66 die in clash between FULANI and TIV community fight

SIXTY SIX lives were lost Monday in separate incidents in Benue, Plateau and Osun throwing several families into mourning. No fewer than 45 persons are feared dead in a renewed skirmish between Fulani herdsmen and native Tiv community in Gwer West local government area of Benue State while 14 people were burnt to death with 12 others seriously injured in an auto-accident that occurred at Iwaraja junction, near Ilesa, Osun state.

Also, 7 persons were crushed to death in another accident involving a trailer and a commercial Peugeot car along the Jos-Bukuru express highway.

Bloodbath in Benue

The bloodbath in Benue has left women and children seeking refuge in bushes and forests in the local government area.

An accident along Lagos Ibadan Express Way which claimed 2 lives. Photo; Bunmi Azeez

The President of Tyosin Youth Association, Engr. Joseph Mom who disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists in Makurdi said the invaders stormed the area early Sunday morning killing people and burning down houses and properties in the area.

Mom said the Fulani herdsmen came from areas bordering the local government with the River Benue to carry out the attack on the affected communities of Tse-Ayande, Chille, Mma-Kpe, Tse-Gboku, Tse-Kpar and several other areas

He lamented that the where about of most inhabitants of affected communities are still unknown.

According to him, “They usually cross from the River with speed boat to carry out this premeditated attack. We have been hospitable to the Fulanis but they have continued to attack us on issues bothering on grazing areas”.

He added,”They are usually heavily armed living us always on the defensive. May be they felt what happened last year was not enough so they have come back to continue from where they stopped”, Mom lamented.

The Youth president lambasted security agencies accusing them of not living up to expectation in checking Fulani incessant invasion of the area, contending that the herdsmen have continued with the actbof hostility without being arrested.

He therefore called on the Federal government to as a matter of urgency deploy a special security task force to protect and guarantee the safety of the people who now live in panic

Meanwhile, the State Police Public Relations’ Officer ASP Ejike Alaribe confirmed in a telephone interview that the Police could confirm only 16 Deaths.

Alaribe intimated that security operatives have been deployed to the area to forestall further bloodbath.

7 crushed to death in Jos

In Jos, the driver of the trailer with registration number XA 847 was said to have lost control while answering a phone call, crossing to the other lane of the express road where it crashed into the Peugeot 504 car with registration number AH 762 KUJ believed to have taken off from Mangu.

The commercial vehicle was said to be dropping passengers when the trailer rammed into it and another car which had four occupants. One of those injured and rushed to hospital was a pregnant woman.

Angry youths said to have been angered by alleged lack of remorse of the driver torched the trailer and it took the intervention of the police and other security agencies to bring the situation under control.

The bodies of those killed were later deposited at the Plateau Specialist Hospital where some of the injured were also taken for treatment by men of the Federal Safety Corps and the police.

14 die in Osun accident

The FRSC Sector Commander in Osun, Mr Sunday Maku, who confirmed the casualty figures in the accident that happened in the state said the victims, including two drivers, were burnt beyond recognition when two buses coming from opposite directions collided and caught fire.

He said one of the buses was coming from Akure and heading to Ibadan while the other was moving in the opposite direction.

“The two buses were a white Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number LG 27 GAR with the inscription, Akoko Edo Line, while the other was a Volkswagen wagon with white and orange colour and an unidentified registration number.

“Twelve adults, including eight males and four females who were seriously injured, were rushed to Wesley College Hospital in Ilesa for treatment,” he said.

He blamed the incident, which occurred at about 12:10 p.m., on over speeding and dangerous overtaking.

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Northern parts of Nigeria, is ready for Nigeria’s breakup–Junaid Mohammed

About a week ago, social critic and Second Republic parliamentarian, Dr Junaid Mohammed convened a very popular meeting of Northern academics, thinkers, media gurus, businessmen and politicians in Abuja.

The aim of the meeting was to confront the challenges before the North apparently against the background of the clamour for a Sovereign National Conference(SNC), among other issues. In this interview, Mohammed exuding both confidence and anger says that the North is ready for not just the conference but even for the break up of Nigeria if that is what the promoters of SNC wants.

Excerpt…

You have just convened a conference that assembled the academics, the business guru and a few serving politicians from the Northern Region. What is your own assessment of the conference in terms of the outcome?

Personally speaking, I am not keen on giving my own personal, objective assessment as it were. Rather, other people should do it; those who attended the conference or observed the outcome. It is up to them and other Nigerians who are fair-minded enough to pass their own value judgment in terms of whether it was good or bad, whether it was attended or not, or whether it has achieved its objective or not.

Evaluation naturally succeeds an event like this. Would you say the conference has achieved the goals for which it was set to attain? Would you say that it has attained the targeted objective(s)?

Over 90 percent of the people who visited or attended the meeting- it is more modest to call it a meting, and I am a modest person by inclination, over 90 percent are people who have been known to me. Some have been known to me for well over 50 years and some have been known to me for well over 40 years, some over 30 years.

And we have always been in the habit of sitting down to discuss current affairs, situation in the country, international affairs and what have you. So, when I looked back at the quality discussions with most of the people, I consulted with others and we decided on some of the people good enough to be included. In fact some of us were beginning to wonder how come this initiative had not come earlier.

When we consulted, we decided contacting our friends. We found that there was enough to talk about and there were enough people to do the talking. And we started sending out the invitation and our first task at the meeting was to ask if what we set out to do was worth- while, whether it was worth doing.

Whether we could rub minds and define certain situations and see whether we can give people who feel completely left out of the scheme of things, left out and marginalized by the nature of the Nigerian press, the Nigerian media generally to people who are saying things that are sensible and rational but do not always get the chance to say their mind because they don’t even know the media and they don’t even know the people who run the media and they don’t know the influence of some of these media people. And to make matters worse, quite a number of people are being insulted.

You know you (the Lagos press) insult a whole community; you mention a Northerner and it is as if you mention the North as if it were a colony of lepers and as if some of us are not Nigerians, as if some of us are not even human simply because we are seen as lazy, irresponsible or greedy and all sort of things. And we know that we are not that and we believe that it will be unwise to continue with this kind of charade and farce.

