Ok that's it, my Obama moment has been bought back to reality, i thought it was a joke but then i saw the article, "Obama's election and the needed change, by Obasanjo"
Aaagh!!! do our leaders have no shame, it's bad enough that the president of Kenya declared a holiday for Obama for winning a free and fair election in America, an election which he could never have won as a Luo man in Kenya. It's not yet a year since Kibaki plunged his country into ethnic violence for refusing to step down after "losing" an election to another Luo man. The selective amnesia (or is it denial) of African leaders boggles the mind. No wonder the whole continent is trapped in a vortex of endless political violence and ethnic strife.
But i digress, According to Obasanjo,
"Obama represents an ability to move from realms of dream to reality. He represents Hope for the global minorities who are being or feel oppressed by the majority." {SNIP}
"Part of his hopes and dreams is to facilitate the emergence of a post racial America. I believe embedded in that will be a pointer for divided countries to create the needed golden bridges across traditional divides and gaps of tribal bigotry, ethnic chauvinism, religious allegiance and other primordial considerations. It is a signal to us that we can gradually begin the movement towards an Africa that accepts everyone for what and who he or she is."{SNIP}
"People should be seen, accepted, judged and placed for what they are and what God has endowed them with. Those who preach the sermon of superiority of Intelligence Quotient or simple intellect based on colour, race, tribe or language must start to review and indeed change their sermon."
So Obasanjo likes beta thing (as my peeps will say in pidgin), yet at no time in the many years he ruled Nigeria did he bring about the political renewal that our nation desperately needs. During his 8 year rule, he encouraged and promoted the likes of Adedibu and Chris Uba, people who were prepared to use violence and intimidation to "win" elections. Obama's victory in America could be compared to the June 12 election when Nigerians of different ethnic and religious background voted for MKO Abiola in a free and fair election that has yet to be repeated in Naija. Obj was among the powerful minority that supported the annulment of that election, in the heat of the June 12 crises, he had gone to South Africa to announce that "Abiola is not the messiah we seek". I'm sure many Americans (especially of the redneck variety) will say Obama is not the messiah they seek, but he won the election and thats all that matters. It's a shame that the irony of it all is lost on Obasanjo or whoever he employed to write this piece of garbage. I'm not a religious person, but i surely hope there's a God out there, that will strike the likes of Obasanjo, Kibaki, Mugabe and the other despotic African leaders that have denied their people political freedom and yet want to associate with the historical victory of Obama.Labels: obama, Obasanjo, politics
Arrested Economic Development
Paper presented by 'Wale Otukoya at the Yoruba Foundation on 7th June 2008.
Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. It's an absolute pleasure to see you all. I am so excited about the opportunity to talk about the development of our country, but I have only a very limited time, so, I will get straight in.
At the dawn of Independence, our country was like a young virgin bride, full of promises and possibilities, our forefathers were overjoyed by the opportunities, but on the wedding night, it was the best man that consummated the marriage. That false start had plagued our country till today.
There are longer any doubts that the 1959 election was rigged, many people at the time suspected this to be the case, but now the Radio 4 programme that you listened to earlier confirmed that suspicion.
So that begs the question, why will anyone want to rig an election, especially our colonial masters on their way out?. When the slave trade came to an end, these guys still needed labour, they devised something even better, colonisation, rather than transport people to a foreign land, why not make them do the work in their own backyard and then send the goods back to the home country.
Ingenious!. There are policy makers constantly at work, making sure that they deal with issues before they become problems.
There were many reasons why the Nigerian Independence election was rigged, but this has brought us a lot of headache. If our colonial masters can so blatantly ignore the wishes of the people of Nigeria, the subsequent governments do not have a reason to have a plan, or setup an agenda, no accountability, nor do they need to perform in order for them to get back into power.
I understand that the Western region was ahead of its time, free education, free healthcare etc. The UK government wanted people they could continue to influence, educating the majority of the country will only lead to more problems.
The 1979 Nigerian election was fought on the same basis, but Awolowo was criticised for that. The UK Labour government since 1997 made Education and health two important policies of their government. Can you see the parallel, nearly 20 years later?. If we followed those policies in 1979, we would be unbeatable right now.
Now, lets give credit where credit is due, two centuries ago the Brits had about 30 million people, yet they managed to colonise almost a quarter of the world. This small island became a world leader because of the dedication of a few people.
