REMARKS BY GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR AT A PROGRESSIVE GOVERNORS FORUM DINNER, ABUJA. NOVEMBER 6TH, 2013

Chairman of the occasion Dr Ogbonna Onu,
Your Excellencies State Governors present,
Chairman of APC; Chief Bisi Akande, Invited
guests, ladies and gentlemen of the press.
We should make no mistake that this is an
historic occasion and we are living in historic
times.
Our dear country is undergoing; a
realignment, a
re-configuration and a
re-positioning of political forces.
We are witnessing a landslide or a political
earthquake of epic proportions. Old alliances
are being questioned; new alliances are
being forged.
Nigerians old and young, men and women,
politicians and non-politicians are watching
with great expectations that this movement
will turn Nigeria around. Our neighbors in
the West African Sub-region are anxiously
watching and hoping that this may be the
time when Nigeria will, at last get its act
together and provide leadership and
direction for the African continent.
The international community is equally
watching to see if this potentially sizeable
security and trading partner called Nigeria
can pull itself together and play its proper
role in world affairs.
These doubts and uncertainties we find
ourselves in, causing everyone to scratch his
and her head for solutions are as a result of
extreme bad government at the centre since
1999.
The Federal Government is clueless with no
direction; speaking from both sides of its
mouth;
Looking both ways at once and missing the
point almost every time.
This, Mr Chairman, is the background and
the rationale for the merger of opposition
political parties. The trigger is persistent
election rigging. Elections since 2003 have
been massively rigged.
One example should suffice. In 2007,
Presidential elections were conducted on
plain sheets of paper, violating a
fundamental requirement of the Electoral
Act, 2006. At the national collation venue
after eleven states and Abuja results were
sent, Professor Iwu left the venue and
announced the “results.” No wonder three
Supreme Court judges found that this was
too much and ruled that the election be
cancelled.
Once we come together we will be strong
enough to prevent election rigging.
Otherwise we will be picked off piecemeal.
Amidst this ineptitude and general
confusion, the Government has thrown in a
joker: A so-called National Conference. Now
there is nothing basically wrong in sitting
down and talking about your problems. The
snag is whether the conference has been
conceived in good faith or not. We in APC
think not. We suspect it is an attempt to
muddle the waters, to befuddle the issues
and to mask the failures of a clueless
government.
Simple action on problems which have arisen
has been lacking. People should reflect on
major hearings in the National Assembly
during the last 12 months;
Hearings on PHCN
Hearings on Pension Funds
Hearings on NNPC
No tangible action has been taken on the
outcomes of these probes. The government
just hopes these problems will go away.
They will not and the public will continue to
demand answers and solutions.
The people of Nigeria want and deserve the
simple things of life: Security to protect them
from violence and intimidation from
whatever quarters; they want food to eat;
decent shelter; schools for their children;
clinics to attend to them. They want an
environment for them to be employed and
to go about their daily pursuits without
hindrance. None of these exist in the
required measure in Nigeria today.
It is in the light of this desperate situation
that many patriotic and thinking Nigerians
decided to come together, overlook
differences and forge a new movement that
will rescue our country from collapse.
Our aim is to stop the drift and slide to
chaos. Our vision is to get our act together,
pull the country together, select the very
best and most capable people to manage
our affairs and our resources so that in due
course we will bring Nigeria out of conflict
and poverty into peace and prosperity.
By the Grace of God we shall succeed.

General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR

SPORTING HISTORY by Femi Ogunsanwo

Big congratulations Nigeria won the U-17 World Cup for the record fourth time yesterday but what I don’t understand is the fact that anyone will ascribe the victory to the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, below is the list of sporting successes recorded by Nigeria in sporting events;

U-17 Competitions:
The 1985 FIFA U-16 later U-17 World Championship, the first edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian in People's Republic of China from July 31, 1985 to August 11, 1985 and won by Nigeria when General Muhammadu Buhari was the Head of State and Military Ruler in Nigeria. Meaning he is the first leader in Nigeria to herald a World Cup Winning team in the country. As a matter of fact he gave the team the name World Golden Eaglets.

