AFP – Two former Nigerian leaders issued a rare joint statement on Sunday calling for talks to end a deadly insurgency by Islamist group Boko Haram, warning the violence could put the nation’s unity at risk.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, who have been rivals in the past, said in the statement that the killings had become “unbearable” and had led to a nation “gripped by a regime of fear”.

“Unfolding events in our dear motherland, Nigeria, over the last few years are threatening to unravel the nearly a century old labour of our founding fathers and subsequent generations in building a strong, united, peaceful nation …,” the statement said.

Without mentioning Boko Haram by name, they called for “community involvement” in addition to security measures to resolve the crisis, urging efforts from local governments, religious leaders and grassroots organisations.

“Religious leaders, in particular, have an even greater challenge to use the immense virtues of this holy period (Ramadan) to inculcate among the millions of citizens the spirit of mutual respect, humility and forgiveness,” the statement said.

“Ample opportunities are therefore at hand to bring all armed belligerents to table for meaningful dialogue with the authorities for our future and that of our children and grandchildren.”

The statement also said that “for us, and we believe for millions of other Nigerians, the continued unity of this nation is not only priceless but non-negotiable.”

Boko Haram’s insurgency has left hundreds dead since mid-2009. Its attacks have grown increasingly deadly and sophisticated, moving from drive-by shootings to homemade explosives and suicide bombings.

The insurgency has been focused in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer. The 160 million population is roughly divided between a mostly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

While Muslims have often been the victims of Boko Haram attacks, recent violence specifically targeting churches has raised fears of reprisals and wider conflict.

Obasanjo, president from 1999 to 2007, is a Christian from the country’s southwest, while Babangida, who ruled from 1985-1993, is a Muslim from central Nigeria.

By Eddy Dove

A mutual exhale and a rolling of eyes at Fratton Park as confirmation of Aaron Mokoena’s transfer came through. Things generally aren’t going well if the departure of one of your most established players is greeted with relief, but then again, things haven’t been going ‘well’ at Portsmouth for sometime, and they are going to get far worse before they get better.

As Mokoena departed for Bidvest Wits, a former university team based in Johannesburg, South Africa, eyes on the south coast turned to Portsmouth’s other African star – and the mire surrounding his inevitable departure from English football.

Nwankwo Kanu is a special player, and a special guy. How many others can boast of a Premier League medal, an FA cup medal, a Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal, and an Olympic gold medal? Who can claim to own this collection alongside two African player of the year awards? Surely, no one else can have achieved all this, but also recount, with anguish, anecdotes of Premier League relegation – not once, but twice – with The Albion in 2006, and with Portsmouth in 2010.

All this and we haven’t even begun to consider faith, UNICEF, heart defects, or THAT goal, against Chelsea in 1999, which cemented his reputation as an athletic maverick, a genius capable of the unpredictable. Five years at Arsenal took Kanu into the hearts of Gunners everywhere, and Premier League fans across the country would watch on in admiration at this ungainly centre forward, ever smiling, who terrorised defences.

Things weren’t quite so carefree at West Bromwich; a mindboggling miss against Middlesbrough in November 2004 was one of many frustrating days in the West Midlands, Premiership survival on the season’s last day in 2005 being a rare highlight. Portsmouth’s ‘halcyon years’ under Harry Redknapp proved to be the perfect Indian summer to Kanu’s career, the Nigerian weighed in with crucial goals – although these landmarks began to signal the changing fortunes of Pompey.

12 goals for Portsmouth in the 06-07 were greeted with a cheery respect, the match winner in the FA Cup final against Cardiff City with delubious elation, and the sole goal against Bolton in April 2009 with a gushing relief. Add ‘Relegation Saviour’ to the glorious résumé.

The intervening years have been dark ones for Portsmouth, the triad of terrors, debt, administration, and relegation, has taken its toll, and this new season begins in the third tier of English football, ten points deducted, and less than a dozen recognised players on the books. It’s been the numbers that have killed Pompey, and things don’t look to be getting any better.

Time will tell exactly how Kanu’s journey with Portsmouth will end. As of this month the player is threatening to sue the club for unpaid earnings stretching back across his whole time with them. Administrator Trevor Birch has downplayed the claims, but regardless of the eventual financial outcome, the episode will surely tarnish Kanu’s legacy at Fratton Park.

As former Bafana Bafana captain Mokoena begins to settle into life in South Africa’s PSL, it’s difficult to predict precisely where Kanu goes from here. At 35, and not having enjoyed the recent status of Didier Drogba, Fredi Kanoute, or Nicolas Anelka, nor the goals of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, the final payday promised by China may not be a pursuable avenue.

With Kanu failing to appear for pre-season training, and seeking recompense which would effectively cripple Portsmouth beyond repair – it’s safe to say his days at Pompey are over. Boss Michael Appleton cited Nigeria as a potential destination for Kanu, and indeed, it’s hard to look too far beyond a return to Naija.

Nigeria will find Kanu much as he departed, with a toothy grin and an endearing clumsiness. The experiences will surely have made the man however, and Kanu will one day find himself back in Owerri with a cornucopia of stories to tell.

An ambassador from a corrupt, oil-rich African nation. A journalist who moonlights as an activist. A disbarred lawyer and his client, a questionable businesswoman. And millions of dollars missing.

