last saturday at International conference centre Abuja,the management of Gembach communication services,presented SAVANNA EXPRESS magazine to the Nigerian public.
The event attracted men and women from all walks of life,who graced the occasion.
Two illustrious Nigerians were duly honoured with award.
A scientist of International repute Dr.samuel okore,currently a lecturer at federal polytechnic Nekede bagged special scientist of Nigeria in digital ICT chemistry award.
Dr.okore has evolved lots of chemical practices and invented myriads of scientific things ,pivotal to the development of education in Nigeria.
Dr.okores contributions to the educational sector in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.
Also chief tobias Idika the president of ohanaeze Ndi.igbo kano,and the president General leaders of the ethnic communities in kano bagged leadership award of excellence,for making non.indigenes to live at peace with kano indigenes.
In a lecture TITLED;CURBING SECURITY CHALLENGE IN OUR NATION NIGERIA; delivered by kalu peters of Nigeria renaissance forum,stated that political power gave rise to insecurity being experienced in Nigeria today.
he described boko haram the killer sect activies as a political protest amongst the aggrieved politicians.
He lamented on the hazardous effects of boko haram which created mass exodus,between Nigerians from the North,and Nigerians from the south,creating an ethnic dichotomy amongst Nigerians.
In curbing the menace of boko haram,major security challenge facing the nation Nigeria,kalu peters suggested that patriotism,sincerity is imperative amongst Nigerians to address this insecurity monster,only if Nigerians could show patriotism in reality, by exposing the locations of boko haram sect to the security agencies.
In his welcome address the managing Editor of SAVANNA EXPRESS magazine,
George Oraeki JP said SAVANNA EXPRESS magazine was borne out of the dire need to fill in the loopholes noticed in tourism and event reporting.
George Oraeki said SAVANNA EXPRESS would focus on Investigative JOURNALISM,POLITICS.
He lamented on the neglect of the media industry in Nigeria by the state,federal governments,who refuse to fund the private media sector,while in other developed democracies,the private media receives subventions direct from their central bank,which is an act of the parliament.
Highpoint is the unveiling of the magazine by His Royal Highness Christopher Jatau JP.chief of kube kingdom nasarawa state
The Obama administration has now publicly announced that it deployed U.S. troops near the Syrian border in neighboring Jordan without ever seeking congressional permission, supposedly in an effort to help the Jordanian government deal with refugees from Syria while ensuring that the civil war does not spill over into the broader region. Concerns about chemical and biological weapons falling into the “wrong hands” were also cited to justify the latest deployment, but some lawmakers are upset, warning that the U.S. is now even closer to overt military intervention in Syria.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaking at a NATO conference in Brussels, said the Obama administration had been cooperating closely with the government of Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Apparently both sides are concerned that Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles could end up in the hands of al- Qaeda-linked Islamic extremists currently battling the secular Bashar al-Assad regime with support from the Western establishment and assorted Sunni dictatorships.
“We continue to be concerned about security at those sites,” Panetta said after the NATO meeting of defense chiefs. “We want to ensure that security is maintained and we want to be very sure that those [weapons] do not fall into the wrong hands.” The embattled Syrian dictatorship has reportedly tried to secure its stockpiles, but fears about them remain, especially in neighboring Turkey. “They are obviously concerned about the (weapons storage) sites as well,” Panetta said about the Turkish government. “So we’ve worked with them to do what we can to monitor the situation.”
Also part of the U.S. mission, according to officials from both countries, is supporting the Jordanian government. “We have a group of our forces there, working to help them build a headquarters and to ensure that we make the relationship between the United States and Jordan a strong one so we can deal with all of the possible consequences,” Panetta explained after the summit. “We’ve also been working with them to try to develop their own military and operational capabilities in the event of any contingency there.”
Numerous reports have suggested small teams of U.S. and Western government forces may already be operating in Syria. It remains unclear exactly how large the now acknowledged U.S. government presence along the Syria-Jordan border may be, but news reports citing officials claimed there were some 150 American Special Operations troops as well as so-called “trainers.” Also uncertain is where the Obama administration believes it found the lawful or constitutional authority to deploy U.S. troops to Jordan or Syria.
Some lawmakers, though, are outraged that the administration apparently thinks it can simply deploy American forces wherever it pleases without even obtaining permission from Congress. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who blasted the decision, also warned that the lawless deployment means the U.S. government is now “immeasurably” closer to being directly and overtly involved in the long-running Syrian war.
“I can see in a moment how it happens: we’re a few dozen miles from the Syrian border and all of a sudden we are within the reach of physical danger. All it takes is a single incident,” Kucinich told U.S. News, adding that talk of weapons of mass destruction was an argument for trying to reduce the violence rather than intensify it. “Putting U.S. troops on that border draws the U.S. much closer to war in Syria, which is a nightmare already and can be more of a nightmare for our country.”
According to Kucinich, who along with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has developed a reputation as one of the fiercest congressional critics of the bi-partisan war-mongering establishment, putting American troops on the border of a conflict area dramatically increases the potential for U.S. involvement. “There’s a trail of causality here,” he explained.
Despite the recent public announcements, however, American forces have been there for months. In fact, the Obama administration’s military scheming in Jordan related to the Syrian conflict has been underway since at least May. According to news reports, the U.S. government organized a massive “training exercise” with more than 10,000 troops from almost 20 countries in Jordan. American forces remained there after the exercise was finished.
“We have been working closely with our Jordanian partners on a variety of issues related to Syria for some time now,” Pentagon press secretary George Little was quoted as admitting by the New York Times, citing concerns about chemical and biological weapons. “As we’ve said before, we have been planning for various contingencies, both unilaterally and with our regional partners.”
