Today at 7:03 AM
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Saturday, 31 October 2015
Let hear Gloria Copeland Talks About the Kingdom of God
Friday, 30 October 2015
Van Gaal hits back at Scholes over 'boring United' claims
Louis van Gaal has reacted
angrily to Paul Scholes' comments that Manchester United are a boring
team and is adamant he always takes risks.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hit back at Paul Scholes in the wake of his comments that the Dutchman's side play boring football.
United legend Scholes criticised Van Gaal's philosophy in the wake of Wednesday's League Cup exit at the hands of Middlesbrough.
But, speaking ahead of United's trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, Van Gaal said: "I think United are always entertaining. I hear people say that we are boring, but there are more spectators at Old Trafford than at any other stadium.
"I always take risks. I do not agree with Paul Scholes' opinion. I do not want to disagree with him, because he is a club legend. But when you are a club legend, you should be speaking to the manager, or Ed Woodward or his friend Ryan Giggs.
"But BBC or Sky are paying him to say some things. Why is he saying this? For the benefit or the club or for his own benefit? There is an expression, sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt. Scholes' comments have no effect. He does not have any responsibility.
"It is all a process and I have said before that it takes three years. When Mr Scholes says I have to go, that is not his responsibility. That is up to Mr Woodward and the Glazers."
United sit just two points off top spot in the Premier League ahead of their game at Palace, and Van Gaal is pleased with the progress they have made compared to last season.
"Last year we had 13 points from 10 games and now we have 20 points out of 10. We are improving a lot, but it is a process," the former Netherlands boss added.
"We
were in the last 16 of the Capital One Cup and in the Champions League.
Last year it was not like this. I shall do everything for this club
because these fans are unbelievable."
OMNISPORT
Chelsea to Recover, No Promises on Europe- Mourinho
London (AFP) - Jose Mourinho says he "cannot promise" Chelsea
will be in the Champions League next season, but insists his struggling
Premier League titleholders will turn around their season.
The Portuguese had previously stated he was certain
they would finish in the top four, but he has changed his mind after
Chelsea's poor start, losing half their league games.
When directly asked about the Champions League, Mourinho responded: "I cannot promise" but did say "no" when asked whether he had any doubt they would get out of this run.
That poor spell means an awkward match against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool comes at a particularly inopportune time.
Mourinho confirmed that Branislav Ivanovic is out injured with his hamstring but that Pedro and Diego Costa will have late fitness tests.
"(Thibaut) Courtois and Ivanovic are out. And Pedro and Diego we are going to wait. The others are fine. They have to come through training again. A fitness test in the morning.
"I am a little (hopeful that they can play). If not I don't take them to the hotel.
"It's always difficult find a percentage (on how fit they are). It's more about the confidence. Not desire, because that's there. But the confidence of the players."
Mourinho refused to talk about any of the week’s various controversies, from the misconduct charge from last week’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham United to the news that former club doctor Eva Carneiro is seeking a constructive dismissal claim.
He is due to find out later Friday if his appeal against his stadium ban from his comments after the 3-1 defeat to Southampton has been successful.
"Not optimistic, not pessimistic," Mourinho said. "Just wait."
Mourinho did speak glowingly about his opposite number Klopp, saying they have a good relationship and thinks the German is an excellent coach, but also made sure to praise his Anfield predecessor - and former Chelsea coach - Brendan Rodgers.
"I'm not a close friend (of Klopp) because football doesn't allow that, but he's a guy I like a lot. We have good relations.
"As a manager, his work speaks (for itself). In spite of the last season, one to forget, I consider him one of the top managers in the world.
"They (Liverpool) were a good team. They are a good team. They had good players. They have good players. They had a good manager. They have a new good manager.
"Everything is the same. They changed some details, obviously, in their tactical approach to matches, but this is the nature of the game.
"Especially when you are speaking about two top managers. When you change a top manager for an ordinary one... or a top one to another top one, the level is high.
"They know what to do. It's just a bit of difference on the way they look at football."
Mourinho also refused to criticise Eden Hazard after his missed penalty on Tuesday against Stoke, that saw Chelsea eliminated from the League Cup after a shoot-out.
