Mbu deployed as AIG in charge of Lagos, Ogun states

By Kingsley Omonobi


Also, Mr. Tunde Ogunshakin, former AIG in charge of Training was redeployed to Rivers State as the AIG in charge of Zone 6, Calabar, comprising Rivers State, Akwa Ibom State and Cross Rivers State, while AIG Tambari Mohammed will be in charge of Zone 1, Kano.
AIG Musa Daura  will be in charge Zone 5 Benin,  comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States.  Also, AIG Aderenle Shinaba,  former CP Kano was deployed to Zone 4, Markudi .
Others are; AIG Mohammed J. Abubakar,  in charge ZONE 3 Yola; AIG. Patrick Dokumor in charge of AIG Zone 7, Abuja; AIG Christopher Dega, ZONE 8 LOKOJA, AIG USMAN AKILA GWARRY is AIG in charge Zone 9 UMUAHIA, AIG BALA A. HASSAN is AIG ZONE 10 SOKOTO, AIG IKEMEFUNA R. OKOYE is AIG ZONE 11 OSOGBO, AIG MOHAMMED J. GANA is AIG ZONE 12 BAUCHI and AIG SULE MAMMAN is AIG FORSEC at Force HQ.
Others are AIG ADISA B. BOLANTA Commandant Police Academy, Kano, AIG EDGAR TAM NANAKUMO, AIG FORCE ANIMAL BRANCH, AIG SABO RINGIM IBRAHIM, AIG in charge BORDER PATROL, AIG WILFRED EJE OBUTE, AIG in charge ARMAMENT FHQ ABUJA, AIG KALAFITE HELEN ADEYEMI is AIG MARITIME, FHQ; AIG IBRAHIM M. MAISHANU is AIG INFO-TECH FHQ; AIG JUBRIN OLAWALE ADENIJI is FHQ 2i/C FCID.
AIG LAWAL TANKO is AIG in charge Police Mobile Force FHQ, ABUJA; AIG BALLAH MAGAJI NASARAWA formerly AIG INTELLIGENCE is now CMDT PSC JOS; AIG YAHAYA GARBA ARDO is AIG in charge Counter Terrorism Unit FHQ; AIG BUHARI TANKO is in charge SPECIAL DUTY at FHQ; AIG OLUFEMI A. ADENAIKE is AIG TRAINING, FHQ; AIG UMARU ABUBAKAR MANKO formerly AIG ZONE 2, LAGOS is now DIRECTOR STUDY GROUP NIPSS KURU, JOS; AIG IRIMIYA F. YERIMA is AIG.COMMUNICATION, FHQ; and AIG MARK ADAMU IDAKWO is now AIG in charge Federal Operations at FHQ.
A statement signed by CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, Force Public Relations officer said, “While charging the Senior Officers to bring their experience to bear on their new postings and be more service-oriented in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities, the IGP urges the public to partner closely with the force in its determination to ensure improved safety and security of our country”.

Achievments of GEJ - Economy

Since taking office, President Goodluck Jonathan has made remarkable progress in the development of critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly agriculture, manufacturing, power and services.
According to international firm KPMG*, “In terms of Nigeria’s economic policy, prospects have improved with President Goodluck Jonathan in the driving seat, with a strong technocratic economic team lending support.”
Over the course of his administration, Nigeria has become the preferred destination for foreign direct investment in Africa, leading to unprecedented economic growth and job creation.
Under President Jonathan’s leadership, the National Bureau of Statistics rebased Nigeria’s GDP, securing the country’s rightful place as the largest economy in Africa and the 26^th largest economy in the world.  The release of the rebased GDP data is part of a broader push by the Jonathan Administration to improve and update Nigeria’s statistics.
Achievements:

• Created 1.6 million new jobs under various programmes including the Community Service Scheme (CSS), Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN!) and the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P).
• Created 250,000 jobs in the agriculture sector by enabling Dry Season Farming in 10 Northern states.
• Launched the National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) to spearhead private sector-led industrialization by strengthening the value chain of various manufacturing industries.
• Introduced SURE-P (The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme), which has created 185,000 jobs across the country.
• Lowered government fiscal deficit from 3.35% of GDP in 2010 to 1% in 2014.
• Enhanced transparency in government financing through the publication of monthly FAAC allocations to Federal, States, and Local Governments.
• Hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa for the first time in 2014, showcasing Nigeria’s impressive economic growth to a global audience and attracting further foreign investment.
• Generated $68bn in Foreign Direct Investment, with notable projects including: Indorama’s $1.2bn fertilizer plant at Onne, Procter and Gamble’s $250mn consumer goods plant in Ogun, and SAB Miller’s $100mn brewery in Onitsha.
• Tackled fraud in the oil subsidy regime, identifying N370 billion in fraudulent claims now targeted for recovery.
• Spearheaded the YouWIN programme, aimed at creating youth employment and alleviating poverty. The programme will create 80,000 -110,000 jobs over 3 years.
• Initiated the Community Works Programme to create 370,000 jobs in 3 years with all 36 states and the FCT benefitting.
• Established the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to manage the Sovereign Wealth Fund and oversee The Future Generations Fund, The Nigeria Infrastructure Fund and The Stabilization Fund.

