I support her!

Quick question to Mynd44, lalasticlacla, Dominique ; Is there a ban on the use of the word zombie in this forum? I need answers to understand my 1week ban, if I don’t get an answer I will quit your forum to protect and uphold my self dignity. My abscense will not change your numbers, but I will stick my head up in a 1man protest against arbitrary use of power in a supposedly free and non partisan public forum.

Jesus is Lord!

Bfo nko? If na u, u go greet person after you give am betta bloow job for tv and come find out he played u a fool?

i smell frontpage

I do not believe the op.

APC again, these guys should stfu and just do what gullible Nigerians elected them to do. If only they know how many Nigerians are already regretting APC as their choice in the last election, then they will sit up and work. How can you claim bail out when majority of the govs spent their monies to have you elected in the first place?

If true, then this will represent the best news out of naija in a long time now. He is far better than that proud ex coach.

These are verifiable activities, i spoke with an APC guy earlier and he attested to the fact that Jonathan has worked well but only carry along wrong advisors e.g Deziani, Patience and a few more.

there is more to this than meet the eyes but whatever it is i will say, OBJ you are welcome to APC! Birds of the same feathers flock together, do enjoy your new season of romance with the sainty Tinubu, Amiechi and the rest saints who have pulled our dear country down.

This is unbecoming of an ex- president... The God that is behind Goodluck Jonathan is more than a million OBJs, let us see how God will use OBJ to show Nigerians that he work in signs and wonders. I will say good riddance to bad rubbish, let him go!! Bye bye to radai radai!!!!

Why would anyone believe this report? I am a supporter of GEJ but any further postponement means me switching my allegiance and campaign towards Buhari.

Gej has more to loss than gain if such move is muttered.


We can only wait and see!

Victory is assured.

God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria!
God bless Goodluck!!


God purnish boko haram and their supporters!!!!!!

awesome, i crave to have my children soon

Children are such beautiful blessings from God... Thank you Davido!

Word!!

•’How Boko Haram can be defeated
• Explains why he has not re-married

In this interview, former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, clarifies his position on his statement suggesting that he is in support of the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. Babangida also speaks on the murder of Dele Giwa in 1986, the Interim National Government, ING, Sani Abacha’s coup and the loss of his long time companion and wife, Maryam.

Aired last Wednesday on Channels TV, the interview was an episode in the current affairs programme, STWK (Straight Talk With Kadaria), anchored by Kadaria Ahmed.

Excerpts:

Do you support President Jonathan’s attempt at re-election?

Firstly, I appreciate the fact that he came to visit me and, during our discussion, I found him to be a man who believes in the unity of this country and I did allude to that and I said I found him to be someone who has a very strong belief about the unity of this country.

Those of us who fought the civil war – I still carry a bullet so I have a permanent reminder in me – anything that relates to Nigeria’s unity, we get impassioned about it.

So what I said is that the President believes in the unity of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the President to keep this country one.

So, as far as the 2015 elections are concerned, President Jonathan has your blessing

Well, as far as 2015 is concerned, all the presidential candidates – 14 of them – have my blessings.

The only difference is (and I did mention it) that I have not been able to read what they have offered to this country and I am going to do that and whoever offers what I’m looking for, I am going to vote for.

What exactly did you mean when you said that if what you read in the papers these days is anything to go by, then your administration was saintly?

I am an avid reader of Nigerian newspapers, so when I read a statement like $16billion spent trying to provide power for this country or somebody kept under his bed N300m, if what I’m reading is true, then we were angels.

Not because you did any spending or because your level of spending was less or because you didn’t touch public money?

We did have a regulation.

You can’t, for example, keep more than ‘X’ amount of money in your vault or in your safe. We followed strictly the financial regulations and now it boggles my mind how somebody could put N300m under his bed.

I once removed a governor for N300,000, because he overspent what we had given him as limit on security.

But that didn’t mean that your government was squeaky clean because there was the Okigbo report about the over $12b oil windfall that was allegedly squandered by your administration.

First of all, may his soul rest in peace (Sani Abacha). The report was from 1986 to 1994, a period of eight years. By the time the late Pius Okigbo submitted his report, he said between 1986 to 1994, $12.4b accrued to the Federal Government. Nobody could deny that. Out of that amount, he said $1.4 or thereabouts came in during the Gulf War.
Ibrahim Babangida,

Ibrahim Babangida,

But, if you had done your home work well, you would know that the war lasted three months and there was no way you could make $1.4b in three months at the rate of $12 or $10 per barrel, producing about 800,00 per day.

