Dear President Obama, Goodluck Jonathan Must Be Invited To Washington! By Pius Adesanmi

Pius Adesanmi

Dear President Barack Obama: Greetings. On behalf of the good citizens of the District of Columbia, who, in their infinite wisdom, entrusted me with the Office of the Mayor, I am writing to draw your attention to an issue of urgent municipal importance. Although my aides here in the Mayor’s Office are yet to crosscheck things with Mr. Jay Carney, your Press Secretary, after he issued a curious statement today, I have decided to be proactive by reacting to that extremely disturbing statement.
Mr. President, it would seem that you have convened a prestigious summit between your esteemed self and four Heads of State from the continent of Africa. They have been invited to parley with you in the White House in order to explore avenues of strengthening democracy in Africa. According to the statement released by Mr. Carney, “President Obama looks forward to welcoming President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, and Prime Minister José Maria Pereira Neves of Cape Verde to the White House on Thursday, March 28.” The statement concludes that, “the visit of these four leaders underscores the strategic importance the President places on building partnerships and substantive engagement with sub-Saharan Africa, and our commitment to working with strong and emerging African democracies.”
Mr. President, this is obviously an unmistakable snub of the Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who leads a country that prides herself as the giant of Africa. While we understand the fact that your administration needs to send a clear message of zero tolerance for corruption to the Nigerian President, who has acquired a reputation for running Africa’s most corruption-friendly government, we at the Washington City Hall would like to register our disagreement with your decision to exclude the Nigerians from next week’s parley in the strongest possible terms.
Mr. President, we believe that you have not been properly served by your advisers in this matter. We believe that the economic implications of excluding the Nigerians from this parley should have been painstakingly explained to you to help you reach an informed judgment. We believe that the economic wellbeing of a major American city should be more important to your administration than helping the people of one far-flung country in Africa deal with their corruption enabler of a president. At a time when most American city administrations are groaning under budget cuts, at a time when the ability of American cities to deliver basic services to residents is being streamlined to reflect the dire economic circumstances of the times, any opportunity for a massive injection of funds into any American city’s economy ought to be seized with both hands. Your administration is about to deny Washington DC one such fantastic opportunity through the hasty and wrong-headed exclusion of the Nigerian president from the forthcoming parley.
Mr. President, we believe that you are aware of the fact that the President of Nigeria does not travel light to foreign destinations. During meetings of the US Conference of Mayors, my brother Mayor Bloomberg of New York never fails to regale us with stories of the economic boom that New York City receives whenever the Nigerian president comes to town for UN functions. He and his wife are said to travel with a harem of presidential jets – some travel as advance delegations. The plane loads of raw cash and aides create an economic ripple effect. They stay in the best hotels, charter limousines, and spend days in shopping malls since they hardly ever attend the functions they came for.
Mr. President, you are perhaps aware of the fact that the 127th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was hosted by our sister city, Québec City, Canada, from October 21-26, 2012. The word on the street is that the South Africans who arrived in Québec City thinking they had a huge delegation were humbled by the benumbing size of the Nigerian delegation. Almost five months after the event, I can tell you authoritatively, Mr. President, that Québec City, Canada, is still reaping the benefits of the economic boom created by the one-week presence of Nigerian parliamentarians in that city. Need one mention what the city of Dubai in the Middle East benefits from weekly injection of funds by Nigerian officials?
Mr. President, we urge you to seriously reconsider your decision to snub Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. It would be a great idea of you could even invite him ahead of the others so that he and his potentially large delegation could get to spend an extra week here in Washington. If he comes here with two or three jumbo jets, as is his wont, this translates to enormous parking fees for Washington Dulles Airport. He, his wife, and their aides are going to take over major hotels in the city and that would be a tremendous boost for our hospitality services. Our limo rental services are going to benefit immensely from the presence of a Nigerian delegation.
In addition, while Dr and Mrs. Jonathan spend time with you at the White House, two or three planeloads of aides are going to spend all that time in our shopping malls. Furthermore, virtually every member of the large delegation would take the opportunity to do a quick medical checkup. Since they have no medical insurance here, they would naturally be paying cash. Imagine, Mr. President, the possible cash inflow to our medical system in these austere times. We understand that Nigerian officials are fond of German hospitals. This could be an opportunity to showcase the superiority of American medical services to these petro-wealthy Africans.
Mr. President, I could go on and on with details of the economic benefits of having the Nigerians here. Please allow me to say, Mr. President, that for the sake of the economy of Washington, DC, the Nigerian president deserves to be pardoned for pardoning corruption. He is of more economic value to us here than the four African presidents you are hosting combined. I therefore look forward to being able to host him and his lovely wife here at City Hall after their White House event.
Yours sincerely,
John-Smith Budweiser
Mayor of the District of Columbia
Saharareporters

