Godfathers, traditional leaders and elders

Past heads of state and presidents were listed as political godfathers. Ibrahim Babangida was defined as “always a factor in Nigeria‘s politics”; Yakubu Gowon and Shehu Shagari were said to “both command respect from the street and elite”; while Muhammadu Buhari was described as having “showed principled positions on anti-corruption and electoral issues” in the 2007 elections. It was different for former military ruler and president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose political influence was described as waning while being termed as “exceptionally wealthy”. Also in the exclusive list were traditional rulers, notably the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Emir of Kano, the Lamido of Adamawa, the Emir of Zazzau, and the Emir of Katsina, who the cable said helped in the past to broker elite compromise,

All these so called traditional leaders are disgrace to their subjects in whatever kingdom they represent. This is a big shame,
This article has proved that Oba of Benin and Sultan of Sokoto are incorruptible and still represent the tradition of their people.

Although he was the nation’s number two citizen at the time, the United States did not consider Goodluck Jonathan worthy of inclusion in a list of our country’s most influential personalities of the period. On October 24, 2008, former US ambassador Robin Sanders sent a cable to her principals in Washington detailing “a list of Nigerian leaders who would play a major role in keeping Nigeria either on track, off track, or trying to put it back on track”.

Justifying the rationale for drawing up the list, Ms. Sanders said, “Understanding who matters, not what matters, is often half the battle in Nigeria.”

Arguing that Nigeria lost its way as soon as Umaru Yar’Adua, now deceased, took over as president, Ms. Sanders said her list contained administration officials, businesspersons and other individuals “who wield tremendous influence and can shape the outcome of whatever current crisis is threatening to unsettle the country”.

But conspicuously missing on the list — which had Turai, the late president’s wife, members of Mr. Yar’Adua inner circle, some governors, legislators, businesspersons, regional leaders and traditional rulers — was our country’s vice president at the time. It is curious that he was omitted from the list despite being a person of tremendous influence in the Niger Delta region and presiding over the amnesty programme (which tried to get the Niger Delta insurgency to abandon militancy). He also performed his very important constitutional role of overseeing the National Economic Council at the time.

The exclusive list

In seven categories, the Americans named their top five most influential people constituting of governors, businessmen, military, traditional leaders, and politicians who would determine Nigeria’s future. Number one on the list was Turai Yar‘Adua, the president‘s wife, who was described as “having a vicious personality; causes great fear among ministers”. It was revealed that ‘Mrs. President’, as she was known, begged her husband “to stay the course as president” when two weeks earlier he had wanted to step aside.”

US officials had contempt for Michael Aondoakaa, Nigeria‘s attorney general at the time, who was tagged “not to be trusted” despite being in Mr. Yar’Adua’s inner circle. The minister was compared to Darth Vader, a character synonymous with evil in the Star Wars movies. He was condemned for his interference in the prosecution of disgraced ex-Delta State governor, James Ibori, and his cronies; and his role in the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Also mentioned as part of President Yar’Adua’s inner circle were wealthy businessman, Dahiru Mangal, said to have close links to fundamentalists in the north; Taminu Yakubu, the president‘s chief economic advisor, believed to be involved in unlawful enrichment schemes; and Yayale Ahmed, present secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and a former classmate of President Yar’Adua’s. The only time the US ambassador mentioned Mr. Jonathan was while making reference to Edwin Clark, a former commissioner of information with seeming influence over Niger Delta militants, and access to the former VP. While Mr. Jonathan was ignored, House of Representatives’ member, Farouk Lawan, was recognised for “spearheading the removal of corrupt Speaker of the House Patricia Etteh”; while Ledum Mittee, leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) was also acknowledged for his efforts in the Niger Delta, ironically the region Mr. Jonathan comes from, and where he had served as deputy and later governor of Bayelsa State.

A cocky senate president

Under a special category, the Senate President, David Mark, holder of the nation’s number three position, was portrayed as “cocky and brash”. A former military general described as a “Babangida boy”, Mr. Mark was regarded as an opportunist who would capitalise on a Supreme Court annulment of President Yar’Adua’s 2007 election to head the country. According to the US cable, Mr. Mark, a supporter of President Obasanjo’s third term bid, had reportedly spent millions of dollars to keep his Senate seat. There were reports, the cable said, that Chief Justice Kutigi was looking into allegations that Mr. Mark bribed judges in order to ensure that he won his appeal against an Electoral Tribunal ruling (the Tribunal largely ruled against Mark).

The governors’ caucus

Five northern governors were singled out for wielding “tremendous influence”. The Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekerau, under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was described as a “disappointment as he has done little for his state”. It was however remarked that he “helped stop PDP from stealing state elections in 2003 and 2007”.

