A “serpent-handling” West Virginia pastor died after his rattlesnake bit him during a church ritual, just as the man had apparently watched a snake kill his father years before.
Pentecostal pastor Mark Wolford, 44, hosted an outdoor service at the Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia Sunday, which he touted on his Facebook page prior to the event.
“I am looking for a great time this Sunday,” Wolford wrote May 22, according to the Washington Post. “It is going to be a homecoming like the old days. Good ‘ole raised in the holler or mountain ridge running, Holy Ghost-filled speaking-in-tongues sign believers.”
Robin Vanover, Wolford’s sister, told the Washington Post that 30 minutes into the outdoor service, Wolford passed around a poisonous timber rattlesnake, which eventually bit him.
“He laid it on the ground,” Vanover said in the interview, “and he sat down next to the snake, and it bit him on the thigh.”
Vanover said Wolford was then transported to a family member’s home in Bluefield about 80 miles away to recover. But as the situation worsened, he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Jim Shires, owner of the Cravens-Shires Funeral Home in Bluefield, told ABC News that Wolford died Monday. Wolford’s church, the Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka, will host a viewing Friday and a funeral service Saturday morning. Wolford will be buried at the Hicks Family Plot in Phelps, Ky.
Officials at the Panther Wildlife Management Area had been unaware of Sunday’s event until they were notified by callers after the service.
“We did not know that this event was happening, and if we had known about it or if we had been asked for permission, permission would not have been granted,” Hoy Murphy, public information officer for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, told ABC News.
Hoy said West Virginia state park rules prohibit animals other than dogs and cats on the property.
While snake-handling is legal in West Virginia, other Appalachian states, including Kentucky and Tennessee, have banned the practice in public spaces.
Snake-handlers point to scripture as evidence that God calls them to engage in such a practice to show their faith in him. Mark 16: 17-18 reads, “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Wolford told the Washington Post magazine in 2011 that he is carrying on the tradition of his ancestors by engaging in snake handling.
“Anybody can do it that believes it,” Wolford said. “Jesus said, ‘These signs shall follow them which believe.’ This is a sign to show people that God has the power.”
Wolford said watched his own father die at the age of 39 after a rattlesnake bit him during a similar service.
“He lived 101/2 hours,” Wolford told the Washington Post Magazine. “When he got bit, he said he wanted to die in the church. Three hours after he was bitten, his kidneys shut down. After a while, your heart stops. I hated to see him go, but he died for what he believed in.
“I know it’s real; it is the power of God,” Wolford told the Washington Post Magazine last year. “If I didn’t do it, if I’d never gotten back involved, it’d be the same as denying the power and saying it was not real.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended 11 armed robbery suspects including five workers of Guaranty Trust Bank. One of the workers, a senior marketing executive of the bank’s branch in Gbagada, is currently being interrogated by detectives at the state’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad. According to reports made available to PUNCH Metro, the senior marketing executive allegedly conspired with two security personnel of the bank and two other staff to perpetrate the robbery of a customer who was to deposit some money running into millions of naira. The bank workers were said to have invited one Sadiq, believed by the police to be a notorious armed robber in the state, who in turn invited six other members of his gang. The gang allegedly procured guns in Lagos and ordered for more from Edo State. The robbery was foiled when policemen through intelligence report got information of the planned robbery. The policemen stormed the bank premises incognito on the day the robbery was to take place. It was learnt that one of the suspects had told the police that their weapons including two pistols were already concealed in the bank’s Computer Central Processing Unit with plans to use them on the day of the robbery. The robbers who pretended to be customers of the bank had dressed in suits while Sadiq wore a kaftan. But they did not know that plain-clothed policemen had cordoned off the area while some other policemen were in the banking hall. A police source said, “The suspected robbers got more than what they expected when detectives rounded them up and whisked them to the state police command headquarters.†One of the suspects further confessed that the bank’s marketing executive gave them money to procure the arms and ammunition. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday. He, however, said further investigations were still ongoing with a view of ensuring that all those connected with the incident were arrested. Jaiyeoba said, “The employees of the bank that were arrested were actually four in number. They planned with the security guard who then recruited armed robbers for them. “The security guard’s job was to plant the guns inside the CPU of the computer so that when the armed robbers came in, they would be able to enter as normal customers. “The robbers planned to rob after closing hours when customers were no longer allowed access into the banking hall. The commander, MOPOL 2, was able to get wind of the plan and led his team to the bank. “They arrested the security guard who later confessed and gave his accomplices up. Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing.â€
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago on May 20–21 is one of the most important diplomatic meetings of the year, with leaders from around the world in attendance. According to the official NATO website, the Summit will "principally focus on three main themes":
the commitment to Afghanistan through transition and beyond;
ensuring the capabilities needed to defend the NATO community population and territory and to deal with the challenges of the 21st century; and
strengthening the alliance's partnerships across the globe.
