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).
Read more…
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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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 6, 2009 at 9:37pm
Policeman kills okada rider - AC killed - Houses Burnt - Civilian casualties uncertain
Tragedy struck in Bariga, Lagos, at the weekend as a policeman killed a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada for not wearing crash helmet.
The motorcyclist, Mr. Kehinde Olayiwola, was shot to death by one Mr. Nlephen Sunday, a police officer with service number 324788 attached to Pedro Police Station on Thursday because Olayiwola’s passenger failed to wear crash helmet.
Sunday Tribune gathered that the policemen, who included Constable Olajide Samuel, 430490, Constable Lawrence Egbe, 378079, and Sergeant Egbemebor Sunday with service number 193603 of Pedro Police Station often waylay commercial motorcyclists along Bariga Road for not wearing helmet.
It was learnt that the policemen had charged Mr. Olayiwola to pay some money for carrying a passenger who had refused to wear the helmet but the okada man could not pay the money.
An eyewitness, who identified himself as Dotun, told Sunday Tribune that the policeman, Mr. Nlephen, shot Olayiwola at the belly because he refused to compromise.
Dotun said, “Immediately they saw that the okada man fell down, the policemen wanted to run away but the crowd apprehended them and took their names and numbers.”
However, Olayiwola died while receiving treatment at Gbagada General Hospital while his body had since been deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital’s mortuary.
Speaking to Sunday Tribune, a Pastor of the Four Square Gospel Church, Magboro, Gauun Road, a suburb in Ogun State where Olayiwola attended, Reverend Sunday Igbalajobi, said that police has been using various tricks to bury the case.
He told Sunday Tribune that the police did not let the family know when they carried away Olayiwola’s body from Gbagada General Hospital.
“The police hid their vehicle, a white Ford with registration number NPF 9532 B with the inscription of Area H Bariga at the back of the hospital. They blocked sympathizers from entering the hospital and quickly tok the body away. I had to follow them when I realized that they had carried the dead body. I trailed their vehicle to Ikorodu where they deposited the body,” the pastor said.
...Another foils his kidnap attempt
Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr Jonathan Johnson has recommended for promotion an ASP for foiling a kidnap attempt and robbery at Enugu/Port-Harcourt expressway, by overpowering the gang and killing them in a shoot out.
The commissioner said, the officer, who was heading back to Aba after a usual security briefing at the headquarters in Umuahia, ran into the gang that dragged him out of his car into a land cruiser jeep, and left him in the company of one of them while they went to chase their main target.
It was at this point that he was able to dispossess the robber of his gun, took cover in the bush and alerted the joint army patrol force that reinforced and helped him kill the rest of the armed robbers.
Mr. Johnson who disclosed this when speaking with newsmen at the Abia state Police Command, Umuahia, said it was unknown to the armed robbers/kidnappers that the man they had caught was a police officer.
Items recovered from the hoodlums include three AK47 rifles, ten magazines, a laptop, a motorcycle and a land cruiser jeep while two of the robbers died on the spot as a result of gunshot wounds.
