2015: PDP govs give conditions for reconciliation

For peace and genuine reconciliation to reign in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the state governors have given four conditions which President Goodluck Jonathan and the party’s stakeholders must embrace.

Specifically, the PDP governors are demanding for the removal of the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, and dissolution of the National Working Committee, NWC.

Also, the governors want a commitment that the existing state executives of the PDP will not be dissolved before the 2015 elections. As part of the demand, the governors want to be given a free hand in installing their successors.

More importantly, the governors want assurance of safety nets; that they will not be harassed and prosecuted after leaving office in 2015.

No fewer than 16 of the 23 PDP governors would be leaving office in 2015 after serving out two terms of four years each.

Most Nigerian governors after completing their terms have faced a raft of corruption cases brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC.

A member of the reconciliation committee led by the party’s BoT chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, told National Mirror at the weekend that these were the aggregate views of the governors.

“In the last few days, we have met some governors, who were very frank about their reservations with the PDP. We have met with about five of the governors and the general consensus among them is that Tukur must go for peace to reign in PDP.

“The governors also gave conditions such as allowing them to pick their successors in the 2015 election. The issue of life after 2015 is another major factor. They want assurance that the government would not prosecute them after leaving office,” the source said.

Another highly placed source said that the governors are not bending on their opposition to Tukur. According to him, they can’t trust the national chairman.

“If the governors can’t have control over their state party executives, then they are finished. So, they must fight it out. This is what is happening now,” the source said.

Even after Anenih and Governor Babangida Aliyu held a closed-door meeting last week, the Niger State Governor said Tukur remains PDP’s biggest headache.

Impeccable sources told National Mirror that President Jonathan is giving the dissolution of the Tukurled NWC serious thought.

Already, associates and aides of the President, who are keen on his return in the 2015 elections are rooting for Tukur’s exit to bring the governors and other stakeholders on board of the Jonathan’s project.

A source also said that one of the reasons Jonathan’s aides are advancing for the dissolution of the NWC was that the composition of the national executives does not favour the President.

Until the removal of the National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and National Auditor, Bode Mustapha, former President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly had six members of the 12-member NWC in his camp. The Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja, is the candidate of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State while the National Organising Secretary is the nominee of Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

The relationship between the Presidency and Tukur has since last week gone sour. A source in the Presidency told National Mirror that President Jonathan is unhappy over Tukur’s comments on the state of insecurity in the country.

In an interview with journalists, Tukur had declared that Nigeria is under siege.

He had said: “Today, there is fear everywhere, churches are being burnt, mosques are being attacked, United Nations building bombed, motor parks are being bombed, people cannot go to motor parks again to travel for the fear of being attacked, security installations such as police stations, prisons are being burnt down and inmates released at will, nobody knows the next target of attack.

“Surely our nation is under siege. It is not the question of PDP, ACN, CPC or any political party or any religion, the truth is that Nigeria is under siege therefore all of us must come together and face this challenge.

“It is not about the PDP or President Goodluck Jonathan; this is a matter that should be of concern to everybody irrespective of political, ethnic or religious affiliations. The opposition, labour movement, religious leaders, traditional rulers, name it; we all have to come to fight the evil that is now manifesting everywhere in our land, those perpetuating this evil are within us in the society, it is not a matter of Mr. President or the PDP-led Federal Government alone.”

The Presidency sees this as an indictment on the Jonathan administration.

“The development is a source of worry for the President. Initially, he was not given in to the call for Tukur’s removal, but now President Jonathan is weighing the options. There is now 50-50 chance for Tukur’s removal,” the source said.

It was learnt that some close political associates of the President are already searching for the successor to Tukur. Initially, Ambassador Hassan Adamu was being considered by the president but the age factor has disqualified him. The Presidency is searching for a competent and experienced administrator with vast political experience from the North East as Tukur’s replacement,” a source close to the President said.

It was learnt that two options are left for Tukur. One, he may honourably resign before the mid-term convention or be removed at the convention in 2014.

“That is if he survives a vote of no confidence that may be passed on him at the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting which he has refused to call. Any time the NEC is called, the governors may finally move against the Tukur-led NWC,” a source said.