The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993 and Nigeria triumphed in that tournament lifting the trophy for the second time. General Ibrahim Babangida was in power when the competition started and later handed over to Chief Ernest Shonekan shortlived Interim National Government on 27 August 1993 when he “stepped aside”

The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007, the twelfth edition of the tournament, was held in the Korea Republic between 18 August and 9 September 2007. Nigeria lifted the trophy for the third time and President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was at the helm during the period

Just yesterday our New Golden Eaglets was superb in their display when they trounced the team from Mexico 3-0 to lift the U-17 Trophy record 4th time in the competition and the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan will have the singular honour of being Nigeria leader during this period

Nations Cup:
In 1980 our senior national team known as Green Eagles then lifted the Nations Cup at the Mainbowl of National Stadium Surulere Lagos when Alhaji Shehu Shagari was our leader

In 1994 Super Eagles of Nigeria conquered the rest of Africa in Tunisia when they lifted the Cup of Nations Trophy the second time when General Sani Abacha was the Maximum Ruler in Nigeria

Just this year our darling team Super Eagles again conquered all in South Africa when they lifted the Cup of Nations and the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan is the man at the helm.

Olympics:
In 1996 Atlanta Olympics Nigeria U-23 Dream Team defeated Argentina in the final to bagged the Olympic Gold Medal and in that same competition Chioma Ajunwa got a Gold Medal in Long Jump event.The 2 Gold medals will be the first time Nigeria will win Gold Medal since we started competing in the Olympics and the man in power then was General Sani Abacha

I have a message for the simpletons, hopeless plonkers and clueless bunch of cretins attributing the victory of New Golden Eaglets last night to President Goodluck Jonathan, some even went to the extent of using the word “Goodluck” the reason for the boys success.

The Golden Eaglets boys conquered all because of adequate preparation, proper camping, absence of favoritism by their handlers and the best legs available are showcased to the entire world and nothing to do with President Goodluck Jonathan.
We have never had it so bad in Nigeria where every form of success in the sporting arena will be attributed to the man at the helm of affairs.

Actually the man with the best sporting history as a leader in Nigeria is General Sani Abacha;Cup of Nations 1994, U-23 Olympic Gold Medal 1996, Long Jump Gold Medal 1996, Silver Medal in Women's 4x400 Metres Relay 1996, Bronze Medals in Women 400 Meter 1996, Women 200 Meter 1996 and Boxing Men Super HeavyWeight 1996. Atlanta Olympics is regarded as our best outing in any Olympics event till date

But the man General Sani Abacha with the best sporting record in our history is the same man with the worst record in the history of Nigeria as a leader, our country was a Pariah Nation under him with so much state sponsored killings and terrorism, suppression of any form of opposition, oppression in a Gestapo like fashion

Why will anyone shout to high heaven or glorify a leader because the country Nigeria is having success in the sporting arena, only the sycophants who know quite well that no tangible achievements in Human Capital Development can be identified under the leadership of Mr President will trumpet victories in sporting events as an achievement.

WHEN A NATION IS IN CRISIS - by Dr. Kabir Mato.

