In Pictures: Ben Ali's material legacy - In Pictures - Al Jazeera English

In Pictures: Ben Ali's material legacy - In Pictures - Al Jazeera English

Yakowa’s body arrives in Kaduna amid tears

The remains of the Late Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and that of his aide and friend, Dauda Tsoho, arrived in Kaduna airport aboard a Nigerian Air Force cargo plane at 2.45pm on Tuesday.

The bodies were received by hundreds of  wailing sympathisers who thronged the airport.

Bodies of the late governor as well as those of other four, out of the six victims of Saturday’s naval helicopter crash in Okorobo, Bayelsa State, had been airlifted from Yenagoa aboard a Nigerian Air Force Super Puma Helicopter marked NAF 567 at 11.45am.

The other bodies that left Yenagoa alongside that of Yakowa and Tsoho were those of an ex-National Security Adviser Gen. Owoye Azazi’s bodyguard, Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal; and the two naval pilots, Commander Murtala Mohammed Daba, and Lt. Adeyemi Sowole.

 It was learnt that the NAF aircraft stopped at the Port Harcourt airport in Rivers State where the bodies were flown to different destinations in different aircrafts.

Yakowa and the four, as well as Azazi, were victims of the crashed Augusta 109 Naval Helicopter in Okoroba, Bayelsa State, on Saturday.

They met their death while returning from the burial of the father of President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, Oronto Douglas. Douglas is Jonathan’s Adviser on Research, Documentation and Strategy.

The remains of Azazi, an indigene of Bayelsa, were however left in the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, for burial on a date yet to be announced by the government.

While the bodies of Yakowa and Tsoho were airlifted from Port Harcourt to Kaduna, those of Daba  and Sowole were taken to their respective home states in Kano and Lagos.

Two black caskets with silver handles bore Yakowa’s and Tsoho’s remains while three brown caskets with golden handles contained the bodies of three others.

The caskets which were covered with the Nigerian flags were accompanied by Bayelsa State Governor  Seriake Dickson; his wife, Rachel; Deputy Governor John Douglas; a former governor of the state, Diepreye Alameiseigha; commissioners and other members of the state executive council.

At the special valedictory session in honour of Yakowa at the Executive Chambers of the Government House before the late governor’s remains departed the state, were also the Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Johnson Olutoyin; commanders of the Air Force Mobility Command, the Joint Task Force, and the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kingsley Omire, among others.

Dickson poured encomiums on the late Yakowa, describing him as a bridge builder and humble governor.

Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, including the aides of the late Yakowa, attended the ceremony.

Dickson, who said Yakowa died in active service, added that his death should encourage people to live in peace and harmony.

In Kaduna, children, women as well as men wailed as the delegation from Bayelsa State, led by Alamieseigha, formally handed over the corpses of Yakowa and his aide to top Kaduna State government functionaries.

At the Kaduna airport to receive the corpses were the new Governor of the state, Mukhtar Yero; Yakowa’s widow, Amina; Senator Danjuma Goje; Senator Bola Saraki; and top state functionaries.

The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese, Archbishop Matthew Man Oso Ndagoso; and the Catholic Bishop of Zaria, Rev George Jonathan Dodo, took turns to pray for the remains of the late governor and his aide before the caskets were transferred into an Hilux ambulance.

From the airport, the two golden caskets were driven in a motorcade through the Nnamdi Azikiwe Western Bypass to the Saint Gerard Catholic Hospital where the corpses were deposited in the mortuary.

The Senate President, David Mark, in company with his wife, Helen, was at the St. Gerard Hospital. He later proceeded to the Government House to pay condolence to Yakowa’s family.

The late governor is expected to be buried on Thursday in his home town, Fadan Kagoma in Jema’a Local Government Area of the state.

Meanwhile, one of the soldiers that moved the bodies of  Yakowa and the others from the morgue into the helicopter slumped shortly after the assignment, thus causing panic and anxiety among those at the venue.

 The state medical team however revived the soldier, whose name could not be ascertained, several minutes after.

The collapsed soldier was among the two groups of soldiers who took turns to lift the caskets bearing the bodies of the victims into the Air Force helicopter.

Each group, under the command of a parade commander, was made up of six soldiers.

The collapsed soldier who apparently was exhausted after the assignment slumped and was immediately rushed into an ambulance belonging to the Nigerian Air Force Mobility Command at 10.40am.

