When Professor Akunyilli ‘Found’ Her Voice.
By
Olufemi Nelson Fajolu
But, like every other
Nigerian, Professor Akunyilli (who is suppose to be the face and voice of the
executive) said ‘no more’, she joined her voice to that of the masses and
shouted ‘ENOUGH’. She was tired of lying, she could no longer do things that
her conscience disagrees with, she reinvigorate the man (maybe the woman) in
her, her Christian values were tired of being suppressed and finally she broke
down like the biblical Saul when he was met on his way to Damascus by Jesus
Christ and she spoke her mind.
Details
On Nigeria: Matters
Arising.
By
Leonard Karshima Shilgba, Ph.D.
Here are the facts. If INEC should go on and
conduct the Anambra governorship election as scheduled on Saturday, February 6th,
in defiance to the Judge Liman judgement, the outcome will miscarry as it will
be legally contested. This judgement came less than 48 hours before the
scheduled election. If Yar’Adua and his kitchen cabinet refuse to cause to be
transmitted to the national assembly the declaration of his absence, in
accordance to section 145, which will thereby afford Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to
assume the office of Acting President with full executive and commanding
powers in less than one week as I write, then Anambra state will be thrown
into fresh crisis.
Details
Save Nigeria
Campaigns: National Interest Or Revanchist Posturing?
By
Tondu Aonduna
A critical factor explaining
why Nigerians have become wary of those posing as redeemers is that they have
for too long been taken for granted by snake oil sales men who have
consistently used the goodwill of the long-suffering masses only to abandon
the legitimate aspirations of the latter for self-serving and opportunistic
considerations.
Details
Nigeria's
Solution By Non-Political Leadership Think-Tank.
By Farouk Martins Aresa
It will be pure folly to think that some members
of jumbo ethnic groups will lie down and let “ethnic starlets” walk
all over them in competition for leadership. All we are saying is if
you have perpetually failed, for God’s sake let others try. If you
have any contribution to make, pass it on. We all know those noble men
and women in our villages that never had a chance to contribute
because of the glorification of money. It is past time we woke them up
to become a think-tank member. Their expertise must not be wasted.
Oya now!
Details
When the Land is
Green, the People Should Not be Hungry.
By
Olusegun Claudius-Adeniyi
One is saddened by the
current constitutional impasse occasioned by the lingering ill-health of
President Yar’adua and the spiralling effects of this on the entrenchment of
good governance. This unwarranted political cum constitutional crisis remains
an impediment to the country’s stride towards progress and economic recovery.
Our failure to harness our abundant human and material resources remains our
greatest albatross while lack of responsive and visionary leadership has
persistently clogged the wheel of progress.
Details
The
Need For A Common Financial Reporting And Financial Accounting System
Framework For Nigerian Banks.
By
Shafii Ndanusa
One of the reasons advanced
for the crises in some Nigerian banks had to do with inaccurate financial
reporting. It was adduced that some loss-making financial institutions not
only declared profits but paid dividends using depositor funds. The multiplier
effect of such actions on the future financials of a firm/bank is at most
imaginable. With the common year-end and the adoption of International
Financial Reporting Standards, a golden opportunity has arisen for the CBN to
rectify these anomalies. Details
Demonstration Of Unalloyed
Craziness. By
Usman Falalu Funtua (Engr.)
One is completely at a loss
as one ponders over why the Aondoakaa of this world would continue to insult
the collective sensibility of Nigerians. Can someone call Aondoakaa to order?
His desperation has made him interpret the Nigerian constitution to serve his
purpose. By virtue of the court ruling which empowered the VP to exercise the
functions of the president in his absence, has the Nigeria bar association
actually checked and confirmed that Mr. Aondoakaa really read law and actually
graduated even with a pass?
Details
Yar’Adua’s Sickness/Obasanjo’s Response: An Insult On The Northern Elite.
By
Abbas A. Dikko
Decades from today, there has
never been a time when the north and it’s people became defenceless,
powerless, unethical, uncultured, greed, corrupt and divided except, in the
fourth republic and to date, could not find its bearings. In the history of
this country, nobody would ever thought that not only Obasanjo that was
rejected by his kin(s) including some people from his household, but, any
other respected personality of high morality ranking can come to the north and
decide who is to be their leader and freely get away with it.
Details
Jos: The Actual Settlers.