And then the issue of the so- called Sovereign National Conference has also been abused by people who have hidden agenda and who specialize in recruiting some people to do their dirty jobs for them, to do their dirty insulting job for them. And when the situation comes and it did during the civil war, they simply go underground and allow other people to die for nothing. And if you remember that the Nigeria Civil War cost Nigerians over one million people, you can see why some people are not keen to simply take up to insulting people and abusing people and that peace is better than war because after all, life is better than death.

From the names of attendees, it seemed that some of the people holding political appointments in the North in the present dispensation were quietly left out. Was it deliberate or an accident?

Well, I don’t want to categorize people on the basis of their intellectual worth or by their political appointment because there are people there who by any standard in any society and in any culture who are and must be regarded as intellectuals but who have also held political appointments. For example, Dr. Shettima Mustapha from Borno State, he was one of the earliest agricultural extension workers of Northern Nigeria. He has been a Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and that kind of things. So, can you now say that he is not an intellectual or can you say that he is simply not a politician?

The issue of the Sovereign National Conference echoed quite well in the communiqué of the conference. Let us have your perspective in relation to that call by some Nigerians for a form of dialogue?

Asking me to talk about the calls for the Sovereign National Conference will be a little bit unfair. Those who are asking and agitating for the Sovereign National Conference should now come and tell Nigerians what it is that they want. We agree that if there is going to be a Sovereign National Conference, that we would attend. However, in all the meetings that they have had, they (the promoters) have never invited anybody of consequence from the North. They decided that somehow, the North is against the convocation of the Sovereign National Conference and they will not invite the North.

Or they were prepared to have hired thugs, who will accept what has been written for them to go and say it. Now, if you are to be in your mind, can you see Balarabe Musa representing the North or even representing the defunct PRP? But he was invited and he claims to be speaking for the North. That to me shows the level of duplicity and audacity of this people and those behind the calls for the Sovereign National Conference. If you want people to be represented, you look for their genuine representatives, the genuine people who speak for them. Whether what they will say is pleasant or not, but at least, you know that they are speaking for some people. If you ask a rather nobody like Balarabe Musa to, then he will speak for nobody.

Then, when it suits you, you say that Balarabe Musa is representing the North; and when it does not suit you, you say the North does not like Sovereign National Conference.

Now, if these people decided to hold a meeting of the conference for any reason or for any purpose, and they did not invite other people who also have a stake in the outcome of that discussion, is it fair for them to say that nobody wanted to come from this part of the country? Is it also fair for them to decide to choose those who will represent this part of the country?

Are you canvassing that those in the South West who held the meeting for the conference should have reached out to the genuine leaders of the North?

And to other leaders, not just that of the North: To the leaders in the East also. The young man who chaired the so-called pre -Sovereign National Conference meeting, who does he represent? He was born in Gusau in Zamfara State. He had his education here at the Igbo Union School. At the moment, he cannot even be regarded as independent because he is beholden to Lagos State Government, beholden to Tinubu and Fashola, because they have given him a political appointment and he is still holding that political appointment and that appointment is also lucrative. Secondly, they also facilitated his becoming the dean of the Lagos Business School.

Now, you may be a little too young to remember: The last time there was an attempt to give a non-Yoruba person the Vice Chancellorship of the University of Lagos, which was still a federal university, there was mayhem. The Vice Chancellor was Late Professor Njoku, an eminent biologist. Somehow, not because he did anything wrong but because he was not from that area, they decided they didn’t want him, that they wanted a Yoruba professor and that grounded the entire Lagos.

The meeting you convened in Abuja is another conference. But is it a reaction against the proponents of SNC or a genuine effort of national building as some of you have claimed?

Well, first and foremost, if you look at my political career, I have never been involved in anything parochial. And I have never needlessly reacted, even when people( Lagos press) have been provocative to me or towards me. But where an issue has become a national issue, rightly or wrongly, whether the issue has been properly defined or not defined at all and we are at the risk of being dragged or pushed to slip into another civil war, without knowing it, I think anybody of conscience, especially those of us who are young men, who saw what happened between 1967-1970, we have a responsibility to say, “ look, yes here I am, if this is a valid and meaningful discussion, I will participate. If you want to have a fight, I better start preparing my own side so that I don’t get slaughtered in my sleep”.

As far as I am concerned, this issue of Sovereign National Conference has been on the table for a very long time. Governments, even those who made promises that they will convene an SNC dodged the issue. And if anybody were to be accused of being afraid of the so called SNC, it should have the likes of Obasanjo, who promised while he was campaigning that he was going to convene one, and when he came, convened a different thing entirely and wanted to use the constitutional discussion or whatever, to perpetuate himself in power and extend his self in power to be a life president. Now, those of us who have nothing to do with it, then and now, are being accused and are being called names. So now, those who want to hear from us what our position is will have the opportunity. Yes, let us go ahead and do the conference but I want to warn every Nigerian, that what they call -those agitators in Lagos – what they call Sovereign National Conference is nothing but a complete transfer of power from the current leaders of the executive branch, from the legislative and even certain judicial powers to the Sovereign National Conference, which will be sovereign. It will be the ultimate authority in the land.

What would you prefer to happen in Nigeria today?

Clearly, they have rejected the idea of using the current institutional structures and constitutional mechanisms to conduct political dialogue. They don’t want the Senate, they don’t want the House of Representatives, and they don’t want the judiciary, even though they dominate at least two of these three institutions. And they have nothing but contempt for the Presidency unless it is held by their own man. And when their man was in charge, even though he was tribalistic and corrupt as anybody can be, the element who dominated the discussion of SNC did not want to admit that he was a factor in the discussion.

They simply made noise and nothing serious. When he left, they came back full blast to talk nonsense. So, whatever they want, we are ready for it, including the breakup of the country. If they want to initiate moves to break up the country, fine. If they want to secede and form their own Oduduwa Republic or the MOSSOB people want to reenact the Biafran tragedy, they are welcome to it. But they should know that it is not going to be their own decision only; it is going to be the decision of all Nigerians.