"I think it's not because he missed an important penalty that I'm going to be critical.
"He tried everything in the last game, had a positive game, played for two hours. I'm pleased with his performance. I'm happy with his performance against Stoke. I was happy with his performance against Dynamo Kiev.
When directly asked about the Champions League, Mourinho responded: "I cannot promise" but did say "no" when asked whether he had any doubt they would get out of this run.
That poor spell means an awkward match against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool comes at a particularly inopportune time.
Mourinho confirmed that Branislav Ivanovic is out injured with his hamstring but that Pedro and Diego Costa will have late fitness tests.
"(Thibaut) Courtois and Ivanovic are out. And Pedro and Diego we are going to wait. The others are fine. They have to come through training again. A fitness test in the morning.
"I am a little (hopeful that they can play). If not I don't take them to the hotel.
"It's always difficult find a percentage (on how fit they are). It's more about the confidence. Not desire, because that's there. But the confidence of the players."
Mourinho refused to talk about any of the week’s various controversies, from the misconduct charge from last week’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham United to the news that former club doctor Eva Carneiro is seeking a constructive dismissal claim.
He is due to find out later Friday if his appeal against his stadium ban from his comments after the 3-1 defeat to Southampton has been successful.
"Not optimistic, not pessimistic," Mourinho said. "Just wait."
Mourinho did speak glowingly about his opposite number Klopp, saying they have a good relationship and thinks the German is an excellent coach, but also made sure to praise his Anfield predecessor - and former Chelsea coach - Brendan Rodgers.
"I'm not a close friend (of Klopp) because football doesn't allow that, but he's a guy I like a lot. We have good relations.
"As a manager, his work speaks (for itself). In spite of the last season, one to forget, I consider him one of the top managers in the world.
"They (Liverpool) were a good team. They are a good team. They had good players. They have good players. They had a good manager. They have a new good manager.
"Everything is the same. They changed some details, obviously, in their tactical approach to matches, but this is the nature of the game.
"Especially when you are speaking about two top managers. When you change a top manager for an ordinary one... or a top one to another top one, the level is high.
"They know what to do. It's just a bit of difference on the way they look at football."
Mourinho also refused to criticise Eden Hazard after his missed penalty on Tuesday against Stoke, that saw Chelsea eliminated from the League Cup after a shoot-out.
"I think it's not because he missed an important penalty that I'm going to be critical.
"He tried everything in the last game, had a positive game, played for two hours. I'm pleased with his performance. I'm happy with his performance against Stoke. I was happy with his performance against Dynamo Kiev.
"Before
that, he was on the bench a couple of matches, obviously because I was
not happy and I felt it was the best thing for him, but I'm happy with
his positive reaction to that."
AFP
Hot Celebrity News Is Here For you
- Laide Bakare Changes Name
- [VIDEO] North West Is All Shades Of Cute As She Snaps At Paparazzi “I Said No Pictures!”
- [VIDEO] Top Nollywood Movies You Don’t Want To Miss This Week
- Julius Agwu On Why He Is Opening A Christian Club
- [PHOTO] Korede Bello And Tiwa Savage Strike A Pose Together
- Government Needs To Help Mental Health Patients – Majek Fashek
- [PHOTOS] Veteran Actress Sandra Achums Shows off Her First Daughter
- [PHOTOS] Late Dora Akunyili’s Daughter, Njideka Crosby Wins The 2015 Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize
- Forgive And Love All Over Again – Adeniyi Johnson To Estranged Wife Toyin Aimakhu
- Obafemi Martins, Mikel Obi And Others Recalled By Coach Oliseh To Super Eagles Squad
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 06:30 AM PDT
Popular Yoruba actress, Laide
Bakare who has been in the news lately has not slowed down in any way
since her marriage to Alhaji Tunde Oriowo in 2013.
Laide who hasn’t changed her
name ever since she married the businessman who is also known as ATM
seems to have had a change of heart as lately her new movie has put her
out now as Laide Bakare-Orilowo.