American concerns also dwelt on a key advisor to Mr. Yar’Adua, the Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, and his family, who the US say was “involved in some questionably illicit deals”. The Saraki family was also accused of choosing current EFCC chairperson, Farida Waziri, in order to avoid prosecution. Five southern governors also made the list. The US official noted that Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State under the Action Congress party (AC) “leads the most populous state in the country (despite what the 2006 census claimed)”. In the Niger-Delta, Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State was quoted as telling the American ambassador he received $700 million in oil revenue yearly, while his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, received $1 billion yearly in oil receipts. Both governors were said to be supporters of the military’s Joint Task Force against militants in the Niger Delta.

[b]Godfathers, traditional leaders and elders

Past heads of state and presidents were listed as political godfathers. Ibrahim Babangida was defined as “always a factor in Nigeria‘s politics”; Yakubu Gowon and Shehu Shagari were said to “both command respect from the street and elite”; while Muhammadu Buhari was described as having “showed principled positions on anti-corruption and electoral issues” in the 2007 elections. It was different for former military ruler and president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose political influence was described as waning while being termed as “exceptionally wealthy”. Also in the exclusive list were traditional rulers, notably the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Emir of Kano, the Lamido of Adamawa, the Emir of Zazzau, and the Emir of Katsina, who the cable said helped in the past to broker elite compromises.
Business friends[/b]

US diplomats constantly looked for who had the ears of the “elite” in government. They, in turn, wormed their way up to those personalities. In the cable, Ms. Sanders said she knew well and had access to Aliko Dangote, “a major PDP financier”; and Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank, “with whom the Mission enjoyed a favourable relationship on a number of public diplomacy and AID projects.”

Also on the US list were Femi Otedola of Zenon Oil and Ndi-Okereke Onyiuke, then director-general of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), both close associates to former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Ms. Onyiuke’s relationship with stockbrokers was termed “questionable” for reportedly manipulating shares in favour of her friends. The Ibru family, running strings of companies, including Oceanic Bank and the Guardian Newspaper, were also identified as personalities the US government should watch. Peter Esele, the Trade Union Congress leader, and Olisa Agbakoba, the former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president, were mentioned along with Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Nigeria’s number four man, as being part of the younger generation of influential Nigerians.

Also of concern to Ms. Sanders was President Yar’Adua’s aide de camp (ADC), Mustapha Onoyiveta, whom she concluded, “we believe he is not to be trusted”. The American ambassador said Mr. Onoyiveta, an army colonel, and primarily responsible for Mr. Yar’Adua’s personal security, was to be watched “closely”.

“We also have heard (including from Governor Saraki) that he is not loyal to Yar’Adua,” the ambassador said. “We believe he is a wild card, being the man standing behind Yar’Adua, primarily responsible for his personal security

Godfathers, traditional leaders and elders

Past heads of state and presidents were listed as political godfathers. Ibrahim Babangida was defined as “always a factor in Nigeria‘s politics”; Yakubu Gowon and Shehu Shagari were said to “both command respect from the street and elite”; while Muhammadu Buhari was described as having “showed principled positions on anti-corruption and electoral issues” in the 2007 elections. It was different for former military ruler and president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose political influence was described as waning while being termed as “exceptionally wealthy”. Also in the exclusive list were traditional rulers, notably the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Emir of Kano, the Lamido of Adamawa, the Emir of Zazzau, and the Emir of Katsina, who the cable said helped in the past to broker elite compromise,

All these so called traditional leaders are disgrace to their subjects in whatever kingdom they represent. iThis is a big shame,
This article has proved that Oba of Benin and Sultan of Sokoto are incorruptible and still represent the tradition of their people.

I will not join issues with fake people like bluetooth and other haterz here . My last message to all that have hidden their names and assuming a fake name under NL to insult the bini tradition and culture, your end is near, may you never have fingers to type nonsense on computer ever again cuz you've beaten more than you can chew. by the authority bestowed on me, i hereby extend the curse on eriyo to all our haterz here cuz of jealousy about our kingdom. all of you strongly knows that there is no kingdom in Nigeria that is as organised and respected as the great Benin Kingdom, Oba Ovonramen is a hero who died for the people, and our Oba son can never join the corruption infested nigerian army, Now british don give una mouth to talk, i go see how far una go go with this una enslavement by white ppl, una kingdom don scatter cuz of corruption, and una want use mouth scatter our organised, incorruptible and highly revered kingdom. make una let NL'ers know when the curse don dey happen to una. and anytime una step una leg for benin, una must meet una waterloo. nuff said.

