Sanusi Overstepped the Mark- Kingsley Moghalu

    

The Deputy Governor, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, has said the suspended Governor of the CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi overstepped his authority in his running battle with the presidency over the unremitted oil funds by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and his response to the query from the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) on the 2012 audited accounts of the central bank.

His remarks on Sanusi coincided with the decision by the Senate to commence the screening of the CBN Governor-designate and Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the Deputy Governor-designate and Executive Director with First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Adelabu Adekoya, tomorrow, as well as the amendment to the CBN Act.

Moghalu, who spoke Monday on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, told the UK-based Independent newspaper that Sanusi overstepped his authority.

“The lesson that can be drawn from it is the limit of the central bank’s independence... There is a very thin line between the central bank’s independence and... political posturing,” Moghalu said.

In apparent support of government’s action, he said: “The president of Nigeria and the government of Nigeria have never in my knowledge interfered with the functions of the central bank. And therefore I think we need to give them credit for respecting (its) independence.”

He continued: “The governor began to make very damaging public allegations against the government... allegations that have not been proven, after the president had sent him a presidential query about the finances of the central bank.

“The government has given a reason for the suspension and that was... to enable an investigation into the allegations against him.”

Though not mentioning Sanusi by name, he said somebody at the central bank took on an activist role.

Son In Law To Be

 
Father-In-Law : Young man, U’re coming to seek my daughter’s hand in marriage and u’re chewing gum.That’s a sign of disrespect! .
Man : Sir, I only chew gum when I drink or smoke. .
Father-In-Law : You mean u drink & smoke and u’re here to seek my daughter’s hand in marriage? .
Man : Sir I only drink & smoke when I go to the club.
Father-In-Law : U club too? .
Man : I’m sorry sir, I started clubbing when I came out of prison.
Father-In-Law : U’ve also been in prison before? Oh my God! .
Man : Sorry sir, I went to jail when I killed somebody!!. .
Father-In-Law : What!!! U’re a killer??? .
Man : Sir, It happened out of anger. It was a certain man that didn’t allow me to marry his daughter so I killed him. .
Father-In-Law : U are highly welcome my son. U are on the right track. U’re absolutely the right Man for my daughter. Do you need money to buy the engagement ring and the other things?

SPEECH BY PRESIDENT GOODLUCK AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

 

Remarks by

His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR

At the

Inauguration of the National Conference

Monday, 17th March, 2014

PROTOCOLS

1.          I am delighted to welcome you all to the inauguration of this historic National Conference which promises to be another significant landmark in our efforts to strengthen national unity and consolidate democratic governance in our beloved country.

2.          I also believe that this National Conference is coming at a very appropriate time. Having just celebrated the first centenary of our country, the most compelling task before us, as we move ahead and contemplate what our nation will be at the end of its second century, is to lay a much stronger foundation for faster development.

3.          This we can achieve by building a more inclusive national consensus on the structure and guiding principles of state that will guarantee our emergence as a more united, progressive and prosperous nation.

4.          In our history as a political entity, we have experienced highs and lows but have always forged ahead. To my mind, the fact that we have weathered   all storms and continued with the mission of evolving a truly national identity signifies that we are going in the right direction.

5.          The strongest nations in the world today also went through their own formative stages; some for decades and others for centuries. We must learn from them that nationhood will not happen overnight, especially given the circumstances of our birth as a nation.

6.          History also teaches that nation-building is a journey of dedication, commitment, diligence, perseverance and patriotic vision. To be successful, nation-builders must continually strive to evolve better and more inclusive societies in which every citizen is a proud and committed stakeholder.

7.          It was with this objective in mind that we set up the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) on the National Conference in October last year and charged its members with the responsibility of designing the framework and modalities for a productive National Conference.

8.          The Committee which submitted its Report in December, 2013, was able to reach out to all Nigerians and various interest groups, socio-political groupings, regional and religious elements, professionals, civil society, the organised private sector, labour, youth, women and others to ascertain their views on the initiative.

9.          The Presidential Advisory Committee established that there was indeed, a national consensus for this Conference to be convened immediately, to meet the yearnings and aspirations of our people.

10.      The National Conference is therefore being convened to engage in intense introspection about the political and socio-economic challenges confronting our nation and to chart the best and most acceptable way for the resolution of such challenges in the collective interest of all the constituent parts of our fatherland.

11.      This coming together under one roof to confer and build a fresh national consensus for the amicable resolution of issues that still cause friction amongst our people must be seen as an essential part of the process of building a more united, stronger and progressive nation.

12.      We cannot continue to fold our arms and assume that things will straighten themselves out in due course, instead of taking practical steps to overcome impediments on our path to true nationhood, rapid development and national prosperity.

13.      For many years we have discussed and argued over various issues concerning our national existence and well-being. Much of this national discourse has been conducted through the mass media, both print and electronic. More recently, the advent of the age of ICT and social media has greatly enlarged the space for the discussion of our country’s future.

Crimean referendum: Mr Putin and the threat of a new cold war

The referendum that took place in Crimea is both irrelevant and deeply significant. Irrelevant because it has no standing in the law of the country to which it applies, and because it took place while the autonomous region was under military occupation. International bodies are unlikely to recognise its outcome: the UN security council voted by 13-1 to condemn it on Saturday, with only Russia voting against. The referendum is significant, however, because it represents a giant step on the road to Russian annexation, and because it reveals a little more of the nature of that country's president, Vladimir Putin.

POPE FRANCIS:ONE YEAR ON

He auctioned his Harley Davidson and gave the money to a soup kitchen, poses for selfies, gives kids rides in his Popemobile and leaves jokey messages on nuns' voicemail

Last year Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world by announcing his resignation.

It was the first time in 600 years that a pontiff had quit the job and the 85 year old German left the Catholic Church in such turmoil many feared it would take decades to recover.