The new movie Daddy Daddy which
hit the shelves today features Laide Bakare, Niyi Johnson, Funsho
Adeolu, Fausat Balogun, Lukman Raji, Koko Zaria and others.
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 06:00 AM PDT
North West, like her dad, has proven she is not fond of the paparazzi.
The cute 2-year-old daughter of Kanye
West and Kim Kardashian who is arguably the most-photographed celebrity
progeny on the planet stunned everyone recently when she bluntly told
paparazzi she didn’t want her pictures taken.
While leaving a ballet class with her
nanny, North was surrounded by paparazzi and made it clear she wasn’t
happy to see them. “I said no pictures,” said the little girl, who waved
her hand in front of her face. Despite her innocent plea to be left
alone, photographers continued snapping pictures, with some even
laughing.
Watch the video below
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 05:00 AM PDT
 It’s Friday again! Iroko TV brings you top Nollywood movies to ease your boredom. Skip the cinema and go watch this! Miss TakenFrustrated by the way her sister handles their father’s wealth while he is in jail, a desperate girl hatches a kidnapping plot to get some money. However this plot goes wrong when she is kidnapped for real, with no means to save herself.2. Fool’s ParadiseA devoted mother in need of help to take care of her daughter hires a nanny and maid without perfoming background checks. Little does she know she will regret this action as the maid’s obsessive nature begins negatively impacting family life.3. My AngelA poor man with a heart of gold falls in love with a molested girl and vows to help her against the advice of those around him. When she is killed, he becomes the number one suspect which leads to his life falling apart. |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 04:30 AM PDT
 Yesterday, Julius Agwu revealed he was about to open a Christian nightclub called ‘Believer’s Lounge’. And now in an interview with THE NET, the stand-up comedian has explained why he is embarking on the new venture. “It’s God’s calling. God spoke to me do it. We have unbelievers going to clubs, popping champagne and all that, so we want to have a club where believers can hangout too and pop nonalcoholic drinks. It’s basically an assignment from God. The club is located at Lekki and we are taking it everywhere. God also told me to raise young ambassadors that will fight his battle” he said.He also told NET he is now on a mission to bring people back to Christ. Hear him, “I was recently declared dead. I realized that I actually died but God brought me back. He is giving me a second chance and people rarely get this opportunity of having a second chance.  |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 04:00 AM PDT
 See photo below:   |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 03:40 AM PDT
 Veteran reggae singer, Majek Fashek, since his rehab is fully back and is now making headlines in a positive way. According to him, majority of the people with this challenges have great potentials which can help boost the growth of the country if the right help is given. The singer noted that “Mental health is not a yardstick to look down upon people,” as there is need for an effective system to help manage the health issue. “There is need to create a system to manage or rehabilitate people who are not mentally balanced and as well create more awareness on mental health challenges and appropriate management.  |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 03:00 AM PDT
 Veteran Nollywood actress, Sandra Achums’ celebrated her daughter, Chisom who turned 12 recently. Her mum celebrated her and shared photos from her birthday party with her friends in Germany.       |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 02:30 AM PDT
 Late Dora Akunyili’s daughter, Njideka Akunyili Crosby is the 2015 winner of the tenth annual Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize. The prestigious award was established by jazz impresario and philanthropist George Wein in honor of his late wife Joyce Alexander Wein, a long-serving trustee of the Studio Museum.  Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden said in a museum press release that Njideka’s works embodies the ideals of innovation and promise that were so important to Joyce Alexander Wein. Alexander Wein was a jazz columnist for the Simmons College newspaper when she met her future husband, a jazz pianist, who founded a series of music festivals that continue to thrive. After establishing a career as a chemist, she dedicated herself to expanding the couple’s portfolio of jazz and folk festivals. An influential patron of the arts, she founded the New York coalition of 100 Black Women and was an avid collector of African American art, assembling an extensive collection over the years. More photos below:      |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 02:00 AM PDT
 Yoruba actor, Adeniyi Johnson, estranged husband of actress, Toyin Aimakhu has appealed to her once more on Instagram to come back and forgive the past. Toyin has however remained adamant to taking him back. See his post below: “Someday, you will forget the hurt, the reason you cried and who caused you pain. You will finally realize that the secret of being free is not revenge, but letting things unfold in their own way and own time.  |
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Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:30 AM PDT
Sunday Oliseh has invited 23 players, including USA-based Obafemi
Martins and six home-based players, for the Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup
qualifying fixture against Swaziland.
