Chapter 1 - We're in a Spiritual Battle
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
EPHESIANS 6:10–12
God’s Word reveals that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but demonic powers. Our fight isn’t against people, but the spiritual forces influencing them. However, most of us simply don’t recognize the role that the spirit realm plays in what occurs in our daily life. We think it’s just human—natural—but the devil is busy influencing people every day.
It’s useless to debate whether or not an individual is possessed, oppressed, or just depressed. When the New Testament calls someone demon-possessed, the Greek word there literally means “demonized.” They are under the influence—and therefore, control—of the devil. This issue people make about whether someone is possessed, oppressed, or just depressed isn’t in the Scriptures. The truth is that people all around the world today are being influenced, controlled, and used—to whatever degree—by the devil.
Proper Perspective
Many westerners honestly believe that all the demons are over in some third-world country. But anyone who is spiritually perceptive knows that there is an abundance of demonic activity anywhere you go in the world, including the West. We just tend to look at things as being normal and natural for this day and age. We miss the fact that the origin of many things that happen in our day—things that tick us off and come against us—is spiritual. We fail to recognize the spiritual influence behind it.
If you were to adopt the biblical mindset, it would make a huge difference in the way you respond. You’d recognize that it’s not that person who sits next to you at work, it’s not your neighbor, your spouse, or your circumstances that are really what’s coming against you. They can be influenced, inspired, and used of Satan, but they themselves aren’t really the source. When you genuinely understand that this isn’t a physical battle, it changes the way you respond.
I get a lot of hate mail and criticism because of the things I say. There was a time when I took these things personally and thought, Why is this individual so upset with me? I just looked at their criticisms and always tried to deal with them on the human level. Since then, I’ve come to recognize that Satan is the one who’s trying to get my attention off of what God has told me to do. I recognize that the enemy is using some person to come against me. He’s trying to gain an inroad into my life so he can steal God’s Word from me. (Mark 4:16–17.) But because I look beyond the individual and don’t take their comments personally, I’m able to put things into proper perspective and deal with it differently.
I’ve actually had some good friends come against me. Even though they did some pretty mean things, I’ve been able to look past that and forgive them. I recognized that they had a sensitivity in some area that Satan took advantage of and used them against me. I haven’t been angry or bitter toward them because I understood what the devil was trying to do. Since then, they’ve turned around and realized what happened. We’ve been able to completely reestablish our friendship because I recognized that it wasn’t those people, but Satan trying to get at me.
Satan Uses People
Jesus exemplified this same perspective. He recognized when the devil was trying to get to Him through a person.
After Peter—under the influence of God—confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt.16:16), the Lord started explaining to His disciples about His soon coming crucifix- ion, death, and resurrection. Immediately, Peter began to rebuke Him, saying:
Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
MATTHEW 16:22
Apparently, Peter had missed Jesus’ statement that He would rise again on the third day. Peter didn’t even want to consider the thought of his beloved Lord being taken and killed. This was the same man who just moments before had been inspired and con- trolled by the Holy Spirit. Yet now Jesus…
Turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
MATTHEW 16:23
The Lord recognized that Satan was speaking through Peter. This wasn’t something coming from God. Jesus knew it was inconsistent with what the Father had clearly revealed to Him of His will. So even though Peter had previously spoken forth a glorious revelation by the Holy Spirit, Christ knew that the inspiration for this rebuke was from hell.
There are times when the devil speaks to you through people. He’ll use people to get at you. Of course, they may be unaware of the fact that they’re being used of Satan. Peter was probably shocked, hurt, and offended when Jesus turned around and said, “Get behind me, Satan!”However, there are times when you need to rebuke the devil that way too.
Whose Voice Is It?
Now don’t misunderstand me and go around blasting people. I’m not saying you should rebuke everyone who disagrees with you, declaring, “You’re of the devil. Satan is using you in my life.” That’s not what I’m trying to get across. You just need to recognize that Satan—as well as God—can speak through and use the people in your life. Like Jesus, you need to discern whose voice is coming through.
More than thirty years ago, my mother wanted to take my wife, my oldest son (who was one at the time),and me to the Smoky Mountains. This was back during our “poverty days.”Jamie and I were struggling financially and didn’t have any money, but since Mother offered to pay for everything on the trip, we decided to go ahead and go.
At that time, my mother had just started believing God for healing. Since she hadn’t seen the manifestation yet in the specific areas she’d been believing for, basically she had suffered a defeat. Due to this, Mother was on the bubble about whether this “healing stuff” really worked or not. Since then, she’s turned around and received great healing, but this was way back in the beginning of our ministry when Mother still thought I was somewhere out on the lunatic fringe.
Anyway, as we began our trip, Mother was nursing a little bit of a cold. She started saying negative things about my son like, “Keep him away from me or he’ll catch this cold.”
I’d answer, “No, Mother. He’s not going to catch this cold.”
Then she’d complain about the money, saying, “I really shouldn’t be taking this trip. I don’t have the money to do it.”
So I just told her, “Hey, Mother. We have zippo, zilch, nada. If you don’t have the money to take this trip, we need to go home now because I can’t help you.”
She’d respond, “Oh no! I’ve got plenty of money.”Mother was just in a negative mindset, which made it a bad situation.
During the hot summer day, my son sat right in front of the air conditioner. Since I understood that we can have what we say (Mark 11:23),it really bothered me when she said things like, “Don’t put him there. He’ll catch a cold!”
I’d have to counter that with, “No, he’s not going to catch a cold.”
“Shut Up!”
All this griping and complaining was really out of character for my mother. She is a super lady and is usually very positive, but she was just stuck in this negative mindset. She talked doubt and unbelief all day long. It was a constant battle back and forth to counter what was being said. Since this was my mother, I tried to be as polite and kind as I possibly could.
The very first night of the trip, we all stayed in a hotel room together. Our son was sleeping in a little crib. Around eleven o’clock, he woke up with this croup in his throat that you could have heard in the next room. It was loud and he could hardly breathe, so I got up, prayed in tongues, rebuked the croup, and released my faith. He went back to sleep and everything was fine.
Thirty minutes later, the same thing happened. I got up, prayed over him, and he went back to sleep. Every thirty minutes, I was up and down like a yo-yo, praying over our son and trying to get him back to sleep. Finally, about three in the morning on one of my trips back to bed, my mother said, “Admit it, Andy. He’s sick!”
I got right down there, stuck my finger in her face, and said, “Satan, in the name of Jesus, I command you to shut up! I will not receive any of your criticism or any of your curses. My son is blessed and not cursed!” Then I started speaking the Word. Mother never said another word, and our son never got up again that night. He was just fine, but Mother didn’t say anything for two whole days— and we were together all the time in a car on vacation.
Finally, when she did speak, she cried, “Well, I’m sorry you think I’m the devil” and started into this self-pity party.
I said, “Mother, you know enough to know better. I’ve told you the Word of God. You knew that stuff you were saying was exactly opposite the Word. You’d just given yourself over to Satan. I’m not mad at you. I was just standing against the devil. He was trying to steal my faith for healing.”
To this day, Mother continues to be one of my very best friends. She’s over ninety five years old and enjoys the blessing of good health. My approach that night was pretty strong, but I knew Satan was behind this attack trying to steal my faith.