Why did we expect them to help us to develop when development will mean less dependence on UK products?.
Imagine, through some fluke, somebody asked the Chelsea Manager to select the Man United team to face Chelsea at the finals of the European cup. I bet Ronaldo, Ferdinald, Van der Saer, or any of the key players will not be in that team, because even though on a good day Chelsea might be able to match Man U, the manager will play safe and go for the second team.
That was the same thing that happened at our "independence", why pick a team likely to give you a good run for your money, when you can pick one that you can surely win against. So, the Brits picked the second team and put the first team in reserve, another ingenious idea.
We have never had our best players in the right places.
On several occasions, I have heard that we were better under colonial rule than the 47 years of independence!!!. What we have failed to do since independence is to turn around the tide.
Several believed that the sleeping giant of Africa was about to take off in the 1970's and 80's, but in reality, it was a case of the jumbo jet crash landing whilst till taxing on the runway. We never made it as far as we thought we would. It just never happened. Now we are dreaming of 2020, but without a 20/20 vision.
Gradually, many of the colonised countries are now developing, do you remember the Vespa based cars that looked like tricycles with engines?. Those cars were the butts of many jokes when we were growing up, but India has now developed new cars on the back of that and recently launched the cheapest car for about $2000.
The Indian company Tata, manufactures cars, it's a massive conglomerate, they now own British Steel. Does anyone know what happened to Ajaokuta steel after we have spent $6b?.
Malaysia was a British colony, but its now classified as a Newly Industrialised country (NIC), they hope to become a fully developed country by 2020.
Does anyone know what happened to Volkswagen Nigeria?. Malaysia now produces Proton cars, apart from the engine. Malaysia also have one of the best medical facilities in the world, many now travel there as medical tourists. That could have been us. Where are all our trained doctors?. They are now dotted across the world. In 2007, Malaysia exported $4.4b worth of palm oil that they originally took from Nigeria. I wonder what we have done with ours?. Palm oil is now a major product, every part of it is used, even the shell.
Let me share some info from the US department of Statistics. Immigrants from Nigeria to the US are likely to be better educated (graduates and post graduates) than the indigenous population, but are more likely to be employed in a manual work.
Now, we need to move on though, time is ticking, the taxi is waiting and we have lost considerable amount of time, 47 years to be exact. In the life of a human being we are now middle aged, tending towards being regarded as a "condemn".
We have the skills, we have resources, we just lack leadership.
The economics of the world is changing. Having capital alone is not enough, you need skills, you need to be unique, you need to be able to distinguish yourself from the crowd.
Development cannot happen in a vacuum, it must be in the context of our social economic base. If our governments don't want to drive this, then, we as individuals must be able to provide leadership. We need to start somewhere, at the moment, we are running away from our own destiny.
We had oil, we blew the money because we were selfish enough not to care whether our neighbours had a meal or not, as long as we drove better cars and had more houses. Most of the jobs created in the UK and the US are created by the private sector.
Traditional economic theorists believe that in order to develop, we need capital, land, machinery, labour etc.
I have news for you, we don't need those things any more. What we need is the right infrastructure and the skills of the people to drive those things forward. We have heard of jobs being off shored to low wage countries. If we have the infrastructure, our people will have jobs.
Lets look at some of the best new companies in the world, Microsoft, Apple, Google, e-bay, facebook, moneysupermarket.com. These companies are now worth billions of dollars. 20 years ago, some of these companies were not even in existence, but today, they are more profitable than GM, Ford and most of the more traditional companies. Dell computers started in a garage, e-bay, because a man's wife could not find what she was looking for etc.
What that tells us is that we do not need to have huge capital, what we need is our brains, highly developed, highly skilled and highly tuned, not to scam people, but to build a future for ourselves and our country. We can definitely help to build our nation. We are helping to build other nations at the moment.
What can we do?.
We can make things better. We can elect not to agree that it is alright to have substandard products, we can agree that there are rules about governance, we can make sure that we support the right people and train our kids not to believe that all they have to do to make it in life is to blindly study. We need entrepreneurs, we need people with ambitions and we need long term goals. No more get rich quick schemes. We must pursue excellence above everything else.
Things can be turned around very quickly and Nigerians are some of the most industrious people, they follow their leaders and if you give them good leadership, the whole country will start buzzing in no time. A formidable force of 130 million people, more than twice the size of the UK population.
