One Naira Advice Blog

Friday, 25 March 2016

I'm not Magician Nigerians should please bear with us on fuel scarcity – Kachikwu

At a time Nigerians are expecting respite from the pangs of the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, has dashed their hopes, stating that the current queues at gas stations would persist till late May.

The minister, who doubles as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, added that he was not a magician to make the queues
disappear overnight.

According to him, it is even a "magic" that the stations are still getting volume of products they dispense to the public, judging from the prevailing circumstances at NNPC.

The minister also revealed that NNPC's import rates had moved form 50 per cent to all-time rate of 100 percent, saying the 445,000 barrels allocated to crude swap now service 50 to 55 per cent importation of refined product.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has condemned calls for the sacking of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, describing those behind the calls as

"Facebook manipulators and palm wine drinkers."

The governor explained that the people spearheading the agitation were those "who have been feeding fat on our common patrimony and manipulating the exchange rate, moving money across borders and taking advantage of electronic money transfer".

Oshiomhole spoke with journalists on Wednesday evening in Abuja during a visit to the National Universities Commission to obtain license for the second newly established Edo State University, located in his village, Iyamho.

Clean up of N-Delta oil spills to begin in three weeks —FG

The Federal Government, yesterday, said that it would commence the clean up of oil spills in the Niger Delta region starting from Ogoni land within the next three weeks.

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig- General Paul Boroh (retd), made this known in Enugu, yesterday.

Boroh spoke at the commissioning of the Skills Acquisition and Training in Automobile Technology and Manufacturing of Plastics by about 200 former Niger Delta agitators under the sustainable reintegration programme in the Presidential Amnesty initiative.

The skill acquisition programme was in partnership with the Innoson Group, manufactures of Innoson Vehicles and
Plastics Manufacturing Assembly Plant, Emene, Enugu.

"The clean up exercise will begin at Ogoni in three weeks time and progress to other parts of the Niger Delta region.

We have gone to visit the area to assess the level of damage and a lot of people from the region will be involved in the exercise," he said, while describing the facilities at Innoson Kiara Academy as "fantastic."

On the Amnesty Programme, Boroh said: "It has substantially achieved its core mandate of restoring peace and stabilizing the security in the Niger Delta region.

"Ex-militants have now been trained and graduated from formal and informal trainings.

The programme is now at its critical stage of sustainable reintegration of beneficiaries who have been trained.

"Though conceived as a national response to security conditions in the Niger Delta between 2009 and 2011, it has been able to substantially meet its mandate and has
been able, through its formal vocational programmes, trained approximately 17,000 beneficiaries in various skills and set up or employed more than 3,583 beneficiaries.

The process is ongoing and 1,040 will conclude their refreshers and set up their own business by the end of
this quarter."

Customs, Army to strengthen relationship.

FILE: CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF, LT.-GEN. YUSUF BUHARI (R), WELCOMING THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL, NGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE, RETIRED COL. HAMEED ALI, TO THE Army HEADQUATERS IN Abuja ON THURSDAY (5/11/15). NAN

The Zonal Coordinator, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Zone `A', Assistant Comptroller-General Eporwei Edike, on Thursday urged the Nigerian Army not to relent in its mandate of national security of the nation.

Edike made the plea during his visit to the office of the General Officer Commanding 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Isidore Edet.

He commended the support of some Army officers who were deployed to the border areas, adding that their support had enabled Customs to achieve numerous successes.

Africa's richest woman, Folorunsho Alakija,

has remained an enigma of sorts even as she hit international limelight as the woman who beat Oprah Winfrey to the number two spot on the Forbes black women rich list.

Many aspiring women will however find inspiration as she gave a peek into her very essence recently at her inauguration as Chancellor of Osun State University recently, while sharing nuggets of wisdom or "Wisdom pills" that have helped her over the years.

Do not accept ''No" for an answer – Many doors were shut in my face but I refused to
give up and kept going back and it paid off; see where I am today.

"Today is not just any ordinary day. Today is a day that matters.

Today you will have the choice to make a difference in your life and those around you.

Today you will have the choice to smile rather than frown, be grateful rather than selfish, lift up rather than put down, accept rather than reject and love rather than hate.

Today you will have the choice of seeking hope for the future or remain in the hopelessness of the past.