You can certainly take a stand against what people say with more tact than I displayed back then. I was young in the Lord and that’s just the way I responded, but the principle applies regardless of how you administer it.
Stretched to the Max
We are in a spiritual battle! Unfortunately, most of the time people don’t recognize it. They’re just looking at things from a natural, human perspective. They factor God, the devil, and the whole supernatural realm right out of the equation. The average person doesn’t realize the spiritual dynamics taking place. God doesn’t send bad things our way. It’s not just happenstance or fate. There’s a real enemy out there that we must learn to deal with.
The first time I tried to produce a book was about twenty years ago. It was my Life for Today—Gospels Edition study Bible and commentary, which is almost six hundred pages long. This was going to be a major expense. At that time, my ministry income was so low that to come up with $50,000 to print a book was two or three months’ worth of income for me. This project was really stretching me to the max!
A number of different publishers came and offered to help us with the project. One offered to reduce our cost to $27,000 if we would pay right away. They said, “We’re in a bind and need the money. If you pay right away, we’ll give you this discount.”So I went to my partners, raised the money—more than a month’s worth of income at the time—and gave it to them. This was a major deal for us.
Within a month, I learned that the salesman had run off with our money. In fact, he’d burned several other well-known preachers at the same time!
I remember when I heard this news. My employee said, “This salesman just took our $27,000.We’re going to have to come up with an additional $45,000 just in the next week or so to be able to make this project work. All together, we’re looking at about $70,000.”
Sevenfold
My first reaction was shock. Is this really true? Then came a fleshly twinge of wanting to beat up this salesman. But I recognized who the real culprit was. Satan had come against me and was trying to steal from me.
Immediately, Proverbs 6:31 came to mind.
But if [a thief] be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
I recognized that this wasn’t just a person trying to steal from me. Obviously, there were demonic entities working behind the scenes. So within seconds of getting this news, I realized, This is the devil stealing from me, and I’ve caught him. Therefore, according to the Word of God, I demand it back seven times! Immediately, I took a piece of paper and figured out seven times $70,000.Instead of being angry, depressed, and hurt, I started dancing and praising God, saying, “Hallelujah, this is awesome. I’m getting $490,000 back this year!” As I continued praising God, that situation never did get me down or discouraged.
When that year was over, we had increased nearly to the penny $490,000—exactly seven times the amount of money that was taken from us. That was back during a period of time when our entire income was only about $500,000 a year. We nearly doubled our income that year!
What could have been a tragic scenario turned into a positive situation because I recognized that I’m not fighting flesh and blood. I’m fighting a spiritual battle, with spiritual weapons, against spiritual enemies. I realized that Satan was trying to come against me, and then acted on the Word.
Who’s Influencing Whom?
I’ve actually loaned people money before who have never paid me back. They said they would, but for whatever reason, they didn’t. Instead of taking an offense and getting mad at the person, I recognize that this is Satan. Of course, the person cooperated in some measure and allowed him to do it, but I recognize that the devil was trying to get me into unforgiveness. So I just forgive them. My attitude is, “Hey, just take it as a gift. I’m not going to sit here and harbor any animosity over this. It’s not worth it.”
You might think, Man, I’d never do something like that. But I recognize that there is a spiritual battle raging—and nobody is going to rent space in my mind! Nobody is going to occupy my heart except God. I refuse to harbor unforgiveness toward anyone. I will not allow bitterness even a toehold in my life. I’m aware that Satan uses such things as an inroad against me.
Like it or not, there’s a spiritual battle raging right now for your heart and mind. As you think in your heart is the way that you’ll be. (Prov.23:7.) Your thoughts become what you say and do, with your actions being the greatest expression of your authority. Therefore, you’ll be influenced, dominated, and ruled by whomever you yield yourself to—God or Satan.
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Barely three months after the launch of Nigeria’s new polymer banknotes, fake versions of the notes have hit the Nigerian currency market, causing intense panic among traders and customers, NEXT has learnt. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials, say they have received reports and complaints on the fake notes but added that they are still working out answers on the notes, which were introduced and advertised for its presumed superior security features and life span.
“We are doing something but we cannot disclose it,” the bank’s spokesman, Mohammed Abdullahi, said. Across the country, major concerns lie in what factors to use in identifying the fake notes. The CBN has no answers to this either. “People should check the CBN website. The security features are all on our website,” Mr. Abdullahi said.
The CBN website however, does not display security features for any of the new polymer bank notes. While some banks claim that the serial numbers on the banknotes may be used to check the authenticity of the note, the Nigerian mint company, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting PLC (NSPM) says otherwise. “The sequence number of the fake has six numerical digits while the real one has seven,” a banker with Spring Bank said to NEXT. Segun Oshatala, the General Manager, NSPM-Abuja Factory, said however, that the serial numbers on the banknotes cannot determine whether or not the note is fake.
“The six digits or the seven digits do not show whether or not the note is fake. The serial number is just to show the country that the note was printed. You know some of the notes are printed abroad and some in Nigeria,” Mr. Oshatala said in a telephone interview with NEXT. Mr. Oshatala also described some more reliable features to identify real polymer banknotes. “If you run your fingers on the banknotes, especially on the portraits, you will observe that it is embossed.
It has a ridge-like or a rough feel. The fake ones will not have that because that is a specialised security feature,” he said. He, however, explained that a more reliable method of verification would be beneath mercury bulbs, which are largely available in banks. “The CBN will be the ones to say whether or not the serial numbers indicate a fake note,” Mr. Oshatala added. Confusion While some traders in Lagos, responding to questions by NEXT, expressed concerns about the influx of fake polymer notes in the country, others passed off the questions as rumours. “Why will they waste money on the ink to print the 50 naira notes instead of 1000 notes?” was the retort by a trader who gave his name as Alhaji Bintu. Citizens, who have to spend the money, however, are not at ease as there is no ready way to identify the fake notes except they go to the banks.
A petty trader, who spoke to NEXT in Asaba, a town in the Niger Delta region, said that a bank had just rejected about 1000 naira in 50 naira bills gotten from her business activities from the day. The perplexed woman left the bank with the banknotes, identified as fakes by the bank cashier. The CBN however claims that there is good news in all these. “Something to note here is that our security system has worked because the banks were able to recognise the fake notes,” Mr. Abdullahi said. The polymer notes were introduced during the tenure of the former governor of Central Bank, Chukwuma Soludo. One of the reasons given then was the safety of the notes. Billions of dollars were spent to print the notes and ensure that it would be worthless to produce fake ones.
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Sol Campbell Is At Arsenal To Help Us Win Things - Arsene WengerVeteran can help steer Gunners to success this season...Arsene Wenger has claimed that he signed Sol Campbell for one simple reason: to help Arsenal win trophies.The veteran defender re-joined the Gunners last week as a free agent and it is his experience and winning mentality that Wenger was keen to add to his squad.The 35-year-old has started today's FA Cup fourth round tie at Stoke City, adding some steel to the heart of the defence."[The reason he has joined is] that he helps us to win things, as simple as that," Wenger told ITV."He leads the team at the back today with Mikael Silvestre, they are very experienced players."We have some young players so it is important to have a good mixture between experience and youth and he can help us to do that."He doesn't hide from physical challenges and Sol is a fighter. When he is in a battle you can rely on him and that will be an important quality today in a cup game."