A senior member of the PDP told our correspondent that the mid-term convention may hold earlier to change the party’s leadership.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said he was unaware of the plot to sack the party’s NWC. “I’m completely unaware of this plan. It is uncalled for. These reports are being sponsored. It is a coordinated attack on the leadership of the party. But there is no truth in it,” Metuh told National Mirror yesterday.

TalkOfNaija

Todd Akin, Allen West Lavished Government Money On Staff After Losing Reelection

WASHINGTON -- After Todd Akin lost the Missouri Senate race to Democrat Claire McCaskill in November, he had one final piece of business to take care of as an outgoing member of the House of Representatives -- giving piles of government money to his staff. Akin nearly doubled the salaries of his House staffers in the quarter after his defeat, according to the website LegiStorm, which tracks congressional pay.

Only retiring Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York was more generous with public money, barely topping Akin's 98 percent increase in pay, the website shows. Allen West, a Tea Party favorite from South Florida, was the fourth biggest giver of taxpayer bonuses after he lost reelection to Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.). Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) was the third most generous, according to LegiStorm.

West and Akin routinely decried wasteful and out-of-control government spending, calling for major cuts to social programs.

Of the top 10 members of Congress most generous with year-end bonuses, nine were Republicans, and 14 of the top 20 were, not coincidentally, on their way out of the House.

Republican Reps. Devin Nunes (Calif.), Steve Austria (Ohio), Steve LaTourette (Ohio), Bob Turner (N.Y.), Roscoe Bartlett (Md.) and Jon Runyan (N.J.) rounded out the top 10 in 2012.

When Democrats lost a historic number of seats in 2010, outgoing members of the party lavished their staff with unspent money, with 18 of the top 20 givers carrying a D next to their name.

House staffers typically get bonuses at the end of the year depending on how much is left in the office budget, but on average in 2012 those bumps were just 16.4 percent for Republicans and 15.1 percent for Democrats. Bonuses are not labeled as such in the congressional books, but LegiStorm is able to count them by comparing the increase in reported salary in the fourth quarter to the average of the first three quarters.

HuffingtonPost

Foluke Daramola, Kayode Salako’s marriage on fire after few weeks

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There is nothing as frustrating as having your newly built matrimonial home threatened by a friend who turned enemy overnight!

The home of recently married actress, Foluke Daramola and activist, Kayode Salako  is presently under fierce attack.  A lady journalist and founder of Lady of Africa Empowerment and Advocacy Foundation, Bukola Fasuyi, who claimed she introduced Foluke to the husband, Kayode, has come out to reveal the marriage was built on deceit and lies.

Bukola Fasuyi claims that Foluke has really offended her. “Foluke is an ungrateful element to me. I actually introduced her to Kayode, who,  for a very long time was my toaster but I told him I could not date him because I was not really interested and there was really no feeling for him. I told him I was not really interested because I was in a relationship.

About the same time, Foluke  had asked me to introduce her to someone who could help, so I introduced Kayode to her. I know he spends a lot on women, at least, he was dating a lady Princess Bimbo Olagunju, and he was spending so much to keep the girl. The same Princess knew how much Kayode liked me but I was not interested. So precisely February 13, 2012, I introduced Foluke to Kayode at Mama’s Place in Omole, Ikeja.

I remember that I met Kayode during the  hey days of Fasholamania, his campaign project for Governor Babatunde Fashola. I believed in the project and I knew he was committed to it not because he was getting any money. Anyway, Kayode and Foluke met, they were supposed to date each other but I never advised her to go and destroy Kayode’s home built over 15 years. I know Kayode dated Princess Abimbola currently in Dublin, but she never ventured to destroy his home.

They dated for about five years, yes, the wife knew, the heat was so much. They had issues about that but it never got to marrying him and sending his wife away. Princess knew Kayode wanted me, she knew I could displace her but I remained his friend.

But because he was always telling us about his home, the areas his wife failed, Foluke worked on it and the result is the marriage which I advised her not to go into.  I have conscience, fine as a friend, I wanted the best for my friend (Foluke), but I know she threatened the home of Kayode, she was calling him at home at odd times, telling him how much she loved him.  The next day after they met, he sent N100, 000, that week, he sent more money, about N500,000. The money came at a time Foluke had accommodation problem in Marwa’s Garden, so he secured an apartment for her.

