Rapper Gucci, 33, went on a bizarre Twitter rant criticising Eminem and Drake before bragging about his alleged sexual encounters with Minaj.Nicki Minaj has denied rapper Gucci Mane’s claims he had sex with her – tweeting the rapper is in “dire need of rehab”.
Gucci spent an entire day criticising other artists including Drake, Eminem and 2 Chainz before writing about his alleged sexual conquests in the music industry.
The Gooch boasted about his relationship Minaj and claimed he lived with her when she was staying in Atlanta while being managed by his former manager Deb Antney – who was his pal and estranged Brick Squad crew member Waka Flocka Flame’s mother.
The curvy songstress reacted after the MC wrote: “Me and waka [estranged crew member Waka Flocka Flame] f*** nikki minaj dats nothing [SIC]”
In the broken English posts, the 33-year-old rapper also bragged he has pictures of Minaj in his bed.
But the Super Bass singer quickly responded: “May God strike me dead if I ever had sex wit that man,” also mocking his “#ugliness.”
She then added: “Ok Gee called me. *goes back to playing nice* that was fun tho I’m praying 4 him. 4real. He’s sick and in dire need of rehab. #Love .”
Not taking too kindly to the suggestion of rehab Gucci replied:
“Tell. Her intervention my d**k in her throat I moved dat b***h to atl. B***h u sleepin n d car. B***h I pulled dat b***h off wayne bus.”
The controversial meltdown comes during a difficult time for Gucci who has been feuding with artists and former associates on his record label The Brick Squad.
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.
Why are many African women abroad now seriously looking for husbands or serious partners? Why are they single in the first place? What kind of men are they looking for? How do they feel being single? Etc. To understand and unlock these and other puzzling questions, Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu-Ansah, a lecturer and an investigative journalist in London, conducted a survey on 244 African women, married and unmarried, aged between 21 and 40 in England, UK.
Quite disappointingly, only 150 out of the 244 women approached did respond to the initial questions. 25 out of the 150 initial respondents, then willingly and confidently provided profound information on single African women abroad.
Of the 25 women who agreed to be intensively interviewed, 15 were single, 5 were in serious relationships, and 5 were married. They were from Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The term ‘single’ or ‘unattached’ as the respondents explain, does not necessarily mean living without sex. It only refers to people who are not married or who do not have “serious” partners.
Important Statistics 92(approximately 61%) out of the 150 respondents described themselves as single or unattached; 31 (representing 21%)were in serious relationships, and only 27 (forming 18%) were married.
Those in the Prime Years group (21-25, 22%), Vital Years group (26-30, 27%), Borderline group (31-35, 32%), and the Danger Zone group (36-40, 19%). Note, that because of the small sample size, the fallacy of generalization may be committed if these statistics or findings are viewed as a perfect representation of the real situation in England or the West.
The Reasons so Many African Women Abroad are Single
Perceived shortage of decent men in the West: Almost all the women interviewed shared the opinion that it is quite uncommon to come across single men with good character these days. Many African men also prefer women who have legal status that they can benefit from; hence, they tend to get married to westerners rather than Black African immigrants. The words of a respondent say it all: ‘The truth of the matter is, we do not have a very wide selection of African men to choose from as we (the single women) outnumber them (the single men) in this country. Disappointingly, the few that are available tend to date and marry people of other races usually to get legal status.’ Again due to lack of trust for western-based African women who are generally perceived to be arrogant, argumentative, disrespectful, non-submissive and dishonest or unfaithful, other men go to look for women partners in their various home countries.
Tribalism/Ethnocentrism: Some African families have “blacklisted” certain tribes and/or countries, and would just not tolerate the idea of their children getting married to someone from these “blacklisted” societies. It has in fact become an abomination in many African countries for people from certain “rival” tribes to get married. Sadly, beautiful young women are missing the opportunity to get married to men they love, all in the name of tradition or tribal hatred. As one Ghanaian respondent mentioned: ‘There is this guy who loves me so much …. I love him too, but I know my parents will be gutted and disappointed in me if I tell them that he is from … (country withheld)… I’m just scared.’
