Agbakoba Goofed on "10th CENTURY IGBOS". By Chinyemike Torti
(GAMJI)
At 50 years, Olisa Agbakoba seems to be exhibiting tell tale signs of mental declivity. Otherwise how do you explain his wholesale vilification and denigration of the ethnic rock from which he was hewn (vide. The SUN newspaper of August 9,2003.) If he was that smart, Olisa should have taken a cue from the astute Yoruba people whom he grovels after. Details
Bye Bye Dr. Gro Harlem Bruntland. By Dr. Aminu Magashi
(GAMJI)
Born on 20th April in 1939 in Oslo, Norway. She studied medicine at the university of Oslo from which she obtained her MD degree in 1963. She received the degree of master of public health from the Harvard University in 1965. She was appointed minister of environment in her country for five years and later became the Prime Minister of Norway in 1981. Details
(GAMJI)
I was one of those proud primary school kids who lined up
along our narrow roads, waving enthusiastically, our green-white-green
Nigerian flag, cheering exuberantly in reception of our newly appointed
military governor, Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu.
It was electric and life was imbued with spirit and meaning.
Sharii'ah, Human Rights, and Politics in Nigeria. By Dr. Abubakar A. Muhammad
(GAMJI)
The anti-Sharii’ites, the malcontents, the Christian lobbyists, and the Western propagandists who are under the pseudo- name of ‘human rights watchers’ are at it again. They share the same zeal and evil intention. Once again they have their daggers drawn, ready to spill blood and anyone who has the audacity to be sympathetic with the Muslims or who dares to speak for them, defend, support and acquiesce with the Muslims over the promulgation of the Sharii’ah, is certain to receive the characteristic, uncharitable, if not brazen response from the ideologues of bigotry. Details
FRIDAY DISCOURSE WITH DR. ALIYU TILDE
Thou Shall Not Kill...A Rejoinder to Dr. Aliyu Tilde. By Hannatu Musa
(GAMJI)
If it is proven that societies can protect themselves from murderers by imposing prison sentences, the death penalty serves no other purpose but to bring meaning to the victim’s life by signifying that a killer’s life is worth no more than that of the victim. It may help us come to terms with acts of evil when we see a closure on killers conduct and their lives. But it will never bring back a deceased person, nor will it justify the institutionalised killing that capital punishment represents. Details
Let Us Ask The Americans The Same Questions Asked Of Nigerians! By Paul I. Adujie
(GAMJI)
Americans are too frequently, exhorting one principle, while simultaneously, the Americans are actively engaged in the pursuit and practice of another principle that is the exact opposite of what they publicly advocate! Details
Atiku: Thou Shall Not Speak Ill of the Dead. By Hannatu Mohammed
(GAMJI)
Wonders never end. That is the only way I can describe recent self-serving statement by Mr. Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s vice President. Because I can not help my self but wonder what Atiku Abubakar is becoming recently. Just this week, he was reported to have said, during a dinner held in his honor by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, that late general Sani Abacha blackmailed him into going back home from a self imposed exile. Details
Atiku's 2007 Bid: Why are the Croakers Unnerved? By Kasimu Bala Tondi
(GAMJI)
As Vice – President Atiku Abakar’s Presidential ambition in 2007 gets keener increasingly, so does the feeble hostility to his bid mount. Indeed, the uncritical reader may be instantly convinced that Atiku Abubakar is the worst political evil the north has ever produced if people of goodwill keep quiet in the face of such unfair and unjustified attacks. Details
Nas drags Obasanjo to court over Petroleum Ministry
The erstwhile Minister for Special Duties, Alhaji Wada Nas has dragged the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to the Federal High Court, Kaduna over the latter's inability to appoint a minister for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, thereby violating Section 138 of the 1999 Constitution. Details
The Nigerian Dilemma. By Michael Okoye
(GAMJI)
Home is not where one is, it is where one wants to return. Since 1966, Nigerians have been wondering aimlessly round the whole world and in this wilderness called Nigeria, transiting from one regime to the other in search of the home they used to know – Pre-1966 Nigeria. Details
The Making of a Plot and Other Matters. By Wada Nas
(GAMJI WRITER)
The last time I wrote about the relationship between the two most senior citizens of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, an organisation known as the Obasanjo Solidarity Front, OSF, took me up on the matter, accusing me of creating disharmony between the two of them. Against my normal attitude to such matters, I responded accordingly stating why I made the observation that at the "appropriate time," Atiku will be ditched by his political and media friends. I pointed out the number of persons he Obasanjo ditched over the years, all of whom played some role in his life. This was enough to convince any keen observer that he will do to Atiku what he did to them. Details
Globalisation and Trans-border Crime: Nigeria’s Security Dilemma. By Mala Mustapha
(GAMJI)
Nigeria is seemingly facing acute cross-border security problems in recent times that are basically caused by the rising menace of trans-border organised crime masterminded by its neighbouring countries. Details
Charles Taylor – The Guest And His Host. By Banjo Odutola
(GAMJI)
The loss of his presidency, which is a gain for the people of Liberia, will accord the man some home truths. Even, in the comfort of backslapping of Mr. Donald Duke, he would soon realise that he is not a guest of Nigeria but of Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo. Details
Polio
Vaccination and Population Control: Some Food for Thought. By
On
July 26, 2003 the President of the Supreme Council for Shari’a in
Nigeria (SCSN) addressed a press conference at the Arewa House in
Kaduna. Amongst the issues raised at this event were the strong
reservations the SCSN had on the widely publicized polio eradication
programme being undertaken nationwide. The Council called for an
immediate stoppage of the said programme pending investigations
confirming the safety of the orally administered vaccine being used.
