http://plato123.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/886603 – Alexandra Stoddard, writer, political commentator]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:05:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/886603 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/774521 (1)RETRAIN ALL OUR POLICEMEN:
All our security personnels starting from the IGP need retraining on their jobs to learn / agree / sign to reject bribery and corruption in all shapes or forms.This includes retired military men because if they do not work with the criminals,
armed robbery will stop.

(2)GOVT.should create jobs especially for young university graduates who have finished their YOUTH SERVICE. While
they remain unemployed, they should be paid UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS as is the case in US.

(3)OVERHAUL OF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: Our universities should create opportunities for a WORK/STUDY PROGRAM
as is the case in US, and Britain etc.. Also GOVT. should grant
loans to students, to start refunding when employed after graduation. The present system whereby the entire burden of funding falls on parents is flawed,and gives room for frustrated students to take to crimes.

(4) SCHOLARSHIPS: The old system of SCHOLARSHIPS TO GIFTED STUDENTS should be restarted so that gifted students can be selected on merits, and trained to boost the required manpower

(5)STOP TAXING STUDENTS: The universities tax the students unnecessarily;lecturers extort money from students for HAND OUTS, DEVELOPMENT LEVY, SCRATCH CARDS, and BRIBE FOR YOUTHE CORPS POSTINGS. Thousands of graduates who cannot afford the bribe remain on the waiting list for years after graduation.

(5) The REBRANDING CAMPAIGN should be expanded to university campuses in form of "THE WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION"
(6) EMERGENCY POLICE SQUADS should be deployed in all townships,and rural areas instead of their hanging on highways to collect money from motorists,ans OKADA operators.
by

Mazi Godwin Anyaogu
]]> Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:18:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/774521 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648853


When a friend was telling me the story of a Nigerian beaten to pulp a Polish Embassy, my mind expected another disheartening story of innocent Nigerians whose only crime was to find themselves as economic migrants in a foreign land suffering ill-treatment and brutality from another western country.



But lo and behold, it was Mr Rasaq Salami, an Abuja-based businessman, who left his home in the early hours of Friday, March 20, 2009, to visit the Polish Embassy, located in the capital city of his own country, Abuja to retrieve the passport of his friend, Mr Mustapha Bakare which had been submitted for visa.

According to the SUN Newspapers, Soon after stepping into the premises of the Polish Embassy in Abuja, Salami was beaten black and blue by police officers attached to the embassy. After the security operatives finished with him, Salami was taken straight to the Maitama General Hospital where he was still recuperating almost two weeks after his ordeal.


Salami’s story to Sunday Sun was that Nigerian policemen and other security operatives at the embassy premises pounced on him like a common felon. According to him, his trouble started about 1.30 pm when he arrived at the embassy. They knocked at the gate and heard a voice, probably that of the security man, asking them “my friend, who is that knocking on the window?”


“From nowhere, the private security man opened the gate and a police constable started raining abuses on me. I asked him to tell me my sin for which he was insulting me”, he said.


According to him, the angry policeman got annoyed that he dared reply and challenge him and threatened to slap him.


“When I challenged him further that it was not proper for him to slap me without knowing my sin and the purpose of my visit, he held my shirt and dragged me into the compound and started punching and hitting me on the head, kicking me when I fell down on the ground,” he said.


Thoroughly overawed, Salami continued, “When I managed to get up, I headed to the door of the building but the police officer went in, dressed properly and brought out his gun and continued hitting me on my leg with the gun until my leg got broken…They tagged me a criminal and terrorist, and a white man standing by the door urged them to deal with me. When they were done with me, they asked me to walk out of the compound. But already I had fracture on my right leg and I told them I could not stand and so I could not walk. They dragged me out of the gate.”


According to the SUN, the Polish Ambassador Designate, Przemyslaw Niesiolowski, confirmed the incident but denied reports that he supervised his beating and ordered the police to deal with him. He claimed he was not in Abuja at the time the incident occurred but refuted claims by Salami and his friend, Bakare, that they were at the embassy to collect Bakare’s passport but justified the action of the security men against the victim.


It is unfortunate to say the least, that Nigerians would suffer this indignity in their homelands. Before this we hade been regaled with news of deaths and killings of Nigerians in Diaspora. There have been cases of Nigerians killed in Belgium, China, Ukraine and Spain in 2009 alone.


In Spain 2007, a Nigerian whose only offence was that he had no resident permit and therefore had to be deported was beaten, injected with what was later known as a tranquilizer with his mouth being closed with a plastic tape and both hands and legs firmly tied with ropes. They loaded him into the plane covering him with a sack thereby preventing him from passengers view. His killers tied his hands and legs with mouth closed and killed as common criminal.


In 2001 - The result of the autopsy of the Nigerian Samson Chukwu, who died during the procedure of a forcible deportation in Granges near Sion does not leave any doubt: The police officers have applied a method for handcuffing the Nigerian, which is well-known for being possibly lethal, and of whose application is warned in the appropriate literature. Forcing the victim to lie on the stomach with the hands cuffed behind the back, including a police officer to press on the thorax, prevented the necessary respiration. This led to the asphyxia of Samson Chukwu.


In 1999, a 25-year-old Nigerian asylum-seeker, Marcus Omofuma suffocated after being gagged and bound during his forced deportation from Vienna to Nigeria, via Sofia, Bulgaria On 15 April, after more than 50 hours of deliberation, Korneuburg Regional Court found the three police officers guilty of the crime of 'negligent manslaughter in particularly dangerous conditions and sentenced them to eight-month suspended prison terms. The verdict was criticized by some civil society groups due to its alleged leniency. Despite the verdicts of guilt, the police officers will continue to serve in the police force.


In March 1999, a Brussels court decided that five gendarmes should stand trial in connection with the death in September 1998 of Semira Adamu, a 20-year-old rejected asylum seeker from Nigeria after an attempt to deport her forcibly from Brussels-National airport led to her death.


Officers pushed her face into a cushion placed on the knees of one of them and pressed down on her back, she began to struggle. The so-called ''cushion technique'' - a method of restraint authorized by the Ministry of Interior at that time but since banned - allowed gendarmes to press a cushion against the mouth, but not the nose. Semira Adamu's face was pressed against the cushion for over 10 minutes and she fell into a coma as her brain became starved of oxygen. She died of a brain haemorrhage later that day.


These deaths and killings of Nigerians in Diaspora are lamentable, but if back home in Nigeria fellow citizens are treated like animals, where is our locus to demand and expect decent treatment from foreigners abroad?

http://www.elombah.com/index. php?option= com_contentview=articleid=632:nigerian- visa-applicant- tortured- at-polish- embassycatid=25:politicsItemid=37



from Daniel Elombah
Publisher: www.elombah. com
(A Nigerian Perspective on world affairs)

]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:20:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648853 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648855
By WILL CONNORS
LAGOS, Nigeria -- Officials here are embarking on a costly drive to revamp Nigeria's power sector as the government struggles to keep the lights on.

After months of delays and political maneuverings, the government of Africa's largest oil producer approved this month a plan to allocate over $5 billion in emergency funding to repair its power sector. The money is slated to come from the country's excess crude-oil account. It's a huge outlay, accounting for some 40% of the rainy-day fund's current value of $13.5 billion.
Dozens of power lines crisscross an electronics market in Lagos, Nigeria. The government is beginning an overhaul of the country's power sector.

The new spending program underscores a realization among top officials about the extent of Nigeria's power problems. Many analysts consider the lack of reliable power the biggest impediment to economic growth in Nigeria -- bigger even than the estimated annual loss of billions of dollars in oil revenues to smuggling and corruption.

The large majority of Nigerians, over 70% of whom live on less than $1 a day, often go without reliable access to electricity. Those who can afford them operate costly diesel or gasoline-based generators because of daily blackouts. One neighborhood in Lagos recently went without power for a month. Those who can't afford generators use inefficient kerosene lamps.

Big companies like Procter Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. have resorted to running generators to provide power to 100% of their operations, pushing costs in Nigeria 10% and even 20% higher than in neighboring countries, executives say. Other foreign companies have pulled out of Nigeria, citing high energy costs as one of the primary reasons for doing so.

South Africa, with a third of the population, has more than 10 times the power generating capacity of Nigeria.

The new funding will go toward improving existing grid infrastructure and funding public-private partnerships, the government has said.

Whether the money from the country's windfall oil account will be used properly remains a critical question. The federal power authority, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, like many of Nigeria's government institutions, has earned a reputation for inefficiency. Critics accuse it of being driven by the financial and political interests of its officials and others in the government.

PHCN officials didn't respond to requests to comment.