A lot of Nigerians are in pains. This fact is
incontrivatible. The reason for their pains and anger are well known and it’s on them they know very well.
During the week, I sat with a friend who received a guest supposedly formally highly placed in the political arena. The guest was so broke that he claimed he neither had fuel in his car nor the money to buy the little that could take him home.
In anger and frustration, he told my friend that, despite all he did to bring the government in place, this is the cross he is carrying: poverty and want.
Whatever his feelings were, I wasn’t sympathetic to that man because most probably, given another chance to elect a president, he may go the way he
went in 2011 regardless of the fact that he is unable to pay the fees of his children and finds it difficult most of the times to make ends meet.
That’s just one person, there are several millions of citizens who even maimed and killed just to get Goodluck Jonathan elected in 2011 just because he is either a minority as he claims or from the South or a Christian and today are living in terrible conditions either like us or worst than some of us
who argued that the man lacked the capacity to pilot the affairs of the troubled nation called Nigeria.
Our assessment was frank and honest. Under normal circumstances, I would want people of President Jonathan’s make to be elected as leaders because it will appear that even without coming close to him, the man seems harmless, but as we keep on saying it takes more than simplicity to provide effective political leadership and definitely that is lacking in our Nigeria of today.
It will not be a matter of over-flogging the issue but we must continue to make the point clear that the election of President Jonathan in 2011 was a disaster to the nation if that is placed against the
backdrops of the obvious failures and misfortunes that Nigeria and Nigerians are subjected to. It is fact of life that virtually nothing works in the country today. The economy is in shambles while the few egg heads continue to deceive themselves
and the polity with false figures and statistics that things are going on well. Every day they speak to us they tell us that billions of dollars have been injected from outside as foreign investment, but nobody ever cares to finger at any such investment.
We have not seen unemployment addressed while the shouts of job creation persist from people in government. Voodoo economics you may call it as there is no relationship between claims by people in authority with realities of the objective condition of life of the people.
Politically, this government seems most vindictive.
We thought General Obasanjo was intolerant. Little did we know that a government was on its way that would break the record of impunity. How would a sensible government deploy a police superintendent
to obstruct a lawful assembly of state governors who incidentally enjoy the same constitutional immunity with the president?
On Sunday, five state governors were meeting at the Kano Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro and one CSP walked in and asked them to call off the meeting
otherwise he was going to deploy troops to arrest them because, according to him, he had such instructions from the Presidential Vila.
What an impunity! It has never been this bad and may God make this the last time Nigerians would be subjected to this apex of uncivilization from a government that claims its legitimacy from the people. This has gone down as one major trace of the calamity to come should this government read and understand the meaning of the political arithmetic that await them in 2015.
Some people are of the view that President
Jonathan has succeeded in washing away the powers of state governors off his party the PDP by bringing Bamanga Tukur, who many of us see as God’s gift to the Nigerian people and the undertaker
who certainly is taking the PDP to its grave soon after 2015.
In political reality, Bamanga is a blunder that is serving the polity right. With the sharp rift in the PDP where at least 7 Governors out of the mainstream – and we are made to understand many more of them are on their way out – the 2015 elections will not be as bloody as many Nigerians seem to be apprehending. In my view it is going to be a walkover since neither President Jonathan, nor Bamanga nor anybody for that matter, would come to Kaduna and rig my vote.
In political sense therefore, the nation is in pains due to the weak and poor brinkmanship of the party in power and those it brought to power at the center. Politics has been reduced to lower level than
it was played during the government of Obasanjo.
Nigerians are suggesting that this serves the
purposes of General Obasanjo when he chose to, after losing his bid for a third term, to bring a president without a kidney and a vice without a liver.
Socially speaking, Nigeria faces the worst of
insecurity in its one hundred year history. Some say it is deliberate other say it is political. Whatever it may be, its record breaking instability and I wonder how those in authority are making do with this
reality. Do they go to sleep with their two eyes closed when people are killed by the minute? Are they enjoying the bounties of office in the face of this gargantuan humanitarian crisis the nation is facing?
Whatever the case may be, Nigeria is in crisis and the situation seem unabated due very poor political capacity on the part of leadership at the center. We are compelled to hold the president responsible for all our woes. That is the natural thing to do.
When he contested elections, he told us that he was going to change our lives for the better. Now that he is there, our lives are worst off. Who then do we
hold responsible? It is him and those who advise and work for him.
Certainly Nigeria is in deeper crisis than President Jonathan met it and likely he will leave it at this stage so that other Nigerians may work post 2015 to make it better.
God bless Nigeria and Nigerians.