The ambulance consequently rushed the soldier to the Government House Medical Centre, where a medical team  battled to revive him.

 Culled from the Punch Newspaper

President Jonathan’s Effort to Purchase Another Hawker 4000 Jet Tied Up In New York Bankruptcy Court

In addition to the two new luxury helicopters ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan from the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland at a cost of $40 million, as SaharaReporters reported earlier today, we have learned that the government made a deposit of another $9 million for a Hawker 4000 jet.

In 2012 budget an additional $12 million was budgeted to complete the purchase of the jet.

But that money is now tied up in court, as our investigation has revealed that the manufacturer, Hawker Beechraft, entered into bankruptcy proceedings in the US District Court of Southern New York last May.

Curiously, the purchase notice was initiated by one Group Captain Ma Yakubu, who gave away the $9 million using the address of “Nigerian Presidential Wing, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Presidential Air Fleet Abuja, Nigeria.”  His phone number and email addresses were listed as follows:  +234 8052088048 and Maminuyana@Yahoo.Com.

Our sources say this is highly unusual, as the purchase order would normally have emanated not from an airport, but from within the presidency, the Ministry of Aviation or the Nigerian Air Force.

Yesterday’s crash of a Nigeria navy executive Agusta 109E helicopter, which killed Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, former NSA Andrew Owoye Azazi and four others, while doing private errands for presidential aide Oronto Douglas, demonstrates how public property is routinely converted to private benefit especially in a corrupt administration.  

The presidency currently has at its disposal about 11 jets, many of them running errands on a daily basis for privileged officials and their relatives.  When those are not enough, they call for similar equipment that belong to the armed forces, the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, and similar offices.

“Yesterday, the naval helicopter was abused throughout the day, like a free taxi cab, until it simply fell out of the sky,” an analyst told SaharaReporters.

The two helicopters on order by Mr. Jonathan will cost Nigeria $40 million, but it is unclear how many similar equipment may be on order around the world, or have already been bought or delivered, because government officials often account to nobody.  The tracking of most contracts is non-existent after they have been awarded.

SaharaReporters has written to Group Captain Yakubu in an effort to obtain further information about the aborted purchase of the Hawker 4000 jet.

The US District court has approved Hawker Beechcraft’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a slimmer corporation, also last week the court authorized the company to sell off its entire inventory of Hawker 4000 jets at $20 million each.

Culled from Sahara Repoters

GEN. AZAZI'S FINAL MOMENT BY ROSS ALABO-GEORGE

It was just a few minutes to 13.00hours and the service of songs was in session when our chartered Caverton helicopter landed in ancient breezy coastal community of Okoroba, hometown of Mr. Oronto Douglas, a senior aide to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. I had flown with my Uncle, Engr. Mayne David-West, Principal Consultant of Pearl Consultants, and George Kerley, Coordinator of The Jonathan Project and an unrepentant crusader of the president.

We proceeded directly to the venue of the Service of Songs. It was a ten minutes walk from the school field where the helicopter had landed, and it offered an opportunity to see the sprawling ancient community and the new developments taking place. The people were very happy. They were seeing new faces – ministers; governors; commissioners; corporate executives and citizens they only read about and saw in the news walk on the new rigid pavements of their community. I think above all, they wowed at the Nollywood stars who dazzled the natives to disbelief.Ramsey Noah, Rita Dominic, Segun Arinze et al, then the big masquerade – Kanu Nwankwo was right there. I said to myself, the children of Okoroba Town would be inspired by the time the body of Pa Douglas is finally laid to rest.

In this flourish and fanfare, he sat quiet, listening to the incisive message delivered by the Reverend Ayo Oritsejafor. He seemed consumed by the pastor’s deep rhetoric about how ephemeral life was, and how wealth and money were necessary vanity but how a life well spent is eternal in value. Still, I interrupted his intense engrossment. He was excited to see me. We exchanged pleasantries and he asked that I stay around for a chat after the pastor’s message. I did.

