posted
This is politics to the lowest point. These candidates will not have time to defend or clear their names prior to the election. This is the work of barstadized Obasanjo and nothing more. Tuffiakwa!
Hail Biafra
Posts: 1704 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
For the future, yoroba have lost all moral credibility. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newstalk
"IGBOS (sic) HAVE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD" - obasanjo
Endgame for Igbo-Hater obasanjo: Every Dog Has Its Day!
So obasanjo, a Yoruba tribesman, after 8 long years of Yoruba rule has decided to hand over power to a Fulani Muslim. What a comfortable delusion this must be, based as it is on historical ignorance and willful attempt to rig history. The whole thing is borne out of haughty vindictiveness which dismisses Igbo interest in Nigeria with callous contempt. It is up to Ndiigbo to sort it out. If the Igbo do not reject this risible charade, then we don’t know what they would reject. But that is not our concern for now.
Peasant wisdom: daft obasanjo leads group suicide by handing unreformed Nigerian state back to Hausa-Fulani hegemonists on a platter.
Qua bono?
Of course, the pointless farce will be presented as democracy in action. The Yoruba press are already extolling the “Nyerere option”. But the grand irony is this: the greatest losers in this whole obasanjo-Yaradua saga are none other than the Yoruba, obasanjo’s kinsmen themselves. Why?
Prior to the emergence of obasanjo as Nigeria’s maximum ruler in 1999, the Yoruba had done a near-accurate assessment of the Nigerian question and came to the conclusion that Nigeria as presently constituted would not work. Following from that, they had made a very strong case for a restructured Nigeria. They wanted a sovereign national conference which would restructure the state and enthrone true federalism. In addition, the Yoruba had opened a useful and interesting debate about rotational presidency, multiple vice presidency, state police, the right to secession embedded in the constitution etc. These arguments were so compelling that they had begun to generate a country-wide consensus.
But the Yoruba did not stop there. They backed up their campaign by setting up structures to underpin their rhetoric – O’Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), a paramilitary outfit, the Lagos-Ibadan axis press, a Afenifere (an ethnic outfit headed by Michael Ajasin and later Abraham Adesanya) and a plethora of human right organizations linked to a global funding network.
With the above in place, the Yoruba position on Nigeria began to converge with the Igbo view which was articulated and vigorously defended way back in the 1960s through to the 70s. In fact, some Yoruba who had vigorously fought the Igbo in the period 1967-70 began to openly express remorse at their error. A series of Igbo-Yoruba reconciliation meetings were staged in Nigeria and abroad by those seeking a handshake across the Niger…Questions began to be asked and volubly debated why the Fulani who did not constitute the majority in any state in Nigeria were allowed to dominate the country. All these transformations took place while obasanjo was held in jail, rotting away.
Enter obasanjo from depth of hell Seeing the Nigerian feeding bottle being taken off their scrounging mouth, the Hausa -Fulani Islamists put two and two together, did their maths, reached into the depth of hell and wheeled out obasanjo, their favorite stooge, from prison where he was vegetating and installed him as president, but with a clear agenda – to dismantle the emerging southern solidarity. For this task obasanjo was given a freehand. The rest is now history.
Unwashed old hag: “Mrs.” Adelaja (right) launches a foul-mouthed rant against entire Igbo nation.
Mr obasanjo set about his task with characteristic flatulent self-importance, setting Yoruba against Igbo, Igbo against Ijaw etc. This strategy was defined earlier in his regime when an unwashed woman, an old hag, Mrs. Adelaja (said to be a daughter of Abraham Adesanya, the ex-Afenifere leader) launched a foul-mouthed rant against Igbo people with obasanjo’s tacit support. Obasanjo later attempted to open old wounds by inciting the Ijaw against the Igbo while visiting Yenagoa. His persistent diatribe and perfidious rants against Igbo people soon led to the re-declaration of Biafra by Igbo youths. To this obasanjo responded by unleashing state power on the youths, thereby bringing to a close, the emergent handshake across the Niger… He further crossed the line when he attempted to use state power, the unfortunately named SSS to threaten the Igbo hero, Ojukwu.