The government did not indict anybody, neither did the report indict anybody. He was an acknowledged economist and what he said is that ‘X’ amount of money would have accrued into the reserves.

The government had an option to either go and put the money in the bank and say it was saving it or you meet some of the demands of the situation at that time.

Considering that you ruled Nigeria for some eight years, do you take any responsibility for the state of Nigeria today?

Well, you take responsibility for anything either good or bad – that is what leadership is all about and I think so far, as far as I am concerned, I take full responsibility for what we did.

Would the June 12 issue be something that when you look back you regret?

History will one day come and apportion blames to various actors in the whole saga.

There are a lot of people today in this country who supported what we did at that time.

What was the rationale behind the annulment?

We discussed the security situation and we were worried about putting up a government that would not last.

What were the conditions that raised those concerns?

There was this security problem that was dicey and the only people who could tell you what could happen were those of us in government, we the practitioners of violence by our profession. We knew there was a high level of frustration in the society which could provide a very fertile ground for a coup d’etat.

But in the end that was what happened because …

(Cuts in) In the end we were right because we speculated rightly.

Was it a plan?

No, it couldn’t have been a plan.

Don’t forget that there was a speculation by prominent people in the country who were saying at that time that the worst civilian government was better than this contraption (Interim National Government, ING).

The reason for that question was based on what you said about the coup issue because when you left, you did not retire General Abacha, a man who had been a central player in many successful coups and you left him in charge of the army more or less. That is why I asked if it was a plan for him to take over?

When we established the ING, we wanted to give it teeth; so whoever was in power would believe that it had backing.

So it never occurred to you that he (Abacha) wanted the number one job for himself?

It never crossed my mind quite honestly.

So when he executed this coup, what did you think?

It didn’t come to me as a surprise because all of you in this country at that time gave him the wherewithal to do it. I’ve always said a coup will always succeed if there is frustration in the society and that frustration was seen and orchestrated at that time, if you remember, coming from very prominent people, that this contraption was not better than the worst civilian government, and some of us knew at that time that if a coup happened, Nigerians would jump into the streets to welcome it.

So, why didn’t you retire Abacha knowing that there was a fertile ground and you had a coup maker…

(Cuts in) If there had been pressure on the ING for an election in six months’ time, Abacha would not have found it easy to stage a coup.

Given the fact that Nigerians wanted a government they elected and not the contraption you put together, why did you find it difficult to understand why Nigerians would not line up behind it?

I tell you what happened before that contraption came about

Now you are calling it contraption by the way?

(Laughter). No I like the word. I’m very fond of that word.

At that time in the whole of this country, you can go and check it, there wasn’t a single voice that said ‘let’s take a chance with the ING, let’s give it a chance if it would work’.

But it didn’t have legitimacy because they were not soldiers and they were not elected civilians

I governed for eight years, using decree. That contraption was given a constitution and that constitution was supported by a law. It was legitimately done as is done all over the world.

You were away when the Abacha coup happened. But when you came back, did he get in touch?

We did discuss and he took his time to explain to me what happened.

Did you give him any advice on how to run government or how soon he should hand over to civilians?

Those were things which he knew very well because he had been part and parcel of the administration for eight years; he knew the political actors in the country and he went ahead to call them, explaining to them what had happened, trying to legitimize what he had done and, believe it, there were a lot of politicians who supported him because he talked to them.

Are you surprised at how his government became one that was very repressive and he became known, perhaps, as one of the worst dictators Nigeria had ever known?

Yes and no. Yes because people would see him as a military person and secondly he was a man of limited words, you could not predict him.

No, because he had worked with us, worked with other people, had a good knowledge of how the system worked, how to keep security in the country. These were things that he knew and you could not deny him those things.

In 1986, you decided that Nigeria’s status as an observer at the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, should change to become a full member knowing that Nigeria has an almost equal population of Christians and Muslims.

Nigeria went into the OIC as an observer in 1973 under General Yakubu Gowon and I went in as a full member in 1986. That was a simple foreign policy decision that we took. It was a tool to enhance our foreign policy.

But the view of the ordinary Nigerian is that to be in OIC meant you were an Islamic country. And Nigeria is not an Islamic country. So why take us in there?

That has been proved wrong. Again, this is the beautiful thing about this country because people speculate a lot. As at the time we went in there, there were countries that were there which were not Islamic countries. I was quite surprised by the outrage that followed that decision because people translated it to mean that our government wanted to make Nigeria an Islamic country which is stupid. We had a Constitution which stated clearly at that time that no religion must be made superior to another.