Spending Prime years pursuing educational and Career goals: It might sound quite harsh, but one revelation made is that the best moment for most women to get suitable partners or husbands is when they are in their Prime. Hence, the need for them to capitalize on their young age, looks, and fertility to get the kind of man that they want. For religious, academic or educational, as well as career or occupational reasons some young women dedicate less time to socializing and searching for that “decent man.” By the time they realize the need to have families, age had already caught up with them; and as looks or beauty and fertility commonly decrease with age, they end up in a position where attracting men becomes a bit more difficult.
Unnecessary church rules/codes: Many churches or religious denominations do not allow their members, especially the women to marry outside the church. Attempts by female members of these faiths to marry men of other denominations are usually frustrated by their church leaders. ‘I became a member of my church when I was only 20 years, now I’m in my late 20s, and none of the men in the church has ever asked me out or shown any interest in me. Yet, my pastor wouldn’t welcome any of the many guys that have expressed genuine interest, just because they are not members of our church’, a quite attractive respondent lamented. Other religious denominations also do not allow their members, chiefly women to date a man before marriage for fear that they may be tempted to engage in pre-marital sex – which is viewed as a mortal sin by almost all Christian faiths and many other religions.
Misconception about educated African women: The difficulty in finding husbands is clearly being experienced by highly educated women as well. Three of the ‘unattached’ interviewees had obtained their MA degrees yet they, to quote one of them, ‘are still struggling to get Mr. Right.’ This revelation in a way suggests that women with credentials or academic accolades do not necessarily attract men or enjoy some advantage in terms of getting husbands. This is certainly not to discourage female education or scare women who aspire to reach the apogee of the academic ladder. What has been pointed out is that ladies who achieve higher academic successes are often erroneously viewed by many men as domineering, women who have less respect for their husbands and are thus hard to get along with. Many highly educated African women have also been accused of ignoring interested men whose educational qualifications are below theirs; hence their singleness.
The Desire to marry wealthy men or men with legal status: It has been established that many African women only look for men who are rich and/or have legal status. Consequently, they ignore those who are genuinely in love with them but are not very financially sound or do not have strong legal status. In the end, they are taken for a ride by the so-called wealthy dudes and men with legal documents, and thus return to what Nigerians call “square one” (where they were before – singleness). It has been observed that most African women, no matter how financially sound they are, seem to prefer men with good jobs and good salary to those doing menial jobs or struggling to get jobs, even though the latter might demonstrate more traces of genuine love than the former.
Unwillingness on the part of some men to be burdened with financial responsibilities: Due to the economic downturn in many western countries, many men are scared of the usually huge financial cost of marriage and/or financial responsibilities associated with marriage. The panic is made even worse by the traditional African notion that it is the responsibility of the man to handle all marriage and household expenses, even when it is clear that the woman’s job or income is much better than the man’s.
Poor choices (Ignoring or paying less attention to the right men): Some African women seem to focus on those men who would not give them the chance or the treatment they want and deserve. They spend their Prime years knowingly hanging out with thuggish types of guys or men with no substance (aimless), probably because of the guys’ good looks or the size of their wallets, only to be thrown away like dross after their precious time had been wasted. A respondent honestly narrated how she mistreated and sacrificed an apparently more serious and purposeful man for a handsome but less committed guy only to be thrown overboard less than a year into their relationship. When she realized her mistakes and decided to go back for the one she dejected and whose numerous marriage proposals she had initially turned down, he was no longer available (he was someone else’s darling). Some of the African women who make their way to the West deliberately fail to get in touch with their boyfriends at home thinking that they would get someone with legal documents to marry. By the time they become aware of their mistakes, it is usually too late.
Other past mistakes: Other mistakes made in the past by some women such as, waywardness, going out with married men, being impregnated by some reckless man who does not even accept responsibility, and single-motherhood, contribute to their difficulty in getting husbands. It may sound rude but the truth is that most men prefer women with no child to those with one or more.
