The Reign of Kleptocracy in Nigeria

May I quote from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by thieves) is a pejorative, informal term for a government so corrupt that no pretense of honesty remains. In a kleptocracy the mechanisms of government are almost entirely devoted to taxing the public at large in order to amass substantial personal fortunes for the rulers and their cronies (collectively, kleptocrats), or to keep said rulers in power. Kleptocrats typically use money laundering and/or anonymous banking to protect and conceal their illegal gains.

Kleptocracies are by and large dictatorships or some other form of autocratic government, since democracy makes thievery more difficult to accomplish and conceal. Kleptocratic states consistently tend to be politically and socially unstable, while being stably kleptocratic. That is, the political governance of such states typically consists of one set of thieves displacing their predecessors by subversive or violent means.

The economies of kleptocracies tend to perform badly, as the systematic corruption engendered by kleptocratic governance means that the economy is subordinated to the interests of the kleptocrats. Kleptocrats realize that they have more to gain from taking a large share of a stable or shrinking pie than from a shrinking share of an increasing pie. Economies based on the extraction of natural resources (eg. diamonds and oil in a few prominent cases) can be particularly prone to kleptocracy, as the kleptocrats simply tax the Ricardian rent. Historically, the socio-political environment associated with colonial rule - in particular the dominance of colonial economies by a small number of commodities - has been particularly conducive to the later creation of kleptocracies, especially in Africa and South America.

The creation of a kleptocracy typically results in many years of general hardship and suffering for the vast majority of citizens as civil society and the rule of law distintegrates. In addition, kleptocrats routinely ignore economic and social problems in their quest to amass ever more wealth. As kleptocrats do not attempt to build or maintain functioning states, or even maintain large security forces for fear of coups d'état, kleptocracies are generally incompetent in the face of social crises, and often collapse into prolonged civil war and anarchy.

Some observers use the term 'kleptocracy' to disparage political processes which permit corporations to influence political policy. Ralph Nader called the United States a kleptocracy in this sense of the word during the 2000 US presidential campaign. A more accurate term for this influence over a state is plutocracy.

The above definition sums up the true state of Nigeria since 1979 to date. And ironically it was the present head of state of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo who handed over to the corrupt leadership of President Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) that rigged the Presidential Election to defeat the late Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria(UPN). The coming to power of the NPN was the beginning of the reign of Kleptocracy in Nigeria parading in the masquerade of quasi-democracy stage-managed by the American Intelligence and British government. Because, both the American and British agencies were privy to the massive rigging of the Presidential Elections manipulated to favour their neo-colonial policies in Nigeria. And since 1979 to date, the plague of Kleptocracy has done collateral damage to Nigeria.

The beneficiaries of the kleptocratic regimes are now touted and celebrated as the richest men in Nigeria and decorated as the gurus of the economic growth of Nigeria. Criminals who should be in jail or even summarily executed for causing the untimely deaths of millions of the masses in Nigeria they left in penury and misery.

I will not repeat myself, because these contentious issues of corruption and misadministration in Nigeria have been thoroughly addressed on Nigerian Times since June to date. That is why I am not alarmed over the dramatic global kleptocratic antics of Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State who jumped bail in Britain and escaped back to Nigeria.

Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State is also looting the treasury of the state and he is still basking in the sun with his godfather President Olusegun Obasanjo who is using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to haunt his enemies and the supporters of his Vice, Atiku Abubakar.

I wish there are still true officers of honour in the Nigerian Armed Forces to do the right thing now. TO TOPPLE THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OF THE RULING PARTY IN NIGERIA.
Enough is enough!

The Nigerian Puzzle of the Year

Who is the richest man in Nigeria?
The "evil genius"?

Is it Dr. Mike Adenuga jr?

Now who is the real owner of Globalcom Nigeria, Conoil and all the other companies managed by the dummy of the "evil genius"?

Did the late Gen.Sanni Abacha steal more billions of naira than the "evil genius" and his dummies in Nigeria who are posing and posturing to be "gurus" of the Nigerian oligarchy?

From the gullible ignorant majority to their kleptomaniac paymasters and taskmasters in power, Nigerians make an interesting comedy. What I call the "comedy of errors". A melodramatic black comedy.

For the answers, please see the archives for "Looters of Nigeria" or "Owners of Nigeria".

Laptop For Every Nigerian Child

THE UTOPIAN $100 MIT LAPTOP

The good news is music to my ears as you can see in the current news column on the sidebar. And it has been reported since yesterday.That every Nigerian child will benefit from the "One Laptop-One Child Initiative" for only $100 per laptop.

These are the notes from the news report.
The President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is very excited and thrilled by the break-through of Professor Nicholas Negroponte and his team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States for the initiative.

President Olusegun Obasanjo met the brains behind the laudable and remarkable achievement in Tunisia, at the second phase of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS-05. And a meeting has been scheduled between them and the Nigerian top government officials.

NIGERIA and five other countries have been named the first beneficiaries of the One-Laptop-One-Child Initiative. Others are Egypt, India, Brazil, China and Thailand.

Chairman of the initiative, Professor Nicholas Negroponte who disclosed this in Tunis Wednesday, said the laptops would be distributed through various governments of benefitting nations.

Also, Nigeria has redeemed its 0.5 million Euros (aboout N87.5 million) to the Digital Solidarity Fund, President Olusegun Obasanjo has said. He spoke in Tunis.

Initial distribution of the laptops is expected by first quarter of next year.
But there are skeptics and cynics.

Negroponte's dream may not match reality, for all its Utopian promise

It's one of the great Utopian visions — universal access to the world's knowledge without limitation of wealth, location or social position. The logical conclusion to universal literacy and universal suffrage: nobody can argue against it as a force for good.

Negroponte has an attractive vision. Then again, MIT's Media Lab has never lacked vision. It should shame nobody to ask about delivery, appropriateness and long-term strategy. Utopias are never cheap.
http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020505,39237331,00.htm

But, I sincerely hope that millions of Children in Nigeria will benefit from this initiative. Because, my suspicion is that as usual, the very greedy and selfish Nigerian Middle Class and Upper Class will hijack these subsidized laptops and divert them to their own kids in their Ivy League private schools and High Schools and the millions of the less privileged kids of the poor majority will never receive any of the laptops.

I can bet with President Olusegun Obasanjo that the rich and more privileged Nigerians in private and public offices will hijack these laptops meant for the children of the poor who have been suffering great deprivations all these years.

I want proven Nigerians of integrity and probity like Rev. Gamaliel Onosode, Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili and Dr. Pat Utomi to be given the responsibility for the distribution of the laptops before they are hijacked or stolen midway by the Nigerian kleptomaniacs in the corridors of power from Lagos to Abuja.


I am overwhelmed by this break through that will propel an Internet revolution in Nigeria as every family in Nigeria should be able to connect their computers to the Internet. And the intellectual enlightenment and empowerment of the new generation of Nigerians will accelerate the advancement of Information Technology for sustainable human capital development in Nigeria.

President George W. Bush of America Warns President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria

PRESIDENT GEORGE W.BUSH
The latest news in town is that the President of America, George Walker Bush has warned the President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo not to attempt staying in power beyond his second term of office when it ends in 2007.