*Scuttled: Handshake across the Niger.
The Obasanjo treachery & Yoruba loss of moral authority in Nigeria
Prior to obasanjo, the Yoruba had presented themselves as the champions of democracy, rule of law and opposition in Nigeria. But obasanjo’s greatest tool against them was the restoration of the intricate patronage-clientele system from which the Yoruba elite had benefited but which had taken a severe battering under Abacha. Once obasanjo had done that using the vast oil revenue accruing to the Nigerian state, the Yoruba responded by dismantling all the infrastructures of protest and reform which they had painstakingly built.
The once vibrant Lagos-Ibadan press (Tempo etc.), the human right groups, the OPC, Afenifere (and its party political mutation AD) were all dumped in the scramble to participate in the great baba owambe. For example, the Yoruba “human right” groups looked the other way as Igbo youths were massacred in Abuja by the Nigerian police; whole communities were destroyed; even Bola Ige, the Yoruba Cicero himself was murdered as unsolved extra-judicial murders multiplied; Igbo youths were tortured and killed in police cells etc. Amidst all these, it is now not uncommon to see posters of Yoruba proclaiming themselves proudly Nigerian, castigating anyone who dissents against the same unreformed Nigerian state they once riled against. No more vilifications, no more protests, suddenly, Nigeria has become the greatest thing since the invention of agidi oyoyo (Yoruba: eko).
It is within this unreconstructed state that obasanjo seeks to re-install Hausa-Fulani hegemony with predictable consequences - the gnashing of teeth. Why? Because the modern state, good governance and rule of law which the Yoruba often hanker after can never be achieved within the present state structure, especially under Hausa-Fulani rule. So it is only a matter of time before a new frustration emerges. But obasanjo has blown it for them.
*Proud Nigerians: Yoruba celebrate unreformed Nigeria as obasanjo exposes their self-righteous posturing about democracy and human rights as hollow, an absolute farce.
Obasanjo creates a new threshold in bestial governance.
In 8-odd years, obasanjo not only torn Yoruba achievement to shreds, he has established a new threshold in bestial governance in Nigeria. To the extent that the Yoruba turned the other way, they have lost the moral authority to pillory Hausa-Fulani misrule in Nigeria. Obasanjo has thus become the greatest disaster to befall the Yoruba race.
Corruption: Prior to obasanjo, the Lagos-Ibadan press heckled every Hausa-Fulani leader about state corruption. The charge of corruption against Shagari became so deafening it led directly to his ouster and the incarceration of key members of the regime. Today obasanjo and his regime are a by-word for corruption from presidential library to Transcorp, Andy Uba etc. all swept under the rug. Any Yoruba accusing a future Fulani government of corruption will now have obasanjo as a comparator.
Extra-judicial Murders: Abacha imprisoned journalists and seized newspapers. Ken Saro wiwa was killed after a flawed judicial process. Under obasanjo people were killed left right and centre and their executors are never caught. Even the killers of the attorney general and minister for justice remain unresolved till today. A future Fulani government has made notes of this one.
*Yoruba Cicero: Bola Ige murdered with mind-boggling impunity.
Human right abuses: Under obasanjo, individuals were detained indefinitely without trial, held in underground cells and tortured, some to death. Whole communities were destroyed – Odi, Odioma, Zaki Biam etc. Not only are newspapers and TV stations closed with impunity, journalists and even news vendors are harassed and clamped into jail under obasanjo rule. And the high heavens have not fallen. A future Fulani government has noted that too.
In political matters
Brutality: Nigerian police in action
continued below.........