By
Mustafa Liman-Adamu
Anybody that knows Plateau
State, and the generality of non-Hausa states in the North, surely knows that
Hausa culture, the good part of which is inseparable from Islam, has an
immeasurable, immense influence on nearly all the indigenes who today view the
Hausas among them as mere settlers.
Comparing other ethnic
groups, especially those from the south, settling on the Plateau with the
Hausas is inappropriate because none of them has even a fraction of his
influence on the indigenes. The indigenes have absorbed to the tilt so many
cultural and religious heritages of the Hausaman that it will take centuries
to completely rid the Plateau of any Hausa or Islamic influences. You don’t
need to be a sociologist or anthropologist before you realize that. Even the
self-deceiving Chief Indigene of Plateau State cannot deny this fact.
Details
Jos Crises: Insisting on Falsehood at all Cost.
By
Ndiameeh Babrik
Some comedians are of
the view that Jos City should be excised from Plateau state and taken to
Bacuhi state since it was part of Bauchi Province before 1926! Some even
suggested the scrapping of Plateau state from the face of the earth. Well
whether people like it or not we will say the truth as it is whose ever ox
is goad. While there are important political issues like absentee
president for three months, what concerns Bauchi state House of Assembly
is Jos Plateau state.
Details
Jos: Jasawa Blame
Yourselves! By Yusuf
Muhammad Inuwa
But why is this happening to
this town that was once the most serene city in Nigeria? The answer dates back
to historical antecedences that occurred and the subsequent manipulations of
facts and documented historical evidences. First and foremost Plateau State is
a State in Nigeria and as enshrine in the Constitution a Nigerian citizen can
resides anywhere within the country and equally conduct his or her business
without hindrances irrespective of his creed or ethnic affiliation. And
because of the hospitable tolerance of others, we have what is called
Sabon Gari across the Northern Cities of Nigeria and in some Southern
States that is where what other intolerable hosts called Settlers dwell.
Details
Jos Crises: An
Old Problem Taking a New Dimension.
By
Balarabe Yushau
Human Right Watch was
blunt and direct to the point. It clearly states that the
discriminatory policies "lie at the root of much of the inter-communal
violence in Nigeria". With these policies, according to HRW,
"Non-indigenes are openly denied the right to compete for government
jobs and academic scholarships". In particular, "In Jos and in Kuru
Karama, members of the largely Muslim Hausa ethnic group are classified
as non-indigenes though many have lived there for several generations”.
Therefore, HRW strongly suggests that “government should also take
concrete steps to end the discriminatory policies that treat certain
groups as second-class citizens"
(http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/22/nigeria-protect-survivors-fully-investigate-massacre-reports).
Details
Notoriety of Assassins.
By Onike Rahaman
Obviously, we are in a state of anomie as result
of pervasive insecurity of lives and property everywhere. All of us must rise
up to the challenge of fighting the menace because it constitutes a threat to
our collective psyche as a people. The outsiders are looking at us as a
country peopled by desperados. The amazing thing about the tales of
assassination is that the assassins are products of our corrupt society.
Details
Rivers State:
The Bill On Illegal Development Levy.
By
Nwaorgu Faustinus Chilee
As a person, I
have seen, witnessed and heard how a few individuals impose illegal
development levy by force on land developers, landlords, landladies etc, who
want to either erect fence, sink borehole, mold blocks or dig foundation of
the building without being punished by the suitable authority. I therefore
heaved a great sigh of relief when I learnt that a bill on illegal collection
levy from land developers will be passed into law which will put an end to the
collection or rather imposition of illegal development levy known as
“matching ground or bush entry” among other nomenclature given to it
by the extortionists.
Details
The Wrong Side of
Censoring Hausa Home Videos. By
Ahmad Abubakar
Hausa home videos have been a topic of concern
for many years. After ‘Hiyana saga’ critics have been in the fore front to
black list this industry from the lime light of the norms of the society, this
dears the Government body to come in and regulates the Film industry. The
Hausa film industry has been known as very rich with potentials and able
hands, but full of technological inadequacies and mannerisms, as a result of
their bad depiction of morals and wrong misrepresentation of our culture with
out regard to norms and ethics.
Details
Nigeria: Those Military Coup Rumours.
By
Max Siollun
At first I dismissed it as
rumour mongering with no foundation. However, something fishy is going on.
