Looking For Jobs, Finding Death - By Femi Fani-Kayode

By Femi Fani-Kayode

Whether anyone likes to accept it or not the bitter truth is that 80 per cent of our GRADUATES are unemployed in Nigeria today whilst 51 per cent of our PEOPLE are also unemployed. As a frightful and grave consequence of these shocking statistics, which I happen to believe may well be a world record in terms of unemployment, a terrible tragedy occurred in Abuja and other parts of our country on 16th March 2014.

Approximately 68,000 of our youths gathered at the National Stadium in Abuja for an aptitude test for just 3000 jobs in the Immigration Service. 10 of those children were killed in a stampede whilst looking for those jobs. It did not stop there. Another 20,000 youths gathered in the stadium at Port Harcourt, Rivers state for aptitude tests for the same 3000 jobs and there was another stampede there as well in which 4 of their colleagues were killed and four more were so badly wounded that they remain in a coma up until now.

Similar gatherings for the same Immigration aptitude test took place in cities all over the country all for the same 3000 jobs and three young pregnant girls together with three male youths were killed in a similar stampede at the stadium in Minna, Niger state.

The only crime that all these children that were either killed, maimed or injured in these horrific stampedes in the stadiums of all these cities like Abuja, Port Harcourt, Minna, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Benin and elsewhere had committed was to try to get a job, to fight for a better life for themselves and to try to secure their future. What a tragedy.

One day Nigerians will appreciate the importance of facts, figures and statistics and the consequences of tolerating atrocious, lousy, insensitive and unaccountable governments. They will also understand the implications of having a government that has no qualms about taking advantage of the pitiful plight of it's own youths and citizens and scamming them in the most obvious and shameful manner.

Why should anyone be surprised that hundreds of thousands of youths gathered in stadiums all over the country on the 15th March 2014 just to apply for a tiny handful of jobs that are available in Immigration? This is so SIMPLY because there are NO jobs available for these children in our country.

I repeat 80 per cent of our graduates are unemployed and 51 per cent of our people are unemployed. Why won't they die and be killed or injured whilst looking for the few jobs that are available? Why won't they gather in stadiums all over the country in their hundreds of thousands just to do an aptitude test for a job in Immigration for which there are only 3000 vacancies? Why should anyone be surprised by this madness and this turmoil? Why should anyone be moved by this horrific carnage when it is now a regular phenomenon in our country for children to be slaughtered. If they are not butchered whilst at school by islamist fundamentalists they are slaughtered whilst they are looking for jobs from a heartless government which has effectively destroyed their future.

Yet look for jobs they must because these children and these youths are desperate and they are suffering. To make matters worse they are also being taken advantage of and scammed by their own government who are desperate to extort money from them by all means available. If this were not the case why would the Comptroller-General of Immigration and the Minister of Internal Affairs order that each and every one of those youths that flooded the stadiums in their hundreds of thousands and that stood in the sun should be made to pay 1000 naira each for the forms that they were to use to do the aptitude test at the various stadiums all over the country.

Someone was set to make a whole lot of money considering the fact that over one hundred thousand youths were involved in this shameless exercise and the amount of cash that they must have made runs into hundreds of millions of naira. The whole thing was just a massive and monuemental scam to extort hundreds of millions of naira from these poor, young and innocent souls and many of our youths have paid for it with their lives.

This is what President Goodluck Jonathan's Nigeria has done to them. We now have an army of angry, jobless, frustrated, disillusioned and desperate youths on our hands in this country and consequently we are literally sitting on a keg of gunpowder. May God help us and may He forgive us for failing these children and destroying their futures.

Other than this I will say no more on this matter because the truth is that most Nigerians no longer ''give a damn'' when blood is shed and when lives are taken. This is so even when those lives are those of children. Permit me to give an example. On the very same day that our youths were dying in stadiums looking for jobs with Immigration another 100 innocent people were being slaughtered by ''unknown gunmen'' in southern Kaduna and no-one seems to care. Again only two days before then, on March 12th 2014, 110 innocent Nigerians were butchered by what were described in the press as a group of ''fulani gunmen who were on motorbikes'' in Katsina state whilst the President was on an official visit there. What a tragedy.

Under President Goodluck Jonathan we have become a nation of vampires where the death of innocent children and youths means nothing and where we cannot even provide jobs or a decent standard of living for our young ones. Instead we attempt to scam them and to extort money from them. What a government, what a country.

If our government had any sense of decency, justice or accountability the Comptroller-General of Immigration and the Minister of Internal Affairs would have not only been compelled to resign or fired by now but they would also have been arrested and would be facing criminal charges for, at the very best, criminal negligence and manslaughter and, at the very worse, accessories before the fact to murder. Yet we know that that will never happen as long as President Goodluck Jonathan is in power. Far from it.

As a matter of fact instead of bowing his head in shame and showing any sense of contrition or remorse the Minister of Internal Affairs has come out shamelessly and blamed the dead youths themselves by saying that ''they did not exercise enough patience during the exercise''. May God forgive this man. I wonder if he would have expressed such sentiments if any of his own children had been killed in the stampede.

Permit me to end this contribution by quoting from a moving email that I received from a dear Nigerian family friend who herself is a mother and who presently resides in the United Kingdom with her family. She sent it to me the day after the tragic death of the youths in the stadium. I have obtained her permission to share her words in this write-up but for obvious reasons I will not mention her name. She wrote-

''Good morning uncle Femi. I honestly don't know where to start from. My heart is so heavy. What is it about Nigeria that (or is it we as a nation) nothing  good comes out of the news. I'm beginning to wonder if there is nothing wrong with me when I go through websites expectant of only bad news. Why don't I ever expect anything good to come out if Nigeria? I don't even know what to tell my children again. I try to give them a balanced view of the country but something would always come up to make nonsense of that. Why would any sane person want to come and live in that madness called Nigeria where nothing is guaranteed. Life is not guaranteed, jobs are not guaranteed, education is not guaranteed, security is not guaranteed, a decent daily meal is not guaranteed. I could go on and on.

I came to a realization recently which is self-preservation. Abi shebi it's life/self first. When I saw the early morning pictures of the crowd of youths at the Abuja stadium my heart just sank because I could almost write the script of what would follow. And so I waited (expectantly?)and wasn't disappointed. Would anything come out of it? No. Would life go on? Yes. Do they care? No. And the moron of a Minister had the gall to say that candidates died because of ''impatience''. Meanwhile the so-called aptitude test was just a ruse. They had handpicked their preferred candidates weeks ago. The crowd alone told me that we have a serious problem of youth unemployment yet Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would come out and be reeling stupid figures. Please tell her that she's not fooling anyone. As if the unemployment is not bad enough government is opening more universities like daycare centers and still granting licenses for private universities. Who is going to absorb these teeming unemployed graduates? Where are the industries? Are you creating an enabling environment for investment? In fact I'm just done with agonizing over Nigeria. Self first please!''