STRIKE: ASUU Gives FG Fresh Conditions to Call off Strike

Members of the Academic Staff Union
of Universities have given the Federal
Government certain conditions to be
met before the union could call off its
four-month old strike.
Part of this condition is that all federal
parastatals in charge of fund, labour,
and education must sign the
agreement purportedly reached
between its leadership and the Federal
Government on Tuesday.
A prominent member of the union,
who craved anonymity because he
was not authorised to speak on behalf
of the union, said that doing this
would give the association the
confidence that “the Federal
Government knows what it is doing
when it signed the agreement.”
He said, “I must tell you that our
mandate remains. The only mandate
we have is that 2009 agreement must
be met. We have not reached any
agreement with the Federal
Government.
“Since the Federal Government wants
to be releasing N220bn every year for
five years, then all monetary and
regulatory agencies must sign. The
Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministries of
Finance and Labour, National
Assembly, Office of the Presidency,
National Universities Commission,
Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Trade
Union Congress and our umbrella
body, the Nigeria Labour Congress,
must sign with consequences stated.
“The reason we will ensure this is that
we don’t want argument tomorrow
that the agreement was entered in
error or that they don’t know the
implication of signing the agreement.
If possible, documents that will
provide for automatic deduction of the
agreed money at a particular/agreed
date must be provided.”
The leadership of the union had
engaged in a 13-hour marathon
meeting with government delegation
led by President Goodluck Jonathan in
Abuja between Monday and Tuesday.
Though it was generally perceived that
both ASUU and the Federal
Government achieved breakthrough in
negotiation for the first time after the
lengthy meeting with the President, it
emerged that the lecturers might not
be in a hurry to go back to class.
Another source close to ASUU who
was also part of the marathon
meeting with the President in Abuja,
said there was nothing new in what
the President promised members of
the union.
According to him, government had
always failed in implementing
agreements reached with ASUU. He
said, “Truly the President sat down for
more than 13 hours with us. He told
us that we were not leaving the venue
until the issues were resolved. The
Federal Government also promised to
inject funds into the system, but a
promissory note is not enough.
“Where would the money come from?
There is no assurance that
government will provide money
especially with the mop-up policy in
place that ensures that unspent
money is refunded to government’s
coffers at the end of every year.’’
Asked when the lecturers would call
off the strike, he said, “I doubt if the
strike is ending soon. The problem is
with the Finance Minister. Where is
government getting N1trn from? A
government that could not implement
agreement between 2009 and 2013,
what is the guarantee that they would
honour this agreement.
“It is all politics. We are still awaiting
directives from our branches. We
have told them the outcome of the
meeting with the President but we are
waiting for them to tell us what they
think of government’s proposal.
“Imagine the Minister of Education
has travelled out of the country. He
was appointed Vice President for
UNESCO General Assembly. How can
he travel out of the country without
resolving the crisis in the education
sector?’’
He said the Federal Government
should spend the trillions of dollars in
its Sovereign Wealth Fund to finance
university education and improve
infrastructure in the country.
A key component of the agreement
reached by both ASUU and the Federal
Government was that government
would inject N1.1trn into public
universities in the next five years.
Government is expected to inject
N220bn yearly into the public
university sector beginning from 2014.
But government said it could only
release N100bn this year, noting that
the amount had already been
processed.
The Federal Government also indicated
that the N1.1trn would be domiciled
at the Central Bank of Nigeria to show
its commitment to the agreement. The
money is expected to be released on
quarterly basis to the universities so
that there won’t be any problem
about funding the deal.
The National Universities Commission
and the Trade Union Congress will be
the joint guarantors of the agreement
while the Minister of Education will be
the implementing officer. Government,
according to sources at the meeting,
also agreed to revamp public
universities by ensuring that all the
issues that always lead to strike are
dealt with once and for all.
Asked to confirm if lecturers were
planning to call off their strike, ASUU
Chairman, University of Calabar
branch, Dr. James Okpiliya, said the
local chapter was yet to get formal
briefing on the meeting with President
Goodluck Jonathan.
He, however, said the union would
make its position known to the press
on the President’s offer after the end
of a meeting scheduled for mid-night
Thursday.
Also, Chairman of ASUU in Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof.
Adegbola Akinola, said that members
must be properly briefed on the
resolution between the Federal
Government and representatives of
ASUU in the last marathon meeting.
He said the only condition that could
make its members accept any offer
would be the provision of necessary
documents.
He said, “The NEC meeting may not
hold now. It is the local congress that
is expected to hold first which is
either tomorrow or Monday.
“Our members are not yet briefed
about the details, so it is when we
meet that we will know the details and
then discuss whether what we got is
sufficient enough to justify our action
or demand.
“I can’t really pre-empt the mind of
other members. But if we are to
accept any offer, there must be
document to back that up. We need to
obtain documents on that. Maybe if
there is a document, people may look
at it critically.”
However, the Federal Government said
it would include the N1.1trn promised
ASUU in the education budget starting
from next year. It also said it was
waiting for the union to know the next
step to take.
The Director, Press and Public
Relations of the Ministry of Education,
Mr. Olu Lipide, told one of our
correspondents on Thursday that
government was waiting for ASUU to
take the necessary steps.
Meanwhile, the Dean of Social
Sciences, University of Lagos, Prof.
Omololu Soyombo, has said that the
general ASUU body must agree before
the strike could be called off.
He said, “It is difficult to believe the
President but we give him the benefit
of doubt. We believe that the
President is noble, the ASUU president
promised to give him a feedback. If
this had been done earlier, the strike
wouldn’t have extended for so long.”
Corroborating his view, the Chairman,
Lagos State University, ASUU, Dr.
Jamiu Oluwatoki said, “It won’t be
long again. By next week there should
be a NEC meeting and subsequently
the congress meetings before the
president can call off the strike.”

