW-MAKING, think otherwise because they are procrastinating the urgent need for the inauguration of both the CONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE AND CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY that would draft/craft a fresh and genuine constitutional document of "WE THE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA .......and not the 1999 FRAUD, which should have read, "WE THE MILITARY JUNTA OF NIGERIA... ; to replace, nullify and abrogate the booby-trap bequeathed to Nigerians! Though the legislators are pretentious to be disillusioned over this lingering and volatile debate, the advocacy, public outcry and demands for a BRAND NEW CONSTITUTION, by all CIVIL SOCIETY/NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS, (CSOs,&NGOs), in Nigeria and Diaspora, have taken the front burner before the Change Administration, for urgent implementation.
The cumbersome, tedious, fruitless and frustrating journey of "constitutional amendments" (beginning with a harmonized NASS version that must be approved by two-thirds majority of both chambers; and on to the transmission of the proposed amendments to the 36 States Assemblies for the approval of each Assembly by two-thirds majority; and the eventual return journey of the approved document to NASS for a fresh harmonization; before a CLEAN COPY would be forwarded to the President for ASSENT; an exercise in futility that always ended in wastages of scarce funds is no longer acceptable by Nigerians!


GLARING FLAWS OF THE UNITARY 1999 MILITARY CONSTITUTION!

(1) It is common knowledge that all military institutions organisation charts are vertically-integrated and unitary in nature and so is the 1999 Constitution handed over to the Nigerian people at their disengagement from partisan politics on 29th May, 1999 devoid of the impute of a National Conference, Plebiscite or even a Referendum!
(2) Greater powers are vested to the centre i.e. the Presidency, more that the Federating States;
(3) All lands in the country were grabbed in the military fashion through the obnoxious LAND USE ACT, thereby depriving the citizens of decent/adequate accomodations and farm lands that could serve as colaterals;
(4) The social contracts which include human rights to potable water, food security/sufficiency, motorable roads, arable lands for massive agricultural diversification of the economy, employment opportunities, national living wages, pension facilities to the aged and retired workers etc,;
(5) The entire Constitution was written in the masculine gender to marginalize the women, who have greater figures in the national population of 170 million people and the pronoun, "he" is regarded as UNISEX;
(6) Other notable flaws can be found in the State Creation, the Electoral Organisers expected to be members of political parties, the Judiciary and Ministry of Finance where professional and political offices are merged into one office to create more confusion; lack of a defined autonomous status of Local governments; ambiguous fiscal and revenue-sharing formula between Federal and State governments etc, many of these confusions have been re-defined at the apex court with very little reprieve!
THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER CONFLICTS IN THE 1999 CONSTITUTION THAT ARE FAR MORE THAN THOSE LISTED ABOVE AND CANNOT FIND SPACE IN THIS TREATISE!


LEGISLATORS DELIBERATE DERELICTION OF DUTY!

The National Assembly on assumption of office 1999 discovered these ambiguities, inadequacies, irregularities/shortcomings/lacunas which should have prompted quick intervention during the 4th and 5th Assemblies of ex-President Obasanjo's tenure, but delayed the evil day which has eventually reared its ugly head in the form of demands for diverse kinds of RESTRUCTURING, like DEVOLUTION OF POWER from the CENTRE to federating States, RESOURCE CONTROL by Crude Oil producing States, reversal to REGIONAL system of the 1960s and even - SECESSION!

The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 through claims of marginalization by the SECT, while PRO-BIAFRA GROUPS also hinged their protests on a similar grouse, but instead of setting in motion necessary modalities for the crafting of a brand new constitution, to rectify all identified anomalies, these selfish legislators embarked on brain-washing the citizens with the doctrine of constitutional amendments as a way out of the quagmire because the labyrinth of similes, metaphors and innuendos with which the offending 1999 Constitution was laced, "favoured" them with immense financial benefits!


MAD RUSH FOR NIGERIA'S GOLD-MINE POLITICS!

The faulty military document created the stampede of new breed of mercenary "do-or-die" politicians between 1999 and 2015, and the desperados were quick to jump ship from one Party to another as long as they would gain relevance in the band wagon of money-monger gangs and no remarkable achievement was recorded in the direction of crafting a new Constitution!
In fact, the last exercise of the un-amendable jig-saw puzzles in the 1999 Constitution during ex-President Jonathan's administration, was thrown into the garbage bin while the present and ongoing attempt has hit a brick wall because, for very ambitious, selfish and greedy reasons both chambers are yet to harmonize all areas of discords among the 33 Major Bills which were voted on - an exact repetition of the 2014 document which Jonathan refused to sign into law because of selfish desires of the legislators to whittle down and eventually usurp Executive and presidential powers!