What if they decide to go for the latter option?

Oh, for goodness sake, you are telling me now to read a crystal ball when I don’t have one. It is up to them to say this is what they want and come out clearly. We are tired of people speaking to us in codes, in clichés and stupid meaningless agitation. Let them tell us they don’t want to be part of Nigeria; let them tell us they want to be part of the Oduduwa Republic. That will be fine. If those in the MOSSOB are demanding that they don’t want to be part of Nigeria, fine. If the terrorists in MEND and NDVF or whatever they call themselves say they also want to have their own state, fine. Let me tell you, in the event of the breakup of Nigeria, which will be very unfortunate, the North is the only component that will remain one and united.

And we will retain Abuja as the capital of that truncated Nigeria much to our displeasure. We also have two other cities which could serve as capital of Nigeria. Kano is as good as a capital anywhere in Africa. Kaduna will be good a capital too. Don’t forget, Kaduna was the capital of Northern Nigeria. So going back to Kaduna will be the natural thing for us to do. So what is all the farce? What have we gained from being a part of Nigeria? Tell me! I don’t know what I gained for instance. Look at the revenue allocation formula and tell me how this revenue allocation formula can ever allow peace and stability in any country, not just in Nigeria, which already they say is an artificial creation. And let me tell you that in the event of the breakup of this country, Ilorin and Offa will remain 100 % Northern Nigeria and not one each of land will be ceded to them.

But as an elder statesman, a scholar and a politician, don’t you think that there is a need for restructuring of this country?

Well, in the first place, you have to define your terms. There is no country which is perfect. There is no country which is entirely harmonious or peaceful. But crisis and problem, be it economic, social or political, are inherent in human nature and are inherent in every country on earth. If every time you have a problem what you do is to dissolve the structures and start all over, then you have a long way to go. As far as I am concerned, there are problems in Nigeria. But the problems are more class- based rather than ethnic-based. But the irresponsible Nigerian political class prefers to forget and ignore the issue of class. Instead of doing that, we prefer to always blame somebody else.

Today, an Ijaw man is the president, everything that happens; you say it is the Ijaws. But 99% of Ijaws today are not and do not enjoy anything out of the Goodluck Presidency, and the same thing had happened when Northerners were in charge. Now, the world is telling us poverty itself is Northern phenomenon and that 90% of the poor in Nigeria are from the North. That, in fact, we have a skewed system of income distribution whereby those of us who are 62 % of the population and constitute 72% of the land mass have a per capital income of 200 dollars per annum.

Whereas, those who contribute nothing earn income of about 6000 dollars per annum. I say they contribute nothing because what is dug from the soil is not their contributions, God put it there. Nobody planted it. How you can have peace under this circumstance is entirely up to you and those agitators to tell us.

From the revenue allocation figures that are sometimes published in the papers, a couple of Northern States are well catered for than so many states in the South. Some States like Kano and the rest of them are in miles ahead of states such as Enugu , Ebonyi.

Who told you that?

I am speaking based on the figures of the money distributed to different states on a monthly basis

What do you know about figures? Excuse me. I participated in the 1982 Revenue Allocation Act which was in itself a product of the Pius Okigbo Report. Even under those circumstances, there was no basis of what you have just said. The five states of the South East during the Civil War at that material time had the population almost equal to that of Kano State.

Are you now telling me that if Kano gains something that is marginal and extra and above what the South east is getting, that is something advantageous?

What is advantageous about that? Nothing! You are saying that what Rivers alone gets which is more than the entire seven states in the North -West is okay by you? Somehow, Kano did not enjoy anything special. Let me tell you, the population factor is only one weight used, there are other factors. Those factors were designed and divined by late Pius Okigbo. Pius Okigbo did not come from Kano. He was not a Northerner, but he was a distinguished Nigerian who did an excellent job and it was clear that the revenue allocation he gave us in 1982 was essentially in existence until 2002 when Obasanjo came and in his pursuit of Third term agenda induced the National Assembly and the Governors of the oil producing States, notably Odili and Alamieyeseigha and others, who had too much money than they had senses, to compromise Northern Senators and Northern members of the House of Representatives.

That was how the current allocation formula was born. I must say that I am proud of my track record not only in respect of the 1982 law, but also in alerting Northern Governors that this was a very dangerous formula. And I told them, including even some governors from Igbo land and some from the South West: “Don’t accept this revenue formula because it is a recipe for disaster, that sooner than later, you have to come and reverse it. Don’t do it and at the end of the day you will to come and do it and send this country into a terrible tailspin, with nobody knowing what will happen”.

But there is poverty everywhere in the land and not in the north alone.

That is not fair. In the first place, are you saying that it is the Northerners who are writing the reports? These are reports by the IMF and the World Bank. Under normal circumstances, people down South always play up what has been mentioned by IMF and World Bank, some of these capitalist institutions. When it doesn’t suit them, they are quiet about it. Okay, forget about the IMF and World Bank, what of the recent report, just this month, from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics? How many Northerners work in Nigeria Bureau of Statistics?

Some other areas, even in the South are also wallowing in poverty and are not being favoured by the distribution of allocation in Nigeria.

Look, I think you are deliberately trying to misrepresent what I am saying. I am saying that the basis for some of these figures is that you take the total sum of the nations GDP and divide it by the number of population and you come up with an average income per capital. That is what it is in economics. I am not saying that there are no poor people there. I did not say so. All I am saying is that as far as possible, we should try to eliminate poverty and no matter where it is found. It is a on a scourge on our population and it is a debilitating disease which has to be dealt with because it is a waste of our human resources and it is also one of the principal factors which is dragging us back. So, wherever we find poverty and corruption, we should fight it. But what I am saying is that to whom much is given much must be expected.

Terror crisis in Nigeria today is assumed to be tied to the raging poverty in the land. What do you think should be a way out of the challenge?

