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  • POLITICS: Buhari Not Really A 'Converted Democrat'.

    By Efio-Ita Nyok| 18 March 2015| 9:00 am

    The presidential candidate of Nigeria's foremost political opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major General Mohammadu Buhari (Rtd), while briefing the press in Abuja, the federal capital yesterday 17 March, declared that he would not engage President Goodluck Jonathan in a political debate in view of the forthcoming general elections on the premise that the activities of both himself and Jonathan are in public domain.

    When I got wind of this development I was not as surprised that Buhari was avoiding a debate with his arch opponent for the umpteenth time as the reasons he advanced for that elusive inclination. I don't understand what Buhari means by that realities about himself and GEJ are in public domain. What does/could he mean?

    Is this not the same Buhari that addressed the international foreign policy community in Chatham House and fielded questions from the audience? Is the International Institute of Foreign Policy not aware of his dictatorial genius of the past? Why did he have to go and assure them of his alleged conversion from autocracy to democracy? The mere fact that he had subjected himself to the democratic tradition for the fourth time on end was enough to assure his international audience that he was now a 'converted democrat'. They, as we, were not blind, so why the debate?

    Why is Buhari changing the reason for his elusive mien from the accusation that the press is biased to purported immanence of his and GEJ's 'political data' in public domain? Is this the type of change we shall be experiencing should he win? Jumping from pillar to post all in the unwholesome bid to avoid responsibility? This may not be the change Nigerians are looking forward to.

    To my mind, Buhari and his APC cohorts have better but covert reasons for not wanting to address the Nigerian electorates by virtue of a debate. These reasons could be these:
    * Buhari is afraid of Jonathan's democratic credentials in respect to his.

    * Buhari is not a democrat as alleged.

    * Buhari may not be able to rationalise his dictatorship of yester years to the Nigerian public as he did in Chatham House.

    * Buhari is not honest as purported.

    * Buhari does not have a sound policy framework of his anticipated presidency.

    My disappointment with the electioneering campaigns in this year's general elections has been that, this campaign has not been founded on ideology/issues. The PDP and APC including their candidates at all levels -gubernatorial, senatorial, representative, and presidential, have not been able to expressly tell us what they want to use public office for and how they intend to actualise their visions!? The most the APC has said is that they wish to deal with corruption, security and arrest a dwindling economy. The corollary is HOW!? HOW!? And HOW!? You have not told us how!

    The business of governance is  complex but scientific. Buhari should be able to tell us how he intends to pay social benefits when the bench mark for crude oil is becoming as dynamic as possible.

    The mere fact that Buhari cannot engage President Goodluck Jonathan in a debate where he would marshal out a scientific roadmap for addressing corruption, security and a comatose economy suggest that he is not a democrat, for democracy is government by, for and of the Nigerian electorates electing you based on sound Democratic credentials of politicians vying for public office.

  • SPORTS: Arsenal's Predicament in Champion league games

    Goals from Giroud and Ramsey made it 3 – 3 on aggregate but was not

    enough to seal a place in the next round of the Champions League for

    Arsenal.

    They have been consistent in the champions league and always knocked

    out in this stage for five consecutive seasons now.

    Your views?

  • SPORTS: Steven Fletcher Gets a New Lamboghini

    Steven Fletcher at Sunderland:

    – 2 seasons

    – 7 goals

    – 1 new Lamborghini Aventador

  • SPORTS: Torres Says he was Swiming in Wet Clothes In Chelsea

    Atletico Madrid forward Fernando Torres says he felt like he was

    “swimming in wet clothes” during his unsuccessful stint at Chelsea

    reports Sky Sports.

    Maybe he would have made a professional swimmer rather than footballer

  • SPORTS: Chelsea to Go for Bale

    Chelsea are ready to spend £150m on Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale,

    25, and defender Raphael Varane, 21, this summer according to the

    Daily Express

    The Metro runs with this one; Chelsea have made an approach to sign

    teenage Brazilian striker Kenedy, his representative has confirmed.

    The 19-year-old has already been the subject of a £5.7m bid from

    Manchester United.

  • TECHNOLOGY: All You Need To Know About GTA 5's Online Heists

    Finally, The long-awaited online Heists mode for Rockstar's

    record-breaking open world game, Grand Theft Auto 5, is finally here.

    Gamers are going to need a lot of inside knowledge to get you through

    some of these jobs, and we're here to help.

    Below you'll find everything you need to know to get the most from

    Heists, including walkthrough, tips and strategies for the game play:

    http://bit.ly/TGR-GTAVC

  • NEWS: Buhari's & Osibanjo's Wives Escape Death!

    By Dickson Blessing
       The convoy of the wife of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Hajia Aisha Buhari was attacked by some hoodlums in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday.
        Alhaji Ishola Balogun Fulani, State chairman of the party, said at a press conference last night in Ilorin that the hoodlums vandalised about 10 vehicles during the attack and fingered a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
        Mrs. Buhari was in the company of the wife of the vice-presidential candidate of APC, Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo; Kwara State First Lady, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed and wife of the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Mrs Oluwatoyin Saraki among others on the way to a women sensitization program in Ilorin.
       He recalled that APC had repeatedly reported to the police  and other security agencies about the plan by the PDP to cause violence before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
        He thus called on the police and other security agencies in the state to be alert and call the PDP in the state to order.
       He also contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Salihu Garba who confirmed the development and assured that the command would investigate the incident.