“I spoke with the bomber before he struck” – Survivors of Kano attack recount ordeal

On Monday evening, at least five people today lost their lives after an Improvised Explosive Device went off in Kano.
The blast which left many other injured occurred around the New Road Motor Park, at a time people were returning to their various destinations after the day’s job.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but the survivors of the explosions, have been recounting the moment in which they came close to death.
The Vanguard newspaper has a gripping report on survivor accounts on its pages today.
Here are some excerpts:

Abdullahi Maiagogo Gayawa, a 70 year-old wrist watch seller who was affected by the blast said: “I was at the motor park as usual for a routine business when in a middle of the transaction, I heard a loud bang that sent me sprawling on the ground.

Initially, I could not comprehend what happened but rose  and took to my heels only to notice that my stomach was ripped open,with my intestines gorging out.

I quickly packed my intestines with my cloth and was trying to escape from the scene when suddenly I woke up in the hospital surrounded by a team of medical doctors”.

We saw death — Survivors

The Septuagenarian,  looking frail and worn out told Vanguard on his sick bed: “I saw death at a close range and I had almost given up hope of living but all praises to Allah for His intervention.
Gayawa further explained that “as you can see I am still active and I struggle hard to feed my family and this particular motor park where the incident occurred is my place of business and I had been getting serious patronage from the travelers.”
In the stretch of my life spanning seven decades, I have never seen this kind of trouble, the bang was so loud that I saw many going down, covered with their blood and the wailing that followed was such that I thought the end of time has come”.
Another lucky survivor, Magawata Goje, 45, told Vanguard on his sick bed thus: “I was inside the Lagos-bound luxury bus when the blast occurred. I was seated at the back seat, and it was Allah that understands how I survived the blast.
“I heard people saying that I was dead because I was covered with blood and I could see a lot of people in comatose position and I had to raise my hand to draw the attention of the rescuers before they attended to me. Goje who sustained second degree burns then appealed for quick intervention of government to save his life.

In pains, he struggled to raise his burnt neck and hand and looked through the window pointing at where his children and members of his family were anxiously waiting and monitoring his health from the sideline. “Look at my wife and children watching from outside and you can imagine what will become of their lives if adequate measure is not taken to save my life”.
Also speaking to Vanguard in the same vein, Hamisu Usman, another survivor, told Vanguard that “I was in a Port Harcourt-bound bus when a blast ripped through, and the rest I knew was that I found myself in the hospital where the doctor was telling me to remain calm”.

I spoke with the suicide bomber before he struck —Emmanuel Bassey, 40 years old tout.

In his account, Emmanuel Bassey, a 40-year-old bus park tout who survived the blast revealed to Vanguard his encounter with the suicide bomber before he struck.
Bassey who claimed to work for Ezewanta Group of Motors stated that “the guy came in a blue Golf car, I could recall that he was dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid 30’s. He was calm during my brief interaction with him and did not look harmful. I asked him where he was going, and he said, ‘I have not decided’, and in no time some of my colleagues at the park  were rushing towards him and suddenly he sped off, applied brake close to a loaded vehicle and in a twinkle of an eye, I heard a loud bang that sent me sprawling on the ground”, Bassey explained.
He revealed that four of his colleagues who were running after him to ascertain which part of the southern part of the country he wanted to go all died on the spot due to the impact of the blast.
Bassey who suffered second degree burns cried out: “Men, I saw hell and believed that I was going to die before some good Samaritan brought me to the hospital.
Bassey lost his skin and his stomach was ripped open by the blast but has undergone several procedures and appeared to be in a stable condition. Bassey who complained of excessive heat on his sick bed displayed a deep hole on his stomach  saying: “I was simply not lucky on the day of carnage but all the same I give glory to God that I am alive but I hope government will do their best to bring the perpetrators to book”.
 DailyPost

