Category: Opinion

Inok Solomon to Ifere Paul, if I am a 419 like you, I will be the best because I will change people for good.

You came to Cross River State with complete lack of persistence, why because you thought you are coming to deal with people still backward and unintelligent.

You came unknowing to those who are gullible to look at you from your deceitful personalities; those who have no foundation and felt you can come and force power on them through falsehood and blackmail. Today, they still make you feel like a blind man leading them.

You failed to recognize and clearly define exactly what you wanted and so you conditioned and is still conditioning all around you. If I lie, take these words today, that you will never in your live time, identify with any who will become a winner through your styles of blackmails.

You came with a blind sight living only on procrastination,  with or without cause backing up all your failed attempt with array of alibis and excuses.
I can optimistically,  because I know,  tell and choose who will still win as governor come 2019. I do not procrastinate because I play through the rules not against the rules.

Those who do not know you should know today that from your nature, you are an indifference kind of person, this is reflected in your readiness to compromise on all occasions, rather than meet opposition and fight it.

Your major focus is searching for all short – cuts to riches, trying to get without giving a fair equivalent,  usually reflected in the habit of gambling or endeavouring to drive ‘sharp’ bargains.

Today, you bargain with every disgruntled man in Cross River, with the sole purpose of gaining your individual self centred goals. The more you fail, the more you get personal in attacks,  insults, and blackmails  to keep your market open.

 Very importantly, I will tell you, that huge number of people make mistakes in marriages, in careers, in doing what they know best in life or attempting to improve and grow better, stand – by the bargain and go through life miserable and unhappy because they fear criticism that may follow if they correct the mistake.

You are sick of just this, but I Inok, Solomon. I have grown above that level and that makes me better and ever will remain better than you. I hold today, the Post of a Special Assistant haven been upgraded in just a year from the post of a Personal Assistant. I am serving my state in this capacity before you. I do not lie, cheat, and build ego around myself just to gain negative ambitions through defrauding  greedy and innocent  citizens.

I tell you if other generations of Cross Riverians, refused to take chances in business, in endeavours and grow, because they fear the criticism that may follow if they fail. The fear of criticism in such cases is stronger and have been the greatest set back to our growth as a state because it’s stands first than the desire for success.

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes, ideas are products of the imagination. The story of practically every great fortune starts with the day when a creator of ideas and the seller of ideas got together and worked in harmony.  Ayade today have Ideas, that is scaring your brains because they knock out your deceit tactics.

Once creators of ideas and sellers of ideas  meet, there is an understanding put down into documents called Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU). But since you lack the workings of ideas, you long for only what set your 419 goals higher than the growth of a people in any MoU.

The majority of people who fail to accumulate money sufficient for their needs are, generally, easily influenced by the opinions of others.  But what are the real motives of these opinions? Fear keep us far from attempting to be critical in asking. Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them.

But why is such an opinion seem best to such a giver? Motive is hidden, only time reveals the true content of the heart.

Cross Riverians,  we are in governance not elections and campaigns.

From Inok Solomon, SA to Governor Ben Ayade.

Let me begin this piece by making it very clear that I have never been a fan of Senator Dino Melaye. Infact, I am one of those persons that has been so critical of the Jarman of Okuta and his style of politics. Till date, my old  Twitter account@richieluv90 remains blocked from tweeting at@dino_melaye, His official twitter handle after telling him, how he lacked the moral standing to criticise the then Rivers State House of Assembly saga since he was the one who introduced wrestling and boxing as part of legislatures oversight functions in the House of Representatives.

Furthermore, His activities as Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption Network, an organisation that was founded by him were to say the least,bias and highly partisan. Some people including me, regarded the defunct organisation as a political wing of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and one that was particularly formed for the sole aim of discrediting the former PDP administration under President Goodluck Jonathan in the eyes of the international community and from all indications, we were right as the organisation has since gone extinct after achieving it’s purpose.But just like they say in politics, ‘No permanent enemy but permanent interest’, I have since buried my hatred for Senator Dino since we both have one interest, which is ‘fighting for the independence of the Nigeria Senate.

