“If the Constitution is amended that makes it legal for the President to run a third term, it will be the decision of Nigerians. If Nigerians want it, who am I to say otherwise? At the end of the day it is what Nigerians want that will happen."
- Alhaji Abubakar Audu, Ex-Governor.

It is claimed that an estimated 80% of ordinary Nigerians are against the third term agenda of President Obasanjo, yet most politicians in the forefront of the third term crusade attribute their evil schemings as the "will of the people."
Each time politicians speak about the third term (aka life presidency) agenda, they take the pains to tell us they are only doing the bidding of Nigerians. While responding to questions from journalists some weeks ago, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu was quick to remind us that "the third term proposal is not necessarily what Ibrahim Mantu wants. It is what Nigerians want ...Nigerians said they want three terms of four years and that is what we have collated."

Was there a referendum that we all missed? When did these politicians ask for our input into this dubious constitutional ammendment? Was it at that secret public hearing? Which Nigerians were in attendance, the state Governors? If indeed third term is what Nigerians want, then why has it become such a vexed issue?

It is not difficult to see why Abubakar Audu will support the third term project. Apart from the fact that 'Nigerians' want it, it will open an avenue for him to contest for Governorship elections in his native Kogi state. Having served as Governor twice, the constitution,except when amended, at present bars him from seeking re-election.
Ex-Gov Abubakar also hinted on a possible return to office in 2007 on this note; “I have been resisting the people’s call..."
He however claimed that he was only responding to the yearnings of his people who want him back in office.
Justifying his lust for power, Alhaji Audu said “when we were in office, the allocation we got was N20 billion and now what they get is about N54 billion. The disparity is so much but there is nothing to show for it. No projects. No houses. Nothing. There are no roads, no electricity, no water, nothing... the condition of roads within the state, it is very pathetic. Hospitals? No drugs. No medical facilities, no doctors, no nurses. "

Since Audu only left office barely three years ago, is it possible that all the roads he built were destroyed within 3 years? Did the present Governor destroy the houses he built? Why is there no electricity, water or drugs in the hospitals? What happened to Audu's projects? Where are the doctors and nurses, did they leave Kogi state after Audu left the goverment house?
Ex-Gov Audu further claims, “what is happening is that everything I did while in office is being pulled down by this administration."
What kind of administration is Audu talking about? Does Audu claim that this administration destroyed the roads he built, shut off all the water generation plants and laid off all the doctors and nurses he hired? Did they also destroy all the housing projects he initiated while in office?

Quoting from the interview article;
Audu said the situation in Kogi when he visited was such that “it could move you to tears.” Asked if he cried when he got to Lokoja, the state capital he answered: “No, I did not cry. But I was consoling them.”

Perhaps Audu wants to return to power so he can console his people more. He alone knows those Nigerians that are in support of the third term agenda.
For the rest of us, we are still looking for these remarkable set of Nigerians that want a return to power of morally bankrupt politicians of the likes of Abubakar Audu.

With those words, traditional rulers from all parts of the country gathered for a two-day parley in Osun state to "join other Nigerians in finding solutions to the nation's social, political and economic problems."

The monarchs, while thanking Pres. Abachanjo for including in the Constitution Amendment Bill roles for traditional rulers and for giving the monarchs the opportunity to hold the meeting, insisted that the forum was not just a mere talk-shop and that they were there for serious business.
The Monarchs also insisted that they stand for stability, peace and progress of Nigeria and that her unity and stability was paramount to them. They however were quick to pledge their neutrality on vexed national issues.

It is not the first time we would be having "closed-door parleys" where all sorts of sycophants seeking political relevance would be pledging their support for the peace, unity and stability of Nigeria. The way they say it, one would be forced to think the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians stand for anarchy, chaos and the dismemberment of Nigeria.
It is absurd that our so-called "fathers of the Nation" would stoop so low as to "thank" the President for allowing them their right to free speech in a Nation that claims to be Democratic.

Since the Monarchs have pledged their "neutrality" on vexed national issues, what then are they planning to hold talks for? The same men who claim to represent their people prefer to sit on the fence in this period of intense pressure to send Nigeria back to the dark days of dictatorship in civilian atire. How do they intend to solve the nations problems since they are neither here not there on burning national issues?
What really are these "burning national issues" that they are afraid to share with us? Do they proclaim to love this nation more than we do?

This is not the first time our "fathers of the nation" would be coming together to "resolve crisis", "give proper advice", "pledge their neutrality on vexed national issues" and "pledge their commitment to peace and stability", it will neither be the last. As usual most Nigerians are not interested in what "our fathers" have to say, they have not said anything new that we have not heard a million times before.
Nigerians do not want people "pledging to stand for peace and unity of the country", they want people with practical solutions to the problems bedevilling the nation.

When groups start their parleys by thanking the President for allowing them their right to freedom of speech, we already know what the outcome of the so-called parley would be.

Just for the fun of it, i posed a question regarding the real meaning of the "international community" on yahoo answers and got this response:

"Depends on who's saying it... when Bush says stuff like - The International commmunity is behind us in Iraq - he means America and her allies, other people seem to have a european view of "international community".. focusing a lot on european countries... it should probably be all nations, but it rarely takes third world nations into account... "

The use of the phrase "international community", has become one of the most often used phrases in "international" politics in the face of the war against terror, the war in Iraq and the nuclear standoff in Iran.
Dr. Farish A. Noor, in his article What ‘international community’ are we talking about?, poses some valid rhetorical questions:

Where does this near-mythical “international community” reside? How come President Bush alone seems so close to this invisible community and knows so much about its secrets? Is President Bush himself a secret member of this “international community”?

In recent months, the White house has played host to both President Abachanjo of Nigeria and President Hu of China. But while President Bush "expressed anger" on the Charles Taylor issue, "warned" against an extension of third term and "showed concern" over the crisis in Darfur with President Abachanjo, Bush-Hu talks centered on the global economy, energy talks, US-China trade relations and winning Chinese support on the war on terror and the issue of Iran.

