We didn't expect Yori Yori to be a bang -BracketEzioko Nwachukwu and Obumneme Ali, who go by the stage name 'Bracket' are easily known for their 'Yori Yori' hit track that is currently making waves within the entertainment circles. The duo, from Enugu State and students of the same school, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, spoke to REPORTER, Ifeoma Meze, on how they started, the philosophy behind the track 'Yori yori,' among other issues. Excerpts: You guys suddenly took the music world by the storm. Even then not much is known by many about your personal details.My name is Ezioko Nwachukwu. I am from Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. My stage name is Vast. I am still in school. I am studying Mass Communication in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am hoping to graduate anytime from next two years.I am Obumneme Ali. I am from Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. I am known on the stage as Smash. I am also in the same school with him but studying Psychology.How did you guys meet?Vast: We met in university school show. Though we had not gotten into the university then but because we are gifted in the sense that we used to miming other people's songs like R. Kelly, Tupac and other American artistes just for entertainment. Then they used to call us; paid us small amount of money for us to come to mime. That was how we got to meet. We were three before. I met the third guy, Amobi Clement popularly known as Bisstog, who is no longer with the group due to some reasons, before I met Obumneme. When we, Amobi and I, met Obumneme, we asked him to rap for us and we liked his pattern of raping because then the kind of music we did mostly was rap songs but because of Nigerian market we had to switch to singing. So that was how we met.What happened to the third guy?The third guy left. He said that he didn't want to combine education and music. He is in Electrical Electronics Engineering in the same school, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.Is he likely to come back to the group?That is what I don't know for now.How has the group been since he left?As you can see, God has been on our side.Did it ever occur to you guys that 'Yori Yori' track would take you this far?Smash: We have always hoped that we would get to the top one day, starting from the day that we did our first song Happy day. Though it did not go that far, when we went to the studio to do another job we were hopeful that at least we would get to a certain level. But we never expected that Yori Yori will go this far but we had that feeling that it was a bright and good job and that it would sell but not really up to what we are getting now.Is there another track in the album that you think that would be better than Yori Yori?The one that is picking up seriously now is No time. That is the number two track in the album that we did with P-Square. Number four, Ada Owerri, is receiving enough airplay in Lagos. We have other slow songs like wrong thing and leaders of tomorrow. People fall in love with them when they play.What inspired you guys to do the track? Yori Yori?Yori Yori was born out of the love we have for everybody who has been there for us starting from the days of Happy Day. It does not really mean that we sang it for a particular girl or a particular person. The media, which have always been there for us, are involved. It was inspired by anybody who at least contributed in one way or the other during the days of Happy Day. That is why we did that song to appreciate them for all the good things they did for us and also for the support. We had to do it as a love song pattern so that Nigerians would appreciate it easily. A guy can play the song for his girlfriend and likewise a girl too. That was the market that we were looking at but the story behind the song is that it is for everybody that has made us come this far.You guys were once rappers, are you likely to do some rap music?Maybe in our old age after making our money. What we are based on now is singing and making hit tracks that can move the world, fetch us money, shows and endorsements.So, for now, rap is sleeping?Yes, for now rap is sleeping. It is not that rap is bad or that it does not sell in our country but I don't think the kind of rap we do would sell. I believe singing is what we can do better.How did you guys find out that singing is what you can do better?Because of Happy Day, our first single. It was strictly singing with a little rap of eight lines.Why do you think Happy Day did not really sell?It is not that it did not sell but it did not fetch us shows, money. It did not fetch us enough fame but look at Yori Yori just within two months it blew up everywhere.What challenge have you been facing in this career?It has not been very easy especially in the aspect of our education. It is very difficult to combine music and education. For example, you might have an exam to write in Nsukka and a show to attend at Abuja. It is quite tasking and challenging because you cannot be in those two places at the same time. But we still cope well.So aside education, you don't have any challenges again?Smash: I don't think so. Other challenges like getting a sponsor, we sure passed through that when we were starting. But by God's grace, we have passed that stage now. We are very thankful to our sponsor, A-Planet, today he is happy for what he helped us for.So there are no challenges coming from the female fans?For female fans, that one is certain but being the king of people we are, we are in control. We control ourselves when it comes to that side. They are not really a problem because we have back up and that back up is God.What would you say about the kind of music we have these days?Vast: I can give it 70 percent. We are trying though we have a lot of artistes in Nigeria that are not really there. Generally to entertainment in Nigeria, I will give them 70 percent because we have really grown from what we used to be.What about the morals of our younger generation, do you think the kinds of music we have these days are music that can corrupt kid?I don't think so, because any song or video goes through a censor's board and if they are not really good for public consumption, it will be banned from viewing on TV stations. Nigeria is really trying but the only thing I think they cannot control is piracy.Piracy is uncontrollable. Everyday it grows worse. As days pass by, we see new kind of piracy. Once a marketer gets hold of your work, he bargains with the piracy people a huge amount of money. And that is why it is uncontrollable. If only marketers will stand on their feet and say no to piracy then we have taken one step to fighting it.Is there any form of advice or what you think that should be done to help cub piracy?There is one truth that people hide that as a musician, you have to do a tight song, a song that can touch every nooks and crannies of this country. After that, wait for your endorsements and shows. Don't depend on what marketer will give you. But you must give the album to a marketer at any amount of money. In a way, piracy helps to spread your music to places you never imagine your songs can go but the problem is that someone else reaps the fruit of your sweat.This is a kind of advice to up and coming artiste. If you do a very good music, relax, go to any station that you feel can accept you, drop it there for it to be played, before you know it, people will start asking of you. People will give you endorsements, shows and even sponsors. By the time you do your second album, you can sell it any amount you want. They should not look at the faces of D'Banj, P-Square or 9ice. Just focus on doing a masterpiece as a song that would bring you out and you are already there.If your song is not good, they cannot pirate it because they will loose their money. But if it's good they will push your work to any level and in a way it boosts your profile and recognition.Do you guys miss the third guy in your group?Yes. But we have moved on now.What if he comes back to join the group?He will definitely come back to face his music, but I don't think he will come back to join the group. He will be doing his own thing.
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Genevieve Nnaji has paid her dues as a top-rated actress in Nollywood. She has also delved into music, modelling and fashion. Despite attaining the age 30, the single mother of one says she is not under any pressure to get married. She spoke with Senior Correspondent, Temitope David-Adegboye, on her absence from the screen and the things that have been taken her time.What does hitting 30 feel like?I feel as always. Age is just a number.You've been acting for close to 11 years. What have you gained from your exposure?It has open doors and given me a sense of fulfilment. I'm glad I've been able to do what I have done so far. It has kept me grounded and I must say it's been fun. I'm grateful for it.You started with acting; then, moved to music, and then modelling. Now, another creative part of you is about to be brought to the fore in fashion. How does all these come together? Where do you get your inspiration from, or is it a case of doing what others are doing?No, not at all. I'll say it's always been there. What happens is that I unveil them one at a time. I believe there is time for everything. There is still more I am capable of that you are unaware of, but with time, you'd probably know or you may never know.Acting came first. It's not really my major talent, but it was the first thing that I did. I love music too. Well, the album came, but that's not my stuff. That's not the best I can do. Fashion, I love. I've been designing since I was in primary school. For me, fashion is fun. It's a way of relaxing for me. I enjoy it. And it's more of a hobby than work. I'm taking my time doing it. I'm relaxed doing my own design for my clients and people who have similar taste and mindset with me.About a year ago you collaborated with a well-known designer to launch St. Genevieve clothing line. Now, you and another very famous designer are collaborating and coming up with another thing. What is it all about?It's the same thing. St Genevieve is a brand. The brand is just about my designs and me. Anybody can make my outfits as long as you have the talents for sewing and I believe I've worked with the best so far, and I'm sure I'm going to work with a lot more people. All I'm doing here is selling my creative designs.Yes, I'm coming out with Zizi Cardow now. Apart from the fact that I love her as a person, she is a very creative person. I love her finishing as well, and I must also add that Iconola, whom I worked with last year, also has finishing. I'm glad to be collaborating with Zizi this year and we are moving on.Is that the end of your relationship with Iconola then?For now yes. If anything is to come up in the future, you'll know. Now, I'm with Zizi. It's refreshing to be doing this with Zizi because she is extremely creative. The way she grasps everything is amazing.What inspires your designs?They come to me. I sit and come up with something and then I give it to her to sew. I can't sew a button to save my life.Lets go back to acting, what's responsible for your absence from the screen?I'm still in the industry. I'm just a bit stricter in the selection of scripts. I think everybody needs to grow to that point where they have to make up their mind what they want, especially from their job.What I want is creativity and professionalism. I think that should reflect in the kind of movies I appear in. I'm very selective; I'm now into so many things that a script must be really good for me to take part in it?Are you working on any movie now?I'm not working now. I've been reading some scripts, trying to settle for something. If I don't see any one that I like, then I won't work.When was the last time you did a job?That was April last year. It's called Bursting Lose.What will get you working like before?Creativity. It doesn't have to stress me. It could be a simple story, simple character. Creativity from the person that is writing is key. I like a complete work, something that has a beginning, middle and end. Even if it's been done before, the thing is how differently can you make it your own.One of the major complaints of Nollywood viewers is lack of content and sometimes, unprofessionalism on the part of the artistes. Now that Ghanaians are gradually taking over the industry, what are you and your colleagues doing to improve your movies?I don't think Ghana is moving in. We are the ones inviting them to be a part of what we are doing here. I see actors as contractors. If I'm here and Ghana calls me to come and do a movie, I don't see that as anybody's business. It is the business of the producer and me. And I think actors should have the right to work wherever they choose to, whether Nollywood, Bollywood, Hollywood or whatever wood. It's an open market. We all have one thing in common, and that is acting.Actors from other African countries cornered this year's AMAA. How do you feel about this?It's not about me as a practitioner; we have to be practical here. I haven't seen some of those movies that were awarded, and so I am not in the best position to judge. I don't see anything wrong in bringing in other markets as long as they are within Africa. This is my own take. Being a nominee is already an award. You are already recognised for your good works. When it comes to who takes the cake, I think we have to be professional, honest and truthful and give honour to whom it is due. Bias shouldn't come to play here. I'm not saying it did at AMAA, but that is how it should be treated. I have no qualms with AMAA inviting other peopleWhat about the issue of interference of marketers?I don't know what they are doing. I'm not a marketer or producer. I'm an actor. My own is to be called when the whole production has been put together, but still, I still try to give my honest advice wherever necessary. I also pray that all works well. There is nothing more I can do until I am ready to go behind the scene, which I am not ready to do for now.People believe being a producer is where the money is.I didn't come into this profession for the money in the first place. The money came to me. I'm here for the passion and that is still what drives me. For me, when I'm bored with the passion, maybe I'll move in for the money.Can you name one actor or actress that have the same passion with you?I can't name any now. I don't really know these people.How would you describe a professional?A professional is someone who puts his/her job first. Every other thing is then negotiated. I think if you love your job, it will love you back in some way without you losing a finger.Last year, there were rumours about you collecting money from a Ghanaian movie producer and not going for the job.I don't even want to talk about it because I think just having my name attached to that production has given it enough publicity. So, I will not want to honour it more, by speaking about it again. It's in the past. It's like every other business. There is nothing to resolve. There was no deal or contract. It's like every other script. It's either I like it or not. And if I don't like it, I drop it. Whatever you go to tell the world is your business. The point is if you couldn't get me on your job you are the loser.You are 30, but looks younger. What's the secret?I guess its good genes?Good genes from dad or mum?From both of them.Did your parents support your acting from the outset?Well, I won't say it was immediately. With time, they realised that it was something I really loved and was passionate about. Right now, they are my best fans.Being someone from the Eastern part of the country, it is common knowledge that once you are 30, there will be pressure that you should get married. Has the pressure been mounting up yet?No. My parents have other children to focus on. I'm only one out of eight. For me if marriage comes, fine. It's not a priority. It's never been, but it a good thing every woman wants. So, I'm not shying away from it. But then, I'm going to go in with my head straight. I will go into marriage for the right reasons. Not for money, not for fame, not for name and not to satisfy the world. I don't want any sort of peer pressure getting involved in my settling down, or trying to prove a point that I can settle down. I don't need that. I'm here to please my God and myself, and as long as my parents have no issues with it, I'm fine. When I find the right person, I'm sure I'll settle down.What's that fashion accessory that you can do anything to get?Diamond and handbags.How many handbags do you have?I can't count them.How much is the most expensive one you own?I won't tell you that. But I can tell you the cheapest, which is the one I got from Zara. There are other cheap ones that are unique that I also have. I just love handbags.