The General is a towering man. Dressed in a grey striped French suite and black shoes, I watched him walk in his usual calculated steps as he left the tent to the other tent where the reception for visitors was to be held. He looked fresh, like he had rested well after his surprising removal as National Security Adviser. His warmth was charming and his humility ever evident. He was led to a roundtable on the first row and he took his seat by his friend Engr. Mayne David-West whom he hadn’t seen in months. They chatted warmly while they poured themselves a little champagne. He was served soup and he ate light. In about forty-five minutes he was done. Just about then, he receives a signal that the ill-fated helicopter was on its way.

He walked around to the other tables, shook hands and made his way out. He was headed for the helicopter, but he was obviously not in a hurry. He strolled with Governor Patrick Yakowa, a governor whose humility endeared me to him. Governor Yakowa spoke softly, greeted warmly and smiled like he knew it was a final moment to be enjoyed. We walked ahead of the Governor and the General, and in a few minutes we were all at the Okoroba Primary School field.

There were a few chartered helicopters arriving and taking off. The choppy drone of rotor blades slicing through the air ruffled us a bit. The primary school was sufficiently solicitous of intervention. The classroom had neither doors nor windows, in fact it looked abandoned. While we stood inside I asked why a primary school in Mr. Douglas’s home would be this wrecked. I called a young man, and in intense curiosity I began to question him. My findings were that a new primary school was being developed and new community library built and well equipped. I was satisfied, I would have been disappointed.

General Azazi watched these happen. Now it was time to take him on. I had not seen him since his removal as NSA. He was a deep man, and I was eager to hear him say something. I knew him to be blunt in a very smart way. He would not say a thing if he had not thought it through intensely. I probed into his period as NSA and asked what his take was on the Jonathan presidency. He had lost no love for the President. He said ...”Ross, the president is very intelligent and smarter than most people know”. He talked about the Boko Haram issue with plenty caution, but was optimistic that the president would check them.

Now, we were joined by the IYC president, Mr. Miabiye Kuromiema, and I surprised the General when I fired: “Sir, it is about time the president threw Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke under the bus”. I maintained that the Jonathan presidency was haemorrhaging severely because of her continued stay as minister. I expected him to say something, his face expressionless, he remained quiet. George Kerley, a known defender of the honourable minister, quipped with a straight face: “Ross, you are right. It is time the president is told the truth... He is taking too much bullets for some of these ministers”. The General shook his head, not in approval or disapproval; he was just enjoying the chat. He brought up a few issues and we all talked with surplus warmth. We hadn’t pressed him enough when the Navy helicopter appeared within sight in the sky.

He offered us the two spare seats in the helicopter, but we declined as our chopper was at that moment already landing. He pulled George Kerley aside for a two-aside. They talked for about two minutes, and he joined Governor Yakowa again, as they strolled on the rigid pavement into the boisterous windy path of the chopper. The pilots dismounted the chopper to greet their VIP passengers; they looked smart in their military uniform. It was the governor’s and the general’s final handshake.

Mr. Darego Williams, a seasoned pilot turned business man was joining our chopper back to Port Harcourt. He cringed at the manner the chopper had taken off and didn’t stop starring at the effects of the rotor blades. I noticed he was a little uncomfortable, but then he had been off the cockpit for over two decades, so he contained thoughts.

Less than ten minutes later, we were ready to go. The captain welcomes us on board and soon after we were in the air. We had just done about 10 nautical miles when the pilot suddenly did a 180 degree turn. Mr. Darego Williams was curious and called on the captain. The captain apologized to all on board and announced to us that a helicopter had just ‘gone down’. He actually meant ‘crashed’. We were the first search party.

Less than a minute ahead, smoke plumed from the thick swampy forest. It was a clear sign of danger. We did about four low fly passes to capture the coordinates of incident site. Our helicopter had ingested the smoke and smell of burning metals, wires and flesh. We could see the helicopter and the appendage bearing the ‘NAVY’ inscription had severed from the main body. The moment was intense, we doubted the very facts we knew. We all believed some miracle could have happened; the worst case was not an option. It just could not be true.

Abu Dhabi Floods The World With Free GIS Data

The Envrionment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) yesterday launched its Enviro-Portal. It was made known by the EAD during the ESRI Middle East and Africa User Conference (MEAUC) on GIS Technology solutions at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition (ADNEC).

This portal offers access to the most up to date environmental data and information on the geolocation of flora, fauna, marine habitats and protected zones within Abu Dhabi.

Based on cutting edge GIS technology, EAD make downloadable spatial environmental data and information that have been collected since the early 1990s.  The data and information available, in various raster and feature formats, are useful to professionals, researchers and students in both the Arabic language and the English language.