The current government estimates the previous administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo spent freely but without oversight, channeling $10 billion to the power sector during his eight-year rule. Most of this money, however, went unaccounted for, and senior lawmakers have recently put the figure of misplaced funds used for the power sector closer to $16 billion.

The current government of President Umaru Yar'Adua made fixing the country's dilapidated power infrastructure a hallmark of his 2007 campaign. But the gap between electricity supply and demand in Africa's most populous country has only worsened since he took over.

This week, seven senior officials from the country's electricity regulatory body, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, were arrested and charged with fraud, accused of diverting $33 million in state funds for their personal use.

Mr. Yar'Adua has set power production goals of some 6,000 megawatts by the end of this year and 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2010. Few see these goals being met. In 2008, power production dropped on one occasion to as low as 800 megawatts, according to the state power company. Current production is between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts, according to the government.

"There were three days when no power at all was generated by the Nigerian government," said one official involved in high-level, power-sector reform talks with the government. "The worst part was, nobody at [the government power agency] noticed."

Amid the power crisis, several state governors, in an attempt to bypass the federal bureaucracy in the capital Abuja, have sought private funding to build their own power plants.

The governor of Kwara State, in southwestern Nigeria, has built a small power plant, funding it without federal support. The governor of Rivers State has been in negotiations to wrest control of energy distribution.



]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:20:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648855 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648843
Mexico's government said at least 20 people have died of the disease in central Mexico and that it may also have been responsible for 48 other deaths.

Mexico reported more than 1,000 suspected cases and four possible cases were also seen in Mexicali, right on the border with California. In the US, eight people were infected but recovered, health officials said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said tests showed the virus from 12 of the Mexican patients was the same genetically as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in eight patients in California and Texas.

Global health officials are not ready to declare a pandemic - a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease such as flu - but the new virus raised fears of a major outbreak.

Mexico's government has cancelled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas. All large public events like concerts were suspended in Mexico City.

Close analysis showed the disease is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the US Centrers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most of the Mexican dead were aged between 25 and 45, a Mexican health official said. Seasonal flu can be more deadly among the very young and the very old but a hallmark of pandemics is that they affect healthy young adults.

Humans can occasionally catch swine flu from pigs but rarely have they been known to pass it on to other people.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090425/twl-flu-outbreak-reaches-us-41f21e0.html
]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:47:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648843 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648203 Hell was literally let loose in Anambra State on Monday as armed robbers shot and killed over 30 people. The victims who included policemen, commuters and a soldier were felled during a shoot out that lasted for about two hours.
According to eyewitnesses, the armed robbers who operated with one Toyota Hilux, Hiace Commuter and one jeep were on the trail of a bullion van that took off from Onitsha to Nnewi through Oba old road. They were said to have launched an attack on the van within Oba area in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State.
During the shoot out with the police joint patrol team, Daily Sun gathered, passengers in buses and other vehicles that were trapped in the scene fell victim as some of them including three pregnant women were shot dead while others were seriously wounded. Our source said that the hoodlums blocked the expressway by Oba junction new and old roads to avoid disruption before they began the operation.
The bandits were said to have set the bullion van ablaze along with two other vehicles but as at the time of filing this report it was not certain whether they succeeded in breaking the bullion van or not before burning it.
Like demons from hell, Daily Sun was told that the armed robbers ran amock ran wild as stormed Nnobi road towards Oraukwu and Adani shooting indiscriminately at commuters as they made for escape. Our source said that a tipper lorry driver was shot dead in the rampage.
Some of the corpses were deposited at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) while others were taken to nearby hospitals as (NAUTH) mortuary was already congested, according to an official of the hospital.
A doctor at NAUTH casualty ward who pleaded anonymity said there were over 15 victims with serious bullet wounds receiving medical attention at the ward.
One commercial bus driver, Mr Ifeanyi whose bus was also attacked near Oraukwu junction said two men and a woman were shot dead in his bus by the armed robbers.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Fidelis Agbo (CSP) confirmed the incident. According to Mr Agbo three police officers, one soldier and four commuters were feared dead.
He said that the police have spread their dragnet to apprehend the dare-devils as none of the armed robbers was killed during the gun battle.
Meanwhile, two suspected armed robbers were killed and two others seriously wounded in a shoot out with the police along Ogoja Road Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital on Monday bringing to 11 killed in two separate attacks within one week in the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Chris Anyanwu said the hoodlums operating with two motorcycles marked QB 780 ZLL and WF 189 ENU had trailed their victim, one Mr. Simon Iseh from a bank to his petrol station and robbed him of the sum of over N1.2 million at gun point.
He said that the hoodlums, after snatching the money were intercepted at Nwokpo junction along Ogoja road while trying to escape with their loot.
He stated that items recovered from the bandits include two locally made pistols, four GSM handset, and some objects suspected to be charms.
Anyanwu gave the names of the suspected armed gang as Ogbonna Sunday from Agbaja Umuhu in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State and Orji Calistus from Amaorji Nenwe in Agwu local government area of Enugu State while the two that died at the spot were identified as Jude and Ernest.
The robbery victim, Hon Simon Iseh, pioneer Minority Leader of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, said that he left his house early in the morning to the bank to make some withdrawals but was delayed for some time at the bank.
“I came out of the bank and never suspected anything. I entered my car and drove off not knowing I was being followed.”
“On getting down at the petrol station four boys jumped down from two motorcycles,’ at gun point they asked me to hand over my car keys which I immediately did. Having collected my car keys, they also commanded me to hand over the money I withdrew from the bank. I realized that if I had refused to hand over the money they would possibly shoot me, so I handed over the money to them and immediately, they drove away in the opposite direction heading towards rice mill.”
He said that it was his salesgirls who, perhaps, observed what happened that raised alarm. “Fortunately for me, the Scorpion team of the Ebonyi State police command were driving towards the direction the hoodlum went and we had to alert them of the robbery attack. On sighting the police patrol van they opened fire and the police retaliated leading to the killing of two of the robbers while two others received gun shot wounds.”
The former House of Assembly member said that of the over N1.2 million snatched from him only N795,000 was recovered while the balanced could not be traced as at press time
ASP Anyanwu attributed the recent successes of the state police command to the determination of the force to curb crime in the state, adding that the command would continue to ensure that the state is safe for habitation.


]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:23:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648203 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648205 April 17, 2009


Watch Low Band CBNNews.com - The Obama administration has announced plans to loosen restrictions on how Americans can visit and do business with Cuba.

The changes mean that Cuban Americans can visit family on the island anytime they want. And they can send as much money as they wish to relatives there.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro says the U.S.should go further and lift what he calls the cruel trade embargo.

But on the same day the U.S. made its announcement, Cuba denied visas to members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The group had planned a trip to the country to evaluate the state of religious freedom in the island nation.

The commission says it will continue to apply for visas.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/579832.aspx]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:23:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648205 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648201
Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday,
Thirstday, Fightday Shatterday.

If you are not ashamed of GOD, pass it on.

Remember seven days WITHOUT GOD makes
one WEAK!!































]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:59:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/648201 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643855
Deportees raise the alarm over Nigerians'

By Friday Olokor, Oyetunji Abioye and Emeka Ezekiel

The 45 Nigerians deported on Tuesday by the Equatorial Guinea Government have expressed fears on the whereabouts of 11 others, saying they may have been killed in that country.
They also demanded the release of the 15 corpses of Nigerians killed for proper burial at home and $100m compensation to the owners of seized boats and the detainees.

Out of the 128 Nigerians detained by the government of that country, 11 of them were removed from their cell, to an unknown destination, while efforts to trace them have proved futile.

A statement entitled, Report of Assault on Nigerian businessmen and Sailors in Malabo by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, signed by the Secretary-General of Nigeria/Malabo Boat Owners Association, Mr. Wisdom Archibong and made available to our correspondent in Lagos on Wednesday, also alleged that 12 of them died through torture and shooting.

They were arrested on February 17 by a combined team of Equatorial Guinea Police, Navy and Army who took 98 sailors and 30 other Nigerians and detained at the Central Police Station in Malabo.

Three of the people shot dead, alleged Archibong, included one Mr. Sola Jide, adding that "three of the people in the boat were tortured to death, including a woman. The Equatorial Guinea Police, after killing them, placed guns on their bodies, took photographs and branded them militants.''

He stated that despite complaints to the Nigerian government, the Consul-General remained mute over the matter.

But the spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr. Ayo Olukanni, told The PUNCH on the phone that "both the Nigerian Mission in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and the Federal Government have taken up the issue to ensure that the rights of our people are protected.''

Reacting to the development, human rights advocate, Mr. Femi Falana, told our correspondent that he would reach out to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and draw the attention of the government to the plight of Nigerians in Equatorial Guinea.