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This writer’s meeting with Agomoh Paul, a former junior prophet in the Synagogue Church of All Nation, Lagos had to take place in a secret location because of several alleged attempts by Pastor T.B. Joshua’s to kill him. Paul, who was Joshua’s deputy for several years, was brought out of hiding by a Pentecostal pastor, who has been giving him refuge for several months.Paul was cool and calm when this writer met him. He did not show any sign of a man being hunted. He came for the appointment with his wife who was also a former devotee of Joshua’s Church, looking fulfilled. For years, he says he was part of the alleged torture, rape, hypnotism, murder, deceit and occultism in the church. But now, he says he has found Christ; He’s now a true born again and wants to fully expose Pastor Joshua, to put an end to the “deceit called Synagogue Church of all Nation.” Everything about Pastor Joshua is fake, he tells this writer, with so much venom.This decision must have influenced Paul’s key role in the home video, ‘The Rise of the Nigerian Antichrist’, which has been circulating for a couple of weeks. He was one of the ex-devotees who “exposed Joshua’s atrocities.” Paul wants the police to quickly arrest Joshua to save the lives of thousands of people in bondage in the church. In fact, he has sent a petition to the police, detailing Joshua’s alleged atrocities.“Joshua is involved in alarming and horrific activities that require the intervention of the police. Devotees are hypnotized, canned with horse whip and humiliated. Disciples are not allowed any contact with the outside world – no newspapers, radio or television. I lived with the prophet for more than ten years, rising from the position of a disciple before I was eventually made a prophet. We lived under dehumanising conditions before we are finally confirmed as prophets. We are dehumanised, threatened and incarcerated most of the time. In fact, Joshua is running a concentration camp and not a discipleship quarters.“We lived in fear and agony and afraid to leave because those who escaped were either brought back with mysterious sicknesses or end up with bizarre ailments outside the Synagogue. We were brainwashed to deny our parents and relatives and most of us changed our surnames to Joshua. Joshua has committed so much crime against God and humanity. In the beginning, he taught us how to arrange miracles through brainwashing people to accept what they are not.”Paul says Joshua is also responsible for the death of many HIV/AIDS patients who he allegedly stopped from taking medications, with the promise to heal them without the aid of any medication. “A footballer from Liberia who plays in Scotland once brought a sister who is HIV positive, but was on drugs which made her strong. Once in the Synagogue, she was asked to stop her drugs. Soon, her situation became worse and Joshua sent her back to die in her country. When she got home, she died. One prince came to the Synagogue HIV positive, but he was very strong. When Joshua asked the man to discontinue his drugs, his situation became worse and the man died. There are more than a thousand of such cases that I witnessed. I know if an advert is placed in newspapers, calling for the families of those who died through Joshua's spiritual advice to come forward, it will be amazing the number that will turn up,” Paul alleged.Paul is also worried about the Europeans and other foreigners who flock to Joshua’s church. “We enter their rooms with spare keys, search their bags and get their personal details and problems, while they are on tour of the church. We then pass this information to Joshua, which he uses during services to bemuse them. They think he gets these details about them because of his spiritual power. It’s all lies. We steal the information for him.”This ex-devotee also claimed that Joshua consistently abused women and even minors sexually in the church. “Most of the big girls you see around him today came as virgins. They have all been sexually abused by Joshua. None of these girls has been allowed to marry by Joshua and some of them are in their mid or late thirties.”Paul claimed that Joshua often kill disciples who rebel or try to leave the church. “Death means nothing to Joshua,” he alleged, as he (Joshua) “has the machinery to cover up deaths.” Joshua, Paul claimed, maintains a killer squad which he uses to eliminate enemies. “Apart from people who died mysteriously, there are others beaten to death by the squad on Joshua’s instruction. Even Chris Okotie was lucky to escape Joshua's hit men. When Okotie exposed him, I overheard Joshua complaining to some people. After that occasion, Okotie began to complain that Joshua was after his life. Now that I have finally decided to expose this antichrist who parades himself as a man of God, he has left no stone unturned to eliminate me.”Paul alleges that Joshua's philanthropic strides shown on television are deceptive and deliberately done “to court public goodwill and not necessarily as a humane gesture.” Marriage by disciples was also strictly prohibited by Joshua, so says Paul and “Joshua always ensures he stops any blossoming relationship amongst his disciples.” The ex-devotee alleged that Joshua poisoned one prophet Benson who informed Joshua of his proposed wedding. He said his own attempt to marry a Ghanaian lady and Joshua’s opposition eventually opened his eyes to the atrocities in the church and led to his departure. “After a lot of argument over my plans to marry after I had passed 40 years, Joshua eventually asked me to bring the lady to him. She died mysteriously two weeks after she returned to Ghana.”Another ex-devotee that featured in the “The Rise of the “Nigerian Antichrist,” was one Bisola Johnson, who did the voice over in Joshua’s television programmes. Bisola claimed she joined the church at 14 and that she was also sexually abused by Joshua. She also alleges that Joshua practices occultism and bizarre initiation. “We were made to drink strange water during initiation as disciples,” she claimed. She also accused Joshua of false miracles, deceit and fraud.A website, www.antichrist.com has also been opened by “concerned Christians” to “expose” the purported atrocities of Pastor Joshua. The website is flooded daily with confessions of Joshua’s ex-devotees. Comments and articles of other pastors, criticising Joshua abound on the website. The promoters of the website say they are out to destroy “the antichrist called Joshua.”Pastor Joshua has since responded to the allegations contained in the video and the antichrist website, describing them as false. In fact, he has done a counter-video, tilted’ “Beware of Blasphemers,” which is now being widely circulated free of charge, to douse the tension raised by the “The Rise of the Nigerian Antichrist” video. In it, Joshua accused Paul and Bisola of falsehood purportedly aimed at making money. “Don’t just sit down and come to hasty conclusions. What they have produced and packaged are all falsehood,” the synagogue pastor maintained.Joshua claimed Paul left the church because of his misconduct. “He’s another blasphemer. Paul abused his position by getting involved with one of the female members of the church in Ghana,” claimed Joshua. In Joshua’s video, (from the church’s video archive) Paul was shown in the church, in abject poverty and asking for Joshua’s help. He was also shown in another section, begging for forgiveness and apologising to Joshua after his recall from Ghana. In another section, Paul was shown in Ghana, confessing to Joshua’s healing power and claiming that the Synagogue pastor healed his sister. When confronted, Paul claimed he was hypnotized into doing all these. He also disputed allegations that he was a poor man when he joined the church.Bisola was also shown in a video from the church’s archive, claiming to be a witch and tormented by evil spirits. She desperately asked Joshua for help and deliverance. Bisola was shown confessing to all sorts of atrocities, including setting her husband’s home on fire. In another section, she was seen begging Joshua for forgiveness. “It was after this that she left and started spreading falsehood about the church,” said Joshua. Bisola also claims to have been hypnotized when she was made to confess to being evil at the church.However, Joshua’s video failed to answer many critical question raised by Paul and other former devotees concerning alleged occultism, murder, hypnotism, sexual abuse, torture, slavery and deceit. This is not the first time Joshua will be accused of being an antichrist by his former followers. A few years ago, Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God waged an all out war with him for several weeks over his deeds, calling him a phony man of God and a dupe.Okotie said: “Joshua is involved in satanic manipulation of adherents and has transferred the same evil power to Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, hence the similarities in their ministries and the emergence of a fake healing ministry for both pastors. Joshua is a practitioner of Shamanism.”Okotie continued: “Joshua is involved in Docetic Gnosticism. I have studied the Bible for over 14 years and I know what I am saying. Joshua is not qualified to talk about Jesus Christ and the Bible. The Bible is also very clear when it said that I should have nothing to do with a person like Joshua.“No one knows his (Joshua) past. All the stories he tells are not verifiable. Joshua claimed that his birth was prophesied, and that he quoted from the scriptures at a very tender age before knowing the Bible. The only way that can happen is by spiritual impartation. So, he is claiming equality with Jesus Christ. There is no way we are going to sit back and allow him to carry on. We don’t want what he is doing to this country. He is more dangerous than Abacha was.”Wale Adefarasin, another Pentecostal preacher said during Joshua’s crisis with Okotie: “On TB Joshua, the PFN makes it clear that any member who fraternises with TB Joshua will be suspended until they repent. We do not believe at this point in time that it is a Ministry of God. What we want people to know and find out is that when somebody says he is as Christian, pastor/minister, you ask him when he became born-again. Most people know when they get born again. But T B Joshua said he was converted from his mother’s womb. We know that is not possible.”Bishop Abraham Olaleye, President, Abraham Evangelistic World Outreach, Lagos also added to the controversy when he said: “I have taken time to watch many of Joshua’s TV programmes and came to the conclusion that there is something not clear, something about him is not clear. I kept watching, so that I can be sure before I make my opinion known. Having watched him over the years, I have no doubt, not even an iota of doubt left in me that this man called T.B. Joshua is not a man of God.”“Due to my personal encounter with T.B. Joshua and my involvement with Bayo Ajede (an ex-devotee) I knew without a shred of doubt that the ministry was diabolical but the actual magnitude of the deception far exceeded my thoughts. Joshua has successfully undermined the Nigerian Church,” said Ladi Thompson, another Pentecostal preacher.Clearly, Joshua has his hands full. Devotees are absconding by the day and “exposing” him. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria thinks no genuine Christian should have anything to do with him. He would need more than videos to prove that he’s not an antichrist. He would need to show by his deeds that he’s a true Christian.