Desire to remain single: It must however be emphasized that not all single African women abroad are interested in marriage or serious relationships; some prefer and seem to be very happy to be single. The words of one Nigerian respondent are noteworthy: ‘I wouldn’t lie to you, I hate marriage. If marriage is so great, why do most marriages end in divorce within a couple of years if not months?’ Many single people think they do have a meaningful love relationship in their life, and that for them, is enough.
Why Many African Women are now Desperately Looking for Partners
It has been established that the single women who are now seriously hunting for partners or husbands are mainly those who fall within the second and third groups (Vital Years and Borderline respectively), as well as those with children (irrespective of age). A number of reasons have been given for the alarming rate at which unattached African women abroad are desperately looking for partners. The following are believed to be some of the most dominant ones:
Old age catching up with them: For numerous reasons some of which are mentioned above e.g. spending years pursuing educational and career goals, hanging out with the wrong guys, etc.), many women are not able to marry or get serious partners in their Prime years. By the time they recognize their errors and the need to settle down to start a family, age is either catching up with them or has already caught up with them. To avoid carrying their singleness into the Danger Zone, or avoid being less fertile and having difficulty in bringing forth children, they try all possible but not always advisable means to get husbands or serious partners.
Pressure from family: In almost all if not all African societies, the institution of marriage is viewed as something that brings respect and honor not only to the couple but also their families (both nuclear and extended). For this reason, when after a certain age, e.g. 26+, a woman is still unmarried, her family particularly parents, start pilling pressure on her to get a husband and to give them (the parents) grandchildren. Note, that due to the religious nature of many Africans, pregnancy and/or giving birth out of wedlock, is not only seen as a disgrace to a woman’s entire family, but also a sin against God or the gods.
Security, loneliness and/or the sense of non-fulfillment: The need for some form of security and stable support, financially, materially, mentally or emotionally also motivates the determination of many women to rush to get husbands. However, there are some women, who have almost everything they need in life in abundance, but do not feel that sense of fulfillment without marriage. For them, a woman’s life without a husband or serious partner is nothing but an unfulfilled life.
Fulfilling a New Year Resolution: Before the commencement of a New Year, people make what is generally referred to as New Year Resolution. One of the key resolutions of most single women is to get married by the end of the year. Hunting for men is thus one way of making sure that their New Year resolution comes to pass.
Peers getting married: Some unattached African women abroad are so worried and disturbed about their inability to lay hands on someone they can call husband that, they wish they had never come to the western world. The statement of a Zambian respondent speaks loads: ‘I learn most of my old-time friends and former class mates in my country are happily married with kids, but look at me still struggling to get a good relationship let alone marriage’.
Conclusion: It is believed that single African women who fall within the Borderline and Danger Zone groups, and those with children are much more likely to be taken advantage of and sexually abused or exploited by selfish and lustful men as they are easily wooed and convinced because of their situation. In other words, they easily give in to false marriage promises or propositions of deceptive selfish and promiscuous men.
It is quite obvious that very soon more and more unattached African women in the West particularly those in England will be making their way to their various home countries to look for partners and husbands. However, the question is not whether or not the men in Africa are ready for the western-based ladies; it is rather whether or not the single ladies back home in Africa will watch the western-based ladies “scramble” for “their men” without a fight.
GOD BLESS AFRICA
This article was first published on www.GhanaWeb.com by Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu-Ansah (aka Black Power). He is a lecturer and an investigative journalist in London, UK. He is the author of ‘Fourth Phase of Enslavement: unveiling the plight of African immigrants in the West’
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 Holy Bible says, ”who is he that saith a thing and it cometh to pass when the Lord God of Hosts has commanded it not?” It says, ”who can lay a charge before God’s elect? It is Christ that justifies”. It says ”who can separate us from the love of the Lord” and that ”in all these things we are more than conquerors”. It says, ”the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall”. My God is awesome. He that is known as the Ancient of Days never sleeps and never fails. The battle belongs to Him.
