West Ham FC of England’s darting striker, Emmanuel Emenike has ruled out the possibility of returning to the Super Eagles, following the exit of the team’s former chief coach, Sunday Oliseh.

Emenike revealed to Sportinglife on Sunday night that he did not quit the Eagles because of any form of rift with the team’s former coach stressing: “I’m done with the Super Eagles, and I am making it clear again that I am not going back.”

According to Emenike: “It’s my decision and I am not going to reverse it, I am sorry if I have offended anybody regarding this but no Eagles return for me.

“Like I said, I didn’t quit because of anybody, it was a personal decision. Oliseh didn’t force me out of the Super Eagles as it was reported, I dont need anybody to speak with me before I take a decision. It was my decision and I won’t reverse it.

“I don’t have grudges with anybody but I want to focus on my career and play better for my team. Right now, I’m happy because I am playing my game and everything is working perfect. I can always wish Super Eagles well because I have been a fan for a long time.

Other stories http://www.speshsworld.com/emenike-rejects-super-eagles-return/

The firestorm generated by the Code of Conduct, CCT arraignment of Senate president, Bukola Saraki over alleged false declaration of his assets when he was governor of Kwara State has taken the dimension of political witch hunting. At least, that’s the view of his numerous supporters, especially fellow senators who came to that conclusion after the recent Supreme court’s denial of the Senate president’s prayer to prevent CCT from further prosecuting him. In a terse statement, majority of the members of the red chambers, reaffirmed their confidence in Saraki’s leadership while pledging to sustain their unflinching support for their embattled leader throughout his travail.

Left with no other option, and perhaps buoyed by the exaltation of his colleagues, Saraki is now looking forward to his day in court, early next month where he will either shine or melt.

Normally , witch hunting is not an uncommon part of politics and anyone who is in doubt, should ask Hillary Clinton , former First Lady, senator and secretary of state of the United States of America, and presently the Democratic Party front runner for the White House.

The ‘banana peel,’ to borrow the Nigerian lingo, deliberately put on the path to the Oval Office for Mrs Clinton to step on, slip and fall to prevent her from getting there is known to all keen observers of the race to the presidency of the USA.

That’s why a sad event on an ordinary day, during her time as Secretary of State, such as the attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, where the USA ambassador, Chris Stevens and a couple of other compatriots were killed by Libyan terrorists, became a sort of albatross that would define her candidacy for the presidency.

Read more http://www.speshsworld.com/saraki-as-the-storm-gathers/

The General Officer Commanding, (GOC) 1 Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade has said that, the Nigerian Army has no apology for its recent encounter with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, popularly known as the Shi’ite sect.

The GOC said that, the Army cannot fold its arms and watch any group or sect threaten the peace and stability of the country.

Addressing newsmen at the headquarters of 1 Division in Kaduna on Wednesday, the GOC said, the Army has no issue with the Shi’ites, saying “they are like any other sect in the land, but as long as they obey the law of the land no problem, but if any group chooses to challenge the authority of the land, it means they do not value the sanctity of life and the constitution of Nigeria.”

The GOC added that the military has no issue with the Islamic sect, pointing out that even some military personnel are Shiites by religious calling, but they respected and obeyed constituted authority, and the military has no issue with them.

According to him, “Army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country, and so we have no apology any group, either Shiites Islamic sect, Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.

“We don’t have any issue with the Shiites or any sect at all in the land as long as they obey the law of the land. But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution of the land.

“Even in the military, we have Shiites members, but there is no issue with them because they are law abiding citizens.

“But we have issues with those who creates a State within a State, and our rules of engagement are very clear, that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full blown.

“We know the business of violence but we apply it professionally if the peace of the land is being threatened, so we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence stay off,” he said.

The GOC however insisted that the Army remains the guidance of Nigerian democracy, but stated that, an attempt on the Chief of the nation’s Army is akin to an attempt on a sitting president.

Giving an overview of the activities of the division in 2015, the GOC said, “We want to re assure the members of the North West zone that the army will do everything possible as mandated by the constitution of Nigeria to protect our people and to enable the people go about their activities without molestation.”

[url]http://www.speshsworld.com/zaria-clash-with-shiites-we-have-no-apology-army/[/URL]

If you find a great place where you can buy stuff, you won’t need to ask how to do it. Open, for instance, LINK, and you’ll see how a single well-developed website is able to make your life much easier. You can operate it with the help of your laptop or Smartphone, sitting at some cozy place, and you can do it anytime you want. Speaking about the assortment, it pleasantly surprises. Here you can find literally everything – from some things for your pets to a new house. So, if you decide to buy a pre-owned car, go straight to this website.

There is Vehicles category, which in its turn is divided into some other smaller categories, offering quite diverse things. Click here available cars and you’ll get the full assortment of pre-owned cars, available on the website. Buying is simple. There are some tags and filters (for instance, model, color, city etc) that can be applied in order to make the list more specified and corresponding to your requests. After this, you can study closely those adverts you find the most attractive. Then choose what is appropriate for you and contact an owner before someone does it before you. Using the website takes just several steps: register/sign in; post/find an advert; andwait/contact an owner. Nothing complicated at all.

For those who are using the service for the first time, there are safety reminders and Safety Tips section with useful advice concerning how to avoid frauds.

Source - Speshsworld

Immediately President Buhari released the list of his 21 ministers, I noticed a barrage of criticisms from some Nigerians especially from the opposition, PDP. To them, the long wait to get the ministers list released is not just worth it. The wailing wailers raised some questions that prompted me to write this piece:“Is this their so-called first-eleven? Where are the Buhari’s saints? Is the list worth the long wait?” Some say they are page boys of corruption. Others say: Is this the list Buhari kept to his chest? Why should the President keep this kind of list to his chest? According to them there is nothing so special about the president’s list. It is just the recycling people who were part of the rot in the past.