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Safe and covertly vicious, university campus pimps in the country have coolly wormed their ways into the social circuits nationwide.Parties hardly click until one or two of them “grace the occasion” with a bevy of pretty girls in their notebooks and on their payrolls.HighflyersAt LASU, a self effacing pimp simply called Ben “freights” and airlifts girls to Abuja.“Whenever there’s a big event, I get an order for 20 – upto 30 girls. So, I package them for the ‘pay masters’ who will, of course pay into my account. The money is for ticket and taxi, and small, small expenses. After the show, the pay master will pay the agreed amount and we fly back”, Ben explained.Mr Fix-itAccording to Ben, a night out for each of his girls attracts N10,000. A weekend in Lagos, the girls grudging charge between N50,000 and N30,000.For Ben, “Mr. fix-it”, for the deal to go through, you must stuff his pocket with N150,000. To prove his class, Ben rides a clean Toyota Camry lives in a tastefully furnished 3-bedroom apartment off campus. Though the dictionary defines a pimp as a man who engages women in prostitution in brothel and on the streets, but in the Nigerian context, women have a large share of the business.At University of Lagos, Akika Star is the toast of most social events in the city of Lagos. Though her real first name is Stella but her alias, Star, twinkles and winkles as brightly as her reputation.For four weeks our reporter traversed some campuses around the country, delving deep into the world of undergraduate sin city barons.WHO IS THIS GIRL ? WATCH VIDEO !For fun or material gains their “pawns” – fellow students blindly fall into their traps and clutches without knowing.A big ‘Gbedu’Most times it begins with an invitation to “a big Gbedu with the correct guys in town”. Linked by a source, pimpmynaija sources posed to ‘Star’ as a potential client and sneaked into her closely guarded world.Known around as “a happening babe”, when a client ‘places an order’, Star quickly sends text messages, connects and recruits the girls she wants for the outing and summons a meeting, and most times adds a few extras to the number of girls ordered.“I have some regular girls I go out with. They are up to 20 but if your demand is more, I can double the number. But I need time”, she said.Star preferred a week or at least four days notice. Hear her: “What I hate is someone rushing me. Imagine coming to me on Friday night for a Saturday night out. That’s too tight. I can only listen to you if I’m not booked”.Fair in complexion and friendly, Amina of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State bears an iconic first name. Like the legendary Queen of Zaria, she says “the girls have a choice to go out and play with whoever they like.“We’re all adults. Anybody can decide who to go out with. Here at Samaru, we don’t force anybody. If I call you and you don’t want to go out, no problem”.Patrons in high placesAt the University of Jos, Bulus holds sway. He forays with his tight network of girls to adjoining states like Bauchi, Kaduna, Gombe, Taraba and Nasarawa.His patrons – “my powerful friends”, as he prefers to call them, are mostly top government functionaries and businessmen.Coming from a humble background, Bulus over the years uses proceeds of his wheeling – dealing in women to pay his way through school.Smiling broadly, he told pimpmynaija sources pimping is not an easy job. “Hmm, to arrange girls on campus no dey easy-o. You have to spend and spend and prove you are capable before any girl will agree to follow you”.Depraved tasteAs pimpmynaija found out, it is a lot easier for pimps to hook up with girls. But the difficult part is in ensuring the girls “behave well” on outings and treat the clients well.“You must also make sure that the men you are giving the girls are good. Some men are wicked.They will use the girls and pay little money, Bulus revealed.Another worrisome part for pimps is that some men have a penchant for kinky stuff. Some have wild depraved tastes.“The men don’t care. These girls they carry are even young enough to be their daughters. A good organizer must make sure the men you give girls to, do not use them rough. If any thing happens to the girls, people will start to ask questions, “Akin of University of Ilorin said.Territorial controlCampus pimps imitate the viciousness of their counterparts in the cults of the ivory tower: they fiercely fight and scramble for girls and clients.As pimpmynaija sources’s investigation reveals, they start vying for girls at the beginning of every academic session.“When Jambites (new students) come, you have to rush after them, target the pretty, classy ones. If you try hard, before the end of the first semester, they will become your friend and play along with you”, Mike, a popular undergraduate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said.Tatoo brandingSome campus pimps brand their girls with tattoo. As a badge of pride and social class, some girls willingly get branded with floral, butterfly or a heart pierced with arrow on their biceps, ankle, tigh, hip or on other private, intimate parts.To ensure loyalty of the girls in their “notebooks”, the pimps keep them under their thumb with “pecks” (gifts) and “red eyes” (threats).“You don’t understand, we invest in those girls. It’s like trading and buying a product. For this, you must not fail to sell for profit”.Ade, Lagos State University (LASU) undergraduate said.Cult ConnectionThe pimpmynaija sources investigation reveals that some campus pimps have links with cult groups ravaging campuses across the country. These boys use the money generated to fund cult activities. It’s really a dangerous trend.When they graduate, they become bigger and menacing”, a lecturer at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, who craves anonymity said.Punishable offenceThe campus pimps are obviously aware of the legal implications of their illicit, exploitative, morally bankrupt business. This explains why they shy away from publicity and scrutiny.A lawyer with Adekunle Ojo and Associates Barrister Godwin Ewa says the nation’s Penal Code (for the north) stipulates 10 years imprisonment without option of fine for any offender.The Criminal Code (for the south) states that first offenders risk two years imprisonment with caning.“Our law book is adequate. Sections 216 – 227 of the criminal code make ample provision against lacuna. The courts are ever ready.But the problem is the ever compromising law enforcement agencies especially the police,” he said.
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A MELODRAMA was played out yesterday as a woman, who claims to be the wife of Gen. Shehu Yar'Adua, the late elder brother of President Umar Musa Yar'adual was arraigned along with one Linda Anyanwu over allegations of fraud and attempt to defraud the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
EFCC docks Yar’Adua’s "wife": Hajiya Asabe Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (right) with Linda Anyanwu (left) charge to court by EFCC for false pretence at Federal High Court, Abuja.
The woman identified as Asabe Willaims alias Asabe Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and Anyanwu pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge of fraud. They were remanded in Suleja Prisons by the trial Judge, Abubakar Talba till June 22, this year when their bail applications would be heard.
Asabe had told the court that she is the wife of the late former number two-man and rejected the alias 'Asabe Shehu Musa Yar'Adua' appellation attached to the charge sheet.
The prosecutor, Aso Larry-Peters had obtained the leave of the court for the charges against the accused persons to be read and for their pleas to be taken.
Counsel to Asabe, Adamu Williams had after the two accused persons had pleaded not guilty to the charges, urged the court to admit his client to bail. "May I respectfully apply for the bail of the 1st accused person, I recognise that this is a court of records and by the rules of the court, bail applications ought to be brought formally.
"It is in recognition of this that we have filed a written application for bail and we are prepared to move the said motion," he added.
But Larry-Peters told the court that "the learned defence counsel is familiar with the rules of the court, he has just served me the motion less than 10 minutes ago and has raised very serious averments that I have to study and respond to. We would be opposing his moving the application."
Ruling on the matter, Talba said the prosecution was entitled to the mandatory 48 hours within which to respond to the issues raised in the motion. He remarked that due to the court's congested programmes for next week, the matter could only be taken on June 22 and therefore adjourned the matter to that date.
The charges against the accused include:
That you, Joy Asabe Williams alias Hajia Asabe Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and Linda Anyanwu on May 13, 2009 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal High Court conspired among yourselves to collect money from the Comptroller-General of Customs under false pretence and thereby committed an Advance Fee Fraud contrary to section 1(3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Act;
That you Linda Anyanwu on May 13, 2009 in Abuja, attempted to collect money from the Comptroller-General of Customs under false pretence, an offence punishable under the EFCC Act.
That you Joy Asabe Williams alias Hajia Asabe Shehu Musa Yar'Adua on between January 1, and May 13, 2009 in Abuja falsely presented yourself as the wife of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, which you know to be false with the intention to collect money from the Comptroller-General of Customs and thereby an offence punishable under section 1(3) of the EFCC Act.
The accused persons were first arrested by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) on May 13 and later transferred to the custody of the EFCC on May 22, 2009.
