President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day is a mere political stunt. To prove it isn’t, the leader must return the country to true federalism.
This was the position of some elder statesmen, who bared their minds to The Guardian, ahead of tomorrow’s celebration.
Buhari had recently announced the late Chief Moshood Abiola won the June 1993 election and would, alongside others, receive the nation’s highest honour. Former President Ibrahim Babangida had annulled the poll, believed to be the most credible in Nigeria’s history.
In separate interviews, Amos Akingba, chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO); Ayo Adebanjo of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere; President of PanNdigbo National Forum, Guy Ikokwu; and Tony Uranta, Executive Secretary of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) insisted no amount of tinkering with the June 12 issue would quell yearnings for a restructured federation.
“People are claiming that Buhari gave the honour due to 2019 elections. But I think that cannot work in the southwest, because we know our agenda. They are not doing Abiola any favour; they are only recognising his sacrifices for the country. And if it is not done right, the unity of Nigeria will be questioned and eventually break up. When General Murtala Mohammed lost his life, they named the Lagos State international airport after him. Now, instead of doing the right thing, they waited for elections to come, so that they can use it to bribe the Yoruba,” said Akingba.
He urged Buhari to retrieve the report of the 2014 National Conference, send it to the National Assembly, and follow up on its implementation. According to him, “There is no gift, even as this honour, that will make me change my mind. I will vote for him (Buhari) any day and time, if he embraces restructuring. If he is the architect of the regime that champions the return of Nigeria to true federalism and does away with this fraudulent constitution; if he channels this, I will be with him 24\7.”
Adebanjo wants the president to rethink his decision, if it was made for political gains. He said to show genuineness, Buhari must restructure the country before the elections.
He said: “We are no fools in this country. He should know that many of us have not got cattle brains. We are well educated and we know what we want. Nobody can come and bamboozle us because elections are coming. It is just like he said in 2015 that he was a born-again democrat. Now, he has shown us that he is a dictator. We are not moved by it.”
He added: “It is a welcome idea. And yes, it is a thing that ought to have been done. But that he is now doing it because elections are coming, that does not excite me at all. He has been in office for three years. Why did he remember to do it when he realised he was ending his first term in office and needed votes? He thinks that we are so foolish and he can say that he did something for us. As I said, we have not got cattle brains; we have got real brains.”
Uranta, on his part, “confidently” foresees that the southern and Middle Belt zones’ demand for restructuring would remain “paramount and non-negotiable,” even as Ikokwu declared a restructuring of the country would show Buhari has a mind to do the right thing.
Following on their heels, the Rivers State government said: “The only way anyone can immortalise Moshood Abiola is to ensure there are free and fair elections, where people are allowed to choose their leaders freely without the use of state apparatuses, like the police to rig elections.” According to the state’s Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, “Ensuring free and fair elections, for us, is more important, because that is what Abiola’s election represented.”
But former Ogun State governor, Segun Osoba, differed. According to him, “President Buhari has only come to terms with the reality of what we have been clamouring for in the last 25 years. Whatever interpretation anybody gives doesn’t matter other than the incumbent administration, for whatever intent or purpose, has realised that Abiola paid the supreme price for the democracy we currently enjoy in Nigeria.”
The six southwest states, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti, have declared tomorrow a public holiday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the annulled election. There will be no holiday in Bayelsa, Borno, Yobe, Kano, Kebbi and others.
Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, said the annulment of the election stemmed from a conspiracy by the political elite, their military collaborators, judges and moneybags.
In an article, titled, ‘June 12 Tsunami and the ones who won’t forgive Buhari’, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, wrote: “Even at that time, it was pretty obvious that the unjust annulment was a huge elite conspiracy, well beyond the schemes and machinations for which the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, had established a formidable reputation.
“June 12 annulment was inspired and supported in spirit, cash and in kind by high-level citizens who saw an opportunity for themselves and cashed in upon it. Beyond the coterie of two dozen or so military officials whose names have been documented as literally having had a gun to the head of their Commander-in-Chief in trying to induce the annulment, there were tens, possibly hundreds of co-conspirators who either forced the annulment in one way or the other, or joined the sustenance of the injustice done to Abiola and Nigerian voters which, from then evolved into an industry of a kind, supplying incomes and conferring privileges of state upon those in the plot.”
It came as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised Buhari’s stance, describing it as ploy to garner votes in the 2019 polls. It said the “Buhari presidency has unapologetically violated and is still violating, with gross impunity, all democratic tenets for which Chief Abiola suffered, died and is being honoured.”
The party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted in a statement: “Nigerians still hold that President Buhari has not considered it necessary to apologise for staging the military coup that destroyed democratic governance on December 31, 1983, suspended our 1979 Constitution, foisted a siege mentality on Nigerians, and set the stage for a long despotic military rule for which Chief Abiola, his dear wife, Kudirat, and other democratic martyrs ended up paying the supreme sacrifice to restore.”
The party congratulated the family of the late Abiola and other martyrs of democracy. It also remembered the “roles of the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, Bagauda Khalto, Dan Suleiman, Raph Obiorah, Alex Ibru, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Pa Ajayi Laniwun and a host of others, as well as the management and staff of the Concord, Guardian, Vanguard, Punch and other media houses, who suffered undue hardships for our nation to attain this democracy.”
Also, a civil rights lawyer, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke, has asked Buhari to rescind his notice to honour Abiola and others, describing the proclamation as “illegal”.
He argued: “National honours cannot be bestowed on deceased persons,” saying Article 2 (1) and (2) of the National Honours Act Cap N43 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 is very clear on the subject.
According to him, “Only Nigerian citizens and foreigners may be awarded such honours. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a ‘citizen’ as ‘a member of a free society possessing all the rights and privileges which can be enjoyed by any person under its constitution and government, and subject to the corresponding duties.’ Clearly, this does not accommodate deceased persons.”
He said: “Given that the rank of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic is reserved exclusively for Nigeria’s presidents, Mr. President even negated his own proclamation when he addressed Chief Abiola as the ‘presumed’ winner of the June 12 election. Clearly, Nigeria’s highest national honour cannot be awarded based on arbitrariness or mere conjecture.”
He also faulted the declaration of June 12 as a national holiday, arguing: “The recognition of May 29 as Democracy Day is settled, given the provisions of the schedule to the Public Holidays Act, Cap P40, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.” A presidential proclamation is incapable of altering May 29 as a public holiday, he insisted.
Monday, 11 June 2018
Restructure now if you’re sincere, elders tell Buhari
The Guardian
President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day is a mere political stunt. To prove it isn’t, the leader must return the country to true federalism.
This was the position of some elder statesmen, who bared their minds to The Guardian, ahead of tomorrow’s celebration.