The 2-legged fixture is slated to take place on the 13th and 17th
of November with the first leg to be played in Lobamba in Swaziland
while the return leg will be at the Adokiye Stadium in Port Harcourt.
Obafemi Martins, who last featured for the national team two years
ago, receives the invitation as a birthday present who celebrated his
big day on Wednesday. He scored for Nigeria on his debut in a friendly
match against Republic of Ireland in London in May 2005.
Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, Portugal-based players, Dele
Alampasu and Abdullahi Shehu and Arsenal’ Alex Iwobi are also invited,
as well as defender, Wilfred Ndidi.
Oliseh has directed that all the players arrive at the Bolton White
Apartments, Abuja on Sunday, November 8 as training commences same day
by 7:00pm.
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Increase In the Agitation to Break Nigeria Should Be Addressed- Abati
Biafra, O’odua, And The 7th Lesson – Reuben Abati
Democracy does not necessarily translate into the disappearance
of crises and dilemmas, (even trilemmas, quadrilemmas or more) in a
country, either developed, developing or perhaps evolutionary.
Built into the fabric of the right to choose is also the right to make mistakes and so, across Africa at this moment, in Nigeria, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Guinea Conakry, Rwanda, the lessons are being driven home, as elections are being held or have been held or will be held, that even as democracy spreads within the continent, the tension between stabilization and consolidation, trade offs and efficiency, pessimism and optimism, ethnocentrism and nationalism, remains a major concern.
Whatever the challenges may be however, both local and international authorities have a duty to ensure that the people learn from their mistakes, build on those mistakes positively, and prevent a relapse to either militarism or militarized democracy disguised either as benevolent democracy or charismatic autocracy, or ethnic revanchism as an option for national movement.
The people’s right to make mistakes, oxymoronic as it may seem, is part of the democratic challenge. In Nigeria, our biggest mistake lies in the strange assumption that our problems will disappear simply through intra-elite displacement or the symbolism of grand gestures. And so, we end up with a boringly repetitive national life cycle.
This leads us to one urgent point: the biggest challenge that the Nigerian state faces today, tearing into the very idea of statehood, and of democracy, is the centrifugal pull from every direction that seems to have become disturbingly incremental. In the North Eastern part of the country, with the tragedy spreading, with casualties increasing, you have the heart-wrenching Boko Haram menace.
The Haram fundamentalists want a divided Nigeria. They have their own flag and they have made it clear that Western education and technology are sinful even if they use the same technology and intelligence to perpetrate their assault. With their flags and propaganda, they want “out” of Nigeria.
Their act of defiance and the evil outcomes have increased since May even if civil society has chosen, all of a sudden, to be less anxious. But it is not a problem that can ever be treated lightly located as it is, in the tragic axis of global terror.
In the Middle Belt, an indigene-settler dichotomy, mutating as majorities-minorities conflict at the heart of Northern community relations, or as pastoralists-farmer confrontation has created seasons of violence and bloodshed with strong allegations of genocide and no sign of immediate abatement.
In the South West, the recent abduction of a Yoruba leader, Chief Olu Falae by persons alleged to be Fulani herdsmen has resulted in the exchange of hate speech among Yoruba and Fulani ethnic champions defending territory, rights and identity.
In Ibadan, the other day, a group of Yoruba elders demanded that Fulani herdsmen should be expelled from Yoruba territory and that should the provocation continue, the Yoruba with their 50 million population will be prepared to exit Nigeria. In the Eastern part of the country, there is a resurgence of Biafran nationalism; young Igbos in diaspora, are insisting on the creation of a Republic of Biafra.
The new voice of Biafran nationalism is Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Radio Biafra, and the Igbos campaigning for Biafra in front of embassies in Europe, India and Japan! In the South South, there is a renewed consciousness of oil citizenship, with the Ijaw whose kinsman recently lost power at the centre protesting that they are victims of Hausa/Fulani harassment, and intimidation.