NASS INNOVATION OF "DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY"!

The late President Umaru Yar'Adua (2007-2010), left Nigeria for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia without fulfilling the constitutional "hand-over" provision (Section 145 of the 1999 constitution), to his Vice, Ebele Jonathan, and thus created a lacuna in the full throttle of day-to-day administration because the latter could not exercise full authority as Executive President/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, in acting capacity!
Was Jonathan not embarrassed, restricted, hampered, and unable to administer the nation as the ailment of the incumbent president prolonged BECAUSE THE DUMMY 1999 CONSTITUTION DID NOT MAKE PROVISION FOR AN ALTERNATIVE ACTION TO REMEDY SUCH ABSENCE OF CHANGE OF GUARDS IF IT WAS OMITTED OR DELIBERATELY SIDE-LINED, as in that instance, until the Senate came up with the invention of a "DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY", which then gave Ebele Jonathan, the constitutional power of an Acting President?


THE URGENT COMMISSIONING OF A CONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE AND CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY BY APC IS IMPERATIVE!

The duty of a Constituent Assembly (CA), to be composed by representatives from the SIX GEO-POLITICAL ZONES CONSTITUENCIES will be to DELIBERATE upon a draft constitution to be produced by Constitution Review Committee (CRC), made up of TRUE, LEGITIMATE, & BONA-FIDE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA from all walks of life - politicians, CSO's, NGO's, university youths/students, the ivory tower scholars, technocrats, professionals, industrialists, captains of industries, lawyers, judges, the aged, motor drivers, market women, traders, farmers, the physically disadvantaged, the rich and the poor, etc; from all the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation, and then PAINSTAKINGLY SIFT AND THOROUGHLY VET the document for Executive approval by the FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (FEC), as a brand new CONSTITUTION of the Federal Republic of Nigeria! This feat can be achieved before the next elections!
THE "ABRACADABRA" 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF EX-PRESIDENT JONATHAN (OF 492 DELEGATES AND WHICH GULPED ABOUT N18 BILLION OF THE TAX-PAYERS MONEY), IS STILL FRESH IN MEMORY OF NIGERIANS - THOUGH THE ENTIRE EXCERCISE WENT DOWN THE DRAIN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND DELEGATES WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROSECUTED FOR ECONOMIC SABOTAGE ARE WALKING FREE!
A BRAND NEW CONSTITUTION WILL TAKE CARE OF THE COMMON MAN'S NEEDS AND HE WOULD BEGIN TO ENJOY A BRAND NEW LIFE DEVOID OF RANCOUR AND ACRIMONY! It is written," When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."(Prov 29:2 KJV)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

NASS LEGISLATORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DELAYED IMPLIMENTATION OF THE 2017 BUDGET, NOT THE EXECUTIVE!

Legislators of Nigeria's 8th National Assembly (NASS), are biting more than they can chew and we strongly believe that Nigerians are better off without these crowd of 469 persons who are draining the nation’s coffers through outrageous secret salaries, allowances/emoluments and are also bent on running the economy aground through perennial delays of the 2017 Budget through dubious OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS!
According to NASS sources, the legislators unilaterally increased their annual budget from N115 billion naira in 2016 to N125 billion naira in 2017 - an increase of N10 billion naira, which clearly portrays a spirit of greed, selfishness and insincerity as overall emoluments in a period of national economic challenges when they should have at least surrendered 50% of their overall emolument to further support Capital expenditures that would trickle down to the downtrodden as positive dividends of democracy!

Not satisfied with that illegal increase, they still PADDED the Executive's total figure of N 7.28 trillion, submitted on 14th December, 2016 to N7.44 trillion which the legislators jointly passed on 11th May, 2017, and this impunity caught the ire of the Professor Osinbajo who commented as follows:
"There are two broad issue about who could do what. The first report is about who can do what. When you present a budget to the National Assembly, it is presented as a bill an appropriation bill. And secondly, do not introduce entirely new projects and all of that or modify projects. This is something that we experienced last year and this year again. It now leaves the question about who is supposed to do what" Not surprisingly, the barefaced accomplices in the 2015 NASS leadership coup de tat, Senator 'Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, have brazenly remarked that they would neither surrender their constitutional powers nor become a rubber stamp to the Executive!