It sounds like the makings of a screenplay. But it’s a real, budding scandal that’s rocking the Nigerian embassy in Washington, D.C. and the country’s extensive diaspora throughout the United States.

Nigerian immigrants in the U.S. claim Ambassador Adebowale Adefuye has refused to probe allegations that diplomats have embezzled $25 million from embassy accounts since 2004. Adefuye, who took his post in 2010, is now likely part of the scheme, they say.

The American-born controversy reflects the murky intrigues of Nigeria, where corruption is routine and ethnic tensions color most every newsbreak.

University of New Hampshire History Professor Funso Afolayan knew Adefuye when the two men worked as history professors in Nigeria in the 1980s. Speaking with Latitude News, Afolayan describes his one-time colleague as a fine scholar with a “reputation for integrity.”

And yet he cautions widespread corruption on the part of Nigerian officials has made him into a something of a cynic: “I’m not shocked by these allegations of corruption. I’m not even surprised. To me, it would be a surprise if he were not accused of corruption. It’s unfortunate. But it’s a sad commentary on Nigerian politics.”

Now Nigerian-Americans are staging a two-day protest they’re calling “Occupy the Nigerian Embassy” that starts today. A small crowd showed up for the demonstration, says an embassy official. Around 253,000 Nigerian-Americans currently live in the U.S., mainly in the south and northeast, making them America’s largest community of African immigrants.

Carl Umunna is one of them. A journalist and self-described human rights activist who lives in New York City, Umunna is helping to plan the demonstration.  “All the institutions in Nigeria,” he tells Latitude News, “are corrupt, and the Nigerian embassy is no exception. They care only for themselves. They are here to make money, not to protect the people.”

Follow the money

Over the last few years, $25 million has disappeared from an embassy bank account that housed profits from the sale of embassy-owned houses in the D.C. area in 2004, Umunna says.

The journalist adds that the embassy is now persecuting the American-based lawyer who originally revealed the theft, Emeka Ugwuonye. Ugwuonye, who represented the embassy in the land deals, was briefly arrested last year in Nigeria and is currently being sued in Maryland, where he was suspended from the state bar association, for stealing $1.5 million from the embassy’s accounts.

“This accusation against me is retaliation. It is manipulative,” Ugwuonye tells Latitude News. “But the ambassador has chosen the wrong person. In Nigeria, thousands of people are treated like this, arrested, even killed. This is considered normal. But I am someone who can fight back.”

He believes the embassy is using him as the fall-guy for its wrongdoing. “If the Ambassador stumbles in his bathroom today,” Ugwuonye wrote in an online column, “he would blame it on Emeka Ugwuonye. Also, if he suffers a premature ejaculation the next time he does it, he would blame it on Emeka Ugwuonye.”

Umunna is demanding the resignation of Ambassador Adefuye and an audit of the embassy’s finances. His protest is receiving coverage in Nigeria.

Last week, The Leadership, a popular Nigerian newspaper, ran a story on the allegations against the embassy. The paper reported claims from a Nigerian businesswoman, Carol Olubufunmi, who said officials had stolen $528,000 from her nonprofit, which had organized a conference on African women in Washington.

The embassy called her a fraudster and said her conference was a sham.

Indeed, serious questions have been raised about the reliability of the embassy’s accusers. Guess who is Olubufunmi’s lawyer. Answer: Emeka Ugwuonye.

UNH Professor Afolayan calls Ugwuonye a “notorious figure” in the Nigerian-America community for defending Nigeria’s former dictator, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in lawsuits filed in U.S. courts. He is “a very strange ally for a human rights campaign,” said Afolayan.

The professor added that one of the authors of The Leadership article, Chuks Ohuegbe, is considered an ally of Ugwuonye.

Igbo vs. Yoruba

The controversy reflects Nigeria’s all-consuming ethnic division between Igbo and Yoruba-speaking peoples. All three men – Ugwuonye, Ohuegbe and Umunna – are Igbo. The ambassador is Yoruba. Their heritage has led to speculation that their campaign against him is racially motivated.

But it’s also possible that their claims have some validity.

Earlier this month, Nigerian press reports suggested that American authorities had frozen the embassy’s account in March over concerns about money laundering. A spokesperson for the Nigerian embassy, Stephen Baba, denies those charges. He tells Latitude News that M & T Bank “could no longer hold our account because of restrictions put on them by the U.S. government and the Patriot Act.” The embassy has since switched to Citibank, he says.

Baba says the closure had nothing to do with financial irregularities or ties to terrorist groups but would not go into further detail, claiming he didn’t have the relevant information.

Bank accounts of other embassies have suffered a similar fate in recent months, according to Bloomberg.

The U.S. Treasury Dept. referred Latitude News to M & T Bank, which did not return requests for comment.

Ultimately, it’s difficult to know what to believe in a country with a global reputation for fraud.

“These people are of a very shady character,” says Professor Afolayan. “Even if there is any truth in their allegations, they are not the kind of characters who are in a position to prove it, or make it stick.”