Buhari had recently announced the late Chief Moshood Abiola won the June 1993 election and would, alongside others, receive the nation’s highest honour. Former President Ibrahim Babangida had annulled the poll, believed to be the most credible in Nigeria’s history.
In separate interviews, Amos Akingba, chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO); Ayo Adebanjo of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere; President of PanNdigbo National Forum, Guy Ikokwu; and Tony Uranta, Executive Secretary of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) insisted no amount of tinkering with the June 12 issue would quell yearnings for a restructured federation.
“People are claiming that Buhari gave the honour due to 2019 elections. But I think that cannot work in the southwest, because we know our agenda. They are not doing Abiola any favour; they are only recognising his sacrifices for the country. And if it is not done right, the unity of Nigeria will be questioned and eventually break up. When General Murtala Mohammed lost his life, they named the Lagos State international airport after him. Now, instead of doing the right thing, they waited for elections to come, so that they can use it to bribe the Yoruba,” said Akingba.
He urged Buhari to retrieve the report of the 2014 National Conference, send it to the National Assembly, and follow up on its implementation. According to him, “There is no gift, even as this honour, that will make me change my mind. I will vote for him (Buhari) any day and time, if he embraces restructuring. If he is the architect of the regime that champions the return of Nigeria to true federalism and does away with this fraudulent constitution; if he channels this, I will be with him 24\7.”
Adebanjo wants the president to rethink his decision, if it was made for political gains. He said to show genuineness, Buhari must restructure the country before the elections.
He said: “We are no fools in this country. He should know that many of us have not got cattle brains. We are well educated and we know what we want. Nobody can come and bamboozle us because elections are coming. It is just like he said in 2015 that he was a born-again democrat. Now, he has shown us that he is a dictator. We are not moved by it.”
He added: “It is a welcome idea. And yes, it is a thing that ought to have been done. But that he is now doing it because elections are coming, that does not excite me at all. He has been in office for three years. Why did he remember to do it when he realised he was ending his first term in office and needed votes? He thinks that we are so foolish and he can say that he did something for us. As I said, we have not got cattle brains; we have got real brains.”
Uranta, on his part, “confidently” foresees that the southern and Middle Belt zones’ demand for restructuring would remain “paramount and non-negotiable,” even as Ikokwu declared a restructuring of the country would show Buhari has a mind to do the right thing.
Following on their heels, the Rivers State government said: “The only way anyone can immortalise Moshood Abiola is to ensure there are free and fair elections, where people are allowed to choose their leaders freely without the use of state apparatuses, like the police to rig elections.” According to the state’s Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, “Ensuring free and fair elections, for us, is more important, because that is what Abiola’s election represented.”
But former Ogun State governor, Segun Osoba, differed. According to him, “President Buhari has only come to terms with the reality of what we have been clamouring for in the last 25 years. Whatever interpretation anybody gives doesn’t matter other than the incumbent administration, for whatever intent or purpose, has realised that Abiola paid the supreme price for the democracy we currently enjoy in Nigeria.”
The six southwest states, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti, have declared tomorrow a public holiday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the annulled election. There will be no holiday in Bayelsa, Borno, Yobe, Kano, Kebbi and others.
Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, said the annulment of the election stemmed from a conspiracy by the political elite, their military collaborators, judges and moneybags.
In an article, titled, ‘June 12 Tsunami and the ones who won’t forgive Buhari’, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, wrote: “Even at that time, it was pretty obvious that the unjust annulment was a huge elite conspiracy, well beyond the schemes and machinations for which the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, had established a formidable reputation.
“June 12 annulment was inspired and supported in spirit, cash and in kind by high-level citizens who saw an opportunity for themselves and cashed in upon it. Beyond the coterie of two dozen or so military officials whose names have been documented as literally having had a gun to the head of their Commander-in-Chief in trying to induce the annulment, there were tens, possibly hundreds of co-conspirators who either forced the annulment in one way or the other, or joined the sustenance of the injustice done to Abiola and Nigerian voters which, from then evolved into an industry of a kind, supplying incomes and conferring privileges of state upon those in the plot.”
It came as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised Buhari’s stance, describing it as ploy to garner votes in the 2019 polls. It said the “Buhari presidency has unapologetically violated and is still violating, with gross impunity, all democratic tenets for which Chief Abiola suffered, died and is being honoured.”
The party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted in a statement: “Nigerians still hold that President Buhari has not considered it necessary to apologise for staging the military coup that destroyed democratic governance on December 31, 1983, suspended our 1979 Constitution, foisted a siege mentality on Nigerians, and set the stage for a long despotic military rule for which Chief Abiola, his dear wife, Kudirat, and other democratic martyrs ended up paying the supreme sacrifice to restore.”
The party congratulated the family of the late Abiola and other martyrs of democracy. It also remembered the “roles of the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, Bagauda Khalto, Dan Suleiman, Raph Obiorah, Alex Ibru, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Pa Ajayi Laniwun and a host of others, as well as the management and staff of the Concord, Guardian, Vanguard, Punch and other media houses, who suffered undue hardships for our nation to attain this democracy.”
Also, a civil rights lawyer, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke, has asked Buhari to rescind his notice to honour Abiola and others, describing the proclamation as “illegal”.
He argued: “National honours cannot be bestowed on deceased persons,” saying Article 2 (1) and (2) of the National Honours Act Cap N43 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 is very clear on the subject.
According to him, “Only Nigerian citizens and foreigners may be awarded such honours. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a ‘citizen’ as ‘a member of a free society possessing all the rights and privileges which can be enjoyed by any person under its constitution and government, and subject to the corresponding duties.’ Clearly, this does not accommodate deceased persons.”
He said: “Given that the rank of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic is reserved exclusively for Nigeria’s presidents, Mr. President even negated his own proclamation when he addressed Chief Abiola as the ‘presumed’ winner of the June 12 election. Clearly, Nigeria’s highest national honour cannot be awarded based on arbitrariness or mere conjecture.”
He also faulted the declaration of June 12 as a national holiday, arguing: “The recognition of May 29 as Democracy Day is settled, given the provisions of the schedule to the Public Holidays Act, Cap P40, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.” A presidential proclamation is incapable of altering May 29 as a public holiday, he insisted.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day is a mere political stunt. To prove it isn’t, the leader must return the country to true federalism.
This was the position of some elder statesmen, who bared their minds to The Guardian, ahead of tomorrow’s celebration.
Buhari had recently announced the late Chief Moshood Abiola won the June 1993 election and would, alongside others, receive the nation’s highest honour. Former President Ibrahim Babangida had annulled the poll, believed to be the most credible in Nigeria’s history.
In separate interviews, Amos Akingba, chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO); Ayo Adebanjo of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere; President of PanNdigbo National Forum, Guy Ikokwu; and Tony Uranta, Executive Secretary of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) insisted no amount of tinkering with the June 12 issue would quell yearnings for a restructured federation.