US secretary of state, Condi Rice, has spent a significant amount of time meeting foreign heads of states on backing US-led sanctions against Iran, no third world nation is in the picture. Perhaps they are not considered "strategically important" enough to be regarded as a part of the "international community".

Since the unilateral action of the US and UK to go to war in Iraq without the consent of the UN, it has become apparent that the global body has since lost its relevance. Where then is this "international community"? Has that amorphous generalisation not become a cloak for masquerading American isolationist foreign policies?
Why is it that the "international community" is not concerned about the crisis in Darfur but is more agitated about nuclear power in Iran? Does this "international community" also include perenial US rivals, Russia and China? Why does the "international comunity" speak with "one voice" when it comes to the middle east crisis, European and American foreign policy and is silent when it comes to Africa and latin America?

Who really are the members of this cult called the "international community"? George Bush and his fellow journey men in the EU?

Alhaji Ibrathief Mantu is a special breed of politician. He made a record by becoming the first man to hold a public hearing in secret. He also lives in a separate nation where "majority" of his own specially manufactured "nigerians" support the third term ammendment to the constitution.Alhaji Mantu is also a "democrat", he respects the law and is fully "commited" to the growth of our "nascent" cash and carry democracy.

With a diploma in professional salesmanship, no other person but Alhaji Mantu could be more qualified to chair the constitutional 'mutilating' committee. For a man who has sacrificed so much for the development of his country, he has also chaired the popular mantu paliatives committee to cushion the effects of government-induced fuel price hike and the extremely "successful" haj committee mainly set up as an avenue to loot the treasury in the name of the quran.Alhaji Mantu also boasts one of the cleanest records in the Senate. He has never been accused of taking more than N54m in bribes in his over four years in the senate.

Indeed, next to "Messiah" Olusani Abachanjo and Athiefu Abubacha, Alhaji Ibrathief Mantu will come next in a parade of Nigeria's most illustrious sons!

Famous quotes of Alhaji Ibrathief Mantu:

"I don't know anywhere in Nigeria where people are dying from hunger. We have the percentage of people who are dying from HIV/AIDS but we don't know of Nigerians dying from hunger" (Vanguard, October 11).

"That is another insult. If he collected N1.6 billion and he gives me N10 million, don’t you think I will give him a dirty slap?"
– Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, Deputy Senate President, denying the allegation that he benefitted from the controversial Plateau State ecological grant.

"Of course, as a law maker I cannot be a law breaker. If a court of competent jurisdiction gives me an order, I cannot disobey that order.”

"I am quite satisfied with the various public hearings. It was a huge success in spite of the negative position being taken by the press in certain quarters. It is unfortunate that some of the papers were saying that it was boycotted. But people saw on TV how it was well-attended and Nigerians are satisfied that it was a success.
We shall be guided by the position being taken by the people during the public hearing, not necessarily those of the sub-committee. We would do everything to come out with a constitution that would address the aspirations and yearnings of the people. And with the turn out here, I am confident that we will achieve that."

"We don't make laws for an individual. We make laws for the nation. We are concerned with what is best for Nigeria. The third term proposal is not necessarily what Ibrahim Mantu wants. It is what Nigerians want."

"...Nigerians said they want three terms of four years and that is what we have collated."

it's the 23rd of April, typical rochester weather, kind of damp and rainy all morning.It's about 2pm and i'm just out of church, phew! not again, i'm walking along the ramp just as the last bus is leaving the bus station. yeah, another one hr of endless waiting and in the rain!
I didnt know when she pulled up. All i hear is someone screaming at me to get out of the rain and get in her car. I'm kind of nervous, i don't usually take free rides especially from people i don't know, but she looks harmless.
"Get in the car boy, you just came from bethel aight?" One look at the rumbling skies and i'm in the car shaking like a wet chicken.
I flash my daintiest smile, she's talking nineteen to the dozen telling me how good a christian she is and how all christians must help their neighbours when they see them in need and how i was in the rain and she's got an empty car and her "christian" nature forced her to take me in.
She's white and I notice she's smoking. She says sorry though and i smile again.
"i don't mind," i knew i was lying.
"where you going?" the accent sounds funny.
"Crittenden,"
"Where? "
"strong hospital,"
"oh," she mumbles something about how expensive gas is and how she's only being a good "christian".
"You new at bethel?" She's glancing at me with her weird looking eyes. I notice her brother is sitting quietly in the back of the beat up car.
"Yeah, 6 months now."
"How'd you find it?"
"the phone book, mapquest? i don't know. maybe i stumbled on it."
"Yay! Bethel is nice, there are many black men there." my first feeling of dread washes over me. She's still smiling and glancing at me now, i'm looking straight ahead wondering when we were going to smash into another car.
She goes on about how all her girl friends all have black boyfriends and how she regrets not getting one until she had her tubes tied. Now i'm thinking i'm being kidnapped.
"There's dinner at my place today if you want."
"er, ah, no i'm going straight to school ma'am."
"School? it's sunday young man."
"yes, i'm going to study." i'm praying she doesn't notice all i've got is a bible and a novel (the hardy boys).
"Ok, you can call me then, be a good christian boy and give me a call would ya?"
I nod my head weakly, still shaking in disbelief. She takes out a card and scribbles her home and cell phone number on it.
I'm holding it, she says i should put it in my pocket but she notices i don't have one.
"stick it in your bible boy."I do just that.

"Guess my age." i'm shocked!
"maybe 40," i venture. she bursts into laughter.
"You must be 35, maybe younger? 25?" i smile and tell her she's very close to it.
"You must like older women don't ya?" stony silence from my end.
She laughs and keeps rambling about how good a christian she is by dragging her brother to church.
"It's the heart boy. God sees the heart." i smile too, i nod in agreement.

Ah, soon she stops at my destination. She turns to me i'm afraid she's going to kiss me. i draw back a little but not so obvious.
"You don't have a girl friend do you?" i shake my head wishing i could lie just for one moment. What i wouldn't give for one innocent lie, Lord.
"Good. You don't have other women do ya?" I shake my head again.
"Good, make sure you call me," i'm out of the door, i bang the door and take a few steps towards the greying library buildings. She waves one last time and screeches off to the street. I could still hear her shreaking, call me!