The opportunities are endless, we can come together to form partnerships, we can develop ideas, we have the power, we can help to shape the nature of the policies at home, we can channel our energies in providing support for our people.
Let us celebrate people who have the audacity to dream, let us support those trying to make a difference. This is not the time for the green eyed monster. This is the time to come together to become an incredible force. Our thinking must change from being consumers to being producers, from just opening little shops to thinking out of the box.
Consider the impact of IT, consider what will make our lives easier or more convenient, whilst making the best of the resources we have at your disposal. Don't follow the crowd, but follow your dream. Dream big, plan for it and work hard to get it.
Don't be afraid of failure, but just imagine the freedom. Its like learning to drive a car, the freedom to go anywhere is unbelievable.
Lets celebrate the very best, but celebrating all the time without achieving anything is not a way forward. Have less of those "Owambe" parties, save money and invest. Can you imagine if Bill Gate originated from Nigeria, who can guess how many wives and children he would have by now?. Why?
I have been troubled by the fact that the Polish people are now going home. I can't believe this, these guys have been here for 5 minutes and they are already checking out. What is going on?. Also, an average of 200,000 people leave the UK every year for other countries, hang on a minute, the Pols and the Brits are leaving the country, things must be really tough, who is going to manage the economy. Hey guys, I am checking out as well.
May I end by thanking all the speakers and the audience today, especially Dele Ogun, and the rest of the team that have organised these events year after year. I am thrilled about events like this, because it shows that some of you still love our country.
Labels: economic development, politics, Recommended articles, Recommended reading
Happy DemoCraZy Day
Labels: politics, Yar'Adua
According to Sahara Reporters, Yardy suffers from "Churg-Strauss Syndrome"
a quick search on Google reveals the symptoms of this disease are - Asthma, Lung abnormalities, Kidney, abdominal, or heart problems because of blood vessel inflammation, Weakness and fatigue (malaise), Loss of appetite (anorexia) and weight loss.
http://rarediseases.about.com/cs/churgstrauss/a/120702.htm
It sounds like a very serious disease indeed, serious enough for him to make regular trips to Germany, because we don't have the necessary facilities in Nigeria or the experts.....
Another quick search on Google reveals that we do have experts in Nigeria who know about this disease, there is a W.A Olowu (of the Paediatric Nephrology and Hypertension Unit, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital) who published a report about Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) in 2006 in Clinical Rheumatology (A medical journal)
This whole business of our leaders (Yardy for CSS, Atiku for a sprained ankle, Obj for Psychotherapy.. joking) travelling abroad for health care got me thinking. Is there still anything we can do by ourselves?
Our currency is printed abroad, our petrol is refined outside the country (because all our refineries are not working), the ballot papers used in our elections is printed in South Africa... anything else that can't be moved is handled by the Chinese.
We can't conduct elections, we can't defend our citizens, we can't provide electricity, we can't provide....,
no point listing all our failings here, i'm sure you get the idea..
but i digress, I think the time has come to outsource the only thing still done by Nigerians, running the country. This time around we don't need western expertise, we can call on other African countries who seem to be doing a better job, to help us out (at least thats a less bitter pill to swallow)
Ghana could run our Government as they seem to be doing a good job running their own country.
Republic of Benin could be in charge of organising our elections, their last elections were regarded as free and fair.
Niger Republic could sort out the power situation, even though they import electricity from us, they seem to have a regular supply, so they must be doing something right.
Botswana could manage our economy, they run theirs well and there's hardly any corruption.
Or we could just hand over everything to the Chinese, they probably own most of the country anyway..
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Do as i say not as i do
Nigeria: Minister Locks Out Staff
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804220278.html
FOREIGN Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe yesterday locked out hundreds of his staff out of the ministry's premises for reporting late for work.
An eyewitness informed Vanguard that on arrival at the ministry's headquarters in Abuja, some minutes past 8.00 a.m., the minister ordered the security men on duty to lock all the entry points to the premises.
[SNIP]
Meanwhile, a number of foreign affairs staff who did not disclose their names, were not impressed by the Minister's actions. According to them, though the resumption time was 8am, the gates were locked within the permitted 30 minutes grace period.
They further revealed that the Minister was not leading by example considering he rarely resumed duties earlier than 12pm.