*See “Nigerian Snapshot: 2013 Quarter 1,” KPMG / NKC

Abeokuta Meeting: Obasnjo's 5 Questions To Jonathan

By - Clement Ejiofor,

Reactions and allegations keep tracking the Monday meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
It had been previously reported that what was supposed to be a peace meeting ended in fiasco. Some sources said that Obasanjo was not feeling comfortable during the encounter because of the President’s recent provocative utterances against prominent Nigerian statesmen, including him.
The others however added that the meeting “was frank and straight to the issues at hand”.
Still, it soon emerged that following the occasion OBJ declared his current mindset to be ABJ , or “Anything But Jonathan”. It was a clear indication that the whole thing did not go well.
The latest update on the meeting was exclusive provided by Leadership, according to which the ex-President put the acting President on the hot seat in his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta.
READ ALSO: IN PHOTOS: Jonathan And Buhari Look Like Best Friends As They Meet In Abuja
Together with Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop David Oyedepo, also present at the meeting, Obasanjo asked Jonathan questions which he had earlier thrown up in his correspondence to the country leader.
See the FIVE questions of crucial importance which were allegedly heard behind the closed doors. It seemed like a court interrogation as Obasanjo asked Jonathan to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”.
1. Did you agree to run for only one term or not?
2. What did you tell me was your reason for not going after Boko Haram insurgents even when I told you this will boomerang?
3. What happened to Nigeria’s external reserve and Sovereign Wealth Fund?
4. Did you give licence to Niger Delta militants (Dokubo and Tompolo) to import arms in the name of their privately owned companies? If so, for what reason?
5. Did you not get correspondence from the United States consulate that a certain citizen named Buruji Kashamu is indicted for drug trafficking? Why did you appoint the same Kashamu as South West leader of PDP rather than hand him over to the US? And did the PDP give automatic Senate ticket to a wanted and convicted drug baron?
The information about the answers to these questions is however yet to be obtained.
Meanwhile, as less than a months is left before the presidential elections in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties signed a document to avoid actions that could endorse violence during and after the polls.

Nigeria won’t break up this year –US

 
by _ Nigeria Blogger

The United States Government has said that there are no signs that Nigeria will disintegrate before, during or after the February general elections.
While explaining that Nigeria was indeed facing “big challenges,” the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, stated that the problems at stake were surmountable.
According to the top American envoy, Nigerians should “throw out of the window” the idea from “some think-tank or somebody outside the (US) government” stating that Nigeria was going to fall apart in 2015.
Entwistle spoke in Lagos on Thursday, during an interactive session with select journalists on the recent donation of a US naval ship, christened, “NNS Okpabana” to the Nigerian Navy.
The US diplomat said, “I have been plagued by the question (on Nigeria’s 2015 disintegration) and I have gone back to look and I can’t find any government report that said Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. Maybe some think-tank or somebody outside the government said it; I don’t know.
“But in my opinion as the US Ambassador to this country, I am not worried in the least that Nigeria is going to disintegrate in 2015. Regardless of what someone may have said, the question is that we are now here in 2015: Do we see signs that Nigeria is going to disintegrate or fall apart or something? I don’t know what you think. But I don’t see those signs.
“But I see signs of growth, optimism and I see that to minimise the challenges that you have, in this life, you have to keep on keeping on, and I think the future is quite bright.”
Entwistle added that if the Federal Government did what was needed to be done in the coming years, especially as pertaining to “security, corruption and all of these things,” the future of Nigeria would be “very bright.”
He debunked the insinuation that the President Barack Obama administration had imposed “an arms embargo” on Nigeria following the reported refusal of the American government to sell Cobra helicopters to the Federal Government to prosecute the ongoing war against terrorism.
Citing human rights considerations for the development, Entwistle hinted that the US Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria was “still talking about a number of other types of equipment and different types of helicopters that might be more appropriate” for the Nigerian military services.
Respecting human rights among the civilian population, he argued, should not be an impediment to fighting terrorism in the three north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
He added, “Sometimes the criticism of us (the United States) is that we don’t care about fighting terrorism, but we care about human rights. My reaction is that I don’t believe that you have to choose between fighting terror and protecting the civilian population. I think you can do both at the same time.
“As you fight terror, you also have to protect the civilian population and keep them on your side. We have learnt the hard way in our own counter-terrorism experience that if you lose the trust and support of the civilian population, you have lost everything. We (Nigeria and America) have had that conversation and indeed much of the (military) training that we have done with the army over the years have focused on this kind of thing.”