Look, as far as I am concerned, there is no way you can disambiguate the issue of Boko Haram and the kind of situation we find ourselves here in the North and the poverty in the North unless you are telling me that these boys in Boko Haram are crazy. And that cannot be so. When these boys, these terrorists in the Niger Delta are blowing up flow wells and oil wells and installations, the media down south said that they were not being fairly treated. Now when you take a terrorist in the Niger Delta, you find that invariably he is a graduate.

Most of the oil bunkerers are chief and big men with university degrees or persons who have served in the army or in the navy which they predominant. But when it happens here, you say, oh; it is Muslims, it is the Hausa Fulani. Nonsense! Poverty is a universal phenomenon. It has been with human kind since the beginning of man. But if you are sincere, you can eliminate it. Even in some Western countries, which are advanced, there is some amount of poverty. That is the kind of poverty they call ‘case poverty’ which is limited to certain areas mostly in the urban areas. But what we have here is a mixture of case poverty in the urban areas and mass poverty in the rural areas.

Unless we strive to eliminate poverty and we are sincere about that, we will continue to have poverty forever and ever. Unless there is a consensus among the so-called Nigerian political class, there is nothing we can do. Unless you fix the politics of this country by getting the elite to admit their own responsible, rather than rely on the pages of the newspapers and abusing other people, this controversy would continue on and on and on.

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Three Nigerian Tribes Snitching On Themselves

Random people from the three major tribes in Nigeria were interviewed on what they felt about the other two tribes and they had some very disgusting things to say about their neighbors

Hausa Man:

Does not like yoruba because:

Yorubas are not cooperative in nature, also prefers fellow tribesman to other people
Yorubas are gossipers and back bitters

Likes Yoruba because:

They study hard/well educated
Good in business
Respectful to elders (prostrate to greet)

Does Not Like Igbo Because:

They are not trustworthy/too much love for money
Look down on other tribes
9 out of 10 armed robbers are Igbos

Does Like Igbo Because:

They are good/hardworking businessmen



Igbo Woman:

Does not like yoruba because:

Yorubas are gossipers and back bitters
Yorubas are dirty
They are cowards and troublesome
They live show-off life, Party hard, sleep Hungry

Likes Yoruba because:
They study hard/well educated
Educated ones are good for marriage and caring

Does not like Hausa because:
They dont take care of their families/marry too many wives/kids beg on the street


Likes Hause because:
They are trustworthy and truthful


Yoruba Man:

Does lot like Hausa because:
Too dumb, always follow their leaders/religion


Likes Hause because:
They are trustworthy and truthful
Cooperative


Does lot like Igbo because:

They are not trust worthy/2 faced
Dubios


Does Igbo because:
They are hard working in their business.
--No further comment-----

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Why Nigeria Is A Failing Nation

GEJ is the current President of Nigeria so all bucks stop on him. I never supported him as a Presidential candidate in this last election because I was not convinced on his leadership skills, he had no manifestos, above all his party PDP has failed and continue to fail Nigeria. I however supported him to replace President Yar’dua when he was incapacitated and eventual death. I did this because the Nigerian constitution warranted and guaranteed this and I supported the constitution, as it is supreme.

It did not matter to me if the PDP presidential candidate were a Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa/Fulani; I would not have wasted my votes on any PDP candidates in 2011 even if he were Jesus the Christ (PDP members themselves often proudly say in Nigeria, ”even if Jesus comes now we would not let him succeed in Nigeria”). However he is our President now and he must lead efficiently not cowardly as he is doing.

I have very good reasons for my decision not to support PDP last year, I am from Osun state of Nigeria from Omisore senatorial constituency and my in-law was the chairman of my local government, (he is not my only in law in PDP), all these people including former Governor Oyinlola are all PDP members and they all destroyed my cradle, state and country but all became very rich in the process. I am an independent thinking person; I am not a card-carrying member of any party and no affiliations to any party.

Before the last election, I looked at other political parties and their manifestoes and decided to canvass and campaign for the ACN as they offer the best solutions to my state and Nigeria at large. This sort of thoughts occurred through out the southwest of Nigeria and resulted in demise of PDP in the region. How I wish the rest of the country voted for a progressive change!

I am a Christian but I support a Muslim new governor of my state who by the way he is doing great, he is also not from my area of the state as PDP Oyinlola who destroyed my state for 7 years. I also campaigned for ACN candidates Ribadu/Adeola at national level even though Ribadu is of Hausa/Fulani extraction and both are Muslims, my decision was based on the best pair for the country as I said I knew regardless of GEJ gentleman-ness he had no vision for the country and his PDP has consistently failed us for 12 years. However, I still want him to do well in Nigeria because if Nigeria does well all of us do well.

You see my brother we are all Nigerians, we should not keep thinking of section, religion and ethnicity as these will keep us down as a nation. This is in fact what few ruling elites want; they want us to be divided so that they can perpetrate themselves in power. It should not matter if one is an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Ijaw, Ogoni, Ibiobios, Tivs, etc., let us begin to support and go for the best person for the job. Look at our civil service and now the private sectors in Nigeria; most workers are not there on merits but through nepotism, favoritisms, and connections all to the country's detriment.

There are many capable job candidates in Nigeria who have good education but lack connection hence no job whilst people with ordinary 3rd class degrees and passes are making the decisions that affect us all. Take for example, I am aware of a person with 3rd class degree in Yoruba language who got a job as a bank manager because his father has a big bank balance in that bank whilst a candidate with first class degree in banking & finance was rejected, no wonder the guy with Yoruba degree failed woefully in his performance and was engaging in other fraudulent acts in the bank, the bank daren't sack him because of his godfather!! All these people hold the country hostage as they think the country belongs to them, haba!!

1993 elections that were annulled by IBB could have been the first time in Nigerian history when the whole Nigerians voted for who they perceived to be the best Presidential candidate. If IBB did not annul these elections, I honestly believe Nigeria would have moved on from regional politics that keep us behind since independence.