In the years since then, as far as you know, what has been the specific benefit that we’ve got?

I think it helped us to push our foreign policy on issues that were of common concern because immediately after that I recognized Israel, knowing the feelings of the Islamic countries about Israel. I went ahead single-handedly to recognize Israel when everybody in the OAU went against it; we stuck to our gun; so if you accuse me of joining OIC, you must also accuse me of normalizing relations with Israel

We are in a situation in the country today where we have insurgents with a warped version of Islam which they claim they want to foist on the nation in some states. Do you think these sorts of decisions are the sort of things that plant seeds on the minds of some people claiming to want to promote one religion above another?

I’m glad you used the word ‘warped’. What is happening now is something that Nigerians should rise and fight against; Muslims should rise and fight against it because some people are spoiling the name of Islam, and this is not what Islam stands for.

Given the fact that we are a nation of different ethnicities, wouldn’t it have been better to pursue policies that would not divide us along religious lines – and this is even outside the Boko Haram insurgency?

I grew up here in Minna and there is where we call a mixed court where you find a Christian, a Muslim and an unbeliever, yet three of them will sit together to preside over cases which touch on traditions of the different groups and this we have been doing damn well. Everyone has a religion and you keep to it; even Islam frowns at imposition of the religion on others.

The question I’m driving at is that if, perhaps, we don’t pursue public policies that further strengthen the division that already exists, could we perhaps have had a better chance of making it as a nation and not one divided along ethnic and religious lines

My answer to that is yes.

So any regrets about taking Nigeria into the OIC?

No!

You don’t see that as a policy capable of further dividing us as a nation even though, by your own admission, Christians complained?

By your reaction, as a generation, it would be better not to toe those lines because they are very sensitive. It has been done before and the consequences were not so good for the country.

We had a civil war. Nobody would like to have a war again. The good thing is that from 1970 till today, I have never come across people who believe in the division of this country.

So, in your view, no regrets because we are learning from your mistakes?

The answer is yes!

What should we do about Boko Haram?

The first thing is that people must believe that this affects Nigeria generally and not just a part or just a religion. Like the civil war, the whole country was mobilized against secession and there was unity against he secession and I think we must accept that this problem is a Nigerian problem and everybody should come together to fight this phenomenon.

In practical terms, how do we begin to build unity so that Nigerians can see the problem as a Nigerian problem?
PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN WITH FORMER PRESIDENT IBRAHIM BABANGIDA, DURING JONATHAN'S VISIT TO MINNA ON SATURDAY (27/12/14

FILE PHOTO: PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN WITH FORMER PRESIDENT IBRAHIM BABANGIDA, DURING JONATHAN’S VISIT TO MINNA (27/12/14

First of all, the leadership at all levels must be mobilized against Boko Haram. At the political level, people should watch what they say and the religious leaders also have a role to play just as the businessmen must be involved. Once Nigerians see that everyone is mobilized against the insurgency, no one would want to step out of line. Nigerians have to be mobilized and that would make it easier to win the war.

From a military point of view, are you surprised at the performance of our military against Boko Haram?

What you should be asking is that is this the same military of Nigeria that has been exceptional all over the world – in the Congo, Tanzania, UN operations, ECOWAS operations?

The question really is that by all accounts, the army you served in was a formidable army; so what did you people do that time that appears different from what is going on now?

When I was 22 as a 2nd Lieutenant, I had been told that I had no other country to die for except Nigeria, but now you’ve got 18 year olds or 19year olds or graduates asking ‘what is this Nigerianness they are talking about?’. They wouldn’t give a damn and, therefore, you have to do a re-orientation to bring this patriotism back.

Could it not be that some of us can say Nigeria had been good to us, so we had no option than to be committed. But you have the young ones today, say, of 30, who would be asking, ‘what the hell’ because they have had to fend for themselves one way or the other? They don’t see what the country has done for them. Shouldn’t government start by providing for the people and making them responsive to the needs of patriotism?

Government would have to take responsibility, I agree.

You’ve repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the murder of journalist Dele Giwa, but because you were the military head of state at that time and because your former press secretary, Debo Bashorun, alleged that you knew about it, many Nigerians are a bit skeptical about what you have said. Do you understand why they have been skeptical?

It is because they think I was the head of government at that time and I knew that anything that goes wrong they will like to blame it on somebody and the fact that everybody in the media said I knew about it never came to me as a surprise at all.