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Classic Case of Californication as Students get X-rated surprise in class DVD
Teacher seen having sex in video; district tells parents to destroy the disk
ELK GROVE, Calif. - A Northern California elementary school teacher sent her students home for the summer with a video of class memories, only the DVD included six seconds of her having sex on a couch.
Officials at the Elk Grove Unified School District asked families of the teacher's 24 students to get rid of the DVD after the unintended clip was found spliced in a scene where children were sharing stories in class.
"Just destroy them," said spokeswoman Torrey Johnson.
Johnson said the teacher, whose name isn't being released, sent the DVD home with her students from Isabelle Jackson Elementary on the last day of class Friday. She learned of the mistake after a parent called her. She then called all the parents to ask them to destroy the DVD.
The school district, located just south of Sacramento, initially sent a letter home to parents asking them to return the DVDs, but then asked parents to simply destroy them.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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Godwin Emefiele replaces Ovia at Zenith Bank
Godwin Emefiele, the Deputy Managing Director Zenith Bank Plc has been appointed the new Group Managing Director for the bank, in replacement of Jim Ovia, who has occupied that position since 1990.
His appointment follows a crucial meeting of the executive committee and the board of directors on Monday (today) to decide on Mr Ovia's successor, in line with the new CBN directive on banks CEOs' tenure.
Although Zenith is yet to officially confirm Mr Emefiele's appointment, sources privy to the meeting confirmed to NEXT that "his appointment did not come as a surprise."
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Sade returns at 51 with first album release for a decadeWith a £40million fortune maintained by daily airplay of some of her earliest hits, singer Sade Adu has been more than happy to maintain a low profile over the years.But the singer has let go of some of her desire for anonymity as she is set to make a return to the spotlight with her first album in ten years, Soldier Of Love.Sade, was seen leaving BBC Radio 2 on the weekend, and despite her advancing years, now aged 51, the singer still maintains the striking looks that gained her a legion of fans.The singer born Helen Folasade Adu in Nigeria, is promoting her new release, Soldier Of Love, which will be her first album in ten years.Buzz is building around the recently released video for the title track and single which shares the same name as that of the highly anticipated album.Sade is in seen in the video as a commander of a group of male military styled dancers, looking remarkably youthful, and still in fine voice.A source told the Mirror: 'She is unique compared to other artists. She just wants to make music, and she's not interested in publicity.'A fierce desire to protect her private life means she rarely gives interviews. And friends even nicknamed her 'Howie' after the reclusive American billionaire Howard Hughes.But she will always break cover to tour for her fans.She has said: 'If you just do TV or video, then you become a tool of the record industry.'It’s when I get on stage with the band and we play that I know that people love the music.'Sade's huge fortune - she has sold 50million records - has allowed her to disappear from sight, and she runs around in a 10-year-old Mercedes, preferring the company of old friends.It is eight years since Sade last made a public appearance - at Buckingham Palace to collect an OBE in 2002.She now lives mainly in a mansion in the Gloucestershire countryside with her new partner, said to be a scientist.The singer has spent most of the last decade as a full-time mother to daughter Ila, 14, from her relationship with a Jamaican record producer.Sade's friend Sophie Muller, whom she met at St Martin's Art College, in London, directed the striking video for the single Soldier of Love.The album is released in the UK on February 9th.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1245959/Reclusive-singer-Sade-returns-album-release-decade.html#ixzz0diJzbKD8Read more…
Posted by 9jabook.com on January 25, 2010 at 11:52pm
Investigators were tonight carrying out DNA tests on severely burned bodies recovered from the sea after an Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying 90 people caught fire during a lightning storm and crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after taking off from Beirut.
As darkness fell no survivors had been found in the stormy waters off Lebanon, despite search and rescue efforts by the country's military, UN naval peacekeepers and units from nearby Cyprus who were tonight joined by British and French helicopter teams.
The plane's 83 passengers included 56 Lebanese – two with dual British nationality – 22 Ethiopians and individuals from Canada, Syria, Iraq and Russia, as well as the American-born wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon. By tonight at least 34 bodies had been recovered.
Lebanon's National News Agency tonight confirmed that 57-year-old Afif Karshat was one of two Lebanese with dual British nationality among the casualties.
Lebanon's president, Michel Suleiman, said terrorism was not suspected in the crash of the Boeing 737-800, which was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said. Lebanon's defence minister, Elias Murr, blamed bad weather for the crash. An official investigation has been launched, but the plane's black box has yet to be recovered.
Several eyewitnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing a ball of flame in the sky just after 2.30am today, during a fierce winter thunderstorm.
"There was huge thunder and it was raining like crazy. The lightning was coming down from the clouds. The electricity had gone out, but I couldn't sleep. Then I heard an explosion," said Hassan Ramadan, a 39-year-old engineering contractor from Khalde, just a few miles from where the plane went down.
"I thought it was a building collapsing. I opened the window and saw a huge flame going down in different pieces. I can't believe what happened. You usually only see that on TV," he said.
The prime minister, Saad Hariri, who toured the crash site by helicopter, declared a day of mourning in honour of the dead. "This is a tragedy for Lebanon, and we are working to find the missing passengers," he told reporters. Divers from the country's tiny navy were on the scene within a couple of hours of the crash and continued to be winched in and out of the churning grey seas throughout the day as the bodies and personal belongings of passengers washed up on beaches just south of the capital.
Mothers and relatives of those killed wept and screamed as ambulances brought the burned bodies for identification at the governmental hospital in Beirut. At the airport families of those missing sat in shock, waiting for news, some weeping silently, others collapsing as they tried to walk outside.
Specialist trauma psychologists were sent to the airport to try and comfort distraught families.
"We've never suffered a catastrophe like this air crash before in Lebanon," said Dr Mirna Ghannage, from the Centre for Mental Health.
Riad Ismael's 36-year-old nephew Yasser was among those missing. Like so many in this nation of expatriates, Yasser had left Lebanon soon after graduating, having been unable to find a job. After five years working in a Lebanese restaurant in London he moved to Sudan to pursue his speciality – computer engineering – before starting his own business in Angola. The young father had taken time off to fly home to Lebanon via Ethiopia to visit his wife and two children, aged five and two.
"When we find answers to who is responsible for this crash we have to ask another question: why does the young generation of Lebanese have to live in exile?" said Riad Ismael, the mayor of a village near the south Lebanon town of Nabatiyeh.
"Yasser is like all young guys in Lebanon. , His motives were to build a better future and provide for his family. He was far away from his family and always wanted to return home. He came home to give them money and then died. It is a tragedy."
Many of the Ethiopians killed in the crash were also economic migrants, but in the reverse direction – young women who left homes and families to travel to Lebanon to work as domestic helpers in the homes of wealthy Lebanese.
Many are treated as little more than slaves, human rights activists claim. In many cases servants go unpaid, are confined indoors and made to work long hours seven days a week. Some are beaten and even sometimes raped.