Etisalat, FirstBank Partner to Provide Mobile Money on Easywallet

AND           

Etisalat Press Release

Lagos, Nigeria; January 6, 2015: In a partnership which industry watchers hailed as capable of entrenching financial inclusion and lead innovation in mobile payment systems, Etisalat Nigeria and FirstBank have teamed up to provide Firstmonie on the Etisalat Easywallet SIM application solution.


The partnership between Nigeria's most innovative telecommunications company and leading banking institution will promote the use of Firstmonie mobile money on the mobile technology driven easywallet SIM application. According to Lucas Dada, the Director, Business Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, this partnership between Etisalat Nigeria and FirstBank will provide added value to all customers and stakeholders in the mobile money industry.


"Etisalat easywallet, is one of the most secure and convenient platforms for mobile money services. With the easywallet, Etisalat subscribers can make financial transactions such as Peer-to-Peer transfers, Bills Payment and Airtime top-up, directly from their mobile device." He said.


He added that Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa collectively contribute a lot to the nation's economy and this necessitates the need to support this segment of the economy by making financial transactions easier, safer, more efficient and innovative. He described EasyWallet as one of Etisalat's strategies of facilitating financial integration of the SMEs.


"Etisalat Easywallet is the first to partner with prominent Nigerian banks and independent Mobile Money Operators including First Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Zenith Bank and Pagatech. It is convenient and helps our corporate clients (SMEs) to also enjoy benefits of cost reduction, inventory management, streamlining intermediaries, ensuring price transparency and competitiveness."

MEND endorses Buhari for Presidency, says it has no confidence in President Jonathan to solve Nigeria’s problems

By Sisi Calabar
Home support is very critical in any battle. Even football clubs don’t like to lose matches at their home grounds how much more a politician. But I am afraid the reports reaching me from the home front of President Goodluck Jonathan is not palatable.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari [GMB], on Tuesday gained an unusual support as the main agitating militant group in the Niger Delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), pledged its total support for the former military ruler.
MEND, in a lengthy press statement circulated through email by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, anchored its decision on the need to deliver Nigeria, especially the Niger Delta region, from the crunching effects of corruption.
It also lamented the unconcerned attitude of President Jonathan’s administration at the unrelenting degradation of the Niger Delta environment, taking a hard stance on the increasing level of oil theft in the region.
President Jonathan, according to MEND, does not deserve “a second” more in the Presidency.
The group also commended Buhari for proposing to scrap the office of the First Lady, which it considered to be a drain on the nation’s resources and a conduit through which corrupt government officials steal across all levels of government.
It said, “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has, upon careful consideration of the state of the nation, endorses and fully supports the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Gen. Mohammadu Buhari.
“Our decision to throw our full support on Gen. Mohammadu Buhari stems from the pathetic state in which the country has been put by the government of Goodluck Jonathan and our strong believe in Buhari as the man and change the country needs.

Google Nigeria to Train 100 Reporters & Editors on Poll Reporting for Elections

 

Ahead of the February national elections, Google Nigeria said on Wednesday in Lagos that it would train 100 journalists on poll reporting.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, said the workshop for poll reporting would be held in Lagos on Jan. 16.
The theme of the workshop, is “Data Tools for Elections Reporting’’, a statement by Kola-Ogunlade said.
It said the Google for elections workshop was a hands-on certificate programme with a focus on using social media tools, visualisation and citizen reporting tools in ‘unearthing’ and telling elections-based stories.
The statement said the training was hinged on the important role the social media and online journalism had played in helping to build a stable democracy resulting from informed voting.
The weeks leading to Nigeria’s 2015 general elections will present great opportunities for media people to innovate on their storytelling abilities through the use of online tools and social media, it said.
It said that participants would be taught the use of online tools such as fusion tables, polls, trends and tables to research and develop stories.
The statement also said journalists including editors, social media users, digital reporters would be equipped with skills in a bid to make them more proficient.
It is hoped that at the end of the training participants will be able to leverage on online digital tools for better election reporting.

Photo Credit: alderconsulting.wordpress.com

Nigeria’s Bank Of Industry Commits $6m To Support Local Smart Cards Manufacturers

