His Excellency has Spoken

Amidst the bomb threat by MEND and other existing crises in the country, his Excellency president Goodluck Jonathan has delivered his independent day speech, listen to him;

Fellow compatriots, On this day 51 years ago, the British Union Jack was lowered and replaced by our national Green-White-Green flag, heralding the independence of our nation. The 1st of October remains a special day for us, for Africa, and indeed the world.

As we celebrate today, we remember with pride, the nationalism and patriotism that inspired our founding fathers and the Nigerian people. They set aside their differences, to secure the unity and independence of our great country.

That is the Nigerian spirit! For the Nigerian spirit cannot be broken. We are a resilient nation, determined to chart a course, through the turbulent waters of nation building. The Nigerian spirit is vibrant today in the world.

Our citizens at home and abroad, are making their mark in all fields of human endeavour. These hard-working and committed Nigerians, remain a source of pride to us and a beacon of what is achievable, if we remain focused and determined.

I know that a great number of you are joining hands with me and the Administration, in the great task ahead.
I value all Nigerians. I see our youth who are looking for jobs and yet remain hopeful. I see the farmer, and fisherman, toiling everyday to earn a living. I see the teacher, working hard, to train our future generations, with much sacrifice.

I see the market women whose entrepreneurial spirit helps to generate income for their children and families. I see our sportsmen and women training hard to bring glory to our nation. I see our resilience and commitment, as a nation, to defend our democracy and secure our future.

I see every single profession and vocation, making positive contributions to national progress. I value you all!
Together, we shall work for a Nigeria in which democracy and the rule of law are sacrosanct.

A country where corruption and its attendant vices, are banished. A country where human life is sacred and respected, and where the rights of the individual are protected.

Nigeria is a young entity in the comity of nations and yet in her 51 years, she has made significant strides in making her presence felt all over the world. Our diplomatic and peacekeeping efforts, in various parts of the continent, have helped to end conflict and avert crises. In sustaining global security, our intervention has been crucial to peace, progress and democracy for the citizens of the affected countries.

The journey to nationhood always has its own challenges. Nigeria has had her own share. Our growing pains as a nation have included the civil war, the June 12 election crisis and restlessness in the Niger Delta.

But Nigeria has always overcome each of these challenges. We overcame before. We will overcome yet again.
Today, as a nation, there is much for us to celebrate. We celebrate our diversity. We celebrate our entrepreneurial spirit.

We celebrate our resilience and ability to turn adversity into hope. We celebrate our culture. For the labours of our heroes past, shall never be in vain.
As your President, let me reassure all Nigerians that I remain resolutely committed to the ideals and dreams of our founding fathers. Let me also reassure Nigerians that

I will strongly defend the peace and stability of our nation.
My administration will spare no effort in fighting crime, building peace, and securing our homeland against internal threats and infiltration by violent groups, from outside our borders.

We condemn all acts of violence and declare that such acts of mindless savagery shall not be allowed to define our country. We will not be deterred. Our resolve is strong.

I have put in place a new and reinvigorated national security strategy, to combat the threat to our safety. Yet, no matter what I do as your President and no matter what we do as your elected leaders, at all levels, the peace and security of our nation rest also on our collective efforts as citizens, in our various communities.

All leaders and citizens, in every community, must therefore make peace the number one priority of their daily routine. This is because, without peace, no community can realize its objectives or achieve a happy and productive life for its members.

The current incidents of violence and terror, in parts of the country, will surely be overcome. We will secure the safety of our citizens for only when we do this, will we be able to build the needed peace and tranquility in all parts of the federation.
Securing our peace and stability will ensure economic growth and prosperity for all.

Since I assumed office, as the President of our great country, I have continued to focus my attention on the economy. I have taken several measures to address structural weaknesses which stand between us and economic growth and prosperity for all.

We are growing our economy, to generate employment opportunities for our teeming youth and enhanced prosperity for every citizen. This remains the main focus of my administration.