Today is tuesday. I haven't called her, maybe i should as a "good christian" boy. No! A part of me shrieks. I never will, why should i call her? I won't be sacrificing my life and soul on the laps of a delilah.
My mind seems to have a "mind" of it's own. What if the "delilah" where a nubile 25 yr old chick? Maybe i wouldn't have minded doing my "christian" duties, i probably won't even be calling her a delilah, i'd have been plotting my next move.
The card is still in my bible, i haven't thrown it out yet. Maybe someone might be "christian" enough to volunteer to call her. As for me, i won't be fulfilling anyone's crazy black men fantasy. I've had enough of that nonsense!

1) New York City has 11 letters
2) Afghanistan has 11 letters.
3) Ramsin Yuseb (The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993) has 11 letters.
4) George W Bush has 11 letters.

1) New York is the 11th state.
2) The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight number 11.
3) Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers. 9 + 2 = 11
4) Flight 77 which also hit Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers. 6+5 = 11
5) The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known. 9 + 1+ 1 = 11
6) The date is equal to the US emergency services telephone number 911. 9 + 1 +1 = 11

Sheer coincidence, ?! Read on and make up your own mind:

1) The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254. 2 + 5 + 4 = 11.
2) September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year. Again 2 + 5 + 4 = 11.
3) The Madrid bombing took place on 3/11/2004. 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 11.
4) The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the Twin Towers incident.

The scariest part:

Open Microsoft Word and do the following:

1. Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the firstplane to hit one of the Twin Towers.
2. Highlight the Q33 NY.
3. Change the font size to 48.
4. Change the actual font to the WINGDINGS;

what do you see?

In a major policy twist, the Federal Government yesterday announced several emergency measures aimed at alleviating the plight of indigenes of the restive oil-rich Niger Delta region.
According to President Obasanjo the FG will commit N20 trillion to the development of the region and will embark on the resuscitation of the long-abandoned N230 billion East-West road linking major cities in the region. The FG also rolled out plans to create 20,000 new jobs specifically for indigenes of the region in a move aimed at curbing youth restiveness to be broken down as follows:
Beginning next month, all three tiers of the Armed Forces are mandated to recruit 1000 indigenes of the region.
Recruitment of 10,000 indigenes of the region to the police force.
NNPC is to create 1,000 new positions to be filled by qualified applicants from 7 of the 9 Niger Delta states.
Recruitment of 7,300 NCE and University graduate teachers before the end of the year.

Other areas to receive priority attention include health, education, industry, water supply, electricity, telecommunications and agriculture.
The President also explained that medium term measures would be implemented within two and five years and long term plans would take five years and beyond to implement.

The problems with this grandiose plan are manifold; first, it is a tacit acceptance of the legitimacy of the militant activities of MEND rebels in the Niger Delta. It is a moral victory for MEND and a dangerous signal to other militia forces that government would eventually yield to their demands if they are violent enough.

Secondly, it is obvious this “palliatives” are on the urging of foreign oil companies operating in the Niger Delta whose operations have had to be scaled down due to constant militia attacks on their oil installations and less about the demands of the oil producing areas. The problems being faced by the Niger Delta is not peculiar to the region alone but is a microcosm of the general issues facing the entire populace. Satisfying the demands of the Niger Delta is only bound to increase agitation from other regions clamoring for Federal attention.

It is sad that the government has proven that the only language it understands in a “democracy” is that of violence. How many oil installations or foreign workers does it take for the government to rise up to its social responsibility to its citizens? Was the amount set aside for this white elephant budgeted for and was legislative approval sought? Why did the FG wait until the Niger Delta crisis became an international embarrassment before doing the right thing? Since when has the solution to unemployment become massive recruitment into the NNPC, armed forces and police?

Another worrisome aspect of the plan has been the time span of the project. It is obvious that there has never been continuity in governance since each succeeding administration has largely abandoned former projects to initiate their own “reforms”. With just over a year left to the end of the present administration, it is puzzling that they have chosen to initiate projects that will take more than five years to implement. The implication is that either the projects would be abandoned within the next year or the present administration would choose to sit tight and complete the projects since God is not a “God of abandoned projects”. Is this a tacit way of shoring up support for the third term bid in the Niger Delta?

The answer to the Niger Delta crisis and indeed the crisis enveloping the entire nation is not in adhoc award of contracts, it is in a systematic approach to changing the way governance is done. The solution is in allowing more public participation in government and making the government more accountable to the public who elected them.

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"I would be quite satisfied if my novels (especially the ones I set in the past) did no more than teach my readers that their past - with all its imperfections - was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God's behalf delivered them"
- Chinua Achebe, Nigerian Novelist (from Morning Yet on Creation Day, 1975)

Most history books on the African slave trade today tend to portray slavery as the attempt by "pious" Europeans sacrificing their lives and comforts to to convert the "heathen" inhabitants of the dark continent of Africa.
The Christian missionary argument of the 17th and 18th centuries insinuates that because Africans were considered heathens, it was therefore legitimate to enslave them and drag them in chains to a Christian nation. Following their partial conversion, their moral and material lot were improved, for which black folks should be eternally grateful.

In the year 1442, Portuguese mariners reached the Gulf of Guinea. Some of the African "natives" where attacked and some carried away as slaves to Protugal, this marked the begining of the modern African slave trade. Slave trade was initially accepted by mainstream Europe on the ground that the certain conversion of the slaves under Christian masters would more than compensate them for their loss of freedom.

High ranking officials of the Roman Catholic church were also known to have openly supported the enslavement of the black race.

"The prime cause, then, of slavery is sin, which brings man under the dominion of his fellow ... Moreover, when men are subjected to one another in a peaceful order, the lowly position does as much good to the servant as the proud position does harm to the master ... This servitude is, however, penal, and is appointed by that law which enjoins the preservation of the natural order and forbids its disturbance."
– St Augustine, City of God (De Civitate Dei), XIX, 15.