Nicholas Nechamas writes for  Latitude News

By Busani Bafana

Arable land is vital for Africa, both as a key asset for farmers and, together with vegetation, to help store carbon that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that by 2030 Africa will lose two-thirds of its arable land if the march of desertification — the spread of arid, desert-like areas of land — is not stopped. As global leaders met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to hammer out fresh commitments on green growth, desertification was recognized as a threat to sustainable development. Two decades ago, the first “Earth Summit” in Rio gave birth to three conventions, including the UN Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD). Luc Gnacadja, the executive secretary of the UNCCD, gave this exclusive interview to Africa Renewal’s Busani Bafana on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Summit.

20 years on, has the world delivered on the UNCCD?

Yes and no. Yes, because when you look at the convention there are a number of requirements and commitments. Developing country commitments were to establish action programmes to address desertification, avoiding and restoring degraded lands and mainstreaming this into national poverty alleviation and development. Developed country parties were to provide financial support and technology transfer for certain country parties to implement those national programmes. Most of the developing country parties affected by desertification have established their national action plan, so that aspect of the commitment has been made. But the failure is that plans will not go to the fields and roll back desertification, it takes implementation. Unfortunately developing countries in Africa, for instance, have not succeeded in reflecting desertification in their plans for poverty eradiation, food security or development.

Why?

Because the issue of desertification is in ivory towers in the ministries in charge of it. Desertification is more than planting trees. Desertification is first and foremost avoiding the misuse of the land, such as inappropriate use of fertilizer, the use of some crops that are not appropriate for the land, or the type of tillage that denudes [land].

In the last decade the least developed countries have experienced an average of 5 per cent GDP growth. However, this growth has not alleviated poverty or generated food security because it has not been generated using land that is often the sole asset of the poor. To deliver on poverty alleviation, we must ensure that we help the poor use the asset — land — sustainably. Africa has the potential to become a global engine for sustainable development.

Is there political will to roll out sustainable land practices?

You know, the will should be measured, especially political will. I measure political will by government investment in setting their commitments into motion, and in that regard there is a lot more governments can do. Think about the Maputo declaration to invest 10 per cent of budgets into agriculture, but [only] a few of the countries have met that. When you consider that Africa is the continent suffering the most from food insecurity, you wonder how the priorities are set. Political will calls for African governments to check their medium-term investment plans. I wish to see more coordinated investment that will address adaptation to climate change while at the same time maintaining and preserving biodiversity.

Commitment is good, but where is the action?

Governments may have had an excuse that 20 years ago they did not yet know how to monitor and measure desertification. But now they know because the science is there. Scientists have put on the table 11 indicators that not only assess the status of the land, but assess trends in the improvement in land degradation and these are globally accepted.

According to the FAO, 25 per cent of global land is highly degraded and there is only 10 per cent of land being improved. To feed 7 billion people today and 9 billion tomorrow, we need to meet 50 per cent demand of food, 45 per cent demand of energy and 35 per cent demand of water. If you take only the demand for food, we need additional farmland the size of South Africa, 120 million hectares. Where are we going to find them? That is why we need to come out of Rio+20 not with business as usual, but with a decision for business as unusual.

The good news is at the grassroots level. There are amazing success stories. We ought to reflect these success stories into our policies and institutions to enhance and measure them. Tanzania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have provided some success stories. Malawi, a country perceived to be unable to feed itself, broke new ground.

Are you hopeful that in the next 20 years we will have changed course?

I am someone who believes that where there is no hope, life is not worth living. We must craft the hope that we want to live for. That is why we came to Rio. Let us not commit to lip service but to something we can monitor. We cannot wait for Rio+40 for results. We need that clear mandate to monitor land degradation and we hope this will be decided on at Rio+20.

July 18, 2012 – New York, NY – The Nigerian Entertainment Awards (NEA) is proud to announce the hosts of this year’s award show scheduled for Sunday, September 2, 2012, here in New York City.

With less than two months to go, the countdown to the 2012 NEA Awards has officially begun and the excitement and anticipation towards this huge annual event, now in its 7th year, is picking up momentum daily. The organizers of the NEA are pleased to announce that the hosts for this year’s award show are none other than the brilliant Nollywood actress, and queen of Nollywood comedy, Funke Akindele-Oloyede aka Jenifa, alongside one of the best Nigerian comedians, and TV host extrordinare AY The Comedian. This A-game duo will be entertaining and thrilling the audience from curtain up to curtain down at the awards.

EVENT DETAILS-
EVENT: 7th Annual NEA Awards
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012
ARRIVAL TIME: 5PM
TICKETS: Available on Monday, July 23, 2012 @ www.nigeriaentawards.com

The 2012 NEA Awards is brought to you courtesy of Iman Entertainment and Arik Air. Other proud supporters are the Federal Palace Hotel, Cool FM 96.9 Lagos, ConnectNigeria.com, Moneygram, Snapflix, AIT, HipTV, OK!Nigeria, BLOKE Magazine, BellaNaija and UnderDaRock.com
For all things NEA, fans are encouraged to stay up to date by tuning in to Cool FM 96.9 (Lagos), the Official 2012 NEA Awards radio partner. Also follow the NEAs on Twitter @NEAAwards and ‘Like’ the Facebook page ‘NEA Awards’

For sponsorship and advertising inquires please contact:
NEA US: (856) 506 5700
NEA Nigeria: (234) 805 373 4776
E-mail: info@nigeriaentawards.com
For all press and PR related inquires please contact:
Tel: 347 762 0677
Email: press@nigeriaentawards.com

About NEA
The NEA AWARDS is an annual entertainment event held in the United States, with the sole purpose of celebrating and recognizing the numerous contributions of entertainers to the African entertainment industry, while at the same time promoting the image and rich culture of Nigeria.