Her words and counsel moved me to tears. As far as I am concerned she captured the mood very well and her simple yet succinct submission is reflective of the thinking and deep pain of millions of Nigerians from all over the world that are fast losing hope in their nation. Yet what can we do but just continue to hope and pray. What can we do for the future of our children and to better the fortunes of our nation? This is indeed food for thought. As the bible says, ''may God deliver us from bloodthirsty and evil men'' and ''may the balm of Gilead heal our wounds and comfort our mourning souls''.




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Religionalisation’ Of Presidential Politics By Jonathan: A Bad Precedent

By Sen. Olubunmi Adetunmbi

In the past few weeks, Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has embarked on a rigorous exercise some have now humorously christened, ‘Church tourism.’ It started with a trip to Jerusalem, the Holy Land.  Nineteen governors, as well as some serving ministers and key government functionaries including the ever aggressive President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor accompanied the Nigerian President on a pilgrimage of sorts to Israel on his spiritual sojourn of discovery. At the end of the presidential spiritual odyssey, hands were laid on the president and prayers offered for his success in an unusually trying time in the nation’s history where he is believed to be in charge.

Perhaps still energized by the spiritual rebirth he was experiencing after the trip bankrolled by tax payer’s monies, the president embarked on another round of church voyage with the usual array of top government functionaries and spiritual leaders tow. In the last couple of weeks the president has visited not less than four churches and still counting. The Dunamis church has played host to the new found love of the number one citizen who worshipped there a few days ago. The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, the Living Faith Church and the Apostolic Church, Utako have also opened their doors to the president who has more or less used their hallowed pulpit to perpetrate what many have tagged, ‘the political patronage of the average church goer.’

The Nigerian Constitution clearly grants the President freedom of association, movement and religious affiliation. But it must be noted firmly that he also holds a unique position as an embodiment of the diverse ethno-religious, social and political cleavages of over 160 million Nigerians. This position was entrenched the day he was sworn in as President of Nigeria. In other words he is not just the president of Nigerian Christians but he equally holds sway for non-Christians even those who form the atheistic segment of the society.

The President has been criticized serially by political foes and associates in the past for being a master at playing the ethnic and religious card whenever and wherever it suits him best. His sporadic visits to churches filled with Nigerians who more or less share his religious views and lifestyle (while harmless on the surface) undoubtedly gives credence to this school of thought if one takes a deeper look at the reasons usually proffered by his handlers.

Nigerians are to expect more of such visits in coming weeks as Jonathan has vowed to worship at least once every month at churches outside the palatial presidential villa. This portrays a president who is willing to use the intimidating paraphernalia of office to sway a segment of the society to his side even as the political climate heats up. This is a sad development Nigerians must condemn.

In retrospect, the president, must be urged by well meaning Nigerian to learn to separate the pulpit from politics even if he banks on the voting strength of the Church in tilting the tide in his favor in his thinly veiled mission to succeed himself in the face of mounting opposition. History has shown that when politics is brought into the church, or the church begins the dizzying dalliance with the trappings of power, society is affected negatively at the end. A multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like ours is certainly not immune to the scourge awaiting a nation which allows the coils of power and politics to lie snugly around the shoulders of its religious institutions.

The fragility of the Nigerian polity will be further jeopardized nay exacerbated by heightened religious and ethnic tension which is naturally although indirectly being stimulated by the President’s ‘church tourism.’ Many across religious and even political divides agree that these frivolous visits are harmful at the long run to the president’s score card which is dismal at best and his warped political calculations. As a political pundit puts it succinctly, church or not, issues of performance with evident indices of excellence are what would define the next elections and gladiators like the incumbent.

Ironically critics have slammed the president for using the pulpit to make policy statements of government which has not led to any appreciable decrease in the siege of insecurity bedeviling the country. The president’s serial speeches from the podiums of these large churches now attract disdain and incredulity from a large percentage of the populace and sadly are now viewed from the myopic prism of campaigning for votes.

Many say that this is not the first time the president would play the religious card in his political voyage. In 2010, before the 2011 presidential election, he visited the RCCG to secure the votes of Christians. Two years after that presidential electioneering, he paid another widely publicized visit to the camp to give thanks to God and asked for prayers to enable him rule the country. It is not on record that he paid similar visits to other religious institutions to pay allegiance for their support during the elections making many to believe that he may perhaps hold the view that his stay in office is largely enabled by his religious circle.

The president holds the sacrosanct freedom to decide where his religious leaning and ideological faith lies and equally practice such in any Christian denomination of his utmost preference. However Nigerians including those of other faiths also own the inalienable liberty to express their dissatisfaction at a situation where the nation’s Chief Security Officer and number one citizen makes pertinent and sensitive political pronouncements Churches.

The President needs to be called to order quickly in order to avert a potentially divisive situation in the ever tense ethno-religious setting called Nigeria. As canvassed by no less a religious figure like President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Ignatius Kaigama, the president needs to stop forthwith his politically motivated visits to churches and the usage of Church pulpits to indirectly request for votes of Christians.

His is not just a lone voice in this call.  A prominent clergyman, George Ehusani perhaps puts in succinctly. “I think that the current President is mixing politics with religion. He is the President of the whole Nigeria; he is not only the president of Christians. He is a Christian who is President but while a Christian is President in a country that is 50% Christian and 50% Muslim, you have to be careful.”

For the church it is time to take up the gauntlet against this subtle presidential onslaught on its age-long integrity. It is wrong for the church to allow the soapbox to be brought into the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a hallowed chamber that should not be debased by politics of transient power. This is a desperate bid of a Christian politician to use the church for a subtle endorsement without reference to the capacity to perform and deliver welfare to the people as Jesus Christ did in the Scriptures by the miracle of the fishes and loaves.

The President should be encouraged and advised to rise above partisanship and religious bigotry and scale up to the status of a statesman. The weight of earthly desires and the clamour for power is quite heavy on the human mind and it takes the Grace of God to rise above this. The President should ask God for this exceeding grace to overcome self and all primordial desires that do not edify him, the church and the nation.

Nobody should make the error that my observation is ‘anti-Christian.’ No! Far from it, I am a confessed believer in the person and the divinity of Jesus Christ and He constitutes the centre of my being and the author and finisher of faith and hope for eternal life. I therefore consider it as degrading to the status of Christ to be dragged into the politics of state/temporal power in a manner that excludes people of other faiths that Jesus gave his life that they may come to him.