Pointing to previously released “regime change” strategies for Syria developed by the U.S.-based Brookings Institution, analysts said the latest developments are actually part of a broader plan. Essentially, the positioning of American troops in Jordan along Syria’s southern border while Turkish troops and U.S. “intelligence” agencies focus on the northern border is meant to divert the Syrian military’s attention away from its opposition, allowing Western-backed Islamic extremists and rebel forces run wild within the nation.
Other analysts said that the public announcement of U.S. troops in Jordan could be interpreted by the Islamist government in Turkey, which is a member of NATO, as a sign that it should step up its role in supporting rebel groups. Turkish forces have already engaged in multiple cross-border skirmishes with Syrian troops, and observers worry the situation could spiral out of control quickly. Some experts say all-out war could even break out.
The Jordanian government, meanwhile, downplayed the presence of U.S. forces on its soil, claiming it was just an effort to protect citizens. “There are dangers involved, and we have to ensure the safety of our country and the well-being of our citizens,” an unnamed “senior government official” told the Associated Press in the first public Jordanian confirmation of the deployment. “We are benefiting from the experience of our allies as we prepare for the worst scenarios.”
Estimates suggest 100,000 or more Syrian refugees may already be in Jordan, and many more have fled to other neighboring countries as the conflict intensifies. For over a year and a half, Islamic terrorists seeking Sharia law and opposition forces long backed by the U.S. government have been waging war on the despotic but secular regime of Bashar al-Assad. And as the violence rages, more refugees are expected.
Minority groups and especially Christians, who found one of the region’s final refuges in Syria, have become among the main targets of rebel forces aside from government supporters. Tens of thousands have already poured across the borders seeking shelter, going to Lebanon, Iraq, and other nations.
Western governments and oil-rich Sunni Arab regimes are hoping to oust the Assad dictatorship using mostly proxies on the ground. If all goes as planned, the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated “Syrian National Council” — an umbrella organization with extensive links to the Bilderberg group and the world government-promoting Council on Foreign Relations — is expected to take over from the current despot. If not, a Brookings Institution report suggested it may be worthwhile for the U.S. government to just “bleed” the Syrian government and leave the nation in disarray.
Tens of thousands of innocent civilians, however, have been killed in the crossfire. And the conflict threatens to spark a regional conflagration that could eventually directly involve Western governments, the Iranian regime, the Russian government, the communist Chinese dictatorship, and more. Despite Panetta’s pronouncements, how U.S. troops on the border fit into the picture remains unclear, for now at least, though observers are deeply suspicious.
During the lawless UN-approved war that destroyed Libya, which bears striking parallels to the current tragedy unfolding in Syria, the Obama administration told Congress that it would wage its war no matter what lawmakers thought about it. The Constitution, also disregarded, gives the war-making power to Congress, requiring a formal declaration of war before the president can invade foreign countries or overthrow governments.
Whether President Obama would overtly intervene militarily in the conflict remains to be seen — so far he has indicated publicly that his administration prefers to support rebel forces from a distance. However, as has been the case on numerous occasions throughout U.S. history, one minor incident could change all of that in an instant.
A democracy inclined non-governmental organization-HUMAN Rights WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) is not happy with the confrontational stance of the Presidential Assistant on public Affairs Dr. Doyin Okupe against the hierarchy of the National Assembly.
The development focused civil society body has therefore asked President Goodluck Jonathan to caution his media and public affairs aides to stop engaging in unnecessary media war- fare with the legislative Arm of government as that would imperil the deepening of durable, vibrant and effective democracy and good governance in Nigeria and these confrontational postures will portray the country before the global community as a highly politically unstable polity and drive away willing foreign direct investments.
The Group said there are more decent way of going about the duties and functions of the offices of the media/public affairs assistants to the President without necessarily sounding highly ‘codescending, disrespectful to properly constituted authorities of other arms of government and still make relevant presentation of facts and figures to the decent members of the Nigerian general public.
”There is clearly a difference between war -time propaganda and professional media and public affairs’ management of the person and office of the high office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who in the first place was given the mandate by the members of the general public for a specified tenure in accordance with the tenets and principles of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended”, HURIWA affirmed.
In a statement issued jointly by the National Coordinator of the body Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National media officer Miss. Zainab Yusuf against the back drops of the recent umbrage thrown in the direction of the leadership of the National Assembly by the Presidential Public Affairs’ Senior Assistant Dr. Doyin Okupe accusing them of being unfair to President Jonathan, HURIWA tasked president Jonathan to free himself from what looks like a “hostage of make- belief” by his team of several spokespersons bent on Institutionalizing the practice of divide—and- rule between the three Arms of the federal government of Nigeria.
The Rights group also carpeted the Presidential aide for trying to undermine the constitutional powers of the National Assembly by making “Phantom allegations” that the hierarchy of the national legislature tried to rubbish the 2013 budget proposal presented by President Jonathan on Wednesday October 10th 2012 even when the contrary is the case with all the recorded evidence available before the discerning members of the Public.
President Jonathan had presented the proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday. At the budget presentation, Senate President, David Mark, had told President Jonathan that the National Assembly would not be a rubber-stamp legislature. Also, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mallam Aminu Tambuwal, had subtly accused the President of poor implementation of the 2012 budget.
But speaking in Abuja, the Special Assistant to the President on Public Communication, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said it was sad that President Jonathan could be subjected to what he described as a “harrowing experience” during the presentation.
“Normal legislative courtesy demands that such a visitor (President Jonathan) be allowed to perform his constitutional functions without any attempt to rubbish the document that was yet to be discussed even by the members themselves,” he said.
The presidential aide, who stressed that he was speaking for the Presidency, also said it was wrong for the lawmakers to have summoned the President in the manner they did recently.