Ahead of the September governorship election in Edo State, the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Chris Nehikhare, has assured people of the state of the resolve of the party to organise free, fair and transparent primaries to select a credible and acceptable candidate.

He re-emphasized the party's position on campaigns and used the opportunity to respond to a media aide of one of All Progressives Congress, APC's governorship aspirants, saying that it was Governor Adams Oshiomhole that introduced hate campaigns into Edo politics.

According to NAIJ.com The federal government to address the constant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the country.

According to a statement by Osaigbove Ehisienmen, the press secretary to the minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, yesterday, March 23, the government will organise a town hall meeting between both groups.

Ehisienmen statement stated that the dialogue would involve stakeholders from various umbrella associations of herders, farmers, state governments and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

MINISTER of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has requested the government of United Arab Emirates, UAE, to activate the process of labour migration
and employment of skilled Nigerian workers in their country.

Speaking during a condolence visit by the UAE ambassador to Nigeria, Amb Muhammed Almahmood on the passing away of the late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, SAN, Senator Ngige urged UAE to activate the process of legal migration of skilled Nigerian middle level workers into their country under the International Labour Migration guidelines.

He said the appeal was necessary "In consonance with the spirit of the relationship which exists between our two
countries, and which President, Mohammadu Buhari has further bolstered with his recent official visit to the United
Arab Emirate and considering the series of agreements signed in the areas of trade, economic development,
investment and industry as well as in legal cooperation among others.

How Former Benue state governor Gabriel Suswam ordered diversion of funds to individuals.

Former Benue state governor, Gabriel Suswam.

A witness in the trial of the former governor of Benue state Gabriel Suswam on Tuesday, March 22, insisted that some private accounts received remittance from the Benue shares sales.

Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs had earlier told the court that Elixir Investment got instructions from Suswam to pay N1 billion into the account of Benue
Investment Properties Limited (BIPCL).

Jacobs said a balance of the remittance of the sale of shares was paid into the account of the Benue state government.

– President Buhari makes fresh move against Boko Haram

– Orders establishment of naval command post in Lake Chad region As a way of further destroying the potency of Boko Haram terrorists, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of a naval command post in the Lake Chad region.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the director of Naval information, Chris Ezekobe, as saying:

"There is a presidential directive to set up a command post in the Lake Chad Region and that is ongoing."

The 25 Epenal security boats Nigerian Navy ship pathfinder in Port Harcourt.

File photo of Biafra agitators

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has expressed concern over the silence of the United Nations and the International community on the killing of pro-Biafra protesters in the Southeast.

The Nation reports that Sunny Okereafor, the National director of information, expressed worry while briefing journalists on Tuesday, March 22.

He noted that the international bodies are leaving Biafrans to their fate while condemning such injustices in other countries.

Ben Murray-Bruce tweeted this while reacting to news of some states proposing to apply death sentence on kidnappers.

Source: Online

5 things to know about the proposed Kaduna state religious bill

– The bill aims to protect the state from religious extremism and hate speech

Governor of Kaduna state Nasir El-Rufai
Ever since the announcement of a proposed bill by the Kaduna state government to make illegal and regulate certain religious activities in the state, citizens across
the nation have condemned the bill, with many describing it as obnoxious.

The bill, currently before the Kaduna state House of Assembly, has also drawn the anger of religious bodies and religious leaders within the state.

Barnabas Bala, the deputy governor of Kaduna state, said the bill aims to protect the state from religious extremism and hate speech.

According to him, the Kaduna state government is always committed to ensuring that religion can be practiced in a safe and secure climate.

Bloodshed: God is angry with Buhari - Gov Fayose

– Governor Fayose says recent bloodshed in the country is as a result of God's anger towards President Buhari

– Adds that the president is presently clueless and cannot rule the country

– Insists that his predictions earlier this year have come to pass

President Muhammadu Buhari seems to be praying to God here.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has yet again, lashed out at President Muhammadu Buhari over the way he has handled Nigeria since he came into power.

Fayose, who had vowed never to stop attacking the president, told journalists on Tuesday, March 22, that God is angry with him (Buhari), hence the unending bloodshed in the country.

The outspoken governor was speaking against the backdrop of recent violent reports that characterized the rerun elections in Rivers, where a youth corps member was among those confirmed dead during the series of attacks.