In a few days time, I shall launch an innovative competition for our young entrepreneurs to come up with ways to expand their businesses, create more jobs, and sharpen their business skills.
Now, it is very clear that without fundamental reforms in the key sectors of our economy, we will not be able to fully unlock our potential as a nation. We must manage our resources more prudently and efficiently. We must provide stable electricity to our citizens to help drive economic activity.

I call on our political leaders to put aside partisan politics, for united action towards the advancement of our nation. We must build together.
Because of the measures we have taken on the economy, our GDP is today one of the fastest growing in Africa. We are currently growing the economy at 7.8%. We expect to sustain an 8% growth rate and a better GDP in the medium term, on our journey towards realizing our Vision 20:2020 goal.

We shall strive to make this growth, job creating and inclusive.
Growth in agriculture and other non-oil sectors are crucial, to help diversify the economy and to generate much needed jobs.

Agriculture remains one of the highest priorities in my government’s Agenda for National Transformation. We have set out clear, agricultural, transformation action plans and policy measures, to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of rice, cassava, maize, sorghum and other staple foods.

Self-sufficiency in rice alone will save us the 356 Billion Naira that we currently spend annually importing rice. We will revamp the way we distribute fertilizers, taking government out of distribution of fertilizers.

We plan to reach 20 million farmers with private-sector distributed fertilizers over the next four years. We will improve the investment environment and incentives for the private sector across the agricultural value chains.

Our agricultural transformation plan will generate 3.5 million jobs and an additional 20 million metric tons of food.
But we must all show pride in our farmers. We should eat what we produce. The increasing popularity of local products, like ‘Ofada Rice’, ‘Badegi rice’, and ‘Abakaliki Rice’, attest to the fact, that the populace will readily embrace locally grown produce.

We must also take pride in our scientists. This week, Nigeria released 8 new high yielding cocoa varieties. This will help to transform cocoa production, across the 14 cocoa producing states in the nation.

We have put in place implementable programmes to transform our Nation from an importer of petroleum products, to the regional hub for exportation of value-added petroleum and petrochemical products. We are revamping existing refineries and building three new ones.
We are effectively supporting the private-sector led construction of world scale petrochemical and fertilizer plants.

This will for the first time in our history, result in effective monetization of our abundant natural gas resources while at the same time, creating over a million jobs.
Our potential is huge. We have the requisite market volume.

We have a youthful, energetic, and hardworking population.
The structural and managerial bottlenecks, that have obstructed our economic growth, are being addressed, to unleash the energy and potentials of this nation.

To achieve this, I am determined to ensure that Nigerians have reliable electricity.

Our economy will grow faster, and our hard working small businesses will thrive, when we finally fix the power challenges we face.
We are fast tracking power reforms, to improve the generation and distribution of electricity.

Already, we are beginning to do things differently. I believe that integrity, honour, patriotism, selfless service and fear of God, must be the hallmarks of leadership at all levels.
A nation is sustained by its institutions and systems. I have taken strong measures to improve on governance.
It is in this regard, that I signed into law, the Freedom of Information Act. I will further strengthen all institutions, to ensure greater transparency, probity, and accountability at all levels.

Last year, I promised to restore confidence in our electoral system and pledged to deliver free and fair elections. To achieve that, we initiated some electoral reforms and strengthened INEC and other related agencies.

As a result, our April 2011 general elections was adjudged by Nigerians and the international community as the most transparent and credible elections, ever conducted in our country. Indeed, post-election petitions reduced by over 50%.

Let me assure all Nigerians of my resolve to lead our nation into a safer, more peaceful, and prosperous future for our children.
For the time has come, to rise above ethnic and religious divisions;

The time has come, to unite against violence, in all its ramifications;

The time has come, to secure our peace, and unite against suffering, and deprivation;

I see a new Nigeria rising. A Nigeria, that is economically strong.

A Nigeria, that takes its rightful place of leadership in the world. A Nigeria, that uses its diversity to reinforce its strength. A Nigeria, we all can be proud of.
This is the Nigeria we need and this is the Nigeria, we all must build.