Perhaps the more worrisome is the noise being made about likely secession from Nigeria, by certain elements in the North East (terrorists actually seeking to carve out territory), by latter-day Biafrans, and by Yoruba irridentists.
It may not be possible without empirical inquiry to determine how much of this is pure opportunism, posturing or criminal-mindedness (except in the case of Boko Haram where criminality is proven), but it would appear that while seeking to uphold the law against those who challenge the sanctity of the state, the government must nonetheless take the agitations seriously for they speak to something old and familiar which has become resoundingly deeper.
If the matter were to be subjected to referenda across the country, I am not too sure there are many Nigerians today who will vote for the dismemberment of this country.
Social scientists advise us not to rule out any possibility, self-determination can be self-fulfilling; and nations have been known to dissolve against all odds, but it seems to me that the majority of Nigerians would rather be Nigerians.
Our country has been kept together by the resilience and the optimism of the majority, not the disillusionment of a critical minority.
We have not yet reached a point where the idea of Nigeria is lost and forlorn, to the extent that the feeling of self-sufficiency that propels the secessionist instinct may indeed be illusionary. No matter the challenge, I believe that it is the idea of Nigeria that will prevail.
The long and the short of it however, is that this remains a grossly imperfect federation, union and democracy. The country is hoisted on a foundation of ancestral fissures. For 55 years, this country has refused to transform into a nation.
It has been hijacked by identity politics, and by ethnic and class determinism. It is sad, very sad indeed, that successive governments have not been able to create an enlightened citizenry and an intelligent elite that can look beyond their own greed. The Nigerian political brain has remained a grossly emotional brain.
We seem to have lost the national battle to emotions fed by ancestral memory, creating a gap between knowledge, and desire. It is why MASSOB, Nnamdi Kanu, Radio Biafra and Biafra Voice International (BVI) are the new faces of Igbo nationalism, and not Aka Ikenga or Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
It is why disgruntled elements in the North East insist on pulling down the country. It is why citizens of a defined oil territory continue to blackmail the Nigerian state.
Nnamdi Kanu does not necessarily speak for all Igbos, and neither the Afenifere nor the Yoruba Council of Elders can determine the Yoruba emotion but they throw up ideas that cannot be ignored.
It is the duty of government to address the dangerous ideas of disintegration, dismemberment that issue from those political brains, not to ignore or traduce them.
The key message is that this is not yet a nation. Kanu’s protest and the frustrations in the Niger Delta or the Yoruba anger over the humiliation of an iconic figure, or the angst of the people of the Middle Belt, or the widespread concern about the arrogance of power, escalated since independence, should be a wake up call.
Those who feel defeated politically are drawing attention to subliminal fears about ancestral injustices, inequities, and inequalities in the Nigerian democratic space.
The more they perceive an attempt to appropriate, exclude and marginalize, the more vociferous they are likely to be.
In the long run, nobody may secede (General Gowon is right on this score), but the inequities of the Nigerian state must be addressed.
The man who will save Nigeria is that leader who will engage Nigerians proactively on the issues of inclusion and cohesion, and thereby grant to every citizen, a sense of ownership beyond ethnic identity, a sense of belonging, and confidence in the Nigerian identity.
When people relate to the state from a position of fear, and exclusion, they create the kind of problems we witness.
One, poverty, not necessarily material poverty, is at the heart of the problem. Two, the failure of the moral dimension is also a veritable cause of national dysfunction.
Three, when the people have jobs, and the economy works and education is taken seriously as a tool for empowerment and progress, there will perhaps be better citizens. What this means is that developing a state that works and a leadership that believes and cares, and focuses on governance responsibilities is where the priority lies.
To move Nigeria forward, these are the fundamental issues to address. How to go about this is the responsibility of those to whom we have entrusted our mandate. It was the main assignment yesterday, the same today and the compass for tomorrow.
Built into the fabric of the right to choose is also the right to make mistakes and so, across Africa at this moment, in Nigeria, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Guinea Conakry, Rwanda, the lessons are being driven home, as elections are being held or have been held or will be held, that even as democracy spreads within the continent, the tension between stabilization and consolidation, trade offs and efficiency, pessimism and optimism, ethnocentrism and nationalism, remains a major concern.