By Emmanuel Ajibulu

There is no doubt absolutely that Nigeria is wonderfully endowed by God with human and other resources despite the fact that we have leaders who are wolves in human flesh. It does no credit either to us or the entire black race if we fail in managing our resources for quick improvement in the quality of life of our people.

Instead of progress and development, which we are entitled to expect from those who governed us, we experienced in the last decade and a half, persistent deterioration in the quality of our governance, leading to instability and the weakening of all public institutions. The citizens developed distrust in government, and because promises made for the improvement of the conditions of the people were not kept, all statements by government were painfully met with cynicism.

Worst still, government officials became progressively indifferent to propriety of conduct and showed little commitment to promoting the general welfare of the people and the public good. Records empirically showed that government at all levels and all its agencies became thoroughly corrupt and reckless. The impact of official corruption is so rampant and has earned Nigeria a very bad image at home and abroad. Besides, it has distorted and retrogressed development. Pathetically so, the tragedy of 13 years of Nigerian democracy is even more vexing when looked through Nigeria’s earning for this duration.

But it is quite instructive to emphasise that the purpose of any meaningful government is the welfare and security of the people. In our clime, neither welfare nor security of the lives and property of our people seem to matter anymore. Our malady is not new. History holds records of nations who were bled to death by their rulers and tells how such leaders were ultimately dealt with when the oppressed could no longer bear the heavy weight of their oppressive and insensitive leadership. We pray it wouldn’t get worse before the country witness the much needed turning point in our national affairs.

However, there seems to be an illumination of hope for our nation, Nigeria, inspite of long years of leadership deficit which pervades the land in the last three and half decades of our democracy. It would be far worthwhile if one can ponder on these mind-arresting and captivating quotes which emanated from a man who shares the view of a purposeful change in or body politic; “… I have chosen a different path in politics; that of service to the greatest number of people over and above self…I have a dream that one day, due to diligence and hard work leading to effective and potent representation, my Federal Constituency shall be a reference point in development in Nigeria…” These are the positions of an astute and vibrant Nigerian federal lawmaker, Hon. Bimbo Daramola representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1, and thankfully he is living his words. Here is a man who has shown sheer commitment, resilience, focus and interest to foster paradigm shift and good governance at the hallowed chamber of the Federal House of Representatives in the interest of his constituents and Nigerians at large. In any given democracy which Nigeria is not an alien, the legislature performs three functions: lawmaking, appropriation and oversight of the executive, interestingly Hon Bimbo Daramola has meritoriously proven his worth in these directions. His foot print in the last one year at the 7th assembly has remained positive reference in leaps and bounds.

Facts also revealed that Hon. Bimbo Daramola recognized that one of the challenges that must be addressed urgently in the health sector was the provision of infrastructure. He may not be able to fix the entire country’s health sector, but he has started well in his constituency through provision of 32-bed hospital (waiting for commissioning), well equipped with state of the art facilities among other things. Apart from this, several youths from his constituency have benefited from his various empowerment programmes, ranging from scholarships (to brilliant but indigent students), free health services to the less privileged and the senior citizens, monetary support for the needy to start small and medium scale enterprises, provision of generating sets to support business owners in the event of power outage, provision of grinding machines, motorcycles, tricycles to mention but a few. All these and many more were achieved within 12 months of his stay in office.

At the parliament, Hon Bimbo Daramola is consistently noticed for moving motions over matters that concern the wellbeing and interests of the downtrodden in the society and for the sustenance of democracy and rule of law. Of note was the motion he moved against the deployment of 3,500 soldiers to Edo State ‘to keep peace’ during the gubernatorial election which held on Saturday, July 14. Honourable Bimbo Daramola vehemently and openly condemned the decision of the federal government to deploy soldiers to Edo State, according to him, the constitution made it clear that soldiers could only be deployed to states where there are crisis. Besides, out of his fearless and dogged stance as a parliamentarian he expressed displeasure over failure of President Jonathan to sign into laws some pending bills which are of urgent national importance that are yet to be assented to. He further enumerated some of the bills that were passed by the sixth National Assembly which were not assented to by President Jonathan; some of them are National Assembly service Bill 2011; Harmonised retirement age of professors of tertiary institution bill. Others according to him were Institute of Certified of Capital registrars Bill 2011; Nigerian council of food science and technology bill, 2011; Personal Income tax bill, 2011; Discrimination against persons living with HIV and AIDS bill; National Biosafety management agency bill; National Agricultural seed control bill and National tobacco bill, to mention but few.

Each of us as patriotic Nigerians recognizes the importance of leadership when we vote for our political leaders. We realize that it matters who is in office, so we participate in a contest, an election, to choose the best candidate. Investors recognize the importance of business leadership when they say that a good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but that a poor leader can ruin even the best plan.