A major stumbling block to achieving these goals is the extensive financial cuts facing most militaries today. In order to mitigate the effects of austerity, NATO leaders are proposing "smart defense" programs that maximize resources by encouraging NATO members to share key capabilities. Such sharing includes coordination of strategies to combat improvised explosive devices (IEDs); to counter and defend against chemical, biological and nuclear weapons; and to enhance methods of medical support.
However, it is hard to imagine that the Summit participants – or other conventional military thinkers – will be able to develop lasting solutions capable of fully protecting their nations from all the many diverse threats endangering them today. As demonstrated by recent terrorist attacks in Europe, conventional approaches cannot provide an effective defense against suicide terrorists willing to die for their cause.
Veteran U.N. Nepalese peacekeeper Lt. Col. Jitendra Jung Karki, a member of The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., addressed this issue in the Nepalese military periodical Shreenath Journal:
"Terrorism cannot be eliminated by destroying the terrorists. Any step in the direction of destruction only helps to create more terrorists. More terrorists only result in more waves of destruction. There is no wisdom in initiating a continuous theme of destruction in the name of protection. Prudence dictates eliminating the underlying cause of terrorism, war and all types of violence – collective social stress."
NATO leaders today have the option to consider and adopt a new, surprising, and scientifically-verified method to reduce such stress. It is called Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) and has absolutely nothing to do with bullets, bombs, or killing. In fact, it has the potential to diminish the role of these approaches in the provision of national and international security.
Extensive research published in the scientific literature has repeatedly demonstrated the effectiveness of IDT in reducing conflict, open warfare, and terrorism. IDT applies specific "technologies of consciousness" – the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs, non-religious meditation techniques practiced worldwide by members of many countries and faiths – to produce societal coherence and eliminate conflict. In a military context, when large groups of military personnel learn and apply these technologies of consciousness, high levels of collective national stress can be immediately and significantly reduced.
Perhaps the IDT paper caught the attention of the world press because IDT is totally unlike any other defense technology. The goal of this unique, scientifically field-tested, brain-based technology is to prevent crime, terrorism, and war. Extensive research shows that when IDT is correctly applied, the disturbingly high levels of collective societal stress thought to be responsible for such social problems are greatly reduced. When people – particularly national leaders, who ultimately reflect the collective will of the people they represent – become less stressed, they think more clearly and are better able to resolve their differences amicably. In an environment of less stress, even staunch adversaries may find ways to overcome differences.
This transformation occurs when a military creates a large group of warriors (called a "Prevention Wing of the Military") trained in IDT. "Invincible" means "incapable of being defeated." Once these Prevention Wings have become fully operational, the collective practice of IDT by these groups neutralizes the societal stress giving rise to conflict and enemies. Consequently, as the theory behind this concept envisions, no enemy can then be born – and with no enemy left to fight, the military becomes invincible.
Readers new to the IDT concept can read more about it in an article on Ecuador's Military Prevention Wing: "Combating Stress in Police Work and Preventing Crime, Terrorism, and War." Perhaps due to Ecuador's precedent, nine Latin American countries are due to achieve a statistical level of invincibility in the next months due to their IDT deployments in military and educational settings.
Dr. John Hagelin and Captain Ray Seebald, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.) recently gave a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, about how Invincible Defense Technology could end the North–South crisis in 60 days.
NATO leaders have the possibility to make history by joining pioneering Latin American leaders who are guiding their nations on a path to invincibility by establishing IDT prevention groups. We respectfully invite them to listen to an online video by Dr. John Hagelin, Ph.D., a renowned Harvard-trained quantum physicist and executive director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP, http://www.gusp.org). GUSP is a coalition of Nobel laureates and leading scientists founded to avert the growing threat of nuclear proliferation and nuclear war and to promote safe, innovative, scientifically-validated technologies for national security and global peace.
Dr. Hagelin and Captain (Ret.) Ray Seebald, a former U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Chicago and a military aide to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, recently spoke about IDT during the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The main points of Dr. Hagelin's presentation are available online on a previously recorded video: http://www.istpp.org/military_science/Hagelin_military_lecture.html. GUSP is a coalition of Nobel laureates and leading scientists founded to avert the growing threat of nuclear proliferation and nuclear war and to promote safe, innovative, scientifically-proven technologies for national security and global peace.
Dr. John Hagelin is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace.