Whatever the challenges may be however, both local and international authorities have a duty to ensure that the people learn from their mistakes, build on those mistakes positively, and prevent a relapse to either militarism or militarized democracy disguised either as benevolent democracy or charismatic autocracy, or ethnic revanchism as an option for national movement.
The people’s right to make mistakes, oxymoronic as it may seem, is part of the democratic challenge. In Nigeria, our biggest mistake lies in the strange assumption that our problems will disappear simply through intra-elite displacement or the symbolism of grand gestures. And so, we end up with a boringly repetitive national life cycle.
This leads us to one urgent point: the biggest challenge that the Nigerian state faces today, tearing into the very idea of statehood, and of democracy, is the centrifugal pull from every direction that seems to have become disturbingly incremental. In the North Eastern part of the country, with the tragedy spreading, with casualties increasing, you have the heart-wrenching Boko Haram menace.
The Haram fundamentalists want a divided Nigeria. They have their own flag and they have made it clear that Western education and technology are sinful even if they use the same technology and intelligence to perpetrate their assault. With their flags and propaganda, they want “out” of Nigeria.
Their act of defiance and the evil outcomes have increased since May even if civil society has chosen, all of a sudden, to be less anxious. But it is not a problem that can ever be treated lightly located as it is, in the tragic axis of global terror.
In the Middle Belt, an indigene-settler dichotomy, mutating as majorities-minorities conflict at the heart of Northern community relations, or as pastoralists-farmer confrontation has created seasons of violence and bloodshed with strong allegations of genocide and no sign of immediate abatement.
In the South West, the recent abduction of a Yoruba leader, Chief Olu Falae by persons alleged to be Fulani herdsmen has resulted in the exchange of hate speech among Yoruba and Fulani ethnic champions defending territory, rights and identity.
In Ibadan, the other day, a group of Yoruba elders demanded that Fulani herdsmen should be expelled from Yoruba territory and that should the provocation continue, the Yoruba with their 50 million population will be prepared to exit Nigeria. In the Eastern part of the country, there is a resurgence of Biafran nationalism; young Igbos in diaspora, are insisting on the creation of a Republic of Biafra.
The new voice of Biafran nationalism is Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Radio Biafra, and the Igbos campaigning for Biafra in front of embassies in Europe, India and Japan! In the South South, there is a renewed consciousness of oil citizenship, with the Ijaw whose kinsman recently lost power at the centre protesting that they are victims of Hausa/Fulani harassment, and intimidation.
Perhaps the more worrisome is the noise being made about likely secession from Nigeria, by certain elements in the North East (terrorists actually seeking to carve out territory), by latter-day Biafrans, and by Yoruba irridentists.
It may not be possible without empirical inquiry to determine how much of this is pure opportunism, posturing or criminal-mindedness (except in the case of Boko Haram where criminality is proven), but it would appear that while seeking to uphold the law against those who challenge the sanctity of the state, the government must nonetheless take the agitations seriously for they speak to something old and familiar which has become resoundingly deeper.
If the matter were to be subjected to referenda across the country, I am not too sure there are many Nigerians today who will vote for the dismemberment of this country.
Social scientists advise us not to rule out any possibility, self-determination can be self-fulfilling; and nations have been known to dissolve against all odds, but it seems to me that the majority of Nigerians would rather be Nigerians.
Our country has been kept together by the resilience and the optimism of the majority, not the disillusionment of a critical minority.
We have not yet reached a point where the idea of Nigeria is lost and forlorn, to the extent that the feeling of self-sufficiency that propels the secessionist instinct may indeed be illusionary. No matter the challenge, I believe that it is the idea of Nigeria that will prevail.
The long and the short of it however, is that this remains a grossly imperfect federation, union and democracy. The country is hoisted on a foundation of ancestral fissures. For 55 years, this country has refused to transform into a nation.
It has been hijacked by identity politics, and by ethnic and class determinism. It is sad, very sad indeed, that successive governments have not been able to create an enlightened citizenry and an intelligent elite that can look beyond their own greed. The Nigerian political brain has remained a grossly emotional brain.