The Islamic Movement: Revisiting the Issue. By Abdullahi U. Bello
(GAMJI)
Sunusi Lamido Sunusi is a man that I have come to respect because of the depth of his knowledge and his dialectic approach (to borrow his words) to issues. I have been following his contributions from "Afenifere: Syllabus of error" to "from philosophical rationalism to monistic theosophy: observation on Banu Az-Zubair's comment" and I always marvel at his grasp of knowledge of contemporary issues. However, while I agree with most of the conclusions in his discourses I cannot seem to agree with his thesis as contained in his article "The Islamic Movement: Real Issues A response to Yola" (I hope I am not dragging the debate backward) Details
Deregulation: An Executive Guide For Elder Statesmen. By Kòmbò Mason Braide, Ph.D.
(GAMJI WRITER)
What
do we really know about “deregulation”,
“liberalisation”, “privatisation”, “subsidy”, “market
forces”, or similar other regularly abused concepts, frequently
deployed in articulating official propaganda in Nigeria? How did Nigerians
come to know about such jargons, in the first place? From where did such
concepts infiltrate the consciousness of Nigerians and their rulers?
(GAMJI)
The spectacular celebratory din that greeted the appointment of Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance was typically Nigerian. For a country always yearning for the slightest flash of light in a horizon so impenetrably cloudy, Nigerians have ever so often caught themselves in the midst of gratuitous bacchanals before stopping to ask themselves why they ordered the revelry in the first place. I do not know how the Women Lib. will take it, but I do not think there is anything special about a woman being “allowed” to head the finance ministry. Details
(GAMJI)
In 2001, Bola Ige the former justice minister was murdered in his bedroom in Ibadan, while all his security personnel had gone to eat “pounded yam and pomo” at the same time! A lot of crocodile tears were shed at that time. Most keen observers of Yoruba politics knew it was a tragic end to Yoruba intra cult conflicts. Not only did the leadership of Afenefere didn’t mourn him, but also sold the AD to PDP at a mean price before the elections. The Yoruba elites also came out massively to support the rigging of elections by Obasanjo to ensure continuity of Yoruba domination of all sectors of life in Nigeria. Through out the election period they never talked about the murder of Bola Ige so as not to inconvenience him. Details
Strategic Factors and Options: The Management and Dissemination of Information. By Priye S. Torulagha
(GAMJI)
The Warri crisis should teach the Ijaws about the need to be careful before selling their lands unnecessarily for cash: As a deprived ethnic group, selling a piece of land is like giving away one's most precious good. It is very easy to become landless in one's own territory if land is sold carelessly due to the need for money. Currently, there is pressure to sell in Okirika, Kalabari, Yenagoa, Kolokuma, Ekpetiama, Gbaran, Kabou, Shagbama, Bomadi, etc. Think of the future before exchanging money for precious lands that might come to harm the people. Details
The
Laughing Governor Of Imo State.
(GAMJI)
Quite
frankly, the Imo people would certainly wish for a return of Mbakwe’s
tears than Udenwa’s loud laughter. In Udenwa’s case, they have seen a
classic case of where laughter does not even foreshadow hope, development
and healing, but instead assumes a harbinger of sorrows, pains and
disappointment, due to Udenwa’s monumental failure in character and
leadership, and unconscionable misrule, despite his huge laughter. Details
(GAMJI)
Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu had to delve into his repertoire of vivid description to find an appropriate phrase in reaction to one of those Soyinka’s vituperations; “I am a historian and I deal with facts while Wole is a dramatist who makes up stories to suit and rationalize positions. Their cult of abusing others will never help in promoting unity”. Details
Wole Soyinka and burden of debt: A Thought at 69... By Mcphilips Nwachukwu
(GAMJI)
Since
December 21 or there about, 2001 when the Chief law officer of the
Federation was murdered in cold blood in his Bodija home in
Nigeria: Losing Control. By Mala Mustapha
(GAMJI)
Large scale organised crime has ranked the Nigerian state globally as one of the top ten most criminal state in the world. Financial fraud tagged as 419, corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking... have rendered the green passport an exhibit around the world and this criminal activity most appallingly is tied to the official state. Details
After Obasanjo Then What? By Reno Omokri
(GAMJI)
In his second creation as Nigeria’s ruler, Obasanjo has done many a thing to put Nigeria on the world map again for a positive deed. Recently we have all seen on CNN, Sky, BBC and other worldwide media, how Nigeria and Obasanjo has been projected as a stabilising force in Africa. Details
The Terminal Road in the Search for Justice. By Fauzi Muhammad Zarruk
(GAMJI)
Is the judiciary going to jeorpadize its honor for the small gains offered them by this administration? They should remember that they are being watched and they are being tried both domestically and internationally. Details
(GAMJI)
The
best announcement that rang out in Igboland in recent times is the
proclamation by the Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu that Ohaneze Ndigbo is
dead. It was a most welcome news, long awaited by this writer.