In the video, Dr. Hagelin showcases the results of more than 50 published studies verifying the effectiveness of IDT for international security and peace – an approach that neutralizes the acute ethnic, political, and religious tensions that fuel violence, terrorism, and social conflict.
"In recent years, a powerful, innovative approach to peace has been extensively field-tested – in the Middle East and throughout the world," Dr. Hagelin says. "The consistent result has been dramatic reductions in terrorism, war, and social violence. These findings have been replicated, published in leading academic journals, and endorsed by hundreds of independent scientists and scholars. The efficacy of this approach is beyond question."
Dr. Hagelin asserts that the extensive IDT research indicates that IDT operates at the Planck scale, specifically at a level a thousand million million times more powerful than the nuclear force. From this level it can easily overpower conventional technologies of offense – yet it is inherently safe, being based in a completely holistic level of natural law. This most unconventional yet surprisingly powerful technology is readily available for NATO or any other world leaders to implement – and at a modest cost that would fit even the most challenged military budgets.
IDT is enormously effective and cost-effective, and the results are immediate. All that is necessary is to provide the proper training for a group of military personnel – or indeed any large group within the country. The benefits extend far beyond the military and national security, and even to economic prosperity for the whole country. The only requirement is to keep the group intact.
For more information about IDT: Dr. Leffler and his coauthors Dr. Hussain Khan, Dr. David Orme-Johnson, and Major General (Ret.) Kulwant Singh previously presented an innovative plan for military deployment of IDT in their pioneering article "Create an International Military Yogic-Flying Zone in Kashmir," recently published in Pakistan Defence.
Dr. David Leffler received his Ph.D. in Consciousness-Based Military Defense from The Union Institute & University in Cincinnati. He served as an Associate of the Proteus Management Group at the Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College. He has published articles in over 400 locations worldwide about IDT and now serves as the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS). Dr. Leffler teaches IDT and is available at: http://www.StrongMilitary.org.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
For 20 years, co-workers on the security team at one of the United States’ busiest airports knew him as Jerry Thomas. His real name, authorities say, was Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a Nigerian who used the name of a murder victim to hide his status as an illegal immigrant, the Associated Press reports. Though there’s no indication of any other intent or transgressions, the revelation came the same day a federal report found that Newark Liberty International Airport mishandled security breaches. Oyewole, 54, worked at the airport, starting in 1992, using the name of Jerry Thomas, who was killed that year in New York City. He was arrested Monday after an anonymous tip at his home in Elizabeth and faced charges including identity theft, authorities said. His first hearing was scheduled for late Tuesday morning in state court in Newark. It wasn’t immediately known how Thomas’ personal information was acquired. Police in New York also didn’t say whether Oyewole was a suspect in the July 20, 1992, killing of Thomas in Queens. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the area’s main airports and other transit hubs, said Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, and supervised about 30 guards. The agency said its investigation found no indication that he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States. Port Authority leaders had spoken with FJC officials “and will meet with them in the coming days to take every legally permissible step to recheck their security personnel on a regular basis and to protect our customers, employees and facilities,†agency spokesman Steve Coleman said. A message left Monday on Oyewole’s home phone was not returned, and no one answered the door at the apartment. FJC Security, which received an airport contract in 2003, said it conducted a background check on the guard as had New Jersey state police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “In all cases, he passed the background checks,†FJC spokesman Michael McKeon said. “During his time with FJC, he had nothing in his record or his performance to indicate a cause for concern or a reason to question the state police and federal government’s background checks.†McKeon said Oyewole, in his position as tour supervisor, didn’t have access to employees’ personal information. In a statement, the TSA said it was reviewing the Port Authority’s procedures for validating employee and contractor documents. “This investigation indicates that the individual’s identification documents were presented to the Port Authority for verification about a decade before TSA existed,†the statement said. State police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said New Jersey requires security guards to undergo training under the Security Officer Registration Act and be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are run through the state police criminal history database before a guard is certified. A candidate is disqualified if he or she has a conviction for a fourth-degree offense or higher or a drug offense of any level, Jones said. Oyewole, as Thomas, was certified under SORA, he said. A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Monday. An airport employee who was familiar with Oyewole as Thomas said the private security guards he supervised are responsible for manning TSA security checkpoints after passenger gates close for the evening and before they reopen in the morning. The guards also inspect delivery vehicles for possible unauthorised cargo, he said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter. A search of public records found evidence of a Bimbo Oyewole and a Jerry Thomas living at the address where Oyewole was arrested. A report released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found that only 42 per cent of reported security breaches from January 2010 to May 2011 led to corrective action, though it also found TSA had worked to improve its response.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
François Hollande won the French presidential election on Sunday, capturing more than 51 percent of the vote to defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and become France’s new president, according French television.