I was just about to commend the minister but then i read the last paragraph...
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'Perfectly normal' to China (Africans buying weapons to kill each other)
China may recall Zimbabwe weapons
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7360438.stm
The ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe may return to China after being prevented from unloading in South Africa, a Chinese official has said. Zambia's president has called on other African countries not to let the ship enter their waters, in case the arms escalate post-election tensions.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the weapons were ordered last year and were "perfectly normal".
China is definitely not a friend of Africa, they sold the weapons used by the Sudanese government in Darfur and now they're selling weapons to Zimbabwe, which Mugabe will surely use against the opposition.
Labels: china, politics, Yar'Adua
Pyrrhic
from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated Roman armies at Asculum, 280 B.C.E., but at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked, "one more such victory and we are lost."
Forget all the legal technicalities or 'jagba jantis' as my peeps will say, spewed by the Presidential tribunal judges to justify their decision, we all know no 'real' elections took place last year. I suppose the dilemma facing the judges is the implication of annulling 'elections that never happened'.
Anyone who loves Naija will shudder at the thought of INEC (currently headed by a delusional Maurice Iwu) organising another major election. One doubts if they could successfully organise an 'owambe' party.
T.I.N (This is Naija)Considering the number of election results cancelled, you would think Maurice Iwu and other top officials of INEC would have done us all a favour and resigned, but ahem.. this is naija now, where the concept of responsibility is as alien as regular power supply from PHCN.
So I'm not surprised that INEC, according to news reports, is now "basking in the euphoria of Tuesday's dismissal of the two major petitions against the last April presidential elections".
According to INEC's chief spokesman, Mr. Phillip Umeadi
"INEC has consistently held that the outcome of the 2007 presidential election reflected the intent of Nigerian voters. The firm and consistent assertion by the commission on the outcome of the election derived from an advantaged insight as well as an impartial and unsentimental analysis of the election,"
{snip}
"By the ruling of the Court of Appeal in the Presidential Election Petitions, more so the unanimous verdict of the eminent judges, INEC has been vindicated in the outcome of the 2007 presidential election."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802280006.html
Excuse me while I go outside and throw up (I'm bullshit intolerant)
but i digress
I found it extremely difficult to support the tribunal's verdict because of its implications, in order to keep the peace, we've all acquiesced to an illegal act, the same thing will probably happen in 2011 and beyond.
There's a funny igbo proverb i heard recently which translates as; "since the hunters have learnt to shoot without missing, the birds have learnt to fly without perching."
We were lucky this time because the main combatants are from the same part of the country. The next time this sort of thing happens, the aggrieved party may choose to by pass the courts and settle the matter Kenya style.
Meanwhile
Some have suggested that this victory will be the much needed tonic Yardy needs to become 'Super' Yardy as opposed to 'Alhaji Go Slow', 'Yawn'Adua', Learner Driver, Yar 'Asleep etc
Somehow i doubt it...
Labels: Kenya, Nigerian Elections, politics, Yar'Adua
Yardy "wins"
A Nigerian tribunal has dismissed both opposition petitions asking that President Umaru Yar'Adua's election last year be annulled.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7263534.stm
No suprises there, the result was as expected.
I guess it's the lesser of two evils, annulling the presidential election will have taken us into uncharted territory, and we all know "uncharted territory" in Africa is an extremely dangerous place.
And another one down, Another one bites the dust
David Mark, President of the senate, and Abia state governor, Theodore Orji have had their elections annulled by the election tribunals.
Unless the appeal court reverses the verdicts it's 'Asta la vista' to the £6 million man (Mark) and Orji, the Lord of the rings oops sorry shrine.
And in the Bizarre world of African politics:
Odinga In Nigeria, Meets Obasanjo (for what????)
Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga arrived in Nigeria yesterday (friday) on a mission to find a lasting solution to the lingering political crisis in his country.
Odinga who arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at about 10.55am in a chartered Cessna jet, rode in a convoy to Ota, Ogun State to see former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom he described as a personal friend.
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/
Whats that popular saying? show me your friend....
Labels: Nigerian Elections, politics, Yar'Adua
We all get it from time to time, fellow bloggers will know what i'm talking about, the dreaded 'blogger's block'. I have had it for the past few weeks. There's just been so much happening offline, meaning i'm spending less time online.