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THE Hackney Citizen asked the little guy with the big DVD stall in Ridley Road Market for the four best-selling Nollywood films that are keeping Hackney’s Nigerian community glued to their sofas. Patrick Pringle and Josh Loeb review these Lagos epicsONCE you get over the fact that the pregnant woman in the opening scenes of Royal Messengers quite obviously has a lumpy pillow shoved down the front of her dress, the film settles into a plot that would have most right-thinking people shooting steam out of their ears. Royal Messengers is a tale of an ageing prince called Igwe (Leo Mezie) who has 21 daughters but not a single son to take over his kingdom.When the woman with the pillow down her dress shamefully gives birth to another girl, Igwe gives up any hope of having a young prince. But fear not: the local witchdoctor foresees that Igwe has a son that he does not know about, who lives in a slum in Lagos. The mystery son, played by child sensation Chinedu Ikedieze (think Macaulay Culkin, Lagos style) is accompanied by his sidekick played by Osita Iheme. These kids are easily the best actors in this film, possessing comic timing and precocious delivery.De Prof, starring Nkem Owoh and Clem Ohamezie, is an interminable film. Equipped with the somewhat incoherent tagline, “Will one scheme against the other? Maybe the younger one will or vice versa”, De Prof is a tragic Cain and Abel-style drama about two brothers who jealously vie for leadership of their community.De Prof is hampered by atrocious production. At a cost to any reasonable narrative structure early in the film, the cameraman develops an unhealthy obsession with a dwarf who inexplicably appears at various points throughout the film. In addition the same epileptic keyboard loop provides the soundtrack for the entire two hours. Owoh and Ohamzie - both able actors - are lassoed by the most hackneyed of scripts that simply goes nowhere. In spite of the actors’ best efforts, De Prof is a very difficult film to watch.Village Destroyer, starring Kenneth Okonkwo, is easily the pick of the bunch, with the best acting and tightest script. This is another film preoccupied with male fertility problems, only this time, poor Nwabueze seems to be infertile and has become the laughing stock of his village. Then one day his wife gives birth to a baby girl. After initial elation, Nwabueze inexplicably goes mad. At this stage the film slightly falls apart, becoming a confusing mush of screaming women and voodoo ceremonies. It is nevertheless highly entertaining: you don’t really need to understand it to enjoy the emotional uproar. This film is worth watching for the star turns by Okonkwo and Emeka Ani alone.When You Are Mine is a hilarious (though perhaps not intentionally so) take on adultery and disability. Joyce (Queen Nwaokoye) marries Ken, a slimeball who mysteriously bleeds from his forehead and has a bloated mother called ‘Madam’.When buxom maneater Chessy (Patience Ozokwor) arrives in town, ‘Madam’, who lives vicariously through her son, encourages her to seduce him with the immortal words: “A man can be made to commit adultery, even against his will.”There is clearly some sort of reverse Oedipus complex in operation in this film: ‘Madam’ exults in Chessy’s unwanted affection towards Ken and the pregnancy that results. Meanwhile, Joyce is wheelchair-bound after a car accident. Eventually, Ken and Chessy get their comeuppance when they both die on their way to the registry office.
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They are sleek, damn too good-looking and have everything going for them with nice cars, damn-the-devil ‘effects’ complete with posh houses and the fame to get any woman to toe the line they want. They are the Nollywood stars who have glamourised our screens for years and thus have found some wanton way into our hearts.The ordinary drop-dead gorgeous beauties prone to Idol-worship are not only their easy preys, some very talented, self-made actresses or starlets have also melted before their charm. No husband likes them hanging around and the woman in their lives just couldn’t help hating every other woman.Of course, when they date the average girl next door it isn’t always news but when they dip their way into the industry it becomes hot. Though most actresses have walked their ways clean, avoiding relationships with these dashing dudes who have ‘the bang-bang thank you’ as their modus operandi but many have fallen victims when they were the green starlets looking to get a break in the movie Industry.Pat Attah is perhaps the most dangerous of the lot. Tall, dark and handsome, Pat Attah is a ladies’ delight any day. Whatever rave Pat is letting slip through his finger in the movie business he is sure making up as a playboy. The actor who now hangs out, most nights, at Options Nite Club, Ikeja, probably doing more lady-poaching, reportedly had an affair with Empress Njama, Regina Askia, Maureen Solomon, Nkiru Sylvanus, Genevieve Nnaji and lately Lilian Bach.His romance with Regina Askia made the papers in the early 90s. The two stars must have developed the juice during their exploits in the soap opera ‘Mega Fortune’. Around year 2000, he was accused of going out with Genevieve Nnaji.Next to be hooked was Empress Njamma at about year 2004. Others ladies linked with the Nolllywood hunk were Maureen Solomon, Nkiru Sylvanus and Lilian Bach. Rumour-mongers had it that his affair with Lilian Bach would have headed to the altar but all it ever ended was a rumour.Ramsey Noah is another hot dude. So hot the wife has been visiting the divorce lawyer to get cracking on him. Ramsey’s has never pretended about his craving for ‘varieties’ and this much he said during the Nigerian Entertainment Award for Best Actor in New York “ I want to marry up to three hundred wives and have three hundred concubines “and be like King Solomon, that’s my dream”.A close friend of Noah said something that supports Noah’s long time desire to have three hundred concubines.It has been said that Ramsey’s two main passion after acting are women and drinks with women coming tops. Everybody knows of his passion. He has made it public time and time again.Van Vicker is a happily married man but his moves has a ring of a playboy to it. Recently the media was awash of his rather unprofessional involvement with Nadia Buari.May be the duo have been doing it by the moonlight but the world caught up with them at the Five Continent Academic Award in Brooklyn, New York. The Ghanaian Stars came in walking hand in hand in the banquet hall as thousand of fans from various parts of the United States clap in thunderous applause. A close source to the two stars who disclosed the secret love affairs developing between the two stars hinted that Van and Nadia have been “seeing each other for a while”, but he was not too sure whether the beloved movie stars were actually having an affair.A well placed source also hinted that Vicker carries an unusual smiles that is unprecedented of him.Jim Iyke might be all enamoured with heart-throb, Katura Hamilton but his exploits as a playboy is still very fresh in the memory. As he confirmed himself in an interview recently “ ...women have come and gone in my life. There are days I wake up and say to myself that, if I name people I have been with in this country it will be a revelation of sort”.Nobody questions that, at least Olisa Adibua still has some marks to show for fooling around with your woman.Even Chidi Mokeme agreed in an Interview that he is a playboy. “I’m a positive kind of playboy. My idea of what people call a playboy is some guy who is sleek, good looking and got everything going for him with nice cars and good house. Somebody who wears the right clothes, says the right thing without any impure intent in his heart.I want to look good, drive the kind of car that makes me happy. And also make those around me happy”. As saintly as Chidi may wants to look everyone knows he likes well-endowed women.Although Norbert Young has finally closed his chapter with Gloria Anozie and looking like done with back-bashing but his escapade with Uche Jombo seems to be dying very hard in the actress’s mind. Recently, when she was asked about the good-time with the Ibom star she replied “I don’t like talking about my affair with Norbert. He is now married and we greet whenever we see,” she said in a voice filled with emotion.Also unforgettable is the frolicking fling between Kalu Ikeagwu and Alex Okoroji. Whatever happened in that relationship, Alex seems to have fond memories of it. Fred Amata and Ibinabo Fiberesima are also another hot item in the news.
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Like the Top Drama Series on american TV Prison Break ! complete with TBagwellWe will fill you as more reports flow in !Enugu — OVER 150 of the 734 inmates in the awaiting trial section of the Enugu Prisons broke out of jail in the early hours of yesterday, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe, confirmed yesterday.Ogundipe, who flew into Enugu to assess the situation, also said that one of the escapees was unlucky as he, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe plunged headlong to his death, after scaling the high fence.Similarly, he told reporters that three wardens of the prisons were seriously injured and are presently undergoing treatment in an unnamed hospital.Two inmates were said to have been killed in the incident while 36 female prisoners were gang-raped by the fleeing inmates.Inside sources said the Awaiting Trial Members (ATM) were said to have facilitated the jailbreak which spread to other cells in the prisons, leaving about 20 prison wardens seriously injured.Enugu-based oil magnate and Chairman, Nowas Group, Dr. Ignatius Nnubia and his manager, Emma Okoli, who were remanded in the prison for their alleged involvement in the kidnap of Dr. Francis Edemobi, younger brother of the Minister of Information, Dr. Dora Akunyili, narrowly escaped being lynched as some of the jailbreakers reportedly forced their way into their cells to attack them but were protected by about 10 other inmates who volunteered to protect them.However, the Nnubia family raised an alarm yesterday alleging that the criminals may have been sponsored to kill the businessman and his manager.“We believe those people who are desperate to see that Nnubia and his manager, Okoli, do not regain their freedom and sent this group of boys to kill Nnubia and his manager in prison. Otherwise why should their fellow inmates attempt to attack them? If not for the 10 volunteers among the ATM that fought hard to prevent them, it would have been a sad story today,” one of Nnubia’s lawyers said yesterday.//9jabook sources learnt that the ATM inmates in G Ward initiated the jailbreak around 1.30am yesterday when they broke the ceiling of their ward, which later collapsed and from the roof top hundreds of them trooped out attacking the prison wardens. The source said some of the wardens who could not escape were held hostage by the violent inmates who asked them to say their last prayers, as they were going to be killed.From the G Ward, they marched to the main entrance gate which they forced open and provided unhindered access to the fleeing inmates some of whom have spent about three years in the prison, awaiting trial.Hundreds of them were said to have fled even when armed prison guards outside the premises reportedly released several shots into the air to dissuade them.In the process, some of who were not interested in escaping, the source further disclosed, started rioting inside the prison. They moved to the E and M Wards also occupied by ATM and forced the gates open, thus increasing their number as they marched to other wards including Ward D and the Condemned Criminals (CC) Ward.Death row inmates shun jailbreakThey were however disappointed when the ‘officials’ and inmates of Ward D and their 76 colleagues in the CC Ward resisted them, saying they were not ready to engage the government in a battle since they were sure that the fleeing inmates would be apprehended in the long run.//It was further learnt that the riot became violent when some of the inmates resorted to stealing their colleagues’ money and raping the female prisoners. All the 36 female inmates were reportedly gang-raped by till dawn and most of them were seen lying naked in different locations within the prison yard yesterday morning before the authorities rushed them to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.“Only one mentally-deranged female inmate in a separate cell was left untouched”, said the source who described the treatment meted to the female prisoners as “very dehumanising”.An unconfirmed prison source said about 50 ATM inmates were arrested outside the prison yard through the combined effort of the prison guards and policemen from the nearby Central Police Station.During the riot, the office of the Chief Warder was vandalised by the prisoners who removed the green regalia which prisoners wear each time they are to attend court session and set them ablaze, while one of the rooms in the welfare block built with bricks was razed. The roof of the building was seriously damaged.Why inmates broke jail, by Prisons bossComptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons, Olushola Ogundipe, yesterday gave a graphic account of the tragic of the jailbreak to reporters and attributed the ugly development to agitation of prisoners arising from slow judicial processes, saying the 734 awaiting trial inmates, male and female “have been agitated because of slow judicial process”.He expressed delight that the state Chief Judge, Innocent Umezulike, on May 28, visited Nsukka Prisons where he took up some jail cases of inmates rather than waiting for the cases to be treated in court, recalling that on May 26 the CJ accompanied by 12 judges, also performed similar function (jail delivery) at the Enugu Prisons.//He said: “But you know, having over 700 Awating Trial Inmates, it takes a long time and so the Chief Judge promised coming back on the 5th of June this year for another set of jail delivery. You know inmates, everybody wants his case to be heard as soon as possible. And so this agitation was the primary cause of this jailbreak; around midnight, they broke the ceiling, got to the yard; broke down some of the security measures and there was a massive escape of prisoners.”130 escapee recapturedOgundipe said the run-away inmates were not so lucky as the security men on duty were quite alert and were able to get help from the army, police and the Civil Defence, who all teamed up to ensure that “Enugu city is not bombarded with escaped prison inmates.”So far, he said, the squad of security operatives had recaptured 130 escapees while trailing 23 others.“As I am talking to you, about 150 inmates awaiting trial broke their cells and we were able to recapture with the help of the police and other security operatives 130 immediately. And presently, the remaining 20 we are on their trail, we are still bringing them back,” he said.He added: “As I am talking to you, the situation is fully under control. The yard is calm. I have gone round and I have seen those in the hospital; they are being treated. I assure you that everything is under control.”According to him, not even one convicted inmate or any of the condemned ones escaped. “We have 77 inmates on the death row. I must commend them that not a single one of them participated in the jail break,” he explained.On prison reform, he said the authorities of the prisons were concentrating on the inmates.“Presently, part of the report is that you have the Attorney-General of the Federation engaging some lawyers to take up cases of indigent inmates. This has been going on all over the federation,” he said.The prison, Ogundipe said, was inherited from the British Colonial Masters, who commissioned the prison block on February 5, 1926, noting that the prison administration has been putting some new structures to improve on what the colonialists left.“The problem we have is that we are battling with archaic structures. The federal government is trying its best. If you look inside the yard you will see that we are putting up a storey building to replace the old ones,” he said.