As we celebrate today, let us resolve to build the Nigeria of our future.

I thank you.
God bless you all.
And God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Naija @ 51: The COMEDY of our TRAGEDY

“No matter how independent you may think you are, he who pays the viper dictates the poison”

DANGER: ABUJA Beware!!!!!!!!!!!

On October 1, 2011, The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) intends to place bombs within and in the immediate vicinity of Eagle square, venue for the proposed 2011 independence anniversary celebrations. After fifty one years of independence, Nigerians still have nothing to celebrate. The general public is strongly advised to consider this as a first and final warning. No additional warnings will be issued subsequent to deployment or detonation of these devices which will be novel in nature. (NEXT newspaper, 30^th september)

The conversations of angry men

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you happy birthday to you Nigeria,

 happy deathday (sorry, I mean happy birthday to you!!!

Hip! Hip!! Hip!!!… hurr… boom boom…Yeh… ori iya mi o…

 What the hell is that? What does it sound like, bomb of course, hope you came with an helmet? No, what for? See this one o! Are you not in this country? Yes and then. A warning has been placed in the newspaper yesterday prior to this independence anniversary. So why did it still hold, well we are use to bomb ofcourse! How do you mean?  Well, there is hardly a day here without bomb or bomb threat?

 And what is the Management doing about it? Maybe the question should be whether there is management at all, common stop that none sense I mean the executive, legislature and the judiciary. Interesting! Thank God you can still remember your secondary school government but you see Salawa, those things only exist in theory, yes, only on paper.

 For the executive, the president has spoken their mind-terrorism has come to stay. He said and I quote “terrorism happens everywhere in the world, maybe it is the time of Nigeria to experience it” Chikena!

What of the judiciary?  They are fine, the president who doubles as their spokes person has also assured us that the court is no longer ‘a court of justice but a court of law’… so, even if bokom Haram and MEND are arrested justice within the Nigeria judicial system is HARAM just like the days of the formal chief Justice.

And the legislature? Oh! Those ones, the legislative house is divided against itself already, how can it stand, do you think they have finished their open brawl, never! Everybody is busy learning how to punch they don’t have time for any legislation today, come tomorrow, if fact one of the criteria for contesting for the post of a senator or a house of representative member is your ability to fight the last enemy with your physical strength in the face of a camera that broadcast the combat across the whole Nigeria!
Na wah o ! Well my friend as we celebrate this 51^st anniversary let everyone hold helmet o, not against crash but against bomb.

BOKO HARAM: Is BOKO really HARAM?

Until few days ago when I heard that the Islamic sect- Bokom Haram has chosen the Nigerian Universities as their next targets, I have never given them any attention despite their many bombings. This is not because I’m heartless enough not to be moved by the deaths of the many Nigerians who died in the process but this is just a situation beyond my control as a mere citizen like every other person.

However, I think the threat on University is a confirmation of the fact that Boko is still Haram- if you know what I mean. Boko means Western way (education) and Haram means (forbidden) so, do the simple mathematics Boko Haram will simply mean to forbid the western ways. Interesting then! But my question is how haram (forbidden) is Boko (western ways). If Boko is really Haram why do they keep using western methods in their destructive mission- they use bomb, guns; they have websites, make conversations on online platforms and even use mobile phones, haba! Boko haram!

 Who is deceiving who? All this bombing and killing couldn’t have just been Boko Haram alone- there must be a political undertone. This has been the same trend in every terrorism attack across the globe and Nigeria is not an exception. According to one tally, there have been 17,710 terrorist incidents carried out in the name of Islam since Sept. 11, 2001, claiming over 100,000 lives. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a recent CBC interview, said radical Islamist militants are the biggest threat. "There are a number of threats on a number of levels, but if you are talking about terrorism, it is Islamicism," he said.