Onward to Katsina. By Taofiq Abiola
(GAMJI)
On the Sovereign National Conference every time someone moots this idea to solve Nigeria's problems on a 'debating forum' all I want to do is laugh. Nigerians have short memories. I remember clearly there was a debate of such magnitude in Nigeria sometime before 1987 and all that could be agreed upon was that Nigeria should remain as one country, North and South. Details
From Philosophical Rationalism to Monistic Theosophy: Observations on Banu Az-Zubair’s Comment (1). By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
(GAMJI WRITER)
The second major area of disagreement I have with Kabir is in his analysis of evil. I do agree with Kabir that the western conception of evil is materialistic, but it is trite Islamic theology that good and evil are defined in ethical terms. Indeed the entire debate on free will and pre-destination is intricately linked, in Islamic theology, to the debate on the nature of good and evil and the capacity of unaided reason to determine what is good and what is bad. Details
Obasanjo: The Nero of Our Time. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo
(GAMJI)
Persons whose sources of influence and wealth remain dubious led by a school dropout and an Assistant Inspector General of Police abducted a sitting governor. When this perfidy was committed, the President was in far away Maputo, Mozambique attending a meeting of the African Union, yet there was no unity even in his party, or if the press is to be believed, even between him and his Vice. Details
Who the gods Want to Destroy They First Make Mad. By Dozie Ikem Ezeife, Esq.
(GAMJI)
Even to the most casual observer of the Nigerian political scene it seems that President Olusegun Obasanjo is seriously bent on committing political suicide. For the entire 5 years of his presidency he has dedicatedly orchestrated one political controversy over another only to waste precious time putting out the fires created by his clumsiness and sometimes, his mean recklessness.
Anambra’s Silent Revolution. By Ibrahim Dan Halilu
(GAMJI)
Chris Ubah too, we are told, at least from The News story (July 28, 2003 edition), was a common house help, a nonentity some years back that rose to become a king maker not only in Anambra State but also at the nation’s legislative chambers. As he too reportedly confessed, he has been responsible for the enthronement of all the three Senators from Anambra State; he alone sponsored the enthronement of 29 out of the thirty members of the Anambra State House of Assembly beside several members of the House of Representatives that he sponsored, and enthroned to the lower chamber of our legislative house. Details
El-Rufai: From Privatization to Construction. By Yushau Abdulhameed Shuaib
(GAMJI)
the no- nonsense man is known to always accomplish his mission once he sets his target. He doesn't allow emotion and sentiments to distract his perceived righteous task towards improvement of the nation's economy. While he was the Director General, Bureau for Public Enterprises, he aggressively pursued the privatization of several public institutions to the admiration of even the critics of that policy because of the transparent manner the exercises were conducted. Details
An Open Letter to General Abacha. By Bala Yahaya
(GAMJI)
You could vividly recall that when you left this sinful world on the 8th of June 1998 there was a lot of hue and cry led by the South West propaganda machine over the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar which then stood at around N85. They attributed that to the antagonistic posture of your administration to the Western world, which according to them, made the country a pariah nation. It may interest you to know that as I am writing this letter to you today this rate has skyrocketed to around N145 even though we have a government that is not only friendly with the western world but also literally worships them. Details
ASUU and the Nigeria Government. By Murtala Bala Habu, III
(GAMJI)
Spare sometime and search around college and university campuses in Nigeria, how many children of top public or private sectors officials are attending schools in Nigeria. If their children including other family members are attending colleges/universities in Nigeria, what ASUU has been requesting or rather demanding, the federal government would have awarded the union. Details
The Wonders of Information Technology: Can Nigerians Live with These? By Emmanuel Uzo Obi
(GAMJI)
The enthusiasm shown by Nigerians in the field of IT is unparalleled; many Internet cafes, computer schools etc. As expected, NEPA is not supporting this new area but Nigerians are undaunted as they rely mostly on Generators. Details
Katsina State’s Choice & Nigeria Unity: A Rejoinder. By Abdulmumin Abubakar
(GAMJI)
Despite the fact that the north has developed its manpower requirements to run its public services you will still find quiet a number of southerners working in state government offices. I can bet my life on it that you cannot find one northerner, especially of Hausa- Fulani extraction, working in any state Ministry in all the Odua states. Details
Re: Katsina State’s Choice & Nigerian Unity. By Ibrahim Dan Halilu
(GAMJI)
Adekunle Ajisebutu’s article with the above caption posted to gamji website recently requires serious scrutiny and clarification to avoid serious misinformation that may arise from the misinformed views of the author. Though I appreciate the writer’s concern over the Katsina State government’s policy of recruiting foreign doctors as against Nigerians, I however do not agree with him that doing so is totally bad. It all depends on the circumstance and compelling reasons for doing so. Details