Posted by 9jabook.com on December 10, 2009 at 9:10pm
Fashola lights Africa’s tallest Christmas tree today
Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, will today light the tallest Christmas tree in Africa at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu area of Lagos State. The light is part of Coca-Cola’s Christmas marketing campaign.
The colourful tree lighting ceremony, which would attract media executives, would also be attended by dignitaries from both private and public sectors of the economy.
Coca-Cola’s 30-metre high Christmas tree weighs 15 tons. It is mounted on a massive platform 2.5 metres high and 12.5 metres in diametre, which gives the tree an overall height that reaches more than 100 feet into the sky, nearly as tall as a 12- storey building. The splendid landmark stands imposingly on the large grounds of the iconic National Arts Theatre, the nation’s symbol of cultural excellence. The Coca-Cola tree is a refreshing addition to the Lagos skyline and will captivate national and international attention this festive season and after.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 10, 2009 at 4:59am
Facebook or Satan's Playground?
I was talking to some friends at a party a few weeks ago when the hostess took me aside and asked me if I was on Twitter. On Twitter?!! The nerve! I threw my glass of soda in her face and told her I’ve never done drugs in my life. What an accusation!
Later that day, my kids explained that Twitter was a social messaging site on the computer. They said there are similar sites called Facebook and My Space.
The whole thought of someone communicating with others on a computer for social purposes seems ridiculous to me. If it was actually possible, wouldn’t it be awfully nerdy to sit at the computer talking to people you can’t see all day? Maybe shut-ins and hired assassins would have reason to do it, but certainly not teens or members of Generation X! And the claim that you can talk to lots of people simultaneously seems preposterous. Anyone who says you can type a message and hit one button to send it to over five people at a time is an outright liar. I’d stake my reputation on that – or so I thought. In the back of my mind, though, I knew I’d have to do some further investigating.
I began my quest at the nursing home where our family volunteers. Millie, the wisest woman I know, lives there. She was celebrating her 95th birthday when I asked what she knows about social networking sites on the Internet. She told me that all social networking tools and websites are part of a satanic cult! Millie met President Calvin Coolidge in her youth, so I believe her. Millie’s words scared me. I don’t want to be involved with Satan! I don’t know about you guys, but in my family, we don’t even like Satan. In fact, we have a sign painted above the inside of our front door that says, “Live, laugh, love” and then, on the adjacent wall, another painted sign reads, “We hate Satan.”
If Millie is right, our family was in danger. “Why did we buy the kids 13 computers this past Christmas?” I asked myself. But this wasn’t a time for regrets. It was a time for action. I invited my priest, Daniel, to dinner and asked him to bless our computers. He blessed them and doused them with holy water, rendering 11 of them useless and mistakenly electrocuting my son, whose hands were on one computer's plug and an electrical outlet at the time. Roberto was electrocuted only a little bit, but whined and cried like a school girl, despite still having full use of both legs. Both the priest and I told him to act like a man. Anyway, I am getting off track.
I needed to investigate more in order to give you some advice. I advise from direct experience, not just hearsay. For example, when my sons were little, I didn’t just tell them not to cross the street without looking both ways -- I showed them what I meant. Without looking, I ran into the street in front of my house as my neighbors were driving home from work. Although I sustained severe injuries, it was worth it. My kids now had practical knowledge and, more importantly, they learned that they can trust whatever I say. My method is so effective that one son is 17 now and never crosses the street. Another son is 15, and he doesn’t even leave the house. Of course, he’s developed crazy fears about the outside world, but that’s probably due to the influence of public schooling.
Anyway, the next step was for me to actually get on Facebook. I said a prayer and then created an account. I was armed with Bible passages to keep evil influences away. What I discovered will blow your mind. Facebook is an absolute delight! It turns out that Facebook isn’t a cult and Satan isn’t involved. The site is wonderful. I posted a status, and then people wrote back to me. I already have THREE friends, a testament to my immediate popularity.
So I take back what I said earlier. I now fully endorse the site and feel confident that I can speak for President Coolidge in saying that if he were alive and used a computer with an Intel processor, he would endorse Facebook too. So go ahead and create an account, and search for me, Jackie Phillips. I’ve posted a picture of my dog on the account so that you’ll recognize that it’s me. Put in a friend request, and I’ll befriend you, if that is the correct technical term.
As for Twitter and My Space, however, I have NOT tested those sites, so please DO NOT use them until further notice. I cannot assure you that they are Satan-free. My friends, Jill and Carole, have encouraged me to get on Twitter, which makes me distrust the site even more.
You’re probably thoroughly confused now. Twitter . . . Facebook. . . which is ok? Let’s make this as simple as possible. Just remember the acronym FUP, which means Facebook is Undeniably Pleasant. Twitter and My Space, on the other hand, are “Potentially Satanic – Do Not Use” or PSDNU (pronounced “Sudnew” because the P is silent). FUP and PSDNU should help you keep these lessons organized. Have a great day and remember to think outside the blog.
Jackie
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 10, 2009 at 4:36am
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
What a hoot.
I usually begin the actual writing of my sermon by sitting down at the computer and typing in a blank document. Normally, I choose which of the scriptures I feel led to preach from early in the week (usually Monday) and then let it “simmer” for a few days and then sit down on Thursday to put whatever God has put in my heart to writing. I still continue to think about it, mull over it and modify it right up until and even during the process of sharing the message on Sunday morning. Sometimes I put a graphic right next to the title, “Bold, Centered, either Verdana or Times New Roman text, 12 CPI. Sometimes I put the graphic after I’m done with my writing and playing around with the formatting. But, sometimes, (less often) I put the graphic in before I actually start writing. It can help to focus my message.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” I Cor 1:18“The Foolishness of the Gospel” – foolish to those who are perishing, wisdom and power to those who believe it.
I clicked “Insert/Clip Art” right next to the Sermon Title.
The Clip Art Insert box came up on the right side of my computer screen.
I clicked in the “Search For” box I typed in “fool”.
About 5 or 6 different images for fools, jesters, or dunce caps came up. Humm….
I went back to the “Search For” text box and typed in “Wisdom”.
About 30 images came up.
An owl at night,
words on a wall,
a pencil, came up.
Two nurses with masks on,
an owl and a chaldboard came up.
A stack of books with an apple on it came up.
an apple next to a stack a books came up.
A hand with a pencil in it came up.
A girl in a short blue mini skirt waling next a row of red lockers (presumably a high school highway) students at a desk studying came up.
A room that looked to be a library and another stack of books came up.
A teacher in front of a chalk board, a girl in front of a library stack came up.
Another 6 or 7 owl images came up.
Finally two signs, black and white with the head of a man and the head of a woman in each one above a row of buildings (go figure – I have no idea what they were suggesting) came up, followed by another owl.
If I were from another planet (some think that’s not too far a stretch) and I was guessing I would think that at least according to Microsoft wisdom has everything to do with knowledge, birds, books, school, words, and whatever the head of a man and a woman on a sign above a row of buildings means. Wisdom: at least according to Microsoft nothing to do with religion, faith, belief in God, images of faith or any suggestion of anything spiritual.
My, my, my, 2000 years removed from Paul and Corinthians and not much has changed.
In short, church, faith, religion, especially Christianity are foolish and things of the world are wise.
I. Biblical Reference
A word about the context of Corinthians might serve us well.
* The letters to the Corinthians were written about 50 to 60 A.D.
* It was written by Paul, probably from Ephesus.
* It was written to a church that Paul had founded on an earlier trip to Corinth.
I have been to Corinth.
I have stood on the Bema where Paul preached to the Corinthians.
It was a awesome feeling to stand in this ancient city, with all of history, it’s beauty, it’s education and place in world history and think about Paul must have felt in this very spot.
Ancient Corinth.
* Corinth was a large, important metropolis in the ancient world.
* It was a city of great wealth, expansive, rich homes, busy, thriving business districts and great centers of education and learning.
* Corinth was a city made for greatness. It was in a prime location between the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf.
* Corinth was also a wicked city. At the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love there were over 1000 priestesses who were sacred prostitutes.
* It was a wealthy city.
Corinth was a synonym for wealth, luxury, drunkenness, debauchery and filth.
Paul stayed in Corinth longer than other city, with the exception of Ephesus. He preached in the synagogue with great success. He lived in the home of Aquila and Priscilla.
After completing his work in Corinth Paul moved on to Syria.
Both to the cultured Greeks and to the pious Jews, the story that Christianity had to tell was sheer folly. It was ridiculous, foolish, absurd, out of sync with what the cultured wisdom of the day.
The Greeks believed that God was unfeeling. To any thinking Greek the idea of God coming in the form of man was a total impossibility. The Greeks loved and sought wisdom They prized silver tongued and deep resonance speaking.
Paul wanted the cultured, wise, successful, wealthy people of Corinth to understand that no matter what they knew to be true and wise mere human wisdom was bound to fail. It would never be enough. It would never satisfy, it would never answer the deep and lasting longings of the heart.
It looked as if the Christian message had little chance of success with either Greek or Jew in Corinth but as Paul said, “What looks like God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom; what looks like God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
II. Christianity is still seemingly foolish in an age and culture such as our own, in today’s world.How remarkably similar it is for us today. We too live in a world where conventional wisdom is rooted in all sorts of places and ways that scoff at and dismiss the religion of Christ as foolish, irrelevant, and mostly the purview of small minded and slower people.
There are so many ways we resemble Corinthian culture.
We are busy and boisterous culture ourselves.
We are sophisticated culture.
We are a culture that values and pursues education and higher learning, sometimes without thinking or keeping our heart and our soul and our head in balance.
We are a culture that is centered around entertainment, Hollywood movie stars, television sit coms, and media stars.
We are a culture that is increasingly filled with and accepting of moral depravity and wickedness.
Christianity is often portrayed in the media in the jester’s hat and costume.
* that realm belonging to…
* Old people who supposedly are out of touch with cool.
* Children who haven’t acquired critical thinking skills yet.
* Closed minded people who are judgmental and overly opinionated.
* Ignorant people who are know nothings.
* Nice, sweet little old ladies who while kind are out of touch.
* Silly, unsophisticated people who look a little square.
* Poor people who have no alternatives.
All in all, the cross and faith are still seen as foolish in a world that so prizes,
Sophistication,
Cool,
Knowledge,
Science, medicine,
Technology,
Entertainment,
And things of the body and mind that soul is often left out.
It’s not that things of the body and things of the mind aren’t good or that they somehow preclude or exclude things of the soul – it’s that when out of balance and harmony true wisdom is absent.
III. The message of the cross is still foolish in the times in which we live in but it’s still the message of power and life for those who believe in and follow Christ.
The foolishness of the cross tells me that giving and living for others is a better and more satisfying way of life than getting and just living for myself and what’s good for me.
In a week in which Bernard Madoff was sent to jail in handcuffs to the applause of his furious victims. Madoff has become the very symbol of greed amid that played a huge role in the economic meltdown of wall street and our economy. Madoff pulled off a 65 billion dollar meltdown that has cost untold numbers of people to lose their jobs, their homes, their lifetime retirement savings and worse of all their faith in others.
The foolishness of the cross reminds me that when let greed, lie and deception take over our lives we bring devastatin down upon ourselves and everyone else around us.
The foolishness of the cross tells me that in spite of how badly he cheated people and how hurt they are somehow new life is found in forgiveness.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that as important as knowledge and training are they are not the equivalent of wisdom. Wisdom comes above teaches the Bible and I know plenty of highly educated and trained men and women who are devoid of the wisdom I know in some people who never went to college but who have hearts of gold and a wisdom for living that transcends any level of earned degrees.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that knowledge and science without ethic and morality are empty and even harmful.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that the rules and laws of God’s kingdom are much more important and lasting than the rules and laws of man’s kingdom.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that life as we know is not in fact the ultimate sense and being of life and that with faith in God and acceptance of Jesus Christ eternal life in God’s kingdom will far outweigh this world.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that hope and faith and belief in the goodness of mankind far outweighs cynicism and fear and hopelessness which otherwise consumes us in life.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that love, not hate, forgiveness not revenge, healing not hurt are what are most important and what give us life.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that spiritual wealth and well being are more important than material wealth and well being and that the world’s definition of being rich falls far short from God’s definition of being rich.