Perhaps the question ‘‘who is the patriotic Nigerian’’ should be honestly asked? Is it the poorly paid primary school teacher who treks to school daily in a bid to impart knowledge, or the hungry policeman who stand guard over the house of a politician and watches the display of opulence, or the little kid who hawks to get money to pay his school fees and is daily harassed by local government officials to pay for daily tickets, ‘ticket money” which local government politician share among themselves. Is it the medical doctor in a government hospital that has to work with dilapidated and archaic equipment while politicians go abroad to meet their colleagues for treatment. Is it the fisherman in the Niger delta who wakes up one morning only to realize that oil pollution has destroyed his only source of livelihood? Is it the government official that refuses to take bribe and is prematurely retired from service and is derided by society for having wasted his years in service when his mates who took bribes are millionaires and have been bestowed with several national honours and chieftaincy titles? I leave these to Nigerians to provide honest answers.

Good leaders and of course patriotic Nigerians are meant to be open-minded, they would not claim to have all the answers. They seek the thoughts and views of others and support those ideas that are better than their own. Genuine leaders realize that other people have convictions just as they do. They are willing to hear all sides before guiding the group to decide which way seem best. Without mincing words or display of semantics, Hon Bimbo Daramola belongs to this class of leadership, he is absolutely irrepressible. This is mainly due to his absolute faith in the Almighty God and also as a consequence of his very deep religious convictions right from the cradle. He is indeed a man of faith and he can certainly hold his own and perhaps even outshine some of the brightest and best in the world’s political stage today. The new Nigeria will certainly need such men and we, as Nigerians, should be proud of having such class and quality within our ranks in the scheme of things. God bless Nigeria.

By Idowu Ajanaku

Even in party politics truth is constant, no matter its inherent intrigues. But not so the vacillating, chameleonic characteristics of some self-serving politicians who swim with every political tide, so far the price is right. Lacking in enduring personal principles and swayed by the lure of the lucre, this group of politicians has been aptly labeled Any Party In Power (AGIP) in the Nigerian context.

One interesting example of such politicians whose attitudes change as swiftly as the tropic weather is none other than Dr. Olu Agunloye. Only a month ago, he was one of the candidates who vied for the gubernatorial candidacy of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) for the forth coming poll in October. But now he is back again to the Labour Party,LP which he has previously lampooned for lack of vision, to pledge support for Governor Mimiko’s second term ambition. Talk about the African description of a bat as neither a bird nor a rat.

It is a notorious fact that this is not the first time he is exhibiting such a terrible trait. It has become his stock-in-trade to jump ship once his self-serving political ambition is not fulfilled. In fact, his serial betrayal habit can be traced back to 1999.Then, the Alliance for Democracy(AD) had unanimously adopted Chief Adebayo Adefarati ( now late) as the gubernatorial candidate. But Agunloye, who incidentally hails from the same Akokoland stood against Adefarati to the shock of the party leadership. He lost his bid, of course. But there was more to come from his bag of poly-tricks.

The ugly betrayal streak in him reared its ugly head again in December, 2002 when the agents of darkness shot and killed the hugely popular Chief Bola Ige (of blessed memory).Though Agunloye was the personal assistant to Ige who had served as the Minister of Power and Steel and subsequently, as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, he betrayed the cause of the progressives against the reactionary forces by joining the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s government as the Minster-of-State for Defence. Not done, his wily and crafty nature came to the fore again, when he colluded with Olusegun Agagu, as the PDP arrowhead in Ondo State to rig Adefarati out of power in 2003.That was when the anti-people party’s rigging machinery bulldozed its way through the South-West, winning nebulous and controversial victory to the amazement of patriots.

It was not long however, that he stabbed the same Agagu in the back when he threw his weight behind Mimiko to get Agagu out of power as the governor. And acting more like a slippery, fictional character in a political thriller of a power game Mimiko having known Agunloye’s antecedents pitched his tent with Professor Ajayi Borrofice, the Asiwaju of Akokoland to scuttle Agunloye’s senatorial ambition.

Against this misty backdrop, the ACN political party hierarchy had to exercise caution to find out who is really committed to its party’s ideals. Though naturally, those seeking for political posts swarm like the butterflies, the birds and the bees to the flower’s nectar, it must be able to identify only those ready to pollinate the state with veritable ideas rather than suck it dry. With years of sound political engineering experience, the ACN has been careful in its choice of gubernatorial candidate for the sunshine state. Just like it had done in Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, Edo, Ogun and Oyo states, quality leadership is its guiding credo. Characteristic of its painstaking sifting mechanisms to bring out only the best of men to occupy sensitive political posts, it was able to identify Agunloye as a mole planted by the Labour Party within the ACN.

Having studied his past in politics, it was discovered that this indeed is a man driven more by the passion for self aggrandizement than pursuing the common good, the fulcrum on which the party rests its levers of power. For instance, Agunloye had crawled back to the party thinking that he would win the 2011 senatorial poll. But he lost woefully to Prof. Ajayi Boroffice and Dr.Bode Olajumoke of the PDP even in his ward, from the same Akokoland.

Besides, it is a painful reality that with his years in party politics and as a Minister, Agunloye cannot point to any visible structure as his achievement for his people. How then would ACN go ahead to give a nod for his governorship ambition, when he could not win as a senator? Notably, when he decamped from LP to ACN he did not come in with a single follower. The structures he has been bragging about are that of the ACN he met on ground.