Every coup in Nigeria's history has always been preceded by rumours and press
speculation that a coup was imminent. Two weeks ago, the Vice-President
Goodluck Jonathan
reminded the military that the government will not neglect its welfare. The
Governor of Benue State Gabriel
Suswam recently urged the army to ignore those calling for a military
coup.
Details
The Arrest of Some Nigerians and other
Nationals in Malaysia: The Truth of the Matter.
By
Olawepo
John
On the 19th January, 2010, the
Malaysian security arrested some individuals. Those arrested have been
described by the flagship of the Malaysian newspaper, New Strait Times, as
having links with international terrorist organizations. (New Strait Times, 28
January, 2010). The arrest which was effected in Kampung Sungai Chincin as
reported Alang Bendahara of the New Strait Times, was carried out under the
provision of the International Security Act (ISA). (New Strait Times, 29
January, 2010).
Details
Is
Nigeria a Terrorist Haven? (Part 2).
By
Max Siollun
The countries on the List are an odd and
eclectic bunch. Not all of them have overt links with terrorist organisations
or pose security risks to the U.S. Cuba has a lot more to gripe about than
Nigeria. Cuba is an odd choice as a "state sponsor of terror". I cannot recall
the last time a Cuban tried to blow up a plane, embassy or skyscraper. The
irony of Cuba being on the List, is that one of the most serious acts of
attempted terror between Cuba and America occurred when the U.S. tried to
murder the Cuban head of state.
Details
Goodluck Jonathan: An
Accomplice In Conspiracy. By
Leonard Karshima Shilgba, Ph.D.
I was one
of the Nigerians that voted for President Yar’Adua in 2007. Do I need to swear
that “If I did not vote for Yar’Adua, while I claim to, may God punish me”?
Just believe me on this one; I speak the truth and lie not, my conscience also
testifying to this. I only had buyer’s remorse only few weeks into Yar’Adua’s
presidency. That is another matter. Whether you voted for President Yar’Adua
or not, truth is he is our president.
Details
Walking Through The Shadow Of
Death:
Nigeria and
its President.
By
Segun T. Dawodu
The issue
with the Nigerian constitution so far analyzed lies with the fact that the
two-thirds of the Executive Council Members have to start the process of
confirming the permanent incapacity of the President. This does not take into
consideration the bias and political exigency that may exist among that many
people required to make such a huge change in the government of a country
outside outright military coup. It could also be a ground for abuse if a group
of members of the executive council decides to push out a healthy but
non-conforming president.
Details
The Plateau Christian
Elders Forum, a Rejoinder.
By
Umar
Bello
In the wake of
the carnage perpetrated in Jos and environs, the Plateau State Christian
Elders Consultative Forum, true to type, has cast away its cassock and donned
that of sheer ethnicity to organize a press conference in Abuja with the sole
purpose of accusing the GOC 3rd Armored Division, Jos, Major
General Saleh Maina with his ‘all-Muslim’ Patrol team of genocide and ‘the
well acclaimed Islamic Jihadist Channel’, the Aljazira TV Channel of
partiality. A section of the Nigerian press gleefully foregrounds these
outrageous claims, while at the same time blanks out the Kuru Karama genocide.
Details
Jos Genocide, David Jonah Jang and the Rest
of Us.
By
Abbas Yushau Yusuf
The issue of terrorism being campaigned by
superpower s of the world has gotten its firm root here in Nigeria and
plateau state in particular where the terrorist David Jonah jang held
sway. This is because Farouk Motallabs case is myopic compared to that of
Jonah jang who was empowered constitutionally to secure his state as the
chief security officer of plateau state but to no avail. But allowed
innocent citizens that came from a section of the far north to be
massacred since 2008 to today.
Details
Governor Jang is Ripe for International
Criminal Court.
By Pindar G. Mshelia, Maiduguri
It is unfortunate to note that things have
not changed much in Plateau State since the first crisis in 2001 despite
the appeals by many Nigerians. Rather, each side seems to be digging in.
On the one hand, peace became an opportunity to prepare for the next
round of violence while, on the other, the crisis themselves granted
each group the chance to revenge previous atrocities, defend itself
against fresh ones, or commit new assault that would serve as the fuel
which will sustain the flames of the next crisis.
Details
Declaration Of
State Of Emergency Is Imperative In Plateau State.
By Baban Iya Bala
The peculiarity of the crisis in Plateau state
compared to other states is that in Plateau state, the Government has always
being a party to the conflicts. It is unfortunate that the Plateau Fascists
have reverted to their pagan savagery of slaughtering their perceived enemies
and stuffing them in wells.