There are rumours of the speculations that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo wants to go for a third term in office contrary to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And his political mafia is working hard to manipulate the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to make it possible for him to extend his stay in office to the third term.

Let me just warn Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that if he is in hurry to join his beloved wife Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, he should continue with his subtle plans to extend his second term in office.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W.BUSH AND PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO.

US president advises Nigeria's Obasanjo against third term:

LAGOS, Nov. 17 (Xinhuanet)
US President George W. Bush has advised his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo against seeking a third term in office, as lawmakers reportedly tried to amend the constitution to extend Obasanjo's tenure, a private newspaper reported Thursday.

The Punch newspaper quoted a diplomatic source as saying Bush in a letter dated on October 24 urged Obasanjo to respect his country's constitution and hand over the baton to a new civilian leader in 2007.

"He (Bush) said it was important to have a transition government from one civilian government to another civilian government ... The message from Bush was clear and unambiguous," the source added.

Obasanjo's spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode denied that a warning letter had been received from Bush, telling the newspaper that the letter is "purely a case of someone's wildest imagination."

Spokesman for the US embassy in Nigeria Rudolph Stewart neither denied nor confirmed the information on the letter.

Obasanjo, who took office in 1999 and won reelection in 2003, has repeatedly said he would hand over the baton in 2007 and go back to his own farm raising poultry and birds. He once did the unthinkable by voluntarily handing over power to an elected government in 1979 after three years as a military leader.

But his supporters are reportedly seeking to amend the 1999 constitution so that Obasanjo has a third term. The speculation escalated Wednesday when a critic of the proposal was removed from a National Assembly sub-committee that has been working on a constitutional amendment since 2003. End item

90 % of Nigerian Leaders Are Kleptomaniacs

I have been researching on the nature of Nigerian leaders from the local government level to the office of the President, and I have now concluded that over 90% of Nigerian public officers are suffering from Kleptomania. Because, they just cannot stop stealing public funds.

I have thought of asking the proven men of God in Nigeria such as Pastors Enoch Adejare Adeboye, William Folorunsho Kumuyi and Daniel Olukoya to perform special deliverance service for all our public officers turn by turn. To exorcize the evil spirits of Kleptomania out their hearts and souls.

The Nigerian Armed Forces also need deliverance from the spirit of bribery and corruption.

I am a Christian and I believe that when naturally normal humans behave like abnormal people. We have to see them as either mentally sick or spiritually ill. So, we need to address their cases accordingly.

One governor was caught for money laundering in the UK and he escaped back to Nigeria and he is still in office doing what he knows best- stealing public funds. Then, another governor was also caught for the same crime in the UK and he is not even ashamed of his disgrace. He is pointing accusing fingers at the President of Nigeria for his predicament. That the President planned his downfall? And as I blog this, millions of Nigeria are busy stealing public funds directly or indirectly through bogus contracts, over-invoicing, extortion, inflation, bribery, nepotism, tribalism, extra-judicial robbery, etc. And come Friday and Sunday, these shameless crooks and rogues will troop to the various mosques and churches they have sponsored all over Nigeria to pay lip service to God in their melodramatic masquerade of conceit and deceit in their "Narcissistic Grandiosity of Hypocrisy".

Kleptomania
Origin
Kleptomania is a strong desire to steal. Often a kleptomaniac person steals things he could have bought easily or things that are not at all expensive. The person steals just for the tension or the kick. Kleptomania can be the result of emotional shortcomings during the youth.

Symptoms
These patients have an irresistible inclination to steal. Often they throw away the stolen goods. They are mostly interested in the kick of the stealing itself. Although psychiatrists consider kleptomania as a disease, this is not a legal excuse in front of an American or British court.

Treatment
This disorder is rather easy to treat. It is important to find another occupation to replace the stealing activity. It is also very important to make the patient realize that others are harmed by the stealing activities.

Nigeria Wins 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize

Organisers of the Coventry International Prize for Peace and Reconciliation chose to honour President Obasanjo for his "outstanding and sustained contributions towards peace and reconciliation in Africa".

Speaking after receiving the prize, President Obasanjo said that there could be no substitute for peace and reconciliation in the world and that the quest for peace would always remain relevant especially in a country like Nigeria with about 350 ethnic groups.

"This ceremony, this award and this honour are most touching in a number of ways and very humbly, I accept the honour that the Cathedral and the city of Coventry have done me, my family, Nigeria and Africa," he said.

I decided to say Nigeria wins the 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize, because the credit should go to Nigeria for sacrificing so much in peace keeping operations in Africa, notably in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Congo and Sudan. And Nigeria lost over 1,000 soldiers in peace keeping operations.

President Olusegun Obasanjo cannot claim the credit for the achievements of Nigeria. Because, Nigeria has been playing vital roles in World Peace since Nigeria became Independent from the British Empire on October 1st, 1960. Even the military junta of the late tyranical dictator Gen. Sani Abacha sent thousands of Nigerian soldiers to Liberia and Sierra Leone when even the UN and the US were scared of daring the devils on rampage like the late Samuel Doe, the wanted fugitive Charles Taylor who is still in the protective custody of President Olusegun Obasanjo in Nigeria and Yommie Johnson. So, President Olusegun Obasanjo is not the one who initiated our costly peace keeping operations in West Africa and other regions of Africa.

In fact, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo is guilty of the violations of the human rights of millions of Nigerians in the Niger Delta region and in other parts of Nigeria where the storm troopers of the Nigerian Armed Forces have invaded many rural communities and left them in ruins. More cases of extra-judicial killings have been recorded since 1999 when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the President to date than all the years of the tyranny of the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. So, President Olusegun Obasanjo does not deserve any prize for peace and reconciliation until he has improved the human rights records of his government.

The presentation of the 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize took place last Monday on the anniversary of 1940 Blitz that destroyed the old Cathedral and much of the city.

I Just Saw The Vice President of Nigeria Last Night

ATIKU ABUBAKAR, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA.

I have been having strange dreams lately. I have met and sat down with President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria twice on two different occasions in my dreams. The first dream was over a month ago. Where he was presenting papers to a group of children. And I was the guardian of the children. Later, he led me aside to a house where we sat down and discussed. Then, I saw him in another dream last week.
We were meeting over another matter.

The latest dream I had last night was about the Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. A very factual dream. I was in his company and we were inspecting some sites on the street as some construction workers were busy building roads. I recognized that we were in Obalende on the Lagos Island in Nigeria. I was born and bred on the Lagos Island where Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos and other ethnic groups live like one family. And the State House was formerly in Obalende after the famous Dodan Barracks.

Then, the Vice President gave me a lump sum of money to provide lunch for an Hausa man in the typical traditional Hausa attire for males. He introduced the man to me and said, "Chima, I have always been thinking of you. Please, go and show this fellow where to eat." I nodded as I collected the money and led the Hausa man to one of the restaurants nearby. I selected a particular restaurant as if I was familiar with it. Then, I asked the man which part of Northern Nigeria he originated from. The man said Kano and I told him that I was in Kano, Rano, Kaduna and Jos. But, in reality I have only travelled to Kaduna in 1988. And that was when I was a consultant for the UNICEF. But, before we sat down to order for food, I woke up. And God actually woke me up for my own good. It could be dangerous to eat in dreams.