  PUNCH

MY TRIP TO THE KINGDOM OF ZAMARADAN (An interesting story)

WELCOME TO NIGERIA WHERE RULERS KILL DREAMS AND DREAMS DIE FIRST!!! . "2015 ELECTIONS WILL BE A WATERSHED......".-GMB.

Having heard so many things - both good and bad - about the people of the Kingdom of Zamaradan and their dear nation, I set out to go and see things for myself, in the light of my being an investigative writer.

Our plane touched down at the Mill Mascara International Airport, which is located in the Kingdom's largest city called Ellwood by exactly 4.00 hours GMT.

Stepping out of the plane I was greeted by a gush of warm air, the kind that reminded me of my days covering the Janjaweed crisis in north Africa. I leisurely walked to the arrival hall, which looked every inch a third world facility as much as the entire airport itself. And while waiting for my luggage I braced up, expecting the electricity to go off any moment, for I have been warned beforehand of such eventuality. Somehow though, it didn't happen.

My fears about certain things I heard about Zamaradan began to unfold right there at the airport.

As I made my way through customs and immigration I kept being bothered by the same irritable demands: "Sir, anything for us?"; "Sir, what can we get?"; "Welcome sir, your boys are loyal, sir!"

At every point at the airport you see unhappy faces working half-heartedly with all the spirit of selfless commitment apparently gone. You could even figure out that everyone was just there to get whatever they could grab. So much emptiness and frustration hanging in the eery air.

My cab driver, a nice gentleman who told me his name was Taramo Allemy let me off at the Halloway Luxury Hotel, about 4 miles from the airport. At least the hotel was clean and truly luxurious as indicated in their website. I settled in, took a warm bath, and headed to one of their restaurants that serves their local cuisine. I enjoyed a meal of grilled fish garnished with chilli and sweet pepper, and then some veggies. For dessert I had a little bowl of thick yogurt. But I noticed there was some engine sound gently coming into the restaurant, and I asked one of the waiters what that was. He said "It's generator noise, sir" in a thick native accent. Seeing my puzzled look, he added that "The power company has taken light since morning, that's why we are running on generator."

I then remembered I was briefed by a friend who has lived in that kingdom for about 13 years that because of the massive corruption in almost every sector of Zamaradan the electricity infrastructure has almost collapsed, and because of that most people who can afford it power their homes or businesses with generators. The huge kingdom appears to be a profitable enclave for the notorious generator Mafia known to target such corrupt third world territories and their rulers.

As I made my way back to my suite I heard a soft female voice say "Excuse me, sir!"

I turned to see who that was, and it was a young beautiful looking girl. Puzzled, I asked, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"I am young, and hot" she said, using her hands to push forward her breasts seductively as she spoke. "You will like me after we're done", she added.