Paedophile priests, corrupt cardinals and banking scandals left a disillusioned global flock praying for an inspirational new shepherd.

But, twelve months on, those prayers appear to have been answered in the shape of Jorge Mario Bergoglio - or Pope Francis.

On March 13, 2013, the Argentinian Cardinal and Archbishop of Buenos Aires was elected 266th Supreme Pontiff - chosing the name of St Francis of Assisi – a simple friar.

It was a sign of things to come.

For, within weeks the humility, humour and heart of this 77 year old Jesuit were winning him admirers around the world and sending church attendances soaring.

Now, as he marks his first anniversay, Francis is already being called the most popular Bishop of Rome ever - Top of the Popes.

But it's the little things that have made such a huge impact.

The football-loving former janitor and nightclub bouncer opted to live in a simple two-room guest house rather than the ten-room Vatican Palace and swapped the white papal Mercedes for a blue Ford Focus.

He auctioned off his Harley Davidson motorbike and gave the money to a Rome soup kitchen, poses for selfies with young admirers, gives kids rides in his Popemobile, and leaves jokey surprise messages on nuns' voicemail.

This "gentle revolution" even made him cover boy for last month's Rolling Stone magazine and Time magazine voted Pope Francis - who still likes to be called Father Jorge - their Person of the Year.

"What makes this Pope so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all," said the Time editorial.

"In a matter of months he has elevated the healing mission of the church - the church as servant and comforter of hurting people in an often harsh world - above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors."

In other words, Benedict was the paperwork Pope but Francis is the People's Pope.

John Sullivan, Professor of Christian education at Liverpool Hope University, said: “Pope Francis has changed the climate of communication.

“He has made many gestures and said many wonderful things that indicate his desire for a different style of church – not changing its substance but changing its voice and its quality of listening.

“It's a very hopeful time.”

And while the Church's formidable governing body, the Curia, are clearly basking in His Holiness's reflected glory, many of the old guard are scratching their skull caps wondering how in heaven's name, he's done it?

For the Cardinals who elected Bergoglio in the fifth round of the papal conclave in March, saw him as a very conventional choice.

He is actually a theological conservative who vigorously supports the Vatican's position on abortion, gay marriage, the ordination of women and other major issues.

But what those cloistered clerics have never been able to understand is the transformative power of the common touch.

On his first appearance on the balcony of St Peter's after his election Pope Francis refused to wear the traditional papal slippers, red ermine-trimmed cape or bejewelled gold crucifix - preferring his plain white cassock and wooden cross.

It was an immediate contrast to Benedict, famous for his handmade, red calf skin shoes and Cartier watches.

After his election Pope Francis called his cobbler in Argentina to ask about a shoe repair – explaining he wouldn't be dumping his old black footwear.

It was the first of many papal "cold calls" that have stunned recipients - like his old newsagent in Buenos Aires who he apologetically asked to cancel his papers.

The Pope also called to chat with an Italian engineer who'd written to him worrying about finding work, an Argentinian woman who'd been raped and the brother of a murder victim.

In September he telephoned a 35 year old pregnant divorcee who felt pressurised to have an abortion "Hello Anna, this is Pope Francis," he said simply, before comforting her and offering to baptise her baby.

Then on New Year's Eve he phoned to surprise and order of Carmelite sisters in Lucena, Spain......but got their answerphone.

"What can the nuns be doing that stops them answering the phone?" he chuckled. "'This is Pope Francis, I wanted to give you New Year's greetings. I'll see if I can reach you later. God bless you."

On the day after his election the Pope turned down the use of the Papal Merc to travel to the Vatican in a minibus with the other cardinals who'd been taking part in the conclave - and he still prefers travelling inconspicuously.

On his first overseas visit in July he waited in line with other passengers to board and insisted on carrying his own luggage.

Next month he will welcome President Obama and the Queen and Prince Philip on official visits to Rome - but plans to give them tea in his rooms at the Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house, rather than the Vatican Palace.

He's probably jotted down their names by hand in the old fashioned diary he keeps himself - another first which has shocked aides.

Vatican Press Officer Father Federico Lombardi said recently: "Before, I was in contact with the Curia and could ask them what his daily agenda is.

"Now we have to discover what the agenda is. He is very free in organizing it."

The Pope wrote to a friend in Argentina soon after taking office.

"I'm visible to people and I lead a normal life," he explained. "I eat in the refectory with everyone else.

"All this is good for me and prevents me from being isolated. I'm trying to stay the same and to act as I did in Buenos Aires because if you change at my age you just look ridiculous."

But the things he can't change, he embraces, like the large public masses that give him a chance to drive round St Peter's Square in his Popemobile - with bulletproof glass removed - so he can reach out to the faithful.

He gave a teenage boy with Downs Syndrome the ride of his life by inviting him up into the vehicle and spinning him round on the seat.

On another occasion he spotted an old pal from Argentinia in the crowd, and signalled him to jump aboard too.

He wept with joy when Brazillian schoolboy Nathan de Brito, broke through barriers and jumped up on the Popemobile to tell him he wanted to be a priest and could barely contain his excitement at being handed a San Lorenza football shirt.....his favourite Buenos Aires team.

In October another lad ran up on stage as the Pope addressed a crowd of families - he patted his head and carried on talking then let the boy go and sit on the papal throne. Photos were later posted on the Pope's official Twitter account.

Then, in November, the Pope was pictured hugging Vinicio Riva, a 52 year old Italian horribly disfigured by huge tumours.