[ February 18, 2007, 07:53 PM: Message edited by: Amadi O. ]
___________________ achieve Biafra and show the difference Posts: 645 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2002
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Tribalism, nepotism: Bare faced tribalism and nepotism has become state policy. Fredrick Fashanu, Ralph Uwazurike, Asari Dokubo were supposed to have committed treason. Fashanu was blatantly released and flown abroad whereas Uwazurike and Dokubo are held and tortured. Meanwhile, Mustapha and Bamaiyi have been incarcerated without trial for almost 8 years. All these in addition to building an express road from Lagos to Ota in record time while the 80km Onitsha-Owerri road has remained uncompleted after 8 years of tomfoolery. The future Fulani rulers are observing and taking notes.
*Double standards: OPC founder Fasheun (top) walks free while Asari Dokubo (below) and Ralph Uwazurike are tortured in Wafen SS underground cells for the same "offence".
Oil Ministry: For close to 8 years, obasanjo has been president and oil minister of Nigeria, accountable only to himself. No question asked. Would anyone question a similar travesty in future and if so where is the moral authority of the would be moral inquisitors?
*Dual Corruption: roadside mechanic turned into oil minister and president rolled into one. Sets a new threshold in bestial governance.
Electoral rigging: In 1983, the Yoruba press staged such a pandemonium about the rigging of the election, thereby setting into motion the process that led to the fall of the Shagari regime. But whatever rigging occurred in 1983 was zilch compared to what happened in Nigeria in 2003. And yet, no coup!
Image Laundering: The Abacha regime was accused of embarking on image laundering while abusing human rights in Nigeria. Obasanjo and his clique have taken this stuff to new heights, squandering state resources in the futile process. CNN and other foreign media that attempted to report events were threatened with expulsion. The latest example of this farce is the heart of Africa tragi-comedy now playing live in theatres around the globe.
Disregard for Court Orders & Emasculation of Judiciary. Under obasanjo, court orders are routinely ignored. In the early days, Okadigbo insistence on separation of powers led obasanjo to uncouthly describe him as a grammarian. Today the Nigerian judiciary has become a sick joke, a veritable tool for nocturnal impeachments and base manipulations fit for a banana republic.
Opening the gate of hell
Nigeria under obasanjo: the 6th gate of hell
Obasanjo has destroyed everything the Yoruba stood for and opened the gate of hell in Nigeria . In the past Yoruba commentators goaded Northern army officers into staging coups against their own people by mere condemnation, vilification and excoriation of the alleged wicked regimes which have supposedly fallen below accepted standards of democracy. These people huffed and puffed, invoking fire and brimstone from the roof top until a coup is staged.
Now because they are silent as obasanjo takes bestiality to a new level, the huffing and puffing path to power is now blocked. It took obasanjo to show that these condemnations were mere hypocritical moralizing and empty outrage. Indeed obasanjo has shown that a morally bankrupt regime can and will survive in Nigeria using any means necessary without a coup regardless of the outrage against it. It is with that lesson well learned that the Hausa-Fulani are poised to grab power. As Mr. obasanjo enters the dustbin of history where he rightly belongs, the man has done incalculable damage to the Yoruba cause and crippled the Yoruba in Nigeria for good.
*Uncouth Igbo-hater: obasanjo stares at dustbin of history
By putting a pseudo-democratic veneer over a rigged system and simply disregarding the rule of law, obasanjo has survived, but he has also demonstrated for anyone willing to learn how power transition will occur seamlessly among Northern civil and military factions in future without a coup. In the past, mere noisy heckling by the Yoruba was enough to inspire Hausa-Fulani on Hausa-Fulani coup in Nigeria . In future, as the Hausa-Fulani cling to power using obasanjo methods, the Yoruba will do more than huffing and puffing, they will have to go to the bush with AK 47 to wrest power. The die is cast!