As at today, one of the biggest topic of discussion in Nigeria is, the quarrel between Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Oluremi Tinubu and how Senator Dino allegedly told her, he will beat her up, impregnate her and nothing will happen. While one will wonder what might have warranted such a harsh and undistinguished comment from him,the questions are, why always Remi?Is she the only Nigeria female Senator?

For me, Senator Remi’s bossy and insulting attitude in the Senate where she thinks she can make derogatory remarks on her colleagues and even the Senate President is becoming out of control and must urgently be checked.

It will be recalled that, Senator Remi Tinubu took the political rivalry between her husband (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu) and Senator Musliu Obanikoro to the Senate when she almost went physical with the then ministerial nominee  if not for the intervention of her colleagues during the latter’s mininisterial screening at the Senate. They are other instances where, She raised her colleagues eyebrows by knowingly and arrogantly  sitting on the Deputy Senate President’s Seat in the Red Chamber and another case where it was widely reported, she snubbed the Senate President during her inauguration among several other instances within and outside the Senate.

From the foregoing, it is very clear that, Senator Oluremi Tinubu needed a fellow Senator with an uncommon courage and ruggedness to tell her what other people within and outside the Senate are afraid to tell her for fear of the Jagaban, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Truth is, for every Goliath, there is always a David who will damn all the consequences just to stand up against his Goliath and that is what Senator Dino has succeeded in doing and he has won my respect for that singular act. Senator Remi needed somebody to remind her that, the ‘Nigeria’ Senate belongs to Nigerians and not an extension of her husbands bourdillion where politicians from different party crowd for favour. She needed a fearless Dino to tell her ‘enough is enough’ and am sure the message was clear to her.

I have read very funny comments on the social media about Senator Dino and how he has singlehandedly truncated his political career but I beg to differ. Like he, Senator Melaye rightly pointed out in a press briefing, only God gives power. If God is for him, A thousand Tinubu cannot stop him. As a matter of fact, I rather fear for Asiwaju. It appears his reign as the strong man of Southwest politics and by extension Nigeria is coming to an end. If Dino walks free which I sincerely believe he will, many other Dino’s’ will follow suit and this time, it might not be through Remi but a direct attact.

Even though it is true that Asiwaju has made so many people what they are today including state Governors, Senators, House of Representatives members, ministers, Chairmen of boards etc as I hear Senator Remi very often claims and  boast,humility remains a virtue she must urgently imbibe after all, her husbands achievement were and are made possible through God’s approval. Whatever she does outside the Senate, is non of my business but she and her husband must not allowed their desperation to add to the list of people they have made, the position of Senate President to belitle, ridicule and cause unnecessary tension in the Nigeria Senate.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu must be reminded that, she is not the only female Senator in the 8th Senate as they is a former Deputy Governor,minister, House of Rep member, Speaker of State House of Assembly with very intimidating CVs when compared to hers among others currently serving as Senators hence, the need for her to exercise some caution and decorum in the discharge of her legislative assignment.
#SenateNotBourdillion

Richard Romanus is a Cross Riverian, from Obubra Local Government Area. He can be reached on 08117135257.

The biggest country in Africa that the United Kingdom colonized is Nigeria. The biggest country that the United Kingdom colonized in Asia is India (which then comprised the present Pakistan and Bangladesh).

When the UK came into Nigeria and India, like all other countries they colonized, they brought along their technology, religion (Christianity), and culture: names, dressing, food, language, etc. Try as hard as the British did, India rejected the British religion, names, dressing, food, and even language, but they did not reject the British technology. Today, 80.5 per cent of Indians are Hindus; 13.4 per cent Muslims; 2.3 per cent Christians; 1.9 per cent Sikhs; 0.8 per cent Buddhists, etc. Hindi is the official language of the government of India, but English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a “subsidiary official language.” It is rare to find an Indian with an English name or dressed in suit.

On the other hand, Nigeria embraced, to a large extent, the British religion, British culture – names, dressing, foods, and language – but rejected the British technology. The difference between the Nigerian and the Indian experiences is that while India is proud of its heritage, Nigeria takes little pride in its heritage, a situation that has affected the nationalism of Nigerians and our development as a nation.

