EXPOSING THE WICKEDNESS OF CORRUPTION:- TY Danjuma`s Oil Wells & The Murmuring Of Nigerians

Theophilus Danjuma is not a person the Biafran people will forget in a hurry. He supervised the brutal killing of GeneralAguiyi Ironsi, the first military head of state of Nigeria. He was among the troops that invaded the 
Biafran territory during the civil war and was fabled to be heartless in the discharge of his duties towards Nigeria.
Theophilus Danjuma became a general in the Nigerian Army and it was said that he convinced Obasanjo to become Nigeria’s head of State after the assassination of fellow Biafran killer man, General Murtala Mohammed in 1976.
During the Obasanjo recycling presidential jamboree, Danjuma posited that if Obasanjo fails to win the 1999 presidential election, he will run away from Nigeria. Obasanjo won the election and rewarded him with the post of Minister for Defence and charged him with dismantling the military structure capable of truncating his democracy.
The sharing of national cake of oil block to PDP party men in the most non transparent manner is one of the  fallout of the Nigerian brand of dictatorial democracy. Oil blocks worth about $2billion dollars auction value could be sold to a party faithful for as low as $500million dollars  .The facilitators share the difference  between the auction value and the real value among themselves  in the ratio of 50:50. Or 60:40 in favor of the awarder, the facilitator or the government middleman who could be fronting for the strongman  in the state house..
Theophilus Danjuma  got his on a platter of gold. Late Head of State  Sani Abacha awarded the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 246 to SAPETRO in February 1988. The block covers a total area of 2,590 square kilometers .SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Limited (Petrobas) to start prospecting on OPL246.  Akpo, a condensate field was discovered in April 2000 with drilling commencing in 2001. In 2006 Danjuma divested his investment in Akpo oil field to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for $1Billion dollars .However, Danjuma still had some conscience left in him. He paid tax of $500million dollars to the Nigerian state and had about $500 million dollars remaining. He then released $100 million dollars to the Nigerian people in the form of foundation for social responsibility projects. This sum as  paltry as it seems is better than nothing. General Danjuma should do well to bring out more for the impoverished Nigerians.
This is where this former Biafran killer man towered above his fellow oil block commandeers. There are so many Nigerians from all the six geopolitical zones who have oil blocks. They include former presidents, former governors, former ministers, party chieftains, friends of government, serving and retired military officers especially service chiefs etc .To date there is no record of what they did with the proceeds of their oil blocks. They are building more estates, more refineries, factories etc outside the shores of Nigeria, especially Europe, America and the Middle East and recently South Africa. The rest of their proceeds they use to purchase INEC officials, impose candidates on the electorates, rig elections and throw fabulous victory dance and thanksgiving services. Others engage in frivolous constant reburials of long dead ones, constant acquisition of new wives, concubines , jets, private mansions all to the mockery of impoverished and ‘ancestrally cursed‘ fellow countrymen.
If all the people who cornered the nation’s resources in the name of oil blocks decide to bring twenty percent of their loot, the nation could raise about $40 billion dollars in a week. This amount translates to N6trillion naira, which is more than the entire Nigerian budget of $31 billion dollars for 2012.
How can a few set of Nigerians be so heartless, wicked and insensitive to the hungry faces around them that they  cannot device a veritable means of giving back to the impoverished  suffering ‘son of a bitch ‘countrymen what they obtained through processes that is far from transparent, it is shortof being called fraudulent. Danjuma received knocks when he announced what he did with his own commandeered resource. Nigerians called him a thief, but if Danjuma is a thief, what of the others who sat on their own oil proceeds never considered returning any back to the people. A friend of government who owns oil block took a young girl friend to Dubai in 2010 and gave her a gift of $1million dollars just to prove his everlasting love for the nagging babe. That is the kind of expenditure they do with their oil loot.
A lot of Nigerians have died in hospitals because they cannot pay medical bills, others have taken to robbery because they cannot see any gainful thing to do while another group takes to prostitution to raise money to pay school fees. Others are seeking for academic sponsors for educational improvement but cannot find. The list is endless and there is frustration palpable everywhere in Nigeria, yet a few Nigerians are so insensitive that they cannot surrender part of their loot back to the Nigerian masses from which they fraudulently commandeered their resources.
Danjuma had the  conscience to surrender a part of what belongs to Nigeria which Obasanjo gave him when they were sharing the never ending national cake. Others should follow suit. They should repatriate these loots back home and use them to establish affordable universities, hospital services and other ventures capable of reducing frustrations on the streets. Others should equally build roads in their villages, provide transformers, pipe borne water for communities across Nigeria. There is equally need for scholarships for indigent students, sponsoring medical trips for acid victims and other traumatic and life threatening victims.. Some could fund sports and build sporting facilities for recreational and sports development purposes. Others could   sponsor activities that brings up talents in the people. The list is endless. Farmers need to be given free or highly subsidized fertilizers; seedlings and storage facilities need to be built.
These oil block commandeers should as a matter of urgency borrow a leaf from  Theophilus Danjuma , repent from insensitivity and take urgent steps to give back to the impoverished, frustrated Nigerians what they collected through the back door. Failure to do so and urgently too, a time will come when even God will engineer the people against them and there will be no end to their calamities.

