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CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED.

Art work painted by Micheal D'Autuono of New York. Shows Obama with crown of thorns, mimicking the way Jesus Christ was cricified.
I am still trying to decipher the meaning behind it.

NASA - Cloud Vortices Off Saint Helena Island

NASA - Cloud Vortices Off Saint Helena Island

Time to discuss the Nigerian project

I had no doubt before now that 2012 will be a difficult year for Nigerians and the government they elected in April. It will be difficult politically for the government, economically for the people and socially for both. All the tell-tale signs were there long before now. With the mounting human tragedy in the North due to the unrelenting bombing campaign of the extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram, and a looming religious strife, it is a year Nigerians should face with trepidation.

What I didn’t know was that President Goodluck Jonathan would personally stoke the embers of the already smouldering energy crisis and exacerbate the tension in the country so early in the day by authorizing the removal of fuel subsidy on New Year Day. Coming after the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, announced, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on December 21, that the Federal Government was yet to fix a date for the commencement of the policy, that amounts to an ambush.

When the fact that Maku’s “clarification,” a rebuttal of an earlier statement made by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Austen Oniwon, that the policy would begin automatically with the implementation of the 2011 budget, is thrown into the mix, it becomes obvious that the government was, while claiming to be consulting with stakeholders, ensnaring the people.

It acted in bad faith, more so, when the 2012 budget estimates are yet to be passed into law and the National Assembly had already authorized the executive to implement the 2011 budget till March 31. The President, himself, while presenting the Appropriation Bill created the impression that implementation of the policy would start in April. The government has not started implementing the 2012 Budget. In fact, the Bill is yet to be passed into law. So, President Jonathan decided not to even wait for the budget. He has decided to operate outside his own 2012 fiscal framework.

Removing the so-called subsidy on New Year Day, a Sunday, when Nigerians were still in celebratory mood was an unkind cut; an act of bad faith that can only widen the gulf of mistrust between the government and the people.

On Monday, a journalist-turned-banker friend of mine who travelled to the East for the Yuletide sent this text. “There was anguish in Owerri this morning – Monday, January 2, 2012 – as most Christmas returnees woke up to discover they can no longer afford the transport fare back to their bases. Could you imagine that fuel is already selling for N200 in some areas in the East? I have filled my tank with N20,000 worth of petrol and I will do this twice before I reach Lagos.

Christmas returnees are already stranded in their villages as transport fare has gone hare wire.” This is surely the definition of hardship, which the President, ironically, promised on New Year Day not to inflict on Nigerians.

It is incongruous that a government that needs all the goodwill it can muster from the people is the one deliberately pushing Nigeria onto a slippery slope. I wonder what gives Jonathan the confidence that he can weather the harsh storm his action will indubitably induce.
But that is an issue for another day.

For now, I am more concerned about the precipitate descent of Nigeria into a state of anarchy and the hardening positions. Following the Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, I warned that the country may inexorably be drifting towards sectarian conflict.

The reactions I got, rather than assuage my anxiety, heightened my fears. Of the numerous text messages I received, I was particularly alarmed by what one D.A. Muh’d Kano (08079962089), who sent a text message from Abuja said. “You were silent, perhaps happy when ARNAS attacked and killed helpless Muslims at Jos Eid-Praying ground. Now, the turn of the so-called Chosen ones has come, and as expected, you are now making noise through your shameless newspapers.”

Boko Haram spokesman, Abul-Qaqa, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri on telephone shortly after the attack, also claimed it was an act of reprisal to avenge the killing of some Muslims in Jos, Plateau State, during the Eid-el-Fitri festival.

Abul-Qaqa said the attacks were meant to prove that no amount of surveillance by security agents would deter his members from doing whatever they planned to do. “By the grace of God, we are responsible for all the attacks on Sunday. What we did was a reminder to all those that forgot the atrocities committed against our Muslim brothers during the Eid-el-Fitri celebrations in Jos. Muslims were killed but the Federal Government and the international community maintained sealed lips.”

Of course, this reaction came before the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, a man who delights, in my opinion, in rousing the rabble, pointedly warned that Christians in Nigeria will no longer turn the other cheek for Moslems to assault. Oritsejafor’s anger captured the outrage of millions of well-meaning Nigerians who sincerely believe that there must be an end to the orgy of bloodletting in the land.