"Why do you Lebanese never treat us good?" screamed one Ethiopian woman as security forces prevented her from entering the governmental hospital in Beirut today to identify a body. "We are human beings like you. God created us. Why don't I have the right to come in and see my sister?"
Outside the hospital a group of Ethiopian women stood quietly in a corner, waiting for news of friends on the flight – young women like the friend they knew as Warkey, who arrived in Lebanon to work for a family in Nabatiyeh,
"She had worked for two years and her family had not paid her salary once," said one of Warkey's friends, who asked not to be named. "She even had to buy her own clothes. So she ran away and I took her in. But she said she missed her parents so much and had to go home. She was only 20.
"We went to the embassy and they did not help. Because she had run away and did not have any papers, she ended up being arrested and put in prison," she said, her dark brown eyes welling up with tears.
"They let her out of prison on Saturday and drove her to the airport, so she could take that flight."
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It's good being Diddy's son. Not only do you get one of the most lavish sixteenth birthday parties ever bestowed upon a teenage boy, you also get a car worth more than $350,000. See, everyone, the recession is over ... if your name is Diddy. Oh, and he also donated ten grand to Haiti.The son of the rap mogul was greeted with a Maybach, one of the world's most expensive and luxurious cars which is being valued at $360,000.Justin Dior Combs' party over the weekend will be available for the world to see, as MTV's 'My Super Sweet Sixteen' cameras were in tow to document all of the extravagance. Aside from a club full of Justin's friends and family, rappers Fabolous, Lil' Kim and Jim Jones performed for the teenager.According to the New York Daily News, Diddy also gave his son a check for $10,000, which was then kindly donated to the relief efforts in Haiti.
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's prayer at the Annual Trust Awards that God should punish him if indeed he deliberately chose as his successor a sick man so he would not be able to perform and possibly outshine him, has drawn quite a number
of Amens from the public with the outrightly cynical insisting that God is already inflicting punishment on the former President. The reference to God often drives up sentiments among Nigerians and in an overtly religious society such as ours, every appeal to God is intended to have a special effect. It is a psychological fact that pastors rely on so well, and which Obasanjo often deploys in seasons of doubt. It is possible to be emotional in responding to his latest intrusion into the public space. But more benefit could be derived from looking at the facts of the case, and why Obasanjo has chosen now to speak up on the subject of the President's ill-health, and what message(s) he could possibly be sending across to the public and certain stakeholders. Obasanjo not only ditched President Yar'çdua publicly, he also advised him to resign if his health has failed him. The wily OBJ talked about the path of honour and the path of morality.
In Yar'çdua's case both are obviously currently conflicted. The Obasanjo that spoke at the Daily Trust event tried to project himself as a patriot who is more interested in national progress. Now that we know where Obasanjo stands in this matter, when next Professor Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Femi Falana and others want to embark on another "Enough is Enough. To Save Nigeria" street march, they should remember to invite him along! But is Obasanjo now one of the progressives? Or he is merely playing to the gallery? Or he is trying to absolve himself of blame? Some of his friends have praised him for lending his voice to the calls for Yar'Adua's resignation.
There is nothing original in him position though. He is waking up to the truth, more than two years late. Is this not the same Obasanjo who only a fortnight ago pointedly refused to comment on the President's health? If it was not safe for him to pass a comment then, why is it now safe for him to do so? Or was he waiting for the right platform? Telling Yar'çdua to get out at an event in his own backyard, seems a clever way of loading a statement with appropriate weight. Or could it be that Obasanjo already knows something that is not yet public knowledge and which puts him in a safe position to fulminate? For a man who has been to jail and back, simply because he was critical of a sitting Head of State, and who himself does not suffer fools gladly when he wielded power, Obasanjo must be sure that it is only safe to step on a dead cobra's tail. So what are we dealing with? Opportunism? An attempt at self-ingratiation? Rather than applause, Obasanjo's statement, arguably his most poignant public statement, since he left office in May 2007 should invite more questions. President Yar'çdua's ill-health has set an invidious power game in motion and OBJ is trying to get on top of it. But not so fast, sir.
According to the former President, at the time he decided to support President Yar'çdua's candidacy, he was looking for three qualities: intellectual capacity, integrity and broad-mindedness. In 2007, Candidate Yar'çdua was not the only man in the PDP Presidential race who could boast of these three qualities. That was a fact. Another fact: Obasanjo and his agents had made up their mind that it was Yar'çdua that they wanted. He even told Nigerians at the time that he knew those who would not succeed him. One by one, those who showed interest in the race were arm-twisted, or frightened, out of it. Long before the PDP Presidential primaries, it was common knowledge that both the PDP Presidential ticket and the Presidency had been willed by the man in power to the then Governor of Katsina state.
Yar'çdua was a reluctant candidate, the most reluctant of all the candidates. Obasanjo also wanted Yar'çdua in order to spite Abubakar Atiku, his Vice President with whom he had serious problems. Atiku is a product of the General Shehu Yar'çdua political dynasty, and the leader of the late General's wing of the PDP; the once powerful People's Democratic Movement (PDM). In 2002/3, Atiku had made the mistake of boasting that it was he and the PDM machinery that he inherited that brought Obasanjo to power. At the PDP Presidential primaries in 2003, Atiku and his PDM supporters almost humiliated Obasanjo. He was forced to eat the humble pie. What better way to divide and demolish the PDM in 2007, than to hand over power to the junior brother of the founder of the PDM? Handing over power to Yar'çdua was a cold-hearted, Machiavellian move on Obasanjo's part. With due respect, it had nothing to do with all that rhetoric about intellectual capacity, integrity and broad-mindedness. How much of these three, now presented by OBJ as if they are divine imperatives, did we get from the eight years of the Obasanjo administration?
To all intents and purposes, former President Obasanjo wanted Umaru Yar'çdua as president because that was what would serve his own political interests then. Eye-witnesses to that campaign process will recall that it was President Obasanjo that did most of the campaigning. At several rallies, the man who wanted to be President was not allowed to speak. Obasanjo did all the talking, and subsequently, he would raise Yar'Adua's hand. At a point, there were comments about the need for Obasanjo to allow the PDP candidate to speak to Nigerians. The first time we heard of the seven-point agenda was on inauguration day! Yar'çdua became President without Nigerians really knowing him. Now, Obasanjo says don't blame me. He gave me a medical record which said he was in good shape. Obasanjo was Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. A Presidential aspirant gave him a sheet of paper certifying himself fit and he Obasanjo did not deem it necessary to entertain doubts!
The subtext of the Obasanjo comment is that Nigerians not he, made President Yar'çdua president. Nigeria 's big men are very good at revising history. In the light of available evidence, it seems to me that even if OBJ had full knowledge of the risk factors in making a man who had had a kidney transplant President, he would still have chosen Yar'Adua. If the man was so fit, why was Obasanjo the one selling him to Nigerians, instead of allowing him to do more of the talking? So grateful was the Yar'çdua family after the Presidential elections and the inauguration of Yar'çdua as President that three women from the Yar'çdua household including the brand new President's mother, and his late brother's wife went to Ota specially to thank Obasanjo. They did not issue a statement thanking Nigerians. They went to Ota! And now, Obasanjo ditches the same Yar'Adua.