While it would be grossly unfair for us, or anyone, to make Islam the culprit, the truth of Harper's statement is backed up by U.S. Department of Justice figures, which show that radical Islamists are disproportionately involved in terror-related crimes. Yet radical Islamists are not alone in perpetrating acts of evil. Anders Breivik, the confessed perpetrator of the July attacks in Norway that resulted in eight deaths in Oslo and the mass shooting of 69 teenagers at a youth camp, professed an antifeminist, white nationalist, Islamaphobic, anti-multicultural agenda to preserve a Christian Europe.

In terms of body count, nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, which is more than double the number of deaths in 9/11. Radical Islamists, in fact, are indiscriminate, willingly sacrificing other Muslims for a cause and hijacking a religion in the process.

The same in Nigeria- radical Islamists are not alone in perpetrating acts of evil, Boko haram has just been so unfortunate to fall as the current victim of circumstances in the ongoing bomb attacks. When the trouble in Niger-Delta started and people started kidnapping, militancy became a house-hold name, now, it is Boko Haram and it is fast becoming a household name-so, for every bomb attack now there is a registered name-Boko Haram but believe me if a new terrorism group start tomorrow all attacks will be registered under their name.

NIGERIAN CHURCHES:By their funny names... You shall know them

I was on a mission to determine the number of registered churches in Nigeria when I stumbled on these funny name of churches, may God have mercy. Only in Nigeria, would you have a church named “Fire for Fire Ministry” and another, nearby, is known as “Run for your Life Ministry.” With fire and brimstone and fire for fire chants, what else is left but for any sensible person to run for his/her dear life.

Yes, only in our dear and wonderful Nigeria will a ministry bear an oxymoronic twist of Angels on ‘Fire Chapel of Peace’. For full point and kill impact, there’s also the world famous ‘Guided Missiles Church.’ The church’s bus and picture follow immediately….

Before, you read through the hilarious list of wacky names of Nigerian churches and evangelism ministries, let me begin by saying: Hallelu..halleluya!! Hallelu..halleluya!!!..... please endeavour to answer your own church name-

The key roll call of names:

· Guided Missiles Church

( The founder must have worked with NATO in the United States, or something close!)

· JESUS IN THE NOW GLOBAL MINISTRY’

( As opposed to where he was in the – THEN – ministry?)

· Healing Has Begun Ministry

( This should bring multitudes …..in the beginning)

· God’s Own Ministry

( I guess here the ownership is not in doubt!)

· The True Assemblies of God Church

(don’t want to think of what this implies of the other Assemblies of God we know)

· Jehova Sharp Sharp (Festac)

(Are we looking at a sense of timing here or the surname is being emphasized)

· Huricane Miracle Ministry

(In nigeria……?)

· Healing Tsunami Ministry

(I guess , both should be situated side by side , my guess is twin brothers founded them!)

· Satan in Trouble Ministry

(You guys are helping him out , or wanna join in the fun?)

· Fire for Fire Ministry

(Founded by a descendant of Moses …actually started with the name ‘An eye for an eye’ ministry)

· FIST OF FURY (NTA road, Port Harcourt)

(I’ll take a guess, members are fit, and all have black belts in Karate)

· Run For Your Life Ministry

( You can’t say , you haven’t been warned!)

Here’s the sign for Run for your life chapel

· The Yoke Must Broke Ministry

(Spelling error or founded in warri?)

· Jesus Heal Ministry

( Focussed and to the point…! )

· Face to face ministry

( No emails, mobile phones allowed- everything here in done face to face!)

· Angels on Fire Chapel of Peace

(An oxymoron….meaning?)

· Liquid Fire Ministries (Suleja, Niger State)

(Nitrogen, diesel, Kerosene and gasoline in sure supply!)

· By fire By Fire Ministry

(These guys are not kidding!!!!)

· HOLYFIRE OVERFLOW MINISTRIES

(Doesn’t this remind you of run for your life ….?)

· David Killed Goliath Ministry (Kaduna)

(Size and weight counts here….!)

· House of Jehova’s Padawans (TransAmadi, PH)

(Check this out, IT WASNT THERE!- what the heck is padawans?!!!)

· JESUS IN HIS MIGHTINESS GLOBAL MINISTRY

(As opposed to other ministries where HE IS IN his what?…LOWLINESS?)