NSIBIDI PRESS tm
___________________ achieve Biafra and show the difference Posts: 645 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
US threatens to withdraw support for April polls By IKE NNAMDI, Washington DC Friday, February 23, 2007
The United States has threatened to withdraw its "financial, moral and material support" for the April elections, if President Olusegun Obasanjo does not stop "using the institutions of government to coerce opponents of his government."
Handing down the threat, chairman of the influential United Senate Committee on the Nigerian Election, Sen. Ross Finegold, who spoke during a visit to Capitol Hill by former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, expressed disappointment at the actions of Obasanjo, which he said, puts to questions his sincerity in conducting credible and fair elections.
Senator Finegold also accused the government of being selective in the application of the law, wondering why Abuja had constantly disobeyed court orders, including the recent indictment of some ruling party candidates by an administrative panel set up by the Abia State government.
"Being a federation, that panel has the same force of law as the one which the government is relying on to allegedly bar mostly opposition candidates from the poll," he stated. He said joint Senate and House committees will meet soon on what he called "clearly deteriorating political situation in Nigeria to take further steps to hold the Nigerian government accountable for any crisis that might result from the elections."
Senator Finegold tasked Abuja to guarantee the safety of opposition candidates, especially Gov. Ngige, adding: "As one of the governors who was attacked by some thugs shielded by the government, the authorities must ensure that no harm comes to him as he exercises his rights to run for public office." International human rights watchdog, Amnesty International has also accused the government of "condoning several attacks on opponents of President Obasanjo. The group said it was disturbed that government had not arrested several supporters of the ruling party who have attacked opposition candidates.
"Those who attacked Governor Ngige had not been arrested and we fear they may try again as he makes plans to return home. We call on the government to guarantee his safety," the group said during a Washington meeting with Ngige. Ngige is also scheduled to meet with top officials of the State Department before returning to Nigeria as the governorship candidate for the Action Congress (AC) in Anambra State.
___________________ BIAFRA MUST RISE AGAIN. LONG LIVE BIAFRA!! Posts: 1080 | From: California, USA. | Registered: Oct 2002
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Federal government yesterday reacted angrily to recent remarks made by the Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani alleging that the government may have tampered with the list of corrupt politicians forwarded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying that "it was not justified".
The Presidency conveyed its displeasure through a letter to the Senate President dated February 22, 2007 with reference number SGF.50/S.24/11/599 and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Ufot Ekaette.
Government explained that the submission of the list of indicted politicians to the Presidency by the EFCC was to enable it constitute the requisite panel as provided for in Sections 66(1) (h), 107 (1)(H), 182(1)(I) and 137(1)(i) of the 1999 Constitution without which the requirement of these provisions cannot be satisfied.
It kicked against move by the Senate to amend EFCC Establishment Act.
According to the Government, "nothing has stopped the commission from prosecuting these indicted individuals or those not on the list in court in the future. The above constitutional provisions do not require criminal prosecution in court in order to have them disqualified from contesting elections".
Reacting, a source close to Chief Nnamani who pleaded anonymity said, "the Senate President, is not moved by the letter because correspondence between his office and the presidency should come directly from the president’s office and not that of the SGF."
Full text of the letter obtained by Daily Champion read:
The attention of Government has been drawn to the above captioned speech delivered by the Senate President at the Senate Chamber dated Tuesday, 20 February, 2007. The speech which has already been given wide publicity alleges amongst other things that:
(i) The list of indicted politicians seeking to run election for various political offices in the 2007 elections submitted by the EFCC to the Presidency for approval is discredited as names were either removed or added by "other authorities".
(ii) The involvement of the Presidency has created a moral challenge on the EFCC to justify its independence in indicting some politicians and not others who it had earlier declared to be corrupt;
(iii) It is a clear abuse of its mandate for the EFCC to submit its list of indicted candidates to the Presidency for consideration or review, it not being just a department of the Executive branch of Government even if it was created to carry out executive functions.