The timing of his latest politics is suspicious but his outburst is understandable. The Atiku threat no longer exists. The PDM is in disarray. Atiku who wanted to replace Obasanjo and in the process became an issue in Nigerian Presidential politics has since gone to Obasanjo's home to pay homage. All the other candidates, North and South in the PDP who wanted to be President have been driven into their shells, with some of them still battling with the EFCC yoke that was slung around their necks. But Yar'Adua on whose behalf all that effort was made has shown no gratitude to former President Obasanjo. The Yar'Adua government began at the centre with a systematic assault on the Obasanjo legacy. Obasanjo and his spin-doctors used to boast that the dividends of democracy that Nigerians wanted so badly would fructify in the fullness of time on the altar of sustainability.
If they thought Yar'çdua would sustain Obasanjo's reform agenda and programmes, they made a mistake. These were the first set of pillars that the new government pulled down. Many Obasanjo boys who had worked tirelessly on the Yar'çdua-must-be-President agenda suddenly found themselves being treated as persona non grata. They have been chased out of government, into exile, or into EFCC detention centres. Under Obasanjo, there was something that assumed a political shape called Corporate Nigeria, the jet-riding set that donated money to political causes and strolled into the Presidential Villa at will. They owned the biggest businesses in town and they didn't hide the fact of their closeness to the President. More than two years later, the Yar'çdua government has successfully castrated this group.
The 24-hour gate passes to Presidential Villa that they used to brandish have been withdrawn! Some of them have lost their banks and are now struggling to stay out of jail. Even those who thought they knew Yar'Adua ( "he was my senior in secondary school"; "I know him") have all been shocked: if they thought they would prosper politically under him, the man gave them poisoned gifts. Obasanjo himself has not been spared. Yar'çdua and his team have not treated him as the Godfather of the administration. His position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP has been rendered almost useless. He has been turned into a laughing stock in the company of those he once said would never be President. Ordinary Nigerians may regard President Yar'çdua as a weak leader because of his illness, but his power-politics has been very strong and he may have made great strides in that direction that could affect Nigeria in more fundamental ways than we may realise. But Obasanjo is smart. He is choosing his own time to strike back. But why strike a man when he is weak? Whatever may be Obasanjo's shortcomings, his voice still carries weight in Nigerian politics. By coming out against Yar'Adua, he will be setting off a chain of reactions that should be closely watched. What will be the Katsina response to the bomb from Ota? And why has Obasanjo suddenly become freshly voluble at the time when Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be taking charge gradually at the Presidency?
It is a game of musical chairs, not yet an end game. Two or three newspapers have suggested that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua may show up in Nigeria next week, looking healthy and strong enough to carry on. Should that happen, it will be not necessarily a miracle, but a political masterstroke. Some people may have to leave town. For there could be serious reprisals from the Yar'çdua end which may not have demonstrated a capacity to keep promises, but remarkable adroitness in teaching ambitious men and women bitter lessons about the game of power. Even if the man does not return next week, with INEC poised to announce the time-table for the 2011 elections in March, the professional political class will see the need to engage in further mischief.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on January 24, 2010 at 5:16am
CAIRO – Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas in a new audio message released Sunday threatening more attacks on the United States.
A senior U.S. intelligence official in Washington said there is "no evidence whatsoever" that bin Laden had any involvement on the Christmas Day attack — or even knew about it beforehand. The message suggests the al-Qaida leader wants to appear in direct command of the terrorist group's many affiliates around the world at a time when some analysts have suggested he is mostly a figurehead.
In the minute-long recording carried by Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden addressed President Barack Obama saying the Christmas attack was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11," he said. "America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he added.
"God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues."
On Christmas Day, Nigerian Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up his Northwest Airlines flight as it approached Detroit Metro Airport. But the explosive powder he was hiding in his underwear failed to detonate.
He told federal agents shortly afterward that he had been trained and given the explosives by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen.
The U.S. intelligence official said the Yemen-based group is linked with the central al-Qaida group that bin Laden heads and recent intelligence indicates there are ongoing contacts between al-Qaida in Yemen and Pakistan. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
Bin Laden's message, coming long after AQAP gave its own claim of responsibility, appears to be an effort on his part to stay relevant, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror."
"The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, so in many ways you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack," he said. "Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement."
Of all the various offshoots and branches of al-Qaida around the world, Gunaratna said the group in Yemen is one of the closest to bin Laden since it is made up of bodyguards and associates of the organization's top ideologues. Yemen is bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
"Today the operational relationship has somewhat suffered, but the ideological relationship is very strong and that is why bin Laden claimed this attack," Gunaratna said.
Two of the group's top members were former detainees released in November 2007 from the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay.
Since the Christmas Day attempt, the Yemeni government, at the U.S.'s urging has stepped up its attacks on the group's hideouts in the rugged country's remote hinterland.
Analysts have long debated how much control bin Laden, who is believed to be somewhere in Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, really has over the various organizations using his group's name.
The Yemen-based group, however, has closer ties than most to bin Laden and his key lieutenants, many having once been their bodyguards.
There was no way to confirm the voice on the audio message was actually that of bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him.
The U.S. says it can't immediately authenticate the message but White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" that whatever the source, the message "contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents."
In the past year, bin Laden's messages have concentrated heavily on the situation of the Palestinians in attempt to rally support from Muslims around the world.
Some analysts say bin Laden is focusing on the close U.S.-Israeli relationship because he is worried about Obama's popularity across the Middle East with his promises to withdraw from Iraq and because his father was a Muslim from the African nation of Kenya.
The plight of the Palestinians, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip where 1,400 were killed in an Israeli offensive a year ago, angers many in the Arab world.
"The Palestinian conflict was never part of the al-Qaida original mandate, but Osama is clearly exploiting it," Gunaratna said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David dismissed the latest al-Qaida message and its attempt to link Israel with attacks on the U.S.
"This is nothing new. He has said this before," he said. "Terrorists always look for absurd excuses for their despicable deeds."
The last public message from bin Laden appears to have been on Sept. 26, when he demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan. The order came in an audiotape that also warned of "retaliation" against nations that are allied with the United States in fighting the war.