In 340 the Church Council of Gangra (today's Çankiri in Turkey), in reaction to rival Manicheans urging slaves to free themselves, adopted as law a slave's "Christian obligation" to submit to the authority of the slave master "as if to God". The Council decreed:
"If anyone, on the pretext of religion teaches another man's slave to despise his master, and to withdraw from his service, and not to serve his master with good will and respect, let him be anathema."

"Just" slavery was further incorporated into the official body of Canon Law of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241):
" It is certainly a matter of faith that this sort of slavery in which a man serves his master as his slave, is altogether lawful. This is proved from Holy Scripture. It is also proved from reason for it is not unreasonable that just as things which are captured in a just war pass into the power and ownership of the victors, so persons captured in war pass into the ownership of the captors. All theologians are unanimous on this."
– Leander, Quaestiones Morales Theologicae, Lyons 1668 - 1692, Tome VIII, De Quarto Decalogi Praecepto, Tract. IV, Disp. I, Q. 3.

Slavery might have ended more than a century ago but it's scars will remain with us for centuries to come. Most mainstream media still refer to Africa as the dark continent, words like "savages, barbarians, war-torn, natives, tribes are still very much in use today. The big picture about Africa today is that of a backward, strife-torn, disease-ridden continent being aided by a "humanitarian" western Europe and the USA.
News from Africa is centered more on relief efforts, financial aid and peace keeping efforts by the "benevolent" western nations to African nations.
While we are not ignorant of the actions of tyrants and corrupt African despots, it would not be farfetched to note that Africa's self-implode mechanism was set in place by colonial nations.

John Wesley (1774) in his book, Thoughts Upon Slavery, notes that: "the Europeans found a more compendious way of procuring African slaves, by prevailing upon them to make war upon each other, and to sell their prisoners. Till then they seldom had any wars; but were in general quiet and peaceable. But the white men first taught them drunkenness and avarice, and then hired them to sell one another. Nay, by this means, even their Kings are induced to sell their own subjects."
On the 15th of Nov 1884, the death knell was sounded on Africa's future economic and industrial growth. Fourteen western nations gathered in Berlin, Germany to divide Africa into fifty irregular countries in order to "end the control over the control of Africa".
The countries represented at the time included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.
Homogenous groups were divided and disparate groups were merged together creating a hodgepodge of incompatible nations that are the bane of more than 90% of the Africa's internecine conflicts today.
Today the Yoruba can be found in Nigeria and Benin Republic, the hausas are found in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Senegal and the Hutus and Tutsis are present in Burundi and Angola.

The slave trade might have ended centuries ago, but modern day slavery persists. Africa remains the only continent yet to recieve reparations for the injustice of slave trade. The US government paid reparations to the Japanese after WWII and German Corporations, far removed from the holocaust are still being sued by Jews till today.
Africa remains the only continent shaped by foreign interference, each of it's 52 countries a result of the geographical boundaries drawn at the Berlin conference in 1884.

Thanks to the emergence of vibrant neocolonialism in the garb of the IMF and world bank, we are constantly being reminded that Africa has never and will never be truly free.

"Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. The word 'Nigeria' is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not."
- Chief Obafemi Awolowo

With the fight over a fresh third term in office for President Obasanjo gathering momentum, it is becoming evident that oppinions are sharply divided not on the basis of ideology but on the basis of ethnic leaning.

The strongest opposition to the "third term" agenda has come from the North, a huge conservative bloc, who though sounding most in support of maintaining a virile democracy will be remembered for their criminal silence and tacit support of millitary dictatorship led mainly by Northern generals.

The Igbo are clamouring for the presidency to "come" to them, the Ijaw also want their man in power, the North says it is their turn to rule (after more than 30yrs) and some yoruba elite are strongly in support of a third term so as to "keep power in the west".
In all the hue and cry over third term, there is no pro-Nigerian agenda. When Prof. Iwu tried to introduce electronic voting, Nigerians were divided based solely on ethnicity, ditto for the just concluded National disgrace (er census).

The issue of resource control and revenue sharing is also divided on the basis of ethnic chivalry. National (dis)honors have been trivialized to mere allocations of titles on the basis of states of origin. We now have an unweildy Federal govt with appointments based more on satisfying the bogus federal character principle than merit. There are at least 72 ministers and ministers of state and an equal number of special advicers, special assistants and senior special assistants all in a bid to ensure every state and local government is represented in government. The result is a redundant bureaucracy that has become a huge burden on the taxpayer.

Local government and state creation has become a political issue. Siting of Federal establishments has been taken to the ridiculous with the Nigerian Ports Authority having it's headquarters in Abuja with the closest seaport at least 1hr away by flight. Why was the NPA moved from Lagos?
A few yrs ago, Northern Senators reminded Lagosians that the man in Kebbi state had as much right to the Bar Beach as the man who lived in Lagos thus stripping Lagos state of any absolute right to the Beach. While the tussle goes on, Lagos remains under the threat of being submerged by the atlantic ocean. Attempts by the Lagos state Govt to start a private Power generation plant ran aground at the upper legislative house based on ethnic rivalry.

The same madness is the reason NNPC would spend millions of dollars to build a refinery in Kaduna with over 1000km of pipelines running from oil wells in portharcourt. Some Senators are seeking to dredge the river Niger so the "North" can have it's own seaport and dry ports are being planned in other inland states while the Nations' seaports remain under utilised.

A recent quote from the Vanguard Newspaper states: "this is coming at a time when another section of the North is working out a set of conditions to be met by President Obasanjo if he needs support for the constitution amendment which could see an extension of tenure. The Emirs were said to have made it clear to the president that the interest of the North should not be jeopardised."

While we are quick to remind ourselves that we remain "one Nigeria", our utterances portray us as a nation of strange bedfellows. A nation divided against itself cannot stand, for as long as we continue to see issues from the same narrow perspective of ethnicity, our nation would remain a land of broken dreams and the graveyard of unfulfilled potentials.