The more than 40 people that were gruesomely murdered in Madalla had the inalienable right to life. They went to church to worship their God in peace time. Yet, they were so callously killed. How can anybody console Mrs. Chioma Dike, the woman who lost her husband and four children in the attack or Sir Emmanuel Obiukwu, the church warden who lost four children? In the twinkling of an eye, his life was turned upside. For Obiukwu’s and families, life will never be the same again. Do we as a people, Moslems and Christians, deserve this? My answer is no. it is easy for leaders to troupe to Madalla, have a photo session for the purposes of public relations and preach peace, but how can anybody convince Mr. Obiukwu or Mrs. Dike to have faith in Nigeria again?

As I appointed out last week, we are gradually inching towards sectarian strife, a slippery slope to hell. And my worst fears were confirmed after the Secretary General of a Muslim group, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, addressed a press conference in Kaduna where he berated Oritsajafor for daring to warn that if the Boko Haram bombings persisted, Christians would be compelled to defend themselves.

Like Abul-Qaqa and Muh’D Kano, Aliyu confirmed that Madalla bombing was a deliberate attack on Christians. Justifying the killings and taking umbrage at those condemning the attack, Aliyu asked: “Where were they when Muslims were attacked during the Eid-el-Fitri celebration that preceded the month of Ramadan in Plateau State where Muslims were attacked, killed and maimed? Sixteen people were not only slaughtered, but roasted and eaten. Why is this thing looking like a conspiracy of silence from the media, both local and foreign? Are Muslims animals? Are they not citizens of this country? Why is it always silence when something happens against the Muslims? Who reported the Southern Kaduna genocide?”

These are very dangerous sentiments. The implication of Aliyu’s statement is that despite the denials by leaders from Nigeria’s political and religious divides that the Madalla killings had no religious undertone, the fact remains that they were indeed killed because they were Christians. It didn’t matter to those who carried out the attacks that those killed in Madalla may not have visited Plateau State in all their lives, and, therefore, had no hand in the Jos mayhem.

Sadly, the Nigerian state is showing no sign of being able to contain this threat to its very existence. And being aware of this, the Boko Haram is emboldened by the day. Last week, it gave Southerners in the North three days to leave. This threat might sound ridiculous but the fact that some people are already heeding the ultimatum shows how much faith the people have lost in the ability of the state to protect them.

Time has come for Nigerians to discuss the Nigerian project. It smacks of hypocrisy for anybody, given our dire circumstance, to still insist that Nigeria should not be discussed

(culled from Candour's Niche Daily Independent Nigeria)

NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR, ON THE DEREGULATION OF THE DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM SECTOR SATURDAY

NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR, ON THE DEREGULATION OF THE DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM SECTOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012
___________________________________________
Dear Compatriots,

1. 1. A week ago, I had cause to address Nigerians on the security challenges we are facing in parts of the country, which necessitated the declaration of a state of emergency in 15 Local Government Areas in four states of the Federation. That course of action attracted widespread support and a demonstration of understanding. With that declaration, government had again signaled its intention to combat terrorism with renewed vigour and to assure every Nigerian of safety.

1. 2. The support that we have received in the fight against terrorism from concerned Nigerians at home and abroad has been remarkable. We believe that it is with such continued support that progress can be made on national issues. Let me express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has expressed a commitment to support us as we strive to improve on the country’s security situation, and build a stronger foundation for the future. The recent mindless acts of violence in Gombe, Potiskum, Jimeta-Yola and Mubi are unfortunate. I urge all Nigerians to eschew bitterness and acrimony and live together in harmony and peace. Wherever there is any threat to public peace, our security agencies will enforce the law, without fear or favour.

1. 3. This evening, I address you, again, with much concern over an issue that borders on the national economy, the oil industry and national progress. As part of our efforts to transform the economy and guarantee prosperity for all Nigerians, Government, a few days ago, announced further deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. The immediate effect of this has been the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

1. 4. Since the announcement, there have been mixed reactions to the policy. Let me seize this opportunity to assure all Nigerians that I feel the pain that you all feel. I personally feel pained to see the sharp increase in transport fares and the prices of goods and services. I share the anguish of all persons who had travelled out of their stations, who had to pay more on the return leg of their journeys.

1. 5. If I were not here to lead the process of national renewal, if I were in your shoes at this moment, I probably would have reacted in the same manner as some of our compatriots, or hold the same critical views about government. But I need to use this opportunity as your President to address Nigerians on the realities on the ground, and why we chose to act as we did. I know that these are not easy times. But tough choices have to be made to safeguard the economy and our collective survival as a nation.

1. 6. My fellow Nigerians, the truth is that we are all faced with two basic choices with regard to the management of the downstream petroleum sector: either we deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy regime that will continue to undermine our economy and potential for growth, and face serious consequences.