Now, contrary to the insinuations from those who seek to hide and suppress the truth about the successful candidates, I make to say that I know some of them and I know they possess the required capacity and capability to assist President Buhari in rebuilding Nigeria. Those who do not know President Buhari very well may not understand this list. Those who are not in the know of what happens in the engine room of APC may not know this. The mockers and haters of this list are just mere spectators. They are angry. They are bad losers.

For record purposes, let me tell us a little bit of what I know about ten of these ministers, namely: Amaechi, Fashola, Fayemi, Ibe Kachikwu, Ngige, Onu, Audu Ogbeh, Lai Mohammed, Udo Udoma, and Aisha Al-Hassan. Those who know about the remaining eleven can help to tell Nigerians about them. Speaking strictly for myself, I know that there is no way Amaechi, Fashola, Fayemi would have missed this list. Given their deep involvement in the Change Project and their antecedents as trail blazers in the states where they served as governors, I know that the list will not be complete without them. Time and space will not permit me to recall their monumental contributions to 2015 change project of electing Mr. Buhari as President. Rotimi Amaechi took the biggest risk of standing for Mr. Buhari while ditching former President Goodluck Jonathan, his brother, in a country held by the throat by ethnic and primordial politics. This is remarkable and courageous at a time like this. Time and space will not permit me to showcase the achievements of these three musketeers as governors and their colleagues like Kwankwaso, Speaker Tambuwal and others. To all intents and purposes, these governors proved that Nigeria is not a hopeless or basket case. They showed serious signs of commitment to quality leadership, politics or no politics. Now, if I may ask: Did you witness the seamless primary elections that produced Buhari as APC candidate in Lagos? These men played a critical role to make it a reality. Please go to Ekiti, Rivers and Lagos to see their marks on the sands of time. One by one they started counting the APC governors until forces of history stopped PDP on March 28, 2015.

Ibe Kachikwu, who is the first person President Buhari appointed to head NNPC must be someone who knows what he has been doing in the oil industry. Mr. Kachikwu must have had track records of leadership competence and service delivery to attract Mr. Buhari’s attention. I may not have known him that much but his actions and deeds since he took up that prestigious appointment tells me that he must be among the best in the industry having worked extensively in the Mobil Producing and Exxon Mobil for years. His pedigree and carriage must have paved way for him to assume leadership of this critical sector seen by many as a cash cow to plunder with reckless abandon. Mr. Kachikwu is a huge brain and what he does not know is not worth knowing.

How many of us know that it was Chris Ngige that opened the eyes of people of Anambra that something good can come from government. Go to Anambra State today and you will see his monumental legacies. Succeeding governments have leveraged on his solid foundation to add values to that state. Chris Ngige has remained consistent and faithful to ACN and then to APC. He was lobbied by PDP several times but he stood his ground and remained committed .

What of Ogbonnaya Onu? This is one of the most consistent politicians I have ever seen in Nigeria. He remained with Buhari’s ANPP, CPC and APC without shifting ground. He did not betray his party despite its failings in 2003, 2007 and 2011 until Buhari won the election on March 28 2015. He was not bought with money. He was not lured with perks of office. He remained a man to be trusted, a man who saw tomorrow and a man who is not hungry.

How about Audu Ogbeh? Since this decent man left PDP, he did not look back. There was nothing PDP did not do to bring him back to the fold but not Audu Ogbeh. He remains a strong character, a disciplined politician with consummate experience to help President Buhari succeed. His strong character to keep his head when others were losing theirs endeared him to many including the leadership of APC. Audu Ogbeh is not a bread and butter politician. He can be trusted.

Now enter Aisha-Al Hassan, the woman called Mama Taraba. The former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Taraba State. A great woman who broke the vicious cycle and the jinx that governorship positions are not meant for men alone in Nigeria. In Taraba, this great woman battled men almost to a standstill and nearly clinched the governorship of state. They rigged her out at the dying minute but this Amazon will return. I am sure her courage and deep commitment to bringing service to her people in Taraba endeared her to President Buhari. We need her input and energy in the struggle for a new Nigeria.

How about Lai Mohammed? He remains undoubtedly one of the most articulate and versatile Publicity Secretary of any Party in Africa. He is soft-spoken, eloquent, tactical, resolute proactive and hyper active, who understands the rules of engagement and rules of law and deployed these great arsenals to demolish PDP. His nomination is a reward for hard work. He is my Oga-At-The-Top in this business and he deserves my respect.

In 1999, the late Bola Ige of blessed memory told me about Udo Udoma. He promised that he will introduce me to this great man who belongs to the honest and dedicated people that will reposition Nigeria for greatness. Even though I did not meet him eventually, what Bola Ige told me about him continues to linger in my innermost chambers. A good man remains a good man any and I am sure President Buhari brought him into the saddle as a result of his character and illustrious background.

I may not know the pedigree of the other 11 nominees, but I know that what informed the decision of President Buhari to pick these 10 must have informed his decision also to pick these 11. President Buhari will never make the mistake his critics, election losers and wailing wailers expect him to make. President Buhari has started well to the shame of his critics and miserable losers. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. He has a powerful and formidable team who can make the difference at a time like this. All the President needs now is support and encouragement to deal decisively with the economic and political saboteurs who have held the nation hostage in the past 16 years. These people cannot go down without a fight but I know President Buhari and his ministers will be equal to the task. Nigeria must progress or we all perish. The choice is ours.

Joe Igbokwe is the Publicity Secretary of the ruling APC in Lagos State.

- See more at: http://www.speshsworld.com/buharis-ministers-critics-and-wailers-by-joe-igbokwe/#sthash.zMy1D8ZV.dpuf

On 20 September 2015 coordinated bomb attacks in the satellite towns of Nyanya and Kuje, near Abuja, claimed about 20 lives while over 40 others sustained various degrees of injuries. At about the same time another set of coordinated blasts rocked the town of Maiduguri, claiming about 80 lives with several others seriously injured. Just today (Wednesday, October 7 2015), 18 people were reportedly killed in Damaturu, Yobe state. The attacks by suspected Boko Haram terrorists have continued with regularity, despite the consensus that one of the areas President Muhammadu Buhari has shown great resolve so far has been in his determination to end the Boko Haram terrorism. Buhari in fact gave the military three months to defeat Boko Haram and end their insurgency and terrorism.