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Why "GET" SIX children when you cant STAY as a FAMILY !HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal.The world's most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids.The megastars have agreed to equally divide their vast fortune - and to SHARE their six children.Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up.The agreement gives them joint custody of the kids - but all six will actually live full-time with their mum.Preparations for a split began in early December when "Brangelina" visited a top Los Angeles divorce firm to begin thrashing out the deal.An announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon - ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.A source told the News of the World: "The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it."The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple's split."It seemed clear they want the world to know they'll both play a part in the upbringing of the children."But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time."The divorce lawyer they consulted is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celeb divorces and splits. He is widely regarded as "the best in the business".Our source added: "There's no date for when the contract would come into effect."But the paperwork is already organised for a break- up - and for it to be as unmessy for them as possible. It is clear it's a case of when they break up rather than if."The troubled couple have not been photographed together in public in recent days. On Friday night, Brad, 46, was snapped backstage at the Hope For Haiti concert in Los Angeles without Angelina, 34.His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston was there - although not with him."Brangelina" fell for each other when they played a warring couple in Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004. They have three adopted children (Maddox, eight, Pax, six, and Zahara, five), and three biological kids (Shiloh, three, and 17- month-old twins Knox and Vivienne).Both stars have been through high- profile splits before. Brad shocked the world when he split from Hollywood golden girl Jennifer, 40, in January 2005. They had been married for 4½ years.He was first photographed with Oscar-winner Angelina three months after the split. Before Jen, he was engaged to actress Gwyneth PaltrowJolie has been divorced twice - from Monster's Ball star Billy Bob Thornton in 2003, and Trainspotting actor Johnny Lee Miller in 1999.Her joint fortune with Brad of $322 million (£205 million) includes mansions in France, California and New Orleans. But rumours have been circulating for months that the couple's relationship is doomed.Last week they failed to show at the Golden Globe Awards even though Brad's film Inglourious Basterds was up for a several gongs.Instead he went to watch the American football team New Orleans Saints, while Changeling star Angelina stayed in California. Also last week, Pitt bought the mansion next door to the family's LA home for £800,000.His pals Guy Ritchie and wife Madonna famously bought their next-door pad in London before their split so they could share living space with their kids but keep away from each another.Earlier this month, Angelina was snapped looking tense with an unsmiling Brad in New York.And last month she said fidelity was over-rated - and if she or Brad had an affair it would not be a problem.She told German magazine Das Neue: "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.INGLORIOUS - At the premiereINGLORIOUS - At the premiere"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."Angelina, whose new film Salt is due in British cinemas this summer, also said: "The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way."Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt."Also this month, best-selling American biographer Ian Halperin released a revelation- packed insight into the Jolie- Pitt relationship.He said when the couple first met they had 20-HOUR sex sessions.In his book Brangelina: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Ian writes: "Brad had never had such incredible sex."My sources say that they sometimes spent 18 to 20 hours a day in bed. But sex eventually wears off."She has brought a lot of good things to him - the children, for example."But he didn't know what he was getting into, and that's why I think they're going to split."We asked Brad, Angelina and the legal firm for their comments but they did not respond.
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Crisis looms in Edo, Oshiomhole warns
* Decries withdrawal of soldiers from security teams
* Asks govt to call Abbe, Anenih, Ogiadomhe to order
From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin
GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole warned yesterday that law and order may break down in Edo State after it emerged that the ministry of defence has withdrawn members of the armed forces attached to the state's joint security outfit, Operation Thunderstrom.
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The move has been interpreted in government quarters to mean that they were being withdrawn ahead of the forth-coming re-run election in Etsako Central Local Council into the state house of assembly.
Oshiomhole alleged that the withdrawal of the soldiers from the team was to allow influx of arms and suspected thugs into the area for the Saturday January 23, 2010 election.
The governor who was furious when he spoke to journalists yesterday alleged that the decision was masterminded by the Principal Secretary to the Vice President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and Chief Tony Anenih in connivance with Defence Minister, General Godwin Abbe (rtd).
All efforts to confirm the order from the 4th Mechanised Brigade, Nigerian Army, Benin City yesterday failed as no official was ready to talk on the issue when The Guardian visited.
"I have just been informed by the army that General Godwin Abbe, the Minister of Defence, has ordered that the army should be withdrawn from the Joint Task Force contrary to the directive of President Umaru Yar'Adua who approved the soldiers in the wake of the kidnapping, robbery and other violent crimes in the state then.
"We are aware that it has been difficult for the PDP to move in arms to Etsako Central due to the presence of the soldiers after they boasted to bring in militants to come and unleash mayhem during the election. Curiously, today, the army has informed me of their withdrawal. It is very clear that General Abbe in collaboration with Chief Tony Anenih and Oghiadomhe, have decided to reverse the order of President Yar'Adua.
" I have decided to raise this alarm and I call on the Vice President to call Abbe and Anenih to order. I want to affirm that any attempt to cause crisis in Edo State will be resisted by the people. I am very worried that with the withdrawal of the soldiers there will be influx of arms into Etsako Central and that will endanger the lives of our people there during the election.
"I have alerted the Vice-President before about the activities of Oghiadohme who has been boasting that they will use Federal might to rig the election. There is grave danger and I appeal to the Vice President to call these people to order now. I have confidence that the Vice President has no hand in this conspiracy by the Minister of Defence and his godfather to use their control over security agencies to undermine the peace and stability of Edo State."
But a PDP chief who did not want to be mentioned dismissed Oshiomhole's allegations, saying Oghiadomhe "is a gentleman who believes in the rule of law and will not be party to thuggery and election rigging."
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Posted by 9jabook.com on January 20, 2010 at 9:25pm
The Super Eagles have been praised by football fans across the country for their five star performance against Mozambique yesterday.
Our boys trashed the Mambas 3-0 to book a place behind Egypt in the quarter-final. The Pharoahs top the group with nine points.
For former Eagles coach Christian Chukwu, the Eagles won yesterday because they reverted to wing play and fast paced attacking football.
"The team is now gradually improving, and are finally playing together as a unit, the attackers did well, and they were faster than before and with in-form Osaze and Obasi coming from the wings," he said.
The ex-Eagles coach however said "there is room for improvement". Though he refused to comment on the technical crew of the Eagles, Chukwu said all the calls for the technical crew to be sacked is a distraction that should be left till after the Nations Cup.
Arsenal 4 Bolton 2
Arsenal's return to the top of the Premier League was overshadowed last night by a William Gallas tackle on Mark Davies that was described by Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle as “akin to an assault”.
Coyle said that he had seen lesser challenges punished with a red card and was further angered when Gallas played on while Davies was on the floor. From the same passage of play, Cesc Fabregas scored an equalising goal that proved to be the turning point in the match. As Arsenal celebrated, Davies required around five minutes of treatment before being taken off on a stretcher amid fears that he has broken his ankle.
The Eagles match in summary
In yesterday's game, Chinedu Obasi hit the first shot on target for the Super Eagles in the 9th minute but Rafael Kapango did well to parry the ball to safety.
In 21st minute, Obasi was again well positioned to place the Super Eagles ahead after Danny Shittu nodded a free kick across the face of the Mambas' goal, but he failed to nod the ball past Kapango from two yards out.
Ten minutes later, the Hoffenheim striker broke free for the Super Eagles but Kapango was quick off his line to curtail the danger.
The Super Eagles finally shot into the lead in the 45th minute through a thunderous shot from Osaze Odemwingie that left Kapango sprawling on the turf.
Second half
Barely two minutes after the break, the Lokomotiv Moscow of Russia forward was on hand to fire the Super Eagles further ahead. A counter attack initiated by Sani Kaita deep in the Nigerian half finds Aiyegbeni Yakubu, who beats the Mozambican offside trap before feeding a precise pass to the unmarked Odemwingie, who calmly slotted the ball home.
In the 68th minute, Obafemi Martins took the place of Yakubu in the attack for his first piece of action in Angola 2010. Eighteen minutes later, the Wolfsburg of Germany striker made it three-nil for Nigeria after the Mozambican goalkeeper parried a Mikel shot his way.It could have been worse for the Mambas in the 90th minute had Obinna Nsofor, who came in for Odemwingie, not shot straight at Kapango after being put through on goal by Martins.