According to Vanguard, Fayose said that President Buhari oversaw elections that were remarkably bloody adding that power belonged to God and should not be abused by any individual no matter how highly
placed they are.

Nigerians have attacked President Muhammadu Buhari for his quick response to the terror attacks in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, Tuesday.

Eight local government areas, comprising Agatu, Buruku, Guma, Gwer-west, Logo, Kwande, Gwer- East and I Katsina- Ala, have been under recurrent heavy attacks from the Fulani herdsmen since 2013.

The latest deadliest attack occurred on March 5, stormed Agatu local government area killing over 300 people.

The herdsmen also destroyed different
properties in the area, displacing many residents of Agatu.

However, many weeks passed but President Buhari is yet to address the incident while he published a solidarity message to people of Belgium just several hours after the terrorist attack.

"Osun State Will Not Pay State Workers March Salaries. According to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the government will not be able to pay the State Secretariat's electricity bills, let alone its N2.6bn wage bill." Sahara Report

There are around 24 states with the same problem that Osun State is currently facing but we keep running away from the practical solutions to these problems.

The jamboree constitutional conference on which over N7 billion was wasted in 2014 only exposed the underbelly of some of our politicians especially those who call themselves Afenifere who had for many years championed the idea of restructuring our federal system into a true federal system with just 6 regions but by the time they got their share of the proverbial national cake at the Conference, they came out with a recommendation for the creation of over 80 states.

– Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has accused Governor El-Rufai of creating hostilities between Christians and Muslims with the Kaduna state Religious Bill

– PFN calls on meaning Nigerians and relevant stakeholders to prevail on the government of Kaduna state to withdraw the bill

– Warn that the bill has latent explosive heat that can set Kaduna state on fire

Representatives from over one thousand churches within Kaduna metropolis and environs have vowed to do everything legal to ensure that the rights of Christians were not curtailed in Kaduna state.

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN) has called on Governor El-Rufai to withdraw the religious bill before the Kaduna state House of Assembly.

The resolve by the churches is coming on the heels of the Kaduna state Religious Bill now before the consideration of Kaduna state House of Assembly.

"I'm usually taken aback whenever officers of the present APC administration release statements and interviews to sermonise Nigerians on how PDP administration has destroyed Nigeria for 16years and how they are working on fixing the mess created by PDP as if PDP as an acronym or party was responsible for the nation's woes.

It has never been party or structures problems but the people at the helms of the affair.

It is non-contestable that between May 29, 1999 and May 29, 2015, "PDP"(in quote) occupied the seat of power in Abuja and control majority states in the federation.

However, we have to get our fact right with respect to "who destroyed Nigeria between 1999 and 2015".

I believe we should do a holistic analysis on this subject.

PRESIDENTS AND VICE BETWEEN 1999-2015:

Nigeria had three presidents between May 29, 1999 and May 29, 2015.

Do you know that former President Goodluck Jonathan has last week beaten the likes of Nelson Mandela, Strive Masiyiwa, Koffi Annan, Bola Tinubu and several other African leaders to clinch the "2015 African Leadership Magazine Award"? No be jokes o, and if you are not happy for him, you are wrong. Like him or not, you cannot strip him off the tittle "African Leadership Magazine Person Of The Year".

Since leaving office on 29 May, 2015, Jonathan has been flying the green white green colours and lifting the name of Nigeria high in the global space.

Every passing minute, we are been regaled with photos of him receiving awards in Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Nigeria and Otueke, all in recognition of his outstanding leadership. While many argued that Jonathan didn't deserved such honours, others wondered how was Jonathan able to defeat the likes of several great leaders and symbols of African Leadership: well I need not to know the reasons behind his nomination or why he was chosen ahead of others before I can celebrate him. All I know is, you need not to be a good leader before you can be honoured in Africa, the benjamins alone can do it.

Those asking why Jonathan should be awarded are Jonathan hatters who sees nothing good in him despite all the positive transformations he brought to Nigeria. Our son is bringing fame to our country, winning honours and awards all over the globe but yet, you keep on asking why would he be honoured.