Tomas Young, Dying Iraq War Veteran, Pens 'Last Letter' To Bush, Cheney On War's 10th Anniversary

The Huffington Post  |  By Nick Wing  

Days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Tomas Young, then a 22-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., made a decision repeated by many other Americans around the country: He was going to enlist in the military in hopes of getting even with the enemies who had helped coordinate the deaths of nearly 3,000 men, women and children.
Less than three years later, Young's Army service placed him not in Afghanistan -- where then-President George W. Bush had told the nation the terrorist plot had originated -- but in Iraq. On April 4, 2004, just five days into his first tour, Young's convoy was attacked by insurgents. A bullet from an AK-47 severed his spine. Another struck his knee. Young would never walk again, and in fact, for the next nearly nine years, he would suffer a number of medical setbacks that allowed him to survive only with the help of extensive medical procedures and the care of his wife, Claudia.
The incident turned Young into one of the most vocal veteran critics of the Iraq War. He has, however, saved his most powerful criticism for what he claims will be his last. Young says he'll die soon, but not before writing a letter to Bush and former Vice President Cheney on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War.
From Young's letter, published on TruthDig:

I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.

Young goes on to attack the "cowardice" of Bush and Cheney for avoiding military service themselves, and to encourage them to "stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness."
(Read Young's entire letter here.)
Young was the subject of the 2007 documentary "Body of War," which was about his recovery process and the Iraq War. At a February screening of the film, Young told the audience that he planned to end his life in April.
According to the Ridgefield Press, Young announced that he would stop taking all nourishment and life-extending medications at that time. He's since said that the deterioration to his body from the injury and ensuing complications would make it physically impossible for him to commit suicide in any other way.
"It's time," he told the audience over Skype, while seated beside his wife. "When I go I want be alert and aware."
Young spoke more about his decision in a recent interview with journalist and Iraq War critic Chris Hedges.
“I made the decision to go on hospice care, to stop feeding and fade away," he said. "This way, instead of committing the conventional suicide and I am out of the picture, people have a way to stop by or call and say their goodbyes. I felt this was a fairer way to treat people than to just go out with a note."
For the rest of Hedges' interview with Young, click here. For the rest of The Huffington Post's coverage on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, click here.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Anoints Commissioner For Agric, Gbolahan Lawal As Next Lagos Governor

Gbolahan Lawal

Action Congress Leader – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made an unofficial proclamation concerning the successor of Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola.
Insiders revealed the ‘controller of the state’s politics’ has anointed his former Aide De Camp and current commissioner for Agric, Gbolahan Lawal to replace the incumbent ( not statutorily eligible for re election after 2 term).
Sources claim the knowledge of this development is limited to insiders within the camp of the political heavy weight.
But their body language and mode of addressing the commissioner since the ‘endorsement’ have reportedly given away the game to close observers of event outside the circle.
Two particular occasions are thrown up to butress this assertion.
The wedding of Adedamola Kasumu cousin to OANDO top shot, Wale Tinubu. The event held at event place LTV 8, Agidingbi Lagos.
Other guests led by the likes Federal House of Representative Memeber Abike Dabiri and Kemi Nelson reportedly led other invites to go pay ‘homage’ to the anointed where he sat.
The other was at a state function held by Governor Fashola at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island recently.
A handful of ‘state political figures’ ‘kowtowed’ to the commissioner – in the midst of endorsement whispers, further giving credence to the assertion.
Though the Jarga ban borgu reportedly didn’t give a clear cut reason for this development- insiders believe undying devotion to the celebrated political figure by Commissioner Lawal, form the basis for the move.
As shown in his profile, he owns all he has to the heavy weight politician. Here is the link to his rise from the post of Aide-De-Camp while the former Governor was in power- till date (Gbolahan Lawal’s profile)
An added reason is talks that unlike other candidates and loyalist that owe their rise to relevance to the powerful nigerian – Mr Lawal has the least political baggage and alliances to honour, making him a better subject in areas of obedience to higher authority.
Naijaurban