I stood there dumbfounded, and irritated at how such a hotel could allow tramps to constitute such nuisance to their clients. I knew it was unethical in hotel business.

As I angrily turned to make my way towards the reception desk to express my displeasure, the young girl said gently, "Sir, I know you're surprised and angry, but this is how we hustle to make ends meet."

And then I was struck by the innocence in her voice, and I somehow sensed she was an intelligent young woman. So I asked her, "What do you mean by hustle?"

"I am a university student. I study law, but we are currently not in school because our teachers have been on strike for some months now. And, considering that my father is dead, and my mother can barely take care of the family I chose to do this to augment the family's income" she said in an almost choked voice with tears now streaming down her cheeks. Then I knew she wasn't any of those hardened professional prostitutes. Those ones could probably shed a tear only at gunpoint.

I felt compassion welling up inside me. So I led her to the lounge, and she told me the story of her family, her community, her school, and about Zamaradan and its corrupt rulers. I counselled her as best as I could, and then helped her with some cash that was on me at that moment. But before she left I asked her name, to which she said "My name is Charisa Phillip" in a shy tone.

But what saddened me greatly was her answer when I asked whether there were children of any of the rulers of Zamaradan in her school. She said to me "Sir, all their children are studying abroad, though there are few of them whose children are in the universities set up by churches here in Zamaradan. But even the church universities are expensive, almost the cost of going to school overseas!"

I shuddered at this apparently unfair stratification of that Kingdom.

Feeling depressed and angry at such unjust system spawned by elite greed and corruption, that night, through the bedside window of my hotel suite I saw some men moving up and down the neighbourhood of the hotel. They were holding flashlights and what seemed like some metallic objects. I could barely tell because there wasn't much light where they were. So in the morning I told the hotel manager my observation, but he smiled and said "They are the security vigilante of this area."

I asked him what he meant by that, and he said "Well, the security challenges in Zamaradan are enormous, and the police are too pre-occupied providing security for our rulers and their families and friends. As a result people resorted to organising themselves as security for their given territories in the night."

I felt sad.

I went round the city that day making note of what I was told earlier back home about the Kingdom, which formed my decision to visit the Kingdom of Zamaradan. I noted that most houses were providing water for themselves just as they provide electricity for themselves. The roads were filled with potholes and craters. Out of curiosity I made my way to one of the government owned hospitals, and there I was told the doctors were on strike. But I didn't fail to notice the shabby and dilapidated structures and equipment there.

I tried my best to interact with quite a number of people, and I asked them questions about some of the things I saw. I pointed out whether what I saw was the same in other cities in Zamaradan, and I was told it was even worse in some other cities, and worst in villages and counties!

I shuddered at the thought of how a Kingdom as rich and wealthy as Zamaradan could not be fair to her people!

I took special note of the following:

1. The people organize to provide security for themselves

2. The people (majority) provide water for themselves

3. The people provide electricity for themselves

4. The people provide health care for themselves

5. The people are left on their own as far as education is concerned

6. Jobs are scarcely available

7. The roads are majorly awful and terrible

8. General decay of public infrastructure

9. An overwhelming sense of frustration and unhappiness among most of the people as could be seen on their faces at a glance

I observed that these negative conditions alone were enough to turn that Kingdom into an insecure place to live and do business in. There is very little impact of government in the lives of the people. They live like sheep without shepherd in a desert wasteland.

To be sure of the widespread of this hellish living condition, I moved to another city northwards named Laville some 7 hours drive by bus from Ellwood. In transit I noted the villages and counties, and I saw they were really living terrible lives. As far as I could see there were no infrastructure that could ease their lives.

Up in Laville city, the days I spent there gave me all the proof I needed that the people of the Kingdom of Zamaradan are living as captives to some first century cruel slave masters! Too few people have cornered the wealth, and means of wealth production in the Kingdom, and, as if in some conspiracy, they only revolve opportunities among themselves.

Up in the air, as I departed Zamaradan, and as I pondered over the strange beggarly life the people there live, a particular sentence kept swimming in my mind.