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CULTURE is the totality of a way of life of any people. It embraces the mode of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Culture is also exemplified in the form of language, music, dressing, eating habits, shelter, norms, values and the ethos upon which a particular society is built.In Africa and indeed Nigeria, hospitality for strangers, care for the extended family and other members of the community are rich aspects of our culture. However, with increased scientific and technological advancement, culture has been a subject of dynamism. Thus obsolete technologies and archaic ideas are daily being discarded.But a radical departure from the very fabric upon which a society depends and a complete substitution of its culture with aliens culture, has resounding repercussion on the dignity and pride of any people. The people of Nigeria have been deceived to believe that anything African is evil and uncivilised and have come to accept western and to some extent oriental culture as the best standards.Indeed, we have seen how our local languages are being neglected. Some of our children cannot communicate in their mother tongues today and the only language some understand is English.Thus, these types of children are aliens in their own land. Besides, African names, proverbs and music always have an underlying meaning which has a bearing on the life of the people. We are gradually witnessing a decline in African names, music and literature. We have also seen how our decent mode of dressing has been giving way to the culture which recognises public nudity as part of a growing civilisation.Now, we are left to face the problems arising from the kind of music, pictures, films and immoral alien cultures, passed to our youths through the cable networks and internet. This has led to disrespect for elders, upsurge in various crimes such as prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug abuse and trafficking. Thus, the nation is caught up in the web of cultural imperialism of the West.In order to free ourselves therefore, some measures have to be adopted. First, the government should introduce the teaching of history and culture and make same compulsory at least up to secondary school level. This will make our youths to understand our glorious past and the need to preserve it. Such countries like the United States have similar programmes for all her citizens.Secondly, there should be a deliberate policy like that of the Indians to promote the positive aspects of our culture – language, mode of dressing, music, works of arts, hospitality and high moral standards both in our schools, institutions of higher learning and every other segment of the society.Thirdly, the Ministry of Culture, National Orientation and Tourism and the media should adopt collaborative approach to educate the Nigerian people on the need to preserve our cultural identity. Our re-branding and nationalism begins from our national identity-namely culture.Comment
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not necessarily in this order
1.Nuhu Ribadu
2.Pat Utomi
3.Governor fashola
4.Fola Adeola former MD GTB
5.Buhari
6.Buba Marwa
7.Donald Duke
8.Dangote if he can stop loving money
9.Nasir El rufai
10. Dr Akin Osunlaja
read more here
http://www.9jabook.com/profiles/blogs/the-search-for-our-own-obama-1
It is difficult to meet Mallam Nuhu Ribadu without having some sort of liking for him. I saw the embattled pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the first time at a 'state of the nation' symposium organised by the Nigerian Liberty Forum at the Metropolitan University, London, on May 29, 2009. A man whose slender frame and boyish looks often mask his lion heart and iron resolve, Mallam Ribadu easily stole the show at the gathering. He was literally mobbed as he entered the hall, and as he stood to speak, almost everyone, as if by some sort of invisible instigation, stood up in respect, and remained standing for a long time.
I was never a fan of Nuhu Ribadu's methods as the EFCC chairman. I still hold the EFCC under his watch partly responsible for the joke that was the 2007 elections. I had written about his recent travails as a comeuppance for his misdeeds as chairman of the financial crimes buster. I had strongly disagreed with arguments that he meant well despite his obvious excesses, noting that even the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Ribadu spoke on Nigerian unity, making what some people would regard as a populist appeal for Nigerians to overcome their differences and come together to reclaim the Nigerian state from the grips of a corrupt and visionless elite. He argued that there was really no substantial difference in the needs and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic and other primordial differences, because "all they ask for are the basic necessities of life." For Ribadu, the Nigerian elites like to harp on the differences among Nigerians because it is in their interest to do so, to "keep us divided". He called himself a simple Fulani man, whose role model had always been Gani Fawehinmi, a man he said he would name Abuja after, if he had his way. He rhetorically asked, to thunderous applause, whether we are being fair to the likes of Wole Soyinka and Anthony Enahoro, who had given over 50 years of their lives to the struggle to make Nigeria better, but are still forced to remain in active service. in their old age, because the problems of the country appear to remain intractable.
I respected Mallam Ribadu for not using the forum to get back at the Nigerian government, his current traducers. He wisely focused on positive messages, admitting that mistakes were made when he was boss of the EFCC. There was something about the way he spoke that touched most people in the audience, including those of us who are his ardent critics. It was easy to believe that he spoke from his heart rather than from his head.
As Ribadu spoke, I noticed that a Nigerian lady sitting next to me was struggling to hold back her tears. "This is a very honest man, a very rare Nigerian," she muttered, more to herself. I tried to engage her in a discussion. I agreed that Nuhu was obviously an honest man, who meant well and had a lot of passion for the job he did as EFCC chairman. I however disagreed that his good intentions were enough excuses for some of his unacceptable methods. Her facial expression changed as if I had uttered a heresy.
"Whether any one likes it or not, he will be our next president," she muttered and moved farther away from me as if to clearly indicate that she did not want to pursue that discussion any further.
Nuhu Ribadu for president? Though not his supporter, I have always believed firmly that in Nigeria's game of musical chairs, his rehabilitation would be only a matter of time, and his traducers would inevitably one day take their own turn of being painted as villains. This is one of the iron laws of our politics: there are no permanent messiahs or permanent villains. Just think of Abacha, the poster boy of Nigerian dictatorship and corruption, and the efforts made not long ago by a section of the country to rehabilitate him.
In the Tube (underground train) on my way home from the symposium, I found myself standing next to three gentlemen who had apparently also attended the event. The discussion was again on Nuhu Ribadu.
"He is very inspirational. He is our Obama," one of the three men, who looked Caucasian to me, declared. I decided to barge into the discussion but resisted the temptation to ask the gentleman if he was indeed Nigerian. I asked whether the genius of Obama was because he was inspirational or because he was post-racial, and a reconciler, with wisdom and a good organisational sense.
"Nigeria needs an enlightened leader who can inspire confidence in Nigerians, whom Nigerians will be proud of, and who genuinely wants to transform the country," he declared.
I agreed that Ribadu inspires confidence and will make a genuine effort to transform Nigeria if he becomes president of the country, but again expressed concerns about his democratic credentials. I reminded them that when he was boss of the EFCC he virtually kidnapped or forced some House of Assembly members in Plateau State to impeach their governor. I also reminded the three gentle men that during the 2007 elections Ribadu appeared to sit in his office and decide which people to disqualify from running for office before finding evidence against them.
"I don't think you will vote for him, will you? Your question to the founder of Sahara Reporters [the online blog] gave you away," the bulkiest of the three, with obvious Nigerian features, said, with a smile of superior wisdom. I had asked Omoyele Sowore if he ever saw anything good in the Nigerian government. I also accused him of appearing to romanticise the Niger Delta militants, and of failing to distinguish between the cause they espouse (which most Nigerians support) and their methods (which many find abhorrent).
"Look brother," began the third man, "we Nigerians made Obama President of the United States. More than 25 percent of the people who organised and knocked on doors for Obama are Nigerians. Nuhu is not perfect. But do you think any of the people currently being touted as presidential candidates in Nigeria will be better than Nuhu?" He had a slight Igbo accent.
I agreed with him that if Nuhu ever became Nigeria's president, it would never be business as usual and that he would be prepared to give his life to make a difference. I however once again reiterated my concern about his antecedents, including a tendency to be carried away by emotions.