In spite of the economic downturn as at May 2015 when APC came to power, due to global oil price fall, they insisted and collected wardrobe allowances, bought 469 brand new vehicles (jeeps/saloon cars), and turned deaf ears to public hues and cries! They oversight all other arms of government except themselves like the Ostrich which believes in its safety by burying its head in the sand forgetting that its entire huge body is exposed to danger!


LEGISLATORS SHED CROCODILE TEARS OVER THE "2017 BUDGET OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND GROWTH"!

Though it took over FIVE calendar months,14th December, 2016, (date of submission to NASS), to 12th June, 2017, (date of Presidential approval), these enemies of the TALAKAWAS, resumed from SEVEN, instead of SIX WEEKS of annual recess only to castigate the Executive of SLOW IMPLEMENTATION of the budget document which they deliberately delayed for their selfish reasons in the first instance because the more delays in budget vetting, and the final assent, the more the loopholes for manipulation, butchering and RE-CREATION of the document to suit the legislators insatiable appetite for accumulation of illicit wealth through BUDGET PADDING under the guise of OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS!
The 2017 Budget was signed into law by the Acting President, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on JUNE 12, a very significant day in the national history of Nigeria as a UNITED people, who did not believe in SECESSION as a form of RESTRUCTURING!
On their resumption on 26th September, 2017, they bemoaned the Executive over the slow implementation of the Budget within THREE MONTHS of Presidential assent, and quickly constituted a NASS JOINT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2017 BUDGET, chaired by Senator Danjuma Goge, a two-term Governor of Gombe State, who wasted no time to summon both the Ministers of Budget/Planning and Finance to explain all about the delay when he as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, was neck deep in the whole maladministration!

At that meeting, held on Thursday 5th October, 2017, both Ministers told the Committee that Senate Legislators were responsible for the slow execution of the Budget because they refused to approve the external loan of $55.5 billion required for specific Capital Projects in respect of the Second Runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; Mambila Hydro Electric Project, Taraba ; Counter-part Funding of the Railway Line Projects and also, the completion of the six lane Lagos -Ibadan Express Way!

The Executive has forwarded a fresh letter of request in respect of the loan for faster execution of the budget on Wednesday 11 October, 2017. Also during the meeting, there was a consensus of opinion that if the January to December Financial Year System would not be viable, the uncompleted portions of the 2017 Budget should be rolled over into the 2018 Budget Appropriation which the Executive intends to submit before December 2017.


IS SENATOR GOJE THE IDEAL PERSON TO HEAD THE JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE?

Like several of his colleagues in the Senate Red Chambers, Danjuma Goje is presently facing court trial on, conspiracy, mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds while he superintended over the affairs of Gombe State for EIGHT YEARS! And as Chairman of Senate Committee on Budget, he accused the Nigeria Police Force operatives for "stealing" the CLEAN COPY of the 2017 budget document during an official raid on his Abuja residence on Tuesday, 25th April, 2017' and said any blame on the delay of the appropriation document should be laid at their doorstep!

During that raid which Police authorities claimed was informed by a petition against the Senator, the following items, (which did not contain any FILE OF THE 2017 BUDGET), were found and removed into Police custody: N 18.056.000 million naira; $ 19, 850, US dollars; 9,400 Saudi Ryad; 38 files and Six Envelopes containing files on funds for Special Operations; File on Gombe State Government on Nigeria Cash Inflow; and File on Project 2007 Executive Briefs on How to Fight Opposition in Gombe State - Strategies and Tactics. Other were envelopes containing permit to operate as an OIL INDUSTRY SERVICE COY (Special Categories)!
The Inspector General of Police who was summoned by the Senate President on Wednesday, 26th September, 2017, has promptly returned all the files, envelopes and monies seized from Senator Danjuma Goje to him, and the whole incident swept under the carpet!