“My belief is that in the interest of the Nigerian people, for the sake of our masses, the National Assembly and the Executive must of necessity find a common ground on all these issues, instead of unnecessary grandstanding and playing to the gallery, which will not help anybody”, he added.
But the Rights group faulted the criticism of the National Assembly’s leadership by Dr. Okupe and asserted that from the abundance of evidence as clearly shown to all Nigerians on television, President Jonathan displayed a generous body language of a man who was immensely pleased with the conduct of the leadership of the National Assembly and wondered where the presidential aide got his ‘bogus’ idea that the National Assembly sought to rubbish the presentation of the 2013 budget.
HURIWA stated thus; “We sincerely wish that President Jonathan would call his media and Public affairs team to order and instruct them to go about their jobs with decorum and avoid presenting a picture of a presidency that is seeking to be transformed into an Emperor”.
HURIWA reminded the Presidency that the extant grund norm governing Nigeria has specifically empowered the legislators to jelously guide their constitutional independence and the principle of separation of powers so as to sustainably pilot the enthronement of lasting and strong democracy that would become the pride of the Black race around the World.
”Section 4(1) (2) of the constitution duly recognized the National Assembly as the body to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation including the thorough, professional, efficient, and comprehensive vetting of proposed appropriation legislations before it becomes an Act of parliament for the running of Nigeria”, HURIWA further asserted.
The group further advised President Jonathan thus; “President Jonathan has shown remarkable willingness to work for the strict adherence of all democratic tenets including the principle of separation of powers, the President must call his media and public affairs team to order to stop behaving as if the presidency is at war with the other two Arms of government through the release of inflammatory and provocative media statements targeted at tarnishing the public image of the leadership of the National Assembly”.
NewsRescue- In this list prepared by Juan Carlos, the unusuals include, Nigeria’s dictator from the Middle Belt, the young Christian general Yakubu Gowon who, together with his army general, ex president, Olusegun Obasanjo, led the infamous Biafra assault. Also on the list is Belgian king, Leopold, who according to popular counts, exterminated no less than 25 Million Africans especially in the Congo valley. His numbers are more than listed below. Leopold’s statue is still revered in Belgium and many colleges are named after the man behind Africa’s most grave holocaust. Not included in the list however is George W. Bush, the president of America who caused the death of over 2 million in the Iraq false WMD war.
This is Juan Carlos’ list:
Top Ten Most Evil Dictators of All Time (in order of kill count)
Some people make horrible decisions, others are just bad presidents, a few are bloodthirsty, many are extremists, a couple are warmongers, and all of these guys are a mix. Ten of our political leaders in the last 130 years have been the architects of the most horrific genocides, systematic murders, blockades, brutal wars, and policy reforms history has ever recorded.
Where to begin? Maybe an icebreaker for you next dinner party? Did you know the word “genocide” was coined in 1943 to describe when the Armenians were slaughtered haphazardly by Turkish leader Ismail Enver? Until then there was no specific word for it in our language. It makes me think about how much more cognizant we’ve become in this last century to these events. So, a quick toast between you and I to a more peaceable future where less of what follows below is allowed to happen. Sit back, but don’t relax.
10. Yakubu Gowon (1.1 million deaths)
Breakdown: 1 million civilians on the wrong side of a blockade caused by a war of secession in Nigeria and 100,000 soldiers who died in that war.
It starts as many sad stories do with precious beautiful oil. It had been found in the Niger delta where tensions were already high between the Eastern region (led by Ojukwu) and the rest of the country (governed by Yakubu). A dummy agreement was signed between them called the “Aburi Accord”, but it meant nothing to either leader. Yakubu started to put pressure on the region, and tested how much sway he had in the area versus Ojukwu. Well Ojukwu being no slouch declared secession from the rest of Nigeria and became the “Republic of Biafra”. This began a war that caused the deaths of 100,000 soldiers, and much worse, a blockade on the region which starved 1 million civilians.
9. Mengistu Haile Mariam (400,000 – 1.5 million deaths)
Breakdown: As president of Ethiopia and colonel of “the Derg” (communist militia) Mengitsu systematically killed those against him in the “Red Terror” campaign.
Mengistu Haile Mariam is (as in still alive) a politician who presided over Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991. The way he got into power was by smothering the previous president Haile Selassie although he has denied those rumors. His biggest claim to fame is the Ethiopian Red Terror which was a campaign of repression led by the Derg (communist militia in Ethiopia).
In his introductory speech Mengitsu yelled, “Death to counterrevolutionaries! Death to the EPRP!” Then he took three bottles filled with blood and threw them to the ground.
It was an auspicious beginning to say the least. Thousands were killed and found dead on the streets in the years that followed. Much of the murdering can be attributed to the friendly neighborhood watch there known as “Kebeles”. As if killing innocents wasn’t enough they would then charge the family a tax to return the dead body to them. The tax was aptly named “the wasted bullet”! Are you serious Mengitsu? However there was an even more gruesome fate of being left on the street where wild hyenas would fight over the dead. The campaign has been described as one of the worst mass murders ever in Africa. Mengitsu is even known to have garroted people to death.
8. Kim Il Sung (1.6 million deaths)
Breakdown: Unpopular among his people Kim used the U.S. as a scapegoat and forced the country to believe in his delusion or else.
Before our very own Kim Jong-Il was his murderous father Kim Il Sung who led North Korea in a terrible direction. He fought for a command economy that allowed the government to make all decisions for the country. For various reasons the people never seemed to love the man, and so his hold on power was tenuous at best. Like most crazies he blamed somebody else, in this case the USA, and said they had spread disease throughout its population. He also pulled a Stalin, and had large-scale purges. His underlying reason was that it would scare people into believing he was telling the truth. Kim’s purge was a little different than Stalin’s though in that there were no trials. During his tenure prison camps sprung up all over the country to contain the ever growing masses of people against Kim Il Sung.