As we disembarked and went our different ways, what became obvious to me was that Nigerians had not heard the last of Nuhu Ribadu.
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Goodluck Jonathan Vice president made a quote in this article : “ If we cannot correct the rot at the lowest level, then it would be cumbersome to do same at the top” wonders will never cease ! now blaming the people !
We do not want Sanni Abachas picture to scare our readers that is why it is not here.
1.who killed Dele Giwa ?
2.How did MKO Abiola Die ?
3.Shell,CIA Ken Saro Wiwa the real truth .
and many more ! What
editorial edited and recut from Thisday
Former US Secretary State and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff of the American Armed Forces, General Colin Powell (rtd), has revealed that on the night the late General Sani Abacha was to overthrow the Interim National Government (ING), headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, he was informed at 2 a.m.
Powel said he had protested against the decision, but was ignored by the late head of state.
but he did nothing as they allowed 9geria to slide back into Military Rule again.What kind of Strategic Partners are these americans.They folded their hands in Rwanda during the tutsi slaughter .powell a known admirer of the yahooze song by olu Maintain seems to be getting more and more ingrained within 9gerian politics since his retirement.close Sources say he is involved in a CIA plot to embed Top ranking former serving americans to a final solution of the 9gerian problem.
The USA has had great interest in 9geria since Communist China planted tenterhooks within the countrys resources.China is secretly buying up half of Africa and America is not having that.
Powell, who had supervised American involvement in 28 conflicts around the world including the Panama intervention, and Persian Gulf Operation Desert Storm, also noted that 9gerians do not trust their leaders.
He said many do not consider the current 9geria democracy as that of the people.
Powell made these remarks in his speech during the breakfast meeting organised by Tell Communications Limited (publishers of Tell Magazine) to mark 9geria’s 10 years of unbroken democracy (May 1999 – May 2009).
“I have watched as someone who sees and believes in the great potential of 9geria as an economic power and a political leader in the region and the world- as someone who wants to see that potential realised,” said Powell.
“Yes, I have seen the turmoil”, he added. “Shortly after I retired from the Army in 1993, I began getting letters from Sani Abacha, telling me of the problems in 9geria,” he told the audience.
“His letters were disturbing, and foreboding,” he added.
He continued: “Then, late one night, around 2 a.m, I got a phone call from him at my home that the situation, in his view had become so bad that he had to act.
Said he: “I pleaded with him not to, that America and the world would not understand and would react badly. He did not listen, and you know the rest of that story.”
Powell said in 1999 he was part of the election monitoring team in 9geria and had a profound experience.
He regretted that by all independent accounts he had seen the irregularities and corruption seen in subsequent elections is deeply troubling, adding that there is a real danger, that the will of the people is not being determined, but instead is being manipulated and pushed aside in the quest for power.
Vice-President Dr Goodluck Jonathan who also spoke at the event where he represented President Umar Yar’Adua said the government was committed towards ensuring that the votes of 9gerians count in all future elections.
Jonathan stated that part of what the nation was celebrating was the successful transition of one civilian government to another.
According to him: “ This is the first time the nation’s parliament has been in place for 10 years although the judiciary and executive existed throughout the period of military rule.”
He further observed that 9gerian politicians had a tendency of challenging results of elections whenever they lost, noting that there was need for stability if the nation’s democracy would grow. The Vice-President enjoined the mass media to be more balanced in its reporting of political events in the country.
Said he : “ It is not in all cases that the ruling party is on the wrong side during political developments in the country” .
He cited the fraudulent manner in which state independent electoral commissions conduct local government polls in different states of the country where parties in power always swept the polls. He however regretted that the trend never attracted the attention of the media which only preferred bashing the Independent Electoral Commission ( INEC).
Said he: “ If we cannot correct the rot at the lowest level, then it would be cumbersome to do same at the top” . i magine ! the cheek of the VP Are they trying to absolve themselves of their wrongs ?
This is shifting of blame at the highest level .So so rotten !
Also, speaking at the event was Justice George Oguntade, a Judge of the Supreme Court of 9geria, who described the existence of the current 36 states structure as a drain pipe to the economy, and advocated that some states be merged.
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WHEN Koko Mansion, a television reality show being facilitated by HiTV Nigeria, finally begins, viewers in faraway France and Nigeria’s next door neighbour, Ghana, as well as other African countries, will have the opportunity of seeing the show being labelled as the ‘biggest reality show in Africa live.
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This is going to be made possible because HiTV, the wholly Nigerian pay-television company, is among other African channels currently on the French IPTV operator Free, which has introduced a new range of African channels on its platform.
Being the first group brought together in the African Premium bouquet, it was developed in cooperation with Thema and comprises nine public and commercial channels from a variety of African nations –two from Senegal ( RTS and 2STV), three from Cameroun, (CRTV, STV2 and Canal 2), the national public channel of Côte d’Ivoire (RTI), the public channel of Mali (ORTM), the public channel of Congo (Tele Congo) and the pan-African channel, Africable. HiTV is available on Free as a la carte service.
Free’s basic TV subscribers can in addition receive the pan-African news and information channel, Voxafrica.
Also, in Ghana, a deal has been signed between HiTV and Skyy Media for the distribution of HiTV’s flagship channels, Hi-Nolly and Nigezie on its platform. Its founder and chief executive director, Mr. Toyin Subair, in a statement said, HiTV is pleased about this development “especially in the light of its new TV reality show featuring D’Banj, and tagged Koko Mansion, being supported by Nigerian Breweries Plc, Jagal Group, a programme that is billed to come up soon on our platform. The implication of this is that viewers in Africa and Europe will get to see Koko Mansion live as events unfold in the quest of searching for the ideal Kokolette (woman). We are happy that in just two years, HiTV is moving ahead on a difficult turf such as the pay-television’s.”
Subair said the arrival of Hi Nolly and Nigezie in France and Ghana shows that HiTV is leading the pack in showcasing Nigeria’s culture in the area of movie and music. “It is time to take Nigeria’s culture to the outside world, we want the world to know more about us in this period that we are rebranding as a nation. So, what HiTV is doing is complementing the federal government’s efforts aimed at rebranding our nation.”
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An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris hit strong turbulence and lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, had 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday).
About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
Naija Idol Naija has Got Talent !The 9th Factor !
The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). An automatic message was received at 0214 GMT (10:14 p.m. EDT Sunday) "signaling electrical circuit malfunction."
The plane disappeared about 190 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian air force spokesman said. The air force began a search began Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with air force policy.
The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.
Air France said the 216 passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men. It says the plane entered service in 2005 and last underwent maintenance April 16.
A police official on Fernando de Noronha said the weather was clear last night into this morning.
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Fashola invites Nigerians abroad homeGov. Babatunde Fashola last Friday in Lagos said it was time for Nigerians in the Diaspora to return home and contribute their quota to national development.advertisementFashola made the plea at a news conference in commemoration of his second year in office.``We are creating a new set of international refugees with their continued stay abroad under the erroneous thinking that things do not work here at home,’’ he said.The governor urged them to return home and join in creating a new order.He observed that many parents who toiled to send their children abroad were now anxious to have them back, saying that things had started picking up in the country.He appealed to the Federal Government to take urgent steps to improve the nation’s electricity supply situation so as to attract foreign investors as well as to revive ailing industries.The governor said that the state government was generating 277 megawatts from its Independent Power Project, being contributed to the national grid.He said that the urban renewal challenges in Obalende area of Lagos would soon be addressed.``What happened at Oshodi will be replicated in Obalende which has become another sad story of urban decay in Lagos,’’ he said.The governor said that other identified challenges in Ijora-Badiya, Bariga and Shomolu would similarly be addressed.Fashola also appealed to the Federal Government to accord Lagos a special status.``If Lagos is hosting the nation’s major air and sea ports, many industries and the banks, it should certainly be accorded a special status,’’ he said.
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A weak currency and a steady decline in foreign reserves are hitting international students from Nigeria. Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to remit money to their children studying abroad, some students are considering continuing their studies at home, and many parents are shelving plans to send their offspring to foreign universities. But universities in Nigeria will be hard-pressed to accommodate those who do return.
Commercial banks have received fewer applications from parents to process tuition fees for students abroad. An official at the Central Bank of Nigeria who did not wish to be named, said that last year more fee applications had been processed by the central bank on behalf of commercial banks.
For the past eight months there has been a close correlation between the drop in the number of tuition fee applications for Nigerian students abroad and the weak local currency - the Naira - along with a gradual decline in the country's foreign currency holdings.
Nkiru Okechukwu, an international economics expert, said the central bank had to prudently manage foreign reserves in its possession. "There are competing demands for these scare resources. Industries must import machines and raw materials. Refined petroleum products must be imported," Okechukwu said. Paying the tuition fees of students abroad was a relatively low priority.
The value of the Naira has declined because of lower international demand for crude oil, Nigeria's economic mainstay, Okechukwu explained. A year ago the country exported about two million barrels of crude oil a day and the barrel was selling for around US$147.
At that time Nigerian's foreign reserve was $67 billion. The story is different today: outgoing central bank governor, Chuwukuma Soludo, recently admitted that foreign reserves had dwindled from $48 billion to $ 45 billion in the last two months.
These factors, along with job insecurity, have made remitting money for students abroad more and more difficult. Traditionally, Nigerian middle class parents have sent their children to study abroad and those who could afford it preferred to send them to Britain, North America or other Commonwealth countries. This is no longer the case.
Apart from the weak local currency and shortfall in foreign reserves, closure of factories and businesses have led to retrenchment of managers - members of the middle class - as well as ordinary workers. Many parents who dreamed of sending their children to study overseas have changed their minds.
Bayo Akin, an engineer in a manufacturing company in Lagos, said he simply could not afford to send his children abroad - and was not even sure he would keep his job. "The company I work for has informed my colleagues and myself that our parent company may fold because of the current international financial and economic crisis. Consumers are not buying our products," Akin said.
Even a special scheme to assist Nigerian students in the UK is faltering. A Nigerian financial institution, Bank PHB, established a loan scheme to assist Nigerian students in Britain, called the UK Education Scheme.