Missing $20bn: Sanusi, A Cheap Blackmailer – Abati

 

The presidency yesterday described suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as a cheap blackmailer who is falsely portraying his recent suspension from office as an attempt by government to coverup for the $20 billion allegedly not remitted to the nation’s coffers by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said it was most unfortunate for Sanusi to cynically choose to “whip up public sympathy for himself and anger against the federal government by deliberately misleading unwary Nigerians and the international community into believing the falsehood that he is being punished for exposing corruption”,  instead of trying to provide some reasonable response “to the clear and unambiguous query of his official conduct as governor of the Central Bank”.
Abati was reacting to a recent interview Sanusi granted a foreign media in which he alleged that his threat to force commercial banks to open up their books to unravel the whereabouts of the “missing” funds led to his suspension.

What happened to Flight 370? Four scenarios fuel speculation among experts

A Boeing 777, one of the world's most reliable types of airliners, is missing, and no one knows why. Was it a bomb? Mechanical failure? A hijacking gone awry? Pilots and others in the aviation community are deeply disturbed by the mystery surrounding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

It disappeared Saturday en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing over the Gulf of Thailand, somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam. It's hard to believe that such huge questions remain three days after the Boeing 777-200ER went missing, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members. These questions are so unprecedented that experts have been carefully speculating about possible explanations.

Here are four scenarios they're talking about, and the related facts:

1. Scenario: Mechanical failure?

Fact: The absence of a debris field suggests the possibility that pilots were forced to ditch the plane and it landed on water without breaking up, finally sinking to the ocean floor.

Analysis: But if that were the case, then why no emergency signal? These planes are able to perform a "miracle on the Hudson" maneuver. They have the ability to glide more than 100 miles and belly land on the water with both engines out, says former 777 pilot Keith Wolzinger, now a civil aviation consultant with The Spectrum Group. During the time it would take for a plane to glide 100 miles, it seems likely that pilots would be able able to send an SOS.

Fact: The missing plane had suffered a clipped wing tip in the past, but Boeing repaired it, and the jet was safe to fly, said Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya on Sunday.

Analysis: "Anytime there's been previous damage to an airplane, even though it's been repaired, and repaired within standards ... it kind of sends a warning flag," says Wolzinger. Experts agree the Boeing 777 is one of the world's most reliable aircraft. During its development it was subject to some of the most rigorous testing in commercial aviation history. "I've been talking with colleagues," Wolzinger says. "We're all baffled by this." The 777 boasts some of the most powerful and well-tested engines in the world, he says. "The reliability of airliner engines in general is impeccable these days," he says. "This is a safe plane."

2. Scenario: Pilot error

Fact: So far, there are no known indications that pilot error contributed to the aircraft going missing.

Analysis: Some aviation experts have compared Flight 370 to the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009. All 228 passengers and crew died when the plane went down in a storm in the Atlantic en route from Brazil to Paris. After an expensive, nearly two-year search across the deep ocean floor, the twin-engine Airbus A330's wreckage was finally found and the voice and data recorders recovered. A French investigation blamed flight crew for failing to understand "they were in a stall situation and therefore never undertook any recovery maneuvers." But unlike Flight 447, weather was reported as good along Flight 370's scheduled route and didn't appear to present a threat.

Asiana Airlines Flight 217 -- a Boeing 777 -- fell short during a runway approach last July at San Francisco International Airport. Three people were killed and more than 180 others hurt. National Transportation Safety Board investigators have focused on pilot reliance on automated flight systems as a possible contributor to the crash, but a final report has not yet been released.

Mother sells three-day-old baby for N260,000

 

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a nursing mother, Imaobong Udoh, for allegedly selling her three-day old baby girl.

Also arrested along with Imaobong were four persons for allegedly participating in the theft of the baby.

They are the buyer, Mrs. Regina James; her husband, Mfon James; the traditional birth attendant who delivered the baby, Mrs. Comfort Henry; and Mr Emmanuel Okon, a homeopathic doctor, who arranged the sale.

Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Gwadabe, said in Uyo on Monday that the father of the baby had reported the theft to the police, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Gwadabe said, “On March 3, 2014, a case of child stealing was reported by Mr. Eteobong James, of No. 33 Urua Ekpa Road, Itu Local Governmnet Area, to the police, where a three-day-old baby girl was sold for N260, 000.

“Based on the report, the suspects were arrested.

“Mr Emmanuel Etim Okon, was the one that arranged the infamous deal and personally conveyed the baby from the point of delivery at Nna-Enin in Uruan Local Government Area to the buyers at No. 37 Church Road, Uyo.”

Twitter posts land 2 Saudi men in prison

Two men were found guilty in Saudi courts this week for, among other offenses, messages they posted on Twitter.

On Monday, one Saudi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for using Twitter to encourage protests and undermine the country's leadership, according to Saudi Arabian state news agency SPA.

"The accused had sent invitations via Twitter to participate in protests and gatherings against the Kingdom," read SPA's statement, quoting Saudi Justice Ministry spokesman Fahad Al-Bakran.

Al-Bakran added how the unnamed man, already serving a three-year jail sentence, was convicted of utilizing websites that are "hostile to the government and that promote deviant ideologies." Saudi officials often use the phrase "deviant ideologies" when describing al Qaeda or al Qaeda-linked groups.

On Sunday, another man, accused of insulting King Abdullah and inciting protests via social media sites like Twitter, was sentenced to eight years in jail.

According to SPA, he's also barred from travel and from posting messages on social media sites for eight years after his release.

The man, also unidentified by SPA, was found guilty of "inciting relatives of Saudis arrested for security reasons to protest their imprisonment by tweeting and via posting videos on sites like YouTube."