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ISSUES:-House Summons CBN Governor Over Ban on Foreign Currency Deposits

The House of Representatives on Tuesday 11th August, 2015 summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to explain the recent policy directing commercial banks to reject foreign currency deposits.

This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion under Matters of Urgent Public Importance sponsored by Hon. Emmanuel Ekon representing Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika of Akwa-Ibom State.

Hon. Ekon said, though the CBN Act of 2007 confers the bank with the power to devise suitable mechanism for the exchange of the Naira periodically, Nigerians need to understand the merits of the policy.

“Though the policy may have both short and long term economic benefits for the country, Nigerians do not have any explanation from the CBN on the merits or otherwise of the said policy.

“The apex bank has not created avenues to address the fears of parents wishing to remit money for their children’s education or manufacturers placing orders for goods abroad.

“The explanation of the said policy to members of this House by the Governor of the Central Bank will enable us to disseminate the information to our respective constituents”, Hon. Ekon said.

The lawmaker further explained that if the CBN fails to sensitise Nigerians, the policy might become counterproductive as it appeared to have been misunderstood already by the public.

“There are lots of panic within the economy as we speak.

“People don’t know what becomes of their businesses which largely depend on foreign exchange for transaction”.

“There is need for the CBN to carry out adequate sensitisation of the public regarding this policy by way of explaining the policy and its benefits, otherwise, the nation’s economy may suffer for it”.

Also, Hon. Chris Azubogu representing Nnewi North South/Ekwusigo of Anambra State said Nigerians needed to be properly informed and educated about the policy.

He said “when we get better explanations, people will know what it is all about.

“Also, bank customers will know the limit of borrowing and take into cognisance the need to prepare their minds for what they want to embark on”, Hon. Azubogu said.

The Deputy Whip of the House, Hon.Pally Iriase representing Owan West of Edo State, also expressed his support for the motion. He said “domiciliary account is one asset that a country that does not have a viable foreign exchange market uses to transact business abroad.

“We should be able to sit down with the CBN to find out what it has done with this policy so we can make informed decisions”, Hon. Iriase said.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon.Yakubu Dogara, in his ruling, stressed the need for interaction with the bank’s management for the purpose of informing Nigerians. He said “As we speak, there is serious confusion out there. “The reason for allowing the presentation of this motion is that we all have to be sensitised on what the CBN is doing”.

The motion was thereafter unanimously adopted by the House.

BREAKING NEWS:-President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the following appointments:

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the following appointments:

Babachir David Lawal – Secretary to the Government of the Federation

Abba Kyari – Chief of Staff to the President

Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) – Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service

Kure Martin Abeshi – Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service

Senator Ita S.J. Enang – SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate)

Hon. Suleiman A. Kawu – SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives)

The appointments are with effect from today, August 27, 2015.

Lawal, the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation hails from Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State. He graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree and worked with the Delta Steel Company, Aladja, Nigerian External Telecommunications Limited and Data Sciences Limited before establishing his own ICT and Telecommunications consulting firm in 1990. He is also a member of the Nigeria Computer Society, the Nigeria Society of Engineers and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

Abba Kyari, the new Chief of Staff to the President holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick in Law and Sociology. He has worked with the New Nigeria Development Company, New Africa Holdings, African International Bank, United Bank for Africa, Unilever, and Mobil in various capacities over the years.

The new Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Ali, holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Criminology. He was military administrator of Kaduna State from 1996 to 1998.