]]> Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:48:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643855 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643713
As the hand of the clock ticked one minute after another on the night of Friday, August 22, 2007, Ibidunni, 14, had no inkling of the evil that had laid ambush for her behind the closed doors of her father’s self-contained three-bedroom home in Okota area of Lagos.
Dutifully, she had cleared the table after her father, Mr. Kolawole Odunuga (not real names), ate the food she had cooked for the family and served on his return from his office that night.
Earlier in the day, she had returned from school full of life. According to some of her teachers’ remarks on a few of her report cards made available to The Nation’s correspondent, she was an average SS III student. All she needed was some brush-ups here and there and she would blossom academically. Though, naturally timid and respectful, close dealings with the young girl revealed that she has plans for the future if nudged and guided towards that brilliant tomorrow.
That was the summation of Ibidunni’s life until a little into the early hours of the night when a hand gently roused her from sleep and what happened next was to change her life unexpectedly.
Recounting her ordeal that began that night and later went on for the next 17 months, she said: "When I felt a hand on me beating me, to wake me up, I was afraid. I thought armed robbers had entered our house and were waking us all up. So, I jumped up quickly and swiftly too, my dad grabbed me and said I should not shout, that he only woke me to talk with me. So, I became relaxed. Then he said I had to follow him to the parlour for the talk. Since he was my dad, I just followed him without any suspicion. Abi, why should I be afraid of my dad?
"When we got to the parlour, we both sat down on separate chairs and I was facing him. He then began by saying that I had offended him and that he had been finding it difficult to forgive me. Quickly, I slipped off the chair and knelt down saying: ‘Daddy, I am sorry. I didn’t know that I offended you’. He told me to sit down, that it was not just something that I would beg him like that and go off. To me, I just felt that he would give me a stiff punishment and that would be it.
"The next thing my dad said was, ‘If you can remove your night gown and lie on the bed for me to have sex with you, it will be the end of my anger with you’. I just jumped up and shouted, ‘Baba mi’! I then covered my mouth with my hands while and began to cry. I started begging him. Terrible fear gripped me and I felt like running out of the house that night, but he would have stopped me as he was sitting towards the door. I begged and begged him but he would not hear my pleas," Ibidunni recounted her ordeal.
Weeks before the shameful act, Ibidunni said she had subtly told her father’s lady-friend who often visited, that she (the lady) should stop coming to their house because their father was still married to their mother. The mum, Mrs. Felicia Odunnuga (not real names), has been posted to the new office in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. "But she comes home from time to time to spend time with her family of over two decades."
Ibidunni added that one time, he had overheard the lady complaining to her dad that he was just sleeping with her and making her ‘wash off’ pregnancies each time she told him she was pregnant.
"It was such a loud and harsh exchange among them that I was afraid for my mother, me and my two siblings. So, I decided within me that I would talk with the lady, who had been really nice to us. She never really interfered with our relationship with our dad. And she often did the cooking; I only cooked once in a while. But each time she and my dad quarrelled, I would cook for as long as she stayed away from our house.
"But when they settled their quarrel, we would see her coming around again. So, it was during one of the days she came that I told her about my mum.
"So that night, my father pulled me to himself and touched my breasts painfully. I tried to scream but he said he would kill me if I did. He dragged me to his bed and forced his way into my body. I cried and cried for help but no one could hear me, not even my younger ones in the other room because he had muffled my mouth with his singlet. When he finished, he told me to clean up, that what he did to me was a good punishment for not minding my business.
"I went back to my room and cried. In the morning, I could not look at my father. When he was going out, he just dropped money for me on the table and left for work. I wept at home and wept in school. I was so sad that one of my female teachers called me and asked what the problem was. I lied to her in response.
"When I got home on that first day, I was very afraid to see my father return from work. I quickly cooked food for the family, served his portion and kept to my room. He too did not even bother to call me when he got back. Things went on like that till the next Tuesday, August 26, 2008. He came in, ate quietly and everyone went to bed.
"Then about 1.00a.m, he came to my side again and woke me up. This time, he was looking firm. As soon as I followed him shivering, he just said: "Bo aso e ko sun si ori bed yen" (just remove your dress and lie on that bed...). I started begging him and crying, he just told me that if I wasted his time, he would deal with me terribly.
"And when he felt I was wasting his time, he just pulled and threw me on the bed.
"Then he came and laid on me and had sex with me again. All through, I cried so much but my father just had his way. When he finished this time, he threw a pack of tablets at me and told me to take two immediately. I was reluctant because I thought he wanted to kill me. But he shouted at me to take the drugs if I didn’t want to be pregnant for my father and become the laughing stock of the whole neighbourhood.
"I quickly swallowed two pills and he gave me instructions on how to take the remaining.
"That was how I entered into weekly and sometimes daily bouts of sexual assault with my father. I only had breaks when either my mother or the girlfriend was around. "I became sad and withdrawn and could not mix freely with my peers again. Everyone would at one time or the other ask me what my problem was; but I was never able to tell anyone. My dad even went as far as sleeping with me on some weekend afternoons when he felt like it. He threatened me not to tell my mother or anybody and that if I did, he would poison me.
"One day, the woman who brought me to you (The Nation correspondent) called and said she noticed that I was always sad and withdrawn and wanted to know why I was always keeping to myself. I told her nothing. Then she just said: ‘Ibidun, is your father molesting you sexually?’ I looked at her and was afraid and I thought she probably had been hearing my cries or peeping through our window.
"But before I could say anything, the woman said: "Look, when I was about your age, my father did the same to me. He slept with me and even wounded me until one day, I hit him on the head with a hard object and he was rushed to the hospital. He could not tell anyone what happened to his head but he kept lying that he fell or something like that...
"As the woman spoke, I started nodding my head and crying. Then, she stopped and asked, ‘For how long?’ And I told her since August 22, 2007. She was the one who did the calculation as at the time she was speaking with me and said it was about 17 months.
"The next day, she took me to the hospital for HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Sexually Transmission Infections (STIs) tests. After that, she took me to one Police Station not far from our house and we lodged complaints and they went to arrest my father.
"Later, my mother was called back from Abuja and she was told everything. My mother broke down in tears; my younger ones, and in fact, the entire family on both sides got to know. Then, I was taken away from the house and to this place (where The Nation correspondent met and spoke with her)."
There was a mild drama shortly before Ibidunni’s mother was told the truth. When she was summoned from Abuja, she was afraid, thinking her husband had died.
But Ibidunni told her: "Mummy, daddy is not dead. But something terrible happened which you must know about."
And when she was told, the mother slumped and fainted. She was later revived at the hospital.
When police interrogated Mr. Odunuga for the alleged incest against his daughter, he was said to have blamed it on the "devil".
He repeated the statement to a point that one of the policemen bawled at him: "Shut up your mouth! And why did you stand there watching the ‘devil’ defile your daughter and you did nothing abut it"?
At that point, he bowed his head in apparent shame.
Ibidunni is in a way getting her life back but she was encouraged to share her story so that she could unburden her heart and perhaps, others may learn from her encounter.
Juliana lives in Fagbe area of Agefe, a suburb in Lagos. She is a heady girl that would not readily heed her mother’s caution. To her, mum is ‘Old School‘who does not want her to enjoy freely with her peers. On one of her nights-out, she was returning home about 9.40pm when out of nowhere, two boys grabbed her from behind and carried her into a nearby uncompleted building and took turns to defile her.
She wailed aloud but no one could come to her rescue. After the action, the boys ran away and left her there. She pulled herself together and told her mother what just befell her. The next day, her mother called a friend and told her the daughter’s previous night ordeal. Eventually, another person was informed and Juliana was taken to the hospital for medical check-up and treatment.
Across Nigeria, horrific stories of incest and others such as gang rape occur daily. But the culture of silence usually adopted by the victims and their parents often makes many cases go unreported.
Rape is described as a forced and an unwanted sexual intercourse. Also called sexual assault, it is said to be more about the use of power in which the rapist uses actual force or violence or the threat of it to take control over another human being. And rape can happen to men and women of any age.
Generally, rape is said to be more about power than sex. Some rapists are even said to use drugs to take away the person’s ability to fight back. This confers on the act of rape, a criminal stance whether the person committing it is a stranger, a date, an acquaintance or a family member.
No matter how it occurs, rape is frightening and traumatising and that is why the victims need care, comfort and means of getting over it and to be emotionally healed, among others.
Mrs. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, Executive-in-Charge, Media Concern Initiative for Women and Children, based in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, said in the Nigerian situation, estimates depend on how rape is defined and measured and those based on police statistics are virtually useless because most rapes are never reported to the authorities.
She added that the prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in general has also been very difficult to obtain in Nigeria. However, "due to our work on sexual violence in MEDIACON, we have a Media Monitoring component to our work, as well as a Crisis Response Centre (CRC).
"Therefore, the data I am giving here is from both sources. In the past three years, we have seen an average of 10 cases reported in the Nigerian media monthly while, our Crisis Response Centre has an increasingly growing number of cases. By reports from our Helplines between 2005 and 2007, we have had over 20 cases reported monthly and from 2008 till date, it has increased to over 30 cases from all over the nation. The cases that come to the CRC and tap into services offered are about 5–10 monthly. Together, I can say that there are reports of nearly 50 cases monthly."
On why people rape, she said individual rapists may have a variety of motivations.
For instance, "A man may rape because he wants to impress his friends by losing his virginity or because he wants to avenge himself against a girl or woman who has spurned him. However, it is an abuse, a violation and violence against the victim. One aspect of the puzzle of why some men rape is that they rape without punishment, because they can get away with it."
She added: "As a purely scientific puzzle, the problem is hard enough. But it is further roiled by strong ideological currents. Many social theorists view rape not only as an ugly crime but as a symptom of an unhealthy society, in which men fear and disrespect women.
Olufemi-Kayode’s submission could actually be buttressed by this story: A young girl, Patricia, had read Dramatic Arts from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), 2005/2006 academic session.
On completing her education and the compulsory National Youths Corps Service year in 2007, she needed a job. So, her elder sister took her to a prominent Nigerian actor (names withheld).
The actor, a male, handsome no doubt, had other plans beyond helping the girl secure an acting slot in the world of Nollywood. As time went by, he gave the girl one appointment or the other until a final day that he told the girl she would have to wait in his house.
"They went to his house and during the wait, he offered to play the game of Scrabble with the girl. Then he gave the girl some ground rules for the game. He reportedly told Patricia that, if he won, she would remove each of her wears apiece; and if she won, he would be told by her to do same.
The young woman sensed danger and quickly got up on her feet, possibly to run out of the house. But the randy actor who knew his devilish intent had locked the doors to the house with a remote control button.
Then, he reportedly became violent with the girl since it was obvious she was not willing to play ball with him. Obviously able to overpower the girl, he had his way into her and dropped some wads of money on her body to take care of herself whenever she was ready to leave his house. But the girl refused to touch the money dropped on her body but she narrated the ordeal to her elder sister who was the link between her and the actor.
The sister apparently confronted the actor who allegedly apologised and confessed that it was Patricia’s beauty that mesmerised and got the better part of him. But the elder sister, obviously furious, told as many of her media contacts as she can reach at the time to help her publicise the actor’s shameful act.
With time, however, the issue went the way of others and was gradually phased out of memory as the actor reportedly made counter-moves by meeting his friends in the media to ‘kill’ the story and save his name and image.