At a point, I called Foluke that why had Kayode’s wife barely left her home  that you started to sleep in his Omole house?  I tried to advise her that she should not marry the guy, that all she should do was get his assistance; I told her she should put herself in the wife’s shoes. Since she realised I was advising her, she withdrew from me, she started to avoid me.  Yes, he was having issues with his wife but that was not enough to move in. On few occasions, he insisted he was still in love with his wife. I strongly advised her against such moves but she went ahead with the marriage plans. I remember that even while dating Foluke, he had issues with her, he complained about her lifestyles, that she was a fraudster bla, bla, but as a true friend I have to step in.  Kayode had wanted to go away.”

And here’s the best part ‘‘… Yes, I know all she did that the marriage eventually came up, I was actually with her to those places, yes, we went together and I’m waiting for her response and if she responds or denies my claim, then I will go all out to fight her. I’m ready to release all the pictures of the places we went together.  I’m fighting her because she does not have conscience at all, I’m fighting her because she’s a desperado, I’m fighting  her because she’s an ungrateful element. I never collected any money for introducing her to Kayode, ask her if I did but I told her ‘don’t marry this guy, think about his home.’

‘‘Now I’m worried, my conscience is troubling me, I’m worried about the fact that I was indirectly or directly involved in the circumstance that led to the break of Kayode’s marriage. I don’t think Foluke should have gone this far, there are many factors involved, it was not ordinary and I want to  tell the world that she does not deserve that man, I want to tell the world that I’m sorry that I did this to him and his family. I never advised Foluke to marry him; I just wanted him to help her out of her stormy life. I owe Kayode’s wife an apology and I know that I will go to her and say sorry soon. But before then, I owe it a duty to tell the world Foluke does not deserve Kayode and as the friend that introduced her to him, I’m sorry.’’

Asked why she’s spilling the bean now, she said “I just want the world to know the role I played that I merely introduced her to Kayode to assist her, not to marry him.

Yes, the wife made some mistakes too; I’m putting all these in a book I’m writing soon. It’s not enough for you to decline the advice or suggestions of your husband on how he wants you as his wife to dress. Why should the wife turn the hubby’s invitation to go out together down?  Her claim that she’s a pastor and not cut out to live a life in the social circuit leaves room for the other women to step in.  For Kayode, he got carried away, he loves the fact that Foluke brings him to spotlight, that makes him a newsmaker of sorts. Yes, I know I’m guilty, that’s why I’m saying I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile Kayode Salako has this to say ‘‘Bukola is a devil’s agent and please don’t mind her. Yes, she introduced Foluke to me but she should step aside now that we are married. She claimed Foluke is using juju on me, but you know what?  If that is true, I, Kayode Salako will know. I’m a real man. But if truly she’s using Juju, I need more of her juju, you know why, she has added value, brought me a lot of blessings.

He recalled how she met Bukola who introduced her to Foluke. “Yes, when I came back from abroad, I met Bukola, then I was lonely, my life was boring and we met. I liked her because she was so passionate about my Fasholamania’s project, she showed a lot of enthusiasm and we got so close, it was at a time my wife was very boring, so I asked her out, but she declined. She told me that she liked me but she would not date me for two reasons:  one that her intentions will be misconstrued, two, it will be a burden on her that she will love me  to the extent that she would love to marry me  but that she had a friend,  an actress, that she’s different from the pack. She gave her name as Foluke Daramola. Really, I never believed her that she could introduce Foluke to me. She’s one of the very few actresses I admired.

Eventually, we met at Mama’s Place.  Shortly after she called Foluke to join us and she did. We had fun, wined and dined together. That was all that night.  The rest as they say is history. I don’t know why she’s into this  campaign of calumny now. Why call Foluke names? What has she done to her?  If Foluke is into juju, she should be a millionaire like  some of her colleagues whose lifestyles are well known to us. I met Foluke  a poor  girl with  her sanity and pride  intact. I don’t know what she wants from all these. Foluke’s life is an open book and I like it. I have taken my decision and the action  to live the rest of my life with Foluke and I’m ready to face the consequences of my action.