The portal is user friendly, you will be able to download different sets of environmental layers for your areas of interest.

Follow this link to access the portal: http://enviroportal.ead.ae

GOV. SULLIVAN CHIME: DEAD OR ALIVE?

There is rumour making round that the Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime might have died in India.
The governor has been  hospitalized since September.
If this happens to be true, it means that Nigeria lost  two governors in one day.
What a tragedy!!!

GOVERNOR PATRICK YAKOWA AND FORMER NSA AZAZI DIED IN A PLANE CRASH

It was a black Saturday in Nembe Bayelsa State as the Governor of Kaduna State Patrick Yakowa and former National Security Adviser Gen Azazi crashed  in a naval helicopter.
The crash occured around 04:30pm when the duo were returning from the burial of the father of Douglas Oronto, special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on research and documentation.
It was reported that the remains of the governor and others were burnt beyond recognition as the helicopter burst into flames.
The state has being thrown into confusion and mourning as news of the governor's death spread.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the state to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

JONATHAN'S MANY WARS

There are serious indications that there is growing face off between President Jonathan and his Vice Sambo. This became clear on Saturday as the president was in Otuoke to bury his younger brother Meni, while Sambo was in Kaduna to give his two daughters out in marriage. 

Things fell apart between the two when Sambo was reliably informed that Jonathan was warming up for a second tenure. This is against the northern oligarchy's  calculation, where they are positioning  Sambo to take over from Jonathan come 2015. 

We found out that despite the fact that president Jonathan knew that Sambo has set the date aside for the wedding of his two daughters months before Meni's death decided to bury his brother the same day. Meanwhile, Patience was designated as the mother of the day for the wedding but Jonathan in his wisdom decided to mourn the day Sambo is rejoicing. 

Northern political bigwigs went with Sambo while Southern political bigwigs and including the Senate president went with Jonathan.

The battle ground is set, months running up 2015 promise to be an interesting one in the annals of Nigeria Political history.

We are about to see what played out between OBJ and Atiku again.

I pray Nigeria will survive this time as the fight will between the two extremes that have put this nation on her toes in the last 10 years.

MEND vs BOKO HARAM!!!

SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD PRAY FOR MANDELA

As anxiety heightens over the health of Mandela, who is presently hospitalized  South Africans and indeed the whole world prays for his recovery.
News came yesterday that the apartheid icon lost his speech yesterday and is in critical situation.
Major newspapers in South Africa has pray for Mandiba as their headlines.
We in Nigeria also pray for Mandela. We Love you Mandiba!!!

10 HIDDEN BENEFITS OF SMILING

1. Get others to trust you

In a world where everyone is out for themselves, who should we trust? One signal that suggests we are trustworthy is a smile. Genuine smiles send a message that other people can trust and cooperate with us. People who smile are rated higher in both generosity and extraversion and when people share with each other they tend to display genuine smiles (Mehu et al., 2007).

Economists even consider that smiles have a value. In one study by Scharlemann et al. (2001) participants were more likely to trust another person if they were smiling. This study found that a smile increased people's willingness to trust by about 10%.

2. Smile for leniency

When people do bad things they often smile when they are caught. Is this to their benefit?

According to a study conducted by LaFrance and Hecht (1995), it can be. We treat people who've broken the rules with more leniency if they smile afterwards. It doesn't matter whether it's a false smile, a miserable smile or a real felt smile, they all work to make us want to give the transgressor a break.

This seems to work because we find people who smile after breaking the rules more trustworthy than those who don't.

3. Recover from social slip-ups

Did you forget to buy your partner an anniversary present? Has an important client's name slipped your mind? Have you accidentally kicked a small child? If you've tripped on a social banana, embarrassment is your go-to emotion.

The function of embarrassment is to get us out of tight social spots (Keltner & Buswell, 1997). The embarrassed smiles we display involve looking down and sometimes we emit a silly little laugh. This is designed to elicit fellow-feeling from other people so they think less of the slip and forgive us more quickly.

So the embarrassed smile helps us get out of jail free(ish). Once again, the power of a smile.