And if Mr. President feels he must continue on his religious trail I enjoin him to visit Pastor Tunde Bakare's Church, the Latter Rain Assembly, T.B Joshua's Synagogue Church of all Nations and Catholic Bishop, Ignatius Kaigama. He should also extend his worship to churches in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno. If Mr. President cannot worship with the Christian community in these volatile states, then he should stop henceforth with the religious campaigns.

Furthermore, from the history of the church and the state in the Holy Bible, Priests took messages of God to kings of nations and read riot acts to them through the famous quote, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord God.’ Ironically, we are now faced with the situation where an un-ordained person climbs on the altar of God to say "Thus sayeth the president". This is a reversal of spiritual and divine order as we know in the Holy Bible and is a subordination of spiritual authority of Priesthood to the temporal powers of kings and presidents.

Indeed the president needs to be careful in his new found vocation. His decision in the coming weeks will determine if Nigerians have a president who shares the yearnings and aspirations of ALL Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion or a leader who quickly recedes into his religious or ethnic cave when the need arises.

Opinion: 10 Facts About Masturbation They Don’t Want You To Know

By Yomi Adegboye

I do not expect that this article will change anyone’s mind about anything. I do feel that someone ought to speak out about this thorny subject and present clear facts and info about it for the benefit of those who have been harassed and made to feel less than human because they masturbate.

What Is Masturbation?

Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one’s own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed using the hands, fingers, everyday objects, or dedicated sex toys. I lifted that definition right off Wikipedia, as it is an accurate description and I do not feel compelled to reinvent the wheel.

Masturbation Is Not A Sin

As I am a Christian (while this article is not religious in nature), I feel a need to speak out for the Bible. There is not one verse of the Bible that condemns self-stimulation. There is not one that insinuates such a condemnation. Yet, day after day, we hear preachers condemn masturbation as a sin. Their arguments?

There is the argument that sex was created for mutual pleasure: Yes; I agree. Sex was. But masturbation is not sex. It is sexual, and many other things are sexual, but it is not sexual intercourse in itself. Sex is for mutual benefits; masturbation is for personal benefits. Two different things. Yet, as I shall show later, masturbation can be helpful in enhancing sexual intercourse. Not only is it not a sin, it is a good thing.

There is also the argument that Jesus said if you lust after the opposite sex in your mind, you are sinning. Yes; that is correct too, but then what part of physically stimulating yourself with the hands, fingers or any other object is lusting after someone in your mind? If a Christian lusts after someone in their heart while masturbating, then such a one has crossed the line that Jesus drew. That does not make masturbation in itself a sin. That person has merely corrupted a clean act and needs to deal with his or her thoughts.

Someone asked me yesterday how I want to prove that “those activities are censored and powered by the Holy Spirit”. Let me ask a question in response: Have you ever given any thought to what happens during actual sexual intercourse? A man and a woman panting, sweating and heaving like two idiots. All those cool looking dudes in suits (yes; that includes me) don’t look so cool when banging their women and look like grotesque demons when having an orgasm. What seems Holy Ghost approved and powered about a hormone-raging man ramming a stiff rod into a woman again and again and having her moan like an animal? And as for the women, all those prim and proper women we see in public often look like demon-possessed pagan priestesses during intercourse.

Seriously, apart from the “Jesus!! Jesus!!” that some of the women cry out when in the throes of a good romp or an orgasm, there cannot be anything about sex that looks like the Holy Ghost gives approval to the activity. Yet, He does. Case closed. The issue of Holy Ghost approval and all that is in the mind. The Bible that Christians claim to uphold does not make an issue of these things or of masturbation.

I am tired of Christians being so close-minded that they manufacture rules to help God. First, God doesn’t need your help. Second, take a look around you and ask yourself if this close-mindedness has helped your homes. Sexually dissatisfied husbands and wives everywhere, many of whom will not speak out though their marriages are in shambles. And many of them stubbornly refusing to look at facts when presented to them. Their call still.

Masturbation Is Addictive

Yes; it is. But then, so are mobile phones, food, chocolate, wine, Coke, Twitter, Facebook and football. Yet, no-one is screaming “Sin!!!” for all those. Oh, even sexual intercourse itself is addictive. Let’s just lay aside all those things because they are addictive; shall we? No; how to deal with anything that has the potential for being addictive is not to stay away from it, but to exercise moderation.

Masturbation Is Not A Dirty habit

Some people call masturbation a dirty habit. In what sense? It produces mostly the same results as sexual intercourse – the man ejaculates. The woman has an orgasm and in some cases squirts. What else? Masturbation is just as dirty as sexual intercourse is, as far as I can tell.

Masturbation Is Healthy

In general, the medical community considers masturbation to be a natural and harmless expression of sexuality for both men and women. It does not cause any physical injury or harm to the body, and can be performed in moderation throughout a person’s lifetime as a part of normal sexual behavior.

If you use other objects apart from your hands, be careful though so you don’t hurt yourself. Perhaps you should visit a sex shop for some toys instead.

Why You Should Masturbate

Now that I have cleared the objections to masturbation, let me tell you why you should masturbate.

One: masturbation helps you get comfortable with your sexuality. You get to know your body and what triggers you. That means you can generally be a better sexual mate to your spouse. How do you expect your spouse to pleasure you sexually when you are so clueless about yourself to start with? Do your partner a favour and play with yourself!

In counselling couples with sexual issues over the years, especially where one partner is sexually naive, I have recommended that he/she masturbates to become more comfortable with their own sexuality. A woman who is cold and passive during sex can be a big problem to her husband. Masturbation helps deal with that. She learns what she likes and what triggers her off. She learns what makes her climax. She becomes better at sex with her husband. Same thing the other way round.

Two: With many couples, one person usually has a higher sexual drive than the other. This can put pressure on the relationship. Masturbation is an outlet for such individuals. Women keep complaining about their husbands masturbating, yet forget that they are the ones who come up with excuses of having had a tired day or having a headache when the poor man wants sex with them. Such women are evil and insensitive. Totally selfish. This applies to the men too. If your wife has a higher sex drive than you do, masturbation is a good let off of sexual pressure. In the alternative, you could let her roam….

Three: For single folks, masturbation is a good way of relieving the sexual tension that can build up over time. It is safer than casual sex and doesn’t cost you buying anybody lunch or dinner. Or breaking anybody’s heart just because you are horny. For example, every month whether a woman likes it or not, she gets horny (that’s every 60 seconds for a man, by the way). This is a biological function. For some, it is more intense than others. Masturbation is a good way out. No; in itself, masturbation will not hamper your sexual intercourse later. Don’t believe the hype.