The new Comptroller- General of Immigration, Mr. Abeshi hails from Nasarawa State. He joined the Nigerian Immigration Service in 1989 as an Assistant Comptroller. His educational qualifications include a Masters Degree in Public Administration.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

August 27, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: How I was abducted, kissed death and released from Boko Haram

2015-03-17 12:36:50

The story of how Mama Maryamu Bala of Madagali in Adamawa state is unlike the other people that were captured by insurgents. She had terrible experiences; ugly and undeserved treatments unleashed on them by Boko Haram from the north east Nigeria. Hers is a much fascinating and mind touching story.

Cover picture: A woman holds up her abducted daughter's picture

Hear her story:

HOW I WAS ABDUCTED

My Name is Maryamu Bala from Madagali, Marghi by tribe.  The past three months was a hell of experience on earth. Though I was not being subjected to any heinous work, what I saw and went through will convey my sympathetic story to you.

That fateful day, I and my granddaughter (Abigail) are working on my farm in the borders between Madagali and Gwoza when all of a sudden I heard my daughter shout "run grandma, they are coming on us, run they are here to kill us". I told her “granddaughter run and leave me. What use will I be for them at this my age (67)? Even if they carry me to their camp I will only be a liability to them. I tell you that girl refused to go until when this people (Boko Haram) came and pounced on us. Out of shock I fainted for some hours. Before I realized it, I saw myself in a very big forest with different kinds of people both old and Young including women of different age groups having a sort of division of labour with instructors and armed men monitoring everything everyone is doing.

MY LIFE IN BOKO HARAM CAMP

My grown up daughter being a very agile and beautiful Girl they immediately seized her to a different unit of the camp. They converted the two of us to Islam when found out that that we are Christian from Madagali. They gave us Muslim veil and told us from today we are no longer Christians. They thought me to be meditating a portion of Koran on daily basis. My son you cannot believe me, it surprised me so much that their kind of Islam is different with the one I know many of my relations are practicing in Madagali. They thought us to be worshiping on difference timing from the time I use to see my people observing when they are to pray. Atimes east is not a compulsory focus area of worship, anywhere can serve the purpose. My first three weeks in that camp opened my eyes to discover that that place is meant to be training amateurs and foot soldiers. Sometimes you see Helicopters are dropping things in cartoons, heavy objects are always being uploaded using the people captured with very hash instructions. Failure to do that or any unnecessary delay you will just hear a gun shot on somebody's head, if you are lucky it will be on your leg. They then drag your corpse to a nearby bush and burry.

In that camp I saw different people they called Ameer, who are mostly going round the camp making sure all people are always adhering to the teachings of Islam. There are other people who are always armed and combat ready that they do refer to as commandant. These ones are more dreadful than any one; they are the people commanding thousands of newly recruited members. On daily basis I am the one that normally ask to pray for them, asking Allah's favor on their behalf as I happened to be the oldest woman, not doing any work at all.

I was later taken to a different camp close to Sambisa, the camp is between our lands in Michika and those areas of Cameroon, I know those areas very well because as a young woman we use to go there for farms, fire woods and trek through to other parts of Cameroon. That camp formation is more organized and structured than the former one. In this one I suspected it to be where Chibok Girls were kept.  Every morning a lanky shrink bearded man will come and address the whole congregation, given order for duties. I was treated by a professional Doctor. In that camp I also saw engineers, young girls who are nurses, drivers, carpenters, communication experts and many others that I cannot describe their careers. It was only in that camp that one of the commandants came to my sleeping room and asked me to be careful to follow all instructions or else he will drink my blood for lunch. I knew that day my life has come to an end and I concluded my granddaughter has gone to our ancestors as there was no trace of her since I left the former camp.

My son I saw devils; I saw cannibals and people who can do anything in the name of religion. My duty in that is to always observe the Abridged five normal prayers a day, to also sit down to be memorising Koran. After my stay in that camp for more than a month I noticed people on every day going into the other phase of the building amidst tied security, some of the people they resemble Arabs with long hair, while some are pure white coming around having some series of meetings. A girl who is one of the maids confided in me and said "Mama you see other side of the camp is where Abubakar Shekau and top commandant are living, there are many girls of our age there, even me they don't allow to go there."

When that young girl said that to me, I quickly remember the story of abducted Chibok School Girls, though I did not see them but my spirit told me they are in that camp.