What about the role played by Major Bashorun, did that come as a surprise to you?

I stumble on the information in one of the papers that he wrote a book. But I have always maintained one thing: I know the young man very well but I don’t join issues with people to whom I am senior.

Was he upset with you and, therefore, would want to make you look bad?

That is his business, not mine.

At the time of Giwa’s death, did you order any investigations at all into the circumstances of the killing?

It could have been prejudicial because you guys in the media went to court and I couldn’t have ordered anything because the matter was already in the court. There were very good lawyers and activists pursuing that case; so we allowed the courts to try the case.

Aren’t you curious as to who killed Dele Giwa?

He was fortunate because he belonged to the journalism profession and the media kept the issue alive up till today. The issue of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane and Bola Ige would remain and people will like to pin it on somebody.

Is there any chance that some rogue elements in your government, without your knowledge, could have decided to teach Dele Giwa a lesson because he was critical of your administration?

I have maintained that I dominate my environment and my environment relates to the people I work with, people who work with me, people I relate to. I am fairly well-informed about things before they happen or immediately after they happen.

Do you have any regrets at all about your time in office?

I had a good time in office and would continue to be grateful to Nigerians for supporting me during that period and, if there is one thing I would have loved to do differently (not regretting), it would have been to make it constitutional that Nigeria should have a two-party state.

Why?

Because I believed then and I still believe now that it is the surest way of promoting the peace and stability of Nigeria and it worked. So, let’s institutionalise it. It’s just like the Land Use Act, it is in the Constitution. Some people may not like some aspects of it but it is there; so you have to work round it.

As a young soldier, did you ever envisage that your life would take the path it has taken?

As a young officer, my intention was maybe not the commander of a unit, so I was looking at the rank of a major or a Lt-Colonel, comparing the size of the Nigerian Army at that time.

But fate dealt you a different hand, how do you feel about that?

I feel gratified and I feel nice that while I planned, God had His own wish on His subjects.

You lost your long time companion and wife, Maryam, in December 2009. What has life been like without her?

She was a real companion who got to understand and accept me for what I am and tried to make the best of me and that is what I am missing. She was the one who would look at me and say ‘you’re wrong’ and I had to accept and bury my pride and I will say ‘sorry, you’re right’. That is the sort of counseling I am missing now.

How much time do you spend with the children and grand children to try and fill the vacuum that she’s left?

The children are doing very well and they have become a sort of friends to me. We sit down and talk and sometimes we disagree. My greatest source of pleasure now is seeing my grand children coming to me to say good night or when they return from school and they come to greet me. It reminded me of my time when I was growing up.

Many had thought that by now you would have re-married?

I will tell you an interesting story. There was a woman I was joking with and I said, ‘Okay, why don’t you marry me?’ and she said, ‘No I won’t’. And I asked her why? She said, ‘I am not sure I can spoil you the way your wife used to spoil you; so don’t put any idea into my head’.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/support-jonathan-believes-nigerias-unity-ibb-2/#sthash.suPhW2M7.dpuf

By Ochereome Nnanna

LET me start by wishing you a Happy New Year, 2015. May I also wish Nigeria a peaceful election and transition to the next regime.

Paramount in my mind (and it should be in yours too) is that we must have a smooth and rancour-free transition. For me, its not who wins that matters. A successful transition with the nation remaining intact is more important than any presidential candidate. Without peaceful Nigeria, there will be no political party, no presidential candidate, no elections, let alone economic prosperity. I am deeply worried about threats of any kind by politicians desperate for power at all costs. It is this desperation that fuels all sorts of electoral malfeasance, particularly that thing they call “election rigging”. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened repeatedly that they will form a “parallel government” if the 2015 elections are rigged. President Goodluck Jonathan, while inaugurating his presidential election council replied to that threat with ominous words: “we shall see”.

To begin with, what is a “rigged election”? Any fouling of the rules of the game encapsulated in the laws of the land, especially the constitution, the electoral law and guidelines spelt out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) constitutes election rigging. Anything done to ensure that an election is not free, fair and reflective of the true wishes of the electorate, constitutes election rigging. For an election to be seen to be free, fair and credible, all the stakeholders in an election must play the game according to the rules. Who are these stakeholders?