The scheme takes care of fees, accommodation and living costs for the duration of the beneficiary's course. But to benefit from the scheme, each student must open what the bank calls an education account with an initial deposit of about 50% of the fees stipulated by student's chosen university.
Nduneche Ezurike, an official at the bank, said: "It is a product targeted at a particular market as a solution to a particular need." The problem is that the market is no longer there.
A bank official, who did not want to be named, said the scheme had not attracted enough customers. "When we conceived of the loan scheme, some few years ago, we targeted professionals whose earning power was a source of envy. We felt that these professionals, who were in favour of a British university education, could afford to send their kids to UK. Then came the recession. And our potential customers fizzled out."
A source close to the National University Commission revealed that an (undisclosed) number of Nigerian students in the UK had been making frantic enquiries whether they could apply for inter-university transfer to Nigerian universities so they could continue their studies at home.
Two main categories of students were involved, the source said: students whose parents had lost their jobs and wanted to relocate with their families back in Nigeria, and parents who were no longer able to remit money to children abroad because they had been retrenched or because of the depreciation of the Naira.
Like camels marooned in a desert and squabbling for water at an oasis, returning students will have to compete hard with other Nigerians for limited spaces in Nigerian universities. A few weeks ago, some 1.5 million Nigerians sat for common entrance tests into 95 universities whose carrying capacity, according to the NUC, is about 170,000 students.
The battle for admission into the next academic session promises to be stiff for returning and home-based candidates.
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Yar’Adua supporters attack Barack Obama for planned meeting coup plotters in Ghana
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said the United States government and its embassy in 9geria of conspiracy and plotting with opposition groups to destabilise the country.
Specifically, the party said that part of the plot is for the US Embassy to organise a meeting between the pro-democracy groups in 9geria and President Barack Obama in Ghana, where the groups would seek to persuade the US President that the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua is “illegitimate“.
President Obama is expected in Ghana on July 11.
The statement also said the masterminds of the “conspiracy and plot” include a “failed” presidential candidate, two former Speakers, a former Senate President and “a sprinkling of political hangers-on”.
In a statement signed by the Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Bello Harilu Mohammed, the party said: “Incontrovertible information available to us also revealed that after their meeting in Kaduna, they approached the American Embassy to facilitate their plans to meet with President Obama in Ghana but they were advised to include civil society organisations in their proposed diabolical delegation as a way of portraying themselves as credible elder statesmen.”
PDP also said the aim of the visit to see Obama is to disrupt the existing trade relations between the United States and 9geria, thereby worsening the already precarious state of the economy in the face of dwindling oil revenue and the global financial meltdown.
PDP urged the US “not to, by any acts of omission or commission, promote the evil plans of these unpatriotic politicians against a democratically elected government :D as such would raise questions about its respect for the sovereignty of other countries and the international doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations.”
The party said President Obama knows that due process and the rule of law are cardinal tenets of democracy and acceptable political behaviour anywhere in the world.
“President Obama is a product of an electoral process that evolved over time just as our President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has kick-started enduring electoral reforms in 9geria, a process which his Administration is fully committed to fulfil (fulifilling) in the shortest possible time. The advent of the Obama era is therefore a necessary tonic to our on-going electoral reforms and the development of strong democracies in 9geria, Africa and other developing countries,” PDP said.
The party also said the attempt by 9geria’s political leaders to cause “incalculable damage” to the 9gerian economy and its peace-loving people at this critical time is “a disservice” to a country from which most of them who have held one political office or another in the immediate past and have immensely benefited.
“It is indeed shameful that these dishonourable politicians did not realise that the advice given to them by the American Embassy to include civil society organisations in their team was actually exposing their irrelevance to the political process as such views are only worthy of consideration if expressed through a respectable forum as a civil society organisation,” the statement stated.
PDP described as disturbing that “the American Embassy in 9geria has chosen to lend itself to such a high-level political conspiracy against the Government and people of 9geria while at the same time enjoying the hospitality of its host.
“This, to us, is hair-raising and we urge the relevant authorities in the United States to commence investigations although we are mindful that the Embassy may have been misguided by the calibre of the people involved in this plot. But we hasten to note that we do not expect the Embassy to be involved willy-nilly in such an organised conspiracy against the political and economic well-being of the 9gerian nation.”
PDP also appealed to organisers of the meeting with President Obama to shun acts capable of undermining the nation’s democracy which could endanger the collective destiny of 9gerians.
According to the statement, “this time in our history calls for total dedication to the growth and development of our nation. All divisive tendencies should be discouraged. Promoters of chaos and violence should be taken from our midst and handed over to security agencies. This is the only way to go.”
PDP called on security agencies in the country to wade in immediately and commence necessary investigation into the matter and several others “which we have exposed in the past”.
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A policeman in uniform and wielding an AK47 rifle was caught in the web of ’sakawa’ last Wednesday, when he and two civilians were arrested for allegedly defrauding a Namibian of $7,900.The policeman and his civilian accomplices were in the process of collecting another $29,000 from the victim to be used to pay taxes on a so-called $30-million facility which they claimed he could access after the payment of the “taxes”, when the police arrested them.The three suspects managed to lure their victim to Ghana with the intention of defrauding him in a ’sakawa’ scam that has become notorious in the country.The victim possessed documents, including letterheads bearing the Ghana Coat of Arms, indicating correspondence between him and the suspects through the Internet.After the victim had arrived in the country, the suspects collected his passport from him but he declined a hotel accommodation offered by his hosts and arranged for an alternative accommodation.Later at a meeting with the Namibian, the suspects succeeded in collecting $7,900 from him as part of the tax obligation needed to redeem the $30-million facility.Subsequently, they attempted to relocate the victim to another hotel, while trying to collect another $29,000 from him, but he became worried when they refused to give his passport back to him.The Namibian then discussed the issue with the hotel manager who, smelling something fraudulent, asked the victim to feign interest, while they contacted the police.Following the discussion with the hotel manager the Namibian informed his hosts that he needed his passport to enable him to check out of the hotel.So on Wednesday, while the suspects had gone to the hotel to evacuate their guest, police officers in plain clothes swooped on them and effected their arrest.At the time of their arrest, the policeman involved was waiting in a vehicle they had brought to convey the victim and according to sources, there was a struggle between the plain clothed policemen and the police suspect as he attempted to resist arrest.Sources at the Criminal Investigation Department of the police have confirmed the arrest of the three suspects but would not give further details, particularly their identities.
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She may not have made it to the semi-finals of the 2009 National Spelling Bee at the Grand Hyatt Washington, but with a total score of nineteen (19) points, Ghana’s Nana Adjoa Baiden-Amissah was among the best performers on the night of the preliminary rounds.13-year old Kavya Shivashankar, sponsored by ‘The Olathe News’ and from the California Trail Junior High School emerged the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion, spelling the championship word ‘laodicean’ which means "lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics."The spelling competition began Tuesday with 293 competitors who qualified to compete in the Bee by winning locally sponsored bees in their home communities and countries. The 2009 competition marked the largest field of competitors in the history of the event.After an initial round one of computer based spelling tests, the two hundred and ninety-three (293) spellers from across the world gathered for two rounds of spelling on stage. 13 year old 8th grader, Nana Adjoa from the Crown Prince Academy in Accra correctly spelt both words.With the cut-off point for the semi-finals fixed at a minimum 28 points and only fifty (50) spellers targeted, Nana Adjoa and two hundred and forty-nine (249) others were eliminated.“Well, I did very well... with my six maximum points from main preliminary round I could easily have made it if my score from the round one test was higher” Nana Adjoa said with a shy smile, adding very quickly “I don’t have any reason to be disappointed. I spelt both words correctly and not everybody did on the day... and oh they couldn’t even get the fifty (50) people for the semi-finals.”While organisers were expecting fifty (50) semi-finalists, only forty-two (42) made the qualifying pass mark, and according to the Country Manager of Spelling Bee Ghana, Eugenia Appiah, Nana Adjoa’s performance was a good one and an improvement on their representative of last year.Ghana is the only African country represented at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, making its second consecutive appearance at the finals. The country made history in 2008 when Maria Isabel Kubabom joined others spellers for a fun-filled one week.Nana Adjoa who was coached by Evangeline Bortey, an English Teacher from the SOS Herman Gmeiner School, was the toast of many spellers and parents here, mainly because she was holding high the flag of Africa and also because of her dressing and bags which were all adorned with the colours of the Ghanaian flag.Though disappointed she did not make it to the semis, Nana, who represented the dailyEXPRESS Newspaper in Accra, was excited about the opportunity the participation offered- the fun, the joy of meeting other children to share experiences, learning many more new words and the fact that she scored 19 points far ahead of over a hundred other spellers.Finishing second in this year's competition was Tim Ruiter, a 12-year-old seventh grader representing Times Community Newspapers of Reston, Va. 13-year old Aishwarya Pastapur, representing the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois was third.Cash prizes for competitors ranged from $100 to the National Champion’s $30,000 in addition to an engraved loving cup; a $5,000 scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation; a $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond and complete reference library from Merriam-Webster; and reference materials valued at more than $2,800 and the Britannica Test Prep Precocious Package valued at $799 from Encyclopaedia Britannica.All the finalists received the 51-volume "Britannica Discover America" and the 2008 "Encyclopaedia Britannica Student Edition" DVD-ROM.All spellers receive a commemorative watch; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, which consists of a $100 EE U.S. Savings bond; and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, on CD-ROM from Merriam-Webster.About the Scripps National Spelling BeeThe Scripps National Spelling Bee is America’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and 287 local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; also, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, and South Korea. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives.The local newspaper sponsor of the Spelling Bee in Ghana is the dailyEXPRESS, Ghana’s first and only FREE newspaper and the competition managed by Essence Communications.The 2009 Spelling Bee Ghana Competition headline sponsored by Indomie Instant Noodles and supported by Cowbell. The media partners for the competition were JoyFM, Junior Graphic, Radio Universe and Tv3.
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By Richard Akinjide
I will score the Yar'Adua administration with a pass. I will not say it has done extra-ordinarily well, nor would I say it has failed.
He has just done half of his first term, halving regards to what he met on the ground you cannot say he has not tried his best. The President has started to make some efforts. The electoral reform by the panel chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, has produced a very important document. What is left is for the Federal Government to implement. I will therefore waste no time in urging President Yar'Adua to commence its immediate implementation without any further delay.