The foolishness of the cross tells us that life and meaning and purpose and happiness and satisfaction and impact in not defined in the things that are material or of this world but in things that are of God and of his world.
The foolishness of the cross tells me that the things of this world, including all kingdoms of man will eventually fall away and only the things of God’s world will last forever.
Closing…
In Nickle Mines, Pa. a milk truck-driver carrying two guns, a stack of wood and an old grudge entered a one-room Amish schoolhouse, let boys and several adults go, then barricaded himself inside with a dozen young girls before opening fire on them, killing three girls and then himself.
Seven others were taken to hospitals and most of the victims were shot at point-blank range, authorities said.
The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, is not Amish, wasn’t targeting the Amish and apparently chose the school because he was bent on killing young girls as a way of “acting out in revenge for something that happened 20 years ago. Roberts dropped his children off at their school bus stop, then pulled up at the West Nickel Mines Amish School - which had about 25 to 30 students, ages six to 13 - at around 10 a.m.
Roberts brought with him supplies necessary for a lengthy siege, including three guns, a stun gun, two knives, a pile of wood and a bag with 600 rounds of ammunition. He also had a change of clothing, toilet paper, bolts and hardware and rolls of clear tape.
He released about 15 boys, a pregnant woman and three women with infants, Miller said.
He barred the doors with desks, two-by-fours and two-by-sixes and used nails, bolts and flexible plastic ties to help secure them, and then he murdered them.
The ultimate response of the Amish community and parents was to pray for the family of the killer and to move on to forgiveness and new life with all the faith and strength they could muster. Amish Grace and their grasp of the foolishness of the cross transcended the horrible tragedy that befell their community.
There is something inherently paradoxical about the cross and the message of Christianity. There is something absurd about the Gospel.
* To lose your life is to save it.
* Unless a grain of wheat dies, it can not bring life.
* They who are last will be first and they who are first will be last.
To take up the cross is to embrace the power of God. It doesn’t make sense. Never has. It is very foolish – unless you see it from the perspective of faith in Christ. For believers it is the very power that transforms lives.
Shortly after describing the foolishness of the cross in verse 18 of 1 Corinthians, Paul went on to quote the end of Isaiah 29:14.
The Lord God said: Because these people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning shall be hidden.
Amen
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Prostitutes of a Danish sex workers association will offer their services plus no charges to delegates of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, an association official told AFP Saturday. Skip related content
An undated photograph showing a prostitute solliciting a client Enlarge photo
Susanne Moeller said the move was meant to protest an anti-prostitution initiative undertaken by Copenhagen city hall.
The city, host of the December 7-18 UN climate summit, distributed postcards in Copenhagen's hotels that said "Be sustainable: Don't buy sex." It also sent letters to hotel managers inviting them to take measures to avoid prostitutes meeting clients in their establishments.
The prostitutes, whose work is not illegal in Denmark, promptly reacted to the move.
"All delegates who come to Copenhagen for the world climate summit will be able to use the postcards for payment after making a request on our website," Moeller, of the Danish association for the defense of sex workers, said.
"We do not expect many delegates (to make use of the offer), but we want to protest what we consider discrimination," Moeller said, adding the offer was good for the duration of the climate talks.
The Copenhagen summit aims to craft an international climate accord to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
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Dear readers, Carrying his baby months after I left him!
Dear readers,
I am in a very difficult position. One I would find extremely difficult to explain to my former boyfriend. I honestly don’t even know how to explain it to myself let alone any other one, because it is a very strange thing.
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My ex-boyfriend and I went our different ways about five months ago, and since then I haven’t slept with another man on account of the way we separated. I caught him with one of my very good friends. For me, it was the height of it all. Prior to that time, we have had issues concerning his ability to keep his pants zipped up.
Because I have always been told that relationship takes time to form, I kept enduring the situation for four years. But catching him with my friend was more than I could endure. I didn’t give him the chance to explain anything and told him in clear terms that I don’t ever want to see him. Even when some of his friends came to beg and explain that I should give him a chance to explain what really happened, I ignored them all. My parents also tried to speak on his behalf, but backed off when I made my stance very obvious.
I honestly thought I was rid of him until I discovered that I am about five months pregnant. The shock isn’t the pregnancy, but the way my body concealed the knowledge from me. Like I said, we have gone our separate ways and I am carrying his baby inside of me. How do I convince him that the child is his? How do I present the case to him and his family after telling him I am through with him? Will he believe me? Will he ever accept the child as his own? How do I bring a child whose birth would be clothed in controversy into the world? How do I explain the whole matter to my parents or his for that matter? Would he believe I didn’t know about the pregnancy until now? At 32, who would believe I didn’t know I was pregnant till now?
The few friends I told are divided in opinion. While some think abortion is still possible at this stage of the pregnancy, some think I should go ahead and have the baby on my own, since I have a good job without telling the father. Yet others think I owe myself and baby the responsibility of informing the father. And that even if he denies, at least, he would be aware of the existence of the baby.
I am in a very tight corner. Please help me. I love to have a baby, but not in this controversial manner. A doctor I contacted said it was too risky to abort the child at this stage. He also explained that some women don’t experience the usual signs and agrees it is inexplicable. I am so confused because even if he accepts I don’t want to marry him again. There is no way I can marry a man I don’t trust. And I don’t want to be a single mother either.
Iremide.
Dear Iremide,
I don’t subscribe to you aborting the baby whatever the situation. A child is a gift from God and only He has the right to touch a life. He takes and gives as He pleases. It isn’t in your place to do that. The fact that He didn’t allow you the pleasure of experiencing the natural signs a woman notices when she gets pregnant shows that this child is meant to be.
What this means is that this child is very determined to come and any attempt by you to terminate its life could result in your death too. So, be careful. At any rate, have you bothered to consider God’s reason for making all these happen? Naturally, when a woman takes in, her flow is expected to stop even if she is one of those lucky women who don’t experience nausea, spitting and discomfort associated with the early days of pregnancy. That none of these happened shows the benevolent hands of God at work.
Rather than worry at what this man would say, why not begin by thanking God for this special gift? I know and understand all the different shades of feelings you are going through as well as the attendant confusions, but going first to God would help you put things in their proper perspectives.
First, you have to accept the reality of the baby growing inside of you. That is not negotiable. You must have the calmness of mind to accept that no matter what happens between the father and you, this baby has come to stay and for a while may be your sole responsibility.
Once you have the grace to accept the baby as part of you, the attendant strength to face the hostility, condemnation as well as all the other negative attitudes from people around you would come from nowhere. This will help you know what advice to take and those to ignore. For instance, you will learn to shut out from your life those friends asking you to terminate this pregnancy. This is particularly necessary, because you caught your man with one of these so-called friends. Only the spirit of God can tell you the truth at all times.
Those urging you to abort a five months old pregnancy don’t mean well for you. A lot can go wrong even if you entrust your life to the best doctor in the world. What would be your story if you end up having damaged womb? Would say you lost your womb due to fears of raising a child alone? Would any of these friends give you any of their children to call your own? At 32, are you not old enough to be a mother or make your decision? Besides, have you stopped to consider the viability of your biological clock? What about the spiritual angle, the destiny of the individual? What if God reveals to you that child is meant to be your only child in life? Would you still be ashamed to care for it or make excuses for your reason to get rid of it?
If you have never given him cause to suspect you, lied to him, he would believe you. Only a man who doesn’t trust his woman or running away from responsibility would deny a woman he has slept with. Don’t judge or condemn him even before giving him a chance to defend his honour as a man. Yes, he may appear irresponsible to you on account of his behaviour, but when it comes to the issue of knowing that he is about to be a father, don’t deny him his rights. Your body may be incubating the child, but he is the father. Hence he has the right to know because you didn’t make the baby alone.
Even if he doubts the paternity of the baby, modern medicine has made such thing so simple. A DNA could be conducted on the foetus to determine the paternity or on the baby after birth.
Telling him doesn’t mean you have to go back to him if you don’t want to, but it would give both of you the chance to discuss the well being of this child God has graciously given to the two of you.
Overtime, it would also give you two the chance to re-assess your relationship. This child could be God’s way of forcing you to listen to the wise counsel of all those who tried to talk you out of your decision. There is no way you both won’t talk about the past if both of you plan to play prominent roles in the life of this child.
Until you listen to him, you won’t know how your friend ended up in the position you caught both of them. Have you ever tried considering the fact that your friend out of jealousy may have planned everything to ensure you broke up with him?
You will never know the true nature of some of your friends or motive of their friendship unless you hear this man out. Listening doesn’t mean you should forgive him, but knowing what actually transpired that day would go a long way in helping you understand a lot of things happening around you.
Whatever happens between the two of you, the interest of the child should always come first, because at the end of the day that is what would count the most.
Good luck.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 9, 2009 at 6:04am
Govt, others plan database of Nigerians abroad
From Laolu Akande, New York
THE Federal Government's focus on Nigerians living abroad is deepening as plans are being proposed by the National Population Commission (NPC), some Nigerian consulates abroad and the United States Census Bureau to establish an estimate of how many Nigerians are living outside the country.
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This might end the difficulty in arriving at an estimate of Nigerians abroad, especially those in North America and Europe once the scheme is completed.
Nigerian government sources reveal that the NPC after a visit to the U.S., earlier in the year, is now considering collaborating with some embassies and consulates of the Federal Government abroad to commence an official count and database of Nigerians in foreign countries.
Ambassador Ibrahim Auwalu, the Nigerian Consul General in New York, said yesterday that the NPC was indeed interested in working with the consulate on the issue, after the consulate recently launched a new Internet database of Nigerians in the U.S.
The Consul General stated that it was the objective of the consulate to embark on a "scientific pilot platform for an accurate census of Nigerians in Diaspora."
He said the consulate actually had the official endorsement of the NPC for the project and was also seeking the cooperation of the U.S. Census Bureau which possessed pertinent information about Nigerians in the U.S. Auwalu added that the outcome of all of this would "form the basis of Absentee voting for our compatriots here in the U.S."
Already, by a judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court, Nigerians abroad have been deemed eligible to vote in future elections and the National Assembly is now working with groups of Nigerians in foreign lands, especially those in the United States and Canada to pass a bill designed to give legislative teeth to the right of Nigerians abroad to vote.
The move by the NPC to also count the number of Nigerians abroad will broaden their increasing engagement in affairs and development of the country.
Specifically, both the NPC and the Nigerian Embassy Consulate in New York are known to have started consultations on how to collaborate on the count, after the NPC visited the America and discovered that the Nigerian Consulate in New York, with covering- jurisdiction for Nigerians in over 20 U.S. states have already commenced an electronic database for Nigerians in the area for the purposes of gathering personal, professional and other pertinent information about U.S.-based Nigerians.
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The Politics/Economic Officer of the United States Consulate General, Lagos, Helena Schrader, paid an official visit to PAX Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, Ewu, Edo State. The visit was a fact-finding tour of the facilities of the centre.
According to the officer, the American Government is interested in serious-minded and credible Nigerian institutions like PAXHERBALS, as they are seen as partners in growth and development.
After the tour of the facilities, she said: ‘I have been in Nigeria just a little more than a year. Perhaps I have not traveled round the country enough. However, I want to say that this is one of the most impressive institutions I have seen in Nigeria. I am very impressed by the beautiful architecture and well-lay out plans of the various departments.