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Four fours from forty-fourOn the track, "44 4s", Jay-Z showed off his lyrical prowess when he used variables of four, for, fore and forever forty-four times in a song.In four years, the man born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York will be 44 years old but today, he is 40 and below are 40 reasons to love - or loathe - him.STYLE1. TrendsettingRising from humble beginnings to the top of the charts, Jay-Z sets trends with virtually every move he makes. Rocking hood sweats or tuxedos, he blends in and stands out wherever he goes. He killed the throwback jersey movement and had thugs wearing button up shirts and tailored suits. He once famously rapped "we don't drive X5's, we give those to baby mamas', thus costing BMW some male support.RELATIONSHIPS2. Memphis BleekSince Jay's debut in 1996, Bleek has been riding shotgun, enjoying the benefits of loyalty and friendship. Though his career has not taken off like Jay-Z predicted, his lieutenant remains his right-hand man on stages across the world. On the "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)", Jay rapped, "Bleek can be a hit away his whole career/but as long as I'm alive, he's a millionaire/and even if I die, he's in my will somewhere."3. Damon DashBefore the acrimonious split and jabs in interviews, Harlem's Dash and Brooklyn's Carter were an unstoppable force in Hip-Hop. A Jay-Z video seemed incomplete without Damon's champagne popping and crazy dancing. They "Lost One".4. The Notorious B.I.G.Jay and the fallen rap legend were actual friends who collaborated on the hood classic "Brooklyn's Finest" and "I Love the Dough" before Biggie's demise. Ever since his murder in 1997, Jay-Z has kept Biggie's name alive in his music, helping immortalise the "livest one from Bedford-Stuyvesant".5. Kanye WestSince his work on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album, Mr. West has been a regular Jay-Z collaborator and protégé, helping craft the soundscape for the classic Blueprint album, alongside Just Blaze. West has openly documented his quest to do it like "Big Brother" does.6. Michael JacksonBefore the King of Pop died, he was a bit of a recluse but at Hot 97's annual Summer Jam concert in 2001, Jay-Z brought Michael Jackson onstage and in that moment, two of the best that ever did it held the crowd spellbound. Jay also popped up on a remix of the King's comeback single "You Rock My World" and this year revealed to NME that "(Jackson) was on my song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls', singing these background vocals and I didn't even put his name on it."7. NasTheir 2001 battle remains one of the biggest in Hip-Hop as two of New York's best MCs went at each other. When the dust finally settled, with both parties still standing, Jay signed Nas to Def Jam in 2006. They have since collaborated on Nas' "Black Republican", Jay-Z's "Success" and Ludacris' "I Do it for Hip-Hop".8. The RootsHip-Hop's foremost rap band got more mainstream exposure when they backed Hov up during his MTV Unplugged set and the Fade to Black concert, amongst other performances. They rose from the underground to international acclaim off of that Jay-Z co-sign.9. BeyoncéThe first couple in music has been able to keep fans interested by keeping their affairs public as much as they can. According to Gotham Magazine, the most important thing on the horizon seems to be a plan to have children with Knowles, whom he wedded on the roof of their Tribeca building last year.10. Barack ObamaThe Jigga Man came out strong in support of the first black president during his campaign. He played free concerts in a bid to urge young people to vote for Obama. He popped up Young Jeezy's "My President" remix and more recently alluded to being "a small part of the reason the president is black/I told him I got him, when he hit me on the jack" on "What We Talkin' Bout" off of The Blueprint 3.11. Oprah WinfreyThe talk show queen had publicly spoken out on her aversion to rappers who use the "N" word, amongst other things, but in his own words, "had Oprah chilling in the projects/had her out in Bedstuy, chilling on the steps/drinking quarter waters, gotta be the best." The biggest star in TV couldn't resist the biggest star in Hip-Hop, it seems.12. CollabosThere are too many to mention but chances are, put Jay on a track, and it's a hit. The list includes names as diverse as The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Coldplay, OutKast, Linkin Park, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, BlackStreet, Changing Faces, Amy Winehouse, Dead Prez, Faith Evans, DMX, Sean Paul, Busta Rhymes, Mya, Lenny Kravitz, Juvenile, Punjabi MC, Mavado, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Paul McCartney usual suspects Kanye West and, of course, Beyoncé.13. GhostwritingTouted as one of the best female rappers ever, Foxy Brown's first (and most successful) album, Ill Na Na, was almost exclusively written by Jay-Z. Dr. Dre's comeback single, "Still D.R.E." is another writing credit for Young Hova, as is former protégé, Amil's "I Got That". He is also believed to have written for Diddy, Queen Pen and bizarrely enough, Nas, whose "Braveheart Party" features an S. Carter writer credit.BUSINESS14. Roc-A-FellaWhen no one would sign him, Jay-Z, along with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke joined to form Roc-A-Fella Records. Distributing Reasonable Doubt through Priority Records, the trio "switched factories" for Def Jam and went on to become a Hip-Hop powerhouse before they went their separate ways in 2004.15. RocawearThe clothing label he co-founded with Damon dash in 1999 has grown into a multimillion dollar empire. In 2007, Jay-Z sold the brand to Iconix Brand Group Inc. for $204 million (approx. N30.3 billion) but retained his stake in the company as well as his status as chief executive officer.16. 