License Plate Humor: New Hampshire Resident Shows Off Funny License Plate (PHOTO)

Ah, there's nothing like a little retail therapy to cheer you up after a bad split.
On Tuesday, Reddit user Tangentman123 posted a photo of the sweet ride one New Hampshire man presumably bought after his wife left him. How do we know that's likely the case? Check out his license plate:

That'll show her!
Tell us what you think of this New Hampshire resident's post-split splurge in the comments, then click through the slideshow below for some of the funniest vanity plates we've ever seen on the web.
HuffingtonPost

The Ultimate Sex Tip To Drive Her Crazy

So, you have noticed that your partners don't get as much pleasure as you want them to get? And you want some sex tips to drive her crazy?
Good... there's nothing a bit of research over the Internet can't accomplish. As you know, what will keep your partner coming back to you for more is the orgasm. So, you need to give your girl orgasms - as long as you can give her orgasms each and every time you have sex, she will go totally crazy for you.
The 2 Sensations That Will Send Her Into Orgasms...
The number one sex tip to drive her crazy is to learn what actually gives women orgasms. There are 2 types of pleasure inducing nerve endings in the genitals of a woman. The first is the clitoral tissue. The second is the cervical tissue. Some women require you to touch the cervix (the ending of the vagina) for orgasms, some don't. But ALL of them require stimulation of the clitoral tissue.
Now... by the clitoral tissue I don't mean clitoris. Sure, the clitoris has a lot of clitoral tissue but it's not all. The tissue is actually all around the vaginal canal - the vaginal walls neighbor clitoral tissue. So, keeping these in mind now...
The Ultimate Sex Tip to Drive Her Crazy!
First - whatever you do, you have to stimulate the area for some time. You won't give your girl orgasms in 30 seconds. So, the best way to give her a wild orgasm is to start with oral sex (cunnilingus). The trick is this: You start physically stimulating her by licking and sucking her clitoris - but be careful, she shouldn't have an orgasm during this. You have to give her the orgasm with your penis. It's your penis that will make her come back for more.
The plan is to start by stimulating and arousing her so much that she is ready to have an orgasm. Most women want their man to fill them up completely - this sensation will be the final trigger for her to have the orgasm. This works so well - done properly you don't even have to last that long, because she will be already close.
A Couple More Points...
If your girl still can't have orgasms regardless of how long you go down on her and how long you last inside her, then she either requires you to touch her cervix to have an orgasm, or she requires more stimulation and friction in her vaginal walls during intercourse. This is why size can seriously matter when giving your girl orgasms.
Don't forget - the greatest sex tip to drive her crazy is to give her what he wants - so don't hesitate to ask!
 Naij.com