Sarkozy, who has held the French presidency since 2007, grabbed 48.1 percent, according to the polls.
Hollande, the 57-year-old socialist challenger, narrowly edged Sarkozy, also 57, in a preliminary election two weeks ago, but since he did not win with an absolute majority, France law required a runoff between the top two candidates.
Sunday’s victory means France will have its first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand, the country’s president from 1981 to 1995. In voting Sarkozy out of office, French voters expressed their discontent over Europe’s debt crisis.
Hollande waves to supporters on May 4, 2012. (Francois Mori/AP)
French television declared the election for Hollande immediately after the polls closed Sunday. Moments later, Sarkozy told his supporters that he called Holland to congratulate him, and to concede victory.
“I take the responsibility for this loss,” Sarkozy said. “I’m ready to become a French person among French people, and more than ever I have the love for my country deeply ingrained in my heart.”
Hollande’s victory could have far-reaching implications on Europe’s debt woes. According to the Associated Press, Hollande has promised a 75-percent income tax on the rich and “wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece.”
Indeed, Hollande’s victory will be seen as a challenge to “German-dominated policy of economic austerity in the euro zone, which is suffering from recession and record unemployment,” the New York Times said.
During their respective campaigns, both candidates had promised to balance France’s budget within five years.
“It’s going to be a long day,” Hollande told reporters as he left a polling station earlier in the day. Sarkozy, with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, by his side, voted in Paris, but did not speak to television reporters.
“There will be a handover of power,” Sarkozy said Friday when asked if what would happen if he lost. “The nation is stronger than the destiny of the men who serve it.”
Hollande is expected to be inaugurated later this month
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Nicolas Sarkozy, defeated Sunday in France’s presidential runoff by Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, joins a series of European leaders booted from office because of public anger over government spending cuts and economic crisis. Almost every crisis-hit European country that has held an election since disaster struck in 2009 has thrown out its leader.
Here’s a look at countries where political cadavers litter the landscape.
— ITALY: Silvio Berlusconi, the long-serving leader and survivor of scandals over everything from allegedly bedding escorts to serial corruption, finally bites the dust in November 2011. He resigns to cheers and jeers as investors lose confidence in his ability to spur economic growth and rein in debt. It’s the end of a political era. Mario Monti, a former European Commissioner, is named to replace him and lead a technical government until elections in 2013.
— GREECE: Greek Socialist leader George Papandreou swept to power in October 2009 pledging to spend his way out of a deteriorating economic situation. Two years later, at the height of Greece’s worst financial crisis since World War II, Papandreou’s own deputies force him out after he endangers a hard-won bailout by pledging to put it to a referendum. He’s replaced by caretaker Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. On Sunday, Greek voters punish the country’s two dominant parties, with projections showing both losing support to anti-bailout groups in parliamentary elections and no party gaining enough ballots to form a government.
— SPAIN: A burst real estate bubble also deflated faith in a Socialist government, which was nonetheless reluctant to acknowledge Spain has problems. Blips of good economic news are seized upon as “green shoots” pointing to recovery. Wrong. Stimulus measures are enacted, then crushing austerity. Unemployment soars. The Socialists of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero are wiped off the map in November 2011 elections; Mariano Rajoy’s conservatives take over.
— BRITAIN: Gordon Brown leads the Labour Party to defeat in the May 2010 election; Conservative Party leader David Cameron becomes leader of a coalition government. Brown had been finance chief for a decade before succeeding Tony Blair in 2007. Brown had boasted endlessly of ending the cycle of boom and bust — but as prime minister he presided mostly over bust.
— IRELAND: Brian Cowen, promoted to prime minister in 2008 after being finance minister, doesn’t even get to run. He resigns as leader of the Fianna Fail Party weeks before the February, 2011 election. It doesn’t help his party, which suffers its worst ever defeat. Cowen was finance minister during Ireland’s banking crisis and the collapse of its housing bubble.
— PORTUGAL: A month after Portugal requests a 78 billion-euro bailout, the center-left Socialist government of Jose Socrates is voted out of power in June, 2011. Portugal’s woes stemmed from a decade of feeble growth as it failed to modernize amid increasing global competition and dug itself deeper into debt.
— DENMARK: A center-right government in Denmark loses power in September in part due to discontent over austerity measures introduced amid the debt crisis. It is replaced by a center-left coalition.