Foluke Daramola also reacted saying “Yes, Bukola came to me, she told me about her project and that she needed money. She believed I have so much that I should be given her now.  But there is one thing about me; my life is an open book. I will not respond more than that. Let her go ahead with her tales. I know I have done no wrong. I appreciate the fact that she introduced me to Kayode but that does not mean she has to continue to call the shot. It’s just important she steps aside now that we are married. That should not hurt.”

DailyPost

"Evil Forces Behind Boko Haram"

Primate of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, yesterday stated that there was an evil force behind the Boko Haram sect.

Okoh said this in his sermon, titled “Alleluia! Christ is Risen”, at the Easter Sunday service of the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarimpa, Abuja.

He said the dreaded group is challenged to the good fortunes of Nigeria., assuring that it shall soon become history.

The cleric compared the killings in the north to the battle of the Roman Empire with the new order, which was Christ Jesus.

Okoh noted that since Jesus Christ overcame his trials, the country too would rise one day above its problems..

In his words: “The problem had been holding us down that we will not make progress, right from the independence, if you consider the trouble we have gone through, the number of people who died during the civil war.

 

“Now some groups have decided that, there will be no rest, killed and killed and killed, something is instigating them. There is power that we do not see that is trying to hijack the destiny of Nigeria.

“We may look at them as foreign intervention, we may look at them as people from within, there is evil force that is trying to hijack our destiny. And this was the same in the time of Jesus Christ, the old order was struggling with the new order, Jesus was producing the new order of life by bringing people to God, and this old order (the Jews and the Roman Empire)was pulling it down.

Naij.com

Arkansas Oil Spill: Exxon Shuts Pegasus Pipeline After Rupture

By Kristen Hays and Matthew Robinson

March 31 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil on Sunday continued cleanup of a pipeline spill that spewed thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude in Arkansas as opponents of oil sands development latched on to the incident to attack plans to build the Keystone XL line.

Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said on Sunday that crews had yet to excavate the area around the pipeline breach, a needed step before the company can estimate how long repairs will take and when the line might restart.

"I can't speculate on when it will happen," Jeffers said. "Excavation is necessary as part of an investigation to determine the cause of the incident."

Exxon's Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Patoka, Illinois to Nederland, Texas, was shut after the leak was discovered late Friday afternoon in a subdivision near the town of Mayflower. The leak forced the evacuation of 22 homes.

Exxon also had no specific estimate of how much crude oil had spilled, but the company said 12,000 barrels of oil and water had been recovered - up from 4,500 barrels on Saturday. The company did not say how much of the total was oil and how much was water.

Allen Dodson, Faulkner County judge who is the top executive for the county where the spill occurred, told Reuters in an interview on Sunday that the smell of crude was less potent on Sunday as cleanup efforts continued, saying it was weaker than the smell of fresh asphalt laid on a road.

"The freestanding oil on the street has been removed. It's still damp with oil, it's tacky, like it is before we do an asphalt overlay," he said.

Exxon said it staged the response to handle 10,000 barrels of oil "to ensure adequate resources are in place."

Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) also were on site to investigate the spill.

Fifteen vacuum trucks remained on the scene for cleanup, and 33 storage tanks were deployed to temporarily store the oil.

The pipeline was carrying Canadian Wabasca Heavy crude at the time of the leak. An oil spill of more than 1,000 barrels into a Wisconsin field from an Enbridge Inc pipeline last summer kept that line shuttered for around 11 days.

The 848-mile (1,381 km) pipeline used to transport crude oil from Texas to Illinois. In 2006 Exxon reversed it to move crude from Illinois to Texas in response to growing Canadian oil production and the ability of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries to process heavy crude.

The Arkansas spill drew fast reaction from opponents of the 800,000 bpd Keystone XL pipeline, which also would carry heavy crude from Canada's tar sands to the Gulf Coast refining hub.

Environmentalists have expressed concerns about the impact of developing the oil sands and say the crude is more corrosive to pipelines than conventional oil. On Wednesday, a train carrying Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.

"Whether it's the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, or ... (the) mess in Arkansas, Americans are realizing that transporting large amounts of this corrosive and polluting fuel is a bad deal for American taxpayers and for our environment," said Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Supporters of Keystone XL and oil sands development say the vast Canadian reserves can help drive down fuel costs in the United States. A report from the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, put together by oil and gas consultancy Penspen, argued diluted bitumen is no more corrosive than other heavy crude.