The continued resilience of Boko Haram under the Buhari regime – at a time when the soldiers battling them are believed to be well motivated and well-equipped – call for a re-thinking of some of our earlier notions about the sect:
One, the continued resilience of the terrorist sect negates some of the conspiracy theories that for long helped to undermine any concerted action against the group. For instance, among the prevailing conspiracy theories was that the group was being sponsored by eminent Northern politicians to make the country “ungovernable” for former President Jonathan because he is a Christian and from a minority ethnic group in the south. Buhari had been accused under this theory of being one of the sponsors of Boko Haram and the only evidence often adduced by the accusers was that he was ‘nominated’ by the sect as a negotiator when the Jonathan administration was exploring the option of dialogue with the group. If this ‘theory’ is correct, Buhari’s victory over Jonathan in the last election would have mellowed the group. But it hasn’t.

Another version of this conspiracy theory was that Boko Haram was being sponsored by former President Jonathan –either to depopulate the north ahead of the 2015 general elections or to make Islam look bad in order to enable the former president to use religion as a tool of mobilization for his candidacy. That Boko Haram has continued to cause mayhem despite the fact that Jonathan is no longer in power again negates any suggestion that he was sponsoring the group –or that he deliberately did not do enough to stop them because it was a “northern problem”. In fact, rather than Jonathan being the sponsor as the conspiracy theorists claimed, the army recently accused some elders in Bornu state of deliberately undermining their efforts to defeat Boko Haram because they were profiting from the situation.

The above two conspiracy theories were so strongly believed that it made many Nigerians indirectly complicit in the murderous activities of Boko Haram. For instance when a state of emergency was first declared against Boko Haram in May 2013, some eminent Northern elders declared that the measure amounted to a declaration of war against the north. In the same vein, when the Chibok girls were kidnapped, some key supporters of the Jonathan regime openly doubted the kidnap story and believed it was part of a grand design by the noth to bring down the former president’s government. The belief in this conspiracy theory prevented the Jonathan administration from moving quickly to locate the girls after they were kidnapped.

Two, the resilience of Boko Haram attacks in the face of increased onslaught by the Nigerian soldiers and increasing loss of their members would suggest that we have all along underestimated both the numerical strength of Boko Haram, the level of motivation and sophistication of its members as well as the members’ fighting spirit. I believe such underestimations largely account for what will appear to be exaggerations on the narratives of inadequate equipment for our soldiers and poor morale as explanations for why our ‘otherwise gallant soldiers’ were unable to finish off the supposedly rag-tag and ill-equipped snipers in a matter of days.

- See more at: http://www.speshsworld.com/re-thinking-boko-haram/#sthash.5gT93wAR.dpuf

The former Santiago Bernabeu player believes the French champions are Europe’s elite, alongside his former club and rivals Barcelona.



Zinedine Zidane believes Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are the two favourites to win the Champions League this season and feels the Ligue 1 outfit are a better team than Bayern Munich.

PSG have suffered three consecutive quarter-final eliminations since returning to the Champions League in 2012.

The French champions have beaten Malmo and Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening two Group A fixtures of this season’s competition but face a double-header against Madrid next.

“For me, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are the two best clubs around in Europe at the moment,” Zidane told Canal+.

“Paris know the French league inside out, they are on another level to their rivals.

“They are the best two teams for me, perhaps alongside Barcelona. Bayern are slightly behind those teams.”

- See more at: http://www.speshsworld.com/psg-better-than-bayern-zidane/#sthash.CPniQVKO.dpuf

Address by Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, at the celebration of Nigeria’s 55th Independence Anniversary, at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, 1st October 2015.



PROTOCOL

I am highly delighted to witness this commemoration of our country’s 55th independence anniversary. It is the first since we got the chance to reclaim our country. Nigeria and its people have traveled a tortuous path over the last few decades. We are nowhere close to where we ought to be, no thanks to the legacy of bad governance, corruption, abuse of power and disunity that has been foisted by leaders who could have done better.

Yet we can celebrate the small mercies that have been afforded us. Despite our differences, andthe many tensions and stresses that have buffeted our land, we remain bound together as a united country. We can celebrate because 2015 is the year that the peoples of this country decided it was time to begin the rebirth of a nation. Against the most concerted campaign ever mounted by a government to divide the people it was meant to lead, Nigerians refused to be set against each other. I pay tribute to the many sacrifices that were made to make the historic elections of this year possible. What the voters of 2015 did was to make democracy a bulwark of patriotism.

As we joyfully celebrate today’s occasion, Iurge us all to remember that we are only at the beginning. The tasks before us as a country and a people are immense. The challenges are so huge that they can easily disorient the unwary, and insert depression where resolve is needed. As Icontemplate the magnitude of the job at hand, I am encouraged by aspects of the Nigerian character. We have proven repeatedly that when we set our heart to a challenge, we can master it. But our collective weakness is that we demonstrate this burst of creative energy only in emergencies, in moments of crisis when the consequence of failure is too tragic to contemplate. Yet episodic feats of competence and performance are not sufficient to build a country. Such feats certainly inspire, but we should strive to be a land of people who consistently do our best in every assignment, small or large.

The opportunity we have been given for national rebirth imposes on us a duty to take steps to improve the life chances of people. We have a duty to improve access to jobs, education and healthcare. And we can do this only in a climate of peace and security. I urge us all to respect and uphold the humanityof others, and to foster harmony in all our little corners. The ordinary people of this state have not benefitted from the division, acrimony and violence that the entrepreneurs of ethnic andreligious hatred have unleashed. Enough is Enough!

We have been delighted by the parade and the marches put on today. I say a big thank you to our people in uniform for a good show. Our school children and young people have also given us a grand spectacle, and they deserve our applause. They demonstrated what can be achieved through discipline and rigorous preparation.