The most prominent stakeholder in the coming elections is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It is the body set up and empowered by the constitution to regulate and conduct elections in Nigeria. INEC, which is headed by Professor Attahiru Jega, had four years to prepare for this election, but in its usual sloppiness, it has put the election in danger. With just one month to the presidential election, Nigerians are still battling to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), forcing President Goodluck Jonathan to direct that all eligible Nigerians must be able to vote. Information has it that the PVC collection rate has been more in the Arewa zones of North East and North West than the rest of the country.

Unless the distribution rate improves in the south before election, it might lead to massive disenfranchisement of voters in some parts while those in other parts are unduly favoured. What else is rigging? The INEC must ensure that all eligible voters in all parts of the country get their PVCs or it must bear the consequences of favouring a particular presidential candidate by pushing PVCs to areas he has massive support, while starving the other. Right now, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, is having the advantage of his support base being almost over-supplied with the PVCs.

The political parties are also major stakeholders. So far, I think the PDP and APC have done well trying to focus on the issues, even though the usual jabs below the belt are there. However, the war at the social media level is horrible because for now it is not regulated. The social media could create problems because it is a free zone for all manner of mischief makers.

The parties have handled themselves well. The same cannot be said for their supporters in some parts of the country. Already, there has been a reign of intimidation and reported violence. The major flashpoints are in Arewa north, Jos and Rivers State. In Arewa north (Buhari’s main support base) supporters of President Jonathan are living under threats. His posters are not being allowed to be displayed. Those who try are threatened with death. Known Jonathan supporters are bombarded with threats of their elimination along with their family members. Even governors have not been spared. There are some parts of the North where no bus bearing the campaign insignia of the president can dare to travel the roads for fear of being attacked. We read in the media a few days ago about a couple of the president’s campaign buses being razed in Jos in an area populated by Hausas, who were shouting they did not want Jonathan. If you do not want Jonathan why not wait and say so on February 14th with your vote? Why deprive the president of his right to campaign?

Meanwhile, Buhari and his campaign train are enjoying an unfettered run through the three zones of the South. Apart from a reported case of gun attack and bombing of APC secretariat in Okrika by unknown persons, Buhari has addressed his supporters in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo, Calabar, Aba and Owerri without any harassment. He was even given a chieftaincy title by the traditional ruler of Eziama Aba, Eze Isaac Ikonne. In fact, Buhari’s campaign has been so smooth that one of his ardent supporters from Zaria has been ecstatically calling my line rejoicing that Buhari is making “in-roads” and South East and South-South, which are Jonathan’s main support base.

With Jonathan’s supporters being attacked and threatened with death in Arewa North, while Buhari’s campaign train is being allowed to enjoy his constitutional right to campaign in all parts of the south, it is obvious that the elections are already being rigged in the North against Jonathan. The INEC and the political rabble in the North must allow a level playing ground for all candidates to canvass for support. Otherwise, the election cannot be free and fair. Unless the situation is corrected, it can be interpreted that Nigerians are not yet ready for the elections. There must be a level playing field for everybody. Just as APC says it will form a parallel government if the elections are rigged, I don’t think their opponents will fold their arms when they are being deprived of their constitutional rights.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander.


- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/elections-already-rigged/#sthash.QyP1pWcK.dpuf

Is music allowed in sharia? I trust APC general to ban music and nollywood



Lai Lai Buhari

After the scintillating and successful performance of Oritsefemi Ekele Majemite last week at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, he has finally signed the artiste to campaign with him throughout the federation for his political .
Oritsefemi

Oritsefemi

The Double Wahala fame will therefore be at Akure this week for Jonathan Presidential campaign.

It would be recalled that Oritsefemi kicked off the campaign at Tafawa Balewa Square on Thursday, the Double Wahala fame was in best form when he stormed the stage in the middle of the campaign that has lots of politicians and dignitaries across the country.

The Musical Taliban was introduced with Double Wahala.

Crowd turned the song to national anthem as they were carried way from the primary campaign singing Double Wahala For Deady Body. What amazed the audience was the President Goodluck Jonathan singing the song, Double Wahala back to back while Oritsefemi was performing on stage. Towards the end of Oritsefemi performance, the Delta State born singer released an official song for Jonathan, titled ‘Great Jonathan’

This turned the President On. He was on his feet dancing to the tune of the Mercies of the Lord crooner.

The crowd was requesting for more but the time was limited. GEJ comments that artiste was a great singer for those wonderful performances.


- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/jonathan-takes-oritsefemi-campaign/#sthash.IE6oKC4H.dpuf

The Peoples Democratic Party has challenged the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to flaunt his school certificate, if he has any.

The party threw the challenge at the PDP presidential campaign rally organised for President Goodluck Jonathan in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.

The Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, at the event, boasted that Nigeria was working under Jonathan.

He said, “Nigeria is working under Jonathan… Ekiti has more than 60 per cent of all the professors in Nigeria. You have no business voting for somebody whose schools certificates we have just been informed were not available.”
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Leading the challenge against the opposition at the rally, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said anyone who wanted to rule the country must have the necessary academic qualification.

The governor, who criticised the opposition party for accusing him of not having the required academic certificate to govern the state, wondered why the APC candidate in the February 14 presidential election had not made his certificate public.

Fayose, who tendered his certificates at the rall, said, “Anybody who wants to be the president of this country must have the necessary qualification. The APC said I don’t have a certificate. They shouted and went to the Polytechnic of Ibadan, secondary and primary schools to get photocopies of the forms I submitted. The court told them they are liars and propagandists. Let General Buhari flaunt his certificate if he has got them.”

The Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who spoke on behalf of other PDP governors also challenged Buhari to tender his certificate.

He said, “Does the Presidential candidate of the APC have a secondary school certificate? They must answer. They can’t sweep it under the carpet. If a man says he would fight corruption, we must be sure of his personal integrity.

“If truly he does not have the certificate, did he swear to an affidavit that his certificate is with the military authorities?

“We want a president that is educated, with a caring heart, that is compassionate, that is cool even in the face of provocation. We want a president who can preside over elections that his party will lose and will congratulate the opposition.”

Jonathan said he would not deceive Nigerians by promising what he would not be able to deliver.

He promised to complete the Ifaki-Ado-Ekiti and Akure-Ado-Ekiti roads if re-elected.

He also spoke about the transformation he had brought to education and the agriculture sector.

The President said, “That is why we gave a Federal University to Ekiti State. Because we want young people to be job creators, that was why we started ‘YouWin’.”

The National Chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, said Jonathan had demonstrated good leadership quality and hard work that had made Nigeria greater.

According to him, Nigeria, under Jonathan, is the largest economy in Africa and it is “growing.”

“Despite his humility, he has been able to do things only courageous people can do. If you vote him, you will see a lot more development.

“Your President is very educated. He is an enlightened President. It is due to the tolerance of Jonathan that today we don’t have any political leader that is in exile or in jail.

“It is because of freedom he has brought, that is why we have absolute free press freedom that even when they say something that is not true about him, none of them is in jail.”

Fayose said he was back to defend Jonathan’s cause against his critics, saying the APC was not sincere about the fight against corruption and terrorism.

“It is the responsibility of everybody to fight terrorism and corruption. It is easy to criticise, Jonathan has done his best.

“You are too gentlemanly for them. You are a President who will not hurt a fly. Your opponent use unorthodox means to do their things. They don’t obey the rules of the game. It is easy to criticise. When they criticise, I just laugh.

“They want to use Buhari as a siege. We are not going to allow any president to die on that throne anymore. I’m not against the North. The North deserves to rule this country, but they should wait for their time,” he added.

http://www.punchng.com/news/show-your-certificate-pdp-dares-buhari/

Buhari is not the change we want, let APC replace Buhari with Fashola if they mean well for us.

watch live on channels all over the world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1knc30OqKQ

Let he who have eyes come and see... This is not about paid likes on NL.


GEJ until Buhari shows his WAEC with photo ID

so a group of 20 Ijaw people represent the whole Ijaw nation? I see desperados amongst these APCshit lots. Do you seriously think those 20 guys went to Fashola with the aim of voting out Gej? They went to collect their tea money.


Fashola that is an olodo, 8years and no political machinery.

Instead of them to ask the coupist general why he cancelled Lagos rail loan in the 80s, they are hear shouting Jonathan is putting them through traffic grid... APCshits you pipo shud fear God o, if Lagos underground was in service i wonder if we will b experiencing this sort of traffic.

Apart from changing to a dinner suit, nothing else has changed about Buhari - PDP

The photograph of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Lagos State interdenominational thanksgiving service standing with his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and Governor Babatunde Fashola on the front row says something about the APC presidential candidate.

There have been murmurs about his donning a fez cap in church – that he is a Muslim disrespecting Christian tradition. For me, his forgetting to take off his cap shows he has yet to fully master the nuances and rituals of spaces he is treading for the sake of his political ambition. If I were a Christian, I would pardon him. What is not so easily dismissable in the photo-op, however, is much more telling than his cap. In the picture, all the aforementioned men had their wives by their sides except Buhari.