4. Because otherwise I'll feel bad

Sometimes we smile both because it's polite and so that we can avoid feeling bad afterwards. Like when someone enthuses about how they saved a small amount of money with a coupon they found down the back of the sofa. It hardly seems to warrant a smile but you muster one anyway because it's polite.

In one study people were asked to remain stony-faced after hearing someone else's good news (LaFrance, 1997). They felt bad afterwards and thought the other person would think worse of them as a result.

So we nod and smile politely because otherwise we'll regret it afterwards. Women, though, seem to feel this pressure to smile at the happy news of others more than men.

5. Laugh off the hurt

Smiling is one way to reduce the distress caused by an upsetting situation. Psychologists call this the facial feedback hypothesis. Even forcing a smile when we don't feel like it is enough to lift our mood slightly (this is one example ofembodied cognition).

A word of warning: smiling at upsetting things may work but it doesn't look good to others. When Ansfield (2007) had participants viewing distressing videos, those who smiled felt better afterwards than those who didn't. But people who smiled at distressing images were judged less likeable by others.

6. Grin for insight

When we're nervous our attention tends to narrow. We stop noticing what's going on around the edges and only see what's right in front of us. This is true in both a literal and a metaphorical sense: when nervous or stressed we're less likely to notice ideas that are at the edge of our consciousness. But to gain insight into a problem, it's often precisely these peripheral ideas we need.

Cue a smile.

Smiling makes us feel good which also increases our attentional flexibility and our ability to think holistically. When this idea was tested by Johnson et al. (2010), the results showed that participants who smiled performed better on attentional tasks which required seeing the whole forest rather than just the trees.

So a smile really can help give us a burst of insight.

7. Smile for sex

A woman's smile has a magical effect on men, over and above eye contact. One study examined how men approached women in a bar (Walsh & Hewitt, 1985). When a woman only established eye contact with a man, she was approached 20% of the time. When the same woman added a smile, though, she was approached 60% of the time.

When men smile at women, though, the effect is less magical. While smiling increases women's attractiveness to men, it doesn't work so well the other way around. Indeed there's some evidence men look more attractive to women when displaying pride or even shame, than when they look happy (Tracy & Beall, 2011). Less smiling makes a man look more masculine.

8. Hide what you really think

Psychologists used to think that a genuine smile never lies. Fake smiles involve only the mouth, while real smiles—called Duchenne smiles by psychologists—reach up to the eyes. Recent research, though, suggests that 80% of people can fake the crinkly eyes central to a Duchenne smile (see Duchenne: Key to a Genuine Smile?).

So smiles can be used to hide what we really think, but it's still not easy to fake a real smile because they have to be timed correctly. A key to a trustworthy smile is that it has a slow onset, i.e. it takes about half a second to spread across the face. One piece of research has found that in comparison to a fast onset smile (about a tenth of a second to spread), slow onset smiles are judged more trustworthy, authentic and even more flirtatious (see: A Slow Smile Attracts).

9. Smile to make money

We've already seen that economists have calculated the value of a smile, but can a smile make us real cash-money? Apparently the broad smile of a waitress can: Tidd and Lockard (1978) found smiling waitresses made more in tips (there's no study on waiters).

More generally people in service industries, like flight attendants or those in entertainment and hospitality are effectively paid to smile at customers. But, watch out, a constant mismatch between felt and displayed emotion—called emotional labour by psychologists—can be exhausting, possibly leading to job burnout.

A smile may make money, but it can also be draining.

10. Smile and (half) the world smiles with you

One of the simple social pleasures of life, which goes almost unnoticed because it's automatic, is when you smile at someone and they smile back.

As you'll have noticed, though, not everyone does smile back. Hinsz and Tomhave (1991) wanted to see what proportion of people would respond to a smile aimed at them with their own smile. Their results suggest around 50% of people reciprocate. In comparison almost no one responds to a frown with their own frown.

Smile for longevity

If none of these studies can coax a smile out of you then consider this: people who smile more may live longer. A study of pictures taken of baseball players in 1952 suggests those smiling outlived their non-smiling counterparts by seven years (Abel & Kruger, 2010).

Now there's a reason to smile.

----

There are also all sorts of cultural and gender differences in why and how we smile. Women generally smile more than men, although this still depends on the situation. Across cultures, Russians smile the least and Americans the most. American smiles, though, tend to be more 'fake', i.e. involving mainly the mouth rather than both the mouth and the eyes.