Sit back and watch this show unfold for it was ordained before the oracles of time and there is a hidden and divine purpose for it. I never wanted it to be like this. I never asked for a fight and I did all I could to avoid it. I may have been indiscreet in my attempt to make a simple point but I am not a liar and neither will anyone brand me as one just to please their oriental constituency.
I was taught to always avoid rancour, discord, war and conflict and to always seek the path of peace, especially when dealing with ladies. But when war is forced upon me and my integrity is put at stake we I will fight with everything that I have got to protect it and to defend myself. This is because truth is like a pearl that must never be allowed to be buried or shattered and I am a servant of truth.
By the time all this is over we will know who the liar is and whose God rules in the affairs of men. Meanwhile the one that is encouraging my adversary to take this ugly road to perdition and that is using her to try and discredit and silence me shall fail. This, by the grace and power of the God whose I am and the God whom I serve, shall surely come to pass.
In the meantime use all the power and influence that you have and use all your Jezebelian wiles. These are nothing before the Living God and the Lord shall meet you there. You have woken up a lion that never backs down and that has never lost a war- He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and He is with me.
Unless I have told a lie about what transpired between us in the distant past, may God cause you and those that are encouraging you on this destructive course, to suffer the consequences of your lies and sheer wickedness. This because you have chosen to repay my good with evil.
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.
WOW! I’m sure you did not know they make so much money from the big Brother Reality show., I got this from This week’s Encomium Magazine.. I’ll just give you the breakdown and brief., Get a copy of Encomium Magazine to get the full story and Gist…The Show is the most watched television reality show and this year’s own was successful by all ratings.. It Kicked off on Sunday, May 26, 2013 and ended on Sunday, August 25, 2013.
The Breakdown The big Brother House (N10Million Spent) Feeding (Feeding 28housemates for 3 months – N10Million Spent) Make-Up Artiste and Toiletries (N5Million Spent) Performing Artistes (Nigerian Artistes – (N40Million Spent) The Crew [50Members] – (N50Million) Advertisement and Promo [Television, Radio, Billboards, Print Media, Posters] – (N200Million Spent HOST – I.K Osakioduwa (N10Million) Cash Prize – All of theUSD300,000 – Dilish Matthew (N45Million)- Travelling Expenses – (N5Million Spent)-
How Much They Raked In – (Airtel Charged N100/SMS – Over 5Million People Voted Per Week for their Favorite housemates – 13 Weeks/91Days – Over N7Billion MAde (Minus SMS By Regular Fans.
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 new Peoples Democratic Party led by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has cautioned the embittered PDP National Chairman, Mr Tukur to leave Atiku, Amaechi, members of the breakaway PDP alone and face the aftermath of his undemocratic acts that has destroyed the party under his watch.
The party made its view known in an online statement signed and made available to newshounds by its new National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.
Full text of the release reads:
“We have read some of the utterances of the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and found most of them to be exasperating, disgusting, unacceptable and very unfortunate. We have heard about the threat to suspend or expel State Governors and members of the National Assembly that are indentifying with the true leadership of PDP under Alh Abubakar Kawu Baraje. We have also heard them abusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and calling him an ingrate just because he has decided to identify with our campaign for justice in the PDP of which he was a leading founding father and was instrumental to the payment of both the staff salaries of those working at the National Headquarters of the party and paid the rent for the National Secretariat in which some of these funny elements are currently operating from for three good years! To this group Governor Amaechi is a traitor for standing firm to his rights and likewise most of our people that have stick their heads to restore the party to the path of honour and democratic tenants. We consider some these of statements unbecoming of a leader of Alh. Tukur’s stature as we pray that he will found time to purge himself of some of these undemocratic postures that is tearing the great umbrella apart.