We seem to have lost the national battle to emotions fed by ancestral memory, creating a gap between knowledge, and desire. It is why MASSOB, Nnamdi Kanu, Radio Biafra and Biafra Voice International (BVI) are the new faces of Igbo nationalism, and not Aka Ikenga or Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
It is why disgruntled elements in the North East insist on pulling down the country. It is why citizens of a defined oil territory continue to blackmail the Nigerian state.
Nnamdi Kanu does not necessarily speak for all Igbos, and neither the Afenifere nor the Yoruba Council of Elders can determine the Yoruba emotion but they throw up ideas that cannot be ignored.
It is the duty of government to address the dangerous ideas of disintegration, dismemberment that issue from those political brains, not to ignore or traduce them.
The key message is that this is not yet a nation. Kanu’s protest and the frustrations in the Niger Delta or the Yoruba anger over the humiliation of an iconic figure, or the angst of the people of the Middle Belt, or the widespread concern about the arrogance of power, escalated since independence, should be a wake up call.
Those who feel defeated politically are drawing attention to subliminal fears about ancestral injustices, inequities, and inequalities in the Nigerian democratic space.
The more they perceive an attempt to appropriate, exclude and marginalize, the more vociferous they are likely to be.
In the long run, nobody may secede (General Gowon is right on this score), but the inequities of the Nigerian state must be addressed.
The man who will save Nigeria is that leader who will engage Nigerians proactively on the issues of inclusion and cohesion, and thereby grant to every citizen, a sense of ownership beyond ethnic identity, a sense of belonging, and confidence in the Nigerian identity.
When people relate to the state from a position of fear, and exclusion, they create the kind of problems we witness.
One, poverty, not necessarily material poverty, is at the heart of the problem. Two, the failure of the moral dimension is also a veritable cause of national dysfunction.
Three, when the people have jobs, and the economy works and education is taken seriously as a tool for empowerment and progress, there will perhaps be better citizens. What this means is that developing a state that works and a leadership that believes and cares, and focuses on governance responsibilities is where the priority lies.
To move Nigeria forward, these are the fundamental issues to address. How to go about this is the responsibility of those to whom we have entrusted our mandate. It was the main assignment yesterday, the same today and the compass for tomorrow.
Stop whining, rebrand or go down - APC tells PDP
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the communique
issued by the PDP National Caucus on the so-called political
developments in the nation as a rehash of the opposition party's
infantile whining which will not save it from going down unless it
rebrands most urgently.
''It is time for the PDP to take a long, hard look at itself in the
mirror and change everything that is ugly about the party, instead of
wasting its energy and time on irrelevancies,'' the party said in a
statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said the PDP cannot continue to do things in its trademark old,
crooked ways and expect a different result.
''The PDP just doesn't get it, despite being the architect of its own
fall from power. The days of winning elections with the aid of slush
funds, brigandage, deceit and rigging are gone forever, hence the PDP
must return to the drawing board to fashion out decent and empirical
ways of repackaging and selling itself to Nigerians, just like the
opposition did when they decided to come together,'' APC said
The party said the PDP's ceaseless and ill-advised attack on the
judiciary, now its favourite whipping boy, the endless put-down of
government agencies and the demonization of everyone but itself will
fetch the party nothing but political grief.
''Instead of a blanket and unsubstantiated accusation against the
judiciary over the election petition tribunal rulings in Rivers and
Akwa Ibom, the PDP would have shown itself to be a serious party if it
had provided statistics on how many of the cases filed at the various
election petition tribunals nationwide, after the 2015 elections, have
so far been decided in favour of the PDP and the APC, so that
Nigerians can see whether the PDP has not won any single petition or
whether all the cases have been won by the APC.
''The PDP has forgotten that the same judiciary that it is willfully
castigating today had decided many election petitions in favour of the
party and against the APC, whether at the Governorship, National
Assembly or State Assembly levels, and the ruling party has not opted
to bring the whole house crashing down on everyone just because of
that.