Must you know? Since you insist, let me tell you why Jonathan is an exceptional leader who deserved honours and recognition above all other leaders worldwide: our celebrant today is unarguably an impressive dossier among Nigeria's living and dead leader, what made him a political zero (sorry, hero) is his perception of the Nigerian nation, his orientation on the problems of Nigeria, his attitude toward the plight of Nigerians, and the fact that he doesn't give a damn about anything and everything. Don't mind Aljazeera for calling him badluck and the Economist for tagging him an "ineffectual buffoon".

OLUSEGUN OBASANJO IS STILL THE LEADER OF PDP--DOYIN OKUPE.

A former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, has insisted that former President Olusegun Obasanjo remained the "undisputed and authentic" leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Southwest region of the country.

Mr. Okupe, who disclosed this on his Facebook account on Friday, blasted Buruji Kashamu, a senator, saying he cannot be described as a leader of the party merely because he runs a local non-governmental organisation in Ogun State.

He said Mr. Obasanjo's action of tearing his PDP membership card was a result of the intolerable happenings within the party.
Mr. Okupe said, "Senator Buruji Kashamu is not the leader of the PDP in the southwest. He is not even the leader of the party in Ogun state. He leads an NGO called Omo Ilu which engages in empowerment programmes in the state, mainly in the Ogun East Senatorial district.

A leader of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, on Saturday assured Nigerians that the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari is still on course.

According to Mr. Tinubu, the change process requires time especially coming after " the conscience of our nation has been under attack for many years.

"We were handed a way of governance in which anything goes and too much went – as if gone with the wind.

Our present was squandered and future mortgaged".

Mr. Tinubu while pleading for support and patience with the APC administration said "Nigeria has the greatest opportunity to get it right with a leader like Mr. Muhammad Buhari."

The Federal Government has admonished Nigerian youths, who are yearning for employment and developmental programmes to exercise patience till the passage of the 2016 appropriation bill by the National Assembly.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barr. Solomon Dalung also urged the young generation to engage their mind gainfully in order to actualize God-given potentials and make meaningful impact.

To assist them in realising their dreams, the minister disclosed the government's readiness to partner the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in Nigeria to train young people for leadership responsibility.

Nnewi – Wife of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and Director of Radio, Mrs. Uchechi Okwu-Kanu has said that the arrest and continued incarceration of her husband is a catalyst for new Biafra agitation.

Nnamdi Kanu's wife, Uchechi Kanu In a statement from United Kingdom made available to Vanguard, Mrs. Kanu said "the absence of my husband is mind-bending, it is inexplicable. I am practically a zombie but I am holding up, but it has not been easy since October 2015 he was arrested in Lagos".

"The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is the catalyst driving the new agitation. Hence, what could have taken years to achieve in terms of awareness and mobilization was achieved within a short frame of time.

And this is testimony to the fact that IPOB through Radio Biafra did a lot of ground work prior to the arrest.

Success is available to anyone who wants to pay the price for it; it’s available to anyone who can afford its costly rate. Which begs the questions: do you want it, and can you afford it?

The 9 Ingredients to Success:

1. Luck

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. – Ecclesiastes 9:11

…If you are born the son of Earl Woods, teacher and golf fanatic, you have a much better chance at becoming Tiger Woods. This is indeed self-evident; if you were born the child of actor Jerry and actress Anne Stiller, your chances of becoming Ben Stiller (American actor) increase significantly.

In some ways, we are all lucky: it may be where you were born, when you were born, or a million other possibilities, but in some way, you are lucky.

2. The Right Physical Attributes, or the Right Genetics

… but time and chance happen to them all. – Ecclesiastes 9:11

Once again, some things related to success are out of your hands. If you’re 6 foot 6 inches tall, you have a much better chance of becoming Michael Jordan. If you’re 6 foot 6 inches tall, you have virtually no chance of becoming a gymnast. If you were born with vocal cords like Celine Dion, you have a good chance of becoming a singer, if you were born with vocal cords like mine, then, well, not so much.

Sometimes You Need to Break It
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you
should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye
on you.
Psalm 32:8 (NIV)

Years ago I read a book by Robert J. Kriegel and
Louis Patler entitled If it Ain't Broke...Break it. In
direct opposition to the old saying "If it ain't
broke, don't fix it," the authors proposed that
some things, even though they seem to be
working, should be changed.