OF WHAT ADVANTAGE IS APC'S MAJORITY IN BOTH CHAMBERS?
That the All Progressives Congress (APC), ruling party has comfortable majority in the bi-cameral chambers of the National Assembly (NASS), and has not produced much positive gains in the revolutionary economic agenda of the Change Mantra is because of deliberate sabotage of the mixed multitude, especially within the RED CHAMBERS!
Right from inception on 9th June 2015, these enemies of the State, who were mostly PDP MOLES, left no one in doubt of their 'modus operandi', which was to subtly dis-organize the APC by constituting themselves into "household enemies" within the ruling family, having benefitted immensely and saturated during 16 years of an unbridled institutional-backed corruption, (1999-2015), and which they planned to sustain by remaining in the ruling government to avoid official probes and eventual prosecution!

It is an open secret that Abubakar Saraki would not have continuously sat as Senate President for over TWO years with Senator Ike Ekeremadu of the People's Democratic Party, if he did not have diabolical support of his accomplices with whom he upturned APC's Party Supremacy!
They constituted themselves into an OPPOSITION GROUP within the APC and orchestrated a face-off with the Executive in the THIRD QUARTER of 2016 when they rejected the list of about 48 non-career ambassadorial nominees by President Muhammadu Buhari; rejected the Executive Mid-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), document which Ali Ndume, as the then Senate Leader described as an "EMPTY DOCUMENT"; rejected US$ 29.9 foreign loan request by Mr. President meant to cushion the biting effects of the economic recession and refused to confirm Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)!

This time around in the FOURTH QUARTER of 2017, the legislators have delayed Executive request for a foreign loan of $5.5 billion US dollars to execute critical capital expenditures that would be economically beneficial to the downtrodden masses in the areas of CAPITAL PROJECTS that would be beneficial to the masses!

THERE IS A CONCENSUS OF OPINION THAT BUDGETS SHOULD NOT BE EXECUTED WITH LOANS BUT NO COUNTRY (EVEN THE UNITED STATES), HAS EVER BEEN STIGMATISED FOR VENTURING INTO BORROWING BECAUSE IT IS A GLOBAL NORM!

Although Nigeria's debt profile is on the increase and debt management payments are skyrocketing, one great advantage is that the borrowed monies are channelled to lucrative CAPITAL VENTURES that would facilitate smooth pay backs and will always attract foreign and local investments; but the legislators who have always constituted themselves into THE CLOG IN THE WHEEL OF OUR COLLECTIVE PROGRESS MUST GIVE WAY TO THE CHANGE MANTRA!
A UNICAMERAL PARLIAMENT OF TWO REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH STATE AND THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, WILL WORK ON PART-TIME AND COLLECT CIVIL SERVANTS REMUNERATION IS MOST IDEAL FOR THE CHANGE AGENDA! A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066 g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

When the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, granted the BBC Hausa Programme, an interview which seemed at variance and antagonistic to President Muhammadu Buhari's ideological Change Agenda, political pundits frowned at her audacity and defiance which confirmed the speculation that there was a chasm of misunderstanding and a lacuna between the first Nigerian couple!
Mrs. Buhari's grouse then was that political charlatans, who did not contribute to the success of APC at the polls, had hijacked the Presidency through a diabolical cabal, while the President's foot soldiers, who gave him victory at the elections in 2015, had been totally sidelined and abandoned high and dry! But the President who was then in Germany, on an official tour, dismissed her concern with a laughable joke and reminded her of her subordinate position as wife and not a politician!
We described the British Broadcasting Corporation as an unprofessional body in spite of their several years of experience. The following are excerpts from an article titled, "BBC BLUNDERED ON AISHA BUHARI'S INTERVIEW!" which we published on 20th October.2016:
..........."It is in the public domain that the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, granted an interview to the BBC Hausa Section which the Nigerian Government politely requested the agency not to broadcast because of its controversial content and that the Nigerian President and his party had been on the receiving end of local and international criticisms over BBC 's blunt refusal!
"Could it be that the BBC would have preferred the scenarios of past administrations which were characterized by institutional corruption in which all manner of political and official appointments were predicated on political patronage of "who knows who",

because the crux of the grouse against the present administration was its uncompromising stand of neither SHARING OFFICIAL POSITIONS NOR THE MONEY!
"We can categorically inform all Nigerians that the rumours surrounding the HIJACK BY A CABAL WITHIN THE APC 's GOVERNMENT as also postulated by Senator Saraki and his cohorts is nothing short of the figments of their imagination because the GRAPE HAS TURNED SOUR FOR PILFERERS OF THE COMMON WEALTH who pressured unsuccessfully to scrap the Treasury Single Account (TSA), for their covetous advantage!