7. Pol Pot (1.7 million deaths)
Breakdown: Forced city folk to relocate to farms and forced them into hard labor.
Pol Pot was the leader of the communist movement in Cambodia. He attempted to “cleanse” the country and it resulted in the death of an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 million people. There was an interesting policy going around called agrarian collectivization which he put into practice in the late 1970′s. Basically it forced city folk to head out to the farms to do some labor and vice versa for farmers. As you might guess, and hindsight is 20/20, neither group was very good at their new jobs. Pol didn’t stop at enslaving his own people though. He also didn’t feed them well, gave them little medical care, and executed many of them. The net result was killing off approximately 1/5 of the Cambodian population!
He began his career as a Turkish military officer and leader in the Young Turk revolution. Eventually he rose to power and led the Ottoman Empire in both Balkan Wars and World War I. As a war minister Enver was not very useful, and was defeated over and over. His crushing loss at the Battle of Sarikamish needed a scapegoat, and that’s when he decided to blame Armenians for the failure. That is what began what is now known as the Armenian Genocide. The word “genocide” was coined to describe this event.
Etymology from Wikipedia: Coined in 1943 by Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959), a Polish–Jewishlegalscholar, to describe what the Turkish government (ca 1915–18) perpetrated against the Armenian people, now called the Armenian Genocide. From the stem of Ancient Greek (génos), “race, kind” or Latin “tribe, clan” (-cide).
5. Hideki Tojo (5 million deaths)
Breakdown: Waged unprovoked wars against China, USA, Netherlands, and France.
Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He assumed the position of Prime Minister and held Army Minister concurrently. As if that wasn’t enough he also held other major positions like Home Minister, Foreign Minister, Education Minister, and Commerce Minister. His major contributions to education were teaching militaristic and nationalist indoctrination. His version of homeland security was approving eugenics measures which essentially made a distinction between pure blood and mixed blood Japanese families.
During World War II Tojo started winning battles and the public loved him for it. He really bought into the Nazi Kool-aid, and held steadfastly with Germany. When the tide turned, and he began losing, it was devastating. Eventually he went into seclusion. He was tried for war crimes and found guilty of waging wars of aggression, wars in violation of international law, and waging unprovoked war against many countries. Not to mention ordering, authorizing, and permitting inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War.
NewsRescue- Imposing statue of King Leopold II on his horse, proudly found at Place du Trône surrounding the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium. How about a Hitler statue of same sort in Germany?
4. Leopold II of Belgium (2-15 million deaths)
Breakdown: Created a colony called the “Congo Free State”, enslaved its people, and forced them into labor plants.
Leopold II was the King of the Belgians, and believed in colonialism. He thought acquiring colonies overseas was essential to a great country and was always scheming. The problem was Belgium really didn’t care, and so Leopold went into business for himself. He started a company that seemed like it was doing good called the International African Society. A year later he used that company to travel to Congo, laid claim to a plot of land 14 times the size of Belgium, and made 14 countries agree (USA included) that he was free to rule it with his own private militia. He then forced the indigenous populations into forced labor, created a bustling rubber industry, and abused his workers grievously.
Missionary John Harris on returning from Congo said: “I have just returned from a journey inland to the village of Insongo Mboyo. The abject misery and utter abandon is positively indescribable.”
Estimates of the death toll range from two to fifteen million which could all have been avoided if 14 countries didn’t hand him the keys to the car!
3. Adolf Hitler (17 million deaths)
Breakdown: Concentration camps and civilians in WWII.
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party. He was the absolute dictator of Germany from 1934 to 1945. He gained support by promoting values like German nationalism and anti-semitism. Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 and began the Third Reich. Hitler was power hungry as all hell, hated the shit out of Jews (and others), and wanted hegemony in Europe. The militarization that was needed to complete such a lofty goal led to the outbreak of World War II. Nazi forces engaged in the systematic murder of as many as 17 million civilians,an estimated six million of whom were Jews, and 1.5 million Romanis.
2. Jozef Stalin (23 million deaths)
Breakdown: The great purges and Ukraine’s famine.
Jozef Stalin was the first Secretary of the Communist Party from 1922 – 1953. After Lenin’s death in 1924, he became the leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin didn’t take long in launching a new economy that screwed up food production across the country so bad it caused massive famine. Between 1922-23 it reached such catastrophic proportions everything went to shit. In Ukraine this dark period is known as Holodomor. Its widely believed that Soviet policies caused the famine there and was designed as an attack on Ukrainian nationalism. Estimates on the total number of casualties within Soviet Ukraine range from 2.6 million to 10 million! During the late 1930s Stalin launched another wonderfully titled initiative called the Great Purge (also known as the “Great Terror”). It was a paranoid campaign to kill off the people who opposed him, and his targets were often executed.
In 1939 Stalin agreed to a non-aggression pact with the Nazis. Eventually Germany violated the pact, the Soviet Union joined the allies, and they racked up 23.9 million deaths (the largest death toll in the war).
1. Mao Zedong (49-78 million deaths)
Breakdown: Policy reforms like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
Mao Zedong was a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist, and communist leader who led the People’s Republic of China. Mao, while controversial, is still widely considered a savior of the nation. I did a semester abroad in China in 2001 after falling in love with its history, and was surprised in my conversations that many people thought Mao had done 70% – 80% good things. During his first five years from 1949 – 53 he is said to have systematically killed between 4 to 6 million people by sentencing them to die or by sending them to “reform through labor” camps. He organized mass repressions, established execution quotas, and defended his actions in these early years as necessary for securing power for “The People’s Republic of China”.