We can be stubborn and argue all of the reasons
why we shouldn't change, but sometimes change
is simply necessary. In fact, you change for one of
two reasons: wisdom or crisis.
You can either lead change or have change drag
you kicking and screaming in directions you don't
want to go.

Many people wait for a crisis to change. Some
don't take their health seriously until they are
faced with a major illness; others refuse to make
changes in their management approach until
great employees have quit. Some churches refuse
to change until attendance has dipped so low that
they're having trouble keeping the lights on. They
wanted to avoid change, but change is coming
regardless--even if that change comes in the form
of having to close their doors.

"The year was 1965. I was an innocent starry-eyed 13 year-old and Nigeria was in turmoil. It was the era of the "wetie," when the houses of politicians and key public-figures were burnt down in the brouhaha that was then Western Nigeria.

We lived in Oke-Ado in Ibadan and our next-door neighbour was Chief Ogundiran, a minister in the government of Chief S.L. Akintola , the Premier of the Western Region. (Ogundiran was famous for only wearing white.) In the spirit of the times, a mob came early one morning and burnt down his house. He jumped out of the window and managed to escape.

Fani-Power, Fani-igbo: I was having private lessons in Mathematics at the home of a colleague, Enitan Abiodun, when we heard the noise of a crowd outside. We rushed to the veranda to see Chief Remi Fani-Kayode (alias Fani-Power), then Deputy Governor of the Western Region, standing on the seat of a moving convertible. He was surrounded by a mob, which was shouting and hailing him. On hearing the noise, Enitan's mother rushed to the veranda shouting "Awo!" only to discover that the people outside were not supporters of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, but those of his arch-enemies.

The shout of "Awo!" by Mrs. Abiodun brought the procession to a screeching halt. "Who said that? Who said that?" demanded the mob, enraged. "Fani-Power" turned and looked up at us. His eyes were the usual blood-shot red. At the time, many claimed it was because he regularly smoked Indian-hemp. Fani-Kayode pointed to our building and identified to his thugs that the offending shout came from our direction. We did not know that the floor of the convertible he was standing in was loaded with empty bottles. His thugs reached for the bottles and rained them down on us as we all scrambled back inside the house for dear life." Femi Aribisala describing Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, the father of Femi Fani-Kayode.

Last week, we learnt that angry former ministers and senior PDP officials under Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had an emergency meeting during which they threatened to expose him for being duplicitous in the theft of $2.1 billion meant for defence procurement. They vowed to carryout their threat unless he intervenes and stops the EFCC from prosecuting them.

What a load of balderdash from ill informed shameless thieves and enemies of the Nigerian state!

Unless one is delusional and mentally deranged to think so, what powers does Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has to stop the lawful prosecution of financial and war criminals in Nigeria?

If you actually have the courage to say what you mean, mean what you say, and stand up for your principles, even when that flies in the face of prevailing cultural norms, will it ever come back to haunt you someday?

I really couldn't say, but if that ever happens to me, you'll be the first to know.

Don't get me wrong. I've shot myself in the foot more times than I care to remember. After all, nobody's perfect, least of all me. But personality disorders and dysfunctions aside, being genuine and speaking my mind have served me well. I highly recommend it, with certain caveats..

Being comfortable in your own skin and having the courage to be you is a way of being, not a reason for being or raison d'etre, as they say. It's a way of behaving, not your purpose on Earth.

House of Rep leader, Femi Gbajabiamila receives Ayodele Dada, the Uni-Lag graduate who made 5:0GP (photos)

House Leader of Nigeria's 8th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, received Mr Ayodele Dada a student of the department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, University of Lagos psychology who set a new academic record by graduating with a 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point, at his office today March 20. Speaking about Ayodele's visit to his office, Mr. Gbajabiamila said;

I believe as leaders and as a country its time we start celebrating our successes particularly in a period of great national despondency that has enveloped us for years now. I believe we should recognize, celebrate and commend Mr Ayodele so as to encourage him and give hope and inspiration to many others.

Support us to remove ghost workers.

"Support us to remove ghost workers," Kaduna tells civil servants

-N500m saved monthly from payroll

Public servants in Kaduna State have been urged to cooperate fully with the on-going payroll verification exercise. A government statement said that the verification is already helping the state to save N500 million monthly, and is nearing completion. The statement commended the workers for their patience and contribution to the success the verification exercise has recorded.