APC'S POLARIZATION - IS THERE TRULY ANOTHER GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE RULING GOVERNMENT?

Prior to the first lady's outburst, we had warned the APC against polarization within the Party's structure, hierarchy and ideology because the motley parties (ACN, ANPP, CPC, and the new PDP), which merged to form the mega ruling party had ceased to exist according to extant laws from the moment the ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC), was registered as a political party in Nigeria on 6th February, 2013!

In over two years in office as ruling Party, the APC Government as presently constituted is still divided along those former party ideologies of "differing tribes and tongues", greed, avarice, power/position/money mongering, and therefore not as cohesive and united as should be, to the dismay of the Nigerian masses who believe so much in the personality and pedigree of President Buhari to deliver sure dividends of democracy to Nigerians and also destroy the economic bondage created by the ubiquitous PDP past consecutive administrations!

There is no doubt that the President later discovered after the elections that majority of the motley crowd who came on board were mere opportunists who could not be trusted with his strong anti-corruption crusade ideology and had, as a detribalized Nigerian, to surround himself with the few (tribes and tongues), who could be averagely trusted to deliver the mandate of APC's manifesto!
CAN WE THEN SAFELY CONCLUDE THAT THESE CHOSEN ONES HAVE NOW CONSTITUTED THEMSELVES INTO THE ALLEGED IRREPRESIBLE CABAL?


IF THE PRESIDENT DID NOT HAVE HEALTH CHALLENGES WOULD ANY CABAL HIJACK HIS GOVERNMENT?
A sudden twist took over the political clime as soon as President Buhari went on medical vacations on two occasions; first, from 19th January to 10th March, 2017, and second, from 7th May, to 19th August, 2017; which aroused further speculations that the alleged IRREPRESSIBLE CABAL, deliberately hampered the operations of the Acting President 'Yemi Osinbajo, in view of negative social media comments and hate speculations concerning the survival and successful return of elected number one citizen!

Although the provisions of Section 145 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, 1999, are very unambiguous as expressly stated that the acting President would exercise full presidential powers while in office of the substantive holder, some "FAITHFUL LOYALISTS" OR THE ALLEGED IRREPRESSIBLE CABAL, made frantic efforts to fly the 2017 APPROVED BUDGET TO LONDON FOR BUHARI'S PRESIDENTIAL ASSENT, while recuperating on medical vacation without success!


THERE ARE INSINUATIONS THAT AN APC CABAL EXISTED WITHIN THE PRESDENT’S CABINET!
Junior Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, was refused access to meet with the President Buhari to discuss urgent matters of massive fraud in the Oil and Gas Industry through NNPC, the major foreign exchange earner agency, which he alleged to have been subtly manipulated by its Group Managing Director to sabotage the Nigerian economy through the illicit award of several contracts worth about $25 billion US dollars or N 9trillion naira to an unregistered foreign company! Kachikwu officially committed his allegations into a letter dated 30th August, 2017, was consequent upon his inability to meet with his principal, PMB, who doubles as Minister of Petroleum Resources; but the letter was leaked to the social, print and electronic media a few days into the month of October, 2017!
If all the allegations contained in the minister’s letter were factual, then, NNPC's national acronym as the FOUR TOWERS OF CORRUPTION has played out once again, in spite of the "watchful eyes" of Mr. President over this critical and strategic money-spinning institution!
Previously, in March 2013, the then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, the chief custodian of the Federation Account raised an alarm in the form of a SECRET LETTER, which eventually leaked to the PRESS, in respect of a missing or unremitted tranche of $ 48.9 billion, which the Jonathan PDP Administration admitted was $20 billion US dollars, by the NNPC!
It is unfortunate that the whistle blower in the person of Sanusi Lamido Sanisi, now the Emir of Kano, lost his job because ex-President Ebele Jonathan, who sat over the PDP corrupt administration relieved him of his position and a “kangaroo” forensic auditing foreign firm that was contracted by government to investigate the allegations might probably submit its findings/report to the incumbent president when it is eventually done!


DETAILS OF ALLEGATIONS BY JUNIOR MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AGAINST GMD NNPC, MAIKANTI BARU!
Has history repeated itself in this present administration because the junior Minister of Petroleum Resources, who could not see President Buhari in person has also blown the whistle through a leaked letter containing very serious allegations as follows:
Allegations of corruption, disobedience, insubordination, humiliation, disrespect to the Board of NNPC, which is chaired by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in his capacity as Minister of State for Petroleum;
spread of fear factor among staff of the national oil firm, nepotism, violation of due process in the award of crude oil contracts, some over $ 25 billion US dollars, which were never reviewed or discussed with him or the Board of NNPC!