Interestingly too, now that he has jumped back to LP, he has done so without a single coordinator moving along with him. In fact, one of his closest associates, Mr. Femi Johnson, now the Deputy Director General of ACN Campaign Organisation in Ondo -South and all his supporters have since pledged their unalloyed loyalty to the ACN and its leadership, ahead of the coming governorship elections.

The ACN leadership had it suspicions, that just as Olu Adegeroye was planted by the PDP in the defunct Action Congress, AC for the 2007 general elections, it is the same way that the LP has used Agunloye as the hidden cankerworm within the ACN foliage. The huge sums of money he was spending was a justification of Mimiko’s tacit funding of Agunloye’s ambition within the party.

In addition, since he declared his ambition to run for the governorship of the state on the platform of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, the National Chairman has been receiving a deluge of text messages from Ondo state, alluding to the fact that he had an ace up his sleeve. He had to pass some of the messages to Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, who was then the Chairman of the party. But the party has seen through Agunloye’s political shenanigan and acted swiftly. If ACN had chosen him as the governorship candidate and goes on to win the election, it is apparent that he will jump ship again, to either the PDP or LP the former parties.

To succeed in politics as it is with life, trust must be sacrosanct. But like a bird ever in flight for the next fruit to savour, Agunloye has not been able to perch and stay true to any political ideology. Was he no t the same man who said that: “We do not have government in Ondo state. We only have a governor of market builders who lacks vision on how to run government” Of course he said so. Similarly, it is on record that the same Agunloye painted “ Mimiko as the worst governor that Ondo state has ever produced. With close to N550 billion accruing to the state in the last three years there is nothing on ground to justify the huge amount of money. Ondo state cannot continue with this government in another four years.” Now the same man has gone back to his vomit. Must one trade his honour and integrity for a pittance?

It would interest all readers to know that in spite of all the media hype and several awards to his credit Mimiko has not constructed a single road either in Ondo his home town or Akokoland where Agunloye hails from. His exit from the ACN is good riddance to bad rubbish to an irredeemable political traitor.

As Burke, the erudite philosopher once rightly observed:” The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. The ACN, as a solid platform for progressive minds cannot but rise up to the challenge of salvaging Ondo state from the stranglehold of inept political leadership.

Ajanaku is director of media, publicity and strategy for the campaign organization of Ondo ACN candidate, Akeredolu

CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is turbaned Danmajen Kano

By Yinka Odumakin

I was one of those who opposed the appointment of Sanusi  Lamido Sanusi as the Central Bank Governor when the late Umaru Ya’aradua nominated him for the exalted office in 2009. My reason for considering him unfit for the office was not because he lacked the knowledge and intellect for the office but rather because I found him impetuous and his thoughts on national issues showed a narrow man whose lenses do not see beyond the prism of his  own agenda. His thoughts on other nationalities in Nigeria were either rude,condescending and when at his best patronising. Anyone who doubts the above should read most of his sabre-rattling views and commentaries before he became the CBN Governor.

The Number one banker for the country should not be a man with such strong political views which negate the liberal mindset that is required to handle the apex bank.
He eventually assumed the office of the CBN Governor and has since carried himself about with all the swagger of an aristocrat and in the process did a lot of incalculable damage to the economy  through his whimsical actions  whose results are already staring us in the face.

Dele  Sobowale  in his piece titled “Another Banking Crisis Coming Up” in VANGUARD of May7, 2012 rightly opined that If anyone had asked Sanusi Lamido Sanusi three years ago his choice between becoming the Emir of Kano and the Governor of Central Bank; he would have chosen the former.” But like Prince Charles of Britain, whose mother, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952, and is still going strong, Lamido too must wait indefinitely to pursue his ultimate ambition – which does not include being remembered as a great banker. Banking was just something to do while waiting.
That was why, unlike his predecessor, he did not lobby much for the job; instead the job came looking for him. That might have explained his distractions and his aloofness bordering on arrogance.”

In what appears a glimpse into Sanusi’s mishandling of the banking sector I quote Mr Sobowale copiously: “When Sanusi took over,he proceeded to dismantle the Soludo legacy. And although, there is no indication he intends to erect a monument, he will all the  same. The crisis might occur before he goes to Kano for the coronation. It is brewing with a fury known only to beer  Brewmasters.
Most banking crises start from one incident, a breach of the rules and regulations, in one bank which benefits a few people; gets copied by other banks or is repeated by the same bank until it becomes routine. The current case involving the former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Plc and the former governor of Kwara State is one of the two examples which will be examined today to round up this warning. As stated last week, if the allegations are proved beyond reasonable doubt, the the Governor of the Central Bank must bear a significant portion of the blame for appointing someone whose track record had been revealed as questionable in the past.