"There is evidence of efficiency and seriousness everywhere. The environment is so neat and clean. I have visited the Niger Delta many times and it has always been bad news. I am relieved and happy that there is something very positive to report about to Washington. I will surely love to visit again. I hope I can put you in contact with individuals and organizations that will partner with you in your work so that you can help even more people."
The head of the Monastery which owns PAXHERBALS, Fr. Vincent Mordi, thanked the American Consulate for making out time to travel all the way from Lagos to visit PAXHERBALS at the remote village of Ewu.
"With over 250 full-time staff, PAXHERBALS has contributed to wealth creation in Edo state as well as promote moral integrity among the youth. Work is not just about earning money but about being co-creators with God. Nigerians indeed need to cultivate the virtue of hard work and dedication’ said Adodo
In his reaction, Permanent secretary, Edo state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural resources, Mr. A.H. Ikhelowa, who accompanied the visitors, said that the Edo state government is proud to associate with an institution like PAXHERRBALS, and commended the management of the institution for its creative and innovative endeavors.
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It has been brought to management's attention that some individuals throughout the company have been using foul language during the course of normal conversation with their co-workers.
Due to complaints received from some employees who may be easily offended, this type of language will no longer be tolerated.
We do, however, realize the critical importance of being able to accurately express your feelings when communicating with co-workers.
Therefore,a list of 18 New and Innovative 'TRY SAYING' phrases have been provided so that proper exchange of ideas and information can continue in an effective manner.
Number 1
TRY SAYING: I think you could use more training.
INSTEAD OF: You don't know what the f___ you're doing.
Number 2
TRY SAYING: She's an aggressive go-getter.
INSTEAD OF: She's a f___ing bit__.
Number 3
TRY SAYING: Perhaps I can work late.
INSTEAD OF: And when the f___ do you expect me to do this?
Number 4
TRY SAYING: I'm certain that isn't feasible.
INSTEAD OF: No f___ing way.
Number 5
TRY SAYING: Really?
INSTEAD OF: You've got to be sh___ing me!
Number 6
TRY SAYING: Perhaps you should check with...
INSTEAD OF: Tell someone who gives a sh__.
Number 7
TRY SAYING: I wasn't involved in the project.
INSTEAD OF: It's not my f___ing problem.
Number 8
TRY SAYING: That's interesting.
INSTEAD OF: What the f___?
Number 9
TRY SAYING: I'm not sure this can be implemented.
INSTEAD OF: This sh__ won't work.
Number 10
TRY SAYING: I'll try to schedule that.
INSTEAD OF: Why the f___ didn't you tell me sooner?
Number 11
TRY SAYING: He's not familiar with the issues...
INSTEAD OF: He's got his head up his a__.
Number 12
TRY SAYING: Excuse me, sir?
INSTEAD OF: Eat sh__ and die.
Number 13
TRY SAYING: So you weren't happy with it?
INSTEAD OF: Kiss my a__.
Number 14
TRY SAYING: I'm a bit overloaded at the moment.
INSTEAD OF: F__ it, I'm on salary.
Number 15
TRY SAYING: I don't think you understand.
INSTEAD OF: Shove it up your a__.
Number 16
TRY SAYING: I love a challenge.
INSTEAD OF: This f___ing job sucks.
Number 17
TRY SAYING: You want me to take care of that?
INSTEAD OF: Who the f___ died and made you boss?
Number 18
TRY SAYING: He's somewhat insensitive.
INSTEAD OF: He's a pr_ck.
Thank You,
Human Resources
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 8, 2009 at 11:00pm
Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-rufai returns to Nigeria December 27th 2009.
Huhuonline.com can disclose that the embattled former minister of the federal capital territory, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-rufai, who last week revealed his intention to return to Nigeria to face charges against him, will return to Nigeria on Sunday,
27th of December, 2009. In a missive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which is trying to secure a warrant for his arrest, the former FCT minister said “For the avoidance any doubt, I am returning to Nigeria on the 27th of December, 2009. Your worst nightmare - that I will dare the now, new and wholly-corrupt EFCC and return to Nigeria - will be realized on that day - and the ball will then be in your court, and that of Nigerian and international public opinion,. I will never be afraid to face a bunch of lackeys like you”.
Full text of Nasir Elrufai missive reads:
"Mr. Femi Baba femi"
"The EFCC's attempt to try this case via headlines is pathetic, disrespectful and contemptuous to the Nigerian Judiciary. Your press releases which often grossly misrepresent what actually transpired in Court is an abuse of your privilege as prosecutors. You have shown yourself by your idiotic, self-serving "press releases" to be persecutors - not prosecutors, and completely unaware of what a justice system should be. Your conduct is disgraceful and violates the principles of presumption of innocence of any accused person entrenched under our Constitution and laws of Nigeria".
"these falsehoods you are dishing out are meant to intimidate me from returning to Nigeria - while smearing my reputation. My Nigerian and international legal defense team are assembling all your defamatory falsehoods for subsequent legal actions in Nigerian and other courts where your statements are published".
"For the avoidance any doubt, I am returning to Nigeria on the 27th of December, 2009. Your worst nightmare - that I will dare the now, new and wholly-corrupt EFCC and return to Nigeria - will be realized on that day - and the ball will then be in your court, and that of Nigerian and international public opinion,. I will never be afraid to face a bunch of lackeys like you". "See you soon".
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, OFR
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Pregnancy can be a hard time to consider fashion, and with maternity clothing that is so expensive, it can be hard on the pocket book too. But every woman should have at least one outfit she can wear during pregnancy that makes her feel comfortable and feel good about the way she looks while pregnant.
Certain styles look especially good on pregnant women such as A-line skirts, empire-waist dresses and tops, and pencil skirts paired with swingy shirts.
If you are feeling really self-conscious about your changing body accentuate other parts of your body that you feel more comfortable with. To get people to notice your neck and shoulders choose a shirt with a ballet.
Carefully choose your accessories and after your pregnancy you won't feel bad that you spent money on them . You can wear cut or bateau neckline, or dress all in one colour and add a scarf or some other stunning accessory like a brightly colour piece of jewelry, a pair of shoes that match your handbag, a colorful scarf or a button-up sweater.
A money-saving tip for maternity clothing shopping is to avoid impulse buying. Make a list of a few must-have items that can go with almost everything. For stay-at-home moms this list may include a pair of jeans, a pair of dressy black pants, a black or some other universal colour skirt, two shirts, and a casual dress. For working moms you will probably need to add two or three more skirts, another pair of dressy pants and a couple more shirts.
This should be good for your initial shopping trip, then on later shopping trips try to buy things that will match what you already have, and try to limit what you get later to just one or two items.
Another tip is to buy clothes that have a style that matches the style you wore before your pregnancy. You'll feel better about the way you look and be more likely to keep the clothing for your next pregnancy, which will save you money.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 8, 2009 at 9:43pm
A major financier of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, has petitioned the National Working Committee of the party, alleging that Governor Gbenga Daniel was using the party machinery to blackmail his empowerment programmes.
In the petition, addressed to the PDP National Chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, under the name of Kashamu‘s group, PDP Omoilu, the businessman claimed that the governor had ensured the labelling of his empowerment programme an evil one, where oath taking had become the norm.
A copy of the letter sighted by our correspondent, revealed that the petitioner attached a long list of text message exchanges between him and the governor over a period of time, especially when the going between the two was cordial.
The state PDP had, however, packaged a response to the petitioner, where the party alleged that the Ijebu Igbo-born Kashamu had introduced fetish activities into the programme to extract the loyalty of the beneficiaries.
Daniel, had for the first time openly responded to the allegation of blackmail of the group at a ceremony in Abeokuta on Wednesday, when he admitted that he supported the programme until he was inundated by reports of oath-taking attached to the distribution of cars and money.
He said, ”When we started our empowerment programme, we did not ask anybody to take secret oath. We did all our empowerment openly, but now our people use evil politics.
”When Kashamu started his empowerment, he started with my name and when I discovered he engaged in secret oath-taking, I decided to withdraw. But what surprises us is that the people we trusted were the ones supporting this devilish act.”
Sources close to Kashamu, who had claimed not to be a politician, told our correspondent that the party executive in 18 of the 20 local governments in the state, had received cars, mostly Toyota Camry and huge sums of money to belong to the Omoilu group.
Trouble appeared to be trailing the empowerment programme, however, as party officials suspected that the businessman, who was said to be working for Daniel before the turn of events, had started using the forum to transform himself to a kingmaker in the state politics.
The petitioner alleged that the suspension of the former state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Waliu Taiwo, and 21 other party members in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government in October was part of the systematic decimation of the Omoilu, which in itself is a faction in the PDP.
Kashamu, who described his role in the party as a peace maker, sought the intervention of the NWC of the party in the festering crisis between him and Daniel.
The Director of Organisation of the state PDP, Mr. Deji Kalejaiye, told our correspondent in Abeokuta on Thursday that the party confirmed that the controversial empowerment programme had been done with oath taking.
”We are not against empowerment programme (of Kashamu); what we are against is the style of empowerment. Why should anybody ask people to take oath because of vehicle and money?
”The crisis in Ota was caused by the disagreement over the sharing of the Omoilu largesse. Tell me, why should we support that kind of empowerment? Those suspended are billed to defend themselves before the disciplinary panel any moment from now. We are responding to the petition appropriately.”
Former Minister of State for Finance, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, had on Sunday in Ago Iwoye, advised that the state PDP should ”embrace Kashamu” and utilise his financial clout to move the party forward at a ceremony attended by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole.
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What is Zeez?DJ Zeez's claim to fame is his 2008 hit "04kasibe". Although the song generated lyrical controversy, it brought the Imo State born ex-disc jockey instant fame; earning him a Hip Hop World Best Street Hop Award. Born Kingsley Elikpo, this is Zeez, in his own words.Where do you draw inspiration from?I draw them from the streets, from God and people around me. I like to sing about what people talk about every single day of their lives. I don't drink and I don't smoke, so I cannot say I record any of my songs out of the artificial highness.Tell us about the song "Bobbee FC"...When I released the audio version of the song, a lot of people thought, ‘oh, he is just one of those who love to sing about ladies and explicit things' but I knew what I was doing. I wanted them to like and embrace the song first before I come up with the concept. Trust me, if I had sang the song, plainly stating that it is about breast cancer awareness, nobody will listen to it. That is why I decided to take it through this line and dedicate my entire video line to this project. I stylishly sneaked in the whole breast cancer awareness thing into the song which is the message. I realised that a lot of men leave the whole breast cancer struggle to the women, forgetting that every man was breast fed.What was the idea behind "04kasibe"?Before I began doing music, I understood the impact of controversy in a song because, good or bad, it makes you more popular. That is true because when your song is being banned, people will want to know why. To be frank with you, when I was putting "04kasibe" [together], it was a street slang and the original is actually ‘Ori e wambe' and not 04kasibe, which is my coinage. Ori e wambe is a phrase street boys use to adore anyone they respect. They are simply saying ‘you are highly respected', so as an artist, I decided to mess with it. You have to be very artistic, so I thought that if I have to bring out this song, I have to put two and two together and then I came up with four. The 4 in "04kasibe" is talking about the four cardinal points in the world, that is why in the video, you will see people with flags of various countries.How did you learn to speak Yoruba so well?My real name is Kingsley Eligbo and my mum is Yoruba while my dad is Igbo [and] I was born and brought up in Lagos. That is basically why I can speak Yoruba very fluently. I have a whole lot of Lagosians as friends and truth be told, in a place like Lagos, you just have to speak the Yoruba language.What projects are you currently working on?A lot of people are going into one charity or NGO but I am just going to go into good health care awareness which will see me talk about, say Malaria this month, HIV the other month and then breast cancer some other time. It is basically to address better living amongst Nigerians. My latest music video compilation has a pink colour theme and that is because proceeds will go to the breast cancer projects across the country.What are the issues in the Nigerian music industry?The older generation of singers, I don't want to mention names, are so used to the songs they used to listen to in the past and think that the young ones are not doing those same kind of songs. They need to understand that the world is evolving and we can't keep doing the same kind of songs.Who are your musical influences?It is very funny but they are anyone who, whether in the shower, eating or driving, mimes my song.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 8, 2009 at 3:30am
More Nigerian Billionaires coming out of the Woodwork .Who is BURUJI KASHAMU ? another PDP Financier (APF) rears his head We hope for Good not Bad .So far Good with his intervention in Ogun Politics for peace and his infamous War with the American Government !