The Super Eagles will now remain in Lubango ahead of a quarter final clash next Monday against the winners of Group D which will be decided later today as Cameroon takes on Tunisia and Gabon tackles Zambia.
Eagles back on track
For Garba Lawal the Super Eagles have woken from their slumber.
"This is the best performance from the boys in a long while and I hope they can take it on from there," he said.
Lawal said the threat to disband the team was not responsible for the Eagles performance against the Mambas.
"I would not say the threat made them play the way they played, it was the determination and the choices of players made by the coach. You can see what Martins brought into the game, the wonderful job Sani Kieta did in the midfield and the heroic saves by Enyeama," he said.
With the quarter finals ticket now secured, Lawal warned that the Eagles should not allow today's victory get into their heads.
Fortunate
Former Green Eagles player, Okey Isima, described the trouncing of Mozambique as a last minute effort by embattled coach, Amodu to save his job.
"The(Super Eagles) played very well today for the first time since the beginning of this tournament. They entered this match with a game plan. Anytime Amodu is on the line to get fired, he does something that will stop him from being sacked.
"He must have gotten some coaching from somewhere; maybe he read some text books last night or maybe it's due to all the pressure from the press but then they should remember that tomorrow is another day so that they don't get carried away by the victory," he said.
Man of the match
The ex-international also believes that Super Eagles forward, Osaze Odemwingie is the driving force of the team, and he called on the other players to also use their initiative in ensuring that they score goals:
"Osaze is God sent; he made the thing happen even though every other person played well. Scoring is very important in any game; we were very lucky that the Mozambicans missed all their chances or else the game would have been a different story. We cannot always wait for Osaze to bell the cat; for me he is the man of the match".
Though Isima feels that the team can do with some improvement, he says that if the Super Eagles can beat likely opponents, Tunisia or Gabon if they play the way they did against Mozambique:
"If we can just keep up the way we played today, it will be better for us if we meet Tunisia or any other team."
Nigeria's quarter-final opponent will emerge today after the last round of group matches between Camreoun and Tunisia, and the second game between Gabon and Zambia.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on January 21, 2010 at 9:11pm
Nigeria’s former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday at the 7th Annual Trust Lecture in Abuja told President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to do the honourable thing by resigning as President of Nigeria because of his failing health.
Obasanjo made the speech in a reply to a question from one of the attendees at the event who had faulted him for the current Constitutional crisis by forcing President Yar’Adua on Nigerians.
The former President’s answer to the question was very blunt and hard on the President who was evacuated from Abuja on November 23, 2009.
"If you take up an assignment, a job-elected, appointed or whatever it is, and then your health starts to fail and you will not be able to deliver to satisfy yourself and to satisfy the people you are supposed to serve, then there is a path of honour and the path of morality, and if you don’t do that, then you don’t know anything.”
The former president has come under severe criticisms for anointing President Yar’Adua knowing fully well he had a kidney condition.
The former President’s answer to the question in full:
"When in year 2006, the idea came up as to succession; I was convinced in my mind that a southerner succeeding me will not augur well for Nigeria. You may agree with that, you may not agree but I was convinced in my mind.
"Now, what I was looking for in those who will succeed me were three important qualities; one, he has enough intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Two, he has sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Three, he is sufficiently broad-minded enough-politically, religiously, socially or whatever to manage the affairs of Nigeria. These three were the important things.
"Then Umaru Yar’Adua who is now the President, I know he has kidney problem and was under dialysis. Sometime earlier, he had gone abroad when he was still the Governor of Katsina State.
When the idea was for him to contest, I asked him and he gave me a medical report.
"The medical report showed that he had come off dialysis. I asked experts who then told me that if you were under dialysis or you were on dialysis and you are no longer under dialysis, it means you have had a successful kidney transplant and that you can live for as long as God may give you favour. Now, who am I and who are you not to accept that? That was the situation.
"Now, Mallam Musa Yar’Adua went campaigning and we campaigned together. I remember at one day of the campaign, he was run down. Chairman of our party then, Ahmadu Ali was also run down. Ahmadu Ali didn’t go abroad to check up, but he went abroad to check up and the rumour was that he was dead. And I called him and I put the telephone on speaker and I said, are you dead? And we continued with the campaign.
"To the best of my knowledge, he wasn’t on dialysis after that. When the issue of dialysis came, he was well into his first term (as president), which must meant maybe the kidney transplant is failing, if it hasn’t failed. That you cannot blame on me. You cannot even blame it on him.
"So, to say that I, Olusegun Obasanjo deliberately see somebody who is an invalid and is highly, highly ungrateful and make him President… how can I put so much into this country both in peace and in war and I will begin to run it down. If you have fear of God, you will not make that statement.
"On the way out of the constitutional crisis, what I needed to say on that, I have said as the Chairman of my Board of Trustees last week. I won’t say anything more. What I need to say is that nobody picked Yar’Adua so that he will not perform. If I did that, God will punish me. There is no reason why I should do that.
"Again, if you take up an assignment, a job-elected, appointed or whatever it is, and then your heath starts to fail and you will not be able to deliver to satisfy yourself and to satisfy the people you are supposed to serve, then there is a path of honour and the path of morality. There is path of honour and the path of morality and if you don’t do that, then you don’t know anything."
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A high-ranking Nigerian lawmaker, Tuggar Yusuf Maitama, this week became the first major casualty of Nigeria’s new inclusion by the United States among 14 nations allegedly with terrorist links. Hon. Maitama, who represents Gamawa federal constituency of Bauchi State, is the Chairman of the Committee on Public Procurement in the House of Representatives. Mr. Maitama was traveling to New York on a KLM flight on Monday when the US Immigrations and Customs agents in Amsterdam pulled him aside and told him that he could not fly to the United States, having been found to have “terrorist tendencies”. His visa was immediately revoked and the lawmaker was deported to Nigeria. But Saharareporters quick search through US no-fly list and terrorism-related databases did not yield Maitama’s name.
It is not yet known if Maitama was coming to New York as part of an official delegation sent by the crumbling Yar’Adua regime to meet with UK and US officials over the inclusion of Nigeria in the terror watch list. The group, which includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe; the Senate Chairman on Foreign Relations, Jubril Aminu; his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Umar Bature, as well as the chairperson of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, made a stop-over in London yesterday, and is expected to arrive in New York later today. They are to be lodged at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel New York.
That means it will be an interesting visit, as they will be welcomed tomorrow morning by Nigerian protesters who are getting ready for a Save Nigeria Group "Enough Is Enough" rally at Nigeria House on the other side of the same block.
The cumbersome delegation is unlikely to meet with much success in the US. The US state department has already dispatched to Nigeria a delegation, led by US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Africa, Johnnie Carson. It is expected to leave for a crucial three-day trip to meet with Goodluck Jonathan.
Mrs. Waziri's inclusion in the delegation is a surprise. Owing to the poor work of the EFCC, she is highly unpopular with the US government, and the EFCC was singled out for criticism last year when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Nigeria. In addition, Mrs. Waziri's first visit to the US a few months ago ended with her being heckled and chased out of an official function in New York by Nigerian demonstrators. That encounter could be repeated tomorrow.
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The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday commended the executive government and unanimously adopted a motion ratifying the $1 million donation by the state government to Haiti, after last week's devastating earthquake.