1. 7. As you all know, the subject of deregulation is not new, we have been grappling with it for more than two decades. Previous administrations tinkered with the pump price of petroleum products, and were unable to effect complete deregulation of the downstream sector. This approach has not worked. If it did, we would not be here talking about deregulation today. I understand fully well that deregulation is not a magic formula that will address every economic challenge, but it provides a good entry point for transforming the economy, and for ensuring transparency and competitiveness in the oil industry, which is the mainstay of our economy.

1. 8. As a President, elected and supported by ordinary Nigerians, and the vast majority of our people, I have a duty to bring up policies and programmes that will grow the economy and bring about greater benefits for the people. Let me assure you that as your President, I have no intention to inflict pain on Nigerians.

1. 9. The deregulation of the petroleum sector is a necessary step that we had to take. Should we continue to do things the same way, and face more serious economic challenges? Or deregulate, endure the initial discomfort and reap better benefits later? I want to assure every Nigerian that whatever pain you may feel at the moment, will be temporary.

1. 10. The interest of the ordinary people of this country will always remain topmost in my priorities as a leader. I remain passionately committed to achieving significant and enduring improvements in our economy that will lead to sustained improvement in the lives of our people.

1. 11. I am determined to leave behind a better Nigeria, that we all can be proud of. To do so, I must make sure that we have the resources and the means to grow our economy to be resilient, and to sustain improved livelihood for our people. We must act in the public interest, no matter how tough, for the pains of today cannot be compared to the benefits of tomorrow. On assumption of office as President, I swore to an oath to always act in the best interest of the people. I remain faithful to that undertaking.

1. 12. To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of Government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including on-going and continuous effort to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending. In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum. The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved.

1. 13. For the year 2012, the basic salaries of all political office holders in the Executive arm of government will be reduced by 25%. Government is also currently reviewing the number of committees, commissions and parastatals with overlapping responsibilities. The Report on this will be submitted shortly and the recommendations will be promptly implemented. In the meantime, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies must reduce their overhead expenses.

1. 14. We are all greatly concerned about the issue of corruption. The deregulation policy is the strongest measure to tackle this challenge in the downstream sector. In addition, government is taking other steps to further sanitize the oil industry.

1. 15. To ensure that the funds from petroleum subsidy removal are spent prudently on projects that will build a greater Nigeria, I have established a committee to oversee the implementation of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme. I sincerely believe that the reinvestment of the petroleum subsidy funds, to ensure improvement in national infrastructure, power supply, transportation, irrigation and agriculture, education, healthcare, and other social services, is in the best interest of our people.

1. 16. Fellow Nigerians, I know that the removal of the petroleum subsidy imposes an initial burden on our people, especially the rising cost of transportation. Government will be vigilant and act decisively to curb the excesses of those that want to exploit the current situation for selfish gains. I plead for the understanding of all Nigerians. I appeal to our youth not to allow mischief-makers to exploit present circumstances to mislead or incite them to disturb public peace.

1. 17. To address the immediate challenges that have been identified, I have directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to embark immediately on all projects which have been designed to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal in the short, medium and long-term, as outlined in the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Document.

1. 18. Tomorrow, 8th January, I will formally launch a robust mass transit intervention programme to bring down the cost of transportation across the country. The programme will be implemented in partnership with state and local governments, labour unions, transport owners, and banking institutions, and supported with the provision of funding at zero interest rate as well as import duty waiver on all needed parts for locally-made mass transit vehicles, which will create additional jobs in the economy.

1. 19. We will keep these incentives in place for as long as it takes. I want to assure you that Government will not rest until we bring down the cost of transportation for our people. Let me thank the transporters’ associations that have agreed to reduce transport fares. I have directed the Minister of Labour and Productivity to work with these associations to come up with a sustainable plan to guarantee this within the shortest possible time.

1. 20. In addition, I have ordered the mobilization of contractors for the full rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt –Maiduguri Railway Line and the completion of the Lagos-Kano Railway Line. I have also directed the immediate commencement of a Public Works programme that will engage the services of about 10, 000 youths in every state of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. This will create an additional 370, 000 jobs.

1. 21. Government has taken these decisions in the best interest of our economy, so that we not only have benefits today, but to ensure that we bequeath even greater benefits to our children and grandchildren.

1. 22. Let me assure Nigerians that every possible effort will be made to ensure that we march forward, with a collective resolve to build a Nigeria that can generate greater economic growth, create and sustain new jobs, and secure the future of our children.

1. 23. This Administration will aggressively implement its programme to reposition and strengthen our economy, while paying adequate attention to the immediate needs of our citizens.

1. 24. I assure you all that we will work towards achieving full domestic refining of petroleum products with the attendant benefits.