By Emmanuel Iruobe


VENTURES AFRICA – The Bank of Industry (BoI) has said it is committed to providing $6 million (N1.1 billion) to support Nigeria’s smart cards manufacturing industry. This is a part of broader move to support backward integration plans that will facilitate the emergence of profitable local manufacturers within Africa’s largest economy.
Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, Managing Director of the BoI revealed this during a facility tour of SecureID Limited in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. He explained that the bank’s continuous support of the manufacturing sector is hinged on its potential to spur growth and create many jobs for the citizenry.
“Manufacturing in Nigeria is taking a new edge. I am delighted at what I have seen today. SecureID Limited is the first integrated manufacturing company in Nigeria and Africa. What we witnessed today also happened in Nnewi recently at Innoson vehicle manufacturing plant where cars are manufactured in the country rather than just assembling the parts,” he said.
“We are witnessing a successful backward integration of activities in the card industry through local production of cards. The company has established capacity and smart manufacturing techniques. As a customer of our bank, we have supported the business and this shows that the facility has been effectively utilized”, he added.
At current capacity utilization levels of 70 percent and a potential for producing about 100 million cards every year, the manufacturing plant can provide, at least, 350 new jobs in the country.
The Managing Director of SecureID Limited, Mrs Kofo Akinkugbe, revealed that the company can produce chip and PIN based smartcards supporting payments and biometric identification, verification and authentication purposes. According to her, the company’s local production of smart cards for the financial sector, telecommunications and public sector has reduced the level of imports and exposure to the foreign exchange market.
“This state-of-the-art smartcard manufacturing facility aids the local production of SIM cards for the telecoms industry, bank payment cards and high security polycarbonate identity cards for the private and public sectors. This great effort is in line with the nation’s vision of actualizing local content production,” she said.
“SecureID provides turn-key solutions for the smartcard identity industry from project start, through design, manufacture and personalization to final card packaging/fulfillment. SecureID supports a wide range of card products such as EMV SmartCards, GSM SIM cards, Magnetic-stripe debit cards, Loyalty cards, Contactless dual interface chip cards, Multipurpose secure identity cards and Mifare cards,” she concluded.
The ongoing National Electronic Identity Cards (eID) roll-out by the National Identity Management Commission provides a very present demand for more of these cards, justifying the investment efforts of the BoI.

I will expose the failures of my predecessors – Jonathan

By post Nigeria:

President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to expose the failures of his predecessors which has limited the growth and development of the country.
The President made this statement at the inauguration of the Goodluck/Sambo 2015 Presidential Campaign Organisation, PCO, at the PDP Presidential Campaign office, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja.
According to the president, the achievements of his administration over the last six years which the former presidents and heads of states could not achieve will be made exposed.
His words “In the last four years, despite the security challenges we have had to contend with, Nigeria, under our watch, has made significant strides in every aspect. Our economy today is the largest and the strongest in the African continent, and a preferred destination for foreign direct investment.
“We have focused on job creation and the expansion of opportunities for our teeming youth as well as interventions to promote Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. Through an internationally acclaimed transformational agricultural programme, we have re-established agriculture as a business, and a major driver of economic growth.
“Today, not only is the agricultural sector thriving, the value chains in the sector have been activated and have become productive. The country’s food import bill has been reduced, and the non-oil sector has witnessed significant growth.
“We have expanded access to education by providing schools and facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Today, there is a Federal University in every state of the Federation, and every Nigerian child has been given the opportunity to go to school.
“We have successfully privatized the power sector, a process that was adjudged by the international community of investors as transparent and credible. Our trains are moving again, from Lagos to Kano, from Lagos to Ibadan, from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
According to Jonathan, his campaign will be used to confront past heads of states with what his administration has done and expose what the ex-head of state did not do.
He said “When we start campaigns, we will confront them with what we have done as a government, we will tell them what they did not do when they were heads of state. Some people want to still keep these children as shoe cleaners, we must lift them up. Our children should not be used as cannon folders. They should be allowed to move forward to be governors like us.
“We have everything it takes to run an excellent and victorious campaign. Our great party has demonstrated to Nigerians that it is the party with the broadest appeal. We are the strongest and the biggest. We have engaged the people of Nigeria positively with people-friendly policies, which have moved Nigeria forward.”
He continued: “We have sustained the democratic tradition. We have strengthened democratic institutions. We inherited a rather complex security challenge but we are waging a determined war against it. We are succeeding in preventing terrorists and insurgents from turning more of our communities into enclaves for their dastardly activities.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan said his administration is committed to resolving the security situation in the country “We remain fully committed to further empowering the security agencies to enable them win the war against terror. We have proven to the people that we are a party and a team that they can rely upon.”

Why Buhari will never be president of Nigeria

 

By - Femi Aribisala 

ON Friday, 23rd August, 1985, the military government of Major-General Mohammadu Buhari decided to place me under arrest.  My crime was that I wrote, among others, an article entitled: “Counter-trading Nigeria’s Future” in the National Concord, exposing the government’s scam of diverting public funds into private coffers through barter-trade with Brazil. A man by the name of Benson Norman was sent from the State Security Services (SSS) to my office to get me. Not finding me, he left a note that I must present myself unfailingly at the SSS office at 15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi Lagos the next Monday morning.

However, on Sunday, 25th August, 1985, Lateef Aminu came first thing in the morning to my house to inform me that the government of Buhari/Idiagbon had been overthrown.  For this reason, I am fond of telling people that God brought about a change of government in Nigeria just because of me.

