World Bank’s cat and mouse game with Nigeria

There is this cat and mouse game between two erstwhile “paddy paddies” – the World Bank and Nigeria. It is a strange but not disturbing development. Also, it is not clear what specific events led to outbreak of hostility, which, for the moment, no matter the disguise, is some mutual unfriendly embarrassment.

One, especially the World Bank, used to prop up the other, Nigeria. And calling a spade a spade, World Bank is the (economic) voice of America. In the past decade, national elections organised by lackey administrations in Nigeria were always marked by large-scale irregularities, a euphemism for rigging. As in other parts of the world, such malpractices would always generate public protests. But instead of allowing protesters to make their point, Nigerians are always insulted with unsolicited sermon that the rigged elections were better than the previous ones.

To worsen matters, a decoy is always sent out that election riggers must endeavour to investigate “…inordinately high election results.” How can a thief investigate himself? Then, why were people’s protests against election manipulation in Egypt and Ukraine endorsed by the same foreign do-gooders ever opposing Nigerians from determining their destiny?

That is the pursuit of foreign strategic interests in Nigeria. The world woke not long ago to be confronted with a World Bank assessment, ranking Nigeria as one of the extremely poor countries in the world in the same class with China (?), India and of all countries, Bangladesh. It is not as if the report on the level of poverty in Nigeria is false. But the fact that such an assessment came from the World Bank was mind-boggling. Critical Nigerians could only be delighted and disgusted. The delight was that at long last, widespread anger among Nigerians on the frightening poverty in the land was confirmed by the World Bank.

In the past, economic neo-colonialists, garbed as foreign investors in pursuit of their countries’ exploitative interests, were always in Nigeria, flattering the country’s potentials. Accommodated in very posh areas of Abuja and Lagos, and always conveyed in bullet-proof state of the art vehicles, the dubious investors turned blind eyes at poverty in Nigeria. The World Bank report, acknowledging extreme poverty in Nigeria is, therefore, a major break from the past.

Equally, the World Bank on extreme poverty in Nigeria is disgusting not the least, owing to its hypocrisy at the expense of Nigerians. Does the report portray a love or concern for the poor in Nigeria? Instead, the report is partly aimed at having a foot in both camps, struggling for political control in next year’s presidential elections in Nigeria.

If the World Bank (or more pointedly, the United States) ever thought Nigerian government would take the blow, lying low, that miscalculation is better forgotten. Abuja virtually instantly fought back with the sudden “rebasing” of factors to astronomically increase the country’s GDP to N82 trillion. And that was a devastating response to neutralise whatever negative impact the World Bank report on the level of poverty was expected to have. In fact, rather unkindly to the Nigerian poor, all debates are now and for a long time to come, on the self-assessed GDP.

Of course, Nigerians are best judges in the cat and mouse game between the World Bank and Nigeria. We did not need the World Bank or even the United States to validate the level of poverty in the country. Nigerians see poverty, live poverty, smell poverty and condemn poverty everyday, even in festive seasons. And that is at whatever city or slum, Abuja, Lagos, Yanyan or Ajegunle.

Could the World Bank report on Nigeria’s level of poverty have been a routine official development? Such doubt should be weighed with another assessment of Nigeria by Ms. Bisa Willias, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. What is notable is not just the assessment but also the timing, along with the World Bank report on Nigeria’s poverty.

According to Ms Willias, “If you asked me, I would say that corruption is extremely high (like poverty?) in this country (Nigeria); there is no other polite way to say this. It is extremely unfortunate because Nigeria, as a country, has tremendous intelligent people, who do not have to be corrupt; because they have all it takes to be successful. Nigerians are so resourceful and they are living in abundance of wealth and to acknowledge the fact that there is corruption is disheartening. Corruption is something Nigerians ought to want to handle in order to restore the image of the country. They ought to be proud of their country and it is not acceptable for the citizens to say “that is how life is in Nigeria.”

On the surface, that view seems to be blunt from a friendly country. In the United States, such a corrupt situation under any government (Republican or Democrat) will be easily addressed by voting out the government in an election to the White House or the Congress. On the other hand, it is virtually impossible to attain such a feat, at least, so far. The irritating weapon ironically encouraged by biased sections of the press is a nebulous incumbency factor, making it day-dreaming to expect the defeat of a bad government at presidential or state level.

