|
Re: “First Bank the West and Islamic Terror” . By Zainab Musa Kperogi "The need for the additional documentation stemmed from the requirement by the Office of Foreign Assets and Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury that all financial institutions in the United States, and American entities worldwide, including Western Union International, should report transactions which bear names that are similar to those that have been programmed in the system. OFAC has the authority to impose controls on transactions and also freeze foreign assets under U.S. jurisdiction. All money transfers from the networks of all agent Banks in Nigeria are routed through the Western Union host system in the US with an interface with OFAC programming."...H. O. Bakare, Head, Corporate Planning & Group Coordination, First Bank Plc. Details
Posers For Vice President Atiku. By Maxwell James To be fair to the Vice President, people say he is a political strategist, but to be candid, it is only in Nigeria that political quietness is being celebrated as a strategy. In an economy that has only being successful on the pages of newspapers and by the administration’s voodoo Economists, one expects the contending Vice President to engage his marauders in serious political debate, or at worse, resign on principle and face the challenges of the political mêlée. Details
General Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo As A Committed Democrat. By Dr. Abubakar A. Muhammad As people have said repeatedly, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo is a lucky man in politics, one might say even in the military as well because he had reaped where he had not sawn. Details
IBB: The Enigma and the Tirade. By Mohammed Bala General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, appears to be on the same pedestal to be having that simple, but great qualities of Tafawa Balewa in that he is so quiet and tolerant, despite the hulla ballo of crass distortion of facts to bring him down and destroy his otherwise simple ambition of becoming the President. Details
The last NIDO national election I attended in Washington had such a small crowd that they could fit into a New York City living room. The various organizations such as Egbe Omo Yoruba, Zumunta and World Igbo Congress are peopled by contractors, subcontractors, and resume-peddling sychopants who are not interested in speaking truth to power, they are not for good governance, and they are not working for the interest of common man in Nigeria. Their main goal is to get to Aso Rock. Details
Oil Block Scandal: Why DPR Autonomy is Imperative. By Ifeanyi Izeze However, the current status of the DPR vis-à-vis the publicly known money-spinning NNPC could best be described as blurred and at worst obscured. The agency has been deeply or rather criminally buried into the bureaucratic day-to day life of Presidency, a situation that has given rise to the plethora of fraud scandals especially in the award of oil blocs and collection and management of license fees and signature bonus. Details
Reviving Nigeria Railway. By Mercy Obaleye Several factors must have led the sudden interest of the Government on the project. Nigeria has lately experienced series of plane crashes where it loses countless lives and property. The air transport is feared as the fastest and the most dangerous route to human destruction considering the calibre of personalities that had perished in the incidents. With the negative signal from the aviation sector, the rich are scared of using their money to buy death. Details
‘No PDP, No Nigeria’ : Letter To General Buhari And The People Of Our Country. By Aonduna Tondu As presently constituted, the ruling party at the centre – the strangely named People’s Democratic Party (PDP) – is little more than an association composed largely of the more repulsive elements in the Nigerian political firmament. It is an enclave of buccaneers, sinister predators, dangerous tin gods purporting to be godfathers, shameless turn coats, lowly brigands and touts in the service of a rapacious tyranny. Details Competing Desperately for the Highest Coveted Job. By Babandi Gumel Like all other Presidential Candidates in the Ruling Party Babangida also completed his nomination Form provided by the PDP. He had since humbly submitted the completed Form and is only awaiting the final outcome of his application. As to whether he would be given the green light to contest under the platform of the party or not is another matter. Details
The Recognition Of Aristocracy Of Knowledge. By Jim I Akhere Ph.D. The recent declaration by our current president that come 2007,he will be going back to school coupled with the post presidency decision of Dr. Yakubu Gowon to go back to school and acquire a terminal degree is an eloquent testimony that the leaders realize the pride of place of education in the affairs of men. Details
The Good Name Of Obasanjo In His Second Coming. By Farouk Martins Obasanjo had a place in the history of Nigeria as the first “soja” to hand over to civilian government. Everyone thought he was done. Done what? He had asked Gowon what he forgot in Dodan Barracks. Boy, it was him who really forgot something. Whatever it was, he was actually dying to get it back. How could many of us be so wrong? Now we Know. Details