For a man who preaches “change” and desires to rule a country made up of men and women in almost equal halves, I wonder why he finds the anomaly of an “invisible wife” wholesome. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Mrs Aisha Buhari would be left behind in her husband’s aspiration.

In 2003, she was not prominent when he lost to Olusegun Obasanjo’s “moonslide.” Four years later, not much had changed though one could argue that his biggest opponent, Umaru Yar’Adua, did not “use” his wife to campaign either. In 2011, when the presidential election was on, I asked one of Buhari’s closest aides where Mrs Buhari was and why she was practically unseen in her husband’s various campaign efforts.

My query sprang from his image: If you are being termed an ogre, furnish reasons why you could not be one. His wife standing side-by-side with him would, I told the aide, soften his unimpressible image.

This Buhari’s aide agreed with me that his wife would be strategically invaluable for his persona. He said she was coming to Lagos at that time and he would arrange press interviews to introduce her to the public.

The aide called shortly after to say Buhari was not sold to the idea. The aide was apologetic while explaining why Buhari did not want his wife displayed like a ware even in the heat of campaigns. He said Buhari himself could be rather reticent; then, I should consider the religious factor, and that the General was too disciplined for such and several etceteras. I wished him the best and left it at that. By then, Patience Jonathan was criss-crossing the country and canvassing votes for her husband in her peculiar ways. Even though she was being mocked for her lack of sophistication, she was winning some hearts because of her confidence.

By the time Buhari’s wife would surface to sell the “softer” side of her husband; by the time people saw her on TV expressing herself more articulately than the woman who would become the First Lady, the election had practically been won and lost.

We were eventually availed her credentials: she is not just a housewife who sits at home making “Fura de Nunu” for her husband but a distinguished person in her own right. I do not claim Buhari’s loss of the 2011 election had to do with his wife but I think the belatedness of her emergence was a flaw.

If your own spouse is not at the forefront of your dream, it could be interpreted in several ways. One is that the woman does not believe in you enough, or that you do not have faith in her abilities, or you are the alpha male who believes women should be seen and not heard. Any which way, it does not look good.

After three defeats, you would expect Buhari’s packaging to prominently include his wife. You would expect an image of him as a loving husband and devoted husband to be part of his virtues marketed to the public. You would have thought he would take his wife with him for the photo-ops he is garnering in churches and elsewhere. But no, she is still missing in the picture.

When Buhari had a photo-shoot recently where he was dressed in the attire of various cultures of Nigeria, I wondered why he was the only one in the picture. How does a man run for president, take pictures of himself at a desk with the Nigerian flag in the background but his partner of many years would be missing from the shoots? They decked the General in suit and even had a picture of him “hi-fiving” a child but there is none where his wife appears? Why? I do not want to speculate on his private life as a married man but I think those images portray him as a self-centred person who does not share space.

When the picture of his family appeared, eventually, we saw his wife, children, son-in-law and even grandchildren but this time, Buhari himself was missing. I am still trying to wrap my head around the kind of PR that misses the simple fact that Buhari should have appeared in his family picture.

There are several reasons one can adduce for Buhari and his wife’s photo hide-and-seek. One, the culture of lovey-dovey is simply not him. Like the Igbo proverb that says a man cannot learn to be left-handed in old age, I wager that this is a left-handedness that Buhari has not learnt and is probably a far harder lesson than removing his cap during a church service. Two, he probably thinks being seen with a woman will detract from his famed militarist discipline and Spartan image. He has done a lot of bending just to project himself as a non-Islamic fundamentalist pan Nigerian statesman but the woman aspect just does not resonate well with him – yet. Third, the religion and culture Buhari has known all his life do gift a second-class citizen status to women.

As if the invisible wife syndrome is not grave enough, he even threatened to abolish the office of the First Lady. Did he think the “First Ladyship” is all about frivolity and has no symbolic and cultural value that redeems it? Did he consider the implication of such a move for his image and ultimately, ambition? His manifesto promises women empowerment but I wonder how he proposes to empower Nigerian women when his own wife is tucked away from view.

True, Nigeria has had First Ladies who have turned out as a real nuisance; Area Mothers who have their aliterate fingers spotted in every political conundrum. The classlessness of some, however, should not overshadow the beauty of others who reinvented themselves and rose to the status of a genuine First Lady.

http://www.punchng.com/opinion/viewpoint/where-is-mrs-buhari/

westheimer:


“Today I saw a publication in the Daily Trust showing projects that have been awarded by the Federal Government, the ones for the north-east very small, south-south very many. I had to make photocopies and distributed to all the ministers and I asked if it is true that projects are skewed by this government? Because I am a president from the south, I have taken all the projects to the south?