Reversal of a reversal
I wanted to blog about the 'reversal' of the Nitel sale but then i reversed my decision to blog about it when the whole thing was reversed again.
Is anyone sensing a pattern to the way this government works - go slow, reverse, forward then reverse again. It's official, Yardy IS a learner driver.
Still
Not much has been happening in Naija lately, as in stuff that gets my blood boiling or the positive stuff that gets you thinking about the future, a future where our kids grow up in the land of their ancestors as opposed to the land of their oppressors.
But i digress
Next tuesday Yardy will find out if he will remain in Aso rock. Now, unless you're Buhari or his other deluded partner - Atiku, Its clearly a no-brainer, Yardy (or Yawn'Adua as i like to call him) will still be in Aso rock next week.
Mr "Due process" has been learning a few tricks from his master, Obj (Anyone remember that nice move from Obj, when he suddenly declared a public holiday to delay the Supreme Court ruling on whether Atiku could take part the elections).
Yardy's move has been far more subtle.
Anyway, far from me to cast aspersions on the "integrity" of our President, but i did find it strange that the Chairman of the Presidential Elections Tribunals, Justice James Ogebe was nominated as a Supreme Court judge a few days ago.
Really makes you wonder if the rumours of bribery attempts are true.
100 Worst Nigerians
There is a thread running on NVS where contributors are asked to nominate the worst Nigerians, so far it seems Obj, Abacha and IBB are running neck in neck for the top spot.
May the worst man win.
Just in,
Man found guilty of model's death
A man has been found guilty of murdering teenage model Sally Anne Bowman outside her home. The 18-year-old's body was found next to a skip in Croydon, south London, in September 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7254628.stm
There are times i wish the UK government will bring back the death penalty, this case has gripped the local press (and recently the National press) in my neck of the woods.
It seems the jury did not buy his defence of not knowing his victim was dead until after he stopped having sex with her corpse.
Labels: Nigerian Elections, politics, Yar'Adua
"This is a moment that I'll never forget in my life" - Yardy
Seems like our president was a bit starstuck when he met George Bush last week.
What sort of President goes to the White house and says "This is a moment that I'll never forget in my life"
Someone give this guy some backbone, I felt like puking at the sight of Yardy behaving like some giggling schoolgirl on a first date. Ok i know the election that got him to power was flawed and he desperately needs US support, however for the time being he is still the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not the president of some banana republic that relies on US aid.
If anything with China playing an increasing role in Africa and our large reserves of oil, America needs us now more than we need her.
Which brings me to the controversy over Africom (the United States Africa Command) . Last week there were reports that Yardy had agreed to work with the U.S to establish Africom
According to The Punch (December 14), Yar'adua told journalists inside the Oval Office of the White House at the end of his meeting with Bush, that Nigeria "will partner with AFRICOM not only in Nigeria but also on the continent to actualize the peace and security initiatives which is an initiative to help standby forces in each of the regional groupings in Africa."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200712190278.html
Here's the transcript of his speech on the white house website
We have discussed security issues and the security within Nigeria, itself, within the Niger Delta region and within the Gulf of Guinea. And we have also discussed security issues -- peace and security on the African continent. And we shall partner with (inaudible) to assist not only Nigeria, but also the African continent to actualize its peace and security (inaudible) initiative, which is an initiative to help standby forces of brigade-size in each of the regional economic groupings within the African continent.
Now I'm no conspiracy theorist but it seems strange that the part where Yardy probably mentioned "Africom" is the "inaudible" part (as in the part of his speech that was not clearly understood so was not transcribed).
Lost in Translation??Meanwhile Yardy rather than go on NTA, FRCN or VON went on the "Hausa Service of the VOA" to deny he agreed to Africom.
in a subsequent interview with the Hausa Service of the VOA, the president denied he had accepted Africom. "I did not," he said, "accept Africom in my discussions with Bush. I asked for assistance and told Bush that we have our plans to establish bases for African countries. We asked for training on weapons and training to establish our bases to be managed by our people."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200712190278.html
Yardy, in keeping with the tradition of other northern leaders who have ruled Nigeria, says one thing to the rest of the country but says the opposite on the Hausa service of the BBC or VOA for northern consumption.
So was it really a faux pas??methinks instead of keeping his eye on the ball, he was staring dreamy eyed into George Bush's eyes as if he was on a bloody date.