“People are claiming that Buhari gave the honour due to 2019 elections. But I think that cannot work in the southwest, because we know our agenda. They are not doing Abiola any favour; they are only recognising his sacrifices for the country. And if it is not done right, the unity of Nigeria will be questioned and eventually break up. When General Murtala Mohammed lost his life, they named the Lagos State international airport after him. Now, instead of doing the right thing, they waited for elections to come, so that they can use it to bribe the Yoruba,” said Akingba.
He urged Buhari to retrieve the report of the 2014 National Conference, send it to the National Assembly, and follow up on its implementation. According to him, “There is no gift, even as this honour, that will make me change my mind. I will vote for him (Buhari) any day and time, if he embraces restructuring. If he is the architect of the regime that champions the return of Nigeria to true federalism and does away with this fraudulent constitution; if he channels this, I will be with him 24\7.”
Adebanjo wants the president to rethink his decision, if it was made for political gains. He said to show genuineness, Buhari must restructure the country before the elections.
He said: “We are no fools in this country. He should know that many of us have not got cattle brains. We are well educated and we know what we want. Nobody can come and bamboozle us because elections are coming. It is just like he said in 2015 that he was a born-again democrat. Now, he has shown us that he is a dictator. We are not moved by it.”
He added: “It is a welcome idea. And yes, it is a thing that ought to have been done. But that he is now doing it because elections are coming, that does not excite me at all. He has been in office for three years. Why did he remember to do it when he realised he was ending his first term in office and needed votes? He thinks that we are so foolish and he can say that he did something for us. As I said, we have not got cattle brains; we have got real brains.”
Uranta, on his part, “confidently” foresees that the southern and Middle Belt zones’ demand for restructuring would remain “paramount and non-negotiable,” even as Ikokwu declared a restructuring of the country would show Buhari has a mind to do the right thing.
Following on their heels, the Rivers State government said: “The only way anyone can immortalise Moshood Abiola is to ensure there are free and fair elections, where people are allowed to choose their leaders freely without the use of state apparatuses, like the police to rig elections.” According to the state’s Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, “Ensuring free and fair elections, for us, is more important, because that is what Abiola’s election represented.”
But former Ogun State governor, Segun Osoba, differed. According to him, “President Buhari has only come to terms with the reality of what we have been clamouring for in the last 25 years. Whatever interpretation anybody gives doesn’t matter other than the incumbent administration, for whatever intent or purpose, has realised that Abiola paid the supreme price for the democracy we currently enjoy in Nigeria.”
The six southwest states, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti, have declared tomorrow a public holiday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the annulled election. There will be no holiday in Bayelsa, Borno, Yobe, Kano, Kebbi and others.
Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, said the annulment of the election stemmed from a conspiracy by the political elite, their military collaborators, judges and moneybags.
In an article, titled, ‘June 12 Tsunami and the ones who won’t forgive Buhari’, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, wrote: “Even at that time, it was pretty obvious that the unjust annulment was a huge elite conspiracy, well beyond the schemes and machinations for which the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, had established a formidable reputation.
“June 12 annulment was inspired and supported in spirit, cash and in kind by high-level citizens who saw an opportunity for themselves and cashed in upon it. Beyond the coterie of two dozen or so military officials whose names have been documented as literally having had a gun to the head of their Commander-in-Chief in trying to induce the annulment, there were tens, possibly hundreds of co-conspirators who either forced the annulment in one way or the other, or joined the sustenance of the injustice done to Abiola and Nigerian voters which, from then evolved into an industry of a kind, supplying incomes and conferring privileges of state upon those in the plot.”
It came as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised Buhari’s stance, describing it as ploy to garner votes in the 2019 polls. It said the “Buhari presidency has unapologetically violated and is still violating, with gross impunity, all democratic tenets for which Chief Abiola suffered, died and is being honoured.”
The party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted in a statement: “Nigerians still hold that President Buhari has not considered it necessary to apologise for staging the military coup that destroyed democratic governance on December 31, 1983, suspended our 1979 Constitution, foisted a siege mentality on Nigerians, and set the stage for a long despotic military rule for which Chief Abiola, his dear wife, Kudirat, and other democratic martyrs ended up paying the supreme sacrifice to restore.”
The party congratulated the family of the late Abiola and other martyrs of democracy. It also remembered the “roles of the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, Bagauda Khalto, Dan Suleiman, Raph Obiorah, Alex Ibru, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Pa Ajayi Laniwun and a host of others, as well as the management and staff of the Concord, Guardian, Vanguard, Punch and other media houses, who suffered undue hardships for our nation to attain this democracy.”
Also, a civil rights lawyer, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke, has asked Buhari to rescind his notice to honour Abiola and others, describing the proclamation as “illegal”.
He argued: “National honours cannot be bestowed on deceased persons,” saying Article 2 (1) and (2) of the National Honours Act Cap N43 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 is very clear on the subject.
According to him, “Only Nigerian citizens and foreigners may be awarded such honours. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a ‘citizen’ as ‘a member of a free society possessing all the rights and privileges which can be enjoyed by any person under its constitution and government, and subject to the corresponding duties.’ Clearly, this does not accommodate deceased persons.”
He said: “Given that the rank of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic is reserved exclusively for Nigeria’s presidents, Mr. President even negated his own proclamation when he addressed Chief Abiola as the ‘presumed’ winner of the June 12 election. Clearly, Nigeria’s highest national honour cannot be awarded based on arbitrariness or mere conjecture.”
He also faulted the declaration of June 12 as a national holiday, arguing: “The recognition of May 29 as Democracy Day is settled, given the provisions of the schedule to the Public Holidays Act, Cap P40, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.” A presidential proclamation is incapable of altering May 29 as a public holiday, he insisted.
Ohanaeze hails Supreme Court judgment on Chief Innocent Chukwuma
Ohanaeze hails Supreme Court judgment on Chief Innocent Chukwuma
By NAN
11 June 2018
The Socio-Cultural Organization of Igbos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has hailed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case between Innoson Group of Companies and Guatanty Trust Bank.The organisation gave the commendation in a statement by Chief Emeka Attamah, Media Adviser to its President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, released in Abuja on Monday.
In the statement, Nwodo said that by the judgment, the apex court refused to be used in an ethnic warfare to thwart Innoson of a judicial victory at the Court of Appeal.
“The judgment of the Supreme Court has shown that the judiciary remains the last bastion of hope for the common man.
“It is victory for democracy and an indication that there is still hope for the country.’’
He said that it was obvious that some vested interests were colluding with the EFCC to deny Innoson of his rights and to tarnish his well-earned reputation as a foremost manufacturer and investor in the country.
The president-general ascribed Innoson’s travails to the systematic harassment and intimidation of Igbo sons and daughters in the country due to ethnic sentiments.