My brother, what is the essence of me supporting a Yoruba man as a president who would bring the country down than someone else from other tribe who would make the country great? My brother, We owe our children, grand & great grand children the good legacies so we must support any Nigerian who will make Nigeria attain her highest heights otherwise we would have failed as a people.

GEJ needs to reject anyone or any group who want to thwart his legacies, he must come out of his shell fearlessly / tirelessly and face this issue of Boko Haram head on, mere claiming of the presence of bad people in his government is not good enough, he must not think of any tribe or ethnic group he may upset, he must remember he is the commander in Chief and the security of all Nigerians rest on him.

He needs to hire the capable,uncorruptible hands, un-hire those he thinks are not up to the tasks. What he is scared of? Death? He should be ready to die as a hero than to live as a coward. There are many capable Nigerians in all our diverse ethnic groups who he can appoint, he should not be too political/partisan and therefore forced to pick the ingrates/ embecelles / mediocre in order to settle his god - fathers, if he needs to reach beyond his party so bid. Is he afraid of a second term? I thought he claims he is not interested in a 2nd term, what then? He should forget how he gets to this position, destiny or whatever? He is there now and he should serve Nigerians well so that when his term finishes he can be a proud Ijaw Nigerian who served his country well.

He must remember that he is now a president of all Nigerians who happens to be a PDP man from an Ijaw ethnic group of one Nigeria. If he thinks there are some questionable people (Boko-Haram / Cabals) in his cabinet, government, civil service, he should expose them and bring them to justice now and the Nigerians would hail him for it, doing nothing and just talking that he knows them make him look weak and will create more problems for him and his legacies.

I have a dream of a Nigeria where all men/women are created equal, where decisions will be based on individual merits not on tribes, religion, connections and bank balance, this type of Nigeria will allow all of us to live and prosper in Nigeria and build our country rather than sharing it and afford us to leave great legacies for our children, grand and great grand children.

May God grant our leaders the wisdoms and health to lead!!!

This was a response to a GEJ supporter who blames the Northern elites for the actions of Boko-haram.

Dr. Kola

Educated in Nigeria, UK & USA

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US Army prepares for Nigeria’s possible break-up

There are strong indications that the United States of America, USA, may be gearing up for a possible balkanisation of the country following developments in the last few years.

This indication is contained in a publication credited to NEWSRESCUE in America, where accounts of an article written by Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC and Guest Columnist of AllAfrica Global Media, Mr. Daniel Volman and speakers in an AFRICOM conference held at Fort McNair were given.

It would be recalled that in 2005, the US predicted that Nigeria would cease to be a nation state in 2015 in view of threats posed by continued ethno-religious crisis over the years. Similarly, the United States military had, in May 2008, conducted a war games test called Unified Quest 2008, to ascertain how its military might respond to a war in parts of Africa with a mention of Nigeria.

Also, the question of how to handle possible splits between factions within the Nigerian government was tested with a plan by the Americans to send about 20,000 troops to secure and take over the oil-rich South while the North would be turned into an Arab aligned, possibly terrorist enclave.

Recent developments in the polity, namely the post-election violence up country, the activities of militants in the South and the recent activities of the Islamic Boko Haram sect in a spate of terrorism-like bomb attacks may have laid strong credence to the claim.

Indications are that the US will favour a disintegration of the country given Nigeria’s not too distant past romance with countries considered not to be allies of the self-acclaimed world super power.

The Nigerian government had not long ago signed deals with Russia and Iran for major resource, military and power (Nuclear generation) mutual ventures. This alliance did not go down well with the US as these nations are considered perpetual enemies. In addition, Nigeria has been promoting development, not by serving US interest but by cooperation’s with so-called third world Nations like Brazil.

The US has been known to be at the center of important breakups in the past. Countries like Vietnam and Korea had the US play a major skewed role, and when these Nations divided into North and South, the US stationed its troops at the border to defend usually the Southern territory, and the Northern usually became a rejected, isolated rudiment.

It would also be recalled that in the 2010 budget, the US had made provision for the expansion of the operations of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which will provide increased security assistance to repressive regimes in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and key US allies such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Rwanda and Uganda.

This is even as in 2009, Nigeria’s late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, clearly rejected the installation of US AFRICOM military command in Nigeria, probably sensing that the Pentagon had planned to establish a new military command in Africa.

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"Nigeria may collapse in 2030" -US experts

According to Daily Trust,Nigeria would be engaged in multipartite civil war like it happened in Lebanon in 1975 and Somalia in 1991 before its final disintegration in 2030, a report by the United States military experts released by the Centre for Strategy and Technology, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama has said.

The report written by five US military scholars and entitled “Failed State 2030: Nigeria - A case study” and dated February 2011, is one of the many periodic scenario building analysis undertaken by the US military think tanks on the future of countries within the sphere of economic interests of the US.

One of such simulated security dissertation on Nigeria was released during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo by the US National Intelligence Council, where the US intelligence experts predicted Nigeria’s collapse in 2015.

In the 156 page latest report, the US Air Force officers posit that “Nigeria’s lack of unifying national identity, history of corrupt governance, religious and cultural schisms, and shifting demographics may cause the state, over time, to break apart.”

In the case of Nigeria in 2030, the experts believed that Nigeria’s “history of tribal and religious conflicts, endemic corruption at all levels of government, poor national planning, uneven development, social disorder, rampant criminality, violent insurgency, and terminal weak governance provides an environment that could portend imminent collapse and failure.”

But the military scholars explained that the security report is “not a specific prediction of the future or a depiction of a state of affairs that will and must occur” but “a discussion of how the trends occurring in Nigeria since its birth as a nation in 1960 could, under the right conditions, lead to its failure.”

The report said that “fragmentation of the Nigerian body politic could create conditions for a multipartite civil war, mirroring in some ways the events in Lebanon in 1975 and Somalia in 1991.”

The report however said that “Nigeria’s 250 million people, 350 different ethnicities, and religious differences can, under the right circumstances, cause the nation to shatter in an instant.”