@vigilante, Igbinedion is now irrelevant in Benin affair, just wait for his demise. hope u will be alive to witness it.

@bluetooth, Oba Ovonramen after discovering that he has been betrayed by people like yourself, just like judas did to jesus, surrender himself in order to save me and you and to save the great benin kingdom cuz ppl like you have already leaked alot of secrets to the british on how we run our affair in Benin Kingdom, so betrayal is all i see because the people that were used by the british to fight us were mainly ethnic groups surrounding benin city of which your fore fathers are part of. In all sense, Oba Ovonramen can be classified as a saviour just like your bible Jesus story. The Benin royal family have been sacrificing alot for the Bini ppl, long before the era of Ovonramen, IDEN NO KPOKHUO was the wife of Oba Ewakpe, she volunteered herself to be sacrificed for peace to return to benin. So i'm not surprised why Ovonramen volunteered himself for this same sacrifice and didn't use our arsenals in stock to deal with the british invaders, be informed

@bokohalal, you are one of the pillar erecting the truth about great Benin Kingdom and our monarchical system, Afiangbe ore oghue, Leave them and let them wallow in their ignorance, As for bluetooth, no oduduwa came from up, and no oduduwa came from saudi arabia it was all lies to grab nigeria political power which you will loose very soon, you hear so, deceiver that you are.

@blacgucci, the roman empire still rules indirectly not only in europe but allover the christian community in the world. where is the seat of pope power, in rome, and people from naija (christian community) pay homage to him . be wise.

if all these commentators don use their mouth chop shit finish, dem go come dey use all kind of words like, i be bini born to born, i be edo man, i be this , i be that, make all of una cover una eyes with shame cuz asiokuoba of benin, u hear me so, i dey talk to vanesa and the rest of you wey thinks say you go fit betray us and get away with it, the blood of ovoramen na him dey na im dey hunt una so, whether you like it or not, agha soghe Edo, Edo orodion, Edo gha so gho vban, Edo orye orodion, Anyone who feels he or she has been brainwashed and thinks our culture is voodoo this or voodoo that, then please make you no come benin or edo state at all otherwise we go use juju kill you finish, and if you think your white man god can save you from blackman god, then you better have your head examined at yaba psychiatric home.

Oba of Benin is greater than the pope (the supposed father of homosexual) either you like it or not, just wait for the last day and you will see that the pope is not a representative of almighty Osanobua.

@Bluetooth, your yoruba lies have eaten so deep in your marrow that your kings have now made mess of your yoruba culture, tribes in nigeria do not believe yoruba story anymore cuz your kings are thugs and liars, Oba of BEnin used to be burried in a place we know as UHE which is part of benin kingdom founded by ekaladerhan your supposed oduduwa, , how on earth yoruba concocted a story that says oduduwa comes from up, and second claim is that oduduwa comes from saudi arabia, to analyse this, you guys where looking for political power from the british and hausas thereby choose to lie your way to the top by twisting history in your favour, everyone knows you guys are betrayal so i'm not surprise at all, only the Oba of lagos still knows the truth which is the version of the Oba of benin,

@physicsMHD, sorry i mis read your post for tewmuch, my Apologia to you. and more grace to your able for defending the truth

@downlawal, Oba OF BENIN OWNS THE STATE. SAME WAY BRITAIN PAYS QUEEN ELIZABETH FOR SITTINg ON THE THRONE,
YOUR PPL ARE MORE LOVE PEDDLERS IN EUROPE THAN THE BINI PEOPLE, YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE LOVE PEDDLERS IN UK THATS WHY YOU CAN COME HERE AND SAY NONSENSE FROM THE FOR CORNERS OF YOUR MOUTH, THE CURSE IS ON YOU AND ERIYO CUZ YOU INVITED THIS WRATH, LET US KNOW WHEN YOU ARE DEAD.

@ ikeke - idi, i am for real, read more and you will know what i'm talking about,

@physicsMHD since you decided to be the Oba's enemy (oghionba), it means I'm not your friend, ask questions from your incorruptible fathers and learn more from my earlier comment, For your information, the Oba of Benin still wield authority in Edo kingdoms, Warri kingdom, Onitsha kingdom, Lagos (eko) kingdom, Asaba and so on. Today the Bukingham palace knows that Benin kingdom is for real and not some child's play monarchical system where the king now jump about looking for government contract or even uses thugs to rig election and beat up their wives in the street like what we see all over many kingdoms in nigeria today