“By these acts, Alhaji Tukur has demonstrated that he is intolerant, undemocratic and incapable of leading a democratic party like PDP. We urge him and members of his cabinet to stop making inflammatory statements capable of derailing the efforts of the Elders Committee of the party under the leadership of His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR to restore normalcy and unity amongst PDP members. He and his co-travellers should give some respect to members of the Elders Committee comprising eminent personalities such as former President Ibrahim Babangida, the BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Aninh and former National Chairmen of the party, among them Alhaji Ahmadu Ali and Dr. Barnabas Gemade. This is necessary so as to allow peace to be restored to our great party.
“We also find unfortunate Alhaji Tukur’s allegation that Gov. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is sponsoring the activities of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). This is yet another reckless statement. If we may ask, on what basis would Gov Amaechi be sponsoring the activities of APC? Is he a member of APC? Are there not enough State Governors in APC to sponsor its activities so that Gov Amaechi, whose preoccupation is the development of Rivers State, would have to sponsor the party? Elders like Alhaji Tukur should refrain from making statements that are not only false but also capable of overheating the polity and creating more troubles for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and allow Mr. President to find ways to wrangle himself out of the myriad of problems so far created by some misguided elements surrounding him.
“Though we know that most of the actors and members of Tukur’s NWC are not among the founding fathers of PDP which perhaps explains the strange way they have been running the party. We will like to put iton record that we the patriotic members of PDP will not be either intimidated or harassed out of the party as we are on a mission notonly to rediscover the PDP but also to imbibe in the members the vision of the founding fathers of the party and restore internal democracy in the party.
“To us, that dinner was organised to give credibility to the charade that was called PDP Special National Convention. As a serious group, we cannot be a party to such squandermania while Nigerian masses are wallowing in abject poverty and our children kept at home instead of being in school because the Federal Government could not meet ASUU’s demands. We wish to have nothing to do with such wasting of public funds and such trivialities associated with Alhaji Tukur and his leadership – which explains why he must be kicked out of the National Secretariat of the party. We cannot be a party to such a gathering while the PDP family is facing serious crisis that if not checked would dim the party's chances of winning future elections. This is a sign of a man chasing a rat while his house is on fire.
“Finally, we wish to advise those trivializing President Jonathan contesting or not contesting the 2015 election with threats and acting in such a manner as if only the Ijaws are capable of voting him or another person as the President of Nigeria in a country of over 300 tribes, to think wisely. In this regard, we commend and congratulate the thousands of Bayelsa people who have wisely decided to team up with the PDP under the chairmanship of Alhaji Abubakar Baraje to salvage our party from imminent disintegration under Alhaji Tukur. Weassure these great minds that they will be fully protected under our umbrella.
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 daughter of actor and noted anti-Semite Mel Gibson married a devout Jewish man over the weekend.
In a ceremony Saturday at the Temple Emmanuel of Beverly Hills, 36-year-old Mary-Catherine Regina Gibson married 42-year-old Ezekiel Sharon, a prominent record producer.
The couple has been secretly engaged for two years and are planning a long honeymoon in the south of France before meeting up with relatives in Israel. Mary-Catherine has reportedly already converted to Judaism.
Mel Gibson was asked about the surprise nuptials during an interview with E! News this morning while promoting his upcoming documentary on how the Rothschild family killed Abraham Lincoln. The acclaimed actor and director said that although he is disappointed in his daughter's decision, he hopes that eventually she will see the error of her ways and get a divorce.
"You know I've got nine kids," Gibson told E! anchor Melana Scantlin. "So I guess it's not surprising that one of them turned out to be a complete f*****g loser. But when I think about all the time and treasure I put into that one: the Catholic school tuition, the monthly private jet to Lourdes, the rosaries made of diamonds … and then she goes and does something like this?
"I can tell you one thing: that greedy little challah lover is not getting one god damned cent of my money. I've worked too long and too hard for that. Too long and too damn hard. Let's hope this doesn't last."