Nigerians are enlightened enough to vote for a change of government at federal or state level but the situations is such only a ruling party at the federal level can employ state force to dislodge a state government, even if popularly embraced by voters. But the so-called in incumbency factor means only one party will force itself on Nigeria for life. What choice do people have in that situation except to protest against such forced occupation? And when people protest against such provocation, foreign governments are always there and, in fact, are always counted on to frustrate the people’s legitimate resistance by acknowledging bogus election results.

In effect, the unpopular administration responsible for corruption in the country is kept in power by foreign intruders. How then will corruption be tackled by a government sustained in power by foreigners against the people’s wishes? In the local parlance, “United States, which one you dey?”

On its part, Nigerian government will be self-deluding with its whited sepulcher gracefully labelled “rebased” GDP. Whether GDP is rebased or not, where is electricity supply in Nigeria? Or which GDP anywhere in the world has any value in the dark? Where in the world is GDP not related to living standard of the people, especially in employment prospects? Is the rebased GDP meant for decoration on the state of Nigeria’s economy?

This time, Finance/Economic Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is completely born-again. Reacting to World Bank report on the state of poverty in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala said India’s poverty level is higher than Nigeria’s. That was after the same Ngozi claimed the government had created two million jobs in agricultural sector. The minister was the same born-again when she pledged that the government would create 10 million jobs this year. She either meant every claim or pledge and has not denied any aspect.

Ten million new jobs in Nigeria this year? Even in the next five years? How many of such jobs had been created in the last five years? How many of such jobs has the world’s biggest economy, United States, created in the last five years? Nigerians are more concerned about extreme poverty in Nigeria and cannot bother about the situation in India. Neither is the higher level of poverty in India (even if true) an excuse for the prevailing extreme poverty in Nigeria. British Chancellor of Exchequer might as well justify poverty level in Britain by citing higher level of poverty in the United States on account of the American higher population.

The sudden coding of ties between Nigeria and the World Bank might not be completely separated from the row on the election of a new World Bank President some two years. Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala announced her candidacy. Instantly and more in a “how dare you?” eye down, America’s Barrack Obama addressed the press on the lawns of White House in Washington where he announced his country’s candidate, a hitherto invisible Korean American, Jim Yong Kim.

As expected, the American won hands down. Okonjo-Iweala had to lick her wound.

There should, therefore, be no surprise at the World Bank assessment of Nigeria’s poverty level, as extremely poor. That is not to say the report is false. In the past, the World Bank would not have released such negative picture.

TheSun

‘Women with few children are prone to breast cancer’

by: Osagie Otabor

A Professor of Surgery, Breast and Endocrine Division, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Professor Moses Momoh, Thursday stated that women who gave birth to between two or three children are more prone to develop breast cancer.
Prof. Momoh said women who gave birth to many children have lower risk of having breast cancer, than women who give birth to less children.
This, he said, was because women with many children would have their breast sucked more often and allow the women examined the breast.
He spoke while delivering a lecture at the 3rd edition of UBTH public lecture series, with the theme: ‘’ Reducing the Burden of Breast Cancer.”
Prof Momoh who is a former Commissioner for Health said there are increasing breast cancer patients in the low and middle income countries, like Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
He listed early signs and symptoms of breast cancer to include nipple retraction or distortion, breast skin changes, thickening like the orange peeling, painless lump in the breast, sores or ulcer in the breast that does not heal, swellings and nodes/seeds in the arm-pit, waist and bone pains with or without broken bones, enlarged liver and distended abdomen filled with fluid/water, paralysis from waist down when it spreads to the spine among many other signs.
Prof. Momoh outlined the causes to include family history, female gender, smoking, menarche and menopause, age at first delivery, regular abortion, obesity, hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills and many other causes.
The former Commissioner recommended free clinical breast examination, preventive mastectomy, free compulsory universal basic education, eradication of illiteracy and poverty, breast self-examination, awareness campaigns on a sustained basis of the disease and strengthening primary health care in all the 10,000 wards in Nigeria as a way for curbing breast cancer.
TheNation

Death Everywhere: The Consequences Of State Corruption

• Late Col. Kabiru Salisu: Killed in April, defending Nigeria against Boko Haram

Everywhere we look in Nigeria today and see death; it is not an accident. It is the price the people pay for the corruption of the government. Everything in life has its consequences. The consequence of intractable government corruption is death.