2007: Leave Babangida Alone. By Ayo Fawibe Basically, IBB has the right as a Nigerian to vie for elective offices, even as we all know that his antecedents speak volume about what to expect. But the truth is that OBJ’s closest lieutenants including the so-called dark horses have proven to Nigerians that they are not qualified to run the country as well since they are always having their hands in the cookie jar. Details
Nigeria’s Impeachment Saga: Democracy on the Legislature’s Butcher Block. By Osa Iyinbo From all indication, the Nigerian political landscape, like its airline industry currently plagued by rash of deadly crashes, seem headed for disaster. Some political leaders have stripped naked the rules of civil engagement, jettisoned the constitution and have allowed cacophony to hold sway. Details
Kwara Politics Without Admiral Lawal. By Yushau A. Shuaib I doubt if the Sarakis would be happy with the turn of events in the unexpected demise of Admiral Mohammed Lawal (Rtd) who had performed and sacrificed enough, not only in sustaining the undisputable image of Dr. Olushola Saraki as the most respected political figure in Kwara politics but in improving the living standards of the people of the state before their political estrangement. Details
There is no doubt that successes have been recorded by president Olusegun Obasanjo’s led government in the area of reform-in fact, the reformist regime of President Obasanjo has greatly transformed the face of Nigeria for a better future. Details
2007: Gladiators in the Bauchi Political Arena. By Imam Abu Mustash The PDP in the state is torn into four between Mu’azu, Yuguda, Katagum and the Independent groups. These groups have, at one time or the other, been one, at least during the first tenure of Mu’azu. As the countdown to 2007 gathered speed however, cracks seemed to have appeared in this once cohesive force, also known as the original Mu’azu group. Details
2007 Polls: The Babangida Factor in Obasanjo's PDP. By Senior Fyneface When Gen Babangida through his spokesperson declared that “nobody could stop him from presenting himself to Nigerians ahead of the 2007 presidential election,” he meant exactly what he said. "We have just picked the PDP form. Head or tail, Babangida will run for presidency in 2007 and Nigerians will decide his fate not any group of people," this was a frank statement from someone who is cork sure of the arrangement or rather agreement in place. Details
What Does Babangida Want? By Uche Nworah Yes, he is a citizen and a man just like me. He has the right just like every Nigerian to contest for any elective position in the land, as long as he has not, and does not run foul of the laws of the land as stipulated in the electoral laws. But were Babangida to be any other citizen, there wouldn’t have been a need for this piece and the several others already written, and which would still be written about Nigeria’s most infamous citizen. Details
Can IBB Make it to the Aso Rock? By Abubakar Adamu There is an air of festivities and glooms on the forthcoming 2007 election in Nigeria. I heard and read the news of the former Nigeria President; General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (aka IBB) has joined the race for the 2007 Presidential election. Friends have phoned, e-mailed and text me of the news of IBB candidacy. Why the euphoria? I thought some other candidates have already declared before IBB. Details
INEC Has Been Programmed To Fail. By Jide Ayobolu There some fundamental issues that needs to be raised about INEC, the first point has to do with the fact that, presently INEC is not democratized, all the key appointments into INEC are done by the president, it is the president that appoints the chairman, the board, the resident commissioners, the state commissioners as well as approves the funds that the commission uses to carry out its functions, in this kind of situation, it is expressly clear that INEC cannot be independent, it will always dance to the dictates of the president because, he who pays the piper dictates the tunes. Details
Pat Utomi’s Presidential Campaign. By Sabella Ogbobode Abidde For a man who is gunning for the presidency, what business does he have gallivanting and traversing the globe? What can oversea-Nigerians do for him, anyways? Raise a dollar here, a yen there and euro in another venue? Oh no! Utomi should stay put in the country. Details
Kano PDP And Death Of Outrage. By Muhammad Ladodo Gama News that disgraced former Speaker of the House of Representatives, our own ‘Original Torontonian’ Ibrahim Salisu Buhari, has picked nomination form to contest the 2007 gubernatorial elections in Kano is both mind numbing and a rude shock. We all know that Salisu Buhari’s PDP is a party where perfidy is glorified but a Salisu Buhari as Governorship candidate means that the thin moral fiber on which the party stands in the eyes of the public is now completely submerged. A Certificate Forger as Governor of Kano state? What do these characters take Kano for, a land of crooks? Details
Atiku at 60: As He Declares. By Zayyad I. Muhammad It is no longer hearsay that Atiku intends to formally declare to contest for the presidency of Nigeria, comes 2007. He would be doing so while celebrating his 60th birthday, and at the same time amidst fighting a political battle of his life- his attempt through judicial means to fight back against the apparent use of state apparatus against him Details