— FINLAND: Finland’s government is reconfigured after June elections following a sharp surge in support for nationalists who oppose bailouts for debt-stricken eurozone countries. A conservative-led coalition spanning left and right is formed to keep the nationalist True Finns out of power.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
“According to official figures, the leading oil producing state, Rivers, received N1,053 billion between 1999 and 2008 in federal allocations. By contrast the North-eastern states of Yobe and Borno, where the Boko Haram sect was created, received N175bn and N213bn respectively. Broken down on a per capita basis, the contrast is even starker. In 2008 the 18.97m people who lived in the six states in the north-east received on average N1,156 per person. “By contrast Rivers state was allocated N3,965 per capita, and on average the oil producing South- South region received on average N3,332 per capita. This imbalance is compounded when the cost of an amnesty programme for militants in the delta is included together with an additional 1 per cent for a special development body for the Niger Delta. To boot, the theft of oil by profiteers in the region diverts tens of millions more weekly from federal coffers.†– Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Yes, forget these per capita figures! I agree the North is poor. Yes, I agree the poverty has bred millions of destitutes, who have become instant and easy recruits for Boko Haram. But my question is: Who impoverished the North?
Almajiris deprived of good education and proper nutrition amid Oil Block ownership by aristocrats A caveat: I am an unabashed capitalist who believes that every citizen has a right to do good business and make profit. I salute hard work and do not disparage honest efforts. However, uncompassionate capitalism driven by pulleys of aristocracy breeds a brutal class order worthy of condemnation. In my last article titled – “Elrufai’s amnesia: The day Boko Haram Wore Jeansâ€, I categorically stated that greed and the senseless chase for power by the Fulani aristocrats and political elites of the North are responsible for the extreme poverty of the North. I still and will always stand by that. My position did not go down well with my targets; they responded with vituperations. Mallam Sanusi’s statistics was intended to mislead us by ruffling the rudder of our common sense. See, Ekiti state has a 2012 budget 0f N88 billion; Kwara state, N90 billion; Cross River state, N144 billion; Anambra state, N82 billion; Enugu state, N74 billion. Now let’s look at the 2012 budgets recently passed into law by the four major Boko Haram occupied states – Kano state has a budget of N 210 billion; Borno state, 150 billion; Gombe, N94 billion; Yobe state, 80 billion. A simple comparative analysis shows that Ekiti state has about the same revenue as Yobe and Gombe, but only 17 students passed WAEC and NECO in Gombe state last year, while Ekiti is known for its high literacy level. Gombe state has a bigger budget that Enugu and Anambra, why hasn’t MASSOB bombed anyone. Borno state has a budget twice that of Enugu state but the poverty and unemployment level in Borno state is more than thrice that of Enugu state. Borno has a bigger budget than a Niger Delta state- Cross River, while the leaders of that state over the last decade have transformed it into the Nation’s leading tourist destination; those of Borno have transformed it into a Somalia. Kano state gets the highest statutory allocation from the FG, because on paper Kano is the most populated state in Nigeria, yet Kano has about 1.6 million destitute Almajiris. Kano has a budget almost thrice the budget of Enugu, twice the budget of Kwara, Anambra and Ekiti, but how come almost 90% of students in Kano fail WAEC? How come the poverty level in Kano is higher than all these states put together? Why is the North so poor? From the figures above I have shown that Southern states with lesser budgets have shown better development performance than most North Eastern states with bigger statutory allocation and budgets.
‘Slightly matured’ Almajiris are ‘willing tools’ for wanton destruction Now, I need to tackle the sensitive question of revenue allocation that has infuriated the Mallam Lamido Sanusi and Mallam Elrufai and their likes. Niger Delta states get higher revenue allocation because they contribute virtually all the eggs in the national crate. That is expected. Albeit the 13% remains grossly inadequate, the CBN Governor has suggested that his Boko boys are resisting the disparity. I want to posit that the North-East through their aristocrats and ex-military rulers (except Gen. Mohammed Buhari) rake in more oil money (from the Niger Delta) individually than any Niger Delta state, and collectively more than twice the entire Niger Delta put together. In this disquisition, I have attempted to show that 80% of crude oil and gas produced by indigenous companies is controlled by the North-East. It is an area they have well conquered through General IBB, Abacha and Abdulsalami. However, the loots never get back home.