On this occasion convened to celebrate independence, Iwish to remind us that as we liberated our country, we must also free our people by making the light of quality education accessible to all. Education is emancipation! The provision of free basic education in decent schools and with skilled teachers is one of the priorities this government will accomplish in its four-year term. We have spent the past few months planning school repairs, the provision of school furniture andthe training of teachers. Today, we move to declare a state of emergency in education. We ask for your support as we begin to implement extraordinary measures in the educational sector. Tomorrow by God’s Grace, the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology will announce the raft of measures that will be taken to ensure that our schools’ infrastructure, tools andteacher quality are improved significantly within the next six weeks. We are determined that one legacy of the rebirth of our country will be the restoration of education as a tool to free our people from the fetters of ignorance.

On this occasion, the Kaduna state government decided to extend mercy to prisoners. Pursuant to Section 212 of the Constitution, the prerogative of mercy was exercised in favour of 14 prisoners. The government commuted the death sentences of five convicts, who will now serve prison time. Five prisoners serving sentences of three years andabove were released on the basis of good behavior of time served already. In addition, three prisoners were released on the basis on age while one person was released due to ill health. In doing our duty to show mercy, the government warns that it will not tolerate crime and threats to security.

I will not end my speech without conveying the message of our leader and mentor President Muhammadu Buhari on the APC’s philosophical reason for being, and contained in his nationwide broadcast earlier this morning. I quote him verbatim:
“And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about… Change does not just happen. You and Iand all of us must appreciate that we all have our part to play if we want to bring CHANGE about. We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office andpublic trust. We must change our unruly behavior in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.”

Once again, I wish us all a happy 55th independence anniversary.
Thank you for listening.

God bless Kaduna State
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Source = Spesh's World

From Spesh's World

One may not be enthused by the spectacle of a fifty-four year old man wedding an 18 year old woman. One may even be appalled. But neither that distaste nor disapproval is sufficient to define the union of HRH MuhammaduSanusiII and Sa’adatu Barkindo-Musdafa as illegal. The bride is not a minor by any definition of the term. As such there is absolutely no need for some of the puerile name-calling andrather personal attacks that have attended this affair.

Beneath many (though not all) of the commentary on this issue is the depressingly familiar rasp of scorn, condescension and that specie of self-delusion that posits a Western-inflected Southern Nigerian sophistication ranged against the backwardness of the Northern Nigerian Muslim. It is a terrible thing. For these commentators, this has been an opportunity to rehash stale clichés and prejudicial stereotypes about Northern backwardness. Some of the remarks have been disgusting.

One wonders at the curious reluctance to attribute any agency to the princess. Could it be because she is a Northern Muslim woman? Does it stem from the idea that Northern Muslim women, however educated, are supposed to be by nature docile and subservient? Are 18 year old brides really a rarity elsewhere in Nigeria?

Much of this so-called child rights advocacy on parade recalls the ironic trait of those misanthropes who claim to love mankind and hate actual people. In this instance, it mirrors the absurdity of people who profess a concern for Northern children (“child brides”) which manages to express itself as a toxic contempt for Northerners and the North.

Read full article http://ww.speshsworld.com/the-princess-bride-and-other-non-stories-by-chris-ngwodo/

I made this argument about a year ago when the rumour of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi’s marriage to a “minor” raised some dusts. The age of consent varies according to culture and religion, I had argued.

I don’t know why one would combust energy criticising cultural practices that are contrary to his religion, culture or warped intuition. Nigeria has two major religions which don’t prohibit marriage at the age of 18. The Constitution doesn’t also prohibit it.

Writing about the age of consent, Professors Richard Wortley and Stephen Smallbone said girls married very young in European society prior to the 19th century.

“In Medieval and early modern European societies, the age of marriage remained low, with documented cases of brides as young as seven years, although marriages were typically not consummated until the girl reached puberty (Bullough 2004). Shakespeare’s Juliet was just 13, and there is no hint in the play that this was considered to be exceptional. The situation was similar on the other side of the Atlantic; Bullough reports the case in 1689 of a nine-year-old bride in Virginia. At the start of the nineteenth century in England, it was legal to have sex with a 10 year-old girl.”

That was the Western society, which guides our sense of reasoning. If you think you are copying the Western society by criticising the marriage of an 18-year-old, then you are wrong.

One might say what I quoted above is an old practice. Yet, currently, in England and Wales, the minimum legal age for marriage is 16, and that is with the consent of parents. At 18, both the male and female are free to marry even WITHOUT parental consent.

Ever wondered why the Westerners still celebrate ‘Sweet 16′ parties? In the Western society that is characterised by debauchery and all manners of secular practices, the 16th birthday party is marked because it is considered a bridge between youth and adulthood.

In view of Islamic religious practices and tradition, I know Muslims won’t whine over someone’s marriage to an 18-year-old. In our village, hardly can you spot a 18-year-old that is not married. Ina typical Hausa household, you can’t claim not to have a grandma, a mother, an aunt or a sister who was married off before 18.

As I noted last year, in Christianity, canon law previously provided that the minimum age for marriage was 12; yes, 12 years. The law was later repealed in 1917 and the age for marriage from 12 to 14 for girls and 16 for boys. But why would a true Christian condemn a practice allowed by his religion?

Even if you are an adherent of Buddhism, the founder of the religion, Gautama Buddha, married his wife at the age of 16.

Of course there are certain cultural practices that are universally condemned like the caste system, slavery and incest. But despite the near-universality of incest taboo, among the Polahi nomadic tribe of the Gorontalo province of Indonesia, incest is not a taboo. It is permitted for father to marry daughter or mother to marry son, and so on. In the Polynasian societies/languages, there is nothing called “incest” because it just a normal practice. You have to respect their culture since they perhaps see the exogamy we might consider a morally right practice as a bad practice.

What I still do not know is the basis on which the argument is specifically hinged. Is it on religion or culture? The sense of cultural relativism is poor in Nigeria.