A year ago Exxon won a court appeal to charge market rates on the Pegasus line, or rates that are not capped and that can change along with market conditions without prior approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

That decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. said the Pegasus pipeline is now the "primary avenue" to move Canadian crude oil to the Gulf Coast. The ruling also said Exxon moves about 66,000 barrels per day on the line.

Last week PHMSA proposed that Exxon pay a $1.7 million fine over pipeline safety violations stemming from a July 2011 oil spill from its Silvertip pipeline in the Yellowstone River. The line, which carries 40,000 barrels per day in Montana, leaked about 1,500 barrels of crude after heavy flooding in the area.

Exxon has 30 days from the March 25 order to contest those violations.

According to PHMSA, the U.S. has 2.3 million miles of pipelines.

CLEANUP

Exxon said that by 3 a.m. Saturday there was no additional oil spilling from the pipeline and that trucks had been brought in to assist with the cleanup. Images from local media showed crude oil snaking along a suburban street and spewed across lawns.

Twenty-two homes in the affected subdivision remained evacuated on Sunday, though Mayflower police were providing escorts for residents to temporarily return to retrieve personal items.

Jeffers said a couple of homes "appear to have small amounts of oil on their foundations," but he had no information on damage estimates or claims. Exxon had established a claims hotline for affected residents and said about 50 claims had been made so far.

Dodson said oil that made it to the street went into storm drains that eventually lead to a cove connected to nearby Lake Conway, known as a fishing lake stocked with bass, catfish, bream and crappie.

He said local responders that included firemen, city employees, county road crews, police quickly built dikes of dirt and rock to block culverts along that path that stopped crude from fouling the lake.

"We were just in the nick of time," he said.

Exxon later deployed 3,600 feet of boom near the lake as a precaution.

Dodson said crude also got into several homeowners' yards, which will take longer to clean up.

"We've just gotten used to having pipelines go through cities and counties, and you hope something like this doesn't happen. My heart goes out to all of the people personally impacted," Dodson said.

HuffingtonPost

Tikrit Iraq Attack: Insurgents Use Tanker Packed With Explosives To Kill 9

TIKRIT, Iraq, April 1 (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed and 17 others wounded on Monday when insurgents detonated an oil tanker packed with explosives inside a governmental compound in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, police said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Muslim insurgents tied to al Qaeda have been redoubling their efforts to undermine Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and foment inter-communal conflict this year.

The blast exploded in central Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, 15 minutes after insurgents drove the tanker inside a compound housing governmental administrative offices. It killed nine people including seven policemen.

Police at the scene said compound guards may not have suspected the tanker because fuel trucks arrive every morning to deliver gas and oil to the government offices.

"The tank was stopped just behind the police administration building and partially damaged it. I was injured in my face and stomach because of glass," Captain Mohammed Salih said.

Intensifying violence has accompanied by political crisis in Iraq where a power-sharing government among Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish blocks has been all but paralyzed since U.S. troops left more than a year ago.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite, is also facing months of protests in the Sunni heartland, which shares a border with Syria. Many Iraqi Sunnis feel their minority sect has been sidelined by Maliki's government.

Security experts say al Qaeda-linked militants have been regrouping in the western province of Anbar and crossing into Syria to fight alongside mainly Sunni rebels against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Shi'ite Iran. (Reporting by Gazwan Hassan; Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Patrick Markey and Angus MacSwan)

HuffingtonPost

A Nigerian Story Of My Oga At The Top By Prince Charles Dickson

There is no manner of death that is inconvenient for the chicken.(One is game for whatever propositions might be made to one).