40/40 ClubHe co-owns The 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that By Chinedu iroCheLEGEND In Hip-Hop circles, no name sparks conversation - good or bad - like Jay-Z's. Today, Brooklyn's favourite son is 40Four fours from forty-four started in New York City and has since expanded to Atlantic City and Chicago. In 2008, the 40/40club in Las Vegas was closed down and bought back by the hotel after attendance steadily declined. Future plans will see 40/40 Clubs in Tokyo and Singapore.17. Reebok S. CarterIn 2003, Reebok announced collaboration with Jay-Z to create the S. Carter tennis shoe, making him the first non-athlete with his own signature shoe. The shoes went on to become the fastest selling Reebok shoes of all time. Maybe that's why he bought a stake in the NBA's New Jersey Nets.18. Def JamJay-Z was appointed president of Def Jam in 2004 and held the position until he stepped down at the end of 2007. As president, his major moves include bringing Nas and Fabolous to the label and the signings ofR & B p o w e r houses, Ne-Yo and Rihanna.19. Roc NationEarlier this year, he signed a multi-million dollar deal with Live Nation to start his Roc Nation imprint, which would serve as a record label, talent/management agency, and music publishing company and also partnered up with production team, Stargate to start a record label called StarRoc.20. Fela!Along with Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Jay-Z helped produce the play Fela!, a musical celebrating the work of the late Nigerian legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Jay-Z said he was inspired by the power of Kuti's work and his life story, which resulted in his interest to help produce the musical.THE LIVE EXPERIENCE21. Backstage: Hard Knock Life TourIn 1998, Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records partnered with Ruff Ryders and Def Jam for Hip- Hop's most successful nationwide tour at the time. Sharing the stage with fellow powerhouses DMX, Method Man and Redman, alongside up and coming stars, Ja Rule, Eve, Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel, it re - opened the door for rap concerts which had been marred by violence in the past.22. Jay-Z... MTV UnpluggedMTV's intimate jam session regularly reserved for rock stars opened its door to the Hip-Hop sensibilities of Jay-Z one night in 2001. With The Roots backing him up, and several celeb friends dropping by, S Dot vibed (and almost cried) with the crowd at one of the more popular unplugged sessions.23. I Declare WarIn September 2005, Jay announced that the theme for his October show at radio station Power 105.1's annual concert was "I Declare War" and he would take shots at all artists that opposed him. Instead, he brought out several feuding acts including The LOX and Diddy, Jadakiss and Beanie Sigel and officially ended his longstanding beef with Nas when he brought him out on stage for a merged performance of "Dead Presidents" and "The World is Yours".24. GlastonburyControversy ensued in 2008 when Jay-Z was announced as the headliner for the annual British rock festival. Noel Gallagher of Oasis was the most vocal opposition to Jay- Z's selection and he in turn, comically began his set with a mockery of the Oasis hit "Wonderwall". Jay went on to have a very successful performance.25. YankeesOn hit record, "Empire State of Mind", Jay declared he "made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can" then went on to deliver unprecedented performances at the World Series and the New York Yankees' victory parade last month. What more can I say?26. South Africa 2010 World CupAlongside his wife, Beyoncé and other international music stars, Jay-Z is set for a pre-World Cup concert to launch the greatest show on earth.CHARITY27. Fade to BlackIn 2003, Jay-Z announced that The Black Album would be his last and the "retirement" concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, would serve as the premise for his movie, Fade to Black. With The Roots backing him up once more, Hov produced an electrifying night of lights and love as the biggest names in entertainment and thousands of fans came out to share in his swan song. Proceeds from the concert went to charity.28. Water for LifeNearly 2 million children die each year due to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation. In a partnership with MTV and the UN, Jay-Z toured several developing countries in 2006, meeting with young people who do not have