At the moment the focus is on one allegation pertaining to granting waivers to Senator Saraki’s firms under questionable circumstances and releasing the securities for the loan prematurely; thereby leaving the bank holding to thin air for its exposure – N9 to 11 billion worth of it. One can only pray it is not true; for the sake of Mr Alabi; more for the sake of Senator Saraki and for the sake of the Nigerian banking sector. That incident raises several questions to which this writer already has some answers. The first is, was that the only loan handled in this manner? If not, how many more loans are involved? For those who might not grasp the implications of those questions, let me quickly explain
The next question is for the Central Bank to answer. Are there no guidelines which must be followed before a bank can grant this magnitude of a waiver? If, yes, were they followed and did CBN examiners to the bank check these? If not, how could the examiners have missed this huge write off? The more you look, the more it can be seen that the CBN was somehow derelict in its duties and its responsibilities to the shareholders of the bank who had no say in the appointment of the Managing Directors. And, if it was careless in one case how can the stakeholders in the banking sector have confidence that this is an isolated case. Information reaching me suggests  it is not.

When we turn to the pension scandal, one is appalled and the heart melts. Here the rules and regulations guiding deposits by individuals, as well as opening of accounts are so clear that no banker can claim ignorance of them. There is the “Know Your Customer” principle and the mandatory requirement to report deposits of one million or more into an individual account.

Yet virtually all the banks conspired with old and new customers to launder stolen pension funds belonging to millions of individuals. Even with the rather lenient penalties attached to these offences, the banks face billions of naira in penalties directly; and billions more in claims from affected groups indirectly.

In these cases we are not talking about a few individuals but a systemic and pervasive violation of the laws. The bankers who have appeared at public hearings have sounded like people interested in passing the buck and running for the border than people certain of their innocence. Heads, again will roll.”

Sanusi, this time, should not be allowed to single-handedly appoint new Chief Executive Officers to replace those who might be implicated. The obvious question; to which there is also an obvious answer is: why did so many bankers risk their careers and the fortunes of their banks by engaging in widespread money laundering? The answer is “they were desperate”. Both individually and as banks people had become desperate.

Retrenchment occurs every day sending hundreds of bankers into the job market and an uncertain future. Most, on account of loans taken, would depart with very little. Under the circumstances, it was easy to bend the rules, collaborate with pension fund thieves and hope to put away something for the future. Diminished job security is one reason for the collective violation of banking rules and regulations. The negative variances between projected revenue and profits also act as catalysts to law breaking. When deposit targets are not being met, bank managers become vulnerable to dubious deals. Most succumb hoping that the violations can be concealed through a combination of other deals with CBN staff, creative accounting and complaisant auditors. Some of the tell-tale signs are there when depositors spend long hours at branches trying to withdraw money. Also, when your bank “fails” to clear local cheques deposited within three working days, or out of state cheques for almost a week, into your account – especially on week-ends — you should suspect deliberate delay by the bank. Or when salaries paid into your account “have not been processed”. Invariably, it is not just a few customers; it is every customer who is subjected to “go slow” treatment.

Like all the previous bank crisis, this too started slowly, by a few bank managers in a few branches and regional offices. Suddenly, the exception became routine once again in Nigerian banks. But, as appetite grew with eating, it became an all-comers affair. Now virtually all the banks were consumed by it. The CBN had been issuing threats to deal with all the banks involved. That is akin to wanting to close the gate after the cows have fled. To start with the bankers opening dubious accounts did it deliberately and were paid for their “services”. Furthermore, a lot of the funds deposited and which, if reported as required by law, would have been recovered intact have been spent. A great deal of the stolen funds and the bribes to the bankers have vanished; but the banks are liable.

Once again, the question is: where were CBN bank examiners while all these were going on? Increasingly, what these cases reveal is a governor and group of Executive Directors who have been derelict in their duties; who have not been supervising the banks and who have allowed another crisis to develop so soon after the last one. Like drunken sailors on shore leave our bankers have stumbled from one crisis to another – thanks to poor supervision this time.”
Our dear aristocrat has in words and actions confirmed the position of the columnist that he is just marking time at the CBN while waiting for the current Emir of Kano to transit so he can fulfil his long held ambition of becoming the next emir  of Kano.

At the peak of the fuel subsidy crisis early this year ,another columnist, Tunde Fagbenle ; in an exchange with Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had nicely cautioned him against his undisguised ambition of getting turbaned as Emir while there is a reigning one.The following exchange took place between Fagbenle and SLS as published  in Fagbenle’s column of SUNDAY PUNCH of March 25,2012:

“I know you’ve set yourself the ‘supreme ambition’ of becoming the Emir of Kano (the stool of your grandfather), though I think it is impolitic to have declared such ambition so soon while the incumbent is still alive (well, by my Yoruba custom, that is!); but I would want to see a movement that can help in bringing someone like you, Oshiomhole, Fashola, and, even, Okonjo-Iweala to run Nigeria. What a great country that would be!”
Regards,
TF
From SLS
“
Thank you very much, Tunde.

“Starting from the lighter note, it was not so much a declaration of ambition. In our own part of the world, the emir takes it for granted that every prince wants to be an emir and in fact, it would be a sad day if a prince, when asked his ambition in life, ranked another office higher than the throne of his ancestors.”
It was in showing that his ambition of becoming an emir  ranks higher than being CBN governor that he dipped his hands into CBN purse to donate N100m to the victims of Boko Haram in Kano when the apex bank had not made any such donation to the many victims of terror strikes by Kano. It is from the same mindset that a CBN governor who ordinarily should not be heard except on monetary issues granted an interview where he said that the reason why Boko Haram is on rampage is the skewed “derivation” formula in the country!