READ ON !
4 Years in Custody + 5 Years in Exile = Nearly a Decade of Injustice
Buruji Kashamu’s Saga of Mistaken Identity, Double Jeopardy, and Unfair Imprisonment
Buruji Kashamu is reckoned to be amongst the top 20 most successful Yoruba businessmen in Nigeria. For the past 10 years, he has struggled to clear his name and end an exile imposed by the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Kashamu,has twice been cleared by British courts, but continues to face the threat of an obsolete case.
At the time of his in tial arrest, he was the Chief Executive Officer of many companies in West Africa including one of the largest cotton ginneries in West Africa located in the Republic of Benin, and in which the government of that country had significant investments. He was arrested at City Airport London in 1998 after voluntarily informing customs officials that he was carrying currency in excess of 10,000 pounds sterling and the warrant for his arrest was discovered.
Mr. Kashamu was held in a British jail and the United States began extradition proceedings. Mr. Kashamu asserted, and still maintains, that attempts to prosecute him are based purely on mistaken identity. The British court agreed and found that the United States had failed to disclose evidence favorable to Mr. Kashamu. One of the cooperating conspirators, the leader of the gang in the US, had positively rejected an identification of him from an arrest photo, supporting his claim of innocence. The court ordered his release and quashed the extradition order. He was released and rearrested on the same warrant outside the court. A fresh extradition request was filed which would then proceed to a rigorous trial over a period of three years.
A British court again found that Mr. Kashamu was not the person referred to by certain defendants in the matter. The British court conducted extensive hearings. Two of the top officers of the Nigerian anti-narcotics agency, the Director of Investigations and the Director of Prosecutions, testified orally in the court proceedings. Top officers of Interpol from Republic of Benin and Togo also gave oral testimony .They testified that Mr. Kashamu was a successful businessman who was not at all implicated in any drug dealing but had cooperated with their respective governments in many areas of security and intelligence in the past.
The British court concluded, after consideration of all the evidence, that Mr. Kashamu’s brother, who bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Kashamu, and was a heroin dealer in Nigeria and Benin, was the individual sought by the government.
Since his release in 2003 from British Detention he has continued his businesses in Nigeria and Republic De Benin and has managed to revive his fortunes.
Kasmal Group with Kasmal Investment,Transport,Properties,Services,Nacoil, Asuza Construction are now forces to be reckoned within billionaire circles in Nigeria
Although U.S authorities have not tried for his extradition since being so roundly defeated in the British Courts in 2003, they have kept the discredited charges against him pending. This is the reason Mr. Kashamu’s lawyers have commenced an action in the US District Court in Chicago to have the charges dismissed.
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I was innocently looking for Christmas present ideas on his computer. Literally, I was typing in “fireplace tools” in Google. And, as he turned to me and said hey, let’s watch this show together, I knew I had to quit. Me, being the Web geek that I am, immediately went to his Web history to erase my clues. That’s when I found it: a full history of porn sites. How did I know? Well, let’s just say the terms were a bit revealing. Shocked, I clicked on one. Password protected. Wow, not even just porn history, but registered porn history, credit-card-paid-subscription porn history. My stomach sank.
We have been together now for a year and a half. I recall casual conversations about this in the early days, and I’m pretty sure I asked and I’m pretty sure he denied. I remember having the “have you ever watched it with another boyfriend/girlfriend” conversation and I recall him saying yes and me saying no. I know I asked about it because my last boyfriend hid it from me, and I also discovered it, at which point he got angry, defensive, and accused me of being inadequate. So, you can see where my baggage begins
Cut to this relationship: much more open, much healthier, happier, and I dare say, great in the sex department. Great, meaning traditionally great—nothing too non-traditional, no costumes, no toys, no role-playing, and until this moment, no porn. So, my first thought was—why? Should I have initiated a costume? A toy? Am I not enough? I looked over him, his image on the couch with my dog starkly opposing the names I was seeing in his history (and not just the names but the amount of sites—I mean how long does it take to get horny on a Friday night when your girlfriend is out of town?). In my last relationship I would have just closed the browser, silently freaked out, and waited until my next bottle of wine to unleash irrationally on the topic. I am slowly learning that this is not always the best way to open a can of worms. I couldn’t take it. So, I just called it out. “Hey, I was searching for your Christmas present online and found all of your porn sites.”
Discovering Porn (On Your Boyfriend’s Computer)
By: Francis McKenzie (View Profile)
We talked about it. And, it reigns up there as one of the most uncomfortable conversations I think we both have ever had. He was not defensive, nor was he angry. In fact most of the time he was blushing, like a little kid whose mom found Playboy under his bed (note: I do NOT want to be anyone’s mom, but this was the emotion I felt). After a while a few things came out of him and of me:
Me first:
Are you doing this because you are unhappy sexually with us?
Are there things you watch here that you want to do, but have been unable to initiate with me, don’t want to do with me, or that I do not inspire in you?
Do you see me as your “wife type” and these are your “vixens” and the two are totally separate?
Are you looking at young girls that would be considered illegal?
Are you looking at gay sex with two men? (Let it be known, I have nothing against gay sex. My issue here is that if my boyfriend is struggling with his sexuality I would rather he do it outside a monogamous heterosexual relationship).
Are you looking at anything that involves any kind of violence? Animals?
I gave a disclaimer before I asked these. I said, look, I know you are a good person. But my sister had a friend whose husband was caught online chatting with an illegally young girl, and no one would have ever guessed, including the wife. These stories are out there. There are people who look at porn in an unhealthy way. I need to know that this is not what we are talking about here and you need to be honest with me.
He said:
Every one does it. It is normal.
He does it every once in a while. It goes through stages.
He loves our sex life and is not doing this because he is unhappy with us.
He does not look at anything scary, illegal, or gay.
He has never watched porn with another girlfriend, but he has watched it prior to being with me. (He later admitted that he might not have been totally honest with me in the beginning due to embarrassment.)
He said he thought I was sexy and I had a hot body (Ok, honestly, I almost stopped here. Will we ever tire of hearing this?)
He admitted this was an embarrassing conversation that he had never had with another girl, and, more importantly, he said he was actually glad after we had it.
He said this would be a good time to tell me: he has caught me masturbating in my sleep. Several times.
Whoa. Ok, so the doors flew wide open at that point—masturbating while asleep? Talk about embarrassing. And remember, this has been for a year and a half. Oh boy.
So, after a few days I started thinking about all of this. And it comes down to a few things. We’re all sexual, and to be honest, we have many sides to this sexuality. We have our past, which really, only we know about. Someone else might piece it together with some serious detective work across years, partners, cities, and doctors, but it’s unlikely. We have the time we spend alone, which unless there are hidden cameras in the bedroom or in the mind, no one really knows that story either. And, we have the sexuality we share with a partner (yes, sadly this comes and goes and we are back to that alone time again). The partner part is only a slice of that sexuality.
The challenge is allowing that partner to have that slice without being intimidated or threatened by it. I believe that only comes with honesty and discussion. I realized that sex was a really hard thing to talk about with someone. But I also realized that by doing it, I unveiled some of my own baggage. I was raised with all girls whose only exposure to porn in any sense was accidentally finding my Dad’s Playboy stash. I was raised in a home where sex was to be avoided until marriage, and then it was something you figured out on your own. After stumbling my way past virginity and a few partners, I carried those ideas and thoughts with me. The years exposed me to the topics of abortion and diseases, which only made me want to avoid it altogether.
My last boyfriend cheated on me—twice—while we were long distance. He was also the one who also told me I was sexually inadequate to him. That’s a lot to bring in to a porn history list on a computer on a Sunday afternoon. But without this event, my current partner and I would have just delayed or never had these discussions.
He too, admitted a few things. He said he is at heart traditional—his favorite position is missionary. He said he feels completely fulfilled. He said to him, when we have sex he sees me and us and our relationship as part of the act and because of that it is a deep emotional experience for him. He said the porn was a quick way to deal with being horny, and it was not anything to compare.
Later that week I was talking to my friend about the chain of events. She said “Oh God, that’s no big deal, everyone does it. Did you not have brothers?” She talked of her conversations with her husband (who does it too). I asked her if she felt threatened by it, and she replied, “Seriously? Threatened by a guy who watches two girls getting each other off with one hand on the laptop mouse and the other on his crotch? No way.”
She had a point.
But, my point was—can sex always be as he sees it now? Will it always be this deep emotional connection (with orgasm of course)? And when it isn’t, what then? I brought this up too, and if nothing else, I’m glad I found the porn so that we could have this conversation. I said at some point, the sex might get dull. And I need to know that my partner is someone who can talk about this and not reach out to his computer or another woman to solve it. I want to know that if I want to us to try tantric sex (which I read about in my yoga magazine and actually do want to try at some point) or ask him to do something for me that I won’t feel wrong or awkward.
I still cringe at the thought of those site names and the picture of the whole scenario. But who likes thinking about their monogamous partner in that light? I have started to come to the conclusion that the last thing I want to do in a relationship is stifle someone. And I have to admit to my own sexual baggage, which colors every sexual experience as I face it. So, I have to let that image go. There are some things in an open relationship you don’t need to know in detail. I am glad to know he does it because I don’t want any secrets. I don’t, however, need to know his favorite site, character, or image. We as individuals need to have our private time—without it we are solely relying on someone else to define our sexuality, which cannot be healthy. Exploring sexuality in a committed relationship should not mean cheating. To me that’s just a continuum of identifying sexually through someone else. It does mean talking, and trying, and respecting, and always making time to do it together (as well as alone).
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 7, 2009 at 7:34pm
A police signal to arrest the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, and the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai, has been issued in Abuja from the office of the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, according to authoritative police sources.
However, Emmanuel Ojukwu, spokesperson of the police, in a telephone interview with NEXT yesterday said he was unaware of such a signal. "I am just not aware of such a thing and if it is a warrant it is not the duty of the police to issue a warrant. Our job is to obey court orders." However, Peter Adobamen, a lawyer who spoke to NEXT said the police can indeed issue a warrant of arrest on anybody.
This is indeed what appears to have happenned in the case of Mr. El-Rufai and Mr. Ribadu. NEXT investigations in Abuja yesterday revealed that the warrant was issued on November 5, with the instruction for the arrest of both men "on sight". This is coming against the background of Mr. El-Rufai's planned return to Nigeria after a temporary exile in Europe and the United States of America.
Messrs. Ribadu and El-Rufai's difficulties with the police leading to the issuance of the order of arrest, NEXT gathered, are based on an alleged claim that they are conducting treasonable activities abroad.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, has consistently made the allegation of treason against both men, saying extradition charges will be eventually brought against them. Sources at the Justice Ministry yesterday told NEXT that "dialogue is already ongoing with security institutions to prepare the extradition process."
Ribadu' challenge
The Code of Conduct Tribunal declared the former anti-graft chief, Nuhu Ribadu, a fugitive of the law two weeks ago, claiming he did not declare his assets. In an angry statement of rebuttal, Mr. Ribadu described the order as another episode of what he called the "relentless persecution against me" and wondered how the court that was fully aware of the circumstances under which he left the country, could tag him as a fugitive.
"I had to leave the country on January 3 this year after a relentless persecution which climaxed in two assassination attempts," he said.
El-Rufai's cross
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Aondoakaa, had said, based on the Senate Committee on FCT's report which allegedly indicted the ex-minister, he had commenced extradition proceedings on Mr El-Rufai.