He recalled the traumatic experiences of other Igbo sons, including Chief Cletus Ibeto and Chief Ifeanyi Uba, whose businesses were almost grounded by their detractors, but for their tenacity and shrewd business acumen.
“Ohanaeze commended the fighting spirit of Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the CEO of Innoson Group of Companies, for his doggedness and courage notwithstanding attempts to intimidate him with trumped-up criminal charges.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will dampen the zeal of Ndigbo for a united Nigeria.
“It will only ginger them on in the fight for a restructured nation where every individual will be free to pursue his legitimate aspirations and businesses in a healthy, competitive atmosphere,’’ he said.Nwodo called on the bank involved to obey the court order and pay the stipulated amount without delay to restore the confidence of the people in it.
“The judgment of the Supreme Court has shown that the judiciary remains the last bastion of hope for the common man.
“It is victory for democracy and an indication that there is still hope for the country.’’
He said that it was obvious that some vested interests were colluding with the EFCC to deny Innoson of his rights and to tarnish his well-earned reputation as a foremost manufacturer and investor in the country.
The president-general ascribed Innoson’s travails to the systematic harassment and intimidation of Igbo sons and daughters in the country due to ethnic sentiments.
He recalled the traumatic experiences of other Igbo sons, including Chief Cletus Ibeto and Chief Ifeanyi Uba, whose businesses were almost grounded by their detractors, but for their tenacity and shrewd business acumen.
“Ohanaeze commended the fighting spirit of Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the CEO of Innoson Group of Companies, for his doggedness and courage notwithstanding attempts to intimidate him with trumped-up criminal charges.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will dampen the zeal of Ndigbo for a united Nigeria.
“It will only ginger them on in the fight for a restructured nation where every individual will be free to pursue his legitimate aspirations and businesses in a healthy, competitive atmosphere,’’ he said.Nwodo called on the bank involved to obey the court order and pay the stipulated amount without delay to restore the confidence of the people in it.
Sunday, 10 June 2018
Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to sign Antoine Griezmann
Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to sign Antoine Griezmann
Author: Ibitoye Shittu
Football News, Sports, World News - Lionel Messi believes Antoine Griezmann is the type of player Barcelona need - He wants the Catalan giants to sign the Frenchman this summer - Messi says the signing of Griezmann will help Barcelona to win the Champions League Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has admitted that Frenchman Antoine Griezmann will be of great advantage for Barcelona if the club should sign him this summer. Last season, Antoine Griezmann was superb for Atletico Madrid helping the Spanish club to win the 2017/18 Europa League title. Lionel Messi believes his signing would go a long way to helping Barcelona become European champions for the first time since 2015. "I am in agreement that to win the Champions League again we need to have the best players. And Griezmann is one of them. "If the club sign him, brilliant. I don't know if he's the priority. That depends on the signing committee and the coach. "I can only say that to win the Champions League you have to have the best players. And he is very good,'' Messi was quoted by Goal to have told Sport. Become a member of the leading sports Facebook group 'Naija Football Fan Zone' Earlier,had reported how Spanish giants Atletico Madrid won the 2017/18 Europa League title after beating French club Olympique Marseille 3-0 in the final on Wednesday night, May 16. Frenchman Antoine Griezmann scored two goals for Atletico Madrid, and he could be on his way to Barcelona this summer. Going into the final, Atletico Madrid have won the competition in 2010 and 2012 and have lost in two Champions League finals since.
Super Eagles depart for sixth FIFA World Cup finals on Monday
Super Eagles depart for sixth FIFA World Cup finals on Monday
Author:Uchenna Ajah
Category: World News, Football News, Sports - Super Eagles squad members will on Monday, June 11, depart their Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria for Russia 2018 Fifa World Cup - Nigeria will be making a sixth appearance in seven finals after a remarkable debut, 24 years ago at USA'94 - The Eagles always progress to the second round if they avoid defeat in the opening fixtures Nigeria's Super Eagles squad members will on Monday depart their Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria for Russia to participate in the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup finals which also doubles as Nigeria's sixth appearance in seven finals after making a remarkable debut, 24 years ago at USA'94. After picking the sole ticket in the supposedly ‘Group of Death’ in the African qualifiers, the Eagles' emerged the first African team to book a passage for the 2018 tournament in Russia. At the last count, the Gernot Rohr-tutored side have played out seven pre-World Cup games against the likes of Argentina, Poland, Serbia, DR Congo, England and Czech Republic, winning two, drawing one as well as suffering three defeats. Eagles' Franco-German manager, believes the result is not Nigeria's best going into Russia 2018, but was quick to add over the weekend, just as team's captain Mikel Obi cried out some days ago, that the 'underachievers' tag to the team by fans' will further spur the team to action when hostilities kick-off in Russia. “We are okay with the garb of the underdog. But the defeats have done something for us – we have our heads firmly on our shoulders and we are focused. Rohr was quoted as saying by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official twitter handle. The Eagles' square up against Croatia's Blazers in their opening game on Saturday, but a pip into the records book suggest that Nigeria have won two opening games at the Mundial, draw one and suffered two defeats. Furthermore, an interesting fact is that on three previous tournaments that Nigeria did not suffer defeat in the opening fixtures, (1994, 1998, 2014), the Eagles' reached the second round, otherwise known as Round of 16. “We will take it one match at a time. I love this group because we know how to rise to the occasion together. Nigeria will be ready for Croatia,” added the 53-year-old Rohr, who has only lost one competitive match since joining the Eagles' fold two years ago. Hopefully, the likes of captain Mikel John Obi, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo as well as other star players in camp will help the German boss get his groove back when action commences at the Kaliningrad Arena come Saturday.
Sunday, 11 June 2017
Igbos dare the Northerners over threat to leave the North
Northern Youths Declare War On Igbos In The North, Ask Them To ‘Leave’ Within Three Months
Some Northern Nigeria youth groups on Tuesday in Kaduna issued what they called a 'Kaduna Declaration' in which they declared “war” against all Igbos residing in the North, demanding they leave the area within three months.
They also asked Northerners in the South-East to leave the area, warning that as from October 1, which happens to be Nigeria’s National Day, they will commence implementation of ‘visible actions’ to prove they are no longer part of a federal union that includes the Igbo.
The groups that signed the declaration include Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum and Northern Emancipation Network, but it is unclear if known officials of any of the groups actually signed the document.
They cite as reason for their decision the pro-Biafran activities of some Igbo, centred around the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying their latest action and similar confrontational conducts “amount to a brutal encroachment on the rights of those termed as non-indigenous people residing and doing lawful businesses in those areas illegally demarcated and defined as Biafra by the Igbo.”
The groups held that their conclusion is “necessitated by the realization that it since ceased to be comfortable or safe to continue sharing the same country with the ungrateful, uncultured Igbos who have exhibited reckless disrespect for the other federating units and stained the integrity of the entire nation with their insatiable criminal obsessions.”