Why did God show me the Vice President of Nigeria in a dream?
Where the Vice President was inspecting the construction of a road.

Atiku Abubakar must have made divine connection with God directly or indirectly. Otherwise, I would not have seen him in my dreams. God shows me things to inform me of certain developments.

Atiku Abubakar has been praying to God to be the next President of Nigeria in 2007. And since I know my Father has his mysterious ways, He can have mercy on whom He wants to have mercy for and nothing can dictate to God. His Word is the final word.

Yes. I know there are many presidential aspirants contending for the office of the President of Nigeria and they are all at work. But, the destiny of Nigeria is in the hands of God.

Let us pray for Nigeria.

As Bishop Ajayi Crowther said:
"Only the best is good enough for us."

Profile

ATIKU ABUBAKAR (Turakin Adamawa), GCON, Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Born in Jada, a town in present day Adamawa state, in North Eastern part of Nigeria, on November 25, 1946. He became an orphan at the age of eight and through perseverance and hard work overcame the poverty and nonchalant attitude of his relatives to acquire education. Atiku enrolled into the Jada Primary School from 1954 to 1960. He later proceeded to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School, Yola, from 1961 to 1965. He studied Economics, British Economic History, Government and Hausa Language at the Yola Middle School before proceeding to the Kano School of Hygiene, where he acquired a Diploma of the Royal Society of Health. He moved to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1967, to study for a Diploma in Law.
It was in the last two schools that he had his first taste of politics, when he took part in the radical student union politics of the 1960’s, serving as President Emeritus of the Student's Union of the School of Hygiene, Kano, and later as the Assistant Secretary General of the Ahmadu Bello University Students Union, as well as Deputy Speaker of the Students’ parliament.

In 1969, Atiku Abubakar enlisted into the Nigerian Customs and Excise service, where he served for 20 years, retiring in 1989 at the rank of Deputy Director. In retirement, Atiku Abubakar went into private business, developing investments in oil services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and the print media. He was chairman of seven companies before his election as Vice-President.

His political career proper began in the late 1980s at the advent of the Fourth Republic, when retired General Shehu Musa Yar'adua launched a novel political association, People's Front of Nigeria (PFN). Shehu had retired as Deputy Head of State and Chief of Staff Supreme Headquaters in 1979, when he and Olusegun Obasanjo handed over power to civilians.

The thought, planning and solid programmes packaged with the movement easily made it the most formidable machine in Nigeria. Alas, General Ibrahim Babangida's cabal of military officers drawn from both north and south wanted to "rule Nigeria" forever. Their contrived transition to civil rule program refused to register genuine political parties. Rather, the military government "created" two parties for Nigeria: left-of-centre Social democratic Party (SDP) and right-of-centre National Republican Convention (NRC). Atiku was party to the decision to "re-locate" the PFN into the SDP, ensuring their total control of the party, in the belief that the soldiers were sincere in their promise to handover power.

After scouring and touring every part of the federation, Atiku was there to see the emergence of Shehu Yar'adua as the SDP presidential candidate. However, General Babangida, ostensibly bowing to pressure from short-sighted civilian and military power-hungry leaders cancelled the primaries and disqualified the two candidates. The NRC candidate was Adamu Chiroma, the incumbent Minister of finance in Atiku’s government.

Undaunted, Shehu Yar'adua and his colleagues, determined to ease the military out of power, took all in their stride. In a re-run of the primaries, Abubakar Atiku as a candidate of Yar'adua narrowly missed being nominated the running mate of Chief M K O Abiola, who came to be backed by the PFN caucus. With the cancellation of Abiola's incipient victory at the polls in 1992, Atiku with his mentor continued the struggle to save Nigeria from the power greed of soldiers. Defence minister, General Sani Abacha, later overthrew the resultant Interim National Government (ING). Abacha waged a relentless campaign against Nigerians and their leaders, resulting in the false imprisonment and jailing of Shehu Yar'adua and Olusegun Obasanjo. Again, Abacha's transition program refused to register the Lawal Kaita/Atiku led People's Democratic Movement (PDM). Instead the military sponsored surrogates to set up five "acceptable" parties. All five endorsed Abacha as sole presidential candidate. Yar'adua died under inhumane prison conditions while Atiku was forced to go underground as agents of the junta hunted him from state to state.

Atiku, even while hiding, was part of the G18 pressure group, which later became G34 movement that spearheaded opposition to General Abacha's self-succession bid. The death of Abacha in 1988 brought to power the reformist General Abubakar Abdulsalami, who vowed to handover power 29 May, 1999. Thus in the course of amalgamating different political groupings into political parties, Abubakar Atiku led the old PFN into what later metamorphosed as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). His group also drafted in Obasanjo and gave him the machinery at the grassroots not only to win the party primaries but the presidential elections as well. Atiku himself made a second attempt to become the governor of Adamawa state and this time, as a PDP candidate, he was elected.

It is came as a surprise to Atiku shortly after that, when Obasanjo sent for him, following his emergence as the PDP flagbearer, in the heat of lobbying by many candidates for the vice-presidential slot.
"Turaki, are you prepared to take orders from me?" he asked Atiku, calling him by the traditional title in his native Adamawa state.
"Ah, I have always taken instructions from you, sir" Atiku replied, "because you are a general."
"Okay you are my vice-president", Obasanjo told the stunned Atiku, "go and break the news to the party leaders!"

"Where God Was Born" And The War In Iraq

Here is a very important book on the Genesis of the bloody political and religious crises in the Iraq, the Middle East and the rest of the world. Wars implicating Judaism, Christianity and Islam with their common origins from the same Patriarch Abraham.

I have already published my article "The Genesis of the Crisis" widely and Bruce Weller's book only confirmed my biblical deductions.

Please, I advise you to read the book. You need to.

The war in Iraq would have been prevented if only the American government understood and obeyed the Word of God. And the so called celebrated ministers who claimed to know God lacked the knowledge. As God said in the Holy Bible:

"Therefore my people go into exile for want of knowledge; their honored men are dying of hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down, her throng and he who exults in her. Man is bowed down, and men are brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled." (Isaiah 5:13-15)

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or kindness, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds and murder follows murder. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air; and even the fish of the sea are taken away. Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. You shall stumble by day, the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge(Hosea 4:1-6

)
Where God Was Born: A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion
by Bruce Feiler
Seeking answers (and adventure) in Bible lands
Available from Powells.Com
A Review by Jane Lampman


On his first trek into the deserts of the Middle East, Bruce Feiler says, he went seeking adventure but came back craving meaning. Fortunately for his readers, the bestselling author has a knack in his writings for delivering both.

Where God was Born is his third book exploring the roots of monotheism and their implications for today. It is at once a riveting journey through contemporary conflict zones in Israel, the West Bank, Iraq, and Iran, and a provocative analysis of the Bible considered in the broader context of its times.