]]> Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:35:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643713 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643193

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers,[a] that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:11-18 ESV

by...
Felix Oti
]]> Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:36:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643193 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643189 From OLUWOLE AKINBOYEWA, Abuja

Friday, April 17, 2009 Elder statesman and Nigeria’s former military head of state, Dr. Yakubu Gowon, has predicted that high profile corruption and long neglect of the masses’ welfare since 1960, may soon make the preferred civilian administration lose its valued place to options
Gowon, who gave the warning at the launch of a 24-member national working committee on the establishment of a functional social security policy, headed by him, in Abuja on Thursday, said the continued presence of corruption, its attendant unemployment and poverty; social insecurity and uncoordinated governments’ policies and programmes, over the decades, would make government by the people lose its appeal.
He explained that though, the citizenry had faithfully been expressing their choice through the ballot box in the last few years, they may abandon the system, when their struggle for survival had left them with little strength to defend that system, owing to hunger, poverty, weak or non-existent basic infrastructure, social injustice and physical insecurity.

“Nigerians have continued to be traumatized by poverty that they are left with little or no time to defend democratic ideas and ethos. While democracy remains the _expression of the people’s choice through the ballot, the struggle for survival has continued to take away the little strength left in our people to stand and defend that choice.

“Unfortunately, democracy may not take firm roots in an environment of debilitating and excruciating hunger and poverty, compounded by weak or non-existent basic infrastructure, social injustice and physical insecurity. Democracy may soon lose its appeal, unless Nigeria comes up with policies, which are designed to save the poor from getting poorer…,” he stressed.

The Nigerian civil war hero queried the unpopular social, economic and political policies of successive administrations in 49 years of sovereignty, which at best, continued to identify national problems without impact, as witnessed by the “gradual but steady decline in the people’s standard of living, unpredictable crude oil market prices, rising unemployment, inclement business environment, widening income inequality, rising cost of goods and services and above all, the current financial and economic meltdown.”

Gen. Gowon called for the establishment of functional people-oriented policies, aimed at saving the poor from getting poorer and redressing the tempo of over 50 per cent of the population from falling below the poverty line, through a suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum wage, old age care and pensions, employment, sick benefits and the disabled welfare to all Nigerians.

He expressed dismay that despite many social programmes championed by organs of governments and substantial funding by international organizations over the years, there had been no substantial positive effect of poverty reduction in the country.

Launching the committee, the Labour and Productivity Minister, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, declared that the 2004 Pension Reform Scheme had not succeeded beyond the establishment level because there was no empowering Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), providing the needed fund to implement the policy.

Kayode, who also lamented the failure of two existing laws empowering the scheme, blamed the various ministries, departments and agencies, tasked to providing some social parameters for the scheme of engaging in uncoordinated programmes not helpful to reaping the expected social benefits.

The minister referred to some constitutional provisions and international conventions supporting the national social security policy, promising that Nigeria would this have a functional and lasting social security policy once and for all.

He highlighted the committee’s terms of reference, which included recommending a policy serving the benefits of the formal and informal sectors including the poor and rich, the urban, rural and informal dwellers, a robust and sustainable financing of the scheme, and an administrative implementation structure.

Kayode commended the Federal Government for its commitment to the success of the seven-point agenda, as a measure of saving the masses from untold hardship amidst plenty.


]]> Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:27:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/643189 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/636207 For CNN

Spence, who lost an eye in a childhood accident, is in the process of installing a tiny camera into his prosthetic eye. He announced his plan last year, and now he's a step closer to fulfilling his aim.

"It's been an expensive and laborious process to make this thing. But fortunately we have leveraged the right people and have a working prototype," he says.

A documentary filmmaker based in Toronto, Spence wants to use the wireless camera in his eye to make films and examine where "recorded image and video intersect with humanity." Although, he says, the prototype containing delicate electronics isn't ready for frequent use yet.

Spence, who calls himself the "eyeborg," is the latest example of the convergence of human and machine. No longer restricted to the realm of sci-fi novels and movies, technology is increasingly being integrated into the living body.

Human kind has been using technology to improve the power of their senses since the days of cave men, according to James Geary, author of "The Body Electric: An Anatomy of the New Bionic Senses."

He loosely describes bionics as any device that extends, repairs or enhances natural sensory abilities. For him, that includes everything from cochlear implants that provide deaf people with a sense of sound to the wireless gadgets people use today to talk on their mobile phones hands free.

In recent years, technology has helped create smaller, more power efficient electronic devices. As a result, there has been a "big conceptual shift towards inserting these components inside, instead of outside the body," says Geary.

Spence will not be augmenting his senses in the traditional bionic sense -- his vision won't improve at all because his retina was damaged to the point where he had his eye replaced with a prosthetic.

But a California company, Second Sight, has developed a device that can restore limited vision for some blind people. So far, the company says it has implanted the device in 21 people around the world who have retinal degeneration.

The device, which is still in clinical trials, consists of a camera mounted on a pair of glasses. Captured images are transmitted to electrodes implanted in the retina, which then send images to the brain. The device gives patients the ability to perceive patterns of light, which are then interpreted as images.

Retinal implants, mind-controlled limbs, electrodes inserted in the brain -- they're just a few examples of next-generation technologies that may speed up the integration of body and machine. See photo gallery of bionic devices »

What do you think about the merging of humans and machines? Tell us in the SoundOff below

Dr. Miguel Nicolelis is a neuroscientist at Duke University. He has spent the last decade investigating the links between brain activity and devices, an area of research known as brain machine interface.

He hopes developments in the field will lead to the creation of the next generation of mind-controlled limbs. "We hope to restore mobility to those who have lost the ability to send messages to the brain and their muscles," he tells CNN.

Scientists have already shown that monkeys with probes inserted in their brains are able to control artificial devices like robotic arms with their minds. They've found that computer software can interpret signals picked up by the electrodes.

Brain machine interface ultimately could help restore mobility to quadriplegics and others, such as those suffering from spinal cord injuries, says Nicolelis.

He's involved in a global project called Walk-Again that aims to develop a wearable exoskeleton that paralyzed users could control with signals from their brain.