His social programs the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution are two of the most ill-fated, poorly named, initiatives ever. The first was an effort to rapidly industrialize China. His focus was on making China a premier exporter of steel, and to this end he asked everybody to make it. The problem was it got many citizens to make smelting shops in their backyards. Not only was the steel of little value, but it was made from everything lying around the house including their own cooking supplies! Without the tools to make food, no money coming in from the steel, and no money to survive ~ a lot of people starved to death. The estimates on this program alone are 20 million deaths! Think about that number. Really think about it. Then ask yourself… why would you EVER let someone back into power after such an insanely bad decision.Well, they took the reigns away from him for a short time.
In the interim Mao started the socialist education movement. He aimed the concept at young ones who would eventually wrest the power away from the older guard. By 1964 this movement was renamed the “four cleanups movement” whose goal was cleansing politics, economics, ideas, and organization of “reactionaries”. This led to the formation of the “Red Guards” who were organized to punish intellectuals and take out Mao’s political adversaries. The Cultural Revolution was now underway, and its overriding mission was to abolish: Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. Something Mao fervently believed in was that destruction and chaos could bring re-birth. So he told his followers to destroy buildings, sacred objects, talk back to ones elders, punish them, turn them in, and kill those who did not agree. By 1968 things were starting to look pretty good for Mao all over again, and so he put into place the decade long “Down to the Countryside Movement” which forced young intellectuals to move out to the country to become farmers. Sadly, the people he pushed out there were the same Red Guards who had helped him get power. Estimates of the death toll are between 40,000 – 7 million depending on who you ask.
Finally, there is the 100 flowers movement which just needs an abbreviated mention here. Mao asked people to come forth and tell him how he should govern China. Intellectuals and liberals bit at the chance to tell him what they really thought, and were encouraged by the Communist party to do so. Then in a sudden change of heart, or an incredibly crafty mission to out his haters, the government persecuted 500,000 of them who were considered to be “dangerous thinkers”.
Mao is essentially like that girlfriend/boyfriend who keeps on taking a shit on you, but is so damn charming you hardly notice. His policies and political purges from 1949 to 1976 caused the deaths of 49 to 78 million people.
The moral of the story is ~
Let’s stop allowing evil political dictators to take office. And if we do have someone bad in office we can find better ways to get them out than murdering them, wars, and aggressive confrontations. Link: http://popten.net/2010/05/top-ten-most-evil-dictators-of-all-time-in-order-of-kill-count/
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested one Oluigboka Chukwuemeka Emmanuel in connection with 2.472kg of cocaine hidden inside jewellery. The 33 year old suspect arrived from Brazil aboard a KLM flight and was intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. During search, powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine were found in his bag of jewellery. It took several hours to extract the cocaine from the jewelleries because of the complex method of concealment.
Speaking on the latest discovery, NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar said that the drug was factory packed inside assorted jewellery.“This mode of concealment is strange and it is the first time of discovering drugs inside jewellery. The drugs were industrially packed in ear rings, buttons, necklaces, bangles as well as in female belts. We had to forcefully open them to recover the drugs. The entire quantity of cocaine found in the jewellery products weighed 2.472kg. One arrest has been made in connection with the seizure” Hamza stated.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect who had lived in Brazil for over five years is believed to be working for a suspected Brazilian based drug syndicate. However, Oluigboka Chukwuemeka Emmanuel in his statement said that he was smuggling the drug for a fee. In his words, “I needed money for the burial anniversary of my late father. As the breadwinner, everybody is looking up to me for the sponsorship of the anniversary. I have lived in Brazil for over 5 years but I have no money to undertake this important family responsibility. My interest was the 2,000 euros they promised to pay me”. Oluigboka who is married with a child hails from Imo State.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade warned that the Agency will halt the desperation of drug trafficking syndicates in the country. “Although drug barons are becoming more desperate, the Agency is determined to frustrate their efforts. This seizure is yet an indication that drug traffickers can go to any length in hiding their drugs from law enforcement agents” Giade stressed.
The NDLEA boss also called for more public support in the anti-narcotic campaign stating that the factory mode of drug concealment is now worrisome. The suspect will soon be charged to court.
In a bid to avert future flood disaster along the coastal regions of Nigeria the federal Government is to build embankments along river Niger and Benue Confluence.
Also at the completion of the going Kasambila dam, the incident s of excessive flooding in Nigeria would also reduce.
Addressing flood victims at St. Joseph Memorial secondary School Aguleri in Anambra East Local Government Area, President Goodluck Jonathan explained that with these two projects incidents of flooding would certainly reduce.
Jonathan who came in company of Stella Odua minister for Aviation and House of Representatives member, Iyom Uche Ekwunife announced that when the flood recedes finally the federal government would put in place measures aimed at compensating the victims.
“When I was in Kogi state and we got to the confluence of River Niger and River Benue, we discovered that the flooding was more on the Benue part so we are going to build embankments along those confluences and with that the incidents of flooding would be checked”
Similarly the Kasambila dam which is under construction would go a long way in controlling flooding. Very soon the dam would be completed and that would be yet another advantage for us.
The President said the last time he witnessed such a flood was in 1969, adding that the federal government is working hard to cushion the pains of the people.
“We know we need external assistance, we encourage you to bear the pains, the federal government will work with the state to make sure that all of you will get something”
“The ancestral homes and shrines are all washed away including farm produce, while buildings are submerged, I will work with the government in making sure that are normal again”
The president said he believed that by the mid November the flooding would have relapsed as commended Obi and the people of Anambra state for the concern that they had shown since the incidence.
Earlier, Anambra state Governor, Mr. Peter Obi had told the President that state created 20 camp’s for the flood victims in the state, adding Anambra was the worst hit in the country.