Labels: politics, Yar'Adua
Clearly a 'breeze' of change is blowing across naija, I don't want to get too carried away that's why i did not call it a "wind of change", but anyway sha breeze dey blow small small and so far the main casualties are Etteh (madam speaker finally threw in the towel when the pressure became unbearable - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7069654.stm) and her deputy, the governor of Rivers state - Celestine Omehia, Yardy's In law and Kebbi state governor - Usman Dakingari, Kogi state governor - Ibrahim Idris and Anambra state governor - Andy Uba (who was governor for only two weeks. ouch).so who's next? i bet the following are having sleepless nights:The six million £££pound man - David MarkAdedibu's protege and governor of Oyo state - Alao AkalaThe governor of Edo state - Oserheimen OsunborAnd the governors of Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Enugu, Imo and Abia states. (see Anxiety grips governors)who knows this 'breeze' might even turn into a category 5 hurricane and sweep Yardy himself...Labels: Nigerian Elections, political scandal, politics
to the HRW report.
The report (see previous post) makes sobering reading and leaves one with not much optimism about the future of the country. The government as usual will dismiss the report and accuse the organisation of trying to portray the country in a negative light.
denial of denial
We may choose to deny the issues raised in the report but our international partners, creditors, risk analysts etc will be taking a critical look at the report and will use it to access the circumstances in which they will do business with the country.
Meanwhile, no one seems to have noticed that the country has now moved up 10 places since last year to 17 on the failed list index (2007), above countries like Sierra Leone (23) and Liberia (27), (which is quite ironic considering the role our troops played in bringing 'peace' to the two countries).
Back in 2005, when CIA's long-term forecast for Africa suggested Nigeria could become a failed state in a couple of years, there was widespread condemnation. Obj (in his usual arrogant way) described the authors as "prophets of doom". He went on to say "If our detractors cannot see our far-reaching reforms, our fight against waste and corruption, the new culture of service delivery that is gradually emerging, the various political reforms... then they must have some dubious or diabolical benchmarks for measuring efforts"
Well thanks to Obj and the 'exceptional legacy' he left behind, the nightmare of a failed Nigeria is a likelihood today...
Labels: Human Rights Watch, politics
So you've been caught with your hands in the till (or in this case indicted for not following due process by awarding a contract to an unregistered company run by one of your aides).
No worries, here are a few tips on how to save your job;
1. The best form of defence is an attack, start by turning the tables on your opponents by accusing them of similar crimes.
2. Play the victim. Claim you've been set up and you know nothing about the allegations.
3. Employ a powerful Godfather to apply pressure on those in power.
4. Now is the time to bring out the GMGs "Ghana must go bags". Ensure you give one to anyone who is in a position to help you (at this stage "Everybody" would like to help you)
5. Play the Ethnic card by getting your "people" to accuse your opponents of trying to marginalise your ethnic group.
6. Employ Spiritual methods. Call on all pastors and imams to pray for you and Nigeria. If you attend a Pentecostal church, you can organise night vigils, prayer requests or make a large donation to your pastor to ensure he is on your case 24/7.
7. Employ other "Spiritual" methods. At times like this you can't rely on 'whiteman's religion' alone, you have to go "local".
If you're from the west, head over to Ijebu Igbo and employ the services of the best 'jazz' (juju) man around. If you're from the east, head over to Okija shrine while those in the north should employ the services of a marabout. (ensure it's not the same one Abacha and Atiku used)
8. Now is a good time to call on the traditional ruler in your part of the country that has the most influence. In the South west, the Oni of Ife is always ready to beg on behalf of any Yoruba subject accused of corruption or coup plotting.
9. Set up a fictional group called "concerned citizens of Nigeria", get the "group" to put out a full page ad in the news papers claiming there is a conspiracy against you. They should also list your "accomplishments" and declare you're the best ***** Nigeria ever had.
10. Employ good old "shakara". Declare that "it's God's will" that you got to your current position and by "God's grace" no one can remove you.
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I'm a celebrity, get me outta here
The speaker and her "aides" have launched a major media offensive to ensure she keeps her job when the house resumes later in the month.
In one of the papers yesterday her 'media consultant' accused certain members (members of the "integrity" ??? group) of the house of "bad belle".