Finding a way to safely insert electrodes and probes into human brains remains an obstacle. But scientists are constantly working on finding ways to better integrate devices in living organisms.

Seamlessly fusing engineered devices into living tissue can be challenging since devices usually are metal, hard and flat, according to David Martin, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan.

"This is where the real interesting scientific frontier is -- implanted devices integrating themselves in the brain, ear, eye and in muscle. The question is whether we can do that and not cause too much cell damage," he says.

The technology being developed is cutting edge and pushing boundaries, but there are potential pitfalls. Since it's still early days, no one knows how bodies will react over the long term to inserted devices.

Furthermore, people have a heightened awareness when it comes to their body, and privacy concerns are already being raised, according to Geary.

"We're just really sensitive about anything we put in our bodies," he says. In science fiction, the cyborg is almost always the bad guy. The big barrier is overcoming that fear, he says

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/08/bionic.body/index.html
]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:21:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/636207 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/628377
They agreed it's so difficult preaching to people all
the time and no one preaches to them.

Sitting by the river with little response from the hooks
one pastor thought of sharing his heart with others.

He said "guys its rare to get such an opportunity to
be among ourselves like this. It would be good if we look into our lives and help each other with our weaknesses".
They all agreed to this.

This pastor said "Gentlemen I need help! The people in my church give a lot of money every week. I started taking little by little but now I take a big chunk. I can't stop stealing from the church please pray for me. The day they will find out I will be fired"!

The other p astor said "brothers your sins are better
than mine! I have slept with every woman in the church including married women. As I preach my eyes hover over the congregation looking for the next prey. If this is discovered people will not fire me, they will kill me!"

The last pastor's feet were shaking as they were talking. They thought he had a big story to tell.

He stood up and said "My brothers my problem is gossip, there is nothing i hear that I don't tell everyone! Infact I
can't sit anymore. I have to share this with the congregation!

By

Mazi Felix Okereke



]]> Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:58:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/628377 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/621119 By GILLIAN WONG

Hundreds of Tibetans attacked a police station and government officials in northwestern China despite heightened security, prompting the arrests Sunday of nearly 100 monks, state media reported.

Six of those arrested for alleged involvement in the attack were caught by police while 89 others turned themselves in, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. All but two were monks, it said.

The protest appeared to be in response to the disappearance of a Tibetan who escaped from police custody in Qinghai province, Xinhua said.

According to a Tibetan exile, the protest involved as many as 2,000
According to a Tibetan exile, the protest involved as many as 2,000 people and was sparked by the apparent suicide of a monk being investigated for unfurling a Tibetan flag Xinhua said several hundred people -- including nearly 100 monks from the Ragya Monastery -- attacked the police station in Ragya, a township in the Tibetan prefecture of Golog, on Saturday, assaulting policemen and government staff.

Some officials were injured slightly in the assault, Xinhua said, without elaborating.

A man who answered the phone at Qinghai's public security department said he had not heard about the attack or the arrests. Phone calls to other police departments and government offices in the area rang unanswered.

The violence is the latest known incidence of unrest following a bomb explosion Monday in an unoccupied police station in predominantly Tibetan Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province. The explosion shattered the building's windows but no injuries were reported.

In February, Tibetan advocacy groups said a thousand monks gathered at a monastery in Sichuan province's Aba county to protest a ban on celebrating a traditional prayer festival called Monlam. One monk doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze.

The violence on Saturday began after a man accused of supporting Tibetan independence escaped from police custody and went missing, Xinhua said.

It cited authorities as saying the man fled from the Ragya police station after asking to go to the washroom, prompting a manhunt. It cited a witness as saying he was seen swimming in the Yellow River.

A former resident of the area who now lives in Dharmsala, India, said the protesters were angry because they believed the man, a 28-year-old monk named Tashi Sangpo, jumped in the river to commit suicide after fleeing.

"When Tashi was being interrogated by the officials, he asked their permission to go to the toilet. He then went out and jumped into the Yellow River," the source said on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisals against his family still living in China. "The dead body is yet to be found."

Continue...

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNewsAsia20090322AS-China-Tibet.xmlcat=worldsubcat=asiapageid=1
]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:53:00 EDT http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/621119 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/604731 Written by Kehinde Akinyemi, Abeokuta
Saturday, 28 February 2009


A total of 100 hairdressers in Abeokuta metropolis in Ogun State have benefited from N7.5 million loan granted by AROCOM Group of Companies.

The grant covers acquisition of generating power plants, refrigerators and other hairdressing equipment valued at about N75, 000.00 per beneficiary.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the State Secretary, National Association of Hairdressing and Cosmetology (NASHCO), Mrs. Mojisola Oriade, enjoined the beneficiary members to make good use of the facility and ensure prompt payment of the loan in order to allow others to benefit.

She disclosed that when the company first approached the association, “We thought it was another gimmick, but when the Chairman of the company sent for us that they are indeed ready for the assistance we are surprised. Therefore, we also have to show appreciation to them by paying back as at when due,” Oriade advised.

Abeokuta branch chairman, Chief (Mrs.) Aderonke Awode, also echoed the position of the state secretary, stressing that, “it is through prompt payment of the loan that the company will not regret extending their hand of fellowship to us as a body. And I want to pledge that the company will not regret this gesture to us,” she declared.

The Chairman of AROCOM, Alhaji Shuaibu Aro, hinted that the company took the decision to provide the 100 hairdressers in Abeokuta with the facility as part of the commitment of the company to alleviate poverty and empower the people.

He said that the grant totalled N7.5 million “is expected to be re-paid instalmentally for 12 consecutive months. Beneficiaries are enjoying the scheme on the platform of the Abeokuta chapter of NASHCO and it is the structure that shall be used to monitor the repayment of the facility.”

Aro added that the association “has executed a deed of association guarantee to pledge their determination to utilize their structure to monitor and co-ordinate the repayment of the facility and pay our company as at when due. The association has also agreed to be liable to indemnify us in case of default by any of its members.

Some of the beneficiaries, which include Mrs. Abiola Adeleke from Imo area, Miss Muinat Agboola (Elega) and Mrs. Abigail Morawo from Asero area showered encomium on the company for the assistance assuring that they would all endeavour to repay the loan as at when due.


http://www.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=5381Itemid=40

]]> Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:18:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/604731 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/603873 Bernardo Vieira, has been killed by soldiers, officials say.


For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

]]> Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:30:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/603873 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/602171
If you've ever wondered why there's a minority of people who seem confident in setting and achieving goals while others seem to struggle for the basics in life, then read on.

Until fairly recently I was like a lot of people. I was unhappy and even a bit worried with the direction my life was going in. I was getting deeper into debt, not making much progress in my career and certainly hadn't really begun building any sort of financial security for my future.

In short, I'd become stuck in a rut. And it wasn't because I was short on ambitions and dreams for a better future either.

The truth is, though, every time I was determined to set a goal and make a big change, I'd do it for a while but always seemed to eventually slip back into my old way of doing things.

But why? Why is it so hard to change even when you desperately want to?

I knew other people managed to achieve their dreams and ambitions and it probably wasn't impossible for me to either if I just had the confidence and know how. And I knew this was probably true for the majority of other people too.

A study by the Social Security Administration, following one hundred people at the start of their working careers for 40 years until they reached retirement age, found only 1 would be wealthy, 4 financially secure and the rest continuing to work to make ends meet, broke or dead!

That's 5% successful, 95% unsuccessful.

So what does the successful 5% know, that the 95% doesn't?

Since around 1995 I've made it my mission to find out. I've studied a library's worth of books, recordings, courses and seminars on subjects such as psychology, philosophy, spirituality, positive mindset, goal-setting and even the law of attraction.

What I discovered was our brains are actually hard-wired to sabotage any attempts at changing. Let me explain:

The first thing to realize is, if you're unhappy or unsuccessful in any area of your life, it's not your fault. You're just unaware of why you're getting the results you're getting and how you can change them.

You're unaware, or conscious, of this because the vast majority of our results are controlled at a subconscious level. If you've ever heard the phrase, "he's a creature of habit", nothing could be closer to the truth.

Most of our lives are governed by daily routines and knee-jerk reactions we call habits.

A habit is an acquired behavior pattern followed until it has become almost involuntary. The reason habits become almost involuntary is because they become hardwired into our brain.

Every time you think or do something, connections between your brain cells are created or existing ones followed.

That's why when you're learning something new and have no previous points of reference, you find it difficult.

You don't have any existing neural pathways in your brain yet to cope with the new situation and have to create them.

At first, the neural pathways are weak, but with repetition the connections between brain cells become stronger and stronger until it becomes your automatic way of thinking. It becomes 'hardwired' into your brain.