He said that the camp in Aguleri where the president visited had a population of 6,721 displaced persons from Eziagulu-Otu and environs.
Obi further said that the woman who delivered triplets in the camp had been away for better treatment elsewhere.
Being Text of a World Press Conference Held at the Protea Hotel Asokoro, Abuja on Monday 8th October 2012 Read By Chief Joel Madaki the First PDP Chairman, Adamawa State
Good mourning to you all gentlemen of the press and thank you for kindly accepting our invitation to this very important World Press Conference, in spite of the short notice given.
Before you here, Ladies and Gentlemen, are some key Members and Stakeholders of the Adamawa State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing the opinion of a wider section of the party’s membership in the state, and on whose behalf I am addressing you this morning. I am sure most, if not all, of you are aware of the crises within the Adamawa PDP, and the altercations going forth and back between the State and the National Chapters of the party, most especially on the issue of the Party EXCOs’ legitimacy status and the Local Government Primary elections.
We want to state categorically that we support the position of National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in cancelling the so-called primaries claimed to have been held in all the 226 Wards of the state last Wednesday as announced by the National Publicity Secretary of our great party, Chief Olisha Metuh. We therefore would like to cease this opportunity to thank the national leadership of the party for this bold decision. Undoubtedly, this represents a most popular decision of the NWC affecting Adamawa state for a very long time ever. As President Harry Truman of the USA once said, “I did not do anyone any favour; I simply did what is right and everyone thought I did them a favaour”. Truly, doing what is right by a leader is the heart of good leadership. We therefore want to call on the NWC of the party, under the leadership of Alh. Bamanga Tukur, to take the next appropriate step in resolving the REAL problem of the party in the state – that is giving the party a legitimate foundation in the state. To attain this, we call on the NWC to endeavour to examine all the issues pertaining to the Adamawa chapter of the party with a view to resolving them clinically once and for all. Consequently, it is necessary to dwell on the key facts in the state so as to give a clearer picture of the nature of the problem at hand.
The Key Facts in Adamawa PDP
In 2005 our party went into a nation-wide membership revalidation exercise, like all other states of the federation. However, in Adamawa state the exercise did not go well as the State Chapter of the Party started facing problems almost immediately. These problems are so serious that without resolving them satisfactorily, the chances of the party ever participating in elections in that state are highly unlikely. These problems are as follows:-
1. The illegal status of the ‘officially recognized’ Kugama-led EXCO in the state, which makes it impossible to build the fortune of the PDP on an unlawful foundation. The basis of its illegality rests on the breach of Article 14.5 of the party constitution way back in 2006 which formed the foundational base of the problem, and the failure to resolve it since through the conduct of free, fair, legitimate and credible congresses;
2.Both the ‘officially recognised’ party Chairman, Alh. Mijinyawa Kugama and the Governor happen to come from the same ward, which is against the principle of Section 222 of the Nigerian constitution as adopted by our party constitution in its Preamble;
3.On several occasions, the key stakeholders of the party in the state met with the National Leadership of the party in which the latter promised to conduct congresses in the state but have failed to ever do so. These meetings were held in February 2007 after the party disallowed 9 Gubernatorial Aspirants from contesting and undemocratically gave its governorship ticket to Admiral Murtala Nyako; in February 2008 after the Election Tribunal dissolved the governorship election in the state; in July 2008 after the state House of Assembly gave the Governor an impeachment notice; and in February 2012 after the Supreme Court removed the governor, along with 4 others, from office. On all these occasions, the National leadership of the party, including the President and Vice President of the country, promised the party members of Adamawa State free, fair and transparent congresses as just and fair solution to the lingering crises in the state, if they cooperated with the party. In all occasions the Adamawa people cooperated as required, but in all occasions the National Leadership let the people down;
4.The position of INEC on the ‘officially recognized’ Kugama-led EXCO has also since been ignored by the NWC. For example, between 2008 and 2011, INEC wrote four letters to the PDP National Chairman rejecting the party’s EXCOs in 8 states of the federation, including Adamawa, as illegitimate, having not conducted congresses constitutionally, and requested the party to reschedule and re-conduct lawful congresses. PDP ignored INEC and continued with those unlawful EXCOs. Oddly enough, these same EXCOs produced and submitted to the same INEC candidates for elective offices and INEC accepted and filled in these candidates for the general elections of 2011. The same epicycle is repeating itself. Since the PDP Congresses and convention in March this year, INEC has again written three letters to the PDP National Working Committee rejecting the EXCOs of the party in 9 states, again including Adamawa, and advising the governing party to reschedule and re-conduct congresses in these states, but the party has again so far ignored these letters. It is left for all to see what INEC will do this time again; and
5.As a result of these, the PDP in Adamawa is presently factionalized into many camps – the Kugama-led faction that is ‘officially recognized’ by the NWC and several other camps. The key fallout of this is the existence of many sets of Party Registers in the State, especially by the Medan Teneke-led faction.
These are incontrovertible facts that have constituted serious problems in the state that the NWC of the party cannot just wish away. Many high powered delegations and deputations were made by our state holders to the National Secretariat of the party in the effort to resolve these problems to no avail. Clearly, without resolving the problems satisfactorily, the chances of the party ever participating let alone winning elections in that state are unlikely. We contend that the best and in fact only way to resolve these problems is to conduct congresses in the state at all levels of the party organs in a free, fair and transparent manner. The conduct of such congresses will also conform to the ‘Reform Agenda’ of the current NWC, as Mr. Chairman’s takeover of the Party’s leadership is part of the national search for the required change. The implementation starting-point of the reform should thus be the correction of past anomalies.