"It is in the wider public interest to establish precisely who works for the government, to ensure that public funds are not being drained to pay ghost workers. It is also in the personal career interests of each worker that the payroll is not distorted or bloated by non-existent workers.

Still on the Kaduna State Religious Preaching Bill...

Now it seems that both Muslim and Christian religious leaders are not sincere and even overtly hypocritical. And the media is also complicit in playing the two sides just to achieve their commercial interests.

Otherwise, if Muslim and Christian leaders are truthful to their calling why are they afraid of subjecting themselves to the laws of the land?

Are they telling us that all that we hear in cassettes and CDs of some preachers in the markets, motor parks, along the road side and other public arenas, with all the hate speeches and outright charlatanism should be left without any check, even if that will, with time, result in some violence and killings, as we have experienced in the last two decades or so?

WHERE ARE THE OWNERS OF THOSE HOUSES ❓ By Tola Adeniyi

🔻When I wrote Visit the Mortuary in the Sunday Times early in 1974, the motive was to draw attention to the emerging decay in our national ethos brought about by the emergency millionaires created by the Civil War, the Udoji bonanza, and the untouchables in the Gowon administration.

🔻It was the era of lavish parties where bundles of wads of currency notes were thrown at the feet of musicians or pasted on the foreheads of sweating celebrants.

🔻I was at the Church service for the funeral of my former boss Mr Kola Bamgbelu's father and had my nostrils confronted by the heavily perfumed, gaily dressed women whose well packaged and padded buttocks were bulging through the pews they sat on. It was the most lavish display of wealth and opulence I ever saw.

HOW TO SPOT A SPONSORED CAMPAIGN. By Tope Fasua

In the Jonathan days i had cause to explain to people how to spot a sponsored protest. I will try again. And this works in every occasion - especially in Nigeria. No matter what someone tells you, in Nigeria, a sponsored protest will:

1. Usually sport very expensive banners. The people's protests are usually haphazard, spontaneous and... cheap.

2. Letterings on banners will usually be monotone, big, clear and ready for cameras/tv. The people's protest will be scrawled by different people and written in bad english and illegible writings.

3. Sponsored protests will be well-arranged and choreographed. They would have received briefings on how to act and what to do. The only issue is that you can see the poverty among those who are fighting for the big men/women. The people's protest are usually done by people looking rather average - not too poor, not rich as well.

IT MUST BE SAID By Olaoluwakitan Martins

"Even if she made a mistake in her mathematics, she made a good point. She is focusing on the civil service leakages. The biggest in this country"

~ Ken Agala

****

The story of Kemi Adeosun's 16+6 equals 24 gaffe took FB by storm in the past few days that i have to celebrate those card-carrying PDP folks, especially those FB celebrities among them, who have not allowed themselves to sink to the deepest depths of gutter politics and have urged restraint among their followers. It is the reason i have reproduced the quote above.

I say shame on those, who as usual are so infinitely obtuse as to persist in their acts of ignominy.

They will often say, one takes matters too seriously, to which i say, life itself is serious. It is serious when you shamelessly engage in acts, not once, but many times, of besmirching the reputation of an individual to enhance your partisan objectives.

Inside the underbelly of the savaging of Kemi Adeosun is the usual ethnically-motivated perfidious proclivity that is the bane of our politics; that has always been at the epicenter of our coexistence in Nigeria.

This phenomenon of supporting or defending one of our own and castigating the other is clearly evident here.

Two fighting!!!

Justifying why he and other members of the
National Working Committee of the PDP stole a
quarter of a billion naira of party funds
immediately after President Jonathan lost the
election, Olisa Metuh says:
"Before going to press PDP Publicity Secretary,
Olisa Metuh told Saharareporters that the
payments was made to assist NWC for the
Governorship and state house of assembly
elections that took place on April 11th 2015. He
said that since the Presidency was more
concerned about transparency, they Presidency
Campaign Council should publish how it gave
out N700 million to each state and most
importantly how the Presidency spent Nigerian
resources in the last 6 years."

Seven hundred million times 36 plus Abuja
= ???

Ondo State Sit On Pot Of Gold. By Olaoluwakitan Martins

Sometimes last week I took time to tour the various dilapidated companies own by ondo state and to know the various minerals and investment potential in the state....