You don't have to 'think' about doing a thing, it's just your automatic response when faced with similar circumstances. You're not aware or conscious of doing it; it's done at a subconscious level.

Habits can be very useful. Imagine going through your day having to make conscious decisions about everything you do.

However, once habits have become hardwired into our brains, they become very difficult for us to change. In fact, they're often so difficult for us to change they sometimes become known as addictions or obsessions.

In fact it's some of these very habits that are sabotaging your attempts to achieve your short and long term goals.

To start making and reaching your personal goals you need to first start researching and using the simple but little used secrets to reverse your 'hard-wiring' and 're-wire' your brain so you can start effortlessly achieving anything you want.

Campbell Forsyth shows you how to easily get the results you really want in life. Watch his free eye-opening video by visiting this link now: How to achieve short and long term goals.

Article Source - http://www.goalsinternational.com/articles/how-to-achieve-short-and-long-term-goals.html
]]> Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:43:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/602171 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/598607
Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony.
The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!



]]> Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:29:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/598607 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/551319 From Collins Olayinka, Florence Oretade and Funmi Awoyale, Abuja
TO ensure the success of the anti-graft crusade, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday called on the National Assembly to expunge the immunity clause from the nation's constitution.

The immunity clause in the 1999 Constitution shields the president, vice president, state governors and their deputies from prosecution even on alleged corruption while in office. Many citizens, groups and civil society organisations have criticised the clause, which they described as scuttling the nation's efforts at fighting corruption.

Speaking in Abuja at the launch of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) National Anti-Corruption Revolution (ANCOR), President Yar'Adua also urged Nigerians to shun what he described as esoteric approach to the anti-corruption war, calling on all to actively participate in the crusade.

President Yar'Adua spoke as the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola decried the nation's approach to fighting corruption, saying it was the wrong way.

According to him, the entire nation must see the elimination of corruption as "our" individual and collective responsibility, as that is the only assured way of ensuring success of the anti-graft war and ensuring Nigeria realises its full potential.

The President noted that official corruption had become endemic in the country because of the elite who had been placed in positions of authority and trust.

He said: "Corruption is endemic in this country and there is absolutely no way this country can achieve its potential until and unless this evil is confronted promptly by all Nigerians, and one of the steps and measures that we may have to take in order to entrench this fight against corruption is to look at some of our laws.

"I today call for the abrogation of the constitutional provision of

immunity for president, vice president, governors and deputy governors, and I want all Nigerians to join me in this call. The National Assembly is making efforts to review the 1999 Constitution, so this provision for immunity should be

expunged from the Nigerian constitution."

President Yar'Adua who cited the Governor of Illinois in the United States who was arrested for political corruption few days ago while trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, said nobody in Nigeria deserved to be protected by law when looting public funds.

"He was just released yesterday on bail but he was arrested and taken into custody and he is still the governor of a state in the United States, so why should we here, knowing clearly that we have a problem of corruption, official corruption, protect the offices of president and vice president, governors and deputy governors?

"So, I want all Nigerians to join me today to make this call. Let us expunge this provision of immunity from the 1999 Constitution."

The President also called on the Nigerian citizenry to stop cherishing and respecting people in position of authority who suddenly become wealthy, noting that the unnecessary respect being given to the looters was one of the things that encouraged Nigerian elite who found themselves in positions of authority to

become corrupt.

Yar'Adua reminded the EFCC of the need to be ruthless, and totally energetic in pursuing corrupt officials, prosecuting them, sanctioning them and bringing them to justice.

He commended the EFCC and other stakeholders for their timely initiative to launch ANCOR with the aim of widely "mobilising and galvanising our conscience to the evils and debilitating effects of unbridled corruption in our polity."

Governor Fashola called for a national strategic plan of action in a direction that would confront the causes of corruption and eliminate the monster in a gradual manner. According to him, fighting corruption by merely charging alleged corrupt people to courts would not help the country.

The governor, who spoke at a forum organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja, said the mere charging to court of people for corrupt offences could only address the problem on the surface.

"This approach cannot take us to our desired destination in the crusade against corruption. It is tantamount to the use of wrong medicine for an ailment. The ailment will simply continue and may get worse, " he said.

According to him, there is a connection between corruption and economic conditions. For the fight against corruption to produce results, the country must first identify the root causes and tackle them rather than concentrating efforts on prosecution.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that the cloudy circumstances that surround the redeployment of the immediate past Chairman of the EFCC, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, may stall the fight against graft in the country.

In a letter to President Yar'Adua, a copy of which was made available to The Guardian in Abuja yesterday, the Abdulwaheed Omar-led NLC said though as human being, Ribadu may have made some mistakes in the execution of his duties as EFCC boss, he certainly did not deserve the treatment being meted out to him by the government.

Taking the President on memory lane, the NLC stated that the appointment of Ribadu as the EFCC helmsman in 2004 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo had undoubtedly raised the consciousness of Nigerians on the evils of corruption and the need to tame it in all its ramifications.

It added that Obasanjo's declaration of war on corruption, which was generally accepted by most Nigerians, may have been responsible for some of the over-zealousness on the part of Ribadu-led management of the anti-graft agency.

Labour explained: "There is of course no doubt that in the process, Nuhu Ribadu and the EFCC under him might have made mistakes. Some of these mistakes were considered to include his penchant to dispense with due process in his pursuit of suspected criminals, his disregard of court ruling, and his willingness to allow himself and the EFCC to be used as a tool for political witch-hunt. Slowly, but gradually, the perception grew that Ribadu was selective of his anti-corruption targets."

Labour further reiterated that Ribadu went into the anti-corruption crusade with zeal and determination to succeed.

The NLC letter reads in part: "When Malam Nuhu Ribadu was appointed the Chairman of the EFCC, he went about his duty with a single-mindedness of purpose, commitment and dedication to stem the tide of corruption in the country. In those early years, he demonstrated a rare courage and determination to track down corrupt people and practices in the country. He was successful in de-mystifying the criminal elements who took the nation hostage, economically and politically. To his credit, the fear of the EFCC became the beginning of wisdom. There was no more room for the impunity, which reigned before Nuhu Ribadu, and EFCC came into the public arena. No doubt some politicians might have continued to steal, but they had to spend more time thinking and planning about how to hide the proceeds of their crime."

Labour pointed out that during Ribadu's reign, many important corruption cases were prosecuted, including many 419 cases which had given Nigeria a bad image. This renewed the hope of many Nigerians that indeed it was possible to fight corruption and win.

"No doubt, some of these mistakes, indeed excesses, were the result of both personal shortcomings of Ribadu and the institutional weaknesses of the EFCC. These were the weaknesses the former President might have exploited in his political battles," it said.

The statement, which was jointly signed by the Acting President of NLC, Mr. Peters Adeyemi and General Secretary, John Odah, stated that since the recall of Ribadu from the EFCC and the appointment of a new chairman for the agency, Ribadu himself had become a subject of what many Nigerians rightly or wrongly perceive as a backlash by some of the politicians who were at the receiving end of his anti-corruption crusade.

]]> Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:44:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/551319 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/551315

Dr. Theodore Orji, Abia State governor

Right from 1863 when the Irish Reverend gentleman, Henry Townsend, founded the first Nigerian newspaper called IWE IROHIN till date, the media have been in the vanguard of the crusade for the enthronement of a just, liberal and egalitarian society. Indeed, the period between 1926, when the prestigious but now moribund Daily Times was founded, and the mid 30's saw the media at its best. This period was when the agitation for Nigeria's independence assumed a more visible and vibrant dimension.

The media – electronic and print – have remained a focused, viable and reliable tool for social reengineering, political enlightenment, and economic development over the years, contributing robustly to the country's socio-political transformation.

In Europe and America, for instance, the media have been given a more recognizable role and fully integrated into their social systems as adjuncts for change and rearmament. Even in Asia, this role is becoming more significant as they gradually assert themselves more authoritatively.

The beautiful and functional role played by the media, especially the electronic media, in our nation's democratic development has elicited multiplier reactions from even unusual quarters such as the academia, the organised private sector (OPS), and individuals (technocrats, politicians and media personalities).. The result has been greater interest in the way the sector is run; especially, its funding and staffing.

Research has shown that establishing and managing electronic media is no mean task. Apart from their elegance and visibility, they are also quite capital-intensive.

The obstacles encountered by the regional governments in Nigeria, when they were authorised by the British Colonial Administration to establish private broadcasting stations, remain a reference point for those who later took to private broadcasting as a business.

The establishment of the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (WNBC), as the first broadcasting station in Nigeria, marked a milestone in broadcasting. The regionalisation of broadcasting in 1951 was also a precursor to the effort that followed later to popularize broadcasting in Nigeria.