Four: Masturbation produces almost all the other benefits of sex without actual sex. It is a good anti-depressant, relieves tension (not just sexual tension), helps you sleep, and keeps the mind sharp.

Who Masturbates?

Almost everybody masturbates, including many of those people who tell you that it is sinful, dirty, and a bad habit (yes; the hypocrisy is filthy). Most people start masturbating from their teens. Remember wet dreams when you first hit your teens? Usually that’s where it starts. A wet dream is a natural procedure by the body. No; it has nothing to do with witches and wizards or spiritual husbands and wives. God knows how many spiritual wives I must have by now if I count all the times I have had a wet dream. Thankfully, I had an educated and enlightened father who explained to me that it was nothing to worry about when he saw my bed stains many years ago as a teenager.

Masturbation is a normal part of the growing child’s exploration of his or her body and continues for the rest of the lives of most people. If you masturbate, you are not an oddity. Actually, its those who claim not to masturbate that are the oddities. Don’t let anyone crush your spirit ever again about this. There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing to be ashamed of about it. As long as you don’t let it become an addiction or a problem to normal sexual activity with your partner (and usually it becomes a problem when fantasy gets involved), you are all fine and dandy.

Yomi Adegboye. Founder, Mobility.ng. Content Creator. Speaker. Music & Comic book Lover. Ladies’ Man. Follow him on Twitter @Mister_Mobility, on LinkedIn at YomiAdegboye, and circle him on Google+. This article was originally published on Mobility.ng.

 

Opinion of the writer only and do not represent the opinion of Donflexy's blog.

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Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and Other Plane Crash Conspiracy Theories

By Lilian Anekwe | IB Times –

It's barely two days since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished in mysterious cirumstances, but already the conspiracy theories about its disappearance are rife.
Starting with this recenttragedy, IBTimes UK recalls a selection of similar stories regarding aircraft-related incidents down the years.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared at 17:30 GMT Friday (01:30 local time Saturday) en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It reportedly disappeared from radar screens south of Vietnam. Malaysia Airlines had previously said it last had contact with air traffic controllers 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu.
Malaysian officials have said that radar signals suggest the plane may have turned back. The air and sea rescue teams that have been searching an area of the South China Sea south of Vietnam for more than 24 hours have now expanded their search to land on the west coast of Malaysia.
Air safety experts are investigating whether the Boeing 777 could have been the target of a terrorist attack. Malaysia's transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said two names on the passenger list were "suspect". The passengers using stolen passports – one Italian and one Austrian – were both booked on the same onward flight from Beijing to Amsterdam on Saturday.

Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800
Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800 crashed off the coast of East Moriches, Long Island, on 17 July 1996 en route from JFK International Airport to Paris, France, killing all 230 people on board in the United States' second-deadliest plane crash.
After a four-year investigation the official verdict was that the crash was caused by a fuel tank explosion due to a spark from a damaged wire. But not everyone believes that, and the producers of a documentary that aired in 2013 argued that the plane was shot down. FBI investigators said they found explosive residue on the plane, which may have indicated a terrorist attack. Several witnesses said they saw the plane being shot down by one or even two missiles, possibly during a naval training exercise gone wrong. The documentary argued the truth was covered up either by the US Government or by the air industry, which might otherwise have faced billions of dollars in financial losses.

Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870
Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 was a domestic Italian commercial flight en route from Bologna to Palermo when it crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea between Ponza and Ustica, killing all on board in 1980.
The disaster led to numerous investigations, legal actions and accusations, and continues to be a source of speculation, including claims of conspiracy by the Italian government and others. Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga officially attributed the cause of the crash to a missile fired from a French Navy aircraft.
The conspiracy theories that sprang up after the official verdict included a terrorist attack, a missile strike during a Nato training exercise and that the plane was shot down by a missile in a strike against Libyan forces. In the months and years after the crash seven Italian air officials who were involved in the investigation died in suspicious circumstances including car crashes, murders and suicides.

Pan Am flight 103
One of the most famous plane crash conspiracies of recent years involved Pan Am Flight 103, the transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York City that was destroyed by a terrorist bomb on Wednesday, 21 December 1988 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. All 243 passengers and 16 crew on board died, and 11 people on the ground were killed by falling debris.
Following a three-year investigation, arrest warrants were issued for two Libyan nationals in November 1991. Former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi eventually handed them over for arrest after protracted negotiations and UN sanctions. In 2001, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed for the bombing. In August 2009, he was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died nearly three years later.
In the years that followed numerous conspiracies developed regardingthe destruction of Pan Am Flight 103.

Gaddafi maintained he never ordered an attack on the plane. But in 2011, during the Libyan civil war, a former government official contradicted Gaddafi and claimed that the Libyan leader had personally ordered the bombing. A report commissioned by President George Bush suggested that the bombing had been a case of state-sponsored terrorism.

Air France Flight 1611
Air France Flight 1611 was en route from the island of Corsica to Nice on 11 September 1968 when it crashed into the Mediterranean off Nice, killing all 95 on board including French army general René Cogny. According to the official report, the crash was non-survivable. The crash remains the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Mediterranean. At the time the probable cause was attributed to a fire that originated in the rear of the cabin.
But a radio programme broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in November 2007 put forward a conspiracy theory that the accident was the result of a missile strike or bomb, and that the true cause has been suppressed by the French Government under secrecy laws. On 10 May 2011 Michel Laty, a former military secretary, declared on French television channel TF1 that a missile, misfired by the French army during a weapon test, had caused the crash.

Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was a scheduled flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage on 1 September 1983. But the aircraft flew through prohibited Soviet airspace around the time of a US reconnaissance mission and the plane was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor near Moneron Island in the Sea of Japan. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed, including Lawrence McDonald, a sitting member of the United States Congress.
The Soviet Union initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later admitted shooting down the plane, claiming that the aircraft was on a spying mission. The USSR government said it was a deliberate provocation by the United States to test the Soviet Union's military preparedness, or even to provoke a war. The Soviet military suppressed evidence sought by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) investigation, notably the flight data recorders, which were eventually released eight years later after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This prompted a number of conspiracy theories during the Cold War.

9/11 Al-Qaida attacks
Four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaida terrorists on a suicide missions. Two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.
The terrorists had intended to crash the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, over Washington, DC but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers overpowered the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes.
Many 9/11 conspiracy theories surfaced shortly after the 11 September attacks. Theorists believe that the World Trade Center buildings were demolished by bombs, phone calls from the planes were made up, and that former President George W Bush secretly profited from the attacks.