Fellow Nigerians,

We as "loyal patriots" do solemnly pledge our unalloyed solidarity to Pres. Olusegun Abachanjo in his quest to do "God's" will by entrenching himself as Nigeria's newest dictator.
We as a nation of "believers" do believe that our "God" is not a God of "abandoned projects". We would like to reiterate that "God's" projects especially as regards Nigeria does require a lifetime to complete. We thus crave the indulgence of fellow Nigerians to allow our "Messiah" the time and space to conclude his "laudable" projects and his dream to turn our nation around.


We are all witnesses to the economic and social "reforms" that have practically turned Nigeria from being the 2nd poorest nation on earth to the richest nation in the world (from behind). All Government property has been sold (dashed) to our new crop of "local investors". Local oil production has risen to 20% in the last 6 years, NEPA has changed it's name to PHCN and has increased electricity output to a staggering 50%.
Never have Nigerians had it so good in the telecoms industry. More than 1 million Nigerians now have access to mobile phones and the recharge card industry now employs more graduates than the pure water industry.We are also aware that current telephone charges are the lowest anywhere in the world.

In the area of health care delivery, infant mortality rate has decreased drastically from 120 deaths per thousand in 1990 to a mere 101 in 2004. Life expectancy at birth as at 2004 has also increased tremendously to 43 years, thus making Nigeria one of the countries with the highest life expectancy rates in the world.

In the area of the economy, GNI per capita as at 2004 stands at US$390, much higher than those of Niger, Uganda, Congo Democratic, Burundi and Chad.We have also succeed in paying off our debts to the Paris club. Nigerian roads are now among the best in the world and our airports now serve as zoos. Our government has also signed an agreement to lease one of the runways in Niger republic for use pending the repair of our own runways which may take 18 years and gulp over $300bn.

In the area of human rights, we have also performed well. We routinely scold election riggers and godfathers have been empowered to remove Governors who do not pander to the will of "the people". More "checkpoints" have also been created to increase job opportunities for "well paid" members of the police force. Crime is also at an all time low.The political opposition has been given "free" reign to criticise the government as long as it is "constructive" and rallies are staged with a police "permit" according to the law. We would also like to state categorically that we have not used the EFCC as a tool to silence the opposition. This government has also ensured full compliance with all court rulings and would remain commited to ensuring that there are no "sacred cows".

Fellow Nigerians, we are all witnesses to the giant "progress" our nation has made in the last 6 years when we took over office. We believe that it is our duty to ensure continuity in governance and thus continuity of the "good" programs that have been implemented by our administration.

We believe in the constitution and the will of the people. We will not spend a day longer than is stipulated in the constitution. We also affirm the right of "the people" to "ammend" the constitution as they seem fit. However we are not concerned with third term, we are concerned with providing our people with the dividends of democracy.

Thank you and God bless!.

At various fora, Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been presented as a man who is "deeply concerned" about the state of education in Nigeria.

The vice president also chaired the Northern States Education Summit, held on 28 January 2000 one of whose goals is to "improve the condition of service of teachers and provide special incentives so as to make the teaching profession attractive and thus promote teacher retention".

However it is clear the vice president himself does not believe in the calibre of graduates produced by a country he "loves" so much as to want to sacrifice his political career for.

According to a publication from the ABTI-American University of Nigeria, the brainchild of Mr. VP:

"Almost 90% of the professors and lecturers are American-educated and trained.
In Fall 2006, we expect to bring on board at least twenty additional American and western-educated faculty members," said Dr. V.J. Garofalo, Vice President for Academic Affairs. "In addition, the University is able to hire an increasing number of Nigerian professors who received their Ph.D.s in the United States and Europe, and now would like to return to Nigeria to join our world-class faculty."

It is obvious Nigerian-trained professionals are not adjudged good enough to be a part of the "world-class faculty" being put together at AAUN.
It is sad that we have entrusted the leadership of our nation to those who do not believe in it's very existence and survival. To them, Nigeria is simply a conduit pipe for illegal accumulation of wealth.

Yeah, no wonder most of the girls i went to school with were not too bothered with their grades as we were. All they needed to do was "ask God" to give them a Rich (er sorry, successful and ambitious) man!Poor guys can't ask for "ambitious" girls or rich ones either, they have to work their asses off for some chick to come in and reap where she did not sow. So she can divorce you at the drop of a hat and still be entitled to half of the things you slaved for years to achieve!
No wonder when i asked the girl i first got serious with what her future plans where after school all she could tell me was "go to my father's house and wait to get married!

Little wonder most guys are marrying well into their 30s, no wonder many girls are finding it "difficult" to find a "good" man to marry. The word "good" now comes with being "rich" (sorry successful). May i ask the girls who want "rich" husbands what they are bringing to the marriage?
Themselves, two aged parents, 5 brothers and sisters and countless cousins, uncles and aunts? For one guy to take care of?

Marriage is all about genuine love, the agape type that seeks what you can do for the other and not what they can do for you, and compromise! It is less about what he has in his pockets.

I won't advise my cousin to marry an unambitious pauper, i won't be advising her to include "must be rich" as a criteria either!

According to a new law, Nigerians who employ and keep children under the age of 18 years as domestic servants will now spend five years behind the bars if caught and prosecuted.

LAGOS, 12 Nov 2002 (IRIN) - While Nigeria signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991, it is yet to establish a law making the convention's provisions enforceable in its courts.A bill prepared in 1993 could not be signed into law by the then military government due to objections raised by religious groups and traditionalists. A special committee was subsequently set up to harmonise the draft with Nigerian religious and customary beliefs.

After his election in 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo began another attempt to give legal status to the CRC by sending a bill to parliament. However, on 30 October 2002, the lower chamber of parliament, the House of Representatives, voted to reject the bill.

The main objection the representatives raised targetted a provision setting 18 years as the minimum age for marriage. This, they said, was incompatible with religious and cultural traditions in various parts of the country, where women, especially, are given out in marriage at a younger age.