The introduction of television broadcasting also started in the west with the establishment of the Western Nigeria Television Station (WNTV).

With it came a flurry of activities in that sector, culminating in the setting-up of similar broadcasting stations by the other regions in Nigeria.

It must be stated, however, that the western part of Nigeria has always set the tone on how the business of broadcasting should be advanced. This is why the region can boast of top-class broadcast stations that have cast themselves in a unique mould as focused, elitist, and, sometimes, aggressive. The vibrancy of politics in the west of Nigeria is accentuated by the aggressiveness and exclusiveness of its media.

The incursion of private individuals and organisations into ownership of electronic media was stimulated by the liberalisation policy of the Federal Government. Before the policy, it was difficult, if not impracticable, for any individual or private organisation, except the government, to invest in electronic media. This was why it took over a century, since Townsend pioneered newspaper business in Nigeria, for private persons and organisations to own and operate electronic media.

It is important at this juncture, to recall the role played by great statesmen and patriots such as Herbert Macaulay, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and, of late, Chief MKO Abiola in private media ownership. While Herbert Macaulay founded the Nigerian Observer newspaper, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe came back from Pennsylvania, United States in 1934, to establish the Morning Post in the then Gold Coast (now Ghana). Dr Azikiwe later relocated the Morning Post to Nigeria in 1937 and rechristened it the West African Pilot, which played a remarkable role in Nigeria's quest for independence.

Again, it was the West African Pilot that introduced the departmentalisation of newspapers as we have them today. Features, sports, fashion, foreign news and other such pages were introduced by the West African Pilot. It has to be stated, unequivocally though, that Chief Abiola made an impressive foray into private newspaper business in Nigeria with the establishment of the Concord Group of Newspapers that championed the cause of democracy in the country. Painfully, out of the four early pioneers that walked on the face of the earth, it is only Chief Awolowo’s Tribune, founded in November 1949, which has survived till date.

The success story of the Tribune and the extinction of the West African Pilot, the Nigerian Observer and Concord (caused by the demise of its founder) show an interesting milieu in the culture of newspaper ownership. Nevertheless, the founding of The Guardian, Punch, Vanguard, and, of late, others, has opened a new vista in media ownership in Nigeria.

I have made this brief reference in order to draw a correlation between the vision of early private newspaper owners and their counterparts in the electronic media. The truth is that the dogged spirits of the early newspaper proprietors catalyzed the creative endowments of the founders of private broadcast stations in Nigeria. It was not until May 1977 that the Federal Government, through the promulgation of Decree 24, established the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Before this time, on January 1, 1962, the Federal Government established the Voice of Nigeria as part of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, which is a parastatal agency in the Federal Ministry of Information. After the setting-up of the NTA and its attendant success story the Federal Government on February 28, 1979 established the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). By the decree that established the FRCN, the corporation should engage in radio broadcasting on short wave or powerful Medium Wave for effective simultaneous reception in more than one state of the federation. At present, there is at least one FRCN station in each state capital in Nigeria.

As stated earlier, the Federal Government introduced the liberalisation policy to allow for private ownership of radio and television. This was to complement the existing press freedom at that time. Consequent upon this, the first private radio station in Nigeria – Ray Power – which operated on Frequency Modulated (FM) 100.5, was born. Owned by Daar Communications Limited, Ray Power quickly gained acceptability among radio listeners in Lagos and its environs.

Within a short time of the existence of Ray Power the first privately-owned television station, Africa Independent Television (AIT), was also founded. It is owned by Daar Communications. Worthy of mention is the fact that the two stations were owned by Chief (Dr.) Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, in whose honour we are assembled here.

Some other television stations such as Degue Broadcasting Network (DBN), Channels Television, Muhri International Television (MITV), Clapper Board Television, Minaj, and Silverbird followed suit.

Being the text of a keynote address presented by His Excellency Dr. Theodore Ahamefule Orji, Executive Governor of Abia State on the occasion of the conferment of a media award on him in Abuja on Tuesday, December 2, 2008.



]]> Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:38:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/551315 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/547007 It all started few weeks ago when three men alleged that their sex organs had disappeared mysteriously, pointing fingers at another gentleman.

The latter was brutally beaten until the Lamido of Guidiguidi intervened. The three men were immediately taken to the Guidiguidi Integrated Health Centre. After a series of tests carried by the Chief Medical Officer, no abnormalities were identified.

In the town of Maga and Puse, some other persons alleged that their sex organs had disappeared but medical examinations did reveal no abnormality.

The most dramatic incident took place on Velley. The incident involved six men who cried out for help after shaking hands with a stranger.

They complained that their sex organs had disappeared strangely. This engendered trouble in the locality.

The crown pounced on the accused, determined to have him pay the price of all the penises that had been snatched away.

The gentleman was almost lynched; thankfully, the Lamido of Yagoua intervened and summoned the victims. He ordered medical tests but the results, once again proofed no abnormality.

One of the six victims explained that he was ripped by a strange sensation when he greeted the accused.

He said he had goose pimples at that moment and felt like his sex organ had shrunk into his stomach.

In spite of these recurrent reports of sexual organs disappearing, modern medicine is yet to explain the phenomenon or else, it remains an unsolved mystery.

The panic-stricken population of the Mayo Danay Division is presently very vigilant; they take nothing for granted, above all no handshake, unless you don't care about your manhood.

from Solomon Tembang Mforgham, AfricaNews reporter in Limbe, Cameroon
]]> Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:37:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/547007 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/542493
Painful words, especially when laced with lies can cut as sharp as a knife and inflict such pain. Painful words have driven people to end their lives, to take another person's live or just to go through life feeling less than what God designed them to be. Painful words can kill a human spirit.
Painful words spoken in a competitive setting as in a debate or campaign are best put aside with a handshake at the end of the exercise and left right there.

Rising up above hurtful words and lies which are meant to cut down is a difficult task which if, and when mastered, is an art that brings great joy and peace. The task starts with learning to know and love who one is. Armed with the knowledge that people are made in the image of God and the knowledge that God is not in the business of making garbage or useless creations, it becomes easier to start learning how to take those fiery arrows of hurtful words, lies and half truths in stride. It may be weighing the heart down, with tears stinging the eyes, but as soon as one remembers that whoever is saying or writing these words is not even in control of the air that goes in and out of them to make those words possible, the impact of the arrows start fading away instantly. It starts making it clear that those words may actually be the outlet for inner turmoil and pressure for the speaker or writer. Looking at it that way puts the hearer in a position to switch from being a victim to being a person who extends pity and compassion to the speaker. Blessed are the merciful---- for they shall obtain mercy and the mercy works wonders, wiping off the pain and replacing it with fulfillment and joy and appreciation of God's gifts many of which are taken for granted.

A person who just received the bad news that they may not live to the end of the year will not mind hearing a few bad painful words if that will change their bleak situation. Putting words in their right place, in the air, helps blow them away and if written words, read and erase off the mind and dwell on blessings all around, counting them; good health, sight, hearing, the ability to walk, children, family, to mention a few. In other words, blessings wipe away the impact of hateful words.

Words are powerful. Words can do so many different things. They can edify. They can diminish. Words can unite. They can disperse. Bad, hurtful words have the tendency to destroy but we as humans with the ability to CHOOSE can choose the way we react to words, which includes rising above bad words, trying to put into consideration the speaker of the words and what drives a person to speak or write hurtful words. The focus becomes the source of the words. The best thing becomes to make the choice to let the speaker of the hurtful words off the hook completely. That gets rid of garbage and baggage which can weigh down a person in an unbelievable manner. Such garbage can hold down a person, preventing progress, preventing happiness, stealing peace and fulfillment.

The best thing to do then becomes to choose to let words be just what they are---Words. In one way, out the other.
This Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for the ability to let words be just words and nothing more. God's word never changes and that makes all the difference in the world. Man's words on the other hand, as powerful as they may be are not carved in stone, will not necessarily have real power, unless we let them.

Chinwe Enemchukwu,
Author of " The power of words,and then choices" ]]> Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:23:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/542493 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/532399 – President-elect Barack Obama, November 18, 2008

Today has been a big day in the fight against global warming.

President-elect Barack Obama gave his strongest public commitment to date in support of a national cap-and-trade system to reduce America's global warming pollution and unleash a clean energy revolution.

The President-elect told the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit, underway this week in Los Angeles, CA:

I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who's willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that's willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.

He went on to call for a national cap-and-trade system that will "establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them an additional 80% by 2050."

What makes this statement momentous is that it signals President-elect Obama's intention to make global warming a central priority for his first term.

EDF President Fred Krupp issued the following statement in response:

President-elect Obama got it exactly right. His plan... will jump-start job creation in new energy industries, and take a huge step toward solving climate change. We strongly applaud President-elect Obama's statement today, and his leadership on this issue.