@bluetooth, is kidnappings and armed robbery rampant in Benin the way its happens frequently in the East? even with white man cameria (cctv) and computer monitoring, people still break the law, but it reduces the menace in the society, same with the Oba's curse. if you think its not working, then just try yourself and go and kidnap or rob somebody in benin and you will see the repercussion, enslaved minded men

@physicsMHD, you better apologise to the whole Benin Kingdom and withdraw that statement of yours if you do not want this curse on eriyo to get to you and your household, instead of you to lambast eriyo for taking the laws into his hands. are there no legal authority in Benin where eriyo can report any matter between him and the prince to? ppl like yourself are those used by the british to betray our great kingdom. but do not worry as we know all of you now and you will be number 1 target of this curse,

To those brainwashed and enslaved by the white man religion, you have to know that the great OBA OF BENIN is GOD representative on earth for the Great BENIN KINGDOM and all BENDELITES. forget the splitting of Bendel or Midwest into states by selfish element who are out to embezzle oil money.   The great Benin Kingdom spread across modern day benin republic, onitsha, lagos, delta state, parts of bayelsa, parts of kogi, parts of ekiti, ondo etc, Many Nigerians choose to hide this truth cuz they are afraid of benin domination but we are not out to dominate anyone cuz our tradition and culture is sacred for the benin people only. have u forgotten that a Bini man always breaks the kola in a traditional gathering of all ethnic groups in Nigeria? ask your father some questions ma ppl.

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Ekaladerhan a.k.a imadoduwa is yoruba oduduwa, he was a prince in igodomingodo during ogiso dynasty in what is now known as GReat Benin Kingdom. after esagho lied that the priest said the first son must be sacrificed in order for peace to reign in igodomingodo, ogiso had to send his guard to execute his first son prince ekaladerhan so that peace can return to the land. the guard had pity on him and let him go instead they sacrificed an animal and came back to tell the king that the sacrifice has been carried out. ekaladerhan wander through the forest and changed his name to imadoduwa (meaning path of safety and wealth) which the yoruba corrupted to be oduduwa , he founded many villages on his way which are still evident till today and later arrive at yoruba land and then because he was a strong medicine man, he became the king of the yoruba ppl in ile ife meanin i ran to safety in bini. , In order to confirm the truth in this story, pls ppl help me ask obasanjo and his yoruba ppl why bini chief left to uhe which is ile ife in search of their prince that was supposed to be sacrificed and later set free by the guards? how did oduduwa communicated with the chiefs if he cant speak bini or understands? And in those days, is it not when a place is conquered that the conqueror will dictate who becomes the king or leader? I never heard that yoruba and edos fought a war before. Will oduduwa so foolishly give out his last born to a total stranger like the benin chiefs? Why is yoruba origin having too many versions? I think british have a hand in this yoruba conspiracy to thwart the true history of BEnin and YOruba. How come Benin and OYo where large empires which is the two places omonoyan which yoruba corrupted to oranmiyan ruled. What happened to the other sons of oduduwas empire. So obj wants to say taht he knows yoruba history more than the Oba of lagos. Obj is a liar and and a fraudulent man who ran nigeria down so his words will not be taking seriously. Efe hk

If you check most of these so called nigerians that are into crime in south Africa, china, Malaysia, Indonesia etc you will find out they are from eastern part of Nigeria. Since the Nigerian govt destroyed their Biafra vision, they have sworn to make Nigeria a laughing stock which it has turned to. No be their fault sha cuz govt is
the worst enemy of Nigeria

These wazobia shit has destroyed Nigeria . Firstly these three tribes has been breeding corruption ever since Nigeria became independent, one of these tribes is a seperatist which is the Igbo, they even caused a war that lead to the death of innocent nigerians. The other tribe which is the Hausa is an islamic extremist, they have been killing innocent nigerians in the name of an imported religion giving to them by arabu, they have ruled Nigeria from independence as if it's a cattle farm. The last one which is the Yoruba is a betrayer of the other two tribes, they with Hausa sharing power when the going was good but after June 12 annulment, they have to look for an ally somewhere in order to get the presidency so they came up with the idea of zoning arrangement. After obj tenure, he has to hand pick a sick yaradua to be president whom he knows will not make it thru ist term in office and that zoning will be dumped after Jonathan becomes president (arranger govt). Now tell me good ppl of Nigeria how can good governance come out of these three tribes that have destroyed Nigeria to the current level. Wazobia should be ashamed of themselves for decentegrating our beloved country to it's current state. What baffles me most is that Nigeria wealth they dying to control is in the south south soil and they are hiding behind imported religion which is not what their fore fathers practiced. Other tribes that have not ruled Nigeria should be given fair chance to do so eg bini, ijaw, urhobo, Efik ibibio, afemai, ishan, etc. Enough of Islamist extremist govt, enough of seperatist, enough of betrayal govt. Death to majority and minority division cuz no one tribes can claim Nigeria to be his or hers apart from your state.

enemy of progress, make una leave oshiomhole alone and make una wey be criminals and illegal immigrant beware of Edo state because you guys can no longer commit crime in edo state thats why you are shouting and crying foul, this project has come to stay with the good people of edo state whether u like it or not, we have proven that we are the heart beat of Nigeria thats why changes are stating from edo state.