Coup-plotter

Under the Buhari/Idiagbon regime, once you ended up at 15 Awolowo Road, you may never be heard of again.  Decree Number 2 of 1984 empowered Tunde Idiagbon to arrest and detain anybody indefinitely without trial and without legal reprieve.  After Buhari was overthrown, Mohammadu Gambo opened the prison doors of 15 Awolowo Road on public television, revealing people in various stages of undress and malnutrition that had been kept in the dungeons without trial by Buhari’s hound-dogs.

As self-imposed Head of State, Buhari had no regard for human rights.  Immediately he seized power, he announced that he would “tamper with” the press.  Soon, the infamous Decree Number 4 was promulgated which made even the publication of the truth a punishable offence.  Under this cover, Buhari jailed innocent journalists, including Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabo.  He abolished civil liberties, promulgated retroactive decrees enabling him to kill Nigerians through jungle justice, proscribed civil society organizations and professional groups and exercised “absolute” power.

This same Buhari would now have us believe that he has gone through some metamorphosis and has become a democrat.  I am sure you will forgive me if people like me don’t believe him.  Buhari is not, has never been, and will never be, a democrat.  Only in Nigeria would a man with his track record, who came to power through a military coup that illegally overthrew a democratic government, now be acclaimed as a democrat.  It is on record that Buhari’s military regime is the only one in Nigeria’s history that failed to promulgate a programme for return to civilian rule.

Facts and fiction

So what exactly qualifies Buhari as a democrat today?  Precious little!  There is nothing democratic about forming and joining political parties just in order to be the presidential candidate.  Little wonder then that Buhari’s parties have a short shelf-life.  Buhari would like to be Nigeria’s head of state once again.  He can no longer achieve this through the barrel of a gun.  The only route now open to him is through the democratic process.  That is the reason  he now conveniently fashions himself as a democrat.  It is merely a means to an end; no more, no less.

Buhari’s reputation as an anti-corruption crusader is also a myth.  As head of state, he did not make any dent in Nigerian corruption.  All we got was a cosmetic “war against indiscipline.”  The counter-trade scam happened under his watch.  Rather than deal with it, he sent his hound-dogs after nonentities like me who dared to expose it.  That scam was no different, in scope and scale, from the petroleum subsidy and other corruption scandals that have since plagued Nigeria. The Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) that Buhari headed under Abacha was also a citadel of corruption.  While Buhari himself might not have enriched himself, his cronies and those who worked under him did so handsomely.

On three different occasions, Buhari has run for the presidency.  On three different occasions he has failed.  That should really be enough.  If, as seems likely, he were to run for the presidency a fourth time in 2015, there is no question that he would fail yet again.  Try as he might again and again, Mohammadu Buhari can never be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Buhari’s sectarianism

There is a fundamental reason behind this.  Buhari is a bad politician.  He is an unbending former military dictator and not a democratic consensus-builder.  Like his new ally, Bola Tinubu, Buhari is a regional, sectional politician.  Such politicians are practically impossible to package and market nationally in the ethnically-delicate Nigeria of today.

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Nasir El’Rufai, one of those Northerners who deserve to be serious contenders for the presidency of Nigeria, observed that Buhari remains “perpetually unelectable” as a result of his “insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus.”  This is an elegant way of saying that politically, Buhari has an uncanny tendency to put his foot in his mouth.  He talks before thinking of the political implications of his words.  He shoots from the hip.

The strength of Obasanjo, which enabled him to capture the presidency on two different occasions, was that he was perceived as a broadminded politician, not overly partial to his people in the South-West.  As a matter of fact, in his first election, his people did not want him.  The strength of Goodluck Jonathan, which propelled him to win the presidency, was that he was able to string together a coalition that stretched both north and south of the Niger.  The weakness of Buhari is that he is totally unacceptable to people outside his region.

Buhari is a Northern regional champion.  As head of state in the 1980s, his government was unapologetically Northern.  No attempt was made to balance the ticket at the top.  It was the only regime in Nigeria’s history headed by two Northerners.  When he seized power, Buhari put Shagari, the Northern head of state he overthrew, under house arrest.  But then he jailed Alex Ekwueme, the Southern vice-president.  You may well ask what makes Shagari less culpable for the misdeeds of the Second Republic than his number-two man.  The simple fact was that Buhari was Fulani as was Shagari; but Ekwueme was Igbo.

Impolitic words

At the height of the Sharia debate during the Obasanjo administration, Buhari declared that Muslims should vote only for fellow Muslims.  This was politically suicidal for a man seeking national office.  He became an advocate for implementation of Sharia all over Nigeria.  He protested to the Oyo State governor, in the context of a dispute between Fulani herdsmen and indigenous farmers in the state, that “your people are killing my people.”  This turned out to be unfounded and perhaps the reverse.