Her aide went on to say that "In other lands, the first female Speaker would have become an instant star, to be adored and celebrated, but in Nigeria, detractors are saying "she is a hair dresser, as if Bill Gates, the world's richest man, was not a drop-out from Harvard." He chided Nigerians for not commending the Speaker, who saved the public till millions of naira by refusing to accept hotel accommodation or even collect money in lieu of it."
Etteh is Here to Stay, Aide Says
http://allafrica.com/stories/200710020232.html
Labels: job, political scandal, politics
I'm disgusted Part 2
I'm disgusted Part 1
disgust
To excite nausea or loathing in; sicken.
To offend the taste or moral sense of; repel.
n.
Profound aversion or repugnance excited by something offensive.
dis·gust·ed
adj.
Filled with disgust or irritated impatience.
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Patricia Etteh (The 'DisHonourable' Speaker)
now that the panel investigating the whole "contract palaver" has submitted its report which has now confirmed that due process was not followed in the award of the contracts, lets hope she does the honourable thing and resigns.
meanwhile Transparency international's Corruption Perceptions Index is out. Nigeria is now ranked 147 out of a list of 179 countries.
Adedibu, the thug of Yorubaland
who died and made this idiot a spokesman for the Yorubas???
According to Adedibu, "Etteh is the only hope of the Yoruba in the Federal Government of Nigeria and any attempt by members of the House to remove her would therefore mean removing the Yoruba nation from the scheme of things in Nigeria"
http://allafrica.com/stories/200709190511.html
Awolowo must be rolling in his grave. I guess we have Obasanjo to thank for Adedibu's delusions of grandeur. After turning Oyo state into his own personal fiefdom, he now 'thinks' (and i use that word very loosely) that he is a spokesperson for the Yorubas..
I really hope the rest of the country doesn't fall for this type of ethnic blackmail 'cause if they did, we might as well kiss project nigeria goodbye. If Etteh is removed and other South West reps decline the position then I suggest someone else from another part of the country takes up the position.
Bisi Olatilo
Don't really know who the guy is, but i had the misfortune of watching his show on BEN TV recently. It shouldn't be called The Bisi Olatilo show, he should call it "the show where crooks and criminals flaunt their stolen wealth"
The episode i watched featured disgraced former governor of Bayelsa state - Diepreye Alamieyesiegha, returning "home in grand style". It was disgusting and revolting to watch and Olatilo's commentary only made it worse. At one point i could swear he described Alams as a celebrity..
so called 'anti-immigrants' here in the UK
(hiding their racist rhetoric under different guises)
sometimes the hypocrisy in this country makes me sick, check out the have your say page on the BBC news website in response to the news story about the police needing more resources to cope with the pressures caused by a sudden influx of migrant workers.
As usual it has attracted the usual vitriolic bigots.
"..in nearby St Ives there is even now a dedicated Polish supermarket. I feel like a foreigner in my own country and do not like it in the slightest," Amanda, Huntingdon
"What's this so called positive effect of immigrants ? The way they work for less than a living wage thereby pushing more Brits into the underclass/dole ? The way they refuse to integrate or even speak English so we have to provide translation services for them ? The way they take free healthcare and schooling thereby ensuring that the quality goes down for the rest of us ? Their impact on housing, making it more difficult for Brits to find good accommodation ?"
BBC News:have your say
So the Poles force down wages, big fucking deal, the brits push up property prices (pricing out the locals) everywhere they go.Bloody Hypocrites, these are probably the same people who buy a second property in Spain or France and refuse to integrate with the local community, yet scream that foreigners do not want to integrate.
European integration works both ways, the Poles et al have a right to be here same way the Brits have a right to live in the Spanish costas and sip sangrķa.
Windows Vista & Microsoft
I don't care about all the 'cool' visual stuff in vista, i just want to install and run my programs without an annoying feature called "User Account Protection" bugging me with silly messages.
The only good thing about vista is that it allows you to switch back to an "XP like view" (as in the look and feel of windows XP), that option will save you a lot of time otherwise spent trying to figure out where microsoft hid all the old features.
No choice...
Vista came pre loaded on my new laptop so i didn't have much choice (normally wouldn't think of upgrading until they've released service pack 2 ).
God knows if Microsoft built cars, every time they released a new model, we'll all have to go back to driving school to figure out how to drive the damn thing. .
tbc..Labels: Disgust, immigration, politics, vista