· OPM – Other people’s money (PH)

( Now I like this one….our mission is clear!!!!)

· God in action ministries

(Isn’t there a movie with that title?)

· Moving mountain gospel church

( You can’t say this guys are not scriptural….)

· MY BROTHER IS A CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD

(Muslims/Jews/Hindus don’t belong here is another way of saying this!!!)

· Fellowship of the Wings – Ajah (Langbasa)

(This is a church….right?)

· Power Foundation Ministries, Aba. === The pastor’s maiden crusade was titled: “Your Money is Looking For You”

(I actually like the crusade title for the name of the church!)

(

· HOLY GHOST ON FIRE MINISTRY (Abuja)

(Are these ones for or against God?)

· HIGH TENSION MINISTRY

(There is absolutely nothing wrong with this if the church location describes the church name!!!!)

· JESUS NEVER bleep UP MINISTRY (Benin) === for those of you who don’t get the meaning, replace the word bleep in this one with the err… the “F” word

( sounds like a warning)

· Devil go hear am Jesus Ministry

(I know this one MUST be BASED in warri)

· Accredited Church of God

(Jega’s INEC should see and agree with this or not!)

· Chukwudi & Son evangelical ministry, Aba

(The first sermon should read -Many are called, few were chosen)

· Power pass power church of the mountain ministry incorporated

(I ‘ll suggest a more modern name, like P3M2 to the I in C, ministries. )

· Ministry Of The Naked Wire – Bayelsa State

(Be warned! , naked cables are everywhere!)

· LABORATORY CHURCH OF GOD

( We only need to check your blood samples and tell if you are one of us!!!!)

And here’s the sign for Laboratory Church of God

· Go and tell Ahab that Elijah is here ministries – Benin

(IF you have no Ahab friends and ain’t seen Elijah before, sorry pal, you are not one of us!)

· God is Real Ministry.

Motto: “Jesus no get muscle but he get power”

(Another warri based ministry with a clear mandate! – muscle building not allowed)

· Fire burn ministries

(Another clear warning!)

· JESUS THE LANDLORD, WE THE RELAXING PEW MINISTRY – Portharcourt

(Owned by an Ikwerre man!, after all, land is mentioned and it is in PH)

· Happy Go Lucky Church of God Almighty In Jesus Name Amen – Abeokuta

(What can I say to this …but, Amen too!!!)

· Old time religion ministry

(Yes my brothers and sisters, its old time again, join us when you are 50 years and above!)

· Strong Hand of God ministry

(Yes! Thats what we are!, if you are weak hand of God, we are STRONG)

· Best Spot In The Land of God Church – Apapa.

(I am still thinking of what to write here….)

· Trigger happy ministry.

Motto- always firing the devil

( Second motto should read ,: come equipped , AK47 minimum standards)

· KASABUBU CHURCH OF GOD – Ibadan

( I didn’t have to check this out!)

· Jesus knows his children ministry – Benin

(Yes! …We are the one!)

· SEVEN THUNDERS OF JESUS

(namely…?)

· Perfect Christianity Ministry owned by Dr. Fireman

(No short cuts here!)

· Elshaddai Shall Not Die Ministries

( I give up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

September 11... and the morning after

Today a large crowd gathers in United States, a decade after 9/11, despite trillions spent by the U.S. and some $90 billion by Canada, the threat of terrorism is still very real. We were reminded of this last month when members of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which roughly translated means "Western or non-Islamic education is a sin," attacked the United Nations building in Abuja, where more than 20 people died. In fact, maybe the question should whether Boko is really Haram. Seriously, if Boko means western and Haram means against, Boko haram should mean against western but they still have a websites use guns and make use of cell phones to contact their victims before operations. Anyway that is a discussion for another day.

Back to the 9/11, the attack on UN building in Nigeria occurred more than three months after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Although bin Laden's death symbolized the end of the "war on terror," it is a war that can never truly be won. Terrorism is like the mythical Greek serpent Hydra, which grew two heads for every one that was cut off. Bin Laden's al-Qaeda may be neutered, but in its place are the Boko Harams of the world, ready to surface.