Feiler asks if religion can help us to live together in the 21st century, or whether it is more apt to foster violence.

As a Jew, he turns to the Old Testament. But as he travels, he seeks insights from historians, archeologists, religious leaders, and ordinary folk of various faiths.

His last book, Abraham, explored the possibility that the patriarch might serve as a bridge between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This time Feiler follows the paths of the prophets who fill the second half of the Hebrew Bible. With Bible always in hand, he travels the ground from Joshua's entry into the Promised Land, through David's kingship in Jerusalem, to the Israelites' exile in Babylon and Persia.

"My goal was to replant the Bible stories into the ground from which they sprang and see if viewing them in the context of their time changed the lessons I gleaned," he says.

Feiler soon finds that some biblical themes are less unique to the Israelites than he had assumed, as sources reveal common ground with other cultures. He encounters adventures along the way, climbing ziggurats, dodging Iraqi bandits, plunging into Jerusalem's underground water tunnels.

After a dramatic airlift into Baghdad amid the Iraq war, he explores the cradle of civilization, from the purported site of the Garden of Eden, to Ur of the Chaldees, and the locale of the Babylonian captivity. There he determines that it was only when forced into exile that the Israelites realized that God was everywhere -- and came to elevate the word of the text above rituals.

Feiler converses with a host of engaging characters, from US military chaplains to an Iraqi engineer who has returned from life in America to drain the southern marshlands that Saddam had flooded. ("The most beautiful place on earth apart from Yosemite," the engineer explains.)

At some personal risk, the author and his wife visit Persepolis in Iran (ancient Persia), home to the leaders who conquered Babylon and then freed the Israelites. This empire built a vast system of roads and canals extending to Egypt, invented the first postal system, and valued diversity and personal happiness.

"The grand idea at the heart of Second Isaiah bears striking similarity to the grand idea introduced by the Persian kings of the sixth century BCE. Morality is the highest calling of human conduct and happiness the ultimate reward," Feiler writes.

Such gleanings make Where God Was Born consistently pleasurable and thought-provoking. Still, it sometimes seems the author is sprinting through history, reinterpreting on the basis of brief encounters and, on occasion, with people who may not be the most appropriate guides. But this is a personal spiritual memoir, and Feiler bravely goes where most would not tread.

Given the first half of the Hebrew Bible's emphasis on the Promised Land, Feiler is surprised to come, step by step, to the conclusion that the second half teaches that living according to God's law is more important than living on the land.

"Morality is the central quality God seeks in humans," he determines, and "the highest cry of the prophets is that God belongs to everyone."

Since fundamentalists of all stripes use the Bible and other texts to press sectarian aims, Feiler places responsibility in the hands of moderates like himself for reinterpreting traditions and seeking accommodation. It's up to us, he says, to create our own ending to the Bible story.

Jane Lampman writes on religion and ethical issues for the Monitor.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Becomes New President of Liberia

ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF WITH HER SUPPORTERS.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist and former World Bank official who waged a fierce presidential campaign against the soccer star George Weah, emerged victorious on Friday in her quest to lead war-torn Liberia and become the first woman elected head of state in modern African history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/12/international/africa

The good news is making headlines all over the world from the New York Times to the CNN and BBC and other news media. And Nigerian Times rejoices with Lady Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for making history as the first female head of state in modern Africa. She is the beginning of a new era in the political history of Liberia and the rest of Africa. And an example worthy of emulation. I look forward to more developments of this nature in other countries in Africa as I prayed yesterday on the Nigerian Times that God should give us a leader like Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili to become the executive President of Nigeria one fine day just like Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has become the first female executive President of Liberia.

Liberia has indeed turned a new leaf
With the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Congratulations Lady Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
You are really the new leaf of the beginning of a new life for Liberia and we pray that all Liberians will give you their full cooperation and support to rebuild Liberia from the ruins of the political crisis and build a new Liberia that will be the pride of all Liberians and Africa.

God bless Ellen Johson-Sirleaf and God bless Liberia.
ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is called the "Iron Lady of Liberia".
She was imprisoned in the 1980s for criticising the military regime of Samuel Doe and then backed Charles Taylor's rebellion before falling out with him and being charged with treason after he became president.

She twice went into exile to escape her legal problems with the governments of the day.

In 1997, she came a distant second to Mr Taylor in elections following a short-lived peace deal.

One veteran of Liberia's political scene said Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf's nickname comes from her iron will and determination.

"It would have been much easier for her to quit politics and sit at home like others have done but she has never given up," he said.

Her supporters say she has two advantages over the man she faced in the run-off - former football star George Weah - she is better educated and is a woman.

Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili And Women In Nigeria

DR.DORA NKEM AKUNYILI

The Nigerian Times will honour Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili as the African Woman of the Year 2005.

This African-Nigerian Ibo Amazon is a worthy role model in honest and upright leadership for not only women in Africa, but also for women all over the world. Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili can become the President of Nigeria and I pray to the Almighty God to grant my wish to give us such an honourable woman to lead Nigeria.

Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili - (Nigeria)

Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and a pharmacologist by training, Dr Akunyili has defied death threats while tackling corrupt practices in the manufacturing, import and export of drugs, cosmetics and food products. Since taking up her position in April 2001, Dr Akunyili has earned nationwide respect for her persistence in prosecuting illegal drug traders and in imposing strict standards on multinational companies. In particular, she has pursued manufacturers and importers of counterfeit drugs, deemed to be a leading cause of deaths by stroke and heart failure in Nigeria. Counterfeit drugs worth an estimated US$16 million have been confiscated and destroyed by Dr Akunyili and her staff, in the process saving the lives of thousands of innocent Nigerians.

AMINA LAWAL WHO WAS NEARLY STONED TO DEATH IN NOTHERN NIGERIA.
Nigerian women can lead Nigeria to become a better and greater nation in the leadership of Africa among the comity of nations.

More on Women In Nigeria

The lives of middle class Nigerian women differ greatly from those of most western women. Since pre-colonial days women retained certain economic opportunities within the social system. In fact, before the middle of the twentieth century, Nigerian women traditionally played a more significant role in society than did western women. Traditional or tribal society in Nigeria expected women to be significant wage earners in the family. They labored in farming, fishing, herding, and commerce (for instance, pottery, cloth-making, and craft work) alongside Nigerian men. In fact, women traditionally had the right to profit from their work, although the money usually served as a contribution to the family income. This economic freedom was much different from many western societies, where women had to fight for the right to work. These traditions still survive in modern Nigeria

However, Nigerian men do not value the economic contributions of their wives. They do not view the woman's job and household work as especially taxing. For the most part, Nigerian men consistently take their wives for granted. Moreover, even with economic opportunities, Nigerian women lack certain rights. As a rule, men do not have any legal responsibility for their offspring, and they often abandon women, expecting them to carry the financial burden of the family.



Marriage


The Nigerian institution of marriage is unconventional by western standards. The traditional and Islamic systems of polygamy flourish within every social class. Women expect very little from men in terms of companionship, personal care, and fidelity. Their relationships exist without the emotional elements.

Polygamy is a crucial component of many women's lives. Women depend on the other wives of their husbands. The younger co-wives take on many of the household and financial responsibilities. As women get older they have the comfort of knowing that the burden of their marriage does not fall solely on their shoulders.