Mazel Tov Mel
Mel Gibson has faced accusations of antisemitism since a 2006 incident in which he infamously told a police officer that "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
Mel's father, Hutton Gibson, for his part is a radical traditionalist Catholic who has flirted with Holocaust denial and promotes various conspiracy theories involving Jewish people.
Although Gibson has never used such language himself, he came perilous close today when asked why he though his daughter had chosen to defy him.
"They're all in on it," he proclaimed. "Emmanuel, Redstone, Eisner, Spielberg, Geffen — all the big Hollywood Jews got together and arranged this marriage just to try and screw me over. It's not enough they destroyed my career by blacklisting me from good projects, now they're out to destroy my family too.
"I should have seen it coming. It's all so clear now in hindsight. But that's the thing with these guys. They're sneaky. They hit you when and where you least suspect it."
In a statement released though the groom's publicist, the newlyweds responded to Mel's unhinged comments.
"We're sorry to hear that Mary-Catherine's father disapproves of our union, but lucky for him he now has several psychiatrists in the family though his daughter's in-laws. Feel free to stop by any time free of charge."
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.
Our country is blessed! Climate: no extremes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes. The geographical structure of Nigeria is very stable no volcanoes no earthquake. There are abundant material resources in flora and fauna. The ones we know already are surplus; there are many we have not yet discovered.
Our country is a great country, designed by Almighty God himself for unsurpassed greatness. Our country is the largest concentration of blacks on the face of the earth. This is our gem of a country but we are toying with it, playing with fire. North is beautiful, northern people are great; same can be said of South, East and West.
Is it not God’s intention that Nigeria should be a rallying point and big brother to all blacks on earth? Man should not mess up God’s design.
It is the manifest destiny of Nigeria to raise the dignity and respect of Nigeria. I believe, to develop into a super power to raise the dignity and prestige of Black and African persons of this world is the manifest destiny of Nigeria.
It is time to stop toying with our great luck in having a most endowed country in the world; time to take necessary action to ensure the permanence of one Nigeria; time to focus on economic development, the only measure of power known to the world. Time to turn away from the various divides- tribalism, religiosity, geographical and other negative divides.
Today, our country is threatened. Foreign countries are predicting our disintegration and we appear callously to be acting out their script.
Wake up Nigerians. To hell with political parties and their intrigues and turbulences.
How to save Nigeria
All need to ensure the permanence of one Nigeria is to ensure the President who represents the focal point of our sovereignty, to convoke a national Conference, from which must emanate a constitution about which for the first time, Nigerians can truly say, “We the people of Nigeria, make and give unto ourselves, this constitution”.
The President is in a position to do it. The National Assembly is not because they are mere agents, even tenants in the House. A tenant may mend cracks in a house. The landlord has the role of rebuilding the House. The sovereign people of Nigeria, represented by Mr. President, are the landlord.
Among the decisions we need to make is whether we have unicameral or bicameral legislature? How do members of the National Assembly deal with the conflict of interest involved? The National Assembly has no role in the constitution making. A referendum shall confirm the people’s constitution.
Let us rally around the President and bring to his awareness the urgency of a national discuss. We must stop toying with the gem God gave us.
Nigeria must not just survive. We need to restructure Nigeria to develop into a world super power. No groups of Nigerians, small or large will happily walk away from a Nigeria restructured so that things begin to work. I come from a people who have voted with their feet for one Nigeria and the best is yet to come from us. Let us put hands together to sustain one Nigeria.
A stitch in time, they say, saves nine. Only crazy bastards will sit moping and liquidate their inheritance. Nigeria must remain one unite country restructured for growth and development.
Nigeria’s major problem is injustice — Sen Kachako
Nigeria has been endowed with both natural and human resources. Its huge size in land and population and also the degree of peaceful approach to things and issues by its people have made it impossible for agents of confusion to destroy the nation’s unity in diversity.
I advice our leaders to establish an ideology on a solid work ethics; our leaders are only obliged to keep to western and Eastern ideology against our own African leadership style. Our political and cultural work ethics will never be the same hence our attitudes to life must reflect our cultural values.