SCSN (Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria) took specific exception to moves to make it illegal for girls to marry under the age of 18.

Culled from: IRINNEWS

So much for the "intelligent" goons trying to help us ban under-18 househelps, at least the reason some househelps ever saw the four walls of a school is because of the benevolence of their masters and not the born again child rights "campaigners" in our hallowed chambers of legislature!

I got this in an email this morning, i had no idea brother John had also decided to write his famous gospel in pidgin english.

Here is what the famous John 3:16 now looks like;

16Si how God take show sey En lorv di world. E kon send us En own one and only
Pikin, so dat any persin wey go biliv Am nor go perish but go get evalasting life.

The famous words of broda John in John 1:1-4;

1From wen taim bigin na im di word dey, and di word dey wit God, and God kpa
kpa Imsef na im bi di word. 2Di word dey wit God from wen taim bigin. 3Na im make
everitin and if no bi sey na in make dem, dem for nor dey for dis world. 4Na im bi life
and dat life na im bi di lite wey pipol get.

This piece was inspired by:
1. Some comments to my previous post on Nigeria as Obasanjo holdings,
2. An ingenius attempt at promoting Nigeria through the www.nigeriafraud.org website and
3. My experience visiting my American born cousins for the first time four years ago.

I had never met my cousins except via pictures and the mandatory new year phone calls. It was a hot summer day in July 2002 when i eventually stepped into their apartment in Phoenix. It was 11pm and i expected them to be fast asleep, i was wrong! the entire troop of 5 were lined up on the staircase watching eargerly for their long lost cousin from the dark continent Africa!

The questions (interogations) did not begin until breakfast the following morning. Did we wear clothes? Do Nigerians live on trees? Did we have TV sets? What kind of foods did Nigerians eat? Was it true that we also cohabited with wild animals? How come i could speak English? Did we have cars or electricity?

It is not hard to understand where most Americans get their perceptions of Africa from. Western news media in the guise of "telling it as it is", inundate American homes with ghoulish scenes from famine and civil war zones, creating the impression that all of Africa is no more than a horrible scene from a horror flick.
Some American members of Legislature were also alleged to have compared New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to "a scene from Subsaharan Africa".

Yes my dears, we wear clothes, we do not live in trees, we are NOT related to monkeys. Nigeria cannot be in a dark continent since the sun shines there much more than in some western countries. We have TVs too, we have electricity, we have good schools and not only the rich have access to the internet and computers. Some of us have as many as three family cars, many of us live in our own homes not mortgaged homes, we have streets too, they may just not be as good as yours.

You say we are cuturally deprived but the average Nigerian kid speaks at least 2 languages including your own English language unlike most monolingual American kids. It is not in our culture to curse and swear at our elders, we do not slam doors at our parents and walk out on them. Our ladies are feminists too but they know how to cook, clean a home and take care of their children. Our men are brought up to be the man of the home, they do not cringe behind a woman in the name of being a "stay-at-home dad".

Yes, Nigeria is not involved in a civil war, we do not have cases of famine in our midst and not all of us have AIDS. The poor here do not look significantly different from those i saw in Katrina.
We are made up of nationalities and NOT tribes. We do not have savages and a vast majority of us are educated and intelligent.

Even though there are many of us in foreign countries, we still love our countries, we are only here because your so-called western nations have exploited us economically and left us poor, raped and deprived.

With less than 12 months to the general elections in 2007 and with no categorical statement from the presidency regarding the vexed third term issue, the Nigerian political space has become charged. Political alliances are being hastily formed, politically foes are digging into their trenches for support and the verbal mudslinging has suddenly picked up a crescendo.
Special assistants to "whoever can hire one" on public affairs have suddenly found new jobs, that of abusing political foes of their respective bosses.
Signs that the Presidency had completey collapsed was officially unveiled this past week as both the President and Vice President traded verbal blows in the open over their political ambitions.

"when there was a case of doubtful loyalty on the part of the Vice President, I took the Bible and the Koran and said between the two of us, I want you to swear to an oath of loyalty...but he refused on his part... It was bad enough."
- President Obasanjo

"The president is not only disloyal to the vice president but he has been ungrateful. This is a man who was saved from the claws of death in prison where he was languishing and forgotten..."
- Dr. Usman Bugaje (Former Special Adviser to the Vice President)

"The only reason why they are asking Baba to stay is because they are afraid of Atiku. They know he will come and take over everything they have built with his unquenchable greed," Gbenga said.
"Atiku thinks the presidency is his birthright. Look at ... the privatization process, they just sold the entire country to themselves,"
- Gbenga Obasanjo

"Young men who attacked men old enough to be their father are dismissed as rude and uncultured. This boy will not be glorified with a response... let the mask come off the face of the masquerade and we face each other."
- Alhaji Garba Shedu (Spokesman for the Vice President)

"On the 25th of September, at the (Shehu Musa) Yar'Adua centre, I raised an alarm that the PDP was about to be hijacked so that a particular agenda could be achieved. I was proved right. Hasn't PDP been hijacked?"
- Vice President Atiku Abubakar

"We are not concerned, we are not worried, this government will continue to focus on doing the right thing and the president will continue to work hard to move Nigeria forward and to improve the fortunes of the Nigerian people. That really is our major focus and not the issue of disloyal servants and disloyal second in command who are seeking to undermine everything the president and Nigeria have achieved in the last six years... he should do the honourable thing and resign..."
- Mr Femi Fani-Kayode (Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs)

"Indeed, the call for resignation should be directed at the President and those others for pursuing an agenda that is subversive of the constitution, and the will of the majority of Nigerians."
- Office of the Vice President Atiku Abubakar

The verbal spats continue between those who have combined to desecrate the hallowed chambers of Nigeria's Presidency. Unfortunately when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Win or lose, both Obasanjo and Atiku have enough loot to sustain their families for generations to come, it is the poor masses that will have to suffer for the lack of civility shown be their elected "leaders".