The report is no doubt commendable, but it would have even gone further to make some far reaching recommendations. For instance he recommended that election petition should be completed within six months, before swearing-in, I would have recommended that it should be completed within three months. We did that when we were in government, why can't they do that now. If there is need to amend the Electoral Act, why not. There is no justification for this in-ordinate delay of election petition. You would recall that election petition was not concluded until the eve of former President Olusegun Obasanjpo'' departure from office. I am talking about Alhaji M. D. Ysusuf's presidential election petition. This is un-acceptable we should find a way out. The United States has 50 states, yet all their elections are concluded before winners are sworn-in. You would recall the Bush-Al-Gore case over the problem in Florida, it went to the Supreme Court three times, within 33 days and it was resolved before the swearing-in date. So what is the problem here that could not be tackled, if there is the need to reform our judiciary, why not reform it, if there is need to amend the electoral Act, amend it, and make things quicker and simpler and not make a mockery of democracy.
Our judiciary has displayed excellent courage, internationally, our judiciary has repution. Our courts enjoy a very good reputation, abroad, and we should be very careful the way we are running our judiciary down. I accept that even the legal profession needs reform, I accept that the judiciary also needs a lot of reform. My view is that both for the legal profession and the judiciary there should be two powerful commissions of enquiry to look into the legal profession and the judiciary in this country. It over due, all the two are over due. The quality of lawyers, our universities are turning out demands that we reform our legal system including legal education.
The Nigerian Constitution is very unique. We call it a Federal Constitution, but that is a gross abuse of words. What we are operating is a unitary constitution, masquerading as a federal constitution. You see what is critical in any constitution is the way you allocate powers between the centre and the units, not the name you call it. Up till the time the military seized power in 1966, what was operating was a Confederal system. Each region had its own judiciary, its own flag, its own Civil Service, each region also had its own office in London. They could have had their own office in Washington if they wanted. But since the military intervention, we have been operating a unitary system masquerading as a federal constitution. The reason it has been difficult to return to this pre-1966 arrangement is that some people still have the fear that another secessionist could emerge tomorrow.
The dominance of the centre is total and burdensome in legislative powers, financial matters and I don't see any state government or any local government in this country which can operate without financial support from the centre. That is not a federal system of government. I won't give name, but I would advocate that we should reform and get something that is suitable for us, not copying the U.S., France or Germany. The fault lies with the Nigerian elites. Nigerian elites, avoid going into politics, they avoid conducting elections. You could be a university teacher and still be a good councillor in your area, you can go to the National Assembly, could contest for the office of the governor. It is only in a few states that you see responsible people coming out to contest for the office of the government. If you take a census of the governors we have in this country, you would be horrified, if you look at their history and their qualifications. Take a look at the few states that are doing well, you will notice that they have governors with very good qualifications and sound track record.
Niger Delta
We must assume that the Federal Government has the right intelligence report, otherwise, it won't be doing what it is doing. We must be very careful in making comments on matters we don't have adequate information or sufficient facts. We must realise that the Niger Delta harbours the oil and gas in the country, we must also realise that the oil and gas of Niger Delta is of public interest it is no global interest. Although the oil is in Nigeria, all the nations of the world have interest in that oil, that is the nature of oil and gas. No government will accept or condone lawlessness. I am not saying that the people of Niger Delta don't have legitimate complainants or grievances, but you cannot do the right thing in a wrong way or do the right thing in a lawless way. Let them make their complaints, let them express their grievances within the law and I am a lot of people in Nigeria would have sympathy for them that their complaints be remedied. But when you take up arms, if what we see in the television is correct then there is virtually insurrection, these militants are carrying arms, which at times is more sophisticated than that of security agencies, that is a step to anarchy, the government therefore has a duty and responsibility to put an end to that state of affairs. Also it is my view that governors in those states that make up the Niger Delta, would accept the existence of other states within their states, or another counter-force with their jurisdiction competing with the Nigerian Police or the Nigerian Army.
Therefore we have a duty to support the Federal government to make sure that the rule of law prevails and that lawlessness does not succeed. If lawlessness succeeds, it becomes infectious and others too might take that route to achieve their grievances. You know that a minister has been appointed for the Niger Delta. Isn't it sensible to give that minister a chance to operate and find a solution for the problem of the area, in co-operation with the government in that region. Never before was there a minister for the Niger Delta, this is the first time and there is precedence for that. When Lagos was Federal Territory, there was a minister for Lagos Affairs, who incidentally was the father of the present President.
He must have learnt some lessons from his late father in solving the problem of the Niger Delta and appointing a minister for the area. We should at least allow the minister to operate for some years and see how far he could go in solving the problem. When Musa Yar'Adua was the minister of Lagos affairs, the people of Lagos, did not take up arms to start to fight the Federal Government. And because the people of Lagos were law abiding, they got a lot of benefits. It was during that time the Victoria Island was created that Eko bridge was built, it was at that time that South-West, Ikoyi was developed. It was during that time that the Independence Building in Tafawa Balewa Square was built. So lagos made its complainants within the rule of law and Lagos benefited immensely.
At the moment you have about 13 per cent from the Federation Account going into the pocket of the Niger Delta. You also have a lot of money from the oil firms going into the various local and state governments, apart from this 13 per cent. If all these funds are properly used and that is very critical. The people of Niger Delta cannot also claim not to know how the oil and gas money is spent because their sons and daughters are at the upper-most echelon of all firms and government institutions that engage in oil and gas business, including the NNPC and the Ministry of Petroleum.
The issue of what percentage that goes to this region has always been contentions. In your view is the 13 per cent enough? The issue of whether it is well spent is a different one. In my view what has been allocated to them is enormous I know as a fact that the oil companies vote a lot of money from their revenue for the development of the area. The oil firms give money to the local government regularly. I also know as a fact that the oil companies give money to the state government in the oil producing area. All these are apart from the 13 per cent. The question is, how have this enormous money that runs into several billions, been used.
Why couldn't the notion of derivation as it applied in the First Republic not allowed now? This would have solved this problem.
That argument as canvassed is utter nonsense. It has no juridical basis, it has no basis in fact, it has no basis in constitutional law. People are just throwing this emotion, where there should be none. First of all, you talk of derivation and the history of this country. Yes it is true before oil, the doctrine of derivation applied. The cocoa from the West, the rubber from the Delta, the groundnut from north, the palm oil and palm kernel from the various parts of the South, yes it was true doctrine of derivation applied to them. But don't forget that those agricultural products were planted and produced by the people of the various region. The ground nut from the north for instance was not as a result of the investment of the Federal Government, it was from the investment of the people of the north, the farmers same goes for other farm produce, it was the sweat of the farmers and the various marketing boards established by the governments on those regious.
I challenge anybody in Nigeria to tell me that the oil has arisen as a result of the sweat of their people or the investment of their people, it has not. The oil was created there by nature and by God.
Furthermore, what many people don't know is that oil has been discovered in Nigeria, since 1896, don't believe anybody who tells you oil was discovered in 1956, it is not true. In fact that was one of the reasons why the British government revoked the Royal Niger Company Charter.
The moment Britain discovered there was oil, although it hide it from us, it revoked the charter and assume full responsibility for the running of the country, because with oil it was too important to be left in the land of private capital. After the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria, the first ordinance (law) to be enacted by the British Colonialist in Nigeria was the mineral ordinance, which rested all the oil in the central government in Lagos. Never in the history of this country, has the oil and gas being vested in any region or any state.
It has always been the property of the Federal Government. As the British government enacted the mineral ordinance it followed it up by enacting the arbitration ordinance the same year to settle whatever dispute may arise from the oil ordinance. That ordinance of 1914 was not amended until 1958, with that amendment all the mineral in Nigeria were now vested in the Federal government. That has be the basis till today. There is no way you can vest the oil and gas in the state, it is not possible. I know that people are quick to point to the United State, where states control the oil and gas.
The history of the United States is quite different from the evolution of Nigeria. The evolution of the United States is the exact opposite of how Nigeria evolved. Nigeria was a unitary country broken into various units where as the US is made up of autonomous States, starting with the 13 American than later on after driven away Britain in a bloody war, they decided to form the United States of America. Yes people do say that in the US oil belongs to the states, they are right, but what they fail to add, which is very crucial is that, it is in the history and evolution of the United States. It is un-thinkable that the Federal Governmental would rest the oil and gas in any area in either the state or the local government or in the individuals in that area. By so doing, you are asking for anarchy, you are asking for the collapse of the country.
Already, with their oil and gas money by people fighting in the Niger Delta, this money is what is being used now to acquire sophisticated arms and have almost established a Republic, with on the Nigerian Republic.
There is no question of middle way, there is only one way and that is the way of law and order. No self-respected government would tolerate a government within a government or would allow a parallel force, which is what we have now in the Niger Delta.
But former President Olusegun Obasanjo managed the crisis without this resort to outright declaration of war. Why should it take Yar'Adua, a supposedly harmless man to declare war on the people? I don't have access to the intelligence report, you must know that Yar'Adua as the President of Nigeria, has primary responsibility for law and order, also he would have access to intelligence report. I was a former Attorney General of this country and by virtue of that office I was a member of Council of State, also by virtue of that office. I was in the Security Council. From that experience, I am 100 per cent certain that what Yar'Adua is doing now is warranted and is in best interest of all.
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Kola Oyelere, Kano - 29.05.2009NO fewer than 22 people lost their lives in an auto accident which occurred on Kwanar-Kof road, about 62 kilometres from Kano, on Wednesday as a result of burst tyre .The accident occurred a week after the state was thrown into mourning following the death of 22 members of a family in another road accident on Gwarzo road, Kano State.The victims were said to have travelled to visit a sick relation but had the accident on their return journey.An eyewitness said that the accident occurred around 1.00 a.m. as a result of a tyre burst.The source added that the 18-seater bus heading for Kano from Ilorin had 28 passengers on board, including the driver and conductor, out of which 19 people died on the spot while nine survivors, who sustained injuries, were taken to the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, for treatment.It was learnt that three of them later died in the hospital. The driver of the vehicle, who survived the crash, was said to have been taken to his hometown for local medication.
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