THE SPEECH APC NEVER BARGAINED FOR

The Uncomfortable Truth Of Elusive Economic Development – Read Oby Ezekwesili’s Address At The APC Summit

Good afternoon, chieftains and members of the Action People’s Congress.
Thanks for inviting me as your Keynote Speaker at your Unveiling of Road Map Summit. I do not know how you decided to take this high risk of inviting me to your gathering, knowing full well that my zeal for candor can be generally unsettling for some people of your class and occupation.  Since you took the risk, I have assumed the liberty to speak boldly even to your discomfort especially considering that we live in a season of grim when our country is greatly troubled. In perilous times like this, Truth is the absolute freedom. I shall be spurred on by the counsel of George Orwell who in honor of truth stated that “in a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act”. I further assume that if you wanted someone with the skills of deceit, it would not be me that you would have invited to your gathering. I therefore speak to you today not as a politician

Context and Fact are very important for me as both a scholar and practitioner of public policy. Context is the missing link that helps us to connect the dots between the visible and the hidden, and between the general and the specific. Fact or Truth is the evidence that never takes flight nor ceases to exist even where ignored for hundred years. So my speech in content and delivery will be hinged on context and facts.For context, nothing serves a better guide than History. The philosopher and novelist George Santayana famously said that “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Winston Churchill reinforced Santayana by counselling, “Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.” I am compelled even further to tread the path of history by our Centenary celebration and shall therefore use – Nigeria’s political history as the context for this speech.

The Political trajectory of Nigeria much like her entire history is checkered. In the book, This House has Fallen, “Nigeria was the focus of great optimism as a powerful emerging nation that would be a showcase for democratic government”. Sadly the optimism was frittered over the years. I shall take the excerpts from my University of Nigeria lecture in January in this regard. “If you traced the political history of our country since independence in 1960 and you will better understand the horror of our faulty political foundation.  The first democratic government ushered in an independent Nigeria but was cut short  by a coup in 1966, a counter coup in 1967, civil war from 1967 to 1970, military rule from 1970 at the end of the war until another coup in 1975, another unsuccessful coup in 1976 the then Head of State was murdered, continued rule of the military until 1979 when a successful political transition ushered in the second republic but it became a democratic process that did not leave a good mark on governance until it was cut short in 1983 by yet another military coup but the discipline instilling but draconian regime was itself sent packing in 1985 through yet another coup.

The succeeding regime ruled from 1985 until 1993. The hallmark of that regime was procrastinated conduct of a transition to democracy. When it finally, reluctantly started the transition process, it regrettably went ahead to thwart the political rights of citizens who had elected a democratic president by annulling the elections. The regime then responded to the public disturbance and agitation that followed by installing an interim national government that lasted only three months following yet another military intervention. The regime that followed was more heinous than ever imagined possible by Nigerians until 1998 when by divine providence, it was cut short. Never again!  A new season came but it was yet one with the military still in the saddle. That regime however surprised skeptics when it successfully conducted a transition that ushered in democratic governance in 1999 ending the long sixteen years of militarization of governance that materially defines the psyche of government in Nigeria. Cumulatively, from the time of our independence in 1960 to 1999- the military governed for about twenty nine years while two flashes of pseudo democracy had a little more than ten years in all. The common theme in our extremely unstable and volatile political history was that each regime truncation mirrored a Russian roulette with justification for regime change being the “necessity to rescue the country from bad governance and corruption”.

Compared to the mere six years of 1960-1966 and the even shorter four and a half years of 1979-1983, the period of 1999 to date under democratic rule has been the longest ever season of such political system in Nigeria. An objective assessment of our democratic journey since the last fifteen years by May of this year, will return the verdict that we are very much still in the nascent zone of democracy as a political system which despite all its short comings trump all other alternatives. Fifteen years has given us more of civilian rule than democracy. The quality of the military/political elite and the depth of undemocratic culture, practices and nuances have worked to produce very disappointing results of governance to citizens. Yet, we must temper our disappointment with the cautious sense of accomplishment that the subordination of the military to the constitutional will of the people of Nigeria in the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 elections is perhaps the very tiny ray of light in what had for more than five decades been a canvass of political tragedies.

“Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for two years, Nigeria has been eagerly looking forward. At last, our great day has arrived, and Nigeria is now indeed an independent Sovereign nation.  Words cannot adequately express my joy and pride at being the Nigerian citizen privileged to accept from Her Royal Highness these Constitutional Instruments which are the symbols of Nigeria’s Independence. It is a unique privilege which I shall remember forever, and it gives me strength and courage as I dedicate my life to the service of our country. This is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited it with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country after another overtaking us on the road when we had so nearly reached our goal. But now, we have acquired our rightful status, and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well-built upon firm foundations.”
These were the very gushing and giddy words of the first Prime Minister of Nigeria Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on October 1, 1960.

According to history books, prehistoric settlers lived in the territories that make up the area today known as Nigeria as far back as 9000 BC. According to Wikipedia, the period of the 15th century saw the emergence of several “early independent kingdoms and states” that made up the British colonialized Nigeria – Benin kingdom, Borgu kingdom, Fulani empire, Hausa kingdoms, Kanem Bornu empire, Kwararafa kingdom, Ibibio Kingdom, Nri kingdom, Nupe kingdom, Oyo Kingdom, Songhai empire and Warri Kingdom. Each Kingdom was composed of dominant ethnic nationalities with unique language, custom, culture, tradition and religion. ”
These kingdoms independently traded among themselves and with the rest of the world especially Great Britain. It was however by 1886 through expanded trade with the territories under the charter of the Royal Niger Company that the mercantilist root of that influence became established. The handover of the company’s territories to the British Government followed in 1900 leading to the areas becoming organized as protectorates that helped extend the great British Empire of that era. In 1914, Nigeria was formed by combining the Northern and Southern Protectorates and the Colony of Lagos. For administrative purposes, it was divided into four units:  the colony of Lagos, the Northern Provinces, the Eastern Provinces and the Western Provinces.”

One could say that considering the way Nigeria emerged it was no more than an artificial creation purely intended to serve the administrative convenience of the reigning colonial power. In fact, no one better conveyed this perception of Nigeria as artificiality than Chief Obafemi Awolowo who once described Nigeria as a “mere geographical expression”. It is common for Nigerians across the territory in moments of deep despair at the failings of this union of multiple diversities to loudly rue the fact that a certain Lord Lugard and his fiancée – Ms. Shaw -were the “creators” of Nigeria.