I see criticisms to Emir Sanusi as an affront and insult against my religion and culture. When the 72-year-old publisher of the Champion newspaper, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu impregnated and later married a 26-year-old, I didn’t talk because I have respect for people’s choices. I was also mum when 82-year-old Chief Tony Anenih married a damsel in her early 20s. When Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu married Bianca, I didn’t raise alarm over their wide age difference. We see it as a triumph of love. When the 76-year-old Alaafin of Oyo married a 16-year-old, I didn’t whimper. When 74-year-old Italian fashion designer, Roberto Cavalli, frolics on the beach with a girl in her early 20s, hell doesn’t break loose. When King Mswati of Swaziland picked a 18-year-old as his 14th wife, the Swazis saw nothing wrong with it because it is part of their culture.

A Hausa proverb observes that if you are hated, you will be criticised for raising dust when you fall into water.

I think we deserve some respect from our brothers from different religious and cultural backgrounds in order to live in harmony.

Source: SpeshsWorld

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

Once, I was landscaping the backyard of the Kaduna house of Maj-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), a nephew of his approached me and sought my assistance to gain admission into the Nigeria Defence Academy. I answered him, “Sorry, I do not know anyone there.” Then I asked him a question that would reveal one of the most important hallmarks of Buhari. I said, “Why would you come to me when Oga is your uncle. Let him just give you a note to an officer there and you will surely be admitted into the Academy.” His reply was simple: “General does not issue note to anyone.” That was exactly twenty years ago, in September 1995, when Buhari was PTF Chairman.

Then came the building of the Kaduna Trade Fair complex in February, 1998. I begged the consultants, Afri-Projects Consortium, to consider me for its landscaping. They refused. I rushed to Buhari, for the first time, as his amiable Dr., to intervene on my behalf by “talking” to the consultants. Being a very shy person, I remember, Buhari did not answer me directly. He simply said, “Dr. I only hope it is not too late.” From then, I knew I have lost the job. It was the biggest job I dreamt of handling then. And so, helplessly and very bitterly, I saw it left in the bills the main contractor, G. Cappa, to whom it meant very little.

Since then, I continued to notice in Buhari the same hallmark of non-interference in affairs of others or tarkuhuu maalaaya’niihi as a hadith would put it. It became most glaring in the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, when different aspirants including those who were close to him thought that he will stamp his feet in their support during the contests for the party’s seats and the conflicts that ensued after the primaries of the 2011 elections. Each of them was disappointed that he did not come to his aid. He expects that people should do what is reasonable, obey rules and be honest in conduct. Agreed, many of them will resort to dropping his name at the party headquarters in order to edge their opponents.

It is this standard of conduct he set for himself and it is this bar that he expects others to reach, an expectation that led him many times to disappointment when many of his associates fail to live up it. “The conduct of some politicians is just horrible. I wonder how they even go about it”, he once told me, when Ivisited him to complain to him about an ordeal that I painfully went through for six years since the 2003 elections. Yet, despite the disappointments, Buhari remained where he has always been since his days in the military.

This policy of PMB does not go without its casualties though. There are many politicians, as he observed, that could really be horrible in conduct. When they are dangerously desperate, they will prefer to scuttle everything than give up to reason or accept defeat. This became manifest when his party, the CPC, went to the 2011 gubernatorial elections with multiple candidates in states that it expected to win easily. In my state, Bauchi, it had four on election day. This accorded the PDP an easy victory.

Read more - http://www.speshsworld.com/the-lesson-that-new-ministers-saraki-and-apc-must-learn-about-buhariby-dr-aliyu-u-tilde/

Dennygirl, e be like say you don dey like wetin men want. Nice one.
I like you sha.

Milestone: Start of the fifth month of Muhammadu Buhari’s “Change” era.



The week commences with the Nigerian leader’s appearance at the 70th United Nations General Assembly. It will be his first as an elected leader, andhe is expected to be received with respect.

Buhari arrives at the UN at an important moment: the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that Nigeria made such a historic failure of, andthe commencement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will replace—and hopefully correct—it.

As one who has advocated that Buhari probe projects, not persons, I believe the MDGs are one of the most important projects to be investigated. That would be in the best interest of Nigeria, to set the stage for successful implementation of the SDGs, but it would also be in the best interest of Buhari, because it will help him strengthen our management practices.

Tomorrow, he will speak at the UN General Debate, where he may make an impact no Nigerian leader has in a long time. When he speaks, he must remember that exactly one year from now, all things being well, he will need to be talking about achievement, not promise.

Nonetheless, Buhari will return to Nigeria the following day, in time for Nigeria’s National Day two days later.

Two significant things are guaranteed in the three days before October 1. The first is that he will submit to the National Assembly a list of his Ministerial nominees.

The second is that he will have a chance to obtain from a veteran his first full glimpse into the quality of the existing anti-corruption terrain: the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is scheduled to submit its annual report to the National Assembly by Wednesday.

Read more - http://www.speshsworld.com/and-now-the-efcc-report-by-sonala-olumhense/

Dennygirl:
No point reading the remaining,am satisfied with these ones.thank you.

Read jor

Nigerian workers, under the umbrellas of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, have asked the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki,to vacate his office pending the determination of his case at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The workers, who spoke across the country, said although Saraki is still on trial and has not been found guilty of the allegations against him, it is morally right for him to vacate his office as Senate President to defend himself.

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation is prosecuting Sarakifor alleged false declaration of his assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Saraki had, last Tuesday, stepped into the dockat the CCT in Abuja, where he was arraigned for false assets declaration charges.

He pleaded not guilty to all the 13 charges slammed on him by the CCB and his trial has been scheduled to hold on October 21, 22 and 23.