The final moment for the total unravelling of SLS came with his arrogant display of insensitivity and soullessness by going ahead with his being turbaned as Dan-Majen Kano at a period the burnt bones of 160 Nigerians who perished in the Dana crash are still being sorted in Lagos mortuary.Given the mood of the nation a man who understands the responsibility of his office would have lost nothing by postponing the event for at least two weeks.

Aside from the general grief the nation is enmeshed in,  nine  people who worked under SLS at the CBN were among the 153 passengers who died in the ghastly crash.The deceased persons are Amiaka Rapheal and Antonia Attu, both Senior Managers; Bamaiyi Adamu, a Senior Supervisor and Talmata Muhammed, an Assistant Director. Others are Ibrahim Yusuf, Principal Manager; Kim Norris, Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Banking Supervision; Mutihir. I., Deputy Manager and Samuel Mbong. Sanusi was not reported to have visited the crash scene where eight of his staff lost their lives.All that mattered to him was the chieftaincy he was about to take.I argued with a friend who was invited to Kano  but made up his mind not to go given the tragedy that occurred,on Thursday night that the SLS I have studied would still go ahead with the ceremony.My friend was still optimistic that a last minute cancellation would take place.Sadly I was proved right.

Shame on heartless  Sanusi and his soulless guests who have shown us that tragedy means nothing to them.Does the blue blood in SLS’s veins so royal it cannot be touched by the sorrows of others? Could that tragedy not have happened to any of us? Would the emir change his mind altogether if he had asked for a shift of date? How cold would these fellows be if they had to take actions that involve the lives of people behind closed doors if they can merry while the nation mourns?

To SLS I commend the words of John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi:
“Ambition, madam, is a great man’s madness” May the souls of the CBN8 (who most likely would have been in Kano to celebrate their ‘Oga’ had they not perished) forgive SLS for this display of utter insensitivity.

Reuters – Militants attacked two churches in north and central Nigeria on Sunday, spraying the congregation of one with bullets, killing several people, and blowing up a car in a suicide bombing at the other.

The Islamist group Boko Haram, which says it is fighting to reinstate an Islamic caliphate in mostly Muslim northern Nigeria, has stepped up deadly bombings and shootings against Christian places of worship this year.

This follows its high profile strikes against churches on Christmas Day in December 2011 and on Christmas Eve in 2010.

Experts say the increasing anti-Christian attacks by the sect, which also often targets security forces and establishment figures, appear partly aimed at trying to ignite sectarian conflict in Africa’s most populous country of 160 million people, split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.

Although Nigeria’s Christian and Muslim communities mostly live in peace, periodic flareups of sectarian violence have killed hundreds since independence from Britain in 1960. Many of the recent attacks have targeted the volatile central city of Jos, long a Christian-Muslim flashpoint.

Here is a list of the increasing attacks against Christian targets, especially churches:

December 2010 – At least 80 people are killed in December 24 Christmas Eve bombings, including attacks on churches, around Jos. Boko Haram claims responsibility for the attacks which trigger deadly clashes between Muslim and Christian youths.

November 2011 – At least 65 people are killed in the northeast city of Damaturu when Islamist insurgents bomb churches, mosques and police stations. Boko Haram claims responsibility.

December 2011 – Boko Haram claims responsibility for bomb attacks across Nigeria on Christmas Day, three of which targeted churches, including one near Abuja that killed at least 37 people and wounded 57. President Goodluck Jonathan declares state of emergency in mostly northern parts of the country.

January 5 – Gunmen open fire on church service in Nasarawa in northern Gombe state, killing six people and wounding 10. The attack follows a warning from Boko Haram published in local newspapers that Christians have three days to leave majority Muslim northern Nigeria or they will be killed.

January 6 – Gunmen open fire on Christian mourners at a hall in Mubi in Adamawa state, killing 18. The Christians had gathered to mourn the deaths of three people shot the previous day.

February 19 – Bomb explodes near church in the town of Suleja on the edge of the Nigerian capital Abuja, wounding five people.

February 26 – A suicide bomber drives a car packed with explosives into a church in Jos, killing two people and wounding 38 in an attack claimed by Boko Haram. Christian youths beat two Muslims to death in revenge.

March 11 – Another suspected suicide bomber attacks a Catholic Church in Jos, killing at least three people. Reprisal attacks against Muslims by Christian youths kill at least 10 people.

April 8 – A car bomb explodes on Easter Sunday near a church in the northern town of Kaduna, killing at least 36 people and badly wounding 13.

April 29 – Gunmen open fire and throw homemade bombs at a lecture theatre in the University of Kano being used for Christian worship. A church is also attacked in northeast Maiduguri. A total of 19 people are killed in the attacks, blamed by police on Boko Haram.

June 3 – Suicide bomber drives car full of explosives into church during Sunday service in Yelwa, on the outskirts of the northern city of Bauchi, killing at least 12 people. Boko Haram claims responsibility.

June 10 – Three gunmen spray bullets at the congregation of a church in Biu Town, in northeastern Borno state. In Jos, suicide bomber drives car to the entrance of the Christ Chosen Church and blows it up, witnesses say. Youths attack bystanders in retaliation, killing two, police say.