They said that rather than certain sections holding the whole country to ransom at every stage, each should be allowed to go its own way.
They warned the government that as from October 1, they will embark on what they called “peaceful and safe mop-up of all the remnants of the stubborn Igbos that neglect to heed this quit notice,” towards “finally eject them from every part of the North.”
The federal government had issued no response as of the time of this report.
Pro-Biafran protesters at a recent protest on the Onitsha bridge
Below is the text of the declaration:
THE KADUNA DECLARATION BEING A JOINT POSITION PAPER ISSUED BY THE AREWA CITIZENS ACTION FOR CHANGE, AREWA YOUTH CONSULTATIVE FORUM, AREWA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, AREWA STUDENTS FORUM AND NORTHERN EMANCIPATION NETWORK ON THE IGBO PERSISTENCE FOR SECESSION
June 06, 2017
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
THE OPPRESSOR AND THE FOOLISH CITIZENS
WHAT JOHN ZIBIRI SAID ABOUT NIGERIA
I worked and lived in Abuja for 18 years. I ran my own private company from 2001 until 2014.
Two million of the likes of Buhari cannot change Nigeria.
🕹Everything is wrong with Nigeria.
📍The Director won't give you contract except you pay up front .
📍The banks won't give you loan except you concede a certain percentage.
🚩The man supervising the contract won't pass the job except you play ball.
🚩The clerk won't pass your file for payment except you rob his palm.
🚩The accounts department won't raise your payment voucher or cheque unless you see them. I can go on and on.
📍The worst thing is that it has become a norm that nobody sees anything wrong with.
🚩 If you think otherwise, they begin to think you are sick and not normal.
📍If you try to stand in their way, you put your life at risk.
🚩If you get killed there is no justice system in place to seek redress and bring the perpetrators to book.
📍The police is corrupt , the Judiciary is the same.
🚩Even the religious circle is not spared.
📍Everything in Nigeria revolves around corruption.
🚩Nobody cares about anybody. No law and order.
🚩 I looked from my left to right, everybody is only desperate about one thing "money".
📍They will kill anybody and anything that stand between them and money.
🚩I am an electrical engineer with MNSE and COREN. The system don't care about my qualifications.
🚩Distribution and transmission jobs are given to alhajis, pastors, friends and relatives without any basic skills.
🚩I started asking myself, how do I convince my kids that education and hard work is rewarding?
🙈When fools, agberos and touts are running the country from the local govt to the Presidency.
🚩Is this what my four sons will also go through? In 2014 I decided I have had enough. I decided I was leaving. I migrated to Australia with my family.
🚩Don't put yourself in harm way for any reason.
🚩The problem of Nigeria is in the hands of Nigerians living in Nigeria.
🙉Try starting a gate house in your village, everybody wants to profiteer from it. The bricklayer, the carpenter, the mason and even your brother who claim to be supervising on your behalf.
🚩They are corrupt, morally bankrupt and selfish.
🚩 Everybody there thinks about himself and nobody is thinking about Nigeria .
📍You don't have to be the one to go there to change anything.
🚩Let those under the hammer start the revolution. I beg make you hear word.
🙊This post is gonna anger a lot of my followers. I'm still gonna post it anyway.
*Analogy of OPPRESSORS & FOOLISH CITIZENS.
*(A case study of Nigeria citizens & their elected oppressors):
🙊 During the Soviet dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. He was a brutal dictator with mind of his own. On one fateful day, Stalin came to Politburo meeting with a live chicken. Standing in front of audience, He started to pluck the feathers of the live chicken off one by one.
🚩The chicken trembled in pain, blood tricking out of its pores. It gave out grievous cries, but Stalin being a cruel dictator continued without remorse plucking the feathers out until the chicken was completely naked. After which, he threw the chicken on the ground.
🚩The naked chicken was staggering in pain. Stalin goes into his pocket and from his pockets, he took out some chicken food and started to throw it at the poor & hapless creature.
🚩The poor chicken in pain started eating and Stalin started walking towards his seat. As he walked away, he kept dropping some feeds on the floor & the chicken followed him and sat feeding from his feet.
📍Joseph Stalin then turned to members of his political party leadership.
🚩He said, "This chicken represents the people".
🚩"You must disempower them, brutalise them, beat them up, starve them and then leave them".
🚩"If you do this, go into your pocket & give them peanuts when they are in that helpless and desperate situation, they will blindly follow you for the rest of their life, worshiping you".
🚩"They will think you are a hero forever. They will forget that, you're responsible for their sorrowful situation in the first place."
😇 Breath taking, isn't it ?
🙋♂ Now! Take a look at all the people some Nigerians are busy defending on social media.
🚩Take a look at those they call their heroes.
🚩They are the same people who plunged Nigeria into the situation she is.
🚩They are the same people who are responsible for their predicaments.
🙈Did you see the numbers of people that throng to Saraki's house during this Christmas period to go and collect peanuts?
🙉Did you see the crowd that welcomed Ibori?
🚩Your guess is as good as mine. And the likes of many others, we all know about.
📍Nigerians kill those they should defend and defend those they should kill! 🙉
Pass to all your contacts & let your government know we know.
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Buhari remains indoors after his return
Olalekan Adetayo
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday remained indoors inside his official residence, 24 hours after he returned to the country from a 49-day medical vacation.
Buhari returned to the country in the early hours of Friday from London, United Kingdom, where he had been on medical sojourn since January 19.
Shortly after meeting some state governors and top government officials led by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the First Lady Conference Hall, Buhari retired into his official residence.
The President, who was conspicuously absent at the Jumat service held inside the mosque close to his office later in the day, has not been seen in public since then.
Our correspondent, who monitored events at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for a few hours on Saturday reported that Buhari remained indoors throughout the day.
“The President is indoors. He is spending time with his family members. You know he has been away for a long time. There is the need for them to catch up on some issues since he travelled,” a source said.
Our corespondent also observed that the Presidential Villa was devoid of heavy vehicular movement that always characterises the visits of prominent politicians and top government officials.
A security source said but for a few family members and close friends, Buhari has not been receiving visitors since he returned on Friday.
The President had shortly after returning to the country urged those who might be considering sending delegations to welcome him to stay back and continue to pray for the country.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had said the President would on Monday transmit a letter to the National Assembly formally informing the federal lawmakers of his return from vacation.
Meanwhile, as Buhari formally resumes work on Monday, expectations are high that decisions would be taken on some national issues in the course of the week.
One of such issues, our correspondent learnt, is the posting of the nation’s career ambassadors-designate.
The President had on December 19, 2016 opened an induction course organised for the ambassadors-designate by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
About three months after, they have not been posted.