Read the complete report here http://www.speshsworld.com/ccb-trial-resign-now-labour-unions-tell-saraki/

There’s a lot more mystery about the opposite sex than there are secrets to the cosmos. But while the tools to understand the secrets of space are all about high-tech accuracy — the Hubble Telescope and Hadron Collider — what tools do we have for understanding the opposite sex? Your mother’s 1950s advice about sock hops, Maxim/Cosmo, and “Men are From Mars and Women are From Venus.” Maybe it’s time some brave man (me) crosses the aisle and lets women know a few of the things men really wish women knew about them.

1. Men Think Women Are Beautiful with or without Makeup

Men are not attracted to your makeup. They are attracted to your mind, your sense of humor, the adorable snorts when you laugh, the way you sneeze like a babymouse, your confidence and your beautiful smile. Makeup can be used, like fashion, to express yourself, and you probably wear it more for yourself, and men do appreciate when you want to look “better.” But you shouldn’t feel like you’re not beautiful without it. Because you are mind-blowingly beautiful either with or without it.

2. Intelligence is the New Boob Job

Women aren’t as helpless as your old Pop Pop thinks. Women are CEOs, they are Biologists, and they are Secretaries of State, and brains matter more to men than you would believe. A man doesn’t want to dance around real conversation; he wants to learn from you more than he wants to “teach” you. He wants to take you out for a drink andbe enthralled by what you believe and what you think. Your intelligence is not only attractive, it’s straight up sexy!

3. Confidence is a Big Deal

Some men seek out insecure women because they know they can manipulate them, control them and be a complete asshat to them. A confident woman will save herself not only from asshats but also a gazillion dollars on beauty products she doesn’t even need, because confidence gives you a glow better than any BB cream or bronzer (or whatever). A confident air will make a man second-take faster than any Pantene Pro V bouncy hair shimmering in the sunlight.

4. Men Have Feelings Too

Men may not like to talk about feelings very often, but they also know how important talking about them is. Sometimes being a stoic, quiet, moodycaveman is how you handle a horrible boss or an overbearing relative. But feeling like you’re failing, and stressing about bills, is nothing a man wants to carry around like a third testicle. All he needs is a glass of whiskey and a kiss at an empty table. Whiskey and kisses are a thousand times better than “What’s Wrong?” … anything is better than “What’s wrong?” It’s that little weasel word “wrong.” No one wants to talk about anything “wrong,” so after whiskey and a kiss, ask what’s going on, and we may feel more like talking than havingto explain what’s “wrong.”

Read the remaining on here http://www.speshsworld.com/these-are-the-7-things-men-wish-women-knew-about-them/

The acting Chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari, has promised that INEC will use the opportunity presented by forthcoming Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections to showcase its improved processes and rigour.

Zakari gave the assurance yesterday while delivering the keynote address during the public presentation of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room report on 2015 general election, with support from British Department for International Development (DFID) held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

She said the commission would apply lessons learnt from previous elections in raising the bar during the Kogi and Bayelsa outings.

She said: “In conducting elections in both states, the Commission will apply lessons learnt from the previous elections beginning with the stand alone governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States, and the general elections.”

Read more: http://www.speshsworld.com/inec-to-use-kogi-bayelsa-as-test-case-for-reforms-says-zakari/#.VbEndKpyx9Q

Vanquay:

Abeg say something

Its name is synonomous with the declaration of independence and updates on the brutal conflict that followed, but nearly 50 years after Nigeria’s civil war, Radio Biafra is again making headlines. The modern-day version — broadcasting online apparently from London and, many suspect, retransmitted inside Nigeria – was taken off air last week after regulators called it illegal.

President Muhammadu Buhari was also forced to issue a statement, denying the station’s claims he had criticised Igbos, one of the country’s three largest ethnic groups, in a recent BBC interview. “The illegal broadcasts from the seditious pirate radio station… shattered the peace… with unsavoury hate messages,” the National Broadcasting Commission said last Friday.

The messages were “designed to create disunity among Nigerians and mislead young people in a deliberate act of subversion. Nigerians do not need another round of heartache and bloodshed”, it added. The existence of the station, which was easily picked up in Nigeria’s southeast, is a reminder of the country’s bubbling ethnic tensions and the still-raw wounds of history.

Read more on http://www.speshsworld.com/biafra-casts-long-shadow-over-nigeria-nearly-50-years-on/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter#.VbElhapyx9Q

The Dutchman’s long career has been notable for the evolution of his strategy from the fluid 4-3-3 he favoured with Ajax to the current, maligned 3-5-2



3-5-2

Pros A formation which enables greater control of midfield and possession of the ball. In turn, this should also offer more defensive security, with wing-backs dropping back to create a five-man rearguard. 3-5-2 can also offer greater width, with wing-backs urged to hug the touchline.

[b]Cons [/b]A system which is largely alien to the majority of the United players and one which forces Louis Van Gaal to rely on three centre-halves, where his squad is light on top quality. Also a system which stifles attacking flair.



read more here: http://speshsworld.com/which-formation-should-louis-van-gaal-use/

The All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari, is set to travel to the United States of America on an invitation by the United States Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to Washington DC to speak on the February 14 presidential election.

The confirmation of this invitation to the political summit which will hold on Monday, January 26, 2015 between 2:30pm and 4pm (US time) at the Conference Room of the centre will put to rest the rumour that the APC candidate would on Monday be going to America for a medical check-up.

Rumours have been going round that Buhari had filled a Visa form at the US Embassy in Abuja to enable him get medical attention in Washington DC next Monday, but it was gathered that the retired general is rather travelling to the US to honour an invitation extended to him by the CSIS.

In a letter signed by the Director, African Programme of CSIS, Jennifer Cooke, General Buhari was invited to the organisation’s headquarters in Washington DC “to give a major public address on Nigeria’s future as it stands on the edge of a pivotal national elections.”

Ms. Cooke gave Buhari the liberty to choose a convenient date for the proposed lecture.

“We propose to hold this event on a day of your choosing on either the week of January 5th or the week of January 26th, 2015 but will of course do our best to accommodate your schedule should you have other preferences.”