Death in Zamfara, taraba, Nasarawa, Borno, Jigawa, Yobe

When helicopters are not bought for the police force: the consequence is death. 250 people like you and I died in Zamfara state. There was no helicopter to pursue the killers. There has been no police helicopter to pursue this same set of killers after each killing they ‘enjoyed’ for the past three years. The police do not have choppers as they would in every decent society because the government has stolen the money for the helicopters and saved it in accounts for their children who they assume will be hopeless in the future—unlike us who happily work for ours—and will need this money to live.
The government steals billions of dollars that should have bought thousands of choppers for police in all states or hundreds of thousands of drones. CBN gave the police money for choppers, the police tried to deny it. This means they stole the money. The government steals money that should be used to equip our great military properly to bring an end to unscrupulous terrorists, without soldiers having to lose their lives.
We the people pay the price for the government corruption. It is also a consequence; the consequence we pay for allowing the government steal limitlessly, and having not yet revolted. This is why now we revolt.
When the government steals money; to steal money they have to bribe many unworthy people in the process. They have to placate and please many co-conspirators, many fellow thieves. The consequence of this is that the society feels the presence of money in the hands of the unworthy. Money flows from one thief to another crooked friend and then to terrorists hands. Guns are bought. Thugs are hired by the politicians and their friends. Sometimes terrorists are paid with this stolen money. Terrorists terrorize the masses. The consequence is death. We the people pay the consequence of the stealing of public money as a consequence of our silence, of our delay to revolt. This is why now we revolt.
When money is stolen, the police are not paid salaries commensurate of their task. Police are not paid regularly and underpaid. The police spend their time hustling for tips instead of in training and in pursuit of criminals. The police never investigate cases, they never track criminals; and when they do arrest suspects, they release them for some money. The consequence of the money that could improve the security services being stolen is poverty of the police force and deaths of the people from cheap criminals who would not last a day on American streets. We the people die as a consequence of our tolerating a thieving government. The consequence of our inaction is death.
When the government steals money, they pack our unemployed youth into stadia without proper consideration. They humiliate and kill our youth. There is no consequence for their actions because thieves are friends and protectors of thieves. The consequence of their stealing is the martyrdom of our most precious and most vulnerable. The consequence of our failure to revolt is our death and pain.

Cancer, malnutrition: Bayelsa is most polluted land on Earth

Today Bayelsa state is the most polluted piece of land on this planet. Vanguard of April 2nd reports that there are 40 oil spills in Bayelsa every single month! This is poisoning and killing our people. Our poorest people, the defenseless, those not like us who can at least tweet reactions about their suffering. Have you seen the type of mud and thatch houses being burned in the north? Did you know Nigerians still live in those? These people have gained nothing from the Nigerian equation, but are dying as a consequence of looting of wealth they do not even know about. Death is the consequence of government looting. And government looting is the consequence of our delay to revolt.
Are you seeing all the kidnapping, ritual behavior, the massacres, the return of Nigeria to barbaric ages? This is the consequence of chronic stealing and government promoted vain glorious culture of killing to steal and stealing to kill. This is the consequence of our waiting for change instead of going for change. 168 million of us tied down by a few and being turned into sick psychos our very selves.
The government cannot transform the dead. Transformation does not touch the graves. Who will transform the killed and maimed? How will the government transform the pain of the grieving mothers? The pain of the orphaned? The pain of the mutilated? The pain of the crippled? How will the government transform the cancer of the poisoned in the creeks? There is no transformation here. These things cannot be transformed; this must be stopped. This cabal government must be stopped.

Niger Deltans protest for Oil Minister, Oil Godess Diezani, and Moro to be sacked

The consequence of our delay to revolt is continued stealing by the government. The consequence of stealing by the government is death of the people.
Do you want to die? Do you think you cannot be the next one to die as many of us have died in villages across Nigeria? God forbid.
The consequence of chronic government looting is the revolt of the people.
Join the revolution: http://NigerianMassesRevolution.com This is the least, most simple and most powerful thing we are obligated to do. This simple thing will change everything.
A few hundred greedy Cabal can no longer hold down and kill millions of us. Mark your independence from the Cabal. Nigeria’s 2nd Independence: October 1st, 2014, by God’s mighty grace.
Nigeria Will Be Free!
Dr. Peregrino Brimah

NewsRescue

Shoe thrown at Hillary Clinton at Vegas speech

A woman has been arrested by police in Las Vegas after she threw a shoe at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday during a speaking event. (April 10)

Catalina Camia

(Photo: Isaac Brekken, Getty Images)