The Bermuda Triangle mysteries
Scores of ships and planes are said to have vanished without trace in the Bermuda Triangle – a vast triangular area of ocean with imaginary points in Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico.
Among the unsolved mysteries, on 30 January 1948, a BSAA Avro Tudor IV plane disappeared without trace. Twenty-five passengers and a crew of six were on board The Star Tiger. No bodies or wreckage were found. The official investigation into the disappearance concluded: "It may truly be said that no more baffling problem has ever been presented. What happened in this case will never be known and the fate of Star Tiger must remain an unsolved mystery."
Almost a year after the disappearance of the Star Tiger, another Avro Tudor IV belonging to BSAA vanished between Bermuda and Jamaica. Exactly one hour after departure from Bermuda on 17 January 1949, the pilot of the Star Ariel sent a routine communication of his position. But then the plane vanished without trace at 18,000 feet. According to experts, this would have required a sudden catastrophe. Again, no wreckage, debris or bodies were ever found. Fuel starvation at that height was not plausible, the weather report had been good, and pilot error was ruled out.

Amelia Earhart's circumnavigation of the globe
Amelia Mary Earhart, the American aviation pioneer and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, disappeared on 2 July 1937 while attempting to fly around the world in a Lockheed Model 10 Electra. Its last known point was over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.
The two main theories are that Earhart's plane either crashed and sank over Howland Island, or that she ran out of fuel and landed on uninhabited Gardner Island, now Nikumaroro, part of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiritbati in the western Pacific Ocean, and perished.
There are scores of conspiracy theories surrounding Earhart's disappearance, including that she not only survived the flight, but returned to America to live out her days under an assumed name.
However, in July 2013, TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) sonar detected an object on the seabed near Nikumaroro which it identified as a Lockheed Electra, the type of plane Earhart was flying. Past expeditions in the area have discovered 1930s beauty cream, a woman's compact, and buttons and zipper from a flight jacket. TIGHAR will return to the island later this year to inspect the wreckage and perhaps conduct a dig

"We In the APC choose Unity" - B R Fashola at the APC Summit -

It is my privilege to welcome all of you to the inaugural All Progressives Congress National Summit.

This is a historic day not only for the APC but also for our nation. The work we begin today is the work that will build a New Nigeria; a future when there are jobs for everyone who wants to work; a future without leaders who deprive the very families they are supposed to protect; A future of peace and stability; a future when Nigeria can feed its families; a future when a Nigerian education is as good as any education in the world; a future when the high prices of food and fuel don’t undermine every family’s quality of life.

This is the future that we start to build here, today. This is why we have come from all parts of the nation.

From the Northwest and Southeast; from the North Central and the South South; from the Northeast and Southwest. We have come from all regions of our great nation to show our unity; to show our love for our country; to show our commitment to each other and to building a New Nigeria.

And while we come together today as APC members to support the mission, principles and work of the APC, we come together first and foremost as Nigerians.

The future we envision, the future we will build together, is not just for one political party; it is not just for one region; it is not just for one community, it is for all Nigerians. And that future is a future of change.

Our nation longs for change and the APC is committed to leading a movement for change. Look no further than how the party was formed; we in this room are the products of the first ever merger of political parties in Nigerian history and many of those who devised and directed that merger will talk with us today, telling us how it happened and what it will mean for the nation.Today,we’re just not going to talk about change; we’re going to embody change. So today, not only will we get a look at our “Roadmap to a New Nigeria” in the afternoon, but this morning, we will start something maybe no other political party has ever done for a long time – we’ll present a Code of Ethics – a set of guiding principles that will be our common bond together and to the nation; a set of values that will direct our activities and actions.

If our values and our principles are shared, it will be easy to work together to implement our roadmap for Change and a New Nigeria.

The APC is a home for all Nigerians

It’s already happening. The turnout for membership registration exceeded even the largest projections. It was a turnout of Nigerians of diverse backgrounds all across the country who shared a belief in the need for change. It was a turnout of Nigerians who shared a belief that together we can build a New Nigeria.It was a turnout of people who have had enough of division in our country; people tired of the politicians who turn one group against another for their own political gain. We’ve all seen it. We all know how it works. We all know how demeaning it is to our nation.

Look around our country, what has division brought us? Has it brought us peace? Has it brought us prosperity? Has it brought the future we’ve wanted for our family, for our children.No, it hasn’t. We must come together. We must work together. We must live in peace together. We must choose unity.

And today, we declare that we make it clear to the nation. The APC chooses unity.This room is a living testament to that choice and that commitment.This room is a celebration of the cultural diversity that gives our nation such great promise.

And while we embrace and honor those differences, what brings us together today is what we all hold in common. We are tied together by what we believe: we believe our nation must be economically and socially vibrant. We believe our nation must be peaceful, just and secure. We believe that corruption must no longer be tolerated in any corner of our nation, not in political life and not in our business or civic affairs. We believe in investing in our people, because they are the most important assets of our nation. We believe every person deserves work that enables them to provide for their families, to contribute to the community and to have a favorable, quality of life.

This is what we believe.This is what brings us together.This is our mission, the mission of our party; the mission of our nation.No party in more than fifteen years has done what we’ll do today; publicly, and most importantly, together as a party, tell Nigeria what we believe in a meeting, not in a rally, not in the middle of a political campaign.

But systematically and transparently – we want people to know what we stand for, we want people to know about the change we are offering; we want people to join us in building a New Nigeria: A nation of progress, a nation of hope, a nation of opportunity. A nation together.

One Nigeria.36 States but one Nigeria;290 ethnic groups but one Nigeria;521 languages but one Nigeria. The new nation we want, the new Nigeria of our dreams. It is only possible through unity. It is only possible if we value each and every person and hold tight every child as our greatest asset. It is only possible if we respect every person’s choice of faith.

It is only possible if we commit ourselves to one rule of law for everyone, if we commit ourselves to fairness and opportunity for all; if we commit ourselves to a strong system of government at the federal, state and local levels. It is only possible if we bridge our inequalities and if we put our nation back to work.

There cannot be true freedom when there are not enough jobs.There cannot be shared opportunity when there are not enough jobs.There cannot be peace and justice when there are not enough jobs.These are the promises we must make to each other, the promises we must make to our brothers and sisters across our nation from Sokoto to Rivers, from Borno to Oyo, from Adamawa to Lagos.

These are the commitments that forge our mutual bond; these are our code of ethics.When times are tough, when our pathway becomes hard to navigate, when forces block our way forward, when challenges stand in the way of our vision, when hope seems just outside our grip, this set of principles must guide our path.