His threats during the campaign for the 2011 elections incited widespread violence in the North after he lost.  His supporters went on a rampage; looting and killing; in spite of the fact that, by all accounts, the elections were adjudged the most free and fair in the history of Nigeria’s current democratic experiment.  By the time the mayhem had subsided, over 1000 people had been slaughtered in cold blood and some 65,000 displaced.

Forgetting that a statement made in Hausa would readily be translated into English, Buhari later declared unapologetically in a BBC interview: “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.”  These are the tokens of an irresponsible politician, whose ambitions for power supersede the national interest.  Who then are the dogs and baboons that Buhari has in mind to soak in blood if and when he loses yet again come 2015?  Are they his children or are they those of others?

With the Boko Haram insurgency in the north, Buhari played to the Northern gallery yet again, calling the Jonathan government “the biggest Boko Haram.”  Wole Olaniyi was a fly in the wall at a meeting in Kano Government House designed to persuade PDP rebel governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to decamp to the APC.  Assuming that only Northerners were present, Buhari declared the Boko Haram was a “strategic plan” by the government of Goodluck Jonathan to “destroy the North.”  When Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states, Buhari still saw this with Northern goggles, insinuating that the President is waging war on the North.

President of the North

Without a doubt, Buhari has massive support in the North.  Indeed, he is the most popular Northern politician in the North today.  But that precisely remains his undoing at the centre.  The more he has been identified as a Northern champion, the less attractive he has become as a national choice.  Even in the North, his support base is limited to the Muslim population.  He does not appeal to Northern Christians.  Then there is the added factor of the opposition of his implacable opponents among the Northern elite.  Men like Babangida and Atiku would rather die than allow Buhari get to Aso Rock.

One thing is certain, the South-South and the South-East will not vote for Buhari in 2015.  Not only that; there are no buyers for Buhari’s sectarian politics in the South-West.   No matter what Tinubu might be telling him, the people of the South-West will not vote for Buhari in 2015.  We already had the template in 2011, when Buhari tried to sell himself, first by balancing his ticket with a Yoruba man; and then by making sure the Yoruba man is a Christian; a pastor no less.  But it just did not wash.  It will not work in 2015.

The worst thing that can happen to Northern presidential aspirations in 2015 is for Buhari to be on the APC ballot.  That is a sure guarantee that the North will not be providing the next president.   Buhari would be a shoo-in in an election for president of Northern Nigeria.  But in an election encompassing the entire country, the best he can envisage is to be a kingmaker.  He cannot be king.  The nearest Buhari will get to Aso Rock in 2015 is by attending the Council of State meetings.

3 Reasons Why Men Struggle To Open Up

“Why won’t he just tell me how he feels?” “Why is it so hard to get him to open up?” “Does he have a genuine issue or is he just plain old stupid?” These are all questions I have received from frustrated women dealing with men who can’t seem to express themselves.

They feel like they are speaking to a brick wall and nothing seems to be getting through. This void of effective communication opens the door for a lack of trust, emotional neglect, confusion, and an overall unhealthy relationship. So what is really the problem? Why do so many men continue to struggle with expressing themselves? Here are some factors that contribute to this unfortunate issue:
1. Raised to suppress not express
A lot of men are taught at an early age to “suck it up”. Crying is unacceptable and expressing how you feel can be viewed as whining. They aren’t given a platform to speak on how they feel, but instead are quickly told to move past it and “stay strong”. This leads to many men only knowing how to throw their feelings to the side and act tough. Never truly addressing many of the issues within them and allow it to linger. When a man can’t express himself properly, in many cases his upbringing has a lot to do with it.
2. Negative backlash occurred in the past.
A man can act tough all he wants but at the end of the day he is still human. So despite how that man is raised, he will likely have a moment where the walls come down and he lets his feelings out. Unfortunately, that moment may be met with a “stop acting like a little b**ch”, “you’re so weak”, and other negative comments to belittle him and cause him to shut down. Aside from the attacks on his “manliness,” he may experience other negative results that cause him to regret ever being vulnerable enough to open up in that situation. At this point, he will create a bigger wall than before and the struggle to express himself will become much harder.
3. It may risk getting what is desired.
Instead of continuously telling a lie, some people choose to simply say, “I don’t want to talk about it”. Not that this always means they have lies to tell, but it is an effective way to avoid speaking a harmful truth. By avoiding conversation they can continue to act like no issue exists, which allows them to continue things in a way that is convenient for them. They know a full conversation can trigger some issues they don’t want to deal with. They will do what they can to run from it and hope it just goes away. The man who does this isn’t really struggling but strategically “managing” the situation to his advantage.
Posted by TOSIN