I was at Ifon, Omialafara, okeluse and other places. ..

here I am holding samples of Kaolin, Glass sand/Silica sand....kaolin can be use to produce ceramics, floor tiles, bricks, medicine, insecticides, food additives, and refractive products while silica sand can be use to produce sheet glass, bottle glass and other glass product.

At the moment the state is unable to pay over 4months salary while the state sit on pot of Gold...this is just one of the many minerals in the state, we have limestone, bitumen which is second largest in d world after canada, natural gas, crudeoil, iron ore etc....

Federal government must grant resource autonomy to state in other to boost their local economy. Our states cant be sitting on pot of Gold while we suffer.
God bless Ondo state, Oduduwa Republic.

Olaoluwakitan Martins Armani

Apostle Paul’s Random Naija Survey, By Paul Adesanmi

Apostle Paul was the Biblical equivalent of the
Nigerian busybody. He was a prolific letter
writer. A much better letter writer than
President Obasanjo. Apostle Paul wrote his own
letters internationally. There was no people he
did not feel inclined to guide and advice via
letters.

He wrote to the Romans, the
Corinthians, the Philippians, and the Galatians.

Then he wrote to the Ephesians and the
Thessalonians.
Because he wrote so many letters to so many peoples, Apostle Paul often repeated or plagiarised himself. For instance, he gave the Thessalonians and the Ephesians the same advice:

in all things, in all situations, give
thanks and praise to God. In essence, no matter how worwor your situation is, find some wiggle room for praise.

We are in agreement that President Buhari's stubborn persistence on the Gulliver lane is an exercise in worwority . Last I heard about the Nigerian President, he had left Saudi Arabia for Qatar and nobody seems to know the next
destination.

It seems they now just board the plane, roll a die, and tell the pilots to file a
flight plan for whatever destination the die falls on.

Were he inclined to write Nigerians at this
moment, Apostle Paul would have comforted them and told them to give thanks.

At least President Buhari successfully addressed a group of Nigerians in Saudi Arabia and celebrated them without finding drug pushers and fraudsters among them. This is the first time in a long time that the President isn't on foreign
soil with a tar brush ready for his own citizens.

As might be expected, major policy decisions came from Saudi Arabia. Apostle Paul would have written that where you are unable to stop your president from making all his policy announcements on foreign soil, kuku celebrate those announcements if they are good and positive.

It’s The Economy, Wise Guy, By Okey Ndibe

Even if the situation were not
as grave, I doubt that Mr.
Buhari's economic team is
as strong as it should be.
Has the president what it
takes to steer the economy,
in the short run, out of the
current storm, and, in the
long run, to put it on a
course of steady growth?
Has he received the best
advice on the nature and
impact of the economic mess
as well as possible
panaceas?

In 1992, Bill Clinton, then the Democratic Party candidate for the US presidency, popularised
the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid." A year
earlier, then incumbent President George H.
Bush—who was seeking reelection on the
platform of the Republican Party—had a high
job approval rating on the strength of ordering
a military offensive that drove invading Iraqi
soldiers out of Kuwait. But by the time 1992
rolled around, much of Mr. Bush's political
capital had been eroded in the face of an
incipient recession.

DELE MOMODU, POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM AND MASSES' COMPLACENCY. By Yahaya Balogun

"Integrity and honor are not common, deceit and opportunism are easily accessible" - Yahaya Balogun

"President Buhari, this obsession with 'they stole our money', is too much. We know Jonathan did not do anything that's why we sacked him. So Buhari, do your own. If the gods cannot improve our lives they should please maintain it. If you are hungry you will grumble, and I am hungry". - Dele Momodu
#LyingLiar

The statement above was credited to Dele Momodu. He was hungry for power, and he was denied power, therefore, he grumbles. President Buhari knows he is an existential disadvatage to his government. He was shrugged at the presidency. Some of us who were acquainted with his surreptitious moves penultimate the elections of 2015 cried out. We are being vindicated by the judgement of history now. "A few people of integrity can go a long way." - Bill Kauth.

Dele Momodu was dissappionted by not being appointed into Buhari's cabinet. Buhari is a principled man. He understands his stealthy political moves. Buhari is ahead of his likes in thought process; he knows their grandstanding and body language.
"Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it." - M.H. McKee.