Hillary Rodham Clinton was ready with a quip after a woman threw a shoe at her as she took the stage for a Las Vegas speech.
Security at the Mandalay Bay casino resort ushered out the woman, who is now in federal custody after the incident at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries meeting.
"My goodness, I didn't know that solid waste management was so controversial," Clinton said. "Thank goodness she didn't play softball like I did."
Clinton dodged the object, which sailed past her head.
Mark Carpenter, a spokesman for the recycling institute, said the woman was not affiliated with the organization nor credentialed for the event.
"Our staff denied her access before she later rushed past security," Carpenter said in a statement. "An ISRI staffer then stopped her as she approached the stage. She was then handed over to law enforcement."
Jerry Simms, the outgoing chairman of the recycling institute, offered a "deepest apology for that crude interruption."
The organization represents more than 1,700 companies that process, broker and industrially consume metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics and textiles. Both Clinton and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak spoke at the meeting.
Clinton, who has said she's thinking about running for president in 2016, has been making paid speeches and is finishing a new book about her State Department days that will be released June 10. She's on a three-state swing of the West Coast.
The Clinton incident evokes a 2008 event in which an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at President George W. Bush in Baghdad.
USAToday

N10bn Jet Charter Scam: NNPC Rents Protesters To Stave Off Probe Of Profligate Alison-Madueke

By SaharaReporters, New York

In a desperate bid to steer public sympathy to its side, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)yesterday in Abuja rented a crowd of mostly women to stage a protest in support of the embattled Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Ms. Alison-Madueke has been embroiled in a financial controversy over the N10 billion she spent on chartered jets.
Two of the protesters confided in a correspondent of SaharaReporters that their organizers had promised to give each protester N5000 after the event.
The protesters, who called themselves “Concerned Market Women,” gathered in their hundreds at the main gate of the National Assembly. They chanted solidarity songs in support of the embattled minister and held up placards, two of them reading, “Leave Alison Alone” and “Let Minister of Petroleum Alone”.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources is accused of squandering an outrageous sum of N10 billion to charter jets from three jet charter companies, including Swiss-based Vistajet.
Members of the House of Representatives committee investigating the minister’s outlandish expenditure said they have secured the aircraft travel logs to kick off the probe. However, the minister and top management of the NNPC have so far refused to cooperate with the committee.
Details from the logs revealed the minister’s huge expenses on her numerous foreign junkets, including trips to China, South Africa, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Babatunde Adejare, a member of the House of Representatives from Lagos State, who brought the issue before the House, had stated that Ms. Alison-Madueke spent N3.12 billion on the private jet charters in the last two years alone. The matter was referred to the House Committee on Public Accounts for investigation.
The minister of Petroleum Resources is a close ally of President Goodluck Jonathan. Though a married woman, she is allegedly romantically involved with the president. An NNPC source told SaharaReporters that the minister has put the corporation under pressure to thwart the investigations.
Another investigation at the Senate relating to the theft of $20 billion in sales of crude oil proceeds has ground to a halt. A senator told our correspondent that it was an open secret that five members of the Senate committee received bribes of millions of dollars to put their probe in the cooler. The senator added that the bribes were packaged by Kola Aluko, a controversial businessman linked to Vistajet.
Meanwhile, a source at the Presidency in Abuja stated that the President Jonathan was likely to sacrifice the General Managing Director of the NNPC if the pressure builds against the Petroleum Minister. “The 2015 election is around the corner and the president needs the Petroleum Minister in order to finance a strong campaign,” said the source, adding that Mr. Jonathan could not afford to lose Ms. Alison-Madueke’s financial power at this critical juncture.
 Saharareporters

APC Ward Congresses Canceled In Edo South

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has canceled its ward congresses held throughout all seven local government areas of Edo South Senatorial District on Tuesday and rescheduled same for Saturday, April 12.

A meeting of Stakeholders of APC in the Senatorial District presided over by Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole with National Leaders, Chief Tom Ikimi and Chief John Oyegun resolved to cancel the exercise last night after considering all complaints by the various contending factions.

This painful decision was taken in the interest of peace, fair-play and above all, in the spirit of democracy to which APC is committed.

However, APC is aware of attempt by PDP to infiltrate its ranks through the congress.

APC is particularly monitoring PDP bargain with one of its faction in Edo South whose leader PDP has promised Senatorial ticket for himself, UBTH Chief Medical Director for his wife and lucrative role in Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organization under which some of his supporters have been shortlisted for different assignments, if the outcome of the congress does not favour his governorship ambition in APC.

All the premature press statements by some of the protesters to disparage and blackmail the party even before they complained formally to the authority are part of this plot to bring down APC for PDP.

The allegation that the State Congress Committee from Abuja appointed ward congress committees from supporters of one faction only is equally part of this destabilization agenda because all APC stakeholders including those who are now complaining unanimously mandated the committee to pick names randomly from list of ad-hoc staff who performed APC membership registration exercise in February.