access to safe water. Nigeria was one of his stops, where he commissioned a bore hole in Kwara State. MTV released the Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, where the rapper declared, "we say we're from the hood but we're not by a long shot."29. Answer the CallTo celebrate the coinciding 8th anniversaries of the World Trade Centre disaster and his first Blueprint, Jay held a charity concert at Madison Square Garden for theNew York Police and Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund, letting them know that their tough times had not been forgotten.MUSIC30. Summer AnthemsOften releasing albums at the end of the year, Jay-Z has still managed to create hits summer after summer. There is a long list to pick from including "Ain't No N!gg@" featuring Foxy Brown, "The City is Mine" featuring BlackStreet, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Can I Get A..." featuring Amil & Ja Rule, "Big Pimpin'" featuring UGK, "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Takeover", "Excuse Me Miss", "La La La (Excuse Me Again)", "Dirt off your Shoulders", "Numb/Encore", "Show Me What You Got", "Roc Boys (And the Winner is...)", "Run this Town" and a whole lot more.31. Reasonable DoubtThe debut classic that formally introduced the world to Jay-Z is a timeless collection of songs. Thirteen years later, it still comes off as relevant, supporting the notion that it was way ahead of its time.32. "Can't Knock the Hustle"Repeatedly, Jay-Z has referred to himself as a hustler and no one song better typifies that fact than this. Both the original version and the Meli'sa Morgan Fool's Paradise remix preach tales of an understanding of both the rap game and crack game, that it could be said to be the blueprint to The Blueprint.33. The BlueprintWidely touted to be his second classic, some will argue that there have been others before. Either way, this soulful gem ushered in two of Hip-Hop's most respected producers in Kanye West and Just Blaze. From the intro to the hidden bonus tracks, it is the perfect marriage of lyrics and beats like only jay-Z could have carried out.34. The Best of Both WorldsWhen the top Hip-Hop performer and the top R&B performer, R. Kelly, announced that they were releasing this collaborative effort, the world rejoiced. However, Kelly's child pornography allegations marred the promotion of this monumental occasion but the ill-fated disc still enjoyed platinum success.35. The Black AlbumThe "retirement" album also garnered classic status. Arguably, his most personal set to date, Jay chronicled his life so far and what music had meant to him, even bringing his mother on board to tell his story. With hits like "PSA", "Dirt off your Shoulder", "Change Clothes " and "Encore" coming off of that album, not much more needs to be said.36. American GangsterAfter criticism for his return disc, Kingdom Come, claiming that he'd sold out, Jay channeled inspiration from the Frank Lucas biopic, American Gangster to release an album of the same name, chronicling his relationship with drugs and the streets. He reunited with Diddy for the project, to create the old school vibe that silenced the critics.37. "Mr. Carter"With Lil Wayne, regarded as the new figure head in Hip-Hop, the man born Dwayne Carter featured Shawn Carter on this song, with the latter rapping, "I share/mic time, with my heir/ Young Carter, go farther/go further/go hard!" It was the perfect way to pass the baton to the future... but not just yet because...38. ..."D.O.A (Death of Autotune)"...signaled a warning shot to young artists that have overused the pitch correcting device made prominent by T-Pain. Without naming names, he launched a scathing attack against the entire landscape advising artists to get their creativity up and stop relying on technology for hits.39. "Empire State of Mind"Surprisingly, this is his first Billboard Hot 100 number one single. The Alicia Keys featured song seems to have reinvigorated the patriotic spirit of New Yorkers, especially with its release around 9/11. He recently said, "I guess I was just really centered with my birthplace while I was making the record because it wasn't a conscious thing at all. New York is alive, real people, it never shuts down, the honesty of it, the variety of it. It makes you look forward to every single season. When it gets too hot, you look forward to fall. When it's fall, you look forward to seeing the snow. It's just the most beautiful place in the world to me."40. Mr. BillboardWith the release of The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z scored his 11th number one album on Billboard, giving him the record for most number ones by a solo artist, with only the Beetles having more at 19. The albums are:Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000) The Blueprint (2001) The Blueprint2: The Gift & the Curse (2002) The Black Album (2003) Unfinished Business (2004) - with R. Kelly Collision Course (2004) - with Linkin Park, Kingdom Come (2006) American Gangster (2007) The Blueprint 3 (2009)
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A new study suggests that lonely people attract fellow "lonelies" and influence others to feel lonely, too.