CULLED FROM PSYBLOG.

MY KOBO ADVICE TO PRESIDENT JONATHAN - DELE MOMODU

Your Excellency, please permit me to commiserate with you on the unfortunate and untimely death of your dearly beloved brother. I sincerely join other Nigerians in mourning what must have been a sad loss for you and your family in particular. As you travel back home to your tranquil village to pay your last respects, I pray you ponder on the free advice I’m about to offer you in good faith. Even if you’ve already returned to the gilded cage of Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, I wish to plead that you find the time to read this open letter which I would have communicated directly if I had the privilege of a private meeting with you.

Perhaps, I should quickly introduce myself as a journalist and politician. Though I have seen you a few times at functions, we have never properly met. The only time we ever shook hands was when I joined others to mourn the death of, and celebrate, your father in Otueke village of Bayelsa State when you were still Vice President. I also saw you briefly in South Africa in 2009 but did not approach your table because your bodyguards didn’t look like they would appreciate any lesser mortal disturbing your peace.

I was amazed because I had just left the official residence of President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria and did not see more than a few guards in the house. I had spent quality time with him without any other soul than my South African friend I went with. I had gone there in a rented taxi but no one had asked us to go through metal/bomb detectors; or to drop our phones with members of the secret service. I did not see any ADC, CSO, CSD or any other security aide with similar nomenclature only known to, and made in, Nigeria. I think we just love big titles.

Anyway, I saw you again when you invited Presidential candidates, of which I was one, to Aso Rock, last year to brief us on the need for peace during the elections. I doubt if you saw me, though the invitation came from your office. Most of the candidates snubbed you but I chose to attend out of respect for your person and office. I remember seeing Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who sat close to me, and Mr John Dara and so many politicians who I believed came because it was Aso Rock but really had no roles to play. Unfortunately, that meeting was nothing but a waste of time. You came and without even shaking hands with your co-contestants delivered your homily, answered a few questions and disappeared. There were no banters or interactions with us to cement a bond of friendship even if we wanted to take over your office.

I was surprised that you or your aides could not persuade most of the candidates to attend. Yet you went ahead to host an event that was obviously doomed before it began. I can only imagine how much was charged Nigeria for such hogwash. Ghana held a similar peace conference about two weeks ago and it was a star studded event. Part of great leadership quality is the ability to attract certified enemies and convince them to rise above prejudices and pettiness. I believe you have not reached out enough. Your aides have also not helped matters by their paranoia and neurotic approach to issues. They see enemies where none exist and fire all guns blazing at shadows. That is not how to build a nation.

One more example should suffice. You went on an official visit to Ghana. I was invited by the then Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, to attend the brief reception held for you at our High Commission in Accra. Again, it was impossible for most of us to have a simple handshake with you as your security aides practically treated us like common criminals unworthy of communion with the Almighty. I finally gave up.

Sir, let me say emphatically that the biggest problem with Nigerian leaders is that once they attain power, they vacate this earth and migrate to another planet far away from fellow citizens. Leaders are elected to serve the people but in Nigeria we are compelled to serve our leaders and if possible starve to death in the process. We are not allowed to ask questions about how we are led or in reality, misled. This is the reason it is difficult for most of you to know what goes on in the real world. I suggest you borrow a leaf from Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola whose style fascinates me to no end. He drives through Lagos with no disruption to the lives of the people.

He responds promptly to reasonable text messages and emails. I know you’re very busy, but take time to see how President Obama jogs down or sprints up the Air Force One. It demonstrates a man on a mission. Feel free to drive on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and see things for yourself. Go into a pub and mix with the boys like President Clinton once did in Ireland. Refrain from blocking the house of God because you are attending a church service. Sir, no evil shall befall you. You are too distant from the people you lead. Show them love and you shall reap bountiful adoration. No massive security is necessary, once you make God first and suffer not his people. Conversely total security is no security where there is no Godliness. The love and prayers of Nigerians will keep you going.

I have decided to adopt a new approach in my column. I will take it upon myself to write this open letter as regularly as necessary and proffer solutions to different issues, in the hope that you will get to read it. I will tell you what your aides will never tell you. It is up to you to carefully read what I write and take your own decision. Let it be said that we told you but did nothing about it. I would have freed myself from the burden of “siddon-look.” I’m reasonably convinced that if you know the magnitude of problems confronting Nigerians you will work harder and change your style of governance unless you’re determined to fail spectacularly like others before you. I pray this will not be your portion.