"In invoking the relevant clauses of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between Nigeria and Britain to bring El-Rufai to justice, we need to back our request with relevant documents," Mr. Aondoakaa told the media.
Fighting back
Mr. El-Rufai's lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, has taken the attorney general's threat serious and has published a whitepaper dated December 1, 2009 that seeks to highlight the former minister's innocence.
Mr. Amsterdam, the founding partner of the international law firm, Amsterdam and Peroff, said in a 48-page whitepaper which chronicled the former minister's stewardship as a public servant that he is seeking "to present Nasir El-Rufia and his accomplishments to the world, to summarise the motives behind the attack on his reputation, and to provide ample evidence to prove his innocence of all these libel and slander."
According to Mr. Amsterdam, the publication "marks the formal announcement that we are open and willing to defend Nasir on any platform available with all the facts in front of us". While describing Mr. El-Rufai as a man who holds "ambitious dreams for Nigeria's future", the author stated that all the attack on the former minister are "groundless and without evidence" and "manufacture by a hardworking scandal factory".
In the foreword to the whitepaper, the former Attorney General of Nigeria, Kanu Agabi, described Mr. El-Rufai as "fair-minded, hardworking and unrelenting". "The things that El-Rufai has had to do for the nation are difficult things. He has had to tread upon hard and difficult ground and to do for the nation difficult things" Mr. Agabi said.
Kanu Agabi's testimony
Mr. Agabi further added that Mr. El-Rufai and Mr. Ribadu are agents that will lay "the modern foundations of the rule of law in Nigeria", extolling the work done by the former minister to return the Federal Capital Territory to its master-plan which had suffered what seemed then as irredeemable distortions.
Tracing the roots of Mr. El-Rufai's travails, Mr. Amsterdam recalled that Mr. El-Rufai first wrote himself into the bad books of the powers-that-be when he revealed that the Senate's deputy majority leader, Jonathan Zwingina, and deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu, solicited a N54 million bribe for an accelerated confirmation as a minister. According to the author, "the Nigerian Senate as an institution never forgot or forgave him."
The whitepaper also gives a detailed account of Mr. El-Rufai's stewardship as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
According to the author, while at the BPE, Mr. El-Rufai was profoundly successful. His dedication to his work resulted in his raising N40-50 billion in revenue from the privatisation programme. Despite his successes at the BPE, the leadership of the Nigeria parliaments were not impressed. In March 2002, the author of the whitepaper recalled, the speaker of the House of Representatives then brought a defamation suit against the former minister in response to Mr. El-Rufai's criticism of the Speaker's proposal on what to do with NITEL.
The suit was squashed by the Court of Appeal on June 2, 2003. According to the judgment the legislature can only look into cases of corruption and mismanagement of public funds. This judgment is described by the learned gentleman as posing "an unprecedented challenge to the boundaries of the power of the Legislature in the Nigerian Constitution and the role of the Nigerian Judicial system in reviewing its decisions and actions"
Tarnishing El-Rufai
The whitepaper recounted how the House of Representatives failed in its attempt to blame Mr. El-Rufai for the manner in which NITEL was privatised, through public hearings. On May 25, 2005 the House of Representatives placed a ban on Mr. El-Rufai from holding public office for life. When this was challenged in court, the Federal High Court, Abuja on July 24, 2005 discarded the pronouncement of the house committee.
Recounting Mr. El-Rufai's days as the minister of the FCT, Mr. Amsterdam recalled that the mandate given to him, amongst other things, was to reduce corruption in public administration and to enforce the Abuja Master Plan for urban development tasks, which the former minister approached with unprecedented passion. "El-Rufai implemented a Strategic Development Plan designed to halt and reverse the "Lagosification" of Abuja."
In order to restore the FCT to its Master-Plan, the former minister's work involved the demolition of houses "erected along sewage lines and the restoration of parks which had been parcelled out and allocated to men and women of rank." By this action, he invariably crossed the path of some of the country's elite "accustomed to favouritism".
The whitepaper is of the view that with the expiration of the Obasanjo administration and the assumption of office as president by the former Governor of Katsina State, Umaru Yar'Adua, the authorities started going after certain former Obasanjo officials, with Mr. El-Rufai and Mr. Ribadu at the top of the list.
While describing Mr. El-Rufai as a man who holds "ambitious dreams for Nigeria's future", the author stated that all the attack on the former minister are "groundless and without evidence" and "manufactured by a hardworking scandal factory".
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 7, 2009 at 7:33pm
Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare and Omankhanlen Odidison report the plight of a bank customer who alleged that fraudsters stole money from his account with Automated Teller Machine while the bank claimed innocence.
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THE increasing cases of fraud perpetrated through automated Teller Machine (ATM) have been causing sleepless nights to virtually all security outfits in Nigeria, bank executives, and especially ordinary Nigerians, operating accounts in various banks.
All efforts towards eradicating this crime by banks and security personnel in the country have proved abortive while the problem has defied all solutions proffered by professionals. As a result, ATM fraud continues to thrive in the country.
Another disturbing aspect of ATM fraud is the allegation that it could not be possible without the connivance of insiders in the banks, but the link has so far not been authenticated. Also, many syndicates said to have been apprehended by security operatives never paid back what they stole.
Many victims have, as a result of this, taken ATM fraud as personal issue to be resolved by individuals involved in the way they deem fit.
Akintayo Afolabi Akinbode is one of those victims who had decided to take legal action as a means of recouping his stolen money. What was his solution? He decided to go to court, based on his belief that the bank cannot claim innocence of the fraud perpetrated on his account which he operates in one of its branches in the state.
Meanwhile, the lingering altercation between Mr. Akintayo Afolabi Akinbode and Sterling Bank over the unauthorized withdrawals from his account via ATM, has continued unabated with the bank keeping mum.
Efforts by the Nigerian Tribune to get the bank’s officials to react to this development proved abortive as they refused to comment.
Narrating his ordeal to the Nigerian Tribune in Lagos, Akintayo said, a total sum of N1,630, 300.00, was withdrawn from his account No – 226/20449/110 domiciled in Ikoyi branch of the bank between 18th May and 26th June this year, without his knowledge or notice, stating that efforts to get the bank to redress the anomaly proved abortive.
According to him, he operated two accounts at the Ikoyi branch of the bank and was last year issued two ATM cards, though he did not request for any, stating that when he tried to activate the cards, the activation process failed, and he immediately notified the bank.
He said that since the cards could not be activated last year, he had neither reactivated nor used it to make withdrawals from his accounts.
He further explained that any withdrawal of money that were in excess of N100, 000 from his account were always confirmed through a phone call to him or his wife by one Mrs. Sherifat Adediwin, through mobile phone number 08025019938 or 01- 7301077 before such payments were made. He is still wondering how the said amount was withdrawn from his account without his knowledge.
Akintayo, who is already in court, had filed a writ of summons against his bank, Sterling Bank Plc, at the High Court of Lagos State through his counsel, Olaleke Akinloye Esq. to demand for some declarations and orders.
He is asking for a declaration of the court that the alleged activation of the ATM card by his bank without his knowledge or notice is illegal; a declaration that all the alleged withdrawals made with the said ATM card between 18th May 2009 and 26th June 2009, without his notice, were illegal; and a declaration that the bank owed him care, by virtue of customer/bank relationship. The bank, he said, had breached the said care by allowing and permitting the usage of an ATM card for withdrawals of his money without his knowledge.
Also, he is asking for an order mandating the bank to refund N1, 630, 300, being the total sum of money withdrawn from his account, with 10 per cent interest per month, beginning from 26th June until the money is fully refunded. He is also asking for the sum of N5,000,000 as damages, and N500, 000 as cost of legal action.
Akintayo said following the discovery of the unauthorised withdrawals with the ATM card on 26th June this year, he immediately notified his bank that the said ATM card be hot-listed or deactivated, and further transactions on the account be suspended, and immediate commencement of investigations to unravel the masterminds of the said withdrawals be conducted.
He, however, claimed that the bank refused to honour his instruction concerning his account. As a result, after the day, a total sum of N75, 000 was still withdrawn from his account with an ATM card.
The bank, on their part, decided to write back to Akintayo, denying liability for the unauthorised withdrawals.
In his final resolve, Akintayo, through his counsel, claimed that the almost daily withdrawals from his account with ATM, without notifying him, was planned, hatched and executed by his bank, or in collusion with other persons
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Buhari set to endorse Ribadu, Fashola tipped as running mate
In a surprising move, which is sure to send jitters through the spine of the ruling party, former President and two time Presidential candidate of the ANPP Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has finalized plans to endorse the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to contest the upcoming Presidential elections in 2011.
The move, which is rumoured to have been hatched in the residence of the late human rights activist Gani Fawehinmi will see Buhari emerging as the Chairman BOT of the party with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu taking over as substantive party Chairman. Presenting the position of his organization, TBO, Gen Buhari said “this is indeed the time to set aside personal ambitions for the good of the entire country. I, and other eminent Nigerians will campaign through all nooks and cranny’s of the country side-by-side with Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Babatunde Fashola to ensure we rescue Nigeria from its directionless state.”
Under the proposed administration, Professor Pat Utomi is expected to assume leadership of the Finance Ministry while the current special Adviser to the President on MDG’s, Amina Az-Zubair takes over the Ministry of National Planning. Reknowned nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Justice Uwais are being considered for the position of INEC Chair. Prominent northern Statesman and former Governor of Kaduna State Mallam Balarabe Musa has described the arrangement as “a masterstroke” and has called on all patriotic elements to unite under the movement for the upliftment of Nigeria. "Nigerians at home and abroad should participate and fund this electoral revolution and let us put our country on a radically different path of progress and development" he added.
Feelers from the candidate, Nuhu Ribadu indicate that if elected, the administration would focus solely on the war against corruption. Buttressing this view, Arc Odu Ahaneku, the party’s youth leader in Imo State said “you don’t redesign your building plans when your workers are stealing the money! You redesign the system that ensures every worker gets his budget and does what he’s supposed to do. Accordingly if elected, we intend to make sure the system is redesigned to correct anomalies in our incentive structure to accelerate service delivery and development.”
Former Senate President Ken Nnamani and Gen. TY Danjuma are also rumoured to play a significant role in the coming months.
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“Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold. Turning and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the earth.”The above quotation is from the novel written by literary giant, Prof. Chinua Achebe,
Things fall apart. It, perhaps, aptly captures the shenanigan and scheming that has pervaded the seat of power in Lagos State. And the war of attrition that will shake the foundation of Lagos State politics in 2011 has started in earnest. It is going to be a straight fight between the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and his overbearing godfather and predecessor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is spoiling for a war over contract and political patronages.
What started as a minor disagreement between the duo over the award of contracts to the companies that Tinubu has substantial interest in or those of his cronies has snowballed into a battle royale.
Sources said that while Fashola wanted to follow due process in the award of the contracts, his godfather would not take that “nonsense.” On many occasions, Tinubu reportedly told the governor point blank that he spent billions to install him and that he must recoup the investment.
When it became obvious that Fashola was not the “robot” they thought he would be, some of the commissioners who are stooges of Tinubu, started undermining him. It became the norm for them to come to the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) meeting after the governor must have been seated, a trend that runs contrary to the order of protocol. Infuriated by this ugly trend, the governor was said to have locked out the Commissioner for Environment, Muiz Banire, for coming late to one of such meetings without prior notice.
When it dawned on Tinubu that his godson had weaned himself from his apron string and may not take nonsense from anybody, sources said, the battle shifted to the state House of Assembly where 35 members were relied upon to checkmate the governor and probably go for his jugular, if need be. But to his traducers’ amazement, Fashola’s seeming performance appeared to have endeared him to all and sundry. Beside the fact that the law provides that anything the lawmakers deem “gross misconduct” could not be faulted, they were afraid of swimming against the tide by moving against the governor whom they considered sufficiently popular to attract public sympathy.