When people ask us, who we are,when people ask us, what we believe,when people ask us, what makes the APC different,we will tell them, we have a code of ethics.We will tell them we have a roadmap to the future.We will tell them that Nigeria is a great nation that has been misdirected.We will tell them that no nation, no people are more hardworking but that we need jobs.

We will tell them that our youth are ready to do great things, to make history, to lead our nation, to lead Africa, but they need opportunity.We will tell them that when we come together, celebrate our diversity, accept each other and stand together as one Nigeria, there is nothing we cannot achieve. We will tell them the APC is ready to build a new Nigeria.What we’re talking about today is our future.We can accept the Nigeria we have or we can build a new Nigeria.

We can accept a stagnant, jobless economy or we can build a new Nigeria.We can accept a Government that cannot account to us or we can change it and build a new Nigeria.

And let there be no doubt about the link between corruption and jobs. If we had a government that is serious about fighting corruption, there would be financial resources to create jobs. Instead of stopping this corruption, this government pardons those convicted of corruption and removes those who point out corruption.

Corruption has drained our national strength and we need change.

We’re here today because we’ve all made our choice. We’ve chosen a new Nigeria. Over the next year, let’s make sure the nation joins us and makes the same choice. The whole of Africa is waiting for us to play our leadership role and the rest of the world is watching.

The APC is not going to abdicate that responsibility. This is going to be an exciting and illuminating day together.

My fellow delegates, together, we will build a New Nigeria. God Bless you all, Long live the APC, And long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Abacha Award: There Is Honour Among Thieves, By Peregrino Brimah

Only a thief will give an award to a thief. Giving an award to a thief is not only a national insult, it is treason. Our pledge is to defend the nation’s honour. The nation has been dragged in the mud once again with this centenary abomination. What just happened in Nigeria is very serious. This is no longer an issue of ethnic groupings or religious differences. This is sheer limitless wickedness to the poor, the dead and dying. Nigeria has now been taken over by frank evil. This is a battle between good and the hopeful’s and supporters of good and evil and the aspirants and workers for the grand commander of evil, the devil. If the awards to Nigeria’s thieves of the past were given in error, open public apology and public and private repentance is urgently necessary.

Stealing, and a thief is not defined by what is given, it is defined by what is taken. Abacha was a thief. Babangida was a thief. Obasanjo was a thief. There is no mincing these words. There is no room in our national honour rolls for these thieves. This

is not an example to be given to our kids and an image to be broadcast of our nation. N300 million in foreign media propaganda will never redeem Nigeria from this abomination. This senseless political desperate patronage of the evil men of Nigeria’s painful past.

The United States has already smashed their foot in our bloodied wounds by seizing this moment of national disgrace to seize another $458 million of Abacha’s loot. America has certified us as sub-human.

This was the conversation across America this week. Children of thieves, like Sadiq, have been given the gumption after years of hiding to come out and open their ‘gutters.’

The $3-6 billion dollars Abacha has been confirmed to have stolen was not his right. It was money of the poor masses. Whatever ‘good’ the Presidency publicized he did is not reason enough to celebrate a thief, now or ever. Today, it is clear to Nigerians who the President and his team of rulers and friends see as a mentor–Abacha.

The Bible in 1 Corinthians 6:10 says: …nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. In John 10:10 it says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” And to those who partner with, defend, support and celebrate thieves, the Bible says in Proverbs 29:24 (KJV): “Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.”

Those Northerners, the family of Abacha and Southerners who defend Abacha are thieves. Those who defend this national insult by Jonathan are thieves. There is no dillydallying on this. Many of us are not saints, but we do not deserve honours if we are thieves. We steal and are quiet about it. Nigeria must never celebrate thieves. By stamping and accrediting thieves we have brought unmeasurable curse upon us if we have not had enough curse already. These awards must immediately be stripped. The nation deserves a national apology. Dear Nigerians, I am sorry. I am sorry for you, I am sorry for me, I am sorry for this nation.

Each penny stolen is amenities deprived and results in deaths. Each kobo stolen means no health care will be provided at some corner, some thief will be free, some road not built properly. They don’t steal from the national cake. There is no national cake; on the contrary, they steal from the pauper’s loaf. These government thieves are assassins, killers of the poor. It is a sickness, they are compulsive thieves, this is why we see they steal more than they can ever use and eventually lose our national income to foreign nations. Hell will be filled with these.

For the Muslims who get carried away with thieves-in-power and denounce their creed in defense of such thieves, a story of the life of Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, the celebrated Umayyad Caliph should hopefully juggle them up a bit. In the early days of Islam, Caliph Umar’s empire stretched from the shores of the Atlantic to the highlands of Pamir (India). He commanded great territory and wealth of the early Muslim state. One day, according to the narration, the Caliph was sitting in his private chamber examining a pile of State documents. The dim light of the room was adding to the serenity and sombreness of the place and the Caliph could scarcely feel the arrival of his wife, Fatima, till she addressed him, “Sire! Will you spare a few moments for me? I want to discuss a private matter with you.” “Of course”, replied the pious Caliph, raising his head from the papers,

“But, please put off this State lamp and light your own, as I do not want to burn the State oil for private talk.”

For the pious leaders, more was at stake and more was expected. They slept hungry unless they were assured that all their subjects had eaten. This was because they knew they will be held to account for misappropriating the people’s food if they ate while their subjects went to bed hungry. People used to run away and avoid positions of power for this very reason. Today we sign-up for executive suits and accommodation in hell by patronizing clear thieves, because they are ‘of our clan,’ or ‘did something.’ The only clan thieves and supporters of thieves belong to is the clan of the burning hell fire, be they government thieves or armed robbers. There is no honour here and nothing to defend, except among the thieves themselves. So if you defend a thief because you believe he is your ‘brother’ or ‘clansman’ then know what brotherly and clan relationship you share the brotherhood of evil and clan of the doomed. It is a shame that thieves are now celebrated. Let them steal but cower in shame or hide away, but honour and awards for thieves only comes from thieves because today there is great honour among Nigeria’s thieves.

These are now very evil times.

Peregrino Brimah

[Every Nigerian Do Something]

Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian

Corruption Has Ballooned Under President Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan

By Dr. Wumi Akintide

When anybody tells you Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world, the first question you should  ask them is what is the frame of their comparison because it is a stretch or hyperbole to make a statement like that, if you do not know what happens in other countries and better still if you have never been to any of those countries.