A woman's postion in society changes vastly once they marry since she becomes a possession, with relatively no rights in her husband's family. In fact, the husband's mother and sisters have much more of an influence over him than his own wife. The wife resents this lack of control or even respect within their marriage.

The Nigerian system of inheritance reflects the lack of male responsibility to his wife and children. If a husband dies, the woman usually receives nothing, although the law entitles her to a share. If she has no children, the treatment is worse. Since property can only pass between the same sexes, women can never inherit from their fathers.

Within marriage, women have an obligation to have children. Traditionally, society blames the woman for a marriage without children. Society not only condemns women who cannot have children, but unmarried and divorced women as well.

In recent years, the support of the co-wives has diminished. Modern developments of mandatory education, urbanization, and capitalism are changing the Nigerian society. Since 1960, educational opportunities have expanded for women. Slowly men are beginning to see the value of higher education for their wives. Now, more often than not, they send their daughters to school for an education.



Abortion


Abortion is still illegal in Nigeria. In fact, women make up the strongest opposition to it. Surprisingly, men seem to be much more willing to accept the idea than most middle class women.



Political Roles of Women


Today women play a minimal role in politics, although the 1979 Constitution guaranteed their rights. In pre-colonial Nigeria, women had a much larger position in politics. Unfortunately, the western influences restricted women's participation. Now, women have relatively little opportunity to become involved. The political parties do not look favorably upon female candidates.

As western values gained influence in colonial Nigeria, women lost some of their traditional rights. For the most part, women in Nigeria have not attempted to rise in their maleidominated society and patriarchy continues to thrive. But as time passes, women are beginning to demand some equality. Perhaps they will be able to reconcile the rights of the past with the freedoms of a modern age

We Remember The Ogoni Nine

We remember the nine martyrs of the Niger Delta of Nigeria
BARIBOR BERA
SATURDAY DOBEE
NORDU EAWO
DANIEL GBOKOO
BARINEM KIOBEL
JOHN KPUINEN
PAUL LEVURA
FELIX NUATE
KEN SARO-WIWA

No epitaph would do.
And no cenotaph would do.
Because, until justice is done
The battle has not been won.

A Tale Of Two Nigerian Rebels In Abuja

The headlines on Nigeria in the international media are on the two revolutionary leaders,namely Ralph Uwazurike, who founded the south-eastern secessionist Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), who was brought before a federal court in the capital, Abuja, where four counts of treason and conspiracy were read to him and six other MASSOB members and my inlaw Asari Dokubo who was on hunger strike. Both militant leaders are in detention.


Ralp complained of being chained to the floor and tortured and Asari wanted to be moved from the three star chalet where he is being detained to a prison where he can interact with inmates. And the report quoted a Nigerian police officer who said they were spending over $1,000 monthly to take care of Asari.

Police spokesman Haz Iwendi denied he was on a hunger strike saying they had a monthly budget of $1,500 just to feed him. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4414484.stm

Asari was enjoying VIP treatment at the cost of $1,500 per month, but Ralph was chained to the floor and tortured.

Why the discrimination in the treatment of the two brothers in arms?
Is Ralph more dangerous than Asari?

If Asari is also enjoying free Internet service, I don't mind to join him in detention. The government can give me just $1,000 monthly for pocket money and keep the remaining $500. I don't eat much. But, I trust my inlaw Asari when it comes to sumptuous meals. In fact the hunger strike will do him a lot of good to shed his excess fat.And look like a real revolutionary activist and not like a Sumo wrestler. So, that he will not need a tummy-tuck surgery like our uncle, the "Governor-General of the Ijaw Thieves" who was caught in London for helping us to save our millions of pounds in his foreign account.

I will keep you up to date as the Nigerian comedy of errors continues.

Why Paris Is On Fire

Sokari Ekine of Black Looks has already published a comprehensive report on the bloody riots in Paris and the surroundings in France. And I posted her report on other sites. The report generated several responses on the causes of these riots. And Peter Porcupine has published a more comprehensive analytical report on the fundamental issues of the racial and religious tensions he believes caused the tragic accidental death of two boys of African origin to snowball into a national crisis that could worsen if not contained. Because, the people involved are both legal and illegal immigrants from African countries and the religious angle is more dangerous than the political angle. Since, the common opinion seems to be that the Muslims in France are being victimized by the French authorities.

Peter Porcupine's report is a must read if you want an eye-witness account from Paris.
THE ANTI-RIOT FRENCH POLICE FORCE FACING THE FIRE OF THE RIOTS IN PARIS.
Is Paris Burning?

The Swoon of Ages, It shall Burst, and Fill the World with Cleansing Fire; It must, It will--It may not be restrained!
The Revolt of Islam, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)

Today is a significant anniversary in world history, in many ways more important than Dec. 7th or August 6th. On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive. This terrorist act triggered the most profound crisis of the Carter presidency and began a personal ordeal for Jimmy Carter and the American people that lasted 444 days. This was the beginning of the intifada, the War of Terror on the part of the Muslim world. For us, it seemed an incident. In the eyes of Muslims worldwide, it progressed through embassy bombings, ship bombings, building bombings, suicide bombings, until finally our attention was captured on Sept.1, 2001. It is sobering to think that the young soldiers in Iraq, and indeed most young adults in their 20's and 30's, have never known a world without this threat.

While the United States is a primary locus of the intifada, Europe is not immune. There were the bombings in Madrid, and the attack in London this year. Now, Paris is becomeing engulfed in terror and conflict.

Recently, Roger L. Simon featured an email on his blog from an American, Paul Cruce, who writes The Frog Blog of Louis Lavache (in happier times, featuring explanations of French culture, photos of Paris and recipes) Cruce wrote about his experiences with the French, and the turning tide back to America HERE. Porcupine was interested in his point of view, and wrote to him as he is an ordinary person in an extraordinary place. From what he had heard, what triggered these riots? To be sure, the Muslim ghettos circling Paris have been festering and growing worse for years, but what was the trigger? Was it France’s recent legislation against headscarves? Was there a Rodney King, as it were? Cruce was kind enough to reply in detail, and this is his answer to that question.

Cruce spoke to the long festering problem, "A significant part of the current problems may be laid at the feet of Socialist former Prime Minister Jospin. When he initiated the 35 hour work week, French businesses took advantage of the new law and "broomed" their least productive workers - who were, you guessed it - largely Black, Muslim and/or black Muslim. So just as in the U.S. where every raise in the minimum wage creates more unemployment, the 35 hour work week had the same result here....The "official" unemployment rate is 9.8%, but what I am hearing here (and I have two friends who work in the government) is that the real number is 12.5%. The 23% figure for the young in the former "red belt" (the suburbs of Paris which had Socialist and Communist officials, now turned into slums) is more truly 25% or higher."