The forty six years that followed the creation of Nigeria until her independence in 1960, saw varying degrees of mutation in the relationship between Britain and the people of the territory.  The journey of governance commenced among the three dominant regions that made up the Nigerian territory- namely the North, the West and the East. There were understandably, deep mistrusts and suspicions among the ethnic groups with each one seeking to advance their own cause and interest but their leaders managed to forge a united front in the struggle to attain self-government. Their successive negotiations and constitution building processes among them and acting jointly, with colonial Britain- helped to achieve one of the most anticipated political independence of a country in Africa. It culminated in the successful agitation for self-government on a representative and ultimately federal basis.  The great Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was first the Governor General at independence in 1960 and later ceremonial President when in 1963 we became a Republic, succinctly captured that feat of the Nationalists in gaining independence.

He wrote in 1966 that, “We talked the Colonial Office into accepting our challenges for the demerits and merits of our case for self-government. After six constitutional conferences in 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960, Great Britain conceded to us the right to assert our political independence as from October 1, 1960.  None of the Nigerian political parties ever adopted violent means to gain our political freedom and we are happy to claim that not a drop of British or Nigerian blood was shed in the course of our national struggle for our place in the sun. This historical fact enabled me to state publicly in Nigeria that Her Majesty’s Government has presented self-government to us on a platter of gold.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the Great Zik of Africa who had profound influence in the philosophy of life of late Chief Ben Nwazojie whose family has gathered us- had great hopes that the successful struggle for independence would bequeath to us as a people; “our place in the sun”.  And yet, even though that entity created in 1914 will become one Century years old in the next three months and had only a few days ago became a relatively old country of fifty three years, its present state is anything but sunny for majority of her citizens. For the fact is that whether of the North, South, East or West of the present day Nigerian territory we know that most Nigerians feel but a deep sense of disappointment at what has become of the dream that our founding fathers dared to imagine was possible. That deep internal threats to Nigeria’s territorial integrity remain part of core issues of our polity in 2013 menacingly brings into sharp focus the wide gulf between what it means to be a country as different from the higher order state of being a nation.

Thus, the phrase, “an independent Sovereign nation” that Sir Tafawa Balewa used in describing Nigeria in his sweet poetry of a speech at independence remains under doubtful scrutiny and is constantly under threat through various cycles of our political history. For if there is one construct that remains the sticky point in our COUNTRY today, it is whether indeed there is yet a NATION called Nigeria? Or put differently, what happened to the COUNTRY that held so much promise on that morning of October 1, 1960? After all, nothing makes the point of the failure to successfully transition from country to nation than the fact that a only week ago, the current government as a response to heightened socio-political tensions in the land announced yet another National Dialogue that is “aimed at realistically examining and genuinely resolving, longstanding impediments to our cohesion and harmonious development as a truly united Nation”.

What happened? How come a country which at independence was enthusiastically described by our first leader as an independent sovereign nation is at fifty three years hosting another “national conversation” to determine whether it is a worthy union for everyone? Was it also not only a few years ago in 2006 that the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo had hosted as similar gathering? Who were the people that discussed at that time and what did they resolve? What seems to be the intractable issue that almost every administration –military and civilian alike- have not managed to settle on whether we do indeed have a common destiny or not? How come that despite the oft expressed “sincere intent” of each cycle of ruling class (mark my choice of word as distinct from leadership); that each hosted some sort of national dialogue, conference, conversation, forum etc. (choose your pick), we are nowhere closer today to our destination of nationhood. To imagine that our founding fathers mistakenly assumed that we became a nation because the various nationalities worked collaboratively to secure independence from a common external “foe” in 1960? How could it be that this journey has thus far turned out agonizing for almost every one of us?

Even following the most traumatic civil war that ended in 1970, the reemergence as one country provided a context to rally the entire citizenry to build from country to nation. Sadly, that was a missed opportunity. Is it therefore not heartrending that the present state of our country nearly questions our status as a Country?  The pain of this truism is that we are in 2014 faced with exactly the same types of ethnic issues that dotted our union in the 60s. How was it that for over fifty three years, we never went beyond the amalgamation process to becoming a Country and subsequently transforming into a Nation? The simple answer to the lamentation and question is that elite failure happened to Nigeria! A little more political history following the events of October 1, 1960 will help clarify my answer, simple as it may sound to those who thrive in confounding complexity.

The Elite of every successful society always form the nucleus of citizens with the prerequisite education, ethics and capabilities operating in the political sphere and the public service, providing the great ideas to build the nation and possessing the moral rectitude to always act in the public interest. Access to quality Education ensures that the elite group evolves constantly in every society. For as long as nations have public education systems that function, the poorest of their citizens is guaranteed to move up the ladder and someday emerge as a member of the elite class through academic hard work, strenuous effort and ultimate success at the higher levels of education.

For every society that has succeeded therefore, it has taken such progressively evolving elite class to identify the problems, forge the political systems and processes, soundly articulate a rallying vision and use sound Policies and effective and efficient prioritisation of investments (both public and private) and requisite actions to over time build those strong institutions that outlive the best of charismatic and transformative individuals. But it always does start with quality leadership in the public space investing in a sustained manner for lasting institutions to eventually emerge over time. Institutions do not just happen. In the same manner, nations do not just happen out of multi-ethnic countries.

Ayo Sogunro Replies Abacha’s Son

To Sadiq Abacha, On Behalf Of Wole Soyinka – Ayo Sogunro Replies Abacha’s Son

Dear Sadiq Abacha,

I do not know you personally, but I admire your filial bravery—however misguided— in defending your father, the late General Sani Abacha. This in itself is not a problem; it is an obligation—in this cultural construct of ours—for children to rise to the defence of their parents, no matter what infamy or perfidy the said parent might have dabbled in.