The Adamawa issue is thus a litmus test for this NWC to make a clear difference. Returning the party back to the people simply means entrenching the principles of ‘Internal Democracy, Participatory Democracy, and Institutional Collaboration and Cooperation’ in party affairs in accordance with the provisions of the party’s and national constitutions and relevant extant laws of the land. In our opinion, this constitutes the key issue for consideration and resolution in the current PDP Reform Agenda. To attain this, certain conditions-precedent must be met, central of which is the establishment and maintenance of a standard Membership Register as stipulated in our party constitution. This is a key requirement because other than providing membership data, it is the Foundational Electoral College for the operation of Internal Democracy in the party. It is therefore important that our party starts the process of upgrading, harmonizing and standardizing its Membership Registers as the first step to a successful resolution of the Adamawa problem. The simple truth is that without a standard and authentic Party Register, there is no political party. In Adamawa today there is no authentic party register. In fact, to date, INEC is waiting in vain for over three years for the PDP to submit to the Commission its comprehensive Membership Registers of the state. To all intents and purposes, PDP does not know the strength of its members simply because it has no comprehensive Standard Membership Registers. This is the first failure of the PDP in entrenching Internal Democracy in party politics in Adamawa state and in Nigeria.
There is also an obvious moral obligation on the part of the NWC to conduct congresses in the state, having given the people of the state the pledge to do so several times as discussed above. The NWC must not be seen to have reneged on this promise, thus failing the people. This will have a damaging effect on the integrity and credibility of the National Leadership of the Party in the eyes of the people of the state, more so with the National Chairman coming from the state. For these compelling reasons, holding of congresses in the state is the best and, in fact the only, credible and logical solution to the Adamawa problem.
Conclusion and Recommendation
1. Dissolve all the Organs of the Party in the State, from Ward, Local Govt. to State levels;
2. Immediately appoint a Caretaker Committee comprising credible party members and headed by a respected Party Elder to undertake the tasks of harmonising and standardizing the State Party Registers and thereafter conducting free, fair and transparent congresses throughout the state.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, the above two recommendations are critically important to restore INEC’s, members’ and Nigerians’ confidence in the party and its national leadership. As Nigerians and party men and women, we have all subscribed to the principle of universal suffrage – i.e. everybody has the right to vote and be voted for. This is the foundational base of democracy. For this reason, we must not fail or be seen to have failed to create a fair and level-playing ground for all party members and aspirants as the basis of our association. These are, in a manner of speaking, the market forces of democracy. Ours, as democrats, is simply to allow these forces play out in a healthy game of options and choices. This is a sacred duty that the PDP NWC owes the people of Adamawa and Nigeria.
Stripped of all the strong language and the ferocious recriminations that have been generated by Dele Momodu’s article on Thisday 22nd September on the Central Bank Governor, I believe that the main substance of the original article is whether Sanusi adopted the right approach in dealing with what was not entirely a new situation in the Nigerian banking industry. What are the repercussions of (1) the choice of remedy (2) the style adopted by the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi?
The first and second questions both relate to Dele Momodu’s point that, in trying to punish some bank executives for certain misdemeanours, the Central Bank governor did more damage to the banking sector.
Back in August 2009, exactly two months and ten days into his tenure as the Governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi held a press conference to inform the nation that the banking sector was at risk from the lending activities of five banks. What led to this discovery, according to the Governor, was the fact that about five banks had been frequent users of funds at the CBN Extended Discount Window (EDW). Following this discovery, the CBN governor ordered a special examination of the five banks which revealed that these banks were suffering from liquidity problems due, as he suspected, to non-performing loans. The banks, according to the text of the governor’s speech, were put in this situation by “poor corporate governance practices, lax credit administration processes and the absence or non-adherence to the banks’ credit risk management practices”. So went the narrative. But what was the evidence?
A very good place to start is the activities of the banks at the Expanded Discount Window. And here is where the questions start piling up. According to the literature, the Discount Window is a source of short-term funds for financial institutions experiencing liquidity problems. The Discount Window operation is therefore consistent with the Central Banks’s necessary role as a ‘lender of last resort’. So the question to Sanusi is: why was it such a big deal that these banks were using the facility? At the time, he claimed that it was because the ‘guilty’ banks were “permanently locked in as borrowers”. But the next, very crucial question is this: how ‘permanent’, and what is the duration allowed by the Discount Window for financial institutions to repay their debt?
By convention, the Discount Window is an “overnight” credit facility. Following the global financial crisis, most discount windows were modified to allow for a considerably longer period. Hence the evolution of an ‘Expanded’ Discount Window. On October 28, 2008, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a circular (BOD/DIR/CIR/2008/GEN/3/17) to “all deposit money banks and discount houses” ‘expanding’ its discount window credit to a tenor of 360 days. Now (and this is extremely serious), between the time the EDW was established (October 28, 2008) and the day the CBN governor struck, (August 14, 2009), the EDW had been in operation for exactly 300 days. So it means then that, theoretically, even if these banks had borrowed on the very first day the EDW came into operation, it would not have been possible for them to have demonstrated that they “were clearly unable to repay their obligation” as claimed by the CBN Governor. So this, at the very least, puts a lie to his claims that he first became alarmed by the activities of these banks at the EDW. If, as far as the EDW logic goes, these banks were carrying out their operations within the rights granted by the rules, and were well within the time limit to meet their obligations, why then was the hurry?
So maybe there is reasonable ground to question the CBN Governor’s motives, as Dele Momodu did.
Looking back at the sequence of steps taken by the CBN Governor raises even more serious questions, both about his credibility as a Central Banker and his motives in taking the actions that he did. According to the literature, the discount window exists to provide short-term liquidity for banks when the market is unwilling to do so. It is therefore surprising that the same Central Bank which was guided by this logic in establishing the EDW suddenly forced the banks back to the same situation which provided the initial justification for its establishment in the first place. By this time (See Sanusi’s August 14, 2009 speech), the CBN started guaranteeing the inter-bank market, without which “almost four banks would not have been able to borrow in the inter bank and would probably have collapsed”.