Most Nigerians have since opted for the siddon look option as they watch the macabre dance taking place at the seat of power. They know the fight is not about them, it is about uncontrolled access to the public treasury.

"It is not a question of functioning together. Mr. President has been in the driving seat since 1999 when he was elected to serve the Nigerian people. He runs the government, he controls the government... He is in control, he is the number one and it is his government. If somebody is not comfortable working with him, it is behoven on that person to leave... This is what democracy is all about."
- Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode

Finally someone has come out to confirm what we had all feared all along, that Nigeria, through the instrument of Government, has been hijacked by a cabal who are determined to foist their own agenda on the people.
If any one was in doubt that this government was a civilian dictatorship, that doubt must have been laid to rest with the recent comments made by President Obasanjo's special assistant on public affairs, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode.

Nigeria indeed is in shambles. It will be a miracle if she survives the resurgence of the Abacha spirit. Those of us who rejoiced on May 29, 1999 are now shaking our heads in defeat. Indeed we are now convinced more than ever that we did not elect 'democrats' but turncoats and thieves parading as wolves in sheep's clothing. We have entrusted the soul of our very nation into the hands of people who are only interested in their selfish ambitions.
Most public institutions have been sold for peanuts to government cronies also called 'local investors', hardworking civil servants have been thrown out on the streets by government officials illegally acquiring state property in the name of privatisation.

There is no opposition anymore. Political parties are now at the mercy of the state controlled "Independent" electoral commission, a commission that awards political office to 'deserving' government cronies. Opponents of the Government are hounded night and day by the EFCC, while government officials smile to foreign banks with their loot.

We have never had it so bad. When the Late. Gen Sanni Abacha was in power, at least we could blame the poor human rights record on the millitary. Anti-third term rallies are disrupted by police for the offence of not having a 'police report'. An anti-third term legislator was beaten black and blue for attempting to enter a venue that had been sealed up on 'orders from above'.

Less than 5% of Nigerians have ever read the constitution. Constitutional 'reform' has become a slogan by government officials aiming to tinker with the document to legitimise their fraudulent activities.
Government does not respect the judiciary as court orders are routinely disobeyed. Media houses are more cautious of their reporting in order to avoid being shut down on 'orders from above'. We are now the laughing stock of the entire civilised world. Even fellow African countries now use Nigeria as a metaphor for everything that is wrong. Government now seizes state allocations whenever it likes and Governors have morphed into agents of the Presidency.

Electricity generation has dipped 50%, there is no potable water, roads have become death traps despite a huge yearly budgetary allocation, Government officials seek medical attention in foreign countries for ailments such as malaria, tummy tucks and facelifts. There are no books in our schools, no classrooms for learning and no facilities in our laboratories, yet our President intends to build a presidential library at a cost of over N1billion. Nigeria is currently one of the 6 poorest nations on earth despite huge oil earnings, Government officials tell us kerosene is not economical to import since only the poor need it. Pensions are not paid, salaries are arbitrarily withheld and more than 70% of Nigerians are currently jobless.

With less than 1 yr to the expiration of this tenure, there are no political aspirants, opposition parties are not organised and there is a general sense of apathy among the citizenry. There are no debates on restructuring the federation, fiscal prudence, social reforms, revamping the educational and health sectors, improving road, air and rail transport, restructuring of the nations seaports and providing social infrastructure. All we are hearing is 'north vs south', third term, loyalty, "God", revenue allocation e.t.c.

Thousands of Nigerians emigrate to foreign countries on a daily basis and those in foreign countries are more unwilling to return. For those left behind, patriotism has no meaning, they would rather buy the American flag than their own.
Nigerians are realising on a daily basis that they no longer have a stake in the geographical expression they call their own.

For those at the center who have lost their moral conscience, it is hard to understand why those (ala Mr. Atiku Abubakar) opposed to the Government do not want to resign. The Presidency has indeed collapsed, and this is a micocosm of everything about Nigeria. Indeed the entire nation has collapsed.

"We are not ashamed of that fact that we are a nation of believers... we believe that God rules in the affairs of men,"
- Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode

"What he said is that God is not a God of abandoned projects. What he was referring to are the economic policies of this nation."
- Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in falsehood or without purpose."
- Deuteronomy 5:11

The Late Gen. Sani Abacha attempted to perpetuate himself in office by ascribing his selfish ambitions to the "will of the people". As is the custom with despots, President Obasanjo has joined the train of those grasping at straws to legitimise their unconstitutional and illegal attempt to foist themselves on the people they claim to lead and represent. The President on a recent tour to the USA claimed he was waiting for God to decide whether or not he should stand for re-election next year when his constitutionally allowed tenure runs out.

We are not aware that Alhaji Mantu and other third term campaigners have been praying to God to reveal his wishes to them. As usual, the Wada Nas of this leprous administration, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode has jumped to his master's defence, claiming Nigeria is a nation of "believers" and thus important state decisions like elections must be left in the hands of God.
Who are the believers Mr. Kayode is refering to? The ghana-must-go "saints" at Aso rock?

Since God is not a God of abandoned projects, is it possible that every western leader, not forgetting Mandela, have all been unbelievers or have they not offended God by abandoning their posts after the expiration of their constitutionally allowed terms in office?
How long does it really take for "God" to complete his projects? A life time?
Which projects are we refering to? Corruption, nepotism, devaluation of the naira, substandardization of the education sector, poverty or the hostage taking crisis in the niger delta?

Nigerian politicians have re-written the true meaning of democracy, the will of the people is no longer a factor, rather they are more concerned with the will of a God they do not follow. Perhaps next year we should not bother to vote, since our will no longer matters, we may as well sit back and watch "God" put in place the "leaders" he wants.
Just maybe it may not be too farfetched afterall if we all collectively asked God to stand for the 2007 elections himself!