Though, GMD Baru was yet to respond to the very weighty allegations, both men met with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja, on Friday, 6th, October, 2017, to elucidate more on the matter. But in another twist, a spokesperson of the opposition PDP alleged that the controversial $25 billion fraud money was to fund PMB' S Presidential ambition for 2019! However the Presidential Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has denied the allegation and also explained that PMB has not indicated his intention to contest the 2019 Presidential Elections yet!


PENDING ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AGAINST SGF AND DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY!
The investigative panel reports on the suspended Secretary to the Government (SGF), and the Director of NIA, Mr. Ayo Oke, in respect of corruption allegations have been submitted to the President for necessary action, about three weeks ago. Nigerians and the Diaspora are waiting eagerly for his decision on the findings which were collated by His Excellency the Vice President, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo and his panel of investigators!


WILL PMB LOSE THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION WHEN HE NOW HAS DIVINE SUPPORT THROUGH A REFORMED AND REVIVED JUDICIARY?
Do we need to remind our President of his inaugural cliché: "I AM FOR EVERYBODY AND I AM FOR NOBODY?" That he is a dogged fighter who never gives up on any battle? Do we need to remind him that when he was stopped from reforming Nigeria as a military "commando" in 1985, he staged a come-back in an attempt to become a democratically elected president and succeeded in the FOURTH ATTEMPT in 2015?
That he HATES CORRUPTION LIKE A PLAGUE and would never allow anyone to soil his SACRED NAME AND ANTECEDENT?
Has he forgotten that he once said: "If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria?
TRULY IF HE IS THE BUHARI THAT WE KNOW, HE WILL ACT ON ALL PENDING CASES OF CORRUPTION THAT REQUIRE PRESIDENTIAL ATTENTION AND OTHER PETITIONS FOR REDRESS AGAINST INJUSTICE [DURING HIS TENURE AS MILITARY HEAD OF STATE BETWEEN 1984-1985], THAT HAVE PILLED UP ON HIS TABLE WHERE THE BUCK STOPS - whether they affect his Kitchen Cabinet personnel, those who might claim to have any form of influence over him as CABAL or the poor citizens who have no godfathers in government to plead their course, but require his intervention to attain JUSTICE AND EQUITY!

MY BELOVED PRESIDENT, THE TIME TO UPROOT ALL THOSE THAT HAVE OVERSTAYED THEIR WELCOME AMONG YOUR STAFF IS NOW! THERE MUST BE A TOTAL CLENSING AND NO SACRED COWS PLEASE! YOU MUST RESTORE YOUR UNTAINTTED IMAGE BEFORE THE ALMIGHTY GOD WHO APPOINTED YOU AND THE TALAKAWAS OF NIGERIA WHO LOVE YOU TOO MUCH AND NOT ACCEPT FAILURE! YOU PROMISED THE WHOLE WORLD AT THE UNGA 2017, AND ALL NIGERIANS IN YOUR 57TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY BROADCAST THAT YOU WILL KILL CORRUPTION, DESTROY TERRORISM AND STABILIZE THE ECONOMY! YOU MUST ACT TODAY!!!
“Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord....... Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth....... See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to ROOT OUT, and to PULL DOWN, and to DESTROY, and to THROW DOWN, to BUILD, and to PLANT. [Jeremiah 1: 8-10.] AS YOURS DAYS, SO SHALL YOUR STRENTH BE! AMEN.



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066 g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Cacawa2:
I do not agree with your attempt at generalising corruption in the judiciary.

You do realise that Ayo Salami is not the one to sit on cases.

There are active judges in trial courts who are still very incorruptible and upright.

In fact, the non-controversial judges are the ones I will rate higher than Ayo Salami whom one could allege has sympathy for the APC by virtue of his antecedents. The real judges with integrity stay away from the spotlight.

Though Justice Salami will not sit over the cases, His appointment to head the commitee that will monitor this special courts will surely hasten the process of justice, which is exactly what we need to step up the fight against corruption in Nigeria, no more endless adjournments, etc. also concerning his integrity, were elections not rigged in this country by the PDP led governments? if one judge stoodout and nullified this rigged elections, does that mean that he is biased? i surely dont think so Cacawa2. Thanks for reading and commenting friend.