Politics of Power Shift and the Future of Nigerian Masses. By Aliyu Abdullahi Yarima The northerners are claiming that having relinquished power to the south for eight years, they are the best set of Nigerians to take over power come 2007. On the other hand, the south-south and the south-east are capitalizing on the issue of political marginalization of the two geo-political zones which they claim to have suffered over the years. Details
2007: The IBB vs. OBJ Chess Game. By Michael Oluwagbemi IBB is not in this race to win neither is he likely to be looking at being PDP’s candidate: he is just looking forward to extract some deals, swap some valuable delegate votes for a deal that will allow him to be left alone after May 29 2007. Details
Nigerian Politicians and Lesson of the Ant Civilisation. By Janet Ladi Aiso The President of the Federal republic of Nigerian Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said during the 46th Nigerian independence anniversary celebration broadcast that it was quite unfortunate that Nigeria and Nigerians did not get it right early enough; for if we had, we would have been better off. He noted with a deep sense of nostalgia that if Nigeria had really gotten it right we would not have been looking up to one time blinking countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and the rest. Details
Impeachment Gale: Due Process And Trash. By Marshall Ifeanyi There has generally been impeachment gale encircling this administration for the past seven years at all levels of elective offices in the country especially if we recall the removal of some senate presidents, the speaker of the Federal House Representatives and later it became the deputy governors and finally governors. We may not also be quick to forget the efforts to remove the president himself in the early times of this administration. Details
Nigeria’s Complex Political Intrigues And Maneuvering. By Jide Ayobolu If we look at the enormity of the problems that confront Nigeria today and the magnitude of work it requires to fix the manifold problems, one wonders how the president and his co-travelers have the luxury of time to chase shadows. In seven years over $1billion has been spent on electricity, yet power supply is epileptic and very erratic. Details
An Open Letter To Our Leaders. By Maxwell James Dear leaders of my time, there is growing apprehension among the youths that as 2007 Elections approach, there is unabashed and surreptitious attempt by you to ensure the intergenerational perpetuation of certain hegemonic blocs in the country. I think a lot need to be done in order to dispel this genuine apprehension and subsequently push the frontier of leadership as far as human ingenuity can go. Details
Military Pensioners: Where Does the Future Lies? By Jane Aiso It is said that, the Nigeria Army today after serving for thirty years, all that would be given to you as your gratuity will not be enough to even build a house and save some thing for the rainy day. How can a soldier, that has served the nation for thirty years be paid the sum of 500,000 (the Lucky ones) as his gratuity? After all, we have leaders that can spend such amount in a twinkle of an eye. But this is the same amount that would be given to as soldier that has laboured for thirty years. Details
Kano: PDP’s Newest Plot. By Umaru Habibu Dambatta With the flagging off of the INEC registration exercise, nation wide, there is no doubt that we are back on track to a season of election. As a matter of tradition, election time in Nigeria represents big business in so many ways, mostly because it yields itself, often times, to the character and composition of the dominant value system of the Nigerian society. Unfortunately, this dominant value system in Nigeria today cannot be said to be positive. Details
Tribute: The Many Sides Of Tragedy. By Mahmud Jega When the editor of Sunday Trust asked me to write a tribute to the victims of last Sunday’s ADC plane crash, which was on its way to Sokoto from Abuja, my first thought was, where is an old Sokoto man like me supposed to start or finish this tribute? When we first heard that a Sokoto-bound plane had crashed, someone nearby said, “We pray that there is no one we know on board that plane”. I immediately replied that that was not possible. How could 100 people board a Sokoto-bound commercial plane, from anywhere in Nigeria, fall out of the skies and I do not know a single one among the passengers? Details
Harmattan And Your Health. By Murtala Umar The dry, cold and dusty wind associated with Harmattan also triggers sickle cell crises in affected individuals. Sickle cell anaemia to recall is a genetic disease in which the red blood cells become sickle under a condition of low oxygen tension leading to blockage of small blood vessels. The reduced blood supply to the tissues results in pain especially from the bones. Details