The Nigerian civil war and military leadership brought about some changes. Their operations did not correspond to democracy. There is need to build a new virile nation that will stand the test of time by: •Maintaining and protecting the unity and sovereignty of Nigeria as one indivisible political nation;
•Endeavour to alleviate ignorance, poverty, corruption and negative vices in our society; •Promote mutual respect for and understanding of religions, cultures, tradition and heritage of our various communities in Nigeria; •Assist the Federal Government at all times in the protection and consideration of genuine democracy; •Propagate messages of peace, tolerance, co-existence, honesty and hard work;
•Be involved in the diffusion of tension and misunderstanding among citizens, communities and all arms and tiers of government; •Bring about a more equitable distribution of the income and wealth for promoting social and efficient production; and •Improve available standard work ethics of education, healthcare, nutrition and housing.
Nigeria is at cross roads. The politics of divide and rule is over-clouding the style or operative methods of polity in Nigeria. The Nigerian politician sees nothing good in any political issue unless it is created by his methodology.
During the First Republic, a little bit of ideology was practiced in our political parties based on the borrowed ideas of the Western and Eastern blocs. It was on the basis of communism or capitalism of Russia or America and its allies. These ideologies nearly divided Nigeria and led to the unwarranted civil war.
After the civil war, the military adopted many political parties. Their operations as political parties did not correspond to the democratic norms of politics as they were more or less run under decrees rather the constitution.
The transition to civil rule from military rule seemed a difficult thing to do. As the saying goes ‘whoever tasted the flavour of honey in a calabash container will never let it go.’ Hence, the military with the counseling of a very few civilians in power has tried to prevent proper civil rule. These and many other reasons have plunged the country into the situation we are in now.
So, it will be a disservice and lost of opportunity to take this meeting as a political gathering. This cannot be business as usual. The major problem confronting this great nation is injustice. This manifest itself in greed, dishonesty, deprivation and marginalization, etc as a result of leaders’ inadequacies, which have led to distrust, cynicism, dependency and loss of confidence in our leaders.
Way forward
We must find a final solution to the increasing crisis and disputes caused by Niger Delta, Boko Haram saga and some unpatriotic people whose nasty comments and statements always trigger indiscipline, ethnic and religious disputes and political ignorance.
We, the elders must come together and fight for our children yet unborn.
Our leaders must put a stop to corruption and misuse of our hard earned resources. They must be told to lead us in accordance with the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria. They must follow inch-by-inch what the constitution says in order to carry everybody along in the governance of this great country.
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.
Mr. Obasanjo said this in an exclusive interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine produced by the EFCC.
The former president, whose administration established Nigeria’s two main anti-corruption agencies, the EFCC and the ICPC, said he was aware that former Delta State Governor and convicted money launderer, James Ibori, played a major role in Mrs. Waziri’s appointment.
“I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu (Farida Waziri) was not the right person for that job, because I understood that one of those who head-hunted her was James Ibori.”
“If James Ibori, who is now in a U.K. prison for fraud, head-hunt somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened,” he added.
When questioned further on his stance on the former anti-graft chief, Mr. Obasanjo said Mrs. Waziri was not adequately qualified to head the EFCC.
“Well, go and look at her track record,” he said. “Go and look at the condition or the qualification; go and look at the type of interaction that anybody holding that job will have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did Waziri have that type.”
“What connection did she have with FBI, what relationship did she have with Metropolitan Police in London. It’s not a picnic,” he added.
Ms. Waziri, a retired senior police officer, was appointed head of the EFCC in 2008 after the controversial exit of the pioneer chairman of the commission, Nuhu Ribadu, also a former police officer.
Her tenure, right from the beginning, was dogged by various controversies including her alleged romance with indicted state governors like James Ibori of Delta, Bukola Saraki of Kwara, and George Akume of Benue.