As to the immediate cause of the violence, “What isn't being reported is that the two kids who were electrocuted were on railway tracks "tagging." Graffiti is out of control here. In my post on my blog about the Gare de Lyon, I had to change the position of the shot I took of the three TGVs because they had been so horribly tagged. (See here). The trains here are all electric, so if you are going to be tagging trains or train stations, a favorite pastime of the unemployed black, Muslim, and black Muslim kids here, you are going to be walking and crawling around the power sources for the trains. Despite the denials that the police were chasing them, it seems likely that the police caught them and gave chase. They tried to hide in a transformer box and got fried.” So this was the spark that set off 9 days of violent rioting, to date.

“There is a rising tide of anger by the native French population against Muslim lawlessness, and ‘Sarko,’(Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkosky, who is the head of police in the same way the Home Office is in Britain) whether he is being opportunistic or acting out of principal, is generally showing the spine needed to address this growing threat. Tuesday night in Clichy-sous-Bois a white family, a man, his wife and daughter were out for an evening stroll. (I won't speculate on why, giving the riots over the previous five nights, they thought they could do this.) The white trio was attacked by a group of black Muslims - apparently the white family's only sin was their color - and the man was beaten to death. Last weekend, a man carrying a digital camera in Epinay-sous-Sènart on the south-east near where I am staying in Mandres-les-Roses, was set upon by a trio of black Muslims who demanded his camera. He wasn't quick enough and was also beaten and stomped to death. Paris is abuzz with these outrages, and I think the criminals are creating a huge backlash for themselves. I am hearing a lot of talk this morning about forcing the government to deport the illegal Muslims, black or otherwise. The French are beginning to want them OUT. People in Paris are PO'd today. I usually avoid even abbreviations like that, but it is really descriptive of the mood.”
Now, reports are that the rioting has spread beyond Paris, HERE, although the main official response seems to be that tourists are safe, and move along, there’s nothing to see here (There wasn’t in Watts in 1965, either).

Today, November 4th, marks the beginning of the War on Terror against the west. France, which worked harder to be conciliatory with Islam than any other European nation, is paying the price for trying appeasement in place of self-defense. Today, three men were arrested in London with plans to blow up the White House and U.S. Congress. Amreican media noted this by doing stories on a missing girl in Aruba, the Libby indictment, and vulgar tee-shirts.

We need to recognize that this war is only partly on Iraqi soil, and pay our opponents the respect of taking them seriously. Even as the intelligentsia sneers at Homeland Security and terror alerts, the Paris that is burning is in France, not Kentucky or Maine or Texas.

Why America Has Failed To Capture Osama Bin Laden

GWB: Yeah! Hear me now!

As I was wondering, I was thinking of the possibility of the impossibility.
Why America has not been able to catch Osama bin Laden.
What if Osama bin Laden repents?
Will America forgive him?

What if the devil decides to repent?
Will God forgive him?

You think I am nuts to have such weird thoughts.
Well, with God all things are possible.

But, I know why America has not been able to catch Osama bin Laden.
Because of the fact that Osama bin Laden is using occultist power of the HAMZAD that the devil gives his devotees to make them invisible and invincible to humans. Most Arabs and Indians have this HAMZAD. It is a satanic power.

America has failed to catch Osama bin Laden, because America has been relying on ordinary mortal force and that cannot work against the diabolical supernatural power of the HAMZAD used by Osama bin Laden.

All the great pastors and prophets in America could have joined hands together to pray for the capture of Osama bin Laden. But, I am afraid that God may not answer their prayer. Why? Two wrongs cannot make a right. America has sinned against God. America is as good as Sodom and Gomorrah or even worse. Where men are bonking men and women are bonking women, unborn babies are being murdered in millions every year all over America, witches and wizards have licenses to practice their evil acts on their victims, sex maniacs and voyeurs are all over the place from New York to New Jersey. Even anonymous sexual intercourses where you fxxk unknown people or demons through holes in walls are taking place in clubs and other atrocities. And the hypocrisy of the American clergy, the white sepulcher of Christendom as aptly described by our Messiah Jesus Christ:
Whited sepulcher is a phrase from the Holy Bible (Matthew 23:27) where Jesus says to the Pharisees: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness." The term Whited means the same thing as "whitewashed," and the phrase describes a hypocrite, meaning the men were respectable on the outside but rotten on the inside. Also identified in “White Lies and Whited Sepulchres in Conrad's “Heart of Darkness”.

These so called Christian ministers in America have lost their power, because of their hypocrisy in racial discriminations, class discriminations, sectarian discriminations and using chicanery, usury and the fearful wrath of God to extort money from the laity already hoodwinked and misled to believe that answers to their prayers and miracles have price tags. The more offerings and tithes you pay to these ministers the more blessings, favors and provisions you will receive from God. They are exactly like those people Jesus Christ described as charlatans, crooks and rogues who have turned the house of God into a den of thieves.

Therefore, America is in quandary of contradictions, contrarieties and anomalies that have confused the American government and American society.
No wonder President George Walker Bush is confused and committing terrible blunders in the war on terror with the daily loss of precious American lives and the lives of citizens of other nations. If there was no invasion of Iraq, the over 2,000 American soldiers killed so far would still have been alive today and over 100,000 Iraqis would not have been killed by Saddam Hussein even if he was Count Dracula.

If America wants to succeed in the on going suicidal war on terror and capture Osama bin Laden, America must repent first and denounce all the sins and atrocities sanctioned by many legislations in America such as gay marriages, unwarranted abortions, unlawful possession of firearms, drunkenness, and other evils. Because, before the Almighty God, America and the Al Qaeda are both guilty of horrible and terrible sins, crimes and evils against God and against humanity. And God said that He will destroy the destroyers of the earth.

Without the mercy and power of God, America cannot capture Osama bin Laden and America cannot win the war of terror.

I hereby rest my case.

The Last Word On Nigerian Internet Scam

The on-going developments to eradicate the notorious Nigerian Internet Scams are appreciated. I have also drummed the warning into the ears of the ignorant millions of fall-guys in the Western world, Asia and Australia who are the primary target of the ruthless Internet scammers. And this latest news will be my final report on the matter. No more, no less. Only morons would be conned. Because, they are either criminals themselves or they are fools.Finis.

British and Nigerian officials are teaming up to warn Internet users of fraudulent e-mails that try to con recipients into handing over cash.

The so-called Nigerian 419 scams have been a problem for a number of years; the partnership issued a statement Friday warning people about e-mails that "ask for help in moving large sums of money in exchange for a share of the spoils."

Christine Wade, director of consumer regulation enforcement for the U.K. Office of Fair Trading, said in a statement:

"If you are targeted, recognize the 419 for what it is--an attempt to defraud you. Do not reply and do not give your personal details out. You are not about to become rich. These scams bear the hallmarks of professional criminals--use your common sense and don't become their next victim."

The scams were named "419ers" after the relevant section of the Nigerian criminal code. Many, but not all, originate from Nigeria and other West African nations.

Last month, Microsoft announced a partnership with the Nigerian government to help track down and prosecute criminals involved in the scams and other Internet-based fraud originating there.

Nuhu Ribadu, the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, said in a statement that "419 and other Nigerian variants of cybercrime have done unquantifiable damage to Nigeria's image and credibility. The government has resolved to deal a fatal blow to the cybercrime networks operating from Nigeria and the West African sub-region."