"Loneliness can spread from person to person to person -- up to three degrees of separation," said James H. Fowler, co-author of the study published in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.
The study says that not only is loneliness contagious, but lonely people tend to isolate themselves in small groups that somehow compound or increase those feelings of solitude.
According to Fowler, the data suggests that the average person feels lonely about 48 days a year, but for the lonely, that feeling can be ever-present. In addition, the study indicated that people who felt lonely were more likely to be friendless, or constantly shedding friends, a few years later: Compared with those who are never lonely, lonely people can lose about 8 % of their friends over a four-year period, for instance.
The researchers worked with more than 5,100 participants.
The team constructed graphs tracking the participants' ongoing friendship patterns over two to four years. They found that, among neighbors, an increase of loneliness of just one day per week triggered a rise in loneliness among neighbor-friends, as well. And that loneliness actually spread throughout the community as affected neighbors saw each other less, the researchers said.
Women appeared more vulnerable than men to "catching" loneliness, the researchers found.
Mark R. Leary, professor and director of the social psychology program at Duke University, whose work zeroes in on the need for social acceptance, called the study impressive in its sample, analysis and conclusion. He added that the contagion of loneliness could be, to some degree, a situation of people mimicking the styles of those around them.
So what can be done to help the lonely, to integrate them better with others? Leary suggested that those who interact with lonely people recognize that their tendency to pull inward emotionally and be less outgoing is a trait of loneliness, not of something else. "It reflects loneliness and a need for connection, rather than indifference, dislike or rejection. People can reach out to their lonely loved one rather than withdraw themselves," he said.
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Yevgeny Moskalev, a resident of Saint Petersburg, invented a technique that allows turning alcohol into powder. The good news is that the new technique allows doing it to any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer.
Yevgeny Moskalev, professor of Saint Petersburg Technological University, had his own reasons for the invention. In Soviet times, the scientist used to work for the defense industry and during perestroika he had to start freelancing.
“We made powder glues, worked with resins, and once we were asked to invent a device for capsulation. We assembled the device but the client never paid. We would have given up, but an accident helped us. One company had to capsulate water- and spirit- based extract of an animal medication. Animals do not like the smell of spirit and in a capsule form it could be added to their food. As a result, we developed a technology that allowed us to turn any solution into powder,” the scientist said.
The technology was tested on 96% spirit, and the know-how was patented. Moskalev learned to “can” ethanol drops into capsules. He does it by adding alcohol into melted wax in the process of mixing. Then the solution is dissipated, drops of wax harden and retain spirit molecules inside. This is how the idea of the experiment with Russian favorite drink was born. The powder version of vodka became popular since it was easier to carry and harder to break. “Dry” vodka can be wrapped in paper and carried around in a pocket or a bag. Vodka in a form of a pill would come handy at partiers when “consumers” would be able to calculate their exact required dosage. Yet, no vodka pills should be expected in near future.
“Unfortunately, spirit can be only retained in capsules made of stearic acid, so powdered vodka tastes like a candle. Generally, an unpleasant taste could be easily removed with flavoring agents. To be honest, I did not like vodka in pills. It is much better to eat it with a dessert spoon, although you can’t eat more than three or four spoons and the effect is weak. So, vodka is best consumed the old way,” the scientist explained.