There were also several investigations including by the now rested NEXT Newspapers that revealed how the EFCC, under Ms. Waziri, wrote controversial letters clearing some of the former governors of corruption charges.
Even the international community was so suspicious of the former EFCC boss that former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, threatened to walk out of a meeting with Nigeria’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Madueke, if Mrs. Waziri was allowed to be at the meeting.
The former EFCC boss was eventually walked out of the meeting.
“I was investigated”
While making further comments on the EFCC, Mr. Obasanjo also said that in order to clear himself of corruption, he asked the commission, then under Mr. Ribadu, to investigate him.
“I was investigated. I told EFCC to investigate me. I told EFCC to carry out clinical investigation and they did,” he said.
“They also did same with all people on my farm. One of them was telling me the other day how Lamorde called him three times and took statements from him. The EFCC even made sure they did not submit that report to me; they waited until I left and updated their report after going round the world and saying look this is the report.
“Nobody should be below board in the fight against corruption,” he added.
Commends Ribadu
Mr. Obasanjo also commended Mr. Ribadu, saying his performance as EFCC boss helped reduce corruption in Nigeria and improve her rating by Transparency International.
“When I was there, the EFCC and ICPC worked tirelessly and we moved this country from the corruption perception index being number 2 from the lowest to being number 45 from the lowest,” he said.
He queried the manner Mr. Ribadu was removed from office saying he cautioned late President Umaru Yar’Adua against the removal.
Mr. Obasanjo said if given the opportunity again, “I will reappoint Mallam Ribadu and I will not dismiss him the way he was dismissed from the EFCC.”
He, however, accused the former anti-graft boss and former presidential candidate of hobnobbing “with people he had declared as corrupt.”
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.
PBS’ Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, September 9, at 9 p.m. in a special presentation of CHARLIE ROSE. In this global television exclusive, Assad gives his only television interview since President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve the use of force against the Syrian regime for alleged use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
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.
NIGERIANS can vote electronically today if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, wants it to work. The other side to the use of electronic voting is the National Assembly, and myriad of politicians who have interests that electronic voting would not support.
INEC has enough equipment to ensure electronic voting. The equipment bought for 2007 and more for the 2011 elections all have the capacity to support electronic voting. The registration of voters was done electronically, with all the data captured in modes that make it possible for us to vote electronically. Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman, last year, said electronic voting would happen soon.
Former INEC Chairman Prof. Maurice Iwu, before the 2007 elections, proposed electronic voting. He was dismissed. Low literacy was one of the reasons cited for the rejection. When would Nigerians be literate enough to use electronic voting? Are there no solutions to the literacy barriers?
Constitutional hurdles, according to INEC, particularly Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Law, forbid electronic voting. It may not be the main reason. We have seen the National Assembly amend the Constitution as many times as it wanted for the 2011 elections. It approved budgetary allocations with speed. Why would it not make the laws to support electronic voting?
The answer lies on the approach to power. Politicians utilise rigging as a strong instrument in their quest for victories. They are afraid electronic voting could create shifts in power, away from their control.
Benefits of electronic voting are numerous. It would ensure speed in the collation of results, stop rigging and restore confidence in our elections.
Electronic voting, used in Brazil since 1996, has improved elections. From the 1989 presidential elections where the vote count lasted nine days, the 2002 general elections was counted in less than 12 hours. Even in the rural areas, results were ready within minutes of concluding voting.
The Electoral Act can be amended to accommodate this important change in our elections. What is the point of having a law that cannot fulfil the mandates it claims it has set out to address? The Electoral Act fails to punish rigging, electronic voting could stop rigging.
No proper account of the 2011 elections have been given, especially how the technological advances that cost billions of Naira did not facilitate improvements in the process. INEC can use the time left to resolve the issues with its equipment and promote electronic voting education to deal with the literacy challenge.
Management of post-election crises, from perceived rigging, leaves Nigeria with governments that lack credibility. INEC and the National Assembly should re-visit electronic voting, which the National Assembly uses well in conducting its businesses.
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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