Before the advent of Christianity, the Arabs had brought Islam into Nigeria through the North. Islam also wiped away much of the culture of Northern Nigeria. Today, the North has only Sharia Courts but no Customary Courts. So from the North to the South of Nigeria, the Western World and the Eastern World have shaped our lives to be like theirs and we have lost much or all of our identity.

Long after the British and Arabs left Nigeria, Nigeria has waxed strong in religion to the extent that Nigerians now set up religious branches of their home-grown churches in Europe, the Americas, Asia and other African countries. Just like the Whites brought the gospel to us, Nigerians now take the gospel back to the Whites. In Islam, we are also very vibrant to the extent that if there is a blasphemous comment against Islam in Denmark or the US, even if there is no violent reaction in Saudi Arabia – the Islamic headquarters of the world – there will be loss of lives and destruction of property in Nigeria. If the United Arab Emirates, a country with 75 per cent Muslims, is erecting the tallest building in the world and encouraging the world to come and invest in its country by providing a friendly environment, Boko Haram ensures that the economy of the North (and by extension that of Nigeria) is crippled with bombs and bullets unless every Nigerian converts to Boko Haram’s brand of Islam. We are indeed a very religious people.

Meanwhile, while we are building the biggest churches and mosques, the Indians, South Africans, Chinese, Europeans and Americans have taken over our key markets: telecoms, satellite TV, multinationals, banking, oil and gas, automobile, aviation, shopping malls, hospitality, etc.

Ironically, despite our exploits in religion, we are a people with little godliness, a people without scruples. It is rare to do business with a Nigerian pastor, deacon, knight, elder, Brother, Sister, imam, mullah, mallam, alhaji or alhaja without the person laying landmines of bribes and deception on your path. We call it PR, facilitation fee, processing fee, transport money, financial engineering, deal, or whatever. But if it does not change hands, nothing gets done. And when it is amassed, we say it is “God’s blessings.” Some people assume that sleaze is a problem of public functionaries, but the private sector seems to be worse than the public sector these days.

One would have assumed that the more churches and mosques that spring up in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, the higher the morals in our society. But it is not so. The situation is that the more religious we get, the baser we become. Our land never knew the type of bloodshed experienced from religious extremists, political desperadoes, ritual killers, armed robbers, kidnappers, internet scammers, university cultists, and lynch mobs. Life has become so cheap and brutish that everyday seems to be a bonanza.

We import the petroleum that we have in abundance, rice and beans that our land can produce in abundance, and even toothpicks that primary school children can produce with little or no effort. Yet we drive the best of cars and live in the best of edifices, visit the best places in the world for holidays and use the most expensive electronic and telecoms gadgets. It is now a sign of poverty for a Nigerian to ride a saloon car. Four-wheel drive is it!

Even government officials, who were known to use only Peugeot cars as official cars as a sign of modesty, have upgraded to Toyota Prado, without any iota of shame, in a country where about 70 per cent live below poverty. Private jets have become as common as cars. A nation that imports toothpicks and pins flaunts wealth and wallows in ostentation at a time its children are trooping to Ghana, South Africa and the UK for university education and its sick people are running to India for treatment.

India produces automobile and exports it to the world. India’s medical care is second to none, with even Americans and Europeans travelling to the country for medical treatment. India has joined the nuclear powers. India has launched a successful mission to the moon. Yet bicycles and tricycles are common sights in India. But in Nigeria, only the wretched of the earth ride bicycles.

I have intentionally chosen to compare Nigeria with India rather than China, South Korea, Brazil, Malaysia, or Singapore, because of the similarities between India and Nigeria. But these countries were not as promising as Nigeria at the time of our independence.

Some would say that our undoing is our size: the 2012 United Nations estimate puts Nigeria’s population at 166,000 million, while India has a population of 1.2 billion. Some would blame it on the multiplicity of ethnic groups: we have 250 ethnic groups; India has more than two thousand ethnic groups. Some would hang it on the diversity in religion: we have two major religions – Christianity and Islam; but India has many. Some would say it is because we are young as an independent nation: we have 52 years of independence; India has 65 years, while apartheid ended in South Africa only in 1994.

I am a Christian, and nothing can change me from Christianity. But I think that our country is daily sinking into religiosity to the detriment of godliness. Our land is sick and needs healing. “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” is still a saying that is germane to our current situation. We need more godliness than religion; more work and less of hope; and more action and less of words.