On good governance, the experts said that “by 2030, the social contract between the weakened federal government and the Nigerian people is effectively broken.”

Also, Nigeria’s endemic corruption and the predatory economic practices of the oligarchs and their associated enterprises may well deplete the financial resources for economic diversification and critical human and industrial infrastructure resulting into “a loss of confidence and a lack of capital investment from the World Bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC),” the report said.

If the social contract between government and its people remains relatively strong—where the government rules justly, invests in its people, and provides economic and political freedom, the report said, national survival is reasonably assured. Such favorable conditions become paths for success.

However, if the government fails to invest in its people and rules through fear and intimidation and corruption becomes corrosively endemic, the bonds of trust between the government and its people could become irreparably weak, according to the scholars. “These negative trends in crosscutting conditions then become the path to failure,” it said.

“In 2030, with a population of more than 225 million people, 350 ethnicities, and multiple languages, Nigeria’s negative social trends may become ever more destructive,” the experts said.

Although 2003 proved to be a watershed year in the level of violence throughout Nigeria, according to the report, explosive episodes of factional fighting will likely continue at a strong pace for at least another decade until reform measures instituted in 2008 begin to have a visible effect. “Even then, strong tribal allegiances combined with exploitable ignorance and perceived wrongs will spawn episodic violence between ethnic groups well beyond 2030,” the report said.

On the economic side, the report said that “on a larger scale, a failure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or a state of similar influence would wreak havoc on the global economy.”

“With continued globalization and Nigeria’s position as a major player in global economics now and in 2030, its collapse will have enormous wide-ranging impact.”

With its growing population and the importance of petroleum and natural gas to the world economy, “Nigeria’s civil war, whether it occurs or not, could be devastating for Nigeria, West Africa in which Nigeria is the leading power, and Africa as a whole.”

Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 may remain a dream because of corruption. “By 2030 a failure to address corruption will hinder investments to grow a middle class, harm Nigeria’s credit rating, force early termination of oil contracts, and result in slower economic growth, thereby eliminating Nigeria as a top-20 world economy,” the report said.

“Attempts to remove corrupt influences from governance will be fought by those who have historically benefited from these arrangements, namely the criminal family enterprises and the business oligarchs,” the report said.

Adding that “business leaders, who have historically held great power, will not willingly allow their influence to be diluted. Conflict between security forces for criminal enterprises, various militias, insurgents, and the Nigerian military will erupt. Each of these entities will strive to protect their respective interests.”

On the social angle, the ECOWAS, dominated by Nigeria and conducted peacekeeping operations in Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone “would likely be incapable of dealing with Nigeria’s failure and a subsequent civil war,” the report said.

“With war, millions of refugees would flee across Nigeria’s borders into Cameroon, Niger and Benin, putting tremendous strain on their human services, local infrastructure, and national economies,” it said.

The report predicted that “the more destructive the civil war, the greater the chance of genocide and other horrors that leave an indelible stain on human history.”

It said that restoring a failed state may be extraordinarily difficult in the case of Nigeria because “under conditions of failure and multipartite civil war, sorting through the ethnic and cultural stew will be virtually impossible since most people will identify more with their tribe, religion, or culture than with their country.”

In the areas of defense, the report confirmed military and defense synergy between Nigeria and the US, saying that “since 2009 the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred older vessels from their respective fleets, while providing training and equipment from their own navies, to Nigeria.”

They explained that “Nigeria’s newly refurbished frigates and coastal patrol boats will be easily integrated into the US Navy’s Seabasing Joint Integrating Concept, which stresses forward deployment of US naval forces to support national objectives in areas where the American forces are denied basing or access.”

By 2020, the report added, “the Niger Delta region may become the cause célèbre for international environmental groups, given the extraordinary level of ecological damage. Radical environmental groups operating through social networking may funnel money and weapons to MEND forces to help them recruit new followers to take direct action against petroleum facilities and infrastructure.”

In the area of fighting terrorism, the report said that “any attempted inroads into West Africa by al-Qaeda or similar jihadist Salafist groups will likely be successfully thwarted by a resurgent Sokoto caliphate which may issue fatwas rejecting the violent jihadist ideology of these outsiders.”

“The caliphate may go so far as to brand any attempt by al-Qaeda to either sanction attacks or destroy Nigeria’s oil production capacity as an attack on the Islamic people of northern Nigeria,” according to the report.

The experts said that criminality experienced tremendous growth between 1993 and 2009, especially in the Niger Delta region and in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city; adding that generous donations of money, training, social networking support, weapons, and support equipment provided by groups like the Earth Liberation Front will likely keep MEND viable.

“By 2030 MEND should be able to maintain a well-trained force of up to10, 000 fighters who will conduct raids against national oil infrastructure, both on and offshore,” the report said.

Educationally, the report said that given the inconsistency of support for and application of education standards, “by 2030 it is likely Nigeria will be unable to honor its commitment to the African Union to invest one percent of its GDP in science and technology instruction and development.”

According to the report, by 2030 Nigeria’s population will reach 225 million people, with much of the growth in the Islamic north. Nigeria will likely be the sixth most populous country in the world and the Islamic north could account for almost 65 percent of Nigeria’s population.

“By 2030 the average age in Nigeria will be less than 20 years, and life expectancy could increase by an average of 10 years,” it said.

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Nigeria’s Crude Oil Will Dry Up in 37 Years

Geologists and critical stakeholders in the oil sector have raised an alarm that Nigeria's crude oil reserve would be totally depleted in the next 37 years precisely by 2048.

These stakeholders are currently worried that with a production output of 2.5 million barrels of oil per day.

Nigeria currently depletes about 1 billion barrels of crude oil annually from its 37.2 billion barrels of hydrocarbon reserves.

They say the looming danger can only be averted if the federal government urgently creates aggressive policies of hydrocarbon reserves replacement.

This was the position of Mr. Guy Maurice, Managing Director of Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, at the opening of a very important oil industry conference in Lagos on Monday.

According to him, policies must be put in place for industry to gain a lot of time in the contracting cycle, especially by drastically shortening and reducing the time to access rigs for exploration in the Nigerian waters.