APC shall therefore do all it can to fulfill all righteousness and leave all traitors to expose themselves.

Only a fool will wait to be blinded by a foreseen missile.

 The leadership apologizes to all APC members in Edo South for the inconveniencies caused them by this painful decision and appealed to them to come back with their membership registration slips to their various ward collating centres peacefully on Saturday.

This is a bitter pill we have to swallow to put our detractors to shame.

Comrade Godwin Erhahon

Interim State Publicity Secretary   

THE SPEECH BY ALHAJI NURUDEEN LEMU DELEGATE REPRESENTING THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR ISLAMIC AFFAIRS AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ABUJA

As a delegate, and as a people representing people of faith in God from the Islamic perspective, one thing we believe is that God will protect the community that stands for justice even if they are not Muslims and God will not protect the community that goes contrary to justice even if they call themselves Muslims.

God is not a religious bigot. He is not a male chauvinist. He is not an ethnocentric tribalist. God is not the oppressor of anyone. God is with those who care; those who want for others those things they want for themselves.

One tendency for people who claim to follow a religion is to slide into the position of believing that we are better than the others. We overestimate our virtues and underestimate the goodness in others. The tendency is for us to become spiritually arrogant; to forget that others are people like us.

There is always a tension between representing our religious communities or our ethnic communities and our loyalty to the virtues and values and teachings of our religion even those lofty ideals of our ethnic groups.

It is our prayer that delegates will try and ensure that the spiritual strength we have in us will keep us from not getting angry and not allowing our bitterness from others to make us sail from justice. It is in this vein and as a delegate from the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, we condemn the murder of all Christians, we condemn the murder of all Muslims. Not because they are Christians or Muslims, but because they are human beings – creatures of God.

There is no compulsion in religion. We all own Nigeria. We all belong here. And we all have the right to self-determination. We should respect that right and do unto others what we will do unto ourselves.

There are many other countries that have ethnic and religious diversity far greater than what we have here in Nigeria. But something that distinguishes us from them, be it Singapore, United States, they have been able to respect the rule of law so that any bigot, any nepotic individual who tramples on the right of anyone especially that of the minority, the rule of law will catch up. Satan will only find a hole if there is a crack in that rule of law.

Ever ethnic group is an oppressed minority somewhere. Every group is a religious and ethnic minority somewhere. Every majority or settler is an indigene somewhere. In one way, we are all settlers; we just don’t remember where we came from or why we came.

But ultimately, we are all visitors to this planet, from God we come and to Him we return. As Muslim delegates, we come in brotherhood, as brothers and friends to solve our common problems and not as adversaries.

We come against the exploitation of religion and religious sentiments. We come against stereotyping, stigmatizing and dehumanizing of each other. We come against the use of religion as a political decoy and as a distraction from the critical things that bedevil our nation.

I pray that at the end of this conference, we will all grow in our humanity and respect for each other.

 

NOTE:-

NURUDEEN LEMU ON THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE FLOOR CALMLY DELIVERED THIS SPEECH AND RECEIVED A RESOUNDING APPLAUSE FROM ALL CONFERENCE MEMBERS - CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, NON-CHRISTIANS, NON-MUSLIMS AND PROBABLY ATHEIST AND NON-BELIEVERS!! LEMU DELIVERED THIS SPEECH ABOUT FOUR WEEKS INTO THE CONFERENCE. BEFORE THIS, SUPPOSEDLY MEN OF GOD, RELIGIOUS CLERICS AND LEADERS, POLITICAL, OPINION AND COMMUNITY LEADERS IN THE CONFERENCE HAVE BEEN FANNING THE EMBERS OF RELIGION AND ETHNICITY. LEMU BROUGHT THE TRUTH HOME TO THEM AND REMINDED MOST OUT OF TUNE/SLEEPING MEMBERS THAT IN FACE OF OUR ADVERSITY, WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS AND EQUAL IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD!!! NURUDEEN LEMU REMAINS THE HOPE AND LIGHT OF A NEW NIGERIA, THE NIGERIAN DREAM OF OUR FOUNDING HEROES AND HEROINES. HE WILL GET MY VOTE ANYTIME, ANY DAY SHOULD HE RUN FOR AN ELECTIVE OFFICE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE DEFECT IN OUT SYSTEM WILL NOT ALLOW HIM!! THANK YOU NURUDEEN FOR THIS THOUGHT PROVOKING SPEECH. - EDDY OGUNBOR.