I remember asking Charisa Phillip about what she thought the solution to Zamaradan's problems could be, and she said "Sir, we are waiting for God to change our nation for good!"

The sentence swimming in my mind was that answer by Charisa: "Sir, we are waiting for God...."

Waiting for God?

Hmmm, yes, it's good to wait for God's move. But then, I happen to know that if God makes a move He uses people in the same locality to accomplish the changes they want. He never will use outsiders.

And then I remembered how He used a revolutionary named Jehu in bible times in such kind of unjust situation.

The kind of problems bedeviling the Kingdom of Zamaradan require only a Jehu, for while I was there a financial scandal blew open in which a top female public official with very close links with the Kingdom's ruler squandered an extraordinarily huge sum on cars, which, in itself, was only a tip of the iceberg of the kind of monumental corruption in the place. Chances were nothing could happen to the woman, because her case could be swept under the carpet like many others before hers. As a matter of fact, the Kingdom's ruler travelled overseas with the woman as soon as the scandal blew open, which made someone to jocularly tell me that Zamaradan has the largest and thickest carpet in the world that swallows all manner of debris without wearing out.

Also while there I saw how the Kingdom's ruler was using the Kingdom's police department as his personal property to fight his selfish political wars. The sticking point was how he dispatched them to stop some provincial rulers from holding political meetings in the official residence of one of them, for, as I gathered, the ruler considers any political meeting against his interest as anathema, and I had the sense to note that if pushed further, the shallow thinking ruler of Zamaradan could even topple the Kingdom to establish himself as Maximum Ruler! It seems he considers his personal interests as synonymous with those of the Kingdom. Throughout history this line of thought has been the driving force behind evil dictators and emperors. Emperors and evil dictators see themselves as the State and nothing less.

I discussed within me that the ruler may be suffering from a deep sense of inferiority complex, and such people often feel insecure. And that's what makes them very dangerous!

In echo of my thoughts and opinions of him, I also gathered how he was considering decreeing that no other politician in the Kingdom would fly in an aircraft, for while I was there I recorded incidences whereby aircrafts that were to carry opposition politicians were grounded, and in some instances the Kingdom's air space was shut in the name of the ruler's tempestuous wife for several hours just to frustrate the movement of some opposition personalities. That's just a little bit of how dangerous such insecure persons could be!

So I asked God to send a Jehu to their rescue....

And, ah! I think I can see him galloping on his horse to the palace of king Ahab and queen Jezebel.....

Amen!

Cham Faliya Sharon

Gunmen Kill Over 30 In Attack On Wedding Convoy Between Adamawa And Borno

Survivors and witnesses of an attack on a wedding convoy in Borno state, northern Nigeria have confirmed that gunmen killed over 30 people including the groom in an ambush.
The attack happened on 2 November on the notorious Bama-Banki road when the wedding party, including friends and relatives of the groom, was making its way back to the state capital Maiduguri after the ceremony in Michika, in nearby Adamawa State.
The driver, who did not wish to be named, said many of the victims appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.
“It was a gory scene and all the victims were brutally murdered by the attackers. My passengers and I were visibly shocked when we met the dead bodies lying by the highway,” he said.
Army and police officials in the area were not immediately available for comment.
But a security source who described the incident as “brutal and callous” said the bodies had been transferred to a hospital in Maiduguri.
Violent attacks are not uncommon in northeastern Nigeria, where the army has launched an offensive to end an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.
 

Saharareporters

PHOTONEWS: Festival Of Waste As First Lady Patience Mother Gets "State Burial" In Okrika

A sum of N7 billion (naira) of Nigeria's  tax payers funds was wasted on the burial of the foster mother of Nigeria's first lady, Patience Jonathan in her hometown of Okrika in Rivers State over the weekend.
 the events which kicked off on Thursday saw the attendance of the President , Vice President, several state governors and ministers. Saharareporters sources said funds for the burial were taken from several ministries including the FCT, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the ministry of Education, Delta State, Bayelsa state  and the ministry of defence.
 Ironically, the first lady's mother died in a stretch of raod abandoned by the Jonathan's regime in the Niger Delta region.