  • NEWS: photo of the day see this nigerian policemen exchanging punches in front of a bank/


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    Just jumped on this picture and I had to share it with you fams….

    What do you think this policemen are doing here in front of a bank?

  • SPORTS: Monaco 0-2 Arsenal (agg 3-3): Gunners out on away goals despite heroic effort


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    Arsene Wenger's men kept up the pressure throughout the evening, with Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey scoring late in each half, but paid for their poor performance in the home leg,

    Arsenal narrowly missed out on a Champions League miracle as their 2-0 win at Monaco was not enough to prevent them from exiting the competition on away goals.

    Needing a 3-0 victory to guarantee a spot in the quarter-finals, the Gunners pushed throughout and finally got the breakthrough shortly before half-time when Olivier Giroud fired into the roof of the net.

    Though Monaco fought hard to hold them off, Arsene Wenger's men looked likely to score again and did so with just over 10 minutes to go, substitute Aaron Ramsey burying a second when a disastrous clearance went straight to him after Theo Walcott hit the post.

    Arsenal could not scramble their way to a second, however, and are left lamenting the first-leg failure that put them up against it in this game.

  • NEWS: Ashes And Death: What Boko Haram Left Behind In Baga – BBC [Photos]


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    The Nigerian military took us to towns taken back from Boko Haram in the north-east.
    Some are almost impossible to reach by road because the insurgents have blown up bridges.
    From one town to another, Boko Haram fighters have left their imprint of destruction – the charred remains of market places, homes, government buildings and farms.
    Signboards have been painted over in black and replaced with Boko Haram insignia and inscriptions in Arabic.


    “Thank you! Thank you!” a group of women chant as they praise the soldiers who reclaimed their town, Doron Baga, from Boko Haram.
    They are the few people we found in the area. Most others fled after possibly the worst insurgent attack yet in the region.
    It has been suggested that during the January attack, Boko Haram killed hundreds, possibly more – and then set fire to dozens of buildings.
    'Those bastards kill men'

    Now the town is deserted. At the main market area, blackened-out shells have replaced what would have been busy shops.
    Mangled motorcycles litter the streets, their tyres blown out. Decomposing bodies lie by the roadside and fill the air with the stench of death.
    A group of women take shade under a tree away from the scorching heat. “Boko Haram fighters killed my sister,” one tells me.
    “We attempted to leave three times for Maiduguri but the militants threatened to shoot us. They hardly fed us and we were very hungry. But when the soldiers liberated us, they gave us some food.”

    Despite the successes of the military, many of the reclaimed towns are empty. Only small groups of women, children and the elderly can be found.
    Abubakar Ali is one of the few young men around. He had a fractured leg and could not run away when insurgents attacked Monguno town.
    “My grandmother hid me under the bed,” he says. “They don't touch women, especially old women, but those bastards kill men. They came searching but they didn't find any man in the house so they left.”

    Even Mubi town, a major commercial centre in Adamawa State, is largely deserted, except for the troops on patrol.
    “I would plead with the people of Mubi,” says the town's traditional Muslim leader, Emir Abubakar Ahmadu. “Come back home so that we develop Mubi more than ever before.”

    With widespread destruction, the region is in need of massive rehabilitation – far more than what the residents can do on their own if they return.
    There are murmurings within the military that soldiers have been left to do the work other government agencies should be taking on.
    There is also the question of whether the people should return to restore a semblance of normality or whether they should remain displaced until the military completes its operations.

    There are regular reports of troops getting killed or maimed by mines planted by the insurgents.
    Boko Haram fighters are known to surround their locations with hidden bombs. Some soldiers showed me a stretch of about 20m (60ft) where they say they detected 29 improvised explosive devices.
    The army says such dirty tactics complicate the fight. This has not dampened the spirits of the troops.

    They have recorded major successes recently, reclaiming many of the towns taken by the militants. This has elicited as much praise as it has criticism over why it took so long to act.
    The military's gains were achieved in just a few weeks, while Boko Haram has been tormenting the region for the past six years.

    The successes also came when Chad, Niger and Cameroon joined in the fight against the Islamist insurgents.
    The subsequent plaudits these neighbours received proved embarrassing for Nigeria, the outshined regional powerhouse.

    Nigeria's military spokesman, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade, denied reports of tension between members of the anti-Boko Haram coalition.
    “Many of the opinions out there that seem not to be complimentary about participating colleagues are definitely not the positions of the countries,” he said.
    “They are positions of individual officials. We don't expect it to affect the co-ordination within the force.”

    At the Multinational Joint Task Force base in Baga near Lake Chad, only Nigerian troops are present.
    They seem motivated, regardless of the problems at the diplomatic level. The soldiers promise not to let Nigeria lose its territory under their watch.

    With new supplies of equipment, as well as fresh combat strategies from their superiors, morale is high on the frontline.