“And I said all the ministers must come up and tell me how the projects are being distributed across the country and if it is skewed you must tell me why it is so.

“One of the ministers incidentally is from the north, she is in charge of water resources. She said the publication cannot be true because Kashimbila Dam alone, the value is more than the amount quoted in that paper.

“This is to show you how mischievous Nigerians are because you want to paint Jonathan bad. All of lies that have been told about this government, I promise you that I am working with your son and I will not cheat any part of this country.

“For the people who want to paint us in all kinds of colour, we will explain to Nigerians. They are a lot of documentations we will show Nigerians.”

Paid propagandists all over the country. Why pay media houses to distort records and at the same time claim the incumbent president is less popular? I expect the APC to allow the masses vote them in since they so much believe in this so called popularity of theirs.

They keep making careless statements forgetting we are students of history. APC govs should respond to this, this is same way Amaechi was schooled the last time he tried to play politics with ECA funds.

ABUJA — Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, has promised that every eligible Nigerian would be provided with his or her Permanent Voters’ Card, PVC, before the general elections next month.
President Goodluck Jonathan and Prof Attahiru Jega

President Goodluck Jonathan and Prof Attahiru Jega

Jega was responding to a request by President Goodluck Jonathan for INEC to ensure that every Nigerian, who registered to vote was provided with PVC to enable him or her vote in the elections.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has invited the INEC and other stakeholders to deliberate on the country’s readiness to conduct 2015 general elections.

Jonathan spoke while swearing in a new National INEC Commissioner representing Oyo State, Prof. Akinola Murtala Salau, saying no Nigerian should be disenfranchised because of his/her inability to get the PVC.

The President said the level of interest shown by Nigerians from all walks of life in getting their PVC was an indication that confidence was being restored in the electoral process.

He said: “Nigerians are getting worried over whether INEC can actually conduct free and fair elections because of the (scarcity of the) PVC. Talking about the PVC, even some governors are complaining that they are yet to obtain their own. If governors are yet to get their voters cards, of course that means that so many Nigerians are yet to get theirs and people are a bit worried.

“But to me I am quite pleased, not pleased in the negative sense, but because of the awareness that has come; that Nigerians want to have their voters cards.

“Before 2011, no Nigerian complained about voters card and that is why when some politicians talk, I just laugh. Nobody cared.

“Some people came on board and sanitised the electoral process but others want to take the glory. We have to commend ourselves, that today ordinary Nigerians, businessmen, religious leaders are complaining. Nobody talked about that before 2011. So, people should commend us and I am pleased that people are talking about voters cards.

“The chairman of INEC luckily is here. All Nigerians must get their voters cards. We cannot conduct an election where some people will not have the right to vote. People must decide who rules them at all levels not just about presidential elections, at the lowest level of elections conducted by INEC.

“All Nigerians must vote and INEC must do everything possible to make sure that all Nigerians have their voters card because we cannot have a situation where some Nigerians will not vote that day.”

INEC should remain absolutely neutral

He then asked INEC to remain “absolutely neutral” to guarantee a credible election, adding that only people of impeccable character should work in the electoral body.

Jonathan stressed that only people of of impeccable character should work with INEC, adding that the choice of Professor Salau was because of his pedigree.

He said: “The INEC is supposed to be absolutely neutral in its work in order to conduct credible election because the whole world is watching INEC. You (Professor Salau) are coming into INEC at a very critical time with about 40 days to elections. So you are coming at a critical time and I believe that the chairman needs your services. I believe Prof. Jega would even want to double the number of staff if he has the resources, to make sure that they can cope.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the swearing-in, Professor Jega promised that “every registered Nigerian will get his PVC before the election, God willing.”



Reps c’ttee invites INEC, other stakeholders

“The purpose of this event is to underscore the current burning issues on 2015 general elections and to proffer necessary solutions,” the notice by the House Committee Chairman, Jerry Manwe stated yesterday.

The invitation notice was dated January 8 and signed by the acting committee clerk, Barr. Oscar Okoro.

Manwe said that the stakeholder would address: INEC’s level of preparedness for February’s general election as well as funding, security issues, franchise of internally displaced persons and other sundry issues arising from concerns by Nigerians.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/jonathan-jega-every-registered-nigerian-must-get-pvc-feb-polls/#sthash.nSGCF03i.dpuf