AMAKA...

Standing at the front of the lecture hall in his well fitted
black suit with a green tie was Professor Iyagba.

"Stand up!" He had thundered. I knew if he had to repeat
himself again or come over to pull me up I'll be in a lot
more trouble so I reluctantly stood up murmuring a silent
prayer to my God.

"I'm so sorry sir..." I said once I had stood up leaning
slightly on the desk at my front.

"Would you stand up right!" He thundered once more. He
sounded a lot louder this time, I felt a cold shiver run down
my spine. I did as told.

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday that the priority of his
administration is to ensure national food security before export of
food products.

The President said this while contributing to a Presidential Panel
Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening
session of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World
at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

President Buhari stressed that Nigeria being a mono-economy dependent
on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the way out of
the current slump in the global oil market, is for the administration
to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development. "The land is
there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides," he
said.

REINCARNATION... By Adékúnlé Al Miftau Adéǐté

My mother's first child died mysteriously at the age of three. He
shouted from his sleep after a kid's parade on Empire day around 1948.
When he was two, he poured some hot stuff on himself and the scar was
on his belly till he died. Two years or so later, my mother had
another son; he has those same scars on the left side of his belly. My
brother is alive and the scar (mark) is there till today.

Could this be a case of reincarnation?

Let's examine what the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam thinks of reincarnation.

the President spoke on Saturday while contributing to a Presidential
Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening
of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm
El-Sheikh, Egypt.

"Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they
devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more.
But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything
including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?
We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other
basic things such as clothing.
For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency."

It is pertinent to take a closer look at the real FFK beyond the façade we see.
1. He claims to have graduated from Cambridge University in the United
Kingdom. But it is one thing for FFK to pass through Cambridge; it is
another thing for Cambridge to have passed through him. All Oxbridge
products we knew and interacted with have in common, one thing at
least: civility, refinement and literate. Evidently FFK is the direct
opposite of these attributes. He comes through as uncultured, crude,
uncouth and greedy.

2. He claims to be a lawyer. But without a law chamber, without a
legal practice, and a without a legal career very untypical of lawyers
from the South-west. We learnt from good authourity that he inherited
a very robust legal chamber from his late father but he was unable to
make a success of it. What a tragedy.

Accountability and Anti-corruption in government: Some lessons from
New Zealand and Australia.

Since the 1980s, the accountability of New Zealand's public officers
has been built on a quasi-contractual relationship between the
executive government (ie, the ministers) and the senior management of
central government departments (ie, departmental chief executives). In
Australia, on the other hand, the accountability of public officers
centred on the primary role of the executive government, with senior
management expected to work under the ministers and follow their
directives. Which system works better?

The New Zealand system of accountability in central government
highlights the role of departmental chief executives. They are held
responsible for the achievement of policy objectives and for the
delivery of outputs from their departments. Policy objectives are
agreed upon with the ministers who, in a sense, act like 'purchasers'
of outputs from the departments.

Why I Don’t Trust Any Army General – Tinubu Reveals Top Secrets Of Political Successes

"The high is when I survived as the only
governor and one man standing on the
platform of the AD in the South West after
the 2003 governorship election. In leadership
and political battles, you must be able to
recognize the talent of your opponent. Don't
ever underestimate your opponent
particularly a personality like former Presi
dent Obasanjo. First, he is not just an Army
General for nothing; they call their overall
fatigue uniform, camouflage. What does that
mean? Deception! They are trained in
strategy, deception and tactics to defeat the
enemy. If you underestimate them, you do
that at your own peril…"

That was a quote from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
the national leader of the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC interview with the Sun Newspaper
recently held at Bourdillion, Ikoyi, Lagos residence.

This piece of write up was extracted from my yet to be publish book
(Think like an Economist) in order to enlighten my fellow Nigerians
already panicking regarding the above mentioned subject matter so far
making headline on some of our national dailies.

Few years ago a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco wrote the following line:

If you ask the random sample of economist to name the three most
difficult questions confronting mankind, the possible answers will
probably be: What is the meaning of life? What is the relationship
between quantise mechanics and general relativity? What is going on in
the foreign exchange market? Not necessarily in that order.

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