Let me state categorically that I write this letter without any malice. More importantly I expect no personal gratification other than to see change in the lives of our people. I needed to make that clear since it is now in our culture to read motives to every good intention.

I have no other reason than out of patriotic fervour. I have not been to Abuja since last year because I’m dutifully engaged at home and abroad, and really have no reason to run up and down the corridors of power like the proverbial yo-yo. Every man must determine his needs in life. I know mine and I am happy and content to manage whatever God in his infinite kindness has given to me. We all have friends and families who have nowhere to go. If Nigeria becomes the country of our dream and there is a level playground for all of us, most citizens would thrive without living like pathological beggars. You’re in a position to leave Nigeria better than you met it. Look at most of the politicians and businessmen around you today. They were the same faces you saw with your predecessors. You are their new god today because of your position. Tomorrow, when you have departed, as you surely must do, they will move on again to the next person, without any qualms.

I have studied men and women of power at home and abroad and have sympathy for their tragic flaws . My discovery is that most leaders often fail to remember that whatever has a beginning must have an end. Time also flies. And it waits for nobody. Who could have imagined PDP in power since 1999 with nothing tangible to show for all the trillions of naira spent by various administrations? Who would believe that President Olusegun Obasanjo’s two terms came and disappeared within a twinkle of an eye? Or that even you have spent two years already as President and Commander-in-Chief? The question that will later haunt you, as it is haunting others before you, for the rest of time is: what did you do with all your time in office and all the resources under your control? I will say without any fear of contradiction that the money at your disposal right now is enough to transform Nigeria into a true giant if frugally managed. I will now go on to demonstrate what I mean.

Sir, for every one billion naira we waste on frivolous projects, the dream of a fresh thousand millionaires would have perished. If you hand me the N2.2 billion naira you are about to spend on building a new banquet suite in Aso Rock, I will instantly create 2,200 brand-new millionaire farmers from our large army of brilliant but unemployed youths. Each of them would be able to employ 10 to 20 people in production, preservation, processing and distribution. If you think I’m joking, please hand me the money and I will urgently invite applications from potential beneficiaries. I and my team pledge not to earn a kobo from the project.

If I may ask, what is wrong with the banquet suite you presently have? Is it not better to spend money on providing jobs than trying to show off to visitors that we are prosperous in the midst of wanton poverty? I’m writing this letter from Cambridge University, one of the oldest surviving institutions of learning. The buildings of most Colleges here are as ancient as history, yet there is no plan to demolish them and build new ones. The problem with us is lack of a maintenance culture. You can rehabilitate the old banquet suite with less than N100 million and turn it into an architectural masterpiece. I’m sure you won’t spend your personal money the way ours is being poured away like rain water. Do you know how old Buckingham Palace is? If it was in Nigeria, we would have demolished it many times over in order to award some horrendous contracts.

I gather you want to build a new home for the Vice President at over N6 billion. This is sinful in a nation with over 12 generations of unemployed, and unemployable, graduates. What is wrong with the current Vice President’s home, Akinola Aguda House and wherever Alhaji Atiku Abubakar once lived? It smacks of gross insensitivity to waste resources in this manner. Please, give us that N6 billion and I will give you 6,000 productive millionaire entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Imagine each of them employing 10 people within the first year or two, we would have taken more than 60,000 youths off the streets. We’ve done it several times through Goke Dokun’s creative Entrepreneur Series on television and can do it even bigger in real life. As President, I would rather do this than build a home for a family of less than 50 people.

Mr President, Nigerians are not difficult to lead. In fact, we get carried away by little mercies. I know you have your sight on contesting elections in 2015. Let me assure you that you won’t have to campaign much, or spend billions to get re-elected if you listen to me. All you have to do is demonstrate to Nigerians that you can resist those carpetbaggers who see power only in terms of enjoyment. The world is building monuments and creating new inventions everywhere but we are busy wasting ours on flights of fancy like super jets, palaces, women and champagnes. We can do a lot better because God has endowed us with all we need to be among the greatest of the world. All it takes a little bit of vision and discipline.