Let everyone tidy up his or her corner first and demand fervently that our leaders tidy their areas of governance. Our nation is degenerating at a fast pace and we need to save it now, or it may be too late.

For your information: Buhari’s 1 Year + In Office.

Buhari was handed over:

– $30billion in our Foreign Reserves,

– $2.5billion Sovereign Wealth Fund,

– $1.4billion in the ECA,

– $4.65b back taxes from NLNG.

– Buhari met an approved budget of N4.5trillion

Buhari received within a year:

– $2.7billion collected by Inland Revenue in his first 8 months.

– $2.1billion world bank loan.

– $850million Grants from UK, USA and Europe.

– Excluding crude oil sales, Joint Venture profits, Royalties, Income from Customs, NIMMSA, NPA, NACHO

– 3trilion on STA


More than a year has passed:

1] Not a kilometer of road constructed,

2] Not a watt of Electricity generated,

3] Not a Ward added to any Hospital in Nigeria.

4] Not a job space created, except the CBN job he shared with his cronies.

5] Not a grain of corn or tomato seed was provided to farmers. [Fertilizer subsidy taken away and handed back to ex-military men].

6] 41 foreign companies mostly in service industry have left Nigeria.

7] 4.3 Million jobs lost in 10months – National Bureau of Statistics.

8] Food scarcity last experienced in Nigeria between 1983 to 1985 returned back.

9] War on Corruption turned into war against his perceived enemies. Convictions by EFCC were cases meticulously started by previous govt(s). Buhari wins cases only on the pages of Newspapers.

10] Nigeria dropped from No.1 Investment destination in Africa to No.27 before South Sudan.

11] African Biggest economy shrink from a GDP of about 7% to -0.36%, the fastest decline in the world since record began.

12] No.3 fastest growing economy in the world to No.83 in 365days.

Fund collected from looters: Who knows the total?

By MEEK BILL

I’ll will continue to take more risks that would develop the state and her people – Gov. Ayade.

No man prepares for change and put too much emphasis and  concentration on the old system,  conquers. We are still concentrating too much on the old system forgetting change comes with definite decisions of life and death. Cross Riverians,  as a matter of fact, at this point need to forget the “cucumbers, Garbage and Garlic of Egypt and accept the sacrifices of the wilderness as a process rather than punishment.

Who you are, and  what you are before today is insignificant, it is who and what we become, taking this Risk to build a new Cross River State that is significant to the common growth. The value of Decisions depends upon the courage required to make them. The great decisions which served as the foundation of civilization were reached by assuming great risks, which often meant the possibilities of death.

Mandela Risked everything, Luther, Ghandi decisions were all with the Risks of their lives. Lincoln ‘ s decision to issue his famous Proclamation of Emancipation, which gave freedom to the enslaved people of America, was taken with full understanding that his act would turn thousands of friends and political supporters against him. He knew, too, that the carrying out of that proclamation would mean death to thousands of men on the battlefield. In the end, it cost Lincoln his life. That requires courage.

Today, Governor Ayade is saying, “l will continue to take more risks that would develop the state and her people. l have traveled all over the world to mobilize funds to our dear state in our quest for rapid development and the efforts have started to yield the desired dividends.” This is nothing but courage. If he has risk travelling the world to gain $1m, we need to Risk the moon for $10m.

Desire,  Decision, Faith, Persistence, builds the Master Mind;  then Organising and Planning takes us to the point of understanding the suggestion that thought,  backed by strong desire, has a tendency to transmute itself into its physical equivalent.

There is a saying that, “if we search for the secret of the methods to achieve positive change, we should not look for a miracle because we will not find it. We will find only the eternal laws of Nature. These laws are available to every person who has the faith and the courage to use them. They may be used to bring freedom to a nation or economic freedom or riches.

Governor Ayade is a man who reach decisions promptly and definitely and so he know what he want, and will generally get it. The leaders in every walk of life decide quickly and firmly. That is the major reason why they are leaders. The world has the habit of making room for people whose words and actions show they know where they are going.

Today, Cross River make a room for Governor Ayade because from his words and actions, we sure know where He is going.