Memo to Inspector-General Ehindero (1). By Sunday Gabriel Ehindero CFR, NPM, mni [INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE] so much has happened in Nigeria in the last 30 years. Nigeria Police cannot be said to be left in the general rot of the public service. In 1976, I was a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) serving in Kano State of which Katsina and Jigawa States were parts. As a DSP, and in my division, I had a lorry, a Peugeot 504 station wagon, a land rover jeep and a motor cycle. I had a fuel dump in my station....most state commands at best can only boast of one lorry! I had well-furnished government quarters with the furniture changed every year by the Ministry of Works. I received air warrant or rail warrant to go on investigation, or to go and give evidence or to go and arrest a suspect any where in the country. Police Communication stations were used by various government agencies to transmit urgent messages. Military and Government officials queued up to hire police planes and pilots. Police salaries and allowances were regular and sufficient. As a Police Mobile force officer, any one who tried to bribe us had his mouth stuffed with the money. Bribe was detestable and those who received it regurgitated it. Police was not exposed to the temptations of poverty. That is the image I envisioned for the Nigeria Police. Details
The Frustrated Vice President. By Samuel A. Isola Nigeria is a very funny country; otherwise the VP would not be insulting our collective intelligence as if we were not all in this same country between 1999 and 2003. It would not be inappropriate at this point if Mr Atiku should give accounts of his stewardship when the rein of government was virtually handed over to him between 1999 and 2003, even when he was only a VP, or were the responsibilities so overwhelming for him then resulting in his abysmal testimonial which fortunately is in the public domain? Details
Between Obasanjo and the North. By Zayyad I. Muhammad The grown sour relationship between Obasanjo and the north can best be describe as Obasanjo’s gross mismanagement of two situations he found himself; first, Obasanjo’s attempt to whitewash his black-spot in the minds of south-westerners who have a age-long believe, that, Obasanjo is nothing but a creation of the north, and he is simply a string-puppet of northern politicians Details
Cash Smuggling Scandal: Yes, Andy Uba is Innocent Indeed. By Senior Fyneface So where does Atiku come into all this? Did Atiku assist anyone to use our national symbol – Nigeria 001 – to smuggle $170,000 into the United States? Was it him who shielded the felons to evade security and customs officials at the point of entry in the United States? Was Atiku the one who asked the felons to admit their guilt before the American court? Was Atiku the one who assisted the felons to buy farm equipment for Obasanjo farms with the laundered money? Details
Of What Value Is The Nigerian Accountant To You? By Abdullah Musa Now if we are to concentrate on the payment function, would we be right to say that the average Nigerian is satisfied with the conduct of the accountants with whom he is forced to deal? My personal experiences from the sayings of people seem to suggest a resounding vote of no confidence. To start with, the average Nigerian accountant takes the mien that the monies in his (most of the oppressors are males) custody belong to him. Details
Andy Uba: Guilty or Not Guilty. By Abdallah Shaibu If a rat is seen at the State House, it is Atiku Media Organisation that is to blame. If any negative report is published in the media, it’s Atiku that is responsible. Even if the Atiku group claims responsibility for opening the can of worms, has that made Andy Uba not guilty as charged? If a thief is caught with his loot, can he absolve himself by pointing accusing fingers to the informant who made his arrest possible? Details
If you want to completely destroy a Nigerian man, call him a woman. That is the lowest form of derogation. Any man described as a woman is regarded as unsuccessful, talkative, fearful, quarrelsome, emotional, cries easily, helps with domestic chores, poor, faithful to his wife etc. The mindset concerning masculinity is thus that a boy or man is a breadwinner (even if he wins no bread at all), natural leader, emotionally strong, does not cry – people often chide male children when they cry – don’t you know you are a man? Details
Why They Are Against IBB. By Abba Bashir Shuwa For time without numbers these so called South West mouth pieces have been dragging IBB'S name in to the mud simply because he poses serious challenge to the aspirations of their patrons. They are aware that he is the only person that commands a widespread support among all the aspirants to the detriment of their patron masters. Details
Legislators: Lawmakers or Lawbreakers? By Jaafar Jaafar
Lawmakers, at times, are more dangerous than corrupt judges even in the
mould of Wilson Egbo Egbo, who was once besieged by dubious politicians to
sign ex-parte motions the way Tom Cruz signs autographs. Ex-parte
order, if granted fraudulently, is often ignored (Ngige saga is a
case in point), but lawmakers always get away with impeachment, however
fraudulent.
Details
Among all OPEC members, Nigeria is perhaps
the only country that relies so heavily on foreign firms for services in
its petroleum industry. Crude oil refining is its main downstream
operation. Yet, it imports at least 43% of its gasoline needs.
Details
Kano 2007:
Religion as our Achilles’ heel? By
Jaafar Jaafar
The governor we want should not prefer his personal luxuries to the
welfare of the common man. Public hospitals are still in decaying
state. No, we cannot prevent you from flying your kids abroad to
treat the common cold, u can take them to the space if you like, but
please revamp the public hospital system and supply drugs to
appreciable degree.
Details
|