Sir, there is nothing you want in life that God has not given you on a platter of gold. It is time for you to reciprocate by humbling yourself like all Saints. I will tell you about them and great names in history when I write my next epistle to you. If you hearken to the voice of reason, you will etch your name in gold.

Truly, like Jesus Christ (apologies to Christians), you will ride triumphantly into your own Jerusalem

DELE MOMODU

ENEBELI ELEBEUWA BOWS OUT OF THIS PLANET

The nollywood big boy Enebeli Elebuwa has finally followed the like of  Sam Loco Efe into the journey of the great beyond.
The 66 year old magical nollywood star has been battling with stroke for the past 2 years and died in the Asian Institute of Medical sciences, New Delhi .
His first film was the ''Dinner with Devil produced by Sanya Dosunmu in 1974.
He joined the movie industry finally in 1994.
He was a former producer/Director with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). Left to mourn him are his wife and four children.
May his gentle soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty.

TUFACE SPEAKS ON WHY HE MARRIED ANNIE

Finally Tuface broke the silence on why he decided to settle with Annie above other women that have kids for him. Speaking with Punch's LIFE & BEAT, Tuface said that as a christian he should marry one wife and that should be Annie because she was with him from the begining and weathered all the storms.
He also spoke on why he decided to make their marriage a quiet one. He said that he has respect for his other women and would not want to hurt them with an elaborate social wedding with Annie.
We wish Tubaba a peaceful marital life and plead with him to be in control of trousers.

N2.1 BILLION DISAPPEARED FROM NSPMC

Investigation has commenced on how N2.1 billion developed winds and flew away from the vaults of Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC).
The money was among the freshly printed N1,000 bills. No person has been caught or fingered in the case.
The CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi was visibly confused as to what happened to the money

ASSAD PLANS TO USE CHEMICAL WEAPON IN SYRIA

There is indication that the threatened Assad regime in Syria is planing to use chemical weapon on his people.
USA said that the chemical weapons has been loaded into bombs waiting for deployment order.
The chemical weapon, sarin was last used by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein where 5000 kurds were killed in one attack.
However, American president Barrack Obama has called on the world body to take strong military action against the regime if it eventually deploys the deadly weapon.
Meanwhile, Isreal is asking for permission to attack the Syrian chemical weapon.

EKO ATLANTIC CITY

This is the artistic impression of Eko Atlantic City. This is new city inside the atlantic ocean being promoted by Lagos State and South Energyx Nig Ltd. Per square meter of land will go for N.3m  Can this survive the effects of rising global warming?

OJUKWU TRANSPORT COMPANY REJECTS BIANCA AS DIRECTOR

The war is not yet over with the family of the late Biafran warlord Ikemba Odumaegwu Ojukwu as one of the directors of the company , Ifeukwu Ojukwu  has rejected the idea of Bianca as one of the directors of the company. The late warlord has directed in his will that he be replaced by his widow as a director in the Ojukwu Transport Ltd, a company formed by his father, Sir Louis Philip Odumegwu Ojukwu. However, Ifeukwu has maintained that the property is different from what Ikemba owed and transfer of directorship is not possible.
Already, Emeka Ojukwu Jnr has claimed that the will was tampered with.

NIGERIA TRAIN SYSTEM

This is what Lagosians are greeted with day-in day- out. The sights are usually scary and one can only imagine the number of accidents per week from this appalling condition.
The train connects Lagos to Ota and other parts of the South West. It operates on one track, which means there will not be other train on the track once one is rolling. It is old, dilapidated, uncomfortable and can only be likened to the famous MOLUE of the old. Those standing and sitting on the roof greatly surpass those that sit.
Since the attainment of nationhood by Nigeria, there has not been any serious development on the rail system. The government is trying to come up with a national total train coverage but the effort is still in the drawing board.
Can Nigeria be the 20th economy with this type of transport system?

OBAMA INVITES ROMNEY TO WHITE HOUSE FOR LUNCH

So much to learn from American politics and politicians. Politicians round the world and in particular Nigerians should put the nation before any personal desires.
This is a mature politics.

TOKYO TUNNEL COLLAPSED KILLING SEVEN.

At least 7 people were feared missing after parts of a tunnel collapsed today on a highway west of Tokyo, trapping vehicles as smokes from fire inside initially prevented rescuers from approaching. The tunnel is about 4. 3 km of which 300ft (100m)collapsed.