It may be safe to assume that Nairaland has become the fastest growing discussion forum on the internet. I stumbled on the site incidentally sometime in November 2005 and i've been hooked ever since. From the most ludicrous to the highly intellectual, almost any topic under the sun can be found there. From highly trained professionals with phd degrees to those who can hardly write a single sentence in English, different people from all works of life can be found there.
Nairaland would probably take the dubious role as the beer palour for all internet loving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria. A watering hole to unwind, discuss burning national and international issues, sports, family, health, romance, entertainment, technology and jokes.
It is not hard to note that a majority of highly active members are Nigerians in foreign lands, those who are trying to reconnect with their fellow country men and those who wish to stay in touch with current issues at home.

This phenomenon brings to the fore the issue of the Nigerian spirit. Not too long ago, Nigerians where named the happiest people on earth, it probably has a lot to do with the natural community instinct that is a part of every Nigerian. It is hard to find any other discussion forum open to young adults that is not infested with pornography, rude and uncouth language. It is amazing that in about a year of existence, Nairaland has been able to avoid this pitfalls and still retain the appeal it once had.

As with every other thing in life, there are two sides to a coin. The high-handedness of the sole administrator will probably not go unnoticed. There are also tendencies to tamper with posts, and the indiscriminate deletion of topics.

However, one must commend the brains behind this phenomenon for once again highlighting the true spirit of the Nigerian. Thousands of young africans, americans and europeans join the forum every day. It is a pointer to the fact that baring economic and political upheavals, Nigerians are indeed the happiest, and most lively people on earth

"opposition unfit to govern, like Nigerians who don't know how to count themselves".
- Uganda's Environment Minister Kahinda Otafiire

"A great awareness and enthusiasm has attended this particular census. I think that for the first time, Nigerians enthusiastically wanted to be counted. For me, that is a good thing. It is a credit to the awareness the National Population Commission had created and the support we and the international community gave. No human exercise can be regarded as perfect. On this one, we give ourselves near full marks. That people can complain is healthy. It is also healthy that they have a place to complain to and get redress."
- President Olusegun Obasanjo

Perhaps, Alhaji Makama and members of the ruling party are the only ones congratulating themselves on the "successful" conduct of this year's population census.
Maybe President Obasanjo was away on a vacation during the census which was why he was unable to observe the general apathy and contempt with which most Nigerians viewed the excercise.
Going by current oppinion polls 61% of Nigerians rate the census as unsuccessful, and one may be tempted to interprete the widespread violence that greeted the excercise for "awareness and enthusiasm".

Agreed that no human excercise can be perfect, but we do not give the NPC any marks for the census either. The whole excercise was an example of how not to waste tax payers funds and showed gross incompetence and ineptitude on the part of NPC administrators.

Where Nigerians enthusiastic to count themselves? Why then did the government need to close down the whole nation for 7 days for a simple exercise that is done everywhere in the world?
Are Nigerians enthusiastic of the outcome of a census that leaves out such critical components such as ethnicity and religion?
Is the "enthusiasm" not mainly on the part of state officials who are only after increased Federal allocation on the basis of population?

Have we really counted ourselves yet?

Pres. Obasanjo on his current trip to the US was quoted as saying it was the legitimate and constitutional responsibility of the National Assembly to make laws for Nigeria and to amend such laws, including the constitution.
Obasanjo claimed the issue of a third term did not come up in his discussions with President George Bush because "President Bush will regard that as our internal affair, which of course, it is."

It is not the first time we are hearing that phrase "internal affairs". It has become the most favorite line of defence for despots wishing to subvert the will of the people by perpetuating themselves in office.
The late Gen. Sanni Abacha told all foreign countries to mind their business and stop meddling in Nigeria's internal affairs while trying to perpetuate himself in office. Life President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has told all who care to listen that his policies are the internal affairs of Zimbabweans only, ditto for Africa's newest despot, Pres. Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

The problem is that most Nigerians do not understand Baba when he speaks of "our internal affairs". Nigerians do not know what goes on in the corridors of power, their President only speaks to the foreign media, they are generally excluded from constitutional making process, the government has no regard for court orders, polls are rigged massively in favor of government candidates, godfathers have ensured that governors can be removed arbitrarily, those who are appointed to political office now depends on if your name is on the list from above.
Nigerians have no say in who governs them or how they are governed, they have no way of making their leaders accountable to them and yet Baba claims the political process is the internal affair of all Nigerians.

It is clear Baba, when he talks of "our", is refering to his cronies in the PDP, those in the Senate and House of representatives who pretend to represent us but are only after the spoils of office.
For now, all we can do is hope and pray!

"I am not a maneuoverer, I am not a manipulator, I am a democrat."
- Olusegun Obasanjo.

President Olusegun Obasanjo recently travelled to the United States of America to "hold talks" with his American counterpart. Several mainstream American dailies had called upon Pres. Bush to cancel Baba's trip to the white house on two grounds:
One being the growing concern over plans to tinker with the constitution to allow Baba run for office after the expiration of his constitutionally allowed 2 terms.
Second was his seeming reluctance to hand over former Liberian warlord, Charles Taylor.

However since Baba landed on American shores he has not stopped speaking. It seems he only feels comfortable giving interviews to international media going by the fact that all his statements regarding the controversial third term have all been to foreign media. In an interview with VOA late Wednesday, Mr. Obasanjo said; a third term is not on the cards "for now. The plan I have now is to complete the term I have on my hands. I have work to do. I will continue to do it and I will not do anything that is unconstitutional."

We have no idea what Baba means by "for now". Despite the fact that this present government is expected to leave office by May 29, 2007 and general elections are only less than a year away, we are yet to see any signs in the political horizon. We do not know those who are jostling for the Presidency or Governorship seats, there are no campaigns, no debates, no posters, all we are seeing is the determination of a few to foist themselves perpetually on the people in the name of constitutional democracy.

Once again Baba has dodged the most important question that is stifling the growth of democracy in our country. He has refused to speak to Nigerians on his alleged attempt to run for a third term, all we are left with is to make conjectures from his statements to the foreign media. He has told us that he will not do anything unconstitutional, this implies that if the Senator Mantu led committee decide to tinker with the constitution on our behalf, he will have no choice but to "respect" the rule of law by running for a third term.
So much for a democrat!