The commission said it will be monitor cybercafes and take on a "significant" number of cases against such criminals based in Nigeria.

Nigeria has agreed to work with the other 26 member countries involved in the antispam effort known as the London Action Plan.

Ken Saro-Wiwa: Not Yet Uhuru

Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941 - November 10, 1995)

Activities to mark the 10 years anniversary of the extra-judicial execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other eight leaders of MOSOP started months ago in over 30 countries and will climax next week Thursady November 10, in Port Harcourt the capital of Rivers State with the launching of a commemorative magazine, titled:"If I Live To Tell The Tale,Ken Saro-Wiwa:Ten Years Later" at the Banquet Hall of the Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt. Many literary dignitaries and hundreds of other personalities are already arriving from other countries for the memorial events.
There will also be other important and significant events such as the formal launching of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation (KSWF)in Nigeria.

As much I appreciate all the laudable and remarkable efforts to remember the supreme sacrifice of Ken Saro-Wiwa the martyred champion of human rights in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria,please remember also the other martyrs who have been murdered before and after the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his fellow comrades. Let us not forget Bawo Ajeboghuku,who died of gunshot wounds and over 17 others killed by members of the bloody task force of demons in military uniform armed by the draconian government of President Olusegun obasanjo during a raid on Odioma town in Bayelsa state in February.The forces razed "80 percent of the homes in Odioma and the dead included 105-year-old woman Balasanyun Omieh and her two-year-old grandchild, according to to an Amnesty Report.

They are all martyrs and they are equally as important as Ken Saro-Wiwa to the collective history and destiny of the Niger Delta. So, the Niger Delta struggle is not the monopoly of the Ken Saro-Wiwa family or the Ogoni people, but the struggle for the survival and wellbeing of the people of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Ken,it is not yet Uhuru.Because, the demons of tyranny are still on rampage in the creeks and villages of Niger Delta. And I pray that we shall not resort to the tactics of the Mau-Mau to defeat the oppressors and violators of our precious lives.

The biography of Ken Saro-Wiwa is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was a successful businessman, novelist, television producer and political activist in Nigeria.Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941 - November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author, television producer and environmental activist.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni, an ethnic minority whose homelands in the Niger Delta have been targeted for oil extraction since the 1950s. As president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental damage associated with the operations of multinational oil companies, including Shell and British Petroleum.

Saro-Wiwa was also a successful businessman, novelist and television producer. His best known novel, Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English, tells the story of naive village boy recruited to the army during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970). His war diaries, On a Darkling Plain, document Saro-Wiwa's experience during the war, when he served as the Civilian Administrator for the port of Bonny in the Niger Delta. His satirical television series, Basi & Co., is purported to have been the most watched soap opera in Africa.

In the early 1970s, Saro-Wiwa served as the Regional Commissioner for Education in the Rivers State Cabinet, but was dismissed in 1973 because of his support for Ogoni autonomy. In the late 1970s, he established a number of successful business ventures in retail and real-estate, and during the 1980s was able to concentrate on his writing, journalism and television production.

In 1990, Saro-Wiwa founded MOSOP, to advocate for the rights of the Ogoni people. The Ogoni Bill of Rights, written by MOSOP, set out the movement's demands, including increased autonomy for the Ogoni people, a fair share of the proceeds of oil extraction, and remediation of environmental damage to Ogoni lands. In 1992, Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned for several months, without trial, by the Nigerian military government.

In January 1993, MOSOP organised peaceful marches of around 300,000 Ogoni people - more than half of the Ogoni population - through four Ogoni centres, drawing international attention to his people's plight. The same year, Shell ceased operations in the Ogoni region.

Saro-Wiwa was arrested again and detained by Nigerian authorities in June 1993, but was released after a month. In May 1994, he was arrested and accused of incitement to murder following the deaths of four Ogoni elders, believed to be sympathetic to the military. Saro-Wiwa denied the charges, but was imprisoned for over a year before being found guilty and sentenced to death by a specially convened tribunal. The trial was widely criticised by human rights organisations.

On November 10, 1995, Saro-Wiwa and eight other MOSOP leaders were executed (hanged) by the Nigerian military government of General Sani Abacha, provoking the immediate suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of Nations, which was meeting in New Zealand at the time.

A biography, In the Shadow of a Saint, was written by his son, journalist Ken Wiwa. Ken Saro-Wiwa's daugher Zina Saro-Wiwa is a filmmaker and arts journalist.


Statement made by Saro-Wiwa just before his execution:

"I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is on trial here, and it is as well that it is represented by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The company has, indeed, ducked this particular trial, but its day will surely come and the lessons learned here may prove useful to it, for there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war the company has waged in the delta will be called to question sooner than later and the crimes of that war be duly punished. The crime of the company's dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished.

On trial also is the Nigerian nation, its present rulers and all those who assist them. I am not one of those who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, arguing that they are expected of a military regime. The military do not act alone. They are supported by a gaggle of politicians, lawyers, judges, academics and businessmen, all of them hiding under the claim that they are only doing their duty, men and women too afraid to wash their pants of their urine.

We all stand on trial, my lord, for by our actions we have denigrated our country and jeopardised the future of our children. As we subscribe to the subnormal and accept double standards, as we lie and cheat openly, as we protect injustice and oppression, we empty our classrooms, degrade our hospitals, and make ourselves the slaves of those who subscribe to higher standards, who pursue the truth, and honour justice, freedom and hard work."

Amnesty Protests Against Extra-Judicial Killings In The Niger Delta

ASARI DOKUBO THE NIGER DELTA REVOLUTIONARY HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IS CURRENTLY IN DETENTION IN NIGERIA.

Amnesty has called on the Nigerian government to stop extra-judicial killings in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.

"We haven't seen any extra-judicial executions since...1995 but in terms of other human rights violations the problems are still there," said Ulrika Sandberg, one of the authors of the Amnesty report.

If Amnesty says it has not seen extra-judicial executions since 1995 does not mean that there were no judicial executions in Nigeria. What Amnesty should say is that Amnesty is ignorant of any extra-judicial executions. Because, extra-judicial executions of over 1,000 civilians have been reported since 1999 to date. And most of them were done with the full knowledge of the ruling authorities of the present government of Nigeria. Even cases of massacres of innocent Nigerians have been witnessed in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. And Amnesty has done nothing more than make statements in order to justify it's existence and collect more funds to continue it's work as the toothless watchdog of human rights.

I am not interested in toothless watchdogs that cannot protect the helpless people they are meant to guard.

When Amnesty begins to sue Tyrannical corporations, governments,institutions and the draconian rulers found guilty of the violations of human rights, then I would be convinced that Amnesty is truly active and proactive not only in whistle-blowing, but in the prosecution of crimes against humanity in Nigeria and other parts of the world like in Indonesia where Islamic terrorists have been killing innocent Christians and only recently three Christian girls were beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Indonesia. And what is Amnesty doing about it?

Read the news report below.