In his words: “The country should make reserves replacement a priority. If we take a critical look at perspectives for growing reserves in the next decade, the answer is exploration, exploration and more explorations to run parallel to development projects, which are also becoming more and more expensive to execute, due to slippages in complex contractual environment, couple with security challenges.”

The conference which had the theme - 'Perspectives on Growing Hydrocarbon Reserves in the Next Decade' - is one of the annual major conferences and exhibition in the oil and gas industry.

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At Last First Private Refinery Begins Operation in Nigeria

This is good news, no doubt, considering that Nigerians have been clamouring for the establishment of more refineries in the country to tackle the lingering problems associated with importation of petroleum products, especially the issue of cost.

Finally, a private refinery owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd., a subsidiary of Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc, has begun operation in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria. This came even as the federal government confirmed it has granted the firm a Licence To Operate (LTO).

I hear the refinery, located in Rivers State, was completed in December 2010 and has been undergoing test-run for sometime while the LTO was being awaited. The fabrication work was handled by Chemex Incorporated of Texas, United States.

According to official records, the LTO signed by the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, was the first of its kind to be granted to a publicly-owned Nigerian company. With the operating licence, the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd. now has full authority to operate its mini-diesel refinery, referred to as “Topping Plant” at the company’s Ogbele Oil Field in Rivers State.

Confirming the development, the CEO of the firm, Dr. Layi Adetona, said the refinery comes with an initial capacity of 1,000 barrels of crude per day, adding that it now produces 120,000 litres of diesel per day.

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Nigeria’s political structure wasteful

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi yesterday said that the present political structures of Nigeria are too cumbersome and economically wasteful to guarantee rapid development of the country.

Sanusi who spoke as the Guest Speaker on the occasion of the presentation of professor Adamu Baike’s book, “Against All Odds” at Arewa House, Kaduna noted that the present 36 States are spending 96 percent of their revenues to pay salaries of their respective civil servants in an economy that is to develop on a long term basis, and posed a rhetorical question, “do we need 36 States, do we need the number of ministries that we have”?

He also pointed out that the Federal government is spending 70 percent of its total revenue to pay workers’ salaries as well as taking care of the overhead cost, maintaining that it has denied the growth of some vital sectors of the socio-economy of the nation, leaving only 30 percent for 150 million Nigerians.
The CBN boss whose paper presentation was entitled, “Re-Invigorating Education In Nigeria”, lamented that there are 71, 000 Nigerian students in Ghana who are paying not less than 155 billion naira as tuition annually, compared with the annual budget of 121 billion naira for the entire federal university education in Nigeria.

According to him, “ltimately we will have to be confronted with the task of taking very difficult steps in looking at the political structures that we have, do we need 36 States, do we need the number of ministries that we have, it is an economy in which States spend 96 percent of their revenues to pay their civil servants, an economy that is likely to be developed in the long term.?
“These are difficult questions that we need to ask, we have created States and local governments and ministries structures that are economically unviable, and the result is that we do not have funding for infrastructures, we do not have funding for education, we do not have funding for health.

“I don’t know how many people know that 70 percent of the total revenue of the Federal government is spent paying salaries and over head, and leaving the remaining 30 percent for 150 million Nigerians.
“For example, according to a newspaper account, and quoting the chairman, committee of governing councils of Nigerian Federal Universities: “there are 71, 000 Nigerian students in Ghana who pay not less than 155 billion naira as tuition annually, compared with the annual budget of 121 billion naira for the entire federal university education in Nigeria. Findings placed Nigeria third on the list of countries with the highest number of students studying overseas.

“The poor state of education is also manifested in dearth of functional libraries, poor state of learning infrastructure, limited access to recent advances in various spheres of knowledge, and longer time required to complete a programme. Others include modality of teaching with instructional materials and facilities, lack of space for admission and irregularity in academics calendars of tertiary institutions arising from incessant strike actions embarked upon by both academic and non-academic staff union.

“In emerging economy like Nigeria, a well designed education policy should be an integral part of its development strategy; the present economic strategy should include measure to invest in human capital that facilitates in upgrading of industries, and ginger the economy to attain utmost resources utilization.

“It is not enough to simply lament the tragedy, let alone treat it with kid gloves, we completely agree with the House of Representatives that a state of emergency should be declared in our education sector now. Further procrastination on this very matter will inflate impracticable and irreversible damage to the nation.”

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US to award $3m scholarships to Nigerian students

United States Government has offered $3 million scholarship grants to Nigerian students for the 2011 and 2012 academic year, the US Embassy disclosed yesterday. 

The scholarship scheme, under the Educational Advisory Centre, according to the Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy, James McAnulty, will afford Nigerian students the opportunity of studying in the United States. 

Speaking during 2011 Annual College and career Fair in Abuja, McAnulty said: “During the 2011 to 2012 academic year, we anticipate that Nigerian students participating in our Educational Advisory Centre will receive nearly three million dollars in financial aid and scholarships.

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Nigeria rated the 101st best country to do business in the world

Nigeria dropped from the 87th position it occupied last year.

Ahead of Nigeria from the African continent were South Africa, which ranked 40th, followed by Zambia (56th), Namibia (71th), Ghana (72th), Mozambique (77th), Morocco (83rd), Malawi (86th), Egypt (92nd), Senegal (96th), and Madagascar (98th).

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First Lady to Nigerian men: Stop patronising prostitutes

The First Lady of the Federation, Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan, has called on Nigerian men to stop patronising prostitutes. 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for repentant commercial s*x workers who were trained for six months at the Federal Capital Territory Women Rehabilitation Centre, Sabon-Lugbe, Abuja, the First Lady said President Jonathan’s government is committed to touching lives. 

The First Lady who was represented at the event by her Senior Special Assistant on Social Development, Mrs. Sarah Akube, told Nigerian men to “stop touching the innocent girls” even as she expressed hope that the 34 trained ex-commercial s*x workers would not return to their vomit. 