The event tagged “Countdown to Nigeria’s 2015 Elections” which will feature General Buhari, is the sixth session of the Nigeria Election Forum of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

At the forum, the APC candidate will be expected to speak on his plans for Nigeria and Nigerians as well as the certificate scandal rocking his campaigns.

The event will equally provide a rare opportunity for a Washington audience to hear Buhari as he addresses the many challenges facing Nigeria as it enters its critical election period.

http://speshsworld.com/buhari-invited-to-deliver-lecture-in-the-us/

But the army said [url=speshsworld.com/nigerian-army-has-buharis-academic-records-but-he-needs-to-apply/]they have GMB's academic records[/url]. As far as I'm concerned, the certificates issue is dead.

In the last three months, two sets of soldiers totalling 64 have been charged with conspiracy to mutiny before a court martial, which sat in Abuja. The “offence” proved against the accused soldiers was that they demanded adequate weapons to fight the well-equipped and well-motivated troops of the Boko Haram sect.

Although there was no scintilla of evidence to substantiate the charge of mutiny against them, the military judges discharged and acquitted 12 of the accused soldiers and convicted and sentenced 58 others to death. As the verdict is characterised by gross miscarriage of justice, the defence team has strongly urged the confirming authority to quash the questionable conviction and the sentence.

In challenging the death penalty imposed on the soldiers, some persons have defended the right of members of the armed forces to request equipment in fighting the war on terror in the North-east region.

Read more on [url=speshsworld.com/mutiny-soldiers-legal-right-to-protest/]SpeshsWorld[/url]

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Saturday said only the courts could disqualify a former Head of State and Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The commission, which said there was nothing it could do in the matter, also said it had not received any petition against President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, Buhari and other presidential candidates, more than seven days after displaying their particulars.

The Director of Voter Education and Publicity in INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, in an interview with our correspondent, said the commission could not go beyond its constitutional powers.

“What do you want INEC to do? INEC cannot disqualify anybody and there is nothing we can do. We don’t have any power to disqualify him.He didn’t bring it (certificates) and so there is nothing INEC can do. INEC cannot disqualify him and cannot remove his name. It is only the courts that can disqualify him, if they feel there is something wrong that he has done. I am not aware of any (petition); none that I am aware of for now. I am not aware of any (petition). I am not aware of any so far,” Osaze-Uzzi said.

Buhari had in an affidavit which he deposed to at a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, explained that all his academic credentials were with the Secretary, Military Board.

The affidavit deposed to at the FCT High Court and dated November 24, 2014, was stamped and received by INEC on December 18, 2014.

“All my academic qualifications documents as filled in my presidential form, President APC/001/2015 are currently with the Secretary, Military Board as of the time of this affidavit. The affidavit is made in good faith and for record purpose”, Buhari stated.

The Nigerian Army had said it would readily release credentials and certificates in its custody to serving and retired officers whenever they apply for it.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Olajide Laleye, had while reacting to Buhari’s claim in his affidavit, said that his credentials were with the military.

He said the procedure for the retrieval or collection of the certificates was known to all serving or retired officers of the military.

He said, “Every serving and retired Army officer has, at least, a copy of his certificates and credentials kept with the Nigerian Army while that same serving and retired officer has copies of those same certificates and credentials.

“And there is a laid-down procedure to request for certificates. It is known to any serving and retired officer. If you want anything checked in your file, you simply follow the due process and it would be given to you because the credentials belong to you.”

“The Nigerian Army does not refuse to give anybody his credentials if the due process is followed. Now, take note of this. Not only does the Nigerian Army keep these things, the individual officers, whether serving or retired, have copies.”

Also speaking, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said he was not aware of any petition against any of the presidential candidates.

[url=speshsworld.com/only-court-can-disqualify-buhari-inec/]Source[/url]

The All Progressive Grand Alliance says it cannot throw its weight behind President Goodluck Jonathan as it is very likely that the candidate of the All progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), will emerge the winner of the presidential election next month.

The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of APGA, Mr. Campbell Umeh-Nzekwe, who is also a special adviser to the national chairman of the party, said this during an interview with our correspondent, on Sunday.

Umeh-Nzekwe said Jonathan’s problem was compounded by the fact that the motion to adopt him as the consensus candidate of the Igbo for the 2015 presidential election failed at the Ime-Obi (inner caucus) meeting of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Saturday, in Enugu.

He added that the sermon of renowned Enugu-based Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, that Jonathan had failed and should step down seemed to have sent shockwaves across the South-East.

He said the party was sure that Jonathan would not win votes in the North.

He said, “The game has changed. As it is, Jonathan has no chance of winning. Buhari seems to have taken over. The PDP has collapsed in the North if you care to know. All those who are running to Aso Rock and making promises to the President are just deceiving him.”

When asked if APGA would be supporting Buhari next month, Umeh-Nzekwe said he could not say for sure.

He said, “Jonathan is a sitting President with incumbency factor in his favour but Buhari has the masses and a cult following in the North. In 2011, Buhari won 12 million votes in the North with his rag-tag party, the Congress for Progressive Change, without a single governor or senator to campaign for him.

“Today, his party, the APC, has 14 governors, 43 senators and 176 Reps as well as 625 House of Assembly members. Also, the APC has dominant control of the North-West with a total number of 18.4 million voters and North-East with 10.2 million while South-West has 13.4 million voters

“The PDP has dominant control of the North-Central and Abuja with 10.4 million voters while the South-South has 8.5 million and South-East has 7.2 million votes.

“However, no zone has achieved 50 per cent of votes cast but northern voters are more committed and trustworthy than those in the South.

“Also, look at Jonathan’s campaign team. He has Col. Ahmadu Ali (rtd.) as his Director General and Peter Obi as the deputy while Buhari has Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora as director general and deputy respectively. It is time for Ndi Igbo to review their strategy.”