THE NIGERIAN JUDICIARY IS ON THE FIERY LANE TO PURGE CORRUPTION NOW!

Coming THIRD after the Executive and the Legislature, in the hierarchy of the Federal Government Administration, the Nigerian Judiciary - regarded as the last hope of the common man - has eventually cut a niche for itself by willingly supporting President Buhari's unrelenting crusade against corruption!
Now it is no longer a "ONE MAN’S SHOW" according to the unrepentant treasury looters, but the determined efforts of TWO top righteous men of government against the Legislature, which is the undisputable CITADEL of corruption!
With a new order recently announced by the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, corrupt Nigerian politicians can neither run nor hide any longer from the long arms of the law as corruption cases will now be accorded the special attention that they deserved through SPECIAL COURTS for speedy and efficient adjudication of justice!

In all these 57 years of Nigeria's Independence - especially in the 16 years of the failed PDP consecutive administrations which produced super treasury looters, indicted politicians usually prolonged their trials through constitutional provisions of Section 36, sub-section 5, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which states that a suspect or accused person charged with a criminal offence is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction!
Every anti-corruption crusader is not hood-winked by that provision which encouraged massive corruption as perpetrated by military and civilian opportunists in government with reckless abandon!
And are we surprised that Legislators of the 8th National Assembly's (NASS), JOINT CONSTITUTIONAL AMMENDMENT COMMITTEE failed to amend the quoted Section 36 sub-section 5, to read as follows: "EVERY PERSON WHO IS CHARGED WITH A CRIMINAL OFFENCE SHALL BE PRESUMED GUILTY UNTIL HE IS PROVEN INNOCENT"?
We are not, because, majority of them who are neck-deep in criminal cases bothering on corruption, stealing/embezzlement of public funds, and various degrees of financial crimes, would no longer be qualified to hold on to their present political appointments nor elective positions, should that section be amended!

Statistics have revealed that a sizable number of the 109 360 legislators, especially in the SENATE, are facing corruption charges at the courts and their smart lawyers, who usually cashed in on this bogus constitutional provision to request for several adjournments and prolong legal processes against these politicians or their civil servant accomplices while the judicial administration continued to suffer decay, degradation and corruption!
BUT WITH THE NEW REFORM, UNSCRUPULOUS LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, at the level of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, would face censorship before the Legal Practioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), while the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), would handle the cases of other legal practitioners!

Justice delayed is tantamount to justice denied and those who suffer the ripple effects of treasury looting are the same poor masses who roam the labour market without hope of gainful employment, have no roof over their heads, no medical attention in case of any infection and whose wives die in the process of childbirth, whose children are without education but roam the streets for alms?

In 2012 and now 2017, in spite of timely warnings by Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), of floodings expected across Nigeria's 36 States, ECOLOGICAL FUNDS were mismanaged by State Governors - none of whom died in the floods and are presently NESTING in the "hallowed chambers", of NASS, while thousands of the electorate whose votes placed them in those exalted positions, have been swallowed up into the liquid GRAVES of destructive floods!

Before the investiture of the incumbent Chief Justice on 7th March, 2017, the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC), in spite of its strategic position as the overall supervisory body in charge of promotions, discipline and general welfare of the BENCH, was enmeshed in several controversies bothering on prejudice, maladministration and CORRUPTION, however the story has now changed!

While serving as Justice of the Supreme Court, Walter Onnoghen made history on April 11, 2014, when he, alongside some of his colleagues, gave a favourable verdict which upturned an age-long IGBO ANCESTRAL CULTURE which forbade women from having equal INHERITANCE access to their parents properties as their male counterparts! TWO IGBO WOMEN who petitioned the APEX COURT now have equal access and by extension, all Igbo women to such right! The same Onnoghen upheld the death sentence of one celebrated "Reverend King", (real name Chukwuemeka Ezeugo), who was accused of murdering a member of his church in 2006, and he, in a minority judgement but without quorum, annulled the late Umaru Yar 'Adua's presidential election of 2008 and requested for a fresh one following retired General Buhari's argument that the election was rigged! Therefore, there could not have been a better independence anniversary gift to the good and patriotic citizens of Nigeria than these Special Courts officially provided by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, a forthright, diligent competent and distinguished jurist, who would not close his judicious eyes to the plight of the downtrodden Nigerians who were consistently milked dry by the unscrupulous, pretentious and greedy politicians, especially by the LEGISLATORS, who claimed to represent their interests and constituencies!