Details
Kuru Karama Cannot Be Buried or Wished Away.
By Garba Deen Muhammad
The Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan said
that “This would be the last Jos carnage”. It is tempting to be encouraged by
what the VP said, but it is necessary to point out to the VP that unless his
desire—because for now we have to treat his statement as an expression of what
he desires should happen’ and not a policy statement—is backed by a strong
resolve, he may find himself eating his words sooner than later. So what
resolve do we as Nigerians, whether we are Muslims or Christians expect from
the authorities in dealing with this crisis that has the potential to consume
us all?
Details
Trying To
Compel Nigerians: What Next? By
Ahmed Haruna
Why should anyone be surprised, therefore, to learn that Obasanjo, who is
currently in desperate need of attention, is clumsily claiming
self-righteousness in asking Mr. President to, unconstitutionally, resign?
Why would a former military head of state and two-term civilian President
not even wince at the suggestion that he illegally forced a successor onto
a country he professed to have loved, and even goes ahead to explain
details about a clean bill of health certificate from Yar’Adua and
the role played by ‘experts’ before finally declaring that he did no
wrong?
Details
A Nation in Constitutional
Row.
By
Onike Rahaman
The insistence of Federal
Executive Council last week that President Umaru Yar’Adua is medically fit
despite all the agitations has raised constitutional questions. This is the
second time that the council would take a stand that the ailing president is
not incapacitated. Contrarily, the senate passed the resolution that Yar’Adua
should properly hand over to the vice president Goodluck Jonathan as Acting
President. Obviously, the senate and the council could not agreed on the
medical fitness of the president thereby posing challenges to the nation’s
constitutional democracy.
Details
Between
Atiku and Boni Haruna.
By
Zayyad I. Muhammad
Today’s frosty political-relationship between Atiku and Boni Haruna is
generating comments from three groups: Atiku’s political disciples, Boni’s
followers and students of politics. Atiku’s sympathisers are of the opinion
that, Boni Haruna has exhibited a character of an ingrate, they stressed that,
it was by Atiku’s grace he became the Governor of Adamawa State.
Details
Asmara Declaration On African Languages And Literature: Ten
Years After. By
Attahiru Muazu
It’s a
whole decade since the “Against All Odds: African Languages and Literature In
The 21st Century” conference took place in Asmara, Eritrea which gave birth to
the famous Asmara Declaration on 17th January 2000. Since then, many questions
were left unanswered but certainly not unanticipated. The title of the
conference itself –Against All Odds- not only celebrated the will and
determination that led to the gathering in the first place but also signalled
a premonition of challenges ahead for African languages.
Details
Haiti:
Appreciating the Essence of Humanity*
By Attahiru
Kawu-Bala
‘What
went wrong with the black man? Hurricane occurred in Haiti and now
earthquake.’ You hear so many stories purporting to analyse the endless
‘wrongs’ in Haiti, but none substantive if the truth must be told. Others
were: ‘Haiti as the first Black Country to get independence should have
developed if serious and the successive governments transparent’; ‘aids go to
drain pipes whenever sunk and what’s wrong’, they kept hammering, ‘with the
black man.’ ‘What went wrong with Haiti all these years?’ These queries have
not allowed even the sky to clear from the chaos raised by the quake.
Details
General
Game Changer Flashes His Joker.
By
Farouk Martins Aresa
Give the
devil his due, OBJ became the Head of State, not once but thrice until
Nigerians stopped him for the fourth time. If he has not outclassed both the
North and the South, please tell us who else had, that long. On top of that,
OBJ knew what he wanted and how to get it. The reason the South is mad at him
today has to do with the fact that he did not do all their biddings. The same
is true about the North that thought once they had him in power, he would
dance their tune. Yet, he included all ethnics in major posts.
Details
Sokoto State Sponsored Bulgarian Doctors: Wamakko has failed!
By Aisha Hassan Bodinga
It is
disheartening to learn that the state government, beginning with
Bafarawa’s administration that initiated the programme, had spent much
towards their medical training with a view to equipping the state with
required medical doctors but only the state to now allow such
professionals to turn beggars in Bulgaria at a time their services are
highly welcome in the state health institutions. What a waste of public
funds, if such laudable programmes could be halted at this critical point!
Details