The state governor, Babatunde Fashola, wrote a letter to the House, following the decision of the state executive council during its weekly meeting on Monday, to adopt a "resolution recognising this humanitarian service".
Although the motion was passed with relative ease, a few lawmakers raised concerns about the source of the donation, wondering if it would be taken from the 2009 budget or the yet-to-be-passed 2010 budget. However, the magnitude and urgency of the Haitian need, coupled with the fact that Nigeria, as a nation, has been absent on the list of donating nations, helped douse the concerns.
"The governor has the right to spend up to 25 per cent of (money voted for) donation in the 2009 budget," said the Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, as a reminder to the lawmakers, and consequently, the motion was moved by the majority leader, Kolawole Taiwo.
An example
The Lagos Assembly also called on other Nigerian states to help the needy Haitians. "The federal government should have done this but there is a vacuum at the top and there is no response from Nigeria," said Ahmed Omisiore, chairman of the House committee on information.
Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, representing Mushin I, was also worried that the federal government, which was unable to respond to the case of the suspected bomber, Farouk Mutallab, is "still not available to respond to the need of the Haiti people.
"The donation should be stressed as coming from the Lagos State government and not from Nigeria because we cannot continue to shoulder the responsibility of the entire country," she said.
While it was not part of the adopted motion, the majority leader, Lola Akande, representing Ikeja II, suggested that a minimum amount of N50,000 should be made compulsory for each lawmaker as their contribution, which was supported by Babatunde Ogala, who also suggested that the contribution should be deducted "immediately from source".
In response, the speaker said anybody who wants to contribute to the state's donation can walk into any branch of Skye Bank where an account has already been opened.
Bringing the discussion home, Sanai Agunbiade said "while we are thinking of Haiti there are some communities in Lagos suffering from serious environmental degradation. The rains will soon be here and something must be done."
NEMA responds
Also in its response to the disaster, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said it plans to send cash donation.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja yesterday on the role of the agency regarding the incident in Haiti, the Director General of the organisation, Mohammed Audu Bida, explained that the enormity of the incident is so great that instead of moving relief materials through the seas, which are already congested as a result of massive goods coming from other countries, sending cash right away makes more sense.
Mr. Bida who declined to disclose the exact amount earmarked for the people of Haiti, said Vice President Goodluck Jonathan who is the chairman of agency's board has already said that the government will come to the aid of the country.
He criticised those condemning the perceived slow response of the Nigerian governme
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Posted by 9jabook.com on January 22, 2010 at 8:30pm
The Board of the United Bank for Africa Plc has announced the appointment of Phillips Oduoza as the Group Chief Executive Designate. Mr. Oduoza has over 22 years experience in banking and financial services, spanning banking operations, relationship management, credit/marketing, technology implementation, risk management, lean banking methods and brand management.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Oduoza was the bank's Deputy Managing Director South, which is the largest strategic business in the group.
He will resume in his new position on August 1, 2010. In the interim, Mr. Oduoza will be working with Tony Elumelu, the current Group Chief Executive of UBA to ensure that the transition is seamless.
This is coming in the wake of Central Bank of Nigeria's announcement that, "Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of banks shall serve a maximum tenure of 10 years... all CEOs who would have served for 10 years by July 31, 2010 shall cease to function in that capacity and shall hand over to their successors."
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Former U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards has backtracked on earlier denials and confirmed that he fathered a daughter in an extramarital relationship.
"It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me," John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, said Thursday.
Edwards was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. He ultimately was Senator John Kerry's selection to be his vice-presidential running mate.
Edwards entered the race for presidential nominee again in December 2006, but quit the primaries in January 2008, and eventually backed now U.S. President Barack Obama.
Frances Quinn Hunter, who is almost two years old, was born to former Edwards campaign aide Rielle Hunter. Edwards hired Hunter as a videographer before his second run for the White House.
Edwards admitted in August 2008 that he had had an affair with Hunter. The baby girl was born on Feb. 27, 2008.
Last year, Edwards denied fathering the girl, and said he welcomed a paternity test. He also claimed that his affair with Hunter ended in 2006.
Issues apology
"I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future," Edwards said in a statement to The Associated Press. "To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry."
Another former Edwards aide, Andrew Young, initially said he was the father of the girl shortly before the 2008 presidential primaries started. Young has a book coming out on Feb. 2 that will detail the paternity scandal.
Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, who is battling incurable cancer, has stood by her husband throughout his revelations. They have three children together. Their first child, a son, died in a car accident in 1996.
Edwards's wife has stated it would not matter if he fathered a child with Hunter, saying "that would be a part of John's life, but not a part of mine."
John Edwards has been living a mainly secluded life since he admitted the affair in 2008.
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Zenith CEO Jim Ovia & UBA MD Elumelu to be sacked
Special Editorial:Banks Still sacking workers http://bit.ly/7B4iKYRead more…
Hi Guys,I ran into an online video last year of a Network Marketer/Personal development expert who was teaching on the process of personal development. According to this guy every book we read or audio program we listen to affects us on a subconscious level whether or not we are aware of it. He said the initial effect, though rarely noticeable, should not deter us from continued exposure as it will produce a cumulative effect resulting in an undeniable change in thought pattern and consequently our productivity. And so he suggested that we all be engaged in a continual process of reading and listening to books and audios regardless of whether or not we sense any significant change because we know that eventually it will produce the desired impact.That theory made lot of sense. Not sure I believed it completely but it made me feel like I wasn't wasting time feeding on all those books and audios. So I kept on reading and listening, buying and downloading anything that caught my attention. With each new material I gathered I got a better understanding but nothing significant happened for a period of three months. Then suddenly on the first day of 2010, I felt a degree of power I'd never felt before. Things I'd struggled to believe for months finally seemed possible. Fears I'd harbored in my heart for years, though not shrunken in size, seemed so surmountable. I saw myself bigger and better than I'd ever imagined I could be. I felt a desire for discipline stronger than my compulsive habits and the eagerness to exercise my will power. I'm even managing my time better and witnessing an increase in my productivity.I used to wake up in the morning listening to the audios just before any negative thoughts usually penetrate my mind. Unknown to me each of these materials; Think & Grow Rich, The Secret-The Law Of Attraction, Thought Vibrations by William Atkinson, The Message Bible, Science of Getting rich by Bob Proctor ,and the free podcasts from Roy Masters and others, were deprogramming my mind of negative thoughts and replacing them with empowering ones. What a blessing this exercise has been.I encourage you all to try it and reap the rewards of an empowered mind through personal development in 2010!
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The much talked about birthday gig of Empress Njamah, Timaya’s ex-girl friend has come and gone.The party which took place at the prestigious Auto Lounge in Victoria Island was an opportunity for the actress to unveil her new lover to the public.The latest lover boy has been lurking in the corner for an opportunity to have Empress all to himself while she was still Timaya’s girl friend. So when she broke up with Timaya, the sharp guy just rushed in and continued from where Timaya stopped.The lover boy is from the Eastern part of Nigeria and is rich, simply known as Daniel Uchendu but popularly referred to as Ganduko, the lover boy was said to have bankrolled the party and has been spoiling Empress silly with cash
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