According to one tally, there have been 17,710 terrorist incidents carried out in the name of Islam since Sept. 11, 2001, claiming over 100,000 lives.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a recent CBC interview, said radical Islamist militants are the biggest threat. "There are a number of threats on a number of levels, but if you are talking about terrorism, it is Islamicism," he said.

While it would be grossly unfair for us, or anyone, to make Islam the culprit, the truth of Harper's statement is backed up by U.S. Department of Justice figures, which show that radical Islamists are disproportionately involved in terror-related crimes.

Yet radical Islamists are not alone in perpetrating acts of evil. Anders Breivik, the confessed perpetrator of the July attacks in Norway that resulted in eight deaths in Oslo and the mass shooting of 69 teenagers at a youth camp, professed an antifeminist, white nationalist, Islamaphobic, anti-multicultural agenda to preserve a Christian Europe.

In terms of body count, nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, which is more than double the number of deaths in 9/11.

Radical Islamists, in fact, are indiscriminate, willingly sacrificing other Muslims for a cause and hijacking a religion in the process. The reprehensible acts of 9/11 claimed several dozen innocent Muslims, including a New York City police cadet who sacrificed his life attempting to rescue others. In the wake of the attacks, family members of deceased hijacked passenger Rahma Salie were barred from travelling to her memorial service, moving her mother, Haleema, to plead: "I would like everyone to know that she was a Muslim, she is a Muslim and we are victims too, of this tragic incident."

Today is a chance to reflect and to remember not only the victims of 9/11, but also the children in Norway, the 202 killed in Bali in 2002, the 380 mostly child victims of the 2004 school hostage incident in Beslan, Russia, the 191 people killed on commuter trains in 2004 in Madrid and most importantly, the lost souls in northern part of Nigeria and the many other 9/11-inspired attacks that have killed thousands of innocents, regardless of faith.

THE EKO WORLD GUINESS RECORD

Eko o ni baje o! Never! Not even when the dividend of democracy is conspicuously written in golden pen everywhere in the street of Lagos, so glaring that the even the blind can see it.

What more could be the definition of “dividend of democracy” than the global honour recently bestowed on Lagos state as she write her name in the World Guiness Book of records when the state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and some other adults read a book with 4,500 students of Lagos schools. This as far as I am concern is a giant leap from a muddy valley to an Olympian height.

The state was reported to have achieved this giant feat at a programme organized in conjunction with the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and Ecole de Desssin to mark the 2011World Literacy Day Celebration. From there, it has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Record, that the state will hold a record as the world largest literature class where a study session of a story book is jointly read by adults and students. The deputy governor read a story book titled, ‘Time Changes Yesterday’ by Nyengi Koin to the children for 45 minutes.

For the record, it would be recalled that the record was previously held by the United Kingdom where adults read with 3,423 pupils. The Lagos state surpasses the record with a total of 1,077 this is indeed a giant leap from a muddy valley to an Olympian height.

Come to think of it, at the time of the event, the deputy governor was probably not planning to set any global record; she was simply planning to make impact. This success is simply the final product of accumulated work of the Lagos state government in the field of education, as a matter of fact; statistics has proven that presently, Lagos state has recorded about 87.8 per cent literacy level. The literacy level in the state had improved because the investment in education kept yielding desired results. Just last week the state held a book fair within the Lagos Television compound where hundreds of Lagosians had access to book at a giveaway price.

However, the deputy governor was quoted to have promised that the state is aiming at a 100 per cent literacy level, placement of education as priority and implementation of child right law which emphasizes the right of every child to education. I look forward to seeing this statements becoming a reality and not mere expressions of excitement.

For those of us who knew how well the deputy governor delivered in her previous office during the last tenure of the current government, we have no doubt that she will do whatever she says she will do. I wish to congratulate the entire Lagos citizen and especially her Excellency. Eko o ni baje o!