Part of the intrigues, it was gathered, led to the fall of Funmi Tejuoso-Smith from her exalted position as the deputy speaker of the House of Assembly and the reprisal attack from her. Tejuoso-Smith engaged her successor, Bola Badmus Olujobi, in a show of shame within the Assembly complex after the presentation of the 2010 budget by Fashola two weeks ago. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the unassuming Speaker of the House, had passed comments that were considered out of place concerning Fashola. Ikuforiji warned Fashola to beware of sycophants. Sources said the remarks by the Speaker, who is seen as the “heir apparent or khalifa,” was to spite the governor. Indeed, his comments drew a loud ovation from Tinubu and his men in the assembly chamber.
Ikuforiji, in a bid to deal with Fashola, who has no right of reply after the budget presentation, said, “They will flatter you to no end. They will like to isolate you from your roots. They will want you to believe that your administration is the first in the world to hit the ground running and achieve like no one else. But like Danny K. Davies (Jnr), a United States Congressman told us at the convention of Eko Club International last month in Chicago and I quote: “Flattery is like a good perfume, it is to be smelt, not to be swallowed. You will be judged by the amount of resources at your disposal and the prevailing conditions and environment under which your government operated and what you make of those resources.”
Town hall meeting! What Is Ikuforiji up to?
The recent town hall meeting embarked upon by the Lagos State House of Assembly has continued to generate controversy and is already causing disaffection in the state. This stems from the innuendos that the arrowhead of the parley, Ikuforiji, has been accused by a section of the ruling party in the state, the Action Congress (AC), of using the forum to gain more followers and sensitise the people ahead of his governorship ambition in 2011. But before the recent tour, there were insinuations last year when the Speaker put together a micro credit scheme for his supporters in his Epe constituent that he was up to something.
The recent town hall meeting, which attracted a large number of the party’s stalwarts and Tinubu, was described as a defining moment in the ambition of Ikuforiji to govern the state. He was said to have come off with the impression that the governorship ticket was up for grabs despite the power of incumbency that Fashola has and should enjoy. At the meeting, Tinubu, who was alleged to be grooming Adeyemi in case Fashola reneged on their agreement before he was chosen as the AC candidate in 2007, was infuriated that party supporters were hailing the governor who was not at the forum. Tinubu was quoted to have said that he coined the saying, Eko o ni baje, that has now become Fashola’s slogan, threatening to change it if he so desired. He reportedly said these in reaction to the decision of some party members who shouted the slogan in appreciation of Fashola’s achievements in the state. That incident, analysts believe, clearly sent out the message that Tinubu, who is seen as the political godfather of the AC in Lagos State politics, may have found a worthy son in Ikuforiji.
Besides, there is the other angle to the development in Lagos State. That is the fact that Tinubu has an unwritten political arrangement for Ikuforiji to contest in 2011 as a payback for passing the pension bill that makes the former governor to be on the same pedestal in terms of salary and allowances with the incumbent. Though he is not entitled to security votes, but sources within the party said that the N2.1 billion monthly commission paid to his consulting firm, Alphabeta, is well over the governor’s security vote.
Ikuforiji on his own seems to be telling people that he might join the governorship race sooner than later. At the town hall meeting held at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area recently, the Speaker laid it bare. Apparently reacting to those who have faulted his parley that it was meant to shore up his popularity in the state, Ikuforiji said that he is unmindful of those saying that the town hall meeting was a 2011 agenda. He said, “I will continue with the tour irrespective of what people say and we are not unmindful of those who are saying that it was part of 2011 governorship campaign.”
But a source said, “If there was nothing to it, why is the town hall meeting being held in all the 20 local government councils? This should have been held in the three senatorial districts or better still the five divisions that make up Lagos instead of having it in all the 20 constituents. The situation is compounded by the fact that the recent statement credited to Tinubu after the Ibeju-Lekki rerun election has also exposed him to attack by those who felt he should have known when silence is golden. What did he want to achieve by saying that the PDP (the Peoples Democratic Party) won fair and square? Was he trying to placate (President Umaru) Yar’Adua who many say is angry with him? Indeed, the timing of that statement was said to have infuriated many who had thought that the former governor has let them down.”
The import of the town hall meeting was not lost on Fashola who confided in some of his loyalists that his predecessor could not have allowed such under any guise. To show his disdain for the tour, the governor put together a one-day economic summit to feel the pulse of Lagosians.
Again, the statement credited to Tinubu last year during the local government election was instructive. At the stakeholders meeting convened to reconcile some aggrieved aspirants, Tinubu told the bewildered crowd of party supporters that Fashola was not a card carrying member of the AC when he made him the governor. The party stalwarts, who were then opposed to the emergence of Demola Doherty as the chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area, were forced to eat the humble pie. Today, Doherty is the chairman. He won without going through the primaries, courtesy of the godfather. This has also heightened tension in the AC that there may be surprises in the offing as the 2011 general election draws near.
Tinubu’s confirmation about the cold war
At last, Tinubu had confirmed the obvious that indeed all is not well between him and Fashola. Although Tinubu had, some months ago, as a preemptive strike, paid Fashola a courtesy visit at the State House in Ikeja where he debunked the rumour making the rounds that some contractual agreement in the state had caused a bad blood between them. He attributed the rumoured crisis to the PDP that he accused of planning to take over the state at all cost.
But Tinubu had hardly left the State House when another tsunami swept its first victim, Tejuoso-Smith, like a volcanic eruption. She was removed in a controversial manner. Even Ikuforiji, who was alleged to be close to tears because of the turn of events in the House, which had hitherto enjoyed good working relationship, admitted that his hands were tied.
Was it a sheer coincidence that Tejuoso-Smith was impeached the day Tinubu travelled to the United Kingdom to see his children? Informed sources within the Alausa seat of power said the treatment meted to Tejuoso-Smith was meant to send a strong signal to some people that though they may be in power but they are not in charge. This was premised on the fact that despite the alleged overbearing attitude of Tejouso-Smith over the year, her colleagues have chosen to work with her. In fact, when she went with Banire to beat up the Chairman of Mushin Local Government Area, Seye Oladejo, a protégé of Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon at the Acme Secretariat of the AC, the House did not sanction her for making it the laughing stock of the public as its principal officer.
Besides, sources within the state government insisted that those who are underrating Fashola in the supremacy battle with his former boss would soon know who actually holds the ace. The sources, who craved anonymity, maintained that Tejuoso-Smith was axed because of her loyalty to Banire and Tinubu and not the other way round. The source said, “What people don’t know is that Fashola may be humble but those who thought he would be a robot to do their bidding would soon know that he is a SAN with a sound mind. If it is true that Tejuoso-Smith had joined Fashola’s caucus, why then did Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola and Cardinal Omolaja Odumbaku make spirited efforts to reinstate her? At least these are known Tinubu die hard loyalists. Why did they come to beg the House to reverse itself barely 12 hours after the removal of the deputy speaker?”
Will Banire dare Fashola?
Before the resignation of Segun Ayobolu last Monday, sources further disclosed that Fashola would soon follow with the sack of some commissioners, especially those considered as Tinubu’s loyalists. It was said that this was to send the warning signal that contrary to the insinuation that he was not in charge, he actually holds the ace. To this end, some commissioners last week pledged their loyalty to Fashola and have also promised to stand by him come rain or sunshine. One of the commissioners, a former prominent member of the PDP, who is the head of a ministry that is very dear to the heart of the governor, told those who cared to listen that Tinubu’s attempt to continue dominating the politics of the state would fail.
More worrisome is the new dimension that Banire is likely to challenge Fashola. The succession plan has caused a running battle between Tinubu and Fashola. While the former governor is supporting Banire, other stakeholders in the state are of the opinion that the sitting governor is doing a good job and that there is no point changing a winning team.
Aregbesola is against Fashola’s second term
Bilesanmi Samson, the Executive President of Raji Fashola Fans Club, said that much in an interview with the Nigerian Compass recently. Samson said, “It is the people that would determine his second term. This is beyond anybody. In fact, some people are calling on him to come and be the president. If it were to be a saner clime, his performance in Lagos State with about 18 million people is enough to show that he has what it takes to govern Nigeria.”
Though Samson did not agree that the fans club is a campaign team for the governor, he said it has the governor’s blessing. He maintained that it was Aregbesola, the patron of Lovers of Raji Fashola (LORAF), who ordered that the group be disbanded when it was growing in leaps and bound. He said this was to curtail the growing popularity of the governor and make him subservient to their whims and caprices.
Samson told the Nigerian Compass that Aregbesola gave them a very tall order. He said, “Imagine Aregbesola told us to announce that LORAF would not be used as campaign group for Fashola in 2011. We smelt a rat and discovered that it may be a booby trap for the governor, hence we agreed that the group should be dissolved.” But he said the group was not relenting in its membership drive, with the slogan, “ if you like Fashola, join us.” As such, many are of the opinion that it may not be long for those who hold the view that the governor was not a politician to know that he would swing the public opinion in his favour when the time comes. He also believes that the over 1,000 members per each council area may be the starting point for what will eventually be known as the campaign group to spring up.
Head or tail, the days ahead may witness more of the political intrigues and brinkmanship that led to the exit of Tejouso-Smith. According to analysts, “One thing is clear: the state will never be the same again. It is a question of who blinks first.”
Questions are now being asked all over the state: Will Fashola carry out his threat and change his cabinet to assert himself politically? Or will he continue to groan under his overbearing godfather? These are some of the posers begging for answers as at press time. But those who understand the dynamics of power said that since the buck stops on Fashola’s table, those who see him as a kid governor may be in for a shocker, at least given the pace at which he has confronted some knotty issues in the state in the last 800 days.
Tinubu’s men on the prowl
There is a crisis of confidence rocking the AC in Lagos State over who will occupy the governor’s seat in 2011 and the centre seem not to hold any longer. Fashola, Tinubu and Banire are at the centre of the crisis. Infuriated by Tinubu’s effrontery and alleged machination, Fashola, it was gathered, reportedly stormed out of the former governor’s Bourdillion residence recently when the defacto AC leader told Fashola that he had not got the power to sack Banire when the issue of the latter’s governorship ambition cropped up. The governor was said to have resigned twice in the last six months in anger over how the state is being run by Tinubu and his cronies. Though prevailed upon to continue because of the backlash and the controversy his ouster will generate, many said he had decided to plunge head on into the 2011 battle no matter what it takes.
Banire, buoyed by Tinubu’s support, was reported to be always late to the SEC meeting, held on Mondays, until recently when he was locked out by Fashola. Pronto, he called Tinubu who put a call through to Fashola to allow Banire in. This did not go down well with Fashola’s loyalists who insisted he must be man enough to assert his authority or be prepared to be shown the way out by Banire’s group. Fashola, who was reportedly livid with anger, told his godfather that his agreement with him was that he would drop non-performing aides, especially those who were in Tinubu’s cabinet for several years.
Fashola was reported to have told Tinubu, “What we agreed was that a year after I can change my cabinet. I will not fold my arms and allow Banire to amass the wealth to contest against me. I know he is interested in the race. I think he should resign now and we shall meet on the field.”
At this juncture, Tinubu was said to have intervened and told Fashola that he could not change his cabinet for now because of the contributions of the appointees to his electoral victory. But Fashola, having seen the handwriting clearly, told Tinubu that he was ready to drop those he considered a spent force in his cabinet. He then stormed out of the former governor’s residence.
The hostility was taken further when they tried their popularity. Tinubu had called a stakeholders meeting to discuss the burning issue and Fashola in defiance also called a SEC meeting, thereby paving the way for the eventual showdown. A source close to the seat of power maintained that “Tinubu might have underrated Fashola who seems poised to take his own pound of flesh from the overbearing godfather who wants to corner everything and render him ineffectual.”