Almajiris with knives after April 2011 presidential election In this first part I will attempt to describe the very uneven nature of the distribution of the nation’s wealth among the Northern aristocratic families and their military generals who for decades looted Nigeria. They did so blatantly, and while Nigeria was weeping about oil windfall loot and others, Nigerians would wail if they know how much of the nation’s resources these folks allocated to themselves and their business fronts before they stepped aside. Let us therefore begin. To the state of origin of Boko Haram: Borno State. Enter Cavendish Petroleum, the operators of OML 110 – with good yielding OBE field. This oil block was awarded to Alhaji Mai Deribe – the Borno patriarch, who even in death will remain the richest man dead or alive in the history of Borno state- by General Sani Abacha on the 8th of July, 1996. OML 110 has a proven oil reserve in excess of 500 million barrels (More than the entire 300milliom barrels reserve of Sudan). As yet with the capacity to produce about 120,000 barrels of crude oil daily from its OBE 4 and OBE 5 wells. At current production levels, the Mai Deribes net circa N4billion monthly in crude oil sales (Using current oil price of $100pb). Cavendish Petroleum’s N4bn monthly net dwarfs the monthly statutory allocation of Borno which is about N3bn and its internally generated revenue staggers around N1billion. See his mansion, a tourist attraction –
Gidan Mai Deribe http://kyata.aminus3.com/image/2009-08-17.html I will then shift to the centre of the Fulani aristocratic hegemony in the North East – Kano. Here. Enter the Fulani Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, Mallam (Prince) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s cousin. He is a Key shareholder and director in Seplat/Platform petroleum operators of the Asuokpu/Umutu Marginal Field with a capacity of 300,000 barrels monthly and A 30mmfcsd gas plant capable of feeding 100MT of LPG. The Ado Bayeros, Yar’Aduas and Atiku Abubakar are Nigerian holders of Intels. It is a private port that has grounded three Federal ports in the South. Intels is discussed later.
Another view of Gidan Mai Deribe Enter South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO). South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) is a Nigerian Oil Exploration and Production Company that was created in 1995 by General T. Y. Danjuma. General Sani Abacha awarded the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 246 to SAPETRO in February 1998. The block covers a total area of 2,590km2 (1,000 sq. miles). SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Ltd (Petrobras) to start prospecting on OPL246. Akpo, a condensate field was discovered in April 2000 with the drilling of the first exploration well (Akpo 1) on the block. Other discoveries made on OPL 246 include the Egina Main, Egina South, Preowei and Kuro (Kuro was suspended as a dry gas/minor oil discovery).
Another corner of Gidan Mai Deribe In June 2006, General TY Danjuma divested part of its contractor rights and obligations to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for $1 billion (N160bn). Akpo exports about 230,000 barrels of condensate daily. Condensate export is not regulated by OPEC, so SAPETRO/TOTAL exports as much as possible each day. Egina exports about 75,000 barrels of oil daily. Therefore, Akpo and Egina fields export just over 300,000 barrels of oil/condensate daily (three times what the country Ghana exports). SAPETRO (TY Danjuma) get 25% of this. Now, note I have not talked about the gas component – it’s about 2.5 trillion cubic feet. The money SAPETRO nets each month is more than the monthly statutory allocation of all the Niger states combined and also more than the oil revenue of Ghana. Do your math. Enter AMNI (or is it AMIN?) International Petroleum Development Company. AMNI owns two oil blocks – OML 112 and OML 117. In the production sharing contract, AMNI gets 60% for owning the oil block and Total gets 40% for providing technical advice. OML 112 was awarded on the 12/02/1998 while OML 117 was awarded 06/08/1999 all by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Operations started on both blocks 0n 26/02/2006. The licenses are due to expire 11/02/2018 and 05/08/2019 respectively. (Now you see why the next election is important?). The Okoro and Setu fields in OML 112 are operated by Afren Energy, a company substantially controlled by Rilwanu Lukman. The Okoro and Setu oil fields have about 50 million barrels in reserve and currently produce/exports just a little below 20,000 barrels per day. The chairman of AMNI International Petroleum and Development Company is Alhaji (Colonel) Sani Bello a Fulani from Kontagora, Niger State. Lest I forget, Alhaji Bello’s son- Abu, is married to General Abdusalami Abubakar’s eldest daughter. Enter Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, a Fulani and close friend of General Ibrahim Babangida. Also worthy of note is that General IBB’s first son is married to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi’s daughter – Yakolo Indimi-Babangida, who also serves as a director in the company. Alhaji Indimi hails from Niger State. Oriental Energy Resources Limited runs three oil blocks: OML 115, the Okwok field and the Ebok field. OML 115 and Okwo are OML PSC, while Ebok is an OML JV. All of them crown offshore oil blocks. OML 115 on its own is 228 sqKm. On OML115 Oriental Energy Resources Limited has 60 per cent while Equity Energy Resources AS, which Alhjai Aliko Dangote’s oil and gas investment vehicle has 40 per cent (Aliko Dangote is from Kano). On Okwok, Addax has 40% and on the Ebok field, Oriental Energy Resources shares with none: its 100%. AMNI produces twice as much as Cavendish Petroleum. Enter Express Petroleum and Gas Limited floated by Alhaji Aminu Dantata, solely for the purpose of fronting for winning oil block(s) even though he and the company are in no way qualified for the award. General Abacha awarded him OML 108 on the 1st of November, 1995. CAMAC Houston, a company owned by Kase Lawal bought 2.5% of Express Petroleum’s 60% holdings. The other 40% on OML 108 is owned Sheba E&P Limited an IBB tributary company. SEPCOL operates the Ukpokiti offshore field in Shallow water Nigeria, which was acquired from ConocoPhillips in May 2004. Enter Shebah Exploration And Production Limited (SEPCOL) . It is the operator of the Oil Mining License 108 offshore Nigeria. Head office is in Lagos, but ‘head quartered’ in Minna.