The problem I have with your letter, however, arises from two issues: (i) your disparaging of Wole Soyinka, who—despite your referral to an anecdotal opinion that calls him as “a common writer”—is a great father figure, and a source of inspiration, to a fair number of us young Nigerians; and (ii) your attempt to revise Nigerian history and substitute our national experience with your personal opinions.

Therefore, it is necessary that we who are either Wole Soyinka’s “socio-political” children, or who are ordinary Nigerians who experienced life under your father’s reign speak out urgently against your amnesiac article, lest some future historian stumble across the misguided missive, and confuse the self-aggrandized opinions of your family for the perceptions of Nigerians in general.

Your letter started with logical principles, which is a splendid common ground for us. So let us go with the facts: General Sani Abacha was a dictator. He came into power and wielded it for 5 years in a manner hitherto unprecedented in Nigerian history. Facts: uncomfortable for your family, but true all the same.

Now, for my personal interpretations: between 1993 and 1998 inclusive, when your dada was in power, I was a boy of 9 to 14 years and quite capable of making observations about my political and cultural environment. Those years have been the worst years of my material life as a Nigerian citizen. Here are a few recollections: I recollect waking up several mornings to scrape sawdust from carpentry mills, lugging the bags a long distance home, just to fuel our “Abacha stoves” because kerosene was not affordable—under your father. I recollect cowering under the cover of darkness, with family and neighbours, listening to radio stations—banned by your father. I recollect my government teacher apologetically and fearfully explaining constitutional government to us—because free speech was a crime under your father’s government. Most of all, I remember how the news of your father’s death drove me—and my colleagues at school—to a wild excitement, and we burst into the street in delirious celebration. Nobody prompted us, but even as 13 and 14 year olds, we understood the link between the death of Abacha and the hope of freedom for the ordinary man.

These are all sorry tales, of course. Such interpretations would not have occured to the wealthy and the privileged under your father’s government, but they were a part of the everyday life of a common teenager under that government. The economics were bad, but the politics were worse. And I am not referring to Alfred Rewane, Kudirat Abiola and the scores killed by the order of your father. Political killings are almost a part of every political system, and most of those were just newspaper stories to us. In fact, I didn’t get to read most of the atrocities until long after your father died. So, these stories did not inform the dread I personally felt under your father’s regime. And this was true for my entire family and our neighbours.

Instead, the worry over our own existence was a more pressing issue. Your father, Sani Abacha was in Aso Rock, but his brutality was felt right in our sitting room. We were not into politics and we didn’t vocally oppose Abacha, yet we just knew we were not safe from him. You see, unlike any dictatorship before or after it—your father’s government personally and directly threatened the life and freedoms of the average Nigerian. Your father threatened me. And if your father had not died, I am confident that I would not be alive or free today.

Think of that for a while.

Jonathan replaces sports minister, Bolaji Abdullahi with Dan Agogo

President Goodluck has sworn in 11 new ministers and assigned them their portfolios in Abuja today.
Shocking among the list was the swearing in of Dan Agogo as the new minister of sports which effectively marked the termination of former minister, Bolaji Abdullahi’s appointment.
This would be a major disappointment for Abdullahi, the man at the helm of affairs when the Super Eagles of Nigeria secured qualification to the 2014 world cup in Brazil. His removal is coming just 100 days to the football fiesta.
The new ministers and their portfolios are as follows:
Boni Haruna–Youths minister
Aliyu Gusau–Defence
Dan Agogo–Sports
Musiliu Obanikoro–Defence (state)
Mohammed Wakil–Power (state)
Etim Okon–Land and Housing
Lawrencia Mallam (Environment)
Asabe Ahmed–Agric (state)
Aminu Wali–Foreign Affairs)
Alhassan Haliru–Health (state)
Abdujeleel Adesiyan –Police Affairs.
The president announced that a new set of ministers would be unveiled next week.

Sadiq Abacha: An open lecture/letter to Professor Wole Soyinka

If you want to think, speak and act logically then you should know all three.
1. The law of identity
2. The law of excluded middle
3. The law of non-contradiction.
Now let’s look at each one of these and see what they mean in practice.
1. The law of identity
The law of identity means that things are what they are, which at first doesn’t seem very illuminating, but wait; it implies also the following, that things are what they are, whether you like them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you know them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you agree with them or not. However, if you don’t like the facts as they are you are going to have to put up with them, because facts are what they are, if it’s raining on your golf day, get used to it! Because the facts are what they are and are often not what you want them to be, like if the traffic lights turn red when you approach, stop complaining! The law of identity means that you must adapt yourself to the facts and start your work from there; it implies that the facts will not bend to meet your expectations. You must first adapt yourself to what life is and then get to work changing and improving things in your life, be brave to meet reality as it really is and not how you would wish it to be.
2. The law of excluded middle.
The law of excluded middle means that you should give a straight yes or no answer always and there is no middle ground. The law means that there is no kinda yes and kinda no, there is no ‘sort of’ being married because you are either married or you are not, you are either a thief or you are not, you are either on time or not, you are either living in Nigeria or you are not. The law is the idea that you should not try to keep all of your options open by staying in the middle or hedging, when it suits you, like when you accepted an appointment during IBB’s regime as chairman of FRSC. I bet that was a military regime you partook in. Please pick one wife and state your claim 100% to her, pick one idea and go for it 100%! Decide and commit Sir! There you might find great power and self-satisfaction in the doctrine of decide and commit. No half way measures, no middle ground, exclude the middle! Here! The law of excluded middle Sir.
3. The law of non-contradiction.
The law of non-contradiction says don’t contradict yourself simple. If you say you will be there then be there. If you say you will do it then do it. Don’t say or fight for one thing and then do the opposite. Don’t say one thing and then later deny that you said it. Don’t say one thing and then later contradict it. Be consistent in your thoughts and actions. Observing someone who was a socialist in the morning but then became a capitalist in the evening is a textbook on contradiction, these are two polar opposites, such a person is clearly inconsistent and is therefore considered a flip flop, confused, easily led or misled or at best a lunatic who has no clear understanding of the basis of either doctrine.
Apply these three logics to others with consistency and then you can ask for the same or expect the same from others, and then you can also ask for others to deal with facts not fantasy, which is the law of identity. Ask others to make up their mind to decide and commit. The law of excluded middle. Then ask others to follow through on the things that they say they would do. The law of non-contradiction.
Sir, I believe brilliance is not perfection. I have grown and watched you criticize regime after regime and at that young and naive age I was thinking why wouldn’t this man just contest to be president so that Nigeria can be saved, I would have defiantly voted for Mr Soyinka if it would have brought an end to Nigeria’s woes. To my utter surprise, I heard about your FRSC leadership and how funds were misused and a great deal of it unaccounted for. “Oh my God! In the end he turned out to be just the same as everybody else” were my next thoughts. My hopes for you, all ended up in great disappointment.
Here I find myself defending my father 15 years after his death because some of you have no one else to pounce on, or rather, you have chosen a dead person to keep pouncing on over and over again when you have more than an array of contestants. A coward’s act I believe. “A common writer” is what I have heard you being referred to lately, and I believe a mature mind would now agree to such referrals. With all due respect, there is a great challenge that faces the country, we have to put our heads together, rather than clashing, our collective ships must sail in the same direction, let us leave the ghosts of past contention and face the future bravely as one, criticizing the past does not help the present or define a path to the future.