Besides the fact that his godfather has said at different fora that he never attended AC meetings before he emerged governor, Fashola has been kicking because he sees it as an attempt to rubbish him. The grand plan, it was learnt, is to cripple Fashola financially before the 2011 election and enrich Banire to be able to confront him at the AC primaries. Already, Aregbesola, the AC gubernatorial candidate in Osun State, who is still holding the jugular of the state as the unofficial Commissioner for Works; Odumbaku; the boss of the Highway Managers, Alhaji Faud Oki; and other powerful elements in the state have been positioned to ensure that Fashola does not return in 2011. This was reportedly perfected during the last council polls in Lagos State when Aregbesola, who still maintains his Oduduwa Guest House, singlehandedly picked all the chairmen and councillors to the detriment of Fashola. The Chairman of the AC in the state, Henry Ajomale, who is not a part of the shenanigan to oust the governor, is reportedly solidly behind Fashola in this supremacy fight. But the party has not empowered him to be able to muster the financial resources or dispense patronages that will give him the following necessary for the eventual showdown. A privileged source who craved anonymity told the Nigerian Compass that the time has come for Tinubu to be exposed and reduced to size.
The source said, “What does he thinks he is? All the money he has looted from the treasury will be taken from him when the time comes. We know their front and what happened in the case of Royal Garden Estate between Wale Tinubu and a frontline Oba in Lagos who is part of the pilfering.”
This latest imbroglio has continued to generate controversy in Alausa as commissioners, special advisers and special assistants are discussing the issue in hush tones. None was willing to comment on the festering crisis. A source who craved for anonymity said, “I don’t know how they arrived at the choice of Fashola in the first place. So, I don’t have anything to say if he decides to take on his godfather. He (Fashola) was the least qualified among the contestants then and he was imposed on us. So let them fight. That serves Tinubu right because he thought he could control BRF.”
The governor, who is aware that his predecessor might have decided to fight dirty, is also reaching out to some stakeholders in the state across political party divides to take on Tinubu headlong. As part of his strategy, Fashola, apart from planning a cabinet reshuffle soon, is also considering how to stop the N2.1 billion monthly consultancy fee being paid to Tinubu’s Alpha Betta. By the end of Fashola’s tenure, the amount that would have gone to the company would be in the region of N52 billion. Fashola was said to have complained to one of his aides recently that the money that had accrued to his godfather monthly through various contract sum was outrageous. He was particularly piqued with Alpha Betta and has reportedly stopped the N2.1 billion monthly consultancy fee in the last few months, insisting that the state government has to renegotiate the contract sum.
Fashola had tacitly refused to advertise all the programmes being handled by Tinubu as part of his achievements so that if eventually it backfires he would wash his hands off it. His worry stems from the fact that he may not be able to defend some of the contracts being executed across the state by Tinubu’s construction company, Hitech, and some concessionaires, including the Lagos Concession Company (LCC), with the contract sum shrouded in secrecy.
For instance, the Managing Director of LCC, Opuiyo Oforiokuma, said that the 49.4 km road from Lekki to Epe would cost the concessionaire N50 billion. That means N1 billion per kilometre. Yet, the company would operate on the road on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) for 30 years. The contract was signed in 2006 by the Tinubu administration. Another sore point is that LCC is erecting a toll plaza on the road already and will start collecting toll even before it completes the project. That is beside the fact that two more plazas would also be erected to make it three. The money spinning project is expected to give Tinubu hundred of millions every month.
Though the President of Eti-Osa Heritage, Adewale Sanni, has vowed that over his dead body would Tinubu’s company start collecting tolls before the completion of work, the former governor appears unperturbed. At a recent stakeholders meeting in Eti-Osa by the state government to mediate in the face-off with the company, Sanni said the people of the community would rather die than watch the state suffer from the concession arrangement. The community decried the insensitivity of the state government to its plight, saying it was ripped off and was not carried along before the idea was imposed on them. In the ensuing melee, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning, Francisco Abosede, was almost lynched.
Who blinks first?
Opinion were divided last week as a cross section of people believe that Fashola’s two years in office has dwarfed Tinubu’s “politics of sharing of eight years” that were said to be full of unnecessary bickering and grandstanding. A source said, “If he musters the courage to tackle him, the people would support him. I can tell you for a fact: Tinubu has outlived his usefulness and nemesis seems to be catching up with him. He used his money to dismantle the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere. Now, the house he built is crumbling before his eyes. What a tragedy!”
As a prelude to the final onslaught, Tinubu has threatened to remove Fashola’s pals who are council chairmen. This is as Fashola has also beamed his own searchlight on a council chairman who is loyal to Tinubu and seen as the arrowhead of the council chairmen warming up to stop Fashola in 2011.
Can Fashola stop Tinubu?
The die is cast and the fight may linger as Fashola has said that it is service delivery to the people first as opposed to his godfather’s position that funds be shared to the detriment of the masses. Unfortunately for Tinubu, he has other forces to contend with. Some powerful stakeholders in the state are eagerly waiting to take their own pound of flesh from him. They have been described as very powerful elders.
Why Fashola is angry with Tinubu
Many reasons have been adduced for Fashola’s decision to stamp his authority. The lekki/Epe Expressway has become a sore point in their relationship because Fashola does not like the idea of the 30 years concessioning to LCC. The Alpha Beta Consulting is also another drain pipe, which sources said bothers Fashola.
The last straw
The 10-lane Mile 2/Badagry Expressway that was awarded to construction giant, Julius Berger, by the Fashola administration reportedly made Tinubu livid. Tinubu wanted Hitech to handle the job. Sources said that when Tinubu confronted Fashola on the failure to award the contract to his company, the governor reportedly told him that the Lekki/Epe Expressway that the LCC in conjunction with Hitech is handling has become an albatross for the state government. Fashola, who said that people were complaining about the fact that most projects in the state have gone only in one direction, said there was the need to “democratise” even contract awards. Tinubu reportedly said that Fashola had betrayed the trust he reposed in him.
Yomi Edu’s treatment for Fashola?
The group is also considering fielding a popular candidate in the mould of Jimi Agbaje in 2011. Unknown to many, Agbaje, who contested on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in the 2007 elections, has one leg in the AC and the other in the DPA. By virtue of his position as the state chairman of Tinubu-propped Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), a breakaway faction from Afenifere, Agbaje has been meeting secretly with the Tinubu group over the possibility of fielding him. The plot is that in case Ikuforiji and Banire become hard to sell, he would be propelled to run on the platform of the DPA. This, sources said, would be to create the impression that Lagosians truly do not want Fashola to continue in office.
The scenario would look like the Yomi Edu/Michael Otedola election in 1991. The defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was the dominant party in Lagos State then, fielded Edu. But because the Alhaji Lateef Jakande group, The Loyalists, did not want Edu, it struck a deal with Otedola, the National Republican Convention (NRC) candidate. For the other positions at the state level, the SDP won. It thus paved the way for a new vista in Lagos State politics, with the SDP in control of the House of Assembly and the NRC the governorship. This was preceded by a bitter governorship primaries between Femi Agbalajobi and Dapo Sarunmi, two prominent leaders of the party, a development that factionalised the party.
Will Agbaje be AC’s consensus candidate? It has remained a conjecture because nothing is impossible in politics.
Segun Ayobolu’s resignation
Before his resignation last Monday as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Fashola, Segun Ayobolu was one of the members of the inner caucus of Tinubu’s media team. Unknown to many, Ayobolu’s resignation was part of the media war being planned against Fashola. At a news conference to announce his resignation, Ayobolu, a die hard loyalist of Tinubu, said he had to leave because of ill health. But sources within Alausa said he resigned in protest because of the disdain with which Fashola now holds Tinubu’s loyalists, especially during the weekly SEC meeting. The argument was that Ayobolu, a workaholic, could not have resigned on such flimsy ground.
It was learnt that during one of the SEC meetings, Fashola chatised those who usually thronged Tinubu’s Ikoyi residence to report developments in Alausa to him or risk being sacked. Ayobolu, who could not take this anymore, confided in some people that he prefered to be sweeping the floor in Tinubu’s residence than pander to Fashola, who has dared his benefactor.
Ayobolu’s case is similar to that of the former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Edun, who resigned because of the manner Tinubu was handling the finances of the state. But Dele Alake, Tinubu’s spokesman then, prevailed on Edun to recant. The following morning, Edun, who claimed to be ill, was found playing polo at the Awolowo Road playing ground. A privileged source in Alausa said it has become a norm for Alausa politicians to resign on health grounds.
One of the sources said of Ayobolu’s resignation: “It is all balderdash. Is his illness a life threatening one? I think these people should know that their game is up and stop heating up the polity. In the weeks ahead, many articles calling on Fashola to take the Nelson Mandela option of ruling for only one term will be churned out in a media where the godfather has substantial interest and others sympathetic to their cause. The writers will enjoin the governor to bow out at the end of his tenure in 2011. The orchestrated media attack is being coordinated by Alake and other hack writers.”
Fashola: I dey kampe
Fashola seems to be watching the macabre dance with admiration. Last week, the governor finally replied his godfather tacitly when he said that he did not sign any agreement of a single term with anybody. Although, he has said repeatedly that his work would qualify him for a second term, Fashola is said to be poised to take the initiative and assert himself politically.
Who blinks first?
Those who are close to Tinubu said he is a fighter that could fight dirty. They argue that with the N2.1 billion monthly income from Alpha Beta, the 30-year multi-billion naira concession project of the LCC, the pension he receives and other interests in the oil and gas, hospitality and property businesses, Fashola will, surely, have a Herculean task contending with him. With the legion of Tinubu’s loyalists spoiling for a showdown with Fashola, it may be difficult to predict who blinks first. But one thing is certain: the political landscape in Lagos State will never be the same again based on the battle for the number one political seat. (The Compass)
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Bank chief nabbed over possession of $3.1m at Murtala Muhammed International Airport
By Wole Shadare
A combined team of Lagos Airport Police Command, the State Security Service (SSS) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Aviation Security officials has apprehended a senior bank official at the General Aviation Terminal of the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos after she was found in possession of $3.1 million, suspected to be a laundered fund.
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Due to the seriousness of the offence, and to unravel the motive behind the alleged transfer of such huge fund without authorized fund transfer documents from the bank, the case has been transferred to Abuja for investigation.
The suspect, who is a Deputy General Manager in one of the rescued banks, was arrested on November 11, 2009 at 9 am in an attempt to board Arik Air's Abuja-bound flight.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Airport Police Command, Mr. Ayuba Pam, confirmed the arrest of Etuk, when The Guardian visited the Command on Thursday. He however said that the matter had been transferred to Force headquarters in Abuja for proper investigation.
A top official of one of the aviation agencies who pleaded anonymity disclosed that Etuk was detained for two weeks with the SSS in Lagos before he was moved to Abuja on November 27, 2009 .
The source, however, lauded the security personnel for the arrest, stressing that huge movement of funds through the General Aviation Terminal in chartered aircraft and private jets and commercial aircraft has been a source of worry to them, adding that the movement without proper police protection and under questionable circumstances was giving the airport authority real concern.
Investigation by The Guardian showed that the money found on Etuk had been traced to a governor from one of the oil-rich states in the Niger Delta.
Police sources confided in The Guardian that the sum was being transferred on behalf of the governor, but security operatives who questioned Mrs. Etuk said that she maintained that she was handling the cash on behalf of the bank even though without any authorisation document.
The husband of the bank chief is a Special Assistant to the governor on Utilities and has helped to secure the government's account to the bank.
The Guardian had penultimate week, reported the lax in security at the Lagos airport, which has led to the rise in drug trafficking, money laundering and other nefarious activities by powerful Nigerians.
Of particular concern are operators or owners of private jets, whose agents allegedly aid them to flout security check on their aircraft before take-off.