When our correspondent raised the issue with Adesina on Saturday, he simply said, “Please bring this up again after the President has resumed duty for a while.”
Another issue that the President will be expected to address urgently on resumption, it was further learnt, is the filling of two vacancies that currently exist in the Federal Executive Council.
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Thursday, 23 February 2017
STOP AIRING BIG BROTHER NIGERIA
By Project for Human Development · 02/20/2017
Update on February, 23 2017: A Lagos lawmaker, Segun Olulade Today, advised the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on the negative implications of Big Brother Naija on the nation's culture and youths.
"We cannot prevent our inquisitive young ones from watching the obscene displays that permeate the show. I think the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) should, without delay, stop this programme if this government means business in the promotion of our cultural values," he said.
The on-going TV Reality show, Big Brother Nigeria is indeed a corruption of TV Reality shows. The Nigerian public is complaining about the moral perversity in the House of the Big Brother Nigeria. In one episode last two weeks or so, the inmates were shown openly kissing and caressing one another. This is a celebration of obscenity, eroticism and idleness.
More importantly, it is a big mockery of Nigerian culture and tradition. Since the inmates are Nigerians, they should have been projecting the Nigerian cultural heritage. But instead of doing that, they are bastardizing it. When Endernol, the Dutch, first conceived the idea of BBA in 1997, open kissing and caressing by the inmates and celebration of obscenity were never considered by him.
Even the TV Reality shows in other countries do not contain the obscenity we are watching in the on-going Big Brother Nigeria. There is a great danger in importing the destructive foreign lifestyle to Nigeria. Explicit sexual overtures which appeal to the prurient interest in sex, damages a country’s moral ecology in an analogous way in which oil pollutant damages a country’s ecology.
The biggest tragedy of the on-going Big Brother Nigeria is that our children also glued to the TV screen watching it. Children are our future. Therefore we should protect them from lewd exposure, which might prevent their growth into free, independent and well-developed citizens.
The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) must live up to its bidding as a body charged with controlling, monitoring, regulating the electronic media and monitoring of satellite transmission in Nigeria. Our TV stations cannot become dumping grounds for all sorts of immoral programs.
NBC MUST STOP THE AIRING OF BIG BROTHER NIGERIA .PLEASE COMMENT HERE TO HELP US ASCERTAIN THE STAND OF NIGERIANS.
Entrepreneurship has traditionally been defined as the process of designing, launching and running a new business, which typically begins as a small business, such as a startup company, offering a product, process or service for sale or hire, and the people who do so are called 'entrepreneurs'.[2] It has been defined as the "...capacity and willingness to develop, organize, and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit."[3] While definitions of entrepreneurship typically focus on the launching and running of businesses, due to the high risks involved in launching a start-up, a significant proportion of businesses have to close, due to a "...lack of funding, bad business decisions, an economic crisis -- or a combination of all of these"[4] or due to lack of market demand. In the 2000s, the definition of "entrepreneurship" has been expanded to explain how and why some individuals (or teams) identify opportunities, evaluate them as viable, and then decide to exploit them, whereas others do not,[5] and, in turn, how entrepreneurs use these opportunities to develop new products or services, launch new firms or even new industries and create wealth.[6] Recent advances stress the fundamentally uncertain nature of the entrepreneurial process, because although opportunities exist their existence cannot be discovered or identified prior to their actualization into profits.[7] What appears as a real opportunity ex ante might actually be a non-opportunity or one that cannot be actualized by entrepreneurs lacking the necessary business skills, financial or social capital.
Traditionally, an entrepreneur has been defined as "a person who starts, organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk".[8] "Rather than working as an employee, an entrepreneur runs a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes."[9] Entrepreneurs tend to be good at perceiving new business opportunities and they often exhibit positive biases in their perception (i.e., a bias towards finding new possibilities and seeing unmet market needs) and a pro-risk-taking attitude that makes them more likely to exploit the opportunity.[10][11]
An entrepreneur is typically in control of a commercial undertaking, directing the factors of production–the human, financial and material resources–that are required to exploit a business opportunity. They act as the manager and oversee the launch and growth of an enterprise. Entrepreneurship is the process by which an individual (or team) identifies a business opportunity and acquires and deploys the necessary resources required for its exploitation. The exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities may include actions such as developing a business plan, hiring the human resources, acquiring financial and material resources, providing leadership, and being responsible for the venture's success or failure.[12] Economist Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) stated that the role of the entrepreneur in the economy is "creative destruction"–launching innovations that simultaneously destroy old industries while ushering in new industries and approaches. For Schumpeter, the changes and "dynamic disequilibrium brought on by the innovating entrepreneur ... [are] the ‘norm’ of a healthy economy."[13]
"Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and risk-taking."[3] While entrepreneurship is often associated with new, small, for-profit start-ups, entrepreneurial behavior can be seen in small-, medium- and large-sized firms, new and established firms and in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, including voluntary sector groups, charitable organizations and government.[14] For example, in the 2000s, the field of social entrepreneurship has been identified, in which entrepreneurs combine business activities with humanitarian, environmental or community goals.
Entrepreneurship typically operates within an entrepreneurship ecosystem which often includes government programs and services that promote entrepreneurship and support entrepreneurs and start-ups; non-governmental organizations such as small business associations and organizations that offer advice and mentoring to entrepreneurs (e.g., through entrepreneurship centers or websites); small business advocacy organizations that lobby the government for increased support for entrepreneurship programs and more small business-friendly laws and regulations; entrepreneurship resources and facilities (e.g., business incubators and seed accelerators); entrepreneurship education and training programs offered by schools, colleges and universities; and financing (e.g., bank loans, venture capital financing, angel investing, and government and private foundation grants). The strongest entrepreneurship ecosystems are those found in top entrepreneurship hubs such as Silicon Valley, New York City, Boston, Singapore, and other such locations where there are clusters of leading high-tech firms, top research universities, and venture capitalists.[15] In the 2010s, entrepreneurship can be studied in college or university as part of the disciplines of
Entrepreneurial behaviour
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
THE FUTURE NIGERIA
The much of good can be attached to Nigeria; yet, not yet the worst can be related to her. Let me talk about her people. For whom do I write? I think I write on behalf of the millions of Nigerians without either a voice or the means to articulate their grievances. But I am flummoxed quite often by the so contrary disposition of this constituency, contrary to my generous expectations.
Western education or the lack thereof cannot explain the contradictions I see. A man should know their basic interest at least. Probably, the more sophisticated or, let me say, the latent, may escape public consciousness, and this can be excused. But how am I supposed to excuse betrayal? I should expect Nigerians to realize that we have made the society we live in. Does poverty make men foolish; or does it impart madness? I know that poverty can inject the virus of anger, and we are today witnesses to this. But a mixture of anger and foolishness hardly yields dividend. I believe that the story of Nigeria cannot be true without a chapter on the betrayal of courage.