HOW I WAS RELEASED

They still transfer me with many other people to a different camp much closer to Cameroon as I was told by our Ameer that we will be taken to Sudan for special training. It was there I started crying to that man, asking him what use I will be to them, begging him to help me go back to Madagali. The Man immediately shouted me down and threatened to kill me. Same day they brought other people from another camp. Miraculously I saw my granddaughter in a very bad condition. It dawned on me that they could have defiled her.

In the night, a man I never met walked up to where we were sleeping and said, "I saw you crying yesterday and it touched my heart, I was kidnaped just like you for more than four years, but don't worry I will help you to escape you and your daughter this night."

After some few hours he still came back to us and tapped my daughter. When she woke up, he asked her to wake me too. The man held my hand, commanded us not to say a word. My brother we trekked in the that evil forest until my strength failed me, when the man notice I no longer have strength, he backed me and we walked close to thirty kilometers and got to place well fenced. There he asked us to sit down and rest. We rested for about five minutes. He now told us to go and get bench, close by. It appears that place is use to be a deserted training camp of the Boko Haram.

They arranged the bench and chairs and he asked my girl to climb up to the other side. When my daughter successfully did that, this hefty man high held me up to my daughter's end where she struggled to hold me down. Immediately he jumped up to our side, we walked outside that forest to a point we discovered a narrow path, it was there he said we should just keep on walking until the day will break and he bade us goodbye. It was from that place we trekked for five days to Yola, Adamawa state.

By Tom Garba, Yola, Adamawa state

Source: Store in besieged Kenyan mall run by attackers or associates

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- To anyone shopping at Nairobi's Westgate Mall, it would likely have seemed just another store.

But according to a Kenyan intelligence official, the small shop concealed an ominous secret. It was rented by the Al-Shabaab terrorists, or their associates, who within a year would carry out an attack on the upscale shopping mall.

The information -- revealed Friday to CNN by the source, who is close to the investigation into the attack -- suggests the Somalian terror organization had been planning the operation at least that long.

How the team of terrorists got their weapons and explosives into the mall without notice is a central part of the investigation into the attack, which left at least 67 people dead and parts of the upscale mall in ruins.

The Kenya Red Cross said Friday that 61 people remain unaccounted for. Some could be buried in the rubble of the partially collapsed mall.

Photos: Kenya mourns mall shooting victims

Voices from the Westgate Mall

Bergen: Unlikely women were attackers

At least five of the terrorists also died before Kenyan forces were finally able to bring the siege to an end on Tuesday. The terrorists stormed the building Saturday.

Read: Mall attack timeline

On a Twitter account believed to be run by Al-Shabaab, the group promised more attacks to come.

"The mesmeric performance by the #Westgate Warriors was undoubtedly gripping, but despair not folks, that was just the premiere of Act 1," according to a tweet posted Thursday.

CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the tweet, but CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said the account, which has also posted links to statements from Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, appears to be legitimate, even if not "100% authenticated."

Several Twitter accounts attributed to Al-Shabaab have been shut down in recent days, likely for violating the company's rules against promoting violence in tweets.

While Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said Friday that eight suspects are being held for questioning in the attack, authorities are increasingly concerned that some of the attackers managed to escape alongside fleeing civilians in the aftermath of the initial attack, U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN.

On Thursday, a Kenyan counterterrorism source told CNN that one of the suspects is an injured Kenyan who was being evacuated when a machine gun magazine fell out of his pocket, leading to suspicion he was among the automatic-weapon toting terrorists who roamed the mall killing civilians. He is being held in a military hospital, the source said.

READ: Source: Kenya mall attack suspect eyed after ammunition fell out of his pocket

Among the suspects are three people picked up near the Ugandan border, the Kenyan official who revealed information about the mall store told CNN.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Says U.S. Spying Hurt Users’ Trust

Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said revelations about U.S. government surveillance hurt users’ trust in Internet companies and that knowing more about the programs would help relieve some of the public concerns.
In a rare appearance in Washington at an event hosted by the Atlantic magazine, the 29-year-old social media billionaire urged the federal government to tell the general public more about the requests for data it makes to Internet companies.