Gay Africa: casualty of a different power struggle – By Richard Dowden

Uganda’s war over homosexuality threatens to spread to other African countries and has further damaged the increasingly strained relationship between Africa and Western donors. For the donors it is a matter of human rights for minorities – a corner stone of democracy. For Africa it is part of the push back against the Western donors and the assertion of an African agenda. In Africa’s very religious – Christian or Muslim – societies, it is a matter of morality. At best it is a battle between Western human rights and African morality but both suspect the other – quite rightly – of more cynical agendas. How did we get here? In the mid 1980s when Aids became front page news it was at first an American story from San Francisco dubbed “The Gay Plague”. Then there were the reports from Southern Uganda – the area I had lived in more than a decade earlier. A particular hard-nosed news editor asked me: “So are they all bumming each other in Africa?” My reply was that in all the time I had been working in Africa I had never come across homosexuality. That was true. Nobody talked about it.
In the United States Aids had begun to spread through the gay community while in Africa it was spread through heterosexual relationships, but my assertion that there was no gay sex in Africa was absurd. In fact teaching in a Catholic school in Buganda it was staring me in the face. The Uganda Martyrs, 22 young men executed by the Kabaka, the Baganda king, Mutesa II in 1886 and canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1964, were burned to death because they refused to have sex with him. But in the school, this was played down. We taught that they were executed because they converted to Christianity. Homosexuality was not talked about in Africa.
If it came up in conversation Ugandans and many other Africans would tell you that homosexuality is not African. They say it was introduced to Africa by the Arabs or the Europeans who forced Africans to do it – all part of the imperial takeover of Africa. It is true that African cultures tend to be very patriarchal and often macho. Part of that culture is the refusal to accept that some people, male and female, are gay and that they are just made that way.
Of course the mainstream religions (Christianity and Islam) which have traditionally denounced homosexuality were mostly introduced to Africa by Europeans and Arabs. Their new well-funded fundamentalist counterparts – Wahabi Islam from Saudi Arabia and born again Christianity funded by theologically primitive churches in America – are killing off Africa’s traditional tolerance of otherness. There is much evidence that historically many African societies tolerated homosexuality and found ways of accommodating gay people.
If anything it was the Christian churches and Islamic preachers who suppressed it. Many years after I left Uganda I heard that the head boy of the school I taught in had committed suicide. He was a very sensible, mild mannered boy who worked hard and never did anything wrong. The girls loved him because he handsome and never hit on them – or hit them – as other boys did. I learned that he had become a well-respected priest but one day he had gone to the forest and hanged himself. I am now sure he was gay and had become a priest in the belief that God would give him the strength to resist these heinous feelings.

Forbes names Dangote 23rd richest in the world

 

Foremost Nigerian industrialist, Aliko Dangote, on Monday made history by becoming the first black man to break into the rank of top 25 richest people in the world. His wealth jumped to $25bn from $16.1bn in 2013, according to Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people on earth.

Dangote, who was number 43 in the top 100 world billionaire list last year, moved up 20 spots to retain his position as the richest person in Africa and also number 23rd in the world.

The Chairman, Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga, was the next Nigerian on the list with a wealth of $4.6bn to maintain the 325th position in the world.

 The Executive Vice Chairman, Famfa Oil Limited and fashion icon, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, retained her position as the world’s richest black woman and the 687th in the world with a fortune of $2.5bn; while the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, BUA Group of Companies, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, was ranked 1372th in the world with $1.2bn.

Historical claim shows why Crimea matters to Russia

President Barack Obama has been vocal in his opposition to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Ukraine. Focus has shifted from the new government in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, to Crimea, a region Russian troops seized control of Saturday.
Meanwhile, politicians and pundits are divided over what the United States’ role should be in the conflict. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius criticized Putin’s actions on Face the Nation, saying Ukraine "is not prepared to go backwards" to a Russian regime. He then offered up some context about Crimea’s history.
"Crimea became part of Ukraine only in 1954," he said. "Crimea was historically part of Russia, and (Nikita) Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine in a gesture that mystified some people."
Ignatius was correct in saying that Ukraine has only controlled the Crimean Peninsula since 1954 -- a claim we also heard from U.S. Rep. Mike Roger, R-Mich., on Fox News Sunday. Not up on your Soviet history? We’ll review the facts.
Crimea is an eastern Ukrainian peninsula located on the Black Sea. It’s connected to the rest of the country by a small strip of land. Out of its 2 million residents, about 60 percent speak Russian. That’s the highest concentration of Russian speakers in Ukraine. Although the territory belongs to Ukraine, Russia stations part of its Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol as part of a pre-existing agreement between the two countries.