The phrase 'oga at the top', some forthnight went virile. We all know how the NSDC Lagos state commandant and 'Channels TV Journalists' exchange resulted in that now virile four-word-axiom.
We have since seen 'oga at the top' shirts, cups, fez caps, ringtunes, movies, you name it, infact I was quite fascinated seeing a Nigerian UK based TV use the phrase as the new catch slug. This is Nigeria, recall, Jonathan's first coming, people named their kids 'goodluck'.
Well, this is not much about Mr. Shem who uttered the phrase, nor his ignorance, it is not about the journalists who unprofessionally rattled him, it is not about Nigerians who seem lost on the real thematic problem in that phrase or people whose new pseudo are 'oga at the top'.
So, what is it, that this writer is overflogging. Follow me in the next few paragraphs and let's see Nigeria.
My name is El-Emeka Adebayo, I work with the Federal Civil Service, I am what you call an 'oga at the top', not so many of us, but enough to wreck havoc on the Nigerian dream, that is not if we have any.
You call us Perm Sec, Directors, Assistant this and that in various ministries and parastatals, and extra-ministerial platforms.
Many of us have been around the top for ages, some as far back as 1976, 79, and early 80s. We have put in two-three decades ruining Nigeria.
This is my story, by our set standards I work hard; I do not know what the general standards are because they vary depending on situations, persons, time and other factors.
In one year I can hardly tell you how hard I work, but for sure I work hard, traveling for all sorts of seminar, workshops, and conventions. Did you notice my name, I go on both Hajj and Pilgrimage to Saudi/Isreal depending on how I feel. Its an entitlement, and did I tell you, I have been 60years old several times, and I have forgotten my real age now.
I have a wife, I could actually have four but I put up a decent face de jure in public. Really my concubines, girlfriends and babes are as many as the 36 states of Nigeria. There are just a few of them that don't have a car gift from me, several of them live in houses in various GRAs across Nigeria. I pay the bill. As for children from them, I have lost count.
I have 'just' 6 houses in the FCT, a few in Lagos, and a shopping plaza in Port Harcourt and then my country home mansion. With six kids, I am not spending much on Ivy league schools, the first lad just finished from MIT, not so intelligent but money does cover up for that, one is in UK, two in US and the last two in Canada and Australia respectively.
My wife deals in gold and other jeweleries, smiling, I am sure it's a good excuse for our source of income. Never mind she only buys not sell. Her holidays per year are like her 'menstrual flow' are.
I spend an average of 2hours a day, and four days a week at the office and that's when I am not in one of those marathon meetings with the honourable minister, a governor or some legislative ogas at the top. Calculate that!
Don't mind me, I will soon be done, I have as of the last time I counted, three official cars, some regular cars, not sure if three too, my personal luxury, a Mercedes Jeep, and another luxury Sedan for my country home. These excludes the cars the kids drive when around. Well, quite a garage you 'd say.
We have a family doctor, actually three doctors, a family lawyer, few family teachers, drivers, gardeners, some domestic helps, several utility personnel, all well paid monthly, and excluding tips.
These also excludes my external family social services, you know how it works, I am an oga at the top. My generosity knows no bound.
I have a sound-proof power generating set, so has PHCN improved? I cannot say, though I have a whole transformer met for a community in my house, sorry I mean mansion.  With those AWD luxury jeep with four tyres costing same amount for a second hand car. I can't tell you the roads are bad because Sule one of the drivers maneuvers them nicely.
My office pays other bills, water rates, some insurance things, and other utilities. I really careless about pension, paid myself that, a long time ago.
My sitting rooms, several of them, are an example of real life 'argos mall catalog' for electronic gadgets etc and some powerful industrial scanfrost refrigerators, and choice bars, both in bedroom and parlour.
My kids don't know hardship, struggle or stress, they have all been on some form of allowance since their 14th birthday and these excludes some few millions in their various accounts both home here and those domiciled abroad.
And guess what? I am not exactly smart. How much do I earn? I do not know again sef...but I steal "whole budgets"...so who cares.
I expect gratification, a cash-backed thank you, I cheat the system, after all its government, and still I am at the center of all sorts of reforms, promises and clichés, but sadly no result because the system itself is premised on a faulty foundation.
Whether you bring in academics, politicians, or the so-called career civil servant like myself, the result is still largely the same, more crooks are bred.
Well it remains to be seem, my story is similar everywhere, very little difference, from Zamfara-Abia, Sokoto-Abeokuta, in the police, army, mdgs, even in our churches and mosques.
We are the ogas at the top, and with a few at the corners we thrive to deal with those of you below. We are game for whatever propositions might be made, Nigerians at the bottom, are not ready, we are at the top, are still game, if we want change, only time will tell.
--
Prince Charles Dickson
Editor, burningpot.com

Saharareporters