As the Secretary to the Joint Economic Commissions of Nigeria with the rest of the world, and as Secretary to the Manpower Department  of Nigeria under the Federal Ministry of Establishments  and as the Nigerian delegate for 3 years to C.A.F.R.A.D (African Training and Research Center in Administration for Development) I traveled quite a bit around the world during my 25 years with the Federal Public Service of Nigeria which is far superior to the rag tag the country has today.

I did not steal a dime because I was just too consumed with my globe trotting and the opportunity to see the world beyond the four walls of Nigeria. I traveled extensively within Nigeria in the same capacity but nothing compares to the opportunity I had to visit the four ends of the world either alone or as a member of a delegation. I once flew the Concord from London to New York in less than 3 hours at twice the speed of sound because my delegation was trying to get to New York to attend an important meeting.  The estacode I received ran into thousands of dollars but  what mattered to me was not the dollars per se or the purchase power it made possible for me but the opportunity it gave me to really know the world and to stock my wardrobes with best dresses I could ever dream of as a dapper don in my prime.

I recall flying to Zaire at one point in my career in company of Chief Oluyemi Falae retired Secretary to Government under Ibrahim Babangida who became the first Nigerian Chairman of C.A.F.R.A.D  and my Permanent Secretary at the Manpower Department of Nigeria at that point in time. We were going to Zaire to persuade President  Mobutu Sese seko Kuku Ngbendu Waza Banga not to reject the appointment of one Professor Thomas Kanza of Zaire whom C.A.F.R.A.D has just appointed as the Director-General of C.A.F.R.A.D in succession to Dr. Kariuki of Kenya. Thomas Kanza, a  Harvard multi lingual Professor who spoke French with the eloquence of a Charles De Gaule and English with the dexterity of a Winston Churchill was the first graduate and indigenous  Minister in Congo Kinshasa under the late Patrice Lumumba of blessed memory.

My humble self as the delegate of Nigeria and Chairman of the Recruitment Panel of C.A.F.R.A.D was the Plenipotentiary Chairman of the interview panel where Professor Thomas Kanza came first among the 9 candidates shortlisted from all the member countries of C.A.F.R.A.D. We had thought Mobutu was going to be happy about one of his own becoming the Head of C.A.F.R.A.D. We were wrong. Mobutu wanted his appointment torpedoed because he considered Professor Kanza a "persona non grata" in Zaire for opposing his regime. Chief Falae and myself were on a delegation to persuade Mobutu to change his mind.

Before flying to Zaire, we  had a brief stop-over in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on a courtesy visit to President Houphet Boigny and to inform him about Thomas Kanza’s appointment because Ivory Coast was a member country of C.A.F.R.A.D. The point I want to make in narrating this story is the point I made before that if you say Nigeria is the most corrupt in the world, you  have to tell me compared to which other country?

Chief Falae and I talked a little bit about the level of corruption in Nigeria as we made our way to those countries some 33,000 feet in the air at 600 miles per hour,  but we were both shocked when we found out that Nigeria compared to Ivory Coast and Zaire to mention a few was several shades better to tell you the truth. Many of the African countries don’t even have any system at all talk less about the level of corruption. It was animal farm per excellence.

We were both guests of President Mobutu at his awesome mansion at Gbadolite, his village in Zaire where the fence to his beautiful was gold-plated and the flooring was all marble. You get inside that Taj Mahal you marvel when you see and compare the poverty outside his gate.  Only Charles Dickens would have described the shocking  contrast. You could say the same thing of Ivory Coast under Houphet Boigny who together with his family owned everything and  the best buildings you could find any where in downtown Abidjan. The old man singlehandedly built a Basilica in Abidjan bigger than the one in Rome and he picked his home base, Yamoussoukro to become the new financial capital of Ivory Coast no questions asked. So when you say Nigeria is corrupt, you have got to be aware that the Nigerian situation was only a tip of the iceberg.

That said, there is no question at all that corruption is as old as Nigeria. I will be the first to admit that corruption has reached astronomical levels under the first the shoeless Ijaw minority President that was imposed on Nigeria by another hopelessly corrupt Yoruba General who could be compared to a Houphet Boigny or a Mobutu Sese Seko if you see what I see. Obasanjo had only 20,000 Naira in his Bank account when he was released from prison in 1999 to go head the PDP Government in Abuja. By the time he left office in 2007, Obasanjo was richer than the whole of the country just like his junior in the Military, Ibrahim Babangida who got Julius Berger to build for him free of charge, a fortress and Taj Mahal in Minna that is far superior to the Nigerian Presidential Palace at Aso Rock.

The only Head of State or powerful public officials who have not abused their offices had to be Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Yakubu Gowon and arguably Shehu Shagari. Neither Ahmadu Bello or Tafawa Balewa or Yakubu Gowon or Shagari or Umaru Yar Adua had any mansion to their names for the periods they were all in office. If you compare that to what Obasanjo, IBB and Sani Abacha had done with their own time in office, you would have to start scratching your head. I recall some individuals getting together to build a house for Yakubu Gowon who ruled the country from July 1966 to 1975 without thinking of building a house talk less buying a private jet for himself.

The man who used to flaunt one of his names as “Azikiwe” certainly has not behaved like an Azikiwe at all. We all knew Azikiwe. Ogbuefi Nnamdi was a powerful journalist and an erudite politician. He was the beautiful bride and master compromiser who was ready to sign up to any compromise because his allegiance to Nigeria was total. Even though the man composed the Biafran national anthem, he probably did that to please his kith and kin, his heart was always with Nigeria. He seized the first opportunity he had to escape from Biafria and he headed right away to Dodan Barracks from the Lagos International Airport to be embraced and welcome back by Yakubu Gowon. Azikiwe and his first lady Flora Azikiwe that we all knew, would never ever do half of the things his name sake and first lady have gotten away with in Nigeria as we speak.

I blame Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan for much of the terrible escalation of corruption in Nigeria. Once Mr. Jonathan became the running mate to a terminally-sick Yar Adua, he should have known that he was only a heartbeat from becoming President. If he was the ideal candidate for that job he should have known sooner that Lamido Sanusi was a train wreck waiting to happen like he is now saying. Most Vice Presidents in other countries know they could be called upon to be President any day. They are therefore more prepared and ready than a Bayelsa Governor who got the opportunity of a life time but wasted it by being so weak and incompetent. He should have known sooner that  the Central Bank Governor was a demolition derby if he had any antennas at all. He should have long queried or openly reprimanded Lamido Sanusi after he took over from Umaru Yar Adua.