Social Media in the Jonathanian Age – Written by Reno Omokri

Before you people start, let me explain. Lol. Yes I did see all your comments about me not getting involved in the ‘Wendell Simlin’ scandal. I didn’t write anything about it because it was an accusation which could be true or false and I just refused to be pressured. I decided to leave it alone until Mr Reno reacts to it but he never did… so…:-). Anyway, here’s another piece written by him… I ncreasingly, Social Media status is depending on how many friends you have on Facebook or how many followers you have on Twitter and so much investment goes into this because many derive their sense of self worth from these numbers.  Sophisticated users of Social Media have wised up to the fact that followership grows when you diss (excuse my colloquial) authority figures such as government leaders and other leaders in society. Now, where many on Social Media are faced with a choice of speaking their minds or speaking what is likely to be popular, many cannot resist the pressure to play to the gallery.    This behavior is very contagious and many youths simply conform and lose their personality to the crowd. And it is not just youths. Increasingly, we are seeing elders, even those who might have been elder statesmen, kowtow to much younger Social Media overlords.    What is happening here is very subtle but very real. In the New Testament, satan showed Christ all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him in Matthew 4:9 “all this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”     Today, many overlords are presenting a large following to Social Media adherents in Nigeria and saying ‘all this I will give to you if your subsume your opinion to mine’!   And what makes a person an overlord? The answer is of course Social Media followership.   Social Media was created to influence the real world, however, it was not meant to be an alternative to the real world. But increasingly we are seeing that what you might call a cabal has formed in the Nigerian Social Media space and I, for one have experienced first-hand where members of this cabal have invested so much on their Social Media personalities that they have detached themselves from the real world.   Not long ago, I paid a condolence visit to Malam Nasir Elrufai after he lost his daughter and I met a renowned Social Media personality at his residence who to my surprise introduced himself to me as his Twitter handle! And this is a regular phenomenon I am told by others who have come across some of these personalities.   And when somebody invests so much time and focus on the virtual world of Social Media how can you convince them that that world is surreal and they have to reflect the real world on Social Media rather than reflect Social Media on the real world?   I am going somewhere with this.   At the beginning of the year, I wrote a piece, Nigeria in 2014: Facts Versus Fiction, chronicling President Jonathan’s achievement in office. A blogger wrote a rejoinder saying in essence that President Jonathan had achieved nothing and that my piece was not based on reality. 

Robbers attack church, kill two policemen in Ibadan

 

A gang of robbers invaded Vine Branch Church on Queen Elizabeth Road, Ibadan, Oyo State on Sunday, killing two policemen.

Some church members also sustained injuries as they attempted to flee the scene.

It was gathered that the robbers attacked the church to snatch offering and tithe boxes.

The robbers were said to have pretended to be worshippers as they joined the congregation during the service.

From the Pyramid to the Square

THE Egyptian strongman Field Marshal Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi was recently in Moscow visiting with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Putin reportedly offered Sisi $2 billion in arms — just what a country like Egypt, where half the women can’t read, needs. The whole meeting struck me as so 1960s, so Nasser meets Khrushchev — two strongmen bucking each other up in the age of strong people and superempowered individuals. Rather than discuss arms sales, Sisi and Putin should have watched a movie together.

Specifically, Sisi should have brought a copy of “The Square” — the first Egyptian film ever nominated for an Oscar. It’s up this year. Sisi has a copy. Or, to be more precise, his film censor’s office does. For the last few months, the Egyptian authorities have been weighing whether to let the film — an inspiring and gripping documentary that follows six activists from the earliest days of the Tahrir Square revolution in 2011 until the Muslim Brotherhood was ousted by Sisi in 2013 — to be shown in Egypt. 

Four out of Five Women Have Fibroid, Say Experts

               

Gynaecologists and radiologists have disclosed  that fibroids are extremely common among most women.
According to them, up to four out of every five women have fibroids, although most of these women have no symptoms and do not need any treatment.

Speaking during an interview, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, Managing Director, MART Clinics, Maryland, Lagos said fibroids cause symptoms in approximately one out of every four women of reproductive age.

Ashiru said they are usually detected in women in their thirties and forties and are more common in black women than white women adding that fibroids usually shrink after menopause. He added that until fibroids are gotten rid of, it poses difficulty for women seeking conception.

Also speaking on the condition, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi said some common symptoms associated with fibroids include: abnormal uterine bleeding and heavy or long menstrual cycles.

Ajayi added that bulk and pressure symptoms include bladder pressure, frequent urination, rectal pressure, constipation, infertility or recurrent miscarriages, pregnancy complications, pain and anaemia.

In his perspective on the issue, Dr. Abiodun Kuti, consultant radiologist at Prisms Clinics, Surulere, Lagos said fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow from the muscle layers of the uterus (womb). Kuti added that they are also known as uterine fibroids, myomas, or fibromyomas.

“Fibroids are growths of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue. Fibroids can vary in size, from that of a bean to as large as a melon,” Kuti stated.

According to the experts there are many different types of fibroids and depending on their size and location there can present with a wide range of symptoms.

Kuti gave a breakdown thus: Submucosal fibroids: These fibroids are located just underneath the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, and protrude into the uterine cavity.  Submucosal fibroids can vary in how much of the fibroid protrudes into the uterine cavity and how much is in the muscle of the uterus. They often cause heavy bleeding and long periods, but they can also cause irregular bleeding.