The ex commercial workers were trained in hairdressing, computer appreciation; fashion design and bead making as part of rehabilitation and re-integration measure back to the society by the Federal Capital Territory administration in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, the Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN).

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No independence celebration till 2014

In what appears to be a direct response to the criticism from the opposition parties and other Nigerians, over the low-keyed celebration at the State House, Abuja, instead of the traditional Eagle Square, President Goodluck Jonathan has announced that the situation will not be different until 2014.

While the Federal Government considered the celebration of the nation’s Independence Day inside Aso Rock as a cost-saving measure, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other political leaders insisted it was a serious error of judgment.

They had linked the cancellation of the traditional parade and shifting of activities marking the nation’s 51st Independence anniversary from the Eagle Square to the relatively-secure Presidential Villa to threats posed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

But Presidnet Jonathan who just ended a two-day working visit to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, said the 2014 celebration would be merged with centenary celebration not only because of the uniqueness of the year but would also be the last one before the expiration of his tenure in May 2015.

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Police Salary Stolen From Police Bank

Hopes of scores of policemen in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, to receive their September salaries were dashed this morning as the N11.7 million meant for their salaries has been stolen.

Newsmen investigation this morning revealed that the money was stolen from the Nigerian Police Force Micro Finance Bank situated within Ikeja Police College at GRA. The money was paid into the bank on Friday yet there was no sign of burglary when it was discovered missing this morning.

When Newsmen visited the bank today at about 10.1 5 a.m., a large number of policemen who stormed the bank were disappointed as they could not collect their salary. They were directed to go to another branch of the microfinance bank at Obalende for the payment of their salaries. When Newsmen attempted to speak with the manager at the Microfinance Bank, he declined to comment on the incident.

When contacted on phone, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Samuel Jinadu said he was driving. At the bank located at the back of the office of the Commandant of the Police College. Before the N11.7 million simply grew wings and disappeared between last Friday and yesterday, corruption cases had been reported and investigated at the Police College. 

Police sources told Newsmen that officers who attended promotion courses from the rank of Inspector to Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, were compelled to pay N7,000 each. The officers are said to be divided into three batches. A batch has up to 15,000 policemen and there could be three of such batches for the promotion course that lasts only three weeks.

 Our source said Constables and Corporals are also compelled to pay at least N5,000 each before they are allowed to take part in promotion courses. Newsmen learnt that because of these alleged sharp practices, policemen now lobby to work at the Police College.

The corruption allegations at the college are being investigated by a panel headed by ACP Noah Adesanyin. Other members of the panel are CSP Emmanuel Ighodalo, a former Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, and four high ranking police officers.

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Legalize prostitution - Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu yesterday asked the Senate to consider the possibility of legalising prostitution in the country.

Speaking during debate on a motion on the scourge of human trafficking in the country, Ekweremadu said since it has become impossible to stop prostitution in the land, the Senate should consider regulating the act in the country. According to him “we need to regulate prostitution in this country so that if anyone wants to indulge in prostitution, the person should be registered and issued with a license.

If we say we want to stop it, it would be difficult. It is done in other countries; let us regulate it by issuing license.” Also speaking on the matter, Senate President David Mark said it is difficult to stop the act of prostitution saying “the FCT administration has been trying to stop but they are facing stiff resistance because the prostitutes have their association and even their own legal adviser. 

It is a reasonably organised bad profession.” While debating on the motion that centred on human trafficking, several senators advocated for amendment to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Act to provide for capital punishment for those involved in human trafficking. 

The position followed a motion on the scourge of human trafficking in the country moved by Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta (PDP, Niger East) and 33 other senators.

In his motion, Kuta said though NAPTIP is struggling to tackle the menace of human trafficking in the country, “the situation has been on the increase and has been identified as the world’s fastest growing criminal industry, second only to drug trafficking and fraud.

In his contribution, Senator Uche Chukwumerije (PDP, Abia) said “we should upgrade the punishment for human trafficking to capital punishment. Equally to be joined are all the security personnel that are along the route where it take place. I don’t believe that it is happening without the knowledge of the security agencies along the entry and exit points.

Also commenting, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (PDP, Borno South) said there is need for more punitive measures to end the menace saying “human trafficking is not only in terms of export. We have house boys and girls in the country that don’t have any future. Most of them are not even up to the age specified by law.

They work for so many years and all they get is commendation without any form of future.” On his part, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed (CPC, Kaduna North) expressed worry on the ugly dimension of human ritual to the crime of trafficking in persons. He revealed several instances of victims kidnapped and used for ‘devil worship’. After the debate, Senate directed its committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters to carry out further legislative action on the matter and report back to the whole Senate.

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Fed Govt to build three new Refineries

President Goodluck Jonathan says his administration is building three new refineries and revamping the existing ones to transform the country from an importer of petroleum products.

The President made this known on Saturday in his address to the nation on the occasion of its 51st independence anniversary. He said his administration was committed to transforming Nigeria to the hub for exportation of value-added petroleum and petrochemical products, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The President also said his administration was partnering with the private sector in the construction of world-scale petrochemical and fertilizer plants. He said such would lead to effective utilisation of the nation’s abundant natural gas resources and boost employment generation. In the efforts aimed at diversifying the economy, Jonathan said his administration had set out agricultural transformation action plans and policy measures to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of rice, cassava, maize, sorghum and other staple foods.

He said the agricultural transformation plan would generate 3.5 million jobs and produce 20 million tonnes of food. In achieving all these, the President appealed to Nigerians to take pride in farming and consume locally produced agricultural products. `We should eat what we produce. The increasing popularity of local products, like ‘Ofada rice’, ‘Badegi rice’, and ‘Abakaliki rice’, attest to the fact that the populace will readily embrace locally-grown produce. `We must also take pride in our scientists.

This week, Nigeria released eight new high yielding cocoa varieties. `This will help to transform cocoa production across the 14 cocoa-producing states in the nation,’’ he remarked. The President also emphasised his administration’s determination to ensure that Nigerians have reliable electricity to grow the economy.

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