By Theophilus Ilevbare 

The call by the Sultan of Sokoto and National leader of the Muslim faith, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, to grant total amnesty to the dreaded Boko Haram members was rather outrageous and unfortunate. In what has become a public show of genuflection, prominent Nigerians from the north has since echoed the sentiments of the sultan to grant amnesty to a terrorist sect that has received funds and training from global terror groups, such as al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab. The insurgents have almost collapsed the economy of North-East, leaving more than 4,000 people dead and thousands injured. The sultan has emboldened others in the drum beat of amnesty that has eclipsed public discourse in the weeks that ensued, and surely for a long time to come. One would have expected to hear a better argument than the reframe that suggests; If the Niger Delta militants were pardoned to bring about peace and security in the country, why would same not be extended to Boko Haram? I will revert to this shortly.
My first thought on President Jonathan’s disapproval of the sultan’s amnesty call was commendation. I reasoned he struck the right note for once but on a closer look at his remark, I was crestfallen. President Jonathan said: “For you to declare amnesty, you have to be communicating with people. You cannot declare amnesty for people that are communicating under a veil…” This can be rephrased to insinuate, as soon as they identify themselves and declare their intention, the government will consider granting them amnesty. And with the pardon gate flung open by him for Alamieyeseigha and others, this might prove to be a tricky one for the president, particularly as there are cheap political points to pick up from the north ahead of the 2015 general elections.
The amnesty that was granted to the Niger Delta militants should not in any way translate or equate to same for the Islamist fundamentalist. The agitations of the militants then, to some extent, was germane save for the violence. They were been ripped off by multi-nationals leaving them and their environment marginalized and underdeveloped even though their zone produced the oil that provides for the entire country. They agitated for resource control. They wanted their lives to be touched by the oil that was been explored daily from their neighbourhood. We all agreed, at some point in the their struggle, that the Niger Delta region has been neglected for too long. Regardless of the sympathy their plight elicited, their resort to armed banditry was condemned in strong terms.
Juxtapose with the Boko Haram uprising and its attempt to forcefully impose a religious ideology on a secular Nigerian society. The terror, senseless and wanton destruction of lives and property they have unleashed on Nigerians in a gutsy bid to oppose not only Western education, but western culture and modernisation is despicable. Their acts of terror have gone from the horrendous to the tragic as reflected in the ghastly suicide attack on five luxury buses in Kano that left about 25 people dead and over 50 others injured. These attacks are based on a warped and shallow religious ideology; the islamisation of Nigeria. They ignorantly disdain anything western, but wittingly get by daily with the help of simple machines, the very symbol of western influence in our lives. The blood of Nigerians should not atone for such a cause that does not only trivialize what amnesty stands for, but it seems to suggest that the activities of the sect are legitimate and tolerable. Niger Delta militants focused their attacks on oil installations and multi-national oil expatriates hostage, but Boko Haram is engaged in indiscriminate killing and maiming.

There is a thin line between amnesty and negotiation (dialogue) in the light of the controversy raised by the sultan’s comments. To canvass for amnesty is to promote the culture of crass impunity that desecrate the sanctity of human life. The government can sit with the leaders of the sect, if they wish to reveal themselves, for dialogue. Whatever be their demands, excluding amnesty, can be met by the government. As Bill Clinton rightly pointed out recently while in Nigeria, deprivation, illiteracy and poverty are root causes of Boko Haram. The government can dialogue with the sect for a cease fire and then develop the region, by creating employment and putting infrastructure in place. At this juncture, we must all come to the realisation that sometimes battles are not won with brute use of military force but on the table of dialogue.
The United States and other developed countries posit that they don’t negotiate with terrorists because they have the capacity and intel to crush – in the case of al-Qaeda, the killing of Osama Bin Laden – the terrorists. Same cannot be said of Nigeria where there has been nothing to show for billions voted for security in the last few years. Security issues should be holistically approached because it takes more than JTF boots on the ground, armed to the teeth in troubled states to restore peace and stability.
There is a bigger picture to the diversionary and ill conceived amnesty being canvassed for the Islamic extremists. The government will be sending a wrong signal to the teeming population of unemployed Nigerian youths and yet another dangerous precedent after the amnesty to Niger Delta militants. It is akin to presidential pardon to felons, or a national honour which is a reward for criminality. It will only buck up splincter sects like, Ansaru, and new rebellion from other parts of the country.
And if the government were to give unconditional pardon to the Boko Haram, will the government use the same methods of rehabilitation and reintegration for the Niger Delta militants? Skill acquisition centres, training and re-training methods at home and abroad? How will the government change their mentality to prepare them for their return to mainstream Nigeria? Whichever approach the government intend to employ, it will be a clear negation of the sects’ ideology of abhorrence for anything western. It is not rocket science that their angst with the government has nothing to do with money. All they seek is that sharia be entrenched across the country.
Amnesty should not be a leeway for the Nigerian government to wriggle itself out of security challenges. Only a weak government, with its security and anti-corruption agencies bereft of ideas reward criminals, militants, extremists, rapists and ex-convicts with pardon. Granting amnesty to Boko Haram is a latent approval to other forms of social vices and a continuum of the vicious cycle of legalised lawlessness.
Finally, there is a need to understand the Boko Haram agenda before contemplating amnesty for the sect. They are part of a global network of terror. Their Jihad is not motivated by money but a relentless drive in their fanatical religious ideology of eradicating all forms of western influence on the African continent using Nigeria and Mali as springboards. The promise of material wealth that an amnesty holds for the sect is a disincentive. The counter-terrorism war has never been won anywhere in the world with amnesty.
DailyPost