Now, in providing these guarantees, the CBN under Sanusi effectively chose to assume greater financial liability (since the cost of borrowing at the inter-bank market is significantly greater than the cost of money at the discount window). So why would the CBN close the discount window, only to turn around to subject public funds to higher market risks? The only plausible explanation for this is that, it seems somebody was desperately trying to amplify the problem in order to justify a crucifixion. Even when it meant subjecting these banks to greater exposure and at increased cost to taxpayers.
And, were they actually 5 banks? It seemed that, in the heat of the moment, no one actually thought to question Sanusi about the highly speculative tone of his presentation. Looking again at the text of his famous speech, it appears to me that the CBN governor was not really sure if there were 5 banks, or 4 banks, or 3. For instance it says in the CBN governor’s speech that, at the time he was appointed, “four banks had been almost permanently locked in as borrowers”. So there weren’t completely five of them, were they? And were they ‘locked in’, or ‘almost locked in’? Then, later in the speech, the governor said that there weren’t quite four, but (again), almost four of them who “would not have been able to borrow in the inter-bank and would probably have collapsed”. So, how almost? Three? Or two? And would they have collapsed, or probably?
While it would be very prudent for a financial sector regulator to take keen interest in any sign of distress displayed by any bank, it is downright reckless (even irresponsible) to take such drastic action on issues that he had largely prevaricated on. It looks clearly mischievous.
Of course one is not suggesting that the CBN governor should have waited until the said banks got into proper trouble. The real point being made here is that, what are the practical steps that were taken before applying such drastic measures? Beyond driving the banks back into the inter-bank market to compound their problems and expose them, Sanusi seemed to have done nothing else in the two month that he had been in charge. He said in his speech that the CBN took the step to guarantee the inter-bank market to give them time to investigate the banks. But this does not make any regulatory sense. Banks’ examination is usually undertaken as a matter of statutory responsibility. Between 2007 and 2009, the NDIC carried out a total of 117 of such examination/investigation, some in collaboration with the CBN. You certainly do not need any special ceremony to do that. All Sanusi needed to have done was spend sufficient time as the new head of the CBN to ensure proper banking supervision and enforce corporate governance practices in the banking sector.
Since he determined that poor credit administration was the reason for the banks’ liquidity problems, would it not have been more appropriate to enforce the rules and use the same instruments he is now using to collect the debts? Why did he need to demand that the banks make full provisioning for those loans in one fell swoop without a proper provisioning schedule that gives those banks the required time to adjust? It seemed now that Sanusi needed to do that to drill a deep enough hole in the banks’ equity funds, in order to justify new capital injection – hence the eventual CBN bailout; because it is only through this route that he can forcefully take over those banks.
You certainly don’t demand full provisioning for loans you have not taken time to certify as bad debts. According to the literature, bad debts are debts that are absolutely uncollectable because (1) all the measures to collect have been exhausted (2) the debtor is bankrupt and (3) the cost of collection exceeds the amount to be collected. It is definitely not bad debt when it is clearly the case that the debtors are unwilling to pay, and would pay if forced to do so.
But of course it didn’t matter since Sanusi would rather do a presidential-style national broadcast to announce his arrival than do the appropriate thing. Even when it is very clear that nothing kills the financial system faster than negative publicity. It turns out that the run on the banks created by this tackles and self-serving action is the worst we have experienced in a long time. In the ten years preceding Sanusi’s arrival and in the two years since, no other year has recorded a decline in total demand deposits in the corresponding period (August – September, 2009). It is the only year in more than 12 years (according to CBN data) when the total amount of demand deposits as at December fell below the amount at the beginning of the year. Apart from the fact that it is the most ‘runnable’ deposit category, demand deposits constitute the largest (55 – 60% in 2008/2009) of total deposit funds in the banking sector. On the micro (individual household) level, most Nigerians would know somebody who withdrew their money in panic only to loose it to phoney property deals.
But this is a story Sanusi is not now telling us, even though he has the data. Sack bank managers if you must, but do you have to destroy the financial system and the economy just for self-glorification? Did the other Sanusi (Joseph) not remove the management of some banks, most notably UBA for the same corporate governance issues? Is that bank not standing strong today?
It may still take some time before we summon the courage to take proper stock of the cost to Nigeria’s economy of Sanusi’s actions. I have heard some people bring up the moral hazard argument, but I can tell them that nothing creates a bigger moral hazard in the credit market than providing unnecessary bailouts, which creates ex ante incentives for banks to take greater risks the next time. In our case, a bailout was clearly unnecessary, only made to look otherwise because the regulator was brazenly manipulating the numbers. We were clearly ambushed then, and while it may be too late for an inquisition, the questions are necessary in order that we do not fall for such mischief ever again.
As President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria continues his nationwide tours of some flood affected states, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has so far registered 53, 489 Internally Displaced People (IDPS) in Delta and Anambra States, in South-South and South-Eastern Nigeria respectively.
Early in the morning before the arrival of President Jonathan in one of the camps in Asaba, Delta State, Reliefs and Rehabilitation officials of NEMA confirmed that 28, 764 internally Displaced People were registered in 11 camps of the 14 affected local government councils in the state. At least 11 pregnant women were successfully delivered of their babies in the camps with the help of paramedics.
Also in Anambra State, the NEMA rescue officers confirmed the registration of 24, 721 Internally Displaced People in 21 established camps of the six affected Local Government Councils (two were completely submerged). A pregnant Woman also delivered a set of triplet in one of the camps (three boys).