''Going down the memory lane, when the PDP took itself to court in
2007 over the Governorship election in Rivers, the same judiciary that
has now become an apparition to the PDP awarded the Governorship to a
candidate who never even featured on the ballot because the party
crookedly substituted his name. Then, the PDP did not see the
judiciary as being used by the then PDP Administration, neither did
the opposition castigate the judiciary,'' it said.
APC admonished the PDP to stop yowling and engage in strategic
thinking that could propel the party forward, rather than continue to
be nostalgic about its past, which is neither dignifying nor
enlivening.
''The 16 years of the PDP - which the party has continued to
shamelessly celebrate - are nothing to celebrate, either for the
impunity that characterized the party's governance, the massive
looting of the national treasury that is still being assessed or the
bastardization of all the values that the nation holds dear.
Thankfully, President Muhammadu Buhari has brought sanity to
governance even as the PDP has continued to try to distract him with
their endless wailing.
''Our parting word for the PDP: Stop throwing juvenile tantrums
against everyone, especially the judiciary. Stop wasting your energy
on frivolous accusations. Learn how to communicate your thoughts to
Nigerians in a more civilized way and put your shoulder to the wheel
if you want to reincarnate as a force to be reckoned with in our
country's political firmament,'' APC said.
Stand Up For Justice, Equity- PDP Tells Buhari
Communiqué Issued At The End Of PDP National Caucus Meeting Today,
Thursday, October 29, 2015
The National Caucus carefully reviewed the political developments in the
nation's polity and resolved as follows.
1. That there is serious cause for concern in the nation's political
environment, especially as it concerns the survival of the nation's
democracy.
2. That the gains recorded in the 16 years of nurturing of democracy in
the country by the PDP is rapidly being eroded with non-functioning of
basic tenets of democracy and perpetuation of actions tilting towards
dictatorship.
3. That the insensitivity of the ruling government to very critical
issues being raised by the opposition is a huge threat to viable
democracy and dangerous to the peace, unity and progress of the country.
4. That the undue interferences by the executive arm of government on
the activities of the judiciary, legislature and INEC using the
Directorate of States Services (DSS) is clearly unacceptable to the PDP
as well as the Nigerian people and the party resolved to vigorously
resist such.
5. That the party finds it offensive and provocative, the judiciary's
handling of cases involving it in election tribunals in some states,
particularly, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Taraba, Ogun, Plateau and Lagos
states. The tainted judgments of these tribunals, which are evidently
products of arm-twisting from the nation's security operatives under the
direct command of an APC member remains unacceptable to us.
6. The PDP states that the conclusive evidence of external influence on
the Rivers State governorship election tribunal is the fact that it was
able to deliver its judgment within 24 hours, in a case that had nearly
100 witnesses, 1000 pieces of documentary evidences and nine counsel’s
final written addresses; each not less than 40 pages. The decision, in
view of the rather interesting history of the case, indicates that the
judiciary, like the PDP and the Nigerian electorate are victims of the
APC-led Federal Government.
7. The party expects the judiciary, as an institution to restore its
image by taking immediate measures to protect itself from political
interferences as well as ensure that needed steps are taken at the
appellate levels to remedy the embarrassing ruling by some of the
election petitions tribunals.
8. The party has also noted clandestine moves by the APC to use various
agencies of government, to manipulate the processes and rig the outcome
of the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states in
their favour and vowed to deploy every means within the law to resist
such.
9. That the party calls on President Muhammadu Buhari, as the leader of
the country, to stand up for justice and equity and halt the
undemocratic attitudes of agents of government in the interest of peace
and stability.
10. Furthermore, we salute the courage and unity of purpose of our
senators especially as demonstrated in the Senate chambers today in
their collective stand against impunity and corruption, in line with the
wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people. The PDP states that what
the APC senators did today is a death knell on their party’s pretentious
war against corruption.
11. The PDP further notes that whilst former APC governors are being
rewarded with ministerial appointments, their PDP counterparts are being
hounded and harassed in the selective war against corruption.
12. The party finally reiterates its commitment to the unity of Nigeria
and the continued development of democracy in the country.
Signed:
Prof. Adewale Oladipo
National Secretary
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