@ oisehumen
I am not on the pay roll of edo state government, and you shouldn't be on adams payroll before you can support what is good.  If i may ask, have you ever travelled outside nigeria before, if yes, then you already know what i'm talking about but if no, try to visit other countries and see for yourself, The reason why Nigeria is failing in all aspect is because of lack of biometric identity card system that can help to check crime, fraud  and plan for the masses. Have you seen a nomadic farmer who does not know the number of cattles in his cattle farm?  and yet they will tell you the population of nigeria is 150 million after scamming all citizens with national population census, going from one house to the other to count people instead of relying on the nigeria immigration service to look into their database and tell us how many people we have in nigeria through biometric identity card. It is the responsibility of immigration (government) in any country to know how many people that are citizens and resident in a country in order to fish out any alien that has entered the country legally or illegally.

It's a shame that some ppl critices the introduction of biometric card for edo indigenes and resident by Adams oshiomhole , well it's not their fault cuz since they born, they have never been identified as a citizen of their state or country. Electronic I'd card can help the growth of a state or a country in many ways. Firstly, it's going to eradicate ghost workers from other neighbouring states, and job will be available for edo people who are in the database. Secondly, with smart I'd card, police can randomly check crime in the state without having to torture a suspect to confess, all they will do is take a finger print and forensic evidence to combat crime. Thirdly, planing for edo masses will be very easy to achieve infrastructurally, basic amenities and the rural communities will have sense of belonging with the government of the state.  Investors are known to do businesses in a state or country were the citizens are identified electronically . Welfare assistance from the government to the less privilege will be dealth with by this I'd card project. Transactions between edo ppl and outside world will be made easy electronically. The time our king omon oba put a curse on kidnappersand criminals in the state, many ppl cry foul and said all sort of derogatory words and flimsy comments and asked that we should sort this menace with 21st century weapon which is technology.  But now that biometric identity has come to stay with the traditional curse that was placed on criminals, edo state is heading to a crime free society.  Any haters or criminals that is uncomfortable with this revolution in edo state, better relocate or if you are caught without your I'd , u will be deported back to your state or rot in jail.  Comrade governor I thank u for this project cuz I know how the international community has been treating us because we are not properly identified. Instead we result in engaging in all kinds of oluwole paper to travel abroad and some are lucky to beat the immigration sysem and some are deported back to Nigeria. Those that succeeded will be looking for a way to marry a citizen of that country in order to be identified. Those shouting for power light electricity, should just wait and see cuz I believe oshiomhole will wait for Jonathan to fix electricity, but if Jonathan is too slow to act, then oshiomhole will then come out with edo state power project (ESpp) and the next thing we need is international airport, state police, edo state immigration, etc      Efe, hong kong

some of una for this  forum especially retarded 190 wey call imsef igbo boi, dey use una mouth dey chop poo because una comot for una state come use edo state resources finish, then  comit all kind of crime for benin so that people go think say na bini ppl dey do am. the retarded 190 or igbo mumu boi wey say make them burn benin na your fatha house and your entire family go catch fire and consume your entire household.  on the issue of who is giving nigeria a bad name have you heard that bini ppl are on death row in prisons around the world?, in indonesia it is igbo majorly and yoruba in china it is igbo and yoruba in hong kong it is igbo and yoruba in saudi arabia it is hausa yoruba in south africa it is igbo ppl not to talk of the crime u guys are commiting in london america japan etc, After Biafra war, the retarded 190 that called himself igbo boi ran to benin for food and safety as a refuggee and we harbour you in our town ,  in return you guyz started kidnapping ppl and doing all kind of robery etc,  the average Edo man is a decent and highly cultured,  And if you take a good look at Edo state, You will find out that we shelter every one from nigeria,  so now you tell how many Edo ppl can you boast of in your eastern states.  On the issue of Love peddlers, you should try and visit ugbague,  and then you will find what your girls from all over nigeria are doing with their bodies there especially the ibos and yorubas,  and this idiot will still open his mouth and say rubbish about Decent Benin PPL,       OBA GHA TOPKERE, ISEEEEEEEE.