Subsistence fishing close to oil rigs in the Niger Delta. Oil wells down south are mostly owned by Northern Nigerian Billionaires Enter Consolidated Oil. Conoil Producing Limited is an integrated upstream oil and gas company. They are the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta as well as 25% Equity holder in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. Corporate Head office is in Lagos, but its ‘Headquarters’ is in Minna, Niger State. Conoil signed a technical operator agreement with Continental Oil and Gas Limited (CONOG) to provide 100% funding and technical service agreement to operate blocks OML 59 on a 40% (Conoil) / 60% (CONOG) basis. Conoil entered into a Production Sharing Contract with the NNPC by virtue of an agreement executed on 17th October 2008. Conoil’s has overall potential hydrocarbon resources of over 1.0 Billion Barrels of Oil and 7.0 Trillion Cubic Feet of Gas. General Ibrahim Babangida awarded the first oil block to Conoil in 1991. The company produces about 100,000 barrels per day. Enter Rilwanu Lukman, another Fulani multimillionaire with fronted controlling holdings in Afren, the operators of AMNI oil blocks and also with very key interest in the NNPC/Vitol trading deal, Vitol is a London based oil trading company. Vitol lifts 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Nigeria. Enter Intels and the Yar’Adua , Ado Bayero family and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. The Oil and Gas Free Zone and Oil Services Centres, as well as Support Bases, are operated from government-owned facilities, leased to Intels under long-term agreements. Intels runs a ‘private port’, a venture that has systematically killed the Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt ports. There are over one hundred major companies operating at the Intel facility in Port Harcourt. The company makes more money in profit than the government of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states put together. I shall give details and figures in the part two of this disquisition. Finally, for the Part I of this disquisition, I introduce you to NorthEast Petroleum. The name is as clear as the message it sends. I do not need to write so much about NorthEast Petroleum registered as NorEast. NorthEast Petroleum Nigeria Limited is the holder of OPL215 license, covering an area 0f 2,564 square kilometres in water depths between 200 to 1600 metres. NorEast is the parent company of Rayflosh Petroleum Nigeria which got the 2005 bidding round and was awarded the blocks OPLs 276 & 283 closing thereupon a Joint Venture Agreement with Centrica Resources Nigeria Limited and CCC Oil and Gas. Not surprising, NorthEast Petroleum is owned by another Fulani businessman from the North East, Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Jambo. The license was awarded to him by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in 1991 and then renewed in 2004. So far $50Million has been spent on the very promising Okpoi-1 and Egere -1 exploratory well. In the Part II, we shall finish the discussion. We will table other North Eastern billionaires who make more money than their states of origin from Niger Delta oil blocks.
The ‘North’ has arguably the highest number of beggars in Africa With all these oil blocks owned by ‘North- Easterners’ in the Niger Delta, it should be clear to Elrufai and Sanusi who really benefits from the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme. Sadly, National Bureau of Statistics reports from 2010 show Niger State as the poorest state in the Federation, and the North East the poorest region. http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/35947-nigerias-poverty-level-rises-hits-715-sokoto-niger-top-list-of-poorest-states. With these figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, I rest my case. Ross Alabo-George can be reached at imaginasion@gmail.com The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. Let us reason together.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Do you still remember the very first kiss you planted on the lips of your wife – The woman you truly love
What about before the first kiss, the difficulty you experienced in expressing your desire to be intimate with her?
Do you still remember that burning feeling you had, and how unhappy you are when you don’t see her for a long time?
What about the first time you FINALLY made love to her on your wedding day, the impatience to consummate your marriage that wedding night?
If you have been married for over a year, no doubt, those feelings may have started giving way.