He should have stopped Lamido in his track before he did more damage to the country’s finances as he is now claiming 5 years after the fact because the man was doing his job and embarrassing the weak and corrupt President in so doing. I used to think the southerners are the smart ones with chains of degrees and Ph.Ds and the northerners were a bunch of “Babu Turenchi Gajere Ba Yaro Ba.” Lamido had nothing to learn from a weak President like Dr. Jonathan Damages with apologies to Sahara Reporters in New York. That was the problem.

When I served under Alhaji Ahmed Joda as my Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education in the 70s, if I had found he was a totally corrupt man, that should have been a signal to me to follow his lead when he later appointed me as the Secretary to the Ministry’s Tenders Board where I could easily have become a multi-millionaire without any question. The man, Alhaji Joda is still alive and well, and could testify to what I am saying.

I recall what the man did to his Deputy Permanent Secretary, another Yoruba man like me and the Chairman of the Tenders Board who had recommended to the Permanent Secretary to have me dismissed from the Service because I dared to stand up to him and call his bluff. Ahmed Joda, one of the incorruptible Permanent Secretaries I have ever been privileged to work under, called his Deputy and myself to his office, brought out the recommendation from his drawer and holding it high, he told his Deputy in my presence, he should go hang his head in shame. He should be the one to be fired and not this young man referring to me.

The fish rots from the head. When the head is rotten, there is nothing to fire the imagination of the follower ship to see the leader as a role model. Because Jonathan is corrupt everybody around him is hopelessly corrupt. Who for God’s sake would have believed that Reuben Abati, a fearless journalist I so much admired before, would be sitting there in the Jonathan Kitchen Cabinet defending the indefensible because he has eaten from the forbidden fruit of corruption under a President Azikiwe Jonathan.

I cannot wait to see the court open the can of worms that the Sanusi’s litigation is bound to unravel in Nigeria about the sordid state of affairs in the P.D.P Presidency of Azikiwe Jonathan. I made a prediction in one of my articles on Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that I would be pleasantly surprised if Okonjo-Iweala’s reputation for  integrity at the World Bank was not rubbished after a year or two in the Nigerian Public Service as the Finance Minister and Economic Coordinating Minister. Those predictions have come true. I could not help but shake my head as I listened to the poor Ngozi defend her stewardship before a committee of the Nigerian House of Assembly and the Senate in Abuja. If Ngozi had said what she told a panel of the World Bank that she was not aware that the N.N.P.C had a secret account abroad, she would have been accused of dereliction of duty at the minimum and she could never have been promoted as the M.D. of the World Bank before her appointment as Finance Minister by Olusegun Obasanjo and her retention by Ebele Jonathan for the same position. The magic of Okonjo-Iweala had been reduced to Professor Peller’s abracadabra in Nigeria. When you function among a bunch of corrupt officials like we have in Nigeria, you either beat them or join them. Ngozi has clearly joined them.

I was at one point recommending that she deserves to be appointed the President of Nigeria because I thought the lady could do no wrong. I thought she would resign and just leave the mess. Knowing what I know today, I would be the last person to think she is qualified to be President of Nigeria. She admitted to  the legislative panel in Abuja that she knew over 10 billion dollars was unaccounted for by the N.N.P.C. What difference does it make if the lost amount was only 10 Billion or 20 Billion Dollars? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been deflated and she is forever tainted in my book and in the book of many Nigerians. A fish rots from the head down. That is precisely what has happened in Nigeria. To your tents O Israel!

The richest Nigerians today must include Alhaji Dangote who is called the richest black man in the world the last time I checked. Once upon a time M.K.O Abiola used to be one of the richest Nigerians. There is Mike Adenuga and Otedola and Kabiyesi Oba Aderuntan, the Olugbo of Ugbo Nla in Ilaje Ese-Odo in Ondo State who is already claiming to be richer than her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England. He owns many top of the line cars like Rolls Royce, Bentley, 8 door Limo and what have you in Nigeria. He made all his money from the same oil from Niger Delta.

There is also Michael Elizade Ade-Ojo my own brother from Ilara Mokin who now has the monopoly of Toyota cars in Nigeria if not the whole of Africa. If we dig deep down to how many of these billionaires make their money, much of it has to be from contracts awarded by the Federal Government and many of the State Governments. I can vouch for Elizade one of the hardest working billionaires in Nigeria that I know very well. Many of the money bags like Elizade are spending their money wisely and making a big difference in Nigeria. Many of them are making sure their wealth outlives them which is good.

I hear Omo Iya Aje, Ahmed Tinubu is one of them and if I get my facts correct our outgoing Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi may well be one of the Nigerian billionaires if it is true he once donated some millions to a Buhari Campaign. Of course the list has to include our Oil Minister, Deziani Madueke, our Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah who bought two bullet-proof BMW cars for 255 million which is 20 times the actual cost. There is our First lady Dame Patience Jonathan and the last and not the least our first Ph.D holder President of Nigeria who has more or less put himself in a box, so to speak. The other Nigerian I can vouch for is Chief Oluyemi Falae who was Secretary to Government and Finance Minister at one point in his career. The guy who lives in Akure and he is very close to me is not a rich man by Nigerian standards because he was far from corrupt.

Not too long ago a medical doctor in America who was convicted for fraud on Medicaid billings was trying to seek for clemency by donating 100,000.00 dollars to the Obama Campaign. As soon as the profile of the donor became known, the money had to be returned to sender because that was viewed as corruption in high places. If the donation was kept, that could possibly lead to the impeachment of President Obama.

Richard Nixon was impeached for the Watergate scandal. No less than 3 mayors and a few politicians have been forced to resign in New Jersey where the current Governor Chris Christie is being actively investigated and could end up losing that office, if the Bridgegate scandal was directly traced to him. The appearance of impropriety is enough to disqualify you for public office in America. Not so in Nigeria. The former Governor of Illinois was impeached and convicted. So was Jesse Jackson Junior. That is America. It is a different story in Nigeria where corruption is trivialized and celebrated and whistle blowers are the ones who are hunted, put in jail or assassinated.

Why do you think the reports of kidnappings has risen to astronomical levels in Nigeria under President Jonathan?  When you are kidnapped in Nigeria, the kidnappers do it to force your family to pay ransom in millions of dollars to rescue you. It is high level corruption which was not as common as it is now because the country has gone down to the dogs.

Corruption has always been in Nigeria for as long as any of us can remember. What we have not witnessed is how far it has risen under President Jonathan who came to office promising to fight it. What he is fighting today are whistle blowers for daring to expose the corrupt individuals in his Government. Nigerians can say all they want about Sahara Reporters, Nigeria must thank God we have Sahara Reporters to do the heavy listing on corruption in Nigeria. But for them, corruption would have been business as usual or completely swept under the carpet by those who benefit the most from it.

Need I say more?

I rest my case.






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