I’m not getting married to a 17-year-old girl – Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has disspelled media reports that he was planning to marry 17-year daughter of the Lamido of Adamawa as his fourth wife. Sanusi, debunked the news while responding to inquiries by SaharaReporters via text messages said it was untrue and baseless. The Emir of Kano stated that he fully supports the right of children not to get forcibly married before attaining the constitutionally stipulated age of 18 years. He further stated that he has not and will not contract a marriage with any woman under 18. The Emir advised people to wait to see the real age of his wife if he decides to contract another marriage.

posted by Lucia Edafioka  

Lucia Edafioka

Read full story here: http://www.today.ng/news/im-not-getting-married-to-a-17-year-old-girl-emir-sanusi/

Lucia Edafioka on January 7, 2015

Read full story here: http://www.today.ng/news/im-not-getting-married-to-a-17-year-old-girl-emir-sanusi/

BOKO HARAM: Peace will soon return to N/East – Gov. Shettima

Kashim Shettima of Borno said on Tuesday that peace would soon be restored to the troubled North East zone of the country. Shettima gave the assurance to State House correspondents after a security meeting with Service Chiefs, some Governors and Senators from the North East zone presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan. The governor, who said that the meeting was convened to strategise on new method and ways of fighting insurgency in the affected states, described the deliberations as ’’very fruitful’’. ‘‘Well, we had very fruitful deliberations and pollination of ideas on how to find lasting solution to the insurgency bedeviling us in that part of the world. ‘‘I’m an eternal optimist and I am passionate too for that matter that we shall have enduring peace very soon with the very robust frame work on ground. ‘‘I don’t want to mention a date or anything but I believe our military is arising to the challenges of the time.’’ According to him, the military will robustly respond to the security challenges, assuring that elections will be conducted in Borno and other states in the zone. ‘‘Elections as I told you was conducted in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several other war torn places and are even more devastated than the north east. ‘‘Elections can be held in the IDPs camps, human beings that conduct elections not spirit or anything. ‘‘My take on this is that, are we giving in to Boko Haram? Are we giving in to their antics by not holding elections? We have to tell them to their face that you can kill as Malala Yusuff said, but you cannot kill our spirit.’’ Shettima also promised that the state government would continue to provide logistics and financial support to the security agencies to enable them carry out their operations. ‘‘Our most important task is to offer whatever support be it logistics, financial to the military to carry out on their operations. ‘‘Honestly I don’t want to dwell on the politics behind the counter-insurgency operations because we are one people with a common destiny. ‘‘And this is the time for all of us irrespective of differences in political affiliations, religious persuasions, tribal or sectional background to collapse into a single course and bring about this madness to an end.’’

End time

Believers all around the world should be prayerful, because the sucking demons are planning gathering to decree that on this day 2015-04-19 they will re-enforce against the believers, through accident.  Believers, shouldn't ignore this revelation; it's time to pray in one accord.
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This is from Alter of Salvation and Faith.‎

Leicester to displace Chelsea

Chelsea are set to lose out to Leicester City in the race for Rijeka striker Andrej Kramaric, Goal understands. Goal reported at the start of December that Leicester had tabled a bid for the Croatia international but Chelsea, who were prepared to pay up to €10.2 million (£8m) for the forward, appeared to be in a commanding position during negotiations before Rijeka stalled the deal by demanding a higher fee for the player. Leicester have now finalised a €8.9m (£7m) offer with Rijeka, which includes a potential bonus payment of up to €2.9m (£2.3m). Another stumbling block in Chelsea’s move was their inability to guarantee that Kramaric would be part of Jose Mourinho’s squad next season, rather than being sent out on loan. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t agree one term with Chelsea and that was the guarantee that Andrej would return to Chelsea at the end of the season,” Kramaric’s father and agent, Josip, told Goal. “No-one at Chelsea could guarantee us that and that was our priority.” Kramaric is currently in England and is set to undergo a medical and complete personal terms with Leicester on Tuesday. 

The striker, who has scored 21 goals in 19 league appearances for Rijeka, will also have a clause in his Leicester contract which would allow him to move clubs in the summer if Nigel Pearson’s side are relegated from the Premier League this season.