Meanwhile, at a news conference back in Washington, DC, EDF joined a diverse coalition of 32 leading corporations and environmental groups in calling for national legislation to limit the release of global warming pollution.

EDF was a founding member last year of the coalition—the United States Climate Action Partnership, or US-CAP for short—which was established to add powerful support for effective national climate legislation.

Taken together, these announcements represent a truly historic day in our fight against global warming.

It is important to remember, however, we haven't won anything yet.

These words, while encouraging, won't mean a thing if we can't move legislation through both the House and the Senate starting January 20th.

This gets us in the game, but we've got a lot of work ahead.

We'll keep you posted through regular Transition Report emails.

In the meantime, please forward this email to friends, family, colleagues, and anyone else interested in joining our global warming fight.

Encourage them to sign onto our 2009 Green Energy Petition: http://action.edf.org/campaign/green_energy_petition

And, please keep your comments coming into our Green Room.

]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:17:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/532399 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333 http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/532375
By Yushau A. Shuaib



“For the most powerful country to be ruled by a minority, man of "colour" makes colour to recede into insignificance and cease to be regarded as an important consideration in American life.” -Obasanjo



Obasanjo… Obasanjo… Obasanjo! The above quote is from the recent article by former President Olusegun Obasanjo with a title “Obama’s Election and the Needed Change” where he gave a sermon on the newly elected President of the United States of America, Barrack Husseini Obama. The article was not widely celebrated in the Nigeria’s Press, probably due to the sentiment against his leadership as only few media houses published or reviewed it.

The Nigeria’s former president was in his usual best… eloquent with catchy words and fancy phrases in intellectual fervor that can compete with the best academic paper. While many Nigerians may deliberately ignore his seeming tribute on Obama, the message and the theme of the essay is indeed a good material for researchers and students of political science and even the politicians.

Yes… most of his points and argument are not only timely and worthy reference material in assessing the dynamism of American politics and the sagacity of Obama’s campaign managers, coming from Obasanjo would definitely make one to wonder if the same processes were observed during his reign as Nigeria’ President.

The piece which he started with congratulatory message to President-Elect Senator Barack Obama for his well-deserved victory, states that Obama's victory brought with it a new, refreshing and exciting taste in our mouths. According to him “Apart from doing himself and his family proud, he has also done his nation proud by crossing a Rubicon that was considered impassable almost inconceivable at least in the then immediate future.” Nigerians and indeed Africans would have wished Obasanjo too provided a level playing ground for political aspirants without intimidation and unbecoming collaboration of some security agencies and electoral umpires to scuttle the democratic process from running its course.

The entire piece by General Olusegun Obasanjo centres on changes and he keeps on repeating the theme. According to him “The feeling of change that Senator Obama engendered through his campaign for the White House represents a significant theme of change we have all aspired and fought for in different areas…, regions, cultures and historical times.” He adds with this fancy and quotable phrase “The desire for change has never been the question nor has it ever been in question. It is the extent, the range, the tone, the quantity, the quantum and the sustenance of change that has always been the question.”

Nigerians actually seek for such positive changes, but politicians and political appointees always have ways of denying us the opportunity to achieve our desired changes. I couldn’t help but wonder which of the changes Gen. Obasanjo is referring to… living condition, security or electoral processes?

As Nigerians and Africans continue to argue the possibility of Obamania in our climes considering the bastardilisation of political and electoral processes by our leaders, Obasanjo points out that “Rooted in the achievements of Senator Obama is a far more significant theme for people aspiring to lead their communities, particularly for young Africans in Africa. It is the aspirations, the determination, the energy, the strategic thinking, planning and execution that Senator Obama and his campaign team have brought into what is being regarded as a movement.”

Nigeria has many talented, intelligent, respected and incorruptible individuals who could have been great leaders but were eliminated from aspiring to lead either by local government chairmen, governors of states and President of the country by using the paraphernalia of office, as we observed with dismay during the last government. If not for the intervention of the Judiciary we wouldn’t have witnessed emergence of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and the new Comrade Governor Adam Oshimole of Edo State. Many similar cases are still in the court waiting for justice.

Our President who was once described as a close friend of President George Bush Jnr. considering the numbers of times he travelled abroad, indirectly lashed at his former ally when he writes: “In some ways his (Obama) election has been described by some analysts as a referendum on George Bush's eight years of unnecessary and totally avoidable wars and the meltdown economy.” In another place in the article he is more direct when he adds: “His (Bush) position of going for force of persuasion rather than persuasion of force must sound like sweet music in the ears of those who have agonised in the unilateralism of the use of force under the guise of fighting terrorism by the Bush administration.”

Commenting on the personality of Barrack Obama, our former president proudly narrates his personal close encounter thus: “Let me relate my first and only encounter with Senator Barrack Obama. In September 2007, during the Black Caucus Convention in Washington DC, I met and chatted with both Senator Hilary Clinton and Senator Barrack Obama separately, albeit briefly. One cannot but be impressed by Senator Obama's disposition, he was intelligent, quick-witted and smart in his reactions and answers to my few questions. He was also courteous and cultured. He exuded confidence and friendship even though it was our first meeting…. I also recalled that when he first contested for political office in Illinois, though his funny name raised questions for him but it did not make him lose the election, he won.”

One thing our former President doesn’t state, which is necessary in an article like that is that Obama doesn’t have any godfather and doesn’t use any big corporate mafia to foot his campaign bills. He did not lobby members of his political party in public offices to channel states resources for his campaign. We know what happenned in Nigeria when we had the Chris Ubas, the Adedibus, Sarakis and the influence of the powerful business cartel like the so-called Corporate Nigerians in making things happen their ways, sometimes against the wishes of the people.

There are indeed great lessons to learn from Obama's campaign compare to primitive and uninspiring electioneering in our lands. The Iwu Chief clearly states this when he observes that Obama out-campaigned, out-strategised, out-funded, and out-debated his Republican rival, Senator John McCain. The crowd drawn by Obama during his visit to Europe was nothing short of a movement and it was simply electrifying.” He adds that “I must express my admiration for the managers and advisers of Senator Obama during the campaign. They were cautious, meticulous, and painstaking; they left nothing to chance. They checked and crosschecked everything and every milieu.” In Nigeria one can succeed in all this but still fail because the power-that-be has a preference on whom they need and must be whether the citizens like it or not or whether he is of questionable character.

In fact when the Ota Farmer said Obama’s campaigners and supporters carry no baggage of fear, doubt and prejudices of their parents and those before them, the contrary seemed to be the case in Nigeria where ballot papers and boxes are hijacked, where political opponents are haunted, where area-boy-vagabonds who are the usual typical campaign managers, maimed and killed on the instruction of their financiers in a country where we have an electoral empire as being insensitive to the feelings of the people.

I totally agree with our former President that “what has happened in America is for a man to be seen for what he is - human and what he is capable of delivering - removes the consideration of minority-majority as a major debate or factor. People should be seen, accepted, judged and placed for what they are and what God has endowed them with.”

Where I got confused after I recalled the only-one-man can rule Nigeria campaign for Third-Term was when Obasanjo writes: “Those who preach the sermon of superiority of Intelligence Quotient or simple intellect based on colour, race, tribe or language must start to review and indeed change their sermon.”

In Nigeria we have seen leaders who want to rule for life, thinking that without them nothing can move as they attempt to amend the law to accommodate their megalomaniac quest that they are those gifted with the power to rule for life.

For the losers in the Maurice Iwu-led elections in Nigeria, the retired military general probably has them in mind when he admonishes them to consider Obama’s disposition before the election that “he (Obama) maintained that he would not blame discrimination of any sort, if he had failed to win the election, rather he would blame himself for not putting his ideas and programme across to the electorate properly and adequately.”

I think our former President need to know that the election in America is clearly as it is indisputably free and fair in every sense that John McCain had to immediately concede defeat and congratulate Obama in a genuine and sincere tribute.

WE can not deny Obasanjo’s sense of humour, intellect and charisma, when we recall the way he mesmerized the international community and bulldozzed his way to plum positions even in group pictures with world leaders. How he becomes a failure by public and media rating is still of great concern to political observers and students of history.

The general discloses one undisputable fact, a reality we face today as Nigerians which keep us going and sustain our faith in the country as he captures our moods with this word: “After all, hope is the only thing we freely give to ourselves and it is the only thing that we are left with when all else has been taken away.”

I think we must move ahead from mere hope to the realization of our dreams, because many have died, counting on hope and hoping for better day that never came.

http://www.economicconfidential.com/nov08shuaibobj.htm

]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:58:00 EST http://plato123.tigblog.org/post/532375 5.4833333 7.03333335.48333337.0333333