1. 25. As I ask for the full understanding of all Nigerians, I also promise that I will keep my word.

1. 26. Thank you. May God bless you; and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR
President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
January 7, 2012

BOKO HARAM GENOCIDE: THE ANSWER IS BLOWING IN THE WIND.

One of my greatest concerns about Boko Haram is that they profess to be against Western education, yet they use technology created through Western education to create tension and slaughter people. This is the paradox of these agents of social destabilization and merchants of death.

One would have expected them to completely do away with everything produced in the West and through western education, and focus rather on using bows and arrows and spears to battle Nigerians and the Nigerian authorities.

They should be using donkeys and horses for their transportation, not motor cars. And they should not be using GSM phones to talk, nor should they watch television or listen to the radio. They should learn to walk their talk and show in word and deed that they are against Western education in every conceivable way.

Yet deploying weapons made through Western technology, they struck on Christmas day. They succeeded in killing about 60 innocent persons who went to church to worship and who have never hurt Boko Haram in any way. The mangled bodies! The crying children! Families wiped out! This unconscionable deed did not bother Boko Haram at all as they promptly owned up to being responsible for the mayhem.

In the aftermath of this dastardly act, Nigerians fell over themselves to criticize Boko Haram and urged that they should be brought to book. That the long arms of the law should fish them out. They made a mistake there because the law in Nigeria has very short hands and seldom catches anything apart from pickpockets and motorists. So how are we going to bring Boko Haram to book? Okay, if the law has hands and it were that easy, how come they have not been brought to book up till now.

Or what do they think President Goodluck Jonathan has been doing all the while with law enforcement agents who are brave lads when Boko Haram is not in sight. Do you think he has only been robbing his good luck charm?

The truth of the matter is that President Goodluck appears to have run out of gas in luck and the good luck has now been contaminated by some bad luck. The security agents wait for Boko Haram to strike before they react. Things have fallen apart (apologies to Prof Chinua Achebe) and the centre can no more hold. Men and women are dying. Babies and the aged are not spared. Nigeria is in a state of siege. The only safe people who may not be targeted by Boko Haram are the mad men and women.

These all of remind me of the song:

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ‘n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?

That song written by Bob Dylan and released in the album, “The Freewheelin” in 1963 was ranked as the fourteenth greatest song of all times in Rolling Stone magazine and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Commenting on the meaning of the phrase, ‘Blowing in the wind’ someone described it as “impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind”. It was a protest song and it can fit comfortably into our situation.

For example, how many Nigerians must die before the Federal Government sees that the present security set up is not working? How many children must die before they can read and write at the hands of Boko Haram before we stop Boko Haram? How many times must President Jonathan hear of kidnappings, bombings and massacres before he restructures the police force? The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.

The Nigeria Police Force had its origin in the West African Frontiers Force, which was an army of occupation set up to beat restive West African communities into shape. That mentality still pervades the police force because, as you know, when the foundation is wrong, there is nothing the righteous can do. Add to this confusion the fact that we have a central policing system in a deeply divided country.

The policemen trying to stop Boko Haram cannot obtain the required intelligence from the populace, because the people who have the information do not trust them enough to put their confidence in them. The best option is to decentralize the police force and let each state of the federation have its own police force. And at the centre you have a National Investigation Bureau, which would function like the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. It would have the power to arrest the state police chiefs if they victimize anyone and to take over cases from them where those involved in such cases appeal to them.

That might be a slightly better idea than Senate President David Mark’s call for dialogue and for peace to be obtained at any price. Peace is a commitment and should not be obtained at any price. America could not have considered dialoguing with Al Qaeda – a terrorist organization. Negotiation through blackmail might prevent a war but it would not bring peace.

Culled from The Coversation of Angry Man (Daily Independent Nigeria)

Ministers laughing Nigerians crying.

The Nigerian government today made it abundantly clear it will not restate the subsidy on petroleum products, according to The Punch newspaper.

Following this afternoon’s emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council, in Abuja, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told newsmen the government was not oblivious of the pains inflicted by Nigerians as a result of the new policy.

In order to ameliorate those pains, he said the government had commenced a ‘massive mass transit scheme’ aimed at cushioning the effects of the subsidy removal on transportation. Thousands of mass transit vehicles, he claimed, would be distributed.

Mr. Maku did not say on which of Nigeria’s atrocious and crowded roads the vehicles would be driven, or who would provide security in a sector hampered by armed robbery, kidnapping and police harassment.


Curiously missing at today’s pivotal meeting were two senior officials and pillars of the new policy: Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Petroleum Minister, Dieziani Alison-Madueke