Nigeria must end army killings in oil delta-Amnesty
03 Nov 2005 00:01:10 GMTSource: Reuters
By Estelle Shirbon

ABUJA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces protecting oil industry interests in the southern Niger Delta kill local people and raze villages with impunity, human rights group Amnesty International said in a report published on Thursday.
Amnesty accused the government of ignoring the army's abuses and failing to tackle the poverty and injustice it said were the root causes of frequent unrest in the delta.

Nigeria is the world's eighth oil exporter and the bulk of its 2.4 million barrels per day output comes from the delta.
"Despite a return to civilian government in 1999, those responsible for human rights violations under military governments have not been brought to justice," Amnesty said.
"The security forces are still allowed to kill people and raze communities with impunity," it added.

It called on the government to set up independent inquiries into abuses in the area, including a raid by security forces in February on the village of Odioma. It said at least 17 villagers were burnt or shot to death in the raid, two women were raped and 80 percent of homes were razed.

The human rights group said foreign oil companies, as partners of the Nigerian state in exploiting the delta's oil resources, bore a share of responsibility for the poor human rights situation in the region and should do more to improve it.
Most of the 20 million people in the delta, a maze of swamps and mangrove creeks, live in poverty with no basic services.

Many resent the oil industry which, as they see it, has wrecked their environment and generated enormous profits from their lands, but yielded few benefits for them.
This sense of injustice breeds frequent protests at oil facilities as well as sabotage, theft of crude, kidnappings of oil workers and conflicts between communities.

VILLAGE RAID
The report highlights the Odioma raid and another incident in February in which soldiers fired on protesters at an oil terminal operated by Chevron , killing one and injuring at least 30 others, according to Amnesty.

The protesters had entered the facility to show their anger at what they saw as unfulfilled promises from Chevron of jobs and development for their community.
Amnesty said these examples demonstrated that the human rights situation in the delta has not improved in the 10 years since environmental and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others were hanged by the government.

The hangings in November 1995, under military dictator Sani Abacha, caused an international outcry and Nigeria became a pariah state. In 1999, a civilian government took power after 15 years of army rule and Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has since regained respectability.

"We haven't seen any extra-judicial executions since...1995 but in terms of other human rights violations the problems are still there," said Ulrika Sandberg, one of the authors of the Amnesty report.
"We're aware of a few initiatives by the government and by companies to address the human rights situation but we've seen very few effects on the ground," she told Reuters.

The Crocodile Tears Of Nigerians

The Crocodile Tears of Nigerians

There was a report that called Nigerians the happiest people in the world. But, that was an erroneous report. Because, the truth is Nigerians are the most hypocritical people in the world who are very good in the Fine Arts of Pretension, Seduction, Self-Gratification and Temptation. And the recent tragedies of the air disaster in Lisa Village in Ogun State of Nigeria and the death of the wife of the President of Nigeria, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo gave Nigerians the classic stage to act their best melodramatic roles in Hypocrisy as they competed in shedding crocodile tears.

In an open Condolence Letter addressed to the President of Nigeria, the conscience of Nigeria, the erudite legal luminary and human rights activist Dr. Gani Fawehinmi has come out with a classification of the different forms of Crocodile Tears in Nigeria as shed by all the fake and real mourners at the funeral services held for the late First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo and the 117 victims of the Catastrophic Bellview Airlines plane crash. These are the different forms of Crocodile Tears Dr. Gani Fawehinmi identified as follows:
§ Genuine Tears
§ Ministerial Tears
§ Contract Tears
§ Rotten-Head Tears
§ 2007 Tears
§ Teasing Tears
§ Oil Block Tears
§ Ghana Must Go (GMG) Tears
§ Immunity Tears
§ Pardon Me Tears
§ Face-Showing Tears or Notice Me Tears
§ Business Tears
§ Brixton Prison Tears among other forms of Crocodile Tears Nigerians know how best to shed for all occasions.

Gani Fawehinmi said, “Even Stella will chuckle in her grave.”
For more on these Nigerian Crocodile Tears and other issues raised by Gani Fawehinmi in his open letter to the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, see The Guardian newspaper of Monday, October 31, 2005.

Open Letter To The Police Performance Monitoring Unit(PPMU)

NIGERIAN POLICE OFFICERS AT WORK IN LAGOS

The Coordinator
The Police Performance Monitoring Unit(PPMU)
8th floor
Federal Secretariat Complex
Shehu Shagari Way,
p.m.b.041, Garki,
Abuja.

Dear Sir,

Subject: The Nigerian Police Deserves The Best

I welcome the establishment of the Police Performance Monitoring Unit (PPMU.)
May I advise you that if the PPMU must succeed, we must first and foremost address the primary issue of the abject neglect of the welfare of the Nigerian Police since the 1970s to date.

The police force in Nigeria has suffered untold hardship and injustice by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The neglect of the Nigerian Police by the government is the cause of the lack of public respect and the loss of public confidence.

The Nigerian police men and women are treated like slaves or prisoners of war as can be seen by the deplorable conditions of the police barracks in Nigeria. I cannot put my worst enemies in those terrible accommodations where I cannot use the toilets and I cannot breathe well. and I avoid going into them or even passing through them. Because I cannot bear the horrible state of the living quarters of the police barracks.

A Nigerian police cell is like a hole in hell.

The Nigerian police office is like an abandoned building.
The Nigerian police men and women are the least paid police officers in the world.
They don’t have enough supplies of uniform and boots. I have seen them wearing canvas shoes and slippers to work in torn and worn black clothes looking like mourners.

Seeing is believing. Go and visit them and ask to use their toilets. You will vomit and faint if you don’t run out of the barracks, lest you risk contracting contagious diseases and other infections.

Sir,
To make your fellow humanbeings to live in such horrible and terrible conditions as the police men and women are doing at present is evil, wicked and an injustice of the worst kind. a criminal act of man’s inhumanity to man.
It is wicked to accuse them of taking bribes when you have not provided for their basic human rights as clearly addressed in the United Nations charter on human rights.

The police officers at the check-points don’t collect bribe.
They only ask the road users to give them money which they often spend on providing for the hungry families and buying medicine to cure or prevent the diseases they contracted from the dirty and filthy environment you have condemned to in the police barracks.

If Nigeria does not have the money to provide for the Nigerian police men and women, I would not have bothered at all. But, Nigeria has all the money to provide for them and the ruling government is not doing so. And that is injustice.
God will judge and punish you all corrupt and wicked oppressors of the poor and needy in Nigeria.

The judgment day is coming!!!

Sir,
Please, address these issues I have stated above, because the Nigerian police deserve the best as you all are enjoying in your cosy luxury houses in Asokoro, Maitama and the exclusive residential areas in Nigeria, because we must treat others as we treat ourselves and not treating them like dogs.

Do you know that the Alsatian dogs of the rich and mighty in Nigeria are better treated than our police men and women. And what they spend in feeding their “Oyinbo” dogs in one week is 100% more than the minimum wage of the police constable in Nigeria.

I am shedding tears in my heart and soul as I am writing this letter.

We cannot continue tolerating these wicked acts of man’s inhumanity to man in Nigeria.

The revolution is coming.
The judgment day is coming.

May the almighty God help you to do your duty in justice, peace and equity.


Respectfully yours,
Orikinla Osinachi.