Prior to this timely move by the Reformist Chief Justice, there had been concerted efforts and clamour by patriotic, decent, upright, and righteous Nigerians, including, very sincere pressure groups, Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations who strongly believed that the well-calculated and well- intentioned strategies by the Buhari's Administration to destroy the endemic institutional corruption of several years could actually succeed if special tribunals or courts were assigned to handle corruption cases!
To God be the glory that this patriotic demands have finally gotten a judicial nod by the Chief Justice, who has ordered that henceforth, such cases would be handled by officially designated courts across the federation and it is worthy of note that most States have already complied with the order!

THE NEW ORDER IN RESPECT OF SPECIAL COURTS!
During a special court session of the Supreme Court held to mark the opening of the 2017/2018 legal year, on Monday, 25th September, 2017, Justice Onnoghen who directed all Heads of Courts in the country to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC), comprehensive lists of all crime cases being handled by their various courts, also noted that "inexplicable and seemingly intractable delays, and disruption of due process", had been the bane of CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION in Nigeria.
In addition, he said that the NJC at its next meeting, would constitute an Anti-Corruption Cases Trial Monitoring Committee that would continually monitor the progress of high-profile criminal cases adding that Judges must not lose sight of the Judiciary's fight against corruption which continued to place this noble institution in the "eye of the storm" and must not deter its resolve to ensure victory!

THE RETURN OF JUSTICE AYO SALAMI!
Also gratifying is the appointment of Justice Ayo Salami, another eminent, fearless, upright, diligent and equally righteous jurist whom ex-President Jonathan's Administration thought it could disgrace out of office for upholding TRUTH in the face of injustice and corruption in the JUDICIARY, as the Chairman of the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO), by the Chief Justice.
Before these sweeping reforms, Nigeria's Judiciary was smeared with the negative image of endemic corruption among crooked judges whom Justice Salami, a retired President of the Court of Appeal fearlessly exposed, though he had to be forced out of the BENCH in April, 2014, before his tenure ended, for always voicing the truth!

As a guest speaker at a lecture in March, 2014, titled, “Nigeria at Centenary: A Nation In Bondage”, the retired President of the Court of Appeal said that the noble efforts of the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, to sanitize and rid the judiciary of corrupt elements were being frustrated by “the crop of people calling the shots at the Nigerian Judicial Council [NJC],” adding that some dishonourable people, “not fit to be judges and senior lawyers, get into the system, make it to the highest level of the judicial career and subsequently frustrate the common man’s quest for justice and equity!”
He also claimed that it was an open truth that, both serving and retired judges act as the “arranges” or couriers, who reach out to “purchase justice on behalf of crooked litigants” and concluded that the problems with the Nigerian Judiciary might be compounded or unresolved for a long time because Nigerians naturally hate the truth and whoever dared voice the truth was marked for destruction!
We salute the courage of this fearless retired President of the Court of Appeal whose entire professional career at both the Bar and the Bench, remained untainted and impeccable like the likes of Justices Chukwudi Oputa, Bobakayode Eso, Ayo G.Irikefe, John Idowu Conrad Taylor, Ovie Whiskey, Chiefs ‘Tunji Braithwaite and Gani Fawehinmi etc; because what we have today are judges who have made Nigeria’s justice system by itself very criminal.

EFCC STING OPERATION OF 8TH - 9TH OCTOBER, 2016 AGAINST NIGERIAN JUDGES!
Justice Ayo Salami's allegations against the NJC were confirmed when the EFCC carried out a Sting Operation, described as unheard of and unprecedented against the Judges following a public outcry and he was eventually vindicated! Now that his uprightness has been rewarded with this appointment, and he now becomes the THIRD MAN to join President Buhari and Chief Justice Onnoghen, CORRUPTION WILL TAKE FLIGHT AND BE TOTALLY ANIHILATED FROM NIGERIA! AMEN! "

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesciastes. 4: 9-12 (KJV).



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066 g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

nototribalist:



Afonjas are funny creatures, I swear. Touting and sycophancy. He even have to drop his 3 phone numbers so that he will be called to Aso Rock for a job.

UN speech that foriegn media said it's watery like ewedu

Read the article and comment nototribalist! Don't make comments on what the foreign media said!.