Routine

Posted by Olalekan Okeowo:
Everyone has different daily habits. But what many people have in common is their nighttime routine. So many are used to watching TV or browsing the internet, or playing games on their smartphones, or just checking their facebook news feed just before going to bed.  Many of them don’t know that all of these activities can affect the quality of their sleep and therefore the quality of their life as a whole. Want some ideas for a more resourceful nighttime routine? Why not check how successful and organized people choose to end their day?
Prepare for tomorrow
One of the most useful things you can do before you go to bed is to plan the next day. Write down your To Do list in advance so you can start working on it right after you wake up. If you have anything important you need to bring to the office, prepare it from the night before. This way you will be more relaxed in the morning. Many successful people even plan their outfits for the next day before going to bed. All this can make you become more organized and effective and your mornings will be significantly less stressful.
Read books
Successful people love learning. That’s why most of them are book lovers. Many fortunate people, for example Bill Gates, confess that they read articles and books until they fall asleep. The CEO of AOL, Tim Armstrong also shared that when he gets home from work at around 8pm, he reads books to his daughters.
Meditate
Meditation promotes physical and mental health. It is a great way to get in touch with yourself, to become more relaxed and to enjoy the present moment without distractions. It makes you more focused and recharged. It is a great way to improve the quality of your thoughts and sleep after a day full of hard work and dealing with the urban noise. Just give it a try for a few minutes every night and you will most probably be pleased with the results.
Visualize the next day or week
Think about what you want to work on tomorrow or the following week. Visualizing will help you achieve the goals you set for yourself because as you see the picture in your mind you become more motivated and determined to realize your plans. Your mindset becomes stronger and your confidence grows. Successful people spend some time thinking about that just before going to sleep. Imagining even small details like what you would want to wear, who would you like to meet, how would you deal with different situations makes the visualization even more powerful and makes you more productive.
Reflect
Reflecting on what you’ve achieved during the day will help you with setting your priorities. If there is something you wish you’ve done better or in a different matter, you can think of how would you change it. Also, being grateful even for the small things in life can help you feel more joyful and relaxed with how your day has gone. Successful people usually try to think of at least 5 things they are thankful they did during the day. This technique is worth trying as it can rid you of stress and tension.
Disconnect
What many successful people have in common is that each night they unplug from everything. They turn off their Wi-Fi, put their phones on silent mode and leave any distractions behind. This is a really healthy and helpful habit as it improves the quality of sleep and gives you the opportunity to be alone with your thoughts.
Get your healthy sleep
Having enough sleep is essential for our bodies and minds to function properly. The lack of sleep leads to different diseases and conditions that can decrease the quality of your life. Even one night of bad sleep can leave you feeling stressed and grumpy the next day. Make sure you get enough healthy, uninterrupted sleep.
Accept that the day is over
Many people struggle to let go of the day. Some think of all the work that has to be done, others are so obsessed with their work that they don’t want to accept the working day is over and even continue thinking about papers and documents when they get home. They struggle with making peace with themselves just because  the day is over. In that way they deprive themselves from proper relaxation and recharging. Yes, life is short and the need to do as much as you can is understandable. But think about what you may be losing over thoughts like these. You won’t be able to continue with the next phase of the day, you won’t get a proper rest, you won’t be able to focus on other activities. All that because of the inability to accept what you’ve done for the day. So try setting time for the usual activities every day. For example, have in mind the hours you want to work, schedule your time with your family and friends and, of course, be sure to make time for a proper healthy rest, too. Be present in the moment, don’t lose your ability to feel joy now because of the unresourceful thoughts going through your mind.
Thank you.

6 Ways to Kiss an Irate Customer

Humans are different in their ways of philosophy and judgment, this is the rationale why every entity must be taking politely in rendering of services, the other party – customer should courteously be addressed not just for the immediate gain the business stands to get but for further value. Like the saying ‘Customers is always right’ it’s a very breathtaking phrase that must continually linger in the heart of every employees of an ultramodern firm. No matter the condition of the infuriated customer, the organisation must take it as a boulevard to always please.
Remaining calm – This is a way of getting the customer communicate his / her grieve on the specified product, services or whatsoever related to the company, at this point its required of the staff to do ever thing possible to maintaining peace.
Avoid being personal – we have seen a case where the grieved customer who want to even pull down the office structure, not to talk about the company’s representative standing/ attending to him/her. However, the staff must take it as a duty to not take all this personal but try as much as possible to curtail the customer.

Use your best listening skills – This an important skill required of every staff in dealing with customers. In other to correct or get the customer trust back, it’s required of the staff to listen attentively and know where he/she may be of help to the customer. The reason been that, the staff cant’ afford to get the irate customer to explain him/herself again.
Be in Sympathy – On the process of performing the immediate above point; it’s required of the staff to sympathies with the customer via facial expression, nod and even hum while listening so that the customer will realise that the staff is willing to not just listen but solve.
Apologies and elucidate – After the customer is through with their reasoning for their dissatisfaction, kindly apologize, even if there's nothing to apologize, thereby, relaxing the customer’s mind. Thereafter, it beholds the staff to point out the salient points and step into the situation for solutions. The staff must take this as a call to duty to solving the issue within a time lag.
Follow-up – Customers enjoys it more when company’s representatives understands and tailor their needs, however, it’s obligatory of the staff to profile and continually act on behalf of the company even after providing the immediate solution(s), and in turn make the customer recuperate confidence again.
Service providers must ensure to continually have the customers in mind, as this will make both ends happy and in turn keep the entity running. So, hopefully we have done the seemingly impossible and identified the necessary steps that every entity requires to maintaining its existence.