On the basis of the above, you urged your colleagues to take special interest in how the EFCC discharges its mandate and, expressed worry that there is credible evidence that the EFCC independence is being eroded. Consequently, you moved for the amendment of Section 3 (2) of the EFCC Act, which in your view weakens the independence of the Agency and makes it liable for manipulation by political office holders.
With due respect, your scathing attack on the Presidency was not justified. To begin with, the Presidency did not at anytime add or subtract names of indicted politicians submitted by the EFCC. The list submitted by the EFCC was the same list that the Administrative Panel of Inquiry used for its review and it was submitted by the EFCC direct to the Panel. As you are well aware, some of those indicted by the EFCC were cleared by that Panel for want of sufficient evidence. Those cleared were thus reflected in the White Paper that was eventually forwarded to INEC. This should not by any stretch of imagination amount to manipulating, adding to or removing of names as alleged. For a panel to have a second look can only be fair to all concerned. It is also important to stress that the list submitted by the EFCC was limited to indicted persons who are seeking to contest elections to various offices. The list did not include all those who had been investigated and indicted for one offence or the other or those already charged to court.
It should also be noted that the EFCC is an executive body vested with statutory powers. It being so, it has no moral burden in reporting its activities to the presidency that has the constitutional mandate by virtue of section 5(1)(b) of the 1999 constitution to superintend the execution and maintenance of all laws made by the national assembly. The independence of executive bodies including that of the EFCC should not be misconstrued as to mean complete severance from the government that has to carry out implementation as may be necessary. These bodies are independent in their day to day operations and not subject to any control. On policy matters, however, they consult the government for coordination and proper synergy of government policies and programmes. This does not amount to being an appendage of the presidency. It is, therefore, wrong to proceed as if an independent executive body must operate as an island. That is not the spirit of constitutional presidential democracy.
Furthermore, the submission of the list of indicted politicians to the presidency by the EFCC was to enable government to constitute the requisite panel as provided for in sections 66(1)(h), 107(1)(h), 182(1(i) and 137(1)(i) without which the requirement of these provisions cannot be satisfied. It was, therefore, logical and legal for the EFCC to submit the list to the presidency for further necessary action. It was never an abuse of its statutory mandate to do so. If anything, it was in furtherance of it. Nothing also has stopped the commission from prosecuting these indicted individuals or those not in the list in court in the future. The above constitutional provisions do not require criminal prosecution in court in order to have them disqualified form contesting elections. It is an administrative process and that is exactly what the government did.
You have on the bases of the above allegations, moved for the amendment of section 3(2) of the EFCC act, 2004. It is important to note that there is no public office that is totally independent. Neither is there any power vested that is permitted to be exercised recklessly or capriciously including the power to remove an official from office. The provision that you now seek to amend already has its inherent safeguards. Members of the EFCC can only be removed for the reasons provided therein. It will indeed be strange to contend that a president in a presidential democracy lacks the power to relieve officials from office whom he appointed in the first instance and who, for obvious reasons, can no longer help him achieve the programmes of government.
May I assure you that the federal government’s commitment to the fight against corruption remains total and has not wavered. Any person whose conduct has come under justifiable suspicion, no matter how highly placed, is liable to be investigated and brought to justice. There are no sacred cows. The caliber of public officials who have so far faced justice is a clear testimony to this. There are no corrupt politicians more important than others. There was never a manipulation or politicization of the list of indicted politicians submitted by the EFCC. You have been shown the lists as provided by EFCC.
I am happy to note that the patriotism demonstrated by the leadership of the National Assembly to combat corruption accords with that of the executive. I therefore urge that we continue to partner in this all important fight. This partnership is necessary to win the fight. No party should be misdirected or misdirect itself.
I am to request that you present these comments by government to the senate in the same way and manner as the text of your remarks and with the same level of publicity.
Accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my high regards.
Yours sincerely,
Chief U. J. Ekaette, CFR, mni
SSG.
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___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2456 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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