We have lost (and still do) heroes to the opposing camp. Every hero lost does damage to the confidence the people have in the army of patriots that remain in the trenches. The opposing camp is the camp with supposedly delegated power to wrest for the people the right and means to live the dream of humanity on the planet of divinity. I know that desperation can be very deceptive not only for the individual but also for the people that place their hopes in the individual. When the opposing camp has won more converts than it has lost the future of that nation becomes much bleaker. Desperation for change and national redemption must diminish neither our perception of the price for our labour nor the danger of unequal yoking. When sincere zeal teams up with cunning pretentious resolve a nation loses her heroes; and no nation makes progress that kills off her heroes this way. It always remains true that evil communication corrupts good morals.
I am not against offering public service for public good. But when personal service to a sinking monarch or head of state is disguised in the garb of public service an insidious poison has been concocted. The hero must value his service and dispense it when certain minimal conditions are met, otherwise his service shall be trampled upon and he suffers loss. The next few years under the same leadership in Nigeria shall confer only damage. I see no sincerity in the present Nigerian government; for this the future is not bright. I see only darkness for the next few years unless the Nigerians pick up courage and pile pressure on Jonathan’s government to do what is right; and what is right is quite obvious:
1. It is right to implement the recommendations of the KPMG report on the oil sector without the red herring of a Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF). Is it not the pressure uncommonly piled by Nigerians during the recent fuel subsidy removal protests that has brought to limelight the KPMG report that the Jonathan’s government had ignored for more than a year? The recommendations in the KPMG report substantially point to neglect of enforcement of existing laws. An insincere government would create all kinds of task forces and committees as lullabies to quieten agitations, and then push important public matters out of public consciousness. Nigerian heroes who have accepted to work in the PRSTF are on their own. There are already existing institutions such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which has been given a mere representative role in the PRSTF, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and relevant committees of the National Assembly that can help enforce those recommendations if President Jonathan is sincere. The PRSTF is additional financial burden on the nation and a waste of our resources. Specific examples of infraction such as exaggerated margins of error that have cost Nigeria millions of US dollars have been captured in the report, yet, Jonathan is hiding behind a special task force. The lack of urgency in Jonathan’s actions is very suspicious. Was it not the same government that few days ago broached setting up a committee to review the KPMG report? We talk of building institutions; but how can we do so with this culture of task forces and ad hoc committees? By the way, has any good thing come out of such efforts? The lack of will of the government to enforce existing laws is the undoing of Nigeria! Failure of President Jonathan to fully implement the recommendations in the KPMG report will set him apart as a colossal disappointment. But I don’t see him doing that without sustained pressure by Nigerians.
2. It is right to convoke a national conference to both define a socio-political structure for Nigeria that is socially just and financially prudent and establish a system of government that is less expensive and more representative of both our culture and ethnic nationalities. I have heard people, particularly at the charade recently organized by the “National Summit Group” at Sheraton hotel Lagos, disparage reference to “ethnic nationalities.” First, there is no Nigeria without its ethnic nationalities. I am yet to meet a man who takes umbrage to being called by his father’s name, who prefers to be called just a human being without a family. That would be a misnomer, wouldn’t it? I am first a Tiv man before I am a Nigerian, and I have no apologies to make for that. And any system in Nigeria that places the Tiv nation in a serious disadvantage is completely unacceptable to me. Secondly, I found it a joke that a conference to discuss Nigeria would be called by the National Summit Group (coordinated by mainly the South-South people such as Pat Utomi, Tony Uranta, and Annkio Briggs)without a formal invitation to the ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. I find difficult to place any stamp of seriousness and importance on a so-called national conference without a single Tiv man invited! President Jonathan and the National Assembly must find a way to call Nigerians of all ethnic nationalities to discuss the issues I have raised here and in quite a number of my essays on a sovereign national conference for Nigeria. I see no future for Nigeria without such a conference; and I say this advisedly. Nigeria has no time to waste with charades projected and sponsored by Jonathan’s cronies.
The isolation of few people for favours at the expense of the majority has not helped Nigeria. For instance, Niger Delta ex-militants do not constitute the Niger Delta. Jonathan’s silence in the face of continuing (if not worsening) destruction of that region by oil operators is indicative of the danger Nigeria faces—absence of leadership. The excuse that the Boko Haram menace is being influenced by “politicians who wanted power to return to the North” is balderdash! By the way, government is supposed to maintain security irrespective of the source of insecurity. Also, the claim by Jonathan’s government and its collaborators that Nigerians that went out to protest fuel subsidy removal were sponsored by “failed politicians” shows how out of touch with the people Jonathan is.
But Nigerians should learn a lesson; and I have written about this. Credible elections ipso facto do not guarantee good leadership. Nigerians made a choice and must learn to live with its consequences. In Adamawa state, the people “voted” for PDP few days ago as I write in spite of the debilitating consequences of its rule in the past years. Either the people are dumb and stupid or the election was rigged. And if the election was rigged and yet the people remained quiet, it must either be because of the massive presence of soldiers and the police that kept vigil on the roads in the state or because the people have “left the matter in God’s hands” (a very convenient refuge for the helpless). But a people deserves the leadership it has. The future of Nigeria will be shaped by Nigerians themselves one way or the other.
The much of good can be attached to Nigeria; yet, not yet the worst can be related to her. Let me talk about her people. For whom do I write? I think I write on behalf of the millions of Nigerians without either a voice or the means to articulate their grievances. But I am flummoxed quite often by the so contrary disposition of this constituency, contrary to my generous expectations.
Western education or the lack thereof cannot explain the contradictions I see. A man should know their basic interest at least. Probably, the more sophisticated or, let me say, the latent, may escape public consciousness, and this can be excused. But how am I supposed to excuse betrayal? I should expect Nigerians to realize that we have made the society we live in. Does poverty make men foolish; or does it impart madness? I know that poverty can inject the virus of anger, and we are today witnesses to this. But a mixture of anger and foolishness hardly yields dividend. I believe that the story of Nigeria cannot be true without a chapter on the betrayal of courage.
We have lost (and still do) heroes to the opposing camp. Every hero lost does damage to the confidence the people have in the army of patriots that remain in the trenches. The opposing camp is the camp with supposedly delegated power to wrest for the people the right and means to live the dream of humanity on the planet of divinity. I know that desperation can be very deceptive not only for the individual but also for the people that place their hopes in the individual. When the opposing camp has won more converts than it has lost the future of that nation becomes much bleaker. Desperation for change and national redemption must diminish neither our perception of the price for our labour nor the danger of unequal yoking. When sincere zeal teams up with cunning pretentious resolve a nation loses her heroes; and no nation makes progress that kills off her heroes this way. It always remains true that evil communication corrupts good morals.