Zuckerberg was also holding meetings with members of Congress from both parties to lobby for immigration reform.
“What I can tell from the data that I see at Facebook is that I think the more transparency and communication the government could do about how they’re requesting the data from us, the better everyone would feel about it,” he said.
“From reading in the media, you couldn’t get a sense whether the number of requests that the government makes is closer to a thousand or closer to a 100 million. … I think the more transparency the government has, the better folks would feel.”
Zuckerberg also expressed concerns that the outcry about vast secret spy programs run by the National Security Agency and the U.S. response could alienate other countries and hurt innovation globally. In San Francisco last week, Zuckerberg said the government “blew it” on the spy programs.
“Response to the NSA issues that have blown up are a big deal for the Internet as a global platform. And some of the government statements I think have been profoundly unhelpful,” he said.
“‘Oh, we only spy on non-Americans.’ Gee thanks,” Zuckerberg said, adding, “We’re trying to provide an international service, not get crushed in those places either.”
Earlier this year, Facebook said some 1.1 billion people around the world used its site each month.
The tech sector has been pushing for more disclosures about government data requests as Internet companies seeks to shake off the concerns about their involvement in vast secret U.S. surveillance programs revealed by former spy contractor Edward Snowden.
Earlier this month, Facebook joined Yahoo! Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for freedom to disclose aggregate data about the orders and requests for information they receive under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
On Wednesday, Zuckerberg said the revelations about U.S. online surveillance had a much bigger impact on users’ trust in Facebook than any criticisms related to the company’s own privacy policies.
PRIORITY ON IMMIGRATION
The issue that brought California-based Zuckerberg to Washington was his push for immigration reform, which has prompted him to wade deep into political waters.
This year, he founded an advocacy group, FWD.us, that lobbies for a comprehensive immigration reform, promoting the concept of building a “knowledge economy.” The group has come under fire for ads that backed pro-immigration lawmakers on issues unrelated to immigration, such as oil drilling.
“We just want to be there to help support folks who are going to have to take challenging positions on something that’s going to be controversial but they ultimately believe is the right thing,” Zuckerberg said.
He was scheduled for sitdowns on Thursday with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi as the House of Representatives poses an uphill battle for the immigration legislation, which already has been passed by the Senate.
Zuckerburg, who ditched his signature hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans in favor of a dark suit and tie on Wednesday as he made his way through the hallways of Congress, said he was optimistic the legislation’s chances.

We’ll not succumb to blackmail, BSU ASUU tells Suswam •As Ajasin varsity gets set to pull out of strike

Barely 48 hours after the Benue State governor, Dr Gabriel Suswam, ordered the Benue State University (BSU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work on October 2, 2013, the striking lecturers have waved the order aside, saying they will not succumb to blackmail.
The governor had directed the management of the state university to evoke the “no work, no pay rule,” on the lecturers if they failed to pull out of what he described as “sympathy strike’’ and resume work as from October.
But the chairman of BSU ASUU, Dr David Ukooh, who spoke to newsmen yesterday after the union’s congress said his members would not succumb to any form of blackmail, threat or intimidation.
 Ukooh said the governor’s comment was “mere political propaganda’’ intended to blackmail the lecturers, adding that BSU ASUU executive lacked the power to suspend the strike.
“The  strike embarked upon by BSU ASUU is a national strike and not a local one. The branch exco has no power to suspend the strike. We are a union and we have  modalities which has to be followed logically. The NEC of ASUU called this strike and it is only when they ask us to call off the strike that we can do so.”
“This is not the first time ASUU will go on strike. If the governor insists on no work, no pay, we are not worried, we will meet our work where we left it. But when we resume, we will also insist on no pay, no work. The governor’s statement is borne out of ignorance,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the Ondo State-owned Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA), Akungba-Akoko, Professor Olufemi Mimiko, has said that the university will soon recall its students and lecturers back on campus if the three-month-old strike by ASUU is not called off by the end of September.
Mimiko disclosed the plan of the university during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune. He said the protracted strike had affected the activities of the institution, which had unbroken and stable academic calendar in the last four years.
“We had unbroken four-year academic calendar before the strike began.  The strike has affected our programmes.  It is not in the interest of our students.
“We hope ASUU will call off the strike soon. If not, we are considering taking a measure to bring our students back on campus. Precisely, if by the end of September, the strike is not called off nationally, we will begin the process of calling off the strike locally,” he said.
“We are consulting with our lecturers. Ours  is a state university and the case is different. We don’t have any subsisting agreement with the ASUU. It is the Federal Government that has issues with the ASUU.
“In  the first instance, our own lecturers are not even expected to go on strike  along with the ASUU of the Federal Government-owned  institutions. They are not employees of the Federal Government.

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