[url=speshsworld.com/2015-apga-favours-buhari-to-emerge-as-president/]Source[/url]

It is not my desire to join issues or engage any of my  colleagues in an open debate in the media. This article should therefore be seen as an exception. After reading Waziri Adio’s article on 15th December titled, “Is This, Finally, The Buhari Moment?” http://speshsworld.com/is-this-finally-the-buhari-moment/ I came to the inescapable conclusion that there were obvious gaps that needed to be filled. For the records, Mr Adio was spot on and I largely agree with the analysis except for the phrase ‘contrived handicaps’ which is suggestive of falsehood sold as truth.

I therefore find the urge to correct some misrepresentations too strong to resist. It is particularly expedient to fill the missing years between 1984 (about 30 years) ago when Buhari entered the consciousness of Nigerians with those immortal and awe inspiring words which Waziri heralded his article, “This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no country other than Nigeria, we shall remain here and salvage it together” and his 2014 speech preceding his nomination when he stated thus, “We seek a new Nigeria. It starts with us, it starts today…. Nigeria is our home. Let us now turn it into the great Nation we know it can and should be.’’

Of truth, that statement in 1984 captivated and galvanised Nigerians across the country into looking inward and believing our situation was not beyond redemption. But the succeeding years have seen Buhari morphing into something of a caricature image far less noble than the vision encapsulated in that powerful summation of 1984.

These years have been very revealing of the Buhari personae.  So much water has passed under the bridge such that it would be wrong to condense and analyse Buhari on just two inspiring quotes 30 years apart and attempt to sell his candidature as a viable alternative. I find this unhelpful for a society yearning for direction.

What about the intervening years that have thrown up a deeply partisan, sectional and religious irredentist that I am sure, many Nigerians would find different from the man who spoke those words 30 years ago? The truth here is that from when he spoke his first words to Nigerians and became a fixture of sort in our psyche, Buhari has evolved severally; he has become a convoluted and conflicted brand. From an inspirational national leader, he withdrew into the conclave of an ethno-religious champion and a fanatical extremist who has sought without apologies to anyone,   to undermine everything the Nigeria nation stands for.

Read full article http://speshsworld.com/buhari-when-facts-become-contrived/

Fellow Nigerians, this has been a most suspenseful but exciting week, courtesy of APC, the opposition party. For the first time since 1993 when Chief Moshood Abiola had great difficulties picking his running mate, the same scenario was re-enacted as General Muhammadu Buhari kept the nation on edge while struggling to find and name his Vice Presidential candidate. The situation almost became like Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

The frontliners, according to a poll by Saharareporters, were Rotimi Amaechi, Babatunde Fashola, Adams Oshiomhole, Kayode Fayemi, Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Tinubu. It was such a breath-taking affair. While we were all anxious and permutated away about the outcome of the selection, General Buhari apparently remained focussed on his target. He was determined to find and play a joker as his last card. It couldn’t have been easy with the calibre of men to pick from and the volatile interest groups that litter the APC landscape.

Some of us closely monitored Buhari’s mind-set and it became obvious that the gentleman was adroitly committed to the promise of picking his Vice Presidential candidate from the South West; it was only a question of who.

According to insiders, he would have loved to pick the APC giant, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State who has become a super-brand in Nigerian politics. But he was technically knocked out on account of religion; he’s a Muslim. And many of us had warned against risking a Muslim-Muslim ticket at the beginning of this voyage. If our own opinion was supposedly irrelevant, the strident admonition from former President Olusegun Obasanjo could not be easily ignored or readily dismissed. I had smelt a rat and knew it was a clear and powerful message to General Buhari not to touch the tiger by the tail.

Read it all on http://speshsworld.com/as-buhari-plays-his-last-card/

Former minister of information Labaran Maku has called for the cancellation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election in Nasarawa State due to what he described as “massive irregularities.”

Maku who contested during the primary said in a statement by the spokesman of his campaign organisation, Zakari Edege, that he had earlier written to the national secretariat of the party to protest the sudden change of the delegates from Keana,Obi, Lafia, Akwanga, and Nasarawa Eggon local governments.

Read more http://speshsworld.com/not-giving-up-maku-calls-for-cancellation-of-nasarawa-pdp-primaries/

He is so relatively new to the public eye that we don’t even know his correct surname. We know him as Yemi, quite all right. But is it Yemi Osinbajo? Perhaps Osinbajo? Or even Osinbanjo? His name has been misspelt by the media for the past 15 years and there is no indication that he has ever tried to correct it.

There you have the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC): self-effacing and relatively new to the political fray. Indeed, there are not many pictures to choose from when you google his name! To his credit, though, all searches for “Osinbajo” and “Osinbajo” lead to him. Some consolation there.

The Punch has been alternating between Osinbajo and Osinbajo. THISDAY, , TheCable and Premium Times seem fascinated with Osinbajo. Ynaija wrote Osinbajo in one headline and Osinbajo towards the end of the story. The Nation, which should know him very well, is sure it is Osinbajo.

To know more about him, here are a few facts on the intellectual and public speaker.

= Background =

In his native Ijebu, one of the oldest and most distinct dialects of the Yoruba language, OSIN could also refer to a “child” and Osinbajo (Osin bo lati ajo) could then be interpreted to mean a child has returned from a journey ? a good sign that all went well. In that case, his well-wishers would be hoping that his journey into politics will be worth the while and they will have every reason to rejoice when he ends his national service. We hope Osinbajo himself will take time, when he is less busy, to explain the meaning of his name to us for our education.

Read full article on http://speshsworld.com/prof-osinbajo-unveiled-all-you-need-to-know-about-buharis-running-mate/

WhiteTechnology:
Yes oooooo

We shall ensure that Nigerian internal colonialism by Hausa Fulani Yoruba continues.

Hausa Fulani presidency 2015-2023

Yoruba presidency 2023-2031


Eyaaaaas



Tall dream

You serious o!

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), on Wednesday announced Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as his running mate, thus putting to an end, days of speculations on the issue.

Osinbajo was the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice when the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was governor.

The Ogun State-born serving pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is married to a granddaughter of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Read more http://speshsworld.com/im-joining-buhari-to-rebuild-nigeria-prof-osinbajo/