I am not against offering public service for public good. But when personal service to a sinking monarch or head of state is disguised in the garb of public service an insidious poison has been concocted. The hero must value his service and dispense it when certain minimal conditions are met, otherwise his service shall be trampled upon and he suffers loss. The next few years under the same leadership in Nigeria shall confer only damage. I see no sincerity in the present Nigerian government; for this the future is not bright. I see only darkness for the next few years unless the Nigerians pick up courage and pile pressure on Jonathan’s government to do what is right; and what is right is quite obvious:
1. It is right to implement the recommendations of the KPMG report on the oil sector without the red herring of a Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF). Is it not the pressure uncommonly piled by Nigerians during the recent fuel subsidy removal protests that has brought to limelight the KPMG report that the Jonathan’s government had ignored for more than a year? The recommendations in the KPMG report substantially point to neglect of enforcement of existing laws. An insincere government would create all kinds of task forces and committees as lullabies to quieten agitations, and then push important public matters out of public consciousness. Nigerian heroes who have accepted to work in the PRSTF are on their own. There are already existing institutions such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which has been given a mere representative role in the PRSTF, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and relevant committees of the National Assembly that can help enforce those recommendations if President Jonathan is sincere. The PRSTF is additional financial burden on the nation and a waste of our resources. Specific examples of infraction such as exaggerated margins of error that have cost Nigeria millions of US dollars have been captured in the report, yet, Jonathan is hiding behind a special task force. The lack of urgency in Jonathan’s actions is very suspicious. Was it not the same government that few days ago broached setting up a committee to review the KPMG report? We talk of building institutions; but how can we do so with this culture of task forces and ad hoc committees? By the way, has any good thing come out of such efforts? The lack of will of the government to enforce existing laws is the undoing of Nigeria! Failure of President Jonathan to fully implement the recommendations in the KPMG report will set him apart as a colossal disappointment. But I don’t see him doing that without sustained pressure by Nigerians.
2. It is right to convoke a national conference to both define a socio-political structure for Nigeria that is socially just and financially prudent and establish a system of government that is less expensive and more representative of both our culture and ethnic nationalities. I have heard people, particularly at the charade recently organized by the “National Summit Group” at Sheraton hotel Lagos, disparage reference to “ethnic nationalities.” First, there is no Nigeria without its ethnic nationalities. I am yet to meet a man who takes umbrage to being called by his father’s name, who prefers to be called just a human being without a family. That would be a misnomer, wouldn’t it? I am first a Tiv man before I am a Nigerian, and I have no apologies to make for that. And any system in Nigeria that places the Tiv nation in a serious disadvantage is completely unacceptable to me. Secondly, I found it a joke that a conference to discuss Nigeria would be called by the National Summit Group (coordinated by mainly the South-South people such as Pat Utomi, Tony Uranta, and Annkio Briggs)without a formal invitation to the ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. I find difficult to place any stamp of seriousness and importance on a so-called national conference without a single Tiv man invited! President Jonathan and the National Assembly must find a way to call Nigerians of all ethnic nationalities to discuss the issues I have raised here and in quite a number of my essays on a sovereign national conference for Nigeria. I see no future for Nigeria without such a conference; and I say this advisedly. Nigeria has no time to waste with charades projected and sponsored by Jonathan’s cronies.
The isolation of few people for favours at the expense of the majority has not helped Nigeria. For instance, Niger Delta ex-militants do not constitute the Niger Delta. Jonathan’s silence in the face of continuing (if not worsening) destruction of that region by oil operators is indicative of the danger Nigeria faces—absence of leadership. The excuse that the Boko Haram menace is being influenced by “politicians who wanted power to return to the North” is balderdash! By the way, government is supposed to maintain security irrespective of the source of insecurity. Also, the claim by Jonathan’s government and its collaborators that Nigerians that went out to protest fuel subsidy removal were sponsored by “failed politicians” shows how out of touch with the people Jonathan is.
But Nigerians should learn a lesson; and I have written about this. Credible elections ipso facto do not guarantee good leadership. Nigerians made a choice and must learn to live with its consequences. In Adamawa state, the people “voted” for PDP few days ago as I write in spite of the debilitating consequences of its rule in the past years. Either the people are dumb and stupid or the election was rigged. And if the election was rigged and yet the people remained quiet, it must either be because of the massive presence of soldiers and the police that kept vigil on the roads in the state or because the people have “left the matter in God’s hands” (a very convenient refuge for the helpless). But a people deserves the leadership it has. The future of Nigeria will be shaped by Nigerians themselves one way or the other.
Friday, 11 November 2016
POTENTIATED 30% OF LIFE
💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
When we die, our money remains in the bank...
Yet, when we are alive, we don't have enough money to spend.
In reality, when we are gone, there is still a lot of money not spent.
One business tycoon in China passed away. His widow, was left with $1.9 billion in the bank, and married his chauffeur.
His chauffeur said:-
"All the while, I thought I was working for my boss... it is only now, that I realise that my boss was all the time, working for me !!!"
The irony of reality is:
It is more important to live longer than to have more wealth.
So, we must strive to live a strong and healthy life, It really doesn't matter who is working for who.
In a high end hand phone, 70% of the functions are useless!
For an expensive car, 70% of the speed and gadgets are not needed.
If you own a luxurious villa or mansion, 70% of the space is usually not used or occupied.
How about your wardrobes of clothes?
70% of them are not worn!
A whole life of work and earning...
70% is for other people to spend.
So, we must protect and make full use of our 30%.
So with a matter of urgency,live ur life to d fullest.
Really,just think about it; there is nothing too serious to b too serious about life
👉Learn to let go, even if faced with grave problems.
👉Endeavour to give in, even if you are in the right.
👉Remain humble, even if you are very rich and powerful.
👉learn to be contented, even if you are not rich.
👉Exercise your mind and body, even if you are very busy.
👉Make time for people you care about.
Remember,you live for others. Your extras can set ur neighbour on his feet.
So friend,look for someone to assist this week.If you think no one is available you know where to find me.
...VOA....
Monday, 7 November 2016
As everyone in America prepares to face the storm which is about to clear the thick dark cloud over American political firmament...
From my research work I have come to a single truth that the American political framework as designed has come to have a woman as president and now 2016 is the time.. So I tell you not as a prophet, or a seer but as a free thinker who has done his homework, I see mrs Clinton as the next US president. Is a script and I have read the script that is why I can boldly tell you categorically what the script says. The script states a woman as the next president and no matter what Trump does they will always use it against him.
.
From my research work I have come to a single truth that the American political framework as designed has come to have a woman as president and now 2016 is the time.. So I tell you not as a prophet, or a seer but as a free thinker who has done his homework, I see mrs Clinton as the next US president. Is a script and I have read the script that is why I can boldly tell you categorically what the script says. The script states a woman as the next president and no matter what Trump does they will always use it against him.
.
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