Disturbed by the development, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren recently summoned all the agents of private airlines in the country, security operatives at the airport which comprise the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Immigration Service, Air Force, security operatives from the Federal FAAN, officials of the SSS and the Nigeria Customs Service among others to a meeting in his office.
Two separate meetings were held that day with the aim of ensuring compliance with screening.
Demuren, at the meeting instructed that all aircraft, particularly private jets be screened by SSS personnel the way it is done in other countries.
There are also indications that prior to the tough stance of government on screening the aircraft of these very few rich men, most of the owners in connivance with their agents were alleged to have been using their jets to smuggle arms, money and drugs out of the country, owing to the lax in security at the airports.
Speaking to The Guardian recently, spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye said that the Director General of the Authority had threatened to withdraw the agents' licenses if they were found to constitute a security risk to the country and to flight safety.
Adurogboye stated that the private jets owners are given clearance by the NCAA to operate into Nigeria after they must have satisfied all safety related matters to be jointly supervised by the NCAA inspector and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the country where the aircraft is registered.
He explained that foreign registered aircraft and the ones registered in Nigeria under the 5N call sign are given the same level of certification before they can be allowed to operate, adding that the regulatory body has raised the bar in its oversight functions.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 6, 2009 at 9:40pm
Understanding the nation’s brand of Nazism
Nazism - a term associated with the Third Reich, that conjures fear, hatred and awe especially among the Jews because of the genocide of the fuhrer . Reminiscences of the atrocities of the triad of Hitler, Goering and Gobbeles, their march on Czechoslovakia, Poland, the breach of the Belgian neutrality, their adventures in France, Russia and the Bombing of London were atrocities unparalleled in history. Perhaps the climax of the Hitlerian genocide was the final solution, which meant the extermination of the Jews.
The Nazi had their bedfellows all over the world; the Pol Pots and Suhatos of Indonesia, the Pinochets of Chile; the Eyademas of Togo, The Mobutus of Congo Democratic Republic (CDR) the Idi Amins of Uganda and the Mugabes of Zimbabwe. A sprinkling of them also reincarnated in Nigeria: the Abacha's, the Babangidas and the Obasanjo'. Nigerians generally believe that Abachas was the worst tyrant Nigeria had ever produced, but some people think otherwise. They have certain traits in common: brutality, ferociousness, narcissism and paranoia.
Sometime ago, I read an interview granted by General Jeremiah Useni, retired, popularly known as “Jerry Boy”, and what intrigued me was his refusal to make a comparison between Abacha and Obasanjo. When the interviewer asked him which government he preferred, Obasanjo's or Abacha's, he replied “there was no basis for comparison, Abacha is a Saint! “ The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory even warned the journalist never to compare the two rulers, for he was convinced beyond doubt that Abacha is a Saint compared to the Obasanjo. Although in matters concerning abstract values, people differ in visualizing their scales of judgment and this makes it pretty difficult to conjecture from what binoculars, prism or ideological aperture the former Minister saw the duo.
Again, the argument seems to have been brought to its peak at the 11th anniversary of Abacha's death, when other tyrants like Babangida and Buhari claimed that Abacha did not steal money and therefore exonerated him of his misdeeds of the past. I know that both Christians and Muslims abhor speaking ill of the dead, but they also believe in eschatology and the virtues of truth. Therefore any argument that seeks to beatify an African leader is a serious one that must of necessity be dragged to the court of public opinion.
I therefore elected to compare and contrast the nefarious activities of Abacha and Obasanjo, who operated like the Nazi's in their desecration of democratic values, censoring the press, their penchant for destruction and primitive accumulation. The time difference of the two leaders notwithstanding, both Abacha and Obasanjo were groomed in the military tradition of Sandhurst Academy. Perhaps the thin line of distinction is that whereas Abacha held the reins of power at a time Nigeria was navigating the brink of anarchy, Obasanjo was graciously released from the gulag to be having being persuaded by IBB, a fellow Sandhurst trained tyrant, to be President. By that position OBJ became the Head of State and arrogated to himself near-omnipotent powers to head all organs of government, including the National Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Peoples DemocraticParty and even emasculated the judiciary. His economic policies of privatization was unpopular as he imposed maximum hardship on the masses, with astronomically increase in petroleum products and its attendant spiraling inflation. It was like the Nazi's who conquered Ukraine and stole all their food and exported to Germany.
Both were ferocious in persecuting political opponents. The high point of Abacha's goons was the extra-judicial murders of the Ogoni nine including Ken Saro-wiwa, and the abbreviation of late Kudirat Abiola - wife of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola - the acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 Presidential elections. Obasanjo's eight years witnessed more than seventy documented high profile politically motivated murders. On the contrary, Abacha never feigned ignorance of his timidity. He read no printed matter, did not give a damn about the international media opinions; he only depended on his marabouts and fortune tellers who conjured voodoo inspiration to prop up his tyranny as long as it lasted. Obasanjo definitely scored a shade above distinction in terms of persecuting political opponents including his Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and he prosecuted such battles like holy wars under the guise of restoring sanity to the polity. The President and his Vice tried to outdo each other in kleptomania.
On the economic front, OBJ could have been scored very high if his reform agenda succeeded in creating even some marginal impact. At no time in Nigeria's history has the price of crude oil soared to $80 per barrel. With the stupendous wealth accruing from crude oil, Obasanjo inaugurated what he called a “Reform Agenda”. First, OBJ suffocated the banking sector by weeding out the small players under the re-capitalization scheme with Prof. Soludo as the CBN Chief. He also assembled a few pro-IMF egg heads to give legitimacy to his reforms. The administration embarked on a privatization spree and sold all choice corporations to his friends and cronies. Otedola and Dangote were major beneficiaries of the President's largesse. Third, he increased the pump price of petroleum products about nine times, and each time an increase was announced, he justified it by pontificating the same argument that our refineries were producing at very low capacity. This argument is difficult to reconcile with the huge sums of money voted for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries. Fourth, OBJ's IMF team like fifth columnists plotted to obliterate the time-honoured “public good” concept of education through a policy of marketisation of institutions including the unity schools. Nigerians know the truth about the stories surrounding the African Petroleum, the PTDF imbroglio, the Pentascope saga and now the gale of scandals have radiated to the power sector, Police Equipment Fund, Aviation Intervention Fund and others yet to catch the eager gaze of the anti-graft agencies. It is because of the despicable role Chukwuma Soludo played that makes this writer believe that Soludo is not the kind of Governor Anambra State needs now. The State has a formidable assemblage of tested technocrats, with experience in statecraft.
Arguably, the past eight years of mis-rule have brought about double digit inflation, increase in the price of petroleum products; privatization of refineries and all that could be regarded as our national heritage. At least under Abacha, the educational system was stable, the exchange rate of the naira was tolerably low and inflation was single digit. Worse than the Abacha junta, Nigeria in the past eight years can be described as a corporatized entity. Wages are not keeping pace with the spiraling inflation, graduate unemployment has worsened, our educational institutions seem to have lost their glamour and the so called reform agenda is like bitter pills forced down the throat of Nigerians. For nearly eight years Obasanjo was misguided by a class of mindless pro-IMF economic adventurers who mis-interpreted pro-poor growth as development. Economic growth was only noticed in Soludo's power point presentations, but the reality is that Obasanjo's eight years reign wrecked havoc and increased the misery index of Nigerians, as epitomized in the life expectancy rate, standard of living, access to health care facilities and other basic infrastructure including education.
Obasanjo and Abacha were both sworn enemies of the media. Abacha muzzled the press because he never read newspapers but OBJ deliberately killed the independent media, climaxed by his refusal to assent to the “Freedom of Information Bill”. Thus while Abacha attacked the physical manifestation of the media such as censoring the press, jailing practitioners, OBJ killed the soul of the press; and he who kills the soul is the real murderer of press freedom. Even the Freedom of Information Bill, which has been muzzled by the NASS may continue to suffer setbacks in the future. It is still in the morgue, and only some esoteric conjuration may bring it up for the gracious discussion of the honourable men.
One of the casualties of the Obasanjo self-perpetuation scheme was the lethal injury inflicted on the electoral system. Obasanjo superintended over the worst elections ever conducted in Nigeria since independence. Elections are supposed to be a decision-making process where people give their mandate to their representatives at all levels of government. In political theory, the principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the conduct of free and fair elections. The 2007 elections were characterized by massive rigging and bizarre subversion of the popular will. The hullabaloo about electronic voting system and the over seventy billion naira of the taxpayers' money expended on the project demonstrated monumental waste. The NASS may not be in a hurry to review the Electoral Act because of the self-perpetuation scheme. That is the unenviable legacy Obasanjo bequeathed to the Nigerian State and the Yar'Adua administration is too slow to push through these reforms. They may never see the light of day till 2011 or even beyond.
OBJ can be described as the luckiest Nigerian, yet his years of democratic rule also witnessed more strikes, more riots, more collapsed buildings, more crashed airplanes, more politically motivated assassinations and other sundry disasters. The causes of these events are being investigated but this may continue ad infinitum. Of course the Nigerian Police lacks the capacity to investigate because of the bogey of corruption and the get-rich-quick mania.
Abacha's regime centralized corruption such that only Abacha, his friends and other lackeys of the junta enriched themselves. On the contrary OBJ set out to fight corruption by establishing ICPC and EFCC. Whereas ICPC has since inception not recorded any landmark achievements, the EFCC was used as an outfit to hunt down politicians who overtly expressed disdain for the third tenure plot. Nigeria's corruption rating by Transparency International was higher in the last 8 years. Even the World Bank reported in 2003 that 51% of corrupt activities were perpetuated at the Presidency. Now Nigeria ranks 130th among 180 countries in the corruption perception index.
•John wrote from Yenagoa
To many impartial observers, OBJ only de-centralized corruption and corporatized Nigeria under the guise of reforms. Verily, the application of double-standards has diminished the tempo of the anti-corruption crusade. This momentum may be gained with the sack of the former anti-corruption Czar. In fact, the Czar has long been replaced by Mrs. Farida Waziri, who in the imagination of most Nigerians, is attempting to re-position the outfit but the NASS poses a huge bottleneck. Obasanjo - the civil war hero, and gentleman farmer of the Operation Feed the Nation fame, wore the garb of democracy but like Abacha, he suffered from acute military hangover. A soldier by training, character and actions, an archetypal dictator, OBJ sought to push through his punitive reforms by brute force rather than appeal to the conscience of Nigerians. It would therefore be a terrible misnomer for anyone to see the past eight years of unmitigated disaster as democratic rule.
Obasanjo is a fighter and he fought very hard to humiliate his opponents. His is lucky and audacious but bereft of the basic elements followers look out for in a democratic leader. It is difficult for a leopard to change his skin, and for most Nigerians with strong analytical minds, his two tenures in power will go down as an uneventful interlude of military hangover.
I am one of those Nigerians calling for the trial of OBJ, IBB, Chief Tony Anineh, Atiku, and other Nigerian involved in high profile corruption. especially on account of the economic atrocities perpetrated against Nigerians for the past eight years. Obasanjo should also tell Nigerians the truth about the punitive expedition he sent to Odi, Okerenkoko, Odioma, and other communities that were laid waste during his inglorious tenure. Nigerians have the right to know how the former President made his stupendous wealth, using his office as President.
The trial of OBJ and his Vice-Atiku by the EFCC will complete the anti-corruption war, and many Nigerians are looking forward to the time this would happen under the Yar'Adua administration. As a student of creative philosophy I have the conviction that leaders, no matter their description, ideological orientation or world view, must account for their stewardship at some date in the future. Just as the Nazi war criminals were tried in Nuremberg and convicted, the Nigerian brand of Nazists should be tried and convicted, and only then will there be full restitution and the souls of their victims will rest in perfect peace.
Idumange John (Mnim, CBA)
Is a University Lecturer and Activist
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