For men who have married for several years, those beautiful memories may have faded away completely. But if your marriage still makes you happy, these are some of the most memorable events during your courtship and union.
For some other group of men, who suddenly discovers the true identity of their wives, they may be wondering why they got themselves married to this individual in the first place.
Many marriages today are having problems or simply growing stale because the initial love that was once enjoyed is no longer alive. This is because many couples are not making serious efforts to ignite the sparks of love in their marriages.
The truth is, there are still happy marriages today that have lasted beyond 25 years. If you ask these older couple the reason why they are still happily married you will be surprised that these successful marriages all have few things in common.
Things like the following factors are common denominators.
(a) Love
(b) Respect
(c) Communication
(d) Understanding
(e) Tolerance
The above factors are deliberate actions taken by the couples to ensure a successful marriage.
There’s one thing that many troubled marriages are ignoring. They forget that successful or happy marriages do not happen by accident, they are deliberately planned.
If you are having problems keeping the love in your marriage alive, know that you are not alone. In fact there are hundreds of thousands of homes today that are battling the same problem.
The good news is that you can still enjoy a lasting and very successful marriage if you make the effort.
Do you remember the questions I asked when I started this article?
Those questions bring to mind those things men do when they are still interested in a woman.
If you want the love in your marriage to keep burning, then you must devise ways to bring back the youthful activities boyfriends do to their girlfriends before marriage.
What are those things? Well we are all men, we know them. But as a reminder here they are:
Spending Time Together
Do you remember when you were dating, that one of the most important things to you as a man when it comes to your woman was spending time with her. No matter how busy you are, you still “create†time to make appointments for a date. Remember how spending 2 hours with her was just like 10 minutes?
In your present marriage, how often do you take your wife out to a nice restaurant, or a good hotel outside the home to sleep? Do you still hold hands in public while walking together?
Woo Your Wife
There are many things women do not communicate to their husbands, that they need to feel loved. One of them is touching. You need to constantly give your wife a warm embrace, hug and kisses even after the 4th or 10th child. Touch your wife tenderly every day.
This reminds them that you still love them. Women love intimacy just as they love lovemaking. A woman is more receptive to your sexual advances if you regularly show affection to her in the way of embrace, holding hands etc.
Do not let your business or job interfere with your marriage. While at work, find 2 minutes to send your wife romantic text messages.
Surprise Your Wife With Gifts
When buying gifts for your wife, make sure it is something she loves. By gift, I do not mean only physical items like shoes, bags and jewelries, these are also important if you can afford them. I mean buying edibles like “Suyaâ€, roasted chicken, apples, chocolates, ice-creams, wine, snacks.
Get these things when you are coming home from work. Women and children love it. In fact, these actions keep your wife expecting you every day and make you a loving husband.
Play Games together
What activity does your wife love? If she is the type that loves playing the Ludo game, chess, or just football, indulge her and play the game together. Go out more often to see friends together. Take a walk in the evenings or weekends with your wife.
Give Your Wife a Satisfying Sex
One mistake that most men make is going to their wife only when they need sex. This on its own doesn’t help a marriage to bond. If you do the above very well, the chances of your wife saying no to you even when she is tired are highly reduced.
One thing that can make a woman to continue to love and enjoy her marriage is her husband’s ability to satisfy her and bring her to a glowing orgasm each time they make love.
Let Your Wife Be Your Best Friend
If there is any unsafe place in the world, your marriage should be the only place you can get comfort in troubled times. When you make your wife your best friend, you consider her decisions in every major decision you make in your life.
Discuss your finances, business growth, activities in the office, the girls you admire and even the temptations you faced in the office. Sometimes, a woman’s input in her husband’s affairs turns out to be the best advice the man can get. I have seen this happen many times in many marriages.
This doesn’t mean the wife makes decisions for you, the wife suggests, and it is your responsibility to take it or not and when you are not taking the advice from your wife, let her know your reasons.
Let God Be In Your Marriage
I believe that religion also has a role to play in marriage. If you as the husband marry a God Fearing woman, this will help all the effort you put in making a successful marriage.
This will mean praying together, going to place of worship together and discussing how the lessons learned in the church help in keeping your marriage.
Don’t forget that marriage is what you make of it. A happy marriage doesn’t happen automatically. But if you work at it and put in sufficient effort, you will be blessed with undeniable results.
Then, the fairy tale stories that usually ends with the slogan: “And they Lived Happily Ever After†can then be applied to your marriage for as long as you live.
Successful marriage is your birthright.
If you love reading this helpful article, kindly pass it on to your friends as well to help them. Use the share button below to do so.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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