Moskalev himself prefers the classic scheme – a shot glass and a pickle to chase it with. Yet, he understands that powdered alcohol could be interesting for bakers who have to use it for baked goods and ice cream all the time. The method can be also favored by pharmacists because it allows getting the exact dosage.
By the way
We already wrote that the British invented “carbonated vodka.” The process took them 18 months. This vodka is sold in Europe, so Russian tourists will be able to toast with sparkling vodka instead of champagne. However, they should be careful as the effect can surpass all expectations.
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If someone told me years ago, when I was a devoted member of the Pioneer organization, that one day I would start reading articles describing the various ways to love my own body and then discuss them with my girlfriends, I would kick their butts.
Good girls have no clue what a man and a woman do when left alone or where kids come from, let alone more complicated issues.
If you are still in the dark and pretend to have no idea where to put a condom, do not read any further. Otherwise, you’ll blush and your moral values will be shattered. Although you probably read in the Biblical Book of Genesis a story of Onan who had sex with the wife of his diseased brother but performed coitus interruptus each time, spilling his "seed" on the ground. The story says that this displeased God, who killed him.
For some reason, this story is often mentioned by priests as an example of God’s punishment for those who masturbate. However, the story only describes coitus interruptus used by many couples, and not masturbation that we will be talking about.
Majority of doctors believe that a lion share of all our issues is caused by the fact that we do not know our own bodies well. Marriages collapse because spouses are not satisfied with their sexual lives. Men cheat on their wives because the wives enjoy TV more than sex.
Michael Perry, a London sexologist, thinks that people first of all have to know their own bodies, sensations and desires.
Contemporary sex education specialists believe that masturbation is healthy, normal, and useful experience. Bernie Zilbergeld, the author of The New Male Sexuality, said that masturbation was a form of relaxation. It is not physically harmful, no matter how frequently it is practiced.
Some women have extremely negative reaction towards masturbation. Avodah Offit, a writer and psychiatrist, the author of Virtual Love, described the following situation in her book. Once she received a late night call. A woman was calling to complain that her husband was having a fit of raving madness. As it turned out, she woke up in the middle of the night to see that her husband was masturbating. The lady was so naïve that she thought her husband was doing it in his sleep. Many women cannot understand that sex can take other forms other than regular sex with a partner. Masturbation, however, is not a replacement for that. Some couples think that mutual masturbation or looking at the masturbating partner can be a pleasant experience.
the difference between coitus and masturbation is physiological. Glands that release pre-ejaculatory secretion during foreplay are not used during masturbation. Different sets of nerve endings are involved during these two acts, which affects the nature and quality of an orgasm. Michael Perelman, a sexologist, believes that women who claim masturbation to be a “mental adultery” underrate the importance of this exercise in keeping their marriages monogamous. Masturbation helps men to have versatility, relax, and be faithful in real life. Women who do not mind “mental adultery” are most likely happier in their marriages. Sexologists also recommend masturbation to those men who suffer from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.
Some specialists suggest that masturbation that does not result in an orgasm an hour before coitus causes a stronger and longer erection. Masturbation is also believed to improve reproductive function.
For women, masturbation is a chance of a stronger orgasm. Masturbation is most frequently practiced at the age of 25-50 years old. Married people masturbate less frequently, and it is especially true for married men. Frequency of masturbation varies from once or twice a year to once or twice a day.
Arguments “pro” masturbation
- You will not hear “I’m too tired.”
- You can masturbate whenever and wherever you want.
- STDs are not an issue.
- No one knows you better than you know yourself.
- No side effects!
- Women can use the following tools: cucumbers, bananas, carrots (a condom should be used to prevent infection), used mascara applicators, plastic toys, shower heads, electric toothbrushes, deodorant containers, and, naturally, hands.
17.8% of women who participated in a poll think that there is nothing wrong in studying their own bodies and satisfying themselves. Men think that masturbation is natural, especially when it helps release stress.
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